~Chapter One~

Beyond the Arms of a Demon Lord

Rin huffed with frustration, plopping herself down on a rock, crossing her arms, and glaring out across the field. Ah-Un laid down in the grass next to her, offering her a soothing chortle that had her softening her features as she glanced down at the beautiful, two headed dragon that she'd named. She reached out to rub under one of his chins, finally letting herself sigh and smile slightly.

"I'm just so frustrated, Ah-un. Lord Sesshoumaru still treats me like I'm a little kid, and I don't want him to anymore. I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself. I don't need to stay behind when he goes places that he thinks are too dangerous to me…" Rin vented, turning her gaze to the sky as she spoke to the dragon.

"I don't really know why... but it bugs me when he treats me like a little girl... for... other reasons," she continued, more slowly as she continued to rub Ah-Un's chins. The dragon stared up at her with a soft devotion that had grown between the two, "I can't really explain it... I love Lord Sesshoumaru, like I always have… but it feels... weird now. And it's very frustrating when he treats me like a little girl... because I don't want him to. What does that mean, Ah-un?" Rin turned her eyes away from the sky and down to the dragon, gazing at him inquisitively.

"You're lucky you're all dragon and no human... this human stuff is really frustrating. I like being with demons and dragons much better," Rin finally said, pushing her worries from her mind.

It had been nine years since the angry hanyou Inuyasha had disappeared from the world. Lord Sesshoumaru didn't speak on it, but Jaken told her that he'd gone to get his mate, in the future world. Rin was likely twenty or twenty one now, but she didn't remember her birthday as a real human, so she couldn't be sure. Every year, on the day that Lord Sesshoumaru brought her back to life, he gave her a special gift, and so she always used that day to count herself a year older.

Life was quieter now, with Naraku gone, with Lord Sesshoumaru slowly working on becoming the top youkai in Japan. But he often left her behind, and she grew weary of it.

"Rin!" a loud, whiney voice called from a distance. Rin turned her head and grinned.

"Lord Jaken! Have you come to pick flowers with me?" Rin askd, getting to her feet. She was wearing one of the new kimono's that Lord Sesshoumaru had gotten her, a green and pink one with dragons and flowers.

"No! I don't pick flowers, human! You were supposed to stay by the river until Lord Sesshoumaru returns!" Jaken said frantically, waving his staff as he scurried over on his short legs.

"Well, I wanted to pick flowers. Lord Sesshoumaru can find me if he wants," Rin said a little bit sulkily, making a sound of contempt in her throat and turning her back to Jaken, skipping into the field of newly bloomed spring flowers. Ah-Un watched from where he sat, and Jaken let out a screech of outrage, jumping up and down and yelling about how disrespectful she was to his Lord Sesshoumaru. Rin ignored him, and started picking flowers.

Life was boring, to put it mildly. He used to wake up in the morning and look forward to something; hunting Inuyasha, killing Inuyasha, taking the Tetsusaiga, dealing with Naraku, killing Inuyasha... more plotting to kill Inuyasha... life had purpose nine years ago.

Now, it seemed like the hours blended into days, blended into weeks... years...

As much as it left a bitter, nasty taste in his mouth just to think about it, he sort of grudgingly missed the excitement that Inuyasha put into his life, however morbid that excitement was. And since the hanyou had left with his posse to tag after his mate...

So much like their father, Inuyasha was, entangled by a young human woman.

'Don't be so quick to judge him...' his youkai voice perked up, 'He's not the only one who demonstrates hereditary attributes...'

'I don't remember inviting your opinion...' Sesshoumaru replied coolly to that self in his head that never was quiet for long.

'I'm just saying, don't go calling the kettle black when we both know you're a bit more than just smitten with a silly little mortal woman yourself...'

'This Sesshoumaru is hardly smitten,' he snorted, but all the same, the image of a little girl in an orange plaid kimono with a green obi danced through his head.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, look what Master Jaken and I found!" and she would show him a bouquet of flowers she picked. One image in particular stood out to him, a time where she was losing teeth and she smiled at him her big smile, only toothless.

Where age and time seemed to be all but lost on him, who was countless years old, time was evident only in how she aged. Somehow, he had blinked and she had gone from playful, frolicking little girl who depended on him for everything to sassy female who gave him more lip and attitude than he sometimes had patience for. She was a petulant child one minute and then the next she would do something or say something that had him realizing in a brief spurt of panic that he was far too attached to her for it to be healthy.

Which was why he was spending some time making some arrangements for her, give her a bit more human contact. She was becoming older and mortal females were usually married and having children at her age. She had been surrounded by youkai for far too long. She needed to be around her own kind. He would not have her alienated or singled out for associating with demons.

And he was convinced at if he just spent a little time away from her that he would have a clearer head when it came to being around her.

'That is some seriously twisted logic,' his youkai muttered darkly.

Ignoring his youkai, which is something he often did, Sesshoumaru came into view of the river where he had instructed Rin to stay with Ah-Un.

And she wasn't there.

No surprise, really. When did she ever do what she had been told? Alright, to be fair, she did used to listen to him when she was younger. But now... now she was a patience-trying impish female adult.

It wasn't hard to find her. He was so gods-be-damned in tune with her that it was disgusting. And without even tracking her scent he knew where he would find her.

Right in the middle of the field of flowers. he could just see the top of her head, her long brown ponytail dancing around in the breeze. Jaken spotted him instantly and started shouting about how he warned Rin to stay where she was told and Sesshoumaru stopped his tirade with a raised hand.

"Rin," he called to her, his voice not raising a single decibel in pitch. He knew she would hear him, "Let's go."

Rin straightened immediately, turning her head towards the voice she knew so well.

She stood for a moment in silence, gazing at him with the flowers in her hand. Then she smiled, because it was Lord Sesshoumaru, and even if she was frustrated, she could never be frustrating with him for long.

"Alright," she said happily, running through the field towards him. She wasn't wearing shoes, had never gotten into wearing shoes. When she reached her Lord Sesshoumaru, she held up the flowers for him, smiling up at him.

"Look what I made, Lord Sesshoumaru!" she told him happily, smelling the flowers. He never actually took them, those many flower bouquets that she'd made for him, but she knew, inside, that he appreciated them. "They're your favorite colors too, red, white, and yellow."

Ah-Un reached them, standing quietly next to Rin, eyeing the flowers and looking around at the same time with his two heads. Jaken hurried over, huffing and puffing.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! I'm so sorry we didn't meet you at the river! It wasn't my fault! Rin ran off, and I know you wouldn't have wanted me to leave her alone, so I had to follow her!" Jaken said frantically, jumping up and down.

Rin rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Jaken, you always blame me. How come it can't be that Ah-Un wanted to enjoy the field?" Rin asked with a slight pout to her face. Ah-Un focused both of his heads at her with a clear dragon puzzlement, and Rin giggled

"Okay, so it was my fault," Rin sighed and took one of the flowers out of the bouquet. She turned to Sesshoumaru, almost dancing on her feet, she seemed so happy. "I'm very sorry my lord," she told him without the least bit of apology in her tone. She smiled at him and reached up to tuck the flower behind his ear.

She wanted to hug him too, but touching wasn't something Sesshoumaru did. So she was careful to touch his as little as possible, then took a step back and offered him a grin, "Where to now, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

He obliged her, with a patience born only from his being a full youkai, a practiced patience that came in the bucket loads just for her and in minimal amounts for rest of the world.

He didn't so much as flinch when she put the flower in his hair and didn't make any move whatsoever to take it out. Not that he really enjoyed having silly flowers in his hair, but he was so used to complying with her childish whims and the first time he had taken the flower out in front of her she had nearly welled up into hysterics.

He opted out of doing that ever since.

"You silly girl, Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't want to have flowers in his hair! It's disrespectful!" Jaken blurted out, swinging his staff around.

Sesshoumaru pressed the bottom of his shoe to Jaken's face, successfully shutting up the vassal he was never sure why he always kept around.

"We are going to a nearby village," Sesshoumaru answered her inquiry. He offered her nothing further, as he was always pretty vague about topics of whereabouts. But in honesty, he wasn't sure how he was going to break it to her, that he was leaving her in the village... for probably forever.

Probably in the same way he told her everything; directly, with no inflection or emotion in either way.

He hoisted her up, plopping her in Ah-Un's saddle. He grabbed the reins and began to walk in the direction of the village. It wasn't a far way for him to travel; but he could move faster than a mortal eye was capable of following. At the speed in which he traveled with Rin and Jaken and Ah-un, it would take about a full day to get there.

Rin felt a thrill of pleasure when Sesshoumary lifted her up onto Ah-un. She could do it herself, of course, but he always lifted her up anyways. Either it was a habit from when she was too small, or... maybe he enjoyed it too?

Rin sighed happily, enjoy the quiet as they rode along, "Jaken, you don't know. Maybe Sesshoumaru-sama likes the flower. Have you ever asked him? That's rude of you to assume," Rin said, tilting her chin up with a smile.

Jaken's jaw dropped, and he looked from Rin to Sesshoumaru and back. "That…Rin…no!" The green youkai fell into a heap of confusion, blushing deeply. Rin giggled, looking back at him as he scrambled back to his feet and hurried after them, yelling nonsense and waving his staff.

Rin turned her attention to the dragon, tucking two flowers in his heads. "Here Ah-un... you can have some flowers too... and you look very handsome with them," Rin assured him, smiling. The dragon's stepped faltered a little, then regained their pace.

The next few hours passed in silence, and then Rin perked up at the sight of smoke, still a little ways off. "Why are we going to a village, Sesshoumaru-sama? I have enough kimonos, so that's fine. I'll wait with Jaken and Ah-un in the trees, like usual. Don't have to worry about me!" Rin said happily, watching Sesshoumaru with her bright brown eyes.

He let her assume that she would be staying with Ah-Un and Jaken as usual. He offered her no explanation, because frankly, he didn't have one.

'This is so messed up...' his youkai pouted, as it had been doing on and off since he made this decision to acclimate Rin to human companions, 'I can't believe you are just dumping her like this...'

'I'm not dumping her...' Sesshoumaru defended. It was early morning now; Rin and Jaken had slept on the two-headed dragon while he walked. They were not far outside the village now; the humans were just rising to start their days.

He had made some arrangements with the local inn and barkeep. Rin was to have a job there, serving travelers food and drink and arranging rooms for them. He had to admit that he may have intimidated the owner just a little bit with his forceful attitude. Rin was to have her own room, no one was allowed to touch her. And he may have threatened life, limb and certain anatomical parts crucial to reproduction should she be harmed or touched inappropriately.

'So possessive for a guy who's abandoning her...' his youkai muttered darkly.

Sesshoumaru ignored his inner voice and shook Rin awake, touching her shoulder, possibly the only part of her he ever touched minus when she was little.

"Rin," he whispered, eying Jaken with a touch of uncertainty. He didn't want to wake the little green youkai.

As soon as she started to stir, he placed his first finger against her mouth, a silent warning to be quiet, "Come with me," he continued in that soft whisper.

Rin woke to Sesshoumaru's gentle touch, and smiled up at him, ready to ask him where they were, but he stopped her with a touch to the mouth. She blinked, her cheeks darkening a little as she went cross-eyed to look at his finger before he took it away. The touch to her lips made her shiver weirdly, and she frowned to herself as she slid off Ah-un to follow him.

Only then did she look up and realize that they were at the very edge of the village. Like... more in a village than she'd like. She'd followed him blindly until they were actually inside the village, and as the buildings and people registered in her mind, she froze.

"Sesshoumaru-sama..." she stammered, her voice a low whisper, "Why... why are we so close to the village?" she asked, not moving any further, digging her heels in a little. People were staring at little, and up the way, a building with a sign outside of it produced two people, a man and a woman, who were watching her.

They were watching her and Sesshoumaru, and seemed to be waiting.

"Don't you want me to wait outside, my lord?" She asked again, taking a step back.

He could smell her anxiety, her fear and it was spiking his adrenaline, his protective streak for her that he had. He was going to lose all her faith with this maneuver. All the faith she had in him was going to die in the next few minutes, the first few exchanges with the couple who owned the inn.

Sesshoumaru placed his hand on her back, right in between her shoulder blades and guided her forward, though, her feet didn't move quite as readily as he would have liked.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin-san," the innkeep greeted, "We are pleased to welcome you here," he bowed low. He kept up a smile and so did his wife; they had been informed, though vaguely, that this may be a tough transition for the young woman, who had been with this youkai lord for quite some time.

"Come, Rin-san," the older woman smiled and Sesshoumaru pushed her gently towards the woman, "I'll show you where you will be staying."

He watched, coolly, as the woman took Rin's hand and led her into the inn. Inside, he could feel a nasty taste welling up in his chest, a poison setting in and he told himself that this was better. She needed this in order to lead a healthier existence and he, he needed her to be away for a while. She was a serious weakness to him and he didn't have time to be chasing around after her, rescuing her. There were youkai out there bent on his destruction and she was a very potential pawn in their plans. He had to be rid of her.

'You... you have some seriously twisted, TWISTED logic...' his youkai moaned in frustration as Rin was taken out of his sight, 'You better set yourself up for some misery, my friend.'

'I thought you were my youkai...' Sesshoumaru growled back inwardly as he handed over Rin's kimonos to the man.

'I'm on her side...' his youkai retorted and then, there was a strange silence in his head as the voice retreated.

"We thank you, my lord," the innkeep bowed again, "We are short-staffed because of the wars. She will be well taken care of."

"She better be," Sesshoumaru insisted with a little growl underlying his voice. Then, with a last lingering look inside the doorway, he turned on his heel and walked out of the village.

Confusion and fear spiked in her bloodstream. Sesshoumaru rarely touched her, and that he guided her forward by touching her back set her blood pressure reeling.

When the humans addressed them, Rin stiffened, the hair on the back of her neck rising like hackles. They knew her name. Rin looked at Sesshoumaru in a near panic, but he pushed her towards the woman, who took her by the wrist and practically dragged her into the building.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? What's going on... Sesshoumaru!" Rin called back, trying to break away, but the woman had been warned, and she was stronger than she looked. She pulled Rin into a large room with many tables. Rin was stunned by all of the civilized and human items, forgetting to fight as an innate fear of humans well in her chest.

"Come on, Rin-san... this way," the woman encourage kindly, pulling her gently towards the back, and down three steps. "Patrons live upstairs, we live downstairs."

Rin was mute as realization sunk in. She was being left here. Sesshoumaru had sold her to this place... and he was leaving. Just as she reached the doorway that led downstairs, it sunk in that she may never see Sesshoumaru again...and that he wanted it that way.

"No!" she cried, fighting the woman now as she pulled desperately, her feet scrambling against the wood floor. Her hand shot out and gripped the door frame, "Sesshoumaru!" The woman had been prepared though, and she yanked Rin past the door, wrapping Rin's smaller frame in her larger arms.

"Shhh... shhh...it's going be okay, Rin-san. You're going to like it here, I promise," the woman murmured, and Rin was trying very hard not to scream from all of the touching. Her fight died as shock sank into her bones, and she was more compliant as the woman led her to a room at the end of the hall.

"This is your room, all to yourself... my name is Tika Uahara..." The woman gently urged her inside, where a table, bed, and wash stand occupied the small but neat space. She balked at such luxury, having spent all of her active memory living in the forest.

"I'll bring some food by a little later," the woman said with a small smile, closing the door behind Rin.

She stood for a moment staring at the bed. She hadn't slept in a bed... ever. It was no more than a normal tatami mat roll and pillow... but it was a bed.

Sesshoumaru was gone.

Rin fell to her knees, and a single tear, more crying than she'd done since Sesshoumaru has rescued her all those years ago, slid down her cheek, and hit the wooden floor.

Sesshoumaru walked out of the village, with human eyes following his every footstep and he looked for all the world like a youkai lord who had done a good thing and returned a human girl to a human village.

But every crunch of gravel under his feet felt like a little piece of him was falling away.

He could hear her screaming for him, could smell her fear, her anger. She hated him now and he supposed that that was a good thing.

Why, then, didn't it feel better?

It was the scent of her tears, a scent he had only become familiar with when she hurt herself and her eyes watered from the pain- drifted out to him, carried by a light morning breeze. It had him stopping at the edge of the village, shrouded by the shadow of trees and turning his head slightly, enough to acknowledge the scent, but not enough to turn around and see what hell he had left her in.

Because if he looked back now, even he, the greatest youkai lord in all Japan, wouldn't have the strength to walk away. It was an effort as it was to put one foot in front of the other, to turn his back on her when he hadn't done so since the moment she started following him around, since the moment he had been compelled to save her.

He reached the spot where he had left Ah-Un and Jaken, where the green youkai was muttering rapidly under his breath.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken panted, running up to the dog-youkai, "I'm terribly sorry, milord! I've lost her yet again! I can't... I apologize, milord!" he stammered on and on until Sesshoumaru stopped him with a raised hand.

"Rin is gone," Sesshoumaru stated simply and he flicked his eyes up when Ah-Un turned his two heads and blinked at him with four greenish-gold eyes knowingly. The dragon had traveled with Sesshoumaru longer than even Jaken and part of the reason that the dog youkai kept the beast around was because it couldn't talk.

Though, there was no mistaking that somber look the dragon was giving him now, as if to say, you fool, Sesshoumaru-sama.

Sesshoumaru leveled a look at him that said back, I don't want to hear it from you too, and Ah-Un snorted indelicately.

"Come, Jaken," he commanded, walking away, snatching the two-headed dragon's reins as he went by. Jaken, still looking like he was in a bit of shock over not having Rin around apparently, jumped to his senses and chased after the youkai lord, waving his staff and shouting.

A/N:

Welcome back! This is the SECOND installment of my 7 Deadly Sins series. If this is your first time reading me, please read Inuyasha's story first: 7 Deadly Sins: Wrath.

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

I'll give you my hash, though previous readers know it already. This story was written in "roleplay" format: my co-author (goldensomething) played one character and I played another. In order to preserve the raw beauty of the piece, little editing has taken place other than spelling and what is needed to make logical sense.

As always, enjoy!

Credits:

Sesshoumaru: Jesachi

Rin: Goldensomething

Sub-characters: Combined effort