[Next chapter. The one after this will probably be the finale.

Disclaimer: Dude, seriously? Dude, seriously. ]

Sesshoumaru threw Kagura a glare colder than an polar Bear's icebox. "Whatever your ideas for her are, stay away from her. She doesn't have to associate with you," he said, before walking away. This infuriated Kagura to no end.

As the night grew cooler, Kagura's emotions ran insane. Sesshoumaru, despite his "pretty face", had an attitude worse than Naraku's. "How dare he speak for her?" Kagura hissed. "Rin is old enough to make her own decisions. A large hairball does not need to create her life." At the thought of Rin, Kagura's eyes flitted over to the girl.

Rin was dancing happily in the grass, the tight kimono sticking to her pale skin because of the Summer's humidity. As her newly matured voice began laughing, Kagura suddenly felt as though her stomach had been replaced with numerous shards of glass.

Kagura, who hadn't experienced any happiness since Naraku's defeat, longed to be the one Rin was laughing at now. In all of her dreams, the sorceress merely wanted to stay in Rin's warm embrace, to be Rin's lover and never leave her.

Yet, a large, fluffy obstacle was standing in the way of her dreams. Sesshoumaru's protection over Rin was becoming extremely annoying and troublesome. Add to this, the fact of Kagura's abduction of Rin and it was easy to see that Sesshoumaru had no intent of allowing Rin and Kagura to have any relationship, whatsoever. Separated by one thing, Kagura could only watch her angel from afar.

As midnight fell over Feudal Japan, the entire world drifted into sleep by the full moon's light. Only one soul still remained awake. Kagura, with an aggravated glare on her face, contemplated her next move. Now that Sesshoumaru had discovered her, the sorceress had very few options. As though trying to create bad karma, she chose the most dangerous one. Kagura decided to try courting Rin without Sesshoumaru's permission.

The wind sorceress leapt from her tree and swiftly, silently, proceeded to the camp Sesshoumaru, Jaken and Rin were asleep in. She suddenly became aware of so much more. How quickly she was walking, the sounds of the winds and grass in the night. She also became aware of her heart pounding quickly in her chest with each step. Anticipation, nervousness and small bits of insecurity began to show themselves on her face.

In a world we know as the astroplain, dreams worked their spell upon the young woman of seventeen that we know now as Rin. She was seven years old again and a giant, white rabid dog was chasing her down the old dirt path of her old village. Soon, she tripped over a root, precisely as she had before Koga's wolves killed her. Just as the gleaming fangs were about to rip through her flesh, killing her, a gentle breeze blew over Rin. A red-eyed, well dressed and oddly familiar woman appeared from the winds, protecting Rin. With the flick of a fan, the dog blew away from Rin. With that, this odd woman turned to Rin, who was now in her current age. The woman smiled at the girl and seemed to blow away, like a feather.

It was a dream Rin had often since her childhood. Gradually, the woman, who at first was a stern, spiteful looking person, often appearing stone-faced and grim, had become happier and now smiled for Rin before destroying her nightmare.

Rin saw this odd woman as a friend, then a guardian. Now, she found this woman as something more. This protector of hers was attractive to her. She was confused. "When Sesshoumaru-sama explained boys and girls to me, he said boys only like girls and girls only like boys," she usually reminded herself when drifting into a daydream of this woman wrapping her into a warm embrace. "Perhaps, I am different," she reasoned.

Now awake from the nightmare, Rin turned to see a figure approaching her. Inspecting her further, she discovered it was a woman. It was her savior from her dreams. Silently, Rin stood. The two women stood, facing each other, a balmy wind blowing over them.

[You know the drill. R&R and I'll get back to this in a few more weeks. ]