**Author's Note: The events of this story take place early on in the series, around season 2 after Inu Yasha defeats Goshinki, the fourth incarnation of Naraku. There are a few filler characters whose names may not be accurate for Feudal Japan, but hey, I'm not Japanese so I don't know any better!

Also note that this story is rated M for mature. This is due to graphic depictions of violence, attempted rape and consensual sex. If you are bothered by this or you're not old enough, please don't read it!

This is not loli porn; Rin is seventeen in this story.

I do not own InuYasha.

Chapter One – A Sound in the Woods

The mist of the evening had just begun to dissipateas the sun crested the distant hills. Birds greeted the dawn with their morning song and the land was slowly bathed in sunlight. The rays outstretched over the forest trees and stirred Rin, who had been sleeping soundly in a makeshift bed of leaves and grass next to a now smoldering fire. She rubbed her eyes wearily and outstretched her arms, stifling a yawn as she sat up. She looked around her to find Jaken slumped against a large boulder not too far off, snoring noisily and murmuring in his sleep. Lord Sesshomaru, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Rin rose from her place of rest and surveyed the area for any sign of Sesshomaru. The three of them had spent the evening along the outskirts of a densely wooded area; several trees and large boulders surrounded their campsite on all sides but open terrain lay not too far beyond. The fire that had served to keep them warm through the evening hours was now just a pile of smoldering embers. Rin shivered and knelt by the fire's remains, prodding them with a stick in hopes of conjuring up some warmth. A few orange sparks spat up before dying down to blackness again. Rin sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees and eying the smoky heap longingly. "I wonder where Lord Sesshomaru went to." She absentmindedly stirred the coals with her stick as she contemplated his whereabouts.

It was not uncommon for her lord to desert her without warning. Although Rin was young, she understood that Sesshomaru was very powerful and had his own matters to attend to. She had once begged him to let her accompany him on one of his mysterious excursions, but her pleas were, of course, denied. "These are affairs that you would not understand," Sesshomaru had told her. "It is too dangerous. Stay behind with Jaken." Rin was almost always ordered to stay with Jaken while Sesshomaru was away, and this was something that Jaken would often protest. "Why is it always up to me to watch this mortal brat while Lord Sesshomaru is gone?" Jaken would often think aloud to himself. He would even blame Rin for his mundane babysitting task while out of earshot of Sesshomaru. "This is all your fault, Rin! If we hadn't come across you, I would be at my master's side at this very instant, facing all sorts of perils alongside him! Oh, this is no way for a servant of my talents to live…"

Jaken snorted loudly in his sleep and brought Rin out of her thoughts. His incessant snoring along with the sudden pangs of hunger in her stomach motivated her to search the woods for food.

Food was unusually sparse in this part of the woods. Rin had traveled a good distance away from the site when she finally found a clump of mushrooms growing beside a tree stump. Overjoyed by her findings, she knelt on the ground and used the cloth of her kimono as a sort of makeshift basket. She began collecting the mushrooms one by one. "I do hope Master Jaken will be pleased with his breakfast!" She said aloud to herself as she picked them. Despite Jaken's contempt for her, she aimed to please nonetheless. It was her propensity for kindness that probably made Jaken hate her even more, but she didn't think much of it.

CRASH!

The mushrooms were sent careening out of Rin's hands and she stood up in awed silence. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but that sound was definitely close by. "What was that loud noise?" she thought as she scanned the trees for anything out of place. She knew she shouldn't stray any father from the site, and that investigating the noise alone could get her into trouble. Her curiosity got the best of her and she headed in the direction of the sound, scooping up a couple of mushrooms to eat along the way. "Just a quick peek and I will go back to Master Jaken so that my Lord will not worry."

She traveled the perimeter of the woods for some time and didn't encounter anything unusual. She was beginning to wonder if wandering so far out of her way was a good idea, when another loud crashing noise shook the trees around her.

"Whatever it is, I know I'm close!" She dropped the remainder of the mushroom she'd been eating and darted in the direction of the crashing sound. The sight she beheld beyond the trees sent a wave of panic over her.