Based On: InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Disclaimer: I am a fan of InuYasha. I do not own this manga/anime or it's characters.

Spoilers: chapters 552 - 558

POV: Kaede

Character Appearances: Kaede, Sango, Rin, Sesshomaru, others

Summary: Why Rin lives with Kaede.

Author's Notes: Enjoy! EK

557 ½ The Monster From the West

Chapter One

Kaede Meets Rin

It appeared that Naraku was dead. He had tried to destroy the village with his last breath, but somehow we got lucky and he missed. We assumed that Naraku was dead, because the wind tunnels that cursed the hand of the young monk, had vanished. What concerned me now was not Naraku, but the other demon who now stood in our village. A demon far worse that Naraku was. It was the eldest son of the Great Phantom Dog Demon. This demon was as evil as his father was good, as cruel to humans as his father was kind to them. Stories of the Dog Demon's evil son were legendary. As a child Kaede had been taught to always be on the look out for him. Kaede had never seen him, she had watched for him, but he never came to their village, and their village remained safe.

Naraku was the demon who had come to their village. These past few years, Naraku was on every one's mind. Naraku had been everywhere, attacking everyone, and everyone had had nothing else to talk about. Soon the stories of the evil Dog Demon, died away and were forgotten as this new demon took over everyone's fear. The Dog Demon had never been seen in the village, the stories of him were like mere myth, old wives tales told to scare children into obedience. Naraku had been easier to fear, because Naraku had come here, they had seen him. But now, Naraku was dead and with his death had come to their village a demon far worse, than Naraku: Sesshomaru.

Kaede watched the young people who had gathered in the village. The well had vanished, taking with it Kagome and InuYasha. Now the well had returned, bringing with it InuYasha, but not Kagome. She worried about them and what had happened to them, but she knew better than to worry too much about either Kagome or InuYasha, they could take care of themselves. Besides Shippo, Sango and Miroku were already worrying enough for everyone. Kaede was more interested in the little girl wearing the Noh kosode. A little girl, who seemed to be following the Dog Demon Sesshomaru, the very demon whom she herself had dreaded so much as a child. Sesshomaru was not yet certain of Naraku's demise. He could sense Naraku's presence on another plane, somewhere between this life and the Netherworld. He wandered around the area, avoiding the humans, and waiting as he felt Naraku's spirit fade. All the while, the little girl skipped along happily behind him. Kaede watched this scene repeat itself for three days. She looked around at the others. No one seemed concerned that this little girl was shadowing Sesshomaru. Kaede puzzled over this. Could it be that they are too young to have heard the stories about him?

"Sango?"

"Yes?"

"The little girl," Kaede pointed to Rin. "Who is she?"

"I don't really know, other than that her name is Rin. We don't know that much about her, though we've only seen her a few times."

"Oh?" Kaede did not take her eyes off the girl. "And why is that?"

"She lives with Sesshomaru, and well, he and InuYasha don't get along, so we don't see him very often, and when we do, he's usually left Rin someplace else."

"She . . . lives . . . with . . . that monster?"

"Monster?" Sango had not expected Kaede's sudden burst of anger.

"Yes, monster. That creature. . . that . . . that evil thing, how can that child live with him?" Kaede stared at Sango's blank look and realized she had no idea who Sesshomaru was. "Have you not heard the stories about him?"

"No, before I met InuYasha I'd never heard of him, why?"

Kaede did not finish her conversation with Sango. A pair of golden eyes had been on her the whole time, and now, he was leaving. She could not bear the thought of the little girl leaving as well. When InuYasha and the well both returned, Naraku's scent turned to one who was dead. Convinced of Naraku's death, Sesshomaru saw no reason to stay here any longer. If the stories Kagome had told her were true, than InuYasha and Sesshomaru only crossed paths because they were both hunting down Naraku, with Naraku dead, they were not likely to cross paths again for a very long time, if ever. Kohaku had been talking to Sango, with Naraku dead, he had no reason to stay with Sesshomaru any more and would not be going with him. Kaede watched as Sesshomaru disappeared into the forest, followed by the toad and the two headed dragon. The little girl was following, but had stopped to pick flowers.

"Rin!" Kaede called out to her. "There is a lovely flower garden in the village. Why not pick some of those flowers to take with you?"

"Oh, can I?" Rin loved flower gardens. She had not been in one since her parents where killed so many years ago. She started to follow Kaede, than stopped to look back at Sesshomaru. She had no need to ask, nor had he reason to answer, they understood each other. Rin loved flowers and with Naraku dead, Sesshomaru really had no excuse to be in a hurry. He kicked Jaken and said, "Go with her."

Kaede headed back to the village, with Rin skipping behind her, and Jaken grumbling along.

Author's End Note:

Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

I would love to hear what you have to say about this chapter. So, tell me, what's your take on this? What did you like about it? What did you not like about it? I try to keep my characters in character with the originals, I hope I succeeded. I'm trying to keep the events in this story in keeping with the events of the manga/anime. Did you see any mistakes I missed, O.O let me know so I can go back and fix them! Think this needs another chapter, a sequel, or a prequel, let me know and I'll think about adding more. Please review and leave a comment to share your views!

Thanks millions!

EK

huggles to all my fans