Well, I feel special for getting this up on the year mark of having this account. It should count for something, I would think. Anyway, I really don't have much to say except that I hope everybody enjoys. I'm sorry if this chapter is slow -- sort of a necessary evil of setting up the plot and everything. The rest will have a different feel, I promise!

The sun was nesting in the branches of the trees, hovering for a moment before it would slip below the horizon. For the time being, the small clearing was blessedly quiet, filled only with the soft brush of dry leaves.

Sesshoumaru had taken the opportunity to clear the area of any threat that might present itself that night, figuring that it would be easier to deal with such petty annoyances while his mismatched group of followers was away at the village. The task would have to be done some time, and might as well be finished without the hassle of Jaken's over-exuberance.

He had only been finished for ten minutes, sitting at the foot of a tree, when he caught the first faint sounds of the group's return. They fairly shattered the silence – Jaken's squawking drowning out whatever exclamations Rin was making while Kohaku quietly attempted to placate the both of them. The sounds had become so familiar that Sesshoumaru was almost able to completely ignore them – almost.

When the group finally appeared, Ah Un landing in the clearing and allowing them all to dismount, it seemed that Jaken had successfully worked himself into quite the tirade over something that Rin had said. Kohaku had a look of mild exasperation as he removed the packages that had been picked up in the village from Ah Un's back. He moved to place these with the rest of their meager supplies before sitting a few feet from Sesshoumaru and turning to focus on the unfolding argument.

Sesshoumaru's attention had only strayed from them for a moment while he took stock of what had been brought back from the village. With the knowledge that all necessities had been purchased, he focused back on the shorter members of the group. While they were silent for the time being, Rin looked like she was choking back a flood of words, her brows knitted together in either anger or sadness; her scent was too confused at the moment for Sesshoumaru to decipher which it was. In any case, he had to wonder if he needed to throw a stone at the imp, since Jaken had been ordered long ago not to do anything to upset Rin.

The momentary stalemate came to a sudden end as Rin spoke again, although there was no hint of argumentativeness to her voice. Now there was only sadness. "It was just a question…"

"A stupid question!"

Rin's eyes flashed indignantly. "I've had nobody explain it to me! How can you expect me to understand?"

Jaken shook his staff as though momentarily at a loss for the words he wanted to say. "Hmph. Perhaps humans are just so dim that they don't innately understand such matters."

Rin's chin jutted out for a moment, the look on her face seeming to hint at further debate. But then she seemed to crumble, and without another word she turned on her heel and stomped into the forest.

Jaken stared at her before lifting his head, smug at his apparent victory. Of course, his face dropped abruptly when he met Sesshoumaru's eyes and the glare that had worked its way into his expression. Jaken fell on the ground, instantly spewing out a string of excuses and apologies as he bowed repeatedly.

"Kohaku."

The boy turned to Sesshoumaru. "Would you like me to go after her, my lord?"

"No." Ignoring the continued babbling from Jaken, Sesshoumaru slowly rose, feeling the pull of obligations he could never remember accepting. "What is this about?"

"The argument only happened once we were returning, but I think it was because we saw part of a funeral procession in the village. Rin asked me what happens to demons when they die, if it was similar to our fate. Jaken interrupted before I was able to reply."

Without any further response, Sesshoumaru turned to the forest and followed Rin's scent, a faint sourness to it hinting that there may be tears. Unconsciously, his expression darkened; if Rin was crying, Jaken would regret it.

He finally found her curled among the knobby roots of a tree growing next to a stream. The fists pressed against her eyes were resting on her knees, her body so motionless and silent that it seemed that she trying not to breathe. When she finally exhaled, her breath wavering in tight self-control, it was clear that she was doing everything she could to maintain her composure.

Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment longer, silently debating the wisdom of speaking to her about this matter. It was just so rare for her to be bothered by something Jaken said. In the time she had followed him, Sesshoumaru could only think of one other instance when she had left camp. At that time, his attachment to the girl had not been so strong, and he had believed that the best thing was to allow her privacy; such was what he would have wanted. He was not sure how he had come to realize that if Rin went to be alone that usually she would rather have company.

Comfort was not something that came to him easily. Sesshoumaru knew that even now, while some strange part of his heart that he still could not understand wished to return her to her usual smiles, how to accomplish such a task was beyond his knowledge. But there was nobody around, and there was no reason to leave her so miserable. So often just his acknowledgement could brighten her mood, little as he understood such a reaction. Perhaps simply being there was enough.

Sesshoumaru came to sit on one of the roots, waiting until Rin calmed enough to notice that he was there. As he watched the purple light of the dusk sky reflect on the stream, he wondered how he had such patience with such a ridiculous creature – she was the one person he would wait for.

Finally she stiffened, and it was the stillness of awareness, of recognizing another presence. Slowly she lifted her head, eyes watery but cheeks dry; her efforts at control had apparently worked in part. A small hand instantly went to her face all the same, dull relief passing through her eyes when her fingers did not meet any tears.

"I'm sorry, Lord Sesshoumaru. You didn't need to come yourself if you wanted me to return to camp…" she said quietly, rubbing at her eyes as though it would push the tears back from where they came.

"I did not come to bring you back."

Her head turned slightly to the side as her hands slowly slid back to her lap, hair slanting across her face and falling over her shoulder. While she would not question him about his motives, her eyes were full of things she wished to ask.

Turning his attention back to the stream, now a dark ribbon of obsidian as the last light dissolved from the sky, Sesshoumaru pieced together the way to approach what seemed to be the necessary topic. "Jaken was teasing you."

Although she didn't reply, she nodded, a small movement that he nonetheless noticed.

"This is not uncommon. What was different today?"

Rin shuffled her feet as she wrapped her arms around her legs, pressing out wrinkles and flicking off pieces of grass absentmindedly. "What he said made me finally realize something," she whispered into the night, voice almost drowned in the fabric of her clothes.

Sesshoumaru looked at her, silently pushing for further explanation.

"There is so little I understand about anything," she started slowly. "After my parents died, there was nobody to teach me about my own people. And now the only world I know is that of the demons, and even that I know so little about. I don't think I can fit properly anywhere now…"

He turned her words over for a moment, sensing the truth of her logic although it seemed too heavy a subject for one so small. "Would you have rather that I left you with a human family?"

"Oh no!" Her head snapped up instantly, eyes bright in the darkness. "Never! I have been so thankful and happy following you, my lord."

Although he had anticipated that this would be her answer, it was nonetheless somewhat calming to hear it. "Then what is the problem?"

Rin considered this, apparently trying to put words to the indistinct thoughts in her head. "I just wish I was not so ignorant, I suppose. There seem to be things I should know, but I do not, and the feeling that everybody else is aware is embarrassing. I should understand more about the demon world for being so connected to it. It doesn't seem right that somebody who is so ignorant can follow you…"

"I have never demanded such knowledge of you."

"I know," she sighed. "But even if you don't mind, I do. I don't know anything, I cannot aid you… I do not feel worth everything you have done and given me."

Sesshoumaru could find no response and let the silence spread between them, thick and heavy as the night. Logically, her feelings were true; she was not worth the trouble. But it had been so long since he had listened to logic when it concerned Rin. He found that his only focus now was her exasperation with her situation.

There was nothing to be done with it at the moment, though. He rose and waited as she disentangled herself from the tree and fell into step behind him as he returned to their camp.

----

That night, Sesshoumaru had much to think about. Through the flickering light of the dying fire, he watched Rin shift in her sleep, curling closer to Ah Un. Not for the first time, he wondered how many human girls would be so utterly unfazed by a dragon.

That observation was, however, part of the problem he now considered. Rin's path had been split from the rest of her kindred long ago, even before she had met him. While he had always known this in some measure – most humans had the sense to avoid demons in general, and wounded or angry ones especially, yet Rin had seemingly never been taught this vital lesson – the implications were only now settling in his mind. She simply did not fit within the world she had been born into.

While she was only eleven now, she had mentioned that soon – the month after the cherry trees bloomed – she would turn twelve. And then he would have to do nothing more difficult than blink and she would be thirteen, and then fourteen, and then fifteen, passing what was left of her childhood in a space of time that he would have previously thought insignificant.

And then she would become an adult, and the thought made a knot of Sesshoumaru's considerations. While he would have liked to dismiss these thoughts, save them for some future evening, some time when perhaps it was more pressing, he knew he could not. Allowing one season to pass would free the others to slip by until it was too late. Now that it had been brought to mind, he needed to think.

She wished to understand his world and, more importantly, play some role within it. She was realizing everything that was done for her and had grown enough to see a tipping in the scales. It was becoming clear that perhaps even more than her fear of ignorance she feared being a burden.

It was at this point that Sesshoumaru found himself having trouble. There were simply not that many options open. Allowing Rin to learn to fight was completely out of the question; he would not permit her to ease her conscience concerning her imagined debt by aiding in battle. He wanted her to remain safe, above all else.

There was, unfortunately, only one way he could see her being both safe and able to learn the things she desired. Part of him found the possibility absurd when she was still so small. And perhaps it would have remained absurd, if Rin were no more than a common peasant girl. But now she was his ward, and she had become bound to his world. Her life would have to follow the structures that his did, both those of the demons and the nobility.

As much as Sesshoumaru despised the thought – a fact that he found mildly bothersome – it was at this age that the girls of the demon nobility began to learn the skills that would hopefully attract a marriage proposal when they were finally presented in court. If he wanted any flickering chance that Rin would receive such a proposal, and one that he would approve of, then she would have to start preparing soon.

But it was an opportunity for her to become aware of the things she did not know. At the same time, it would be a preparation that should allow her to no longer worry about being an inconvenience. He had no doubt that she would apply herself to such studies if given the chance. And she would have to work hard if she hoped to outshine the many other girls who would be presented at the same time as her. As far as Sesshoumaru was aware, there had never been a human raised within the inu-youkai palace.

He almost smiled grimly to himself at the thought of being the one to break that precedent. What a dubious honor.

----

It only took a week to reach the palace.

As Sesshoumaru had suspected, Rin had been excited at the chance to learn as well as the opportunity to do something. For his part, he had allowed her whatever motivation she required; the more he had considered the idea, the more perfect it seemed to become. It had reached the point where he would leave her at the palace if she wanted to be there or not. If she was happy, so much the better.

Of course, he had not yet told her that he would leave again to pursue Naraku, but that could come later.

She was all chatters and excitement as they got close, cheerfully telling Kohaku of the other occasion when Sesshoumaru had brought her there, to get her new yukata after he had returned her to life. It had almost been three years since then, and she was glad to return. Apparently the palace was beautiful to her.

If those at the palace were surprised to see that Sesshoumaru had another follower, they did not say anything. Then again, they had been wise enough not to comment when he had first brought Rin. Rooms were simply prepared for the new arrivals and servants delegated to assist whenever necessary.

This time, Rin's rooms were somewhat separated from the rest. While the hall was only a two minute walk away, merely the distance of a short wooded slope, it would allow her to be closer to the quarters of the women who would be directing her studies and preparation over the next seven or so years.

It had taken a few days after their arrival, but he was able to find three women who were willing to oversee Rin's education. While there was a measure of reluctance, likely over the fact that they would be serving a human, it seemed that the chance of honor for being the ones to prepare the Lord's ward outweighed such a drawback.

Sesshoumaru finally brought Rin to meet the women, and was secretly proud to see that regardless of the leaves sticking out of the black hair and the dirty knees peaking beneath her yukata from playing in the woods all morning, she understood when to be silent and when to speak. She stood patiently as the women circled around her, tutting a bit at the lack of refinement, although he could sense a general air of approval; it would be possible to turn Rin into an acceptable lady.

Everything was accomplished within the course of five days. Like every other situation she had been subjected to, Rin took to her new living conditions easily. Of course, not much had yet changed; she was left to act as she always had, venturing into the gardens to see what things were beginning to bloom in the early spring. It would not be until he left that her lessons would start.

Now that everything was arranged, there was no reason to stay. There were things Sesshoumaru needed to do, and remaining in the palace was making him increasingly restless. Yet for all the reasons he needed to leave, doing so felt much more difficult than he would have liked. And while he hated to admit it, he knew the reason was that Rin would no longer be with him.

Once he convinced himself that it was even for her benefit that he leave as soon as possible – every day they remained was another day that drew all things with evil intents to Kohaku's shard– it felt somewhat simpler. In the afternoon of their sixth day, he told Jaken and Kohaku to be ready to leave in the evening.

Slowly, Sesshoumaru walked through the woods to the rooms that had been given to Rin, catching the murmurs of the women as they debated together. As the trees thinned, he could see into the hall; the screens were opened, allowing the sunlight to warm the rooms that had been closed up since the fall.

Various rolls of silk lay in one corner of the room while others rested in the hands of the women. Rin stood in the middle of the group, looking mildly bored as they compared fabrics and held them up to her cheek, debating which colors best complimented her skin.

The moment she noticed him, however, all boredom seemed to disappear from her eyes, smile instantly flashing across her face. With a halfhearted bow, she jumped out of the group of women and ran across the lawn to him.

While the women started to call her back, expressions ranging from annoyance to surprise, they fell silent when they realized the reason she had bolted. They bowed automatically before grudgingly returning to their debate.

Sesshoumaru now looked at Rin, who was still grinning happily. He wondered how long that grin would remain once he told her that he would leave that night, and tried to ignore the dull ache this caused in his chest.

Rin followed him wordlessly when he turned to the path that led to the gardens near her rooms, apparently content to hum the little songs she created during their travels. Occasionally he heard the faint snap of plant stems; she must have been creating a bouquet of the young blossoms.

He finally stopped, waiting for her to catch up from whatever plant had held her interest. He watched her skip through the grass, hands full of flowers that she promptly held up to him when she got close enough. "For you!" she chirped happily, brilliant smile once again crossing her face.

On any other day Sesshoumaru would have ignored the gift, knowing that his refusal would not hurt her feelings; on the occasions when she picked flowers during their journeys, she had come to understand that such were not things he could carry into battle. But today, within his lands during the last few hours he would spend with her until some time in a clouded future, he slowly lifted his hand and held it out, waiting for her to slip the flowers into his grasp.

There was a momentary pause, and then instead of the cool stems he felt her small, warm hand.

She met his eyes, her gaze a silent plea, and he knew that for the time he would allow it, unable to deny her this one thing. Turning back to the path, he carefully closed his fingers around her hand, mindful of her fragile skin so close to his claws. He did not need to look at her to know her reaction; she practically glowed.

For a while Sesshoumaru allowed the silence to continue, strangely content in her quiet company. But as the sun slipped closer to the horizon, he knew that it was time to tell her that he would be departing.

Without stopping or turning to look at her, he spoke. "At dusk, I will leave."

If it wasn't for the abrupt change in her scent, dropping into a mix of surprise and panic, he would have thought she hadn't heard him. "How long will you be gone?" she asked, voice far more composed than he would have expected.

"As long as is necessary," Sesshoumaru replied; there was no reason to give her false assurances.

"Will you visit me?"

"It may not be possible."

"But if you can…?"

Somehow he was able to overlook Rin's forwardness, the direct questioning he would not have accepted from anybody else. "Yes."

This calmed her somewhat, and there were no tears when he returned her to her rooms. Carefully, he helped her up onto the walkway before releasing her hand. She now held the bouquet in front of her, picking at the petals for a moment. "I will miss you. Very much," she finally said, head still bent.

For a moment Sesshoumaru wondered if he would reply in kind, but was stopped, unable to say something that felt so strange, even if it would be true. "I will return when I can."

Rin nodded. "I will work hard while you're away. When you return, it will be like I'm a new person!" she said, trying to force as much happiness into her voice as she could.

While the comment was cheerful enough, Sesshoumaru could not help but feel his heart twist at the thought; would Rin still be there when he returned, or would he find a stranger?

But nothing of this internal worry surfaced to his expression. He merely nodded slightly before turning around, leaving without another word.