Hello!

I know this week this story wasn't meant to update. However, I have to admit that I could never keep myself to a plan. Neither could I now. It seems like I can't change ^.^

But I didn't even dream of getting reviews like these… So thank you anonymus27 (Guest), icegirljenni, OfShadesAndShado (Guest) and also thanks to Inu Daughter17, storyofmylifeman and blackacess. You are really the best! Thanks for encouraging me!

Enjoy reading!

Hirana08

Sacrifice

"It began long ago in a human village. This village was located near the border of the Western and Eastern Lands."

"Uncle Inuyasha's village is there, too!" said Tsuyosa with a smile on his face.

Long ago Sesshomaru would have gotten upset and stopped the storytelling. But now he sent a faint smile to his son and patted his head. "Indeed. It happened to be exactly the same village."

"Really?"

Sesshomaru nodded and he went on. "In this village there lived a human girl. Her name was Rin. And she was very…special..."

10 years ago…

A little less than a year passed since the last time Sesshomaru saw Rin. Maybe it was because of these months of absence that the Great Dog Demon could notice even the smallest changes about her. He was already aware of them earlier, only when he saw the image he did realize how much they mean. Rin wasn't the same little girl, who used to travel with him throughout the country. She grew up and… she was turning into a woman. Indeed, into a beautiful one: with her gentle eyes and caring smile she seemed to be a real gemstone among the other girls in the village.

When Sesshomaru caught the sight of her sitting on the hill above the village, he seemed to… hesitate. As if he would watching a wonderful illusion that would fly away in the very moment he takes breath. Rin was wearing one of the kimonos she got from him and with her right hand she was playing with the petals of a daisy.

"Return to me… Return to me, my Lord, please…" She was humming into the wind. A faint smile ran through Sesshomaru's face like a fragile light. It seemed like she had no intention to give up on creating songs for his sake. It was something permanent among the changes.

Then Rin turned her head in the direction where Sesshomaru was standing. A happy smile made all her being shine like the sun. She stood up immediately but she didn't get closer to him. She was just standing there with her head down. She didn't know what she should do. She wanted to run to him and embrace him but… won't he find that kind of greeting childish from her? She is already 16 after all, not an 8-year-old. Sesshomaru walked slowly to her and he lifted up gently her face. But the girl kept her eyes close.

"Rin. Did something happen?"

"No, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Then… why aren't you looking at me?"

Rin opened her eyes diffidently. In the very moment when the brown eyes met the amber gold one, Sesshomaru knew immediately that something is wrong. There was something that was bothering her for a while. He couldn't define when did that happen, but he could tell that it is a serious matter – unless she wouldn't be troubled this much.

"What is it?" Sesshomaru let go of her face. He walked to the edge of the hill and began to watch the clouds floating through the sky.

Rin hesitated for a while but then the question jumped out of her like a rabbit from its hole. "Sesshomaru-sama… what is an omiai?"

The word hit him like a hammer. Omiais aren't uncommon – not even in the demon world. His parents got married also this way. And he still couldn't forget about the outcome of that. It was something from what he really wanted to save Rin.

"It's a meeting, which is held for people who consider marriage."

"Then… I will refuse it. After all… I'm already bond elsewhere."

Sesshomaru didn't understand what Rin meant. True, he was away for basically a year but things couldn't change that much. Not without his notice. However, he agreed with Rin's decision – she should refuse it. Not just because it seemed too fishy to ask an orphan.

But then a distant voice from a recent memory told him something else. The most convincing words cut into him like a knife and made him feel something that was close to sadness yet it was far from it.

"I think you should go. Just once." "Maybe not every omiai ends up like that" Sesshomaru added in himself. "Did you see your partner?"

"No. His servants came and asked me. They told me that he couldn't come because he had an urgent business on the borders of his land."

Now Sesshomaru really became suspicious of this suitor. He was a prince and he asked Rin. Why would a royalty be interested in an orphan? "I will go with you."

When Sesshomaru heard Rin's bickering steps, he turned into her direction. He could catch the sight of her back for a short while. From the way she walked down the hill, he immediately knew that she didn't expect this kind of turn. If only she would have known what Sesshomaru really wished for…

The journey to the place of the meeting seemed quiet long. Sesshomaru didn't speak a single word but that was an ordinary thing. However, Rin's silence seemed to kind of scare him. And that strange feeling he had on the hill, emerged again. But this time it was tearing then before. He tried to recall everything that happened at her mother's castle – before he met Rin today. It was like as if he would have been looking for a kind of excuse or a proof that this is the right way.

"Why, Dad? What happened?" asked Kosaku

"I went to see my mother."

After Sesshomaru finally established peace all over the Western lands, he decided to report that to his mother. Even though she wasn't already the ruler of the region, she still needed to know about this. Finally he was acknowledged as the true heir of his father and again a calmer period may come. However, when he arrived at her castle, Lady Reina was talking to another dog demon. He could tell that he was one because of his scent. Indeed, he also seemed somewhat familiar.

"Sesshomaru. What a surprise" told Lady Reina but it was written all over her face that she wasn't surprised at all. "Thank you for your visit, Lord Neion. It's always a pleasure to see you here. And I'm sorry again for what happened to your daughter."

"It was my honour to meet you, Lady Reina." Lord Neion bowed and he began to walk towards the exit. "And also you, young… Oh, pardon. Lord Sesshomaru. You've grown so much…"

"Lord Neion…" But instead of bowing, Sesshomaru gave him his killer look.

He was so much familiar with those burning jade-eyes of his. But he couldn't remember where or when he met them.

"Sesshomaru. So you did manage to smooth things over. How delightful… But I couldn't expect less from you."

"It's uncommon for you to feel sorry."

"Indeed. But it's so painful and it's so shameful… Especially for Lord Neion… it's such a pity…" When Lady Reina saw his son's expressionless face she went on. "Another great dog demon tribe began to fall… I wonder whether Lord Neion will ever be able to restore his family's pride…"

"If you don't wish to say anything else, then I will leave. I have things to do."

"Of course, you have. You always do. It's about that human girl again, right?"

A faint smile ran through Lady Reina's face. It seemed somewhat self-complacent. "And it's always about her. Even when you came to me to train your sword."

"So what?"

"Ah… How did my Sesshomaru end up like this? So blind and so naïve…" Lady Reina played the tragedienne as if she would be really in a play. But then her face changed and it was filled with serious traits. Really serious. "And so oblivious." Then she continued her role play. "Ah… I really hope you won't share the same fate as Lord Neion's daughter. Poor little dog demon…"

"What do you mean?"

"No matter how much you kid yourself there will be always a big difference between you and your little human. She has to meet her end one day: and no matter what kind of relation you had, she will leave only bitterness behind. But you have the eternity. We have the eternity. And she can never obtain that."

"You have the eternity. And she can never obtain that." His mother's voice echoed in Sesshomaru's head. "It has to be this way. Even if I can't be always near her, at least she should…"

However, his thoughts were interrupted when the walk stopped. All the escorting soldiers turned backwards and weapons appeared in their hands out of nowhere. Suddenly he heard a scream and then he noticed that one of the servants pulled Rin from his side among the soldiers. Sesshomaru immediately reached for Bakusaiga however, his hand stopped midway. A knife was pointed straight in front of Rin's neck.

"This is how far you could come, Sesshomaru" he told and he held Rin even tighter. "Now leave or her life will be over."

"S…Sesshomaru-sama…" Rin's beautiful brown eyes were trembling with fear and became watery from the tears.

The knife scratched Rin's neck and the scent of her blood immediately caught Sesshomaru's nose. He let his hand down. But in the next moment his face began to change – as well as his whole body.

"Now!" shouted the other servant and suddenly out of nowhere a spear was thrown straight into Sesshomaru's shoulders.

The dog demon tried to pull it out, however, a barrier appeared around it and it left a burnt wound on his hand just like Tessaiga. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't do a thing. And with each try he could move less: a strange mix of poisons got into his body and he couldn't defend against it; even though the poisons had no affects on him.

"How does it feel like being the loosing one?" asked the servant. "Your body doesn't know, against what to find first: spiritual power, demonic miasma or poisonous blood… The great Sesshomaru is defeated. My Lord will hear that gladly."

"Not yet…" murmured Sesshomaru and he threw his poison whip towards the servant.

"Not that fast." He threw two stones in the air and suddenly an ice-blue coloured barrier appeared which diverted the whip and it fell back on Sesshomaru. It hit his wound so hard that because of his weakening body he went unconscious. The last thing he heard was Rin's desperate voice crying out his name. But that was in vain.

The evening already fell when Sesshomaru finally woke up. The barrier was still in front of him but the people and Rin was already nowhere. He couldn't even catch her scent – most likely it was blocked by the barrier. Sesshomaru felt anger for persuading Rin to go on this omiai. She was here only because he wanted it. He stood up and he went closer to the barrier. He was about to touch it when he heard a stranger's voice behind his back.

"I wouldn't do that."

Sesshomaru turned back and he saw a woman. She had the scent of a strong demon; maybe even stronger than he was. She had long white hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white dress, which made her face paler. She had a Prussian blue half moon on her forehead – the same one Sesshomaru did.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mayura. I'm the sorceress of the Blue Moon."

"I don't have time for you, woman."

"How disrespectful of you…" Mayura suddenly appeared right in front of Sesshomaru. "Well… Reina was the same… There's no denying you are her son."

"Get out of my way."

"Oh, you are looking for Naoya's henchmen. They left hours ago. I know, I know you have to chase them. And what's your plan?"

"I don't need one."

"Oh, you do. Unless if you don't wish to die like your father. It was such a shame that he met his end like that… I was fond of him very much. He was so… human-like."

"What do you want?"

"No. The real question here is… what would you do? 'Cause it will be tough. And if once it's over you might change very much."

"Does it still hurt, dad?" asked Kosaku while his eyes tried to decide on which shoulder the injury was.

"Don't talk such a stupidity! It healed long ago, right?"

"That's not necessarily true, Tsuyosa. There wounds that are meant to make you remember" said Sesshomaru.

"Like when uncle Inuyasha cut your arm and it didn't grow back until you slayed that bad demon, right?"

"Was it uncle Inuyasha again?"

"No, dad. Apparently it was Jaken-sama, who told this" said Kosaku. "It was around the same time when Lord Neion visited you."

"I see." Sesshomaru blinked backwards for a short second like a sign that he will square accounts with the imp demon.

"Dad, what happened after that?"

"I made my decision. I just didn't know back then how much Lady Mayura had right…"

To Be Continued

Author's words

How did you like this one? I hope I could live up to your expectations even though I didn't write it from Sesshomaru's POV. I was thinking about this a lot but in the end a golden mean usually proves to be a good solution.

Don't forget to review – it might help the story developing (like OfShadesAndShado did this time) and who knows in what else. But it will be answered.

See you next time!

Bye,

Hirana08

Next time: Protection