Disclaimers on everything that I don't own.

Heavenly Ruins,

By Winterwing3000

Dark plumes of black and sparks of red, orange and gold flew in the air. Animals hurried away and a large group of people hurried into the forest, despite the night's lack of lights.

"No! You cannot! I forbid you!" Rin screamed, pushing away all of the servants who struggled to hold onto their Lady. Her hair was frazzled, her yukata disheveled and her face streaked with tears.

"Milday, please! Calm yourself, you must worry of your health!" one of the maids pleaded, holding onto Rin's sleeve.

"How dare you disobey me! You cannot do this!" The brunette female scrambled over the forest dirt hill, holding tightly onto the wrapped bundle within her arms, despite the rocks at her feet and twigs slapping her skin. "Rin!" Jaken called after her, waddling quickly toward her only to trip in the dark.

She gasped deeply as she felt a sharp kick and placed one of her hands on her swelling stomach just as she reached the point of the hill. Eyes wide, she fell to her knees regardless of her protruding belly.

Flames roared madly, towers crumbling, ashes floating into the night. Stables collapsed, gardens burnt, trees felled, and that was all that was left. She saw no sign of her lord or any of the Western Army, only fallen corpses all over the ground. Tears prickled at her eyes as her mind took in the sight in front of her.

"N-No… it… it cannot be. A-Anata…" she uttered in disbelief. "Gone… all of it."

The bundle's wrap slowly loosened from the top when it fell from her arms and into her lap. The hilt gleamed in the fire's monstrous light. And it glowed with a faint blue hue, as if to reassure its mistress.

"Rin!" the toad imp squawked, crawling next to her only to stare in awe at the scene below him. Immediately, his large bulbous eyes watered. "S-Sesshomaru-sama…"

Live… far away from the west. Go and tell the history of the West. Live Rin… Live.

Her head snapped up, tears spilling. Tenseiga gleamed and shined with a silvery-blue aura. It pulsed in response to its master's call.

"Sesshomaru?" Rin whispered searchingly. His voice persisted around her, only in spirit without a body. Tell the story of the West, of its greatness and its downfall.

Do not disappoint me, Rin… So live.

Picking up the healing sword, Rin used it to support her greater weight as she stood. His words echoed in her mind and drew forth a memory which she had shared with Sesshomaru, not too long after she had conceived.

'Sesshomaru, omae ni mamoru mono ni aru ka?' his father once asked him, Sesshomaru said.

'For many years, I sought for an answer. Until I met you… there was no such thing. You were a child full of life, willing to live in spite of all the hardships you must endure.'

'It was your gracious heart which gave me that will and this chance to live. And I promise that I shall never waste a moment of living, especially now.' she smiled happily at him, and gently led his hand toward her abdomen. Although his face was expressionless, his eyes held all that she needed to hear, to see.

Leaning over, she placed a loving kiss upon his cheek, just by the purple stripes…

A new glint entered her eyes. "To live…" Looking up into the sky, Rin turned to Jaken.

"Jaken-sama… we must live on. Sesshomaru-sama expects that of us and to pass on the glorious days of our empire, his empire which he dedicated his life into." Jaken gave her a teary frown.

"Don't despair, Jaken-sama… Sesshomaru-sama will be happy if we are happy. I know that." She gave him a half-hearted smile and turned to the sword in her hands. "Because… the will to live, it is stronger than anything. Come Jaken-sama, the other awaits…"

Rin took one last glance at the ruins of the once proud standing castle, the flames diminishing into nothingness. Life was a never ending cycle, and she will live it to the fullest, even with all that is against her, even with only the faintest trace of hope in her darkness, one day, she'll find heaven within the fallen.

Notes: Rin is approximately in her late teens, about 19 or 20. Sesshomaru's dead, so you don't really need to know.

The phrase: "Sesshomaru, omae ni mamoru mono ni aru ka?" is from the third movie of Inuyasha, during the opening scenes. I roughly sketched out the sentence and tried my best to place it into good Japanese. So don't take it as the real thing. I'd be lucky enough just to get a couple of words right!

AN: Ohh, howdy dear readers! It has been such a long time hasn't it! Well, I hope that you enjoyed this short chapter because sophomore year isn't too giving so far! Writing now is like a free and relax time for me, which is hard to come by. But don't worry, I'm still writing this! I'm not giving up on it anytime soon! And thank you reviewers! Love you and see you soon!

This is for the LJ Community, 30 kisses, without the underscore. This is from List Alpha, themes #17 (mortality/mortal coil) and #20 (against all odds).