To the Readers: Sorry for the wait on this one. I've been working on my other stories, but that really isn't the reason it took so long. The real reason is...well...I had no idea how I could make this chapter as interesting as the last one. Well, hopefully it is good enough to keep you interested.

Someone also asked why Rin always refers to herself in third person. She actually -doesn't-, always. If you look close, she refers to herself in first person only when she has something extremely important to say to Sesshoumaru. This will be further explained later in the story, likely the next chapter or the epilogue.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 4 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why isn't Jakken-sama coming along with us on this trip, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked quietly from behind her master. He knew the question had probably been troubling her for the last few hours, and that she had been working up the nerve to ask it.

He'd been composing his answer for some time now. Sesshoumaru knew he couldn't tell Rin 'Because Jakken annoys this Sesshoumaru'. That would imply that Rin -didn't- annoy him, and he certainly couldn't give her that idea. And he couldn't tell her that he figured Jakken would either try to stop his plans or question them, because then she would want to know what his plans were. He found it mildly infuriating that he'd have to lie to Rin about something, not because he detested lying, but because he knew he was putting far too much effort into something he usually found effortless: keeping his air of detached nobility.

"Because the fox youkai find Jakken detestable," Sesshoumaru replied. Well. At least it was a truthful statement. Most -everyone- found Jakken detestable, except, apparently, for Rin who had actually endeavored to save his pathetic life once.

"Oh. That's too bad," Rin replied sadly. "He sure does like traveling with you, Sesshoumaru-sama! So does Rin."

Sesshoumaru quirked one eyebrow, an expression unseen by the girl walking behind him. "Why?"

"Why does Rin like traveling with you? Oh, hm. Well, Rin never really thought about it. Because it makes Rin happy to be with Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru merely kept walking in answer. Rin seemed placated enough by his responses, and had turned her attention to picking berries along the way, stopping every few steps to pluck another blackberry from a bush, pop it into her mouth or her basket, and then trotting along to catch up.

She gasped a bit when Sesshoumaru stopped and drew his sword, looking off the path into the woods. Was there danger? "Is something wrong Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"No. We must go this way."

Sesshoumaru easily cut a path through the brambles using Toukijin. Rin followed behind, leaving the well-trod and well-lit path, and stepping into the darker forest. They walked until the sun hung low in the sky, threatening dusk.

Rin began to hear the sounds of water. 'Must be a stream or river nearby. Maybe if we stop there, I can find a fish to have with my berries.'

The darkness of the thick forest came to an end as the pair of travelers reached the edge of the water. Rin's eyes grew wide with surprise. Not only a stream, but what an incredible sight. A small cliff formed a "U" shape around a clear pool. A waterfall continually slipped down the walls of the cliff, tossing itself to and fro between time-smoothed rocks. In dry of the cliff wall, ferns and moss hung from the rocks. The low light of the sky reflected on the water, making it sparkle where the gentle ripples moved away from the falling water.

"Ohhhh. Its so...." Rin had dropped her basket and just stared at the sight before her. "Its...its..."

"We will camp here," Sesshoumaru replied, not looking at his overjoyed pet who hugged herself in response.

He had come here as a pup when he wanted to be alone, away from his simperingly annoying stepmother and her doubly annoying son. Save for the fact that the waterfall now cut even deeper into the cliff, the place seemed exactly the same. Sometimes, he would float in the water, looking up at the clouds. Clouds, he had decided then, must be powerful entities. They could provide shelter from the harsh sun, they could gather together in strength and provide the cleansing power of rain, they could even unleash lightning and destroy the world below. But, above all, they reigned supreme above the land, untouchable by the inhabitants below. He would be a cloud, he decided then. For, one of true nobility must remove himself from the baseness of the world below, must set himself apart.

But, why had he brought Rin to see this place? Their path through the woods had been completely unnecessary, and now they would have to travel several extra hours to arrive at their destination.

'Because in your madness, you thought you could tell her here. You could make her understand here. Make her understand that your nobility dictates that this Sesshoumaru must not let yourself care for anyone, especially not a human girl,' his mind told him. Sesshoumaru moved his good hand from its usual place holding his tail on his shoulder and touched it to his forehead right above his eyebrow. He was rather beginning to have a headache, and for once he couldn't blame it on Jakken.

For her part, Rin had already deposited her basket on a rock and set about gathering firewood. Spring had come, indeed, but the evenings still bore enough chill that she would need the fire to be comfortable, having only brought light bedding supplies.

As she did so, the lanky teenager began to think of dinner. Perhaps she would take a swim beforehand. She tested the water and found it too chilly. 'The winter snows must still be melting on higher ground,' Rin decided. As for dinner, perhaps she could catch a fish. Unfortunately, she hadn't brought the little net she usually used to catch fish, and fishing with a makeshift pole took -forever-. Hmmm. Maybe she could use the wakizashi that Sesshoumaru-sama gave her as a spear.

After getting the fire started, Rin noted that Sesshoumaru-sama had not taken off into the woods to hunt on his own, as he usually did on such trips. He merely sat passively, against a tree, regarding the waterfall.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin began, summoning her courage to speak before spoken to, "Would you like me to catch you some fish?" She didn't figure that he would, but felt it would be impolite not to ask. He'd mentioned on more than one occasion during her lifetime that he didn't care for human food, but she wasn't particularly sure what else one might eat. Sesshoumaru-sama had never, in the ten years she had known him, eaten in her presence.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru replied, his gaze never leaving the majestic waterfall. He had often eaten the fish here in his youth. They had a taste he had come to enjoy in time, and he did not mind partaking in it again.

Rin smiled widely at this answer. If Sesshoumaru-sama wanted fish, then fish he would have! Carefully drawing her short sword, Rin climbed over a few large rocks set into the pool below the waterfall and crouched down. The wiry girl peered into the clear pool below for her prey. How hard could it be...she wondered...to spear a fish?

Sesshoumaru watched the scene with interest. What, exactly, did Rin think she was going to do with that wakizashi?

The first time Rin tried to spear a fish, she splashed herself horribly, and spent the next few minutes wringing water out of the hem of her yukata. The second time, the water hit her in the face and she spent quite a bit of time sputtering and coughing it out. Still, she hunched over, looking as if she were going to give spearing yet another try.

It was then that Rin heard the most amazing noise: a deep, low chuckle. The noise seemed to rip through her flesh and wind itself around her spine, and she found herself shivering, not in fear, but in absolute delight.

This was it. This was truely Sesshoumaru-sama's laugh. A laugh of pleasure rather of conquest. A laugh altogether different than the one she had heard when he discovered Daishirou had turned into a human. Wonderment flooded through Rin, and she had to force herself to breathe. His laugh intoxicated her, his joy amplified her own. She knew that now she had heard it, she would want to hear it again. And again.

Suddenly, Rin realized she could see not one, but two reflections in the water. Sesshoumaru-sama stood on a rock a mere foot away from the one upon which she perched. Rin looked up from her crouched position to find her master peering at her, amusement tugging at his lips.

"You never give up, do you Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked, extending his hand towards her, as if to help her stand.

Rin took the offered and hand pulled herself up. As she did she pursed her lips at the apparently useless wakizashi and slid it back into its sheath, "No. Rin does not, Sesshoumaru-sama."

She never did give up, he realized. Even when her legs were far too short, she still followed him all over creation. Even when he left her, she spent every waking moment waiting for him to return. She never gave up. 'Oh Rin, if only you would give up on this Sesshoumaru, then I could see you as the weak human you are.'

"You'll never catch any fish that way, Rin," Sesshoumaru said, as if to change the subject from his own troubled mind.

"Rin forgot her net," Rin replied mournfully, tugging at the wakizashi. Flowers were so much easier to secure in your yukata sash. This thing poked her in the hip, maybe she'd just carry it in her basket the rest of the trip.

"Is that so?" And with that question, the Great Lord of the Western Lands went down on one knee and gazed into the water below. After a few moments, Sesshoumaru's arm darted into the water almost quicker than her eye could perceive, and pulled out a sizeable fish.

Rin gasped in amazement as Sesshoumaru tossed the fish over his shoulder and onto shore.

"Now you will try."

Rin looked a bit doubtful, but decided the proposition sounded fun. Besides, if she could learn to do this, she wouldn't need her net anymore. To her surprise, Sesshoumaru stood and stepped from his rock to the larger rock upon which she had been perched.

He put his hand on her shoulder to steady her as she crouched down on one knee, mimicking what she had seen him do moments earlier. Rin gazed into the pool, looking for the silver flashes that would indicate a fish below. Suddenly, she felt Lord Sesshoumaru lean forward and grab her hand. Rin's felt her heartbeat speed up, though she couldn't exactly determine if the cause. Was she worried that Lord Sesshoumaru might be angry? No. He didn't seem to get angry with her. Reprimand came only in the form of being told not to do something again. So why was her heart pounding so hard?

"You must form your hand like this," Sesshoumaru explained, molding Rin's hand with his own. "Then you must strike for where the fish -will- be, not where the fish is."

Rin only nodded in reply and set about to accomplish this task. On the first try, she missed miserably, but by the fifth, she had caught a moderate sized fish of her own. After tossing the flopping creature onto shore, Rin hopped gleefully from rock to rock until she stood upon the bank.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru intoned, replying to nothing in particular, "I, Sesshoumaru, knew you would remember this skill."

Rin looked confused at this statement, picking up her fish and skewering it on a stick in preparation for cooking. "Remember, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Yes." Sesshoumaru gracefully stepped from stone to stone until he, too, stood on the bank. Picking up his own fish before Rin could skewer it and attempt to -cook- the thing, he continued in what Rin decided was a -thoughtful- tone. "You brought this Sesshoumaru a fish once."

"Rin did? How odd." The lanky youth attempted to rack her brains to recall this event, but found nothing in her memories that matched.

How could she not remember? It seemed like yesterday that the girl had toddled up to him in the forest, a leaf piled with human food in her hands. But, Sesshoumaru supposed, she had been so young then, and perhaps her human mind could, indeed, only hold so much information.

"You brought this Sesshoumaru food. Then you started following." He purposefully left out the parts about the fact that he was injured, and that she had all but died. First, being injured was undignified and a sign of weakness. Second, bringing up her mortality seemed distasteful. And since he currently did not want to think about Rin being dead again, lest his mind start spurting something frustrating, he left it out.

"Rin remembers..." Rin pushed her long black hair out of the way as she sat down and leaned forward to cook her fish. "Rin remembers it being cold, and then it being warm. Being afraid, and then being safe. Many people yelling, and then only Jakken yelling." A mirthful laugh accompanied the last part, the mere thought of Jakken bringing Rin mischievous glee.

Sesshoumaru, for his part, picked up the still-struggling fish and bit into it, savoring the creature's adrenaline. After a few moments, he noticed that Rin was...well...staring at him.

"Yes Rin?"

It took the young woman several moments before she answered. Instead, she sat in front of the rock, blinking silently, as if she had just seen Jakken declare himself the Lord of the Seas. And then, appearing slightly horrified at the fact that she had been -staring- at her master, Rin looked down at her lap and said quietly, "Rin apologizes, Sesshoumaru-sama, but...its just that...Rin has never seen you eat."

"By now, you are well aware of the eating habits of youkai, Rin."

Rin only nodded and continued to eat in silence. It still didn't explain why he had chosen to eat the fish, but Rin figured her master had his reasons.

By the time she had finished eating and laid out her sleeping things, darkness had descended on the camp. Rin lay, close to the fire, on her back watching the stars. She had decided long ago that stars were the spirit of ancient glowing butterflies that had fluttered too high into the sky and become stuck. And, if you saw a shooting star, that meant one of the butterflies had wiggled free, escaping the night sky's clutches.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Yes Rin?" Her master had returned to his spot against the tree, and seemed to be regarding the fire which lay between them.

"I like it when you laugh."

Sesshoumaru said nothing to this, as Rin had expected, merely moved his gaze from the fire to an indeterminate point somewhere over the waterfall.

Rin turned over on her stomach, and went to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rin awoke to find the fire had died to coals and embers in the night, and that she had grown chilly. The young woman sat up, intending to find a stick with which to poke at the fire. Usually, she knew, Lord Sesshoumaru would occasionally toss another stick or two on the fire during the evening, as he rarely slept. She'd never mentioned that she had figured out he kept the fire going during the evenings of their journeys, but had merely been thankful that he would see fit to do so for her. Certainly -he- didn't need the warmth, at any rate.

Rin groggily looked around the campsite for her master. He had been sitting against that tree, but now that spot stood empty. Perhaps he had gone to hunt, or to patrol, both things which she realized her master did during the night. But, without Jakken or the beast Ahun nearby, Rin felt afraid.

She stood up quickly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. The gentle sound of the waterfall assisted little in calming her frightened state. Where could he be?

Suddenly, Rin caught a flash of silver from the direction of the pool. A jumping fish? Rin turned and attempted to focus.

In the pool, against the cliff, Rin spotted her master. Silvery white hair floated in the water around his naked shoulders like tendrils of liquid metal. Below the surface, Lord Sesshoumaru's massive tail floated languidly, curving around his body as the gentle currents of the pond pushed the fur to and fro. The swimming youkai had placed one of his arms on a nearby black rock, and his clawed fingers hung limply downwards, curled slightly in relaxation.

And his eyes, his glowing amber eyes pierced the darkness as he stared back at Rin.

For several moments, Rin felt trapped, caught in his gaze, unable to breathe or move. She wondered if this is how his prey felt, the moment before they died, fully coming to understand the majesty of the being who stood before them. Rin could not tell if seconds or hours passed as the human and the youkai stared at one another. Time had crystallized around her as if the world itself had become stuck.

Sesshoumaru regarded the young woman on the shore. The dim glow of the fire's coals played over her face, casting her visage first in hues of orange and yellow, and then retreating until her skin only reflected the heavy moonlight above. Her long black hair, wild from her sleep, tumbled gently around her shoulders and face. Wisps of hair caught by the breeze flickered across her face. Loose at the top from her slumber, her yukata revealed the delicate angles of Rin's neck and collarbone, structures so simple, yet elegant in design they reminded him of glass.

Caught by Rin's gaze, Sesshoumaru felt unable to move. Her honey-hued eyes seemed ablaze in with the reflection of the dying fire. A surge of energy crawled beneath his skin, as if his blood now contained a quickening slurry of melting ice. He felt certain that her gaze had plunged into his mind, seeking his madness out among the darker corners of his thoughts, and ripped it from his head with one molten movement. In its wake, she left a gap in his mind, one that would only be filled by her melodic voice.

"Rin. Did you want something of this Sesshoumaru?"

"No. I...." Rin finally turned away, her gaze falling on the fire. She muttered meekly, "It was cold and Rin...Rin thought you had left."

"This Sesshoumaru will not leave until morning. Go back to sleep, Rin."

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin replied, laying back down on the ground, and wondering if she would ever get that sight out of her mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That morning had passed like many other mornings journeying in the Western Lands. Rin had awakened to her master standing nearby, gazing impassively into the distance. Wordlessly, she set about clearing the campsite and then removed herself downstream a bit to clean herself in the chilly waters of the brook, and change into her traveling attire.

If anything, Rin knew, Lord Sesshoumaru was a patient master, except, perhaps when it came to Jakken. She knew that, had she not been along on this journey, Lord Sesshoumaru's business would have been concluded in half the time, perhaps even quicker. So, Rin felt no need to try his patience by making him wait any longer than necessary.

Nonetheless, the events of the previous night preyed heavily on her mind. She couldn't decide if Lord Sesshoumaru actually -had- been acting strangely these past few days, or if she had merely perceived a difference because of her joy at being allowed to accompany him on this trip. Certainly, she had never heard him laugh, or seen him eat, but something seemed wrong even beyond those superficial things. And since she couldn't put her finger on it, how was she to ask Sesshoumaru-sama about it? A simple, "Is anything wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama?" would likely only get a one word response to the negative.

Perhaps if she were a youkai, she would understand. Maybe that would be her answer. If she could find a way to ask one of the fox youkai she would meet, they might have a way to shed some light on the subject. Rin wished desperately that Meiko or Reiko hadn't been needed at the estate and could have traveled for once.

Sesshoumaru turned around right as Rin finished gathering her things. How her master always knew the exact moment she would be ready to leave, Rin was unsure. Wordlessly, he began back down the path from which they arrived.

They walked well into the afternoon, and Rin found herself finally able to lose herself in her thoughts as she watched some nearby butterflies play upon a field of flowers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Tell Rin again the story of the Dagger Butterflies, Jakken-sama! Tell Rin again!"

The toad youkai sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. How could this impossible child listen to the same story every night? "If I tell you, will you go to sleep and quit pestering me?"

"Hai!!"

"Alright. There was a time when the Kingdom of Butterflies were feared among the creatures of the land. The Butterflies had many special powers, but the most feared of all the butterflies were the Silver Dagger Butterflies, who had wings like blades and who could fly into the heart of a person and from there find out the true nature of that person. And if they found that the heart of that person had rot or decay, because of a disease in their virtues, the Silver Dagger Butterfly would flap their wings and shred the heart to bits."

Jakken peered across the campfire at the little girl to see if she had already fallen asleep. She stared back at him, waiting for the rest of the story.

"Anyway. The King of the Dragons came one day to speak to the Silver Dagger Butterflies. He told them that a new race had come to the land and were causing a great deal of trouble. The Dragon King needed the Silver Dagger Butterflies to go and test the hearts of these creatures, creatures known as "humans" to see if they should be allowed to stay."

"So the Butterflies did as commanded by the great King, flying far to the North where the settlements of the humans lay. And, all at once, a Silver Dagger Butterfly flew into the flesh of each and every human. They tested every heart, but found not a one that could be said to be pure. So they shredded every heart into bits, slaying the human race."

"But, it turned out that the blood of humans is poisonous to a Silver Dagger Butterfly. And so, each and every one of them died as well. The King of the Dragons was so moved by their loyalty and dedication, that he gave all of their kin, all of the other butterflies, every color of the rainbow to wear in honor of the memory of the Silver Dagger Butterflies."

Jakken ended his story, finding it very well-told, if he did say so himself.

"Jakken-sama?"

"I thought you said you would go to sleep."

"I will. But, Jakken-sama, why does everyone always die in your stories?" Rin turned over on her stomach and put her head in her hands, looking at the toad youkai for an explanation.

"B...Because, child! That's the way things are in the world."

"But, Jakken-sama, if the story is true, how come there are still humans in the world?"

Jakken snorted incredulously at the girl's inability to understand a simple story, "Because humans...because..." Jakken growled slightly at his own frustration, "GO TO SLEEP, RIN."

"Hai, Jakken-sama."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They reached what Rin assumed were the lands of the fox youkai by midday. A half-dozen youthful youkai, standing much shorted than either Sesshoumaru or Rin, greeted them in the predetermined clearing, not far from the fox youkai settlement. Rin stood slightly behind her master, her head deeply bowed in respect for the tribal leaders who followed close behind the young honor guard sent to greet the Great Lord of the West.

Even with her head bowed, Rin noticed that all of the fox youkai sported unruly rust-colored hair, and even more unruly bushy tails which sported white stripes in varying number and thickness according to their ranks. The group of kitsune bowed before deeply Sesshoumaru, who nodded his head respectfully in turn. Then, the group parted, and an older youkai, one with greying hair and an almost completely white tail, stepped forward from the group.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, we are deeply honored by your presence."

"Chakku-san, this Sesshoumaru regrets to hear of the passing of your father. He was highly valued among our court, one of our best advisors."

"I thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama," the elder kitsune replied, using a forcibly formal tone, "Your participation in our ceremony shall pay great homage to his memory. We are eternally in your debt."

Formal introductions apparently done, the group of honor guards moved aside, and others from the tribe began to filter in from the depths of the forests. Chakku motioned for Lord Sesshoumaru to walk with him, leading the group back to the small kitsune village.

As for Rin, she followed close behind her master, but sound found that several kitsune children had surrounded her, looking up at the tall human woman with questioning eyes.

"Are you a human? I never seen a human before."

"I've never seen a fox youkai before," Rin replied, kneeling down.

"I'm glad Sesshoumaru-sama didn't bring that other one. What was his name? Jakken or something?" a young female kitsune said, poking at Rin's hand inquisitively.

"Yeah, he pushed us out of the way with sticks!"

"And he didn't play. Do you play?"

"Of course I will," Rin said with a smile. "My name is Rin."

"That's a good name. Short and easy to remember!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rin played with the young fox youkai throughout the afternoon. They apparently liked the game hide-and-go-seek quite a bit, one of the few games Rin remembered from her human youth. Except, when a kitsune hides, Rin found, it was almost -impossible- to find them again. since they tended to disguise themselves as just about anything and everything. Throughout the afternoon, Rin kept being the object of their pranks as they would turn themselves into logs or bushes and then jump out behind her.

As the sun fell, Rin and the kitsune children returned to the village, where they showed her their homes, burrows which seemed too small to fit their families, but once entered, turned out to be much larger on the inside than the outside. Another clever kitsune illusion. Rin deduced.

The aforementioned ceremony took place as the moon rose. From what Rin had come to understand throughout the day, the former chief had died earlier in the year. His son, Chakku, the elder who had greeted Lord Sesshoumaru, was to become the new chief during the night's ceremonies. Although the ceremony -could- have taken place without the Lord of the Western Lands, his presence put a seal of approval on the succession of Chakku that no one could doubt, while at the same time honoring the former chief who had died defending Lord Sesshoumaru's lands.

Rin watched the ceremony with interest, but only understood some of the symbolic actions, and very few of the words, which seemed to be spoken in an ancient kitsune language. She did enjoy the tribal dancers, however, and the mock battle which took place between two young warriors, which culminated in one of the using his illusory magicks (she hoped) to "burn" to death.

At the end, Lord Sesshoumaru, who had been given a place of honor on the raised dais where the ceremony took place, spoke a few words in the kitsune language. From what Rin understood through her adolescent translator, Sesshoumaru had declared it his will and the will of Chakku's father that Chakku be named chief. With that, Lord Sesshoumaru cut one of his own fingers with a ceremonial knife and placed a mark on each of Chakku's cheeks and his forehead, the bloody warpaint proclaiming the youkai to be the new chief.

Afterwards, the entire village broke out into a celebration. Rin danced and laughed among her new friends, grateful that the fox youkai, as a people, didn't hold a particular dislike for humans.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can see why you travel with her, Sesshoumaru-sama. Her presence is a joy to whomever looks upon her." Chakku looked down from their spots of honor on the raised dais, watching the tall human woman dance among his people. Now that they could speak and not be heard by the entire village, Chakku had dropped his formal tone, speaking more freely, yet still respectfully, to the youkai lord who had long been an ally to his family.

"Is this Sesshoumaru to understand you don't find his servant Jakken a joy to look upon?"

Chakku almost choked with laughter, his rust-colored tail shaking slightly in his merriment. "No, Sesshoumaru-sama, I am afraid I do not. But she...there is something about her. She possesses none of the artifice or greed of the humans. But, I doubt other youkai will look deep enough at her to realize this."

"Nor will they care, if they do," Sesshoumaru replied, turning his own gaze towards the dancing human. She laughed freely, tossing her body merrily to and fro to the drums. The light of the bonfire reminded him of the previous evening, when the dying coals of her campfire had reflected themselves so perfectly in her eyes.

"Then, I am to assume you have come here for more than just the succession ceremony?" Chakku asked quietly, looking to the more powerful lord.

"Yes. I've informed Jakken that the human girl will not be returning to my estate. And you, Chakku, you will provide guides for this Sesshoumaru?"

"You won't need them, my Lord. The trek itself is simple enough, but no one makes the journey because that shrine has supposedly been empty for over 200 years."

"And you, do you believe, as your father did, that something still lives up there?"

"I don't know. Father always said the ghost of the great miko Iemitsu lived on in that place, making it dangerous for youkai to arrive unannounced," Chakku stated as he stroked his rust-colored beard thoughtfully. "But, I've been in that area, and I tell you, Lord Sesshoumaru, it reeks of a presence that smells nothing like the restless dead."

Sesshoumaru looked at the kitsune chief and quirked an eyebrow.

"It smells of metal. Burning metal."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rin had been following Lord Sesshoumaru, groggily, all day. She hadn't realized they were going to leave so quickly after arriving at the fox youkai village, and had danced and celebrated with the kitsune far into the early hours of the morning. Plus, they had been traveling -up- a rather steep mountain the entire time, which in no way improved the ordeal. Not that Rin saw fit to complain, she merely hoped she wouldn't fall asleep on her feet, trip on a rock, and tumble down the mountain.

They didn't reach their destination until nightfall. A lonely shrine at the peak of the mountain. As they entered the premises, Rin wondered what sort of business might bring her master to such a human establishment. Especially one that seemed in a horrible state of disrepair. The gates and shrine posts seemed to have been set askew by time

Lord Sesshoumaru pushed aside the gate and stepped into the shrine grounds with a rather disgusted look on his face. Human shrines were bad enough, but ones that were decaying from disuse were positively revolting. At least the place didn't stink of humans. Though, as Chakku had mentioned, he did notice the cutting scent of metal in the air.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" came Rin's voice from slightly behind him, for once in a whisper, "Something is...looking at us..."

Sesshoumaru now scanned the grounds more intently, his hand already upon the more useful of his two swords in combat, Toukijin.

Across the courtyard, on a pile of large arranged rocks, a humanoid creature crouched, its knees bent outward, hands in front of it, splayed outward for support. Built like a woman, the creature's long white hair seemed to move like snakes, defying gravity and swirling around in every direction regardless of the lack of wind. The thing stood, and leapt off the rock in the direction of Sesshoumaru and Rin. Coming to land about 10 yards from the pair, they could now see that the being sported obsidian-colored skin which reflected the light like a polished stone, and had eyes which lacked any color, they were completely white...like a blind person's. The creature wore only a short silk skirt and a ceremonial-looking silver belt.

"Sesshoumaru," it said, crisp female tones cutting the air, "I presume."

Not removing his hand from the hilt of his sword, Sesshoumaru replied, "I assume from your appearance, you are not the human miko Iemitzu?"

"And this must be Rin. Mmm. Lovelier than I had imagined." The strange creature stepped forward as if to approach Rin, but the second she moved, Toukijin had been drawn and outstretched as a barrier in front of Rin. "Mmm. Keep your temper, taiyoukai. There's no need."

"Answer my question. What do you know if the human miko Iemitsu? The next time this Sesshoumaru is forced to ask, it will be done with this sword sticking in your flesh."

"Iemitsu is dead. Has been for almost 200 years. Which, I must say, is a long time for me to wait for you to arrive."

"Then you know what this Sesshoumaru requires?"

"Yes. But, I don't think I'll be giving it to you quite yet."

Few things in the world annoyed Sesshoumaru more than opponents that who knew more about him than he did about them. One of those few things were opponents who played games.

"Do you have a name, creature?"

"You may call me Claw," it replied almost rather mirthfully.

"Amusing nickname. Would you like to pick less ridiculous one before tasting Toukijin?"

Rin cringed. She could hear the annoyance already beginning to creep into her master's voice. Things tended to get upsetting when Lord Sesshoumaru became annoyed. Plus, her master had already threatened Claw's life twice. In Rin's experience, a third time usually didn't occur.

"Well, I am afraid, Sesshoumaru," Claw said, "The only other name I have is the one your father gave me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In our next chapter: What exactly is Claw, and how does she know Sesshoumaru and Rin? What IS it that Sesshoumaru has taken this journey to find? Is Sesshoumaru really going to kill Rin? Will the Jakken bashing ever stop? This and more in the exciting conclusion of Paper Dragons!

Miko - priestess