Their time together would be finite; her life was fleeting, and he was reminded of this every time she laughed, cried, or cheered. The day Sesshomaru brought the young girl back from the dead, he resurrected her out of pity; while attempting to aid him in his time of distress, Rin had shown the dog demon kindness that he had never received before, so when he saw her lying motionless on the ground, having been torn apart by wolves, his first instinct was to save her miserable life. Although he could not pinpoint why exactly he did it, he had saved the girl and even allowed her to travel alongside him.
Over time, Sesshomaru found himself more and more willing to put himself in danger for his young traveling companion. He, who vowed to despise humans until the day of his death, had come to rely on the smile of a mortal to give him additional strength and comfort. He thought himself to be pathetic for his attachment to the innocent human girl, and yet his heart and his mind betrayed one another—while his mind told him to abandon his affection toward the weak mortal, his heart urged him to defend her with all of his might. When Kaede, the elder priestess of the village where his half-demon brother usually resided, had advised the great yōkai to allow Rin to remain with her and her fellow villagers in order to teach the young girl how to socialize with other human beings, he was initially reluctant, but after some convincing, he put his own feelings aside and did what he thought would be best for Rin.
Sesshomaru was able to take slight comfort in the fact that his younger brother, despite being a mere half-breed, held admirable power and determination within him, and he would be spending most of his time in the same meager village as Rin, along with the monk, the demon-slayer, and the little fox demon; Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had all been essential to bringing about Naraku's death and the disposal of the Shikon Jewel, leading the dog demon to acknowledge their power as a team; Inuyasha and his friends would provide adequate protection for his former traveling companion.
For three years after Naraku's demise and the banishment of the Jewel of Four Souls, Kagome, another member of the half-demon's group, had been absent from the world, and although Sesshomaru did not know what had caused her sudden disappearance, he could easily detect how severely it hurt Inuyasha. So often when the esteemed yōkai had gone to visit Rin in the human village, his younger brother would be at the Bone Eater's Well, silently pleading for the return of the woman he loved. Although Sesshomaru never bothered to ask how or why, Kagome did eventually return to their world; he noticed her when departing Kaede's village after a short visit with Rin, and automatically he could sense that his only sibling had found his place in the world once again.
Upon the miko's return, Sesshomaru became aware of a strengthening bond between her and Rin; Kagome had taught the innocent girl a vast amount of information ranging from what the best herbs to pick for a cold were to how to shoot a bow and arrow in self-defense. The great demon of the Western Lands observed as his former companion grew more resilient, secretly feeling relief at her increased ability at being able to take care of herself.
Sesshomaru had nearly lost Rin while attempting to master the Meido Zangetsuha—a technique that could cut through the fabric of time and space in order to send foes straight to the Netherworld. A hell-hound had abducted her, and she had not been able to endure the atmosphere of the Underworld. The regretful yōkai mourned her death, which had shaken him to his very core upon the realization that his Tenseiga could not resurrect her a second time. No amount of power was worth the girl's life, yet he had acted contrary to this belief in a fit of greed. Had his mother not taken pity on him and revived Rin that day, the loss of her would have followed him to his own grave.
Rin had spent eight years of her life in Kaede's village, learning mostly skills useful for medical purposes but also a few techniques for self-defense. The prideful dog demon never remained away for more than a few weeks at a time, frequently bestowing gifts to his old traveling companion on the days he chose to visit. When autumn set in on the young woman's eighth year of living in the village, she was insistent upon departing the village with Sesshomaru. As one of the most significant reasons for allowing Rin to remain with her fellow humans had been to enable her to choose whether she wished to live out her days with her own kind or continue following him, he did not offer much resistance when she made the decision to return to his side.
It had been merely a week since the bubbly young woman had begun traveling with Sesshomaru, his (generally useless) imp vassal, Jaken, and their two-headed dragon, Ah-Un again, and the respected yōkai already felt the impact of her presence; she had brought with her a sense of contentment that had been lost for many years.
"Master Jaken, I'm beginning to get hungry. Do you think it would be alright if we stopped for a bit so I could find something to eat?" Rin harmlessly asked, placing a hand on her stomach to re-establish how hungry she was.
"A week with us and you're already proving to be a pain in the neck! Can you not wait patiently until we come upon somewhere more suited for searching for food? This forest will, most likely, hold nothing particularly edible for you," the green imp explained in a matter-of-fact manner.
"But, Master Jaken, I'm hungry now, and who knows how long it will take us to make our way out of this forest? I can't just wait another day or two to eat, you know."
"Insolent girl! I see that your sharp tongue hasn't changed at all in the time you've been apart from me and Lord Sesshomaru. You'll only be hindering us if you run off searching for food right now, so—"
"Jaken." The great demon of the Western Lands had stopped walking and was staring intensely over his shoulder at his vassal.
"Y-yes, m-mi'lord?" Jaken stuttered in response.
"Let her be," Sesshomaru simply but sternly demanded, making his way to rest against a tree. "Do not venture far, Rin. It is not safe here." The young lady gave a smile and a slight nod at his words before skipping off into the dense trees. He sat silently as the short, green demon that accompanied him began creating a fire. The sun was setting low in the sky, and darkness made its way across the horizon; setting up camp for the night was not a needless idea.
The silence of the evening was shattered abruptly by a piercing scream; Sesshomaru immediately identified the voice as belonging to Rin and bolted off in her direction, leaving Jaken and Ah-Un behind. Although the young woman had changed significantly in the time that she had been away, one thing would forever remain the same—if she called out for Sesshomaru, he would rush to her side, ready and willing to kill if needed.