16

Sesshomaru looked down at Jaken's dead body. He must have been caught by that witch. How irritating to have to rescue him all the time. The dog demon drew his magical sword, Tenseiga. He didn't even lift it over his head before bringing it down to slice through the body. It took a few moments for Jaken to come back, his eyes opening and widening.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" he cried out with obvious joy.

Sesshomaru was about to walk away, but the wind changed and there was that scent again, so strong that the creature had to be close by. The dog demon scanned the slope of the hill until his eyes reached the top. He saw a human, but he smelled something more. Another dog demon?

17

Amon froze as his eyes and the demon's eyes met. That was him, Sesshomaru. Amon's mind went completely blank. It didn't even occur to him to be afraid. He didn't sense any danger from the stranger in white, only curiosity. He stood there for what felt like a long time, until he felt a hand grab his wrist. It was Robin. She was pulling him down from the crest of the hill and back towards the others. Thoughts came flooding back into Amon's mind all at once. She so rarely did things like that. She must really be worried… or scared…

"I'm sorry I scared you before."

She had said that to him the morning after they had escaped from the Factory. They had been standing together in a crowded train car on the way to Narita Airport. Robin had suddenly reached over and taken hold of his coat. He had looked at her strangely and heard her say it.

"What do you mean?" he had asked in reply.

"You were ready to shoot me. I must have scared you… when I used my craft to kill that witch. And… I'm sorry... that I made you think you couldn't trust me."

"I wasn't scared," he had said, knowing it was a lie.

"Liar," she had said with a gentle smile.

Why did that conversation come back to him now? And why was Robin still pulling on his wrist when they were halfway down the hill already?

18

It was just past dusk when the group arrived at the well. Kagome sat down on the wooden boards to rest. She noticed that Shippo had not left Robin's shoulder since the fight that afternoon. They certainly had grown close in such a short time. Amon hadn't said a word the whole way back, which wasn't unusual for him. But Kagome got the feeling that his brain was working furiously, which was unusual. He still didn't say anything as he handed Robin their last jewel shard. She would need it to get home.

"Thank you for your help," Robin said.

"No big deal," Inuyasha replied. "We got a jewel shard out of it."

"I'll be around to pick up that last one sometime tomorrow, okay?" Kagome threw in.

"Okay," Robin said.

Amon jumped up onto the side of the well, signaling that it was time to go. Shippo jumped off Robin's shoulder onto the grass.

"Will you come back and visit sometime?" he asked.

"I'll try. I don't have much family left," she said.

Shippo tilted his head to the side again.

Amon wasn't prepared to wait anymore. He jumped down the well, sending the pink light up from the bottom. Robin was quick to follow him, throwing a goodbye over her shoulder as she disappeared down the shaft.

Inuyasha snorted. "Well, that's the first time I ever saw a fox chase a dog down a hole," he snickered.

The others laughed as well, but Shippo gasped.

"What!?" he squealed. He leapt up onto the side of the well and yelled down into the darkness. "Hey, wait!"