**Author's Note: Things should start to pick up from here on out.

I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter Four – The Village

The afternoon clouds rolled about the skies lazily, half concealing a scorching summer sun. The human village was poor, but the inhabitants seemed in good spirits as they went about their daily tasks. Men tended to an abundance of crops with the help of their wives, and young sons and daughters scampered about in play, unaware of the poverty in which they lived. Many of the buildings were in need of repair, but a recent raid of the village deprived the people of the necessary tools to fix them. Instead, holes in roofs were covered hastily with straw and dilapidated sheds were kept standing by leaning large pieces of wood against them. A few cattle were penned up within a crude fence fashioned from rotting wood. The sound of talk and laughter filled the air as the villagers tried to make the best of their misfortunes.

The village dwellers seemed oblivious to the two unfamiliar figures that were fast approaching in the distance. Two young boys that were playing swords were the first to catch glimpse of them. "Father, someone is coming! Over there!" One boy called up to his father, who was sitting up on a roof patching holes. The boy's father peered into the distance, and alerted the other villagers. "Quick, someone is coming! Everyone stand your ground! Women, take the children and get inside the shelters!" The women did not panic, but gathered up their children as quickly as possible and scurried inside their homes, as if experiencing this same drill several times before. The men all banded together, but had no weapons. Instead, they grabbed up some pieces of wood and waited for the strangers to enter the village.

Sesshomaru, still carrying an unconscious Rin, approached the village without caution and was greeted with the sight of several men holding pieces of wood, obviously waiting for an assault. Jaken was at his side with the staff of two heads, scurrying to keep up with him. They stopped at the perimeter of the village, facing off with the villagers that seemed so eager to protect what little they had left. At first Sesshomaru looked as though he may laugh at the pathetic sight of these mortals whose only defense was a few rotted pieces of wood in their hands, but he did not. Instead he allowed the villagers to whisper amongst themselves for a few moments before speaking.

"Is he a demon?" he heard one man ask the man next to him. "What is that he is carrying?" another asked. Whispers continued all around even as Sesshomaru spoke.

"I have a woman here that needs medical assistance, as well as clothing." Sesshomaru's tone was more of a command than a request, and he waited for a response.

"You aren't welcome here!" One of the men finally said. "We have nothing to offer you, as we can barely keep ourselves alive. Spare our village. As you can see, we have nothing left." Sesshomaru examined each one of the villagers individually. Many of the men had suffered injuries recently, he surmised, as he counted the number of bandaged arms and legs among the crowd.

"Worthless mortals!" Jaken shouted. "Mi lord, these villagers are obviously deceiving you! Look at those bandages…they must have medical supplies somewhere! I say you destroy them all and take their supplies. You've already shown them great kindness by not killing them all on sight! Even better, allow me to annihilate them, mi lord! Exterminating mortals is a task unworthy of such a powerful demon lord like yourself…"

"Quiet, Jaken. These mortals are too pitiful for their own good. To kill them would only do them justice," Sesshomaru said. "There is nothing for us here. Let's move out."

Jaken blinked in surprise at his master's words. "But…but, mi lord!"

"Do not question me again, Jaken, or your punishment will be great." Jaken stared down at his feet defeated and sighed.

"Yes, mi lord," he said with far less enthusiasm as he turned to follow his master.

A woman's voice rang out behind them as they motioned to leave. "Wait!"

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder and saw that an older woman was being held back by one of the male villagers.

"Stupid wench, he'll kill you! Just let him go, he said he was leaving!" the man struggled to hold her arms back, but she eventually broke free and walked defiantly to Sesshomaru, who had turned to face her.

The woman was not terribly old but had signs of age on her face. It was obvious she'd been a laboring woman her whole life. She seemed unable to come up words as she stared up at Sesshomaru. At first he thought she may be having second thoughts, but she eventually spoke, albeit very timidly.

"Forgive us…our village was recently attacked and many of our resources were stolen. The bandages you see on our men were the last of our medical supplies. I know very well that you are a demon and could easily slaughter us all if you wanted to…but you chose not to, and for that we are all very grateful." The woman turned her head and raised an eyebrow at the men, who seemed confused for a moment but then hesitantly grunted in affirmation.

Sesshomaru stared down at her, unphased by her gratitude. "So what?"

The woman seemed taken aback by his rudeness, but continued to talk softly. "There is another village about a day's walk from here. It's a prosperous village, and I'm sure they would have a doctor and supplies there."

Sesshomaru contemplated her words for a time and spoke again. "Where may I find this village?"

The woman smiled slightly as her generosity was realized by Sesshomaru. "To the north, right next to that pass between the mountains over there," she pointed in the direction of the village. "It may take even less time for you, since you are a demon. I have some extra clothing here…it's not much, but it will do for now." The woman glanced at Rin with piqued interest and motioned for one of the men to find some clothes for the girl. The man looked as though he wanted to protest, but thought better of it, and went to look for some clothes.

Sesshomaru stood in thought and looked down at Jaken, who looked as though he was bursting at the seams to speak. Jaken obviously did not care for his lord to be taking advice from a lowly mortal woman. "Jaken, go fetch AhUn. We head for the mountains. And don't say a word, or I will kill you." Jaken made a guttural noise in his throat and scurried away from the village, fearful that he might have an accidental outburst and end up dead for it. The village man who had gone in search of clothing came back with a rather plain-looking brown kimono folded up neatly in his arms. He bowed in respect before Sesshomaru, placing the garment gently on the ground, and backed away without raising an eye. He took his place next to the older woman, who was the only one among the villagers brave enough to stare Sesshomaru directly in the eye. She awaited his approval of the item.

Sesshomaru observed the garment for a moment before saying, "It is odd that a village so recently assaulted still harbors such bountiful crops in its fields." The woman swallowed hard, not knowing how to reply to his calm observation. Jaken returned, leading AhUn by the reigns and panting heavily as he staggered over to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru shot Jaken a piercing glance; it was a silent command to take the kimono. Jaken scrambled to pick the over sized garment up in his diminutive hands without unfolding it. He looked at the bundled up heap of cloth and remarked loudly enough for the villagers to hear, "It really isn't much to look at, is it mi lord?"

Sesshomaru turned from the villagers and started walking in the direction of the mountains without a word. Jaken sighed to himself as he watched his master go. "You mortals may have gotten off easy this time, but next time you may not be so lucky! My master is not always so benevolent." He floundered beneath the weight of the kimono as he tried to lead AhUn alongside him, calling for the now distant figure of Sesshomaru to slow down.