*Disclaimer - Only in my dreams do I own Inuyasha and it's characters. In reality, they belong to Takahashi Rumiko*


Sequel to "Theft Through Seduction"
"You may deny your fate, but you cannot escape your destiny."


For Rin: Chapter 4 - His Weakness

"I am glad you are personally going to speak to the village headmasters Sesshoumaru-sama. When we first arrived, there was talk amongst the villagers that you would be a poor leader since you were missing an arm. And I recall them saying that having a human under your care also made you a weak leader. But of course this Jaken dismissed such things. You may have not been powerful enough to defeat your brother and keep your arm, but -"

Rin winced as Jaken collapsed to the ground under Sesshoumaru's fist. She sat sidesaddle atop of Ah-Un and brought him to a halt beside Jaken's crumpled form. "Jaken-sama. When will you learn to keep your mouth shut?"

She tugged on Ah-Un's reins, signaling him to continue forward behind Sesshoumaru. Rin knew he would not be pleased that people were speaking against him, but she knew that Sesshoumaru had a tendency to disregard what people of unimportance said. It was true that he had been missing an arm, but as it had returned, the talk would disappear the moment he stepped into each of the villages.

But the human girl walking behind him would surely spark more talk.

Rin was well aware that she was a hindrance to Sesshoumaru. As a child, Naraku had more than once tried to use her as bait to defeat Sesshoumaru. And because she was weak, there were plenty of times when Sesshoumaru had to save her from some terrible youkai. Sesshoumaru had always succeeded in saving her without much trouble, but now she wondered what trouble she could bring him now. If anyone wanted to find a way to weaken him, Rin would definitely be the key. She worried not for her own well-being, but for Sesshoumaru's.

As they approached the last village, Rin slipped off Ah-Un and walked quietly beside him, knowing it would not be soon before they had to leave him since he did not have a task in the village. Sesshoumaru and Jaken would discuss important matters with the headmaster and Rin would take notes when she was told since she had better handwriting. It had been a long day as they had visited five other villages, but now that she was sixteen, she was glad to be of some use.

As they walked through the village to the headmaster's house, Rin understood why the other villagers had stared and whispered to themselves. She had thought they were honored by their Lord's presence and spoke highly of him. But she now knew they stared at her and spoke poorly of him because of her. So she kept her head down further than usual, suddenly feeling terrible knowing that her mere existence was blemishing Sesshoumaru's name.

Sesshoumaru turned slightly, sensing the change in Rin's mood. He said nothing for now as they approached the house and were greeted by servants.

"Jaken, it is wonderful to see you again. And Lord Sesshoumaru." The servant bowed. "It is an honor to finally meet you. Master Subaru is waiting for you, please follow me."

The servant led them through the house and into a sitting room where Subaru was waiting. He rose at their entrance, bowed to Sesshoumaru and Jaken.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, I hope you were pleased with your lands surrounding this village. I am afraid because we border the end of your territory, we have had some problems after your father's death and your departure. Jaken informed me that it was about the same time that Naraku fellow was running amuck. We believe that in fear of him, many demons migrated this way and tried to take the land for themselves. But of course the coyote tribe would have nothing of the sort. Still, I am afraid we saw small battles and the area is just now recovering from the damage."

"I am pleased with your loyalty and continued matinience of this area. First impressions are often key and as this will be what visitors first see, I am glad you have done all you can to keep the area in its original glory. But Jaken tells me you are still having trouble with some of these outsiders"

"Ah yes. When they found out you returned, they migrated farther into the forest. But before you returned, they stayed in the trees closest to your borders where they could easily raid our fields and steal from the fish reserve. Just recently, we've noticed that they have returned to their little games. I fear they may be trouble for any visitors that may come because of their blatant disregard for the ruler of these lands. We were unsure of what we should do about them and that is why we bring the matter to you my Lord."

"Rin." On cue, Rin began record the notes she had already taken in her head. Pleased, Sesshoumaru turned back to Subaru. "I will personally see to the problem. Do you have any idea of what kind of creatures they may be?"

"I am sorry, but, we are unsure my Lord."

"That is fine. Now, let us discuss other matters."

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Sesshoumaru walked deep into the forest beyond his lands. Subaru was smart for turning the matter over to him. Any retaliation from Subaru may have inevitably sparked a war that Sesshoumaru would prefer not to have so early in the change of powers. So he would find where the problem lay and root it out as early as possible just as his father would have.

"S-Sesshoumaru-sama...this place..."

Rin glanced down at Jaken, raising her eyebrow at the obvious fear in his voice. He walked closely behind Sesshoumaru as if at any moment something would jump out and attack him. Smiling, Rin jumped off Ah-Un and held on to his reins as if she intended to walk by his side. When Jaken returned his attention to Sesshoumaru, she quickly and quietly snuck up behind him. When she grabbed him and shook his shoulders, he yet out a loud yelp before she could even shout "boo".

Sesshoumaru stopped and sent Jaken a pitiful glance who was now running around him like a chicken with its head cut off. "Jaken, quit acting like a coward. Rin, behave."

"Gomen, Sesshoumaru-sama." Rin quieted her giggles and smiled at the way Sesshoumaru softened his voice when he spoke to her.

"Rin! Why are you so cruel to Jaken?"

"Because you act like a coward. There is nothing to be afraid of when Sesshoumaru-sama is near."

Jaken said nothing, knowing fully that Rin was correct. Instead of continuing to make a fool of himself, he grabbed Ah-Un's reins and pulled him. "I am going to take Ah-Un to the river for a drink, it should be close by."

Rin said nothing as Jaken stormed off. Instead she turned, only to realize that Sesshoumaru was far ahead. When she finally caught up with him, she quickly quieted her steps and walked behind him, knowing all his senses would be concentrated on finding the troublemakers.

But Sesshoumaru had long sense found them and was already on their trail. He could smell them in the air, was glad that their disgusting scent had not reached his domain. He knew they were birds of a very rare sort, perhaps made of various breeds. Whatever they stemmed from, he decided he would be doing a favor for any creature with a sensitive nose. He approached a clearing, assumed the nest lay just beyond it, and prepared himself for battle as he sensed one fly over his head.

As he stepped foot into the clearing, he realized it was nothing more than part of the forest where someone had cut down many trees. But when he saw the shadow of the bird hovering above him, he realized the creatures probably used it to have an attacking advantage. Sesshoumaru was of course was not worried. So he looked up at the human looking bird as it flew in circles over his head, knowing it was preparing for attack.

"You must be the Great Lord of the Western Lands! The only Lord with one arm and a human as his companion. But I must say, that human is the prettiest weakness I have ever seen."

Sesshoumaru said nothing, did nothing as more creatures appeared from the trees and circled over him. They were such weak creatures, barely worthy of his time and not at all worthy of Toukijin. His whip would bring the end to each creature that flew above him in retaliation. So he would wait for one of them to foolishly make the first move and show them just how "weak" he really was.

"Rin. Get down."

A bird raced towards him as he spoke but he easily dodged it. It swept past Rin a moment before she hit the ground. She let out a cry of pain as its claws raced over her shoulders. It swept back down to her, even as Sesshoumaru raced towards her. She felt its claws again as she rolled over in an attempt to escape. She looked up for Sesshoumaru, watched as more birds swept down toward both of them.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Look out!"

"Rin, stay down!" He stood over her, raised his right hand in the air and wasted no time. He spent in a circle as his whip lashed out. In an instant, the many birds that filled the sky were nothing more shreds. He knelt down to Rin, glanced at the marks on both her shoulders. "Daijoubu? Can you walk?"

Rin rose to her feet, ignoring the ache in her shoulders and fighting back the tears in her eyes. She held tight to Sesshoumaru's helping hand and nodded positively to his questions. But he didn't seem to believe her response so he placed an arm under her knees and swept her off her feet. She winced only slightly at the pain it brought and buried her face against his tail. And as he carried her back to the castle, Rin squeezed her eyes shut, promising herself that something like this would never happen again.

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Rin sat outside Sesshoumaru's door with her knees cuddled up to her chest. Despite Sesshoumaru's wishes, she hadn't been able to eat dinner. She had listened to his suggestion to go to bed early but found she could not sleep. Now it was late into the night and she finally worked up the courage to speak to him. But even though she feared he was sleep, she sat there just in case he would stir enough to sense her.

Sesshoumaru had sensed her the moment she stepped from her room. Thoughts of how to rid himself of his weakness distracted him from sleep. The smell of Rin's tears also did not help him. And now he could sense Rin near his door with her unusual sad mood that had not gone away since they went to speak to Subaru. It was as if her unhappy mood was passed to him, causing his entire day to be very displeasing.

So he rose and slid his door opened, determined to solve at least one problem. "Daijoubu? Are your wounds bothering you?"

Rin quickly stood and bowed to Sesshoumaru, ignoring the pain the movement brought and keeping her eyes on the floor. "They are fine."

"Come in Rin and tell this Sesshoumaru what has been bothering you all day."

She tried her hardest to hold back the tears as the crossed the threshold, but despite her will they fell freely down her cheeks, making her feel weaker than before. "Jaken-sama said that people think you are weak because of me. And I remember when Naraku tried to use me against you when I was a child. And even today...Sesshoumaru-sama is always risking his life to protect me. Demo...demo...I do not want to be Sesshoumaru-sama's weakness anymore..."

Sesshoumaru stared at Rin, shocked that the matter had been important enough to bring tears. He had assumed she had been crying earlier because the pain was too much. But now he knew the real reason and realized he had never seen her cry before.

"I was thinking that I should learn to protect myself or..." Maybe I should leave...She could not finish, could not imagine a world without Sesshoumaru.

"Or what?"

"Nothing, I lost my train of thought."

"This Sesshoumaru will find someone to train you."

Rin looked up, tear stained cheeks curving out in a smile. Sesshoumaru was pleased with her mood change. "Arigatou, Sesshoumaru-sama!" She brought her hands up in front of her in a small clap of joy and had pain shooting over her shoulders. She winced, afraid to even touch her wounds.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward, smelling fresh blood coming from Rin's wounds. "You opened your wounds. You must learn not to move around so much until your wounds heal. Now you need new bandages."

As Sesshoumaru walked to her, Rin realized that he was not wearing any armor. It was a strange to see him in a plain white hakama and haori. Stranger yet to see that the haori was not closed. She realized that only because Sesshoumaru was currently pulling down the shoulders of her sleeping kimono. She blushed for reasons she did not understand but remained still as he removed her bandages.

"The way you move around, these wounds will take forever to heal."

Sesshoumaru held Rin's arms, keeping her kimono in place. He bit his lip, causing it to bleed, and leaned down. And as he licked across the claw marks on each of her shoulders, he immediately regretted it. The scent and taste of her blood bombarded his entire system. Sweet and spicy in both taste and smell, they caused his entire body heat in a way that was entirely too pleasing. Realizing this, he tightened his hold on her arms and lightly pushed her away. Putting the kimono back in place, he resisted the urge to trace his tongue over her neck and make her shiver again. So he turned awa and tried to regain his composure.

"You wounds will heal faster now and will not leave such deep scars."

"H-hai." Rin stumbled back, surprised by Sesshoumaru's actions. "Arigatou...Sesshoumaru-sama." And she returned to her room, happy and confused.

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News Flash: For those of you who don't know, the fluffy is a tail! I was in bit of denial, but some news on sesshoumaru.com told me that Takahashi Rumiko herself said it was a tail. And as if to put a final end to the debate (forgive me for the spoiler), episode 116 reveals that it is indeed a part of Sesshoumaru's body. So if I ever said it wasn't a tail (and I know I did), I know now that it is! Just thought I should spread the word to all the Sesshoumaru fans.
I'm really glad that everyone is loving the fic so much, you're praise makes me wanna write more. So much more that I already have ideas that will produce two more chapters. Updates should come soon and don't worry, Rin and Sesshy will get together in due time. Please continue to review and enjoy!
-~ Rabid Anime Gurl