Through the well and back again

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

Chapter 10: Evil witches & the darkness of the past

Blood was dripping from his claws, his eyes were red and he was looking incredibly pleased with himself and what he'd just done. Rin knew that her lord was no longer like this but she still couldn't help the small clench of fear inside her stomach. A second later, she felt first guilty, then ashamed of herself. After all, she had been the one who had demanded that her lord show her his former self and now that she had seen it, she was not going to be scared of him. She had never been afraid of her lord and she wasn't going to start now. With this thought in mind, she continued to watch and suddenly, she felt very sad for the demon standing before her, trying to mercilessly kill his brother. Back then, something had been missing from, heart and soul. She didn't know how she knew, but it was something by the way his eyes flashed and the way he moved and spoke. She never really noticed as a young girl, or even growing up but now that Rin was a woman, she knew that the demon standing before her from the past was never evil, just unhappy and incomplete.

She was so lost in her thoughts of him that she didn't even know when the scenes from the past stopped playing and she was thrust back into the future... It was an odd feeling that momentarily robbed Rin of breath. She knew her lord was watching her, along with the old witch that had granted them the power to see the past. Rin knew that he deserved an answer and she would give him one, she just needed a moment is all. Besides all that, she didn't feel comfortable enough telling him how she felt in front of the old witch. So, she settled for giving him a long pointed look and he nodded in understanding.

He turned his gaze on the witch. "We shall be taking our leave now. Rin?" He didn't need to say anything more, Rin was by his side in an instant, humming happily to herself.

She was just about to turn around and give the witch her thanks when the witch herself spoke.

Rin gulped in true fear this time. The witches eyes were black and she was smiling. "I don't think so. No one will be leaving here alive, I'm afraid." She let out a long, horrible laugh.

Sesshoumaru gave her a cold look and a smirk of his own, the old demon Rin witnessed from the past reappearing. "Oh? You really think so? You got what you wanted. Let us go or you will wish you never defied me."

For a moment, Rin thought the witch was going to be smarter and rethink her plan but no, she continued to laugh and a second later, she opened her mouth and monsters came, millions of them. Normally, Rin was used to scary things what with traveling with her lord Sesshoumaru for so many years. This time, though she was so caught off guard with her own thoughts and what she had just seen with her lord that she screamed and hid behind him. Yes, it was a childish move but it would do no good to die before hearing what her lord had to say. Now, her lord was smirking and his poison whip was combing through the air, killing every monster that came their way.

'It's like watching the dance of death, if there ever was such a thing.' She thought, somewhat darkly to herself.

She couldn't help it. Because at that moment, he looked terrifying yet beautiful at the same time. The witch was backed into a corner and for a moment, she looked like she was very much regretting her choice of turning against them. Rin noticed that she was about to make another move but all at once, she was laying on the ground, dead. Or so it seemed. A second later, the spirit of the witch was floating before them, her eyes pitch black. It was horrifying. Even in death, the witch was still managing to give them her greedy smile.

"This isn't the last of me, lord. I will have your first born and I will find you, no matter where you hide. Because you killed me, you will be cursed forevermore." Cackling, the witch evaporated into thin air.

Rin shivered and then sighed with relief when she felt her lords warm pelt come across her shoulders. Yes, she was scared of the witches threats but she knew that her lord would keep her well protected. As if reading her mind, he spoke.

"Let us go, Rin." He paused for a moment. "And do not worry, I won't let any harm come to you."

She nodded, feeling warm on the inside and followed him out of the hut. 'I'll speak to him of what happened in the morning. Right now, I'm exhausted and need a long soaking bath in the hot springs.' She nodded her resolve to herself, feeling better by the moment and conveniently forgetting about the witch...

It was the next day and Rin was beside herself with nerves and disappointment. She had indeed enjoyed her bath but had regretted it in the morning when her lord had gone, probably sometime in the night while she slept. Jaken had told her that he had gone to try and fix what happened the day before and that she was to stay put. Ah-Un was resting next to her, munching on grass and Rin decided to stay curled up in her lords pelt for a while longer and think of how she would approach him when he came back. 'He couldn't possibly feel nothing, otherwise he wouldn't have shown me what he did.' This thought made her feel somewhat better but it didn't ease her worries like she had hoped it would. She stared up at the blue sky, lost deep in thought and millions of unanswered questions. What did her lord hope to accomplish? The witch was dead, after all so how was he going to undo what had been done? She sighed, wishing Kagome was there with her. She desperately needed someone to talk to.

Suddenly, an idea hit. Maybe she could go back to Kagome's world and ask for the other girls advice? She would be back before her lord even realized she was gone... She shook her head, deciding against it. For starters, her lord was coming back soon she hoped and expected her to be right where she was and secondly, she needed to do this herself. She was a grown woman after all. And so, with this in mind Rin made herself comfortable and waited for her lords return, wondering just what on earth he was doing to fix the problem they were now in.

A/n: I am so very sorry for the long wait on this chapter! Things have been going on like crazy around here! I've been in the middle of all the holidays, packing since I'm moving out of the place I'm in 31 days time and working at a job I've now had for two years. Crazy, huh! But I'm back for now and here is chapter 10, I hope you all like it! Please R&R and so sorry again for such the long wait!