Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Thanks to: IcegirlJenni, DivineRose, Lynn, Pammazola, ElheiM, Jane66, and Love123 for the reviews. I appreciate your comments very much!

At the campsite, it was midnight. The thin crescent moon hung, dimly shading the vast night sky. A few rays peeped through the leafy parasol of the forest, scattering sparsely when they reached the campground. No song from the insect, nor the chanting of the wind, could permeate the camp barrier, allowing the atmosphere to bathe in a still silence.

Resting one arm on the bent knee, Sesshomaru eyed the darkness with a steely gaze; his mind, deep in thought. The image of the maiden danced across his memory. Her carefree beauty was so different from the rest, different from anything he had ever seen; and he imagined that her touch would be as refreshing as the arm of a young snowflake from the winter's dawn.

There was never once for as long as he could remember that an image of a woman would reappear in his mind after the first time he had seen her - or after 100 times for that matter - if she wasn't a hated enemy or a beneficial friend, human or demon alike.

He regretted - for not following to learn of her residence. He regretted - that he didn't take her into his arms and do whatever his desire commanded that evening.

What kingly ancestry?

If he wanted to, he could easily find her since her scent was imprinted on his sensory cells; though, whether he should look for her was another matter to contemplate. Where in his scheme of things would he place her, but to satisfy one desire? A physical desire, a desire that he had frowned upon since his father took in the human mistress - since his father's demise because of it. He had long suppressed that desire into the farthest region of his soul, and never allowed it to surface - only to be caught by surprise as it surged through his mind earlier that evening by the presence of the strange damsel.

After running through the many reasons suggesting that he should not, he decided that he would search for her - to satisfy his lustful curiosity once and for all. He would take her; then, he would kill her afterwards for making him mar his royal ancestry, kill her for her defiant seductiveness.

With that conviction, Sesshomaru browsed through the villages surrounding the forest, searching for her scent but was unsuccessful. He thought that it might have been a mirage, a fantasy produced by some type of forest toxic plant that he might have carelessly stepped on.

Though, the image was so vivid that his desire adamantly refused to give up.

He went back to the waterfall, which was no mirage; it existed just as it did that evening. And there, the trodden path she danced on stretched far into the shadowy distance, inviting him to follow. It led to an old temple where her scent grew stronger; her residence - an odd establishment amid the forest, away from any human civilization.

The girl had never been near other humans much, which must have allowed her the untamed innocence that bewitched him.

Despite the strong stench of burned incense, the rosy scent of the maiden dominated, sipping out from inside. He followed the trail and came upon her room. After stealthily slipping through the window, he approached her bed. Sitting down beside her, his desire almost became uncontrollable.

Sesshomaru never thought he would become a lecherous thief, stooping so low as to take a maiden against her wish, in her sleep - committing a crime lower than that of a vermin. He always made himself known to those he destroyed to make sure they knew he was the one who destroyed them.

Yet, he felt shameful before this girl. He didn't want her to know that he was the person who took her purity, and then destroyed her. So, he released a small amount of poisonous fume into her breath, just enough to slightly sedate her.

So beautiful!

He touched her cheeks and ran his fingers through her hair.

So soft! So silky!

Her sheer night dress allowed a good view of her body, which drove his desire wilder. He slowly removed it; he wanted to feel every inch of her to find out just what pure and precious substance she was made of. He brought his hand back to her cheeks and around the curve of her neck. He caressed her bosoms with his claws, then gently traced along her waist down to her thigh.

So seductive!

His masculinity could no longer be calm, no longer be stoic, no longer icy!

But volatile, passionate, and boiling, threatening to combust from within him!

Impatiently, he held the base of her neck to bring her face closer as his fangs protruding and eyes glaring red from the sensual desire that had been devouring him since the evening.

The girl whispered softly!

So sweet!

He leaned forward to bear his fangs into her skin, to taste whatever tangy seduction her blood may hold.

But suddenly, he stopped!

'What!' he jolted back at the thought of what hideous monster he'd become. He spent all of his life despising dishonorable pursuits, and only respecting the more virtuous actions. He was becoming corrupted just like those heinous demons he'd deemed disgraceful to his race - the likeness of Naraku.

Honor was what Sesshomaru stood for. Honor flowed in his kingly blood.

How would he defend that honor if he defiled this girl - ruining her and not even daring to admit it! Yes, in shame he would defile her; in secrecy, in the darkness of the night, he would defile her and her innocence - a rare innocence that was peaceful to his soul; if anything should be done about it, it should have been done to preserve it.

Besides!

The blue crescent moon imprinted on her right shoulder.

That mark - she was a descendant of that foolish prophet. She was someone the demon prince had vowed to protect.

He could not kill her. His words, the words of a Daiyoukai, would mean nothing if he destroyed her. Even if nobody would ever know that he was the one who took her life after corrupting her body, he, himself, would know it. And for that, his own prideful conscience overcame his basal desire.

It took great discipline, but he finally gathered his composure. He laid her back down and redressed her with the nightgown he took off a moment earlier - to lessen the temptation. He released a small stream of his youki into her breath to neutralize the poison he had drugged her with.

He turned away from the side of the bed toward the window, planning to leave the girl to her peace. He would forget about her soon. She would only be a fragment of a pleasant memory amid the raging war that he had waged against the world around him; the spirit of the Western Prince had transcended far beyond the primitive physical desire and the instinctual nonsense which was love. These pathetic shackles would not chain him down.

As he slid the window to one side for an exit, he caught a strange scent, a scent that was subtle but did not pass his keen detection. Someone was watching him, and he failed to detect it during his internal turmoil.

When Kagura realized Sesshomaru had caught her scent, she quickly zipped away into the shadow of the forest trees, a good distance from the temple. Thinking that she had eluded his reach, she sighed a relief and turned around.

"Hah!" Kagura jumped backward, startled when she saw a curious pair of luminous golden eyes.

The speed of Kagura's wind could only be exceeded by a few demons - most of who were her elders. The Inu Youkai in front of her, the one who had just passed her with ease, must be Sesshomaru, whom the servants of the Western Palace had whispered of.

The rumors about his unimaginable power must be true. For a wind sorceress such as herself, the speed was her own natural ability; but for him, it was an obtainment through disciplined training - and he surpassed her at it.

There was no doubt in her mind.

He was powerful!

He could defeat Naraku!

His aura made the air still from its chilling effect, yet strangely warming to her soul. Her heart raced as she tried to imagine how regal he would look; though, it was too dark for her to distinguish his features clearly until his youki started to glow around him.

Kagura gasped at his beauty; it was beyond her imagination.

Even though the dark changes in his view of the world had distorted the gentle countenance he once displayed, his appearance was no less beautiful. If anything, the hardening of his will had refined the edges of his outward features and made him even more curiously exquisite.

The delicate grandeur of his majesty swept Kagura's heart away that instant!

"Lord Sesshomaru!" She stammered out his name, expressing that she was struck with both awe and fear.

"What business do you have with me?"

Kagura shuddered at the deep voice carrying such an emotionless quality, gently spoken but fully masculine.

After being reminded of the business at hand, Kagura composed from the lovestruck trance she was in. "Lord Sesshomaru, it's not me you should have business with. The girl is in danger. You should return to the temple to save her," Kagura informed him. "Naraku will target her to get to you. I came to give a warning."

Kagura waved a fan in front of her face with a slightly arrogant expression, speaking in a cool and impassive tone, acting like she hadn't paid any special notice of him. Inside her, her heart was combusting with pulses of love, but outside, a cool facade veiled her face. She refused to be viewed by any man as a desperate woman even though she was falling desperately in love with the man in front of her.

'Interesting!' Sesshomaru thought, both amused and appalled by how quickly Naraku learned of his personal activities. He only half believed Kagura's words, but a jollt of concern for the safety of that human girl spread through him nonetheless.

It could be a trap. Sesshomaru scanned through the profiles of Naraku's minions in his head; even though Sesshomaru couldn't register this stranger in front of him, he knew how tricky Naraku could be.

However, Sesshomaru had no time to investigate. The girl needed immediate protection, and he would not allow Naraku to hurt her in anyway. Losing no time, he took off into the air and quickly darted toward the temple.

Kagura followed him.

When they got there, they both stood back in the shadow and watched. Just as Kagura had warned, Naraku's men had come to cause trouble.

In the temple's courtyard, the human girl stood.

Behind her, a monk lied, motionless; he didn't look fatally injured, just simply fainted.

In front of her, one of Naraku's men, Goshinki, curved his lips maliciously. He was slowly pulling her night dress down, exposing her bare shoulders at the moment; his eyes fixed on her with a lustful admiration. The girl stood unwavering, with the same trusting innocence on her face, and no fear showing anywhere in her expression.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, slightly confused at her nonchalance. Was she enjoying it? Or did she not know what that demon was doing to her? But Sesshomaru had no time to assess the thought process of that strange girl; he had to act fast for the sake of her safety.

When he was about to leap from the shadow, out of nowhere, Yura attacked Goshinki. Sesshomaru stepped back to watch as the hair demon spread a web of hair around Goshinki. Goshinki dodged cleanly. He leaped forward with his gigantic mouth opened, aiming for Yura's head.

Busy fighting, Goshinki left the human girl unguarded. Given that chance, Sesshomaru dash from behind the tree toward the girl. He secured her in his arms gently and swept away to the farthest corner of the courtyard. Out of the danger zone, he put her down and made a few steps forward in a more relaxing air. He calmly watched the fight between Yura and Goshinki, in deep contemplation.

Sesshomaru knew the profiles of Naraku's men, so he recognized both demons. What was all this acting in front of him? One was hurting the girl; the other, rescuing her.

Then, he realized.

By pretending to rescure the girl from Goshinki, Yura was trying to be a decoy to earn Sesshomaru's trust and a place in his army so she could be a spy.

He smirked condescendingly. Such a lowly trick! Was that all Naraku could come up with?

Yura webbed her hair around Goshinki's neck; he pretended that he couldn't get away. Yura tightened the knots to make it more believable. When Goshinki was trapped, the Taiyoukai flew forward from behind and struck a sword through Goshinki's heart, killing him instantly.

"What! NOOO Goshinki!" Yura screamed in disbelief as Goshinki evaporated with the fog from Sesshomaru's stroke - forgetting that Goshinki was her supposed enemy.

"What is it, Hair Demon? You tried to kill this hideous monster? I simply wished to help you," Sesshomaru spoke condescendingly as he sheathed his sword; his eyes wore a mischievous sarcasm, gazing at her.

Goshinki's death was not part of the plan, but Yura understood that a sacrifice was sometimes unavoidable, especially when dealing with such an enigmatic and powerful creature such as Sesshomaru. She also suspected that Sesshomaru had discovered her identity, and that meant she had no further hope to earn his trust to be a spy in his army.

There was no other way.

Yura would have to use the back-up plan.

The pawn that Naraku had created, Kagura, would have to be a part in the scheme. She would be the spy they needed. It would have been better if Yura could become the decoy, but if she couldn't, Kagura would fulfill Naraku's plan just the same.

'Naraku, you're a conning bastard!' Yura gave Sesshomaru a sadistic glance as her admiration for Naraku filled her mind.

Then, Yura averted her eyes towards the direction of Kagura, who was still hiding behind the trees. A subtle smug crept over Yura's expression, 'Hn! Kagura, I'm leaving the rest to you. Now, be a good pawn for Naraku!'

Yura fiercely shot two thick streams of hair at Sesshomaru. He leaped into the air, dodging them smoothly, showing no effort.

But, The Daidyoukai had forgotten!

He wasn't used to thinking that there was someone else needing his protection. He suddenly realized that Yura was not aiming for him. But the realization might have come too late because Yura's attack had almost reached the human girl, who was standing at the edge of the courtyard, right behind him.

He shot a holographic green whip, lashing out from his hand, chasing Yura's hair streams, hoping to stop the attack in time. At that same instance, Kagura jumped in front of the girl, letting both hair streams pierce through her chest, injuring herself, but saving the human girl.

Just as Yura had planned for!

Kagura fell down holding both of Yura's hair streams in her hands steadily, preventing them from moving toward the girl. She moaned painfully while the Daiyoukai Lord looked at her impassively. She didn't regret her action as she felt herself fainting. Before she passed out, she weakly whispered, "The skull behind her on the tree, the red skull, Sesshomaru!"

He understood. He reverted his whip toward the red skull gleaming on a tree branch behind Yura and smashed it into a puff of red ash; Yura screamed out in agony. In one quick second, both Yura and the skull dissolved.

That part was not in Yura's plan, but Kagura was fully satisfied with the progression. She hated Naraku; therefore, she had no qualm killing any of his servants. And she would borrow Sesshomaru's hands to do it - or anyone's hand that she could borrow.

There was a scout in the vicinity. Sesshomaru pursued to chase the scout down, but he was stopped by the girl's voice, "Beautiful Man, this lady is deeply wounded. We must care for her."

"Leave her!" Sesshomaru commanded coldly. He did not trust the stranger. Even though he couldn't match any of the profiles he had learned of Naraku's men, he suspected that she too was part of the scheme.

"We cannot leave her," the girl's eyes glued to Kagura, who was laying unconsciously on the courtyard. Her eyes melted into two liquid pools, showing pity. She started to haul Kagura's body into the temple.

Sesshomaru was disgusted at the girl's weak strength. At her rate, it would take until morning for her to even get Kagura to the the temple's door. But they could not stay at that temple anyway. The scout was far gone, and when the news reached Naraku, the girl would not be safe - even with the protection of those monks.

Sesshomaru looked pensively at the monk lying on the ground, and knew instantly that those monks would be defenseless against Naraku's men.

Sesshomaru approached the girl and tugged lightly on the night dress that was still hanging low on her bare shoulders. He pulled it back to where it should be.

He flicked his eyes to direct a chilling gaze at her. She returned his stare with one of her own - a much more gentle one, a more peaceful one.

Her gentle gaze - it made him forget his war, duty, position, life!

It sent that same desire rushing back to him, the desire to know what innocent sound the maiden would make in an intimate moment, the desire to know just how soft her lips would feel, how sweet her forbidden fruit.

He almost lowered his lips to hers to find out; he almost carried out the unrighteous plan he had earlier.

But again, he couldn't. At the moment, her safety was of the utmost importance. He had vowed to protect her, and ironically, she became involved in the present danger because of him.

It was good. He had a reason to have her traveling with him, to have her constantly by his side. It would allow him to be near her, which would present him more than one chance to know, to feel; and perhaps, it would give him an opportunity to fulfill his manly desire in a more satisfying way - in a less dishonorable fashion.

He didn't really need a weak human girl to be by his side during his battles; but, that girl, he found her overwhelmingly seductive. He knew that his desire for her was a masculine whim; yet, this whim far exceeded any temptation he ever encountered. Thus, for only this one time, he would allow his manly nature to take over his better judgment - allowing her to follow him.

He needed to protect her anyway.

So, it wasn't just a desire, but it was also a duty of a Daiyoukai to keep to his words.

"Girl, you cannot stay at this temple any longer. It will be unsafe for both you and those monks," he said after he knelt down to pick Kagura up and cradled her in his arms. "Follow me!"

The girl understood Sesshomaru's words well. She didn't know why those demons were after her, but the reason was unimportant. She knew that if they came again, the monks at the temple might die trying to save her.

"But my master, he's -" the girl looked at the unconscious monk with concern. She came to his side and helped him up. He stirred slightly and seemed to regain consciousness at her touch.

"Rin, are you all right?" the monk said in a weak whisper. Lying in Rin's arms, he reached to caress one of her cheeks lovingly.

"I'm all right, Master. You are not hurt, are you?" she said as she tried to help him to his feet. The monk staggered slightly, but was able to stand up. Rin hugged him tightly, glad that he was well.

"Those demons will come again. You're unsafe here," Sesshomaru spoke louder, making his command more crisp, "Follow me!"

The girl was reluctant. But she slowly loosened herself from her master.

"Master, I must leave you. I don't want those demons to kill you and all the monks at this temple because of me," Rin looked down to the ground, hiding her tears from her master.

"We'll protect you, Rin," the monk was not reluctant in that promise.

"With your pathetic power?" Sesshomaru scolded, almost losing his patience. He glided toward the monk. His glare darkened. His voice turned colder, "Your death does not concern me, Worthless Monk. But those loathsome demons want that girl, and I will not allow them to have their wish!"

The monk was unmoved by the intimidation and the rudeness of that speech. He did not mind dying to protect Rin. Though, he agreed with Sesshomaru's statement. His death was not of concern; Rin's life was more important. Ever since they found Rin as a baby at the edge of forest, laid in a basket, the monks at that temple had raised her. They had grown to love her so much that her untimely death would bring an irreconcilable grief.

What if those demons came again, and he was not able to protect Rin?

The Inuyoukai in front of him did not seem that nice; but the monk could sense his majestic honor and his sincerity towards Rin.

After much thought, he decided that Rin would choose her own path, "This place will always welcome you no matter what. It is your choice, Rin." He put his hand on her cheek and wiped away the residue of her tears.

"Thank you, Master!" she took his hands and kissed them, "I love you all. I'll take the danger away from this temple. And when all is peaceful, I'll come back."

With Kagura still in his arms, Sesshomaru had already started walking away. He was not the type who kept nagging a persuasion. He would also leave the choice to her.

Rin slowly followed him. At one point, she stopped and hesitated her decision. She looked back at the monk, whose eyes were still upon her. She ran back and gave him a tight hug, a final hug before she waved goodbye.

After they had traveled farther into the forest, she stopped and turned around, lingering toward the direction of the temple. She crossed her hands across her chest and whispered tenderly, "I love you, Master! Please be safe."

Sesshomaru had also stopped and glanced over his shoulder towards Rin. He heard her whisper. To him, such phrases were needless sentimentality, but the eager sincerity in her voice caused a slight stir somewhere inside him.

He stood quietly, waiting for her to finish her wish before they continued their travel towards his campsite.

I want to specifically thank Pammazola for being my beta. She is a wonderful beta, not too pushy, very polite and competent. And she only voiced her opinion when asked for. When pointing out plot hole, Pam is very gentle about it. Thank you Pam. And if I was asked, I would definitely recommend Pam.