Disclaimer: Inuyasha is Copyright of Takahashi Rumiko

Nothing Without The Other

Chapter 20

"I've never seen this side of you, Rin."

Eiji watched as the young woman sharpened a small stone against a large rock, quickly and efficiently producing arrowheads. Within a small time frame, she managed to assemble a bow and a bundle of arrowheads. She had commissioned him to find sturdy branches and clean them of their leaves so she could complete her arrow.

She turned to him with a blank expression on her face that said she was not in the mood for conversation.

He shook his head. "I guess I don't know you as well as I thought I did."

"Same here," she agreed, turning away to cut off a portion of her kimono.

She shredded half of the fabric as thinly as possible before using the makeshift string to tie her arrowheads on the branches Eiji had found for her. She enlisted his help once more and inspected the finished products with a proud nod.

"They could be better, but they will do. Did you save some of those leaves?"

"I did all that you asked of me," he bowed to her.

"You try my patience, Eiji."

"You sound more and more like your Lord Sesshoumaru with each passing second," he said, handing her the pile of leaves and the unripe berries he had collected.

Rin rose to her feet and took the items from him with an evil gleam in her eyes. "You have no idea just how much alike we are."

She glided past him and walked to the river. Stepping in, she caught to fish and returned to the shore. Utilizing what she had learned from Sango, Rin ground fish guts, the unripe berries, and dirt into a pasty substance. Forming tiny balls with it, she wrapped them in leaves and tucked them into her sleeves. Washing her hands, she returned to Eiji.

"He should show soon," he told her quietly. "I'm sure he knows my wound has healed at least partially."

Rin finished her bow by tying a piece of her shredded kimono between the two ends. "He wants you to put up a fight before he kills you."

Eiji forced a smile on his face. "It would seem that way."

"Then we'll give him a fight," she told him, squeezing her arrows into the thicker branch Eiji had hollowed out.

"Here," he said, removing his armor. "Wear this."

Rin threw the bow over her shoulder and climbed into a tree. "I don't want anything from you. Besides, he's coming."

Birds scattered into the sky as a tree split in half and collapsed in a ground-shaking fall. The creature landed on the fallen trunks, crushing it under its massive weight. Though no taller than Eiji, this cat looking creature was well fed and covered his chest in armor that was filled with spikes. He sheathed the sword somewhere on his body and let out a massive roar.

Unimpressed and feeling less intimidated than she expected, Rin called out to Eiji, keeping her voice as low as possible. "If my arrows are going to do him any harm, you're going to have to remove those spikes. Remove his armor all together if you can. I'll cover you."

Eiji pulled his pike from it's sheathe tied to his back. "Fine, you lead."

She dashed to the next tree, quickly taking out one of the pellets she had made before. Lighting the leaf's stem on fire, she tossed it in Yasuo's face, leaving him startled and confused when the substance quickly caught on fire. The putrid scent burned his eyes and nostrils, giving Eiji an opportune moment to strike.

Eiji held his pike and dashed forward, using all his speed and might to pierce Yasuo. He succeeded in breaking the strap and drawing blood from Yasuo's left shoulder before he was smacked away by flailing arms. He crashed into a tree, remembering all too late how quickly his enemy could move. He could see red eyes boring into his face as a fat arm inched closer and closer to his throat.

Rin cocked an arrow and let it fly. She jumped to the next tree, knowing the arrow had pierced Yasuo's hand.

Eiji tripped Yasuo and rolled to the side to grab his fallen pike. He pushed himself to his feet, not giving Yasuo the opportunity to regain himself before attacking again. But Yasuo, despite his weight, was quick to react and stood just in time to collide into Eiji. The spikes pierced through Eiji's armor and left the two stuck together.

"There is someone else here!" Yasuo spat, anger burning his eyes. "Doesn't matter though, no matter how much help you have, I will kill you both!"

Rin landed on the ground and raced toward them. She jumped over Eiji and kicked Yasuo in the face, using her momentum to separate them. Yasuo and Eiji flew backward, both landing on their backs. Rin landed a few inches from Yasuo's right and threw two pellets along with youki from her nails at his shoulder. Her youki exploded along with the pellets, leaving a gaping, burning wound his shoulder.

Yasuo rolled around in pain, trying to cover his wound, but only succeeding in increasing his pain by scratching it with the arrow still piercing his hand. Eiji charged forward, ignoring his wounds, and sliced Yasuo's side, cutting the remaining straps to his armor.

Yasuo rose to his feet with a frightening laugh and pulled the arrow from his hand. "Why couldn't your worthless friends put up a decent fight like this? Even with someone helping them," he scanned the trees, looking for Rin. "Why don't you tell your friend to come out and fight for real, instead of taking cheap shots."

"I'm just making sure there is an even distribution of power for both opponents," Rin called from somewhere in the trees. "I can't allow you to have the upper hand with all that armor on."

"Ohh, a woman too," Yasuo licked his lips and cracked his knuckles. "I'll be sure to have lots of fun with you, after I rip Eiji apart."

"Not today, Yasuo!"

Eiji thrust his pike toward Yasuo and was not surprised when the heavy creature dodged with some ease. Despite being overweight, Yasuo was known for his speed, which had increased greatly with the strange objects his clan used to increase their powers. If they were going to defeat him, Eiji knew they would have to keep him distracted at all times so he would not have a chance to utilize his speed.

Rin, however, watched in obvious surprise as Eiji continued his onslaught of ineffective attacks. Yasuo was much faster than she had anticipated and she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep him locked in her sights long enough to fire an arrow. She needed to change her tactics before Eiji was killed.

She jumped from the, landing several inches behind Yasuo. When he landed a punch to Eiji's face and turned to attack her, she quickly shot youki from her nails. It exploded in front of him, sending dirt flying into the air and clouding his vision long enough for her to notch another arrow. He stepped the dust and was pierced by two arrows.

He growled, and moved toward her before Eiji began to attack him again. He withdrew his sword this time and the two youkai began clashing weapon against weapon, each trying to harm the other. Rin managed to land another two arrows in his back as the fighting became more aggressive.

She looked to the sky for a moment, briefly hoping Sesshoumaru would arrive soon, when she heard Eiji cry out in pain. She shot another arrow, hitting Yasuo in his neck, just as he was about to slash Eiji in half. He took a few steps back before collapsing to his knee.

Rin quickly leapt to the ground again and walked slowly toward Yasuo. She saw him lift his arm as if to swipe at her, but she moved quickly and kicked Eiji's pike, affectively pushing it in deeper where he had managed to lodge it in Yasuo's side. But, she realized as she went to Eiji's side, it had come at a great cost. Within the brief attack, he had gotten close enough for Yasuo to snap his arm. The bone was broken, if not shattered.

Rin turned, anger etched on the fine curves of her face, and threw her remaining pellets at Yasuo. She used her youki to explode them again, and was more than pleased to hear him coughing violently as the noxious gases burned his lungs. She walked toward him, picking up the largest branch she could find, and lifted it over her head.

Tossing it as high as she could into the air, she watched her youki disintegrate it into a steam of purple dust.

She returned to Eiji and helped him to his feet. "We better escape while we can."

"Iie! Move!"

Eiji shoved her roughly away, causing her to fall to the ground. He stumbled backward as Yasuo thrust the sword into his chest.

Rin quickly leapt to her feet, but Yasuo was already charging at her with a piece of his armor held his hands. Knowing she would not be able to dodge it, she pulled her last two arrows out and thrust them forward as she was pushed back. Spikes pierced her chest in various places and kept digging further into her flesh until he slammed her against a tree. She was not sure if the snap she heard came from her own body or the tree.

Yasuo reached forward and grabbed Rin's throat, staring at her with one eye. She had managed to stab one arrow through his eye, while the other was notched in his neck. He was too angry to feel the pain. He pushed his armor, driving the spikes deeper into her flesh, and grinned wickedly when she cried out in pain.

"You're a troublesome little wench," he growled out, brushing his claws down the column of her throat. "Beautiful too. I'm going to enjoy every moment I spend tormenting you."

"IIE!" Eiji screamed out as he rushed toward them, Yasuo's sword grasped in his hand as he flung it wildly in his direction.

Yasuo quickly released Rin's neck and attempted to grab the flailing sword from. But Eiji's anger seemed to fuel his body with power and he suddenly gained control of the blade, managing in that one moment to sever Yasuo's limb. He pushed the sword in Yasuo's side with his remaining strength. Yasuo collapsed to the ground struggling to stop the blood flow in either wound.

Eiji stumbled to Rin's side and helped her detach her from the armor. She bit back the pain and slid to the ground, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Damnit, Rin, look at me! You can't die! Where is he? Why didn't he show up?"

She looked up at him, eyes glazed over with pain. "Sesshoumaru..sama..."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru! Where is he?"

Rin offered him a weak smile. "I never said...I never said...he would come. He's probably...angry...that I left...with you."

"Sesshoumaru?" Yasuo suddenly spoke up, slowly getting to his feet. "Lord Sesshoumaru? Of the Western Lands?"

Eiji turned, placing himself in front of Rin. "How do you know him?"

"What clan hasn't heard of Lord Sesshoumaru? He and his father were responsible for defeating the fire cat clan when they tried to take over Japan! And you brought his ward here, to die in your battle? You fool!"

Yasuo reached forward, ignoring his own pain, and grabbed Eiji's neck, trying desperately to choke him. "You idiot! Do you realize what you've done? Lord Sesshoumaru will probably kill both our clans!"

Eiji tried desperately to release himself from Yasuo's grasp. "I didn't know! He was supposed to be here, he was supposed to save her!"

A thin, white light streaked above their heads and dropped in Rin's lap.

"Ten..seiga," she coughed, spilling blood on her hand and on its hilt. "Sesshoumaru...sama...he comes."

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Red, everything he saw was seen in shade of red. It was not because of the blood he saw splattered everywhere, that much he was used to. It was her blood, covering the spikes on the strange armor, lingering on the ground, splattered on Tenseiga's hilt. It was her blood, the scent and taste of it, that made his eyes tint red as he bordered on transforming. But she was gone and until he knew where she was, he could not lose control.

Sesshoumaru twisted the sword lodged in Yasuo's side. "Where is she," he demanded, his voice low and thick with anger.

Yasuo yelled out in pain and fear. "With Eiji..he took her! She knew you were coming and he ran off with her with a lustful gleam in his eye! She's hurt, but it isn't my fault!" He explained, rambling on as if he could talk his way out of the inevitable. "I came after Eiji and he made her fight against me! I didn't know she was your ward, if I had I would never have attacked her!"

He pulled Toukijin from his side. "Wrong answer."

Yasuo paled. "But it's the truth! He took her, and he intends to have his way with her! He said she belonged to him since you didn't come for her! It's the truth! Onegai, onegai spare me!"

"DAMARE!"

Toukijin unleashed an explosive amount of energy that left nothing more than a crater in its wake. Sesshoumaru turned, following Rin's scent, and regretted, just for the smallest of moments, killing Yasuo so quickly.

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Iie: No -- Damare: Silence/shut up

Arrrgh: Beating around the bush is so much fun. Thanks for adding me to your lists, I really appreciate it!

Marry me. Bury me.: Well, if everyone is blushing, that just means that this story is at an even greater risk of being taken down. So making things a little less graphic would probably benefit everyone, hehe. As for Sesshoumaru being insecure...I'd rather call him very cautious. Pursuing a relationship -especially with a human- is very new to him, and I'm sure he doesn't want to get in too deep unless he knows the feeling is mutual.

deadlyabyss12: I think this chapter is fucking incredible too! This is by far my favorite chapter so far.

Verona: Kinks, beating around the bush, plot twists, and cliffhangers are a writers best friend.

Lilacskissgoodbye: I'm glad I've renewed you're faith in Sess/Rin pairing!

Shampoo-chan: I got your review on mediaminer. When I do place this story there, it will probably be changed, but not in a serious way. Any changes I do make will be for any and all grammar mistakes I didn't catch the first time around and maybe a few lines here and there. You can decide which one you want to use for the translation.

I'm sure everyone will agree that Eiji got what was coming to him, and Yasuo too. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I do! Love you all. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! If I reach 300, I'll pass out or something, because I am just overwhelmed by the popularity of this story.

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