A/N: All Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi!

The Long Awaited Adventure

by Ivaliny

Chapter 9

"The Lord of Mondlicht's True Form"

The three found a big enough shelter for all of them to fit in, except AhUn's tail was stick out of the hut, but he didn't mind. Sesshoumaru sat in a corner while Jaken started a fire, gathering some of the chopped logs from a pile in the front entrance. Sesshoumaru found it very odd at how deserted and empty the village felt. It was even darker, giving it an eerie, nightmarish feel, which he didn't mind, except for the fact that something didn't seem right.

Outside of the village, the demon aura and human destruction was so strong, it was even making him sick, yet as they walked towards the village, the aura dwindled to almost nothing, and no human scents lingered, not even the ones that were supposed to be left clinging to clothes or mats. It was almost as if everyone just disappeared. There weren't even any horses are farm animals around. While examining the hut they had found to be the largest, they saw other traces of unfinished sewing, cooking, and clothes in piles beside their unfinished tasks. But still, there were no scents of anything, but a very faint demonic aura, even he almost missed it. The only scent he could really pick up were those of his companions and the coming storm. The situation was unsettling to him. He pondered more on it as he crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. What demon could have done this? And if it wasn't a demon, then why were there clothes sitting piles in front of daily random, unfinished tasks.

Something else was unsettling to him. Actually it was Rin. The very thought of her out there in the forest, unable to defend herself, put a sickening feeling deep down at the bottom of his stomach. Why did she leave him at such a horrible time? The rain poured down harder above them. The sickening feeling grew more powerful as he realized he was the one who told her to leave. He lowered his head, furrowing his eyebrows even more as he wondered how far she had traveled in the rain. He even wondered if he should go look for her, but he slowly shooed that idea out of the way. He didn't want to care for her; not even a little bit, so the best thing to do was ignore her.

He changed his thoughts towards Warrik and his future plans of action. He could still find the castle with his keen sense of smell and tracking abilities he was blessed with, but he soon realized that once he would arrive, he still wouldn't know where Tenoh's sacred sword was. He cursed Miroku under his breath. Miroku was gone, and now he had no way of finding it. Well, there was still a small chance that his brother and the sorcerer were still alive, but those chances were ridiculously slim. Even though Miroku was gone, he could still find the sword, would just be harder. The wizard had said one thing that could help him, which caused a slight smirk across his still face. The sword was out in the open, which would make finding it a little less difficult.

Thinking about the sword and Miroku, led his thoughts back to Rin. Maybe she wont be stupid, and come back to find me. He mentally shook his head, No, she'll be stupid.

The demon towered over her with a perverted, hungry stare. Her eyes were wide and her lips trembled in fear, which the demon seemed to enjoy. Soon more demons circled around her, smirking and snarling. Her body went cold as she froze in fear, breathing quickly as her heartbeat echoed in her ears. The demon bent down, moving a clawed finger up her leg. He licked his lips hungrily, and she let out a startled gasp, scrambling to get away from him. He growled at her frantic retreat, and quickly grabbed a clawed hand forcefully around her leg. She let out a scream as he jerked her towards him, painfully wrapping his hands around her arms, digging into her flesh. Rin cried, pleading for him to stop, while kicking and trying to pull herself away, wishing she wasn't so far away from Sesshoumaru. She had traveled too far away, so all hope in a rescue was lost to her.

Sesshoumaru knew something was very wrong as he thought more about Rin. He had a hard weight deep within that pounded furiously again him as horrible mental images of Rin, helpless and defenseless, attacked his mind. She was probably too far away for him to hear her, and the rain clouded her scent, so trying to find her was useless. He took in a deep breath, closed his mind, and focused on the sounds around him, because maybe there was still a chance for him to hear her.

He listened through the crackling fire, through the pitter patter against the wooden walls, through the thunderous booms, through the howling wind, until he heard something interesting. At first he thought it was just the wind, so he concentrated harder. His eyes widened in shock. It was a scream. It was a very faint, so faint in fact, that he almost missed it. It was Rin's scream.

Rin pulled harder and harder, still trying to get out of the demon's grasp as his companions watched, growling and sneering with excitement. Because it was raining, the demon dug his claws into her flesh, and every time she would wiggle about the claws would slip, and he would dig in even deeper, causing her to cry out in pain. He roughly pulled her closer, breathing rank breath upon her skin.

"What are you doing out here all alone in the rain?" he growled with amusement. "Don't you know there are demons in this forest?" His companions laughed maliciously. Rin looked away crying. "I'm so hungry." With that, he bent his head and bit into her shoulder as sharp fangs pierced her skin while blood trickled down her arm. She let out another pained, blood curdling scream. He kept digging his teeth in until the ground began to shake.

The demon removed his teeth and looked about curiously as the ground shook again, this time louder and closer. The sound of trees crackling and crashing to the ground was heard in the distance. Something big, something very big, was making it's way towards them. A monstrous growl was heard above them as big, sparkling, white fangs gleamed over head. The demons around Rin gasped, screamed, and ran, horrified by what they saw. The demon holding Rin held on tighter, watching dumbfounded as the monster bent down it's massive head, eating three of his companion in one chomp.

After all of the fleeing demons were in the belly of the monster, digesting in it's foul juices, it focused it's attention on Rin and her demon captor. The monster watched the two with large gray eyes as it moved forward, and Rin's brown eyes widened, finally seeing how the monster truly looked. It was a giant, menacing, werewolf type demon that towered far above the trees on four massive legs. The demon holding onto her made a slight gasp, horrified by the large demon in front of him. Out of fear and flight for survival, the demon threw Rin a few feet away, crashing her up against a tree's large trunk, and ran away as far and as fast as he could. Rin crumpled to the muddy forest floor, her vision going blurry as her forehead pounded above her eyes. She moved a hand to her forehead and realized that not only was water dripping down her face, but warm blood as well. The demon didn't get far away when he tripped in the mud, and through blurry vision, Rin saw the monster open it's large mouth and eat the demon.

Rin struggled to get up with her head pounding, shoulder burning, as she stumbled face down into the mud. The monster looked at her with a mischievous, humorous smirk. He reached out a large, clawed paw towards her. She screamed, crawling clumsily in the mud, when a massive claw snagged her leg, dragging her towards the monster, then letting go. The pain from the wound on her leg was excruciating. She struggled to get farther away, the wound on her leg sending shockwaves of a piercing pain through her body. The paw came back, this time catching her on her side, pushing her away from him. He was playing with her. She was being played with like a mouse being attacked by a cat. From fear and pain, she froze, which the monster found highly enjoyable. He was having fun.

The world around her became even more blurry. She was about to black out when a sudden whip of green light flashed across her vision, and the monster let out a thunderous roar as blood spattered from its arm. Someone was standing above her. It was Sesshoumaru, soaking wet with water dripping down his bangs, looking up at the monster with an indifferent glare. Rin gave a pained moan, and Sesshoumaru bent down beside her.

"Don't faint on me, human," he said with an annoyed growl. He quickly picked her up with one arm and leapt into the air before the monster's paw came down for a counter attack.

When he had arrived, he was suripsed to see she was still alive, and thankful that the monster was still playing. He set her down on a sloped, fallen tree trunk, and hadn't realized how injured she was until she moaned his name.

The monster came back and swiped at Sesshoumaru before he could turn around. Claws ripped across Sesshoumaru's chest, pulling off his armor, and leaving deep gashes. It wasn't often he let a demon get the best of him. This demon was fast for his size, he admitted, but he was faster. The monster gnashed his teeth towards Sesshoumaru as his whip snapped across the demon's face, blood splattering everywhere. The rain poured down even harder.

Rin lifted her head at the sound of the large demon's distress. Sesshoumaru moved about striking like a snake with his whip, but the demon was equally as fast. It infuriated him at how weak he had truly become. He wasn't even badly injured. He had much worse injuries than the ones he had acquired, yet this demon was getting the best of him, and he really didn't want to resort to his last option. Of course, before when he was fighting a large demon like this, he wasn't protecting anyone, but that shouldn't make any different now. He was getting annoyed, and wanted this duel to end quickly. He had to use his last option to make it quick.

Sesshoumaru leapt forward towards the monster who gnashed out towards him, not equally annoyed with the demon lord. Sesshoumaru moved to the left, dodging the attack as his hand glowed the same green as the whip, and shoved it into the monster's throat as far as he could. Warm flesh disintegrated around him as the monster swung its head back and forth trying to get him off. He pulled his arm out viciously, and leapt to the ground. He ran towards Rin and spun around quickly to face the writhing demon. She stood up and limped towards him, but something about him made her stop.

He was facing his back towards her, but something was happening to him. His back arched as he looked upwards, a deep growl vibrated deep inside him. Rin gasped at his eyes. They were turning blood red, and he let out a powerful roar. She took a stop back, confused and scared, while his face began to elongate and his fangs grew larger and more sharp. His whole facial features began to change. A fog great around him, even engulfing Rin, but she quickly scampered away. The fog was so think that Sesshoumaru was hidden, and the fog grew upwards towards the dark sky as the ground began to shake ferociously.

Rin stared upwards in horror as the fog dissipated, leaving a gigantic, ferocious, snarling white dog. It towered over her, it's tail twitching in agitation as it gave the monster a nasty snarl. She was confused. Who was this monster? But then she saw the crescent moon on his forehead, she stared with disbelief and awe. It was Sesshoumaru, and he was in his true demon form. She often remembered Miroku talking about demons who looked like humans often hid their true forms, because they usually had no reason to use their demon forms. They were already powerful enough without it. She knew Sesshoumaru was a strong demon, but she did wonder what his true form was. He was a ferocious, white dog demon.

Sesshoumaru rolled his head back with a large growl. Even though he was missing his left front leg, he stood strong and fierce. The monster began lifting its left front leg, and made a sneering snarl. The monster was mocking Sesshoumaru. The need to kill over took Sesshoumaru, but the need different than all of the other times. His blood thirst was being distracted, but by what? He didn't know, and he didn't care. He tried his best to ignore it, but it still loomed over him. For some reason, over the pounding of his fierce demon blood, he knew that if he used hi next attack something would go terribly wrong. Maybe it was because of the distraction that was fighting in the back of his mind. This was very odd to him. Usually when he was in this form, nothing but the thoughts of bloodshed and dominance vibrated through his whole body, so this distraction was something he was not used to. Also when he was in this form, the world he knew before vanished from his memory, or at least it was supposed to. What could it be? He wondered to himself, but before he could ponder on it longer, the wolf beast lunged forward and attacked the distracted, three-legged dog with its monstrous teeth. Luckily though, Sesshoumaru was fast at dodging the teeth and barreled over the trees for a better position. This dance and destruction of the forest in the pouring rain continued on longer, until Sesshoumaru pushed the nagging feeling aside and used his most fatal attack.

He crouched down as much as he could with his one front leg and opened his mouth. A sizzling, green gas poured out of his mouth as he wafted it about with his head. The smell was sickening to Rin, and her heart quickened its pace as the gas moved slowly her way. The fumes reached the wolf-monster first, and it began to cough and gasp for air as the gas invaded its longs. Rin's eyes widened, realizing the fumes were poisonou, and were killing the monster. The monster hit the ground hard as Sesshoumaru continued wafting his fatal gas, which was growing even closer to Rin. Her injury on er her leg made it harder for her to get away. She let out a high pitched scream, as she stumbled, slipping, through the mud to get away from the poison.

A scream echoed through his ears, and before he could identify it, he had already turned back into his former self. It was only after he had changed back, did he realize the scream was from Rin. He looked about in the poisonous fog that he had created, and finally spotted her at the edge of it. He had to move fast. Another second and the poison would reach her fragile, human body. The fumes were already making her weaker, he noted, as a slight disgust of the fact entered his thoughts, but he quickly ignored it and leapt with in human power towards her rescue.

She had passed out once again, and the demon lord had come to her rescue. She awoke in a hut that was glowing from the fire in the middle of the one and only room. AhUn was curled up around her and Jaken and Sesshoumaru were at the other side of the room sitting quietly, which was weird for Jaken. Rin had noticed, in a very short time, that Jaken loved to hear himself speak, so his silence left her a little uneasy. She moved a bit and realized, though it wasn't as much as before, that she was in a lot of pain, and someone had bandaged her biggest wounds. Looking over at Sesshoumaru, she blushed. He looked back at her, tightened his crossed arms, and lifted his head as his nose stook up high in the air with his indifferent, snooty, attitude, which she was first accustomed with.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked him.

"A couple of hourse."

The hut fell silent, making her nervous. "Is it still raining?" she asked, trying to strike up a conversation, but he only ignored her. She sighed and laughed at herself. "I guess that was stupid question, sorry," she muttered softly to herself.

Once again the room fell silent, except for Jaken's occasional mutterings to himself that were quickly scolded by Sesshoumaru. They all sat like that for an hour. The memory of that day's events playing through their minds. She was surprised Sesshoumaru had gone looking for her, and had come to her rescue. She was embarrassed to think of the stupid mistake she had made that day, which made the uneasiness in the room unbearable.

"Thank you," she said finally. He looked down at her, and she went on. "Thank you for rescuing me today," she paused,"and I'm sorry for the inconvenience I had caused you."

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but be surprised. No one had ever thanked him, saying they were sorry, and actually meant it, but he could tell she really did. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was at least a little bit worried about her. The wounds she had received caused her to lose quite a bit of blood. He watched her try and sit up, but her leg injury shot a jolt of pain through her body, and he frowned.

The rain still pitter pattered across the roof. The storm still hadn't let up. He stood up and walked out of the hut before Rin could protest his leaving. She watched the flap swish back and for in bewilderment. His sudden exit left her a bit concerned, and noting Jaken's reaction, he was just as confused. But she didn't think long on it when another tight, jabbing ache in her leg shot up her back. She sighed, remembering just how horrifying the whole experience was, and how pathetically weak she was. She didn't even try to protect herself, all she did was try to run away. Realization that she had a long way to go in her training, and how short of a time she actually had to do so, sickened her. Now, her new injuries made her destination of Augapfel even farther away. She was no math against Warrik, especially not now, and she is the only one who could save Princess Kagome and Efeu.

Depression set in on her already weak heart. Remembering the way Sesshoumaru had suddenly left the hut, she wondered if she had said too much. Now, she wished she could take back her apology, worried that she had somehow offended him. What if she had made him angry? What if he wouldn't come back? No, he wouldn't have rescued me to just leave me alone, would he have?, she wondered.

As if to set her mind as ease, the hut flap opened and a wet Sesshoumaru came walking in. His face was blank, emotionless, as droplets of water dripped down his silver bangs and face. He didn't even blink them back, he just let them drip into his eyes. Rin wanted to smile or let out a big sigh of relief at his return, but she was too weary. He sat himself back down in the spot he was sitting in before, crossed his legs, and unfolded a large leaf with a sigh. Jaken looked at his lord, opened his mouth, but quikcly shut it in fear of his master's glare. Sesshoumaru put a few leaves of some plant in his mouth and began cheweing as the droplets of water from his thick silver hair streamed down his face.

"You went out into the rain to eat leaves?" Rin asked curiously.

Sesshoumaru looked over at her with his normal, bored expression and quickly spit out the leaves, now a mushy gloop, onto the large leaf. It was so fast that she almost missed it all together. "You're in pain aren't you?" he asked before stuffing more of the leaves into his mouth.

"Well, yes," she replied. Of course she was in pain. She was a human chew toy. He said nothing and did nothing but chew and spit. Rin watched him wondering what his next move was to be, as he was lost in his own world. Occasionally he would frown and she wondered if the leaves tasted bad. He wasn't thinking about the leaves, although they did taste bad, but more on what he had just discovered as he sniffed out the plants. He knew now why there were no villagers, and he wasn't happy about it at all. There was now a new threat that surrounded them, but thankfully the threat didn't want to come near him. That was a good thing for sure, but he was worried the threat be get bored waiting in the rain.

He finally finished chewing and spitting, picked up the masticated mash of leaves and saliva set on the large leaf and stood up, walking over to Rin. She stared up at him with large, curious brown eyes as he kneeled down beside her. He set the leaf down and looked at her a bit uneasy. Waiting patiently for his next move, she watched his eyebrows move up and down with what looked like frustration. Without warning he quickly opened up the sleeping bag, which made Rin gasp in horror and surprise, reaching weakling for the warm protection she just lost. Quickly, but gently, he began to unbandage the wound on her leg.

"What are you doing?" She asked panicked slightly, as he cleaned her wound and began to apply the masticated plant to her injuries. He stared intently at the wounds, trying desperately not to look at the rest of her bare legs. An almost animalistic instinct in him wanted to look, but at the same time the though nauseated him to no end. After all, she was only human.

"It will help your wounds heal faster," he simply stated. She let out a silent "oh" and sighed with relief. Actually, looking at him now, she felt really bad for him. She had caused him so much trouble, and now he was mending her wounds. She wanted him to stop. He had already done so much for her, even risking his own life, yet she knew how much he despised humans. So why did he save her? Why was he helping her at all? If he hated humans so much, why help her? He gently rubbed the burning ointment upon her wounds. She wanted to tell him to stop, and let her do it herself, but the soft, gentle circular motions were to calming to ignore.

Looking into his flowing, golden eyes that flickered from the dancing fire, she noticed that his intent stare wasn't as cold and heartless looking as all of the other times he stared at her. Remembering what Inuyasha had told her, she realized that Sesshoumaru was much different than the stories his half brother told her. Inuyasha made him sound like he was a cold, heartless bastard, actually, those were his words exactly, who only thought of himself and no one else. Maybe Inuyasha never tried to get to know the real Sesshoumaru. She smiled faintly, and Sesshoumaru was surprised by the sudden change of emotion on her pale face as he finished bandaging up the wound on her leg.

What is it that makes Sesshoumaru act the way he does? She still wondered to herself. He was full of mystery. He hides everything inside him, so that nothing can come out. The real Sesshoumaru was probably locked away deep inside his soul years ago. Oh well, she didn't mind his mysterious masquerade. Actually, she enjoyed it. There were always unexplainable mysteries around the world, which is what got her so interested into the paranormal. The mystery of the "real Sesshoumaru" was something she was ready for, and the cracking of his had shell is what she waited for.

She was staring at him with her soft, brown eyes, which made his stomach flip flop and his face and hand grew hot and sweaty our of nervousness. He had no idea why the look she was giving him was making him act so strange, so he tried to ignore it, which seemed almost impossible, and leaned forward to get the part of the mending he loathed the most: her shoulder. It was much easier when she was unconscious, though he kept her modesty even then, the fact that he now had to do it while she was awake made him even more nervous and soon a red tint marked his cheeks. It was too hard for him to suppress. He felt tense and awkward, wishing there was something to break her stare so he could get on with the task before him.

As if to answer his wish, something behind his bloodied kimono swung forward and hit Rin right in the middle of her forehead in shimmer, silver glory. She immediately winced, bringing her good hand to her forehead. His eyes widened in shocked, disbelief, stopping the swinging object from hitting her a second time.

"Ow," Rin whined, rubbing the limp on her head,"that hurt!"

He held the object in his hand, disbelieving what he was touching. He couldn't help but smirk. Rin watched Sesshoumaru, amazed at the look of joy on his face, and the way his eyes tenderly looked up and down the necklace around his neck. It was almost as if he were looking at the pendant for the first time. She still rubbed the growing red lump on her forehead, and began to laugh. Jaken looked at her with annoyance, and AhUn watched in animalistic curiosity.

"I guess that was pay back for hitting you with the stick,"she laughed, ignoring all the pain it caused her.

Sesshoumaru wasn't listening to her. He was too transfixed and memorized by the pendant in his hand. Then he did the unexpected: he chuckled. At first it sounded like an awkward cough, but he did again and agian, louder and louder, until his body shook with each gutteral vibration. Rin quickly stopped her own laughing and stared at the silver-haired demon beside her in disbelief. Jaken watched, jaw opened, letting out a strange gwuaking noise at his lord's strange and out-of-character behavior. Even AhUn sat up, ears straight, with large, wide eyes.

Soon the demon realized his company's stares were all on him. He looked at the three, cleared his throat, and resumed his famous stoic expression. Jaken was still in shock, sputtering out incoherent words as Rin smiled.

"That was unexpected," she giggled," so what is that object that exacted its revenge upon my forehead?" she teased.

"A family heirloom," he answered as he gently pulled away the top of her clothing. She blushed uncontrollably. He was so close she could feel his calm breaths on her neck. He tried desperately to concentrate on the wound instead of her blushing cheeks. It was awkward for both of them, especially him. He could sense her eyes on his left arm again, he found she often stared at this vacancy where his left arm should be, and wished for something, anything to break their awkward silence. He even went as far as to wish that Jaken would start rambling on about the usual boring stuff that he often ignored. He want anything but the silence.

"And a family heirloom makes you laugh?" she asked, obviously still amused by his before behavior. Sesshoumaru winced, and mentally pleaded that the before wish was taken back. He wanted anything other than this topic.

"No," he replyed simply, hoping it would detour her away from the question that would eventually lead to a dread topic: family. Actually, the only reason he had laughed to begin with, was because he forgot he was wearing it. He thought that the pendant was destroyed with everything else he had owned. He thought everything his father owned and honored dearly was destroyed. Normally he wouldn't wear the pendant anywhere, but he remembered the reason why he wore it. It was to rub in Inuyasha's face. He laughed because not everything of his father was lost. Now he treasured the heirloom, and a small flicker of hope surfaced. Maybe his father and his own honor wasn't totally lost.

"It's very impressive," Rin stated with admiration for the intricate pendant. It lightly swung near her chin as Sesshoumaru made the circular motions on her wounded shoulder, so she saw every beautiful detail that shimmered and sparkled against the warm fire. It was on a long, twisted, silver chain that seemd to sparkle like magic on it's own, but the most beautiful part was the crescent shaped jewel, which was cut so perfect that it looked as if it were alive. The jewel was a deep purple that was probably the most beautiful purple she had ever seen. It reminded her of the crescent moon on Sesshoumaru's own forehead that was now covered by his silver bangs.

Sesshoumaru intended on leaving the subject alone, but he spoke before he could stop himself. "The Mondlicht Pendant is probably one of the most valuable possessions in my family. It was created thousands of hears ago when a precious stone was found in a cave deep in the Mondlicht Mountains. It is so rare, it's the only stone of it's kind. A demon that was known for his remarkable powers in jewelry making, made the pendant for my great grandfather. It's said that the pendant will give my family great power, fortune, and luck. This is the only thing I have left of my family's legacy. "

Hearing Sesshoumaru tale of the pendant, and how sincere he was, it reminded her of her own family and friends in Barnesby, and wondered if they missed her at all. For the first time since she had arrived in this strange world, she missed them, but her homesickness lasted only for a short time. The soft gentle touch of Sesshoumaru's clawed hand on her shoulder brought her gently back to the present.

"You were close to your family?" she asked. "To be honest, I never had a strong connection to my own. I've always felt somewhat alone."

"I guess you can say I was, or at least until Inuyasha's birth," he answered looking for the first time from her wound to her face. He was surprised that when he did so, that he realized she was quite beautiful. He never thought a human could be, but the way her unruly, unkept brown hair sprawled around her creamy skin, and how her eyes shone like soft, polished, brown stones in a clear creek, she looks so pretty. Of course he has seen a few beautiful demon women, but in the firelight, Rin was ten times more beautiful than even them. He was embarrassed by these new thoughts, and he even began to sweat as his stomach did more flip flops. What has this human woman done to me?

"You don't like Inuyasha, do you? I mean I gathered that since you two fought all the time," she paused, staring at his eyes there were back upon her shoulder," I guess what I'm trying to ask is, why do you hate him so much, other than the fact that he is half human?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, but didn't answer. She looked away, ashamed and embarrassed for asking such a personal question. He finished bandaging her shoulder and sta back on his knees. Already, the ointment was making her feel much better. It sort of tingled around on the skin.

"I'm sorry," she replied softly.

"I don't like Inuyasha, because his perfect blood is tainted." Rin looked away, even more embarrassed, because she also was tainted in his eyes.

One again, he wanted to leave the topic, but his mouth kept going. "After Inuyasha was born, my father spent less time with me, avoided his duties as a lord, and brought weakness into our family. His love for a human weakened him, and he died for it."

"I'm sorry," she spoke sincerely," so you were jealous of Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru looked away into the fire," No."

Rin frowned," But that still doesn't explain why you hate him. There is a reason for everything, Sesshoumaru." She was not touching, touchy territory.

"I just hate him."

"No you don't," Rin replied.

Sesshoumaru snorted,"What gives you the authority to say such things? You're inferior to me, so what makes you think you can tell me what I hate, and what I don't hate?"

"It's simple," Rin sighed,"If you can't think of any reasons to hate him, then you don't, which means there is another reason for your hostility towards your brother."

Sesshoumaru was getting annoyed. He hated this topic, and he hated where it was going. That girl had no right to know anything about him, but the look she was giving him wasn't one out of curiosity, but of concern. He was to laugh. Concern? For me? For a moment he was slightly touched, but as usual he pushed such foolish emotions aside, and decided he wasn't going to say anything. He was having a rough night keeping his emotions and himself in check, and he couldn't think of a reason why this was happening. No, that was a lie, he knew perfectly well why he was acting the way he was. It was the human woman, Rin. She distracted him in battle with the demon, and she was distracting him right now, which irritated him. But that wasn't what irritated him the most. What irritated him the most was that he liked her distracting, womanly nature. Even now as she lay on a mat staring at him, she was distracting him. Never in his life did he think a human was beautiful, until now. He should hate the way she was making him feel, and to a degree he did, but the way she was just helplessly lying there, and the way her lips were slightly parted as she breathed, brought feelings he had never had before, and he liked it. He liked it a lot. And he was so close to her that she could feel her own body heat.

Actually, he wanted to laugh out loud again. He wanted to laugh at how ironic his life had become. No, this wasn't the first time he realized fate had brought the pride hurting, irony, his way. It was only just three days ago that it sickened him to even look at her, and now he couldn't keep his eyes off. But what really bewildered him, was how fast things had changed. It slightly scared him to think his feelings could change so quickly. Yes, the demon lord of Mondlicht was scared. Scared because he was turning into his father. The part of his father that he hated. He even wondered if his father's feelings for Inuyasha's mother had changed as quickly as his, or was it slow and gradual, taking years? Then a horrifying thought came to him: the reason his feelings had changed so quickly were because he was weaker than his father.

There's that word again, weakness. That word had haunted him ever since his father had betrayed him. His father was so strong, yet easily weakened. How could he be weaker than his father? He had not taken a human woman to bed. He had not fallen in love with one. If anything, he was the strongest, not the weakest. But it could all change. The way he felt right then, anything could happen. No that's ridiculous. I am Lord Sesshoumaru of the Mondlicht Kingdom, and no human will take that honor, the only honor I have, away from me.

Then and there, he remembered why he despised humans so much, and looking at her right now disgusted him. Good, he was back to normal, and he had regained his sanity. All was well. He stood up with his nose held high, and walked over to a corner away from her. Distance was a good thing. He sat down cross legged and resumed his usual stoic stare at nothing in particular. Rin was disappointed Sesshoumaru didn't say anything more, and even moved away from her, but she knew there was always tomorrow, so she didn't say any more.

Suddenly a horrifying, high pitched, yelping was heard outside of the hut. Rin's hear stopped beating as her eyes shot wide open. Jaken fell backwards in surprise and alarm as his body began to shake out of fear. Even AhUn's face held a look of panic. The only one who stayed calm was Sesshoumaru.

"Wh-what was that milord?" Jaken asked shakily. "Was that what I think it is, milord?"

Sesshoumaru said nothing. Jaken squawked.

"Oh no! It is what I think it is!" He stood up and looked around the hut in horror.

"What is it, Jaken?" Rin asked, now extremely frightened by the way toad reacted.

"The missing villagers. The piles of clothes," he pointed at a pile of clothes with his staff, then pointed it as Sesshoumaru accusingly, mouth dropping. "You've brought us into a trap!" he took in a deep breath, looking scared and hurt," And you probably knew all along!"

A/N: Whew! I finally finished Chapter 9! As promised, it's longer, more action packed, and romance filled! I hope you all love this chapter as much as I had fun writing it! I'm sorry it took so long, but college life has caught up with me. Sorry for Sesshoumaru's occassional out-of-character-ness! Oh well. lol. Sesshoumaru is hot, and I had a blast writing this chapter! The next chapter will be exciting! Hehe! So what exactly is out there in the woods waiting for them? You'll have to find out next chapter! Isn't that a stinker?

Anywho, reviews would be much appreciated, and thank you to all of you who reviewed last time! I'd hug you all a million times if I could! Please submit reviews, and thank you so much for taking the time to read this really long chapter! Doh, I don't know exactly how many words there are. Sorry!