Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Sorcerousfang: So…it's been awhile.

Sesshomaru: I lost track of time, actually.

Sorcerousfang: I'm terribly sorry.

One of these days, I'm going to rewrite this whole story. Looking back, I started this way back in '08. If you look at some of my more recent stories, my writing style has improved and changed, and though I'm proud of this one, I also cringe when I look back at it. A lot.

On that note, please forget about the red bird. It never happened. I don't even know what it is. Where was this writer's mind going? It won't exist in the rewrite.

But the rewrite will wait until it's finished, and I do vow to finish it one day. I just need the time and motivation (which I now have thanks to Kally Lass. This chapter had been sitting around for god knows how long, and now it lives!)

"Hey, Sesshomaru."

He blinked when he realized he had slept for a while yet again, and Inuyasha was hovering over him now with a fading look of concern.

"I'd let you sleep more, but Kagome's nagging about getting you that medicine again," he explained, helping him to sit up. He didn't know when he had returned to lying down, but assumed it was either in his sleep, or due to someone's insistence.

"I'm not nagging," came her annoyed reply a moment later. He could smell the concoction as she mixed it, and tried not to wrinkle his nose again in disgust as it immediately chased his grogginess away. "It's important that we keep up with regular doses, Inuyasha."

"Or you just like watching him squirm when he takes it," he countered light-heartedly.

They all sent him a small glare, while the kit voiced their thoughts.

"I think it's you who finds it funny," he remarked.

Having made sure Sesshomaru was up, Inuyasha took off after the fox with a yell. Kagome merely rolled her eyes as he chased him out the door.

"I say we save a little and shove it down his throat later," she suggested with an exasperated tone.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow.

"…I rather like that idea," he commented, which earned him a smirk from her.

"I'll see what I can do about that," she assured him, and set back to focusing on her work. After a few moments where silence prevailed over the room, she opened her mouth once again to speak.

"Inuyasha mentioned something while you were asleep," she started, adding some water to the bowl. "He said the way you are now is weird, but he's okay with it. If you ask me, you two seem more like brothers, suddenly."

Sesshomaru wasn't sure what to say to that, and instead shifted so that he could once again lean against the wall.

"I think this is good for the both of you, actually," she added. "He used to always say you hated him, but I don't think that's true. You two are actually a lot alike."

Sesshomaru glanced up at the window to his right from which the echoes of the two who had run off could be heard. He raised an eyebrow at her a moment later, as if to say he couldn't possibly relate to the child outside.

"I don't mean you guys act alike," she huffed, eyes glued to the bowl in her hand. "You're both incredibly stubborn, though. I think that's why you two fight so much."

"…Perhaps you're right," he said absently. "But our fighting hasn't been entirely for naught."

"I know," she replied, surprising him somewhat. "He always walked away with something. He learned the Wind Scar, for example."

"…True," he said.

"Was that your intention?" she asked, finally training her gaze on him.

Caught in her stare, he was unsure what to say for a long moment. Then, finally, words found their way to his tongue, and he answered more truthfully than he would have thought.

"I have wondered that myself, at times."

Apparently, that answer was one she was hoping for, because she smiled sweetly in response.

"I'll just keep that between us," she promised, aware that a certain degree of strangeness was prevailing over the situation. After another flick of her wrist, the noise from her grinding bowl stopped. "Alright, all set. And don't look at me like that; this time I've got water and food to help get rid of the taste."

"As if that helps," he muttered, but took the bowl nonetheless. Having finally resigned himself to taking it (he figured the faster he got better, the sooner he'd be out of here), he was just about to down the concoction in one gulp when Inuyasha returned suddenly. The smile on his face served as a good distraction.

Before anyone had a chance to question what he was in such a good mood about, his grin widened, and he held the thatch open behind him.

"Guess who just arrived."

There was the sound of someone stumbling, and something knocking against the side of the house, before a small shadow obscured the doorway. Feet pattered, but suddenly stopped. There was no movement until Inuyasha said a hastened "well, come on," and a small form entered the room. Slightly disheveled and breathless, a young child now stood next to the hanyou.

"Rin…"

She was safe. That was exactly what the relieved tone he spoke her name with said, and it was all the girl needed to finally spring to life in front of them. The largest smile he'd ever seen suddenly overcame her features, and tears welled in her eyes, spilling over when the volume became more than she could contain.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she cried, and ran to him without any hesitation. Forgetting his status, his mannerisms, all of it, she threw herself at his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck with all of her strength, burying her face in the space left between his neck and shoulder. His breathless gasp nor the sound of the bowl clattering to the floor phased her. She could feel him now, and finally knew she wasn't dreaming.

He winced for only a moment, hiding it quickly so that she wouldn't become concerned. Beyond that, he was unsure what to do. He had never had the experience of a child clinging to him like this, and was mildly surprised by Rin's actions. It was enough to cause him to glance up at those who also occupied the room, and found one helpful gesture among the astonished gazes; the woman Mieko, who wove an arm around the shoulder of her son and nodded to him as if suggesting he do the same.

He looked down at her trembling form, and suddenly words made their way to his ears.

"I was so worried," she sobbed, her voice muffled against his neck. "I-I th-thought you…you didn't come back, and…I didn't know what to do…"

He took the woman's silent advice and brought his arm around her. He squeezed gently, afraid to harm the girl, and she responded by hugging him more tightly, her sobs growing somewhat louder. Was this helping or not?

Something felt right about it though, and he found it somewhat natural that his hand came to the back of her head, and his head lowered until it was nearly resting on her small shoulder. His words flowed out naturally from there.

"It's alright now, Rin," he said softly. His voice betrayed his relief, and he was immediately aware that the tremors he was attempting to quell in her were not merely the child's. He had to suppress the need to seize up to keep from alarming Rin, and instead found himself squeezing a bit more tightly in an attempt to stop his own.

She was alive, and here, and while he had realized her importance to him, it was only now that the full weight of it seemed to hit him. "It's alright now," he repeated, but for his own ears or hers, he was not sure.

Whether he was aware of the range of emotions plastered on the faces of the people around him or not, he didn't react to them. Rin was safe. That was all that mattered.

Everyone, of course, was quite aware that seeing something like this was incredibly unusual. A side they would never have known of the demon otherwise was on full display, and not a word was being said for fear of interrupting it. Inuyasha found himself caught between watching and leaving; it was the same sort of feeling he got when they rescued some kid and saw them reunited with their parents. The way they latched onto the kid like they would lose them if they let go, squeezing them in a hug he used to think would hurt them if they weren't careful…it was always both enlightening and awkward, like he was witnessing something private. And they trembled. The others might not be able to see it now, but there was still a fine tremor coursing through his brother's body, and it left him speechless.

The little imp never far behind his brother did not appear to have the same trouble speaking once he stumbled in himself.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken squawked in relief. Sesshomaru took a deep breath as though to collect himself before raising his head in acknowledgement. A large lump was on the imp's head; apparently his was the small force that had collided with the outer wall of the house. "I'm so relieved you're alive! Oh, but the state you're in! To see you of all-!"

He was abruptly cut off when a fist added another lump to his cranium.

"Quiet, you!" Inuyasha reprimanded.

"To think that even Inuyasha enjoys a tender moment," the monk who had entered behind Rin commented with a smile.

There were several laughs when Inuyasha reddened somewhat and shot back a hasty negative.

Sesshomaru sighed and dismissed their antics with a slight shake of his head. Rin had removed herself from him by now, having gathered her own emotions, and they each gave the other a once over. Sesshomaru's hand went out to the cloth wrapped around her arm, brushing over it gently.

"You were wounded?" he questioned her. She nodded as she wiped away tears.

"When the demon blew up, my arm got hit," she explained. "But it doesn't hurt anymore. Master Jaken helped me take care of it."

He was alarmed for a moment that she might have fallen ill due to the blood of the demon, but by all accounts she didn't look as though she were sick, and the poison would likely have done something by now.

"…You're really going to be okay, Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked him after a moment. She had looked up and down his chest, studying the bandages concealing the wounds beneath them. He must have looked very small to her without all of the armor and the pelt he usually adorned. "You're hurt really bad. I'm sorry for jumping on you. Did I make it worse?"

She was starting to mumble, so he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Rin. You did nothing wrong," he said softly. "I'm alright."

She nodded in response.

Kagome interrupted their conversation after a long moment with the last reminder Sesshomaru wanted.

"If you want to keep your word, finish what's left in this bowl for today," she said, offering up the dish she had cleaned up from the floor. Somehow she had managed to save half of the mixture while he had been preoccupied. "And before you say anything, none of what's in here touched the floor, so it doesn't have anything gross in it."

"You seem to be forgetting about the concoction itself," he pointed out, surprising Rin and Jaken to a certain degree. Rin's reaction was due more to the idea of him taking medicine, while Jaken's was based more on his lord's own words. It almost sounded as though he was just aiming for the reaction of the young woman, and that he took the bowl from her hands rather than rejecting it was almost proof of that.

The moment he put the bowl to his lips and threw its contents into the back of his mouth, Kagome replied with a sly smirk.

"If you want to be a jerk, then I think I'll keep the water and snacks for myself."

He nearly choked on not only the taste, but the thought of it staying there. A glare mixed with a poorly concealed cringe was immediately aimed at her, and she couldn't prevent the giggle that escaped her.

"You wouldn't dare," he finally said.

The looks on everyone's faces finally got to her, and she laughed out loud for a moment before she could compose herself.

"Not if I want to live a long life, no," she replied, handing over the water. "If I want to die when you've got the strength to kill me, I'd dare."

He ignored her in favor of the sweet relief of fresh water, and the prospect of something solid in his stomach after he was done. He didn't eat human food, sure, but now his stomach was craving something other than the swill he was being forced to drink. Even the lingering smell from the noodles that had long since been devoured by Inuyasha smelled good.

…Oh, hey. He was starting to get his sense of smell back again, if he could smell the meal and recognize roughly how much time had passed since it had been consumed.

Which meant the swill was working. And he wasn't about to thank it.

Kagome presented him with several noisy bags in the next moment, each reflecting the light of the sun brightly as if the colorful packaging were made of metal. He took an experimental sniff of the air, but either his nose wasn't back to normal just yet, or the material was preventing the scent of its contents from escaping, the latter of which he thought was more likely.

"Kagome," the young kit suddenly spoke up. "You're not giving him all of the ninja snacks, are you?"

Kagome laughed, replying, "Of course not, Shippo. I'm just letting him choose one. There will be plenty left over, right Sesshomaru?"

He had the presence of mind to shove Jaken's face into the floor as the imp opened his mouth to protest.

"What are you trying to make me eat now?" he questioned, looking over the strange packages.

"They're rice crackers," she explained. "They each have a different flavor to them, though, so I thought it'd be best if you chose. There's plain, fish, octopus, beef, cheese, shrimp, and curry."

Sesshomaru didn't get much of a chance to think over all of the choices presented to him, because Inuyasha had quickly made his way over and snatched one bag out of the line-up.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome tried to protest.

He gave her a meaningful look.

"Not even Sesshomaru should be subjected to this awful stuff!" he said pointedly, brandishing the curry-flavored rice crackers.

Kagome blinked in surprise, glancing between the two brothers as Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha questioningly.

"…I guess something spicy isn't really a good idea when you haven't eaten anything," she conceded.

"It's not even good on a full stomach!" he added, tossing the bag away as if it burned his hand. He turned to Sesshomaru to add, "Trust me," with a dead serious look in his eyes.

Sesshomaru, despite his temptation to try to prove the hanyou wrong, decided he did not want to risk it in his current state.

He eventually decided on the plain ones. Plain sounded safe.

He had been right about the strange material blocking the scent of its contents, because when Kagome pulled the bag apart, he could finally smell something. She offered the open end of the bag to him, and after a moment of contemplation, he retrieved one of the hard cakes from inside it. It looked like rice, but it seemed lighter, as though the grains had become hollow when it was made. Rin was offered one as well when Kagome seemed to decide she was tired of waiting for him, and he figured it would be wrong for the child to try something before he did.

It was a little on the sweet side for his tastes, but his stomach didn't protest against it, and it was doing him the favor of removing the taste of the medicine. He nodded his approval to the woman, and she set the open bag beside him so that he could take from it as he wished.

"Thank you, Miss Kagome," Rin said with a smile in response to the food. She seemed to be trying to convey Sesshomaru's own thanks at the same time, given that it wasn't typical of him to express such things in words. Perhaps, he wondered, he may have to make an exception to that by the end of all of this. While it was not his wish to have been aided by them, he certainly owed them for their actions.

"Of course," she replied. "I'm glad you're safe."

"And thank you for helping Lord Sesshomaru," she added. "Even though you don't get along."

That last part was directed more toward Inuyasha, who stared blankly for a moment before making a short sound of disdain and turning his head away.

"S'not like I'd let something stupid off him before I got a chance to beat his ass myself," he responded characteristically.

"Myoga even helped," Shippo mentioned.

"Even though he's pretty terrified of you," Kagome added with a smile. "Speaking of Myoga, where'd he disappear to? I haven't seen him for a while."

"Oh, he's hiding right here," Inuyasha replied, slapping the side of his head before fishing the flattened flea from his hair.

"You really didn't…need to do that," he complained, though shortly returned to his original rotund form.

Sesshomaru was surprised by the retainer's presence. The little demon had always made it perfectly clear that he feared the elder of the brothers, and appropriately so, given how little Sesshomaru had cared for the flea's life in the past. He could guess the role he played in helping him simply based on his nature, but that he helped him at all was still something that would take time to wrap his mind around.

"H-hiding aside," Myoga stuttered, "it pleases me to see you are recovering, Lord Sesshomaru."

He nodded in acknowledgement, and silence followed that as he contemplated how the number of people he owed thanks to seemed to be growing quickly.

"Well, I believe it would do well to let these three have some time to catch up," Mieko suggested after another moment. "It's been a while since they've seen each other, after all, and I'm sure us being nosey ain't welcomed."

He had to give credit to the woman for her thoughtfulness, though 'catching up' was probably an inadequate way of putting it. Rather, it would simply give him a chance to enjoy the others' presence without interruption from one of the kit and hanyou's spats or other curious eyes. Rin and Jaken would likely talk endlessly as they were prone to do whenever he returned from leaving them behind, and it would be good for them to be free of the worry that they may say something he didn't wish for others to be privy to.

It seemed there were no objections to her suggestion, so the others filed out while offering quick smiles or nods (aside from Inuyasha, who seemed quick to put some distance between them).

"Holler if you need anything," Kagome said as she gathered a few items and stood. "Someone will stick around close enough to hear. Otherwise, we'll come back in a little bit."

She made eye contact with him for a long moment, as if discerning how long it would be safe to be away.

"Don't push yourself, Mr. High-and-Mighty," she added somewhat seriously. Jaken reprimanded her for the tone while his mind lingered a little too long on the ridicule; it seemed he was entertaining the truths of many things today. It was likely Kagome was reading his unusual behavior as a sign of his condition, and he could admit that were he himself, many of the things that occurred today would not have.

She ignored Jaken's words until he finally nodded in agreement, and then shot the imp a look that silenced him as she followed the others out.

"My lord," Jaken began immediately when the girl's spell over him had ended. "I'm so glad you are safe!"

The imp was comically tearful in his happiness, which brought a small, amused smile to Sesshomaru's face.

"You thought I would die?" he questioned him, entertaining himself with the reaction it brought on. While Jaken apologized swiftly, he realized the fault in his own words; it was fairly obvious how weak the battle had rendered him, and it would likely never be clear to him exactly how close to death he may have been.

He was…not as powerful as he would like to believe. That should have been abundantly clear after Inuyasha had taken his arm, but it was more so now as he looked at the charges he failed to completely protect. Tired, troubled charges, with worry in their eyes as they looked upon the one they admired most.

"You most certainly would have defeated that beast, if not for its cowardly attack!" Jaken concluded.

"…Perhaps," he responded after a moment.

"Lord Sesshomaru…?"

Rin was eyeing him with concern, and Jaken matched her look. Of course; this was unlike him, he realized, to admit a chance of failure. It was unlike him to entertain the thoughts seizing his mind, to give them a home somewhere deep in his chest.

Ah, he was growing tired again. Kagome's concern had merit.

He reached out and placed a hand on Rin's head.

"I failed," he said simply.

There was silence for a long moment. He watched tears begin to well in her eyes with a sort of disinterest brought on by lethargy, and moved his hand absently to wipe them away.

"It's all my fault," she insisted. "You didn't fail, Lord Sesshomaru; I should have been more careful. If I hadn't let that demon grab me, you wouldn't have had to fight!"

"And I should have done more, too!" Jaken added, wanting to erase any responsibility his lord was feeling. This, he felt, was not right. This was many leagues from being right. He did not know what more he could have done during that battle, but there must have been something he could have done differently.

"I am not strong," Sesshomaru admitted. Rin and Jaken stared at him, shaken. "Not as strong as I need to be. Had I sensed its presence, you would never have been in danger, Rin."

"That's not true!" she argued. "You are strong! You're stronger than anyone!"

He let out a short laugh of sorts, then said, "If I were stronger than anyone, I would not have ended up here."

It was a truth neither of them could argue, but he could tell by their looks that they did not want to agree.

"…You still protected me," Rin reminded him after a long moment. "Even though you got hurt, you still protected me. You always protect me, so you're really, really strong."

"Do you have someone to protect?"

His father's words came back to him again. He had denied that strength could come from something as benign as protecting someone, that he even protected anything, yet there were two creatures here whose flames of life he had taken to keeping lit.

"And you grow stronger still!" Jaken insisted. "Why, Inuyasha could never defeat you at your best now!"

That remark earned him another welt on his head, though Sesshomaru figured it was a compliment of his growth.

"Don't remind me," he reprimanded him. "He's had enough of an ego boost for the last few days."

There was a note of humor in his voice that delayed the apology Jaken would have let off immediately for a few moments. It seemed Rin was not blind to it either, as her tears slowed in response.

Sesshomaru tried to blink away some of the sleepiness from his eyes. It would be a few more days yet before he would have his strength back fully, if these interactions with his wards were tiring him so quickly. Concern quickly took precedence in their eyes, and he let out an audible sigh. He did not wish for them to worry.

"It will be a little longer before I am myself again," he explained, attempting to dispel their fears. "As such, rest is being forced upon me, but it will not be for much longer."

"I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said quietly, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You got hurt because of me."

"I told you, this is my own fault," he reminded her, but she shook her head.

She had always been quick to agree with him, to accept his words as truth, and yet here she defies him. He reached for her shoulder, giving her a light tug until she was near enough to him that he could embrace her as he had done before. She lightly returned it, mindful of his wounds, and she took a shuddering breath between her tears.

"We'll keep going back and forth blaming ourselves at this rate," he commented absently. "Shall we agree the beast was at fault? That would solve our dilemma."

He could feel her face shift into a smile at his words before she nodded.

"Good."

"M-my lord," Jaken addressed him with a pleading look in his eyes. He gave him a tired look in response, but it was accompanied by a soft laugh.

"Oh, fine," he conceded, and Jaken joined Rin at his side. He was too tired to care at this point, and he could settle for the imp intruding in his personal space for a little while. It wasn't as though he were any less as relieved to see him as Rin, and he could respect that.

Rin was the first to notice the fading strength of his grip, and when his hand suddenly slipped from around her, she looked up quickly in worry. He was quick to find his purchase again on her back, but it was obvious that he was losing to his body's need to sleep; his eyes seemed unfocused, and they were already half-closed.

"Lord Sesshomaru, please don't push yourself," she requested, remembering Kagome's words before she had left. It worried her to see him this way, but he had told them that he would be alright soon, and she tried to keep that in mind. Jaken exchanged looks with her for a moment, as if to tell her the same.

It seemed like it took a second for her words to register with him, and his eyes widened for a moment when it did.

"It would seem…sleep is necessary," he observed. It annoyed him a little that he had only been awake for a short time; they had only just arrived, and he already felt weariness tugging at him. Perhaps the whole reunion had been a little more than he was ready to handle.

For a moment, he entertained the idea that it might be he was truly relaxing now that Rin's safety had been confirmed. He liked that thought a little more.

Both Rin and Jaken watched over him as he eased himself away from the wall so that he could lie down once again. They were ready to aid him, though it was unnecessary this time around. A strange noise came from his left side, and he realized the rice crackers that had been left for him lay forgotten there. He picked up the bag and observed it for a moment before handing it over to Rin. The meal would have to wait until he woke up again.

He closed his eyes as his head sunk into the folded blanket that served as his pillow, breathing quietly for a moment before opening them again to look at his wards once more.

"Sleep well, my lord," Rin said with a smile. A worried smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"I will," he replied.

It was a strange sight, to watch her lord fall asleep. Rin had never seen him sleep before; rest, yes, but never had she seen him so relaxed. She wondered if the noisy bag in her hands would wake him if she moved it too much, or if she spoke.

Jaken sniffled quietly beside her, sharing her worry. There had been few times when they witnessed him wounded, and it was always minor. To see him bandaged up and weary scared them both. Add to it his odd behavior, and there was plenty of reason for concern.

When the thatch covering the door rustled, they turned to see Kagome had returned. She wore a soft smile on her face.

"Don't worry too much about him," she encouraged them quietly. "He really is pretty strong."

Rin nodded in agreement.

"Being tired seems to make him more likeable, though," she added. "He's a little more humble."

Jaken seemed to realize something that Rin didn't, because his eyes widened and his jaw slackened as she spoke.

"You- were you listening?!" he squawked in an odd whisper.

"I said someone would be close enough to hear," she reminded him. "All of the excitement of you two returning was going to wear him out, so I figured I'd stay close enough in case he suddenly dropped."

That explained why she had come in so quickly after he had fallen asleep.

"And we should let him do that," she added, gesturing them over towards the door. Rin was hesitant; she wanted to stay here with him, and be here when he woke up again. She said as much to Kagome, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know you just got back, and now that you are here, he's going to get better a lot faster," she explained. "He doesn't have to worry about you now, so he's going to be able to sleep better, and I just want to make sure he can get as restful a sleep as possible, so I'm keeping everyone else out.

"Just for a little bit, go out and get some food with the others, and as soon as you're done you can come back. You've got to make sure you take care of yourself so he doesn't have to worry about that, right?"

She nodded reluctantly after a moment, seeing the logic behind her reasoning despite not really liking the idea. She should get some food, and if she ate here she might wake him up.

Jaken muttered something under his breath about his disagreement, but his stomach rumbled at the same time, signaling his own hunger. He leveled Kagome with a look that was probably meant to be more intimidating, though his embarrassment made it a little too comical for that.

"You just make sure you don't wake him up yourself!"

It was a poor bit of scorn, but Kagome figured he couldn't come up with anything better given the timing of his stomach.

"I promise I'll be quieter than you," she shot back good-naturedly. Jaken harrumphed and turned towards the door. After looking back at her lord, Rin began to follow him. Before heading out, she turned to Kagome, holding out the bag of rice cakes.

"Please save these for Lord Sesshomaru," she asked. Since he picked them, she didn't want anyone else to eat them before he could have any more.

"Of course," Kagome nodded with a smile. "I'll keep a good eye on him, so don't worry. You just get yourself fed, alright?"

She nodded again, and followed Jaken out of the hut.

Outside it was fairly quiet around the structure, despite being in the middle of the village. It was a little strange to be in a village again after so long, and she felt a little uncomfortable in the open space. She caught the looks of a few villagers, who seemed to be wondering who Jaken was, but they didn't seem hostile. Perhaps they had gotten used to demons being around because of Kagome and her companions.

She caught sight of Miroku as she looked around, and she and Jaken started toward him. He was carrying a bundle of what looked like vegetables in his hands while he conversed with a man she didn't recognize.

"Mr. Monk," she called to him, causing him to pause in his conversation and turn toward her. A smile stretched across his face, bringing one to her own.

"Rin, just in time," he said. "Kagome told us to get some food cooked up for everyone, and apparently this is turning into a celebration. We could use your help if you're up to it."

She was a little surprised by the idea, but nodded quickly.

"So you're Rin, huh?" the other man addressed her. He knelt down to her level. "Glad to see they've found you, kid."

"Did you know they were looking for me?" she asked him.

"I heard a bit about you while I was helping out with your demon friend," he explained.

"This is Hiro," Miroku introduced him, preventing her from questioning what he meant by helping out. "He's the headman of the village now."

Embarrassment quickly consumed his face and he scratched the back of his head.

"Still a lot more of an honor than I think I'm fit for," he laughed.

"Nice to meet you," Rin said with a bow. He offered one of his own, though it looked funny from his crouching position.

"Would you mind taking these to the girls?" Miroku asked her, handing her the bundle of vegetables in his hand. "I was heading over that way, but Hiro's got a few things more for me to carry, and it would save me the trip."

"Sure," she agreed, taking the bundle.

"If you keep heading straight this way, you'll come across them. There should be a bunch of people gathered there, so you can't miss them."

She nodded, and started off that way.

"Oh, no you don't," she heard him say a moment later. Jaken's accompanying yelp made her turn back. Miroku had him by the back of his clothing. "You get to help me carry things."

"Put me down!" he demanded. Rin giggled; it seemed Jaken was going to have to work for his share of food, too.

After a few minutes, she came across the gathering of people Miroku had mentioned. Several standing pots were being set up, and other villagers were piling cut wood into neat piles a bit further away. It looked like they were setting up for a few bonfires.

She spied Sango and the other woman that had been in the hut among them, and made her way over to them quickly. Without Jaken with her, she wasn't being stared at so much, though it might be because everyone seemed so busy. Either way, she felt a little more comfortable despite the number of people around her.

"Oh, Rin!" Sango said as she noticed her. "How is Sesshomaru doing?"

"Lord Sesshomaru is sleeping," she explained, trying to remember that she was only going to be away from him for a little bit. "Kagome told me to get some food, but it looks like there's going to be a lot of work here."

"The village wants to celebrate Hiro's new position," the woman explained. "I'm Mieko, dear."

Rin bowed, offering her the same greeting she had given Hiro earlier.

"Wasn't Miroku supposed to bring those here?" Sango asked, gesturing to the vegetables.

"He said that Mr. Hiro had a few things for him to get, so he gave these to me and took Master Jaken with him," she explained as she handed them over. There were already a lot of ingredients around them; whatever they were going to make, it was going to be good.

"Well at least he's not off with the women," she commented with a roll of her eyes. The meaning was lost on Rin, but she didn't ask.

"Perhaps he should have been helping Inuyasha," Mieko commented. "Cutting all of that wood is a bit to do for one man."

"Oh, he's got it covered," Sango said with a laugh. "Miroku wouldn't have been any help with that."

"Where is Inuyasha?" Rin asked. She hadn't seen him since he'd left the hut, and she had wanted to ask him a few things now that she had the chance.

"You can find him if you follow the line of men coming back with wood," Sango told her, gesturing toward a line of trees. "He's taking care of cutting it for the bonfires."

"Thank you," she said gratefully, and headed straight off in that direction.

It was easy to spot his red outfit when she got close enough to recognize it, and she remained quiet as she approached him. The wood gave easily to each swing of his sword, and he was surprisingly precise despite the brash nature he seemed to display. She simply watched him for a little bit.

"What are you hanging around here for?" he questioned her as he took a break. A man thanked him for his work and he briefly acknowledged him, but turned back to her as the villager and a few others carried off some heavy logs.

"Lord Sesshomaru is sleeping," she explained for a second time.

She saw him frown a little in what might have been concern, but it didn't stay long enough for her to really read it.

"Did you really cut off Lord Sesshomaru's arm?"

She hadn't really thought of a way to bring it up otherwise, so it just kind of came out, and she could see Inuyasha hadn't been expecting that himself from the way his eyes widened and his grip on his sword slipped for a moment.

"Tch," he grumbled. "Told you all about that, did he?"

She shook her head. "Master Jaken told me. Was he lying?"

It was somewhat pointless to ask, she realized. His reaction had been enough to be able to tell, but she felt the need to give him the option of denying it.

"…No," he said after a moment, sitting on one of the logs. He seemed upset about it, making her wonder about Jaken's story about that big battle he had described.

"Why?"

"He was trying to kill me!" he shot back quickly, defensively. She waited for him to calm down for a moment, but just as she was about to say something, he continued, "I didn't actually think it would work. Tetsusaiga wouldn't transform before, but then it suddenly did…and before I knew it, I'd lobbed off an arm."

"Did you not mean to?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he said defensively again. "We hated each other. He'd try to kill me every time we'd meet, and that time I was staring down a giant dog. When he decides to show his true form, he means business, so I had to get real serious, too."

Rin gave him a confused look, making him pause. When she didn't ask him anything else, he gave her one of his own.

"What?" he questioned.

"Lord Sesshomaru's…true form?"

And it's done! I've finally gotten my act together and finished bringing these two back together after way too many years. Seriously, major props to Kally Lass.

Since it's been too long, I'll remind you that Sesshomaru's true form was kept secret from her. It was something I always wondered about that was never touched upon in either the anime or the manga, and I wanted to play around with that for this.

Yes, of course I had to leave another cliff hanger.

I have a lot of work to do on this story. Not to finish it – it's almost done, actually – but to fix it. After several years of growth, I can see what it's missing now. It's missing a lot.

As a side note, I decided to have Rin and Jaken use 'you' instead of saying 'Lord Sesshomaru' all of the time; one, because it was quicker to type, and two, because the significance of it is relatively lost in English (for those of you who don't know, addressing someone as 'you' in Japanese is pretty disrespectful unless you're friends, and while Sesshomaru and Rin are friendly to each other, they are not friends in that sense). Having every instance of 'you' or 'your' in their conversation with him be changed to 'Lord Sesshomaru' is a little strange in English (at least to me), so I decided to stick with my guns. Assume that they are being appropriately respectful despite my choice of wording.

I will get this finished. I have vowed to, and I intend to keep my promise.