-Spiritual Power-
"I hear our great Lord is falling down the same path as his father and half breed brother!"
"That cannot be, our Lord Sesshomaru would never look at a human twice."
"He's killed more humans than any other demon alive."
"Who is the human anyways?"
Dog Demons of the West and slave creatures all gathered outside of Sesshomaru's castle, waiting for his appearance. As the lord, he had called an assembly and now rumours were spreading like wild fire. Finally, amongst tainted whispers, the beautiful white demon appeared, dressed in his full set of white kimono, yellow waist ribbon, chest piece and boa over his shoulder.
At once, the bickering vanquished into the air as they all bowed down before their fearful lord. Behind him were his main servant Jaken and a strange scrawny looking mortal girl wearing a simple worn down blue robe.
"She must be his afternoon snack," one of the arrogant demons remarked from the crowd. Sesshomaru looked down at him and glared with his molten hot eyes.
"The East is approaching with large numbers and heavy artillery," Sesshomaru started, looking over the sea of worried heads. "I can no longer rule over you as a lord."
Murmurs broke out as Jaken squawked for silence.
"Anyone who wishes to fight may stay behind with my own troops and the Brutes. The rest of you are responsible for your own safety."
With that, Sesshomaru turned around and walked back into his castle, leaving his former subjects confused and distraught.
-On a Trip of Destiny-
"Rin, what do you think you are doing?" Jaken asked, watching her as she cut pieces of raw meat and placed them on a large tray. "This is no time to be cooking!"
"Master Jaken," she briefly turned to wash her bloody hands. "When was the last time the Brutes had anything to eat?"
Jaken broke out into a cold sweat, thinking about the savage monsters locked up in cages down below. "You don't have to worry about feeding them Rin. Do you not remember that they are the ones who destroyed your village?"
Rin stopped what she was doing for a moment. Yes, she had known, but hearing it from someone else had a different effect on her. Slowly, she resumed her work. "Even the Brutes deserve kindness in times like these."
He followed her cautiously down the cold steps and into the dungeon. This is a bad, very bad idea! If they end up eating her too… Lord Sesshomaru will kill me! "Rin! Hold it you silly girl!"
Jaken was paralyzed by the sight of the towering monsters in the cages, staring at him and Rin with their gleaming red eyes. Brown fur covered their large muscular bodies, black bands and stripes marked their fur, long shaggy tails wagged from their bottoms. Immediately, they showed their glistening teeth in a growl and barked thunderous cries.
Rin's eyes widened. She suddenly remembered how these very beasts terrorized her home… and killed off her family and friends.
But now, there was another battle soon to be raging outside these very castle walls. With a shaking hand, she opened the enormous cage door and ignored Jaken's screams of fright. The Brutes' shadows swallowed Rin. With a slow and sure movement, she lifted a piece of large meat from the tray and held it out for the dogs to sniff.
Their untrusting growls echoed through the chambers and shook every bone and cell in Rin's body.
Why aren't they tearing her into shreds? Jaken peeked through his hands to see that the beasts were calm, still eyeing Rin, but otherwise momentarily tamed.
"You must be hungry," her shaking voice slipped from dry, cracked lips. "So I brought you what I could before Lord Sesshomaru uses you in battle."
The Brutes stiffened, then took a step forward. "Go on," she continued. "Please eat."
Nobody has ever been polite to the creatures before… Jaken noticed that the dogs' ears were starting to droop against their heads, and their tails slowly started to wag. With much to his surprise, they lowered their heads and started to devour the cold slices.
Rin proceeded to take small steps back until she was out of the cage and closed the door. "C'mon master Jaken, Lord Sesshomaru is waiting for us."
Her light footsteps pattered against the cold stone and Jaken was left standing, completely speechless.
-Evil Spirits Desiring the Sacred Jewel-
Rin stood in a bucket of icy water, washing her dirtied feet outside the walls of Sesshomaru's castle. She felt as though her toes were going to freeze off and longed for the feel of warmth.
Stepping out, she was stopped by a sharp pointed prick on her back and slowly turned to see that it was a sword being pressed onto her.
The wielder was a strange looking man dressed in bright red robes. He had a full head of long, shining silver hair and on the top of his head perked two puppy ears. His golden eyes narrowed underneath two thick black brows as he urged Rin to face him.
"Hand it over," the man hissed.
"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about…" she gulped. Who was this guy?
"Inuyasha!" a female voice cried from a distance. A human girl wearing unusual clothing ran up to him and stared at Rin. "Wait, you're human… aren't you?"
Rin slowly nodded.
"I don't care if she's an eggplant. Hand over the jewel shard you little brat!"
With a sudden flash of white, the boy was tackled onto the floor and the sword was dropped in front of Rin's feet. She picked it up and saw that Sesshomaru was stepping on top of the red wearing figure and glared at him with such intensity, Rin took a step back with fright. They look somewhat alike… could they be related?
"Get out of here, half breed. If you value your life that is," Sesshomaru's cold voice hissed between his teeth and his hand cracked with a frustrated threat.
"Who you callin' a half breed?" Inuyasha pushed his brother aside and got on his feet. "I'm not here to pick a fight with you so don't flatter yourself."
Both Kagome and Rin's eyes widened with the sudden realization at what Inuyasha and Sesshomaru might be to eachother. The 'unmentionable' brother?
"I'm here for her," Inuyasha pointed a clawed finger at the unsuspecting Rin. "She has something I want and I'm here to get it. Even if I have to kill her."
Sesshomaru eyes snapped again and reached for Inuyasha's neck. "What could she possibly have that would be interest to a pathetic half demon like you?"
"A shard of the Shikon Jewel, what else?" Inuyasha choked out, trying to break free from his brother's grasp.
Sesshomaru threw Inuyasha aside and turned to face Rin. "Rin, is this true?"
She pulled it out of her pocket and examined its bright pink glow. "You mean… this?"
Kagome's lips parted with confusion. How could a human live in such an evil place like this, with such an evil lord… and still maintain the shard's purity?
(a/n): A nice reviewer sent me a great song that I would use as the opening theme to this story! If it was an actual TV anime of course T.T One can only dream... hahaha anyways, thank you! and continue reviewing!