Hey there guys! I'm so sorry for the long way, but I was in that time of the year where you are full of exams! It was horrible D: Well, I hope you like it.

Enjoy :)

The Battle Starts

Rin's eyes widened with shock. She was informes by Fuhisho and even Sesshomaru himself of how the enemies would present themselves. But it was too soon yet.

Without losing time, she quickly guided the children inside, just as Sesshomaru came to her

- Rin, the time has come –he said coolly

- I know, let me take these kids to the room first- the human said, bringing the children closer to here in a very protective way- then I'll come and fight

Sesshomaru proudly nodded when he saw the brave glare on her eyes. At least he had raised her well

- Take them to the room we agreed, Jaken will be there with the women that work here. Quick

Rin nodded and run embracing the children with her arms so they would stay together

The Lord went out to the place where the South and the East garden joined, which was where the earthquake had felt stronger. He was about to fly, when Fuhisho appeared. The general had finished talking with the explorers, and his face wasn't as funny or serene as always. His beautiful grey eyes showed deep worry

- I have talked with the scouts that have arrived and… DAMN IT!

A new earthquake. The attack was imminent

- … and the thing is that we suspect the enemy army is coming really fast. They'll be here in just an hour.

The taiyoukai said nothing, but Fuhisho could see some… concern written in his fine features. Probably he was the only one who could notice that, though, maybe Rin too. But it was too soon yet. Whatever his enemy was, Sesshomaru didn't like having 'unwanted guests' in his 'home sweet home', apart from InuYasha and Company. And judging the behavior of his friend/adviser/ whatever he was, his foe wasn't simply a 'whatever it was'.

The earth moved again, and part of the castle suffered light damage.

"I wonder if Rin is doing well. She defend herself decently, but with such amount of pups it is slightly harder to do so"

Meanwhile, the human was arriving to the huge hall that would serve as refugee to the women and children, excluding obviously Sango, Kagome and herself… oh, and Jaken. She entered quickly, for the earthquakes were each time stronger, and her place was outside, with her friends and with Sesshomaru, fighting for those precious lands, the palace… and their lives.

She saw Keiko:

- My girl! I'm so happy you're alright- cried the worried demon

- Kei, I know you are perfectly capable of fighting, but I need you to take care of the children please. I don't know if Jaken is able to control everything by himself.- said Rin, who rolled her eyes and smiled when she saw the expression the little imp had. Then she tried to keep serious, for the sake of the situation- Kei, I trust them to you with my life. I have to leave. Good luck

While she ran towards the garden, the human tied her brown hair and checked that she had her sword in her waist. She had to admit it, she was kind of nervous; it would be her first big, serious and dangerous fight. But at the same time, she was thrilled and anxious; she couldn't wait to see the results of her training! And she wouldn't let any kind of enemy, youkai, hanyou, human, god, whatever, scare her. She raised her head, like threatening an invisible foe.

When she walked out of the palace, she headed towards the garden form which the earthquakes had come: the southeastern. When she passed through the north one, she gave a special glance to her beloved pond with those colorful lilies. Hopefully she would see them again!

InuYasha and the others met Sesshomaru. They couldn't see much, though, because the Sun was setting. The Lord was worried because of Rin's lateness

Suddenly he felt something weird.

- Sesshomaru, something…- Fuhisho tried to say

- I know, something is coming, a strange presence

Everybody put a hand over their respective weapons instinctively, prepared for the battle

Far away from there, two figures could be seen. One had a powerful look, with his purple hair tied in a ponytail, and his red orbs were flooded with hatred. The other one seem to have the same confidence, but in his orange eyes, doubts could be seen. They stood in a hill near the castle

The palace's archers and soldiers tried to attack, but Sesshomaru gracefully extended his hand in order to stop them.

- Before I kill you, satisfy my curiosity and tell me who you are and why are you so foolish to come to attack us?

- Ja, what a question! My name is Jatemary, and this guy over here is Nokhu, my general- he smiles an awful arrogant smile, and pointed Nokhu, who tried to look nervous, but the fact that he kept arranging his blond, tied hair, betrayed him.

Fuhisho's grey pearls opened in surprise and shock

- Jatemaru? Kumniho's son? But, that's impossible, it can't be…!

- The same one. Sesshomaru, you have questioned my purpose. Well, I just wanna destroy every single rock that builds this castle, which represent the tyrany of the inu youkais. But, most important, I want both of you- his large clawed finger indicated Sesshomaru and then InuYasha- to die, the same way my father did. Fortunately, my father's assassin, InuTaisho, is dead –Sesshomaru's features showed a trail of fury- How I would have loved to strangle him with my own hands… but, sadly, not everything is possible in this life, so I will be contented by killing both of you, blood from his blood.

- InuYasha, his voice is the same one that shouted during the village's attack…- whispered Kagome a little scared

- Feh! So you are planning to kill us? You and how many others?- he mocked

- Silence, half demon! You'll be the easiest one to deal with –Snapped Jatemaru disdainfully. InuYasha got angry, and was about to shout and attack- But… I'll leave you to Nokhu, I have better things to deal with.- He said while he faced Sesshomaru, a malefic glare on his eyes.

- You think you are that good that you'll be able to kill me?- asked coldly the demon

His dark-haired friend informed him

- Be careful… hopefully he didn't get his father's powers

- Fuhisho, what are two men able to do to us?- said scornfully the man with the dog ears

- Your friend is right.-cried the enemy-Luckily, I've inherited my father's powers. He had the ability to control the earth. He did a damn nice work, till that brat of dog killed him- Fuhisho was about to answer that insult to his dead friend, but decided against it. So, that explained the earthquakes- and now, vengeance will be mine- he sinisterly laughed a wicked laugh, which Rin thought was kind of weird, and extended his arms. The earth under his feet started to fly, and he threw some pieces of soil and rocks towards the palace.

- Do you really think that with that you will win?- asked both brothers at the same time (though Sesshomaru had a cooler voice than InuYasha)

- Oh no, but this may help- Jatemaru raised his hand up to his purple hair (which look quite radioactive) and the pieces of earth started to mold and emulated the human figure.- Kill them

The soldiers ran towards the group. Despite the archers' effort, they were so many that they couldn't be stopped.

- And that explains the strange army the scouts had seen- said Fuhisho

- Well, as you can see, there's plenty of soil around here, so if you kill them, I'll simply create more- said the red eyed guy as a 'joke'. Nobody laughed- Nokhu- he whispered-laugh.

Meanwhile an echo of a monotonous laugh was heard, youkais and humans (and hanyou) fought in the defense of the castle, for the first soldiers had made their way towards them.

The battle had started.

Everyone used their powers and weapons in order to 'kill' those clay soldiers: Sesshomaru simply used his poison whip, occasionally spinning; Kagome flashed some sacred arrows; Rin swung her sword and kicked some soldiers; Sango used her Hiraikotsu; Miroku his staff and some punhing and kicking; and a constantly "IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" could be heard.

After the soldiers' first attack wave, the group waited for the dust to disappear. When it did, Kagome sighed.

Many, but many soldiers were still there, formed in perfect position, waiting for command.

- We will be here for hours! This is just a stupid distraction!- exclaimed InuYasha, tired

- Oh, I will manage this, guys- said Miroku, and used his 'wind tunnel' and sucked all the soldiers. Sadly, when Naraku was finally dead, they discovered the wind tunnel hadn't disappeared, but it wasn't expanding, so the possibility of being sucked up by it had been forgotten. It was rather useful, really.

Jatemaru's read eyes expanded with hatred, fir he hadn't thought on that 'little detail'.

- Shit! Oh, well… sadly for you, I'm not that weak, and you've quite angered me, so you've signed your death warrants. I have another card to play.

When finished, the soldiers vanished.

He snapped his fingers and pronounced a faint spell. Immediately, the shadows that each of them projected, stood up and started to attack them

- What the…?- said InuYasha

- Ja, as they are your own shadows, you're reflection in other words, they have the same power than you do

It was true. Every attack they made was copied perfectly by their shadows. Even the Great Sesshomaru wasn't making huge advance with his own, because every attack of his whip was thrown back, even if it was one made of shadow, it still had the same power than the real one. This was getting tiresome, and the first deaths on the defense were appearing (they were still being attacked by those mud soldiers)

The same as his brother, InuYasha's attacks were useless.

- I'm tired of this!- he shouted while unsheathing Tessaiga

- Don't!-cried Kagome while preparing her bow- if you use the Windscar, he'll use too, and it will destroy the palace!

- Hm

In conclusion, every member of the group was limited on the attack.

Miroku then tried to absorb them with his Wind Tunnel, but when he was about to do so, the shadows suddenly returned to their normal state

- What on Earth does this mean?

- Oh yeah, monk. My beautiful copies of you can advance and retract whenever I please or they face any kind of danger.- informed proudly Jatemaru

Miroku only could contract his face with anger and worry. How would they come out of this one?

Sango's face brightened. She had found the way out.

- Miroku, throw me your staff!

- What? But then how am I gonna defend myself? What do you have in mind?

- Oh, come on, don't overdo it, you can defend yourself with your hands, I suppose- when she received the golden thing, she took out of from her uniform a little seashell, which contained a purple thing- I need you to try to absorb them, you'll see!- She said cheerfully

Miroku opened his eyes with admiral when he understood his lover's plan. How intelligent she was! And how her butt was! He smiled like a drunken idiot, but a cry from InuYasha returned him to reality. He proceeded to repeat the process of sucking the shadows, and they again returned to their normal form. In that instant, Sango quickly stuck the staff into the ground, which had the strange creamy thing on its end.

Everyone had stopped their fights and were looking towards the woman and were waiting. Fuhisho got the idea

- How intelligent of you!

- I'm a demonslayer, something had to come to my mind!- she answered while pressing the staff deeper into the soil

The shadows vanished

Jatemaru had absolutely no idea that the human was able to do those types of things. Again, his plan had failed.

- What the hell had you done to my shadows, you human?- asked with ire. He turned and started to discuss his plan C with Nokhu, who had remained silent all the battle

Sesshomaru took advantage and jump towards them while raising the Tokijin

- Don't even think of it, you bastard. If you do it, the attack will be reflected towards you and your palace by my energy barrier, and I want to kill you with my own hands, so please don't die that early.

InuYasha inwardly frowned. He couldn't use the Red Tessaiga because the attack would be flashed back at him. It remained him of Kanna and her mirror: there was nothing they could do. Damn it.

- I see you've used poison- said the Lord coolly.

- Great, Sango! I was tired of fighting something that was copying my own movements!- exclaimed Rin

- Just the same you did with Kageromaru and Juromaru- smiled Kagome

- Thank you- muttered the slayer, while her husband embraced her with one arm.- But I'm afraid it's not over yet.

Rin tried to see her dear Hakamaru. But with so much chaos, it was truly impossible to find him.

"Let's hope he's alright" she thought worried "Sure he's strong, but this is a kind of fight nobody expected".

In that moment the earth shook

- Hey! We already know you're here! Stop that thing of yours- snapped InuYasha, trying to balance.

They turned and saw the enemy extending his arms again and uttering another spell, while a giant earth worrier was forming, which, even though it seemed he could move freely, had its feet rooted to the ground, so Miroku couldn't absorb him, or he would practically crack and tear it apart.

- Let's see how you do with my little friend

That thing started to attack strongly the south part of the fortress and grabbed a youkai who made desperate efforts to free himself.

Rin's heart stopped

It was Hakamaru the one he had captured.

HER DEAREST HAKAMARU WAS BETWEEN THAT MONSTER'S HANDS!

Without a second thought and nor minding her friends' shouts, she rushed towards the giant and attacked him with all her strength. The thing, having being caught unaware, released the now unconscious demon. Rin went quickly to check on him, and her ire grew when she saw the huge, deep wound that her loved one had on his arm and shoulder.

- Rin…-the soldier said in his minutes of lucidity

- Don't talk. You'll be alright- the human said sweetly- I'll come for you after I finish with this thing- she emphasized the word "thing" with fury, but Hakamaru didn't heard her, for he was unconscious again.

Normally, she was a calm girl, who always meditated on the best option.

But not now, not this time

This was it.

She stood up and raised her head with pride. She wasn't going to lose.

She attacked again, swinging her Rakyutsa skillfully, lunging every attack with an almost perfect accuracy, at the same time she gave enormous jumps (considering her human nature) and gave various kicks (which she dominated thank to the 'little' introduction she had had on fighting) in order to get to the vital parts of her foe, who showed no signs of any injury.

She was so concentrated and angry that she didn't notice that InuYasha and his friends had stop trying to attack that piece of soil, and were now watching her.

She neither felt the intense look a pair of golden eyes set upon her gave her, which studied her very moves.

Sesshomaru, even though he tried not to look her that much, couldn't stop observing the jumps and attacks the one that long ago had stopped being his little ward made. The fury that her being emanated, transformed into grace and mastery, and made her look elegant… no, she was already elegant. He liked the way she fought: energetically jet accurately, strongly yet elegant, so fierce and so majestic. A smile inwardly threatened to show. He frowned. He was just proud… just that, right?

Then he noticed that Fuhisho was smiling at him in a very particular way, one that he didn't like at all.

"Oh, I've seen this before", thought in a singsong tone the gray eyed general

Suddenly, the giant, who was pretty mad trying to smash Rin the way you would smash a little fly, caught her between its huge hands. Sesshomaru inwardly stiffened, fearing… not, concerned for her life, but he managed to stop himself of going and rescuing her, and he extended one of his arms in order to stop InuYasha and the others, who gave him different sorts of confused looks. But he trusted her to defend herself from that monster

And so she did

She used something of the little spiritual power an average human has, which she succeeded on concentrating after several seconds, but they were enough to repel the hands that kept her trapped. She landed gracefully, getting in the way between that piece of rock and her loved one, who was still unconscious.

- Miroku, I need you to use your Wind Tunnel when I count to 3- she shouted him decidedly. Then she exchanged glances with her lord, one that only both of them understood what it meant and what they had to do

This was her chance to defeat Jatemaru and his monster

- 3…2…1!- cried Rin while she slided beneath the giant's feet, cutting the roots that stuck him to the ground

When she was safe, Miroku used his Wind Tunnel, sucking the thing inside, defeating him forever.

With a quick movement, Sesshomaru took advantage of the enemy's fury and surprise when seeing his last option defeated, and attacked him with the Tokijin. Being so concentrated on the loss of his precious creation, Jatemaru didn't have time to set the barrier up, and received the majority that the weapon had lunged.

Thereupon, he disappeared with Nokhu

Everyone sighed with relief, even the Lord himself. That battle had been quite different from what they were expecting, and even more dangerous. The purple haired demon had uncommon powers, which hadn't been taken account when preparing the palace's defense. Thus, there were injured and dead youkais.

Meanwhile these were taken care of and taken inside the building, the group and Sesshomaru gathered around Rin, who had eyes only for Hakamaru (more precisely, his wound). She had him between her arms until a demoness took him in an improvised litter, and told her he would be alright. Just then, the human relaxed

- Rin, you fought spectacularly – commented Sango and Kagome

- You learned to fight good since the last time we saw you, kid- said InuYasha

- I am the best teacher ever!- cried triumphantly Fuhisho, who had taught her martial arts and a bit of how to use the sword when she was little. Rin just rolled her eyes and laughed.

She turned to face her Master, who didn't speak (she didn't expect him to do so), but her golden eyes reflected an enormous pride that only she could read.

Immediately she felt intense pain in her shoulder, and blood… her blood. The last thing she saw was that the floor was too close to her face

Sesshomaru caught her before she hit her face, and examined her wound. It wasn't that deep, but it bled a lot

- I think that with a bit of some plants that grow around here, she will recover. I can bring them if you like- Kagome proposed

He didn't answer, so she shrugged and went to look for them

The Lord of the Western Lands kept looking at her wards wound, and her blood's smell made him feel sick. On the other side… her skin was very soft, and he bet that if she wasn't all sweaty, she would smell great. Oh, and how marvelous did she fight, and… yes, definitely the blood was making him hallucinate.

Then, he gave instructions to Fuhisho, who was again smiling a weir smiled. He raised an eyebrow

- Check the battlefield for peculiar things, specially where Jatemaru was

- Can I know why, my Lord?- said a feminine voice

Rin was now awake between her protector's arms, and smiled a tired smile. Sesshomaru didn't move a single muscle of his face, but the black haired demon knew his friend was relieved.

- No. I do not need to explain myself, not to you, not to anyone

- Oh Sesshomaru, you will never change, won't you- she laughed while she closed her eyes

- Well… I will leave you alone…- Fuhisho slowly stepped back. Luckily, Sesshomaru wasn't able to see that smile appear on his face again.

The taiyoukai cocked again an eyebrow. Fuhisho was behaving strangely these last days… well, stranger than usual.

The human stood up, but she couldn't walk two steps without losing her balance, so he went and supported her.

- I'm alright, really.- she said to her lord, amused by the worried look he gave her, yet trying not to evidence the acute pain she was feeling.- I'm just tired and with half of my blood missing, that's all.

So, that way they went inside the palace

Rin thought everything had ended

Sesshomaru asked himself if it was just starting

Aw! I had my mischiveous smiles whe I was writing about Sesshomaru and Rin, Sesshomaru probably wants to kill me right now jajaja What do you think about Sesshomaru's thoughts?

WELL, REVIEW!