Disclaimer: I do not pretend to own the characters of Inuyasha even if I wish I did…..so please don't sue.

Rin smiled as she found a large area teeming with flowers. She hummed to herself as she picked as many flowers as she could grasp, one by one. A peaceful half hour went by when Rin finally decided to rest. She was tired from all the traveling being done lately, as well as the numerous bunches of sudden demon attacks. Those, of course, were not of too much concern though, keeping in mind that Sesshomaru took care of each demon in a matter of milliseconds. Rin really didn't have much to worry about nowadays, and as she sat, she was reminded of how lucky she was to be able to be with Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru had sort of become like a father to her. He was her second and only family after the one she had lost. That's how she thought of it anyway. Rin tried not to think of her parents too much though, or they day that they were slaughtered; it hurt too much and she was finally getting over the nightmares she had had since that day.

Rin sighed to herself as she sat a soft bed of moss. For a moment, she wondered about what would have happened to her if she had never met Lord Sesshomaru in the first place. She wondered what would have happened if she had never met him in the forest that day and tried to help him. Then Rin stopped wondering. For her, all of that was too horrible to even think of. Rin shook her head, shaking off her morbid thoughts. It wouldn't do to keep focusing on the past. Rin wasn't very good a being morbid and gloomy anyway. Being perky, hyper, and happy were three things much more up her alley. She smiled and decided to regain her focus on what is, and not on what was or what could have been. She liked the way things were and she cherished everyday that she got to live in this little dream world of hers. This life, all the time that she got to spend with Sesshomaru, and Jaken even, she loved to no end. Rin decided that if this was what her fate was to be, then she must be a very lucky girl.

The bushes near her rustled suddenly, and Rin was torn from her thoughts. Suddenly she became all too aware of the hairs standing up on the back of her neck and the unmistakable sensation of someone's eyes on her. Rin swallowed hard and whimpered slightly. Sesshomaru was a long distance from her and she would be dead long before he arrived if she made even one wrong move. So she decided that there was no point in screaming for help. "W-w-wh-who's there?" she whispered softly, fear lacing her words. Everything around her was silent and Rin waited for a few moments that seemed like light years, trying to hear something, anything, from among the trees around her. After what seemed like eternity to the little girl, a figure immerged from behind one of the trees next to her. Rin analyzed the girl who was walking towards her, recognizing her.

"My name's Kagome," the older girl responded softly, trying to ease Rin's fears. Kagome held her hands out in front of her in a submissive manor, trying to look the least bit intimidating as possible and show that she meant Rin no harm. She knelt down in front of Rin, smiling. "Do you remember me? We've met before, although I know it has been quite a while since then."

Rin smiled, relaxing. She nodded her head. "I remember you." Kagome merely smiled a bit further. "Are you looking for Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, actually I'm looking for you." This took Rin by surprise, and confused her a bit.

"Me? You came to see me?" Kagome shook her head. Rin tilted her head slightly in thought. "Why?" she asked.

"Because," Kagome answered, sitting down, "I need your help." Rin was always happy to help, so she brightened at this.

"You need my help? Do you really?" Kagome nodded. "Okay! What can I do?" Rin asked, her perkiness returning.

"Come with me," was all Kagome said as she stood up and reached her hand out for Rin. At this Rin was unsure. She didn't think it was a good idea to be any further from Sesshomaru than she already was. Kagome's smile reassured her though, and she knew that she would be safe. Then Rin thought of what Sesshomaru would think. She wondered if he'd be mad at her for leaving with Kagome. She knew that she'd be back, but that didn't mean that Sesshomaru would be okay with it. She wasn't sure when he wanted to set out again and she didn't want to be left behind. Rin then realized that the great dog demon lord wouldn't leave her behind. Besides, something about the look in Kagome's eyes made her incapable of resisting. Like when you know someone has a really good secret that they're going to share with you and you're just dieing to know it. So, Rin followed Kagome back to where the Inuyasha gang was camping out, hoping that Sesshomaru would be alright in her absence.

- - - A little while and a good deal of explaining later - - -

"You want Lord Sesshomaru to go see this……um…..."

"Psychiatrist," Kagome provided, "yes, we do. We think that he really should go. It'll be good for him, we just know it."

Inuyasha snorted. "Kagome, what's with all this 'we' stuff? You know, the only person who actually cares is you. So what you should say is that you think he should go and you know, well think anyway, that it'll do him good. I refuse to be placed in the category of people who actually care."

Kagome glared at her dog-eared companion. "Inuyasha….SIT!" It took only about one millionth of a second for a nice new crater to form in the ground beneath him.

"OW! Oi, Kagome, what'd you go and do that for?"

"You should know very well why I did that," she shot back angrily, crossing her arms and continuing to glare.

"So…..you really think that this will help Lord Sesshomaru?" uttered a soft voice, penetrating the thick cloud of anger that was filling up the air. Kagome turned to Rin, her expression now soft and her voice low and soothing.

"Yes, Rin, I really think it will."

Rin smiled and nodded in compliance. "Okay then, just tell me what to do."

Kagome smiled back. "Alright then, what you have to do is……"

- - - A little while later - - -

Sesshomaru glanced nervously around him, though you wouldn't know it by look alone, fore he hid his feelings as well as ever. Rin had wandered off quite some time ago. He had seen neither hide nor hair of her in hours. Besides the worry that he felt, which he would never actually admit, he really did want to start traveling again. Sesshomaru had never liked to stay in the same place for very long, hence the extensive mileage he had accumulated through the ages. He was always traveling this way and that, traveling across every square foot, it seemed, of Japan. It's hard to believe that anyone would know the land better than Sesshomaru. He was like a walking road map; well, without actually being made of paper. He even had markings on him (the random stripes), not that they at all resembled roads or anything of the kind.

Traveling was one of Sesshomaru's greatest passions, aside from gaining power. He simply loved the constant change of scenery and witnessing all that Japan had to offer. He studied the different lifestyles in each new place he visited. He did not travel though simply for the cultural and economical education; there was something else. There was something on the inside of him pulling to get free. That very same thing was what told him where to venture next. Sesshomaru felt that he was missing something, but he had no idea what it was. Something wasn't right, he could feel it. Everyday he continued further into his adventure, hoping to find what was lost to him, what was missing so he could fill the hole he felt in his spirit. He wanted desperately to be rid of the void that nagged him constantly. What bugged him more than what was actually missing was the fact that he could not decipher what was missing in the first place. Nothing's as frustrating as losing something or knowing that something isn't right, but having no clue what it is. Of course, he would vehemently deny all of this and give no reason what-so-ever to anyone that asked why he traveled. As is well know to most who have ever come in contact with the demon lord, and many who have not but know of it anyway, Sesshomaru was never a very talkative guy. I mean, he gives silent a whole new meaning, well most of the time anyway.

Sesshomaru sighed, sitting back down against the tree behind him. Sesshomaru had been pacing back and forth for quite some time now; not exactly something he has been known for doing. The dog demon was more of the sit/stand still kind. He could stand/sit alone for hours, just thinking. Sesshomaru rubbed his temples for a moment, feeling a headache coming on. He thought that perhaps he had been thinking too much lately, then again maybe it was more of what he was thinking about rather than the prospect of actually thinking that was giving him a headache. Sesshomaru wished Rin would return soon. At least he had gotten rid of Jaken. He had sent Jaken off long ago in search of Rin. Part of him was glad that Rin had yet to return, but only because he was not yet ready to deal with Jaken again. So, it was more like he wanted Rin back but he thought it would be perfectly fine if Jaken got lost for a few days. Sesshomaru wouldn't put it past the toad either. Jaken wasn't exactly known for either intelligence or sense of direction. If Sesshomaru was considered as a roadmap, Jaken would be the inferior broken compass. You know, the one that the two-year-old down the street tried to make out of spoons and plastic wrap. The compass kind of only goes one way and is lopsided and deformed no matter how you look at it. In truth, I don't think that you could even call the gluey mess of spoons and plastic wrap a compass, which is where we have our problem.

As annoying as he was, it never ceased to amaze Sesshomaru that Jaken had managed to live this long with no one having killed him as of yet. Sesshomaru didn't really know why he let the toad tag along with him or why he put up with the excessive aggravation that he caused him. Well to be more accurate Sesshomaru did not know why he put up with Jaken before he met Rin. Since Rin joined his traveling party, it had been convenient to have Jaken watch over her. Sesshomaru didn't always trust Jaken to protect and make sure Rin was okay, well actually he never did, but that was all the more reason to impress the severity of the consequences he would receive if anything should happen to the little girl. The rule was quite simple: if any harm befell Rin, Sesshomaru would not hesitate to kill Jaken. (Hooray! A dead Jaken!)

Sesshomaru glanced at the sky, shaking himself from his thoughts and returning his senses to reality. Yet again his mind had managed to run away with him. Much to the dog demon's relief he picked up on a familiar scent. It took a mere few minutes after he noticed her scent approaching that Rin appeared before him. A stern look crossed his face as Rin confronted him. He took a moment to look her up and down, making sure that she was not harmed in any way. "Where have you been?" he asked coldly, his tone not quite frigid enough for icicles, but cold enough to show that he meant business. He was not happy that Rin had wandered off for so long and he wanted to make that crystal clear. Rin's gaze moved to her feet and she shifted nervously. Sesshomaru noticed that something was different, something had happened. "Rin, answer my question."

Rin cleared her throat and straightened, though she still would not look Sesshomaru in the eye. "Well, you see, I went off to pick flowers and I sort of….." Rin trailed off as she looked up at Sesshomaru and saw his eyes narrow.

Sesshomaru growled inwardly. He'd recognized the scent on Rin anywhere; it belonged to his half demon brother and the strange onna who traveled with him. "Rin, who were you with?"

Rin shifted again, uncomfortable under his intense gaze. "I saw Inuyasha and Lady Kagome…..they gave me these white fluffy things." Rin brightened as she recalled her tale, "Kagome invited me to join her and her friends for lunch. The white fluffy things were dessert. I think she called them marshmallows. They were very tasty!"

"You had lunch with Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked in a slightly bitter tone, not at all liking the prospect of Rin being in the company of the moody hanyou.

Rin nodded. "Yep, it was really fun. Everyone was really nice."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by everyone?"

Rin thought for a moment, trying to recall their names. "Well, there was Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Shippou, Kirara, and…I believe the other man's name was Tofu? I'm not sure; I can't really remember." Rin shrugged, giving up.

Sesshomaru was quiet for a moment, pondering the situation. He wondered what his half brother and his half brother's wench could possibly want with Rin. Then Rin looked up at Sesshomaru in askance. "What is it Rin? What's your question?"

"Well, Kagome asked me to ask you if you would do something."

"And what would that be?"

"Well, Kagome wanted to know if you would consider going through a well to a different world, her world, to see some lady with a weird name. Kagome called her a psykea-something-office."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. He wasn't sure what was being asked of him, but somehow he got the feeling that something very bad was about to happen.

A/N: Wipes forehead and sighs Phew, third chapter done and it's not even midnight yet. It's a good thing I had some tea because writing can really take it out of you. I hope you are enjoying my fanfic so far…..then again, I can't really see why you would have read this far if you hated my story. It doesn't make to much sense, but then again neither do I most of the time. -Sweatdrop-. It's almost time to drag Sesshy out of the comfort of his land and bring him to Kagome's world…….I'm really starting to pity him. Oh, and when Rin is telling Sesshomaru about the psychiatrist's office, I purposely had her say what she did. You see, Rin thinks that the building is a woman….just a little bit of confusion on her part. Personally, I can't see Rin (or any child her age from that era) grasping the concept of the psychiatrist so I thought that it made more sense for her to think that it was something it wasn't yet still get a tiny piece of the idea. You'll see more of that in the next chapter though.

Personally, I hate psychiatrists, and believe me when I say that I've had my share of them. My family doesn't usually (and by usually, I pretty much mean never) get along so I've also had to deal with family counselor people. That isn't really any better than one-on-one with a lady with a clip board though. I hate both psychiatrists and counselor people. I guess this guy was sorta technically a psychiatrist though….in a way. Anyway, he'd start off every family meeting with me. Why? Well, I don't really know. All I know is that I hated him with a passion (Wow, I used to torture him so much. If he quits in the future or has already quit, I might just be taking the blame for that). He'd start off every meeting by saying "So, Alyssa, how many days of school have you missed recently?" or "How are you feeling today?". Of course half of the time I decided to go and act like a retard. What I would do if I really didn't want to talk was I would pull one of the blankets on my couch over my head so that I was completely covered by it, as if that would make me disappear. When he pressured me to talk I'd just screaming at him and yell that I didn't want to talk. Come to think of it, I probably looked very possessed. I'm not always a very talkative person myself and I hate talking about my feelings to some strange adult who I'd prefer to sooner kill than open my mouth for (I guess Sesshomaru and I shall have something in common). But hey, that's just me. 0.- . That was a while ago though.

Wow, I guess I'm starting to rant. Ooops, sorry. Anyway, if you flame please tell me what you didn't like….same deal as usual for the same reasons. I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to give me a review, I really appreciate it. I'm not one to beg for reviews or anything, but I do appreciate the ones I get.

Oh, and for anyone who does not know onna is the Japanese word for woman.

Well, bye for now.