After several days of endless flying over the extravagant mountains and rivers of Japan, Sesshomaru and Rin set their eyes upon a familiar sight. After a year and a half, they had returned to Kaede's village.
Sesshomaru watched as Rin joyfully ran down the side of the rice fields towards the straw-roofed cottages in the distance, before slowly following after her. Halfway down the road, Rin was greeted by a well-known young miko dressed in red and white carrying a small basket of herbs. Then, they both turned around to welcome Sesshomaru.
"Onisan!" Kagome called out cheerfully, "You're back!"
Immediately, Kagome approached Sesshomaru with a friendly smile. It was only then that the dog demon realized his sister-in-law was with child, and that must have contributed to why she was so happy. Many things had happened during the year and a half he spent in the mainland.
"Mind your step, Kagome," Sesshomaru instinctively said.
"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin smiled, "Did you prepare a gift for Kagome-sama too?"
Sesshomaru felt troubled, because he hadn't. But then he remembered that he owned an item she would probably like. He dug out the compass which the villagers of Fuzhou had given him to thank him for killing the crocodile demon, and gave it to Kagome.
"An antique compass!" Kagome exclaimed, "Thank you very much, Onisan!"
"Kagome! I got 'em!" An acquainted, rough voice yelled.
Inuyasha jumped out of nowhere carrying a huge basketful of medicinal roots. He lumbered up to his pregnant wife, before the little round thing in her hand caught his eye. He took the compass and stared at it in wonder, tipping it to two dozen different angles.
"Do you like it?" Kagome asked, "It's called a compass. Sesshomaru gave it to me."
"Wow, awesome!" Inuyasha exclaimed, "Hey, Nichan! Got anything for me?"
Sesshomaru was more than a little displeased. Despite that Inuyasha was exactly two hundred and six years old, it was the first time in his life that he had ever addressed Sesshomaru as 'big brother'. Sesshomaru had never given him permission to do so, and he never will. Inuyasha was the last person that Sesshomaru would ever prepare a gift for.
Annoyed, Sesshomaru rummaged around his pocket, not wanting to disappoint Rin or Kagome. He produced a long forgotten lumpy object wrapped in a brown paper bag, and held it out to Inuyasha.
"Huh? What is this?" Inuyasha mumbled as he took the bag and unwrapped it, taking out the teeny tiny dried up ghost chilies. Of course, Inuyasha had never been to India or anywhere else in the mainland, and knew nothing of them being the spiciest plant in the whole world.
"Sesshomaru, what are these?" Inuyasha asked, "Some sort of dried fruit from the mainland?"
"No, they're..."
Sesshomaru stopped. Inuyasha didn't seem to think in the slightest that they were chilies, maybe because dogs can't stand spicy food and usually wouldn't keep any with them. Deep inside, Sesshomaru had always wanted to pay Inuyasha back for causing him so much pain in the past. He had learned the fine art of pranking people while in the mainland, and Sesshomaru figured that perhaps now was the best chance to get his long coveted revenge.
"Yes, they are dried fruits. They taste very nice. Eat them now," Sesshomaru told Inuyasha.
Inuyasha grinned and grabbed a huge handful of dried ghost chilies. Sesshomaru screwed up his eyebrows, hardly believing that Inuyasha trusted him so much. In no time, he had plopped half a dozen ghost chilies in his mouth at once, and started chewing ferociously.
Then, suddenly, Inuyasha froze completely, before a head-exploding, gut-wrenching, eardrum-bursting, sanity-killing scream of pure anguish shook the very Earth.
"Sesshomaru, I will kill you!" Inuyasha screamed so loudly that everyone blocked their ears.
Then, the infuriated and chili-overloaded hanyou drew out his Tessaiga and chased after his big brother, who had long foreseen the consequences of his action and flown across the fields. Sesshomaru had a huge advantage when it came to speed, and was able to keep his little brother occupied for ages without any effort. Inuyasha ran after Sesshomaru, cursing and yelling and using the Wind Scar numerous times, but to no avail.
This madness went on until Kagome finally shouted, "Osuwari!"
That sure ended it. After a while, Inuyasha slouched off with Kagome, his blood still boiling. He nearly swore on his life that he would make Sesshomaru suffer for doing that to his tastebuds.
That night, Inuyasha and Kagome ate dinner in Kaede's hut, to welcome home both Rin and Sesshomaru. Kaede and Rin had taken much time and care to cook a pot of wonderful fish soup. The food smelled lovely, and there was plenty for everybody.
"The food is very good, Rin," Sesshomaru commented.
Without minding everyone else, he hastily finished his bowl of soup. Then, he looked up. Nobody else had even touched their food. Every pair of eyes were fixed on Sesshomaru. They were all staring at him as if he had grown another head, and for a good reason. Sesshomaru's first words ever to Rin were, 'Mind your own business, I don't eat what humans eat'. Yet there he was, complimenting her on her great cooking. Everyone had realized by then how much this one trip to the mainland had changed him for the better.
The whole room stayed in creepily awkward silence until Kagome finally cleared her throat and broke the ice, "Ahem, Onisan, would you like a second helping?"
While Kagome filled another bowl with fish soup and handed it to Sesshomaru, Rin finished her food and opened the little blue book printed with the words: Sesshomaru's Journal.
"The olgoi-khorkhoi, Mongolian deathworm, which I slew," Rin read from a page of the diary, "Was guard of a destroyed civilization. The curse bestowed upon this beast, alike many others, was placed by deities in order to punish the dead soul for the crimes it had committed while alive."
But then, as Rin read on, she was visibly disgusted by the physical description of the olgoi-khorkhoi. Everyone seemed to be very repelled, but also awed at the fact that Sesshomaru was able to slay such a hideous beast.
That is, everyone except Inuyasha, who remarked, "Keh! You got clawed by that gross sludgy thing? No wonder you still stink!"
"Inuyasha...osuwari!"
"Gnraygh!" Inuyasha shrieked as his face was slammed into the ground.
"Well, you can keep listening to these fascinating stories, Kaede-obachan," Kagome said politely, placing her empty bowl on the wooden floor, "Inuyasha and I should be going home now."
As Kagome practically dragged a groaning Inuyasha back to their own house, Rin continued to read, "The spear of the Mongolian shaman seems nothing more than valueless rubbish. But so did the Tenseiga, at first, to me. However unlikely, it may be of use someday. This Sesshomaru is very glad to be hosted by the Khan for the winter. But however nice be the accommodation, a life..."
Rin stopped, stunned, and gazed up at Sesshomaru as he sat down on the floor beside her and looked over her shoulder. Then, Rin smiled, her eyes glowing under the flickering orange light afforded by the cooking fire.
"A life without Rin holds no meaning to me," Rin read, her eyes becoming slightly watery, "Every time I set foot onto the snowy meadow, I wonder if Rin is cold. Every time I am dining with the Khan, I worry, what if Rin is hungry? When I am alone, I hope that Rin is not. Although two thousand miles separate us, I only wish Rin a happy birthday."
Rin stopped, and saw that both Kaede and Sesshomaru were looking at her affectionately. Then, Kaede got up from beside the fire and started spreading out the futons. Rin followed after her, and helped with making the beds, while continuing to read from Sesshomaru's journal.
Long into the night, Rin shared the adventurous story with Kaede, before finally concluding with the last entry to the journal, "I will keep my eyes fixed on the horizon, until I see my homeland again."
Then, Rin closed the book, and turned back to Sesshomaru. Kaede remained beside the fire, before saying calmly, "Rin, it's time for bed. Sesshomaru, where do you plan on staying tonight?"
"Shhhh," Rin whispered, "He's sleeping."
"He's what?" Kaede asked, hardly believing her ears.
She turned to Sesshomaru, and stared in disbelief. Then, a soothing smile appeared on Kaede's friendly face.
Never had the all-powerful and threatening Lord Sesshomaru looked more serene and peaceful than when he was relaxed without any worries. In other words, when he was asleep. Without his everlasting cautiousness, the dog demon looked calm, friendly, and even adorable. That was a trait that few would ever discover, and a trait that Sesshomaru's conscious self would never allow anyone to see. But what both Rin and Kaede knew was that no matter who you are, traveling at sea is one of the most exhausting activities one could do. They both were also glad that miraculously, somehow, somewhere, the uptight demon had learned how to sleep.
Inaudibly whispering the word 'kawaii', Rin gently pulled a blanket over Sesshomaru, before putting out the flickering fire. The dark room was beautifully whitened by the pure gleam of starlight, as Rin and Kaede quietly went to bed. They left Sesshomaru in peace to continue his journey far and wide through mountains and rivers, valleys and canyons, ridges and plains...in the world of his dreams.
~~The End~~
Keep reading please, dear reader. There's an epilogue :)
