Hey again! I've been having reviews about my story being in the Sesshomaru x Kagome category (I don't really know how it got there in the first place but oh well) and I believe I have now fixed that problem. I was on a walk today, thinking what I should put in this chapter and I had an idea. Usually the villains of a story have some sort of background that changed them into bad people, don't they? So I decided I would give Arina a back-story, most of this chapter will likely be a flashback as I have not done one yet so I would like to experiment with it. Also, a big thankyou to the people that have followed and favourited this story. On with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha but I do own Arina and Ren.

Chapter Seven

It was almost time to resurrect Kikyo and Naraku, and then the Rift would finally be opened. Then Arina's plan could be put into action at last. She walked through the ruins of what used to be a great kingdom with great power and potential, but now the place was all rubble.

She had once called this place her home.

As she walked on through the deserted hallways and empty corridors, memories of her childhood slowly came back to her. The day that everything had gone wrong was still fresh in her mind, every image and every word. She peered down at her leg and stomach, the marks had long gone but the memories still continued to haunt her.

*Flashback*

Hundreds of bunches of flowers, big and small, were scattered all around the castle in glass vases patterned with tiny roses and lilies. They weren't just any ordinary flowers though, they were Plum Blossoms - the Princess' favourite.

The young Arina, Princess of the North and first elemental demon in line to the royal throne, skipped down the palace hallways, humming and singing to herself. Today was her eleventh birthday and she had put on her new kimono specially for the occasion, it was sky blue with flocks of silver birds patterned onto it just as if they were dancing in the vast summer's sky.

She was looking for her mother, the Queen of the Northern lands, who was usually in the gardens making bouquets from the flowers that grew there. Arina's father, the King, was always telling her off for doing things like that. He told her that she didn't have to waste her time making silly little things like that for her daughter, as it was childish and unnecessary. But his wife always just smiled and said how much she liked making things for her little Arina because she loved her very much.

Arina made her way down to the castle gardens but stopped outside of her father's study as there were rather peculiar noises coming from inside. She tip-toed towards the cold, wooden door and pressed her ear against it, listening carefully. She heard her father's voice and a young woman's that she had never heard before. What were they doing? Were they discussing some sort of business? Were they planning a treaty between lands? Arina had no idea what was occurring but the noises coming from inside suggested that they weren't doing any of the things she had listed.

So she ran off to find her mother and ask her what her father was doing, she would know wouldn't she? She was the Queen after all and had a right to know these important things.

The Queen was indeed in the gardens, just like Arina had guessed, picking flowers for her daughter's birthday and placing them into a cute little weaved basket. It was a fine day and the outdoors looked simply beautiful, what a lovely day it was for her daughter's birthdate to fall upon.

"MOTHER! MOTHER!" came Arina's voice from a few feet away as she lifted her head from the grassy turf and smiled at the little girl who was running towards her.

"Hello, darling. Is something the matter?" she asked, bringing her daughter into a loving embrace and slowly running her hands through the girl's long jasmine hair.

"Mother? What is it that father does in his study?" Arina asked, curiously.

The Queen raised her finger to her lips as she pondered, "Let me see - he signs papers, writes letters, checks blueprints, and writes laws. Just adult stuff, dear." her mother answered, still smiling.

"Then who is the woman who helps him?"

The Queen froze, "Er. What woman, sweetie?" she asked after a short pause.

"The woman in his study. I walked past it on my way here and I heard funny noises coming from inside." she answered truthfully, "I hope they're okay, the woman was moaning and groaning a lot and she sounded like she was in pain."

Her mother didn't answer. She stayed completely still, frozen in shock.

"Um, mother? Mooooother?" Arina sung, waving her hand in front of her mother's face slowly.

Arina's mother snapped out of her trance and looked back at her daughter suddenly. "Sorry, dear. Um, you wait here for a minute. I need to go talk to your father about... something. I'll be right back." she said as she stood up, leaving the basket of flowers on the ground where she had been sitting. She marched off in the direction of the castle, her fists clenched and her fangs exposed. A woman, strange noises, moaning, in his study! The Queen of elements had a VERY good idea of what her husband was up to, and oh boy was he ever going to get it.

Arina stood up in surprise as she felt confused at her mother's sudden change in mood, what did she need to talk her father about? Was it bad? Judging from her frustrated who expression, Arina had to assume that it wasn't something good so what was going on? Would it hurt if she followed her mother to find out what was taking place? Would it make her a bad girl for disobeying orders just this once? After a moment's pondering, she nodded and ran off towards the castle and after her mother.

The Queen burst into the King's study and gasped in horror at the scene before her eyes. She had expected to see it but actually seeing it happening with her own eyes was repulsive and heartbreak, how could he have been so cruel and done something like this too her?

The King stopped what he was doing immediately and froze into a statue as he looked at her. He had his upper haori off and looked very sweaty, and interestingly enough there was a young woman beside him who was wearing even less than him, she was also very sweaty. They were in a tight embrace and on the floor in a rather intriguing position. (A/N: OOH BUSTED)

"WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" shrieked the Queen in complete and utter disgust.

He stood up immediately and stood in front of the naked woman, trying to block her from view but falling miserably. "Dear!" he shouted, panicking, "It's not what it looks like!"

"Oh really?! Then what are you doing then, if it isn't what it looks like!?"

"You see! This woman burst into my study and threw herself at me! She ripped off my shirt with her superhuman powers and was all over me before I could retaliate!" he exclaimed, with the naked woman scowling at him from behind, she was very hurt by his betrayal because he was the one who had thrown himself at her.

"DO I REALLY LOOK LIKE THAT MUCH OF A GULLIBLE FOOL!? YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE A STORY LIKE THAT!? YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING, SCUMBAG!" she yelled, a few angry tears forming in her usually calm; pale blue eyes.

"GOOD FOR NOTHING!?" he snapped back, "IF I HADN'T MARRIED YOU, YOU'D HAVE REMAINED ALONE FOR THE REST OF THE YOUR LIFE! I ONLY MARRIED YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR LOOKS AND RICHES, ANYWAY! I WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO BE KING, EVEN WED A SICKENING DEMON LIKE YOU!"

The Queen gasped loudly, covering her mouth in shock. "What!?" she cried at him in horror.

"And guess what? YOU AREN'T EVEN ALL THAT BEAUTIFUL ANYWAY! HECK, EVEN THIS SERVING GIRL IS PRETTIER THAN YOU!" he screamed, laughing at her horrified expression.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, crying so hard there was a small puddle forming at her feet, "I WOULD HAVE NEVER MARRIED YOU, IF I KNEW YOU WERE THIS VILE! I DON'T WANT MY DAUGHTER GROWING UP WITH SOMEONE LIKE YOU FOR A FATHER!" How could someone possibly be so inconsiderate and heartless?

His eyes narrowed in anger at what she had just exclaimed, she would take Arina away would she? Not on his watch. "I don't care if you leave! But nobody takes away my precious, Arina!" he shrieked running towards his wife and pushing her into the wall directly. Blood oozed from her head and she cried out in pain, he then began to repeatedly hit and kick her fragile body until she was covered in bruises.

At this precise moment, Arina came running onto the scene and gasped at what she saw. What were they doing!? She knew that demons fought occasionally, but she didn't think that allies or mates did!

The King and Queen froze in their act as their dumbstruck daughter continued to stare at them, the sorrow shining in her large platinum eyes.

"Mother? Father?" she whimpered, whilst trembling slightly. Why was father hurting mother? Surely he loved her too much to be able to bring himself to even lay a finger on her? What exactly had happened here to make him strike her? Maybe it had something to do with the naked woman on the other side of the room, she really should put some clothes on, it was terribly indecent to be so in the presence of the royal family members.

Her father smiled creepily at her, "Arina! my sweet, lovely Arina." he laughed holding out his hand to her, "Come. Help me finish this evil woman, my little beauty."

"RUN, ARINA!" the Queen shouted to her daughter desperately, "RUN NOW!"

Arina screamed and ran for her life, not daring to look back. How could all of this have happened? And on her birthday too.

"GET BACK HERE, MY LOVELY!" demanded the King, chasing after her. He was not going to let his little girl slip away so easily, she was one of the few treasures he had in the world and he wasn't about to give her up without a fight.

Arina ran faster as her father increased his speed. How could she have left her mother there like that?! And why was her father acting this way?! What had happened to make him behave so cruelly? She hoped that her mother would be okay, maybe the naked serving woman would help her?

"ARIIIINA!" he sang, loudly, "COME BACK HEEEEERE!"

Arina screamed and began to cry, but she didn't stop running though, she couldn't stop no matter what happened. She had to go on until she was away from her crazy father. She ran through the never-ending hallways, desperately trying to get outside and to freedom. She was soon approaching a big, glass window and her father was right on her tail. She knew that she had no choice.

Arina took a deep breath, increased her speed and jumped up with all her might. Her demon stealth and stamina should surely be high enough to ensure this she hoped as the window smashed into hundreds of tiny pieces when her body collided with it at a great force. She was outside which was good but much to her dismay, she was at least thirty feet from the ground and falling fast.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!" she screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as she clenched her fists in fear. She was plummeting downward at a great speed and her father stopped at the window and looked down in shock.

There was a bone crunching THUD as Arina hit the ground.

"AAaaaaAaaAAaaa..." she whimpered quietly, crying out in pain before examining her body. Her left leg and stomach were torn to shreds and she was losing a lot of blood - and to make things even worse, she had landed on a rose bush! Whenever she tried to move, the thorns stuck into her flesh and ripped open new wounds. "AAH!" she cried out, clenching her teeth. But there was no time to waste, she needed to get out of here now.

Arina summoned all of her demonic powers and managed to haul herself up, she threw herself off the rose bush and onto the grassy lawn - now giving herself bruises as well as cuts. And then using a palace wall for support, she managed to stand whimpering in agony. She limped onward as quickly as she could, still holding onto the wall. When she peered up she discovered that her father was no longer at the window she had fallen from, no doubt he was running to find her! She picked up her pace.

By sticking to the shadows and keeping a low profile, she managed to make it to the bottom of the gardens, where she looked around for the secret door that her and her mother used every now and then to visit the outside world. It was covered with moss and ivy and was virtually invisible. She moved the shrubbery and managed to open the door with what little strength she had left in her.

When she was out of the palace she closed the door behind her and carried on slowly. It was painful to watch her staggering on weakly, limping and panting heavily. But there was no time to waste as her father would still be looking for her and he could have even sent the guards out to look too.

After hours of limping and coughing, she collapsed beside an old overgrown well in the centre of a clearing deep inside a forest. She leaned against it for support as she breathed heavily in pain. She had come a long way from her home and was no longer in her father's territory: meaning that she should be safe here for a little while. Gazing down at her shredded leg and lower abdomen, she sighed inwardly as the bleeding had not yet stopped. She had lost quite a lot of blood and she really needed to close up the wounds somehow.

A small shifting sound echoed from the pit of the old well she was leaning against as she gasped in surprise and fright. "Where the hell am I?" said the voice from behind her, it sounded masculine and a little confused.

She turned her head to see a young boy about the same age as her stepping out of the old well. He had vibrant red hair and was wearing clothes that she had never seen before, could he be a foreigner or a travelling monk of another religion perhaps? By taking a good sniff, she could tell that he was definitely human but there was something odd that was clouding his scent - something... unnatural.

He climbed out of the well fully and looked around in panic, scratching his head and itching his nose. When he noticed Arina sitting beside the well, he leapt back in fright and raised his hands up and shook them frantically. "Who are you!? Where am I!?" he yelled, obviously lost and terrified.

He continued to screech until he noticed her deep wounds, "Good grief! Are you okay!?" he asked, kneeling in front of her to get a better look at her injuries. She winced at his touch but allowed him to gently run his fingers across the upper part of the slit in her stomach. Surprising her by his sudden action, he reached down and ripped a part of his strange clothing off and wrapped it around her more serious wounds. The blood was still pouring heavily and leaking onto his odd robe so it hadn't really done much to help her. He rubbed his head awkwardly, "Sorry, I guess I'm not that much of a doctor." he shrugged.

For some reason Arina felt that she could trust this unknown boy so she opened her mouth and pleaded, "Don't let them... get me... please." But alas, her vision was becoming blurry and she eventually blacked out.

The boy panicked, what was he supposed to do? He wasn't used to helping people he didn't know, and heck he didn't even know where he was! Was he dreaming or something? Suddenly, he heard voices and horses approaching - fast. This badly injured girl had begged him not to let someone get her, could it be these people coming? Should he leave her here and allow her to be taken away against her own will or should he help her? He knew nothing about her after all so she could be a thief or a killer and he would have no way of knowing! But there was something in those crystal eyes of hers that told him she was not a bad person. Shaking his head from side to side, he reached down and put her on his back, before running as fast as he could into the forest and away from the pursuers.

Arina slowly opened her platinum eyes and yawned widely. She woke to discover that she was in a small futon with a cold cloth laid on her forehead to regulate her temperature. Looking around the room, she saw that it was a rather small hut that had several cupboards and drawers scattered around the place, there was also a wooden table and a bucket of water beside her.

"She's awake!" came a voice from beside her as she turned in the direction of the sound to face whoever was speaking.

It was the young boy with the fiery red hair that had emerged from the odd old well. He looked incredibly relieved to see her and was grinning widely. "What? Who? Where?" she jabbered, confused as to where she was as she tried to piece the many questions in her head together.

"You're in my hut in a village, girl. I was out on my morning stroll when I found your friend here carrying you on his back, looking for help. So I told him to follow me and I treated your injuries." came an older yet kind sounding voice.

Arina looked to the other side of the boy and saw an old man sitting beside him with a bowl of fresh rice in his hands, her mouth watered slightly at the sight and smell of it, though she tried to hold in her drool.

The boy spoke to her again, "You got some nasty scars, what the hell happened to you? Were you attacked or something?"

Attacked? Well you could call it that, she thought to herself. Her father had tried to kill her after repeatedly striking her mother, she didn't even know if the Queen was still alive! Had she been killed or just badly injured? Shaking the thought that her mother could be dead out of her head, she looked under the quilt to examine her leg and stomach only to find that they had been thoroughly cleaned and bandaged, they still hurt like hell though. "Who are you, two?" she asked them both quietly, unsure if they were friends or foes. The may have saved her but what for? What did they gain from helping a little elemental demon like her? If they were aware of her position as Princess of the North, they would receive a great amount of gold for putting her up for ransom.

The old man chuckled to himself, "I'm Jirou Higurashi." he smiled.

"And I'm Ren Avalon." the young boy grinned, "So what about your name?"

She shifted awkwardly in the futon and avoided eye-contact with him, "...Arina." she whispered.

"Do you feel okay now?" asked Jirou, looking concerned as he lifted his hand and placed it on her forehead to feel her temperature. Her fever had gone down and she seemed to be a little less pale than she had been at first. Though he knew it would be unwise to question them, he couldn't help but wonder why a demon and a human were together in the first place. They were supposed to be natural enemies after all, weren't they?

"Y-Yeah." she muttered.

"Good." he smiled, "I thought for sure that you were done for, with those scars and the amount of blood you lost. The medicine I gave you may make you feel a little dizzy but that's just to be expected.

Ren turned to Jirou and appeared to resume some sort of conversation with the old man, "So, what we were talking about before: you said that this was feudal Japan?" he asked in fascination.

"That's right, my boy!" Jirou confirmed as Ren looked confused.

"But how? One minute I was hiding in some shrine from the police and the next I'm in a completely different time period." he muttered to himself. So he had travelled back in time to the warring states era of Japan? Wow. He had seen movies and read stories of time travel but had never really considered what would happen if it was actually possible to do so. What would everyone say back home if he ever told them of his little journey? Heh, they probably wouldn't believe him, they would call him crazy and a liar like always.

"So what you're trying to say is, you're not from this time?" asked Jirou curiously.

"Yes!"

Arina perked up instantly, intrigued by their conversation. "You travelled through time?" she asked, staring up at the boy with her wide white eyes and blinking her long scarlet eyelashes occasionally. So this young boy had managed to conquer the very passage of time itself? Incredible. She had heard tales of such a thing from her father's many books of fables but never really believed anything that was written, it had seemed so impossible she was never able to properly process it. The King was utterly obsessed with time travel and ancient legends of such - she had thought him rather silly to be honest but now this boy's appearance had made her question her original beliefs. "You must have a lot of power to be able to do something as fantastic as that." she said, her tone filled with amazement for this strange child before her.

"Really?" he laughed before flashing her a wide grin and joking, "I already knew that I was tough but this is completely off the scale!"

"You do have some power." Jirou stated all of a sudden, surprising the two children as they blinked in confusion.

"Huh?" Ren asked as he furrowed his brow, "No I don't, I'm don't have demonic powers like her (pointing towards Arina), I'm only human."

"Look at your back. That's where the energy is coming from." Jirou ordered sharply.

Ren did as he was told and pulled the odd upper half of his clothing up over his head, leaving his chest bare. Arina found herself looking away from the boy's topless figure shyly, her cheeks burning. Though he was still only very young, he had a rather attractive looking body that made her feel funny staring at for some reason. She shook her head in embarrassment and pulled the sheets over her head, in an attempt to cover her incredibly flushed face. What was wrong with her?

However, she could not keep her gaze away from him for too long as she peeked out from the covers and gasped at what she saw. Covering most of the boy's back was a large glowing dragon tattoo that was a shimmering bronze colour. It was simply magnificent and took Arina's breath away looking at it.

"What the hell!?" Ren exclaimed in shock as he ran his hand across his glowing bare back, "It's never glowed like that before!"

"Boy? How long have you had this mark?" asked Jirou, curiously. He had seen something like this before in myths and legends but he had never actually seen it before with his own eyes - in fact, he wasn't sure that anyone had who was still alive now at least.

"Well, as long as I can remember I guess." he answered truthfully, "But it's never done anything like this before!"

"Let me tell you what's happening, that mark of yours is emitting a huge demonic aura which could be responsible for your little trip back in time." replied the old man, rubbing his beard and thinking hard.

"Oh." Ren blinked, feeling the mark on his back once again, it was warm and felt quite nice. He wondered just what it meant and why it was behaving so oddly that it could be responsible for his time traveling.

It wasn't long after that that the secret behind the enigmatic tattoo was revealed, and boy it came as a shock to Arina, Ren and Jirou. When the King's guards came looking for Arina a few days later, Ren tried to protect her by fighting them off with one of Jirou's swords, it was lucky that the old man was a weapons merchant and had a large supply of useful fighting tools. But they were more skilled than he was in swordplay and he was easily beaten, he was seriously hurt as the guards fought with him and sent him crashing to the ground.

All of a sudden, he stood up with confidence and dropped the sword he had been wielding previously. His eyes turned a fine gold and his skin began to turn green and scaly, huge wings emerged from his back as he fully transformed. His body felt like it was burning as his skin sizzled and his brain went whacko.

Arina and Jirou gasped loudly, as did the demon soldiers that Arina's father had sent.

The young boy from the future was no longer a human boy - he was an enormous deep green Dragon that towered over the puny soldiers and snarled down at them. In his new form, Ren found that he had become much more powerful as he easily fought off the soldiers with ease, sending them packing or simply killing them.

"What is this?" Arina asked Jirou who was watching Ren in fascination, "What's happened to him?"

"This is powerful sorcery," he muttered to himself, "very powerful... too powerful for someone with no experience in the genre before."

And so, from that day on Arina and Ren, who had managed to turn back into a human again, travelled the lands. For him, it was to control his powers and for Arina, she was still running from her father, never daring to look back. Whilst they were travelling, the two began to fall in love. It was an interesting relationship where Arina was mostly in charge and where Ren usually got shouted at if he ever made a mistake. But they managed and eventually became a mated pair.

A few years later, Ren asked Arina to come back with him to his time so she could meet his family which she agreed to without a sign of hesitation. She would go anywhere with him, all the way to the underworld if she had to - because she loved him.

When they returned to the old well from which Ren had entered this time. They leapt down the well only to discover that nothing happened. The gate appeared to have been closed for some time.

*End of flashback*

Arina knew that Inuyasha and his friends had once known Kikyo, she thought if she kidnapped the half breed and Kagome's pup, the dead priestess would be convinced to open the passage in order to save the child, she had apparently had a major weakness for children so how could she resist? Especially if this one was her former lover's daughter? But Ren had gone and killed his very ticket home to the future.

There could also be some resistance from Kikyo and Naraku themselves as they had had a reputation for not being good at following orders as they were not too fond of doing so. She would have to think of something to make them behave.

Despite all the problems, she smiled. She wanted to open the Rift for Ren. So that he could go home to the future and see his family and friends again. Even if he aggravated her occasionally, she would still sacrifice anything for him. Because she still loved him. So holding up her head proudly, she walked on as the ressurrection was about to begin.

WOAH! That was pretty long for me! I hope I did a good job with her back-story, I will explain more about Ren's past in a later chapter but first review and tell me what you thought of this one. Thanks for reading my story and I hope you are enjoying it! ~Happy