Hello, one and all, and welcome to my very first Inuyasha fan fic. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you have just as much fun reading it. Now, normally this would be the spot where I would put a disclaimer of some sort, denying that I created any of the Inuyasha characters, but I figured that most of you reading this story are not total idiots and can figure that out for yourselves. Besides, I doubt I would get paid money for this fic anyway, disclaimer or no. NOTE: This fic is rated PG for maybe a couple of words you probably wouldn't want your mother/a priest/Santa Claus hearing you say. But that's it! No hentai, lemon, lime, or other stuff of sexual or explicit content. While that may be disappointing for some of you, I'm sure all of you will be happy to know that it also means there will be no one eating poop or other gross and completely stupid shit like that. Thank you. And now, on with……
It Came From the Woods
"Lord Sesshoumaru! Lord Sesshoumaru! This is most important! I must speak with you, my Lord!"
Sesshoumaru, who was enjoying a period of meditation sitting under a tree by a brook in the quiet forest, sighed inwardly when he heard Jaken calling him. He had left Rin under the care of his toad-like servant and come to this part of the forest for a few hours of peace and quiet. So much for that, Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He turned and looked over at Jaken, who was now standing anxiously at his side.
"What is it, Jaken?", the warrior dog demon asked in an irritated voice.
"Well", Jaken began, "Rin and I were in the forest picking mushrooms, and Rin was lolly-gagging around as usual. Honestly, that girl is so useless. I don't know why we bring her along…"
"Get to the point, Jaken", Sesshoumaru said, annoyed.
"Um, yes my Lord", Jaken replied, meekly. "Ahem, well, I had gathered a large amount of mushrooms and was about to go back to the clearing when that brat Rin started jumping up and down and telling me to come see what she found. I went over to look and, and…" "And what?", Sesshoumaru asked. "My Lord", Jaken said excitedly, "You would not believe me if I told you! You must come see it with your own eyes! Come quickly!" And with that, Jaken ran off back towards the clearing. With a sigh, Sesshoumaru got up off the ground. This had better be worth my time, the beautiful dog demon thought with malice. Or Jaken is going to pay most dearly for disturbing me this day. As the wind blew through his long, silvery-white hair and thoughts of honey roasted sniveling toad for dinner ran through his mind, he stretched his legs and calmly walked after Jaken to see what the fuss was about.
Sesshoumaru came into the clearing and saw Rin sitting atop a large stone cradling something in her arms. Jaken was standing over her fussing loudly. "You're not holding it right! Raise it's head a little!" What has she got over there?, Sesshoumaru thought, his curiosity piqued. Suddenly the object in Rin's arms began wailing loudly. Sesshoumaru's eyes grew a little wider with surprise. What!? That sounds like a…!, he thought in shock. No, it can't be!?
"Oh no, Master Jaken! The baby is crying! I hope I did not hurt him!", Rin said in a voice full of concern.
"I told you not to hold it that way!", Jaken scolded the little girl. "You have to handle it delicately! A human infant is not a toy! You have to…" Jaken stopped lecturing when he finally noticed Sesshoumaru. "Oh, Lord Sesshoumaru! You're finally here!", the toad demon squealed in delight. "Come, look at what we found!" Rin looked up and greeted her Lord with a cheerful smile.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!", she said happily. "Please come see!" Sesshoumaru walked over to inspect the bundle Rin was holding and, sure enough, it was a baby. "Isn't he cute?", Rin went on cheerfully. "Can we keep him? Please!? Pretty please!?" Sesshoumaru was not pleased with that idea. That would be just what I needed, he thought. Another human cub hanging around.
"Sire, I believe we should sell it", Jaken suggested. "A human baby might fetch a high price."
"Master Jaken! You can't sell a baby!", Rin scolded, abhorred.
"Hmph, says you", Jaken replied.
Sesshoumaru looked down at the pinkish face of the now sleeping infant. He didn't have time to take care of a baby. "We will leave the infant in the forest", he announced. "Take it back to where you found it." Sesshoumaru turned around, just in time to miss the look of shock that came over Rin's face, and began walking away. He had not taken a good five steps before Rin jumped up.
"My Lord, we can't do that! We just can't!", the little girl cried. Sesshoumaru stopped walking and turned his head halfway around.
"Insolent little rugrat!", Jaken reprimanded. "Our Lord gave us an order!"
"If we leave him in the forest, he'll die!", Rin said pleadingly. "We must take care of him! Please!"
"I don't have the time nor the patience", Sesshoumaru replied coldly.
"Fine", Rin said, a hint of defiance in her voice. "Then let me take care of him."
Jaken looked at Rin in stunned silence for a few seconds. Then he fell to the ground in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. "Ha ha ha ha haaa ha ha! Ho ho ho, that's hilarious! You!? Take care of a baby! Ha ha haaaa!" Rin said nothing. She just continued to watch Sesshoumaru. After about a minute the proud dog demon turned around and looked directly at Rin, his golden eyes fixed on her large, brown eyes.
"Rin", he said quietly, "do you know exactly how to take care of a baby?"
Rin was both surprised and dismayed at her Lord's query. She looked down at the baby, then up at Sesshoumaru, then down at the ground. "N-no my Lord. Not really", she said in a defeated tone. Suddenly an idea hit her. "I know! We can take him to someone who can take care of him!", she said happily. "My Lord, you said we were going in the direction towards a village. I can just watch out for the baby till we reach it, then we can find an orphanage or a monastery there that will take him in!"
"What a ridiculous idea", Jaken said snidely. "I say we do exactly what Sesshoumaru said and leave it in the forest! And you, little one, should be punished for your insolence! Isn't that right, my Lord?" When Sesshoumaru didn't answer Jaken looked at him, baffled. "M-my Lord?", he said, meekly. Sesshoumaru still didn't reply. Instead, he continued to look Rin in her pleading eyes. Finally he spoke.
"It will take us another day to reach the village", he said. "Do you think you can handle looking out for the infant until then?"
Jaken's jaw nearly dropped to his knees. He couldn't believe what he just heard his Lord say. "Yes! Yes, my Lord!", Rin cried, nearly bouncing with joy. "Fine", Sesshoumaru said, relenting. "Then he is your responsibility. Jaken?"
"Y-yes, Lord Sesshoumaru?", Jaken stammered.
"You will assist Rin with her task. Understood?", the demon warrior commanded him. Jaken sighed. "As you wish, sire", he replied in a sulking tone. Sesshoumaru turned and began to walk away. "I'm going back to meditate some more", the effeminate dog demon announced. "I will be back after a short while." "Okay, Lord Sesshoumaru!", Rin called out to her Lord happily. "Don't worry! Master Jaken and I will take good care of the baby!" Jaken folded his arms and began to pout. Great, he thought grumpily. Now I'm babysitting a brat who's babysitting another brat. Just great.
Two hours later Sesshoumaru returned to see Jaken sitting on the ground, tapping his staff on a nearby rock impatiently. The baby was sleeping in a basket nearby. "Jaken, where are Rin and my dragon steed?", Sesshoumaru asked Jaken. The toad demon looked up. "Oh, Lord Sesshoumaru!", he said. "Rin and Aa and Uun went into the forest to pick some berries for the baby."
"And you let her go alone?", Sesshoumaru said in a steely tone. Jaken began to sweat. "Well, uh… th-the dragon is with her, my Lord", he stammered fearfully. "And someone had to stay here and look after the infant…" "You should not have let her leave until I returned", Sesshoumaru said, his voice freezing more with every word. "There is danger in this forest! What if a demon…" Suddenly Rin bursted into the clearing from the forest.
"My Lord! My Lord! Please help!", she cried as she ran up to Sesshoumaru. Jaken breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see Rin back. He knew that had anything happened to the little girl, his Lord would have his head.
"What is it Rin?", Sesshoumaru asked.
"Aa and Uun are in trouble!", Rin said in a terrified voice. "We were picking berries for the baby when a nasty demon jumped out and attacked us! We tried to run away and got separated in the forest, and if we don't find Aa and Uun before that demon does it might eat them!" Suddenly a shrill, demonic scream ensued from deep within the woods. Rin drew close to Sesshoumaru. "That's the demon", she said fearfully. Sesshoumaru's blood quickened a little. There was only one kind of demon that could make a scream that bloodcurdling.
"Siren", he said quietly. "One of the most powerful and most ancient demons in the world. You are lucky to be alive, Rin. Let's hope my dragon fares as well." He rushed forward as fleet as the wind, his sharp claws sheathed and ready. "Stay here with Jaken", he called back to Rin before disappearing into the forest. Jaken began pouting once again. He was glad he didn't have to face the siren with his Lord, but he was not happy to be babysitting Rin and her straggling infant again.
"What rotten luck", he grumbled. "And I was planning on going fishing!" "Oh, you don't want to go fishing in these woods, Master Jaken", Rin said as she checked on the baby.
"And why not?", Jaken snapped in an irritated voice.
"Because Lord Sesshoumaru told me the streams and ponds in these woods were full of dragon fish", Rin replied. "He said they can strip the flesh off their prey within mere seconds."
"Great", Jaken said as he sulked some more. "I can't even go fishing. This is the worst." "Oh no, Master Jaken!", Rin cried as she pointed over at something. "Look! Sesshoumaru forgot his swords!" Jaken looked and, sure enough, there rested Tenseiga and Toukijin against a tree. "Don't worry, Rin", Jaken said matter-of-factly. "Our Lord probably won't even need the swords. He's the most powerful demon that ever existed! Did you know that he once slew a dragon as big as a mountain with his bare ha… huh?" Jaken stopped talking when he noticed Rin was no longer standing there. "Rin?", he said, looking around. He heard something behind him and turned around just in time to see Rin running into the woods in the direction Sesshoumaru went, carrying Tenseiga and Toukijin in her arms.
"Where do you think you're going, young lady!?", Jaken yelled at her.
"Look out for the baby!", was Rin's only reply before she disappeared into the forest. Jaken folded his arms and turned away. "Humph! Insolent wench!", he grumbled. "Lord Sesshoumaru gave her a direct order to wait here! She's probably on her way to get torn to bits by that siren!" Jaken thought about it for a minute and then shrugged.
"Oh well", he said. "Better her than me."
Sesshoumaru let his ears and his nose guide him as he ran through the forest at lightning speed. He finally burst through a small clearing to see his two-headed dragon steed backed up against a large boulder, snarling and snapping in a fierce attempt to defend it's life. In front of the dragon crouched the siren, poised to leap and attack it's prey. The siren very closely resembled a beautiful woman, except for it's long fangs, sharp claws, huge bat-shaped wings, yellow eyes with a long slit of a pupil like a snake's, and flame-red hair so bright it seemed unnatural. Sesshoumaru leaped forward in front of Aa and Uun and stood facing the siren. Every muscle he had was taut and his pulse was quickened. He was ready for a battle.
"Siren, I suggest you go find a meal elsewhere", Sesshoumaru warned in a quiet and deadly voice. "This dragon's off the menu."
The siren responded just the way Sesshoumaru hoped it would. With a snarl it leaped straight at him, it's claws aimed at his throat. Sesshoumaru's reaction was blindingly fast. He dodged to the side, and as the siren flew past him he grabbed her hair. Allowing momentum to carry the siren in a half circle around him he effortlessly flung his foe several feet in front of him. The siren's face scraped the ground and slid a couple of feet before she was still. The siren slowly lifted her head and shook it dizzily. She did not expect to be the one kissing the dirt. Aa and Uun used this as the perfect opportunity to flee into the forest. They were more than confident their master could handle the siren and more than grateful that he showed up. As they left, Sesshoumaru flexed his muscles and made ready for the next attack. This promised to be fun. The siren didn't waste any time, either. With a savage snarl, she ran straight for Sesshoumaru and began slashing at him with her claws. Sesshoumaru easily dodged the numerous wild swingings of her deadly hands. That infuriated the siren. With a thrust, she aimed to knock Sesshoumaru off his feet, thus giving her half an opportunity to rip his heart out. But once again Sesshoumaru proved to be too quick for her. He leaped high into the air and landed on the strong, fat branch of a nearby tree. The siren had no idea where he went and began turning her head about wildly, searching for her enemy. Sesshoumaru felt superior as a demon in every way as he looked down at the siren.
She is quite stupid, he observed as he watched his foe. Perhaps this battle will not be as much fun as I thought it would. Oh well, might as well just slay her and be done with it.
Sesshoumaru leaped from the branch and flew straight towards the siren. The palm of his hand began to glow and a greenish-yellow vapor spewed from it, leaving a trail in the air. Sesshoumaru was almost upon the siren when she suddenly whirled and looked up in time to see her foe. She jumped back with a snarl of surprise just in time to narrowly miss the impact of Sesshoumaru's attack. Sesshoumaru hit the ground instead of his foe and left a large crater full of poisonous, green-yellow vapor in the earth. The siren didn't jump back quite far enough to avoid the gas and wound up coughing violently as some of it found it's way down her windpipe and into her lungs. Sesshoumaru almost smiled as he watched the siren hacking and wheezing due to his toxic flower claw attack.
"Had enough?", Sesshoumaru asked arrogantly.
After a few more seconds of coughing the siren responded by facing Sesshoumaru and staring him right in his eyes. Sesshoumaru was a little quizzical for the first few seconds as to why she was staring at him, but then her yellow eyes began to glow. Oh no!, Sesshoumaru thought in alarm How could I be so stupid!? When he tried to leap away and found that he couldn't even move, he knew the siren had paralyzed him using her special attack, gaze of medusa. The siren bared her fangs in a hideous grin of triumph and started walking towards Sesshoumaru. Her claws were fully unsheathed and she began licking her lips. Sesshoumaru cursed himself for allowing the siren to gain the upper hand.
"Lord Sesshoumaru! Lord Sesshoumaru!", a small voice called out from the woods. The siren whirled to face the source of the new voice. Sesshoumaru knew exactly who's voice it was. "Rin! What is that girl doing here!?", Sesshoumaru said in disbelief. Rin ran into the clearing from the woods and froze when she saw the siren.
"My Lord…y-you…for…got…y-your…", Rin's voice faded as she looked at the siren fearfully. The siren smiled evilly, licked her lips, and started walking towards Rin. "Rin! Get out of there! Run!", Sesshoumaru yelled. Rin did not react. She merely stood there frozen in fear as the siren approached her. "Dammit! I have to do something!", Sesshoumaru said in desperation. He struggled fiercely to free himself of the paralyzing effects of the siren's gaze. He knew if he didn't regain his ability to move quickly enough, Rin was certainly going to die. Neither the siren, Rin, nor Sesshoumaru noticed that the sheath of Tenseiga began to glow…
Jaken paced back and forth impatiently, wondering what could be taking Sesshoumaru so long. He was one hundred percent sure that no siren could ever be a match for his Lord. So why hadn't Sesshoumaru slain it and returned by now?
"I wonder what could be keeping him?", he thought out loud to himself. "Hmph, I'll bet it has something to do with that brat Rin. I always knew she was more trouble than she's worth." At that moment the baby started to cry. "Hm? Now what?", Jaken said in a slightly irritated voice. He walked up to the wailing infant and started to inspect it. "Perhaps it needs a diaper change. Or maybe it's hungry?", he wondered out loud. He reached down to tickle the baby's chin. "Cuuchy-cuchy-coo!", he cooed at the infant. The baby's unconventional response made Jaken snatch his hand back and yelp in pain and surprise.
"You bit me!", he said furiously as he cradled his bleeding hand. He looked down at the baby, confused. "How can that be?", he wondered aloud. "You're too young to even have teeth!" The infant's answer to Jaken's inquisitive remark was yet another unexpected response. The baby jumped up from his basket and stood before Jaken, looking in that very instant less like a baby and more like a demon from hell. It's eyes were wide and yellow with slit, reptile-like pupils, sharp claws at least an inch long protruded from each of it's stubby fingers, and it's lips were pulled back in a hideous grimace, revealing two rows of long, razor-sharp teeth. And as if that didn't horrify Jaken enough, the baby opened it's mouth and emitted a shrill, unholy panther-like scream of fury. At one instant it sounded to Jaken as if he could actually hear two voices screaming: one being the demonic roar of the baby, the other sounding a lot like a little girl screaming in terror at the top of her lungs.
Jaken wasn't aware through his fear that the second voice he heard screaming was his own.
Sesshoumaru desperately threw his whole will into escaping medusa's gaze as the siren creeped closer to the petrified Rin. "Run, girl! Run, now!", he yelled. But he knew it was to no avail, for even if Rin did regain enough of her senses to move he knew there would be no way she could run fast enough to save herself from the siren's clutches. Sesshoumaru knew that the only way Rin would survive was if he regained his ability to move, now. Suddenly, something caught his eye. It was Tenseiga. The all-powerful healing sword had begun to glow in Rin's arms.
"What?", Sesshoumaru said in wonderment. "Why is Tenseiga glowing?" The siren stopped and looked at Rin warily, obviously wondering the same thing. Rin noticed the sword too, and at first she looked down at the sword in a gaze of wonderment. Then, as if on cue, she dropped Toukijin on the ground, pulled Tenseiga out of it's sheath, and held it with both hands in front of her with the point of the blade aimed directly at the siren. The blade flashed brightly and the siren screamed and covered her eyes. Then, with a flap of her big bat-like wings, she took off into the air and disappeared.
Sesshoumaru stumbled forward almost instantly after his foe's retreat, realizing that he had regained his ability to move. In amazement he looked over at Rin, who was now looking up at the sky where the siren disappeared. She was still holding his sword, which by then had stopped glowing. How could that have happened?, Sesshoumaru thought. Why was the sword glowing? Only a demon such as myself has the ability to harness it's power! How on earth can this little girl summon the strength to even wield it? As if in response to Sesshoumaru's thoughts the blade of Tenseiga suddenly slumped down and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Baffled, Rin struggled to re-lift the now-too-heavy Tenseiga without success. Now the sword is too heavy for her?, Sesshoumaru observed. What is going on? He walked over to where the little girl was trying her best to pick up his sword once more.
"Ungh, what's wrong Lord Sesshoumaru? Why can't I pick up the sword anymore?", Rin protested.
"Here, Rin. Let me have it", Sesshoumaru said. He reached down and picked up Tenseiga. He inspected it closely for a few seconds. "My Lord? Is something wrong?", Rin asked. "No, Rin. Everything's fine", the warrior answered unconvincingly. He retired Tenseiga to it's sheath and returned the sheath to his side.
"Rin, were you not told to stay with Jaken?", Sesshoumaru scolded. Rin hung her head shamefully. "I'm sorry, my Lord", she apologized. "I just wanted to make sure you had your swords." Sesshoumaru looked down at Rin, his heart melting. This little girl was the first person to ever put themself in danger for his sake. "I thank you for your concern, Rin", Sesshoumaru said, "But you must promise me you'll never put yourself in that kind of danger again. Not even for my sake. I can handle a siren, so you needn't worry about me." Suddenly a familiar demonic scream ensued from the skies above them. Sesshoumaru looked up to behold the siren flying down towards them, closing in fast. He immediately reached down and picked up Toukijin.
"Take cover, Rin", Sesshoumaru commanded urgently as he unsheathed his most lethal weapon. Rin quickly ran for the woods, where she planned to watch her Lord battle the siren from the safety and concealment of the trees. The red blade of Toukijin began to glow and Sesshoumaru stood poised and ready to teach this siren the last lesson she would ever learn. And this time he would make no mistakes. As his foe drew closer his muscles became taut and tense and he began to smile in murderous anticipation. He was about to show this insolent fool why he was the Lord of the Western Lands.
Jaken ran around in circles and screamed like a bitch as he tried desperately to escape the most unlikeliest of predators. The demon baby was galloping on all fours, snarling, foaming at the mouth, and giggling with delight as it began gaining on it's victim. This is crazy!, Jaken thought as he made a beeline for a tree. Just a few moments ago this child was sucking down apple sauce and berry juice and now it's graduated to toad flesh!? He scurried up the trunk of the tree, climbing as fast as he could go. When he was safely perched on a branch he looked down and saw the baby gazing up at him with it's yellow eyes and licking it's lips.
"Hmph, nice try, brat! You can't get me up here!", Jaken yelled triumphantly at the baby. With a sound that was something between a snarl and a gurgle the baby wrapped it's small arms around the tree and started to grunt. The tree began shaking and a large creaking sound ensued from it's roots. Jaken shook his head in disbelief. No way, he thought to himself. This baby couldn't possibly be strong enough to uproot this tree, could it? His silent question was answered when, with one final grunt, the baby lifted the tree with not much effort, separating it from the ground and it's roots. Jaken hugged the branch he was on and began screaming once again. With a smile the baby threw the tree forward, which crashed into the earth and flung Jaken several feet forward onto the ground. Jaken didn't even take the time to check himself for injuries. He immediately sprung up and pointed the Staff of Skulls at the infant.
"Take this, you hellspawn!", he yelled as a firebolt shot out of the staff towards the baby. The baby let out a demonic scream of surprise and pain when the bolt hit it, searing it's flesh and paralyzing it with jolts of electricity. Jaken knew better than to hang around admiring his work. He immediately turned and ran into the forest to escape the terror behind him, knowing that any moment the baby would break free of the effects of the firebolt and come running after him, thirsty for blood and revenge. "I have to find Lord Sesshoumaru, fast!", Jaken said breathlessly as he sped through the woods, desperate for his Lord's protection. He seriously hoped he would find Sesshoumaru before the baby caught up to him. Otherwise, he might have the serious dishonor of being killed in the most embarrassing murder imaginable: Death by infant attack.
Sesshoumaru was having the time of his life. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun. The siren was now attacking him from above, flapping her huge wings to stay in the air while she showered a volley of telekinetic fireballs directly at him. The aristocratic demon warrior observed that the siren was much faster and much more vicious in this rematch than she was in the first battle they had. That was most likely because she was angry and ashamed that a little human girl got the drop on her earlier, and she wanted to dish out some serious payback. Sesshoumaru dodged each fireball with the speed of lightning, all the while thinking about how he was going to deal with his foe.
The first thing I have to do, he thought to himself, is get her on the ground. He ran up the trunk of a tree and launched himself into the air straight at the siren. Before his enemy could react she found herself screaming in pain as Toukijin nearly split her left wing in half. The siren spiraled to the earth and crashed head-first into the ground. Sesshoumaru landed gracefully on his feet a few yards away and watched as the siren struggled to her feet. She held her shoulder in pain and her torn wing hung limp as she glared hatefully at Sesshoumaru. Suddenly she opened her mouth and let out an ear splitting scream. Sesshoumaru could see waves from the scream travel in the air directly towards him. He dodged just in time and the waves hit a huge boulder behind him, shattering it to pieces.
"Hm, not a bad power", he observed almost politely. "You're quite the warrior after all. I shall give you one more chance to walk away with your life. I suggest you take it." The siren responded to his offer by screaming at him yet again. Sesshoumaru easily dodged the attack and the waves hit the trees behind them, causing three of them to explode into chunks of flying wood chips and leaves. Sesshoumaru was instantly alarmed. He hoped Rin wasn't behind one of those ill-fated trees.
"Rin! Are you alright?", he called out almost anxiously. With Sesshoumaru's attention divided the siren saw an instant opportunity. She leaped forward and slashed at Sesshoumaru with her claws. Sesshoumaru jumped back a little too late to avoid the attack completely and winced when her claws tore into his shoulder. He swiped at the siren with Toukijin to retaliate out of anger and felt immense satisfaction when he heard the siren scream in pain and saw her cover the now-bleeding left side of her face with her hand. He couldn't help but smile when he saw his foe glare at him in pure hate. "You are way out of your league, siren", he taunted arrogantly. That's when something completely unexpected occurred.
"Well done, S-s-sesshoumaru", the siren hissed, taking Sesshoumaru completely by surprise. "The rumors of your incredible fighting s-s-skills obviously do not do you jus-s-stice." As surprised as Sesshoumaru was, the regal dog demon's face remained as impassive as ever. "So, you can talk as well as fight", he observed. "Good. It makes me feel a little better knowing that I'm not about to kill a completely brainless brute." The siren sneered at his remark.
"You are the one who is-s-s about to die", she hissed. "And then I'll kill that brat little girl of yours-s-s as well. You will both pay for taking my beloved away from me!" Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?", he asked coldly. "Do not try to deceive!", the siren bit back. "I could s-s-smell your little girl's s-s-scent all around the spot where my beloved once lay!" "Look out, Lord Sesshoumaru! She's got something behind her back!", Rin yelled from her hiding spot on the edge of the forest. With a nasty snarl, the siren lunged at Sesshoumaru with a crude-looking knife in her hand. Sesshoumaru was already well aware of the siren's sneaky plan, however, and was quite prepared to counter it. He brought Toukijin up and met the siren's dagger with it. Blade clashed blade, and with a swish of his lethal sword the dagger was knocked from the siren's hand and sent flying. Sesshoumaru then kicked out at the siren's legs, tripping her up and making her fall flat on her back. Before his foe knew what was happening she found herself laying on the ground with Sesshoumaru standing over her holding Toukijin's blade against her throat. The siren hissed angrily up at Sesshoumaru. She knew this battle was over.
"Well what are you waiting for? Go ahead, you bas-s-stard. Just do it and get it over with", she snarled angrily.
"Very well", Sesshoumaru replied. The beautiful demon Lord positioned his body so that Rin would not see what he was about to do. He positioned the point of the blade directly onto her jugular…..
Jaken leaned against the tree and tried to catch his breath. He had been running at top speed through the forest for at least five minutes, trying to put as much distance between himself and the psychotic infant as he possibly could. But he knew that the only true way he would be safe was if he made it back to the side of his Lord and Master.
"Lord Sesshoumaru will be able to vanquish that creature", he said confidently. "I just hope I can find him before that baby finds me." He heard a rustling in the bushes behind him and jerked his body around, holding the Staff of Skulls ready. "W-w-what was that?", he said fearfully. After a moment of silence went by he began to relax. "Probably just a chipmunk or a bird", he said. He turned back around to behold his worst nightmare. The baby was standing right in front of him, it's yellow eyes glowing and it's lips pulled back in a frightening, ugly grimace. Jaken barely had time to scream in terror (yet again) before the baby leaped at him with a roar full of bloodlust and hate. Jaken dodged the attack just in time and once again he was running through the woods as fast as he could go. This time the baby was right on his heels. "Lord Sesshoumaru! Please help me!", Jaken screamed in desperation and terror. He was as embarrassed as he was scared. Even if he did reach Sesshoumaru in time, how would he be able to face his Lord from that day on knowing that he'd needed protection from an infant? Jaken ran through the woods, dodging trees, jumping over logs, and running through streams until he could finally pick up Sesshoumaru's scent. "Oh, thank goodness!", Jaken said breathlessly. At that instant the baby pounced on Jaken from behind and they both went tumbling down a small hill. At the bottom Jaken felt himself collide with something that was too soft to have been a tree.
"Ow! Hey!", A familiar little girl's voice protested. Jaken looked up and saw Rin. "Rin?", he said in a surprised voice. "Master Jaken?", Rin said, just as surprised. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching the baby?" As if on cue, the baby began wailing on the ground. Rin was shocked. "You brought the baby here!?", she said as she ran over to pick up the baby. "Watch out!", Jaken screamed. "That baby is really an evil demon! It tried to kill me! We must ask Lord Sesshoumaru to vanquish it at once!" Rin looked at the rosy-cheeked baby crying in his arms and then up at Jaken in anger. "Really, Master Jaken. If you didn't want to watch the baby, all you had to do was say so", she chastised before turning her attention back on the baby. "Wha-Whaaa!? B-but…the baby…sharp fangs…threw the tree…tried to eat me!", Jaken stammered. As Rin ignored him and tried to calm the crying infant Jaken looked on in utter confusion. But I know that baby is dangerous! It tried to eat me!, he thought to himself. Why isn't it trying to eat her?
The siren jerked her head to the right, certain that she heard an infant crying. "C-could it be!? It is-s-s! It's my beloved!", the siren hissed excitedly. She no longer looked concerned with Sesshoumaru standing over her, holding the most lethal weapon in the world to her throat with every intention of killing her with it. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. "Your beloved? You mean that baby?", he asked. "Yes-s-s! I am the mother of the baby you s-s-stole!", the siren hissed angrily. Sesshoumaru looked at her for a few more seconds. He then lifted the blade of his sword off of the siren's neck. "You could have simply told me what your problem was without trying to kill me", he said in a cold voice. "Rin! Bring the baby." In response to her Lord's command Rin entered the clearing from the woods, holding the baby in her arms.
"Rin, that baby belongs to this siren", Sesshoumaru announced. "Give it back to her." He then glared at the siren. "If you make one wrong move against the girl, both you and your spawn will breathe your last this day", he warned in a quiet voice. The siren sneered and took the crying baby from the arms of reluctant Rin. Once in it's mother's arms, the baby stopped crying.
"You should know better than s-s-snatching up innocent children, you kidnapper", the siren snarled at Rin. "I…I didn't mean it", Rin said almost tearfully. "I thought the baby was abandoned." "You needn't apologize, Rin. You've done nothing wrong", Sesshoumaru said gently to the little girl. Then, in a steely tone, he addressed the siren. "You are the idiot who left your baby alone in the woods", he said. "You should be thankful that Rin found your baby instead of something else. If a hungry beast or rouge demon had stumbled across your child, I doubt changing it's diaper and feeding it berry juice would have been the first thing on their minds." The siren glared at Sesshoumaru for a moment. She then took off into the forest and was gone in mere seconds. Rin rubbed the back of her neck and looked down at her feet.
"I should have listened to you, my Lord, when you said to take the baby back where I found it", she admitted shyly. "Yes you should have!", the nagging voice of Jaken rang out from behind her as the toad demon approached them. "You are the reason all of this happened! You nearly got me killed! Perhaps next time you will know better than to…" "Jaken", Sesshoumaru interrupted. "Yes, my Lord?", Jaken replied, humbly. "Go find my dragon", Sesshoumaru commanded. "At once, my Lord!", said Jaken, eager to please. After he had run off, Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru.
"I guess Master Jaken was telling the truth when he said the baby tried to eat him", she said with a giggle. Sesshoumaru smiled, in spite of himself. "But it sure didn't look like a demon when I was holding it", Rin continued in a confused voice. "That is because a siren looks and smells very similar to a human when it is born", Sesshoumaru said. "Only as it grows older does it begin to take on it's natural distinguishing looks." "Oh! Okay, my Lord!", Rin said cheerfully. She skipped off and started doing cartwheels on the ground. Sesshoumaru watched the child gamboling merrily in front of him. He was still wondering how Rin was able to use Tenseiga's power to protect her life earlier. I'd never seen Tenseiga do such a thing before, he thought to himself, recalling how the sword glowed in Rin's hands. How could a mere human girl bring such a power out of the sword? Perhaps there's more to this child than meets the eye.
"My Lord, I've found your dragon steed!", Jaken yelled out as he came from the forest, followed closely by Aa and Uun. Rin ran up to greet the dragon, happy that it was safe. "Good. Then let's continue on. It will be dark soon", Sesshoumaru announced, deciding that he would deal with the mystery of Rin and his sword later. "If we hurry, we can at least get out of these woods before the moon is high." "Wait, sire!", Jaken said excitedly. "The dragon is not the only thing I found! Look at this!" To the complete amazement and utter shock of both Sesshoumaru and Rin, Jaken held up what looked to be a furry infant with a bushy tail. The creature gurgled then threw his head up and howled at the sky. "It's a wolf demon cub!", Jaken said happily. "Isn't he cute!? Can I keep him?" Sesshoumaru and Rin looked at each other for a moment. Then, without a word, they both turned around and started walking away. Fast. Jaken scratched his head.
"Um, is that a yes?", he asked meekly.
FIN