I am so sorry about the lack of updates guys... school's been rough as all hell. :(

Anywho, I hope you guys like this ^^


For once in his regal life, Sesshomaru, one of the most feared demons in the Western Lands, shivered at the biting wind and nipping cold, even in the thick jacket the young woman had lent him. Five days were almost too long in the cold, especially for the two children that walked between them.

Sesshomaru was impressed with his little brother's strength, him and Kagome both doing their best not to complain to the adults. It was only at night, when they thought their elders were sleeping did they cry and whimper quietly, insisting to the adults that they were not when questioned.

Amber eyes watched the child in front of him stumble and crash into Kagome, Rin turning around at the sound of the two kids arguing.

"You pushed me!" Kagome shouted once she stood from the snow.

"Did not!" InuYasha defended, "I tripped!"

"You did it on PURPOSE!"

"KAGOME! INUYASHA!" Rin snapped, her slipping between them and spreading them apart, "now that's enough!"

"But-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" the young woman told them, her shoulders sagging as she sighed deeply, "look… we're all tired, we're all frustrated, and we all just wanna get out of this cold. Please don't make it worse by fighting, okay?"

Both children glowered up at her, Kagome's and InuYasha's eyes meeting each other before they nodded, the burst of energy brought on by their frustration dissipating as quickly as it appeared.

"Come on," Rin murmured, "let's retire for the night; there's a cave nearby."

"InuYasha, Kagome," Sesshomaru interrupted quietly, his body stepping up to his little brother and friend, "do either of you want to be carried?"

"No!" InuYasha told him defiantly, "I can walk! I can walk like you guys!"

"I can do anything he can do!" the little girl told him.

"Then let's go," the young woman gestured towards their next hideaway, a blast of wind making her turn her back to it, her feet stumbling slightly.

"Rin-"

"I'm fine," she informed the demon, "just… just a little bit worn out."

"But-"

"We're resting soon enough," the young woman pointed out, "it's fine."

The demon held in his protests, his jaw tightening as he guided his bother and Kagome to the cave Rin led them to.

"Rin-"

"Kagome," the young woman started, quietly so as not to disturb the demons, "Kagome please…"

"But I'm tired," Kagome whimpered, "and I'm cold and I'm achy and-and-"

"We're all feeling that," Rin told her cousin quietly, her arms pulling the younger to her chest, "we're all at the end of our ropes… we're all tired," her body tightened on the little girl, "I'm so sorry to drag you into this."

"'S okay," the little girl whimpered, "just… how much longer?"

"Only two more days at the most," the young woman promised, "I'll find the fastest way."

"Rin…"

The young woman turned to look up at the demon, his hand touching her shoulder while his little brother stayed by her feet.

"Let's start a fire," Rin murmured, her hands reaching for their dwindling pile of logs, the demon seeing a flicker of fear pass her eyes.

Sesshomaru understood her predicament, he too stressed and his nerves also pushed to their ends. He was just as tired as the children and Rin were, and just as frustrated. No matter how much he slept, it was never enough, though they had to keep moving, even though their movements were sluggish.

The other worrying thing was their supply of food. Not that they ate much to begin with, but Rin and Sesshomaru had started sacrificing their share for the younger two, despite the protests. If their journey persisted the way it was, the four would starve before they froze.

InuYasha in his arms and the other two curled up by him, Sesshomaru watched the flames die from their arm orange glow, the rations devoured by the younger two that were slowly falling asleep, Rin's arm over the two of them with Sesshomaru's around her waist. Thankfully, the sleeping children were blissfully unaware of what was causing Rin's anxiety, the demon the one to discover it, the white flurries whipping past the mouth of their hiding place.

"I'm sorry," the young woman started, her throat thick with tears, "I… I didn't think this would happen…"

"You couldn't have anticipated it," the demon assured her quietly, his arms tightening around the others, "if we didn't move when we did, we might all be dead."

"I just hope I haven't made it worse," she whimpered quietly, her tears a mingle of frustration and fear.

"You're risking everything for me and my brother," his thumb removed her tears from her cheeks, "I can't even begin to thank you," his lips touched her forehead.

"You don't have too," the young woman told him sincerely, "I just…" she looked to her cousin, "just…"

Wordlessly, his nose touched her long black locks, his lungs inhaling deeply as he tried her best to comfort her.

"The storm's getting worse," Sesshomaru murmured, his eyes glancing to the snow moving sharply passed the opening of the cave.

"I know," Rin whispered, "but we can't stay here any longer," her eyes glanced to the bags, "we don't have enough rations or-or wood," the arm around the children tightened, "if we don't keep moving, we'll die here…."

"I won't let that happen," the demon promised, "I won't leave any of you behind…"

Their morning was the same as the others, all four of them groggy and unrested, the four of them bundled tightly as they readied themselves for the blizzard outside.

"You guys can't let go," Rin told the two children, their hands taken in both each other and Sesshomaru's, the demon's other hand in hers, "promise?"

"Promise," the two murmured in unison, their hands squeezing tighter at her words.

Swallowing her fear, the young woman pushed out through the wind, the snow covering her vision, the chocolate orbs unable to see the demon following behind her, the hand in hers the only inclination that he was near her.

Rin was thankful that Sesshomaru decided to walk beside her, his voice barely noticeable over the wind; his words only heard when he spoke directly in her ear. His grasp was firm; tighter when she stumbled slightly, something was happening more and more recently.

Her head shook in an attempt to wake herself even more. They couldn't have been more than a day and a half away from the Western Boarder. If they pushed through, the four of them could be in Sesshomaru's homeland by nightfall. There was no sun to tell the time, no way to find their destination but the rocks that she let guide her.

She wished that the other two were faring better than she in the storm, InuYasha and Kagome having never been in such a situation as this.

The hand in hers tugged slightly, the demon most likely bending down to talk to his brother. Biting her lip, she pulled gently, urging them to move on. Still, the demon stayed near the younger two, despite Rin's tugging.

"Sesshomaru!" she tried to call over the wind, "we need to go! Please!?"

As she expected, he did not respond, probably because he couldn't have heard her over the wind, even with his sensitive ears.

It was by surprise that he stood up and moved, he assuming she lead him. His thought would have been the truth had a gust of wind not sent her stumbling backwards in surprise.

Rin felt her heart freeze worse than the snow as her hand slipped from the demon's, her body moving towards where he had stood, panic settling in when she couldn't find him.

"Se… Sesshomaru?" Rin called, her body trying to calm itself as she stayed by the wall, her body leaning against it while she searched fruitlessly in the snow for the tall figure, fear in her eyes as she couldn't find nor hear him, "Sesshomaru!?"

Swallowing thickly, the young woman forced her body to move towards where the demon was, her head whipping around to look for some glimmer or shadow of the few she considered her family.

"Please," she whispered, tears pricking her eyes, "please Sesshomaru… keep them safe… and forget me…"


"Rin!?"

The demon turned as he felt her hand slip from his, his fingers reaching for where she was, his body turning to look for her, his amber eyes wide in fear as he felt nothing but snow fly past his fingertips. Feet crunching in the snow, he dared to take a few steps towards her, the small hand around his clinging tighter.

He was reminded of the two beside him, the two children who wanted desperately to go back, to warm up. His eyes narrowed through the snow, desperately trying to see the young woman, mental images of his brother huddling against his leg for comfort, Kagome the same.

Sesshomaru tensed as he searched for a solution that would save them all; if Rin was lost, she wouldn't last very long but then again, neither would the other two if he stayed and searched for her. From what his brother had shouted to him, it was already apparent that he and Kagome weren't going to make the next leg of their journey like this.

He knew there was another cave nearby, this region of the pass pot marked with them, according to Rin. Just how long it would take to get them there and him back to find her was the question.

"Just hang on," Sesshomaru whispered as he pulled the unsuspecting children along, "just wait for me."

As fast as he could, his legs carved a path through the thick snow, the shelter his only goal at the moment. Mimicking Rin, the long fingers splayed on the wall, searching desperately for someplace to hide the younger.

Sesshomaru all but collapsed into the open space, their shelter more of a dent in the wall than anything else, but it kept them out of the snow.

"Big brother?"

The panting demon turned to his younger, the half-demon's face dour while Kagome was looking around for her elder, panic on her face when she couldn't find her.

"Rin?" the little girl called, "Rin!?"

"Kagome-"

"Where's Rin!?" her blue eyes turned to him, "where's my cousin!?"

"Kagome-"

"Did she let go!?" her head whipped around to look out to the snow, "she told me never ever do that! That-that that's why people don't come back!"

"No! Kagome stop!"

The little girl kicked and smacked the arm around her waist as Sesshomaru pulled her back from exiting the shelter, her legs kicking the open air.

"Kagome, it's dangerous for you-"

"Lemme go!" Kagome cried, tears now streaming down her cheeks, "I-I gotta go get her! I gotta bring her back!"

"No," Sesshomaru told her firmly, "you two are staying here!"

"But big brother!"

"I'll go out and look for her," the demon murmured, kinder and softer as he tried to comfort the two of them, "but you two need to stay here."

Stunned, Kagome turned to face him, her mouth slightly open though tears still fell from her eyes.

"B-But R-Rin…" Kagome whimpered, "wh-where's Rin?"

"I'll bring her back," the demon promised softly, his arms pulling the little girl close to his chest, "I'll bring her back, Kagome."

Both sets of wide and worried eyes watched as he stood, the demon pulling out some fuel for the fire.

"Keep warm and wait for me," Sesshomaru told them, his amber eyes turning to his brother, the little boy looking at him with flecks of fear.

"Wh… What if you don't come back?"

The question hung in the air thicker than snow, Sesshomaru feeling his jaw tighten as he touched InuYasha's shoulder.

"I will," he whispered, "I will."

Assured that the young ones were warmed and relatively safe, the demon turned and entered through the blizzard once more, both children watching him vanish into the thick white.

"RIN!?" the demon roared once he was where he had lost her, his voice wrought with worry, his heart hammering wildly in his chest, his mind racing as he tried to figure where the young woman would have gone. "RIN!?

His ears strained for some sound, some inclination that she was alive. He prayed that she had made it back to the small shelter they had found, that the glow of the fire had led her back to her cousin.

"RIN!? ANSWER ME!?"

His feet touched something solid, his heart clutching as he knew there was no rock on their path. Lowering to his knees, the long finger brushed aside the snow, the amber eyes widening as the sight of the figure lying crumpled in the snow, the hood covering the face though Sesshomaru didn't need one.

The slim form was lifted from the snow to be cradled in the demon's arms, fear in Sesshomaru's eyes as he looked down at the gently closed brown ones, Rin's breath barely escaping her parted lips.

"Rin?" the demon started, his sensitive ears listening to her heart resonate in her chest, hands hand gently trying to shake the young woman awake, "RIN!? Rin can you hear me!?"

Sesshomaru felt worry take hold of him as Rin remained comatose, her lips turning and unnatural blue colour and her skin a shade paler than it was originally. Reaching with his hand, the demon squeezed hers, a glimmer of relief flooding him as the young woman groaned slightly in pain, her body still responsive to some stimulation.

Gathering her limp body up in his arms, Sesshomaru took the young woman back to the small cave, fate on their side as the demon managed to make it unscathed, his body shivering as he slipped towards the warm glow, both children rushing to his side as the demon collapsed to the snow by the fire.

"Rin!? RIN!" Kagome screamed, her hands trying to shake the young woman's arm, the little girl breaking down when she received no response from the elder. "Se-Sesshomaru," the little girl's lip quivered, "wh-why won't she wake up?"

"I-I don't know," the demon admitted, "I-she's been out in the snow too long, she's still there, but-"

"RIN!? RIN!?"

Kagome's hands did nothing as Rin shook in the demon's arms, her body still limp and comatose. It was then both children began sobbing, the demon, with no experience in the matter, found himself consoling two crying kids while trying to care for the injured woman.

"She's not waking up!" the little girl sobbed, "she's not ever gonna wake up!"

"Kagome-"

"Big brother," InuYasha interrupted, his face just as streaked with tears, "is she gonna be okay?"

"Sh-She's not waking up-"

"Calm down, both of you!" Sesshomaru told them, his voice harsher than he meant. "Kagome," he started, softer to comfort her, "she's still breathing and her heart is still beating. She needs to warm up now."

"B-Bu-But-"

"There's nothing more we can do," the demon admitted, "she needs to see someone; you and I can't help her."

Sniffling, the little girl shuffled to snuggle next to her elder, her head resting by Rin's still beating heart.

"You two should get a lot of rest," Sesshomaru murmured, his hand reaching to pull his little brother tight to his chest, "Rin needs someone to help her, so we need to be there as fast as we can."

Nodding their understanding, both Kagome and InuYasha managed to curl up around their elders, the eyes weary as they watched the injured woman. Sesshomaru too, kept a vigil watch over her, thankful when she seemed to look better once warmed, though she was still unconscious. One by one, the other three slipped asleep, the fire slowly dying to nothing but embers.

A soft groaning woke the demon, his body careful not to wake the sleeping children as he turned to look at the woman in his arms, her brown eyes struggling to open against her fatigue, her mouth groaning as she adjusted her body.

"Rin," Sesshomaru murmured softly, "Rin?"

"… nng… ah…" the young woman hummed softly, her eyes pulling open to meet his amber eyes.

"Rin," the demon started, "Rin can you hear me?"

"… wh… wha…"

"You collapsed," Sesshomaru whispered, "you're safe for now, but-"

"… Kag… Yash…"

"They're both safe," the demon told her, "they're worried for you, so you need to get better for them."

"I… I…"

"Rin? Rin-"

Sesshomaru's arms tightened on the young woman as she fell limp in his arms, her eyes fluttering closed as she fell asleep. His jaw tightened as he lowered to touch her forehead with his, careful not to wake the sleeping youngers.

They had no choice; if the three of them lingered for a day longer or they took longer than needed, Rin would die.


Yep... gonna end that chapter riiiight there... so, reviews?