Disclaimer: Nothing. Own nothing.
Authors note: GASP!!! *falls out of chair* I GOT MORE REVIEWS!!!!!!
Mewtwo: So? You went away for a while and came back and had reviews. It's not like you even had a lot…
Kora: -_- y'know… if Kagome can make a dog fall by saying "sit" I wonder what would happen to a cat if you say "Stand"
Heh
STAND!
^-^
Any way, thanks sooo much for reviewing!! I'm gonna answer stuffs right here at the beginning instead of at the end ^-^
Yukatado: Well, I got the idea for the story a while before I wrote it while I was having insomnia for a while, and me and my friend "Neko" acted it out… (I put some changes in ^-^) And the thing where the characters from the past make references about things from the future, I didn't even realize I was doing it… ^_^;; oops… *starts beating herself up Doby-style from harry potter* BAD KORA BAD KORA BAD KORA!
Oh, and when I make my "Michael Jackson of the futile era" joke in the later chapter… just ignore the fact that they have no idea who Michael Jackson is… ^-^;; maybe they found one of Kagome's magazine's or something…
BS007: SHIT! You remember the girl who "role plays" fluffy-sama in school?? SHE DID CUT HER HAIR!!! @v@ She chopped it off so I couldn't call her "Lord Sesshomaru" anymore… So I said she just looked like Lord Sesshomaru with a poodle cut! ^v^ poodle poodle poodle!
Shippo-Cool: ^v^ heh… I'm never good at keeping it interesting when I have to put in an actual plot thing… I have to ask my friend to help me out with some funnier ideas… And insane is good, don't worry! =p ^_~
I was thinking about putting the rosary beads on him but I think that's something untouchable from the anime… it just seems like it should be for Kagome and Inu-Yasha since they're "love birds…"
Marnika: Um… Did the Inu-Gang know about Rin in the first place…? ^-^;; If they didn't, I guess I'll leave it that way, since I don't want to go into so drawn out plot about how they met Rin or something which would probably get really boring and then I'd start to ramble like I'm doing now and it would be one big sentence like it is right now and then you would get pissed and then… *4 hours later still rambling* and then you would flame me and then stop reading and then you would be sad and I don't want people to be sad because of me and ( bla bla bla… the lack of normal length sentences bores you, don't it? =p)
FeudalFairyFan4ever: Wowee that's a long name @_@… One word reviews… cool… I gotta try not talking so much… Hey! Did I tell you about the time when-
Sesshy: *clobbers her* you cant start that "not talking so much" thing right now…
D-Chan: Good idea ^-^ I guess that stuff would get to him after a while… it would be the best if he passed out right in the middle of fighting with Inu-Yasha… yeah… ^-^
Chapter 9: Rin's Despair
The sun rose over the mountains, scorching the sky a brilliant crimson red. The only ones who could not see this were those inside Naraku's small castle. It was a place so vile that the beautiful morning light refused to touch it. It stood shadowed in an aura of evil, protected by nothing but a barrier, because Naraku knew that all he needed to do to any intruder was send forth one of his servants to kill them.
Inside the gloomy castle, Rin sat in a small, dark room. Beside her sat a brown two headed dragon. He stood about five feet tall. They had a muzzle on their mouths, one for each head. They had a saddle a bit like a horses, and reigns as well. It was Ah-Un, Sesshomaru's dragon, which had also been captured along with Rin. Whether it was an accident or on purpose, she was not sure. She remembered the odd way that she had been kidnapped.
She had been looking for food with Jaken. Sesshomaru had gone off to look for leads of where he could find Naraku. She remembered peering beneath a rock, looking for something for Jaken to eat too. She thought that maybe after he ate he wouldn't be so grouchy. The sun had been beginning to set. The last butterfly of the evening had fluttered past Rin. Its blue-purple wings caught her eye, and she abandoned the idea of looking for food and chased after it. Jaken had muttered something about it being too cold as she ran past chasing the butterfly.
"Don't go too far, Rin!" he shouted after her, annoyed that she was so cheerful while he was so miserable.
"I wont!" she called back happily, to the further annoyance of Jaken.
She chased the butterfly until it landed on a small blue flower. She extended her finger and the insect crawled onto it. The feet of the butterfly tickled rin, and she giggled. A gentle breeze swayed the blue flower, and she reached out and picked it from the ground for Sesshomaru when he came back. The butterfly took wing from her finger and fluttered off.
The bright sun had just shone its last beams over the evening, and Rin was starting to get cold. She walked back to Jaken, rubbing her arms to keep her warm. Rin remembered hearing a rustle in a nearbye bush. She took a few cautious steps backwards.
"Hello?" she asked in an unwavering, brave voice. "Is some one there? Jaken? Lord Sesshomaru?"
The branch stirred again, and Rin backed up a bit more, but didn't run. From the bush popped one of Ah-Un's heads. He let out a happy groan and plodded over to Rin. She smiled and sighed in slight relief. (Ok, I'm saying Ah for one of the heads and Un for the other, and Ah-Un for both of them… just to make it simpler, 'cause I gave it a different personality for each head ^-^;;) Rin stroked the mane on top of Ah's head. Un growled and nipped at Ah's mane jealously. Rin smiled and closed her eyes, stroking the top of Un's head as well.
"Would you mind giving me a ride back to Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked them. Ah nodded and Un lowered his head for Rin to climb on. She clambered onto their back. Ah-Un turned around, and Rin let out a slight gasp.
"Lord Sesshomaru" she sighed in relief. "I didn't know you were there."
Her memory was bright enough for her to remember that Sesshomaru's eyes had been shadowed by his bangs.
"You shouldn't let your guard down, Rin. You wouldn't want any one to…" he paused, and his voice held a certain cold, sneaking tone that she hadn't heard before. "Sneak up on you…"
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Rin looked up at him from Ah-Un's back. She inched farther away from Sesshomaru. The dragons growled softly, holding a confused look.
'Maybe he just didn't have a good day today…" imagined Rin, but she couldn't make herself believe that statement. Sesshomaru lifted his head slightly, exposing his eyes. Instead of the kind, slightly sad golden orbs that she had seen a softness in only when they looked upon her, she saw two piercing, beady red eyes. They held a cold, sinister evil that she knew she would never forget. As se locked eyes with his, she felt a horrible weakness pass through her.
"Come now, Rin. We will go home." He smiled with a false kindness that he was too evil to sneak any light into. Rin slowly slid off Aun's back. She backed up several paces.
"Y-your… Not Lord Sesshomaru!" She whispered in a hoarse voice. She heard something from the bushes behind her, but didn't dare take her eyes off the terrible creature before her. Jaken staggered out of the bushes, tripping over a root. He barely managed not to fall over, sticking the staff into the ground and holding himself up. He shot a cold glare at Rin.
"I told you not to go far!" he hissed angrily. "If Lord Sesshomaru found you out here by yourself, he would kill-" Jaken let out a startled squeal when he noticed Sesshomaru standing before him. "M-master!" He stammered, bowing to him.
"Jaken…" Rin pulled at Jaken's sleeve. "That's not Lord Sesshomaru."
Jaken stared at her moment, then turned to Sesshomaru. He tried to look at his face, but Sesshomaru turned to the side.
"Rin, don't be irrational. Of course It's me" He said, not looking at either of them. Rin looked frightened. Aun stepped in front of her and growled, lowering their heads. Jaken looked at Sesshomaru again. He could feel an evil aura radiating from him like poison that he had never felt before.
"She's right. You're not Lord Sesshomaru!" he shouted, pointing his finger angrily at him, but then became more afraid then he was angry. Sesshomaru's cold gaze met with his own scared one. Jaken backed away several steps.
"Come now, don't be a fool" He hissed slowly. His eyes narrowed to small slits. His face had lost the composure that had given him the appearance of Sesshomaru. "Rin… Come to me…" he whispered in a sinister tone. Rin flinched as he reached out a clawed hand toward her. He touched her face, and Rin glared at him. He smirked, before Rin bit down on his hand. He withdrew it, shoving her back. Rin fell to the ground. Jaken dragged her back by her shirt. Aun stepped in front them, snarling and bristling, their teeth exposed. Sesshomaru smirked, and his face no longer looked like Sesshomaru's. The crescent moon had disappeared from his forehead, and the red stripes on his cheeks had faded as well. His body was darkened by a shadow. He glared at Aun. Rin was trying to stand up, but Jaken jerked her back farther from the man disguised as Sesshomaru. He slid behind Aun, moving so fast that his body appeared as a blur. He hovered behind Rin and Jaken for a moment, before snatching her up, knocking Jaken back. Aun let out a furious growl and a yellow beam exploded from his mouth, lighting up the night. The man dodged the beam and leaped in front of Aun. He slashed at him with his claws, knocking Aun from his feet. There were deep claw marks left on his side. The dragon moaned pitifully to Jaken. Jaken raised the staff of heads, preparing to fire it. The man turned his glare at him.
"Go ahead. Shoot me. I dare you. See what happens to you if you do" He challenged. "I assure you, if you fire at me, I will kill you."
Jaken looked at Rin.
"Help me…" he heard her whisper as she began to cry softly. Jaken looked at the man, who was still smirking intently at him. He trembled as he lowered the staff. The man's smirk spread. Jaken dropped the staff in fear, backing up several feet.
"Y-you're Naraku… That demon… Aren't you…?" he asked, still trembling.
"How good to see that you recognize me." He took several steps closer to Jaken, who backed up until he found himself backed into a tree. He shuddered, closing his eyes and facing the ground. "Look at me, Coward!" Naraku hissed. Jaken slowly raised his head and opened his eyes, frozen in terror. Naraku smirked upon seeing his fear. He grabbed Jaken by the throat, raising him eye level with himself. "Now, ugly imp, you should learn not to put on such a brave front when you are really a sniveling coward." Jaken shut his eyes. Naraku squeezed his throat and threw him into a tree. Aun groaned in pain several feet away. "Tell "Lord" Sesshomaru that I will be waiting for him" He said in a mock voice. Rin remembered seeing Jaken open his eyes and look at her apologetically. Her vision blurred through her tears and a dark, purple-black half cloak that had formed around them and Aun. The barrier grew larger and then shrank away to nothing, leaving only the terrified Jaken shaking in fear.
Rin looked out now at a small candle flickering, her only source of light. She thought for a moment about what had happened to her. She could clearly remember finding Sesshomaru wounded, completely helpless. She had brought him food and tried to help him get better. He refused her food, so she had gone out to steal a fish for him. She had been beaten by the villagers for the fish, for him. Jaken had once been stung by Naraku's poisonous insects, and she had risked her life to get him the antidote. As she reminisced, a feeling came over her that she had never felt before: Resentment. After she had nearly been killed to save Jaken, when she had been in danger, he just cowered in fear and let Naraku kidnap her. And now, Naraku had said that Sesshomaru wasn't even looking for her, even after she had been so kind to him.
Naraku walked past the room where she sat. He stopped in the doorway and looked at her expression. He smiled malevolently at her.
"So" he said. "I see that you have learned to hate."
Rin looked up in surprise. She hadn't noticed him there. She glared daggers at him. "What do you want from me, Naraku?" She asked in a hostile voice, one so full of anger that she wasn't sure if it was her own, "Why have you taken me away from…" she faded off. She had been going to say her family, but she knew that that wasn't true. They had used her, she thought. No family would do that.
"Don't you think that it was more of a blessing then a curse?" he told her more then asked. Rin looked questioningly at him. "If I hadn't come to take you, then you would have stayed with that pitiful demon Sesshomaru, thinking that you meant something to him."
The words stung her, but she could hear the truth in them. "Because of me taking you, and your "friends" not coming to save you, you now know that you were being used." He shook his head, still smiling slightly. "What a cruel way to treat such a young child…" he said, pretending to say it to himself, but making sure Rin could hear. He was obviously ignoring how he had treated Rin when he stated this. Rin glared at the candle again. "You know, you are welcome to join us. My "family" and I. " Naraku said.
Rin glanced up. The feelings of hatred and love toward Sesshomaru and Jaken mixed in her heart like a deadly potion. Though Rin was unaware of it, Naraku had awakened a battle in her. A battle of her love and resentment for Sesshomaru. Naraku smiled to himself as he watched the pain he had caused through his cunning deception.
Nothing brought him more pleasure then to see pain. Pain and Suffering. That was what made his soul, what made him heartless and cold as the cold winter air. That single pleasure was what had drove him to make Inu-Yasha and Kikyo despise each other, to make Sango's brother attempt to slay her. More then power, love, or hatred, the one thing that brought him happiness was seeing other suffer. That was why he pursued the Shikon jewel, to inflict suffering in others. He chuckled to himself as he watched Rin's feelings grow bitter toward Sesshomaru. He walked away from the room Rin was in, closing the door behind him.
Rin looked at the candle again. The light burned lower then ever.
"Sesshomaru doesn't care. No one does." Rin's last bit of hope wavered.
And the small, dying flame flickered out.
^-^ Another chapter down! Sorry that this one didn't have to do with the last chapter, but
1) I needed to put this one in for some symbolism reasons and to show Rin's desparate situation
2) I have to think of what should happen between Fluffy-sama and His brother O.o;;
Well, hopefully I'll get the next one up sooner. Thanks guys, you've been really good about not badgering me to death about updating! ^v^ I know I do that a lot…
*ahem *
See you hopefully sooner then last time!