Activist duties are GO!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE FANTABULOUS WORLDS OF INUYASHA OR DURARARA! ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS!

XXX

Chapter 3

The sky was painted an awesome red.

"Th-there's n-no one l-left… Oh God… Mama, Papa, Taro-kun… where are you?! I p-promise I'll be a good girl, so p-please—come back! I'm begging you…" A young girl, no older than eight, was crying, alone, in a village. Or at least, so she thought.

"Are you lost, little one?" The small girl glanced up, her hazel eyes reflecting the terrible scene around her: dozens of dead, mutilated bodies—family, friends, even her beloved Taro-kun—they all littered the ground in a parody of their lives, their mouths open in a silent scream, their skin as white as death. She shivered. It wasn't true! It couldn't possibly be true!

And the woman. The woman was so beautiful, with her dark midnight hair that flowed casually down her back, her burnt auburn eyes that took in the scene around her with a sense of… actually, Rinko wasn't sure what to make of her expression. It was somewhere between adoring—an adoration so great it rivaled looks of devout priests that would, from time to time, pass through the village—and an almost shocked reverence, as if the woman hadn't expected such disaster. Whatever it was, Rinko decided, she knew she did not like it.

That didn't make her any less lonely.

"Y-yes," she sobbed out, stubbornly wiping away tears as they fell. "M-my family… they were… they were…"

The woman grinned maliciously, a parody of a caring smile on her perfect face. "Slaughtered, little one. Your family was slaughtered. Say it with me. They're dead."

Rinko shook her head pitifully. "No…"

"But they are little one. They are dead and they left you—you, a poor defenseless child—all by herself in the world. What will happen now, hm? Will you stay here until a demon comes, enticed by the scent of blood, and be devoured whole? Will you starve? Or, with a stupid carelessness, will you try to reach another village? Even if you did," she pointed angrily at the corpses, a manic grin on her face, "even if you did, no one will help you. No one will hear your cries. No one will save you."

By this time Rinko was silent, her sobs having been reduced to spine-wracking shudders. What this woman said… it was the truth, an absolute horrific truth, something she couldn't deal with. Couldn't the woman see that she was already in so much pain? Why couldn't she just go away?! Then Rinko could decide on how to die. Because Rinko knew. She wasn't brave or smart, quick or forgiving. She was just a penniless eight-year-old girl whose only family was gone, destroyed. Even Taro-kun… And she knew if she didn't kill herself soon, a demon would come, just like the woman said. By then it'd be too late.

By then she'd be at the mercy of some capricious demon, praying to God to be killed quickly. She couldn't live like that. As soon as that woman left, Rinko would be no more.

The woman, seeming to slip between cruel and compassionate, bent down until she was eye to eye with the sobbing eight year old. Gently, almost like a mother, she grabbed the girl by the shoulders and forced her to look at her. "But see little one… I would never leave you. If you make a deal with me, I will be with you for many years to come. I could save you."

"D-deal?"

Saika smirked. "It is a simple deal. You must simply surrender yourself—your mind, your body, your soul—to me." She grasped the child in a tight hug. "I'll be forever with you, child. Now, what is your answer?"

Rinko felt a strange sense of calm wash over her and, against her will, relaxed in the woman's embrace. She had a point. Why should she kill herself? She didn't do anything—no, it was their fault. Her family left her, alone. What did they think was going to happen? That she'd just sit around and wait until something appeared, be it man or beast? Did they think she was strong, loving? No. No, she wasn't. That's why she didn't even hesitate. "I accept. Please Mother… please be with me always."

She felt a familiar sword grasped securely in her hand and comfort as her Mother led her far, far away.

XXX

"WIND SCAR!"

A blinding bright light illuminated the clearing, obliterating everything in its path—which happened to be a large arachnid demon with a taste for human blood. It had recently decimated a small village—the smell of blood still hung fresh in the air, burning Inuyasha's nose—and had fed on the villagers, engulfing them whole with its fanged mouth. Nobody had survived.

Overhead, a woman and a monk simply rolled their eyes. "Couldn't he have been a little more discreet? One of these days…"

It was the woman, a fierce looking girl with long chestnut hair and amethyst eyes, accentuated only by a tight black suit and a large boomerang on her back. The other, the man, his dress was worlds apart; wearing traditional monks' clothing, he held a staff in one hand and a necklace of prayer beads on the other. His hair was short, barely longer than his shoulders, and his hazel eyes watched the girl with amusement. "Sango, that's just Inuyasha. Besides, you know how strange he gets when Lady Kagome leaves. Of course, he isn't lucky to have a woman like you…"

Sango felt a familiar pressure on her butt. She bit her lower lip, furious. WHY couldn't the monk keep his hands off her?! It was bad enough she had to deal with a depressed Inuyasha and continue to look for her brother, but seriously? She had to deal with a sex-deprived monk who didn't know the meaning of "personal space?"

She'd fix that. A moment later, Miroku was sporting a large red handprint on his cheek. He rubbed it sheepishly and said, "Ah, my dear Sango… Well, I got to experience it once more. That's all a living man can do in this world." He laughed. "Not living with regrets, that's what I always say!"

Soon the other cheek sported a red handprint as well. Sango, ready to drop the monk off of Kirara's back, flew towards the earth.

"Doesn't he ever learn?" a floating, ball of… er, fox fire said, rolling his eyes as he did. He, too, followed the feuding couple down to the earth before he changed into his actual form, a small boy around the age of ten with a twitching fox tail and wide green eyes. Don't be fooled though—this boy, unlike the feuding couple, was a demon, the only full-blooded one in the group. The other demon, Inuyasha, wasn't quite so lucky. No, by some chance of fate's intervention or perhaps simple karmic bad luck, his mother—a human—had fallen in love with his father—a demon. Regardless, he was good man.

Well, sometimes.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called, his jovial mood from earlier dispersing like fog on a mountainside. Hopping off Kirara, he began jogging to the half-demon, before slowing at the sight of all the bodies. It was so sad, really. All these people, all this blood… it was times like these that Miroku almost regretted being a monk. Almost. Unfortunately, someone had to bury them. "Inuyasha. Find a shovel and we'll start burying all these people." The scent was getting unbearable—Miroku had to cover his nose to suppress the putrid fumes. "Hurry up. If you don't, we might miss Lady Kagome's arrival."

"Tch! I know already! Don't need to give me shit," he cursed, though his posture was relaxed, not at all as hostile as his words. "Besides, I think I saw a shovel in one of the nearby huts. I'll go and check." And with that, he left—but not before coughing at the smell of death. With his heightened sense of hearing and scent, he was able to find enemies fairly quickly—but he also could smell some pretty vile things at times. For example, this time he was able to smell the metallic blood, the spider demon's disintegrating corpse, and the scent of soiled trousers and emptied stomachs.

He was smelling fear and he didn't like it.

So it was no surprise that he was ready to bury these bodies and go back to Bone Eater's Well, where he had taken a sort of… vigilance, as he waited for Kagome to return back to their time. The quicker they got this done, the better. Retracing his memories, he made his way to a far hut at the end of the village and saw the aforementioned gardening tool, sitting in all its glory on the bare, parched earth. Satisfied, he went to grab it, before a sound stopped him cold.

A breath. A shaky, terrified breath. And the scent of blood was even stronger than before.

He growled lowly. So there were still demons in the area? Strange, considering he hadn't smelled any, but now that he was focusing, he could smell… something. Not quite a demon, not quite a human… what was it? It was different from his smell too; if anything, it resembled Kikyo's scent, strange as that may seem. It wasn't her, surely, but it had the same smell of death, the same smell of soul gatherers, albeit a tad differently.

He drew Tessaiga. The feeling of power resonated in his palms and he could tell—almost imagine—his sword was irked by this… other demon. It wished to destroy it, to consume it, because it knew… something. Not surprisingly, his sword was being cryptic.

"Come out, you big ugly…" He stopped as a sob echoed through the air. Deciding that it definitely sounded like a human girl, he ran into the hut, all thoughts of precaution thrown to the wind. He was expecting to see a large demon or someone with a jewel shard or even Naraku…

…but instead, he found a human girl. A young human girl. And she was alone. Crying.

Feeling ridiculous, he blushed and placed Tessaiga back into its holder. "Hey kid; you alright? What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

It took a moment for the girl to speak, but when she did, her voice was timid. "I-I don't know. O-one minute, m-my family and I w-were simply p-playing, but then… oh God, but then…!"

Inuyasha's patience snapped. "Look kid, stop the waterworks. My friends are a little ways down, so why don't you come with us? We got some food and were heading back to another village anyways…" Inuyasha was going to continue, but the kid was giving him this weird look, like she'd found a new toy or something. It was a little unsettling, to say the least.

The girl, still crying, nodded. "O-okay… I'll go with you." But if Inuyasha had been paying any attention, any at all, he wouldn't have missed the flash of red eyes or the girl's insane smile.

XXX

"Master Totosai…! Master Totosai…!"

"Mmm, go away, would you? I'm sleeping."

"Master Totosai, you answered," the person from before deadpanned. "And anyways, this is important. It has to do with that cursed blade, Saika."

"Hmm? What about it? I'll have you know that the blade is in a sacred village, far away from demon interaction. Well, not like a demon can use it… But that priest should be watching it!" And with that, he spit fire at his apprentice. "Now go away, Gisho! I'm trying to sleep and I don't need you interrupting me for every little thing!"

The young fox demon just barely dodged the fire. "But Master Totosai…! That priest is dead! Someone killed him and took the blade!"

For a moment everything was silent. Then he heard a loud bang, like someone had fallen out of a bed and hurried footsteps. Soon he was met with the sight of his rushing mentor.

"Why didn't you tell me, Gisho?! This isn't good, not at all… I'll have to go find it! I worry what could happen with that blade running amok…"

"What could happen, Master Totosai?"

Totosai, who'd been too engrossed in his own thoughts, jumped in shock. "Don't scare me like that Gisho! …And it's none of your concern. Watch my shop for me while I'm gone!" And with that, he flew off on his trusted demon bull, MoMo, leaving a flabbergasted apprentice behind.

Finally, Gisho said, "Isn't that just because you don't know yourself…?"

He decided not to dwell on that.

XXX

"What's your name, little one?"

The girl stared up at the kind-eyed monk and blushed; he really looked like Taro-kun this close and she wanted to just reach out and touch him, touch Taro-kun, bring him back… But no. Her Mother would not allow it. "M-my name's R-Rinko…"

"Ah, a splendid name! I'm sure that in a few years, you'll blossom into a fine, beautiful woman, sure to make any man proud! Which makes me wonder if you'd be so kind to bear my children…"

Sango took her boomerang and hit him on the back of his head. "She's already traumatized enough; she doesn't need your harassment." Sango smiled towards Rinko. "Well Rinko, we're heading back to a village in a bit. Are you coming with us?"

Rinko, whose eyes had been wide as saucers, shook her head slowly. "I-I can't… Mother won't let me." Giving a spine-chilling glare to Inuyasha, she growled, "And she really dislikes your sword, half-demon. But what Mother wants, Mother gets. I've no need to keep her from it."

"Mother?" the InuTaichi asked in perfect unison. "What mother? Didn't you say your mother was murdered…?"

The little girl laughed, her voice shrill and demented. Crazy. "Not that mother, silly; my other mother. My mother, Saika. She just loves humans."

And she drew her sword, eyes slowly becoming the color of blood.

XXX

Hope you enjoyed it! And please review! Next chapter focuses on the fight between Saika and Inuyasha! Stay tuned!