(A/N: Merf. Edited this chapter slightly.)

BLANKET DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, ya happy now?!

The Light In The Darkness

Freedom

Please, don't find me.

The little girl pressed herself against the wall, trying to make her already small body smaller. She looked only about eight years old, though her birthday had never acknowledged before. Hell, she didn't even know what a birthday was. All she knew was the Loneliness and the Pain, the Light and the Darkness. So much pain . . . More than any girl her age should have to deal with – than anyone should have to deal with. She made herself painfully still in the Darkness, hardly daring to take a short breath whenever her lunges were about to burst. They were home. She needed to be as good as possible; as quiet as possible, because if they heard even a squeak, the Pain would come again. The tears she tried to hold back fell, unstoppable as they rolled over her cheeks, swollen and bruised badly from previous nights' events. Her once baby-soft, pale skin was covered in black and blue, the ugly blemishes only able to fade slightly before more were inflicted on top.

If anyone were to ask what a dog was, or an apple, or practically anything, she would look at them strangely, for she did not know what these things were. She wouldn't talk, in fact, no one except the owners of this God forsaken house knew that she even existed. She only knew of the Loneliness and the Pain, the Light and the Darkness. She wasn't scared of the Darkness like the other three; actually she craved for her world to always stay dark. The Light came through the door when it was opened, only could mean one of two things; either they had taken mercy and given her a morsel of a meal, or it could mean that the Pain was coming again. More often than not, it was the latter. The door to the outside was always locked, only not when one of them were paying her a visit.

She felt her heart stop when she suddenly heard a car pull into the driveway, along with some carefully chosen language. Her breathing was ragged, yet silent as she tried to compress herself further into the corner. He was home. He was the source of her hurt, and she was the source of her loneliness. She was fooled, however, thinking that this was how every family worked. That every child was forced to stay in his or her room, barely getting anything to eat, while their parents fought just outside. Oh, how wrong she was.

She felt her heartbeat quicken as she heard heavy-set footsteps, ones that could only belong to him came closer and closer to her door. She tried to swallow the large lump and quench her parched throat, but to no avail. There was no mistake now; the footsteps were coming for her.

Please, Gods, please have mercy! Please let the Darkness remain! The girl silently pleaded. Unfortunately for her, the Gods did not head her plea. She heard the lock click; making her heart feel like it was going to pound right out of her chest. The door abruptly opened, and the girl was blinded, but she didn't need to see to know who stood like a shadow in the Light.

It was him.

..: :/\/\: :..: :..: :/\/\: :..: :..: :/\/\: :..

A boy of about eleven walked along the streets. Why he of all people had to go and pick up his little half-brother from his stupid little friend's house was beyond him. Okay, so he didn't have to, he just wanted to prove to his panicky step-mother that even though he was only eleven, he could take care of himself, even at almost nine o'clock at night. Just to spite her even more, he was taking the back streets of Tokyo. So what if he was only eleven? He was a full-fledged inu-yokai, unlike his stupid younger brother, who was only a hanyou. He could take care of himself.

He didn't know what exactly it was to make him turn down that particular street; it was out of his way to Mushin's house where his half-brother InuYasha's friend, Miroku, lived. He didn't dwell on it long, pushing it aside as spiting her more and making his half-brother wait. Most didn't mess with him; they knew who he was and who his father was. Even if the mentioning his father's name didn't scare them off completely, he was becoming more fierce accompanying his usual cold demeanor. If anyone tried to make him prey, they'd had a run for their money. He mentally smirked at the memory of the last pathetic excuse for a demon tried to kill him.

He stopped suddenly as the scent of salt hit his nose. Why did he care? It was probably just some girl crying over something stupid. Still, he couldn't make his feet move forward. They stayed rooted in place in front of a decrepit one-story house. It looked like it had gone through years and years of neglect; the tiles coming off the roof, the garden growing rampant and wild, the lawn riddled with miscellaneous objects, most he couldn't even name. He was about to just walk away with an oblivious eye when yelling came from inside . . . and what was this scent? It was amazingly sweet, though what it smelled like he could not put a name to. It was almost over-powered by the person's fear, anxiety, and . . . blood. He didn't know why, but that made his stomach churn and he suddenly felt the strong urge to go and rip the man who was causing the girl (. . . ? Yes, it was definitely a girl) harm. He did not know why he felt like that; no one had been able to make him feel that way since his real mother passed away. Against his better judgment, he kicked his heightened demon senses into gear and stalked up to the side of the house  if anyone could even call it that.) Seeing the old car in the driveway, he decided that his best approach was to wait until the man and the woman in there were gone.

His brother completely forgotten, he crouched down in the shadows, waiting silently for his chance. He didn't have to sit there long, for the man and the woman came out shortly after he had arrived, probably only ten minutes. He did not know why, but when the scent of this mystery girl's blood and tears became stronger and stronger with every passing moment, he felt as if he himself were the one taking the torture. The boy peered cautiously from behind a bush, waiting an agonizingly long time before he dared to go inside. Of course, none of this showed on his face, looking coldly indifferent the whole time.

Instead of taking the obvious way in and go through the front door, he opted for a small window on the side of the house. It was already partly opened, so all he had to do was push it up the rest of the way. Easily pulling himself inside, he slightly crinkled his nose and scowled in disgust. It smelled awful, like the people who lived here didn't know what an air freshener was. He landed in a bedroom – if one could even call it that. A stained mattress lay on the floor, and all sorts of beer cans and bottles littered the ground, along with other various items. He turned up it his nose and made his way out of the room.

Filthy humans. Don't they know what the word "clean" means? The young demon thought. He decided not to put any more thoughts into their detesting habits. Instead, he followed his nose to the scent he had smelled earlier. It was even stronger now, and he was lead to the end of a long hallway to a room in the back of the house. He only slightly hesitated when he reached for the doorknob. He could smell an abundance of tears and blood. He tried to turn it, but found it locked. He didn't bother to unlock it, because with a quick twist of his wrist, it broke and the door swung open. He gave a small gasp and his eyes widened ever so slightly. The room, hell, it was could barely qualify for a closet. But it wasn't the size of the room that caught his eye, oh no, it was what was in the room.

He was standing in front of a girl, younger than himself, slumped in a heap against the wall. She was positively covered in blood and bruises, her small frame spoke of years of abuse. The room was covered in her blood, and the scent of it was almost overpowering his senses.

And he was in for an even bigger surprise when the girl opened her eyes. She squinted, obviously not used to the light. She had obsidian-colored haired under the blood that matted it, and her eyes were a lovely cinnamon. She gasped at the sight of him, and attempted to scoot away, but she was just too wounded. She trembled from either the pain or fear, he couldn't quite tell. It was all he could do from going to find those despicable humans and killing them right on the spot.

"Don't worry," he said softly, as not to frighten her even more – if that was even possible. "I won't hurt you. I'm going to get you out of this place."

..: :/\/\: :..: :..: :/\/\: :..: :..: :/\/\: :..

The Pain, it had come again. He had come again, and it was worse than usual, or maybe she was just extra sore. It didn't matter, it hurt. Her whole body was throbbing, and she just wanted to die. She has wanted to die for so long now; she doesn't think that she's ever wanted to live. Her breath was taken in quick, short gasps, trying to desperately needed oxygen into her body. The Darkness was engulfing her, and she was glad. She loved the Darkness. It was when she could try to heal as much as she could before the Light came again. She didn't mind the Loneliness either; it meant that the Pain wouldn't come for a while. She reveled in the Darkness, and she loved how it wrapped it arms made out of nothingness around her, trying its best to comfort her. It hid her from their eyes, so she was grateful as anyone could be. When she was absolutely positively sure that she was alone in the house, she talked softly to the Darkness. It understood her problems and desires, even if it could not help them. She didn't mind, it was the only thing she knew that did not bring her hurt, so she loved it.

She lay there panting in the Darkness she loved so much, a little while after the car had driven off. She was alone again, and she was truly grateful. She was becoming numb to the hurt, the throbbing calming down a little. She lay perfectly still, giving her body as much time as it could to heal. She had no idea when the Pain was going to come again. She relaxed herself, trying her best to speed up the healing process.

But then she tensed and all but stopped breathing. Footsteps. No, she was sure that both the Pain and the Loneliness had left! She scrunched her eyebrows together when she heard the footsteps more clearly. They . . . were different than the ones that the Pain and the Loneliness make . . . was this some other being coming to give her more hurt? This confused her; no one else had ever come. Maybe . . . this being wasn't supposed to come . . . ? That would mean that the Pain wasn't going to be happy! No! She mentally willed this new being away from here. Why had it come? If it wasn't supposed to come, it would mean more pain and hurt than usual. Her heart was beating three times more than normal when she heard the soft footsteps stop at her door. No! Please! I don't want the Light to come again! She cried in her head. She just about died when she heard the outside knob try to turn. That's right, the Pain locked it up! It can't come in now! She was happy for a split-second before she heard the lock snap and the door opened, letting the Light invade her beloved Darkness. She panicked and opened her eyes, squinting at first, only to gasp at what she saw.

The being that had come was . . . she just didn't know what word to describe him; with his long, silvery hair, bright amber eyes, the two dark-blue lines on his face, one on each cheek, the crescent moon on his forehead. The fabric on his upper body was red and white; on his legs were a faded blue. Realization dawned on her and she tried to scoot away, but her hurt body couldn't move. She trembled with fear, because she figured out what he was.

He was the Light itself.

He frowned slightly, and this scared her even more. Frowns were bad; they meant more hurt. Smiles weren't much better, but that meant that the Pain was going to let her off easy, or she was receiving some sort of food. She was crying again, but she didn't care. She just wanted the hurt to be over with. What had she done so that the Light itself would come to her?

"Don't worry," he spoke. She tried to swallow. "I won't hurt you. I'm going to get you out of this place."

He moved, crouching down so that he was almost eye level with her. She shook even more, horrified at what he was going to do to her. She didn't trust him; not in the slightest. The Pain and the Loneliness also told her things like that; and they meant nothing except more hurt. She jumped as he slid towards her. His movements were slow – almost as if his words were true and he was trying to gain her trust. She did not give in. She only trusted the Darkness. He was the Light, the reason the Pain and Loneliness came. He reached out a hand, making her try to press herself against the wall even more. She closed her eyes just as he was about to touch her head, preparing herself for more hurt.

It never came.

Instead, she felt the softest touch she had ever felt to her head. He gently stroked her hair, and she cautiously opened one eye, then another. He was not hurting her, though he had that same cold look of indifference on his face. She was confused. Was he not the Light? Why was he not bringing the hurt like the Pain did? Maybe . . . maybe he was just trying to get her to trust him so he could bring the hurt then . . . ? All she could manage was to staring at him as he moved closer. She tensed, not wanting to be anywhere near the Light.

"My name is Sesshomaru," he said softly. "What's yours?"

She simply shook her head. She had many names, but she knew that they were bad names. They weren't her real name. She couldn't even remember her real name. He frowned slightly once more, and she got scared again. She did not give what he wanted; now she was going to be punished. Who knew what kind of hurt the Light could bring?

"If you are not going to tell me, then I shall call you Rin."

She relaxed ever-so-slightly. So the Light was not angry? That was good, but she needed to make sure that she didn't even cause the tiniest bit of frustration for the Light. She nodded briefly, showing that she was happy with the new name. Just keep the Light happy and maybe I won't get the hurt so bad.

She was taken aback when he leaned forward, he was so close that it terrified her and sent tremors up her spine when she suddenly felt his arms under her body, lifting her up. Even the slightest of movement sent the hurt and throb all over her. She scrunched her face up in pain, causing him to frown slightly again. Seeing this, she shook her head, desperately trying to tell him that it didn't hurt; that she was actually enjoying her hurt. When she did this, his frown only deepened a little. She was frightened more than ever now. Oh no! The Light is not happy! What can I do to make him happy?! She thought.

"Rin."

She jumped in his arms when he said her new name. She looked up him, scared out of her wits. What was he going to do o her now that she had made him unhappy?!

"Are you in pain?"

She shook her head in a frenzied motion, terrified – absolutely petrified of him. His amber eyes narrowed.

"Do not lie to me, Rin."

She started to tremble again, but managed to nod her head once. The Light was not happy with her – she could see that. She was sure that he could bring much more hurt than the Pain ever could. She was shaking uncontrollably, and in response she felt him tighten his grip on her.

"You will not be in pain much longer. Just hang on until then."

He then turned and walked out of her room. It was one thing that the Light to come to her, but she was never, never supposed go into the Light. She gripped the fabric on his chest and shook her head frantically, trying to tell him that she was not supposed to come out here. He seemed to get what she was trying to tell him because he glanced downward at her, though did not turn around.

"You do not need to be afraid anymore, you are free now, Rin."