InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Teaching Rin ❯ Chapter 27 ( Chapter 27 )

Disclaimer - It’s not mine never was.

A/N - Hope you all are enjoying the large update. Until next time.

A.A.

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Teaching Rin

Chapter

Conflict’s Climax

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Sesshomaru entered into the room where the Lord’s meeting was to be held, quickly taking his position at the right of Ronin. It had been two days after Rin’s presentation at the Western Court, and things could not have been running more smoothly. If he could just get through this ridiculous meeting with the other Lords, he could head out early to the border patrols. There had been reports from Katsuji that a number of demons had tried to cross into the Western Lands from the northernmost borderlands, and he intended on putting a stop to the mess just as soon as this meeting was over with. Thankfully, Ronin was always brief and to the point, and these meetings he hosted usually lasted no more than a day.

As the rest of the council members filed in, Sesshomaru settled back to get this meeting over with. The sooner he got out of here, the better because for some unholy reason, he had the strangest foreboding feeling that something was not going right back in his homelands.

Sesshomaru took his seat in the Council room within Ronin’s home, glancing around to see who was there.

‘The cat is not present.’ he thought, noticing that Kiyoshi was absent from the gathered Lords and their sons. At his hip, Tenseiga gave a slight pulse, causing his attention to be drawn downward. ‘What is the meaning of this?’

“Welcome, my Lords.” Ronin said clearly, standing up to begin the meeting. “It is a great pleasure to see you arrive safely….” Sesshomaru frowned and turned his attention to Ronin, passing of Tenseiga’s odd behavior as a fluke. ‘Nothing is wrong. I left the security at my fortress doubled, and Kaida assured me that she would have Sakaki with her should they leave the grounds. Nothing could possibly happen that she can not take care of.’

He shook his head and looked forward, catching Haruto’s eyes and noticing the dancing amusement in his red eyes. Sesshomaru felt a knot form in his stomach, wondering what had the Northern Lord in such a good mood.

As the minutes passed, Sesshomaru found it hard to focus his attention on what was being said around him by the other Lords and council members. He was fidgety, something he had never been. Tenseiga continued to pulse slightly, causing him to wonder what cause it to do that. The last time it had, Kaida had been brought back to the fortress on Ishika’s back, almost dead from an ambush.

‘This is ridiculous.’ he scolded himself. ‘Nothing is wrong. Rin is safe. I have nothing to worry about.’

“We will adjourn for the rest of the evening, and continue this meeting after sundown.” Ronin announced a nearly an hour later. The gathered officials rose as one and began to exit the room. Sesshomaru waited until the council members had left before heading out himself, only to get halfway to the door before a powerful pulse from Tenseiga caused him to stagger forward, falling to his knees as the fang’s power washed over him. In his mind’s eye, he could see the forest surrounding his fortress, but more specifically, a clearing where he and Kaida had sparred countless times.

Only this time, he caught quick flashes of Kaida fighting with a half dozen demons surrounding her, and Rin with a blue shield surrounding her, yelling for the attackers to stop as she shot an arrow into the fray.

“Sesshomaru, is something wrong?” Ryu’s voice broke through his daze. “Sesshomaru?” The Western Lord’s head snapped up, and Ryu backed up when he saw that the dog lord’s eyes were bleeding with red streaks. “What is wrong with you?”
“They are under attack.” he growled wildly, cutting his eyes up to the dragon Lord of the South.

“Who’s under attack?” Ronin asked from behind them.

“Rin.”

“Rin?”

“And Kaida.”

-

Kaida watched carefully as Rin continued to pick the herbal plants along the pathway leading deeper into the forest. She had taken the young girl outside the fortress walls to finish her lesson on plant recognition. It would be Rin’s last lesson with her since she was due to leave the Western Lands and return home within the next day or so. Kaida frowned and looked off to the side while her thoughts turned to the not so pleasant return to her homelands.

‘All this time here, and I still have not managed to find a way out of this damned marriage to Kiyoshi.’ she fumed silently. ‘I thought by now either Kaze or I would have found something, some loophole, something I could exploit to get myself out of this.’

“Is there something wrong, Lady?” Sakaki asked, walking up to where Kaida was standing next to a kneeling Rin. “You seem…distracted.”

“Just thinking, Sakaki. That’s all.”

“Something on your mind?”

“Going home.” she answered honestly.

“Have you already packed up?” Rin asked, standing up from her spot on the path. Kaida noticed that the girl had seemed to become a little more withdrawn since the court presentation. It appeared that Rin had come to realize Kaida would soon be leaving the Western Lands to return to her own home. And even with the good news that Sesshomaru had approved Kentaro’s request to court her, Rin still seemed a bit discouraged.

“Not yet.” Kaida answered, smiling down at the teenager. “I don’t have to leave for a few more days, so you’re not getting rid of me yet.”

“I wouldn’t want to get rid of you even then.” Rin said defiantly.

“I know you wouldn’t.” Kaida said with a grin. Rin nodded happily and walked along the path a little further, entering into the clearing where she and Sesshomaru had sparred on occasion. The trees and shrubs were still a bit charred from their last training session, and Kaida heard Sakaki let out a hint of laughter as he walked over to a particularly pine that looked more like a cat’s scratching post than a tree.

“You and Lord Sesshomaru getting a bit rough with you‘re playing, don’t you think?” he asked cheekily. Kaida grinned and winked at the guard she had come to think of as a friend.

“He was asking for it.” she said with a smirk. “Trying to manhandle me is not the best way to handle things.”

“Trying to handle you is hard enough.” Sakaki said. “I can’t see anyone putting up with you like he does.”

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

“What’s amazing is that he hasn’t taken your head off yet.”

“Not for a lack of trying, trust me.” Kaida murmured, running her fingers across the deeply etched markings. Her senses suddenly went on high alert when she picked up a rustling in the bushes on the other end of the clearing.

“Something wrong, Lady?” Sakaki asked. Kaida scanned the surrounding area one quick time, looking for anymore signs of intruders or rogue demons, but picked up nothing in the immediate area. “Lady Kaida?”

“It’s nothing.” Kaida said, glancing into the shadows of the forest. “I thought I heard something.”

“Would you like for me to scout ahead and see if anything is nearby, Lady?” Sakaki asked.

“No, no. I think I’m just hearing things.” Kaida said, waving her hand dismissively as a breeze kicked up around them.

“There is an ominous presence in the wind, my Lady.” Sakaki said gravely. “Perhaps we should head back to the fortress?”

“I think you are correct, Sakaki.” Kaida said, cutting her eyes to each side. “Gather Rin and head on. I will stay back and see what this disturbance is. It may possibly be a rogue demon stalking the grounds.”

Kaida’s senses were telling here that there was something or someone hiding just out of her range, but she could not tell exactly what it was. Apparently Sakaki noticed it as well, because he moved closer to Rin as they walked back along the path to the fortress.

‘I don’t like this.’ Kaida thought darkly. ‘There’s something out there, something familiar, but I just can’t figure out what it is!’ The demoness shook her head and let out a piercing whistle that would have Ishika at her side in a few moments.

“Kaida?” Rin asked, turning to look curiously at her teacher. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure.” she answered. “Something’s not right, but I don’t know what it is.”

“We need to move quickly, my Lady.” Sakaki said, ushering Rin along. “You will be safer within the confines of the fortress.”

“Kaida?”

“Get a move on Rin.” the demoness said. “We can finish this lesson later on.”

“You don’t honestly think bandits would try to attack us would you?” Rin asked nervously.

“No, Rin.” Kaida said. “Whoever, whatever this is we’re feeling is not some low level bandits.”

Kaida knew something was coming when she heard a battle cry coming from the deep forest behind them. Her body pulled taut as she searched the oncoming auras in an attempt to find out who was going on. At her side, Rin was paling quickly, and clutching her bow in her hands.

“This isn’t good.” Sakaki muttered, coming back to back with Kaida, putting Rin in the middle of them. “Lady?”

“We’re surrounded.” Kaida hissed. “Shit! How did I not sense this?”

“Kaida?” she asked. “What was..” But the demoness only growled and roughly shoved the teenager towards Sakaki when she felt the wind churned up by Ishika’s wings begin to die down and the huge beast land nearby, right along with Ah-Uh.

“Get her out of here!” she barked at Sakaki, unsheathing her scimitars from her sides. “Get her on that dragon, and back to the fortress!”

“Kaida?!” Rin asked. “What’s going on? Who’s here?”

“Listen to me, Rin.” Kaida said, kneeling down and grabbing Rin’s shoulders, forcing her too look eye to eye with the demoness. “You remember how to throw a shield up, right? The defensive shields we worked on?”

“Of course. But why would I…”

“I need you to get on Ah-Uh, put a shield around yourself, and get back to the fortress, okay.” she said, deadly serious.

“Okay, but what’s going on?”

“I’m getting a visit.”

“From who?”

“Someone I don’t want to see.” she said. Rin didn’t know what to do, or say. But when Kaida shoved her roughly towards the two headed dragon that had landed with Ishika, she done as told and scrambled onto his back, throwing up the strongest barrier she could manage around herself and the beast.

Right when the barrier closed in, Rin saw dozens of demons break the edge of the pathway, weapons drawn. She nudged a growling Ah-Uh, trying to get the beast into the air, but he seemed reluctant. Ishika had already taken to the air with an angry screech as her mistress was threatened, and Rin could see the great beast dive down and pick off two different attackers, one in each claw, then take back off into the air after easily crushing them in her talons.

“Ah-Uh, we have to go!” Rin said frantically, pulling the reigns of the dragon. “We’ve got to get out of here. Now!” Her steed seemed to be ignoring her, though, because she could feel a rumble in his chest beginning, the first sign that he was gearing up to electrocute the hell out of someone nearby. Rin saw the huge ball of pure energy building up in the mouths of the dragon, and flinched when it was let go, scorching the dozen or so attackers that had started to head her way. The teenager yelped when she saw that another one had come around from behind and was heading for her again, only to have him be thrown back against a tree when he tried to break through the barrier.

By now, both Kaida and Sakaki were being swarmed by these attackers. Rin could tell that Kaida was on the verge of slipping into her demonic form, and something snapped in the young woman. Rin steeled herself and pulled an arrow from the quiver that was strapped onto her back, knocking it and sighting one of the demons heading towards her teacher.

‘Please let me do this.’ she prayed, drawing the string back. ‘Kaida needs my help!’ She released the arrow, and it flew towards the demon, lodging in his leg. Apparently Kaida noticed the shot, as she frowned and let a fierce growl loose.

“GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!” Kaida yelled. “TAKE HER BACK, AH-UH! NOW! I CAN‘T FIGHT THEM IF YOU ARE PULLING MY ENERGY TO KEEP THE SHIELD UP!” That seemed to make the dragon more compliant, because he suddenly lifted up into the air, and took off towards the direction of the fortress. Rin knocked another arrow and shot it towards the hoard of attackers surrounding her teacher and the head guard. She wasn’t sure where it hit, or even if it did, but prayed that it had taken out at least one of the demons.

‘If I get back to the fortress, I can get the soldiers to come help.’ she thought quickly, seeing the outline of her home along the skyline.

-

When Sesshomaru touched down at the gates of his home, he knew something had happened. He saw Ah-Uh touch down right inside the courtyard, and a frantic Rin scramble down and sprint towards the guard’s watch tower, yelling for Sakaki‘s second in command Soujiro.

“Rin.” he called, walking quickly towards her. The teenager whipped around so quickly, Sesshomaru was surprised she didn’t loose her balance and fall onto the cobblestones.

“Lord Sesshomaru!” she cried, running back towards him. “You’ve got to come quick! Kaida and Sakaki’s under attack! There’s hundreds of them!”

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded of her, noticing that she looked on the verge of complete and utter hysterics.

“In the forest! We were walking and these demons came out!” she said quickly. “They attacked us! Kaida made me leave! Let’s go, now! She needs help!”

“Sesshomaru?” Ryu’s angry voice thundered down from above like an angry god. He touched down and cut his eyes at the Western Lord, and Rin finally saw where Kaida inherited her own glare from. “Where is my daughter?”

“In the forest!” Rin said loudly. “She’s being attacked!”

“I will take care of these intruders.” Sesshomaru said coldly, rising up to his feet, using his claws to slit the chain holding Rin‘s energy stone around her neck. He pocketed the jewel and turned towards the forest. “Where are they at?”

“The clearing.” Rin said, shaking her head. “The one where you and Kaida spar all the time in the mornings.” Sesshomaru simply nodded and took to the skies, leaving them behind without another word.

“Hurry, please.” Rin begged, tugging on the Southern Lord’s formal clothing. “She needs help! I couldn’t do anything!” Ryu just nodded and took to the sky as well, following behind an obviously angered Sesshomaru.

-

It did not take long for Sesshomaru to find the clearing Rin had spoken of. Even if he had been unfamiliar with the area, the stench of blood would have led him directly to the massacre. He touched down at the edge of the clearing, quickly dispatching of the few soldiers who remained with little more than an ounce of effort.

He could see the perpetrator of this mess across the way, and growled angrily as Kiyoshi’s voice broke through the tree line. But the sight of the proud demoness he had spoken with that morning stopped him dead in his tracks and caused bile to rise into his stomach. Sesshomaru could feel his own heart beat speed up and an unfamiliar feeling of rage take over him as he saw exactly what had happened to Kaida.

-

“You dragon bitch! How dare you turn your back on me? I am your mate and master!” Kiyoshi raged, slapping Kaida once again. “You will treat me with respect!” Kaida just glared at him evilly from her incapacitated position strung up between the two trees that were still standing in the clearing. He’d been on this psychotic kick since he’d tied her up. Off to the side, she could see Sakaki’s unmoving body. Whether he was dead or just unconscious, she wasn’t sure. The entire place was littered with dead or dying demons, and Kaida wasn’t sure if the bloody smell that was making her nauseous was coming from them or the blood that was pouring out of her mouth.

“I won’t.” Kaida spat weakly. “I will not be a plaything for some twisted fool like you!” She honestly had had no chance at getting out of this fight alive. Even though she and Sakaki had managed to plow through most of the attackers, the remaining ones had forced her back, away from her only ally in the forest. It had taken only moments for her to be overwhelmed and captured by the fifteen or twenty soldiers that had remained. They had strung her up between two trees in the clearing with iron shackles that were burning into her wrists and ankles. Her body was aching from the beating she had taken, but her anger at the demon in front of her was keeping her defiant, at least for a little while. She could barely make out the blonde hair and claret eyes that belonged to him. But she truly wished she could get a hold of the thin braids that hung on each side of his head and yank the damned things out just to hear the bastard scream and see his aristocratic face contort into a fraction of the pain and humiliation she felt right then.

“You’re mine!” Kiyoshi spat, his claws digging into her shoulder blades.

“I belong no one.” she muttered angrily, her head lolling forward. “Least of all you.”

“What about that bastard dog, huh? Sesshomaru?” Kiyoshi sneered, slapping her so hard that the resounding crack could be heard all around, including the Western Lord who had just touched down outside the clearing. “I figured he would break you down for me.”

“What about him? My job was to instruct Rin.” Kaida said, glaring up at him with the remained of her energy. “Nowhere in that agreement did it say I was to be more than a guest to him. My job was to take care of Rin, not him. And it stayed like that the entire time I was there!”

“You lie! I’ve heard the rumors! I saw the two of you at the presentation ball for that human bitch!” Kiyoshi accused. “How long have you been sharing his bed, you bitch? You never showed me that kind of reverence or respect, or dare I even say affection?”

“I can’t stand…you.” Kaida pointed out weakly, earning herself a punch in the gut. “But you already know that.” The pain was starting to make her lose consciousness, and everything was blurring together in front of her eyes.

“But you can stand him?!”

“He’s the lesser of two evils as far as I see it.” she smarted off.

“You love him.” Kiyoshi stated obviously dumbfounded, and angrier than ever. “You’re my mate, but you love him!”

“Not…love.” Kaida taunted. “Mutual…respect.”

“How can you respect someone like him?” Kiyoshi snarled.

“It might have something to do with the fact that he doesn’t bring along half an army when he’s sparring with me just because he’s scared.” Kaida goaded, a morbid smile on her face when she looked up at his feral red eyes. “Or because he needs a set of shackles to hold me in place!”

“You bitch! I’ll kill you!” he yelled.

“Then do us both a god-damned favor and get it over with.” Kaida said calmly, looking up at him with fire in her eyes. Her breathing was ragged, and she struggled to make her voice as even as she possibly could. “I’ll never bow down to you of my own free will, you worthless piece of trash. And if you don’t do it now, then I swear to the gods above, I will hunt you down and kill you myself when I get down from here. Tradition and Council members be damned!”

The next few seconds were perhaps the most graphic thing Sesshomaru had ever seen. Kiyoshi reached forward and grabbed Kaida’s hair, pulling her forward into a kiss that would have left a bruise on her mouth had there not already been one there. The Western Lord’s attention was quickly drawn to the approaching aura of Ryu. He spared the Southern Lord a glance when he landed beside him. Unfortunately, before either of them could move a hair, a thick gurgling sound permeated the air, and they looked to see where Kiyoshi was standing, a blood stained dagger in his right hand, and a psychotic gleam in his eyes as he looked over Kaida.

Sesshomaru shot a look to where Kaida had been tied between the tree, and felt his stomach drop out from under him. He had to close his eyes at the sight of the blood coming from Kaida’s slit throat, along with the look of dark satisfaction when her eyes finally closed for the final time and her body went limp in their confines. The energy stone around her neck pulsated angrily when the crimson liquid hit it, causing steam to rise from the surface as it worked to replace the rapidly diminishing energy from it’s owner. Sesshomaru could feel the twin stone he had taken from Rin begin sucking his energy violently.

“I told you, Kaida.” Kiyoshi purred. “I told you that if I could not have you then no one else would. When you sisters told me that your barrier broke some decades ago during a training session, I didn’t believe them. But I can see from your reaction that you were just as untouched as I had hoped. Probably saved yourself from every demon who has ever wanted you just to prove my accusations wrong. You’re spiteful enough to do something like that. Turned down the high and mighty Sesshomaru as well, I’ll bet.”

Kiyoshi, still so caught up in his lusty speech never noticed the rising demonic energy of the Lords behind him.

“It is alright though, love. I made sure you did not die untouched, not that you were conscious to remember it anyway.” The neko grasped Kaida’s chin and smiled in evil satisfaction when he saw her body sag against the bindings, and no retort form from her lips. "What, nothing to say, love? It is so unlike you to be...well...speechless."

Sesshomaru, although used to defending his lands and killing when needed, had to turn his head from the bloodied scene. Beside him, Ryu came out of his catatonic state and growled, charging towards the blood lusted demon who had just killed his daughter.

“Kiyoshi!” he bellowed. “I’ll kill you for this! I swear to Kami I will!” Sesshomaru watched as the Southern Lord began to glimmer slightly, his eyes going blood red before morphing into the huge dragon from of his family. Kiyoshi, finally noticing the intruder, only grinned ferally and reverted to his own demonic form, a huge yellow, two tailed cat about the size of Sesshomaru’s own demonic form.

About that time, Haruto, Ronin, and the rest of the nobles who had been at the Lord’s meeting touched down beside the Western Lord.

“What is going on?” Ronin asked as he quickly took in the battle brewing between Ryu and Kiyoshi. “We stopped at the fortress and Lady Rin told us there was a fight. Sesshomaru?”

“Kiyoshi slit her throat.” he said stoically. “He killed her and it threw Ryu into a frenzy.”

“Impossible!” Haruto bellowed, coming forward. “My son would do no such thing! I am putting a stop to this!” The Northern Lord was about to step away from the group, but Sesshomaru pulled Toukijin out of its hilt and had it at the Lord’s throat before he got six inches. He’d seen enough of this; it was time to end it all, here and now.

“You dare to question my word?” he asked coldly. “I saw him slit her throat. And if you do not wish to join the girl in the afterlife, you will stay put and let Ryu end this ridiculous feud once and for all.”

“This is preposterous!” Haruto yelled. “You’re asking for a civil war, Sesshomaru! You have no valid proof that Kiyoshi did anything to her!”

“So I am assuming that Lord Sesshomaru keeps the dead bodies of your elite soldiers around as decoration, then?” Ronin asked, cutting back some nearby branches with his claw to reveal the bodies of three of Haruto’s elite soldiers…dead. “Quite a statement of décor, don’t you think?”

“My lord?” called a voice from behind the Lords. Sesshomaru turned and saw Rin running towards them as quickly as she could, Kentaro at her side and Ah-Uh ambling along behind her.

“You’ve no business here, Rin.” he said firmly, but the teenager completely ignored him.

“Where’s Kaida? Is she alright?” Rin questioned, only to have her attention drawn to the battle that lay before her. The two beast were fighting fiercely, snarling, pawing, and attacking each other with no mercy. Sesshomaru watched as the remaining color drained from her face, and she took an involuntary step back into Kentaro’s arms. “Where is she?” she repeated, searching the clearing frantically. Her eyes landed on the demoness across the clearing, and Rin could not help but shiver at her appearance.

The proud demoness was drenched in blood, and hanging limp from the shackles that held her in place between the two trees. Her wings were torn, her tail lifeless. The training gi she had worn was gone, save for a few scraps that that immodestly covered her more important areas. Her hair, or at least what was left of it, was hanging around her face in ragged tapers, and even from where she was standing, Rin could see the blood dripping from her chest and onto the ground.

‘Kiyoshi is angry enough to try something stupid, Rin.’ Kaida had told her. ‘He’s a psycho, and I don’t even want you to see what he’s done to other women who have disobeyed him. What he does is cruel, even by demon standards.’

Rin shivered uncontrollably as the voices in her head kept repeating what she’d heard from Kaida and the Lords surrounding her.

‘You are nothing but half breed bitch trying to act like a warrior. Women like you do not deserve to walk the face of this planet! You are a disgrace.’

Her own body felt numb as she stepped towards the fight, trying to get to Kaida’s side.

‘She will become my son’s mate, even if I have to force her to submit to Kiyoshi myself!’

She quickly felt someone pull her back into the safety of the group, and vaguely heard Sesshomaru telling Kentaro to take her to the castle and away from the battle before her eyes, saying that she’d seen more than enough already.

‘I can’t break the engagement, Kaida. To do that would be asking for a war I cannot possibly win…’

Her mind filled with the one thing her teacher had said time and time again, realizing that it had finally come to pass.

‘I’d rather die a thousand times over, than join with that blood thirsty maniac!’

“I am not going anywhere until this is over.” she said suddenly, glaring up at her protector as the sounds of the battle between Kiyoshi and Ryu escalated. “I have just as much right to be here as you do.”

“Rin…” Sesshomaru began warningly.

“I’m staying put.” she said. “Kaida maybe dead, but she’s going to need someone after this is over with.”

“Rin, I think Lord Sesshomaru is correct…” Kentaro began, only to recoil slightly at the glare she shot him.

“Let us deal with this.” Sesshomaru said, placing a hand on her shoulder, only to have her shrug it off angrily.

“Let you deal with it?” she questioned, her anger finally coming free. “The lot of you have been ‘dealing with it’ since she was instituted as my teacher! If you ‘deal’ with it anymore, we’ll all be dead!”

Sesshomaru was about to bodily pick the teenager up and leave when a loud roar was heard from Ryu as he grabbed Kiyoshi’s neko form and bit into his neck, severing the jugular vein far beyond the healing abilities of any demon. The dragon dropped the spasming cat a few minutes later, and reverted back to his humanoid form. Rin took the initiative and rushed off towards where her teacher was hanging, Kentaro once again at her side.

When she got to Kaida, Rin lifted her head and pulled back her hair, exposing the deep gash across her throat. Rin could feel the angry tears welling up behind her eyes, but shook her head and turned to Kentaro.

“Cut the shackles, Kentaro.” she ordered. “Get her down from there.” The kitsune done as asked and used his claws to cut the pieces of rope that attacked to the tree. Rin caught Kaida’s sagging body and laid her on the blood covered ground, then pulled her cloak off and covered Kaida’s body with it to provide some modesty.

The teenager had managed to keep her emotions in check and her tears at bay until now, but broke down crying as she clutched the cloak, desperately willing the dead demoness to come back.

“Kaida! Please come back!” she begged, shaking the corpse slightly. “Do something, please! Open your eyes! Call Sesshomaru a bastard! Anything! Just wake up!” She felt a pair of arms gently pull her away, and absently realized that Kentaro had pulled her into his embrace.

“She’s gone, Rin.” he said sadly, stroking her hair when Rin shook her head in defiance of the truth. “She’s at peace now.”

“No! Bring her back!” Rin murmured. “She can move! She can! She’s not dead!”

“I’m sorry, love.” Kentaro said, hugging her tightly. “She’s gone, Rin.”

Rin continued to cry for a few more minutes as the truth sank in. Then her anger shot through the roof when she looked over at the gathered Lords of Japan. She pushed away from the kitsune and stalked over to where they were standing.

“I hope the three of you are happy now.” she seethed, tears coming back to her eyes. “Kaida’s gone, and it’s all your fault!”

“Rin, that’s enough.” Sesshomaru said, glaring down at her. “You are becoming hysterical.”

“Hysterical?” she questioned. “I’ll show you hysterical, you overgrown…”

“Our fault?” Ryu growled, eyeing her angrily. “Watch your tongue!”

“I’ll do no such thing.” Rin challenged. “No thanks to you three, Kaida’s dead!”

“How is this our fault?” Haruto asked.

“You.” Rin fumed, glaring at the cat demon. “I know about your ridiculous double teaming of Kaida that day she went back home, then came back here half alive! We all do. And I heard you at the gathering, saying that Kaida would join with Kiyoshi, even if you had to force her to submit yourself!”

“What?” Ryu barked, looking at the Northern Lord. “How dare you…”

“And you are no better!” Rin continued on, her ire now directed at the Southern Lord. “I found the letters she sent you, begging you to find a way out of the arranged marriage. And I read that even after she found a loophole in the agreement, you told her it was ‘for the best’ that she join with the Northern family because you did not want to start a civil war! You didn’t believe her when she said Kiyoshi was nuts, and now look at her!”

“How dare you!” Ryu snarled, but Rin cut him off as she turned to her own white haired guardian.

“And you.” she said, a little more calmly, yet just as coldly. “She thought that maybe, just maybe, you would at least give her some recognition for being a fighter, a warrior who protected her own. But all you did was call her a disgrace, a female trying to be a soldier. You called her a worthless half-breed, incapable of anything because of her weak, human blood. To you, she wasn’t fit to walk this world, or so you said.” Sesshomaru was momentarily taken aback by the venom in her voice, and the sadness rolling off of her in waves. “I just hope you realize that THIS weak human is only alive because THAT insolent half-breed waited for YOU bunch of proud bastards to get here before she let herself go through the transformation because I needed the energy to hold the shield up around myself! So I wouldn’t get hurt!”

“That is enough, Rin.” Sesshomaru said. Rin looked up at her guardian and shook her head.

“You have the power to bring her back.” she said quietly. “She was innocent, and didn’t do anything to deserve this. Will you put aside your pride for once, and bring back the best person in our lives?”

Sesshomaru’s hand had went to Tenseiga’s hilt during her tirade to Haruto, and she prayed he would use it to resurrect Kaida, just like he had done with her so many years ago. But when his hand fell from the hilt of the sword, she felt her heart break into a million pieces. She bowed her head as the tears started again. “I see.” she said sadly. She turned from the gathered nobility and began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Sesshomaru asked her.

“To see the other worthless half-breed and pathetic human you can’t stand.” she said, turning to face him angrily. “If I remember correctly, Kagome and Inuyasha don’t live far from here. And it has been a while since I’ve seen Shippo.”

“You are not going to see that pathetic excuse for a brother of mine.” he said, walking towards her, only to have her throw up a protective barrier around herself that kept him from getting to her as she climbed onto Ah-Uh’s back and settled herself in. Sesshomaru growled and tried to break it, only to find that the shield was a bit more resilient than he had expected.

“Now that you’ve made it clear that anyone with human blood is not worth your time, I’ll take my leave. At least Kagome and Inuyasha don’t seem to mind being around someone who is human. Good day, gentlemen.” Rin said, lifting away from the ground, barrier still in place around her steed.

“Kentaro?” Ronin said quietly, calling to his youngest son. “Go with her to the village and make sure she arrives safely to wherever she is going. Lady Rin is in no condition to be traveling alone.”

“Yes, father.” the kitsune said, quickly taking to the trees and leaving the assembled Lords behind. Sesshomaru made no attempt to follow Rin, nor any attempt to stop Kentaro from following her. The Western Lord simply watched until Rin was out of sight, then turned to see Ryu pick up Kaida’s lifeless body.

“Excuse me, my Lords.” he said hoarsely, handing Kaida’s body to Keiji. “But I must return home.”

“As must I.” Haruto said, picking up the tattered remains of Kiyoshi’s body.

“Haruto, you do realize that our family is responsible for this.” Ronin said tersely. “And you know our laws.”

“I want no form of reparation from him.” Ryu growled. “My daughter is out of that union now. I can ask for nothing more.” And with that last, defeated statement, Ryu and his sons quietly transformed into their own full demonic states, leaving for the Southern Lands.

“I must find Rin.” Sesshomaru said, watching as Haruto and Saburo left as well, carrying Kiyoshi between the two of them.

“You needn’t worry about Lady Rin.” Ronin said, coming to his side. “Kentaro will make sure she arrives safely. I believe you and Ryu have a few things to discuss. Perhaps it is better for you to go to the Southern Lands now.” Sesshomaru only glared at the unflinching Eastern lord, the gathered his energy at his feet to form the familiar white cloud before rising into the air and out of sight. When he was gone, Ronin’s oldest son came forward, a frown on his face.

“Was that wise, father?” Hoshi asked skeptically. “Sending Sesshomaru to the Southern Lands? Everything will be in quite a disarray.”

“He needs to be there right now.” Ronin said. “He may seem unaffected by Kaida’s death, but he realizes that she died to save Rin. After the way he disregarded the young Kaida, and then she sacrificed herself, I believe Sesshomaru may come to his senses and revive Lady Kaida, for Rin…if for no one else.”

“He’s going to feel guilty?” Hoshi asked, shaking his head. “I doubt that, father.”

“Not guilty, Hoshi.” Ronin said. “He’s going to realize that Kaida meant a bit more than just a sparring partner and someone he could take his frustrations out on.”

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A/N - Hello to everyone. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Please review, as I want to know what you think.

Later,

A.A.