"Rin." His heart skipped a beat.

"Rin." His fangs began to slowly elongate.

"RIN!" His roar caused the very earth to shake as anger erupted out of him. Anger and complete dread as he held the dead teenager in his arms. A 16-year-old Rin stared up at him, her dark eyes, cold and lifeless. Her lips parted and bloodstained. Her arm hung limply, suspended in the air as Sesshoumaru held her dead corpse to him, his demon form rippling out of him in waves of fury.

Jaken stood nearby, his warty hands covering his eyes as he cried over the loss of the girl. Over the loss of their girl. He had never heard or seen his Lord likes this; he had never seen him grieve of so much as show even the smallest amount of remorse. Yet here he was, mourning over the loss of the young woman. The dark clouds over their heads rumbled with thunder and the first few drops of rain fell in large fat droplets. The rain quickly formed puddles which were mixed in with deep, violent crimson and mud.

The old toad was forced to step away from his Lord, unable to look at the girl's dead body any longer. A long gash, starting just above her small waist stretched up to just where her heart was, still was spouting the last of her blood. Between the three of them; they were covered in moist, wet earth that tattered their clothes and was splattered across their faces.

Sesshoumaru fell to his knees and stared at the girl blankly, no emotion crossing his stoic, beautifully etched face. But it was his eyes that gave him away. Those large, yellow orbs he had for eyes were empty and filled with complete desolation. This couldn't have been happening... it shouldn't have been happening... Rin couldn't have been dead!

He set her down on the soft ground but supported her head, searching for some spark of life in her dark eyes.

"Rin." It was all he could manage. There really wasn't anything else to say but her name. Perhaps, with his smooth velvet voice, he could coax her from her eternal sleep and back to him. Tensaiga would be of no help; he had already used it once on her before and that was all it was good for. One person. One life.

"Jaken! Bring her back." He said simply, his rationality beginning to crack like a dry, brittle twig.

The old toad turned his head grimly and hobbled over, trying to put some words together that would not anger his master. "W-well... as it is now Lord S-Sesshoumaru... S-she's dead. I-I cannot bring her back... she's... gone."

"Shut up, you fool and do as I say." A loud crack of thunder and a fork of lightning cracked in the skies above as Sesshoumaru's rage began to build again.

"Lord Sesshoumaru... T-There is nothing I can do! I-I'm sorry..." Jaken replied helplessly, taking a step back, staff in hand.

"Why are you apologizing you blubbering idiot! Damn you!" It was at that moment that Jaken realized that tears were forming in the silver haired Demon's eyes. Tears that had probably never been shed. "That won't bring her back to me! Damn you! That won't bring her back! Oh, Rin... please..." And with that he could say no more. A long howl emerged from his throat, over lapping the sounds of thunder.

He then, without hesitation bent down and placed his mouth over the girl's non-responsive lips and kissed. But not only did he kiss her, he brought the girl up into his arms and really kissed her. His mouth crashed over her as he tried to give her reason to come back, his tears dripping onto her face. Blood began to drip from their joined mouths and slowly, Sesshoumaru pulled away and stared hard at Rin's lifeless face.

"You know what this means, Jaken." He muttered, composture once again taking him over. "We must avenge her; we must kill the one who did this to her..."

"No. Lord Sesshoumaru, you musn't-"

The sound of a sword being unsheathed followed by a hollow thud caused Jaken to cry out. Sesshoumaru glanced down at the sword he had plunged deep within his own chest and sighed as he positioned himself beside her, laying down and taking her lifeless hand in his.

"I repent to you Rin; you have been avenged... Now we shall rest eternally together as one. You and I. I killed you and now I follow you into the Netherworld." Sesshoumaru murmured, turning his head to look at the girl. Jaken panic stricken stared with wide yellow eyes as the Demon closed his eyes and parted with his beloved.

A soft, warm smelling breeze settled over Sesshoumaru, causing him to sigh and turn over in his sleep.

Sesshoumaru.

A light airy voice caused him to groan and turn over.

Sesshoumaru. Lord Sesshoumaru.

This time, he slow sat up and his eyes grew wide. He sat with a mass field of yellow flowers and their scent was ever-present yet not as over-powering as the smell of woman that was wafting into his demon nose. He looked around at the blue skies and large sun and sighed, everything was so beautifully peaceful. Butterflies and ladybugs flitted about through the meadow and his ears pricked at the sound of running water; there was no doubt a stream near by. But everything seemed like nothing as he spotted a beautiful, raven haired maiden running towards him, her pink kimono flapping out behind her as she drew near. He stumbled to his feet, figuring his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" She called running towards him with a large smile on her face.

"Rin." He said simply, looking down at her with his normal cool gaze. The girl didn't stop running until she had flung her arms around him and he was carefully running his clawed hands through her waist-length, dark, brown hair.

"What is this place?" He asked after a moment. She pulled herself from his chest and instead took his hand and stood beside him, staring out over the vast fields with him.

"We're in between Heaven and Hell." She replied knowingly, a smile dancing on her lips. "We're going to stay here, okay? So we can be together."

"Rin..." He knew as well as she did that Heaven would not open its doors to him, yet could he deprive her of that? Would she ever really be resting peacefully if she remained here, with him? He suddenly felt a small tug on his hand and looked down at Rin who was trying to drag him with her.

"Come on Lord Sesshoumaru! Let's go!"

He frowned, "Where?" He asked as he began to walk after her.

The girl looked over her shoulder at him, and with a small smile she replied, "It doesn't matter... anywhere; but we're going together."

Sesshoumaru remained stoic for a long moment until, for the first time, maybe in his life, his lips twitched upwards into a small, kind smile. "Alright Rin; as long as we are together."