Chapter One

A small girl around the age of seven was playing in a lake, trying to keep herself cool. It was mid summer and a few hours past noon, so it was hot. This summer was exceptionally hot, and the man that the young girl followed around through thick and thin wanted to keep her safe, so he decided to stop and have her take a swim. Young Rin, wearing only a white kimono, did her best to try and swim, but was having a rough time. She kept herself on the shallow end of the lake, not wanting to fall in the deeper end and sat down in the water so it would only come up to her waist.

Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands sat under a large tree, resting his back against the trunk, and keeping his eye on Rin. They had been travelling for the past two weeks and because of a recent fight with Naraku, his guard was up and he wasn't able to sleep very much, so he was slightly grateful for this small time to relax. His lack of sleep was beginning to show on his face when dark circles began to form under his eyes. He constantly felt like he was being watched, or like someone was waiting for him to let his guard down, so he did his best not to.

A breeze picked up and caressed the uncovered parts of his skin, allowing some relief to the constant heat that had been felt the past few weeks. As the breeze continued, he began to feel more relaxed and like he could finally get some sleep. Luckily for the two of them, Jaken had recently been ordered to head back to his castle to check up on things, so he was not around to irritate Sesshomaru or to harass Rin for being a human child.

"Rin." Sesshomaru called out to her. His voice was calm and serious as it usually was, although a slight sense of concern for the girl could be heard by those who paid very close attention.

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru." Rin said with that happy and innocent tone that she had always presented to those she spoke to. She turned around, a light splashing sound being heard as her hands moved through the water.

"Will you be okay if I sleep for a while?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"Yes of course!" Rin jumped up to her feet and ran over to him.

"I mean it Rin... Do not leave the area and wake me if anything happens." He practically demanded of her. His attitude toward her was obviously different than it used to be. Although he wouldn't admit it to her or anyone else, he cared deeply for her. This emotion would usually be called 'love' by humans, but Sesshomaru was a proud and a high ranking demon, so he would not say it.

"Okay, Lord Sesshomaru. I'll stay." Rin smiled to him.

"Good." Sesshomaru leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He made sure to keep himself alert for a few more minutes, just knowing that Rin would disobey him and leave the area. She had done it multiple times before and each time she got hurt or he would have to protect her from some demon that she ran into.

After about ten minutes, he noted that Rin had actually listened to him and still had not even attempted to leave the area, but instead she continued to play in the water. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, as he completely relaxed and allowed himself to drift away from the reality of the world and into a nice relaxing sleep. A sleep that he had well deserved for a while. His head dropped slightly to the side as his muscles relaxed, and his arms dropped from his lap down to the ground beside him.

Rin was having fun in the water, but she wanted to go and play in the forest. She knew that she was not supposed to leave the area, but Sesshomaru always wanted to stay in one place to let her play, when all she wanted to do was have the ability to run around. She wished that she had someone else to play with. Jaken would play with her every now and then, but he was never any fun. All he would do was complain about what she wanted to play. She had come up with many great ideas for games as well, but was never able to tell anyone.

She looked back towards Sesshomaru and smiled. She could tell that he was finally asleep when his head dropped. He obviously didn't know that he did it when he slept, and she was not going to tell him either. She slowly and silently moved out of the water and went over to the kimono that she would usually wear. She put it on and then tip-toed off into the forest. Once she was a decent distance away from him, she began to run. On their way to the lake, she saw a large patch of flowers and wanted to get a better look at them. She continued running through the forest when she suddenly slammed into something and fell backwards.

"Ouch..." She rubbed her butt and then looked up. Her eyes widened in happiness when she saw Kohaku, "KOHAKU! Where have you been? It's been such a long time since we have played!"

She awaited his answer, but got nothing. She stood up and grabbed onto his wrist, tugging on it to see if he was himself, but once again, nothing happened. She heard some kind of chuckling coming from behind Kohaku and looked around him. Kagura stood there with a smirk on her face and ordered Kohaku to grab her. She turned to run, but was caught immediately and pulled back, her arm being held behind her.

"NO! LET ME GO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Let her scream Kohaku..." Kagura walked over to them as Kohaku continued to hold onto her like the robot he was.

"LORD SESSHOMARU! AAAAAHHHHHH!" Rin screamed out for help, hoping that he would hear.

"Bring her to the clearing, Kohaku..." Kagura said as she turned away and walked off towards the edge of the forest. Kohaku turned and followed her, forcing the scared Rin to come along with them. They exited the forest and moved to stand in the middle of a valley that they had come across. Rin looked around and noticed the large patch of flowers that she was heading to before. She smiled slightly, but that quickly vanished when Kohaku put his sickle to her throat.

"Don't move." Kohaku told her in an emotionless tone.

"Okay..." She said innocently as she lowered her head and tears began to soak her cheeks.

Sesshomaru was attempting to get some rest, but luck was not on his side. His eyes snapped open in anger and worry as he heard the child he cared so much for scream. Without hesitation, he jumped up and ran through the forest, a cloud of dust forming behind him. Hearing her scream even louder caused him to speed up, his feet slamming against the ground. He stopped in a small clearing in the middle of the forest and sniffed the air.

"Where the hell is she...?" He hissed as he caught her scent, his own question being answered. He ran towards her scent, knowing that he was getting closer. Every step of the way, he was waiting for the scent of her blood, but to his liking, it never came. He entered the valley after coming to the edge of the forest and stopped, his eyes coming to lay upon three people.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" Rin called out to him as she noticed his arrival and began crying heavily, "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY I DIDN'T LISTEN!"

"Shut up." Kohaku said, covering her mouth, keeping his sickle at her throat.

"Let her go." Sesshomaru demanded as he moved his arm across his body and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Remove your weapons, Sesshomaru." Kagura said.

"And why would I do that?" He asked.

"Kohaku." Kagura said and Kohaku reacted by raising his sickle and swinging it down, the end piercing Rin's stomach.

"AH!" Rin screamed as the blade entered her flesh. Sesshomaru couldn't help it, but a look of shock and worry shot across his face.

"Ah... I see. You really do care for this girl. Now drop your weapons." Kagura demanded in a much more serious tone this time.

Sesshomaru moved his gaze back and forth between Kagura and Rin. He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter than he had ever before and removed it from his side. Kagura was about to have Kohaku hurt Rin again, but Sesshomaru swung his arm around, tossing the Tokijin about fifty feet to the left. He then did the same to Tenseiga.

"Good boy." Kagura smirked and walked forward. She swung her arm out and opened her fan, only to swing her arm back around her body, "Dance of Blades!" A barrage of crescent moon lights formed and flew towards him. Sesshomaru easily stepped out of the way and moved behind her. He was about to land his fist into her back, but Rin's scream stopped him. He looked back toward Kohaku and he had once again stabbed her with his sickle, but this time deeper into her side.

"Move again and she'll get worse." Kagura said to him and he just glared at her, deciding to stand his ground.

Kagura smirked and backed away from him a bit, only to repeat her attack. This time Sesshomaru did not move and every one of her blades passed through his body. He was pushed back slightly and tried his best to keep himself on his feet, as his blood splattered all over the ground. Kagura didn't give him any time to react and attacked him again, his body almost being pushed to the floor. Multiple large gashes in his stomach, chest, and on both of his arms bled heavy amounts.

"NO! STOP IT!" Rin pleaded, but Kagura attacked once more, this time he was forced to the floor. His body dropped down in a large pool of blood. He pressed his hands against the floor and attempted to push himself up, but he had lost way too much blood. He fell back to the floor and glared up at his attacker. Kagura smiled and then changed her way of attacking, "Dance.. of the Dragon." one of her strongest attacks was sent toward Sesshomaru. His body was surrounding by her tornado's, his body being cut up, wounds that had already been inflicted being ripped open even more. His body dropped to the floor, his vision becoming blurry and his breathing becoming heavy as he kept his eyes on Rin.

"Looks like you are finished." Kagura said and turned away from him, "Kohaku, finish him for me."

"Yes." Kohaku pushed Rin to the floor and moved over to Sesshomaru, who once again tried to get up, but failed. Kohaku raised his sickle up and something caught him by surprise. Out of the corner of his eye, a bright light came toward him. A large burst of fire shot toward both him and Kagura, forcing them both to dodge. The two jumped out of the way and landed about twenty feet away from Rin and Sesshomaru.

"Ja...ken..." Sesshomaru struggled to say as he heard the voice of his loyal servant.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" Jaken yelled as he saw the injuries his Lord had. The two headed dragon, AhUn was flying towards them. Jaken quickly jumped off of AhUn's back and raised his staff, sending another large burst of fire toward Kagura and Kohaku, causing them to jump back again. As they landed farther away from Sesshomaru, Jaken ran over and picked Rin up, putting her on AhUn's back, while Ah bit into Sesshomaru's clothing and picked him up.

They began to fly off, but Kagura tried to stop them by calling her Dance of the Dragon attack, but was quickly stopped when Un turned toward her, the one that was not carrying Sesshomaru, opened his mouth, sending a bright beam of energy towards their enemy. Kagura was summoning her own attack so she was unable to dodge on her own. Kohaku grabbed her and pulled her back, jumping from the attack, and the group got away.

"Lord Sesshomaru..." Rin said as she looked to him, coughing up blood and crying. "I'm sorry... It's my fault you are hurt. I should have listened to you..."

"Rin." Jaken said and she looked to him, "He is unconscious..."

"Oh..." Rin's eyes filled up with tears as she began to scream out, crying hysterically as she reached out to Sesshomaru, but was stopped when Jaken held her back, "NO! IT'S MY FAULT! DADDY NO! DADDY!"

"Daddy?" Jaken whispered in shock to himself as he looked to Rin.

"DADDY, PLEASE BE OKAY!" Rin pleaded as she began to thrash about, causing herself to cough up more blood. She suddenly got very dizzy and fell unconscious herself. Jaken reached out and caught her before she fell off and held her tight. Un glanced back to Jaken, wondering what they were going to do, as Ah concentrated on carrying his master.

"Head a course... for.. Inuyasha's village." Jaken said, Un snarling at this comment, "I know Lord Sesshomaru will be furious, but it is the only choice we have. Let's just hope they will be willing to help us." Jaken looked forward as the sun was heading down, coming towards the mountain. The breeze had stopped and it was cooling down as nightfall began to come.

End of Chapter One. Reviews Appriciated.