Raising the Phoenix

Summary - Death overtakes the creature, but a flicker of hope remains.

Disclaimer - It's not like they hand out ownership for anime in Wisconsin, you know.

Rating - "Z"

Author Rant - Alright, when the fuck did I turn retarded? First, I mis-post a chapter (Thank you, Flame of The Miko for pointing that out to me, this chapter is dedicated to you for your help) then I forget the Review Responses (Thank you Miss Krux for pointing that out - this goes out to you as well.) MY BRAIN'S TURNED TO COTTON! Anyway, thank you to everyone for putting up with my idiocy, and a big thank you going out to AKA Hummer for some totally awesome reviews. You made my, totally awful-lock myself in the bathroom and cry-terrible day very much brighter... this chapter is also dedicated to you.

Chapter 5 - Like Humpty Dumpty

Her arms were heavy - so were her eyelids. She fought to open them, to make sure that the scary man had gone away - to see that her Sesshoumaru had her once more. She could feel the fear coil in her tummy, she didn't like the dark. The dark was scary.

A warm hand perched on her forehead, and a soft voice spoke to her. They were kind, sweet words, but they were meaningless... where was her Sesshoumaru?

"Rin, lie still." His voice! He'd found her! All movement ceased, the panic drained from her.

Yet, the hand did not leave. Instead, it patted her head, caressing her hair. She decided she liked it. It was nice. So, with all the inherent stubbornness of a child, she set her mind upon opening her eyes to the world.

The first thing she saw was her Sesshoumaru, tall, white, calm. He was standing right in front of her, golden eyes trained on her. Jaken had told her many times that one glance from the Taiyoukai would send the lesser demons scrambling, but she could not understand why they would fear him. Though she was young, she could see the quiet care in his eyes. She knew she'd worried him, and she was very sorry. She'd have to remember to apologize.

Sitting next to her was a girl. She was pretty, long black hair, gentle brown eyes - and she was smiling too, but somehow she seemed sad. She touched the girl's face, surprising her, but Rin was not shaken, "Do not be sad."

Lastly, there was a little boy, younger than she was, staring at her. He was holding a rumpled looking flower. She was instantly interested. "Oh! Can I see?"

He sat next to her and handed the blossom over. A little shriek of happiness came from her, and she immediately began to twirl the pretty flower between her fingers. Such a nice boy to bring her such a pretty flower.

Kagome touched her cheek in wonder as the little girl chattered amicably with Shippo. How had she known? How had she seen? From day to day Kagome tried to hide her feelings of helplessness, her despair from her companions, yet one little girl, barely awake, who didn't know her at all saw right through her.

She felt vulnerable all of the sudden, like a super hero might if some one discovered their secret identity. She hadn't wanted anyone to know that she how her fears plagued her, but one little child had let it all out. Unreal.

She supposed she might be angry about it, but she wasn't. In fact, the strangest part was she was comforted. Rin didn't seem to notice the affect of her actions, and yet Kagome couldn't help but feel her spirits lighten, if only the tiniest bit. Bill Cosby was right - kids do say the darndest things.

Ever the patient tactician, Sesshoumaru watched his prey. His actions had to be fluid. His story must ring true - nothing could betray his intentions, for if they did, his plan would fail. It would take meticulous planning, he knew, and in an odd way, he found himself anticipation the challenge. It had been a long time since a hunt had been this interesting.

Though he himself kept his emotions locked away, it didn't mean he didn't understand them. It was essential to being a predator, you had to know what your prey was thinking. It was vital to a warrior, to predict your opponent's next move. He had seen it clearly, the miko's heart had been broken, her spirit smashed. It had left her aura weak, he doubted the miko could sense anything in her state.

His brother had betrayed her, that much he knew. And though he'd never fashioned himself an expert in relationships, he knew that there was not much he could do to fix that situation. Not that he particularly wanted to. No - his eyes were set on a different goal. He planned to seduce the miko's affections.

The thought made his skin crawl, but the challenge drew him. To completely fool the miko, make her... love him, then use her reawakened powers to kill Naraku. It was a daunting task. But there were so many benefits to the plan... not to mention the irritation he could cause the hanyou in the duration of their uneasy truce. Very tempting indeed.

Not to mention that the farce was only temporary. Why should he care if the girl's heart was shattered once the lie had played out? He would go back to the western lands and leave it all behind. Yes, as soon as his goal is met, he could wash his hands of the whole ordeal. The thought pleased him.

Yes, this plan would work perfectly.

There was only so much a man could take. Everyday Inuyasha had to watch as Kagome withered. Everyday he had to wonder if Kikyo was going to betray his again to Naraku. Everyday he had to pace across Japan, slaying nearly every demon they encountered to collect jewel shards. And now he had to play nice with his asshole of a brother? Oh, he'd been patient for the first day, watching, waiting for his brother to strike - the anticipation had damn near made him crazy! And the second day, well, the second day, he'd not liked the way the ass had watched Kagome.

But now the kid was better, she could go home and his brother could get gone. Just in time too, 'cuz he was really beginning to chafe. He growled loudly from his perch in the tree, "Get out Sesshoumaru - the kid's better, now go the fuck away."

All eyes in the clearing snapped to him, even Rin's and Shippo's. His bastard brother looked calm, and it grated. Kagome looked pissed, Miroku and Sango just looked shocked. Oh poor them, he'd interrupted their kissy face time. Oh darn. Screw everything else, it was time to get back to work, time to get back to some kind of normalcy. Inuyasha just couldn't take it anymore.

He should have known, though. Kagome really didn't like it when he swore in front of Shippo, and now he just did it in front of some strange kid. He was not surprised when she yelled sit. Just really pissed off.

The spell hurt enough when he was standing. It hurt ten times worse from the tree, but the part of him that ached the most was his pride, the fact that his brother now knew of the spell, and knew that Inuyasha was at the mercy of Kagome. It killed him.

"God damned bitch."

Yeah, he'd expected another sit for that, instead he got a clawed hand digging into his back, lifting him from the crater Kagome had just caused with his body. Sesshoumaru hoisted him like a puppy, his eyes cold and narrowed. "You will not use such language in front of my charge. And you will not refer to Kagome in such a manner. She is a miko, and your only hope of defeating Naraku. Do not belittle her."

He was dropped suddenly, the ground rushing to meet him once more, but this time, he barely felt it. In fact, the only thing he could register at that point was shock. Since when did Sesshoumaru care anything about how a human was treated?

Review Responses(For real this time)

Isis of the Underground - Well, I'm glad you liked it, and don't even worry about the short term memory thing - I have to re-read my note and the whole damn story every time I go to write... I'm right there with you in that boat.

Silver Quick - -bing bing bing- You rule. I figured since I let it slip last chapter, I can tell you you're right this time. Yay for you, you win!

Lexia Riddle - Well thank you. That means a lot. I think that's the challenge with writing an alternate pairing - convincing the reader to believe that what I say is true other than the show. I'm really glad I'm pulling it off. Thank so much!

Miss Krux - So many thank you's, I really appreciate the note about the review responses and the reviews. It means a lot to me that people care enough to drop me a line, and it really warms my heart to hear from them time and time again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

KitsuneMistressoftheYoukai - Your wish is my command, thanks for reviewing!

AKA Hummer - -whispers- I hope you didn't get busted for reading at work, that would suck. But seriously, you turned a completely bad day upside down for me. Thank you so much. I'm glad your liking the story and you're digging the cute parts. I know I giggle when I imagine Shippo petting Rin, and trust me, there's more on the way.

ctt - I hope these last few chapters have answered some of your questions, and thank you so much for your kind words. I get really nervous when I write - I mean, it sounds good to me, but so does Hanson, for pete's sake. I'm really glad you like it.

ShadowGodessesInc - Yay! I'm glad you like it. And I totally get you on the 'Kagome runs away stories'. I mean, don't get me wrong, their cliche for a reason - its really sweet, but I decided to take a different path, glad you like it. The pace should be picking up now a bit. I think I've managed to set up enough to get the ball rolling on the plot. (Oh yes, I'm even going to have one of those!) Thank you for the praise, I'm serious when I say it made me blush.

Flame of the Miko - Well. That was mighty embarrassing, but thanks for pointing it out. I was able to fix it quickly. I hope you like the new chapter - you know, the one that was supposed to be posted. ; )

Anonymous - Done and Done. Thanks for dropping me a line.

T - I thought maybe I should email your response to you, but I didn't want you to feel left out. Your review was great, no time wasting at all. And I understand what you mean about the regular plot lines of SxK's. I just wanted to try something different, I'm happy you're diggin' it.

Exunamoon - -cowers in fear- I updated like a good little girl. See?

Soulful ice - Thank you!

Bluediamond-hime - Thanks, I'm very happy you like it!

To all my wonderful, patient, helpful, and kind reviewers, you rock my socks. Thank you all so very much!