A/N-Thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter. Thanks to my beta reader Masucree who, unfortunately will not be able to betamy story from here on out.and my muse Forgottenangel who helped me figure out a majority of this plot. i'm reallyreallyreallyreallyreally sorry that it's taken so long for me to update this chapter...feel free to yell at me in your review for taking so long. oh yes, R&R.

Chapter 5

In the castle of the heavens the Kami's were in an uproar. One minor Kami had attempted to summon Rin for an assignment only to discover that it wasn't Rin that was fulfilling the tasks. Someone had done a good job hiding the fact that they were filling in but someone was also doing a good job of covering the switch up entirely. The Highest One summoned into his presence the one who was filling in, and the spirits of Kida, Izayoi and Inutaishou because it involved their son/stepson.

"Seventeen years ago we sent a Chameleon demon to kill the human body of the angel, Rin, for the crime of falling in love with her assignment. She was to learn her lesson by that occurrence and then, once punished, return to us and continue living for eternity. What. Happened." He said, his voice poisonous. "Where is Rin?"

The young replacement angel curtsied and stepped forward, saying in a quiet voice "I was designated as a human soul. I was, 17 years ago, about to go through my first birth when…Is her name Rin?...appeared. She told me a heart wrenching story of how she was in love with her assignment, and how she couldn't leave him and asked if I'd take her place as an angel. Once I agreed my soul was forced out of the body and she gave me her power. Except the power to seal memories, that she retained to herself, presumably to seal her memories of her former life of an angel. She was born as a human girl named Riki-she looks much like Rin did-to stay with Sesshomaru."

Boldly stepping forward Kida spoke up. "I acknowledge having tried my best to hide her for all this time." The highest one narrowed his eyes and raised a hand. Kida turned her head quickly and mouthed to Inutaishou "I love you" before the High one snapped his fingers, causing Kida to vanish. Inutaishou let out a yell of rage as Izayoi gasped. "Where is she?" Inutaishou growled in a feral voice. "Being punished" said the High one coldly. "She will rejoin you when Riki leaves that world and returns to us. Consider yourselves lucky you did not join her." Turning back to the assembled he said "And now we will punish the young girl Riki. For though she did no wrong, Rin did, and since Rin is technically beyond our reach we will make due. The decreed punishment is tampering with the memories from her past life. Make her disbelieve that what Sesshomaru obviously feels about her is real. That it's because she looks like Rin. Fate had so much fun with the Inuyasha-Kagome-Kikyo situation we'll give her another shot at it. Through this shall Rin as Riki receive the judgment due."

The Highest one is forced to bear the screams of the torture in his one ear, while he hears the sounds of Heaven in the other. Through the screams of torture came a prayer of desperation from Kida "Please…take it easy on her…her only crime was pure love." But the Highest one closed his ear and his heart to these pleas of mercy.

Riki buried her face into the crook of her elbow, unwilling to cry anymore, the soft muffled cries having desisted after about an hour. Riki sighed and flipped over so she was laying facing up before sitting up and drawing her knees into her chest. She mulled over the biggest question she had faced yet in her short life. Did she love him? He loved her, of this she bore no doubt-he had told her himself that very evening!

But…the question lingered. Did she feel the same way? Sure she could tell him absolutely anything but…what about the feeling that she was falling into an absolutely bottomless pit every time she set eyes on him? Albeit these feelings had only started manifesting themselves in the past year but she had done her best to keep them as masked as she could. Could those masked feelings possibly mean…could they? … that she…loved him? She felt so much comfort around him…like it was a zone that nothing stressful or sad or anything negative could get to…that nothing could hurt her because he was there…with a jolt she remembered asking her mom a question earlier in that year.

Flashback

"Mom how do you know what love is…what I mean is how do you know when you're in love with someone?" Asked Riki, as she looked up at the sakura blossoms gracing the tress. Her mother, now white haired, looked lovingly at her daughter and replied.

"My dear Riki…you know that you're in love when you can't stand to be apart from a person or hurt them. It's when you feel like nothing can go wrong simply because they are there."

End Flashback

It was like an epiphany. She loved him, from the top of his head, gilded silver by his hair, to the tip of his fuzzy tail. Springing up she ran out into the hall, bent on telling Fluffy that his feelings were returned totally in full.

She paused beside an ornate door depicting a battle between a large dog and a long dragon with a face that looked like a mask. It was the scene of the battle between Inutaishou and Ryuukotsusei, commissioned by Sesshomaru-Sama. It was then she realized she didn't know where Fluffy was. But she was sure he'd find her before she found him…if he wasn't mad at her. As she stood there getting her bearings a servant came by with a ornate silver tray in his hands bearing a glass and a bottle of Japan's finest Sake. The servant handed the burden to her and said "You look like you're old enough. The lord is in a mood, a mad furious mood. Whatever upset him…no one knows, all we know is when he gets like this he usually calls for Sake so we have some ready at all times. Take this to him will you? He's just through those ornate doors." Before Riki had time to say anything the servant was gone.

"Ummm…Ok." Riki muttered to the empty hallway. Knocking on the door, she was caught off guard, as it swung inward soundlessly. She stepped inside and looked at the seemingly empty room, knowing how deceiving looks could be. She took a step further into the room and was caught off guard again by the splendor that filled the room. Gold, ebony, silver, every and all things precious were in that room-all destroyed in anger. Some slight movement caught her eye, causing her to look towards the closet. She saw the back of the lord, and saw a very familiar tail and very familiar silver hair that cascaded to the person's waist. She gasped in shock and horror as the tray fell to the floor with a resounding crash.

He had succeeded, in the time since he left her, in destroying most of the items in his room that was replacable, everything except two small-framed paintings. One of himself and Riki and one of Rin. "She doesn't…but why…did I make a mistake…is this not Rin? Rin promised me that she'd come back to me…" he mentally punched himself yet again because he had done it. Craved the past in place of the living. He walked over and stood before the paintings and leaned a weary head against the wall beside them. "Love is too damn hard." He muttered. He was about to ring for Sake when the door creaked. He grinned thinly. The servants could predict him. His eyes widened when the scent of Roses and Sakura mixed with anticipation and then shock slammed into his nose. "No…" he whirled around at the sound of a silver tray crashing to the floor. Amber crashed with chocolate. "Fluffy…you…what is going on?" she caught a glimpse of two paintings behind him, one of which was familiar. One she didn't remember sitting for but it looked like her nonetheless. "Riki…let me explain…" his deep voice pierced her trance like state.

Riki could only shake her head once as if confused before shooting back into the halls and out of sight. She raced back to her room, tears leaking from her eyes. "You're…what is going on? What did I do to deserve this Kami-Sama?" she cried as she ran.

Inutaishou, who was looking onthe scene with his second wifemade brief eye contact withIzayoi and sharedslight grimice with her. "If only she knew." They said simultaneously.

A/N-As before, only constructive criticism please. If you have any questions about the story and you belong to the site, sign in when you post your review and I'll reply to your review with an answer to your question.