A/N: Here's a new one! After so long… Sorry! Whatcha think? Oh! And I have the next couple of chapters all planned out in my head so they should be posted faster.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. It's too amazing.

THE PROMISE

"Jaken!" Rin cried and tackled him in a hug.

"Get off of me, human," he said shrilly. "I'm a demon!" Rin ignored his protests and hugged him tight. They rolled on the ground, Jaken trying to get Rin off, while she was holding on tightly. A shadow passed over them, Lord Sesshomaru. The young human girl immediately snapped to attention and raced off after the demon. Jaken, in the middle of proclaiming how great a demon he was and all that, realized that Rin wasn't listening anymore. Grumbling, Jaken hurried after his master and the girl.

"Sesshomaru!" Rin said happily. "You're back!" The demon lord glanced at Rin, and then nodded, a barely perceptible movement. "Jaken and Rin missed you. Did it go well? Did you kill the bad demon?" Rin continued to chat happily and ask questions, yet didn't stop long enough to let Sesshomaru answer them. It continued this way until Sesshomaru sensed something in the forest.

"Rin." That one word, spoken by the demon Rin loved the most, stopped her tirade immediately. But the presence Sesshomaru sensed disappeared immediately. The demon looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Sesshomaru began walking again. Rin wanted to talk some more, but kept silent instead. Slightly bored, she skipped off, humming quietly under her breath. Flowers caught her attention and Rin headed towards them. Red, blue, pink, orange… Maybe she could make a crown.

Rin bent to pick up one last flower and found herself staring into strange human eyes. Terrified, she screamed, dropped her flowers, and raced to find Sesshomaru.

"Wait, child!" the human yelled. "Don't go that way!"

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Sesshomaru jerked to attention as Rin screamed. His sword flashed through the air.

"Wait, child!" a human called. "Don't go that way!" The demon walked forward and saw Rin running towards him with a human priest chasing her. The priest froze, catching sight of him. But Rin kept running until she reached him and then hid behind his leg. Sesshomaru glanced down at her. She was staring at him, her brown eyes wide in terror. But as their eyes met, she calmed down, though Rin didn't release her death grip on Sesshomaru's leggings. A foreign emotion travelled through Sesshomaru. Was that anger? Was he actually feeling anger over a human child?

He would figure it out later. Sesshomaru looked at the human priest who'd pulled out several exorcising scrolls.

"Why have you bewitched that girl?" the priest demanded.

"Rin can do as she wants," Sesshomaru said. The priest looked surprised, but the demon didn't care. "Leave now," he ordered.

"I won't. It's my duty to save that child." Sesshomaru's lip curled. And then a tugging on his pants distracted him. He looked down at Rin.

"Rin wants to stay with Sesshomaru-sama," the human girl said. The dog demon nodded. Then the first binding spell came flying towards Sesshomaru. Easily, he cut it down, along with the three following it.

"I see I'll have to use my stronger spells," the priest said, pulling out more pieces of paper.

"Give up, human," Sesshomaru said. "They won't work."

The human shrugged. "Maybe. But they will with my family's secret technique." The demon merely watched as the priest began to chant.

"Stand back," Sesshomaru told Rin. The human girl nodded reluctantly and ran to hide behind a tree. The priest struck. He ran in circles around the demon, his chanting growing louder until he stopped. The air fell silent and there was a pause. Then power exploded. Sesshomaru raised his sword and when the smoke cleared, Sesshomaru was standing unscathed. The priest stared on in shock. Who was this demon? Sesshomaru lashed out with his fist and knocked the priest over. His sword didn't need the human's blood.

"She can't stay with you," the human croaked from the ground. Sesshomaru stared at the man impassively. "She's human and you're not. She'll only slow you down." The demon walked away, leaving the annoying human.

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Rin abandoned her tree and raced over to Sesshomaru after he knocked the human over.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" she exclaimed happily. "You're the bestest every." And chattered on and on how strong and wonderful he was. Because, in her eyes, Sesshomaru was all-powerful.

But Rin couldn't get what the scary human had said out of her mind. She would slow Sesshomaru down? She didn't want that.

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Sesshomaru watched Rin as she smiled and talked to him, but he could see the worry in her eyes. He knew the girl had heard the priest's words. It didn't matter to him; he could protect Rin easily.

Wait.

Protect the human? What was he thinking? But he wasn't feeling disgusted with his thoughts. In fact, it felt normal. What was happening to him?

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One month later, Rin was attacked by a demon and Sesshomaru had to step in and save her. The worry in Rin's eyes grew and her smile dimmed. Sesshomaru felt oddly angry about this.

There was only one thing he could do about this.

Jaken, Sesshomaru, and Rin traveled for four days through the forest before coming to a halt. Rin looked around curiously and saw a wooden wall in the distance. A town?

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin asked, confused. "Where are we?" The demon looked at Rin. Finally, he spoke.

"Rin can't stay with us now." The girl looked at Sesshomaru in shock. "As you are. That's why you will go to this school."

"School?"

"Yes. It's a ninja school and it will make you stronger so you don't have to worry about dragging me down." Rin frowned. Sesshomaru had known?

"But I want to stay with Sesshomaru-sama!"

"Rin," the demon interrupted before she could start crying. "This will be for the best. When you're grown, I will return for you."

Rin hesitated. She desperately wanted to both be a help to Sesshomaru and stay by his side.

"Do you promise?" she asked, making her decision. Sesshomaru looked her in the eyes.

"Yes." Rin nodded. Her eyes though, filling with tears, betrayed her. She lunged forward suddenly and hugged Sesshomaru. To say the demon was stunned was a bit of an understatement, but he allowed the girl her sentimentality. Then she let go of the dog demon and hugged the oft forgotten frog demon. Though he claimed to dislike the human girl, his eyes filled with tears as well.

"Jaken?"

"Don't misunderstand," Jaken blubbered. "This are tears of joy." Rin smiled at the demon's blatant lie. Then she kissed Jaken's cheek. Before she could stall any longer, she rushed off towards the wall.

"Rin!" Sesshomaru called. The girl turned and looked at him. "Don't let anyone know about us." She nodded, though she wanted to ask why. Then Rin left her beloved Sesshomaru-sama and Jaken, to become of more use.