Update! Sorry about the delay! and I hope it's worth it and not too rushed!

"Sesshomaru!"

Protests fell on deaf ears as the demon moved around his room, his hands pulling the bag she had given him from under the bed Rin had hid them.

"Sesshomaru will you just listen to me!" the young woman tried again, both children standing behind her with their eyes worried.

"You told me they have half an hour before the cabin comes into view," the demon murmured, "that means I have half an hour to pack up and get out of here."

"Sesshomaru," Rin protested as the demon stood weakly from the bed, his face controlling his spasms of pain, "you can't leave, you haven't healed fully, it's only been a day and a half-"

"I've healed enough," Sesshomaru grunted as he slipped on his repaired kimono, "besides, if those hunters manage to make it here, I'll never heal."

"But what about the storm," the young woman pressed, "in this weather you won't make it!"

"I will-"

"But InuYasha won't! Not while you don't know the way!"

The demon seemed to freeze at the statement, his eyes darting to where his little brother stood, worry in his amber eyes as he looked up at the demon.

"Then keep him here," Sesshomaru told her, "I'll come back for him once everything has settled down."

"Sesshomaru-"

"NO!"

Both adults turned to look down at the little boy, InuYasha's outburst startling them, the half-demon running to grip his brother's pant leg.

"I don't wanna be separated," InuYasha cried, "I wanna be with my big brother!"

"But—"

"You promised!" the half-demon shot at him, "you promised to stay with me!"

"Besides, I have nowhere to hide him," Rin pointed out, "they'll tear this place apart looking for the two of you! There's no telling what'll happen to him if they find him!"

The demon froze at the words, his eyes flickering to look down at the half-demon by his feet, the tearful amber eyes glanced up to him.

His mind raced as he thought about what would happen to his brother if it was discovered Rin was hiding him. What would happen to Rin and Kagome…

"As you pointed out, InuYasha won't last long," Sesshomaru murmured, "and we don't have long."

"Rin…"

Brown eyes darted down to her cousin before back up to Sesshomaru, her throat swallowing her fear as determination set in.

"Take me with you."

Sesshomaru's amber eyes looked up at her in slight surprise, the brows narrowing after a moment.

"No," he told her firmly, the young woman holding her ground.

"I know every trail in that pass," Rin pointed out, "I can find my way in a snowstorm."

"It's too dangerous-"

"For you to go alone," the young woman countered, "you need a guide if you want to survive in the storm."

"Rin-"

"I can guide you to the boarder, you know that. What is such a-"

"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"

All three others stilled at the volume, Sesshomaru's eyes widening as he realized what he said.

"I don't want to lose you," the demon repeated, softer this time as he tried to calm himself, "I don't want you risking your life for us."

Rin stood tall, though touched by his words, her determination hardly faltering for a moment.

"You don't have a choice," she told him softly, "and you know it."

Despitehis protesting, Rin was determined as she stood her ground, her and her cousin moving to grab their own belongings that they could carry.

"Rin…"

Dark hair turned to look at her cousin, her hands tightening over her stuffed cat she had had since her birth she dubbed Boyu.

"What is it Kagome?" the young woman asked kindly as she slipped her family's treasures into her bag, her mother's locket and family picture hidden in the small box along with the few maps her father was most proud of.

The little girl swallowed thickly, "are we comin' back?"

Rin turned to face her, the child looking fearful and dejected, understandable as this was probably the most terrifying thing she had done.

"I don't know," she whispered as she kneeled in front of her cousin, her hands reaching to cup the small cheeks, "I'd like to… but I don't know what's going to happen."

The dark hair nodded, her face looking down as she squeeze her cat tightly.

"Is Boyu gonna be okay?" Kagome asked.

"Of course he is," Rin smiled, "he's coming too."

"But you said only things we need!" the little girl seemed taken aback as her cat was gently taken from her hands.

"And he's important to you," her cousin murmured as she rested him above her own things, "we have room for him."

"So… we aren't coming back…"

The shoulders sagged as Rin sighed, hating how sharp the little girl was.

"Like I said, I don't know," her hands slipped in some previsions and a small metal pot with two cups, "this is just in case, okay?"

Nodding, Kagome was instructed to put on her snow suit, her cousin retreating to the attic to grab another.

"Sesshomaru."

Turning to look at her, the demon's eyebrow rose at the sight of the large coat.

"I have told you-"

"Don't argue," Rin told him, "just please put it on."

"I don't-"

"If the hunters see you wearing this there is less of a chance they'll think it's you," her hands pressed the coat to his chest, "please… we don't have time to fight…"

Conceding faster than he ever would had had he not been smitten with her, the demon slowly took hold of the coat, his arms slipping though the sleeves only to button up the long material.

"You two okay?"

Glancing over to where the children stood, Rin had lowered herself to their level, her hands adjusting their own coats over their bodies, both eyes nodding as mufflers covered their mouths and noses.

"Alright," she whispered as she stood, her hands grabbing the pack she had filled with food and medical supplies they might need, "come on."

"But the front door-"

"We're not going that way," Rin informed InuYasha as her own garb was thrown over her body, "there's one more way out of this cabin."

Sesshomaru figured he needed to stop being impressed with the young woman as she lead them through a door behind the fireplace not even the demon noticed in his short stay. Each of them armed with a backpack with supplies they would need for the journey.

The wind was fierce and cruel from the second they stepped out into the blizzard, Kagome whimpering softly as she tried to bear with it, her feet following the tracks Rin left, Sesshomaru taking up the rear while the kids stayed in the middle, the demon's senses on high alert as he searched for his potential attackers.

Rin was smart as she led the other three towards the forest, the trees providing merger cover from the snow and them blending with the trees as they moved towards the entrance to the pass.

Tears filled the brown eyes as the wind battered them, her head often turning to make sure that the other three were following her, Kagome and InuYasha seemingly huddled while Sesshomaru's amber eyes flickered from them to her. The young woman's heart quivered as she remembered the intensity in the golden orbs as they shared their night together, wishing quietly that they could go back to that, if just for a few moments.

A flame of red flew high into the air, their shadows growing and fading as they watched it fizzle, the smoke pulled with the wind like their breaths were. Wasting no time, Rin gestured for them to follow, the little girl tugging along the half-demon, his hand shaking from more than just the chill of the weather around them.

If Rin shouted at any of them, Sesshomaru, with his sensitive hearing, would struggle to hear her, and that thought chilled him to the bone. His amber eyes looked towards his brother, amazed at how their world had changed in less than a month, all thanks to one woman and her young cousin. The demon looked to her back, her head often glancing to the children behind her to ensure their safety.

His mind spun wildly as he wondered if, once he and his brother had returned home, the young woman and her cousin return home to a cabin that would most likely stand in ruin thanks to him. There was no doubt that the hunters would tear the place apart trying to finish the job they had started with their father and InuYasha's mother.

The thoughts running around in his mind were so deep that he didn't notice the barking dogs until they were trailing them.

Rin noticed the demon's head turn, his body's stillness worrying her, but not as much as his hands gesturing for her to move, and quickly.

Tugging the little girl and boy along, the young woman moved swiftly, her heart hammering madly in her chest. Fear nearly petrified her when she felt InuYasha's hand slack, her brown eyes whipping around to see the half-demon scooped up in his brother's arms. Mirroring Sesshomaru, Kagome was pulled to her cousin's chest, her hand clutching the front of the jacket.

Sesshomaru's hand on her back, both ran towards the pass, Rin's hand pointing them towards the rocks only just visible through the thick haze of snow.

Though the demon was larger than the young woman, he managed to slip between the cracks, the wind still wiping around them, though less so, the sound of the howling mingled with their panting.

"Wh-Where are we," Sesshomaru caught his breath first, his eyes turned up to the wall of rocks, his hand pulling down the hood over his head.

"It's… an alternate path," Rin explained over the snow, "I didn't tell you about it because it's quite confusing and a little longer…" she swallowed thickly as she pulled her body up from her knees where she rested on to catch her breath, "but it's our only choice."

"Is there more than one of these?" the demon asked as she encouraged the two children further down the rocky road.

"They're littered throughout the mountain walls," the young woman told him, "but hard to find."

Giving her a nod she could not see, Sesshomaru kept vigilant as he took up the rear, his orbs flickering to glance to the children in front of him, each of them following the tracks Rin left over the large rocks. Carefully, picking her way over the path, the young woman seemed to have an instinctive sense for where they were going, impressive even if she were a demon.

There was no sun to tell them their time, but it was indicative from both InuYasha and Kagome that they had been outside for ages now, their feet sagging and them stumbling over the rocks, InuYasha falling over more than Sesshomaru had ever seen him.

"Hey," the demon reached down to gently nudged the younger, his knees and hands to the snow after falling for the umpteenth time, "InuYasha?"

Thanks to the muffler Sesshomaru couldn't see the pouting lips but he could see the tears pooling in the golden orbs.

"'M tired," InuYasha mumbled, "it's too cold!"

"I know," Sesshomaru murmured, his hands helping his brother to his feet, "come on, just a little bit longer."

"How much longer?" the younger whined, "I'm tired!"

"Then here," the demon gently hoisted the half-demon into his arms, "I'll carry you."

"I wanna walk-"

"But you're tired," Sesshomaru told him, his eyes noting the little girl tugging at the coat of her cousin, her face set the same as his brother, "we might be resting soon anyway."

Rin seemed to search for something, her hand to one wall while her other pulled her clearly exhausted cousin behind her, Sesshomaru now carrying InuYasha as he followed them.

"Rin," the demon called up to her, "Rin!"

"Just a minute!" she screamed back, "just… just give me a minute!"

It was apparent that she had taken notice of the two tired children, her search now for a place for the four of them to rest. Sesshomaru looked over her own form, her chest heaving and her own legs now appearing weary, her stamina very much unlike his.

Her head looking into every crevice for a place, the small cave out of the wind and large enough for the four of them; shivering, the young woman kneeled, or collapsed the demon was unsure, and faced her cousin.

"Better Kagome?" Rin asked as the other two joined them, her head glancing to the brothers before back to her cousin.

"Yeah," the little girl nodded, her body landing on the snow with a soft thump, "tired…"

"You both are," Sesshomaru commented gesturing to his little brother, the half-demon looking as though he was about to pass out on his shoulder.

"Kagome," the young woman brought the attention back to her, her hands digging through the bag, "here."

"Noo," Kagome pushed away the food offered to her.

"You need to eat something," Rin whispered tiredly, her back resting on the cave wall.

"You're not!"

"Please don't argue," the young woman cut her cousin off, "just… don't."

Silently, the demon pulled his large coat off and laid it on the snow, his arms still holding his little brother to his chest.

"Sesshomaru…"

"InuYasha is exhausted," Sesshomaru told her, "and I don't need to eat."

"But-"

"It's alright," the demon murmured, "really…"

Conceding, Rin pulled her cousin to her chest as InuYasha was on his brother, her own coat unbuttoned. Confused, the demon watched as she and Kagome rested next to InuYasha, her arm over Kagome and his over her slim waist, the brown coat slipping over InuYasha and themselves.

Her breath was deep as her exhaustion took over her, her head on his chest as she waited for sleep to come. It was apparent to the demon, who was equally as tired, that she was anxious for the next few days of their traveling. Glancing to the two sleeping children, Sesshomaru hoped that it would be uneventful, and that noting would harm any of them.

Ahem... so? How bad? Too rushed? Okay? Reviews?