"Run, Rin! Don't look back, just go and don't stop!"

I ran as fast as my feet could take me. The air was dry and hot, saturated richly with the scent of blood, burnt wood and mangy wolves. My last memories of slain family and friends were stained against the inside of my eyelids. I was only eight.

Before I could make it very far, I heard the crunch of my own bones beneath me and felt my legs give out. The pain was very brief, like the quick prick of a needle against fresh skin. Following the bite, several scratches exposed my ribs to the air, shredding the kimono my mother made me just the day before. I closed my eyes and tried to picture her smiling, instead of her corpse. I pictured her and my father and brothers in the afterlife, reaching out to me. I found peace in this, and accepted that this was my fate.

"Tensaiga," he called, an indistinguishable amount of time later.

I felt a gush of wind around me, and could feel the hard ground below, the cool air above. I opened my eyes with the realization that I hadn't died, but lived. A man stood above me brandishing a slim sword… but no, this was no man, I quickly noticed, but a demon.

"You can get up now." He sheathed his sword and began to walk away. A small gremlin-like demon with a staff glared at me with resentful eyes, and then turned to follow him.

"Wait," I scrambled to my knees with urgency, "I want to come with you."

I don't know what had come over me to decide that with such haste; I had no idea who or what he was, nor did I know his intentions… But I knew I was alone now, and craved his presence.

He turned and looked at me. I believed this look was of approval, as he continued to walk away. I hurried to my feet and followed. I knew at this time, he had saved me: my wounds had diminished; my heart beat with new meaning without the tarnish of sorrow and grief. He was my guardian.

I was merely an eight year old, orphaned human, but I vowed to one day be his guardian, too.

Twelve Years Old

"Hey brother!" Kagome waved gleefully as Sesshoumaru flew overhead. He grimaced with disgust. "Oh, I don't think he liked that." She giggled, leaning into dog eared companion.

"That was just so weird." Inuyasha replied, embarrassed.

"Look at what my Lord brought me this time!" Rin hugged a silk kimono close to her chest and ran out to join them, twirling around in circles. She smelled it, relishing in the scent that smelt of Lord Sesshoumaru.

"He really does spoil ye, girl," Kaede laughed and placed her hand on Rin's shoulder. Rin sighed longingly.

"I just wish he would take me with him."

"He will one day, I'm sure of it," Kagome smiled. "He told you he wanted to wait until you were older, right? So you have the experience of a human life, and can decide honestly what you want when you are an adult?"

"Yes, my Lord said that," Rin began to pout, thinking back on that conversation.

It was a sunny day, several months back when Lord Sesshoumaru had last visited the village. Rin had clung to his leg and refused to let go. She was insistent upon traveling with Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru took her to sit near the river that ran on the outskirts of town. Warm summer air drifted through the flowers. A fish jumped, creating a ripple through the water. It was serene, truly peaceful, and Rin had the honor of experiencing it with the most perfect of beings. She sat on his lap, twirling strands of fur from his boa around her fingers anxiously.

"Rin, you remember that you are apprenticing Old Kaede at this village, do you not?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"She is growing older, and needs you there with her to take care of her and the other villagers."

"But… But my Lord, Lady Kagome has returned, and is apprenticing Lady Kaede as well. They don't need me anymore."

"They need you there, whether you believe that to be so or not. Not only do they and the villagers need you, but you need yourself to be there. I cannot take you with me until you have spent several years living amongst other humans with normal, simple lives. When you are an adult, and have done your duty in a human village, I will come back for you to give you the choice to come with me or to stay."

"My decision will never change, my Lord. With you is where my place will always be." Rin's face was lined with tears though her expression was determined.

Sesshoumaru sighed, and lifted Rin off of his lap onto the grass beside him and stood. "Keep an open mind, Rin. You are still young and have a lot to learn about life. I will return to visit you soon." He patted her on the head affectionately, and with that, he was gone.

"It doesn't matter how old I get, and it doesn't matter where my place will be in the world here. When you come for me, I will be ready. I am always ready to throw it all away for you, Lord Sesshoumaru."

"My, what a gorgeous kimono," Kagome quickly changed the topic, running her fingers over the silk fabric. "He has such a keen eye on true beauty."

"He does," Rin beamed. Hearing footsteps nearing quickly, she turned and smiled to set sights on Kanta, a human boy of similar age. "Hey, Kanta, check out what Lord Sesshoumaru gifted me!"

"I thought I saw him fly off in the distance," Kanta panted as he joined the group. Kanta was a tall, thin, common looking boy with brown wavy hair loosely bunned at the back of his head. Since Rin joined the village to live with Kaede four years prior, she and Kanta became quick friends collecting roots and fruit in the forest nearby. Kanta's family were all wealthy farmers, native to the village for generations.

"Yeah, you should have got here sooner. Au-on was here as well. I could have took you for a ride on him!"

"One day," Kanta laughed, examining Rin's gift. "Whoa, you sure will need a special occasion to wear something like this."

"When he returns to take me with him, I will wear it." Rin grinned while Kanta wrinkled his nose in disproval. He changed his expression before Rin gazed back at him.

"How about ye both go water and feed the horses," Kaede instructed the youths. They both nodded and bowed as Rin returned her kimono into Kaede's house, and rushed off to the horses' shelter. "I think that wee Rin is better off marrying Kanta than she is with your brother, Inuyasha." It was no surprise that Kaede did not favor Rin's desire to live alongside Sesshoumaru, but neither did the majority of the others, with the exception of Kagome.

"I see a lot of myself in Rin," Kagome explained, wrapping her arm around Inuyasha. "She has a deep love for him, even though it isn't exactly practical. Rin might be better off living here; a simple, safe life… But she knows in her soul what is right for her."

"Are you saying that loving me wasn't what was best for you, Kagome?" Slightly offended, Inuyasha narrowed his eyes towards his young wife.

"Are you kidding? You think that living in feudal Japan is what was best for me, who lived a comfy life in my own time with modern medicine and science? Where I had a job, money, and an education? Of course, coming to live here eternally was not practical. But it was what I wanted, and where I am happy to be. I could never be truly happy living without you, or the others, Inuyasha. This is where I need to be. Practicality does not mean happiness."

"I suppose that makes sense," he grunted, though his expression seemed to melt off his face after Kagome kissed him gently on the cheek.

"She is twelve now, almost a woman. I am sure it won't be much longer before Lord Sesshoumaru is here to get her decision."