Pheonix: (sobs) I feel SO loved!

Disclaimer – Last night I woke up in my round room with all the corners, and it was a miracle! I had this legal paper that said Inuyasha now belonged to me, and I was surrounded by Sesshy, Inu, and everyone else!

BUT THEN I WOKE UP! And I'll tell you. Them giving my pills for breakfast is NOT cool. (XD)

Icygirl2 – XD I'm glad you liked it so much! and he did it for many reasons, partly because he is a lost puppy XD (not really, you know what I mean…)

Cyclonegal12 – yay! I almost pulled a perfect sess! Oh well, I needed the drama in there, made it a bit entertaining thankies!

Vino-chan – sweet! Fluffy bed part is so awesomeness, as I said in my reply I was tired when I wrote that lol, thanks for the review and I'll keep up my good work for you guys!

Oh yes! AND now that I remember that I am supposed to be rating each and every single chapter because I'm a sped, this chapter will be rated PG-13 for slight violence, swears and sexual hints. (I'll try to write in a warning before that happens if you wanna skip through any of that, but I doubt you will )

"You are to go live in the human village." Sesshoumaru said, his tone bland, but golden eyes swirling with emotion.

Rin might have noticed it, but she was too busy controlling the sudden wave of shock. The human village? But why?

"Milord-"

"You will leave tomorrow." Sesshoumaru said, not looked at her. He didn't want to do it… but…

'Then why do I?' He shoved the thought away with a growl, and heard Rin whimper, as she obviously thought the sound was directed at her.

"You might want to start packing." What was getti8ng under his skin so! He was sending her away, why was that such a big deal for him? He ignored her sniffling as he walked from the garden, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Rin's lip trembled. Humans… But why! She whimpered. Why was her lord doing this to her? Why had he growled at her? She gripped her head, the weakness that had hindered her still since her coma washing over her, and she sobbed, one painful sob, and only one. Then her gaze hardened. It didn't matter now that he had come for her! He was just going to throw her away! Anger welled up in her earthen orbs, and drawing herself to her feet, she stomped off to get her clothing. If he hated her so much, why did it bother her to leave?

Sesshoumaru sighed and dropped onto a cushion in his study, throwing a few scrolls off of the small table before him in his annoyance. He had held Rin, a human girl, in his arms, in his BED, him! And he had enjoyed it. Rin had to leave. That demon was right, she was corrupting him and making him weak, and it was unfair to keep her here. This was best, for everyone. She'd get used to it, right?

Yet something in his heart told him that she would never forget. He could hear her packing, from two halls difference, could hear her sniffles and hear her angrily ruffling through her belongings. Why did this have to be so hard?

The next day, after a horrible nightmare and a horrible morning, Rin walked out into the courtyard to be brought to the nearest human village. Fifty miles. It sounded more like two-hundred. She shuddered and walked over to Ah-Un and Jaken. Both were somber, and held saddened expressions. Jaken didn't even yell at her for packing her bag so messily, or scold her for not cleaning her face properly (it was tearstained, and Rin had been too upset to clean up the salty tears.)

"Come, Ah-Un." Jaken said, as he sat in front of Rin on the dragon, his voice less more scratchy then usual. The dragon hesitantly lifted into the air, ears droopy, and flew rather slowly away. Rin took a last glance at her former home, silent tears spilling down, and caught a glimpse of Sesshoumaru standing on the balcony to his bedroom door, staring at her as she left. Her grip on her belongings tightened, and with a rigid neck she turned away. Her mind was so numb, that it's rather worthless to say anything that she was thinking, although it ran somewhere along the lines of 'Why… Why…' and that's about it.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as Rin looked back, and slowly turned, going back into his bedroom. Good, now that that distraction was gone maybe he could get back to his real life! Ten years he had wasted, and now he had to make up for the loss. It took him fifty minutes to make his decision, and finally he left his room, walking towards his study. He walked past Rin's now vacant room, and tightened his hand into a fist, walking determinedly past it. He would never need to enter that room again. Why did that thought bother him more than he already was? He had sent Rin away to make both of them happy. And now she hadn't been gone longer than an hour and already he was displeased.
The small trio landed in a clearing none too far away from the village, now realizing that they had said absolutely nothing during the whole ride. Rin's small sniffles had been the only thing that had filled their ears, and that had been worse than anything anyone could have said. Rin dismounted from Ah-Un's scaled back, giving him an affectionate pat. Jaken jumped down, and looked up at Rin with a gray look. Rin bit her lip, and finally scooped him up into a hug, shutting her eyes and trying to breath through the block in her throat. Jaken tried to free himself at first, but finally he frowned and gave her an awkward pat on the back. Finally, Rin released him, offering a teary smile, and Jaken gave her a stern look.

"Good bye Rin." He said, turning around before he got too emotional, and climbed back on Ah-Un. The dragon snorted softly at the girl before he was told to fly back to the western lands, and he swished his tail at Jaken before climbing into the sky. Rin stared up at them, and finally, she let out her pained wail. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

"Why, Lord Sesshoumaru?" She choked out between sobs, any anger that she may have felt yesterday completely gone. She kneeled there in the meadow for a long time, so long that she lost track, her body trembling with sobs that she tried desperately to contain. Her lord had left her here, to be tormented by her own kind, the kind that had deceived her and treated her horribly as a child. She couldn't believe it. A small yell, and a fit of laughter finally aroused her from her misery, and she looked up, wiping her red cheeks with a hand. Two small children ran into the clearing, chasing a butterfly. When they noticed her, they stopped and stared, dumbstruck, then the braver of the two came forward.

"It's a young lady," He whispered, motioning the little girl behind him to come forward.

"She's not a demon…" He assured his more timid companion finally as he stopped in front of Rin, and his little eyebrows knotted together in confusion.

"Why are you sad, pretty lady?" He asked, reaching out with a small, chubby hand to poke gently at her tear stained cheeks. Rin couldn't help but smile as the other girl came up and echoed his question, though she did not reach out.

"No reason," She managed, as she again reached up to wipe at her cheeks. The boy gave her an incredulous look, but shrugged it off.

"Are you hungry?" The girl asked, her voice shy and quiet. Rin was about to shake her head when her stomach growled. "Well, heh, I guess so…" She murmured, getting up. The boy grinned and grabbed onto Rin's free hand, saying happily, "You can stay with us; mother and father will take good care of you! There is a priestess that visits our village; maybe she would be able to help you, whatever is wrong…" As he kept explaining about their village, how they had all been saved from some epidemic by this priestess and another odd lady, Rin became lost in her thoughts. Priestess… Kita acted as a priestess just like this one that the boy was talking about! Maybe she would see Kita! Rin smiled slightly, barely upturning her lips, and as the boy saw this he grinned as well. Good, at least she wasn't TOO sad anymore.

As they reached the village, Rin sighed. It was large for a village, with moderate buildings, signifying decent wealth. A few dogs ran around with each other, making Rin shiver, but the children led them past to a large house. This must be the headman's house, for it was the largest. They eagerly brought Rin right in, yelling for their parents. A middle-aged couple appeared, smiling.

"Oh, a visitor!" The woman exclaimed, shooting her husband a stern look that obviously said 'be nice'. She bustled forth, looking Rin up and down. It was obvious the girl had not been homeless, for she was well clothed and wasn't nearly as dirty as most girls in the village. "This is Shino and Akiro," She pointed first to the boy then the girl, "And this is my husband, Haku. I am Ayami, the lady of the house." She offered Rin a warm smile. "And you are?"

Rin shifted uncomfortably under the woman's warm yet heavy gaze, and said finally, "My name is Rin," and as she remembered her manners, "It is a pleasure to meet you." Her voice was very quiet, and she could see Haku leaning forward to catch what she said.

"It is very nice to meet you as well, young one." The woman, Ayami, smiled brighter. "Are you hungry?" Rin nodded sheepishly. Shiro piped up, "Rin is going to stay with us!" His mother laughed, and looked to Rin. "Did he put you up to this?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Sort of," Rin said, shrugging ever so slightly.

"Well, would you like to stay?" Ayami asked again.

"Sure, if you'll have me." Rin twiddled with Shiro's hand, still held in her own.

Ayami clapped her hands together, her smile never-ending.

"Of course we'll have you, dear, now lets fill that stomach with some good food!"

Kita sighed as she waved good-bye to Rejime. She was going off to check the village nearby, as she had left them unchecked for so long. Her mother had returned with good news of Rin's health, and now Kita was satisfied that her friend was safe. Her mother had mumbled something about Sesshoumaru's odd behavior, but when prompted had shook her head and smiled, effectively dismissing the conversation.

Celina, Kita's black mare, snorted and trotted on eagerly through the gate as Kita guided her, the mare knew now where they were headed. Wanting to reach the village as soon as possible, Kita spurred on her mount, nudging Celina into a smooth canter.

About an hour later Kita slowed Celina, leaving the ebony mare to her own devices. She never brought Celina into the actual village, knowing the mare would get overexcited from all the commotion. Walking the next half mile to her beloved village, Kita hummed a soft tune to herself.

When she reached the huts and houses, she smiled to see that everything appeared to be in good condition, and chuckled as two energetic children ran up to her.

"Shino! Akiro! It's been a while!" She laughed as they tackled her, hugging her legs.

They began speaking excitedly at once, and Kita chuckled, making hand motions to signal for them to be quiet. "One at a time, one at a time!"

Shino began first. "We have a visitor!"

"Oh?"

He nodded. "She came yesterday, Lady Kita, her name is Rin! You should check her out, she seems sad." He pouted to mimic Rin's emotions, and Kita's eyes widened. Rin? What was Rin doing in a human village? Rin hated most humans!

"Will you bring me to her?" Kita asked, her eyes still wide.

"Of course!" The polite young boy nodded enthusiastically, and led her in the direction of his house, Akiro right beside him.

Kita entered the house, and was led by Shino to one of the guestrooms. Sure enough, inside was her black haired friend, staring down at a small silver comb. Rin was startled by the footsteps and looked up, gasping immediately at the sight of Kita.

"Rin!" Kita exclaimed, rushing up to her friend, who had tear stained cheeks (seemingly a usual thing in the past few days for the raven haired girl).

"Kita!" Rin gasped as her breath was knocked out by her friend's not so gentle hug, and she laughed, hugging the blonde back happily, a true smile coming to her features for once in a long time. She fought back the tears for as long as she could, but finally she broke down.

"Rin? Rin, tell me what's wrong!" Kita's worried voice broke the awkward silence as she nodded to Shino, silently thanking him and telling him to leave at the same time. He nodded and closed the door, leading Akiro away as well. Rin sobbed into her friends shoulder, and finally she managed to clear her throat.

"He- he made me l-leave Kita!" She wailed, gripping onto her friend for dear life.

Kita's eyes widened, and she rubbed Rin's back in an attempt to sooth the distraught girl.

"Sesshoumaru?" She asked, her voice surprised. Rin nodded, too pained to speak.

"H-he didn't ev-ven t-tell me w-why!" Rin sobbed again, her shoulders shaking.

Kita frowned and continued to silently soothe her friend, wondering what could have happened to make Sesshoumaru suddenly drop the responsibility of his ward.

Sesshoumaru growled in frustration as he made yet another mistake on the letter he was writing. He put down his brush and rubbed the bridge of his nose, leaning back. His thoughts, for the hundredth time in one minute, turned to Rin.

"Curse it all." He sighed finally, getting up and walking from his study.

He found himself now in front of her room, hand reaching out to move the sliding door. Her scent was still strong here, as if she was laying inside right now, and giving into temptation, he went in. Moving over to the small bed table, he picked up a paper. It had a poem, one from her childhood that she had written of him. How she would never leave him. It said clearly in front of him that she never wanted to leave his side. Now, it hit him, just what he had done. He had taken a fragile life, and torn it apart. Just because of his selfish need to be strong! Cursing himself now, he tore apart the poem, shreds falling to his feet. A silent snarl plastered onto his countenance he left her room in a storming mood, grabbing something off of her door as he left. He looked at it, although he knew already what it was, and sighed, stopping. It was a flower, a rare one that Rin had found on their travels. She had shown him, and had been so proud of her find that she had vowed to take it home and press it, so she could keep it forever. He closed his eyes, and put the dried flower into his sleeve. He couldn't stand it any more. If he had been weak with Rin, he was even weaker without her. It was time to retrieve his ward.

Av evil cackle sounded from the depths of the dark room, and a single light was lit, shining onto the most hated face in Japan. Naraku. He wore a satisfied face as Kanna stood before him, her mirror echoing the picture of a sobbing raven haired girl, then on to a frustrated taiyoukai.

"Good, it worked." He smirked, taking the mirror from the small child demon and fingering the edges as he peered into both pictures, before they flickered and died.

"I have been waiting a long time to get under Sesshoumaru's skin again, and now, when he goes to retrieve his little girl, I will be waiting for him." His smirk grew wider, as he added mentally, 'And I'll get Saramaru's little child in the process. How fortunate.' He handed the mirror back to Kanna, who bowed and left the room.

"Kagura." A woman in a red and white kimono appeared from the shadows, and knelt before him, red eyes blazing defiantly although she made no act against him.

"Wipe that look off of your face and keep an eye on Rin. I don't want our mouse getting away before the cat arrives. Or should I say the dog." He didn't even bother to smirk at his own joke, merely waved his hand to send her on her way. As she nodded grudgingly and left the room, his smirk returned, and he let out another cackle.

Rin shivered as she watched Kita leave. The miko had been sorry to leave her friend behind, but she knew Rin would be safe in the village. She waved as Kita turned Celina away and nudged the mare into a canter, then turned around and walked back to the village. She had cried a long time on Kita's shoulder, had told her everything, then they had gone out to just play in a field of flowers nearby like they used to.

She walked back to the village, shivers constantly sent down her spine. It was as if someone was watching her! Suspicious, she turned around, earthen eyes taking in her surroundings. It wasn't unusually quiet, birds were singing, everything was in place, and there was no stalker to be found. She sighed, scolded herself for being so suspicious, and turned she skipped back to the village, hoping a bit of exercise would get her mind off of everything.

Though young Rin may have been fooled, as Kagura watched her skip away, she flipped out her feather, and followed stealthily in the sky. Did humans rely on only one glance? If Rin was to look now, Kagura surely would have been found out. Naïve humans, so trusting of everything. Of course the birds would not mind her, she was the wind that lifted their wings and gave them aid in flight. How could they not allow her safe passage among them? Her eyes widened however, when a familiar scent came into the air.

'Naraku, things are going a bit faster than planned.'

'Yes, Kagura. Good job.' Kagura rolled her eyes at this, all it meant was that she was going to be allowed to live another day. She changed course, off to the castle for her next stupid mission.

Sesshoumaru watched the clouds pass, silver bangs flying around his golden eyes. He was confused, more than ever. He had sent her away for them both, that plan had backfired. Now he was going to get her back. What if she didn't want him back? What if some 'handsome' (he grimaced, how could a human man be handsome?) man had taken her interest? What if he had ruined her mind? That would be just what that sorcerer had wanted, wouldn't it? He felt eyes resting on him, and closed his eyes to keep calm. He was just… over analyzing. Jaken's eyes were always on him now, as if silently asking him why he did it. Why he sent Rin away. Of course, we all know that… Except for the dense little imp. If Sesshoumaru was over analyzing, Jaken was opposite that factor. It was impossible for the old toad to think that far.

Fully realizing the time he spent in his own thoughts, Sesshoumaru twitched a fraction of an inch as they landed, hopping off of Ah-Un lithely. Human stench everywhere, so much different from Rin's sweet scent masked his senses and he took a moment to define the differences and adapt. Now perfectly focused, his eyes narrowed. Not only human stench… Hanyou stench. Miasma as well, farther away then the human stench, not yet at the human village.

"Jaken, hurry." He stated simply before darting off to the human village. Rin was there, and he would not let Naraku get her, not because of his own insecurities for his own power! If he had kept her at arms length he would not have to be worrying so of this!

It took mere moments to reach the village, and not much longer to locate Rin's scent. He stopped, and a few of the villagers looked at him oddly, before turning to their work. He raised an eyebrow as some children even acted as f they recognized him, waving and smiling. He shook it off and ran to the largest building, the one that resonated with Rin's scent.

Impulse and instinct caused him to stop, however. Something was not right. The headman's house should be bustling with human maids and wenches, a few children. Instead, it was as if the house were dead, nothing moved, nothing breathed. Going in further, his footsteps silent, he looked into the first room, eyes quickly scanning it. Empty.

After about five repetitions of such happenings, something changed. He turned around, and came face to face with what seemed to be a white ghost. The stupidest thing he could have done. Dead. He didn't check the corner when he entered the last room. The mirror in the girls small arms flashed, and his soul left him, his image appearing in the mirror as his golden eyes lost their sparkle.

"Good, Kanna. Now let's find that girl." The deadly voice resonated from the very walls, and the demon girl nodded, no smile showing her happiness with her accomplishment.

Rin skipped along, almost there. Finally, a group of children appeared before her, all mumbling about a demon.

"I think that it is the lady who saved us from harm." One declared, puffing out her small chest to think that SHE had seen the demon first hand.

"But it was a man!" The other argued, poking the small girls chest back in.

'Demon?' Rin thought, walking past the bickering kids. 'Lord Sesshoumaru…' No. That was far beyond her wildest dreams, he would not reconsider. He did not change his mind. Each decision had a reason.

She entered the house, eyebrow raised to find it so silent. Since when had it been made public nap time? She went through the house, calling out names. Reached the last room, she jogged in, yelling Shiro's name. They would gather sometimes when he insisted on telling stories. But no one was there. She turned around, and screamed as suddenly there was emptiness, and dark.

"It was too easy." Kanna whispered, black eyes glaring at her mirror. She had expected some sort of challenge.

"All done."

"Rejime." Kita poked the black scales, gaining her mates attention. They had gone out to relax, and he had proposed to fly her around the eastern lands, a nice little sight seeing trip. Rejime's dragon eye looked up to Kita, though he could not see her.

'What?' He asked curiously.

'Don't you sense it?' Kita asked.

'What?' He repeated. That was a no.

Kita sighed. 'The evil aura, it's coming from down there.' She pointed, in his eye's range, down to the village below his massive shape, some thousand feet below to be exact.

'Well, now that you mention it, a little…' He said, going lower. 'More so now.' His large horned head nodded a bit.

'We should tell mother.'

'Why? We could just go take a look ourselves. We injured Naraku too much that last time, he wouldn't be so stupid to attempt anything while he could still be injured, so it cant be too powerful a foe.'

Kita shook her head disapprovingly, though he wouldn't be able to see it.

'We're telling Saramaru, now.' She said, poking his head roughly for emphasis. Rejime rolled his black eyes, and dipping his wings, made a u-turn, massive form taking the fast air currents to the Eastern Palace.

Pheonix: Again, a bit short to my liking, and not terribly suspenseful, but its one of those 'fill in the gaps' chapters. Updates might be few and far between now, because school is hard and I'm pretty much only allowed on in the weekends. (Add horseback riding, projects, and friends, and that's kinda hard!) So please R&R and it might motivate me to tell my friends that my computer is more important than them!

Saramaru: The way you act, it is.

Pheonix: Don't make my friends hate me before my time, please. -

Saramaru: They'll find out! I SWEAR IT THEY'LL FIND OUT!

Pheonix: (Grabs duck tape) Oh no they wont…