A/N: I know it was implied in the original Inuyasha series that Kagome couldn't go back and forth anymore and she was choosing to stay in the Feudal Era forever, but it was never stated outright. For the sake of this story, we're going with the position she can still do it.

Chapter 13- Calling in Reinforcements

Sure enough, by the next morning Rin was completely withdrawn into herself once again. Her temporary, small rally from the night before had vanished without a trace, and she was back to riding A-Un with a blank expression; Sesshomaru reminded himself of the glimpse he'd caught of her spirit, mentally repeating again and again that she still existed, that she wasn't lost to him yet- the question was, how did he bring her back? For the next few days, he made sure to coax her from the dragon's back at least once daily to have her walk alongside him for a distance; if she declined his offer, the demon lord placed his hand on the saddle in front of Rin and kept pace with A-Un, silently trying to convey that he was there for her.

Thinking about how the young woman had come to life a little more when he'd held her, Sesshomaru tried to make himself reach out and take her hand or grasp her shoulder…but for some reason his arms would not cooperate now. They felt leaden at his sides, and it was an effort just to get a grip on the saddle. What if she didn't want the attention? What if he did the wrong thing? He reasoned that his limbs not responding as he wanted them to was simply a manifestation of his rational mind trying to prevent embarrassment for either of them (the phrase "lost his nerve" didn't even exist in Sesshomaru's personal vocabulary, therefore he never considered the idea as a possible explanation).

When it had almost been an entire month since the start of all this, Sesshomaru knew he would have to push harder to get Rin on the road to recovery. This was clearly not an ailment that could fade with time unaided, and apparently his taking to walking beside the girl each day was not enough. One evening after Rin had finished eating her dinner and was in the process of rolling out her blanket, the demon lord made his move, rather literally- he sat down on the cloth so she was unable to crawl underneath it and hide from him.

"Rin," he said as gently as possible, "I think perhaps you need to talk about what happened."

The young woman's countenance first turned pale at the mere hint of the subject before transforming to a dark shade of crimson, no doubt mortified at the very idea of discussing matters at any level of detail with him. She shook her head and kept her eyes on the ground.

"No thank you, Lord Sesshomaru."

He would not be deterred that quickly.

"We have to do something about this. You haven't improved at all."

The girl sat on the ground in front of him and miserably clasped her hair. "How is one supposed to recover from something like this?" she mumbled.

Sesshomaru scooted forward off the blanket till his knees were just touching hers.

Closeness, remember, closeness, he commanded, daring his resisting legs to defy his will.

"Obviously, being mute all day and doing nothing is not the way," he said as kindly as he could. "Perhaps…perhaps talking through what happened will get things, get the memories…." He was completely blanking for the words he wanted, and at last put his hands up in exasperation. "What is that phrase humans say when they want the weight of a situation gone?"

"Get it off my chest?" the young woman offered after a moment's consideration.

"Yes, that's it."

Rin rested her elbows on her cross-legged knees and looked at her companion resignedly. "I appreciate your wish to help me, Lord Sesshomaru, really I do."

Her gaze trailed off into the bushes and she seemed to have no intention of returning to the discussion. Sesshomaru reached over and jiggled her hand a little to bring her attention back.

"It isn't weakness to admit you're scared; I think no less of you after everything that happened."

"That's not it." Rin sighed. "I just don't think you can help me."

That almost hurt. She doubted his ability to care for her? In a valiant show of willpower over the unnamed malady when it came to making contact, Sesshomaru swiftly took both Rin's hands in his own and held them close to his heart; she looked back at him with wide, unblinking eyes while her mouth helplessly made a few short unintelligible sounds.

"Do you not trust me?" the demon asked slowly, staring into those brown wells of untold depth.

This question broke his spell somewhat, as Rin relaxed a little and attempted to give him a comforting smile (she almost succeeded).

"Oh Lord Sesshomaru, I'll always trust you," she answered sympathetically. "It's just that a situation like this…you won't know what to say in return."

"So, you now know everything I'll ever say to you?"

"I can't talk about this with you," the young woman insisted earnestly. "I have a million emotions pressing on me from every angle, and I need someone who can understand what those emotions feel like, and give me advice accordingly!"

Sesshomaru let their hands drop to his lap but he still held on, hardly even aware he was doing so. Normally Rin would at least let him try to help her in a situation when she needed it, even if it turned out he couldn't succeed (such as the time he attempted tying her hair back for her when her hands were muddy and he simply made an enormous knot), but he couldn't even recall the last time she had refused to let herself be talked into him trying.

"I have advised you many times over the years, Rin. Surely if you spoke your thoughts aloud I could offer at least some form of counsel…."

Rin huffed with irritation. "I don't WANT to talk to you about it! It's embarrassing! This is girl stuff, okay? You can't possibly understand it, so please just leave me alone!"

She was asking him to leave her alone; Rin didn't want to talk to him. It was stunning. Sesshomaru sat there for a total two minutes simply staring at the young woman, his finely-honed mind utterly lost as to what he should do next. This human worshipped him like no other, trailed after him like a puppy…she had deserted her own kind for him, for heavens' sake!

Her pain must be even deeper than I assumed, the demon realized. Only absolute despair could drive her to this point.

If her suffering really was so complete, then she was right when she said he couldn't help her; Sesshomaru prided himself on having evolved the skills necessary to overall properly interact with a human- and a female one at that, which he had heard was exceptionally difficult -but this was something beyond him. He was not sufficient for such a task.

Very well. If I cannot help her directly, then I must find help for her from another source; her heart is what's been wounded the most deeply, and that is the hardest of all to heal…heal…."

The last word rang in his mind with significance. Healing…girl stuff…girl. The answer was so obvious Sesshomaru could almost have laughed at his blindness for overlooking what was right in front of him. He rose, Rin's hands still enclosed with his, and led her to A-Un.

"I thought we were making camp?" the young woman wondered as she let him help her mount the dragon.

"No, we're marching through the night: we have a priestess to find."

The expression on Inuyasha's face when he opened the door could not seem to settle on one emotion to reflect: first there was shock and surprise, then a sharp descent towards a disgusted scowl- but this was interrupted halfway through by hesitancy to scorn the one who saved Kagome's life, which invited a look of overall confusion to take up residence. It was a full fifteen seconds afterwards before the half-demon finally managed to get out a sentence.

"What are you doing here?"

The question wasn't presented in an overly hostile tone.

"I must speak with Kagome."

Inuyasha glanced back inside the house. "She's kinda busy right now; we're about to leave to visit her family."

Again, he didn't sound nearly as aggressive as he had in the past.

He must really be determined to turn over a new leaf towards me. We'll see how long that lasts.

"It is a matter of great urgency," Sesshomaru continued, keeping the irritation out of his tone not for the courtesy of responding in kind, but for the sake of getting Rin the help she needed.

Kagome chose this moment to appear within the doorway, and the demon lord directed his attention towards her.

"Your help is required for a most important task," he informed her before she could so much as greet him.

"What's going on?" Kagome inquired curiously.

"I wish to speak to you alone."

Inuyasha began to look a little suspicious. "Hey, what's so important that I can't-?"

"Inuyasha, hush," his wife responded, stepping outside. "I'm sure it won't take long."

The priestess followed Sesshomaru around the corner of the house, her head turning back and forth, and it was clear she was expecting to see Rin nearby.

"She's keeping A-Un company over in that field," Sesshomaru explained, waving vaguely in the general direction.

"Oh. I thought she'd be with you."

"She isn't doing anything she normally would, not right now."

With that, Sesshomaru gave a clipped summary of the circumstances that had led to Rin's recent abnormal behavior. Kagome listened with growing horror at every second, her hands initially covering her mouth before moving on to encompass almost the entire lower half of her face; her eyes welled up with sympathetic tears, and by the end of the story her face was so drenched it looked like she'd been attacked by a fountain.

"…I realize this is not something I can help her through, and I thought as a fellow woman, you may be able to offer her guidance and help her move on," Sesshomaru finished.

Kagome pulled out a little white square and blew her nose thoroughly. "Of course, of course, I'll do everything humanly possible." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "My family's expecting us, and Grandpa will worry if we don't show up; he'll imagine a whole host of terrible things that must have happened, and he'll exhaust Mom and Sota…."

The young woman mulled the situation over for a minute or two. Sesshomaru could practically hear Inuyasha's impatience inside the house, wondering what in the world was being discussed.

"I bet Mom wouldn't mind if she had two extra guests," Kagome said at last, smiling brightly. "Getting Rin away from this world for a little while might help her forget things somewhat, plus I can talk to her a lot better when I don't have to deal with villagers interrupting about their various woes."

Sesshomaru remained expressionless. She was suggesting he and Rin travel through the mysterious well to Kagome's strange world? What was it like there? Would Rin be safe? The priestess seemed eerily attuned to his thoughts.

"She'll be perfectly safe. And my mom might have some good advice too; she's very sweet and comforting."

Well, if it meant Rin stood a better chance at recovering….

"When are you leaving?"

Kagome grinned. "I was just finishing packing Izayoi's diaper bag when you came. Another five minutes and we'll be ready!"

She spun and hurried into her home; ten seconds later, there was an incredulous squawk from the resident half-demon. Sesshomaru decided to seek out his charge and let Kagome sort out the indignant Inuyasha. The demon lord found A-Un still munching away on the grass, while Rin detachedly stared off into the trees she had climbed and swung from not so long ago. Without a word Sesshomaru drew her off the dragon's back, placed her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, and moved off for the well; occasionally when she was a small child he had carried her this way when she was tired or injured and A-Un was not around, but it had not been necessary for a long time now.

Why am I doing this? She's perfectly capable of walking a half mile on her own.

He couldn't put his finger on the reason- this just felt like the right thing to do. Maybe he wanted to let her know he was still looking after her, or maybe he just wanted to feel useful…he honestly wasn't sure. Nothing was said over the course of the trip: Sesshomaru kept his hands braced behind the girl's lower back and shoulders, and Rin silently gazed behind them over his shoulder. In a short time they reached their destination, and the demon lord gently set his burden down on the edge of the Bone Eater's well. Rin examined the wood beneath her, clearly trying to ascertain why they were there, but at last she raised her head to give her companion a searching look.

"We're going through to Kagome's world."

The young woman gasped slightly. "We can do that?"

"Apparently."

"I've always wondered what it was like over there," Rin murmured, glancing into the abyss that yawned out behind her. "She tried describing it to me, but I never could quite imagine what exactly a lot of it was."

It was a shame. At another time, Rin would have been jumping up and down at the chance to finally be seeing this fabled place, but now she only seemed mildly interested.

"Why are we going there?"

Sesshomaru watched the two figures materializing between the trees not too far off. "She thinks it will help you."

Kagome and Inuyasha moved into the clearing. The half-demon had been almost swallowed alive by the mass of travel bags strapped all over his person, and he cast a doubtful squint at the baby his wife was blithely carrying.

"Are you sure she'll need all this stuff?" he panted.

"You have to be prepared for every kind of emergency, especially with an infant!"

"Kagome, how are we going to get through?" Rin asked as the newcomers reached the well. "I thought only you and Inuyasha could do it."

"Well, I've been practicing to strengthen my spiritual powers a lot since I settled in the village; it's taken a long time, but I've developed them enough that I can transport someone with me. I have to "recharge" for a few minutes after, but I'm sure I can get both of you in two trips."

The priestess handed Izayoi to the baby's father before holding her hand out to Rin, who sent a hesitant look to Sesshomaru. The demon nodded reassuringly.

"I will follow shortly; I promise."

Tentatively, Rin laced her fingers with Kagome's, and on the count of three the party jumped into the well. Sesshomaru watched as they were engulfed by the darkness, though shortly after he lost sight of them there was a brief flare of light, which he presumed was the gateway opening between the worlds. He wondered if he could pass through on his own; after all, Inuyasha used to pop in and out of this very well all the time when Kagome still lived on the other side. Sesshomaru was the mightiest demon on all the earth- why couldn't he command this flimsy wooden box to obey him?

The demon lord drew himself up and leaped into the well, dropping down into the shadows, noting that they didn't seem as dark as they had when the others came through moments ago. He concentrated on the nearing ground, willing it to part for him, threatening it with multiple lacerations from Bakusaiga if it did not yield…his feet touched hard dirt. Sesshomaru scowled at the earth, still mentally telling it to cooperate. The dirt stared back at him with its bland, dusty face, and the demon lord huffily returned to the surface.

It must have something to do with Inuyasha's connection to the priestess, he mused. That mutt certainly does not possess powers beyond my own.

He waited for what felt a lifetime for Kagome to return. He swore the breeze passing by laughed at him, taunting the most powerful being in the realm for having to rely on a puny human to transport him somewhere. At long last he caught a familiar scent, and Kagome cheerfully climbed halfway out of the hole.

"All right, I'm ready now. Come on in!"

Sesshomaru reluctantly allowed her to hold a small part of his sleeve, and they jumped. Everything was definitely darker than it had been when he'd tried this by himself, and the inky blackness soon swallowed them up. It seemed to Sesshomaru almost as if they were suspended in midair rather than they were falling anymore, but he couldn't be sure; there was an unearthly glow surrounding them now that stretched out endlessly, the confines of the well walls nonexistent. After a few more seconds the glow faded away, and Sesshomaru was standing on solid ground once again at the bottom of the well, but when he looked up there was a roof over the entrance. He drew a breath and was instantly assaulted by a hundred different scents, most of which he did not recognize; he was becoming less and less sure about this whole idea.

They emerged from the little temple into bright sunlight, which was tripled in strength due to the midday rays bouncing off the white ground that surrounded them in all directions; the resulting glare was almost blinding. Sesshomaru looked down at the strange flat substance beneath his feet: it was hard as stone, yet it was one solid, smooth piece. He had never seen anything like it.

"Come on, everybody's inside the house," Kagome announced, skipping towards what the demon lord assumed was her family's domicile.

There were the familiar sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling through the leafy trees as they walked, but something else droned in the background beyond the property; it was a dull hum, punctuated by slightly louder bursts of noise from time to time, and it seemed to be continuous without ever pausing for breath. Surely even the largest herd of strange animals could not make such a ruckus without some momentary halt, occasionally? Sesshomaru gave another sniff: no, there were no animals nearby at all. There was an acrid tang in the air quality, and he wondered if it was some sort of byproduct from whatever made the noise.

"I'm sure your keen senses are going into overdrive right now," the priestess said sympathetically, her brow furrowing a little as she looked back at her trailing companion. "I wondered how it would affect you."

"It is a wonder your species hasn't choked to death on these…these fumes."

The young woman gave a slight sad nod. "You must be smelling the exhaust from the cars. I can't distinguish it until I'm down in the thick of traffic, but of course you'd notice it even from this distance. Don't worry, it isn't in the house…well, I would think you couldn't smell it there. Mom's usually got a candle or two going at any given time."

They stepped into the house. Inuyasha was lugging the various bags away while an elderly man cooed over the baby; a kind-faced woman finished pouring a cup of tea for Rin before crossing the room to smile up at the towering newcomer.

"You must be Sesshomaru! It's so nice to finally meet you. Would you care for a drink?"

The demon lord declined with a quarter-turn of his head. The elderly man on the couch looked up from his tickling and face-making.

"Sesshomaru? Isn't that the name of the brother Inuyasha can't st-"

"So Grandpa, what have you been up to lately?" Kagome declared hurriedly, plopping down beside her relative.

Sesshomaru looked around at the controlled chaos. Was there no place he could withdraw to shield himself from all the chatter?

Remember, you're here for Rin. You couldn't exactly let her come to some foreign world without you; you can't think about yourself right now.

He made his way to Rin, who was situated in a chair with her tea, her curiosity overpowering the lethargic mourning for the time being.

"There are so many lights," she informed the demon once he was closer. "And they're in the ceiling!"

There certainly were a number of strange things to gawk at. The walls had color, multiple pieces of furniture dotted the room, entirely foreign cooking smells drifted through the air…and there was an animal in the house as if it were perfectly natural! The cat got within a few feet of Sesshomaru and instantly raised his hackles, hissing and spitting before making a mad dash through the doorway to seek refuge from the intruding canine presence. The dog demon was nonplussed, though several of the humans seemed to find things rather amusing.

Before long Sesshomaru found himself on his own. Kagome took Rin away to show her the house, Inuyasha wandered into the kitchen after his mother-in-law, and the grandfather went outside to tend to his shrine. Without his agenda of conquering the world the demon lord realized he had nothing to occupy his time, and he certainly had no desire to explore the smelly outdoors. He wandered the abandoned living room for a while, pausing to observe the framed pictures littered about; a likeness impossibly accurate of Kagome smiled out of quite a few frames, and one large display of a majestic lone mountain peak was so real the observer swore it was a window, but a glance around the corner to the other side of the wall revealed the puzzling fact that only more of the house lay beyond.

I think I will understand humans even less after this whole ordeal, Sesshomaru sighed to himself.

Things didn't improve much over the next few days. Rin was rarely glimpsed at all, between Kagome introducing her to a hundred of her world's marvels and the young women holing up in the bedroom to talk for hours on end. Sesshomaru was encouraged by the occasional little laugh he heard drift from his ward, but far more often he was aware of crying and sobbing spilling under the closed door. The Lady Higurashi (he didn't know how else to address her) was most generous with her tea and snacks, seeming to always home in on when Rin was reaching the zenith of her distress and appearing with a fresh tray when it was needed most. The demon lord was very grateful for her selfless assistance, so he declined her meals far more graciously than he normally would when a human offered him food.

Inuyasha spent most of the time holding his daughter, whether he was simply cradling her while she slept, or bouncing her braced against his shoulder, or making odd noises and tickling her feet. The baby was mercifully well-behaved overall, though she still fussed far too much for Sesshomaru's liking. There was a never-ending line of people ready to take care of Izayoi; indeed, she seemed to be the star of the visit, in many ways. She appeared to the demon lord no different from any other annoying infant, though Kagome's brother Sota assured him she was far better than most.

Perhaps that is her noble blood showing.

Sesshomaru tried not to dwell too long on Izayoi's lineage, knowing stewing over the old issue wouldn't change things one iota, but it was still hard to accept he now had a relative that was three-quarters human. What would his father say, were he alive?

"He'd probably want to hold her as much as Inuyasha," he muttered in disgust.

Kagome strolled into the living room, her arm around Rin's shoulders while her other hand affectionately tousled the younger girl's hair.

"We're going out to show Rin the town," the priestess declared gaily. "We'll probably be gone several hours."

"Lord Sesshomaru, would you like to come with us?"

"I must decline the invitation, but thank you all the same, Rin."

Rin's face fell, but she nodded. "Of course."

Kagome sent the seated demon a brief angry glare, but quickly dropped it before her companion noticed. "Don't worry, we'll have more fun without him anyway."

In a matter of minutes the two girls and Inuyasha were gone, and the house was noticeably more quiet. The lone figure in white sat unmoving for a long while on the couch, wondering once again what in the world people here did to entertain themselves. Lady Higurashi entered the room in time, bearing her sleeping granddaughter and a plate of brown circles.

"Oh, Sesshomaru! Did you not go with the others?" she asked pleasantly as she settled in a nearby chair.

"I have no desire to mingle with any more humans than necessary," the demon returned.

The woman nodded understandingly. "Rin was telling me about your preference for seclusion. She is such a delightful girl, by the way; I'm so sorry about what happened to her."

"Is she any better?"

Lady Higurashi pondered the question carefully before answering. "I believe she may have turned a corner this morning; we had a long talk just the two of us, and I told her about some of the terrible things I went through in the past. It wasn't the exact same situation, mind you, but I think I helped connect some dots for her. After all," she laughed lightly, "Kagome is very wise for her age, but there are some things only experience can teach you."

Sesshomaru gave a slight nod. "I am indebted to you for your kindness."

"You made the right choice in coming here; I think a retreat like this is just what Rin needs to help reset the board." She held out the plate. "Cookie?"

"No, thank you."

Izayoi shifted in her blanket and made a slight smacking noise with her lips, then continued to drift in her slumber. Lady Higurashi cuddled the child close and kissed her forehead. She was a noble woman, Sesshomaru had decided, clothed in quiet strength and an unassuming dignity befitting of a benevolent queen; she seemed bred of entirely different stock compared to the rabble of other mortals he'd encountered over the centuries.

"Rin really wanted you to go with her," she said gently, looking up from her charge.

"She always spends her time with me; it will be good for her to have a change of company for a while."

"At any other time, I think that would be a fine idea, but not now." Lady Higurashi gave him a steady gaze. "Rin is incredibly vulnerable right now, and she looks to you as her rock; she needs the comfort of having you close by, especially while she's in a foreign world unlike anything she could have ever imagined."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying she is in danger out there?"

"No, no, she's perfectly safe." Her voice took on an even kinder tone. "You have to understand that women, especially one as sweet-natured as Rin, won't always reach out for the comfort they want. You have to take note of her behavior and react accordingly, even if she doesn't tell you what she's thinking."

The demon lord frowned slightly. Hadn't he been doing that more and more as the young woman stayed with him longer? He thought he had gotten to be fairly attuned to reading her desires.

"I know hustle and bustle makes you uncomfortable, but to really be there for Rin you need to reach out and let her know you care; if there's something she wants to do, you should try as best you can to do it with her. It will make all the difference, I promise."

The clock on the wall ticked, and somewhere far beyond the house walls a mongrel dog barked. What was Rin doing right now? Was she enjoying herself? Sesshomaru was beginning to wonder if perhaps he should have gone with her after all, if for no other reason than to avoid being bored to death.

"Do you think her spirit will recover?" he asked at last in a very low tone.

Lady Higurashi was surprisingly emphatic. "Yes, I do. It will take time, but she will come back from this." She gave her companion another insightful look. "Of course, she'll need your help. As time goes by, you must make sure your desire to heal her does not lessen; she'll reach the point where she no longer outwardly appears broken, but inside she will still be hurting to a certain extent. Do all you can to let her know you care."

The woman rose from her seat with a smile, taking Izayoi with her. She slid the plate of cookies further down the table as she passed.

"They're chocolate chip; you really should try one."

She left the room and headed away down the hall, presumably to put the baby in her crib. Sesshomaru eyed the plate for a minute before cautiously picking up one of the semi-pliable flour discs, sniffing it with suspicion; it didn't seem particularly menacing. He had every intention of putting the cookie back down, but his curiosity was aroused as he caught a whiff of something sweet that actually seemed rather pleasurable. He glanced down the empty hall, and then hesitantly bit off a chunk…then another about ten seconds later…as he finished and reached for a second, he had to admit that for human food…these were not bad at all.