My possession skips not far before me grasping endlessly in her attempts at catching fireflies in the twilight. The impetuous and puerile imbecile Naraku hides somewhere north, but I will let him be for the moment. My possession needed time to stop chasing and I will not have her uncomforted.
Ai-Un snorts as he sleeps against a tree near me and Jaken sits beside me, a sour scorn set upon his already ugly imp face. The staff Nintoujou, in his hand gently rocks east and west every few moments and, I know he wishes to voice his displeasure of allowing her to “play,” but I know he will not. He wants to turn to me, exclaiming that we should still be in pursuit of Naraku, but Jaken could never understand what it is to have a possession such as mine.
He can only think of possessions in simplistic terms, like Tokijin to name one. The hatred flowing through it is insurmountable and its power can be felt even from a distance. The sword was forged for me, for my purposes and can be properly wielded only by me. Tokijin is a possession, but it is not dear to me, like Tenseiga. Though valued as an inheritance from the greatest of daiyokai that had ever lived, Tenseiga is still not precious. A possession I carry with me, never to be carelessly tossed aside, but not precious.
The Tetsusaiga would have been treasured; it should be mine, but that is beyond my concern at this point. My own power sustains me while my father’s heirloom rests in the hands of my half-breed, half-brother.
The weak scent of demon blood floats on the air and my claws crack as they clench in conjunction with the savor. A pulse vibrates through my humanoid form while the sensation of a writhing, yet non-existent tail, moves behind my back. There is no need to transform into my full self, not on the presence of a demon that is still so far from my possession. Even still, my possession has never seen me in my unbound glory and there still remains a worry that I could frighten her beyond redemption.
I allow my white fur to lengthen and nudge Ai-Un briefly to stop the snoring that blocks out Rin’s laughter down the hill. My fingers brush against it; my possession had lain there not a night earlier, sound asleep against my outward furs.
A breeze comes through the valley, scattering the fireflies and eliciting a happy shriek from Rin as the Tenseiga brushes against me. My hand falls to its hilt. The sword can revive just once per soul; if my possession, my most cherished possession were to fall…
…fall into harm’s way again.
…fall and I was not there to protect her.
…fall, there would be no second chance.
My eyes scan through the increasing darkness as an odd tightening pulls in the humanoid chest. I can see a flutter of black hair and the tension quickly passes. It is a completely unfamiliar sensation, tension. I have only experienced tension to the point of panic just once. It came hidden between a wave of frustration and anger.
The hanyou had injured Naraku with the Tetsusaiga, but Naraku was still attempting to flee. It should have ended that day, but I had discounted his ability to draw me to his castle. I had said aloud that no mortal could send me into action; I had told myself the same, yet there I stood at the brink of indecision. I could have killed Naraku on principle alone, but the cost was too great. The words “kill Rin” still echo in my ears each time I remember that strange phenomenon known as panic.
My possession wanders a little farther and my ears latch onto the sound of her movement and my nose on her simple scent.
Simple.
Rin is quite simple. Nothing at all extraordinary about her. Pretty as far as human beauty is concerned, but still very simple. She is small without the slightest hint of any power, demonic or otherwise. She is strangely non-malevolent and also obedient. She obeys my every word; even paid servitude could not create such deference.
Simple as she is, there still exists a courageousness within her that comes out in opportune moments. Jaken would have been lost to Naraku’s saimyoushou forever if she had not taken action on her own accord. She may have even succeeded by herself if she had not fallen from a jagged cliff, crying out my name on her way toward rocky depths. I was in the midst of fighting the hanyou, but came to her aid with greater speed than I had for any other purpose.
My ears pique at a sound; rather the lack thereof. Rin has stopped moving, but I sense no fear coming from her. She has caught one of the fireflies perhaps; she is out of sight, but still within reach.
Jaken begins what I am certain he intended to be an extended sigh, but a harsh glance in his direction cuts the breath short.
He has asked me on more than one occasion why I keep her; I never answer. I do not owe him an answer, but the question follows me as she does. What is it that invokes this desire for her to follow me? One would think that my possession would seek the presence of other mortals, but she never has and I wonder if she ever will. I sense I could somehow understand the human emotion of “heartbreak” if she ever did. Still, why do I keep my possession by my side, yet always out of harm’s way?
Love? No.
What is love? Nothing, but a petty human emotion that forces them to act outside of the rational. Yet…
My father had said he loved the hanyou’s mother, but I would rather believe he lusted after her rather than think the greatest daiyokai fell to some antiquated notion of love.
Need? No. What is she to me?
I need her for something? I need the admiration? No. I desire nothing from her, but I still want her near and, I know that with each step taken, I yearn to protect her more and more.
What it is then?
My ears perk at the sound of the intake of air into my possession’s mouth in the form of a gasp and I am already moving beyond the speed of light before a scream emits through her mouth. I stand before her slightly cowering frame and the thought of how something so small could have gone so far in so short a time quickly passes through my mind.
The demon that had provoked the scream glows a brilliant green throughout its long, heavy body. Despite its monstrous size, its aura is weak, so weak it still seemed as if it was meters away from us. It is not even worth the drawing of Tokijin. I draw my sword nonetheless.
Tokijin pulsates in my single hand and I scowl at the menace that dare even cast an evil shadow upon my possession. I can sense the fear of the weak demon as it knows its annihilation is imminent and I make a small glance toward to my possession. She is watching, mouth agape and in awe of the ultimate power at my disposal. I know she already reveres me, but the need to demonstrate who I am pulls hard and I give Tokijin an exaggerated swing. The weak demon is obliterated even before the full force of the attack hits it and the remaining force cuts a deep path in the ground where the demon had lain.
The air is quiet, but manages to resonate with my own demonic aura. Nothing around me moves; I am the most powerful being on Earth.
“Rin,” I say, Tokijin still in my hand as a new cool wind waves my hair.
“Yes, my lord?” Her voice never wavers and she answers immediately with a clear and strong voice, always obedient.
“There are more fireflies up the hill.”
Her eyes brighten as she smiles and her feet patter past me and up the hill.
I sheath Tokijin and find my place against a tree where I can hear her laughter. Behind me, the sun is quickly setting leaving before me a cascading and seemingly never-ending expanse of black and blue.
My nose catches a whiff of my hanyou half-brother and I know his search for Naraku continues, as does my own, but for now, I sit and wait allowing my possession to play and just be.
I may never voice the words across these humanoid lips, but my demon heart knows the truth. My possession is…all that is precious to me.