Rin glanced about nervously. The cave walls were dingy and stained with smoke and the floor was littered with bones and straw. This level of dirt was something she hadn't been exposed to since before she'd joined Sesshomaru and it made her a bit nervous. What kind of bugs were hiding underneath all this rubbish?
" You going to be okay here girl?"
She turned to face Kouga. He was leaning against one of the walls and had his arms crossed. " Oh yes, I just...ah........was looking." She plastered a grin on her face.
" I know it's filthy but we haven't really had a reason to clean it until now. Ayame says she'll be down in a little while with some others to help clear stuff out and tidy it up for you though. Kagome said you'd been sick recently," he said that last bit as a question.
" Yes," she looked at the floor, " I wasn't quick enough to get out of the way and a demon fell on me."
" Heh," he laughed as he pushed himself away from the wall, " yheah that would do it. Listen, InuYasha told me that wolves make you nervous and I know..."
" Oh it's alright," Rin interjected quickly, " it's nothing anymore, really."
" Nah, I know those sort of fears affect humans for a long time. I just wanted to promise you we'll be on our best behavior." He snorted, crossing his arms and looking to the side. " Ayame's beaten that into the whole pack so you'll know they'll do it."
" Thank you, I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
" Now," Kouga leaned forward, " you can come and tell the pack about that Sesshomaru guy."
****************
" You put her with a pack of wolf demons?" Sesshomaru's voice was toneless but the chill in the air indicated his disapproval. " Even you are above such....vermin."
Kagome glanced between the two of them and sighed internally.
≤I guess dog and wolf demons just don't get along at all...≥
She got up and went to sit next to InuYasha.
" Sesshomaru," she looked him square in the face, " we both know you worry about Rin's safety but the fact of the matter is that anywhere you put her will likely be found eventually. Either by the human's out there," she waved to the wall of the house, " or by demons in your own household who see her as a threat or a dishonor. Either way there's risks. We've put her with friends..."
InuYasha snorted.
"...friends," she repeated shooting him a dirty look, " who can take care of and protect her quite well."
" That is not for you to decide," Sesshomaru interjected. " I asked that you look after her while she was ill but that did not give you the right to make other decisions." He stood up and headed for the door.
" And where will you put her?" InuYasha stood up and headed for Sesshomaru. " Will you put her at that ocean side place you're building? Oh, surprised I'd heard about that place? Well it's no secret, in fact it's well known. How are you going to protect her from without and within at the same time?"
Sesshomaru fixed InuYasha with a cold look.
" Please, Sesshomaru," Kagome came to stand by InuYasha, " we both care for Rin as well. I'm sorry we didn't consult you first but there was no time. There's a war party camped near here and if they found out..."
His eyes narrowed and Kagome cut herself off. Sesshomaru gazed steely at both of them for several long moments before turning and walking out the door.
" Wow, that was probably the most love filled moment ever for you two huh?" Kagome went back to the table and sat down.
InuYasha snorted. " I'm all gushy inside."
****************
" Sir!"
The human sitting at a low table looked up.
" Report," he snapped at the young man who had rushed up out of breath.
" InuYasha has not joined his brother but the young woman who was staying with them got taken away by a small band of demons."
" An attack?"
" No, she took some things with her."
The man scowled, his eyes narrowing and exposing deep frown lines. " There's more here then I'd thought. See what you can find out."
****************
Rin sat with her legs tucked beneath her on a pile of straw. All around her wolves and demons were moving and it made her distinctly nervous. Sesshomaru didn't have any wolf demons on retainer at his castle...
" So?" Rin's vision was obscured by a bright eyed woman who plunked herself down in front of her. " Cave cleans up pretty nice doesn't it? I swear though, men wouldn't touch water if they didn't have to drink it."
" It is a wonderful place princess, thank you so much for keeping me here."
" Princess?" Ayame blinked at Rin in surprise for a few moments. " Oh that's not needed, you can call me by name. Now you don't need to be so nervous, we don't eat humans anymore. Plus you're a very nice young lady. Quite a few of the men over there have been eying you."
Rin glanced over at where a number of very young men were casting glances at her. " I know..."
Ayame took a look at her and then leaned foreword. " It's not those whelps who're making you nervous so what is?"
" Ah," Rin glanced around looking for an escape. " I mean it's just...um...I'm afraid wolves make me nervous." She looked sheepishly at Ayame.
" Why? Something happen?"
" I was..." Rin's eyes darted across the pack, " I was killed by wolves once."
" Killed by wolves?" Ayame left a lot of her questions hanging in the air.
" It was just after I met my lord Sesshomaru and I..." she stopped.
" Hmmm," Ayame rocked back and contemplated Rin for a few moments. " Well rest assured I'll beat the snot out of any of them that try anything."
****************
Sesshomaru listened with a mixture of annoyance and grudging respect as one of his generals informed him of the death of one of his allies. It sounded, to his ears, far too much like a trap. A draw, a lure to bring him in. Human alliances, he knew, were such where they often attacked to avenge the death of one. Such foolishness was left out of demon alliances though...unless they were phenomenally stupid.
He sat back to think. He wasn't troubled by any friendship with Ryou-ni but the fact that he'd been destroyed suggested that the humans were stronger then even he had suspected. Ryou had been a significant fighting force, not someone easily taken down. His loss would be a small blow to Sesshomaru's plan.
" The humans seek to draw us in." His hand waved over the map, seeking and finding a spot near Ryou's death that had a large camp of humans. " Their goal is to start a conflict on their own terms."
A boar demon stepped foreword. " My lord we cannot stop retaliation by the lesser demons. They will not sit by and let revenge slip from them."
" Revenge?" Sesshomaru's cold golden eyes slid up to meet the boar's. " They would have their petty excuse to attack satisfied more then amply if they waited...but only if they were any better then fodder. No, their pointless deaths are fine as long as they don't cause the humans to attack before we want them to."
****************
Rin peered around the boulder. She wanted to leave the cave, even just for a few moments, but the entrance was full of wolves and demons. She sighed.
≤Guess not today either...≥
" Looking for somebody?"
Rin startled. Looking over her shoulder was what appeared to be an adult wolf demon with shoulder length blond hair.
" No, not really..." She trailed off.
" Wanted to get outside huh?"
Rin eyed him. This was a wolf demon, he couldn't possibly be as innocent as he looked but at the same time...
" Just for a little bit." She straightened up a bit. " I'm Rin, I don't believe I've met you before," she trailed off, making it a question.
" Oh I think we have," his eyes twinkled merrily. " I'm Ginta."
She looked blankly at him for a few moments, her forehead creasing as she searched her memory. " Ginta....."
He deflated a bit. " I met you when you were much younger," he started to explain, " and I had less hair. I had a streak of it down my head and it was all sticking up like this." He pushed his hair together with his hands so it stood up.
" Ah, I think I remember you," Rin said, clapping her hands together. " You were with that other fellow.....at the river?"
" Yes," Ginta looked pleased. " That was a stressful time."
" Why?"
" Oh, we were just afraid Kouga would pick a fight with Sesshomaru..." he looked off to the side. " Or that...well...you know."
Rin just looked at him.
" Well, it's just...yheah. We got told by our wolves that they'd attacked you and we thought you would tell..."
" You...were the ones........" Rin looked at him blankly for a minute. Ginta looked at her nervously, this wasn't heading in a good direction.
" Thank you for your time," Rin turned and walked toward the entrance. Another demon got up to go with her but she said something and he settled back down.
Jumping slightly at the arm that dropped down on his shoulder, Ginta looked over to see Kouga looking off in the direction that Rin had taken. The wolf demon's face looked strangely blank and Ginta shivered with an ominous feeling of anticipation.
****************
Sesshomaru watched impassively as the plain in front of him filled with armored figures. Priestesses protected by groups of heavily armored warriors marched out toward him. Clearly the forces were more then that of a single warlord.
≤Several must have banded together when they learned I was building an empire. This is starting to resemble His life more then I want≥
Standing in front of a host of demons he impassively viewed the building force in front of him. Even confronted with the impressive man-power he knew that he could have dealt with them all eventually except for the one factor.
Priestesses.
There were likely monks in there as well, but they were less visible. The flowing white and red of the shrine maidens however...those stood out. Easy targets they might seem but one who was well trained could probably pick off a horde of demons before being overwhelmed. Add the escort around her and this would be a costly battle for both sides.
He narrowed his eyes. Cost did not, would not, concern him. Those that deserved to live would do so.
****************
Rin started running for the trees before even realizing why. Around her the whistling noise grew louder before it became intermixed with the yelps of the injured and the sharp ping of metal nicking stone. A sharp pain in her hip caused her to falter and trip and she fell hard. Without even pausing she tucked into a roll, biting her lip enough to bleed as she felt a shaft enter deeper into her hip before angling back and snapping.
≤Fire....my hip is on fire.....≥
She continued her roll, there was no way she could get into the trees cover on her feet. Deep thunks told her that arrows were whizzing into the soil near her head. She kept a desperate eye on the tree line so close...so temptingly close.
****************
Kouga's immediate concern was finding the archers and destroying them. He ran up the mountain side in bounds, intent on the area where the arrows were taking to the sky. Avoiding getting shot by leaping out of the way at the last second he grew angrier with each step, almost reach full rage when suddenly he smelled blood.
Human blood.
≤Behind me?≥
Kouga looked over his shoulder and scanned the ledge below. The bodies of his fallen comrades and...there...the human girl was rolling toward the trees as arrows fell thickly around her, leaving a trail of blood.
A sound of frustration welled up in his throat. " Great, just fucking great." He ran downhill for her. " InuYasha's always giving us fucking trouble."
****************
Rin panted heavily. Her heart felt like it was trying to crawl out her mouth and she could barely hear the zing of arrows or yells of the injured and enraged past it's pounding. The pain in her leg throbbed, demanding her attention.
≤Sesshomaru-sama....≥
A rough hand pulled her up, jarring her leg so badly she lost her breath.
" Get up, we're getting out of here."
She blinked back the moisture that flooded her eyes at the pain and Kouga slung her over his back.
" You have to treat a girl gently," a soft voice commented from behind them.
Kouga turned sharply, spinning Rin so she couldn't focus on where the voice had come from.
A moment of light and an agonizing pressure on her wound caused a moment of the purest pain Rin had ever known before she gave into the blackness that coated the edge of her vision
