(A/N: As this story comes to a close, I just wanted to once again thank all of you reading this. It means a lot as this is my first fanfic! I especially want to thank those who gave me their feedback. Much appreciated!)

Chapter 18

The Process of Closure

"What the hell happened here? You all look like shit."

Inuyasha had finally caught up with them. It was hard for him to wrap his head around what he saw before him. The tattered and bloody group huddled together in an oblong form, surrounded by all manner of miscellaneous flesh.

By this time Rin was thoroughly departed from the world outside of her dreams. She was completely wiped out in Shinokiri's arms.

"Inuyasha, the child has expressed remorse for whatever she has done."

The demoness extended her hands outward to hand over the child.

"Really? That's it. She's sorry? You have no idea what type of shit she stirred!"

"Inuyasha."

Sesshomaru's voice interrupted the exchange, "Deal with it however you must, but be assured that it will not be repeated."

"Feh."

Inuyasha grumpily took the child from Shinokiri's arms before readjusting to a gentler approach, resting her against his chest.

"Shinokiri. You done spazzing out yet?"

"I am so grateful for your concern, Inuyasha."

She weakly smiled at him. She looked down at the sleeping Rin before giving Inuyasha's shoulder an affectionate squeeze and backing away.

"So none of you are gonna let me in on what the fuck went on here."

"It's not important little brother."

Sesshomaru, in dismissal, turned his attentions to the sleeping imp at his feet. With a hearty thud, Jaken was kicked out of his slumber.

"M'lord!"

"See to it that Rin's belongings reach the village. Take Ah-Un."

"Yes, Milord! Of course!"

Inuyasha ground down on his teeth. Nothing was ever straightforward with these people. There was never an explanation for things. "Whatever." With that, he dashed off as Jaken bumbled to pack Ah-Un and followed suit.

Leaping across the landscape, the hanyou looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms, "You're lucky you're so cute kid, because you're a real pest."

The couple waited until they were completely alone to turn to one another.

"Why did you remain in this Sesshomaru's lands?"

"The pigs…I was curious. You seem to be making quite a mess of things."

Sesshomaru sniffed in annoyance. "I am handling it."

"Is that why Majogumo became so powerful?"

"Obviously, she was not a problem for my Bakusaiga. It was you who insisted she stayed on these lands."

At this Shinokiri felt faint. Swooning, before she could process what was happening she was in her mate's arms. However, the act in itself caused the pair to collapse to the ground.

"We are still weak from our duel."

Sesshomaru nodded in response to the demoness' remark. He was on top of her now and she had full view of his punctured and bruised neck. It was grotesque. She imagined that her own must mirror it. They both stank of battle. It was severely off-putting.

He shifted his weight off of her and sat up, propping himself on the palm of his hands. Shinokiri copied this action of sitting up, but used his shoulder as a prop to get back to her feet. Looking back at him she said, "We should bathe."

They both limped off toward a nearby hot spring. The silence was pregnant and sickly. As they reached, Shinokiri wordlessly removed her mate's armor. The motion was automatic and thoughtless. Finishing, they separately removed the rest of their clothes and entered the spring together.

Shinokiri dunked her head in and felt the grime slip off of her. Rising again, she looked toward the distant taiyoukai. He seemed distracted by so many things.

"Your intruders. A gentler approach is needed."

"Hn."

"Spring is still far off, their own lands must be stripped and so they are desperate. I would advise diplomacy."

"How does that benefit this Sesshomaru?"

"I would see to it that it does."

Sesshomaru turned to her, tilting his head in query. Swimming closer to her, he narrowed his eyes and looked as if he meant to see inside of her.

"You? Does that mean you have relinquished your irrationality? Will you return to my side?"

"I have found no other calling for myself outside of the benefit of these lands, but you? You I have not decided on."

"Why?"

"When I tried to warn you of the sorceress, you would not listen. We no longer trust each other."

Sesshomaru scoffed.

"How can I trust you when you have given me no end of complications upon your return? Your actions make no sense. You have given no means of trusting your rationale."

The female looked at him incredulously and could not help but to roll her eyes.

"Do you deny your actions? Was the belly of the serpent so much of an improvement to me?"

Sesshomaru's cool façade was cracking. Both of them, really. Shinokiri's shoulders tensed. Her eyebrows twitched and she felt the heat rise to her face.

"You only know how to take from me. It's my fault."

Her voice was hoarse and began to crack. Sesshomaru swayed his head in a show of confusion.

"The old spider. She is the reason I can still hope to whelp a pup. It was only by her almost destroyed my womanhood, because you made a mistake, and I said nothing. I fixed it. I continued to bed you though it ate into me. I felt so hollow."

Her nose flared as she spoke with strain. She was still attempting to restrain her emotions.

"From Kogane's belly I heard everything. I heard that you changed. You were softer…but it still ate at me. You never made amends to me. It never even crossed your mind. For all the compassion you spread around, it never even occurred to you that you had wronged me."

The surface of the water seemed to vibrate with the female's words. It was clear that her words dripped with bitterness. Sesshomaru took a moment to absorb it all with a low tortured growl.

"I see."

He reached out his hand to brush a strand of hair from her eyes but she whipped back, rejecting his touch.

"This was not something I imagined that you would require."

They softened their gaze at each other.

"You are the only case in which it would matter."

They were quite close now. Sesshomaru renewed his attempt to touch her, this time tracing the dark and tattered flesh of her neck. She admitted this, wincing when he made contact. His hand rested on her collarbone, stroking it gently with his thumb.

"You have made me aware of my error. You have my apology."

Shinokiri bowed her head in acceptance. Such a feeling of warmth spread throughout her. This was all she wanted. She let the air out of her body, suddenly feeling quite light. She moved in closer, bowing her head to his shoulder and embracing him. She wrapped herself in his scent as he slowly returned her touch by stroking her back gently.

Her breasts pressed against him were a delightful change to how things between them had been as of late. He luxuriated in the feeling, pleasantly being surprised by her tongue lapping at his neck. Sesshomaru gave a contented moan. He knew this was her trying to speed the healing process of his wounds, but he felt encouraged. A low rumble spread through Sesshomaru's chest, startling Shinokiri, as he nibbled gently on a pointed ear.

"No, I am not ready for that, my lord."

"But you are also aroused."

It was matter-of-fact. He knew. She raised her head and exposed her neck to him and he reciprocated in healing her wounds. Sucking at her neck, he slid his hands downward and groped her greedily.

"No."

"A century is too long, Shinokiri."

Sweetly and gently she cupped the demon lord's face in her hands and chastely kissed the crescent moon on his forehead. She retracted and sighed tenderly, only to be swiftly drawn back to him. Ravenously, he took his mouth to her own in a passionate kiss, but she balked as he tried to deepen it. She pulled away from his embrace, exiting the spring.

"It will be my reward when I return in victory."

She said this quite proudly, quite sure of herself. From the spring, Sesshomaru leered at the dressing figure of his mate. He felt as if he might crumble from desire.

"I command you to make quick work of it then."

Now fully clothed, Shinokiri made a grand bow to her mate, sustaining eye contact. "You have my word," she smirked.

"This Sesshomaru knew you would surrender eventually."

"Of course, you did, my lord."

Their eyes laughed at each other, sparkling and lively.

"In anticipation, I arranged a gift for you."

"A gift?"

It was an odd position, Sesshomaru, still in the spring, was looking up at her, but he had laid hands on the power of the situation despite is more submissive placement.

"Before you leave, pay visit to Bokuseno. There you will also find Totosai."

"Ah. I am humbled by this consideration, my lord. I give you my gratitude in advance."

He nodded in turn, as she rested her focus on his discarded mokomoko-sama in the pile of his garments. She took the boa in her hands and stood erect again, wrapping it around her with a flourish.

"Do not find me until this is returned to you."

The water splashed in the demon lord's frustration as his mate sped off. She has done it in spite. Nonetheless, he would heed her words. Leaning backward to submerge himself in the water, he could feel a fluttering about within him.

Shinokiri made her way across the stately expanse of the territory to Bokuseno. Facing the great and ancient magnolia, she lay prostrate in respect to Inu no Taisho and her mate's wisest and most august adviser. There beside him was Totosai, the master swordsmith. He hovered off of the ground on his three-eyed companion, Mo-Mo.

"Welcome! I have awaited your arrival...I have been expecting you Shinokiri-hime."

The old wooden face greeted her.

"Bout time! I've been here forever!"

Totosai's eyes seemed to bulge out further than normal as he said this. He viciously dug into his own ear with the nail of his little finger.

"My sincerest apologies. Lord Sesshomaru only just informed me to seek you out."

As she said this she rose from her position on the ground to her full height, adjusting her mate's boa from falling off of her shoulders. Totosai dramatically produced a golden hairpin from his sleeve and used it scratch the bald spot on his head. It looked remarkably similar to Rin's though the stone was white jade to Rin's green jadeite. The ornament pulsed with yoki.

"It was a strange request. I rarely work in this medium."

Totosai tossed the pin and it gracefully landed laterally in Shinokiri's hand. She inspected it, pulling on the jade to reveal a new naginata. From the gold sheath, an enormous wooden staff poured. The stone, not proportionately bigger, rested at one end, while a fearsome blade was at the other. She could feel it ooze power.

"The staff…Bokuseno?"

"Yes, my lady, it was crafted from my boughs."

She bowed at him, still adjusting to the weight in her hand. Performing kata she swung the lance with precision. She was satisfied with the instrument, as it was a work of supreme quality. That much was certain.

"The balance is superb Master Totosai…"

She paused and remembered the recent battle she had with her mate. His paw.

"Am I to assume the blade was forged from my lord's claw?"

The old blacksmith made a grunt of affirmation. "It was an absolute pain to work with, and Sesshomaru wasn't exactly polite with his request." The old demon croaked as he suggestively rubbed his back to signify damage.

"I am most honored by this gift. Never have I owned a finer object."

She bowed deeply to Totosai and gave a final nod to Bokuseno. Sheathing the naginata, she firmly stuck the pin at the base of her ponytail. In this moment, she felt truly settled, for the first time in her life. She could now be confident that the past would not saddle itself on her back. She could let it all go now. This was a bright and prosperous new beginning. Spinning on her heel, she bounced, light of foot, off into the horizon. She would now find her way to the land in which the swine horde made berth.

"Such a nice young lady."

Bokuseno breathed. The three creatures watched her rush off with a glazed attention. Totosai nodded in agreement. "That grump, Sesshomaru doesn't deserve her," the old forge finished.