Otherworld - The Strength of Love



Chapter 6 - Reprisals and Rewards


All day Rin smiled secretly to herself. She was going to catch a fish for him! She wanted to surprise the wounded demon. There was so little excitement in her life that just the thought of presenting him with his own meal was making her giddy. So much so that she could hardly concentrate on her work. She received boxed ears for her troubles. She had accidentally raked the hoe over some already-planted vegetables. The farmer refused to pay her for her work, but she didn’t care. She was going to fish for the demon! When the night was finally quiet, Rin slipped around the back of the pond, as she had done on so many previous occasions. The hole was still there, as always. No one had been the wiser. She slithered through the hole and waded into the water. She was very patient, waiting for just the right fish to come along. When it finally did it was a fat salmon! She clamped down on it and flung it to the embankment, ecstatic that she had caught just the right fish for the beautiful demon. She waded back to the bank, picked up the squirming fish and placed it in her knapsack, which she then pushed through the hole in front of her. Then she climbed through the hole after it. She was still smiling when she looked up, straight into the eyes of three very angry elders and the fish keeper, who was smiling wickedly. “You little brat! We will teach you to steal fish from our reserve! You have to pay for this!” With that, the men started slapping her in the face. She had never been beaten before. She had only had boxed ears a time or two. The four men were merciless for several minutes. Even when she fell on the ground and curled herself into a ball, they still kicked her. When they all stopped and stood panting over her, she meekly picked herself up off the ground. She defiantly grabbed her knapsack and took off at a limping run. The men shouted after her, “You thief! Bring that fish back!” She ignored them and kept running, her prize safely inside her satchel. She stopped on the path instead of going straight to the demon. She pulled the fish out and wrapped it in the now very battered packaging from the tinker. Tonight she would leave it for him. She smiled with the thought. Just as quickly she stopped, for there were cuts and bruises on her face, some still bleeding, and when she smiled it pulled at them. She walked carefully into the clearing, carrying the fish and water. When she proudly placed the fish before him and traded the water, she watched his face. His surprise was apparent, though he still said nothing. She saw him breathing deeply, however. She figured he smelled the fish.

	For the first time, and to her great surprise, he spoke to her. “I smell your blood. Where did you get the bruises?” When she remained silent, he stared down at the fish. She saw the look in his eyes, the hunger for what she had provided him. He looked back at her and said, “If you don’t want to tell me that’s fine.” Instead of responding to him, however, she burst into a glowing smile. He raised his eyebrow at her as she turned and disappeared down the path she had taken every night for a week now.

Rin approached her home cautiously. She did not want to be caught by the same men. She had still stolen the fish despite her beating. He needed the food, and she would not let him starve. When she saw that it was all clear, she padded silently home and crawled into bed. The next morning she awoke with a hard stick poking her through her blankets. She sprang out of bed, surprised to see two of the men from the night before standing in her shack. They demanded she get up and come to the village meeting hall to discuss her future in the village. She had no choice but to comply. At the meeting it was told how she had been caught stealing fish. The elders all discussed it and knew that no one had been supplying her with food through the winter. It was assumed, therefore, that she had been stealing all along. With that announcement villagers started standing up and listing various items that had disappeared from their stores. As Rin listened, she could not believe what she was being accused of! Most of the items listed she had no idea what they were. She had stolen nothing but fish! She sat there, impotent rage rising up inside her. When the decision was handed down to make her leave the village for good, she did not wait for an escort. She immediately ran home, packed up only her mother’s old shift into her knapsack, along with two tiny tomatoes from her garden, and left her home for good. Rin unconsciously made the decision to follow the path she had taken for a week, the one that led to the recovering demon. She did not know what her future held, but she was going to make the best of it. She knew there were villages farther away. She just had to get to one. Walking slowly, her mind far away on the chances of finding a village willing to take her in, she did not notice the silence of the forest. No birds were singing, no bugs chirping, not even the wind was blowing the leaves. All was still. She was intent, however, on the ground. When the demon fell on her from behind, she did not stand a chance. The lesser demon ripped into the girl it had been watching for the last few nights. It knew she had food in her knapsack. It had seen her take the food out and wrap it. It intended to take it from her and possibly eat her as well. It ripped its claws into her small body, piercing her heart. She was dead before she hit the ground. When it searched through the knapsack, it was enraged to find only clothes and a couple of tomatoes. With fangs dripping saliva, the demon leaned over the girl, about to bite into her. A sound made it stop. Wolves were howling. It knew what that meant. It took off at a run and disappeared back into the forest.

When Lord Sesshomaru awoke the morning following the child leaving him the large fish, it was to find Jaken calling his name incessantly. He looked over at the remains of the fish and smiled to himself, though no smile touched his lips. The girl had been kind to him. He would go to her village and do something nice for her. He had no idea where the bruises had come from, but whoever had done it to her would pay dearly. When Jaken finally stumbled upon Lord Sesshomaru, he was relieved he was still alive. The last time he had seen him he had huge wounds, gaping and bleeding, inflicted by that dragon Ryuukoysusei, the same dragon that had been responsible for his father’s death many years ago. He had thought for sure his master was a goner, and he was overcome with relief to find him alive. When Lord Sesshomaru got up from his resting spot he found he was somewhat refreshed. The food and water and rest had healed most of his wounds. The rest would heal in due course. While Jaken was babbling on about his battle with the dragon, Sesshomaru began walking down the path in the direction the girl had taken every night. He had smelled a lesser demon in the area the last few days, so paid the scent no mind when it once again came to him. However, he had only gone a few feet when the familiar scent of blood came to him on the breeze. He inhaled deeply. There was no doubt about it, it was the girl’s blood, and it was fresh. He continued down the path, in no more hurry than he had been before. If she was bleeding as badly as he thought she was, there was no chance of her survival. He smelled too much blood for her to be alive. As he rounded a bend in the path he came upon her body. He was correct in his assumption. She was dead. He stared at her for a full minute. Jaken, still babbling on and on, bumped into him. Sesshomaru turned and began walking away, thinking it very sad that he had not gotten to return her kindness.

	Jaken, with an audible snort of disgust over the dead body, hurried after him. He bumped into him once more as Lord Sesshomaru stopped once again, in mid-stride. As he sat rubbing his head from the now two sore lumps there, he watched Lord Sesshomaru pull his sword. But it was not his usual one! It was the hated sword his father had bequeathed him! Jaken watched in awe as the great Dog Demon stared intently just over the child’s head. Then he bent down slightly and touched the child’s body with it. He returned the sword to its sheath once more and bent to the child. Sesshomaru couldn’t understand it. The sword, the useless sword his father had left him, was humming to him as he turned away from the girl. He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew it was something unusual. When he touched her with the sword and re-sheathed it, he was overcome by the feeling that he had done something very right. The Sword of Healing must have agreed. It stopped humming once he returned it to its sheath. He bent to the girl and picked her up in his arms. He waited a moment and nothing happened. Then, with a moan and a sigh, she opened her eyes, and ended up staring straight into the white demon’s golden irises. They remained locked on one another for two heartbeats before her brilliant smile graced him once again. He set her on her feet and turned to walk away.


Rin was not sure what happened. One minute she was contemplating her future. The next moment she had felt a searing pain in her chest and all was black. She had been dreaming of being near a world of many souls, but she was not allowed to enter the world. When she woke up she was in the strong demon’s arms. The furs he had been lying on were now draped down his body. Between them and the very strong arms that held her, she felt warm and safe. It reminded her so much of her dream from before that she gazed up at the golden eyes that were staring intently at her and smiled at him. Not a word was spoken between them, but she knew he had just invited her to follow him. He set her on her feet and rose. He turned and started walking in the opposite direction of her village. Rin hesitated for only a moment. She had nothing. She no longer had a home in that tiny village. Her future there had been wiped away. For the first time she noticed a strange green demon standing on the same path. He was babbling on about worthless humans, but she paid him no mind. She took one slow step, then another, realizing that she was no longer in pain from her beating. She smiled again and ran to catch up to her new friend.