InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The curse of the dragon ❯ Dangerous Situations ( Chapter 66 )

~<>~ Curse of the Dragon ~<>~

 

~<>~ Chapter 66 ~<>~ dangerous situations

 

--Not going to be the nicest of chapters, to start with, I'm warning ya'll up front. Characters may seem a little OOC, but you'll figure out why.

 

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“You look like you have somewhere you want to be?”

 

Stormy gray eyes gazed up from the leather couch and sparked with a slight anger that probably was not misplaced in its direction. “Honestly?”

 

A short nod was her answer.

 

Rin sat back and tilted her chin towards the other woman, “a hundred other placed flash to mind. Anywhere but here sounds just as good.” Rin shifted in her seat and muttered, “At the bottom of a river sounds better.”

 

Aqua eyes flashed with a fictitious worry as her mind danced with mirth. The muttered words were allowed to slide by her radar, though she heard them loud and clear. “Why don't you want to be here Rin?”

 

Rin didn't justify that question with an answer; she merely stared for a moment. Rolling her eyes, she sat back and glanced to the clock for the thirtieth time in twenty minutes, “look, we have a really important game to go to tomorrow…and I need to help with the cheers, so if we can end the session early today, that would be good. Really, really good.”

 

Dr. Yamaoto stifled a snort, “you seem like you don't want to be here, Rin. Do you not feel like our visits are helping?”

 

Rin shifted her weight and sighed again, “I've been here for like, what, a week? To be honest, no, and I don't think those drugs you put me on are helping either.”

 

Dr. Yamaoto cast a dark frown at the girl. “You have been listening to Mr. Taisho for to long, I do believe.”

 

Rin didn't seem to flinch half as bad as she had before when the doctor mentioned Sesshoumaru's name...or referenced to him at least. With a sneer, she shook her head, “no, I do believe I can think for myself, thanks.”

 

Dr. Yamaoto held up both hands, as she had done three times during this session, and sat back. “I am sure you can.” Not being able to contain the sigh when Rin glanced at the clock again, Tsubaki leaned forward. “I know you have had issues with Sesshoumaru during school today. Do you care to discuss them?”

 

Rin's eyes narrowed as she shot back, “my answer hasn't changed since I walked into this room.”

 

Yamaoto seemed nearly as irritated as the girl, “I'm trying to do my job Rin. I'm trying to help you but over these past four days, you have just about barricaded yourself into this shut out. Let me in Rin, let me help.”

 

Rin sat back and turned her head to look towards the door, “I got it, don't worry. I can take care of myself.”

Yamaoto studied her face for a moment before nodding, “how long have the mood swings been occurring?”

 

Rin didn't turn her head but her eyes locked onto Yamaoto's figure. “Who said anything about mood swings?”

 

Yamaoto took another moment then fought down her smile, “it is probably the medicine, dear. But I can see how stressed you are and you are snapping at me one minute then looking like you are about to cry the next. It's mood swings. Normally Xanax can contribute to that, so it's not your fault if you feel more emotional then normal. It's absolutely ordinary.”

 

Rin did turn her head this time, very slowly to throw a nearly infuriated glower at the doctor. “Ordinary? Ordinary! You call not being able to keep a level head on your shoulders ordinary? You call crying at the drop of a dime ordinary? Do you think not being able to sleep because all you see is your boyfriend raping you classifies as ordinary? Tell me, what's so fucking ordinary about any of that shit!” Rin could feel her nails biting into her palms but she didn't care. Like another fuse had been lit, she nearly exploded. “Please, enlighten me!”

 

Tsubaki blinked back her surprise at the sudden outburst then help up both hands. “I mean no disrespect, Rin. But mood swings occur on this medicine. Those things that you suffer from save the dreams are ordinary.” Her brows fused together as she leaned forward, “tell me, do you ever have bad dreams?

 

Rin's voice lowered to a near whisper as she sat backwards into the chair and adverted her eyes to stare at the ceiling. “All I have are bad dreams.”

 

Tsubaki nodded slowly, “I see. Tell me about them.”

 

“No.”

 

Once again the slender brows rose to the woman's hairline, “why not?”

 

Eyes darkened, storms brewed. “Because I don't want to.”

 

“Do you not trust me?”

 

“I trust no one.”

 

“what about your friends?”

 

Hands fished together at the front of the girls lap as she tried to hold her resolve, “sometimes it's better for them not to know.”

 

“And Sesshoumaru?”

 

Rin bit her tongue and looked away. He hadn't spoken a single word to her on the drive to the clinic. He opted to wait in the car while she went in for her visit. His eyes were darker then normal and he refused to meet her stare. When she would stare out the window for a portion of the drive, she could just about feel his eyes piercing through her back. But when he had the strength to see her, she couldn't see him. She wanted to answer Yamaoto's question with a slap to the face; how dare she ask such a thing? But did she trust Sesshoumaru? Her heart never hesitated to scream `yes' but her mind…the part of her that saw those images hour after hour, that she was bombarded by if she even so much thought of closing her eyes, disagreed. No part of her logic would agree with passion to answer the questions truthfully so she merely shrugged.

 

Tsubaki nodded very slowly, “I see. These dreams Rin…what happens in them?”

 

Rin snapped back, “didn't I just say what I saw?”

 

Tsubaki nodded very slowly, “that you see Sesshoumaru forcing himself on you.”

 

Rin closed her eyes and held back her tears. Hearing someone else say what she feared, what made her cower at the darkest hours of night was like being impaled on a long thick pole right through her heart. She felt like someone tore a part of her out and was mocking her with it. She opened her mouth to reply but couldn't find her voice. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she simply nodded.

 

Tsubaki sat up a little straighter and leaned forward, “have you two become more intimate since we last spoke? Has he ever done anything to make you think that he…”

 

“Never! He would never hurt me!”

 

Yamaoto shifted her weight and very slowly crossed her right leg over her left knee. “I see. Tell me of these dreams.”

 

Rin shook her head once, “No. I can't…I won't talk about it!”

 

Yamaoto stared at the girl for a long moment before sighing. “Do you remember your first visit here? That we talked about what types of desensitization trainings I wished to perform with you?”

 

Rin swallowed hard, “y…yes. I also remember you telling me that if I didn't want to speak of something, you wouldn't push me.” she could feel her face blanch as the doctor shook her head. Rin didn't want to say it out loud again; she didn't want to think of the dreams that waited behind her eyelids to attack her. She just wanted them gone.

 

Dr. Yamaoto seemed to pick up on the thought as it played across the young girl's eyes. “What I think we should do Rin is to do a little bit of cognitive rehabilitation. I think that you are full of all of these bad thoughts and fears that you are about to burst. I want to help you release them without causing yourself a mental breakdown.”

 

Rin backed up a little into the couch, something setting off warning bells in her head. This wasn't the first time a major part of her body was telling her to run away and never look back but she had to try, she had to make herself better. If she had to see that heartbroken look on Sesshoumaru's face any longer, it would just about kill her. She scowled as she wrapped her arms around her knees and cradled her head against them, “what…what is it? What would you do? What would it involve?”

 

Tsubaki laughed lightly and tapped her pen on the armrest of her chair, “well, it's quite simple really. I would have you relax on the couch for a while, listen to some soothing music, maybe drink some tea and have you relax. Then I would put you into a light sleep or trance, and basically hold your hand while you sorted out your fears.”

 

If Rin had had fur, it would have been standing on end with her teeth out. She backed away from the woman and shook her head, “no! No, I can't see that again! I can't keep seeing those images!”

 

Tsubaki looked up at the girl, a façade of worry coloring her face. “Rin, if you don't find an exit for these dreams, you're going to try to make your own. And if you make your own, I'm afraid you may do something brash. Those who can't control their dreams let their dreams control them. I've watched far to many relationships crumble because of the victim transposing her images of her attacker onto a lover or boyfriend. If you don't…”

 

Rin closed her eyes, her worst fears just vocalized. She knew she was transposing everything to Sesshoumaru but she couldn't help it. In her heart she knew he didn't hurt her, that he didn't touch her! Yet seeing it over and over again, it was hard to ignore and the pain was worse then anything she had ever felt under Naraku's clutches. Rin inhaled sharply and felt her back go stiff, “how long will that take? What will the after effects be?”

 

Tsubaki pursed her lips and tilted her head to her right shoulder, “well, if you fall into the trance quickly, it shouldn't take more then twenty minutes, maybe thirty the most. If it's a little bit more troublesome to get you to fall asleep, I'll just stop and we'll try for it on the next visit.” She stood from her chair and put her notebook on her desk. “I'm going to have Botan put on a pot of tea and then I will start the process.”

 

Rin cleared her throat slowly, “will I see Sesshoumaru or Naraku?”

 

Yamaoto paused and shot the girl a questioning glance, “what do you mean?”

 

Rin sniffed and licked her suddenly chapped lips, “in this session, when I show you my dreams…will it be Sesshoumaru or Naraku that you see?”

 

Tsubaki bowed her head and sighed, “I will see nothing. I will only be able to follow your dreams by what you tell me. Normally when hypnotized patients often verbally walk me through the dream, as if they are telling it to themselves. We will be able to converse due to the nature of your sleep. You will hear what I say, but it will be more of a voice in your dream.”

 

Rin shifted her weight again, not completely okay with the thought of Dr. Yamaoto playing god with her mind. “I'm not sure…”

 

Dr. Yamaoto stuck her head into the hallway and shouted some orders in English that Rin could not follow. Returning a moment later, she offered Rin a artificial smile, “it will be okay. I won't let you fall into that dark pit again Rin.”

 

Rin looked towards the door and then out the window. She could just about make out the outline of Sesshoumaru three stories down sitting inside of her Porsche. She sighed and fidgeted, “I think I want to talk to Sesshoumaru about it.”

 

Dr. Yamaoto stifled a sigh; “I think it best, Rin, if you were to do this. Only because right now the amount of strain you have with Sesshoumaru is not healthy. Not only that but for the level of animosity he holds towards me would taint his thoughts. He might fear the procedure and wish to sit in on it. And I'm not sure how comfortable either one of you would be in here.”

 

Rin sighed and slowly nodded, “I guess you're right.”

 

Tsubaki smiled again, maliciously, and turned her chair to face the couch, “I want you to lie down Rin.”

 

Rin shivered once, the part of her brain that had been ill at ease with this was now pounding for her to get away. “I'm…I…”

 

A young girl, maybe in her early twenties, appeared in the doorway and flashed the two a small but brilliant smile. “Here is the tea, Doctor. It's herbal…”

 

Dr. Yamaoto swiftly stood and strode the length of the room to claim to treasure from the girl. Nodding once, Tsubaki nearly closed her door in the girl's face. Turning back to Rin, she brought her a cup of the broth then placed hers on her desk. “I just want you to relax. You are going to need to clear your mind.”

 

Rin watched Tsubaki carefully with tea. A part of her was worried about letting go, about letting herself be ruled by a voice in her head. But if this were to make it stop, if this was going to make her be able to sleep at night, then it would be worth it to have to go through one more time. She took a sip of the tea slowly, her eyes never leaving Tsubaki's face. The smile unnerved her. It seemed too genuine, too pragmatic. The woman looked like she had never committed a sin in her entire life. Rin fought down the urge to tell Dr. Yamaoto where to shove the tea and finished off her cup rather quickly. Placing her head on the pillow she waited. And waited. She closed her eyes but the images that burned their way into her memory were to much and she opened them again, tear stained. “It's not working.”

 

Tsubaki looked up from her cup of tea and notebook to smile at the girl again. “Just relax Rin, it isn't going to happen right away.”

 

Rin rolled her eyes and sighed, “ How do I know when I'm relaxed? Better yet, how will you know?”

 

Tsubaki sighed again and looked at the watch on her hand, “I need you to keep your mind as a blank slate. You can't think of anything. When you're relaxed, you'll just start talking.”

 

Rin sighed again with some mock humor to her tone, “Did you drug me or something? Why would I just start talking?”

 

Tsubaki put down her pen to look at the girl. “Okay, I'll do this the harder way then. You're getting sleepy…”

 

Rin laughed at the cheap joke, “funny, real comedian you are! You know, I don't…” Rin's words died on her lips as the room wavered. It was like getting up to fast from laying down. Everything faded to black then shades of gray before returning to its color. She saw bright spots and slowly started to feel as if the room was turning around her, as if she was the only thing not moving on the face of the earth. Like lying in water for a day in a pool then trying to lie down at night, she felt like she was floating. It was slightly an alarming feeling, but those emotions gave way to a warm feeling that engulfed her body. Rin tried to swallow but found her throat to be arid. She took a deep breath and tried to blink away the sudden dizziness. Nothing helped. She tried to turn her head to look at Tsubaki but couldn't feel her muscles. Her vision cracked, like a star in a windshield, then slowly began to shatter like broken glass until all she saw was nothing. She lay there for a moment, not sure if her eyes were even open, her heart thundering against her chest. `What's going on…why can't I see anything?' she tried to curl herself up into a ball but couldn't feel her body and she couldn't feel her hands. She felt like her blood was pumping Novocain through all of her veins. She felt a few times like she was going to fall from somewhere high, somewhere dangerous. She knew she was teetering on the edge of something. Then a voice spoke from behind her, from above her, from everywhere around her. “Rin…can you hear me?”

 

She opened her mouth to speak but found herself shaking her head yes. No words would form in her mouth and for a moment, she wondered if she even had her tongue. She tried to put thoughts together to figure out just what had happened that made her this incapacitated but nothing came to mind. The voice suddenly became her guiding light. She found herself wanting to hear it again, wanting wisdom to be imparted to her from it. The darkness that engulfed her left her feeling raw and stained by misery, like trails of blood on a fresh snow covered field. It was as if everything that was ever good in the world had been exterminated and all that was left was a cold barren tundra of misery and wallowing. It was a feeling that Rin knew could drive her to jump out a window before having to feel it again. If there were no fire in hell, she could say she was there.

 

“Rin, tell me what you see?”

 

Rin tried to open her mouth to say nothing but stopped. Glowing like dim ambers in the wisps of morning, a small bubble appeared in front of her. She tilted her head to one side, as if trying to distinguish the colors and figures that reflected in the bubble. She reached out tenderly to touch it, to see just what the color mass was when it popped with a tremendous roar. Rin suddenly was able to move, and standing on what felt like a cold floor. She looked down and gasped as she found herself only covered by a blanket; a dark purple comforter to be exact. It was the one from her bedroom back at her father's house. She knew it well. So many nights after marring her skin with hot water, trying to wash his filth off of her, she would warp it around her naked body and cry in a corner, begging for someone to rescue her, to save her from the monster. She would stare at her bedroom door and wait for her hero to burst in…but he never came. `Or did he? Is

Sesshoumaru…'

 

“Who hurt you Rin?”

 

Rin blinked slowly, a burning tremor beginning to itch at the back of her neck, at her chest and her hips. The burning turned to a scratching, the scratching to a gnawing. Soon red-hot pain radiated from her hips and her arms. Glancing down slowly, shaking the entire time, Rin found claw marks gouged into her wrists and puncture wounds on her hips. Blood seeped down her neck from wounds she could only imagine. She closed her eyes and wished away the stains, wished away the memories. `Why do I have to see this again? He's gone…he's gone, it's not fair! I don't want to see it again! This isn't fair!'

 

“Fair isn't an option in real life Rin, it's an illusion. Now, who hurt you?”

 

Tsubaki leaned forward in her chair watching the young girl cower in the corner of her office. Rin has scampered away from the couch the minute that she had asked what she saw. Tsubaki knew what Rin saw…sometimes the power of sight and being a priestess paid off rather well. She could bend and manipulate the images that Rin saw…and what Rin saw were her own creations. Well, the Psilocybin*, the Nembutal and her powers of manipulation were making Rin's experience…well…just that, an experience. Tsubaki managed a wicked smirk as she leaned forward, “Rin…”

 

Rin covered her ears and slowly began rocking back and forth in the corner. Of course that was not what she was seeing. She was seeing him, his legs and his torso. She was feeling what he was doing to her. She tried to scream but could find no voice. Hands gripped her throat and squeezed as she tried desperately to claw her predator away from her already wounded body. In real life, she flailed about like a fish, swatting at an invisible foe. `God make this stop! Please god make it stop!' a blinding pain echoed across her cheek from where a hand smacked her.

 

“Who is hurting you?”

 

The guiding light…that voice… was getting annoying, Rin couldn't tell whom it was, and she couldn't see a face. Everything was jaded, tainted by something else. The misery of the room was diminished by her empty screams; the figures face that was raping her was blurred by the blackness of the room. She didn't even know what way was up. Like being lost at the end of the David Bowie's Labyrinth, she had lost all sense of direction. A name slipped from her lips as she threw her head back and screamed in pain. “I don't know…” a blinding pain shot through her body making her see white. Her head hit something hard as everything intensified. Like being strapped to an electric chair, Rin felt as if someone had pumped pure electric through her veins. “Please…stop… make him stop…”

 

Tsubaki rolled her eyes and leaned closer to the girl, “who is hurting you?”

 

Rin's eyes shot open and for a minute, the white haired priestess thought that the gig might be up. If Rin saw her without the concealment spell, she would tell Sesshoumaru. After all, how many white haired individuals ran around Tokyo? And once Sesshoumaru asked Ryen hell would rain down upon them. Yet Rin's eyes saw through Tsubaki, she was still hallucinating. For a dim moment, Tsubaki felt bad for the girl. If she had it her way, she would simply shoot the girl and put her out of her misery. Yet Naraku wanted her to suffer, he wanted to know that she drove herself insane. Yet this session…what Rin was seeing and feeling…she wouldn't remember it. And if she did, it would seem like a dream to her. What she would remember though, was what was said. Rin would hear the words over and over in her mind, like a mantra, for eternity. Tsubaki put her hand to the girl's eyes and closed them as Rin convulsed and slammed her back against the wall. `These trips are hard on the patients. Some can't handle the mixing of meds…some can't handle the images. Something tells me though, that it's both for her.'

 

Rin's mouth dropped open as she pushed her head back to rest it against the wall. Sweat mixed with tears that soaked into her skin and strode down it leaving harsh red trails in its path. “He's…he's…Naraku…” droned out in a very small dead voice.

 

Tsubaki smiled, `now we're getting somewhere.' She cleared her throat and tilted her head to one side, “who is Naraku, Rin? I have never heard of him.”

 

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Kagome placed down a pie of pizza and watched in sheer wonder as the small giggling girls turned ravenous and nearly devoured her hand along with the pie. Kagome chewed on her bottom lip and leaned out the doorway from the top of the stairs. “Yash, can you bring me another pie?”

 

There was a dark sigh and a very colorful amount of cursing before a pizza box was thrust in front of her nose. The fuming hanyou attached to it stared in near contempt at the smiling girl who accepted it. “Wench…you really owe me!”

 

Kagome gave him a bright smile and kissed his cheek before descending the stairs with it. “All in good time, InuYasha!” there was a long collective sigh from down below that broke out into hysterical laugher as InuYasha stared down into the untouchable pit of females. Girls in groups scared him, though he would never admit it. `Sure, I can take two or three…in more ways then Kagome would like to think about,' he added with a grin aimed at no one, `but more then ten…no thank you!' He had been stark raving mad when Kagome told him that they were `invading' the house to practice for cheerleading, yet even more pissed when she offered to hold the door open for him while he left for the night to sleep at his uncles. The only hindrance he had towards laying into the girl over all of this bullshit was the amazing sex they had in the hallway of the school, and then on the couch when they got home. They had practically gone at it in the car as soon as they pulled up to the mansion. It took all of InuYasha's control and restrain to carry her inside and make it ten feet to the couch before ravishing her again. What sucked though, as he quickly figured out, was that he now knew why it was that simple to get her to submit. He knew that she was using it to her gain; the damn vixen had learned how to manipulate him. She was his weakness and she knew it. All she needed to do was push the right buttons and he'd buy her a continent. Of course, without her pushing buttons, he'd lie down and die for her. She just didn't realize that much yet, or so he liked to assume.

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes as Kagome disappeared into the other girls as he turned slowly to walk back to the living room. He hadn't agreed to go to Ryen's and he sure as hell wasn't going to back down to Kagome in front of her little troop of bitches if she demanded him to. He wanted to spend the night with her, as they hadn't been able to lately because of her mother's restrictions. InuYasha dropped onto the couch and popped open a Coors he had dug out from the refridge and put on the TV. He could hear the music that Kagome was choreographing dances to for the last two hours begin to blare once more, and he fought down the urge to rip the stereo right out of the wall. Glancing towards the ceiling, he muttered, “God give me the guidance to deal with teenage girls…” shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the television.

 

The front door of the mansion nearly burst open as a blur of white and green shot past him in a beeline for the basement stairs. InuYasha lurched up from the couch, spilling a good amount of the beer over his shirt with a loud curse. His eyes shot from the door to the basement steps before catching sight of the other figure looming in the doorway. InuYasha's eyes darkened for a moment before confusion set in on his face. He took a deep gulp from his beer and shook it off his hands before setting it down on the end table and scowling at his brother, “you gonna tell me what just flew past me at mock 1?”

 

Sesshoumaru leaned to his right to have his weight supported by the doorframe of the house, a deep thoughtful glower plastered to his face. His eyes shifted to his brother then back to the door that Rin had disappeared down into. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared intently on the door, as if trying to get his answers from the inanimate object. With a deep sigh, the older demon ran his hand over his face and sighed heavily into his palm.

 

InuYasha waved his hand once then rolled his eyes. Polishing off the beer, he breezed past the demon upstairs. By time he washed off the spilt beer and changed his shirt and returned back downstairs, Sesshoumaru still hadn't moved. InuYasha, growing quickly bored of the situation, advanced on his brother. “Sesshoumaru, if you're attempting to become one with the house, do it outside, not in the doorway. You're letting in all the bugs. Didn't anyone ever housebreak you?”

 

Sesshoumaru's eyes slowly turned towards the hanyou and pinned him with an evil glower. After closing them for a long pause and mentally counting down from thirty, he stood with exaggerated effort. He scratched his chin then sighed deeply, “something isn't right.” That was putting it mildly. Rin had been acting strange since they got out of the doctors, and that was his first concern. Then came the pounding headache that Sesshoumaru had echoing in his temples; he felt like someone dropped a bag over his head and beat him with a bat. He dragged his hands over his face again, trying to wake himself up.

 

InuYasha jumped at the suddenly voiced opinion from his silent brother and growled, “You're lucky I didn't have another beer in my hand or else I would have had to kick your ass!”

 

Sesshoumaru waved off the comment and shut the mansion's door. “Something isn't right at all.”

 

InuYasha slowly began to wonder if Sesshoumaru was even talking to him at all. The demon seemed more so to be voicing his thoughts. Intrigued though, and taking the bait he knew was laid for him to become involved, he asked, “what are you babbling about, Bastard?”

 

Sesshoumaru's scowl turned into a slight frown as he threw himself down into the leather recliner. He rocked for a moment, his fingers forming a steeple in front of his chin as he stared straight ahead, “Rin. Something isn't…”

 

“…Right, I got you the first time. What's not right?” InuYasha plopped down onto the couch next to Sesshoumaru and stared at the older demon.

 

Sesshoumaru met his brother's stare. “I decided it best if I did not accompany Rin into the doctors today. I waited outside of the office when she went inside…”

 

“—outside of the room that Rin goes into or the office itself?”

 

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, “the office itself. I paced for about a half hour then returned to the car before I burst into the office to do something stupid. I was tempted to…I really wanted to be next to her but this entire day she has been edging away from me. So I stayed in the car. Rin…she was so distant today in the car, it was as if our conversation in the gym meant nothing. She was as standoffish as she has been for the last week.”

 

InuYasha felt his lips slide into a scowl as he slowly crossed his arms, “and? What makes this different?”

 

Sesshoumaru hunched forward and dropped his hands to dangle between his knees. His eyebrows furrowed in contemplation, “I have never been so out of it before in my life, InuYasha. It was as if I was drugged. Sitting in the car, I felt blind, deaf and dumb—“

 

“—You got the dumb part right!”

 

Sesshoumaru turned evil eyes towards his brother before continuing, “finally it was like I got my legs to work for me, as if I suddenly regained mobility. I ran into the office to nearly plow Rin over as she walked out. And…” he shook his head slowly, “she seemed startled, almost scared; she was definitely confused as to why I was at the clinic. It was as if she was oblivious to the fact that I drove her there. She saw her car keys in my hand and then glanced at her car and hung back a moment, as she has been when we are forced to be alone together.” He swallowed hard and shook his head, running one hand through his white tresses, “she finally came around and linked her arm in mine without me saying a word. She smiled in a way I haven't seen her smile in a month…”

 

InuYasha fought down the small glimmer of hope that was forming in his stomach. He wanted Rin and Sesshoumaru to be happy, he could admit that to himself. It ate away a part of him to see both suffering as much as they had been. But something in his brother's eyes, something in the atmosphere that was nearly suffocating InuYasha with tension, told him not to rejoice yet. Something told him that this was only the prelude to the storm. Choosing a safer road, he slowly asked, “so why is this a bad thing?”

 

Sesshoumaru stared at InuYasha and sighed again slowly, “…it was the same smile she would flash Naraku; I saw it the first night we went to the club in October. The first night I met her, it was the smile that she threw to that bastard. It's a façade; it's a fake smile in hopes to weather whatever was coming. She was so afraid that she didn't know what to do. I don't feel anymore like she was comparing me to him…I feel like I am Naraku in her eyes. But…” he shook his head and slammed his head back into the recliner to stare at the ceiling, “she was pretending to be perfectly happy. She chatted endlessly about simple stuff…stuff we used to talk about all the time. It's eerie…it's like watching a ghost walk right through you…like holding sand between your fingers and watching it slip away! I know…I know something is wrong and I just can't grasp it!” without realizing just how angry he was, Sesshoumaru became aware that his nails were embedded in the arms of the couch. With a scowl, he ripped them out, taking a good amount of cotton with it.

 

InuYasha scoffed, “well, for one…you're now comparing yourself to Naraku! That's the first fucking problem! The second problem, Sesshoumaru, is that you're overlooking a lot of shit. Why would she walk into a doctor's office afraid to talk and come out afraid to shut up? Look, Sesshoumaru, I don't think you're stupid. I've never thought you were stupid. But you are being stupid. There is obviously something wrong with this fuckin doctor and I don't know why the hell you don't see it!” InuYasha jumped off the couch and began pacing; “I've seen it since Rin started this shit. Those meds that she has Rin on are a joke! She doesn't need that shit! Something ain't right and it burns me that you aren't doing shit about it!”

 

Sesshoumaru stared at InuYasha for a moment, considering the idea of clocking the boy over the head for good measure. With a deep sigh, he pushed down the idea. “InuYasha, I have seen that Rin isn't improving. But is that normal? What she went through…I understand all of the symptoms and her outlets for her pain and frustration. It is normal to transpose her fears onto another figure in her life!” letting out a deep growl, Sesshoumaru slammed his palms over his ears and hissed, “and god-fucking-damn this headache! I can't even think straight right now, let alone process all of this information!”

 

InuYasha shook his head and rapped his brother once over the head with a closed fist, “baka! You want to know where this is fucked up? Case in point; me and you look the same…” he saw the incredulous look forming in his brothers eyes and knew the angry outburst that would follow, “save your shit, you know we do! If she was to transpose her fears from Naraku onto you, then by rights she should be afraid of me, because I look like you.”

 

Sesshoumaru took his turn to scoff while pinching the bridge of his nose and his eyes tightly clamped shut. “That's the biggest load of horse shit I've ever heard!”

 

InuYasha held up a hand, “you may think that, but really honestly consider this. What if someone is transposing those thoughts…the idea that it wasn't Naraku but you who hurt her…to her? What if she's being brainwashed? What if that fucking psychologist is telling her all of this?”

 

Sesshoumaru swallowed the idea as he sat staring at the ceiling. After a long moment he sighed and leveled his glower off to his brother, “a doctor takes an oath…”

 

InuYasha quickly intervened that train of thought, “as do those who get married…and guess what, people fucking cheat on each other all the fucking time!”

 

Sesshoumaru shook his head slowly, “she would lose her license!”

 

InuYasha gawked at his brother for a long moment before jumping to his feet, “get your fucking coat, Baka! You're gonna introduce me to this damned doctor of yours. I think her shit is rubbing off onto you! Either that or you really are stupid!” InuYasha shrugged on his leather trench coat and stared at Sesshoumaru as the demon nearly dragged his feet to get his stuff. “Can you actually hear yourself through all that hair? Do you have any idea how fucking naive you sound? Sesshoumaru, come on, you know better then to trust these bastards! You're smart Sesshoumaru. Anything I've learned…” he paused and rolled his eyes, unable to believe he was about to admit it. In a more hushed tone, he continued, “anything I've learned about life and about choices has come from you. When I was younger I wanted to be just like you. I mean, fuck, Sesshoumaru, how can you not see past this façade?”

 

Sesshoumaru put on his coat and paused then shook his head, “I cannot believe that a doctor…”

 

InuYasha snatched the keys from Sesshoumaru's hand and pushed out the front door. “Denial is a river in Egypt, Sesshoumaru, remember? It's pointless! I don't know why you're incapacitated to fix whatever mistake this bitch is making with Rin but you better believe I'm taking action against the wench.”

 

Sesshoumaru scowled then ran a hand over his face. A wave of nausea hit the demon and he nearly toppled over. It felt as if he was drowning. Grabbing his stomach and bracing himself against the car, Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slowly as his voice slurred, “I feel groggy…”

 

InuYasha slowly turned to stare at his brother and blinked twice, “who the fuck are you and what the hell did you do to my brother?”

 

Sesshoumaru turned an icy cold set of eyes to InuYasha then sighed deeply, righting himself as the feeling swirled past him. He had been feeling like shit since before Rin got out of the doctors. He told himself it was because he was tired but now…now he wasn't to sure. Rin had kept him awake on the drive home; thank god she had wanted to talk. If she hadn't they would have probably ended up in a ditch somewhere along the highway. “I haven't slept in sixty two hours. Cut me some fucking slack.”

 

InuYasha clicked his tongue and unlocked the Porsche. “Get the fuck in, asshole. I'm driving so you don't kill us. Now, how the hell do I get to this doctors?”

 

Sesshoumaru slid into the passenger seat and put his head against the headrest. “I…I'm not…I…” he closed his eyes and sighed again, the world around him suddenly fading to black. Sesshoumaru tried to choke out a word but sleep claimed him faster then he could snap his fingers.

 

InuYasha stared at his brother for a very long moment, worry pulling at his face before carefully sniffing the air. His eyes widened as he immediately rolled down the windows and covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, “fuck me sideways! What the hell is that?” The smell was enough to make his Youkai cringe. If he didn't have human blood in his veins, he was sure he would be passed out next to his brother at this very moment. Yet with how potent the smell was, he was in sheer shock that Sesshoumaru couldn't have detected it. `What the fuck is that?'

 

A voice, as if in danger, cried out in the back of his head in a dull roar, `just fucking get rid of it and hurry! That's enough to make us vomit!'

 

For once InuYasha had to agree with his Youkai. He cringed as he groped around the bottom of the steering wheel for a hood release. Finding it, he pushed open the drivers side door and went to work under the hood. Pushing past hoses and trying to ignore the burning hot metal against his flesh, he dug his way towards the air ducts. With a very dark and deep growl, the hanyou finally ripped out a small box that was no larger then lipstick case. Throwing the item onto the driveway at a distance, he pulled away from the car and slammed the hood. He wiped his eyes and blinked away the effects. The box was tiny and was emitting some type of powder into the ventilation system of the Porsche. Walking carefully to the box, he knelt down to stare at it. `This is some type of Youkai sleeping powder…some type of inhibitor. How did it end up…when was it put into their car?' he kicked the small box over with his shoe for any traces of origin. The box was tiny and a very dark silver; if he hadn't been keen on scent, he would never of found it. `Thank god for my human blood…I would have been out like Sesshoumaru. How the hell did he sit in the car like that and not detect it? How did he not know?' his eyes shot back to his brother. `Like he said, he's sleep deprived. He must have not noticed it and probably has been inhaling it since they left school. He's fucking lucky that they didn't hit a tree! Damn, he could have passed out behind the wheel!' his eyes darkened as he stood up. `I need to meet this bitch now! Something is really not fucking right and I know it's her! It has to be this Yamaoto chick!'

 

InuYasha ripped off his coat and pulled off his top shirt leaving only the white wife-beater on underneath. Picking up the cartridge carefully, he wrapped it in the shirt. He placed it on the side of the house, behind some bushes then returned to the car. `It's time to get some answers! But I can't do this by myself.' Arriving to the drivers seat, he glanced at the boy dead asleep next to him. `And he's not going to be any fucking good to me!' shaking his head slowly, he pulled out his cell phone. He stared at the light blue LCD screen for a moment before hitting two buttons. `Well, I might as well call in the Calvary!'

 

 

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

 

 

Kagome studied Rin's face as she watched the girl's imitate the moves she just taught them. Flashing her friend a worried smile, she let her go about finishing the dance before grilling her. She wasn't sure whether Rin was forcing a smile on her face to mask something or she had gotten laid. Either way, it was a smile that sent shivers down Kagome's back. When the music finished, Kagome clapped and shut it off. “you guys are really doing great! I want you all to take a breather; me and Rin will get you all some snacks upstairs!”

 

Rin blinked and glanced up, her water bottle hanging slightly out of her mouth, “we will?”

 

Kagome flashed her a fake smile and grabbed her arm, “we will. Come with me Rin.” she heard Rin's gulp as she dragged the girl up the steps into the kitchen of the mansion. She pulled thirteen bottles of water from the refridge before turning on Rin. She set the last bottle on the counter and loomed over the girl who saw quietly on the stool twiddling her thumbs. “What gives, Rin? you've been in lala land since you got here!”

 

Rin giggled then sat back and rocked slowly on the stool. Her eyes had been hazed over since they had arrived back and she had laughing fits in the middle of nowhere. Everything seemed slightly off color to her as well…the house seemed rather reddish while Kagome seemed paler. She blinked and then rubbed her eyes. “I don't know, Kagome. I'm fine though, just tired. I haven't slept that well lately.”

 

Kagome scowled and plopped onto the stool next to her friend. “What gives? You just seem so…falsely happy. I saw how you were in school today, you were miserable. Now it's like your all giggles. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing you smile, but it's creepy Rin! I want to help.”

 

Rin shrugged and played with the one water bottle, sliding it across the table slowly, “I…I'm fine, really. It's nothing I want to talk about.”

 

Kagome leaned back and studied her friends face. Rin wouldn't meet her glare and eventually Kagome sighed and moved the water bottle from her friends grasp. Placing one hand over Rin's, she asked, “What's wrong? Talk to me!”

 

Rin shrugged and then laughed. “I don't know…a part of me wants to cry but I can't. So I smile. Smiling makes others happy so it works.”

 

Kagome pressed on, “Why do you want to cry?”

 

Rin shook her head, “I don't know. I feel…I don't know, just empty. Like something is missing.”

 

Kagome tilted her head to one side to contemplate this answer. “Is it an important something?”

 

Rin shrugged, “I don't know. I just feel…I don't know how I feel, honestly.”

 

Kagome sighed and tried a different approach, “how did things go with Dr. Yamaoto?”

 

Rin smiled again and looked at her friend, “good, I guess. We talked some, I snapped at her for being a bitch and then it went well. We…we talked…I think.”

 

Kagome paused from taking a sip of water and stared at her friend, the water bottle still poised over her lips, “what do you mean you think?”

 

Rin shrugged and looked away, “I can't really remember that much of the session.”

 

“And why not?” Kagome's tone was clipped, harsh. It set of every warning bell in her head that Rin couldn't remember something to do with her mind. This wasn't good.

 

“Well, we argued for a while cause she wanted me to tell her about my memories.”

 

“What memories?”

 

Rin cringed and looked to the floor, her voice lowering to hardly a dull whisper, “you know…”

 

Kagome nodded and leaned forward, “you mean about Naraku?”

 

Rin's head snapped up to look at Kagome as confusion filtered across her face. “No…wait…what?”

 

Kagome, completely confused at this point, sat back and rested her arm on her counter. “Are you talking about what happened with Naraku or your dreams of Sesshoumaru?”

 

As if the words were foreign on her tongue, Rin slowly sounded out, “dreams…of…Sesshoumaru? Naraku? Wait…no, not dreams, memories of…of…” Rin's brows wrinkled as she tried to dig out something, something that she knew was sitting on a shelf just out of her reach. `Memories of Sesshoumaru…not Naraku.' Words randomly assaulted her mind and nearly knocked her off the stool, `“who is Naraku, Rin? I have never heard of him.”' The voice…the voice didn't know him, didn't know the history behind the name Onigumo…didn't know Diegosan…it didn't know what he had been capable of. There was no Naraku, only Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru had…he…. A blinding pain erupted in Rin's head as she dropped her head onto the counter with a near break neck speed. Crushing her cheek into the tiles, she cringed and smashed her left hand over her left ear. “Ow! Crap! Make it stop, holy hell make it stop!” like being jolted by a thousand volts of electricity, Rin opened her mouth to scream but could find no voice.

 

`There is no Naraku! It's an alias your mind made up for Sesshoumaru! You don't want to admit that the man you once loved was capable of hurting you this way! at least the Naraku that you talk about, it was like a counter personality. Sesshoumaru wanted you to blame the real Naraku! You worked for Naraku, sure, but it was Sesshoumaru who touched you, Sesshoumaru who raped you. Naraku would never have hurt you! He tried to protect you against Sesshoumaru, remember? In the library at school…he walked in on Sesshoumaru trying to have his way with you! Rin, this is important, you must remember!'

 

Yet Rin didn't remember. The voice had been persistent that she had to remember that fight; it demanded that she had to recall exactly what happened yet it was a black blur of light and voices. She couldn't remember much, now that she thought back to that moment. Why couldn't she? Swallowing hard, she shrugged slowly, “Kagome…I…” she frowned. If she asked Kagome for help, wouldn't she tell InuYasha? If InuYasha found out, he would tell Sesshoumaru, and that would be bad. He threatened to kill her friends if they got in the way, didn't he? Yet suddenly, through her mind crackled a memory of a heinous laughter and a flash of black hair. `No…not Sesshoumaru…no!' Rin groaned and put her hands to her head, “I feel like my skull is going to crack in two, Kagome! It hurts so bad!”

 

Kagome was by her friend's side in a second. “Tell me what you see Rin!”

 

Tears well in both girls eyes as Rin turned to stare at Kagome, “Sesshoumaru…did he hurt me? Was he the one who…” she felt utterly helpless asking Kagome such a stupid question. A part of her mind that was chained down was screaming for recognition and yet it was inaudible to her.

 

Kagome grabbed Rin's shoulders and shook her light, “snap out of it Rin! Sesshoumaru would never hurt you! Never!”

 

`The black haired girl…the brother's bitch…she'll try to convince you otherwise! She'll say he would never hurt you! She wants you to believe that! She wants you to stay naive. If you lock up the older one, the younger one will fall as well, and she can't let that happen. Don't listen to Kagome, Rin…she'll lie, and she'll set you up!'

 

“No!” Rin shoved her stool back, moving her back from Kagome and collapsed to the floor. Pulling her knees into her chest, she slowly rocked back and forth, reliving the session she had an hour prior, “no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! You wouldn't lie to me! You wouldn't…you wouldn't lie to me! Not to me…stop saying she would! Stop it!”

 

Kagome watched as Rin pounded the side of her head with her fists. She was stunned for a moment, watching her best friend fight with herself before she jumped into action. Sliding to the floor next to her, she grabbed Rin's hands in hers and pulled her into a hug. Tears flowing down her cheeks, she yelled, “stop it Rin, just stop! It's okay, all right? Just stop crying! Stop! You're not talking to anyone! You're rambling Rin! Come on, snap out of it and stop!”

 

The normal sobs didn't erupt from the girl, just quiet miserable tears drenching her cheeks as she stared at her friend in sorrow. She shuddered with raked sobs, her shoulders heaving forward and back with each breath, but she composed herself slowly. As she focused on Kagome's face, on her best friend's eyes, she found herself calming down. `Kagome would never lie to me. She couldn't. She's Kagome! And….and this voice…I don't know who it is. But it's not me…I can't be me!' Rin closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Hearing Kagome's near frantic cries, she forced out, “o…okay…I'll stop…just don't cry Kagome, please!”

 

Kagome hiccupped and hugged the frail girl. “Rin, I should be asking you that! Come on, I need you to be happy! I know you want to be happy! Just smile, for once Rin.”

 

Rin nodded slowly and forced herself to her feet. “I will…I promise. I just…I don't want to fake smiles anymore Kagome. When I smile, I want it to mean something to someone.” Inside her eyes, a storm was brewing. `What is this voice and why does it make me believe that Sesshoumaru would hurt me? He wouldn't…' but she couldn't' deny walking out of the doctors office. When she saw Sesshoumaru standing before her, she wanted to run back in and lock the door. Memories burned at her to remember, ate away at the door she had locked them behind. `Naraku…when Naraku would have my keys after work, I knew…' she closed her eyes as bits and pieces of memories slowly slid back together. `Why can't I remember?'

 

Kagome pouted and draped her arm around her friend and squeezed her. “it does mean something Rin! It means everything to Sango and me. It means a lot to the girls downstairs to see you happy. And I'll tell you, it's the world to Sesshoumaru!” her voice dropped all soothing aspects as she paused at the stairs with Rin, “I know you know this already, but I need to say it. He would never hurt you, ever, Rin!”

 

Rin nodded dumbly as they descended the stairs, “I know…I know he wouldn't. And that is what hurts the worst, is seeing what I see and…and…” she shut her mouth, afraid to go on. Instead, she flashed a tiny pathetic smile at Kagome and walked down the stairs. ` I can't explain it. I'd be tripping over my own to feet attempting to.'

 

Kagome hung back and watched Rin sulk away. Her eyes shut as she warded off more tears. `Something is wrong…this psychologist is wrong! Something is horribly amiss and someone needs to do something before Rin tears herself apart!' sparing another glance towards Rin's back, Kagome turned around and sprinted for the phone. `I have to call InuYasha, he'll know what to do.'

 

 

 

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

 

“Ow! Shit…I don't think it goes like that!”

 

“Shut up, baka, I know what I'm doing?”

 

“Fuck!” a flashlight shined in the hanyou's eyes, “shit, how many fucking times have you done this?”

 

“A lot, now shut the hell up and hold still!”

 

“Damn, you're as bossy as that fucking brother of mine!”

 

“No, I'm worse! Now unless you want me to insert my foot up your ass, don't fucking move!”

 

“You're fucking heavy! What did you eat this morning? Children? Damn!”

 

A boot clipped the end of the hanyou's nose as Ryen pulled himself into the ventilation shaft. He turned around and offered a hand to the hanyou. “Get your ass up here, baka. And stay close…the last thing we need to do is trip the alarms!”

 

Ignoring the hand, InuYasha leapt from ten feet below and grabbed onto the open grate, only to nearly lose his grasp. Ryen's hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist and hauled him into the shaft. In the dark, two sets of amber eyes dared to have a staring contest. Ryen was the first to comment. “You out of shape there, kid? Putting on a couple pounds? Can't make a simple jump like that!”

 

InuYasha pushed himself onto his knees and grabbed a flashlight, “shut the fuck up, old man! At least I didn't need to stand on your shoulders! I'm sending you my chiropractors bill, by the way!” he growled lightly then shoved the end of the flashing light into his mouth so they could crawl along the vent without excess noise. It had taken him a near half hour to reach Ryen's and double that to drag Sesshoumaru out of the Porsche and convince Ryen that they needed to work some type of intervention. From that point, it took nearly two hours to find the office, after searching half of Tokyo for the right Dr. Yamaoto. Yet the minute they stepped onto property, both of their demon senses went crazy. Ryen had ceased talking until the incident of breaking into the vent shaft. He was convinced that there was traps set up in the office, just in case of midnight burglars…or patients who needed to be `taken care of'. InuYasha's hair was bristled at this point and he was short from bearing his fangs at the invisible foe. Something didn't leave him feeling so great. With a cough, he spit out the flashlight into his left hand. “Yo…Ryen…”

 

Ryen was a few feet in front of him, staring down through a vent gate into an office. “What?” his voice was edgy and InuYasha immediately knew that he felt it as well. Ryen glanced over his shoulder and sighed before turning back to look at the hanyou. His voice was filled with mock concern and dripping in sarcasm, “are you okay? Do you need to take a pit stop?”

 

InuYasha flipped him off, after judging that he was a good distance away from him not to be hurt. “I was just wondering, asshole, if you felt that…vibe.”

 

Ryen cocked an eyebrow; “vibe?” Turning around he slipped out his pocketknife and tore at the seal on the vent. Muttering while he worked, Ryen mocked, “vibe? No vibe…just an overwhelming amount of purification power in the air.”

 

InuYasha's breath caught in his throat, “you think this doctor is a priestess?”

 

Ryen stared over his right shoulder for a moment, his amber eyes illuminating the two jagged blue stripes on his cheeks. He hardly ever broke his concealment spell around anyone, but now he was full Youkai in front of InuYasha. “No, I said it for shits and giggles. Yes, InuYasha, she is most definitely a priestess…and one I just can't place. There are only a few handfuls left in the world and I know most of them. They have to register with the same commission that deals with Youkai.”

 

InuYasha helped Ryen lift the grate as his eyes widened slightly, “Youkai…commission?”

 

Ryen nodded then pulled out a small jar of powder. Spraying it into the room, he sat back and stared at InuYasha, “yeah…they kind of regulate and keep track of all demons in the world. Wouldn't be good if no one kept tally on us. Think about it…we could so kill any human around us with the snap of our hand. That is too much power. So they watch as silent partners, and just make sure no one gets out of line. It's mostly the Tai-Youkai's job to make sure that all issues are dealt with…but being that the position has been vacant for some time now…” he glanced down into the green office at the clock then pulled out a small spray bottle. He lifted a finger to his lips then sprayed the bottle down into the room. As if someone turned on a disco ball, tiny red lines that reminded InuYasha of sniper pinpoints illuminated the room. Ryen nodded slowly to InuYasha then with the grace of a cat, slipped between two lines and dropped silently onto the desk. He looked over the desk before running his hand over what looked to be a globe. A pin pad appeared and Ryen took back out his bottle of powder. Splashing some over the pad, he removed a long piece of what looked like tape and covered the code box with it. He waited for a moment, then as the fingerprints appeared, he typed in the code.

 

InuYasha cringed as the red lights shut off in the office. He stuck his head out of the vent and stared at his uncle. His voice was hardly above a whisper, “what…what did you do?”

 

Ryen glanced up as he began to work at the locks on the doctor's desk. “I shut down the security systems. Now just be a good pup and stay up there!”

 

InuYasha's eyes narrowed but he bit back his retort. Crossing his arms, he just stared as his uncle worked. His plan was to march into the building and demand answers from Yamaoto. Ryen beat sense into him, literally. Ryen explained after numerous thwaps that a doctor/patient confidentiality rule applied and the doctor would use it as a shield. Ryen would never get a warrant to get other wise in the time that they needed, so a little covert operation was necessary. But when InuYasha thought of breaking in, he figured big rock through window. Ryen went about thirty million times past that. Breaking out the Rainbow Six gear, all Ryen was missing was the giant AK-47 strapped to his back and a full out camouflage outfit. Something about ninjas and stealth…somewhere after the first two minutes InuYasha had stopped paying attention to what the demon had told him. Now he watched his uncle just about float across the office looking for clues.

 

Ryen pried open the one drawer on the doctor's desk. Pulling out a notebook and a small pack of pills, Ryen held them up towards InuYasha. “Look through this and tell me what you find about Rin.”

 

InuYasha grabbed the material and began shuffling through it. it was a laundry list of patients names with a hyphen and either the words monogurui shuuyoujo* or shokubutsuningen* circled. InuYasha scowled and shouted down, “nearly all of her patients, at least those listed here, are members of ikijigoku*.”

 

Ryen glanced up, worry dashing across his face, “you mean that all of her patients have ended up in a mental institution?”

 

InuYasha's eyes darkened as he read on down the list, “it seems that way. There are a good number claimed to be in comas across all of Japan. Or…they are dead. There isn't one positive outcome in this book.”

 

Ryen's eyes narrowed as he growled, “I think we have what we need.”

 

InuYasha held up a hand, “we have to stop this crazy bitch. Ryen…there are hundreds of names in this book. She…she's like sending sheep to be slaughtered! And it's gone on for…” he flipped to the end of the book and shook his head, “at least five years!” slamming the book shut, he threw it back to Ryen, “This needs to end; we need to run some type of investigation on her!”

 

Ryen nodded as he returned the name book to the desk. “We need to find out, first, what she is doing to Rin and if she is the one who drugged Sesshoumaru.”

 

InuYasha knew it wasn't his eyes when Ryen nearly put his fist through the woman's desk with that thought. Ryen had been livid when Inu strode through the front door dragging Sesshoumaru by his arms. He spent a good twenty minutes trying to control the enraged Youkai, slightly fearful that Ryen was going to take off his head. He nodded his head towards another drawer on the desk. “Try that one…see what you can find!”

 

Ryen nodded and began prying at the lock with the pin he had. “What are those pills I tossed you?”

 

InuYasha stared at the bottle for a moment, turning it over in his hands. “I don't know…it's not labeled.” Popping open the box, he removed the pills and turned it in his hands. “There is no writing on it anywhere.”

 

Ryen shot him a dark glower then broke open the drawer. Inside were ten files, all of recent patients. Sitting down in the leather chair, Ryen thumbed through until he found Rin's. Searching through it, his temper soared. “What the fuck!” Ryen felt his lips twist into a snarl as he read aloud, “patient suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Has suffered in silence against boyfriend Taisho, Sesshoumaru. Will not submit to rape kit for fear of retribution from boyfriend. Has accounted for being raped for the last six months. Given Xanax to calm panic attacks.” He turned his face to look out the window, anger just about seeping out of his pores. “I could kill this woman and not think twice! How fucking dare she blame my nephew…I'm going to kill her…I am honestly going to put her through a wall!”

 

InuYasha growled and tossed down the bottle of pills to Ryen. “That fucking bitch is full of shit! Sesshoumaru and Rin haven't even had sex yet!”

 

Ryen shook his head as he pushed through the file, “that's why she put will not submit to rape kit. If she did, they would know it wasn't Sesshoumaru. So if she didn't put anything, it would be questioned. She's following this up nicely for investigators to blame Sesshoumaru. If that happens, then Rin isn't a valuable witness against Naraku. The only fault she has right now is Rin is also on Paxil. Those two are very strong medicines for a young girl to be on, they can make her dependant. But these pills…” holding up the bottle of pills, Ryen glared over it slowly. “This worries me.”

 

InuYasha nodded slowly, “yeah. Something ain't right.”

 

Ryen sighed and pulled out a leaf of notebook paper from the back of the folder. Scribbled in doctor's short print in English, she had written, “must remember, then redirect. Give two weeks then commit. Morphine in high doses. Must not testify!” Ryen sat back as his eyes slowly drifted up to meet InuYasha's. “She's going to fuck Rin up so bad that she can't testify against Naraku! That's what this whole fucking game is! She's going to destroy Rin's mind so Naraku can walk!”

 

InuYasha felt his heart leap with fear and dread as Ryen's words hit home. “If he walks…he will sure as hell be coming after Kagome! And Rin won't be safe!”

 

Ryen riffled through the files and shook his head, pulling out the notes in English on the far ends of the files, “she is really stupid for leaving these in here! I mean, what kind of evil bitch just leaves this shit out?” shaking his head, he pulled out a random note. “Horishi, Jaian, 16. Morphine and Barbiturates intravenous. 35mm every four hours. Release after two weeks.” He pulled out another note and his face dropped. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he muttered, “She committed suicide, September 9th, 2005. She was ruled out of Diegosan's case as material witness.” He pulled out a paper in her file and slowly shook his head. “I guess the son didn't drift that far from the father. Says the girl had been raped by boyfriend. I wonder if it's a cover for Naraku or for Diegosan.”

 

InuYasha growled as he felt his claws dig into the metal under his fingers. “Damn that fucking asshole! How many lives did he ruin…did they ruin?”

 

Ryen nodded towards the drawer that they put the book in, “apparently that's the start of it. I need to get a warrant before we can come in here and I need something to base it off of.”

 

InuYasha growled, his eyes flashing dark anger. “Because she's a bitch? How does that work for a reason? You see the book Ryen, isn't' that enough?”

 

Ryen shook his head and pulled out another file. “No, I either need something suspicious to smack me in the face without saying, well, I was going through her files and found out she's killing people. Or I need someone to come to me and ask me to investigate who is not part of my family.”

 

InuYasha bit back his snazzy retort only because he knew it was not Ryen's fault that this was happening this way. “Grab one of those folders and we'll find relatives. Someone is bound to want to know why their kid is acting up suddenly then goes crazy. Come on!”

 

Ryen nodded as he thumbed through the file. “This one is of a thirteen year old girl. …She has an older sister who goes to your…”

 

A footstep in the hallway made the Inu Youkai freeze in his stop. Quickly sliding the files back into place, he quickly threw them back into the desk drawer and locked it with the key. He jumped onto the desk and typed back in the code and ripped off the tape. Shoving it into his pocket, he jumped up and grabbed onto the vent gate. InuYasha dodged backwards and pulled Ryen into the gate and they quickly sealed it. Not more then a second later, they heard the alarm system arm. Ryen let out a deep sigh then motioned towards the way they came from. Whispering, he commented, “let's get the fuck out of dodge. We'll work on this at home.”

 

InuYasha nodded and the two slowly worked their way over the heads of the cleaning crew back towards the safety of the hallway. InuYasha's mind was spinning. `how did Sesshoumaru not know? I mean, how couldn't he tell that something wasn't right? Hell, I've known since she started with this bitch that something wasn't right!' he watched as Ryen shifted the vent out of their path of descent and then dropped into the empty building hallway. Stifling a snort, InuYasha followed behind him. After landing, he spared a glance at Ryen. His voice lost his normal gruff tone and was replaced by a curiosity that got the better of him. He was concerned and honestly, he was scared. What was this bitch programming Rin to do? Swallowing hard once, he shoved his hands into his coats pockets. “Why couldn't Sesshoumaru tell she was a miko?”

 

Ryen shrugged nonchalantly and walked to the front door. Twisting the lock from the inside, they left the building. “She probably had a very powerful concealment spell in place.”

 

InuYasha fell into step next to his uncle. “What does that mean? I mean, why would that hide her? Sesshoumaru ain't the weakest of demons…I'm sure he could sniff it out.”

 

Ryen took a sidelong glance at his nephew. Trying to break the tension that welled around them, he asked in a playful tune, “did you just compliment your brother?”

 

InuYasha shot him a pointed glower. “No! I'm just fucking saying that bastard ain't that dumb.”

 

Ryen nodded slowly as they got to his Shelby. “Well…I'll say this; for that much purification power to be in the air, she had to be doing some serious voodoo today. She probably dropped the concealment spell to do it, which is why we could sense her.”

 

InuYasha nodded as he skidded around the car and climbed into the passenger seat. “I don't get it. Why would she target Rin?”

 

Ryen sat back in the drivers seat for a moment and stared at the dashboard. “I don't think it's her…I think it's the person writing her paychecks. Something tells me she's a marionette and her strings are attached to Naraku's right hand.”

 

InuYasha cocked an eyebrow as Ryen started the car, “how can that be? I mean…he's in jail. His assets are frozen. The only person I would think to control them would be Launia, but you have her locked up as well, right?”

 

Ryen nodded dumbly. “Yeah, she's in the precinct still.” He scratched his chin then put the car into reverse. “Something tells me that we are missing something big.”

 

InuYasha nodded and stared out the window as they drove silently back towards Ryen's condo. After a moment of watching the lights of the city, he turned and asked, “you started to say something about a girl whose sister goes to my…”

 

Ryen's eyes widened a fraction of an inch as he tilted his head towards his nephew. “Yeah. A girl by the name of Fujiwara, Kana; she is under Yamaoto's care. Her older sister goes to your school.”

 

InuYasha shrugged, “I ain't exactly a yearbook Ryen. You got to give me more then that.”

 

Ryen nodded, “her sister's name is Kagura.”

 

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

Whoa, that was a long chapter. Don't worry…with the away game and the nights out, it will be a lighter tone to the story.

 

*- Psilocybin- a hallucinogenic drug that comes from mushrooms. Can cause just a change in colors and gives off a `high' feeling.

 

*- monogurui shuuyoujo- two words put together since they didn't have a word for it- insane asylum .

 

*- shokubutsuningen- a comatose person.

 

* ikijigoku - literally means hell flames. It's a private Psychiatric ward run by Tsubaki.