Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Frkkn copyright.

xOxO

A/N: MMMM…yes!! Finally! The structurization part of this story is almost done and over with. Now the real fun can begin. Mwahahahahahahahahaha.

So anyways, I hope you enjoy!!

xOxO

~Island Honey

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Chapter 6: True Master

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26 nights and counting.

"Wake up…please wake up."

The small huddled figure stirred within the blankets. After a while, all movements ceased again.

"Wake up, little mistress. Lord Sesshoumaru does not tolerate tardiness," the maid gently prodded. She wiped off the cold sweat on Rin's face. A soft mumble could be heard from the said girl.

"…like hell I care what…tolerates or not…can't let…get a decent sleep, goshdamn…I'm going back to sleep."

Ayako only smiled. "Don't let him hear you say that. Death is always prominent with him. He won't hesitate to do so. Now, get up."

With some help from Ayako, Rin came up to a sitting position. Her eyes stung with the early morning sunlight. Rubbing her eyes to try and quell the burning sensation, she peered at the white light, blearing her vision further.

"That must have been some dream you had, little mistress."

Rin flinched, startled at the new voice, still disoriented from the despairing dream. Looking around the room, her eyes cleared to the sight of…

"…Ino…?" her heart twisted with hope as she tried to wrack her mind for answers. Ino was dead. "Ino?!" she questioned again, this time a bit more urgently. It was pathetic, and Rin knew that this lady couldn't possibly be the woman she loved so dearly. But still, her heart couldn't help it.

The woman in front of her smiled sadly. "What a dream, indeed."

Rin got a better look at her. She had the same intense eyes that belonged to Ino, and the same shade of hair. But it was chopped short, just above her shoulders. And her skin was tanned where Ino was pale.

The demoness let the girl scrutinize her. "I really must resemble her to startle you this much."

Rin narrowed her eyes and peered into her face even more, as though doing so would bring forth the answers she so desperately searched. "I must be hallucinating again…" she mumbled to herself. Rubbing her left eye slowly, she let her right eye remain on the stranger's face. "Who are you?"

The demoness stood upright. "I'm Ayako. I'll be attending to your needs from now on."

Rin looked at her with confusion. "Attending to my needs?"

"Hai," Ayako responded.

Rin only shook her head. "What is wrong with that sick bastard?" Looking at Ino's look-alike again, Rin slowly got up from bed. Her heart twisted painfully, all the while trying to keep her mind from indulging in the delusion and temptation to believe the demoness before her was Ino.

Her eyes stung with a new sensation now, as the tears in her heart fought to make themselves known. Forcing herself to yawn to cover the stinging intruders, Rin stretched languidly, loosening her muscles from the clutches of sleep. "So…why am I being roused from my slumber?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru wishes to see you in his study."

Rin propped herself back on her hands. "Mm…his study. May I ask for what?"

Ayako smiled sweetly at her. "I do not know, mistress. I was only ordered to summon you."

That was strange. Ayako was being…nice. She was actually being nice to her. Narrowing her eyes at the marble floor, Rin speculated the demoness's attitude. "Don't you find me rude, vile, and disgusting?" she asked, turning her gaze to Ayako. "After all, aren't I only human?

The smile vanished from Ayako's face. "Do not take me for a vain demon. Sure, I think your chances against a real demon are slim, and I think you are awfully young to be thrust into this matter, but I am not one to judge others based on their heritage."

That line struck something in the depths of Rin's memories. "…judge others based on their heritage…" she softly repeated. "Then you did know Ino." It was a statement, not a question.

Ayako smiled again. "Yes. I did know who she was. And I'm sure she wouldn't want you to forget that rule either."

Rin looked down, feeling a little guilt at judging Ayako wrongly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. I just ---"

She was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. Both Rin and Ayako looked up from their conversation and looked at the heavy rosewood.

"Ayako! Ayako!! Lord Sesshoumaru's patience is wearing thin. Hurry up and deliver that stupid brat up to him!"

Rin narrowed her eyes at the door. She knew exactly who was behind it, and she had every intention of punting that green mass of ugly. Getting up swiftly, she stalked her way over to the door. But when she opened it, she glanced down the hall to see Jaken already several yards away, muttering about how incompetent and troublesome she was. "Oh, just you wait, ugly. I'll show you incompetent and troublesome," she grudgingly promised. Releasing the crushing grip she had on the door lever, she had every intention of chasing Jaken down, when someone dragged her back in the opposite direction.

"No time to go after Jaken. We must get you ready for Lord Sesshoumaru."

Rin turned around to witness Ayako pulling her by her arm to the bathroom Sesshoumaru had mentioned down the hall. "I don't give a dragon's arse if he wants me now. Let go of me, Ayako!" she screamed, struggling to break free from Ayako's grip.

"Damn it all, you're already very late," Ayako hoisted Rin up and dashed into the bathroom.

"I already told you, Ayako, I don't give a damn about what h---WHOA!!" Rin's protest was cut off as Ayako stripped her of her clothing and threw her into a large tub. Hot water already filled it as Rin struggled to come up for air. She narrowed her eyes at Ayako. "That was uncalled for."

Ayako paid no heed to Rin as she pushed her head in once more. Rin came up sputtering and breathing heavily. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

"There's no time to talk," Ayako stated, grabbing one of Rin's arms to scrub it fiercely.

"Oww, oww!! Easy!!" Rin yelped.

"If you had been up earlier, we wouldn't be in this predicament." Ayako countered.

That brought a question up to Rin's mind. "Ayako, just how long have I been asleep?"

The demoness smiled, although her speed at cleaning Rin didn't slow a bit. "You arrived here at the palace two days ago. When I came to deliver your dinner the other night, you were already asleep."

"Mm...I slept for two days…? That's impossible." And speaking of food… Rin's stomach grumbled at the thought of food. She hadn't eaten since she arrived.

Ayako dipped her head in the water without warning again. Rin came up with a heated gaze sent in Ayako's direction. But that wore off as she watched Ayako moving to and fro in the large bathroom. In a second or so, Ayako left the room and returned with a fresh kimono for Rin.

"Hurry and get dressed."

Rin stepped out of the tub and dried herself with the towel Ayako handed her. "Why are we rushing again?"

Ayako helped in drying her hair as Rin moved to put on the kimono. "Because, although you may be impervious to death right now, I sure as hell am not."

Rin took that realization to her head and started moving a little bit faster. To her surprise, she moved so fast, she nearly tripped herself. Ayako stopped moving for a moment.

"What was that?" the demoness asked with wide eyes.

Rin mirrored Ayako's shock in her own chocolate orbs. "I…I have no idea."

"You just moved with demonic speed. How did you do that…?"

Moving slower now, Rin expertly tied the sash of the kimono around her waist before looking at her hands like they were foreign to her. "I really don't know what I just did."

Ayako blinked several times to shake the initial shock off. Sniffing delicately, she scrunched her face. "You smell like a human. And you look human enough," she mused. She then looked at Rin accusingly. "Is there something you're not telling me…?" she trailed off.

Rin could only shake her head feverously. "No…no I'm not."

Ayako's ears twitched as she heard Jaken's yelling from a distance. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, you must go to Lord Sesshoumaru."

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xOxO

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As soon as Ayako finished preparing Rin, she was led directly to a waiting Jaken.

"Finally! How much time do you humans need to take in order to get ready?! What in the seven hells took you so long?!"

Rin tried to tune him out. "Just shut your trap for a little bit and just take me there, ne Jaken? You're giving me a headache."

Jaken looked back at her, flabbergasted. "How dare you talk to me in such a way, worthless mortal!" he screeched, but continued walking. "I sure hope Lord Sesshoumaru will make your death long and painful when the time comes."

"Mm." Rin responded, too absorbed in the bathroom incident to really pay attention to the toad.

They walked in silence for a while, going from what Jaken said was the south wing to the west wing of the castle. Servants looked up from what they were doing as they looked at Rin.

Rin could hear the whispers going around the castle, but decided to ignore them when she realized she could hear word for word. In all honesty, it frightened her.

'What's happening to me…?'

Jaken suddenly stopped. Rin looked up and stared in awe at the white doors. It was gigantic, taking up the whole length and width of the level.

"We're here," Jaken said. He knocked on the door twice. No response came from the inside, but still, he opened one of the doors and stepped back. He looked at Rin then with degrading eyes. "Go on, witch. The master awaits you."

Rin swallowed and took a deep breath. She took a step forward and forced herself to enter his study. The door closed behind her ominously and she turned around to look at it. For some reason, she dreaded the fact that she had to face Sesshoumaru right now. Things had not ended well with him yesterday, and she didn't exactly want to finish their argument. She took a look around. The room resembled a small library, with shelves reaching from floor to ceiling, covered in books and scrolls. There were two windows that let light spill in from two opposite walls. It was thick and designed in crystallized squares to lessen the strength of the light, reducing it to give the room a café atmosphere.

A plushy futon took up one side of the room, just before the bookshelf. A rug dominated the other half, just before a fireplace situated within the bottom of the other bookshelf. And finally at the last wall, there was a large onyx-marble desk with a candle lamp on it and stacks of scrolls and parchments.

The fire burning in the fireplace crackled, giving the quiet room an awkward, strange feeling. Sitting just before the desk on a leather-covered chair was the stoic king she wanted to avoid most right about now.

He was looking at her with that strange expression again; one that was curious, yet at the same time, void of all emotion. It was an impossible feat that Rin learned only he could do. His eyes were icy as usual, and he was leaning back against his chair, merely watching her observe his study. Rin looked down as if to avoid his gaze. She looked around again. One thing she knew was that the only way out was through the only way in. There was no way to break through the windows with her measly strength.

Returning her gaze back to the demon lord, Rin cleared her throat and gathered her wits. She prepared herself and opened her mouth to speak.

"Have a seat," Sesshoumaru said, before she could utter a word.

Snapping her mouth shut, Rin narrowed her eyes the slightest bit at him. Nonetheless, she complied and walked the length of the room to the front of his desk. Moving in front of the wooden chair meant for the guest, she sat down unceremoniously in front of him.

Sesshoumaru made no movement. Nor did he give any indication of talking just yet.

Rin sighed. "I believe you summoned me."

Sesshoumaru slowly sat up and leaned on his elbows. "Yes, I have. It's time for you to answer my questions."

Rin leaned back on her own chair. "Go for it, then."

Sesshoumaru's expression only darkened at her disrespectful response. Going to the matters at hand, he decided to dismiss it this time. "I now know how you came upon Kiori, but now I must question how it is that you became its wielder. As far as my knowledge serves, the legacy of the Phantom Dog Demon tribe cannot just go to anyone; that power cannot just be given or transferred. How did you manage to wield it?"

Rin thought about it for a moment. After a while, she met his expectant eyes. "I'm not too sure about it."

The demon lord didn't move; no emotion or indication of what she said even flashed upon his face. "Oh?"

Squirming uneasily under the heated notion of his gaze, Rin explained further. "Like I said, you probably know more about this than I do."

"Hn. Then tell me, how did all of this happen? What exactly did Ino do to give you Kiori?"

Rin leaned further back on the chair. Exactly? "She was dying. When she took Kiori from her neck, she was enveloped in a really bright light. The next time I looked at her, she looked weaker than ever. All she did after that was place Kiori around my neck and made me reiterate a chant of some sort." Rin studied the concentrated glare of Sesshoumaru's eyes before continuing. "I won't lie. After the chant, my entire being hurt like hell."

"What did it feel like?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

"Like being burned alive," she pointedly stated. "That's all that happened. Finally, she made me promise her that I'd find the owner of this crystal, and that I'd carry out her…her duty."

The eyebrow of the demon lord quirked up. "Duty? And what exactly do you know of this duty?"

This time, Rin was at a loss of words, remembering the ridiculous process she had to do in order to give the power back. "Um, I --- well, I, uh…I have to find you, of course."

Sesshoumaru looked at her blankly. "I already know that. What else?" This was it; he'd finally be able to get this curse over with. Now, if only she'd hurry up with the answer and end all her nonsense delays. "Well?"

"I have to…restore it to you."

"Yes, I know that as well. What else?" Sesshoumaru asked again, seething out the last word.

Rin choked on her words. She honestly didn't know how to put it. "Well. I guess I must give Kiori back…" her mind wracked again and again for a suitable way to say it.

Sesshoumaru slammed his fist on the table and stood up. Getting his power back was so close. All he had to do was get the answer from her. "Retarded bitch, I already know all that! How do I get my powers back? How do I end this curse?!"

The small girl in front of his desk pursed her lips in determination instead of cower back from his small display of anger. It stemmed a curiosity in the demon lord.

"Is it that bad?" he asked after a while of pointless glaring.

Rin met his eyes again. "Yes."

Sesshoumaru straightened his composure. No challenge was too mighty for the great Lord Sesshoumaru. "Tell me. Nothing is too great an obstacle."

It was Rin's turn to straighten out her own being. Hardening her eyes, and her ego, she said it in a dead-flat tone. "Make love to me."

A moment passed. A pregnant silence followed. The demon lord could only stare at her in utter shock, but the hard lines of his face did not betray a single thought running through his head. His body became a statue as he observed the brave and determined front the girl put up.

Then, all of a sudden, to Rin's surprise, Sesshoumaru chuckled darkly. The soft rumbling in his chest slowly exploded to a roaring laugh that echoed off the walls of the room. Rin could only stare helplessly as she watched the taiyoukai gather himself and sit back down on his chair.

He was grinning now, amused beyond belief. "Make love to you," he scoffed. "Silly girl, that was a good joke." His face turned serious again. "Now enough of this. Tell me what I really must do."

Rin scrunched her eyebrows. "I'm not lying. It was what Ino instructed me to do before she died."

Sesshoumaru scowled at her. Impossible. Defile his family name… "No. I'd rather extract my powers from a demon-whore than…" he paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to describe his horror. "…pillow with you."

Though she refused to recognize the twinge in her chest for what it was, Rin was slightly offended at his rejection. "It's not like I'm exactly fond of the idea, either." She slouched even more in her chair and crossed her legs. Trying to show that she didn't care, she huffed and crossed her arms as well. "It'd be hell to carry out what Ino asked of me."

It was Sesshoumaru's turn to be offended. "You're nothing but a lowly human. And yet, you convey that you are horrified at the thought of getting in bed with me?"

Rin met his gaze. She hurt his male pride. Smiling inwardly, she decided on teasing him more. "I cringe and shudder."

Sesshoumaru stood up then. Rin tensed in her chair, but held her position. In a flash, Sesshoumaru went from standing behind the desk, to right in front of her. Rin stood up and knocked the chair over by accident. She stumbled backwards while Sesshoumaru stalked her.

"Cringe and shudder, hn? Let's see about that."

"You s-stay back." Rin stuttered. Her confidence and jolliness faltered at the advancing body of the taiyoukai.

He backed her up until she hit the bookshelf on one wall. Sesshoumaru placed his hands on either side of her head, while he leaned down to her eye level. "Or you'll what?"

Rin swallowed the lump in her throat. Bad idea to tease him. "Or you'll be sorry."

Sesshoumaru merely smiled, evil lacing and weaving the angle of his lips. Rin saw the gleam of his fang in that smile, the fire casting intimidating shadows on his face. His golden orbs entranced her, and she was powerless to stop the shiver that forcefully ran up her spine.

The demon lord could smell it then, the same spike he caught in her scent yesterday as he stomped out the door. He closed his eyes to catch the aroma better. It was less subtle than before, but it was still there. For some reason, the smell of it tipped him off-guard, like he was slowly losing grip on control. It was savage, and a foreign hunger built in the pit of his stomach. He opened his eyes and looked at the girl trapped between him and the wall.

Rin's fear heightened as she saw the hunger in his golden orbs. The edges of the whites of his eyes were beginning to slowly bleed red. Even the crystal reacted strangely as she tried to lean further back into the wall.

"Shudder in what way?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice dropping to a huskier tone that made Rin's mind go fuzzy.

Rin tried to push his hand away, but that only resulted in him trapping her wrist above her head. Electricity crackled from the contact, but it wasn't as strong as it was the time he tried to kill her. The crystal recognized its real master, and it was reacting to his desires. A sudden crave pulsed through the lower region of Rin's abdomen. It mirrored his need, if not, amplified it.

But Rin could not let it go this way, just yet. Glancing down, she caught sight of the metal tool used to move the wood in the fireplace. Using her strength to reach down, she grabbed it and pointed it at Sesshoumaru's chest. The crystal wasn't working right, for some reason, so she was left to defend herself in whatever way she could.

Sesshoumaru eyed the metal and a growl rumbled in his chest. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Rin countered, trying to break the trance he was in.

Sesshoumaru squeezed her wrist a bit more, causing her to wince at the pain. "How many times must I tell you never to answer my questions with more questions?"

"Urgh. Let go of me!!" Rin tried again, prying her wrist from his crushing grip. "You're hurting me!"

"That's the idea," Sesshoumaru replied as Rin tried to push her body forward to ease some of the pressure from her trapped arm. It only resulted in her pressing into him. Her breasts touched the hard planes of his abdomen, as his usual armor lay somewhere else in the room. But, too focused on trying to make him let go, she was totally oblivious to it. Taking that chance, he took another step forward and brought his knee up between her thighs.

Rin was slammed back as his knee drove her up the wall to his eye level. She gasped harshly as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You bastard," she seethed.

Sesshoumaru only smiled at her response. Her defiant face and anger that flashed in her eyes may have proved that she was not enjoying this, but her scent told a whole different story. The little slut was turned on. And that same scent was driving him slowly insane. Still, he refused to acknowledge the intimidation by the slowly disappearing grip he had on his control.

Grabbing her left thigh, he brought it around his waist and dropped his knee. The smile on his face became an evil smirk as he pressed himself to her body and rubbed her there. Rin gasped again, taken aback by the sensation tingling from her womanhood to her abdomen. She cursed him as she opened her eyes to glare at the demon.

Using what little strength she had, she raised the stick into position and poised it at the middle of his chest. "I'm going to shove this thing through your heart if you don't let me go," Rin threatened, putting more pressure on his chest with the metal.

Sesshoumaru watched her with amused eyes. He let her squirm a bit before he leaned in closer to her face. Rin stopped moving then, nervous now as to why he was looking at her that way.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked.

When he didn't answer her question and continued leaning forward, Rin screwed her eyes shut and prepared herself for that lip-to-lip contact. It never came. When she opened her eyes, she felt the metal stick taken from her hand and watched as he threw it to the corner.

He let go of her wrist and leg and let her drop to the floor. Sesshoumaru backed away from her figure slowly with a ghost of a smile still playing on his stoic face.

Rin took a shaky breath as her legs struggled to hold her weight at that moment. She took her eyes off the metal and gazed at him dumbfounded, not knowing what to make of her embarrassed reaction. Leaning back against the bookshelf and blowing a stray hair out of her eyes, she presented a faux nonchalance to hide her trembling and ram shackled dignity. "That was a bit unsporting of you."

Sesshoumaru looked at her incredulously. "More unsporting than you threatening to impale me with a pointy stick?" he growled.

Rin pulled off a shrug and straightened out her summer kimono. She had to get out of here, now. This wasn't healthy. In no way at all was she prepared for that exchange with the taiyoukai, and she sure as hell wasn't going to stick around to practice.

"Where do you think you're going?" the timbre of Sesshoumaru's voice reached her ears.

"Where else? Away from you," she breathlessly proclaimed. She didn't mean for it to come out that way, but it did.

The demon lord took notice of the sudden desire in his being. He was disgusted that the girl could provoke such need in him, but he acknowledged it, nonetheless. "I don't believe that I've dismissed you just yet."

Rin gave in to the childish impulse to stick her tongue out. So, looking back at him, that's exactly what she did. Nothing changed in Sesshoumaru's demeanor, but within his mind, all he wanted to do was demand her to stop in her tracks, and maybe ravage her for a little while.

Turning her head around to her destination, Rin smiled in triumph. Then all of a sudden, to her horror, she found that she couldn't move. With one foot in front of the other and her body facing towards the large doors, she was immobilized. Panic welled within her being as she turned accusing eyes towards Sesshoumaru.

"Stop it," she said, her voice panic-stricken.

It was his turn to furrow his brows in accusation. "Stop it?" he repeated. "I've done nothing to you."

Rin glared at him, the panic still rising in her heart. "What are you doing? Why can't I move?"

The taiyoukai caught the meaning of her words and the strange composure she seemed to be frozen in. He then took notice of the blinking light coming from between her mounds.

Rin followed the line of his vision, when she realized her was looking at her chest. "This is hardly the time to be perverted…" she trailed off when she took notice of the blinking crystal as well. "Kiori…?" The light blinked several more times before it faded slowly to nothing. After the enchanting light died, the crystal went back to normal. "But how could the crystal…?" Rin stood there, stupefied beyond reason.

Meanwhile, the wheels in the dog demon's head began to turn to a dangerous speed. The smile that lingered on his lips was evident as he looked on with new amusement. He had a theory, and the newfound knowledge excited him. And so, he tested it out. "Girl, come here, now."

Rin lifted her gaze from Kiori to Sesshoumaru. How dare he ---

The thought was abruptly cut off. Kiori was glowing in its strange light again. All of a sudden, she could feel the compulsion in her mind as he commanded her to go to him. Rin felt a strange force try to push at the barriers of her brain. Her eyes widened at the new sensation. Something was forcing her to move. Her body moved on its on accord, first turning around to face Sesshoumaru, then, taking slow steps toward him.

Whoa. Slow down just a goshdamned minute. "Bastard…what are you doing?"

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Hn. It seems that Kiori finally recognized me for who I am: it's true master."

Wasting no time at all, Rin grabbed the blinking crystal hanging around her neck and tugged it with all her might. A crackling and shattering sound emerged from it then, alarming Sesshoumaru. Blinding light enveloped Rin for a second in time as Sesshoumaru nearly rushed forward. Calling upon his skills of discipline was the only way Sesshoumaru remained standing where he was. The light dissipated just as fast as it came, outlining Rin's surprised figure. Sesshoumaru's eyes instantly fixated on Kiori, almost ready to rip Rin's head off, when to his shock, it was still intact.

"What…?" Rin questioned. Nothing happened to the crystal. Not even the metal chain that binded it to her weakened in the least. She could only look at Kiori, horrified.

A low and humorless chuckle came from Sesshoumaru. "It seems…that there is no escaping from me now, girl."

Rin looked up at the sadistic taiyoukai in front of her. A beaded droplet of sweat rolled down her face.

Oh Kami…this was NOT going to turn out well.

A/N: Haha. Yes…and that is only the beginning of their wonderful adventure.

Hope you guys enjoyed it!!

Next chapter: Ceremonious Induction.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this!!

xOxO

~Island Honey