Well, here it be! Chapter 9! This one took me a little longer then expected but I had fun writting it (okay some writer's block too). . .

Remember Eva belongs to Gainax and Inu Yasha to Rumiko Takahashi!

I got nothing else to say but read, enjoy, review!

Ch. 9 A Fun Trip of Sorts

After giving me the news Haruka told me she wanted me to tell Sesshomaru. So it looked they still weren't talking all these days later. I had been waiting to see if this would be resolved on its own. Apparently not, they had too much demonic pride and stubbornness to do that. I replied reluctantly that I would. I would have preferred that she did it herself but I could see that she wouldn't. I asked her to come with me but she flat out refused.

I thanked her and hurried off to find Sesshomaru. He was sitting alone in his room reading something by the light of the fire. He looked up at me as I entered quietly. He set the book aside and stared straight at me. "Well, what do you want?" He asked curtly.

"I was told that Inu Yasha and the others have left yesterday and will be here in a little over a week."

"From who?"

"Haruko."

"So little brother's on his way then?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Mother won't be happy. This will be trouble."

I had to silently agree with that assessment. The chances of Lady Ririko being happy about Inu Yasha coming here were zero. Which met we needed to do something. Problem was; what exactly? "Well, we can only do what we can. It's not like I can send him away. So I guess the only thing to do is to keep her as clam as possible."

I nodded. "I should go it is late."

"Yes, get some sleep. We'll discuss this again later."

I nodded and returned to my room. Well, this had been an exciting night, all things considered. Still something told me things were going to get even more interesting.

The next morning I awoke early and went to see Sesshomaru before I did anything else. I found him sitting outside his room watching the sunrise. I flattened myself against the wall and slipped behind him. He had to have chosen the side with the bright sun light. I could feel my eyes starting to itch. "Good morning."

Sesshomaru grunted but I sensed it didn't posses its usual force. He'd likely spent the entire night up worrying about Inu Yasha's arrival. He didn't speak for the longest time and I thought he had forgotten I was there. I closed my eyes and was leaning against the wall almost asleep. The next thing I knew his eyes had focused directly on me. "Rei, I need your help."

"With what?"

"I need to get back on speaking terms with Haruka but I can't do it on my own. She won't speak to me; she'll talk to you though."

"So you want me to help you talk to her?"

"Exactly. I'm going to take a trip to the second palace by the sea with Haruka and I want you to come with me. My mom's not coming with us so it'll be safe. I intend to have Inu Yasha join us there."

"What about Rin?"

I wasn't going anywhere if Rin didn't it was as simple as that. I refused to trust her care to the Inu Youkai. Sesshomaru thought about this for a moment before replying. "Yeah, bring Rin too. I'll be good for her."

I sighed and smiled slightly. He'd let Rin come. Thank-goodness, As I said earlier I didn't trust the inu youkai to take good care of her. I nodded and turned to go back inside. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'll see you then."

Sesshomaru watched as Rei left, calm as ever. If there was one thing he'd learned about her was that Rei was extremely controlled and kept herself covered well. She was almost military good. He had yet to see a crack in her mask. Sure he'd seen her laugh and smile but he'd yet to see an actual weakness. He knew everyone had one so this led him to wonder what Rei's was. He had a theory that since Rei worked so hard to cover it up it had to be something bad, or at least Rei thought it was. He watched as the end of Rei's blue braid disappeared around the corner; that girl was a mystery.

Sesshomaru had tried to find a chink in her armor; that was why he'd told her to go have fun with Rin. He hadn't expected Rin to be so good at starting fun, she'd even got him involved, but he'd indented that Rei do something. None the less not even that had worked.

Still there was something refreshingly simple and honest about her. She was unafraid to tell the truth, in most cases, and didn't go after all that fancy stuff. She seemed just as happy with little.

I was feeling relaxed and in a better mood. I was curious to see how Sesshomaru's plan to reconnect with Haruka would work. Of course I imagined a lot of the success would depend on my ability to work with them and their temperaments. I believe I said earlier that this was going to get interesting.

I spent the rest of the day doing more sewing for Lady Ririko. I think her anger was being to fizzle out because she wasn't as demanding as usual. My lack of response must have been getting to her. I silently considered myself lucky she'd failed to discover my sensitivity to light. That would be the day . . .

That evening I ate dinner with the usual company of Sesshomaru, Rin, Haruka and Lady Ririko. It was mostly silent as expected considering no one wanted to talk to anyone anymore. Well, not everyone but Lady Ririko got mad easily if any of started to laugh or talk loud so those who were willing to talk said little.

Afterward Rin and I went back to our rooms and got ready to leave in the morning. As I was putting a clean kimono into my bag Misha, Nedelko and Akaya showed up carrying my plug suit. "Rei, is this yours? We were told to give it to you." Misha asked carefully.

I stretched out my hand to take it. "Yes, that belongs to me."

"Rei, this is yours?" Nedelko insisted.

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Something that belongs to me."

I had no idea how to explain my plug suit to them. There was no way I could think of to do it that they'd understand. How was I going to explain something from the future to them? I tried to grab it from them saying, "Thanks a lot, but I've got things to do now."

Nedelko kept a tight grip on it however and I was unable to take it. "What's with all the secrecy? Do you think we don't know your little secret? You're from up there aren't you?" She said as she pointed to the sky.

A celestial maiden? "No. I'm not from there."

"Then where?'

I sighed. I still had the problem of explaining myself. This was going to get tricky. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try us."

I took a deep breath and said, "I'm from the future."

They glanced back at me black stunned looks on their faces. "What?" Nedelko mouthed.

I tried to keep my face straight. Struggled to ignore the fact my heart was about to burst out of my chest. I thought for sure I would be sick and or pass out. This was a new kind of fear. Not of danger to ones self but of fear of something being exposed you didn't want to be found out. "You heard me. I'm from the future." I forced out.

I watched their faces, they looked unbelieving but they appeared to be coming around. I felt like a total idiot and was silently cursing myself as such. They looked at me and my plug suit then did it again. Finally Nedelko held it out to me. I took it from her and set it over my arm. "Thank-you." I said softly.

I folded it gently and stuck it in my wardrobe with my kimonos. I had to admit it looked out of place but that was to be expected. I turned back to see they were still watching me. "You're serious aren't you?"

I nodded. They still seemed to be in a state of shock. I didn't blame them. I had just told them I was from the future. That almost certainly just upset the natural balance of their universe. As for myself I was amazed at how fast I had regained my composure. I guess it was because I so used to staying in control. Darn. "You're still staring." I said.

"Sorry, we've just never seen, you know . . ."

So now I was a novelty, a freak of nature once again. No, I was not going back to that place again. I was not going to be a side show attraction to be pocked, prodded, mocked and laughed at. Time to stop this now and fast. "Look, I'm just a human like the rest of you. I don't need you starring at me just because I'm from somewhere else. Please don't treat me like I'm different."

They nodded slowly. I felt the tightness in my chest began to ease and my mind relaxed. Maybe I wouldn't be a sideshow freak after all.

Early the next morning found me by the gates waiting for us to leave. Rin was with me sleeping in my lap. We were going through a brief warm spell that had melted all the snow and it looked like the day would be good for the trip. The sun gradually began to rise as the rest of the group assembled. It turned out that Seki was going too. Sesshomaru it seemed wanted him to learn from the cooks at this second palace. Haruka was the last to join us, looking stiff and uncomfortable in the morning sun. By then I had put my hat on and completely covered every other inch of exposed skin.

After seeing that everyone was present and ready Sesshomaru led us out the gates and into the woods. Rin was awakened by the commotion so I carried her on my shoulders. She laughed and began pointing stuff out to me like strange animals and plants. The afternoon wore on in the easy rhythm of our footsteps through the woods. Unexpectedly I found myself in step with Haruka. She seemed to have noticed me but chose not to speak for a long time. I heard her sigh and watched her turn her face to the treetops above. "Rei," She asked "What is my father planning with this trip?"

"I don't know."

"You lie. It's a bad habit to get into, you know."

Well, at least I couldn't fool everyone with my lying. She was right though. I should stop before it became a bad habit. "You're right. Sesshomaru did tell me what he intends. He wants me to help him to reconnect with you."

"I thought so. Thanks for being honest with me, Rei."

"You're welcome."

"So, what do you think? Should I play along or not?"

"That's up to you to decide. I do believe however that your father means well. Most parents generally do."

"Not my dad. He's obsessed with keeping me under his thumb 24/7."

"Do you know why?"

"No. I have no idea why he keeps me so confined. The best I can come up with is that loosing my mom then grandpa changed him. He hasn't been the same since."

"Ask him." I prompted.

She looked away and I saw defiance in her eyes. She was reluctant to open herself up. She was afraid of further rejection. I closed my eyes and tried to think of how to persuade her. Nothing came. "Listen, I imagine it can not be hard being in your position. You're being forced to do something for reasons unknown. All I ask is that you give your dad the chance to explain them to you."

"I listen but only if he starts talking." She replied resolutely.

I sighed glad to have gotten that out of her. It would be hard but at least not impossible. I strongly hoped.

We reached our stopping place for the night late in the day, shortly before sun down. Despite the fact we'd been walking all day no one seemed tired except Rin. I guess everyone in our party was athletic and or had youkai blood. We ate then spent the rest of the evening getting ourselves settled in. Seki and I did a lot of the cooking since we were the only ones who knew how. The others mostly worked on setting up camp and getting firewood.

That evening after everything had quieted down we all sat around relaxing. Rin was sleeping against my side. I had my arm around her trying to keep her warm. The bright flames from the fire danced before my eyes. They reminded me of LCL and the destruction that had been wrought on our world. I became lost in the memories of that dark time. I wondered for the billionth time how I could have changed things but deep down I knew there had been nothing for me. I had played my part brilliantly like the fool I was. I sighed and tried to focus on happier thoughts. Would I ever be free of the pain and the guilt? "Rei."

I looked up to see Seki looking at me; smiling with concern. "Yes?"

"You want to talk?'

"Sure, take a seat."

He sat down beside me on the opposite side from Rin. "So what do you wish to talk about?" I asked.

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to talk since we didn't really get to during dinner. You're not very talkative in big groups are you?"

"No, I am unfortunately quite shy."

"We all can't be attention getters, can we?"

"No but I can be quiet to a fault."

"If you say so."

"Well, what do you think of me?"

"I can't answer that yet since I don't really know you. From what I've scene you're a nice person but timid around others."

I figured he had a descent description of me considering we didn't know each other very well. He'd picked out to things most people probably noticed at first. "A fair assessment."

"You'll accept that?"

"For now. It'll change when you get to know me better."

I saw Seki's face brighten. "Relly?" he asked.

"Well, I can't guarantee it but it's a good possibility."

He nodded and smiled hopefully. I had the impression he liked me and was hoping our relationship went somewhere. I found the prospect intriguing. Having a close relationship of that kind with another person, I found that I wanted something more then shallow acquaintances and forced associations. "You won't mind if I turn out to a bit crazy and full of flaws?"

"Nope, cause I'm no different. Everyone has personality quirks So I won't think badly of you for yours."

I felt relieved by his words. I was glad to know someone wouldn't judge me for my faults. I guess I was paranoid that someone would hate me for my imperfections. I don't know why. I think it was because I had been under great pressure to perform with accuracy every minute of everyday. I had what you could call a perfectionist complex.

We arrived at the palace after a short walk the next morning. This sea palace was smaller then the main one so Rin had to bunk with me. I didn't mind this arrangement since I was beginning to enjoy her company. Rin knew how to get even someone like me laughing with ease. That along with her innocence were things I admired about her.

Our room had a very interesting location, squished between Sesshomaru's and Haruka's. I found it symbolic of the fact I was the go between them. I just prayed I could do it.

The rest of the fist day was busy with getting settled and making ourselves comfortable. I had some free time so I decided to try to shorten up my hair. I had wanted to do this as practice to see how well I could change my shape and hold it. It worked well and I decided to wear it for a while for fun. My hair wasn't as short as it used to be, it hung down just below my shoulders, but it was shorter then it had been in a long while. I had kitchen duties to attend to that evening. Seki and I had to work under the cooking staff here. I was actually thrilled by the arrangement. Cooking was one of my favorite things to do. "Glad to see you again Ayanami." Seki said went I entered.

"I'm happy to be assigned to the kitchen as well."

"You cut your hair I see. It looks nice. I like it."

"Thanks."

"So have you thought about what I said?"

"You mean about not being weird."

"Yes, that's the one."

"I'll believe you if you say so. Who knows you could right."

"But you don't believe me."

"I'll believe you when I see proof."

"Skeptical, aren't we?"

"Yep. I'm the world's biggest cynic."

"Well, then I'll have to work on making you a believer."

"You can try . . ."

The next day pass quietly. Sesshomaru and Haruka had one short conversation and the topic of trouble wasn't even close to being discussed. Rin kept me entertained by talking me into telling her stories. I found I had some mild talent for story telling plus I had so many since I remembered many of the lives of people caught in instrumentality and of course I had the story of my life, which turned out to be a good one.

--

Sesshomaru found me relaxing in the garden outside my room that evening. I liked it outside at night. The moon light wasn't nearly as harsh on my eyes as the sunlight was. It was cold outside making my cheeks sting. "What do you want?" I asked as he neared.

"I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"I was bored and I thought you might be to. Want to have a little practice spar you know to see how good you really are."

I stood and brushed off. "Sure."

Sesshomaru drew his sword and I raised my A.T. field. I turned my arm into a replica of lance and we were at it. He swung I counted and I went at him. Back and forth, our strikes rang out across the night. We never actually drew any blood but we did get a good workout. Eventually it ended when I caught Sesshomaru off guard and laid the point of my lance beside his neck. Sesshomaru surrendered and we sat down on s nearby bench. "You're not bad, you know that."

"I know."

"That fake persona Naraku created has nothing on you."

"Yeah, He had no idea what kind of powers I had so of course she wasn't as good."

Sesshomaru nodded and then stood up. "Here let me show you something."

He went through a series of fighting stances as I watched. I quickly recognized them as a set of coordinated defenses stances that were designed to leave you open to attack. Simplistically brilliant it their design. Sesshomaru finished and then he motioned for me to try them.

--

Sesshomaru watched as Rei's small body went through the motions fluidly. He was amazed at how good she was. Sesshomaru felt he was right. She had been raised in a military setting. There was no other explanation for the way she fought.

He also noticed that she seemed to enjoy the night best. It did do her good. She seemed more relaxed and at ease, no so tense and on edge. The moonlight made her pale skin glow.

--

I sat back down, feeling good. It had been a while since I had a good workout and I'd even learned something new as a bonus. Yes I had picked up some stuff from that practice. "You've got military training, don't you?" Sesshomaru accused me.

"Yes, I was raised by a paramilitary group. They weren't exactly military but they were run like a military institution."

"Interesting. No wonder you're so good when you fight. What about your parents did they work there?"

"No, one was dead before I was born and the other was never able to care for me. She was kept in a basement room there."

"What did you do?"

"I lived alone. I had no parents to look after and my guardian didn't want me to stay with him."

"That wasn't nice. He should have taken better care of you!"

"He did. He just never got me socialized. I never went to school with other children until I was in 7th grade."

"Weren't you ever lonely ever having anyone to talk to?"

"Yes, I was always conscious of the fact I was distanced from others but I never really realized how lonesome I was until it was too late."

"Must have been miserable, you must be a very strong person to have gone through all that."

"You could say so, but I don't think I'm all that brave."

"I don't know what you're talking about; I think you're quite tough to have come through that."

I riveted in my seat so that I could see Sesshomaru. He'd just said I was strong. I'd only ever heard those words from one other person and I doubted he would still agree. I wanted right then to be worthy of Sesshomaru's opinion of me. I had to know that someone still didn't hate me. Our conversation lapsed into silence and I leaned back to watch the stars above. "Rei?" Sesshomaru asked "Has anyone ever kissed you?"

The question came randomly out of nowhere and hit me smack in the center. It was a simple question but there had been no basis for it, no prompting. Sesshomaru had just turned to me and asked it. It was disorienting for a second but I was able to answer honestly, "No why?"

"I don't believe that you've never been kissed with such a pretty face. Sure you have someone who loved or loves you."

"As I said, I was never very social."

"I see. Will you let me be the first?"

Sesshomaru leaned foreword and before I knew it we had locked lips. I could feel his warm breath and the closeness of his body. I wasn't afraid of it though. In fact everything seemed set perfect for those few moments; like we were holding everything in place. Warmth spread through me until it reached my toes and I could feel my body relax against his. I had that time had stopped but all too it started up again. We finally pulled apart. I was blushing heavily but smiling all over. Still our eyes held each others gaze long afterward.

"So how was that for a first time?"

"Perfect." I breathed softly.

The words had left my lips before I could stop them. I could feel my cheeks burning red. Sesshomaru squeezed my hand and for the first time I realized my hand been in his. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. Then Sesshomaru rose hesitantly and swept from the garden in a white blur. I sighed sensing the sudden emptiness that pervaded the night around me with his absence.

--

Sesshomaru snarled to himself as he whisked through the halls. He could not believe that he had done that. He had actually kissed Rei. He'd kissed her. It was impossible. He had to admit privately that it hadn't been bad, sure it was nothing like they way his late wife had kissed him but he'd actually liked it. Shesshomaru refused to allow himself to use the other l word even in private. There was no way. Absolutely no way.

--

For the next several days I saw very little of Sesshomaru he seemed almost ashamed to be near me as if he expected that the world would know what happened. Whenever we were forced to come into contact he was always unusually polite and well mannered. I think he was afraid I would flea if he showed any of his temper.

This shyness and distance of course caused slow talks between Sesshomaru and Haruka. There was very little and non-of it went well. The two proper discussions that were held ending in loud screaming matches. I tried to advise Sesshomaru to be patient with Haruka and Haruka to listen to her father's words. Neither seemed very willing to listen though.

All of this arguing and subsequent cold war left me with lots of time to myself. I devoted most of it to spending time with Rin and Seki. Much of this was spent in the kitchen helping creating artworks of culinary masterpieces. Actually I give us too much credit but the three of us did have fun. I found that I enjoyed their company Rin was the comedian who kept us laughing along. Seki was the cheerleader and enthusiast, his job was to keep us from getting down when we had problems. I was the logical realist, keeping the others from having too much fun and loosing track of time. Despite our differences we worked well together and we had more fun then should be legal making the messes we made in there.

I found Seki to be a very interesting person. He loved to cook but he also secretly craved adventure and seeing exotic places. So the stories, both real and made up, that I could tell him made him happy. Seki also brought me some joy by his willingness to talk and be open with me without being pushy.

I also spent a lot of time on the beach during those few days. It was too cold to swim but it a great place to go alone to think. It was so relaxing to stand there with the wind in my hair.

A little over a week since our arrival here Sesshomaru found me reading in my room. He seemed uneasy as he entered and shifted uncomfortably as he came to stand before me. "Inu Yasha and his companions will be here tomorrow." He said slowly.

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

Sesshomaru looked aware as if trying to find the right words. "Look, Inu Yasha will be worst then Haruka. He's the most obnoxious and pig headed baka I've ever met."

"You want me to advise you what to do." I concluded.

"Yes."

"But you didn't listen to my advice last time you asked."

"I try," He said almost sorrowfully "I have trouble controlling my temper a lot of the time."

"You must if you are to work with your brother." I said, "If he is as you say any sign of a temper will make him defensive."

" So, what should I do?"

"Stay calm and do not let your temper rule your words. You must also refrain from threats, insults and the like. That is sure to cause Inu Yasha to leave. Let go of your pride, you'll have to ask him for help for I imagine he won't give it freely.

"Any other demands mistress of self deprecation?" He snapped angrily.

"Listen I never said you had to follow what I say nor have I asked you to dishonor yourself although you may see it as such. All I've suggested is the best way I see to win Inu Yasha's support."

"This is impossible. Do you know what you're asking me?"

"I'm aware you see this as a great discredit to you but it is necessary to obtaining your goal."

Sesshomaru turned and snarled fiercely at me. "You have no idea what you are asking." He roared. "You might as well have suggested I grovel before a human."

"I don't know what your problem is. He's your brother. Not just some freak or anything and even if he was you should still show him respect." I sent back.

"You don't get it!" He roared.

"No, you don't get it. You're impossible!" I screamed.

I had done it and lost my temper. I was unspeakable furious with him. I raised my hand to slap Sesshomaru. His eyes got wide and he grabbed my hand in his own before I contact was made. He turned it so that my hand was facing palm up. Gently he ran his finger along the scar that he had given me all those months ago. It seemed like an eternity ago to me. "Why?"

That one word took all the anger and harsh words out of the room. "Why what?"

Sesshomaru pulled up my sleeve to reveal my arm. It was pale and scar free. Ordinarily it would now be scar marked but I had made sure all the cuts Naraku had given me went away properly. "The scar! Why didn't you make it go away? I know you could have. You made Naraku's injuries go away but not mine. Why?"

I thought about his question for a moment. It was true I could have easily have made it disappear but I just didn't want to. I was possessed before I could heal it and since then I had completely forgotten about it. "I guess I really didn't care about it being there."

"Oh, really? Well, I know you couldn't have forgotten about the one I gave in the ice field yet I know for a fact it's still there too. What's so special about my scars?"

I stared at him mouth open in horror. "How did you know I didn't remove it?"

"You forget that while I assigned Eto to look after you she still works for me. She told me all about the nasty scar that runs from your shoulder to your hip. Now answer the question."

"I . . . I . . . It's because I know you didn't intend to hurt me, either time."

"You're a strange one. You know that Rei?"

"I know. And you know what? I enjoy being weird."

Sesshomaru grinned looking almost wicked. "So do I. I think I'll try your advice."

--

I watched as Inu Yasha and company approached the gates. The rest were walking except Kagome who was laying against Inu Yasha's back. I remembered that she'd been badly injured and shouldn't be fully recovered yet. So she was probably tired right now. I starred at her clothing wondering who she was dressed that way. It seemed odd that she was wearing clothing that looked like it came from my world. I recalled that I had made a similar observation about her dress the last time I had seen her. Wait, could it be . . .

"So we're here like you asked brother Now we're gone."

"No."

Sesshomaru barked that single word loudly like a threatening command. I sighed, it was evident he'd forgotten our discussion earlier. I glared at him with as much menace as I could muster. After a moment he caught on and attempted to soften his words. "Don't leave, Inu Yasha. I have need of your help."

"With what?"

I could see Sesshomaru taking several deep breaths in an effort to control his anger and not lash out. "As you know Naraku is still alive. His attention has already turned to the Westernlands and the throne of the Inu Youkai. If left undefeated he will reach his goal soon. Then there will be no place safe from his influence."

"So, why should we care?"

"Because to save the Westernlands Naraku must be defeated and that is what you wish, right Inu Yasha."

"True . . . so what are you getting at?"

"We work together to defend the Westernlands and defeat Naraku. That is all."

"Hmmm. I think we just might have a deal here."

"Glad to hear that"

After that uneasy agreement was reached Inu Yasha turned to Kagome. "Do you think you can stand?"

Kagome nodded. "I think I'm okay Inu Yasha." She replied.

He knelt down and let her slide off. She got to her feet and tottered uneasily towards us. I hurried to her and let her lean on me so she could stand. "I should help you inside."

"Thanks."

We made our way slowly inside leaving the others outside. "You're not from around here, are you?" I asked her once we were out of earshot.

Kagome looked shot by my announcement. "How, how did you know?" She stammered.

"It was the clothes. They look like they're from the future."

"You're from there too aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm from the future as well although not the one you know but until recently they looked very similar. Actually I believe my world is even farther in the future then yours."

"Wow. How did you get here?"

"By accident. I was fighting with my cousins and squished between their A.T. Fields. I believe the force was strong enough to send me through a temporary whole in space and time."

"Can you go back?"

"No. At least I don't know how. I will have to work on it and talk with my relatives more before I learn if it is possible. How, how do you get here?"

"I come through the old well on my family's property, called to Bone Eaters Well. I don't know how it works but you need the sacred jewel to cross."

"It must be a weakness in the barrier between your world and this one; the sacred jewel is used to give one power to traverse the barrier."

"Barrier?"

"Yes. There are supposedly an infinite number of possibilities for each moment in time; however there is a barrier that separates each one making movement between them very difficult."

"Wow. I wish you luck, getting home."

"Thank-you. I am glad for your support."

"So tell me, what happened to your world, you mentioned it had been changed."

I took a second to think about how I should answer this question. "It was destroyed by powerful forces. Most of the Earth's population is gone and the survivors pick through the ruins trying to survive."

"Must be horrible. Having to go through all that. No wonder you want to go home."

"Yes. It hasn't been easy but we make do."

So, how was that? Interesting developments woun't you say? What do you think should Rei like Sesshomaru or Seki or neither . . .until next time . . .