Chapter 21:

Shaya walked with Rin through the village, letting her skip hand-in-hand with her. Mama was very quiet, and that made Rin worry. Walking slowly she let Rin gather all the flowers that she wanted to, even helping to put them in her hands.

"What's wrong Mama?"

She was silent for another moment, but she did answer. "Sesshomaru-sama hasn't been near the village in a little while sweetheart, and it's making me worry a little." Oh. Rin could understand that. She missed Sesshomaru-sama too. He hadn't visited with Rin since they had sat with him on that blanket and he had fed them bear. It had been a while since then, and the bear had officially been eaten.

"You miss Sesshomaru-sama?" Mama smiled down at her, squeezing her hand.

"Hai, baby."

"I miss him too. Do you think that he would like to have my new flowers? We could make him necklaces again." Shaya wore a smile now, which made her feel a lot better, safer. It was always wonderful when she smiled. She was so pretty and tall, it was almost like Sesshomaru-sama. That thought made her giggle again and earned a curious look from Shaya.

"I'm sure that your flowers will be wonderful." Mama laughed softly. They were wandering a little away from the village, and they could hear laughter. Looking away from Mama Rin could see children playing in the flower fields as they raced around each other. She stopped, hearing Shaya sigh. "Rin? What's wrong sweetie?"

"They're playing."

Shaya had her eyes on the other children too. "Do you want to go play with them? I'm sure they'd let you." She shook her head, hugging closer to Mama's legs. The last village that she'd lived in they had made fun of her because she lived in a dirty hut and was an orphan. "Rin…"

"Rin can play with you, Mama." She kneeled down by Rin, touching her face gently. "What do you want to play? We could go and find Lord Inuyasha, maybe he would like Rin's flowers." Mama looked worried.

"You don't have to be afraid Rin." Shaya was pushing her hair back from her face. "You know, I want you to grow up as normal as you can be for someone who's spent so much time away from humans. I think it would be good for you to go play with them." Mama must be really confused. Besides, Rin was much happier playing with her instead. She always played Rin's games and she was fun.

"But Rin doesn't want to. Mama can play better."

Shaya bit her lip for a few moments. "Would you like me to go introduce you to them? I'll stay around. Mama won't go anywhere." Rin considered this. Reaching up she patted Mama Shaya's cheek for a moment to comfort her like she did to her. Maybe it would be fun to play with those other humans and Mama too. Mama would keep them from being mean to her if she were there.

"Ok, but only if Mama stays too." She was very nervous and her heart was pounding. But Shaya's face lit up and she kissed Rin's cheeks several times and Rin couldn't help but to smile back at her.

"I'm very proud of you sweet." Wait till she told Sesshomaru-sama! Standing straight she marched towards them with Shaya's hand in hers. She squeezed her hand when she felt nervous, and the children stopped playing for a moment to look at them approaching. "Hello children." They didn't look much older than she was and were probably younger. Maybe this could be fun. As long as Mama stayed anyway. "Can we play?"

"Aren't you the lady with that scary man?" A tall brown haired boy stopped, and the others were soon to copy him.

"Sesshomaru-sama isn't scary!" He wasn't. How could she play with people who thought her lord was scary? And he was insulting Shaya! Looking back up to Mama she was surprised to see that she was smiling. Wasn't she upset?

"My name is Shaya and this is Rin. Do you mind if we join you?" They seemed wary and she moved a little closer to her leg again. "What is it that you're playing? I'm sure that Rin knows the game."

"Tag." Urging her forward was Shaya's hand, and she was forced towards the children. There was a black haired girl who suddenly moved forward to touch the brown haired boy's shoulder, and the game began anew. She was soon tagged herself and set off chasing after the others too and was surprised at how nice it was not to feel short. Everybody else playing was her height. And that was just weird.

After playing for a while she noticed that she couldn't find Shaya, so she looked around. She became a little frantic until she saw Mama watching from under a tree some distance away smiling encouragingly at her. Feeling better now that she knew Mama was still here she slowed for a moment and ended up being "it" again. Spinning she let out a laugh just like theirs and chased after the girl who had tagged her now.

Rin waved her off when she'd asked again about how she was, so she decided that the children could watch over themselves so close to the village. Wandering off by herself she took her time as she was not eager to return to the village. Besides, her best chance of finding Sesshomaru was out here in the forest where he tended to frequent.

Where was he? After that night in the forest more than three weeks ago she'd been expecting him to be staying very…very close. He was trying to get close to her right? She hoped so anyway. But his scent was fading and she felt the worry begin in her chest. In almost a year she hadn't been away from him this long and it was making her doubt what she knew. She knew he cared about her on some level…but would he just leave them here if he thought they were better off? Or that he was tired of them?

OoO

Still no Sesshomaru. She had wandered all over the forest, something that he was absolutely adamant against apparently, and still he had not emerged to scold her from the trees. Sitting at dinner Rin was thankfully preoccupied with Shippo and that left her more than enough time to stare into her dinner quietly. Sango and Miroku were building the house that they'd move into soon what with their wedding already past and Kagome and Inuyasha did not seem to be that far behind them.

What was wrong with him? Not to even mention to her that he was going somewhere for an extended time? She swallowed another mouthful of the broth that Kaede-sama had made, stirring around her food. He was so insensitive that he didn't even to stop to think that she might have something to do with his…disappearance. Really, where was he? They had had such a wonderful night and now he was nowhere to be found. Didn't he want to see her? Or miss her too? Was there anything more upsetting? Had he really just…left them here? Left her? It was starting to feel that way.

Shaya didn't notice the looks that she was receiving from the others in her morose contemplations. Kagome let out a sigh of her own at the sight of Shaya away from the fire and against the wall of the hut that contained herself, and Kagome, Rin, Inuyasha and Kaede. Miroku and Sango were somewhere…she probably didn't want to know anyway. She didn't even need to nudge Inuyasha to glance over at Shaya because she caught him looking over anyway. Meeting his eyes he shrugged at her and returned to his own broth, slopping it down on his own time. Didn't he see Shaya? She was obviously upset.

"Inuyasha, will you go for a walk with me?" Poking him in the side he looked annoyed but followed her outside when she did. Pulling him by the hand a good distance away from the hut she turned to face him with her hands on her hips. His eyebrows lowered and he crossed his arms. "What Kagome? I was eating." Did he think of…Argh.

"Do you ever think of anything but your stomach? Didn't you see Shaya Inuyasha?" His face relaxed a bit and he gave her a terse nod, turning away from her a bit. "You know what's wrong with her don't you?"

"She's upset about that bastard not showin' up, right?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Good riddance to 'im. I was getting uneasy with that baka hanging around here all the time anyway."

"Inuyasha, you know that she goes out there every day to look for him." He grunted but didn't otherwise respond; they'd all seen the inu-woman heading towards the forest more frequently and she always came back with the most heartbroken look on her face. It was getting worse too. Something had to be done or Shaya would never get out of this slump. "You don't talk about him like that around her do you?" If he did then she wasn't surprised that Shaya kept spending so much of her time out there in the forest.

"Why the hell not? It ain't like I'm supposed to watch my mouth around that stupid asshole or do I now? Damn it Kagome, you know Sesshomaru!"

"Inuyasha, she loves him!"

Her hanyou's face dropped in shock at that and he hurried to set things right. "Why the hell would anybody love him? He's a cruel heartless bastard who couldn't give a damn about anybody else!" Inuyasha's voice went a bit high and she wished that she had his ability to growl.

"Whyever she loves him, she does! And Miroku thinks that he loves her!" She wished that she could sit him right now but then he wouldn't pay attention to what she was trying to get through that skull of his.

"If he loves her then where is he?" Inuyasha's ears twitched and she narrowed her eyes on him. She loved him to death but if he wasn't annoying her beyond all else at the moment! She opened her mouth to retort when she caught a flash of red behind Inuyasha's shoulder and stood up on her toes to see Shaya sprinting away towards the trees. Mouth dropping she saw Inuyasha look too and the anger fell away from them both without any need for words.

Inuyasha and his stupid mouth. "She heard?" Inuyasha's ears had flattened to his head and he didn't look cocky at all; more like he did when she started crying, all guilty and confused. "Inuyasha, I know that you don't like Sesshomaru, but…"

"I meant it Kagome. What kind of a man just leaves a woman without a word?" Inuyasha wouldn't meet her eyes and her heart swelled a little bit at the depth of his words. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, right?" She put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down to her for a quick kiss," I know that Inuyasha. You would never abandon me."

"Then what do you expect me to do about that wench, eh? I can't Kagome." Inuyasha ran a hand through his hair.

"She can't just keep looking for him like she's doing, Inuyasha. That's no way for her to live." Inuyasha nodded but let out a low breath. "Maybe…maybe you should go and look for him, you know? She deserves to know if he's coming for her or not." She was mad at Sesshomaru herself. Why would he just go off and leave Shaya when she was so obviously in love with him? She'd have to go find Shaya in the woods and apologize for Inuyasha if she'd let him.

"Me? Look for Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha repeated. She couldn't blame him for being so reluctant. If wasn't as if Sesshomaru was one of his favorite people or anything, but Shaya did need him.

"Just so that Shaya knows, that's all. Do you really want to let her be this sad forever?" She saw him thinking and wrapped her fingers in the forelocks that lay on his chest. "If he really has left them Shaya needs closure Inuyasha. Please?"

"Where would I even go Kagome? He could be halfway across the country from here and it might take a long time to find him. What about our wedding? We're supposed to get married in a couple of days. Aren't you more concerned with that?"

"Will you do it for me please?" She blinked her eyes at him, letting her hands flatten out on his chest.

"Hell, Kagome." Inuyasha let out a sigh. "I'll go, but I'll be back the night before whether I'm found him or not ok? That bastard ain't gonna ruin our wedding if I can help it and I don't want to hear a word about it."

"Thank you Inuyasha." She threw her arms around him and felt how irritated he was through their contact. "I appreciate this."

He shrugged out of her embrace and turned around towards the trees. "I'll be back in a day or so. Be careful." With a glance thrown back over his shoulder her hanyou set out towards the trees and she set her eyes on where she'd seen Shaya running. She just hoped that Shaya hadn't run too far. Jogging at her own pace she headed towards a different portion of the trees and continued as far as her lungs would let her.

"Shaya? Shaya?" she was a little out of breath but if Shaya's hearing was anything like Inuyasha's then she'd be able to pick up sound from very long distances. She was simply too tired to come any further. "Please Shaya!" She turned around hoping that she'd see Shaya emerging from the trees immediately but let out a sigh. She probably was pretty upset; why had she been outside anyway? "I'm afraid to be out here with Inuyasha, and it makes me nervous that you're out here too. Please Shaya?" Her voice was echoing in her own ears and she turned around to scan the trees again. If she didn't find Shaya soon she'd have to abandon this and return; it wouldn't do for her to linger out here alone after all.

"Kagome? I heard yelling earlier and…" Brushing her hair out of her face Shaya did duck under a nearby branch to avoid her gaze. Looking out with a definite desire to avoid meeting her eyes she could see a bit of pinkness around Shaya's nose. "We should probably get home now, Rin will be waiting for me." Letting her dark eyes flicker to hers Shaya flashed her a small smile and continued past her. Biting her lip she reached out to grab her hand, forcing her to spin around towards her.

"Look…I'm sorry for what Inuyasha said earlier Shaya." Her smile dropped from her face as it became hard and she jerked her hand out of hers. "Shaya! Everyone knows how much you love him, and…"

"Just shut up Kagome, ok? Will you do that?" Realization of how Shaya would take that crashed over her and she couldn't believe how insensitive she was being. Of course she was upset.

"I didn't mean-"

"I really don't care for your opinion. Shut. Up." Shaya let out a small growl and she nodded, leaning against the nearest tree that she could find. Shaya spun once more and turned towards the village again.

"Wait, Shaya. I know you're upset with me but I-"

"Everybody knows how stupid I am? How pathetic?" Shaya stopped, glaring at her. "Do you really think that I…Whatever." Without another word Shaya disappeared from her sight in another moment and she could only feel terrible. She'd meant to make Shaya feel better and apparently that hadn't been the case. She knew what it was like to love a guy who wasn't…But at least Inuyasha didn't leave her without telling her where he was going.

She ducked back into Kaede's hut to see that Shaya was already under the blankets with Rin curled up to her chest and she was at least thankful that she'd come back to sleep. Staying silent she went over to her own place to lie down.

"Come home soon Inuyasha," she said to herself quietly.

OoO

"Run Kagome!" Shaya shouted. She sprinted herself in an attempt to intercept her pursuer, but he was very fast. She could see Sango bursting through the trees not far after her, but she didn't know if any of them would be there in time to save Kagome.

They were running towards the Bone Eater's Well as fast as they could, and she ducked underneath a low branch that was in her way. She could hear Kagome's scream and pushed herself farther, catching up to them both. Kagome had had a head start. Leaping forward she grabbed onto Miroku's robes, sending him flying forward with their combined momentum. With an "oomph" he landed face forward with her on his back, and her head rose to see Kagome reach the well and give out a triumphant scream of laughter. "I guess you lose, Miroku." She got up with a giggle, patting his head nicely.

"Very good Shaya!" Rin giggled from where she sat with Kilala on the edge of the well. Swinging her legs back and forth she was acting as the referee for them all, since she couldn't really keep up with their game after all. Kilala simply didn't want to participate, so she was keeping little Rin company. "You were like boom, and Miroku went smack!" Rin giggled, petting Kilala. She really hoped that Rin took her time growing up. The way she spoke was just too cute. "Are you going to play again? Who's going to be Kagome this time?" Kagome blushed red. "Sesshomaru-sama would find this funny if he were here."

Rin laughed again, grabbing Kilala's tail softly. The other one continued to swish and she wondered if perhaps she should help the neko. It was true. Kagome sent a smile to Rin who gave her a thumbs up in return. They'd invented a game of their own to distract Shaya a bit until Inuyasha got home tonight or maybe tomorrow morning from scouting and it seemed to be working. Shaya lifted Rin up off the side of the well and held her by the armpits in front of her, making Rin squeal with laughter, and Kilala rolled out onto her back easily.

She glanced towards the forest again in her anxiety for Inuyasha to come home. Kaede-sama and Miroku had everything ready for their wedding and she was already starting to feel a little anxious and excited about it all.

"It's Miroku's turn!" Rin announced excitedly.

"I suppose it is at that Rin," Miroku grinned good naturedly and leaned on his staff. Sango giggled into her hand, going over to kiss her husband lightly on the cheek. Kagome smiled at the pretty picture they made, the taijiya and her monk husband, irony unto itself, and let her arms stretch up and over her head.

Shaya set Rin down, and her hair shifted as she looked back over her shoulder at her. "I hope you win again this time Shaya. Do you think that Kilala wants to play? Is she bored sitting here with me, Mama? Do you think?" Kagome watched Shaya set Rin back down on the well's edge and kiss her affectionately on her forehead, kneeling down in front of the girl so that her head was over the inuyoukai's.

"I think Kilala is quite content where she is," Shaya's voice did not hide her amusement at the situation and it made her laugh. Shaya smiled back at her for a second; perhaps she was not quite as upset with her as she could be, that was reassuring to know. "Mama? Do you think that when Lord Inuyasha gets home that he could play too?" Shaya ruffled her hair and Rin threw up her hands in an attempt to wave off the "attack".

"Why does she call you 'mama' by the way?" Nearly everytime Rin spoke to the woman she called her mama, and it was odd almost. Shippo had never called her mother…but Rin looked up to Shaya like she was some kind of rare creature and it was curious. Shaya sat on the edge of the well with the girl who continued to watch them both.

"She asked if she could and I said yes." Shaya seemed confused with her question. "Right baby?"

"Yeah Mama!" Rin giggled, using the word on purpose if she wasn't mistaken. Oh well. It was not her business anyway if Rin wanted to call her one thing or another. At least the girl had a mother now.

"Miroku!" Sango giggled, slapping him on the shoulder playfully. All in all, a very pleasant day. She couldn't help the smile that she was wearing.

She watched Shaya's head rise up into the air and a new awareness enter her figure. Glancing over to the happily married couple she felt uneasiness settle into her. "Shaya?" Hearing the bit of strain in her voice Rin's good nature seemed to melt a bit and she watched Shaya with the same amount of trepidation that she was. Miroku and Sango caught on, their laughter ceasing.

"To the village. Now." Getting up she didn't wait for them to catch on, throwing Rin onto her hip and sprinting towards their home. Kilala growled and changed form, immediately waiting for herself and Sango to climb aboard and for Miroku to run alongside them. What had Shaya so spooked? Glancing behind her as Kilala flew she looked for any sign of danger, something that would provoke her to abandon their game and to flee with Rin home. She couldn't see anything obvious though: no swarms of youkai, no out of sorts natural animals…

There was a flicker of something between the trees underneath them before she saw someone flash on ahead of Miroku without even a second glance at the monk. Gasping she was glad that she couldn't see Shaya ahead of her; hopefully whatever it was that had gone on by Miroku wouldn't be able to catch up to her.

"Sango, we have to hurry!"

"I know," Sango grit out between her teeth. The taijiya was apparently stressed that there was an enemy youkai here and she didn't have her Hiraikotsu to take care of it without another thought. Miroku didn't have his Wind Tunnel anymore either. "Kilala, you have to follow Shaya and Rin!"

A small growl from Kilala was their answer and she scanned the trees for any sign of youkai. "We don't have any weapons Kagome. We have to go to Kaede's for them before we stand a chance of following."

Of all the…but Sango was right.

OoO

Shaya ran without thinking. She knew this scent and the fact that it was here was enough to send fear running through her. She thought Sesshomaru had taken care of it but apparently he'd missed one. He'd missed Takeshi!

Pushing faster she knew that with Rin making her strides awkward that she didn't have a prayer of outrunning the tiger youkai. Why was he so determined to find them? The reason that popped into her mind convinced her to try to speed away. If he caught her things wouldn't end well and she couldn't put that kind of danger on little Rin. She could only imagine what he might do to her.

"Come on bitch!" Takeshi's voice was close and taunting. "Quit running so we can play our little game already. I have some things to tell you!" She could feel Rin's heart quicken with fear and glanced back over her shoulder. Less than ten feet away!

"Shaya!" Rin's arms tightened. She couldn't deal with Rin's fear right now or else they would definitely be caught. Hurrying forward she tried to keep her breathing slow but it was difficult when her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her throat.

Her legs fell out from under her and she hit the ground hard, wincing. Rin struggled and she loosened her arms. Turning her head a foot came down hard and trapped Rin underneath her. Growling she managed to hold herself off of the girl so that she could slide out from under her. "Eh? Who's that little snot anyway? A pet of yours?" She twisted enough to see the black stripes of his face and let out another growl. "Someone's been playing human."

"Piss off!" A grin came over the tiger's face and he kneeled down, and one of his hands found hers. Pushing hard between her shoulderblades her face hit the dirt and she could feel his hot breath on her ear.

"I like this new little…outfit of yours by the way. Even if you do reek of dog." Chuckling she tried to get out from under him but there wasn't much she could do at the moment. In another moment she heard something rip and there was a breeze of air over her back. Damn. And he wasn't being shy about touching her either. "Yep, your little friend took care of my uncle, and I don't have to share my women anymore. Wasn't that considerate?"

"Mama?" Rin whispered. Raising her head she saw Rin sitting not two feet in front of her from where Takeshi was mounted on her back.

"Go Rin." Maybe she could make it back to the village safely on her own; it was better than staying here with this volatile tiger youkai. The little girl was staring at her with big frightened eyes and she didn't look like she was going anywhere.

"But-"

The hands on her back stopped and she got a bad feeling in her stomach. "Now!" she growled, and Rin swallowed hard.

"Hm? If the little human's going to be a problem I can get rid of it." The knee left the center of her back and she felt her heart drop. Scrambling up Takeshi was already striding past her shoulder and towards Rin, who was pulling herself on the grass.

Her hand shot out and grabbed the fabric of his pants, and she forced both hands to circle his knee and pull backwards. It threw him off balance enough that he toppled down and gave her enough time to gasp at Rin. "Rin, go!" She didn't have any more time because Takeshi growled and a hand fisted in her hair, jerking hard enough to make her ill. Forcing her eyes open she could see his face in front of hers and a snarl on him; setting her jaw she sent her claws raking down the side of his stripes and warm blood coated her fingertips.

His hand forced her head to hit the ground hard and she was welcomed with an instant headache. "Little cunt! Instead of putting that little bitch out of her misery she can watch now, how about that?" Rin! She let her elbow fly back in the hopes of catching something and she was grateful to hear a little 'oof'. Through the pain of feeling hair rip out of her head she snarled herself and pushed his weight off her. His fist caught her jaw and she felt a bit of blood well up in her own mouth. His hands went for her wrists, catching one, but the other she used to dig into his face again and hear that growl that meant he was in pain. Rising to her feet she used the extra leverage and stability to force him down to his back, kneeling on his stomach and taking the chance to send her claws into his throat.

Warmth spurted all over her and she even spit some of it out of her mouth as Takeshi bucked underneath her. She pushed her claws deeper into his throat and nearly threw up at the feel of all the muscle moving around her fingers as blood began to pour from the tiger's mouth. He was gasping for air but everytime he did more blood spurted onto his own skin and she watched as the light died from his eyes. Breathing hard she left her claws still a moment as she made sure that he wasn't going to be getting up before getting off the body in a hurry, sitting next to it as the trembles began to run through her.

"Mama?" Rin's voice brought her back and she let her eyes find the little girl who looked as terrified as she felt. "Is he dead?" She could only nod dumbly at the sight of her own hands and the blood that was covering her shirt and part of these hakama, clenching her hands to stop the shuddering that was coming over them. With a few patters of her feet Rin came over to kneel in front of her, staring at the blood too. "Are you hurt Mama?"

She didn't care how utterly nasty she felt right now. Pulling Rin up and into her lap she buried her face into the girl's black hair as the tears began to spill out of her eyes. Sobbing she couldn't stop; she'd never killed anyone before and she wished that she hadn't had to. But he would've hurt Rin and there was no way that she could live with that. Rocking the girl she knew that she was probably holding her strong enough to bruise her but she couldn't let go right now. Straightening up she sniffed and met Rin's eye, seeing the fear that was still there. "You're ok though right? Rin baby?"

She nodded solemnly and she caught her breath. Nodding in return she gestured for Rin to climb out of her lap and she did. As she moved to stand up she caught sight of the body again and this time the sight and the smell were enough to make her ill. She emptied her stomach there on the grass, wiping her mouth on her arm where there didn't seem to be any blood. The others were probably worried sick about them and she couldn't stand being here anymore.

"Let's go home." She stood up and Rin followed diligently, tugging on her leg.

"Are you sure that you're ok Mama? Rin was scared too." The third person speech told her how terrified Rin must have been. Biting her lip she didn't want to hold Rin's hand though because of the blood so she settled for a nod.

"I'm fine Rin, just a few cosmetic things." Kagome probably wasn't going to be very happy with the fact that her shirt was ruined but it hadn't been her fault; she'd find some way of repaying the miko for it.

"Rin couldn't run and leave you here with that bad man." The girl was wide-eyed. "Rin is not sorry for not listening to you Mama. Sesshomaru-sama would be very angry if Rin left Mama alone like that."

"I'm not upset with you Rin." Shaking her head she couldn't force a smile on her face at the moment though; her stomach was still uneasy. "I know that you didn't want to leave me."

"Shaya! Shaya! Rin!" That was Kagome's voice. Turning around she caught sight of Kilala coming to land in the small clearing where they were. Sango and Kagome were both wide-eyed as they looked from her blood-splattered person to the body that was bleeding out onto the ground and she couldn't blame them for being surprised. If Rin hadn't been in danger she didn't know if she would've killed him. "Are you two ok?"

Miroku came bursting through the trees out of breath and she nodded again, trying to wipe some of the blood off onto her now-loose shirt. It was catching every inch of the wind and that was making it difficult to keep her arms clamped down so that it wouldn't go flying off. "Mama killed him," Rin said simply.

"Well…let's get you two home and cleaned up." Even Rin had blood on her from being held.