The noon sky was pock a' dotted with the ruminates of yesterdays passing storm and the smells and sorrows of the past were temporarily forgotten. The path on which the newly formed trio traveled was dry and soft. Perfect for the young child's feet, up until a fortnight ago had been covered in small wounds and random scratched. The remains of said wound were small light marks on her skin, but nothing more. She wore no foot ware as her other two other companions did, but preferred to travel in the same fashion she had ever since she was born.

Lord Sesshoumaru, lord of the western lands that lay far beyond the mountains of the land he was currently traveling. His old and ridiculously loyal servant Jaken walked stiffly behind him while holding the staff of head tightly between his two frog hands. Behind these two was a small child with a matted head of dark hair and piercing brown eyes. Her yukata was a checkered pattern of spring yellow and melon orange. In her hands she was knitting together a long line of forget-me-knots. As they past a field of light blue and purple flowers the young girl stopped dead in her track and starred transfixed upon this seemingly ordinary field. Such fields were uninterestingly common in this side of the country, but this field brought with it surfaced memories, that the small child would have much liked to have forgotten.

"Rin!" The frog like servant of Sesshoumaru-sama, scowled as he huffed back to retrieve her. "Sesshoumaru-sama has no time for you're foolish antics. He has many important places to go and your excessive flower picking is slowing him down!"

Under his breath, he hoped so his lord wouldn't hear, her added "Ningen no baka (stupid human)!"

"I don't like this place…" Rin whined softly as Jaken turned to follow his lord further down the path.

Jaken turned around flustered and huffed, "Than stop your complaining and come on! Haiyaku!"

Rin nodded and began a rough jog to catch up with the demon lord who'd gotten farther ahead than Jaken had even realized. As Rin caught site of her lord around the bend of a hill she stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes fell upon three large white stone at the side of the road. Lord Sesshoumaru took little, if any, notice of the markers.

Rin walked stiffly up to the white stones and wrapped the long chain of forget-me-knots around the three stones.

"Rin come! Or Sesshoumaru-sama will leave us behind for sure!" Jaken steamed. "We have no time to look at silly old rocks!"

"They aren't silly stones!" Rin snapped. Jaken looked utterly surprised. Rin had never spoken in such a manner. In fact, she barely said anything at all; most of it was mindless babble or singing. She turned sadly back to the stones and rubbed each one gently as if it were a precious stone or an egg ready to hatch. "Oka-san, Oto-san, and Ani-ue."

Jaken looked stiffly angered at the girl and was about shout at her when his master walked briskly beside him and regarded Rin.

"Rin come." He said as he always did and always she obeyed without any hesitation. She didn't move or even acknowledge him at all. Sesshoumaru felt a slight flinch of annoyance. "Now…"

Rin looked up into his eyes and pleaded. "Can we please stay a little longer?"

Jaken opened his mouth to scowl her, but Sesshoumaru-sama cut him off.

"Why?" He asked simply and indifferent. His eyes were mildly curious, much like when he first encountered this strange child called Rin.

"I wish to say a prayer for my family and bring them fresh Sakura blossoms…" Rin said at the brink of tears. "I promised them I'd bring them flowers…

"Your family?" He asked. He never actually thought about how Rin had become orphaned. He knew something must have happened, but it never came to him to actually ask Rin herself. "How…?"

"Bandits…"Rin sobbed. "We were walking home when we were ambushed…"

"Oto-san tried to push Ani-ue and I away, but they…and then they took Oka-san…" Rin was outwardly crying now as she tried to hold on to herself long enough to finish talking. "I don't remember how, but Ani-ue got hold of a sword and tried to protect me by…by…but they killed him… they left me alone…I buried Oto-san and ani-ue, but Oka-san…"

Rin broke down and cried. Jaken awkwardly approached the human child and was rewarded by run latching onto him and continued to sob into him. Sesshoumaru watched for a little while before disappearing around the hill's end. Jaken whined for Rin to let go so he could follow, but the child wouldn't give.

It made some sort of sense. Unknown to her fellow companions…

When Rin met the two demons she wasn't afraid of Sesshoumaru or Jaken at all and they were demons! Figures of human nightmares, but Rin regarded them with warm affection usually associated with a parent or sibling. But she was afraid of humans. The day her family was slaughtered was the day Rin lost faith in humanity. In her grief stricken time when she was taken in by those awful villagers, whom only strengthened her fear a lone demon, hurt and alone as she'd been showed her kindness by asking one simple question…

"How did you get those bruises?" His tone was indifferent, but his eyes…they way he said it reminded her of her brother and how he'd tried to save her by bearing arms against those bandits and…

Rin whipped the tears from her face as she let go of a huffing Jaken. As her gaze fixed more on more upon her Ani-ue's grave she noticed Sesshoumaru next to her. She hadn't realized he was there until that moment…

Rin starred at his emotionless face and then his right arm and in his one hand he held a large tree branch. On that tree branch were hundreds of bright pink cherry blossoms. He held the branch out and shook it once. As a gentle gust of wind hit them it rained Sakura…

Rin sat there gazing absently as the blossoms settles onto the three graves. She bent her head down to hide her face, perhaps ashamed to show such weakness in front of her lord.

"Domo…" she whispered as the Ame no Sakura (Sakura rain) ceased.

Sesshoumaru tossed the branch away and began to walk on then stopped.

"Come Rin," Sesshoumaru said indifferently, than began walking on.

Rin's head popped up, tearless, and bright. "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

With a burst of engery she leaped up to her feet and skipped after her Lord…

"You too, Jaken…" Sesshoumaru added.

Jaken stood silent for a moment and sobbed, "I'm an afterthought….oh Sesshoumaru-sama how could you replace your faithful servant with a human ward!…OH MY LORD! DON'T FORGET YOUR LOYAL SERVANT!"

Jaken ran after the two as he realized they were out of sight and disappeared beyond the setting sun…

Author's notes

Oto-san Father

Oka-san Mother

Ani-ue Brother. (For reference, Ane-ue is Sister).

-Sama Lord/ title for honorable people.

Domo Thanks you

Sakura Cheer blossoms