InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A new beginning, a new hope ❯ somewhere out there ( Chapter 4 )

Under the star filled night sky, Rin and Sota each sat on one side of the Goshinboko. Rin gasped in awe as she indulged herself in the admiration of those twinkling lights above, reveling in their serenity and consistency.

 

“Stars are amazing, aren't they?” Rin's gaze did not leave the sky even as she spoke. “They're always there and you know just where to find them. They make me feel safe.”

 

Sota did not give his response though his thoughts were on the same topic. I could be that to you too, like the star, your star, if you'd let me. I'll always be there for you, he mused inwardly.

 

“Rin, do you know that the lights that we're seeing now actually came from hundreds of years ago? or more? because stars are located so far away and their lights take a long time to reach earth.” The dark hair young man tried to stir the girl's interest.

 

“Really?” he had apparently succeeded. Rin's eyes were sparkling with immense curiosity. She crawled over to settle beside Sota, her shoulders now brushing lightly against his. “You mean to say that what we're actually seeing now is from the past, not the present?”

 

“Bingo! Isn't that awesome?” Sota snapped his fingers and bravely lean over ever so slightly closer to the girl beside him as he continued to set his gaze above.

 

“Well, at least I'm still in touch with something from the past, my past perhaps,” Rin could not help but to be conscious about herself, her deficiency.

 

Once again, the young man decided to keep his response silent and instead, reached his arm round the girl's shoulders in a brotherly manner. The two then went back to star-gazing and even though neither spoke another word, they were quite contented just being next to each other.

 

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Through the other side of the well, a white shadowy figure was also directing his amber gaze at the starry night. Sesshoumaru settled himself on a small hill to gain a more panoramic view of this spectacular sight. He could not stop himself from thinking that Rin could be looking into the same night sky, the same stars as he at this very moment, somewhere out there. Since her childhood days, the girl would go hysterical during such lighted nights especially if she spots a shooting star. He would find her wishing fervently, her thick lashed eyes shut tightly.

 

Rin. That mere mention of the word sent an aching in his heart so intensively that he felt he would just cease breathing. It had been almost five summers since the last time he saw the girl. Sesshoumaru recalled his enthusiasm turn agitation when he arrived home only to find nothing was there but her departure note. He had gone after her immediately, desperately seeking her scent though he could find none thanks to the rainy weather. For five whole years, he had traveled everywhere, exhausting all the possible places she could be at least twenty times this year alone. The girl seemed to have disappeared with out a trace from the surface of this earth, though absurd as it may sound.

 

Could she have died? Sesshoumaru froze at this suggestive possibility as a surge of deep rooted fear struck him. No, she can't be. No, not my Rin, the demon lord found himself suffocating from the searing pain piercing his chest. For once in his entire youkai life, he was afraid, truly afraid. He broke out into cold sweat as he held on to his temple, shaking it violently. If the girl had really passed on, he would be…. he would be all ALONE in this world. Sesshoumaru had never been haunted by the thought of being lonesome and solitary. He had always prided himself of not begging for the companionship of anyone. But now, the thought of losing her forever, of being left behind brought to him tremendous panic and trepidation.

 

Life had never quite been the same since the girl left. Every little thing seemed to subtly bring memories back to the time they had spent in each other's company. Everything he came into contact with reminded him painfully of her. Rin understood him so well, knowing when to lighten his mood with her ever bubbly character and when to step away to grant him space. He had never come close to possessing anything as sweet and endearing as the girl.

 

Sesshoumaru slapped and cursed himself for being indecisive and selfish. He didn't deserve her, he admitted inwardly. What dignity, what pride and what great pure heritage and power, he found them now utterly unattractive and useless without someone to share them with, someone he loved. Chiming in his ears, though mutedly, was the endless chants of his father, “Sesshoumaru, do you have something you wish to protect?”

 

All of a sudden, anger seized him and his amber eyes turned a darker red. Doesn't the girl feel the same? Doesn't her heart ache like his? Doesn't she miss him like he did? How could she? How could she be so hard hearted and still proclaimed that she loved him, so much she had said. It was so unlike the girl to be so and till now, the demon lord was still bemused as ever.

 

But he can't give up. He just couldn't. Sesshoumaru was circulating, making his daily rounds as he had done for all these few years as he caught a glimpse of the Goshinboko. Inuyasha. He had suspected that the girl might have sought refuge with his half brother and the miko, but he had been here almost a hundred times. There was just absolutely no trace or scent of the girl here. The demon lord decided that he'd just have to venture east ward instead.

 

Just as he was about to make his ascent, his youkai senses picked up something familiar. It was extremely muffled, almost undetectable, but it was undeniably what he had been seeking for. Rin's scent. He turned his head only to spot a little pale haired girl trotting along the forestry path. There was no doubt. The scent came from her though he was confident that Rin was not anywhere nearby. He just had to make a more detailed inspection before making a conclusion. In a split second, the demon lord was gone and in the next, he had rematerialized next to the hanyou kid, grabbing and lifting her up by the nape.

 

A loud feminine shriek echoed in the air followed by an all too familiar voice.

 

“Sesshoumaru, teme, put my daughter down this moment or else!” Inuyasha bellowed while charging and raising his claws towards his brother.

 

“Inuyasha, I see that your aiming is just as bad as before. Have been slacking in practice or is it merely a matter of talent?” The youkai lord smirked as he dodged the hanyou's vicious blows with ease.

 

The hanyou spat at those irritating sarcasms hurled by his half brother. “Why, you… I'll show you what's good aiming.” He drew the Tetsusaiga with an unrestrained vigor, all prepared to activate the wind scar if necessary.

 

Kagome, on the other hand, stood rooted to the ground as she watched in horror the never ending brotherly squabbles of these two over grown kids and how her husband had displayed absolutely no regard for the safety of their eight-year-old. She gulped as she recalled vaguely how Keiko had clung onto Rin so relentlessly throughout dinner and by the telling expressions staining the cheeks of her brother-in-law, she had a intuition that the whereabouts of the girl might not be able to lay concealed for long. But for the sake of her eight-year-old, she knew she had to attempt to calm the demon lord down.

 

“Inuyasha, stop it, right now!” the miko could stand no more of such childish displays.

 

“The girl, Rin, where is she?” Sesshoumaru thundered out sending little goose bumps down the panic-stricken miko's spine. The kid, however, seemed totally unstirred by this menace and was focusing her attentions solely on outlining the crescent moon on the youkai lord's temple.

 

“Rin, you are friend of Rin?” the hanyou kid blinked in oblivious delight, now playing with the long silvery strains.

 

“Sesshoumaru, if you really wish to know where Rin-chan is, let my daughter down first!” Seeing that the demon lord was exhibiting no obliging signs to her requests, she chided, “It is precisely due to this oversized ego, this warp sense of dignity and pride and that atrociously untamed temper of yours that lands you in this situation the first place.” At this point, Kagome swallowed hard and continued in a much more benign tone. “If you truly care for Rin, then don't harm the one she adores dearly,” she finished while pointing at Keiko.

 

A long antagonizing silence followed.

 

Rather reluctantly, Sesshoumaru released his grasp in mid air, allowing the kid to perform a little somersault before making a perfect landing on the soft grass beneath her. Kagome heaved a silent sigh of relief as she observed that the demon lord was now deep in his own thoughts. The miko took the opportunity to give Sesshoumaru a closer examination.

 

Sesshoumaru was nothing like what she had remembered him to be, poised and sculptured He appeared to have aged significantly, especially with the grievous and sullen expressions filling his eyes. He looked traveled, his attire showing signs of wear and tear and his lengthy hair was slightly unkempt though still elegantly cascading behind him. Kagome could not help but feel a deep sense of empathy for the youkai lord. The girl must have meant a lot to him. These five years, he must have suffered tremendously, searching for her, she pondered.

 

Taking a slow steady breath, she began, “Sesshoumaru, come with us. We need to talk things out a little.”

 

Despite Inuyasha's endless grumbling spurting out stuff like why bother, he deserves it, if he's so smart like he claims, find her himself, Kagome beckoned the demon lord to follow them to the ningen village. To her immense relief, Sesshoumaru merely tailed behind, completely unflustered by her hubby's intending remarks.