A few months had passed since the last time Sesshomaru saw Rin. He knew her last days were nearing and had to make a choice: either stay with her, and be there at the end, or leave. He decided to do the latter.
Of course he hoped that when he came back she would still be alive, but he was no fool. He left because of this, because of his hope that she would live forever. Because he knew if he stayed it would destroy him.
When he arrived in the village her family ran to him crying. He allowed the younger ones to find refuge in his fur while they settled their sobs. The older ones sat around him and informed him that her passing was peaceful, in her sleep. There was nothing anyone could do. It was her time.
After sitting with the family in silence for a few hours, just long enough for the young ones to fall asleep, Sesshomaru left their home. He was told the location of her grave and went to visit it.
Rin was buried in the same area as Lady Kaede and the others. Sesshomaru paused by Kagome's grave and Inuyasha's, wondering why he felt a tug on his chest. They were annoying in life, always bothering him and getting in the way. But they'd loved Rin, too, and eventually Sesshomaru had grown to see good in them. He left himself feel sad for their absence.
Once Sesshomaru reached Rin's grave he paused and stood in front of it for a long time. He remembered their first encounters, trying to remember when it was that he grew to love a human. He couldn't pin point it.
She grew up fast, she was married too soon, for Sesshomaru there was never enough time with her. He approved of her husband, though, and was happy that she was happy. Then the children came, and Sesshomaru loved them too. His mother judged him, telling him it wasn't fitting for a demon of his ranking to be meddling with humans. But Sesshomaru was his father's son. His heart had been captured by a human girl.
"You foolish girl," Sesshomaru whispered, approaching the stone marking her eternal resting place. He placed a hand on it, and remembered the little girl that followed him so fearlessly. "I told you to stay with me."
