InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Choose Another Life ❯ The Loss of Innocence ( Chapter 1 )

Demoness: I've done it again! This is the idea of a friend and fellow authoress, Weeble, that I decided to tackle and put my own unique spin on. Go check her story out. It's called "Crimson." The main pairing here is Sess/Rin and there will be a few other minor ones along the way. I've decided to use some of the characters from my other story "Tears of Blood" since it's easier for me to deal with them and their personalities.

*"Tears of Blood" Cast waves* Hi Everyone!

Demoness: Ok…that was strange. *Shakes head* Never mind them and let's get down to the story…Oh there is one more thing. If you want the second chapter you're going to have to review for it! At least five would make me a very happy Demoness.

Disclaimer: I'm going to state this once. I do…not own Inuyasha. There I said it, but I do own all my original characters and I will hunter you down if I find them in any other stories without my permission. The story idea belong to Authoress Weeble.

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Chapter One: The loss of Innocence

~ The pounding of heavy footsteps, resounded throughout the darkened forest. The small figure radiated fear with every movement and thought. The scent coated the very leaves and trees themselves, impressing itself upon the path she ran. The branches scraped across her skin, drawing thin red lines on her skin and tearing her clothing.

Her heart pounded under the constant strain to maintain her fast pace, but she didn't dare stop or slow down. She could feel their hot breath on the back of her neck; the snapping of their jaws as they craved to taste her. She wanted to be with him; to be near him. He would save her. His image appeared in front of her; then turned away without acknowledging her. `No please come back! Help me!'

Tears flowed from her eyes, blurring her vision. `Please…come back.' Her thoughts were desperate as she wished for anyone to save her. The injured demon was no where to be found and she knew he wouldn't come. Her tears spilled from her eyes in a mix of fear and frustration. `Why does everyone leave me?'

Her foot caught on a root protruding from the ground, sending her face first into the dirt path. She groaned upon the impact and tried to get up, but it was too late. She turned over and gazed up as rows of sharp, glittering teeth came down on her. ~

Rin bolted up in bed, her breathing labored as her hand clutched the thin fabric of her robe that covered her chest in a futile attempt to slow her erratic heartbeat. A thin layer of sweat shown on her skin, making a few dark brown strands of hair stick to the sides of her face. She felt the bile rise to the back or her throat as her stomach revolted.

Rin quickly covered her mouth with a slender hand and scrambled out of the bed. Waves of dizziness and nausea overtook her as soon as she was one her feet, making her grab the bed post for support. Teetering her way across the room she tried to coax her stomach into submission without much success. Her stomach lurched and she dashed through the door that led to her personal bathing chamber.

Collapsing to her knees in front of the camber pot, she heaved the meager contents of her stomach into the bottom of the bowl. The bile that came up burned the back of her throat and made her gag and she cried in pain and frustration. After numerous dry heaves later she sat back, grabbing a cloth that had been set on a nearby table. She placed the cloth to her mouth and wiped away the remnants, trying in vain to regain her bearings. Rin couldn't figure out why she had been feeling sick for the past few days and gave up just considering it a reaction to the nightmares that plagued her.

It had been twelve years since that incident and yet the fear and sensations would not leave her. Her Lord had saved her that day; in more ways than one. Yes, he had brought her back to life after being attacked by the wolves, but he also let her stay by his side, following him on his travels. He allowed her to stay in his home without asking for anything in return. He would never know just how grateful she was, and still was, for those kind acts.

"Though," she admitted. "Lord Sesshoumaru is still as big a mystery as he was back then, but I am able to earn my keep now. And he still asks nothing from me."

Rin had watched the soldiers in the army train when she was younger and had picked up on bits and pieces of various defensive and offensive skills. She had practiced in secret until one day she was watched by the High General, who found amusement in her eagerness to perfect her slight skills. General Hakunetsu had taken her under his wing and trained her privately for years until he had deemed her worthy of challenging some of his soldiers.

She knocked him for a loop when she easily defeated his best fighter in hand to hand combat and out shot his best archer. She rose through the ranks quickly and had earned herself the title of Colonel, a position right under Hakunetsu. Rin had been elated because of this accomplishment, though some of the other demons tried to sabotage her, thinking that a human wasn't capable of commanding an all demon army.

She sure showed them where they could stick that type of thinking. Rin had put their qualms to rest when she had stayed by their side in a gruesome battle with a southeastern territory. She received injuries the same as them and still kept fighting. She earned their respect from that moment on and the soldiers had even defended her honor and skills when new recruits had made snide remarks.

Through all of this, she had spoken to Sesshoumaru rarely, except for going over strategies for an approaching battle or going over the reports of past battles they had fought. Tentatively, Rin pulled herself off the floor and stood in front of a mirror that hung on her wall. She gazed at her worn face that shown of sleepless nights and how sick she felt.

She poured water into a white, porcelain basin in front of her and absentmindedly washed her hands in the cool water as her thoughts drifted back to Sesshoumaru. Rin had never thought of Sesshoumaru as something more than a powerful Demon Lord who had saved her those many years ago and a protector until earlier that year. It was almost as if she saw him through different eyes. Eyes that were attracted to him that shouldn't be, eyes that saw herself blushing whenever she was close to him, and eyes that had longed for him to acknowledge her as more than a fighter. But she knew it was a hopeless fantasy that would burn out…hopefully.

Rin stared her reflection in the glassy surface of the water and sighed. "Lord Sesshoumaru would never see a fighter, let alone a human, as anything more than an inferior creature, incapable of doing anything other than being a nuisance."

She paused in her thinking as a memory of a few weeks ago flashed across her eyes. "Though," her voice soften to barely above a whisper. "That time a few weeks ago…"

Rin chastised herself for even considering the notion and splashed the cold water on her face, ridding herself of the thought. She continued with her morning rituals and then changed into her training gear.

Rin bound her breasts with a thick cloth that wrapped around her chest and then slid into a black kimono that only reached the middle of her thigh and secured it with a royal blue sash at the waist. She pulled on a pair of white shorts than were hidden underneath her kimono, concealing the dagger that was strapped to her upper thigh.

Black boots that stopped just under her knees were the next item to be added and completed the look. Rin took small sharpened spikes and hid them in each of her boots, adding to her protection. She left her main weapon, a sword, until after she had pulled her hair into a high pony tail, which was secured with a leather strap.

She smirked at her reflection as she secured the mental protectors around her forearms. `The looks I had been given for my choice of clothing in the beginning still amuse me to this day,' she thought with a grin.

She secured her sword at her waist and left her room in the northern wing of the castle and quickly made her way to the barracks and training grounds where her group would be waiting for her. And, low and behold, there they were. Though, she admitted, they looked less then enthused at being up at the crack of dawn.

She steeled her features and put on her well known stoic mask before approaching the small group of select fighters. There attention was given souly as they stood before her, hoping that she would go easy on them for the day. Rin had looked at each of the four fighters noting the strengths and weaknesses of each of them.

Today her group consisted of Mangetsu, a master with his naginata, but lacked in areas of hand to hand combat, and Keihatsu, who was a sorceress and an excellent fighter, but lacked in her ability to control her powers in pressured situations. Seidan was the third in line and a master of long range weapons, but quite frankly, she failed with close combat and, last but not least, was Hikaru. He was a master with the sword who could have very well rivaled her own skills, but his inability to keep a level head in fights hindered him greatly.

`I have a feeling that this is going to take quite some time…especially with this bunch.'

Rin set them straight to work, training with various partners and also worked with each of them privately, honing their skills. The morning had come and gone, yet the group was still out on the fields and had acquired quite an audience. Various soldiers and servants had gathered to watch their infamous human Colonel torture her prey that consisted of a Taka, Kitsune, and two Inu youkai. Even Sesshoumaru had stopped and observed from the balcony of his study with Hakunetsu standing next to him.

He had watched the girl below grow and change through the years into a beautiful and strong woman. He was proud of her, but he had secretly started to care for her in recent years. He would never admit it, even to her, but he knew what he felt and protected it fiercely. He made sure to guard his weaknesses and Rin was his only weakness.

He watched her spar with Hikaru and was inwardly impressed with her skills. He had seen them before, but it still amazed him that a human, never mind a human female, was able to achieve such an advanced level.

Rin ducked under Hikaru's swinging sword and dashed around him, hitting him on the back with the hilt of her sword. She was going to push his control to the limits and Rin knew he was fast approaching it. Hikaru stumbled forward a bit and then turned, with his sword in front of him, glaring at his superior. He wasn't about to let her win and took another shot at her and was greeted with the sound of metal on metal.

Rin stood there with a slight smirk as she easily fended him off with her sword. Pushing him back, she slipped a foot behind his, successfully tripping him. Hikaru fell on his back with an `oomph' and looked up at his Colonel who was just standing there smiling at him. That snapped whatever he had left of his control.

He sprung to his feet and barred his fangs at her, his eyes glowing crimson. He discarded his sword as his body twisted and grew, finally taking the shape of a large black dog. He towered over her and snapped his jaws, secreting a vile acidic saliva that dripped from his mouth on the ground below. The corrosive substance ate away the grass and dirt leaving a hole in the once perfect earth.

Rin stared up at the beast before her and groaned inwardly at having to deal with it. `Is it that unreasonable to ask that he keep a level head?' Normally she would have enjoyed the task at hand, but she was feeling fatigued from only the few previous hours of training and did not wish to compromise herself further. However, as she looked up at the transformed Hikaru, she knew that wasn't an option any longer. Rin held her sword up in defense and waited for him to make the first move; luckily for her, she did not have to wait long.

Hikaru swiped at her with his massive paws, followed by the razor sharp teeth in his mouth. Rin easily avoided the attacks, running underneath him. She grabbed onto his fur and climbed up so she was situated on his back, moving up to his head. He swung his head from side to side, trying to dislodge her without results.

The agile Colonel held on with an iron grip and extracted a spike from her boot, holding above her head. With all her strength she jammed the spike downward, lodging it in a pressure point located in his neck. The agitated Inu youkai immediately stopped trashing about and quieted. Slowly his eyes closed and his gigantic body felt to its side, throwing Rin to the ground.

The crowed cheered and applauded when Rin stood up and dusted her self off. She smiled and proceeded to over to her three remaining fighter's of her group when she felt her vision start to blur and swim. She felt so very dizzy and stopped, pinching the bridge of her nose trying to make it go away.

Her fatigue had grown and now weighed her down. She couldn't focus on her surroundings as her head spun. The steel sword dropped from her hand as she lost the strength to maintain her hold. Her hands fell limply to her sides as her consciousness slipped away, leaving her body to fall to the ground with a soft thud.

Sesshoumaru and Hakunetsu had turned their gazes away from the battle when Rin had stood up and were softly talking, when they heard the resounding gasps and cries from the training fields. The Taiyoukai's and the General's attention immediately snapped back and were shocked at the scene they found. Sesshoumaru saw Rin's body hit the ground and not get up as the demons rushed to her.

He and Hakunetsu jumped down from the balcony and raced to her position and pushed through the crowd. Sesshoumaru knelt down and lifted her body into his arms, while Hakunetsu checked for injuries, but was unable to find any. Sesshoumaru looked down at the woman in his arms as a slight breeze blew through the crowd, bringing her scent to his sensitive nose.

He smelled her familiar scent of apples and was almost lost in it when a softer smell was caught by his sensitive nose. It was subtle, but it was most certainly there. His eyes widened in surprise and he drew back a bit. "She's…pregnant."

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Demoness: Well how was that? Remember my stipulation from the beginning. No reviews…no second chapter. Ok? *grins*

Sesshoumaru: You're a severely twisted individual.