Part X

Sesshomaru stepped away from the three demons he had cut down, the whip of light fading from his fingers. They had been creeping beneath the tall grasses in the meadow that lied on a cliff above the village. In an instant, the three demons burst into a white-blue flame that faded, leaving the meadow silent once again. Behind him, he could hear the activity of the village, oblivious to these minor demons that had been trying to creep their way into the village for the past few days. Sesshomaru had been methodically eliminating them before they could get close enough to the village to cause harm. It was a boring task, but a necessary one since he had sent Jaken away. This was typically the type of work that he delegated to the imp rather than handle himself.

He had been catching the scent of the wolf demons nearby, although it was faint and only carried by the wind. He had recognized one of the scents as Kouga's, so he knew that Inuyasha must be nearby. It had been only the faintest of smells, however, and if he had not been as vigilant that night because of Hiroshi's attack on Rin, he might not have even caught it. He had sent Jaken out to find Inuyasha and return him here on A-Un rather than wait for Inuyasha's trek back to the village. With the increased demon activity, he was sure that Bushuugi was nearby and while he had every confidence that he could protect Rin and most of the village, it would not be without human casualties. Given the current climate in the village, he did not want to deal with any further annoyances regarding his responsibility if such a thing were to occur. With Inuyasha, they could avoid that altogether since the half-demon would be more absorbed with protecting the villagers and Sesshomaru could focus on killing their enemies instead.

Until then, he had been doing his perimeter around the village, clearing away the demons and making an appearance throughout the day inside the village to ensure Rin's safety from the humans, as well. His presence alone kept her safe from any further machinations on the part of her peers. Kohaku had also been doing his part in regards to this, intercepting the girl Mei any time she attempted to head in the direction of Rin. Because he and Sango had taken over the blacksmithing temporarily, he was in the village more often and thus been able to keep a closer eye on her. This allowed Sesshomaru to focus on his own endeavors, as he had the sense that Mei was the type of human that did not fear death as much as the others did and was more likely to attempt to provoke him.

Even though he was in the village more often, he did not spend too much time with Rin. He had wanted to give Kohaku time to speak with her in regards to his proposal and also felt it best to keep his distance while she processed the events of the last weeks. It had given him a sense of deep pleasure and pride that Rin had approached him with the marriage proposal. He had intended to address it himself after Kohaku had been given a chance, but when Rin had expressed herself so clearly, he found he could not deny her wishes when it was equal to his own.

It was not often that Sesshomaru felt pleasure in life, either, he reflected. Outside of Rin, the only time he had felt true joy was when battling a powerful enemy or taking on an army. Only then was he given any true satisfaction. It was not the same type of contentment he experienced with Rin, which was altogether convoluted and still mystifying to him. In spite of his intelligence, he still could not put a proper word to it. Even now, after being assured of her as his partner, there was still an uneasiness in his mind. He was satisfied that Rin had chosen him, even after making himself scarce and remaining uninvolved in her personal life, yet there was also a strange fear connected to that happiness. It was one he had experienced before, when she had died for the second time and any time when she was taken from him and possibly in danger – a fear of the unknown, of her no longer being there.

Logically, he knew there would be a day when Rin would no longer be in his life. He understood and had accepted that when he had decided he wanted her as his mate. It was not that he feared her death, which was inevitable for all mortal beings, but there lied the question of his own mental stability after such an event. Would he try to seek ways to extend her life? Would he search the realms to return her back to him again? It was so unlike him that it perturbed him that the concepts even occurred to his mind. It was the sign of a lack of self-respect and control in his eyes. At the same time, he understood it was also his ego that spurred such thoughts. If he, Sesshomaru, could not find a way to be with his mate for his entire life, then did that make him weak? Was he not powerful enough, resourceful enough to spend forever with her?

His mind had been torturing him in such ways lately. It grieved him to think that he could not find a solution to the problem of Rin's mortality. It also made him linger more on his father than he would have liked. He did not want to imagine his father suffering the same way. It pained him to think of himself or his father as so weak.

Yet here I am, Sesshomaru thought, gazing out across the village. I've made the same choice as father, so it would follow that I would experience the same pain.

Pain. A strange word to depict a mental trauma. For him, pain had always been physical. With Rin, his very soul had been wrenched apart when he had been clutching onto her lifeless body. He had never experienced that stabbing in his heart, that abnormal abstraction of injury before, not even when his father had died. Rin seemed to be the only one that could reach the innermost corners of his soul in such a way. To all others, he was unmoving.

The war of happiness and uncertainty left him rather moody. Even after all these years with Rin, there was still a dichotomy of right and wrong in his heart. The stubborn part of him had driven him forward, encouraged him to take her as his mate, and to hell with what either the humans or demons thought of it so long as that was what he wanted. The logical part of him felt that it was foolhardy and limiting her, putting her at a disadvantage in both worlds. At the end of all his mental battles, though, he always came to the same conclusion. It did not matter what he thought was rational or best for her or even what he wanted necessarily – what mattered was what Rin wanted and she had made it clear she chose him. She did not seem unhappy in that choice, either, and he had never seen her glow with so much pleasure. Even when she had been swimming in his hakama after what she had endured with Hiroshi, she had looked completely content and happy with her decision.

It was this that made Sesshomaru violently force all his inner dialogues aside. No matter how much he worried for her future with him as his mate, nothing could make him take that happiness away from her. When Rin smiled up at him in that way, her eyes sparkled like the night sky and she seemed to radiate with enthusiasm for life. No amount of prejudice from humans or dangers from demons shook that from her. She had proven to him time after time that it did not matter to her what situation she was in, as long as she was with him.

If Rin is happy, Sesshomaru told himself, then I'm satisfied.

He heard a sound behind him, interrupting his thoughts, and turned his head slightly to perceive his company. He had not needed to smell her to know that it was the priestess. It was a testament to her patience that she had waited so long to approach him. Usually she felt the need to be a good deal more social when he was around the village, something that particularly annoyed him.

"Hi," Kagome greeted, waving a hand and smiling at him. "I saw you from down below. It's funny you're up here – Rin always comes up here for some private time."

He chose not to acknowledge that comment, turning back to continue his stoic gaze out towards the village. He neither liked nor disliked Kagome's overly-familiar way of speaking with him and he had yet to grow accustomed to the strange slang she used from her other world when speaking. 'Funny' hardly seemed an apt description.

"Rin's with Miroku and the twins," Kagome continued as she came to stand a few feet behind him. "I wanted to talk to you."

"In regards to what?"

"Inuyasha. I'm getting a little worried. It's not like him to take this long."

He turned away from the village to face Kagome finally. He should not have been surprised that Kagome would approach him at some point in regards to her husband, yet given everyone's preoccupation with the mundane activities of the village, he had assumed Inuyasha's absence would go unnoticed until he had returned. Perhaps the events with Hiroshi and his family had brought it more into light that it had now been months since Inuyasha had left with the wolf-demon.

Now that he considered it, however, Kagome had been strangely uninvolved in most of the activities of the village. She, like Miroku, tended to do most of the patrolling that Inuyasha would have been doing. She was rarely present in the village whenever he had been there and even Jaken had commented on Inuyasha's friends' absence. Up until recently, Sango was similarly absent from the village and their children were either with their father at the temple or with Rin. Kagome and Miroku often patrolled together, leaving him to suspect that the three had felt comfortable in such an arrangement because he was close by. Something about that made him suspect that it had contributed to the other villagers' poor choice of actions. It was easy for humans to become jaded when they did not see with their own eyes how well they were being protected by Inuyasha and his group. They certainly were not comforted by the presence of a demon lord that was known to ignore their well-being.

"I've sent Jaken to get him," Sesshomaru told her at last.

Kagome's expression cleared with relief. "He's okay, then?"

"I wouldn't know."

She looked away from him, towards the village. Even though he had said nothing reassuring, she seemed to be satisfied with his response. "But he hasn't found Bushuugi, has he? Miroku and I have noticed there seems to be more demon activity around the village. We've managed to put up a protective barrier over most of the houses, but I don't know how well it's going to hold against a demon lord."

"He won't target the humans," he said.

"He's planning something though," Kagome persisted, "otherwise why are so many of his demons here?"

"A fool's plan," Sesshomaru observed dismissively.

"What if it involves Rin?"

"Likely it does."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Then shouldn't you care a little bit?"

Like with all conversations with Kagome, Sesshomaru found that he had met his quota for exchanging words with her. She, like Inuyasha, trended towards verbal sparring, but he found it neither mentally stimulating nor particularly enjoyable. It was rather boring repeating himself and if Jaken had been here, he would have been the one having this conversation instead.

In the silence that had followed the question, Kagome sighed and then took a few steps so that she was closer to the cliffside, although there was still a fair distance between the two. Her brow had puckered with worry and this time, it did not appear to be in regards to Inuyasha. He glanced down at where her eyes had fallen and saw the girl, Mei, chasing after Kohaku. She had thrown something at him, but Kohaku had not even bothered to turn, continuing until he disappeared behind a cluster of buildings. Mei rubbed at her face briskly with her wrist and then picked up what appeared to be a stick that she chucked behind her before she, too, disappeared behind the buildings blocking the view of the village. It appeared that Kohaku was actively rebuffing the girl.

"I know you don't care to hear this from me," Kagome spoke up gently, "but I consider myself lucky that I'm Inuyasha's wife. It's a crazy world I live in now. I'm always getting attacked or injured, crazy things are always happening. I wouldn't want my life any other way, though." She turned to look at him, giving a small smile. "Kohaku told me, Sango, and Miroku the news. He said that Rin's decided to stay with you as your partner. It's going to make her really happy, you know that? I don't want you to make the mistake that Inuyasha did by trying to push her away to keep her safe or anything like that."

He snorted softly. "Don't mistake me for Inuyasha."

"Maybe you think that now," she said carefully. "What about after you have children? Or when you go west and take Rin with you? Inuyasha's said there are more demon settlements out that way."

Sesshomaru considered over her question seriously. He would have dismissed Kagome if not for the underlying caution he read under her words. She was not attempting to lecture him like usual or dissuade him from taking Rin as the other humans might have done. To her, she saw a similarity in circumstances and wanted to be reassured that he would act differently than his half-brother, who often shunted people away from him rashly in defense of their lives without thinking of the consequences from their association to him. It was not in his nature to be forthcoming with information towards Kagome or any of those in Inuyasha's group outside of Kohaku. If he had thought she was doing it for selfish reasons, he would not have even considered her words. He sensed nothing of that from her, only a general concern for not Rin, but both her and him. He might not like it, but he could at least respect her intentions.

"You were wanting Kohaku as her husband," Sesshomaru pointed out instead of immediately answering her inquiries.

Kagome cast a surprised look towards him and then laughed awkwardly. "I didn't realize I was that obvious." She shrugged. "Kohaku's a great person and he's been through a lot as a kid. If he had liked another girl, I would've wanted him to be with her. It just so happened that he fell for Rin. It's the same for Rin. She's had a tough childhood, so of course I want whatever is going to make her happy. But that doesn't really have anything to do with what I asked."

"It is more likely that Rin will put distance between us than I," Sesshomaru replied after another few seconds consideration. "When she's put in danger, she doesn't see it as her being at risk. She views it as someone using her against me and worries that I'll die. It's how she's always been."

"But she's always called out to you during fights – I've seen it!"

"She weighs her opponents," Sesshomaru said, turning to also look down at the village. An older man was limping his way towards the forest, a small child trailing behind him with a basket. The pair stopped at the edge of the forest and the old man fell heavily on the ground to join the child in picking something and tossing it into the basket. "She's not stupid – she knows who can challenge me. She doesn't call out then."

Kagome blew out a breath and frowned, absorbing what he had said.

"It's a human trait," he continued without inflection. "She puts little value to her life and prefers to worry over others."

"That could become a big problem later down the road, especially if you have kids," Kagome informed him, still frowning. "New mothers in general are very protective."

"Don't waste my time philosophizing over a decision about creatures that don't even exist."

"I just don't want you to take any of this for granted, Sesshomaru." She crossed her arms, frowning down at the older man as he presented what appeared to be a mushroom to the child that squealed with delight. Even from up here, they could hear the sound of the child's laughter. "Rin loves you unconditionally and is selfless to a fault when it comes to you. Not everyone gets that. Even Inuyasha and I had some things that we had to get used to with each other – or maybe 'get over' is a better what to put it. And don't even get me started on how selfish he is." She turned to look at him, dropping her arms back to her sides. "But that might work against you later. If you really think it might be Rin that does something like Inuyasha, then you should know that she's going to have the same thought process in mind. She'll think she's doing you a favor."

"Perhaps. But you're speaking of hypotheticals."

"Yeah, sure. I guess I am. But it doesn't hurt to think about it, right?" Kagome gave a rueful smile. "That's all I really had to say about it. I won't keep harping you on it. Thanks anyway for telling me about Inuyasha. I'll get going, then." She waved a hand, turning away from him and heading back the way she had come. She had seemed to sense his impatience with her and was making a quick exit before he could be more unpleasant. This, at least, was a redeeming quality of Kagome's, as opposed to Inuyasha or the others. She did not tease the line of his temper and the years of association had taught her when was an appropriate time to push. When it came to Rin, it was wiser to leave him than to push an issue that he did not want to discuss.

After Kagome had left and some time had passed, Sesshomaru found that his mind could not release the idea that she had presented to him. He had, very briefly, thought of Rin with children and had immediately dismissed it. He had not progressed so much in his ideologies that he welcomed the idea of half-demon children. He was not so blind as to know that she would be a good mother, though, and was sure that she, like Kagome suggested, would be inclined to blindly throw her life away for such children. He had his own thoughts regarding raising such children that he was sure any human would balk at, yet after seeing Inuyasha's upbringing, he did not think that a soft-handed way would be effective for a half-demon child. Of course, he had no intention of outlining his thoughts on that issue with Rin unless necessary.

Once again, he found himself forcing aside the thought of Rin with children and left the cliffside just as the sun had set. He had not been in the best of moods when Kagome had come upon him and he was now most assuredly in a temper after her planting seeds in his mind. It was turning into an offensive habit of hers that he disliked. Rather than continuing his solitary trek in the night, he instead went to Kaede's and found Rin sitting out on the engawa, her elbows resting against her knees. She was gazing up at the moon, but smiled when Sesshomaru came into her view. He had kept his distance enough over the weeks, only having the briefest of interactions with her. Outside of battle, Rin was the only salve to his bad moods. Seeing her smile eased some of the simmering irritation that was lying beneath the surface of his impassive countenance.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" she greeted with pleasure, bouncing to her feet. "I wasn't expecting you."

"What is it, child?" Kaede called out, hobbling as fast as she could out to the engawa. She froze upon seeing Sesshomaru, breathing a sigh of relief. "I wish you'd stop hanging about out here when it's dark, Rin. You'll give me a heart attack one day. My hearing's not as good as it used to be."

"I'm sorry," Rin said with an apologetic smile. "I'll come inside from now on."

Kaede huffed another sigh and then side-eyed Sesshomaru's silent form.

"Come with me," Sesshomaru said without acknowledging the older woman. It was clear she still did not know how to address him or the best way to speak to him. On his part, he had been indifferent towards her up until she made the mistake of approval Hiroshi's proposal and he was not a man that forgave his grudges that quickly.

Unperturbed, Rin slipped her sandals on. "I'll be back, Kaede!"

"Alright, child, be safe," Kaede replied in resignation before she hobbled back inside, shutting the shoji doors closed behind her.

"She's feeling guilty still about everything," Rin explained to Sesshomaru when she had joined him, smiling up at him.

"What were you doing out here?" Sesshomaru asked her with a slight frown.

"Oh." Rin's eyes drifted up towards the night sky again, though she was blushing somewhat now. "It's calming out here at night. The moon reminds me of you, so I like to sit under it before I sleep."

"I see."

He was not sure what to make of this strange comparison. He had heard other women compare him to many things and people, but this was the first time he had ever been compared to the moon. He raised his own eyes to it, gazing at the glowing orb that was hanging in the sky. There was a tinge of orange to it, an autumn moon that often preluded the change in seasons. If Rin had not mentioned it, he might not have noticed that he, too, had spent many nights staring at it in the night sky. It was not that it was beautiful or otherwise impressive in his opinion. The nights when it was full were always more calming than the blackness that came from a new moon. Most of the nights when traveling, Rin would wake up and sit with him for a few hours and the two of them would gaze up into the sky in complete silence. He had forgotten those moments since she rarely was out at night in the village, so she had not done it in some time.

Rin stayed close as they walked through the village and through the rice fields. By the time they had stopped, they were far outside the village and late-summer fireflies were blinking their way through the fields. Sesshomaru had paused, looking around the fields and after ascertaining that they were empty of both demons and humans, found a place to sit and comfortably rested against one of the lone, young trees that stood out. Rin clapped her hands around a firefly and peered inside her clasped hands before moving to join Sesshomaru beneath the shadows of the tree's leaves, slowly unclasping her hands.

"Look, Lord Sesshomaru," she said, offering her hands to him. He held a hand out and she opened hers so that the firefly fluttered down to rest itself on one of his slender fingers. It blinked there for a moment before floating away.

They watched it join the other sparse bugs until it was just another blinking light amongst the others.

"Rin."

She turned to him, a faint smile on her lips as she obligingly stepped closer. When she did, he pulled her down onto his thigh rather than his mokomoko or the ground beside him. Colour suffused her cheeks as she landed atop him, although she did not shy away. Another woman would have found it hard to meet his gaze; Rin, in contrast, met his with her own curious stare. She was confident with him in a way that was not unappealing. Rather than an overabundance of confidence, she was simply comfortable and self-assured in his presence. He had released her hand and instead buried his fingers in the soft tendrils of her hair, his thumb brushing stray hairs from her cheek. Every part of Rin was soft and warm, contrasting to the cold to which he was so accustomed. His mood, which had been so sour from his conversation from Kagome, was calmed by Rin's presence and the feel of her body heat so close to his. It was not often that he indulged himself in Rin's company in such situations, especially presently when he had been trying to give her time away from him. When she leaned into his touch, though, and relaxed against him, he could find no fault in seeking her out.

Sesshomaru had never viewed another creature as beautiful in his lifetime before as, like he had told Rin, superficial qualities did not interest him even on a physical level. The concept of beauty or attraction had never played into his mind until very recently with her. Looking at her in the gloom of the moonlight and that pleasant flush to her cheeks, he found that she did look exceptionally beautiful to him. It was one of the few times that her looks struck him, as he often found himself more preoccupied with the natural aura that Rin gave off in their quiet moments together.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Rin spoke up in the quiet, pulling away slightly from his touch and resting her hands on the edges of his armor as she straightened up. "May I?" She reached a hand up hesitantly and he realized that she was asking to touch him.

"You've no reason to ask," he told her.

She smiled and gave a quick nod. When her fingers brushed over his temple, though, he realized that outside of his arm or hand, he had never felt her bare skin on his. To anyone else, the touch was likely as brief and innocent as anything else between friends. Something in it fired up a sensation low in his belly, causing him to instinctively wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer. That same strange, foreign sense of possessiveness had risen up, seizing him.

Rin's fingers halted and she blinked up at him, seeming to be debating something with herself. If possible, her face had grown pinker from his sudden movement. Her body was so warm against him, yet not in the same way as when she had been asleep next to him. Sesshomaru was reminded of the heat of a fire or a hot spring seeping into his body. The night air around them, though, was cooler than it had been in previous nights. There should have been no reason for such warmth. Even though the touch itself was impersonal, he was aware of the delicate arch in her back against his arm, the curve of her waist where his hand now rested. He had never considered the lines of her body too closely.

Her expression suddenly took on a determined air and she leaned up towards him, her face growing closer. It took him a few seconds to realize her intention and without any conscious thought, he bent his head towards her and met the warmth of her mouth with his own even as her fingers brushed though his hair, causing an odd tendril to travel down his spine. Countless times Sesshomaru had been seized by the desire to kiss her, yet had not known why or what purpose it would serve. The desire for such affectionate gestures had been beyond him before Rin. Logically, he had thought when it first occurred to him that there must be a technique just like in swordplay that must be taught or practiced. Such thoughts now seemed inane. The scent of Rin so close, the heat of her body, and the taste of her made it impossible to think properly. For once, his mind was perfectly blank.

Hunger was as rare a feeling as most emotions to Sesshomaru, but kissing Rin gave him the impression of a starved man. He wanted more, though 'more' was as vague as a concept as 'hunger' or anything else that he was experiencing with her. When her mouth parted in a shuddering breath, instinct took over and his tongue slid in, tasting her. Her hand had dropped from his hair to his shoulder at some point and her fingers dug into it as her smaller body shivered. Was she shivering from pleasure? Shyness? Fear? It was not a reaction to which he was familiar. Even as his tongue dipped cautiously into the moist interior, he felt Rin respond in kind, tasting him in turn. If he had been in battle in his dog demon form, a roar of triumph would have released from him. There was something innately pleasing in Rin's response, something that satisfied every masculine part of him and his soul.

She had chosen him, wanted him, desired him.

The thought possessed him and if he had been a more reckless man, he might have done more in that moment. His body certainly had responded quickly to such a thought, but Sesshomaru steeled himself and withdrew from Rin. His mind was still catching up to what had happened between them. It was so similar to the adrenaline of battle and so wholly different. This, he assumed, was the physical pleasure that had alluded him his entire life. The strangeness of it was still pumping in his body, making his heart race oddly and testing his trained self-control. And, as he looked at Rin, if he had thought she was beautiful before, he now thought she looked positively breathtaking with her flush cheeks and moist lips. He had never wanted something so much in his life, not even power or the Tessaiga.

He smoothed her hair away from her face and looked up at the moon, causing her to also look up at it. Something in the serenity of its blankness calmed his racing blood. He could not look at Rin just then. As a demon lord, he had an advantage over the more beastly side of his dog demon nature. In that brief moment, it had almost snapped his well-honed self-control. He would keep that in the back of his mind going forward. He had not expected to be so tempted by her. He would be better prepared next time.

"There will be more moons like this," he said at last, turning to meet her gaze. She had been watching him with an uneasy expression that cleared when he spoke. Her face lit up with a smile and she bowed her head, taking one of his hands in both of hers.

"Yes," was her simple answer.

A quiet silence fell between them as they gazed out across the meadow. His blood had finally calmed, the coolness of the night had returned, and everything in that moment seemed to have settled together in perfect harmony. He could still taste her and whereas he had grown accustomed to Rin's scent, there now seemed to be a sweetness to it, just an edge to it that was curiously different. It was both intoxicating and calming. He would investigate the change later. For now, he was fulfilled, a rare experience by itself.

"Oh, look!" Rin said suddenly, pointing up in the sky. He looked up just in time to see one of the stars shoot across the expanse of the dusky milky way. "When I was a kid, Miroku told me that if you wish three times before the star falls, the gods will hear you and grant your wishes."

"That's nonsensical," Sesshomaru said.

"Maybe." Rin looked at him with a half-smile on her lips. "I used to always make the same wishes every time I saw a shooting star. I thought that if I wished it enough times, I was bound to get at least one of them granted."

"What were they?"

"That Master Jaken would stay out of trouble, the village was always protected, and..." She paused, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Well, the third was that I would be able to be with you, Lord Sesshomaru."

"Hm. Those wishes are easy to grant."

Rin laughed at this and leaned back against his shoulder, tipping her head back to gaze up at the starry sky again. "I'm glad you think so. I wish I was strong enough to grant wishes. Is there anything that you would wish for on a star?"

Sesshomaru turned his eyes away from the sky to look at her.

"No," he answered, "I have no need of stars to get what I want."

Rin cast him a curious glance. "But is there something you want?"

He contemplated the question, his eyes cast skyward. He had dealt with coy demons in his life, particularly women, who would flirt in a way that was reminiscent of this conversation. The behavior was appalling and utterly repulsive from his perspective. This conversation did not appear to be seductive or alluring in nature, in spite of what had just happened moments ago. Rin seemed genuinely interested whether there was something she could do to fulfill a wish of his. If he had been a normal human or a man lacking principle, one might have extracted another kiss from a girl. The idea did not even occur to him. Taking a general view of his life, he could not find it lacking in anything. Given her remarks earlier about her lack of strength, Sesshomaru had the impression that she would be disappointed by that answer.

After a moment, he said, "A promise from you, if you are capable."

"Oh, yes!" She sat up a little straighter, her face lighting up in eagerness. "What is it?"

He reached up, his thumb finding the curve of her cheek as his fingers delved deep within her locks. Her hair spilled over his long fingers and in the moonlight, her eyes looked bright and reflective. He had said there would be more moons like this and he had every intention of making sure that he could see Rin this way as often as possible – smiling, glowing with happiness, and looking utterly exultant in his company – but he also acknowledged that there might be few of them until Bushuugi was eliminated. For now, he would lock this momentary happiness in time as a reminder that he could provide such a thing for Rin and she, in return, could stir him similarly.

"A lifetime."

She smiled at the answer and leaned her cheek into his hand, reaching up to touch the back of his fingers. "That's easy. Of course, Lord Sesshomaru. I promise."


Inuyasha had expected that Kouga would want to check in on his clan before they returned to the village. Given the casualties that Kouga had experienced in the last two months, he did not blame him. As it was not too far out of their way, he had agreed and followed Kouga to the rocky outcrop where he suspected the clan had settled in one of the caves. Kouga had left the remaining members of their entourage behind in case they had been followed by any remaining members of Bushuugi's army.

"Don't you think that whole thing was weird?" Kouga remarked as they made their way through the craggy landscape. "Bushuugi's supposed to be this great demon lord, isn't he? Why was his army so small?"

"Sesshomaru said that he fled in the middle of battle with only part of his men," Inuyasha answered. "He probably didn't have a lot of men left over."

"What a coward. He can't even face us properly! There are too many demons in this world that would rather run than fight."

Inuyasha cast him an exasperated glance, but chose not to mention the many times Kouga would run off from a fight with him simply because of the jewel shards in his legs. It would do little to explain to Kouga that Bushuugi was uninterested in dueling either him or Kouga. Like all demon lords, he seemed to be doing as he pleased, stirring up trouble with anyone that opposed him. Even if it was his goal to take Sesshomaru's life, Inuyasha knew that he, being the Great Dog Demon's half-demon son, would be a secondary target, though Bushuugi would not feel the need to face him himself. He would send his demons after him instead, thinking that because of his blood status, he was not worthy of an enemy. Everyone else was simply a byproduct of his ultimate conquest, which it seemed was what he wanted given how carelessly he allowed his demons to ransack villages and kill other demon clans. Even so, being related to Sesshomaru and Toga was enough to inspire Bushuugi's elimination of him.

As he was thinking of this, he caught the scent of blood at the same time that Kouga did. The wolf demon had frozen in place, his face lifted to the air as he took a liberal sniff. Without a word, he sprang forward, sprinting ahead of him.

"Kouga, wait!" Inuyasha called after him angrily before sprinting after him. Idiot! You could be walking into a trap!

Kouga bounded up several boulders to the entrance of a cave and before Inuyasha could reach him, a mournful bellow sounded from the cave. A chill ran up Inuyasha's spine. He had never heard such a sound emit from Kouga in his entire time of knowing him. When he arrived at the entrance of the cave, he stopped on the threshold. The cave where the wolf demons lived was a massacre. Blood was everywhere, their bodies strewn about the place and torn open from battle. Not even the children were spared, their chests split open and many of them lying in a pool of blood next to what appeared to be their mothers. The majority of those that were there were women and children, with only a spare few men that Kouga had left behind to protect them.

Inuyasha pressed his sleeve to his nose as Kouga sank to his knees, his head in his hands. The smell of blood was overwhelming his sense of smell. Swallowing down the bile rising in his throat, Inuyasha carefully picked his way through the bodies, looking for two particular faces. After coming to the back of the cave, he turned and stared back through it, frowning. Neither Ginta nor Hakkaku, Kouga's best friends, were present in the corpses. He knew that neither of them was the best fighter and, unlike Kouga, were far more likely to run at the sight of battle than thrown themselves into it. There was a chance they had survived, perhaps even with other wolf demons.

"Ginta and Hakkaku aren't here," Inuyasha said to Kouga when he approached him. Kouga raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed and watery as he stared at him. Uncomfortable with this emotional display, Inuyasha grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to his feet. He was not accustomed to handling anyone while they were crying, least of all another man.

"You...you think they got away?" Kouga croaked weakly.

"Maybe." Inuyasha looked back at the bodies, frowning. He wished Miroku were here to bless and pray for the fallen clan members. It would have put Kouga at ease to know that they were being sent to the afterlife safely. Kagome would have been an even better alternative. She seemed to always know what people needed to hear when they were upset. His own heart constricted at the thought of her, but he quickly shook the feeling away. Now was not the time to be pining after her. "If they did, they would've gone to Kagome."

"How far are we from the village?"

"We've got another two or three days of walking I'd guess," Inuyasha answered, his brow knitting in worry. "This had to have been Bushuugi, though. Sesshomaru mentioned something about him taking out the northern wolf demon clan...does he have a grudge against you guys or something?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"You're the damn leader of all the clans, aren't you?" Inuyasha snapped back. "Shouldn't you know your relationships with the other tribes?"

"The northern wolf demon clan broke off from the rest of us when I took over. I don't know what they've been doing since then," Kouga said sourly, wiping his face of the tears that had remained on his cheeks in an attempt to collect himself. "If Bushuugi was coming from the west, it would've been the western clan that he would've had a problem with – but it doesn't sound like they were fighting him."

"How do you not know what's going on in your own tribe?"

"I assigned other leaders way before everything with Naraku and then we would meet regularly. It didn't make sense for me to be leaving the eastern clan so often to check in with the others. It was only during things with Naraku that I hadn't met up with any of them. I've seen Kinrokuro since then and he would've said if the western clan had a demon lord trying to take them over."

Inuyasha heaved a sigh, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his head. He had never been so grateful for not being the head of a tribe in his entire life. His own, he knew, was near extinct compared to most other demon tribes, although it was unknown if others had remained behind east when his father had come here with others. The dog demon clan here consisted of a very small, solitary group that rarely interacted with others, let alone each other if Sesshomaru and his mother were any example. He could not conceive of having as large of a tribe as Kouga did that he needed to appoint leaders in each region of the tribe.

"Fine," Inuyasha grumbled. "We'll deal with that later." He looked out at the sad state of what had remained of the eastern wolf demon clan. "We should give them a proper burial."

Kouga nodded somberly, casting another look out towards the corpses of his people.

It took them the majority of the day to bury the bodies. Kouga had retrieved his men that they had left on guard, fearing losing more people to Bushuugi. After the bodies were buried, Inuyasha left them to grieve, feeling awkward amongst the men. Many had transformed into their wolf forms and howled in anguish over the newly covered earth. Kouga, for his part, sat silently in front of the mounds that marked their graves, his head bowed in silent prayer. That was the last image Inuyasha saw before he broke out of the sparse trees that lined the rocks where the cave had been located.

Standing in the field alone, he felt the heaviness of the day fall on his heart. He had seen so much death in the past few weeks that a panic was beginning to unfold within in him as he thought about Kagome and the others. After seeing Kouga's defeated posture and listening to the cries of the wolf demon men upon hearing of their family's deaths, his mind had conjured a morbid image of walking in on Kagome torn to pieces, Miroku and Sango lying dead in their home with the twins slashed open. He had to mentally wrestle with himself to shake that horrified thought from his mind, though his heart still felt leaden in his chest. Since meeting them, he had never been separated from them for so long. The intense need to return had been driving him for the past weeks ever since they defeated Bushuugi's army in the mountain pass.

"Ah, there you are," a familiar voice said triumphantly. Inuyasha whipped around in alarm, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had neither sensed nor smelled Jaken nearby. The imp eyed him suspiciously. "What now? What's happened?"

"What're you doing here?" Inuyasha gruffly asked, lowering his hand from his sword hilt.

"Lord Sesshomaru sent me, obviously," Jaken huffed.

"I don't need his damn messenger to get me!" Inuyasha snapped at him. "Tell him – "

"Bushuugi's been circling the village," Jaken interrupted him in a loud voice to talk over him. "Lord Sesshomaru believes that he intends to attack soon and sensed you nearby."

Inuyasha barked out a disbelieving laugh. "And what? He actually wants my help?"

Jaken levelled a withering stare upon him. "Don't be stupid! Lord Sesshomaru's only concerned for Rin's safety. So if you don't want the villagers to end up as demon fodder, I'd suggest you come with me."

"Feh. Figures." Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and glanced over his shoulder. Behind him, he could still hear the howls of the wolf demons mourning. The death in the cave had been fresh, so it made sense that Bushuugi was now so close to the village. He knew that Sesshomaru would keep Kagome, Miroku, and Sango safe, but he doubted he would go out of his way for strange humans that had no connection to Rin. Bushuugi had already proven that he could kill indiscriminately without any worry about the consequences. He certainly would not think twice about killing humans.

"Well?" Jaken demanded when the silence had lengthened.

"Kouga's just lost half his clan. There's no way he's going to leave his men behind to go with me."

"I'm not here to get him," Jaken said petulantly.

"Have you seen any other wolf demons at the village?"

"Haven't you been listening? I've been all around the countryside looking for you! I haven't been at the village."

Kouga will want to try and find Ginta and Hakkaku, Inuyasha thought, but I don't have time for that right now if Bushuugi's getting ready to attack the village.

Even though Inuyasha was not a fan of Kouga, it did not mean he lacked empathy for him. He could not ask Kouga to abandon his people and his best friends just because of what was happening in the village. He also had to reluctantly admit that, while Kouga and his men would have been a help to keeping the villagers safe, he was not sure that Kouga could handle watching more of his men die just then or that those men would even be in the right headspace for battle. It might be kinder to leave him here to search for his friends than to enlist him into another fight.

"Alright, fine," Inuyasha sighed. "Let me just go talk to him."

"Be quick about it," Jaken called after him. "If we're fast, A-Un can get us back to the village by sundown!"

Inuyasha made his way back through the trees to the burial site of the wolf demons. Kouga had gotten to his feet and was talking to one of the other men, who was rubbing at his face so hard that he had caused his complexion to turn ruddy. Inuyasha waited for Kouga to finish talking, watching others transform back into their human forms and trudge away from the turned earth. Only a few men lingered at the graves, seemingly unwilling to leave or believe the truth of what had happened to those in their clan. Inuyasha watched them, his mouth turned down in a discontented frown even as Kouga approached him.

"I don't know what to do," Kouga quietly admitted to him when he was out of earshot of the other wolf demons. "It was hard enough to watch my men get killed and now it feels like I've lost my entire world. There's so few of us remaining now." He looked down at his hand, stretching out his fingers experimentally. "Not even Naraku slaughtered this many of my clan."

"You're going to have to go to the western clan, Kouga," Inuyasha told him soberly. "You've gotta know that. Something had to have happened over there that caused Bushuugi to target them like this. Demon lords don't just kill whole clans for nothing."

"That we know of," Kouga said darkly. "Wouldn't Sesshomaru know more?"

"Maybe, I don't know," Inuyasha muttered, shrugging. "You'd have to ask him, but you're not in the right mind to have a conversation with him right now. You almost got yourself killed last time."

"If he has information, then I have to know. I'll suck up my pride if I have to."

Inuyasha shrugged again. "Suit yourself. Look, speaking of Sesshomaru, Jaken's found me and wants to take me back to the village. It sounds like Bushuugi's about to make his move there and I've got to get back to Kagome and the others. Are you okay here alone?"

"Of course, I am!" Kouga drew himself up straight, affronted at the insult. "These men are my responsibility – not yours. Go. You should get back to her, anyway. I'll be by as soon as I can. They need time and I want to make sure there aren't any survivors."

"I figured you'd say that. Alright, I'll get going then." Inuyasha hesitated, glancing over at the forlorn group. "Hey...stay safe out there, Kouga. You're all they've got now."

"You don't need to tell me twice." Kouga offered a weak, albeit grateful smile. "Thanks, anyway."

Inuyasha waved a hand, casting a last look to the group before he headed back towards Jaken, who was waiting impatiently where he had left him. A-Un was now with him, pawing at the ground absent-mindedly. He was not a fan of leaving Kouga here alone after what they had just discovered, but like the wolf demon had said himself, their clan was not Inuyasha's responsibility; the village and Kagome, however, were another thing entirely. He had promised Kaede and the other villagers that he would protect them against demons when he settled there with Kagome. It seemed a poor way of repayment to disappear when they were being targeted by a demon lord. It did not matter if Sesshomaru were there. They were not his responsibility.

"Alright, let's get going," Inuyasha said to Jaken, climbing atop A-Un and crossing his legs, gripping the Tessaiga tightly. Jaken jumped up in front of him and A-Un lifted into the air. "You better not be trying something fishy, either."

"Bah. What reason would I have to do that?" Jaken asked him, scowling over his shoulder. "It's not like you have anything valuable anymore now that Lord Sesshomaru has Bakusaiga."

"'Nothing of value,' my ass," Inuyasha muttered.

They fell into a moody silence, neither of them seeming particularly inclined towards conversation. Inuyasha liked Jaken well enough, but he knew that Jaken would always be loyal to Sesshomaru first and, given Inuyasha's lack of respect towards his older brother, that automatically made Jaken a little more prickly with him than he otherwise would be towards those in his group. Kagome had scolded him enough times in the past years for him to know that his attitude rubbed people off the wrong way, something he had tried to rectify from time to time – not that his efforts seemed to be appreciated. He certainly had never been praised by Kagome or anyone else for attempting to be civil rather than jumping straight into a fight.

As they crossed over the fields and trees that lied beyond the village, Inuyasha reflected again on the wolf demons. It was clear that Bushuugi had some sort of vendetta against the tribe. It could have been possible that because of Kouga's friendliness towards Inuyasha, he had interpreted it as an alliance between the dog demon and wolf demon tribes, though Inuyasha thought that was reading into their association a bit too deeply. Inuyasha had never met his father, let alone even been to their family's western estate. He hardly would have described himself as being representative of Toga's clan and he was sure that if Sesshomaru even suspected such an offensive thing, he would have thrown Inuyasha to the dragon demon lord as a snack. Then again, it could have simply been that Bushuugi resented Kouga's involvement and wanted to make an example of him. This, too, did not sound quite right, as that left the northern clan's fate to be an unexplained, coincidental anomaly.

Demon politics are idiotic, Inuyasha decided to himself.

Either Sesshomaru would know what had occurred with the northern wolf demon clan or Kouga would discover for himself what had happened. It was not something that Inuyasha wanted to dwell on too long. He felt there was something ominous there that, if he were honest, he did not want to reveal. He was supposed to be enjoying a relaxing life with Kagome now that Naraku was gone, not chasing down political alliances and deceit in the demon aristocracy. They had never accepted him anyway, so he had no allegiance to any of them.

"Has that priestess aged since coming to this world?" Jaken asked when the sun had dipped below the horizon, washing them in moonlight. They were close to the village. Inuyasha recognized the large mountain that was adjacent to the village. He stirred from his thoughts when Jaken spoke, surprised at the question.

"What? No," Inuyasha answered. "Not that I've noticed, anyway. I don't know if it's something to do with the well or because Kagome's from that time. She might not age at all."

Jaken frowned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...I was wondering if it had to do with that."

"Why do you want to know?"

The latter demon did not seem inclined to answer at first, staring across at the expanse of land that A-Un was crossing. There was a faraway, worried look in his eyes. "It's a problem that I'd like to solve for Lord Sesshomaru," he said at last.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, confused.

"No," Jaken replied curtly as A-Un began to descend towards the little lights of lanterns and flames that were the village. "It's got nothing to do with her."

"Why ask about her, then?"

Abruptly, Jaken had whacked him with Nintojo, knocking him off A-Un. Before he could get his own limbs untangled from themselves where he had fallen in a heap on the ground, A-Un had lifted into the air again and Jaken cackled at him from the saddle.

"You little bastard!" Inuyasha roared after him as Jaken waved his staff tauntingly at him as A-Un drifted away from him. The sudden attack had distracted him from Jaken's line of question, which had seemed to be the imp's goal.

"Inuyasha?" a voice asked uncertainly. Whipping around, he found Kohaku standing with a torch in hand. He eyed him and then watched A-Un lazily drift away with Jaken still laughing maniacally in the night air. "It's good to see you. Was that Master Jaken?"

"Who else laughs like that?" he muttered irritably. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm patrolling," Kohaku explained as Inuyasha fell into step with him. "There's been a lot of demon activity lately, so it's safer to have people out in the village streets. Miroku, Kagome, and Kaede have put up protective barriers, but they've learned to break them if there's enough of them. They're not able to raise a strong enough one for the entire village. It's too large of a space, I think."

"Have you seen the dragon demon yet?"

"No." Kohaku shook his head emphatically. "Lord Sesshomaru hasn't sensed him yet, either. I asked him yesterday."

"Where is he?"

"Not sure." Kohaku paused, looking up towards where Kaede's house was situated on the hill. "When it gets later, he's usually on top of Kaede's house. He must be out hunting the demons in the forest. He usually catches them before they get here."

"Of course, he does." Inuyasha gave Kohaku a sturdy smack on the shoulder. "I've got to go find Kagome. Thanks!"

Inuyasha went directly to their home, but it was empty and did not appear as if Kagome had been there in some hours. He checked the temple, which was similarly empty, but was successful in his third attempt at finding his wife. Kagome was seated at the irori at Sango and Miroku's home, warming herself by the fire when he burst in, startling all three of them.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped. She jumped to her feet and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. "Where have you been?"

"Sorry, it's a long story," he said, embarrassed at such a flagrant display of affection in front of others. He gave her a quick squeeze before pulling away. Secretly, he was rather pleased at his reception from her. It was not often that Kagome was so affectionate towards him. "Is everyone okay? Nothing's happened while I've been away?"

"Not exactly," Miroku replied, exchanging one of his knowing looks with Sango. "Seems like we all have a lot of catching up to do." He gestured towards the fire. "Take a seat. The twins are asleep, so this is the best time to talk, actually."

Inuyasha and Kagome sat at the irori together, facing Sango and Miroku. As Miroku talked, Kagome leaned in close to Inuyasha, her arms tightly wound around his arm. She did not need to say what he knew she was feeling. She had been worried about his absence, something that warmed his heart immensely. It had been such a relief to see familiar faces and be back home. The heaviness of his journey, weariness of traveling for too long, and the loneliness he had been experiencing for the past weeks dissolved just by sitting amongst his friends and wife. He had not realized how much he valued their company until he had been traveling without them.

He did not immediately respond to all the details that Miroku had given him, too surprised at the amount of corruption that had been happening behind the scenes in the village. Sango had immediately dived in to ask Inuyasha about what happened with him and Kouga, so he was not given a chance to fully process everything that Miroku had said. He told them everything that had happened since leaving the village, right up until when they had found Kouga's clan.

"Ginta and Hakkaku haven't been here, have they?" Inuyasha asked hopefully.

Kagome shook her head sadly. "No...not that I've seen. If they got away, they must be hiding out somewhere." She pressed a hand to her mouth, closing her eyes against tears. "This is horrible...Kouga must be devastated."

"What reason would a dragon demon lord have for attacking an eastern clan, though?" Sango wondered aloud, her eyebrows drawing together in angry confusion. "It doesn't make sense."

"I don't think it does, either," Inuyasha sighed, leaning back on his palms and staring up at the ceiling. "Sesshomaru said that Bushuugi was after him because he had returned to reclaim our father's lands and Bushuugi took off. But then there's this information about the northern wolf clan being wiped out, which doesn't make sense, either. I didn't really think about it at the time. I thought he was just saying it to get a reaction from Kouga."

"Kouga will likely want to avenge them," Miroku said as Kagome opened her eyes, wiping away the stray tears that had leaked out. "He'll feel honor-bound to go after Bushuugi."

"Sesshomaru's not going to allow that. He's pissed as is because Bushuugi ran away and went for Rin."

"Maybe that's his plan."

"What is?" Sango asked her husband, puzzled.

"Bushuugi already knew that Sesshomaru had a human companion and where to find her," Miroku elaborated, gazing into the fire that was crackling in the irori. "It wouldn't have been hard for him to find information on Rin if he was able to get that much. If he found out that Kouga's wolves had originally killed Rin, he might try to pit Kouga against Sesshomaru in an attempt at his life, thinking maybe Kouga would do his dirty work for him and Sesshomaru would be inclined to kill him off."

"It's not a bad theory," Inuyasha said, leaning forward again, "but it wouldn't explain why he killed the northern clan. If he was trying to get Kouga's attention, he should have just gone straight for the western clan. I don't know. Just seems unlikely. And besides, how would anyone find out that she was killed by his wolves? Everyone else that knew about that is dead."

Miroku shrugged. "You're not wrong. It's just an idea."

"Did you talk to Kouga about any of this?" Kagome spoke up, breaking into their theorizing.

"I didn't have time. We had literally just buried his people when Jaken found me." He grimaced. "Well...actually, that's not true. I told him he needed to go to the western clan to find out what was going on, but he wants to talk to Sesshomaru. He thinks he knows something."

"You could ask Sesshomaru instead. You know he doesn't like Kouga."

"Yeah, trust me, I'm well aware." Inuyasha dragged a hand through his hair, ruffling the hair around his ears. "Damn it, this isn't our problem! Don't we have enough on our hands with a dragon demon without adding Kouga's bullshit to it?"

"Inuyasha, how can you talk like that?" Kagome demanded angrily. "He's been traveling with you for weeks and didn't have to do that! He's lost a lot of people in his life – the least we can do is try to help him!"

The room was silent after Kagome's scolding. Neither Sango nor Miroku seemed willing to step in to defend him and, as his shoulders rose to his ears in shame, Inuyasha had to admit that Kagome was not wrong. Kouga had lost men because of the battles they had gotten into with Bushuugi's men and he had not needed to go that far with him. He could have left Inuyasha when they had first gotten into that altercation, but because of Kagome, Kouga had remained with him. The wolf demon would be too prideful to admit it, but what he needed right then were friends. Grudgingly, Inuyasha had to mentally confess to himself that Kouga was a friend on some level. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone else. Inwardly, though, he regretted making the complaint aloud. It had been a heartless, thoughtless remark that he wished he could now take back.

"Fine!" he snapped at last, crossing his arms over his chest. "But I'm not doing shit until I've eaten and slept in my own house for once."

Kagome gave him a glowing smile and took his head, kissing one of his ears. "You're the sweetest. Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, flushing crimson when Miroku cast a smirk towards him. "What're you looking at? You got something to say?"

"Oh, nothing," Miroku answered slyly, poking at the fire. "I was just thinking that you and Sesshomaru are a lot alike."

"What?!" Inuyasha sputtered and then jerked his arm out straight, pointing at the wall as if Sesshomaru were standing right outside the house. "I'm nothing like that!"

Miroku snickered to himself. "Kagome and Rin could get you two to take over the whole world if they wanted."

"Yeah, right," Kagome said dryly before Inuyasha could find his voice. "Inuyasha would sooner argue with me than do anything I ask, especially if it's reasonable. Rin has the upper hand there." She sighed, smiling faintly. "I bet they're going to have a really peaceful marriage."

"I can't imagine Rin arguing with Sesshomaru," Sango agreed. "He seems the type to give her whatever she wants."

"Marriage?" Inuyasha repeated blankly. The three of them stared back at him, appearing similarly bemused until Kagome's mouth formed a small 'o' of comprehension.

"Oh, right," she said, snapping her fingers. "I forgot. Er, Rin's actually decided to stay with Sesshomaru – as his wife. Kohaku asked her, but she said that she'd already decided on him instead."

Inuyasha continued to stare at her, finding it hard to wrap his mind around this information. He had known that Rin's attachment to Sesshomaru had always been deep and had suspected his brother of returning it. It had been why he had dissuaded Kagome from meddling in their affairs and chose to keep out of it unless he felt it was absolutely necessary. It was not that he was surprised that Rin had openly declared her intentions, but that Sesshomaru had actually agreed to such an arrangement. He, better than Inuyasha or anyone else, knew the dangers of being a demon's mistress as a human. He had seen what happened to Inuyasha's mother, witnessed the fall of their father because he had run to Izayoi when he had been bloodied and injured. The fact that Sesshomaru had seen all of that and still allowed Rin to make that choice was positively mind-boggling.

And then, there was the fact that they were speaking of marriage, not a partnership. This mystified him even further.

"Demons don't get married," Inuyasha said at last.

"Are you more surprised about them getting married or...?" Kagome trailed off, raising her eyebrows.

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Inuyasha asked in turn, frowning. "Marriage isn't something that demons do. That's a human custom. I don't know one demon I've met that's actually taken a wife."

"You took a wife," Kagome quietly pointed out.

"I'm not a full-blooded demon!" he exploded, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "What the hell's he thinking, doing that? Rin can't get resurrected again."

"Calm down, would you?" Kagome grabbed at his hands, pulling his arms down while Sango and Miroku stared at him, shocked at his sudden outburst. "I know why you're upset, but you can't assume that Rin's going to end up like your mom just because she's with Sesshomaru."

Inuyasha gazed at her for a moment and heaved another sigh, shaking her off and getting to his feet. "I'm tired," he said wearily. "Let's just go home."

Without waiting for a response, he waved at Sango and Miroku and stepped out of the house, standing out in the cool evening air. He could hear Kagome talking quietly to the pair inside, but did not try to hear what she was saying. He wished he had the energy to be indignant on Rin's behalf, but he had no right to be. He knew that she, like himself, must have been aware of the danger in being Sesshomaru's partner. Anyone that was around him for more than a few days could see how much attention he attracted from rival demons. What Kagome had said had struck a nerve, though. She knew him too well and where his mind drifted, especially because he had attempted to distance himself from her to avoid such a fate. Even though he was a half-demon, he had feared similar circumstances for Kagome.

Kagome, like Rin, had been too strong-willed to allow him to simply push her away out of concern for her safety. He had been having nightmares of someone using her against him or manipulating them against each other like Naraku had done to him and Kikyo. The months leading up to their wedding, Inuyasha had been unable to sleep soundly. Visions of Kagome dead, them killing each other, and seeing that same hateful expression on her face that Kikyo had before he was pinned to the tree had begun to flash in his head so often that he barely had an appetite. He had tried to push Kagome away by being as unpleasant as possible, hoping that if he made her hate him, she would want nothing to do with him and be safe. Like now, though, she had known his behavior too well and had been able to see through it without him needing to say a thing.

Looking back at that, he wondered if Sesshomaru had not tried his own way of dissuading Rin from being with him. Had these seven years been his way of distancing himself from her, putting space between them in an attempt to preserve her life? If it had, it had been much kinder than what Inuyasha had done and if so, it would explain why Sesshomaru now seemed to be a willing participant in Rin's decision. Inuyasha had seen Rin the last year when Sesshomaru had been absent and knew that she had never swayed in her attachment. Just like Kagome, nothing could turn her heart away from what she wanted. He could not imagine that Sesshomaru would have been happy with such an arrangement if Rin had not been actively choosing him. Even though his initial reaction had been emotional, Inuyasha had to concede to himself that Sesshomaru must have been just as reluctant as he had been to put the girl he loved in danger. Nothing in Sesshomaru's behavior had indicated that he had wanted anything but the best for Rin. He would have put his own feelings aside if it meant that she would be happy and safe according to her.

The thought recalled him to the conversation he had with Sesshomaru when he had returned to the village.

"Rin is at an age where I can trust her decisions. If she wants to get married and remain at the village, then so be it."

"And what if she wants to go with you?"

"That is a decision she must make after seeing all her options."

Maybe we are similar, Inuyasha thought grudgingly, smiling to himself slightly. We really are our father's children, I guess.

"Hey," Kagome said as she stepped out, taking his hand in hers. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha answered, his fingers closing in around her hand. "I'm just really ready to be home."

"Me too. It's good to have you back." She smiled up at him and then leaned up, kissing him warmly. The action caught him off guard. "I've missed you, Inuyasha."

He put an arm around her, hugging her now that there were no eyes watching him. He closed his eyes, breathing in her familiar scent. Even after this long, Kagome still smelled the same. He passed a hand over her hair, tightening his hold on her. He had not realized how much he missed her until he was holding her. Everything seemed to wash away when he was with Kagome. She made him feel good, even when so much trauma and pain managed to resurface in his mind. She was a healing water to all the pains of his life, all the memories and anxieties that riddled his mind.

She pulled away from his embrace, landing another peck on his mouth before pulling away entirely. "Come on, let's go," she told him. "I'll finally get a decent night's sleep."

"Why's that?" he asked curiously as they made their way down the pathway.

She flashed another smile at him. "I sleep a lot better with you, Inuyasha."