I was going to release this on Christmas, but it still needed work, so...late holiday gift I suppose, hope you guys had a good one. I feel like this chapter is shorter than normal, but then again I am up at 12AM writing it for some reason...you can stop listening to me babble now go read the chapter.


Rin felt her ankle throb as she and Kohaku descended down the last stretch of mountain road. They set out from the inn as soon as they were able, but it took them over a day to make it anywhere near Kaede's village. Rin blamed herself, she moved much slower on her damaged leg, but she refused to let Kohaku carry her after seeing what their river encounter had done to him.

As he changed she got a clear view of the gashes decorating his body. The river rocks had ripped into the flesh leaving reddened wounds that he covered haphazardly himself. He assured her that he was okay but she didn't believe him, and if he could stomach his wounds to make her feel better then she could do the same for him. Unfortunately her leg was far more cumbersome than his cuts, so they had to stop often to rest.

They were taking a break near the roadside when Rin started to notice the red speckle seeping through her bandage. The crimson blood spread slowly and the sting of pain intensified as she gently ran her finger across it. Not wanting to alarm Kohaku, who sat with his back against the rock dozing in the sunlight, she calmly flipped open her pack and rummaged around for extra bandages. She spotted the white fabric lining the bottom, covered with Shippo's trinkets that Kohaku collected by the river. She wiggled the cloth free but wasn't fast enough to catch the toy top that tumbled from the opening and bounced off her knee.

She dove for it, but it flicked off her finger and skid across the dirt, bumping into a pair of muddy sandals that she hadn't noticed before. Following the legs upward Rin felt her heart jump a few beats. The girl standing there seemed to come out of nowhere, but besides being unexpectedly quiet, she didn't look threatening. She had short trimmed orange red hair cut in a bob style that framed her face. Purple eyes that squinted with her smile and a turquoise kimono that hugged her snuggly. She bent down coyly and pinched the top between her fingers grinning wider as she tossed it and closed her palm around it.

"I know this top," she looked to Rin and winked. "Who might you be holding on to Shippo's toys?"

"You approached me, shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Rin shot back and the woman chuckled.

"Haha forgive me," she place the toy back in Rin's hands. "I can forget myself sometime. I'm Kiyara" she turned to sway a few steps away and Rin noticed her tail for the first time.

"You're a kitsune?" she sounded more surprised than she should have, but Kiyara only laughed.

"I am," The woman perked flipping her tail. "And you seem to be hurt lovely" she kneeled in front of Rin and reached for her ankle.

Rin tugged her leg back and immediately regretted it, wincing from the sudden moment.

"I'm sorry, I won't touch," Kiyara threw up her hands and perched happily on the bolder across from Rin, freezing when she noticed Kohaku. "OH MY!" she jumped, her tail hairs standing upright "Where did he come from?"

Kohaku sat up quickly alarmed by her outburst, drawing his dagger and swinging it around until he locked eyes with her, pointing the sharpened end at her throat and taking a defensive stance.

"Oh stop it" Kiyara pouted and pushed the dagger back with her pointer finger.

"Who are you?" he looked at her dumbfounded and she sneered.

"I'm Kiyara," she stated again and he looked at Rin who only shrugged.

"She seems to know Shippo," Kiyara nodded to Rin's statement and Kohaku dropped is blade.

"I was going to pay him a visit, but then I saw this little lamby in distress and I stopped to see if I could help."

As Kiyara gestured to Rin's bleeding ankle, she crossed her leg to hide it from Kohaku.

"Rin," Kokahu was at her side in an instant and cradled her leg despite her protests.

"It's fine really," she grumbled, but he wouldn't let go until she allowed him to clean and dress the wound.

"You know if you would just carry her like a man-" Kiyara spoke under her breath and Kohaku reddened.

"She won't let me," he defended and it was Rin's turn to be flustered.

"You are hurt too, why would I let you?" She poked at his rib and he grimaced.

"Alright, alright I get it," Kiyara silenced their spat. "But you know sometimes boys need to feel...needed or it hurts their ego," she winked at Rin again and Kohaku's cheeks deepened. "Might you two be heading in the direction where I can find our little fox friend?"

"We are hoping so, but we kind of lost him," Kohaku responded, happy to change the subject.

"Lost him? He is a grown man, is he not?" Kiyara raised a brow.

"We were separated and we're not sure, but we think he might be in the village nearby," Rin spoke sadly remembering the events on the river, telling Kiyara everything and completely throwing her caution of the woman out the window.

"Well then, why are we still waiting here?" Kiyara rose and dusted her Kimono. "Let us go and see if we can find him." Kiyara squat down in front of Rin and she hesitated. "Come on lamby lamb, I can carry you no problem."

"Well I can-" Kohaku began but was quickly silenced but the stranger.

"No" she spoke firmly and shot him a glare. "She has already said that she doesn't want to cause you more injury. She is being gallant, so honor her, and respect her request."

Kohaku looked stunned but didn't argue after Rin accepted the Kiyara's offer and had a much easier time moving holding on to her back.

They eventually made it to the outskirts of the village and Kohaku let muscle memory guide him through the busy streets. He immediately made his way toward the small hut perched near the bottom of the shrine steps. Besides Rin, Kagome was the only other person he knew of who would be able to treat them both properly and as he approached the woman in question was standing outside hanging fresh linens on a line to dry. She stopped to rub her protruding belly as her helpers continued to work in her stead.

Soten and Miyu each carried around a basket and followed Kagome's lead in attaching the cloth to the lines so they wouldn't blow away. Kagome was the first to spot Kohaku from a far and Miyu noticed soon after, dropping the basket and bolting for him.

"KOHAKU!" she excitedly plowed into him squeezing him in her grip.

"Miyu," he grunted through the strain of her hug pressing against his bruises, but he returned her affection with a snuggle of his own.

She noticed Rin on Kiyara's back and hesitated.

"It's okay Miyu she is a friend," Rin assured her as Kiyara's tail flicked behind her.

"Don't worry I won't bite," Kiyara grinned and the toothy smugness gave Miyu flashes of Shippo.

"Are you okay Rin?" Miyu still approached cautiously and grabbing Rin's hand.

"I'm fine," Rin sounded as chipper as always, pulling a smile from Miyu. "I will have a few scars, but there is nothing too bad."

"I think we are all walking away with some scars," Miyu looked back at Soten who now sat beside Kagome to take the strain from her bruised back. She hadn't noticed that Soten was hurt until she found her and Shippo with Kagome earlier in the morning recovering.

Kiyara let Rin down from her back and Miyu helped her over to Kagome with Kohaku following closely behind.

"Rin," the priestess smiled gently as Rin hobbled up to her. She immediately lean forward to examine her bleeding leg holding her stomach in attempts to make herself feel lighter.

"It's really nothing Kagome, just a scratch," Rin eased her upright, not wanting to see the pregnant woman strain for her sake.

"We should take a look at it anyways, just to be safe," Kagome stood and waddled into the hut, leaving her seat free for Rin to plop besides Soten. Kagome reemerged with a basket of ointments and bandages tucked under her arm. Soten relieved her seat and sat on the grass watching as Kagome skillfully applied medicine to the wound.

"Please look at Kohaku too," Rin pleaded as Kagome laid a layer of cloth to seal the treatment. The woman only laughed lightly to herself and smiled, but Rin relaxed taking her response as acknowledgement.

"You guys made a new friend huh?" Soten gestured toward Kiyara, who took jabs at Kohaku's sides, irritating his cuts and forcing him slowly toward the hut.

"Not us, apparently she is Shippo's friend," Rin pointed to her tail and Soten felt a shudder hit her shoulders. "We ran into her up the road, she said she was going to pay him a visit."

"Great, just what we need another fox," Soten pouted but kept an eye trained on the second kitsune.

Kagome's head perked in interest just as the stranger approached, leaving Kohaku rubbing his sides as she scolded him for attempting to avoid treatment.

"Here is another for you to look at herb woman," Kiyara spoke triumphant in getting the demon slayer to submit.

"It's seriously not that bad, it only hurts because you poked them," Kohaku grumbled but reluctantly sat and awaited his turn for Kagome's attention.

"Herb woman is one I have never heard before," Kagome laughed as she finished Rin's bandage.

"Sorry, I am not really from around here," Kiyara apologize, bowing to Kagome politely. "I am Kiyara."

"Kagome," she replied with a small bow of her own. "You are Shippo's friend I hear?"

"Yep, and I am here to see that lying fox," she pouted.

"Ha, well I guess you came to the right place, though I don't know how much use it will be right now, he hasn't been able to get out of bed all day," Soten mumbled and Kiyara's frown visible turned to horror.

"Really," she gasped looking at the battered group and only imagining an image of something much worse for him to be bedridden.

"You can see him yourself if you want, he is right inside," Kagome pointed to the door and Kiyara wasted no time bolting inside.

"Is Shippo really that bad?" Kohaku furrowed a brow, concerned but Soten only scoffed.

"He's just being dramatic," she huffed earning a giggle from Kagome.

"He caught himself a nasty cold, but he should be fine," the priestess smothered another laugh as she switched to helping Kohaku peel away his tattered slayer uniform to examine his cuts. After treating Kohaku, Kagome insisted that they retire inside. As they entered they found Kiyara clinging to a sleepy eyed Shippo. He now sat upright in the corner of the room trying halfheartedly to push the other Kitsune away.

"Who brought you here?" He whined and Kiyara swatted his head.

"I DON'T NEED TO BE BROUGHT ANYWHERE!" she finally let him go just in time for him to cough into his sleeve. "I came to get you, you left without saying anything...or do you not remember?"

"Maybe I just didn't tell you."

"Look I don't mean to interrupt...whatever this is, but who is she?" Soten wedged herself into the conversation, slightly annoyed that the kitsune were too busy arguing to even acknowledge everyone entering.

"How rude of me again, I don't think I introduced myself to you outside. I am Kiyara," she bowed to Soten with a smile. "Shippo was apart of my training group, but the lier said he was going to talk with our master and never came back. So I came here to find him."

"The old man doesn't own me, and neither do you," Shippo sucked the phlegm back into his nose just in time for Kiyara to land a nice kick to his leg.

"So you make a habit of pissing people off then?" Soten rolled her eyes and Shippo pouted.

"Don't take her side in this Soten you are supposed to be my teammate remember?"

"What kind of teammate leaves one team for another?" Kiyara kicked again and Shippo tugged her tail forcing her to fall onto her butt.

"You guys were training buddies, not a team there is a difference you know."

"Maybe we should give Shippo a chance to explain himself, Kohaku interjected and Shippo nodded.

"Thank you Kohaku."

"So what's the story?" Soten grumbled and Shippo gave a stupid grin.

"Doing this mission sounded like more fun so I bailed on training and came here."

"YOU REALLY ARE THE WORST AREN'T YOU!" Soten shrieked and and Shippo stuck out his tongue.

They went on arguing for a while longer and Rin inched near Kagome tugging lightly at her kimono to get her attention. She motioned with her eyes for Kagome to follow and they snuck away into the storeroom unnoticed.

"That is certainly something new. Shippo never brings training buddies by," Kagome broke the silence with small talk as she dug out a box of tea, handing the pouch to Rin and looking her in the eye. "So what's wrong?"

"I just…" Rin stumbled and took a moment to compose her thoughts. "Kagome, when you started traveling with Inuyasha, did you ever feel like you caused more troubled than you helped?"

"All the time," Kagome answered with a smile and pat Rin's shoulder. "I was never as strong as Inuyasha or Miroku or Sango, I had to learn A LOT when I first came here."

"But you're a priestess, it was easy for you right?...I mean if you were just a normal human-" Rin let her voice trail to nothing and looked down at her freshly bandaged ankle.

"You would be surprised at what humans can do, even the ones without demon slayer training or sacred powers. Can I ask where this is coming from?"

"We messed up…" Rin began looking solemnly to the priestess. "We were supposed to be protecting someone, just like you guys used to, but I feel like we weren't prepared."

"Do you think that WE were ever prepared? Most days we were just diving headfirst into whatever the problem was and figuring it out as we went along."

"But we got separated, we almost lost Miyu, we could have lost each other. And I...couldn't do anything against that demon. Even if Kohaku and I didn't get swept up river, I would have just needed someone to save me...like I always have." Rin thought about her years with Sesshomaru and how she could always trust that he would be there to protect her, yet now that her role is reversed it was clear that she could do very little for others on her own.

"Inuyasha still saves me all the time," Kagome smiled. "We fight battles we can win and some we probably should have died in, but we fight them together. That's why you have Kohaku, Shippo and Soten. They will fill in the blanks where you can't, but you should always push to get stronger, so you can fill in the spots that THEY can't."

"Could you teach me?" Rin suddenly found her voice encouraged by the older woman's words. "Could you teach me to shoot a bow and arrow? I know that it won't be like yours, and I don't have sacred powers, but I want to learn so I can be stronger. Just like you did."

Kagome's smile brightened and she turned to move some boxes on the back shelf. She emerged with an old wooden bow. Despite the shelf being covered in dust the polished wood still had a healthy shine and it curved smoothly, held together with a tightly pulled bow string. She held it out and Rin gripped it carefully in her hands.

"Inuyasha, says that he would prefer me to sit out any future fights while I am carrying around another little body," she rubbed her stomach and laughed. "So I think this will do well in your hands."

"Kagome, I couldn't," Rin looked it over closely, recognizing quickly that the bow was the same one that Kagome used against Naraku.

"Why not?" She pushed it back in Rin's grasp. "It's not doing much good in this storeroom. It's gotten me through some tough spots. I am sure it will do the same for you. For now though, you should stay off that foot. I can give you a crash course tomorrow."

Rin nodded gripping tighter to the bow and feeling a wave of excitement fill her. If Kagome's words were true then she knew this was something that she had to do and she was ready to learn.

After a short while, Kagome entered the hut and found Kiyara trying to get Shippo to eat as he pushed the bowl away. Soten scowled in the corner and Kohaku seemed to tell her something in a hushed voice that made her crack a smile. He noted Kagome's arrival and glanced behind her to see that Rin wasn't with her. His joking smile faded slightly and his mind wandered to Rin's behavior earlier in the day. She didn't seem like her normal self and it was unusual for her to be so insistent on not accepting help, especially from him.

The older woman perched herself near the small hearth in the center of the room getting comfortable and helping herself to a bowl of stew brewing in the pot. She slurped a hefty mouthful as a light tap brush her shoulder. Looking over Kohaku had scotched closer, resting beside her so he could talk without having to raise his voice over Soten and Kiyara's bickering about whether or not they should force feed Shippo.

"Kagome?" he whispered, but she heard him well enough, smiling back without a word. "Where did Rin go?"

"She said she was going to soak her ankle in the river. It was still a bit swollen and I think she has had enough excitement for the day," she gestured to the rowdy demons before scooping another spoonful of stew into a fresh bowl and handing it to him. "Why don't you bring her this. I don't think she's eaten anything."

Kohaku nodded, willingly taking the food and secretly thanking Kagome for the reason to excuse himself. The cool dusk air brushed his face as he left the hut and fireflies blinked in and out of existence around him the further he walked from the village. The dirt path started to squish slightly under his feet as the sound of the waking crickets was drowned by the steady beating of water.

It didn't take him long to find Rin. She had a spot that she liked to visit just upstream. It was quiet, and he normally found her there when she wanted to think. She had started a small fire and kept it low enough to warm her without being clearly noticeable. Her feet were stretched out in front of her and she leaned back on her elbows watching a ladybug crawl across her stomach.

"I thought I would find you here," he sat the soup on the ground beside her and plopped down.

"Kagome told you where to find me?" she grinned shaking the bug from her kimono and watching it fly into the bushes.

"She told me you were near the river, but I knew this was where you would be," he handed her the bowl and she accepted, sipping the liquid timidly before setting it aside again. He followed her lead stretching his legs and bumping the bow Rin had perched on the tree. He leaned forward looking at the weapon and turned a questioning look to Rin. "A bow?"

"Kagome is teaching me...well she will be."

"You want to learn how to shoot?" he seemed puzzled and Rin pouted.

"Yeah, why not? Your a slayer, Shippo has his magic and Soten can swing that blade of hers like it is a part of her arm...I just wanted to make sure I can keep up."

Kohaku laughed slightly and Rin frowned.

"Something funny?"

"It's not you," he defended easing the irritation from her glare. "It's just sometimes I wonder if I even want to keep up. I've done the fighting thing once before and I ended up dead and controlled by a demon."

"But you still continued to train and fight, because when you are strong you can protect the ones you care about."

"Is that what has been bothering you?"

"Why does there have to be something bothering me for me to want to learn how to fight?" Rin wouldn't look at him, choosing instead to stare at her shoes.

"There doesn't have to be, but there is...I can tell…"

"Kohaku we lost control of that situation on the river SO fast," she spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Miyu could have gotten hurt, we all could have gotten hurt, and none of us even noticed what was going on until it was too late. I couldn't do anything but be a burden and that doesn't feel very good."

"Rin you shouldn't feel like you're a burden."

"Please don't tell me how to feel," she chuckled the words, bothered by the thought that Kohaku didn't trust her with herself. "I know you don't want me to feel bad, but you can't keep protecting me from myself."

"I'm not-"

"Really?" Rin questioned. "At the healers hut and at the inn, I did something that bugged you and you won't even tell me what it was, because you don't think I can handle it don't you?" she scoffed the question, and Kohaku visible tensed.

"That was different," he defended, knowing that it was his own fears that kept him from telling her the details of that night. "You had taken that herb, and it made you loopy."

"Even if I was, don't you think I can handle something I said," Rin rubbed her temples and growled. "I feel like everybody always assumes that I can't handle something. That just because I am nice and...weak, that I need to be protected from everything including myself. I think if I can handle anything, it would be my own feelings…" Rin's raised voice trickled low and she whipped the tears forming in her eyes.

"Rin you aren't weak...you are so far from weak," Kohaku sounded pained and he tried to catch her gaze but her eyes were trained on the tear stains spotting the dirt beneath her. "I didn't tell you about that day because…" he hesitated. "...In truth I am weaker than you, and I was scared," she finally looked up at him and it was his turn to look away.

"When I found you by the river that day you were nearly unconscious, but you hugged me...and you told me that you loved me," he let the words quiver from his lips, but even with the sound of the water beside them it sounded to him, like he had yelled them. "I was so happy and then we kissed, which isn't that weird, but I wanted it to be more. And I started t-to touch and...it got...heated, but...you passed out and then...I didn't know if it was you or the herb. I felt so guilty, and I thought if you knew you would hate me."

He stumbled over his words, but they came through clearly to Rin. She inhaled sharply and Kohaku expected to see tears, but was surprised to see her smiling for the first time since they arrived.

"You're right we are both pretty lame," Rin giggled, clasping her hand around his, entwining their fingers and squeezing. "I wish you would have told me sooner, but I can tell you for sure that it wasn't just the herb. I suppose I never actually said it before, but...I love you."

Kohaku's heart thumped in his chest, but it clenched at her words and he felt like he had to remember how to breath.

"Me too, Rin" he raised their locked hands and kissed her fingertips that were gripping the back of his knuckles. She smiled and he took the opportunity to pull her closer, kissing away the hot tears streaming down her cheek. He paused lingering for a moment before letting his lips press to hers and reveling in the taste as she returned the gesture.

"I'm glad you didn't...Kohaku," some of Rin's words sounded lost as they parted, her breath shallow from their kiss. "I would want to remember what it feels like when you touch me," she whispered sweetly in his ear pulling her hand free and clasping it around his wrist guiding his palm to rest on her breast.

"Rin-?" Kohaku raised his eyes to hers and she placed a finger to his mouth, silencing him.

"You don't have to be afraid. There are no herbs this time," she kissed him again quickly breaking free and trailing her fingertips across his cheek. "You don't have to question what I want," she wrapped her arm around his neck and resumed their embrace with a certainty, deepening their kiss and falling eagerly into the passion.

Kohaku didn't argue, gently cupping the soft rise of her chest and letting his boldness push aside the fabric of her kimono. Rin moaned as flesh touched flesh, the cloth falling away and Kohaku's attention sending his lips trailing down her chin and neck to the soft pink of her nipples. She felt her temperature rising the blood flushing to her cheeks as she pulled away his clothes in response.

She was cautious not to damage the neatly bound bandages tapped onto his body and he assisted her in removing the garment, tearing it away without a thought of his wounds. Using his discarded shirt as bedding he laid her gently to the soft earth, running his hands down the length of her body before his fingers found the wetness between her thighs. She gasped, letting him probe further, solidifying her yearning with each motion.

Kohaku's nerves made him shake, he barely felt he could keep himself steady as he hovered above her arms placed beside either side of her head. She smiled up at him pushing her hand beneath his and binding them together as they bond with each other. When he entered her it left a feeling that was foreign but sweet. Her body welcomed him, melting away the fears and the weakness and leaving only love to bubble and swell within. His motions pushing their heartbeats faster in a rhythm and she knew in the moment of his ecstasy that she was where she needed to be. Where she wanted to be.

Rin felt herself smile as she lay across his chest listening to the thumping slow with every breath. Kohaku looked at peace, the previous anguish painted on his face evaporated as he buried his nose into her hair.

"Kohaku you don't have to try so hard, I'll make sure to protect you too," she whispered and felt his lips thin into a smile as they pressed softly to her forehead.

"I know you will," she laid heavy across him, yet he felt his heart lighten with her words. He had been through so much in his life, he lost so much, yet for her his affection only grew. The uncertainties that piled on his shoulders everyday, she seemed to brush away with smile. He found himself forgetting sometimes that her resolve masked her own doubts, but he would never make that mistake again. If she could be clarity for him, then he could do the same for her and he would do that for as long as he is able.


Once again I hope you guys had a great holiday. I will try to update as soon as I have the next chapter written. As always feel free to leave comments, critiques or reviews I would love to read them.

Until next time :)

-ErynBenae