Okay, don't we all think Sesshomaru is the coolest character in Inuyasha? I mean Inuyasha is pretty cool, but his brother is just hot. I've fallen into a bit of Sesshomaru worship again in this chapter. But you WILL like it….if not, well then…tough. LOL.

You know, as I read through the fight scenes again, I realize that I watched Pokemon one too many times in the past… I half wanted to shout, "Rin! Whirlwind attack! Go!" Then, I LMAO b/c it was just too funny...

Thank you to SJ Kidd for all the suggestions. I will clear some stuff up either in a Chapter 9 revision, or in Chapter 10. Thank you Danica, Bluediamond-Hime and Moonmagicks for such kind praise! It makes me blush, but THANKS!

--Kero


Chapter Nine: Mononoke tou Ningen ni no Kekai (Boundary Between Monsters and Men)

Sesshomaru raced down the bamboo forest adjoining his outer territories. The light was growing dimmer as the sun was setting. A cool wind rushed alongside him, propelling him faster as he gracefully dodged the bamboo trunks left and right. He was going so fast that bamboo twigs and leaves were slashing at his face and hands leaving little red cuts and welts. But this was not his primary concern. He had lost Rin's scent along the road, but Akiko's perfume still lingered in the forest that ran adjacent to it. Sesshomaru knew that if he found Akiko, he would find Rin.

For now, his mind was only concentrated on the single though of following the scent. Hunting and tracking were simple and even second nature to him. He knew that if he stopped to think about what was going on, somehow, he would have to shift some blame onto himself. Sesshomaru did not know Akiko's exact motive, however, he knew enough about the demoness to understand that the one way she could get to him was through Rin. Though he neither acknowledged nor encouraged those around him to think that he had 'chosen' Rin over Akiko, he knew it must seem that way to everyone who knew of Rin's situation at his castle. Akiko must have wanted revenge against him for slighting her and dismissing her so coolly. In Sesshomaru's eyes, he did not fault himself for doing so. He was of course, lord and master of the Inu clan, and as such he could do no wrong. As for his own personal tastes, Akiko was cold and rather loathsome, and more so now that she had something to do with Rin's disappearance. Rin was so pleasantly different from Akiko.

But if he stopped to think about it even further, he would discover a slight twinge of guilt for not taking Rin out with him to survey the territories that morning, as he had done many times when she was younger. Had he done so, he would have been able to protect her better, for the safest place for Rin was, and had always been, by his side. This had proven true in all the years he was acquainted with the girl. No matter who tried to steal her, no matter how they tried to use her to get to him, she was always safest when with him.

Sesshomaru was responsible for her, having brought her back from the dead and besides that, he was not comfortable with the thought of some untimely demise befalling her because of him. Whether it was out of guilt, responsibility or genuine concern for the girl, Rin had stayed with him all this time.

He should have known better this time. A demon like Akiko would not let such a slight go by without retaliation. Sesshomaru had underestimated the motives of a woman. Despite his knowledge and experience in all things concerning the demon world, women were still a puzzle to him. He would never admit that, of course.

He knew that Rin did not enjoy being left behind, though she never mentioned it to him. In fact, aside from the few times that she had told him of her feelings for him, she rarely spoke about how she was feeling. Sesshomaru often wondered if it was because she was shy or because she did not want him to worry. Not like he WOULD worry, for these things were of little concern to him…before. For every time he left her without word, Rin busied herself by making something, like a basket. On one occasion, while he was passing one of the storage sheds in the castle, he saw Yoko and Jaken desperately trying to close a closet door. There were unsuccessful and a flood of baskets of all sizes spilled out all over the ground, completely burying Jaken, much to the little imp's discontent.

Upon inquiry, after listening to Jaken's indignant squawking, Sesshomaru discovered that whenever he left Rin, she busied herself until he came back. The closet was the result of a decade or so of Rin trying to pass the time without him. This thought was followed by more guilt, somehow. He realized that every time that he had spent an intimate session with Rin, whether teaching her how to fight, or how to write, or answering her questions about demon lore, or even spending an afternoon watching her pick flowers, it was always followed by a brief absence from her. Had he been avoiding his own feelings for her all that time?

And for every time that he did not ask what was going on in her head, that she did not tell him what she was thinking, something ended up going wrong. Somehow it always resulted in his having to save her. He could not deny it. Ever since that fateful day that they first met, he had always wanted to save her. Whether it was from the humans who mistreated her and cast her aside, the demons who wanted her for breakfast, or the demons who wanted to use her to get to him, he wanted to save her.

Or rather, he wanted to be the one to save her. He felt this most acutely when she was suffering from her nightmares. She had suffered in silence with those memories and all he wanted to do was ease her pain. He had never felt this way for anyone before. Not even his own kin. In the end, Sesshomaru decided it would be better for him to be updated on all her feelings and concerns. He would appoint Jaken as their intermediary as soon as they returned. For in his mind, he would bring her back. There was no doubt.

000

Rin stared at the man in front of her through slitted green, lifeless eyes. She had but one goal: he must be killed. Her family must be avenged. She licked her lips and tasted the blood where her newly grown fangs had cut her. Rin's long hair had fallen out of place, and wispy tendrils flowed out in the breeze like wavy serpents. She extended her hands out to her sides and five razor sharp talons extended out on either side, ready to pounce on her newfound prey. Somewhere she had discarded her shoes and claws protruded out of her toes where her toenails should have been.

"I knew you would come," said the man, drawing his sword. "Humans are so predictable." A cruel grin appeared on his face. It made the scar across his cheek bend awkwardly. Rin wanted to make that smirk disappear, or she would rip it off his face. This was the man who had destroyed her life so long ago. It was because of him that it all went awry. He and his men slaughtered her family and left her in misery.

"Yurusenai,' said Rin under her breath. She would never forgive him.

"Let's play then, neko-chan," he said.

He charged at her with inhuman speed. Rin could feel the power of the stone pulsing with energy in her pocket. She jumped up at the last moment, doing a forward flip and slight twist in mid air. Where had she learned that? From deep inside her mind, she recalled a tall graceful figure with flowing silver hair, but she could not recall his face. At the last moment, Rin slashed at the man, but he expertly moved out of the way. Only his shirt was caught by her claws, and she had managed to slice it into three strips along his back.

"Very clever," he replied. "You learned that from him, did you?" But then her opponent raised his sword, garnering enough energy, and slashed the air in front of him. He had created such a forceful shockwave that Rin was nearly knocked off her feet. She raised her arms to shield her eyes and when it was over, she could see that the front of her kimono was torn in several places as if it had been whipped by the wind. Had she still been human, she would have been cut into pieces by now.

You see the power I have granted you? Now go, use me to kill your opponent. And I will eat the soul that is left behind, making you even stronger, said the voice in her head.

Do it, Rin, said the voice of her mother in a small whisper. Help us.

Rin obeyed and she was the one to charge her opponent this time. Rin hissed as she caught his blade in her claws. The edges of the metal were sharp enough to cut into her claws, making them bleed ever so slightly. She kicked her opponent away, and with the power of the stone, she cut her opponent badly in a whirlwind of claws and fangs. The man jumped away from the attack. He looked down and saw he was bleeding in many places now. One cut had almost been deep enough to sever the artery in his arm.

"If that man were still alive, he would have fallen before you. You would have made him suffer, I can see that in your eyes. It's a good thing I dispatched him quickly before you got to him. But no more games, neko-chan," smiled her opponent. "I wanted to test you, but now I see you are playing for keeps. Out of respect for your new form, I will not hold back." Her opponent relinquished his sword, tossing it aside. Then, putting his hands together and closing his eyes, he burst into bright orange flame. Rin stepped back and saw the flame reached high into the air. She leaped back as to not be burned, and when she looked up, there was a giant white inu in front of her. Her opponent was not human.

The giant dog licked its paw at the places where Rin had slashed. Then with its green eyes it snarled at her.

"Come, Rin. Let's finish this!" The voice was no longer that of the man, but a female voice she recognized but could not name. Somehow, she had been tricked. Somehow, she had been used again. Rin hated that. Her eyes were filled with fury. Again, she had been deprived of what she wanted. The dog would have to pay for that.

Kill it, said the voice in her head. Kill it and I will eat the demon soul, becoming more powerful than with any simple human soul. Kill it and I will have no more need for you or the others. I will release them and your family will be free. Rin's green eyes began to glow with a new purpose.

000

Sesshomaru stopped short in a clearing within the bamboo forest. There, he saw some of Akiko's retainers and her sedan, idly passing time. They were most likely waiting for her return. With deliberate purpose, Sesshomaru drew his sword and leaped out in front of the sedan. He slashed at the air and the wooden sedan burst into pieces. It was empty. In a flash of light, Sesshomaru charged at them, and with extended claws reaching out like a giant golden whip, he slashed at all the demons, save one. This one he had pinned by the neck against a thick bamboo stump. The demon was gasping for air and could not draw its weapon.

"Where is she?" demanded Sesshomaru.

"Who?" gasped the demon.

"Your mistress," said Sesshomaru with deadly impatience.

"She's not here," stammered the demon.

"This part is obvious. Tell me where she has gone," said Sesshomaru, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"We don't know. She didn't tell us. She found a demon stone back at the tea stand further down the main road," he gasped. "She killed a human with a scar across his face to get it. Then she told us to wait here."

"A man with a scar," said Sesshomaru, pondering the meaning of it and then making the connection.

"At the cross-roads," the demon volunteered. "Please don't kill me," he begged.

"Another day, when I have time for it," growled Sesshomaru. He relinquished his grip and raced down the main road again in a blur of silvery hair and immaculate white fur.

000

A stream of blazing orange fire streamed towards Rin, but she leaped up and avoided it. Her hair smelled singed. Before she had time to think of a better strategy to get closer to her demon dog opponent, a rain of fireballs came at her. Rin jumped to the top of the nearest tree, only to have another torrent of flame come at her. She jumped off the tree and heard the tree crackle and hiss as it crumbled to ash. Rin raced up to a charred post and used it as a jumping point to go over the demon's head and into the canopy of trees behind it. A spray of fire rained at her, showering down to burn the trees. Rin leaped out of the way once again, unharmed. The demon was trying to tire her out. She needed a strategy to attack but she could not attack if she was also avoiding the foul fire that came out of the demon's mouth.

Rin noticed that the canopy of trees not yet burned down by the demon was still covered fresh with water from the recent rains. She retracted her claws. With all of her might, She jumped onto the highest branches and dragged them down with her hands as far as she could as they would not support her weight. The branches bent down, stretching and groaning in their new position. When the demon dog had again sprayed fire and missed Rin let go of the branches. Like a slingshot, the branches flung the water from their leaves in a shower of rain at the dog. The demon shrieked in surprise as it was doused with water.

Then, Rin extended her claws fully once more, snapping two of them off with her teeth, and raced toward the dog on foot. Then, a memory floated up to the surface of her mind. There was the graceful figure with the flowing silver hair again. He had the scent of water lilies as he stood close behind her. They were standing in a garden of roses. The sound of a gentle spray from a water fountain was heard in the distance. Before her stood a target hanging from the branch of a tree.

"Look at your target and concentrate," he had said. "See the projectile hit its target, and believe that it will." Who was he? Rin's feet raced towards the demon dog and in an instant it was again within range. Her hatred made her aim for the dog's wounded arm, rather than its heart. Rin wanted it to suffer.

With a quick flick of her wrist, Rin's severed claws, now used as spinning projectiles, left her grip and headed towards the place where she had cut her opponent's arm before. The claws were spinning so quickly they appeared to be flying discs. Her opponent realized what was happening and could not dodge the attack in time. The claws entered the open wound in the demon's arm, and pierced the flesh and bone, sawing through the target and shearing off the entire extremity. The two flying claws, now dyed a deep reddish purple hue from the demon's blood, continued outward until they hit the solid barrier of a tree trunk and embedded themselves into the wood. They hit with a solid 'thunk' against it, beside a tall figure standing on one of the tree's thicker limbs. Rin could not see his face but his flowing silver hair and his steady gaze told her that she knew him.


Translation key:

Yurusenai: unforgivable

Neko-chan: little cat, kitty cat

Inu: dog

Notes: I'm trying to make up for the long delay after Chapter Seven by having a stream of story flow from my fingers this weekend. For once, I don't need to clean/vacuum a room in my new house. I do actually need to go buy food to feed me for the week right now, so I'm stopping right here. I have to or I'll starve! (And yes, An AlternateAkiAndFuyuAnAlternateFallAndWinter ( --mouthful),
I have gone out grocery shopping and have stocked enough for the next natural/nuclear disaster...)

BTW, Didn't you all suspect that Akiko was disguised as the man with the scar? She's wanted to kill Rin that badly. I knew it ever since I introduced her back into the story. I knew from Chapter Four that there would be a Rin-Akiko showdown somehow. I wanted to make Rin a cat demon, a complete opposite from a dog. (To answer some:one's question:she doesn't have a tail, just claws and fangs and pointy ears.) My characters completely cross the boundaries between men and monsters in this chapter. Ungai-sama was wrong in many respects. Much role reversal is involved in here!

I think it's gonna end in the tenth chapter. But how will it end? (And sorry, SJ Kidd, cousinPrince Jun'ichiro won't be appearing in this story, it's too far into it and I can't fit him in anywhere. But I liked him a lot too, and I may do a Taiyou tou Tsuki rewrite to give him a bigger part...) Dewa mata…

--Kero.