A/N: chapter bomb part 2 of 3!
Beware of potential heavy feels. Please do not throw your phone/tablet/computer.
Rin moved closer to the tea shop and the set of gossiping individuals curiously. She grabbed a spare cloth from a nearby merchant and covered her hair and ears, joining the conversation. "this Youkai lord, do you know his name or who he's searching for?" she asked. A man nodded. "the name had maru in it…" another man piped up "I remember, someone said it was Sesshomaru. What a name, eh? What mother would name a child something like that?" Rin shrugged nonchalantly. A woman told her, "he was looking for a hanyou, specifically a girl he said would have silver hair and funny ears. I don't know if he gave a name or not." Rin nodded and bowed slightly at the information, hurrying away from them before they could ask her anything. "did you see her eyes? They were gold…"
Rin left the cloth behind once more at the stall she'd taken it from, shivering slightly. He was close by, then. She could go to him, if she knew where he was. But would he welcome her back? What if he was only searching to punish her? She shook her head, wondering where that idea had even come from. He was searching for her because he loved her—he had to be. Rin wandered down the street once more, looking for Hideoko. Just as she spotted him down the road, the wind picked up, blowing a breeze across Rin's face. The next moment she was running out of town as fast as her legs could carry her, following the scent that had been carried on that gentle breeze from the next town over…
Rin saw him standing with his back to her, speaking to an innkeeper who was shaking his almost-bald head in response to a question asked of him. She stood stock-still in the middle of the street, staring. Even if there were no other clues, his calf-length white hair and flowing mokomoko "tail" were very distinctive. "Sesshomaru-sama?"
The Daiyoukai froze at the soft sound of his name being called by a precious, familiar voice. His eyes going wide with wondrous disbelief, he turned slowly to see Rin standing down the street from him, her left arm in a sling. She looked up at him with her wide golden eyes, her bangs still tied back to show the crescent moon on her brow and her puppy-like ears tilted back with frightened uncertainty of his reaction.
Rin gasped in surprise as, within a pair of heartbeats, his arms were around her, careful of her injury, and she found herself lifted from the ground and spun slightly. He was clearly overjoyed. "Rin! Oh, Rin, I finally found you!" he crowed in relief, holding her close. "please, don't ever run away like that again!" he ordered her firmly, setting her gently back on her feet. She wrapped her good arm around him and gently nuzzled his chest as he bent slightly to nuzzle her neck, ready to once again be soothed by her lovely scent. He closed his eyes and took a deep sniff of—nothing.
Rin's scent wasn't wrong…it didn't exist at all. Sesshomaru's head shot up sharply and he suddenly held the girl at arms' length. She looked exactly right, and sounded exactly right—she felt warm and right in his arms—but she had no scent, like she was nothing but an illusion.
Rin watched in worry as Sesshomaru's face fell with suspicion and concern, her ears drooping once again in fear. She caught his arm as he tried to step away from her, and he brushed her gently off. "I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone else," he said softly, moving to turn away again as her vision blurred with tears.
"you didn't," she assured him softly, catching his sleeve once more. "please. It's me, Sesshomaru-sama. It's Rin. I've been hurt, so I couldn't come back. I wanted to."
He shook his head gently and explained, "you can't be Rin. You have no scent." As she began to cry, the tears that ran down her cheeks had the faintest trace of her scent within them, but it was nowhere near enough to be sure if the girl in front of him, that clung to his sleeve so desperately, was even real, let alone the right person. Still, he couldn't stop himself from gently wiping the tears from the young woman's face with his thumb and wrapping her in another brief hug, closing his eyes and allowing himself to imagine for a moment that it was his beloved Rin and not some illusion in his arms. It wasn't a hard thing to imagine…some instinct deep within him told him he was absolutely right. This was Rin, and his search was over. It was that feeling that helped him make his decision, and he stepped back, plucking a silver hair from the girl's head as he did. He brushed the side of her neck, finding a pair of tiny scars under her left ear and the moment he touched them a shiver went up his spine. The girl flinched away in surprise—she must have felt something too.
"I will stay overnight in the next village. If at any time today, or tomorrow, your scent returns, come back to find me, and I will gladly take you home." Rin nodded in understanding, trying not to shiver again at the strange shock she'd felt when he'd touched the side of her neck. She'd still not noticed the scars there and would have no idea what they were for once she did. She reluctantly let him go, watching him take the strand of silver hair, wondering what he'd wanted it for. He moved on to the tea shop in that village, continuing to ask if anyone had seen Rin. She was glad to find him still so accepting of her after how she'd acted before, and the fact she had no scent. That was the only thing stopping him, really. She turned and hurried off to the village she'd been in before, realizing with a shock that she'd completely left Hideoko behind without telling him that she was leaving or where she was going, and that was terribly rude of her.
Hideoko was getting very nervous as he searched the crowded market looking for Rin as evening approached. He jumped and blurted a curse as a delicate hand grabbed his shoulder and spun to find the hanyou girl looking nervous. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." He held his chest and wheezed, waving her apology away. Rin put an ear back slightly. "I found a place to stay in the village, in exchange for work. I wanted to thank you for your hospitality, but I will be staying here until my lord comes for me." Hideoko tried not to show his boiling anger at her words. He could not allow her outside the safety of his barrier for any longer than the herbs that suppressed her scent stayed active. As soon as they wore off that Damned Youkai would surely find her again easily, and that was something he couldn't risk if he was to be successful.
"Rin, your arm is not yet healed," he said, allowing his sorcery to add a layer of persuasion to his tone. "you need to let me care for you until you are whole again—at least a few more days, if not longer." She frowned and proved she could make a fist with her left hand, showing it was healing fine, and really didn't hurt much anymore unless she jostled it badly.
"I can't just walk out when I said I would work for them." He couldn't help but frown darkly at her words now. He did not lose. Not now, and not ever, no matter how stubborn the person. He scoffed and scowled at her.
"you'll come running back when those herbs wear off and your arm starts burning with pain again," he assured her, stepping away and pointedly ignoring her as she tried to apologize for offending him. Dejected, she went back to the innkeeper she'd spoken to, who looked nervous at the sight of her.
"Rin, I'm afraid I don't have any rooms open for you. The girl whose room I was going to lend you decided to stay, and the rest are already full. You can work and earn a few coins if you want to try and buy a room elsewhere, but you can't stay here." Rin's ears flattened in shock at the man's words, her eyes wide with worry.
"is there anywhere else I can stay?"
"the tea shop has a few rooms they rent out, if you want to try there."
Rin hurried over to the tea shop. It had simply been a tiny nudge of instinct that had made Rin ask for lodging in the village rather than returning directly to hideoko. Something told her the man was not as nice as he always seemed to be to her. She walked in and the shopkeeper looked up in surprise. "is your name Rin?" she asked, and Rin nodded in confusion. "someone came asking for you, and he rented a room for the night."
Rin's eyes lit up. "tall and white-haired? Dressed all in white with red patterns on the sleeves and collar?"
"that's right. I suppose you know him. Are you with him?" Rin tilted her head to the side, considering. How easy it would be to say yes…but that would hardly be proper, would it. And he still did not trust her as she had no scent.
"no, we're not together in that way. I was to meet him. But I will make arrangements with him myself. Thank you." Rin bowed to the woman and hurried out to the market once more, wondering where he was, since he had to be in this town now if he'd reserved a room in person…
Sesshomaru was pacing down the row of market stalls when the faintest trace of scent caught his attention at a kimono cloth stall just down from the tea house. He snatched up the cloth, finding an identical silver hair to the one that he had plucked from the girl's head earlier. This one smelled as strongly of her as a single hair could, the magic herb's influence having faded once it was removed from her. Then he'd been right—or she'd been right—no matter, they'd both been right, and Rin was here! He looked around, frowning intensely. It would be difficult at best to find her in the throng of people when she had no scent at all to track. That had been another odd thing—there was no scent that could stay on her, apparently, because he couldn't tell where she'd been or who she'd been with. But his nose suddenly caught a whiff of his own scent that seemed to be moving, and he arched an eyebrow, moving to investigate.
Hideoko saw the youkai as he moved through the crowd that was starting to fade as evening set in. he stuck out obviously, with his white hair and bright clothing, and his height. OH NO. if Rin found him, all bets were off. The only scent that could stick to her while the herb was in effect was youkai essence, so if he'd so much as brushed against her he'd be able to track her now. They had to leave. He used his influence on her to lead her outside town using the other side roads rather than the main one, and met her there. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Rin heard it clearly. He played on her fear, making her run for his home once more, passing through the barrier, her scent erased once more so it could not be tracked.
Sesshomaru sensed the scent move out of town and followed it down the road a short ways until it vanished. He stopped, bewildered, and took another step forward, finding a barrier. He growled but decided to leave it alone for now. He heard the thunder rumbling again and sighed softly as it began to rain lightly, quickly getting harder. Rin would not be going anywhere tonight. He would search for her again in the morning.