The moon loomed overhead, casting the world in a pale shade of white. The sound of the nocturnal insects filled the air with their never ending song. Above the world the heavens drifted on lazily, as if gazing down upon the blue marble with a sense of indifference. The wind lightly blew, and the rustle of grass added in a new section to the orchestra. Truly, the world was beautiful.

Beneath the waltzing heavens sat Sesshoumaru, leaning against a tree and his golden eyes upturned towards the sparkling stars. His face was flat and impassive, his frame relaxed– a palm leisurely draped over the hilt of Bakusaiga. The wind blew again, and those silver tresses lightly wafted in the breeze.

At the campfire, Kenshin had settled Rin down and made sure she was asleep. Nearby, Jaken had been clutching the Staff of Two-Heads and had nodded off. Kenshin had spent a fair bit of time making sure Rin was okay. That ambush by the bandit's had left her quite terrified. In Kenshin's mind, it had not been because of the attack itself. But because of how quickly and efficiently Kenshin butchered them. Demons were one thing, they killed with purpose and oftentimes because it was in their nature. Kenshin killed because her heart was filled with an intense malice, one brought on from the harsh realities of the world. Those bandits were nothing but another target, and they fell as easily as an insect.

Once she had made sure that she was asleep, she stopped stroking that black hair and stood quietly. It was fascinating just how soundless she could be. How each step of her bare feet on the soft grass would not register even the slightest bit of sound. And it was those bare feet that carried her across the camp and settled down next to Sesshoumaru, sitting on her bottom and pulling her knees to her chest.

"Rin is asleep, that she is." Kenshin said after a moment, breaking the silence between them. "This one must apologize for how she acted earlier."

"Spare me your apologies," Sesshoumaru said.

"But this one must insist, Lord Sesshoumaru, that she must. This one went too far in protecting Rin from those bandits, and this one fears that she may have scarred the poor girl." she murmured softly.

"And if she is, how is that your fault, Battousai?"

"This one should have insisted she run. Instead, she watched as this one tore them apart, that she did. It is not good for one so young to witness that sort of horror."

"You speak as if you know from experience."

"This one does. Her parents were taken by an illness, and the local village sold this one into slavery. Kasumi, Akane, and Sakura. These women did not know this one, and they rescued her all the same. Treated this one as if she were their own daughter. One night, we were crossing the lands to the north, and our caravan was struck by bandits. Much like the ones that attacked this one and Rin. Kasumi, Akane, and Sakura built a shield between a bandit and this one. The bandit laughed and cut them down. They were not threats. This one remembers the words they said before the sword came out of her neck. And before the bandit could strike this one down, a man appeared. They asked who he was. 'You won't live long enough to remember my name,' he said, and then the bandit turned into a red mist. It was so fast. This one did not even see his sword move. After the man left, telling this one where the nearest town was, this one buried them all. No flowers were present, but this one found some rocks and placed them on the graves." she said, taking a breath. "This one knows how these sorts of things can affect a growing mine. It is why this one learned the art of kenjutsu, and why she is known as a hitokiri. This one does not wish to see such things befall Rin."

Sesshoumaru's eyes had left the stars midway through her story, turning to face her. He understood that well enough. The anger that had taken root in her heart and twisted her soul into the soulless killer that sat next to him. He was begrudgingly impressed by how efficiently Kenshin was able to tear the bandits from this world. Rin didn't even have a drop of blood on her.

"I, Sesshoumaru, doubt that Rin's heart is weak enough to fall victim to such foolishness." he said dully. "Your tendency to be weak is not a universal truth."

Kenshin felt those words like a bit of a bite. She reached up to lightly rub at the scar on her cheek, deep in thought.

"You may be correct, Lord Sesshoumaru, but this one still apologizes for bringing the trouble to your door."

He stared at her a moment longer. "Who hired you to assassinate me?"

Kenshin looked up for a moment, surprised. She had been traveling with Sesshoumaru for a few days and he never asked her that question. "This one did not know that you cared, Lord Sesshoumaru."

"I do not. I am merely curious."

"Very well. It was a Lord in the Eastern Lands, a gentleman named Lord Yamaguchi. He paid this one a very large sum of mon to bring him your head. But you proved to be stronger than this one, Lord Sesshoumaru." she said softly, dipping her head.

"What sort of grudge does this Yamaguchi hold against me?" he said, his hand raising up to gently slide through his silver hair. He still seemed so relaxed– not at all bothered that some human lord wished him dead.

"This one does not know the specifics, that she does not. It is something about you wronging his grandfather or something of the sort." she shrugged a single shoulder, her violet eyes lifting to watch the moon.

"Hmph. Preposterous that an unknown human holds enough of a grudge that I, Lord Sesshoumaru, would have a price put on his head."

"Your reputation precedes you." she said, and began to giggle.

"Why do you laugh?" he asked dully, now looking at her flatly.

"This one does not mean to, but the way you sound almost… offended. It is amusing." she said, and then giggled a little louder.

Sesshoumaru, who was a very no-nonsense sort of daiyoukai, merely deadpanned harder, somehow. "I do not see how this is funny in any capacity."

There was that tone again! Kenshin giggled louder, before that giggle outright turned into a laugh. A clear peal of laughter that caused her hands to slide to her belly, holding it as her laughter came harder.

"I do not know what is so funny, but I grow irritated. Begone, Battousai." Sesshoumaru said with visible annoyance.

Kenshin rose to her feet and gave him a bow of respect, laughter still on her lips. She turned and walked away from him, heading towards the campfire. Sesshoumaru watched her as she went, his expression sliding from annoyance back to it's usual indifference. The only thought he had as she walked away was just how beautiful she looked.