STRANGE EVENTS.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do NOT OWN InuYasha or its characters... All I own is the plot ^-^... Enjoy!
A/n: Heyy Minna! :)... Sorry this took longer than promised but I went on vacation with my family and I'm back now :)... This chapter is a bit longer than the first which I'm happy about. Thanks to all those who have Reviewed, Favourited and Story Alerted :D. and even to those who are anonymous and those who read for fun and don't review :)... I am deeply happy that you did XD... I'm happy everyone enjoyed the first chapter :). Just sit back and read. :)
Chapter Two: This Was Supposed to be a Fun Game of Tag
After Lord Sesshomaru gave the 'okay' to play 'tag' with his ward, Rin couldn't have been happier than she was at that present moment. If anyone came across Rin at that precise moment, they would've thought that she was just a kid and not an awkward teenager.
Rin was up and about franticly waving arms above her head for emphasis for the information she was explaining to Lord Sesshomaru.
"Milord, the aim of the game is to catch the person who is not 'IT' ", Rin paused then continued. "Ummmm...so if I was 'IT' then I would have to run after you to catch you so that you would be it and in return, have to catch me", Rin said happily.
During the explaination, Lord Sesshomaru was in deep thought with how this 'game' of Rin's was similar to how he would strengthen his senses in Inu- form as a pup by hunting. He could recall once when he was just a pup how exhilarating running was in his natural form. His youkai was getting very eager to play the game that he started to playfully growl and his eyes started to get tinted with red around his golden irises. It had been centuries since he last 'played' so his youkai was eager, not that Sesshomaru would know.
He was brought out of his stupor by a voice, belonging to none other than his little Rin.
"Lord Sesshomaru, Are you okay?", Rin said unperturbed.
She hadn't the slightest clue as to why Lord Sesshomaru's eyes were glowing red and why he was growling but Rin thought that it was kind of cute, in her mind.
"Hn, When do we begin Rin?", Sesshomaru said trying to keep his youkai in check.
Lord Sesshomaru noted in his mind how calm Rin was around him when his youkai was trying to be released, even though he had it under control.
"Now!", Rin exclaimed happily, sprinting towards Lord Sesshomaru.
Rin ran closer to Lord Sesshomaru and tapped him on his armour followed by running into the forest on her long legs as fast as they would carry her, giggling along the way.
Sesshomaru stood there in awe as his ward ran off into the forest; in all honesty, he never thought Rin was so sneaky. Even though it was just a 'game' to Rin, he was just not programmed as a human to be excessively playful. In his mind his playfulness stopped when he learnt how to alter his Inu- form into his humanoid form and began learning to spar with his Father.
He couldn't let Rin down, he said he would play and so be it he would play. Taking into consideration he would be extremely fast in his humanoid form, he decided to let his youkai take over to release his Inu- form. As he let his youkai take over, his eyes bled red, his fangs elongated in his mouth that started to shift into a white muzzle and gusts of wind swirled around Sesshomaru changing him into his Inu- form.
After shifting into his Inu-form, Sesshomaru ruffled his snow white fur by shaking his body causing a strong wind to pass through the forest for a minute or two. Afterwards, he lifted his dog-like head into the air and sniffed the air smelling his ward's scent among other scents, like small little critters and the forest. Rin's scent smelt like lavender and the flowers she laid in prior to the trip through the small village. Sesshomaru growled pleasingly in his throat and set off on a leisurely jog instead of running at his usual pace, just to let Rin get ahead of him. Not that he would admit that out loud.
During his pursuit of Rin, Sesshomaru passed many little shrubs and berry trees which he took note of mentally for when Rin got hungry and could not find any mushrooms and other palatable foods she would like.
Sesshomaru couldn't remember when last he transformed into his Inu form but it had been a long while since. He felt free and careless just like a pup again. Normally, he had to keep a vigilant watch over his group and his surroundings so that any lesser youkai or enemies would not ambush him and his group.
As Sesshomaru jogged through the forest he could tell that Rin's scent was getting stronger. He smirked at the fact that Rin did not get very far with the 20 minute head start and begun to jog a bit faster. In his Inu-form his smirk looked like a lopsided grin with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.
~~~~~~~MEANWHILE~~~~~~~
Rin had been running for over 20 minutes and the only thing she could hear was her rapid heartbeat from all the excitement and running she was doing.
'What's taking Lord Sesshomaru so long? I thought he ran like the speed of light', Rin thought while glancing over her shoulder blade.
As she looked over her shoulder blade, she did not take notice of the tree's root showing on the ground that she tripped over the tree's root. As her body came into contact with the ground, she released a grunt from her throat.
After Rin fell, she laid on her tummy with her hair dishevelled along with a few twigs and leaves between a few strands of her raven coloured hair. Rin huffed some breath out and inhaled in some air. When Rin inhaled not only did air go into her nose but dust particles as well. Soon after she inhaled the dust, she made the loudest sneeze her body could make.
"AAA-CHOOOOOOOOO", Rin sneezed loudly.
As soon as Rin finished sneezing she heard loud stomping footsteps coming her way. She hurriedly tried to get up but stumbling over herself she feel to her knees. She struggled once again to get up when she felt a huff of hot air blow onto her neck creating goose bumps all along her forearms and neck, falling back onto her knees.
Rin's entire body tensed as she heard the breathing process of the creature behind her. She took a deep breath in and gathered all of her courage, then slowly but surely she turned around to face the creature.
~~~XxX~~~
Lord Sesshomaru had finally caught up with Rin and when he found her, she was all dusty with twigs and leaves in her long brown tresses. From the looks of it she fell over the tree's root and struggled getting up and fell to her knees after failing.
Curiosity got the better of Sesshomaru and wanted to get a bit closer to inspect his ward for any bruises or injuries. He trotted over to Rin's kneeled form and sensed her tensed physique and with his sharp eyes, Sesshomaru saw that she had goose bumps all along her arms.
'She looks scared,' Sesshomaru thought as he trotted closer to Rin. He halted directly behind her, and started to sniff the air around to sense any bruises and injures that happened to Rin. As he kept his sniffing to a steady breathing rhythm, Sesshomaru noticed Rin was turning around to face him. He stopped his sniffing and carried on with a soft steady breath and waited patiently for Rin to face him.
When Rin finally turned to face the creature that was behind her, she gasped and fell onto her backside. She stared dumbfounded towards the dog like creature, inwardly she sighed seeing that it was not a wolf. Ever since she was killed and resurrected Rin had feared wolves ever since.
Rin titled her head to the side and realised that this dog like creature bore the same markings as Lord Sesshomaru. So she decided to voice her thoughts.
"Is that you Milord?", she asked curiously.
Sesshomaru obviously could not reply to her since he was in his Inu-form but she did not know that. So Sesshomaru decided to sit down on his hind legs to depict his answer.
Rin sat still on the ground waiting to hear the answer but all she got was the creature sitting down. 'I guess that's Lord Sesshomaru then... That's probably his 'Hn' answer', the thought made Rin giggle.
From Rin's giggle Lord Sesshoamru took that as a positive sign she figured it was him and the giggle was just Rin's way of acknowledging that her assumptions were right, he mused.
She'd never been this close to Lord Sesshomaru in his dog form before and it made her slightly giddy. Yes, she'd seen it from when he was battling Naraku years ago, then Lord Sesshomaru looked fierce and abominable but up close in Rin's mind he simply looked plain cuddly and might she add cute.
She slowly got up from her sitting position and walked over to Sesshomaru's giant paws that were firmly placed on the ground. When she reached to Sesshomaru's towering physique she hesitated as to where she should touch him and if she should touch him.
Lord Sesshomaru saw the hesitation from his ward's eyes that he grunted a small growl that indicated that it was alright if she wanted to touch him.
Rin heard a growl but it was not threatening, it sounded more like a motherly growl that would signal to their young 'Don't be afraid, Come along', but in a very and much more masculine growl than she had ever heard, she mused.
So she walked closer to Lord Sesshomaru's giant paws and started to stroke his majestic white fur. Soon after, Lord Sesshomaru growled a very light pleased growl. He couldn't remember when last he got groomed like a pup. It was relaxing to say the least.
Coming out of his thoughts, he saw how close Rin was to him and decided to 'catch' her so she could be 'it'. He needed to put an end to the game.
Rin stopped her stroking the snow white fur when Sesshomaru's muzzle came to her hand that was stroking him and he nudged it. She looked up at his muzzle and saw that he just tagged her because he was getting up.
In a midst getting up, Rin ran behind his hind legs and tapped him saying, "You're It!"
Lord Sesshomaru was surprised to say the least that she would catch him before he even left the premises, but she was just a pup and was having fun playing with him. He turned around and saw that Rin left already and heard her faint giggling.
As soon as Rin ran deeper into the forest she could no longer make the outline of Lord Sesshomaru. She slowed her pace in a little clearing in the forest and was about to start jogging when a figure from out of nowhere came out and grabbed Rin. The only thing Rin could do was to scream for Lord Sesshomaru and that she did.
Sesshomaru started jogging in the direction Rin ran off to and heard her scream pierce through the forest. It hadn't even been five minutes since Rin left and he didn't even sense a nearby enemy. His jog instantaneously changed to a running speed that no demon, let alone a human, could see him coming. Sesshomaru was a mid stride when he changed back in his humanoid form and stealthily ran to where Rin was.
Before Rin could even voice another piercing scream, Sesshomaru was there in the clearing in a flash, back in his humanoid form. He was watching the captor closely since he had Rin in his filthy hands.
From what Rin could tell, her captor was male and by his stealth and speed, he was a demon as well. Her back was flush against the intruder's body and his left hand had a fistful of hair while the other hand around her neck. The intruder held her hair tighter making Rin whelp a little by the pulling of hair. Before Rin could even try and escape the intruder's grasp, he finally spoke.
"Well looky at what the human dragged in", he said with a bit of arrogance. "It's been a while since we last saw each other", he paused. "Sesshomaru".
"Lord Sesshomaru, Help!", Rin cried out loud making her captor's sensitive ears hurt.
The intruder violently jerked Rin back and forth by her hair releasing his hold around her neck which caused her to cry out in pain.
Sesshomaru's eyes menacingly slanted into a piercing and deathly glare towards the captor as Rin's eyes were beginning to well up with tears. His left hand was on the hilt Bakusaiga ready for what was about to happen.
A/n: I hope everyone enjoyed my first cliffy XD... hehe.. anyways Please read and review and MAKE ME HAPPY! XD... Constructive Criticism is very welcome as well. Seeya! :D