Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Inuyasha, so if you don't like what I'm saying, write a review, not a check for your lawyer, okay? Besides, I like Rumiko Takahashi's work way too much to copy.

Thank you to Inashosetai for being an un-official beta. So many things are now smoothed over thanks to you!

This started as a random clip of a story that popped into my head and wouldn't get out, so I don't know how it will end up. Please read and review and be brutally honest.

Since I don't know what age Rin was when Sesshomaru saved her, you are free to make your own guess, but in this story I think she is around 16-17.

This is after the manga ended.

Rin is smiling; it's the first day of the fifth year since Sesshomaru-sama had returned to get her from Kaede's village. She supposed it was an anniversary of sorts, and since she couldn't remember the exact day he brought her back to life, this would have to do.

The beginning of her life with him, her real birthday.

She looks up from Ah-Un's saddle, at the oblivious object of her thoughts. Even though she is now nearly as tall as he, Sesshomaru-sama still makes her ride Ah-Un. Though Jaken rides in front of her now, since he no longer needs to hold her on; now it's her turn to hold him on if Sesshomaru-sama needed to move quickly.

Almost as if he could feel her thoughts, Sesshomaru-sama turns to look over his shoulder. She drops her gaze immediately, and returns to studying the long-since memorized but intricate trim on the saddle. He rarely said anything, but she wished that just once...She slams the door on her thoughts, it is completely out of order for her to be allowing her thoughts to roam down those thorny, winding tracks. Once she started down that path, there would be no returning until she asked herself the Question.

Does he think about me as I think of him?

She shakes her head violently to clear it.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing, you silly girl?"

She realizes that she had nearly knocked Jaken out of the saddle.

"Sorry, Jaken-sama."

"Hmph."

She hides her smile. Jaken never accepts her apologies, but she doesn't mind.

"We will stop here."

As always Sesshomaru-sama's voice takes her by surprise, he so rarely said anything that every time he said anything it was a shock.

Though always a pleasant one.

She slides down and lands easily on the uneven ground. As she takes Ah-Un's reigns, she watches Sesshomaru-sama, marveling at his movements. He almost floats over the ground; he is so in control of himself. She marvels as an unexpected breeze ripples through the clearing, ruffling his long silver hair, lifting it off his back, letting the moonlight slide down in a bright wave. She tells Ah-Un to stay at the edge of the camp, and stands there, staring from the shadows, because she knows from experience that Jaken's eyes are not strong enough to penetrate them, and she can admire Sesshomaru-sama in peace.

He stares into the night, out over the small pond, so still that he seems more a deity than an actual earthly being. She longs to walk out and stand beside him, perhaps take his hand. They would stand there until he asked her if she was tired...

She squeezes her eyes tightly and wraps her arms around herself, doing her best to ignore the aching hole in her chest.

She walks out of the shadow of the tree, and finds a spot to sleep. As she gathers leaves and then branches to make her bed, she watches Sesshomaru-sama out of the corner of her eye. He doesn't even twitch when she steps into a pile of twigs, making an explosion of noise.

As she lies down, she feels a lump digging into her side. She pulls out the offending object, and once again, admires the quality and beauty of the long dagger Sesshomaru-sama had given her.

She can remember when she had gotten it as though it had happened that day.

*********Three Years Ago*********

Sesshomaru-sama carried her on his back, racing faster than any horse across a burning plain. The ground was so hot she could feel the skin on her legs baking dry even at this speed. She clutched herself tighter to his back, careful not to strangle him. It was the first time he had ever carried her like this; well, not the first, but the first since she had begun to feel anything other than awe for him. She shifted around, trying to move the fabric that had bunched up around her waist, but only succeeded in moving her kimono around so it was twisted as well.

"Stop squirming or I shall drop you here and you can walk back."

She froze, then buried her head in his shoulder. She caught his scent as she did, and took another breath, savoring the smell of pine and cinnamon.

She heard a sigh, and looked up at his golden eyes.

"Rin,"

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"We are here."

She blushed violently as she landed unsteadily on the ground. She almost fell in surprise when Sesshomaru-sama's hand came to steady her. She looked up at him in astonishment, and for a fleeting second, she thought she saw concern, and something else, burning in his eyes.

Then he released her arm, and walked away.

Toward a huge toothed skull.

"Who are you and what do you want?" wheezed a voice from the interior of the skull. "If that's you Karanoru, I've told you already, I can't finish a blade—"

Sesshomaru-sama walked into the mouth of the long-dead beast.

She heard a gasp, then, "Sesshomaru! I thought you were happy—"

"Shut up, Totosai."

She ran to the mouth of the skull, and peered in from behind a tooth. Sesshomaru-sama was standing, magnificent as always...Shut up!—Sesshomaru-sama was standing in front of an old gray-haired man with a topknot and a petrified expression.

"I did not come about Tenseiga."

The old man looked relieved, "So what did you come here for?"

"I want you to forge me a sword, or rather, a dagger."

"Hmmm. What do you want a dagger for? You already have two swords."

"It is not for me."

"Hmmm." He looked at the tooth Rin was behind, then focused back on Sesshomaru-sama. "I will need a tooth to forge it."

Something white landed in Totosai's lap. "Here."

Totosai looked down at the tooth in surprise, then again at Sesshomaru-sama, "Humph, this isn't any ordinary tooth of yours; this is one of your fangs."

"I know." As he spoke, she suddenly notices that one of his canines was missing.

"If this dagger isn't for you, I will need to see the person who will be wielding it, so I can make it the appropriate size and weight."

Sesshomaru-sama closed his eyes and sighed, but didn't push the issue. "Rin, you can come out."

Rin stepped into the cave, and timidly approached Totosai. She had met him before, but she did not remember much about him, except that he could blow fire out of his mouth and he was a master bladesmith.

He spun her around, and had her hold some small weights, then he measured her reach. When he was done, she sat in an unoccupied corner to watch.

"Since it is only a dagger, it shouldn't take more than a day." Totosai said.