Sixteen years old

"Rin hurry in!" the wise old woman called out from the hut.

The sun was almost out of sight, but that didn't really bother Rin. She loved seeing the stars and how they slowly started to appear as the sun left for the day. "I'll be just a moment!" she replied before running off.

Kaede took a few steps out of the hut after seeing the girl run off. "R-Rin! Oh that girl just won't listen these days…" the tired women decided to let it be and retired into the hut.

The young girl ran to the end of a cliff and stopped to see the sky already lighting up with millions of stars. She often visited this very spot to see this sight. Her hair was pushed back by the gentle wind. At this point, her hair reached past her behind from letting it grow all these years, but that was the longest she would let it grow. It was beautifully straight and silky soft. The only difference in style was that instead of having the same bangs she wore as a small child, they were parted to the side. Now was the time where she was growing quite fast as she was already getting too big for her current outfit. She had to have been five feet and five inches by now and her bust size was increasing, meaning that the clothing around her chest was becoming just a bit too tight.

"Haha! You can't catch me!" a young boys voice cheered.

In an instant she could tell it was Inuyasha's son who was approaching her. She turned around to see the young boy hide behind her legs.

"It's past your bedtime!" Inuyasha stopped in front of Rin.

"Aw he just wants to play!" The girl picked up the boy and hugged him. "Oh you're so cute!"

Sōta giggled, returning the hug. "Cousin Rin is nice!" the boy stuck his tongue out at his father.

"Aw Rin c'mon! I'm trying to get him to bed here!"

"Alright alright!" the girl set him in Inuyasha's arms. "You go to sleep now and tomorrow come visit me so we can play. Promise?" she stuck out her pinkie.

The boy nodded in agreement with a smile and locked pinkie fingers with her, shaking on it.

"You should get going too Rin, wouldn't want Kaede to get worried," Inuyasha spoke.

She nodded and waved to them goodbye as they took off back to the village. Sōta was still fussing over going to bed and Inuyasha yelling was very amusing to her.

"Those guys are funny aren't they?" a voice said from behind her.

That was a voice she was not familiar with, which startled her. Slowing turning around, she saw what seemed like a person stand before her. "Who might you be?"

This male was clearly a daiyōkai like Sesshomaru, but looked more her age. He had golden eyes and dark blue hair.

"A friend….or at least I'm hoping I could be one," he smiled.

Something about him felt so sweet for being a daiyōkai, which made her feel at ease. "Well…what's your name?" she asked.

"Hanyoku," he stated.

"I'm Rin," she gave him a shy smile.

"I hope this doesn't come off as creepy, but I've seen you around more than once and I think you're very pretty," he confessed.

The girl was surprised how open he was toward her about his thoughts, which began to make her feel very shy. She wasn't usually a shy person, but the way he spoke to her and what he said made her feel that way.

"Oh I don't know about that, but thank you…" she twirled a strand of her hair as a nervous twitch. Her eyes looked away from him at that moment.

"I have to go now, but can we see each other again? Tomorrow perhaps? The same time at this location?" he asked.

Rin looked up at him and paused, staring for a moment. Realizing she was staring, she jolted and nodded in response. "Y-Yes."

"Wonderful, I see you soon," with that he left her there.

Rin turned to watch him go, not thinking how weird that encounter really was. All of a sudden this attractive demon boy comes up to her to tell her she's pretty? When this thought entered her mind someone else immediately interrupted it. Who could it be this time? Another hunky young demon boy? No, but he still was tall and handsome.

"What are you doing out here so late?" he asked. Of course it was Sesshomaru coming for his weekly visits. He probably sniffed her out and found her out here.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Every time she saw him she began to hug him more often, ignoring his attitudes that used to keep her from hugging him. "I'm so happy to see you!"

He knew there was another demon like him in the area, but now that the smell reeked on her clothes and her blossom smelling hair…. He was not all right with it. "Who was here," he asked in a serious tone.

"Oh um… a boy," she responded, removing herself from him.

"You should not be having encounters with demons outside of the village like this," he said.

"I know that…" she sighed, kicking a stone next to her. "But he was a nice boy…. He said he thought I was pretty," she smiled to herself, clasping her hands behind her.

Putting her hands behind her back caused the clothing that covered her chest to spread a bit, making Sesshomaru grab the two parts and pull them together again. "I believe it's time for you to wear a more suitable garb," he sighed. He felt that Kaede had not been watching her growth, which would explain why she had not changed into more suitable clothing by now.

"I'm sorry…" she took her hands out from behind. "Why don't we go back now?" she suggested.

He nodded and allowed her to walk in front of him back to her hut.

The next morning, Rin woke up to a new garment lying folded up next to her. She rubbed her eyes and stood up, picking up the clothing. It looked just like the priestess garb with the exception of the colors both the top and bottom being a dark red rather than white and a lighter red. She figured Sesshomaru gifted this to her, making her very happy. The girl tied up her hair and stepped outside with a bucket to go fetch water from the river. She waved good morning and smiled to all the local villagers she passed.

"I wonder where Lord Sesshomaru is today," she spoke to herself.

"Good morning Rin!" Sango called out to her.

She turned to see Sango with her twin girls doing laundry outside. She ran up to them and greeted everyone excitedly. Rin hugged the twin girls who were about seven years old now and gave Sango a hug as well. "It is so good to see you all!" she exclaimed.

"What are you doing out here?" Sango asked.

"I was going down to the river to fetch water," Rin replied happily.

"Oh I wouldn't want to keep you from that," Sango said.

"It's no big deal, but I should get going since it's going to be a busy day for me. Goodbye!" she waved to them and headed back off on track to the river.

Her time at the river was quick and peaceful. Dunk the bucket in the river and scoop up some water it was a simple task. She went back to the hut to leave it there before she headed off to do anything else. She spotted Sesshomaru lying on the grass in a very relaxed position. She smiled, making her way to him. She crouched down next to him and gently placed her hand on his forehead, moving some of his hair out of his face.

"What is it…" he asked, clearly sounding disturbed. He never moved or opened his eyes.

"Are you well?" she asked.

"There is no cause for concern," he stated.

"Alright then," she plopped down, sitting right next to him with her knees pulled up as she looked up to the sky.

There was a comfortable silence between them until Sesshomaru decided to ask her something.

"The demon from yesterday…. did you know him?" he asked.

"I did not, but he was very nice," she replied.

"Do not be fooled by such a mask," he stated. "That is exactly how he would lure you into a trap," he added.

"Are you saying I should not see him again?" she asked.

"You do as you please I only wanted to inform you," he replied to her.

After that it didn't seem like he was going to talk any further so Rin decided to get up from her spot. She left him as he was and went to go tend to the rest of her daily duties. Sesshomaru opened his eyes once she left and sighed to himself. He wondered if his decision to not take action on the demon boy was wrong or not.

Evening came and it was about time to head back to the spot where Rin had met Hanyoku for the first time. She had brushed out her hair and tidied herself up before making her way. When she got there she saw someone who she did not expect to see. His red hair was tossed by the wind as he looked out to the horizon. His back was turned to Rin.

"H-Haku?" she spoke.

The demon turned around, but the image of him disappeared when she blinked. Hanyoku was the person in front of her. She stared at him in confusion, not understanding what had just happened. She looked at his dark blue hair and then his golden eyes. His eyes matched Haku's now that she thought about it.

"Haku? Who's that?" he asked.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"I told you before silly I'm Hanyoku," he smiled.

"You are not who you say! Please tell me the truth!" she demanded, taking a few steps back.

She suddenly felt her back up into someone's chest, which made her jolt and spin around. Now this really confused her.

"H-Haku?!" she looked at the man, not believing it to be him. "I-I thought you were…what is going on!" she yelled.

"Rin," he took her hand. "Don't believe that boy behind you. He is a threat," he warned her.

"How…do I know you aren't one either?" she asked. Haku had been in and out of Rin's life for the past three years and trust was running very thin. "You both are very suspicious to me and I don't think I want to trust either of you…" she took her hand away.

"A lot has happened and I know it seems very odd, but please trust me when I say that this boy is not who he is trying to portray himself as," Haku explained.

"This man is a lie Rin! Are you going to believe his nonsense?" Hanyoku asked.

"Shut it! You are a liar!" Haku glared at him.

As the two were fighting verbally, Rin slowly backed away from them both, not realizing she was going the wrong direction. The human girl found herself on the edge of the cliff, but was able to catch herself from falling. Haku began to show fangs as well as Hanyoku, which stunned her. If they were about to fight she would get in the middle of it, which was something she really wanted to avoid. Hanyoku did not hold back at all on Haku as he threw the first punch at him.

"Please stop!" she yelled, but they did not listen. The flaming haired boy began to attack and by the direction they were heading towards was to Rin, but of course they were not noticing this. Hanyoku was right behind Rin when Haku decided to use his claws to attack. The dark blue haired demon dodged this attack, but with the cost of Rin being attacked. His claws slashed her neck, causing her to fall back.

"S-Sessh…." She desperately tried to call out for him, but she was too stunned. Kaede told her that he had left that afternoon so it was hopeless. She fell back, plunging to her death. Just who were those boys? How did it get to this point? None of that mattered anymore to her as tears streamed from her eyes and lifted up from her face into the air. 'No,' she thought, shutting her eyes.

"S-Sesshomaru!" she yelled as loud as she could.

All of a sudden someone was carrying her through the air. She dared to take a peak and saw it was the man she had called out to. "L-Lord." "Don't speak," he interrupted her. They were gliding through the air for a short time. Sesshomaru landed and placed Rin on the grass so that he could see the extent of her damage.

"I was a fool," he spoke, tracing an outline of her deep cuts on her neck. "Rin."

"Yes?"

"It was that boy who did this wasn't it…"

"No…it was….Haku," she turned away from him, not wanting to look at his face. "Sesshomaru…" she spoke as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"I don't like it here anymore…I want to go with you!" she confessed. "I am old enough to make my own decisions and I choose to be with you!" she added.

"You still have a couple more years," he stated.

"You know I have always been safe with you," she argued, sitting up.

"You must stay here Rin," Sesshomaru said.

"Why does Jakken get to be with you and I cannot! He is just a little demon! I can protect myself better than he can!" she yelled. Rin winced from the pain in her neck, placing her hand over it.

"Do not strain yourself," he said to her.

"I suffer…. I have to suffer here alone!" she yelled at him and stood up. Rin ran towards the direction of the village, leaving Sesshomaru.

He watched her as she ran, his hair being brushed back by the wind. He realized a pattern in his decisions and decided to stop this. He disappeared into the sky to go look for those demons who had harmed Rin.

The girl ran as fast as her legs could take her until she made it inside the hut. Luckily Kaede wasn't there to make her explain where she was. She immediately had begun to wash her wound with the water she fetched and quickly wrapped bandages around it. Once that was settled, she instantly spotted a bow and a few arrows in the corner of the hut. Rin narrowed her eyes as a thought came to her mind. She grabbed the bow and the set of arrows then fled the hut.

'I am on my own now. I will make something of myself somewhere. Sesshomaru won't need to protect me anymore and I'll prove it to him…if that is what it will take for him to accept me then I shall leave!' she thought.

"Do you think it worked?"

"Yes I think it did."

"What will happen now brother?"

"We wait until she is far enough from the village…and Sesshomaru."

"Our trap is set!"

"Indeed it is. Poor girl we confused her so much," the red flaming haired boy laughed.

The demon brothers laughed as the sun died and disappeared.


A/U: All right so what did ya think of that? Review for me please!