I'm so sorry. I'm back now. I know it's been awhile. Please review. I love you all.

xoxo

-vQ*

"What are we going to do?" Rin asked frantically. "It's been 8 days and Sesshomaru has not contacted Kim or made any attempt to request medical treatment."

"Do you think perhaps he didn't understand the message?" Kagome wondered.

"Nah that's impossible." Inuyasha dissented, shaking his head. "My brother may be an asshole but he's far from stupid."

InuNo sighed. "There is...one way we might be able to get information."

There was a long pause as InuNo hung his head down, his brows furrowed.

"Well? Spill it, old man." Inuyasha spat coldly as he crossed his arms.

InuNo sighed again. "Kohaku."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Sango came here to plead for help escaping after she committed heinous crimes. She agreed to tell me Kohaku's whereabouts if I agreed to help her go incognito, to which I obliged."

"So where the hell is Kohaku?" Inuyasha questioned.

"I learned through some intelligence that Kohaku was a former student at Kanma who was subjected to extreme...experimentation. They wanted him back and I knew that was the only way to stop him...to return him to the people who created him, in a sense."

"So you called up your good old buddy at Kanma and they apprehended him?"

"Yes."

"You're one sneaky bastard, you know that?" Inuyasha shook his head disapprovingly and went to the den window. "So you want Rin to be victimized all over again by going to talk to him? I don't think that's going to-"

"I'll do it. I want to talk to Kohaku. I need answers. I need closure."

"But it's such a long walk on foot and-"

"I'll carry her." Inuyasha said to Kagome. "If we dont try to help, she'll try to go alone and that will do more harm than good."

Rin looked at Inuyasha, stunned. "Inuyasha I-"

"Don't worry about it. Call Inumira and see what has to be done."

Two days later...

"I've spoken with a representative from Kanma. He said Rin is free to see Kohaku as long as we agree to keep quiet about his...unlawful imprisonment."

"They are running a shady organization." Kagome added in.

"They're up to something." Inuyasha said.

"Indeed." his father agreed with a hand on his chin. "Why are they so adamant about rounding up their former students?"

"What are they going to do? Trigger their mind control simultaneously and declare war on the world?"

Everyone glanced up at Kagome after she nonchalantly expressed her opinion.

"W-what?" She asked nervously.

"You may be onto something." Inumira mentioned. "Though I must admit, I do hope you're wrong."

Sesshomaru had just woken up, his body covered in sweat. He wasn't sure where he was or how long he had been there. He was suspended in the air with chains attached to his wrists and ankles, a blindfold over his eyes, and the only thing he could smell was his own sweat and the high VOC paint on the walls. He could see light peeking into the upper right corner of his blindfold, but he couldn't hear anything except his own breathing and struggled grunts bouncing off the walls. Where was this place? Why did they bring him here? Was it because he remembered?

One week ago...

The moment he realized where he was, he could remember all the abruptly disconnected calls to his mother when he tried to implore her to take him home, he could recall the constant needles in his shoulders chest and back. He was like a guinea pig. They kept him secluded in a small room for hours, suspended the exact same way, observed through a two way window as they would loop fast forwarded clips of various disturbing videos that slowly tore his mind open until he was exhausted. They would only let him sleep a few hours before it was done again...and again...and again.

"I was so young." He said to himself as he revisited the memories once more. "I never escaped from the same life at all. Even when I was in the mental hospital, it felt natural to be there and I could never place why. Why...was I even there? Did I ...want to kill those people?"

Sesshomaru thought for a moment and nodded surely. "I did want to kill them. But what was my reason? What was my true reason?"

"Very good!" A sudden voice spoke on a speaker above Sesshomaru's head.

He tensed up and began to tug and pull at the chains.

"No need to struggle, my friend. We have a very special gift for you. A...welcome home present, you could say."

"What the hell are you gonna do to me?" He asked angrily through his teeth, panicking and tugging at the chains forcefully.

"If you don't like it here, you're free to transform and attempt to escape."

"That's probably what you want me to do."

"No, that's what you will do. You'll have to."

Sesshomaru heard a few clicking sounds before the scent of a woman filled the room. She got closer and closer to him, then his blindfold was removed.

A flying demoness was the first thing he saw.

He glared at her and her eyes responded with a smug look. A smirk formed at the corner of her lavender painted lips. "Are you comfortable?"

"Quite. I am assuming you are the cheapest whore they could find to service me."

The demoness snarled at him and clawed his cheek.

"I see you enjoy foreplay."

She raised a hand to strike him again.

"That's enough, Abi. Activate the machine."

Kanma Visitor's Area

Rin sat nervously in the quiet room , looking for a sound...any sound at all. She tapped on the table to offer herself comfort.

She jumped the moment she heard the doors open and placed a comforting hand on her stomach as she felt the twins tense up.

Kohaku was brought in by four men, one on each side of him. He was bound with heavy chains and blindfolded. They sat him in a chair and readjusted his chains so that he was bound to the chair.

They checked the bindings and pulled off his blindfold.

Rin could hear his surprised gasp bounce off the walls. Her wide eyes met his , and they both looked away pointedly.

"T-they never told me where I was going." He explained. "W-why did you come...to see me?"

"Well I-"

"Let me guess. They won't let you see Sesshomaru and I was somewhat of an access point for you." He chuckled darkly. "Of course. Why would you want to visit me?"

"I do wish I was here under better circumstances. I have no hatred or ill feelings in my heart towards you, Kohaku. Now that I understand what is really going on."

He finally found it in himself to meet her eyes...just her eyes. No matter how much it burned to stare at the Sun, he could never look down. Seeing her stomach would only remind him of what could have been...if only. "Is that so?"

"I'm not sure what frustrates me more: the fact that I could have helped you but didn't know what was the matter with you, or the fact that I didn't try hard enough."

"Rin I am beyond help. I am completely under the influence of a demon experiment. You tried all you could. We meditated, we went to support groups, I spoke to you about my feelings, but that summer I went away altered me. I couldn't even tell you about it because I hardly remembered. You stayed because you thought you could fix me. You seem to have a fatal attraction to broken things."

Rin froze. Her mind was fixated on the way he analyzed her. But she had to snap out of the past.

"Kohaku...please help me. I need to find Sesshomaru."

"He's undergoing the awakening process. They're going to turn on his killing alter...permanently."

"How?!"

"Operation FAULT. Forced Alter Using Low octave Triggering. They played moonlight sonata at a lower octave and slower tempo. It awakens something in the brain waves."

"Where are they keeping him?"

"You're not gonna get to him in time."

"Kohaku!" She plead. Desperate tears in her eyes.

"They're probably keeping him in the school. It's likely beyond too late at this point."

"Are they keeping you at the school too?"

He shook his head. "The warden said 'not yet'. Whatever that means."

"I want to try and help you too."

"For what? Rin, do you know why I stole that brooch?"

"I know it was a powerful family artifact."

"It was an order. And once I had it, all it did was strengthen the demon powers. Killing Inukimi was an accident. She was in on the operation. But I couldn't control my inner demon."

"Why would she be part of this? You mean she knew what was really happening at Kanma?"

He nodded. "Her line of beauty products was a cover. A lot of people were in it for the funding. She was running the trials too."

"The mon-"

"Shhh." He turned sharply towards the door. "Be aloof, Rin." He said quietly as Izen walked in.

"Well, what a lovely and interesting surprise." He remarked with a cheeky grin on his face. "Mind if I join you?"

Rin studied Kohaku's enraged face as his eyes turned black. She turned pointedly towards the warden as he pulled up a chair next to Kohaku.

"Don't worry, Ms. Asano. I have no intention of staying long. I have a proposition for you."

Rin listened intently, her interest piqued.

"I have a lot of pull in many fields. Government, law enforcement, corporate, medical..." He bragged. "If I were to tell you I could return Kohaku to his old self and have him released, along with all his incriminating records expunged, would you be satisfied?"

"I-" She turned to look at Kohaku , the pain and suffering evident.

"I know you still have feelings for him and your decision alone will determine his fate."

"That's a cruel game you're playing!" Rin shouted.

"I'm sorry if I have insulted you, Doctor. I mean...you want to be called doctor once again, do you not? I can make that happen for you as well."

"What do you want in return?"

"I want you to forget Sesshomaru and leave him here."

"I can't do that! We have a family together! He's my-"

"You cannot tell me that a few months has erased the years that you've shared with Kohaku." Izen said as he stood. "I will leave you two alone to continue your visit. You have 20 minutes." He said, tapping his watch.

Rin watched in confusion as Kohaku continued to sit still and silent.

"You should consider my offer. You're wasting your time." He said as he headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Rin called out to him desperately. "How long do I have to decide?"

He turned the knob and chuckled. "This time tomorrow, I would like an answer." He replied as he left.

Rin turned back to Kohaku and he turned his head to look at her, his devilish black eyes turning back to normal.

"This is a trap. You can't trust anyone, Rin. This can go so many ways and none of them will be good."

"W-what should I do? Why is he doing this?"

"Where's the brooch , Rin?"

"I-I hid it. Why?"

"This man is fucking crazy. The trials he ran on me, he plans on doing on himself. He's been grooming Sesshomaru to be the most dangerous and powerful demon in existence so he can use the brooch to withdraw his powers and keep them for himself. Izen wants to become a demon. And we're all his puppets."

"So you don't think he'll release you if I agree to his deal?"

Kohaku shrugged.

"Don't you want to find out?"

"Rin, what are you saying?"

At the school, in the infirmary...

"What is your name?"

"..."

"Do you know the woman in this photograph?"

"..."

"Are you ready and willing to kill?"

"...Yes."