Orange afternoon sunlight peeked in and out of the trees surrounding the lush, grassy meadow. All was quiet, except for the sound of various songbirds and other woodland creatures. A single fat, hairy caterpillar slowly inched its way across a tall blade of grass, headed for those very trees.

In the middle of this meadow sat three youkai. One was large and had two heads, and it rested in the cool grass, soaking up the sun's warmth. The second was small and green, and was, like its friend, sleeping; a large bubble on its nose moving in accordance with its breaths. The last was shaped like a human except for its long silver hair and elven-shaped ears. It was sitting upright, eyes closed, possibly meditating, when a sound from behind him alerted his senses.

"Kyaah!" Came the sound. At once, the silver-haired youkai closed his eyes once more. It was the sound of a little girl playing nonsensical games; nothing to bother himself over.

A few moments went by in the same blissful silence, but then the sound came again. "Kyaah! Souryuuha!" This captured the youkai's attention. He turned his head to see what in the world his ward thought she was doing, only to see Rin swinging a large stick through the air like a sword. Mesmerized, he kept watching.

"I am Rin, slayer of a thousand bad guys! You stand no chance against my poison claws!" She dropped the "sword" and started running toward a large stump. "Kyaaaah!"

As if on cue, Rin's foot caught on a root, and she went flying headfirst into the ground, effectively stuffing her mouth full of dirt. As she came up sputtering and spitting, a faint, but deep, chuckle could be heard throughout the meadow.

The silver-haired youkai tried to keep laughter from bubbling out of him as he called, "Rin."

The human child looked up immediately. "Hai?"

More chuckles. "Come here."

Without hesitation, Rin leapt to her feet and bolted toward the youkai. "Hai, Sesshomaru-sama?"

Sesshomaru tried to pull himself together. "What are you doing?"

Rin looked at the ground. "Rin was playing. Rin was pretending to be a big, strong youkai that defeated all the bandits and wolves in the world. Is Sesshomaru-sama displeased? Jaken-sama says Sesshomaru-sama only smiles when Sesshomaru-sama is angry."

Sesshomaru placed his hand on the child's head. "Why were you pretending to be youkai?"

Rin grinned and answered immediately. "Because Rin wants to be like Sesshomaru-sama!"

Sesshomaru froze as Rin giggled and ran away to chase a yellow butterfly. He closed his eyes and began analyzing what had just happened. What she had said really shocked him, considering he had never really understood humans, what with their fantastical daydreams.

However, when he thought about it, it made more sense than he originally thought. She was a small, naïve girl who knew next to nothing about the world; why wouldn't she fantasize about being youkai? Who had ever been there to tell her that such things were preposterous? She wanted to be like him, but isn't that only to be expected? After all, he was a terrifying, awe-earning Lord of Youkai! Who wouldn't want to be like him? There was no rational explanation for the fluttering feeling in his stomach when he saw her pretend to use his poison claw attack.

He opened his eyes once more and looked at the eight year old. There was also no reason for his feelings of possessiveness. She was currently skipping around, singing a made-up song. He wasn't really listening, but he heard the words "Sesshomaru-sama" and "fighting" and "squishing InuYasha-san". What was it about this little girl that created this pulling sensation in his chest?

After a few more minutes of reflection, he stood, which woke up the two lesser youkai. He sniffed, trying to catch a scent trail of either Naraku or his half-brother's pack. He finally decided that he was not going to decide anything at this time.

"Rin, ikimashou."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!"

The sun faded into the horizon as the group faded into the distance.

A newly-made cocoon hung from a single waxy green leaf, collecting dew in the sunset.

xXx

Hiyaa~! I'm alive! I know you were all REALLY concerned about my health and safety, but hey, at least I uploaded something, ne?

Haha no but seriously, I've been OMEGA busy (PaniPoni Dash? Anyone? Anyone?). I finished my entire first semester as a freshman, pushed through exams, had two failed relationships, made new friends, and gotten good grades in Civics! The only reason I could write this is because I'm horribly sick right now with the flu.

Anyway, this one-shot was a spur-of-the-moment-inspiration-plot-bunny. I had this scene stuck in my head where Rin was pretending to be a youkai, which I think Sesshomaru would either think is stupid or hilarious, or both. Don't hate me if it isn't good… it's like 11:30pm and I'm sleepy. If I were a smart, sensible author, I'd wait until morning to post this, which would give me time to look it over and evaluate whether it's worthy of being on . However, I am NOT a smart OR sensible author, so *flips off society*. Enjoy!

Always Yours,

Raven Black 3

(P.S. Nichibotsu means "Sunset".)