(This is the longest chapter so please bear with me. It has some of the best moments in the story.)

7

Ten minutes later, Robin sat warming her hands by a roaring fire in the middle of Kaede's home.

"I must say it's convenient not to have to use kindling," said the old priestess.

Robin gave her a shy smile.

"It's nothing, really," she said softly.

"On the contrary, that's quite a talent you have," Kaede insisted.

Robin glanced at Amon to see if he was listening. He was, even though he was trying to hide it. He stood by the door, waiting. A moment later, Inuyasha and Kagome and their entire crew came trudging back through the doorway into the little house.

"I guess you were right, Inuyasha," Miroku was saying. "It'll be much easier to track him in daylight."

"Even with Kagome's jewel shard sense, we'd be at a huge disadvantage if we confronted him now," Sango agreed as she sat down by the fire with Kilala in her lap.

"Besides, a low level demon might do the job for us overnight," Inuyasha pointed out. He settled into a corner and leaned his sword against the wall beside him.

"What are the chances?" Amon asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Not good enough," Inuyasha said, throwing a brief glare at Amon first.

"With his powers, he'd have a good chance of defending himself," Miroku said. "Especially with a jewel shard."

"We'll find out in the morning," Kagome said. She sat down on her sleeping bag by the fire and lifted Shippo down from her shoulder. He was half asleep but he struggled into a sitting position and looked up at Robin.

"You're from the future?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied simply. She'd never talked to a real demon before and she wasn't quite sure what to say. But he seemed like a normal kid so she forced herself to relax.

"And your power is fire?"

Robin nodded.

"My power is fire too," he said and he opened a blue swirling flame in the palm of his hand.

Robin smiled a little and made the fire in front of them flare up for a moment. Shippo smiled back at her and made his blue flame twist into a spiral. Robin smiled and did the same with her fire. She looked up at Amon, still standing by the door.

"Amon," she said just to get his attention.

Shippo let his flame fade away and followed Robin's gaze. Amon turned halfway around to look over his shoulder at Shippo and Robin. Shippo quickly turned his back, a nervous look on his face.

"He's from the future too?" he asked.

"Yes," Robin told him.

"He reminds me of somebody."

Robin couldn't resist a silent laugh and neither could Kagome.

"Do you think we'll meet Sesshomaru while we're here?" Robin asked.

"Probably not," Kagome said with a shake of her head. "And it probably wouldn't be a good idea anyway."

"Why not?" Robin asked.

"Sesshomaru isn't so crazy about humans," Shippo began.

"But in addition to that," Miroku continued holding a hand out towards Amon, "since you are a descendant of his, he is in a unique position of power over you."

Amon turned around sharply to face the group. Robin tried to make eye contact but he wouldn't meet her gaze. There were few things he hated more these days than being under someone else's control. Robin could smell the trouble brewing. Perhaps a clarification was in order.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked gently, making sure Amon was listening.

"Your father believed that witches were born from gods," Miroku said, settling onto the floor across the fire from Robin. "Demons are often mistaken for gods by simple people. In our present, there are those who seek to destroy all demons. In your future, demons must have interbred with humans in order to preserve their bloodlines. It's not surprising that their descendants of mixed blood identified their ancestors as gods. It's also not surprising that powerful demons like Sesshomaru and his offspring joined this trend. Since Amon is your partner, I'm sure you've noticed it already. He can move a little faster. Heal a little faster. See, hear, smell a little better than other people. And he was able to use the well without a jewel shard. That's a sure sign that he's from a dog demon's bloodline."

Robin looked up at Amon for a moment. He was listening closely now. Miroku took a deep breath and continued.

"Sesshomaru has great power over Amon because he's in the past. The things he does now can directly affect the future. If he finds out who Amon really is, with his prejudice against humans, he won't be pleased. If it bothers him enough to have a human descendant, he can do more than just kill him now. He can fix it so that Amon never exists at all. Cast him into the deepest oblivion there is."

A hush fell over the room. Robin looked up at Amon again and this time, he looked back. He would be alright now, she knew.

"But we hardly ever see him," Kagome said reassuringly. "So I'm sure it won't be an issue."

8

"Wait! Wait for me, Sesshomaru-sama," Jaken wailed as he rushed to keep up with his master. The glare from the morning sun in his eyes slowed him down.

Sesshomaru paid no attention to him, seeming satisfied that Aun and Rin were at his side. Rin turned around in the saddle on Aun's back and threw a smile back at Jaken.

"Hurry up, Jaken-sama. You'll get left behind."

"I know that, Rin."

With one last sprint, Jaken managed to jump onto Aun's tail and he clung there resting. Still paying no attention, Sesshomaru walked on, his fluffy white tail waving from side to side behind him. Despite repeated attempts, Jaken couldn't figure out what was drawing his master to this area. This was Inuyasha's territory. It wasn't wise to be loitering around here. Jaken would never say so out loud of course. He valued his life far too much. He was just getting his breath back when Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks. Aun stopped with him, getting Jaken's attention.

"What is it, my lord?" the little imp asked.

"That scent again," the dog demon muttered.

Sesshomaru would never admit this to anybody, but new smells fascinated him. When he had first met Kagome, he could have stood there and sniffed her all day. The smells from her world were so varied and endlessly interesting. Last night, he had smelled something very similar but mixed with something familiar. A demon smell. And now that he was closer, he realized there was more than one. And one of them was…

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Jaken whimpered.

Sesshomaru walked on. The scent had faded again so he couldn't be sure. But for a moment, he thought he caught his own scent wafting on the morning breeze.

9

The hanging wooden slats over Kaede's doorway rustled, making Robin look up from her seat on the floor. Amon stopped just inside and looked back at her. The light of day made him look slightly lonely. Robin knew he'd been up since dawn, anxious to start the hunt again. It didn't seem to matter to him that the others were probably worried sick on the other side of the well. At breakfast she had proposed that she should go back just to tell them everything was okay. But Amon didn't want her traveling alone with the jewel shard and he wouldn't leave while Volando Petra was still alive.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"They have to do Kaede's chores while they stay here. That's the arrangement."

Amon turned away from Robin and faced the door again, just as he had the night before. She was starting to worry about him again. He was becoming obsessed with this hunt. Only an hour ago, he had turned up his nose at a grilled fish the others had offered him. Robin was sure it wasn't because he was spoiled by Harry's cooking. He was just too nervous to eat. He wasn't even teasing Inuyasha like usual. She was sure he would be alright after the hunt was over, but still… The hanging slats moved again and Kagome poked her head inside.

"Alright, we're going now," she said and disappeared from the doorway.

Amon threw a look over his shoulder at Robin before following Kagome out the door. Robin trotted after him. They joined the rest of the group on the path back towards the well where they would pick up the witch's trail. It all looked so different in daylight. And the air was so clean. Robin could hardly believe the blue sky. Of course Amon wasn't noticing any of it. He kept his eyes on the ground, watching for fresh footprints. Robin made a concerted effort not to concern herself with him for a while. The bronze rings on Miroku's staff set up a jingling rhythm that was perfect to walk with. After a minute or two Robin found herself walking beside the monk on the path.

"Dojima talks about you sometimes in her letters," he said.

"She talks about you sometimes too," Robin replied.

"Does she? Well then, would you consider…"

"No."

"But I didn't even…"

"No."

"She's got your number, Houshi-sama," Sango said with a laugh.

The others snickered as well, except Amon. Robin noticed him listening, his head half turned to the side. But he turned away as soon as he noticed her looking. The well was in sight now and everybody was suddenly more alert.

"Do you sense the shard?" Inuyasha asked Kagome.

"I sense the shard we have. The second one is faint. I'm not sure exactly where it's coming from."

"Footprints," Amon said, drawing everyone's attention. He had circled the well and found what he was looking for. Inuyasha took over from there, sniffing his way into the woods with the others following him.