InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Future Beginnings ❯ Ch 18: Mr. Rinks ( Chapter 18 )

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

 

 

Ch 18: Mr. Rinks

 

 

Kagome and Inuyasha started apartment hunting the day they came back. Several of Kagome's classmates had made the move from dorm to apartment, so she knew which general area to search. Most of the apartments in Kagome's price range were not in very good shape. Inuyasha had no clear idea of prices, so he left it up to Kagome's discretion, much to her relief. She really didn't want to use more of Sesshomaru's money than absolutely necessary, and she was sure that Inuyasha would feel the same way if he knew it would cost a lot more to get something nice. As long as they were together, what did it matter, right?

 

The apartment complex of choice was a series of old renovated buildings right on the edge of the city. It was close enough to their school yet still within walking distance of the city hang-outs that the students frequented. Unfortunately, in November there were absolutely no vacancies, so they were forced to look elsewhere.

 

Elsewhere meant deeper inside the city. Granted, it was a small city compared to New York, but it had some of the same drawbacks. The apartments they viewed were generally run-down. Many had narrow stairways and dim lighting, if they had any lighting at all. She could hear people yelling behind closed doors in some of the adjacent apartments. One place they looked at didn't even have a stove, and another had a hole in one of the walls. The apartment manager assured her that those problems would be fixed and the place would be thoroughly painted before they moved in. She was very discouraged at the end of the day when they hadn't found even one apartment she considered acceptable.

 

“Let's go back to school before dinner is over,” she said to Inuyasha. He had been surprisingly quiet during their search, letting her do all of the talking. As she viewed the insides of different apartments, his eyes scanned the neighborhoods, sizing them up and evaluating their potential for danger. None of them were particularly bad, but he didn't want Kagome to be in any of them without him. He was glad when they quit for the day.

 

On the way to the cafeteria they passed by the main theater building where Jen and Noriko had most of their rehearsals. A box truck was parked by the side entrance and several students were helping the driver load props into the back. Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's elbow and motioned for her to stop. He nodded his head towards the driver. “Do you feel it?” he asked.

 

Kagome peered through the gloom. “Yes,” she whispered back. “Definitely something. What do you think it is?”

 

Just then the driver stilled and turned around slowly to face them. He stared at them for a few moments before he continued to load the last of the stage items onto his truck. Inuyasha pulled Kagome after him and started walking purposefully towards the truck, intending to confront the driver. He had felt a strong youkai aura emanating from that man, and as he got closer, he noted that the man had shoulder length white hair but his face was not old, a sign in itself that he might not be as human as he appeared to be.

 

Before he reached the truck, however, the man hopped inside and drove off. He smiled, rather condescendingly, thought Kagome, as he passed them. Inuyasha would have chased him, but Kagome grabbed his arm. “Not in front of them,” she whispered, referring to the students who had helped the driver load his truck. She glanced around until she spotted someone she knew. “Jen!” She pushed her way up the steps to where Jen was stacking boxes right inside the entrance. “Jen, who was that man driving the truck?”

 

“Him? Oh, that's Mr. Rinks,” answered Jen. She dusted her hands off on her jeans and went to stand outside next to Kagome and Inuyasha. “He's the caretaker for a summer camp that doubles as a community theatre during the off-season. He came by to borrow some stuff for a show they're doing up there. I've known him forever. I used to go to that camp when I was a kid.” Jen got her things and started walking with them to the cafeteria. “Why?” she asked.

 

Inuyasha replied. “He is youkai.” He glanced at Jen's puzzled expression and tried to find the English words so that she would understand. “Youkai,” he repeated, “—er, elf?” That wasn't exactly right but Jen's face immediately lit up.

 

“No way! Mr. Rinks?” She thought about it for a moment. “How do you know?” she demanded.

 

“He has an aura around him, almost like Inuyasha's,” answered Kagome. “We're not sure what he is exactly, but we both felt it.”

 

“No wonder he looks the same as when I was little,” remarked Jen. “I just thought I was remembering wrong. And he does have hair like yours—oh, this is fantastic! Here I get all excited to meet your brother and it turns out I knew another elf all along!”

 

Inuyasha wasn't sure Sesshomaru would welcome the comparison, but at least Jen seemed to accept that her Mr. Rinks might be an otherworldly creature too. “You know where he lives?” he asked.

 

“I know where the camp is. That's where he was going with all the props. I don't know if he actually lives there—oof!” Jen was startled when Inuyasha suddenly plucked her off her feet and tossed her onto his back.

 

“Kagome, you wait here. Jen, show me how to get to this camp.” Inuyasha prepared to jump in whichever direction Jen pointed out.

 

“Inuyasha, SIT!” said Kagome, after making sure no one was around to witness it. The only people she saw were far enough away that they would probably think he tripped, if they noticed anything at all. She helped Jen climb off Inuyasha's prostrate form.

 

Slowly Inuyasha sat up and looked at Kagome reproachfully. “What was that for?” he asked. He didn't shout it, and that alone made Kagome feel terrible. She had never intended to use the `sit' command again, but she didn't know how else to stop him.

 

“You can't just run off,” she told him in Japanese so there would be no mistake. “Jen first of all doesn't know how to get there without a car and you can't very well run down the road with her on your back.”

 

“Yes I can.”

 

“You can, but you shouldn't because people will see you, and in this age people don't run as fast as cars!”

 

Jen watched the two of them argue in Japanese. “Ok, hold on,” she said, putting herself in between them with both arms outstretched. “What was that all about?”

 

“He wants to go to the camp,” said Kagome, “but I told him it was too far to walk.” She glared at Inuyasha as she said it. “And he doesn't need to carry you there. We can go by car.”

 

Jen started to laugh. Inuyasha really thought he could carry her all the way to the summer camp? “It's way too far to walk,” she agreed. “Did you want to try to go up there tonight?”

 

“Right now!” insisted Inuyasha.

 

“Let's find Peter. He has a car. I'm sure he will take us there.”

 

Peter was at the cafeteria with Noriko. For once Inuyasha didn't want to take the time out to eat, but since Noriko and Peter were already eating, Kagome convinced him to eat something too. Peter was more than willing to take them to the camp. Inuyasha really would rather have gone alone, or just with Kagome, to confront this possible youkai, but he didn't know how to get there and so he had no choice but to involve his human friends.

 

Before they left, they stopped by Kagome and Jen's dorm so that Inuyasha could get his sword. He changed into his normal clothes, too, just in case he might need the extra protection the fire rat robes could give him. He sat up front with Peter as Jen gave them the directions to the camp. It was about forty minutes away by car. During the trip, the group discussed the implications of Mr. Rinks being an elf.

 

“Not an elf,” corrected Inuyasha. “Youkai. Or whatever you call it here.”

 

That was the problem. They didn't have legends about youkai here. They didn't have elves either, but at least they had heard of them thanks to books and movies. Both Peter and Jen were altogether too convinced that the creatures they now knew actually existed were benign beings who basically thought and acted like humans. At least Noriko had the sense to be worried. Even Kagome, who knew intimately what youkai were capable of, was on her guard. It was a mistake to attribute human emotions to creatures who were not human. Inuyasha needed to meet this Mr. Rinks face to face and find out why he was pretending to be human.

 

The road up to the camp was steep and completely dark. Peter's headlights bounced over the ruts as he inched the SUV up the hill to the camp proper, where it evened out into a parking area. From here, they would have to walk.

 

“The main building is over there,” Jen pointed through the trees. A faint light shone in the distance. “But I don't know if Mr. Rinks lives there or in one of the cabins.”

 

“Oh, he's there, all right. I can smell him now,” replied Inuyasha. “Stay here. I want to talk to him alone.”

 

“I'm coming too, Inuyasha,” said Kagome. “I can help you translate if you get stuck.”

 

Inuyasha thought of Sesshomaru's words, that the youkai of this place would be able to understand him no matter which language he spoke. But if the man was pretending to be human he probably would pretend not to understand anything but English anyway. “Fine,” he muttered. “Let's go.”

 

But the others wanted to come too. “I `m the one who knows him,” argued Jen. “I can introduce you.”

 

“I think he already knows we're here,” replied Kagome drily. Mr. Rinks was standing in the shadows at the edge of the path.

 

As the entire group slowly approached Mr. Rinks, Kagome nudged Inuyasha and whispered, “There's more of them, can you feel it?” They were surrounded by youkai hidden just out of sight among the trees.

 

Inuyasha nodded grimly, his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt just in case there was trouble.

 

Mr. Rinks gave him a small, knowing smile as he noted the sword and more importantly Inuyasha's ears which he hadn't bothered to hide. “So the new Lord has come to introduce himself, I see.” His eyes roved over the others, “and brought his humans with him.”

 

Jen's eyes widened at his remark. Until that moment she hadn't really believed Inuyasha when he said Mr. Rinks was an - a youkai.

 

Kagome opened her mouth to translate when Inuyasha cut her off. “Don't bother. I got it.” He raised his voice and glanced meaningfully around the darkened clearing. “You all agree I am the Lord of this place. Is that right?” he asked in English.

 

Mr. Rinks smiled faintly and inclined his head. All around the wind sighed, and the sense of menace Kagome had been feeling seemed to lessen.

 

Inuyasha felt it, too. “Good,” he said. Out of perversity and partly to see if it would work, he said in Japanese, “You others are dismissed for now. Go. I want to talk to this one,” he gestured towards Mr. Rinks. To his surprise and satisfaction, Sesshomaru had been right. The language didn't matter. The other youkai slowly dissipated until the only being he could still sense was Mr. Rinks.

 

They followed Mr. Rinks into the main cabin where he set out cups and served them tea and cookies as if they were ordinary visitors.

 

“So now you know,” said Mr. Rinks. “I'll tell you right now I don't like it that your humans know about me.” He stared at Kagome and the others as he spoke.

 

“Get over it. These humans are my friends. What's your problem, anyway? You're playing the human yourself. Why pretend to be human if you feel that way about them? Why don't you just stay in your woods and out of the human world?” Inuyasha asked. Noriko looked at Inuyasha with new respect as Kagome gladly translated the Japanese words into English.

 

“I admit, I choose to `play the human,' as you put it.” Mr. Rinks spoke and Kagome, with a little help from Noriko when she got stuck, translated for Inuyasha. “I enjoy going out in the world. It's interesting. But that's as far as it goes. I value my privacy. Humans do not need to know about us.” He included Inuyasha in his `us.' “But I suppose it's too late for that. Will you guarantee your humans?” he asked Inuyasha in an echo of Sesshomaru's words.

 

“You need to be a little more trusting,” advised Inuyasha. When Mr. Rinks did not reply, Inuyasha added, “Yeah, I guarantee them.”

 

Jen spoke up. “Mr. Rinks, I've known you since I was a kid, but until today I never guessed you were anything but the camp caretaker. I wouldn't say anything. In fact, I think it's wonderful knowing that humans aren't the only creatures sharing this world.”

 

Mr. Rinks walked over to a great stone fireplace that dominated the far wall of the cabin. He stood with his back to them, staring at the flames, as he replied, “That knowledge isn't necessarily a good thing. Knowing about our kind draws our attention to you. Not all of us are like me, or Inuyasha. It would be better if you never knew about us.” He turned around to face the group. “Inuyasha should have told you that.”

 

Inuyasha snorted. “They're safe. They've got me to protect them.”

 

“And me,” said Kagome softly.

 

Mr. Rinks looked more closely at Kagome. “You're human,” he said.

 

“She's a miko. She has holy powers,” said Noriko.

 

Inuyasha drew Kagome closer to his side. “My Kagome can purify any youkai who gets too close. Even me.” He smiled down at her.

 

“Is that right?” Mr. Rinks eyes bored into Kagome's as if he were trying to see inside her soul. “In the old days people like you were our enemies because you had that power.”

 

“In the old days we used that power,” replied Kagome enigmatically.

 

“Kagome's not like that,” added Inuyasha.

 

Mr. Rinks shook his head. “I don't understand, but what's done is done. You certainly are different, even for our kind. Maybe you can do something that we haven't been able to do for ourselves. We are slipping away, year by year.”

 

Inuyasha knew he was different. He had always thought it was because he was hanyou, half human and only half youkai, until Sesshomaru told him that that was never his weakness but his strength. He wanted to believe it. “Why didn't you?” he asked. “Do something to stop it? You're strong. Why did you let this stranger,” he indicated himself, “take over your lands?”

 

Mr. Rinks sighed. “Simply? I didn't want to. You say I am strong, but you don't see that it takes all my energy to keep this form. You ask why I walk among humans? It's to remind me of what I choose to be. I've lived in this small wood for centuries, and I wasn't always alone. I'm not talking about the lesser creatures. Some of those remain here, although many cannot remember how to take on their animal aspect. Once there were others like me, and we walked the land and watched the humans as they settled this area. Back then it was easier to utilize the power from the land around us. But as the open spaces disappeared, so did we, and so did our power.” He sighed again. “When I saw you and realized that not only were you like me but you also kept an animal aspect, indeed you wore it on your very face, I started to believe the rumors on the wind that there was a new Lord of our lands. When I finally felt your power tonight, so strong, not weakened like mine, I knew that it was true.”

 

Kagome was so glad to finally hear someone else realize what she had known all along about Inuyasha, and to hear those words from another youkai—or whateve they called it here—made it even better. She glanced over at Inuyasha to see his reaction.

 

Inuyasha was not pleased. In fact, he was annoyed. “Wake up!” he snapped. “You have to want to survive! Nobody is going to `save' you and make things better for you. If you want more open spaces, then do something about it! Don't just play at being a human. Use your human form to make changes like a human. It's easier for you than for me. As you said, I wear my youkai aspect on my face. You say I'm strong. Yeah, I am strong, but I had to make myself that way. I am hanyou—half-human—I can't `choose' my form. I'm stuck with this one, and I have to live with it the way it is. So get over feeling sorry for yourself. If you want more power, take more power.” Inuyasha gestured towards the woods all around them. “It's still out there.”

 

Mr. Rinks bowed his head. “Forgive me. I doubted your abilities when I saw you drive up with your human friends.” There was no bitterness in his words now. “I see that I was wrong about you.”

 

“Yeah, you were wrong.” Inuyasha stood up, gathering his friends with him. “Let's go.” He turned to face Mr. Rinks once more. “I will come back to see you again.”

 

“Inuyasha.” Mr. Rinks called out to him as he opened the cabin door. “Be on your guard. Some of the others are no more than savage, vengeful spirits these days. Now that you've announced your presence, you and your friends may be targets for their anger.”

 

Inuyasha grinned at that. Finally something exciting to do. “I hope so,” he said.