Far away, a shadow moved silently through the trees. It had grown greatly in the last seven years. When before it was the size of a rabbit, it was closer now to the size of a lion. It had shadow-black scales that seemed almost to fade to fur as it reached the legs and tail. It appeared to have the form of a giant rat, but as it flitted from shadow to shadow it was near impossible to tell.
This creature, this imp of shadows, had been slowly gaining power ever since Kikyo summoned it. He did not know why the undead priestess would summon him, especially since she knew that the cost was her very life. He dashed through the darkness as he wondered, thinking about what he knew.
He, himself, was called Kage, the shadow imp. Many millennia ago, he was born from the shadow of Amatsu Mikaboshi, and had been sent down to earth to wreck havoc. But a powerful group of priests and priestesses sealed him back into the underworld, supposedly for all of eternity. Then Kikyo…for some reason she unlocked him from his prison. Why?
Growling, he ran faster into the darkness, where he would absorb power from the shadows and grow stronger. He needed to be in order to steal the young girl away from her family, the one blessed by the butterfly. Snickering, he figured that she hadn't even begun to find her true power; the one that can turn darkness into light, black into color, death into life, the only power that could destroy him.
Now he was practically flying, feet barely touching the ground as he ran through the darkness. He and the child would meet each other soon enough…
Somewhere else… (A/N: What do you want from me! It's half-past midnight!)
Sesshomaru was waiting for someone as she went to go take a bath. He didn't seem annoyed at all at the fact that he had to wait out in the forest for about half an hour while he protected a young woman to clean herself in the local hot springs. It gave him time to think, mostly about what he had been thinking about for about a year or two now…
"Lord Sesshomaru, I am finished and ready to go back now." A girl in her mid-teens, said, her voice still a little like a child's. Her brown eyes were bright and cheerful, straight black hair still wet. It was Rin, the little girl that Sesshomaru had saved, older by seven years. She wore a simple orange kimono; similar to the one she wore as a little girl.
"Very well, let's go." He said, nodding slightly. For the past two years, he had been having odd thoughts about Rin. Most of them had her smiling and laughing with him. What were these feelings? He could never have any tenderness towards a human…
So why did you return her to life?
An intruder thought entered his mind, almost making him blush. But not quite, he couldn't let on what he was thinking about. Although that question was a good one, one his answer had long been denied. He would never admit that he liked this girl, even as a friend. He tried to convince himself that Rin was like Jaken. But no, that was the worst lie of them all. Perhaps he saved her, let her come with him, and protected her no matter what, all because he…
"My Lord Sesshomaru! Welcome back!" Jaken cheered as he ran towards his master. He wasn't allowed to go with the pair when Rin needed to wash.
Secretly, Sesshomaru was glad that Jaken had interrupted his thoughts. The answer to the question danced away from him, and he was glad. He didn't notice that Rin was looking at him oddly. He may not have noticed, but he had had a look on him that was confused, troubled even. Rin was worried, but didn't ask him, since he seemed better once Jaken broke his train of thought.
What was he thinking about? Rin thought to herself, not letting the pained curiosity show on her face.
Back at the ranch…"Kochou-chan, why have you been acting so odd lately?" Matsu asked his friend, who was even jumpier then usual. They were out by the waterfall, just sitting and relaxing with Kirara between them.
"I'm fine, Matsu-chan, everything's fine." The little girl gave him a clearly false smile.
"I don't believe you. Something's wrong, you've been acting like something's after you for ages. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?" He got a hurt look on his face, and pouted a little.
Kochou groaned, "Don't give me that look, you know I can't stand it. Just trust me, I would tell you if I could."
"Of course I trust you, Kochou-chan. It's you who doesn't trust me." Matsu pulled his knees to under his chin and he hugged his legs closer to him.
"I trust you more then anyone else. You're my best friend, after all. I just…I can't tell anyone."
"Why not?"
"I just can't! Now leave me alone!" Kochou shouted, getting up and storming off towards her house. Stupid Matsu, why can't he mind his own business? Sighing and looking up at the sky, she wished that she could tell Matsu, at least. Her parents or his would probably want to go off and kill Amatsu Mikaboshi's imp, and they would fail. But Matsu was small like her; he would probably understand and not do anything like that.
And it was hard to keep a secret to herself.
That's right, everyone's favorite Fluffy is back! Yeah, I like Rin/Sess pairings almost as much as Kag/Inu pairings. Also, I apologize for not getting on very often lately. It wasn't completely my fault! Oh yeah, I have another 'Reviewer's Choice' for what I should do on the next chapter. Should I do a chapter more about Matsu and Kochou, or should I work on Sesshomaru and Rin? I will do both, but I don't know which I should do first.
Also, after tonight it will be harder for me to update, because school is starting again. My loyal readers, thanks for all your support! Please try to bear with me.