Well, I am going away on a class field trip for four days, three nights. It would be really really REALLY nice if I could come home from a long exhausting trip to some nice reviews on my story! Yup it sure would!

Chapter 16: Irreplaceable

Rin drew pictures of funny looking people with a long stick in the dirt. She sighed to herself, drawing a dog and a cat next to one of them, very pleased to see that almost all he dirt around her was filled with her little doodles. She smiled.

Sesshomaru sat on the edge of the cliff, where he had been for many days. He hadn't moved. Rin had awoken late one night, and he was still in that spot, staring up at the sky deep in thought. Ever since Hanako had disappeared, he had not moved. She had asked Jaken about it before, where Hanako had gone. He had said:

"She… went off into a village for little while… to get some money… yeah that's it! To get some money! Heh…heheh…eheh…"

She hummed and skipped over to Sesshomaru. Maybe he would talk today.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she said happily, "How are you doing today? I'm fine!"

"Good," was all he said in response. He did not want to tell Rin that he had gotten rid of Hanako. He did not want two people upset with him.

"When will Hanako-chan come back? It doesn't take that long to get money," Rin asked, coming closer to him.

"Soon."

She nodded in acceptance. "That's good. It has been awfully quiet here without her…" she said. Rin skipped off into the distance.

Quiet wasn't all it had been.

It had been… lonely without her to him. He thought the strange feeling he had for her would've gone away with her gone, but instead it remained, tormenting him day and night. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could see her devastated looking face staring back at him, and her pathetic voice asking him where he was going.

He had thought about it for a while now. He was going insane. He couldn't live like this. It was time to replace Hanako.

"Rin. Come with me. We are leaving," he called to Rin. She perked up immediately and smiled. "Okay Lord Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed in response, running to his side. He led the way, walking off to where he had remembered seeing a caravan that was selling slaves.

He had remembered seeing a similar scene before, where he had met Hanako. She had been sitting all alone on a platform, no one looking at her, or noticing her, or asking for her price. She had looked quite dirty and scrawny when he had first bought her, almost like some sort of vermin, but had quickly changed and become a woman, a very beautiful woman. A little too beautiful, and he had found himself staring at her on many occasions. Too many occasions. She had taken control of him somehow, and so he got rid of her. And yet he was still in her grasp, and she would not let him go. Or was it that he was the one who would not let her go?

The caravan looked of a better quality than the one where he had gotten Hanako. The slaves looked decent and well fed, and not one of them was left unattended to. He looked about for one that at least looked like her, or one that had no paying customers looking at her, just as Hanako did not have one person paying any mind to her, one that was similar to Hanako.

He knew the new slave he was going to buy had to be female, just like she was, and have a similar personality. But not one of these slaves looked at all like her; or resembled her in any way. None of them even reminded him of her.

"Where are we Lord Sesshomaru? Why are we here?" Rin asked curiously, looking about at all of the slaves.

Sesshomaru did not answer Rin. He looked closer at one girl who had just been taken out of a carriage.

She was dressed in chains, wearing a faded violet kimono. Her hair was black and short, with some longer strands in the front. Her eyes were lavender, but a haunting sort of lavender; bright and almost evil. She was a demon. This girl would do just fine.

He walked over past a few other people who were looking at her. She stared at him blankly, her eyes like ice, fierce and dangerous. Sesshomaru took coins from his pocket and handed them to a man standing near her and took the chains that held the girl. She blinked a few times and followed, her blank expression never changing.

Rin gasped and pulled on Sesshomaru's sleeve. "Lord Sesshomaru! Are you really taking this slave girl? What about Hanako-chan?"

"Hanako is gone."

Rin stopped dead in her tracks.

"…What do you mean, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Nothing. Come along Rin, or I shall leave you behind."

Rin paced quickly after him on command.

He almost wanted to ask the girl if she had ever been raped or molested and tell her that he would kill whomever did it to her, just like he had done for Hanako. But he stopped himself, realizing how stupid that sounded.

Sesshomaru turned around to the girl. "What is your name, girl?"

She looked up at him, her lavender eyes flashing. "I am Chika. And you are?"

Not nearly as respectful as Hanako. "I am Sesshomaru. Lord Sesshomaru to you."

Chika nodded. "I see. And I am to work for you?"

Who was she to question him? "Yes you are."

Chika looked down again, inspecting Rin beside her, who looked quite devastated. Chika never liked children, and by the scent of this one, it was a human. She was disgusted that a demon lord would drag along a puny human girl. "Sesshomaru, may I ask why you have a human brat with you?"

Rin glared at her. "Hey!"

Sesshomaru sighed. "Let her be," he said coldly, ignoring the fact that she had forgotten to call him 'lord' again. He now began to understand why some slaves needed to be whipped. Hanako had never needed to be whipped. She had always given him utmost respect above all others.

Rin tugged on Sesshomaru's sleeve again. "But Lord Sesshomaru, what do you mean Hanako-chan is gone?" she asked again.

Sesshomaru did not respond to Rin this time. They had arrived where he had left Jaken. Sesshomaru then realized that he had completely forgotten Jaken and had left him there.

Jaken peered from behind a rock. "Lord Sesshomaru! You left me here all alone! Why?" Chika came up in front of Sesshomaru. He raised an eyebrow. Chika was so disrespectful, to stand in front of him and block his view. Hanako had never done this before.

She placed a hand on her hip. "What the hell is that?" she asked, pointing to
Jaken.

He flared. "How dare you speak to me that way!" Jaken yelled, "I don't even know who you are!"

Chika turned to Sesshomaru. "You don't expect me to take orders from that thing, do you?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes toward her. She had a terrible attitude and had no idea who she was insulting. To have talked about Rin badly, insulted Jaken (which he secretly found hilarious) who was of a way higher class then she would ever be, and to have called him just by his first name, was almost crossing the line.

"You take orders. That's what you do."

"Whatever," she said, her fierce eyes rolling. Her blank expression yet again reappeared. "What do I do now, Sesshomaru? Fan you?" she asked mockingly.

He became annoyed with her quite easily. Hanako had never been like this. Had he purchased the bitchiest slave out of the whole caravan, or were all slaves other than Hanako so terrible? Chika had no idea what the hell she was doing, or who the hell she was, or how the hell she should act around those of a higher class.

Rin smiled at Chika. A new friend. "We can go play tag!" she said with excitement, taking Chika's hand and pulled her over to a clearing. She hit her hand away and rubbed it. "Don't you touch me, mortal scum!" Chika shrieked, "Now I have to wash it!" Her eyes darted around and spotted a creek. She went to it and soaked her hand for long moments, and dried it on the grass. Rin stood in her place, completely dumfounded at how mean Chika was.

Sesshomaru observed Chika. He had hoped for someone like Hanako, and this girl was her exact opposite. Hanako had always played with Rin. And she had never mocked him or disrespected him in any way, except for once when she had been teasing him but he had liked that, and she had apologized right after. But the biggest difference was their eyes. Chika's were fierce and icy, like the eyes of a killer. Hanako's were soft and golden like the sun, sweet and innocent. She had always been smiling

He felt a whole new sensation of pain and regret whenever he thought about it.

He turned around and let his demonic energy surround him. He began to run, run away from it all, letting himself float over the ground until he was traveling faster than he ever had before.

Jaken called out after him. "Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you going!"

He didn't even know where he was going. He just needed to be by himself to think, get away from all the noise. To clear his head, and to be alone. But alone was the last thing he wanted to be.

He felt as if he were billions of miles away from everyone. He felt satisfied with this, so he stopped running, letting his energy die down. He was in a deep forest, a deep, dark, quiet forest. This would do fine.

He stood silently, accepting all facts into his head. He hadn't stopped thinking about Hanako ever since… ever since he had first gotten her. That was a fact. He only thought of her as a slave. This was not a fact, even thought it should have been. Normally he could easily dispel any feelings of affection for Rin, but he never could for Hanako. This was also a fact.

He loved Hanako.

…

This was not a fact. It could not be a fact. He loved nobody and nothing. Love did not exist in his mind. He had always known that. He did not have the time or patience for "love" nor did he want to take part in such a foolish thing. And she was a slave girl! A lord and a slave loving eachother was as strange as an elder teacher and his eight year old student loving eachother!She wasn'teven a demon, or whatever she was! He chuckled to himself, yet was feeling quite nervous.

He looked around at where he was, taking in his surroundings. He was sure of it now. He had been here before.

He turned his head around in both directions. The wind blew in his face, the trees revealing a clearing that looked so familiar…

No… he thought, it couldn't be…

But it was. This was where him and Hanako had first met. He dashed over to the clearing, pushing away some branches, the same ones Jaken had pushed away all that time ago. The clearing was of course empty now because the business had obviously moved. But still, scents lingered about the air of this place. He walked over to the very edge of the clearing. He stood somberly.

Here. This was where he had first seen her, perched on a stool in ropes and chains on a platform all alone with no one looking at her. A trace of her blood scent still remained in the spot where her back had bled when she was whipped. He inhaled it deeper. Anything to do with her soothed him.

He could deny it no longer. He missed Hanako more than anyone could ever imagine. Getting rid of her did him no good. He thought maybe it would make his feelings for her dissipate, but he just felt worse than ever. He no longer questioned it. He wanted her back at his side, and if she were not, then he would be miserable. That, regrettably, was a fact.

What have I done? he wondered to himself. He felt almost ashamed to have left Hanako all alone in the pouring rain. What would she do if she saw him again? He pictured her, her entire face lighting up the way it always did whenever she saw him, but this time ten times brighter because he had come back for her. The she would run into his arms and stay there. And he would never abandon her ever again. And then he would sell Chika. It was a stupid little fantasy that he never normally would have thought, but he didn't know what to believe anymore. Hanako had messed up his life. And he liked it that way. No. He loved it that way…

He touched his chest. His heart was racing.

He began to run again. He would find her and bring her back to him, no matter what it took.