Disclaimer: Rin, Sesshoumaru and all other characters from Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi and the other various entities involved with the production of the manga and anime. I do not profit from this piece, nor is any copyright infringement intended by it.

Chapter 1: Blood on Her Hands

Get off . . .

Get off . . .

GET OFF!

Rin silently screamed at the vile red substance that stained her hands, frantically washing them in the cold, trickling water of the stream she had stumbled upon. Her hands ached viciously, raw from the furious scrubbing. She didn't care. She just wanted to be clean again.

She did not understand what was happening. The monk was her friend, almost like an older brother. She had been present for the births of all of his children. She knew something was wrong, that he was not himself. She certainly didn't want to hurt him, but . . . she was scared and he kept trying to . . .

Rin burst into a fresh round of tears. No one would believe her. No, he was a well-renowned monk, perhaps a helpless flirt with a penchant for conning unsuspecting well-to-do strangers out of an extra bushel of food for his services every now and again. No one would believe that he had lured her from her home under the ruse of an emergency, only to attack her in the dead of night in the middle of the forest. No one would believe her when she said he was raving like a lunatic about how she was to be his wife and that he tired of being denied what was rightfully his, madness and evil dancing in his eyes.

No, no one would believe her. Not again.

One month earlier . . .

It was not the first time Kanaye, the handsome son of the village headman, had taken notice of her. Over the past several weeks, he often sought her out to engage her in casual conversation, chatting with her about the weather and the happenings of her day, frequently going out of his way to do so. Outwardly, he was a pleasant fellow—attractive, well-spoken and quick-witted; features that made him a highly desirable man to most of the women and someone was a miraculous catch for an orphan and the former ward of a demon.

At least this was what the other women of the village liked to impress upon her. They thought she should be more receptive to the attentions that Kanaye paid her. Rin, however, was skeptical. Perhaps it was a result of her lingering distrust of others, but she felt he was just a little too nice, a little too quick with his praise and compliments. Instead feeling doted upon, she felt uneasy and suspicious. This in mind, Rin decided it might be wise to observe her admirer for a while, not unlike the way her lord, Sesshoumaru, would study an opponent in battle.

As she suspected, the headman's son seemed to be exceptionally "friendly" with most of the young women of the village; his niceties all tools that drove towards a very singular goal. All in all, it was not particularly surprising. Disappointing? Yes, but not surprising.

Even before that realization, Rin had little romantic interest in him—or any other man for that matter—and tried to explain in so many words her disinterest. Not that it worked. Only after he had made the mistake of intruding upon one of her lord's visits did he finally get the point; one made with the promise of slow, painful evisceration at the hands of the daiyoukai if he failed to keep his distance. Had she not intervened, Sesshoumaru would have killed him that very day.

That conversation had quelled his advances, for a time anyway—until the night he died.

The night she took his life.

That night, Rin woke with a start to the sounds of rustling outside the small cottage in which she lived—the same home she shared with the priestess, Kaede, for years until the old woman's passing three years prior. Cautiously, she felt for the dagger she kept under her pillow, a gift commissioned especially for her by the demon lord. Squeezing the cool hilt tightly, she tried to steady her rapidly racing heart before carefully tucking the blade into her obi. As quietly as she could, she rose from her futon and slowly walked to the door, taking care to move in a low crouch so as not to be seen through a window accidentally. Taking a long, steadying breath, she pushed the bamboo screen away and stepped outside.

It all happened in an instant.

Strong hands grabbed Rin from behind and violently slammed her face-first into the wall, sending sudden, sharp pain shooting through her skull as she crumpled to the ground. She thought she felt something trickle down her face—blood perhaps? She could not tell.

Before she could regain her bearings, a dark figure pounced, pinning her to the ground with his body, firmly covering her mouth with one of his hands; the other restraining her hands above her head. Rin thrashed, fighting to throw her assailant off her, glaring fiercely at the shadowy face before her—until she realized who was before her.

Rin's blood ran cold at the sight.

Kanaye-san?

It was the headman's son, at least as far as appearances were concerned. The build, the face, the voice—they were all the same, but his eyes . . .

In his eyes lay a madness Rin had never before seen in any creature—a madness that triggered a primal fear deep within her.

He's going to kill me . . .

Rin fought with renewed vigor. Struggling, she freed one of her hands and threw a punch into Kanaye's jaw; a shot with enough force to send him reeling to the side. Head still pounding from the initial attack, she slowly rolled to her knees, fighting waves of dizziness and nausea as she tried to stand.

Suddenly, Kanaye grabbed a fistful of hair and jerked her to her feet, the sharp pain tearing through her scalp. For an instant, her shriek shattered what remained of the night's stillness until a firm arm wrapped around her neck, effectively silencing her cries.

"You're too noisy. We'll have to work on that," he hissed into her ear as he tightened the strangle hold.

Rin gagged as his arm pressed into her throat. She wriggled her head, succeeding in relieving a small bit of the pressure by dropping her chin into the crook of his elbow. She quickly drew a hoarse breath. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he said with a laugh, shaking her back into place. She dug her short fingernails into his arm, raising angry, but ineffective welts. "I have far grander plans for you."

She felt herself being dragged backwards, away from her home and towards the woods. She tried to use the movement to her advantage, attempting to swing one of her legs behind him and use a simple throw Sango had taught her to put him off-balance.

It failed miserably. His stride was too wide, his movements too rapid for her to maneuver her much shorter legs behind them. Rin slipped, causing the vice-like appendage to further constrict her breathing and the blood flow to her head. She twisted violently from side to side, trying to simultaneously regain her footing and break the hold, wincing when she felt something jab into her waist.

The knife!

Rin drew the weapon from her obi and slung her arm backwards, jamming the blade deep and high into Kanaye's inner thigh, then pulling it out quickly. The strangling grip around her neck suddenly fell away. She dropped to her knees and gasped for air. Somewhere behind her, she heard him fall to the ground, moaning and cursing in obvious pain.

"Bitch," he spat between ragged breaths. "Don't . . . think you've won. This . . . isn't . . . over."

From out of nowhere, a frigid burst of air swirled around them, dissipating almost as quickly as it appeared. Then, he was still . . . very, very still.

Rin looked up weakly as the sounds of familiar voices and trampling footsteps grew closer and closer. The dark silhouettes of her friends surrounded their two prone forms. She drew a deep breath and rested her viciously throbbing head onto the cool ground, no longer fighting the exhaustion and injuries that drew her towards unconsciousness. Vaguely aware of the attentions being paid to her injuries, she closed her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep, with a thought nagging at the back of her mind.

In that last moment, his eyes . . . she could have sworn they turned red.

Rin shuddered at the memory of those terrifying eyes and splashed some of the cold water on her face in an effort to collect herself. She could not afford to panic right now. Something was after her—of this she was certain—but she had no way to prove it.

The only thing anyone, save for her, knew for sure was that two men were dead—two different people who, for all intents and purposes, were non-violent, admired, upstanding citizens of their village. Yes, two virtuous men killed by a woman who spent over half her life consorting with a particularly dangerous and notorious demon. And they would know it was her. Inuyasha would certainly recognize her scent. Plus, no one else had a knife like the one currently lodged in the monk's chest.

Rin heard the whispers of suspicion before. With no proof and no witnesses, she did not have a prayer now. Hell, save for a few scrapes and bruises, she hardly had any injuries this time.

The village headman was still furious over Kanaye's death, never once truly believing the story he was told of the incident. He would certainly send a posse to find her, unless the mysterious creature that was hunting her found her first.

She needed help; help from someone disconnected from all of this. Someone who would not automatically assume she was lying despite how preposterous her story was; someone who could actually protect her from this thing that seemed hell-bent on destroying her.

Sesshoumaru-sama . . .

She had not seen her lord for several weeks, and their last encounters had been a little tumultuous to say the least. Still, he was due for a visit soon—within the next day or so, if she were to trust the letter she received from Jaken. If she were lucky, maybe she could find him in the woods. Then, she could explain what was happening and he could offer some insight. He always seemed to know what to do, regardless of the situation. She had no doubt he could help her, if she could find him—and if he was not still angry with her.

All she could do was run—and hope that she was going the right way.