Breaking a Cold Heart Chapter One

Running. The only thing her instinct was screaming.

A sharp yelp echoed in the darkened wilderness, a small blur jumping throughout it. Not far behind the blur, villagers who lived not too far off, chased after it, arrows being shot through the air. The blur came to a stop, to reveal a cloaked figure, and looked towards the mod of angry humans.

“You have it all wrong!” the figure shouted in a rather feminine yell. “I'm not a danger to any of you!” Not a few moments after she had finished her statement, had she jumped to the left to dodge the couple of arrows that soared through the air, aching to pierce her very flesh. The girl growled, and looked back from the spot she was once standing that arrows filled, to the villagers once again.

Blood. Clouding her vision and filling her nose with the stench.

She had underestimated the human's fighting capability, and because of her assumption, she paid for it by being a victim to the rain of arrows from the sky. She couldn't count exactly how many had pierced her body, nor did she really care to. Biting down onto her lip hard, she mustered up the rest of her strength to escape, moving through the forest with speed that a simple human could not match up to.  

It was a long way from the village, and much deeper into the forest where the humans wouldn't dare go to – that much she knew. They were terrified of the monsters that were demons. The cloak on the female's head fell, revealing a light, whitish orange head of hair. Closer to her face, her ears were pointed instead of rounded like a typical human's – indicating that she was not of that species. A soft groan of pain escaped her lips, until she collapsed onto the forest floor, blood soaking around her body.

Amber. The color of the eyes that penetrated her very soul.

The girl hadn't known how long she was unconscious, or dead even. She definitely felt like she was dead, or at least close to it. However, here she was, awake and aware of her surroundings around her. A beautiful demon male was beside her, intently watching her with a cold stare.

Slowly, she attempted to sit up, and speak. “Who are you?” she asked him softly. “What even happened?” with a rub of her head, she looked down to notice how ruined her kimono was, but there was no more blood pouring from her wounds. Come to think of it, she never even felt the pain anymore. Without even acknowledging the male, she opened her kimono and looked. There were no bandages covering her, or even blood and wounds.

“You were killed by humans.” the male spoke before she could even comprehend what was happening. “Rather pathetic for a demon to die by humans. You yourself aren't even the low demons. You have a humanoid form, so how did you even die?” his voice was cold, and harsh. His question didn't even come off as a question, but more as a statement which made the girl shudder.

“I am not pathetic. There were just too many of them...” she got quieter as she spoke up angrily at him. “I refused to attack them. Who are you anyways, calling me pathetic for dying which is impossible since I'm alive now?” she showed her fangs to look more aggressive, and rose a brow, waiting for him to answer her.

“I am Lord Sesshomaru.” he spoke, not even remotely phased by the girl's glare. “And you were dead, girl. You're lucky that this Sesshomaru was kind enough to bring you back from the dead.” he stood up briskly, and turned his back to her, looking over at her over his shoulder. “Get up. Follow me.” he ordered. The girl did as told, though she didn't really know why. Was it fear that drove her to follow him? Perhaps, for he was so cold, and his entire demeanor was bone chilling to the very core.

She quickly caught up to his side, matching his pace. “You never even asked for my name.” she said softly, hoping to spark up a conversation. “It's Ritzka, you know.” She said after awhile of silence. Sesshomaru showed no care to what she was saying, causing her to let out a soft sigh. “Where are you taking me?” No response, again. She crossed her arms behind her back and followed closely, deciding to stay quiet and wait to see where they'd end up.

It seemed like hours of nonstop walking to Ritzka, and it most likely was. She heard what sounded like a little girl's laughter up ahead, so she squinted to try and get a better look through the trees. As the two demons got closer to a small campsite, Ritzka finally found the source of laughing, and blinked as she watched the scene displayed before her. A small toad like being was being chased about by a girl, no older than twelve. After a twig was broken by her foot, all attention was brought onto her, and the lord.

“Oh Lord Sesshomaru, you're finally back!” she toad began to cry, and bowed before the demon. He lifted his head and then caught sight of the female, hiding a bit behind the male. He gasped. “Who is this wench that followed you, mi'lord?!”

“Jaken.” Sesshomaru finally spoke in a harsh tone. “She is a new servant, and will help take care of Rin.” he narrowed his eyes and walked past Jaken. Ritzka could feel her eyes begin to twitch with anger.

“Servant? Excuse me!” she shouted to 'Lord'. “I am not a servant! I am a strong dog demon, and do not bow to the likes of you!” she clenched her fists at her sides, as the male turned to her, snarling. In a flash, she felt her body against a tree, and a tight hold on her neck. Ritzka opened her eyes to see his once golden eyes, a blood red as he growled at her.

“I will be shown with more respect. You are a disgrace of a dog demon if you allowed yourself to die to filthy humans!” he shouted to her, tightening his hold. Ritzka bit her lower lip, refusing to wail  in pain in front of this man. However, she was unable to hold it in when she felt his hand beginning to burn her neck roughly. A yelp jumped from her throat, and frantically, she began thrashing about to make him let go. Instead of getting him to let go, he tightened his hold when her claw hit his cheek, leaving a small line of blood. Dark spots began to fill in Ritzka's vision, and she struggled more until she was let go.

Ritzka wheezed, trying to bring in as much air into her lungs as she could, while she looked around for a place to run. It seemed that Sesshomaru's attention wasn't on her anymore, but to the left of her. She took that opportunity to dash off towards whoever held the demon's attention. Jumping into the clearing, she barely dodged an arrow, glowing purple.

“A demon!” she heard shout, and looked to see a female dressed in strange clothing. “Inuyasha, I thought you said Sesshomaru was here?” She looked to him, accusing the male of a mistake. Ritzka landed on the ground, panting softly and took in his appearance. Silver hair, white dog ears, red clothing, and amber eyes. He was practically identical to Sesshomaru – minus a few things here and there.

“Please!” She yelled and ran to them, causing the young girl, a priestess she had assumed, to draw her bow again. “I'm not here to hurt you! Just save me from him!” Ritzka pointed behind her to reveal Sesshomaru himself, slowly striding towards the small group. She once again landed on the ground, behind the raven haired girl, and watched as the male who was called Inuyasha, drew a sword.

“Trying to take this girl against her will, huh Sesshomaru?” Inuyasha said calmly, and sighed. “You never learn.” Ritzka watched in awe as the sword the dog drew transformed, resembling a large fang more than a blade itself. Inuyasha stepped forward to Sesshomaru who drew his own sword. “Oh, you got a new sword? Guess you aren't happy with Father's Tenseiga.” he laughed idly, and jumped towards him.

Ritzka looked over her shoulder to the rest of the group, a bunch of humans, and small demons. “What is going on..?” she murmured softly, unable to speak louder. The raven lowered her bow once she realized that Ritzka was indeed not a threat, and looked over to the two demons fighting.

“That's Sesshomaru, which you seem to already know. The other is his half brother, Inuyasha. Sesshomaru hates him because he is half demon.” She said gently. “Why were you running from Sesshomaru? Not that it's a surprise that you'd be running, but what did he do?” she looked at the girl, noting the marks on her neck and smell of burnt flesh.

Ritzka rubbed her neck gently, and frowned. “He found me dead or something, and brought me back. At least that is what he says. He brought me back to his camp to be his servant, so I tried to run after he attempted to kill me.” she explained and moved away from the fight when they began getting more aggressive. “I'm thankful that I was brought back… but I don't want to stay with him if I am only to be a servant.”

Ritzka looked at the human, who rubbed her chin slightly in thought. “Maybe you could travel with us?” she offered her. Ritzka practically beamed at the idea. She smiled brightly, and nodded her head.

“Are you sure you want me to? I don't want to be any kind of bother.” slowly, she nibbled on her lower lip, turning her attention back to the fight between brothers. Sesshomaru was obviously not winning. Though neither was Inuyasha, from the looks of it. They were equally matched, but the dog Lord was refusing to give up. She heard a shout from Inuyasha, but with the distance, and the sound of blades clashing, she had issues making it out. After Inuyasha spoke, he swung his sword, while yellow demonic energy poured out of it, hitting Sesshomaru directly. When the smoke and demonic energy finally dissipated, Sesshomaru was nowhere to be found.

“Feh, the coward escaped.” Inuyasha grumbled, and sheathed his sword. He turned to his group and stared directly at the new female. “Don't tell me she has to come with us Kagome.” he scowled and crossed his arms. “I already have to take care of all of you. I don't need another one.” At hearing the half demon sound so harsh, just like his brother, Ritzka frowned.

“I see… well no matter. I'm a demon, so I should manage on my own.” the girl said softly, and turned on her heel to bid her farewells to the human women. Once she did, she smiled, and sprinted off into the forest. She didn't use her full demonic power so she was at a speed of normal human sprinting. She inhaled the air, hoping to smell the lovely forest air. But she could only smell one thing.

Blood. And a lot of it at that. The stench permeated the air, taking away the smell of the forest pines, and instead, making her growl in disgust at the amount that filled her nose. Sniffing the air, she knew exactly who it belonged to as well. With a sigh and a small hint of worry, she edged closer to his scent cautiously, and gasped when she peered through the trees. There was the supposedly great Dog Demon Lord, laying against a tree and completely defeated. By his half demon brother, no less. A frown worked its way up to her lips while she contemplated what she would do.

Sesshomaru knew that he had been spotted by Ritzka long before she even arrived, or stepped out from the tree she was hiding behind. He growled a low, warning growl to her to scare her off, but she never even flinched. Instead, Ritzka narrowed her eyes, a harrumph being the only sound she made while she crouched down beside him.

“It seems you've underestimated your half brother.” hearing her voice say such things made his blood boil, and he growled darkly once more. Ritzka sighed in exasperation. “Oh calm down, pup. Just let me help.” with a roll of the eyes, she began undoing the top of his kimono to examine the wounds – much to his disapproval. She frowned at the sight. “Well. Luckily, living in the village for 50 years, I learned enough about herbal medicine to be able to tend to this.”

Sesshomaru rose a brow, not giving her much of response to her meaningless talk. He then squinted his eyes ever so slightly. "What do you think you're doing, girl?" He demanded when she ran a finger across the wound, pulling bandages out of her kimono.

"What does it look like?" She retorted back, and scoffed, trying to bandage him against his will. "I'm trying to save your butt from your injuries. And injuries from a half breed at that." Ritzka mocked slightly, while she tied the ends of bandages into a tight knot. "That should be fine for awhile." She looked up at the man before her, scanning his features over carefully.

"You ran." He stated bluntly, causing the woman to knit her eyebrows together in confusion. Just what was he trying to get at? "And yet you came back. What is it you seek from me?" Ritzka took in his question and stayed silent for a few moments. It seemed that she was trying to find an answer herself.

"I'm only repaying the favor. You saved my life, so this is the least I could do." She murmured softly, and looked down towards the ground. Her eyes widened slightly when she heard the little girl and imp approaching. Quickly, she backed away from Sesshomaru and hopped up into the tree that he laid against, trying to stay hidden.

"Mi'Lord!" Jaken screeched when he saw the condition that his Lord was in. He started ranting and going on about Sesshomaru's 'stupid half breed brother'. Rin stayed close behind Jaken, before she spoke up. "My Lord, who bandaged your wounds?" She asked, piquing Jaken's attention.

"I smell that stupid woman! Did she touch my Lord?" He squawked in disbelief. Up above, Ritzka frowned and watched quietly. Jaken continued to insult her, completely unaware that she was there the entire time.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru snapped, causing the imp to freeze and shut up. Sesshomaru was standing, his back turned to his wards. "We're leaving." He spoke calmly, and started to walk off.
"My Lord! What about your wounds?" He shrieked, chasing after the dog. Ritzka narrowed her eyes from the tree top, and swiftly jumped from tree to tree, following their small group. She did her best to go unnoticed, believing that she was succeeding since no one mentioned her presence.

Night soon crept over Sesshomaru's small group, causing them to stop for the little human girl. Sesshomaru rested against a rock, allowing his wounds to try and heal more, while Jaken took the girl to find food. Ritzka watched in silence, assuming that the demon fell asleep. "Why is it that you continue to follow me?" His voice broke the quiet night, causing Ritzka to freeze. She didn't answer, thinking he was talking to another - though she didn't sense anyone near by but his companions. "You may as well come down from the trees, you can't hide from me." At this, Ritzka gulped and slowly hopped down onto the ground. She eyed him carefully, and sat away from him. "You didnt answer my question, girl." He spoke again, causing her to frown.

"I'm not a girl... I'm a full grown demon woman, thank you." She huffed, and looked away from him. "I have nowhere else to go anyway. My village despises me and killed me." Sesshomaru nodded a bit, and gave no response when Jaken and Rin came back with fish to cook. Rin blinked when she saw Ritzka crouched by a tree. Jaken began to protest and demand that the woman leave when his Lord sent him a glare, silencing him mid sentence.

"Are you the one Lord Sesshomaru brought back awhile ago?" The little girl asked Ritzka. She nodded gently and gave a small smile to her. "Are you traveling with us then?" She asked with glee, her eyes lighting up. "Master Jaken doesn't play with me as much as I'd like!"

"Uhm..." she nibbled on her lower lip, wanting to protest, but instead, Rin turned to her lord.

"Can she please come with us my lord? I'd love a friend!" She begged to the dog, her brown eyes large and pleading. Sesshomaru looked to his young ward and then turned his head away, closing his eyes.

"If that is what she wishes." Ritzka blinked at his words. Rin then turned to her, jumping up and down.

"Oh will you? Please please please? Lord Sesshomaru can protect you so you're safe with us!" She exclaimed, hoping to convince the female dog before her. Ritzka simply laughed shortly, and patted the small child on the head.

"I suppose if it makes you happy, then I will." Ritzka stood, being taken by the hand by Rin and led to the fire. Once she sat down, she was handed cooked fish by Rin, which she gladly accepted. It wasn't long before the fire had gone out, and everyone was asleep. That is, except for the two demons who stared at each other the entire night.