InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The curse of the dragon ❯ Shadows in the mist ( Chapter 24 )

~<>~Curse of the dragon ~<>~

~<>~ Chapter 24 ~<>~ shadows in the mist

-More acidic content…ay, very much more. Ye are warned, deny thi page if tis content disturbth ye so.

So in other words, if you don't feel the need to read illicit sexual innuendo amongst cartoons, avoid anything with in ~*~*@_@~*~*~ brackets. Don't say I did not warn you!!!!!!

-Grab a tissue….

OKAY , ANYONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO HIDE CHAPTERS, PLEASE TEACH ME!!!! I'M GETTING ANGRY WITH MY COMPUTER, AND WHEN I GET ANGRY, THINGS GO THROUGH WINDOWS….grr

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Rin pulled up in front of the abandoned mansion and parked the car in the garage. Sesshoumaru stepped out and walked around the car, opening the door for Rin before she got the chance to. She smiled up at the boy and took his hand. Sesshoumaru pulled her from the car, closing the door behind her and walked her to the house, sniffing the air cautiously along the way. Rin unlocked the door and Sesshoumaru pulled her back before entering first. He closed the door behind Rin and firmly told her, "stay here." Moving with demon speed, he checked the house to make sure there were no traps, no one waiting for Rin…no tricks of Narakus. Once he was satisfied, the demon made his way back to the girl. "We're alone."

Rin giggled and wrapped her arms around the boy's neck. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at her, giving her a completely innocent look. "No."

Rin pulled back, suddenly very shocked. "Oh…I thought…you know…. you wanted to come here to be alone."

Sesshoumaru suddenly grabbed the girl in his arms, carrying her bridal style up the wooden swirling staircase. He darted up the stairs and through the magnificent halls and into her large room. He deposited the girl on the canopy bed and gazed down at her from standing over her. "No, Rin…I did not want to be alone…we did not need to be alone, thought it is a nice feeling." He let his gaze linger on the girl, staring over her body and her angelic face. "What I want is you."

Rin stared up at the boy in wonder. `How did I get this lucky? I got one of the best guys in the world. He's gorgeous, he protects me, he cares about me…' she sighed in awe as she gazed at him.

~*~*~*@_@~*~*~*

Sesshoumaru stared at the girl for a moment, then moved to be next to her. Kneeling on the bed, he leaned down and kissed her. Grazing her lips with his, he teased her gently across the red flesh with his tongue, letting it slip from its course along the two trails, into the depths of her mouth, then resuming its path. Rin moaned under his touch and that only added fuel to his fire. He leaned down and planted his lips against hers, gently tracing her face with his hand. His hand slipped to her neck as he pulled her up against his body. His lips left hers and traced down her jawbone to her neck. He nipped at her flesh as she arched her back under him. Wrapping one arm around her, Sesshoumaru let his other hand graze her shoulders and down one arm. His fingers danced over the cotton material of her sweater then slowly went back up her arm. He gently began to suck on her pulse, taking the skin into his mouth, tracing it with his tongue. His hand then ran down her chest, gently grazing the valley of her breasts and running along her smooth abs. reaching the bottom, he grasped the cotton material and pulled it up over her head. Ridding her of the confining sweater, he pulled away from her neck and stared down at the girl in wonder. Her skin was flawless. Perfectly a natural golden tone that shined in Sesshoumaru's eyes. She was wearing a white cotton bra that hardly kept the girl concealed. His eyes danced over the bulging peaks of her breasts. He traced the mounds with the tip of two fingers, starting across the right side of her, tracing them deep into the valley then immerging on the other side. He leaned down and gently kissed the top of the flesh of her skin.

Rin moaned under the gentle caress, never knowing something like this could feel that good. She reached down and stroked Sesshoumaru's hair out of his face as he kissed his way up her chest to her neck. She lolled her head back and stared at her ceiling, riveting in the sensation. He let his lips pull at her skin, teasing her with the tips of his fangs by scraping them gently across her tender flesh.

Sesshoumaru licked her neck gently then suckled at the small bruises he already left, adding to the dark redness of the marks. He ran his hand over her shoulders and down her back, cautiously massaging her back muscles. He grinned as he popped the back of her bra without her flinching, or for that matter, noticing. The material fell away with and Rin gasped. His eyes met hers, asking permission to continue. She smiled a silent yes and he moved on. He kissed her lips gently, his hands coming from her back and gently tracing the newly exposed flesh. How smooth…how beautiful she truly was astonished the boy. He knew she was perfect, he had known from the first time he set eyes on her. Now…now he knew she was truly an angel, sent to heaven to drive him wild with desire. He pulled back and looked her over with a lustful gaze. Everything called to him…her body called to him. He leaned down and kissed her with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

Rin melted under his touch. Somehow she never thought this would ever happen to her. For her to enjoy the pleasure that he was giving her…for her to be able to grasp the pleasure, the thought had once been inconceivable to her. Everything had been dark…it had been so dark. But he saved her. He dragged her to the surface of the world and thrust her back into the sunlight. She forgot what it was like to be warm…she forgot what it was like to live. Now she thrived…she longed for more sun…for more warmth. Under his body is where she found it…it was where she would always find it. As he pulled away from their kiss, she leaned up with him. Wrapping her two arms across his back, she gripped his shirt and brought it over his head. She pulled his long hair through the shirt and marveled as it cascaded around the both of them, encircling them in a world of white. She stared up at him in wonder, in astonishment. He was god's perfect creation. He was the Atlas of the world…he was her Hercules, her Superman…he was her gold eyed god. She ran her hands over his biceps and shuddered under the feeling that all of this…all of him…as hers, just as she was his.

Sesshoumaru leaned down, trailing kisses down her neck and chest until he reached her mounds. He gently leaned down and took the bud into his mouth, licking it within the confines. He savored her taste as he indulged himself in all that was Rin. She was his sun…. she was his moon. She was his. His. He gently let go of the nipple, running his tongue around the flesh. Then he moved to the other, giving it the same treatment. His fingers danced over her stomach, tracing her ribs carefully. His fingers dipped with the curves of her body, gently tracing through her belly button and just under the fold of her jeans. She gasped as his hands traveled a little lower into her jeans. He grinned and took her back into his mouth, as his fingers gently undid the button of her jeans. Again, without her awareness, he pulled the jeans free and from her body. She gasped as the cool air assaulted her legs and she met his eyes. Sesshoumaru was smiling at her with a grin that made her melt. He traced her legs with a claw, releasing her from his mouth. His fingers danced from her thighs to the matching white cotton barrier that lay between her legs. He slid a finger under the waistband and gave her a mischievous smile.

Rin yelped as his fingers grazed her smooth flesh. She refused to go with the natural look, in that form, down there. She had never liked it. She nearly laughed as Sesshoumaru choked on this knowledge. She gave him a seductive smile as she leaned up to meet his mouth. He straddled her legs and pulled her to sit in front of him. Her head nuzzled into his chest as he let his fingers fall upon the most sensitive part of her body. She jumped a mile high as he grazed her folds. His finger prodded inside of her body, then returned to the small bud that made her come alive.

Rin moaned under the direct touch of this area. "oh, god, Sesshoumaru. I want you….i want you so bad."

Sesshoumaru let one more finger join his other inside of her deepest regions. He slid them inside and back out, increasing in speed as her body met his thrusts, her eyes glazed over in lust and desire. Rin moaned louder under his touch, playing with the buttons on his jeans. He smiled down at the girl and clicked his tongue to his teeth. "no Rin…not yet. Just lay back…"

Rin obediently obeyed her lord…the man of her dreams. She rested her back against the cold surface of her mattress. She groaned and tossed herself back and forth, moaning as he brought her to her climax with two fingers. Her body spasmed around his touch as she saw stars brighter then the sun. her body convulsed against his as he wrapped one arm around her, holding her intently as she rode out her waves of pleasure, screaming his name.

As Rin came down from the cloud she was riding, he brought himself over her, gently kissing her cheeks. His lips fell onto hers and they rejoiced in the taste of each other. Sesshoumaru slowly pulled himself to rest on his forearms above her as he ran a hand through her hair. "Rin…"

Rin gazed up at the man above her. She gave him a smile as her hands found their way to his jeans, undoing them without hesitation. He seemed like he wanted to protest and she brought her head up to meet him, crashing her lips against him. "Don't…I want to…." She smiled as he gave into her desire, allowing her to pull the jeans from her body. She gazed down at the boy then grinned as her hands slipped within his boxers. Sesshoumaru groaned as her hand drifted over his length. Sesshoumaru glanced behind them and grabbed the purple comforter at the foot of the bed. He brought it up over his shoulders as she slipped him out of the red boxers. The boy dropped over Rin and kissed her across her lips. He brought himself to her entrance, his eyes boring holes into hers. "Rin…if we…."

Rin leaned up and kissed him again, staring lovingly into his eyes. "it's okay Sesshoumaru…I want to…I love you and trust you…"

Sesshoumaru's mouth gaped open as he looked at her. "i…I love you too Rin." He leaned in and kissed her gently, taking his time. Rin moaned in pleasure as he began to push into her. Everything was perfect…they were perfect. Lust filled the air like static around the two, their eyes wild with the fires of passion.

~*~*~*~@_@~*~*~ * (you can open your eyes, its over now)

Suddenly the door flew open to her room, disrupting the two. Sesshoumaru yelled, caught off guard, and fell off the side of her bed, taking half of the blankets with him. Rin grabbed the other end of the blankets and covered herself. Suddenly, her face turned twenty shades of red as she screamed out, in shock more then embarrassment, "dad!"

Lingering in the doorway as a very frantic, very disturbed and very confused man, who looked so much like Rin that it was scary. He had short black hair that was slicked back with wild gray eyes. He was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and a dirty tee shirt. His eyes adjusted to the scene before him as he took in what he saw. "Rin…?" Then he grew very angry.

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Kagome numbly returned to her house after practice, her eyes blank and eerily void. She parked her car and managed to walk into her house, paying no attention to anything around her. Souta sat in the living room watching something on TV. When Kagome entered, he called out to her. She waved; ignoring what words came from his mouth. It was incoherent jumble to her. She staggered upstairs to her bedroom where she stood in the doorway to gaze around at. `Everything has a place,' she thought as she saw the organization of her room. `Books on the shelves, clothes in the closet and hamper….porcelain dolls on the shelves, Cd's on the rack on the desk…..this is nothing like Inuyasha's room…his is chaotic…yet he made it his own. It reflects a piece of him…artistically strung about, mixes of different items on different sides. Nothing in any order…nothing needed to be. He knows where it is. he knows what he does…he knows what he wants. He…he wanted me and I shunned him…I hurt him.' she felt her heart growing number by the minute as she stared around her room as if she didn't know it…didn't recognize it. everything that had mattered a week ago…her books, her cd's, her collections…it was all superficial. What mattered was what she let go….what she destroyed.

Souta walked up the stairs carefully to find Kagome standing in her doorway in a dream like haze gone wrong. Tears long stained her pale cheeks, leaving her skin raw. He gently shook her shoulder. "Kags? Are you okay?"

Kagome felt her little brother trying to wake her…trying to call to her. She couldn't hear him…he couldn't reach her. `I broke his heart….I shattered all trust that he actually put in me.' she turned slowly to look down at Souta. `I did the same to Souta…I nearly destroyed our relationship because I was afraid to be hurt. That's…that is what I did to InuYasha. I didn't want to be hurt…I was afraid…' tears filled her eyes as she slowly sank to her knees. "I blew it…I ruined the one thing that actually mattered in my life.'

Souta stared at his prideful sister, falling to her knees in mere pieces of the girl she used to be. Souta's eyes widened as he joined her by her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Kagome, what's the matter? What is going on?"

Kagome couldn't say anything. She struggled for her voice but it was lost amongst the tears and sobs that racked her body. She balled herself up, resting her back against the doorframe. She buried her face in her knees, wishing it all away. `how could I have been so stupid, so foolish? He…i….its over. He will never speak to him. it was all childish fears…I let them take me over and now…now he's gone. He's gone.'

Souta stared helplessly at his sister as a thousand scenarios played in his mind. "Kagome…I…. please, Kagome, what's wrong? Did something happen to mom?" Kagome shook her head but didn't say anything. She couldn't. Souta stared helplessly at the girl. He dropped to her side as he stared at her deep into her eyes. Something burned at the back of his mind that numbed his body…a single thought. "Kagome…did someone hurt you?"

Kagome sniffled as she turned to stare at the boy. So much rage suddenly filled his voice that it overwhelmed her. Souta, as she always would see him as, was a sweet boy who could not hold a grudge. Of course she had learned different but to imagine her little brother mad enough to take vengeance for her. It amazed her. She stared at the boy before giving him a tight hug. "Thank you Souta, but no…" she nearly gasped at the sound of her own voice. It was so hollow…so lifeless. `what have I done?' with a sigh, she finished her brother question as it burned a hole in her chest. "I hurt myself." She pulled away as more tears spilled over her eyes. "I hurt someone…. bad. Real bad."

Souta shifted his weight uncomfortably. He knew heartbreak when he saw it and this was bad. "Are you talking about InuYasha?"

Kagome's back stiffened at the name and Souta knew he was right. She sighed once, before standing up. "I want to take a shower…I feel disgusting."

Souta opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He wanted to find the right words; he wanted to take away his sisters pain. He wanted to make her better. Instead he numbly shook his head and watched her rise. "Kagome…"

Kagome looked over her shoulder, her eyes bloodshot. "Yeah?"

Souta frowned and looked to the ground. "If you ever need to talk about something…I'm here."

Kagome forced a smile onto her face as she asked gently, "How is Karron?"

The boy's face turned bright red as he suddenly found something so interesting to stare at on the floor. "Uhh…. i don't know…. why would I?"

Kagome gave him a small smile before entering her room. She pulled some clothes out of her closet. She turned to the befuddled boy and offered him a small sad smile. "Thank you Souta."

Souta tilted his head in confusion, "thanks for what?"

Kagome sighed and ruffled his hair as she walked by. "For being my brother…for forgiving me." She sighed before she entered the bathroom. Like a drone, she stripped away her clothes and turned on the hot water. After a moment, she let the tub fill up and get into the warm water. Sinking into the tub, she let the water rise to the brim of her nose. She closed her eyes as tears began to spill once more down her cheeks. She wanted to die…just die. At no point did she ever think it would hurt this bad. But it did, and now there was no turning back. She chocked out a sob as she put her head back against the porcelain tub. `What is he thinking? Is he still hurting? Will he ever forgive me?' letting herself sink below the waters surface, she tried to drown her fears, her pain…her life.

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Rin and Sesshoumaru sat on the leather couch in Rin's living room, staring at her father, Jui. The two had gathered their clothes as quick as they could once the man told them to get downstairs. Rin hadn't bothered to tell Sesshoumaru his shirt was in inside out; it would just add wood the fire.

Jui stared from Rin to the older boy then back to his daughter, his eyes still flaring with the anger that had yet to cool. Rin opened her mouth to speak but under the direct glare of her father, she shut it.

Jui stood slowly, his hands shaking. "Rin…I came back to get you." he shook his head, his anger getting the better of him, "what the hell, Rin? I leave you being a very prim and proper sixteen year old girl less then a month ago and I get back and your fucking a Youkai on your bed…in my house…."

Rin glared at the floor and muttered, "almost….almost fucking….always something…"

Sesshoumaru and Jui both glared at Rin with shocked faces. Thought the aftermath was different. Sesshoumaru looked rather smug while it only infuriated her father more. Jui threw his hands into the air, screaming, "I did not leave my daughter as a whore….what have you done to her?" the latter part of his statement was turned upon Sesshoumaru, who turned with the word `whore' to glare at Jui.

Sesshoumaru snapped, "Rin is not a whore and if you spent half the time with your child that you should you would understand that."

Jui frowned and decided to drop the subject for the time being. There were more pressing matters. "We need to leave tonight. Diegosan…he was killed…"

Rin and Sesshoumaru's heads shot up to glare at the father, then at each other. They hadn't heard the final news…there was never any confirmation. Then it was true…the worst was about to begin.

Jui cleared his throat and continued, "Naraku will begin running the family business when he gets back on his feet. Reports I got down wind of said that he was at the club when the fire that so called claimed his father's life began but luckily escaped with two of the bodyguards. No one knows where he went." Jui sighed and shook his head slowly, "he is going to kill us, Rin. He's going to hunt down you and me and kill us. Tell me, you stopped working at the club for Diegosan?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he grasped the girl's hand in his. He was trying to control his temper but there was something…something he didn't like nor trust about this man. He said he thought the fire claimed the demons life but it was obvious he did not believe it. he knew…somehow he knew there was an outside intervention.

Rin gave Sesshoumaru a small smile before looking back at her father, trying to calm his nerves. They had dealt with this so far…they could deal with more. "Yes, I did."

Jui shook his head slowly. "Why, Rin…why would you defy Naraku?"

Sesshoumaru almost stood up off the couch but Rin pulled him back down with a glare. She shook her head slightly, trying to ward off tears. "Me and Naraku had a difference in opinion…."

Jui stood up, slamming his hands onto the glass table that lay between the two couches. "Rin, do you know what that did to me? Did you think of anything that has happened over these past three years allowed you to foolishly take that decision into your own hands?"

Rin opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Sesshoumaru. He had heard enough. Like hell he was going to stay quiet. "Do you really want to know why Rin quit the club?" Rin pulled at Sesshoumaru's arm, her eyes pleading for him not to continue. Sesshoumaru pulled his hand out of her grasp, his eyes digging the heart out of the man in front of him. "Naraku raped her. You left your daughter with a man and his belligerent son who took it upon himself to claim your daughter's innocence. Now you question her about it? How naive are you, you self righteous bastard?"

Jui narrowed his eyes at the demon. "do you know what they have put me through? I have been through jails, shootings, murders, and a lot of other shit that I'm sure you would never be able to see, trying to bring down Diegosan. I have tried for three years to get away from him…to get my daughter away from him…but she screwed it all up! She fucked over the plan and angered Naraku! With his anger comes his rage! If she had just held out a little longer…"

Sesshoumaru slammed his hands down on the table cutting the man's sentence off, his face inches away from the man in front of him. His eyes were beginning to bleed red, as he comprehended Jui's words. "Are you saying that she was wrong to get away from her rapist? Do you really have the audacity to tell me that you think she should have stayed with that son of a bitch? What the fuck is the matter with you?"

To a stranger, the demon's presence and current attitude was horrific. To Rin, it was terrifying. Never before had she seen so much emotion radiate from Sesshoumaru to anyone other then herself. He always kept a cool head, no matter how angry he was, holding his stoic features in perfect check. When he fought Naraku, he was more collected then he was now. That scared her.

Jui pulled back from the boy, obviously threatened by his vehemence. "I was almost free…."

Sesshoumaru grabbed the corner of the glass table and threw it, shattering it against the far wall. In a second, he had the man by his collar pinned to the wall. "I should tear you apart slowly, limb from limb, for your insolence! Your daughter…the girl who should mean the world to you, the girl you should be willing to die for…was being molested, destroyed…and all you cared about was your freedom? Tell me, did you hand her over with the silver platter or the gold one to Naraku and his father?"

Jui struggled against the boy. When finding it fruitless, he glared at his daughter. "Rin, call him off! Tell him to put me down this instant!"

Rin's eyes were filled with hatred. She grinded her teeth together as she stared at her father, loathing every inch of him. She wanted to see Sesshoumaru rip this man's heart out. He knew. He had known the entire time what Naraku was doing to her. He never saved her…he never stopped him. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she bit back, "why the hell should I help you? For all I care, Sesshoumaru can rip you limb from limb."

Jui's face seemed to loose all color as he slowly turned his head to look back at the boy in front of him. Suddenly, the fact that he was in the demon's hands wasn't the only thing that scared him. In a very frightful whisper, he called out, "…as in Tashio Sesshoumaru? As in Inu no Tashio's son?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as his right hand began to turn shades of green. "What does it matter to you, human? Your as good as dead…"

Jui gulped hard as he stared at the boy. "Please…put me down. This is most fortuitous that we have met…" his eyes flashed between his daughter and the boy threatening his life. "Please…let me explain…."

Sesshoumaru glared over his shoulder at the girl who was now silently crying on the couch. He wanted to rip this man's beating heart out of his chest for making his Rin cry. He deserved to die. With a very disgusted grunt, Sesshoumaru dropped the man before taking two steps towards his lover on the couch. He wrapped his arms around her, cradling Rin's head against his chest. He held her against him, glaring down the man who sat on the floor with a primal rage swirling around his features.

Jui rubbed his neck where he was sure to bruise and sat down on the other side from the two. He watched as Sesshoumaru comforted his daughter until she calmed down. "Your father…" he grimaced as the demon turned to stare at him, anger burning in his eyes. "Your father came to me about eleven years ago, when you were but a pup. He told me that he wanted to take down a business adversary who was threatening him, his cooperation and his family. I had just inherited my father's business and had managed to get a name for myself. I told him that I did not wish to dabble in such manners that did not concern me. Your father warned me…he told me not to have anything to do with Diegosan. He told me if I ever changed my mind, to let him know. A year later I had another run in with your dad. He gave me information on Diegosan…information that could have brought him down. He said that he was being watched all the time…that he could not disclose the information without getting himself and his family killed. So he asked me to do it."

Sesshoumaru digested the news with little obvious resentment. It hurt…it hurt like hell to know that his father had been involved in organized crime…but then again, Sesshoumaru was learning that this seemed to be a family business. He sighed, "did you do it?" he already knew the answer, and it only added to his desire to kill the man. `he's Rin's father…I will not destroy him until she begs me to. I cannot fathom the fact that he allowed what Naraku was doing to Rin to persist…. he knew….he knew the entire time.j' his eyes drifted down to the girl who was huddled in his chest. `Kami, to be in her spot at this point, I can't imagine what she is feeling. A father is supposed to protect their child…not use them as leverage for freedom. I will not allow him to hurt her again.'

Jui shifted nervously at the demon's silence. He stuttered out, "it wasn't shortly after that I learned of your father's death…"

Sesshoumaru glared up at the man. "My father was murdered. Plain and simple, I have yet to be able to prove it but he was murdered."

Jui nodded swiftly, "I'm sure of it. The information he gave me…. i tried to turn it in and Diegosan had me imprisoned….i had to get out to take care of Rin…to take care of Diegosan once and for all…"

Rin whipped around to face the man before her. "Bullshit, you got out to save your ass from becoming bubba the prison bitch! You didn't give a god damn about me…you made that obvious today." She balled her hands into tight fists as she slowly stood. "For six months now I have waited for you to rescue me. I waited every night while that fucker held me down and beat me into submission….i waited for you to open the door and save me. I called out to you to save me….You never gave a god damn about me, father, did you?" she added dryly, "all you cared about was yourself and your fucking business."

Jui stood to meet his daughter's words. He was a little taller then her but not by much. He glared at her in sheer resentment. "How dare you say such things? I have done nothing but try to rescue you for the past few years Rin. I have been oppressed….i have been held in other countries for useless reasons….i have been kept apart from you. I wanted to come home, I begged to come home. This has all been for you!"

Rin took another step towards her father, her voice escalating to a scream, "you never came home, dad, never! You stayed away so you didn't have to see the look on my face! You knew, you knew what Diegosan wanted when he told you Naraku wanted me around…you knew and you gave me to him. You bowed at his feet and gave him whatever he wanted, even if it was your flesh in blood. I hate you, you fucking traitor! How could you?" Rin reached out and smacked the man across his face. "Bastard!"

Jui turned with her slap and gently brought his fingers up to his lip. Wiping away blood that trickled from the cut she put in his flesh, he recoiled his hand to slap her. "You spoiled rotten brat!" before he could move his hand downward, a hand wrapped around it and brought him to his knees with a quick snap. He let out a loud cry of pain as he cradled his broken wrist.

Sesshoumaru stood above the man, glaring down at him. "Don't ever touch her. Ever."

Jui stood, moving back from the two. Rin was back in the arms of the demon. Jui shook his head. Spitefully, he called out, "your father took to a mortal woman as well, did you know that, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru glowered at the man, a very deep protective growl beginning to fill the room. "What of it? My brother was the outcome of the relationship."

Jui sneered, slightly surprised, "the half breed still lives? Last I saw, Diegosan's bitch was trying to put an end to his miserable life. She put an end to his mothers…"

Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on Rin's shoulders pushing her gently from his path to her father. He had half a mind to bring his baka brother here and let him beat the information out of him. InuYasha would want to know about his mother. but the more pressing question pulled at his mind…a question to which's answer he already knew. "What bitch?"

Jui shook his head slowly, "you really are stupid aren't you? a genetic trait, I presume? Your father did not see it either…he chose not to. Your mother, Sesshoumaru…Launia…she has been sleeping with Diegosan for years. Have you been blind?"

Sesshoumaru was shocked…stunned actually. Suddenly everything made sense. Weeks when she would be gone…her absence more so lately. Then…then she knew that they were returning to his territory. He fought down his urge to run from the building to find his mother…to make her answer the long awaited questions. He did not trust this man but he wanted answers. He needed answers. "What is your proof? Are you sure?"

Jui shook his head, falling back onto the couch, he glared at the two, "I'm positive. It's the curse of the dragon, you know, a real Catch 22. Once you're a part of the dragon syndicate, your dead…you just don't know it yet. You enter and they take your soul, they take your family, they take everything. When they are done with you, they kill you. Your father tried to outsmart them and died for his ignorance. I'm shocked, actually, to see you alive today. I figured they would have tried to kill you by now."

Sesshoumaru reached for Rin's hand. Grabbing hold he began to walk from the room with her trailing behind. "They tired…they failed…they died for it. They will die again, except for my mother. She will know the meaning of the word wrath by time I am done with her."

Jui stood, watching the two depart. Shaking his head, he called out, "if you are to take my daughter, demon, promise me you will keep her safe, promise me you will protect her."

Sesshoumaru paused in the door. Turning around, he wrapped one arm around Rin while glaring at the man. "I'll protect her until I die…unlike you, I value her life. She is my world…" he let the words fall from his lips as he gazed down at her. "Let us be rid of this place. Get your stuff…we won't return."

Jui watched in awe as Rin gave Sesshoumaru a smile that he forgot his daughter possessed. A smile that brought back so many painful memories of happier times…of untainted times. Memories that made his eyes water…at least she was content with this demon. `he may just be the best thing for her at this point. Naraku won't attack her if he knows he has an equal opponent.' As she ran upstairs, Jui turned his attention back to the boy. "Promise me…nothing will happen to her."

Sesshoumaru took a step towards the old man, plotting to rip his innards out and leave him in a closet for cops to find. He wanted to hurt this man…he had never felt the need to vengeance like he did now. the only thing that kept him away from the man was Rin. "I will make no pacts with you, human. My word is good enough. I love Rin, therefore I will die before she is hurt, and even in death, they will not harm her."

Jui nodded once and gathered himself up from the chair. "I'm as good as dead, Sesshoumaru, if Naraku finds me. I know that it was you who put him into the hospital for what he has done to my daughter. You found strength that I could never gather. I will not be back…I will not see my daughter again." he walked from the room, pausing at the front door. "I know Inu Youkai mating habits…and if what I walked in on upstairs is true…she is yours until death do you part. If by chance you have a child, Sesshoumaru, hold him high…protect it. I hope you never fall into what I did…I destroyed the lives of anyone who touched me. Please, take care of my daughter. Kiss her goodbye for me…I don't think I could stand to see the loathing on her face again."

Sesshoumaru nodded as the man closed the door on his daughter's life forever. Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru walked upstairs to see how Rin was progressing. `How could her father allow that to happen? He never intervened because he was scared of his own fate…he never allowed himself to think of Rin…to think of how she was being hurt.' Sesshoumaru entered Rin's room to find her staring in her mirror. She looked horrorstricken. Sesshoumaru walked up behind the girl, draping his arms around her. Lightly kissing her forehead, he added, "your beautiful."

Rin didn't hear him, she was to busy falling in the knowledge she had been exposed to. She brought a hand up to her face, touching her skin as if it were a mask. She stared in disbelief at her own reflection, trying to figure out if that really was her on the other side of the looking glass. "How did it come to this?"

Sesshoumaru sighed as he hugged her gently. "Rin…I know it seems dark…"

Rin turned, anger festering in her eyes. "Dark? Sesshoumaru, the fucking sun just went out in my world. My father knew…Sesshoumaru…he knew and he let it happen. He just avoided it…avoided seeing me."

Sesshoumaru sighed, running hand over his face. His eyes fell upon her bed and he felt an ironic laugh building in his chest. "He seemed so angry to find us the way we were…. but what did it matter? He should be glad because at least now you're happy."

Rin sighed, finally allowing her eyes to fall from her reflection. She rested her head in her hand on the wooden dresser. "Fuck him. Sesh, he knew. God damnit he knew. I waited, nights at a time, Sesshoumaru…I waited for my dad to return to save me. it was the one thought that carried me through the shit with Naraku. While he…while he forced himself upon me, all I could think through the numb pain, was that one day my dad would walk through that door," she pointed towards her bedroom door, as tears began to spill down her face. She sunk to her knees, staring at the door. "I waited for him to walk through the door and take me away from here; away from pain…away from all of this. But he never came. He stopped calling…he stopped writing…but I still waited. I still want him to rescue me…. i'm still waiting. But my father will never return…that man, that man was not my father. That man was a shell of the man I called dad. My father is dead."

Sesshoumaru reached down to embrace the girl but she held out a hand, pushing the boy away.

"No, Sesshoumaru…I need…I need to handle this on my own. I'm alone now…my family is gone." The revelation to the girl seemed to numb all pain. She stared blankly at the door before feeling two very strong arms around her.

"I will be your family then…your friends are you family Rin. You have people here for you…"

Rin pushed against the boy's chest, trying to set herself free. "No, let me go…there gone, Sesshoumaru! Gone! They left me, abandoned me!" she banged her fist into his shoulder, tears overwhelming the girl and blinding her. "Let me go…. please…." she erupted in a fit of sobs as she launched herself into his arms. "He knew…. he knew…. god Sesshoumaru, he knew and he didn't save me."

Sesshoumaru held the girl for hours, the two sitting on the wooden floor of her old bedroom. He held her while she cried, while she screamed, while a small part of her died.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I warned you about the Kleenex. it will get better….what goes up must come down and what goes down will come up. (still in hiding from angry fan girls). Eep.

R&R.