A/N: I will warn you now, what they said in his memories might not be exact wording, but I really didn't feel like going through all the episodes and/or searching online to get exact words. You still get the gist of it.
He watched as she ran through the field, a tradition and habit she refused to let die.
Death.
Human death.
That was not a subject he enjoyed thinking about nearly as often as he had before. Not since she came into his life.
He'd found her when she was just a little girl. Or more, she found him. His imbecile of a younger half-brother had managed to wield his inheritance, their father's fang that InuTaisho had had turned into a sword, the Tetsusaiga, and left to InuYasha upon his own death. The whelp had used it against him that day, after the human girl that traveled with him, Kagome, had managed to pull it out of it's resting place in their father's tomb. It was that day that the Lord of the Western Lands had lost his left arm.
Recovering from the battle, lying in the spot he'd designated for a resting area in the woods, she had approached him. She was so small back then. Only eight years old. Yet she wasn't afraid of the killing perfection. Yes, that was what his name meant, and it was duly given. He was a horrific opponent, yet this mere human child did not fear him. In fact, she tried to take care of him. Bringing him plants, fish, and anything else she could gather up for him to eat.
The first time she'd seen him, he nearly transformed into his true form and killed her. She flinched, but barely. He ignored her, only occasionally saying something, and it was usually something along the lines of "I do not eat human food." She never replied.
Then, one day, she'd came back as always. She had no food this time, but one eye was bruised so badly that it was swollen shut, and she'd had a couple teeth missing. For once, there was no harshness in his voice when he spoke to her, and what he said sounded sincerely true, "What happened to you? I do not care. I am just curious."
That was the first time she smiled at him. She smiled, and she laughed. He wondered aloud what she was laughing about.
Soon after that, after recovering well enough to satisfy his own personal standards, he began the journey back to his lands. It was then that he smelled it. Blood. A dead human's body. Her blood. Her body. The marks on her young corpse were that of wolves, and he could smell their stench all over the area.Jaken, his vassal, commented briefly on the stench and the poor fate of that wretched creature, meaning the girl.
Sesshoumaru had planned on continuing on his path, refusing to let any sort of compassion show, until his own sword, another of his father's fangs, the Tenseiga, pulsated. "What is it you want, Tenseiga?"
He unsheathed the sword, aiming it at the dead girl's body, and the sword revealed the disgusting creatures that transported souls to the next world. The sword, which he knew of it's purpose and power, but never thought he'd have reason to use it, was then used by the demon lord to cut down those creatures of the afterlife.
He knelt down, holding her in his one arm as she began to breather again, and opened her eyes, smiling up at him. Her injuries had all been healed, and her full life had been given back. She got off of his lap as he stood, planning to leave her there, until he realized that she was following right behind him
Soon after, she told him her name. Rin. How befitting, he thought, remembering all of this, and remembering that her name meant "companion". He'd had no intention of letting her follow him all this time, but she took care of herself, and knew not to complain or lag because he would not wait for her. Did she ever realize that he did wait? He could've moved along his journeys much quicker, but he would stop and wait several times throughout each day for her to gather food, rest, or relieve herself.
He didn't mind. She was an entertaining creature to have around at moments. Moments when she would drive Jaken insane with her incessant questions. She even gave Sesshoumaru, himself, more reasons to punish Jaken, due to the imp's love for making fun of and insulting the girl, whether it be stepping on him or throwing rocks at the toad. He would occasionally throw the rocks for no reason at all, just because it made Rin giggle.
His memories of her moved on while she continued to dance through all the flowers in the field, picking some along her trail while she could still see them in the light of the setting sun.
He remembered when that wind sorceress, Kagura, and the demon slayer child, Kohaku, both in the employ of that sickening creature Naraku, had abducted her. He wasted no time in finding her. Just as the time she was abducted by a demon that loved to kidnap children by luring them with his flute, and the monks who defeated the demon tried taking her back to their village with them. He remembered listening from within the forest while the group of rescued children, the monks who'd rescued them, and Rin all fought. The children told the head monk that Rin said to them all how humans are scarier than demons, and how a demon would be coming to find her. The holy man grabbed Rin, intent on carrying her back to the village, while she pounded on him, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Lord Sesshoumaru! I know you're there! Please, Lord Sesshoumaru, save me!" He knew there was no way for her to know he was actually there other than faith, but something made him move forward. As soon as he'd shown himself, the monk let Rin go, and they tried overcoming Sesshoumaru.
Needless to say their efforts were fruitless. As Rin left with her beloved lord, the monk beckoned her to come back, saying that humans and demons can never live together in peace. She stuck out her tongue at him. Such an immature, child-like response, yet it made him smile a little inside when he realized himself that she truly did believe that humans were worse than demons, and in her innocence and naivety, held no hate for either species.
It wasn't until she was older that she mentioned how her family had been killed by human bandit, that she'd witnessed it all. It made sense for her to trust demons more.
As soon as they were on their trail again after the incident with the monks, Rin, Jaken, and himself, Rin had asked him, "Lord Sesshoumaru? When I grow old and die, will you promise never to forget about me?"
His gasped lightly in surprise at the question, and his response, "Do not say such silly things," seemed to appease her.
He knew it and did not believe it would need saying to be known.
He would never forget her.
Even now, she astonished him. She did not carry on like other human females of her nineteen years. She did not meet a mortal man, marry, and have children, living out a normal human life. She did not let others help or take care of her if she could help it. Even when she'd received one of the signs of puberty in a female, the monthly cycle, she still took care of everything herself, never asking questions nor asking for help.
She still fished and scavenged for food on her own, and, when reaching her mid-teens, had taught herself to hunt, clean, and cook small and large game.
Realizing that it'd been most of the day since she'd last eaten, he looked down to where she was kneeling on the ground, having made a flower wreath as she always did to wear on the crown of her head, to see if there were any signs that she was hungry.
She held three in her right hand so far, her hip-length black hair wrapping around itself and the flowers in the breeze, and in her left, she held one out for him to see, smiling in amazement and pride at her pick for the day, "The flowers are pretty, aren't they, Lord Sesshoumaru?"
He looked back down to her, the human girl he'd frown to love as a person, a friend, and a comrade, and knew he would never recover from her death, and would never be as amazed and loved by another human as he was with her. Beautiful, Rin, he thought before smiling down to the beautiful young woman beside him, "Do not say such silly things."
She smiled that smile, the one he knew and feared he would never forget.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Please review. And as this is a one-shot, there will be no updates.
-rea