Rin finally left with Kikyo-or rather, it was not Kikyo she was following, but Kohaku. Her desire to be with him was so clear, so certain. The little girl with clear eyes happily waved goodbye to Han. Han smiled and waved back. In that moment, the two girls whose destinies overlapped with Sesshomaru's completed a handover of fate.
"Hey, Sesshomaru, I think I..." Once Kikyo, Kohaku, and Rin had vanished into the distance, Han could no longer suppress the fire poison within her. Her organs and soul ached as though they were burning. She could hold back the encroaching purest fire, but only temporarily. Her earlier ease and casual conversation had merely been an act to keep Kikyo from worrying.
"Han!" Sesshomaru's pupils contracted as he reached out to catch the swaying girl.
"My heart... it's so hot..." Even her breath seemed to carry heat.
"..." Sesshomaru silently tightened his arms around the girl, his sharp brows drawn together.
Neither Sesshomaru nor Han herself had expected Momiji's flames to burn so fiercely.
Han had thought she could suppress them for a while, yet she had still succumbed to that pure fire...
The Silver-Haired Girl lay quietly in the Dog Demon's arms, her lovely eyes gently closed, her cheeks still faintly pink, as though she had slipped into a peaceful dream.
Only Sesshomaru, who remained constantly by her side, knew how very long it had been since she last woke. Beneath that seemingly gentle, serene sleeping face lay skin so unnaturally hot that only the Dog Demon who always held her could feel it.
"Han will be all right, won't she...?" The pure white little rabbit lay meekly in the girl's arms and lifted wet eyes toward the Dog Demon.
"Yes. Without a doubt." Determination was written across Sesshomaru's face.