The next morning Rin woke up at the first sound of the birds chirping. She had purposely gone to bed early so that she could get up this early. Her lord and Jaken would probably be waiting for her at the main gate, and even this early in the morning they had been waiting for a couple of hours. Sometimes she thought that demons didn't know how great they had it because they didn't require as much sleep as humans did.

But when Rin got to the front gate with her bags she found no one waiting there for her. Ah-Un was still in his stable, so she strapped her bags to his back and went in search of Jaken or Lord Sesshomaru. Thankfully she found the both of them in the study. Before she could even knock on the door she could hear the sound of Jaken wailing, "But why can't I go with you?"

A small growl could be heard from inside, which she assumed to be Sesshomaru, who was likely not tolerating Jaken's antics at the moment. "Do not question my decision," was all that Sesshomaru said to him.

"Have I done something wrong, mi'lord?" Jaken asked him. "Or is it that you want time alone with Rin?"

Rin was actually quite shocked at Jaken's accusation. Why would her lord want to spend time alone with her? It must have been something Jaken had said or done that had caused Lord Sesshomaru's decision, and Jaken was just trying anything he could to get Lord Sesshomaru to change his mind. She could hear the sound of Sesshomaru's boots as they lightly walked across the room and towards the door. Rin moved from standing just outside of the door to press herself up against the wall next to the door.

"They are all talking," Jaken said sounding rather jealous. "The whole court is talking about how they think you are becoming like your father and falling in love with a human. You spend too much time with her, and you show her too many favors. They only suggested that Rin go with you so that they could find out what you would do when you spent time alone with her for several full days."

The next sound Rin heard was the sound of crashing as something hit the opposite wall. Her best guess was that Sesshomaru had just kicked Jaken for being so offending. "You will not talk about me like that! I am not my father!" Sesshomaru ground out with deep seated anger in his voice.

The door to the study was flung open and Sesshomaru stepped out into the hallway to come nearly face to face with Rin. She audibly gulped as she noticed the red tint in her lord's eyes. Jaken really had pushed all the wrong buttons to make him this mad! There was no way in hell now that he would be coming along, despite the rumors. "I…uh…" Rin started stammering. She was well aware that he knew she had been standing outside all along because he probably smelled and heard her.

Sesshomaru regarded her for a second before walking past her and out the doors to the main house swiftly. Rin had to run after him just to keep up with him because his frenzied pace was much faster than a human run. He walked right past the stable, so Rin took it upon herself to get Ah-Un ready for the trip. She met up with him ten minutes later at the front gate.

The first couple hours of the trip Rin felt rather awkward around him. He was obviously affected by the rumors Jaken had mentioned to him, but was he mad at her for listening in? But more than anything she wondered why it was that he had decided on Jaken not attending with them even before he repeated the nasty rumors. She gathered her courage and asked him, "Is there a reason why Jaken will not be able to join us this time?"

Right now she wished that she could see his eyes to see what emotions may have passed through them. His simple answer to her was, "He would defeat the purpose of the trip since he doesn't cooperate well with humans." Rin had to admit it was a damned good reason. A few minutes passed before he asked her, "Why did you not make your presence known?"

His voice sounded rather passive to Rin, so she assumed that he wasn't too mad at her. "I guess because I didn't want to interrupt. I wasn't trying to spy or anything," she tried to reassure him whether he believed it or not. She allowed a minute of silence before suggesting, "Would it be better for me to take on some other responsibilities at the castle if there are rumors?" She had to admit that she enjoyed being in his presence, to be a friend to him when there were few he could talk to. And while he would never admit that he enjoyed her presence, she could tell that he cherished it in his own way.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sesshomaru chided her. "You are the best person to keep the books." Rin quirked an eyebrow as she wondered if he had forgotten her responsibility to bring him his meals. She didn't need him there when she kept his records, but he did have to be there for his meals. He also didn't need her to stay to eat with him. "The rumors are just idle chatter amongst those who desire my power." Even under fire he still remained calm and composed, which was one of the things she admired the most about him.

--

They reached the village after a couple of days of walking. Rin was glad that the trip had been so short because she imagined that Jaken would probably be very upset if they were gone too long. She could just imagine him back at the castle pacing at the gates until Lord Sesshomaru returned back home. Sometimes she wondered what he did at the castle anyway since she never saw him while they were there and yet on trips seemed so insistent on staying at Sesshomaru's side.

As predicted, the villagers tried to swoop down on Sesshomaru as soon as he got close to the village. He grunted in displeasure at their arrogance as they tried to order him around while waving their farming equipment at him. Rin watched as Sesshomaru's started to lift up his fingers like he did when he used his energy whip, so she immediately called out to the villagers, "Back away. He will kill you if you continue threatening him."

For the first time the villagers noticed that Rin was not one of their own. "What are you doing with this demon?" one of the young men demanded to know. "Are you his wench?" He waved a hoe in her face nearly cutting her, which caused Sesshomaru to growl and bare his teeth at the man.

Rin answered him bravely, "He has saved my life, and I am forever in his debt. Please, listen to him. He is the Lord of the Western Lands, and everything in the Western Lands must obey or perish." The villagers started grumbling at her words, so she followed up by saying, "I've seen him destroy some of the strongest demons in my lifetime, so I don't doubt that he will not spare your life if you challenge him."

The same young man then asked Rin, "How do we not know if he will force us to become slaves to the panther demons?" A number of men audibly agreed with him.

Rin looked around at the men standing before her. They were obviously not used to taking orders from demons, and they certainly didn't trust anyone. Perhaps she should have let Sesshomaru destroy them. "Because the panther demon tribe doesn't want to fight you. They didn't kill that villager, and they only kill now to protect themselves. If you stop fighting them, they will leave you in peace."

"Humans and demons cannot live in peace!" an elder man said as he cleared through the throng of men to come face to face with Rin. "Demons hate humans, and they think only of us as meals or nuisances. I have heard that Lord Sesshomaru is amongst the most hateful of humans, even despising his own father for having a child with a human. Why should I even believe that this demon with you could be him?"

"He is," Rin assured him softly. "Lord Sesshomaru does hate humans, but only those who don't understand that they are under his authority. I have realized this, and for that he has spared me." Somewhere in Rin's heart she wondered if that was true, that he only kept her around because she realized that he was supreme to her. But just as quickly as the thought popped into her head she brushed it aside remembering that he didn't have to save her either time in order to assert his dominance over her.

The village elder, or the elder man she assumed to be the village elder, twitched his left eyebrow a few times before asking her, "What does Lord Sesshomaru want from us? To let the panther demons keep killing us?"

"No," Rin immediately cried out softly. He wasn't listening to her at all, and the look in Sesshomaru's eyes showed that his thin patience with them was already wearing out. "They don't want to fight you, so please stop fighting them. When you stop, you will see that everything will be peaceful again."

One man in the crowd yelled out, "What kind of reassurance will we get that this will be true?" Another man yelled out, "Give us a pledge that they won't hurt us again!"

In a flash the young man who had previously threatened Rin grabbed her and pulled her back against his flabby chest and he pulled out a knife, which he pressed against her neck. Terror pulsated throughout Rin's body despite knowing that Sesshomaru wouldn't let them hurt her. She looked up at him and saw the fury in his eyes, and he stepped forward and let his energy whip release from his fingers cutting the men in half before coming to the man holding Rin.

Rin could feel the hand holding the knife shake as he quaked in fear. A sting of pain pricked Rin's nerves as she felt part of the blade go into her skin. The smell of her blood seemed to outrage Sesshomaru even greater. Sesshomaru picked up the man, who dropped the knife as he was lifted over Rin's head. Rin ducked out of the way as Sesshomaru destroyed the man by squeezing his head until the pressure caused it to explode. Blood, fluid, and parts of the man's brain flew about splattering on everything within a thirty foot radius.

The remaining men ran in terror, but Sesshomaru's energy whip cut down everything that was running from them. Rin laid there on the ground by Sesshomaru's legs. She closed her eyes trying to block out the bloody sight, but it was of no use since their cries could still be heard. Tears escaped from her eyes as she thought about the now widowed and fatherless still down there in the village awaiting the return of their fathers, their husbands, their sons.

The sound of the last man's cry echoed off of the trees on the edge of the forest before complete silence befell the land. Even the birds and insects were too afraid to make a noise. A pair of strong arms picked her up, and his wet tonuge licked the spot on her neck where the blade had cut her. When he was finished he carried her while Ah-Un followed behind them. She was afraid to open her eyes to let her lord see the tears in them even though she knew he could smell them.

He carried her for half an hour before putting her down. When she opened her eyes she saw that he had carried her to a hot spring. She watched as he untied the sash that held his armor to his waist and discarded it on the ground before removing his armor. She noticed that he was also covered in that man's blood, and she figured that he was probably wanting to take a bath also. She would make sure to clean his clothing also.

Thankfully for the both of them the hot spring had a large rock in the middle that obstructed much of the view from one side of the spring from the other side of the spring. Rin climbed in on one side while he climbed in on the other side. Rin also picked up their clothes and armor and scrubbed them in the warm waters after cleaning herself.

He was the first to get out, and she could hear him going through her bags that were saddled to Ah-Un. When she finally got out of the spring he had his back to her, and all he had wrapped around himself was one of Rin's blankets. Rin changed herself into a clean kimono before hanging the wet clothing on tree branches so that they could dry.

As she started to set up the camp she noticed that familiar envelope now lying on the ground near the spring. She remembered that he had tucked it between his armor and kimono, so she assumed it had fallen out when he had discarded his armor. She picked it up and noticed that it was well worn from being held between his armor and his body, but it was also possible that he had been reading it frequently. After all, she had thought that he had been reading the evening before they left before his mother had interrupted their peaceful moment.

She walked over to Sesshomaru, who had his back to her as he glared into the forest. When she stood in front of him she noticed how well sculpted his chest was, and it caused a blush to form on her cheeks. He had always been a friend or a mentor, but never before had she thought of him as being a sexually attractive man. But it seemed that everyone else had, so she took those few seconds to admire him.

He was quite tall and lean, yet very muscular. His skin was of the purest white, almost like porcelain. The few times she could remember him touching her bare skin it had been soft and smooth. His face was evenly proportionate and perfectly shaped, the markings only enhancing his beauty. And his eyes were the most remarkable color, like liquid gold. And sometimes when he looked at her lately with such a soft look that she didn't quite understand…

Sesshomaru quietly cleared his throat bringing Rin out of her revelries. She blushed again once she realized that he was aware of her staring, and she wondered if he could smell her change. "I'm sorry," she stuttered out. "But I think you dropped this." She handed him the envelope, and he took it from her carefully but not taking his eyes off of hers. Rin suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable under is gaze, and it made her want to blush.

Her heart thumped in her chest causing her to want to flee from him. Breaking her gaze from him she looked behind him at Ah-Un, who was grazing on some grass. It was hard to move her feet in the dragon's direction, but her mind screamed at her to move. As she bent down to pick up a branch to be used as firewood, Sesshomaru asked her still calling out into the forest, "Why have you not asked me what the letter contains?"

Rin paused before standing back up again with the branch in her hands. Her mind had long been wondering what it was in the letter, but she knew better than to ask him. There were certain things she could ask him and get away with because she would only irk him slightly. But to ask something so private that even the future Sesshomaru couldn't tell her what it was…well, that was entirely unthinkable to do.

She must have been too quiet for too long because he went ahead and explained it to her without her prompting. "We will meet my second choice for a mate during this trip. Tomorrow you will happen upon a woman of some importance in the woods while you are gathering your food. She is one of the concubines of the Lord of the Eastern Lands. Because of a treaty my father made with the other lords, we will be forced to take her back. Once we get there he will offer me the concubine's only daughter as my reward."

Rin looked at him to notice that he was now watching her over his shoulder, his body now halfway turned towards her. That strange look was still in his eyes. She guessed that he was expecting some sort of reaction from her, but what could she say to that? Why did it even matter if we found his second choice for a mate for the ceremony? "Will there be a ceremony in my lifetime?" Rin asked hoping that was what he wanted her to ask.

"We will, six months from now."

Rin turned away from him and raised her eyebrows once before commenting, "I guess you must find the third one pretty quickly after." She picked up a couple of sticks and placed them under her left arm so she could hold them securely while she picked up more sticks.

"I have found her already, only I will not be the one to suggest the ceremony take place or who the third choice is."

Rin picked up another stick and in a mocking voice said, "I guess that honor would go to your mother." If anyone else said that in the tone she had they would find themselves within his claws, but she and Jaken knew well enough that he didn't care for his mother's meddling. He said not another word but walked over toward Ah-Un and picked up Tokijin before walking towards the forest. Rin took that to mean that the discussion was now closed. But why had he even mentioned it?

As if able to read her thoughts he stopped just before the tree line started and said to her, "The letter warns me that I will be unhappy with her. It is trying to convince me that I would have been happier with one particular option that seems rather unthinkable. Did I make any suggestions as to why I needed to heed the letter?"

Rin looked past him as she remembered talking to him in the limo that particular day. "You said something about my returning because it would resort in your happiness and mine, but that was because I wasn't supposed to find out about returning to you until twelve years later after you had already mated. After that you only asked me to give you the envelope." His eyebrows furrowed for a second and then his face went passive again. Once again he turned his back to her and walked towards the forest.

--

The next morning Rin woke up to find Sesshomaru now dressed in his clothes again, the armor securely around him also. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she announced to him, "I'm going to find something for my breakfast." Taking rather unsteady steps she headed in the opposite direction he had gone the previous night.

After relieving herself she washed her hands in a small creek. Besides the sound of the running water, she thought she heard the sounds of someone else near her. Going in the direction she thought she heard the sound coming from, she came across a demon woman in the woods. The woman was dressed in an ornamental robe that seemed befitting of a woman of high rank. It was then that the predictive words that Sesshomaru had spoken the day before replayed in her mind.

And just before the woman saw her she wondered what would happen if she didn't tell him? Would he then have more time to find a mate he would be happy with? Or could he possibly be following her knowing that she was headed in the direction the woman was? It was then that the demon woman looked at Rin for the first time. There were tear streaks down her cheeks because she had been crying rather hard. Had this woman been kidnapped? Was that how she got all the way out here?

The woman's eyes traveled just above Rin's head and Rin watched the woman gasp in surprise. Rin could feel the presence of another behind her, but this presence was not an ominous one. "Come," Sesshomaru said to the woman. "You must return to your master." Rin felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach when she watched the woman grow furious with the suggestion. She hadn't been kidnapped, she had run away.

And as much as Rin wanted to protest, she knew that if Sesshomaru didn't return the woman to her lord, Sesshomaru would lose face amongst the other lords. What made matters worse was that he felt the need to tie Asami's hands behind her back to keep her from putting up much resistance; not that he needed any help taking her down since he was stronger than even her master. Rin had tried several times to engage the woman in conversation, none of which really panned out to much. Yet that would not stop Rin from trying to make her feel more comfortable around them.

--

The journey to the castle of the Lord of the Eastern Lands took two weeks. She was quite confident at this point that Jaken would be having a heart attack worrying about what had happened to Lord Sesshomaru to make him take so long to return back to the castle with the human that was causing his reputation to be sullied.

As they got close the castle a number of guards came out to inspect the group. They immediately relented when they noticed Asami with Lord Sesshomaru. Rin they were a bit suspect of. "You, human," a boar demon pointed at Rin. "What are you doing here? Leave! Only demons are allowed here!"

Rin looked up at Sesshomaru, who was growling loudly. His eyes had turned red, and his mouth was starting to form into a snout. The guards started to back away from him quite scared for their lives. In defense of the human girl Asami explained to them, "It's okay. Rin is one of Sesshomaru's servants." The men quickly relented and Sesshomaru calmed down. They were then escorted to the front gate of the castle.

While Rin hadn't been able to see the castle from above, she was quite sure that this castle was actually smaller than Sesshomaru's castle. The lord's personal servant and the eunuch came out to greet them. "Thank you for finding her," the eunuch explained. "She is our lord's second favorite concubine." Rin watched sadly as the guards roughly dragged away Asami with her hands still tied behind her back.

The personal servant then addressed Sesshomaru, "Lord Isao has requested that we escort you to the main house. He would like to personally thank you for returning Asami." Lord Sesshomaru stepped forward as he followed the servant only to stop only two steps later.

He thankfully had noticed how the eunuch had grabbed Rin and was now trying to drag her with him all the while covering her mouth. "Let her go," Sesshomaru's voice rumbled. "She is my servant."

The eunuch looked up at Sesshomaru rather surprised. "I thought you were bringing her for other reasons," the eunuch explained. "Besides, all female servants must stay in the harem."

Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles on his left hand just by bend them downward and then back up. "Do you dare attempt to take away this Sesshomaru's ward?"

The eunuch tried not to show his fear, but Rin could feel his hands quaking as he tried to maintain his grip on her. The personal servant gave the eunuch a signal by giving a half smirk that quickly faded. The eunuch let go of Rin but then shoved her at Lord Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru growled at the eunuch again, but this time the eunuch was smart enough to run away.

Rin followed behind Sesshomaru but made sure to stay close to him because she didn't like the looks the male servants were giving her. She had also noticed there were no female servants around the place. Sesshomaru didn't seem to be paying any attention to anything around him except the personal servant.

When they got to the main house they were taken to the ceremony room. Standing there alone in the room was the Lord of the Eastern Lands. Sesshomaru had told her a couple of days before that the lord's name was Isao. He was an eagle demon. His hair seemed to be made of white feathers, and his knees appeared to bend backwards from hers and Sesshomaru's. But he seemed quite over weight for a strong demon, and he looked like he was hundreds of years older than Sesshomaru.

He greeted Sesshomaru warmly but then noticed Rin standing there. "What is the meaning of bring a female in here? Especially a human female?" He pointed at Rin as he asked the guards these questions. Again Rin heard Sesshomaru growling. Lord Isao's face quickly fell as he saw Sesshomaru's reaction and he quickly pulled his hand back. Feigning a smile Lord Isao then said, "So this is the human woman I have heard so much about?"

Sesshomaru's growl actually got louder instead of quieter. "Do not think for a moment that I will share my bed with a human because my father did." Rin even shirked back slightly from the intensity of the words coming from Sesshomaru's mouth. Lord Isao seemed to relent rather quickly and then ordered the servants to prepare a meal for Rin also.

The demons sat down at the head of the room while Rin hung back and sat somewhere in the middle of the room. She wasn't too interested in what they had to say, so she let her mind wander.

The last several nights she had a succession of dreams that didn't make any sense to her. Between the dreams a whole scenario played out in her head. She had become the concubine of some other lord, but that didn't stop Sesshomaru from coming to see her. She had apparently been having an affair with Sesshomaru during his visits there. She later realized she was pregnant, and in the last couple of weeks in her pregnancy Sesshomaru had helped her to escape. He was going to hide her in a human village deep into his territory so that she and the child could survive because if the other lord were to find out her life and the life of her child would be ended.

She had hoped that it wasn't a sign of things to come, but she remembered the dreams she had during her time when she was in the Modern Era. In those dreams she had fallen in love with Sesshomaru and they had appeared to be happy together. It had to be one or the other because she couldn't have both. Or perhaps it was her mind playing tricks on her.

Sure, after that day at the hot spring she had noticed that she was finding her lord sexually attractive, but that didn't mean that she was falling in love with him. And he had already reminded two people today alone that he was not going to take a human into his bed like his father had.

The servants placed a tray of food before Rin, and when she looked up she realized that they had already served the two lords. As she slowly ate her rice she listened in on their conversation. "I would like to offer you a reward for bringing my concubine back," Lord Isao offered Lord Sesshomaru.

"I do not need a reward," Sesshomaru tried to deter him. Rin could remember him telling her that he would end up accepting the gift.

Lord Isao waved his hand at his guards as he said, "I insist. Please, take Asami's only daughter. She is my gift to you. If anything she can be an offering to the other lords for your mating ceremony." The look on the demon lord's face was rather sinister. The only reason he was offering was because he wanted to rid himself of the responsibility of finding her a suitable match of some sort.

"I do not plan on mating any time soon," Sesshomaru informed the other lord casually.

Lord Isao gave him a smile before insisting, "No, I insist that I give you a gift for coming all the way out here." His daughter was brought into the room, and she bowed before Sesshomaru. "This is my daughter, Setsuko." Rin couldn't see the woman's face very well from behind, but she had golden feathers for hair.

"If you insist, please have her ready to leave in the morning." Lord Sesshomaru sounded rather annoyed with having to take Setsuko with them.

"Please feel free to stay as long as you like," Lord Isao suggested as he waved Setsuko away. From what Rin could see of the woman's profile, she had lavender eyes, and very soft features. She also had something on her forehead in bright pink. It was probably the sun seeing as that was the marking on her father's face.

Sesshomaru finished a drink of sake and set the tiny cup back onto the tray so that the servant could refill it. "I have been gone too long from my home." Rin thought he had looked at her for a second but she figured that she had been wrong. Yet, why had he heart started to beat so wildly as she imagined that he had?

Dinner passed by rather uneventfully for Rin, and she found herself so bored that she just decided to fall asleep. Eventually she felt a clawed hand shaking her awake. When her eyes focused she found Sesshomaru's passive face above hers. "Rin, get up," he commanded her. She sat up and noticed that Lord Isao was still there watching everything rather amused. "Please show me to my room," he requested of the servants.

"Perhaps it would be best if Rin were to sleep in the harem with the other females," Lord Isao suggested. They had already tried this earlier today. Rin got to her feet but didn't feel very steady on them.

In Rin's sleepy state she thought she saw Sesshomaru glare at Lord Isao before saying, "She is my ward, so she will stay in my room." He walked towards the door leaving Rin to start walking after him swaying slightly because her limbs still hadn't fully awoken yet. The servants took Sesshomaru to a guest house and gave him a room in the middle of the hallway. "Please bring our saddle bags in here," he commanded a servant.

"Do you want us to also bring you another futon?" the servant asked him.

Sesshomaru's answer was simply, "I don't need to sleep on a futon." The servant bowed to him and then exited the room. Sesshomaru turned to Rin and asked her, "Do you need to use the latrine?" Rin nodded her head but did not know which direction to head. Sesshomaru walked out of the room expecting her to follow him. Her mind, while still hazy, realized that he was showing her the way. That was rather unusual for someone of his stature to do, especially for a female.

He waited in the hallway making Rin feel rather embarrassed since he could hear her through the paper thin walls. But he didn't seem to care and commanded her to wait in the hallway herself while he used it. She followed him back to the room, where he finally explained to her, "Lord Isao is a notorious womanizer."

"Worse than Miroku?" Rin asked him as she pulled out her sleeping robe from the saddle bag.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes. "Any female that steps foot in this castle that is not already claimed as a mate or a concubine will become his concubine. If you are separated from me at any point I highly doubt you will be spared the same fate." Rin nodded her head in understanding but realized that he probably couldn't see her.

Despite his eyes being closed, she still turned her back to him as she changed into her sleeping robe. Once she was finished she turned around to see him now watching her again, which made her glad that she had her back to him. This wasn't quite like Sesshomaru, spying on a human woman when she was vulnerable, but there were some things about Sesshomaru she seemed to be interpreting wrong lately.

Rin laid down on the futon and yawned as she pulled the sheet up under her chin. Sesshomaru sat down next to the futon and propped up his left knee. He crossed his arms across his chest and let his chin fall against his chest. Rin yawned one more time before falling asleep.

--

The next morning they all left for home. Setsuko was very talkative most of the time, much like Jaken. While Rin had grown used to Jaken's ranting; Setsuko was a whole different story. She spent most of the time bragging about her accomplishments and her strength. Rin knew that it wasn't anything out of the ordinary since Chiyo probably did the same thing. If either hoped that they would eventually gain the title of Lady of the Western Lands, they needed to prove to him that they were a worthy mate and future mother of his children.

And somewhere in the back of Rin's mind she felt an emotion welling up in her that she refused to acknowledge.