InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Exhilarating ❯ Rin's Decision ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

[intro] Ah, hello again. n.n;; For the… eh, first time this week, seeing as how I can't update fifty times like I did last week…. Well, I was just trying to hurry this little arc along, to get to some -real- action ((whatever that may be XD)). Yep, this one started school this week! Hah, I found out that I'm pretty good at pantomiming ((thank Theater Arts I for that… a.k.a. Drama class (rolls eyes).)). Hm. I also finally bought a fifty sheet pack of sketch paper. Yay! Now I won't have to use baka computer paper like I -have- been for the past… well, really long time. XD I can finally draw nice, pencil pictures, and I can SHADE! Well, I can -learn- how to, anyway. Hehehe… just messin'. Enjoy the fanfic. n.n.[/intro]

Rug: No one owns anything in this fanfic… and you're a bloody moron if you thought so!! (jabs a finger at the readers) You got that?! A BLOODY moron!! (laughs maniacally)

Siri: Perhaps Tenshi's insanity is rubbing off on him…. (backs away slowly)

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Exhilarating Chapter 11 - Rin's Decision

By: Tenshi and Marchan

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'Inuyasha…Sesshoumaru-sama… Who can I choose when my heart wants both at the same time…?!'

She watched as Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha exchanged angry glares from where they'd halted movement. Jaken peeked out from behind her, yellow eyes staring at the impending fight before him. Rin, however, could barely watch the sight of the brothers attacking one another. Her mind was lost in indecisiveness, as her eyes' vision wavered on its spot.

The two looked like mere shadows in her view, as her heart fought itself. One darkness slashed at another, while the other struck at the first. The shadows leapt and bound at each other, hurdling off of invisible walls, unseen by Rin's dimmed eyes. Soon, one of the dark creatures lingered on its spot, apparently injured, as blacker spots fell from its being.

Rin became aware of this, blinking to clear her eyes. For a moment, it worked, and for a moment, the wounded shadow flashed red and silver before returning to its original dark form.

'Is it… from the blood? Or…?'

"Inuyasha…!!" she screamed, realization setting in quickly. Rin quickly stood, before hesitant to move further than that. Her sight turned to Sesshoumaru, who's blade was raised, as was he. He appeared to be flying towards Inuyasha in slow motion, as Rin watched in horror. Just as the Tokijin looked ready to slash in mid-air, to catch Inuyasha in its blast, she could feel her legs moving.

She… was running? Indeed, Rin seemed to fly, as well, as she reached for Inuyasha's being. Hand outstretched, she caught the hanyou before the sword was able to finish its swipe in the air. Or, before it was stopped.

The taiyoukai landed, just as the Tokijin stopped mere millimeters from the back of Rin's head. She was embracing the bleeding half-demon, kneeling before him in a protective stance. Sesshoumaru gazed at the two, as the wind whished through her raven locks. He could hear it. The soft sounds of her light sobs, her body shaking with them and the fear of his touch.

Him, Sesshoumaru. He who had handled her so tenderly when she was young, when he could have easily crushed her head with one clawed hand. She was afraid of the sword he carried. And afraid of the death he dealt so cleanly with it. Many humans feared him, the great Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands. But, the only one who hadn't all the time she was with him was now trembling before his outstretched blade. That, and holding a hanyou in her arms. His hanyou half-brother.

The demon closed his eyes, releasing the intense stare he'd had on the pair. Slowly, Sesshoumaru replaced his sword into his belt, breathing normally as he if he'd never even gotten into a fight. The stoic look upon his face was still there, even when he reopened his golden eyes and reached a clawed hand to Rin's shoulder.

She shuddered at the touch, slowly peering up at him, cautiously. Their gaze met, and Rin could feel all the years of closeness they'd shared slipping away. It was the same feeling one got when one picked loose sand up with two hands, only to have it fall back away, effortlessly. Was this where they would end? Would all that time drift away in the strong winds that blew through the both of them at the moment?

"Rin…" Inuyasha quietly spoke, repressing his pain. She glanced back at him, in her arms, before slowly releasing him and standing. Sesshoumaru stepped back for her space.

"I… I don't know what to do," Rin said, directing her words towards both demons. "I want to be with Inuyasha -" At this, Sesshoumaru winced, mentally. "-but, I need to stay with Sesshoumaru-sama… because I can't imagine my life without him, as well." Inuyasha lowered his gaze, one hand still hovering over the slash through his middle. Blood dripped slowly through the cut, entwining around his claws and falling silently to the grass and flowers below.

The pain of it matched Rin's hurting words, exactly.

She continued. "I can't keep Inuyasha out of my mind, though. If I can't be with him, I think my heart will break in half…" Her hands reached for her pale face, tears reforming in her watery eyes. "When he told me he was going to be with Kagome-san, my chest ached for another reality. One in which I was the one to be by his side. And when I got that wish, my heart just hurt more, because then I thought of Sesshoumaru-sama being alone." The tears slipped down her cheeks, stopping when they came in contact with her hands, before sliding down the sides of her palms, as well.

"And so… I've decided."

Sesshoumaru didn't realize it, but he'd stopped breathing when she spoke, as he await her answer. He finally found the air again, just as she turned to face the both of them, her arms hung heavily at her sides. She tried to stand firm, as if trying not to change her mind, but still she shook slightly from suppressed sobs. Finally, Rin opened her mouth, slightly, but just enough to say her next words.

"I want to stay… with Sesshoumaru-sama."

"…Rin…" Inuyasha breathed, furrowing his brows. He didn't know whether to feel happy that now he could be with Kagome, or betrayed that Rin had chosen his brother over him.

The girl wiped away her tears with her arm, smiling, despite the woeful look that dwelled in her dark eyes. She wanted to look happy with her decision, yet the feeling wouldn't come. Would she feel this way forever?

"I don't want anyone to feel the ache I did in my heart. If I go with Inuyasha, there will be at least one person who would have to deal with anguish. But… this way, you can return to Kagome." Rin nodded towards the well, trying to hide her sad gaze with her heavy bangs. "And I can keep Sesshoumaru-sama company. No one will be sad, right…?"

'Right…'

"Go back now, Inuyasha," Rin urged him, walking back towards him and Sesshoumaru. "I'll bet Kagome-san is still… waiting for you…." She hesitated in her words, but spoke them anyway. She finally looked up at him, a silently agonizing feeling hanging amid her stare. It pained Inuyasha even more than her decision. "Please…"

'Forgive me, Inuyasha…'

Turning her gaze away from his amber eyes, she reached towards Sesshoumaru's clawed hand. Almost shyly, she grasped his hand, lacing her fingers around his, and lightly pulled towards the direction of Jaken. "You wanted to leave, Sesshoumaru-sama…?" she asked, eyes again hidden by her bangs.

"Hn," was all the taiyoukai replied with, returning his stare from her face to the path before him. He walked forward, not taking a second thought to the bleeding hanyou that was one side of him, and the heartbroken girl who was on the other side.

'Please… Inuyasha…' She glanced back at the half-demon, whose gaze was still focused on ground below him. 'Forgive me. I will never turn my heart over to anyone else but you… even if you return by Kagome. Even if you hate me and I disgust you to the point of loathing, I will still hold you highly in my heart… because I can't help this.' Slowly, she returned her sight to the front, unable to feel anymore tears falling from her numb eyes.

-

Inuyasha couldn't stand any longer. He dropped onto his knees, hands clutching at his long wound. Usually, an injury such as this wouldn't fell him, but it was a combination of a slight touch from the powerful Tokijin, and the stabbing of Rin's words.

She looked so alone when they locked eyes, for that brief moment. After all, her wish to be by Inuyasha's side had been granted, then thrust against the terrible blade of Sesshoumaru's sword. Would her heart ever be given serenity after this?

'Don't… don't walk away…' his mind pleaded, as his amber eyes stared after her. He could feel an intense warmth on his hands, dripping down the front of him, but the hanyou thought nothing of it. 'Rin…!'

He gazed down into his hands, covered in his own crimson blood. Inuyasha became more than aware of the puddle that'd formed under him from the wound. 'Am I going… to die…? Will this be the thing that kills me…?!' He clenched his hands, closing his eyes. 'Dammit all…' With that, the half-demon fell forward, lying still with the contact of the soft grass.

Sleepy eyes reopened, slightly, and Inuyasha saw the emerald stems of the blades of grass and the flowers. Some of the budding plants were broken and crushed on the ground, apparently from the fight. 'Even the flowers look like they're weeping…'

He groaned, before closing his eyes once more. "Don't cry for me…"

'I don't deserve your tears… Rin.'

-

Jaken hurried after the pair, glaring back at Inuyasha's fallen form once before walking by his master. "Lord Sesshoumaru…! Kudos to this battle!" he squawked, raising his staff off the ground a few inches with those words.

"I do not call that fight a true battle…" Sesshoumaru replied, as the group of them disappeared into the forest's greenery. He was more aware of Rin's hand around his own, rather than Jaken's words of praise. She was still holding onto him, lightly yet, but nonetheless, there. Golden eyes glimpsed at her form, as she walked alongside of him.

She'd returned to him. But, was it permanent? Or would she decide to be fickle once more and run back to the hanyou? He mentally snorted that thought. 'It would be foolish of her.'

Still, the warmth of her hand in his was slightly overwhelming. She'd been in contact him many times before, in hugs and grasps, but only now was he truly conscious of how breathtaking her touch really was.

Light, and fragile, like a downy feather. Even the slightest pressure would raze it, but its wonder craves physical contact to truly be enjoyed. Just like the girl, Rin. Her disposition asked for nothing more than the attention of one other person. Yet, during all those years, she received nary that gift from her master. Jaken was probably the only one other than her to actually acknowledge her existence and admit it.

'Did that truly make her lonely inside? Enough to make her fall so deeply for my half-brother, despite knowing him for only a short amount of time…?' the dog demon wondered, watching her through the corner of his eye. 'Was I truly so ignorant to her hidden cries for my awareness of her being?'

Instinctively, he gripped her hand better, to keep the hold from releasing, much to Rin's surprise. She stared at his hand locked with hers, before gazing back up at her lord's unmarred face.

"Sesshoumaru-sama…?"

"Hn?" He glanced down at her, unsure of what she was asking.

"Oh…" Her expression darkened slightly, as Rin realized he hadn't even noticed that he'd done what he did. 'False alarm…'

"Rin," he stated, bringing her eyes back up to him. He stopped, as Jaken kept going before realizing it and gasping at the sudden halt, hurrying back to his master's side. "This Sesshoumaru is… pleased… that you chose to stay with me. I just thought you'd like to know this."

The girl inwardly smiled, happy for even the smallest amount of kindness from her lord, especially after her terrible decision. Rin nodded, acknowledging his words, as they started walking once more.

"H-hai, Sesshoumaru-sama."

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[author's notes] Hai, she chose her lord and master, Sesshoumaru. n.n;;;;; Don't attack me for it, if you were just getting used to the idea of Inuyasha and Rin. Erg, no, of COURSE this won't be the last chapter ((are you insane?!)). Heh, I need to write more! More, I say!! (shakes fist) I received most of my urge to write in this chapter from the new Ashlee Simpson CD. Never heard of her? ((insanity, I says!!!)) Don't worry, neither did I until a few months ago. n.n; She's Jessica Simpson's sister. Plus, one of the characters from 7th Heaven. Hn. Geez, if you live in the US and STILL don't know who the heck I'm talking about, I feel pretty bad. XD Oh well.

But yeah, say what you want about her, her songs helped me write this chapter. xDDD Especially the last one on her CD, Undiscovered. (nods) Yep, quite a couple of good songs. I like Autobiography ((the song from which the CD gains its name)) and LaLa best. Really good tunes and whatnot. Anywho, enough of my song ramblings….

I thank you ALL for your reviews!! I'm very happy you liked the last chapter. I think I got a couple of new readers from it, too…. Or, maybe just readers who decided to finally review. Heh. Oh, and if any of you are looking for a good read that'll take a couple of worth spent hours, I suggest searching for one called Silent Echoes on this site. It's a Sesshoumaru and Rin fic, very beautifully written, and quite detailed. I've fallen in love with it, personally. n.n;; You may, also, if you check it out. It makes a HECK of more sense than my story does, I can tell you that! xDDD Or, maybe that's because I don't even understand half of what I'm writing? Hm.

REVIEW… um, or perish? XD Yeah, right. You all know I just appreciate the comments. Thanky swanky in advance! n.n[/a.n]