*Disclaimer: Have you watched Inuyasha lately? Takahashi Rumiko is proving her genius with each episode. I would be a fool to try to claim her work!*
Fukai Mori
A plan for revenge calls for the kidnapping of Rin. Nearly a year later Sesshoumaru finds her in the Deep Forest(Fukai Mori), a forest where young and impressionable minds are easily corrupted. His enemy's true plan revealed, Sesshoumaru must make a decision. Kill Rin or be killed.
Chapter 5 - Lost Then Found
A gentle breeze swept loose leaves from branches, guided them down slowly to the ground. There were many trees that were now bare as fall took its toll on nature. Flowers and other plant life that would not survive through the cold weather were already dying off. Clouds covered the sky and threatened rain while creatures scurried about, making plans to endure the cold season. During this time he would have been doing the same only it would have been for Rin and not for himself.
Jaken looked up at the sky, hoping that the clouds would hold firm a little longer. He was on a trail that seemed to be promising, even more so than all the other false ones he had been led to follow. These sorcerers were quite playful. They seemed content to lead not only him, but Sesshoumaru as well, on a trail to Rin that led them to a dead end. Rin remained lost and Jaken felt as though he lost a year of his life for every day he could not find her.
The old man on the Staff of Heads laughed, almost as if he were amused by his position. Jaken of course found nothing funny but realized that it was a promising sign. The old woman was usually the one to speak in a form of a groan or a mimicking laugh, in essence telling him that he was no closer to finding Rin. Hoping that he had finally found her, Jaken quickened his pace, not paying attention to where he was going.
Strong jaki swirled around him, making him feel somewhat dizzy. His senses were off balance and it caused him to see things and hear voices. He was tempted to turn back, but the old man laughed again, kept laughing the deeper he went into the strange forest. Everything around him was dead and crumbling to dust, a result of the jaki he had finally gotten used to. Creatures peered at with him with red eyes as they hid behind rotting trees. The old man laughed again and Jaken realized all to late where he was.
"Well what do we have here. An itty-bitty youkai just begging to be killed. That's the price for trespassing upon Lady Rin's territory."
Jaken looked up upon hearing the raspy voice and Rin's name. Two youkai with three horns in each of their foreheads towered above him. Their ears were long and pointed, their eyes sparkled red. A strong and evil jaki swirled around them, swirled around the clawed hand of the one who prepared to swat Jaken.
He bowed down and quickly came up with a scheme. "Forgive me! I got lost trying to find the correct path to Ri--I mean Lady Rin's estate. I specialize in care of two-headed beasts...she does have one correct?"
Jaken kept his head down, hoping that his ploy had worked. If they were speaking of the same Rin, then perhaps Ah Un would be with her. Jaken silently praised himself for being so clever.
"Lady Rin does not let anyone besides herself tend to her two-headed beast. And since your services are not needed here, you shall die!"
Jaken quickly rose to his feet and pressed the Staff of Heads into the ground. The old man spit out fire, setting many of the rotting trees ablaze. Then he turned and ran as fast as he could, hoping to escape with his life. For he had good and bad news for his master. Rin was found...but found in the Fukai Mori. She would not be herself.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Rin. She was all he could think of as he made his way to her. Sesshoumaru had spent nearly a year searching for her, hoping she was alive. At first it hadn't seemed as though Tsubasa and Kazume had her at all because Ah Un had not returned to them. He had hoped that the beast had retrieved Rin and was on the run, doing all he could to keep her safe. Sesshoumaru had been able to find traces of his enemies, but nothing of Ah Un and Rin. He had no choice but to let that idea go.
It was then that he realized Tsubasa and Kazume were using Rin's scent to lure and tease him. There were times he would sense her close by and when he went to see if it was truly her, he found nothing. Other times her scent would take him to the top of a hill and would disappear at the end of the cliff. It was at those times when he questioned her safety did his need to have her back threaten to explode in anger. Sesshoumaru understood what it felt to loose a most treasured possession.
And he didn't like the feeling.
Rin was his and his possessiveness for her seemed to grow stronger with each day she was near. It was as if the world had not been right since she was torn from his side. That winter when she was taken, the rest of the season had not been the same. He knew Rin needed him to keep her warm, to keep her from getting sick. And he had hated when winter gave way to spring. Rin had not been there to chase butterflies and collect flowers, he had not heard her sing some song she made up about him. There were no smiles and laughter for him, no enjoyment in seeing her live her life with the vivacity only she possessed.
He missed her.
Her innocence, her goodness; it called to him. The beauty and the pureness in her life; it had been his to protect. He felt like a failure, especially knowing she was in the Fukai Mori. There was no doubt that there would no longer be anything innocent, good, or pure about Rin. Her mind would be corrupted, her beauty tainted with evil. His Rin would not be the same. She wouldn't be his Rin at all.
Sesshoumaru walked toward the small estate, displeased by it's raggedy site but not at all shocked. Creatures who lived in the Fukai Mori cared not for pleasantries. It was violence, blood, and death that they sought. When they fought, they did not care that their opponent was obviously stronger than them. It was the case now as Sesshoumaru made quick work of the so-called guards that attacked him. Here was the blood and death that they wanted.
As he passed through the door he was greeted with more weaker youkai. At least twenty of them blocked another door and spoke of how they would protect "Lady Rin" at all cost. And Sesshoumaru was angered by their words for Rin was not theirs to protect. His blood began to boil and his eyes were on the brink of turning red. He unleashed Toukijin and in one slash there was nothing before him but disintegrated bodies and a hole where the door had been.
He stepped through the passage and looked around. In the middle of the room was a large futon raised on a small platform. It was dressed in blue silk and covered with many pillows of assorted colors. There were steps on each side of the bed, all colored the same as the bedding. A cozy place, he assumed, for the lady of the estate. But Rin was not here.
Sesshoumaru turned quickly when he sensed someone he recognized behind him. It rushed towards him in speed that he knew might match his own. He grabbed the wrist and stopped the sword it held from severing his head. His eyes once again tinted red as he thought the soft and thin wrist belonged to Tsubasa. But had the woman's voice not been one he was glad to hear, he would have surely transformed and torn her to shreds.
"Well," the voice said a little breathlessly. "Your speed rivals my own, but you cannot hope to defeat me. Tell me what your purpose is and I may allow you to stay here and entertain me."
Sesshoumaru stared down at the face he had been searching for. What he had feared was true. "Rin. You are not the same."
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
All right, finally got this chapter done. Hope everyone understands the point of the Fukai Mori. It basically turns good to bad. Now all that is left is to find out just how bad Rin has become. Please review!
^*Rabid Anime Gurl