*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 13 - Death's Claim
"Take your stand Sesshoumaru or die like a coward."
Rin sheathed her sword and quickly braided her hair. She was calm now and was sure she could fight with a heart clear of emotions. If she hoped to defeat Sesshoumaru, such silly things could not distract her. So she slowly unsheathed her katana and held it out in front of her and assessed the best way to attack him. He was unreadable, with those cold emotionless eyes. But she was more than determined to find a way to defeat him.
"Rin. I am not going to fight you."
"Then die." Rin rushed forward swiftly, her sword prepared for attack. She slashed at Sesshoumaru and he dodged her attack quickly. But she anticipated his movement and slashed again to her right. Her blade glided through his hair as he managed to dodge again. He flipped backwards quickly and stood upright and stared at Rin.
She moved as quickly as he did, catching him off guard. He had noticed her speed when he first arrived but had not given it a second thought. How was it that she obtained such power? Was it Tsubasa and Kazume's doing? Had they given her such powers? If that were the case she would continue to fight him with that annoying confidence. This would not be as easy as he thought.
She rushed him again and Sesshoumaru realized it would be best to block her attacks instead of dodging them. He unsheathed Toukijin and met her blade with a clash of metal. By her smile he saw that she was pleased he was fighting back. She placed her other hand on the hilt of her blade and twirled it around, unlocking their weapons. Sesshoumaru stepped back slightly and blocked her blade as she thrust it forward.
Then he advanced on her, his sword crossed in front of him. Rin reacted quickly and blocked his attack, nearly stumbling backwards from the force of their weapons collided. He pushed his sword down, attempting to overpower her. But Rin held her ground and released a latch on the hilt of her blade. As it split into two she used all of her might to push back Sesshoumaru's sword. He stood back for a moment as she took her stand again, a thin katana in each of her hands.
Tsubasa and Kazume stood back, pleased with the sight of seeing Sesshoumaru fight against his most prized possession. The girl's skills were remarkable, the siblings had seen to that. They had given her all that she would need to stand against Sesshoumaru. The two katanas, though lacking powers like Sesshoumaru's Toukijin, would be more than adequate against Toukijin. If the youkai chose to use his powers on Rin, then so be it. It would only hurt him more to see her die by his powers. Everything was going as planned.
Sesshoumaru cursed Tsubasa and Kazume as they grinned at him. There was no doubting that they were responsible for Rin's skills and powers. She utilized both blades skillfully as she attacked him. She twirled and both her blades clashed with his as he blocked them. She brought her right blade down towards his right shoulder, attempting to break his armor. He dodged easily, blocking her left blade with his sword as she tried to thwart his movement.
He used a small amount of Toukijin's power as he blocked her and made the blade fly from her hand. She twirled again and bent in attempt to trip him. When he jumped over her, she flipped backwards and made a dash for her fallen blade. As she reached it a green light dashed in front of her and the blade was shattered to pieces. She turned back quickly and watched with shock as Sesshoumaru's whip vanished back into his fingers.
Rin rose to her feet quickly and was about to speak when Sesshoumaru raced towards her. She blocked as quickly as she could but lost her balance in the process. As she fell to ground she thrust her sword into Sesshoumaru's tail. She tried to catch her breath as she awaited death strike from Sesshoumaru. She met his cold and emotionless eyes, more than willing to die by his hands. But to her surprise, Sesshoumaru merely pulled her blade from his tailed and threw it over his shoulder. And then he was gone.
Rin turned her attention to Tsubasa and Kazume. Her eyes widened with shock as she saw Kazume pull her blade from Tsubasa's shoulder. The air around the siblings seemed to vibrate as their anger materialized around them. Sesshoumaru was making a dash to attack them, taking advantage of the opportunity to catch them off guard. Rin stood to her feet quickly and thrust forward her own whip at Sesshoumaru. He stopped short in time to dodge it and kept dodging until there was a great distance between he and his enemies.
He turned around in anger, blocking the red light and stared at its source. The tip of Rin's two right fingers dispersed a red light of energy. It coiled back towards her and disappeared. She had managed to get back to her blade and was now wiping it clean of blood. She stood to her feet slowly, watching Sesshoumaru carefully, and took her fighting stance once again.
"Tsubasa, Kazume. How is it that he has powers like the ones I inherited?"
Kazume spoke up when Rin addressed them. "Forgive us Lady Rin, for not mentioning it before. When he killed your father, he was able to gain a fraction of his powers. We weren't sure which, but now we know it was the power to turn energy into a whip."
Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on Toukijin, fighting the anger that threatened to overwhelm him. "Your lies have no boundaries. I see now that you intend to have me die not only by Rin's hands, but by my powers as well. Her speed, her whip, her strength, her patience. All were copied from me and given to her."
"The only liar among us is you, Sesshoumaru. I've had enough of this, it is time for you to die."
"Quit being foolish Rin. Surely even you must know that something about this situation is not right. Some where in your heart you know that neither of us would hurt the one we truly love."
"If you are implying that I love you, then you are sadly mistaken. I must admit, I have thought that I was in love with you, but I was only fooling myself. I loathe you and wish only to see you die."
Sesshoumaru said nothing as Rin raced towards him. He wanted nothing more than to kill Tsubasa and Kazume, but it seemed as though Rin would prevent him from doing so. He was considering killing her and then simply reviving her with Tenseiga. But he feared that if he killed her then she would not be able to remember her true past. It was a risk he was not willing to take. Still, there was one risk he was willing to take.
So he dodged her attack and jumped over her. He turned quickly and unleashed a large amount of power from Toukijin. Rin dodged it, leaving the forest to be victim of Sesshoumaru's power. There was nothing left but dust in the path of Toukijin's power that nearly cleared a path to the end of the forest.
Rin turned back to Sesshoumaru and met him face to face. She froze, dropping her katana in surprise and shock. He leaned down, took her lips in a passionate kiss. And then he backed away, Tenseiga unleashed, and slashed at her a multiple of times, stunning Rin enough to having her stumbling backwards. Hesitating only a second, he placed Tenseiga in Rin's sheath. He sliced the air with Toukijin, creating enough wind to send Rin flying backwards. And with one final stroke of his sword, he unleashed Toukijin's power and sent Rin into oblivion.
Her screams of pain echoed in his head, shattered his heart. Toukijin slipped to the ground as he stared at the path his destruction left. There was nothing there, no signs of Rin at all. Had he done the right thing? Would she survive his power? No..she was human, of course she couldn't survive his power. But still he wanted to believe and became angry at his doubt. Angry at the ones who caused him to hurt his Rin.
Tsubasa and Kazume stared at Sesshoumaru, slightly shocked. Tsubasa spoke as she and her brother walked towards him. "I didn't think you would kill her at first Sesshoumaru but you proved me wrong. Let us relieve you of the pain you surely feel. With your death, you'll be free and our revenge will be fulfilled."
They withdrew their weapons and were about to attack when Sesshoumaru turned towards them. And as he turned they caught a glimpse of his red eyes before they were crushed to the ground by his paws. He had transformed into his full youkai form faster than they had known he was capable of. He pinned them to the ground, a claw piercing through each of their bodies. They cried out in pain but made no attempt to move, knowing it would only worsen their suffering.
But Sesshoumaru was unsatisfied. He wanted them to know his pain, he wanted them to suffer until they took their very last breath. So he rose up on his front paws and pressed them deeper into the ground, crushing their fragile bones under his massive weight. It sill was not enough. He picked them both up with is mouth, crushed their frames with his fangs. Blood dripped from his teeth and he reveled in its taste. There was nothing sweeter than the taste of revenge. Satisfied, he spit them out in a pile of his saliva. The poisons in it boiled their flesh, boiled their bones until there was nothing left of them.
Sesshoumaru turned away, returning to his normal form and walked down the path of his destruction as the Fukai Mori disintegrated around him.
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I'd really like to know what you all think. I think it was a pretty good ending...>=)
^*Rabid Anime Gurl