"My lord," Jaken huffed as he reached the last few steps. He leaned most of his weight on his staff as he finally came upon his lord. Sesshomaru had gone to the highest point of his castle, looking out over the lands. The wind tossed his hair every which way so high up, his fur rustling, but aside from that he remained completely still. "Everything is in order and running smoothly. I came to find you to see if you needed anything," Jaken said, winded as he reached the final platform, plopping his small rear down on the plank to give his little legs a rest.

"He's near again. I can smell him," returned Sesshomaru, completely ignoring Jaken's offer.

"Who?" asked Jaken curiously, looking up to his lord.

Without an answer, Sesshomaru slowly leaned forward towards the edge of the open plank, but instead of falling, he began to rise into the sky.

"Wait! Me lord, let me help you!" squabbled Jaken, quickly rising to his feet again. His free hand reached out after his lord, clawing longingly, but Sesshomaru was already gone. Jaken retracted when he saw his lord was out of reach, sobbing, "Left behind again!"

Sesshomaru was already too far gone to hear, not that he would have cared either way. He soared over his grounds, surpassing the castle gate far below as he crossed to the forest. He began to veer to one side, slowly beginning to descend as he approached the scent. Sesshomaru landed gracefully on the forest floor.

Once he was fully grounded, he called, "Come out and let me kill you now, so I may rid myself of your nuisance once and for all."

The ox demon Hideki slowly emerged from the trees. Sesshomaru, knowing precisely where he was, had his eyes tied to the spot. As he saw him appear, Sesshomaru's fingers curled, his claws now ready for an attack. Hideki's eyes were low as he looked at the opposing demon, glaring up at him with his horns tilted forward. He was ready to fight this time.

"I hardly think so," replied Hideki. The ox demon gave a hard stomp on the ground, triggering his powers and causing the ground to explode beside Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru was already moving away, smelling it before it happened. Hideki launched the same attack several times, Sesshomaru skillfully dodging and weaving between each. With each dodge, Sesshomaru crept closer to his target.

Hideki's foot slammed into the ground again, but this time he used it to start his charge towards Sesshomaru. He led with his horns. Sesshomaru dodged this again by simply leaning to one side, at which point Hideki tried to take a swing at Sesshomaru dodged his attack yet again.

Hideki quickly charged again, but Sesshomaru was quicker and grabbed one of the ox's horns, holding it at the base.

The lord had a strong hold, keeping the ox from both advancing and pulling back. And that was when he unleashed his poison claws. Hideki cried out in agony as the acid dripped to his skin. Sesshomaru intended to melt the horn all the way through, but it broke off sooner than expected, weakened to the core.

Hideki still pushed forward, and Sesshomaru's eyes widened in the split second when Hideki slipped through Sesshomaru's hold, his other horn piercing deep through Sesshomaru's shoulder. He pulled back quickly, back to a safe distance. Sesshomaru's other hand rose to cover his wound as he grimaced, still keeping his eyes on Hideki. Hideki breathed heavily, both from his efforts and from fury at the loss of his horn. But he only took another second before he fled, needing to tend to the drops of acid that were threatening to burn through his skull.

Sesshomaru stared after him, upset. I shouldn't have gone easy on him. I should have destroyed him quickly and not tried to draw out a kill for pleasure, Sesshomaru thought. Those horns were powerful in their own right, and Sesshomaru's wound was not healing. He dropped the severed horn, discarding it to the ground, before he turned away.

When Sesshomaru reentered the castle grounds through the front gate, he still covered his wound with one hand. Rin ran up to greet him happily. "Welcome back, me lord!" she called. The girl slowed as she noticed the wound. "Lord Sesshomaru, you're wounded." She turned back and cried, "Master Jaken, Lord Sesshomaru has been wounded!"

Jaken was already wobbling on his way to meet the young lord, but began to run at this, tripping over himself several times. He stopped before Sesshomaru, gaping. "Lord Sesshomaru, what foul being has done this to you?!"

"Silence, both of you," he snapped. "It's nothing." Sesshomaru kept his head high, never showing a sign of weakness, and went straight to retire in his room.


Days passed without further sign of Sesshomaru. Rin had become melancholy, and both she and Jaken were worried. On the evening of the third day, she sat outside by Jaken as he paced back and forth.

"It has been a long time and my lord will see no one! Not even me!" he cried. Rin watched her finger trace lines in the dirt as he continued. "What could cause this? Was he seriously hurt? Why won't he let me help him?" he fretted.

Rin looked up at this. "Master Jaken, do you really believe Lord Sesshomaru was seriously injured?"

"I don't know! It's been so long since I've seen him!" responded Jaken, finally collapsing in a fit of tears.

When Rin saw this, she felt compelled to finally do something. Her eyes narrowed with determination, taking on responsibility for the well-being of her lord and master.

"Don't worry, Master Jaken. I think I can fix this." She stood up suddenly, going to select a bouquet from the grounds. Jaken was such a mess that he paid her no mind, and Rin was able to slip away under the setting sun.


The sky was a deep royal blue when Rin stopped at the edge of the field, finally with a view of the village. She stopped to catch her breath, a hand on a tree to steady her as she bent over slightly, resting. Rin was bold now, not thinking that any harm could come to her with the goddess' powers protecting her. In these hundred years her body would never stop working, but aside from that it worked the same. Her chest heaved, trying to gather as much oxygen as it could before she continued forth. She only paused for a minute of relief, then pressed on.

She ignored the long grasses in the meadow as they softly tickled her feet, a tangle threatening to trip her every now and again, until she reached the dirt of the village. The flowers from the demon castle had held up well, and Rin kept them clasped tightly in her left hand as she made her way to the temple. The streets were empty at this time of night, but Rin decided to walk, keeping quiet so as not to draw any attention to herself.

Within a few minutes she reached the steps. Each one became more tiresome as it claimed some of her energy, until at last the lively temple came into view. Rin smiled, finally making it, and went straight to the children's room.

Rin set the flowers on the steps again, then stepped back, kneeling flat to the ground.

"My lady," she began. "I come to you this time not for myself, but for my lord. He was wounded, and still is not well. Master Jaken and I have begun to worry." Rin paused, trying to think of what to say next. But she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Do you know how he was wounded?"

Rin's head shot up. "Me lady!" she cried, relieved. She was certain now that things would be better. "No, he didn't say."

"I see. And you think he needs help, even knowing how strong he is?" Yua asked.

"I don't know. I've just become so worried," Rin answered solemnly.

"I will tend to him, provided he lets me," Yua assured, then added, "You look tired, young Rin."

"Yeah," she admitted. "I ran here."

Yua smiled. "Let me accompany you for a bit longer, then, as you rest." Yua stood and descended the shrine stairs, her silken robes trailing behind her. "Follow me."

Rin hopped to her feet and followed the goddess around the side of the stairs, where she saw there was another door only big enough for a child. Yua rested a hand above it, standing back, then turned to Rin. She wanted Rin to go through it, despite it being too small for herself. Rin obliged, ducking her head, yet when she looked back up, Yua was standing there waiting for her.

"Welcome to the temple's courtyard," the goddess greeted. Rin looked around. It was similar to the courtyard in Lord Sesshomaru's castle, but the trees were bigger and the walls overgrown with vines. In the center there was a fountain, which Yua went to sit on the edge of. Once she was perched, she looked to Rin. "Come, have some water."

Rin trotted over, cupping her hands. They slid beneath the surface, and Rin sensed immediately how refreshing it would be. Yua waited, looking up at the stars above until Rin finished and sat next to her.

"What are you looking at?" Rin asked curiously.

"My family," answered the goddess.

"Your family?" echoed Rin, confused.

"Yes, each one of those stars is a god. Some choose to stay up there all the time, watching the earth from afar. The nights where there are fewer stars, more of us walk the earth."

Rin looked from the stars to the goddess. "So you are a star?"

Yua smiled. "Stars and gods are one in the same, so yes, I suppose I am."

Rin looked back up to the sky. "What about the moon?"

Yua hummed. "Now that is a story," she declared.

"Please tell me," Rin requested.

"As you wish," answered the goddess. "Long ago, the goddess of the earth became very lonely. Her sister was the goddess of creation, and began to play around, making different joys for her sister, thus different creatures came to be. She made more and more, and smarter and smarter, until finally she made man. She was so proud, coming up with a creature so clever. She showed off and talked up her creation to everyone, and her sister adored them. She loved how they cared, how they would work together, but slowly she began to see that there were bad things about them as well.

"The goddess of the earth tried to ignore these for a long time, until one day a human killed another. She was horrified and went to her sister, crying and blaming her for making such terrible creatures. Her sister, the creator, was offended, her pride too strong. At this she told her that they were not horrible, that she would show her horrible for being so ungrateful. And that was when she created demons. The earth goddess was mortified that such terrible things walked over her, and the god of the sky saw this.

"The sky loved the earth, though she never knew it, as he was always so busy dragging the sun through the sky for her each day, and watching her as she slept in the night. To help ease her burden, he created the moon to draw the burden of many of the terrible things far away from her. They gather and cling to the moon, darkening it. For half a month, he works day and night, dragging the sun through the sky during the day and staying up all night to polish the moon, clearing all the bad things away to make room for more. Then for the rest of the month he takes his nights to rest, and the bad things accrue until at last it is covered again, and the cycle repeats itself. And still after all this time, she watches over him, and he still never knows of her love."

"Don't you mean he watches over her, and she still never knows of his love?" asked Rin, confused.

"My mistake. Yes, that is exactly what I meant." Yua sighed, almost longingly it seemed to Rin, but she didn't understand why Yua would do so.

As Rin pondered this, Yua turned her eyes from the sky to the small girl. "I will tend to Sesshomaru soon. Are you feeling rested enough to return home?"

Rin had been staring off in thought, but with this she too turned to look up at the goddess. "Yes, thank you, my lady." Rin slid from the edge of the fountain and trotted back. She turned to wave when she reached the small door, but Yua was again staring up at the moon. With this, Rin slipped out quietly.

So I am sort of writing this story as a myth, I hope the influence comes through. Though all things pertaining to the celestial beings I made up, so let me know if it's good or if it's cheesy.