A/N Hello! Hello! And welcome to the fifth chapter. My apologies for the late update. Now for the moment you've all been waiting for, (drum roll) the Disclaimer!

I, Witch of Darkness, do not own or hold any pretense of owning, InuYasha. Seriously though, the moment you've all been waiting for begins in the next paragraph.

Rin stared blankly at the tree in front of her. It had been a long time now since Lord Sesshomaru had left and that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was only getting worse. She wasn't sure exactly how long it had been but the sun had long since set and Jaken had already lit a small fire. Glancing up at her toad like companion, Rin received the distinct impression that he was worried about lord Sesshomaru as well. The small retainer's bulbous, yellow eyes were darting around nervously and his fingers were constantly tightening and un-tightening around his staff.

It was rather cold, Rin thought as she closed in around herself a little more, hugging her knees and scooting closer to the fire. At last after several minutes, Rin looked up towards Jaken and while nervously toying with a lock of brown hair voiced something of her concern. "Are you worried about him?" she asked.

"Of course not," snapped Jaken, "our Lord Sesshomaru is a great and powerful demon. Nothing could possibly hurt him." The anxious tilt to his eyes however, belied his forceful proclamation. He had sensed the evil and power of whatever it was his master had gone to face leaving a sick feeling of dread firmly lodged in his breast.

"Do you think we should go and look for him?" Rin asked, fear evident in her tone.

"No," said Jaken after a pause, "we would do little to help."

Rin was not particularly comforted by this but she remembered the instances in the past when people had tried to hurt her to get to Sesshomaru. As much as she wanted to be by her lord's side, she didn't want to become a hindrance either. Jaken was probably right, it would be best to stay out of the way. Of course, it would also be wise to take care of themselves too. These woods weren't very safe and eventually they'd exhaust the naturally occurring food stuffs available to them as there were few to begin with. She said as much to Jaken and he seemed surprised at her assessment of the situation but agreed as well. When the morning came, they would seek a more secure environment.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Kohaku opened his eyes blearily, wincing slightly as the sun poked through the crack of his half closed eyelids. Some days he questioned the wisdom of getting up at all, but then again it wasn't as if he could spend the whole day in a tree, or the forest for that matter. Taking a moment to orient himself he quickly jumped down from his perch only to discover that the bag in which he carried his few belongings had remained in the tree. Resolutely, he climbed back up to collect it. Kohaku sighed, he really hated sleeping in trees. Unfortunately, his resentful thoughts were cut short as his stomach gave a particularly loud growl. Sighing again, Kohaku began to pick his way nimbly through the dense, green foliage towards a nearby stream. With luck, he could have fish for breakfast.

Later, when the sun had risen yet higher, warming the air, and Kohaku had finished his small, rather unsatisfying meal, (he hadn't caught a fish but had found some berries and wild mushrooms) the young man reached the nearby road and continued his journey. Not that it was really a journey, he thought, to be on a journey you had to be going somewhere. Kohaku was just wandering from village to village begging what food he could in exchange for odd jobs and scrounging off the land. It was hard but he didn't really have much else to do. He didn't have any family or skills to speak of; in fact, he didn't have much of anything.

Silently, he pondered his state of being. It was all very strange he concluded, about a year ago he could remember waking up in a forest with nothing but the clothes on his back. His memory up to that point was distinctly hazy. Just flashes here and there. Sometimes a pair of red eyes or a feather flying through the air, sometimes a man laughing malevolently, and sometimes a woman's face. This woman was very pretty and always caused a feeling of warmth to swell in his chest. In every village he came to he couldn't stop himself from looking for her. He didn't know why he felt such attachment to a woman he barely remembered, just that somehow, he knew she was important.

Ah well, he thought, there wasn't much he could do about it now. His life such that it was, was that of a wanderer; so for now he'd be content to do just that. Looking up at the brilliantly blue sky, Kohaku couldn't help but enjoy the warm spring air and the cool, gentle breeze as it played with his hair and clothes.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Rin was tired. That was all there was to it. It had, after all been a very long day consisting mostly of walking. At first Jaken had objected to the use of a nearby road but the surrounding forests were much too dense to allow for easy travel. If any passing human found objection with the presence of a rather large, two headed dragon, that was their problem. This road, at any rate probably did make travel much smoother but nevertheless, Rin was feeling that weariness peculiar to long hikes creeping into her bones. Fortunately, they would soon be stopping for the night.

Looking up, Rin found she had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sinking sun and was for a moment unaware of the presence in front the small party. When her eyes adjusted to the glare however, her attention was immediately grabbed by a tall form making his way towards them. A few feet further, and this figure revealed himself to be a young man or boy really, perched on the cusp of manhood. Although his back was slightly bent after what must have been a long day of traveling, he had a long and gangly frame, clearly be-freckled even at a distance. It was not this that held Rin's attention though; for all intents and purposes he was just another traveler, dusty and care worn, but Rin felt, as soon as his face became visible a tug of familiarity. Slowly, as they drew nearer and nearer this strangely familiar figure, Rin became more and more sure as to his identity. It had been a very long time ago that they had met, but it was a memory that still remained vivid.

On the whole, Rin didn't remember the people she had met here and there on her travels with Sesshomaru. This was do mainly to the fact that they rarely saw them again and as a consequence, Rin had very few friends. The meeting with Kohaku, however brief, had been important as in the depths of her childlike mind, Rin had named him a friend. It was this remembrance that prompted Rin to abandon AhUn's reigns and approach the boy at a respectable trot, all tiredness aside.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Kohaku had been allowing his mind to wander freely when, without warning, his thoughts were jerked from their day dream by the voice of a young girl. Looking down, Kohaku was slightly shocked to see, no more than two feet from him, what was presumably the same girl who'd shouted to him. The puzzling factor of all this was that this girl had called him by name but Kohaku couldn't remember seeing her before in his life. Of course, he couldn't remember much of his life anyway, so that wasn't saying much. "Uh, do I know you?" he asked tentatively, as he said it, a small part of him began to desperately hope that he did know this girl and that she would in fact be a link to his past.

"Don't ya remember?" the girl asked frowning slightly; confusion entering her bright, brown eyes. "I'm Rin," she said, "we met awhile ago but I thought for sure you would have remembered."

"Oh well it's not that I've forgotten you per say," Kohaku was quick to placate, "it's just that I've forgotten most everything else so, I guess, well what I mean to say is that it's not just you I can't remember. It's, well, everything." A wistful note had crept into his voice as he'd finished his explanation. He looked up quickly though, flashing a smile at Rin hoping to show that it was all okay. Unfortunately, looking up also meant he got an eyeful of Rin's traveling companions and consequently a significant shock.

IIIIIIIIIIII

"So ever since then I've traveled all around with Lord Sesshomaru. He has a house but he doesn't stay there often; Jaken and AhUn come with us as well." It was several hours later and Rin was recounting the tale of her life with Sesshomaru, or Lord Sesshomaru as she called him.

Kohaku certainly wasn't complaining, after all, it was an astounding story although probably embellished in some places and he'd gotten a free meal out of it too. The best part was though that Rin definitely knew him all though he, for the life of him couldn't remember her from anywhere. "So, uh," he began, "this Lord Sesshomaru is a demon too then?"

"Yes!" said Rin excitedly as though this simple fact carried with it all the secrets of the universe and beyond, "He's a taiyoukai actually, and he's really powerful. He's a dog demon although you wouldn't really guess just by looking. His brother has dog ears though and even though Lord Sesshomaru doesn't like him much I think they're cute."

She'd said all this very quickly and it took a moment for Kohaku to absorb this new information. He almost didn't hear her start speaking again.

"Jaken and AhUn are demons too but they're not as strong."

At that Jaken had looked up and seemed about to remark on the flippant way Rin had made her statement as though his strength was not to be taken lightly but seemed to decide on second thought that it was better if he didn't say anything.

"So where is Se…er Lord Sesshomaru now?" Kohaku asked politely. His words however, were met with a quick and slightly anxious glance shared between Jaken and Rin.

"Well," Rin began slowly, "we don't actually know where he is right now. He said he had some stuff to do and that he'd be back for us later but…" she trailed off, "well I'm kinda worried about him. Jaken is too but he won't say so."

"Ah," was all Kohaku could think to answer with.

"Anyway," said Rin, bright smile back in place, "why don't you stay with us in the mean time?"

Jaken looked askance at her words. He'd objected to Kohaku joining them even for dinner but all he could do was watch in horror as Kohaku graciously accepted the offer.

Afterwards, when they had all settled down to sleep, Kohaku thought about the rather extraordinary events of the day. Just hours ago he'd been wandering aimlessly and now, well he was still wandering aimlessly but this time with a small girl, an imp and a two headed dragon. The dragon was a bit disconcerting but Rin had assured him that AhUn was perfectly friendly. Rin hadn't yet given him much detail on the circumstances of their previous meeting but he hoped he'd receive more information in time. In any case, Rin herself was very friendly and seemed to be bursting with a general feeling of warmth and love, especially towards her Lord Sesshomaru. Kohaku hoped the demon lord wouldn't have too many objections to his presence but looking at Rin, Kohaku supposed he had to be pretty nice if he let a human girl follow him around. With that final thought, he drifted off the sleep.

IIIIIIIIII

As Sesshomaru walked the forest floor seemed to move beneath him like a river or stream. It seemed to flow, to gently slip away from his feet as though it were water and not solid earth. His eyes also, seemed unable to focus. His movement for the most part was automatic simply following his own scent until he could feel the aura of the glade. It was as though thought had shut down. Only the regular breathing and movements of the Taijiya, Sango, his mind added, kept him anchored in reality.

Finally, after traveling for several hours, Sango signaled to Sesshomaru that they should rest. In actuality, he wasn't in very much need of rest but, he reminded himself, the human body tired easily. They found a small, slightly brambly clearing and sat down each attending to their needs. Neither bothered to light a fire. Sesshomaru stared blankly at the forest canopy, his thoughts at last returning.

'Oh how the mighty have fallen,' a little voice seemed to say inside his head. In his heart and mind he felt ruined, like someone had torn a gaping hole in his chest that would never heal. For so long he'd enjoyed absolute control over his thoughts and feelings and now, well, he, Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, had actually cried in the arms of a human woman. Thinking of said human woman, Sesshomaru looked over at Sango's sleeping form. He couldn't really begrudge her for her actions, she had offered him help when he'd needed it. It was more the fact that he needed help in the first place that he found so galling.

Again, his eyes flicked towards Sango, towards the place where she sat, leaning against a tree. In slumber her face was peaceful, serene even, but her hand still clutched the handle of her giant boomerang. Ever the warrior, he thought. A horrible feeling of guilt seeped into him as he looked at her. Anger burned as well, anger towards the sorceress who had reduced him to such a pathetic state, and anger towards himself for letting it happen. The feelings of guilt did not leave either adding to Sesshomaru's annoyance. He did not like feeling guilty especially towards humans and his feelings towards humans were becoming all the more murky lately. He'd always held them as weak and insignificant but between himself and Sango, he seriously had to question which of the two was in fact weaker.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

As Sango had settled down and let her mind wander, it seemed to turn almost directly to the events of the past few hours. They had, to be blunt, pissed her off. Sango was not accustomed to being weak and she didn't like being used. She had been used after all, in a way she considered unforgivable. Sango didn't remember much of what had happened after she'd succumbed to the effects of that sorceress's spell but later, coming to her senses with Sesshomaru pressing her flat against the ground, both of them devoid of clothing; it was glaringly obvious. Even now, the slight soreness between her legs stood as testimony to the reality of events. Some sick little part of her even found the irony of the situation rather funny, a demon slayer fucking a demon. Life really was a bitch. It was the sorceress however, that was going to pay.

As her mind drifted further and further towards sleep, it didn't occur Sango that pursuing vengeance against a woman who was powerful enough to subdue Sesshomaru was perhaps not a wise decision. The thought of doing something, anything at all, seemed to fill her with a fire. After drifting for so long she finally had a purpose, a goal. Another touch of irony graced her situation with that thought, she finally had some meaning in her life but at the expense of so much misery.

IIIIIIIIIIII

That was how Kirara found them sometime later, her mistress asleep against a tree, and the dog resting against another. As she swooped in lower Kirara was further disturbed to smell the dog's scent clinging to her mistress's clothes and body. Clearly he'd been touching her and knowing that her mistress had been in trouble, Kirara suspected the worst. Silently she landed, and without a moments hesitation went strait for the dog's throat.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes as the cat demon lunged for him, ducking and jumping he evaded the hissing and snarling cat. Turning, he prepared for another attack. Sango had by now awoken and looked askance between the cat demon and Sesshomaru.

"Kirara!" she called, running forward all traces of her recent slumber gone, "Stop! He is not an enemy!"

The large cat turned towards her mistress but did not abandon her threatening position.

"Please Kirara," said Sango speaking soothingly but firmly, "Don't attack, he was a victim too. We seek vengeance together."

With one last suspicious look towards Sesshomaru, Kirara transformed and was immediately picked up by Sango.

"You found a mate then?" Sango asked gently stroking the small cat. Kirara in return mewled what was presumably ascent. "Well then," Sango continued, "you'd better stay out of the thick of the fighting. We don't want to hurt your kittens."

Sesshomaru noticed the wistful tone in Sango's voice at her last sentence. It was subtle, but despite her smile she seemed slightly sad.

IIIIIIIIIIII

InuYasha sighed as the wind of the feudal era hit his face. Despite the food and the video games, the air in Kagome's time was very bitter making prolonged stays there rather unpleasant. Of course, as far as unpleasant things from Kagome's time went the air hardly compared to Kagome's extended family. He shuddered slightly at the memory of the evening.

"It wasn't that bad InuYasha, "came Kagome's reproachful voice.

"Wasn't that Bad?" was his incredulous reply, "Your family's nuts Kagome. Your cousin Aiko for one and don't get me started on your great-aunt Suzumi."

Kagome, for her part winced slightly as the picture of her grandfather's sister hurling ofudas and other spells at InuYasha, convinced he had tricked Kagome into marrying him using demon magic, came floating into her mind. "Okay," she agreed, "they're a little eccentric."

"Keh," InuYasha snorted as he started picking the jelly out of his hair. The jelly that little Aiko had put there…somehow. "I seriously thought your uncle was going to attack me," he said.

"Well," came Kagome's hesitant reply, "I am his brother's only daughter so I guess he feels a little protective."

"You mean he feels guilty about what happened to your dad," InuYasha said shrewdly. Kagome only nodded.

Finally, they made their way to Kaede's hut. InuYasha was most pleased to be back as it meant he could put the whole ordeal out of his mind.

"Sango!" Kagome called entering the hut, "We're back." There was no answer. "That's funny," Kagome said, "I thought for sure she'd be back by now."

Suddenly Miroku and Shippo came bursting into the hut followed closely by Kaede. The look on their faces made it plain that they couldn't find Sango either. Shippo bounced off Miroku's shoulder and latched onto Kagome.

"Kagome," he said, seemingly close to tears, "Sango hasn't come back from slaying the demon yet, it shouldn't have taken very long at all, we were expecting her back a little after sundown and it's almost midnight," he was babbling now, "and I'm worried Kagome, what if something happened to her?"

"Shhh, it's okay Shippo," Kagome soothed, "we'll find Sango."

"Yeah," said InuYasha, "come on Kagome, let's go."

Kagome's eyes widened a little when she realized he meant right then. "Hold on," she replied breathlessly, "I'll get my arrows." With that, they set off into the night, InuYasha sniffing all the way for a trace of Sango's scent.

A/N: Yay! At long last the fifth chapter. It was okay, I thought, although a lot of the story seems to consist of people sitting in clearings thinking about their life problems. If you guys are getting sick of clearings tell me and I'll have them sit in fields or on rocks instead.

Also, you may have noticed that I stopped using the Japanese honorifics. Sesshomaru is now Lord Sesshomaru as opposed to Sesshomaru-sama. Frankly, my fan girl Japanese just isn't that good so I'm thinking about going all the way and just using the English versions for things. At the moment I'm kind of drifting back and forth. Please tell me what you think I should do. Do you guys want youkai and Taijiya or demon and Demon Slayer?

Anyway, please review as it makes me really, really, indescribably happy. Also, here's a challenge, write a short story or one-shot based on the description of Kagome's family reunion. Note: Aiko and the jelly must be included but auntie Suzumi is optional.