InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hurtful Words: Past & Present ❯ The Present: Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is Copyright of Takahashi Rumiko

Hurtful Words: The Present
Chapter 17

Rin straightened her kimono as she climbed onto the bridge. She felt nervous and anxious as she walked to where Kagome was waiting. Something deep inside her heart encouraged her to follow after Sesshoumaru, to simply ask to go with him. She wished he would ask her to go with him.

But such foolishness would never happen. Human and youkai live differently he had said to her just days before she had disappeared. But that was not entirely true. Humans and Sesshoumaru lived differently. Though he may encounter them briefly, Sesshoumaru was not the type to continue prolonged interaction with them. He would avoid them at all cost.

Though she did not understand why he had allowed her to travel with him for so many years, she did understand that her time with him was over. When she had left, she had accepted that her desire to stay with him was nothing more than childish dreams. But now that she had seen him again, those dreams seemed to come back to life. She desperately wanted to be with him forever.

But Sesshoumaru wanted something else. Despite her feelings, Rin could not help but put his desires first. He wanted to go back to being alone, back to his human-less life. It was who he was. She did not have it in her to ask him to change, especially when she liked him the way he was.

So this was it. Her final goodbye to Sesshoumaru.

Kagome reached out for Rin's hands when she finally reached her. "I want you to promise me, Rin-chan, that if you need anything, anything," Kagome added again, remembering the blood the young woman had coughed up. "You will not hesitate to come to my village. Inuyasha and I will be there whenever you need us."

Rin forced a smile on her face and nodded eagerly. "I promise, Kagome-chan, I will. Thank you for everything and I want to apologize again-"

"Not necessary." Kagome smiled and looked over Rin's shoulder as Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru approached.

"Let's go, Kagome." Inuyasha hefted Kagome's over-sized bag on one shoulder before bending to allow the woman to climb on his back. "So Rin, what are you going to do after this? Are you going to stay here? Or better yet, why don't you go settle down with Ichigo?" He added that simply to get a rise out of Sesshoumaru.

Rin blushed as she tended to do ever since the young man had declared his feelings for her. "Humans and I live differently," she said quietly, not expecting anyone to understand. "I will stay here until I grow tired of the little cavern."

"Keh, whatever you say," he stood to his feet. "See you around Rin, Sesshoumaru." He shot his brother a teasing smile before disappearing into the forest.

Sesshoumaru watched his brother disappear and ignored the sting of jealousy he felt when Rin blushed. He turned his attention back to her, met her intense gaze, and struggled to find something to say. She looked so serious, so wise, and so beautiful. Could he really just leave?

You can, and you will. Do not let her sway you from your decision, a small voice told him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said quietly, glad to break the silence. "I want to apologize...for everything. For leaving so abruptly, for stealing Tenseiga, for making you come all the way out here to get it. My behavior was completely unacceptable."

Sesshoumaru eyes softened upon hearing her simple apology. "Your actions were the result of this Sesshoumaru's words and behavior. I cannot, therefore, blame you entirely."

Rin smiled brightly up at him. "Arigatou. For everything, Sesshoumaru-sama."

He nodded and turned away, feeling that there was nothing more to say. "Take care of yourself Rin."

"Hai. Sayonara, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Rin watched as he transformed into a ball of white light. It floated up into the air and zipped across the sky. She stood there until it faded away into nothingness. Then she turned and slowly made her way back to her cavern.

She was not sure if it was loneliness or something she ate, but in the next few weeks, her health took a sharp turn for the worse.

The Lord of the Western Lands was returning.

Immediately upon his arrival he spent the remainder of the summer eradicating any and all foolish youkai who had settled within his boundaries without his permission. He showed no mercy. Death came quickly to all who dared oppose him. The surge of power he felt was uplifting to his spirit. He was only slightly disappointed that he disposed of them so quickly.

"Sugoi, Sesshoumaru-sama!! He imagined the childish voice was richer, more feminine and mature. "Sugoi, Sesshoumaru-sama. You never cease to amaze me."

He reached his estate, glad to end any activity that reminded him of Rin. The estate was relatively small compared to the homes of other lords. His father never received any pleasure from having an over-sized home. And so he had simply settled for a pair of two story traditional buildings, both surrounded by and connected with a covered veranda.

Behind the estate stood a towering mountain. With secure protection from behind, the remainder of the estate was guarded by thick wooden gates. It was indeed a beautiful sight, complete with extensive gardens surrounding the entire estate. There were hundreds of large rocks, thousands of trees, and millions of flowers.

Rin would have experienced tremendous joy had she ever seen this place.

Sesshoumaru stomped across the veranda, noting any repairs that needed to be made, and passed between the buildings on his way to the servant and guard quarters. They were located deep within the mountain, living in hollowed rooms throughout the cave. Immediately upon seeing their master they quickly went to work putting the estate back in its original condition.

Pleased, he quickly set out to locate Jaken and Ah Un. The toad youkai was no doubt anxiously waiting for his master's return while fighting thoughts of his demise. Jaken had the tendency to think the worst even though he had blind faith in this Sesshoumaru's abilities.

He had questions of course, but Sesshoumaru had no desire to answer them. He simply did not wish to talk about Rin. So he quickly sent Jaken to deliver his message to the other lords. They would come to his estate for a meeting and discuss all he had missed. And he was certain that every lord would wish to renew his alliance with the Western Lands. Or worse yet, offer their silly daughters to him.

Sesshoumaru was right on both accounts.

It was late fall and only now would the demonesses stop visiting him so frequently. They never sought him out directly, but they let their presence be known. Though he was sure they were a very fair distance from his estate, he could clearly smell them. Some came while they were in heat, others spiked the air with the scent of their arousal. But now that winter was nearly upon them, their fathers would want them home, fearing that some rogue youkai would steal them away as a tasty morsel during the lonely winter months.

He could not be happier. On rare occasions when the boredom was too much to bear, he sought the demonesses out. It was, after all, the respectful thing to do. But the pretty faces and the obvious advances did nothing to entertain him. He flirted and he teased, but it was clear to each of those women that he wanted nothing to do with them.

And nothing, for once, included rutting. He simply had no desire in pleasuring any female he knew was only interested in him for his power and position. They were not worthy of such attention, especially when half of them were off whoring themselves to other demons. There were times when such things did not matter, but now, however, they did. And he was slowly beginning to understand why.

Rin.

He could not get that woman out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. His thoughts continued to drift to the one creature that understood him, who accepted him for all that he was. She desired to be with him, not for his power or his position, but simply because she enjoyed being around him. There were no standards he had to live up to in her presence. He realized only now how free he was with her.

But his twisted ideals and pride continued to gnaw at him. She was human and he was youkai. For so long he had believed the two should not mix. Yet, what Rin had told Inuyasha would not stop repeating itself in his head. She and humans lived differently, she had said. And he believed that humans and youkai lived differently. So if Rin did not consider herself human, did that mean they could live together?

He was not surprised that Rin did not desire to live in a human village. She spent a mere six years living among humans before spending eight years traveling with a small band of youkai. It was only a two-year difference but at an older age, she was capable of deciding where she truly belonged. Obviously she felt it was not with her own kind. But she could live with just any youkai.

And so she would live alone, like him, for the rest of her life. Some how it did not seem right to him.

No, it is not right, Sesshoumaru thought as he pushed himself to his feet. He was done applying his twisted ideals about humans to Rin. She was nothing like them, she was, in some strange way, like him. That was reason enough for her to spend the rest of her days with him. There were no longer any questions to answer, save one: how deep were these strange feelings for her?

Determined to find out, he grabbed his swords and made his way out of the estate, barking out an order for a servant to prepare the guest room. He would find Rin by nightfall.

Inuyasha quickly raced trough the forest, his mind still replaying the last conversation with his mate, as he urgently searched for Sesshoumaru.

"Kagome...what’s wrong?" Inuyasha quickly went to her side, grabbing her elbows to lead her to a place to sit.

"Things aren't looking so well Inuyasha," she said sadly, tears already in her eyes. "She just isn't responding to the herbs very well. And she's so tired. All she wants to do is sleep."

He said nothing for a moment before rising to his feet. "I'm going to get Sesshoumaru, we don't have any other choice."

Kagome merely nodded. "Hurry Inuyasha. They both deserve to see each other one last time."

Problem was, he had no clue where to find his brother. His first thought was to go west, hoping he would find his father's lands. But even he was not sure where that was. So he simply ran with his nose pointed in the air.

Much to his surprise, however, his nose picked up the tell tale scent of his brother. He was moving, like him, at an incredible speed, and though Inuyasha was sure his brother could smell him, he made no attempt to stop. He was forced to catch up to him in order to get his attention.

"Oi! Sesshoumaru! What the hell is your problem? Will you just stop for a minute."

Sesshoumaru stopped abruptly and turned to glare at his brother. "What do you want, Inuyasha. I have some where to go."

"Keh, you're so impatient. Why don't you stop and think about the last time I had to hunt you down. You know I have no reason to see you," he added with a snarl.

Sesshoumaru visibly stiffened. "Rin..."

"Exactly, and I get the feeling you were headed out to go see her. You have perfect timing. Tell me, big brother, why does it take so long for us admit how important someone is to us? Is it in the blood? Or is it just male stupidity?"

"The only stupid one here is you. Now, explain what your being here has to do with Rin," he demanded.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and spoke quietly. "Are you going to find Rin? Answer me truly if you really want to hear what I have to say."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Hai."

"You will not find Rin at the cavern nor at that boy's village," he said as he met his brother eyes. "She is at my village, staying in my home. So you see, I just saved you a lot of trouble. But.."

"My patience is running thin, Inuyasha. But what?" Sesshoumaru barked out. "Why is Rin staying with you!?"

Inuyasha dropped his arms at his side and turned his back to his brother. If Sesshoumaru cared about Rin as much as he thought he did, he had no interest in seeing his brother's pained look. And regardless of how tough and emotionless he was, he would looked pained.

"She's dying, Sesshoumaru. Rin is dying."

Thanks for reading.

Rabid Anime Gurl