The child lay dead. The wolves had not even stopped to eat the flesh of their prey. They had killed for the pleasure to kill. Now they were onto better things, like grown men or rabbits. What a waste, Sesshomaru thought. He understood the desire for bloodlust, but the child had been defenseless. It was missing one front tooth and did not have fangs or claws. The pitiful sight of the pink yukata covered in blood stirred something in him.

Effortlessly, Tenseiga's blade sliced through the pall-bearers of the underworld. Suddenly, the still body roused. Breath and circulation returned. The child gasped, and looked up at him with trusting eyes. Sesshomaru smiled, amused by his own power.

Jaken jumped up and down, yelling excitedly. But Sesshomaru had already turned his back, and started on his way. He heard the pattering of small footsteps against the dirt, headed his direction. He picked up speed, hoping to lose her. But she remained stubbornly at his heel, her panting growing heavier. Out of curiosity he slowed his pace just to remain within her sight, but still beyond reach. He could so easily outrun her. Jaken screamed in the distance, something about being left behind. How easily he could outrun the two of them.

Sesshomaru broke out of the forest and into a clearing. He heard a delighted cry as he turned around, and found the urchin behind him, Jaken trailing close behind. A small human hand reached up and grabbed his sleeve. He had not anticipated this. He stood still, and waited for her next move. She did not let go.

And now, Sesshomaru had a human child in his possession. He had not asked for such a thing. But now it would not leave him. Lesser demons stole children away from villages to eat or enslave them. Sesshomaru had no need for either.

He had thought her mute, but this proved wrong, as a barrage of words soon came gushing out. Her name was Rin. She sat on his two-headed steed, and called it A-Un. She found great delight resting on its back, as she tired quickly during travels. She foraged for berries and mushrooms, and could catch herself fish from the river.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she would cry out joyfully. She had picked it up from Jaken. She seemed oblivious to the fact that he was a daiyokai. Had she no fear? She seemed, too, unfazed by her own weakness. A demon or animal of prey could carry her off so easily. A liability, Sesshomaru thought unhappily to himself.

As long as the wind was weak, Sesshomaru could track her movements by scent. This scent he monitored carefully, as the human was prone to disappear quickly and without warning. The first instance occurred a few days after she had followed him away from the village. At first, he had thought that she had decided to leave him. Good riddance! But nearly an hour later, he heard frantic cries in the distance, and rushed back to find her wet and dripping from a dip in the river, feet scratched from scurrying to find him again. Sesshomaru was livid. For a split moment, he fantasized about tearing into her with his claws. He could so easily take her life away, just as he had granted it.

"My lord," the child apologized so sweetly, leaning her wet hair into his leg.

So he let it drop.

They had travelled for a few moons, now. The child's presence had become familiar now. The stops and the starts to accommodate for her feeding herself had become part of his routine. The sky was darkening, and Sesshomaru had hoped to exit the territory of the bat demons before night fell. Rin was sleeping peacefully on A-Un's back, and Jaken was on the lookout for possible ambushes. The trees of the forest rustled, and suddenly she was gone. She was swept away by a small gang of wind demons. He smelled them but it was too late. Sesshomaru lashed into the air with poisoned claws, but they were far out of reach. Each had grabbed onto a fistful of the orange yukata that Jaken had obtained for her, and made off along the current of wind. Sesshomaru trailed them down to the summit of a cliff, where they had been ready to slice her apart with sickles in the darkness. It had taken him restraint to not tear the girl apart along with the demons.

"I'm so sorry, my lord," the girl cried, tears streaming down her cheeks and slashes on her legs. The next day, she bandaged them up with rags of fabric infused with medicinal herbs, which Jaken had to procure from a human village. So weak and defenseless, Sesshomaru thought. She could not walk properly for days. He had offered to leave her at the human village, where she could remain safe alongside the old healer. But she refused vehemently, and here she was again at his side.

While Jaken steered A-Un, Sesshomaru could not help but notice the scent of her blood, mixed with that of the medicinal herbs. Due to the misadventure, he had not had a chance to hunt, and was becoming hungry himself. The scent of her blood was warm and sweet. He could already imagine the taste. He found himself salivating at the thought despite himself. Perhaps there was truth in the demonic lust for human blood, especially for such young, fresh morsels.

Not now, he thought. Besides, he could always save her for a meal later on.

"Look, Lord Sesshomaru!"

Rin had jumped down from A-Un, and was pointing to a single bush of white flowers that she had found growing by the side of a tree.

"Can we stop here for a bit?"

"No, silly girl!" Jaken scolded. "We are already behind, since you kept the lord waiting for so long at that human village!"

"Quiet, Jaken," Sesshomaru growled. Any more noise and he would lop off his head.

Rin's eyes widened as she ran up to the flowers, picking them with her little fingers. She crawled about next to the ground, smearing her yukata with dirt. Sesshomaru was unsure what to make of her antics. Perhaps she had found in the flowers something edible, but he was surprised that she should be hungry so soon since their last stop. Or perhaps her attraction to flowers was another one of those human whims.

After an interminable stop, she emerged with something in her hands. It was a floral crown, weaved from the flowers that she had gathered.

"I present this to you, my lord, as a token of my greatest thanks…"

The scent of the flowers grew stronger, and irritated his sensitive nose. But he kneeled down, and allowed her to place it on his head. Now there was a crown on his head and one on hers. A proud grin spread over her face. Jaken and A-Un were not spared, either.

When the girl became enough of a nuisance, Sesshomaru thought to himself, he could always kill her himself. Then he lifted a hand to the crown on his head, which was becoming lopsided. He replaced it to ensure that it would not fall off.

He looked back to find the girl running alongside Jaken, poking fun at the little imp who grumbled back at her provocations.

There was no need to kill her anytime soon, Sesshomaru told himself.