Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

This is my first multi-shot. Enjoy! (And I borrowed Kagome's secret of youth from a friend; many thanks to her!)

Chapter One: Arrival

"Rin." The look in Kohaku's eyes took her breath away as he moved near her.

"What is it?" the young teenager asked innocently. Warm happiness filled her—not excitement, or anticipation: just happiness.

Kohaku grabbed her hands and pulled her close to him. Rin freed her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He didn't need to tell her. Both of them knew.

"I love you too," she said sweetly.

Kohaku bent and kissed her lips gently. She returned the kiss, sure that it would last forever…

Thunk.

Something cold and flabby landed hard on Rin's ankle. She kicked instinctively and heard a yelp. The vision of Kohaku wavered.

No! she cried inwardly, but it was no use…the image vanished. Her cheek was pressed against something spiky, and she was sitting on something hard and moving. Her ears were filled with male voices, and a wind was moving her hair. It took her a moment to remember where she was—riding Ahun with Lord Sesshomaru and Jaken.

She was awake, and the dream was gone.

Rin didn't want to open her eyes just yet. She listened to the conversation going on around her, as she tried to gather the strength to become fully awake.

"Jaken." It was Lord Sesshomaru. "Get up."

"B-but milord!" squawked the toad demon. "The wench kicked me!"

"You deserved it. You fell on her."

"It was an accident!" Jaken wailed. "I tripped!"

It took someone like Jaken to trip while they were riding a dragon several hundred feet in the air.

"Be silent or face my wrath," hissed Sesshomaru. "If you have awakened Rin, I swear I will kill you."

Rin decided it was time she got up. "It's all right, my lord," she told Sesshomaru, pushing herself into a sitting position. "I was about to wake up anyway." That was a lie, but Jaken had been "killed" often enough. Stupid or not, he deserved a break sometimes.

Sesshomaru obviously didn't agree.

"You awoke her," he told Jaken. "I keep my promises."

With one swift movement, he pushed Jaken off the dragon.

Rin leaned over and watched him fall, his wail streaming behind him like a trail of smoke—until he crash-landed in a tree.

"Pity," said Sesshomaru, who was watching too. "Now he'll survive. Ah, well…at least I'll have something to hit when I get frustrated with my half-wit half-breed half-brother..."

Rin smiled, as she knew he wanted her to. Other people could accuse Sesshomaru of being cold and unfeeling, but they were wrong. Simply because he didn't like to show his feelings didn't mean he had none at all. She enjoyed these times when she was alone with him, when he would relax and even make subtle jokes.

"But we only visit him and his family once a year," she put in brightly. "It's fun to see Kagome, and Sango, and Shippo, and Kohaku…"

Kohaku. The name made her heart rate jump. Rin vented her excitement by scanning the ground eagerly for Inuyasha's mansion. They were currently flying over Inuyasha's Forest, which looked distinctly browner this year due to the lack of rain. Within seconds, Rin was rewarded by the sight of a red roof on the edge of the wood.

"There it is!" she cried, her heart jumping. "I see it!"

Sesshomaru looked over her shoulder. "Indeed. Land there, Ahun."

The dragon landed gracefully on the lawn in front of the huge house. Before Rin could even dismount, a small swarm of children surrounded Ahun.

"It's Rin!" yelled Kaoru, the image of Miroku, at the top of his seven-year-old lungs. "It's Rin and Lord 'Shomaru!"

"Hey, Kaoru," said Rin, grinning, as she dismounted.

"Rin!" Kaoru's sister Mayura attached herself to Rin's hand. "Can I ride the dragon?"

"I wanna ride the dragon!" wailed Ayumi, brushing long, white hair—the only outward sign that she was ¼ demon—out of her eyes.

"Excuse me."

All the children froze at Sesshomaru's cold voice.

"Where are Rin and I to stay?" he asked.

Kumiko, Ayumi's sister and the oldest girl present, spoke up importantly. "Follow me, an' I'll ask Mama," she offered.

The entire crowd of children escorted Rin and Sesshomaru to the house. Kumiko ran through the door ahead of them, shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Mama, Rin 'n Uncle Shom'ru are here, they wanna know where they're s'posed to go. MAMA! Where are you? They're here…"

Kagome emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her kimono. "I heard you the first time, Kumi. Rin, how nice to see you! And you, too, Lord Sesshomaru."

Rin smiled at her. She could still remember when she'd first seen Kagome: a fifteen-year-old with strange futuristic clothes and a hot temper. Kagome wore normal clothing now that she lived here permanently, and she was a little more cool-headed. Due to a strange side effect of time-travel, however, she hadn't changed much physically over the past six years. She now aged very slowly—at the same rate, in fact, as Inuyasha.

Sango followed Kagome from the kitchen, holding a baby in one hand and a dishrag in the other. Despite looking after a family that included seven small children, a husband and a grown brother, Sango rarely looked hassled. Rin supposed it had something to do with her demon extermination training. It must have also helped that she lived with Kagome, so they could split some of the work.

"Are you looking for your rooms, Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked the demon lord. "They're in the back, straight down the hallway and to the left."

Sesshomaru barely inclined his head, the closest he ever got to thanking anyone. "Very well." He turned to Rin. "I shall put your pack away, also."

"Thank you, my lord," she said gratefully. Sesshomaru nodded, and went outside.

"Does this mean you're gonna play with us?" asked Kyo, Sango and Miroku's two-year-old, hopefully.

"Maybe later," she told him. She looked at Sango. "Do you know where Kohaku is? I just want to say hi."

"He should be in his workshop, out back," said Sango.

Rin thanked her and headed outside. She didn't notice Sango watching her thoughtfully as she left.