Kirin opened her eyes. She hurt all over. But where was she? This was not the field where she had been last. She was in a small hut, and a blanket covered her. Kirin glanced down and noticed that her wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. "Who….," Kirin wondered, "….and why?" It was then Kirin noticed that her fist was clenched shut. She opened it to find a few crushed, withered flowers. "Rin," she thought, "Where is she?" Kirin thought for a moment. "Oh, that's right. She left with him." Kirin closed her eyes again for a spell, then stood up and wandered to the door. She lifted the mat covering the entrance and found herself to be in a small village. Kirin was puzzled. How did she get here? And when? Kirin was about to take off towards the edge of town when she heard someone call out to her. "Oh, good, your awake," the voice said. Kirin turned around to find herself facing a young man, not too much older than herself in appearance. The man smiled, "Glad your finally awake." "Yah…," Kirin said, more confused than ever. "Well," the man said, "Come in." Kirin looked behind her again at the edge of town, then shrugged. What did she have to lose? She followed the man back into the hut. "Come," he said, "I'll explain everything."
Sesshomaru looked at the fish daintily swimming in the cool, trickling stream that he sat by. Rin had been hungry, again, and so he stopped and waited for her to catch and eat her fill of the plentiful fish. Right now she was cooking three of the fish she had caught over a small fire. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree that was behind him. Her face flashed in his mind. "Why must you bother me at every moment," he questioned no one. "It's been three days since I left you, and still I haven't gone one moment without you on my mind." He opened his eyes and found that Rin was sitting next to him looking closely at his face. "Are you ok, Lord Sesshomaru," the innocent child asked. "I don't know," he answered.
"…..Then I stumbled upon you, literally. I kinda tripped over you," the man said, scratching the back of his head. "You were badly injured, so I couldn't just leave you there. So then I carried you home. How did you get those wounds anyway?" Kirin's expression turned angry as she remembered exactly how she got the wounds. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," the man said, looking a little nervous. "Anyhow," he said, and Kirin snapped back into attention, "I had the village doctor nurse you back to health and then here you are three days later lookin much better if I do say so myself." Kirin smiled a bit at this last bit, and then she thought once again of the man who had injured her so badly.
/Flashback/
"So, aren't ya ganna finish me?"
"There would be no purpose. I find no benefit in killing you."
/Flashback over/
"What did he mean," Kirin thought, "Why wouldn't he kill me?" "Uh, miss? Are you ok?" Kirin snapped back to the present and looked over at the man who had saved her. He looked worried, and a little confused. Kirin shook her head. "I'm fine," she said, trying to reassure herself even more than the man, "And please, my name is Kirin." She smiled at the man, trying to be polite. She wasn't too good at that, but it was worth a shot. "Kirin," the man repeated, "That's a lovely name. Mine's Saji if you care to know." "Saji," Kirin let herself get accustom to the name. Kirin then stood. "Well Saji, thank you for helping be, it's been a hoot, but I really should be on my way." She turned and headed for the door. "Oh, please don't leave," Saji burst out. Kirin turned sharply and looked at him with curiosity. Saji blushed, embarrassed by his outburst. "What I meant was, you should at least stay and get a good rest, some supplies, some food in your stomach." Kirin thought about it for a minute. Saji smiled meekly at her. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he said quietly. "Ya know what, Saji," Kirin said, a grin appearing on her face, "I think I will take you up on your offer." She smiled at Saji and he returned the grin. "I'll start dinner," he said, hopping up. Kirin laughed to herself. There was nothing wrong with staying, and besides, she was beginning to like this Saji guy. Food sounded good, anyway. There was something about this place that made her feel at home. Maybe she wouldn't leave right away. In fact, maybe she would stay for a while, she had nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Saji called to Kirin, but before she went to him she decided to keep him off her mind. For good. She wouldn't let him ruin her life forever!
Somewhere miles away, as the sun set, lighting up the sky with a brilliant colorful hue, Sesshomaru looked up at the just appearing stars and decided that he would push her out of his mind. For good. He didn't need her messing up his mind forever!