Chapter two

Evil eyes peered out through the bushes at the little girl by the river. She was alone, or at least the demon thought. Thick tentacles shot out at the girl. She turned and screamed, losing her balance and falling into the river behind her. The strong flow swept her away. The demon refused to give up an easy prey and chased after her along the river bank.

The girl scrambled to meet the bottom of the river, but her feet nearly grazed the bottom. If only she was a foot taller she'd be able to keep her head above water. Just as it started filling her lungs, a strong hand came down and gripped her kimono lugging her out of the water. The next thing she saw was the corps of the demon split in two.

Lord Sesshoumaru looked down at Rin, "Breath, don't go wandering around like that again." Blood from the demon stained his sword.

Lord Sesshoumaru. Rin ran through the forest grounds. Water drops dripped from the sky as she made her way in the direction of the village.

Rain poured over the village, pounding on the rooftops. It had been morning for a few hours but the sun didn't shine. The trails that lead in and out of the village were smothered in thick mud. The rivers were already flooded. Not a good day to be a drifter. Miroku had managed to find a place for them to stay by 'purifying' the local shrine. But everyone knew he just slapped a few sutras around. "Hopeless" was the word that Shippo used but no one complained. They weren't going to get far in this weather.

Kagome borrowed Inuyashas kimono. She'd left her bike and back pack outside in the rain. The thick mud pulled at her school shoes, "Great, that's the third pair this week. Oh, gramps isn't going to be happy."

She made her way to her bike, but her backpack wasn't there. Then next thing she saw was the little girl with Sesshoumaru covered in mud digging through her backpack. Kagome reached over and grabbed an umbrella, another useful thing in the feudal era, and opened it over the little girl. Rin stared up at Kagome for a while, and then fainted in her arms. She carried Rin back into the cabin.

I saw her, the lady with the jewel shards. Rin could hear people talking in the distance. Or maybe, they were closer than she thought.

"Isn't that Sesshoumarus girl? What's she doing here?"

"Hum, I bet Sesshoumaru abandoned her like the last time."

"Inuyasha, don't be rude. She's a little girl."

"She must be exhausted. Feel it, her forehead's pretty warm."

A hand gently brushed over Rins forehead. She cracked open her eyes to see the blazing fire. Her eyes soon adjusted and the blurred faced became clear, "Ka-Kagome?" I found her.

"Hush, don't worry, you're safe with us," the lady named Kagome said.

All Rin could do in return for that was nod her head slightly. Her voice felt coarse and her body shivered despite Sangos earlier statement about her being warm. Rin hugged herself realizing she had a thick blanket around her.

"Here drink this," the monk said holding out a stone bowl. Rin could see the steam rising from what she thought was liquid inside. But all she wanted to do was sleep.

Sesshoumaru had long realized Rin had gone missing. He'd spotted Jaken, snoring under an oak tree, muttering something about butterflies and daisies. He tried to follow her scent, but the rain had long washed it out. Where could she have gone? He almost blamed himself for leaving her with Jaken. It's true; Sesshoumaru really hadn't been around all that much these past few days. In his thoughts, Sesshoumaru could hear her cry out for him. Her voice echoed through his mind, 'Lord Sesshoumaru! Lord Sesshoumaru!'…..
……. "Lord Sesshoumaru," Rin murmured while rolled over in her sleep tugging the blanket closer to her.

Across the room, the others were trying to be as quiet as possible. Miroku broke the silence, "I don't get why she's so fond of Sesshoumaru. Even in her dreams she's shouting out to him."

"Whatever, the rain's letting up so as soon as she wakes up we'll get moving. We obviously can't bring her with us," Inuyasha muttered.

Sango looked at him, "That's true but you can't seriously mean we just leave her here. What if something happens to her? She's just a child, remember?"

"Let's keep her, at least until Sesshoumaru gets here," Kagome suggested.

"Yes, we could take this opportunity to recuperate and gather supplies. Even Kagomes backpack is getting rather small," Miroku added

"Fine, have it your way," Inuyasha wasn't the least bit excited about seeing his brother again. He'd rather avoid any contact he has with him, even if they're blood brothers. He stood up and headed outside, "I need to get some air," Inuyasha called over his shoulder.