InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hurtful Words: Past & Present ❯ The Present: Chapter 15 ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is Copyright of Takahashi Rumiko

Hurtful Words: The Present
Chapter 15

"These fox youkai are nothing like Shippou. We shouldn't have come. I should have called for Inuyasha."

Kagome fixed her kimono and tried to tame her hair, wishing she had shot the youkai with an arrow when she had the chance. But Rin had become so calm so quickly and oddly enough, that kept her from panicking and doing something reckless. Apparently Rin knew all to well how to handle herself in a hostage situation.

They had carried her and Rin to their underground den, moving at an incredible speed. She had not known they could move so fast and she certainly did not know they lived in a pack like Kouga. She was not really sure how far they had traveled but she hoped it was not to far from Inuyasha. She wanted him to come for her as quickly as possible.

"These fox youkai are much more wild than him, I'm sure," Rin eyed the one who had carried her, warning him against any ideas she was sure he had formed. "They have probably come from much rougher territories where they had to join together in order to survive. They are, therefore, much more despicable and ruthless."

"Now, now. That is not a very nice thing to say about captors. If you talk like that, what is to stop us from hurting you?" Masao asked as he stripped Rin of her weapon and tied her hands together.

"If you knew who you were dealing with you would not put your hands on me at all," Rin glanced at the youkai who had given her so much trouble every time she went to check on the swords.

"Is that another one of your silly threats?" Masao grinned as he asked the question. "Tell me then, who are we dealing with?"

"Have you heard of the great taiyoukai that ruled the Western Lands many years ago? Those swords were made from his fangs."

Masao arched his eyebrow. "I've heard rumors of him. But do you speak of the truth?"

"What reason do I have to lie? You yourself could sense how powerful those swords are. Now you know the source of that power. There is a problem however..." she trailed off.

"And that is?"

"Those swords were given to his two sons. And those sons are currently on their way here."

"Now you are lying. Why would the sons of such a great youkai lord keep the company of humans? You," he pointed to Kagome. "Are that hanyou's mate. That much I can smell. But what of you, my little vixen. Why did they let you live after you have hidden their swords for so long?"

"They have their reasons, none of which are any of your business. What I have told you is true and if you are smart, you will let us go if you value your lives," she met his eyes then, careful to look deathly serious.

Masao smiled. "Why don't you and your friend have a seat? You should relax before your friends get here." He turned and walked away.

Rin sat, arms and legs crossed, and pressed her back against the wall of the den. She eyed the two guards Masao had left and set her mind to work.

Kagome joined her and sent her a nervous look. "What are you thinking Rin? You look entirely too much like Sesshoumaru with that evil look in your eyes. You're not going to do something reckless are you?"

When the guards turned to look at them, Rin smiled as sweetly as possible. "Of course not," then she nodded yes when they turned away. "I will wait patiently for Sesshoumaru-sama to come for me and destroy them." she said loudly enough for their guards to hear.

"Sesshoumaru...sama?" Kagome leaned closer to whisper to Rin. "What is with the change of attitude toward Sesshoumaru? Have you realized that he really does care for you?"

Rin looked away, hiding her hurt expression. "He will come for me regardless of whether he cares or not. They have insulted his honor and his pride by using me to get to him. He's never liked when people have done so and for crossing him, they will pay."

"Still, that doesn't mean he doesn't care. Inuyasha was right, you know. Sesshoumaru hasn't come for Tetsusaiga in a long time. I don't think he meant what you think he did," when Rin said nothing, Kagome continued. "Did you ever consider that he was only admitting that he cared about you when he said what he did?"

Rin looked at Kagome. "What do you mean?"

"Well, in order to use Tetsusaiga, you have to care a great deal for humans. It was created to protect humans and since Sesshoumaru doesn't really care for them, Tetsusaiga's barrier rejects him. But now he says he can get past the barrier. I think when he said 'Because I kept Rin around, I can use Tetsusaiga' he really meant 'I care about Rin, I can use Tetsusaiga.' What do you think? You know Sesshoumaru better than anyone. He isn't a very emotional person and I am sure that like Inuyasha, he is quite reluctant to openly voice his feelings. They both have their own ways of showing they care. Ways that are different from what we would expect."

Rin stared at her lap, unable to respond. It would explain quite a few things, she realized. He had always come for her when she was kidnapped and he had protected her, even now. Tenseiga had protected her for him. How could she deny he cared? She had not been able to do so when she was a child, even though Jaken told her otherwise, and though she had denied it quite recently, she could no longer do so. He cared, he always did, he had said in her dream. How could she face him again after she had run away so foolishly? Her behavior implied that she was ungrateful and unappreciative of all the things he had done for her. She did not deserve anything from him, not even his forgiveness.

"You belong with me, only with me." No. She didn't even deserve that much.

"Don't be sad, Rin. That is your name right? I am sure your youkai friend will be here shortly. But if he refuses to hand over his sword in exchange for you, well, then you may have something to be sad about."

Rin lifted her head and stared at the new fox youkai standing beside Masao. Her eyes quickly went hard and dangerous. "Oh I am not worried about that. I am simply sad for your families. I am sure it will be hard for them to lose their father or brother."

The new man grinned. "Masao told me you have quite the mouth. Bring her to me," he gestured to one of the guards. "He may have no choice but to tolerate it, but I, on the other hand, do not."

Rin stood before the man, head held high and defiantly. "Oh? Are you someone important?" She did her best to look unimpressed.

"I am Seiji, leader of this pack of fox youkai."

"Ah, so you are the weakling who ordered his men to retrieve the swords. It explains why they failed so miserably."

She had expected the slap and therefore the force from it only made her head turn. She looked back up at him, defiance still in her eyes.

"Watch your mouth, wench," Seiji said simply. "Tell me more of the great lord of the Western Lands and his two sons."

"Lord Sesshoumaru and Lord Inuyasha, sons of the great inu-taiyoukai who once ruled the Western Lands. What more do you need to know before they come to destroy you?"

"How is it that you know all of this? All three of them are before your time. They could simply be lying about their lineage," Seiji suggested.

"First you insult them by attempting to use us as bait for their swords and now you call them liars? Your death will surely come swiftly. They will not hand over the swords to the likes of you. You're wasting your time and throwing away your life."

Seiji narrowed his eyes and reached out to grab Rin's throat. "You are lying. Simply making up stories in order to place some sort of value on your worthless life. I am sure you are nothing to those youkai as I am sure your story is not the truth."

"Oh no, I'm telling the hard truth. You are going to die. Especially if you continue to harm me. My lord will not be pleased."

He slapped her again and this time she fell. "Put her back on her feet and wait here until you receive a signal to bring them to the surface. From all the noise outside we can assume her lord is drawing near. Come Masao, we must prepare."

Rin refused their assistance and rose to her feet on her own. She sat next to Kagome and wiped the small trace of blood from her lip. "Baka."

"You are quite brave Rin, standing up to him like that," Kagome said quietly.

"I must be strong. If I am strong, Sesshoumaru-sama will not worry about my safety. If he does not have to worry about my safety, he can fight with ease. I am sure it is the same with Inuyasha. If he smells your fear, he will worry and might do something drastic and endanger himself."

"I never thought of it that way. I am sure you must have had to be very strong while traveling with Sesshoumaru."

"Hai, strong and clever." She watched as hundreds of fox youkai exited a small tunnel and made their way to the surface. She quickly decided what she would do.

"On your feet, wenches," one of the guards ordered. "Your precious youkai lords will be here very shortly."

Rin winked at Kagome as she got to her feet and turned to the guards. "May I..." she hesitated and then continued when they gestured to her. "May I have a moment to relieve myself?" She squirmed for emphasis.

The guards looked at each other and nodded. One grabbed her arm and led her to a small crevice in the wall. "Hurry up."

"Hai," she quickly slipped inside.

Masao appeared at the den entrance and anxiously looked around for his missing hostage. "What the hell are you doing? Where is the other girl?"

One guard jumped and looked up at Masao. "She had to relieve herself."

"We don't have time for that, she will simply have to wait. Get them up here now," he yelled angrily.

"Hai, Masao. I apologize."

He went to retrieve Rin and immediately stumbled back when her scream and un-lady like curses pierced the air.

Masao growled. "Just tell her to hurry!" He disappeared from the entrance.

"Hey!" Rin cried. "I can't get up. Can you give me a hand?"

The guard went to her slowly, hoping she would not scream again. But she made no sound and suddenly it became very quiet inside the den. The other guard stared at his partner's back, wondering why he was not allowing the girl to exit. When the scent of blood reached his noise, he quickly rushed forward and drew his sword. His partner stepped backwards and fell atop him. His sword clattered as it hit the ground beside him, he cried out in pain as his partner's sword pierced through his chest.

Rin pulled the blade from the first guard and wiped it clean.

"Rin! What...what are you doing? How did you get that blade?" Kagome rushed forward, diverting her eyes away from the fallen youkai.

Rin quickly cut through the rope that bonded Kagome's hands together. "Sango always said to keep a second weapon hidden from sight." She bent down, lifted her kimono, and placed the blade back in the sheath attached to her leg. "We should hurry." She grabbed Kagome's hand and quickly darted for the tunnel she had seen the many youkai leave from earlier.

"Should we be going down here? What if there is no way to get out? We should stay as close to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru as possible." Kagome asked, trying to talk some sense into the young girl.

"No, it is more important that we do not distract them. It appears that everyone is going to the surface to fight. By the time they realize we have escaped, it will be to late for them."

They turned when they heard Seiji bellow out an angry order. "Or not. Looks like they have caught on. Let's keep going."

"Keh, cowards! Where are you going!" Inuyasha called out as the fox youkai retreated before the fight began.

"Do you use your ears Inuyasha? Rin and Kagome have escaped. They cannot make demands without hostages." Sesshoumaru withdrew Toukijin and rushed forward.

Inuyasha followed suit and unsheathed Tetsusaiga. "Better take care of them before they catch Kagome again." I'm coming, my mate. He quickly followed after his brother.

They made their way into the den, following the fox youkai deeper underground. Some stopped to fight, others continued to flee. Though Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were out numbered by at least three hundred, the fox youkai were no match for them in such a small space. True they were quick on their feet, but the long tunnel was to narrow for them to dodge the inu-youkai's attacks. By the time they reached the end of the tunnel, the number of fox youkai had diminished greatly.

The tunnel opened up to the top of what appeared to be a hollow mountain. What remained of the fox youkai forces were here, running around looking for more weapons, looking for their leader to tell them what to do, looking for the hostages. None of them paid attention to the two inu-youkai that watched them from above. But soon, everyone’s attention fell on Seiji as he rounded on the two cornered hostages.

"You stupid wench!" Seiji shoved Kagome to the ground and pushed Rin against the wall. "And you! I should have known you would be trouble. Fuck your precious lord and those swords. Killing you will give me much greater pleasure."

He slapped Rin with the back of his fist, knocking her to the side. She tripped over Kagome and fell awkwardly on her leg, crying out in pain. Pleased, he towered over her and withdrew his sword, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Tenseiga," Sesshoumaru said lowly, his voice harsh and angry.

The blade pulsed and quickly flew from Sesshoumaru's side. There was a flash of white light as Seiji's sword collided with the swords barrier. Rin grabbed the sword as the barrier disappeared and held it closely. She edged closer to Kagome as Seiji made another attempt to strike her, only to be stopped by the barrier once again. Rin looked at him with fire in her eyes.

"This sword, it is Tenseiga, one of the swords you were after. And that man," Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru. "is my Lord Sesshoumaru. As you can see, he doesn't look very happy."

Seiji looked up and stared at the two inu-youkai. He set his jaw and glared. "Kill them!" He ordered.

"No one escapes," Sesshoumaru said as he looked over at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha took a step back, disturbed by the tint of red in Sesshoumaru's eyes. "You should calm down. I want to hurt him as much as you do but there is no reason to lose yourself to that desire."

"No one."

Sesshoumaru jumped from the ledge, landing just a few feet in front of Seiji. As he walked forward, other fox youkai eagerly stepped aside, frightened by the angry inu-youkai. He did not bother to even spare them a glance. He kept his eyes locked on Seiji, feeding off the fear he smelt. A small smile graced his lips as he quickly withdrew Toukijin and blasted a hole beside Rin.

"Rin." Sesshoumaru looked at her and met her eyes. "Go."

Rin could only stare. He was angry. The last time she had seen him so angry was when she had followed him during his fight with the bat youkai. He had transformed to frighten her away, to keep her out of harms way. Was he so angry that he would transform again in order defeat those who had kidnapped her?

"Go."

She jumped and quickly snapped out of her trance. She winced as she tried to get to her feet, realizing only now that she had twisted her ankle. But with Kagome's help, she was soon limping through the hole Sesshoumaru had created, Tenseiga held closely against her chest. She turned slowly to look at Sesshoumaru, found that he was looking at her. Their eyes met, her heart sank, he swung Toukijin once more. The wall crumbled and blocked the path back into the mountain.

Kagome and Rin sat together, ignoring the screams and explosions just beyond the mountain, and waited patiently.

Thank s for reading.

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