Chapter Nine: Knowledge

At Sesshoumaru's manor

Kagome woke up the next morning more comfortable than she had been in months. She was practically sinking in the large bed and the thick comforter was snugly wrapped around her up to her nose. When she finally opened her eyes, she came face to face with a sleeping fox kit that was just as wrapped up as she was.

Shippo was still fast asleep and obviously enjoying it. Carefully, Kagome got out of the bed without disturbing him from his dreams and rubbed her tired blue eyes. As she moved across the room, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She moved closer to get a better look.

Seeing herself in this form was so different than her disguised form. For once, she was actually seeing herself, not Kikyou, and that felt right. She wasn't the ancient priestess's copy, at least, not any more. Finally, she was her own person and she could now relish having her own identity.

The tall black ear atop her head twitched happily as she touched her reflection. Kikyou may have won the battle and taken away the man she loved, but in the end she lost the war. Kagome shook her head to rid herself of all Inuyasha related thoughts. 'What good did dying bring anyone?' she asked herself as her hand fell from the mirror. 'But you're happy, right?' she argued. As long as Inuyasha was happy, nothing else mattered. He went to hell with Kikyou like he had been planning to do since he first learned that she was brought from the dead to wander the earth for revenge.

Kagome sighed and smiled a little. Somehow, she just knew he was happy wherever he was. She could feel it in her soul. Taking one last look in the mirror, she frowned and ran her fingers through her hair; there were knots from not fully combing it the day prior. After she was finished, she changed into a crisp green kimono that was embroidered with leaves that was sitting on the low table. Her hip length hair tickled as she changed as if acting as a cruel reminder that she desperately wanted to comb it. Her long tail stuck out of the conveniently placed hole in the garment and made her laugh. She really wasn't used to having a tail.

After peeking over at Shippo to make sure that he was still fast asleep, she left the room to go on her own mission of finding a hair brush. Outside her room, on the deck, the light was low and red; sunrise. The beauty of it all almost distracted her from the path but she sucked it up and headed to the main house.

For the entire time that she knew she was going to be faced with meeting Sesshoumaru again, she had never even dreamed that he would live in a place such as this; simple yet amazing at the same time. But she would have thought of that way before thinking that he could have actually changed for the better. Even in that short amount of time that she spent with him yesterday, she could easily see the changes. His eyes were softer, but he kept all of his grace and dignity and he could easily revert back to his cold self, as she already knew with their first encounter at the front gate.

Which brings her back to another matter; why had the demon lord sent her companions away without even a second thought? That was something that she would have to take up with him later, but for now she was heading towards the dining room, where she could hear Rin walking about.

When she opened the door, she saw the demoness practically pacing around the table. Every now and then, she would lightly touch one of the place settings to ensure that it was absolutely perfect. "Morning Rin." Kagome said as she entered the room.

Rin stopped and smiled brightly up at her. "I figured you'd be up this early," the silver haired girl said happily as she motioned for Kagome to sit. "I'm leaving a bit later so I was hoping to spend as much time with you and Shippo before I left."

The priestess nodded and fiddled with a strand of her hair to remember why she had gone out looking for Rin in the first place. "Rin, you wouldn't happen to have a comb would you?"

The look that she got from the dog was priceless; confusion and humor mixed into one tight smile. From where she was sitting next to Kagome, Rin moved her chair so that she was directly in front of her. Between a few small giggles, the white dog managed to say, "You don't need a brush."

Kagome looked puzzled and Rin continued. "Demons have different hair than humans; you notice how it's thicker? That's because it doesn't knot unless you get something tangled in it or run through it, in your case a human hair brush." She smiled as she started to pick the knots out of Kagome's long black hair. "It's actually bad for your hair if you do that, so you'd better stick to letting it air dry after a bath, don't even touch it okay?"

Kagome blushed and looked at her knees as Rin finished up her hair. It was embarrassing to be taught something as childish as to how to care for your hair, but that only proves how little she actually knew about herself.

Kagome blinked. That meant that Hiei had helped her yesterday, in a twisted little way. Sure he destroyed a brush that wasn't hers, but in the long run he stopped her from foolishly destroying her locks.

When she was done, Rin held her hands over Kagome's on the priestess's lap. "Anything else you wanted to ask me other than that?"

Kagome looked up at her. It was so strange. Before, Rin was adorable and young and she was the one asking the questions...now she was older than Kagome herself and holding the knowledge. Would Kagome ever be able to right any of that? Would she be able to right her own timeline?

No, she shook her head, it wasn't possible now. She just had to grow as she went along. "So how long have you and Sesshoumaru lived here?" Kagome asked out of the blue, more so to break the ice than anything else.

Rin took a quick look around the room before answering. "In this house, only about three hundred years." She took a moment to think back about something. "But in the demon realm, well, you know how it's separated from the human realm five hundred years ago?" Kagome nodded. "Well, we stayed in the human realm for about fifty years before coming here."

The priestess frowned lightly before thinking back to the time period she left. "But why stay?" When she left the humans had been so high on their egos because all of the demons of the lands had gone that they were at their most dangerous. They felt they could drive away any foe and new wars erupted.

"Sango," Rin said simply as if it was the only needed answer. Kagome's ear perked at the chance to hear how her friends' lives went. "She asked us to stay for a few months since we were her last connection to you and Shippo. I guess we overstayed our welcome a bit." She laughed a light hearted laugh before stopping when she saw the look on Kagome's face.

"Sesshoumaru stayed with Miroku and Sango?" Kagome asked incredulously. Rin smiled knowingly. "Well, not exactly. I stayed with them and helped look after their children and Father left to fight secretly among the humans so that some order was kept and a decent human was put in charge. He visited from time to time and that's around when we met Kumiko. She went back and forth between Father and I, so that she could see the most of the human realm before we had to leave to the demon realm."

Kagome nodded and inquired about Kumiko, whose name seemed to pop up every time she and Rin talked. "Is she Sesshoumaru's mate or something?"

Rin shook her head solemnly. "No. If he were to take a mate, he would have to forfeit me; that's how it works in demon society. Demons can have more than one mate, but not all women will stand putting up with step children and in most cases they have them killed."

Kagome cringed. "Harsh," she muttered from under her breath.

Rin nodded and continued. "That's why Father stays alone. But even though Kumiko was just a friend of the family, she was the closest thing I had to a mother figure. She's a wolf you know."

Rin smiled and Kagome found herself smiling as well having been reminded of her encounters with wolves in the past. "No kidding?" the miko asked.

The silver haired demoness shook her head. "Nope. She was a refugee from the eastern wolf clan who wasn't carried over to the demon realm with the rest of her clan so she found and stayed with us." Somehow, Rin didn't sound as upbeat as her usual self as she sat there talking about her old friend and Kagome could only guess why. Every time Rin mentioned Kumiko, she spoke as if she wasn't around anymore, so Kagome did one of the things she did best; change the subject.

"So, Sesshoumaru still has his army?"

Rin looked up at her and nodded happily, not even trying to hide her relief. "Yeah, he has an army of about fifty. 'Skill will always come out the victor when pitted against numbers alone' he's always saying. They all live around here; some in the barracks and some in their own houses out back with their families. Thankfully, we haven't needed their assistance for some time. This area near the border of the Spirit World monitored lands and the Rogue lands is always a bit more peaceful than most."

Kagome nodded as if she knew what Rin was talking about, but most of it was going in one ear and right out the other. Rogue lands? Those were not the lands that Yusuke helped unify, right? He unified the Spirit World lands; the Rogue lands are still… well, rogue.

"Shizume's the top general and she lives just off the main house. I believe she showed you around the buildings yesterday."

Kagome nodded, remembering the angry sparrow general from the previous morning. A look must have been written across the black haired demoness's face because, Rin was smiling and trying to hold back a giggle when she said: "She's not as bad as she lets on to be. She just doesn't like strangers."

Well that made sense, Kagome thought. Living in between order and chaos you never know who could wind up at your doorstep. It was always good to be overly cautious in a territory like this, but even after introducing herself as the Shikon Miko, the bird seemed to be adamantly against her. Maybe there was a reason for Shizume to hate her. Or more likely it was just bad timing and rotten luck.

"Maybe I just came at a bad time…" She mused out loud to herself. Then Rin was gripping her hands again and leaning forward with a smile on her face as if she was just about to tell a secret.

"It's never a bad time to have you come around, Kagome. Feel at home here, please. Our doors are open to you whenever you need us," Rin said, her eyes warm.

The priestess grinned. Even though that wasn't what she was talking about, it still felt great to have the invitation. Kagome held tighter to the young lady's hands which were still smaller than her own. "I'll remember that. I'm glad you remember me from that time so long ago."

Then a thought hit Kagome, causing her to frown slightly. She didn't know much about the girl's past, and she never even learned how she came to be with Sesshoumaru in the first place. "Rin… How much of your human life do you remember?"

At that simple question the young noble went tense. Her hands jerked back from Kagome's to fiddle with the hem of her thick yellow kimono. If she knew that she would receive this much of a reaction, Kagome would have never asked in the first place. It obviously brought back some bad memories that she didn't want to share just yet.

"You've never asked me that before…" Rin said quietly.

Kagome frowned; of course she hadn't—she barely ever spoke with her before this. But before Kagome could question her any further, the white dog smiled bitterly and hid her view behind her thick, choppy bangs.

"I remember," she stated, no distinguishable emotion in her voice. When she finally looked up at Kagome, her eyes were as cold as ice. The kind of ice that made you feel like you were going to disappear in their cold depths, that sent shivers down your spine. The look she could only ever remember seeing on the indifferent, cold Sesshoumaru of the past. "I remember every aspect of my human life, quite vividly actually." Then she stood up. "I should be going."

And with that, Rin left the room with a bewildered Kagome left behind in her wake. Kagome could only watch helplessly before she slumped back in her chair and her hand to her forehead. Were the memories that bad?

…

Rin walked from the porch to the adjoining garden deck. In this part of the garden, closest to the main house, there were mostly dwarfed irises, gold crocuses and tall mint plants, all of them of the demon variety. She sat on the edge of the deck, letting her legs hang over the edge and her toes skim the shallow water of a small fish pond below. She sighed as she watched the ripples chase each other away from her foot.

"What is it, Shippo?" she asked without looking up at the small fox apparition behind her.

His furry feet tapped lightly on the wood as he moved to sit beside her. "What are so bad about your memories?" he asked her innocently.

The corner of Rin's mouth twitched slightly. She knew he had been listening to her and Kagome talk for a while. "Come here," she said with her arms open, beckoning him to sit on her lap.

Finally, when he was settled onto her lap, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose into his red hair. "You're so cute," she said quietly as tears started to fall down her cheeks. When he tried to turn to look at her she just shook her head and began giving her answer to his question. "Bad wouldn't be the best word Shippo."

The little fox waited the long moments in between her sentences patiently as she sorted through her memories. "I remember everything as vividly as though it were yesterday. I was born to a middle class farming family and I lived with my mother, father and three older brothers in a small hut. When I was around seven bandits raided our village and my family was killed. I was left alive only because my father hid me behind a stack of freshly picked rice."

She paused and Shippo could tell that she was crying again. "They tried everything to keep me safe, and because of me they were killed. The looks on their faces…Our neighbors helped bury them, but none of them would take me in. The times were too hard to take in an orphan. After that. I left to live on my own in the next town over. I had to steal to survive, and I was beaten often. And then the wolves came… I can still vividly remember the pain of being killed, eaten alive, by those wolves. I can still feel their cold, sharp fangs tearing into my flesh." She shook her head. "If I hadn't met Father in the woods days before, I know I would not be alive right now. But having to live with the memories… often feels just as bad."

When she stopped talking, Shippo turned around to look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears were streaming down her cheeks, causing wet lines to glisten on her jagged maroon markings. The fox kit hugged her and didn't move as she pet his hair. "I'm glad you were given another chance Rin," he told her as he too started to cry. "I'm glad I was given a friend like you." Rin laughed through her tears and continued to hold him for a while longer.

…

Kagome scowled at the empty chair in front of her as she listened to every word of Rin and Shippo's conversation. How was she supposed to know that Rin actually felt that way about the past? She would have just thought that Rin wouldn't have been able to remember any of her human life since she was so small when it all happened. Halfway through their conversation, the priestess stood up from her seat and left in search of a room where she could not hear the young dog. She swore the sound of her tears hitting the deck echoed throughout the hallways, taunting her in a way. But that all stopped when she hastily entered one of the living spaces. This one was more traditional than the one she had been in the day before, but it was just as, if not more, regal.

She stepped further into the room to get a better feel of the hand carved wood and silk adornments when the door slid shut behind her. The priestess jumped and turned to find none other than Sesshoumaru standing behind her with his hand still on the door.

"Priestess," he greeted her.

Kagome frowned; his voice seemed colder than it had yesterday. "Rin will be leaving today, and I would very much appreciate it, if she is not distraught when you bid her farewell."

The priestess's gaze dropped from his and fell to the floor suddenly. "I didn't even know she'd react that way."

Sesshoumaru took a step forward and looked down upon her small form. "As you are now, you don't know a lot of things, do you?"

Kagome stiffened at the insult. He didn't need to say more because she knew he was right. She knew nothing about whom or what she was now. She didn't know how Rin had lived her life. She didn't even know how she was supposed to take care of the one person dearest to her in the world.

"That's why I came here," she replied timidly.

Sesshoumaru stepped around her as easily as he brushed off her comment and sat down in one of the low, carved, dark wooden chairs. Instead of looking back up at her, he turned his attention to a small bundle of papers that he had beside him.

Kagome watched as he meticulously picked through a few of the dark papers until he came across the one he wanted. "Her life here is simple. Her past had since faded into her new life, until you showed up," he said out of the blue with a heavily breathed sigh. "There are many things that she left out in telling you. Life had been nearly impossible until we settled here. It is still bothersome at times when challengers dare enter my domain, when they pursue my power through Rin. But I have tried my hardest in keeping her away from all of that." He looked up at her and met her eyes with a solemn yet stern look. "Thus is the life of holding power along with having a child you hold dear."

Kagome was amazed that he admitted that to her; it was practically telling her that Rin was his weakness. She moved to sit in the chair that was seated across from him so that she could be on the same level with him once again. It was rare moments like this that she loved, but she never knew that she would have moments like these with the cold blooded Sesshoumaru.

After a few moments of watching him look over and mark his papers, the priestess realized something that he had been telling her between the lines. It was a shock that flooded her system. "Is that the life that I'm in store for?" she asked him abruptly, her hands gripping to the arms of the chair. "Am I going to be pursued by things that want to kill me and Shippo just because of my power? Or is that just if I stay in the demon realm? Will it be like it was in the past but without Inuyasha to protect me? Tell me Sesshoumaru!"

She sprang up from her seat and stood over him, her hands curled into tight fists, resisting her every urge to stomp her foot to the ground. The noble lord only stared at her. Seconds ticked by without a word between the two of them, making it feel like minutes. Finally, Kagome calmed and her stance loosened.

"Will I be able to protect him?" she asked as her hands fell to her side. The silence between them was different this time. Now she knew that he was thinking on what should be said.

With his papers set beside him, he told her the truth. "No." Her heart sank, but she continued listening to what he had to say. "Not the way I have protected Rin." He stood so that he was once again towering over her small form. "Your body is that of a kit of two hundred years, yet your mind is of an 18 year old human girl. As you are now, you could hardly protect yourself let alone the kit you have taken under your wing. You are naïve in thinking that you will always be safe. Your precious half-breed is no longer here to protect you."

Kagome stood closer to him, daring to invade his personal space "Don't you think I know that!" She angrily asked him. "And you must have forgotten that I still have my powers! I can still keep myself safe!"

Sesshoumaru motioned quickly to a window with a quick snap of his wrist. "Over the years you have been absent, demon kind has evolved. Not all are affected by the powers of a priestess as they once have. With your holy light left useless, would you still be able to protect yourself?" Sesshoumaru bared his fangs. "Do you even know what new powers you hold? Your kit knows his powers and strength better that you!"

Kagome growled and grabbed the wrist of his only arm with both of her clawed hands. She could feel the blue energy rising within her as it always had, and even see it with her own eyes. The holy powers tingled as they transferred from the tips of her fingers to his pale skin. A brief moment passed and she had given him enough energy to purify a hundred demons, an energy equivalent of the Tetsusiguia's Wind Scar...

But nothing happened. His arm was completely unmarred, not even a scar was present. Kagome stared utterly in shock as he took both of her small wrists in his large grip and glared down at her. "Now what will you do?" He asked as she gaped up at him in fear. When he was sure that he got his message across he dropped her to the floor, grabbed his paperwork and headed to the sliding wooden door. "Grow up," he said coldly before slamming the door behind him.

The priestess' gaze was unfocused as she sat in the middle of the room on her knees. Her powers didn't even touch him. But then, why did they do that much damage to Kurama? Was his body weaker than Sesshoumaru's or was it because he didn't live in the demon realm?

Kagome was startled when she heard Shippo laughing from the courtyard. That was strange. 'I couldn't hear anything from outside when Sesshoumaru was in here…' She looked around until she noticed that the door was open. It must have bounced back open when Sesshoumaru slammed it. From beyond that open door she could hear just about everything.

Shippo was laughing with Rin and Shizume was speaking with a man she hadn't heard before. As soon as she trusted herself to stand, Kagome left the room and headed away from the voices. She just needed to clear her head and think about what she needed to do. Before she knew it, she was running as fast as she would allow her feet to go. The faster she ran, the more inhuman she felt so she kept her speed as she clung to her distant mortality.

Priestesses all but died out because the demons disappeared. But they never truly disappeared; they were in a separate world. And as the human society grew, so did the demon one. They grew to be able to overcome the powers of a priestess. Now that the barrier between worlds was gone, there was always the possibility that they would go after her and Shippo. But instead of the demons that she was used to fighting in the past, she would have to go up against the new stronger demons of this realm.

When Kagome stopped running, she found herself in the field of lilies that they had come across the day before. 'But those are just the stronger demons,' she thought as she sat down on the stone bench. Even though some of the demons were stronger and had built up some sort of immunity to her powers, that didn't mean they were all immune. Besides, Sesshoumaru was always one step ahead of the game, right? Kurama was proof of that. So, that meant that if some of the stronger demons were still susceptible to purification, then most or all of the lesser demons would be, too. That thought made her feel a lot more confidant in herself; a confidence that Sesshoumaru almost shattered.

Lounging on the slate was much more comfortable than she had expected; it was smooth but rough at the same time. And from that position she could only see the tall white lilies and the sky. She rolled over to lie on her stomach and sighed. There was a small budded stalk that was right near the stone that seemed completely out of place in the trodden path that separated the bench from the lilies. Almost instinctually, she reached down to touch it to see what it was since it was obviously not a lily.

As soon as her fingers brushed the stem, she could feel her powers once again rise to the surface. 'They must've not settled yet…' she quickly thought to herself before the bud practically sprung open. The priestess' hand flinched away from the now bright red tulip. 'I did that.' The obvious thought came to mind. What was it Shippo had told her when he was trying to teach her about kitsune?

Kagome smiled. All kitsune were connected with nature… "some more so than others. That's why I'm able to use my foxfire. But we're not completely connected." Kagome frowned as she tried to think of how he ended that sentence.

"Unless you're a… blank. Unless you're a what?" she spoke out loud. All she knew was that she and Shippo weren't that kind. She had come to Sesshoumaru to learn what she didn't know and, so far, all she learned was that she didn't know anything. Eventually, lying right on that stone, she fell asleep.

…

It was dusk by the time Kagome got back to the manor and demons were scattered around the courtyard much like the day before. But instead of paying any negative attention to her, they were casually surrounding the white haired Rin. Many were smiling and others were stoic much like Sesshoumaru, who was in the back of it all, but it was completely obvious that all of them loved their young Lady.

After pushing through the crowd, Kagome was just in time to see Rin ending a hug with two girls who looked to be slightly older than her. When their eyes met, Rin smiled brighter if that was even possible. "Kagome! I'm so glad you came back just in time to see me off!" Everyone around her parted so that the priestess could get through and embrace Rin. "I was just starting to think you wouldn't show up," Rin told her.

Kagome smiled with her face close to her white hair and she shook her head. "Never."

In response, the dog laughed and pulled away. "Good, and if you don't visit me more often, then I will be forced to send Father out to get you."

Kagome peered over the crowd cautiously at the condescending look she was being given by the lord himself. "Do not go making threats that I am willing to keep Rin." Sesshoumaru spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him, but his tone wasn't threatening at all. Suddenly, almost everyone around her started laughing in their own degrees.

Kagome stood there in shock. Did Sesshoumaru just make a joke? She was nudged by an older looking demon with antlers and when she looked up, she noticed that Rin was mounting a large two legged bird-like creature with the help of a handsome young man with large wings the color of a hawk's and black hair.

"Au revoir mes amis!" she called to the crowd. A chorus of goodbyes came from the surrounding people. The young demon then mounted his own creature and they were off into the forest.

"What were those?" Kagome asked the elk-man beside her.

"Those were what we call oiseau, my lady," he said, causing her to smile at his strange foreign accent. "They're made for speed. Milord would rather she go on something more dignified, but lady Rin, being who she is, don't give half a rat's ass about dignity. She's what you'd call a free spirit. Her and her mate alike."

Kagome smiled and thanked him before leaving to find Shippo. Three seconds later, she stopped dead in her tracks and thought back to what the old elk had told her. 'Rin has a mate!'

….

A/N- Tsarashi I apologize for being so long, but as I said at the beginning of this story I don't write during the summer. Now that it is the school year again I will be working a lot more on it. And on a further note, I'm stuck in two French classes in my last year and I haven't taken French in six years. If any of you have taken or are taking it now I ask if you could please send your review in French. Thank you. And for those who don't know 'oiseau' means bird in French since I didn't feel like being all that creative. I was going to just call it a chocobo, but I liked the sound of the prior.