Okay, I know last chapter sucked, but I'll probably go back and edit it at some point. Anywho, I'm getting my groove back, and my writing is back up almost to par. Well, anywho, I now have the premier of Sesshoumaru and Rin.

            Just a quick little side note, I'm a big Rin-Sesshy fan, so I boosted her age up a bit in this fic. She is now about Kagome's age, maybe a little younger.

**

Sesshoumaru turned his head and looked back in annoyance. The young girl was still following him. He turned again, and continued walking: a calm, confident stride. Anyone who saw the noble youkai would not even begin to guess at what lye beneath the surface.

            "Milord!" A scratchy, annoying, high-pitched voice echoed from behind him. "Please milord, wait for me!" A small, green toad-like imp dashed up from behind him, struggling to hold a hideous staff in his small hands, and began walking unsteadily beside him- two or three steps to every one of the aristocrat's. "I have decided, milord, that I am no longer able to serve you under the current conditions." No response. "Unless you apologize for testing the Tensaiga on me, then I am afraid that I will have to leave you."

            "Very well Jaken." Sesshoumaru said, his voice a steady monotone. Like lightning, his hand right hand whipped out from it's sleeve, and grasped the head of the staff. The little toad gasped at the staff was wrenched from his grasp, and Sesshoumaru continued walking as if nothing had happened.

            Jaken gasped as his lord continued on, leaving his in the dust. The young girl that had been following them around walked past him with in a slow, methodic pace.

            "Milord." Jaken stuttered. "Am I that disposable to you?"

~~

            Kaede's ears alerted her to a commotion at her door. A very loud commotion, to be heard over the winds of the storm. Slowly, she rose from her lotus position, and strode to the door. The second the wooden frame was out of the way in burst a very wet group of travelers.

            InuYasha stumbled in, carrying a very wet miko, both of them obviously very angry. Following them shortly came Miroku, with Sango and Shippo attached to his back.

            The wet monk quickly deposited his load gently on the ground, and proceeded to begin drying off. The hanyou, an the other hand, turned to the shocked Kaede. "Where can I put Kagome?" He asked, urgently.

            Kaede opened her mouth to rebuke him, but then saw the blood on the robe Kagome had wrapped around her. Instantly, her mind shifted over into a very practical mode, and she gestured at the little wooden ledge next to the fire. "Put her there." She said curtly.

            InuYasha nodded, and walked over to the area indicated, and set the limp Kagome down in front of the elder miko. Kaede noticed almost instantly that the hanyou walked with a severe limp. "What happened to ye?" She asked, kneeling down beside Kagome.

            "Well…" Miroku said, making sure Sango was comfortable, "We managed to survive a run-in with an ancient wyrm."

            Kaede paused from peeling away the robe, and glanced at him, astonished. "Ye mean to say that Atma attacked ye?" She asked.

            There was a general nod among the travelers.

            Kaede's eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed, and she returned to looking at Kagome. "Not even my predictions could have foreseen this." She muttered, so soft that the humans had to struggle to her. "I knew the omens were bad, but I never would think that Atma would have attacked."  She pulled away the last of the robes and gasped at the wounds. "And yet you survived…" She said, very softly.

            Miroku nodded at InuYasha. "Tell her what happened."

            InuYasha nodded, and turned to Kaede. Kaede nodded, listening patiently to the story, along with InuYasha's bragging interspersed.  "…So then she flew into the sky, and disappeared." He finished. He flashed a cocky grin, and flexed his claws. "And it's a god thing she did, 'cause next time I see that scaly little wench, I'm taking her down!"

            Kaede nodded dismissively, and turned back to Kagome. "I will be needing several herbs." She said, turning to the only truly not wounded member of the party: Shippo. "Shippo, will ye help me find the things I need?"

            Shippo hopped to his feet, and saluted.

            The old priestess smiled at the little Kitsune. She ruffled his hair gently, and gave him a list of plants, then turned back to the others. "Has Kagome woken up since the battle?" She asked. This got a mixed response. Sango and Miroku barely managed to snort back their laughter, and InuYasha looked slightly abashed.

            "She awoke just as InuYasha was saying some rather compromising things. The monk said.

            Sango chuckled herself, and added. "She gave him a rather good sitting." She laughed again. "Unfortunately, InuYasha was carrying her at the time, so that was no good. She fell as well, and passed out again."

            "InuYasha needs to learn to keep a better hold on his tongue." Miroku said, nodding sagely.

            The fiery hanyou jumped to his feet, staggering ever so slightly. "Shaddap!" He yelled at the duo.

            Kaede struggled to conceal the laugh behind her sleeve.

~~

Sesshoumaru slept very lightly, so it was no wonder he awoke instantly when a slight pressure touched his arm. Almost instantly, he turned his head, and seized the intruder by the neck, holding him or her up into the dim light of the somewhat full moon.

He was shocked (although he didn't outwardly display it) when he found himself starring into two soulful brown eyes. The young girl- no… young woman- who had been following him all day hung limply in his grasp, like some sort of rag doll. His eyes narrowed, and he let her go, letting her fall to the ground. She kneeled on her knees, and looked at him, uttering not a word. One of her eyes was swollen, and she had many bruises all over her face.

"Who are you?" The noble youkai asked, his voice monotone, but somehow conveying curiosity at the same time.

The girls eyes widened, and the moisture in the dried up slightly. She crawled forward, and snuggled up into the white softness of the youkai's fluffy.

Sesshoumaru showed no outward signs, but the audacity of this girl intrigued him. But not only that, he couldn't understand why he simply did not kill her and be done with the nuisance.  It would be easy, and obviously better in the long run. Just a simple swipe of his claws. Yet something stopped him.

"Rin." A small voice said from his side. Her turned to the young woman again, and saw he worm her way deeper into the white fluffy mass. "My name is Rin." Her voice was so soft that Sesshoumaru barely picked it up, even with his elf-like ears. She buried herself totally in the warmness, and then was asleep, leaving Sesshoumaru to his own ponderings.

**

            Does anybody know have an actual name for Sesshomaru's fluffy? The use of the word "Fluffy" Just sort of detracts from the scene. It's fun to call it that sometimes, but I will be referring to it in battle sometimes, and it will be kind of inappropriate to be calling it his "Fluffy" There. If someone could help me, I'd be grateful.