"I need to practice, InuYasha! If I waste anymore time in this bed, I'm going to lose all my training!" argued the very annoyed Rin, who was getting pushed back into bed by InuYasha.

Sesshomaru was standing behind him, watching the scene unfold.

About 2 weeks have passed, and Rin is getting restless. This is the longest she's gone without training since she was a child, and she refuses to lose everything she's worked so hard for now. Both InuYasha and Sesshomaru will not allow her to do much of anything. She's gone on walks, but nothing faster than a child's pace.

This is going to kill me.

Thought Rin, who just elbowed InuYasha in the jaw, and jumping past him onto the floor. Pain immediately swept up her bad thigh to her waist, making her groan.

"Yeah, and you want to run on that? Tell her to be reasonable, would you, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru only glared at InuYasha and Rin, fighting the urge to fly away and have some peace. It had been like this for 3 days. Rin wanting to go out and be too active on herself, and InuYasha stopping her and dragging her back to Lady Kaede's hut.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I have been fighting since I was 13 years old. I need to go do something. Being here… in a state like this? It's not me. I need to fight," explained Rin, who was staring at him, almost glaring. As if she dared him to stop her.

He looked over the woman in front of him. Usually, he couldn't care less if a human was so passionate about fighting and killing. However, this is Rin. He saw that her hair was cleaned thoroughly and her wound was no longer swollen. She was basically healthy, but being bed ridden for so long had made her pale and sickly thin.

"You're too weak to fight a real opponent," he said coldly, making Rin's face fall.

Tears coming to her eyes made her look like the most pitiful thing in the world. The pain in her face tightened Sesshomaru's chest and made him almost regret doubting her strength. Sesshomaru looked away from Rin's face and walked over to InuYasha, who was staring at Rin as if she was about to break into a million pieces.

"You must stop treating her like a child and mind your business," he said with ice in his words.

InuYasha made some noise and left the and Rin were left alone.

For the past two weeks, Sesshomaru was avoiding moments alone with her. Being alone with her made him want to… he supposed the word melt was the only way to describe it. He wanted to tell her about his travels and he wanted to hear everything about her. He wanted to melt into his own skin and allow himself the weakness of caring just a little bit more.

But a demon Lord must never melt. We must stay as solid as stone.

But there he was, looking at the back of the head of the girl he wanted to melt for.

"You can leave. I don't need anymore assistance," she said, with assertiveness in her voice. She wouldn't dare let her voice crack with pain. Not in front of him, anyway.

How dare he say I am too weak? I am only weak because I was injured. I am not anymore, why is he forcing me to stay here? Bastard.

Rin felt stuck in one place, something she never liked. She didn't mind living with Azumi, only because she was able to leave when requested to kill a demon. She felt free, not tied down to a post.

He's too damn stubborn.

"Rin-" started Sesshomaru, but Rin interrupted by throwing down the weapon she was going to go out with.

"I don't want to hear it. You think I'm too weak? I'm only going to get worse sitting in this damn bed!" she cursed at him, turning and staring right at him. Her voice didn't crack or show remorse. She was dead serious.

Sesshomaru wasn't used to being interrupted, but he allowed it. I'd allow anything she does.

How could the sweet girl he traveled with turn into such a stubborn woman? Had leaving her with humans made her cold? You'd assume the opposite for a normal human. But Rin wasn't just some human. She showed no sign of fear in the presence of him, and she never had. Even when he was out of control in his demon form, she had still loved him and wanted him around.

What had happened to her?

"I apologize," was all he mumbled as he walked out of the room, past her.

He smells like the forest. commented Rin to herself, taking her by surprise.

Sesshomaru hadn't been around her since he had said he was going to stay with her until he took her back to her own village with Azumi and her family.

Perhaps he didn't want to leave me, yet?

No. fought Rin. If he wanted to be around me the past seven years, he could have done so. He didn't have to hide in the shadows, making her feel useless and unwanted.

Rin felt a headache coming on, making her groan and scream into the feather pillow. Rin looked out the window and saw the blue sky and longed for Au-Un to burst into the room and take her to a distant land. A land that she could just fight and kill demons to her heart's content. A place where she could lay down in the mud and not care if anyone sees. Maybe she'll even run into a flower bed and sing until her throat hurts.

When was the last time I sang?

xxx

He apologized? questioned InuYasha, who wasn't to far away when he 'overheard' Sesshomaru apologize to Rin about saying she was too weak to fight an opponent.

InuYasha has never seen Sesshomaru say sorry for anything. He didn't seem fazed, walking out out of the hut and flying towards the forest. Before the children could get to him.

Most of the humans had only ever seen mean or horrible demons, other than Shippo and InuYasha. And even humans can tell when they are in the presence of someone that could kill all of them without as so much as breaking a nail. Or have a nightmare about it. The children are a little bit more innocent about him, meaning they all just want to touch his fur coverings and his facial marks.

They think he's beautiful.

"InuYasha! Come help me with this!" screamed Kagome, who was decorating the outside for the wedding that was taking place tonight.

InuYasha leapt up and aided his beautiful and swollen wife with her duties. He felt a little guilty about her being forced to carry his child. He felt helpless about the fact that he couldn't help her with that kind of pain. Fortunately, Sango helps a lot, being the one who has already had multiple pregnancies.

He looked at his girl, and only thought about what he would do if anything had happened to her. I wouldn't let her anywhere near an opponent again.

Then it hit him. Does Sesshomaru truly love Rin?

The thought made him question all he knows about Sesshomaru. Does he really love Rin, like a companion or a lover? Maybe even a wife? Was his whole life with Rin all about his love for her, and not just his care about her? Could Sesshomaru even be capable of loving someone? Little lone, a human?

InuYasha took another look at Kagome, who was talking to the bride, and thought, Who really couldn't find something to love?

xxx

"Please wear it, Rin. It's the best Kimono that I have, and I can't wear it… please wear it for me?!" whined Kagome, shoving a pink kimono into Rin's hands.

"Look… these types of events, they're not really my cup of tea and I-"

"I don't care! You are putting on the kimono and you are going to be gorgeous, do you hear me?!" screamed Kagome, whose face looked at red as a cherry and her eyebrow was twitching.

It wasn't so much that Kagome scared Rin into putting on the kimono, but it was the longing to get out of the room. Even if it was to a stupid wedding.

"Fine!" screamed Rin in retort. Kagome smiled very wide and walked out the room to give Rin some privacy to get dressed.

Kagome already knew Rin wouldn't want any help putting it on. Although Kagome thought that Rin was a little cold, she knew that she had a caring heart. And the kimono that she gave her ould bring out that look much more.

Stupid Kagome. Stupid wedding. Stupid wound. And stupid Sesshomaru.

Rin rolled her eyes and get undressed. She looked at the wound that was scaring on her thigh. It looked like a huge snake bite, it was dark pink and created dimples. She would have this for the rest of her life. The same would be for the slice on her forearm, but she wasn't too worried about her scars. She had many small ones because of prior battles, but none as extensive as these.

None were this close to killing me.

She supposed it was time to properly thank Lord Sesshomaru. She knew she would do it eventually, but her pride was stopping her. Thanking him would make it obvious that she still needed saving at some point. And she wasn't exactly ready to accept that he could still possess that power over her. Protectivity. She didn't want it.

Rin looked at the rest of her body and saw that she was fully formed. Despite her tough training, she looked very petite. Her face was round, with high cheek bones. Her brown eyes were the darkest part of her. She had grown so pale. Her breasts were a little larger than most women her age, and her hips were fairly wide.

Azumi used to say that Rin would produce beautiful children. She stopped saying that when Rin started becoming more popular with the villages as 'the most powerful demon slayer'. Rin made it obvious to Azumi and even to Hiro that she had no interest in becoming a wife, or even a mother. Azumi cried for a while, but she eventually decided to fight Rin with it until it had happened.

I wonder if Azumi even knows if I'm alive…

Rin was awakened from her daydream by a knock on the door and Kagome asking if she was ready.

Rin quickly put on the pink kimono with white flowers and headed outside with Kagome.

Rin looked around and saw beautifully decorate streamers with lanterns on every post. The whole path had candles inside flowers every few feet. Rin assumed that that was the brie would come from. She looked at all the villagers, who were rowdy and loud, but happy. They were dancing to the music that Lady Kaede and Kagome were playing.

Rin recognized some of the villagers as Sango and Miroku. They looked aged and beaten down, but they were smiling. Rin noticed a baby strapped to Sangos back and two little girls holding each of Miroku's hands. They were wearing matching blue kimonos. Rin had no doubt they had at least one other child somewhere in the crowd.

Rin looked at all the happy villagers and felt a mixture of envy and pity. She felt envious that she wasn't raised to believe that this is how humans were supposed to live. Happy and carefree with each other. Humans need other humans. Rin felt envy that she didn't feel that need. And she felt pity because she knew that caring about all of the villagers at once was a weakness. A huge one.

Suddenly, Rin felt so out of place and in the way.

Why are they all so happy?

She started breathing heavily and her chest hurt.

Why can't I breathe?

She put a hand to her chest, as if that would push the oxygen through her skin into her lungs.

I need to get out here.

She ran next to the path, not knowing exactly where she was headed. Not that she really cared too much, she just knew she couldn't handle another moment with all of those villagers.

When she finally collapsed from the pain in her thigh, she noticed that her face was wet from her crying. She wiped it all away and punch the flowers to her right.

Flowers…

Rin looked all around her and noticed she was in a field of them. It looked just like one she would run around and play in while waiting on Lord Sesshomaru to return to her. Rin grabbed at the necklace to her throat and stood up. She walked to the center of the field and laid down in it. She noticed that she ground beneath the flowers was rough, but she didn't care. She was alone and felt a little better, laying in a bed of flowers.

xxx

From a distance, Sesshomaru watched as Rin exited the wedding by running away. He heard her breathing… she couldn't. She was hyperventilating and crying. You'd think that it was her wedding, the way she reacted and her clothes.

The kimono she wore looked like something a princess would wear, although he doubted that it was as nice as it appeared. It morphed with Rin's body amazingly. even Sesshomaru was taken back by her beauty. With her pale skin, the pink and white blended together well.

Sesshomaru followed Rin until she collapsed in the middle of the field. She was still crying a little, but he wasn't sure why.

Why couldn't she breathe? Why did she panic like that?

He thought about going and laying next to her. He thought about holding onto her waist and holding her against him. He wanted her to stop crying and embrace him like everything was right in the world.

But things weren't alright in the world. And he couldn't hold her. And she couldn't embrace him.

But he would settle with going to see why she was crying in the first place.

He started walking out of the shadows and stood next to the legs, looking down on her.

When she noticed that it was him, she sat straight up, and hid her face from the moonlight so he wouldn't see. She wiped off her cheeks and asked, "Do you need something?"

He thought about her question and decided that he would ignore it.

"You're crying," was all he said.

She furrowed her eyebrows and thought, of course he noticed already.

"The wedding… it was just too much. Villagers can be overwhelming sometimes," she explained, wiping off her face more.

She could still hear the music and all the laughter. They were both silent, both looking at the stars, as if that's what they were interested.

"I should thank you," said Rin, with a little of bitterness in her voice.

Sesshomaru didn't break his eye contact with the sky and asked, "For?"

Rin groaned and said, "For killing Orochi. And rescuing me. Again."

"I hardly killed Orochi. He was already paralyzed. What good is a snake if they can't slither?" explained Sesshomaru, finally looking at Rin.

Rin inhaled to say something, most likely argue her point, but she stayed silent.

He's letting me have this kill.

Rin nodded and said, "Well, then thank you for taking me here. I would've been dead if it weren't for you."

They were silent again. Rin felt a small weight lifted off her shoulders. She had thanked him. That was all she needed to say.

But looking at him, his perfect white hair and his birth marks on his forehead… anger and hurt emanate off of her when she looks at him.

"I don't forgive you yet," she said, putting her chin on her knees.

"I don't expect you to."

"You abandoned me, Sesshomaru," she said, surprising even herself. She had never said it out loud, and never thought about saying it to him directly.

Her voice sounded betrayed, and hurt.

"I trusted you to always be there when I actually did need you. I was devoted to you and your conquest of power, but now… I Can't even imagine traveling with you again. You can't expect me to just forget-"

"I don't-"

"And you can't just run back into my life! I had almost stopped thinking about you. I was so close to being completely free of you and you just barge in, in a flash of white and save me again!"

She was crying, but silently. You wouldn't hear it in her voice.

"You had seven years to come back for me and you just… didn't,"

Her sobs broke something inside of his chest. He already knew all of this, he knew that he caused her pain. He just didn't know how deeply it had affected her. Does she really want nothing to do with him now?

After all these years, he had the chance to be with her, to claim his strange human and protect her. But instead, he chose something like power. Power? Power was immortal. Power was him. But her? She was mortal, she was temporary.

I couldn't have her forever… can I just have her for now?

Sesshomaru sat down next to her, close enough to smell her hair and hear her heartbeat, but far enough to not be touching.

"Do you want to be freed from me now?"

His voice just barely betrayed him. You could hear the small amount of hopelessness and sadness in his voice. Anyone who knew him as the all powerful Lord Demon wouldn't notice. But Rin, she noticed the difference in his voice. She heard a small amount of pain and it took her breath away.

The first question that came to her mind was how could she possibly be freed from him now? He already came back, showed his care for her, made it obvious he doesn't want her to be hurt again.

And then there was the little voice in the back of head screaming that she couldn't even forget about him.

And this thought actually made her laugh. She chuckled in her throat and then it came out her lips.

Through the giggles, she looked at Sesshomaru and said, "You're immortal. I don't think I'll ever be free from you!" and she kept laughing.

Sesshomaru was confused by her answer, but accepted it as she didn't want to be away from him.

When she finally stopped laughing, she said, "Just… if you're going to stay… then you can't leave me like that again, okay?"

"Okay." was all he said, then she placed her hand on his for a brief moment, and smiled.

That smile.