Rin ran through the forest without looking back, tears were streaming down her face but she didn't stop to wipe them away all that mattered now was to get as far away as possible. She had been running for hours now and her tiny body was worn out, she had no destination in mind only to run, she continued to run until her legs collapsed under her, she rolled on the ground and cut herself on the sticks and rocks.

She laid there in the dirt not even caring if a demon came then to kill her, she could hear footsteps in the distance, she prayed that they belonged to the one she cared for so much but instead it was a human, or a demon that took on a human form, either way Rin didn't care. She watched through blurred eyes as the human walked closer, she couldn't tell if it was male or female, all she knew is they had long hair tied in a ponytail. Her eyes slowly started to flutter shut from exhaustion, she tried to force her eyes to stay open but she couldn't, the last thing Rin saw was the human crouching down beside her, one eyes was as blue as the sky while the other was as black as night.

Narain was walking peacefully through the woods when he felt the presence of another in the forest, at first he ignored it, it wasn't uncommon to get travellers through the forest, it wasn't until he smelt the blood that he became concerned. Following the scent he came upon a girl laying in the dirt, she had dirt sticking to the blood that was on her as well as sticks and leaves through her tattered hair. He didn't sense anyone else around but it was obvious that this girl was running from something.

He came out from his hiding place and started to approach the girl, she was looking straight at him but she wasn't afraid, her eyes held disappointment. Slowly her eyes were starting to close, Narain thought for a moment of leaving her there, from the look in her eyes she was expecting someone else to find her but he couldn't sense another anywhere near them and she looked to be badly hurt. He continued towards the girl, he bent down next to her as she took one final look at him before passing out, he gently and carefully picked her up in his arms then whistled. A horse came galloping into view and stopped just in front of Narain, he leapt gracefully on top the horse and took hold of the rains.

"To home Moko" he commanded

Moko started to run and as she did clouds appeared under her feet, she gracefully started to lift into the sky and flew over the trees towards the mountains. There was a small cave hidden in the mountain landscape, if you didn't know what you were looking for you wouldn't be able to find it, Moko gradually started to descend into the cave until she came to a stop a little ways in. Narain got down from Moko and walked further into the cave, Moko followed after him until she came to a small patch of straw on the ground, she walked around in a circle before settling on the straw and watched as Narain placed the human girl on his own bed.

Once Narain's hands were free he picked up a small clay bowl and moved to the back of the cave where there was a small stream running through, he filled up the bowl then took it over towards Rin. He placed the bowl beside her and with a cloth he started to gently wipe the dirt and dried blood away, once she was fairly clean he checked her for any serious wounds but only found small cuts and bruises.

"Moko watch over her, I will go out and fetch some food, she will be hungry when she wakes"

Moko neighed as if to agree and watched as Narain left the cave; once he was gone she went back to watching Rin. Moko was confused to why her master had bought a human into their home. Rin woke up to the smell of food cooking; she opened her eyes but couldn't really see anything around her. After blinking a few times her sight started to come back, she noticed the small flicker of a fire and a figure sitting down in front of it.

Her body felt stiff and sore as she started to move around, Narain turned once he heard movement then picked up a bowl that was next to him and filled it with the stew he had been cooking. He carried the stew over to Rin and sat down next to her holding out the bowl; Rin stared up at the figure still unable to see who it was properly with the poor light.

"I'm sorry, Moko and I have no problems seeing in the dark" he said moving around

He went around the cave and lit all the different lanterns he had around the place until it was brightly lit like day time. Once everything was lit up he went back of to Rin and sat down next to her again.

"That better?" he asked with a smile

Rin stared up at the mysterious man, he had long red hair that even though it was tied up it still reached his middle, he was wearing the outfit of a samurai that made Rin back up slightly but it was his eyes, the two different colours that made her confused

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you"

"Are you demon or human?" Rin asked

"I am neither a human nor a demon but one in the same" he explained

Rin looked up at him confused by what he had said, as far as she was concerned he said he wasn't either but then said he was both, it didn't make sense to her.

"I am what you humans I believe refer to as a hanyo"

Rin had often heard this word, most of the time it was when Sesshomaru had run into Inuyasha, she had asked Jaken one night what it meant, he told her it meant he was half demon and half human.

"You should eat to get your strength back" he smiled

Rin looked down at the bowl beside her, she was awfully hungry, she couldn't remember the last time she ate. Without really thinking she picked it up and started to eat.

"Feel better?" he asked once she was finished

Rin nodded and thanked him for the food but then she started to wonder where she was and how she got here.

"Why did you bring me here?" Rin asked shuffling so she was leaning against the cave wall

"You looked like you were in need of assistance"

Rin remembered then how she had fallen over and got many different cuts she could also feel the pain from the many different bruises. Her hand moved over to the places it hurt the most but her whole body was starting to ache.

"Are you in pain?"

Rin nodded, it was all she could do at the time.

"I know, a bath will help, let me run you a bath" he said running around shuffling things.

Rin didn't pay much attention to what he was doing until he came and knelt down in front of her.

"Can you stand?"

Rin tried to stand but her legs felt numb, he carefully picked her up and carried her over to the bath he had made. Narain carried Rin into a different area of the cave where there was a hole in the ground half filled with water, the hole wasn't that big, Rin could of easily stood in it but it was enough for a grown up to lie down in. he placed Rin on the ground next to the water then went to the fire and lifted a large pot of boiling water, he carried it over to the water hole and poured it in. with a quick test of the water temperature he decided it would be fine for Rin. He lifted her up and placed her in gently clothes and all.

"If you wash your clothes I can dry them by the fire for when you get out" he said

Narain turned away from Rin and sat not far from the water's edge looking into the fire, Rin took off her kimono and washed it in the warm water then handed to Narain who had his hands behind his back. Once the kimono was in his hands he hung it near the fire to dry then waited patiently until Rin was ready to get out. Rin washed out all the dirt, sticks and leaves from her hair and body until she was all clean. The bath had made her feel a little better; her limbs didn't feel as stiff or sore now.

"I'm ready to get out now" Rin called out

Narain walked in with his eyes closed and a white piece of materiel in front of him.

"You can use this to dry yourself with"

Rin climbed out of the bath and walked into the soft white cloth, Narain wrapped it around her and once he was sure she was all covered he opened his eyes then lifted her in his arms and carried her back over to his bed.

"Your clothes will take a little bit longer to dry" he said sitting her down on the bed

"What is your name?" Rin asked hugging the cloth for warmth

"Narain and that over there is Moko" he said pointing to the horse

Moko was staring at Rin and she was staring at Moko, Rin had never seen a horse up close before.

"She's really pretty"

Moko liked that comment and trotted over to Rin, as she got closer Rin could see her better, she was a white horse with a black main and tail, she also had the same type of eyes as Narain. Moko laid down half on the bad and half off with her head near Rin's lap. Rin giggled and started to pat the horse and run her fingers through her main.

"It seems Moko likes you" Narain laughed "so tell us dear, what is your name?"

"My name is Rin"

"Where is your family Rin?"

"I don't have one, they were killed" she said not taking her eyes away from Moko

"Is that why you were running?"

Rin shook her head "my family was killed over years ago"

"Then what were you running from?"

Rin's small face frowned at havening to think about it.

"It's ok; you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Do you have somewhere you can go? Any friends or family?"

"I have no family or friends, no one wants me" she said as tears started to show

"Is that why you were running, did someone tell you they didn't want you?"

Narain guessed by Rin's silence and the few tears that he was correct, he also knew that meant someone out there would be looking for her and worried when they didn't find her.

"I won't force you to leave if you don't wish to but would you allow me to tell those you were with where you are?"

"You can't!" she screamed

"Afraid they might be looking for you?"

"Afraid he will kill you" she mumbled

"I am not easily killed"

"Lord Sesshomaru is a full demon and very strong"

"You were with a demon?"

"Yes"

"That explains why she is not afraid of me but if this demon is looking for her then there could be trouble"

"Rin I know you are worried for my safety and that is very sweet of you but don't you wish to let this Lord Sesshomaru know that you are safe, with him being a demon he would have smelled your blood and I don't doubt that he would be worried for you"

Rin thought about this for a while, even if Sesshomaru didn't want her around that didn't mean he didn't care for her safety right?

"Ok" she finally said

"You never know maybe he regrets what happened and wants you back" he smiled friendly

"Please don't tell him I'm here"

"But Rin..."

"Please don't" she plead

"Very well Rin"

"Even if Lord Sesshomaru does want me back I... I can't forget what he said to me"

"Moko you stay with Rin"

Moko lifted her head and neighed then laid it gently back down on Rin's lap, Narain got Rin's kimono and handed it to her before leaving the cave. It was dark now and the moon was nearly full, Narain looked up at the starry sky with concern.

"Maybe I should wait..."

He looked back at the girl in the cave and sighed, he knew this couldn't really wait. Gracefully he started to jump down the mountain, it didn't take him long to get down and back into the forest where he found Rin.

"No one is here"

He looked around but didn't sense anyone or smell any new people nor could he hear anyone around. He decided it would be best to sit here and wait for a while in case they were on their way here. Narain jumped up a nearby tree and laid down on one of the branches out of sight, he waited there with his eyes closed keeping his senses at full alert. The moon was starting to fall by the time someone approached, it was a demon and they were alone. Narain crouched in the tree and watched as the demon came into sight. He had long silver hair and had a fur over one shoulder; he had 2 swords in his belt. Narain guess this would be Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru glared over at the tree where he knew someone was watching, he could see the small glint of a blue eye in the darkness. He growled slightly trying to chase the demon off but it wouldn't leave, deciding to ignore the demon he continued to sniff around but realised her scent had just vanished.

"Well here goes nothing"

Narain jumped down from the tree and walked towards Sesshomaru, his back was facing him but Narain knew Sesshomaru would know he was there.

"What do you want" Sesshomaru growled not bother to face him

"Are you Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Who wants to know?"

"A human girl"

Sesshomaru turned around and noticed the slight hint of Rin's scent mixed with his own, he couldn't control his temper and went after Narain with his poison claws. Narain was pinned to the tree with the poison claws hanging over him.

"Where is Rin?"

"She does not wish for you to know" He said remaining calm

"Tell me where she is or I will kill you" he growled

"I have merely come to tell you that she is safe and that she doesn't wish to see you right now, if you care for this girl you will respect her wishes"

"How do I know you won't kill her?"

"I have not killed her yet and I have come carrying her wish, if I was planning on harming the girl would I go through this trouble"

Sesshomaru was torn between decisions, he could kill Narain and find Rin himself but he couldn't pick up the scent so she could be on her own for a while putting her in more danger, or he could let him go then follow him to Rin then risk her being angry at him or he could leave Rin in this demons safety and accept the fact that Rin doesn't want to be around him anymore. None of those ideas sounded good to him.

"Rin is human so she won't know"

Sesshomaru snapped back into reality and looked at the demon.

"If you wish you can follow me there and see for yourself that she is safe"

Sesshomaru thought about this for a while before releasing his hold on Narain.

"I can always kill him if he is lying then"

"There is one condition to coming with me; you cannot tell another where I am"

Sesshomaru nodded, this sounded acceptable, after all he had had no idea who the demon was and as soon as Rin was safe with him again he was sure how would forget the demon all together. Narain led Sesshomaru to the mountain and started to climb it, Sesshomaru followed behind him sniffing the air, he still couldn't smell Rin, the scent of Narain and another demon were too strong.

"Rin is in that cave, you will make sure you stay out of sight"

Sesshomaru stopped walking and watched as Narain walked to the cave.

"Narain you back" Rin chirped

"Rin... why are you here with demons?"

"Did you find him?"

"He was there looking for you, he seemed very worried when he couldn't find you"

"Really"

"She sounds surprised" Sesshomaru thought

"If you want I can take you to him in the morning"

"No... I... I can't go back"

"Very well then Rin, like I said I won't force you to leave if you don't wish to, Moko I'm going to get more firewood, you and Rin stay here"

Narain walked out the cave and headed towards where Sesshomaru was standing.

"You satisfied now?" he asked "she doesn't want to go back with you; whatever you did or said to her has pushed her away from you"

Narain grabbed some wood then headed back inside the cave.

"Time for bed Rin, everything will be better in the morning"

"Ok Narain"

Rin snuggled up close to Moko and fell asleep, that night she dreamt about the first time she ever met Sesshomaru, he was badly hurt and she tried to nurse him back to health but he ignored her efforts. That was the first and last time she had ever seen Sesshomaru badly hurt, that is until the other day.

The next day Rin woke up to the smell of food cooking, like the last time she woke up Narain bought her food and sat quietly as she ate, once she was finished he cleaned up then checked her wounds, they were nearly all healed.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Much better thankyou"

"You were moving around in your sleep a lot last night"

"I was dreaming about the first time I ever met Lord Sesshomaru, he was hurt and I was trying to help him then some wolves attacked me and he saved me"

"You can go back to him if you wish"

"I can't"

"Well what do you want to do today?"

"Do?"

"Yeah, we can go for a walk or Moko could take us somewhere nice, what do you like doing? Anything in the world"

"Anything?"

"Anything and I promise to try and make it happen"

"Well there is one thing I really want to do..."

"Sesshomaru never gives me a choice" Rin thought sadly

"What is it Rin could possibly want that I have not given her?" Sesshomaru wondered

"I really want to go to a human village" Rin said with a blush "this kimono is getting to small and I need a new one"

"Well you wash up and we will get going"

"Really?"

"Of course, anything to see you smile"

+X+

Narain lifted Rin onto the back of Moko then jumped on himself, with a quick glance at the hidden demon behind him he told Moko to go. Moko took a run up before running straight of the cliff, Rin squealed at first with fright but once she realised Moko could fly she squealed in delight.

"Everything is so beautiful" she shouted

"I'm glad you're enjoying it" Narain smiled

Sesshomaru followed from the ground with the trees keeping him out of sight, he could hear Rin's squeals of excitement and started to think.

"She has never squealed like that when she flies with Ah-Un"

"Is this your first time flying?"

Rin shook her head "I have flown a few times on Ah-Un, he's a two headed dragon demon, but this is different somehow"

"Because Moko is showing off" he said with a slight frown

Moko neighed and continued to fly in loops and making Rin laugh, Narain rolled his eyes and stuck to making sure neither him nor Rin fell off. Once Rin spotted a village she started to move around a lot from all the excitement.

"There's a village!"

"Moko land somewhere that isn't in the middle of the village if you would be so kind"

With a snort she landed on the outskirts of the village, Narain jumped off and then lifted Rin gently to the ground.

"Moko and I will wait here, if you're in any danger just call for us ok?"

"Ok" Rin chirped about to run of

"Rin wait, here take this" Narain pulled out a small sack from his belt and handed it to Rin "you will need money to get new clothes"

"Thankyou Narain, ill pay you back one day" she waved running of

Rin ran into the village and was amazed by all the different things there. She had been in human villages before but that was normally at night to steal some food. She walked around until she found someone who was selling material, she looked at all the different kinds then sighed, there was no way she could ever make her own.

"See anything you like?" the lady asked

"Everything" she sighed

"Not the sowing type?"

Rin shook her head with a blush, she never learnt any of these things, she didn't have anyone to teach her.

"Well how about I make something for you then, no extra charge"

He face lit up, Rin couldn't believe her luck. After a few hours Rin came out with a dark purple kimono that had a yellow and white sash and red flowers printed around her shoulders. After thanking and paying the lady Rin started to look around at other things, she found some nice hair ordainments and the lady there tied Rin's hair in a bun placing a butterfly ordainment in her hair, then another lady did her make-up and by the end of it all Rin had been transformed from a girl to a beautiful young lady.

Rin was on her way back to Narain when she noticed some boys pointing and looking at her then two of them pushed one out right in front of her.

"Hello" he said with a nervous smile

"Hello" Rin blushed; it was the first time she had talked to a boy around her own age in a long time

"So I was wondering... did you want to watch the sunset with me?"

"Ok" Rin answered as her blushed deepened

"My name is Kota"

"Rin"

Rin and Kota walked up a hill where they could watch the sunset together, the whole time Rin's heart wouldn't stop pounding, meanwhile Sesshomaru was close by keeping an eye on her, he didn't like what was happening.

"So are you from around here?"

"No, I move around a lot, I never get to stay in one place for too long"

"Oh... so you will be leaving here soon?"

"Yeah"

"That's too bad because if you stayed then maybe we could see each other again"

A small blush fell upon Rin's checks and she found it even harder to stay calm, even though she was happy and nervous at the same time she couldn't help but feel a little sad. When she watched the sunset with Sesshomaru she didn't get this fuzzy feeling in her stomach but she did feel happy, safe, protected, she knew that no harm could come to her.

"You know maybe you could stay"

"Stay here? But I wouldn't have anywhere to live"

"You could always stay with me"

"O..."

Memories of her and Sesshomaru started to fly through her mind making it hard for her to think straight, she loved the feeling she had sitting here with this boy but it was nothing compared to the feeling she got sitting with Sesshomaru. With a single tear rolling down her check she turned to give Kota and answer.

"I can't"

"Why not!" he asked alarmed by her tears

"You see even though he hates me I love him and even though he doesn't want me around anymore I want to stay with him" she said simply before standing

She bowed to the boy then ran off into the forest letting her tears fall freely until she was met by Narain.

"Rin what happened?"

"I want... I want to tell you what happened... why I left"

"Ok then..."

"5 words... that's all it took... 5 little words" she said looking up at the stars "it was after a battle, Lord Sesshomaru had been hurt and when I went up to him to see if he was ok but he sent me away... I refused to leave him; I wanted to know if he was ok. I have been with Lord Sesshomaru for a long time and I don't often see him get hurt so I was worried but he... he... told me 'I don't want you around' that's when I ran. I never knew 5 words could hurt so much"

"That night... but I didn't mean it like that" Sesshomaru thought holding himself back from going to her

"I should have realised it when he tried leaving me in all those different villages... I should have realised then that he didn't want me but I didn't believe it so I decided to stay with him. I guess I was in his way to much"

"How did he get hurt?"

"Huh?"

"How did he get hurt?"

"He was... protecting me"

"Now would he risk his own life to protect someone he didn't want around?"

"I... I guess not"

"I wish to tell you something"

"What's that?"

"Your Lord Sesshomaru has been following us and he is here now watching over you"

"He's what?" Rin asked panicking

"He didn't wish to upset you by appearing to you but he also didn't wish to leave you alone"

"Well... it doesn't matter, I'm... I'm happy here and I'm going to stay here!"

Rin stood up and ran away, Narain watched her leave then stood up; Sesshomaru came up behind Narain and glared at him.

"Now would be a good time to go after her"

Sesshomaru had so much he wanted to do to Narain but he was right, he had to go after Rin and tell her the truth. Rin ran through to forest with no destination in mind, she didn't want to stay at the village but she couldn't go back to Narain now. She started to hear rustling, after spending so much time with Sesshomaru her hearing had improved greatly but to her it only made things worse, it means she could tell when someone was coming to kill her. Rin stared in fear towards where the rustling came from until Sesshomaru stepped out, her fear didn't vanish like it normally did, instead it only grew.

"Lord... Lord Sesshomaru"

"Rin I have heard about all I can handle"

"I-I-I..."

Rin couldn't think of anything to say so she started to run away again, Sesshomaru being a demon reached her in no time then and grabbed hold of her wrist, Rin kept trying to run away but only backed herself into a corner where her only escape was being blocked by Sesshomaru.

"Let me go!" she shouted struggling

Sesshomaru didn't say anything which only made things worse for Rin.

"Why, why are you here? Aren't you happy I'm gone?"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened and his grip loosened allowing Rin to pull her hands away from him.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked with a shaky voice

"Come back with me Rin"

"But... you said you didn't want me" she said trying to pull away but Sesshomaru wasn't letting go "your always trying to get rid of me"

"I only wanted what was best for you"

"You're always trying to do what's best without caring what I want" she said lowering her head

"What do you want?"

"I want to stay with you Lord Sesshomaru"

Rin looked up at him with pleading eyes as tears started to slowly fall to the ground.

"You would be better off in a human village with a human boy"

Rin shook her head and wiped her eyes "that's not true Lord Sesshomaru, I'm only happy when I'm with you"

Rin looked down at the ground again as a blush started to faintly appear that's when something warm wrapped around her, she looked up in shock and fear to see Sesshomaru in front of her pulling her close.

Without warning he picked her up then started to walk away.

"Lord Sesshomaru... am I burden?" she asked not daring to look at him

"You're not a burden"

Rin looked up at Sesshomaru who was focused on the path ahead.

"Rin"

"Yes Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Don't run away again"

For the first time he didn't sound like he was giving her an order, it was more like he was pleading for her not to leave again.

she snuggled in closer to Sesshomaru "ok, as long as Lord Sesshomaru doesn't send me away again"

"I won't"

THE END