InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dangerous Temptation ❯ Lost In A Memory ( Chapter 7 )

Lost In A Memory

Squeezing herself through the window had not proven to be easy. The last time she had felt the need to secretly leave her room she had been a child. Now she was a full grown woman, but she had managed.

She landed on the soft grass, glistening in the sun with the drops of morning dew. She knew the grounds of the castle very well, she still remembered, it was hard to forget the place she had grown up in. To the right was a well worn dirt path which lead to the dojo and the garden, she had spent countless hours in both, picking flowers and watching him, she was always watching him. To the left there was a faded trail in the grass, not many ever walked that way, it led to the forest that lay just outside the grounds of the castle, which was where she was going.

She took off in a furious sprint, determined to reach the cover of the trees before he realized she was gone. Her scent was fading from the room with each step she took; he would know soon enough that she was not there. Her only hope was that she would reach the river that ran through the middle of the forest; water was her only chance at masking her scent and keeping him off of her trail. She would not be captured again; she would not be his anymore. That part of her life was over, she belonged to no one.

Her muscles burned and her legs ached as she pushed herself harder and harder with each step. Almost there! Her frantic mind screamed.

The brilliance of the sun disappeared as she finally reached the cool shade of the trees. Stopping for a moment she leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She spared a glance over her shoulder to see if anyone had followed her. There was nothing there, just an empty field, and the stone wall of one side of the now distant castle. She had made it, but she still had a long way to go until she was off his lands and out of his territory. As long as she remained within his borders she belonged to him, just as everything else did.

She wearily pushed herself off of the tree and cast one last fleeting glance at the home of her youth, she was leaving it once more. She took off in the direction of the river, she did not have much time, he would come after her, she had no doubt about that.

Two years ago she had longed for him to come back to her and take her home. But now, as the sound of rushing water grew louder and louder, she prayed that he would not find her.

~~~

Jaken visibly trembled as he stood before his master. At this particular moment he feared for his life. The stench of his fear filled the room and overwhelmed the sensitive nose of Sesshoumaru.

Jaken had followed the orders his Lord had given him. He had gone to the room in which the girl was imprisoned. He still did not understand why his master had not simply killed the incessant girl once and for all. But he never questioned the actions of his master. Jaken knew he had a plan for everything. His cold and sharp mind endlessly devising brilliant strategies that kept him in power and often times killed his enemies. Jaken did not know what Sesshoumaru had in store for the woman, but whatever it was it would not be pleasant.

An evil smile touching his face, Jaken had motioned for the two guards outside her door to step aside, letting him enter to retrieve the girl, as Lord Sesshoumaru had requested. But as he walked into the room he was met with nothing but silence. She was not there. On glance at the window whose curtain was gently blowing with the wind and he knew. She had escaped, his master would not be pleased.

So now he stood before him, reluctant to apprise him of the bad news.

"What is it Jaken?" Sesshoumaru questioned, clearly impatient with the toad's nervousness.

"Sh-Sh-She's gone Master" he managed to stammer, the panic clogging his throat. "The girl has escaped, through the window." Jaken finished in one breath. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow that would surely kill him. But none came.

A wicked smirk touched the face of the emotionless lord and a soft, sinister chuckle escaped his lips. Now Jaken was truly afraid.

"She would run from me?" Sesshoumaru questioned out loud, a touch of amusement lighting his voice. "She leaves me no choice but to chase her." He finished, clearly enjoying the idea of hunting her.

With that he walked out of the room, without another word to Jaken who stood paralyzed and terrified. In a streak of white and blue Sesshoumaru was gone, following her quickly fading scent into the forest. His golden eyes took on a reddish hue as anticipation hummed through his body, the child he had once saved had now become his prey.

~~~

Tears if frustration and helplessness filled her eyes and threatened to spill over her cheeks, she had gotten so far, she had nearly made it, but fate was an evil thing.

With aching arms she had managed to pull herself out of the river. She had swum until the exhaustion threatened to take over and the possibility of drowning became real.

She sat on the bank of the river, panting and out of breath, a puddle of water quickly forming around her. She wasn't sure how much farther she would be able to go, she only knew that she had to get up and continue on, the edge of his territory was within her reach, she knew that, she had traveled these lands too long not to know where his land stopped.

Pickings herself off of the ground, she stood and stretched her aching muscles, it was then she heard it; the unmistakable growls and the blood thirsty pants. After all these years she still remembered, she still heard them in her dreams, still saw the blazing red of their eyes. But this was no dream; it seemed her past had finally caught up with her.

Slowly turning, Rin faced the new threat that had appeared; a pack of wolf youkai, just like those who had killed her so many years ago.

She let out a bitter laugh. It was ironic really, that she should die by the same creatures that had killed her when she was 8. Perhaps it was her destiny to die by the ferocious fangs of the beasts who stood before her. Maybe she jut had bad luck, either way she was going to die. Her water soaked clothes were too heavy to allow her to run, her muscles to tired; there was nothing she could do.

For the second time in her life she prepared herself for the inevitability of death, but this time there would be no one to save her, no angel to watch over her.

~~~

The little minx had gotten bold over the years. She dared to defy him, she dared to escape.

He knew that his servant, Jaken, had believed that he would kill him when he told him that she was gone. He had been sorely tempted to, his anger had been swift and it had been deadly. But he restrained himself. He needed an outlet for his anger, yes, but it would be so much more satisfying to take it out on the girl who haunted him, the woman he hated.

She was strong and intelligent, he would giver her that. She had nearly reached the perimeter of his territory; she had nearly escaped his control. Traces of her scent lingered in the river, she had attempted to mask her scent, she would have been successful if he weren't so determined and if he hadn't intimately known her scent as he did.

Then her scent hit him, like a powerful wave, he could smell each emotion that wildly ran through her body. Fear, sadness, helplessness, and acceptance. Surely she had not detected his presence, so he wondered at the cause for all these emotions pouring out of her body.

She had stopped moving, this puzzled him as well, she would have continued running until she was out of his lands. Something was stopping her.

When he reached the clearing where her scent was the strongest, the scene that greeted him snapped him out of the red haze that filled is senses.

They had been here before, only this time she was still alive. The beastly wolf youkai stood a few feet away from her, the lust for her flesh clear in their eyes.

His eyes moved to the figure of Rin, she stood, quiet and still. Her eyes were closed, as if she had calmly accepted the fact that she was about to die.

No! His mind screamed. This was all wrong, she belonged to him, no inferior youkai would touch her, touch his Rin.

In one blinding movement, he unsheathed his deadly sword, Toukijin, and destroyed the lowly beasts with one fatal swing of his blade.

He turned to face Rin, who had opened her eyes at the sound of the youkai's death. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw that he had saved her, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but fainted, the hardships of her journey finally taking their toll.

He caught her before she hit the ground. He held her in his arms as the memories came rushing back, surrounding him and overwhelming him in their intensity. He had done it again, with the simply swing of a sword he had saved the life of this human girl.

Looking down into the weary face of the sleeping woman, he trailed a finger down her cheek in a tender caress, she was not the girl he had brought back to life all those years ago. She was a woman, strong and beautiful. His finger traced the fullness of her lips, after all this time he still longed to taste them.

Circling both of his arms around her, he embraced her, letting her head lie on his chest. On a deep sigh he closed his eyes and rested his chin on the top of her head.

Twice he had saved her, twice he had been compelled to make this girl a part of his life and twice he had let her go, pushed her away from him.

Silently he wondered if there would be a third time.

Review Responses:

MediaMiner:

yasmin: Don't worry…I intend to make him hurt…man I sound evil…anyways…as for the scar…that will be explained later (:

Nankinmai: THANK YOU!!!...lol…

lala su: Don't worry…Rin will get her revenge…not sure how yet but she most definitely will!!!

FanFiction.net:

Anurila: I like the song…it seems to fit a certain Inu Lord…hmmmm…maybe I can try to fit it in!

Everchanging: Thank you!!! I think I will keep writing!

Artcat411: A happy ending…hmmm…I hope they end up together too!

ami: Yep…Sesshou is hot!

alleen: I wrote some more just for you! Enjoy!!!

SessRin2003: THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! It's nice to be on someone's favorites list! (: