I'm soooo sorry! This is so late. From now on I'm going to try to start a deadline! What day would be best for me to post? I'm going to go with Friday until I get some feed back on that! Anyway, on with the story!

Never had Rin seen so much hatred in one piercing gaze.

His claws dug deep in her skin and fury burned in his eyes. She truly believed she was going to die.

But then, from deep inside, her soul sparked. Tears streaming from the corners of her eyes, Rin made one last attempt at freedom.

Doing the first thing that came to her mind, she used her last burst of strength to slam her knee against the weak spot between his legs.

He gasped in shock and, for a moment, withdrew his claws and relinquished his grip. That moment was all Rin needed to make a break for it.

She rushed away from his reaching arms into the trees.

But Hero wasn't just playing anymore.

Within a few seconds of her escape, she had spotted his blurred figure chasing along side her, a murderous tendency still showing in his unguarded eyes.

In a flash, he jumped.

Hero flew by Rin, airborne, and raked his claws against her fragile side, taking the first few layers of skin and muscle away with him.

She released a gasp of pain and, halting where she stood, grasped her profusely-bleeding side.

Rin pressed her eyes tightly together for a moment, but then slowly opened them. Bringing the hand which had been covering her wound in front of her face, she stared at it in pure shock.

It was covered with her own blood.

A branch snapped behind her and she managed to turn her head around, grasping a tree to hold herself up on her wobbling legs.

Hero was walking slowly to her from between the trees. His legs seemed to be shaking, almost as if he wanted to stop himself from taking another step, and his fists were rolled up so tight that small lines of his blood were dripping from his palm. Or maybe it was remnants of her own.

It was like someone flipped a switch in Rin's mind.

The pain was gone, as was the fear. It was as if she was watching her own life, not living it. Only one thing echoed through her frozen mind.

Run!

Rin ran, blood pouring relentlessly from her side. Hero dashed after her, of course, but didn't reach her before she had already left the cover of the trees.

Unfortunately for Rin, there was no room left to run after the trees were behind her. She stared blankly at a hard cliff wall.

Sill in her daze, she turned to the sight of the ever-angry Hero.

He was fuming, though his footsteps still seemed resistant.

"Nowhere left to run," he stated coldly with more than a hint of malice.

Rin glanced around, looking for any chance at escape.

Further along the cliff face, there was a rather small hole. From where Rin stood, it looked were if it was deep.

It was her last shot.

Rin dove at the fracture with all the speed she could muster.

Hero gained on her right as she neared its safe depths. Swiftly reaching out, he only managed to cut off a large chunk of her hair as she slid, feet first, out of his reach.

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Sesshomaru heard it coming about a second before it reached him, but that didn't prevent the shock.

He heard an unnatural whooshing coming in his direction. Sesshomaru turned his head around slightly to investigate.

At the top of the tallest building in the city was a group of monks. They had prepared a special weapon for demons.

That is what Sesshomaru now faced.

Sacred sutras, they alone could never hurt a strong demon such as Lord Sesshomaru, but they were only part of the thing launched.

It had been uniquely made just for the purpose of killing a powerful demon. Many sacred sutras were in a large ball held together with a mystery substance that gave the object its extraordinary power.

The weapon was alight with an astonishing white glow as it flew at Sesshomaru's turned back. It seemed almost translucent.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, and he vainly attempted to turn to face the fast-approaching object. It reached him before he had a chance.

The glowing ball sunk though his armor without even causing a dent. It was only meant for flesh. He felt it race though his back, reaching though him all the way to his lungs, making them falter. His back felt as if it was on fire where the thing had touched him.

Once it reached his insides it vanished, but the damage was still there. But he would die before letting the humans know that.

Sesshomaru slowly turned to the village and tilted his head up questioningly, as if saying, Was that really suppose to hurt? Then he turned away once more and walked nobly out of their sight.

"Those humans are lucky we are in too much of a hurry to bother with them! Right, my Lord?" Jaken questioned. His voice shook slightly, rattled as he was by the previous event. But he convinced himself there was no need to worry. Sesshomaru wouldn't even be affected by something like that.

He was very wrong.

Mere moments after the human city was blocked by trees, Sesshomaru nearly collapsed. He grasped a tree in front of him with both hands and, eyes shut tight in pain, took swift shallow breaths.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken exclaimed, but his words barely reached the demon lord. To him, Jaken's voice sounded soft and far away.

Sesshomaru tried to maneuver where his back was pressed against the tree. As he turned himself, his hands gripped the bark so tight his knuckles surpassed their usual shade of white. His eyes were squinted open painfully, a look of excruciating determination on his face.

When Sesshomaru's back rested against the thick tree, he allowed himself to slide down gradually. Even the moonlight coming through the trees was too bright for his eyes as he struggled to keep them open. Jaken scurried around him like a frightened animal, squawking incoherent words Sesshomaru could find no meaning in. He stared past Jaken, eyes blurring, in the direction Rin's scent had traveled. Of all times, why now?! He couldn't travel in that condition.

He couldn't even move.

As the world darkened around him, he fell into a healing sleep. His last thought before passing into oblivion was that Rin was getting farther and farther away, and he lacked the ability to pursue her . . . for now.

Pitch Black Nothingness

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It was dark.

Only in the middle of that dark hole did Rin's mind finally sink back into her body. It all ached. She could feel the blood still pouring out of her side, arms, and other small cuts she had received. How much had she lost? Her mind was dizzy, but she couldn't faint now. She felt like if she did she would never wake up again.

Rin looked up at the hole which she had come though, trying to distract herself from the pain. It was very small. She was surprised she had fit. Though its size was a stroke of luck because Hero was too large to follow.

As that thought crossed her mind Hero's arm shot though the hole, reaching in to grab her.

Rin let out a piercing scream. His claws raked close to her face as she backed as far as she could, terror in her eyes. He let his hand swipe through the air uselessly a few more times before he withdrew it.

For a few seconds there was complete silence except for Rin's pounding heart. Then she heard the sound of attacks. Hero was pouncing at anything in his sight, venting his fury. He attacked trees, rocks, even the ground, relentlessly. Hours passed and still the sound did not cease, though it did slow.

Rin felt so weak, she could barely see straight. She had lost so much blood, though she had balled up her kimono over her wounds trying to stop the flow.

Finally, the noise stopped. Within seconds Hero's face appeared in Rin's view, right outside of her safe haven.

He seemed completely different. Rage no longer filled his eyes; she could see that, even though he avoided hers. His face was calm, remorseful even.

The he slowly reached his hand into to hole and held it there for a few moments. "Come on," he said. "If you stay in there, you'll die."

His voice almost sounded worried.

Well, there. I'm finally done. I hope you all liked this chapter and you review. I'm going to do my best to post the next chapter Friday. Please read it! (Oh, but I might not post it if I don't have over 7 reviews! Accept the challenge!)

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Erilin-chan - Thank you for the kicking him . . . there . . . idea! Hope you liked the chapter!

I give her credit for the crotch kicking!

osaka-chan2 – Thank you for always editing my stories! You rock!