InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Fate ❯ Seven - Your Heart's Desire ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Rin's decision to run is going to get her in trouble, for as soon as she enters a strange clearing - her life is changed forever.
For Kaolin happened to be casting a circle for his heart's desire. Rin is a whole new person when Sesshoumaru catches up with her - but why could a seven-year-old girl want to change so much that it was her ultimate wish?

Sesshoumaru may be slightly out of character in this chapter.

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Romance / Supernatural | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.02.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 195 | Status: Work In Progress

Chapter Seven
Your Heart's Desire

Kagoyasha and Inuome are three weeks old…

Kaolin enjoyed the forest. It was the only place he could get peace and quiet - here he was so far away from the village that no one would pay attention to what he was up to. Black magic, they said - but they were oblivious.

Kaolin cast his circle, summoning the four elements one at a time, going by their position in North, East, South and West. He offered the elements items such as soil, water, incense and a small hearth he had set in the ground not too long ago.
Drawing out his ritual dagger - an athame - he spilled a drop of his blood by piercing the tip of this power finger and let the blood drip into the centre of his circle.

He took a deep breath, and began chanting. He'd rehearsed this so many times without actually conjuring the circle that would allow his dream to come true.
He channelled his energy ready to step into the circle and cast his spell in motion.

“This circle of mine,
The elements divine,
Grant me my wish,
For the desire of my heart.

This circle divine,
The elements of mine,
Initiate my will,
Allow my dreams a start.”

Kaolin mentally cursed the last line. He had made up this spell himself, and couldn't work without a rhyme. He wished he could have thought up a better one. He made to step into the circle, but at that instant he could hear panting.

Kaolin turned a little too late. The first thing he saw was a girl of about seven or eight with dark brown hair running blindly in his direction - away from someone or something. The next thing he knew was that she was running through his circle, his circle! And then there was a flash of electrifying light. The girl screamed… and everything went still.

Sesshoumaru froze, his body tensing. Rin. He'd heard her scream, and almost automatically he turned in the direction the sound had come from. Then he ran, not caring who or what was awaiting him.
The forest passed in a blur. He was focused on finding Rin - from saving her from whatever danger she had fallen into this time.

A clearing emerged around him and Sesshoumaru came to a sudden stop, unaware that Rin had been so close. The scene before him was one he wasn't entirely familiar with. There seemed to be a pillar of brilliant blue light shining vertically - almost as if it was coming directly from the sun. It seemed to be solid, and he couldn't see passed it.

Sesshoumaru frowned and subconsciously searched for Rin's scent. His instincts told him that she was in the clearing - but she couldn't be inside the light, could she? Sesshoumaru stepped forward, hand tightening on one of the swords at his hip. He narrowed his eyes at the column of light and searched the ground beneath it for any clues to its origin.

All he saw from where he stood was three bowls - one containing water, the other soil and another held a burning incense cone. He could not see beyond the three points of the circle facing him.

“Rin?” he called, his voice flat and emotionless. It sounded like a statement.
There was no reply.
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed further and he cautiously stepped closer to the shockingly blue light. He reached his good arm out and touched it, his fingers gently brushing through the light.

It felt like steam. It was warm too. Otherwise, it had no affect on him. It seemed harmless. Sesshoumaru reached his arm inside the light, to see whether there was anything inside. That was when he felt it. Skin beneath his own. An arm.
His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat, but he recovered quickly.

Rin…

He tugged and a motionless body fell through the light and into his arms. Sesshoumaru's heart thumped painfully as he looked down. Is she… dead?
…But the girl in his arms wasn't Rin. She smelt like Rin. Her presence was like Rin's. But she couldn't have been Rin.

Because she wasn't a little girl. She was a young woman.

Sesshoumaru wanted to push the human away, but he couldn't - something held him there. He looked down into the woman's face and… he recognised her. She was Rin. She had a beautiful heart-shaped face and dark lashes forming crescents on her cheeks. Her long hair was a dark shade of brown and ran down to her waist, a ponytail hanging from the right side of her scalp.

She was barely covered up. Besides the orange and yellow kimono draped over her, she was naked. Sesshoumaru glared. His brain was putting it all together for him, but he wouldn't believe it for one minute. This woman in his arms couldn't be Rin. Rin was just a child - how could she suddenly look around eighteen?

But denying this would mean he was denying his instincts. She smelt like Rin, her aura was Rin's, she looked like Rin and she was even slipping out of Rin's old kimono. Sesshoumaru nudged her. She didn't stir. Again he had the sickening feeling that she was dead.

The light in the circle was fading until it was no more. He glanced up - noticing they weren't the only ones in the clearing.
There was another man, blankly staring forward in disbelief from where he had fallen to the base of a tree. His mouth was open as if it pained him to breathe. His chest heaved up and down with panting.

Sesshoumaru gathered Rin up with his one arm before turning to stare at the stranger. His voice was cold when he spoke, as it always was. “You. What happened here?” he asked.
The man just shook his head from side to side, his lips wobbling.

Sesshoumaru clutched tighter onto Rin, who was hanging limp in his grip. He glared at the stranger. “Tell me what happened. I have no time for pathetic humans like yourself,”

The man looked up then and saw, for the first time, who was speaking to him. He blinked twice, before looking away hopelessly. Then he turned in the direction he had seen the girl run into the clearing.

“A small girl… about eight ran in through here and… and ran through the circle I was c-casting. Then there was the light and...” the man cringed and trailed off, shutting his eyes.
Sesshoumaru glanced down at Rin. He frowned. “Why were you casting this `circle'?” he asked without looking up.

The man gulped and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, dispelling the beads of sweat beginning to gather. He took a shaky breath. Sesshoumaru was about to prompt him more threateningly this time when he spoke. “My heart's desire…” he whispered, hoarsely.

Sesshoumaru's lips parted in disbelief and then his gaze locked with the stranger's. “And you wished to suddenly grow older?” he practically snapped, his tone deadly. The man leant back against the tree behind him and shut his eyes. “I just wanted more wealth to support my family. Whoever steps into the circle… it grants their wish.”

What? Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped down to stare at Rin in his arms. Why would Rin want to grow? Surely she couldn't have wanted it so much for it to be her heart's desire…?
Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, still carrying Rin. He began to walk away, his expression set in stone.

The stranger behind him began to speak again, calling after him. Sesshoumaru didn't want to hear a word. This man had ruined her - the girl so full of laughter and happiness that she had begun to share it with Sesshoumaru himself. The only one who could make him feel, and who could dispel the numbness for a time, so long as she was at his side. The only one who brought an inner smile to mind - the one who had almost made his walls crumble.

And now she was a woman. And he would never see her happy again.
He put Rin in a position so she was leaning against him, and he shot his hand out behind him - a trail of light following the path his fingers had taken. And then the light took on their own form and shot in the man's direction, piercing him in the heart.

The stranger spluttered for a moment in shock, and then fell still as the light disappeared. Sesshoumaru glared in the dead mans' direction, his fangs bared. But Rin began falling to the ground and he lost his concentration. He caught her just in time and began to head deep into the forest.

He didn't know what to do now, or where to go. He didn't know whether to find Jaken - he certainly didn't want his company, he just wanted someone to agree with him and realise that yes, this girl was Rin.

Sesshoumaru kept walking without looking back. His grip tightened on Rin and he pulled her close to him. He looked down into her now mature face, and his gaze wavered. No matter what he had hoped for the future, he couldn't let himself think of it now. Rin would probably still have a seven-year-old mind, no matter what form her body was.

Sesshoumaru's eyes darkened. He would find shelter for later tonight, and he would wait for Rin to come round. After all - she was the only one who could calm him now. The only one who would provide reason.

But for now, she needed to rest.

Rin's eyes fluttered open. For a moment everything seemed to be blurry, but then she focused. She was lying in an abandoned building - possibly a shrine. She didn't know how she had gotten there, she seemed to remember running through a clearing.

And as she looked through the doorway, she could see it was night and the stars were illuminating the sky above. Her eyes sparkled and she made her way outside, surprised the doorframe suddenly seemed so small. She seemed to fill it as she walked through, when all the doorframes she remembered previously stepping through were more than double her height.

In fact, the whole world seemed smaller. She remembered the trees being much larger… “Where…?”
There was a movement on her left and Rin's head jerked in its direction.
Sesshoumaru was sitting on the edge of the shrine porch - staring up at her with wide eyes.

Wait. Staring up? Normally, even when he was sat down, they were at the same eye-level. But he was staring up at her with wide eyes, trying but failing to keep his expression neutral.

Rin opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. They were trapped in an endless silence. Rin slowly looked down and saw she was wearing a new kimono - a white one that hugged her body perfectly, giving her no freedom to move. She stared down at it, puzzled.

“Sesshoumaru-sama…?” she said softly. “What happened?”
She looked back up, but Sesshoumaru was now staring up at the sky, apparently ignoring her or not wanting to answer her. Rin was used to his silence - to her it was elegant. Beautiful. But now she felt uncomfortable.

Then she remembered. Running into the clearing, feeling herself freeze up and seeing the strange blue light engulf her. And then… darkness. What had happened? Why did she feel so different?

There were other things about herself that were different too. Her hair felt longer - and as she clutched at her ponytail she noticed that it was longer too. The ground was much further away from her as she remembered it. Looking down, her legs and body were much longer - she'd grown. And there was something different about her chest too. It was no longer flat.

She quickly peeked down her kimono to see if there were any sheets or leaves bunched up there, but instead she saw two mounds of flesh. She blinked furiously and then stared back up at Sesshoumaru - who was now facing her once more. His breaths were coming faster and a blush was tinting his cheeks.

Rin couldn't ever recall Sesshoumaru blushing. Her mouth opened. “I-” she began, but Sesshoumaru cut her off. He made a gesture with his hand that read: stop, and he spoke for her. “Rin,”

“Hai?” Rin replied immediately, cupping her hands in her lap.

It seemed to pain Sesshoumaru to look at her. His eyes kept trying to look away. Rin had never known him like this, and she was pretty sure Jaken would agree with her there. He was acting completely out of character. Was he uncomfortable?

“What do you want most in the world?” he asked softly, looking back down at the boards of the porch.
Rin opened her mouth to speak, then shut it quickly. Sesshoumaru's blush had faded, but now one was creeping up her own face.

To be with you someday… her mind responded.

Sesshoumaru glanced up. “Rin?” he prompted.
Rin began stammering, knocked from her daydreams. “Uh… uh… t-to be older,” she blurted out, nodding fervently. In truth, this was only part of what she wanted most, but if she were older then maybe Sesshoumaru would like her more. Maybe… just maybe-

Sesshoumaru nodded in understanding and looked up at the sky. It was a while before he spoke.
Rin stood, tense, waiting for his reply. She fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling the cold night air surround her.

Sesshoumaru's eyes glinted in the night. His expression was grim.
“You've gotten your wish, Rin.” He said softly before slipping off the porch - vanishing into the forest.