A young girl, barely older than eight and with disheveled brown hair, made her way through the thick undergrowth of the evening forest.
Occasionally her kimono caught on the branches, but it held up.

The sun was just setting and bathing the treetops in a red that was reminiscent of fire.
But the girl had no eyes for these beauties of nature: she washungry! And she had to hurry. She had to find something to eat quickly and return to camp.

Otherwise your master would be angry with you and the always bad-tempered toad demon with him would call you useless and annoying again.
But she could ignore the nagging of that annoying toad youkai; as long as she was allowed to stay with her master.

A smile fell over her young and innocent face. Yes, she worshiped her master, this great and dangerous Dai youkai.
No matter how cold and callous he seemed, she loved him. He was their master, their protector and savior; and she was sure that he, too, somehow liked her, albeit covertly.
He tolerated her and made her follow him. She asked no more.

She shook off the smile and the thoughts and kept looking for food. She had dawdled again!
She quickly picked a few berries from the nearest bush and found a few more edible roots.
All in all a very modest meal, but she was used to it and didn't miss anything.

She was just satisfied with what she had and now hurried back quickly.
She still had to look after and feed Ah-Uhn the two-headed dragon for the night.

Shortly before the camp, the little girl suddenly heard fighting noises, as if from nowhere.
Afraid and yet also curious, she approached the camp site.
Her eyes widened in horror. She couldn't believe what she saw there:
Her master, her great, strong master, covered in blood, lay on the floor and desperately fended off the blows of a giant oni (* Japanese devil *).Jaken, the little toad on two legs, was already lying unconscious on the ground and did not move.
She dropped her meager food on the floor and clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle an outcry.
She had only fixed her eyes on her master, who was getting weaker with every stroke of the Oni.

Suddenly the oni stopped his blows and stared down at his victim. His already ugly face was further disfigured by a grin.
Then he began to speak and each of his words sent shivers down her back and made the girl groan softly.
"My master asks for life energy. I should look for and bring him human children. And who comes my way? The supposedly strongest Dai-Youkai, who is always with a small child. You only have useless energy for my master, but the child traveling with you will please my master! Tell me where to find the girl and I'll let you live. Otherwise ... "
The addressee raised his eyebrows in horror. Did he want the child?

The girl immediately understood: if the Oni did not get her, he would kill her beloved master!
She didn't need time to make a momentous decision:
If the master was spared, she would go with the oni. So she would be able to protect her master.

She took a deep breath and tried to fight her fear down. With all the courage she could muster, she got up and took a step out into the camp.
"Here I am! Take me with you and leave Sesshoumaru-sama alone!"

Grinning, the Oni turned to her: There she is! As ordered! The master will be satisfied! "

All the girl could still hear when the oni took her away was the startled murmur of her master: "Rin."
She closed her eyes and whispered: "Sesshoumaru-sama. The main thing is that you are alive."