Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha. Please don't make me say it again. ack. *cries*

A/N: Yup, it is me again, I the great Andil, have decided to write yet another chapter for your reading pleasure. *cough* Ok, ok, sorry, had a Sesshoumaru moment there. -_-' Well, anyways, I wanted to thank everyone who is reviewing this, I really didn't think anyone would actually like this. (Maybe I am just paranoid.)

************************************************************* Terms: Some more words have been added to the list

Densha - palace

Sumimasen; gomen; gomennasai = sorry, sorry excuse me (idiomatic informal); same, more formal

Oyasumi = good night

Hontouni = really, truly

Doumo; doumo arigatou; doumo arigatou gozaimasu = thanks, thank you, thank you very much (in other words, it just goes up in formality.lol)

Otousan = father

Kami = God

Anuki = big brother

Ohayo; Ohayo gozaimasu = morning, good morning

Genkan = an area to exchange your shoes in traditional homes

Sugoi = wow, terrific, wonderful

Tatami mat = straw floor covering

Do Itashimashite = your welcome *************************************************************

Chapter 4 - Home Again (Once again, leaving off where the last chapter left off exactly)

Rin watched her master leave, then looked down to the toad youkai which had quickly placed his forehead to the ground and was uttering an array of pretty words and compliments, obviously, to his newly absent lord. She raised her eyebrows to the creature briefly then kneeled down to the ranting Jaken. "He isn't here anymore you know." He immediately stopped his ranting but continued to keep his face plastered to the ground for a moment as he composed himself. She looked at him curiously and stood back up. Almost immediately then, Jaken jumped up as well.

"You silly human!" He was turning a strange orange-green color, meaning he was blushing. "OF COARSE I knew he had left! I was just. just." he paused momentarily in a wild frenzy to come up for an excuse to his strange actions, "showering Lord Sesshoumaru with all the compliments he deserves until he was out of earshot!" He stomped off and the girl smirked behind his back. Rin - 793, Jaken - 0. She liked these odds, so far this year he had not truly won any of their arguments and she was effectively keeping tally. Perhaps to taunt him with it later. Perhaps. After a moment, the girl followed the toad inside the densha, and towards the dining room. Before she went in the room she stopped at the Genkan and switched into the pair of house slippers awaiting her (she was the only on in the household that used the Genkan) and stepped onto the tatami mat of the dining room. Already there was a small snack on the small table where Jaken sat.

"SUGOI, Jaken-san, Doumo arigato gozaimasu!" She smiled enthusiastically as she grabbed the food and stuffed it into her mouth. The toad looked at her and mumbled.

"Do Itashimashite." He then proceeded to eat his own light snack. As soon as he finished (which was only a couple of seconds later since Jaken was practically a living garbage disposal), he turned back to Rin, who was just starting to finish her own. "Later on, I will fix Oden for us, girl." He then got up and left the room, still carrying his staff. It would be nice to have a descent meal finally. While traveling, Rin was expected to fend for herself. Being a demon, he didn't need much to eat, though he did eat when they were home (he loved the flavors of it, so he usually gorged), but Rin needed to eat around twice a day. Though sometimes she did with less due to his lord's traveling habits, and that that he found it rather annoying to stop when his mind was set on getting to certain destinations. When they were back home at the densha, however, he was expected to cook for Rin and watch over the girl. And make sure the girl stayed away from him. He could tell she had an effect on him when she was in heat, as well as many other youkai. He just wished they all would leaver her alone; she was still just a child after all. He sighed at his thoughts then, she was human. ~Okay, so maybe she is not a child anymore - but still.~ He frowned. He didn't like to admit it, but he was somewhat possessive of his lord's underling. He actually had argued with his lord when he had confided in him once that he had thought about mating her off. She was nineteen now, and it was hard for him to accept that. How was he to watch over the girl if she ran off and got married? And besides that, if she did, he actually would miss her. Not that he ever thought his Lord Sesshoumaru would ever come to the decision to do it; his lord would never allow it, to spite his best intentions. He smirked lightly, somewhere deep within his mind he knew his lord would eventually take Rin as a mate, even if his Lord Sesshoumaru did not even realize that himself just yet.

Over the years he had come to believe that his Lord Sesshoumaru and Rin were soul mates and were fated to be together. Something, he knew, had to compel him to save her when she was a child, even though he hated humans, and then something once again compelled him to keep her around. He had even admitted to him once, that he did not really know why he had done this, and never really had thought of it. It took him a few years to notice this conclusion, but it became more and more obvious to him as time went on. The way his eyes glazed over to watch her sometimes, the way she looked towards him. He just wished, in a way, the two would actually get it over and done with so that his lord's pent-up frustrations weren't all directed at him. To be honest, he was rather sick of being hit and tortured and thrown about. Not to say it would stop if he took her, but it should slow it down some, and in his opinion, that wouldn't be all that bad.

Lord Sesshoumaru's father would have been proud. He turned into a small room adorned only with a window and a futon with meager amounts of bedding. He sat upon the futon and started to polish his staff, as he reflected on the past. His father would be proud of the way he has taken in the girl. ~I remember him so well, as if he were still alive. Perhaps it is because Lord Sesshoumaru reminds me of him so. ~ He had been in the service of the great youkai before he had mated with Lord Sesshoumaru's mother. He had inherited her beauty face-wise, her crescent moon that adorned her forehead, as well as one other annoying attribute. His mother had walked around with something like a boa hanging over her shoulder, something that could be taken off, but could never be parted with, as it could not exceed 10 feet of the owner, and was actually a large tuft of fur that refused to disappear when she went into her human form. She had felt sad that her son had inherited the same annoying length of fur as she, but in every other aspect he resembled his father. He had been an adorable and sweet child, who he had helped raise, of course. His poor lord had not even reached the age of twenty yet when his mother was slaughtered - right in front of his eyes while he was detained. He had watched his mother being literally ripped apart by a human and a hanyou. His father, of course, gave the creatures their 'just rewards'. He was never truly an affectionate youkai, Sesshoumaru's father, but when he took up and made that human woman his mate. Sesshoumaru had never gotten over his mother's death and blamed all humans and hanyou alike for her death. He despised his father for it, and then tainting the bloodline with the hanyou Inu Yasha did not help him come to terms any. When the old master had died though, he left everything to Sesshoumaru, including Jaken's services. Except for the Tetsusaiga. Which pissed him off because his father left him instead the Tenseiga, a worthless piece of junk. Jaken sighed to himself. ~The future looks to be more promising. So long as he gets over his hate for humans and hanyou. ~ Unlikely.

Sesshoumaru sat silently at the edge of a wildflower garden, the troubles of the day finally clearing from his senses, glad he could think clearly again. Once there, the furthest point from the densha, he could barely smell HER. Now that he was away from the intoxicating scent that was Rin, he could think of more important things. Like how he was going to get the Tetsusaiga back to its rightful owner - him. And if his idiot half brother died in the process, it would be a bonus. Even that damned miko demon that traveled with him was more worthy then Inu Yasha himself. He grunted at the thought of the hanyou. That strange miko had already provided him with a nephew. Joy. Never met it, never want to. Anything that came from Inu Yasha was damned. He growled lightly to himself. ~Damned thought path, making me think of that hanyou. ~

He stayed in the garden for the next few days, determined to stay away from Rin while she was in heat, then he notice the smell of blood. He smirked to himself and returned to the densha. Once there, he went into his quarters and started to read a few scrolls to pass the time. It seemed he bored much more easily once Rin came into his life. It would be about three more days before they would be able to continue their rounds. Just as soon as Rin stopped her bleeding. He sighed to himself. It was something of an annoyance that her human form had to 'cleanse' itself after being in heat. She always seemed more energetic though, whenever they headed back out to their rounds after this, so he tolerated it.

For the next three days he stayed in his room reading, when he noticed that the air did not smell so foul with blood. He sat the scroll down and stood. ~Finally, I was starting to get sick of reading.~ He then went to the main hall and waited there. Jaken and Rin usually congregated in this room to pass the time. After a few excruciating minutes, as he was itching to leave, he heard a familiar laugh. Immediately he cleared his face of any expression that may have been there and faced the window looking out, as if he were standing there indifferently the entire time. They needn't know he was actually anxiously waiting for them to return. Soon, two familiar voices, and their owners, came into the room.

Her voice ceased to exist as her eyes lay upon her master's form in surprise. Jaken also had frozen in his spot, speechless. He stood indifferently, facing the window, his face showing the same cold expression he always carried on it. She never really knew where he was during their stays at the densha, but she always felt he was still somewhat nearby. But then, maybe she was just being naive. Her master then broke the silence with his cold even voice

"We are going to leave in the morning. You should take this time to PACK." He emphasized the word because he knew them too well. They always seemed surprised the morning of their departure and scrambled around like chickens with their heads cut off to grab the necessities. He did not expect them to change this time. They would not leave before noon. At least watching them scramble around and argue kept the boredom away. He left quickly then as he could barely keep a smile from creeping up upon his lips.

He then went outside to the gardens again. ~Rin's Gardens...~ He jumped up to a tree branch high within the old willow that the girl claimed as her own when she was still a small girl. She had an affinity for flowers and nature, and he had allowed her to start a garden here. Strange that this became his favorite spot. She had made it look so beautiful with the sounds of a stream and a small waterfall to join its beauty. It was so peaceful and serene in this spot... Though she didn't come here often anymore. Ichi and Ni (his servants, literally translates into one and two, for he feels it fits them...) took care of the garden for him, as well as the rest of the densha and Ah-Un while they were away. Though they conveniently disappeared any time they returned. Not that he minded this. He graced his face with a rare smile as the sun set over the trees beyond the barrier wall. He honestly likes to be home. He sighed lightly as the brilliant colors disappeared from the sky leaving darkness, the only light that existed coming from the moon. ~It will not be too much longer now~ He noted that the firelights within the densha faded, and waited for morning to come.

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A/N: Hope you liked this chapter; it probably was a bit slow, but ... Ah well. Kind of a filler chapter really, and gets into their minds a little more and my take on what could have happened in the past. Well, this chapter ended up being a bit longer than I first thought. (Probably because I didn't put it up when I was going to, bad girl...*slaps hand*) I will put up the next chapter as soon as I can... :)

Well, Nanitozo Yasashikusuru!