InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Getting to know you ❯ Chapter Twenty-Three ( Chapter 24 )

A/N: It has been so long since I’ve visited this story that I had to read it myself to know what was going on. I’m not happy with how toxic Rin/Sesshomaru’s relationship is (or the inconsistencies between this an ‘Will you be mine?’), but I know where my train of thought was and the conclusion should be right around the corner. Once I finish this story I will be going back to all the other unfinished ones and seeing if I can get those stories finished as well.

Getting To Know You

Chapter Twenty Three (GTKY)

Koga wasn't the type to trust so carelessly. He would do almost anything to ensure the survival of his tribe and sparing a glance at the small creature lying next to where he sat, he wondered what he had gotten himself into. When they had arrived back to their camp with her and the cat demon in tow, he had plans of using her to gather favor with the king of the western lands. At first, the human girl had been a mere hostage of sorts to him. A means to better his tribe's way of life. A pawn.

The scent of the western land's king had been faint on the girl's skin and each day that passed had extinguished the smell and been replaced by his own pack's. Koga had expected to be contacted by someone from the castle, anyone, and after the red smoke had disappeared and the scent of death and decay disappeared, he was met by silence. He figured any demon with power kept a close eye on their toys and after several failed attempts to get the girl to fill in the gaps, he merely shrugged it off.

Maybe she had been a discarded toy? He wondered to himself and he tossed a dry log onto the burning fire pit in front of him. Had the Western Lands king grown tired of the human girl and that is why she'd been out by herself being hunted by who he thought was one of the generals of the kingdom and the wind witch? Did the king find it beneath himself to clean up his own messes?

Well, whatever the reason, Koga decided to keep the human girl. She was an interesting creature and the elders expressed their concerns regarding her but did not refuse her sanctuary among them. There was something else going on, all of them could feel it in the air and allowed her to stay, in hopes that she could be of use to them in the future.

Koga watched as her wounds healed, as the dead look in her eyes began to slowly slip away and a tentative flicker of life rose. She pulled her weight and did not complain, helped wherever was needed and the women and children took to her and she to them as if it were as easy as breathing. He still questioned her, and instead of cold silence, he would get a pained smile and maybe a glassy-eyed look, tears threatening to fall over such pale skin. He never pushed. He was known for being brash and careless, almost cocky and head-sure, but with this, he could be patient.

It was the first time he had felt the shifting in the winds, the piercing gaze of a predator that he knew his tribe was being watched. The scent in the air was unmistakable and after glancing around him, Koga saw the glowing amber eyes from within the forest surrounding his makeshift home. There was no threat in them, he noticed, and he made sure to keep an eye on the demon king in case that changed. He waited for Sesshomaru to appear in the clearing and was a little disappointed when he didn’t.

"Rin," Koga stoked the fire again, his clawed hand running over his exposed thigh and lightly scratching the flesh. "How long do you plan on staying?"

"I-I don't know," her voice was soft and the small woman wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, pulling them impossibly closer to her chest. She still looked like a broken toy, but one that was slowly mending, and a protective urge rose in his bones for her.

It wasn't a romantic attraction, but a brotherly feeling, or even a paternal one. She looked haunted as if there had never been someone to truly protect her from the horrors of life and he wanted to be the one to offer it. The demon king lurking in the forest was silent as the grave and Koga wanted to laugh, but quieted down the urge. There was a time and place for showmanship and Rin was human and would think he was laughing at her pain.

The least he could do was show her that there were people and demons alike that wouldn't kick her when she was down. He would rather raise her up and allow her to fix herself and maybe gain a friend and ally from it. His tribe needed all the allies they could get and maybe he could give them something they had not had in decades, a home.

“Well rest up,” He told her softly instead. “Take all the time you need, we are here for you.”

Koga waited until Sesshomaru's amber eyes disappeared and the scent of him had disappeared before allowing himself to relax the tense muscles of his shoulders. It would still be a while before he would be able to sleep, but for now, he would keep an eye on the healing human across from him.

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He had been watching her for what seemed like forever, just waiting for her to feel his presence and grace him with the smile that he was beginning to forget. It had been months since he had returned to the Western Lands to find his home completely void of life. The staff still carried on the day-to-day operations, it ran like a well-oiled machine but the soul of it had gone. Sesshomaru went through the motions of what was expected of him, the meetings with his generals and the other elders and though he knew this was what he thought he had wanted, it felt like a piece of him had died.

Kenichi reported what had happened and though the rational side of his mind understood, a small piece that had been until recently been tucked away so deeply he almost did not know existed, began to ache. It wasn't like Rin, she would never abandon him that way. Of everything that seemed to change and fluctuate around him, she was the only thing that remained constant. She had been what had been keeping him together, and after spending a fortnight secluded with his own traitorous thoughts he realized that maybe he should have been doing a better job at keeping her together.

How many times over the last few years had he abandoned her in her time of need, had he thrown her off to the side as if she were a broken toy? How many times had he proved that he did not need her, that she needed to kiss the ground he walked on? How many times had he hurt her, destroyed her cracking heart, and forced her to pretend that everything was okay? Sesshomaru's clawed hand gripped the bark of the tree he stood beside and fought down a growl erupted from his chest. Of all the monsters out in the worlds and the many that had found themselves on the steps of his kingdom, Sesshomaru realized that he had been the worst.

He didn't need to kill to destroy, did not need to see the blood seeping into the marble flooring to know that his actions were the cause of so much pain and now he was feeling the aftermath of his choices. Was he worthy of forgiveness? He did not believe so and it was like his heart was being held in a vice, threatening to consume him. There were so many emotions running through his head, so many that he had refused to acknowledge and now there was nothing to occupy him from thinking of them. Sesshomaru had nowhere to hide from himself.

Sesshomaru noticed the way her long ebony hair danced in the slight breeze, the way her hands waved around her as she spoke to the woman next to her and it pained him that he had not been able to coax those carefree emotions from her in so long.

“Sesshomaru,” The gruff voice was soft and he regretfully tore his gaze away from Rin and onto the wolf demon off to his side. “How long are you planning to hide in the shadows?”

He wasn't hiding in the shadows, but he had been careful enough to keep himself out of her sight. Sesshomaru did not want to see her eyes lose the spark they currently held, he did not want to see the disappointment and regret, not from her. He was afraid of what awaited him if he revealed himself to her and he did not like it.

“I am not hiding,” Koga came closer, mindful to keep anyone from becoming too curious and Sesshomaru was thankful that the wolf demon was respectful of his unspoken desire to leave his presence unknown. “No good will come from advertising myself.”

Koga’s scoff coiled the anger building in the pit of Sesshomaru’s stomach. The two of them could have differing opinions, that was okay as long as Sesshomaru’s requests were honored. He was allowing the rogue demon tribe to reside in his kingdom, allowing them to flourish and grown all the while taking care of the human woman that now resided in the heart of the tribe. Sesshomaru could have easily asserted his control and demanded her return, but the two demons knew there would have been a battle and honestly, Sesshomaru was tired of fighting. He was stretched too thin and he needed time to get himself in order, get his priorities in order and both Koga and Sesshomaru knew that he could not keep Rin safe.

“She's happy," Koga's words stabbed him, made his heartache in ways he never thought possible and poison leaked from the claws buried deep within the tree next to him, melting the wood around the digits into a sickening sludge that slid down his palms and fell to the grass below. These were words he did not want to hear. "but a content happy, but not one that will keep her here for long."

“Will you not tell me what happened that night?” Sesshomaru asked each time he came to watch her and Koga would smile ruefully and shake his head.

"It's not my story to tell," the wolf demon said simply, his own clawed hands flexing at his sides. It was the one thing that Sesshomaru asked for that he couldn't find himself answering. Something in him said the demon king before him wasn't ready for the truth yet, and until Rin was ready, he would decline.

Sesshomaru's sigh was heavy, his amber eyes focusing back on Rin as her laughter rang in his ears. He was weary, empty and it was almost too painful to keep coming back to get the same results. Should he simply let her go? He wouldn't be able to forget her, never in a million years, but what would it cost him to keep her as a prisoner at his side? Turning from her smile, Sesshomaru walked away from the wolf demon tribe, his feet carrying him further away from where he longed to be most and back to the home he had always known. He needed to focus his attention on the things he could control and leave his heart with her until he was ready to retrieve them.

If he could.