muie5: As always, I do not own YYH or Inuyasha.

Miroku: See how painless that was?

muie5: Yes, now please remove yourself from the room. You are getting a bit close.

Sango: Miroku!

Chapter 4: How Boys Act When Together

~~~~~Outside the castle~~~~~

"I need to get some herbs for tea. So, Rin, you can either come with me or stage here. But if you stay here you have to stay out of trouble. And above all, don't go into Kurama's room. So what do you wanna do?"

Rin smiled, "I want to stay home."

"Very well," I sighed, as I walked outside and towards the river.

Rin stood in the doorway and waved to me. I waved back to her as a bad feeling swept over me. I had a sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong. Rin immediately turned around and went right back to Kurama's room. She shyly knocked on the door. As a response, Hiei opened the door with a very perturbed expression.

"What do you want?" Hiei asked in a whisper of annoyance.

"I wish to help watch over Kurama?"

Hiei gave a suspicious glance and moved slightly to allow Rin inside. Hiei went back to the wall where he was previously at. Rin quietly walked over to the opposite wall and sat down. She intently watch Kurama, has his shallow breathing of deep sleep gave away his level of weariness.

"Umm…" Rin started to say.

Hiei glared at her. Immediately Rin closed her mouth, and went back to watching Kurama without another word. Hiei also turned his attention back to Kurama. The two sat in the stillness of the room.

~~~~~In the Forest~~~~~

I rolled up my kimono so that it would not get wet as I started to pick some herbs. Now, I am not an expert at identifying different types of herbs, but luckily I was taking classes on medicinal herbs at the community college in my home town. After picking all I could, I started to get up. As I was almost on my feet, I lost my footing and landed in the river. I took two tries to get myself out of the river and onto the slippery bank. Sadly I had lost almost all of the herbs I had just pulled. I rolled onto my back in order to catch my breath and calm down. As I looked at the crystal blue sky, I noticed something moving in the sky.

"What is that? It kind of looks like…Ah-Uh?" I scrambled to my feet, "Oh, no! Sesshomaru is back!"

To frantic to even think clearly, I ran as fast as I could. I tripped over roots, branches cut my arms, and greenery clung to my wet clothes.

"I have to hurry! At this rate, he will beat me back to the castle. I am in such trouble. I went off and left Rin with stranger…Wait! What if he kills them? What if he kills me? I have to beat him back to the castle!"

"Mi'lord, is that not the human girl we picked up down there?" Jaken pointed towards me dashing through the trees.

Sesshomaru glanced down to where Jaken was pointing. A very faint grin appeared across the Western Lord's lips. He turned his attention back to his destination as he commanded Ah-Uh to pick up the speed.

"Mi'lord, Rin does not appear to be with her."

With my last burst of energy, I erupted from the woods. Without looking back to see how far behind Sesshomaru was, I made a dash for the castle door.

"Rin," I called as I rushed into the castle, "Rin, come here!"

Rin immediately got to her feet, and quietly left Kurama's room. She ran down the stairs to meet me in the entrance way. I looked up the stairs from where she emerged from, then looked at her with disapproval.

"What is it, Sister Shine?" came the sweet reply to my beckoning.

"Rin, I told you…nevermind. I have a favor to ask. Do not tell Sesshomaru that I left you alone. I know he did not ask me to watch over you, but I am sure he would not me pleased with me leaving you. Also if you can keep the fact that we have guests between the two of us, that would be great.

With a nod and a smile Rin said, "Yes, Sister Shine. I will not tell him."

Not even a second later, Sesshomaru landed and dismounted Ah-Uh. Rin ran out of the castle to greet him with a huge smile, happy to have him back.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" she stopped short of the returning group, "Lord Sesshomaru, you are hurt."

Sesshomaru patted Rin on the head as a sign that he was fine. He looked over at me as I walked outside, brushing some dirt off of the new kimono I changed into. As I got closer to Sesshomaru, I looked up from my new outfit.

"Sesshomaru, you're back. Has it already been…You're hurt," I walked over to his side, "Well, let us get you fixed up. Rin, please grab the supplies for me and take them to…"

"To my bed chambers," Sesshomaru interrupted.

Rin ran inside the castle as I walked behind Sesshomaru so that way if he feel I could catch him. When we got to the castle, Sesshomaru turned to look at me as if he was measuring me up.

"Follow me, girl," Sesshomaru ordered as he made his way up the stairs.

"My name is Shine Hidito," I stated politely.

I followed Sesshomaru silently the rest of the way to his bedroom. After that smart comment about my name, I did not want to step out of line again. Sesshomaru stopped at a door that did not look like it was different than any other the other doors in this castle. He opened the door wide and my mouth dropped. Sesshomaru just strolled right in, while I slowly and cautiously took steps behind him.

White silk sheets dressed his large bed, made pristine as if he never slept in it. A very detailed and gorgeous tapestry of the Human and Demon War legend draped the wall above his bed. In the corner nearest the balcony, set a pinewood desk and matching chair.

Rin was sitting by the bed with the bowl of water, rags, and the medicine we mixed up earlier beside her. Sesshomaru glided over to Rin, placed his hand on top of her head, and then sat on the side of the bed beside her. Rin's face lit up at Sesshomaru's touch.

Sesshomaru's nose twitched ever so slightly, "Is that…blood? Demon blood? I noticed outside but…it is in the castle."

"What is wrong, Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked while we started to clean his wounds.

"There is someone in the castle," Sesshomaru stated in a low growl.

"No there isn't. It has just been Rin and I," I answered as if lying came natural.

"The smell of a fox demon is coming from the castle," Sesshomaru stated with the intent of a threat.

"There…There is two others here. I found one of them very badly hurt out in the forest…so I brought him here to heal him. The other is his friend," I answered sheepishly, trying to down play the fact I brought two strangers into his home.

I got to my feet as Rin put the last bandage on Sesshomaru. Rin started to get to her feet with the medicine in her arms. I grabbed the water and rags before turning my back on the lord.

"Alright, Sesshomaru, you should get some rest. Come on, Rin, we should leave him alone," I ordered, walking out of the room.

Rin slowly followed me out. Without hesitation, I went straight for Kurama's room. With a swift knock, I opened the door without even waiting for an answer.

"Time to change him again?" Hiei asked in a whisper as Rin and myself walked into the room.

"Why else would we be here?" I asked sarcastically, walking over to Kurama's bedside.

Hiei got to his feet and walked over to the foot of the bed, "The lord of the castle must be back."

"How did you know?" I asked, starting to remove Kurama's bandages very carefully.

"I heard his unpleasant comments to our presence."

"What is this?" I exclaimed, dropping the old bandages I just took off.

"You must not have taken Kurama seriously when he told you he would be up by tomorrow. He is a demon after all, so his injuries heal faster than a human's," Hiei stated with a smirk gracing his features.

"A…A what?" I gasped. "I guess Sesshomaru did say something…about a…fox demon?"

I took a closer look at some of the wounds after I washed them. It appeared that I did not need to bandage him up again. His wounds only needed to be washed.

"Rin, can you wash his side for me?" I asked as I moved to his chest.

Rin's nod was the only response to my request. She started washing his side wounds silently and with the utmost care. Just as the times before, Kurama moved slightly before waking up. Rin sat back, realizing that Kurama was now awake.

"Hello, girls," Kurama said in a cheery tone.

"Hi, Kurama," Rin and I both greeted.

"How are you feeling?" Hiei asked in a steely tone.

"I am feeling just fine," Kurama answered, glancing towards his friend.

Hiei gave Kurama a slightly off glimpse. Kurama responded with his own interested expression. It appeared to me that they all but forgot that Rin and I were even in the room. Their stared expression almost had a telepathic look to it. After a few seconds, Kurama broke eye contact with Hiei, and moved his attention to me.

"So the lord is back? That is good. May I speak with him?" Kurama asked pleasantly.

"He is resting right now. Well, at least I hope he is since he needs his rest. You see, he came back kinda…well he came back a little scraped up."

Kurama and Hiei shared a look before returning their gaze to me.

"Okay, you two need to stop doing…well whatever that sharing glance thing is," I stated with a slight smile.

Kurama nodded as a response to my request. Hiei on the other hand just stood there.

"Thanks. Well you are all washed up. I guess Rin and I will be going now," I stated, turning to Rin, "Let's go see if our Lord is asleep yet."

Rin smiled, grabbed the medicine, and was out the door before I got the bowl and bandages gathered up. I gave a nod to the two boys before following Rin.

By the time I caught up with Rin, she was already outside of Sesshomaru's room in mid-knock. I put my finger up to my mouth and Rin immediately lightened her knock. With no response, I cracked the door open.

"Sesshomaru?" I whispered into the quiet room.

No answer came. I wanted to try to see if he was awake one more time. It was a habit of mine from where it took Sarah two or three times to answer when I called for her.

"Umm...Sesshomaru, are you asleep?"

Dead silence was the only answer to my question. I poked my head into Sesshomaru's room through the crack in the door. Rin stayed behind me as I called into the silent room for the last time.

"Are you even in here, Sesshomaru?" I asked a smidge louder than my other two calls.

"Of course, I am in here. It is my bed chambers, is it not?" came a familiar voice from the balcony.

"Yes, it is. We're here to check up on you. Do you need anything?" I asked, opening the door all the way.

Rin walked in front of me as I stayed in the door way so not to push my presence. It already felt really weird waiting hand and foot on some guy I barely knew.

"You may go," Sesshomaru ordered, not even turning to face me when he spoke.

"Of course. I'll come back in an hour and a half to see if you are hungry…or something. You should get some rest, Sesshomaru," I suggested, shutting the door behind me.

"Rin," Sesshomaru started, turning to face the sweet girl.

Rin walked to the middle of the room before stopping, "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Rin caught up to me in the hall a few minutes later. I placed my hand upon her head with a smile. She returned my smile and grabbed my hand.

"What do you want to do? We have a couple more hours of sunlight left," I asked, bending down to Rin's level.

"Let's go outside and play!"

"Well, let's go then," I agreed, walking down the hall, hand and hand.

~~~~~In Kurama's Room~~~~~

"So how do you think everybody is doing?" Kurama asked, sitting up in his bed.

"When I left them, they were doing fine. Being the stupid humans that they are always acting like," Hiei answered without much emotion put into his response.

Kurama smiled at this update about his friends. It was a relief hearing that they were doing well. It would have been better if Hiei did not put the new in the words he did though. Hiei did not seem to care either way. Hiei shut his eyes and bent his head down so that a shadow covered his eyes. Kurama shut his eyes as well, but he did not lower his head. He wanted his smirk to be seen.

"How is Yukina?"

Hiei lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at his friend, "Fine."

Kurama gave a slight laugh under his breath, "Do not give me that look, Hiei. It was just an innocent question."

Hiei started walking towards the balcony after that. Kurama watched his friend walk onto the balcony. Hiei did not even look back to his friend, just for the fact that he would be showing that he needed approval from the fox to go anywhere.

"Where are you going?" Kurama asked with some reservation.

"You know me. I cannot stay in a room, or inside, for a long period of time," Hiei stood on the rim of the balcony and jumped onto the branch of the tree that almost reached the balcony rim.

Kurama got up out of bed, walked out onto the balcony, and sat down in the middle of it. Hiei turned his eyes towards his friend after he sat on the branch.

"Why did you come out here?" Hiei asked, placing his right hand on his right knee, which was bent up. He let his left hand hang by his side and his left leg was resting straight on the branch.

"Because I'm tired of just laying in bed all day. I am not a fan of indoors as you are."

Hiei shut his eyes as if to show he was unconcerned with what Kurama did. Kurama shut his eyes so he could relax even just a little. The two of them sat in the silence of dusk. The silence did not last long, only moments later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Kurama said, getting to his feet.

The door opened a crack, showing no one behind it. It was as quiet as it was when the two were sitting peacefully on the balcony. Hiei got to his feet, still on the branch. With his hand on the hilt of his sword, Hiei jumped onto the balcony. Kurama turned his attention from his friend to the door. A small gust of wind blew Kurama's hair, but not even that broke their concentration.

"I am starting to get annoyed at this place," Hiei said turning towards the balcony's edge.

Kurama turned to the edge of the balcony as well. They both grabbed onto the rim and leapt from the balcony with both grace and elegance. Sesshomaru walked into the room and straight out onto the balcony. Hiei nodded to his friend and Kurama nodded back. They both jumped back onto the balcony, one on each side of Sesshomaru.

"We did not come here to fight," Hiei declared.

"We only wish to speak with you about the demons in your land and outside of it," Kurama added.