A/N: Sorry about the delay everyone! Classes have started again, so my updates may take longer than before. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Reviews always make my day, and I love getting feedback from you! I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter!
Sesshomaru's gaze followed his student out, and he pondered why she still remained mute. Not that her life mattered, he was merely curious. He always presumed humans were an overly social species that thrived on interaction. So, when faced with one that didn't follow that stereotype, Sesshomaru couldn't deny his interest.
He was sure once he found out the reason, his curiosity would fade and he could return to ignoring humans altogether. Her eluding him made him crave the truth even more. Her silence baited him, challenged him in a way. As if she was withholding a precious item from him, tempting him with promises of a peek at it if he pursued her.
An amused smirk curled his lips as he reveled in the fact that he was glorifying a human. That was all she was, nothing more. It was all she'd ever be. So, why did she continue to consume his thoughts?
His musings were cut short when a familiar scent caught his attention. His eyes widened slightly when he recognized Kasai's demonic energy. He was sure he had seen the young demon leave after class. He had made sure of it before he had spoken to Rin. There were no other classes scheduled at the museum for the rest of the day. Why had he come back?
Sesshomaru calmly rose from his desk before he made his way to the hallway. He followed Kasai's demonic aura until he found himself at the back entrance of the building. He had only been there for a moment, before he had retreated outside. Had he been waiting for something? Or someone.
Sesshomaru cursed his own stupidity as he burst through the door in hot pursuit of the young demon. Once Rin confirmed that Kasai had attacked her, he should have realized the demon would come after her again. He should have never allowed Rin to leave his office.
Rin started to hum as she walked out of the museum, finding herself in a much happier mood than she had been that morning. Her thoughts drifted back to her teacher, and she smiled. Even if he seemed hard around the edges, she was happy that he wasn't as cold as he appeared. Being attracted to him didn't hurt, either. She blushed at the thought.
"There you are," a familiar voice remarked coolly. Rin froze as her head snapped up in time to spot Kasai step in front of her. He wasn't very large by male standards, but he was big enough to be a threat to Rin's petite form.
She reclined from her classmate, only to flinch when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"It isn't very nice to walk away when someone's talking to you," he commented before he pulled her roughly against him, "I've only been nice to you, why don't you return the favor?" he asked as his other arm wound around the small of her back to keep her trapped against his lean body.
She struggled against his hold as she looked around frantically for someone to help her. Unfortunately, Kasai had chosen a deserted alley at the back of the museum to ambush her. Her fearful eyes returned to Kasai's blazing ones when his hold on her wrist tightened to a painful degree.
"You're making me do this to you, Rin," he told her as he ground his teeth together, "if you hadn't ignored me...If you hadn't acted all high and mighty, like you're better than me...We could have been friends," he added, and sounded almost...empathetic. Rin didn't have much time to dwell on it, because her wrist was fiercely pulsing in protest against the pressure Kasai was exerting on it. She was sure if he kept going, he'd end up shattering the bone.
Tears pricked the ends of her eyes as Rin glanced around again for a sign of anyone. The alley remained desolate, much to her dismay.
"Please don't cry," Kasai whimpered as his hold on her wrist relaxed. He let it go to bring his hand up to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks, and Rin was momentarily stunned by his gentleness. Although, she didn't pause for long.
With her wrist once again free, she slapped Kasai across the face as hard as she could. Her classmate blinked in surprise, but his head didn't turn at all from the force. Had she not struck him hard enough?
"What the hell is your problem?!" he raged suddenly before his free hand came up to grab her fiercely by the neck. His grip closed off her airway, and Rin savagely clawed at his hand for air.
"No matter what I do, no matter what I say – you still hate me!" he yelled angrily as Rin felt her world begin to spin. The lack of oxygen was getting to her. She wouldn't have long if Kasai didn't loosen his grip soon.
Her capture wasn't feeling as merciful as before, and Rin watched her world do one last spin before everything went black.
He went this way, Sesshomaru thought as his golden eyes scanned the alleyway for any sign of life. Despite the time of day, the traffic around the museum was surprisingly scarce. How odd, he added before he stopped at the sound of voices nearby.
"...kept everyone away from the building," a male voice commented before Kasai's voice chimed in.
"Good. I didn't want to be stopped this time. She's ours now," his student remarked coolly, and Sesshomaru didn't have to see her to know that Rin was the female he was talking about.
"Boss will be pleased. It's about time, too. Why was this one so much trouble for you, Kasai?" another male voice asked curiously as Kasai huffed before he responded,
"I liked her, and I was hoping she'd like me, too. If that happened, I wouldn't have had to take her,"
"Typical Kasai," a third voice remarked with a chuckle, "always the romantic. You think you could have stood up to Boss and kept her to yourself?"
"Hardly," Kasai replied with a laugh, "I'd have given her up eventually, I just wanted first dibs. She's way too shy to be anything but a virgin,"
"A little too pretty for that, even if she's shy, don't you think?" one of the male voices from before asked. By voices alone, Sesshomaru could deduct that there were four men in the alleyway, holding Rin hostage.
"Maybe," Kasai agreed hesitantly, and sounded almost disappointed at the thought, "but it doesn't matter now. We have to get her out of here before someone sees us,"
"It's too late for that," Sesshomaru remarked, finally making his presence known. He rounded the corner and closed the distance between himself and the group of men surrounding an unconscious Rin. The faint sound of her heartbeat was Sesshomaru's only indiction that she was still alive.
"Who the hell are you?" one of the unfamiliar men asked. He was a stout man that looked far older than the rest, presumably in his mid-forties compared to the younger faces around him. Kasai was by far the youngest in the group, though. How he could ever get mixed up with them was beyond Sesshomaru. He didn't particularly care enough to find out, either.
"What do you want?" Kasai asked, and signaled the other men to stand down, "what do you want to keep quiet about this whole thing?" he asked again, watching Sesshomaru closely. His demonic energy flared to life once more, its power a vivid warning for Sesshomaru to comply. It was too bad for the young demon that compliance wasn't in Sesshomaru's nature.
"Return Rin to me," he answered, and Kasai's expression darkened.
"Is there anything besides Rin we can give you to keep quiet?" he asked.
"No," was Sesshomaru's simple reply.
"Then we have a problem," Kasai noted before he crossed his arms over his chest impatiently, "We don't have the time to give Rin up to you. You may be my teacher, but I've got scarier people in my life to deal with than you. So, you can walk away now or risk your life for hers. Which is it going to be, Teach?" he added, seemingly confident that Sesshomaru would be too intimidated to fight back.
"Scarier people?" Sesshomaru repeated with a smirk, "I doubt it," he added, and let his human facade fade away to reveal his demon heritage to them. All but Kasai gaped and stepped back in fear at the sight.
Sesshomaru would have regretted his decision to remove his human disguise, had Kasai not done the same thing. His human canines were replaced with carnivorous ones, and his red eyes dilated as his hands lengthened into claws. His face elongated to resemble an animal snout while red fur covered his body.
It was only when his transformation finished that Sesshomaru realized he was a Fire Bear Demon. A rare demon that was thought to be extinct after their disappearance over a century ago. While Kasai was no larger than an average bear, his demonic aura surged around him like gusts of wind. Sesshomaru felt the beast within him growl and claw to escape and accept the boy's obvious challenge. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to keep the beast under control.
He may have revealed his demon markings to the group, but he wasn't ready to reveal his true form just yet. It was still daytime, and a human could walk down that back alley at any moment and discover them. Kasai hardly seemed to be phased by the thought, and let out a resounding roar when he landed on all fours and began to stalk Sesshomaru.
Had Sesshomaru been a more emotional being, he would have laughed. The mere thought of a young pup such as Kasai standing a chance against Sesshomaru was comical. The boy really was clueless.
"Do you think you're frightening, boy?" Sesshomaru seethed as the bear demon snarled back, flames dancing around his canines and brightening his red eyes. Sesshomaru's own golden eyes were masked by red as his beast nearly overpowered his will. It seemed, despite his age, Kasai's true form was far more powerful than Sesshomaru anticipated.
His beast's rage was incorrigible, and Sesshomaru was having a hard time denying the desire to teach the young demon a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. Unable to control his will any longer, Sesshomaru gave in to the seething beast within.
The rest of his human-like features faded almost immediately as he was consumed by the desire to fight the bear demon. Much like Kasai's transformation, Sesshomaru's face elongated into a snout that resembled a dog while white fur spread along his body like wildfire. Golden eyes faded away as a red glow took their place within his demon form.
Kasai faltered at the sight of the large dog, although he was unaware that it was pint sized in comparison to his true form. While his beast was hard to control at the moment, Sesshomaru was still able to reduce its size. He couldn't risk being seen at his true height, regardless of how badly he wanted to put Kasai in his place.
"We won't abandon you, Kasai," one of the men who had cowered away before stated confidently. Sesshomaru turned towards them just as the three men transformed as well. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed dangerously as he watched three more bear demons appear behind Kasai. They each breathed fire like Kasai, but their fur colors were mismatched. It seemed the elemental lines of the various bear demon species had crossed over the centuries.
One bear demon had red and yellow fur that patterned along his body like lightening strikes. Another had blue and red fur that splotched across his body like water smoldering a raging fire. The third had black fur with streaks of red that flowed from the top of his head to the back of his body like lava down an erupting volcano.
All of there eyes were red, like Kasai's, and the four demons quickly surrounded Sesshomaru. His beast let out a loud growl of warning as Sesshomaru watched the group closely. The four bear demons hesitated for a moment before they ambushed him.
In a fury of snarls and teeth, Sesshomaru shoved and tore at the demons as they tried to overpower him. The bright color of their pelts temporarily blinded Sesshomaru as he struggled to distinguish one from the other. He didn't hesitate in his attack, and didn't notice that the group was steadily cornering him against the wall of the building. He wasn't aware until he couldn't retreat any further, and his hind paws came into contact with the wall.
He didn't let the situation deter him, and instead fought back even harder. Poisonous acid suddenly coated his mouth, and when he bit into the demons again they hurriedly retreated. His first victim had been the black and red colored demon, who jumped away from him and began frantically licking at the wound. He was trying to clean it with his own saliva as best he could, but Sesshomaru knew the poison would continue to eat away at his pelt.
The other two demons suddenly hesitated at the sight. It was only Kasai, the pure red demon, that continued in his attack. Sesshomaru easily shoved the younger demon aside before his fang dug into the demon's shoulder. Kasai let out a pained hiss as he jerked against Sesshomaru's jaws, only to struggle harder when he couldn't escape.
His struggles seemed to snap the other two bear demons out of their fearful haze as they attacked Sesshomaru from either side. It was only when Kasai stopped fighting altogether that Sesshomaru finally let the demon go. The bear slid out of Sesshomaru's grasp before he collapsed onto the ground. He didn't move immediately, but Sesshomaru saw the teeth mark wounds begin to rapidly heal themselves on his body.
With a strangled snarl, Sesshomaru easily overpowered the other two demons who quickly gave Sesshomaru a wide berth. Kasai remained motionless on the ground, and the group looked less certain than before. The demon he had poisoned first had recovered, and eyed Sesshomaru cautiously.
Sesshomaru contemplated sending a wave of demonic power towards the bear demons, but hesitated at the thought of hurting Rin. He cast a glance in her direction to see that the girl was still lying on the ground, but something seemed off. It wasn't until her head moved slightly that Sesshomaru realized she had awakened.
The red glow faded from his eyes just as her cinnamon ones came up to meet them. Recognition sparked in her eyes before her eyelids shut and she collapsed. Sesshomaru wasn't sure if the unnatural sight of demons had caused her to faint, or she was still too weak to stay awake for long. The bears took the opportunity to attack him while he was distracted.
New found anger resided within Sesshomaru as his attacks became more aggressive. It was his fault Rin had been subjected to all of this. If he hadn't been so careless, she would have gotten home safely. There would have been no need for her to fear anything.
It was his fault that she would likely remain mute. Despite his efforts, despite his conflicting desire to protect her, she would shut him out. The thought was maddening. The fact that Sesshomaru even cared what a measly human thought of him made it worse.
His rage empowered the beast within him, and his sheer power pushed the demons back. The red glow returned to his eyes, completing taking over the gold. The beast was taking full control of his body, and for once Sesshomaru didn't care.
All that mattered was the bear demons' defeat. If he lost himself in the process, so be it.
A howl echoed fearsome and loud as the dog demon lashed out against his adversaries. His power no longer held back, his willpower gone. The bear demons seemed to sense this, and quickly pulled back. Unfortunately, they weren't quick enough. The dog demon ripped and tore at their bodies, his demonic aura suffocating them to the point that they started to revert back into their human forms.
The three mixed color bears went down first, their unconscious human forms falling to the ground in a harmless heap. Kasai was the only demon still conscious, his eyes resentful as he glared up at dog demon from his place on the concrete. The beast snarled back at Kasai's challenge, his upper lip quivering over his fangs menacingly.
The bear demon suddenly rose and charged, fire spitting out of his mouth like a flamethrower. Sesshomaru would have hesitated at the sight of the flames, but the beast within him wasn't affected. Sesshomaru easily evaded the attack before he landed atop Kasai and he collapsed under the pressure.
Sesshomaru took advantage of being over the bear demon to clamp down on his neck. Kasai let out a human-like howl of pain as Sesshomaru's fangs easily cut into his skin. The bear demon thrashed and struggled against Sesshomaru, and it wasn't until Sesshomaru's fangs nearly connected with bone that Kasai was able to fend him off.
With an angry snarl, Kasai backed away from Sesshomaru and took off down the alley. His demon form melded back into his human one just as he rounded the corner and disappeared. Sesshomaru was about to pursue the younger demon when a soft gasp caught his attention.
He turned to spot Rin, now awake, standing a few feet away from him. There was a mixture of fear and relief swirling within the depths of her eyes. He could feel the beast within him react to the sight of her, and hoped the girl wouldn't run.
If she did, he couldn't be sure that he could stop the beast from killing her.
Rin gazed at the unbelievable sight before her. Red eyes met cinnamon as a low growl resounded in the beast's chest. White fur that looked soft to the touch stood on end as the dog-like beast stared her down.
He bared his fangs at her, looking as wild and dangerous as an exotic animal Rin might see behind a steel barred cage. But there was no way Rin could have seen anything like this before. It took her a couple of seconds to convince herself that she wasn't dreaming.
Rin knew she should run. She knew she should have gone straight home after class. There were a lot of things she should have done, but didn't. This being a perfect example.
Despite the little voice in her head screaming at her to hightail it out of there, she took a shaky step towards the creature. As she expected, his growling intensified and he snapped his jaw at her in warning. When she took another wavering step forward, the beast took two steps back.
Rin held out her hand to signal him to stop, and was surprised when he did. He hadn't stopped growling, but Rin watched as the tension lessened in his body somewhat. His fur smoothed into place on his back, and his upper lip slid down to hide part of his fangs from view.
She knew he could attack her at any moment. It would only take a second for him to lunge towards her, and ensnare her in his massive jaws. So, Rin was amazed when she realized that she wasn't afraid.
Instead, she was thankful. This beast had saved her from Kasai. When she had awakened the second time, she had seen him running down the alley, and away from them. She shivered at the thought of what could have happened if Kasai had been successful. What she wasn't so sure of where the random men that lay unconscious on the concrete. Could they have been with Kasai when she was attacked?
She didn't recognize them, but had a feeling they might have been the strange creatures she had briefly seen surrounding the beast before. He hadn't killed any of them, despite their attempts to kill him. It gave her hope that the beast before her wasn't as fierce-some as he appeared.
His red eyes flared to life when she took a few more steps towards him. He was clearly warning her to stay away. But her feet wouldn't listen. Instead, she continued to walk towards him. The flash of gold she had seen behind those glowing red eyes earlier boosted Rin's confidence. The familiarity of those eyes promised her that there was someone behind the beast. Someone she was beginning to know quite well.
He snapped his jaws again, the action more aggressive than before. Rin hesitated before she stopped within a few feet of the creature. His glowing eyes watched her closely as she fell to her knees on the concrete and glanced at his massive white paws, unsure of what to do next.
For a moment, they stayed like that in silence. Rin finally brought her gaze up to meet his, only to let out a surprised breath when she noticed that he had closed the distance between them. His muzzle was level with her cheek, and Rin gingerly brought up her hand and rested it against his jaw.
A soft growl filled the air between them, but it didn't sound as dangerous as before. It sounded almost...pleasurable. Rin smiled slightly as she gently caressed the white fur, realizing that it really was as soft as it looked. The red began to dim from the beast's eyes as familiar golden irises took their place.
I knew you were in there, somewhere, Rin smiled, and hoped Sesshomaru could read her thoughts through her eyes. His growling died down completely as he gazed back at her. He was just as silent as she was, and Rin found comfort in that.
She turned her head slightly and rested her forehead against his muzzle, silently thanking him for saving her. He huffed, but allowed her to stay like that for awhile. Rin wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when she began to pull away she noticed that she was no longer touching fur.
She blinked in surprise before she glanced at her hand to see it resting against the shirt Sesshomaru had been wearing that day. A flush heated her body as it made its way to her face before she hurriedly took her hand away and looked up to see that Sesshomaru had transformed back into his usual self.
Moving like his body had burned her, Rin put a great deal of distance between them with an embarrassed blush. She kept her eyes on the ground as she hugged herself, feeling self-conscious. For some reason, she hadn't been self-conscious while touching Sesshomaru when he had been...whatever he was back there. Seeing him return to a human made the whole exchange feel much more real, and embarrassing.
"Rin, are you hurt?" Sesshomaru asked, his voice sounding almost alien to her after getting used to his snarls and growls. It also made her feel better at the same time. It reassured her that Sesshomaru really was standing there before her, and he hadn't lost control of himself to the beast.
Although, Rin had overcome her fear of the beast. In those few moments they had shared, she felt like it had accepted her, and had given her the chance to accept it as well.
She shook her head in reply to Sesshomaru's question before she worked up the courage to bring her gaze up to meet his. His eyes were as fierce and cold as always, but Rin didn't miss the slight uncertainty that tainted their bright glow. He was worried...about her. The sudden realization surprised Rin, and for once she didn't deny the happiness that it brought her.
Kohaku shifted through the crowd of students, careful not to bump into anyone. He had finished his last class an hour ago, and needed to make an important stop before he went home. An important stop to visit a certain professor.
He glanced at the Annex with familiarity before he briskly made his way inside and to her office. Like he predicted, she sat there with a pile of papers stacked on her desk. Her dark eyes slowly rose to meet his when she heard him walk in. He took a few seconds to calm his breathing, and she waited for him to catch his breath while she continued to study the paper in her hand.
"Hello, stranger," she greeted with a smirk that curved her painted lips, and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Kohaku would have returned the friendly greeting with one of his own, if he had been there for any other reason.
His stern expression seemed to set off an alarm in his professor's mind, and she put down the paper she had been reading to give him her full attention. "What's wrong?" she asked, and sounded genuinely concerned. Kohaku glanced around for any witnesses before he gently shut her office door to ensure their privacy.
"I want you to tell me everything you know about demon slayers," he commanded, and a look of surprise crossed Kagura's beautiful face before she hid it behind another smile.
"And why should I do that?" she asked.
"Because you're the one who told me I was a demon slayer. You have to know something about it if you knew I was one," Kohaku retorted impatiently.
"How would you know I was telling you the truth?" Kagura asked back with a knowing smile as she calmly crossed one long leg over the other.
"I wouldn't," Kohaku admitted with a slight grimace, "I would have to trust you,"
"Yes, you would," Kagura agreed before she shut her eyes briefly, "fine, but I need to take care of something first. Care to follow me?" she offered as she stood and made her way to the door. Kohaku looked at her quizzically before he moved to the side to let her open the door.
"It'll only take a minute, I promise," she cooed as she affectionately patted his cheek. Kohaku stared at her like she had grown another head before he followed her out. He refused to comment on her "babying" him just then, and merely stayed silent by her side. After his argument with his sister, Kagura was the only link he had to this "other" world he knew nothing about. He only hoped she'd help him.
She glanced back at him every once in awhile, probably to check and see if he was still there. While she wasn't taller than him, she was still tall for a woman. Her eyes were level with his chin, something that Kohaku wasn't used to with most girls. More often than not, he towered over many of the girls he came into contact with. But with Kagura, he was barely a head taller than her. It was...different.
"Here we are," Kagura beamed as she threw open two large doors that led into another lab. Kohaku quickly blocked his nose as the smell of formaldehyde assaulted his senses. Withholding his need to gag, he followed close behind Kagura. The two walked past tables prepped with cadavers of all shapes and sizes.
"For an anatomy class," Kagura informed him, and seemed to take pleasure in Kohaku's discomfort. He had never seen so many dead bodies housed in once place before. It was only normal for him to feel uncomfortable.
"What do you need here?" Kohaku asked, and glared at her when she chuckled at the nasally sound of his voice. He hadn't unplugged his nose, and wasn't going to let the formaldehyde assault his sense again.
"Simple. I want to test you," Kagura replied as she whirled around, their bodies only inches apart. Kohaku gave a start at her sudden movement before he jumped back defensively out of reflex. She gave him a slightly impressed look before she took a step back and pulled a decorative fan out of her lab coat pocket.
"Test me?" Kohaku repeated, confused.
"Yes. You want me to teach you how to be a demon slayer? Then I will, by having you fight a demon," she answered before her smile turned carnivorous, "Me,"
A/N: So, kind of a random ending, but the chapter was getting a little too long. I also wanted to keep Kagura/Kohaku business going since they'll have more of a role later on. I know I mentioned that Sango would have a bigger role from now on, and she will, but I think I spoke a little too soon. I still have some stuff I need Kohaku around for, so it'll be a little while until Sango takes over. Just keeping you guys up to speed! Thanks for reading, as always!