Authors note: Be sure and follow me on X. SaltMango made a beautiful piece of art, which will be posted a little later tonight.

Chapter 90 - Honorable

It was everything that Sesshomaru could do, to put one foot before the other. His energy was all but expired, even now as he and Rin descended the mountain, the sacred barrier was siphoning what little of his demonic energy remained. His vision blurred as the tendril fragments of his energy waned. It didn't help that he was still bleeding. The cut on his arm had clotted, but the wound that had sliced deep in his fur and skin, continued to seep hot blood. There way no way for his natural healing to help seal the wound… the energy reserves for healing were gone. Fortunately, the exhaustion was so complete, that he currently felt no pain. I must get away from the mountain. The path before him seemed to tilt. Sesshomaru put out his right hand out to touch the rocky wall to the side, steadying himself.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin moved up beside him, eyes tight with concern.

Sesshomaru struggled to breathe. It's just a little farther. I just have to walk. There was no energy to fly, much less teleport to safety.

"Lord Sesshomaru?!" Her pitch was higher now, panic setting in.

I can't leave her unprotected. He took another step, then another… Rin followed at his side, her small hands reaching out to touch his hakama. He understood that she was trying to figure out how to help him. We shouldn't have waited… we should have left as soon as Suikotsu fell. He took a shaky breath. I'm not going to be able to make it off Mount Hakurei. "Rin." His voice was hoarse. "Jaken is waiting a little way ahead. Go… he will keep you… safe."

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin's cry was sharp, but distant as darkness filled his vision and the world tipped in a crazy whirl, the sensation was completely foreign to him. I must be dying. He concluded as the world fell away. Dying in the place of someone I love… seems like an honorable way to go. Sesshomaru didn't have time to contemplate his own thoughts. That, for the first time, he'd admitted to himself that he loved Rin. Even though he could not have given an explanation as to how or in what form that love took. Her brown eyes swam in his mind. Rin…

Shadows took Sesshomaru, and he passed out of consciousness of space and time. It felt like he was drifting on waves of darkness, the tide pulling him away from shore. At first there was no pain, only a strange weightlessness. The yokai was certain that he had passed from the land of the living. His injuries had not been unto death, but the combination of his injuries and the energy sapping barrier, would have killed a lesser demon in moments. If I am no longer living… then where am I?

Time must have passed, but Sesshomaru was not aware of it. Sometime later, pain began. His shoulder burned with an insistent fire, one that made his hands claw and tremble. With a start he awoke, his canine soul right at the pivotal point of breaking through, sensing that he was in a weakened state. Sesshomaru's eyes flew open, simultaneously pain lancing through his shoulder, drawing a shudder of pain. His demon form tried to break through, fearing for his safety, knowing that his energy had not yet recovered and he suffered from a serious wound. The smell of his own blood pervaded his senses.

The first thing his gold eyes saw, was Rin. Her face hovered before him, brown eyes filled with compassion and concern. The sight of her soft gaze, soothed the wildness within his soul. He tried to move, realizing that he was lying prone and vulnerable, but the pain returned, causing him to inhale sharply.

"Please don't move Lord Sesshomaru. Your wound isn't healed yet."

Sesshomaru swallowed hard, disgust with his own weakness a bitter taste in his mouth. "Where are we?" Darkness was all around, all he could see were shadows. Somewhere amidst the darkness must have been trees… or some other nature. He felt the infinitesimally slow return of energy.

"In the woods at the base of Mount Hakurei." Rin said gently, pulling back. He turned his head to keep her in sight.

"You brought me?"

"I… tried. But I wasn't strong enough. I pulled you to a hidden place in the rocks, and went to get Jaken and A-un. We brought you here. Jaken and A-un went to get fresh water." Sesshomaru started when he felt her small hands against his bare skin, he had not realized that his hankimono was open. Rin's fingers moved carefully, placing something against the wound on his shoulder. "I'm sorry if it hurts… this is a poultice that my mother showed me. I don't know if it works for demons though." She sighed heavily, her fingers lingering on his shoulder. "It should take some of the pain."

She's trying to ease my pain? No one had ever done such a thing for Sesshomaru before. Pain was part of being a demon. It had been drilled into him that pain made you stronger and that only the weak needed help through their pain. Something about the simple gesture, touched him in the cold recesses of his heart. Confused by the tenderness, and his own longing for it — he tried to rise again.

Rin gasped. "Please Lord Sesshomaru, don't move! Your energy isn't restored yet… the wound hasn't begun to heal."

Sesshomaru lifted himself to his one elbow, glancing around the small dark clearing. Rin hovered by his side, nervous worry in her eyes. The clearing was dark, with only the shapes of trees beyond. There was no fire, which was a good decision, since he could not stand to defend them currently.

Another gentle touch of her hands on his chest startled him, he turned again to focus on where she knelt. "Please lie back." She pleaded, pressing against his chest insistently. "Just for a little while." Hesitantly, he acquiesced and lay back in the softness of the grass and closed his eyes with a faint sound of irritation. All too soon, against his will, Sesshomaru slipped into a recovering sleep.