It was just before seven in the morning, and Sesshoumaru and Kagome were finishing a breakfast of muffins. They really didn't talk much, but the silence was a comfortable one. Besides, the inu youkai was enjoying the excellent food too much to really talk, not that he talked much anyway.
Sesshoumaru was finishing off the last blueberry muffin when a knock on the door broke through the quiet of the house. Knowing whom it probably was, he swallowed his food and went to the door. Kagome followed him without being ordered, curious to see if it was Sango or not.
Before the girl could get close enough to greet the visitor, Sesshoumaru opened the door, allowing a little girl with black hair the chance to pounce on him.
"Fluffy!" the small girl exclaimed, brown eyes sparkling with joy. She clung to the dog demon's pants like an adorable leech.
Kagome's life was complete, and she believed that she could finally die happy. She had witnessed a child call a inu taiyoukai Fluffy and live. Never again would she doubt ANYTHING Sesshoumaru said, no matter how far-fetched it sounded.
"Rin..." Sango said chastisingly as she calmly entered the house, but the child just smiled and hugged Sesshoumaru's legs even tighter. "She's my little sister," the bodyguard explained to Kagome. "And for some reason, she absolutely adores Sesshoumaru."
"Is Fluffy going to play with me?" Rin asked in an adorable voice. For some reason, the ex-slave couldn't help but think that the girl was nothing but a ball of energy and cuteness. It was almost unbelievable, and Kagome instantly grew attached to the small child.
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Kagome probably will, though." The dog demon gestured towards the blue-eyed girl.
"House?" Rin asked, turning her irresistibly cute gaze to the girl. "Please? Pretty please, can we play house?"
"Alright," Kagome answered, quickly giving into the child. She did not see how she could refuse.
"Yea!" the little girl cheered enthusiastically, releasing Sesshoumaru to clutch Kagome's hand instead. With a huge smile on her face, she proceeded to drag the older girl off to play.
br>Sango laughed softly, grinning as she watched both of the other females disappear downstairs. "That was a good idea, Sesshoumaru, asking me to bring my little sister. Rin will bring out the best in Kagome, I'm sure of it."
The inu youkai nodded his head in agreement. "I need to get going. Keep an eye out for Naraku." Then, after gathering up his things, he left.
~*~
Downstairs, Rin was happily playing house with Kagome. She, acting as the mother, drove the ex-slave to school, went to work, picked Kagome back up in an imaginary car, fed her, and put her to bed. Sound effects all made by her, and motions that were done with non-existent objects accompanied all actions. 'Supper' had been cooked in midair over an invisible stove for the past few times, and 'baths' were taken behind a couch.
At the moment, Kagome was pretending to sleep, per Rin's orders. The older girl had gone along with everything the child had said, enjoying herself as they played house. She hadn't played house in ages, and she loved every minute of her time with Rin.
"Wakey-wakey!" Rin chirped brightly, smiling for all she was worth, which was a lot. "It's your turn to play the momma."
Kagome chuckled, marveling at Rin's innocence. She couldn't help but completely adore the sweet little thing. The child was just so priceless.
"Okay," the older girl agreed, sitting up and instantly taking on the role of the mom.
~*~
A few hours later, Rin called the game to an end on account of her empty stomach. "I'm hungry. Can we eat lunch now?" she asked, putting a hand on her growling stomach.
Kagome nodded, taking pity on the girl. "Sure. What do you want to eat?"
Rin thought for a moment. "Chicken and rice!"
The ex-slave laughed, finding the child immensely amusing. "That shouldn't take too long to make," she assured the younger girl.
"Yea!" Rin cheered, grabbed Kagome's hand, and dragged her upstairs, all while chanting "chicken and rice" over and over again. The girl was obsessed with chicken and rice, that much was obvious.
As soon as Sango saw her younger sister pulling Kagome into the kitchen, she laughed long and hard. "Oh, Kami!" She giggled. They made such a funny picture. "And I just got the kitchen cleaned, too."
"Sango-sama, would you like chicken and rice as well?" the girl asked as she passed by her bodyguard.
"Sounds good," Sango commented, following the other two into the kitchen.
Soon, all three girls were seated at the dining room table, eating and chatting to their hearts' content.
~*~
After lunch, Rin decided that she was tired of playing house and that she wanted to play hide-and-seek. Of course, the little girl was the one who hid while Sango and Kagome searched for her.
"I'll take downstairs while you check this floor," Sango said, heading down a flight of stairs. "Give a shout when you find her."
"All right, Sango-sama," Kagome replied, her mind already on the search.
With amazing patience, the ex-slave went room by room, looking in every nook and cranny for the child. No part of any room was left un-searched. She was not going to overlook the child. Well, at least she was not planning on it.
Eventually, she combed her own room for Rin. She did not find the little girl under the bed or in the closet. Nor was she in the bathroom.
After a brief deliberation, Kagome opened the door that led to the balcony. The sight of a beautiful garden and blue sky greeted her, but there was no Rin.
The ex-slave sighed, walking out to the edge of the balcony and leaning on the railing. The place looked perfect, and everything seemed so peaceful. It was the kind of place that she dreamed of living in.
"Could Rin have gone down and hidden in the garden?" Kagome wondered out loud, her blue-gray eyes sweeping over the expanse of green, yellow, blue, red, pink and white.
"I wouldn't be worried about that right now if I were you," a female said from somewhere up above.
The girl jerked her gaze upward, eyes wide. There was a woman up in the air, flying towards the balcony on a giant white feather. Black hair pulled into a high ponytail highlighted fair skin and evil red eyes. Green beaded earrings hung from the lobes of pointed ears. The youkai woman was wearing a white and blue kimono, and a fan in one of her hands completed the look. She very much looked like the dangerous demon that she was.
Too panicked to make a sound, Kagome spun around and sprinted into her room, slamming the balcony door behind her as she did so. She knew that the small barrier wouldn't stop the youkai, but she had to do something. Anything was better than nothing. Besides, it could possibly grant her a few precious seconds.
"Dance of blades," the youkai woman said calmly, waving her fan at the door. Glowing blades came crashing out of the fan, easily destroying the door, most of the wall, and a portion of Kagome's bedroom. Huge pieces of sheet-rock and wood littered the ground. Tons of dust choked the air, and shards of glass covered the ground, flashing when sunlight hit them.
Kagome screamed for all she was worth as she tripped over a section of fallen wall. "Sango! Help!" She tried to get back up, but her ankle prevented her from doing so. She looked down to see blood. A large piece of glass had embedded itself in her body. Knowing what she had to do, she yanked out the object and willed her miko magic to heal the wound.
The attacker smirked devilishly. "Well, that certainly wasn't as hard as Naraku made it out to be." She chuckled as she approached the fallen girl. "Of course, with Mistress Centipede keeping that bodyguard busy, it shouldn't be hard. You are, after all, a helpless human."
Somehow, Kagome forced herself to stand back up; and she began running. Her miko powers had made quick work of her ankle. All that was left of the wound was a dull ache. Dealing with the small pain was well worth getting away from the dangerous youkai.
Not worried by the ex-slave's actions, the fan-lady followed at a leisurely pace. It was not like the girl could run forever. Eventually she would give up and allow herself to be captured. The inevitable could only be stalled for so long.
Still chuckling, Kagura turned a corner, only to find a very sharp and bloody sword aimed at her throat. "So... Sango, you finally finished off the centipede youkai. I thought it would take you much longer than that."
"I have drastically improved since we last met, Kagura," Sango hissed. "And now, you have a choice: drop your fan and give yourself up, or die."
"I'll take option number three," the fan-lady stated, jumping back and raising her weapon before Sango could react. "Dance of blades!"
The bodyguard instantly dodged, shoving Kagome into a side room as she did so. Moving agilely, Sango avoided all the wind blades and pulled out a throwing knife. With deadly accuracy, she hurled it at Kagura, hitting her in the shoulder area near the heart.
The fan-lady gasped and clutched at her wound with a free hand, her face twisted in pain. Blood soaked her kimono and dripped onto the ground. She hissed as she raised her fan.
Immediately a giant, forceful wind blew Sango down the hall. "I'll return for the girl later," Kagura stated, and then she made a hasty retreat.
Sango chased after the youkai, but before she could get close enough, Kagura was up in the sky on the huge feather once again. With her so high up in the air, there was no way that the bodyguard would be able to attack. She couldn't even throw one of her knives that far.
She cursed before running back into the house, angry that the enemy had gotten away. Even though dealing with the enemy was important, she had more important things to do. She needed to check on Kagome and find Rin.
Sango's mind began to panic as she went into the room she had shoved Kagome into. She found the other girl on the floor, shaking in fear. The attack had left the ex-slave terrified.
The bodyguard put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're safe, Kagome. Kagura is gone," she assured the female. "There's no more reason to be afraid."
br>Kagome slowly calmed down as the words sank in, her muscles relaxing as her trembling decreased and then stopped. "Thank-you for saving me, Sango-sama" she said after a moment.
"You're welcome," Sango replied. "Now, we need to go find Rin." It took all of her strength to just remain calm. She knew that she would never forgive herself if Rin was hurt or... 'NO! I won't even think that. RIN. IS. ALIVE!'
"Oh, dear Kami," Kagome breathed as she lurched to her feet. "RIN!" she yelled fearfully, running out of the room. "RIN!" She wasn't like Sango. She couldn't find the strength to stay calm. What strength she had actually possessed had been fully used up during the attack.
Sango, too, was running around, searching and shouting for her younger sister. 'Please, please, PLEASE don't let her be downstairs or in the basement,' she mentally pleaded. Mistress Centipede had destroyed everything in both of those areas. "Rin, we give up, so please come out of hiding!"
"Sango-neechan?" came a tentative, soft voice from a room at the end of the hallway --Sesshoumaru's office. It was a room that was actually still intact.
The bodyguard's heart soared. Rin was alive. "RIN!" she cried out happily as both her and Kagome raced to the office. They practically flew into the room, finding the little girl sitting on the floor near the desk.
"Is everything okay now, Sango-neechan?" Rin asked quietly as both of the older females hugged her.
"Everything's fine now," Sango answered, smiling brightly and sighing with relief. No one had been hurt, thank Kami. Only the house had been damaged, although maybe totally wrecked was a better description.
"Sango-sama, do you think that Sesshoumaru-sama will be angry about his mansion?" Kagome asked nervously, looking out the door at the trashed hallway.
Biting her bottom lip for a moment, she nodded her head. "He probably will, but who could blame him?" She noticed Kagome wince ever so slightly. "He won't be angry at you, if that's what you're thinking. None of this was your fault."
The ex-slave thought on that for few seconds. "Thank you, Sango-sama," she responded, feeling much more at ease.
Rin, deciding to lighten the moment, looked at both older girls and wiggled out of the hug. "Can we finish playing hide-and-seek now?"
Kagome and Sango laughed, enjoying Rin's innocence. "Alright, Rin, but we're going to play outside," the bodyguard stated, ruffling the little girl's hair. "Just let me try to call Sesshoumaru and report this."
"Okay."
Sango called, but for some reason, she couldn't get a hold of him. The only thing she could do was have someone tell the dog demon that she called. She could have left a message, but she did not want to do that. She preferred to tell people to their face what had happened or on the phone if she had no other choice.
"Well, I've done all I can," she stated, sighing. She turned to Rin. "Let's go outside now."
The child cheered, completely forgetting about the attack. She quickly proceeded to try and drag the two other girls through all the rubble in the house to the outside. She was in a hurry because she wanted to spend as much time playing with her new friend Kagome as much as possible.
Soon, all three girls were out on the front lawn, taking turns hiding and searching. Somehow, Kagome and Sango both relaxed and basically put aside the memory of the attack for the moment. They would remember later, but not until Sesshoumaru arrived.
~*~
Sesshoumaru came home to find Sango standing in the front yard, watching Kagome chase Rin around the yard. Beautiful laughter from both active girls rang through the air as the ex-slave finally caught Rin and began to tickle her.
Smiling, honestly smiling, the inu youkai walked up to Sango. "She's improved drastically," he commented, sounding pleased about Kagome's new behavior. Things seemed to be looking up for the ex- slave.
"Yes, probably because it's impossible not to act happy and carefree around Rin," Sango responded. "Kagome has spent most of her day playing with her. They have had quite a bit of fun today."
"You'll have to bring Rin back here tomorrow then," he stated, his eyes following Kagome as Rin chased her.
"Um... I don't think I'll be able to bring Rin HERE," the bodyguard told her employer nervously. "There was a small problem today. Two demons attacked the house, so the basement and first floor are pretty much unlivable. The kitchen and living room are completely gone. The upstairs is in slightly better condition, but a hallway and a bedroom are in very bad shape. Luckily, no one was hurt. I killed one demon, the centipede demon, and it turned to dust as soon as it died. The other demon was a wind sorceress named Kagura. She got away."
Sesshoumaru growled softly, so soft that Sango couldn't hear it. There was no doubt in his mind that the demons had been sent to get Kagome. It was the only reason he could think of that would explain their visit. "Describe this Kagura."
She nodded her head. "She fights with a fan, a weapon that can control the winds. With it, she can do two attacks that I know of: dance of blades and dance of the dragon snakes. She could have more than that. Kagura went through bodyguard training with me, so I know that she is also proficient with a sword and staff. She has black hair and red eyes. Also, she tends to wear kimonos, and she can use a feather to fly around on."
"Do you know why they demons came?" Sesshoumaru asked, wanting to confirm his guess.
"Yes. Before Kagura left, she said that she would return for Kagome." Sango sighed, shaking her head sadly. "Poor Kagome. She was so scared."
For some reason, the thought of Kagome being scared brought up strange feelings. He became angry at Kagura for frightening her, and he acquired a desire to keep the ex-slave so she would never be scared again. He automatically swore that he would do anything to protect Kagome, a human. He had never done that before.
Right then, Rin ran up and grabbed the inu youkai around his legs, jolting him out of his thoughts. A happy Kagome was soon to follow Rin, half-tackling the little girl, making sure not to hurt her. She tickled the child for a while, but soon, she was the one being tickled. Kagome, laughing hard and wriggling on the ground, tried to get away from Rin without success.
Sesshoumaru laughed at this sight, enjoying watching the two giggle and torture each other. The new and strange sound coming from the dog demon's lip startled Sango. Rin didn't pay much attention to it, but it brought the ex-slave out of her tunnel vision.
For the past half hour, she had been fully concentrating on the little girl. Her mind had registered nothing else except for the running ball of pure joy and energy. Now, she had finally been snapped back into paying attention. The deep, pleasant laugh had gotten through her mode unlike anything else; and when Kagome noticed who had laughed, she had just about had a heart attack. She had been acting like a child around her old master; something that she knew was not a good idea. Dear Kami, what had she done?
Instantly becoming serious, Kagome disconnected herself from Rin, stood up, and bowed, staying bent. "Forgive me, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said with her eyes on the ground. "I did not mean to ignore you nor act so childish in your presence."
"Relax, Kagome," the inu youkai ordered gently. "I enjoyed watching you play with Rin, and you have a beautiful laugh." He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to stand up straight. "And no more bowing to me, ever."
Once again, Sango stared at Sesshoumaru in shock and amazement. Never before had she seen the dog demon act like that. It just was not in his personality. He did not laugh, he did not compliment people, and he most certainly did not touch a human unless he had to.
"As you wish, Sesshoumaru-sama," the blue-eyed girl responded quietly, causing the inu youkai to sigh. "What is wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
"You're too submissive," he told her simply. "And that's not a good thing."
"I've been this way for nine years, Sesshoumaru-sama. It is hard for me to change," Kagome said. "I am trying though."
Sesshoumaru nodded his head in agreement. "I know," he admitted, and then he turned to look at Sango. "I am going to take a look inside and assess the damage done to my house. Will you please watch over Kagome for a little while longer while I do so?"
"Sure. Of course," the bodyguard answered. "Take your time."
"Thank you." With that said, he disappeared into the mansion, leaving the three girls alone.