InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In a Different Light ❯ Weakness ( Chapter 24 )

Author's Note: There's a little SPOILER in this chapter about ep 115 of the anime series. I honestly wouldn't have put it in here if I didn't need to, but it has to do with Sesshomaru and how our mighty demon lord of the Western Lands is affected by holy barriers.

In a Different Light

Chapter 23: Weakness

Sesshomaru sat in the center of their former campsite with Rin's makeshift backpack clenched in his claws, the red fabric and its enclosed contents acting as the only remembrance of missing mate. The sun had risen. The wind was still. All animals had fled. The fire had burned down, and all the boulders in the clearing had been demolished. He sat silently on a stack of fallen trees, his head high and his senses alert.

Four hours. It had been four hours since Rin's scent had completely disappeared, and he was no closer to finding her now, than he had been when he had first noticed her absence. He had taken to the air and surveyed the area for ten miles in all directions. He had went back into the forest and uprooted every tree in hopes of finding some clue, a single hint to her whereabouts. He had sent his youki out, searching for even the faintest trace of his faithful mate, his tendrils of power creeping across the countryside, dipping into every cavern and crevice, scouring every lake, sea and river, climbing every mountain, hilltop and treetop, filling the air, itself, with his demonic presence . . . all to no avail.

Nothing.

He had found nothing. They had left nothing. Without her he was nothing.

No. That was not true.

For the twentieth time that day, he forced his emotions to recede and give way to the more rational functions of his brain. He had never had this much trouble in the past. Despite the severity of the situation, he was always able to remain rational and calm. Of course, there was the occasional bout of anger, but that was to be expected. He had little patience for stupidity or poor manners, and the world was unfortunately full of stupid, ill-mannered boors. But Rin . . .

Rational, he reminded himself.

But with Rin, since he had discovered his . . . unusual attachment to the girl, every day had become a struggle for balance, for control. That night, since that night two weeks ago, he had found himself . . . feeling things he literally hadn't felt in centuries.

Before she had returned, fearing that she would not return, he felt . . . lonely and abandoned. When Rin had returned to the campsite, there was a brief moment of joy, followed by an unseemly rush of lust. But that changed when the wind changed, and he picked up something other than Rin's scent. Not only had she returned to him late; she was covered in the scent of that young, human male, that Taro, as she called him. That had made him angry. Angry, jealous, disgusted and . . . hurt . . . hurt that she had chosen someone that was not him.

When she had cried at his feet, begging him not to send her away, her words broken up with sobs, the salt of her tears heavily scenting the air, he had felt pity . . . and remorse . . . remorse that his actions had caused her such pain. And when she had called him by his name, sans title, her cheeks red and her soft, lilting voice halting . . . Warmth. He felt a great deal of warmth at that moment. Warmth, tenderness and this . . . overwhelming need to protect her, to hold her and keep her safe . . .

And he had failed.

Again, he forced his emotions to recede, tightly clenching the cloth of her pack in his fisted hand. It was the only thing he had left that smelled like her. Her scent trail in the forest was fading, fast becoming old and stale, nearing non-existence. Even her scent on him-his face, his lips, his hair, his hand-and on his clothing--his haori, his hakama, in his pelt . . . even that would soon be but a memory.

Despair . . . Deep, unrelenting despair . . .

When she had first disappeared, he had panicked. Only for a second, the briefest moment, the tiniest fraction in the measurement of time, but he had felt it. It . . . sickened him. It sickened him that he could feel so lost, so helpless, so clueless and confused.

It was only a second, but panic did not suit one of his station. There was no need for it. He was the Lord of the Western Lands, one of the most powerful demons in all the lands.

But what good was all that power, if he could not use it in defense of his mate? What good was it if he could not use it to find his mate? What good was it if . . .

He fought back a surge of mixed emotions and forced himself to focus.

Panic. Anger. Frenzy. Despair.

Never in his life had he felt such useless, pointless, weak emotions!

These . . . creatures, whoever and whatever they were, were effectively making a fool of him. They had taken one of his most prized possessions from underneath his very nose and hidden her away, where he could not see her, could not smell her, could not sense her in any way.

He took a deep, calming breath and finally forced his fist to unclench, running his fingers over the rumpled fabric. Her scent . . . He lifted the pack to his nose and inhaled, Rin's gentle scent filling his nostrils, an incredible calm settling over himself and the clearing he'd so recently demolished. The crushed rock, singed earth and splintered wood slowly began to fade away, the scents of granite, cedar and ash gradually dissipating, as the cool of the morning and the warm tints of the cloud-scattered sky surrounded him, and he was embraced by a new, truer awareness.

How foolish, he chided himself. He had been so focused on not finding her, not sensing her, not having her with him that he had failed to ask why. Why couldn't he find her? Why couldn't he sense her? Why wasn't she with him?

The answer to third question was obvious. She had been taken, abducted, kidnaped. His Rin would never willingly leave him without a word, without a sound, without a clue. As for the other two questions, the more he thought on the matter and the more methods he attempted to resolve the matter, and the more of those methods failed, the clearer the situation became.

A barrier. A holy barrier was preventing his senses from detecting his mate. He had dealt with such things in the past and was familiar with their effects. Only, in his . . . panic, in his . . . emotional maelstrom, he'd lost track of that particular bit of information. But now that he had regained his senses, he was thinking quite clearly and rationally, no longer troubled by the distractions of unbridled emotion and seemingly unanswerable questions.

Yes, Rin's abductors were quite . . . clever, he had to admit. They must have more than a little knowledge about demon mating habits. When one's mate disappears, instinctively, he is driven to find her. There is no room for rational thought and no time to delay. The demon is focused on one task and one task only-find his missing mate or die trying.

The longer the youkai searches without success, the more desperate and the more crazed he becomes.

Sesshomaru growled inwardly. He had wasted four hours searching for a scent that couldn't be found, could never be found. But the barrier could be found.

He rose to his feet with the effortless grace possessed by all youkai of his stature and stuffed Rin's satchel into his haori, counting on its gentle fragrance to act as his center, keeping his mind focused and sharp. He surveyed the devastation he'd wreaked upon the formerly peaceful campsite, then called forth a cloud of youki and took to the early morning sky, the soft caress of the wind playing across his face and blowing through his hair.

Yes, Rin's captors were quite clever, but soon they would be dead.

8 8 8

"Takeda." Rin's breath caught in her throat, and she attempted to shrink back as the backlit figure of the headman of InuYasha's village approached. He was wearing the same blue and black he'd been wearing the first night she'd met him. Only this time his black tresses fell free, its ends brushing the tops of his shoulders, making him appear to be every bit the rogue she knew he was.

She, again, attempted to retreat at the sound of the headman's footfalls on the rotten wooden floor. Unfortunately for Rin, the veiled figures of Kimi and Akemi kept her held fast, refusing to let her budge an inch. Rin frowned. If she were healthy and whole, fine. Let the asshole try what he may. She'd beat him bare-handed within an inch of his life . . . But as she was now-bloody, bruised and broken, and, not to mention, restrained-she didn't want that bastard anywhere near her.

Yori stepped off to the side of the hut, watching from a detached distance in the shadows as Takeda grinned down at her, his bright blue eyes doubtless hiding something malicious and cruel. He reached out and gripped her chin, forcibly turning her head from one side then to the other. "You ladies were quite rough with it, weren't you?"

It, Rin scoffed inwardly. Last time she'd seen him he'd called her "that."

"You want me to apologize to that?"

Yori scoffed from her position by the door, her arms folded, her brow creased. "We're killers, not kidnapers. The plan was to capture her alive, and we did."

Takeda's grin turned into a leer. "And I heard you gave the hunters quite show, your ladyship."

Show? Her bruised brow knitted in both confusion and curiosity.

Takeda gave a low chuckle, keeping his eyes fixed on hers, his leer taking on an even more lecherous quality. "Makes you call him 'master,' does he?"

Rin felt the color wash from her face, the bitter taste of bile filling the back of her throat as her stomach roiled in disgust. They'd . . . seen them, heard them, intruded upon their most intimate moments . . . She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip, fighting back a wave of nausea. She was going to be sick. If he said one more word, if he didn't take his hand away . . .

As if sensing her revulsion, Kimi loosened her grip on Rin's arm and took an almost unnoticeable step to the right.

"What's wrong, ladyship? You don't look so . . ."

Rabbit. Bits of burnt rabbit, several gulps of fresh water, fragments of dried seasoned fish and a few swallows of her lord's pre-seminal fluids, mixed with searing stomach acids, drops of blood from her internal injuries and that bitter taste of bile that coated the back of her throat.

Takeda jumped back as Rin's stomach lurched again, spilling its contents at the headman's feet. It had successfully coated his right hand, the front of his haori and hakama and the sandals on his feet in its first round, and now it was soaking into the floorboards, filling the air with the putrid scent of vomit and blood.

Kimi quickly released Rin and covered her nose. Akemi continued to hold her up as she recovered from her body's recent revolt.

"You bitch!" Takeda backhanded her with enough force to snap her head back and send her head spinning. She vomited again.

Kimi audibly groaned and gripped her nose and her stomach simultaneously.

Takeda growled and knocked Akemi aside, gripping the back of Rin's neck, shoving her face to the ground and holding it there as he crouched beside her. "Lick it up," he hissed. "You made this mess, now clean it up."

Her stomach lurched again, her hose and forehead pressed into the watery patch of steaming puke.

"Lick it up!" he commanded again. "A dog's whore should act like one!"

Her tongue lolled out in a gag reflex, trying to stave off the impending series of dry heaves, but instead made contact with the rotting wood and her stomach's former contents. Her stomach lurched again, sending her body into a painful series of convulsions as Takeda continued to apply pressure to the back of her neck, pressing her face to the floor.

Her head was pounding, her stomach contracted, several sharp pains shot down her back and sides. Her nose was polluted with the foul odor of her own waste, her tongue tainted with the vile taste. Takeda's harsh, hard hand constricted her windpipe, making it hard to breathe, and her tongue continued to loll out as she choked for air and fought to stave off her increasing sickness.

"That's a good bitch," Takeda crooned. "I can stay here as long as it takes for you to clean up this entire mess."

"That's enough." Kimi gripped Takeda's wrist and pulled him off of her, knocking the headman on his backside.

Rin rolled over, away from the waste and onto her side.

"You're both making me sick," Kimi ground out.

Yori chuckled dryly and stepped into the light of the doorway as Kimi continued to suspend Takeda's wrist above his head in a seemingly painful vice-like grip.

"Let go of me you, mongrel."

Kimi shot the headman a death glare and increased the pressure.

Takeda howled, trying to free himself as Yori continued to chuckle. "That's no way to talk to a lady," the leader of the hunters said smoothly. "We're your comrades, not your concubines, Takeda."

The headman ceased his howling, but continued to try and pull and pry his way away from the veiled hanyou female.

"Release him, Kimi."

Kimi dropped the headman's wrist and folded her arms across her chest.

"Get up, Takeda, and go clean yourself off. Akemi, go with him. If our prey were to catch wind of his mate's blood while our honored employer is dunking himself in the river, it would throw everything off schedule."

As Rin's mind continued to reel in pain, and her stomach slowly recovered from its recent upheaval, she forced herself to focus on this new bit of information. If Akemi was to accompany Takeda to prevent Sesshomaru from scenting her blood on him, that must mean Akemi can produce a barrier of her own . . . She did get angry when Rin kicked Takara, and she called Takara a priestess. So, perhaps Akemi is Takara's apprentice.

Takeda pushed his way to his feet and straightened his vomit-covered clothes, even now, a smug smile seated firmly on his face. Both he and Akemi then passed through the beaded curtain as Yori addressed Kimi, whose violet eyes hid none of her disgust.

"Will you be all right, Kimi?"

"It's putrid," she declared to the taller female.

Yori stared down at the stain on the floor and slowly nodded. "I'll have Suki come in and clean it up. I know nothing can effectively mask the odor, but diluting it in water should lessen it somewhat."

Kimi nodded brusquely.

"Keep an eye on the girl."

Kimi nodded again as Yori passed through the beaded curtain hanging in the door.

"Thank you," Rin spoke softly.

Kimi shrugged, her hand again moving to cover her nose. "Like I said, you were both making me sick." She walked around her, then took a seat in front of her head. "Can you sit up?" she asked.

"It hurts," Rin replied.

Kimi leaned slightly forward and sniffed. "He worsened your injuries," she said stiffly. "You're bleeding. On the inside."

She nodded slightly. "My sides hurt."

Kimi cursed beneath her breath. "I'll make Akemi heal you when she gets back."

"Heal me?"

"She used to be a nun. Healing's no problem for her. She's got all sorts of spiritual powers-barriers, shields, scrolls, the Mystic Flame."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Mystic Flame?"

"It's a purifying fire. It won't hurt humans or anything else living, but anything with demon blood gets burned on contact. Hurts like a mother fucker, I'll tell you."

"H-how does she do such things?"

Kimi shrugged. "I told you; she was a nun. They get trained for those sorts of things-purifying demons, exorcizing spirits, erecting holy barriers-those are all holy rites. Every holy man in this era knows how to guard against 'evil.' That's why most demons steer clear of towns with monasteries, temples and convents."

Rin gave a slight nod. "I suppose that would make sense."

"The demon that attacked her town was young and stupid. Powerful, but stupid. Yeah, it destroyed Akemi's village and had its way with her, but then the nuns from the convent came and purified him into oblivion."

"So the convent wasn't harmed?" She really wasn't in much of a condition to carry on a conversation, but it kept her distracted from the pain and that awful taste in her mouth. And besides, the more she knew about her enemies, the more help she could be to her lord.

Kimi shook her head. "It was on the outskirts of the town, away from the markets and huts and such. Akemi was only in the village tending to some of the sick and injured when it attacked. She was too caught up in keeping them safe than fighting the fire demon. She successfully avoided him for awhile, but then he found her. Her fear got the better of her, and she couldn't hold her barrier."

"I see," Rin said.

"Honestly, I only think he violated her because she tried to purify him. Yeah, she may have been having her monthly, which added to the allure, but . . . Frankly, most humans smell pretty repugnant, and mating with them is the last thing on a demon's mind. But," she added quietly, "there are those rare exceptions."

"Like your parents."

Kimi nodded, a far off look forming in her eyes. "Not just them . . ."

"Me," Rin said.

"And me," Kimi said.

"You?" she laughed. "You're just a child."

Now it was Kimi who laughed. "Child? How old do you think I am?"

"Fifteen," she said certainly. "They killed your father when you were five, and you got your revenge ten years later."

Her laughter intensified. "Fifteen?"

Rin narrowed her eyes, focusing on what she could see of the hanyou's face. Just the pale, clear violet eyes, and the smooth, white skin surrounding them. "You said you killed your tribe ten years later. They killed your father when you were five, and you killed them ten years later."

"Is that what I said? 'Later?'"

Rin nodded.

"Stupid me," she laughed. "I meant to say 'ago.' I killed them ten years ago, and that's when I started demon hunting. I was 73 at the time."

Her stiff jaw dropped open.

"Do you honestly think a fifteen-year-old half-breed has what it takes to do away with an entire pack of wolves?"

"You're 83?" she sputtered.

Kimi nodded. "And very good at what I do. Admittedly, I'm still a baby in demon terms, but I have exact control over my powers."

Rin swallowed hard, silently cursing the foul taste still in her mouth. Eighty-three? She blinked in disbelief. But she still acts like a little kid.

"Wanna see what I can do?"

Rin gave a slight nod.

Kimi's eyes lit up and she waved her hand over a spot on the floor. The rotting wood suddenly turned fresh, and a few green shoots began to sprout up.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"I have ultimate control over plants," she said with a smile in her voice. "I can even make dead wood live again."

Rin watched with marked curiosity as the green shoots came together and formed a miniature sapling, tiny green leaves budding along its stems.

"Isn't that cool?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rin nodded.

"And I can make it bend and twirl, anything I want. With bigger trees, I can make them use their branches to beat someone senseless; I can make them release their leaves, hurling them like razor-sharp projectiles; and I can raise their roots, forcing them to impale my opponent as they attempt to attack me."

Rin paled.

"With grass, I can do the same thing as the leaves, or I can make it grow and bind my opponent where he stands, immobilizing him, constricting him, suffocating him."

"But it's only grass," she said weakly.

"Not when I possess it, it isn't. It's a living extension of my being, just as strong and just as resilient."

Rin suddenly found her mind filled with visions of hapless wolfmen being attacked by the very grass they stood on, beaten by the boughs of the trees above them, impaled by roots, perhaps even strung up by vines . . . What could you do when the forest, itself, turned against you?

Kimi seemingly grew bored with her new shrub and swept it away with a pass of her hand, leaving only the rotting wood in its wake.

She raised a questioning eyebrow at her masked caretaker.

"What I create I can destroy. Over the years I've developed several creative ways to do away with my opponents. It can get kind of dull after awhile, you know? Doing the same tricks over and over again."

Rin nodded. So, Takara was a priestess, Akemi was a nun, and Kimi could control plantlife. "What does Suki do?" she asked, hoping her captor would answer.

"Suki chants."

"Chants?"

"She does spells and stuff. Like the scrolls and sutras Takara and Akemi use, Suki makes them."

"What is she?"

"She's Yori's friend. When I was first . . . recruited, it was Yori, Suki and Takara. I really don't know that much about her, and, frankly, she kind of scares me."

"Scares you?" Rin repeated.

She commented no further, but she gave a slight nod.

Rin considered her next question as she was suddenly struck by a coughing fit. Blood. She could taste her own blood forcing its way up her throat.

"You're going to die," Kimi said. "You humans are so weak. Why are you like that?"

She wiped her mouth once the spasms ceased and drew in a calming breath, only to start sputtering again.

"Shallow," Kimi said. "Try not to breathe so deeply."

Rin nodded once her airway was again clear, and she could again think of something besides bringing air into her body. "Takara, Akemi, and Suki are human. They don't seem so weak. You even said Suki scares you."

"Yeah, they've got powers," Kimi conceded, "but once you get passed that I could snap any of their necks like a twig. Except maybe Yori."

"Yori's just human?"

Kimi nodded. "Daughter of a warlord. Her mother died giving birth to her, and previously she'd only had boys, so her father raised her the only way he knew how-like one of the boys. She's a very good fighter."

Rin thought back to her abduction. Yori was certainly tall and strong, perhaps even powerful . . . But she'd managed to keep hold of her sword during each of her strikes, and even wound her. So, either Yori wasn't as good as Kimi proclaimed, or Rin was a much better swordsman than she gave herself credit for.

"I know what you're thinking," Kimi said. "If Yori's so great, why did it take you so long to capture me?"

"Well?" she raised both eyebrows in expectation, a dull pain shooting through her skull.

"We're used to killing, not capturing. If we went in there our usual way . . . Well, I could've snapped your neck in just a second. And Yori would've taken your head just as fast. But, we had to be careful. And when you're not used to being careful, sometimes you can hurt them more than you anticipated . . . And you complicated the matter with your stupid sword. Yori could've just cut your hand off, but then you probably wouldn't have lasted very long. You have a very good technique, though. You're the only one I've met to not immediately buckle beneath one of her attacks."

"M-my lord helped train me. He . . . didn't use any of his demon skills, but even so he's quite strong."

"And your moves were very fluid, graceful. I wasn't expecting that from you, and the others simply aren't equipped to fight humans. Spell scrolls and incantations can't hurt you."

"No," she shook her head. "I guess they can't."

"So I guess that's one weakness I have that you don't. It hurts so bad!"

Rin chuckled lightly.

"Really," Kimi insisted. "It's like . . . well, maybe it's different for a full-blooded demon, but for me it feels like I'm being ripped in two, torn apart. Someone is reaching inside me and . . . tearing and ripping and trying to pull out part of me that doesn't belong on the outside. It's like red, hot pokers piercing your chest and then something else pulls your soul out through the wound. It hurts all over your body. It hurts so bad you can't see, you can't think. It's like millions of needles running through your body all at once and then you get . . . shocked I guess. And holy barriers are the worst! They try to trap you and purify you at the same time."

Rin fell silent. Sesshomaru had crossed a holy barrier once before for her sake. On Mount Hakurei. He didn't seem to be in pain. But the two men that had dragged her in the barrier hurt him. One of the men was supposed to be a doctor, Suikotsu, she remembered. He'd been . . . nice in the beginning, and he'd said his name was Suikotsu and he was a doctor. The other one was a man who liked to dress like a woman. She never learned his name, but he had a big sword with lots of different blades and . . . he was the one who hurt Sesshomaru. He cut him, made him bleed. She'd never seen her lord bleed before, and that man made him bleed . . . And even after he killed them, they came back to life . . . Then that woman, that miko that looked suspiciously like InuYasha's woman, shot an arrow and made the bad Suikotsu go away. Then the other man cut something out of the nice doctor's neck and ran away.

She thanked the miko for her help that day. She'd helped save her, after all. But these women with their powers . . .

"You could join us."

"What?" She shook the growing fog from her brain.

"You're good enough. You're strong enough. You'd fit right in. And you like to talk to me."

She chuckled to herself. "You said I was dying."

"I also said Akemi could heal you."

"I'm just another weak human," she added.

Kimi nodded. "But at least you can fight . . . and you don't smell so bad."

"I'm sure I smell like shit right now."

Kimi shook her head. "No, not like shit. Like vomit, spit, blood, pain and death."

Rin groaned.

"What is taking Suki so long? I bet Yori didn't even tell her. I bet they're doing other things."

"Other things?"

8 8 8

There were so many other things he could be doing, should be doing on a morning like this. Rin and he should be well on their way to meeting up with Jakken and Ah-Un. They should be walking and talking; she should be laughing and smiling. Her pack should be on her back, not in his haori. She should be with him . . . and not somewhere else.

He growled inwardly and began his descent. These . . . people were wasting his time, precious time. Having already searched the mountain top, he turned his attention to its base and the surrounding forest area, expanding his aura as he walked along, hoping for a reaction of some sort. A holy barrier only became visible when it came in contact with a demonic force. However, flexing his powers like this was a potentially dangerous enterprise that attracted all sorts of unsavory attention. The lower class youkai were smart enough to stay out of his way, knowing that impeding his progress would result in their immediate annihilation. Some of those higher up were not as intelligent. He could feel them lurking about even now. One blast from Tokijin or one sweep of his Whip of Light would be enough to send them fleeing, but they weren't even worth the moment of time it would take him to teach them their place. If they wanted to attack and throw their lives away, let them, but there were other things he should be doing.

Another type that was unmistakably drawn to a powerful demonic aura were the priests and monks with their binding spells and entrapment scrolls. As he completed his scan of the mountain's base, he entered the forest's edge, a slight smile tugging at his lips. How many priest and monks and the occasional miko had he done away with in his time?

Dozens, he supposed. It was considered poor taste to keep track of such things, and none of those opponents particularly stuck out in his mind. It was always the same thing with them-entrapment then purification. It was mostly useless to him, of course. Those scrolls and bindings were only as strong as their possessors, and none of their holy hocus pocus could compare with the might of his youki . . . with the possible exception of one.

Mount Hakurei. The barriers and spells used by many of those he encountered tickled or stung or produced some other minor irritation. The barrier that surrounded Hakurei, however, was produced by a living Buddha. It had power. It . . . did . . . weaken him, somewhat. It was simply a matter of wills to pass through the barrier; no one or no thing could stop him from getting to where he needed to go, and so he succeeded. But doing so stripped away a small part of his vast youki.

He still had his opponents outclassed and outmatched, undead, human filth that they were.... but even they noticed his reduced speed. Even they were able to land a few successful blows. He killed them both for daring to take what was his and threatening to kill her before his very eyes . . . But they did not stay dead.

Something suddenly caught the attention of his sensitive nose, barely noticeable amid the other morning scents in the forest. Blood. Her blood. It wasn't fresh but . . .

He quickly searched out the source, darting between the barren trees and aged conifers, the soles of his feet gliding on the air above the dead leaves, damp earth and dewy grass, and found a small swatch of fabric drenched and hardened with Rin's blood, hanging on a low-lying tree branch along the forest path they'd traveled the previous day.

The demon lord huffed. They were toying with him. The fabric did not belong to Rin, and it was cleanly and evenly cut, as opposed to being ripped or torn. Even the location of the swatch was a swipe at him. Rin's captors had positioned it so that it was right beneath his nose.

His claws closed around the fabric as he fought back the fourth murderous impulse of the day. Doubtless, there were more of these . . . clues, leading him the way he was supposed to go.

Bastards, he cursed inwardly. Leading a dog around by his nose.

He drew in a calming breath and forced his clenched claws to relax. If they wanted to... play with him, he would play. He brought the bloodied fabric up to his nose and inhaled. There was another scent on it besides Rin. It was faint, but clearly human . . . But there was something else with it, something vaguely familiar. The other human scent wasn't entirely human, nor was it that of a half-breed's.

Yes. He knew what this scent was. A marked female. Apparently, one of Rin's captors had a demon mate. He inhaled again. He knew this scent. He knew this demon. And if he had any knowledge of his mate's capture, he would pay dearly for it

He stuffed the bloodied swatch into his haori and continued down the path, his heavy footfalls belying his calm facade. If this demon was involved, he would pay, but first he would find his Rin.

8 8 8

"They're lovers," Kimi laughed. "And you thought I was young."

Two women? Together? Lovers? Rin had never heard of such a thing. "Don't' they like men?" she asked.

"Yori likes both," Kimi said. "She has a mate, after all. Suki . . ." Her voice trailed off, and if all possible her white skin went even paler.

"Yori has a mate, a husband?"

"A-a mate," Kimi nodded.

"Her father was a land-hungry warlord, and he traded Yori off in exchange for protection for some of his territories in the Northern lands. She was mated to one of the generals in the Northern Lord's army."

"Was mated?"

Kimi nodded. "He was killed in battle before they could produce any offspring. In the demon world, there's a tradition called 'building up your brother's house.'"

Rin wanted to raise an eyebrow at that in a silent question, but her muscle control wasn't what it used it to be. Her vision was getting blurry, and even her shallow breaths didn't seem to be doing much for her . . . other than causing sharp stabs of pain. She wanted to be sick again, but she knew there was nothing in her stomach, and it would only make her go into a coughing fit again.

Kimi brushed her warm hand against her forehead. "You're cold," she said simply.

"House?" Rin repeated. If she could keep talking, she wouldn't have to think about the pain, she wouldn't have to think about how cold she was or how hard it was getting to breathe.

Kimi scooted closer to her, keeping her palm on her head. "Yes. It's a tradition. If your brother were to take a mate and die before any offspring were produced, it was your responsibility to take her in and build up his house."

"What . . . whatever happened to one man, one woman?"

Kimi shrugged. "Sometimes it's necessary to take a secondary mate. And the nobles... They have a primary mate, then a secondary, third, fourth and so on . . . a ton of concubines, and let's not forget about courtesans."

Rin squeezed her eyes shut.

"Not all of them do that, though. Some spend their entire lives with just one female . . . But, you know, different classes of demons have different mating rules."

"Do you know . . . anything about . . . dog demons?"

Her eyes seemed to frown. "You're slurring your speech. Did you know that?"

"Dog demons?" she repeated.

"They mate for life, like wolves . . . But that doesn't necessarily exclude taking other mates. It just means that female belongs to that male for the rest of her life. Only if the male allows the female to mark him is he not allowed to take other mates."

Rin frowned.

"It's because a long time ago males were stupid and almost always took a female by force in a battle for dominance. If the female absolutely refused to submit to the male, he killed her. Then females got sort of scarce for awhile, and to keep themselves from going extinct, they banded together against the males. Then the males got scarce."

Rin gave a slight chuckle.

"Then demon courtship evolved so the male got who he wanted, and the female got who she wanted . . . But, by that time, there really weren't that many males left. Even now in the general population, demon females outnumber demon males six-to-one."

"Really?"

Kimi nodded. "So, it's not that males are being selfish by taking more than one mate, they're actually being quite generous."

Rin squeezed her eyes shut again. She didn't want to share Sesshomaru with anyone. She wouldn't share Sesshomaru with anyone.

"Yori?" she asked shakily.

"Yori?" Kimi repeated.

"Brother's house?"

"Oh! The Northern Lord took her as fifth wife."

The Northern Lord! "The . . . Northern . . . Lord?"

Kimi nodded. "He was the general's brother. It was his duty to take her in and build up his brother's house. As for Yori . . . well, she was the general's only mate, and she didn't like to share. She killed the lord's four other mates."

"What?" she was yelling, but it came out as a whisper.

Kimi shrugged, smoothing Rin's bangs back from her forehead. "She killed them. She wanted to be first mate, and now she is."

"Why . . ."

"Why does he let her travel around like that? Away from him?"

Rin nodded.

"He has concubines that he likes much better. Humans really aren't his thing; he only did it for his brother's sake."

"But she . . . killed . . . the others."

Kimi nodded. "Yeah, she did."

"Couldn't he . . ."

"No," she shook her head. "He can't kill her for that. She challenged them, they accepted and they lost."

"You can . . . do that?"

"If the lord approves."

"Why did he . . ."

"Amusement," she said simply. "And he didn't think she'd win."

"Then why after . . ."

"Why didn't he refuse to let them battle after the first time?"

Rin nodded.

"More amusement. The majority of the nobles don't mate for love. It's to acquire new territories or gain new allies. Yori's father conquered many territories, so having her as a mate, even though she's human, is an asset. And, as he didn't particularly care for any of his previous mates . . ."

"So . . . she was a natural . . . to rise in the ranks."

Kimi nodded. "A lot of the noble females are pampered and stuck up. Their swords and armor are just for decoration. Yori knows how to handle herself on a battlefield."

"Daughter of a . . . warlord."

Kimi nodded again. "Raised just like the boys and just as tough."

"So she . . . kills demons . . ."

"To help her mate along. To squash the opposition and help expand their territories. Honestly though, I don't think he'd care if anyone killed her or vice versa."

"Does she ever . . ."

"Go home?" Kimi asked.

Rin nodded again.

"When we pass near there or when he commands it . . . Some of the demons we face are afraid to touch her just because she belongs to the Northern Lord, so she has no problem killing them. And the rest of us help handle the ones that aren't afraid."

"And you?"

"I'm not afraid," Kimi said.

"No . . . not that . . . Your mate."

The young wolf hanyou chuckled dryly. "You have a very good memory. Most times I talk too fast for people to keep up. They don't remember half the things I say, and sometimes I don't remember them either."

Rin bit her lower lip.

"You're in pain," Kimi said.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Hard . . . to breathe."

"I killed him," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to . . . I just . . ." Her eyes watered and she sniffed back tears. "You humans are so weak," she insisted. "I . . . I got a little . . . too . . . rough with him, and he . . . died. I just got too worked up and I wasn't thinking clearly and it was soooo nice and . . ." She flexed her one of her claws in front of her face; her other hand still brushing back Rin's hair. "I didn't mean to."

Rin swallowed hard.

"So, I don't do that anymore. I mean, I don't really like demons . . . and humans are . . ."

"Weak," Rin finished.

"Yeah," she nodded numbly. "But maybe when I-when I get older I'll have more control."

Rin nodded.

"He doesn't . . . hurt you, does he?"

A slight blush formed on her face, and she shook her head.

"Good."

The beaded curtains parted and another figure in black entered, temporarily blocking out the early morning light. Rin looked to Kimi, who quickly pulled her hand from her forehead and cast her eyes downward.

The woman glared at the two of them and crouched down by the stained spot on the floor, a few feet to their left. She pulled out a small bottle and a white cloth from within her haori and uncorked the bottle, dabbing a bit of the liquid on the rag. Kimi gave a slight sniff, but said nothing. Rin shifted, slightly uncomfortable both in body and with this woman's oppressive presence. She silently assumed the woman must be Suki since she was the one Yori said would be cleaning up her mess.

After the woman had turned the rag over several times, scooping up all the mess, she recorked the bottle and stuffed it back in her haori. She then looked over at Kimi, used rag in hand, and stood.

A shudder seemed to shoot through Kimi's body.

Suki looked between the two of them-Rin lying on her side; Kimi seated by her side. She then focused in on the young wolf, her black eyes boring into her violet ones. Neither of them said anything, but there was obviously something passing between them.

"Stand, Kimi."

She didn't say a word; she simply did as Suki commanded, her head down, her hands clenched at her sides.

As with the others, Rin couldn't see Suki's mouth, but she was certain if she could, the woman equally as tall as Kimi would be scowling.

Suki took two steps back then pointed to a spot on the floor. "Heel," she said simply.

A flash of white light appeared beneath Kimi's hood, and she suddenly went crashing to her knees, grasping at the source of the now diminished light. She appeared to be . . . choking.

"I told you not to touch the girl," Suki said.

Kimi violently shook her head, panic clear in her eyes.

"Do not lie to me, Kimi."

From her knees, Kimi fell forward on her face. She was gasping, squeaking, clearly deprived of air.

"What are . . . you . . . doing to her?"

Suki turned a cold eye to Rin. "This doesn't concern you." She turned her attention back to the stricken hanyou. "The longer you resist, the tighter it becomes. You know this, Kimi."

A muted howl filled the small space of the hut.

"Still fighting it, eh? Want to put on a good show for our visitor?" Suki stooped over and stuffed the soiled rag between Kimi's face and the hut's floorboards. "Maybe this will you remind you to obey."

Kimi collapsed onto her side, her face blue, tears streaming down her face.

"Stop it!" Rin's loud words immediately sent her into a coughing fit. The violent spasms further battered her broken ribs and brought up a handful of blood.

"Now, see what you've done." Suki kicked Kimi in the stomach, then sunk down to Rin's side. "You're dying," she said simply. "But I can't let you do that just yet." She rolled Rin onto her back then placed one palm on her forehead and the other one on her chest. "This is going to hurt," she warned.

Rin continued to cough and wheeze and Kimi laid motionless on the floor. Suddenly, a hot, sharp flash shot through her body, knitting her ribs back together, sealing her punctured tissue, healing her abused flesh. The pain was intense. In converse to how Kimi described the feeling of being purified, of being ripped apart, Rin felt as if she were being shoved back together and crammed into a very tiny, very tight hole, her body parts much too large and much too rigid and inflexible to fit. While Kimi was being torn to pieces by red, hot pokers, she was being squeezed to death by stifling hot hands.

"Just a little longer," Suki said.

Rin opened her mouth in a soundless scream. The pain peaked . . . then receded, leaving her hot, sweaty and exhausted.

Suki patted the top of her head. "You took it like a champion. Healing's are never easy." She then rose to her feet and stared down at Kimi, who was finally beginning to stir. "Do you have anything to say to me, Kimi?"

She opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times before speaking. Her voice was hoarse, raspy and low. "I'm . . . sorry for disobeying," she choked out.

Suki continued to stand, staring down at her as if waiting for something more.

"Master . . ." Kimi added softly. "I'm sorry for disobeying you . . . Master."

"Good girl." Suki retrieved the soiled rag from its spot on the floor and headed for the door. She stopped just as she stepped into the sunlight and glanced over her shoulder at the two prone females. "You two behave yourselves, now. We'll be having company soon." She disappeared through the beaded curtain, leaving Rin to pass out and Kimi to crawl to the far right corner of the hut and prop herself up against the back wall.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 88888888888

Author's Note: Not really a cliffy this time; just a good place to stop. If I made anybody violently ill with this chapter, I apologize. I made myself a little sick with all the vomit talk, but I didn't wanna go the usual "Rin gets raped" route, so I thought I'd have her throw up on Takeda instead . . . And don't worry, we're not done with him, yet. Puke isn't punishment enough for that bastard. A couple of people had a couple of questions . . .

Someone asked about Tenseiga's powers. Well, this is the way I see it. They say Tenseiga is a "sword of healing," when mastered it can save 100 lives in a single stroke. To me, healing isn't curing. Tenseiga can heal wounds and revive the dead, killing the little messengers from the Underworld, but I haven't heard it used as a means to cure sickness. In fact ~minor SPOILER~ in ep 96 of the anime, "That Jakken Who Became Sick," Jakken has an allergic reaction to an insect sting and falls deathly ill. If he isn't cured by sundown, the toad tells them, he'll die. Sesshomaru can't just wave Tenseiga around and make him better. Someone actually had to go and get the plant to cure Jakken's condition~end SPOILER~ So, that's why I said if Rin got sick before the bonding ritual, that could cause a problem.

And another question was how long is this fic gonna be? Honestly, I don't know, but, depending on length, I'd say somewhere between 3 and 8 more chapters. Sess has to confront the hunters, then they have to deal with the aftermath. Eventually, everyone gets back to the castle. Something bad, not majorly bad, but an unforeseen difficulty presents itself at the castle, and then everything works out for the best in the end. I'm a sucker for happy endings ^ ^

Fanfiction.net-You've put me at over 500 reviews! I think I'm in shock. This is my longest fic, and it has the most reviews. I couldn't ask for a better audience. As always, you guys rock! You keep reviewing and I'll keep writing . . . until the story's over, that is ;)

Mediaminer.org-I appreciate the support of the loyal few. If it wasn't for you guys telling me that you do read my stuff, and you do like what you read, I'd curl up into a little ball and die . . . Nah! Not really. But I'm a big fan of positive reinforcement, so EXCELLENT JOB reviewers!

Adultfanfiction.net-Could you guys make me feel any MORE at home? I hate to play favorites, when so many different reviewers from each of the sites have been good to me, but this is my favorite place to post. I can post without problems, I get my reviews right away without the bother of email, and everybody's so nice and encouraging. I love every single one of my reviews, and you guys are just the best.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope I didn't disappoint,

theMaven :)