Well, I didn't post this quite as quickly as I would have liked, but getting it up by the week mark was my main concern, and I did manage that. Again, thank you to those who have reviewed -- I truly appreciate them veeery much. On another note, this chapter is longer than the last, and is the first chapter I really like, so I hope you like it as well!

When they had arrived at the complex, Sesshoumaru was aware of what day it was. If the fact that none but the lights to the pavilion were lit was not enough, he knew the date. The summer equinox; the night when the young women were presented to the court. When Rin would finally make her formal appearance.

He had made sure to return by then. While he could not know when she would finally make her appearance that evening, he had done everything he could to get there early, so that he could see her. There was simply such chaos in the lands as demons tried to change their status now that Naraku was gone, all the lines shifting and altering continuously. It was just starting to calm somewhat, so that he had been able to travel a good distance with Jaken and Kohaku that day. Still, it was late evening by the time they were finally there, and he could not help but wonder if they were too late.

Jaken had been sent to care for Ah-Un, a chore he openly accepted and clearly inwardly loathed. Of course, Sesshoumaru had not been terribly concerned with the imp's inclinations towards the commands he was given, and today what little attention he might have paid was diverted elsewhere.

Sesshoumaru quickly made his way through the silent complex, Kohaku following him like a shadow. For the last week, the boy had been quiet even for him. Sesshoumaru had not been able to find a reason for this; against all predictions, Kohaku had lived even after the shard had been removed. As such, it seemed that the weight of the worry that had followed him for years should have been removed. Yet while he was not as grim as before, he was just as quiet.

Of course, Sesshoumaru would not complain about this. It had been one of the traits that made him bearable. Time had helped as well; as Kohaku had aged, he had grown into the skills he had learned in his youth, becoming efficient enough that Sesshoumaru no longer had to check his position in battle. With his unobtrusive disposition, Sesshoumaru found that they were able to coexist in relative peace.

When they finally reached the grand pavilion, in which a great number of the nobility were present, he dismissed the guards, preventing them from announcing his arrival. He did not want a stir, to have the amount of attention that would be crammed in that hall suddenly bent on him. Carefully, he slid the screen open, a quick glance to the few who turned to look instantly silencing them.

As soon as this was finished, he faced the front of the hall, toward the sound of the shamisen. It was instantly clear who was playing; there were only two people within the complex with black hair, and one of them stood next to him.

Yet, even though Sesshoumaru was perfectly well aware of who it was, at some level he could not accept it. The scent was right, and the faint sparkle of her eyes through her bangs was recognizable. She even looked as she did five months ago, when he had passed her in the hall between their rooms. At the same time, however, something was very different.

Her bangs had finally been cut in keeping with the common fashion, her hair swept back from her face and held with combs. Even in the faint light, he could see the line of color above her lashes, a deep purple that echoed the color of her kimono. As she played, he realized how slender her hands had become; the last time he could remember noticing her hands was when she had been small.

As she stood and bowed, the movement too fluid for his memory, Sesshoumaru tried to understand why he felt so strange watching her. The air in the hall was pleased and impressed, things that should have been satisfactory, but he merely felt on edge, thrown off some path he had not been aware of following until it had been lost. While he would have liked to think that it had something to do with the fact that he had missed the majority of her presentation, he was well aware that such was not the case.

It wasn't until she finally raised her head, and her large brown eyes met his, that he realized what he had finally noticed, although it had been coming for years now; Rin was a woman.

Distantly, Sesshoumaru wondered if his shock had leaked onto his face; it felt so strong that it seemed almost impossible that he could contain it. He knew that after centuries of control, however, that there was no way that any emotion he did not wish to reveal would be visible.

It was so odd, to look back and know that this had always been coming, undoubtedly been present even in the last few visits he had made to the palace. He had known that she would grow up; after all, that had been part of the reason to bring her to the palace in the first place, so that she would be able to be comfortable when this happened. Yet, now looking at her and finally seeing how the features of her face had lost the roundness of childhood, how even covered by the layers of her clothes he could tell that her shape had changed, it was so much more definite, real. Inescapable.

Rin seemed to remember where she was at that moment, and her eyes flickered away from his as she picked up her shamisen and hurried over to her mentors. He continued to watch her movements, unable to look away, some part of his mind thinking that at any moment she would become the child he had known.

Finally Sesshoumaru was able to turn, wordlessly exiting the pavilion. While it had been strangely difficult to leave, the need to get away had become overwhelming. For all his considerations about the passing of time, he had been careless. It had slipped away, and the girl was now gone. He had done nothing differently than he had warned; he had been so intent on his goals that he had merely checked periodically to ensure that she was safe and well. He had insulated himself from noticing too much, from seeing how quickly she passed through the winter of her youth to the spring of adulthood, because there had been too much to do.

Yet now, he could not understand how anything could have been more important than holding onto that brief time when she had been a child, enjoying the carefree smiles and absurd songs and the strange feeling of knowing that someone needed him. And now it was too late, and the chance for that had passed beyond recall.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!"

It was a whisper, but the sound split the air and rent his thoughts, making him stop. A strange feeling pressed against his chest at hearing his name; for all the changes to the voice, the excitement that filled it was achingly familiar. Slowly he turned and found Rin hurrying down the steps toward him, her haste making her nearly fall numerous times.

When she finally reached him and raised her head, the uncomfortable pressure that had built around his heart seemed to ease. Perhaps he had been mistaken, merely confused by the finery he had never seen her in, for even with all the changes the child had not completely disappeared. She was glowing with all the warmness of her youth, smile bright in her flushed face. It was suddenly clear that while she had learned her role perfectly, it was nothing deeper than a facade, something that could be removed and discarded when the performance was over.

It was still strange, the mixture of the Rin he had known and the person she had been taught to be, but it would be bearable. Just because she had aged did not mean she was old; there were still decades of life before her, and perhaps he would find her company as pleasant now as before. Things did not need to be so drastically different as his shock had made them seem.

Sesshoumaru's thoughts were once again pulled to the present when Rin glanced over her shoulder, a frown touching her lips for a second as she looked back up at the pavilion. "If you wish to avoid the nobles, then perhaps I should mention that there was to be only one more performance after mine."

"I will not remain here long."

Some of the spark in her eyes was diminished at this, but she nodded. "I understand. It has been a long day for all of us, I believe, and tomorrow will no doubt be very busy for you as well." She paused for a moment, and then smiled slightly. "But even if that is the case, I am glad that both of you were able to be here tonight. I had hoped that you would make it in time. Although… where is Jaken?"

"Tending to Ah-Un," Kohaku supplied.

Rin snorted at this before quickly hiding her smile behind a sleeve and clearing her throat. "Well I'm sure he is enjoying that much more than seeing me. In any case, I would hate to give him the satisfaction of being able to point out what a mess I must look like." She raised her hands to remove the combs from her hair, which had come loose when she had rushed down the stairs.

"I think you look beautiful."

Rin's head snapped up to look at Kohaku, and even Sesshoumaru glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Apparently Kohaku was just as surprised at what he had said; for a moment his face went white before being quickly replaced by a bright red that marched up his throat and across his cheeks.

The beginnings of an uncomfortable silence were starting to draw out when Rin spoke. "Well, my instructors would be happy to hear that after all the time they spent on me this morning. I'm glad that it's not a daily necessity, and I'm pretty sure they understood my feelings about the matter."

At this point she was forced to pause as the murmur of voices and rustle of fabric could be heard from the pavilion. "That will be the conclusion of the last performance," she sighed. "So I suppose this is goodnight?"

While Sesshoumaru nodded slightly, Kohaku paused, looking intensely uncomfortable. "If you would not mind, I should like to hear more of how you have been," he finally said.

There was a flicker in Rin's eyes, almost unnoticeable and completely incomprehensible to Sesshoumaru. "Of course I do not mind, as long as you will tell your tales in return," she smiled.

He agreed and they had almost gone their separate ways when Rin paused, looking carefully up at Sesshoumaru. "May I ask if you plan to remain long at the palace?"

Through the thin veil of proper speech, he caught the barely suppressed tension, the worry that, as with every other occasion where they had briefly met, morning would find him gone. "Yes."

The light in her eyes again flared to life, and she left him with one more brilliant smile. "I am so glad you have come back, my lord."

Sesshoumaru did not reply that he was glad as well; he knew that she understood the words he would not say.

----

Rin lay on her futon, staring at the shadow patterns the momiji threw against the screen to her right. The wind touched the trees gently, making them sway and rustle faintly. Sighing, she sat up and carefully walked to the screen, opening it and standing on the veranda outside her room.

Sleeping was impossible. She had expected it to be difficult in any case because of her presentation, but after trying unsuccessfully to get some measure of rest for the last handful of hours, Rin knew that sleep would not be forthcoming. She might as well stay up a bit and allow her thoughts to work through everything she had heard. Perhaps then they could stop humming continuously.

When she had finished her presentation and noticed that Lord Sesshoumaru was there, it had only been her shock that kept her from ruining everything she had accomplished that night. Part of her had wanted to rush up to him at that moment, the first flutters of joy stirring instantly. Somehow she had managed to keep her senses enough to first approach her instructors, explaining why she wished to go and acquiring their permission. By the time this had been accomplished, the attention in the pavilion had been turned back to the performance, and she had been able to leave unnoticed through one of the side halls.

With a wry smile, Rin figured that having been so reasonable for that space of time had drained her reserves of sense; her handling of the rest of the meeting had lacked much of the grace she had used in the minutes before. Still, she had been too happy to care; the companions from her youth, those whom she loved more than any others, had all returned uninjured and healthy, and on the night of her presentation. There was little she felt she could ask for at that moment.

Except, perhaps, more time to speak with Lord Sesshoumaru. Although he had said that he planned to remain at the palace for some time, she did not know how he would spend that time. Perhaps there was still much he had to see to, things that had to be organized or settled. And while he might have time, she did not know what she would do, now that her presentation had been completed. Perhaps her day would still be divided between different mentors and instructors as it had been before. She could not remember hearing what happened now.

Still, Rin figured that she had been able to speak to Kohaku, and that had helped somewhat. She had liked him from the first time they met, although the circumstances then had been rather dangerous; she seemed to have a penchant for being drawn to the company of those who could have posed a serious threat to her life. Kohaku had proven to be a dependable companion, however, and had often been somebody she could talk to; she hated to bother Lord Sesshoumaru, and it was so easy to irritate Jaken with her questions that it was more trouble than it was worth.

By the time she had been brought to the palace, Rin had been proud to find that Kohaku was more willing to initiate conversation and was freer with his smiles than three years earlier, when he had joined their group. He had almost acted his age; in their first days at the palace, he had often come with her on her walks and played with her in the gardens.

Standing in the liquid light of the full moon, Rin frowned, thinking over the time she had spent with Kohaku that night. He had once again become solemn and quiet, older than his twenty-one years. While the maturity of his company was refreshing, it was also worrying; she knew that he was shy by nature, but not so grim. She wondered why, even now, he still seemed so guarded.

Of course, she had let nothing of these thoughts betray themselves. For her part, she had remained cheerful throughout their discussion, exaggerating the triviality of everything she had done during their separation when compared to the important role he had played.

He was more discerning on this matter than she would have liked; he returned to his questions regardless of how many times she tried to brush them away or distract him. Smiling slightly, he had shaken his head, and for a moment a bit of the sternness vanished. "The agreement was that I would tell you what happened in return for news about you. I would hate to have to say that your word means nothing."

"I'm rather more afraid of what you could say of me once you hear the ridiculousness I have been up to," she had sighed; but from then on she had been direct in her answers and waited her turn to ask the questions.

When she finally got her chance, she did not stop; she wished to learn every detail. After a time, Kohaku stopped waiting for the questions and merely retold what he could recall of everything that had occurred. He did not withhold any information, sharing both the good and the bad uncensored; she was grateful that he respected her enough not to dilute what had happened.

So Rin learned of the many battles, of which she had heard rumors, and of the final defeat of Naraku. Her appreciation of Kohaku grew considerably as she listened, and while she had never been able to explain why Lord Sesshoumaru had permitted Kohaku to join their group – yet, then again, she had never been able to explain her own inclusion, either – she was glad that he had allowed Kohaku to remain. It seemed that Kohaku had done more than enough to prove himself to be a worthy companion.

The thought stuck in Rin's mind. Kohaku had been able to help Lord Sesshoumaru in battle and aid him in the destruction of their greatest enemy. And all the while she had remained in the palace dressed up in fine silk, learning to play instruments and pour tea.

Slowly she sat down, her feet, dangling over the side of the walkway, just barely able to brush the grass. Leaning her head against the wooden pillar next to her, Rin allowed the familiar ache to wash over her, aware by now that it was useless to fight it until it passed. Kohaku had been allowed the chance to prove his worth, and had earned his place. But what had she done? What had she ever done to deserve everything Lord Sesshoumaru gave her?

----

Sesshoumaru stood on the slope between their rooms, paused to watch Rin as she stood outside her room. He had finished with the first set of trivial tasks he needed to complete upon returning to the palace, and he wanted nothing more than to distance himself from everything that reminded him of those duties. While he had always found the dense woods pleasant, he knew that there was another reason for his choice that night.

He had been more distracted than usual while performing the various obligations he needed to see to, and he was well aware that it was because thoughts of Rin would not leave him. Whether it was simply the lingering effects of his surprise, or the fact that he no longer had any reason to force himself not to think of her, he could not tell and did not particularly care. The cause was not his problem at the moment; it was the effect.

So at the first opportunity, he had gone to the woods, planning on no more than allowing the memories he had held at a distance to be recalled. Yet while he had expected Rin's scent to linger in the area – it had been one of the most difficult things to ignore when he had been forced to return to the palace over the years – it was much too strong at the moment.

He had then gone closer to her rooms and found her standing outside, the moonlight softening her outline as it caught in the white fabric of her nightclothes. Gone were the heavily decorated uchikake, the hints of makeup, the artificiality. Now she was acting for nobody, not even him.

And he realized now that earlier she had been. He had been able to catch snatches of half-concealed emotions, but had not been able to understand them until now. She sat down, and he saw the draw of her brow, the lines of sadness that were allowed to surface. Something was causing her unhappiness, but he could not understand what it could be. There did not seem to be anything she should feel unhappy about.

It only took a moment of thought before he made up his mind and slowly walked to the bottom of the slope and into view.

She stiffened when he drew near, and when she looked up, eyes over-bright, Sesshoumaru could not help but feel the similarities of this night to the one that had triggered the choices that had culminated in the events of that evening. While she initially looked surprised, this was chased away by embarrassment hastily concealed by the bowing of her head. "My lord," she murmured.

He watched her for a moment, almost amused by her reaction, before sitting next to her. Although he looked ahead, into the star-freckled sky, he saw Rin raise her head slightly, just enough to glance at him under her bangs. Yet she said nothing and merely looked at him in silence.

"They say that your presentation went well," he finally said, finding this quiet uncomfortable.

She started, apparently shaken from her thoughts, and then turned so that she faced ahead as well. "My instructors seemed to think so," she replied, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "Yet it does little good if I merely do well and all the others do exceptionally."

Now he turned to look at her, unused to hearing this tone from her. "If they did exceptionally, I heard nothing of it; your name was the only one spoken."

"Mine?" Rin's feet, which had been swinging slightly, stopped altogether.

Even after he nodded, she continued to look at him for a moment longer before the corner of her lips pulled in a small smile. "Perhaps you are merely biased and so simply did not notice the other names?"

Although he was momentarily distracted by her words – he had forgotten how direct her speech was – it was surprisingly simple to remember how little he cared. "Perhaps," he acknowledged, "but I doubt that such was the case."

Now she smiled openly, and her voice carried the hint of laughter. "You must be careful, my lord, or your words will go to my head. Roundabout as it might be, it's still flattery."

"You are not thinking about what you're saying," Sesshoumaru said quietly, yet this only made her laugh. But he did not mind, because he had expected nothing else. Their words were simply banter, ridiculous and senseless, something trivial that, when he thought about it, he could not remember ever having partook in before. Words had not held much importance to him, things that did not last and did not guarantee. But for some reason, they were much easier to use around Rin.

He justified what seemed like such puerile behavior by the fact that what shreds of sadness had been bothering Rin were now clearly gone, replaced by her easy grin and laughter. Of course that brought up why it was so important for him to make sure her mood was directed in such a way, but he did not feel it necessary to address that issue.

The conversation did turn more serious, however, as she asked him questions to fill in any gaps from what Kohaku had told her. Sesshoumaru was glad that she already knew as much as she did; no doubt recounting all the facts had been a tiring task for Kohaku considering Rin's attention to detail.

For his part, he had already heard most of what he wanted to know concerning her, and he had been able to receive the answers he desired over the years. What Rin had done in the time that had passed was well known to him already, and so there was no need to ask such questions.

Eventually, there came a faint change to the air, its softness belying its importance; it was only a few hours before dawn, and over the ocean the winds were starting to warm and change.

Sesshoumaru rose; they had been sitting together in peaceful silence for a few minutes. Rin looked up at him, brows lifting for a moment in preparation of a question, before she checked herself.

Of course, he had noticed every small facial movement, and almost sighed. How fortunate it was that Rin was not tangled in the various intrigues of the palace; her emotions and thoughts were too plainly displayed upon her features for her to have any success at such games of secrecy. "What is it, Rin?"

"I was just curious if I would be able to see you tomorrow," she said quietly. "I said I would miss you, and I have… although, if you have other responsibilities, I do understand."

He considered her for a moment, and found it strange that without truly thinking about it, he had already planned to return the next day. "There will be time. I will return tomorrow evening."

She gave him another brilliant smile, and he found it hard to believe that he had first approached her that night because she had seemed so sad. "I will be waiting for you, then," she said, before moving to get up and return to her room.

Without being entirely aware of what he was doing, as though it were something that warranted as little attention as breathing, Sesshoumaru took Rin's hand and helped her rise.

It was her shock that made him realize what he had done, although she was skilled in hiding this reaction. She softly released his hand when she stood, and he was allowed a moment to wonder why he had done such a thing as he let his hand return to his side.

"Goodnight, my lord," Rin whispered, bowing her head slightly.

"Goodnight," he heard himself reply, still lost in the strengthening confusion of what he had done, before he turned and made his way back to his own rooms.