Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Camaraderie	By : BlackberryPatch Category: InuYasha > Yaoi - Male/Male > InuYasha/Sessh?maru > InuYasha/Sessh?maru Views: 16228 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
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6
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Beaten

Rin was lost.
She was sure she'd headed in the right direction; she knew the river had to be ahead of her, just a little bit further... She brushed rain out of her eyes without even pausing to look worriedly up at the sky. Even though in her heart she was filled with unease she refused to let it show as she worked her way determinedly toward where she knew her lord was waiting for her.
She didn't see the snake demon slithering its way toward her until it was almost too late. Some sixth sense prompted her to turn toward it and see it just as it moved to strike at her, and she responded instinctively, flinging herself away from it and screaming loudly. It hissed in disappointment as it missed but quickly gathered for another attack. Scrambling backwards, Rin tried to regain her feet so she could run, but the grass was slicked down by the constant rain of the past few days and she couldn't find enough purchase. At the last minute she managed to grab onto an exposed tree root and, using it as purchase, crawled quickly over it just as her attacker struck again, her quick exit making this strike fall an inch too short. She used the trunk of the tree to push herself to her feet and started running. She could hear her pursuer hissing in anger as it gained on her; she closed her eyes and kept running, her mind crying the words she didn't have breath for, Lord Sesshomaru... Lord Sesshomaru, save me...
She tripped and, knowing her attacker was close enough not to miss this time, she curled in on herself and found enough breath to give voice to her mental chant. "Lord Sesshomaru!"
There was a pause, then the sound of ripping flesh, the feel of a shadow falling over her, and Rin opened her eyes, supremely aware of the fact that while she had heard flesh tearing it had not been hers. She looked up at the creature that stood before her, with its long silvered hair... "Lord Se-" she began joyously, but cut herself off. "Inuyasha," she said more quietly, happy to see him, but aware that he was probably rather angry with her at the moment.
This thought was substantiated as he turned to glare at her. "What the hell were you thinking, running away like that?!" He looked like he would have liked to hit her, but he directed his attack at Shippou as the fox demon arrived late on the scene.
"Inuyasha, wait up for me!" he panted as he came running up, only to recoil from the half breed with an, "Oww! What was that for?" Shippou pouted as he rubbed his head and came over to stand by Rin, asking her, "Are you all right?"
"Yes," she responded quietly. "I'm sorry I left." She looked up at them both. "I didn't mean to be any trouble. I just... I need to find Lord Sesshomaru."
Inuyasha sighed. "I know," he growled softly. He glanced out into the stuttering rain that had again begun to fall, as if thinking that if he looked hard enough the grey misty day would produce what he sought. "We're gonna go look for him." Rin brightened instantly, her expression transformed into one of joy. "And Kagome," Inuyasha continued, glancing at Shippou who nodded fiercely.
Rin took Shippou's hand. "Lord Sesshomaru will protect Kagome until we find them," she said with certainty. Shippou looked doubtful, but nodded.
--

Kagome shivered. The sky was dark and overcast but at least it had stopped raining for the moment. The days of drizzling rain had blurred together and seemed endless; the memory of sunlight was amazingly distant. She wrapped her arms around herself, in the absence of a coat, and rubbed them in an attempt to generate warmth. Shaking her head she tried to return to what she was supposed to be doing, but she could only frown at the apparently random collection of dirt displayed before her and say dully, "I don't get it."
Sesshomaru moved up beside her where she knelt on the riverbank and traced a claw through one of the sections of the dirt there. "This is mountain soil," he said, taking some of the dark, heavy soil and rubbing it between his fingers. "The flood began further upstream from here."
Kagome nodded, shivered, and rubbed her arms again. Sesshomaru looked at her oddly. "It is time we stopped for the evening," he said. Kagome nodded dully, not really thinking about it. She stood up and was about to follow Sesshomaru to wherever he'd picked out for them to stay when he suddenly picked her up and started carrying her. A little surprised, Kagome found that her head was too muzzy for her to really care too much about what was going on. She leaned against the warmth that held her, and drifted into a doze.
When she came to she was laying on dry ground, covered with a warm, heavy blanket, and there was the beginnings of a cheery fire starting up near her. She glanced up toward the ceiling to see that they were in a cave, which explained the dry ground. Out the mouth of the cave she could see a small clearing and, just beyond that, the edge of a thick forest. Sesshomaru, kneeling near her, fed more branches to the fire and glanced over at her. "You are ill," he said quietly, disapproval in his voice.
She blinked at him in the dim, flickering light; he looked funny for some reason, and it took her a moment to figure out it was because he wasn't wearing the outer kimono she was so used to seeing him in. She sat up a little and glanced at the blanket covering her, only to find a familiar red and white pattern clutched between her fingers. "I..." she started, but she knew she was getting sick and her thoughts weren't following each other in anything resembling a logical order. She completely forgot what she'd been going to say. "I'm sorry," she said instead. He seemed angry with her that she'd gotten sick, and apologizing never usually got her in trouble, but he narrowed his eyes at her.
He turned back to the fire. "The fault is mine."
She blinked. His voice was so soft she wasn't sure she'd heard that right. "But..."
He shook his head. "I promised Inuyasha I would protect you." He rose and glanced at her. "I will go and find food for you. Is there anything else you require?" She stared at him dumbly. He shifted his weight. "You will be alright in my absence," he said firmly, as if challenging someone or something to disagree with him.
Kagome looked down at the kimono spread over her. She noticed her bow and arrows lying near her hand, which she hadn't noticed before. She glanced over at the fire, which was developing a healthy blaze. "Yeah." She looked up and smiled, albeit somewhat blearily. "I'll wait for you." It seemed a stupid thing to say, she thought right after the fact- where else did she have to go?- but his eyes were warm on her and one corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
He nodded. "I will return as swiftly as is possible." She blinked and he was gone. She thought she caught sight of a silvered blur in the darkness of the trees beyond the clearing, but it could have been wishful thinking.
She sat and looked out at the rain for awhile, but she felt lethargic and, with nothing else to do, soon fell asleep. She pulled the heavy silk kimono close against her face; it smelled of strength and safety and vaguely like Inuyasha.
When Kagome woke up again it couldn't have been more than half an hour later. She noted, abstractedly, that the fire was still blazing away, as if someone had been feeding it. She sat up slowly; her head felt like it might fall off, or explode, and neither prospect seemed all that entertaining.
Across the fire from her something moved, and she strung an arrow to her bow almost faster than she thought about what she was doing.
Whatever it was stopped moving. "Kagome," a familiar voice said, and she relaxed, the bow falling from her fingers, her hands going to her head to hold it tenderly.
"Kouga?" She squinted at him, her voice incredulous; she could feel his jewel shards, now that she focused on them, but he was the last person she had been expecting to see. "What are you..." She trailed off, breaking out in a coughing fit. He came and knelt beside her, his bright blue eyes looking worried.
"You're sick," Kouga stated, the concern in his voice drew her eyes to him and stifled her slightly hysterical desire to demand that people stop telling her that, she was quite aware of the fact thank you.
"I'm okay," she protested, insanely half expecting to hear Inuyasha's voice taunting her about the frailty of humans while barely concealing the thread of real concern she could hear underneath the taunt.
Instead, Kouga reached out to take her firmly by the shoulder and push her gently back down to the ground. "Rest." His eyes narrowed as his thoughts seemed to be trailing along a similar path to hers. "Where is that dog shit anyway?"
Rolling her eyes, Kagome opened her mouth to say that she didn't know where Inuyasha was, and would Kouga please stop calling him that, and she really didn't have the energy to deal with this right now, but she was interrupted as the shadow of a form moved just outside of the cave.
Sesshomaru regarded Kouga with ill concealed malice as he entered the cave quietly; in his left hand he held a sack and around his other hand was a threatening glow that brought to her mind some rather horrible images as she considered some of the possible uses of his energy whip.
Kouga's eyes shifted as he became aware of a presence behind him; he tensed. Kagome grabbed his arm. "Sesshomaru," she managed to croak out. "No. Please..."
Both demons looked at her, then shifted their gaze to each other. Kouga swiftly evaluated his opponent, and did not like what he found. The other demon looked fully capable of handling himself- which didn't mean Kouga couldn't kick his ass, it just meant it would take longer than he really wanted to spend on such a task at the moment. He moved with a controlled grace and a deadly precision; though Kouga could smell enough of the half breed on the other demon to make some assumptions, their personalities were vastly different- Kouga wasn't going to be able to play around with this one. He shifted his weight, gathering his legs under him. "Kagome, what's going on? Who is this guy?"
She let go of Kouga's arm but didn't relax. "I'm traveling with Sesshomaru right now," she responded, and, while he hadn't asked, she added, "Sesshomaru, this is Kouga. He's a friend."
Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow; "friend"? He rather thought Inuyasha would disagree with that designation. His brother had spoken briefly to him about the annoying wolf demon. Moving closer to Kagome, he ignored Kouga as he wordlessly offered her the contents of the bag he held.
Kagome opened the bad and her eyes widened in surprise. "Where did you get this?" She pulled out soup in a cleverly sealed bowl, still warm from whatever fire had heated it, followed by a collection of vegetables, and in the bottom a canteen of cool water and a roughly hewn wooden spoon. She looked up suspiciously. "Or do I not want to know?"
He raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "There is a village not far away. An old woman there was very helpful, once I explained my situation." She stared at him as she tried to wrap her mind around that mental image; Sesshomaru... explaining himself to a cranky old village woman. She'd probably thrown pots at him beforehand... He must be feeling really bad about her getting sick; it occurred to her that the disapproval she'd heard in his voice earlier had not been directed at her, but rather at himself.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, but Kouga, on the other side of her, felt ignored and decided to make his presence felt.
"You left her here alone?" he demanded, gesturing proprietarily to Kagome. She sighed, seeing blood in the near future. Sesshomaru might have mellowed a bit, and he might be feeling guilty, but she doubted he was going to put up with Kouga's attitude for very long. She thought longingly of rosary beads, and their unique ability to help her diffuse such situations.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed further as his gaze flickered over Kouga to rest on Kagome. "I was gone a short time," he said, speaking to her and not to the wolf demon. "The presence of my scent should have discouraged all but the most idiotic of demons from bothering you." His eyes flickered over Kouga again, and the other demon bristled.
"Please," Kagome tried to break in, "don't fight. Kouga was worried about me, but it's alright," she turned to the wolf demon, "I'm traveling with Sesshomaru right now, and I'm perfectly fine so you don't need to worry." She smiled at him brightly. "So it's great to see you Kouga, but you should leave. Now." Before Sesshomaru decides he's put up with enough, she added mentally. "Please." She looked at Kouga, meeting his eyes. I don't want you to get hurt. She truly enjoyed the demon's companionship and she did not want him tangling with Sesshomaru. She wasn't sure who would win in such an encounter, and she was not eager to find out.
Kouga stood his ground. He opened his mouth.
Kagome prayed.
Sesshomaru sneered. "Apparently stupidity is not the worst of his faults." Kouga moved slightly, as if about to attack, but Sesshomaru locked eyes with him unflinchingly. "She asked you to leave," he said to Kouga and the wolf's head came up as the words hit him. He stared down the taller demon awhile longer, unsure as to how to proceed.
Finally Kouga snorted and, crossing his arms over his chest, said, "Fine. Thought I'd let you know though, Kagome, that I think Naraku is pretty close by."
Her head came up. "What??"
Kouga grinned, turning a slightly gloating look on Sesshomaru, who was watching him with dark intensity. "I was tracking that bitch, Kagura, before it started raining like this." He glanced at Sesshomaru appraisingly. "I think Naraku has something to do with it."
Sesshomaru returned his glance skeptically, but privately thought that, while the wolf was annoying, it was as good a supposition as any.
Kagome smiled at him. "Thank you, Kouga."
He nodded and, eyeing Sesshomaru warily, moved toward the mouth of the cave. "You sure about this, Kagome?" he asked one last time. When she nodded, he nodded in return before glaring at Sesshomaru. "If she doesn't get better, dog face, I'm gonna have to hunt you down and make you pay!" With that, he was gone in a flurry of wind.
Kagome closed her eyes and sighed, rubbing her temples with shaking fingers. She looked up, unsure of what Sesshomaru's response to that parting jab was going to be. To her surprise, he looked like he was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. "Sesshomaru?" she asked warily.
He looked at her. "I'm not going to kill him," he said affably; it made her hair stand on end. He grinned, showing a bit too much tooth for Kagome's comfort. 'Not yet anyway."
"Oh joy," she murmured between closed teeth as she bent her head to attend to the meal he'd brought her, and also to hide her amusement. Kouga knew how to get a rise out of just about anyone, but it meant that when he was around things were never boring.

--

Inuyasha looked up at the darkened sky and silently sighed. The slender sickle of the moon stared back down at him mockingly.
"Inuyasha?"
He turned toward the quiet voice, but his attention was still up in the sky. After raining intermittently all day, it had finally stopped, apparently for good, as they were having dinner. Rin was wearing the highly weather resistant fire rat haori as her kimono dried out near the fire, close to where Shippou was sleeping. When she saw she had gotten his attention she paused, as if unsure what to say next. She brightened as a topic popped into her mind. "How soon till we find Lord Sesshomaru and Kagome?"
He shrugged and his gaze drifted back to the sky. "I dunno."
She nodded, looking slightly downcast. When he made no effort to continue the conversation, she looked slightly lost. "Where do you think they are?" she prodded.
Slightly annoyed, Inuyasha turned to look at her, but noticed suddenly the uncertain way she was standing. His haori was huge on her, making her look even more small and fragile than she was. Sighing, Inuyasha opened his arms to her. "Come here," he said.
Her eyes opened wide in delight and she didn't hesitate, crawling eagerly into his lap. He held her close. "Everything's going to be alright," he said, the comforting words feeling strange on his tongue, though he'd said similar words not two days ago to Sango. The soft whisper of her contented breath sighed out as she relaxed against the warmth of his body. Hesitantly, he raised one hand and stroked it over her hair. "Everything's going to be alright," he said again.
He closed his eyes. The memory of himself coming to his mother in a similar fashion, asking questions he didn't really want answers to, wanting only the knowledge that someone knew what was going on and that they were going to make everything better, rose unbidden but familiar in his mind. He'd never truly understood that she had known the words were false as soon as she spoke them. But, he realized also, it didn't matter that the words were not true, that she- that he- couldn't have made them true no matter how much such truth was desired. The words had made him feel better, and at the time that was all that had mattered. His arms tightened around Rin and she sighed softly in sleep. Sesshomaru's scent lingered around her, reminding him of warmth and desire... and responsibility. Sesshomaru had pledged to take care of Kagome; Inuyasha could do no less for Rin. He shifted his seat slightly and thought, Tomorrow night. Not that he anticipated the new moon with any particular dread, but never before had he been the sole guardian of two younglings on such a night.
He looked up at the sky again.

--

Sango woke, registering the feeling of sunlight on her face. Soft warmth was under her cheek as well, and she opened her eyes and sat up to look down at Miroku. He appeared to be still asleep; she reached out and brushed along the line of his face with her hand. Apparently he wasn't as asleep as she'd thought- the hand of the arm that'd been wrapped around her while she slept drifted down to brush against the curve of her ass before latching on firmly. She sighed as her delicate touch on his face turned into a half-hearted slap, but she smiled as well. She was very glad he was feeling better.
Miroku glared up at her from one bravely opened eye. "You hit me," he complained in an injured tone. "I'm an invalid."
She snorted. "Hands that are well enough to act like that are well enough to accept the consequences that go along with such actions." She stood, still smiling, and she could see that he was grinning as well. She eased away from him, slipping down the passageway to the mouth of the cave, a strange excitement filling her.
She stepped out of the cave and the dawn sun streamed down over her. Sango let it wash over her, filling her with the warmth that the endless rain had stolen away. She turned to look behind her and saw Miroku, a bit pale, also moving into the sunlight. She reached out to take his free hand in her own. "So I know where it is," she murmured as she twined her fingers with his, subtly helping guide his shaky steps. He chuckled and accepted her aid without protest as he moved unsteadily to stand beside her.
Kirara purled loudly and shook herself as she leapt out into the sunlight, darting around like the little kitten she sometimes resembled as she chased invisible motes of dust. Sango laughed at her. It was amazing how the simple addition of sunlight made them all feel better. She hadn't realized how down the rain had had her until now. She squeezed Miroku's hand in a silent apology. She and Kagome had been so wrapped up in trying to figure out what was going on with Inuyasha that she'd sacrificed her relationship with Miroku because of it. It wasn't something she was proud of, but she was determined that nothing like that was going to happen again.
He squeezed her hand back and looked over at her, color already coming back into his face even though his other arm was still strapped tightly across his chest. "I suppose it's about time we started looking for the others."
Sango nodded in agreement. "If you're up to it, I'm ready as well."

--

Happy laughter echoed in Inuyasha's ears as he stood looking out over the sun filled clearing, scenting the wind. There was no rain in the wind that came to his nose, and he was immensely glad for that. He glanced at where Shippou and Rin were running through the tall grass of the clearing chasing each other, energized by the sun, and dodging particularly muddy spots.
About to gather the wild pair and start off on their search, Inuyasha stopped short as the wind brought him a most unwelcome scent. His lip curled reflexively and he moved protectively toward the young pair; Shippou's head came up as he caught the scent as well.
The cessation of a whirlwind heralded the arrival of the source of the unwelcome scent and Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga almost reflexively.
Kouga grinned at him darkly. "What're you planning on doing with that oversized knife, dog shit?" he sneered and slipped easily to the side, as Inuyasha swung at him out of irritation, continuing to taunt the half demon. "You seem more bad-tempered than usual; did you lose something maybe?"
Inuyasha froze before turning to glare at Kouga. "Where's Kagome?!" he demanded. "You've seen her."
Shippou materialized, as if drawn by the mere mention of his idol's name, Rin trailing after him slightly confused. "Where's Kagome?" Shippou echoed, trying his best to glare at Kouga malevolently.
Kouga ignored both repetitions of the question and sniffed at Rin inquisitively. "What is this," he threw a puzzled looked at Inuyasha, "did you and the tall guy swap women?" He regarded Rin again. "You know dog shit, I think this one is more suited to you. Leave Kagome alone why don't you?"
Inuyasha growled threatening and swiped at the wolf, but his attack was halfhearted at best and Kouga told him so, very descriptively. "Shut the fuck up," Inuyasha snarled in response. "Where did you see them?!"
"Oh, so you want me to talk?" Laying on the speed, Kouga ran a few laps around the trio. He was definitely starting to get into a better mood after his depressing encounter with Kagome and Sesshomaru earlier; taunting Inuyasha was one of his favorite pastimes. "Make up your mind. Do you want me to say something or shut up?"
About to respond, Inuyasha was interrupted and the attention of the entire group was pulled to the other end of the clearing as an unearthly roar cut through the warm morning. The three demons went still, heads up, as they tried to determine the source of the noise; Rin inhaled deeply and darted behind Inuyasha.
The roar sounded again and a strange limb lifted above the trees of the forest across the way from them; it came down within the boundary of the clearing and they could see it more clearly. Whatever kind of demon it was looked dark and smooth, and seemed to have a hard time holding a shape, oozing along. Inuyasha inhaled, trying to catch the creature's scent, but all he could smell was the unwelcome return of the scent of rain. His lip curled; there was something very not right about the creature that was still working its way over and through the trees and into the clearing. He spared a flickering glance at Kouga- apparently the wolf demon also felt the wrongness.
Kouga felt the thrill of danger whisper through him. All his senses focused on the strange, viscous demon that had paused and raised what appeared to be its head as it tried to catch its bearings. It gave off no scent, other than it seemed to blend in easily with the smell of rain that had dominated his nose for the past several days, and a faint whiff- so faint, that Kouga wondered if he was imagining it- of Kagura. His teeth bared instinctively when he caught that faint trace; if there was one thing he enjoyed more than taunting Inuyasha, it was imagining Kagura meeting a bloody end upon his claws.
The demon appeared to retain no shape, oozing gelatinously toward the group. They did not remain frozen watching it for very long; Inuyasha shifted the Tetsusaiga in his grip as he started running toward the creature with great leaping bounds, his long hair blowing back in a sudden wind as Kouga slipped past him. The demon did not appear to make any change as Kouga zipped toward it, not recognizing the approach at all. The wolf demon paused a moment, coming to a stop to shout something up at the strange demon that, drifting back on the wind, sounded to Inuyasha like "Hey ugly!" The creature didn't respond. Inuyasha neared the pair; Kouga was shouting something else and the creature appeared to be ignoring him. As he came closer, Inuyasha could see that the creature didn't seem to have skin; instead its surface rippled and shivered, almost like dark water. It reached out a tenuously formed limb toward him and he swung Tetsusaiga. The blade passed through the creature smoothly, like cutting through water, and seemed to cause the strange demon no harm.
"Make it count next time. dog shit!" Kouga shouted, and, whipping past Inuyasha, dealt a rapid fire series of kicks to the creature's main body. The wolf's kicks impacted against the surface of the strange demon, but other than a slight ripple of its outer skin it gave no indication that it felt Kouga's attack at all. It reached out again toward Inuyasha, as if to satisfy some curiosity, but continued to move past the pair, straight toward Rin retreating across the field away from the creature, Shippou guarding her back.
Inuyasha growled softly; putting on a burst of speed he got between the creature and the young fox demon. Sheathing Tetsusaiga, he grabbed Shippou by the back of the haori. He leapt forward and scooped Rin up in his other hand. Moving them to the safety of the trees, Inuyasha turned back toward the strange demon. It was still coming toward them, faster than it had been before, completely ignoring Kouga's attacks. Growling again, Inuyasha pulled out his sword. "Get out of the way!" he shouted at Kouga, and summoned the Wind Scar, the attack hitting the creature head on as the wolf demon dodged easily to the side.
The creature paid about as much attention to Tetsusaiga's attack as it had to Kouga's, only rippling slightly before it kept coming. Inuyasha snarled in irritation. He glanced at Shippou but saw that fox had Rin by the hand and they were continuing to run away. Good. Returning his attention to the strange demon he tried every attack he could think of on the creature; not one of them affected the monster any more than the first one had. At some point he was aware of a frustrated Kouga leaving, but the information meant little to him as he pressed on to try something else. Finally, he stood panting, the creature still coming, his mind completely empty of attacks he could try, and the sun balancing precariously on the horizon.
He glanced at the sun and started. Snarling in irritation he turned and, sheathing Tetsusaiga, ran in the direction Shippou and Rin had gone.
He caught up with them on the far bank of a river; they looked up at him worriedly and hopefully. He sighed, his hands balling into fists as he wracked his brain for some way out of this predicament, some way to get the creature to stop following them. He glanced back to see how much time he had before the sun set, and as if by some cruel joke or chance of hope, in that minute he thought he caught Sesshomaru's scent, just as the light of the sun was devoured by the rim of the world and it passed beneath. Inuyasha breathed in deeply, what he had just smelled giving him a sudden hope, as darkness and blindness fell over him suddenly and silver melted out of his hair as his nose deadened to the smells that filled the night. Shippou gave a small "eeep" of surprise, having not been paying attention to the cycle of the moon. Rin was shocked. "Inuyasha?" she asked, worriedly touching his sleeve. "Are you alright?"
"It's the new moon," Shippou said, fear in his voice as he glanced behind them. Rin seemed comforted that what had happened to Inuyasha was nothing out of the ordinary, having never seen the half demon on the night of the new moon before, but she also looked worried about their pursuer. The strange demon was getting closer as they stood there, crashing through the underbrush- they could hear its approach. It paused when the change passed over the half demon, and let out another unearthly roar, redoubling its pursuit. Inuyasha looked up sharply in the direction the creature was coming from.
The creature broke out of the trees on the bank of the river, but for all that it looked and smelled like it was made of water, it was reluctant to touch the river. It reached out a tentacular limb over the water, toward Inuyasha and the two children. Shippou shivered. "Shippou," Inuyasha whispered, "Do you smell anything?" Shippou glanced at him, confused. "Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said. Rin brightened instantly, clinging to Inuyasha's sleeve as she glanced around at the darkening forest as if hoping to see her lord appear.
Shippou looked doubtful, but raised his nose to the wind. "I don't..." he started, but suddenly he caught the scent too. "I smell him!" He sounded excited, and added, "And Kagome too!" He moved away from the edge of the river, into the forest, toward the source of the scent.
"Go to them," Inuyasha said firmly, pushing Rin after Shippou. "I'll... try and stop it." He pulled out his sword again, glancing sardonically at the untransformed blade. Rin paused a moment, looking at Inuyasha worriedly, before she moved after Shippou. When she moved away the creature trembled, and a second limb reached toward her while the first one continued to reach toward Inuyasha. Narrowing his eyes as a sudden thought occurred to him, Inuyasha called out, "Shippou, Rin! Come back for a moment."
Rin came back almost instantly, Shippou returning more reluctantly as he regarded the creature across the river with a distaste that was an act to cover his fear. "Shippou, go that way, along the bank of the river for a bit," Inuyasha directed the fox kit, and Shippou, looking at him as if he was crazy, did so. The strange creature did not move, its tentacular limbs reaching toward Inuyasha, crouched on the riverbank, and Rin, clinging to his sleeve, one hand wound in his dark hair, as the creature got closer. "Rin," the half demon said to her softly, "go toward Shippou." She nodded and went reluctantly. The creatur'e's smaller limb followed her. Inuyasha stood and moved toward the pair, the creature rumbling softly as it followed him along the bank.
Inuyasha sighed in annoyance as several things fell into place. "Shippou," he called. The demon kit looked up at him. "I want you to run to Kagome and Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said to him, watching as the creature managed to finally find a way across the river and started oozing itself over the water. "It won't follow you," he said with confidence; Shippou looked at him doubtfully. "Shippou, it only hunts humans," he said softly. Rin looked up at him, fear widening her eyes. Shippou's eyes widened as well, with understanding. He nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but glanced over at the creature and suddenly he was gone, running as fast as he could through the trees.
Inuyasha pulled Rin's shivering body against him as he glared at the creature. Rin pulled at his haori, and an idea leapt into the half demon's mind. He pulled open the garment. "Rin, here put your arms around my neck. I'm going to carry you." He wrapped the fire rat cloth around her tightly; hopefully even if she couldn't hold on he wouldn't drop her. He felt her legs going around his waist as she clung to him. Glancing up, he saw the creature coming toward him. He took off running into the forest, on a course parallel with Shippou's, without looking back.
Rin clung to him desperately, shivering. Once she glanced over Inuyasha's shoulder to see the strange demon getting closer and closer, but after that she buried her head against his neck and looked no more. Inuyasha was breathing heavily as he ran and she fell into the rhythm of the sound of his breath, letting everything else drift away in the steady beat of running.
The rhythm broke; Inuyasha paused in his flight and dodged to the side. Rin gripped him tighter, understanding that the creature had caught up with them. The warm body pressed against her shuddered suddenly, and she heard the impact of flesh on flesh. Inuyasha stumbled, dropping into a crouch to protect Rin beneath him as the creature roared. So scared she couldn't even tremble, Rin whispered over and over again in her mind in a confusing jumble, Lord Sesshomaru... Come find me! Help Inuyasha. Inuyasha, don't get hurt... Lord Sesshomaru...
Gaining his feet again Inuyasha ran on.

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