Hi everyone,

Yes, I'm back to writing, unbelievable as it seems. I had this idea of a fic in the feudal era, a continuation and just couldn't let it go. It's a short one, probably consisting of only a couple of chapters. So, without further babbling, the prelude to the story…

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Too little, too late

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Her hazel eyes were lifeless as if she were already dead as she stood at the end of the infamous cliff, the sharp rocky edges which dressed the north side lining his ancestral fortress. The hard winds blew on her, cruel and unsympathetic, as the silken sleeves of her pale green kimono flapped furiously, seemingly pushing her dangerously to tip over to her eminent death. Sesshoumaru's heart was pounding out of control, a thick curtains of perspiration lining his brows as he sped toward possibly the only girl he had ever felt for, one he might never dare say he loved… till this day, this very moment where he was about to lose her forever.

"Rin…." Her name trailed from his blood smeared lips in a deafening cough as he closed in at the limited speed he was capable of. No….please… he added that in his mind. In his heart he knew if she'd jumped and died, he had no power to revive her again. He had long discarded the sword left behind for him by his father, the Tenseiga.

Wrong… he corrected himself. The sword was not able to revive the same person twice. Moreover, his father never had the intention to leave him the sword permanently. It was only in his keeping, in his possession for one and one purpose only…He was meant to complete it for his half brother, for Inuyasha. He smirked. Perhaps, he should be flattered that Chichiue had thought so highly of his abilities rather than Inuyasha's.

But how cruel was Chichiue to be so very very unfair… he had once clung to this thought of hatred and immense jealousy which might have consumed his very soul. However, since then, too many things had happened and in many ways proven that, without the reliance of a weapon, without reliance on his father's strength, he had grown more independent, stronger, more confident of his own powers. Hence, upon his father's death, he had only left him one and one thing only, one which could be of the most importance in his entire demonic life… It was a girl. It was her… it was Rin.

He growled as he grabbed his chest in desperate attempt to control the excruciating pain throbbing both on his pricked finger and from his heart. The very thought of the girl had again aided the spread of the poison in his body, the poison from the midnight rose.

Is that not yet another obvious indication that he was, in fact, in love with her, with Rin? If not so, then, why is the poison affecting him at all? Is it not true that such flowers containing a unique acute poison, once pricked a person, would trigger off an unbearable sting if they were to think of the one they love. With his powers, he could easily neutralize its effects in an hour or so, compared to others who would suffer for three days or more or even die from it if they were not careful.

But time was not in his favor. He did not have an hour. His now deepest fear was that he might not even have a minute left to go to her before she chose the unthinkable.

Why had he not been able to sort out his feelings earlier? Why had he waited till it was too late? No, he corrected himself as he spat. He had long sorted out his feelings for her. He knew… he loved her. He had loved her since when? He no longer saw meaning in remembering and back tracking. It had been just too long ago, before it was morally ethical to possess such feelings for one so young, before she was even old enough to understand what love is, he had already been in love with her.

Many of those times, he was merely denying, to the world but mostly to himself, denying not so much that he had developed feelings for a human, but the fact that he had allowed such feelings to grow at all. In the eyes of his court, he was her guardian and she was his ward, a more fatherly figure rather than a mate, a husband. Even in the demonic realm such rules apply. Demons despised immoral unions, that of father and daughter, that of mother and son, of a teacher and his student, and between cousins who are related by blood. Even when Rin had no such blood ties with him, every demon in his court had viewed them as father and daughter. As the leader and lord of his pack, it would seem most disastrous to create an uproar if he chose to go otherwise.

But now, he finally understood that he didn't care. He didn't care if he turned against the whole world. He didn't care a damn what others think of them or even, think of her…now that she was….

At that thought, Sesshoumaru's heart pinched painfully, of both regret and of the poison acting up in his blood again. If he had revealed to her more obviously that he had no intentions to marry another, perhaps then, Rin wouldn't have met with such ordeal. He had come to understand her too well. Her girlish pride would never be allow her to live with such disgrace, of being forever labeled as one who had been dishonored.

Sesshoumaru growled, his claws sweeping aimlessly. He regretted that he had ended the sorrowful life of that despicable lecher too easily. He should have pulled out his limbs one by one, make him scream in equal pain as the girl. He should have dug his black perverted heart out with a spoon for taking too many looks at her, for having the nerve to propose a marriage, for lusting over her youth and beauty and for daring to think he could act on it.

He shook his head to clear the sweat accumulating blurring his vision of her. His worried eyes squinted to study her expression, wishing fervently to guess correctly what she could be thinking, what she might be about to do. Yes… she had been with him for so long now, following by his side. He had grown to be able to tell her moods and what was on that innocent mind of hers just by a breath she silently gasped, a slight twist of her brows or even a second of change in her pulse. He would recognize her scent long before she arrived by his side. He knew her like no other and he knew too… she was the same. Even when he had never shown and told her so, he knew that she knew him.

Through the years, she had become probably the only one soul on this earth who could decipher his mood changes from his expressionless face, from his inscrutable persona. So many times, he would only smirk to himself at how well the girl would guess his feelings, his intention of actions and sometimes, his reasons behind them, no matter how in depth and hidden he'd think they were. This simple fact awed him with no end and at times, the thought that she could be the one…his soul mate… even sprang in his mind, though he would immediately dismiss it. No… he was never a demon who's into such weakness… love. His hand… was meant only to hold a sword… not a female. He was only meant for conquest… of power not of love.

His golden eyes turning fiery red, his breath was almost coming to a standstill as he read on her face what he most dread…her answer. She had turned to look at him for a split second, his fast traveling ball of power toward her direction and it was more than enough for him to guess it correctly. He was certain what he saw her eyes were telling him though her lips did not move to speak. Sesshoumaru-sama…. Goodbye…

In the next second, she had disappeared into the darkness beneath.

"NOOOO!!!!" He roared out breaking the eerie silence of midnight, his hand reaching desperately to grab hold of her…..

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End of chapter 1

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Hi again,

Hope you like the beginning of this fic. Reviews, comments are always welcome!!!!

Till we meet again…

evilbunny