InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Portrait ❯ The Quest ( Chapter 6 )

******STANDARD DISCLAIMER HERE***** I DON'T OWN INUYASHA IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM*******

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Author Notes: I wanted to say thanks again to all who are leaving reviews. I need all the encouragement that I can get.

Migele: Thanks for the criticism, I attempted to show more of their mood, maybe this time it will not be so boring to read. Please remember it is my first fan fiction, I will get better as I do more.

TheMaven & snowcat : I can only say what there is reason for that…believe me everything makes sense in the end. Hopefully J (fingers crossed)

Finally, I like to give a public shout out to lady.lessa. She is serving as a second set of eyes for my story. With her help, I will be able to go correct the pervious chapters and double check the upcoming ones, lady.lessa thanks so much again. With that said, on with the story.

"YOU WANT TO WHAT?" Inuyasha yelled. His voice was so loud that it literally shook the walls of the tiny hut that they were occupying.

"Please lower your voice, Inuyasha. I'm sure Rin will tell us what she meant…once she gets her hearing back," Kagome said, while rubbing her ears in attempt to recover from his sudden outburst.

Both of their gazes returned to the now cherry faced looking women. Rin smiled and pondered about her day so far. First, she had to fight tooth and nail with Sesshomaru this morning, just so she could come to the village alone. Now another obstacle was barring her way, though this one is a little less challenging. Sighing heavily, her mind wandered back to the morning's event.

----------Flashback-----------------------

It had been three days since their incidence in the garden, and she really wanted to talk to Kagome about her situation with Sesshomaru. So, she mustered up enough courage to ask him, if she could go visit her.

She had not seen him since that day; it seemed to her that he was doing the avoiding now. But, finally, she found out that he was in his study, so she made her way there. Once she got outside the elaborate study doors, she froze. Her stomach started to churn and knees wobbled, while in her mind, she scrambled for all the excuses for her visit. She was about to chicken out, when Sesshomaru called out to her.

"Rin, you may come in."

'Shit, there's no turning back now' she thought, after taking a deep breath she went in. The room was adorned with many ancestral pictures scattered about, a large stone fireplace, several bookcases, and a mammoth handcrafted wooden desk with several chairs about it. The room reflected him perfectly; aristocratic and gorgeous.

Sesshomaru sat behind the desk, with a few scrolls unrolled before him. His golden amber eyes focused on her the moment she entered his room. She felt as if her skin was melting from her bones due to his intense gaze as she stood in front of his desk.

"What do you want, Rin?" He said nonchalantly.

"I would like to leave the castle to visit Inuyasha's mate…please" she answer timidly.

Raising one eyebrow and with an inquisitive tone he said, "I told you that you could go there anytime, you know that. Why ask for permission again?"

"Because, I want to go by myself…I do not need Jaken to keep an eye on me," she answered with a little bit of courage in her tone.

He stood up and barked. "NO!!!" His voice sounded like thunder, causing her to shrug her shoulders and squeeze her eyes shut in fear. "YOU ARE NOT TO EVER LEAVE THE CASTLE GROUNDS WITHOUT AN ESCORT…THAT IS MY ORDER AND YOU WILL OBEY IT."

After the room stopped vibrating Rin spoke defiantly, "Sesshomaru-sama, I'm not a child anymore. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."

"Rin, you are a human and can not protect yourself from any lowly youkai that may be on my land .That is why you need an escort." Thinking that was the end their discussion, he started to sit back down, when she said.

"So, if I could beat a low class demon, would you let me go to the village … alone?"

Weighing well her question, he decided to call her bluff, "Yes, Rin. If you could beat a demon, I would allow you go to the village this time only…by yourself.

"Then I accept the challenge." she smirked. "The terms will be, if I defeat a demon, I get to go to the village alone. And if I don't defeat him, I will never again ask you how I died…is that agreeable?"

Normally, he would never allow her do anything like this, but her proposition was quite intriguing. Never again would he have to hear her continuous questioning about the ugly event. In addition, he was curious about the combat skills she said she had developed.

Still thinking as he made his way to the room's windows Sesshomaru finally said, "Very well Rin, the fight will take place in the courtyard. Now, go ready yourself, and be there in twenty minutes."

When Rin arrived at the courtyard, she saw Sesshomaru and a large youkai. 'He looks like a grizzly bear' she thought. He was very tall compared to her five eight stature. His hair was brown and white, his fangs and claws were gleaming white and he possessed the most soulless looking black eyes she had ever seen.

She was scared, but knew that all the years she had trained in Tae Kwon Do and Kendo she was more than ready for any challenge. What she did not know was that Sesshomaru instructed the youkai not to kill, or maul her in anyway. If he did, Sesshomaru would kill him, bring him back to life, and then slowly kill him again for disobeying him.

"Are you ready, Rin?" Sesshomaru called out. She nodded "Then begin !" The creature charged at her quickly, but she easily slid between his legs to get behind him. Then with several powerful bone crushing elbow hits to both of his sides, and a swift kick to the back of his knees the youkai fell down.

She then removed an extra thick belt from her hakama and wrapped it around his neck, and climbing on to his back she tried to suffocate the demon. The demon thrashed violently back and forth rolling on the ground, brushing up against trees trying anything to scrap her off his back. With every blow he made, she cried out in pain but never loosen her hold on the belt.

Sesshomaru's face was unruffled, but the emotion that laid behind his eyes was fear. He was clutching his hand so tight that blood splattered down to the ground. He was about to stop the fight when Rin yelled out, "No…I can do this." After a few more moments of her being thrown around like a rag doll, the demon's eyes rolled up into his head and passed out falling forward.

Rin slowly climbed off the back of the beast. She was bruised, dirty, sweaty, panting, and smiling. Yes, she was smiling victoriously as she staggered toward Sesshomaru and said, "May I go now…please?"

-------------End Flashback-------------------------------

"Earth to Rin" Kagome said while waving her hands in front of Rin's face to snap her out of her trance.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about my life." She commented while rubbing a few sore muscles.

"Feh, well let's get back to my question…Why the fuck do you want to go to Angels' Valley?" Inuyasha stated.

"Sesshomaru won't tell me anything about my death, so I figure if I go back there maybe something will click. I'm sick of not knowing about everything in my life." as she spoke tears formed in her eyes.

Unable to resist the young girl's plea, Inuyasha said, "I'll tell you where it's at Rin, but I don't think you should go there. During the last three years, that place has become nothing but a graveyard. I don't know why that stupid jackass Sesshomaru won't tell you what happen. But, I'm sure his reason is good." and with that he went to get a map for her to follow to Angels' Valley.

"So, tell me about your other problem, Rin…He won't be back for a little while." Kagome said.

Rin dried her eyes, and smiled as she started to talk about her feelings for Sesshomaru.

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'I love her, I must tell her tonight.' Sesshomaru thought, while walking around in the garden. His mind had been on the morning fight. Rin had proven that she was stronger than any mere human female. She brought down a demon twice her size with only minor injuries, and had the courage to stand up for her convictions.

"She will make a worthy consort for this Sesshomaru." He muttered to himself. He came along some wildflowers that had almost the same scent as Rin, as he stopped to inhale the glorious fragrance, when his keen nose detected an offensive stench.

He only knew of two creatures with that sickening scent of decay. The half-breed Naraku, who was dead and Kagura the wind witch. When he looked up a big white feather, descend to the ground before him. "Lord Sesshomaru, it's been a long time." she said seductively, as she retracted her feather to put back in her hair.

With a bored face, and an indifferent tone he asked, "Why are you at my castle?"

"I have not seen you in quite some time, since that day on the mountain. I've been thinking of you and how lonely it must be here for you with only that hideous toad for companionship." She slyly smiled and walked closer to him.

He gave her a homicidal glance that stopped her from approaching him any further. With a low growl he said, "Who this Sesshomaru chooses for companionship is none of your concern."

Still smiling, she strolled over to pick a few flowers and said, "Oh you can't fool me Sesshomaru....since that foolish human girl of yours died you haven't been quite yourself. Maybe, you should let me help relieve your loneliness again."

The mere reference of that day appalled him; he came across the wind witch by accident. And, sorrow he felt for losing his Rin, made him lose control of his demon lust. Now, it seemed that the slut thought that it meant something more than just another grunting session to him.

He returned his attention back to the arrogant women in front of him. He narrowed his eyes and with much malicious in his tone he spoke, "Not that it should matter to you, but Rin is back with this Sesshomaru. Therefore, your presence here is neither wanted nor necessary. Now leave my castle and never return."

"So the little girl has been reincarnated …how pleasant for you. I hope you are keeping her safe this time. It would be a shame for her to die again…I heard she died in a very gruesome way." she said with an evil smile.

"I do not like repeating myself" Sesshomaru snarled, as his hand turned incandescent green and his knuckles cracked.

The wind began to stir around her figure as she took a feather out of her hair. "Calm down lover…I'm going now. See you soon." with that her feather launched into the sky. 'Yes, as soon as I get rid of my little problem…I'll see you.' She thought.

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Here Rin, I hope you find that you'll looking for" Inuyasha said as he handed her the map.

"Thank you very much for the map Inuyasha, and Kagome I'll try out your advice when I get back to the castle…I hope it'll work." She grinned innocently.

"I'm sure it'll work Rin, they say that honesty is the best policy." Kagome nodded and winked.

Rin bowed and ran out the hut looking for Ah-Un. After finding them, she headed for Angles' Valley. The valley was about fifty miles from castle. So, she guessed that she could be back home before nightfall, which gave her at least three hours to look for any clues.

Upon arriving at the valley, Rin saw what Inuyasha meant. The landscape appeared covered in blood, with rotting flesh of men and skeletons from earlier battles. Weapons of all shapes and sizes dug into the ground or were skewered into bodies. The valley's vegetation was yanked from the earth and burned beyond recognition in most areas.

Even though she was flying on Ah-Un, the fumes from the decomposing flesh on the ground made her vomit several times. She was about to give up on the sickening quest, when she spotted a small patch of beautiful wildflowers and a tree on a hill a short distance from the valley floor. She decided to land there to regain her senses before heading home.

The fresh air and aroma of the flowers eventually helped her stomach to settle down. She could not believe her bad luck, being in the valley did not trigger anything in her memory. She thought of runaway from the valley, and Sesshomaru. She loved him very much, but not knowing her complete past was more important than even he was. She was so upset she started to cry, she was about to stand when something poked her leg from in the ground.

After wiping her eyes, she began to rake through the hard dirt with her fingers until she dug up a small sliver mirror case. The glass was cracked, but its back panel was highly decorated. She started to pick off the caked on dirt, when she recognized the mirror as hers from long ago. A memory clicked in her head.

"But Sesshomaru-sama, why can't I go down in the valley with you to meet your friends?"

"Rin, they are not this Sesshomaru friends, they are my allies. I want you to stay by this tree until I return for you …obey my wish."

"Yes milord, I will wait here for your return."

Rin's heart raced faster and faster as bits and pieces of clouded memories started to flood my mind.

"What are you doing to me? Please no, stay away!!!…SESSHOMARU-SAMA!!!!!"

"Damn, why can't I remember what happend next?…Why was I so afraid?"

Just then, a heavy gust of wind tossed her and Ah-Un about on the ground. After she regained her balance, another strong blast of wind slammed her body against the tree. She got up again, this time with several bruised ribs and coughed up blood. Her left arm bared a prefect impression of the tree bark due to her trying to use it to soften the impact. Then a voice called out to her.

"I'm so glad you came back, Rin…now we can continue our fun."