The Secret Grotto [Sesshoumaru / Open]

[Rin]

Rin waited anxiously for a response from Sesshoumaru, she truly did not know what to expect from him. It was unlike her, typically, she would have been able to roughly assume the youkai's course of action. During the times she had traveled with Sesshoumaru, she became accustomed to his mysterious nature - she quickly learned to read his moods through the shifts of colour in his eyes, to know when to speak and when to remain silent, and to accept without question her place as he permitted her to stay by his side, protecting her from harm.

It was relieving to hear him speak. Rin exhaled the last of her suspense as she mentally thanked Sesshoumaru for believing in her abilities, and not deeming her a fool. Rin looked back up at Sesshoumaru with her new-found confidence, and stared into his eyes. 'He intends to follow me...' Although he hadn't said, somehow she knew.

So the young woman moved to her stall, and gathered all of the orchids together into her basket. Once that was done, she moved quickly in the direction of the grotto.

Upon arriving, Rin felt suddenly afraid. She stood before the grotto's entrance, realising that she had no idea what would happen when she went inside. Could he sense that she came with different intentions than usual? Was he expecting this at all? Rin stalled for a few moments, before swallowing her fear and moving to enter. 'I have to do this, or else nothing will change. Sesshoumaru will leave me and I will be forever succumbed to this grotto...'

Rin continued to move until she was close to the centre of the dark place, lit only by small patches of sunlight and the strange substance that floated through the air. The substance began to collect on Rin, as it always did. Rin dropped her basket onto the ground, spilling the orchids around her feet.

"Release me from your spell, youkai. I desire nothing from you anymore." Rin knew that Sesshoumaru was near, but she was going to take care of this herself.

There was a silence for a few moments, before the youkai's voice sounded over the grotto. "That is not for me to decide, Rin." Rin waited for him to continue.

"Only you can conquer your fears."

Rin felt her energy leaving her quickly, she looked down to notice that the glowing droplets on her skin began to absorb into her body. What was happening to her? She suddenly felt sleepy, though she tried to keep conscious, "...What are you doing to me?"

There was no response, and Rin couldn't support herself any longer; she collapsed as she feel into a deep sleep. Shortly after, a tall man with long, green hair and orange antennaes appeared. He had two purple, circular markings on his forehead, above his eyebrows. He approached Rin, and out of his mouth came a mass of silk that engulfed her into a spherical cocoon.

He bit the silk, disconnecting himself from the cocoon. "This woman has many fears... She will surely die, and be reborn under my spell." He turned toward Sesshoumaru, "I have been waiting for you, Lord Sesshoumaru. Did you truly think that you could keep a secret from the Owl?"

The moth partially transformed, sprouting wings as he readied to retreat. "Do not bother trying to free her, my cocoons are indestructible from the outside. Only Rin can break away from her nightmare." He smirked at his success. "You may even find yourself fighting her soon..."

With that, the moth made to leave the grotto.

[Sesshoumaru / Yuunagi no Kimi]

The one who had altered Rin’s scent had been a moth youkai all along—worse still, one that worked for the Owl.

As his worst suspicions were confirmed before his very eyes, Sesshoumaru’s eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled into a snarl. With a growl, he lunged forward and gave chase to the retreating moth. The knuckles of his right hand cracked as he flexed his fingers, and soon, they were aglow with power of his poison. A swipe of his claws, and the moth’s forming wings were severed from its back. Another slash, and the moth screamed as Sesshoumaru’s poison ate away at its body.

Leaving the moth for dead, Sesshoumaru turned back to the cocoon that held Rin.

He approached the sphere, and his mouth pulled into a deep grown as apprehension and fear stirred from somewhere deep within him. Rin had been caught within the Moth’s cocoon, and he had done nothing to stop it from happening. No matter how much he wanted to interrupt, to protect her, he had decided to leave her to handle the situation on her own. He would not go back on his own decison—she was to do with the youkai as she saw fit. Now, as he placed his palm flat against the sphere’s surface, Sesshoumaru had no choice but to wait for her to find her own way out of the Moth’s trap.

“Rin…"

[Rin]

"Rin, look at me."

A gentle voice hovered over the young girl-child, as she gazed out to the sky. The wind cradled the seeds of a dandelion, guiding them to wherever wishes were granted. Rin looked at her mother, who sat with her in a field of flowers. She held an incomplete flower-crown in her hands.

"You are so easily distracted, my child. Do you not want to learn?" Rin looked down at her own flower-crown, it wasn't quite finished either. "You should pay more attention, this is how you may win someones heart one day." She continued twisting stems together as she spoke, "Think of who you want to give your crown to, and twist your love for them into every knot..."

Rin smiled fondly as she thought of her brother. 'I will make this one for you...' Her mother smiled as well, observing Rin. "Although, with that smile - you won't ever need flowers to capture someones heart, Rin."

The wind gained speed, lifting Rin's flower-crown out of her small hands and into the air. Rin gasped out of surprise and ran after it, but before she could catch it, someone else caught it first. The young girl stopped in her tracks upon the sight of him.

Her older brother stood a few feet away from her, holding the incomplete flower-crown in his hand. He was a young adolescent with a handsome face and a bright smile. The sunshine reflected on his hair and through his eyes; as he smiled softly at Rin's simple creation. "...Who is this for, little sister?"

Tears began to build up in her eyes, as she stared at her beloved brother. 'You will never know, my dear older brother... You left me before I could tell you.' Rin's expression turned from from admiration to horror, as the field around them began to burn. The sunlight seemed to fade, and the world became a dark place lit only by the fire.

Burning buildings appeared around her, and her mother and brother disappeared. She stood in the middle of her village, as bandits slaughtered the people around her, burning and raiding everything in their paths. Rin was small, and managed to go unnoticed as she ran toward her home - she wanted to find her family, as they were the only ones who would care to keep her safe. Although upon entering, she did not see what she had hoped to see. Instead the corpses of her mother, father, and her older brother reflected in her eyes. A bandit knelt over her brother's corpse, as he searched through his clothing for something of value. Rin stood there, paralyzed.

The bandit turned to look at her, and the events following that terrifying gaze seemed to happen in a blur. He grabbed her by a section of her hair, and she screamed. Though, her screams were useless in her situation, and only seemed to drown into the cloud of sound already surrounding her. In a trance of fear, she noticed her brother's sharpening knife lying nearby. Impulsively, Rin took hold of the knife and used it to cut the hair that the bandit grasped, freeing herself. She ran.

She ran faster than she ever had before. While heading toward the forest, she looked over her shoulder; although she did not see bandits chasing after her, as she had expected. Instead, she saw wolves. The beasts ran much faster than bandits could, and they gained quickly on her. Rin could feel herself losing hope as they came closer to her, and she could feel her fear consuming her, slowing her down. It did not take long for the wolves to catch up with her, and Rin knew that all hope was lost as she tripped on a root; falling to the ground.

Rin had given up. She could feel the darkness swelling in her heart as the wolves scratched and bit into her flesh. It was like her soul was leaving her, corrupting itself with her fear and bitterness. She closed her eyes as everything seemed to fade away from her - had she lost herself entirely? Could she ever go back?

Rin opened her eyes slowly, and realised that she was in the arms of Sesshoumaru. The wolves were gone.

'No... Although my past will always haunt me,' Rin smiled as she could feel herself returning to her conscious, 'I will never be afraid, as long as you are with me.'

Brought back to her senses, Rin sat up slowly in the cocoon. Without even thinking, she pressed her hand against the wall of the cocoon. Somehow, she felt like there was some kind of light behind it, some kind of sanguine that could free her from this strange prison. It wasn't the pressure she placed on the wall, but the courage in her heart that broke through the surface. As her hand pushed through, it came in contact with Sesshoumaru's; she grasped his hand with all of her trust as the cocoon disintegrated around her. 'This is the hand of my hero...'

"Lord Sesshoumaru..."

[Sesshoumaru / Yuunagi no Kimi]

Sesshoumaru had waited for what felt like a small eternity. As time drew on, he started to wonder if Rin would survive this, or if she would perish.

She is just a human...

Humans were weak things that died so easily; yet, the knowledge that Rin might not survive her encounter with the moth caused something to constrict within his chest. It was a combined sense of worry and anger—worry for Rin’s future, and anger toward the so-called Owl for being such an underhandedly persistent bastard.

When he had agreed to leave Rin to live amongst her own kind, he’d done it for her safety. His patrols were no place for a child—especially one as fragile as a human. Then, when Fuumori Minokawa’s agents attacked, he had cut off his ties to her village so that she may remain undetected. Now, it was obvious that even the village was unsafe. If she managed to find her way out of the cocoon, intact, he would have to find an alternative place for her to live.

But where?

This was one of two human villages with which Sesshoumaru held any ties—speaking of which, where was Inuyasha while all this happened? Wasn’t his half-brother supposed to be that village’s watchdog?

Sesshoumaru sneered at the thought of his younger brother, Trust a hanyou to be so incompetent.

As for the second village, Yuunagi lived there. Sesshoumaru did not want to even remotely give the slithering bastard another excuse to come creeping around his territory. Not for the first time, Sesshoumaru whished that there was some way to rid of the pest for good; but this demi-god existed on a whole different plane of annoying—especially when said demi-god was courting his mother. Indeed, that village was absolutely out of the question.

It seemed that the only remaining viable option was to move Rin into a youkai settlement, rather than a human one—and specifically, his own. It was an option that left an unsavory taste in his mouth. Never has a human been allowed entrance into the inner walls of the yamajiro (not even his father’s human mistresses was granted that privilege).

Could the exception be made for Rin? Would she want to leave the human village, for one settled only with youkai? Before the question could fully more in his mind, Sesshoumaru knew the answer. She had given it to him earlier that day. If she wanted to return with him, he would not deny her. After all, even after ten years, she was still his responsibility to protect. If anyone objected to her presence, he would deal with them directly.

The cocoon suddenly started to glow, distracting Sesshoumaru from his thoughts. The glow soon erupted into a maelstrom of wind and youki as shell ruptured. He felt a small hand grasp at his—Rin’s hand—and he firmly returned the hold.

Before long, the light faded and Rin was standing before him. She spoke his name, and he knew that she had returned to him. The worry within him gave way to relief, joy, and pride—Rin, a mere human, had succeeded where many youkai had failed in the past. She had escaped from a Moth’s cocoon. He found himself wanting to voice his gladness at her return, but he was unable to find the words.

So, Sesshoumaru said nothing.

Instead, he used her grip on his hand to pull her into a one-arm embrace.

[Rin]

Upon grasping Sesshoumaru's hand, Rin was pulled away from the ground and into an embrace. Although it was only with one arm, she was able to support herself by leaning on him. Rin was so exhausted that if it were not for Sesshoumaru holding her right now, she probably would have fallen over. She continued to hold his hand, as he used his other to embrace her. Rin leaned her weary head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat, while feeling the softness of his mokomoko.

"...I dreamt that I was a child again, and that my village was under attack." She whispered with a kind of soft sadness, and relief in her voice. "Bandits... Wolves..." She trembled as she continued. "I could not speak. My voice clung in my throat, but it would not come out - I could only think, and feel... I could scream but I could not make my thoughts into words, I could do nothing as I watched my family die again..."

"I too would have died again, if you hadn't saved me. She shut her eyes. "Thank you, Lord Sesshoumaru, for making me strong."

Rin then realised the youkai that had trapped her must have either disappeared, or died. She opened her eyes to look around her, but there was no sign of him, not even a corpse. Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru with curious eyes, but she decided before asking that it did not matter. It was over now.

Something else sparked her curiousity more, "What shall you do from here, my Lord?"

Rin hoped that he did not plan to leave. If he did, she hoped that he would take her with him, wherever he went. She did not want to be parted from him anymore; whenever he was not around she felt like something was lacking within her. Although, despite the way she felt, if Sesshoumaru did not desire her company then she did not want to burden him. Rin concluded that it was not her choice.

"...Whatever you decide to do, may I go with you?" Though, Rin also concluded that it would not hurt to ask.

[Sesshoumaru / Yuunagi no Kimi]

Sesshoumaru stood, somewhat stiffly, with Rin in his embrace. He remained still as she laid her head against his chest, and listed as she spoke of her experience inside the cocoon. She had been forced to endure the memories of her childhood, and he could tell by both sound and scent that the trauma of those memories saddened her. Then she thanked him for making her strong—and Sesshoumaru’s breath held for a confused moment. He was unsure what she meant by those words. He did not know what he did to facilitate that belief. Still, he could not deny that a small part of him was warmed by her claim.

Sesshoumaru’s tenseness relaxed a little when she brought her eyes to his. There was a question in them—one that she soon voiced. She wanted to know if she could go with him, and he found himself relived that Rin broached the subject of his earlier thoughts on her own.

“Where I shall do from here? I am headed home,” he answered, but then belatedly added for clarification, “to my yamajiro in the West.”

He paused only briefly as he prepared to respond to Rin’s request to go with him. Already, he knew the answer would disappoint her. “Rin… You know that you can no longer follow me as you once did, before I settled you in that village,” there was a stern warning within his voice as he spoke. “Since then, and even now, at my side is too dangerous a place for a human to be—no matter how strong you think you’ve become. My enemies are stronger still, and I cannot always protect you from them.“

Harsh words, but they were true. Should he encounter an enemy on his patrol, he did not want to be forced to split his attention between protecting Rin, and defeating his opponent. In the past, he may have been arrogant enough to believe he could do both—and in most cases, he knew he still could—but even he was not above making mistakes. He’d done so before, and had to pay the price of losing one among the few who had become important to him.

Despite the decision to no longer allow Rin to travel with him, he still wanted to see her settled—somewhere—happily. With that in mind, he added, “However, if it is your will to no longer reside in Inuyasha’s village, then I will not stop you. You are grown; you can choose to live wherever you want… minding that the consequences of that choice will also be yours to shoulder.”

[Rin]

As fragile as it had been, the hope in her heart dulled upon hearing Sesshoumaru's response. Although, she knew that he was right, and that was what hurt her the most. No matter how much effort she put into her ability to defend herself, she would still always remain a burden for him to travel with. '...Is it impossible for me to return to him?'

Rin imagined her current options. She could remain in Kaede's Village, although she would have to discover a new source of income. Either that, or she could attempt to find another place to reside in, but she did not know where that be - she did not want to live in a village, but if she absolutely had to then she would prefer to remain in this one.

Whatever she decided, all of her options seemed vague, and it made her uncomfortable. She looked up at Sesshoumaru, contemplating what she should say - she could beg, beg for him to accept her again, but she knew better. She had heard the tone in his voice, and she knew that was not happening.

Rin was sure that she was making a strange face right now. Sesshoumaru was going to leave her to go home, and Rin would be left in a state of uncertainty. No matter how hard Rin tried to adjust, she would always feel lost, she would always feel like something was lacking - without him. It was kind of ridiculous how much of an effect she allowed the daiyoukai to have on her, but she could not help it; she was only human. 'A very foolish human...'

Remembering how Sesshoumaru had said that he was going to go home, something clicked in her troubled mind. Somehow, she did not feel as restless as she had earlier. Her face brightened and she felt her energy returning, and she released herself from Sesshoumaru's embrace to head toward the exit of the grotto with a twirl.

She stopped a few feet away from the exit, turning her head to look at him. "Let us go, Sesshoumaru-Sama! You said that you were going home, ne?" Rin smiled brightly, her eyes trembling. "I want to live there!"

With that, she continued on her way to exit the grotto; her heart soaring with bliss. Although, she had no idea what was to be expected back at that yamajiro.