AN: Took me a while longer than expected but with Halloween coming soon I've been busy making my costume. Bet you guys won't guess what it us lol Anyway I hope you all enjoy this chapter it was a little rougher to write probably because I want to finish it by Halloween. I am pretty satisfies with it though and I hope you all are as well. So please R&R!
Disclaimer: I own none of the Inuyasha characters.
"Is something the matter my lord?" Jaken asked as he looked to his master who had his gaze looking toward the ceiling. He knew what he heard, and he was more than positive where she was now just by locating the sound of her voice.
He knew it was Rin, but her cry was no scream and for that he was able to breathe a little calmer. A shout of anger, but for what he did not know. He could smell no blood, but even if that did ease his mind it didn't mean she wasn't in danger.
He knew where she was though, and once she was back in his line of sight it was time to say farewell to this wretched place. He honestly had no interest in a place that wouldn't benefit him such as this strange looking Inn.
Even if it was filled with tricksters what business was it of his? If the stupidity of those worthless demons knew no bounds then so be the amount of attacks he would present to them.
All that mattered now was to find Rin and move along.
"Headman, where are you taking us?"
"Why are we down here when we should be leaving outside?"
Voices, and by the sounds of it there were quite a few of them. The pitter patter of footsteps filled his ears and even Jaken could pick it up.
"Someone's coming," he whispered as he zoomed behind his master's leg for whatever protection he may get. After a good few seconds of cowering in fear more of the voices were heard which sparked both Jaken and Sesshomaru's curiosity.
"Headman please answer us."
"Look I told you this is a secret tunnel that will lead us outside so all of you quit your complaining!"
"Secret tunnel?" Jaken mumbled as he looked to the dozens of stone coffins all laid symmetrically beside one another as well as the lids of each opened. Jaken then looked to the old man who looked like he was snoozing away after his little fight from having to see the intimidating dog lord.
"A trap!" Jaken nearly shouted until he covered his mouth with his own green hand. Sesshomaru gave his servant an annoyed glare from the corner of his eye thinking that speaking of trap why could the imp not shut his?
To Sesshomaru it was more than obvious that the smell of a trap lingered in the air when he discovered the human in the coffin. No doubt the rest will be bound and gagged to die which included the old man along with the villagers as well as the children. Rin was not in the group, and still no scent of her blood. For now he knew she was alright, but the sooner he finds her the better.
"All those humans are going to die my lord," Jaken stated as he listened on to the group of people walking down the underground tunnel leading to where they were at.
"What do you intend to do?"
xxx
"You ready?" Rin asked as she held the weapon transformed weasel in her hands. The weapon of Rin's choice being a sharp knife so she may strike with ease. She gripped the handle tight nearly squeezing the poor weasel's true form. "Ow, hey hey not so tight wench."
Rin drew her eyes away with her lips forming the words the weasel already knew.
"Are you still mad?" the weapon spoke. Rin gave him one of her angry gazes with the hue in her eyes going dark, "Yes..."
The weasel shivered in fear realizing she still hasn't gotten over his little transformation earlier that left the young woman glowing pure candy apple red from head to toe, and her breathing increased as well as her heart beat. It wasn't his fault he thought that is what she wanted. She should have been more specific and now she was mad at him.
"It doesn't matter now so like I asked, are you ready?" Rin took her stance already picking a perfect juncture point to strike the illusion at. Hopefully with this everything will start to become clearer and the illusion will disappear. Tora stood off in the corner making sure she was well out of the way cheering on her friend.
"Do I really have a choice?" he spoke in a sarcastic tone. No sooner had he said those words Rin already flung his body at a breath taking speed to strike the center of the floor boards in the exact spot she dropped her hair ribbon.
There really was no sure way to figure out where to strike, just hope your hit is hard enough to hurt the demon that is creating this illusion.
"If ever a time I had the skill to sense demonic aura," Rin thought, "now would be the perfect time." Well this was no time to complain, and she would just have to go at it with only sight sound and instinct.
"D-did it work?" she wondered. Nothing seemed to of changed at first until.
"Rin look!" Tora shouted as the image of the clay walls around them started to vibrate as though they were looking at nothing more than fuzzy looking specs surrounding them.
"I think its working!" Rin said in relief as a smile graced her face at her proud handy skills. The specs began to disappear one by one, and soon another set of floor boards appeared before their eyes included a row of screen doors which then showed the illusion was vanishing.
"It worked," Tora smiled with her little jumps of joy presenting how happy she was. "You did it Rin!"
"I did do it," she thought with a sense of pride growing within her warm soul knowing she was no longer some defenseless little girl any more. She may not be the best fighter, but she had some uses that would benefit traveling with Sesshomaru. The thought of him suddenly struck her mind, and at that moment a wooden stairway was presented to her gaze.
"That must be the way down," Tora stated as she and Rin ran toward the wooden steps leading down to the first floor; the weasel completely forgotten.
I'm coming Lord Sesshomaru!
Rin lead the way with Tora following after. "This way," said Rin as she ran down the stairs, but no sooner had she ran down before she was sprinting all the way back up while motioning for Tora to move with a dozen, "Thatwaythatwaythatwaythatway!"
Tora watched in horror as something orange, round, and ignoramus followed after Rin up the stars breaking every board it rolled on.
"Is that a pumpkin?" Tora shrieked.
The pumpkin used it's lengthy green roots to maneuver itself to his prey while Rin ran in terror from the giant vegetable that looked as if he wanted to eat her alive. Rin was more surprised than terrified for pumpkins didn't really grow around these parts. They were vegetable she knew that much, but they weren't something she saw farmers grow in the village. She was very shocked, but now was hardly the time to think about that.
"Another illusion?" Tora asked as Rin ran her direction. "No time to think about it let's go!" she shouted as she grabbed the girl's hand and ran in the opposite direction.
Then again having her lord's assistance every once in a while certainly wouldn't hurt.
"LORD SESSHOMARU!"
A few yards away the weasel picked up his sore body while he rubbed the bruise on his noggin from having Rin throw him so roughly. "That damn wench," he thought. "I'll bet that throw was to intentionally get back at me from before."
After a little of wallowing in his own self pity the weasel looked around to find that he was completely alone. "T-they left me!" he said with his eyes going wide at the amount of betrayal he felt. "After all I do for her. Does she think it's easy to transform over and over again? Well it's not! That is the last time I help out a human."
The weasel continued on his little tantrum until the sounds of sprinting feet came from the hallway. He looked in the direction to find Rin running at a breathtaking pace, and the weasel only smirked in satisfaction.
"Well woman I see you came back to apologize," he said with his arms crossed and Rin only running faster toward him. "I'll have you know I expect a full apology as well as a good kiss on the….. (SMACK!)
A rough sandaled shoe rammed right on the poor weasel's tummy as he felt the weight of a light yet fully grown woman pounce on his body followed by the bare foot of a tiny little girl that left a dirty footprint on his face.
"Why you…..." he stated with rage building up in his voice. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE…g…goin…." The weasel turned his head to be smashed into the floor by long green vines while being rolled over by something large and orange. The poor demon lay completely flat on the ground with bits of chipped wood covering his brown fuzzy fur. "W-was that a pumpkin?" he muffled with his face still stuck to the floor.
"It's settled," he thought. "No other fate is worse than mine….."
xxx
"What do you plan to do my lord?" Jaken asked again when his master didn't answer the first time. He was only answered with an annoyed growl along with a death glare to match. Why should he assist these humans? What business was it of his anyway? It was no choice of his to get involved it was only Rin's well being he was looking out for and that alone is kindness enough from him.
"It does not matter," he states more to himself than to Jaken who felt as though he finally got his answer.
Sesshomaru turned to leave up the large pathway he created until something one of the shape shifting demons mentioned caught his attention.
"Where is that girl?"
"Girl?"
"The one who accompanied the children. I have yet to see her in the group."
Sesshomaru can tell by his senses that the ones speaking were demons, and by the sounds of their voice they were speaking in a strange animal like language that he too could understand. Being a dog demon definitely had perks. The other villagers probably found it strange to have their so called headman and another unfamiliar villager suddenly speak like animals but they knew not to question.
"You know as well as I the master wanted every human."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that girl. If I remember correctly one of the weasels went after her."
Sesshomaru took a step back in which kicking Jaken right smack in the face. So Rin was in danger, and the moment the thought struck him so did a scream that rang through his ears like a crashing of waves. Lord Sesshomaruuuuuuu!
Rin!
The sound of her voice sent him facing the opposite direction sprinting toward the hole he created in the floors above. In the process his black boot stepped Jaken who had just received the kick to his face. The little imp fell to the ground groaning in pain at his master's heavy armor weight.
"No other fate is worse than mine," he thought
xxx
Meanwhile on the top floor; boards cracked and split thanks to the over grown pumpkin steadily keeping up with the two females running for their life's. His body not only ruined the floors but also crushed the screen doors off to the side thanks to his large size. His oddly shapes eyes were pure black as well as his crooked mouth. The vines were long but were too preoccupied with moving the demons body to swish out and grab hold of their prey.
"Could that be another illusion?" Rin wondered as she looked back to face the sharp black triangular eyes of the demon chasing after them. She had seen stranger looking demons before and there was no way she was taking the chance to find out if he was real or not. She had no weapons on her, and did not have to wonder if her simple human strength could stand up to the demon.
"I'm going to get eaten by a vegetable!" Tora whined. Rin knew the statement might soon come true if something didn't happen fast. "Lord Sesshomaru!"
"Let's face it he's not coming to save us," Tora said as she and Rin tuned at the end of the hallway. Their breathing was steady but their legs were going to give out soon if things kept going the way they did.
"Sure he will he has never let me down before," Rin said with a smile despite her harsh breathing. Tora gave her a puzzled look not really sure what to believe at the moment since their death seemed so near. "Trust me all you have to do is have faith in him."
"Have faith in him….." Tora mumbled. What was faith going to do when her family died, what was faith going to do when she starved those first few days. Tora's thoughts soon broke when she saw what lay at the end of the hallway.
"Rin look!" Tora shouted as Rin too saw what she meant. A dead end….
"Now what will we do?"
Both girls had no other choice but to soon stop and the demon took it as his chance to throw his vines out to capture the youngest girl.
Tora shouted in fear as one of the vines aimed in her direction and attacked without any mercy. The little girl expected the pain to come as well as teeth munching on her tiny frame. Instead she opened her eyes to see Rin wrapped tightly in the vines with her teeth gritting from the lack of air circulation in her body.
"Rin!"
Another vine made its way to the little girl. "Get down Tora!" The child did as she was told and felt the vine strike the wall behind her leaving a crumbled hole with a clear view to the night sky. "Tora move!" she heard, but when she turned she already felt the vines slither their way around her body like dozens of little snakes.
Tora squirmed and fell back with her heels feeling nothing but bare air. "TORA," Rin shouted as she watched the little girl fall from the crumbled hole. The vines immediately retreated when the girl sunk down to have the harsh breeze of the night air hit her face.
She opened her eyes in horror as the ground came closer and closer, and her stomach felt as though it was going to burst from her body along with her heart. I'm going to die…..die…
Just have faith in him…..he's never let me down before…..
Have faith…..
Tora closed her eyes tight with visions of that white creature with the pretty golden eyes filling her head.
I don't….I don't want to die, please….please save me.
The ground got closer, and her heart raced faster. Please…..
A single tear fell from the girl's cheek, and after that everything seemed to happen so fast.
Instead of her face hitting the hard surface of the stone flooring she felt as though her face landed on a soft cloud. Her whole body in fact felt as though she landed on a soft cloud. She felt her body moving back up with the wind hitting her back, and an arm supporting her so she wouldn't fall.
Tora moved her face from whatever soft material she was buried in, and her eyes looked up to meet the white haired being from before.
His pale complexion shined against the moonlight in a way they could only describe him to be unearthly. Sesshomaru's face turned to meet the little girl's brown eyes, and she in turn stared into his rich sunset orbs as though she had just stuck treasure with the amount of golden color presented to her.
His eyes were intimidating yet inviting at the same time that left Tora feeling that so long as she was with him nothing bad was going to happen to her.
His long white bangs flowed in the air and the moonlight allowed his facial markings to stand out; especially his blue moon. She was very tempted to touch and caress ever inch of his face. To see if his pale skin was as smooth as it looked or what the marking felt like under her touch. His hair looked very inviting as well the way it waved through the breeze like strands of silk calling out to her.
She was very tempted, but his intimidating look was like a barrier around his whole body. It told her to back away, and yet at the same time she felt protected by that. She now knew what Rin was talking about, and Tora couldn't help but smile at the white creature before her.
"Rin," Tora suddenly remembered which caught Sesshomaru's attention as well. He had originally intended to follow the scent of Rin, but when he was able to pick up the scent of tears he sliced through one of the walls to catch the one who shed the tears.
The child from before, but all he could think of was where Rin was now.
"Where is she?" It was the first time the girl heard him speak clearly, and she couldn't help but notice his voice held such an aristocratic speech she could tell if he were to give orders to anyone they would follow in a heartbeat.
She felt them land on the same floor she fell from, and she looked down the hallway to see that half of the whole second floor had been ruined. "R-Rin was taken down there by a pumpkin," Tora explained as she felt herself being set down on the floor.
"Pumpkin?" he was baffled by the explanation. A pumpkin abducted Rin….a vegetable took Rin?
"It's true," Tora said as she pointed down the hallway. "He probably ate her by now…." Tora could feel tears sting her eyes at the loss of her friend, but Sesshomaru knew better than to believe such a ridiculous thought. He did, however, have a feeling where that demon probably took her.
He could smell Rin somewhere is the castle, and from what he could sense she was still on the second floor although he could not pinpoint where. He could just dash around looking, or he could take the more logical action.
"You really are him!" Sesshomaru looked behind him to find the little girl examining his rear end. His eyebrow arched at her actions as to why she took such interest in his behind while Tora simply smiled knowing he was the real thing and not some weasel.
"Thank you for saving me," she said with a smile similar to the childish grins Rin gave him when she was a child.
Tora felt her obi being tugged and then the same feeling of her stomach pounding its way through her body rang through her as Sesshomaru jumped off the second floor to land softly on the ground.
"How does he do that?" Tora thought. He jumped higher than normal, he practically flew, and he just jumped off a large castle to land softly on the ground. "Could he be…?" Tora thought as she looked to him again as he set her down. Golden eyes were not normal neither was silver white hair. His clawed hands, his markings, his entire being screamed he wasn't normal. "A demon?" she wondered.
"No," she thought. "Demons are supposed to be a lot scarier." She looked at him again," Then again I've never seen one before." It would have made sense, but the creature before her didn't seem evil. Everyone says demons are evil and ugly so why wasn't he?
"Where are you going?" she asked when she noticed he was leaving her. "What about Rin?"
"I know where she is," he said in a calm tone as he looked up to the main floor. If his calculations were correct he should be able to cut the demon off by the stairway. Sesshomaru used his demon speed to get to his location, and for some odd reason he felt like a small amount of weight was added to his fur.
He looked back to find the little girl clinging to his fur with her face buried in it. "I want to help you find Rin." He needed no assistance from her, but knew that if he told her to stay put she would end up in more trouble. He did not answer other than turning his head, and Tora soon found out her company was not very talkative.
"Is he really a demon?"
xxx
"Let me go," Rin said as she tried to break free from her bindings. She already felt like spilling tears at the thought of Tora falling and only hoped that my some miracle she survived. Right now, though, she had to think about her own survival.
Lord Sesshomaru….
xxx
"Why that wretched woman," the weasel said as he followed the trail of broken wood in hopes to find Rin and give her a piece of his mind. The weasel put his nose to the ground and sniffed around to trace the woman's scent.
"Let me go," he heard coming from down the hall. "Ah, so there you are wench I'll have you know I still….uh…."
The weasel was presented with the image of Rin being gripped by the vines of a giant pumpkin. "A pumpkin?" he thought. The weasel quickly started running away finding there was no way to dodge the weird demon's massive size. He ran with his mouth wide open while Rin still struggled to get free.
"Sesshomaru," she whispered. "Lord Sesshomaru!"
xxx
"Rin," he whispered as he heard her scream loud and clear. He moved faster throughout the castle completely forgetting his plan to cut the demon off by the stairway and only thought of seeing to Rin's safety. It was he that she called out for protection; he and only he will be the one to save her.
He could already pinpoint their location, and the moment he reached the stairway he could already sense the demon approaching.
The pumpkin rolled its way down the stairs with Rin still squirming in its grasp as well as running over the poor weasel demon that yet again had a bruise forming on his head.
No sooner had the pumpkin shown itself erupting from the dark upper floor before he met venomous poison coming from something sharp and deadly.
The moment a flash of orange entered the dog demon's eyes sight he poisoned up his claws and striked without any mercy toward the demon. A large roar emitted from the demon's mouth as he released his pain and felt his whole body begin to crack.
The vines holding Rin in place were destroyed as well, but not before she got a glimpse of who her savior was. The rustle of white clothing as well as those sun kissed eyes she longed to see.
"Lord Sesshomaru!" she said with a bright smile. Her smile then faded when she met the smoke of the blast hit her along with the remainder of the pumpkin demon disappearing into the wind.
"Pathetic weakling," Sesshomaru thought as he whipped his claws clean.
When the smoke cleared Rin saw herself enveloped in a pair of strong arms as she met the white figure that was her lord as he kept her from hitting her head on the ground when she fell.
Or was it her lord?
It was those eyes. Plain and yellow; she was always presented with emotions through his beautiful eyes but what she saw was dirty yellow eyeballs looking at her. She did not need to look at the obvious tails sticking out to see who was holding her. She knew Sesshomaru much better than to allow herself to be tricked a second time.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rin asked the weasel as he looked to her with his Sesshomaru like face turning into a puzzled look.
"You can tell it's me? Well you did call for this did you not?"
"Not for you to transform!"
The smoke cleared and a low growl was heard coming from inside the smoke. The real Sesshomaru was revealing looking to the imposter who held Rin in his arms. He was holding Rin in his arms, a position that should have been his from the very start.
Rin's annoyed glared went from the weasel to the real Sesshomaru that appeared form the smoke. The moment she saw his face her glare went from annoyed to joyous. "Lord Sesshomaru!" she said as a warm bright smile formed on her lips as well as her eyes shining with unsheathed tears.
She knew he would come to save her.
Rin pushed her way out of the weasel's arms with ease as she ran to the one who truly held her attention. Rin ran to Sesshomaru and placed her hands on the front of his armor knowing this was as close to a hug as she was going to get at the moment.
Rin was so glad to see the real him she was stuck in her own little world not realizing the intimidating glare her lord was giving the weasel demon.
"This guy…" the weasel thought as he felt himself transform back when Sesshomaru started sending him dirty evil glares through his eyes.
"He looks…." He felt sweat forming on the top of his head as those golden depths started getting to him.
"Really…." Stare….
"Really…." Stare….
"Scary…."
…SMACK!
Tora jumped from her spot behind Sesshomaru's leg to watch the weasel demon being struck so hard it sent him flying through the roof and into the night sky to land who knows where.
"That's a bit harsh," Tora said as she squinted to see the weasel little body fly off toward the distance. "Especially since he helped us too, but I guess he kind of deserved it."
Sesshomaru really was strong, and with that immense amount of strength Tora concluded he probably was a demon. He was certainly no human, and an angel would definitely make more sense but angels didn't exist other than in heaven she heard.
Demon or not, he really was beautiful for a demon. Like perhaps a mix between the two. The looks and beauty of some exotic rare angel, but with the raw power and strength of a demon.
"Tora," Rin said as she smiled noticing the little girl. "How did you…."
Tora answered by simply pointing to Sesshomaru with a smiling on her face and a wink to her eyes.
Rin's eyelids dropped a little as her smile brightened on her face at her lord's kindness. She had a plan of asking him to use the tenseiga on the girl if she truly did die, but that was all up to him. Although now she did not have to worry about that in the slightest, and right now she was just so glad to see him.
When they locked eyes again all traces from his angry gaze left and was replaced with the warm tender eyes Rin was more than happy to see. Rin almost felt bad though from him having to get involved in this whole affair as well as saving not only her life but Tora's too.
"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." She looked down a little, but still kept her hand on his armor. He didn't seem mad, but she felt an apology was in order for getting him involved in something he could have easily avoided if it wasn't for her. And here she didn't want to be a burden.
"You're injured," he said softly as to make her look at him again. Rin saw his clawed white gloved hand trace over the top of her right hand to where a very small yet red cut lay. She did not know how that got there, but with the amount of broken wood she faced that night it would have been a surprise if she didn't have a few cuts.
"Oh, yes I didn't even realize that was there." His voice was soft and affectionate, and she smiled at his concern over her. She layed her other hand over his with her cheeks turning a pretty pink from the thought of her hands holding his. Even if it was the hand that was covered by a glove it was still very warm. "It does not hurt though."
Sesshomaru did not pull his hand away from the human gesture, but he did feel his body heat up only a bit. Of course with the self control he had he was able to hide the color his cheeks wanted to turn.
"What about you?" Rin asked which brought his eyes to look into her worried ones. "You're not hurt are you?" the concern and affection in her voice only softened his eyes more. It was just like Rin to worry over him when he was the one to rarely ever get hurt much less get a scratch.
His face was as passive as always with not one single movement to his mouth or cheeks.
Although just by glaring into his eyes it was like a doorway to all his emotions that only Rin was given the key to. A key he gave to her and only her for she was the only one who was able to unlock it and embrace his quiet nature with her happy affectionate one.
"No," he answered gently and was received with her eyes closing and her mouth forming yet another warm yet irreplaceable smile.
Tora watched from the side not wanting to ruin the peaceful moment the two lovebirds seemed to share. She considered them lovebirds whether they wanted to admit it or not. She smiled at their sweet gestures and words even if not one single hug or kiss was given. It was as though it was not needed yet.
The moment they were sharing was in its own way warm and tender and Tora only looked away with a little blush forming on her cheeks for she couldn't wait to grow up and find a Sesshomaru of her own one day. He only proved to her that not all demons were created equal.
For a few good moments all seemed well until the ground began to shake causing the entire Inn to rumble. "What's going on?" Tora asked before stumbling to the ground. Rin too almost found herself on the ground but supported herself by leaning against Sesshomaru who looked down having a fairly good idea what was going on.
Those humans were still in danger.
AN: Ok there you have it for ch. 5 I'm trying to finish up quick to end this story by Halloween so I'll be updating the next chapter very soon. I was pretty satisfied with this chapter but I would like your comments on it as well. So I hope you all enjoyed it and please stay alert for the next chapter and see what happened of those humans and more Fluff between Sesshomaru and Rin at the Obon ceremony.
Please Review!