Morning found the young shrine maiden still near the brook. She had moved some ways away, yes, but kept close in proximity. Maybe she felt comforted by the gentle water's gurgling. Or maybe she had desperately attached herself to the going on's of yesterday. It was hard to say, really.

In any case, she found herself once again kneeling beside it. Her lithe hands formed a cup, so that she might have a drink. The liquid's purity just served to further embitter her, however. It was, after all, not pleasant in the least to have one's tongue lolling about in mud.

But it served in refreshing her nonetheless and she stood, in much higher spirits. After wiping the escaped dribble from the corner of her mouth, she proceeded to make for the shade of the dense forest canopy. The ground was always cooler underneath a tree, after all.

Just as she had begun to will her earthen body forward, a delighted giggle, an indignant squawk, and agitated thrashing could be heard; distant at first but approaching at a high speed. The miko's grip on her bow grew tighter, but as of yet, she made no move to notch an arrow.

At what came bursting through the bushes caught the young woman by surprise. A rather homely, green, toad-like youkai was chasing around a black-haired little girl, waving his staff furiously while the said child just laughed.

Kikyou watched the scene with rapt attention; perhaps even fascination. It was not the youkai who held the advantage in this game, as she discovered by watching only a few moments more, but rather the young girl, who had scrambled up a tree and began throwing rocks at the impish creature, who in turn, could only curse, mutter profanities, and dodge to the best of his abilities.

The bulging eyes of the youkai expanded even more as he spoke in a shrill, gleeful tone, though panting, for he was out of breath, "W-what a shame it would b-be if the young R-Rin fell from the tree and c-cracked her skull wide o-open! S-surely Lord Sesshoumaru would n-not be p-pleased!"

The miko's now stormy orbs narrowed. Who is this vile little creature, to be assaulting a sweet little child so? If he dares to purposefully harm her...

But the threat could only linger, for before she had a chance to attempt to rescue the girl, she was dealt a sharp blow to the back of the head. The young maiden's world went black, her eyes rolling back in her head as she toppled forwards. She had been so intently watching the little girl's vicious attacks on the bizarre youkai to even notice that someone had crept up behind her.

Her unknown assailant's single arm darted out to roughly snatch her hair, preventing her from crashing face-first into the ground. He momentarily cradled her slender frame to him, attempting to readjust his hold on her. It would almost appear to be an uncharacteristic display of affection, if it were not for the dark scowl he wore on his face and the anything-but-gentle manner in which he handled her.

Finally deciding that simply tossing her over his shoulder would work best, he did so, and set off, imp and child dutifully following, an unspoken truce haven somehow been agreed upon. When Sesshoumaru had business to attend to, it was best not to anger him.

They walked the many miles to where the strange beast, Ah-Un, grazed. Sesshoumaru carelessly shrugged the miko off his shoulder and onto the horse-like reptilian. Jaken's cracked voice nearly broke out in delighted laughter at his Lord's actions, but Rin sadly glanced up at Sesshoumaru, sympathetically giving the young woman's sleeves a tug.

It was nearly nightfall before the strange lot arrived at their destination. Sesshoumaru once again hefted the miko off Ah-Un, beckoning for Rin to accompany him. Jaken was left to settle the two-headed beast in for the night in one of the spacious stables they housed on the grounds.

Rin kept close to Sesshoumaru as they made their way across the shadowed courtyard. The Western Lord kicked open the door of a decrepit old shack that was once used to jail trespassers and criminals. The room, small to begin with, had been split into four tiny cells. Two had been cleaned out, two remained packed with an assortment of odd apparatuses.

Once more the aristocratic taiyoukai nearly dumped the shrine-maiden off him and onto the padded cell floor. He disdainfully gazed down at her slumped form, which was ablaze in the moonlight. "Rin," he spoke, after a long while.

She released his puffy pant leg and stared up at him. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I am going to...fetch you some dinner...Wait here, will you?"

She nodded silently, glancing apprehensively at the miko's illuminated figure, which somehow managed to look positively frightening but frail at the same time. "R-Rin will w-wait..." she nervously assured him.

He nodded briskly, ignoring the sudden bout of rapid pulsating from Tensaiga as he strode out of the building and towards the large manor on the top of the hill. Rin's eyes drifted back towards the woman on the floor, who, coincidentally, was beginning to stir.

The miko began to slowly sit up, letting loose a groan as she rubbed her throbbing head. Blinking her mahogany orbs several times, it took her some time to adjust to the peculiar mixture of light and darkness. Rin had since backed into the wall, observing with wide eyes.

Once she got her bearings, her head whipped around, locking onto Rin's crouched form. "Who's there?" she called tentatively. She knew not if the shadow-lurker were 'friend' or foe.

Rin bit her lip and slowly emerged, stepping into the moonlight where she could be seen. The young woman's expression visibly softened. I remember her...The girl from earlier...Did she bring me here? What exactly happened in the first place? "Hello there," she spoke as pleasantly as she could manage. "What's your name, dear?"

"R-Rin is R-Rin..." the little girl stuttered awkwardly.

Kikyou flashed her a brilliant smile, hoping to put the poor thing at ease. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rin-chan,"

Rin flushed shyly. "Rin would also like to know nice lady's name,"

Kikyou felt herself drawn to this young girl, who, like many other youngsters, had willingly gravitated to her in the past. A warm feeling welled up within her chest as her eyes gently lingered on the child. "You can call me Kikyou, Rin-chan,"

Rin nodded, returning the miko's smile with a small one. "Then...Then Rin thinks it is also a pleasure to meet Kikyou-sama!"

The shrine maiden could not help but beam. Despite these odd circumstances and the continuously resurfacing uneasy feeling she felt about the place, she felt very much relaxed. Upon hearing a creek, though, her hands reflexively went to snatch the bow that, to her horror, was no longer there.

Her breath drew in. "You!" she hissed at a pair of steely amber orbs piercing both the darkness and the very bottom of her false being.

"You remember me," he spoke in that dry tone of his. "If the circumstances were different, perhaps I would be flattered, miko,"

"Spare me," she sneered. "Why have you brought the child and I here?"

Sesshoumaru laughed coldly, much to Kikyou's annoyance. "Rin," he turned to the girl. "I have brought you your dinner and several candles. I shall light them for you and then I wish for you to eat in here while I have a talk with this woman,"

"Okay, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin smiled brightly, despite the unusualness of it all. She plopped down where she stood, waiting for the Western Lord to bring her what he had for her. Much to Kikyou's surprise, the taiyoukai wasted no time in delivering the goods.

"Let us go," he rumbled, motioning to the door. Kikyou's eyes narrowed, but she dare not make a scene in front of the child. Silently, she followed him into the night, stopping only when he did. "I am sure," he licked his lips, searching for the right words before continuing smoothly, "You are wondering why I have brought you here, no?"

"Perhaps," she mocked him, no longer afraid to lash out. "Why has the great-" she sarcastically stressed the last word, "-Sesshoumaru honored me with a visit to his oh-so-humble abode?"

His eyes flashed dangerously, but he managed to suppress his rage at her insolent words. "Because I have use for you, why else?"

"Is that it?" her voice now oozed with malice. "I thought maybe you needed a house-keeper, with the condition of that...that shack! How dare you force such an innocent little child to reside in such a filthy place?"

His eyebrows knitted together, and a dark look crossed his expression momentarily. "Oh, now, we don't live there. My faithful servent prepared that place just for you," he smirked in satisfaction when he sensed her angrily quiver at that. "But, if you're offering to clean it, do go ahead. You'll be spending an awful lot of time in there, you know. It might give you something to do,"

She nearly snorted at that. "What makes you think some shabby little building can contain my power?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that you are very capable of blowing that 'shack', as you put it, away," his confidence never wavered, but hers sure did. "But you see, as you proved me correct just minutes ago, you wouldn't dare reveal your true nature in the presence of Rin,"

"You're a hateful thing, aren't you?" she spat. Yes, all sense of false formalities had long since been abandoned.

"Aren't I?" he chuckled. "But don't worry, you'll have company soon enough,"

"..."

"Come now," he stepped forward to grab her chin and lock eyes with her. "Don't tell me you aren't the least bit curious?"

She abruptly pulled away, drawing herself together, glaring indignantly at him, debating whether to strike him or not. "Can't say that I am,"

He shook his head. "No matter. I'm going to tell you anyway. That dear, dear wench of Inu-Yasha's who you seem ever-so fond of will be shortly joining you here,"
Kikyou could only stare in a mass of mixed emotions. One of them being horror, having just put together the last pieces of the puzzle. "You...beast!" this time she did slap him, storming back in the direction she had came from, back to Rin.

For as much as she hated to admit it, she could not hope to stand up to the taiyoukai without her bow and arrows. He would simply have to wait til morning before he got his...

A/N: Yeah, they got a bit OOC. I apologize for that, but you'll just have to deal with it. Besides, you all seemed to enjoy my past perspective in such confrontation scenes. I hope you enjoy this one as well. Longer chapter as a treat. Rawr. Thanks for all the feedback guys n' gals, but I'm going to have to keep you in the dark a little longer.

Please Review!