A/N: This is not my first fanfiction, but my first fanfiction in OVER a decade! I really hope you enjoy it! IT will start dark, but it brightens up! I promise.

CHAPTER ONE

Warm and Heaviness

Her flesh felt as if it was on fire as white surrounded her, she was suspended in the air, her brown-black hair framing her face as if it was a crown…she knew this was the end of her life, as short as it was. She jolted her head back in torment but was unable to vocalize a scream, and her burnt caramel eyes began to fade, as did her soul, but not before they found golden ones staring deep into her own in sheer horror as everything went black.

Rins body snapped up out of her sleep with a yelp, clutching her chest to verify her heart was still beating, and she was, in fact, still alive, her bangs stuck to her forehead that glistened with sweat.

How many times?

How many times will she have to dream of her death before getting more answers? She had come to admit that watching her death was not the most painful part of it at all but the reminder that Lord Sesshoumaru made his appearance in her mind with his sunset-colored eyes and the emotion that was so evident behind them. The feeling made her realize that it was a dream, as that is something she didn't believe he could conjure up. Those eyes and the person they belonged to left her in this same Village 10 years ago, with promises of visiting that soon faded over the years.

To say she was heartbroken was an understatement. Her younger self almost seemed desperate for his arrival, waiting on the edge of the village and the excitement that filled her when he would finally show. However, the older she got, the less he and her fellow traveling companions came around. Finally, after five years, she realized she would never see them again. It was when a demon raided the village as soon as Inuyasha and Miroku departed. All of her begging for him, hoping and wishing for his arrival to come and save her as she hid in the corner of the hut, and he didn't show; she knew he was out of her life for good. Sango, Kaede, and Kagome were able to finally take down the powerful demon, but it didn't come without casualties.

The deceased bodies and smell of death triggered her in a way, seeing the blood-soaked dirt, sending her back to her childhood trauma, as images of his family flashed into her mind.

He did not come to save her.

She swore never to be defenseless again.

She swore never to depend on anyone for protection again.

They would not come.

The next day, she had asked to train with Kohaku and Sango to become a demon slayer, and Kohaku convinced Totosai to forge her a sword for her use.

Rin stood up and placed her hair in a high bun, swiping the damp bangs out of her face, and grabbed her sword tilted the wall again. If she could not sleep, she would train and step outside into the cold crisp night.

She hardly went without her demon-slayer outfit, explicitly made for her by Sango, the typical black suit with the armor made of unique orange and yellow accents to match her 'bright personality, as they stated. Traveling through an empty field, she prepared herself with attacks, where she would continue to do so until the sun removed the black sky and the sparkling white specks among it.

Once the village started to be alive again, Rin mustered up all the personality she keeps tucked away to put on her good front, for she realized she hated being asked what was wrong when she was somber and retreated to her hut temporarily to get her mind ready for the day. But, unfortunately, once she stepped back out, the village seemed to be utterly full of rummaging bodies.

"Good Morning, Rin."

Rin turned around and feigned a smile told the old Priestess. That much she could do, as this was the woman who took her in at such a young age and has taught her so much.

"Good Morning Kaede. I hope you slept well."

Rin sometimes didn't recognize her voice, as she hardly ever spoke anymore. Her innocent vocal cords are now gone and replaced with a soft, mellow alto. Her tone was chilling as well as if bothered to have to speak.

"Well yes, as good as someone my age can sleep….and ye'self?" Kaede asked back, giving her an intense piercing look with her one eye. Rin stared back at her blankly before one again mustering up a smile and answering her question, "Of course."

Kaede responded with a 'hmph' sensing the lie out of Rin but refusing to investigate more. She walked away, and Rin felt relieved not to answer any more questions. Although her days of becoming a mute due to trauma as a child were past her, she now hated speaking more than what was required of her as a woman, and it was due to a different kind of trauma.

A small shadow caught her eye in the woods past the meadows as it scurried just above the tall grass. She turned her body and placed her hand on her sword, peering over for a minute, prepared for whatever it could be, but concluded to it being just a tiny animal and turned away back to the village to find someone to train with.

"Jaken." The green Kappa has been waiting nervously outside the room, knowing he was half a day late in returning to his Lord. He nervously stepped in, sweat forming on his green head.

"Y-Yes..Mi'Lord." Jaken responded, only to be met with cold golden orbs in return, and Jaken already knew what was asked of him. "Sh-She bodes well….." He said, his mouth opened but closed afterward as if stopping his thought process.

Sesshoumaru continued to stare him down, and his retainer could no longer take the pressure as tears welled up in his eyes, "She's grown up! I hardly recognized her this quarter Mi'Lord. She's grown masterful in his technique as a demon slayer, and she has no fear….Sometimes I hardly recognize her as the young girl that traveled with us; she seems so changed, perhaps if I-"

"That is all," Sesshoumaru responded, cutting him off mid-sentence before he could continue with an idea he had no intention of making a reality.

"But Mi'lord, It's just an ide-"

The glare from his master was enough to have him jump and scramble from the room in complete fear, leaving Sesshoumaru to his mind as he stared at the blistering sun midday in the sky.

"Hn. Changed? Changed How?"

He thought to himself and tried to picture what she would appear to him now. Although he had stopped visiting over five years ago, trying to reestablish the wreckage of his western lands, his fear of known enemies attacking her and where she resides to show dominance against him, if they knew about their camaraderie, was a risk he was no longer able to take. Inuyasha and his peers would protect her well enough, but he still sent Jaken every three months or so to watch her from a distance for a day or so. He never asked for too much information, given it was hard enough to stay away, and his curiosity would get the better of him.

Rin feared when they traveled together, just at the wrong things, but she knew she would always be saved. He could not promise her that anymore, so he was content in learning that she was discovering how to protect herself, even though it bothered him that she would put herself purposely in positions that would put her life at risk, considering it can't be brought back again. He knew that his absence hurt her, and it hurt him in a sense as well. Everything was heavier without her presence. The door he had shut and locked so long ago, it begged to be itched, and his curiosity grew, and he tried to subdue it, but his demon instinct had him realizing something foreboding was soon to happen, and his decision was made.

He would visit her tonight, unbeknownst to his retainer or Rin.

A/N: Short and Sweet, I know! The chapters will get longer, I'm just trying to get the ball rolling and show what's it's like now...ten years after Naraku has died, and Rin being left in the village with Inuyasha, Kagome, Kaede, and the rest...

Stay Tuned!