Chapter Text
Rin Higurashi plopped down on the couch in the maternity ward break room with an explosive sigh and uncapped a bottle of apple-cinnamon-flavored tea. She sank into the couch as if to become one with it and took a generous sip of the drink, the slightly spicy flavor bursting like the newly arrived autumn on her tongue.
She let her gaze unfocus as she stared ahead at the familiar bulletin board on the opposite wall. It was laden with all the usual, faded papers: the required worker’s rights notices, the shift calendar, the Demon Slayer Corps’ trademarked “If You Suspect, Call 444 Direct” ad with an oni mask grinning on it.
She tried to stretch the stiffness out of her shoulders, rolling her head along the back of the couch and groaning when something cracked. She worked as a perinatal nurse, assisting women before, during, and after their deliveries while making sure they suffered no adverse conditions. The last month of work had been particularly intense, but now, at the end of September, the number of deliveries had positively exploded.
They called the influx of their newborn patients “Christmas babies”—conceived around the winter holidays and now making their way into the world. This time of year always saw more births than normal, though. Winter meant people went outside less and sought more comfort indoors.
The result? More babies.
She loved her job, though, so she didn’t really mind.
The door to the break room opened, and Rin’s favorite OBGYN to work with, Dr. Kaede Kimura, walked in. They had become good friends over the last few years, despite the vast age difference, and Kaede had asked Rin to drop formalities outside the delivery room long ago.
“Well done with Honoda-san’s delivery today, Rin,” the doctor said in greeting, heading to the cabinets to root through the stash of staff snacks. “I know I say it all the time, but I can’t say it enough: We’re very lucky to have you.”
“Aww, thank you! And you did marvelously as always, Kaede. I’m always so in awe!” Especially since the woman was still going strong in her sixties with no hint of slowing down or going into retirement.
Kaede sat in a chair across from the young nurse and looked her over with her one good eye, the other hidden behind an eye-patch—a keepsake from her short stint with the Demon Slayer Corps. “You do a great job of taking care of the patients, but I fear you’ve not been taking care of yourself lately, child.”
Rin rolled her shoulders. “I’ll be fine, but thank you for worrying, Kaede. We’ve just been so busy lately that my body’s trying to catch up.”
As much as she tried to deny and mask it, Rin knew she was stressed—even her body was telling her so. For the last couple months now, her period had been spotty, not coming when she expected it and then suddenly showing up in full force a couple weeks later (like now, actually—another reason for today’s particular tiredness). It had been happening at some point every year, usually—ever since she started her clinicals during college—so she wasn’t worried about her long-term health, although the irregularity did always rattle her. Still, it was never a huge concern, especially since she didn’t have to worry about these delays being possible pregnancies. After all, she had heard only the Virgin Mary was capable of an immaculate conception, so…that was that.
“When was the last time you took a day off?” Kaede asked.
Rin bit her lip as she thought about that one. It took her a full minute. “Ah! It was last year when Souta and Moe got married.”
Kaede frowned. “Wasn’t that in the spring?”
“Yes! The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and their wedding photos were absolutely gorgeous!”
“And before that?”
Rin thought about it again. “Um…you know, I can’t really remember.”
“You haven’t taken a day off in almost a year and a half, and you can’t remember the last time before that?”
Rin chuckled weakly, scratching her head. “Yeah…I guess so. Time sure does fly.”
And she certainly felt it. She was twenty-six already, having worked for almost two years at this medical center an hour and a half’s drive from the rest of her family in Tokyo.
Now that I think about it, when’s the last time I went to visit them…?
“You need to take a vacation, Rin.”
“Maybe you’re right. I’ll think about it after the Christmas baby rush is over—”
“Let me rephrase, Rin. You will take a vacation. Two weeks and no less. Next month.”
“But Kaede, we’re so busy—”
“Trust me, it’ll be winding down soon, and we can manage. Everyone else takes their vacation days, Rin. You need to learn to do so as well.”
“If you say so….”
“I do. Remember, other people’s health depends on you, and if you’re not at your best, your mistakes could have a serious impact.”
Rin’s heart dropped. This sounded like the prelude to a serious conversation. “Have I…done something wrong, Kaede? Did I make a mistake?” Her biggest fear was failure and disappointing those who had faith in her.
Kaede shook her head. “Nothing serious. Just some small oversights here and there on paperwork or making sure we have all our equipment on hand from the start.” Rin winced. She had been making a lot of extra trips lately to fetch equipment she forgot. “It’s just not like you, and I’m worried. The bags under your eyes are growing, and while the patients won’t see that your smiles are at half-mast, I can tell. Take a break, Rin. Before something more serious happens.”
Rin ducked her head, censured. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I expect to see the vacation request in by next week.”
A tight string seemed to unwind from inside Rin, loosening the anxiety around her heart. Maybe Kaede was right. She did need a vacation. Most of her life revolved around work. When she wasn’t at work, she was at home or running errands. Her social life was almost nonexistent.
Nursing jobs were competitive in Tokyo, so even with the abundance of hospitals and healthcare centers, she had struggled to find a job in a maternity ward until she opened up her search area to those outside of the capital. After months of searching, she had finally managed to land a job at a medical center in one of the more rural areas an hour and a half outside the city—close enough to go home when she wanted but far enough that she didn’t make the trip often. She had come to this area knowing absolutely no one and having to make friends from scratch. She had made some work friends, but most of them were the friends you made out of necessity for an excuse to socialize after a shift. None of them had become her best friends.
She had left those behind in Tokyo, and now they were moving on with their lives, whereas she felt kind of…stuck.
Maybe it was time to update her languishing social media page with a nice post about her being on vacation. Let someone envy her life for a change, instead of the other way around.
She smiled at Kaede. “Understood. I’ll do it.”
First though, Rin had to figure out how she wanted to use her vacation. She knew she should take the opportunity to go visit her family, at least for a few days, but she really wanted to go somewhere and do something. Something outside of Tokyo.
She was an outdoorsy girl who loved hiking, camping, fishing, and mountain climbing. You name it, she had tried it. Childhood family vacations had fostered that love of the outdoors within her, and so she had visited most of the national parks in the country by the time she graduated high school. She recalled those vacations fondly, missing the built-in school breaks that had allowed her and her family to traverse the country. Now, because her work hours were so crazy, she had only managed to visit the nearest parks and sanctuaries in the Tokai and Kanto regions. She wanted to go someplace new.
Ideally, she wanted to travel the world, hitting such great natural wonders and hiking spots as the United States’ Grand Canyon, the Swiss Alps, and the African savannah.
But buying an international ticket on such short notice sure was expensive.
She made good money as a nurse, certainly, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t frugal. So maybe it was best to stick to some place domestic instead and wait to plan out an international trip a little better in the future.
Besides, as comfortable as she was travelling alone, the idea of taking such a big trip by herself without anyone by her side to share in the majesty of the moment left her heart feeling empty. Better to stick to a domestic view, once again, where it wouldn’t bother her so much to reach a mountain summit alone and snap a selfie.
As she was scrolling through lists of the best camping sites in the country, clicking off the constant barrage of shopping and Demon Slayer Corps hotline ads, her cell phone rang, and Kagome’s picture popped up. Rin grinned as she accepted the call. “Hey, sis! Good timing, ‘cause I’ve got a question for you.”
“I hope it’s a long one, because I feel like I haven’t heard your voice in forever,” Kagome answered.
“Kaede’s basically forcing me to take a vacation, so I’m trying to decide where to go—”
“What? No way! You’re taking a vacation? Well, finally!”
Rin laughed. “I know, I know. I’m a workaholic. What can I say? I love the babies.”
She had actually applied for both neonatal and perinatal job postings and had honestly been hoping for a neonatal position so she could take care of the newborns directly…but the medical center here was the first to offer her a job for their perinatal posting, and she had taken it, so sick of the job search process. She didn’t regret it though. As a smaller regional facility, when the nurses were short-staffed, she did have the opportunity to help out the neonatal nurses from time to time, so she still got plenty of time with the babies.
“Then when are you going to start having your own, girl?”
Rin laughed. “I don’t think I need to whip out my nursing degree to tell you it doesn’t quite work like that. Babies don’t just come on their own.”
“Yeah, so…what are you doing to find you a baby daddy?”
Rin snorted in laughter even as she winced at the term. Kagome had a tendency to drop that sort of lingo from time to time. “You never know. I’ll probably find someone at the medical center one day. I know a lot of old classmates that had medical romances.”
“Yeah. In a metropolitan hospital teeming with hot, single doctors. You’re out in the middle of nowhere, where, and I quote, ‘Everyone gets married right out of high school or college at best.’”
Rin scrunched up her nose at hearing her own words used against her. So her delusions about waiting to find love after focusing fully on completing her Master’s in nursing and subsequent certified nurse specialist credentialing had taken a hit. But she still had time, right? She was only twenty-six.
Never mind that most everyone she knew from back home was already married or at least engaged, and half of them were starting to have kids….
Good thing her sister was still single. Rin always felt a little better about herself knowing there was someone else out there—someone older—who shared her single fate.
Or…wait, she’s not exactly single anymore, is she? I forgot about that new boyfriend of hers. Then again, knowing Kagome, it probably won’t last.
Kagome continued chatting. “So it sounds to me like a vacation is exactly what you need to find a guy.”
“Find a guy. Yeah…sure…,” Rin answered noncommittally as she scrolled through a list of the most secluded spots in the nation.
Time for a change of topic. “So, was there a reason you called?”
“Oh, yes! I had to ask your opinion. So, what do you think it means when a guy asks you to come out to his family’s private resort for a weekend?”
Rin’s finger froze over the mouse. “Either he’s looking to get in your pants…or he’s planning to propose to you.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“I’m guessing Nishikuni-san asked you this?”
Kagome huffed. “I’ve told you to call him Inuyasha, Rin. Neither of you are big on formalities, so I don’t see why you persist in calling him that.”
“It just feels strange to use his given name when I haven’t even met the guy,” Rin answered. She hoped Kagome felt the barb she meant to deliver with that comment.
“I’m sorry, and I keep trying to schedule something, but between both of your insane schedules, I’ve just about given up. No worries though. I’m sure it will happen soon. Especially if he, you know…plans on proposing.”
Rin’s eyes widened, and she stared at the phone in shock. “You really think he’s going to propose? What happened to the sex theory? I mean, you only started dating a few months ago, right?” Kagome didn’t answer. Rin peered at her phone like she could see through the airwaves to her sister. She was tempted to turn this into a video call, if only to confirm Kagome was wearing her “sheepish guilt” face. “Kagome, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing! Just that, uh…well…he wouldn’t really need to go through all that trouble….”
“Kagome…have you guys already had sex?”
“…Maybe.”
“Kagome!” Rin shrieked.
“I know, I know, but it just happened—”
“How does sex ‘just happen?’”
“It just does, okay? I wouldn’t expect the girl who’s never even been on a date to understand!”
Rin winced, stung. It wasn’t her fault that any guy she had ever liked hadn’t liked her back. Or vice versa. She was still waiting to feel that click with someone. Naturally, then, she had to defend herself. “Yeah, well, you know what they say about school, right? Grades, sleep, or a social life: pick two of the three. I chose grades and sleep. You choose sleep and a social life.”
“Ouch! Take the dagger out of my back, why don’t ya? I mean, you’re right, but still….”
They were silent for several tense seconds before Rin took a deep breath and put on her professional nurse voice. “Did you use protection?”
“Of course we did! Geez, Rin.”
“It’s my job to ask.”
“Yeah, well, if you must know, I even got on the pill a few months ago, just in case.”
“I see. So, when exactly did this happen?”
Kagome sighed and murmured, “A couple weeks ago.”
“And you’re only just telling me? Girl, I’m your sister. You’re supposed to tell me these sorts of things immediately!”
“I know, I just…didn’t want you to be disappointed in me. Like you are now.” Rin opened her mouth to argue, but Kagome beat her to it. “Don’t try to deny it—I know you’re one of those who believe in waiting for marriage and everything.”
“Didn’t you?” Rin asked, somewhat befuddled by that comment. Kagome had always been an insistent older sister as far as that was concerned. Or was this a case of “rules for thee but not for me?” “I mean…you and Houjou never went that far, right?”
“No, we didn’t. He wanted to wait, and at the time, I was okay with that. I mean, we were still pretty young. And I didn’t…I don’t know…ever feel the overwhelming urge to do it with him, you know?”
Rin didn’t say anything, because she didn’t know. She felt the urge to have sex, certainly—she was a young, somewhat frustrated (if she had to be honest) virgin. But she hadn’t ever met a man she’d had an overwhelming urge to do it with just to “scratch the itch,” as they said.
Kagome continued talking. “Don’t get me wrong: Houjou was a great guy. He was super nice. But I just didn’t feel any passion with him. In the end, he just felt like he made a great friend, but not a boyfriend. You get what I’m saying?”
Rin could see that. Houjou had been your typical sweet-boy-next-door. The entire Higurashi family had loved him. He and Kagome dated from middle school all the way through college. Everyone thought the two of them would get married. But now that Rin was older, she could look back and see the signs. Dating for that long, it must have felt more like something too comfortable to break off until it couldn’t be helped.
When Houjou had proposed, Kagome refused, citing that she wasn’t ready to get married yet. Houjou said he would wait. Kagome didn’t want to. They broke up. She had dated on and off over the last few years, but nothing ever lasted more than a few weeks.
Not until Inuyasha Nishikuni. Even so, while six months was a recent record for Kagome, it still felt to Rin like a really short time in which to propose. But if they had already had sex…why else would be go to all this trouble?
Maybe he’s just a really nice guy and wants to pamper her for a weekend.
“Well, there must be passion with Nishikuni-san if you’re already sleeping together.”
“Okay, geez Rin, it was one time.”
Rin wasn’t knowledgeable in the ways of modern dating, but that seemed strange to her. “Really? Just once?”
“Okay, one night, not one time. And I’m telling you, I was totally surprised when he agreed. I mean, we had kind of talked about it before, and as I said, I was ready months ago, but he seemed a bit skittish, you know? Which I thought was weird, because he’s really gung-ho about everything else he does, so it just seemed odd that he wasn’t as anxious to do this as I was. But then one night he finally agreed. I have no idea what prompted the change. Then again, it’s not like we’ve done it since, so…maybe you’re right?”
“Have you guys ever talked about getting married?” Rin asked. She was pretty sure those discussions happened before the proposal.
“It’s come up once or twice.”
“So there’s a possibility it could be a proposal?”
“I guess…maybe? I mean, why else would he choose such a fancy place to stay? This is not the sort of place you go just to sleep together. He even had to give me this exclusive entry ticket and everything. I’m telling you, Rin, I knew his family had money, but I didn’t think it was like this. This place seems really, really high-class. Honestly, I’d be a little nervous to go there. I’ll probably stick out like a huge zit.”
“Then ask him to go somewhere else.”
“I tried, but he was kinda insistent. I don’t know why. He just said he really wanted to show me something there.”
“Sounds like you’re kinda stuck then.”
“Well, that’s the thing. I told him I’d go, and he already gave me the ticket…but Grandpa surprised me the other day, telling me he spontaneously bought tickets for us to go to the National Shrine Keeper’s Convention in Kyoto, and of course it’s that same weekend.”
“Wait, there’s a shrine keeper’s convention?” Rin asked.
“There’s a convention for everything, apparently. Grandpa’s been wanting to go for years now—something about wanting to meet all the bigwig priests and priestesses in the country—but it never seemed to work out, and this year he finally just took the bull by the horns. I really don’t want to disappoint him, and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot about being a priestess myself, but…if Inuyasha’s really planning on proposing, I would hate to cancel on him, you know?”
Rin hummed in thought. Truthfully, she was a little shocked by this turn of events.
Kagome had only met Inuyasha Nishikuni one night six months ago at a party that their friends, Miroku and Sango f*ckushima, had held. He was apparently a college friend of Miroku’s, although as Sango had intimated to Kagome and Rin, she hardly ever saw him come around. He hadn’t even come to her and Miroku’s wedding, although he had sent an extremely expensive gift for both it and the births of their three children. Apparently, his schedule was so tight, Miroku had to go out to meet him when possible. So by all accounts, it had been a rare circ*mstance for him to even show up at this party that night.
If she had at least met the guy, Rin wouldn’t have minded so much of the mystery, but to date, Kagome had only shown her some pictures of him. He appeared a normal enough young man (despite sporting rather a lot of extra length in his hair—and thank goodness he didn’t sport the infernal man bun) with brown eyes and black hair, and he had a tendency to wear baseball caps.
She really wanted to judge this young man for herself before any possible proposal.
“Well, you said his family owns this place, right? So would it really matter if you had to reschedule? Just tell him something came up and you can’t make it, and if he really does love you, he won’t mind having to wait a little longer to make it happen,” Rin suggested.
Kagome sighed. “You’re right. It shouldn’t be that big a deal. Still, I hate to waste this ticket….” She gasped. “Rin, why don’t you use it?”
“Me? I don’t know, Kagome. I wasn’t really thinking of going to a resort for my vacation—”
“No, listen, it’s already paid for, basically. I mean, it was free. And you have to enter on the date printed on the ticket, or it’s no good. So it’d be a waste not to use it. And I think you’d love it. Apparently it’s on this huge tract of pristine sanctuary land or something. It’s totally private, so you’d never be able to explore it otherwise.”
“Really? Do they have a website? Let me check it out.”
“Hang on, let me get the ticket.” There was some rustling in the background before Kagome came back to the phone. “Okay, here it is: www.westernsanctuary.jp.”
Rin typed in the address, but the screen that popped up was nearly blank. The Western Sanctuary logo, which sported a crest of a curled-up dog, stood out against a black background. Beneath it appeared to be the company’s tagline: Where you can be your true self. A simple white field filled in with the words “visitor code” completed the page. “Whoa, this place really is exclusive. You can’t even access the website without a visitor’s code.”
“Oh, that must be what this number is here at the bottom.” Kagome rattled it off, and when Rin typed it in, the website finally opened into something more recognizable. She went to the “About Us” tab, where it showed photos of the resort and all its amenities.
“You’re right—this place does look rather ritzy. Although it’s weird that they don’t show any people in these photos….” She scrolled past the text about the place’s history—founded during the early Meiji era, apparently—and resort offerings until she finally saw the words “wilderness sanctuary.”
“Oh my gosh, this place is huge!” Rin exclaimed as she scanned the information. “I mean, they have thousands of acres of land here. How have I never heard of it?” She had researched most of the famous hiking places in the country, even if she hadn’t visited them all. They were on her bucket list. “And it says that camping outdoors is encouraged. That’s a relief. Sanctuaries are usually there to protect wildlife, so they don’t usually allow people to stay there.”
“Girl, don’t tell me you’re going to rough it in the woods when you have a high-class resort right there.”
“Why swim in a pool when you can swim in a lake?” Rin asked, grinning.
“Ugh! What am I going to do with you?”
“Love me?”
“You know I do.”
Rin did know—she just liked hearing it for reassurance. A habit picked up from a loveless childhood.
The more Rin looked it over, the more this trip seemed to resonate as the one. From the size of this sanctuary, she could easily get lost in the woods for a week or more and keep herself entertained.
“Kagome, can you mail me that ticket?”
“I’ll drop it in the mailbox as soon as we get off the phone.”
