Rin patted Ah and Un on the head while Jaken watched very bored as she pampered the two headed mount. When would Sesshoumaru-sama return? He was sick and tired of watching this foul child. He had been gone a for more than a day since they found the remains of Inu Yasha's last battle. Ah and Un stopped the pur-like noise it was making. One head stuck it's head up as though it had heard something and was curious, the other remained low to the ground and growled. "What is it Ah? Un?"
Rin turned and saw a very pretty woman. She had black and red hair and clothes a red mark adorned her forehead it was a cresant opening down with a sword through it. She approached Rin and the mount calmly. "Shh," she said calmly and the mount whimpered and lowered it's heads. "Good boys."
"Who are you?" Jaken said leaping up waving the staff, she looked like that miko woman with Inu Yasha, but it couldn't be her.. not with the youki he sensed.
The woman smiled, "There's no need to be so violent." She swiftly took the staff and hit Jaken over the head with it. She turned to Rin and smiled genuinely, "I am Tsukinoshi."
"Are you a youkai?"
"Hmm?"
"Only Youkai and warlords have scary names like that, and Rin thinks you're too pretty to be a warlord, so you must be a youkai like Sesshoumaru-sama."
Heh, I knew it, that toad is with Sesshoumaru... how interesting he has a little human pet. "Rin? Is that you're name?"
"Hai!" Rin clapped her hands together happily, "Would you like some flowers?"
"You know what? Sesshoumaru sent me here to show you a great place to gather flowers? Would you like to go?"
The girl smiled brightly, then stopped, "How do I know he sent you?"
"Do you recognize this?" She asked pulling out tokujin.
"Woman where did you get that!?" She bashed Jaken again with the staff, Rin giggled.
"That's Sesshoumaru-sama's sword!"
"That's right, he gave it to me so that you would know it was ok to go with me."
"YAY!"
Tsukinoshi picked up the girl her eyes flashed blue-gray for an instant and Kagome's smile came through at the girl. "Let's go then shall we?" She turned to Jaken her eyes once again silver, "When he returns make sure you tell Sesshoumaru-sama that this Tsukinoshi decided to babysit Rin for a while." She flashed him a wicked grin that Rin did not see.
~*~*~*~
"Jaken, where is Rin?"
Now would be the perfect time to lie and get rid of the human brat, but if he was caught lying... Better to tell the truth, besides the woman had the Toukujin. "AH! Sesshoumaru-sama! A woman came, she had your Tokujin! She took Rin and this Jaken was helpless to stop her! Please forgive this poor Jaken."
"Which way did they go?"
"West and a little north I think." Sesshoumaru walked toward his mount, "Umm.. Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"What is it?"
"She said her name was Tsukinoshi."
Sesshoumaru stopped and stared at Jaken.
~*~*~*~
Sesshoumaru walked the halls of his father's castle. He was very angry, his father the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands was in love with a human! How could such a great man as he fall for a weak human woman. He did not believe that humans were bad in their own right, but he did not think they were worthy mate-material not for any youkai much less his father. -Ugh- disgusting, just the thought of it. As he walked he soon realized he was not the one who hated this turn of events the most. There was a scream of anger and a crashing sound.
"How DARE he! Spurning me for that frail human trash!" He stopped and listened intently at the door. It was the room of Hinako, one of his father's prospective brides, and his late mother's handmaidens. "I have been with him since before that brat Sesshoumaru was born and this is how he repays me! Pushing me aside for some human bitch!" His eyes narrowed, who did this woman think she was? "Well if that is how it is going to be fine! The only way I'll ever get control of the Western Lands is to kill all of them. Just like I-" Her rant stopped and when the door opened Sesshoumaru was no where to be found. She sniffed the air and her silver eyes burned red.
The adolescent youkai prince found his father and told him of what he heard. A swift and burtal punishment was bestowed upon her. Cast out of her body she cried, "I will not rest till all that bear the blood of the moon are dead! Especially you welp!" * * *
"She's back..."
"Nani? Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"Jaken you remember Hinako?"
"Hai. She was forced to wander without a body... You don't think?"
"That Tsukinoshi, 'The death of the moon', is her?" Sesshoumaru put Jaken on his mount, "Come we must get Rin and my Toukujin back, and we have much to plan for."
"h.. hai Sesshoumaru-sama."
~*~*~*~
"Do we even know which way we're going?" Shippo whined.
Inu Yasha gave the fox a warning look. "Shippo's right," Sango braved to say, "We don't even know where to start looking. Where are we going Inu Yasha?"
"This is the direction Sesshoumaru went."
"Now that I think about it, isn't this the same way we went when we came back from that last fight?" Inu Yasha looked up at the monk, he was right. Come to think of it that youkai they fought had recognized him.
~*~*~*~
Inu Yasha had arrived first on the scene a minute before the others. A female youkai was laughing and randomly swatting at humans as they ran by. She stopped and turned towards him, her red and black hair dancing on the wind. "You! You smell of Inutaisho," she growled, "and that human BITCH!"
~*~*~*~
Inu Yasha suddenly slowed. "What's wrong?" Miroku asked.
"She knew my parents..." he said with sudden realization, the image of the crimson and ebon clad youkai flashed through his mind. "... My mother told me about her once, not long before my parents married, there was a youkai who wanted to marry my father for the power she would attain by his side. She was so angry she planned to kill my father and her. But Sesshoumaru overheard and she was punished. They basically made her a wandering soul. With no body and no way of moving on"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"By what my mother said... she looked like the one we fought the other day."
"So she's been possessing people through the years in order to stay alive?"
"Not just that, mother said she vowed to kill all of my father's line."
"Wow alot of people want to kill you huh Inu Yasha?"
Everyone tired to ignore the fox.
~*~*~*~
Rin was going through her jewelry, Tsukinoshi didn't really mind, it kept the brat quiet, as long as she didn't break anything. Finally she felt like herself again in her own clothes, the girl's odd kimono had been cast aside and she did not really feel like doing anything about it right now. She looked at herself in the mirror and examined the three shikon shards on the chain. She went to grab them to embed them in her for power but they reacted violently to her. That girl! Even now she is keeping the shard's pure! They are right infront of me and I can do nothing with them!
"Tsukinoshi-sama!"
She sighed, "Yes Rin?"
"Where is the flower patch you told me about?"
She knelt infront of the child, her eyes changing to the pleasant blue eyes. "How about we do that later? Why don't we play a game now?" Tsukinoshi cursed, Kagome was taking control again, lucky for her the girl was too confused to know what was really going on. And, not wanting to frighten the child she seemed happy to entertain the brat, at least that meant she wouldn't have to deal with her for a while. Well not directly anyway. "We're gonna play Hide and go seek." Oh great.... that didn't sound too good.
"Ohh Riiin? Where are you?" Tsukinoshi was pissed. Kagome had that girl hiding out in the woods and now she had to find the little brat. She sniffed the air and cursed. This body had not completely changed to suit her yet, her sense of smell had not completely recovered, and it annoyed her that it was always one of the last. Kagome smiled as she heard a rustling off to the side. What am I doing? I should be trying to find Inu Yasha not playing. He probably doesn't even know where to start looking for me. She ran and grabbed the child after a short chase and picked her up in the air.
"Now you go hide Tsukinoshi-sama!" Kagome paused and looked at the girl, what did she call her? Her eyes changed and Kagome felt things get dark and clouded again.
"How about I show you to that flower patch now?" NO! Kagome screamed in her mind, not truly knowing what this beast had in mind for the girl. 'Don't you worry miko, she won't die yet... I still need her alive.' "It's right here." The demon in Kagome's body touched a finger to the child's chest and she slumped over asleep in her arms. "Dream of your little flowers child it's the last time you'll see any."
"Who are you what do you want!?" Kagome screamed from inside as her body took the girl back into the demoness' hideout.
"I want to kill the sons of Inutaisho."
"What?"
"Sesshoumaru and the hanyou Inu Yasha. Thanks to your memories I don't have to look so hard anymore. I know exactly what to look for"
"But how did you find Rin? I didn't know about her!?"
"Grrr, you ask too many questions! Sesshoumaru is possessive, anything he considers his he will look for on principle. I was looking for Jaken, but I opted for Rin instead now SHUT UP!" The youkai put Rin in a cage and left her hideout. "First Sesshoumaru then the runt," she grinned studying he oni blade in her hands.
~*~*~*~
"Sesshoumaru!" The demon prince brought up Tenseiga in just enough time to block his own demon blade. The demon prince did not fear Toukujin's force attack, the blade knew who its real master was.
"Hello Hinako I see your fashion sense hasn't changed."
"So you remember me then?"
"Where is Rin?"
She grinned, "If I told you I'd have to kill you." The two jumped back away to opposite sides of the clearing, eyeing each other. "Of course that's the idea."
"Human bodies suit you well, too bad you weren't just born one."
"If I had been maybe you're father would have married me instead." Sesshoumaru attacked without another word. "Of course then I would not have to have send him off to be killed."
"What?"
"You don't think Ryukotsusei really cared about your father's human wench? A mere thirty years and she would have died of old age. Three decades was nothing to him, and neither was a human." She laughed as Sesshoumaru backed off into a guard posistion. It only showed in his eyes but the prince was quite surprised. "I was the one who sent word that the great dragon Ryuukotsusei was after that human whore. And of course your great father would let no one touch his woman." She laughed harder, "So he died for no reason, not even love! Because the threat was all a lie!"
Sesshoumaru charged him and, as quite a surprise to her, knocked the weapon from her hand then sheathing his sword with blinding speed and lifted her from the ground by her neck. "Where. Is. Rin."
A chuckle escaed her lips, "I have actually angered the stone faced Sesshoumaru? If you kill me you will never find her. At least not before the dear thing starves to death."
Frustrated enough to forget about the human body Sesshoumaru threw her up against a tree. Her eyes and mouth were wide in pain when her body made contact, she fell limply to the ground. "Se...Sesshoumaru."
He turned from picking up his tokujin. "Where is Rin witch?"
"Oh god..."
Her voice.. it's different somehow.
"Sessh..oumaru. You can't l...let her... Kill me!"
"The miko? Where is Rin tell me!"
She smiled weakly, "You.. care for the little girl?" She coughed, "I knew you coulnd't be that... bad a guy."
"Where is she!"
"She's... she.. NO!" her eyes flashed back and forth, "She's in- You won't have her! She's... sleeping- I'll kill you then I'll kill the brat!- I can't.. keep con..tr- Then I'll kill that human spawned brother of yours!- HELP ME!"
Sesshoumaru reached over with his clawed fingers towards her neck, but stopped just as his nails came incontact with her skin. He should just kill her and get it over with! He could find Rin without her, right?
He heard her laughing again, "Should you kill her? I can see the conflict in your eyes. You could find Rin on your own right? But would it be in time? But then you can't kill her anyway... why not? Surely it' not because you care that her brother will miss her? It's the same reason you don't kill Rin. I know you hate humans, or you think you hate them. So why did you stop killing them so randomly? Or do you just like this body?"
Sesshoumaru tapped the back of her neck, the mocking stopped and the wounded form slumped over in unconciousness. Then he pulled out his sword. Tenseiga, can you bind Hinako for now and let Kagome speak? It was half command, half request. He waved the sword over Kagome's body and wrapped her in his tail, in case she awoke with the less helpful of personalities. Her wounds healed and Kagome's eyes opened with a gasp.
"Where is Rin?"
She blinked at Sesshoumaru. "Oh you really pissed her off." He stared at her confused and impatient. "It took us an hour to get here, It was a secrect place in a mountain, by a forest... North east of here I think" He gave her a look that asked for more specific details on threat of death. "Look I don't know! I wasn't completely aware of everything. I think I'd recognize it if I saw it though... I don't know what she knows." He narrowed his eyes at her and flew into the air, her still in his tail. "Uhh could you maybe..."
"No."
"Why not?"
"If Tsukinoshi takes control again it would be best if I already had a handle on her."
"I need to find a way to destory her for good, I can't let her kill you and Inu Yasha." Sesshoumaru did not miss that little slip up(?) about letting her kill him. "There has to be something I can do. I mean I'm the most difficult possession she's had, she's been complaining about that, and she still can't use the shikon shards. Maybe if I can develop my miko powe-" "Stop thinking outloud."
"Well gee EXCUSE ME if I thought you might have some ideas to help out, after all she's a threat to you too ya know." "Not that much of a threat."
"You'd think so but since she doesn't die she has plently of time to learn and then years later you letting her get away is gonna come back and bite you on the butt!" He cast Kagome a queer look. "Hey I just figured since you have a healing sword there might be something you could do!"
"I'm not doing it to help you."
"Of course not. It's payback for helping you find Rin."
"No. Letting you live is your reward."
"That's right getting rid of Tsukinoshi is in your own intrests, right?"
"Right."
"And if you kill me you don't know which body she'll inhabit later so you need me alive to keep track of me...err her."
Does she have to keep spouting such obvious nonesense?
Kagome looked down at her snow white bindings, "Hey you're tail is really soft... and fluffy too." She felt his tail twitch slightly at that remark but he did not say anything. She kept her giggle inside but with his grip on her he could feel her body convulse with even the slightest laughter. Then she felt a slight squeeze on her ribs and abrutly stopped.
~*~*~*~
"Try there." It had been three hours already and they had yet to find a trace of Rin. "Maybe you should smell around for her. I was in control long enough to play a game with Rin out in the woods. I don't know if she knows it but I was intentionally trying to spread our scents around."
Hmmm smart girl... for a human. Though he would never admit it to her. Kagome looked around she was starting to feel really hot and sweaty in this kimono and being wrapped in Sesshoumaru's tail. She had asked for water earlier but he said that she could have some after they found Rin... maybe. A few times during their search Tsukinoshi surfaced, each time Sesshoumaru led Kagome out with stern instructions like. "Get a hold of yourself." and "You can't seriously be that weak, fight woman." and "-sigh- I guess I should just kill you now and get it over with."
It was well into night when Sesshoumaru finally caught on to her scent, from there it didn't take long to find her. He ripped open the cage and took the sleeping child into his one arm. When they emerged from the cave entrance Sesshoumaru glanced back at it He walked a bit further away lay the girl down then summoned his youki whip. A few well placed cracks and the entrance crumbled in on itself. "NO! how dare you welp! I'll rip out you're heart and shove it in your mouth before you- GODAMMIT WOMAN! Will you shut the hell up!" Sesshoumaru put a hand to one of his sensitive ears. Kagome looked at him somewhat good humoredly, "I guess I'll never get my clothes back- You and you're petty concerns." The silver eyes turned violently to Sesshoumaru who was starting to look rather bored. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to-"
The tail squeezed her and she quieted, "Frankly I do not care." He turned to Rin as he heard her stir out of her induced sleep. He was glad that she had been asleep and did not suffer any real harm thus far. "Hello Rin."
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" She ran up to him and hugged him around the knees. "Tsukinoshi-sama is with you?"
"Of course I am you little-" there was a pause as her eyes closed and effort showed on her face. Her blue-gray orbs opened. "She's getting harder to control. Oh hello sweety did you sleep well?"
Suddenly Rin beamed a smile with an idea, "Sesshoumaru-sama! Can I ride on your tail like that too!?"
He blinked at the child, "Perhaps later. We are going home now."
"YAY!"
He scooped up the child and flew into the air. Somehow Kagome did not think this would bode quite well for her.
~*~*~*~
"Inu Yasha we should rest."
"Not until we find Kagome."
"Inu Yasha," Sango began sympathetically, "She could be anywhere by now. How are we supposed to track her?"
Miroku hit his fist to his palm signalling he had an idea. "What if we don't track her?"
"What?!"
"It's just an idea but what if we go back to our last battle sight then track back from there?"
"Nani?"
"Well if the same spirit has a lair..."
"Then we can track the scent of it's former body to it's lair!" Sango finished happily now that they actually had a plan.
"We should go there now then."
Shippo took this moment to whine, "But I'm sleepy!"
Inu Yasha glared at the kit, "Look if people returned to the villiage the scent could be lost I just want to get on the trail, we can follow it tomorrow." Reluctantly the tired humans and kitsune agreed, they had to find Kagome.
~*~*~*~
He skidded to a stop, that smell... it couldn't be! He looked up where the cave in had been and smelled around some more. It was definitely her and a human girl-child and... -ugh- a dog. Wait...
Sniff sniff.
Gods whoever it was was realated to that dog face. Huh? A fourth scent? But it seemed more like a half a scent, like magic, or more like an enchantment. He growled whoever it was cast a spell on her!? Oh they were gonna get it! There was no decision here, Kouga smelled around a bit more than dashed off towards the west in search of Kagome.