InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Doragon Miko ❯ Decisions, Decisions ( Chapter 3 )

Hidy! New chapter! YAY! ^^ I hope you enjoy, and remember to review!! Review=Higher self asteem=possibility of more chappies

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Rin shrieked happily as she dodged yet another snowball from Jaken. This snow stuff was fun! You could pack it real right and pop Jaken-sama upside the head! And Jaken-sama had bad aim. She giggled again as her ball sent Jaken sailing into a snowdrift.

For some reason unknownst to Rin, Sesshoumaru-sama had just...stopped. In the middle of the snow. She guessed it was just to wind some of her extra energy off. But for some reason she couldn't feel her legs and feet...

Rin doged another of Jaken's wild snowballs while trudging over to Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!! Can we get back on Ah-Un now?"

Jaken made a disgusted sound from behind her. "Pyah! Silly child. The pack beast is not a cold weather animal. We walk."

Jaken looked supremely proud of himself when Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement.

"The animal will go back down and take the long way around the mountains. We shall meet it on the other side."

Rin bit down on her speedily chapping lips. 'Walk? Across the mountains?' She stomped her feet, trying to get some feeling into them. 'Why can't Rin feel them anyway? Oh well.' She straightened her yukata and saluted her lord.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

~*~

Sesshoumaru growled impatiently. This was thie ninth time Rin had tripped and fallen flat on her face in the snow. He had picked her up enough times...

He cocked his head back in her general direction in a silent command to Jaken without pausing in his stride. Jaken instantly waddled back to the shivering child, trying to drag her to her feet.

"C'mon, whelp! Sesshoumaru-sama's on a SCHEDULE! He shows mercy enough by letting you tag along at his heels, you show gross disrespect by deliberately slowing him down! Now get up whelp! WHELP! Whelp?" Blink." "Rin?"

Jaken poked her unconscious face gingerly, noting the change in hue leaning towards the cooler end of the spectrum. "Er...Sesshoumaru-sama...I think she's...dead?"

Sesshoumaru wheeled around on his heels, walking back briskly to the lithe form who was being covered with a dusting of the falling snow. He knelt down and pressed two of his fingers against her neck gently.

"No. Unconscious...but not dead."

"My lord, why would she just conk out? It's not that cold--"

"It is to a human." Jaken fell silent as his master scooped up the link child, tucking her against his chest.

"Keep walking, Jaken. She'll come-to later."

"Hai, m'lord."

~*~

Rin sighed contently. This was the first time she was happy about coming here. It was warm!

But her happiness was short lived when Kamui knelt down in front of her. She'd have to figure out how he could appear out of thin air like that.

"You look happy, little one."

Rin shrugged. "It's warm here."

"Warm? Isn't it summer, child?"

"Hai..." Rin sat up straight, trying to look smart. "It's summer at...water level?" She paused, knowing that didn't sound right, "But mountains are cold. 'cause it's high." She beamed proudly. Sesshoumaru-sama would be happy she remembered.

Kamui raised a brow. "Mountains? What are you doing climbing mountains?"

"'Cause Sesshoumaru-sama said so."

Kamui sighed exasperately, "My child, if you're gunna be someone's servant, at least have dignity enough to be Long Huang-di's servant."

Rin stood up so that she was face to face with the kneeling houshi. "No!! Rin's not a servant."

"Then why do you refer to this Sesshoumaru as Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"'Cause he is! Sesshoumaru-sama is the lord of the Western Lands."

Kamui was reeeally thrown for a loop by this development in Rin's life. "The 'Western lands'? Child, one cannot own that much land. If you did, you'd have to be extremely rich. Or the emperor."

"Nope! Sesshoumaru-sama's really strong. But he's rich too, Rin thinks." She twirled around to show off her yukata. "He bought this for Rin!"

"He would have to be a youkai to have that much strength--"

"Hai! Sesshoumaru-sama's an inu youkai!" Rin thought Kamui's eyes were going to pop out of his head.

Hinoto chose this time to appear.

"Akaasan!!" Rin jumped up to hug Hinoto, leaving Kamui in his state of shock. Hinoto stroked her long fingers over Rin's hair lovingly. "Hello, my child."

Rin frowned. 'Akaasan looks sad...more than usual, anyway.' she sighed, 'Akaasan is always sad...' "Akaasan, what's wrong?"

Hinoto looked away, unable to keep her gaze resting on her daughter.

"Rin...I..." She swallowed and turned back to face Rin, cold determination blazing in her eyes. "I cannot hold ye back from my anymore..."

Rin felt a stone drop in her stomach.

"Ye...ye need to go to Long Huang-di-sama now...I...I know that...I told ye to stay away...and really, I still want ye to. But we've been talking, your father and I...and I know that ye have a higher chance of living your life out if..if ye go rather than stay..."

Rin couldn't help it. Large tears were filling her eyes and rolling down her pink cheeks. 'Akaasan is siding with Kamui-san!!'

Rin pushed away from her mother, stepping back far enough to glare at them both. "Why?! Why does Rin have to go?! That stupid dragon can take care of himself!! Rin is staying with Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Kamui was the first to speak. "Rin, you have--"

"No!"

"You'll die if you don't, child!"

"Die die die! That's all otousan ever says! HOW will Rin die?! Huh?! Sesshoumaru-sama said Rin's heart was just fine! So it won't kill Rin!"

Hinoto nodded solemnly. "That's right. it is fine. Give it another year, love. Then ye'll feel it...ye'll feel tired all the time. Weak. Your chest will constantly ache, even though it's just little pangs at first. Then simply breathing will become difficult. Eventually ye'll become so weak that it takes your best effort to feed yourself...All your strength will go into that next breath. Then your heart shall simply...stop."

Rin stood as still as a stone, completely mortified. "H...how....does Akaasan know this...?"

"It happened to my oneesan..." Hinoto knelt down and cupped her child's face in her hand. "I do not wish ye to experience that pain, Rin. My oneesan suffered with it for seven years, each day harder than the last. More than once she begged me, her own sister, to run a knife through her, to just get it over with." She shook her head, attempting to keep her tears at bay. "Go to him, little one. If he wishes ye to be his miko rather than his sacrifice, he'll purify your heart."

Rin rubbed her sleeve across her wet eyes. "But...Rin doesn't know where he is...'an Rin can't leave Sesshoumaru-sama!"

"Your heart will guide ye to him, little one..." Hinoto pulled Rin into a tight hug. "As for your master...ye'll have to decide that on your own..." She released Rin from her arms and stood. "Go now."

"Hai, Akaasan..."

~*~

Rin awaoke to two things. One, she was pleasantly warm. And two...she was being smothered by a great deal of fur.

"KYAAAAA!!!!!!!!! HELP!!!"

Sesshoumaru nearly tripped when the bundle he was carrying started kicking and screaming fitfully.

"Sesshoumaru-saMAAAAA! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!!"

Sesshoumaru smirked lightly in amusement as Rin struggled to shove the pelt off her face, only entangling herself further. He let this go on for another minute or so before smoothly pulling it off her bewildered face.

She squinted in the bright light, but also curled towards his warmth when a blast of freezing air hit her face.

"Kyaa...it's colddd..." She blinked. "Sesshoumaru-sama, why are you carrying Rin?"

"Because you fell unconscious."

"Why?"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow twitched slightly. 'Kami-sama, don't let her start in on the why's...' "Because your human blood cannot handle the cold."

"Oh...ne, Sesshoumaru-sama, how come Rin couldn't feel her feet?"

"You had a mild case of frostbite..." He turned his eyes to his unknown destination, HATING to admit fault. "I was foolish in thinking you could hike through several feet of snow in a summer yukata and barefoot."

Rin smiled to herself. "Apologies" from Sesshoumaru-sama were rare. And she was practically relishing in the even more rare shown worry and affection.

"Arigatou, Sesshoumaru-sama."

He nodded slightly as Jaken came jogging up.

"M'lord! Theres a pack of kitsune youkai about three miles downwind. i'm not quite sure of their numbers, nor of their strength. Should we take an alternate route, m'lord? not that you aren't strong enough t defeat them, my lord, but um, but! Um..."

"We will continue on, Jaken."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Rin supressed a fit of giggles when Jaken bowed his face into the snow, coming back up with a mouthfull of the stuff. He took off ahead of them, tripping every so often.

Rin snuggled closer, content with listening to Sesshoumaru's heartbeat. But after a few minutes of random thoughts flying through her mind, the sound reminded her of her most recent dream.

"...ye'll feel tired all the time. Weak. Your chest will constantly ache, even though it's just little pangs at first. Then simply breathing will become difficult."

"All your strength will go into that next breath. Then your heart shall simply...stop."

'If Rin stays, she dies. If Rin goes, she might die...' She sniffed, realizing she was crying. 'Rin can't leave Sesshoumaru-sama...'

She sat up and gave the surprised lord a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug around the neck. "Can Rin stay with Sesshoumaru-sama forever?"

Sesshoumaru was caught so off guard by her sudden burst of affection that he didn't know how the hell to answer the queston. So he didn't.

Rin buried her face in his neck, embarrassed now for asking such a silly question.

"Gomen nasai..."

She felt him pause in his stride. "...You may stay. If you wish."

She smiled and gave his neck another squeeze before snuggling back down into her original position. She closed her eyes lazily, his steady heartbeat being a comforting, relaxing sound.

'Either way, Rin dies. Rin can die slowly 'an stay with Sesshoumaru-sama...or Rin can go get eaten by a stupid dragon.' Her last thoughts before dozing off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep, 'Sorry, Akaasan. Rin's gunna stay."