Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the rest of the gang.
Rin rushed about her room, grabbing her meager things and stuffing them quickly into a satchel. She would escape. She would find a way to get to Lord Sesshomaru and they would leave this place. There was no way she would allow Lord Bassarious to kill him. Frantically she wiped the tears from her eyes and composed herself. The very lord she had worked alongside all these months to establish peace was now going to destroy it over a biased belief that Lord Sesshomaru had killed a human. Once she had believed in Lord Bassarious and his ideals. A world when demons and humans could live peacefully, as one. Why had she wanted so badly to believe such a world could exist?
"So Lord Sesshomaru would not be shamed by me...by us." she whispered to herself as she shoved her belongings down into the satchel and prepared to close it when a sound gave her pause.
"Rin!"
She frowned and looked around the room. It sounded as if a voice was hissing her name rather insistently. Who on earth?
"Rin! The window!"
"Jaken!"
With a shakey joyful laugh Rin ran to the small window and threw it open, nearly toppling the vassil from his perch on a stone beneath the window's sill. Before she could blink, Jaken scrambled madly into the room, falling to the floor, his staff coming down on his head.
"Close the window! Quickly!"
Rin did as the shaking vassil ordered, locking it securely before falling to her knees beside Jaken and scooping him up in a rare and spontaneous hug. Almost instantly Jaken began to protest and tried to shove her away before giving in and letting Rin embrace him. He could feel the girl's trembling and realized just how frightened she was.
"Jaken, what are you doing here! Lord Sesshomaru is going to be so cross with you! He and Lord Bassarious were ready to tear one another to pieces! They are accusing our lord of killing a human! What are we going to do? We must get to him and get out of here! Lord Bassarious won't hear a word of what I say." Rin whispered nervously, slowly releasing her tight hold.
"Lord Sesshomaru has already been caged like...like some beast!" Jaken spat as he brushed his clothing, "I cannot believe he would allow such a thing! None of this would have happened if you hadn't gone scampering off with that foolish human lord! I allowed Lord Sesshomaru out of my sight for only a few moments and look what has happened!"
"I 'scampered off with that foolish human lord' for my own reasons! Good reasons, I might add! That doesn't matter now, Jaken! We have to come up with a plan to get Lord Sesshomaru out of that cage without getting ourselves caught!"
"WE are going to do nothing! You are to get far from this place! Ah-Un smelled the human lord's men approaching the camp and we narrowly made our escape. Find the two headed beast and flee."
"No! I am not leaving here without Lord Sesshomaru and you. What made you two think you would come here without being seen? Lord Bassarious knows every blade of grass in these lands! He misses nothing."
"Well he must not be that clever, Rin, because he missed me slipping into the courtyard and to your window!" Jaken replied with a snort.
Suddenly, a pounding at the door caused Rin to scream and turn, expecting to see some unholy creature there. The door remained locked! Another round of fierce pounding came and this time the door groaned in protest. Jaken scrambled to his feet, ready with his staff to defend himself and Rin.
"Rin, open this damn door NOW!"
"Its Lord Bassarious!" she whispered loudly, looking around frantically for a place to hide herself and Jaken, "He cannot find you here! Its bad enough he has Lord Sesshomaru captured!"
"I can handle the likes of him!" Jaken protested, marching for the door.
He didn't make it far. Two steps and Rin snatched up the squat vassil and stuffed him, uncermoniously, into her satchel which she then quickly placed beneath the window. From inside she could hear Jaken's shouts of protest and see him struggling to get free but she shushed him with a hard poke to the bag.
"Its the best we can do for now, Master Jaken! Please, PLEASE don't make a sound or move a muscle. I don't wish to see you sharing Lord Sesshomaru's fate!" she pleaded softly before going to the door and unlocking it.
To her relief Jaken had quieted and before she could open the door herself, Lord Bassarious had shoved it open, causing Rin to stumble back. The look on the human lord's face was frightening enough but even more terrifying was the blade he held in a white knuckled fist. Cautiously, Rin took a retreating step for each of Lord Bassarious' approach. What had he done? He had Lord Sesshomaru caged but had he also commanded his execution?
"Why did you not listen? Why did you side with the dog over me! Have I not given you everything? A home, a place among your own kind? For weeks now, I have done all in my power to foster some feeling of love from you! I thought time away from that thing's influence would open your eyes but NO! He's a demon, you are a human! What future would you have together? NONE!" Bassarious raged, anger mottling his cheeks, "I knew he would follow you here! I saw the way he lusted for you! You fell into my hands so easily, I felt certain I could make you love me. That I could turn you against him before he ever showed his face in my lands! All my careful planning was destroyed because you refuse to see demons for what they are! Killers and a pestilence! And that dog is the worst of the lot!"
Rin swallowed hard but refused to back down any further. His careful planning? She dared not take her eyes from the incensed lord. She had known Lord Bassarious carried an unreasonable hatred for Lord Sesshomaru but she never knew it ran so deep. He had whispered words in her ear, tried filling her head with awful tales of the inuyoukai lord but she would hear none of it. Rin knew what her lord was trully like. She knew him better than anyone!
"I will have my war! I will eradicate every last demon from the earth! If you had just declared him guilty, Rin. If you had simply obeyed me, none of what is to come would be necessary! I lowered myself to bargaining with a filthy demon, buying him with all the game my lands had to offer in exchange for his killing one worthless stablehand! He followed that damn dog night and day until the bastard changed his course and came here! Here for his precious Rin! All I had to do was bide my time, turn your heart against him and then it would be such a simple matter to destroy the whelp! Well the blood of a human may not have stained the dog demon's hands but I have no such qualms!"
"Y...you used me as bait! You brought me here knowing Lord Sesshomaru would someday follow so you could trap him!" Rin cried out, her mind numb from the shock of just how elaborate the plan trully was, "You would accuse him of killing a human and then kill him in retaliation, thereby fueling the hatred in both the humans and the demons!"
Bassarious bowed with a mocking grin, "Indeed, my dear lady. I knew that pup out there could command the loyalty of every demon lord in the lands. He has always been the one to show those fools the way! But without him, they would be lost! Destroy the leader and chaos insues. And I have ever courted chaos!"
With that Bassarious slashed at Rin with the sword, narrowly missing her head as she ducked to avoid the blow. She had remembered Lord Sesshomaru's words of warning from long ago.
"Next time, Rin, duck and then run. A moving target is much harder to strike."
She knew she would have to apologize profusely to Master Jaken for what she was about to do but she had to get them both to safety. With Bassarious blocking the way to the door, she had no other choice. Grabbing up the satchel, Rin swung with all her might, sending the heavy leather satchel crashing through the window then sending it and its contents flying. Bassarious gave a wild battle cry and Rin shook her head as she got a running start for the window and muttered,
"Why do I only have cause to do such rash things when Lord Sesshomaru or Master Jaken are involved!"
Rin felt the rush of air as the sword once again narrowly missed her. With a yelp she ran as fast as she could and jumped, casting herself out through the ruined window and tumbling across the courtyard, narrowly missing crushing Jaken. It took a moment to get her bearings but her eyes locked with Bassarious' wild gaze as he came to the window. Moving quickly, Rin grabbed up the satchel and the few scattered belongings before Jaken was pulling hard on her arm.
"We must get to Lord Sesshomaru! Quickly!" Jaken shouted.
Utter chaos had broken out in the courtyard and horses were running wildly about. Men were shouting as the warning bells rang once again and above the din Rin could hear roaring. As she and Jaken began to run she looked back only once more to see Lord Bassarious looking to the skies and uttering a foul curse before disappearing from the window. The pounding of hooves shook the ground and Rin grabbed hold of Jaken's woolen kimono, yanking him to safety as the frightened horse ran by. Amidst all the confusion and noise, the two managed somehow to stay together. As they ducked quickly behind a wooden structure, Rin pressed the heel of her hand to a stitch in her side as she panted.
"What is going on? I don't understand! Is the great hall under attack!" she wheezed, daring to glance around the corner of the building.
"I am getting too old for such antics!" Jaken shrieked as from across the courtyard came an explosion, sending dirt, grass and men flying through the air, "It would appear the human lord has managed to anger a rather powerful enemy indeed!"
"Well his enemy could be our saving grace, Jaken! While the men are occupied defending the great hall we can free Lord Sesshomaru and be gone from here unnoticed!"
"The inuyoukai lord is already freed, dear girl, and is wreaking quite a bit of havoc, I might say."
Both Jaken and Rin screamed and scrambled to flee with Jaken quickly lifting his staff and preparing to unleash it fiery wrath on whomever had snuck up on them. He never had a chance to even threaten a soul with it. The staff was snatched from the vassil's grip even as Rin, herself, was lifted from the ground and thrown over a shoulder than dug into her sternum, knocking the wind from her. Stars exploded before her eyes as she felt her stomach lurch. Shoving herself up against the person's lowerback, Rin looked skyward as another explosion seemed to rock the very earth. Dragons! The skies were filled with them! The great beasts would alternately swoop down and send a breath of fire sweeping across the ground then reach down and pluck the terrified horses from the flames. Rin could only watch in horror as her precious mare was snatched up.
"Put her down this instant!" Jaken demanded as he jumped and tried to grab for his staff, "Insolent demon, release her!"
"I see you still have a lot to learn about being grateful, Jaken." a familiar voice chuckled, causing Rin to freeze.
"Lord Ishikawa!"
Rin struggled to glance at the demon holding her but was unable to see his face. Again came the warm chuckle as a shadow moved around to stand before her. Relief coursed through Rin as she saw the familiar face of the demon lord of the dragons. At least Lord Sesshomaru would have an ally!
"What are you doing here? How did you know...?" Rin shouted as another dragon swooped close by and its cry nearly defeaned her.
"Your inuyoukai lord and I had words a few weeks back, the day you left, in fact. Not exactly kind words, mind you. The young pup has always been full of stubborn pride but I got through to him. I warned him the human lord was not to be trusted, least of all with you and your safety. I know Sesshomaru well enough. One of my scouts has watched him for some time...and the demon that shadowed him as well. When I caught wind that the fool was coming here with only Jaken and the two headed beast, I figured trouble couldn't be far off. Put her down, Tashi."
Rin was able to breathe easier once on her own two feet again. Ishikawa gently took her arm and lead her and the others to a safer location. The metal cage which had held Lord Sesshomaru was now empty and Jaken began a frantic scan of the area for his lord as Ishikawa and Rin conversed.
"So...then if Bassarious was bargaining with demons behind my back...that means all of my peacebonds between the humans and the demons are null and void!" Rin gasped, her pride in all she had accomplished going up in smoke like the grasses around the great hall.
"I'm afraid so, my lady. Now the demon who watched Lord Sesshomaru did not act alone either. He was merely a puppet it would appear. He answered to yet another demon that Lord Bassarious probably wasn't even aware of. My scouts tell me the hapless fools nearly foiled Bassarious' plans. For a time, the demons believed you to be the target that Bassarious wished dead." Ishikawa explained, pulling Rin to him and shielding her from another blast as a dragon touched down in the courtyard and used the power of its tail to smash down a stone building that had stored weapons, scattering the newly made blades.
Rin's eyes widened. That day in the woods when she felt as if she were being watched. A shiver raced up her spine even recalling that day. How many time had she come close to death because of a pair of bumbling demons!
"You are not yet out of danger, my lady. The demons are still loose. In fact, one of them is responsible for setting Lord Sess--" Ishikawa paused in his response long enough to lift Rin up and jump back as suddenly a massive form seemed to block out the night sky, "For setting Lord Sesshomaru here free!"
Turning in the dragon demon lord's arms Rin's eyes seemed to travel forever upwards. Her mouth slowly fell open even as Jaken, hidden behind Ishikawa's legs, began to shout in relief at the sight of their lord. The white dog was rivaled in size only by the dragons who worked in unison with it. The familiar purple crescent moon between the dog's blood red eyes marked it as the Lord of the Western Lands. Despite being in his true form, even though he could not speak with her, Rin would have sworn she heard his voice in her head.
"This Sesshomaru came for you, Rin."
Rin smiled weakly, a laugh and a sob mixed together came from her lips as she could only nod. He always had. She never had doubted him. The relief was short lived. Men were fleeing into the fields, away from the fires but a lone figure seemed to emerge from the flames themselves and Rin became rooted to the spot. Bassarious approached, the blonde of his hair now marred with soot as was his face. It was as if he saw no one except Lord Sesshomaru. The all consuming hatred that blazed in his eyes gave them a gleem of madness. Ishikawa swiftly shoved Rin behind himself and Tashi came and put his back to Rin's, the two forming a barrier around her. The human lord smirked and slowly cracked his neck, the length of his sword resting on his shoulder. He looked up into the inuyoukai lord's eyes and did not flinch.
"Lets make this fair, shall we, dog? Put away the demon sized canine teeth and fight me, man-to-man. Unless of course you lack the skills or backbone to do so."
Ishikawa whistled low, "I'll give the human lord this much, he has more nerve than I."
"All that nerve must make up for his lack of intelligence!" Jaken sniffed, thumping the tip of his returned staff on the smoldering ground. "Why would Lord Sesshomaru return to his other form and fight when he can simply reach down now and bite the fool in two?"
"Because the taste of human on my tongue would make me ill, Jaken." Sesshomaru replied with a humorless chuckle as he did, in fact, revert back to his own human form.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whew! Okay, I imagine a few people are a bit confused here. Basically, everyone here had someone watching them from the shadows. The two demons were watching Rin, thinking it was her Bassarious wished dead. In a part I probably should have put in the story (but I didn't want to give it away that they were in cahoots with Bassarious) was that the human lord clarified who he wished dead and when. And in a way I guess I sorta did. I just didn't tell you all who was talking. But, to clarify, this conversation:
"Choose one for slaughter."
"Any one I want?"
"Any one you want. Just be sure the discovery comes quick. Time to plant some suspicions."
The sound of hastily retreating feet was mixed with a low chuckle and the rubbing together of hands.
Well that was between Bassarious and the demon who killed the stablehand. Just remember, this all comes off the top of my head as I type so I may make the occasional SNAFU. MY BAD! LOL
Annnnnnnnd on a real life note: From Wednesday to Sunday I won't be doing any updating to this story. I'm getting myself married on Saturday so the days before are going to be insane with company! Then Sunday I'm going to be recovering! lol