Author's Note: As I post this, I am writing chapter 27. Oh boy, I hope you guys like what's coming. We got some pretty heavy stuff to look forward to!

Minako found that walking through the snow barefoot wasn't such a bad thing anymore. The snow felt slightly relieving against her burns. She had looked for some kind of herb to put against her wrists, but nothing grew very well in the winter. It would take a stroke of luck to find anything, and she wasn't exactly the luckiest person around.

As they wandered, Rin questioned the red marks. Minako explained that Jaken had accidentally given them to her when he was kind enough to burn away the ice shackles and save her from the mean demon. Rin accepted this response, and gave Jaken a hug for a reward. He did not enjoy the reward, but didn't struggle too much to get away.

Rin searched for medicinal herbs, too. To no avail, of course. Sesshomaru continued to take them across the lands, by foot, just to disappear and meet with mysterious strangers and do the business that he kept secret from Rin and Minako. He always seemed so busy, a destination in his mind. And yet she had absolutely no idea what or who he was searching for.

Sometimes she wondered if he just wandered around for no reason, only making it seem as though he had an agenda. It had been a few days since the incident in the cave, and the burns still hurt just as badly. Sesshomaru stopped earlier than usual, allowing them to make their usual camp while he wandered off. Mina went to gather dry wood and Rin stayed near the camp, digging around in the snow to try to find something to help Minako.

When Mina returned, she found Rin sitting atop Ah-Un, swinging her legs back and forth as she hummed to herself. She held something in her lap, bundled up in her skirt. She jumped down when she saw Mina approaching, happily skipping toward her.

"Rin has a present for you, Mina-chan!"

"Really?" she asked, setting the wood down. "What would that be?"

She put out her hands to reveal a small bundle of herbs, fresh as if spring had arrived early. Mina gasped, gently taking the bundle and setting it down on one of the larger rocks collected.

"Where did you find these, Rin?" she asked.

"I just got them in the woods a little while ago," she beamed.

"You don't know how much this means to me!" Minako smiled, quickly beginning to grind up the herbs into medicine while Jaken got a fire going. It wasn't long before she had finished and smothered her burns, covering them with spare strips of cloth. The pain that had been throbbing almost constantly for the past few days finally subsided.

At least Rin cared about her, even if Sesshomaru didn't. She wished he did. In fact, she would give her left arm just for him to care about her the tiniest bit. But he didn't even seem to want to be near her. It was like he purposely avoided Minako. Whenever they stopped to set up camp, he disappeared. He couldn't possibly be out doing business every single night.

Sesshomaru wondered if what he was feeling was anything close to regret. Perhaps it was a little too much to have Jaken burn Minako. She still hadn't healed, and he hadn't realized it would take this long. His body would have healed within a single day, at the most. He sometimes forgot how weak she was in comparison to him. Or in general, really.

Her sudden outburst had come as a surprise to him. She always just took everything he threw at her in silence, perhaps moping a bit, but always letting it pass. He wasn't sure if what he felt toward her could be considered respect, since hanyous didn't quite deserve that from him, but it was damn near close. No one in their right mind ever shouted at him like that. He just did as he pleased, knowing that no one had the power to stop him. The fact that she would stand up to him, knowing full well that he could kill her without a second thought or even any effort at all... it just baffled him.

She looked for medicinal herbs every chance she got, and Rin joined her. He watched them dig through snow in vain. He knew these parts, and the plants they were looking for could not grow in this weather. However, there was a human village nearby. He knew that they grew these things in special little protected areas during the winter.

He hated the idea of doing something that the hanyou would look too deeply into, but he just couldn't stand by and watch them searching for something that he knew they wouldn't find. It was getting on his nerves. He led the three closer toward the human village, stopping far enough away so that he knew Minako wouldn't be able to sense them.

When she left to search for dry wood, he watched Rin wander into the forest, searching once more for the herbs. He stepped out before her, and she stopped abruptly, letting out a surprised gasp and bowing.

"My lord, I swear I wasn't running off!"

"I know," he held out a hand. "Come, Rin."

She happily took hold of his hand and clung to his sleeve as they lifted up into the air, moving quickly toward the village. He stopped just outside of it, reaching into a pouch and handing Rin a piece of gold.

"Go buy the medicine you are looking for," he ordered her. "Don't linger."

"Yes, my lord!"

She ran toward into the village, holding the single piece of gold close to her chest. Sesshomaru waited in hiding, not wanting to bother with making a scene in case anyone realized he was a demon. He couldn't help but wince in disgust as the stench of human overwhelmed his nose.

He was more than glad to see Rin leaving the village, herbs in hand. He didn't want to stay a moment longer. She held onto him as they flew back to the camp. He dropped her off in the woods where he had found her, and she bowed again.

"I can't wait to give these to Minako, she will be so happy!" she sang, twirling around. "And when I tell her you—"

"No, Rin," he interrupted. "You mustn't tell her I had anything to do with this."

She stopped spinning and looked up at him, her expression set in a confused frown. "Why not, my lord? You did help me get them."

"I helped you, not her," he said, trying not to be too cold. The child didn't deserve that. "Just tell her you found it in the woods. You deserve the thanks, Rin. Take it."

She smiled, "Yes, sir! But you have my thanks."

He nodded, motioning for her to go back. She turned and ran off, singing her own little song about finding herbs in the forest. He hoped that the child would do as she was told. She usually did, but in this case, her cooperation was vital to the keeping of his reputation.

When he rejoined with the group, Minako seemed rather chipper. She ignored Sesshomaru completely, not even looking in his direction. A childish way to show that she was still angry with him. He didn't care. Her wrists and ankles were wrapped with strips of white cloth. Her passive aggressive actions meant that Rin had said just what she was told to. That was a good thing, now Minako won't think that he actually cares about her well-being.

So why did he wish she did?