Sorry for the delay, I couldn't figure out how to tie these two chapters together! ! Please comment on my stories, I'd love the feedback!

Chapter Four

The Curse of The Dog Demons

Sesshomaru lay in his garden for what felt like forever listening to her sobs. Why was she crying? He wanted desperately to comfort her, but he knew he couldn't. To do so would surely cause the same end as Rin. 'Why won't she stop crying..' After what seemed like an eternity, he could hear her move from the hot spring to his room. She did not go in though. He could hear her faintly sigh and sit in front of the door. 'What is she doing?' he wondered. Just as he was about to go find out what was going on, he caught a familiar scent. He turned to meet Shuichi. They stared at each other for a moment before Shuichi made his advance. Slowly, he walked towards Sesshomaru.

"What business do you have in my private garden." he called out, authority filling his graceful voice. Shuichi stopped.

"I simply have a query of the distressed aura coming from your wing. " he stated in that sweet child's voice. It was a little bit unsettling to hear such vocabulary in a voice so innocent.

"It is Ayame." Sesshomaru replied, "She is distressed but I know not the reason why." Sesshomaru gazed carfully at him. He felt strangely relaxed around the child. "Why are you so concerned about it?"

"I only wished to check on your well being. I am looking forward to our spar at sunrise." The child moved closer to him. "It was not Ayame's distress I was feeling.. May I sit with you?" Sesshomaru debated this for only a moment before nodding his head and seating himself in the cool grass. Ayame was right about Shuichi having the same abilities as her.. there was no point in denying Shuichi's assuptions. "Lord Sesshomaru, I would like to share some of my knowledge with you.. about you." Shuichi reached Lord Sesshomaru, but looked at him hesitantly. Sesshomaru nodded once more, accepting the unspoken request.

"What exactly do you know of me." he questioned, not trying to hide his curiosity. Shuichi looked up at the stars.

"I know you are an Inu. Born of the Great Dog Demon of the West. I know of your affection of a human girl that has caused great distress in you.. and I might have the answer to your questions.." Sesshomaru was now staring at the boy, who was deep in thought as he gazed into the nothingness of space. "You are cursed."

"How so. And who has placed this curse upon me?"

"Your great grandfather. You see, he too loved a human girl. With all of his heart and soul. His eyes were blinded by love and he could not see the woman's intentions. She was a priestess. A dark priestess to be exact. Her energy came from the suffering of demons, the blackness that formed inside them when a great betrayal becomes them." Shuichi lay back, putting his hands folded under his head. "And the blackness that would form inside your great grandfather's heart could have sustained her immortality forever. The only issue.. was that she fell in love with him in the process. She could not bear to betray him.. but her life was withering. One day, your great grandfather caught her stealing the black energy from a very unfortunate demon, and realized what her plan was for him. Well, to sum it up, he left her for dead. The woman was so distraught and filled with anger, she placed a curse on you great grandfather. The curse is.. that no descendant from his bloodline will ever live happily with their first love.. so, with the last of her fading life, she cursed him. And so has been the fate of every son, and grandson. And so will be the fate of your sons and their sons, and so on and so forth.." Sesshomaru was now gazing up at the stars as well.

"And how do I go about breaking said curse?" he asked, almost to quietly to hear.

"Unfortunately, I do not know." He replied, just as quiet. The two demons sat in silence together for quite some time until finally, Sesshomaru stood up.

"That would be troublesome news.." he said, still gazing at the stars, "if the cuse actually existed." He began walking away from Shuichi.

"It is," he called out to him, "I may only resemble a child my Lord, but my human parents named me Shuichi for a reason. I take my studies very seriously, and would not taint the great name of knowledge with silly fairy tales."Sesshomaru stopped to listed to his reasoning. "Your father, Inu No Tashio, fell in love with a beautiful dog demoness. You are the result of that love. Yet, a human woman came along and stole him from your mother. Not long after, he died trying to protect her and the half-breed, Inuyasha."

"That was coincidence."

"Your Grandfather, was slain by the female demon he fell in love with after she bore his child. She went mad from no known cause. Your half-breed brother.. He was nearly slain by his first love. He lived, and she died. Even after she had been given new life many times, in the end, he was not allowed to be with her. And it is because of this curse. Sesshomaru, I know it pains you to lose this woman, whoever she is, but if you truly care for her, you must never try and find her. If you do, it will only result in death. Fate has graced you, split you apart without the use of death. Count your blessings and be greatful."

"If what you say is true, then either Rin or myself should be dead right now." Sesshomaru now pulled his gaze from the stars to stare into Shuichi's eyes. "But we're not." He stepped a little closer to the child. "How do you know that Rin is alive?"

"Well," Shuichi said, "I do not." He took a step back from Sesshomaru, only to have the lord take three steps forward. Sesshomaru was infuriated. This child comes to him, claiming a curse on his bloodline, assuming to know everything about him, yet he does not know anything. The curse made sense, yes, his family was plagued by very unfortunate events concerning each males' first love.. but how dare he try and "soothe his worries" by telling him he does not know the well being of Rin after pointing our that every generation suffered death. Could she really be dead from this curse? Yes, he hated her for breaking his heart.. but.. could he bare for her do die? No. She must live. Even if it is not with him, she must live. "Sesshomaru.." Shuichi said softly.

"How dare you refer to me in such a common way. I am Lord Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru snapped at him. His eyes grew red, and his aura exploded with rage. "You and that woman are to leave my castle at once."

"What woman?"

"Your mother, Ayame." Sesshomaru glanced at Shuichi to gage his reaction. The boy looked shocked. "I'm sure with your superior intellect and keen sense of smell you have surely noticed the similarities." Sesshomaru began walking away. "Perhaps you should get your own life's story in order before you go about ranting on other's." Sesshomaru flew off, heading towards the village he last left Rin. Shuichi was left on the ground, a look of confusion on his face. 'I will not let some silly curse get in the way of my love for her, I must get her back. I am the great Lord Sesshomaru, I can overcome this curse!'

Rin's P.O.V.

It's been eight years now and my heart still aches.. I did not accept the boys wishes to wed me. No, the day after Lord Sesshomaru left.. I made a decision.

-Flashback-

'I will never see him again..' I awoke the next morning to find Kaede fixing some stew. I could hear Inuyasha outside arguing with Kagome. My eyes felt swollen and my head ached. After a few moments, everything from the previous day and evening came flooding into my memory. 'That's right..Lor Sesshomaru has left me..' A new wave of deep sadness came over me and I could feel my eyes well up with tears.. As I lay back down, I could hear what the two outside were arguing about.

"C'mon Kagome, it's not like I meant for this to happen!" Inuyasha growled.

"What DID you think was going to happen Inuyasha!? You thought Sesshomaru was going to just live happily every after with Rin? What place would he have if she were to marry a human boy!? Her pet maybe?" Kagome sounded furious. Wait.. Inuyasha told Sesshomaru about Kitaru? So he's why my Lord came looking for me.. still.. I'm the one who gave My Lord doubt..

"Well, I don't know, I guess I just figured he'd accept it and move on as her friend. She's only a child Kagome, I didn't think he had any feelings for her like that!" Inuyasha sounded a little bit frightened. I don't blame him. I've seen Kagome when she is angry, and it is a very unsettling thing to witness.

"He's a demon Inuyasha! Time is nothing to him, are you really that stupid!? You didn't think he was going to wait for her! She was the first human he EVER loved! "

"Kagome calm down! It's not like it's the end of the world! She'll be happy here with humans, you of all people should know that being by a demons side is nothing but trouble."

"Inuyasha you are so dense! It may not be the end of our world, or even Sesshomaru's but it will most likely be the end of Rin's world! Have you forgotten everything she was saying last night in her sleep?" I blushed.. 'I was talking in my sleep?' " She loved him, she still loves him! Sesshomaru is strong, he will overcome this, but what of Rin? She is heartbroken, which is something much worse that facing demons. Believe me, I would know..." The last words fell out of Kagome's mouth shaking. I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Kagome, don't.."

"Don't what Inuyasha!? You'd better fix this. Rin won't be able to handle this." I felt something inside me snap as soon as those words reached my ears. I remembered all of the times Lord Sesshomaru urged me to fend for myself. He wanted me to be strong in his absence, to be independent. 'That's it!' I thought with realization, 'I must be strong, I must prove to him that I will not break. I must prove to him that I am indeed worthy of him, and that I am indeed loyal..' I got out of my mat and headed towards the door. I could hear Inuyasha grumbling.

"Fine. I'll go find him and straighten things out."

"That won't be necessary." I chimed in, "I do not need Lord Sesshomaru to survive."

"Rin," Kagome's voice came soft and caring, " you don't have to be strong or force yourself to-"

"I am not forcing anything Lady Kagome," I said quietly, "Lord Sesshomaru has taught me to be independent. I have upset him in the past, but he always returns to me. This is just another test to see if I am able to fend for myself and join him in his journeys. If I am not ready, he will leave without me, but he always returns. If I am ready, he will take me with him." I was shocked at my own realization and the bravery I had to speak it aloud. My knees were shaking, but I knew I had to do this. "Lady Kagome, I wish to join you and Inuyasha on your journey. I wish to become stronger..." A smile spread across Kagome's face and Inuyasha grumbled, but agreed with a nod.

"You go girl." Kagome said with a wink.

-Flashback over-

That was so long ago.. and My lord Still hasn't come for me. About three weeks ago, I had left Kagome and Inuyasha. They had heard of a new route for Inuyasha's dream of becoming a full demon. Kagome was not too happy about it. Their relationship seemed strained lately so I thought it best to just leave them be. I have grown a great deal in power. The demon slayer Songo had given me a few lessons on basic demon slaying before we left the village and Kagome help me to make them my own. I decided to head back to the village and visit Kaede, her health as declined as of late.

When I arrived at the village, I immediately went to Kaede's hut. There were a few other villagers there at her side. She lay there, breathing heavily.. her time was coming soon. 'I'm glad I made it in time.." I thought to myself. She seemed grateful when I knelt by her side and took her hand in mine. It was cold.. "Lady Kaede," I said in a soft voice, "It is I, Rin."

"Rin?" she whispered weakly, " Ye have returned.."

"Yes Lady," I replied, "I wished to see you."

"Rin.. stay strong.. He will return.." with one final breath, she was gone. All of the villagers around me began crying and praying.. but I felt nothing. Ever since the day I vowed to become stronger, I haven't felt anything but determination to see My Lord again. I walked out of the hut and let the villagers mourn. I leaned against it's wall for a moment before walking back into the forest. I didn't know where I was going, but I was determined to get there. A few miles into my walk, I sensed someone watching me. Whoever it was has been following me for quite some time. With one quick manoeuvre, the figure was kicked out of the tree behind me. When he arose, I saw his face. It was Kitaru. And he was not here for a friendly homecoming conversation...