Me no own these characters… wait, no I just don't own Sesshomaru, Kikyo, and Rin. Damn near everybody else in this story is crappy creation of my own. Damn it, I am depressed.

Chapter 2

Sesshomaru thought life could go back to normal once he rid himself of Hideo. They came to a rather lopsided agreement on the road building and trading treaties that they were working on. Sesshomaru found that having Kikyo present in a conference threw people off so much they hardly noticed that the meeting stopped going their way almost all the time. Sesshomaru also had negotiating skills that were practically unrivaled because he knew how to unnerve people by just sitting there and staring at them with no expression in his golden eyes. It was amazing, how easily some delegates were shaken by unwavering silence, especially weasel demons.

The dog demon thought he could relax, as much as he typically did anyway. It would be great to sleep in for a few extra minutes and just feel his beloved pressed against him. He could also check in with Rin's tutors and find out how things were going with her, even though he knew Kikyo had that well in hand. Kikyo kept up with the girl's studies, but he liked to add in when he could because this was what a good father should do. And then a messenger had to come and ruin his whole plan.

"Do the gods just hate me?" Sesshomaru wondered. Of course that could not be the case, as he was perfection. How could the gods hate perfection? Maybe this is a test. If that was the case, he was either going to fail when he ripped the heavens apart with his bare hands or walk away to maintain his sanity.

Lord Itachi, a daimyo from the east, contacted Sesshomaru. He knew it was not going to be to his liking before he even read the letter, but when he opened it, things got worse. The weasel demon lord informed him of the worst possible news, which was that he would like to spend some time in the west as a gesture of goodwill and to become familiar with the culture of the western people. Sesshomaru really did not wish to see that beady-eyed lord, but it would be discourteous to deny the request, especially only on the grounds that he had stepped on things with more personality than that blasted weasel. So, he was going to have to put up with that thin lord for who only knew how long. He suspected it was cosmic payback for something that he did.

"So, hate it is," Sesshomaru decided with a glance toward the sky. He would have to prepare his family for this incoming bundle of irk.

-8-8-8-8-

Sesshomaru did not show any expression as the decadent entourage of the weasel clan approached his ancestral home. There was a train of horses and palanquins headed toward his castle and he just watched from a balcony while struggling to not transform and go slaughter the whole band before they made it into the stronghold.

Kikyo stepped behind him, leaning into his back. "Be calm."

"I'm always calm," he replied.

"Be calmer."

He snorted and shook his head. He really did not wish to deal with the weasels, but he would have to play the good host, not because it was something his duties as lord required, but because his wife would expect him to behave civilly toward their guests, no matter how filthy their guests were. He would leave playing the polite and grateful host to her, though. He could be gracious, but nothing behind that.

"I don't understand why you so utterly despise the weasel demons. They seem like any other demons and nobles," she commented.

He scoffed. "I beg your pardon, my love, but you only believe that because you haven't had to share air with more than one of them for over an hour. Consider yourself lucky in that, but that luck has run out."

Kikyo had not really dealt with more than a few of them personally, first as the protector of the Shikon jewel and then as a traveler through their lands once or twice. She failed to see why they should be hated more than some other demon, but then she reminded herself that he was Sesshomaru and sometimes his reasoning came from complex facts built upon centuries of information. She decided against antagonizing him about the matter.

"Shall we go down and greet our guests?" Kikyo proposed.

"They may claim to be guests and be treated as such, but they are not guests," he replied.

Kikyo smiled softly. "All right. Shall we bring our daughter?"

Sesshomaru simply looked at her and she nodded, understanding why that idea probably was not the best. Considering how hyper Rin was, they were not certain if such a thing was a good idea, especially since she could be even more when newcomers showed up. Rin could be very well behaved, but usually when sweets were involved to bribe her and they had time to prepare her. She really required something to focus on that was interesting and not moving for her to remain still and greeting guests was not that something. So, the child was left to her own devices, which generally translated into her running wild around the castle and chasing something or someone.

"Is there anything that I can do to make this less painful for you?" Kikyo asked as they made their way down.

"No." The short response actually translated into, "Your presence alone makes this less painful, so just be there." She nodded.

Kikyo stood behind Sesshomaru as he prepared to falsely greet the weasel lord. The man entered with servants, who Sesshomaru suspected were actually soldiers, at his side. The servants were dressed plainly, but their movements were a dead giveaway that they were bodyguards. It did not help he could practically smell weapons and armor on them. Perhaps they will be the reason I slay the lot of them and make this nightmare end.

At the weasel lord's side was a woman, another weasel demon, they guessed was his wife. She was decked out in fine silks with elaborate designs. Pearls and golden ornaments decorated her auburn hair. Her face was tight and, for a brief moment when she glanced at Kikyo, she looked disgusted. She managed to school her features before anyone said anything.

Sesshomaru tried his best not to look offended by having such people in his home, but he bet his ancestors were just rolling over in their graves over the company he kept at the moment. He fooled everyone else about his disgust, except for Kikyo anyway. Discreetly, Kikyo brushed her fingers across the Lord's bicep and her touch relaxed him just enough to get through the rest of this.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, they all turned to a doorway on the right. They could hear footsteps heavily approaching the room. A small calico-colored kitten charged into the room and was followed by a giggling child, namely Rin. Everyone watched as the cat ran by the weasel daimyo and Rin dived to catch the tiny creature. She knocked into the weasel lord's legs, causing him to fall to the floor. Rin failed to notice her mistake because the feline was still not in her custody and that was the only thing on her mind.

"Should I?" Kikyo asked quietly. Sesshomaru replied by shaking his head. It was not like Rin would listen until she had her precious kitten safely in her grip.

The little girl ended up knocking over five people before a weasel servant apprehended her. He lifted her up by the front of her shirt while the other nobles began to stand up. Rin whined as the cat seemed to escape her, but Kikyo stepped in the feline's path and picked the small animal up. She then turned her attention to the man holding her adopted daughter. She was ready to demand he release her child, but she knew Sesshomaru would take charge of the situation.

"Filthy human brat!" the weasel lord declared and he raised his hand as if he was going to strike Rin.

The child knew intellectually she should finch because she could see in his onyx-colored eyes that he desperately wanted to do her harm. She was not scared, though. She just could not believe that someone would even think to hit her in front her parents. After all, if someone were to touch her in a harmful manner with her parents standing right there, it would be like committing suicide.

"Lord Itachi, I would advise against that," Sesshomaru commented in his usual cool tone, but there was a deadly glint in his amber eyes.

"This human—" the other lord tried to argue, but Sesshomaru interjected before he could finish.

"Is my daughter," the dog demon informed his guests. He was astonished because the weasels had not been before him for more than a minute and he wanted nothing more than to kill them all.

It was one thing to grab Rin, she did need to be stopped, but to disrespect them all by insulting her and then to consider striking her was well overboard as to what was proper behavior. Rin should have been turned over to him, not because she was his daughter, but because she was a child and obviously a member of his household. No polite person would discipline another's household without an excellent reason, but that seemed beyond weasels. Of course, they had gone even further because Rin was his child.

"Your daughter?" all of the guests echoed.

"Put her down," Sesshomaru calmly commanded.

The servant released Rin, who hit the floor with the grace of a cat. She charged over to her mother and grinned up at the priestess while holding her hands out, silently requesting her pet. Kikyo smiled slightly while handing the child her little kitten. Rin grinned even wider as she took the feline and left the adults alone. Kikyo turned her attention back to their guests and she could already see why her husband disliked these demons.

Kikyo eyed the weasel lord, Itachi. He had beady, ebony eyes, like black diamonds. They were a dominate trait among his kind. His face was narrow and pale along with thin lips and nose. He was a few inches shorter than Sesshomaru. His hair was auburn and fell to his shoulders, but was pulled into a tight dragon tail at the very nape of his neck. His clothing was nearly flamboyant, clearly worn to show his importance.

Kikyo could sense wickedness in the lord. She could practically see evil radiating off of the man. She did not think too much of because she had yet to meet a weasel demon that lacked darkness of the soul. In fact, she had yet to sense a good-natured or well-intended demon that came to meet with her husband and, believe it or not, such demons did exist. She could understand why mostly dark demons came see Sesshomaru, though. No one that rose to power was clean. Everyone in power was drenched in blood and most people had ambitious natures.

Lord Itachi met eyes with Kikyo and, for a millisecond, they stared at each other like their eyes contained all of the information for existence. Kikyo broke the gaze by looking away. She immediately knew she did not like that man. She desired to know his true reasons for visiting because it was obvious already that his stated reasons were lies.

Itachi watched Kikyo for a moment, making sure not to do it for too long or Sesshomaru would notice. He did not want the dog demon to note that he was interested in the woman. He thought she had gall to wear her priestess clothing in a house of demons. He was shocked Sesshomaru would allow such a thing. Was he humoring the priestess to further use her or was he frightened of her power and appeasing her by letting her wear whatever she wished? Was she some weakness to be exploited? Itachi believed he would find out.

After some formalities, Sesshomaru had his very unwanted guests taken to the apartments they would be staying in for their visit. He wondered how much damage would be done to the castle if he burned the apartments, after the weasels were done using them of course. Perhaps they could salt the apartments if an all out cleansing by fire was too extreme, he considered. He would run the ides by some people and see if it was plausible.

-8-8-8-8-

"Rin, what are you looking for?" Kikyo asked when she discovered the child in the garden with her head in a hole between some rocks.

"Ran," the girl answered.

"Your kitten?"

"Uh-huh. We're playing hide-n-seek again. She's really good at it," Rin reported with a laugh.

Kikyo smiled. She's so precious. "Don't you think that it's a bit careless to play hide-n-seek with such a small creature?"

"It's fun. Have you seen her?" Rin asked as she stood up to face her mother. Her eyes shined as always and a smile played on her features.

"Not since you ran off with her. Shall I assist you in searching?" Kikyo offered.

"Thanks, Mommy!" Rin grinned, throwing her hands up.

The girl was more than happy to have Kikyo for a mother. She could recall her birth mother only slightly and she truly missed her real mother and family a great deal. But, even at the tender age of ten, Rin understood perfectly well that she had to be thankful for everything that she got in life because she could have died with her family and then she had died by those wolves. She remembered dying, remembered the pain and sorrow of death. She now wanted to live life to the fullest while appreciating everything that she had and hopefully make her adoptive parents as happy as they made her.

Kikyo held her hand out and Rin merrily took the offered hand. They strolled inside to go search for Rin's beloved pet. The child looked around, as if checking for something, and then turned her eyes up to the priestess.

"Mommy," Rin said in a low voice.

"Yes?" Kikyo replied.

"Do you like Daddy's guests?"

"I am not fond of them so far," the adult female answered honestly.

"They feel weird," Rin commented.

Kikyo nodded slightly in agreement. Rin was rather good at feeling people out. She was incredibly sensitive to not only people, but places and situations too. Her ability helped her avoid dangerous people while she was running around, but she seemed to ignore the feeling at times when it came to certain situations. Kikyo guessed that was all about being a carefree ten-year-old child, even though she was sure Rin was more aware of her own mortality than most other people, not just children.

"They're not gonna going to stay long, right?" Rin asked.

"I hope not," Kikyo replied.

"Me, too. Are we going to have to see them?"

"I doubt it. It is a big castle, located in a very vast area. Perhaps they will take an interest in something outside."

"I hope so," the girl muttered and Kikyo smiled a bit as they continued to search for the bobtailed kitten.

-8-8-8-8-

Itachi sat outside of one of his rooms and thought on what he had learned just that day. The priestess was an unsettling woman. He had met her gaze a couple more times after that first one before introductions and she did not waver at all. It was like she could stare into his mind and shred his psyche if she so chose.

The lord could already tell he did not like Kikyo and he was willing to bet the feeling was mutual. He considered the priestess might be so powerful that Sesshomaru was actually her puppet and not the other way around. It would explain why she always hung around behind him. It was like she had her hand in his back, pulling his strings.

But, what would a priestess want with the dog demon? His lands? His army? Perhaps she would use him to lore in other demons and then destroy them. But, that did not make any sense to him and he was a man that could stretch things.

He considered Kikyo might possibly be a weapon of some kind for Sesshomaru. He could use her to eliminate his nearby enemies and he would not be connected to the deaths for the simple fact that no one would even know about the deaths if things were handled properly. A human with enough spiritual energy could reduce a demon to a pile of ashes that would drift away with a breeze and if there were no witnesses, then no one would know what happened. A priestess willing to do the bidding of a demon was quite an interesting concept.

"And I want that," Itachi muttered to himself, making a fist. "I would use her power to bring this dog to his knees."

The onyx-eyed lord was taken from his musings by something brushing up against him. He directed his attention to the offending thing to discover that it was a kitten. He frowned when he realized that it was the same cat that little human brat chased after earlier when she embarrassed him and got away unpunished.

"Filthy beast," he snarled in fury, reaching out for the flea-bitten pest.

-8-8-8-8-

"Ran-chan!" Rin called for her pet. She was still with her mother and they had not come across any signs of the cat.

"Perhaps she returned to your bedroom," Kikyo commented because she knew Rin's little feline did not wander aimlessly for more than a couple of hours and they searched much longer than that.

Rin then heard a small meow. She released her mother's hand and ran off to follow to sound. She rounded the corner and stopped because she did not see her pet, but she could hear the mewing clearly. She scanned the area for where the tiny kitten might be hiding. When she heard it again, she realized the noise was coming from beneath her, so she hopped off of the elevated floor and looked underneath the foundation. There were small puddles of blood that led her to her poor cat.

"Mommy!" Rin shouted, causing Kikyo to charge over as quickly as she could. She thought the child was in serious danger, but when she saw the girl, she knew it was emotional distress that made Rin cry out.

"Rin, what's wrong?" Kikyo asked when she saw most of the girl's body was under their living space.

"It's Ran," Rin replied as she removed her pet from where she was resting and then she stood up for her mother to see what happened to her pet. The kitten was bleeding from cut wounds all over its body. The creature was missing both an ear and a foot. "She's dead!" Rin bawled.

"Who would butcher Ran?" Kikyo asked the air in disbelief. Of course, she could guess.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Sesshomaru gets even more annoyed as his unwanted guests show that they lack manners.