~Chapter Three~

Runaway

In the morning, the dead man had been discovered. The village went into defensive mode, thinking a demon was preying on them. But when two more nights had passed, the mood of the village calmed down again. It took Rin those two nights to get everything she needed... everything that would allow her to leave this village.

The night before she planned to leave, she approached Tika when the inn had quieted. She rarely spoke, if ever, and the woman looked up in surprised when Rin quietly said her name.

"Tika-sama…" Rin said, blushing and looking down. "What does... what does it mean when your stomach flips over at seeing a man?" Her fingers were tangled together in front of her, betraying her nervousness.

Tika frowned, leaning on her broom, "Depends, my dear. Are you confusing this feeling with excitement, perhaps? Elation?"

Rin puckered her face a little, her eyes still averted, "No, it wasn't excitement. It was warmer, like, your stomach gets hot and tingly and it's deep in the bottom," she laid a hand over her lower abdomen, above her womb, "And you just want to be in that person's space, you know… touch them…"

Tika was quiet for a moment, and if Rin had looked up, she would have seen the woman's face light with surprise... and then happiness.

"Well... it could be lust, my dear," Tika answered, putting her broom away. She glanced up, at her husband who was still cleaning, and took Rin's hand. "Come... let us talk."

Rin was led to the woman's room, and stood quiet as Tika explained things to her. The things that she said made Rin's face change rapidly across the spectrum of color; pale to flushed, confused, even gasping in shock. She was told what it meant to be attracted to someone, and what could happen from it. She was told about sex, about babies, and about the dangers.

They talked for a few hours, with Rin mostly quiet. Tika could guess when the girl was confused or had a question, and explained this gently. By the end of the talk, Rin was blushing so hard that she had no more blood left in the rest of her body... only in her face. She thanked the woman and hurried out, to her own room, and shutting the door.

She felt... attracted... to Sesshoumaru. She didn't know when her feelings had changed from childhood affection to... well... more than that, but she knew they were. And she knew that Sesshoumaru could never feel that way about her. He hated humans... and he didn't want her around anymore.

Hardening her heart a little, Rin packed up the stuff she'd gathered into a bag she'd stolen. She had enough food for a week. She took only one kimono with her, leaving the rest hidden under the bed.

She was certain that after their encounter a few nights ago, Sesshoumaru wasn't around. He wouldn't try to stop her, and he wouldn't care either way. So Rin went to bed for a few hours, woke before dawn... and left.

She headed east, away from the mountains. She knew there were woods that way, and she felt safer in woods. She didn't even look back as the village disappeared in the distance. She wore no shoes, her hair was up the way she liked it, in a ponytail, and she wore her village clothes, only because they wouldn't be as noticeable.

If Sesshoumaru didn't want her, then...then she didn't want him. She could make it on her own. She was strong. Nodding to herself, she felt a little relief to the weight that had been placed on her heart.

He stayed away from the village for three days, finding that he didn't have the mental strength to go back and torture himself into watching Rin from a distance.

Yet, after those couple of days, he found that he didn't have the resolve to stay away either.

He, Inu No Taisho Sesshoumaru, was in a conundrum over a human female. Even Jaken had noticed something strange with the dog youkai, but the green demon's fierce loyalty and blinded respect for Sesshoumaru refused to let him see further than maybe just a little stress.

But he was more than stressed. He was rattled. And it was frustrating him to no end. How dare he become so attached to a human? He hated humans, hated them and their weaknesses and their undermining ways, their tasteless, tactless, violent tendencies, their selfishness. He blamed Izayoi and Inuyasha for the death of their father, the last Inu No Taisho, because he had become weak to a mortal woman, a human.

And yet, how hypocritical of him; he was heading down the same path that his father had taken straight to destruction.

No, he was more than heading; he was sprinting headlong without so much as a backwards glance.

Gods damn it.

Guilt had settled deep in his stomach and it was the driving force that had him heading back to the edges of the forest to watch Rin again.

'I'll never forgive you!' she had shouted in the forest after she had frantically searched for him. He had watched, avoided her, as it wasn't so hard to remain hidden if he deemed it necessary. But her words shrieked through his head like an echo and he still felt that burning sensation in his chest, spreading like poison through him, corrupting his cool head, his better judgment.

He came to the village in the evening, just when the sun was setting and there was a little activity in the inn. He disguised himself in the shadows, watching, waiting, from this angle, he could see her room, the little window.

But something was different tonight.

He lifted his head and pointedly sniffed the air. Her scent was here, naturally, but today, it didn't seem quite as strong, didn't have so much presence like it usually did...

There was movement in her bedroom. Sesshoumaru watched as the innkeeper's wife entered the bedroom, then left frantically. He tuned his hearing to listen to their conversation as the wife approached the husband, who was outside sweeping. She was speaking rapidly, moving her hands to animate her speech.

So, according to the wife, Rin was not in the inn.

Sesshoumaru cursed mentally. That was why her scent was not as prominent.

She had run away.

Stupid child.

She didn't know if Sesshoumaru would follow her, but she knew, from his very own training, what it took to leave an ambiguous trail... so she did, not only for him, but for the humans. She didn't want them finding her.

So she walked up river streams, backtracked a little, and then moved through the trees for a while once she reached the forest. She'd become quite the little forest-walker by the time the sun set. She'd traveled all day, stopping only to eat a meal halfway through.

Now, concealed by the dense trees of the dark forest, she felt more secure. She had very little fear of wild animals, and bandits were less likely to hang around a forest where no travelers passed through for them to rob. The only thing she had to fear were youkai.

Just the same, she decided to sleep in the trees, and she managed to make a small nest for herself in the crook of one.

Now that she'd stopped moving, though, her thoughts moved away from where she was going, which branch to jump to, and instead she thought of... Sesshoumaru.

Her chest hurt at the thought of him. She wished she were small again, things were less complicated then. Not only was she not allowed to be with him, she realized, from what Tika said, that if she did stay with him, she'd only get hurt more. She said that when you were attracted to someone, you wanted to be with them in a certain way... romantically. So that you can kiss and touch them all you want. A relationship. But she knew that Sesshoumaru wouldn't ever feel that way about her... And she wouldn't want to want something she could never had.

Or at least, that was what she told herself. It was easier than thinking about not having Sesshoumaru with her at all, whether as a friend or more.

Rin sighed, tilting her head back to look at the sky. Being older made everything more complicated. She remembered the day that she'd started her monthlies... Sesshoumaru had burst into the clearing where she'd been with Jaken and Ah-un, thinking she was in trouble, only to have to explain awkwardly what she needed to do to stem the flow.

She blushed a little, tilting her head to the side, getting comfortable. That had been very awkward, especially looking back. But that was in the past... now she had to figure out what to do without Sesshoumaru. She didn't want to live with humans and she couldn't live with youkai... so what could she do without him?

In the distance, a youkai was indeed following Rin. Sesshoumaru hadn't been the only one who'd kept an eye on this little human. Another youkai had noticed, and had noticed even earlier when the human girl had left the protection of the village.

He'd intended to take her anyway, but this was an even better opportunity. He could do better than kidnap her... perhaps he could win her over to his side. That would give him an advantage of that bastard Sesshoumaru.

The cougar youkai moved carefully through the trees, following her as silently as the wind did. When she stopped for the night, he stopped a distance away, watching. He would approach her soon, during the day, when she wouldn't be as frightened.

Juro smirked, settling down in the tree. Things took a turn for the better...and soon, he would be the taiyoukai.

He wasn't about to allow her to escape his well-laid plan so easily.

But damn, she knew how to lose a scent.

He taught her well, he supposed, leading by example was sometimes the best form of teaching. He knew she would be backtracking, wading through rivers to make her path less discernible.

But she was working against the elements; he had the nose of a bloodhound and he was going to find her and bring her little mortal ass back to that village and explain to her the importance of her staying there.

At least, that was what he told himself.

Sesshoumaru told Jaken and Ah-Un to stay behind while he conducted this mission. Though, it had been a little hard to tell the green youkai to stay now that Rin was gone and Jaken had no one to look after. But what Sesshoumaru-sama said, went and here he went, chasing after Rin for defying his strategy to keep her out of his life.

Surely, she was doing this on purpose, having the last laugh while she controlled him with her feminine wiles.

He scoffed at that, traversing through the woods, following her scent. This Sesshoumaru would not be controlled by anything, least of all feminine wiles of a mortal girl.

Rin rose when the sun did, and started moving through the forest soon after. She walked on the ground now, humming softly to herself. The sun was filtering through the leaves, and it was warmer than it had been, which put her in a surprisingly good mood.

It was almost midday when she finally stopped to eat, convinced even more by the presence of a small stream. She planned on wading up river after she ate, to help lose her trace even more. She was halfway through her meal when her senses tingled and her hackles rose, and she was on her feet in an instant.

"Don't worry... I mean you no harm," a cool, smooth voice came to her ears, and she looked a little to her left to see a man emerged from the shadows of the woods. She tensed even more, because she knew instantly that he was a youkai. He had marks on his perfect hands, which ended in sharp claws. His eyes were golden, though more brown than Sesshoumaru's. His hair was the same color of his eyes, slicked back and tied at the base of his neck. He was shorter than Sesshoumaru, but a little thicker. When he offered her a smile, small fangs peeked past his lips.

"I just saw you here, and I thought it must be a sign..." the man continued, stopping where he was, holding his hands out before him. Around his waist was his mokomoko-sama, a deeper gold and not as fluffy as Sesshoumaru's. Rin took a step back, her muscles tense, her eyes sharp, her lips pulled back a little to bare her teeth.

"Well, you seem certainly scared of me, but truly, you have no need," the youkai continued, and sat down where he stood, his hands visible the whole time.

"What do you want?" Rin asked, a little growl in her voice, "I'm just a travelling human."

He held up his hands, "I'm seeking a wife. I'm terribly messy, and I need someone to look after my lair when I'm out... I need someone to take care of me, and you seem very capable of taking care of someone... and besides, just as I started my search for someone to help me, I happened on you... it is a sign from the kami," the man continued, smiling softly. Rin felt herself relax just a fraction, because he could have clearly and easily have killed her by now.

"Why would you want a human?" Rin finally asked after a moment, her eyes skirting around him in case her had friends.

"Do you think a youkai woman would clean up after a messy cougar youkai like me...?" The youkai asked with a drawl, perking an amused brow.

Rin stopped to consider his words, straightening from her half-crouch. Well that did make a lot of sense, but she had been raised on the belief that trust should never be given lightly. The youkai sighed and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head and lounging for all of the world, "I see you don't trust me... I understand that, but honestly, what do you have to lose? You're alone in the woods, I assume you have nowhere to go, and if I wanted to eat you or kill you...I definitely could have by now. I just want someone to take care of my lair. You can leave whenever you want... at least come see it before you judge."

Rin glanced down at her pathetic food and clothes, and then back at him. He spoke the truth, and she'd always found youkai to be far more honest and honorable than human men... most of them, anyways. It couldn't hurt to go with him.

So slowly, Rin packed up her stuff, and then took a few steps closer to him. She stopped a good distance from him, and he graciously got to his feet and indicated a direction into the forest. "You follow me, and you can leave whenever," he said with a small smile to her, and with that he turned his back to her and started walking.

She was a little surprised. She was so unused to smiles and warmth that she stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. He also willingly showed her his back... youkai very rarely did that, and it meant he trusted her...perhaps she would trust him.

Just a little...

Rin followed at a distance, moving quietly. She didn't see the small youkai behind her, hired by the cougar youkai, getting rid of her scent with its own highly pungent smell.

Sesshoumaru didn't hurry in his travel to find Rin. He was confident that she wouldn't go far. She was a fast runner for a human, probably from spending the majority of her life walking and keeping up with him.

He walked through the night, assuming that she would rest at some point and he could catch up with her relatively easily. But he came to a spot by a river and something was strange.

There was a disgusting smell in the air; youkai and a very faint trace of Rin's scent mixed in. And as he got further along, Rin's smell began to disappear completely.

Sesshoumaru stopped, frowning. This was the work of youkai. But what was going on, why would Rin simply wander away with youkai around? Because she grew up with him, she had a very natural distaste for other demons. It seemed very unlike her to go along with one or be deceived by one. And why was her scent dropping off the face of the earth, replaced with such a pungent smell?

This was definitely suspicious.

He was determined to get to the bottom of this.

It seemed logical to follow the almost tangible scent of the youkai in an effort to find Rin. But he had to think like this youkai, naturally, they would want to leave a false trail. It made sense to follow in the other direction…

It was time to get serious. He would make a clean sweep of the area. And he wouldn't stop until he found Rin.

Something suspicious was going on and this Sesshoumaru was going to get to the heart of it.

A/N

I got nothing to say, except, as always, ENJOY.

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

Credits:

Sesshoumaru: Jesachi

Rin: Goldensomething

Sub-characters: Combined effort