Hey! A nice moment to take a deep breath and enjoy a beautiful, Sess and Rin moment… ahh, meeting your soulmate is truly romantic, isn't it?

I do not own anything about this chapter… except maybe some of Sess's thoughts…

Shortly after the big battle with InuYasha:

Damn! I thought. How could I let InuYasha defeat me? How did he manage to cut off my arm?! Damn! Wait . . . I smell a human, a young female. I could smell the fear come off her in waves. I heard her rustling in a bush to my left. How dare a human try an sneak up on me! I sat up and displayed my anger. She gasped and paused for a moment but continued to approach me. What was wrong with her? She stood there watching me for a moment. She placed a capsule of water near my feet and ran away, nodding from the water to me, obviously wanting me to drink it.

I stared at the water for a moment, how peculiar, "I . . ." I called out to the girl but she had left already.

Damn, that . . . sweetly stupid human. She ought to know better.

Later on that evening:

I smelled that human girl again. This time she brought food. I refused to look at her and acted as though I hadn't even noticed her presence. Maybe that will teach her to leave me be. She quietly walked over to the water and placed some food there next to it. She refused to budge until I looked at her. Her intentions were clear, eat the food. Stupid human child.

As she turned away to leave I told her, "Mind your own business girl. Your generosity is wasted, I don't eat human food." I hoped that it would get this strangely kind human away from me. I, in my nearly 2,000 years, have never met such a kind human without something to gain from it. For she certainly had nothing to gain from me. She stopped and turned towards me for a moment, I wonder what she was thinking, before she turned away again and walked away back to her village. How strange. I stared at the food for a moment, pondering her actions before I decided to rest.

In the morning:

I awakened to the familiar sound of the young girl in the bushes. This time something was different, off.

She smelled like blood. And quite a bit of it.

She started limping out of the bushes, "No Thanks." I told her as she approached with the food, hoping that she would return to her village to heal. Why would she visit me when she is clearly so injured, and what happened to her? Did someone do this to her? I swear if I find… Wait . . . Why would I care? She's just a human, and yet . . . she seems so familiar…

She quickly ran up fell to her knees and bowed her head before she offered me more food. "I told you. I don't need anything from you." The little girl sighed in defeat. She stayed for a moment and I could tell she was in pain, though she hid it well.

Finally my curiosity got the best of me; at least that is what I told myself, "Where did you get those bruises?" She looked up, not expecting my question. Why do I care? "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Why did I say that? Why don't I just make her tell me? Because, I thought answering my own questions, She reminds me of InuYin, Carefree, but still careful of other people thoughts and opinions . . . soft-spoken and yet a conspicuous personality. Someone who will care for anyone, no matter what, or who, they are or how they treat you.

She sighed. I turned my head to look at the strange girl. She looked at me and smiled. Why did she smile? Why did she have to look like InuYin when she smiled? That beautiful smile that seemed to light up the whole area and caused my heart to lighten at the sight.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked her. "I simply asked a question. I don't care. I'm just curious." Well . . . that wasn't a complete lie . . . When I asked I was just curious, but she continued to smile anyway. Strange human child.

She left shortly after to return to her village. I realized I was quickly becoming too attached to her. I stood up for the first time in 2 days. "Ow . . ." I said as my back popped. Good thing no one's around, for that was very unlike me. I walked in the general direction the girl walked, looking for a trail. When I found it, I immediately started looking for Jaken. I turned my face to the wind. I found his scent a little to the east in a nearby field. As I approached the field, I heard Jaken talking to himself. "He was testing . . . he was teasing . . . he was testing . . . He was testing! Lord Sesshomaru! Would you have actually risked my life to test your sword?!" I was quickly becoming tired of his ramblings and picked up a nearby stone, "You ungrateful dog!" Okay ramblings, I can stand, but no one insults me without punishment. I threw the rock at his head. Hard. It hit him in the back of the head. He fell off Ah-Un and screeched in pain.

As I walked over, Ah-Un awakened and looked at me with an approving look. When Jaken saw me he gasped and quickly ran to stand on Ah-Un's heads, "Lord Sesshomaru! Before I continue in your service, were you actually testing your sword on me?"

I glared. "I was excepting a relieved welcome from you Jaken. Not an interrogation."

Jaken's mouth gaped at what he had said. He chuckled nervously, "Right, I'm glad you're well. I thought you might be dead!" I tossed another rock at his head. How dare he think someone like InuYasha even be able to hurt me, much less kill me! Though… he did cut off my arm. My dear 'brother' was going to pay for that. He screeched again as the rock connected with his face.

Suddenly the wind picked up from the west. The young girl . . . and her blood! I could smell that there was a great deal of her fresh blood. She was bleeding profusely! So much she might be… no this cannot be. And the smell of wolves was mixed with her scent. I said aloud, "I recognize this blood." Oh, no... Please Gods, let it not be true. I told Jaken to hurry and took off towards her smell. When I arrived, she was already dead. I felt my heart drop at the sight.

As I stood froze at the sight before me, Jaken walked up. "What is that?" he exclaimed, "Fuhh, Phew! She's a goner that's for sure." All I could think was, that could have been InuYin. I could see InuYin in the little girl place. "She must have been attacked by wolves." Jaken turned his head to me, "Look at the teeth markings. Do you recognize this pathetic human?" She's not pathetic, I thought to Jaken. She was wonderful and kind. She has a smile that could light up your very soul. She reminds me so much of InuYin. I almost cried at the sight. The little girl who smiled at me . . . was gone? Never to smile or laugh for another? She was . . . dead? No… this cannot be true. I felt my heart deadening, refusing to believe the sight in front of it. I felt my muscles tensing against my will. My body wanted to rip itself apart, while my very soul just wanted to lie down and crumble into dust… What's wrong with me? Suddenly, Tenseiga called out to me. I started pulling it out of its sheath.

Jaken cried out in alarm, "What?! What are you doing, sire?!" I didn't know myself. I was being ruled more by my instincts than my conscious at that moment.

I finished pulling it out of its sheath and held it for a moment as Tenseiga continued to pulse in my hand as if it had a heartbeat of its own, "Interesting." Suddenly, I could see demons of the underworld standing over the young girl. Was this the work of Tenseiga? "I can see them. Demons of the underworld . . . I will do another test." I said thinking hard. Could this actually work? Could I actually save her? This precious child with the smile of pure light? "I'll use the Tenseiga."

Jaken gasped at my proclamation, "Another test? What are you doing sire? What are you doing?"

I raised the Tenseiga a little higher in the air a swung at the demons. As I hit them, it simply felt like I was hitting air. They screamed in pain and disappeared. Jaken gasped in surprise. I quickly got on my knees and held the little girl's head, waiting. Would it work? Please, gods let it work. Please save the girl of the golden smile and warm kind heart. Save this human. Abruptly, I heard her heart beating again. Could it be true? Have the gods blessed me? The girl groaned and opened her eyes and looked at me. At first confusion crossed her face, then it was slowly washed away by that smile that could warm a demon's heart.

"She came back to life! Lord Sesshomaru, you resurrected that human girl with the power of Tenseiga?" Jaken said as the young girl stood and left my arm. Oh, how I wish I could have held her to my chest like I used to with InuYin. I stood up and walked away, hoping my emotions were still in check and not splashed across my face. The joy I felt at this moment was almost unbearable. Why did I feel this way? And about a human no less… Why had I let this human child affect me so strongly?

I felt for this girl more strongly than I did even for InuYin, or for my idiotic brother InuYasha. I laughed internally. Why did he think that I hated him? I did not. I care for him, like I care for InuYin. I only acted the way I did so that others didn't think badly of me as they did Father. The last thing I need is more dishonor on my family. I wish I knew I would feel this way towards him back when I was raising InuYin. Now she probably hates him, because of what I have done . . .

I came back from my deep thoughts when I heard Jaken screech at the young girl. I walked away a little quicker. No one must know of my strong feelings for the little girl. I must push them down. Push them away. I heard her say her name was Rin. Rin . . . No one must know of my strong feelings for Rin . . . . No one.

Okay… I worked hard on this chapter so I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter, I promise, we get to the fighting and all that fun stuff. You'll have to bear with me sometimes. I'm a gushy hopeless romantic who will occasionally wander off in the SessXRin direction, but I'll wander back.

Theo