InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Moving Pictures ❯ Of Melon and Tai-Youkai ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: RhiannonoftheMoon 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.25.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.6K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.25.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.6K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed
A/N: My other fic, "Don't know what you've got..." is my main project but this is a little thing I've been playing with for awhile. I'll try to update it regulary, but I won't promise anything.
FFnet:
inuyasha4ever1, Shock1119.
Forgotten Angel: Thanks! This is a Sesshomaru fic.
agent-doo: Which direction would that be? Just curious...
Disclaimer: I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takashi.
Chapter 2 - Of Melon and Tai-youkai
The high-pitched voiced of a child spoke behind her. Startled, Charlotte snapped her head around toward the source of the voice, pulling off her glasses and stuffing them in a pocket in her pants. A young girl, a lock of black hair gathered into a pigtail, stared down at her patiently. She shifted from one foot to the other, a large melon clutched against her orange and white checkered kimono.
Charlotte stared stupidly back, “Huh?”
The girl repeated the question and it took a moment for Charlotte’s brain to register the fact that she was speaking Japanese.
“Uhhh, I don’t think I’m lost…” Charlotte responded slowly. It had been a while since she had spoken the language and the words felt awkward and stilted on her tongue. She also didn’t know the answer to the question. Could one get lost in one’s dream?
Her pretty face breaking into a sunny smile , the girl laughed, “You talk funny.” She sat across from her in the wet grass, the melon resting in her lap. “My name‘s Rin, what‘s yours?”
“Charlotte. Aren‘t you a little young to be out by yourself?”
“Nah, Jakken’s around somewhere.” Using a small knife she had hidden in her kimono, Rin sliced into the melon, cutting a fat wedge and holding it out to her. “Want some? It‘s good.”
“Thanks,” Charlotte took the proffered slice, biting into it. Sweet and soft, the fruit was the best she’d ever had. “Mmm, yummy,“ she mumbled between mouthfuls. Rin nodded enthusiastically and cut the rest of the melon into pieces. Juice ran down their fingers and chins in sticky rivulets by the time they’d finished.
Licking the nectar from her fingers, Charlotte regarded her young companion. “You know, it’s a beautiful night and all, but shouldn’t we get you home?”
The girl shook her head and wiped her hands in the damp grass. “I told you, Jakken…”
A small man, no more than a couple of feet tall, was rushing across the grassy field, his cheeks puffed with effort. “Rin! Where are you, you confounded child? Rin! Answer me!”
“Over here,” Rin waved a small hand in the air.
Charlotte leaned over to Rin and whispered behind her hand, “Who’s the frog?” The unlikely green creature wore a brown jumpsuit of some sort and carried an ugly, two-headed staff that was at least twice his height. His beady eyes flashed with indignation as he remonstrated Rin in a high, grating voice. He reminded her of a Muppet, the way his beaky mouth flapped away. Charlotte didn’t catch all of what he said but she was sure it wasn’t very nice. ‘This dream is getting really fucking weird.’
“That’s Jakken. He’s Lord Sesshomaru’s vassal and he watches over me when Lord Sesshomaru’s not around,”
“Does he sing about rainbows?” Charlotte wondered aloud.
Rin frowned up at her, “Rainbows?”
“Never mind.”
“Rin, who’s this you’re with?” Jakken stopped next to the females, breathing hard and planting the staff in the ground and a small green fist on his hip. The suspicious light in which the creature eyed her put her on edge and she stood, drawing herself up to her full height, and glared down at him.
“This is Char-lot,” the girl stumbled over the unfamiliar pronunciation.
“You can call me Kitty,” Charlotte said quickly. Keiko had given her the nickname after she had revealed her true nature. Keiko had gasped and clapped her hands, ‘You’re a big kitty cat!’ Pushing her lip out, Charlotte had mock-pouted, ‘A mountain lion.’ But, the name had stuck and was now used by most of her friends.
“What manner of youkai are you?” the little green man squinted up at her.
“I’m not a demon.”
“No human is as tall and fair as you are,” he jabbed a stubby green finger at her.
“Well, I’m not a demon,” she crossed her arms and scowled at him. She was a werelion - demons had horns and breathed fire and stuff.
He snorted and directed his attention to the child. “Come along Rin. We’ve kept Lord Sesshomaru waiting long enough.” He turned his back and stomped away in the direction he had come.
Rin scrambled to her feet and brushed off her kimono, “I’m ready.” She skipped off behind the imp, then stopped suddenly and turned. “Wanna come with us, Kitty?”
“Rin! You can’t just invite someone along like that!” outrage shone in his beady black eyes.
Charlotte inventoried her options: she could stay where she was and watch the moon rise, or she could follow the kid and meet this ‘Lord Sesshomaru’ person. ‘As much as I like sitting in the cold, wet grass,’ she thought with a shudder, ‘I have to check this guy out.’ And hadn’t she been bored in the first place? “OK,” she agreed and caught up to the girl, pointedly ignoring the sputtering imp.
*****
Sesshomaru lounged on a low boulder in a forest clearing, one knee raised with his armed propped on it, and stared off into space. He was content to simply sit, letting his thoughts drift, as he waited for Jakken and Rin to return. Regal and aloof, he could have been carved of alabaster, if not for his long silver hair billowing in the mild evening breeze. His golden eyes barely shifted as the sounds of voices filtered through the trees. As Rin chattered inanely, the image of her broken body rose in his mind. She had tried to help him after he had been badly wounded in a fight with his brother and she had been savaged by wolves shortly after. He had brought her back to life with Tenseiga, the Sword of Life, forged from his father’s fang, and she had been with him ever since.
The slightest of frowns flitted across his features as an unknown laughter joined that of Rin’s. Warm and rich, it seemed to bubble out of its owner and fill the air. The stranger responded to Rin’s question, but the accent, not the answer caught his attention. Altogether unfamiliar, it twanged and lengthened vowels; not unpleasant but very different.
Jakken stormed into the clearing, obviously fuming, the Staff of Two Heads pressed against his shoulder. Deep in conversation, Rin and a strange human woman followed close behind. Oddly dressed and unnaturally tall for a human female, she seemed to shine like a candle in the moonlight. She tossed her short hair, sending a cascade of gold over her shoulder and shaking free cherry blossoms that taken up residence there. Rin looked up and a delighted grin lit up her face, “My Lord Sesshomaru!”
Charlotte glanced in the direction the girl was looking and her jaw dropped. “Stop the press, who is that…” she murmured to herself in English. He was achingly beautiful and would have been effeminate if not for his commanding presence. He wore his crests proudly: a blue moon on his forehead and stripes on his cheeks. She felt a pang of jealousy; she had always kept hers hidden. Was he another were-creature? Horned armor protected his chest and shoulders and covered a white outfit detailed with a red design. Charlotte cast around her memory for the name of his garment, ‘Keiko told me years ago…hakama, haori.’ One of his full sleeves was empty, suggesting a missing limb. A yellow sash and an enormous white fur boa completed the ensemble. She couldn’t help but feel she had ended up at the West Hollywood Halloween parade. Despite the odd getup, her gaze was always drawn back to his eyes, golden and piercing, they seemed to strip her flesh from the bone.
Jakken bowed low, trembling, “My Lord, that child invited her and she followed us here! I tried to stop her…”
Rin took her hand and cut him off, “This is my new friend, Char-lot from…”
“Charlotte,” she corrected the pronunciation.
“How dare you address the tai-youkai in such a manner!“
“Tai? What?” So, this was a demon? She really had expected horns. ‘I bet he could grow one,’ she thought lasciviously as her eyes traveled over his voluminous pants. ‘You never know what those hakama could be hiding.’
“Tai-youkai, the Dog General, Lord of the Western Lands!” the little imp was working himself into a fever of indignation.
“She’s from Los Angeles,” Rin piped up.
“Utter nonsense, who’s ever heard of such a place?” Jakken snorted and crossed his arms.
Sighing, Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Just because you haven’t heard of it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“Insolent wench!” Jakken shook his fist at her, outrage boiling in his black eyes.
“Ignorant buffoon.”
“Filthy human!”
“Scum-sucking cretin.”
“Enough,” Sesshomaru’s quiet word cut the name calling short. “You may stay with us tonight but tomorrow, you must leave.” He dismissed her with a turn of his head. “Jakken, light a fire.”
Rin looked up at her sadly, “I’m sorry, Kitty.”
Grinning down at her, Charlotte shook her head. “No biggie. You’re all figments of my imagination anyway. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up on my apartment floor and all of this,” she gestured vaguely at the woods surrounding them, “will be the memory of a dream.”
Not sure that she understood, Rin nodded anyway.
Sesshomaru discreetly watched the woman through the thick fringe of his silver bangs. He had not spent much time with women, human or youkai, because they hadn’t really captured his interest. Human women were lower than insects, therefore not worth consideration. The human that tailed his half-breed brother was one of the more annoying examples of the species. The youkai females he had encountered had been simpering idiots after his title and lands, or enemies, also trying to acquire his territory. The few that he bothered to bed had left him unsatisfied and bored.
This female was intriguing, though mad or deluded. Convinced that she was dreaming but curious about her young companion, Charlotte had plied Rin with questions about her life, goals, and dreams until they were both nodding sleepily. Now they were curled up next to each other, sleeping quietly.
The more he tried to ignore her, the more his eyes were drawn back to her. Grey-green eyes sparkling with humor and intelligence, her face and body were constantly animated. She spoke with her hands as much as her mouth and she laughed easily. Aside from her outlandish appearance and accent, there was something decidedly peculiar about her scent. Underneath acrid, metallic smells that seemed to stick to her clothing and a chemical sweetness that rose in a cloud from her hair, her scent was human…but not quite. Almost generic in its blandness, the human smell seemed more like a mask, covering something else. Everything about her was mysterious and fascinating. Even the flash of her throat as she breathed entranced him. Irritated that a human could distract him, he closed his eyes.
*****
Charlotte woke up on the ground for the second time in twelve hours. It was simply too lumpy to be her living room carpet. Afraid to open her eyes, she groaned softly as she tried to grapple with the idea that she had not been dreaming after all, and that she was in a foreign land accompanied by demons. Coffee, that’s what she needed. A hot cup of coffee and a cross-word puzzle, followed by an equally hot shower. She seriously doubted that she’d get any of them.
A sharp object nudged the small of her back and she cracked an eye open. “Get up, human. Time for you to go,” the little green imp poked her again with the bottom tip of his staff.
“Knock it off, Kermit,” she grumbled as she sat up and rubbed her hands over her face. Early morning sun sparkled off the dew gathered in the cups of leaves. Rin was inspecting a spider web decorated with the glittering droplets, occasionally touching a sticky strand and giggling as the spider in the center bounced and spun.
“Shit.” Not only was she still in this here, wherever ‘here’ was, she was going to be deserted by the only people she had met. She had to find out where she was and, more importantly, how to get back. Suddenly, a eight-hour day of hacking out code didn’t seem so bad.
That demon was staring at her again, she could feel his eyes on the back of her neck. She’d ignored it last night, hell if she wasn’t good at ignoring ogling men, but it was starting to annoy her. She twisted around and met his eyes. “So, Sesshomaru…where am I, exactly?”
He regarded her silently, disgust in his cold eyes.
“Ooookay, never mind,” she untwisted and raked a hand through her hair. Gathering her thoughts, she traced her steps over the last day. As impossible as it seemed, the only thing that could account for her predicament was the painting Keiko had sent her. There certainly had been something odd about it, but the details were clouded in a haze of inebriation. “Rin, do remember seeing anything in that field before you found me?”
The girl abandoned the web and skipped over to her. “Like what?”
“I don’t know, another person, a painting, a flash of light, a door to another dimension…?” The little girl shook her head solemnly, her eyes wide. “Nothing?” Charlotte sighed and absently chewed on a thumbnail.
“Does this mean you’re not dreaming?”
“Doesn’t look like it.” She stood and rolled the kinks out of her shoulders. The smells of the forest were still very much overwhelming but she was sure she could make her way back to the field where she had awoken. More disturbing was the lack of sounds to which she had become inured but now sorely missed: the drone of airplanes high above, the constant hum of cars rushing by, human voices talking, laughing, shouting, crying, but always surrounding her. Shaking the wrinkles out of her pajama pants, she forced a smile as she started back up the path they had come. “Goodbye, Rin. It was nice to meet you.”
“Where are you going?” Rin called after her.
“Back to where this mess started.”
FFnet:
inuyasha4ever1, Shock1119.
Forgotten Angel: Thanks! This is a Sesshomaru fic.
agent-doo: Which direction would that be? Just curious...
Disclaimer: I do not own any character created by Rumiko Takashi.
Chapter 2 - Of Melon and Tai-youkai
The high-pitched voiced of a child spoke behind her. Startled, Charlotte snapped her head around toward the source of the voice, pulling off her glasses and stuffing them in a pocket in her pants. A young girl, a lock of black hair gathered into a pigtail, stared down at her patiently. She shifted from one foot to the other, a large melon clutched against her orange and white checkered kimono.
Charlotte stared stupidly back, “Huh?”
The girl repeated the question and it took a moment for Charlotte’s brain to register the fact that she was speaking Japanese.
“Uhhh, I don’t think I’m lost…” Charlotte responded slowly. It had been a while since she had spoken the language and the words felt awkward and stilted on her tongue. She also didn’t know the answer to the question. Could one get lost in one’s dream?
Her pretty face breaking into a sunny smile , the girl laughed, “You talk funny.” She sat across from her in the wet grass, the melon resting in her lap. “My name‘s Rin, what‘s yours?”
“Charlotte. Aren‘t you a little young to be out by yourself?”
“Nah, Jakken’s around somewhere.” Using a small knife she had hidden in her kimono, Rin sliced into the melon, cutting a fat wedge and holding it out to her. “Want some? It‘s good.”
“Thanks,” Charlotte took the proffered slice, biting into it. Sweet and soft, the fruit was the best she’d ever had. “Mmm, yummy,“ she mumbled between mouthfuls. Rin nodded enthusiastically and cut the rest of the melon into pieces. Juice ran down their fingers and chins in sticky rivulets by the time they’d finished.
Licking the nectar from her fingers, Charlotte regarded her young companion. “You know, it’s a beautiful night and all, but shouldn’t we get you home?”
The girl shook her head and wiped her hands in the damp grass. “I told you, Jakken…”
A small man, no more than a couple of feet tall, was rushing across the grassy field, his cheeks puffed with effort. “Rin! Where are you, you confounded child? Rin! Answer me!”
“Over here,” Rin waved a small hand in the air.
Charlotte leaned over to Rin and whispered behind her hand, “Who’s the frog?” The unlikely green creature wore a brown jumpsuit of some sort and carried an ugly, two-headed staff that was at least twice his height. His beady eyes flashed with indignation as he remonstrated Rin in a high, grating voice. He reminded her of a Muppet, the way his beaky mouth flapped away. Charlotte didn’t catch all of what he said but she was sure it wasn’t very nice. ‘This dream is getting really fucking weird.’
“That’s Jakken. He’s Lord Sesshomaru’s vassal and he watches over me when Lord Sesshomaru’s not around,”
“Does he sing about rainbows?” Charlotte wondered aloud.
Rin frowned up at her, “Rainbows?”
“Never mind.”
“Rin, who’s this you’re with?” Jakken stopped next to the females, breathing hard and planting the staff in the ground and a small green fist on his hip. The suspicious light in which the creature eyed her put her on edge and she stood, drawing herself up to her full height, and glared down at him.
“This is Char-lot,” the girl stumbled over the unfamiliar pronunciation.
“You can call me Kitty,” Charlotte said quickly. Keiko had given her the nickname after she had revealed her true nature. Keiko had gasped and clapped her hands, ‘You’re a big kitty cat!’ Pushing her lip out, Charlotte had mock-pouted, ‘A mountain lion.’ But, the name had stuck and was now used by most of her friends.
“What manner of youkai are you?” the little green man squinted up at her.
“I’m not a demon.”
“No human is as tall and fair as you are,” he jabbed a stubby green finger at her.
“Well, I’m not a demon,” she crossed her arms and scowled at him. She was a werelion - demons had horns and breathed fire and stuff.
He snorted and directed his attention to the child. “Come along Rin. We’ve kept Lord Sesshomaru waiting long enough.” He turned his back and stomped away in the direction he had come.
Rin scrambled to her feet and brushed off her kimono, “I’m ready.” She skipped off behind the imp, then stopped suddenly and turned. “Wanna come with us, Kitty?”
“Rin! You can’t just invite someone along like that!” outrage shone in his beady black eyes.
Charlotte inventoried her options: she could stay where she was and watch the moon rise, or she could follow the kid and meet this ‘Lord Sesshomaru’ person. ‘As much as I like sitting in the cold, wet grass,’ she thought with a shudder, ‘I have to check this guy out.’ And hadn’t she been bored in the first place? “OK,” she agreed and caught up to the girl, pointedly ignoring the sputtering imp.
*****
Sesshomaru lounged on a low boulder in a forest clearing, one knee raised with his armed propped on it, and stared off into space. He was content to simply sit, letting his thoughts drift, as he waited for Jakken and Rin to return. Regal and aloof, he could have been carved of alabaster, if not for his long silver hair billowing in the mild evening breeze. His golden eyes barely shifted as the sounds of voices filtered through the trees. As Rin chattered inanely, the image of her broken body rose in his mind. She had tried to help him after he had been badly wounded in a fight with his brother and she had been savaged by wolves shortly after. He had brought her back to life with Tenseiga, the Sword of Life, forged from his father’s fang, and she had been with him ever since.
The slightest of frowns flitted across his features as an unknown laughter joined that of Rin’s. Warm and rich, it seemed to bubble out of its owner and fill the air. The stranger responded to Rin’s question, but the accent, not the answer caught his attention. Altogether unfamiliar, it twanged and lengthened vowels; not unpleasant but very different.
Jakken stormed into the clearing, obviously fuming, the Staff of Two Heads pressed against his shoulder. Deep in conversation, Rin and a strange human woman followed close behind. Oddly dressed and unnaturally tall for a human female, she seemed to shine like a candle in the moonlight. She tossed her short hair, sending a cascade of gold over her shoulder and shaking free cherry blossoms that taken up residence there. Rin looked up and a delighted grin lit up her face, “My Lord Sesshomaru!”
Charlotte glanced in the direction the girl was looking and her jaw dropped. “Stop the press, who is that…” she murmured to herself in English. He was achingly beautiful and would have been effeminate if not for his commanding presence. He wore his crests proudly: a blue moon on his forehead and stripes on his cheeks. She felt a pang of jealousy; she had always kept hers hidden. Was he another were-creature? Horned armor protected his chest and shoulders and covered a white outfit detailed with a red design. Charlotte cast around her memory for the name of his garment, ‘Keiko told me years ago…hakama, haori.’ One of his full sleeves was empty, suggesting a missing limb. A yellow sash and an enormous white fur boa completed the ensemble. She couldn’t help but feel she had ended up at the West Hollywood Halloween parade. Despite the odd getup, her gaze was always drawn back to his eyes, golden and piercing, they seemed to strip her flesh from the bone.
Jakken bowed low, trembling, “My Lord, that child invited her and she followed us here! I tried to stop her…”
Rin took her hand and cut him off, “This is my new friend, Char-lot from…”
“Charlotte,” she corrected the pronunciation.
“How dare you address the tai-youkai in such a manner!“
“Tai? What?” So, this was a demon? She really had expected horns. ‘I bet he could grow one,’ she thought lasciviously as her eyes traveled over his voluminous pants. ‘You never know what those hakama could be hiding.’
“Tai-youkai, the Dog General, Lord of the Western Lands!” the little imp was working himself into a fever of indignation.
“She’s from Los Angeles,” Rin piped up.
“Utter nonsense, who’s ever heard of such a place?” Jakken snorted and crossed his arms.
Sighing, Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Just because you haven’t heard of it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“Insolent wench!” Jakken shook his fist at her, outrage boiling in his black eyes.
“Ignorant buffoon.”
“Filthy human!”
“Scum-sucking cretin.”
“Enough,” Sesshomaru’s quiet word cut the name calling short. “You may stay with us tonight but tomorrow, you must leave.” He dismissed her with a turn of his head. “Jakken, light a fire.”
Rin looked up at her sadly, “I’m sorry, Kitty.”
Grinning down at her, Charlotte shook her head. “No biggie. You’re all figments of my imagination anyway. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up on my apartment floor and all of this,” she gestured vaguely at the woods surrounding them, “will be the memory of a dream.”
Not sure that she understood, Rin nodded anyway.
Sesshomaru discreetly watched the woman through the thick fringe of his silver bangs. He had not spent much time with women, human or youkai, because they hadn’t really captured his interest. Human women were lower than insects, therefore not worth consideration. The human that tailed his half-breed brother was one of the more annoying examples of the species. The youkai females he had encountered had been simpering idiots after his title and lands, or enemies, also trying to acquire his territory. The few that he bothered to bed had left him unsatisfied and bored.
This female was intriguing, though mad or deluded. Convinced that she was dreaming but curious about her young companion, Charlotte had plied Rin with questions about her life, goals, and dreams until they were both nodding sleepily. Now they were curled up next to each other, sleeping quietly.
The more he tried to ignore her, the more his eyes were drawn back to her. Grey-green eyes sparkling with humor and intelligence, her face and body were constantly animated. She spoke with her hands as much as her mouth and she laughed easily. Aside from her outlandish appearance and accent, there was something decidedly peculiar about her scent. Underneath acrid, metallic smells that seemed to stick to her clothing and a chemical sweetness that rose in a cloud from her hair, her scent was human…but not quite. Almost generic in its blandness, the human smell seemed more like a mask, covering something else. Everything about her was mysterious and fascinating. Even the flash of her throat as she breathed entranced him. Irritated that a human could distract him, he closed his eyes.
*****
Charlotte woke up on the ground for the second time in twelve hours. It was simply too lumpy to be her living room carpet. Afraid to open her eyes, she groaned softly as she tried to grapple with the idea that she had not been dreaming after all, and that she was in a foreign land accompanied by demons. Coffee, that’s what she needed. A hot cup of coffee and a cross-word puzzle, followed by an equally hot shower. She seriously doubted that she’d get any of them.
A sharp object nudged the small of her back and she cracked an eye open. “Get up, human. Time for you to go,” the little green imp poked her again with the bottom tip of his staff.
“Knock it off, Kermit,” she grumbled as she sat up and rubbed her hands over her face. Early morning sun sparkled off the dew gathered in the cups of leaves. Rin was inspecting a spider web decorated with the glittering droplets, occasionally touching a sticky strand and giggling as the spider in the center bounced and spun.
“Shit.” Not only was she still in this here, wherever ‘here’ was, she was going to be deserted by the only people she had met. She had to find out where she was and, more importantly, how to get back. Suddenly, a eight-hour day of hacking out code didn’t seem so bad.
That demon was staring at her again, she could feel his eyes on the back of her neck. She’d ignored it last night, hell if she wasn’t good at ignoring ogling men, but it was starting to annoy her. She twisted around and met his eyes. “So, Sesshomaru…where am I, exactly?”
He regarded her silently, disgust in his cold eyes.
“Ooookay, never mind,” she untwisted and raked a hand through her hair. Gathering her thoughts, she traced her steps over the last day. As impossible as it seemed, the only thing that could account for her predicament was the painting Keiko had sent her. There certainly had been something odd about it, but the details were clouded in a haze of inebriation. “Rin, do remember seeing anything in that field before you found me?”
The girl abandoned the web and skipped over to her. “Like what?”
“I don’t know, another person, a painting, a flash of light, a door to another dimension…?” The little girl shook her head solemnly, her eyes wide. “Nothing?” Charlotte sighed and absently chewed on a thumbnail.
“Does this mean you’re not dreaming?”
“Doesn’t look like it.” She stood and rolled the kinks out of her shoulders. The smells of the forest were still very much overwhelming but she was sure she could make her way back to the field where she had awoken. More disturbing was the lack of sounds to which she had become inured but now sorely missed: the drone of airplanes high above, the constant hum of cars rushing by, human voices talking, laughing, shouting, crying, but always surrounding her. Shaking the wrinkles out of her pajama pants, she forced a smile as she started back up the path they had come. “Goodbye, Rin. It was nice to meet you.”
“Where are you going?” Rin called after her.
“Back to where this mess started.”