Chapter Three

The sun was high up in the cloudless sky by the time they saw a nearby village in the distance. The smoke coming from one house, however, was thick and dark and very noticeable from their vantage point.

"Looks like there's some trouble there." Rin said while munching the juicy fruit in her hand, the other was wrapped around the branch of a tree while she continued to have another mouthful bite and another until the sweet juice fell from her chin and landed on top of Jaken's head.

"Hey! Don't you dare spit on me, you ungrateful child!" As always he ended up watching out for Rin. He promised that he wouldn't even blink an eye while Lord Sesshomaru was out somewhere doing his usual mysterious business which Jaken didn't know— and most likely wouldn't know— about. He just told them not to explore too far but what he really meant was: do not let Rin run out of your sight or else you shall not see the sun again.

Jaken shuddered. Why did Lord Sesshomaru even want to linger around a human village, anyway? There's nothing worth to be found in here.

"Hey, Master Jaken!"

"What now?! Can't you see I'm thinking?!"

"Here!"

"Wha?— He looked up and was greeted by a large and rather round object smashing right on his face. He fell on his back with a yelp while Rin giggled not far away from him as she stepped back on the ground.

"Watch where you're throwing!" The green headed imp shouted at Rin while his hand rubbed his stinging face.

"I told you to catch it." Rin smiled cheekily.

"You most certainly did not!" Jaken said with a glare at her smiling face. Then, he grasped the object that she threw at him and shook it angrily at her direction. "You expect me to eat something like this?"

Ah-Un, who returned a few hours ago, nudged at his hand before he took a bite of the fruit. Jaken instantly let go of it and then glared at the teeth mark on the tip of his finger. "Traitorous beast." He grumbled under his breath.

"Fine. Suite yourself." Rin shrugged. "But don't go complaining to me when you're dying."

An hour passed by, the temperature was even worse than before. There's no wind, not even a breeze and the heat was already emitting from the ground. It was almost unbearable and Jaken instantly regretted that he didn't eat nor drink anything for the last nine hours.

Sesshomaru returned without any news, as usual. He was not even bothered by the weather even though his attire looked suffocating enough for Jaken.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Rin called. The demon lord glanced at her. "I'm thirsty." Of course, she was not asking Lord Sesshomaru to give her some water but rather, she was asking permission if she could go and get it herself. But still that left Jaken with his usual task to guard her.

"Hey, Master Jaken! Let's go." Rin gestured with her hand and he, as always, complained at first but followed her anyway. If he opened his mouth, Lord Sesshomaru would only punish him.

"He'd allow her free reign whereas I, Jaken, wasn't even allowed to leave even for a minute." He muttered to himself. "That ungrateful dog, I've been serving him far longer, and further more, I'm not a hostage prone like— huh?" He looked around. Rin was no longer in sight.

'Oh no! Lord Sesshomaru will— Lord Sesshomaru wiiill!—"

"What is it, Jaken?"

The green headed imp turned to stone at the sound of his master. Walking a few feet away was Sesshomaru who didn't even pay attention to him, his eyes strained to the woods with calmness. Then just as quickly, Jaken knelt on the ground and covered his head with his arms. "I'm so sorry, Lord Sesshomaru but that girl is very willful and not to mention, reckless."

"She knows how to fight."

"Eh?" Jaken's head tilted to the side with his mouth agape. "But then why did you insist that I guard her all the time?"

"You know what happens when you ask me stupid questions." Sesshomaru raised his clawed hand, a gesture which made Jaken visibly pale.

"O-of course, my lord." Mumbling incoherently, Jaken followed his master until they reached a clearing. In deed, Rin was there but there was another human with her as well and he seemed to be kneeling at her feet for some odd reason.

"Rin! What are you doing?!" Jaken ran to her side.

"A youkai?" The human stared in imminent shock as Jaken pointed his staff at him. Sesshomaru stopped a few feet away, his listless eyes scanning the trees around him while he listened to their conversation.

"Wait, Master Jaken." Rin intervened. "He didn't want to harm me." Then her expression turned to a quizzical frown. "But he did call me 'princess', though."

"Princess?" Jaken looked at her confusion before he returned his eyes to the human. Raising his staff threateningly, he said. "You! Explain yourself!"

The human raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Umm. I'm clearly mistaken. Please put the staff away. I didn't mean to harm her."

When Jaken didn't move, he exhaled a sigh and stood up awkwardly which seemed to annoy the demon more because he was now towering over him. "Come on! We don't have all day!" Jaken shook his staff impatiently.

"Well, our princess, Akemi-hime sama, was missing for weeks. And your companion here," He glanced at Rin, "looks exactly like her. But she said that she's not a princess but rather a servant."

"Well, it's true, she isn't." Jaken said. "She's Lord Sesshomaru's." As always, he said his master's name with such emphasis that Rin couldn't help but smile in exasperation.

"Yes. I'm not a princess." She said with a benevolent tone. But the solemnity of her statement quickly disappeared to a wide grin. "In fact, I'm quite the opposite."

"Hmmm." The human said. This time, he observed her more seriously and he was even more nervous than before. "But I still have to confirm it."

"What?! She already said that she's not a princess!" Jaken glared at him which he completely ignored. He continued to look at Rin nervously, his brown eyes darkening.

"Don't worry. I just need to know something." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Do you have a flower shaped birthmark on your right chest?"

"She doesn't have one!" Jaken shouted dismissively before turning around. But Rin only stood, rooted on the spot. She raised a hand to her chest and then frowned at the man, her worry evident in her eyes. "Yes. I have."

Jaken's jaw slackened in shock, then he whipped his head around to look at her. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, then quickly, he touched the hilt of his sword as soon as the ground quaked, the trees rustled violently around them and the birds flew wildly to the sky.

"Hiromi-sama!" Three armed humans ran out of the trees and stopped as soon as they saw the demon lord, then their eyes landed on Rin who was watching them cautiously.

"Hime-sama!" Their wide eyes stayed on her until the man in front of her named Hiromi raised his hand and shook his head. "She's not the princess." There's an unmistakable sadness in his eyes before he covered it with quickly.

"What happened?" He addressed to the soldiers.

"The demons! They attacked the village!"

"Damn it!" He clenched his hands. "There's no other way, is there?"

Rin took a step back when suddenly, he reached out. He was able to catch her kimono instead and tugged on it violently. Rin pulled at his hand and kneed him in the stomach, then she did a summer sault which shocked Jaken more than the fact that someone tried to hurt her.

"Hiromi-sama!" The three men ran for his aid but they quickly stepped back when Sesshomaru appeared right in front of Rin with his sword in one hand. His narrowed eyes landed on them. Anger rising, he raised his word but Hiromi clutched at his feet with a sob. "Please don't kill them. They're innocent people. If there's someone you have to kill, it's me."

"You disrespectful human! How dare you talk to Lord Sesshomaru like—

"Silence." Sesshomaru said. Jaken bowed his head submissively. "Yes, my lord."

Sesshomaru lowered his sword. "Who attacked your village?" His tone was more commanding than inquiring that Hiromi answered quickly, "They're ravens who kept pestering our village for decades. They wanted a sacrifice or else they'll hurt everyone and leave no one alive. But our princess was missing and—

"You're princess?!" Jaken cut in, his angry face seething in outrage. "You want to sacrifice your own princess?! And you call yourself a human?!"

"It's not like we have a choice!" Hiromi shot back with a desperate tone. "They asked for sacrifices for forty years and we gave them what they wanted. At first, they only wanted our animals and crops. But when a child disappeared twenty years ago, they've been asking for a human sacrifice."

"A sacrifice you say?" Sesshomaru asked before he sheathed his sword.

"Yes. And If we decline, then they will attack the entire village."

Sesshomaru snorted. "Pathethic demons."

"Yes, that's right!" Jaken instantly agreed while the humans stared at him in shock. He called their decades-long enemy 'pathetic', and he seemed to find their methods disgusting. Of course, for demons it was a normal reaction since they're very conceited and arrogant and Lord Sesshomaru was one of the most powerful ones which made his self-respect hundred times higher.

"Such petty methods. It only shows how weak they are." He said with such coldness that even Jaken swallowed nervously. Then, with a last glance at the human he turned around and began to walk away.

"Amazing as always, Lord Sesshomaru. But you're not going to kill them?" Jaken said as he stepped behind his master. Rin followed closely, her hand was still clutching her chest.

"Hmp. There's nothing to gain by killing them. It's not even worth my time." The demon lord said before he glanced at Rin who was unusually quiet. "Rin—

"Please help us!"

Looking back at the humans, Sesshomaru said icily. "Why should I?"

Hiromi stood from the ground, his face was deathly serious. "Because those demons will go after your human companion."

"Oh?" Sesshomaru turned around and regarded the human with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"She," Hiromi glanced at Rin. "has the birthmark which only appears once she reached a certain age." Then with a darker tone, he said. "She's cursed to die by the next full moon— sacrificed or not."

To be continued.

...

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Alrighteey! This story is becoming more and more intense than my usual preference in writing. But if I have to choose, I'd pick action/adventure rather than drama. So you'll read a lot of fighting for the next chapters. But I like where it's going and as you've noticed I'm rather slow about S/R because I want to make it as natural as I can manage.

Can Sesshomaru afford to lose Rin for the third time? Why are they calling her 'Princess' anyway? And What's this curse all about?

FIND OUT SOON!

P.S: I love the part when Jaken said "She's Lord Sesshomaru's." Awww. How I'd like to write, "Yes, she's mine." But it's not the right time yet. But soon, my dears, he will claim what's rightfully his.