InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Things Never Meant to Be ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Things That Can Never Be

Chapter 5

Rin wandered through the woods in a daze. She didn't know where she was going, or what she was going to do, but she had to leave the Western lands. She had to break the hold her demon lord had on her. She had to find somewhere she could be free.

It was stupid of her to think she could stay with Kagome. She now knew why her lord had been so irritated when she'd told him she'd spent an entire day with them. They were so annoying, so self-absorbed. All the woman wanted to do was meddle, and all InuYasha wanted to do was brag.

Not in words, but in actions. Hugging his wife. Playing with his son. Sitting on his stoop. Eating his dinner. Living in the village. Talking to the villagers. This is my family. This our home. Look how happy we are.

She kicked the leaves as she walked along.

You stink like my brother. You need a bath. I don't want YOU staying here.

What an asshole. No wonder her lord hated him.

She slumped against a tree and sighed. How long had she been walking? How long before she got to where she was going? And where, exactly, was she?

She crouched at the foot of the tree and closed her eyes. She was hungry and tired. And it was getting cold. Why couldn't she have just stayed in her cave, where there was plenty of wood to make a nice, warm fire?

The sun would set soon, and she needed to find a place to sleep.

A gust of wind stirred the leaves on the ground. A man's voice echoed in the distance.

She stood and dusted herself off. The woods was no place for a young woman at night. She had to keep moving. Maybe she'd come across another village soon. One with a nice field that hadn't been harvested yet. Or maybe she'd come to a stream filled with fish and she could grill some for dinner. Or even some mushrooms . . . She loved mushrooms. Mushroom caps stuffed with rice and fish and grilled vegetables . . . God, she was hungry. Maybe she should've waited to run away till after breakfast. Kagome was a good cook; much better than Jakken.

The voice grew louder.

She glanced around her. Where was this voice coming from? How had he gotten so close, so fast?

She picked up her pace, occasionally glancing over her shoulder. Friend or foe, she wasn't sure, so it was best to keep her distance.

A woman laughed. Maybe she was with the man, or maybe she was traveling alone, like herself. Somewhere behind her with the man, or behind the man, or between her and the man. Either way, she felt the need to stay ahead of them. Maybe they were just a happy couple out for a walk in the woods, but there were bandits that robbed in pairs . . . Not that she had anything to take.

The voices grew louder still.

This was unreal, like some sort of nightmare. How were they moving so quickly? Maybe they weren't human. Maybe they were demons. Vile, ugly, vicious demons out on a killing spree. She was laughing because of a kill they'd just made. He was with her because they were together.

Curse her imagination! She lifted her knees and ran like the wind. Why was she such a scaredy cat? Why was she always running? What was she running from? What was she running to?

It sounded as if they were almost on top of her.

"Hurt him?" the man asked. "He deserved to be hurt after the way he talked to me."

The woman laughed again. "But you hit him so hard," she said.

Hurting? Hitting? These were definitely people she didn't want to run into.

"His head's as hard as a rock," the man said. "I'm sure I didn't even make a dent."

"But he's supposed to be a friend of yours," she said. "Friends shouldn't fight."

"He started it," he said. "If he didn't wanna get hit, he should've kept his mouth shut. Besides, do you know how many beatings I took from him when I was a kid?"

What kind of people, demons, creatures, were these?

"Ahhh!" She wasn't watching where she was going. She slipped down an embankment and fell. Stupid humans, Jakken had said. Killing themselves, killing each other.

"Did you hear something?" the woman asked.

"Someone screamed," he said.

Stupid, stupid girl. Rin stood and brushed herself off. She wasn't dead, or even hurt. But she was trapped. Above her was the forest floor. Below her was a jagged collection of rocks. She didn't dare try to climb back up the embankment for fear of falling further down.

A milky, white mist appeared above with two figures sitting atop it. "Hello?" the woman called out.

They were demons. The woman was apparently some type of weather-manipulator, and the man appeared to be a kitsune, a fox demon, though it was difficult to tell in the fading daylight.

"Hello?" the woman called out again. "Is anybody down there? Is everything all right?"

They didn't look very vile or seem very vicious, but appearances could be deceiving.

"I think I see someone moving," the man said. "Down there on the ledge. Can you hover lower?"

"Of course." The cloud descended, almost on top of her.

Rin gasped.

"It's a girl," the woman said. And the woman wasn't really a woman; she didn't look much older than Rin. She had pointed ears and a long, black braid down her back.

"I think I know her," the man said. He was quite clearly a fox demon, and he looked oddly familiar. He had red hair and a fur vest.

"Did you fall down here?" the girl asked.

Rin didn't speak, only nodded.

The girl laughed. "You shouldn't be afraid of us," she said. "We don't EAT humans. We just play a couple of mean tricks on them every now and then. Isn't that right, Shippo?"

Shippo nodded. He looked down the cliff. "A little farther and you would've been a goner, wouldn't you?"

Rin nodded again. Shippo? That name sounded familiar. Wasn't he one of InuYasha's friends?

"Grab hold," the girl said. "My name's Souten. What's your name?"

"Rin," she said.

"Rin," Shippo repeated. "Kagome said we might run into you."

So, they do know InuYasha.

"What're you doing out here all by yourself?" Souten asked.

Rin just shrugged. She didn't really feel like talking. She just felt really stupid. What a horrible this day had been. Possibly worse than the one a month ago.

The cloud ascended. "We're on the way back to my castle," Souten said. "Do you wanna stay with us for awhile, or should we drop you off somewhere?"

She shrugged again.

"You're not very talkative, are you?" she asked.

She shook her head.

"Give her a break," Shippo said. "She just had a near death experience. I bet her life flashed before her life and everything."

She declined to comment.

Shippo sniffed the air.

"What is it?" Souten asked.

"Something familiar," he said. "I can't quite place it, though. But I know I've smelled it before, and I don't like it."

Souten shrugged. "Back to my place, then." The cloud lifted above the treetops and towards the setting sun.