Sesshoumaru had scented the creature earlier but had paid no attention to it. It seemed now, though, that the animal wasn't going to just let him pass through. He stopped abruptly and waited for it to attack. Rin, though, was not as able to sense danger and had walked about twenty feet ahead before realizing it.

"What is it Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken asked in his frantic voice.

Sesshoumaru ignored him. The beast was only about two hundred feet away now and was coming ever faster. It galloped through the trees and headed strait for Sesshoumaru. He easily dodged it and came down slashing it with his claws.

Sesshoumaru landed gracefully and smirked. "You foolish creature you are going to die just for the pursuit of a good meal." As he finished saying this, though, two others burst from the trees and took Rin by the scruff of her shirt. Sesshoumaru tried to attack them with his whip but they bounded away with Rin in their grasps.

Enraged, Sesshoumaru came upon the first one, only to find a bloodstain in the spot it had been.

"Why did you not stop them. You have the power. Perhaps I should kill you now, huh Jaken?" the demon lord said to his jittery servant.

"S-sesshoumaru-sama. It was too sudden. I could do n-nothing." The toad- like Youkai stammered.

"Find her. If you do not., I will kill you," Sesshoumaru told Jaken in his calmly.



Rin was utterly terrified. The beast was holding her much like a mother cat would hold her kittens. They ran for a long while with the other two in tow. They brought her to a small clearing filled with many more of the beasts and threw her to the ground. It was now that she got a good look at them.

They were cat youkai. Their large tiger-like heads supported horns that many of them were using to attack each other. Their entire bodies were covered in large spikes that seemed to be constantly bristled. Like porcupines, Rin thought. They were all growling and fighting each other, many had open wounds that were bleeding all over the grass. It was horrifying to Rin and she began to shake.

Suddenly the one who had brought her let out a loud growl and all activity in the clearing stopped. It growled again and the other youkai formed a circle. It picked up Rin and began to walk towards the circle. The other two that had been along on the hunt followed, one still bleeding from Sesshoumaru's claws.

It placed her gently in the center of the circle then stepped back. It let out a low purr that the others picked up. The purr got louder and louder, then at the same time all of them got up and let out a roar. They were still roaring when one suddenly went into the circle, slashed at Rin then quickly went back to its place.

A large bleeding gash now resided in Rin's leg. Suddenly another from a completely different part of the circle did the same thing this time in Rin's back. She got up quickly realizing that if she did not do anything she would soon die.

One more of them came again and she tried to dodge it but it was too fast and got her anyway. They did this again and again. Each time Rin tried to dodge it but all her attempts were futile. She was still getting more and more wounded and now her blood was on the grass mixing with that of the beasts.

It was becoming hard to see and she felt faint when off in the distance she heard voices. Yes, and horses too! Arrows shot into the clearing with their shooters galloping after. They ran strait threw the middle of the circle, about five of them, scattering the angered youkai. Taking out their swords they slashed at the beasts wounding many and even killing a few. More blood splattered the already stained grass as more and more youkai fell, yet the riders remained untouched. One of the men ran their horse in Rin's direction and dismounted. She was lying unconscious unable to feel the man check her pulse. He picked her up and mounted his horse. He then galloped away whistling to the other men to follow.





They soon reached a small village. A young female waited on the bridge just outside of it. She looked to be in her twenties and her long black hair was tied in a pony tail. Her usually sweet and calm eyes were now distorted with worry. And she sighed with relief seeing that all that had left the village, now came back unwounded. But she noticed that one of them carried a small child and a new worry came back.

They stopped their horses in front of her and dismounted. The one that had the child came up to her. He was tall, handsome also seemed to be in his twenties. His long hair was not fully black but a dark brown and was also supported in a pony tail. His eyes were wild and full of mischief, but now, even those eyes were full of worry.

"Satsuna," he said, "this one is not from the village, but she was being attacked by the youkai and she's bleeding bad." He gave Rin to her and looked at her hopefully. "Can you do anything?"

Satsuna looked down at the child in her arms. It was true, she was bleeding bad. So many were being killed by these cat youkai and now this young child. They were becoming smarter and more vicious. Satsuna shook her head and looked at her older brother anger now burning in her eyes.

"Don't worry," she told him, "I will not let this one die."