"Well, now that everyone is here, we can finally start the Inu Family Games!" Saburo announced. By the look on his face, he was thoroughly disappointed by the reaction that no one even bothered to make. "Fine, because I can see how enthusiastic everyone is about this, the first event will be to the death!" Everyone glared up at him with interest. "You all really want someone to die don't you?"

"So no one is dying?"

"What – Who said that? Nobody usually dies in the poetry competitions that I observed," Saburo explained. Rin glanced around to see Hiyato leaping in joy. Rin was pretty excited herself. These games sounded like fun. And although she wasn't with her favorite person in the world, she was still thrilled to be with Saburo. Something about him just made her…happy.

"Alright, this is how the game will go. Every game will consist of one member of the group. This member will participate in the event in account for the whole team. First up is poetry, so decide who will go first." As Saburo clarified the rules, Rin overheard the almost silent mumbling of the teams as they picked the kindest person in the group.

"Right, so I volunteer to go," Saburo declared as he carefully took out his Biwa.

"This is poetry, not a singing contest," Masami reminded coldly.

"But songs can be poetry," Saburo murmured with a pout on his lips. "Why don't you do it then?" The expression Masami gave her husband strangely reminded Rin of the look Sesshomaru always seems to give Jaken. The only difference was Saburo's reaction. "Oh, come on, it'll do you good. You can finally express your feelings and-"

"How about she does it?" Masami suggested happy to take the subject off of her.

"How about it? Would you be willing to do that?" Saburo questioned as he kneeled down to look Rin in the face. She nodded. "Only if you're sure."

"I'm sure," she answered with as much enthusiasm as she could pull.

"That's what I like to hear. Now comes the fun part," Saburo declared as he rubbed his hands manically.

"What's that?" Rin asked with pure curiosity.

"We mess with the others."

"But isn't that cheating?" she asked as Saburo turned to join the other teams.

"No, not cheating. Killing people: now that's cheating. No, we're just going to have a little fun," Saburo explained before bellowing the best wicked laugh he could pull off. He looked up at his wife with longing eyes.

"Don't look at me. I don't want to get dragged into one of your horrible 'schemes' again."

"Well Rin, guess it's just you and me," Saburo sung as he held out his hand. Rin grasped it. She followed the giddy man to Sesshomaru's mother, Kagome, and InuYasha.

"What seems to be the problem?" Saburo asked trying to hold back his smile.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here Saburo. This human thinks I should go," InuKimi complained while pointing to Kagome. Saburo nodded with his hand covering his mouth.

"Why should I go? I don't know the first thing about poetry. But you look like you do," Kagome argued as she crossed her arms.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you seem like you would be good at poetry," Kagome defended.

"Girls, girls, there is an easy resolution to this, InuYasha isn't saying anything. I think he would gladly follow your orders Kagome, especially when he has that thing around his neck. And obviously you two don't want to do it. That is what the man is for isn't it? To do the chores you don't want to?" Saburo asked, finally letting his cross smile show. The two previously bickering women slowly turned their heads to face InuYasha. He was scratching behind his ear with his hind leg but stopped immediately as soon as he saw their faces. Rin followed Saburo once again as he walked over to the next group. When she looked back, she saw InuYasha's face plant into the ground. She had to admit, this was kind of funny. But one thing still bothered her.

"Saburo, how do you know about the necklace around InuYasha's neck?" she asked skeptically. The question made the man stop dead in his tracks and cease his laughing. Instead, he turned around nervously to, hopefully, answer her question.

"Well, I – uh, that is a story for another day." Why did everyone treat her like she knew nothing? She wasn't a kid anymore. But she didn't want to disrespect the kind person, so she continued walking. Next up was Daichi, Sesshomaru, and Hirato. Of course when they were close enough, they could only hear the shouts of Sesshomaru and Hirato. Rin was scared… of Sesshomaru? Or was it Hirato? Whatever it was, Rin hid behind Saburo. It sounded as if Saburo was trying to get their attention. Then when the quarreling ceased, Rin swore she saw Saburo turn his head slightly in her direction, as if guiding someone else.

"What's the issue here?" Saburo questioned. There was no longer a trace of amusement in his voice.

"Nothing I can't handle," Hirato stated. Rin desired to see what was going on, so she peeked at her guardian and his enemy. Sesshomaru seemed to have noticed.

"Sesshomaru, what say you?" Saburo asked. Rin gazed up at her protector. He was looking back. He then bowed his head and said nothing. "Nothing? InuEuro please come here. Daichi, Daichi, I meat to say Daichi. I tell you: that was all Inu no Taisho called you. I guess he thought you were mad."

"And yet you still call me that even when I sat outside with you during the days you tried to woo my sister," Daichi protested. Rin saw a figure sneak up behind Daichi. It was strange that the shadow resembled Saburo. But it couldn't be him; he was right in front of her. Maybe her mind was pulling tricks on her? She pinched Saburo's back to be sure. He simply jumped, glanced at Rin, and followed her gaze to the figment of her imagination. He did nothing to recognize it. It has to be fake. It is fake.

"Old habit, sorry. Now, can you tell me what's going on?" As Daichi stood up from the grassy field, a bag of pickles was revealed on the ground. Why does he have pickles?

"Well, you see, there were these Thunder Gods that came and…" Rin glanced up at Sesshomaru who was looking back at her. She knew that look. He wanted to talk with her. Breaking away from his gaze, Rin brought her attention to the pickles that were no longer on the ground. The figure had also disappeared. Rin sighed in relief.

"That makes no sense you idiot," Hirato argued.

"What – How does it not make sense?"

"I never saw it."

"Hirato, are you really arguing about this?"

Rin looked over at Sesshomaru and noticed that he was nodding his head in the direction opposite to the bickering men. She followed his orders. The men did not notice the two as they slipped away. Sesshomaru said nothing as they walked. Was he thinking about what to say? Or was it something Hirato said?

"Sesshomaru-sama, what is bothering you?" Rin finally asked. Sesshomaru swiftly turned to face her. He tried to hide the slight surprise in his eyes. He studied her face for a moment before leading her further on. Finally, he stopped.

"Rin, are you happy?" What kind of question is that?

"Of course I'm happy." Realizing something else was on his mind, she asked, "Sesshomaru, why do you want to know?" His attention seemed to be fixed on the horizon in front of them. For the first time since her time with Sesshomaru, she felt uncomfortable at the uneasy silence. He's never asked such a question before, why now?

"D – Do I frighten you?" Rin looked up at him inquisitively. The wind began to pick up at the silence. Rin began to shiver as Sesshomaru's hair gently swayed back and forth, from side to side. Rin could sense his calm behavior as he waited patiently for a response. It was unlike him not to face her, unless he was hiding something. Rin thought carefully about the words she would say.

"Sometimes, when you grow upset and raise your voice, it gets scary. It may be because I never really see you upset enough to lose your temper." She paused as she observed Sesshomaru's head drop slightly. "But, I know that I feel safest by your side."

Rin detected that Sesshomaru had become reassured and stood in content. He did not move and neither did Rin. The silence was once again bearable. The wind still persisted, but the sun was now high enough to warm Rin and ease her chilled body. The girl's eyes followed the hypnotic pattern of the beautiful hair in front of her. For some reason, the world seemed to be at peace. Rin's heart began to slow, and her small worries disappeared. A smile shone bright and unchanging like a freshly lit flame; another, dull and flickering, waiting to be blown out by another source. Finally, the source arrived.

Rin noticed the slimmest flinch from her guardian. She turned around to face Sesshomaru's mother. She greeted the woman with her lingering smile, but was quickly turned away as InuKimi proceeded to her son. She stopped where Rin once stood, somehow being aware that her child was already aware of her presence. Rin did not stir until InuKimi turned to the beaming child.

"Maybe it would be best if you returned to Saburo." The coldness in her voice made Rin's happiness turn to concern, yet her grin remained. After staring at Sesshomaru's mother and her unmoving face, Rin slowly traced her way back to her group.

"Ah, there you are. I was worried when you and Sesshomaru disappeared. Well, you're here now. That wind is getting strong. Come on, let's go inside. We still have a couple hours. I hope there isn't a storm coming," Saburo rambled. "Well, while you were gone I decided to…" Rin turned back to Sesshomaru in distress. She observed him and his mother sitting closely and she noticed InuKimi's mouth moving. But Sesshomaru looked back at Rin as he shed a single tear and quickly wiped it away. One drop of water had done what nothing else could: the strong flame surrendered to the darkness.