The day wore on and the strange entourage made their way to the entrance of an eerie forest as night fell. Kagome shivered and looked around slowly, feeling creeped out. Something about the atmosphere seemed to make her uneasy but nobody else seemed to be bothered by it but her. Sesshoumaru was as unflappable as usual, but something told her that the youkai was never caught unawares. Although Rin did not seem to be anxious, Kagome noticed that the little girl did not wander far from Sesshoumaru's side. Instead, the kid seemed to be having a lot of fun running around Sesshoumaru as he calmly continued walking. Kagome turned to back of the group to see how Jaken was reacting but found the toad-like youkai glaring at her. Disturbed by his look, Kagome started getting mad. What was he staring at? Just as Kagome opened her mouth to tell off the ugly toad, Jaken suddenly had his face smashed into the ground as he fell. The teenager sweatdropped as an excited Rin stepped on the fallen youkai's head pressing his face further into the dirt. The girl turned to look back with aconfused expression at the strange sensation. Looking down, she found Jaken muttering about "stupid humans" with this face still in the dirt. Rin giggled a cheery "gomen nasai" while turning and running to Kagome's side.
"Kagome onee-chan! Kagome onee-chan! Look what I caught." Kagome smiled at the proud little girl as Rin held out her cupped hands towards the teen. The child motioned for Kagome to come closer as she opened her ands just a little bit. Kagome looked into her hands curiously and saw a glow from within the cave made by the little girl's hands. A firefly.
"Kirei." Kagome marveled at the glow coming from the child's hands. The little girl giggled happily at the onee-chan's delighted expression. Kagome reached out slowly and put her hands on top of Rin's. Tilting her head thoughtfully, Kagome's questioning eyes looked into Rin's wide eyes. The child smiled and nodded. They both giggled in delight as the small light flew upwards slowly until it was another star in the clear night sky.
Unbeknownst to the two laughing girls, Sesshoumaru watched them, an unknown expression flickering momentarily in his eyes. Something about this girl... The youkai wondered what kind of being this girl, Kagome, was. Sesshoumaru had noticed her unease as they continued through the forest. What the human did not realize was that Sesshoumaru, himself, was the one casting the spell upon the forest. To actually walk to his home at the pace they were at would take at least a month and by then he had no doubt that Inuyasha would have caught up to them. Although he had no qualms about fighting Inuyasha, Rin was with him and his little brother had a habit of being impulsive. As soon as they passed through this forest area they would be approaching his ancestral home. Surprisingly, after being away for so long, Sesshoumaru felt a sense of homecoming in spite of all the dark memories he associated with the castle he saw in the distance.
Kagome felt a strange sensation as they finally passed through the thick forest. Shaking it off as her imagination Kagome looked ahead to find a castle in the distance. Strange. I don't remember there being a castle this close to the village. Then again I don't remember this weird forest being here either. Maybe we just never take this way... Shrugging, Kagome turned her attention back to the chattering Rin as she seemed to talk about nothing at all. "Didn't Jaken look funny with his face smooshed into the ground?" Giggling with the girl, Kagome wondered yet again about why this human child was traveling with Sesshoumaru.
"Rin is so happy now that there's someone to talk to. The first time I met Sesshoumaru-sama I couldn't speak. I don't really remember much about it, just that I couldn't talk to anyone after my parents died. But after Sesshoumaru-sama saved my life I could talk again."
Kagome looked at the little girl curiously. Why would Sesshoumaru save a human? "How did Sesshoumaru save your life?"
"Well, actually all Rin remembers is that Rin was attacked by a bunch of wolves and had blood all over her. Everything was black and Rin doesn't know what happened after that. Rin died. The next thing Rin knew, Rin didn't hurt anymore and Sesshoumaru-sama was standing over Rin." Rin said the youkai's name with such adoration that Kagome was in awe. He's her hero. Imagine that. Sesshoumaru being a human's idol. Suddenly, Kagome's smile froze on her face. Did she just said that she DIED?!? That can't be right, she can't have just said that she died!
"Ano, Rin-chan, did you just say that you died?"
"Hai."
"..."
"Kagome onee-chan! Are you alright?" The little girl was tugging on Kagome's hand franticly as the teen stood frozen with shock. Looking down at Rin, Kagome pulled herself together and continued walking with much difficulty. "Daijobu. Gomen, I was just thinking about something. Ano, how did Sesshoumaru bring you back to life Rin-chan?" Sesshoumaru had the power to bring back the dead. This was a bit hard to swallow. "What did Sesshoumaru use to bring you back to life? Did he use a spell, a magic wand, some kind of potion?" Kagome watched as Rin giggled. The little girl opened her mouth and had barely gotten a word out when Sesshoumaru stopped her.
"Rin." Rin immediately stopped talking and shrugged her shoulders helplessly at Kagome. Smiling, the little girl began talking about something else altogether. Kagome, shocked and disappointed at not getting an answer, was distracted as she listened to Rin's chatter with one ear. She was more confused than she was before. Not only can Sesshoumaru bring back the dead, he used this power of his to save the life of a human. Not too long ago, I thought I knew what was going on. I thought I knew who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. What's going to happen next? Naraku's gonna join the boyscouts?