Here I am, and with all of four reviews. Well, thank you reviewers! I did appreciate it! So, on with the next chapter, and the unveiling of the mysterious person!

Bankotsu: Why do I have to do this?

Me: Because Otulia isn't here. Now say it.

Bankotsu: Fine…Kinkatia doesn't own InuYasha…

A Tragic Tale Unfolds

"…Rin?"

The girl nodded slowly. "But, how?" Kagome asked. "How are you still-"

"Not here," Rin interrupted. "It isn't something that should be overheard."

It was Kagome's turn to nod. She understood perfectly. Most people wouldn't react very well to overhearing a conversation about how someone had survived for 500 years. "Listen, I'm getting off at the next stop," Kagome said. "Come with me to the library. We can talk there."

"Sure." Rin gazed at Kagome a moment longer with her sad brown eyes before turning to stare out the window. Snow had begun to fall in large, fluffy flakes, swirling about on the winter wind. The two girls said nothing more until the bus had slowed once more to a halt, and they stood to get off.

"I'm meeting someone here, but it's okay to talk in front of him," Kagome said. "I'll explain why once we're inside." Yet another truth that must remain unspoken in public. She sighed, wishing, not for the first time, that she didn't have so many secrets to keep.

They were the last ones to exit into the swirling snow. Standing nearby was a young man who stood out from the others in Rin's mind. And it wasn't just his peculiar dual-colored hair. She focused her attention on him, and saw the flickering presence of his aura.

He walked over to them and stood by Kagome. "Who's this?" he asked pleasantly. There was kindness in his eyes.

"Not now," Kagome said, marching past him and through the doors of the library with surprising speed.

The man laughed. "I take it she's cold." He looked at Rin and smiled. "I'm Kishitaro, by the way. We should head in there, too, if we don't want to freeze out here." She nodded silently and followed him into the comforting warmth of the building.

They gathered in one of the private reading rooms, where people usually came to study. It was furnished with a square table that was almost directly in the center of the room, a large, comfortable chair on one side of it, and an old loveseat on the opposite side.

Rin seated herself in the chair, and Kishitaro and Kagome sat down on the other side of the table. "Lady Kagome," she said warily.

"Please, Rin, just call me Kagome."

She nodded. "Are you sure we can trust him? He's a demon."

Kishitaro blinked in surprise. "How could you tell? I keep myself disguised."

A wry smile spread across her face. "I've picked up a skill in seeing demonic auras."

Kagome spoke up. "You can trust Kishitaro, Rin," she assured. "Now tell me; how are you still alive? It's been 500 years since I last saw you."

Rin was silent, staring at her hands, as if unsure how to begin.

"She isn't alive."

Both girls looked at Kishitaro in surprise. "Your scent is that of death," he said gravely.

"That's right," Rin replied. "Let me start from the beginning, though. And please, don't interrupt; it is a hard tale to tell." She returned her gaze to her hands. "I stayed with Lord Sesshomaru until I died. I was fifteen at the time. He had taught me to use a katana, so that I could defend myself against minor demons when he wasn't around. Because I was able to protect myself, he often let me go off on my own. It was on one of those occasions that I stumbled across a pack of wolves." A shudder passed through her, and she paused before continuing.

"I could have fought off one, or two, but not a whole pack. So I ran. And…they chased after me. Master Jaken heard my cries for help, and held off most of them with the Staff of Two Heads. But one got around him. By then, I was too terrified to even think of fighting it. I just ran. There was a cliff…I tripped, and…"

She took a deep breath.

"The next thing I knew, I was in the netherworld…again. I don't know how long I was there, but after a time, I awoke in the world of the living once more. A demon named Sukia had resurrected me."

Like Kikyo, Kagome thought.

"I tried to run away, but she always caught me. She wasn't evil. She only needed a helper in her old age, and had stumbled across my grave. So I did as she told me, until the day of her death. She was slaughtered by the inhabitants of a nearby village.

"That's when I found out that the demon hunt had begun. The humans were going to exterminate all demons. I tried to reason with some of the villagers I came across, but they threatened me, and I ran away. I tried to find Lord Sesshomaru, but I couldn't find him. I fear that…"

Rin's eyes were filled with tears. Gently, so as not to alarm her, Kishitaro reached into her mind. An image of a tall demon with flowing silver hair flashed through his mind's eye, followed by the unbearable thought of death.

"Rin," he said. "He's still alive."

She gasped sharply, and looked straight into his eyes, just barely daring to feel hope. But doubt seeped in, and he felt it.

"I would know. He's my father."

"I want to see him," she said hopefully, a small smile working its way onto her face.

"After the storm," Kagome interrupted. "We couldn't possibly get to Okirei in this weather."

Kishitaro inhaled sharply, stood, and hurried to the door. "What is it?" Kagome asked, also getting to her feet.

He opened the door and stepped out for a moment. A familiar voice called his name desperately. "Come in here, quickly," he said to the person outside. He quickly retreated back into the room with a very distraught Kagura. She had hastily hidden her ears under an old knit cap, and a pair of dark sunglasses sat crookedly on her face, obscuring her eyes.

Rin made a small noise of fear, her eyes wide. Kagome, recalling that Rin's encounters with Kagura had not been friendly ones, went to her side and whispered, "It's all right, Rin. Kagura is Kishitaro's mother." Rin looked at her in surprise, but said nothing.

Kishitaro helped Kagura to the loveseat. "Mother, what's wrong? Why are you here?"

"He's gone, Kishitaro! No one can find him anywhere! Amoyael and Antheron have been searching for days, but he's nowhere to be found! Okirei will fall apart without him! Already there are demons launching attacks on the humans!" She sobbed into her hands. "He never would have left without telling me! And your uncle can't even pick up his scent! Something terrible has happened, I just know it!" Her breath was shaky, and she couldn't stop crying. "Sesshomaru…where could you be?" she whispered.

Kishitaro shook his head sadly. Kagome bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

"Lord Sesshomaru is missing?" Rin asked, suddenly not afraid.

Kagura looked up sharply, having been unaware that someone besides Kagome and her son was in the room. "I know you from somewhere," she murmured.

The girl nodded. "I'm Rin."

The End! Well, for this chapter at least. Now, be good readers and tell me what you think, give suggestions for the plot if you have any, and feel free to predict away. All it requires is clicking the little button and submitting a review. 'Kay? Thanks!