Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own Inuyasha…..

Chapter 3

Escape

Rin dressed swiftly in her exterminator outfit. It was fashioned the same as Sango's outfit except the color was a pale purple. Sheathing her weapons she glanced around the large room to make sure there was nothing she was forgetting. Sighing she grabbed a small bag from the desk and emptied the papers and writing utensils. She filled it instead with soap and some gold coins she found on the desk. Money never hurt to have. Rin glanced at her outfit, realizing the servants would most likely grasp that she was trying to escape. She tore strips of cloth and strapped her weapons to her legs and hastily dressed back into her kimono but made sure to leave her exterminator suit on underneath. Holding her bag she sneaked down into the storeroom and found strips of dried meat. She packed as much as her little bag could hold. Holding the bag firmly to her body she headed to the main foyer. She stopped a servant and asked them if the Sakura trees were in the same area of the garden. The servant told her they were and she headed out.

Rin walked in the direction of the Sakura trees, sighing in relief that the servant hadn't found anything suspicious about her. Walking was a bit awkward but if she just strolled slowly than she could avoid most suspicion. She made it to the trees and glanced back at the castle. Seeing no one she circled the tree out of view and began to shed her kimono. Putting her weapons back on her waist she flung the bag on her back and began to run.

Training to exterminate demons had left her with lots of stamina so she could run for a long time before she had to stop. Keeping a steady pace she easily made it to the nearby stream and splashed through it. It was only about waist deep. She began to wade through the water heading downstream with the current. While she walked she munched on a bit of the meat she took. It was about noon when she was forced to stop from hunger and exhaustion.

Hunting had been part of her training as well and she easily found a rabbit nearby. She killed it, skinned and gutted it. She found seasoning herbs nearby and gently rubbed the carcass with it for flavor before spearing it with a sharp stick and holding it in the flame. It took a while to cook but once ready Rin devoured her meager meal. Just as she finished she heard the loud boom of thunder over head. A grim smirk crossed her face. Water would wash away her scent. It would be hard for Sesshoumaru to find her now. Sure enough large drops of water began to steadily fall from the heavens. Rin jogged lightly now, keeping her pace steady, trying not to slip on the slippery ground. She changed her direction and headed south away from the river. She hoped the rain would continue to throw off her scent enough for Sesshoumaru to not be able to find her.

"That's going to take a miracle idiot. Sesshoumaru is a an expert tracker." She told herself, frowning. Nonetheless she kept her pace steady trying to cover as much ground as she could.

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Sesshoumaru sat in his study going over a proposed alliance from the Northern lands. He grew bored as his golden eyes skimmed down the page, not bothering to read why they thought they had something to offer. He needed no allies. He was about to cast aside the papers when something caught his eye. The North had an existing alliance with the central trade routes. That he could make good use of. He began to draw up the papers for a formal meeting with the North and Central lands to discuss this alliance. He quickly finished those up and left the library. As he walked, Rin's scent caught his sensitive nose. Curious he followed it as it led all around the castle. He stopped one of the servants asking if they had seen where she was heading. The woman told him she had asked about the Sakura trees in the middle level gardens. Sesshoumaru headed outdoors.

'I should have known she'd go there.' He thought to himself. The Sakura trees were her favorite. He carefully sniffed the air. Her scent was slightly off. He could smell the anxiety in it. Plus the scent out in the gardens was slightly older. As if it had been a few hours since she was last here. Sesshoumaru stalked towards the largest tree in the garden. This one had been her favorite. Sniffing the air he realized he was right and she was not there anymore. She must have gone back into the castle and be elsewhere. As he turned to leave he noticed something pale pink lying on the ground. He was stopped dead in his tracks as he came around the tree. It was Rin's kimono. He snatched the fine silk off the ground and examined it. It was the same he had seen her in that morning. Her scent, like around the castle, was already a few hours old. He whirled around and headed back into the castle. Growling loudly he summoned the one who ran his household to the library.

He did not have to wait long before he was graced with the presence of Lenya. She was a lovely deer youkai. Long honey colored hair drifted down her back. Bright green eyes stared out at him knowingly. A slash of blue ran across the lids of her eyes. Deer youkai were a rare find. Known for their wisdom, guidance and loyalty. She handled Sesshoumaru's household affairs.

"I want you to find out if Rin is in the castle and who spoke to her last." He growled out. Lenya nodded with a slight smirk on her face as she watched her rigid Lord. Bowing low she left the room and quickly made her rounds to the servants. She sighed as she made her way back to the library with bad news.

Sesshoumaru watched her enter the room. Though she appeared casual he could sense certain weariness from the deer. Patiently he waited for her verdict.

"Lady Rin was last seen heading to the gardens to visit her favorite Sakura tree. The very same servant you spoke to was the last to see. She was dressed in a pink kimono. She had a bag with what smelled like dried meat and soap but no visible weapons. Nor was there enough room in the small bag for a change of clothing. I took the liberty of checking and her uniform that she was found wearing and her weapons are gone." She stated calmly watching her Lord. Although his face showed no feeling she could sense the anger stirring behind the mask. He gave a nod and got to his feet and headed for the door.

"I will go find her. You are in charge while I am gone." He said and was gone. Lenya sighed and headed to the desk to figure out what he had been doing.

Sesshoumaru headed to the tree where he had found her kimono. Her scent lay everywhere. He smirked to himself. She thought she could run. She must have forgotten how sensitive his nose is. She would be easy to find. He tracked her scent to the nearby river. He stood for several long moments sniffing. The water threw off her scent. He glanced upstream for a moment but decided against it. The water would have been hard to navigate through. She would have gone with the current if she were smart. As he started to head downstream there was a loud boom of thunder overhead and the rain soon began to pour down upon him.

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to curse the heavens but left such childish things to his brother. Rain would wash away her scent completely. He broke out into a graceful run, following the river. Most of his attention was forced on the scents flowing around him, trying to find a fragment of Rin's before the rain rid the earth of it. After a while of running he still had not picked up any scent but something caught his eye. The remains of a campfire were seen under a large tree. He paused long enough to examine it and determined it had not been made long ago. He must be on the right track. He noticed petit footprint in the soggy earth. Follow them he gauged her stride and decided she must be jogging. He set off after the footprints. He followed them for as long as he could but to his annoyance the rain began to wash them away as well. He stood for a moment and contemplated the land. He knew there was a human village just to the north but he seriously doubted she would visit any village in his territory while trying to escape him. He decided to keep heading east from his current position. That was the direction of the tracks.

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Rin stumbled along. Her steady jog has been reduced to a numb walk. She was cold, tired, hungry and her shoulder hurt like hell. She stumbled on, to tired to care what happened anymore. She deliberately stayed away from any and all villages to avoid detection. She hoped Sesshoumaru wasn't following her. She stopped to drink out of a small stream the crossed her path before continuing on. She considered her bag for a moment before sighing and pulling out the little bit of dried meat she had left. She'd been saving for a rainy day as Kagome often said. She groaned and glanced at the sky.

"Well it sure as hell is raining now." She grumbled as she tore into the meat. As she finished her snack she decided to make camp for the night. She was utterly exhausted. A small part of her for a moment almost wished Sesshoumaru would hurry up and find her. At least she'd get to sleep in a nice, soft bed. She quickly rejected the idea almost as soon as she had thought it. Luck was on her side as she found a small hollow tree. She built a fire as close as she could and climbed inside, glad to be sheltered somewhat from the rain. She wondered how close Sesshoumaru was as she fell asleep.

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A loud booming crash that had nothing to do with thunder echoed through the forest. The large tree came crashing down the ground, giving full view to the white clad demon lord standing behind it. To say Sesshoumaru was furious would be an understatement. The rain had washed away all traces of Rin's trail. The little campfire and few footprints were all he had to go on. The rain has washed away her prints and the campfire didn't exactly point out what direction she'd taken. The little wench had outsmarted him. Him! A mere human woman had bested the demon lord of the west. Sighing he summoned his youkai cloud and headed home. Standing in the rain wouldn't find her. He would send out search parties as well as alert the nearby territories that she was missing. He made it home in a short time but the short trip did little to help his mood. He entered his bedroom through the balcony and shed his soaked clothing. He headed to the indoor hot springs to have a nice hot bath.

Lenya waited in the bathing room for Sesshoumaru. She gave him a bow and had murmured 'My Lord.' He ignored her presence until he was submerged in the steamy water. She then approached lathering soap between her hands.

"I want you to send out search parties for her. As well as ask permission from the other territories to allow the search parties into their lands. She will not escape me forever." He said with a growl. Lenya nodded as she gently pulled the soap throughout his long hair.

"Sesshoumaru? Why all this trouble to recapture a mere human?" She asked softly. Sesshoumaru noted the drop in his title. He allowed himself a small sigh.

"Because Lenya she is mine. I gave her the life she has. I own her life." He said simply. His words held the smallest hint of warning not to be pestered further and Lenya heeded the warning. She'd known Sesshoumaru for far to long. She knew better than to push him. She finished with his hair and left him to finish bathing himself. She headed for her rooms. She closed her door behind her and leaned against it.

"That girl must either be extremely brave or extremely foolish to have run from Sesshoumaru." She said softly as she pushed herself from the door and made her way to her desk. She sat down and began drawing up the letters to send to the other territories.

Sesshoumaru finished his bath in silence and made his way to his rooms. Knowing Lenya the papers he needed would be ready for signing and sending in the morning. She was highly efficient at doing everything he requested of her. The main reason he chose her to run his household. That and he knew he could trust her. They'd been practically raised together. Many thought they were lovers but they were wrong. They shared a strong bond of trust and loyalty to one another. He was glad he found her. She was the sister he'd never had. With that thought in mind he climbed into bed and willed his body to sleep.

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Rin awoke the next morning to an extremely stiff and sore body. Her campfire had gone out several hours before hand. She crawled out of the tree and began to stretch her cramped muscles. Her clothes and hair were damp and smelled like the inside of the tree. She needed a bath. She cringed at the idea of bathing in a cold stream, but it was either that or stay dirty. She began walking southeast hoping to find some sort of water body to bathe in and clean her clothes. While she walked she looked for signs of small game. It was nearing noon before she found either. She crept up to a small well-hidden glade and peered in. To her pleasant surprise she found a large group of deer inside, grazing contently. She pulled the bow off her back and knocked an arrow. With one true shot she hit one in the neck. The rest took flight from their unseen attack while the injured one thrashed about before dying. Rin headed over and pulled the arrow out. Then she began to skin and cut up the carcass. Once that was done she decided the best thing to do was to stay here for the day and smoke the meat. She couldn't eat it all. She set about gather large flat rocks and built a big column. She dug a large hole underneath it and laid out the branches for the fire. She slipped sturdy branches in between the cracks so she could hang strips of meat from. She left the meat for a bit and set about looking for seasoning herbs. She only found a few. Sighing she rubbed what she could on pieces and hung them on the branches. She started a small fire underneath letting the smoke rise up to the hanging meat. She built another small fire several feet away for cooking more meat. She laid one of the large flat rocks she'd saved from building her smoker in the small flames to heat. She rubbed the fat from the deer all over it grease it before laying a large hunk of meat on it to cook. While it cooked she headed to the nearby stream and bathed and washed her clothing. She came back from her bath just as the hunk of meat was cooked. She at ravenously of the meat and went back to the stream to drink deeply of the cool water.

While she waited for the rest of the meat to smoke she wondered where Sesshoumaru was. And how close he was to finding her. She sighed. She hoped her meat would be ready by the time he found her.

I just wanted to say I am sorry to all my readers but life has gotten very hectic for me these last few years. I had no time for myself much less my stories. Thankfully I remember where I was going with this although I have made some changes to the original plot line, hopefully for the better. Once again a very big sorry goes out to all my readers. I realize there wasn't much in this chapter emotionally or interaction between Rin and Sesshoumaru but there will be some soon. Anyways please review with no flames. Constructive criticism please! :D

*Nacris*