A/N: Convinced I need them I took a couple days of vacations and before I knew it more weird schedules befall me… so… after a lot of hard work, tears and a little depression here I am… back again working on this fic…

I've received many favs, follows and reviews and I have to say I'm mostly relieved that I keep getting readers despite the fact that I haven't managed to update often… or close to "often" but I'm also quite glad and inspired, it makes all the effort worthwhile when I read those messages.

So anyway…

Disclaimer: yadda yadda yadda… you already know

And as usual, please… Enjoy!

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Previously in "Learn to love a beast"…

"I see… there is still hope for you young lord… "she mentioned his title with disdain "Since she seems to care for you I shall give you a chance and we will see if someone can very well love this beast you are and melt the ice around your heart… but do not mistake this mercy I show to you as lenience boy for I will give you only a year to succeed in proving yourself to me and in one year time if you have not succeeded I will collect the life I was promised."

And with that the woman disappeared leaving the taiyoukai alone and still panting over the wet ground.

When had the rain started? He didn't know

Why was he there? He had no clue

Where was he anyway?

Thoughts ran through his head wildly about what he was supposed to be doing and where he was supposed to be when he tried to move and felt how his tired muscles reacted slowly and painfully, managing to help him sort of sit when he noticed something unfamiliar about himself; something he had not noticed until now that he could feel the grass under him and the rain over him and see his limbs supporting him.

He was no longer a youkai, a hanyo or even human.

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Chapter 3

To see you again

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He had been sleeping profoundly and had trouble waking up that morning. It was strange how his body seemed to need much more rest now than it had needed before. There were many things that were alien to him in his new body and he did not feel like himself at all. Going down the forest he was pleased to find the river he had managed to smell before he went to sleep at dawn, he had hoped his senses weren't tricking him since obtaining food was in order now that his energy had been recharged. This new body needed a lot more food than the old one did.

He was mortal now.

Moving over the forest he now felt the earth beneath him and was beginning to discern the particularities of it; the humidity, the soft pebbles and dead moist leafs. He was sure he was quite close to the river and his ears could pick up clearly the sound of water splashing about. Food would soon be within his reach… then the problem would be catching it with his new body… and hunting food had proven to be a difficult ordeal in the past few days, too difficult for his taste. He was so hungry and tired he had been forced to sleep the moment dawn came since at night would have been too dangerous for him to try and rest.

Now in front of the river he decided the best course of action was to get in so first he tested the feel with his front paws momentarily pausing the moment his reflection came into view…

He couldn't help the snarl that moved his lips up and to the sides.

His long silver hair now covered his entire body, it was shorter and nature had taken its toll on it through the past days so it was no longer pale silver but grey with darker spots, twigs and mud stuck into it. His eyes remained the cold golden color yet they seemed less intimidating under the triangular ears and with those whiskers bellow, not even his teeth were the same, now bigger but a lot less sharp with the same thing happening to his claws now smaller, weaker and definitely less sharp. He was a mockery of his royal lineage.

At least he wasn't a dog; that would have been too much.

No, instead he was a wolf of medium built, not as large or muscled as his previous demon form by far… but at least slightly bigger than any other common wolf.

Letting go of the image over the water's surface he moved further into the river and saw a fish swimming quickly about so he began his pathetic attempts at catching one. For some reason his nozzle was no longer as strong and he had a hard time moving accordingly to be able to trap one of those slimy creatures between his jaws. Angered he considered leaving breakfast for later when the green river bank brought a memory to his mind, one of a certain small human child happily sinking her hands and bringing out plenty of fish. He considered the memory and tried to calm his anger and achieve the balanced temper he used to have, it was harder now being a creature of pure instinct despite his capacity to reason so he had to fight for more control with everything he had; he breathed in and out until confidence came back to his body. Then the moment came when a fish got too close and he managed to move quickly and steadily finally catching not one but actually two, soon he had enough to fill his stomach for the day.

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Days seem to move differently now that he lived the life of an animal. He was sure he wanted to resolve his current situation and go back to his former self as quickly as possible but he was also aware he did not have the slightest idea of how to do so. He had fallen unconscious after discovering his new form, not that he had been scared unconscious, not in the least, instead it had been a matter of lack of strength which wasn't exactly better by his standards but it was at least a little better than fear. At least his instinct did not meddle with his personality or he would've been angered beyond relief.

Well… the thing was that… after waking up he had found himself far away from the forest of the east where the witch had cursed him and instead was closer to his own lands on the west, probably a couple days walk from his palace's grounds yet he had preferred to travel south after some failed attempts at returning to the eastern forest; as things would have it every time he tried moving east his body would fail him and he would end up down on the dirt unable to stand. Of course he wouldn't make a fool of himself for long before he understood the despicable woman was persistent and wasn't going to let him near the forest until he fulfilled her so called curse. Which he could not even remember well enough to know what was expected of him. Not that he would do anything to please the old hag.

Anyway… continuing to travel south and then east he found himself following the path that would take him to Inuyasha's forest and village. The idea of his half brother finding him in such predicament was insulting and offensive, yet something kept him moving closer and closer.

He remembered part of his lasts thoughts and he hadn't been able to push the memory of Rin's pained expression from his mind; had something happened to his Rin? Had she succumbed to a human disease like many? Perhaps she had married an abusive man and had perished by his hand… somehow all those thoughts made a feeling of guilt blossom inside him which made him move faster if only to alleviate the weight over his heart. It wasn't more than a month since his ordeal had begun when he finally reached the small village of Inuyasha where so many displeasing… and pleasing memories had taken place, but, so absorbed he had been in his reminiscing and since he hadn't consider that his change in figure and nature would also have an effect on the locals (who had always been afraid of him) it was too late when he noticed his legs had taken him close enough to the village, barely a few quick steps from the first huts, in plain sight; a wild animal… that; he could only guess the weaklings feared.

He wasn't wrong.

Before he could react to the foul smell surrounding him turned into a group of armed men who were enclosing in on him with spears and swords in their hands. Sesshomaru wondered how many of them could he take down in his actual form before the inevitable. He was clearly outnumbered and that was not comforting in the least so he looked around carefully to find an escape route.

Oh, how the powerful had fallen… if he did not flee he would fall prey of the very creatures he had despised because of their inability to take care of themselves (among other very important reasons). The white wolf bared his fangs with a growl menacing fiercely the men coming towards him, getting closer and closer each time and he felt the change in the air around him, shifting only slightly with what he could smell as fear. But that wasn't something he could feel confident of; fear drove creatures into taking stupid decisions that could very well land both of them a seat in the world of the dead.

They launched against him together and he had only seconds to move away from their sharp weapons, once, twice, thrice, there was no ending to their attacks and he felt them way too close for his taste, they would soon enough pierce his flesh and he would perish, maybe used for cover, a coat or something. This thoughts only angered the wolf even more giving him energy he no longer had to fight back at his attackers, not much could be done but he felt pleased by their cries for help and pain when he finally bite a couple, tearing flesh from their bodies and surely breaking one or two of them. Then in a matter of seconds a blow came over his back throwing him on the floor yet when he thought the death blow would finally come another scream of pain filled the air… but it wasn't his own or provoked by him. One of his attackers fell on the ground in pain, hugging his stomach and rolling on the dirt muttering curses. When Sesshomaru looked up to see who his savior was, he had to look twice at the tall figure in front of him to recognize her.

Dressed in a strange mixture of a priestess's and a hunter's robes of dark blue and black colors was standing the vision he had conjured before falling into unconsciousness many days ago.

"You damned bitch" one of the still standing men cursed her and Sesshomaru didn't waste any more time staring, taking the window of opportunity he ran towards the forest and disappeared in the shadows. Still, he remained close enough to hear what was said.

She merely stared at them with disdain. She was tall; would have probably reached his shoulder in his previous form, her hair was longer and still wavy like he remembered, her figure was lean yet muscular and her expression was calm yet serious. She looked at them only for an instant before looking up at the forest, probably searching for him and it was then that the fallen man now up on his feet decided to attack her by surprise. Sesshomaru's surprise lasted little before it was changed to not only disapproval but also disgust and hate yet even these conflicting emotions lasted little when he was taken by surprise again, this time because of her reaction. In a matter of seconds she had turned her hand to respond to the spear directed at her heart, it was a swift movement that brought a blade out from a scabbard at her back and sliced the spear in half before it even reached the limit drawn by the length of her arm.

Rin had learned well how to take care of herself.

Now her eyes had turned around as well to face the frightened man looking at her while his body trembled in fear.

"Animal…" he dared mutter "She's not human…"

The others didn't even move; they had been left paralyzed by their companion's own actions. But she didn't seem affected by the hunter's words at all, she was, in any case, in a foul mood from the beginning and didn't look to be about to tolerate anything they said.

Her eyes hardened even more as she spoke. Her eyes lowered into dark slits and she addressed him in a very much controlled voice that were not only human words but otherworldly danger.

"And you insult humans by thinking you are one of them"

It was not a question but a statement the other wasn't prepared to agree with or accept so he got slightly upwards and screamed as he moved.

"Aaahrg!" he tried to launch himself against her again but was stopped by his companions behind him; they held him tight from his arms and legs and restrained him there for a moment as they tried to get some sense into his head.

"Stop it you idiot!" one yelled.

"Do you wish to be killed by the half-breed?" the other muttered in a low voice.

Sesshomaru recognize the 'title' and immediately knew who they were talking about. So that meant the mutt was still alive and kicking. Not something he had to worry about but still, deep inside he thought not only convenient but also… good… for him to be breathing… for now.

"I couldn't care less about that monster, she's no better than that beast she used to follow around!"

Again Sesshomaru knew exactly who, they were talking about.

But Rin didn't even flinch at the mention of her former master; instead she gave her back to them and moved down towards the village a couple steps while she said in a clear voice.

"Insects"

This seemed to have an effect on the captive idiot who grasped what little extra strength he had inside to push back his friends getting himself free from their restraint, and taking the axe the one to his right had he threw it at her with enough force for it to go through her. But, again the object did not reach its objective when she turned around bringing her hand up in a swift and elegant motion not only blocking the attack but also cutting the object with her sword.

The others were again left speechless, one of them let go of his weapon so it fell on the ground with a thud, the other backed up a couple steps as he trembled in fear.

"He did not mean to insult you priestess… he's tired from the hunt, he doesn't know what he's saying" he tried to placate the anger that would surely befall them.

She didn't look at the man addressing her and instead walked closer to her attacker her sword moving upwards as she walked until she was a few steps away from him, her sword barely a couple centimeters away from him, pointed exactly right between his eyes. Now he reacted falling to his knees, trembling and crying angry tears of fear and grudge.

"Don't worry; I'll relieve him of the reason for his exhaustion"

She had barely said that when her arm moved downwards in a curved movement to cut the man's right hand, his companions screamed in protest but were stopped when their friend was on the grass screaming in pain, his hand still attached to him but bleeding profusely.

"You will not raise your hand to hurt an animal again" she said as she cleaned her sword with a quick movement of her hand "nor you will raise it to hurt another woman again" having said that Rin moved down the path into the group of huts disappearing this time behind the shape of one.

Her scent was still in the air and Sesshomaru chose to move through the trees, covering his path with the grass beneath his paws, careful not to get too close to the village area again or to be spotted by anyone else. The sun was setting in the sky coloring it reds and oranges, so soon he was free to roam the small town without been discovered by its inhabitants.

The place was pretty much like he remembered it to be; small, a little run down, smelly and dirty, he really couldn't understand how his brother chose to live in a place like this, although… considering his nature he could very well be pleased with it. Yet, thinking that kind of thoughts didn't provoke a normal feeling in him, for some reason he felt uncomfortable and in difference to times before he let go of those ideas soon after he had begun thinking them. He had not liked the way those humans had treated Rin, hadn't he left her there so she could learn to be among them? Hadn't the human Kaede and Inuyasha's woman taught Rin how to live among them? Why was she then an outcast now?

They called her priestess yet her clothes were far from those customary for one, at least from those I've seen that priestess Inuyasha was cursed by or the woman he lives with…

Finally finding the house where Rin had entered he laid down on the ground to rest and listen to what was coming out from inside. He could tell his brother was nowhere to be seen so for the moment he had no reason to worry about been found.

"Rin! Don't tease Shou like that"

He could hear the whines of a small child on the background and guessed it was the Shou the other woman had mentioned.

"I was just playing with him" Rin said in a tone that gave out her real intentions. Now this sounded a lot more like the Rin he used to know.

"Well, don't play with him like that" the other woman was clearly Inuyasha's woman; Kagome. Apparently they had pups now, since he could smell no other scent but Inuysha's family's and Rin.

"Party pooper" she muttered loud enough for Kagome to hear.

"Now now Rin-chan, that's not the way one is supposed to act when visiting"

"Yeah… right… you're technically family so those rules don't apply Kagome-sama"

Her voices now sounded playful and a lot happier; somehow this made him feel at ease for the first time in a very long time… too long a time. The mention of them as Rin's family made another sensation prickle his heart and he felt uncomfortable and anxious, yet anyway… he ignored the feeling as he felt the light breeze of the night caress his fur.

"Uhmmm… I don't remember ever saying something like that during our lessons"

"Now that you mention it… probably not"

The conversation was moving nicely and Sesshomaru begun to feel sleepy with the warmth the house was producing. His hideout was secure but still he couldn't be 100% sure he wouldn't be discovered by anyone, especially by his younger half-brother, he would most definitely appear soon and he had to be alert in order to escape if it was necessary.

"Kagome! I heard Shou screaming"

Aaaaand… there was the voice he had wished not to hear anymore.

"Calm down Inuyasha, he wasn't screaming"

The halfbreed was as normal way to loud and predictable so as he thought next came his obviously surprised reaction to the added presence inside the house.

"Ah… Rin"

"Hi Inuyasha, long time no see"

"He, you've grown up some more since the last time we saw each other" his voice sounded disdainful but one could also note the tone of pride behind his words. Apparently his half brother liked Rin quite a bit.

"Yeah… now I'm actually taller than you"

Now that was the teasing side of Rin he had been able to see before when she used to bother Jaken with questions she already knew the answer to, or said seemingly innocent comments she knew very well would annoy the toad demon. Sesshomaru heard some sort of complaint then, an insult and the human Kagome saying 'sit' after which he heard the distinctive blow of his brother hitting the ground with force. Indeed he was like always, extremely predictable.

"Were you molesting my kid?" he asked after a moment, sounding pretty much like he was looking for a Kagome-approved reason to fight and he could now even hear the soft whines of the little pup.

"No I wasn't" she said with mouthful.

"It doesn't matter Inuyasha, listen" Kagome intervened quickly "Rin's come to visit after so long, she must be tired and hungry, why don't you take care of Shou while I prepare dinner?"

Again complaints and a grunt came from the house but in the end the voices of both females left the room they had been in to move further inside towards what he thought was the cooking area. He wasn't really familiar with human architecture and before he wouldn't have given a damn about it but now it seemed useful, to understand what was happening inside.

Still… why would he want to know what was happening inside?

There was a voice inside him that told him it didn't matter anyway, he had nothing else to do, he had nowhere else to go, he had no future or present but the hunting and sleeping an animal does. Until he could remember what the curse the old witch put on him needed to be broken he didn't know what else to do, to be truthful he didn't remember much of his past to begin with, fragments of memories and fragments of emotions came and went as days went by but he failed to remember exactly what he had been doing his entire life. The only memory that seemed real and strong was those of his time with Rin.

Perhaps Rin would hold the answer to his questions.

"Rin, it's good that you're back… I was beginning to worry about, you know?"

The conversation seemed light but there was something in the way both were talking that hinted of stress and something told him Rin didn't want to discuss the topic more than she needed to.

"Uhn… I didn't mean to worry you Kagome-sama, I just didn't have much time to write, you know…? I really did try, it was just…"

"I understand" the other woman said in a light voice "You wanted to pull away from everything didn't you dear?" her voice sounded understanding but the huff Rin let go didn't sound so pleased by her words or way of wording her thoughts.

"Kagome-sama, it wasn't because of him" she was getting frustrated.

"So you say, yet… you haven't spoken of him in so long" still understanding…

"It's because there's nothing else to say" now she was getting angry.

"Dear child…"

"I'm not staying long Kagome-sama…" before the other could continue Rin cut her in a hurry to which the other answered perplexed.

"No?"

"No, I… I wish to travel again… like before" less frustrated.

"You want to look for Sesshomaru?" now the other was not only frustrated but anxious and stressed.

"No! Of course not" now back to full blown annoyance "I liked living on the move, traveling to different places and all that… I just want to do it again, for some time of course, I will eventually come back to stay… or settle down somewhere else, I'm not really sure at this point, I just want to see the rest of Japan, maybe the rest of the world…"

"But Rin-chan… what about Kohaku?"

For a moment Sesshomaru didn't know who they were talking about then he remembered the young boy he had been traveling with along with Rin and even after Rin was left at Inuyasha's village. He remembered then Rin took quite a liking to that boy and back when they were together Rin had spent more time alone with him than alone with Sesshomaru… tying up knots the memory and mention of that human made his ears pin back against his head and his stomach got tied in a knot.

"Eh…?" she seemed genuinely confused by Kagome's words "What about him?"

"Well… I thought… you two… well… I actually thought you two got along and are of similar age so you two could maybe…"

And again the woman was stopped midway by a very irritated Rin.

"I'm not getting married to Kohaku, if that's what you're saying!"

"But Rin-chan…. How many good men are you going to find traveling like you want? When do you expect to settle down like you said and get married?"

"Who said anything about getting married?!"

"Wait… WHAT?"

The conversation had turned into a discussion he felt he wanted to feel he had no part in… but his last conversations with the human Kagome said something entirely different. Could it be, the strange feeling he had inside him was… guilt? For abandoning Rin back then?

"Face it Kagome-sama, I'm not getting married, no matter what you said I have no intention of getting married to anyone, no man you have ever presented to me has ever pleased me, they are not for me!" she breathed only for a moment before lashing again "Not even Kohaku, he belongs with someone else and I won't be the one to change his fate or meddle in it when I know he'll be happier with that person"

"Rin, please understand… this are not the modern times where I used to live, it will not do you good"

"Oh stop! I've had enough of this! I don't care whether the customs of the humans from this time are stupid or not or if I have to accept them and rot…! It's my life and I'll decide what to do with it!"

A sound of an opening and closing door was heard and Sesshomaru got up in time to see Rin stomp towards the other end of the forest, in the direction they used to take whenever he visited her. Inuyasha's woman, the priestess Kagome came out of the house not a minute later and screamed at Rin's retreating back.

"Where are you going?!"

"Somewhere else!" The other answered in the same angered tone then after a couple seconds of stomping she added "I will be back… LATER!"

Sesshomaru walked closer as Kagome went back inside the house and was able to hear her complain to her husband but he was no longer interested in what happened inside that hut, there was a figure in the darkness of a forest calling for his attention and for the first time since he was a pup curiosity got the best of him so he followed her quietly. Rin didn't even stop her steps when she left the protection of the circular formation of the village, instead she continued walking farther and farther away from the hut and into the forests which she went through easily and fast only stopping the moment she reached a small spring of fresh water.

They both recognized the spring to be their usual spot where their meeting begun. He would come early in the morning and wait for her to bath there since she insisted to smell the least possible so as not to displease her master.

Had she continued to do so? And if so… was she doing it because she despised humans like he used to do or was it because she still wished to please him?

For some reason it was getting common for him to get lost in his thoughts and forget the rest of the world… not noticing the happenings around him, or maybe it was the same as before with the exception that now in this mortal form he was threatened by whatever danger was lurking about, he had to pay attention or he could very well die sooner than expected. Mortality sucked. But as he focused his eyes back to the woman he had been following he noticed what he had missed during the few minutes his mind had got the best of him.

Rin had discarded her clothing and was now only dressed in an extremely light yukata-like short dress, which was white, almost transparent, and as she got inside the water it became completely transparent. She was most definitely not little anymore… if he had felt the awakening of her feminine traits he was now a prisoner of their full blown power. She was most definitely, the most beautiful human he had ever seen.

"Who's there?!" the stress in her voice made him paralyze in his spot, wondering if he had been discovered, when he recognized the question and against his better judgment walked towards the silver light of the moon passing through the tree's leaves above them, effectively showing his entire being to the woman bathing in front of him.

"Ah… you're… you're that wolf" she said after swallowing for a moment "well… this is odd"

Obviously there was nothing natural or normal on a wolf following a woman around without killing her, haven't been spotted before he had had enough opportunities to do so it was only natural she ran away that moment. Humans feared what they couldn't understand.

But… then again, Rin wasn't a human now, was she?

"Huh… you're welcome" she said in a petulant voice "I can't stand those brutes anyway, he had it coming for a quite a long time; you just gave me a good reason to do it"

Sesshomaru was half expecting her reaction so he went closer and sat down looking at her from a good distance. She continued to speak as if talking to herself.

"Not to mention I was in a terrible mood"

Moving around the water she submerged herself and then came out completely wet, it was an image so alluring he wasn't surprise by the change provoked in his body, yet inside he was still the taiyoukai he had always been so acting on those reactions would never happen, he knew better than to give in to his animal weaknesses.

"You know, you remind me of someone I used to know" she said out of the blue "Well… he was a dog demon, not a wolf, but if I had to choose a more animal form for him I would say yours look perfect" now she had her head resting over her arms which she had placed over the border of the spring. "He had silver hair like you and golden eyes… quite tall… and fearsome"

She seemed wistful while she spoke of his past appearance but soon her expression darkened and she turned to look the other way.

"I haven't seen him in a long time" he could feel the darkness mixed with sorrow oozing out of her "I hadn't thought of him in quite a while too… until… I came back here"

The dog demon in wolf form had to fight to keep his thoughts at bay. Not only was her nearly naked figure way too tempting for his own good but also her words and emotions made the prickly feeling inside him swell and hurt like nothing he had felt before.

Guilt

He thought and tried even harder to keep his thoughts controlled. He would not be a puppet of his newly acquired mortal emotions. He was stronger than that, far stronger than that.

The sound of water rippling and splashing made him turn his focus and eyes back to the woman to find her standing up in the spring, wading her way back to the border. It was a sight made to undo any man's self control and this very thought made him attend to other sounds coming from the woods. No man deserved to touch her in anyway and certainly no man would ever do so if he was to say anything about it.

It was only natural… he had taken care of her, right? His father's responsibilities… right?

"All the more reason to leave this stupid village for good… or… for a long time at least"

Her words didn't make sense for a moment until he remembered what she had been saying only moments ago. Now her spirits seemed to have improved and her animosity was back. He could see her resolve on the way her lips were set and once she had taken her resolve there was no man or demon that could convince her otherwise.

She would leave Inuyasha's village soon and Sesshomaru was sure he would follow her… for now.

For the sake of the curse and the sake of his father's responsibilities.