A/N: A birthday present for my friend who loves Sess/older Rin pairings. Normally I suck at these things, but I love my girl and hope she has the best birthday :) It was a story we talked about one day, how she'd never have the time to write it but I had her help me with the outline so she could see it come together. I hope you all enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters.

This chapter is going to be rather short and to the point, I'm not very good with intros for that matter but I the real story line begins on chapter 2. Enjoy!

A Life to Bargain

Run

Nightmares were always so frequent for me. I was never one to fear very many things in life, what with my upbringing and all, but it was when I went to lay for the night that at my most vulnerable I could feel the chilled fingers start to crawl over me, engulfing me in the suffocating darkness deep into memories of sorrow and terror I promised I would never allow myself to endure. But often when I'd throw myself out of one particularly horrid dream I am welcomed into another day by the dust and dirt speckled rays of the morning sun.

But today was not like all those other days. The sun never shined through my window that morning, and I never woke up.

The haze around my vision, the chill on my skin, all felt like such a dream. And as I began to feel the burning in my calves intense with each sprint like step it brought me back to reality slowly but the speed of my run never stopped. The small branches whipped at my face and my arms and my legs and I could barely feel the sting compared to the awful burn in my chest.

I wiped the tears from my eyes so I could see ahead of me.

'She's gone...passed on to the next world...'

I wasn't sure where I was running to, and at the time I had no idea that such a brash decision would come with so much devastation.

'I should have checked in on her, she was always up earlier than me...'

But all the same, there was no small voice screaming at me to stop, no reasoning that meant I couldn't run as far as my legs would take me. At this point how could one rely on such an empty mind for wrong or right judgments; this was instinctual. A fear that no demon or bandit could ever inflict on me...

'Kaede-baba...please don't leave me, not like everyone else...'

The village was suffocating, lonely, and cold without her. I knew something was wrong, when no one had seen her buzzing ever so slowly and feebly around the village wishing well, or when I had not found her only merely an hour after prepping for the day early when the sun had just risen over the magnificent forest around us.

'I don't want to be alone again...'

It was only noon when my knees gave way, sending me sprawled on my back chest heaving and nerves shot. My eyes shot up to stare past the canopy at the filter of dark clouds above leaving only one crack of awkward light to peek through just meekly before disappearing once more. My body felt broken, lungs gulping in the fresh air like a hungry stray desperate for their next meal. I managed to sit up and holding myself up with my fingers snug into the soil I listened for the sound of distant running water, of a stream or river I could clean myself off.

I picked myself up after a short pause and looked behind me back to the thick fog of the muggy forest and sighed wearily, images of loved ones faces in my head. Of Kagome-chan, of Inuyasha-sama, of Sango-san and Miroku-sama and their precious children. And a small speck of relief soothed my nerves at the thought of Shippou-chan. Little smartass, I huffed to myself, probably going on about how huge of a baby I am to the others, never truly realizing his age had nothing compared to my height over him or how hard I could punt the little fox.

Such thoughts gave me little warmth against the dank air and I wrapped my arms around my chest for what little warmth I could give myself. I came upon the river in short time, smelling the mud and the moss all around me I sighed shakily and leaned toward the water all the while keeping myself balanced on the smooth rocks beneath me.

My eyes met the water and for the first time today I was able to look at myself. I snorted at the sight. Hair tossed, wet, and greasy. Dirt smudges on my face that slightly camouflaged the small scratches adorning my cheeks and arms.

'Child, ye will not carry one's self as if they crawled from the forest.' Kaede chided softly to the small child.

Rin pouted, picking the twigs from her hair almost shamefully. 'My apologies, Kaede-baba, but I enjoy playing in the forest, and Sessho-."

"Ie, Rin. You are not in his care anymore, but in mine. Playing in the forest is fine, parading around like some wildling will not do." An old warm hand settled on the top of Rin's head and her large brown eyes looked up into old charcoal squinted ones.

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry."

There was a pause, then an old wise chuckle. Plucking a single green leaf from Rin's hair Kaede chuckled, "Come, let's get you washed up by the river and ready for supper."

I heard a splash and then another followed by more and I realized I had started punching the water, tears streaming down my face and a painful knot in my throat. A few cries escaped me, how my mind could be so cruel to me at the best times it wasn't fair. I took a deep breath, and I wiped my eyes with my now swollen fists from beating the rocks and dirt beneath the water.

It wasn't fair...

For years any elder would say the same; life was never supposed to be fair. To the gods who brought us here we could repay our debts by hard labor and sacrifice, or live a good life by Kami-sama's oversee and ways, or however many beliefs I heard in my travels and never had I ever had the feeling of a higher power such as that watching over me nor was there anything short of a divine intervention in my life (traveling with a pack of demons in my youth will do that to you) but never had I cursed gods or slandered, never questioned or judged, never sinned or brought harm to someone...simply only knowing basic morals and respects.

And what did it ever get me...

I slumped my shoulders, cursing my nature of festering my problems into a mass of shameful selfish thinking. The day was slipping from me and taking with it the sunlight into a fresh afternoon glow. Sitting here was wasting time needed to find my way home, and soon -

"Miss?"

A chill froze my every move, that familiar pain in my chest. ...of knowing that voice was only feet in front of me. My eyes shot up and met with brown eyes I'd never soon forget.

Hn...while I was out of my head he must have creeped through the brush and branches, but he seemed cautious with a worried look that sent wrinkles through his weather-beaten face. Not an old man, but not young either. From his clothes he didn't look anything important, just layers of cared for hand-me-down material. From first glance he looked like a simple village peasant...

...but those eyes. Something about them seemed intuitive, more bright and calculating than the rest of him.

"I'm sorry to have frightened you," his voice was smooth, cautious, almost coaxing, "I didn't know what to make of this site rather. Are you alright?"

My hesitance lingered, still trying to map him. My fingers clenched in the soil, tense. "Ah...yes. Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, merely tripped."

"I see." He brought his hand up to his chin, thinking. "Are you lost?" He finally inquired.

Very. I would never let him know that, a fool's logic. "No. Just passing along the river. My friends and I take this path a lot, I was catching up with them." Let's let him know I'm not alone, let him know there will be people looking for me. Was anyone actually looking for me?

His frown stretched but his eyes glowed. "I apologize, Miss, but there wasn't anyone on the path during my travels. They must be way ahead of you by now."

Damn. The chest pain was suffocating now, he was calling me out. But he could be trying to backlash a lie with a lie. I kept calm and stood up cautiously, legs bent and posed ready to take me out of here. Fast.

"Then I should hurry and get back to them."

"A young woman such as yourself shouldn't be walking out here alone. I have a small carriage just a mile up the path you see-"

"No!" I lost the volume of my voice which startled him slightly. Dammit Rin, keep your cool!

"I will be fine," I cleared my throat, "My village will be looking for me if they haven't started already. Thank you for your hospitality, sir, but I must be on my way."

"In the direction you seem to be heading there isn't a village for about ten miles both ways." His frown turned to a wrinkled smile and for a second I could have blanched and saw pure genuine intentions, but I wasn't someone to blanch with analyzing strangers. Not anymore.

That smile warmed as he extended his hand in my direction. "Come, I'm sure your feet could use a break. You can rest in my carriage and I'll have you home before the sun sets."

"But you aren't going to take me home, are you?" I lost control of my myself then, saying exactly what I had thought at that moment, but I held my shoulders up and my chin high, a warning that I wasn't someone to be fooled with.

These moments have only happened a few times. The first time was when I was eleven; a man had come upon me in the field one day as I was pulling roots and other herbs, but he wasn't as friendly as the man in front of me seemed. After a few rude slurs he grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise. At that moment fear had overtaken me and before I knew it the man was nothing but a heap on the dirt floor under Inuyasha-sama's clawed foot. After a few of Kagome-san's lessons I was ready for when another incident occurred, and when it did I clawed, screamed, and dashed home. Years later I can say it's repulsive, but nothing I couldn't handle.

The man stared at me for a while, that blank stare giving me no comfort whatsoever. His outstretched hand then became a fist and he tossed his arm down to his side with a sigh that meant he had grown impatient. I took a step back then, panic seeping from my stomach to my chest. I gulped.

He began a dry chuckle. "You sure are a stubborn one, but you sure have raised your value alright."

I took a step back, my throat tightening to battle the vomit feeling in my stomach. My value?

"Excuse me?"

"Men enjoy the fire in a woman, they pay a higher price." His eyes darkened with his smirk. "I'm a business man, you see, and you, my dear, are my product."

He began a slow pace towards me every step he made forward I made one back. "Y'You're sick," damn the wobbling in my throat, "you won't get anything from me!" I darted left, sprinting into the forest. He didn't seem to be chasing me, which was odd, but I wasn't going to stay long enough to find out why.

However I wasn't ready for the sound of chains from my right, or the sudden cold hard pain constricting around my ankles. I landed hard on my shoulder momentarily blinded by the pain I squirmed against the steel coils around my feet. Footsteps closed in on me, two pair by the sound of it. Someone tugged on my restraints and I screamed as my ankles dug into each other.

"Oh wow," came this deep scruffy laugh, "where ya find this one, Tite? She's pretty."

"You could say she was a gift from the forest!" the voice, the man from earlier...Tite. His laugh burned, it felt dirty.

A rough hand grabbed my arm lifting me into a sitting position. The man who had me in his grip, the larger man, gave me a rotted-toothed grin through a wiry black beard.

"Sorry, dear. Is' just bid'ness."

His arm shot up and before I could tell what he was holding his arm came down in a blur, followed by a spark of pain and sudden darkness.

A/N: I've never been very good with opening chapters, but I hope I caught the attention of some willing readers :) Happy Birthday Sis, this is for you!

Will update soon!

-Joker and the Thief