A/N: Yay! I think I got more reviews for Chapter 9 than any other chapter so far! Thanks a lot you guys. Especially:
Secret Angel Forever21: I know it was, but it'll get better. I promise. Thank you for the kind words.
Masshiro-Inu: Thanks! I try. Here you go.
Bluish Angel: . . .thanks . . .
o.O: I know. It's kind of exciting! Poor Rin. (By the way, great name!)
Dolphin Girl202: Thank you!
Cleo: Yeah, decapitating someone for motivation is kinda messed up. But hey, to each his own. Thanks for reviewing.
Wolfygirl13: I KNOW! I feel bad for her too . . . even though I'm the one who wrote it . . . anyway, thank you so much. I'm sorry I made you cry! It made me happy to know that I did, though. That just shows me that I'm a convincing writer. I'm so glad you like this so much! Thank you for waiting so patiently. Your wait is over. (Heheh. Dangling. That's funny.)
Dani: 1. I know! I would totally hug her if I could. /hugs Rin/ 2. Totally. It's gonna be great. But, what if it really is our great Sesshoumaru? What then? We'll have to wait and see. Thank you so much.
Twiztidchick666: Aww. I love hearing from you. Thanks so much!
Sesshoumaru's Princess: Dude, you suck too! Who is the one who is not updating? Huh? Anyways, thanks. You're going to have to wait and see!
Icygirl2: I can't say anything! It'll totally give it away! The chapter after this one explains everything. I'm going to make you wait, though. Heheh, I'm so evil. /cackles/ Okay, seriously. You're so cute the way you keep thanking me. I love that. (I'm not trying to sound patronizing. It annoys me when people patronize me. Sorry.)
Ellethwen: Thanks for reviewing!
Mary: OO! I didn't know I was taking so long! Sorry about that. Shame on me. I'm grounded. Anyway, you don't need to wait anymore. Here you go. Thank you!
Thoughts13: Yep! We'll find out! Thanks!
Hasso (and Cleo): Thank you both so much. That was really sweet. I wish I could tell you guys what happened, but you're going to have to wait and see! It's killing me to make you wait! But oh, well. I'll get over it. Thank you guys again.
Magan: This is for all three of your reviews. THANK YOU! I love getting new reviewers. And you're so kind. Enjoy.
Sesshy's-wifey: I know, huh? Poor Sesshy. I love him. /huggles Sesshy/ Thank you for the nice review. I love nice reveiws. Are you sure Sesshoumaru would never do that? He is a youkai, after all. That's basically where the title "Prejudice" comes from. Anyway, I've said too much. Read away!
Sesshy Mustang Malfoy lover: Oo. Okay. Wow, long name. My computer is learning all kinds of new words! Anyway, thanks. I love hearing that. It's good for my self-esteem!
RayGirl91: I know! Your review made me laugh. I'm in a weird mood right now. anyway, thanks a whole lot. Here's #10.
Nefertiry: AAAAAAAHHHH! YOU'RE BACK//hyperventilates/ Oh, my word, I'm so HAPPY to hear from you! Yay, oh yay, you made my day! Thank you so much, Aki-chan! I miss youuuuu! I love all your compliments!
Cheekyamericangrl211: Oh, my gosh, I totally had to break down your name into three different parts to write that! Haha. That was fun. Okay, thanks a ton! And a ton more! Enjoy the tenth chapter!
Chapter 10: Gone Again
As the sun set, the cloth door to the house flapped open, and in walked Inuyasha, followed by Kagome, Sango, Kilala, Miroku, and Shippo. They all stopped short when they saw Kaede embracing a little girl. They looked at each other, wondering what was going on, and what they should do about it.
"Kaede?" Kagome said quietly, not wanting to break the silence but dying to know what was going on.
Kaede looked up at her, surprised. "Oh, Kagome, Inuyasha, everyone. I didn't hear you come in."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. We were just, um . . ." She didn't finish.
Kagome looked a little closer at the child in Kaede's arms and gasped. "Rin!"
"That's it!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "I was wondering where I've seen her before!"
Kagome turned to the older priestess. "Kaede, what is Rin doing here?"
Kaede tried to think of a quick lie, but she drew a blank. No believable excuse made itself available to her. She sighed, and said, "You might want to sit down."
Inuyasha got a strange look. "Sesshoumaru's not dead, is he?" he blurted out, more annoyed at the thought of not being able to slay his brother himself than actually sad or relieved that Sesshoumaru might already be dead.
Rin began crying all over again.
Kagome frowned at him. "Inuyasha!" she scolded. "Don't you have any tact?"
"No."
Kagome ignored him. "Come on, you guys, let's sit down. Kaede has something important to tell us."
The friends sat around the priestess as said priestess told them Rin's story. Kagome noticed that, but said nothing about how, Rin grew redder and redder as the story progressed. It was like she was ashamed about what was being told about her.
The story did not take long to retell, and Kaede studied the faces of her audience when she'd finished. Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo had a collective expression of horror, rage, and disgust. It was silent for awhile afterwards as everyone took some time to absorb the awful truth.
Inuyasha's voice was the first to echo off the walls. "Where is he now?"
-
The debate taking place in Kimiko's living room had risen to a shouting match. Everyone was shouting at Kimiko to stop being so paranoid, and Kimiko was shouting at everyone else to stop being so egotistical and unrealistic. The fact that she was obscenely outnumbered did not effect Kimiko's ability to yell just as loud as the rest of them.
"We'll go!" the mob roared.
"You'll stay!" Kimiko shouted back.
"We'll win!" the crowd argued.
"You'll die!" Kimiko stomped her foot.
"He's outnumbered!"
"He's a demon!"
"We'll be fine!"
"No you won't! You people don't understand!"
"We understand just fine!" someone toward the back of the crowd said. "We know what we're doing, Kimiko! It's you who doesn't understand!"
Kimiko placed her hands on her hips. "What I understand is that you people are too wrapped up in yourselves to know exactly what you're dealing with. He's a youkai, for heaven's sake! Don't you see that? Have you ever heard of a youkai losing to a bunch of humans?"
It was silent for a moment, until someone said, "You mean besides yesterday?"
Kimiko opened her mouth to counter, but stopped. Looking around, she noticed someone missing. "Where's Mugen?"
-
Sesshoumaru's vomiting was finally subsiding, and he was beginning to get his trembling under control. He sat back, supported himself on his hand and tilted his head back, letting the remainder of the blood and bile go back down his throat. His eyes stared at the starry sky, but did not focus on it. The eyes only saw the face of little Rin, ashamed, afraid and confused.
How could I let this happen?
Sesshoumaru leaned forward again. He cupped his hand, dipped it into the river, and brought the water to his mouth. After swallowing a little and swishing the rest, he spat it out and stood up. He began to walk back to that priestess' hut as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.He vaguely wondered how Jaken was faring, but that thought blew away with the breeze.
The volume of the other thoughts racing around in his mind was enough to make him dizzy, and he almost stumbled. Then he caught wind of something, literally, and he righted himself. A familiar, unwelcome, and annoying scent invaded his nostrils.
Inuyasha . . .
Didn't that pest know when, and where, he was not wanted? Why did he always, always have to stick his nose where it didn't belong? Why couldn't he just go away and stay away?
Just some of life's unanswerable questions.
Kaede's hut was now in sight. A horrible smell was coming from there, other than Inuyasha's, kind of like scorched meat and vegetables. The stench made Sesshoumaru's stomach lurch, and he vaguely remembered that the old woman had been making stew when he and Rin arrived. She must have forgotten about it.
Just then, a figure darted from Kaede's hut and stood outside, guarding the house protectively. "What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" the figure demanded. It was Inuyasha.
Sesshoumaru kept walking and didn't reply.
"Hey!" Inuyasha shouted. "I'm talking to you!"
"And I'm ignoring you. Now get out of the way."
"Why?"
"I need to speak to Rin."
"Not on your life."
Sesshoumaru growled. "I have no patience for you, half-breed. Now move!"
Inuyasha suddenly found himself sprawled on his back several feet away. He sat up, wiping the blood from his mouth and cursing under his breath about how fast Sesshoumaru could cover ground. He hadn't even seen Sesshoumaru draw Toukijin, and luckily it wasn't the sharp blade that connected with his face, but the handle.
Sesshoumaru returned Toukijin to its proper place on his hip and turned away from his brother.
"Hey!" Inuyasha shouted. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I already told you, I need to speak to Rin."
Inuyasha leapt to his feet. "No chance!" he yelled, and charged Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru swivelled around and swatted Inuyasha away, who in turn sprang from the ground and charged him again. Both brothers drew their swords at the same time, and sparks flew when the blades crossed.
"I won't let you near her!" said Inuyasha.
"This doesn't involve you, Inuyasha!" Sesshoumaru replied. "Stay out of it!"
"Forget it!"
Fighting this battle would have been much easier for Sesshoumaru if he'd still had his left arm. His right arm was already a little tired from supporting him while he vomited in the river for hours, and now he had to fight off his pesky little brother?
Suddenly, from behind Sesshoumaru, a woman shouted, "Hiraikotsu!"
Sesshoumaru found himself faced with two decisions: should he A.) stay where he was and allow the giant bone boomerang to smack him square in the head, or B.) abandon the fight with Inuyasha and turn his attention to said boomerang, possibly earning him a gash down his entire back from the Tetsusaiga?
Sesshoumaru decided on C.), the hidden choice, and ducked. Theoretically, the Hiraikotsu should have soared right over his head and into Inuyasha. It would have worked, but Inuyasha saw it coming and jumped out of the way. The Hiraikotsu flew away and the woman who threw it followed, riding on the back of a large two-tailed cat.
"Wind Tunnel!"
Annoyed, Sesshoumaru secretly wished he still had the Samiyoshou. That would keep that bothersome Monk busy enough. But he didn't, so he did the next sensible thing and dodged the Kazaana. Dirt, rocks, branches and even whole trees rocketed from their spot on or in the ground and toward the black hole in the Monk's hand.
Miroku wrapped his prayer beads around his hand and closed the wind tunnel. The wind stopped, but Sesshoumaru didn't. The Taiyoukai came flying at Miroku with mach ten speed, sword drawn and teeth bared.
Miroku panicked. He didn't have enough time to dodge Sesshoumaru's attack or even bring out the Wind Tunnel again, and he certainly wasn't strong enough to survive a direct assault from Sesshoumaru. So, he did what any other person would do in that situation: he cringed and prepared to die.
But death never came. Miroku stood there, eyes tightly shut and whole body tense, awaiting the killer blow, when suddenly a piercing screech erupted from directly in front of him.
It was Rin.
Now Sesshoumaru panicked. Rin was only a few yards in front of him, and he was going way too fast to stop in time! Sesshoumaru knew he would collide with her small body. She would be killed instantly, her tiny frame would be crushed, and it would fly through the air and land crudely in the mud. Sesshoumaru would be banished, Jaken would abandon him, and he would be alone for eternity.
All of this ran through his head in the span of a single second.
Sesshoumaru tried to slow down in order to lessen the impact, even though he knew it would do no good whatsoever. Rin would die today. He covered his face with his arm and waited for the single most painful moment in his entire life to arrive.
Suddenly, Inuyasha came flying from out of nowhere, wrapped his arms around Rin, and vaulted himself into the air. Rin squeaked in surprise and held on tight, watching as Sesshoumaru shot through the air just below them.
Sesshoumaru skidded to a stop several feet away and turned around, then watched as Inuyasha landed on the ground and released Rin. The two brothers faced off, each waiting for the other to attack first.
Rin fled behind Kaede's hut and caught her breath, supporting herself with her hands on her knees. Then she stood upright and peered around the corner, waiting.
"Hello, Rin."
Rin spun around and screamed as a hand reached for her.
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha heard Rin scream at the same time and looked around. A figure high in the air, visible only as a large black dot, caught Inuyasha's attention and he pointed, saying, "Look up there! What is that?"
Sesshoumaru looked, and his eyes widened. "It's Rin."
"Who has her?"
Just then, the dot shot through the air on an eastward path. Sesshoumaru had a feeling he knew exactly where they were going.
Inuyasha cringed as he watched Sesshoumaru's eyes start to change to red. "Sesshoumaru-"
"Not now, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru warned him. He looked behind him toward the barn where he'd hidden Ah'Un and whistled. Ah'Un appeared and ran toward Sesshoumaru, who jumped onto its back. Then Sesshoumaru and Ah'Un flew through the air after Rin.
Inuyasha joined in the chase, but not before picking up Kagome and making sure Sango, Miroku and the rest were close behind.
A/N: Only a couple more chapters to go!