Author: ……….I'm shocked that I didnt update for awhile…..O.o I have no excuses...oh well, at least the exams are over and it's bye-bye 1st semester, and hopefully I'll get to update sooner! (that is, if Chemistry or possibly P.E. doesn't kill my brain cells...) Also, this chapter hasn't been edited yet so there might be quite a bit of mistakes...(I'm pretty sure there aren't any super obvious ones)
oh yea, warning this chapter may contain rather crude use of language. I know some people don't llike the swearing, but I feel it has to be there in order to fit their personalities.
...can't think of a better title. This is all I could come up with.
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Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-sensei. Period. On second thoughts, perhaps she might be willing to give me Bankotsu…? No? Seriously? Fine, I'll drop it.
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Chapter 7 Thunder's Roar
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"Heh heh heh……… now that the first step has been taken, we shall move to the next step…… Goshinki, what of the Thunder Brothers? Are they dispatched?" A man with malicious red eyes chuckled darkly.
"Affirmative, master," Another man with bright, large red eyes answered.
The first man smirked, "Soon, we shall find out……we shall see if she is truly marked or not………"
-
Rin slowly opened her eyes, feeling somewhat disoriented. Her head throbbed in pain and she felt a bit detached from her own body somehow. She tried to remember the last thing she did before falling asleep……yet she came up with none. Yes, she did recall walking towards Kagome's room, and the memory just ended right there.
Just like my memory with my real parents. Am I ill or something? Should I tell Dr. Suikotsu? Rin considered that, but then decided not to. She had enough attention on herself, after the huge outburst she had yesterday.
She felt herself frown automatically, a flash of anger and distress at remembering Kagome. Suddenly, she felt a heavy feeling entering her mind……. She wanted to avenge Kagome.
Okay, I swear I had felt this feeling yesterday as well……I need something to do, to take my mind off this issue...for awhile at least . She glanced at the clock, Wow, it's only 5:30 a.m.! Good job, Rin, for waking up so early! A new record, I'm sure, Rin congratulated herself inwardly.
"Well, it's no use pondering what happened yesterday. If I am to avenge Kagome-chan, I would need to become stronger……meaning I should train more," Rin muttered to herself, determined.
She slipped out of the room quietly, only finding a snoring Bankotsu in the hallway.
What the heck?
Indeed, it was the first thought that had come across her mind. But then she heard him mumbling something.
"Come out come out Rinny-Rin…….I'll buy you ice-cream! Dang it almost rhymed…… just come out of your room and we'll all have a nice talk alrighty? Ahhh sake…." Bankotsu rolled over. Rin blinked twice.
She smiled lightly and went to get her blanket. Carefully, she wrapped it around her friend and tip-toed away quietly. She was rather surprised that a professional like Bankotsu didn't wake up. Sesshoumaru would definitely wake up……GAH! Why am I thinking about him? I've got to be careful or he'll wake up!
Glad that no one can see her slightly red face, Rin turned the knob at an agonizingly slow rate and slipped out. It seemed that years of experience (sneaking out the orphanage) had paid off, as no one came to pursue her.
Hey, it's not like I have the intention to run away or anything………now that I've seen, no, understood what the enemy could do, I will not run away again.
She quickly went to Floor 3, careful not to disturb anyone. Looking around slowly, she discovered that Ayame was not sitting in her armchair in front of the complicated-looking computer. Well, everybody needs to sleep, Cell 1 or not.
She tip-toed around the trapdoors on the floor, and stared at the computer screen. After several minutes of typing and frustrated groans, Rin somehow accessed to the part where she had to type in the password for one of the door that lead to the training facility. Rin closed her eyes and searched through her memory.
---(the first time on Floor 3)------
"Oh hey Ban, Rin. Where are you off to?" Ayame took a sip from her coffee, the armchair spinning away from the computer to face them.
"Where's Sess? We need him to train Rin here."
Rin stiffened at the prospect of having to see that jerk, but was too excited to care. Exactly how are they going to get to wherever Sess is?
"R4:G012456," Ayame mumbled a reply, turning back to her computer to type something in. One of the red doors opened, revealing a dark tunnel underneath.
-------------------
Rin quickly typed in 'R4:G012456' and found out there are double passwords. As if instinctively, Rin typed in a few combos and surprised herself as the door opened, meaning she had entered the correct code. Wow, I must be good at guessing……? Nah, that's not possible……I must have seen Ayame typing the password before somehow. Yes that must be it.
Just like roller coaster rides, the exhilarating sensation of sliding down the tunnels was the same and would not get old. It was the first time she trained by herself and, frankly, she was quite nervous. Also, not to mention it was rather creepy to be alone n such a large, empty room with broken and tattered targets. (And in some cases, some decapitated dolls for Sesshoumaru's katana training)
Rin sighed and fitted a crossbow on her right arm. Accurate or not, she still have to get used to the feeling of using a weapon.
A weapon can't really harm anything if the user doesn't have the intention……and for an assassin, the target will never be erased unless you have enough killing intent. Sesshoumaru's calm voice came to her mind. How he talked about killing as if he were discussing weather, Rin would never figure it out.
Forcing her shivering arm to aim at the target, Rin scrutinized carefully, setting her mind on hitting the bull's eye. Suddenly, the image of a dead man came and Rin yelped in fright, stumbling backwards. She recalled how a man was killed so simply in her haste; when she was in the Higurashi shrine's forest………
Rin swallowed, and tried to shoot again. However, her earlier concentration was already broken; she could not summon up enough strength knowing that some time later, these arrows would take away people's lives. Shaking her head, she decided to switch to kunais, yet the results are the same. The kunais hit dead center alright, but the tip didn't even go in deep enough that it fell harmlessly onto the mats with a soft thud.
Unknown to her, Sesshoumaru was watching her every single move warily. So, she is back to her own self? Her reactions to the weapons are to be expected………so, have I misheard her yesterday? No, I, Sesshoumaru, never misunderstand anybody or anything. I shall be on myguard and be aware of any suspicious behaviors, nonetheless. He walked up to her quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder.
That, of course, scared the crap out of her. She snapped irritably, "God, Sesshoumaru! Don't ever sneak up on me ever again! You know how much I hate that! Can't you see I was concentrating on practicing? Or, why are you here anyways?" Rin put her hands on her hips and pouted.
Although, Rin was secretly relieved he was here...and she also needed someone to vent out her frustration on.
Sesshoumaru stared, an eyebrow raised, "And by training, you should learn to sense the presence of others, Rin." Bankotsu's right, Rin is cute when she pouts………wait, what did I just think? I merely confirming Bankotsu's statement, that is all. Sigh, that insufferable man……is Rin all he ever talks about? Annoying……but a good friend nevertheless.
He was tempted to ask if Rin was okay or not, but, being Sesshoumaru, he didn't.
Rin was glaring at him, but she quickly looked away under his intense gaze. Let HIM be the one to look away for once! Heck, I glared first! Although, I'm rather glad he's talking to me………
Their 'moment' (in their own minds) was interrupted when Bankotsu ran to them, excited, "Rin! Sess! I knew it! You two are having a rendezvous so early! Just stow-away sneakily, did ya? Who knows what you two had been up to, probably………"
"Finish that sentence and I'll show you the meaning of……." Sesshoumaru scowled.
"Pain. Yea, yea I heard that a thousand times already," Bankotsu cut in, flickering his hand.
Rin's face was red at Ban's suggestion, and she was shocked to find a teeny tiny weenie blush on Sesshoumaru's face. I'm definitely dreaming……dreaming……
"Anyways," Bankotsu's face turned serious, "Rin, your friend just woke up."
-
"Hi-ya, Sis, whacha doing today?" Hiten's red eyes were unusually soft as he bent down to his sister's head-level. Manten kneeled behind him, peeking over Hiten's shoulder to see what their sister was doing.
"I'm making a picture of us, the great Thunder Clan!" Souten shouted proudly, waving her pencil crayons.
The two brothers grinned, examining the picture with great interest. In the middle was Souten herself, with her hair in her usual ponytail-buns; Hiten stood on her left side, his hand ruffling her hair; Manten stood on her right side, an arm wrapped around his little sister. Behind the three of them stood numerous people, but their faces are blurred.
"I'd like to draw Father and Mother, and many others...but I don't remember them...," Souten whispered sadly.
Hiten's lips formed a thin line; of course she didn't remember...or rather, couldn't remember their family. After all, the whole Thunder Clan was executed only days after her birth. Their crime was 'treason', as the Thunder Clan had tried to revolt and break away from the organization. However, it was useless; "once you are in, you are in, forever," was Naraku's brief explanation.
He forced his face to appear neutral, not wanting his sister to know his thoughts. Not anymore...Souten can draw anything she wants after we're through with this mission...our last mission as Naraku's subordinates...
"Kagome?" Rin asked tentatively, staring at her dazed-looking friend.
Kagome stared around her quizzically, finding a few concerned faces staring back at her. She called out softly, "Rin...?"
There are so much uncertainty in her voice that Rin felt that same anger again. No not now,I need to be here for Kag, Rin told herself firmly.
"I'm here. Everything's fine."
"Why am I here...? Where's Inuyasha? What...and Rin why are you..." There was a slight tremor in Kagome's voice, but her eyes are somehow calm after glancing at Rin.
Suikotsu motioned for the rest of them to leave the room, "Now now, we can't make her feel crowded. Only Rin and Kouga may remain."
Bankotsu and the rest left the room reluctantly, and Ayame glanced at an eeriely quiet Kouga worriedly. Kouga was deep in thought; something was troubling him, but he couldn't figure out what. Normally, he would've already confessed his undying love for Kagome the moment she woke up but something held him back...
Seeing that Kouga, surprisingly, wasn't going to speak anytime soon, Rin decided to explain things herself. Now that Kagome had seen them, there was no need to hide any secrets. Rin was wondering why Kagome didn't ask about Kouga's presence here, but, hey, she definitely had a lot going on in her mind right now, no?
"So what happened that night, Kagome-chan?" Rin asked quietly. She wanted to know. To know the one who did this to Kagome.
Kagome bit her lips in hesitation, her eyes glazing in deep memories. Rin hastily added, "It's okay if you don't want to remember it right now. just rest, okay, Kagome-chan? If you need anything, just tell Dr. Suikotsu to get me, okay?"
Kagome nodded defeatedly, laying back on the pillow.
Rin stood up and left the room; Kouga's blue eyes gazed at Kagome rather suspiciously, but left the room as well.
Once Rin was sure they were out of Kagome's hearing range, Rin turned to confront Kouga, "What is wrong with you, Kouga? At school, you've always competed against Inuyasha for Kagome-chan's attention! At least show come concern if you truely love her! She needs all the comfort she can get now."
Kouga looked down at Rin nonchalantly, his voice was rather distant, "She's not the same...she's...that's not the Kagome I fell in love with...she is different..."
Rin felt her anger exploded, "How dare you, Kouga! I knew it, you never loved Kagome the way Inuyasha does! Just because now that she's injured you no longer care for her? Now that she woke up and seemed a bit different than before, you don't love her anymore? Kouga, of course she's gong to act different! You know what she had been through! Of course you need to give her time! You can't just..."
Kouga surpirsed Rin by yelling rather furiously, "I know! I KNOW!I can't explain howI am feeling alright? Do you think I'm happy to see her this way? Don't you think I'm confused at my feelings right now? And don't you MENTION DOG-TURD'S NAME! Look, even if I comfort her, nothing going to change...Now leave me alone...I need to think..." Kouga stormed off. Ayame, who was standing on the staircase at the time, froze at Kouga's tone. She quickly followed him, unsure of what just happened.
Rin was still glaring after Kouga, her fists clenching in anger. She took a deep breathe, muttering, "I was right about him all along...I've never liked him...never...Doesn't matter. I will help Kagome-chan recover. It's a good thing actually, now that Inuyasha won't have anyone to interrupt their moments anymore...heh,I should go back to train. I probably have enough of those 'killing intent' Sesshoumaru talked about..."
As Rin left for the facility, the said man was frowning. He rubbed his temples, not liking the way Kouga yelled at Rin. However, that was not what was troubling him; for a moment there, he thought he saw Rin's eyes flashing red. Must be the stress lately...I, Sesshoumaru, don't see hallucinations.
"Heh...close one...that man named Kouga is quite sharp...but who should've known? Rin helped me steer him off course, unknowingly of course..." A man chuckled and flashed his signature smirk at nobodyin particular.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "So, Suikotsu belonged to Cell1 too? And..." the man went into a burst of maniacal laughs," Sesshoumaru...we shall meet again soon..."
He stared back into the screen, staring at the spot Rin sat not long ago. His eyes darkened slightly, and he smiled.
Rin was, once again, tired and confused. She rose slowly from the sofa, trying to remember what she had been doing. She was in the training facility, yes, determined to improve...however, she coudn't remember much, just like the time in the morning. Heck, the crossbow was still strapped to her arm.
"So you've awakened," a voice spoke quietly.
Rin was startled, finding Sesshoumaru's's piercing eyes directed at her. But this time, his eyes showed...mild admiration?
"You have improved quite a lot...somehow, Rin," he continued with gruding respect, leaning against the wall and observed her silently.
Errrrrr, I improved? "Um, how much did I improve, then?" Don't let him know thatI don't remember much...
Sesshoumaru replied briefly, "Not only did the arrows went deeper into the dummies, the way you flick the kunais seemed smoother."
He watched Rin sigh in relief. He smiled grimly. So, just as I suspected. She doesn't remember. Perhaps it is best I don't tell her what I saw...
Sesshoumaru recalled going towards the training facility, only to find Rin training with his katana, and she was quite good at it, too. The cleanly cut targets proved such point. However, upon his arrival, her strength seemed to disappear suddenly. Before she collapsed, Sesshoumaru had caught her just in time. His lips curved slightly at this. That, she doesn't need to find out either.
However, Rin seemed to remember more than he expected, "Did you carry me back?"
He didn't know what came over him but he found himself smirking, "What, you like it?"
Silence. Sesshoumaru mentally slapped himself. I need new roomates.Too much Bankotsu-Influence.
He was never given the chance to hear Rins reply, though, when a small explosion destroyed the peace and silence.
And the whole floor went pitch black.
...what? What's going on? What was that?
"Sesshoumaru..." Rin spoke timidly but a large hand clamped over her mouth and he hissed urgently, "Shhhh, be quiet. Be on your guard...it seems someone has infiltrated rather skillfully...no one has ever did so before."
Rin nodded her head, staring into nothingness. It was cloudy outside, Rin decided, since there wasn't even moonlight.
Ayame's voice appeared suddenly, and Rin realized she was talking through some kind of communication device on Sesshoumaru, who was right behind her, "Sesshoumaru----------broken down---------electrici---overflow-----they--------working------repair--------check-------------pzzzzzzzzz-----------(static)-----------"
"So they even had a radio jammer ready...? They are rather well-prepared..." he muttered, "stay close to me, Rin."
Rin blushed, thinking that they are close enough already. Baka! You have no time for this!
Under Sesshoumaru's guidance, they made their way out of their floor, and carefully descended the staircase.
"Where are we going?" Rin whispered. Something huge flashed right beside her and Rin felt Sesshoumaru tugging her. He leapt down the stairs with Rin in his arms. The lights returned only slightly, but the dim light was enough to allow Rin to grasp the situation.
The 'something huge' was Bankotsu's beloved sword, Banryuu, and it seemed that he had blocked an ambush aiming for her. Rin was rather intrigued at seeing Bankotsu battle; the normally joking, smirking man was dead serious and stoic, slashing expertly with such a heavy weapon.
The opponent, however, seemed just as skillful as him; a man with a silky braid and blood-red eyes sneered at Bankotsu, his trident countering Banryuu blow for blow.
Before she knew it, Sesshoumaru had already dragged her away from scene. "Our priority is protecting our ward, meaning, your friend, Rin," Sesshoumaru explained briefly. Rin smiled lightly; he must have trust Ban enough to leave the intruder with him.
"However, the electricity must be out for their plan to work, meaning first, we have to restore the light fully."
-----------(meanwhile)-----------
Shippo had been talking to Kagome all evening, after she woke up. Shippo took an instant liking to her, and he fell asleep some time. When he woke up, he felt the blanket wrapped around him securely, and looked around. To his dismay, he saw a vacant space on the bed. He quickly left the room frantically; however, when he reached the living room, he wished he was still sleeping.
Dr. Suikotsu was no more. Somehow, even without the influence of the moon, the darker personality had come out, which was also known as the Rasetsu. He grinned coldly, his grey streaked hair spiked wildly, and he licked the silver metal claws strapped on his powerful wrists.
In front of him was definitely an intruder; he had a mishappen face with a jaw more like a beast's, slitted eyes with barely any iris visible, and he barely had any hair left on his wide noggin. Shippo stifled a startled cry, when he saw this intruder holding a weary Kagome up by her collar.
"Now, now, why don't you put that girl down? For once this stupid doctor and I agreed with each other...he wants the girl safe and I just want to beat the shit out of your already shitty face, suck-face," Suikotsu jeered maliciously.
The intruder looked deeply insulted, and roared back,"Mah name's Manten, and I ain't puttin' her down. Mah bro told me ter hold'er while he's busy, and dat's wot I'm gonna do."
Suikotsu made several 'tut' sounds, "Heh, what loud voice you have, not to mention such ugly face too. Oh my, are you bald? Oooo I'd hate to be related to such dumbass. I pity your brother."
"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT MAH BROTHA!"
---------(with Bankotsu)-------------
"Keh, your pretty good... but, is defending all you can do?" Bankotsu smirked, his powerful attacks forcing the attacker towards the wall.
"I'm Hiten, remember that...remember the name of your killer," Hiten smiled mysteriously, and twisted a section of the trident swiftly.
Bankotsu felt an overhwelming flow of pain and stings of heat. His vision blurred and his grip slackened.
Hiten flicked the trident in a wide arc, scoring a large gash on Bankotsu's sword arm. He stumbled backwards, feeling hopelessly drained of energy; he slumped against the wall and Banryuu fell against the cold tiles with a loud clang.
"Well, I'm surprised you remain conscious after that, but not for long, though..."Hiten laughed; however, his finishing blow was intercepted by a strange whip-like sword. Several blades were connected together, and it wrapped around Hiten's trident like a snake.
"Oo-aniki! Get away from him, you red-eyed freak!" Jakotsu growled, standing in front of his brother protectively. His treasured Jakotsutou had a frim grip on Hiten's weapon.
"Cheh, reinforcement, is it?I don't have time to play with any of you," Hiten scowled, twisting his trident again, slower though.
Jakotsu felt his arms went numb and the blades were retracted back to the main blade. His knees went weak and Hiten took this opportunity to flee down the stairs.
"Yo, Ja, you okay?" Bankotus groaned, holding his bleeding arm and pulled himself up by using Banryuu as a lever.
"Yea...what's with the guy's weapon? It was as if..." Ja panted, rubbing his arms furiously trying to clear the paralyzing effects.
Bankotsu's eyes darkened,"Electricity. It's no surprise for the power outage. Ja, we have to inform Sesshoumaru; as long as there is a median, even the Great Sess's bullets wouldn't be fast enough. This time, our opponenets are no ordinary fries..."
Ja nodded, and he grinned slyly, "Oo-aniki, you've gotten smarter! At this rate, you'd be able to write!"
Bankotsu pouted, "Shut up."
---------(Ayame & others)--------------
"Hmmmmm Sesshy-poo, the only ones who had attacked us so far are those Saimyoshos," Yura folded her arms, her fingers tugging occasionally at the steel wires restricting the movements of the intruders.
Rin looked around; it seems Kouga and Yura had an easy time holding off those masked people. Ayame and many other technicians were working furiously to get the power back in working order.
Cell 1was well prepared, but sowere the intruders;therewere more than one alternative power supplies, and they had all been destroyed somehow.
"Sesshoumaru, this is only a matter of an electricity overflow yet we detect no visible source..." came Ayame's weary voice.
Sesshoumaru frowned; if Rinwas the target, there should have been more than one 'main' attackers. His thoughts were interrupted when Rin tugged at his arm frantically.
"Sesshoumaru! Kagome-chan...we need to seeKagome-chan now!"
Of course...if Rin wasn't the target, there could only be one other possible choice left...but why was Rin attacked in the hallway before?
----------(Suikotsu &Manten)---------
"Cheating is all you can think of you bastard!" Suikotsu growled viciously, holding his burned hands and grimacing in agony.
"Shaddup! I'll make sure you'd never speak again!" Manten advanced; his shirt had been torn by Suikotsu's claws, only to reveal the armor underneathe. It had the abilities as those of an electric eel. Since Suikotsu'sclawswere metal, and they had come into contact with the armor...
"Go...go away, I won't allow you to harm her!" Suikotsu's demeanor changed drastically; apparently, he had reverted back to his doctor-self.
Manten frowned; he lost his interest in this pathetic weakling immediately and turned towards Kagome.
Her wounds had reopened and Manten grinned sickly at the sight of blood. Shippo stood in front of Kagome bravely, albeit he was trembling like a jelly.
A loud bang exploded in the air.
Shippo screamed in fear and hid behind the sofa. Manten froze on the spot, and looked down at the blood pouring out from his leg. He fell forward with a loud crash.
Sesshoumaru's pistol was still aimed at Manten, and Rin peered at the scene from behind his elbow. It felt different somehow when Sesshoumaru fired the shotat Manten; it didn't seem as traumatizing somehow.
Shippo squealed in delight and leapt into her warm embrace. Rin quickly ran towards Kagome in concern. She sighed in relief at the sight of her friend, and she hugged Shippo as well.
Manten groaned in pain and rolled over, flinching at Sesshoumaru's infamous glare.
Manten decided to act tough, hoping to somehow dessipate the terror building up in his chest, "Heh...you ain't so good are you? Can't even kill me? This is nuthin'..."
Sesshoumaru smiled slowly; Manten chilled and his terror intensified.
The sniper chuckled, "True, I rarely use my pistol in close combats. However, you're even dumber than I expected; you do realize I missed your vitals on purpose, don't you?"
Manten gulped; he needed to buy time, buy enough time so that there might still be a chance for this mission to succeed.
His hand inched towards his armor.
Bang Bang Bang
Three bullets buried itself into the carpet around his hand with such close approximatey that the skin was scorched.
"I suggest you don't move. Now, tell me, where is your partner?"
"I'm right here!" Hiten yelled and swung his trident downwards, but Sesshoumaru had already anticipated the move and dodged with ease.
Rin clenched her fist in panic. Bankotsu couldn't be defeated, could he?
Hiten gritted his teeth in anger at the sight of his brother in such state. They must complete this mission fast and escape quickly; he could self-denotate the trident...He made up his mind when he heard the cocking of the gun.
Many things happened within the next few seconds.
Hiten ran towards Rin and Kagome, and threw his trident.
Sesshoumaru quickly shot Hiten's hand, but it was too late.
Hiten's trident flew towards Rin, sailing in an arc.
Rin involuntarily released the arrow from the crossbow, startled.
Sesshoumaru deflected the trident away.
Manten was struggling to stand, oblivious to the incoming danger.
Hiten yelled out in alarm as he watched the arrow flew towards his brother.
The arrow pierced straight into Manten's nose.
Hiten howled in rage and used his other hand to retrieve the trident.
Sesshoumaru shot at the trident.
A sudden electric explosion filled the place with smoke and the lightsreturned abruptly.
When the smoke cleared, Hiten and Manten had already disappeared.
"Keh, don't worry about it, it's just a scratch," Bankotsu grinned, only to gasp in pain when Ayame tightened the bandage despite Jakotsu's protests. Kouga was looking at Kagome from afar and Suikotsu was wrapping new bandages onher arms.
"You okay, Kagome-nee-chan?" Shippo asked anxiously. She nodded weakly, but the reassuring grin on her face was enough.
"Where's Rin-chan?"
At this Bankotsu gave her a smirk, "Oh, her, lady?(snicker)...you don't need to worry about that..."
"Why...?"
"Ah, nothing, they're upstairs and we're all down here..."he raised his eyebrow suggestively.
Kagome blinked in confusion; Ayame sighed in exasperation; Kouga looked clueless and Jakotsu rolled his eyes.
"What?" Bankotsu tried to look innocent. Ja muttered, "That would never happen with Ice-block in a million years..."
Ayame sighed again, "Anyways, we'll have to report this and investigate this case further. Be on guard for the next few weeks."
"Cheh, don't need you to tell me that," Bankotsu scowled. He yelped again when Ayame tightened the bandage harder this time.
"I'm not talking about you... that Hiten guy may want to kill Rin, you know. After all, accidental or not, he's going to see her as his brother's killer..."
---------------Floor 7---------------
"Rin, don't you dare blame yourself again," Sesshoumaru said quietly.
"Tell that to the guy's brother!" Rin said sadly. She was horrified that she had killed again; but what scared her more was that she felt no remorse. Why was that? She couldn' be used to killing already, could she?
"They must have prepared for death at missions like this, Rin; an open infiltration has its risks. Besides, they were the attackers, not you."
"But the brother will definitely seek for revenge, wouldn't he?"
"Exactly," he said curtly. Rin blinked.
"Revenge. Revenge doesn't do anything, Rin. You know yourself that it brings no one back...you want to avenge your friend, don't you?"
"Yes, but..."
"But what? Revenge is a chain reaction, Rin. One kills another simply because someone was killed. It is an endless cycle, and it doesn't solve anything. What we need to do, is to remove the source of all the deaths." Naraku.
Rin was silent. Sesshoumaru sighed, "I understand, Rin. I had been in a similar situation, but Bankotsu had stopped my foolish actions. Before then, he didn't have anyone to stop him, and so he had to learn the hard way."
Rin was intrigued to ask more, but he continued quickly, "He would tell you himself if he wants to."
"And you?"
Sesshoumaru felt he had exposed too much, and decided to change the topic, "Rin, just concentrate on your training for now..."
Rin turned towards Sesshoumaru, ready to retort but she noticed a small burn on his hand and that his shirt was torn slightly with minor gashes.
"Oh my god Sesshoumaru are you okay?" Rin gasped and her hand automatically went towards his, her soft fingers brushing over his skin.
He shuddered lightly; he quickly backed away, "It's nothing."
He must've gotten those injuries while protecthing me from the trident and the explosion...Rin's eyes softened.
"Thank you for protecting me," she smiled and held his hand in hers, in gratitude.
Sesshoumaru was unable to tear his gaze away from her beautiful smile and silently marvelled at how delicate her fingers felt. He nodded numbly and glanced at their interwined fingers.
Rin snapped out of her dream-like state and retracted her hands quickly, a deep blush on her face, "Um, er, ah...uh, I'll go get Suikotsu."
As Rin left the room, Sesshoumaru shook his head. This girl is dangerous. She makes me remember, makes me soft...I will not repeat the same mistakes again. His eyes lit up and regained its feral glint. Naraku dares to infiltrate this place...I will destroy you..., he glanced at his hand, ...and I will protect her. From afar.
"You have failed, Hiten, and I do not tolerate failures," Naraku roared, " I will only give you one more chance, seeing you had at least managed to injure Sesshoumaru a bit...find out more about her or the brat dies."
Naraku left the room and slammed the door shut. Hiten clenched his fists so hard that they turned white. Manten was dead. Dead.
Souten could be heard sobbing in the background, hugging at her pet puppy Koryu.
He roared in apin and anguish, for the loss of his brother and his predicament. Ironically, lightning flashed outside, followed by a booming thunder...as if the ThunderClan's spirits were trying to comfort him.
Manten, I will avenge you...and free our sister.
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End of Chapter 7
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Phew, that was hard to get out. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions, feel free to ask!
Although, about Kouga's sudden indifference towards Kagome...well, he noticed something others don't :P
Voila the reason Yura's included in the fic. She uses hair in the anime, and so in this fic, she uses steel wires...
Why was Ban and Ja defeated easily? Assassins, governement-hired or not, they aren't super humans...neither is Sess.
Anyone got a clue what's going on with Rin?
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Well, I've been really busy(scatter-brained if you will)and I have no idea who I had already replied to so...if I didn't reply, forgive me (sweatdrop)(dodge incoming attacks)
THANX FOR THE REVIEWS!
AnimeHolicFreak, HawkAngel XD, theevilashleyness, Silent Killer, silentxangel, mano, Keelin, icygirl2, Mitsuki, MindIIBody, Maq Carter, Mistsuki Sakura, kasmo, GF, Gale, Destiny's Destination, Amberling, Dream-Toxin, Inuyashagirl0118,Sunny Ray.
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Um, reviews are always appreciated...
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Kaco