Authors note: Hello everyone! Anyone who's been reading for a long time, will notice that Barefoot has brand new coverart. I'm so humbled and grateful to SaltMango, who drew this absolutely gorgeous piece, which is based on this chapter (82). I added the color, but the piece itself is all from SaltMango. I'm so in love with it. It's especially dear to me, because it was SaltMango's art that inspired me to begin writing and fill in the SessRin gaps of Inuyasha. So having her amazing art as a cover -- it means SO much!
Chapter 82 - Ambush
For the long hours of the night Sesshomaru sat in silence, guarding his sleeping companions. The moon never became visible through the mist of Mount Hakurei. Instead it remained dark and eerie, the mist swirling dramatically as it moved through the cool air. Late into the night, Sesshomaru closed his eyes, resting but attentive to all the sounds and scents all around. It wasn't long after that Rin began mumbling in her sleep, moving restlessly in her fluffy cocoon. There was a mumbled sound… hardly intelligible… but somehow Sesshomaru knew exactly what it was she desired. Her hands reached out, searching, and he could not deny her. He held his right hand out to her, palm up, just before her reaching fingers. As if knowing, Rin grasped his hand with a happy sigh and promptly fell back into a deep sleep. Yet another indulgence he should not have permitted, and would undoubtedly berate himself about later… but it was a sweet sort of torment. The simple contact was innocent, and surprisingly comforting. Sesshomaru mused that, if he had not been a yokai lord, but a simple human instead… that simple human would have been quite happy to enjoy the physical contact, and bask in the warmth and joy of her touch.
The sun, similar to the moon, was not visible through the mist. So the sunrise never became apparent. Instead it became lighter, a milky sort of gray all around. Opening his gold eyes, Sesshomaru assessed the gloom around them with detachment. We need to get moving, before Naraku tries to make an escape. He turned to look at Rin, curled in a pool of fur beside him, both her small hands grasping his long fingers. The smile on her face could melt the mountain itself, he was certain. Glancing to his other side, he noted that Jaken still slept heavily. There was a pool of drool collecting beneath his beak. Returning his focus to Rin, he curled his fingers, grasping her hand gently.
"Rin. Wake up." She shifted, but did not open her eyes. "Rin." He called again. This time, her eyes moved, then squinted as they slowly slid open.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" She blinked, as if trying to ascertain if she was still asleep.
"It's time to wake, Rin."
Nodding, she yawned, then looked down in apparent surprise to where she still grasped his hand. Stun seemed to make her auto-release her grasp on his fingers. A flush touched her cheeks, and she turned to gaze up at him with eyes full of questions. He turned away, feeling a very similar strange confusion, his own being at the fierce protectiveness that clutched his chest. A canine reaction drawn by the look in her eyes.
"I told you. I will always be here when you need me." It was the only explanation his muddled thoughts could conjure. He moved to stand, his mokomoko carefully disentangled from its protective nest around her. Sesshomaru didn't have to turn to look, to know she was staring up at him with that look of rapt wonder. "Jaken." He nudged the imp with his boot, bowling him over into the significant puddle of drool. "Get up. We are going."
Rin ate the rest of her food, then began dipping her toes into puddles that had collected near the waterfall, as Jaken washed the saliva off of his face. Sesshomaru waited, gazing out over the milky expanse before them, then moved forward several more yards into the mist. He scented metal and wood, and after several steps, a manmade chain bridge came into view. It began at the cliffs edge, and vanished deep into the mist. Sesshomaru looked to his right, where the waterfall thundered down hundreds of feet both above and father below. This bridge must cross the gorge to the other side. He mused silently, eyeing the construction. It would be the perfect place for an ambush. We need to get moving. A moment later Rin skipped over, still blissfully enjoying the puddles which dotted the rocky ground. Jaken came to stand between his master and Rin.
"Do you think the bridge is safe my Lord?" The imp voiced in his annoying tone.
Sesshomaru was not focused on the bridge, but elsewhere. His eyes narrowed as a vague smell reached his nose through the thick cloying scent of the mist. I was right. The yokai turned toward the path, in the direction they had come from. "They're coming."
"Ah Huh?!" Jaken turned to follow Sesshomaru's gaze, clutching his staff for dear life.
Without giving explanation, Sesshomaru turned and leapt toward the oncoming scent, intending to put as much distance from the impending battle, and Rin and Jaken, as possible.
"Wait Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken cried from behind, Sesshomaru hoped the imp had enough sense to stay with Rin, distanced from the battle. Given how much of a coward Jaken was, it seemed likely.
While still midair, there was a flash from a weapon. Some sort of snake sword, the like of which Sesshomaru had never seen before. It lashed out at him like a cobra. With his right hand he grasped Tojikin, deflecting the attack with one smooth movement.
From the bushes, an odd man raised himself from hiding. At least… Sesshomaru was fairly certain it was a man. The bright red rouge on his lips, and the manner of dress, cast some certain doubt. An odd man. Most certainly, this is one of Naraku's resurrected mercenaries. Landing on the ground before the odd man, Sesshomaru kept Tojikin at middle guard. There was some dissatisfaction with how close Rin and Jaken remained to the battle, but it couldn't be helped now.
"I assume you're one of Naraku's followers." Sesshomaru baited, hoping that this mercenary happened to be the type who over shared, and would spill tidbits about Naraku's plans.
Instead the odd man chuckled in a way that very much reminded him of Kagura. It was somewhat eerie. His opponents eyes remained half lidded, as if evaluating Sesshomaru as a potential meal, instead of an opponent. "How very perceptive of you." It purred.
So. Not a talkative one. Everyone has their trigger point, I just have to find out what it is. "Just like that poison user. You reek of a dead mortal."
"Why…" The expression of his effeminate opponent shifted from hungry to irritated. "What a keen sense of smell. Just what I'd expect from InuYasha's older brother!" As he spoke, the man lashed out with another strike from his snake sword.
The multi-jointed blade streaked toward Sesshomaru with a blinding white light. Pathetic. It took one parry to knock the attack away, leaving the swordsman wide open for a counterattack. Which Sesshomaru took full advantage of. He leapt into the air, sending a blast of powerful energy from Tojikin, toward the human, with a single slash. The male was thrown backward with an astonished cry, then scurried off into the brush on his hands and knees. Clearly terrified of the power that Sesshomaru could wield.