A/N: As a fair warning, this is another long chapter! To catch up with the editing on the next two chapters (which are also pretty long), there might be a slight delay in next week's update, but I'm hoping the ending to this chapter will make up for that. We're finally getting into the really fun bits of the story :)

Part VIII

The night that Rin and her friends were to celebrate Hana's engagement, Rin had crept away from the village in the early dawn sunlight to hide from the elders so that she could skip field duty. She had woken Jaken, who had fallen asleep outside of Kaede's, and the two of them had wandered the edge of the village together, out of sight from the villagers. They caught fish together in the early morning and, when it was time for breakfast, Rin took out the rice balls she had snagged and they made a small fire to cook their meal. Afterwards, they returned to the village and Jaken was dragged away by the twins, who excitedly told him they had something to show him back at Sango's house. He had cast Rin a long-suffering look before obliging the two girls, grumbling about their lack of manners.

Without his company, Rin found herself with little to do and did not want to get roped into any chores from one of the elders. Instead, she took refuge in a small meadow that overlooked the village. She had collected a bunch of flowers on her way to her hiding spot and after depositing the pile next to her, she had begun to make flower necklaces and crowns, intending to give most of them to Kin'u and Gyokuto. She had gotten quite good at her craft, having made several of them for Jaken when she had been younger. When they were not moving or Sesshomaru had disappeared to one of his tasks, he would often leave them in a flower field much to her pleasure and Jaken would help her carry her flowers so that she could practice at winding the flowers together.

She was working on an elaborate crown that she thought would be nice for Hana when she heard someone approach her from behind. Startled, she whipped around to meet her visitor, but it was only Kagome, who smiled at her and waved a hand.

"Hi," Kagome greeted. "I thought I'd find you up here."

"Ah, Kagome, hi." Rin returned her smile and visibly relaxed, ushering for her to join her. "I didn't know that anyone knew I came up here."

"You're not the only one who likes to hide up here," she said dryly as she sat next to her, stretching her legs out and setting her bow aside. "Inuyasha's always running up here when he's trying to avoid Kaede or me."

Rin returned to her task, nodding in acknowledgement of her words. She had not had the chance to see Kagome much since Inuyasha had left. Where she used to spend a good deal of time with her practicing archery, Kagome and Miroku had been otherwise occupied making their rounds about the village and checking in with the men. She knew from rumors and overhearing the villagers that they had encountered a handful of demons, none of whom seemed to be related to Bushuugi.

"I hope he's okay," Kagome quietly said into the silence. "It's been weeks since Inuyasha left. Kouga had sent one of his men to tell us that they were safe and following a trail, but since then – nothing." She sighed, resting her arms on the top of her knee. "Has Sesshomaru said anything to you about it?"

Surprised, Rin raised her eyes to her from the crown she had been making. "No...He doesn't talk to me about those kinds of things. But I don't think Lord Sesshomaru would just sit around if he thought something had happened. That's not really his style."

Kagome laughed incredulously. "You give him a lot of credit! You're probably right, though."

Another silence fell in which Rin completed the crown for Hana. She raised it up to inspect it and after giving a satisfied smile, she dropped it to join the pile of other items she had created.

"What are you doing up here, anyway?" Kagome asked her. "Kin'u said that you were with Jaken earlier."

"I just needed some time alone, I guess."

Kagome eyed her thoughtfully and then offered a gentle smile. "Care to share your thoughts with me? It might help to talk it out."

Rin turned a stray flower in her fingers, gazing down at the soft petals as she deliberated over Kagome's offer. It was not that she distrusted Kagome – in fact, out of everyone, Kagome was perhaps the only one who would have truly understood her unique position.

She had taken a risk the last time she had spoken seriously with Sesshomaru. She had been to see him since then and neither of them had broached the topic of her traveling with him again. She had gotten the sense that, until Inuyasha returned or Bushuugi was eliminated, he would not be leaving the village anyway, so there was still time. At the very least, though, she had wanted to make it clear that her desire to be with him and Jaken had not changed. She had spent days agonizing over the conversation before she had approached him with it. There had been many nights where she cried for hours, not understanding what Sesshomaru wanted from her and not knowing how to properly respond to Kohaku without hurting him. She had even constructed images in her mind of being married to Kohaku, but traveling with Sesshomaru or perhaps all of them traveling together again and each time she had the same uncomfortable sensation that she had after kissing Kohaku. It pained her to know that she could not give Kohaku what he wanted. It broke her heart to know that she would have to hurt him and a small part of her accused her of being selfish. Kohaku had done so much for her through the years that her heart, in some strange sense, felt she owed it to him to accept his feelings.

Rin had tried in those hours to search for some possibility of romantic love for Kohaku. She had wracked her mind, trying to return to that moment when she had recognized him as a man, had been flattered at his attention, but it would not come back to her. Each time, her mind compared the kiss to the fleeting touches of Sesshomaru, which were so less intimate and yet stirred a greater desire in her. She could no more change her heart than Kohaku could and she could not imagine giving him only half of herself. She knew that it would not satisfy him. She had felt too much in that kiss.

Even knowing that, though, Rin had not had the courage to honestly reveal herself to Sesshomaru in that conversation. She was too terrified at the possibility of rejection. In her eyes, it had been risky enough to plead that he allow her to leave with him, to ask whether that would be something he, too, wanted. It had been one of the few times that Rin had ever asked Sesshomaru for some validation in his perception of her. It had eased some of the pain her heart had been experiencing and, although she was loathe to do so, it gave her the allowance of being honest to Kohaku when she responded to his feelings. She could honestly tell him where her heart lied. She knew that he would not betray her to anyone else, least of all Sesshomaru.

Although Rin had gone through these mental acrobats on her own, she still did not truly understand what it was that Sesshomaru expected of her. Their relationship, which had been so uncomplicated before, now seemed to be blurring a line that she could not see. She was happy to remain with Sesshomaru her entire life, but she also knew from Hiroshi's reactions and her own experiences that it would isolate her from other humans. As a child, it had been easier to walk alongside a demon. As a woman, the world would interpret it much differently and only see her as the lover of a demon lord. She was sure that Sesshomaru, too, would grasp such a perception, yet it did not seem to trouble him. She understood her own reasons for being unbothered by such gossip – it was a reality that she wanted. For Sesshomaru, who had done his best to protect her from the bad opinion of others and was willing to battle anyone who dared disrespect her, it made less sense. He would not have wanted anyone to speak ill of her, especially if it were a falsehood.

As such, Rin still did not understand him in that regard, just as she had not when she first began her mental agony.

"Does it bother you when people talk badly about Inuyasha?" Rin asked presently. Kagome had been waiting patiently for her to collect her thoughts.

"Sure," Kagome answered with a slight laugh, "but what can I expect? He used to terrorize them back when Kaede was a kid. I can't blame them for not liking him. Inuyasha doesn't really try to make himself likeable, either, to be honest. He doesn't care one way or another." She gave her eyes a tiny roll of exasperation, though there was a fond smile on her lips.

"Neither does Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said with a tiny sigh. "I don't like it. I hate when people talk bad about them."

"Is this because of Hiroshi?"

"A little," she admitted, "but also...People talk bad about you, too, don't they?"

"Not as much anymore. In the beginning, people thought I was crazy for running with Inuyasha. But I mean, I was already a girl from Tokyo, so I was weird enough as is." Kagome smiled at her. "I remember us thinking you had to of lost your mind for hanging around Sesshomaru when you were a kid, but we also didn't know why Sesshomaru was keeping you around, either."

Rin laughed, lifting her shoulder in a shrug. "I don't think a lot of people understand Lord Sesshomaru. He's not how people make him out to be. Not completely, anyway."

Kagome considered that for a long moment, her gaze drifting up to the sky. The clouds drifted by lazily, fluffy and white in the cerulean blue. "Sesshomaru's always seemed like he tried to avoid killing in front of you," Kagome observed after a time. "I don't think he's ever wanted you to see him when he's like that. And trust me, I've seen the difference between when you're there and not. He doesn't hold back otherwise."

Rin smiled at this reminder. She, too, had noticed Sesshomaru's restraint when she was around. It did not mean she was not aware of his brutality, though. She had heard too many stories from Jaken and witnessed too many people fear him to think that he was as kind to others as he was with her. That side of him did not change her perception of him. To her, he was still the demon she had stumbled upon in the forest when she had been a kid and the man that had enough compassion to ask after her well-being.

"Come on, Rin, what's this really about?" Kagome asked coaxingly. "It's not like you to beat around the bush."

She met Kagome's eyes, which were so wide and brown and warm. Like Rin, she had an open, honest expression, unable to hide her emotions. She had never been unkind to Rin, not even when she had been traveling with Sesshomaru as a child, and she had even looked out for her then to some extent.

Looking away, she said, "Ever since I was a kid, everyone's made me feel bad for wanting to stay with Lord Sesshomaru. Now that I'm older, everyone is expecting me to get married to one of the boys here and I'm sure that Kaede's given her approval to Hiroshi. All I want is to be with him, though. That's all I've ever wanted since I came here. It feels like nobody can accept that's what I want – like I'm not smart enough to know better or that they think it's not really what I want. It's always been like that. When I was younger, none of the monks could understand why I'd choose to stay with a demon and even you admitted you guys thought the same thing about me. But when it's you and Inuyasha, it's like it's different, like that's expected of you two. People say horrible things about Lord Sesshomaru because of me, which is why I've stopped talking about him to anyone. Any time I do, I'm treated like some kind of freak."

Kagome looked disconcerted by her descriptions and she quickly reached out, squeezing her hand. "Rin – I'm sorry. That's not how I meant to make it sound. I don't think you're a freak."

"Everyone else in the village does, though," Rin told her, gesturing towards the cluster of buildings below them. "And they think he's some kind of predator, aiming to cut me into pieces and eat me when I'm fat or something."

"That's just ignorance talking," Kagome said fiercely, her grip tightening. "Look, I'll admit that I find your relationship with Sesshomaru to be a bit unusual, but it's not because he's a demon – it's because it's Sesshomaru. All I have for comparison is how he is when he's around Inuyasha. That doesn't mean I don't see how he is with you – he's like a different person." She released Rin's hand then, brushing her hair back and searching for words, glancing around. She grabbed at the flower that Rin had dropped at some point during the conversation, plucking at the petals as she talked. "Sesshomaru has always been this scary, unrelenting type of person and then there's Jaken, who just follows blindly and was annoyingly loyal. When you came along, the two of them just changed. Jaken was willing to throw himself into danger for you where he would run away before or just stay on the sidelines. Sesshomaru wouldn't have bared his back for an attack for anyone, but he does for you. And these last years, any time I saw you two together, he looked – I don't know – happy with you. That's the only time I've ever seen him like that."

"But even you have tried to make me think about marriage to one of the boys in the village," Rin said accusingly. "You, Sango, and Kaede have been on me about it the last two years."

"I know, I know," Kagome agreed, putting her hands up in surrender and then dropping the de-flowered stem. "I'm guilty of being biased as much as the next person."

"It makes it hard on me, you know. I don't want to disappoint anyone here. You've all taken care of me for the past seven years."

"Rin," Kagome sighed, "if there's anything that Inuyasha has taught me, it's that you shouldn't care what other people think. He spent his whole life being judged and watched his mother get treated unfairly just because she had a child with a demon. People weren't super welcoming to us, sure, but I can't imagine what he and Kikyo went through since she had been guarding the Shikon Jewel. It must have been so much worse." She cast a rueful little smile towards Rin. "Don't let what anyone thinks get to you. If after all this time you till want to be with Sesshomaru, then go for it. Who cares what anyone else thinks? He sure doesn't, so why should you?"

Rin laughed and leaned over, hugging her tight. Something about hearing Kagome give her permission eased some of the tension in her chest. It was if she had been waiting for someone else to tell her that it was okay to feel how she did. "Thanks, Kagome."

"No problem." Kagome returned the hug and then the two of them rose to their feet. As Kagome was picking up her bow, she added in a wistful tone, "Besides, we don't have as much time as they do. We have to take advantage of what we've got."

Rin reached over and took her hand in hers briefly, smiling. "I don't think Inuyasha's ever going to move on from you."

"Maybe not," Kagome replied wryly as Rin collected her crafted necklaced and crowns. "Sometimes I'm reminded how similar Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are and it creeps me out."

"Well, they came from the same father," Rin said reasonably as they made their way through the meadow to the small path that led down into the village. "Maybe they take after him."

"If they do, then he must've had anger issues too because neither of them are good at keeping their cool."

Rin lingered with Kagome for some time after returning to the village, handing off the flower jewelry to the twins, who were overjoyed at the decorations. When the sun began to get low in the sky, she gave her farewell to Sango and the twins, who were getting ready for dinner inside the home. As she stepped out, she smiled at Kagome and Miroku who had been in discussion outside the house. Miroku's sober expression cleared as he smiled at her, although Kagome was not as good at hiding hers.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked, frowning slightly.

"Are you meeting Kohaku now?" Kagome asked instead.

"Yeah," she replied, puzzled. "We're going over to the cliffside to meet Hana and the others for a celebration. Why?"

"Shinobu proposed to Akai today," Miroku explained when Kagome continued to look worried, crossing her arms over her chest. "From what it sounds like, Hiroshi's planning on asking you at the get-together. I told Kaede not to give her approval to him, but she didn't want to listen. She's a little headstrong about things like this."

"Tonight?" Rin repeated, blanching in horror. "Who tries to take over someone else's celebration like that?"

Miroku shrugged. "Hiroshi, apparently. I think it'll be a bit of an awkward night anyway, with Shinobu and Akai's engagement. Ah, to be young again!" He gave a rueful smile towards Kagome, who cast him a sarcastic look. "I remember when I was chasing girls all over the countryside. Those certainly were the days."

"The days where you wanted to get your ass kicked," Sango called warningly from inside the house.

"You're never violent with me anymore, Sango," Miroku replied in a mock pained voice. "What happened to being punched or bashed across the head?"

"Keep it up and I'll give you your wish, husband dearest."

Miroku chuckled good-naturedly and then turned back towards Kagome and Rin, who had listened to this exchange in silence. His face fell upon witnessing their stares. "What?"

"Anyway," Kagome said, clearing her throat and digging around in her pocket, "aside from all these weird teenage love triangles, I'm more worried about Hiroshi." She pulled out a charm and pressed it into Rin's hands. "I don't want you to need this and I trust Kohaku to keep an eye on you, but just in case. I'd feel better if you had it."

"You don't think Hiroshi would actually do something, do you?" Rin asked them, tucking the charm inside her kimono.

"Hard to say," Miroku replied, rubbing the back of his head absent-mindedly. "I know Kohaku's had a word with him, but I don't know how serious he takes him."

"I've been in enough weird situations in the feudal era to not trust men to be gentleman," Kagome said to her with a twist of her mouth. "Given how Hiroshi was last time, I'm preparing for the worst."

"You're going to make a great mom someday, Kagome," Rin told her, smiling. She patted the charm. "Thank you for this. It'll make me feel a little better, too."

"Don't have too much sake!" Miroku added as Rin made her way from the home.

Rin waved in reply to this before heading through the village to where she would be meeting Kohaku and Mei. The two of them had agreed to walk from the village together several days prior, but when she arrived at the end of the village, Kohaku was the only one standing there. When she raised her hands up, palms to the sky in question, he shrugged in reply.

"She said she had to talk to Akai and I haven't seen her since," Kohaku said by means of explanation. "They probably walked there together. I've already waited around enough for her and couldn't find her anywhere on my way here."

"Oh, that must be because of her engagement," Rin said with comprehension. "Miroku just told me that Shinobu proposed."

"Oh, great," Kohaku sighed. "That means Hana's going to be in one of her moods."

"What for?"

"Oh, you know." Kohaku gestured vaguely. "Stupid teenage stuff."

Rin giggled at this observation. "You talk like an old man, Kohaku."

"She's five years younger than me. That's a huge gap in maturity."

For the briefest of moments, Rin felt as if nothing had changed between them. She had not been alone with Kohaku ever since he had kissed her, feeling too awkward and conflicted to dare approach him and he had been too busy to even initiate any sort of meeting. Now that a silent had fallen, however, the reminder of that day seemed to lie heavy between them.

Shifting from foot to foot, she forced a bright smile on her face and suggested, "Well...shall we go, then?"

"Oh...yeah. Let's."

They made their way through the field and then began the ascent up a small slope that led into the small patch of rocks and boulders that blocked off the cliffside from the field. Kohaku squeezed in ahead of her and was waiting patiently for her on the other side as she picked her way between two boulders. He caught her hand to steady her as she stepped through. As she straightened up, he did not immediately release her hand, levelling a watchful gaze upon her face. The moment passed quickly as he smiled and released her hand.

"You look nice today, Rin," he said, turning away and continuing up the incline towards the cliffside. "You've looked tired lately."

"Probably the heat," she answered not at all truthfully. "It's been making it hard to sleep."

There was no time for additional conversation as they came to the crest of the cliffside and were greeted by exuberant voices. Mei had rushed up to the pair, grinning wildly and greeting them with a hug. Under her breath, she muttered, "Watch out. Hana's been drinking a lot already."

"I can tell," Rin amusedly said, catching sight of Hana seated comfortably in Takashi's lap, draped over him like a silk kimono. "At least she's in a good mood."

"So far," Kohaku said darkly.

The three of them made their way to the group, where the others had filled cups with sake and offered them to Rin and Kohaku. Rin had initially been sitting next to Akai, but when she had moved some time later, Hiroshi had replaced her spot and had forcefully engaged her in a conversation. When Akai returned from where she had been, she cast an apologetic look towards Rin as she settled on the other side of Shinobu. Hiroshi seemed to be in good spirits, however, and there was no talk of demons or anything more serious than a game that he and Kohaku had won in the village against some other boys two days ago.

As they began to drink more sake and the sun began to hang lower in the sky, the friends reminisced over their childhood, recounting memories of both Hana and Akai, teasing them mercilessly. Many of the memories were ones that Rin had not been included in, so she listened with half an ear as she sipped on her sake cup. Mei was on the other side of Kohaku and he, like herself, did not contribute as much to the conversation as the others. Kohaku seemed to be keeping an eye on Hana, who had the tendency to start fights when she was drinking. On the other side of him, Mei was deep in conversation about a memory that Rin was sure had happened before she had even arrived in the village.

Once the sun had set, the boys collected wood and constructed a modest bonfire to warm themselves in the cooling night air. While the summer days were still hot, the nights had begun to cool and being so near the river made the temperature drop a significant enough amount to where the fire was welcome.

Rin had stopped drinking by this point in the night, not liking the fuzzy feeling that often accompanied the overconsumption of sake. Instead, she had stretched her hands out to warm them at the fire, listening to Takashi and Shinobu argue over a particular day in which they had battled over Hana. If she was honest with herself, she would have been glad to go home. The amused feeling had worn off and she found herself feeling a little lonely in their company. She had not realized how little she was in their memories until they had begun to tell stories, very few of which she had even been a part of or even known about.

Looking around, she realized that she was not the only one that did not appear to be having a good time. Akai had also gone quiet, staring down into her sake cup with a discontented, morose expression. Rin caught her glancing at Shinobu once or twice during his argument with Takashi and, with a start, became aware that such a scene had played out multiple times in the past. The difference now was that Shinobu was supposed to be Akai's betrothed and should not have been arguing about Hana at all.

"Don't you think that's enough?" Rin spoke up, interrupting the two boys, who stopped their discussion and then gaped at her. "We've all heard this enough before, after all."

"I always thought that Shinobu would be forever alone after I rejected him," Hana declared abruptly from her comfortable spot by the fire, knocking back the remainder of her sake and smacking her lips. "Who would think he'd ask Akai of all people?" She gave a sly grin, as if she had said something rather clever. Rin exchanged a look with Kohaku, who had rolled his eyes a bit as if to say, Here we go.

"What's wrong with Akai?" Mei snapped, narrowing her eyes at Hana. "She's extremely pretty! One of the prettiest girls in the village, actually. Any guy would be happy to have her as a wife."

"Well, sure," Hana said airily, as if the other girl was not even there, "but let's be honest, if I had said 'yes' first, he wouldn't have even asked."

Mei was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression, as if she could not believe what the other girl was saying. Rin glanced over at Akai, who had not said a word in defense of herself. She had a hard, stubborn look on her face and appeared to be trying to block out the unpleasantness.

"And Akai's liked Shinobu for years, that's the only reason she said 'yes.'"

"You're heartless," Takashi laughingly said, moving over to Hana and lifting her up in an embrace. The following display was embarrassing and caused Rin to drop her gaze back down to her empty sake cup. "That's why I love you."

"Maybe Shinobu just doesn't like girls that talk like this about their friends," Kohaku remarked, drinking the rest of his sake and setting his cup aside.

Hana had surfaced noisily from the onslaught of kisses that Takashi had bestowed upon her. She straightened up, whipping her long, silky hair around her shoulders and levelling a cold stare upon him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, brushing Takashi off when he attempted to draw her into his arms again.

"Just that you're kind of a jerk."

Hana gave a derisive laugh. "Really? You think I'm a jerk?"

"Hana, stop," Akai quietly told her. "You know you always get mean when you drink too much. Maybe we should get you some water."

Shinobu had been left standing near the fire where he and Takashi had been arguing, looking uncomfortable. He had a sheepish, guilty sort of look about him and would not look at Akai, who seemed similarly unwilling to look at him. The only person who seemed to be watching the exchanges without a change of expression was Hiroshi, who was listening with a half-smile on his lips. It was clear that he expected the entire thing to blow over in a matter of seconds, which Rin assumed was what typically happened during such arguments. This was only one of a few that Rin had ever witnessed and given Akai's expression, she was not so sure that it would resolve itself quickly. They were no longer kids arguing over toys or treats – this was about husbands and their future. She had a feeling it was about to take a turn for the worse.

"You always act like you're better than us," Hana continued ruthlessly, ignoring Akai. "Everyone knows your story – how you got possessed by a disgusting demon and killed your whole family. And just so you know, Mei told me what you said to her." She thrust a finger towards Mei, who had frozen at the mention of her name. "Maybe that demon left something in you since you'd rather be with a demon's whore than Mei."

There was a flurry of movement as soon as Hana spat her last words. Kohaku had lunged to his feet and at the same time, Hiroshi also had, grabbing a hold of him and pulling him back. Mei and Rin, however, had also bounded to their feet. Mei shoved Rin back, causing her to lose her balance and fall back into the dirt. Outside of the insult on herself, Rin was beyond appalled at what Hana had said about Kohaku. She could not forgive how callously she had mentioned his family when it was a topic that Kohaku would not broach even with her. And yet, the insult towards herself had also driven a knife through her heart –'demon's whore.' She had never been close to Hana, that was true, but she never would have imagined she could speak about her in such an ugly voice.

"Shut up, Hana!" Mei would have been screaming into her face if Takashi had not hastily wedged himself between the two girls. "I can't believe you'd actually bring that up! Kohaku and I both asked you not to! It happened two years ago – get over it! I don't care anymore about that."

"You're such a liar!" Hana snarled back at her, pushing against Takashi's arms. "I still see the way you look at Kohaku! And so what, anyway? Did anyone bother to tell Rin? Did you tell her that he was the one that asked you not to say anything to her? At least I'm honest! I don't go around pretending!"

"Pretending about what? You're the one acting like a jerk just because Shinobu's engaged now!"

"About her!" Hana gestured towards Rin, who had still not gotten up from where she had been shoved. "I never pretended to be friends with her! You didn't even like her when she first came here and now you're trying to act like you're best friends or something. You just wanted to get closer to Kohaku!"

"That...that was a long time ago!" Mei whirled around with a panicked stare to look at Rin. "That's not how it is anymore!"

Anymore? Rin repeated blankly in her head.

"You guys make me sick," Kohaku said disgustedly, shaking Hiroshi off him. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Kohaku, that was years ago – literally over five years!"

"And that's supposed to make it okay?" Kohaku lashed back.

A heavy silence fell over the group. Numbly, Rin looked around, unable to process the words that had been hurled around the bonfire. Where she once had the vague feeling of loneliness now felt like a hollow ocean in her chest. The betrayal of Mei's friendship hurt more than she would have thought. She could still remember Mei coming to her about Sesshomaru, encouraging her, and now she wondered if it had been a ploy to get her out of the village so that she could have Kohaku to herself. The possibility was too real just then and it hurt to think that someone she had been so close to had actually wanted nothing to do with her.

Her eyes drifted over the empty spot next to her and she blinked slowly.

"Akai is gone," she quietly said into the silence.

"What?" Shinobu turned around and even in the fire light, she could see his face go white. "I'm going after her – she's probably upset. I can't blame her." His last words sounded bitter.

Kohaku huffed an irritated sigh. "I'll go with you."

"Well, I'm coming," Hana declared stubbornly. "She's obviously upset over a stupid joke."

"You're drunk, Hana," Shinobu said uneasily. "Maybe you should just stay here."

"Don't tell me what to do! You're not my husband." she snapped angrily. "Takashi, come on!"

Looking as uncomfortable as Shinobu had only moments earlier, Takashi followed her into the gloom outside the fire's circle. Shinobu, his shoulders drooping with regret, followed them shortly after, mumbling something indistinct to himself, as if he were trying to justify his behavior that night.

"I'll come with," Mei said, stirring from her wooden position.

"Stay here," Kohaku sharply told her. "We don't need a whole village to find one person."

"We'll stay here," Hiroshi told Kohaku, reaching down and helping Rin unsteadily to her feet. "Maybe she just wandered off a bit and is planning to come back."

Kohaku nodded wordlessly and after shooting a stern, meaningful look towards Mei, he disappeared after the others, who were shouting into the darkness after Akai. Once he was gone, Mei shifted anxiously from foot to foot, looking at Rin, who still had not said anything to her, and back the way that Kohaku had walked. It was clear that Kohaku had intended Mei to stay back as a buffer for Hiroshi in case he tried something, but her desire to prove herself to Kohaku was warring with Rin's safety.

Her friend's safety, as it happened, did not win the war.

Swearing under her breath, Mei broke into a run, ignoring Hiroshi shouting after her.

"What's gotten into everyone?" Hiroshi grumbled, kicking at a stray rock and looking equally disgusted with the lot of them. He ran a hand over his head and glanced back at Rin, who still had not moved. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh...yes, it's fine." She gave him a wan smile and forced her feet to move. Her hands felt stiff from the cold. She rubbed them together, pressing closer to the fire. Hiroshi added some extra wood to the blaze and then moved to stand next to her, releasing a long sigh. "I...didn't know that's how everyone felt about me."

"We were dumb kids back then, Rin," Hiroshi told her apologetically. "Don't let it get to you and what Hana said – she's just been listening to gossip too much lately. You shouldn't listen to her when she's like this. She always turns into an ass when she's been drinking."

"But that's how she really sees me," Rin quietly said, gazing into the fire. "And what she said about Mei...that was true."

"Yeah, I guess," he admitted with another sigh. "We'd never met someone who'd been traveling with a demon before, so...we weren't the nicest to you. I know it's probably not something you want to hear. Hana's not wrong though – at least she's being honest. It's better to know people's real character or at least where everyone was coming from."

Rin slowly turned to stare at him. If she was not mistaken, it sounded as if he was trying to defend the things that Hana had said. "Does that give anyone the right to be that awful?"

"Well, no. Look, I told you last time that people were saying things," Hiroshi said defensively, his brows drawing together. "You shouldn't be surprised that she's calling you something like that. It's no worse than what the villagers have been saying. Just look at it from our perspective – "

"Your perspective?" Rin interrupted, a bubbling anger rising as her numbness began to wear off. "When have any of you tried to look at it from my perspective? Or Kohaku's? Or Inuyasha's or anyone's?"

"They're demons!" Hiroshi exploded. "Who cares what they think?"

"I do! I care!"

Hiroshi looked stunned by this admittance, staring at her as if did not recognize her. For once, she did not care to be polite or kind to anyone just then. She felt horribly betrayed by every last one of them outside of Kohaku. None of them had given her an honest chance, had never bothered to have an actual conversation with her to understand her viewpoint in the slightest. She had lost her patience for her friends – a term that she realized she could no longer apply to those in this group. She was nauseated by their behavior and wanted nothing more than to be as far away from them as possible. She had always known from traveling with Sesshomaru that many of the humans were close-minded, but she never would have expected her friends to still have such narrow-minded views of her and those she kept company after years of interacting with her.

"Look," Hiroshi spoke in a more level tone, "I like you, Rin. Do you think I want to hear people saying that kind of stuff about you? You already know that I'm eventually going to ask you to be my wife. You can't...you can't just walk around saying things like this and acting this way."

"You're talking as if I'm already your wife," she said coldly.

"This isn't really the right time for this, but I asked Kaede and she gave me her approval. It's just a formality, really, to ask you."

Rin stared at him for a long pause, so offended at his casual disregard of her own opinion that she could not speak at first. At last, she asked him, "What is it that you like about me?"

He blinked. "That's obvious. You're beautiful."

"What else?"

"What else?" he repeated dimly and then looked around, as if the answer would be lying somewhere on the ground. "Well...you're good with kids and you're a hard worker."

"Is that all?"

"What else could you possibly want?" He had thrown his hands up in exasperation. "I think you'd make a great wife! You should be flattered!"

"Well, I'm not," she told him bluntly, "and it's up to me who I choose as a husband."

An incredulous spurt of laughter had erupted from Hiroshi. "What a joke! Says who?"

"Lord Sesshomaru," she answered calmly.

"Right, the demon," he said sarcastically and made a dismissive gesture. "That's not how things work around here, Rin. And to be honest, I'm kind of getting sick of hearing about him."

Rin's patience for the conversation had met its end. She had been insulted, betrayed, and degraded all in one night. She was done listening to someone blatantly disrespect not only herself, but Sesshomaru.

"And I'm tired of hearing people around here telling me what to do," Rin said in a flinty voice. "I'm not interested in marrying anyone who doesn't respect me." She made to leave then, intending to sprint away from him, knowing that she had likely angered him. Hiroshi moved too fast for her. He had crossed the space she had put between them and had a hold of both her wrists, making it impossible for her to either disengaged him or even reach for the charm in her kimono. The shadows of the fire distorted his expression, made him look ugly and menacing. He bent his head closer to hers, even as she bent backwards to avoid him being too close. With a frustrated snarl, he jerked at her wrists and pulled her body to his, releasing one of her wrists and yanking at her kimono. There was a ripping sound and Rin gasped, freezing in place when she felt the shock of cold air hit her shoulder.

"You really don't see what's happening, do you?" he asked in a low, intense voice. "I know – I've watched him, watched all of them. You're going to meet a nasty end if you stay with that demon. I can't let that happen to you, Rin. You're too good of a person for that."

"Let go of me, Hiroshi!"

His grip on her wrist was strong and his other hand had bunched her kimono sleeve. Remembering what Sesshomaru had taught her, she twisted in his grip and brought her head against his nose. He howled and his grip had loosed just enough to tear herself away. Her kimono sleeve ripped off from her arm and she scrambled away until adrenaline powered her legs into the darkness. She heard him anxiously screaming her name, perhaps aware that he had made a grave error, and then heard his following footsteps. A moment later, she heard a more alarmed voice calling out to her and recognized it as Kohaku. But she was terrified to turn around and try to find him. Hiroshi was close in pursuit and she did not know what he would do if he caught her.

She had no concept of where she was running, only listening for the sound of running water. She was pulling out the charm that had slid down to her stomach where it had fallen against the sash. She was trembling so violently that she was scratching herself, but she was able to get the charm unfolded and clutched in her shaking hands. The small crescent of moonlight lit up her way and she could see a small animal trail that led towards a drop off that would lead her to the river bank. She steered her body towards it and just as she did, another body hit hers. She knew without needing to see that it was Hiroshi.

Without hesitating, she slapped the charm onto his head and he was violently thrown backwards several feet. Scrabbling to her feet, she once again darted away from him even as she heard him release a frustrated snarl as he hit the ground. Now that she had attacked him, she knew that they were past the point of reason. What once could have possibly been an attempt at rectifying his poor choice of words and actions was now only a rage-fueled pursuit after her. She was beginning to think he would rather see her dead than anywhere near Sesshomaru at this point.

She lost her footing and went tumbling down the tiny hill into the beach of pebbles. Gasping for air, her legs shaking so badly it was difficult to get back to standing, she whirled around when she stood up and her stomach clenched upon seeing Hiroshi's form looming on the hillside. She gathered up what remained of her tattered kimono and sprinted towards the water. If she could just get to the water, she could swim across or follow the current down.

She could feel him close behind her. He had been gasping her name, begging her to stop. His hand snatched at her hair and she screamed in protest, flailing at his hand. Desperately, she begged her legs to work harder, to push her further. Kohaku was bellowing her name and she knew that he was not far behind them.

And then, just before she was about to reach the water, a white blur went past her and she heard the sickening sound of flesh on flesh followed by a body dragging through the pebbles.

The night, which had been so chaotic and dark seconds before, was now eerily silent.

Rin's feet had stopped on their own, her legs buckling as she fell halfway into the water as she turned. Hiroshi was struggling to get back to a kneeling position, holding his bleeding nose. Behind him, Mei and Kohaku had managed to follow them to the bottom of the hill where they stood immobile. Mei looked terrified, her face as white as bone and it was clear why she looked so frightened. Between Rin and Hiroshi was standing Sesshomaru, his fist still raised from where he had just struck Hiroshi. He looked resplendent in the darkness, his hair almost glowing against the gloomy environment. She realized that Mei, like many of those that she had grown up with in the village, had never seen Sesshomaru angry. There was no mistaking the aura of rage surrounding him. She was sure if Hiroshi had dared try to approach him, he would have been cut down within seconds.

"Y-you bastard!" Hiroshi sputtered, holding his face as blood spurted. Even from her vantage point, Rin could tell that his nose had been broken.

"I warned you," Sesshomaru quietly spoke, although it was not directed towards Hiroshi but to herself. "I told you I would be less forgiving if this happened again."

Sesshomaru had not turned to face her, nor had she moved to drag herself up into a standing position. She understood what he was saying. No words that she could offer would prevent him from exacting some type of punishment. Guiltily, she realized that she did not feel Hiroshi deserved any mercy just then. Only a madman would have chased a girl down to the river in such a manner. Instead, she bowed her head and nodded, accepting whatever happened next.

"What'd you say, bastard?" Hiroshi shouted at him, having gotten to his feet at last. "Mind your own fucking business for once!"

"Shut the hell up, Hiroshi!" Mei screamed at him. She made to move, but Kohaku's arm shot in front of her, preventing her from moving. He, like Rin, understood how on edge Sesshomaru was just then and knew that he would not take kindly to anyone trying to interrupt. "Get off, Kohaku!"

"This wouldn't even be happening if not for you!" Hiroshi continued on, ignoring the pair behind him. "You made Rin's life here miserable! She could have been happy on her own here, but because of her association with you, she'll never have a normal life. Why don't you just leave already? Don't try and pretend like you actually care about her, either, because you don't! You leave her constantly and we all know that demons aren't even capable of feeling anything for anyone except for themselves! All your kind is good for is killing." He spat at the ground to accentuate his point.

Rin openly stared, unable to believe that Hiroshi could be so hateful and so foolish to speak in such a way to Sesshomaru. Kohaku and Mei also seemed similarly in shock, for they had stopped their struggle behind him and could only gawk in horror.

"Is that so?" Sesshomaru asked softly, almost conversationally. "Then I suppose I should prove you right." His hand shot out, a green whip of light snaking from his two index fingers and catching Hiroshi around the ankle. Rin tensed, watching as he was raised effortlessly into the air and then slammed back into the ground. She flinched, glancing away. When she looked again, Hiroshi had tried to claw his way away from Sesshomaru, but the whip was still around his ankle. He dragged Hiroshi along the pebbles, languidly walking forward and then reached down, grasping Hiroshi's head and picking him up effortlessly.

Hiroshi swung from Sesshomaru's grip, his eyes bulging in fear as he stared at him. The cockiness from seconds ago had vanished. His head had begun to bleed from a gash that had formed from when Sesshomaru had slammed into the ground, causing further rivulets of blood to stream down his face.

"Beg for your life, human," Sesshomaru said to him, a small smile playing on the edge of his lips. "Or apologize to Rin."

"Wh-what?" Hiroshi gasped out in terror.

"Maybe this Sesshomaru will be merciful to you."

"I'll...I'll never! I've done nothing wrong!"

"No?" Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder to Rin. "This scum would rather die than apologize to you. The choice is yours."

Rin found the last bit of strength in her to drag herself back up to her feet and looked down at her beaten body. She was shocked at how many bruises had formed on her body. Her arms and chest were a collection of yellow and green hues from the bruising. She had torn her kimono from her hip down in her fall and the pieces that had been secured around her arm after Hiroshi had ripped it had also torn apart. She was half-naked and looked like an utter disaster. Looking back up, she saw that Mei and Kohaku had inched their way closer to Hiroshi at some point and the sight of Mei reminded her of how the night's events had unfolded.

For the first time, she could not find it in her to forgive them just then. She felt used, disrespected, and as if someone had gutted her. It was not the physical damage that gave her pain, but that Hiroshi had known Mei had been using her to get close to Kohaku, that he knowingly went to Kaede thinking that Rin might reject him, and that he believed her incapable of making her own choices. And after all the wrongs he had inflicted on her, he still would not apologize. His ego had been too wounded by her rejection and Sesshomaru's humiliation of him. It was the mindset of a boy who had yet to face the real world, trapped in his own idealistic bubble.

Rather than approaching Sesshomaru, she only bowed her head again silently, the only sign of acquiescence that she could give to him.

No one else there understood the movement except for Kohaku.

"Lord Sesshomaru, no!" Kohaku cried out, sprinting forward and kneeling in front of him, his hands on his knees in a gesture of respect. "Please! Leave him to me. The village should decide what happens to him. I don't ask this because how he acted was right, but this will only cause further tensions between demons and humans here. Let me take him. I'll make sure he's appropriately punished."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes on him and then snorted, releasing his grip on Hiroshi and allowing him to fall onto the ground, where he crumpled into a heap. "Fine. Take him, then. Get out of my sight."

Relieved, Kohaku knelt down and pulled Hiroshi up, drawing his arm around his shoulders. Mei had cautiously approached, but her eyes were not on Hiroshi. She was gazing across at Rin with a pained expression. She did not dare to move forward any further, however, because Sesshomaru was still standing between them.

"What do you want, girl?" Sesshomaru asked sharply, glaring at Mei, who jumped in alarm.

"I...I just..." Her gaze darted from him to Rin. "I want to explain everything. Rin...Please. Won't you come back with us?"

"Leave her alone, Mei," Kohaku snapped before Rin was given a chance to reply. "Don't you think she's been through enough for one night?"

Mei looked unhappy, but she obligingly turned away and took Hiroshi's other arm when Kohaku gestured impatiently towards her. Hiroshi had passed out at some point so that he was a limp form being carried between them. Rin watched as they made their way slowly up the hill until she could no longer see their forms. She shivered and tried to make herself decent, pulling at the shreds of fabric that was still covering her. Half of it was wet from where she had fallen in the river and without the adrenaline or the fire, the evening felt much cooler.

Sesshomaru had not moved from his place in the minutes that it had taken the other three to disappear. Once it was clear that they had gone, he turned and approached Rin. She shrank from him slightly, attempting to tug the torn kimono together at her thigh. Her breath caught in her throat when he picked her up effortlessly, seemingly unaware of the state of her undress. Without a word, he had tucked her against his shoulder, away from his armor, and had lifted into the sky, taking her from the cold river banks. The mokomoko's fur kept her warm against the cool breeze and when they next landed a short span of time later, she found that the air here was much warmer.

Rin looked around curiously as Sesshomaru crossed the threshold, but her eyes had not yet adjusted to the thick darkness of the forest trees surrounding them. She could smell the hot spring nearby, though, and when Sesshomaru stopped at the edge of a steaming pool, he released his grip on her, allowing her feet to land on the slick rock.

"This spring has some healing minerals that should help you," Sesshomaru said to her, although his eyebrows had flattened into a straight line as he inspected her kimono. "Go. I'll find an alternative to that."

Rin had turned to look at the hot spring, but had not yet moved away from him. Although it embarrassed her to bathe near him, she also did not like the idea of not being able to see him. She was feeling the aftershock of what had happened that night and now that the anger towards everyone had dissipated, she was awash in misery. Even after everyone had been unkind to her a child, she had wanted to be friends with them and had done her best to make them feel comfortable with her over the years. She had avoided speaking of Sesshomaru or even sharing any of the interesting stories from traveling with him so as to not remind them. Even Kohaku had become a target of Hana, apparently only because he had rejected Mei. What then, she wondered, made her situation so different than his own? What differentiated her and made her deserving of such cruelty while Kohaku was easily accepted? Was it merely because she was a female associating with a demon?

"Rin."

She shook herself from her thoughts, looking back to Sesshomaru, who had been watching her with a narrow-eyed gaze. She realized that her thoughts had begun to take a familiar shape. She had asked herself those questions countless times when she had been at the village outside the forest where she had first found Sesshomaru. Questions such as, 'why am I not good enough for them' or 'is there something wrong with me' and 'am I unlovable' had always ran through her head when she had been a child. It was dismaying to see the correlation between living amongst humans and becoming depressed.

"I head-butted him like you taught me," she explained in a rush, "and Kagome gave me a charm to use. It's like she knew this was going to happen. I shouldn't have gone, but...thank you for being there for me." She gave a small smile.

"Don't be absurd. I always will be." He cocked his head slightly, eyeing her. "Where were you trying to run?"

"I thought if I got to the river, I could swim down it a bit. I'm a faster swimmer than him." She lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "I guess I didn't think about him catching up to me. I was hoping the charm would hold him off longer."

"What else happened?" he asked her. She hesitated, averting her gaze. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but be warned, Rin – I no longer have patience for these humans. You are too merciful towards people who would have no interest in your well-being. I've looked the other way in the past when I've seen you with bruises so that you could handle it. Your way of doing things isn't working on these people."

Rin nodded, hearing the underlying anger behind his words. She knew he was not angry at her, but she had only experienced Sesshomaru directing his temper towards her a handful of times and each time it caused her a great deal of discomfort. She rarely did anything to displease him. She understood that he was disappointed that she had put herself into danger and she, too, was disappointed in herself for blindly trusting people who had been unpleasant towards her in the past. She always wanted to see the best in people, regardless of who they were, and in the past, it had always seemed to work out in her favor. She had gained both Kohaku and Sesshomaru in her life because of it.

They hadn't been horrible to you beforehand, though, she reminded herself. Even when Kohaku kidnapped you on orders from Naraku, he had still been nice to you up until Naraku possessed him.

Tentatively, she reached out and put a hand on Sesshomaru's arm, peering up at him. "What happened today was my fault," she told him softly. "I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru..."

Some of the tension left his body at her words and while he said nothing, the hard expression that had been on his face since they left the river had softened somewhat. He reached up and brushed her bangs from her face in a familiar gesture that she had begun to expect from him. She smiled at the touch and then stepped in closer to him, turning her head and pressing her cheek against his arm as she leaned into him. His hand drifted to her shoulder, resting there as she took comfort in his presence. For now, she would not think about what would happen to Hiroshi in the village, where her friendship with Mei stood, or what the others in their group thought of her. She did not care if Hiroshi thought that Sesshomaru was the reason they saw her in a certain light. She knew that was untrue, as she would have been similarly treated if she had been kind to any demon. When she was with him, even after such a horrifying experience, she could feel at ease. He settled her heart in a way that no one else could.

Reluctantly withdrawing, she glanced again at the hot spring. "Will you stay here with me? I don't want to be alone."

Sesshomaru inclined his head. He seemed more like himself, his face its usual calm mask of indifference. "As you wish. I'll return in a moment." He left her to undress then, rounding a large boulder that was at the edge of the hot spring and disappearing from her sight.

She waited until she was sure he could not see her and then peeled off the pieces of her kimono, letting the tattered garment fall on the ground. Once she had sank into the hot spring, she was overcome by a wave of gratitude towards Sesshomaru for bringing her here. The hot water soothed all the aches and pains, cleaning the cuts and abrasions that had formed over her body. She found herself a comfortable spot to perch and peered into the water to see if she could make out the outline of her body. The water was so murky that she could see nothing.

I wonder if Jaken's worried, she mused idly. If Kohaku took Hiroshi back to the village, he might have heard what's happened by now.

Behind her, she heard Sesshomaru's returning footsteps and turned in the water to see that he had returned without his armor. She felt her heart skip a beat upon seeing that he had also removed his hakama. He set it on the ground and then settled himself beside it, crossing his knees. Something about seeing Sesshomaru dressed down made him appear even more beautiful than usual. He still had Bakusaiga, which he rested against his knee, and although she knew that he was just as capable of defending them in such little clothing, there was something conjugal about his image rather than that of a powerful warrior. Now that she thought of it, the entire situation was rather domestic. She doubted it was entirely proper for one to be bathing next to a man.

"This will have to do for tonight," he told her, glancing at the hakama meaningfully.

"Oh," she said faintly and the nodded, sinking a little lower in the water. "Th-thank you..."

After some silence had fallen, she floated her way closer to the edge to where Sesshomaru was sitting. He watched her with an unreadable expression. She wondered if he found this situation as strangely intimate as she did. Reaching her arms out of the water, she folded her forearms against the grassy edge, lying her head upon them and closing her eyes. The cuts on her legs from where she had fallen had stopped tingling, as if they had been cleansed, and the pinched nerves and cramped muscles that had seized up had relaxed from the heated water.

A few minutes into her doze, she felt Sesshomaru's hand on her head, running his fingers through her hair. A little thrill went through her body at the touch and she opened her eyes to look up at him.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," she replied warmly, smiling. "You just make me happy, Lord Sesshomaru."

He paused and then removed his hand from her head, placing it on Bakusaiga. He regarded the sword, as if she had instead asked him about it rather than making a comment on her mood. She watched him interestedly. Just like moments ago, she could not read his expression, a rare occurrence in and of itself. Usually, she could sense some small thing from his expressions.

"And what do you want to do now?"

It was an open-ended question, yet something in the way he had said it made her think he was not referring to just that night. She had the sense that he was asking something more with a good deal less words than another person might have done. On another night, she would have been too self-conscious or wary to say more, but after everything that had happened, her heart was feeling too raw. Looking at him gaze down at his sword, she was ashamed in herself for not giving Sesshomaru more credit. He had shown her in his own way over the years that he cared for her and enjoyed her company. Her fear of being left behind or abandoned was one that she knew now was derived from her experiences with humans, not Sesshomaru. She had projected that fear onto him unfairly without him having done anything to deserve it.

And now, after she thought about it, she realized Sesshomaru had never asked her what she wanted over the years. He had simply told her to do what she wished. He had asked her directly in regards to specific things, certainly, but never in a way that was targeted towards what she wanted from life. Once she recalled the memory, she realized he had not even been given a chance to respond when she had said she wanted to be with him. Now, it seemed, he was giving her the opportunity to express it clearly. Whatever reasons he had once had for leaving her in the village no longer seemed to exist. After what had happened with the others that night, they were at a crossroads.

"I don't want to stay in the village anymore," she said slowly, raising her head from where it had been resting upon her arms. "I want to stay with you."

"For what reason?"

Again, he was asking for a reason. She frowned slightly and hoped that the flush from the steam of the water covered the pinkness that she was sure had suffused her cheeks.

Even if I tell him, she reassured herself, he won't tell me I have to stay here. It's okay.

She drew in a shaky breath and tightened her fingers into fists to prevent the tremble in her hands from showing. "I-I don't want to spend my life with anyone else," Rin told him in an unsteady voice. "I know I don't have as long of a life as you do, but I want that time to be with you. I...I feel strongly about you, Lord Sesshomaru, so please let me stay with you."

"In what manner?"

"Well...I don't want you to leave again. I wouldn't be happy without you."

"You misunderstand me." Sesshomaru had at last shifted his gaze from Bakusaiga, the shadow of a smile on his lips. "I have no intention of living a life without you, Rin. If that is your wish, you have it. What I'm asking is in what way do you want to live your life with me? As you have in the past, like Jaken?"

"I..." She had begun to say that she would be fine with that, that it would suit her to be again one of his traveling companions, but found that the words had stuck in her throat. She did not want to lie to him. She had come this far and it seemed cowardly to say anything but the truth. She bowed her head and clasped her hands together tightly, noticing how white her knuckles went. "You told me before that you would let me choose my husband...I don't know if demons get married the way that humans do. I...I'd like for you to be that for me, though. Or whatever the equivalent is. I've felt that way for years. But if not, then I'd still like to be with you as a friend."

"That's an easy thing to accommodate," Sesshomaru replied easily. "It's what I wish, as well." Her head shot up in shock, staring at him. He had turned away from her again, this time looking out across the hot spring.

"Why didn't you ever say something?" Rin asked without thinking.

"It was not the time," he stated, glancing at her through the corner of his eye, "and it was something you needed to want. Living as the mate of a demon is not an easy life."

Mate, she repeated dazedly in her head.

"Enough talk," he said abruptly, getting to his feet. "Get dressed."

Before she was given a chance to say anything more, Sesshomaru had crossed the small bit of earth and had disappeared once again behind the boulder. She stared after him, unsure if she had imagined the entire conversation. She pressed her palm to her chest, inwardly wanting to touch her heart to see if it was fluttering as wildly as it seemed to be right then.

Giving herself a slight shake, she clamored out of the hot spring and pulled the hakama around her. It was voluminous and much too big for her slight frame, but it covered every inch of her body so that she was once again decently attired. She shook the sleeves over her hands and breathed in deep, smiling to herself. The hakama smelled like him – a mixture of pine and other earthy scents that she had begun to associate with Sesshomaru.

She pulled the hakama up a bit so that she would not trip and made her way around the boulder, finding that Sesshomaru had settled himself beneath some trees. He still had that same, closed-off expression, causing her to wonder if he, too, had doubted whether she had wanted such a thing from him. She had never witnessed Sesshomaru being unsure about anything, so she found this thought hard to believe. Making her ways towards him, she paused in front of him, letting the length of the hakama drop over her feet as she stretched her arms out.

"How do I look?" she asked him, inspecting herself.

"Ridiculous," he answered, although not unkindly.

She stifled a laugh at the description, pressing her hand to her mouth briefly to stop the laughter. She did not think Sesshomaru was in the mood to be laughed at just then. When she drew close enough, he raised his hand and took hers, pulling her down beside him on top of the mokomoko. He had shifted so his arm was around her, pressing her tightly against his side. She had been curled up beside Sesshomaru many times when she had been younger and had even fallen asleep snuggled against him recently, but something in the way he had initiated it made it feel so much more intimate.

"Go to sleep, Rin," he told her, leaning his head back against the tree. "There will be time to talk later."

"Y-yes, Lord Sesshomaru..."

Even though he had told her to sleep, she found herself staring up at the treetops for a long while after, feeling the rise and fall of his breaths. In spite of the cool evening, she was as warm as she had been near the fire, the mokomoko keeping the chill of the earth from her back and Sesshomaru's body heat acting as much of a blanket as anything else. After nearly an hour, she began to drift to sleep, but not before a last, happy thought entered her mind.

Now I can be with Lord Sesshomaru forever.