Thanks for the reviews everyone, they are greatly appreciated. The previous chapter was mostly just a filler to set up the plot, and this one is also a filler that finishes setting up the plot XD So all in all, these first chapters are pretty boring, but I swear it will get better. Or at least I hope it will.

Now, I know these chapters were uploaded within like three days of each other, but that's because I really had nothing else to do this weekend, and I was already halfway done with this chapter when I uploaded the first one (they were originally both one chapter but I split them up). The regular schedule right now that I'm aiming for is one update every two weeks. I really don't feel like failing my classes :D

And so, without further ado...

The Meeting

Kagome darted through the trees, her bow bouncing on her back ever time her foot hit the ground. The birds in the forest had stopped their cheerful songs, aware of the demon in their midst, and so the only sound for miles was of her feet pounding the forest floor, and her labored breathing and beating heart.

She was following the only part of Sesshoumaru left to follow; the footprints. The ground was still damp from the soaking it had received the night before, and it seemed that even the great dog demon of the West was not above leaving a set of paw – er, footprints, behind him in the mud.

He sure is going a long way out of his way to chat, Kagome thought miserably as she felt her legs beginning to ache. The past few years in the feudal era had built up her endurance, but she wasn't in any shape to be chasing after an immortal demon for miles, even at a light pace. She found herself wishing she had brought Kirara along, for she would have certainly made better time atop of the fire-cat's back, but the neko wasn't hers to command, and Sango hadn't had the time to offer her the cat before Kagome had rushed off.

Besides, Kagome wasn't even sure if she would be going back alive.

A shiver overtook her, and suddenly she wanted to turn around and run in the opposite direction.

Really, what the hell was she thinking? She was running straight towards a demon who had tried to kill her on more than one occasion in the past, her only weapon being her bow and arrow.

But I'm a miko, Kagome forced out with false confidence. No demon can stand up to the purification arrows. But the argument sounded weak to her own ears; to purify Sesshoumaru if it turned out he wanted to harm her, she'd have to hit him first, a task that Inuyasha himself couldn't manage half of the time.

Mirkou's words came back to her: "If he really wanted to harm Kagome, he probably could have done so right here".

And that was true, right? With one twitch of his acidic claws, he could have killed them all with the poison whip without batting an eyelash. But he hadn't. Instead, he had ignored everyone completely.

Except for her.

What does he want with me, anyways? Except for Rin, Sesshoumaru doesn't exactly pal around with humans.

Oh well. Once she found him, she would have her answer. And then she could go back to Inuyasha and make him some ramen to stop his incessant whining and complaining.

If she ever found him, damn it! These footprints seemed to lead on forever! Not that much time had passed between him leaving their group and her running after him, so for him to have gotten so far ahead was so…okay, so it was realistic, but it didn't make it any less frustrating.

The prints led her between a thick stand of trees, which she squeezed through with difficulty, squealing as her hair and various parts of her clothes snagged on the low-hanging branches. Her bow itself was swept completely off her back after being tangled up in some vines and Kagome had to stop and unwind it from its prison. When it was free at last, she continued on, holding her bow close to her this time, but still tripping over the occasional root sticking up out of the ground.

With a final growl of exertion, Kagome pulled herself free of the foliage, stumbling ungracefully in a small grassy field that was filled only with grasses and weeds. She wound up on her hands and knees, her hair filled with various twigs and leaves and her arms, legs, and face marred with many small cuts and scrapes. Some of them were bleeding, but they weren't bad, and would probably close up within a few minutes.

"Do you plan on sitting there all day, miko?"

She jumped at the sound of his pristine voice cutting through the air.

Sesshoumaru was sitting on the other side of the clearing a few paces away, his back resting against a tree trunk. One leg was folded Indian-style, while the other was bent up. His remaining arm rested on the bent knee, the hand limp and empty, though still managing to look threatening. And even though Sesshoumaru's head was tilted back and his eyes half-open, he still looked threatening as well.

Indignant, Kagome scrambled to find her footing, brushing herself off and trying to tame her hair (which resembled more closely a bush at this point). She had resolved to be respectful and diplomatic towards the Western Lord, but her expedition through the woods had worsened her temper quite nicely. "Maybe if you hadn't led me miles away from the path I could have gotten here quicker!"

His eyes opened into slits, but he apparently didn't deem her worthy enough to get a rise out of him, for he remained sitting on the forest floor.

"This Sesshoumaru does not wish to be overheard."

The only thing that kept Kagome from rolling her eyes was the uncertainty that the lord sitting across from her wouldn't rip them out at such 'disrespect' towards his person. "Do you really think that a couple of miles will really stop Inuyasha from following?"

Now Sesshoumaru stood in a single fluid motion with a barely-there flick of his hair to remove any bark that had stuck to it. "The half-breed knows better than to follow."

Kagome blinked. She wasn't entirely sure that she agreed with Sesshoumaru's deduction; whenever his half-brother was concerned, Inuyasha always made sure that he was at the front of the line to take a swing at him. She was sure that the taiyoukai knew this, for he wasn't a stupid creature. He was certainly smarter than Inuyasha, by any means.

Thank you, Captain Obvious, she spat at herself, But that doesn't bring me anywhere closer to any answers.

Sesshoumaru watched as her eyes gained a faraway gleam, and lifted pristine eyebrow. "You are confused."

Kagome sighed. If she lied, he would be able to tell in a heartbeat, so she decided that the truth was her safest bet for now. "It's just…I'm not sure that Inuyasha would stay away. I mean, he really seems to like trying to kill you and all." Not that I really blame him, she added to herself silently. "I just don't think that you intimidate him."

The corner of his mouth turned up just enough to make it a smirk. "You assume that this Sesshoumaru thinks that he will not follow because of my presence here?"

She had to force herself not to flinch away from that expression; it just looked so unnatural on his face. "Well, yeah."

"Then you jump to conclusions far too soon, miko. He will not follow because you made it quite clear that his opinions were not welcome."

"What? Oh!" Kagome flushed a bit. Sesshoumaru must have overheard her "sitting" Inuyasha, followed quickly by the noises of his body crashing into the ground and his loud cursing. "He was trying to stop me from leaving, so I, er…made him let me go."

"I deduced as much."

"So is it working? I mean, is he staying away?"

His eyes flickered to a place somewhere over her shoulder to the thick forest behind her, before he gave his head a small nod. "He is still on the path with the others."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Just how far around can you hear?"

"A greater range than you can fathom, human."

She pursed her lips and gave a disgruntled sniff at the barb, but pressed on valiantly. "Don't all the noises annoy you?"

He stared at her coolly. "Some sounds are easier to ignore than others. But there are some, such as you stamping around loud enough to alert a whole region of youkai, that cannot be tuned out."

Kagome bristled. "Hey-!"

"Enough of your foolish antics, girl. I did not lead you here to waste my time."

She fell silent and crossed her arms haughtily across her chest. She had been wondering why Sesshoumaru had been so generous in answering her questions; he had been waiting to set her up.

"So why am I here, then?"

"You will take Rin."

Kagome's mouth fell open. Of all the things she had been expecting to come out of Sesshoumaru's mouth, that had not been it.

Her first thoughts automatically went to Inuyasha. Keh, not a chance. Just another weak human mouth to feed. He would definitely not approve of it.

She realized that Sesshoumaru was waiting for her to answer. From his lofty, indifferent expression, she assumed that he thought she would say yes without any protest, and she would if she wasn't nervous about Inuyasha. Not that she wasn't afraid of his reaction, no, she was more afraid of how he would treat the girl. It had taken him a long time to warm up to her, after all.

She shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think Inuyasha-"

Sesshoumaru cut across her smoothly. "If I had wanted Inuyasha's opinion, I would be speaking with him and not with you."

Kagome arched an eyebrow. "And why do you hold my opinion over his?"

"You are the mother to the kitsune, are you not?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And you would always see to it that he received the best you could give him?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I fail to see a problem with this arrangement."

"Wait, wait, wait," Kagome interjected violently before he could close off the subject entirely. "Just why exactly does Rin need come with us? Do you not want her to travel with you anymore?" In her mind's eye, Kagome saw the little girl's sweet face streaked with tears and sorrow; for Sesshoumaru to leave her would break her heart. She had seen how devoted the girl was to the demon lord. She would think that him abandoning her was somehow her fault. In spite of herself, Kagome felt her ire rise.

"How could you leave her!" she hissed at Sesshoumaru, placing her hands on her hips. "She loves you more than anything, and you're just going to dump her off with someone like Inuyasha?"

His golden eyes flashed dangerously. "Do not be so bold as to assume my motives, you foolish woman," he growled at her. To her astonishment, the fur on his shoulder was beginning to stand on end, like the fur on a dog's back when it became agitated. Sesshoumaru, upon following her line of sight and seeing what had captured her attention, visibly relaxed. Of course, if anyone else had been watching, they would not have seen any change in his demeanor, but Kagome notices the way his hard arms lost their cold glare, and the muscles around his jaw loosened slightly, softening the frown that was usually there. The fur was quickly back to its fluffy, soft-looking state, and once it had fallen flat again, Sesshoumaru's usual mask was back up. He flashed Kagome a cold glance that she understood immediately: Speak of this to anyone and die.

Kagome didn't know whether to burst out laughing or run for her life in terror. On one hand, she had just seen Sesshoumaru's furry thing (or she guessed it was a part of him, since it had reacted to his emotions) bristle like someone had just rubbed it with a balloon, which she thought was just too cute. On the other hand, what she had said had been enough to rile Sesshoumaru enough for him to momentarily lose control, and she was sure that if he hadn't been seeking a favor from her, he would have killed her on the spot.

Favor? Her mind whispered. It was more like a command.

"Um, well then," she began meekly, "why are you leaving Rin with us?"

"There has been trouble back at my home in the West," Sesshoumaru said stiffly, his hand once more at his side. "I must return to see to the security of my lands, and I cannot keep the girl with me and watch out for her while I am there."

"But haven't you just left her with Jaken and Au-Un in the past?" Kagome replied, slightly confused, while wondering at the same time what could possibly be troubling the lord.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head slightly, a silent affirmation. "Yes, I have. However, Jaken has been proving himself to be a rather…unsuccessful guardian for the girl." His voice was quiet and cool, and Kagome shivered, feeling an uncommon pang of sympathy for the annoying toad. She opened her mouth to ask what happened, thought better of it after seeing the look on Sesshoumaru's face, and closed it again. If the taiyoukai could express any emotion, she would have sworn that there was a hint of amusement there, but then it was gone a second later.

Kagome fidgeted, smoothing down her skirt just to give her hands something to do. "I still don't think it would be good to have Rin around Inuyasha. It's bad enough that Shippou has to put up with him."

"The girl does not have to associate with the hanyou. You will take care of her, not him."

Kagome nodded. "Of course I would take care of her. But she'd still be around Inuyasha, and he's not exactly the most positive role model."

"Then that is your problem."

"WHAT?!" Damn it, what the hell?! She had been hoping that he would give Inuyasha a brief smackdown and then proceed to give him a set of rules. She knew he would never listen to her.

If he was annoyed with her indignant screech, Sesshoumaru did not show it. Instead, he merely looked down is arrogant, aristocratic nose at her. "I am leaving Rin in your care, miko. I asked you to come here with me to tell you this, not to request it of you. If she is under your protection, then nothing will happen to her."

Though he did not add 'or else', Kagome knew it was implied.

She also knew that arguing with Sesshoumaru was about as productive as arguing with a brick wall.

So she bowed her head, and Sesshoumaru, taking this as a submission on her part, turned on his heel and walked smoothly away, back towards the path. Behind her curtain of hair, Kagome gave a smirk of her own, the last trick up her sleeve.

"Will you return to the group before you go West?" She asked innocently.

"Of course. Jaken will be coming back to the West as well, to assist in diplomatic affairs. And Rin must know what to expect."

Translation: I want to say goodbye.

Kagome schooled her features into a stoic mask and raised her head with a toss of her hair. "I'm gonna to take Rin in no matter what, of course, but I kinda don't appreciate your attitude. Is this the way you treat everyone who you ask favors of?"

Sesshoumaru paused mid-stride and turned his head to look back at her, and annoyed glare in his eyes. "As I told you, girl, it is not a favor-"

"But I found a way you can make it up to me!"

He raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

She flounced up to him and gave him a mocking smile.

"You get to tell Inuyasha."

XxXxXxXxX

"No way. There is no way in hell I'm taking in your stupid brat and that dragon."

Kagome grinned to herself as she watched the fireworks.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were facing off in the center of the path. Inuyasha looked pissed, Sesshoumaru looked the same as ever (except for that occasional twitch in his jaw), and Kagome was thoroughly enjoying herself. Rin was running around further down the path with Shippou, watched over by Au-Un and Jacken, while Miroku, Sango, and Kirara were watching Inuyasha attempt to fend off his brother's request.

Kagome knew her friend wouldn't win this fight; Sesshoumaru was far too stubborn to give in, but she was certain he would have a headache after dealing with Inuyasha's shouts.

He got what he deserved for the way he treated her. She would take Rin in in a heartbeat, but he didn't have to make his request in such a cold way. A simple "please" and "thank you" would have sufficed nicely, but of course he couldn't stoop so low to do something like that.

So this would be a nice experience for him.

"Did it ever cross your thick skull that we have our own job to do?" Inuyasha yelled, flapping his arms around. Kagome rolled her eyes at his words and prepared her bow. Trust Inuyasha to try and rile Sesshoumaru up. She didn't think the demon lord would try to kill his half-brother with Rin there, but you could never tell with Sesshoumaru.

The dog demon's fingers twitched slightly at Inuyasha's brazen words, but when he spoke, his voice was as calm and as steady as it ever was.

"You will. Your miko has already agreed to it."

Kagome frowned in annoyance at the glare that Inuyasha gave her.

"Since when did you make the decisions of the group, wench?"

"Because I know you lack the common sense to take in a child who would be in danger otherwise," Kagome bit back coolly. Normally she would be acting bit more peacefully, but she had just finished rubbing peroxide on the scratches and cuts she had gained both on her walk to the clearing and her return back to the path, though thankfully Sesshoumaru had chosen to go around the stand of trees this time instead of through it. She still hadn't figured out how he had gotten through those trees in the first place and come out all shiny and perfect, but figured that she never would and decided not to pursue it.

Anyways, the stinging sensation from the peroxide had left her in an exceptionally worse mood than she had woken up with.

"Keh, I do not!" Inuyasha snarled, curling his lip.

"Uh huh, yeah, so what are you doing now then?"

Inuyasha hesitated, and then turned back to face Sesshoumaru. "Whatever. Who asked you anyways?"

Kagome rolled her eyes over to where Sango and Miroku were sitting on a log. They sent her sympathetic glances and went back to talking amongst themselves quietly. Miroku's hand was creeping closer and closer to Sango's backside, and the young girl grinned, knowing what was going to come next. Sure enough, no sooner than five seconds after she had turned back to watch Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, there was a loud smack.

She was not surprised when she saw Sesshoumaru sweeping away from Inuyasha, looking severely annoyed with his half-brother. She gave him a cheery grin and wave as he walked by, and he gave her an icy glare in return that should have melted the flesh off her face.

Inuyasha followed close behind, but unlike Sesshoumaru, stopped where Kagome was and rounded on her furiously.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he hissed angrily, his hands balled up into fists.

"Inuyasha, calm down. It's just Rin," Kagome reasoned with him as calmly as she could. "Besides, Au-Un is staying too. That should put less stress on Kirara when we have to fly, and he's a demon. He can fight."

The hanyou folded his arms and looked unconvinced. Kagome smiled in spite of her annoyance. He looked like an overgrown boy, pouting at not being able to get his favourite candy. She reached out and tweaked his ears.

"I'll make you extra ramen for a week."

Inuyasha shifted, and Kagome could tell his resolve was weakening. It seemed that the quickest way to a man's heart was to his stomach after all.

"Well…"

She clasped her hands in front of her and gave him her most winning smile. "Please, Inuyasha?"

He took one look at her and was lost. "Alright, alright."

She smiled at him again, while Sango and Miroku looked on in amazement. Kagome had Inuyasha wrapped around her little finger, that was for sure, no matter how much he happened to deny the fact.

Kagome turned to see Sesshoumaru standing in front of Rin, one clawed hand atop of her head in a rare show of affection. The young girl was staring up at the dog demon with an expression akin to worship, and she would occasionally nod at something that he would say to her. Kagome rested her chin on the palm as she watched their interlude with curiosity. It was a shame that Sesshoumaru's back was to her; she would have liked to see what his face looked like.

Shippou, temporarily deprived of his playmate, ambled over to her and clambered onto her lap. Kagome held him close to her as if it were second nature, and they sat in contented silence as they waited for the taiyoukai and his retainer to leave.

Finally, Sesshoumaru removed his hand, but not before Rin reached out and briefly touched the sleeve. Kagome managed to catch the final words of their exchange.

"You will come back, right Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He nodded immediately, and she smiled at him before he turned to Jaken. Their conversation was notably briefer, and Sesshoumaru's expression changed to a harsher one as he spoke to the little green toad. Or so Kagome noticed.

Before the pair left, Sesshoumaru turned to her, meeting her brown eyes with his own golden ones. They were hard and filled with warning; if anything happens to her, you will be the one to pay for it. Kagome lifted her chin and met his gaze head on, before giving him a tiny nod. Without another word to anyone else, Sesshoumaur spun around and walked away in the opposite direction they were going, Jaken following behind him with the occasional squawk.

"Goodbye, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin shouted at his disappearing back, lifting her arm and waving it through the air. The checkered orange kimono waved like a banner in the sunlight, but the dog demon did not turn back to give her a final glance. Eventually, they vanished around a bend in the path and were gone.

"So do we keep going now?" Miroku asked as Rin finally put her hand down, though she still stared at the spot where her lord had vanished.

"We'll go after that bastard's scent had faded," Inuyasha growled back, sniffing at the air with his ears pinned flat against his head. Kagome snorted.

"Inuyasha, didn't he just prove he didn't want to attack us? He was here for ages and didn't once draw his sword."

"Don't be so naïve, Kagome, it's Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha retorted swiftly, leaping up into a tree to sit. "He's probably pulling this over as some sort of trick. There's no way he could care about some dumb girl so much."

Kagome glanced at Rin, but the girl was back to running around with Shippou, who had abandoned Kagome's lap in favor of play, and she hadn't heard Inuyasha's comment. She sent the half-demon a pointed glare. "Is it so hard to believe that he actually cares about a girl, Inuyasha?"

He peered down at her through the foliage. "Yeah, it is."

With a "hmph", Kagome wandered over to her bag. If they were going to sit there and do nothing while Inuyasha waited for Sesshoumaru's scent to fade, she could get some homework done in the meantime.

XxXxXxXxX

When they stopped to settle for the night, they hadn't gotten much further from that spot. In all honesty, Sesshoumaru had taken his time in removing himself from the immediate area, which had, of course, put Inuyasha on edge. The hanyou had been convinced that the demon was just waiting to double back and catch them off-guard. The others didn't really think anything of it. Eventually when the scent of the demon grew fainter, Inuyasha agreed to leave.

Rin turned out to be a great playmate for Shippou; the fox kit would play with Kirara most of the time, but the fire neko couldn't speak to him. It was good for him to have another kid around his age to talk to.

And Rin herself had turned out to be a complete angel. She walked along with them for a while, chasing Shippou back and forth up and down the path, and when she got tired, she clambered on top of Au-Un and leaned against the back of the dragon's neck, falling asleep. All in all, she was an amazing traveling companion, and Kagome couldn't expect anything less; she had traveled with Sesshoumaru all through the last few years.

And now they were all settling in for the night. Kagome tugged her sleeping bag from where it was crammed in her bag. It had been a bit damp the previous night, but had gotten a bit drier in the warmth of the day, so it was useable tonight. She was sitting on top of it, not quite ready to go to bed yet, Shippou curled up beside her, already asleep. Instead of sleeping, she was folding a piece of paper in her hands.

Rin wandered over curiously, her head tilted to the side which gave her side ponytail an odd appearance. She knelt in front of Kagome and watched her hands with wide eyes.

"What are you making, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome smiled at her and reached into a pocked in her bag. When she pulled her hand out again, she had another piece of origami paper, which she handed to Rin.

"Do what I do."

Rin nodded furiously and smiled. "Okay!"

By the light of the fire, the woman and the girl sat together, making various folds and bends in their paper. Kagome was a patient teacher, helping Rin whenever she became confused as to what went where. The girl became a bit puzzled as to what they were supposed to be making; the shape that she had in her hand did not closely resemble anything she recognized.

But as she watched, Kagome folded up to different ends of the paper, and suddenly they became a head and a tail. Rin followed closely. The young woman then folded the paper down on the sides of the shape, and as Rin watched, Kagome made a final fold and crease. What once was an ordinary piece of paper was now a graceful white crane, sitting serenely in the miko's outstretched hand.

Rin folded the wings down as well and held her bird out for inspection. It wasn't as neat as Kagome's but it had been better than her own first attempt. Kagome laughed and gave Rin a hug.

"It looks beautiful, Rin-chan."

"What is it, Kagome-chan?"

"It's a crane, Rin. They are the symbols of honor and loyalty." Kagome gave her own paper crane to Rin, who took it in her hands and looked at it with a childlike awe. "There is a legend that says if you make a thousand paper cranes, you will be granted your dearest wish."

Rin fell silent and looked down at her hands.

Kagome knew what she was thinking. "Rin?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama has never left Rin with you before," she said, her voice small. "Will he come back?"

Kagome reached out and pulled the little girl close to her, where she snuggled into her body. "Did Sesshoumaru-sama tell you that he would come back?"

The girl nodded slowly into the crook of her elbow. "Yes. Sesshoumaru-sama said he would come back."

"Then he will, Rin-chan. He will."

Haha, abrubt-ending (.) com, much? The only reason I like this chapter is because of the first three and a half thousand words. All the other ones are just space holders XD I'm actually kind of proud of myself because I've never written a five-page dialogue before, let alone between a person who talks and someone who doesn't. I think I'm getting the swing of writing Inuyasha, though I only really dealt with two characters in this chapter so that probably doesn't count.

And no worries, Sess will be making a reappearance in future chapters...can't have them falling in love in the second chapter...more like the twentieth one :P

Review please! I want to see who's reading this!

-TBU