Separation

He'd stayed away from the human village for a mere three weeks before returning. Fall was nearly upon them and he wanted to be sure his ward had thicker kimonos to fight off the chill. He also made purchase of a thick cloak for her as well as the miko, granted the miko's was far more ornate.

It would serve as a 'wedding gift' as the humans liked to call it. It was a deep navy blue made of fine material, the silk spun by a spider yokai, he would admit to being curt to her due to his past experience with those of her kind. Even so the woman did not let his treatment of her leak into the craftsmanship of the cloak. The inside was lined with stark white fur and the hood large enough to shield her face from the coming chill. The clasp was a crescent moon made of pure silver to note her ties to his house.

As alpha it was his duty to be sure his pack was well taken care of. A fact that contributed largely to why his half brother was still alive to this day. While he had never directly had a hand in ensuring the whelps survival it was with a few well placed threats and bargains that assured the boy made it to adulthood.

Clearings his thoughts of a past well left buried he entered the human village, ignoring the idle chatter of the humans around him. Scenting out his ward he found her on the outskirts of the village, a basket in hand as she picked herbs, the fire nekotama keeping watch over her.

"Rin." His voice held a hint of warmth as she turned to him a large smile on her face as she dropped her basket in favor of wrapping her arms around his legs.

"My lord!" Her words were muffled by his pants yet heard clearly, eyes soft he placed the hand not holding the carefully wrapped parcels on her head in an affectionate pat.

Drawn by her joyful shout the miko exited the nearby woods her own basket of herbs resting on her hip. She flashed him a smile as she approached the two. "Ah, Sesshomaru-sama, what a surprise." Arching a brow at the use of his name instead of 'nii-san' he merely inhaled her scent and was mildly shocked to find it covered by herbs, no doubt a result of them stocking up for the winter, as well the lack of his half brother's scent.

It was barely there, just a small waft of it signaling they had been apart for most of the three weeks since he had last seen them. Filing it away to ponder on later he gave her a small nod. "Miko, I have come bearing gifts." He glanced down at Rin as she gave an excited squeal. Amusement flashing in his eyes he deposited four parcels into her eager hands.

Kagome could only smile fondly as the young girl carefully opened each one oohing and awing over the contents. "Oh, they are simply gorgeous, we'll have to store them someplace safe in Kaede's hut." Rin nodded happily as she re wrapped the packages and approached her mother figure, handing them over for her to place in her basket.

"Hai! Thank you my lord!" Sesshomaru only nodded his mind working over the words the Miko had uttered. From her wording it seemed as if the Miko was once again staying with the old miko and not in the hut his younger brother had built for her a year ago.

Feeling the curiosity in his gaze a light flush dusted her cheeks as she sat her basket down and nervously moved some raven hair behind her ear. "Ah, I guess now's as good a time to tell you then any. Inuyasha and I are no longer together. The kids and I have moved back in with Lady Kaede." Her gaze was anywhere but on him, her feet shifting as she rocked on them.

Letting out a low sound of acknowledgement at her words, making a mental note to track down his whelp of a half brother and get the whole story later, he approached her and held out the last parcel. "For you." His words were short and to the point as he held out his gift watching as she gasped lightly and a light blush dusted her cheeks, her hands rising to wave in front of her.

"Ah, really there's no need to give me anything my lord. It's fine really." His gaze bore into her as if willing her to take the offered gift. Together or not she had married his half brother and by pack law was still his responsibility. Had his half brother's mother survived her care would have fallen to him in the absence of his father.

"You would refuse my gift." It was more of a statement then a question and the look he pinned her with made her gulp. She really didn't want to upset him but she mused the only reason he had brought her anything was due to the fact that she was his sister in law and now that her and Inuyasha were no longer together she really had no right to accept anything from him.

As if sensing hesitation he gave a soundless sigh, "Consider it payment for rearing Rin in my stead." He could see the resolve in her eyes melt away as she gave a small nod and accepted the parcel, her fingers brushing his. A small jolt ran up his arm as their flesh touched yet he gave no reaction to it nor did she.

Holding the parcel to her chest a small dusting of pink on the bridge of her nose she nodded. "Thank you Sesshomaru-sama." He gave a small noise of acknowledgement as he turned back to Rin who was eagerly looking at the parcel in Kagome's hands.

Smiling at the small child she opened the parcel and let out a small gasp, Rin moving closer to finger the soft white lining. "Oh, we match Kagome-sama!" Kagome could only smile, her heart fluttering a bit. It was the most lavish gift she had ever received since her return to the feudal era and she felt honored to have it if not a bit undeserving.

Tearing her gaze from the garment to look up at Sesshomaru and thank him again she was mildly miffed to see him already walking away. Fighting back a smile she held the cloak to her chest with one arm and used the other to cup her hand around her mouth to shout after him.

"Thank you my lord!" He merely raised a hand back towards her as he began to from his signature cloud under his feet. He had a very important discussion to have with his dolt of a half brother.