"Lord Sesshomaru! Wait!" Jaken ran up behind his master, in an attempt to halt him, "What of the half-breed! I thought we were going to kill her!"
Sesshomaru paused and looked back coldly at his servant, "I said nothing of the sort." his voice was quiet, almost too quiet. Suddenly he looked up, as if picking up a presence. "hm..."
Rin gazed up at the demon man, her large brown eyes sad, "Sir...why did we leave our friend?" She looked down at her feet, "She was so nice..."
Sesshomaru stiffened, his eyes lowering to look at the small girl, "Our friend has some things she needs to deal with."
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I DO!" a snarl sounded from behind him, and Sesshomaru turned only to feel pain lancing across his cheek.
He looked down at the seething half-demon Hanako, one of her hands dripping with blood. He reached up to touch his cheek, feeling the warm liquid, and the metallic scent of his blood. "How?"
"Cat demons are always faster than you stupid dog demons!" she hissed, her claws extending as she grew angrier. Small fangs began to grow from her mouth and she snarled, "This is your fault! You are the reason Shuya was killed! I will avenge his death, and paint his grave with your blood!" she lunged again, her claws outstretched as she aimed for his face.
Sesshomaru raised one arm up defensively, wincing slightly as her claws raked it over and over again. With little effort, he swung his other arm, catching her wrist and throwing her away, "Foolish girl. This is how you repay me for my services to you?" He asked calmly.
"Services? Yeah right! If anything, you made everything worse! How is that a service?" She hissed and leaped at him.
Sesshomaru simply flicked her away, having gotten over his previous surprise from her assault, "Jaken. Take Rin and hide. I must handle this."
"Y-yes Master!" Jaken said rather eagerly, fearing for his life. He had witnessed many battles between his master and his half-brother, Inuyasha, and things had never gone truly well. Jaken grabbed Rin and ran, "Come on! Master wishes to settle matters himself!"
Hanako ignored them, her eyes trained on Sesshomaru. "You are going to pay!" she growled, "Mark my words Sesshomaru!"
"Enough of this idle chatter. You need to be put in your place, just like another filthy half-breed I know." He said coldly, his eyes narrowing. One arm extended, and a sickly green aura surrounded his claws.
Hanako sensed something deadly about his claws, and she looked down at her palms. Her silver moons glowed and her chakrams appeared, and she grasped them, "I will not allow you to live after today!" she snarled. "MARK OF THE MOON!" She yelled, her chakrams glowing white. With a mighty leap, she crossed her arms, shrieking as she released a tremendous force of pure energy as she slashed the air.
Sesshomaru's eyes widened the smallest of a fraction as the blinding white energy rushed at him. With speed and grace he alone has mastered, he leaped out of the way. Using his left hand, a golden whip formed and he lashed out at the she-demon, "That was almost impressive. But not impressive enough." He taunted as his whip lashed at her again.
Hanako reached her arm up and caught the whip as it wrapped around it, and she pulled, forcing Sesshomaru closer, "Ha! You think you're so powerful!" she snapped, "You are nothing!"
Sesshomaru blinked, and he became truly angry. With a mighty yank, he pulled Hanako to him. Hanako gasped as she dropped her chakrams and was pulled forward, and Sesshomaru's claws caught her by her throat. He gave a rough squeeze, keeping his poison claws in check as he gave her a warning, "You have insulted the wrong one..." He slammed her to the ground, leaning over her, "Now we shall see who kills who..."
Hanako growled in defiance, and with a snarl, she raised her feet and kicked Sesshomaru off of her. She rushed to grab her chakrams, but Sesshomaru's whip curled around her neck. She choked and flew back as he pulled her away from her weapons, and she looked up at him in anger.
"Foolish half-breed...You aren't worth death. I shall make your punishment much worse." he grabbed her by her hair and looked her in the eyes, "I shall make you my pet. That is mercy in itself." He voice was cold, yet there was a hint of amusement in it that infuriated Hanako.
"I will never be your pet!" she hissed, "Ah!" she cried out as he yanked her hair hard, and she gave him a look of disgust, "Why? Why would you want a filthy half-breed as your pet?"
"So I can show any other half demons that I am merciful," he answered simply, and he produced a black piece of shining leather. "I have been saving this. It was given to me by my mother. She believed having a pet is a very wise thing, and I do believe she was correct." Sesshomaru then pierced his skin with his claws, letting the blood soak into the leather. Or more like, the leather absorbed the blood. That was when Hanako felt a sharp pain in her neck, and Sesshomaru released her, but not before the leather collar wrapped around her throat and squeezed. She could feel her blood fusing with the leather, and in it, she felt herself become connected to Sesshomaru.
Then it was over, and Hanako fell to her knees, "What...have you done?" she attempted to take the collar off, but some demonic energy stopped her. "Take this off!"
"I shall not, for I am your master now. That collar binds you to me, and you must obey my every command." He explained in a snide voice. He looked up and spotted her chakrams, "Put your weapons away." he ordered.
Hanako felt some compulsion to obey, yet she fought it, her eyes locked with his in defiance, "I will not submit..."
"Pick up your weapons, and put them away. Now." he said, but with more force, and the collar around her neck tightened. Hanako growled, clearly unwilling to move, yet the compulsion became almost irresistible. Sesshomaru's face darkened the slightest bit, and he spoke once more, "I said NOW."
Hanako choked and gasped as the collar began to strangle her, and in desperation, she scrambled over to her chakrams and held them, the blades forming back into crescent moons on her palms. The collar loosened after the order was fulfilled, and Hanako fell back, gasping for air.
Sesshomaru walked over to her, his gaze icy as he looked down upon her, "get up and follow me." he commanded before walking away. Hanako groaned, yet she obeyed. Once she stood up, she immediately began walking after him, like she was being pulled after him like she was on some leash.
"This is humiliating!" She hissed to herself, "I was going to kill him, but I ended up being his...his pet! This is absolutely cruel!"
"You should have thought of that before you attacked me." Sesshomaru retorted, "You brought this upon yourself. You are mine now, and you shall never know freedom again."
Hanako looked at him in disgust, "This is why I hate demons. They are selfish, cruel, and heartless. I cant believe I let you get involved in my life. I should have just run away and left you in the forest!" she clenched her fists, feeling her warm blood flow and drip from her hands as she pierced her palms.
"Your words don't bother me. You were the fool who let me in." He replied. "Jaken. I assume everything is alright with Rin."
Jaken appeared and eyed his master, "Yes Lord Sesshomaru! Rin is right here! Safe and sound! And my lord, she is still alive?" the question was pointed at Hanako, who bared her teeth in response.
"She is my new pet. She must obey me now. You are in charge of feeding her Jaken." Sesshomaru said quietly as he looked at Rin. The girl was gazing at Hanako, and she paid no mind to Sesshomaru as she ran up to the woman.
"Wh-what has he done to you?" She asked quietly. "Why are you here?"
"Leave me be." Hanako growled. As angry as she was at Sesshomaru, she bore no ill will towards the girl. In fact, Hanako liked Rin, and she was more than happy to see her again. But her relief did little to soothe her anger at Sesshomaru, as she cast a reproachful look at him, "I doubt Master would be very happy about you speaking to me..."
Sesshomaru said nothing in reply, but simply began walking. As soon as he did, Hanako began to follow, snarling as she was compelled from his orders. Jaken and Rin soon caught up, and Hanako flicked and ear as she felt something grab her tail. She turned to look, and almost smiled as she saw Rin petting and hugging her long fluffy black tail.
"You are soft." Rin said quietly, "Very soft." She buried her face in her tail.
Hanako felt her heart warm and she sighed, "I like taking care of my appearance. Its a cat thing." she admitted with a chuckled. Rin giggled and hugged more, and with a smile as genuine as she could make it, she picked Rin up and held her. "Even kitty demons like to be well groomed, and since I have a master now, I guess he will have to groom me."
Sesshomaru stopped and looked back at her, "You can do that yourself."
"Oh, but I am a pet, and pets need a master to tend to their every need." Hanako said with a venomous smile, "I cannot bathe, find food, or help myself in any manner. I am a simple, mindless pet. At least to you. I am your pet. Not Rin's or the little Imp's. So you must have sole care for me." she snickered, enjoying the look of annoyance on his face.
"Very well. I suppose that is only logical. But as your master, in return for your care, I order you to guard Rin with your life, if I for some reason am unable to. You are her guardian now." Sesshomaru gave her a glare, a challenge gleaming in his eyes.
Hanako would have agreed anyway, having already begun forming a bond with the small girl. She glared back, her only sign of agreement being her arms tightening around the girl. Sesshomaru sniffed and continued walking, "We must find a place to rest before nightfall."
"If you tell me which way you are heading, I can give you directions to a spring or small town." she offered, walking almost right beside him.
"We are traveling to a village, one where my brother lives." Sesshomaru replied in a tight voice.
This guy has a brother? Oh boy do I feel sorry for him. She thought to herself, "You have a brother? I bet he is every bit as awful as you..."
"My brother Inuyasha is human, and married. He was a half-demon like you, but he chose to be human, as an act of love for his wife." Sesshomaru explained, his voice somewhat growing darker, "He is happy, so therefore, I cannot complain. Besides, he gives us shelter when we need it."
Hanako blinked and looked down, "Oh...my apologies then. Wait. He was half-demon? How did he become human?" she asked somewhat eagerly, her eyes glimmering as she began to hope for the same possibility.
"He used the Jewel of Four Souls. The Sacred Shikon Jewel, to make himself fully human. And in the process, the jewel was destroyed." Sesshomaru explained patiently.
And just like that, her hope were crushed, and she sulked, "Oh...I see..." she sighed, "I guess that won't work..."
"You want to be human as well?" Sesshomaru inquired, his head tilting towards her.
"Of course! Then I would have this tail, or these ears, and I would be able to live in peace!" Hanako snorted angrily.
"I like your tail and ears." Rin said softly, "They make you look cute. Right Sesshomaru?" She looked up at the man and smiled.
Sesshomaru seemed taken aback by her question, and he gave Hanako a long look, his eyes traveling over her body slowly, "Yes. I suppose she is. For a half-breed." he added quietly.
Hanako rolled her eyes and scowled, but Rin wasn't finished, "Why is her being a half-breed so bad? Your brother was a half-breed. Why is Hanako any different? She is nice, and kind, and if you really didn't like her, you would have just killed her, not bring her along as a pet."
It was the most she had ever heard come out of the girl, and her intelligence stunned Hanako, temporarily breaking the compulsion spell as she paused. Sesshomaru was just as stunned, and he looked at Rin, then at Hanako, lingering on her as if he was studying her, "Hm...I suppose you are right. But I have my own reasons of bringing her. They are not for you to learn until later." Sesshomaru gave Rin a stern look, "No arguments." he turned and started walking again.
Rin looked up at Hanako and smiled, "he likes you. He just won't admit it." She giggled and jumped from her arms and ran ahead, spreading her arms like a bird, as if she was flying.
He likes me? He sure has a funny way of showing it. And what did he mean, 'his own reasons'? I don't think I like the sound of that, and with this stupid collar, he can do anything he wants, and I will be unable to stop him. Fear flashed through her, What am I going to do?