Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha

Chapter 21

"Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken moaned, "where are you?"

Oblivious to the beautiful day, the toad continued to pace the track he had worn in the ground, occasionally glancing toward an empty grassy area. There was nothing unusual about the trees, or the grass that the little demon watched so intently. To the casual observer, the toad might have seemed unbalanced as he walked around muttering to himself.

The blue sky was brushed with a few wispy clouds that looked as though they had been painted there. A warm breeze blew through the autumn foliage carrying a few brilliantly colored leaves along its currents. Jaken noticed none of this. His lord had been gone for almost 48 hours, and the void had not reopened since. Jaken was one very worried toad. It was true that Jaken was demon, but he was a small demon. His accustomed lifestyle depended on his lord's return. The toad shivered at the though of going on without Lord Sesshomaru. He couldn't imagine serving any other Lord.

Distracted by the possibility of life without Lord Sesshomaru, Jaken failed to notice the void reopen.

"Jaken." Jaken started violently at the familiar voice. "I would think some response to the return of your lord might be warranted."

"Lord Sesshomaru! I am so relieved you are back!" Jaken barely managed to contain the tears of joy that were threatening to spill over as he approached the demon lord. Stopping in front of his master, the toad plunged his beak-like nose into the ground, delighted to offer some world-class groveling. That is until he perceived that his lord was dressed completely in black, save for his pelt.

"My lord, what happened to your clothes?" He blurted. Any further questions were cut short as his lord's foot landed on his head, shoving his beak into the soft green grass. "Forgive me my lord, I meant no offense." came the muffled voice.

Paying no further attention to his servant, Sesshomaru motioned to Ah-Un, the two-headed dragon, who was contentedly grazing nearby.

The demon's plans were sidetracked as Rin launched herself at Jaken, catching him in the strangle hold that she considered a hug. "Master Jaken, I am so happy to see you!" She squealed, squeezing the poor toad until his eyes bulged.

"Rin you foolish child, release me at once." Jaken complained, secretly relieved to see her safe. "Really, his lordship goes to all the trouble of saving you and..." the toad's voice caught in his throat, "Rin, your eyes." He whispered, staring into eyes that no longer looked human.

"What about my eyes?" Rin asked curiously. Jaken backed away. The child's soft brown eyes had streams of silver etched into them. She looked and acted like Rin, but those eyes didn't belong to the child he knew.

"Rin, you will ride Ah-Uh with Jaken." Sesshomaru's calm command shook the toad out of his stupor. Looking to his lord, he saw warning in the deceptively calm golden eyes.

Turning his attention away from the two climbing onto the dragon, Sesshomaru held out his hand to Thryss who had been watching the exchange. Her eyes dropped to the hand, then narrowed. Returning his gaze with a challenging one of her own, Thryss pivoted on her heel and marched over to Kephren. Stubborn female, the demon grumbled to himself. She was still extremely weak after healing Rin. She needed food and rest, and she needed them soon. So, of course, her pride would prevent her from accepting anything that could be construed as aid. Sesshomaru sighed in exasperation, why couldn't she ever do anything the easy way.

"You will travel with me." He informed her.

"Why would she choose you when I am here?" Kephren inquired.

"I was not addressing you." The demon snapped dismissively.

"Aarrrgghhh...Lord Sesshomaru, why did you bring that vile creature back with you?" The horror in Jaken's voice, caught Kephren's attention.

"I didn't bring it. It followed me." Sesshomaru said irritably.

Kephren watched in amusement as the toad discovered him looking at it, and immediately lost its balance, slipping from the dragon's back. Scrambling desperately, he slowly slid, then tumbled the rest of the way down the dragon's green scales. As Jaken hit the ground with a squishy sounding plop, Kephren watched the toad's warty green legs flail frantically as he tried to untangle himself from his long robes.

Turning his attention from the distraught toad to the demon, he protested, "I am wounded! I thought we had bonded, but now I see I must start all over again." Widening his silver eyes dramatically, Kephren stared with anticipation at the demon.

"Bonded? With you?" Sesshomaru snorted. "You must have lost what little intelligence you had left when we went through that last gate." Dismissing the Talisian, he began to summon the energy he would need to travel.

Indifferent to the growing anger in the demon's eyes, Kephren came up beside him, a mischievous glint in the silver eyes.

A loud explosion, immediately followed by the sound of falling trees, and a cloud of dust, caught their attention. Sesshomaru groaned, bringing his thumb and forefinger up to rub the bridge of his nose. He was cursed. That's what it was, he was cursed. Cracking open his eyes slightly, he could see that the Talisian was watching him, curiosity filling the silver eyes. The demon racked his brain for a way to avoid the ridiculous situation he was about to find himself in.

"My lord, that explosion was caused by Tetsusaiga. Lord Inu Yasha must be near." Jaken exclaimed, unaware of the murderous look his lord was now aiming at him.

"Inu Yasha?" Kephren asked. Anything that could annoy the arrogant demon even from a distance was worthy of investigation.

"He is Lord Sesshomaru's worthless younger brother." Jaken announced, puffing out his chest proud to be the source of this information.

"What is a brother?" The Talisian inquired.

Rin had jumped off Ah-Un, the better to be in the midst of what was going on. "A brother is the another child that belong to your mother and father." She was pleased to be able to instructed him.

"A blood relative?" Kephren inquired.

"Yes." Rin said, grinning happily at how easily he had grasped the concept.

Sesshomaru inwardly cringed. He could see a flash of red as his younger brother raced toward him. Normally he would be inclined to teach the whelp a lesson; but he had no desire to deal just now with both his idiotic brother and the Talisian, who was watching him with rapt attention.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What is it?" Kogome's delicate raven brows, drew into a worried frown. She watched as the boy with puppy-dog ears, sniffed the air.

He grunted in answer, staring intently past the tree-line.

"Inu Yasha!" Fuzzy ears twitched uneasily at her sharp tone.

"What?" The boy called Inu Yasha may have been cute, but his manners weren't

"I asked you what was the matter." The school girl said pronouncing each word slowly and distinctly, just to make sure he clearly understood.

The small foot tapping an annoyed staccato against the dirt road, belied her seemly patient demeanor. Inu Yasha, well aware of the girl's unpredictable temper, hesitated a moment too long as he tried to figure out what the right answer was.

Stomping up to boy, she stared threateningly into his inhumanly golden eyes. Sucking in a breath, Kogome prayed for patience. "Why is it so difficult to answer one simple question?"

The soft ears tilted backwards, showing he felt himself properly chastised, "Sesshomaru is close by." he told brusquely.

Kogome gasped, a sickening feeling of terror, knotting the muscles of her stomach. "Sesshomaru is here?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah." The boy rasped, narrowing his slit-pupiled eyes at the forest. "I had better find out what he wants." he decided. Straightening up, earing facing forward, a determined look settled on his face. The brilliant sunlight soaked into the red clothing giving him a warm glow, as the breeze lifted his long pale hair. The school girl sighed somewhat romantically at the picture he made. That is until he turned his attention back to her, a confused look replacing the previous one.

"You look weird. You feeling okay?"

Stupid Inu Yasha. She groused to herself. He didn't have a romantic bone in his body. Just her luck. Seeing her grumpy look, he shrugged, moving toward the tree line, to unsheath the powerful sword he had inherited from his father. Sliding out of the scabbard, the rusty dented, chipped blade was a disgrace to swords everywhere. Until whatever power that resided within the boy flowed into the blade. The scared metal expanded into a massive blade that shined brightly in the sunlight. The once ratty handle elongated, its now perfect shaft disappearing into a hilt made of pristine white fur. The sword was easily as long as the boy was tall, but despite its monstrous size, he wielded it effortlessly.

Raising the sword, he swung it in a wide sweeping arc. Calling out the sword's name, powerful energy rushed from the blade, clearing a path through the dense forest.

"Wait I am coming with you." The school girl called, her strange clothing showing far too much of her bare legs as she ran over to him.

"No you ain't" The boy said gruffly, "You know how Sesshomaru is. I don't need to be worrying about you getting hurt."

The girls pretty face took on a mulish expression, "I am going." She said with finality.

"No, you aren't!" The boy argued. He knew it was futile, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

"I'm coming with you, and that's that." She gave him a challenging look, daring him to try and stop her.

Knowing if he didn't allow her to accompany him, she would just follow, the boy crouched down so that she could climb onto his back. Hooking his arms under her knees, he took off in the direction of the scent he had smelled earlier.

They traveled through the forest with amazing speed, passing through the tree's faster than any human could have. Of course being half-demon, the boy had some unusual abilities.

As they cleared the trees, Kogome could make out the long pale hair of Inu Yasha's older brother. She frowned as she noticed the black clothing.

"Hey Inu Yasha, why is Sesshomaru wearing black?" She asked, she had never seen him wear anything than the white silk.

"I don't know." He answered. The change of clothes unsettled the boy. His older brother was notoriously vain when it came to his appearance. Sesshomaru never wore anything besides the white silk. What had happened to change things, since the last time they had met?

Authors Note: Yeah, my editor is back from the beach!

ArizonaBay...Where are youuuuu? You are the reason I didn't give up after the first few chapters! Please don't stop reviewing :(

Mistress Ayako – Thanks for the encouragement, I was floundering without my editor. Keep reading, I will answer your questions in the next chapter or two.

Rhetorical-Ducky – Thryss actually was an idea I had for an entirely different character, who was half human/ half alien. I am not sure if I can explain why it suddenly seemed like it would work with the Inu Yasha universe, but I thought-what if this character had been Rin? After all, if Rin had been raised under vastly different circumstances, she would be much different than the child Sesshomaru had known- the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Not to mention, I haven't seen another story with this idea. So...I worked up my courage and gave it a shot. Okay, sorry for the long explanation. :)