Chapter 2

The sun slowly rose, peeking up behind the far mountains. Sesshomaru sat under the orange and pink streaked sky, recalling the past night's events. The ground was damp with blood where Rin had been laying. Naraku had taken her back to his lair, promising to keep her safe until the priestess had been killed. It was a risk Sesshomaru was willing to take, even though he didn't have complete trust in Naraku. Something tugged on his robe, and Sesshomaru mindlessly kicked the nuisance away. Not until he heard a squawk did he realize it was Jaken he had booted.

"M….Master…" Jaken stammered, still recovering from the shock. Sesshomaru loomed over him, casting a dark shadow across the ground.

"Where were you all this time?" Sesshomaru demanded, grinding Jaken's head into the ground with his foot.

"Awp! I'm so…sorry…"

"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to thrash you around. But keep this up and one day I will."

Jaken gulped nervously and bowed incessantly to his master.

"Stop it you fool" Sesshomaru ordered, kicking him in the head again. "We are leaving this place. The air is thick with blood, and I have a sensitive nose."

The two of them immediately lifted off the ground and flew off into the vast blue sky on a floating cloud.

Within Naraku's miasma, Rin had woken up from unconsciousness. Feebly, she got up into a sitting position and shed herself of the thin sheet that was draped over her. Rin's entire body ached, and she had no idea where she was. There were walls in every direction she looked, making Rin feel like a prisoner. One wall, however, turned out to be just a screen, and through it the silhouette of a man was visible.

"L…Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin whispered hoarsely, barely able to speak without some part of her body bursting out in pain.

The silhouette moved closer, and the screen slid open. As the man came into view, Rin gasped. It's Naraku!

She attempted to drag herself away from him, but instead she collapsed onto the tatami mat that covered the floor. Naraku entered the room and calmly knelt down at Rin's side. He then pulled a Shikon shard out of his sleeve and held it out for Rin to see.

"I hate to see a child so young suffer. I can easily get rid of your pain."

Rin stared in horror at the glittering shard. No! That's not what I want! Get away!

"Even if you don't want this, I have no choice. A deal is a deal."

Naraku grabbed Rin's arms forcefully and held them tightly so she could not struggle. A loud scream resounded throughout the room as he drove the shard into her sore back. Rin thrashed and kicked, enduring what felt like hundreds of daggers running her through at once. For a moment time seemed to stand still, and then her body fell limp in Naraku's arms. The pain was gone.

"Where are we to find this priestess, m'lord?" Jaken asked.

Naraku had used Kanna's mirror to track the priestess's whereabouts. He said that she was lingering in a small village by the ocean, teaching the children to read. Good, it's not far from here Sesshomaru thought. They wasted no time getting to the village, which wasn't very hard to find. The collection of small huts was surrounded by a woodland of tall pine trees, stretching up as far as the eye could see. The village was alive with people, both young and old. The children ran around playing games, while the elderly sat around weaving baskets and doing the things they were capable of doing at that age. Sesshomaru tried to seek out the priestess with his eyes, but he wasn't having much luck.

Jaken grinned devilishly. "Why don't we just massacre the place? It would be easier, and we'd find the priestess a lot quicker…."

"I'd rather not draw attention to myself" Sesshomaru interrupted. "This woman shouldn't be too hard to find."

As soon as they entered the village, a middle aged man confronted them, bowing deeply. "Welcome" he said. Sesshomaru brushed past him, ignoring the greeting. Jaken followed close behind. The man looked puzzled, but didn't bother to go chasing after them.

They searched until dusk, but found no such woman. Sesshomaru sat against an oak tree on the outskirts of the small town, dismayed. All this trouble for one girl. It didn't seem worth it, but his heart wouldn't give up. Just then, there was rustling in the bushes, and the sound of children's voices.

"Will you teach us more tomorrow Lady Kikyo?" said a boy's voice.

A young woman's voice responded. "Of course, Hoshi."

The shrubs parted, and the woman emerged. Sesshomaru's eyes widened as he took in her features. She had long black hair, a delicate face, and wore a red and white robe over her slender body. This must be the priestess! He immediately stood up. Kikyo noticed him, and smiled.

"It's okay, Aiko" she said to the little girl that gripped her hand tightly, scared of the stranger. "You're Inuyasha's demon brother, aren't you?" Kikyo said calmly to him.

"Maybe I am. What of it?" Sesshomaru snapped.

"I can only imagine what a man of your class would be doing in as poor a village as this. What brings you here?"

The priestess showed no fear whatsoever, but then again she didn't know what was to come. Jaken pulled his master's sleeve, pointing at the Tokijin and nodding towards Kikyo.

"You wouldn't want to know" Sesshomaru replied. He made no attempt to draw his sword; only gazed at Kikyo with unblinking eyes. Why doesn't she fear me? He thought. Why can't I find the desire in my heart to kill this woman?

Jaken started to get worried, seeing as Sesshomaru normally had people dead in an instant.

"Go back to the village" Kikyo told the children. They all scurried home, except for Aiko. "Aiko, you should return too."

"No." The girl planted her feet and refused to budge. "I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I'll be fine" Kikyo reassured her, giving Aiko a little push. She finally ran off, but glanced back just about every second. Once out of sight, Kikyo turned to face Sesshomaru. "Really, what do you want from me? Of all people, I don't think there is anything I can do for you."

"Actually, there is one thing…."

Cliff hanger! Plz review. I want to know if the second chapter is any good.