Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

A/n--the gods curse prior engagements! This would have been up yesterday if I didn't have a life! (That's sarcasm, just so you know). So, here we go…

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Part FourI Know the Truth, About You…

Rin sat down beneath the fruit trees, preparing herself for what she supposed would be a long, cold night. The orchard was now, unofficially, her home. She knew she needed more than just bony trees and fruit that didn't last all year, but now that had to wait till tomorrow. Looking back, building a halfway worthy shelter would have been smarter than trying to fly. Tomorrow she would start working on the necessities, but now she hard to focus on staying awake.

Traces of wolves were everywhere. Ever since her first death, she had had a serious dislike of the unmannered dogs. Now, she found that she really wanted to finish learning how to deal with her new body, so that she could go back to Sesshomaru. Maybe not as Rin, and definitely not as a useless lump. She didn't know how he'd react to her. He hadn't taken her in easily in the first place. How would he react to a besotted she-demon?

Rin's head started to hurt again from all the thinking she had been doing lately. Then a faint growl stole her attention.

-:-:-:-:-

This was the last place Sesshomaru expected to be, though he was finding the situation increasingly amusing.

Kagome and Inuyasha hadn't fought for long about helping him. Typically, Kagome got her way by pulling out the 'sit' command. Now, he sat by their camp fire, between the monk and the demon slayer (snicker…). He could hear Jakken muttering complaints to himself somewhere in the shadows behind him. Inuyasha sat across from his brother, his face set in a scowl. Kagome leaned on Sango's shoulder with Shippo sitting in her lap, ignoring the mutt's distaste of the arrangement.

The monk was examining the feather with the utmost care. "It seems to be just a normal feather, Sesshomaru." He said, finally breaking the silence (minus Jakken's mutterings).

Sango snatched the object out of his hands and examined it herself. "If it's normal, I'll marry Inuyasha, and then cheat on him with Kouga." (I know it's out of character, but it was just too corny!).

Inuyasha snarled at the mention of his love-nemesis. Kagome looked on the verge of laughing.

"What is it Sango?" asked Shippo.

"A Black Phoenix feather."

"A what?" Inuyasha couldn't help asking.

"A demon tribe, taking the form of a black phoenix, idiot." Sesshomaru said, glaring at his half brother. "It is very simple, even the fox could explain it."

"Hey!" Shippo took the comment as an insult. Kagome rolled her eyes and gave Miroku a questioning glance, toning the demons out.

Sango copied Kagome's act of annoyance and handed the feather back to the full dog demon. "The Black Phoenix Tribe don't show their true forms until around the age of 16, when they regularly take a mate."

Silence followed the careless remark.

-:-:-:-:-

Rin stood. She could see the wolves now. All 20 of them. They snarled, growled, and snapped at her, but never went so far as to howl or bark. She didn't see the demons and she didn't need to. She could feel them.

She frowned. "If you're going to kill me, could you skip the dramatics and get on with it?" she asked impatiently, showing her unease. She got no answer. She rolled her eyes. "This is stupid!" she mumbled as she stalked out into the open, reviewing every hold-break Sesshomaru had ever taught her.

-:-:-:-:-

Sesshomaru stood abruptly with a soft, "Damn!"

Miroku nodded slowly, rubbing his chin with one hand. "So she's a demon? Never would have guessed."

"Neither would she." Said Sango. "She must have panicked when it happened and want to be alone for fear of-"

"She must have thought you'd kill her, Sesshomaru." Inuyasha interrupted tiredly.

Sesshomaru turned to leave, and Kagome got to her feet. "Where're you going?"

"To find Rin."

"If my memory serves," Sango stood too, "Kagome offered our help."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as Miroku stood, showing his agreement. "Well, you guys have fun demon hunting." The half-breed snorted, laying his head down.

"I think you might want to come along, Inuyasha."

Everyone starred at Kagome. Was she trying to start another fight?

"Why?"

"I sense jewel shards."

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A/n--sorry if all the add-in comments are bugging you. If they are, do the humane thing and ignore them! And I don't know if apple trees grow in Japan or whatever, it's just in there for convenience. And, as is obvious, I'm having too much fun with the snide Sango remarks. I personally hope it doesn't keep happening, but if the boot fits, wear it! Things are heating up, and here's a warning for the next chapter:

Warning: if you find yourself against evil-animal cruelty, comical violence, and anything out of your typical anime, please do yourself a favor and don't read the parts of the next chapter that are about Rin. If evilness is all good for you, the next parts about Rin ought to be amusing…

…sorry, I couldn't help myself. There is no warning; I just wanted an excuse to give you a sneak peek at the next chapter!

R&R!!