Chapter 8

Meanwhile, the group had traveled for about an hour back the way they had come before deciding they were far enough away to be safe. They called a halt to figure out their next move. Rin jumped down from Ah-Un, her face streaked with tears and her eyes red and puffy from crying. She walked a few steps away and stopped, her back to the others, her head bowed, and her shoulders shaking.

"Rin," Kagome said softly, kneeling down beside her. "I'm sorry. But we had no choice."

"I know," Rin replied, looking over at her. Her eyes were moist but tears no longer fell from them. "He would have hurt Lord Sesshomaru if you had tried to fight." She looked very lost and frightened. "We are going to rescue him, aren't we?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Of course we are," Kagome assured her. She wanted to ask why Rin was so devoted to Sesshomaru. She was more curious than ever as to why the demon allowed the girl to travel with him. And why she chose to stay with him. Though now was not the time to indulge her curiosity.

"Wretched humans! You've allowed Lord Sesshomaru to be captured!" Jaken shouted.

"I didn't see you doing anything to help!" Shippo retorted. "Hiding behind Ah-Un the whole time."

"Why you little –"

"Enough!" Sango said firmly. "This isn't helping. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to do any good. We need to figure out how to rescue Sesshomaru before Ichiro can carry out whatever he has planned. I don't trust that he doesn't intend to harm him."

"It would be easier if we knew just what he had in mind," Miroku commented. "What does he want with Sesshomaru?"

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Sango said darkly. "Ichiro has a significant amount of power on his own. He never would have been able to manage this otherwise." She motioned at Inuyasha who was regarding them with his large gold eyes from his perch on Ah-Un. His ears twitched.

"Yeah, I always thought that Sesshomaru was scary," Shippo added. "But that Ichiro guy… he was really, really scary!" He suppressed a shudder.

Sango nodded. "Sesshomaru's powerful. Though even as cold and heartless as he is he seems to have a code of honor that he adheres to. I can't picture him threatening to kill a child. And he would never use one as a shield or bargaining chip. Ichiro seems to lack that sense of honor."

"Lord Sesshomaru's a good person!" Rin piped up. "He's brave, and strong, and kind!"

The others blinked and stared at the girl, momentarily speechless. 'Kind' was about the last word any of them would have used to describe Inuyasha's older brother. The sincerity of her voice left no doubt that kind was exactly how Rin saw him.

"I never thought I'd see the day when I thought Sesshomaru was the nicer guy," Shippo muttered, breaking the stunned silence. But he had to admit that Sango had a point. Sesshomaru had no qualms about killing but he didn't do it mindlessly and he didn't revel in the slaughter of innocents. He only really tried to kill them when they interfered with his fights with Inuyasha. Otherwise, he pretty much ignored them. Shippo made a mental note to avoid getting involved with the brothers' spats in the future.

Miroku continued Sango's line of reasoning. "If Ichiro somehow manages to get Sesshomaru's powers under his control he would be nearly unstoppable. Both of their power and none of Sesshomaru's scruples, such as they are, I can only imagine what kind of havoc he could unleash."

"I can't imagine that happening," Kagome said. "Ichiro seemed to be just a regular demon. Not like Naraku who can absorb other demons' powers into himself. Sesshomaru certainly isn't weak-willed so I doubt he'd be easy to control. I don't see him helping Ichiro, either. He's not the type to go along with someone else's schemes."

"But he's only a frightened young child at the moment. Which I'm betting was the entire point of transforming him. Ichiro would have no chance of controlling Sesshomaru when he's himself normally. He's too strong-willed and powerful. But as a pup with no memories beyond his current age… no experiences… no power… he'll be much easier to manipulate. Or threaten into submission," Sango added darkly.

"Ichiro did mention that he'd be restoring Sesshomaru," Miroku added. "But if he does so with him under his control…"

"Then we've got a huge problem."

Before they could ponder the situation further, there came a familiar, angry voice. "What the hell?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she turned to see him back to his old self. She hastily averted her gaze, slapping her hand over Rin's eyes as well. "Get dressed! Your clothes are in the saddle bag!"

There was the sound of feet hitting the ground, then the rustling of fabric. A minute later he had finished dressing. "What the hell's going on, Kagome?" he asked as he rummaged through the equipment on Ah-Un. "Why are these guys with us? Where's Tessaiga? Did Sesshomaru take it? I'll gut that bastard!" He looked over at Kagome who lowered her hand from Rin's eyes.

"Inuyasha, calm down! Just listen -" Kagome said.

"Sesshomaru stole my sword and you're telling me to calm down!" he shouted. "I'm going to kill him for certain this time!"

"Grrrr! Sit!"

Inuyasha face-planted into the ground. He glared until he was able to raise himself up again but he stopped yelling.

"Will you just listen! It's not what it looks like. You and Sesshomaru were turned into children by a demon named Ichiro. He's inu yokai. Do you recognize that name?"

Inuyasha shook his head. His brows drew together. "Never heard of him. Why would he do a weird thing like that? Is he another demon that had a grudge against Father? Or was Sesshomaru the one to piss him off? That wouldn't surprise me one bit. That bastard tends to have that effect on people. I know he pisses me off often enough." He frowned as he looked around, realizing someone was missing. "Where is Sesshomaru, anyway?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! Ichiro was after Sesshomaru. He cast a spell that targeted the son of Inu no Taisho. Since you're also his son, you got transformed, too. He said he didn't know about you. He said he'd transform you back when we got far enough away."

"You just left Sesshomaru with him?"

"It's not like we had much of a choice!" Kagome's anger and frustration burst forth. "He grabbed him and threatened to kill him if we didn't leave. He's fast. Scary fast. He had him before we could even blink. There was no way we could get close to him."

Rin walked over to Inuyasha and stood looking up at him. "Please, Lord Inuyasha," she said. "I know you and Lord Sesshomaru don't get along. But please help him!"

Inuyasha looked down at Rin. Her face was still splotchy form crying. He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I suppose we'd better go rescue him. Whatever this Ichiro has planned can't be good. I need to get my Tessaiga back, anyway. Besides, Sesshomaru will never live it down if I'm the one to rescue him." He grinned evilly at the thought of his proud half-brother having to admit that Inuyasha had saved him.

"Oh, thank you!" The girl threw her arms around him.

He looked uncomfortable but allowed the embrace for a moment before working himself free of her arms. "Yeah, yeah, don't get too excited. I'm only doing it so I can rub Sesshomaru's nose in it later." But he patted her shoulder comfortingly.

Kagome allowed herself a small smile. Despite his rough edges, Inuyasha had a good heart.

"I have an idea of what Ichiro is up to," came a familiar voice. "And I'm afraid it's not good at all."