Sesshoumaru had been standing idly in a thick covering of the forest when Rin's scream arrested his full attention. Spinning in the direction he had seen her leave, he sprinted towards the sound. He wondered when exactly she had done this to him. He had developed a fondness for her to the point of protecting her with very little regard to anything or anyone else. Jaken had been rambling on about something or other when he'd sped off, nearly running him over in the process. He'd heard Jaken shout out in surprise as he ran by him, probably knocking him over but he wasn't worried about Jaken.

He came upon the riverbank where Rin was most likely fishing as she so often did. The girl was really good at gathering food for herself, but especially at catching fish. He spotted Rin, flailing in the water, being swept away by the strong current of the river but the bigger threat was the snake demon preying upon her. The snake was turning its large, muscular body around to use the momentum of the water to aid in apprehending her. He was not going to let anyone hurt Rin, especially not a low-level demon like this. He jumped across the river with the slightest effort, swiping his claws and neatly severing the snake's head from his body. The remaining body wriggled as it rolled into the water, spraying blood into the air and water. The head bobbed and bumped along as it was now driftwood in the pull. He landed on the other river bank and darted downstream where Rin was barely keeping her head above water.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" She wailed as her head sunk beneath the surface.

It took seconds to reach her and he flew to the center of the river, snatched the back of her kimono, kicked off a rock and took them both back to the other side. He landed gently on the grass and raised his arm up to inspect the child. She was dripping wet, and now so was the front of him as well as his boots. He scowled.

"Thank you Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin looked at him with a big, goofy smile and coughed some water out of her lungs. She laughed and clapped happily. "That was amazing, my lord!"

He rolled his eyes.

This kid.

He set her down on the grass and shook the water droplets from his hand.

"Are you hurt?" He asked as he lowered himself to the ground to check her for cuts. She shook her head no and in doing so, sprayed him with more water. He scowled again and wiped the dampness from his face. He sighed as he realized Rin would need to have her clothes dried out otherwise she would freeze.

"Jaken!" He stood and called out for the imp. He heard a series of sputtering yelps as Jaken hurried to run to his lord's call. A thumping could also be heard as Ah-Un was being lead in Jaken's wake. The two headed dragon and the toad demon eventually appeared at the tree line.

"Lord Sesshoumaru there you are!" Jaken panted as he struggled to persuade Ah-Un to move just a little bit faster.

"Attend to Rin. Her clothes need drying." Sesshoumaru commanded as he located the trail the snake had created. He could smell Naraku on the beast and wondered if the path would lead him to Naraku. Another frightened scream from both Rin and Jaken disturbed his train of thought and he turned, albeit annoyed.

"What is it now?" He asked over his shoulder. If anything seriously dangerous was nearby, he would have heard it before it had leaped out to attack.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, look! It's that priestess!" Rin ran behind a bush, Jaken quickly behind her.

Priestess?

Sesshoumaru strode to see what the fuss was about. Rin and Jaken stood next to a dead body. The smell caused a subtle wrinkle in his nose.

She's been dead for some time.

"Rin! Get away from there!" Jaken shouted, trying to pull her away.

"No, master Jaken! Look, it's the priestess that travels with the half-demon!"

Sesshoumaru recognized her. She was his brother's traveling companion; the one that could use the sacred arrows.

"Whew...she's been dead a while. Come on, Rin." Jaken tried again to pull her away but she refused.

"We can't just leave her here she needs to be buried!" She argued.

"I'm not burying her now come on, you're soaked! You need to dry out your clothes so let's go!"

"Wait!" Rin turned and flung Jaken off her sleeve as she did so. She looked up at Sesshoumaru expectantly.

"Lord Sesshoumaru can you bring her back to life like you did for me?" She gazed up hopefully. "Will your sword work on her too?"

Sesshoumaru recoiled. He had no desire to save this woman. She was Inuyasha's problem and she also had been dead for far too long. She was long lost to the underworld by now. However, he was bound by a desire not to disappoint Rin. She had long since discovered how to utilize the "puppy eyes" charm on him. If he made a point of showing her that the girl couldn't be saved, he hoped she might drop it. He could make Jaken dig the grave to further please her and conclude the entire issue.

"Stand back Rin." He instructed as he reached for Tenseiga's hilt. Jaken moved out of the way too. Although he had been struck by the Tenseiga before and knew it would not harm him, Sesshoumaru's foot would if he remained in his way. He drew the sword from the scabbard and held it in front of him. Rin nodded and darted behind him to watch in awe. He felt his pride swell a bit as he stole a glance at Rin's wide-eyed amazement and adoration. It caused a mix of emotions to roll through him as he realized what exactly it was he was doing and why.

The great Lord Sesshoumaru; unrivaled by any on the battlefield, terrifying and awesome in power. The son of the great dog demon who was ruled by none...except a 10 year old girl who had him wrapped around her finger.

He shook his head to disperse the frustration and stepped closer to the girl's body. He raised the sword back to make a feigned swing when the messengers from the underworld actually appeared before him.

He hadn't expected that. The girl's soul must somehow still be inside her body. It was incredibly odd for a soul to linger this long. He readjusted his grip and took aim, now actually having something to aim at. He still wasn't convinced this was going to work since the girl's body had been lifeless for much longer than Rin when he had revived her but there was no turning back now. The creatures from the underworld shrieked as a sweep of his sword dismissed them. He returned Tenseiga to its sheath.

Rin ran back to Kagome's side when Sesshoumaru had grown still. He too was curious. Rin leaned over her face and willed her to awaken. When she didn't move, Jaken made a third attempt to draw her away.

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru interrupted him.

"Y-yes milord?" He stuttered nervously. Jaken was often reprimanded by Sesshoumaru when it came to Rin and he was sure one of these days Rin would be the death of him, via a beheading from Sesshoumaru.

"Dry Rin off. Then bury her." He ordered.

"Rin?" Jaken asked.

Sesshoumaru answered by staring at him coldly.

"Oh! Right the priestess." He mumbled bitterly. "Yes, milord." He acquiesced as Rin hung her head and followed Jaken willingly away from Kagome's body.

A stirring at his feet caused Sesshoumaru to look down. The girl's eyes had opened and she was staring up at him.

"Sesshoumaru?" Her voice cracked as she attempted to speak.

He looked down at her as she sprung to life, gasping for breath and running her hands over her arms and through her hair as if she was scared of something.

"She's alive?!" Jaken gaped.

Rin gasped with delight and hurried to her.

"Where am I? What happened?" Kagome looked around at her unexpected audience.

"Lord Sesshoumaru saved you! He brought you back to life like he did for me!" She smiled and chirped happily.

Kagome blinked in confusion at Sesshoumaru. "Um..."

"Wench! You should be thankful Lord Sesshoumaru even bothered!" Jaken scolded her lack of gratitude.

Sesshoumaru was more annoyed at Jaken's outburst than the girl's silence but the imp did have a point.

Kagome shook her head and rubbed her temples. "You're right. I'm sorry. Thank you." She looked up at him and gave a tired smile.

Sesshoumaru was shocked at her thanks but the whole situation was bizarre. He'd tried to kill this very woman more than once. She'd tried to kill him too. Yet here they were, he having brought her back from the dead and her smiling at him.

She started to sway as her eyelids fluttered shut. "I'm a little tired." She moaned as she sunk back to the ground.

"Oh no! Are you ok?" Rin shook her shoulders worriedly.

Jaken inspected Kagome and proclaimed, "She's asleep. I guess being dead is somehow tiresome. Leave her be now come on we need to start a fire and get you dried off."

"Stay here with her, Rin." Sesshoumaru said as Jaken took off with Ah-Un to find kindling. He could see Rin's lips starting to turn blue and her teeth were starting to chatter. He sighed and began pulling off his armor. After setting his armor down on the ground, he pulled off his outer layer and handed it to Rin. On cold nights he would occasionally offer the top half of his kimono for her if she wasn't already snuggled into his mokumoku. She gladly accepted it and threw it over her. Her tiny stature was swallowed by the yards and yards of silky fabric. He left her to change out of her wet clothes while he stood guard and waited for Jaken to return.

Jaken came back shortly with two arms full of wood and Ah-Un carried more. He started the fire. Rin needed no prompting to hang her wet clothes next to it while she wrapped herself tightly in Sesshoumaru's kimono and huddled as close as she could get without lighting the fabric on fire. Sesshoumaru observed the area and found no sign of intruders. He spotted a fish lying on the edge of the river.

"Rin." He called to her softly.

"Yes?" She said through a yawn.

"Is that your fish?"

Her eyes brightened as she remembered. "Yes!"

Sesshoumaru retrieved it and handed it to her. She happily accepted it and set it to roast. He was satisfied that the color had returned to her lips and she had stopped shivering. Once the fish was cooked, she scarfed it down and instantly fell asleep. Sesshoumaru lowered himself to the ground next to her. He spent the night alternating between saving his kimono from getting put into the fire and watching the priestess. She seemed to be sleeping soundly but he wasn't about to take his eyes off her.