A/N: I had a lot of trouble with this chapter's name. There's a joke at the end involving Ramen, which I think everyone will love. (Seriously, I'm going to die if Saya is any cuter) and I wanted the title to tie in with that, but plot-wise this title ties in much better than something like "Saya Meets Ramen," or something.

Okay as i said in Innocence's update, I am going camping tomorrow so...hope the bears don't eat me. Most of the unfriendly life outside my house thinks I taste delicious so I am a bit worried O.o

Disclaimer: I do not own them

Last Chapter: Saya had a brief meeting with Aki. Sango is expecting her baby before sundown. Shimofuri left the Nanka for the north to fetch Rin while the fox Aojiroi Jinsoku went to get Saya. Shimofuri contemplated Ginrei and Amagumori. Sesshomaru bequeathed Bakusaiga to Hanone and Ginrei and he's considering leaving Hanone as his heir, though it breaks his promise to Ginrei. Ginrei told him that Tsuki said Rin and Saya were alive. Soeki arrived at the castle and saw Tsuki. She concluded that she can't kill Tsuki, but she can keep her from interfering.

Mother of a Mortal

When Masuyo and Riki spotted Akisame, they surrounded her, screaming and shouting excitedly. Akisame fought them, scratching Masuyo a little by accident. The sight of his blood alarmed Akisame more than it did Masuyo. The boy shrugged off the small scratches on his arm, frowning at them while Riki held onto Akisame's waist, demanding to know how she'd gotten outside of the gate.

"I jumped over it, stupid," Akisame explained.

"That's cheating!"

"I'm the demon remember?" Akisame pushed the little boy away from her, huffing. "Of course I'm not going to play by the human rules."

Koinu loomed behind her and Akisame cringed, anticipating his disapproval. "Aki, can't you play nice with them?"

"Maybe you like being the evil demon all the time," Akisame grumbled. "I don't, it bugs me."

Koinu sighed, "It's just a game."

"Whatever." Akisame peered past her brother and saw Saya hiding there. "How about you play with them, Brother. I'll watch her."

"Father asked me to do it."

"Does it really matter?" Akisame demanded.

"Yeah cuz you'll teach her to eat bugs," Shippo chimed in, hopping up alongside Koinu and Saya. He cleared his throat to stop Akisame from interrupting him and addressed the wide group, including Masuyo and Riki. "Inuyasha is making dinner tonight. He wants to know what kind of Ramen all of you want."

"Ninja food!" Masuyo chanted, clapping his hands together. "Shrimp flavor!"

Riki made a face as he watched his brother, contemplating. "I'm not hungry…"

"Oh yes you are," Shippo said, smirking. "I can smell it on your breath. I'll tell Inuyasha to give you chicken. Tisoki and Kohimu are eating chicken flavored and if nobody else tells me what they want I'm going to tell Inuyasha to give all of you chicken."

"I want beef!" Akisame shouted, grinning. "Beef with vegetables like Mom makes."

"Dad won't make it with vegetables," Koinu pointed out. He frowned when he looked at Shippo and saw the kit watching him, waiting expectantly. His ears drooped. "I'll have chicken I guess. I hate Ramen."

"What's Ra-men?" a tiny voice peeped.

All eyes fell on Saya where she was pressed against Koinu's brown hakama pant leg. She was peeking out with only one golden eye showing and a few strands of white hair that had fallen forward. Koinu reached one hand down to her and smiled, patting her gently. "Ramen is Father—your uncle's favorite food, Saya. It's a lot of flavored noodles that taste horrible."

"Do not!" Akisame yelled.

"Mom agrees with me," Koinu retorted. His ears flattened and his blue eyes narrowed with irritation. "She says Ramen is cheap food where she comes from."

"It's magic!" Masuyo said, clapping still. "Ninja food!"

Riki stared openmouthed at Saya and pointed rudely at her. "Who's that?"

"She's a demon!" Masuyo yelled. He pointed at Saya's forehead, at the purple crescent moon and then at her white hair. "See, she doesn't look like a human, Riki. Momma told us facial markings, different hair color and eye color are…"

Koinu moved his leg, sheltering Saya. He crossed his arms and glowered down at the two young demon slayers. "Masuyo, Riki—that's enough. This isn't lesson time. She's Saya—the daughter of Lord Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands. That's Father's older brother." He paused for a moment and then leaned forward, trying to intimidate them with his greater height. "She's a princess; you should treat her with some respect."

"Princess?" Masuyo asked, gaping. He dropped down into the dust in an uncoordinated bow and pulled Riki down with him. "My apologies, Princess!"

Saya shifted, ducking to peek through Koinu's legs at the bowing boys. She grinned, her golden eyes twinkling. Even when they had been pointing at her and talking about her as if she weren't there, Saya hadn't been upset or frightened. She recognized the boys' features as belonging to Kasai as well and by scent she knew they were all part of the same large family. They were siblings. She had never had a brother, but Saya understood siblings.

Akisame frowned. "I wish they'd respect me like that." She glanced at Koinu and said, "I mean we're her cousins right? So that makes us like royalty too, eh?"

Koinu sighed but his posture relaxed slightly. "Not really. Father isn't royalty and neither is Mom so, no." Koinu wasn't overly familiar with the dog demon clan as it had traditionally rejected Inuyasha so the hanyou and his children had no broader knowledge of their distant, pureblooded cousins. Did one call the daughter of a ruler like Sesshomaru a princess? Koinu wasn't certain but he guessed that Saya garnered some title.

Akisame huffed indignantly. "Fine."

"Okay," Shippo said, grinning. "Princess Saya—what flavor of Ramen do you want?"

Saya knew exactly what she didn't want. "No fish! This one does not want fish!"

Masuyo, still lowered awkwardly with his little brother Riki in the dirt, lifted his head enough to gape at the little white haired girl. "She even talks funny like a princess!"

"Cool," Shippo said, nodding. "You get chicken then. I'll tell Inuyasha it's chickens all around except for one shrimp and two beefs." The kit pivoted around and scampered away, running on a mixture of two and four legs. His puffy tail twitched up and down with each step.

Tsukiyume woke when the door to her bed chamber slid closed, grating on the floor. She blinked the fuzziness out of her eyes and smiled stiffly when she recognized Soeki. Every movement of her jaw hurt. Her tussle with Amagumori only the night before had left her barely able to speak and with a bruised nose. She sat up in bed and bowed to Soeki anyway, trying to greet her properly. "Cousin," she said, thickly.

Soeki raced forward, flowing up onto Tsukiyume's bedding. The hanyou girl made a small noise of alarm and lifted her hands, trying to defend herself, but Soeki was faster and guided by Jishin's goddess-sight. Soeki's hands closed over Tsukiyume's mouth and her head. They fell backward onto the futon and into the thick white furs. Tsukiyume's orange-brown eyes gazed up at her cousin, yawning with terror. She could not scream past Soeki's hands and one of her cousin's hands was closing around her throat, constricting her airway.

Jishin let her own essence slide forward from Soeki's hands, reaching incorporeally inside Tsukiyume's brain. She touched the sleep part of her brain, forcing the hanyou to nod off even while her body was still stiff with adrenaline. She withdrew then, vanishing back into Soeki.

Rearing back, Soeki stumbled off the futon, breathing hard. Her eyes flashed red, her clawed hands flexed, trying to form fists as powerful, aggressive hormones raced through her body. She was like a rutting bull or buck in the fall, a moose ready to charge. Her body was pumped up and ready for bloodshed. Jishin tweaked the inuyoukai girl's thoughts, guiding her hatred and violent will.

Sesshomaru killed Amagumori, Sesshomaru killed my mother's clan, Sesshomaru killed my father…

Soeki pressed on, following the warpath Jishin set her on, despite the fact that it made no sense at all. It was like being caught in a nonsensical nightmare, unable to escape.

She left Tsukiyume's room quietly and moved for the stairs.

Jaken had barely left the room when a new sound came over the floor, bare feet padding softly. Ginrei looked up at it, listening attentively. It was not Jaken's tread with the softness and assurance of the steps. Without a breeze to tell Ginrei of the visitor's scent and because there was no attempt at speech, Ginrei assumed it was Tsukiyume.

"Lady Tsukiyume?" she called. "You can come in. My husband is most pleased with the meal that your servants provided. I offer my thanks in his stead."

The slight tapping of claws on the door came and it slid open. Ginrei blinked, baffled by the being on the other side. "Lady Soeki?" she asked.

Soeki nodded. "I am not disturbing you, am I?"

Ginrei hesitated, uncertain. Something inside her tensed, sensing the wrongness in this latest visitor, but she paused at the chilly feeling within her. I killed her older sister, Ginrei realized, blinking with alarm. She stammered, "No, you're not but—what are you doing here?" She dropped the pretenses of titles for a time, too flustered by Soeki's sudden, unannounced arrival.

Soeki stepped into the room and slid the door shut behind her. "Please, Lady Ginrei. I have come to ask for your help." She fell to the floor as she spoke and bowed deeply.

"What do you need?" Ginrei asked, searching over Soeki while she was prostrating herself. The inuyoukai girl's long blue-black hair was windblown but silky with health. It flowed easily over Soeki's shoulders.

"My sister has died," Soeki said and her shoulders began to shake. "I've come from my father's residence. He has been killed." There was a pause and then Soeki shivered violently and her voice changed, darkening. "I killed him, Lady Ginrei. I killed him for his crimes against the Nishiyori clan. He killed my mother and my sis—" She cut herself off with another body-wide shudder.

Ginrei frowned, staring at the inuyoukai girl's ducked body, her long curtain of blue-black hair. "Lady Soeki," she murmured sadly, "Someone possessed your sister. She came after Lord—"

Soeki sat up then. Her blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "You killed Big Sister!"

Startled, Ginrei flinched backward. Her attention moved to the screen where Sesshomaru was hidden with Hanone. "Lady Soeki, please—I had no choice! Your sister was possessed! I had to protect my child," Ginrei blustered.

"But you were protecting him too," Soeki growled. Her bluish eyes flicked over to the screen.

"My husband, yes," Ginrei mumbled, uncertainly. She fiddled with her hands in her lap and tried to pin down the unease that was growing within her.

"He killed the Nishiyori clan," Soeki said, her voice dropping into a low hiss, "and he killed your family. But you gladly killed my sister to protect him, to protect the murderer of all your kin!"

Ginrei's face warmed, touched with guilt and shame. Her hands curled into fists. "Please Lady Soeki—If I had not slain your sister, what difference would it have made? Lady Amagumori was dying! She was possessed! She could just as easily have killed me or my daughter or Lord Shimofuri. I only did what—"

"I saved you and your daughter from my father!" Soeki shrieked, becoming hysterical. Her pupils flashed pink and then red. "Then you killed my only sister!"

"I had no choice," Ginrei murmured. Her mouth had gone dry while her palms had turned into little swamps. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Soeki. Truly I am."

Soeki sneered at her, unmoved by her apology. "If you had a sister that I could slaughter to show you how I feel…"

"I already know how you feel!" Ginrei yelled, blinking at the burning of tears behind her eyes. "All of my sisters died years ago in the war. The loss is hard, Soeki, but please…"

Behind the screen, Sesshomaru pushed Hanone off his lap. The pup resisted him, shaking her head. The sounds of her mother's voice, rising with distress, had set Hanone on edge. Out of instinct she clung to her father, though his mortal scent offered little comfort.

Sesshomaru lifted up some of the blankets from over his bedding. "Under here, Hanone," he whispered.

The little girl obeyed, scooting underneath. "Father…?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Do not move," Sesshomaru ordered. He moved to Bakusaiga and grasped it. He adjusted his robes slightly and made a face of disgust as he touched the wig atop his head. His steps were shaky as he moved to the narrow gap between the wall and the screen. Sesshomaru pushed it open and stepped out to face Soeki and Ginrei.

The two inuyoukai craned their necks, staring at him in surprise. Sesshomaru lifted his chin up, trying to exude honor and confidence under their scrutiny. There were no marks over his cheeks, the crescent moon on his forehead had faced, peeled away. His skin had darkened, and so had his eyes.

Soeki's eyes flashed pink in the center. The goddess hiding within her paused a moment to examine her work with pleasure. Sesshomaru made a spectacular, beautiful human specimen. A shame that he must die…

Ginrei's gaze fell to Bakusaiga. It was useless in Sesshomaru's human hands, nothing but a blade. In Ginrei's however, it could become a weapon to repel Soeki if she decided to attack. But thinking of it made Ginrei's stomach churn. I don't want to have both sisters' souls on my conscience.

"He's so weak," Soeki muttered, glaring. "You should kill him, Lady Ginrei. Kill him. He holds you prisoner. The mortal Sesshomaru holds you prisoner after he slaughtered your family."

"Stop it," Ginrei shouted. Her hands, clenched up into fists, shook in her lap. Her claws bit into her palms. "Killing my husband won't bring my family back! Lord Sesshomaru has promised me the Isei and Hanone is my heir—I will remake the Nishiyori clan, Soeki. Your family is gone—you can join my daughter and I in the Isei. It is the least I can do considering your sister. I would never have killed her if there had been any other choice!"

Listening to her, Sesshomaru fought the frown that tried to steal over his lips. He had only minutes ago considered taking Hanone away from Ginrei to pronounce her as his heir. The heir not for Nishiyori's extinct line, but for Inutaisho's. His hands were still weak from his low blood sugar though he had just eaten. To keep his shaking hidden Sesshomaru grasped Bakusaiga with both hands. "Get out," he ordered Soeki.

Soeki's attention had never left Sesshomaru, in spite of the unbelievable offer that Ginrei was tempting her with. Her pupils expanded and contracted, flashing with tiny spurts of pink and then bright, blood red. She lifted her claws up and flexed them, preparing them for battle. "Lady Ginrei—I have come to kill Lord Sesshomaru. You may help me and avenge the death of your clan, or you can stand in my way. The choice is yours…"

Ginrei's mouth fell open, astounded. She looked between Sesshomaru and Soeki, dumbstruck. "Have you lost your mind, Soeki? Put the past behind you! Your father and Lord Shimofuri were just as much to blame as my husband!"

Soeki bared her teeth savagely as she rose to her feet. "You know that's a lie, Ginrei."

Helpless, but unwilling to flee, Sesshomaru unsheathed Bakusaiga and hefted up the heavy blade, ready to use it as a club or a broadsword. His human brown eyes moved to Ginrei briefly. "Ginrei, protect Hanone." He didn't care whether she fell for Soeki's speech, but whatever happened to him, Hanone needed protecting.

Soeki rushed forward, brandishing her claws. Sesshomaru moved Bakusaiga up and blocked her strike. A screeching sound filled the room as metal met claws. Soeki pulled back and pivoted, trying to attack his shoulder. Sesshomaru moved with her, slashing twice with Bakusaiga to keep her at bay.

Ginrei watched them, her mind boggled, her heart pounding. She thought of Hanone behind the screen, of Amagumori's body hovering through the air, and of Sesshomaru's words: "Bakusaiga I bequeath to you and Hanone."

Soeki's strikes, her hopping feet, were too fast for Sesshomaru's slower human reflexes and muscles. It was not long before one of Soeki's hands reached him and slashed viciously into his shoulder. The force of it sent Sesshomaru's body spinning. He crashed hard onto the floor and Bakusaiga skidded out of his hands, clattering toward the screen.

Ginrei smelled Sesshomaru's blood, saw his face clench up with pain as he gripped his wounded shoulder. Blood flowed out between his fingers and was absorbed by his robe. Hanone cried out from behind the screen, fearfully.

Soeki sprang forward, ready to tear out Sesshomaru's throat. A cruel, hard smile carved her face in half at the lips. Her eyes glowed crimson red from the pupils outward, as if her eyes were bleeding.

Ginrei charged and covered Sesshomaru's body with her own. Soeki's strike slashed Ginrei's back instead, ripping apart her obi and tearing into the skin just below her shoulders. Ignoring her pain and the blood that she felt rising out of the wound to flow over her back and spatter onto the floor, Ginrei screamed, "Stop this Soeki! I won't let you kill him!"

"What a shame," Soeki said, speaking in an unnaturally deep voice. "I will have to kill you then too!"

Before she could comprehend what was happening, Soeki had snatched Ginrei's hair and then her neck. Ginrei felt her airway closing under Soeki's hold. Dizziness swarmed in her head. Ginrei felt Soeki's arms tense, preparing to toss her away across the room so that she could continue her assault on Sesshomaru. Ginrei closed her clawed hands over Soeki's arms and dug her feet into the wooden floor.

Sesshomaru stumbled away from them, clutching his shoulder and baring his fangless teeth. He reached for Bakusaiga and called Ginrei's name in a croaking voice.

Ginrei flung herself to one side and rolled, taking Soeki with her. The two inuyoukai woman tussled, grunting and growling. Ginrei cut up Soeki's forearms with her claws. Soeki slashed viciously for Ginrei's throat but somehow Ginrei always managed to maneuver wildly away, avoiding a killing blow. The two women left streaks of blood in their wake.

Finally Ginrei, older and with more training, got the upper hand. She pinned Soeki's hands down with her own and perched on top of her, using her weight to hold her down. Breathing hard and bleeding, Ginrei bared her teeth at her opponent. "Stop this madness and leave, Soeki!"

Their faces were only about a foot apart. The opening was there. Soeki had one last weapon that she could use to free herself. The inuyoukai girl would not have taken it, even crazed with Jishin's influence the girl knew when she was beaten and she would've left—but Jishin had complete control over her.

As Ginrei stared down at Soeki, waiting for her to give in, the other inuyoukai's eyes changed as her face slackened. Her eyes took on a reddish glow. Ginrei blinked down at her, perplexed. She started to open her mouth to speak but then Soeki raised her head from the floor. Her mouth loomed wide like a striking snake's. She bit Ginrei in the throat and clamped down hard.

Ginrei cried out, gasping. She pulled away, slashing at Soeki in the face. Ginrei collapsed as soon as Soeki released her, pawing at her neck, as the torn flesh there where her blood was bubbling up and spilling out. It was not a fatal injury for an inuyoukai, but it was substantial. Her throat had nearly been ripped out. Ginrei was distracted as she fought to clamp her hands around the wound, stifling it with pressure to staunch the blood flow.

There was plenty of time for Soeki to rise to her feet, wiping at her mouth, and stare down at the doomed Sesshomaru with a sick, amused smile. Her eyes widened and colored themselves completely red now.

Before she could take a step closer to him, the door to the room opened clatteringly. Soeki whirled to face it, snarling. She raced for the door, lifting her hand up in the air to cut the intruder—probably a maid—into tiny bits.

A spectral, ghostly green light appeared in the doorway. A microsecond later something like a snake, long and flexible, flew out. It coiled with a snap around one of Soeki's wrists. The thing tugged and effortlessly tossed Soeki to the floor. Soeki howled as she fell and scrabbled at the floorboards like an animal.

Sesshomaru, still holding Bakusaiga with one hand and clutching his wounded shoulder with the other, started to get to his feet. He lifted his sword up as he faced the newcomer in the door, though he already knew who it was—even without his sense of smell. "Mother…"

An inuyoukai woman stepped through the door. She wore a small smirk on her face; her golden eyes were narrowed with amusement. One hand was held out with the fingers pointed, controlling the spectral energy of the green whip—so like Sesshomaru's own—that had stopped and now held Soeki in place on the ground. The other hand was hidden in her massive, flowing sleeves and the gigantic, billowing white fluff on her shoulders. She stared at her son and the smirk increased.

"I wonder," she murmured, "Sesshomaru, if I had let you die, where would your spirit go? To the human's hell or to the afterlife of the youkai to join your father?"

"Mother," Sesshomaru addressed her, grunting with pain. It was too quick, Sesshomaru realized, for her to have come in response to the messengers he'd sent via Jaken. Those foxes would've first had to find her palace, and then the chances of her actually being there were slim. They were probably still searching for her. If the messengers had not given her the information, who had?

Soeki howled with frustration and sat up, pulling against the restraint of the whip. It was toxic, burning into her. Her wrist smoked. Soeki clawed at the whip, trying to free herself.

Sesshomaru's mother turned her head marginally while her eyes moved to stare down at the inuyoukai girl that she had trapped. Her amusement vanished as her face took on a somber look. "How cowardly indeed, Jishin."

Soeki lifted her head, snarling through her blue-black hair. Her lips curled. "I'll kill you too!"

"I think not," Sesshomaru's mother said. With the hand that wasn't controlling the whip she reached under the massive white fur at her shoulders and pulled out a small obsidian blade. "Goodbye, Jishin. What a shame this young bitch must die with you."

Soeki sneered and pulled violently on the whip, twisting and turning. Her movement did little to free her and Sesshomaru's mother had little trouble landing the vital blow that she needed. She let the obsidian blade fly and with perfect precision it pierced Soeki's left eye, burying itself in her brain. The inuyoukai girl's body grew stiff for a split second, convulsing wildly, then she fell forward, limp and dead.

Sesshomaru's mother flicked her wrist once and the spectral whip released the dead girl's wrist, flowing back up into her fingers. After a moment she shook her hand, letting it fall back into her sleeve where it was hidden and covered. She toured her gaze around the room and sniffed audibly once. Her smile returned and her eyes flew to Sesshomaru. "At least you have managed to keep my granddaughter alive!"

Ginrei shakily hauled herself to her feet. She clutched her throat with both hands. Her face was pale; her kimono was falling open because her obi had been shredded. Blood ran down her chest and her back from both her injuries. Through the stink of all of the blood in the room, Soeki, Sesshomaru's, and her own, Ginrei couldn't make out clearly the scent of the stranger. Her eyesight was blurry as well. She saw the newcomer's white hair, the color of the single streak over each cheek and began to formulate a guess, but she asked anyway. "Who…are…?"

"Don't waste your breath," Sesshomaru's mother warned her. "I am Lady Shiroihana." Her golden eyes moved to Sesshomaru and her expression rippled with amusement. "I am this mortal's mother."

Inuyasha sat with the children during their makeshift dinnertime. He'd opened the shutters all about the house to dispel the scents of Sango's labor as well as to let in the cooler air of the evening. Sango's labor had reached its peak down the hall and with his acute hearing, Inuyasha heard every breath, every pained moan and every whisper or word of encouragement from Kagome, Kasai, and Miroku.

Sango and Miroku's sons were somber and silent while they sipped at their Ramen and scooped up their noodles. Kohimu and Tisoki, ravenous teenagers, were already eating seconds, but there was no joviality between them as was normal. Masuyo and Riki barely touched their food and whenever a sound reached Riki from where Sango was laboring he started to cry and fuss, asking Inuyasha if Sango would be all right.

"Feh, she's fine." But after a while he decided to send Shippo in as further backup. He smacked the kit on top of the head until Shippo reluctantly left his Ramen behind and slunk back to the bedroom. There was an advantage to having a powerful nose and a set of keen ears in the birthing process. Shippo would be able to act as a heart monitor for Sango and the baby. His nose would be just as effective as Inuyasha's in determining how near or far the birth was or how mother and baby were doing.

The best part of that situation was that it wasn't Inuyasha that had to perform the service. It wasn't that he was lazy, but labor disturbed him and always had, as did the fact that it was Sango. Labor was so difficult, so personal, Inuyasha didn't feel comfortable sitting over her and sniffing while she huffed and moaned. He shuddered just thinking about it. Shippo on the other hand, he was just a kid…

Saya, seated on the corner of the table awkwardly between Inuyasha and Koinu, could also hear Sango laboring. The sounds and scents disturbed her, mostly because it was blood. Saya had not touched her ramen; she was too distracted by the sounds and smells of the distant laboring. Her eyes were pointed down the hallway and wide.

Koinu and Akisame were bickering, as usual, though even their banter was occasionally interrupted as both siblings picked out the sound of their mother's voice or Sango's cries. Koinu's ears laid flat over his head continuously, a mark of his underlying stress.

"How can you not like Ramen?" Akisame asked. She picked at Koinu's noodles with her chopsticks while he was holding the bowl but not actively eating it.

"Stop that," Koinu ordered her, pulling the bowl away.

Akisame persisted, following his bowl with her chopsticks. She snapped them together, capturing a clump of noodles and knocking it out. The noodly mass splattered onto the table in front of Saya and the little girl flinched as droplets of the ramen flicked onto her face.

Inuyasha glared at them and growled lightly in warning.

Koinu cringed at his father's growl, obedient as always, but Akisame ignored him in favor of reaching her arm across the table and past Koinu to snatch at the noodles with her chopsticks. She stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in effort and grunted. "Almost…"

Saya lifted one hand and timidly pushed the noodles closer to Akisame's searching chopsticks. With her tiny cousin's help, Akisame grasped the mass of noodles and dragged them over the table, leaving a streak of flavored water and little specks of seasoning. She shoveled them into her mouth and grinned at Saya. "Thanks, cousin."

"You're welcome," Saya answered, averting her eyes shyly.

"Why aren't you eating your Ramen, Saya?" Akisame asked. In the pause between her question and Saya's answer, Akisame slurped obnoxiously on her noodles and grinned with a full mouth at Koinu when he made a face of disgust.

"Sorry," Saya murmured. Hesitantly she reached for the bowl and the chopsticks. She had not handled chopsticks in more than a week, not since her last meal at Jouka palace with her mother, Hanone, and Ginrei. The feel of them in her fingers, the look of the bowl steaming before her with the noodles inside, combined with the cries of the laboring woman, worked to disturb Saya. She thought of her mother crying out, she thought of herself scavenging from the villagers, eating their fish with her dirty, urchin's hands. She glanced across the table and saw the boys Riki and Masuyo watching her with curiosity and fascination and perhaps even admiration. They had called her a princess; a title that she didn't fully understand but knew had an implication of honor from their reactions.

Tears clouded her eyes. She lowered her head and began to whimper.

"You made her cry," Koinu snapped at his sister.

"What? No I didn't!"

"You stole my noodles and dropped them there and scared her!" Koinu frowned in anger and frustration.

"You weren't eating them! And Saya helped me get them!" Akisame stared at her brother and then leaned forward to examine Saya as well as her brooding father. She blinked her golden eyes in growing bafflement and guilt. "I don't think I made her cry…"

"I miss Mama," Saya cried, still holding her ramen and her chopsticks. "Mama…"

"Don't cry, Princess!" Masuyo chirped. "I'm sure your Mama's coming for you."

"Masuyo's right about that," Inuyasha growled. He turned to Saya with a sigh and gently took the bowl from her. "Look Saya—when your mother or…" he stopped and made a face at the thought, "…your father gets here they'll want to know I've been feeding you, so I need you to eat your Ramen, okay?"

Saya nodded and wiped at her tears. She lifted the chopsticks and dug into the bowl while Inuyasha held it for her. She began shoveling in the noodles, hardly tasting them until she had her first huge mouthful. Then, as she gummed and chewed the soft noodles, her face changed, slackening with delight as she swallowed. She put the chopsticks on the table and scooted back clumsily on the cushion she was sitting on.

Inuyasha made a face, confused by her actions. "Saya, what are you—"

"Uncle Inuyasha!" Saya said, addressing him in a small but somber voice. She dropped into a bow. "This one is unworthy of your skill!"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha tilted his head, a very confused dog. He looked at the other children, utterly baffled. "Is she talking about the way I hold the bowl?"

Koinu laughed, "I think she's saying you're a fabulous chef, Dad!"

As the rest of the children started to crack up laughing, Inuyasha scowled. "Hey, shut the hell up!" He jabbed his finger at Koinu, singling out his son. "And you! Call me father."

Saya lifted her head, unable to understand why her cousins and the human children were laughing. Before she could ask about it, a sound from the far hallway bedroom where Sango was laboring made all of them turn their heads. It was the sound of a baby squalling, crying as he drew his first breaths.

Inuyasha sighed with relief. "Well boys," he directed his words to Kohimu, Tisoki, Masuyo, and Riki, "get ready to meet your new baby brother."

A/N: I was pleased with Saya meeting Ramen, I laughed hard as it came into my head. And as I said, if she gets any cuter I'm going to have to die. The bears will come out of the woods and eat me. Eek! You know Stephen Colbert assures us that BEARS are one of the nation's greatest threats. BEARS. Yep. Anyway...next time...

Rin:

The horses had a scent that Rin knew from her days riding. As an inuyoukai the dusty, oily scent of the horses was stronger, nearly overwhelming. Rin cringed from it but also found that it set her mouth watering and her hands sweating. With her superior night vision, Rin saw the shine of the horses' dark eyes, gleaming at her. She heard them snorting in the dark.

Sess/Sessmom:

There were only two beings in all of creation that could belittle and mock Sesshomaru without fearing for their lives. One was Rin, but even her powers and rights were limited with the Lord of the West. The other was Sesshomaru's mother, who would always loom over him because she had given him life.