Blood everywhere. All over her broken body...

The demon lord woke up panting, his clawed hand over his heart. he threw off the covers in an angry gesture. That dream had been haunting him since that day...

She had gone to get some wild flowers for the garden. She had asked him to come, but he had refused. "I have more important things to do." he had said.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Crossing the room, he opened the door to the balcony. It looked over the royal gardens that once was full of life, now was dark and somber. Dead. She had always taken care of the gardens...

He had been going over the report when he felt something was wrong. He raced to the balcony, his eyes searching the vast territory. His ears caught a dim scream, within seconds he was flying over the treetops, following her scent.

He landed in a clearing, the first thing that hit him was the smell; it reeked of blood. His eyes usually semi-closed, widened. Rin lay on the ground, her blood pouring out of deep cuts. Her arm was twisted under her in an odd angle. Her clothes and hair were soaked in blood. Her blood.

Sesshoumaru cradled her thin body to his chest. "Sessha...sama, I love...you..." she managed to say against him. In that last breath, she had died. Her two lifeless eyes stared back at him, frozen in fear. He unsheathed tensaiga, but nothing happened. Sesshoumaru sank to his knee as his predicament sank in. She was dead, Rin was dead.

A single tear slid down his stoic features. If only he'd gone with her, if only he'd been faster, she wouldn't be gone. He would still be able to get her little gifts, to watch her smile, to watch her graceful body, to hold her close...

He had set out to avenge her death, killing Rin's murderers and everyone in his path. But nothing stopped the pain and the anger that he felt due to her death. He meets Inuyasha and his gang. "What's the 'big and mighty' Sesshoumaru doing terrorizing villages" Sesshoumaru ignored him, his eyes red. It was Inuyasha's bitch that helped him. "Rin would have wanted you to continue living." she called after him. 'So, they know' he thought. He pretended he didn't care about what she said, but it stayed in his mind.

Soon after, he returned to his castle. The wound from Rin's death still hurt and everything brought back tormenting memories, but he continued living, for her.

A falling star sailed across the night sky. He had never believed that a star could grant wishes, but just this once, he closed his eyes and wished; wished that he could see her again, even if it was just once or for a few minutes.

Two arms circled his waist, he looked down to see Rin, smiling up at him. Sesshoumaru lowered his head to her hair, breathing in her scent. "Rin" he murmured. He held on to her. "sorry"

"For what" Rin asked. Sesshoumaru ran his fingers through her hair. "For not being there when...when you needed me." Rin was silent for a while and when she spoke, Sesshoumaru could smell her tears. "You couldn't have known."

Sesshoumaru raised her chin till she was looking into his eyes. "Still..." he whispered. Nothing could tell her what he felt for her. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs, letting his hands trail down her cheeks.

His lips softly swept over hers. Their lips met again as he pulled her closer. "I must go." Rin said softly as she pulled away. Sesshoumaru took a silver ring off his finger and slipped it on to Rin's slim finger. She gasped, for has been passed down from generation to generation in Sesshoumaru's family. Quickly, she took off a necklace on which rested an emerald, her favorite necklace, and placed it in the palm of his larger hand. By then she had begun to fade. He held on to her tightly, never wanting to let go. But she continued to disappear no matter how hard he tried to hold on to her. "Goodbye Sesshoumaru" and right before she disappeared, she blew him a kiss.

Sesshoumaru rubbed the necklace between his fingers. Then he looked at the sky in amazement, finally, his face broke into a smile.