The school festival had finally finished. The costumes worn for their class's contribution made the weather unbearable, but like things that worked well every year, they had followed a set plan. A mystic Café had been chosen after a group vote. Each member to serve in the 'front lines' had to be dressed from a Japanese myth. She was just so unfortunate to have been chosen for Amaterasu: Mythological Goddess of the Sun. The most annoying part of the costume where the items she had to heft around; they were not light.

The items were things the goddess later gifted to her grandson when she sent him to Japan as the first emperor. A mirror, a jewel and sword, though fake, weighed enough that she stopped often to take a breather.

"Hey miss?" The girl looked startled from her own thoughts at a couple of guys in school uniforms, but not from her own.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The boys looked at her a moment and one spoke, if not sheepishly.

"You were the girl from the school festival today, right?" She nodded and tried to hid her face. It was bad enough she had to walk home in this get up, but to have someone stop her on the street was just embarrassing.

"Uh yeah. The festival is over so I hope you had enough fun. I hope you will think about attending our school next year. I have to go now, but thank you for attending our festival." She grabbed the things she had set down and bowed before turning to leave.

"Ah wait! We really enjoyed the festival and wanted to know, seeing as we're still in the mood for fun, if you might come with us." The other boy stepped forward with a smile.

"I wish I could. I do have to go home though. I have things to do. Perhaps some other time?" The boy closest to her clasped her elbow and stopped her before she could walk away.

"Then your name. Can we have at least that?" She smiled somewhat relived to be only asked her name.

"Kusabana Ren." Both boys smiled and she felt a trickle of cold air rush down her back. "I have to go now, excuse me." But the boy did not release her arm.

"But we want to have fun."

.

Over the years, school began to teach basic skills girls could use to fend off men with ill intentions and she thanked god that she paid attention when she had thought them useless.

She was too far from her house to out run them and hid behind the security of her home and she didn't want them to know where she lived anyways.

.

"You don't understand…" Ren tried to pull her arm away, but the boy held on too tightly... so she improvised as best she could and shattered the mirror point blank in his face and ran as fast as she could before the other boy caught her. It was bad and she knew it. She should have dropped the heavy items in her hands from the start, but if she did now it would tell those guys what way she had gone and she could already hear them behind her. The guy she had broken the mirror on screamed and swore his outrage down the street.

"Run faster…. Faster." She encouraged herself to run. She couldn't help but feel discouraged though. The street lights started clicking on one after another as the sun sank with her once happy mood.

"Come back here!" She could hear them down the way and her legs started to shake even as she ran. Fear was consuming her even as she fled; images and thoughts flashing before her of what guys like this could and might do if they caught her.

"Go away!" It was a plea and a wish all at once. Anything, anyone that could help, she just wanted to go home and not think about what was about to happen. Without paying attention anymore to where she was running she turned left and found herself at a Shinto shrine; one she had attended once at the new years a few years back. Her heart sank when she realized her folly when she had turned down this way. This Shinto shrine had one entrance and one exit, no other way to go but inside as the distance closed between her and the men behind her. Her eyes scanned the open space meant for mediation and holy rites before falling on a run down but kept shed.

"Be open. Be open, be…" The door had a lock over it but it was not hinged right. There was no time for thank you's as the voices became louder and louder. She slid the door shut quietly and stepped away.

"She came in here. I saw her Shinji." The voices boomed like they were just outside the door and she backed away further.

Why aren't they leaving? Why won't they just go away!

"Let's go. I'm not getting caught by some old man because you have an itch in your pants." The words disgusted her and she flung her hands over her mouth. Her heavy breathing had to be loud enough to be heard outside if they listened, not to mention the pound of her heart.

"Meow!" The sound startled Ren as she backed away more from the door.

"Shut up you stupid cat!" She whispered her outrage as the fat white and orange cat stalked out from under the shelving unit.

"Meow!" The cat mewed even louder and so she was forced to hide in the darkest corner she could find when pale light exploded into the shed.

"Found you." The boys no longer had sweet eyes for her. Instead it was replaced by rage and loath and things her mind refused to comprehend. There were things these guys wanted to do that made her freeze, unable to say anything or even scream of help.

"Good kitty." The boy kicked the cat aside and his friend stepped in behind the first.

The door closed behind her and her imagination and fear sparked one thought.

"Don't let me die here…"

The boy that seemed to call the shots stepped over the threshold and grabbed her wrists and jerked her hard to the side.

"I have a good idea… You are going to hold onto my friend here for dear life. I'm going to lean you over this well here and if you don't want to fall... you're gonna hold tight, right?" Ren looked at his friend hoping for some kind of emotions that said he was disgusted and would leave or even help her, but there was none. Instead he looked like he was just being inconvenienced.

"Oh god help me…"

With a shove the guy holding her shoved her back, but her arms flung out and grabbed him.

"Please don't do this. Please… I'll do anything to make you stop this." But he only shoved her again, this time succeeding. The other boy grabbed her wrists and grinned.

"Hold on." And he let go. The boy who pushed her began to kiss her inner knee and slid a hand upwards. Instinctively she screamed.

"Shut her up!" But his friends' hands were supporting her and he could not move. "Fuck." He pulled a pair of arm bands used for sports from his shoulder bag and rammed then in her mouth, instantly silencing her. For a moment both men did not move and Ren whimpered and tried to pull away from them.

"Hurry up. I want a go... She's rather cute in this outfit of hers." Her costume was white and glossy. Its length was down below her knees and had silver embroidery. A good friend was in the sewing club and had made it for her especially.

"Yeah, yeah." With one hand he slipped his hand further up her inner thigh and she squirmed against him.

"Don't do that. Play nice and well will let you go home without looking like you've been had by a hand full of guys rather than just two." His other hands pulled and tugged at his pants and she squint her eyes shut.

"Please!"

"You in here you stupid cat?" The door slid open and a boy of maybe fifteen stood with a confused look on his face. "Hey, what are you doing in here? Get…" It was then he seen the whole set up. Ren seen this as her moment to escape and thrashed, her foot landing hard in the guy's crotch. His cry of agony startled his friend who stepped away from the well forcing Ren to let go.

Her muffled surprise was all that could be heard before the sound of scrapping as she hurdled down into darkness. Her arms outstretch and her fingers grinded against the wells brick walls, but failed to slow her decent let alone stop her. Another muffled cry was cut short as a brick sticking out caught her shoulder and a loud crack exploded in her ears followed by pain. The impact threw her head painfully into the well and scraped so much it burned before her vision faded as the ground rushed up to meet her.

She never felt the impending impact with the bottom of the well.

.

As was a constant in life, on every first week of the month Sesshomaru came to visit Rin with a new kimono. The village elder who was used to his presence after many years, Kaede, sat outside listening to the whiles of another.

"He doesn't ever listen! Will he ever learn?" The woman was dressed in the robes of a priestess and from behind a man cloaked in red clutched his hands above his head as if choking an invisible foe.

"Kagome! I listened! You asked me to catch you fish and I did! What was there to get wrong?" The girl turned around and fumed. Suddenly the man stuck his hands in front of him and waved them. "No, no, no… I'm sorry. I'll get it ri…"

"Sit, sit, SIT!" Her voice echoed and the earth shook. The man in red was propelled downward into the ground forming a crater and the girl turned and stormed away. "Ah, Sesshomaru Nii-sama. Good day." He nodded in his normal gruff manor and she stepped around him. He was not fond of his half-brothers woman, but he did enjoy watching her torment InuYasha.

"Poor InuYasha. He's got it good and he treats her like that…?" The elder smiled and chuckled, Sesshomaru ignored her and his brother all together before stopping abruptly. Something stirred in the recesses of his mind; something from long ago…

"Rem..." Kaede looked at him puzzled.

"I'm sorry what did you say about Rin?" Sesshomaru ignored the old crone and walked away in the direction of the wind.

.

He was sure of this smell. However could he forget? It was cloying like the sweet allure of wild blossoms on a spring day. The air washed clean after sailing leagues over open water. It wasn't until he allowed his mind to recall where he stepped that he realized just where he was. As he got closer the smell mingled with terror and the scent of men... men with evil thoughts.

Dangerous thoughts.

"The Well is near here. Does the portal between that woman's world and this one still lay open? Or has it been breached?" The forest trees thinned enough where he could see the clearing that surrounded the well. Since long ago the bones of demons had been thrown there to dispel their evil intentions even after death. Kagome had been the only one to have come out of it though.

Sesshomaru's mind ceased to function as he stared at the Well.

"I-Impossible." Sprawled outside the Well, tattered and covered in white, was a human girl. As he stepped closer the smell which was etched into his memory was unbelievably similar; almost identical. When he drew close enough to see true form he realized that she was not only shrouded in white as he thought, but her skin was of pure alabaster.

Draped in dirt-stained, white clothes and tailored with silver accents the girl twitched and moaned. The girl was broken... Her arm was twisted behind her and her hair, sweat soaked, matted to her face. Her figure was a mirror image of Rem's and the smell could not be anything but her. No one else could have such a scent as hers. His hand instinctively reached out to her and when a finger touched her face the girl woke... And scrambled backwards.

"No!" The scream made him stand up slowly surprise. Her voice was a dagger in his chest; the voice was also similar... too similar. This girl was something else altogether, but the same just as well.

"You are injured." Instantly the girl dragged her self-further away, something which sent rage through him. "I will not hurt you." He wanted to just look at her face. Just to confirm a small hope in his mind. Even if it was impossible, but the smell of misdeed was too strong on her; she would trust no one.

"Don't!" The arm she used to try and stand swung limp at her side and she screamed as the dislocated places ground together. Tears trickled down the white skin underneath straight brown hair. She was hysterical and even given her arm she tried to stand, to run; to escape.

I have seen this before...

"This will hurt." He warned her before grabbing her arm, which she tried to avoid, and with a sharp pull he wrenched her arm back in place. Her final scream was long and hollowed out from crying and screaming. She gasped before fainting forward into him and he caught her before she hit the ground. The image startled him, frightened him. Memories he wished better left forgotten were dredged forward as she lay in the cradle of his arm.

Her arms hung beneath her, head tilted back; almost lifeless as Rem had once done after she plummeted to her death over 500 years ago. He almost wanted to just leave the girl and forget her, but she mumbled in her unconsciousness which bristled against him and responsibility told him to do something. Tenseiga shone and he resolved to at least leave her with the village elder. Perhaps Rin would care for her.

"Kaza…" He begrudgingly returned to the village carrying the girl of white with the broken mirror, jewel and sword. Items that sang when he touched them and which made him wrap them so he would not touch them again. He never did try to glimpse her face and he tried with difficulty to ignore the smell of eager hands that were all over her body.

And even more so the anger the erupted because of it.