InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Rin's Happy Ending ❯ Chapter 1

Rin's Happy Ending

 

Authoress's Notes and Disclaimer: Hoorah for my first Inuyasha fic. That said, I don't Inuyasha. A bunch of other people do. I just like to create my own stories about it on occasion.

 

She didn't want to kill demons. She couldn't remember why; she just had the distinct feeling demons did not all necessarily deserve to be killed. Some, she felt, could have the distinct possibility of being redeemed. If only they weren't attacking villages.

 

For the last ten years, her older sister had been teaching her the ways of the youkai exterminator. Nisan had been very insistent on reviving the old tradition and her younger sister was the perfect place to start. Now she and her husband had an entire school running.

 

Of course, Sango wasn't her real sister. Rin could not remember her real family; all she could remember was living with her “sister and brother.” Sometimes she wished she could remember more of her earlier past. It would be nice to know where she really came from.

 

At the moment, she was more concerned with the four youkai standing in front of her and snarling at her. She was wearing the traditional outfit of the youkai exterminator, her preferred colors being black and orange, with her hiraikotsu slung over her shoulder. Nisama was too pregnant at the moment to be fighting youkai so she had sent Rin in her place to terminate them. She, however, was going to avoid killing them if at all possible.

 

Her hand went to her hiraikotsu, eyes narrowing as the youkai made strange sounds at her. With any luck, she would be able to scare them away efficiently. She especially hated killing demons that resembled dogs so much.

 

She pulled the hiraikotsu from her shoulder and swung it towards the youkai. It spun through a wide arc, tearing up the ground directly in front of the youkai before returning to her. She caught it expertly, lowering it behind her back while keeping her eyes on the demons. They didn't seem to be taking the hint. In fact, she only seemed to piss them off even more. They were snarling at her and drooling in a most foul manner. She was beginning to find them rather disgusting.

 

One slightly bolder than the rest decided it was going to risk attacking her. Despite all her high hopes for youkai some did seem to be rather stupid at times. There was a rather sickening crunching sound as she swung her hiraikotsu into the demon's stomach, sending it flying back towards its companions. She watched the others sniff their fallen comrade curiously as it was now lying in a broken heap on the ground. One could never predict what youkai were going to do. Not anymore at any rate.

 

They looked from their fallen comrade to her, growling low in their throats, saliva dripping from their open mouths. Some creatures just never learned.

 

She widened her stance, hoisting her hiraikotsu over to a good position for throwing. The remaining three charged her at once, snapping angrily and willing to avenge their fallen companion.

 

She loosed the hiraikotsu again, this time aiming straight for the lead demon. The force from the boomerang ripped the demon clean in half. The other two, seeing the third lying in separate pieces on the ground, lost heart and went running off in their own directions. She walked over to retrieve the hiraikotsu from where it had been embedded in the ground. Thankfully, it had been blood-proof, she certainly was standing in a good amount of it. She really did not know how she had the stomach for it.

 

She looked down at the top half of the youkai, its dead eyes still staring angrily ahead, its tongue lolling on the ground. At least it had not been white; she did not think she would have been able to handle killing a white dog youkai.

 

Some of the villagers, including the mayor, had crawled out of their homes to watch her exterminate the demons. Now they all stood in awe and wonderment as she strode back over to where they were waiting, reslinging the hiraikotsu over her shoulder. She wished she hadn't had to kill any of them; however, they seemed to be impressed by what she had done. They were always like that, thinking she was so grand while she was so disappointed in herself. “Lady Rin, how can we ever thank you?”

 

She was not in charge of collecting the payment; that job usually fell to her older sister or brother. However, she was fairly certain in this case the payment had been received in advance. So there was really nothing left they owed her.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small girl, dirty, bruised and wearing an old and torn kimono. She did not look at her, but she did know the girl was watching her. “Mayor, do you see that girl standing over there by the fence?” she asked with a small smile.

 

He looked over at her, and the young child ducked behind the post. “H-Hai,” he stammered, turning back to the youkai exterminator.

 

“What is her name?” she continued, employing all the threatening techniques she had had learned, not from her older sister, but from another source she could barely remember. If she lowered her voice to just the right degree and darkened her eyes, anyone could be intimidated by her.

 

“I do not know, Lady Rin,” he shamefully admitted.

 

“Well, mayor, if you really wanted to thank me, you would find out, and you would take good care of her. Because if I find out you haven't, the next time I return I won't be exterminating demons.”

 

That said, she turned and began to walk away leaving behind half the village staring after her in stunned silence. No one had ever openly threatened their mayor before. “Oh, and mayor?” She stopped, looking back over her shoulder. “Make sure you get her a nice dog to play with.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time she got back, the sun was just rising so she did not bother trying to sneak in some sleep. Nisan would be very anxious to hear about how her first solo mission had gone at any rate, and it would not be polite to make her wait for that.

 

She did, however, go back to her room to change out of her uniform and into her kimono. All her tools were then placed in a locked chest underneath her bed so Sango's littlest children could not reach them. Not that they weren't taught how to use some of the stuff as soon as possible, but the littlest of them could not know any better at the moment. So, when the things were not needed, they were locked away and kept out of reach of curious toddlers.

 

She made her way into the kitchen for breakfast, and sure enough, both of her older siblings were waiting for her when she arrived. “Good morning, Rin,” Miroku greeted her, handing her a cup of tea. “I trust you had a productive evening?” he continued as she dropped to her knees at the table.

 

Her older sister was sitting across from her, Kirara perched upon her shoulder, looking quite anxious for her report. Sango was still a demon slayer at heart and longed to be doing her job, but an eight-month pregnant belly got in the way too much when you were trying to take down demons. So, every so often, Sango had to take some time off. But now that they deemed Rin ready, they thought they might not have to lose any more jobs at those times.

 

“I saved the village from the demons,” she said calmly. Nisama sat down adjacent to her. “That's my job, isn't it?” A job she truly hated at times, but her job none the less. It gave her a place to stay and food to eat so why shouldn't she spend her life killing demons? They had never done anything good for her, at least nothing she could remember.

 

“Did you have any problems?” Sango asked her gently. Yes, she had problems, she thought looking down into her cup. She had had to kill two of them. When the worst crime they had committed had been to kill a few sheep. Everyone had to eat, didn't they? Everyone had to go and find their own food. “Rin?” Sango prodded gently.

 

She looked up from her tea and smiled. “Everything went just fine, nisan. The demons were exterminated, and I think I even managed to get a puppy for a lost little girl.”

 

Sango looked to be especially moved by her last remark. She closed her eyes and looked away from Rin, clutching her hand to her chest. Rin could not understand how she could have possibly upset her older sister. Especially with such an innocent statement about a dog. “Rin, I think you've deserved some rest. Why don't you take the day off and go for a nice walk?” she suggested, finally turning her attention back to her. “Just make sure you take Kirara with you.”

 

Rin acknowledged the tone of her voice meant it was actually an order and not a suggestion. And she knew better than to disobey an indirect order from Sango. “Thank you, I think I will.” Kirara jumped off of Sango's shoulder, and bounded over to Rin, making herself comfortable on her new perch. Kirara was a demon and no one seemed to have a problem with her. Of course, Kirara was a domesticated demon and had spent her entire life around humans. The demons she was supposed to kill supposedly spent their time killing humans. Kirara nuzzled her cheek, and Rin reached up to scratch her behind her ears.

 

She decided to take her breakfast to go this morning, and grabbed a rice ball from the table as she stood. “Nisan, nisama,” she addressed them, bowing to each in turn. She could not help but feel they were both keeping something from her. They had acted like this around her once before, when she had asked her older sister if she could have a dog. Maybe Sango was afraid of dogs for some reason. But then again, she was friends with that Inuyasha and wasn't he half-dog-demon? She decided it was better if she didn't try to think about it too much.

 

Besides, she had meditated on this subject before and had found no results.

 

Kirara stayed perched on her shoulder as she made her way into the fields, contemplatively munching on her rice ball. There was just so much she could possibly think about. When she was out in the open like she currently was, the thing that dominated her mind was her past. She just knew there was something important to her she couldn't remember, perhaps something her family did not want her to remember. But what could possibly be so horrible they would not wish her to remember it?

 

She sat down on the grassy hill side, drawing her knees to her chest. From this vantage point, she could watch the morning practices of the other trainee youkai exterminators. Sango was overseeing the oldest ones while Miroku was busy entertaining the younger ones with stories instead of teaching them to use a staff like he was supposed to be doing. From what she could see, it looked like any other day except for she was not joining them in the practices or helping to teach them. She wished she had something to do so she wouldn't have to think so much. What was it that was screaming at her to remember it yet she could not even think of it?

 

Kirara had jumped from her shoulder and was now cheerfully bounding after a small white butterfly. Rin smiled as she watched the tiny youkai bounding after the smaller creature, playfully pouncing at it. At least someone was enjoying herself.

 

The wind began to blow, just a slight breeze, and Kirara stopped her games, turning her delicate nose to the forest. She didn't look scared, just a bit curious. “What is it, Kirara?” she asked, turning her head to where Kirara was sniffing.

 

Then she sensed what had caused the smaller demon to stop her play. A powerful youkai, stronger than anything she had encountered within the last couple of years. She was not afraid, unarmed as she was. She somehow knew this demon she was currently sensing bode no ill will towards her. She rose to her feet, and Kirara looked up at her quizzically. She knew this presence; she just had to know who it belonged to. She took one step forward. “Se…”

 

“Bandits!” She stopped and spun back to the village. They would need her there; she would have to go back.

 

She looked over her shoulder to the woods, but she could no longer sense the youkai's presence. She highly doubted she would ever find it again if she just let it escape now. Holding back a curse, she turned and started running back towards the village. “Let's go, Kirara!”

 

The demon transformed and had soon caught up to her, running alongside of her. She was not about to let bandits kill her family or anyone else in the village for that matter. She reached the main gate at the same time as the bandits who pulled their horses to an abrupt stop.

 

Her sister and brother were already there, along with the five oldest trainees after herself. “I'm warning you,” Miroku told them, “this is a village of youkai exterminators. The only thing you will find here is death.”

 

“We knew you are youkai exterminators,” spoke the man on the horse closest to them. “That is precisely why we have come to speak to you. We are sorry we had to present ourselves in such a manner, but bandits meet with seldom opposition along the road.”

 

Rin still distrusted the man, and she could tell her sister did as well. At least they hadn't made any moves to attack yet. And it did seem as if they had an old priest amongst them. “What do you want from us?” Miroku asked angrily.

 

“The use of one of your slayers,” the man said, bowing his head. “A demon outside our village has been killing young children. We would naturally escort the slayer to the village.”

 

Rin could see Sango was weighing the situation carefully in her mind. She was unfit to go, she did not wish to put Rin in such a dangerous situation, which meant she would have to risk Miroku. “I'll do it,” she volunteered, stepping forward, making her sister's job so much easier. If the demon really was killing children, than they had no choice but to send aid.

 

“Rin.” Sango turned to look at her, eyes filled with worry. Rin nodded at her in reassurance, and Sango's eyes cleared as she nodded back. Sango turned her attention back to their unwelcome visitors. “Rin-san will be your slayer. The old priest will stay the night here and escort her to your village in the morning. The rest of you are to leave now,” she threatened, her eyes becoming much narrower.

 

“Yes, certainly. Thank you, m'am,” their leader said, bowing to Sango. All but one of them, an old Buddhist priest, turned their horses to leave them in peace.

 

Rin was disappointed she had lost the chance to discover who that demon was for something so simple. The village had never been in any danger, and she had lost another piece of herself. She had been beginning to remember something, a name from her past.

 

As the trainees and her siblings turned to go back into the village, she leaned back against the fence and began to hum softly. She didn't know where she had gotten the song from or if she was just now making the tune up as she went along, but for some reason, it seemed right to be singing it.

 

Sango was the last to go inside, and as she was passing, she must have heard her for she stopped and gave her a frightened look. “Rin, why are you singing that now? You haven't sung that song in years.”

 

“Gomen, nisan,” she said, lowering her eyes. “I just felt like humming; I thought I was just now making it up.” She thought maybe she had heard it somewhere before; though she could not remember the lyrics.

 

“Rin-chan.” She raised her eyes back to her older sister. She had not called her Rin-chan in years. “Do not wait too long, okay?” Her eyes were much gentler, and softer around the edges, and she was smiling slightly.

 

“H-hai,” she stammered. Her sister left her standing outside wondering what she had meant. Did she mean she was not to wait too long until she came inside or did she mean something else entirely? She supposed there was no way she could actually know unless she asked her, something which she had no intention of doing.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Towards the middle of the night, she found herself having trouble falling asleep. Her mind kept repeating back to the moment she had sensed the powerful youkai, and her own utterance of “Se…” None of it made any sense to her. She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She fancied she would much rather be sleeping outside under the stars so long as she had something to keep her warm. Something like a dragon's side or maybe something white and fluffy.

 

She shook her head as she sat up. What could she possibly be thinking? She was fairly certain dragon's didn't exist, let alone be willing to allow a human to sleep next to it. And what was up with the whole white and fluffy thing? Maybe she had been thinking about Kirara's tail. It was sort of white and definitely fluffy.

 

She stood up; maybe all she really needed was a nice, cool drink. She was feeling a little feverish. Yes, a nice cold drink of water would probably work wonders for her.

 

She managed to get her drink, and it definitely made her feel much better and clear-headed. On the way back to her room, she stopped at hearing the voices of her brother and sister talking about her. She pressed her back to the wall just outside their door, listening to them. She knew she shouldn't, but her curiosity had been roused.

 

“Are you sure it's safe allowing her to go on such a mission?” She was touched he was so worried about her, yet annoyed he thought she could not take care of herself. “We know absolutely nothing about this demon.”

 

“She will be just fine,” she heard Sango reassure him. She was glad someone believed in her abilities.

 

“What if this demon is too much for her to handle? There will be no one there to save her.”

 

“I would not be so sure about that,” Sango told him quietly. Rin wondered if her older sister was planning on sending someone after her to bail her out of trouble. Inuyasha, perhaps? “I think Sesshoumaru is still alive.”

 

Sesshoumaru? Her eyes widened and her breath quickened as she leaned against the wall for support. The youkai in the woods earlier; her brother and sister knew who it was. So why couldn't she remember him?

 

“What makes you think that?” Miroku asked her. She started paying closer attention again, wondering the same thing herself.

 

“She was singing the song again today.” What did the song have to do with anything? It was just some random tune she had thought of. “If Sesshoumaru was still alive, she would be the first to know about it.” How? She barely knew anything about him except he was a youkai they had once all known. “Be assured, if Rin is in any danger and Sesshoumaru is still alive, he would be there to rescue her.”

 

Why? Her eyes filled with tears as she ripped herself away from the door and ran blindly down the hall.

 

“What was that?” Miroku asked, turning with staff in hand towards the door.

 

“It was only Rin,” Sango told him quietly. He turned back to her with a perplexed expression on his face. “Maybe she should start to remember anyway.” Even if it meant they would lose her.

 

She wasn't sure where she was running to. All she knew was she had the desire to run as fast as she could. The tears streamed from her eyes as her bare feet pounded the moist earth. Why? Why did she feel such a sense of loss? “Sesshoumaru-sama!”

 

She tripped over a root and fell roughly to the ground, causing all her breath to come out in a rush. She wearily pushed herself up until she was sitting on her knees. She couldn't understand why she had called out to him. She didn't even know who he was. Furthermore, nisama seemed to be under the impression he was dead. So why did she go crying into the forest looking for him?

 

Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to remember her past, she really did. The past was so vital to the creation of a person. And she knew absolutely nothing of hers. Did that mean she wasn't an actual person? She seemed to be missing one of the most important complexities of being human. Was that why she felt so different at times?

 

She threw back her head. “SESSHOUMARU-SAMA!”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

She had fallen sleep at the base of a large tree, too tired and weary to make her way back to the village. At least she was now rested. When she awoke the next morning, the first thing she saw was Sango's smiling face, but the first thin she thought was Sesshoumaru, whoever he may be, had not come to her last night. So he really must be dead or did not longer care. Even though she couldn't remember how she had managed to get back to the edge of the forest. Maybe she had not run quite as far as she originally thought.

 

“Rin, are you ready to go?” Sango asked her gently. She nodded as she rose to her feet. Miroku was standing nearby with a horse loaded with all her equipment, and the old priest was waiting on his own horse. “Then you had better get going,” Sango said, enveloping her in a hug. “Be careful,” she whispered softly.

 

Rin nodded as she pulled away from her. Sango must have been really worried about her going off on her own as well. She knew it didn't stem from a doubt of her abilities, just a general concern for her welfare. She mounted her horse, and her brother reached up to shake her hand. “Take care of yourself, Rin-chan.”

 

“Arigatou. I will,” she told him as she kicked the horse into action. The priest did the same, and, as they rode away, she turned over her shoulder to wave goodbye to her brother and sister. “Sayonara!” she called. They both waved back to her, and she grinned.

 

She soon realized, however, that she was entirely within the presence of a boring priest. Too bad she could not have brought Kirara along or something. The untalkative demon would have been much more entertaining.

 

“Excuse me, miss, but may I ask you what led a nice girl like you to become a youkai exterminator?”

 

“Uh, me?” she asked, pointing to herself. Of course he had been talking to her; there was no one else on the road, let alone another demon slayer. “My older sister restarted the school, and I suppose she just started teaching me as well.” She really had not chosen to become a youkai killer.

 

“Sou ka?” She wondered how the priest found the nerve to speak to her in such a tone. He had no idea. “I am glad you finally reached the intelligence that youkai was bad for you.” She stiffened in the saddle, staring resolutely backwards in time. “I am sorry, miss,” he begged forgiveness, “I must have mistaken you for someone else.”

 

She lowered her head. “You were referring to Sesshoumaru-sama, weren't you?” How long was his name going to haunt her? Until she remembered him? Or for longer perhaps?

 

“Hai, I do believe that was the youkai's name.” She had known it; the name that liked to play games with her memory, teasing her with a scent but disappearing without a trace. “It truly is amazing. I became more accepting of youkai because of you, and you have grown up to be a youkai exterminator. Well, I suppose it was the best for you,” he continued on. Meanwhile, she had stopped paying attention and focused instead on trying to remember where and when she had met the old priest previously. “He didn't hurt you, did he?”

 

That statement startled her out of her lack of attention, and she snapped her head in his direction. “Nani?”

 

“That youkai you had been with. Did he do anything to harm you?”

 

“No,” she responded quickly. It was the answer she wanted to believe at any rate. After what Sango had said about him coming to her rescue, she highly doubted he would have ever done anything that could even potentially bring her harm.

 

“Then may I ask why you finally decided to leave him?” the priest pressed on. “None of my tactics had worked.”

 

“I don't remember,” she admitted, lowering her gaze to the road below them. She wished she could remember anything of what the priest had been speaking of. It might help her remember Sesshoumaru-sama. Most importantly, she wanted to know why she had forgotten him in the first place.

 

“It is probably better for you,” the old priest said again. “As I told you then, humans and youkai live in two different worlds.” They did, didn't they? The true job of the youkai exterminator was to make sure that boundary was never crossed. Because if it was, the demon responsible was punished, usually with the loss of its life. The priest chuckled. “My, but you certainly did make a fuss when I tried to separate the two of you. You wouldn't stay still and kept calling out for Sesshoumaru-sama.”

 

Rin tried to smile; it was the most she had ever heard about her life before Miroku and Sango. The fact that it was coming from a complete stranger made no difference. It was still about her, it was still a part of her life. “I suppose at the time I thought life with Sesshoumaru-sama was the best.”

 

The priest nodded his agreement. “Still, I would like to know what made you change your mind.”

 

“So would I,” she admitted quietly. She also wanted to know why she had previously thought he was so wonderful. Did she actually choose to leave him or had she been torn away from him for some reason? She had so many questions but she had no idea where she was supposed to find answers to them.

 

“Rin-san,” the priest said gently, bringing her attention to him. “Do not let the loss of that youkai upset you so.” She then felt the tears that had been lining her eyes. “After all, he was just a demon unfit to raise a human child.”

 

Maybe he had realized that fact causing him to hand her over to Sango and Miroku. But that didn't explain why she had forgotten about him. She wondered if he was still alive, if he had forgotten about her as well. That would be horrible; he had promised no to.

 

She gasped, wondering where that thought had come from. Could it be trusted? The thought certainly seemed real enough. Maybe she was finally starting to remember something. She held onto that one thought tightly; it was the only thing she had come up with on her own.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Upon arriving at the village, they insisted she get started right away on hunting down the demon in question. She could understand why. Five children had been killed so far. That was just unacceptable. So as soon as she had changed into her traditional youkai exterminator dress, gotten all her supplies and weapons together, and gave her horse temporarily to the care of an innkeeper she felt could be trusted, she set off on foot into the woods in the direction people claimed they had seen the youkai traveling.

 

As she became engulfed by the trees, she began to realize how horrible this particular job was. Not only did she not know where the demon was, she did not even have the slightest idea as to what it looked like. She had asked around for a physical description, but all accounts were so varied she could not put them all together to form the image of a single demon. Not to mention the village was set at the base of a mountain which could and probably did contain any number of demons. She made a mental note to never accept a mission from that particular village again unless they could provide more information about the demon she was tracking down.

 

Her journey had been largely uphill, and the ground had been dirt and pine needles, and the trees were thick. Gradually, the trees began to thin and she became aware of flints of rock scattering the path she was traversing. She had made her way onto the mountain. As the tress ceased, the rocky ground smoothed out in front of her to form a cliff.

 

Standing on the edge of the cliff was what she would have thought to be a man had it not been for his eyes. His eyes had no irises.

 

Other than that he looked perfectly normal. He had long dark hair, and looked like many of the other men she had seen in her lifetime.

 

Perhaps that was the reason why she could not trust him.

 

She took a defensive stance, her hand going back to her hiraikotsu. She did not want to be caught off her guard. “Are you the youkai exterminator, Rin?” the demon asked her.

 

“Who wants to know?” she responded, narrowing her eyes. There was something distinctly wrong with this demon.

 

The demon laughed. “Just an old friend.” He would certainly have no friend of hers, nor anyone she could think of. “I wonder what Sesshoumaru would think if he knew you were bent on destroying his kind.” Sesshoumaru again. What could this demon possibly know about Sesshoumaru? “Of course, he will have to be more concerned about the fact that his precious little girl is dead.”

 

She just barely managed to jump out of the way as the demon lashed out at her, his left arm suddenly changing into a tendril of roots that charged at her. His eyes focused on her in her new position. “Good. I was hoping this would be interesting.” Did he really think she would die so easily? Sango had taught her better than that. “I'll make sure Sesshoumaru knows that you died fighting valiantly.”

 

This time she was more prepared for his attack. Only this time he attempted to attack from both the ground and above. She jumped on the tendrils along the ground, running along top of them. When he attempted to attack her from above, she jumped and used the hiraikotsu to slice through the roots.

 

When she landed safely on the ground, she noticed the demon was laughing at her. Keeping the hiraikotsu between herself and the demon, she glared at him as she stood up. She would not stand to be laughed at by a demon the likes of him. “I knew my talk about Sesshoumaru would distract you.” He laughed some more, and she took a step backwards. Except there was nothing to step back on to but air. Panicked, she brought her foot forward again. “You should have been paying more attention, Rin-chan,” he told her in a voice similar to one a parent would use when a child had done something foolish.

 

He was mocking her. He had gotten her trapped against the cliff, and now he was going to laugh at her before finishing her off. What kind of sick twisted demon was this?

 

She risked running straight towards him, determining it was better than just standing on the edge of the cliff waiting for him to make his next move. “Bad idea,” he told her as he lashed out at her with both arms. She blocked the attack with the boomerang, but the force of it pushed her backwards.

 

Her feet weren't touching the ground as she fell backwards. She suddenly became very afraid they were never going to feel the ground again. “Sesshoumaru-sama!” she called as her flight changed from horizontal to vertical, obeying to the calls of gravity.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Do you really think it was safe sending Rin to fight that demon on her own?” Miroku asked. It wasn't the first time he had thought about it, nor the first time he asked. But the fact remained if all had gone well, Rin should have returned by now. Even Sango had to see that.

 

His wife sighed and lowered her eyes. “Do you think you should go after her?” she asked softly.

 

He didn't want to leave Sango, not when she was so close to ending her term. Yet, he was also aware someone should go and determine the fate of Rin. And all of the other students were much too young to be sent out on their own.

 

During his moment of indecision, Kirara bounded to Sango's shoulder to nuzzle her ear. “What is it, Kirara?” Sango asked, patting the small youkai on the head. The little creature purred happily before jumping off Sango's shoulder and bounding away. After a short distance, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “Kirara?” Sango asked tentatively, slowly following the mononoke.

 

Without hesitation, Miroku followed them both as well. Every so often, Kirara would turn her delicate head to make sure they were still following her. Not like they had any thing better to be doing. Eventually the small youkai led them both to the barn where the oxen where farming were kept. At the time, the doors were wide open for the oxen were out grazing. Kirara walked right inside, then stuck her head briefly outside the door before disappearing inside again.

 

Sango looked at Miroku and waited for him to catch up. They went in together, allowing their eyes to adjust to the dim light. “Rin!” Sango called, rushing over to the girl.

 

She was lying in the straw, the hiraikotsu by her side, looking a bit bruised but still alive. Sango knelt down in the straw next to her, putting a hand on the side of her face. “Rin-chan, are you okay?” she asked gently.

 

Rin's eyes fluttered open as she focused on Sango's face. “Nisan,” she muttered weakly.

 

Miroku came over to kneel on the other side of her. “Rin, what happened?” he asked gently.

 

“I was falling,” she told them. That was the last thing she remembered, falling through empty space. So how did she end up back her in the safety of her family's presence? Somebody must have saved her, but who? No one she knew had been around her at the time. Who could have possibly come to rescue her?

 

She closed her eyes, trying to remember. Sango's words came clearly back to her, about Sesshoumaru coming to saver her. “It had to have been Sesshoumaru-sama,” she said quite determinedly.

 

“I don't think that is quite possible,” Miroku told her. She felt he was jumping too quickly to conclusions. What did he know about it?

 

“I would not be so sure about that,” Sango reprimanded him gently. As Rin turned to face her beloved sister, Sango lifted a strand of long silver hair from Rin's arm and held it up for her Miroku to see. “I told you he would come to rescue her.”

 

 

~Reviewing is generally considered good practice.