Okay, I don't think I'll be doing double releases this next week. Perhaps the week after? I haven't quite decided yet. I didn't know double releases could be so taxing! I don't know how you other authors do it .

Responses to reviewers have been moved to the bottom of the chapter =)

Vocab:

inuyoukai – dog demon
kosode - light robe that's usually worn under kimono, but can be worn alone
hai – yes
zori – Japanese style shoes that are similar in style to sandals

As always, I do not own these characters! They are the great invention of Rumiko Takahashi. (Well I guess I own Daitokage and Takahiro and whoever else I decide to create, but whatever.)

Enjoy the chapter!

"I see you've brought your human with you," said the largest of the wolf demons, presumably the alpha and therefore the leader of the tribe. "We have heard so much about you from other demons," he said with a yellow fanged smile and a glint in his eye. "Forgive my manners; it is not often that we have a lady in our pack." He let out a barking laugh which made Rin wince. "I am Tousei, alpha of the northern wolf tribe."

The alpha was tall and muscular, broad shouldered and dark skinned as she expected the leader of wolves to look like. Rin was surprised to see that he was about the size of Sesshomaru, equal in height, though perhaps heavier. Tousei however was rather revolting to look at. His hair was matted and tangled with dirt and other unidentifiable substances. Rin wasn't if his complexion was the color of dust or if he simply hadn't bathed in several weeks. Around his mouth, there was something that had crusted over, a dark maroon color. Rin recognized it as blood and cringed in disgust. Like Kouga and the other wolves she had seen, he wore simple animal skins of fur on his arms, legs, and waist. However, Tousei seemed to have chosen to wear animal skin boots on his feet and left his barrel-shaped chest bare.

"It is my honor to be here, milord," Rin said with her best, though fictitious, smile of gratitude bowed deeply.

Tousei looked towards Sesshomaru, then around the rest of the group. "Where is Takahiro? Your advisor! Where is he?" Tousei suddenly snapped at Sesshomaru.

"He is indisposed," Sesshomaru replied coolly. "This Sesshomaru did not feel he was necessary to carry on negotiations."

"I hope that will prove to be true," Tousei growled. "Seito!" barked the alpha. "Show yourself!"

From Tousei's right stepped a young wolf demon, stocky like his father though still considerably smaller. "You called for me?"

"Introduce yourself," his father commanded. Turning to face his guests, Tousei explained, "Seito is recently returned from the east. I do not think you have had the honor of meeting him yet."

Seito faced the company and introduced himself. "I am Seito, first son of the honored wolf leader Tousei."

Rin bowed as the wolf demon stepped forward. He looked young in appearance, perhaps no older than Rin, meaning he couldn't be more than 100 years old as a demon. Surprisingly, Seito was not unhandsome. Must be from his mother, Rin thought to herself, for the father's gruff appearance was anything but attractive. His high cheek bones accentuated his startling, electric yellow eyes which pierced her hazel ones. Seito's midnight black hair was tied back in a high ponytail with only a few strands falling carelessly across his face. Although he had yet to obtain father's sheer size, he still stood a full head taller than Rin. He appeared to be cleaner than his father, though not by a large degree.

From behind her, she could feel Sesshomaru's eyes on Seito, assessing every quality, though the young man in front of her seemed completely oblivious to her lord's attention. The way Sesshomaru could sum up an entire being in one look unnerved her, especially when his appraising gaze was turned upon herself.

"Seito. Show Sesshomaru's human to her room. Try to make sure she doesn't lose herself in these caves. Humans tire very easily, you know." Rin felt a twinge of anger bubble up inside herself at this comment, but she bit down hard on her tongue. She was used to being treated as a lesser by the demon lords she went to visit, but usually they had enough respect for Sesshomaru to limit their snide comments or at least use her name.

"Of course, my lord." He said, kneeling to his father respectfully as he left the room. "Follow me."

Looking back once at Sesshomaru, Rin tried to ask her lord through a meaningful look if it was okay to follow the alpha's son. He simply moved his head in the slightest of nods to indicate to her that she should do as she was directed. Dubiously, she mirrored Seito's footsteps as he quickly exited through a corridor which branched to the right from the main entrance.

Only twenty feet into the tunnel and Rin was completely blind. Seito carried no torch with him and lighting in the winding labyrinth was somewhere between nonexistent and abysmal with only a little light seeping from other corridors branching off from this one. Rin was pretty sure that she managed to stumble over every rock present in that cave as she hurried to follow Seito who did nothing to help guide her. He seemed to know the path by heart and never paused once to take in his surroundings. Trying to memorize the way he went, Rin kept a tally in her mind: right, left, right, up steps on the left, right; after maybe two minutes of this, she realized it was pointless. There was no way she could learn the path after one time through it.

Rin had to rely on the sound of his footsteps to have any idea where he was going. Soon, though, the quick tapping of his feet against the stone floor faded away and she began to have trouble keeping up with him. Starting to panic and fearing becoming lost in such a twisting maze of rocky, dingy corridors, Rin began to run. The sound of her zori's clacking filled her ears, blocking out any hope she had of hearing Seito's footsteps.

Just as Rin was going to give up and wait for somebody else to take her to her room, she tripped over a particularly large rock, falling flat on her face. Luckily, her hands caught her fall, but she could feel cuts open on her hands as dirt was rubbed into the wounds. Struggling to stand, Rin ran her hands all around the surrounding area, hoping to find the wall to use as support.

"Feh," Seito scoffed from in front of her. "I forgot. Humans can't see in the dark, can they? So helpless you creatures are."

Rin felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her upright. She muttered a muted "thanks" as she brushed the dirt from her kimono. She knew how demons felt about humans, but it was starting to really irritate her that they felt the need to mention her inferiority at every possible opportunity.

Seito dragged her behind him, wrist in hand, about a hundred feet farther before they stopped in front of a medium sized hallway which opened into a large but unfurnished cave. Rin was thankful to see that it had already been provided with torches which were flickering in the damp chill.

Rin stepped into the area which she supposed would be her quarters for the next week. Really, looking around now, she regretted having not brought much to do. The walls were barren and the room chilled her to the bone. The only thing she could see that might pass for her bedding were the piles of fur pelts spread in the corner of the room. Rin wondered if she could still get her sleeping bag from Ah-Un's saddlebag, but she put the thought away for the time being. She knew that if she were to leave this room now, there would be no hope of her ever finding her way back to the entrance. She wasn't even sure of where Ah-Un would be in a place like this.

Rin turned to thank Seito for being her guide, but he was already gone. Oh well, she thought. He wasn't exactly a gentleman anyway. Looking around the room, she saw a basin with water in it. She cleaned her hands in the frigid water, surprised it wasn't frozen over. Rin dried her hands on her kosode and circled around the room, collecting the animal furs that she found. Some were from deer, some from bears, and many were from animals she didn't think she had ever seen.

Smoothing the pelts into the closest of a futon she could manage, Rin lay down, hoping to warm herself and maybe sleep.

If Rin was honest with herself, taking this journey into the wolves' lair hadn't been her favorite idea. But since it was the first time in years that Sesshomaru had offered her anything of the sort, she had snatched up the opportunity without a second thought. After her first death, even large dogs could frighten her with their uncanny appearance to wolves. In front of the alpha, Rin had managed to keep her trembling to a minimum. In their human forms, wolves didn't affect her as badly as she had expected. The thought of them in their animal forms though still sent shivers down her spine, though.

With these as her final thoughts, Rin wrapped herself as tightly as she could in the furs and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Sesshomaru hated this place. Actually, hated wasn't nearly sufficient to describe the unimaginable revulsion he felt when here. It was more of deep loathing, such as one might feel towards a parasite. In fact, the term leech was very applicable to these wolves, the scum of the earth. These were the kind of creatures that made him nauseous when they called themselves full-blooded demons. No respect, no control, just wild, mangy, animals.

Sesshomaru hardly understood why they had so much power. In fact, their territory was relatively small. The only true asset they had on their own was the strength of numbers. In this cave and the surrounding ones, the population of wolves totaled over five hundred, a large number for full-blooded demons. What truly gave them power he supposed were the alliances they held with the bears to the north. Those monsters were even more vicious and aggressive than the wolves; the only thing they had in common was bloodlust. This tribe wasn't even allied with the other wolf tribes farther south such as that of Kouga. Not even their own kind tolerated their abominable, uncontrolled, self-serving behavior.

"So, Sesshomaru… what propositions have you brought to us today? Anything more appealing?"

Sesshomaru glanced at the other demons present in the room: Tousei, the alpha and five betas, none of whose names he had bothered to commit to memory, sat at a rectangular stone table with Sesshomaru and Tousei at opposite ends. Tousei's advisors changed on a regular basis; he never seemed to be able to find those who would cater to his every whim for an extended period of time.

"You are familiar with the borders that were arranged at the time of your father's defeat by my father's hand. Those are the borders I shall maintain."

"So your position has not changed," Tousei growled. "Those borders were drawn well over three centuries ago, and have not been respected for the past hundred years. My brethren have grown since then. They need space to stretch, to grow. You cannot now expect them to clear areas which they have occupied for a century."

Sesshomaru regretted leaving his lands in the very incapable hands of his advisors. Even before he had set out on the search for Naraku, he had had no interest in maintaining the lands given to him by his father. He hadn't cared about his father's power; he had wanted to amass strength of his own. Now that he had succeeded in surpassing his father, Sesshomaru could see that was a foolish choice made out of childish willfulness.

"Do not think I have grown so soft as to allow your untamed pack of beasts to run rampant. If I desired it, I could have your entire tribe destroyed. They have killed some of my generals. I shall not tolerate such impudence."

"Oh, Takahiro was so much more charming than you are," Tousei drawled. "At least he wasn't as intractable as you. He understood that we are your ancestors, that we came before the inuyokai. He knew to respect my will as his elder."

Sesshomaru did his best to keep from rising and walking from the table directly. He wasn't necessarily the best negotiator, but he did know that that wouldn't be taken well. Instead, Sesshomaru simply sat in stony silence as way of response.

"It seems that we have reached an impasse yet again," said Tousei. "Besides, I know I as well as my advisors are thirsting for some fresh meat. Do you wish to join us?"

"I think I'll pass," Sesshomaru replied dryly. The wolves' idea of "hunting" was to simply slaughter everything in sight, not to even necessarily eat what they killed.

Rising from the table, the counsel transformed and departed. The betas' wolf forms were about the size of bears while the Tousei had to wait to transform outside. Although he had not nearly the power of Sesshomaru, he still reached a considerable size, his head meeting the treetops.

Sesshomaru quit the room with Jaken trailing behind him and entered the main den. From the main entrance, there were three possible paths to take. The one to the right led up the inside of the mountain to rooms specialized for crafting and the occasional visitor. To the left, spread a tunnel which connected this series of caves to the others in the adjoining mountains. The middle path which was by far the largest took one directly into the heart of the wolves' den in which there were always about a hundred lying about either sleeping or dozing. Sesshomaru scoffed.

"Jaken. Get some of the food from Ah-Un's pack. Rin will be hungry."

"Hai, milord!" Jaken said as he dashed out of the cave. In all honesty, Jaken was probably excited to have a chance to leave the cave, even if it was for Rin's sake. Every time Jaken was around, there were always several wolves who thought he was their next meal.

Taking the trail to the right, Sesshomaru followed Rin's scent to her room; he could tell long before entering by her scent that she was asleep. Entering, he saw that she was bundled in various animal furs but was still shivering. Removing the white pelt he wore over his right shoulder, he carefully laid it across her body. Almost reflexively it seemed, Rin reached out to the pelt and pulled it closer, a small smile spreading across her face as she did so.

Unconsciously, Sesshomaru felt his muscles relaxing. He didn't realize he had been so tense in the caves. It must be natural though, he supposed. He was never fully relaxed in any other demon's lands, especially those who reveled in their own filth.

Leaning back against the wall, Sesshomaru gazed at Rin's small chest rising and falling with her even breathing. Lying there curled up in a ball, Rin looked so innocent, so young. It was hard to connect her with the woman he had seen at the hot springs two nights ago.

Sesshomaru knew now that he had finally seen what all the other demon lords and humans who had asked for her hand had been seeing when they looked at Rin. The soft way her eyes had fluttered before realizing he had seen her, the slight pink tinting her cheeks as the realization spread throughout her, her gentle curves beneath the wet, transparent kosode…

What had passed over him was something he hadn't felt in a long time: lust. Sesshomaru had understood the burning sensation which swept his body the moment he had seen Rin essentially naked. He hadn't felt such desire since his youth. Well, he conceded, there had been Kagura, but he had hardly begun to care for her when she was killed. Rin had talked frequently of Kagura's love for him, but he knew he felt very little in return, only a flicker of lust. He couldn't completely restrain all his animal instincts, though he had pretty well mastered keeping the locks on this feeling.

When he had seen her standing there, still wet, her body calling to him, he hadn't expected to experience anything he did. Sesshomaru knew he should have paid more attention to the cycle of the moons before taking her along. He didn't realize it was the week before her monthly bleeding would begin.

The truth which no one knew of and no one suspected for the reason why he had stopped taking Rin along was because of monthly event. Several years after he had taken her back from Kaede's village, Sesshomaru was forced to make this decision. They were returning from a trip to the east, and Rin was about fourteen at the time. On this trip though, many demons attempted to attack Rin. Normally, Sesshomaru's presence was sufficient to ward off nearly all demons, except some of the more foolhardy or simply stupid ones.

Sesshomaru knew the reason why, though: as of late, there had been traces of a new smell coming from Rin, that of womanhood. It was the week at which her body was at peak fertility and emitted the pheromones which called like sirens to males. They had returned the castle in time so that Azami and Keiko would be the ones left to explain the intricacies of the female body to Rin, but he had not forgotten other demons reactions. If he were to bring her along while she was bleeding, he knew that her life would be put only into further danger. It was the possibility of blood which attracted them and would only worsen as she grew older. From that point on, whenever he was to leave, Sesshomaru instructed her to look after his estate while he was absent.

Since then, he had never really been around Rin during those times every month. Even when he was, it had usually been brief, just for his evening tea or after she finished her lessons. Now, though, he had seen her body, seen the woman she had become. Of course he had noticed the subtle changes in her voice, the loss of the child-like softness in her face, the way she had started developing curves under the layers of her kimono. This had meant nothing to him though. So why now?

Perhaps it had been too long since he had been with a woman. In his youth, he had fulfilled his physical needs often and regularly. It had been years though since he had done such things. It was possible, even probable, that this was simply another of his base instincts like hunting which he had neglected to fulfill.

From Rin's corner of the room, he heard a soft moan as she stirred from her sleep and opened her eyes. The soft smile she had while she was sleeping only grew at the sight of Sesshomaru.

"Milord," she murmured sleepily, her eyes soft with a gentle happiness. "How did the meetings go?"

Sesshomaru turned his head away dismissively, signaling a change of topic.

Before Rin had the time to probe further into his day with the wolves, Jaken returned with his arms full of winter vegetables and buns Azami had made for their journey. It was hard to see Jaken over the piles of food.

"You don't know how difficult it was to get the food past those miserable mutts milord!" Jaken huffed as he dropped all the food on top of one of the pelts. "Those starving mongrels won't leave you alone for five seconds!" he squawled.

Rin picked up one of the meat buns and began to eat gratefully. She had hardly eaten all day and was now feeling the pangs of hunger throughout her body. Sesshomaru sat to the side saying nothing as he observed her eating. Jaken's presence was helpful for once as he was able to answer any and all questions Rin might have had about the wolves through his rants about those "disgusting excuses for demons."

Rin was woken the next morning an unseen being tapping her head. At first, she thought it was part of a dream and tried shaking it off, swiping at the general area above her makeshift pillow. Then, she felt something poking her sides and giggling. Voices from her beside sprang up around her, nudging her farther and farther out of her sleep.

"I think it's awake!"

"Don't upset it!"

"It smells funny…"

"What do you think it'll do to us? Eat us? It's only a human."

"Shhhh! You're being so loud!"

"So what? Don't be stupid."

Irritated, Rin finally relented and opened her eyes to find four wolf pups bouncing around her bed crafted from animal skins. It seemed that there were three boys and one girl, all wide eyed and surprised to see her staring back at them. Rin watched the bushy-tailed children for a full three seconds before they all scattered and jumped into the recesses of the cave.

"Don't be afraid," Rin said as soothingly as she could while yawning. "I'm not going to harm you. Feel free to come back."

Tentatively, a boy who appeared to be the youngest of the group, took two incredibly small steps towards her, moving a total of maybe five inches. The other children seemed to worry for the youngest's safety, casting apprehensive glances at one another.

"What's your name?" Rin asked with a friendly smile.

The boy mumbled something, but she couldn't make it out.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Rin asked politely.

"Souta," the boy said softly.

"Ah, Souta-kun, what a nice name! It's very nice to meet you. I'm Rin," she said, beaming amiably. "How about the rest of you? Don't you all have names?"

One by one, the four other pups came out of the corners and introduced themselves. The two boys were twins named Toshi and Shiro and the girl was called Yuna.

"Why are you here?" one of the twins immediately questioned her.

"I'm here with my lord, Sesshomaru of the Western Lands."

"The dog demon?" Yuna asked with surprise. "Why? Are you his mate?" Rin blushed a little at this and began to reply in the negative when the other twin jumped in.

"Don't be stupid!" Shiro snapped at her. "Dog demons don't take human mates."

"Then who are you?" Yuna asked curiously.

"Sesshomaru saved my life when I was a young girl. For that, I am forever indebted to him."

The five pups chimed together with an "ohhh" of comprehension. Debt to another was something they all could understand, living in an animal hierarchy.

Soon they all gathered around her, prodding her with funny questions and strange requests such as where she was from, how old she was, and if they could touch her hair. Rin almost felt like a new toy around them, something curious and odd that they all wanted to know more about. She was happy to have them around in this otherwise unfriendly environment and hoped they could stay with her for the rest of the trip.

The so-called negotiations resumed late the next morning. Sesshomaru would have preferred that they start earlier, but the wolves refused to rise before the sun was more than fully risen.

"So, Sesshomaru, how did your human sleep last night? You spent all night in her room, I saw," Tousei said with a mischievous grin.

"She probably didn't get a lot of sleep then," said an advisor with a suggestive snicker.

"I heard you were very unlike your father in many ways, but I suppose in this you two are the same," Tousei said, barking with laughter.

"My ward is nothing of the sort to me," Sesshomaru said coolly though he could feel his pulse rising in anger. "This Sesshomaru would never condescend to fall prey to a human as my father did."

"I'm relieved to hear that," Tousei said, his smile fading slightly. "In fact, I had a proposal for you that might finally close these meetings." He paused, seemingly expecting Sesshomaru to be brimming with curiosity. When Sesshomaru made no response, Tousei continued. "A marriage alliance: one between your ward and my son."

Sesshomaru could not do anything to stop shock from flashing across his face, though it was gone as quickly as it had come. His eyes widened for the briefest moment before he reeled his emotions under control. "What would I have to benefit from this offer?"

"You would have my word that no wolves shall cross the border created by your father. If they were to do so, you could punish them as you see fit. In fact, I would be happy to extend the new borders even further, giving you two more villages."

Sesshomaru knew this wasn't a real offer. They knew it was one he would never accept. The wolves were dangling the proposition in front of him, assured of his refusal. Wolves did take mates for humans occasionally, but Rin was not what they were after. They were simply using her to toy with him. The wolves knew how much he despised them; they were seeing just how like his father he was. Besides, if he were to accept this against all expectations, it would still be their victory. The moment he breathed his last breath, that wolf's bastard son would immediately become proprietor of his lands. Sesshomaru stifled a growl that was rising in his throat. Did they think him a fool?

"There is nothing in this proposal that interests this Sesshomaru. I have had many more offers for my ward's hand that would be much more beneficial."

"So there is no possibility for this negotiation to end in our becoming father-in-laws?" Tousei said, a light dancing in his eyes.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "This Sesshomaru has been more than forgiving for the acts of your pathetic tribe already. I have not even asked for compensation for those whom your minions have devoured. Let it be known that whosoever of your tribe commits a transgression across the border between my lands and yours that was agreed upon by our fathers will be killed for their actions of disobedience. I believe our meetings have finally concluded. Come, Jaken," he said to the small imp as he turned to leave the hall.

"Fetch Rin. My business here has finished."

Thank you for reading! If you can, please take time to review. Again, good, bad, whatever, I want to hear about it =)

To the reviewers of the previous chapter:

TorturedRomance – Aww thank you! It makes me so happy that you like it! Please keep reviewing so I can know what you think as the story progresses =)

Kata – As you'll see in this chapter, I kind of ended up deciding that he wouldn't play a huge role with these wolves. I mean, these wolves are just plain gross. He might make an appearance later, but it probably won't be a large part. Thank you so much for your review and compliments =)

icegirljenni – It actually wasn't as long as some of my other chapters! Surprising, right? Trust me, you weren't the one who was slow =P Awww you're so so welcome! Your story is so cute and I can't wait to see more of it. I'm usually not into present-day settings for Inuyasha, but you made it irresistible! Really? I sometimes worry that my chapters move too slowly XD Yeah, Sesshomaru isn't a fickle person at all, but Rin is just so silly sometimes… hahaha. I had to do some googling on daggers to find out information on them actually XD I Just made it up in my mind hahaha. It fits her and him so well, doesn't it! I speak Spanish and French decently, but definitely not well enough to translate all my stories. We'll just have to see how that goes XD That is so awesome that somebody volunteered to translate yours into Vietnamese! I hope everything is going well in your life. You said that you had been having some troubles =( Take care!

anon – I can't agree with you more. You'll just have to see what happens! Thanks for reviewing =)

thexlittlexlisa – Rumiko left the story wide open for something to happen, so it's hard not to imagine the possibilities, isn't it? I'm so glad you like it! I agree with you about the Kagura thing: she was the closest he ever got to "loving" somebody in the romantic sense, but it definitely wasn't anything that deep. I so wish she would make a sequel, but sadly the chances of that are slim =( Feel free to be as random as you like! Again, I'm so excited that you like the story. Thank you for your review!

kataang1996 – Don't worry about it! Thank you for taking the time to review the previous chapter then! I hope everything is going well with you =) Take care!