InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Returning to the Path of Sesshoumaru's Eyes ❯ The Origin of Gei ( Chapter 12 )

The Origin of Gei

 

 

 

Rin walked downhill towards large town bustling in the valley. For a year she had journeyed east, wishing to see where the sun rose from. She wanted to see the sun rise for the entire world, and the oceanside where the fabled Horai Island had long disappeared. For that year she fought to make it on her own, fighting back the childhood urge to live in fear and scavenge for food. Instead, she went from town to town as a storyteller. Child would flock to her as she told the tales of the brave Sesshoumaru, and his brother, Inuyasha. The east was rapidly becoming settled with bigger towns, and the demon population was beginning to dissipate there, so to many these stories of villainous creatures seemed like fairy tales rather than the daily encounters Rin had known all her life. This mass migration of demons to the west helped herald the end of an era, so many children and younger adults had never experienced these powerful foes for themselves. Instead the human population boomed around the capital city of Kyoto that was emerging.

 

 

Rin thought back to a simpler time, when she lived at the nunnery. Yes, it had been peaceful, but sometimes it was the quiet that was too loud. Rin was always left to her thoughts and no amount of daily chores could drown them out. Even after Rin started to sneak into the storehouse each night to grasp her bequeathed fans again, she still had questions. How did she come to arrive there? Was Sesshoumaru alright? Had he indeed forgotten about her?

 

The oldest sister running the compound had never told her how she came to arrive there until she bid her to take her leave. Apparently, Lord Sesshoumaru had sent her himself in his chariot, pulled by Ah-Un. In the chest, there had been a secret compartment with a significant amount for her dowry. Rin took half, and gave the other half to the nunnery, for the rest she was unable to carry. Her most prized possession, however, is what kept her hoping that Sesshoumaru still held her in his thoughts. There within her dowry lay an exquisite necklace of violet adamant, shaped into a crescent moon.

 

“He still means what he told me so long ago. He still sees me.”

 

She smiled to herself, and walked down the mountain towards the bustling, crowded village.

 

 

 

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Light scattered applause could be heard as she finished her last tale. “Tough crowd”, mused Rin. She looked down at her sack and saw only two coins, not even enough to eat from a street vendor. Her abnormally wide eyes scanned the bustling crowd of the marketplace, hoping to see anyone moving to give her a tip. Her spirits lifted as she saw an elderly man move forward with a beat-up shamisen strapped to his back. He came to a stop before her, and cleared his throat.

 

“My little lady, you tell great stories. However, I must inquire- do you tell them as well with your hands? This region loves dance more than the spoken stories. “

 

Rin blushed and stepped back awkwardly. “Well…I've never danced for anyone before…and I don't have anyone to play music for me…” she mumbled, shuffling from one foot to the other.

 

The old man laughed, his face round and full of deep wrinkles. For some reason it only seemed to make his smile appear unusually larger. “No need to worry, I'll be willing to play for you, dear. I only ask half of what you earn- and my trusty shamisen plays much better than it appears.”

 

Rin shrugged. What else was there to do? Worse case scenario, she wouldn't make anymore money, but then again, she wasn't expecting too anyways. She nodded. “Alright, sir. You have a deal. But I make no promises of my talents.”

 

“Excellent! Since it appears you've never been trained, just follow as best as you can. I'll sing out the story, you tell it with your body. Everyone loves to dance here, so an outsider's efforts will most surely be appreciated regardless of expertise.”

 

 

After a quick tuning of his instrument, the old man started, and Rin tried to catch up with the lyrics. After some initial nervousness she became braver, and her movements fluid like honeyed water. There was significantly louder applause after the kouta* was finished, and Rin nodded at the old man to start another. For the first time, in a long time, she was smiling.

 

 

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Once a week, Rin met the old man and danced in the marketplace. Between the both of them, they earned enough to scrape by for a week. She had no idea where he lived, or what his name was, but she thoroughly enjoyed his company and found herself enjoying her stay in this bustling town. She had heard of the capital not being far away, and wished to stop by there at some time.

 

Meanwhile, her eyes scanned the thick crowd, the dust of all the feet rising up into the blazing sun. Rin panted as her feet quickly scampered through the maze of people to their meeting spot. There she stopped abruptly, spotting the old man with his shamisen up and his fragile back leaning against the side wall of a merchant shop. She rolled her eyes upon hearing his loud snore, and tapped her foot impatiently. Finally, she gently tapped on his foot, startling him awake.

 

“Oh, there you are, lady! Shall we begin?” He whispered raspily, with one hand holding his ancient instrument and the other reaching up to clear the dust from his eyes.

“Yes, sir, but I have a question- why is the marketplace so crowded today? It seems busier than normal…”

 

The old man's eyes widen. “Oh yes! The sakura blossom festival is later tonight. The Lord's family will come out of the palace today and they buy amongst the commoners this very afternoon! In fact, they should be out here soon, so do your best to impress them.” The old man drooled upon remembering the tip the kind Lady bestowed upon him the previous year.

 

Rin chuckled, and nodded at him to begin. Three songs into their weekly performance, a large crowd had gathered around them, clapping enthusiastically. Rin took a break from the heat and let the old man perform on his own, stepping into the shade of the merchant building. There, she saw a display of fans, her eyes widening. “Oh…how much for those two?” she asked, pointing to the brilliant red paper fans with gold etching and swirling thorough the base. The merchant glanced over and replied, “Sixty sen each, or one yen for both.” Rin's shoulder's drooped, for the price was way too high. The merchant glanced at her again, and then recognized her. “Hey, aren't you that little lady who dances on the side of my shop each week?” Upon seeing her nod, he thought for a minute. “Tell you what…you mentioned that you got those fans from here after you're done, and I'll let you borrow them for today. If ten people buy items from my shop after you're done, I'll let you keep them. There are a lot of people out there today, so I wouldn't mind being advertised.”

 

Rin thanked him profusely, and hurried outside. Instead of fanning herself first, she cooled off her friend and business partner, the old man. When he finished his next song, Rin got up to start dancing again. “Oh crap…I forgot to put the fans away…hrm…” Having just one second's deliberation, she decided to use them as her dance. A demure smile traced her small, round lips as she remembered the many nights she practiced in solitude outside in the woods. So lost in her thoughts, was she, that she hardly noticed the crowd had bowed down, turning en masse to the group in front of her. To her, the crowd was long, healthy blades of grass twisting in the night wind. The sparkling of the lord's armor was the moon shining down upon her, and the gold showered upon the crowd where the stars shimmering across the night sky. Only when the song ended did she stop and realize her daydreaming was not real.

 

There, the extravagantly dressed lord and his family smiled at her, awaiting her acknowledgement. A little girl dressed in summer wear of bright yellows, greens and pinks tugged on her father's sleeve and eagerly shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. “Danna-san, can I learn to do that? Please? Danna-san…Danna-san…hey….hey….hey….hey… Danna-san?”

 

Rin bowed quickly, albeit gracefully as should could. “Maybe next year, my little one.” She heard the warm, commanding voice of the lord address her and her partner. “Such lovely entertainment. What is your name, young dancer?”

 

Rin blushed scarlet, and replied from her bowed position, “Gei* no Rin, m'Lord.”

 

He smiled. “Take care then, Rin, for you almost outshine the blossoms themselves. Carry on.” A rainfall of yen coins landed with a silvery, chiming clinking at her feet. The lord motioned his family to continue on their path, the bustle of the crowd reaching up to emerge from the silence once again.

 

 

 

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Rin ran through the crowds, surprised to see the old man wasn't there. “I hope he is alright…but he is older. Maybe he…” shaking her head, she refused to acknowledge the possibility that they had been separated from performing together just yet. After asking the many other street performers, no one had seen them. She was now on the edge of town by the river. “Perhaps he went to get some water…” she broke off into quick run, darting to the rushing, roaring river. There, her eyes fell upon a lump in the grass just before the mud of the river bank, off the side of the small dirt path out of the town.

 

She gasped. It was a human, bearing clothing. Her eyes smarted as she ran forward. “Old man! Sir!” She reached his side and delicately turned him over, discovering his eyes wide open from shock and a stream of blood running from his mouth. “Oh….oh no….who? Who would do this?”

 

A voice rasped behind her. “I have traveled for weeks without a snack….and now today I may get two! What great fortune…” the ground shook from the sound of the creature's cackling, its breath hot on her back.

 

The fire went out in Rin's eyes, rendering them into steely, cold and flat pupils. They narrowed into small slits, her eyebrows burrowed towards her sharp, small nose. She made no movements, and refused to even breathe. It was a long moment, in which Rin made a decision that would change her life forever. No more would she be the victim…but now she would be a fighter.

 

“Oh….are you paralyzed from fear? All the better…I got to chase after my last meal and I don't feel like running around again. Now you be a good girl and just stand right there, and you'll join that fragile old man soon enough.” He cackled again, rushing towards her frozen figure.

 

Just then, it happened. In one second, she sunk into her knees, breathed in a sharp breath, and brought out the weapon from her obi in a quick, silver blur. Not even the demon had a chance to stop his rushed, hurried advance as the sharp object sliced right across its throat. He rasped, and his writhing body slammed into the ground. Blood splattered up onto her face, creating ink blots of maroon on the canvass of pearl white, yet she refused to blink.

 

“W-w-w-hooooo?” He choked out with the last of his strength. A shadow creeped up on him, and the last thing he saw was the cold, calculating eyes of his victor.

 

 

 

 

“Sesshoumaru Rin. Rin of the West.”

 

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“Man, the more we leave central territory, the less we see demons. Are we sure that we're going in the right direction?” Whined Shippou. Inuyasha silently rolled his eyes while Kagome gently explained, again, why they were heading east.

 

“Sesshoumaru's region is too close to the central area, and there is a human population east that hasn't been too affected by the Wars. He's got to show up around there somewhere. He's got nothing else to take from the center, and the north is overrun by the Birds of Paradise and the White Wolf Demon clan.”

 

“But I'm tired! This area is boring.”

 

“Come on Shippou, you're too old to be complaining like a child. We're almost at the outpost to the central and eastern borders.”

 

Shippou crossed his arm and sulked. Kagome just shook her head, a faint whisper of a smile on her lips. Even though the little fox demon wasn't little anymore, he most certainly retained his temper. Now taller than Kagome, he was wearing more traditional garb allocated for the fox clans, he still was only sixteen years of age. “Wow”, Kagome mused, “Time has really flown by, hasn't it?” Her eyes darted to Inuyasha, where she was shocked to see the striking amber eyes staring right back at her. She smiled, and for a minute he returned her smile. Their hands inched together until the warm flesh of their palms met, and their fingers grasped the others' hand. For a moment, everything was peaceful, and perfect.

 

Until, that is, Miroku decided to copy their idea, except “miss” Sango's hand and grasp her buttock instead.

 

Kagome and Inuyasha's hands flew apart, the mood obviously broken. Already Kagome felt a lurch in her heart from missing his touch, and she sighed disappointedly. “Oh well…I guess no matter how much time goes by, some things never change.”

 

Inuyasha halted suddenly, sending everyone stumbling into him as a domino effect. “Hey, watch it!”

 

Kagome and the rest of them glowered at him from the ground, where they are remained tangled up in a pile. “Well, Inuyasha, what is it?” Kagome gritted out through her teeth. Seeing the look of seriousness on his face, she quickly got up, as did the rest of the gang.

 

“A demon…” murmured Inuyasha.

 

“A-a-alive? Here?” stuttered Shippou, his back already retreating.

 

“No. Dead.” Inuyasha took off, with the gang following behind. He came to a halt right before a medium-sized town, and gazed towards the river. There, he saw a small mound of dirt with spent incense, obviously marking an anonymous grave. Beside it, lay a large serpent-like creature with two large legs, and five eyes open in shock. The carcass was already rotting and one eye had been pecked at by the birds. “Damn, what's this demon doing all the way over in the East? And who killed it?”

 

Kagome caught up first, and looked down impassively. “Impressive. Only one stroke of their weapon. But who would've done this? And how did it get this far?”

 

Inuyasha looked her at her, and nodded. “It's like she reads my every thought. She truly is my companion.” He glanced at the scene once more, and then signaled for them to carry on. “I don't know, Kagome…but either way, I plan on finding out why it was here. Let's stop by in the village and see if we can find some answers.” Determined, he turned on his heel, leaving Kagome to skip forward slightly and walk along his side. Kagome and Inuyasha's eyes met and they shared one single thought.

 

“My companion.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN: I know, I know, Sesshoumaru is noticeably absent. But Rin's purpose to Sesshoumaru will start to become obvious in the next chapter. Also, there is a HUGE monkey wrench coming to Rin in the next two chapters. Sorry I don't update on a schedule or anything like that- it's best if you add my story to “alert” status or in your favorites section so you can easily check back for updates. Hope you're enjoying the story so far, and please do let me know what you think. I enjoy your comments, they are rewarding. Now, here is two definitions: “kouta” means little song, and “gei” means art.