Unbroken

I awoke with a start. My breathing was fast and my skin was clammy. I could hear the crackle of a fire and feel its warm caress on my skin. I turned my body towards it and took in my surroundings. There was some sort of toad leaning against a tree. He rested against a staff with an old man’s head carved into it. There was something carved on the back but I couldn't see what it was. As he slept, large snot bubbles formed from his nose.

Not to far away from him rested a young girl. She had black hair, part of her hair was tied up to one side, and fair skin. She wore a long yellow and orange checkered kimono.

I was still in shock as I looked up at the moonless, crystal clear, blue sky and I tried to wrap my brain around the bits and pieces of fragmented memory that I could grasp. The harder I thought about the events of my recent past, the farther away they seemed to become. I was determined not to lose the bits and pieces that I had left. Trying to grasp what I could, I closed my eyes again and thought. Hard.

I couldn't remember much but what seemed like fragmented dreams, glimpses into another world.

Then a realization hit me with tremendous force. That's when I remembered.... 'I...died.' I sat up quickly, my body heated, my head swam, and I felt the production of saliva in my mouth triple. I heard water nearby and ran to it. I didn't quite make it, I ended up puking behind a tree. I stumbled the rest of the way to the edge of a creek and collapsed on my knees.

I drank from the cool waters, washed my face, and ran my cold wet had over the back of my neck. My fingers stilled at the scar that was there. It was tender, but not sore.

A flood of memories overcame me. I was pinned against a wall, fear and loathing coursing through my body. I was flung on the bed where I landed on my stomach. A man climbed on my back and slashed at the back of my neck. After that, my fear and loathing was replaced with feelings of love and trust. I shivered at that memory before another memory clenched my brain.

I was in a very dark room. Hanging upside down, my back against the floor while my legs were in the air, tied to a pole. I trembled as a man ran his hands down my legs, squeezed my breasts. He broke the chains and carried me off to a bed that hid in the corner. There I was raped.

I could feel the ghost of pain between my legs and bile rose in my mouth again. I quickly took a drink of cold water, hoping that I could keep from throwing up again. I succeeded and washed my face again. I felt eyes on me and I quickly looked up.

Standing on the opposite shore was a tall man. He was handsome and slender. His skin is fair and his eyes a rich golden hue. I drank in this man's features, my eyes wandering over his facial features. His hair was long and silver as it blended in with his white and red kimono. Along with the kimono he wore an armor chest plate with and armor arm guard that had spikes over it over his left shoulder. Over his right shoulder he had a fluffy white boa. He has two magenta stripes on each cheek, magenta eyelids, and a blue crescent moon on his forehead.

"Who are you demon?" His voice was deep, demanding, and attention grabbing.

'Me? A demon?' "I'm not a demon." I said defensively and looked in the water. I had a cross like marking on my forehead, a blue stripe on each cheek, and my hair was light blonde with blue underneath.

The man stood beside me in a blink. "Your scent is that of a demon."

I stood, taking several steps back with my hands raised. "I am no demon." I repeated.

His eyes showed hate and frustration. His speed was astounding as he grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to a tree. His other hand was glowing green as it hovered beside his head ready to strike me. "Speak." His voice was angry.

I squealed at his harshness and stuttered out a reply. "I s-sware, I-I am n-not a demon." I closed my eyes in fear and he dropped me. I slid down the tree and opened my eyes. He was standing beside the creek again, looking out into the woods.

Something about that man seemed familiar but I couldn't place it. I didn't remember ever meeting this man before in my life, but still, somewhere in the depths of my mind, I could sense that I somehow knew him.

"You should get back to camp. It's safer there." The man leapt across the creek and vanished into the woods.

I cautiously inched my way back to the edge of the creek and took another long drink of water before heading back into woods towards the fire.

I sat beside the tree that I had been laying near and leaned against it. I looked towards the sky. The sun was beginning to rise as I stared off into space. The sky began to lighten and the longer I watched, the oranger it became.

The little girl began to stir. I didn't look over to where she slept. I was off in my own little world, thinking about Kagome and my mother. 'Oh how my mom must be worried about me.' She had probably told my dad that I was missing. I wondered if her was upset and comforted my mother or simply said 'she'll turn up' and went on with his job.

I felt something brush my arm and looked to my right. The little girl that had been sleeping peacefully now leaned against the tree beside me.

"What are you looking at?" Her voice was sweet and filled with curiosity as she looked up into the sky with me.

"Memories." My answer was simple and she turned to me, questions filling her eyes.

"I'm Rin. What's your name?" She grinned at me. "Will you be traveling with us?" The sudden change in conversation caught me off guard.

"Angel." I stated then answered her question as honestly as I could, "I... I'm not sure."

"Lord Sesshomaru saved your life, just like he did mine." She looked at me curiously, probably wondering why her lord had taken the time to save me.

My curiosity was peaked, "What do you mean 'saved my life'?"

Before she could answer, the same man who had ordered me back to the camp came through the trees and a large green two headed dragon stepped out of the woods behind the man.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin was extremely happy and flashed the man a very wide and pretty smile.

Sesshomaru merely looked at her and began to walk through the clearing without saying a word. Rin climbed on the back of the two headed dragon.

She rubbed the two headed dragon’s mane. "This is A-Un." She took her attention off the dragon and looked at me. "Will you be coming along?"

Truth was, I didn't know. It would help if I knew where I was and if I could find Kagome easily.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease??" Rin gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes and she stuck out her bottom lip.

I walked over to her as the little toad creature began to stir.

"Yay!" She clapped her hands and focused her attention on the toad. "Master Jaken, if you do not hurry, you will be left behind."

At that, the toad creature jumped up, a look of sheer panic on his face as he quickly looked around. "Lord Sesshomaru!" He caught a glimpse of Sesshomaru in the trees and quickly ran off after him.

Rin patted A-Un's back, requesting that I join her, and I did. I recalled my many years of horseback riding in the states and took to the new creature instantly. We began walking through the forest, following Sesshomaru.

"Rin, where are we going?" I was curious, not sure if I was better off staying where I was or not.

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. Lord Sesshomaru is looking for powerful demons to slay and right now, he has a grudge for Naraku for using him in a plot against Inuyasha."

I shuddered at Naraku's name. A feeling of pure disgust swept over my body.

Rin glanced back at me. "Are you cold?"

"No." I shook my head. "It’s the name you mentioned."

"Hm." Rin looked down, thinking. "I know Inuyasha wouldn't have left you for dead." She paused. "What did Naraku do to you?"

This little girl was very smart. "Terrible things." Was all I said.

She seemed to realize that I didn't really want to talk about it. "Well, Lord Sesshomaru will protect you from Naraku."

As we traveled, I watched Sesshomaru walk in front of us, trying my best to remember how I knew him, and wondering how this man had saved my life when I knew I was dead.

After about an hour of trying to remember, I asked Rin. "How did Sesshomaru save me like he did you?"

She looked off to Sesshomaru and giggled. "He carries a sword called the Tenseiga. When it is wielded, Lord Sesshomaru can see the demons of the afterlife coming to take the soul of the recently departed. The Tenseiga can kill these demons without causing harm to the living."

That only confused me more. 'So I really was dead.' I pondered that for a moment as I continued to try to remember the moments after being saved. I failed. I couldn't remember anything except waking up beside that fire.

We traveled for several more hours when Sesshomaru suddenly stopped. "Jaken, watch over Rin. Angel, come with me."

I slid off the dragon and hesitated. I still had my weapons sheathed on my hips, but I was not looking forward to traveling alone with Sesshomaru.

"Stupid girl! Didn't you hear Lord Sesshomaru order you to follow him?!" The imp's voice was utterly annoying as he yelled at me.

I began to walk towards the already disappearing Sesshomaru. When I got to Jaken, I yanked his staff out of his hands and hit him on the head with it. "Don't you ever talk to me that way again."

The imp fell on his butt and I continued following Sesshomaru who was far ahead of me. I reached a clearing and found Sesshomaru standing in the middle of a strange, thick fog. He seemed even more handsome with the fog hovering around him, if that were possible.

He turned to me. "Why did I smell Naraku on you when I found you?"

His question was more of a demand for answers then an actual question. I hesitated, not really wanting to answer. I didn't want to relive those memories.

"Answer."

I took a deep breath and looked at the ground. I began to explain everything from the beginning, telling Sesshomaru about how Kagome dragged me down the well and what Kaede had said to me. I told him about my dream and the strange pull that I had felt that I had stupidly followed on my own. I told him about the hot spring and the two demons that I fought, then I told him about the tentacles wrapping around me and carrying me off. I told him about being chained upside down to a pole in a very dark room. I fidgeted as I skipped what had happened in that room. I told him about being prisoner and how Naraku had pinned me to the bed on my stomach and slashed the back of my neck. My fingers rubbed the scar.

"I don't remember anything else clearly. I vaguely remember Kagome yelling at me, but at that time, I didn't know who Angel was so I ignored her." I was sitting on the damp grass at this point, trying not to fidget as Sesshomaru stared at me. "I don't remember if there was a fight or if I hurt anyone. I don't remember much of anything until I felt...." I paused and fought from crying. "Until I felt death take hold of me."

Sesshomaru stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity. He was looking off into the woods, thinking.

"I believe it is safe to assume that you didn't look or smell like a demon when you came through the Bone Eaters Well."

I merely nodded. I used to have blonde wavy hair, no tattoos or marking, normal teeth, and normal ears. Now, everything about me was completely different.

"In my dream about Midoriko and Hiruki, I realized that I was the unborn daughter of a great demon lord and a powerful priestess."

Sesshomaru growled so low that I was sure I imagined it.

"What made you turn into a demon?" His question was short, his voice deeper.

I don't know why I felt compelled to answer all of his questions, but it felt nice actually being able to talk to someone, even if it was more of an interrogation.

"I'm not sure. I know that the moon was full and that I was bathing in the hot spring. My senses expanded and I could literally hear everything. Then, about a month later, when I was with Naraku, I changed again. That's when he sliced the back of my neck."

"Hmm" Sesshomaru was deep in though. "Maybe the jewel shards made the change permanent." His voice was so quiet, I wasn't sure I heard him right.

Before I could ask what he meant, I felt an all to familiar evilness fill the air around me. Sesshomaru manifested a sword in his left hand and I instinctively pulled out my scythes.