Do you need a chair? I know, it's amazing, there's been an update. I won't bore you with the details behind my lack of activity, but know that I'm working on it.

I own a really nifty InuYasha bookmark. That's it. Don't sue me.

The Debt

Fourth Rotation

"Ya wanted ta talk?" Inuyasha's normally brash voice was low, but Kagome still jumped in her cushion. Bottles rattled slightly as her knees reflexively bounced and bumped the underside of the table. Her pestle clattered to the floor to be handed back by the claws hand of her friend as he sat beside her. Inuyasha met her blue gaze with his own golden questioning one. The light from fading day made them sparkle from between the swaying of her simple curtains in the early evening breeze. A stone felt lodged in her chest.

"Sorry. I- yes. I did. I just had started working on something-" Kagome sighed and put the mortar on the table beside. "I want to talk. To you," she added, nerves taking over. Her knees popped when she stood to rinse her hands and she noticed a white tufted ear twitch in her periphery.

"Anythin' specific?" Inuyasha didn't want to lead this conversation. Not five minutes in and the wench was already stalling for time. He laid a fang over his tongue, punching slightly to taste copper. 'Can't lose it or she won't talk," he thought, running a claw through his bushy hair.

When her shoulders slumped as she stood at her basin, the hanyou sighed.

This time, Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin, as Inuyasha out his large hands on her shoulders from behind and spun her slowly to face him. Had she always been able to make eye contact with him, or was she simply taller? She mused to herself in a distant part of her brain on the days when she would look up to the handsome half-demon, figuratively as well as literally, in awe and wonder.

Now, years later, she saw him straight on, for the man and demon he truly was. Maybe that was the change. Maybe she was simply wiser in the realities of the world, no longer awed by romantic notions and driven by flights of fancy. She mentally shook herself. Here she was distracted by her supposed maturity, yet neglecting the hypocrisy of doing so at the same time. 'Stupid girl.'

Kagome grasped Inuyasha's wrists, his hands still laying gently on her shoulders. "It's- I don't know how to tell you. How you'll take it." With a deep sigh, she removed his hands and brushed past him to clean her work station. Linens were wrapped and herbs stored as she babbled about friendship, family, and loss. His ear twitched again and he scratched it.

"Loss? What did you lose?" From his spot by the wash basin, he noted her pale face whitening further before she turned away to hide behind her hair. It had come unbound, he noted absently, in her haste to busy her hands. "Kagome." His tone brooked no argument. "What happened in the future?" Neither pointed out the senselessness of that statement, opting to move this conversation forward. Inuyasha, because contemplating the finer points of syntax was a drag, and Kagome, because quantum mechanics was mind boggling enough being a time travelling priestess whose mode of conveyance was a shrine well.

"Gramps is sick," was all she could say. It was all that would come out.

A beat and finally, "So take 'im to tha healer." He furrowed his brow when his friend collapsed onto her sleeping mat in the corner of the room. "Ya have those, I know ya do."

"It's not that simple, Inuyasha. He's too… he's older now, and his body can't handle it. It's not-" She sighed heavily and waved him over, reaching for his hands. Two strides had him by her side. "He's dying, Inuyasha. Grandfather is dying." Her eyes were swimming with grief and he saw his own sadness reflected.

He wanted… Kami… 'Gramps doesn't deserve-' Inuyasha ripped his clawed hands out of Kagome's before he could break them by clenching his fists as he wanted to do. The world started to go a little fuzzy around the edges, he noted of his view of the woven mats on the floor. Too much.

He was crashing out the door a moment later, Kagome quietly shedding tears for his heartbreak behind him.

A dull thud echoed through the forest. The pink hue of dusk had long since passed, the sounds of the village nearby slowing down and quieting only amplifying the sound.

Another thud, this time accompanied by a hiss and a curse. Sesshomaru twitched his nose. Blood. The half-breed's. 'Upset at the girl, no doubt,' the patriarch sniffed to himself in distaste. Even though human, a fact which was slowly coming more into question, she had displayed an almost unheard of loyalty and devotion to both her chosen pack and her duty as the Shikon Miko. And yet, his - Sesshomaru cringed - half brother still disrespected the Kamis through his treatment of their servant.

Shaking his head to himself, the Lord of the Western Lands proceeded forward toward the village.

"My Lord?" A voice sounded from his side and he looked down. The girl at his side kept her eyes forward, still walking, but he could read the anxiety in her. Taking her adoptive father's silence for permission, she continued. "Inuyasha seemed… unsettled," she stated carefully. "Perhaps it might be more… prudent to arrive in the morning."

His jaw clenched. It was difficult to reconcile the small girl he had saved with the adolescent she had become. He would, however, have to monitor lessons with his mother, it seemed, who had taken to educating his daughter in the finer points of veiled speech. She knew he had wanted more for Rin than the monotony of her station. Learning to arrange flowers and play shamisen was fine, but his daughter deserved to know how to read and write, to know how to manage coffers and speak to crowds.

She deserved the world, and he would be damned if his mother attempted to undermine him for something as petty as his adopted daughter's blood.

"Rin," he said finally. "We will arrive when we are meant to, not a moment sooner, nor later. We are expected." Seeing her eyes fall to the ground as they walked, he slowed his stride to a meander and placed a hand upon her shoulder. "Daughter-mine, we keep our appointments out of respect and responsibility. Even when it is something as small as coming to Edo, when one makes a commitment, one must abide it. A person can tell you much with their words, but their actions will tell you more," Sesshomaru concluded, patting her shoulder and stepping through the underbrush and into the clearing before the village.

A cleansing rain. His youki reminded her of a cleansing rain. It was ludicrous, obviously, being a demon aura, for Sesshomaru's youki to be anything remotely cleansing, but there was a scent to it, a feeling. Kagome shook her head and exited her hut to greet the youkai Lord.

Dropping into a respectful bow, she greeted him with a low, "Lord Sesshomaru" before turning to greet Rin with an equally respectful "Young Lady Rin." The younger girl giggled and Kagome winked.

"Miko," he responded with a nod. A forgotten fishing pole lay nearby, and after gracefully scooping it up, Sesshomaru handed it to the miko beside him.

"Masa's," she replied fondly, "his mother works the paddies." A slim arm rose to point to a demure hut in the distance. "Roughly two seasons older than Lady Rin. Don't make that face, my Lord, he has his eye on Hayate-san's daughter, Hana."

Sesshomaru curled his lip in a silent growl at the tiny holy woman next to him. She rolled her clear blue eyes at him and huffed a laugh. "Really, Lord Sesshomaru?" Kagome turned to send Rin to help Kaede-baa and Shippo with dinner, "Her hands are very sore today, but she has refused treatment. Please give her what assistance you can, Rin-chan."

When the young royal had rushed off to the old healer's in determination, Kagome ushered the demon Lord inside her own hut. Minutes later, tea and small digestifs from home were prepared and plated, and the two sat.

"You should know, my Lord, that while Lady Rin is visiting our village, she will be upheld to your ideals." A pale brow raised and Kagome continued. "I know it bothers you, the human boys here. I'm not- I would be remiss in my duties as the Shikon Miko, Priestess of the Sunset Shrine of I allowed Rin to stray from the morals and ethics of her station." Her eyes glittered at him uncertainly, her cheeks flushed.

"This Sesshomaru thanks you for that assurance, Miko, however unnecessary it may be." The cool statement washed over Kagome and she considered it. 'Thank you, but I already know this.' The realization that Sesshomaru respected her hit Kagome like a bullet to the chest. The cup shook a bit as she sipped it to calm herself.

Silence reigned for a bit while they sipped, broken by his baritone. "You are well, Miko?" Not wench, not human, his respect had grown to define her station. She warmed a bit, but thinking on his question cooled that feeling immediately.

"I am well, my Lord. Thank you," she replied, hoping her surface calm would hide the tension she felt. No such luck.

"Truly?" His nose scented the lie which was not quite a lie, heightened hearing picking up the speed of her heartbeat. The woman before him nodded just a bit too quickly, averting her eyes to a spot across the room.

"I find the best way to lie is not to, as well," his murmur drew her eyes back to his. A grin split his face as her eyes widened when she realized she had been caught out. Sesshomaru schooled his face back into a serious mein. "Miko."

"I returned this morning," her raven hair fell into her face has her small head bowed. "My grandfather, our shrine priest, is dying." He stood, moving to stand next to her.

"Miko, your grandfather helped raise you, yes?" She nodded and he continued, "Then the Kamis are truly lucky to have such a devoted and wide being doing their works. He will be recognized for his service." Without another word, the tall demon Lord walked from the hut to seek his child.

"-And momma said-" guttural noises of indecision sounded from the kit's muzzle.

"Your mother said?" After leaving the priestess to her thoughts, Sesshomaru had arrived at the elderly human, Kaede's, hut. Here, too, he smelled the salt of grief, faded but present. He entered to see Rin slicing red meat into thin strips while the old woman prepared a metal cooking pan. The Miko's kitsune child was sat in a corner in front of a book practicing his characters, and Sesshomaru had approached to seat himself next to the young demon. Twenty minutes later, Sesshomaru was being regaled with stories of the fox's improving skills.

"She said there's a school," Shippo squeaked back before dissolving into excited barks. He quieted at Sesshomaru's answering rumble.

'Interesting, he retains some instincts despite his proximity to humans.' Before returning to his lands, Sesshomaru resolved to speak with the Miko regarding this… school. He had already decided to discuss her kit's development, but hearing the stories of the games she played with her son, he realized she was also mindful of the situation. 'Perhaps she would like-' he cut his train of thought off.

Respecting the power and wisdom of a human was entirely different from offering advice to help them rear their child. Regardless of how good of a parent they are despite the unconventional nature of- 'You will cease this line of thought,' he told himself, and tuned back into the excited demon child.

"-She says I still have to learn maths and work on my reading-"

"You can read?" Sesshomaru was surprised. The kit nodded.

"Yeah, momma says it's important to be well-rounded." The demon Lord agreed to himself. "I think she just likes that it keeps me busy."

"I heard that, kit!" Kagome's voice broke into their conversation. Shippo's cheeks flushed and his whiskers vibrated. "You need to learn to read so you know where is dangerous or what is happening in the world. Maths is just as important. You'd like to count any monies you earn or keep track of your supplies, correct? And writing is just as important for sending missives to your mother during your travels," she finished with cheek, winking and pinching her son's side.

Kagome pulled him close, looking into his big brown eyes. "Ship, your kitsune magic is important, right? It helps protect you from others who try to hurt you, find food or shelter, and probably a lot more you'll learn about that I don't know." She caught Sesshomaru's thoughtful gaze from the corner of her eye. "Well, the things which I want you to learn, the reading, the maths, they are another set of skills which you can use with your magic to become a stronger demon as you grow."

Her son looked pensive and raised his eyes to the older demon across from him. "What does Lord Sesshomaru think?" Kagome locked eyes with his golden gaze and he nodded to her unspoken question.

"This Sesshomaru believes your mother is wise. You are learning Kampo, as well, correct?" Shippo nodded and he continued. "When you find yourself ill from a snake's venom, you will know what to do and how to treat the wound. You will also know which plants will enhance your magic and which sap it away. It seems, young kit, your mother knows what is best." The fox boy nodded and leaned to kiss his mother's cheek, receiving a maternal rubbing of faces in response. Kagome handed over the fishing pole Sesshomaru had picked up earlier and asked the boy to return it, sending him scampering across the village.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." He nodded back and rose, brushing his haori off. He offered an elegant hand to her, his claws lightly scratching the skin of her fingers, to which she offered thanks again. When she looked up at him, he simply inclined his head to the door and left. Kagome sighed before following dutifully.