Disclaimer: …Do I look like Rumiko Takahashi?

Sorcerousfang: I feel really bad about leaving this for over a year. Lots of distractions and whatnot. I'm really sorry, everyone. I really haven't abandoned this. I'm just dealing with a lot.

Sesshomaru: Sorry my foot; liar.

Sorcerousfang: I haven't forgotten about you either, Mr.

Sesshomaru: Of course not. By the way, not coming back was a wonderful Christmas present for the next year.

Sorcerousfang: Do I sense a hint of sarcasm, O lord of the fluff?

Sesshomaru: I'm going to kill you.

Sorcerousfang: Yep. Sarcasm. Good luck with the killing me thing. Glad to see you, too.

Sesshomaru: …

Sorcerousfang: And thus, he realizes that if I were dead, he wouldn't get Rin back, nor escape from the confines of my little fanfic hole.

Sesshomaru: …

Sorcerousfang: Anywho, this might be a little shorter than previous chapters, but I wanted to get it out there so you guys would know I still exist.

Kagome found herself almost wishing the stupid demon was still unconscious. If he had been, she would not have to deal with his surprisingly childish and grumpy attitude.

"Be happy I'm not sticking a thermometer in your mouth, Sesshomaru. You can deal with my hand on your forehead for thirty seconds," she scolded, trying to check his fever and finding he was about as stubborn as Inuyasha was when it came to having someone help him.

Her own flare of frustration finally had him shifting his gaze to his lap - he did not think he wanted to know what a thermometer was - and resigned to allow her to continue her care. A delicate hand stretched across his forehead, cool and soothing despite his qualms about it being there in the first place. He caught himself relaxing into it, eyes closing while he waited. She was so much cooler than he felt…

By the time he realized that he was far too comfortable under her touch, her hand was gone, leaving the skin cool for merely a second before he felt the rush of fever take it over once again.

"Well," she started, disappointment obvious in her voice, "you still have a fever, albeit much less of one than you had initially. I'm sure you've realized this by now, but your body seems to be focusing on the poisoning you got rather than your wounds. I'd say a few more days and you'll be healing normally, but until then you're staying put."

The glare he had formed earlier returned to his eyes. It was bad enough the blow his pride was being dealt needing their help in the first place, but to top it off she was ordering him around like a mother scolding a defiant child. He wasn't dumb enough to go stomping off in his current condition; the orders were completely unnecessary, and coming from a human, just an insult.

"Here," she continued, holding out a bowl of the foulest smelling tonic he'd ever encountered. "We'll do two doses again today and see where you are tomorrow with your fever. And don't give me that look; I'll force it down your throat if I have to," she added, matching his own look with one of pure authority.

Considering his lack of strength at the moment, he considered her threat wisely. With help from Inuyasha, she might actually accomplish that, so he snatched the bowl from her hand and downed the medicine quickly. He couldn't quite keep the look of disgust off of his face, but found that she was waiting with a full cup of water in her hand. They exchanged their dishes without a word, and he tossed it back to get rid of the taste.

"See. That wasn't so bad," she commented dryly, indicating that she would have much rather done without his lack of cooperation.

"You're not the one taking it," he shot back uncharacteristically before tipping the cup back for the last bit of water. Gods, he was thirsty now.

Inuyasha shook his head. It was strange to see the way Kagome interacted with Sesshomaru now, not to mention the demon's own reactions to her care. He was finding his brother to be a bit more amusing than annoying as of late, and told himself to remember that a wounded Sesshomaru made for a slightly sarcastic Sesshomaru, if not a bit more welcoming to be around. Even though it was obvious he was annoyed by the whole ordeal…actually it was because he was obviously annoyed that Inuyasha was finding him to be interesting company. On a good day, the demon managed to show a bit of anger off when they fought, or sick sarcasm that was more demeaning that he liked, until now. Every emotion from disgust to confusion had flitted across his face in the last few minutes alone, making Inuyasha rework some of his ideas about his half sibling.

He was definitely looking better as the hours passed; more glares from his now brighter eyes, fewer involuntary grunts of pain, the scent of fever diminishing. His face was still a bit flushed and he didn't seem to want to move around much yet, but it was progress as far as he was concerned.

As for Kagome, the hanyou was finding himself admiring her abilities. The way she took charge right from the beginning, her patience and grace while working, her knowledge of medicine that he had otherwise taken for granted, all of it was coming out in a way he had never noticed before. She had certainly grown from the time she had released him from his seal, no longer just the strange girl from the other side of the well.

His thoughts were interrupted by the question Kagome shot in his direction.

"Should I make some ramen for lunch, Inuyasha?"

He was sure he had reacted a bit more than he would have wanted Sesshomaru to see, because he agreed faster than he could blink. The sound of ramen was a welcome meal to curb his hunger for a while though, which made him completely disregard Sesshomaru's wonderfully colorful stare as he shot off to dig through Kagome's over-sized bag.

Kagome suppressed a laugh, instead turning to the demon next to her.

"Are you hungry?" she questioned, figuring she should offer just in case. "I have plenty. It's just noodles and broth, really, but it's Inuyasha's favorite."

He shifted his eyes away from Inuyasha's poorly contained excitement to meet her gaze. His stomach churned uncomfortably; apparently the prospect of food was less than appealing to him, though it would probably help him regain some strength. 'Noodles and broth' was a rather vague description, though, so he decided to wait and see what it looked and smelled like, and how he felt later about food.

"Not now, no," he answered, then frowned, though he was far more tempted to smirk with his next words resting on his tongue. "That swill did well to rid me of any appetite."

It had the effect that almost had him smirking.

"You…" she started, red-faced with a bit of frustration. "You're just damn lucky we didn't leave you in the river, you ungrateful dog."

Opposite effect took precedence over his intended effect, and he found himself glaring. Jaken had called him that once, he remembered, though not to his face. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of something to shoot back at her at the moment, because Inuyasha had returned with two deep, white bowls in his hands, and a highly amused look on his face that rubbed his nerves the wrong way.

Inuyasha turned to Kagome, grinning madly.

"Since when did you loosen up your mouth, Kagome?" he snickered, handing her the bowls. "Thought you said you wouldn't stoop to the 'language of common thugs'."

The way he dragged the last few words of that sentence had her decidedly more red. She snatched the bowls from his hands and sent him a meaningful glare, which suddenly had him nervous and unsettled. Sesshomaru watched with sudden curiosity. What had the hanyou backing up slowly?

"SIT."

Sesshomaru nearly jumped back as Inuyasha was pulled to the floor with such force that the whole house seemed to shake. He had to take a minute to wipe the wide-eyed look off of his face, and found his gaze shifting back to the girl. No wonder the hanyou's emotions flipped so suddenly.

"I suppose you really don't want any ramen, huh, Inuyasha?"

He lifted his head quickly, shock written across his wide eyes.

"Aw, come on, Kagome! I was just pointing out that you were acting different!" he shot back.

"I have every right to!" she countered, then pointed an accusatory finger at the demon next to her. "You try taking care of him for a week! Not to mention a hoard of demons and one annoying ringleader wonderfully disguised as the innocent little headman that decides Sesshomaru's a good target!"

Sesshomaru glared. Now she was blaming him?

They continued to argue as he pondered on her other words. He'd heard nothing of a demon hoard or of the things that had transpired while he had been unconscious (sleeping, he corrected. Sleeping sounded better.). What did she mean someone decided he was a good target?

"Look, I'm sorry," Inuyasha finally grumbled, now sitting across from her, arms crossed defiantly, but looking apologetic all the same.

She huffed, then relaxed, sighing as she set the cups aside.

"I'm gonna need water for these," she reminded him. His face seemed to light up, and he bounded off with the pot to fetch it. She turned to him after a moment's thought, sighing again. "I shouldn't have brought you in to that," she apologized. "It's not your fault; I'm just stressed, although far less than I was now that we can be sure you'll be okay."

He found himself nodding in acknowledgement, but wondering why she had been stressed over his condition. Granted, he still couldn't figure out why they took him in in the first place. It wasn't like they were friendly with each other - far from it! - or that they had aided each other outside of pure accidents. There wasn't much reason for any of them to be helping him so much, and yet here he was, right under the girl's (Kagome, Kagome, he reminded himself) watchful eye.

And then there was also the matter of that hoard he knew nothing about, and voiced as such.

"Oh," Kagome said, blinking as the question registered in her mind. "Well, I mean, it wasn't really all that bad. The headman of this village just turned out to be some demon, and he happened to let some of his friends know you were indisposed, so…"

"You said hoard," he reminded her. "Hoard implies many."

"I'm well aware of what it means," she huffed. "Okay, so there were a lot of demons. But we managed well enough. Miroku and Sango were here, too, but Inuyasha had gone to get your medicine, so we made do without him."

He stared at her for a moment before making a sound that might have been a sarcastic laugh.

"You expect me to believe you protected me from a mass of demons?"

"And some of us villagers, too, don't forget," the woman behind Kagome added, nodding firmly. "You used to be out at the edge of the village, young man. That little hut was destroyed, and you were in it, mind you."

Eyes widened a bit as her words set in.

"Yeah, be a little grateful," the fox kit jumped in, hesitation lost with the added voices of his companion and the other woman. "I'm the one who protected you when the demon blew the place up."

He ran to hide behind the girl as soon as their eyes met, but he knew truths and lies when he saw them in a child, and the kit was not being false.

They had gone up against a hoard to protect him, on top of the care they were already administering. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He couldn't think of a single damned thing to say.

"You're wounded, and as far as I've been told, you're not a mindless demon looking for his next meal," the woman added, smiling like she was not speaking with a demon. "That's plenty enough reason to help someone, demon or not."

"And do you really think we could let anything happen to you knowing how Rin would react?" Kagome threw in for good measure, just in case he still had a reason to argue. And he had, up until that moment. Now his mouth closed against his words, a thin line as he was suddenly dropped in thoughts he had been distracted from.

Rin was still out there, and he could not do anything about it. He could not even remember what had happened, exactly, let alone if she was hurt before he ended up here, or how long he had been unconscious between the time he battled the thing and when Inuyasha had said they had found him. He was useless, and she needed him…unless she was already…

"…Are you worried about her?" Kagome asked quietly as she noticed the change in his eyes. Glassy, like he was viewing something she couldn't see.

He did not acknowledge her question at all, and for a moment she thought he hadn't heard her. Then he closed his eyes tightly, like he was frustrated or angry.

"I can't remember," he admitted uncharacteristically, opening his eyes again. "Little pieces from the beginning of the battle, but then nothing. I don't even know what happened."

In other words, he was worried.

Mieko came up beside her, then, tapping her shoulder and asking without any words if she could address the situation herself. Kagome nodded, moving to her left to make space.

"Can I give you a little insight, Sesshomaru-san?" she asked, and he looked at her, slightly surprised, as if the prospect of another human actually comfortable around him was strange and shocking.

"…What insight can you, a human, offer a demon?" he retorted after a moment.

"Experience."

The simple answer made him blink, confused, it seemed. Whether by her lack of hesitation when addressing him or because she had blatantly ignored his insult, Kagome could not be sure, but Mieko had succeeded in capturing his attention.

"My husband left on a trip with merchants few years back. Just going a few towns o'er, but he died 'fore he got there. Knew he was dead 'fore the news even got back to us," she explained, and he was listening, Kagome noted. "My point is that you know when someone close to you is gone forever. You feel it right here," she added, deliberately poking the center of his chest, which had him slightly wide-eyed. "It's an emptiness far different from being worried 'bout someone who is simply away from you, and I don't think even demons are immune to that feeling."

She had him, Kagome realized, because his eyes took on that glassy look again. But it was different this time, sad even, and that worried her. As he was now, he'd been showing emotions left and right that she had never seen on the demon's face before, but sadness hadn't been one of them. It shouldn't be one of them.

Before she could act, Inuyasha rejoined them with a contrastingly happy look on his face. It dropped almost immediately upon taking in the situation, and he immediately hung the pot over the fire pit and came around to the demon's other side.

"Hey, Sesshomaru, snap out of it," he called, shaking him gently. He gave no reaction for a moment, so Inuyasha called him again, shaking him just a little harder. Then he blinked, the look receding, and it seemed he finally found reality again.

Sesshomaru had to take a moment to remember that it had been two hundred years since he had found Tenseiga hanging from a placard on the trunk of the two-thousand-year old magnolia Bokusen-oh. He remembered that day, so long ago now it did not seem possible. Sitting next to a tree, thinking about the words his father had left him with before heading off into battle against mere humans. He could question his father's choice of words when he returned from that woman.

He knew the feeling the woman described. Deep and resonating, interrupting all of his thoughts was the sharp feeling in his chest, like his heart was pounding, threatening to burst open. He was entertaining thoughts of a conversation with a man who he suddenly realized was currently dead. His father, the strongest demon, the strongest being he had ever known, would never have such a conversation with him because he was gone.

Dead.

No, Rin was not dead. Rin was very much alive, because he did not feel that.

So he nodded, confusing Inuyasha but earning a relieved look from the two women. Kagome smiled, trying to get the hanyou to stop questioning what had happened. She spared him glances of flitting concern as he watched, but otherwise said nothing to him. He wondered briefly whether she had discovered what had crossed his mind, but she was up and fixing the fire before he could find out.

The woman sitting next to him now gave him a meaningful look as the other two became distracted over the strange white bowls.

"I brought up something, didn't I," she stated more than asked. She was quiet, as if she did not believe he wanted an audience anymore, and he found that somewhat comforting. Why exactly, well he could only pin that on his current condition.

"…It's not important," he found himself answering, voice just as low.

She smiled again, though sadly this time, and he looked away. Pity; he hated it, and here he was surrounded by it.

"But you know she's alive," she added.

A nod was apparently all she needed to see before she turned her attention to the food Kagome was preparing. He simply watched for a moment, just observing the three (no, four. The kit was still there.) as Kagome explained to the woman what 'ramen' was. Inuyasha tried to tend the fire while they were talking, but in his haste brushed against the black pot. Recoiling and remarkably able to hold back the yelp that seemed desperate to escape, he glared down at the pot, then at the kit as he made a smart remark. The swift knuckle to the young fox's head caught Kagome's attention, and she mediated by threatening the S word, which he assumed was 'sit'. Inuyasha backed down with a grumble, reluctant to be thrown to the floor a second time, and the child snickered like he had just won the greatest of battles.

It was remarkably relaxing, he realized.

Just observing, one would not know they were battling a cunning foe in the background. They seemed so…normal? Not quite the word he was looking for, but better than nothing to describe their appearance with. He could have walked in on a small family in their daily routine. The presence of the monk and demon slayer probably would not change anything, either. Perhaps it was merely because they had traveled together for so long, or that their goal was common. They were a strange mix of people, anyone could come to that conclusion, but they also seemed to blur the lines between their differences without even trying.

Even Inuyasha, a hanyou who knew nothing of kindness, nothing of security around humans or demons, was seamlessly sown into the lives of the group. He may not get along with the kit, may anger the priestess enough to have her subdue him, but he was comfortable with them, and they were likewise quite accepting of him. It was a far cry from how he viewed them while in battle. Yes, they supported each other like comrades would, but he had never seen them otherwise. It was not just a truce while they fought to defeat Naraku; they were closer than comrades.

It was…revealing, to say the least.

His thoughts traveled back to his own small group. Comrades they were not; Rin was not a fighter in the sense that she would never join him in battle (or should never. …Had she? Ugh, his head hurt trying to remember.), and Jaken, though he could fight, was not so strong that he could fight by his side for any length of time. Not that he would really allow him to. The dragon did well for providing for Rin, joining battle when necessary, but otherwise docile. They had no common goals, no real reason to walk in each other's footsteps, and yet travel together they did.

He had to wonder why.

He was comfortable in their presence. Listening to them talk was far better than finding noises in silence or his own thoughts, which were sometimes not so wonderful to find himself in. Jaken had an unnecessary attachment to him for what ever debt he decided he owed him, but he was not opposed to his following. It was interesting when he first started walking behind him, and he had to admit that he liked the idea of someone actually enjoying his presence, even if the feeling was not entirely mutual. Rin was far different. She was fragile, kind, and saw him through something entirely different than what lens Jaken viewed him through. She respected his power but not because she had witnessed it first. She had found him wounded, hostile (at least he had tried that route), but had brought him food and water instead of people to rid him from the world. He had saved her because she had intrigued him beyond anything that had ever caught his interest. And then she said his name. It had been a short time after he had retrieved her soul, and she had cleaned up, accepted the small yukata he had sent Jaken for with a smile, and returned from changing to properly thank him. Her idea of that had been quietly opening and closing her mouth for a quiet moment, looking down and back up, and then quietly as if she did not have any confidence in her voice, thanking him. He had taken several moments to register that the mute child in front of him had talked, then several more to register that she had said his name.

Perhaps, he figured, that was when he considered her as something he did not wish to lose. Like a father who would not stand to have his daughter taken from him, he could not entertain the thought of her voice ever leaving his ears.

He closed his eyes again, leaning back against the wall as his body began to demand that he sleep once more.

Sorcerousfang: Hey guys. Like I said, short, but you needed to know I was still here. I will eventually mold this and the next chapter together, but not until I finish the story. Thanks for being patient, everyone!

Sesshomaru: …

Sorcerousfang: Thanks to you, too. You didn't destroy everything while I was gone ^_^

Sesshomaru: …You are most certainly a female writer.

Sorcerousfang: And what's that supposed to mean?

Sesshomaru: You write about feelings a man would never go through the effort of putting into words. Shelley's Frankenstein is a good example.

Sorcerousfang: Well I think it makes things more inter- hey, wait a minute. Since when do you know anything about Mary Shelley?

Sesshomaru: I had to do something while you were gone. Books keep piling up in the back, and I got bored. Reading some of these ridiculous fanfictions was amusing to an extent, but some are just madness.

Sorcerousfang: …oooooookay. We'll worry about the fact that everything was written in English later. For now, see you all next time!

Sesshomaru: Whenever the hell next time is…

Sorcerousfang: Oh, shut up.