InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unfettered ❯ A House Divided ( Chapter 19 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: inufan625 
Rin saves the day.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.30.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 2.1K | Status: Completed
Rin saves the day.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 03.30.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 2.1K | Status: Completed
A/N: Sorry it took so long. I will try my best to have the next one up sooner. I know you;ve heard that before, but it was as true then as it is now. Unfortuantely having three kids doesn't leave much free time for writing and they come first.
For those of you still with me and those that have left a review, know that I really do appreciate it. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Also thank you to doggieearlover, who is my wonderful beta.
Disclaimer: As much as it pains me to admit, I do not own InuYasha or any of its characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I will make no money from this work of fiction and no copyrightg infringement is intended.
“What are you doing up?” a gruff voice asked from beside her.
Kagome would have fallen from the start it gave her, had it not been for the clawed hand that reached out to support her. However, it did not escape her notice that he pulled back as soon as she was stable. Her stomach twisted and she had to fight not to be sick. Of course he was angry with her. Why shouldn’t he be?
She lowered her head. “It’s time I start doing things for myself.”
InuYasha looked away, out into the forest, his expression unreadable. “Get back inside. You aren’t strong enough yet, and if you try to do things too soon, it’ll only be that much longer before I can start looking for him.”
She bit back her tears and nodded. She didn’t have it in her to argue with him, not when it was her fault that their son was missing. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything that might make him hate her even more than he no doubt already did.
InuYasha watched Kagome turn and go inside without a fight. He had to close his eyes and take several deep breaths before he could make himself follow her. She couldn’t even stand to look at him. He had expected as much, but deep down, he had hoped... That didn’t matter, not anymore.
He headed inside and dished what was left of the morning meal that Rin had prepared into a bowl. Kagome took it from him and ate it all without a word of protest. He was glad for it. The sooner she got her strength back, the sooner he could go after their son. Maybe, if he could bring Taro back, then she would be able to forgive him. InuYasha knew it wasn’t very likely, that she had already forgiven him too much, but it was the only thing he could do.
When she was finished, he took her bowl and put it with the rest of the dishes, and headed back outside. As he reached the door he could hear her crying softly. He cursed himself and took off into the trees.
Once she had cried herself out for the time being, Kagome drifted into a fitful sleep. Though, it wasn’t for long, since she was woken soon after by Rin’s return from the river.
“How are you feeling?” she asked gently.
Kagome just bit her lip and turned away to look at the wall. She had no right to complain.
Rin frowned. This would not do at all. She went to the older woman and kneeled beside her. “I know things are bad right now, but it will be all right. Sesshomaru-sama will not fail. Now, I thought that you might enjoy a real bath.”
At this Kagome turned. “A bath.”
Rin nodded. “It will do you good to cleanse yourself completely. I will go with you.”
“Okay,” Kagome agreed.
The two women made their way to the hot springs just outside. Rin stayed closed to Kagome to make sure that she didn’t fall, and soon they were both undressed and slipping into the spring. Kagome slumped down in the warm water, and despite her best efforts not to, she began to cry. Rin looked at her sadly.
“Kagome,” she said placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“He hates me,” Kagome sobbed. “He can’t even stand to look me in the eye anymore. I don’t blame him after what happened, but it hurts. And my baby, my poor little boy, who knows what they’ve done to him, and here I am, just lying around.”
“I am sure InuYasha does not hate you,” Rin told her. “He was very upset when we did not know if you would recover, and I am certain that he is simply feeling the same pain that you are experiencing. He is anxious to be out searching, but unable to bring himself to leave before you are completely recovered.”
“Exactly,” Kagome cried. “I kept his son from him for five years, five years, and now he is being kept away again because I failed him. He trusted me to take care of our son, and I was too weak to protect him. It’s my fault, all of it. How can he love me now?”
Rin knew that nothing she said would console the woman beside her. There was only one person whose words could relieve some of her pain, but unfortunately, InuYasha was not talking to anyone at the moment. She was almost certain that the hanyou felt himself to blame, and that he was avoiding Kagome not because he no longer wished to be with her, but because he was afraid she no longer wished to be with him. Rin decided that she would speak to InuYasha, and convince him to talk to Kagome. Perhaps in helping them find their way back to one another, she could make up for her lack of courage.
It wasn’t hard to find him. After all, he was almost always in the same place. It was clear that as much as he dreaded having to be near Kagome, he couldn’t bring himself to stay away. She approached the tree where he was perched.
“Would you speak with me?” she asked.
He jumped down and landed in front of her with hardly a sound. “Is something wrong with Kagome?”
Rin nearly smiled at the concern in his voice. “She is sleeping, but all is not well. Her heart is greatly troubled. It seems that she believes that you no longer wish to be with her.”
The hanyou’s eyes widened in shock. “What!? Where the hell did you get an idea like that?”
“From her,” Rin replied.
“That’s stupid,” InuYasha spat as he turned from her. “That’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. How could she think that I don’t want her? How could she when I’m the one...”
“When you are the one that what?” Rin asked. “Kagome believes this situation to be her failure, that she has betrayed your trust in her strength. She thinks that you cannot bear to look at her because you no longer care for her because of this. But I believe differently.”
InuYasha snorted. “Is that so? Then tell me what the truth is, if you know so much.”
“You cannot bear to look at her because you believe that this is your fault. You do not feel worthy of her, and you are afraid that if you were to look into her eyes you would see not love, but disgust and blame there, instead.” Rin explained quietly. “You think that the only way you will be able to look at her again is to find your son and bring him home, and though you wish to keep her safe, the real reason you do not wish for her to travel with you is because you believe that it is something you must do yourself to make up for not being here to protect them.”
InuYasha spun to face her. “It is my fault, damn it! I should have been here! I never should have left them!”
“Then do you blame me as well? It was for me that you left, and I hid behind their protection while your mate was nearly killed and your son taken,” Rin said. “And surely some of the blame must fall on Sesshomaru-sama as well.”
InuYasha channeled his anger into his hands and dug his claws into his palms. “It was my choice, and you couldn’t have done anything, but gotten yourself killed.”
“Yes, it was your choice, as it was Kagome’s choice leave safety for the wolf demon and your son’s to try and protect his mother. What you seem to be forgetting is that it was also the dark priestess who chose to work with this demon, and it was their choices that are to be blamed,” Rin reminded him. “And if you let them take more from you than you already have, then that will be your choice as well.”
“What do you expect me to do?” InuYasha asked with a sigh. “I can’t change what happened.”
“No, but you can change what is happening right now,” Rin said. “Go to her. Make her see that your heart has not changed, and let her show you the same. Surely you can see that this was part of their plan. They wish to divide you. They waited until you were separated because they knew that they could not have defeated you together. Yes, they have defeated you this time, but that does not mean that you have to allow them to win again, or that victory is theirs.”
“You know, I don’t think my brother has a clue what he’s getting himself into with you,” InuYasha said after a long moment. “Then again, knowing him, maybe he does.”
Rin smiled. “I will take that as a compliment. Thank you. Now let us go. Too much time has been wasted already.”
Slowly her eyes opened, and when they met his, they filled with tears. To his relief, he didn’t see in them what he had feared, but instead saw shame.
“Kagome.”
Her name, spoken softly, but with all the love he felt for her behind it, tore down all the barriers between them and she threw herself into his arms. He held her close, smoothing her hair as she sobbed against him.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “Please, forgive me. Please.”
A low rumble spilled from him and he nuzzled her neck. “Do you forgive me, then?”
Kagome lifted her head. “Forgive you?”
InuYasha nodded. “I left you. I wasn’t here to protect you. I should have been here.”
“But, but I told you to go. I told you that I would be able to protect him,” she replied. “It’s my fault this happened.”
“No more than it’s mine, or Sesshomaru’s, or Rin’s,” he told her.
“Y-You don’t blame me for not being strong enough?” she asked, and when he shook his head she continued, “Then why? I thought you hated me.”
“Haven’t I told you before that I could never hate you,” he said seriously as he held her more tightly against him. “I thought you blamed me, that you regretted coming here, being with me. I thought that the only way I would have a chance of getting you to forgive me would be to find him and bring him back. And I couldn’t do that until you got better.”
“Idiot, the only regrets I’ve ever had have been because I left you in the first place,” Kagome said.
InuYasha found himself smiling for the first time in a week. “Damn it, woman, I’ve missed you.”
Kagome smiled as he cupped her cheek in his hand. “I’ve missed you, too. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he replied as his lips brushed hers lightly. “And I promise you, we’re going to find him and get him back.”
“Together?” she asked, as she wrapped an arm around the back of his neck.
He nodded and leaned down to kiss her again.
And fortunately things only got better from there.
Now that Kagome was back on her feet again, she was rapidly regaining her strength, which meant that it wouldn’t be long before she and InuYasha could join the search for Taro. They also received a message from a wolf sent by Kouga that informed them that he might be on the trail of the youkai and dark priestess that took him. They were expecting word in a few days to confirm his suspicions. And conveniently enough, Kagome was expected to be well enough to travel by about that time.
It finally seemed as if the fates had ceased conspiring against them. A theory which was further confirmed when Sesshomaru arrived three days later just after Kouga’s wolf messenger.
Kagome waited rather impatiently as InuYasha and his brother listened to the wolf in front of them. She could do little else since the sounds and gestures of the animal meant nothing to her. She watched InuYasha carefully for his reactions, and her heart began to beat faster as his look became determined. It was one she recognized as the one he always wore before heading into battle.
Did that mean what she hoped it meant? She couldn’t wait to find out any longer.
“Well?” she prompted.
“Kouga didn’t find him, exactly,” InuYasha told her, but continued quickly as her face fell. “But there is something strange going on far to the north. He said the northern wolves have cleared out of their land and fled into his territory. He’s going to check it out.”
“Are we going, too?” she asked.
“Of course. If it’s them, he’s going to need our help,” InuYasha replied. “We’ll get everything ready tonight and leave at first light.”
“I’ll go start packing,” Kagome told him, and she headed towards their home.
Both men watched her go, and then Sesshomaru turned to his brother. “Would you have me accompany you?”
The hanyou sighed. “No. You’ve already done more than enough. You’ve put off mating with Rin to help me. We fought to give her a place, and it’s time she was allowed to fill it. It’s time for you to take her home.”
“Are you certain? After all, it was because you aided me that you were not here when your son was taken,” Sesshomaru said. “I have not forgotten that.”
InuYasha nodded. “I’m sure. Besides, we have to find this bastard before we can kill him.”
“Very well, but should you need my assistance, you need only send word and I will come without delay,” the youkai told him. “I will wait here for Rin. Send her to me once she has said her goodbyes. I would prefer not to witness the display of human female emotion that is likely to occur as she does so.”
InuYasha snorted. “You know, you’re going to have to get used to displays of ‘human female emotion’ if you’re going to have a human female as a mate.”
He laughed to himself when he realized that Sesshomaru was pretending not to have heard him, but decided to let it go, just this once. He left his brother standing there and made his way home.
Inside, Kagome was already helping Rin pack her things. She had agreed when the first wolf came that Sesshomaru and Rin shouldn’t have to wait any longer to be together, and so she knew that when he had arrived today, it likely meant that Rin would be leaving them.
“He’s waiting outside,” InuYasha announced as the two women stopped what they were doing momentarily and looked at him.
“Is that everything?” Kagome asked.
Rin replied with a nod, “I think so.”
“Then you’re all set,” Kagome told her. “I’m glad I got to know you, and I’ll miss you. I hope it won’t be too long before I see you again, and that the next time we meet I can call you my sister as well as my friend.”
“I will miss you, and I will be looking forward to the day we meet again as well,” Rin replied.
Kagome was momentarily stunned as Rin stepped forward and embraced her, but returned the hug with one of her own.
“Do not give up hope,” Rin said quietly. “I know that your family will be whole again. Your strength together will make it so, of that I have no doubt.”
Kagome sniffled and wiped her eyes as she drew away. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you out,” InuYasha offered, taking the bundle of clothing from Rin’s hand. As they stepped outside he stopped her. “I never thanked you.”
“You are welcome, even if there was no need,” she said with a smile, relieving him of her things as Sesshomaru drew near. “Farewell, InuYasha.”
The hanyou watched his brother and Rin leave before heading back inside to help Kagome finish packing. They would need to go to bed early so that they could get an early start.
It was time to find their son and bring him home.
For those of you still with me and those that have left a review, know that I really do appreciate it. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Also thank you to doggieearlover, who is my wonderful beta.
Disclaimer: As much as it pains me to admit, I do not own InuYasha or any of its characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I will make no money from this work of fiction and no copyrightg infringement is intended.
~ * ~
Kagome sat up slowly and looked around. Neither Rin, nor InuYasha, were in sight. She threw back the blanket covering her legs and carefully made her way onto her feet. Immediately, she reached out for the wall beside her to steady herself. Once she was fairly certain that she wouldn’t fall, she began to take small, shaky steps towards the door. Several times she had to stop and regain her balance, but eventually she made it to the threshold and stepped outside.“What are you doing up?” a gruff voice asked from beside her.
Kagome would have fallen from the start it gave her, had it not been for the clawed hand that reached out to support her. However, it did not escape her notice that he pulled back as soon as she was stable. Her stomach twisted and she had to fight not to be sick. Of course he was angry with her. Why shouldn’t he be?
She lowered her head. “It’s time I start doing things for myself.”
InuYasha looked away, out into the forest, his expression unreadable. “Get back inside. You aren’t strong enough yet, and if you try to do things too soon, it’ll only be that much longer before I can start looking for him.”
She bit back her tears and nodded. She didn’t have it in her to argue with him, not when it was her fault that their son was missing. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything that might make him hate her even more than he no doubt already did.
InuYasha watched Kagome turn and go inside without a fight. He had to close his eyes and take several deep breaths before he could make himself follow her. She couldn’t even stand to look at him. He had expected as much, but deep down, he had hoped... That didn’t matter, not anymore.
He headed inside and dished what was left of the morning meal that Rin had prepared into a bowl. Kagome took it from him and ate it all without a word of protest. He was glad for it. The sooner she got her strength back, the sooner he could go after their son. Maybe, if he could bring Taro back, then she would be able to forgive him. InuYasha knew it wasn’t very likely, that she had already forgiven him too much, but it was the only thing he could do.
When she was finished, he took her bowl and put it with the rest of the dishes, and headed back outside. As he reached the door he could hear her crying softly. He cursed himself and took off into the trees.
Once she had cried herself out for the time being, Kagome drifted into a fitful sleep. Though, it wasn’t for long, since she was woken soon after by Rin’s return from the river.
“How are you feeling?” she asked gently.
Kagome just bit her lip and turned away to look at the wall. She had no right to complain.
Rin frowned. This would not do at all. She went to the older woman and kneeled beside her. “I know things are bad right now, but it will be all right. Sesshomaru-sama will not fail. Now, I thought that you might enjoy a real bath.”
At this Kagome turned. “A bath.”
Rin nodded. “It will do you good to cleanse yourself completely. I will go with you.”
“Okay,” Kagome agreed.
The two women made their way to the hot springs just outside. Rin stayed closed to Kagome to make sure that she didn’t fall, and soon they were both undressed and slipping into the spring. Kagome slumped down in the warm water, and despite her best efforts not to, she began to cry. Rin looked at her sadly.
“Kagome,” she said placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“He hates me,” Kagome sobbed. “He can’t even stand to look me in the eye anymore. I don’t blame him after what happened, but it hurts. And my baby, my poor little boy, who knows what they’ve done to him, and here I am, just lying around.”
“I am sure InuYasha does not hate you,” Rin told her. “He was very upset when we did not know if you would recover, and I am certain that he is simply feeling the same pain that you are experiencing. He is anxious to be out searching, but unable to bring himself to leave before you are completely recovered.”
“Exactly,” Kagome cried. “I kept his son from him for five years, five years, and now he is being kept away again because I failed him. He trusted me to take care of our son, and I was too weak to protect him. It’s my fault, all of it. How can he love me now?”
Rin knew that nothing she said would console the woman beside her. There was only one person whose words could relieve some of her pain, but unfortunately, InuYasha was not talking to anyone at the moment. She was almost certain that the hanyou felt himself to blame, and that he was avoiding Kagome not because he no longer wished to be with her, but because he was afraid she no longer wished to be with him. Rin decided that she would speak to InuYasha, and convince him to talk to Kagome. Perhaps in helping them find their way back to one another, she could make up for her lack of courage.
~ * ~
Rin pulled the blanket up over the woman who would soon be her sister, and came to her feet. It was time to find InuYasha and speak to him, no matter how resistant she expected him to be.It wasn’t hard to find him. After all, he was almost always in the same place. It was clear that as much as he dreaded having to be near Kagome, he couldn’t bring himself to stay away. She approached the tree where he was perched.
“Would you speak with me?” she asked.
He jumped down and landed in front of her with hardly a sound. “Is something wrong with Kagome?”
Rin nearly smiled at the concern in his voice. “She is sleeping, but all is not well. Her heart is greatly troubled. It seems that she believes that you no longer wish to be with her.”
The hanyou’s eyes widened in shock. “What!? Where the hell did you get an idea like that?”
“From her,” Rin replied.
“That’s stupid,” InuYasha spat as he turned from her. “That’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. How could she think that I don’t want her? How could she when I’m the one...”
“When you are the one that what?” Rin asked. “Kagome believes this situation to be her failure, that she has betrayed your trust in her strength. She thinks that you cannot bear to look at her because you no longer care for her because of this. But I believe differently.”
InuYasha snorted. “Is that so? Then tell me what the truth is, if you know so much.”
“You cannot bear to look at her because you believe that this is your fault. You do not feel worthy of her, and you are afraid that if you were to look into her eyes you would see not love, but disgust and blame there, instead.” Rin explained quietly. “You think that the only way you will be able to look at her again is to find your son and bring him home, and though you wish to keep her safe, the real reason you do not wish for her to travel with you is because you believe that it is something you must do yourself to make up for not being here to protect them.”
InuYasha spun to face her. “It is my fault, damn it! I should have been here! I never should have left them!”
“Then do you blame me as well? It was for me that you left, and I hid behind their protection while your mate was nearly killed and your son taken,” Rin said. “And surely some of the blame must fall on Sesshomaru-sama as well.”
InuYasha channeled his anger into his hands and dug his claws into his palms. “It was my choice, and you couldn’t have done anything, but gotten yourself killed.”
“Yes, it was your choice, as it was Kagome’s choice leave safety for the wolf demon and your son’s to try and protect his mother. What you seem to be forgetting is that it was also the dark priestess who chose to work with this demon, and it was their choices that are to be blamed,” Rin reminded him. “And if you let them take more from you than you already have, then that will be your choice as well.”
“What do you expect me to do?” InuYasha asked with a sigh. “I can’t change what happened.”
“No, but you can change what is happening right now,” Rin said. “Go to her. Make her see that your heart has not changed, and let her show you the same. Surely you can see that this was part of their plan. They wish to divide you. They waited until you were separated because they knew that they could not have defeated you together. Yes, they have defeated you this time, but that does not mean that you have to allow them to win again, or that victory is theirs.”
“You know, I don’t think my brother has a clue what he’s getting himself into with you,” InuYasha said after a long moment. “Then again, knowing him, maybe he does.”
Rin smiled. “I will take that as a compliment. Thank you. Now let us go. Too much time has been wasted already.”
~ * ~
InuYasha entered the room he shared with Kagome and sat down beside her. Normally he would have waited for her to wake on her own, but not this time. Rin was right; too much time had already been wasted. He reached out and brushed a gentle hand over her cheek.Slowly her eyes opened, and when they met his, they filled with tears. To his relief, he didn’t see in them what he had feared, but instead saw shame.
“Kagome.”
Her name, spoken softly, but with all the love he felt for her behind it, tore down all the barriers between them and she threw herself into his arms. He held her close, smoothing her hair as she sobbed against him.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “Please, forgive me. Please.”
A low rumble spilled from him and he nuzzled her neck. “Do you forgive me, then?”
Kagome lifted her head. “Forgive you?”
InuYasha nodded. “I left you. I wasn’t here to protect you. I should have been here.”
“But, but I told you to go. I told you that I would be able to protect him,” she replied. “It’s my fault this happened.”
“No more than it’s mine, or Sesshomaru’s, or Rin’s,” he told her.
“Y-You don’t blame me for not being strong enough?” she asked, and when he shook his head she continued, “Then why? I thought you hated me.”
“Haven’t I told you before that I could never hate you,” he said seriously as he held her more tightly against him. “I thought you blamed me, that you regretted coming here, being with me. I thought that the only way I would have a chance of getting you to forgive me would be to find him and bring him back. And I couldn’t do that until you got better.”
“Idiot, the only regrets I’ve ever had have been because I left you in the first place,” Kagome said.
InuYasha found himself smiling for the first time in a week. “Damn it, woman, I’ve missed you.”
Kagome smiled as he cupped her cheek in his hand. “I’ve missed you, too. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he replied as his lips brushed hers lightly. “And I promise you, we’re going to find him and get him back.”
“Together?” she asked, as she wrapped an arm around the back of his neck.
He nodded and leaned down to kiss her again.
~ * ~
The next morning when Rin went to check on Kagome she was pleased to find InuYasha already with her, his hand resting in her own as she slept. She nodded and placed the tray of food that she had brought with her on the floor. She knew that it would be good for them both to spend this time together without her, now that things had been worked out between them. She had no delusions that there wasn’t still a long road ahead of the couple before things would truly be right again, but it was a start.And fortunately things only got better from there.
Now that Kagome was back on her feet again, she was rapidly regaining her strength, which meant that it wouldn’t be long before she and InuYasha could join the search for Taro. They also received a message from a wolf sent by Kouga that informed them that he might be on the trail of the youkai and dark priestess that took him. They were expecting word in a few days to confirm his suspicions. And conveniently enough, Kagome was expected to be well enough to travel by about that time.
It finally seemed as if the fates had ceased conspiring against them. A theory which was further confirmed when Sesshomaru arrived three days later just after Kouga’s wolf messenger.
Kagome waited rather impatiently as InuYasha and his brother listened to the wolf in front of them. She could do little else since the sounds and gestures of the animal meant nothing to her. She watched InuYasha carefully for his reactions, and her heart began to beat faster as his look became determined. It was one she recognized as the one he always wore before heading into battle.
Did that mean what she hoped it meant? She couldn’t wait to find out any longer.
“Well?” she prompted.
“Kouga didn’t find him, exactly,” InuYasha told her, but continued quickly as her face fell. “But there is something strange going on far to the north. He said the northern wolves have cleared out of their land and fled into his territory. He’s going to check it out.”
“Are we going, too?” she asked.
“Of course. If it’s them, he’s going to need our help,” InuYasha replied. “We’ll get everything ready tonight and leave at first light.”
“I’ll go start packing,” Kagome told him, and she headed towards their home.
Both men watched her go, and then Sesshomaru turned to his brother. “Would you have me accompany you?”
The hanyou sighed. “No. You’ve already done more than enough. You’ve put off mating with Rin to help me. We fought to give her a place, and it’s time she was allowed to fill it. It’s time for you to take her home.”
“Are you certain? After all, it was because you aided me that you were not here when your son was taken,” Sesshomaru said. “I have not forgotten that.”
InuYasha nodded. “I’m sure. Besides, we have to find this bastard before we can kill him.”
“Very well, but should you need my assistance, you need only send word and I will come without delay,” the youkai told him. “I will wait here for Rin. Send her to me once she has said her goodbyes. I would prefer not to witness the display of human female emotion that is likely to occur as she does so.”
InuYasha snorted. “You know, you’re going to have to get used to displays of ‘human female emotion’ if you’re going to have a human female as a mate.”
He laughed to himself when he realized that Sesshomaru was pretending not to have heard him, but decided to let it go, just this once. He left his brother standing there and made his way home.
Inside, Kagome was already helping Rin pack her things. She had agreed when the first wolf came that Sesshomaru and Rin shouldn’t have to wait any longer to be together, and so she knew that when he had arrived today, it likely meant that Rin would be leaving them.
“He’s waiting outside,” InuYasha announced as the two women stopped what they were doing momentarily and looked at him.
“Is that everything?” Kagome asked.
Rin replied with a nod, “I think so.”
“Then you’re all set,” Kagome told her. “I’m glad I got to know you, and I’ll miss you. I hope it won’t be too long before I see you again, and that the next time we meet I can call you my sister as well as my friend.”
“I will miss you, and I will be looking forward to the day we meet again as well,” Rin replied.
Kagome was momentarily stunned as Rin stepped forward and embraced her, but returned the hug with one of her own.
“Do not give up hope,” Rin said quietly. “I know that your family will be whole again. Your strength together will make it so, of that I have no doubt.”
Kagome sniffled and wiped her eyes as she drew away. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you out,” InuYasha offered, taking the bundle of clothing from Rin’s hand. As they stepped outside he stopped her. “I never thanked you.”
“You are welcome, even if there was no need,” she said with a smile, relieving him of her things as Sesshomaru drew near. “Farewell, InuYasha.”
The hanyou watched his brother and Rin leave before heading back inside to help Kagome finish packing. They would need to go to bed early so that they could get an early start.
It was time to find their son and bring him home.