Hey there! New chapter, and its a bit longer than all the other ones. R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

The demon known as Fuan Ita was feeling quite full of himself. After having tricked two people to the point of tears and to the brink of murder, he was feeling quite full, in general as well. People were so gullible, these days, it was appalling. Sticking his mole head out of the ground, he spied a half-demon in a red robe walking around, deep in thought, similar to the young woman he had spied on earlier. He was a hanyou, so he had to concentrate a bit harder; after a bit of effort, his mind was like an open book.

He discovered that the half-demon's wife (wait, wife?) was from the future (excuse me?) and was visiting a war torn region to bring medical relief (This was one messed up hanyou). He had insisted on accompanying the woman, but she had turned him down, telling him that he had nothing to worry about.

Sitting glumly on a nearby stone, he hoped that his wife was okay… though he then remembered that he had had a job exterminating a demon in a nearby village and he leapt away, worrying and worrying.

If moles could laugh, he would've laughed right there on the spot. Instead, he twitched his little mole whiskers, imprinting the picture of the woman this half-demon cared so much for… Kagome, was her name. He burrowed away, devising his plan, eagerly awaiting his next meal.

Inuyasha walked through the fields, recently coming back from a battle with a demon. Moping a bit as he trudged through the field, he hoped that Kagome was ok… He had heard that the region she was attending was war torn, dozens of different warlords battling it out to control the land.

His ears perked up suddenly, hearing one's footsteps approaching. Turning around, he was shocked to see Kagome limping towards the village, a bloodied shoulder and chest.

"Kagome!" He yelled, leaping over to her. "What happened!?" He asked urgently.

"Oh, Inuyasha… I'm glad I found you here…" She whispered hoarsely, falling into his arms. Hacking up blood, her breath came out ragged. "I was traveling back, and… Some bandits caught me by surprise… I managed to fend them off… They got few hits in, though." She tried to laugh, but instead she ended up coughing miserably.

"Hey, hey! I'm gonna get ya back to the village, and you're going to get all patched up, and everything's gonna be fine!" He said, his voice trembling as he scooped Kagome into his arms.

"No.. Stop, I fear, my time's at an end here…"

"No! Don't say that. You're going to be ok! You're going to be ok…" He said, tears threatening to spill over his face. He sank to his knees.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha… You were right, I should have let you come with me…" She flashed a smile, which crumpled into a cough, her face contorting in pain. "Just, hold me for a while…"

He wrapped her arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder, tears glistening on his face. "Don't go, Kagome, don't leave me… Remember when you said you'd never leave my side…?"

She caressed his back gently in response.

"You said you'd never leave me. Never… Don't leave now…" Sobs racked his body.

Her eyes started to flutter close. "I love you… Never forget m-…" She took in one more deep, shuddering breath. It was her last. Cradling her now frail body, his sobs echoed through the fields.

Inuyasha walked back into the village, Kagome's limp body held in his arms. All the villagers came out to mourn her death. Tears were spilt, condolences were made. A proper burial was given, tears watering the grave. The entire village paid their respects, silently standing over her final resting place.

Inuyasha had the hardest time dealing with it. He spent every waking moment, standing guard over her grave. Eventually, Miroku and Sango had had to drag him away, forcing him to eat and drink.

He felt mute, life a colorless landscape, devoid of all emotion. She had died, and anger burned in his eyes. Someone was going to pay.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru traveled to the same war torn area that Kagome had visited. It was rumored that the land hid an item of great power, which was the reason for all the warlords flocking to the area.

"Rin. Get onto A-Un's back. We are in need of fast travel." He commanded.

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama!" She said, happy that they were going to be going on a flight. She loved feeling the wind through her hair.

Flying well above the tree line, he noticed a figure walking below, away from the war torn region. Rin noticed, too. "Sesshomaru, who's that?" She shouted over the wind.

Sesshomaru chose not to answer, fully knowing who it was. He worried that Rin would want to go down and talk to her, causing delays to his destinations.

Jaken huffed. "Sesshomaru-sama has no time to answer your silly questions!"

Giving an annoyed little huff, she flicked Jaken on the head, leaving him infuriated.

"Jaken, stop thrashing about. You are going to fall down." Sesshomaru said, staring straight ahead.

Jaken sighed, muttering a "Yes, Sesshomaru-sama" while glaring at Rin. She pretended not to notice.

After they had flew for a while, Rin heard her stomach grumble, and no ordinary grumble as well. It made such a noise that even one of the heads of A-Un turned around to see what the source of the sound was.

Taking notice, Rin called to Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru-sama! I'm hungry. Can we land?" Following it was a notable groan from Jaken, but she decided to not acknowledge it. "I think it's getting dark, anyway. We should land and get some sleep, after I eat."

Sesshomaru floated along before answering. "Fine. We will land and make camp."

"Hey look, a river! A-Un, let's land over there!" She indicated the area of land with her finger, and A-Un dutifully followed her order, descending gently and landing on the soft grass.

After Rin had caught some fish and taken a cool drink from the river, she laid back against a tree, watching the fish cook on the fire. "Lord Sesshomaru, where are we going?"

"This is none of your concern, Rin. Just know that you will be safe."

"Oh, Ok!" Rin responded, checking if the fish was done. To both her and her stomach's dismay, they were not.

Sighing, she sat back down again. "I don't think I've ever been this hungry in my entire life!"

Sesshomaru, looking over to Rin's saddened face, suggested that they may go find some other food other than fish. Rin happily agreed, and they left a snoring Jaken in search for some food.

Inuyasha sulked as he sat on a branch of a tree, gazing up at the full moon. He had avoided other people after Kagome's death, the wound still fresh from two days ago. If only the Tensaiga had been around…

He banished the thought from his mind. Nothing would bring her back, and he would just have to cope with that. His methods of coping though, weren't the best. He had sliced down numerous trees and smashed several boulders, taking out his sorrow and grief, and when he sat still, like what he was doing at the current moment, silent tears slipped down his face, a smile on his face as he thought about Kagome. "Never forget", she had said. He was going to fulfill that wish until the end of his days. He clutched the rosary beads that he had managed to convince Kagome to take off to his neck, treasuring it in her memory.

His ears perked up as he heard someone walking back towards the village. Dropping silently from the tree, he spied a woman walking slowly along the path, wearing priest robes. Upon closer inspection, was this woman… No, it couldn't be.

He leapt behind the woman, unsheathing Tessaiga. "Where do ya think you're going, demon? I don't like most demons, and especially demons that impersonate dead people."

Kagome turned around, smiling. "What are you talking about, Inuyasha? And I thought you were going to be happy to see me." She said as she walked towards Inuyasha with open arms. To her surprise, he lifted his sword and pointed it at her.

"Don't try anything funny, bastard. I know you're not Kagome, and I'm gonna kill you for it." He raised his sword and swung viciously at Kagome's head.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing!?" She screamed, putting up a protective barrier, causing the Tessaiga to bounce off.

"Killing you. Impersonating Kagome, my Kagome is unforgivable!" He yelled as he charged her again.

"But I am Kagome!"

"I saw Kagome die in front of my eyes. You. Couldn't. Possibly. Be. HER." He accentuated each word with the swing of Tessaiga, relentlessly attacking her barrier. She didn't know how long she could hold up the barrier against Inuyasha, until she was forced to take more drastic measures…

Rin awoke to the sound of battle in the distance. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to listen to the shouts that were coming from that general vicinity as well. Something about bastards, demons, and Kagomes… weird. Wait, Kagomes? Like in Miss Kagome who was married with Sesshomaru's half brother? And she was in trouble? She sprang to her feet, tugging on Sesshomaru's sleeping form.

"What is it, Rin?"

"I think miss Kagome is in danger!"

"And that is none of our concern," He said, shutting his eyes once more.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama!" She whispered urgently, vainly tugging on his sleeve. He refused to budge.

"Fine! I guess I'll just go help miss Kagome by myself then!" She stormed off into the woods, running in the general direction of the fighting. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, watched her run off, casting a weary eye in her direction.

Slowly getting up, he reluctantly followed her… Him, following someone, that was a mere human girl? My, how times had changed.

Rin crashed through the forest, desperate to see if Kagome was ok. The sounds of battle and swords grew louder as she ran, and she eventually discovered the site of the fight. What she witnessed was not at all what she had expected.

On the road, Kagome held up her magical barrier, fending off attacks from a vicious Inuyasha's attacks, Tessaiga whistling through the air with each blow. Kagome looked strained keeping up the barrier though, but she refused to do harm to Inuyasha. Desperate to stop the madness, she ran towards the two, waving her arms above her head.

"Heeeyy! Stoopp!" She cried.

Kagome turned her head, looking at the now approaching Rin. "Stay back, Rin! Inuyasha's gone mad!"

"Demon, watch who you're fighting! That little girl can't help you now!" He howled, repeatedly smashing into Kagome's protective shield.

Disregarding Kagome's warning, she ran towards the infuriated half-demon, tugging on his robe. "Stop!" She yelled. "You're going to hurt Kagome!"

"That's not Kagome, I saw her… And its not fooling me! Now, get off me, wench!" Inuyasha threw Rin to the ground, resuming his brutal onslaught. Kagome, on the other hand, looked worn out and tired, sweat beading on her head as she desperately tried to keep her magical shield intact.

In Rin's urgent need to stop the fighting, she recklessly threw herself between Inuyasha and Kagome. "Stop!"

Inuyasha paused for only a second to look at her. "So you're gonna die too, huh… People've been dying left and right haven't they…" He raised his sword, readying for another strike. Suddenly, a bright flash of white streaked through the night.

Sesshomaru stood between Rin and Inuyasha, sword in hand. "Protecting a fellow demon, Sesshomaru? That's so typical of ya." He raised his sword, attacking his older brother. He countered, and what followed was a blur of swordsmanship, moonlight glinting off the swords as they clashed over and over again.

Rin, observing the fight with nervous eyes from behind Sesshomaru, saw that he was a fighting a battle he could not win. Inuyasha fought with an intensity she had never seen anyone fight with before.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was getting tired. His swings slower, his parries lazier, and Rin wasn't sure how long he could last… Making up her mind, she leapt in between the two fighters. "Don't hurt Sesshomaru-sama!" she cried.

Inuyasha tensed up and halted for a just second, eyeing the girl that was standing in front of him and his opponent. It was all that Sesshomaru needed. Bringing his sword up with a vicious upward cut, Inuyasha could all but block his attack with the flat of his sword, and was sent sprawling to the ground from the impact. In a flash, he had his weapon at the hanyou's neck.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you could have been tricked?" Sesshomaru asked, burning holes into Inuyasha with his stare.

"No."

"And why is that?"

"Cause I-"

"Because you never think through anything. Go check your woman's grave; I can assure you her body will not be there." He lifted the sword from his brother's neck. "Rin and I have other business to attend to. I'm sure you do as well." Sesshomaru started walking away from hence he had came. "Come, Rin."

"Yes, Sesshomaru!" She said, quickly catching up to her protector, narrowly following his heels. "I hope you can make Inuyasha believe that you're Kagome, Miss Kagome!"

"Yes, well I hope that, too." Kagome began walking towards the village once again, a weary Inuyasha in tow.

Inuyasha and Kagome returned to the village, digging up the grave. As Inuyasha watched in anticipation, the grave was empty, as Sesshomaru had promised. The instant he realized it, Inuyasha flung himself at Kagome, wrapping her in a bear hug and peppering her with kisses. After he had stopped, the hanyou explained the entire ordeal to Kagome. Describing in great detail her death-not really- and the entailing story, he wondered what the other Kagome had been, though it had passed. What could have possibly wanted him to believe that Kagome had died? Unbeknownst to him, the culprit was a little birdie, perched in a tree nearby. It regarded the two with its cold beady eyes, cocking its head slightly before flying off. The bird certainly had some planning to do.

Overhead, a lone blackbird road the breeze, gently flapping as it flew out of sight. Below the bird walked the unlikely duo of Rin and Sesshomaru, obscured from view by the cover of trees. Jaken and A-Un flew above, Jaken claiming that he could no longer bear to listen to Rin's childish banter.

Rin, with none to talk to except Sesshomaru, took to thinking of her nonexistent love life. She had been devising possible ways in which to make Sesshomaru admit his love, but she had great difficulty thinking of a plan that could possibly have actually fooled the demon. After a while, she decided a straight-forward approach was the best way. Gathering her courage, she stepped in front of Sesshomaru, hands slightly shaking. This was going to be it! "Sesshomaru-sama, I have something to say to you!" He regarded her with a cocked eyebrow. "I lo-" Sesshomaru met her gave with an intense stare. "Ah, ahhh ah'm so tired!" She said, chickening out. "Could you carry me?" Inside, her mental self held its head in its hands, sorely disappointed in its ability to profess its love.

Giving a little sigh from his nose, Sesshomaru wordlessly lifted Rin into his arms. Rin, while being disappointed in herself for her lack of courage, found herself quite enjoying Sesshomaru's warmth. While she had failed to tell him his true feelings, the warm embrace of Sesshomaru's arms almost made up for it. Almost. Maybe another day.

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