Rain Drops by Madeline H.

The Falling Rain

Tiny droplets pooled upon the leaves scattered across the forest floor. An earthy aroma arose in the air, petrichor. The aroma spread as more droplets fell from the heavens. A placid feeling came with the graying clouds in the sky as angels cried their tears. Nothing seemed more peaceful than the sound of falling rain.

For a moment the serene silence stirred with the sound of crunching leaves, but it left just as quickly. A figure now sat against one of the many trees in the lush green forest. His head lay slightly bent as his gaze fell to the moistened ground. Eyes of deep amber stared blankly as the rain continued to fall.

His face showed detachment as a thousand thoughts filtered through his mind. Some thoughts passed by as meaningless while others chose to slowly rot in his mind as he tried to find reasoning for them.

Everything seemed to stop in his mind as he felt a water droplet drip from the bridge of his nose. Then his mind began to function again, but only one thought came to his mind. Only one single thought swayed inside his logical being. There's something about the rain, it washes everything away…

After coming to this realization many more things became aware to him. His elf-like ears picked up the light murmur of the rains gentle descent to earth. Tiny water droplets glistened as they glided down to the tips of his silver silken hair.

A light breath passed through his lips, ever so subtly revealing the tips of glinting fangs. Suddenly his shoulders stiffened and he became alert of his surroundings. His sense of smell had been dulled by the rain, but he could still hear as well as he always could.

It started out low and hummed, and then it grew louder. An inconsistent drumming permeated the quiet forest. The rains constant pour dimmed the sound of the inconsistent beat, but it came clear to his elf-like ears.

As the light thumping continued it was stopped abruptly by a splash. Mud splattered onto his face and slowly slid down his striped cheeks as he glared at the figure before him. His nose scrunched up in distaste from the smell of salt and his ears pulsated from the muffled sobs of the crumpled figure.

The figure lay on the forest floor motionless, except for the sobs that shook her body. She lay there drenched from the pouring rain. Her ebony hair was scattered and tangled about her head in a matted down fashion. Soon the sobs came to a low murmur, and all that left her shaking was the clammy feeling of her skin on her scarcely clothed body.

As this scene went on before him, he could only watch in disconcerted fascination. Soon the sobs had silenced and once again all that could be heard was the sound of the falling rain. Thin muddy streams flowed down his face as the last of the mud washed away, and his eyes narrowed.

At first he had not recognized the seemingly pathetic creature in front of him, but after a quick sweep with his eyes over her form and he knew. Now he was annoyed. He was annoyed at the fact of whom it was and that he had been ignored by her thus far.

"Human…" he spoke icily before he could stop himself. He watched as her back became rigid as she came to realize she was not alone. The clouds poured down harder as she meekly lifted her head to peer at him.

A torrent storm swelled in cerulean orbs that sparkled by the tears collected in them, hair splashed over her shoulders like waves onto the shore, and a pang of forlorn washed over her heart-shaped face. Something in him froze at the sight of the pitiful being before him, and he was lost. He found himself lost in something he could not understand.

"You continue to ignore me, why is this?" his voice cut through the thick tension surrounding them. Tears mixed with rain as she continued to stare up at him with a vacant expression on her face. His patience was thinning as he took this time to stand up. As her eyes followed his movements her head lowered and she began to mumble.

"What did you say?" he asked a little forcefully as he strained his ears to hear her barely audible babble. As she lowered her head down a little lower she tried again to answer in a hushed whisper. Tiring of this quickly he swiped down his claws to grip the collar of her shirt.

"SPEAK!" he all but growled as he lifted her from the ground by the one hand he possessed. Inky black hair whipped into his face as cerulean eyes widened in utter terror. Her breaths came out ragged and chopped until finally she broke.

"He doesn't love me!" she wailed hoarsely as lightning crackled in the distance. His eyes narrowed as her wail ringed in his elfish ears. He released her collar and she tumbled to the ground. A sigh of relief came from her mouth as she lay there, but her relief was short lived as a hand took hold of her throat.

His ivory claws began to slowly dig into the tangible flesh caked in mud. Suddenly his grip loosened as he gazed down at her. The cerulean eyes from earlier now were a creamy gray and her expression was blank. He almost snarled if it were not in his manner not to do so. She was awaiting death and it disgusted him.

"The way you waste life sickens me…" he started in an icy voice, "You are given but one chance to live, yet you so willingly give it,"

Her face contorted as he spoke. She gritted together as some realization came to her. She began to thrash about as if trying to provoke him even more. Her hands slapped against the arm holding her. Then just as she lashed out, she huffed and slumped over giving up.

"No-one gets only once chance to live, and I'm proof of that. I am nothing but a remake of something greater, more powerful, and more beautiful. And he will never forget the one that lived before me…" she bit out harshly.

"You have confused yourself mortal. You as a person only live once. The soul within you will live on, but no-one stays the same. You are different from all those before you and those whom will come after you. The being you are lives a different destiny than any other. When a soul dies, it is merely born again. A soul is blank until you make something of it…" silver tresses swirled in the breeze as his sun-kissed eyes bore into her ending his speech.

Tiny tremors shook up his arm, but he continued to hold his ground. Tears spilled from her eyes again as she trembled. The words he spoke shook her in a way that was indescribable. She gnawed on her bottom lip as she tried to regain herself. Taking hold of the situation once more she faced him.

"Sesshomaru…" was whispered from her full lips as water continued to cascade down her face. He could see the bewilderment she held and it frustrated him more so than ever. She was beyond his patience.

"Yes, that is who I made myself to be. What form have you chosen for yourself, human? Other than Inuyasha's wench," he voiced. The warm heat of her anger bathed him and studied her curiously.

"You bastard, I am not his wench. I am his nothing. I told you he doesn't love me…" she spat in his face. The newly lit fire burning in her eyes dimmed as she was thrown into a nearby tree.

Red seeped into Sesshomaru's eyes as he glared at her. Ripping out her throat is just what that girl wanted and he wasn't so easily willing to give it. Taking a calming breath as the thunder roared on he turned his back to her.

"You are the saddest excuse for a human I've ever seen, and your kind is a sad excuse for existence already. If you are so happy to give up the life you were blessed with for lost love, then you should want to die with honor," he hissed as more lighting crackled in the darkening sky.

She was worse off than she had started in her journey of solitude. Drenched to the point where clothes were pointless, mud slathered all over her body, and bruises beginning to form across her body. Eyes slightly narrowed and mouth agape she breathed heavily as she stared at Sesshomaru's back.

His stride started out slow and steady as he made an escape from this… girl. His hair whipped in the wind as the rain picked up. Right as he reached the edge of the trees to where he was still visible to her, he stopped.

"To truly die for someone is to die fighting…" he proclaimed just loud enough for her to hear. One flash of silk was all she saw as he disappeared into the cover of the trees. She slowly sat up against the tree and continued to stare off into the direction he had gone.

The words he had spoken earlier seeped through the cracks and into her mind. It was like a haunting melody that played over and over. Taking a shaky breath she looked up towards the sky. The rain slowly washed away the mud from her face as she sat in silence. Looking to the trees where he had left her she let out a light whisper.

"I am Kagome Higurashi…"