A/N Eeek. Sorry…. frickin school…. Anyway, enjoy, flame, eat? I don't know, but personally, I don't get into that sorta thing. Haha. I'm tired. I leave.

Juuroumaru silently watched his prey approach. From his vantage point through the small knot of trees he had concealed himself in, he could see the small girl skipping happily, the comparatively calm toad in tow.

Juuroumaru could almost feel the glee that dripped from the toad, and he couldn't help but wonder how the girl didn't notice it. She seemed far too wrapped up in cheerfulness to note the ominous state of the forest- the dead silence, the lack of birds.

Juuroumaru crouched lower, his branch staunchly supporting him for the spring he would make as soon as the girl was close enough… one step… a hop… two more…

Juuroumaru crouched down, sprung up into the air, and pounced down on the girl. A split second before he made contact, the girl looked up and Juuroumaru registered the fear in her eyes before his body collided with hers. The impact of his weight pushed her down onto the ground screaming, her little hands reaching up to claw at Juuroumaru.

Juuroumaru fought away the small, skinny arms, remembering the way they had wrapped around Sesshoumaru. He didn't notice the blood pouring from her wrists or the tears that had pricked the corners of her eyes.

All he could see as his hands raked through clothing and flesh was the girl curled up in Sesshoumaru arms, hugging him. There was white noise in his ears, a clear, pure ringing that made a small part of him laugh gleefully. He continued scratching at her arms and face, feeding off of the pain as bloodlust raged within him. His breathing was hard and eyes large of dilated. The screams began to break off and then stopped all together.

Juuroumaru's senses slowly returned without the screaming in his ears. Soon, all that he could hear was the soft swaying of the trees and his own harsh breathing.

The red before his eyes faded to reveal the small, ruined girl, eyes closed, face red. His eyes widened in horror as he shot away from the girl. He stared down at her with wild eyes, his hands touching the torn, orange kimono. His trembling hand found one of the deeper scratches on her hip and he watched in utter horror as his three fingers lined up perfectly with the wound. He had done this… all of this…

A nearby snarl cut through the silence and Juuroumaru was suddenly knocked off of his feet and thrown back, stopped only by a tree trunk some 30 feet away. He hit it hard, and with a sickening thump cracked his head against the tree. He closed his eyes as he slid down the tree; his raspy breathe coming in short gasps, as he cradled a broken wrist to his chest.

He opened his eyes just in time to see Sesshoumaru lunging at him right before they collided, uprooting the tree and rolling back because of the impact.

Sesshoumaru struck him hard across the face but Juuroumaru didn't even cry out. He didn't even react to the blow; only shut his eyes with a feeling of utter detachment. The pain didn't even seem to register as Sesshoumaru continued to beat him and he wondered briefly if Rin had felt this way as well.

Finally, it seemed to stop and he opened his eyes to see Sesshoumaru standing above him and looking down at him, half stricken with pain, half filled with rage. Juuroumaru shut his eyes, twin tears trailing down his moon shaped face. This was it… Sesshoumaru would kill him…

"Leave this forest and don't ever come back. If I see you again, I will kill you."

With that, Sesshoumaru turned and with blurred vision, Juuroumaru watched him go to Rin and kneel down beside her. He picked up her limp form, pressing his pale hand to her bloody forehead.

Juuroumaru's eyesight dimmed and he slowly began to lose consciousness, but not before seeing Sesshoumaru gently wrapping Rin in his pelt.