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Rin vanished from the village that morning as though she’d never been there at all.

There were no personal belongings left behind, no notes, and no prints anywhere to tell anyone where she’d gone.

Even her scent had vanished. There was no trace of it at all in the hut she shared with Kaede nor anywhere else in the village.

“She ain’t in the forest or out in the fields.” InuYasha settled down beside Kagome on the lip of the well with a quiet huff. “No one’s seen her at all today, either.”

“She couldn’t have just vanished,” Kagome said, feeling desperate. 

Rin might have been the type to wander off on her own—more so now that she’d turned thirteen—but she always told someone. At least she had ever since that one incident with Jaken.

“Keh.” InuYasha shoved his hands into his sleeves. “If she was here, I’d have found her.”

Kagome tried to quell her rising panic. “What if she’s hurt? Or sick? What if she was lured away and needs help?”

“That ain’t the worst bit.” InuYasha shoved his hands into his sleeves as Kagome gave him a stern look.

“How is that not—” she began but he didn’t give her a chance to finish.

“Someone’s gotta tell Sesshomaru.” InuYasha looked like he would rather die than do exactly that. 

Kagome pressed her lips together. Sometimes, she thought, InuYasha’s priorities could be really skewed.

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"What do you mean, you lost her?" Sesshomaru snarled, one hand moving to Bakusaiga.

Sango and Miroku both flinched, but InuYasha's usual bluster had him scoffing. "Ain't like she's that easy to keep an eye on!" he grumbled, tucking his hands into his sleeves. "She's always running off somewhere—"

"InuYasha," Kagome hissed, giving her former betrothed a sharp look. 

He huffed loudly.

"We are really sorry, Sesshomaru-sama." Miroku bowed low. "We truly do not understand how Rin-chan disappeared."

"She was here when I awoke before dawn," Kaede put in, leaning heavily on her cane. "When I returned from treating Yosuke, she had already vanished, yokai. It 'twas the fault of no one. It is almost as if..." 

"As if what?" Sango prompted when Kaede fell silent.

"There have been stories of wandering miko aiding young orphans." Kaede's one eye focused on InuYasha. "Perhaps young Rin met this miko on one of her morning walks and was led away."

Kagome pressed her lips together. It seemed a bit farfetched to believe Rin would ever willingly go somewhere Sesshomaru wouldn't know to follow and visit, but then, it was all they had at the moment. "Do you know where this miko was last headed?"

"Nay, I do not." Kaede looked remorseful. "But one of the villagers she treated in the nearby village just past the forest may well know."

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Kagome ignored InuYasha—who was busy on his hands and knees sniffing the ground for any scent of Rin—to talk to the villagers herself.

The made a rather motley group, she had to admit. A daiyokai, a hanyo, a slayer (Kohaku, not his sister), a kitsune fresh out of school, an imp, a two-headed dragon yokai, and a miko. 

It certainly wasn’t a group the villagers expected to come looking for a small human girl or the traveling miko she might have come across. 

“Apologies, Miko-sama,” another villager said, bowing low, “but we did not ask the other miko where she went nor wish to disturb her further after all she had done for us.”

Kagome sighed. It was the same response she’d been getting since she arrived. 

She thanked the man before turning to leave, but she didn’t get far.

A little girl with one eye missing—the same one who had been rescued by the other miko in the midst of a vicious yokai attack—tugged on her sleeve.

“I know where Miko-sama went,” the girl whispered quietly. 

Relief suffused her as Kagome knelt down to look the girl in the eye. “That would be very helpful if you would tell us,” she said gently. “We’re looking for a friend who might have found her.”

The girl bobbed her head. “She has a lot of friends,” the girl said quietly. “She asked me if I wanted to be her friend, too, but my Anesan told her to leave.”

Kagome mulled over those odd words, wondering if the other miko had initially assumed this girl was another orphan.

“She went east.” The little girl smiled eagerly. “She went east to see some wolves.” 

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“I wonder if she went to see Koga.” Kagome sighed as she finished relaying the news to the rest of the ground. 

“The hell would a miko want to see that mangy wolf.” InuYasha shoved his hands in his sleeves.

“Perhaps she heard his pack once attacked humans,” Kohaku pointed out logically. 

Shippo raised a brow. “They don’t even live near humans now.” He turned to Kagome. “Did the girl say why?”

InuYasha snorted. “Are you even sure you can trust the kid to begin with? I mean, she’s just a kid.”

Kagome gave him a sharp look. “She’s the only one who spoke personally to the miko outside of the yokai slaying, InuYasha. Right now, she’s the only lead we have. Besides, she…” She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something oddly familiar about the little girl. 

Sesshomaru was already turning to leave.

“Oy!” InuYasha glowered at his betkher. “The hell you going?”

“Perhaps you do not appreciate the urgency.” Sesshomaru’s expression was scathing. “But I will not linger here when Rin is not.”

Kagome winced. Sesshomaru had a point, but InuYasha wouldn’t be happy about it 

The little girl came running up to them then. “Miko-sama,” the girl said, reaching to tug on Kagome’s sleeve, “take this with you. The other miko-sama said it was a good luck charm.”

Kagome didn’t reach for the little feather the girl held.

Her eyes were firmly on InuYasha, who had paled when he saw the girl.

It was only then that Kagome realized why the one-eyed girl looked so familiar.

Kaede.

InuYasha was now no doubt thinking of Kikyo, the woman he’d loved and then lost.

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“Excuse me,” Kagome said when they finally caught up to the miko.

But from the short distance away, they could all see that there were no signs of any children with the other miko, least of all Rin.

Shit.

It had been quite the journey to find her. Koga hadn’t heard anything about a miko in his territory, let alone one making off with any orphans.

Myoga had appeared at some point, but he hadn’t heard anything useful, either—just some rumors that hadn’t panned out.

It had taken them a week to find her, and Sesshomaru’s frustration was palpable.

“Hmm?” The woman turned around, a single brow raised.

Suddenly all the details added up. The rumors of the lone miko rescuing orphans, the tender moment for the one eyed girl, the strength of her powers—

But it was InuYasha who said it aloud. “Kikyo.”

His cracked voice nearly broke Kagome’s heart. 

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The woman showed no signs at all of recognition of any of them, no matter how familiar she looked.

She could have been Kikyo's clone. 

"Who," the other miko replied calmly, "is Kikyo?"

InuYasha faltered then, just two steps away. He'd likely been intending to crush Kikyo in his embrace, but instead, they'd mistaken this woman for one InuYasha had lost.

The anguish on InuYasha's face was telling, and it hurt Kagome as much as it had in the past—even though their romantic relationship had long since fizzled out.

"We're looking for someone," Kagome said quickly, hoping to shield InuYasha from more hurt. "Her name's Rin. Have you—"

"Who the hell are you?" InuYasha demanded loudly, glowering at the other woman.

Kagome could hear his unspoken question: Why do you look like her?

The other woman shrugged one graceful shoulder. "Even if I were inclined to tell you, I could not," she answered calmly. "I do not know of the one you seek. I suggest you search for her on your own."

And then the other woman simply turned to leave, dismissing them thoroughly.

It was Sesshomaru who prevented her from leaving.

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"You lie," Sesshomaru declared, eyes narrowing as he glowered at the other miko. "I can scent her upon you."

The miko lifted her chin. "And why," she said icily, "should I take the word of a yokai who has abandoned those who depend on him? What you have lost through your own actions is no concern of mine."

Kagome's eyes widened. So the other miko did know Rin—how else would she have known all of that?

"And what would you know?" Sesshomaru responded icily. "You are interfering where you do not belong, miko."

"Do I not?" The miko spoke as haughtily as Kikyo once had. It was so uncanny that it was hard for Kagome to separate the two, even knowing that Kikyo had died.

InuYasha had found her body after all.

"Return her." Sesshomaru's eyes blazed.

"Or just let us talk to her," Kagome said quickly, holding up her hands. "You'll understand that Rin is happy where she is if you do."

The other miko lifted her chin. "No."

"Why the hell not?" InuYasha's anger was still palpable, but at least he wasn't overtly acting upon it. 

The miko looked between them all waving one dainty hand. "Because I do not know where she is."

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"What do you mean," Kagome began incredulously, "you don't know? How could you not know where you left someone!"

The Kikyo-look alike didn't seem at all perturbed by the chaos she'd just caused. "It is imply the way it is done."

Kagome bit back the temper she'd have sworn until that moment that she'd finally managed to get under control. "You simply round them up and abandon them?" she snarled, feeling Sesshomaru's anger rise along with her own.

How dare this woman lecture them on abandoning Rin when she'd—

"What?" The other woman blinked. "Of course I do not."

"Then how do you not know?" Kagome was on the verge of growling at the woman's lack of emotion.

"That was the arrangement." The other miko glanced over at Sesshomaru, who continued to remain in her way, holding onto the quiver she wore to keep her in place. "If you do not relinquish me, I will purify you where you stand."

"Who are you?" Kagome demanded heatedly, furious at the woman's callousness. Did she care so little for those she'd 'rescued?'

For the first time, the other miko seemed to falter. "I...do not know."

It was the first time the other woman had looked so vulnerable.

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"You don't know where the orphans are," InuYasha bit out, "you don't know who you are—is there anything you do fucking know?"

The moment of vulnerability was gone as the woman glared at InuYasha, her expression cold. "I will not remain here and listen to this. Do what I have told you as you will."

Sesshomaru's jaw ticked as his claws glowed.

They were split seconds from imminent danger, she knew, but to her great relief, a realization came to Kagome. "If you don't know where they are now," Kagome said, thinking quickly, "you have to know where they were when you met the people you handed them over to."

"Of course I do." The other miko snorted. "I am not a fool."

"Perfect." Kagome grinned. "Take us there, then, and we'll talk to them ourselves."

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"No." The miko's refusal was flat.

Sesshomaru's patience wore out then. He grabbed the miko by her lapel and lifted her in the air. "It was not a request," he growled darkly.

The miko swallowed. "You cannot bring your weapons. You cannot harm anyone."

"That is not up for negotiation." Sesshomaru's hands tightened. 

InuYasha took a step forward, but stopped short when the other miko hissed. "It is not up to you, yokai."

Kagome reached for Sesshomaru's hand, ready to interfere.

"Now."

The other miko looked down at the glowing claws. "Kill me if you wish," she began, but stopped short when she looked over at InuYasha.

Kagome couldn't explain it, but something seemed to pass between them, something Kagome couldn't quite describe.

"Very well," the other miko said finally, sighing. "I will take you."

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"So," Kagome said, striving for conversation to break up the odd mood that had fallen over the group, "what do we call you?"

The other miko simply looked at her and for a few minutes, Kagome thought that she'd never get an answer. It was all too obvious she wasn't pleased to be forced into the position she was in, and she certainly wasn't thrilled with the notion of leading them to wherever she'd taken Rin and the others.

Kohaku had remained silent the entire time, but like InuYasha, he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the miko. Ah-Un and Jaken seemed content to follow Sesshomaru, who was ignoring the other miko well enough that it almost didn't seem like he was actually following her.

It was only the heaviness in his yoki that gave away Sesshomaru's ire.

"Nanashi."

Kagome looked over at the other miko, certain she'd misheard. "What was your name?" 

"Nanashi," the other miko repeated flatly.

Nameless.

For the first time, Kagome felt a sliver of pity for the other miko. Whatever Nanashi's background was didn't excuse what she'd done, but it also didn't mean that Kagome couldn't feel for the other miko, either.

What happened to you? she wondered, watching the other miko for several moments before glancing away lest she be caught staring.

Only to meet Sesshomaru's own unreadable gaze as he watched her.

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Kohaku had been surprisingly silent as they traveled together, though he kept giving Nanashi quick, furtive glances that were echoed by InuYasha.

Something was certainly off about the other miko, though Kagome wasn't able to put her finger on what. And since neither Kohaku nor InuYasha were talking to her about their own thoughts, she turned her attention to Shippo, who was currently riding the dragon along with Jaken.

"Shippo," Kagome began, eying the kitsune who had grown now to be just a few inches shy of Kohaku. "About Nanashi..."

"You sense it, too?" Shippo gave her an odd look, one that reminded her a little of Miroku's contemplative expression. "There's something not right about her."

"It's not just her." Kagome fell into step with the dragon. "It's her reiki. Something's off with it. It's almost as if..." She trailed off, trying to puzzle out how to put it into words.

"As though she has been split," Shippo supplied for her. 

Kagome started. "Exactly that," she said, surprised at how well he'd read her mind. "As though she should be more than she is now."

"As though," Shippo said, rubbing his chin in a gesture that absolutely came from Miroku, "there should be two of her."

Unbidden, the memory of how Kagome's soul had been ripped asunder by Urasue came to mind and she shuddered. "Do you think it's possible...?" 

They both turned to eye the miko being trailed by an untrusting and disgruntled InuYasha and shadowed further by a simmering Sesshomaru, displeased by the countless delays they'd experienced since Rin had gone missing. 

"I don't know," Shippo conceded quietly, "but that alone is concerning."

Because if they didn't know, then it stood to reason that it was, in fact, possible.

But how?

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Kagome evaluated the facts she had.

Nanashi looked like Kikyo. She sounded like Kikyo. And near as far as Kagome could tell from her questioning, Nanashi's memories seemed to only go back about six or seven years at most.

The exact timeframe that Kikyo had died.

And this miko, Nanashi, had clearly been crippled in terms of her reiki. Split somehow, in a way that had left her diminished from the version of Kikyo that Kagome had known. Had Urasue somehow created another Kikyo? Had Enju, the 'daughter' of Urasue, become involved in some way to preserve Kikyo?

If so, how had it led to the erasure of Kikyo's memories? The Kikyo they'd come across before had been resurrected with her memories intact. Had this resurrection been incomplete in some way?

Shippo wasn't entirely sure, either. It went well and beyond kitsune magic.

She made her way over to Sesshomaru that night when they camped. By Nanashi's account, they would reach where Rin had been left tomorrow and would likely part ways after that.

If they did, they'd never know the truth, and when Kagome looked over at InuYasha and the pained look on his face, she knew that's exactly what he needed.

"Can we talk?" she asked the daiyokai quietly. She couldn't explain why, but she was certain he had the knowledge she sought.

He eyed her for a moment. "Hnn."

With an incline of his head, Sesshomaru rose and led her silently away from the camp.

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"What does she smell like?" Kagome began without preamble as soon as they were alone. "Nanashi, I mean." At his blank look, she sighed and elaborated, "The other miko. How does she smell to you, Sesshomaru?"

He clicked his tongue. "I am uninterested in her scent," he growled, looking affronted at the very idea.

"I don't care if you like it." She put her hands on her hips. "That's not what I'm asking you, Sesshomaru. I'm asking what she smells like."

Irritation left his eyes as curiosity bloomed there. "Why do you wish to know?"

"Because I'm human," she replied without preamble. "I can't pick up the nuances of scent like you can."

He took a step closer, raising a single brow. "Then why not ask InuYasha."

"I—" Kagome flushed as she bit down on her lower lip. "I can't exactly do that. It's hard to explain," she added, waving a hand when he opened his mouth to respond. "But I can't. Not about this, not with things as they are."

"Hnn." He stared down at her for a moment, but finally relented. "I have not scented anything abnormal," he responded slowly, as though he, too, were now considering the question with as much intrigue as Kagome held for it. "She scents as most humans do. What nuances there are are not helpful in locating—"

Kagome held up a hand. "She smells like normal humans?" Her voice was nearly inaudible.

He inclined his head slightly. 

"So..." She took a breath. "She doesn't have the scent of death?"

"No." His answer seemed to cause the world to cave in around her, but if he said anything else, she didn't hear it.

Somehow, this version of Kikyo was alive.

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"You know something of her origins," Sesshomaru stated then, his expression shrewd as he watched her. If she didn't know any better, she'd have guessed that he was miffed that she knew something he didn't.

Helpless to do anything else in that moment, Kagome blurted, "I do. Well, it's more accurate to say that I have some very strong suspicions," she added, quickly holding up her hands, "but I don't have any obvious explanations yet as to how she's alive. It shouldn't be possible and yet—"

"You know who she is." He eyed her as she remained silent, uncertain if she should reveal everything now. "Yet she herself is unaware of that."

She flinched, guilt swarming her. 

"You're hiding this from the others, as well." Sesshomaru seemed to know exactly what to say to make Kagome wallow about ruefully. "Do you truly believe you are the only one who should possess this information?"

Kagome nibbled her lower lip as she continued to dither over whether or not to tell Sesshomaru everything, trying and failing to shake off her own self-condemnation. Truthfully, InuYasha should be the first to know, given his history with Kikyo, but it wasn't as though she could just walk up and hit him with that, either. Not after everything that had happened. Not when Kikyo herself didn't know—

"She has Rin." Sesshomaru's lips thinned. "I would caution you against keeping anything that might prove pertinent to her rescue."

And just like that, the wind left Kagome's sails. She could only hope now to mitigate the damage. "She's Kikyo." At his bewildered look, she continued, "Nanashi. She's Kikyo."

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She could not be, Sesshomaru thought, watching the miko for any signs of falsehood, but found none. 

He'd witnessed Kikyo's demise firsthand when Naraku had tossed her off a cliff so long ago. Furthermore, she had not been truly alive then, so it hardly stood to follow that this miko before them could have been the same he'd encountered before.

"I know that sounds crazy," Kagome said quickly, holding up her hands.

Crazy did not begin to explain the situation to his satisfaction, so he remained silent.

"But I'm serious," she continued. "Nanashi is Kikyo. I'm absolutely certain of that." She glanced around, as though expecting InuYasha to walk up any moment. Quickly, the miko laid out her suspicions, including Nanashi's appearance and the familiarity of her reiki. "After all," Kagome concluded, "didn't InuYasha even mistake her for Kikyo in the beginning?"

"Hnn." Sesshomaru inclined his head as he contemplated her suggestions.

Kagome began pacing, circling him as though he were her prey and she the predator. It was not an experience he found he particularly relished. "All the signs point to her being Kikyo," she added as though further explanation was required. "I don't know how she's alive, but she is, and she's definitely not a reincarnation."

She did not elaborate on that, though he found it odd that she was so certain. 

"It doesn't make any sense," she added, putting her hands up in the air. "Urasue never was able to fully bring someone back before, so how could Kikyo be back now? It—"

"Urasue?" He quirked a brow.

"Ah, right." She paused to quickly fill him in on Urasue before he finally nodded, satisfied. He'd heard rumors of a woman who'd been able to resurrect the dead—for a price—but had not been particularly interested at the time. After all, Urasue could do what Sesshomaru could already do with Tenseiga—but far less complete.

What need, therefore, did he have for an incomplete resurrection? 

He rose then, content he'd heard all he'd needed to, and made to leave.

"Hey!" she called after him, racing over to grab his arm and pull him to a stop. "Where are you going?"

"Where else?" he answered casually. "To tell InuYasha."

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"You can't do that," Kagome hissed, grabbing his arm and pulling him forcefully to a stop. "All we have are our own suspicions, right? You're going to hurt him for nothing."

Sesshomaru's brow raised. "You think deliberately concealing the truth from him, miko, would hurt him less?" he challenged with that arrogant smile of his.

She flinched. "I'm not trying to hide anything," she protested, but he didn't let her finish the thought.

"Hnn. One would think, miko," he continued, flipping a lock hair over one shoulder, "that you sought to conceal this information from him deliberately so as to ensure your own position at his side remains unchallenged."

Kagome glowered at him. "That's not it at all," she began, incensed. "I'm trying to protect him—"

"He is an adult." Sesshomaru lifted his chin. "He requires the trust of his pack, not the mothering from them."

She sighed heavily. "That's easy to say," she murmured, "when you don't know how much losing Kikyo hurt him." Twice.

"It is not your decision to make." With that, Sesshomaru strode over to the camp and InuYasha and Kagome was helpless to do anything but follow after him and hope she could help pick up the pieces of InuYasha's heart Sesshomaru was seconds from shattering.

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Before she could stop him, Sesshomaru barked out, "The other miko is Kikyo."

InuYasha froze. And then, after a moment, he snarled, "Like hell she is. Kikyo died—you were fucking there, too, I know you were! Nanashi ain't her and I won't have you ruining—"

"She is," Sesshomaru countered firmly. "As your other miko," he added as Kagome stiffened behind him. "Once you have confirmed that, you will renew your association and obtain the details of Rin's capture and disappearance."

"Seriously?" Kagome grabbed his arm, ignoring his answering growl as she did so. "That's why you did this? Even if she is Kikyo, she doesn't remember anything, you ass! This isn't helping anyone!" Her volume was loud enough now that the entire camp could hear them, though Sesshomaru himself did not particularly care if she drew attention to them.

He was here for one reason only: Rin.

And he would have his answers.

"Sesshomaru-sama," Kohaku spoke up then and they all turned to see him and Shippo standing beside Nanashi.

The other miko had passed out.

Kagome cursed before she strode over, checking over the miko all the while pausing occasionally to glare daggers at Sesshomaru. The daiyokai himself was nonplussed by her ire—he cared about only one thing right then and that was finding Rin.

But he found that he also did not enjoy the miko's ire when it was directed his way. Some years before, back when he'd regularly battled with his brother, her ire had either amused him or been of no consequence whatsoever. Now, however, it bothered him in a way he could not express.

"Something's wrong," Kagome spoke up then as she stepped away from Nanashi. "She's breathing, but it's not natural. It's like..." She paused to shrug helplessly. "It's almost like she's been drugged." She worried her lower lip. "You don't think... You don't think hearing her name did that, do you?" she asked quietly. 

It all seemed to hit InuYasha then as he sagged to the ground in shock. "She...she really is Kikyo, isn't she?"

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Kagome could almost feel InuYasha's pain as her own. He'd slumped down on the ground beside Kikyo, one hand outstretched as though he wanted to reach for her but feared she might disappear if she did. If she'd had any hopes left of anything blooming between her and InuYasha, the last vestiges died a quiet death at that image.

It was clear to her now, more than ever, that Kikyo would always be not just his first love, but his greatest love.

There was no place at all for her between them.

"She's breathing," she reminded InuYasha, hoping it would help soothe some of his pain. This version of Kikyo wasn't dead—nor would she be, if Kagome had any say at all in the situation. 

InuYasha remained silent, staring at Kikyo as though she were all he could see or hear.

She looked over at Sesshomaru, frustrated by his handling of the entire situation, but the daiyokai simply seemed peeved that Kikyo had managed to knock herself out and couldn't answer any more of his questions.

Irritating yokai.

She couldn't shake off the feeling, either, that hearing her name had somehow caused Kikyo to black out. As nonsensical as it seemed, the timing alone seemed suspicious. Had someone wanted to conceal the truth of Kikyo's past and origins from her?

"Will she be okay?" Kohaku asked softly, gently supporting Kikyo's head on his lap. 

Kagome remembered then that he'd traveled with Kikyo for some time during the days of Naraku and, aside from InuYasha himself, probably knew her better than anyone else. "I think so," Kagome said. "Physically, at least, nothing seems to be wrong with her, but I'm not sure why she hasn't woken up yet."

Kohaku nodded.

"Jinenji!" Shippo hopped to his feet. "He might have something that can help!"

It was at least, she thought, a plan, and she nodded. Sesshomaru and Rin would just have to wait for now, because without Kikyo, they didn't know where to go to find Rin. They needed her.

InuYasha recovered enough to carry her, but he said little about the whole situation as he lifted Kikyo in his arms. Kagome had the feeling that he probably wouldn't have much to say at all until Kikyo awoke and then, he'd probably want to talk to her, first.

She just hoped it wouldn't put Rin in harm's way while they waited.

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Jinenji took in their sudden arrival with his customary aplomb. He waved them in, settling Kikyo over on his bedding and tending to her with the utmost care. When he finally turned back to them, his expression was bemused as he scratched his head.

"Well?" InuYasha demanded, folding his arms across his chest. His old protective instincts seemed to be in full-force once again now that Kikyo was identified and returned to him. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know." Jinenji sighed heavily. "Physically, there does not appear to be anything wrong with her. I can't find any hint of illness or injury."

"Well she ain't just unconscious for fun!" InuYasha growled. 

Kagome put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "If it's not an injury," she mused, studying Kikyo's prone body, "then it has to be a curse. Some sort of failsafe or something." She stepped closer to Kikyo, certain that if it was a curse, her reiki would discover it.

"Then why didn't you help before?" InuYasha was incensed, but then again, his emotions never seemed to be in check when Kikyo was involved.

Kagome pushed away the old hurt; she was used to it. "Because we had to make sure she was okay first," she said patiently, "and I'm still in training. Jinenji knows what he's doing there and he was closer than Kaede-bachan to help."

InuYasha sighed, disgruntled, but bit back the rest of his protest as Sesshomaru nudged him aside. "Well?" he demanded of Kagome, his voice icy. "Break it, miko."

Kagome took a deep breath. He's worried about Rin, she reminded herself. He may be an ass, but he's probably really worried about her. "Of course," she returned evenly, smiling at the daiyokai. "Time is of the essence, after all, since she knows where Rin is."

"Rin is missing?" Jinenji spoke up quietly, looking distraught at the news.

"She was kidnapped," Kohaku explained to the hanyo quietly. Both he and Shippo awkwardly patted the horse hanyo's arms when he let out a small wail at the news. 

Allowing the two boys to comfort the oddly distraught hanyo, Kagome turned her attention back to Kikyo. "Well," she said cheerfully, "I suppose I should really get down to business." She reached out to touch Kikyo's arm, her hand pink glowing with the strength of her reiki.

Without warning, she was thrown back against the wall of the hut and it was only Sesshomaru's quick movements that kept her from slamming into it instead of his own body.

"Well, hell," Kagome cursed, grunting as her muscles protested the abuse from the force of the blow. "That's not good."

Sesshomaru raised a brow. "Indeed."

Kikyo's curse was powerful. 

"I need to think," Kagome muttered, ignoring InuYasha's questions about what was wrong. She straightened and moved towards the door.

"I find that when I can't think," Jinenji's mother suddenly announced from the corner of the room, "some really good sex helps put things right. Do I have any volunteers?"

Chapter Text

Kagome stood outside in the garden, trying to puzzle out a solution for Kikyo. It struck her as oddly ironic that this was the second time she had to purify the miko, though this time, at least, Kikyo hadn't gone out of her way to antagonize Kagome in the process.

Jinenji hovered in the background, collecting herbs and tending to his garden, and it seemed to give him some peace of mind. He was quiet and let her think, and besides, this was his place, so she wasn't about to ask him to leave or move off on her own.

Kohaku and Shippo had been put to work by Jinenji's mother for something, though Kagome hadn't stuck around to figure out what, and InuYasha was maintaining a staunch vigil over Kikyo now that he knew who she was.

"Something to break the seal," she mumbled, nibbling her lower lip. The seal had responded negatively to her power, so it couldn't be as simple as overriding it with her own reiki and will. If that would have worked, she wouldn't have been tossed across the room in the first place.

So what, then?

What could she do?

"The seal had an unusual bite to it." She began slowly pacing along the paths in the garden. "Almost as if..." 

"As if what?" a familiar voice demanded acerbically behind her. "Surely you are not intending to keep secrets, miko."

She turned to glower at Sesshomaru, unappreciative of his attitude and interruption. If Rin's well-being wasn't on the line, she'd have been tempted to give into the urge to purify him. "Don't just sneak up on people like that, Sesshomaru!"

"Hnn." He ran his fingers through a lock of hair. "As if what, miko," he pressed, undeterred.

Kagome put her hands in the air. "Seriously," she grumbled, giving him a sour look. She sighed after a moment and gave in. "The seal Kikyo has on her is really unusual. I've never quite seen anything like it, honestly, and I'm not even sure how they managed it, but it's almost as if the seal was made with both reiki and yoki."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. "So it is possible," he murmured, staring off into the distance.

Clearly, he knew more than he was letting on.

Impatience gripped her. "What is?" 

"For the powers to blend," he said, glancing down at her as he shrugged one shoulder. "I had heard rumors as of late, but nothing tangible had manifested."

"And you didn't say anything because...?" She put her hands on her hips.

"It was not relevant to Rin's disappearance before." He did not seem the least repentant. "Come, miko. Let us see the truth of this ourselves."

She reached out to hold him still. "If it's true," she stressed, "then it's going to require both of us to working together to break it. I hope you're prepared for that, Sesshomaru."

"Hnn." He did not say anything else as they made their way back to the hut, but she saw the glimmer of curiosity in his eyes all the same.

Chapter Text

InuYasha hovered nearby, his expression protective as he kept one hand on Tessaiga. He had reluctantly agreed to let them both examine Kikyo again after Kagome had explained the situation, but he wasn’t happy about it.

“Are you ready?” Kagome turned to Sesshomaru, waiting for his short nod before she allowed her reiki to surge forth. 

His yoki rose in answer to hers and together, they reached for the unconscious miko before them.

His power felt heavy, thick, like an intense fog surrounding the area, and yet she was not harmed by it. Though his yoki was clearly immense—and had grown exponentially since their first conflict years before—there was no hostility in it at all.

Rather, all she could sense was curiosity as she tentatively reached for it, willing her own power to accept it rather than confront it.

As she reached for him, the fog of his yoki was suddenly illuminated, flashing around them like a violent lightning storm.

Yet neither of them were harmed. Despite the diametric opposition of their power, the manifestation of their innate abilities rose in a storm of synergy rather than conflict.

Her eyes met his, a swirling storm of fiery crimson.

He felt it, too.

She knew it as surely as her own name.

But this was not the time to examine the odd connection of their powers. Right now, they needed to find Rin.

And to do that, they had to break the seal on Kikyo.

Kagome turned to the other miko, pressing her lips together as she concentrated on directing the storm towards Kikyo.

It slowly shifted, like a raging typhoon reluctantly changing direction with the winds. 

But as it descended on Kikyo in a column of smoke and fog, the seal within her suddenly ignited. Tucked away at the base of her throat, it must have been placed by two with considerable power to subjugate Kikyo directly. 

Kagome and Sesshomaru were stronger.

She directed more of her reiki towards the seal, trusting Sesshomaru to follow behind her with his yoki.

And he did. Power blazed into the seal until it finally began to splinter before their eyes, helpless to resist the rising tide.

It shattered in an explosion of purple light, accompanied by a faint red mist that Kagome suspected was the yoki that had helped create it.

Kagome wavered then. She had been both conduit and director of the power display, and though she had grown a lot in strength since the first days she’d tumbled down the well, even her body had its limits.

She was fast approaching hers.

Before she could stumble, a hard body was behind her, one hand wrapping around her shoulders to steady her.

But it was not InuYasha, who was already rushing forward to take Kikyo in his arms.

It was Sesshomaru, who took over directing their power until it slowly, reluctantly splintered and returned to each of them.

Not without, however, bringing a small piece of the other with them. Kagome could not explain what that meant, but she didn’t get the chance to ask as Kikyo finally opened her eyes.

“Kikyo!” InuYasha pulled her tighter against his chest, a faint sheen of tears on his cheeks. “You’re alright!”

Kikyo did not say anything, though one hand slowly moved to cling to InuYasha’s firerat sleeve with a familiarity Kagome had never had.

All they could do now was wait and see what she remembered now that the seal had been broken.

Kagome couldn’t help, however, but hope that, for InuYasha’s sake, that Kikyo fully returned to them and intended to stay.  

“How do you feel?” InuYasha asked as he fretted, looking her over for any signs that she wasn’t well. “Do you feel okay? Hell I don’t know many people who could have handled being blasted like that and—”

“I remember,” Kikyo finally murmured then, her expression carefully guarded.

“Remember what?” InuYasha looked hopeful—eager even—as he leaned forward, careful not to displace the woman in his arms. 

Kikyo’s expression was solemn then. “Everything.”

Chapter Text

InuYasha's ears flickered as he started down at the woman he loved, holding her in his arms as the most precious thing he'd ever had. He'd lost her twice—he wouldn't survive losing her again.

But this woman before him had suffered. He knew that as readily as he knew who she was. The melancholy in her eyes spoke of a pain even he couldn't understand, let alone reach, but InuYasha could not, would not, abandon her again.

No matter what she'd done, he'd be by her side. He would do anything he could just to see her smile again, to have the future they'd once dreamed of together so long ago. A life for the two of them in a place where it didn't matter that she was a miko and he a hanyo.

A place where they could just simply be. 

"Talk to me," he pleaded, pulling her closer to him. Her withdrawal was almost more than he could stand. "What happened after..." After Naraku killed you, he wanted to say, but he couldn't get the words past his lips and speak them into being.

Kikyo buried her face in his chest, shaking her head as her heart pounded away. He hugged her fiercely to him, willing whatever comfort he could give her then to help her calm down—

And then he realized something he thought he would never sense again: Kikyo's heartbeat. 

He could hear her heartbeat. In all the time they'd been together since her resurrection, he'd never once felt her heartbeat, never seen a hint of blood on her face. And yet now, he could feel it, pounding away within her chest.

She was alive.

Kikyo was alive!

Under any other circumstance, he would have crushed her to him, spinning her around jubilantly at this second chance at a life together. But the misery within Kikyo, the scent of her tears, drew him out of the bliss the revelation had given him.

"The seal... Enju," Kikyo finally managed, her pain real. "We have been enslaved by..." She shook her head. "They resurrected me and..." She pulled back just enough for InuYasha to see the misery on her face before dropping her head in shame. "You don't know what I've done, InuYasha. What they forced me to do. I do not deserve—"

"I don't give a shit what they forced you do to." He reached out to cup her chin, oblivious to anyone else in the room but her. Slowly, he raised her chin to meet his gaze. "Hell, I ain't without bloodshed on my own hands, Kikyo, but that didn't stop you from seeing me different when we met."

Kikyo shook her head. "You don't understand, InuYasha." She tried to push him away, but he wouldn't let her go. "You can't possibly understand." As her rage and sorrow grew, so, too, did her power. The reiki that was so familiar to him now swelled around her, far diminished from what it had once been. However she'd been revived, it had done something to her that he couldn't understand.

Kikyo had been so powerful, so how had she—

And then he felt it. There, rising along with her reiki, was a hint of something he'd never expected to see within her.

Kikyo had yoki within her—enough of it that she was no longer human, let alone a pure miko.

Somehow, in some way, Kikyo had become a hanyo just like InuYasha.

Chapter Text

Kagome forcibly dragged Sesshomaru out of Jinenji's hut as Kikyo dissolved into tears. The miko she'd once known had been so strong, so determined, that it was hard to see her like this. No matter what Kikyo had been through before, she'd always risen above it, managing to conquer anything Naraku had thrown at her.

Until the end. No, Kagome corrected herself, Kikyo could have continued on, had known what Naraku would do, but chose to sacrifice herself to give Kohaku another chance at life. In the end, she'd redeemed herself for her past actions.

Or so Kagome had hoped.

Whatever Kikyo had been through following that second death must have been so much worse than what she'd been through before.

"Remove your hands, miko." Sesshomaru glowered at her as she dragged him away from the hut. "Now."

"Don't make me shoot you," Kagome grumbled, giving him a dark look. "Right now, Kikyo's in no place to answer any of your questions," she added when he attempted to turn back to the hut. "She's clearly been through some stuff, Sesshomaru. Let InuYasha calm her down first before we begin asking questions."

His eyes flared red. "Rin is in danger, woman—"

"Yes," Kagome said quietly, "she is." There was no point in lying or denying that, not when it was obvious that no one would have gone through all the trouble of resurrecting both Kikyo and Enju again and then twisting them into some sort of hanyo. The seal that had been placed on Kikyo alone would have taken both planning and power to set into place. 

She was abruptly glad now that Shippo and Kohaku had been given busy work by Jinenji's mother. The rage that Sesshomaru allowed to fly free in the form of yoki was so palpable that even Kagome had trouble standing on her own two feet.

Shippo and Kohaku would probably have been flattened by it.

"That's enough," she told him, reaching out to grab him by his ear like he was an unruly mortal dog. She gave him a quick shake, ignoring the way his ruby gaze bore into hers. "Whatever you think you're doing, Sesshomaru, it's not helping Rin. Knock it off."

His teeth set as he glared at her, but Kagome refused to be intimidated. She gave him another good shake before she released him to fold her arms across her chest. "I will not see Rin harmed," he finally managed through gritted teeth.

Her expression softened. "I don't want to see her hurt, either." Or anyone else, she added privately, but she doubted Sesshomaru truly cared about any of the other victims who'd been stolen away from their homes as Rin had. 

He tucked his hands into his own sleeves as he finally turned to glance up at the sky. "She would not have been taken," he admitted then, so quietly she had to strain to hear him, "if it had not been for my actions."

Kagome's mouth fell open. "What do you mean, it's all your fault?" she demanded, reaching out to tug on his arm.

He was silent for so long that she wondered if he intended to answer her at all. Finally, he murmured, "Did she not speak of what happened during my last visit?"

Slowly, Kagome shook her head. Rin hadn't said anything, though it had been obvious to everyone that she'd been upset. She'd snuck out of the village a few days later, evidently intent on seeking out Koga and his wolves for reasons no one could understand. Though Koga had more or less made reparations for what had happened to Rin—a backstory they'd learned about after Kagome's return to the Feudal Era—Rin had never been entirely comfortable around the wolves, and slowly, his visits had ceased altogether. 

So why had she sought him out?

"What happened, Sesshomaru?" Kagome pressed when Sesshomaru remained silent. He was clearly suffering under the weight of his guilt, which helped explain why he'd been so ruthless in seeking Rin out.

It was his penance for whatever he felt he'd done wrong.

"She asked to speak with me." Sesshomaru remained stiff, his eyes staring out into the distance. Kagome couldn't help but wonder what he was seeing, what the world looked like through his eyes. He might be an arrogant ass most of the time, but he cared for Rin as well as InuYasha, in his own way, and, in a way, he'd softened a lot since the days of Naraku. He wouldn't have been quite so overbearing if he hadn't cared for Rin as much as he did. 

Kagome remained silent, pressing her lips together to prevent herself from asking again. Something told her that if she did, he would clam up completely, and she couldn't deny that she wanted to know what had happened that had caused Rin to flee the village she'd lived in since Naraku's defeat.

"I assumed she wished for a favor." One hand moved to run over his mokomoko as he spoke. "Such concerns are usually voiced to Jaken, who indulges her."

But this time, she'd asked you, Kagome filled in, watching him. Just what had Rin asked?

As though to answer her unspoken question, he continued, "She spoke of her feelings, those she should not have. It was an infatuation, one that she had deluded herself into believing it was more." His hand tightened in his fur. "But she was certain of it. She refused to be disabused. She pleaded." He shook his head slightly. "But it would never be. It could not be." His jaw tightened. "She will always be the child I first saw in my eyes."

Kagome could feel his pain as though it were her own as she took note of the ruby and turquoise hues in his eyes. 

And then suddenly, she understood.

"She confessed to you." Kagome's mouth fell open then as realization hit her. How had none of them ever realized? "And after you rejected her, you think she went east to the wolves to die as her family had."

Sesshomaru could only silently incline his head in agreement. 

Chapter Text

Kagome moved then and, without thinking, reached out to slap Sesshomaru squarely across the face. "Are you stupid?" she hissed as he gaped at her in astonishment. "Rin's not an idiot. Sure, her feelings were probably hurt, and there's no way around that, but she's not just going to saunter up Koga's mountain and ask to die. If she'd wanted that, Kaede has a dozen different plants in her hut that could have done the job a lot faster and easier, you idiot!"

"Then why else would she have sought the wolves out?" he hissed back, his eyes tinged crimson. "She wished to end her own life simply for the sake of her misplaced adolescent feelings for—"

"Maybe she just wanted a change of scenery," Kagome fired back, putting her hands on her hips. "Maybe she just needed some time. I don't know, but neither do you! Your damned pity party isn't helping anyone."

Sesshomaru's jaw ticked. "Miko—"

"Kagome," she corrected, her own ire rising.

He ignored her correction. "You clearly do not understand. Rin is—"

"Not dead as far as we know," she interrupted, giving him a stern look. "She may well be hurt or worse, but we don't know anything right now, Sesshomaru. Kikyo does, and we'll ask her what happened as soon as she is ready to talk."

"I will not wait." Sesshomaru moved to step around her, but Kagome forcibly pushed him back as he gaped at her. "Rin is in danger—"

Kagome drew in a sharp breath. "And Kikyo needs some time to sort everything out. She's been through some pretty traumatic stuff herself," she reminded the daiyokai with all the patience she had remaining. "I know you're worried, and I know you fear the worst, but Rin was alive when Kikyo last saw her. That's something, at least."

"I will not allow Rin to die again." Sesshomaru's eyes were blazing. "I will seek her out regardless of the cost and ensure that she is returned safely—"

"Right back to the village where you'll leave her again." Kagome removed the kid gloves. "I know you mean well, but Rin's not a child any longer. You can't just take her back to the village and expect her to stay there where nothing can ever happen to her again."

He visibly faltered, almost as if he'd never quite anticipated that might be an issue. "You think she will go back to the wolves and attempt to end her own life again."

"That's not what I said." She lifted her chin as she stared up at him. "I don't think Rin was trying to do that to begin with, anyway. Like I said, it makes no sense."

"We will not know for certain," he countered, "until she is removed from those who would abuse her."

That much, Kagome could concede, though she didn't like doing so. "That's probably true," she said, belatedly realizing her hands were still on his chest from when she'd pushed him back. She withdrew, surprised that she hadn't even noticed before then. "But acting like this isn't going to help us save her any faster, Sesshomaru. Let InuYasha talk to her first. Trust me," she added as he opened his mouth, "I'm worried about Rin, too. Heartbreak is always hard, especially when it's your first crush." She remembered all too well her own with InuYasha. "But we need to be smart about this. Kikyo might withdraw if we push her too hard right now. Or worse." She waved a hand. "She's still so weak."

He considered that for a moment, breathing in and out deeply for several moments. Finally, he conceded, "Very well. However," he added just as Kagome began relax, "if she does not advise of Rin's fate by sunrise, I will obtain the answer from her my way."

As he glowered down at her, Kagome privately hoped it wouldn't come to that. She had the feeling it would result in a fight between the two brothers neither of them could really afford right now, and would do little to help improve the situation for Rin.

Chapter Text

"I won't let anyone hurt you again," InuYasha promised the one woman he'd loved more than life itself. For Kikyo, he would have given up everything—even all that had made him hanyo. For her, he would have thrown his heritage and his inheritance aside.

And Kikyo would have done the same.

"I don't care that you're a hanyo now," he continued, slowly rocking her in his arms. None of that mattered to him; he'd loved her as a miko, even when her power could have destroyed him, and he loved her now as a hanyo woman. "I'll help you with this, Kikyo."

She dissolved into tears in his arms. For the first time he could recall, Kikyo fully broke down, clinging to him as though he were the only safety she knew.

And he would keep her safe. No matter what she'd done, no matter how terrible it was, InuYasha would not let anything else terrible happen to her again. He'd failed her twice with Naraku.

He wouldn't fail her a third time.

"I've done terrible things," she managed against his chest, her tears not ceasing. "You don't know how terrible, InuYasha."

"I don't care," he told her, burying his face in her neck. "The woman I loved would have done anything she could to protect and aid others, even at great cost to herself. Far as I can tell, Kikyo, that same woman is here before me now, punishing herself for what she couldn't control when she was being manipulated and controlled by others."

Kikyo finally looked up at him, a tiny hint of hope in her eyes, her expressions for once plain on her face. She was terrified that he might cast her aside, but she didn't feel as though she had a right to be with him, either.

"You loved me when I was a monster," he reminded her then, thinking back to that day so long ago when he'd been prepared to kill her over the jewel. "You loved and accepted me then, Kikyo, and brought me back. Let me do the same for you now."

She shook her head before dropping her head back into his chest. "What I've done is worse—"

"I don't care," he repeated firmly. "Whatever you've done, Kikyo, we'll face it together. I won't leave you alone again."

The tears streaming down her face began to slow. "Say that again," she told him, sobering as she glanced back up at him, "when you've heard what I have done, InuYasha, with the young people I stole away for them." She slowly shook her head as she winced.

"Then tell me." He gently reached out to wipe her tears away. "I'll listen, Kikyo. To all of it."

As his fingers slowly stroked over her face, she parted her lips and, voice hardening to the strong woman he'd always known, she slowly began to tell him everything that had happened since the men who had found the remains of her corpse had resurrected her along with Enju's help.

And InuYasha, as he'd promised, listen to every word, no matter how terrible.

Chapter Text

Kagome allowed Sesshomaru to hover just outside the window of the house, but only just—and only because the thrice-damned daiyokai refused to allow himself to be moved any further. He would have his answers, but Kagome couldn't entirely blame his dogged determination, either. 

He cared for Rin as deeply as Kagome cared for any of her friends—as much, if not more so, than Kagome herself cared for Rin. She would have been just as infuriated as he if something had happened to her friends or their families. 

"The dragon brothers found Enju," Kikyo spoke quietly, her face half-buried into InuYasha's chest. No doubt Sesshomaru heard her clearly, but Kagome had to strain to hear every word. "They came from the mainland after they learned of Naraku's defeat. And when they found her..." She shook her head. "They have subjugation beads they brought with them, ones that do not require reiki. All they need is to bind it to yoki within a being, and they can dictate what that being does."

Kikyo paused to rub her own wrist with her fingers as though something about it bothered her. Or at least that was what Kagome assumed; she'd never noticed Kikyo having a nervous tick before. "Once worn long enough, they become bound to the being themselves. So were mine. And so are Enju's." She sighed as she drew back from InuYasha, though he did not allow her to pull entirely free of his hold. "And then, there is no escape. Not until now."

No doubt, Kagome thought with sympathy for her friend, InuYasha was struggling with the recent events every bit as much as Sesshomaru was. InuYasha's chosen mate had been stolen from him by Naraku—not once, but twice. And now, with Kikyo returned to him once more, InuYasha had to be struggling with both the desire to protect her, and the desire to right the wrongs done by those who had stolen her remains and brought her back to the living once more.

"I'll fucking kill them," InuYasha snarled, but quieted instantly when Kikyo lay a calming hand on his arm.

"There's four of them, InuYasha." Kikyo shook her head slightly. "Even Kagura and Kanna could do little after they, too, were raised from the dead by the brothers. Like Enju and I, they are slaves to the brothers' will. And what they will..." Kikyo let out a small sigh. "The human teenagers we have taken are held prisoner, to be bartered out to the yokai lords and those of power as trophies or tribute, though I am certain that is not their only plan for those children, nor for the lords, for that matter."

Sesshomaru's claws dug into the wood sill of the window he stood before, acid slowly dripping out of them and onto the soil beneath. Nothing would grow there for some time, Kagome was certain, but at least he kept his homicidal tendencies to the sill only. 

If Kikyo did not reveal Rin's fate quickly, however, Kagome doubted that would remain the case.

"Some are kept as personal attendants or servants, but others..." Kikyo's eyes watered again. "You cannot forgive me for this, InuYasha. I cannot forgive myself." Her fingers dug into her wrist until she drew faint lines of blood. "I can still see all of their faces..."

InuYasha ran his hands soothingly over her back, but his face was tight with pain. "We'll fix it, Kikyo—"

"No." Kikyo shook her head as she raised her eyes, now blazing with the yoki her hanyo body contained. "We'll kill them, InuYasha. Every last brother will die for what they've done." And then Kikyo turned to meet Sesshomaru's gaze herself, a canine peeking through her lips as she curled her upper lip. Even her claws flexed, now visible as her yoki blazed round her. "We'll kill them, and we'll free everyone from their clutches—including Rin."

Chapter Text

Sesshomaru's claws flexed as he turned away from the hut. Bloodlust surged so rapidly within him that it took all his self-control to not transform into his true form and demolish every being alive who had led to Rin's circumstances.

As it was, if he did not leave now, he would ensure Kikyo perished before his eyes.

Again.

She was solely response for Rin's abduction, as far as he was concerned. Perhaps she had been revived and coerced, but that did not absolve her of her actions, nor her responsibility to fix them. No matter why she had stolen away Rin, the fact remained that, if not for her actions, Rin would have safely returned home.

Fortunately for Kikyo, Sesshomaru did not require her aid in saving Rin. Her last comment to InuYasha before Sesshomaru had turned away was that the kidnappers lay to the east. Sesshomaru's instincts and senses could no doubt track Rin from there on his own.

It did not matter to him that he was depriving Kikyo and InuYasha of their own need for vengeance. If they were foolish enough to delay claiming it, then they did not deserve such an opportunity when it might cost Rin further trauma—or her life.

He would ensure that when he found the dragon yokai responsible, he would eradicate them all—along with any other yokai or humans who had foolishly accepted the stolen gifts they had been given. None of them deserved to live.

As clouds formed beneath his feet, a hand suddenly reached out to grab his upper arm and futilely attempt to hold him back.

"Release me, miko," he growled without darting a look back at the infernal woman.

Her answer was instantaneous. "No."

"If you do not, I will leave. Should you be injured in the process, you have only yourself to blame," he informed her, jaw clenching.

"You can't just leave like this, Sesshomaru. You don't even know where they are," she replied, stepping closer.

That was irrelevant. He would locate the dragon brothers themselves. Now that he knew who they were, it was no longer an insurmountable task. His reason now for traveling alongside InuYasha and his mikos no longer applied. "I will find them. Release my arm."

"You're not going alone," she told him firmly, moving to stand in front of him while maintaining her hold on his arm. "If you insist on leaving, I'm coming with you." She waved one hand towards her bag, showing she was packed and ready, and thoroughly determined to make good on her words.

He opened his mouth, ready to refuse, but the sound of his brother moving to open the door decided the matter for him. He would not stand here, arguing with the miko, and risk his brother's interference. "Very well."

Before she had a chance to change her mind, he launched them both into the air on his cloud.

Chapter Text

Kagome shouldered her backpack, her hands firmly on the straps lest it fly off and fall, given the rate of speed they were traveling. Sesshomaru was clearly in no mood to travel slow, not that Kagome could entirely blame him.

Rin was in danger, after all—as were other adolescents the dragon brothers had kidnapped—and Sesshomaru believed himself solely responsible for her circumstances. 

It was ridiculous, of course. Rin had chosen to leave on her own, just as she'd chosen to confess her feelings to Sesshomaru knowing that he may well end up rebuffing her, as he ultimately had. Sesshomaru was no more responsible for Rin's choice to leave than he was Rin's choice in confessing to him.

But she doubted she'd be able to convince Sesshomaru of the logic in that, at least not until Rin's safety had been assured.

She didn't waste her time with platitudes, either, that Sesshomaru clearly would be in no mood to hear as he flew them east. Instead, unable to handle the silence any longer, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, "Why haven't you married yet, Sesshomaru?"

He stared down at her, eyes wide. "If you seek to proposition me as well, miko, you have wasted your time in insisting upon prevailing upon me to carry you. I would sooner allow you to fall than mate with you."

Kagome gritted her teeth, thoroughly irked by his presumption. "I wasn't asking," she informed him hotly, ready to defend herself against the pompous male who had leapt to the most ludicrous conclusion possible. "I was—"

"Then you are blind," he said so arrogantly that her mouth actually fell open. "I am perfection itself, miko, now that I have come into my power. Am I not the most beautiful being you have seen? Males and females alike have petitioned to become this one's partner."

If they weren't flying on a cloud, Kagome might have taken her arrows that had been secured in a quiver at the bottom of her bag and tried to shoot him with one. Or stab him with the pointed tip. Both were viable options—if it wasn't for the likely possibility of falling to her demise immediately afterward. "A beautiful appearance is only skin-deep," she said through gritted teeth. "As nice as it is to look at, Sesshomaru, no one wants to spend their lives with an ass that lies behind the pretty face."

He sniffed. "Mating does not require one to like their partner. All that is required is that one finds one's partner pleasing enough to bed."

"Never mind." Kagome held up one hand. "I understand why you're not married, Sesshomaru." Only an idiot would willingly tie themselves to someone so self-centered, let alone someone who valued so little the comfort or needs of his partner. She had the feeling he'd never once considered his partner's pleasure when bedding them, believing that they should simply be grateful he was allowing the partner to have sex with him at all.

The prick.

"Then you understand," he said with a drawn-out sigh. "It has been difficult locating a suitable partner worthy of one such as I."

Don't purify him; you'll fall and die. Don't purify him; you'll fall and die, Kagome chanted inside her head. After a moment, she managed a saccharine tone as she said, "It sounds as though you've truly suffered here, Sesshomaru."

"You could not begin to fathom, miko," he answered, his voice low. 

In that, at least, Kagome could admit that she agreed with him. He would no doubt continue to suffer over it, too, but she had no sympathy at all for him. He may not have deserved to stress about Rin's kidnapping, but as far as she was concerned, the pompous prick absolutely deserved to suffer over his failed struggles to secure a mate.

Chapter Text

Traveling with Sesshomaru without the accompaniment of Shippo, Kohaku, Jaken, Ah-Un, and InuYasha was odd to say the least. It was far quieter, for one thing, and for another, Sesshomaru clearly had no interest in indulging her nor seeing to her own needs. Kagome had to demand they take breaks when she needed to, as well as having to forcibly remind him of her need to eat.

And yet she didn't regret following after him, either. Watching InuYasha and Kikyo together, even long after Kagome had given up on a relationship with him, was still awkward at best and uncomfortable at worst. And she could concede that they hadn't been making the best time as a larger group, as much as it behooved her to do. Frankly, she was surprised Sesshomaru had willingly traveled with the group for as long as he had to begin with. Sesshomaru was so driven to find Rin that there was no way he would fail, either. 

All in all, traveling with him made the most sense, but she admitted, if at least to herself, that her biggest reason for insisting on coming along was that she was pretty certain Sesshomaru was going to do something stupid once he finally found Rin.

"It's getting late," she noted towards the end of the second day, glancing around for somewhere that would make an adequate shelter that night. "We should make camp, Sesshomaru."

"We are almost there," he replied without even glancing at her. "Surely your stamina is not so fleeting to be incapable of traveling another few hours. I, after all, am the one doing the work."

She gave him a dirty look, not that it did her any good for all the attention he paid her. All of their conversations since they'd left Jinenji's hut had either focused on his suitability as a mate even though he desired none, and his resignation to the frequent interruption of her human needs. "No one's debating that," she said pointedly, "but if you want to continue on for a few more hours, we're still going to have to stop now."

She held back on telling him why she needed the break, but there was absolutely no way she could go another two hours as things were. They wouldn't even be arriving to where Rin was, so while she could appreciate his desire to rush, they would still have to track the brothers down before they could finally rescue Rin.

He exhaled loudly. "Must we?" he countered dryly. "Are you so weak that you truly cannot continue on without a break?"

Kagome reminded herself yet again that using her reiki on Sesshomaru while they were flying together on his cloud would be a very, very stupid idea. "No," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm tired, I have a kink in my neck and back from staying in this position so long, I'm cold and I'm hungry, but more than all of that, Sesshomaru, I really, really have to pee, okay!"

If she hadn't been on a cloud, she'd have stomped her foot in her fire, far too irked to be embarrassed by the blunt words.

Sesshomaru, however, did flush—if only just. "Hnn," he said after a moment, his cloud slowly lowering. "Then we will take a break, miko—albeit a short one," he cautioned sternly as she opened her mouth to respond. "Rin cannot wait much longer."

Neither could Kagome's bladder, but she bit back the reminder, given the seriousness of the situation. She'd make this break quick, she promised them both silently, and then in a few hours they could begin the investigation to hunt down and flush out the dragon brothers who had stolen Rin and the other children.

Whether the dragons realized it or not, their days were numbered.

Chapter Text

The dragon brothers' lair smelled of sulfur and metal deep within the cave system that they had located to the east. Sesshomaru had been willing to slay anyone associated with the dragons to get the answers he sought, but Kagome had tried another approach. She had gone into the local villages as a miko and simply asked if they had any problematic yokai in the area.

After visiting two villages, the third had provided the information they needed.

Sesshomaru flew down the cave, unwilling to wait when Rin was no doubt so close now.

At least, Kagome thought as she clung to his fur, he hadn't left her behind.

The path inside the cave suddenly shifted vertical, but Sesshomaru did not so much as slow. He flew down it to land in the center of a large cavern to find two dragon brothers—and Enju, bound in a corner and looking as absently forward as Kikyo had when they'd found her.

"Where is Rin?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"Don't know her." One of the dragons, a red male by the looks of him, laughed. "See so many girls here."

"Oniisan," the other dragon, a green one, said, nudging the first, "doesn't he look like that yokai that one girl said would come for her?"

"She does," the elder brother confirmed, a smirk on his lips. "You just missed her, you know."

The fight that broke out then was inevitable. Kagome left Sesshomaru to handle the two dragons as she made her way over to free Enju. 

Sesshomaru could take care of himself.

"Hey, Enju. Remember me?" Kagome asked softly when she reached the other woman.

She was not surprised by the blank look she received as she undid the bindings. She only hoped Enju's seal could be broken as Kikyo's had.

In a mere matter of moments, Sesshomaru had the elder dragon up in the air, his throat crushed beneath Sesshomaru's claws as they pierced the red dragon's skin. "Where is she?" Sesshomaru snarled, shaking the dragon he gripped as the doku made its way through the dragon's body.

With his dying breath, the elder dragon choked out, "Not here." He looked smug. "S-sold... Good luck...finding her."

Sold? Kagome pulled a freed Enju to her feet as her worst fears about Rin's fate were confirmed.

Sesshomaru crushed the dragon's throat between his claws, but he received no further answers from the younger dragon. 

Kagome led Enju over to Sesshomaru, his jaw tight as he surveyed the bodies of the two dragons. "We'll find her," she said, moving to pat his arm reassuringly, though she doubted he'd accept such comfort from her. "We'll find her, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru said nothing, his yoki barely under control as he flew them all out of the cavern.

Kagome's heart went out to him, but she didn't make another attempt to reassure him then. Perhaps when Enju's seal was broken, they'd know more about Rin's fate. For now, it was the only lead they had.

Chapter Text

Enju's seal broke just as Kikyo's had—and, like Kikyo, Enju had become a hanyo.

Enju's brown eyes were clouded for a moment as the seal snapped, but then she looked around with the same deep sorrow that Kikyo had displayed. "They're not here," was the first thing she said. "They're gone."

Sesshomaru reached out to grab Enju, but Kagome beat him to it, though she was still exhausted from the endeavor of freeing Enju after the fight. "Do you know where they went? Our friend was with them."

Enju shook her head. "They would know." She glanced down at the remains of the dragons. "There are four."

So we only got two of them. Kagome exhaled. "What do you know about them?"

The other woman glanced away. "If your friend is with them, you must hurry. The caravan left yesterday with the other two. There isn't a lot of time—"

"Who was she sold to?" Sesshomaru's claws were glowing green, but at least he had enough common sense not to lash out against Enju. She was as much a victim in this as Kikyo had been, enslaved to act against her will.

But Kagome couldn't help but wonder why. Reviving a miko was one thing, perhaps, in ensuring those they stole came willingly and could be safeguarded on their way here, but Enju was an average woman. Enju had learned from Urasue, but she hadn't mastered the craft of her master.

If Enju had been enslaved solely to bring back Kikyo, then why keep her alive after that?

"I don't know." Enju slumped, her eyes pained. "The brothers never discussed that."

"You do not know?" Sesshomaru snarled as Kagome gave him a quelling look. His ire was not going to help them find the answers they needed if he didn't start reining it in.

Enju shook her head.

"Do you know where they were heading?" Kagome asked gently. If they at least had a direction, it would be at least a start. 

After all, they'd only had a direction to begin with and yet had managed to locate two of the four brothers.

"Kyushu." Enju exhaled. "They always go to Kyushu with the caravan. After that..." She managed a wan expression. "I don't know, but they come back alone."

So the handoff was in Kyushu, Kagome thought. Otherwise, why take everyone there to begin with? There had to be some sort of contact there, either for the dragons to sell the people they stole directly to, or to act as a broker. If they couldn't find the dragons, they'd find the broker.

"She's coming with us," Kagome said to Sesshomaru then. "She can recognize the other brothers."

"There is no need. I am aware of their stench." Sesshomaru's jaw tightened. "Leave her. InuYasha and the other woman are not far behind. He can deal with her."

And then Sesshomaru turned to leave the cave, and it was all either woman could do to grab his fur and ensure they were not left behind. 

Chapter Text

Sesshomaru reached Kyushu mere hours later. He was well aware that both women had clung onto his fur, but he had been unwilling to slow long enough to dislodge the other woman who was wholly unnecessary to Rin's rescue. 

Any delay was intolerable.

Rin deserved more—more than he had been able to give her.

When he landed, his golden light vanishing as his feet touched the ground, he surveyed the outskirts of the city. Kyushu was not a yokai sanctuary, nor was it especially friendly to yokai to begin with. It was strange that the dragons had chosen to sell their captives here—strange, he thought, unless they were being sold to humans, not yokai. 

"I don't sense any yoki," the miko murmured as she stepped up to him.

He ignored her comment. It was little surprise the dragons had some way of concealing their yoki from reiki users, given how effortlessly they'd managed to ensnare a miko of their own. No doubt she'd had some hand in that whilst she'd been serving them.

But Sesshomaru was no miko. 

He could sense them. The trail was faint, but it was there deep within the city.

The other woman remained silent. It was the one intelligent thing she had done since her seal had been broken.

He searched, pinpointing the scent.

"I wonder if they're—" the miko began, giving him a look.

There!

Sesshomaru rushed forward, and this time, only the miko was quick enough to catch onto his fur.

Rin was just ahead of him. He would not fail her a second time.

He flew into an elaborate building, and it took him a moment to recognize it. Prostitution. There was no other explanation for the interior, and the male and female humans dressed in such a manner, rushing forward as soon as he entered the building.

Those same young prostitutes immediately recoiled when they noted his yokai appearance.

"How can we help you, young master?" A plump woman strode forward, her face elaborately painted. "What is your preference here today?" She glanced past him and spied the miko. "Or did you come here to sell one of your own? She looks a little old," the owner added dubiously.

Sesshomaru heard a whimper and caught the faint scent of Rin. He did not stop to think.

He punched the smiling face of the middle-aged proprietor hard enough to tumble the woman directly onto her rear on the floor.

Chapter Text

"The only reason you still live," Sesshomaru growled, eying the prone woman, "is to ensure I have located the one I seek." Her death would come once he ensured Rin was safe and secure but, for now, he was all too aware that she was of more use to him alive than dead.

It was the only reason he held back his punch to begin with. 

The manager struggled to her feet after a quick hiss to some of her 'employees' had them rushing over to help her. None of them, regrettably, was Rin. "For a fair price, I would be glad to sell one of them to you, my lord." She offered him a sweet smile, but the bruise on her cheek and swelling of her lips ruined the effect. 

He had no interest in her, of course. Before he could explain who he was seeking, however, the miko behind him spoke.

"You're not going to release one of them," she said, lifting her chin. "You're going to release all of them."

The proprietor's eyes widened as she glanced around at the young people around her. "Perhaps you do not understand how I do business, my—"

"Oh, I have an inkling." The miko lifted her chin. "I just don't care. I suggest you release them because that's the only way you're going to come out of this alive." She glanced over at Sesshomaru with an approving nod.

He did not require the miko's permission, but it was gratifying and oddly pleasing to have it nonetheless—particularly since he had no desire to keep this female alive.

Once he found Rin, he would dispatch of her.

Something told him the miko would not object.

The proprietor swallowed as she stared down. "I-I cannot afford to do that," she managed, her voice shaking. "They are sold here to this establishment, but it is owned by—"

"I don't care." The miko stared the other woman down. "My companion looks really antsy," she added, glancing over at Sesshomaru who allowed his claws to glow green with malicious compliance to her unspoken request, "so I suggest you start by bringing forward a girl known as Rin."

Acting as the miko's personal attack dog was less amusing, but his pride was a small price to pay if it meant that Rin would be returned to them. Truthfully, he had no interest in the other human children, but if aiding them helped recover Rin, then he would allow the miko to continue her intimidation of the proprietor.

She was handling it rather well, he had to admit.

The proprietor swallowed. "They're all renamed upon arrival," she said, taking a step back when Sesshomaru's claws began to visibly drip doku. "It is a rule here. Their old identities are left behind, never to be spoken of—"

"Then we'll find her ourselves." The miko lifted her chin. "You're of no use to us."

"Wait!" The proprietor nearly stumbled as she tried to step away from Sesshomaru. "Y-you can't. I-if they find out what happens here today—"

"I am uninterested in the humans supporting this sort of establishment," Sesshomaru sneered, flexing his claws. He would thoroughly relish tearing this woman apart as penance for the harm she, too, had inflicted upon Rin.

The woman before him blanched. "They are not human, my lord, any more than you are! They are dragons, fearsome dragons who will—"

Dragons. It was the only thing that stayed his hand in the end—but only temporarily. "Tell me everything you know about the dragons," he said darkly, "and then you will produce Rin." When she made to protest, he continued, "Perhaps you fear the dragons, but," his voice dropped lower, "there is far greater reason to fear me." As she trembled, he added, "Your death is inevitable, woman. Your actions now simply determine how painful it will be. I suggest you choose wisely."

The proprietor swallowed, a delicious fear showing in her eyes.

She wisely chose to divulge everything that had gone on in her brothel since she'd taken it over—and where to finally find Rin.

Chapter Text

Dragons.

Sesshomaru had never particularly liked dragons before. The ensuing feud between the dragons and inuyokai clans was as old as memory, and while it was possible now to determine the origins of the feud, every member of either clan grew up knowing that members of the other clan were not to be trusted. The blood-feud between the two clans had been made even more poignant after the death of the Inu no Taisho.

He did not know yet if Rin's kidnapping had been part of the feud, but he intended to find out once he had dealt with this woman before him. She had been culpable in Rin's suffering and, for that alone, she would not survive to regret her actions.

Either way, he promised himself as the proprietor told them her story, the dragons would likewise pay for their actions—and that price would be quite high.

"T-that is truly all I know, my lord," the proprietor stuttered out. "I have never asked where those entrusted to my care come from, nor about the yokai themselves. I simply handle them once they are delivered to me."

Kagome ground her teeth. The proprietor was doing everything she could to downplay her own role as best she could, even going so far as to refuse to call those around them 'children.' And that's what they were, Kagome noted as she glanced around. Children. The oldest couldn't have been over sixteen, and the youngest—

"T-truly I did not wish to know." The proprietor hung her head, but the fear in her eyes seemed to be only for the outcome of her own life, not remorse nor accountability for her own actions. "As I told you, the yokai who first came here a year ago had—"

"Threatened you. You already said that." Every time Kagome glanced to the children around them, she nearly lost her temper. She wasn't interested in the proprietor's sob story when there were so many others clearly suffering around her. Up until now, however, the proprietor had only focused on her backstory, including her impoverished youth and her own sale to the last proprietor of this house. It was a sad story, undeniably, but it didn't excuse her actions, either. "What do you know about the dragons?"

She was dangerously close to losing what remained of her patience. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sesshomaru's claws begin to glow again as if to say 'if you do not speak quickly, you will die.'

The proprietor noticed. She swallowed and then managed, "T-they came from the east."

Kagome was beginning to think that the proprietor might not tell them anything of value at all. "We already knew that." Perhaps she should step back and let Sesshomaru have his revenge. She could focus on rescuing the children enslaved here and how to get them back to wherever they called home. "Tell us about the dragons and about Rin." Kagome quickly detailed out Rin's appearance even as she felt Sesshomaru's yoki explode.

He had evidently run out of patience. 

The proprietor paled when Sesshomaru took a step forward. "Those they didn't bring here to sell," she blurted out then, shuffling back, "they attempt to sell to the wealthier houses, my lord!" She held up her hands. "The girl you described was here." She swallowed when Sesshomaru took another step forward. "She was here before the dragons left to sell the remaining ones—and she was one of them."

"Where are they now?" Sesshomaru's hair began to flow as his yoki became oppressive. Even the humans in the room felt it, and it took Kagome allowing her own reiki to flow to withstand the strength of his own power.

"Tanaka-sama." The proprietor choked as he reached for her. "T-the kimono maker. B-but the dragons may not—"

Sesshomaru did not allow her to speak further. Kagome turned from the woman, gathering the children together.

Whether Sesshomaru liked it or not, they were taking everyone with them. Kagome would not leave even a single one behind to suffer at the hands of whoever took over the shop now that the proprietor had been dealt with.

Chapter Text

Kagome had followed Sesshomaru out of what remained of the brothel, the children slowly following after her. None of them seemed to know what to do, so they'd floundered a bit before finally leaving the building they'd been sold to, slowly, on their own.

She didn't push them, knowing how hard it must be. They had already endured so much heartache and pain as it was; she didn't want to add to their suffering by forcing them to leave before they came to the realization that they didn't have to stay.

But Sesshomaru didn't move from the front step as the children slowly left the building. He was not waiting for the children to follow him, however, she knew. He was merely locating Tanaka's house. Once he did so, there would be no stopping him.

She and the children could follow him—or they would fall behind.

Sesshomaru cared about nothing else. Only Rin mattered to him now. No, she corrected herself, Rin was the only one who had ever mattered. His guilt over Rin's reaction to his refusal had only exacerbated the situation. 

Kagome mulled over what to do. Everything within her said she could not leave Sesshomaru to handle this on his own, not with his emotions so volatile, and he would likely traumatize Rin further with his brusque handling of the situation if Rin had sustained the same fate as the other children.

On the other hand, she couldn't abandon the children she'd just helped rescue, either. They'd suffered every bit as much as Rin—if not more so—and it would be wrong to save Rin and ignore the plight of these children in turn. 

Ultimately, she was saved from making a decision by InuYasha's and Kikyo's timely arrival with Enju, who had fallen behind. She began to explain the situation, but Sesshomaru suddenly took off, and she gave up.

Kagome entrusted the children to her best friend and his mate and grabbed onto Sesshomaru's fur just as it flew past.

The building he landed in front of looked every bit like the home of a wealthy shop owner from one of her history books. It was expensive and ornate without being grandiose and opulent as a daimyo house might have been. Tanaka was evidently quite well-off, but he wasn't rich. 

Outside of daimyo and the emperor himself, almost no one was.

"She is here." Sesshomaru did not glance behind him, but Kagome suspected the words were spoken for her benefit. "Rin is within these walls."

"I'm glad." Relief suffused her as his words sank in. "Let's go get her, then, okay?"

She didn't as him to hold back, nor did she insist he tamper his desire for violence. Instead, she followed him as he destroyed the doors to Tanaka's home and flew to a small room at one end of the house, ignoring anyone who called for him to stop. The door before him then shared the same fate as the front doors as splinters showered around him.

He stepped inside, and Kagome followed suit, only to stop short at the thin girl sitting woodenly on top of her futon.

Rin.

They had finally found her.

Chapter Text

Rin did not so much as blink as Sesshomaru approached the girl who had once followed him with such unwavering faith. She had grown considerably before he was aware of it, which is perhaps why he had not sensed her feelings shift until it was too late to do aught to dissuade her.

If he had been more aware, if he had been more invested in the passage of human time, if he had paid more attention to her, he could have acted sooner to mitigate her affections before it became too late.

He was the one responsible for her predicament—and he alone.

"Rin." He reached for her, hoping to see some sign of the girl he'd once known within. "Come. It is time to leave."

She did not even look up, nor did she leap to her feet as the command once would have bade her to do. Her eyes remained glassy, unfocused, and at first, he'd believed her to be drugged. He'd scented her, expecting to find some telltale sign of whatever Rin had been dosed with.

Yet he found nothing.

Perhaps she blamed him, he realized, as she rightfully should. As her protector, he had failed her. "Rin..." He hesitated. How was he to begin to make amends if the child who had once saved him from the depths of despair would not so much as look at him. "Rin, I..."

The miko's hand was on his shoulder then. Truthfully, he had forgotten she had come along until that moment, but he was not certain he appreciated her interference now. She was part of his brother's pack, after all, not his own. 

"Allow me," she said gently, urging him to the side.

His lips thinned. The miko was an outsider, an interloper. She did not belong here interfering with—

"Hi, Rin." The miko knelt down beside Rin, one hand on the bed beside the girl. "Do you remember me? It's Kagome."

Rin's expression did not so much as flicker.

"I'm sure you've been through a lot," the miko continued, her voice gentle and soothing, "but we're here now and it's time to leave, okay?"

Rin's expression remained impassive and irked, Sesshomaru stepped forward to handle the situation on his own.

Rin suddenly recoiled, her expression pained as she let out a quiet whimper.

The miko was on her feet in an instant, jerking Sesshomaru to the side as he stared, attempting to process what had just occurred. "We don't know what Rin has been through," she hissed, tugging him out of Rin's immediate sight. "But I can tell you right now that she's been through a lot and you are not helping."

His jaw tightened. "You cannot—"

"I can and I will." She glowered at him. "Wait outside the door and I'll get her ready to go, okay?"

His gaze flickered over to the young girl who had once followed him—no, the young woman now, though it still was hard for him to see. He wanted to shove the miko aside and ensure Rin's safety on his own, but the way she'd recoiled from him still burned in the back of his mind. "Very well," he allowed after a moment.

He would put his trust in the miko—for now.

"Good." The miko nodded, relieved. "Go stand outside, okay?" She all but shooed him out. "Rin and I will be out in a moment and then we can leave. Or, you know," she waved a hand as her own expression darkened, "you can seek revenge, if that's what you want to do."

He contemplated the notion before he inclined his head. If the miko would see to Rin, then he would follow his earlier plan and ensure that Tanaka and his ilk paid for what they had done.

They would pay in blood for what they had done. Perhaps then, once her tormentors had been dealt with, he might find some semblance of peace again, though he doubted he would ever truly forgive himself for what had been done.

Chapter Text

Rin wouldn't say a word, not even when they met up with InuYasha and Kikyou. Like Enju, who remained silent with the children now huddled together, Rin would not talk to anyone at all. She didn't even seem to be aware of their existence, let alone that she'd been rescued.

"You found her." InuYasha relaxed marginally as Sesshomaru landed beside him not far out of town. 

"Yeah," Kagome answered quietly, giving Sesshomaru a quick look as he glanced towards the west, "we did. She's in bad shape."

"Keh." InuYasha crossed his arms. "She ain't the only one." He didn't look around at the children around them, but then, he didn't need to, either. Several of them had the same blank looks on their faces that Rin did. 

"Did you find out where their families are?" If they could return home, they could begin to heal.

"They do not have homes." Kikyo spoke up for the first time, her voice soft and low. "They are orphans."

Kagome's fists clenched. Those damn brothers, she thought fiercely. They'd known exactly who to prey upon. When she got her hands on the remaining two brothers—

"Oy! Asshole! The fuck do you think you're goin'?" InuYasha took a step forward, but it was already too late. By the time anyone could react, Sesshomaru had taken to the air—alone.

"He's hunting the remaining two dragons." Kagome sighed as she brushed the hair back from her face. "He wouldn't have left Rin here if he didn't intend on coming back, InuYasha."

"Shouldn't have fucking left her at all," InuYasha groused, tucking his arms into his sleeves. "The fuck are we gonna do with all of 'em?"

He didn't say there wasn't enough room or food in the village to accommodate the two dozen orphans, but he didn't need to, either. She doubted he'd settle anywhere else now that he'd had Kikyo,to live near her sister for Kaede's final years. "We can't just leave them on their own—" she began chidingly. 

"Fuck, I know that." InuYasha gave her a sour look. "I ain't stupid."

Kikyo put a calming hand on his forearm, and he immediately lost some of his bluster. "I am certain she is not suggesting otherwise," Kikyo murmured. 

It didn't bother her any longer how readily and easily he responded to Kikyo. After all this time, that hurt had faded, and she'd come to realize Kikyo occupied a place in his heart that she could never touch. It didn't make him value his friendship with Kagome any less, but as long as there was a chance of a future with Kikyo, he wasn't capable of considering a future with her. 

Their friendship now was far more important. 

"Right, exactly. I'll figure something out." Kagome nodded, eying the mating mark he'd left on Kikyo. "You have your own responsibilities now, anyway." 

InuYasha actually flushed, but he didn't protest. "The fuck are you gonna do with them?"

Kagome didn't know, but she had the feeling it would take her—and probably keep her—away from the village. "I'll work something out." She had the feeling Sesshomaru hadn't decided what to do with Rin, either, but going back to the village with Rin didn't seem like the best plan, nor did encouraging Rin to travel alone with Sesshomaru. 

She glanced over at Rin, who continued to stare blankly into space.

"Hell." InuYasha exhaled. "You ain't planning on coming back to the village then."

"No." Kagome wouldn't lie, least of all to him. "I'm not."

Chapter Text

It was Jaken and Ah-Un who helped Kagome find the right location for a new home for the orphans and Rin—and Kagome herself. Once the imp had understood her intentions, he'd set about the task with surprising diligence. 

And he'd brought with him unusual allies when he'd tracked down the group once more. Along with Kohaku and Shippo, who had insisted on coming along once again to help, Jaken had brought Jinenji, Shiori, and the hanyo from Horai Island, Ai, Dai, Roku, Moegi, Shion, and Asagi. Truthfully, Shiori had brought the children with her, not Jaken, but evidently she'd been looking for a place to create as a safe haven for hanyo, and had collected most of the hanyo they'd encountered on her travels.

In essence, they had the same purpose. The children Kagome had found were human, but they, too, needed protecting. 

Shiori could maintain a barrier to protect them all. And she was willing. "Do not worry, Kagome-sama," Shiori murmured when they'd located a flat valley buried between the mountains. "I am stronger than I was before now." She wore a wistful smile then. "My father gave me all that he was."

"If it's like before—" Kagome began, thinking of how Shiori had been bound to her father's jewel to remain the barrier. She wouldn't ask that of Shiori, even if it would keep everyone safe.

But Shiori shook her head. "I have come into my own," she said with a small smile, "thanks to my father. You do not need to worry, Kagome-sama."

"Alright." Kagome relaxed marginally as everyone began making preparations to ready the land for a proper village. InuYasha had promised to remain until the barrier was in place, but now that Shiori was setting it up, she expected him to leave any day now. 

After all, Kikyo would not return here, not while Kaede still breathed, and perhaps that reunion might finally allow the two sisters to heal. She walked over to InuYasha and Kikyo, unsurprised to see them making their preparations to leave. She'd expected Kohaku to be with them, but surprisingly—or was it unsurprisingly?—he had moved to Rin's side, acting as her protective boundary with no intentions of moving.

Sango would, it seemed, have to do without her younger brother, at least for now.

"You're leaving," Kagome guessed, watching Kikyo hand over the small pack to InuYasha. It looked to be Jinenji's making and Kagome wondered if it was herbs and medicine for Kaede's arthritis, which had begun to worsen lately.

"Yeah." InuYasha gave her a short nod as he shouldered the pack. "Sorry, K'gome. Thought the bastard would be back by now, but..."

"No, it's okay." She held up her hands. "Shiori is putting up the barrier, but even without it, Jaken, Shippo, and I are capable of protecting everyone."

"Keh." InuYasha snorted. "Those kids Shiori brought ain't useless, either." It was almost a compliment, coming from him.

Kikyo stepped up then. "I will inform Kaede and your friends of your fate, Kagome." There was a quiet, pained look in her eyes that remained upon waking from her time under the control of the dragons. Kagome wondered then if it would ever truly go away.

"Thank you." Kagome managed a smile. "They can come visit anytime—and so can you, of course."

Kikyo nodded, but said nothing else. 

"Take care of yourself, K'gome. Don't go picking fights you can't win." InuYasha gave her a short wave before bending so Kikyo could climb onto his back as Kagome had once done so often and then they were off.

As far as goodbyes went, it was bittersweet, but she understood. Kikyo had a second chance of life, but the price she'd paid for it had been intense. InuYasha would not willingly allow her to leave his side a third time.

"I guess it's just us now," Kagome said then, eying the imp beside her as Kikyo and InuYasha departed.

Jaken just snorted, but his reply, if any, was interrupted by the return then of Sesshomaru, bloodied and wild.

Kagome did not bother to ask how his hunt went for the dragons. The results were obvious.

Chapter Text

Sesshomaru ignored the others around him, many of whom gave his bloodied appearance a wide berth, as he approached Rin. She sat motionless outside one of the two huts already constructed, Ah-Un curled protectively around her.

He also ignored Jaken's jubilation over his return, along with the imp's praise of his accomplishments.

Instead, as he moved beside Rin, one hand moved to cover her head, a gesture that seemed familiar to them both even if it seemed out of place to everyone else, and said, "It is done, Rin."

Rin said nothing. She didn't even look up at her old protector as she sat with her hands in her lap in a perfect seiza. Kagome couldn't help but wonder if Rin had learned the pose under the abuse of the dragons, because she hadn't displayed a strong proclivity for it prior to that.

The silence must have unnerved Sesshomaru as well, for he continued, "They will not trouble you again, Rin. You are free."

Kagome didn't ask if he'd meant the dragons, or the ones who had purchased her, or both. She suspected both, but she also found she didn't want to know, either, just how far Sesshomaru's bloody campaign had extended.

For a moment, Rin glanced up at Sesshomaru with flat, expressionless eyes. She met his gaze and then her eyes drifted down to his bloody clothing and armor before dropping back to her hands in her lap, her lips pressed together. 

She wasn't going to speak.

Sesshomaru stepped back, his hand falling to the side. It seemed that he, too, understood that Rin would not speak to him now, though whether he blamed his own actions or those he'd slaughtered was anyone's guess. Given their conversation before, she suspected he placed the blame solely upon his own shoulders. "You are safe, Rin." 

And then he turned to leave.

Kagome scrambled after him, leaving Rin in Jaken's care as the imp sat down beside her and gingerly offered her a bowl of gruel. Though he voiced indignation over the chore, his actions were gentle and his expression was one of concern, not righteous fury. Rin would do well enough in his care, but Sesshomaru, it seemed like, needed a reality check.

And fast. 

"You can't just leave again, Sesshomaru," she said, reaching for him as he reached the outskirt of the growing village, though most of it was still in progress. "You and Jaken and Ah-Un are all she has. If you leave now and just come back when you feel like it, then—"

"I do not intend to leave, miko." He gave her a dour, almost chiding look.

She huffed as she put her hands on her hips. "Well, you can't blame me for assuming otherwise, Sesshomaru. That's certainly what it looked like. Besides," she added when he opened his mouth, "you have a history of leaving Rin behind to do only heaven knows what, so it's not like you can deny that, either."

"Do you wish for me to remain in spoiled and torn silks?" He arched one brow as he glanced over his shoulder.

She stared at him as she caught up to him. "Don't they...clean themselves?" She'd certainly assumed they did. After all, InuYasha's fire-rat armor had mended itself, though, she acknowledged, wrinkling her nose, it hadn't been able to actually cleanse itself all odors and stains. That had occasionally required a helping hand, particularly when it involved ramen. The smell from the broth alone could linger for days.

He quirked a brow. "Do your clothes clean themselves, miko? How lazy indeed."

She took immediate umbrage to that. "Don't try and tell me you clean your own clothes," she growled, crossing her arms. "We both know Jaken does all the work there." Sesshomaru would never lower himself to handle such a task directly and they both knew it.

"Why would one such as I handle such a task?" He sniffed. "Jaken is serviceable enough."

She almost felt bad for the imp. Still... "I can't really see Jaken sewing," she muttered, picturing the imp trying and stabbing himself repeatedly with a needle.

"He repairs Rin's clothing." Sesshomaru's gaze was distant then, no doubt recalling the days of Naraku, long before he'd left Rin behind in Kaede's village.

"But not yours," she guessed, triumphant. "They do repair themselves." 

"Hnn." He made no further comment on the matter, though when she continued to walk by his side, he murmured, "I do not require a bathing attendant, miko."

She stopped short as she flushed. "I wasn't trying to—you asshole!" She glared when she caught the hint of the smirk at his lips and decided she wanted a little payback. With a sniff of her own, she added, "Who'd want to sneak a peek, anyway? It's not like you have anything I haven't seen before."

He suddenly turned, looming over her with a dark look in his eyes. "Perhaps you have seen other males, miko," he rumbled, his very tone implying such a sight was not worth seeing, "but you have not seen me."

She shrugged, though inwardly she enjoyed riling him up. If nothing else, it was a welcome distraction from the melancholy that had settled over the village. "Not like I'm missing much," she said, allowing her gaze to drop low for a moment where his intimate person was hidden beneath clothing and armor. "Have a nice bath, Sesshomaru." She turned to leave, mentally reviewing the checklist she'd made on the village planning—

Only to find a steely hand wrapped around her elbow, pulling her forcibly to a halt.

Chapter Text

"Coward." 

She turned back, taking umbrage at the teasing smirk on his lips. Sesshomaru had clearly thought he'd found a way to amuse himself at her expense whilst also proving himself superior to other males. Well, she thought, squaring her shoulders, she hadn't backed down from him the first day they'd met, and she certainly wasn't going to start now. 

She'd enjoy making him eat his words.

"Alright then." She shrugged off his arm and sat down on the ground as she folded her arms. "Go ahead, Sesshomaru. Show me."

His eyes widened, but then almost immediately narrowed. So, he had recognized the challenge almost as readily as she had. He said nothing as he began slowly removing his armor and clothing, but the intent was clear all the same.

He sought to prove a point.

No doubt he assumed any female would leap into his arms if presented a chance—and, no doubt, a decent number of males as well, she thought, watching him. In this era before the introduction of westernization, homosexuality and bisexuality lacked the stigma that would later develop in eras closer to her own.

Still, she had to admit it was sensual watching him strip down. It was almost an art form as he slowly removed and carefully folded and set aside each article of clothing. She could readily admit, if only to herself, that if they'd been lovers, the display would have been seductive and enticing.

But they weren't, she reminded herself, and they weren't going to be. There was nothing at all in his attitude up until this point to suggest he might be attracted to her and interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with her, and while she could admit he was beautiful, she couldn't see him as a romantic partner, either. 

"You have not removed your eyes from this one's form," he noted smugly as he slowly began removing his last article of clothing.

"You're the one who invited me to watch," she reminded him as she raised a brow, proud of how steady her voice sounded. Just a few years ago, her face would have been bright red by now. 

He let his fundoshi fall away, exposing his form. "So I did," he replied, lips quirking. "Yet even I did not expect the dedication to which you would apply yourself to the task."

She nearly did flush then from the insinuation of his words, and it took several discrete breaths to calm her initial reaction. She would not give him the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her. "You suggested there would be differences, but," she said, allowing her eyes to briefly drift down and then back up as she shrugged, "I don't see any."

It was a lie.

It was an absolute lie.

She'd never seen a male with stripes over his hips before, nor the small stripes on his flaccid cock that mirrored the ones on his wrists. She couldn't help but wonder, if only for a moment, what they would look like when his dick was fully erect.

He stepped closer, looming over her. Her eyes were eye-level with his cock at this angle, but she lifted her head to meet his gaze rather than give into the sudden, inexplicable temptation to touch it. "Perhaps you are not as observant, then, as you claim to be, miko."

She shrugged. "Shouldn't you be bathing right now?" 

"Hnn." He stepped back as he eyed her, an odd, almost unholy look in his golden gaze. She had the feeling she'd issued another challenge to him, this time without even realizing it.

And like Kagome herself, he was not one to back down from a challenge.

She licked her lips, finding them dry as he wordlessly waded into the water and began bathing himself. If she'd found his strip show enticing, it was nothing compared to the blatant sensuality as he bathed himself. His hands moved, slow and sure, accentuating his muscles and the occasional stripe. His body was gorgeous, and he absolutely knew it. 

Even the way he washed his hair seemed to emphasize the strength of his arms.

Hell, she thought, staring, she'd always been partial to a man's biceps.

She saw a hint of a smile on his lips and schooled her expression, allowing her mind to drift back to her to-do list as he continued to bathe. She'd given enough of herself away as it was, but she wouldn't lose any further ground.

Somehow, she made it through the rest of his bath, and felt a tiny bit of triumph when he dried himself off with a flat expression. 

No doubt, she thought smugly as she rose, he was displeased to find himself on the losing end of the challenge. "It's late," she said then as he reached for his clothing. "I should really get some sleep; there's a lot of work to be done tomorrow."

And then, without waiting for a response, she left him behind, smugly confident that she'd won both the battle and the war.

She could not have been more wrong.

Chapter Text

Sesshomaru, apparently, had nothing else to occupy himself with. That was the only explanation she could conceive of when Kagome left her home the next morning to find Sesshomaru training with his blade a short distance away, wearing nothing but his fundoshi. 

The sun had just begun to rise; no one else was even awake yet. Yet, judging by the sweat coating his body, Sesshomaru had been at the activity for some time.

Perhaps he didn't sleep, she thought, brushing the bangs back from her face. Determined to prove a point, she ignored him as she checked on Rin, relieved to see Jaken attending to the teenager as he had been doing since his arrival to the village. She should probably take some time to talk to Rin herself, she reflected, but so far, Rin had refused to speak with anyone aside from Jaken, who doted on her ceaselessly and, for once, had not given into complaints as he was wont to do.

She spent the next few minutes checking on several other pending tasks in the village, but finally, she could think of nothing else to do to avoid the daiyokai except, maybe, breakfast.

Ignoring him would likely only convince him she was hiding something, anyway.

"If you need something to do," she said, walking past him without a second glance—damn, though, she could admit that clothing in no way did Sesshomaru any justice compared to near or full nudity—as she headed back to her home to make tea and onigiri with her leftover rice, "there's still work left to be done in building the village."

"I am no menial laborer." He sniffed with obvious disdain, not even missing a step.

She paused, irked by the attitude. "There's nothing wrong with doing honest labor, Sesshomaru." Especially not here, not in the community she sought to build.

"Hnn. Yet is it not also appropriate to delegate work dependent upon one's skills and knowledge?" He quirked a brow, his expression smug.

She drummed her fingers on her upper arm. "I suppose that's true," she allowed as his smirk grew. "It's not something a yokai of your caliber would be capable of."

"There is no need to waste one's talents when others are more suitable to the task." He continued his paces through his drills.

Kagome gave up. There was little point in expecting him to help with the village construction and, admittedly, he had done a lot in locating and guiding everyone to the village to begin with. So, she decided to set aside that line of inquiry for another one. "What do you plan to do about Rin-chan?"

Any hint of humor fled his face. "Nothing, miko."

Her mouth gaped open. "What do you mean, nothing?"

Sesshomaru combed a lock of hair back from his face, the gesture far too attractive than he had any right of being. "Why would she wish to see the male who has spurned her?"

"Did she say that?" Kagome knew that Rin hadn't; the teenager hadn't spoken to anyone since she'd been rescued—not even Jaken, who attended to her so diligently.

"It was not required." He lifted his chin.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Maybe you should let her decide that for herself, Sesshomaru." She turned from him, deciding there was no real point in arguing further. "And put some clothes on while you're at it," she grumbled, irked. "There are children present in the village, you know."

"Perhaps it is you, miko, who is distracted by the sight," he called after her as she walked away, his voice impossibly smug.

Kagome pretended not to hear him.

Chapter Text

Since Sesshomaru would not, Kagome visited Rin the following morning. She'd waited outside while Jaken coaxed the girl into eating the rice gruel he'd prepared for her and downing a cup of genmaicha tea before she ducked into the house and took her seat beside the girl. She took a moment to study Rin, noting the girl's usual flat expression, though at least, Kagome noted with relief, Rin appeared to be clean and well-groomed, and seemed to be gaining a little of the weight she'd lost.

Jaken was clearly doing his best to care for his charge. 

"Good morning, Jaken. Good morning, Rin-chan." Kagome accepted the cup of tea Jaken poured for her. "How're you feeling today?"

Rin's gaze flickered over to Kagome for a moment, but her eyes remained vacant as she slowly blinked.

"She ate today," Jaken said for his charge, puffing out his chest with visible pride. 

"That's good." Kagome smiled, hoping to coax a response from Rin, whose smiles had always been infectious. But she received no response, though that didn't surprise her. Many of the teenagers they'd freed had been noticably damaged by their experience, and while some had been able to return to their families, those that hadn't remained in the village, and their torment was readily available for everyone to see. "Did you enjoy your breakfast, Rin-chan? What did you eat?"

Rin continued to look at Kagome with a flat expression. 

Kagome switched directions, something innate inside her convinced that if she could just get Rin to talk, she could help the other girl begin to heal and move forward. "Did you sleep well? Are you comfortable here? Is there anything you want or need?"

Again and again, no matter what she asked, Kagome received no visible response from Rin. After a few minutes of trying, she gave up. As much as she wanted to reach Rin, she didn't want to pressure or bully the teen, either. Rin needed to feel safe again, no matter how long that took.

"I'm sure Rin is glad for your visit," Jaken said, moving to pat Kagome's hand. 

"I hope she is." Kagome let out a breath before grumbling to herself, "Sesshomaru should really be here." She couldn't keep doing this on her own, not when she wasn't even sure what the right answer was. Besides, it was Sesshomaru who Rin idolized more than anyone else. Sure, that had led to its own complications, and there were still unresolved issues between the two, but Sesshomaru and Jaken were the only people Rin really seemed to gravitate strongly to, and she doubted anyone else had ever made Rin feel as safe as Sesshomaru had. "I still can't believe he wouldn't come here."

Rin's expression flickered, taking on one of a deep pain that wrinkled her expression and furrowed her brows as her breath began to come faster.

Kagome caught her breath. It was the first real indication of the girl within the heavy metal walls, but it wasn't exactly a positive one. Rin's pain was poignant and powerful, but even Kagome could only guess if that was related to Sesshomaru's absence, her feelings towards his presence, or simply the mere mention of his name.

She just didn't know. She had her own guilt for that; Kagome should have spent more time with Rin rather than prioritize her own friends and trust Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Kaede to do what was best by Rin. If she had, she'd know a lot more about Rin and what to do now.

Wouldn't she?

"Rin?" Jaken shuffled closer, refilling the teen's cup of tea and pressing it into her hand as he urged her to drink. "Here. Drink."

Rin dutifully sipped and swallowed her tea, her features, and her breathing slowly evening out.

Maybe she'd done enough today, Kagome thought, exhaling as she set aside the topic of Sesshomaru for now. "I can't stay too long," she said, finishing her own cup of tea before setting it aside. "I have to check on the village construction this morning. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, Kagome-sama." Jaken bowed his head, showing a rare modicum of respect for someone other than Sesshomaru. "I will faithfully attend to Rin until she is well."

"Thank you, Jaken." Kagome got to her feet as Jaken claimed her cup, wishing it didn't feel like she was running away as she headed out of the hut. 

It felt wrong to leave, but what else could she do? Nothing she'd done that morning had seemed to do Rin any good, and in the end, she'd only ended up triggering a strong response from Rin, likely upsetting her further. 

As Kagome left the hut, she resolved once again to speak to Sesshomaru. No matter what he might claim, there was one fact that remained strong in her mind above all else.

Whether he liked it or not, Sesshomaru was the key to Rin's recovery.

Chapter Text

Kagome found Sesshomaru later that day lingering by the onsen, his haori draped loosely around his chest while he dried off in the afternoon sun. She didn't bother to ask how he'd spent the day because really, it didn't matter, anyway. 

What mattered here and now was Rin.

She stormed over, ready to deliver the lecture of a lifetime about how he was neglecting his duties as both guardian and friend, when he suddenly turned to her with a look of obvious amusement. 

"If you required my attentions so desperately, miko, you need only ask," he said in that dark teasing tone she was beginning to realize he only used with her. 

She crossed her arms as she stopped short, not appreciating the poor joke. "I'm not here to seduce you," she growled, irked. "I'm here to—"

"Are you not? Pity." He glanced away, easily dismissing her.

Her hands fisted, but she pushed her ire back, not wanting to rise to the blatant provocation. She still wasn't sure where this side of Sesshomaru had come from, nor why he so readily felt the need to rile her up for his own amusement, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction, either. "I'm here about Rin-chan, Sesshomaru." She blew out a breath. "I know we talked about this before, but I mean it this time. She really needs—"

"No." His flat refusal riled her up more than his blatant provocation had.

"Why not?" She put her hands on her hips as she glowered at him, for all the good it did her. He wouldn't even look at her. 

"You forget yourself, miko." His tone was suddenly chilled, reminding her of their first meeting so long ago when he'd sought the entrance to his father's tomb through the pearl that had been embedded within InuYasha's eye.

Her nostrils flared at the insinuation. "I don't think I do," she told him, striving to keep her tone level. "This isn't just about you, Sesshomaru. This is about Rin-chan and what she needs, and—"

"You are a fool." He finally turned to look at her, his jaw raised as cold eyes bore into her own. "You seek to act out of your own misguided notions without truly considering the situation."

She flinched despite her resolve. "I've thought about her situation," she argued back. "Why do you think I'm asking you to—"

"Answer this then, miko." His voice dropped lower. "When InuYasha first refused you, would you have desired to see him?"

"Well, I..." She faltered, suddenly feeling impossibly small. "That's not the same thing, Sesshomaru." She was aware that her voice sounded weaker, and felt like she was rapidly losing ground. The trouble was she could see his point. She'd had no choice but to see InuYasha since they traveled together, and she'd been unable to prevent herself from witnessing his private moments with Kikyo, either, no matter how much she might have wished otherwise. Even now, when Kikyo had returned to him once more, there had been a part of her that had echoed those earlier pains all over again, even though she'd claimed otherwise. 

She was happy InuYasha had found his own happiness, but it had been hard to witness—at least at first.

"Is it not?" he countered with a small snort of disdain.

She remained silent, unable to bring herself to contradict him when she was no longer so sure what the right path was. 

"Rin will seek this one out when she wishes to." He flexed the clawed hand he had resting on his upright knee. "Jaken is perfectly capable of attending to her needs until then."

"I suppose." She let out a breath even as she conceded that she was fighting a losing battle. He hadn't completely abandoned Rin, and now that he'd mentioned it, she couldn't help but recall Rin's poignant reaction to Sesshomaru being mentioned earlier. Perhaps Rin wasn't ready, and Sesshomaru probably knew her better than anyone else, save for Jaken. Maybe, she conceded reluctantly, she had been a bit brazen in her belief that she'd known best, and hadn't properly considered all of the facts before acting. "I hope you're not planning to laze about here all day," she said, abruptly changing the subject.

She'd think over how to help Rin best later, when she'd had some time to clear her head.

"Hnn." His expression shifted back to its earlier one of amusement. "Do you wish to offer a suitable activity in its place?"

There it was again, she thought, irked. That lascivious look that promised heat and passion they both knew he had no intention of delivering. "Sure I do," she said, plastering a wide smile on her face. "Finishing the last of the construction around the village."

He huffed. "Then you should go attend to your work, miko," he said, dismissing her. "Unless, of course, you seek other amusements in the interim."

She gave up then. There was no point in dithering with him further, not when she still had so much work to do. He'd won this round, and she could admit that—if only to herself.

"Unless, of course, you seek to offer this one recompense for his aid," he called after her as she turned to leave.

She didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. Like hell he wanted anything from her except to rile her up for no good reason.

Irritating daiyokai. 

Chapter Text

"Well? What do you think?" Kagome could hardly believe she was seeking counsel from him of all creatures, but no one else knew Sesshomaru better than Jaken, and Kagome herself had reached an impasse when it came to the daiyokai over the last week since she'd spoken to Sesshomaru last about Rin. The village construction had finally completed the day before—without Sesshomaru's help—allowing Kagome to focus fully on Rin and the others who had remained behind to heal.

Thus far, it seemed that Rin was the one most in need of help.

"Foolish woman." Jaken tutted as he set the kettle of cold water over the fire to boil. "Sesshomaru-sama need not explain himself."

"Right." She rubbed her temples, wondering why she'd decided this was her best option. "And you don't ask questions."

Jaken flushed. "One as powerful as Sesshomaru-sama should never been questioned." There was, however, a curious warbling of his voice that seemed to belly his words.

More like Sesshomaru doesn't answer even if you ask him, she decided, eying the imp as he swallowed. "Well, you've been traveling together a long time," she tried again with a benign smile. "It's obvious Sesshomaru trusts you."

Jaken's flush deepened. "Of course," he said stiffly. "I am honored to serve such a worthy being."

"He trusts you with Rin-chan, too," she continued warmly. It wouldn't hurt to heap praise on the imp and, in this at least, it was well-deserved. No one could deny how much Jaken cared for Rin, nor how much he'd done to help the girl. "I'd just like to help, too."

"Hmph." Jaken prepared the tea sachets. "I am Sesshomaru-sama's most trusted vassal. No one is more qualified to care for Rin."

"Of course not." She gave up, seeing no point in antagonizing him further. Questioning Jaken was a complete waste of time, she decided then, but at least it'd given her the opportunity to check on Rin again. The girl was eating regularly under Jaken's watch, and the imp had even been able to coax her out of her home a few times to sit out amongst the flowers Jinenji had planted and cared for around the hut. 

Kagome herself had been surprised when Jinenji had begun the task of planting a flowering garden of herbs and medicinal plants outside Rin's home on his own accord, but there hadn't been a reason to dissuade him, either. Rin had always loved flowers, according to the imp, and it gave him reason to encourage her to leave the house.

"Has she said anything? Or is she still keeping her silence?" Kagome asked then, eying the girl who sat just outside the front door beside a large flower bed Jinenji had planted. Once they'd realized where she'd been sitting, Jaken had placed a crude bench he must have made himself outside the door for her to sit on.

"She speaks." Jaken shook his head. "When she needs to." He sounded disappointed, but Kagome considered that progress. Before, Rin had refused to speak at all.

"These things take time," she reassured the imp, repressing a sigh. It had only been a few weeks since the girl's rescue. No doubt Rin was still trying to process what she'd been through, and that much was understandable. If only, she thought, irritated, Sesshomaru himself was as easy to understand.

Jaken made a noncommittal noise as he poured three cups of tea from the boiling kettle. 

As she accepted the cup he handed her, she asked, "How did you meet Sesshomaru, anyway?"

His eyes widened as he glanced up at her. "It's not important." He waved off the question as he set a cup of tea beside Rin, gently encouraging her to drink. The blend, he'd claimed, came from Jinenji's personal garden, and again Kagome wondered at the involvement of the horse hanyo.

Then again, she thought with quiet understanding, if anyone understood about internal pain and hidden scars, it would have been Jinenji. 

"You're right; it's not," she agreed lightly, not wanting to rile up the imp. "I'm just curious."

He huffed, but did not relent. "If you wish to know more about Sesshomaru-sama, you should ask him yourself." He clicked his tongue as he reached for his own tea and took a sip, undaunted by the boiling temperature. 

Sure let me do that, she thought, irked, because Sesshomaru answers questions so well. "Thank you for the tea," she said, switching topics. There wasn't a point in continuing the conversation, at any rate. Jaken wasn't about to divulge anything about his lord, and Rin had disengaged so thoroughly she hadn't even acknowledged Kagome's arrival. She may as well finish her tea and leave.

Jaken spent the rest of her visit grumbling about this neighbor or that and how he was certain their activities were disturbing Rin's recovery. His complaints were so absurd, however, that after the first two, Kagome ignored him entirely and focused instead on Rin and what she could do to help the girl.

When her tea was finished, Kagome rose to leave, pausing only to ensure Rin was comfortable and return her empty tea cup to Jaken to attend to. She then left the house, intent on returning to her own for a bath and so she could think through a situation that was rapidly becoming unsolvable. 

She stopped short at the doorway, however, when she found Sesshomaru sitting by her cooking fire, sipping a cup of tea as though he belonged there. He smirked, lifting the cup to his lips as he silently dared her to say something.

She was going to have to do something about Sesshomaru, she realized, before he drove her insane. 

Chapter Text

"Your tea is of inferior quality," Sesshomaru said as he calmly lifted the cup to his lips.

He'd made the same complaint every night he'd invited himself to her home that week, so Kagome felt free to ignore it. If he was truly offended by the tea, she doubted he'd continue drinking it. The only reason she hadn't thrown him out the first time—let alone every subsequent visit—had been due to the manners her mother had instilled in her.

She picked up the cup of tea he'd set out for her and sipped it. "You're free to drink your own," she said dryly, though she doubted he would. For whatever reason, Sesshomaru appeared to have made it his mission to drive her insane.

"Should a host not seek to provide for their honored guests?" He quirked a brow.

"Sure," she agreed easily, "but that courtesy doesn't extend to trespassers."

He finished his cup and set it aside. "You are late," he noted, ignoring her retort. 

Taken aback by the complaint, she began, "Yes, but I was helping—"

"You coddle them too much." He sniffed. "There is no need to see to every concern or complaint that is presented to you, miko. To do so would remove the autonomy of others and prohibit them from ensuring a solution is found on their own."

She raised her brows. "I didn't think you cared how I spent my time," she said, but she didn't address the rest of his comment because, honestly, she wasn't sure how to. He probably had a point, but damned if she'd boost his ego by admitting that aloud.

He waved a clawed hand. "It is simply something this one observed."

"I didn't realize you were paying that close attention to me." She gave him a smug smile, enjoying the feeling of turning the tables on him. It was irritating to concede that he had a point—and when she reflected on what he said, she was forced to admit he often did—but now she was pretty certain he'd have to admit that she did, too. 

"You have continually demanded this one's attention," he returned, neatly sidestepping the quiet accusation. 

She exhaled as she lifted her cup to her lips, reminding herself once again that there wasn't any point in engaging in a battle of wits with Sesshomaru. Somehow, no matter what she said or did, he always seemed to come out ahead. Instead, she steered the conversation to safer waters. "Rin is leaving the house every day now." Sure, Jaken often had to remind or encourage Rin to do so, but that wasn't really important in the grand scheme of things. Rin was leaving the house, and she was talking, if only to Jaken.

It was progress.

She just hoped Rin continued to move forward without sliding backward again—with or without Sesshomaru's help.

"Hnn." He reached into his lapel and produced a silk sachet about the size of her fist. "You will brew this next time," he said, tossing it to her.

She caught it and opened it, surprised to see it was full of dried tea leaves. "Tea?" So Sesshomaru had sought to resolve his complaint—but then why bother giving it to her?

He inclined his head.

She thanked him, more because manners dictated it than anything else. She wanted to say she wouldn't bother making it for him, but figured he'd just come make it himself, anyway. At least it smelled wonderful, she admitted. It was some sort of green tea, perhaps a first or second flush, with discrete floral undertones. She suspected jasmine, but she wasn't positive. 

"You should acquire some form of entertainment as well." He rose to his feet. "Perhaps go or shogi."

Irritation gripped her. "Right now I have more important things to do."

"So it would seem. But miko," he cautioned as he made to leave, "it is time to cease interfering in others' lives and see to your own, is it not?"

He left before she could think of a suitable retort.

Chapter Text

A horrible, terrible screech penetrated her dreams, jarring Kagome awake. She stumbled out of bed and to the direction of the noise which, to her horror, was coming from Rin's and Jaken's hut.

If something had happened to Rin after all she'd been through—no. She couldn't even think of it.

As she reached the hut, Jaken was in the doorway, dragging a small bucket of water over to try to wake the girl up. Knowing Jaken as she did, the water hadn't been the first thing he'd tried to wake up Rin as she continued to scream into the night.

Kagome caught him just in time, nudging him aside as she gently moved to touch Rin's shoulder.

Rin's screaming only intensified, the sound one of abject horror.

It just about broke her heart as Kagome abruptly pulled back, instead deciding to wake Rin without touching her. Her intuition told her that touching Rin now would only add to the girl's terror, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. "Rin-chan, it's me, Kagome," she said softly. "You're safe now."

But Rin didn't seem to hear her. She thrashed on the bed, a litany of pleas falling from her lips. It looked almost as if she was trying to fight someone off and begging them to stop.

Her attackers. Whatever had happened to Rin, she was currently locked back in those memories. Kagome blinked back tears as she reached for Rin, only to stop as the girl twisted in her sleep. "Rin-chan, it's Kagome," she said softly, pulling her hand back. "You're safe now—"

Rin only screamed louder. 

"Rin-chan—" Kagome began again, this time giving in to the temptation to touch the girl's shoulder. Nothing else was working, and she couldn't stand seeing Rin suffer so.

Rin suddenly screeched, one that sounded broken and terrified. "No!" She jerked free of Kagome. "No! Sesshomaru-sama! Help me!"

Kagome jerked her hand back. She shouldn't have touched Rin; she'd known better—

Jaken pushed past her then, the bucket of water in his hands, but rather than pouring the contents onto Rin, he pulled out a cloth, wet it, and applied it to Rin's forehead.

The girl's eyes fluttered as she stilled. Tears rushed down her face as her hands fisted in the blanket she'd partially kicked off. "Sesshomaru-sama...?" Her eyes blinked in the darkened room, lit only by the moonlight outside. "You came...?" She began sobbing again. 

"We're here for you," Kagome said, finding herself evading the broken plea, though she couldn't explain why.

"I'm sorry," Rin said then, the words becoming a broken litany as she continued to whisper them.

Jaken pulled Rin into his arms, holding her as any father might whose daughter was suffering. "Enough, Rin," he said, his voice gruff. "You did nothing wrong."

Rin only continued to sob, and nothing either Jaken nor Kagome could think to say seemed to help. Finally, Kagome rocked back on her heels, wishing her reiki worked on humans, wishing she had the talent and the knowledge to heal Rin's pain. 

"I want to be alone." Rin turned her head, but she didn't try to pull free of Jaken.

"Shh. You're safe now, Rin," Jaken said then, rocking the girl. "I will watch over you. You don't need to be alone."

Rin sniffled as she buried her face in his chest and sobbed as Jaken crooned to her, rocking her gently in his arms.

It was probably better to leave them, Kagome decided as she watched Jaken care for Rin, but she'd go check on them in the morning and see how Rin was doing. Kagome wearily left the hut, sighing as she made for her own bed for whatever sleep she could get. She wasn't sure she'd get much; not with the mental image she had of Rin's suffering at the forefront, but she had to try.

She stopped short when she saw Sesshomaru a few feet outside her hut, and, irritated by the disruption of sleep and the situation as a whole, she snapped, "Well, it's nice of you to finally show up, but Rin is—"

"I am aware."  He ran one hand through his hair.

She opened her mouth to blast him but stopped short when she saw the weariness in his eyes and the footprints behind him leading to just outside Rin's house. Maybe he hadn't gone to Rin, but she realized he hadn't been entirely apathetic. She let out a deflated breath. "Jaken's with her now. She's...It was a nightmare. A bad one." 

He was silent for a moment, then, eyed reddened, said, "It is unfortunate that they are already dead."

Kagome didn't disagree.

Chapter Text

As Kagome approached Rin's house the next morning to check on the girl, she heard Jaken speaking to Jinenji. "Boil these," Jinenji said, his voice gentle and kind. "It will help with the nightmares. Two cups before bed. She must not take it with any food."

"Your service to Rin will not be forgotten," Jaken answered. 

Jineji was silent a moment, then offered, "There are other herbs."

"Well, why haven't you brought them, you silly hanyo?" Jaken huffed. "Bring them! Bring everything."

Kagome saw Jinenji shake his head through the open window as she turned the corner. Like the other homes, the window was little more than an opening with a cloth that could be draped over it for privacy. "She must decide."

She paused by the window, just out of sight. It didn't seem like a conversation she should be interrupting, but though it wasn't polite, she also couldn't help but eavesdrop, either. Rin needed help, but Kagome had thought more along the lines of therapy, not medicine. She wasn't sure what medicine would really help, at any rate; all the plants Kaede had taught her would have no effect on the sort of pain Rin had endured.

Jaken frowned as he tucked the pouch of tea onto a nearby shelf. "She cannot, so I must decide for her." He let out a breath. "Sesshomaru-sama has entrusted me with her care." His chest puffed out. "I will not fail him, nor Rin. If this will help her, hand it over. I will make sure she—"

"She must choose herself," Jinenji insisted quietly. "They can dull the senses, but the tea has risks. It's made from yokai plants." He shifted, making himself more comfortable inside the hut that scarcely seemed to have enough room to house him. 

"What sort of risks?" Jaken asked, narrowing his eyes.

Jinenji scratched his head. "Not sure. They haven't been tested on a human before."

"You're not sure?" Jaken crowed, outraged. "How can you offer something you are not certain about? This is Rin's life! She—"

"It's her choice." Jinenji shrugged, though his gaze shifted to Rin as she lay prone on her bed nearby. There was a gentleness in his voice but also something more, something that had Kagome pausing. "She should decide for herself."

Did Jinenji...?

Jaken let out a breath. "Then I will ask." He turned to look at Rin, too, but she didn't move. Her breathing was even and slow, but though her eyes were closed, Kagome suspected the girl wasn't actually asleep. She just hoped Rin wasn't still tormented by her nightmares the night before.

Jinenji hesitated and then offered, "If you have other tasks to do," he offered, his expression hopeful as he glanced back at the imp, "I can watch over her."

"Hmph." Jaken grabbed the kettle and filled it with water from the water pouch he kept on the wall. "I have been entrusted with this task by Sesshomaru-sama directly," he said proudly. "I won't fail him. Or her."

Sesshomaru entrusted him with Rin's care? She glanced over at Sesshomaru's home as she tried to shake her surprise. She'd assumed he had more or less washed his hands of Rin and her care, but maybe she'd judged him too harshly. He'd cared enough to ensure Rin's rescue, and he'd also dealt with her attackers himself. Sure, his priorities had been terrible—or so she'd thought at the time, but what if he'd felt free to punish Rin's attackers because he'd known Jaken would look after Rin?

Of course, that didn't stop him from being involved with Rin now. The girl had called for him in the middle of the night, expecting him to save her from whatever traumas she'd endured. Despite his words to the contrary, she clearly wanted to see Sesshomaru.

So why was he so adamantly opposed? His reasoning just didn't make sense.

"Miko, it is time to cease interfering in others' lives and see to your own, is it not?" Her lips thinned as she recalled his parting words a few days before. Maybe she was interferring, but she didn't think she was wrong, either.

Rin needed him. And, whether he liked it or not, he needed her, too.

Jinenji bobbed his head. "If you need help, I will be here." And then, slowly, he got to his feet and left, but not without glancing back at Rin's direction—twice.

Kagome turned on her heel, deciding to seek Sesshomaru out that morning instead of Rin, who was in good hands for the moment.

It was time she and Sesshomaru had another conversation, she decided.

Chapter Text

Sesshomaru wasn't in the house she and the villagers had constructed for him, but that wasn't much of a surprise. Sesshomaru rarely used the home for much beyond storage, as far as she could tell. But after traipsing around the village and surrounding area and failing to spot him anywhere, she threw in the towel and headed back.

She'd just have to question him whenever he decided to show up—which, given his propensity to annoy her, wouldn't take long.

She stopped on her way to check on both Jinenji and Rin, unsurprised to find the former carefully tending to his garden while the latter was back in bed after having been coaxed outside for tea during Kagome's absence.

She reached her hut and nearly paused when she smelled smoke and the faint hint of tea.

Sesshomaru.

"You know," she said, stepping into the hut, "it's not considered polite to enter someone's house when they're not there."

He snorted as he lowered his kiseru and met her gaze. "What use are human norms to this one?"

"I'd say they're pretty important, given your relationship with Rin, if nothing else." She silently dared him to argue as she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. "And that reminds me, we should really talk about Rin and her condition—"

His expression hardened. "I believe," he said icily, "that it is time you discovered a new hobby, miko. This meddling habit of yours has become quite tiresome."

"She called for you during one of her nightmares, Sesshomaru," Kagome said quietly, disregarding his frigid warning. She took a sip of her cup, unsurprised to find it was the tea he'd given her. "She believed, up until the very end, that you would come to save her. And you did," she conceded quietly, but he probably hadn't done so in the way Rin had expected. "But she needs more than—"

"White or black?"

The unexpected question had her blinking at him. "What?"

"White or black?" he repeated flatly, gesturing one hand to the board game she only now spotted beside him.

She drank from her cup, more to give herself time to think than out of any real thirst. When the cup was empty, she busied herself with refilling his cup and then her own before replying, "I don't think that this—"

"If you wish to make demands of this one," he said then, eyes glinting, "then you must earn the right to make them, miko."

And then, finally, she understood. Whether it was due to ennui or overconfidence, the terms had been set, and Sesshomaru wouldn't answer her questions unless she beat him at his own game. Unfortunately for Sesshomaru, she thought with a smirk she did her best to hide, she was an excellent go player. Her mother had taught her everything she knew about the game.

"If you lose, however," he cautioned her when she opened her mouth to agree to his terms, "you must agree to this one's terms instead."

"Sure," she agreed readily. It sounded fair enough to her, and go was a game of skill rather than luck. She had confidence in her abilities. "Standard play. Let's allow a question for a capture." Go could take time to play, particularly between two well-matched players, and she didn't want to be up all night just to ask him a couple of questions.

"Very well. The terms are agreed. Choose your color, miko." He lifted the kiseru to his lips, his eyes alight with what she would have called mischief if it had been anyone else.

She lifted her chin. "White." She was more than up for the challenge. 

"Hnn." He inclined his head as he reached for the black stones. "Then I will make my move, miko."

Chapter Text

The first capture was Sesshomaru's, but the game was still young, and Kagome had known he was going to succeed at the capture several moves before he actually had. It didn't bother her that he'd seized the first small victory—in all honesty, she'd expected it.

"Ask your question." She studied him, wondering what question he'd choose to ask first.

"Have you been intimate with InuYasha?" 

Her mouth fell open at the unexpected question. At first, she didn't know what had possessed him to ask in the first place, but when she caught his momentary smug smile, she realized he'd asked it on purpose, no doubt to 'teach her a lesson' for daring to challenge him in the first place.

As if it was the only time she'd ever done that. 

She snorted as she lifted her head. If she wanted answers from him, she'd have to be honest in turn. "Yes," she said, but didn't elaborate because, really, he hadn't asked for details. If he'd wanted them, he should have been more specific.

His eyes narrowed, that arrogant smile gone. "You have lain with him?"

"You already asked your question, Sesshomaru," she told him smugly. "It's my move now."

Sesshomaru's lips thinned, and he returned to the game with an intensity that took her aback. Did he really care that much about receiving the answer to his question? "You have been captured," he said smugly just four moves later. "I seek an answer, miko."

Kagome shrugged, having already expected she'd have to answer him. For a moment, she almost decided to answer him coyly, but she really didn't want to give him leverage when it was her turn. "I did. Once."

He gave her a shrewd look, and she realized he had another question ready but would follow the rules of their game and seek a capture first. 

She inclined her head in silent acknowledgment.

The next capture was also his, but she'd planned for that, too. She had made several moves to make the sacrifice to allow her greater success in another few short turns. 

"Why did you not join with InuYasha as his second female?" Sesshomaru leaned forward as though hearing the answer truly interested him.

"Well, for one, he didn't ask me," she answered, reaching for a black stone to put into play. "But even if he had, I wouldn't have agreed. I don't want a husband I'd have to share, let alone one who always has someone else first in his heart."

"He would have provided for you." Sesshomaru seemed almost...bemused by the response, but he recovered quickly.

"I didn't need him to." Technically, he hadn't won the right to ask so she wasn't obligated to answer, but she did so anyway. "It's your move, Sesshomaru."

"Hnn. You have not yet made a capture, miko," he noted, placing a stone of his own.

She smiled as she placed another stone. Within just a few plays, she would. "Would you like more tea?"

He inclined his head as she set up two cups and placed the kettle over the fire to heat. 

This was a game she was determined to win.

Chapter Text

The next capture was hers. Finally, Kagome could ask a question, but she opted not to start with the one question she most wanted to ask. "Why have you never married or mated, Sesshomaru?" She figured it was a fair question to ask, given his interest in her love life.

He smirked. "If you desire to have this one—"

"Answer the question, Sesshomaru." She lifted her chin. "Don't try and dance around it."

"Hnn." He leaned back, the seductive expression gone, though his voice remained low and sensual. "I have never desired to be."

"Really?" She raised her brows. "So you've never fallen in love?" On one hand, at his age, that seemed almost surreal, and yet given his general demeanor, she wasn't exactly surprised, either. 

He snorted. "Love and mating are hardly equivalent." When she opened her mouth, he continued, "You have already asked your question, miko. It is my move now."

"Right," she said begrudgingly, remembering when she'd said that to him moments before. "Then move, Sesshomaru."

He reached for a white stone. "You did not need a victory to pursue this one, miko," he said, placing it near several others.

If he sought to disarm and distract her, he'd picked the wrong topic. "Maybe not," she returned, reaching for a black stone to place near his group of white ones, "but a game makes everything more fun, doesn't it?"

"Perhaps." He made his move, and she realized she'd be cornered neatly in just a couple of turns. "So long as the prize is an enticing one."

She didn't let the momentary setback perturb her as she picked up another stone. She had other moves in play, and the end game was still hers to win. "Well, maybe the prize isn't exactly what you thought." It wouldn't be, not when she won. He'd see Rin then whether he liked it or not.

"It is my boon to claim," he replied haughtily as he set another stone down.

"Is it?" She smiled then as she placed her stone, allowing him to claim another victory so she could move onto other plays rather than drag this one out.

"I believe this is my victory again, miko." He looked pleased.

She shrugged. "So ask your question."

"Why have you not sought another lover?" He leaned forward.

"Because I don't need one," she answered lightly. "Love is nice to have, but I'm not going to chase it down." She'd made that mistake once, thank you, and learned her lesson.

"Hnn." He settled back on his cushion. "But you desire to have a lover nonetheless."

She didn't answer, partially because he hadn't won the right to ask her, and partially because he was correct. She did want to love and be loved in return. "It's my move." She set down a black stone, setting up another strategy that would allow her to ask the question she'd been wanting to ask all evening.

"So it is." He reached for another stone as she completed her move, but, as she'd planned, it only took a couple more turns before she had neatly outmaneuvered him again. 

"My question again." She had intended to ask her original question, but instead found herself asking, "Don't you want to be loved, Sesshomaru?" 

He was silent a moment as he twirled a white stone around his fingers. "It is unnecessary."

"Is it?" She watched as he set his stone into play. "A lover without love is hardly satisfying."

He did not answer her, but she saw his lips thinned. Perhaps he was more bothered by her comment than he intended to let on, but she didn't have much chance to dwell on it before it was her turn.

For a few minutes, they went back and forth, each of them playing more intently than they had so far. He had clearly upped his game, and she had no choice but to play more fiercely to match or else end up sacrificing more than she'd wanted to. If she lost too much, the game would be his, and that simply wouldn't do.

But then, finally, she succeeded at another small victory as her stones cornered his.

"I won another capture." She grinned as she went in for the kill, deciding there wasn't a reason to beat around the bush any longer, not when he was more skilled than she'd initially accounted for. "Sesshomaru, why did you send Jaken to look after Rin instead of doing it yourself?"

Chapter Text

His lips thinned as any hint of amused seduction fled. "You continue to persist where you are not wanted, miko. Do you not tire of your unwarranted meddling?"

"It's my question," Kagome reminded him, crossing her arms. "You didn't put any stipulations on what either of us could ask. If you wanted boundaries," she shrugged, "then you should have set them up in the first place before the game even started."

For a few moments, he said nothing, but the red flickers within his golden gaze suggested that he wasn't as calm as he appeared. "You have already received your answer, miko."

She waved one hand. "If you're referring to how Rin supposedly wouldn't want to see you after she'd been hurt, I don't agree. You know," she added, thinking back to the past, "as much as it hurt me to see InuYasha and Kikyo together, not seeing them wasn't going to somehow hide the truth from me or make it feel better, either. At the end of the day, I loved InuYasha, and I wanted him to be happy—even if that wasn't with me."

"That is not the same—" Sesshomaru started to protest, but she didn't give him the chance to finish.

"Isn't it?" She leaned forward. "You're the one who compared all of this," she waved one hand, "to my feelings with InuYasha before."

He huffed as he reached for his cup and swallowed the contents. 

"So if it's not that," she said, refilling his cup, "then what is it?" She gave him a shrewd smile. "Maybe," she continued, her voice dropping to a low whisper as the idea occurred to her, "you're afraid that you'll no longer be 'Sesshomaru-sama' in her eyes." 

His gaze narrowed. "Desist, miko—"

"Answer the question then," she lifted her chin, "and I'll stop speculating. Unless you're conceding defeat."

Something blazed in his eyes for a moment and then vanished. "A minor victory will not secure you the war, miko."

"Of course not." She snorted. She wasn't naive. But the fact that he continued to evade the question told her she'd hit the right note. "I answered your questions, Sesshomaru," she reminded him when he remained silent.

Finally, he said, "She cares for Jaken." He glanced away from her. "He understands her."

And then, finally, she understood: Sesshomaru did not feel as though he had the right nor a place in Rin's life any longer.

Chapter Text

She reached out instinctively to offer him comfort, but Kagome should have known better than to think that he would accept it from her. Sesshomaru drew back, his familiar mask slipping back into place. "I believe," he said crispy, "that it is my move, miko."

Her hand fell away. "Yeah, it is."

She wasn't surprised by the rejection, but it stung all the same. Sesshomaru likely wouldn't take comfort from anyone.

He reached for a white stone, and for a few minutes, neither of them said anything as they played. The crackling of the fire, the clicking of stones being set into play, and the sounds of the cicadas outside her window were all that could be heard.

It took far longer for a capture to be made, but it felt a little hollow now as Kagome furtively searched for a question to ask. It felt wrong to probe further into Sesshomaru's insecurities, but there was also the fear that maybe she'd pushed too far that held her back as well. "Why don't you use your home in the village?" 

His brows raised as he placed a white stone down. "I did not ask for it."

"I know," she replied quickly, making her own move, "but if you're going to stay here long term, you should have a house of your own, right? It's kind of weird if we just keep tripping over you in the forest or mountains nearby."

He inclined his head after a moment. "Perhaps."

"You should use it." The words left her lips before she could stop them. "Unless you already have a home?"

She hadn't won the right to another question, but he answered it anyway. "I do not."

"Then use it." They continued to play, but she took his silence as acceptance.

After several more minutes had passed and the tea had been finished, Sesshomaru won another capture, and this time, he asked a question she really hadn't expected, though, looking back, she should have. "Why do you run away from your own passion, miko?"

Chapter Text

She gaped at him. "Are you really asking me why I don't like your flirtations?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or are you asking why I won't sleep with you?"

"Do not evade the question, miko." He ran one hand over the fur draped over one shoulder. "You are well aware of what I seek."

"Am I?" Her jaw clenched as she felt a little hounded, but she couldn't say she was surprised, either. This was probably his payback for the question she'd pressed him on earlier. "I don't have a problem with passion, Sesshomaru. I just don't see a reason to indulge in it without love." 

He stared at her, his expression incredulous.

"It just doesn't feel as good," she concluded with a shrug, though part of her was amused by how taken aback he was. 

"And you have learned this," he ground out, "by sleeping with multiple males?"

Her anger rose at the insinuation, but she pushed it back when she realized just how irate he was. "No. Not exactly," she began, but when his eyes began to turn red, she quickly amended, "No, I haven't. Not that it's really your business, but I've only slept with InuYasha, and—well, that obviously didn't work out."

It had been a mistake from the get-go if she was being honest with herself. He'd confused platonic love for romantic love, and she'd been desperate to prove they could work. She hadn't stopped to consider the ramifications, and neither had InuYasha. The night had been a clumsy, inexperienced one, but it had only been when InuYasha had stupidly blurted out at the end that kissing her had felt different than kissing Kikyo that she'd realized what a mistake they'd made. He'd immediately been apologetic, but the damage had been done.

Sex hadn't brought them closer; it had only made them realize that any romance between them was doomed.

She didn't want to go through that again.

"I promised myself that the next time I had sex, it would be for the right reasons." She sighed as she absently began preparing another kettle of tea. "I won't have sex again just to have sex and see what happens."

Chapter Text

Sesshomaru stared at her, his gaze so intense that she felt a bit like a cornered rabbit. "You would enjoy it."

"Probably." She shrugged. "It's not worth it, though. Not without feelings." She was adamant on that point, and she wasn't going to budge, no matter what he said. 

He leaned back, one hand reaching for a stone. "Then develop them."

Kagome almost laughed at the command. Somehow, she wasn't surprised by it. "That's not really how this works, Sesshomaru," she said, shaking her head. "You can't just develop feelings because someone demands it." She knew better than to remind him of recent events with Rin that would have cemented the point. No matter how much he irked her at times, she refused to be malicious.

No one deserved that.

He twirled the stone around his fingers. "Then when I claim victory," he declared, "you will endeavor to do so with this one."

"Sure," she agreed readily because she didn't intend to lose. 

She was going to win, and when she did, she would insist that he finally visit Rin and have the conversation with the girl that was long overdue. They both needed that to move forward and begin to heal. 

It was time.

Chapter Text

Kagome eyed the board. The game was nearly over, but it was also nearly evenly matched, and victory was still up for grabs by either one of them if the next few moves were played well. Sesshomaru had proven a more adept player than she'd hoped for, and it was clear that he hadn't expected her to be as formidable a rival, either. 

Her next move mattered—in fact, every single stone she had left mattered if she wanted to claim victory.

She reached for a black stone, all too aware of the intensity of Sesshomaru's gaze. The longer the game had continued, the more intrigued he'd looked. The questions themselves had grown more benign, ranging from their childhoods to recent hobbies, but his interest had become anything but harmless.

He was all but seducing her and, likely, seduced in turn.

If it hadn't been for her promise to herself, she might well have capitulated. It was a heady feeling, finding someone who could keep pace with her like this.

As she set the stone down, hoping to corner his next move, Jaken suddenly thundered into her home. "My lord!" He waved his arms as he attempted to careen to a stop just before Sesshomaru's feet. "Rin is awake!"

Kagome stared at the imp. That was hardly news; it wasn't as if Rin had spent the last few weeks in comatose—even if there had been times she'd hardly seemed to react. 

"She is awake, Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken repeated, but he was unable to fully stop and went sprawling head-first into the go board, sending the stones flying around her hut.

The game was over, and it seemed that Jaken was the true winner.

Chapter Text

Kagome hovered outside of Rin's hut. She couldn't help it; she needed to know it was all going to work out.

It had taken some oddly clever manipulation by Jaken, but Sesshomaru had been persuaded to seek out Rin—if only to cease Jaken's incessant caterwauling. She had to admit, Jaken had a way of making his point, and fortunately enough for him, there weren't any pebbles conveniently at hand. Sesshomaru had ordered Jaken to come, but the imp had made his excuses by claiming he had to first get more herbs for Rin from Jinenji.

Kagome, however, couldn't think of an excuse to join him, and without an invitation, she had no choice but to eavesdrop if she wanted to make sure things went well. At least she was close enough to interfere somehow if Sesshomaru said something really stupid.

For a while, however, neither Rin nor Sesshomaru spoke. Finally, he murmured, "Are you well, Rin?"

"...Is that really what you want to ask me, Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin replied quietly as Kagome leaned back against the wall. When Sesshomaru remained silent, Rin pressed, "Don't you want to know why I left the way I did to begin with, or what happened after...?" She sniffled. "Don't you want to know how I feel now?"

"It would not change anything."

"No." Rin let out a heavy sigh. "It wouldn't." She exhaled again. "I really did love you, you know, Sesshomaru-sama." She sounded like she might be crying then. "I loved you a lot."

He remained silent, almost as if he was hesitating. Then, "You are not without importance, Rin."

She sniffled again. "What?"

"You are not without importance," he repeated quietly. "It is because of one small human child that this one came into his own." He paused, then continued, "You will always have meaning in his life."

Rin began to sob in earnest then, but this time, it wasn't the anguished, devasted sobs they had been hearing ever since her rescue. 

Kagome smiled as she pushed off of the wall. It might take a little time, but they would both be alright now. 

She was sure of it.

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When Kagome entered her home the following night, weary from a day of helping out her friends around the village, she found Sesshomaru sitting on a cushion, sipping tea with an empty go board beside him. "You have your own home, you know," she said as she slipped her shoes off.

"Hnn." His eyes gleamed as he took a sip of his tea. "Yet we did not complete our game the night before."

No, they hadn't; Jaken had inadvertently ensured that. "You're that confident you'll win?" she asked as she made her way over to her cushion and took a seat.

"Of course." He smirked as he handed her a cup. "There is little point in gambling unless one is certain of the outcome."

"Arrogant yokai," she accused without any real heat as she accepted the tea and made herself comfortable. "Same stakes as last time?"

"What else?" He quirked a brow, but there was a sensual lit to his eyes that suggested he wouldn't be opposed to other variations of their game.

She grinned. "I hope you're ready to admit defeat, then. I know exactly what I want from you, Sesshomaru?"

"Do you?" he purred, that sensual lilt once again nearly having her reconsider her position on intimacy. It wasn't as though she didn't have feelings at all for Sesshomaru, she admitted to herself, but she'd have labeled those feelings as 'attraction' and 'interest.' She certainly wouldn't have said she was in love with him. 

Not yet. 

"Oh, yes." Her grin grew. "And I have every intention of claiming it."

"As do I, miko." His gaze dropped to her lips. "You will enjoy it."

She opened her mouth to blast him about running over her boundaries—only to flush when she realized all he intended to claim as his prize was a kiss.

She wouldn't admit it aloud, but for the first time, a small part of her hoped she would lose.

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Sesshomaru hadn't won that first game—though he'd made a valiant attempt. 

Kagome, however, had, and claimed her prize. He hadn't been too pleased at the notion of 'family' dinners at first, but for all of his disinterest, he'd settled into the routine with Kagome, Jaken, and Rin fairly easily.

He had, however, demanded a rematch.

She'd agreed. After all, she'd never met such a promising opponent herself, and she enjoyed playing with him despite the unusual stakes. Of course, she thought smugly, she'd won that next game, too, and a small prize in the form of the shampoo and conditioner he used to keep his hair so silky, but her victories only seemed to whet his appetite for more.

So it never failed that each night, after they'd had dinner and left Rin's home, they went back to her own to play go. More often than not, the wages were benign, but upon occasion, one of them would press for more.

It only took Sesshomaru two more games to claim his own victory—and along with it, the kiss he'd teased her with the first night they'd played a full game. She had thought it would a harsh, punishing kiss, but had been surprised by the gentle, beguiling kiss he'd given her instead. Her lips had tingled long after the brief, kiss had ended, and Kagome had been forced to concede one point: she was interested in pursuing Sesshomaru.

And, judging by the heated look on his face, he was every bit intrigued by that as she was.

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After the kiss, the stakes in their games changed. Sesshomaru sought to cajole and persuade her into his bed, while Kagome fought every bit as intently to ensure she first captured his heart.

It had become far more than a mere battle of wit, and neither of them wished to back down.

The next game, she claimed her victory in the form of lunch in the forest with Sesshomaru alone. Lunch, inevitably, ended in another match where Sesshomaru claimed another, deeper kiss. That game was followed by another where his prize was a thinly veiled seduction attempt in the form of a training session.

Kagome had resisted the temptation, but she admitted it had been a near thing. He knew she wanted him now—how could he not, after those kisses?—and that she was fighting her own urges as well as his temptation.

It was only a matter of time before she capitulated.

Another game saw her win, and she claimed her prize by insisting he return with her to visit her friends back at the village near the well. Ah-Un had accompanied them, carrying the board game and pieces so they could continue to play over the following fortnight until their return.

The next victory was his, and he had asked her to wash his hair. The sensual activity had nearly done her in, and judging by the knowing look on his face, he had known how aroused she'd been. But she'd held her ground, and when she next won, she asked to hold Tenseiga. It had seemed an innocent, innocuous enough request, yet when she had taken the fang in hand, a strong welcoming sensation had rocked through her, one far stronger than when she'd first freed Tessaiga.

His next prize had been a massage, and by then, it seemed, everyone else in their village had known of the unusual courtship. Jinenji, of all beings, had given her homemade massage oil to use, Jaken had created a small hot spring for their private use, and Shiori had offered an odd artifact that turned out to be a yokai bone massager Sesshomaru could use.

It wouldn't be the last time her friends and the other villagers tried to 'help' the courtship along, though it was equally obvious that they were all amused by the entire affair.

And on and on it went, as the weeks turned into months, until one night, over dinner, Rin finally shook her head one night over dinner and said, "You really should hurry up and accept Sesshomaru-sama's proposal already, Kagome-sama."

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Kagome flushed, a little taken aback by both Rin's awareness and her statement. She'd done her best not to flaunt or advertise her unusual relationship in front of the teenager to avoid adding any additional pain. And yet, somehow, Rin had discerned the truth anyway. "It doesn't bother you?" she asked quietly, searching for any hint of negative emotions in the young woman's face. 

Given their background, she wouldn't have been surprised if Rin had been upset.

"No." Rin looked a little wistful for a moment. "I mean, I'm a little envious," she confessed quickly, glancing away from Sesshomaru's direction, "but I've known for a while that the one he wanted was you, Kagome-sama. Maybe..." She hesitated. "Maybe that's why I confessed the way I did that day. I thought..." She worried her lower lip. "I made a mistake."

Kagome met Sesshomaru's gaze then, surprised by the open emotion she saw there. "Then you...?" Her breath caught. Had he truly been interested in her that far back? She couldn't recall a single sign at that moment, but then, all she could think about was the male looking at her now.

He did not seem troubled by Rin's revelation.

"Besides," Rin added with a flush of her own as she glanced towards the open doorway. "I've found someone who's important to me. Someone I'm important to. So it's okay, Kagome-sama." She turned back to Kagome with a smile. "Be happy. I want you both to be happy."

It reminded her of Kagome's own wish to see InuYasha's happiness, even though it hadn't included her. Sure, like Rin, she'd been hurt at first when InuYasha had chosen Kikyo, but she'd understood.

There had always been something special between InuYasha and the woman who had first stolen his heart.

She glanced over at Sesshomaru again, her breath catching at the open desire in his eyes. Desire—and more.

"You need to take some time to talk to each other, I think," Rin said then, setting aside her chopsticks. "Besides, everyone else has found their happiness, Kagome-sama. Isn't it time you both found yours?"

And then, before either of them could reply, Rin stood and left her dinner half-finished and, to Kagome's surprise, made her way outside and towards Jinenji's hut, followed closely by Jaken—and that left Sesshomaru and Kagome alone with the explosive passion between them. 

Chapter Text

"You are so cute. Yes, you are. You're absolutely adorable," Rin gushed, cuddling the small bundle to her chest. "You look just like your father." She turned to the large male beside her. "Don't you want to hold him?"

Jinenji shook his head as he stared at his hands.

"Here." Rin gently placed the boy in his hands, adjusting them to support the infant's head and bottom. "See? You won't hurt him, Jinenji."

Jinenji silently held the boy, but she could see the tears in his eyes. As Rin had stated, the boy resembled him—not his hanyo form, but his human one, to Jinenji's immense relief. "He's so small," he said after a moment, awed by the experience of meeting his son for the first time.

"He's perfect," Rin said with a smile. "Isn't he?"

Jinenji slowly bobbed his head in agreement. "Just like his mother," he agreed quietly as Rin's smile grew.

It had taken her years to come to this point, but through it all, Jinenji had never wavered with his silent support and comfort. If it hadn't been for him and Jaken both, she wasn't sure how she would have made it. The nightmares had finally vanished, and in their wake were pleasant dreams where she was finally safe.

"We'll have to introduce him to his jiichan later," she added, thinking of how pleased Jaken would be to finally meet Jin after his gentle care for her during the pregnancy. "And of course, he'll have to meet Sesshomaru-sama, Kagome-sama, and little Ichika-chan later," she added, naming Sesshomaru's and Kagome's daughter, now five years old, who had been conceived almost immediately following the mating. At least they'd listened to her that night, she thought with a smile, and it hadn't surprised anyone at all when their mating was discovered the following morning. Her beloved Sesshomaru was now relegated to the role of doting father to his own young, and, though it had taken a little time, he had returned to the role of lord and hero to Rin.

"He has your eyes," Jinenji observed after a moment, a small smile spreading as he held his son. "Thank you, Rin."

"Thank you, Jinenji." She smiled at her mate and her son as the baby dozed off in his father's arms. She was once again grateful for her mate's patience and love through all these years.

He hummed quietly in response, slowly rocking their newborn son.

"There are a lot of people who are going to want to meet you, Jin," Rin said to her son then as she cuddled up to her mate.

But for right now, this moment was theirs.