Sesshoumaru strode up to the door at lightening speed and flung open the door.

"Excuse me sir but- AHH!!"

Grabbing the boy by the collar and hoisting him into the air with this week's monster claw, Sesshoumaru growled and menacingly powered up the poison in his claws when he noticed something.

Sesshoumaru didn't consider himself an expert on humans. The boy seemed attractive as far as humans go but... but the boy was much younger than Sesshoumaru was expecting. He looked to be a good foot shorter than Rin and had the round eyes and face of a boy barely over a decade old. Possibly eleven or tweleve at the most. And he currently was crying. Loudly.

"Ah! Ah! Not in the face! Not in the face! What did I do?! Mommy!"

"... You are Rin's escort?" Sesshoumaru paused, not knowing what to think. The boy seemed spineless and young and thus would not be prone to getting fresh with Rin. ::But he's so... I would have thought Rin had better taste... I have human germs all over me now.::

"Rin?! Who's Rin?" The boy panicked, struggling. "You are a youkai aren't you?!" The wide eyed boy stared at Sesshoumaru's claws and struggled some more. "Please don't eat me! I'll taste bad! Oh please don't eat me! Eat my horse!" The boy cowered and gestured to the old greying nag so beaten down by life and so burdened with equipment that she paid the threatening greater youkai, with a near palpable aura of battle, with same regard as a gnat.

(And the horse's name was "Datto" which mean "one who bounds away with lightening speed." Why? Because the Universe likes irony. So do I.)

Datto just bent over and munched the small bunch of young grass that had spouted along the path to the house.

Sesshoumaru dropped the boy onto his rear. "State your name and your business here."

"Ichiro, sir! I just wanted some directions to the nearby village! I'm going to be punished by the heavens aren't I ! I didn't see anything when me and Hiro peeked on Sakura and her sister in the bath! Honest! It was just a dare!"

"... See that you don't do it again." Sesshoumaru blinked and tried not to feel foolish being "a punisher from the heavens". "Why do you want to go to the village?"

"My family are festival food vendors. We sell takoyaki. We usually can't get all the way over to this valley but the spring is early this year. Then my father twisted his ankle when he slipped on some of the ice. My sister and him stayed back in the previous valley. Please don't smite me! I'm the only support of my family! You can't smite the only support of a family!" Ichiro groveled in front of Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the pitiful human. "The village is down that path. Take the left road at the fork if you want to go directly to the village." Sesshoumaru turned around abruptly and went back into the house.

"Oh thank you! Thank you for sparing me! May Buddha bless you! May good luck dog your every step! May-" Ichiro called after Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru opened the door. "Human. Leave." He threateningly raised his claw to scare the boy off then stopped as he noticed another's scent.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Ichiro bowed as he backed away bumping into an older boy that had just come up the path.

"Excuse me." They both said before Ichiro skipped down the path while Datto plodded after him. The other boy walked up to the door.

"Hello. My name is Tatsuyo. Is this where Rin lives?"

*** Thank you to the people that suggested infomation on Japanese festival. With that info, I'm joining to piece together a fictional festival for the village.

A/N:

Takoyaki- ball shaped snack food made with eggs and wheat, cabbage, ginger, and octopus. (This food is served in modern Japanese festival according to my research and doesn't sound like it has new world ingredients so I'm assuming they might have served it back then.)