Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi on the manga.
I got my hand smacked by Bad authoress! Bad, ebil, icky, authoress! I posted late because my computer decided not to work with the Internet…. I want to apologize to the people who read this before. I wasn't having my stuff edited so I hope this one doesn't have so many mistakes.
Chapter One:
Catnapped?
"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked as she trotted behind her lord faithfully.
"Yes?"
"May Rin go look for food?"
Sesshomaru looked at the setting sun and realized Rin had not eaten since morning.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru said coolly.
"Y-yes milord?"
"You shall setup camp in that cave up there and you will provide Rin with food."
Jaken nodded and ran off as quickly as his little legs could carry him to the cave.
Thirty minutes later, Rin was chugging down some fried rice and fish. Jaken sighed and fell over with exhaustion from setting up camp and preparing Rin a meal.
Rin clapped her hands together and slightly bowed as she said in a grateful tone, "Thank you master Jaken for the meal."
"I did it because Lord Sesshomaru doesn't feel like wasting his time burying a starved—to—death—child."
Jaken quickly cleaned the plates, set out the blankets, and rekindled the fire before falling asleep.
Rin was now very drowsy and crawled over and sat down by Sesshomaru's feet. He was sitting on a log and Rin was leaning against his legs with his boa wrapped around her.
"Rin?"
"Yes Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin covered her mouth as she yawned.
"You consumed more the required of a mortal your age."
Rin abruptly lost the dreamy look in her eye as she looked up at him. "Is Rin eating Lord Sesshomaru's share of food?"
If it had been any other, they would of thought it heartwarming for the child to show such loyalty—but this is Sesshomaru.
"You didn't inform Jaken of your hunger," Sesshomaru said calmly. "Why is this?"
"Rin...wants to become strong and less burden to Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said, looking up at him with eagerness to please. "Rin will train hard and become very useful to Lord Sesshomaru! Rin promises."
"Human emotions." There was a hint of disgust in his voice.
"Master Jaken says that Rin puts you through much trouble and needs to behave."
"Sleep."
Rin jumped up and ran over the pile of blankets. "Good night Lord Sesshomaru!"
So Jaken was the one who put the thought into her head about being a burden. He would punish him in the morning. Not that he cared about Rin or anything; he just felt like beating up someone and he and wanted a good excuse.
Sesshomaru leaned against the stone wall. He would only have to cope with the human until they reached the village. A priestess would be there and take care of Rin. The servant girl would be better off becoming a miko anyway.
Sesshomaru wouldn't risk growing fond of her. His seven hundred something year-old father had married a human none older then twenty-four; his half brother soon to a fifteen.
Suddenly, an out of the blue thought popped into his head: why did he take care of the human?
It was respect. This human had earned the right to have a small quantity of his respect.
Not fondness, but respect. He would never let that "respect" turn into a foolish human emotion. He slowly fell asleep thinking of the stupidity of his father and half brother.
Two hours later...
Everyone was asleep and the fire was almost dead. Some kind of smoke was slowly drifting into the cave. A tiny snake demon slithered into the cave and made it's way toward Rin.
"Hurry up," whispered a tiny voice from up top.
"Shut up! You're sure bossy for a rat."
"The smoke will only work so long. Naraku won't be happy." The bat demon's eye was slightly twitching. "I'm a bat!"
"Whatever."
The r—bat demon noticed Sesshomaru stirring and fled quietly.
The snake's fangs came out as he readied himself to strike his victim.
"Time to die girl…" the demon said raising it's body over Rin. "You'll taste so—"
Splat!
Sesshomaru looked down in disgust at what was left of the body.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru said coolly. "Jaken!"
"Lord?" Jaken asked wiping the drool off his cheek. He sleepily looked around before stopping suddenly at the bloody mess. "What happened!"
"Snake demon somehow got in by using some kind of smoke. I smell a bat demon too. Take care of Rin. If I find one scratch on her...you will die," and with that said, Sesshomaru ran after the bat.
Jaken quickly cleaned up the remains of the snake and tried to wipe the guts off Rin.
Rin woke up when she felt a rough, wet, warm cloth rubbing on her arm.
"Master Jaken?" Rin said sitting up and noticing she was covered in something unpleasant. "What is this stuff and where's Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin began to look down at the warm, wiggling guts on her arms.
"Youkai snake guts. Lord Sesshomaru went after the other one who tried to kill you."
Rin's eyes went as big as boiled eggs. "Killed? You mean the youkai attempted to murder Rin?"
"Yep, now lets go down to the stream and wash you off."
By the time Rin was squeaky clean and her kimono cleaned and dry, Sesshomaru had come back.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken said running over to greet his lord. "Rin is asleep and unharmed."
Sesshomaru sniffed the air silently and noticed Rin smelled very clean.
"Did you leave this cave?" he asked flatly.
Jaken began to cough nervously. "Rin woke up and she was covered in guts. Didn't want to attract other demons..."
"Can I trust you to protect Rin till morning?" Sesshomaru said keeping his face cold. "I need to go take care of some unfinished business between a flying rat."
"Yes," Jaken said bowing so low, his nose touched the ground. "I will protect Rin with all my strength. My last breath will be used in protecting the mortal.
"Anyone in a mile radius will turn into boiling lard. The Staff will make demons everywhere tremble. With the Staff of Two Head's power and my cunning— Lord Sesshomaru? Where'd he go!"
XxX
One hour later...
Four amber eyes glistened in the moonlight.
"You ready?" asked the neko youkai from the tree.
"As ready as I'll ever be! I'll get the girl and you deal with the frog."
"Why do I get the frog?"
"Because your the guy and get to do the dirty work. That's what you said to Naraku."
"All I said was males are better then flea-males."
"Look, we'll argue about this later. We need to focus on getting in and out."
The cat demon nodded, jumped off the tree, and sped down to the cave.
XxX
"Who are you!" Jaken said yelling.
"I'm Fang and this is my sister, Tyke. You may call her Ty or baka."
"Hey, I'm not a baka!"
Jaken looked at them both. They were certainly not from around here.
The one named Tyke had on a demon slayer outfit just like the girl with InuYasha, but she had a belt around her waist; held a large collection of needles. She had claws and what looked to be a mix of brown and red hair.
Her so—called brother wore black, baggy pants and a black shirt. He also had a belt full of needle and wore a long sword at his side.
"What are you doing here!"
"We are here for the girl Naraku calls Rin. We'll be taking her to him so if you don't mind..." Ty pursed her lips as she tapped her foot impatiently.
"Over my dead body!" Jaken said banging the staff of two heads out in front of them.
"As you wish," Fang said sighing in disappointment. He then threw something down which exploded, leaving the cave clogged with smoke.
Jaken started to scream and was about to us the staff when he heard the girl say, "If you use it, you'll set us all on fire. It's a special gas that is very flammable. We'll survive... but I'm not sure how human skin will do."
Jaken felt something stick into his neck and blacked out.
XxX
Lord Sesshomaru came onto the site and tried to remain calm. He bent down over Jaken and pulled three very thin needles out of his neck.
"Jaken, wake up," Sesshomaru said kicking him roughly. "You're not dead! They only hit a pressure point."
"Huh? Oh Lord Sesshomaru! They took Rin!"
"Don't think I see that?" he snapped out, snarling viciously.
"They were two cat demons working for Naraku," Jaken said picking up his staff. "Their names were Tyke and Fang. Do you know of them?"
"Only Naraku," Sesshomaru said running off after the scent.
XxX
"Did you bring the girl?"
"Yes," Fang said bowing.
Ty was cradling the girl in her arms as she brought her forward.
Fang noticed the look in her eyes. "Naraku, we have brought you what you asked for. Give us what we want."
"Kagura, will take the child and what you seek is sitting over there."
Ty handed the girl quickly over to Kagura and ran to the tiny child lying on a square pillow.
Fang lifted his tiny sister off the pillow. "Dead."
Tears were streaming down Ty's face as she looked at her lifeless sister.
"You said if we brought you the girl you'd give us something to help her! You promised to take away her pain," Tyke said ripping out her brother's sword.
"I did," Naraku said chuckling. "She's been injected with poison, which put her out of misery."
Tyke snarled and charged at Naraku, only to be blocked by a purple barrier. Soon, a smoke engulfed Ty and Fang. They suddenly found themselves in a forest clearing. Tyke let the sword fall from her hands as she stood there.
Fang was still holding lifeless Hikari, too shocked to do anything but stare. Ty started to cry bitterly as she slowly sunk down to her knees.
Tyke stopped crying when she saw a small girl with white hair walk forward. She handed Ty a small packet, which had a note, pinned to it. Tyke examined the packet; it was a red powder with a swirl of blue.
Ty opened the note and read:
The girl is still alive; poison put her in a paralyzing state. Mix this powder with some water and make her drink it all. Do it before sundown and she'll come back and her sickness cured. I do this only because I promised you the potion and will keep it. Just know, your not the only one who despises Naraku.
Signed,
Kagura.
Ty handed the note to her brother and pried his arms off Hikari's cold form. She looked down at her sister and wondered how she could be alive and look so dead.
"Well, what are we waiting for!" Fang jumped up with enthusiasm. You could feel the energy coming off him. It was an odd eagerness.
"Could be a trick."
"Well, if this is a trick, Hikari is already dead and we have nothing to lose!"
Ty nodded and ran to fetch some water. She came back a couple minutes later with a pot, three teacups, a sack of food, tiny kimono, and a nice blanket.
Fang took the pot filled with water and placed it over the fire. They were soon trying to get the liquid down her mouth. When they had finished, they placed her on the blanket and waited for something to happen.
XxX
Kagura placed the girl on the bed and slowly put a drink into her mouth.
She pulled the three needles out of Rin's neck with ease saying, "So that's how they kept her asleep: pressure points. Won't need that now, since the spells on her."
"Is all going well?" Naraku asked from behind, making Kagura slightly jump.
"Yes, she will be in another world in a matter of minutes. The spell will keep her there for ten years."
"That's all?"
"I'm making the spell for fifty years right now."
"Retell me how this will work. If you don't answer it precisely how I had you memorize it, I will kill you."
Kagura shifted her body weight to the other foot nervously. "Her body will stay here while she goes to another world," she said in monotone. "She will stay there for ten years and her body will change into that of a seventeen year-old."
"How long will it take?" he asked mockingly.
"Three days in our world."
"Is this an actual world or is it a dream world?"
"It's an actual world but just like there's different time zones, there's different year zones."
"So when she wakes up... you'll give her the next spell to make her an old hag."
"Yes, and then you can easily kill her or she'll already be dead. Are you sure Sesshomaru's heart will break by this?"
"She's his property and he will protect it. It'll sting his pride to know he couldn't save her. It will not break his heart, idiot."
Rin jerked violently for a couple seconds. Kagura looked down at the girl. "She's there and it's starting to begin..."
XxX
"Rin, wake up."
"Huh? Who are you? Where's Lord Sesshomaru?"
"I'm Lady Kara."
"Lady Kara?" Rin said trying not to giggle. "Why do you have such a funny name?"
A/N: I think Kara in Japan is thought of as a boy name.
"Because, I'm not from the same place as you are. We're in a different w— country.
"Oh..." Rin said looking around for Sesshomaru.
"I got a note from Lord Sesshomaru. It said I must take good care of you and am to train you."
"Where's Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked with a tremble in her voice.
"My dear, he left you here and went back to the Western Lands. I'm so sorry..."
"He left Rin!" she wailed.
"You will see him when you're done training. Don't cry dearie! He wanted you to become strong, that way you could help him when he needed it," the old woman said kindly. "Don't you wanna be able to help him?"
"Yes...Rin wants to be able to help him and never be a burden to him."
The woman smiled. "Good. We shall teach you how to speak properly too."
The girl cocked her head and gave her a confused look. "Rin speaks wrong?"
"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to read, write, speak properly, and other important things that you'll need to know as you get older."
"Rin will learn all of this?"
"Yes."
"How long will all this learning take?"
"It depends on how hard you work and if you pay attention."
"Rin will work very hard!"
The woman let out an odd chuckle. "Good. Your first lesson will be to fetch water everyday from the river."
Rin put on a fake smile and said with fake cheerfulness, "May Rin go down to the river right now?"
"Yes."
"Can you show Rin?"
"Follow your ears."
Rin cupped the water in her hands and splashed it onto her face. She looked down at her reflection and bursted out crying.
"Rin must be strong!" she said wiping her face. "Lord Sesshomaru would want Rin to be strong. We have to fight and work hard for what we want..."
XxX
Sesshomaru was halfway to Naraku's and was slowly getting there. If it hadn't been for the 900,000 demons blocking his path...
They were everywhere! In the sky and on the ground. Some were small while others were bigger then he! It seemed the more he killed the more came. His hair was now blood red and his clothes weren't so dry...
"Out of my way!" he growled as he sliced through another ten demons, gaining two steps.
They were all over him, some at his feet and others biting him on his arms. They just wouldn't stop and he was getting very annoyed. He couldn't flee either. The sky was filled with them and as far he could see, there were only demons.
"Naraku said if we can just kill him we'll get a piece of the Shikon no Tama," a snake demon said in the background.
Thanks to Sesshomaru's excellent hearing, he could pick up some of the conversation going on between his opponents.
"If we stay to the back and let these fools rush in, we'll be fine. Naraku just wants us to kill or keep him here so he can kill that wretch of a human girl Sesshomaru keeps around.
His eyes started to glow red and his hair began to rise. You could see the fangs forming and the claws growing...
"You fools!" he snarled in a deep voice.
XxX
"Rin! Where are you?"
"Here I am, Lady Kara," called eight year-old Rin.
"I want you to meet someone."
"Who?" Rin asked stepping into the hut.
"This is Seth, the monk's son," Lady Kara said while putting her hand on his shoulder. "Your next lesson is to learn social skills."
"What? Lady Kara! He's a boy and what of my learning?" Rin threw her arms up in despair. "How will this help me with Lord Sesshomaru?"
"Social skills are very important and you will play with this boy and the village kids when you're done with lessons."
"Hi," the boy said happily. "I'm Seth! I'm about to go to the village and play with the other kids. Kara said you have to come."
"It's Lady Kara, you disrespectful boy!" Rin said stomping her foot in indignation.
The boy crossed his arms and smirked. "Whatever, lets just go."
Rin sighed and followed the spiky, maroon haired boy out of the hut.
"Why do you carry a dagger at your side?" The sudden flash of a dagger in her brother's middle made her go quiet.
"To protect helpless girls from monsters."
"This isn't the way to the village…girls aren't helpless."
"How would you know?"
"I've lived here for a year and I'm training for Lord Sesshomaru." Rin's face began to darken as she stared off into space.
"We're going to the meadow to play," Seth said slowly. He was beginning to wonder how many times she had fallen on her head. "Why do you wanna train for this guy so much?"
"So I can be with him forever and kill his enemy."
"Who's his enemy?"
"Naraku, I must help him kill Naraku." She was repeating what Lady Kara had told her so many times before.
"Your only eight, a weakling."
"I will become stronger!" Rin said with a very fierce, but determined look in her liquid, brown eyes.
"You couldn't even take me on."
"I must obey Lady Kara. I must not kill this boy. I must obey Lady Kara. If I kill this boy, I'll be disobeying lady Kara. If I disobey Lady Kara, technically, I'll be disobeying Lord Sesshomaru. Because she is under his command to train me." Rin continually repeated this to herself while trying to restrain her hands from the boy's neck.
XxX
"Kagura!"
"Yes?"
"Why is Rin dressed in that huge kimono?"
"Because, when her body turns into that of a seventeen year-old, it ought to wear a kimono the size of a seventeen year-old."
"I see..."
A/N: Ha-ha idiot.
XxX
"Yo Rin!" Seth called cheerfully as he leaned against a tree.
He smiled smugly as she fell off the wooden pole with an "oof."
A head popped up over the pole. "Seth, I'm training!"
"The gang wants you down by the river."
"I'm trying to train!" Rin said as she climbed back onto the wooden pole.
"What are you supposed to be doing?"
"I have to balance on these pole things and keep one foot in the air. Right now I'm just trying to balance but later, I'll be able to jump from pole to pole," said the twelve year-old Rin. "If I achieve this, I will be able to one day accomplish backflips! Lady Kara said this—"
"Whoop de do! So you'll be able to do a flip!" Seth said throwing his hands to his sides. "Do you do anything else but train?"
"I play sometimes."
"Obviously not enough."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"How do you even know if this Sesshomaru guy will even want you back? There's obviously a reason he left you here."
Rin gave out a wild cry and jumped onto Seth; beating him with her bare fists. The sleeves of her white haori were flapping wildly as she repeatedly punched his nose.
Seth easily over powered her and sat on her waist and pinned down her wrists. He licked the blood running down his upper lip.
"What are you going to do now princess?" sneered the thirteen year-old.
Rin scowled and knew there was nothing really she could do. So she did the only logical thing; spit in his face...
XxX
I can only update on the weekend or every other. This story is getting somewhere so stay with me…
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi on the manga.
RACE WITH TIME AND WAR copyright © 2005 by 1-Psycho-Kitty. All rights reserved.