Notes for before reading:

-When you see a number, it refers to a corresponding number at the bottom of the page for explanation for something not all people might necessarily know.

-I have decided to leave Kagome out of this fic, since she is irrelevant, whiny, and refuses to die, although she should have done so in the first episode. My excuse is that she is back in her own time in a fight with Inuyasha.

-Inuyasha is around sixteen in human years; Sesshomaru is in his late twenties.

-Kikyo is the same age as Inuyasha; around sixteen.

Sesshomaru sat in a tree, still brooding, when Rin woke up.

When she had gone to sleep the previous night, she had finally managed to coax Sesshomaru into a restless, deep, slumber, but he was asleep, and that was all she cared about. Rin had then settled down to get her own sleep, and fell asleep immediately. Sesshomaru, however, seemed to have only slept a few hours. Jaken was fussing over him, and his landing on Rin had woken her up.

"My apologies, Rin," Sesshomaru said dully. "I didn't mean to smear that vermin's slobber all over you, especially after you went to such lengths to make sure I was comfortable. On the other hand…this little pest did nothing but bother me since waking hour."

Rin smiled and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. "Well, Sesshomaru-sama, I hope you're feeling better. Would you like anything to eat?"

"No, thank you. I had something already."

"No, he didn't!"

"Shut up, Jaken!"

A tree branch flew like a spear through the air, narrowly missing Jaken's head. The reptilian yelped and ducked down, letting the branch pass over his head as Sesshomaru settled back against the tree trunk, looking rather moody. "I swear, he's anorexic," Rin muttered, crawling out of her sleeping bag. "Sesshomaru-sama, are we going back to the manor today?"

"If Jaken can get his froggy legs under control and move a bit faster packing up, hopefully we will make it by sundown."

"In such a wonderful mood," Jaken muttered. "Really, I worry when he's like this-I always worry he's in pain, and doesn't want anyone to see his weakness so he pushes them away-!"

"Jaken, shut up!" Rin groaned. "It's too early for you to be fretting over Sesshomaru-sama like a worried mother hen! He can take care of himself!"

"Thank you," Sesshomaru breathed. His head tipped back against the tree trunk, and his eyes closed. It was then that Rin noticed he was only half dressed: he was wearing his kimono and hakama pants, tied with his colored obi, (2) but his stomach guards, breastplate, and sword belts were all lying on the ground a short distance away. Rin slowly stood up, grabbing her own kimono from next to her bed and wrapping it around herself. She slept in the under layer, and wore the outer during the day.

Jaken went off, muttering to himself, as Rin got herself dressed and washed her hands and face in the stream a few yards away from the campsite. She came back with water for herself and Sesshomaru, being unable to locate Jaken. He was probably huddled in a bush feeling sorry for himself. Rin got out an apple from one of Ah-Un's saddlebags for her breakfast and tossed a pear to Sesshomaru. The fruit was quickly caught with a single hand, and Sesshomaru glanced down at Rin.

"You honestly expect me to eat this?"

"Of course!" Rin said. "If you aren't hungry, I expect you to eat it later. Your human form needs to nourishment, and I don't care what you say-huh?"

The pear was gone, and Sesshomaru had just spat out the pit. "Happy?" he mumbled. Rin smirked.

"To an extent," she said, watching as Sesshomaru wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You shouldn't eat so fast. You'll make yourself sick."

Sesshomaru waved her off, leaping down from the tree he was seated in and landing gracefully on the ground a few feet away from her, next to the pile of his armor. Rin instinctively walked over to him and began helping him pile on the armor, working around the fur on his shoulder. Sesshomaru seemed indifferent to her, but deep down, appreciated her help. This armor was hard to manage, especially around Mokomoko (1).

Jaken burst from the tree line, screaming.

Rin squeaked and jumped back, and Sesshomaru went instinctively for his sword. Tokijin was drawn, and Sesshomaru's golden eyes immediately scanned the horizon for danger.

The flat of Tokijin smacked Jaken over the head.

"You fool!" he hissed, kicking the frog-like demon across most of the campsite. "Just what in all seven hells where you-?"

"Look up, Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken gasped. "Above you; a demon!"

Sesshomaru humored Jaken, glancing up. Sure enough, a giant feather was headed straight for them-but Sesshomaru sensed only a slight demonic aura. His eyes narrowed, and he sheathed Tokijin.

"Idiot," he growled. "Next time, warn me when there's actually danger! That's Kagura, and she's from Naraku. Sent here most likely to pester me about that damn sword of my father's. Rin, kindly take care of giving Jaken a seizure while I attend to business?"

Rin smiled evilly, giving Jaken a cold grin to chill the hells. Sesshomaru walked away, tying his obi as he walked. Jaken shivered and cowered, shrinking away from Rin as the girl ominously cracked her knuckles.

"Um…Rin…?"

Kagura touched down just as Rin was getting down to her task at hand and Sesshomaru was finishing getting dressed. She smirked as she stepped off her feather, grabbing it out of the air and slipping it back into her hair as it shrunk back to normal size. "Well, judging from your earlier actions and words, I take it you know why I'm here."

Sesshomaru's face remained unreadable. "Maybe."

Kagura's smirk widened. "But, I have an underground offer-off the record books. Naraku is tricking you-he freed Sounga, and has total control of it. He just wants you out of his way. For some reason, he thinks you're in his way. And so, I have come to offer you a little token of gratitude in exchange for an alliance. Are you interested?"

Sesshomaru's face hardly moved, but one eyebrow rose. "Haven't we gone through this before?" he said tiredly. "I don't feel like doing your dirty work for you-not even for shards."

"But half of the jewel? And me? If Naraku is killed, I gain freedom and become your permanent ally. Plus, you could have whatever else he has on him: his reincarnations, shards, mansion, power-" Kagura grinned viciously. "Even Tetsusaiga."

At this, Sesshomaru's ears perked. "Tetsusaiga?" he murmured. "How does Naraku have this weapon in his hands?"

"He's manipulating Inuyasha in the same fashion, and he is having his most human incarnation, me, grab the sword and deliver I to him. I could always run it back to you-instead of Naraku. And I also know a way around the blade's aura that repels you. Another one of Naraku's minions has something that can cancel it, and I can steal that and have it here by the time your fingers reach the blade. Interested now?"

Sesshomaru remained skeptical. "You are promising quite a bit," he mused. "How can you prove to me that you are in possession of these which you promise?"

Kagura sighed. "I had a feeling you might ask that of me. Unfortunately, I can only offer you a promise, my word, and a gift." Kagura reached into her kimono and pulled out a small, silken purse, dangling from a leather tie. "These are three Shikon shards, which you may use in whatever fashion you may. Have fun, because those are free of charge."

"In other words, a bribe."

"Precisely. Now, I am in considerable danger doing this, so make a decision quickly. Or I turn right around and start whining to Naraku and playing the victim."

Sesshomaru snatched the shards from Kagura, something written deep into his face that even Kagura could not read. "Let Naraku come and try," Sesshomaru said menacingly. "That damn half breed had not even the courage to face Inuyasha. What makes you think he'll face me?"

Kagura flung her feather down in front of her, and it sprang into proper size. "Because you attacked me and stole the shards. And I'll be fighting you too."

Sesshomaru sighed as Kagura rose into the air, something in her eyes that Sesshomaru couldn't discern. He had never been much of one for human emotions, anyway. He turned around-

And almost ran over Jaken and Rin.

Rin finally grabbed Jaken and lifted him mightily into the air, drop-kicking him into the trees with Jaken howling all the way. Rin turned calmly around and began gathering the last of the supplies and loading them onto Ah-Un's back. Sesshomaru slipped something into one of the bags; Rin couldn't see it clearly, but she sensed it was very important. "Come," Sesshomaru said shortly, demonic aura rising up and curling into the air as purple wisps. "We're going the short way."

Jaken just managed to grab Mokomoko as he, Ah-Un, and Rin disappeared in a cloud of Sesshomaru's demonic aura.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshomaru appeared perfectly in front of a huge mansion.

Rin would never tire of the majesty of the huge manor house that Sesshomaru had inherited from his father and mother. It was like a palace! Sesshomaru walked airily through the gates, Rin and Jaken right on his heels. Sesshomaru handed Ah-Un's reins to a bowing servant, but not before grabbing something out of one of the saddlebags. Rin noticed this, but held her tongue and said nothing. Whatever it was, Sesshomaru wasn't going to share. Sesshomaru swept into the manor, ordering servants around and going straight to his room. Rin decided to follow; Jaken did not.

"Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Rin, take the rest of the day off," Sesshomaru said softly. "You've pampered me enough these past few weeks. I've got others to do that now. Just treat yourself for once, alright?"

A smile broke out over Rin's face. "Okay!" she said brightly. "Thank you, Sesshomaru-sama!" she continued as she walked out of the room. Rin danced down the hall to her own room, leaving Sesshomaru alone, save for a few servants. Sesshomaru instructed them to draw a hot bath for him, then told others to prepare dinner for himself, Jaken, and Rin. Finally, he was alone in the room. Sesshomaru gave a sigh of relief and slowly, his clothes fell to the floor. The demon's full body was revealed as piece by piece of clothing hit the floor, pale skin tattooed and colored with the markings of the great dog demon. Sesshomaru's muscles ripped beneath satin skin, and his pants fell to the floor. All that was left was his boxers, which one demon in particular was waiting for-

"Why don't you come out, whoever you are, and I'll consider sparing your life in time to get dressed again?"

A figure rose from behind Sesshomaru's bed, illusion slowly fading away to reveal-

"Naraku," Sesshomaru growled. "Do I need to kill you so soon?"

"Now, now, Sesshomaru, much as I would love to have you writhing under me in pleasure, it was sheer luck that brought me here just as you were about to get naked. My, quite a suite: adjacent bathroom, a sleeping area and a sitting area…goodness, and the entire place is crawling with servants. You live quite well, no?"
Sesshomaru turned to fully face Naraku, reaching for the sword he had dropped to the floor. Tokijin was removed from its sheath with the sharp rasp of steel on steel, and pointed it straight at Naraku, who had left his normal baboon skin behind for this mission. The tip of the sword touched Naraku's forehead, but, strangely, the demon didn't flinch. A golem? Sesshomaru thought. Most likely-Naraku would probably not want to risk his real body to Sesshomaru. He had proved many times before that he feared the demon lord more than life itself.

"I hear from Kagura that you have something of mine."

"She's working against you. Of course, we are going to accomplish nothing this way, since it is her word against mine. However, one life you control: the other, controls you."

Naraku smirked. "And of course, I don't think you expect me to believe you. Well, I'll be waiting in the hall. Once you finish cleaning up, I would appreciate it if you would hear me out."

Sesshomaru sighed and slightly relaxed his death-grip on Tokijin. "Very well," he said slowly. Abruptly, his blade plunged itself into Naraku's skull, and Sesshomaru let go of the blade to allow it to fall with Naraku's body.

"What was it you were offering me?"

Notes for after reading: (1) Mokomoko is the fur over Sesshomaru's shoulder. It is actually part of his body, but I'm pretending it's not.

(2) Ever noticed how Sesshomaru's obi is tied in the front? Supposedly, only prostitutes do that. XD

A/N: Well, so far only positive, constructive, mature reviews. Let's keep it that way! I look forward to hearing your opinions!!