Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Duh.

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Chapter 2: Frozen Hearts

Jaken was in one of those days where everything went wrong, where you were punished, humiliated, tripped, and scores of other awful incidents happened to you. It had happened before, but that had been a long time ago, when Sesshomaru hadn't had these foolish notions of cavorting around with young female children.

Currently, he was looking for Rin. The imprudent child had run off in the early morning. He could occasionally hear her ahead of him, but she was faster than he was, and more agile. He grumbled quite loudly as he searched. "Damned wench."

He pushed aside a low-lying branch, but was unlucky enough not to notice the tree root behind it, tripping and rolling ungracefully to a stop a few feet away. "Damn it all…" he muttered, using the Staff of Heads as a crutch to get back up. He pointed it at the root, and burned it nicely. However, this caused the tree to fall over, almost squashing Jaken. "Awk!" He squeaked, brushing grass off his front. He continued to search for Rin, for Lord Sesshomaru would not be happy if she got lost or died…

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Rin, meanwhile, was happily skipping down a riverbank, picking the few flowers that had survived the winter so far. She knelt next to the frozen stream, bending down to see if there were any fish, forgetting that the fish would have gone somewhere warmer. When she found none, she got up and sat down.

Rin eyed the limp flowers in her hand and threw them over her shoulder, deeming them not worthy of passing her strict inspection. She started singing softly. "Kagome, kagome, kago no naka no tori wa, itsu itsu deyaru." She looked around to see if Jaken had caught her yet, then continued singing. "Yoake toban ni, tsuru to kame ga tsubeta, ushiro no shoumen dare."

She sighed, thinking about Sesshomaru. 'I hope he won't be mad at me for running away,' she thought guiltily. He had left early that morning, when the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. 'I hope he won't take away my comb.' From the depths of her kimono, she drew out a silver filigree comb, inlaid with sapphire. It had been a present to her from Sesshomaru, and she treasured it with her life.

'I hope Jaken doesn't get too mad either.' She giggled slightly at the thought of him searching for her, waddling as fast as he could. Rin lay back, admiring the patterns the colorless clouds formed. 'I see a bunny… and a doggie… and… Lord Sesshomaru…'

Rustling was heard nearby, so Rin quickly sat up, thinking of vicious demons that could easily kill her. Her terror evaporated when she noticed the faint outline of Jaken in the bushes, to be replaced with a thrilling kind of fear that only came from "playing" with Jaken. Covering her mouth in an effort not to laugh, Rin ducked quickly behind some uninspiring plant life.

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Jaken burst out of the bushes, out of breath. He huffed, glaring around him as if that alone would make Rin appear miraculously before him. When she stayed in hiding, she shook his head in exasperation.

Suddenly, he heard a low- giggle? - off to his right. He whirled around, his staff pointed menacingly at the suspicious spot. He edged closer, very much aware of the fact that there could be a demon there. He shouted, "I'll give you three seconds to show yourself as something harmless!"

He waited, for more like ten seconds, tersely gripping his staff. When the creature didn't come out, he shouted, "Now you die! Staff of Heads!"

He heard a faint whimper, before the bush disintegrated before his eyes. Satisfied, he walked over to the burnt patch. In the middle of it was a silver comb. "No-"

'D-did I… kill Rin?' Shaking, he bent over to examine the comb. 'No doubt about it. It was Rin's. He abruptly turned his head and retched, not for remorse of the child, but of the thought of being killed or exiled. "Oh, Kami -"

In desperation, he picked up the fragile, slightly crumbling comb, and threw it into the stream, hoping that it would be carried away and, along with it, his problems.

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Sesshomaru flew over the dense forest, lightly skimming the tops of a few trees. He had been out, lured by a rumor about a large demon ravaging his lands. It turned out to be false; and now he was returning to Rin and Jaken just as the sun started to set in the west.

He saw the campsite, in a rather large glade, and came down, to land noiselessly on the barren ground. He saw no one within the immediate vicinity, so he strode off.

Minutes later he found Jaken, who looked like he was in shock. Sesshomaru knelt down beside him, and kicked him. He asked, in a no-nonsense voice, "Where's Rin?"

Jaken looked up with unfocused eyes. "He'll kill me… I'll be exiled… Someone help me… He'll kill me..."

"Rin, Jaken. Where is she?"

"Gone…"

Sesshomaru stood up. He looked down at the pathetic bundle that was Jaken. When he looked up again, a raindrop fell on his nose, sliding off and falling to the ground. More followed, until the world was encased in a wet, dreary atmosphere, as if the heavens were crying. Sesshomaru walked around, searching for the cause of Jaken's distress. A terrible suspicion was forming in his mind, so horrible he didn't even want to think about it. It increased when he saw the burnt patch of ground, clouding his mind with fear. A little farther on he found the comb, lying on the ice-covered tributary.

It… couldn't be true. She couldn't be dead. "No," Sesshomaru whispered, his eyes clouding with unshed tears as he picked up the comb, which crumbled slightly in his hands as he held it. 'She can't be dead. She's not dead.'

Yet it was. She would never smile at him again; never fill his days with laughter. She was gone forever, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Wait- there was. Without further ado, he went to Jaken, and, showing no emotion, he said, "Get out of my sight before dawn, and I won't have to kill you. Get out now, and never return."

Jaken sniveled, and shuffled away. Sesshomaru, although he kept his emotionless façade, was broken inside.

'I.. will never love anyone again.'

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A/N: No! Rin died! sigh It had to be done. And I realize Sesshomaru's all weird, but whatever. Feel free to flame me, but just review!