A/N: our dry spell seemingly has at last broken!! Oh happiness! We had a thunderstorm and then it rained for a while again today. I was told by my roommate that she walked back from class in the rain and saw the sprinklers watering the lawns while it was raining. Great use of water, good thing we don't live in a desert.

Disclaimer: I only own my original characters really; I do not own the Inuyasha characters, of course. I'm just a poor college student.

Last chapter: Rin recovered slowly from labor. Sesshomaru had a good look at their daughter for the first time, almost his spitting image. He took care of the baby while Rin was out of it. Rin dipped into the spirit world briefly, seeing her dead family and then the spirits of the inuyoukai from Ginrei's clan. When she had recovered a bit she and Sess began to quarrel a little again but it has become clear that Sesshomaru has accepted their daughter, and he gave her a name, Saya. Inuyasha and Kagome made up, kinda by accident. Shippo and Tsukiyume are trying to understand what's happened in the Middle Lands while they've been away.

A Courtly Dance

Another two weeks passed before Sesshomaru decided to take Rin out of the Insen and take her back to the small palace where she'd been trained and partly raised: Jouka. In the intervening time that they'd spent in the Insen, Sesshomaru had tried to remain distant from Rin. He had many logical reasons, not wishing to upset her, letting her bond with Saya, or letting her recover her strength. Yet the real reason was simple and undeniable to them both.

Staying away from her was harder than it sounded. The Insen was small and Rin's scent was everywhere within it. Though priests were brought in to purify the castle and the room where Rin had labored, it was all pretense as far as Sesshomaru was concerned. The room continued to smell like Rin's sweat and blood to his sensitive nose. Saya was the other draw. His response to the infant was complex, but powerful. He had never considered himself fatherly—no one probably would—but the instincts were there, unquestionably. When her cries rang through the castle walls and hallways, Sesshomaru stiffened, as if he were preparing for battle, to defend the baby. If she didn't quiet quickly he was often tempted to seek Rin and the baby out to try and solve the problem himself.

The day that they set out for Jouka on was another windy, cool summer day. Already the heat seemed to have vanished, though it was not even August. The sun poked over grayish clouds and then just as quickly vanished behind them again, as if it was playing hide and seek with the earth far below. The grass was a lush green from the recent rains, though already in some areas leaves were beginning to turn, their tips yellowing.

Saya was a fussy baby. She squalled for some time when they set out, unused to the motions of walking for so long. Sesshomaru paused several times and glanced back at Rin with what almost amounted to a scowl. Saya's screams would attract enemies, youkai and human alike. A baby was an easy, delightful prey for any hungry youkai.

At dusk on the first day, rainclouds moved in. As the first fat raindrops began to careen down on them, Sesshomaru led Rin into the thickness of the woods, letting the trees shelter her. Surprisingly Saya had fallen quiet, probably sleeping inside her bundle of blankets and robes. Beside a thick fir tree, Sesshomaru stopped with his back to Rin and motioned with his single hand toward the tree. "Rest here."

Rin took the suggestion and pushed aside the fir's branches, slipping neatly inside. She was shivering fiercely, though she held her jaw tightly shut to keep her teeth from chattering. Sesshomaru noticed the jerky movements of her shoulders as she cuddled Saya, trying to nurse her. He had been about to scout around the area for danger, as well as for food and water for Rin. Yet with her shivering he hesitated.

If they made a fire the smoke could attract enemies. If he left her, Rin would be cold and uncomfortable, and Saya as well it was likely. There was a middle road, one that he had often used when she was a child…

Rin looked up sharply from where Saya was suckling when she heard Sesshomaru moving. She had expected him to vanish and leave her for a time, it was his usual routine while they were traveling, but now he surprised her and mimicked her earlier motion, pushing aside the fir branches and slipping into the shelter of the tree. "Sesshomaru-sama…?"

It was undignified to sit on the ground, and he had always preferred standing anyway, but Sesshomaru knelt at Rin's side. The maneuver was done carefully and thought out—he leaned the shoulder with the missing arm against the tree trunk and used his free arm to touch Rin's shoulder and side. Awkwardly, Rin accepted his touch and tucked herself into his lap. The warmth of his fluff on one side, and the cold of the armor on the other—she remembered the position from her childhood on the road. In the chilliest nights Sesshomaru adopted it to protect her from the cold, not speaking of it but unfailingly he cared for her, sharing his incredible heat with her.

The cold never appeared to bother him in the slightest, and when she was close to him in these times she could understand. Even through the fabric of his haori and hakama, Rin could feel his extraordinary warmth radiating out into her, almost as if it was projected. Fatigue descended on her at once and her head dipped as she started to nod off.

"Give Saya to me."

Sesshomaru's voice startled her awake abruptly. Rin blinked and asked, "What?"

"You must rest. Give Saya to me."

Rin hesitated for a moment and then lifted the bundle of blankets and robes that Saya was swaddled inside. She turned uncertainly and fumbled with Sesshomaru's haori, trying to loosen it. She had seen the way he preferred to carry their daughter and understood him better than to try asking how he wanted to hold Saya. Sesshomaru's robes were light, made of smooth, high-quality silk. Out of experience, Rin parted his haori relatively easily until she could see smooth, golden skin just beneath. Sesshomaru was unlike mortal men—he had no body hair at all. Except for the very adult musculature, he had the skin of a child.

Rin kept her eyes turned downward as she slipped Saya into his haori. She fought the heat that tried to rise in her cheeks when her fingers and hands grazed the smooth but firm skin of his chest. Saya blinked sleepily when she felt the motion as she was passed between her mother to her father, but quickly settled again, falling instantly asleep.

As she pulled away, Sesshomaru's clawed hand snatched one of Rin's wrists, holding it firmly still, keeping her from withdrawing. Now Rin was unable to control the heat that crept into her cheeks, over her forehead, and even her neck. She fought frantically with the desire to look at him.

"Rin." Sesshomaru murmured, his voice surprisingly hoarse, "Look at me."

She swallowed thickly and opened her mouth partway, but she made no sound through it, just breathed thickly, struggling with her own internal emotions. Finally she whispered, "Sesshomaru-sama…"

He released her wrist and instead moved his clawed hands to her face, slowly. His clawed fingers brushed her hair, then her cheek, touching her rounded, very human ears tenderly. A thumb touched her lips and then moved away again, as if shy.

The intimacy of the touch at last made Rin lift her eyes, meeting the inuyoukai's. The brightness of the golden irises alarmed her for a moment and she glanced away, fighting the instinctual rush of her heart as it took off. Her stomach twisted on itself, tightening with nervous excitement. It was a similar feeling to what she'd experienced as a teenager when she was first reunited with Sesshomaru, when the samurai suitors had lined up for her, ready to marry her. She hadn't known that he wanted her then, and barely dared to dream it.

Sesshomaru's hand moved to her chin. He gripped it, turning her face toward him. Her eyes followed the motion, coming to rest on his lips and then to gradually rise to his eyes once more. With the years of experience she'd gained from reading his miniscule emotional displays, Rin found warmth in his golden gaze and comfort in the slackness of his jaw.

She was still staring at him when he leaned forward and closed the gap between them, putting his cheek against her own. His skin was smooth as their child's, warm and dry. Rin felt herself shuddering and shivering, but not with cold. She closed her eyes, feeling tears burning close behind them. Her emotions were like snakes emerging from hibernation inside her, coiled and knotted together, immensely complex. She tried to push them down and settle them, the warmth and comfort of her mate overwhelmed everything else.

He would not speak, but there were times such as this, when they were very close physically, that she felt he could project more than heat to her—he could broadcast his very thoughts. Sesshomaru was not a creature of warmth and love; he was born and bred by violence. Inuyasha had humanity's characteristics as well as the inuyoukai traits, and as a result he was often a creature of blunt emotion and many blustered words. Sesshomaru's behavior was very much alien in that way. It was only the years of traveling and growing up beside him that had allowed Rin to come to understand him as she did.

In that moment she imagined his motion was a silent plea for her return to him emotionally. Though he would never say it, he needed her at his side, for himself and for their daughter.

She relaxed, breathing deeply, and her shuddering subsided as Sesshomaru's arm wrapped around her, keeping her tucked close to him as the sun dropped below the horizon. Darkness and the cold descended completely.

Deep inside the Nanka, Tsukiyume and Shippo at last heard word of where Shimofuri was. Sesshomaru's armies had advanced into the Middle Lands weeks ago, but after taking Sakaime the border town, they'd joined with Sasugainu in the north and then stopped, having no further orders. Messengers were sent but came back empty handed. Sesshomaru had disappeared, and without him the civil war came to a standstill.

In the intervening time Shimofuri and Sasugainu had split the Middle Lands, north against south. Shimofuri was tucked away inside the southern province. The eastern province, the Itou which was leaderless after Sesshomaru had killed Arasoizuki, was divided between them roughly in the center, north to south. Shimofuri was already at a disadvantage because to the north he faced his own uncle in league with Sesshomaru. To the south he faced the Western Lands themselves. He was sandwiched very effectively, trapped completely.

Tsukiyume had difficulty believing that her uncle had turned on her brother. She was troubled after they heard the rumors and kept to herself, brooding even as Shippo tried to cheer her up.

They reached Shimofuri's castle and were received swiftly, without even being dragged away to change their clothes. Shimofuri met them quickly, dressed almost casually in dark gray robes. His blue-black hair was tied back tightly, but his expression was relieved and filled with joy when he at last laid eyes on his sister.

"Sister." His expression was fatigued, but bright with happiness. He didn't sit at once, but instead the siblings embraced warmly, wrapping their arms around one another.

Tsukiyume began to sniffle, her shoulders shook. "Shishi-sama, I worried for you! I would've done anything to…"

Shimofuri made a shushing sound and withdrew from her, searching her face. His shoulders had fallen as the tension left his body. "You mustn't worry. Everything will be fine." He looked beyond her to where Shippo was seated, smiling timidly. His face rippled with confusion as he took in the kit. "Is this one of the Aojiroi clan messengers?"

"No, shishi-sama, this is Shippo, he lives with Inuyasha and Kagome." Tsukiyume tossed the kit a faint, nervous smile over her shoulder. Shippo returned her gaze uncertainly. He was aware of Shimofuri's reference to the messenger clan of kitsune that served the inuyoukai of the Middle Lands, and he knew that he actually was related to them somehow, but said nothing. Shimofuri would of course scent the similarity, but Shippo wasn't going to try and explain things unless it was asked of him.

"I thank you." Shimofuri murmured, ducking his head slightly in genuine gratitude to the kit. "You have protected my sister on her journey back to me."

Shippo's cheeks turned red. "It was nothing, really…"

"Do you require escort for your return to your home on the coast?" Shimofuri asked, slipping into a colder, more formal tone.

Shippo fought a frown, beginning to realize where this was headed. Shimofuri was eager to push the outsiders away, to hide Tsukiyume back inside his castle, inside the Middle Lands, and to push Shippo firmly away. The audience room around him was beautiful, decorated in brighter colors than usual. It was the place where the highly unusual Taikokajin had ruled over the Middle Lands before her death and her heir, Shimofuri, had taken over. Shippo remembered Jinsoku Aojiroi, the kitsune messenger, and felt a growing desire to speak out, to insist that he actually was one of the Aojiroi clan. If he was one of their messengers, Shippo would be allowed to stay in the castle, or at least in the town and countryside around it…

But the words refused to leave his mouth. Instead he bowed stiffly and answered, "No, I'm fine on my own."

"Brother—" Tsukiyume started to say something, but Shimofuri interrupted her.

"There are many things I must attend to—may I ask that you watch over Tsukiyume for a time? In a few hours I will be able to return to you both."

Shippo nodded eagerly and then bowed, trying to remember his manners. "Yes, Lord Shimofuri."

After embracing his sister one last time, Shimofuri excused himself, leaving the hanyou girl and the kitsune boy together again.

"He sure is busy!" Shippo remarked, sounding cheerful.

Tsukiyume nodded, her ears dropping ominously. "Shishi-sama is troubled. It must be my uncle." Her voice dropped at the end, becoming more of a growl. Her hands curled into fists at her side. "And Sesshomaru…"

Shippo shook his head sadly. "Tsuki, don't think about it right now. You're just hurting yourself. I'm sure he'll come to his senses."

She drew a deep breath and held it for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Yes, I hope you're right, Shippo."

Sesshomaru and Rin arrived at Jouka barely two days after they'd set out. By an order that was sent out ahead of them, Sesshomaru had already hired new servants and guards to staff the palace. A string of messengers were already waiting for Sesshomaru there, desperate for news and orders. He met with them stiffly, ordering the army that he had sent into the Hokubo to stay with Sasugainu to disperse and withdraw.

The messengers left, baffled by the latest twist their lord had taken, but obedient nonetheless. Meetings would likely be arranged, peace would be formalized there, treaties signed perhaps. Hostages might even be exchanged. Sasugainu had two daughters that could be traded, and now Sesshomaru had a mate, a wife, and a brand new daughter at stake.

Rin continued to grow stronger. The maids pampered her; fresh robes were brought in, perfumes, and fine foods. Nannies offered themselves up for service, as if to remove the extra burden of caring for her own baby, but Rin refused all of them. She nursed Saya and shared her bed with the baby just as any commoner would have.

She and Sesshomaru remained cautious around one another. They met often, sharing meals, and watching after Saya almost in turns, but true intimacy hadn't yet returned between them. It remained unknown whether the couple would ever regain it.

As the summer weather heated up again, Rin took a day where she indulged herself. She left Saya under the watch of the maids for a short time and, between breakfast and noon, dressed in men's clothes and headed for the stables. Pregnancy had thrown her balance off, and the miscarriages before that had often kept her from riding because she was always bedridden. Now, when she was trying to be healthy again, Rin took up the reins as a test of herself.

Only a few horses were kept at Jouka, and they'd been brought on mostly for Rin's education years ago. Roba had been one of those, but now Roba was of course absent, left behind with Miroku and Sango. There was one other mare left, a broodmare. The stallion was generally not ridden, but the gelding that Rin had learned to ride on originally was still there. He was a gray horse with a mottled coat, too ugly to be bred, which was why he was a gelding in the first place, more for riding or work than for anything else.

The stable boy that met with Rin was nervous and timid, but he worked with the animals well and saddled the gelding swiftly. Rin took the bridle from him and slipped it over the horse's head herself. His name was Nigori, for the odd coloration of his pelt. Rin patted his nose, rubbing the peach-fuzz hair that grew there.

For riding Rin had abandoned a proper kimono. Instead she'd raided some of the closets where the guards kept their uniforms. She dressed herself in gray-blue hakama with a bland cream-white hoari on top. The armor that Sesshomaru had had forged for her most recently was lost with Roba, left behind with Miroku and Sango as a sort of accidental gift. Sesshomaru didn't know this, and probably wouldn't care very much about it—he would simply have more armor forged for her. But Rin decided that dressing as a man wasn't enough.

Sesshomaru, the maids told her, was meeting with messengers or dignitaries, at least one person or youkai that was important. Rin took advantage of this knowledge and raided his closet, taking the first haori that roughly matched the hakama pants she'd stolen. It turned out to be a more casual choice, about the same color as the hakama she was wearing already. Partly Rin chose it because of the matching color, and partly because she remembered Sesshomaru wearing it when he came to her in the evenings, seeking her company physically, intimately…

She'd left her hair long and flowing freely, without any restraint. The stable boy could barely bring himself to look at her, let alone speak or interact with her. When Nigori was saddled the boy withdrew immediately and busied himself elsewhere.

Rin was fine with his cowardice—when she'd been younger and shorter, her sensei would've helped her get onto the horse, but now she could manage on her own easily enough. Nigori was steady as she hauled herself onto his back. Rin didn't ride like a lady, but gripped the horse's middle firmly between her thighs. She grasped the reins tightly in one hand and held her head high.

The gelding launched forward eagerly when she spurred him, straight out of the stables. His hooves beat over the ground powerfully; his gray-white mane flew as the air rushed past them. Rin felt dizziness for a moment, the rush of her own heart pounding inside her ears, then elation at the speed, the freedom…

She felt herself grinning, felt the wind in her face, flowing in her hair. "Nigori!" she shouted the gelding's name and pulled on the reins. The horse turned sharply as he was ordered, curving around the field. Rin spurred him at a fast run toward the river.

The field's smooth, green grass gave way to more dirt and rocks. The pitch of the horse's hooves changed as it clobbered over the stones and kicked up the sand behind them.

Jouka's land was set against a small mountain river. The water was always fresh and cold. Rin had often taken breaks from fighting or riding lessons as a young teenager to drink from it or splash the water on her face. It wasn't very deep, but the bottom was very rocky. As the water passed over the rocks it was often bright white, like snow in the middle of the summertime.

Nigori raced for the water, slowing as the ground became almost completely made of rocks. The horse hesitated at getting his feet wet. He tried to turn sideways, to trot parallel to the water. Rin clicked her tongue at him and pulled the reins toward the river, ordering Nigori to cross.

The gelding tossed his head once, disputing her decision silently, but he did as he was told and started into the water. Rin grinned, delighting in the feel of the water splashing at her feet and legs, as well as the simple splashing sound itself.

Nigori's ears flicked backward and forward then and he stopped, swaying back and forth uncertainly. Rin frowned and clicked at him, prodding him with her ankles to try and coax him into moving again. The water of the river continued to flow, just partway up the horse's legs, bubbling and hissing.

Rin noticed that Nigori's ears were swiveling, as if he was searching for something. She leaned forward, patting his neck and feeling the first beginnings of sweat there, gathering underneath his mane. The horse's nostrils were flaring. As she watched Nigori lifted his upper lip, tasting the wind. Again he shifted from foot to foot, apparently uneasy.

Rin frowned and looked ahead of them, across the river. The horse couldn't see as well as she could, but his sense of smell was like almost every other animal's in that it surpassed humanity's ability by leaps and bounds. Rin didn't try to catch the wind, she just used her eyes.

The source of Nigori's hesitation reached her at last—there was a figure standing in the distance, in the trees on the other side of the river. Though it was shadows and some feet away, Rin recognized it at once and released a long, slightly irritated breath.

"Sesshomaru." She muttered, defeated. Even from so far away she could see his bright hair, the amber in his narrowed eyes.

He stepped slowly out of the forest, into the sunlight. Nigori saw the source of his instinctive fear and nickered worriedly, stomping his feet as he might to try and intimidate a predator. Sesshomaru, of course, ignored the horse's warning and raised his voice to Rin, warningly.

"Rin. Go back to the palace."

Rin didn't answer him. Pulling on Nigori's reins, she directed the horse to turn away from Sesshomaru and cross back to the opposite back. Nigori whickered his fear and reluctantly turned his back on what he was certain was a predator—some kind of massive wild dog. Canine teeth weren't something he willingly chose to turn his backsides on.

They crossed out of the water, but instead of heading toward the stables and the palace, Rin spurred Nigori upstream along the riverbank. The horse's eyes rolled, the white showing as he tried to turn his head to look for the wild dog across the river—but Sesshomaru had vanished, though his scent had not.

"Hah!" Rin balanced her weight forward as Nigori picked up speed. The warm air began to rush by, rippling her long hair like a black curtain.

Suddenly Nigori slowed and tossed his head, grunting. He turned around, stamping his feet threateningly. Rin held on tightly with her hands as well as her thighs. She grit her teeth and looked around frantically for the source of the problem which could only be one thing.

The river passed over the rocks on one side, still hissing gently. The fields around Jouka lied in the opposite direction, wide and rolling and green with grass. The stables stood out closest. Rin thought she caught sight of the stable boy watching her. The forest was dark on the other riverbank, mysterious, shadowy. Nothing seemed that out of the ordinary…

Nigori whinnied and ducked his head, kicking out with his hind feet wildly. Rin cried out, falling forward with his movement and reaching frantically for the reins, for his mane…

The horse plowed forward wildly and the momentum knocked Rin into the air. She screamed as her fingers and feet found nothing but air. She had time to hear the sounds of wild fear she was making and to wonder at how young they sounded, and how strange—then her body slammed roughly into something warm and unyielding.

Her feet found the warm sand and the rocks, her toes dug in deeply. An arm was wrapped around her chest, pulling her back against another warm, powerful body. Not Nigori any longer, but something far stonier and nearly impossible to spook.

She lifted her eyes to see Nigori a hundred feet away, staring back at her with his wide horse-eyes. He had always been a good riding horse, but like any of the horses he was easily spooked by inuyoukai. Now he'd realized that he'd left his rider and was concerned about her as much as any animal could be, but nothing was going to make him rush back to defend her from the massive predator that was currently holding her tucked against him.

"Go back to the palace, Rin." Sesshomaru ordered her. There was a sharpness in her voice, irritation, impatience. Had he ended his important meeting on his own or had he cut it short because she'd left to ride a horse?

"Is Rin Lord Sesshomaru's prisoner now?" she asked, breathing roughly, catching her breath.

"I will not permit you to injure yourself." He hadn't released her, his arm was still wrapped around her tightly, pinning her to his chest. It was a wonder that he had caught her as he had.

"Rin is an excellent horsewoman, Lord Sesshomaru." She kept her voice quiet, hoping that she could convince him.

"I will not allow you to take that risk."

Rin sighed and lowered her chin onto his arm. Her black hair spilled over her shoulders, across his hand. "Please, Sesshomaru-sama…" she tried a different tone, small, almost whining. She was aiming for childish, hoping that would do the trick.

It didn't.

"Go back to the palace." He ordered her, coldly. His arm withdrew, slowly releasing her until she was free to turn around and see his face at last. Sesshomaru almost outright glared at her and then repeated his order. "Go back, Rin."

"What about Nigori?" she demanded, at last giving in to the irritation that was rising inside her.

"I will send a servant." He answered, blandly.

"Why don't you let me get him?"

He stared at her, clearly unimpressed with her suggestion, but he offered no verbal response except to repeat himself for the third time. "Go back to the palace."

Now Rin's temper ignited. Her hands curled into fists at her side and her mouth curled in a furious, mirthless smile. "Lord Sesshomaru does not trust Rin. He believes she will run away again or hurt herself in some way."

Sesshomaru's expression didn't change, but he must've grown tired of the exchange because he walked past her coldly, walking slowly but steadily toward the palace. "Follow me."

Rin obeyed him but she moved stiffly and walked with her eyes up and glaring at his backsides. As they passed the stables the boy was already rushing out, heading for Nigori. He snuck a quick glance at Rin and Sesshomaru as they passed, still gawking stupidly.

Sesshomaru forced Rin to enter the palace first and then shepherded her to the room that she used as sleeping chambers. There was a maid inside, sitting idly with a heap of folded clothes on one side and with Saya lying on the bed. She looked up with wide, startled eyes as an enraged Rin entered with a stiff, cold Sesshomaru behind her. The maid prostrated herself at once.

"Leave." Sesshomaru ordered her.

"Yes, my lord." The maid rose to her feet and, after throwing Rin one quick, worried glance, scurried out of the room. She left the door open behind her though and, irritably, Sesshomaru turned and slid it shut.

Rin knelt and scooped Saya up gently from the bed, examining the baby and then rocking her when she woke and made a small, preemptive crying sound. Sesshomaru watched them interact for a time, dispassionately. When Saya had quieted and closed her eyes again, drifting off into a deep slumber, Sesshomaru at last spoke. "Remove your clothing."

Startled, Rin looked up, taken aback. "What?" she almost squawked the word in her disbelief.

"You are wearing my haori." He observed aloud, "And those pants are made for men." He paused again, lifting his head a little higher and moving his eyes very briefly over her frame. "Remove them."

Rin frowned and shifted Saya, holding the baby closer to her as if defending her. "Get out." She growled.

"Do as I have instructed." He repeated, golden eyes narrowing dangerously.

She glanced back at him for a moment, wondering if he'd lost his mind. Sesshomaru's face was utterly serious, but Rin couldn't see any real anger as far as she could tell. At least, if he was angry with her, he was quashing it very well, or it was just so miniscule that he didn't show it. Taking this into consideration, Rin decided to try and bargain with him.

"Rin will do as Sesshomaru-sama asks if she may go riding when she has returned his haori." She lifted her eyebrows, challenging him.

Sesshomaru was unmoved by her suggestion. "No. You will remove the haori and hakama and dress as a woman. There will be no riding today."

Rin frowned and bit her lip with frustration. She wiggled one foot with irritation and stress but the motion jarred Saya enough that she opened her eyes and gazed around the room with annoyance. When she noticed that Saya was whimpering her protest, Rin stopped and gladly took the distraction that their daughter offered, rocking her until Saya closed her eyes contentedly again.

"Rin." Sesshomaru began, undoubtedly about to order her to take off her clothes again, but Rin sighed loudly, cutting him off.

Slowly, she rose from the bed and lowered Saya carefully onto it. The baby opened her eyes once and opened her mouth, yawning. Almost immediately afterward she began sleeping peacefully.

Turning her back on Sesshomaru, Rin stood in front of the mirrors on the opposite side of the room and began fumbling with the sash around her waist that kept the haori in place. She caught a brief sight of herself in the mirror and stopped for a moment to glare disgustedly at it. The ride and the fall had horribly ruined any semblance of order her hair had possessed beforehand. It stuck out wildly at odd angles messily. Rin spotted a few knots and caught herself groaning at the mess and the pain it would cause her later getting them out. Suddenly riding with her hair free seemed like a huge mistake. She glanced in the mirror and saw Sesshomaru watching her intently, reminding her eerily of a cat, and wondered just how it was that he could keep his hair so smooth and knotless.

The sash came loose and Rin pulled the haori away, folding it in her lap and then turning back to Sesshomaru.

His golden eyes didn't leave her face as he took the haori from her. His face was expressionless but entirely alert, unreadable. He didn't thank her and didn't appear to have anything else to say anytime soon.

"The haori. You can leave now." Rin told him, trying not to frown bitterly. His behavior unnerved her, she longed for him to leave.

Surprisingly he wasn't finished with her yet. "This haori." He was speaking of the cream-white haori that she'd used as a sort of under robe. "It is not yours. Remove it."

Rin closed her mouth when it fell open, gaping like a fish. He meant to have her effectively strip before him and pass off every article of clothing that wasn't her own. There would be no sense in fighting him. Rin moved wordlessly back to the mirror and fumbled at her waist again, releasing the ties to the hakama and the cream-white haori as well.

The hakama dropped to the floor and she kicked them away with her feet. Her face burned, when she glanced at the mirror she saw that it was bright red, blushing up to her ears and down to her neck. Once she flicked her eyes to Sesshomaru's reflection and saw that he wasn't looking at her face, his eyes were turned more toward the floor, except that they were aimed a little too high. He was looking at her bare, exposed legs.

Beneath the hakama and the last haori she was wearing the barest of under robes, it was more of a slip really. It was cream-white, like the last haori. The under robe barely covered her hips or her backsides, hardly reaching her thighs.

Rin folded the haori and then knelt awkwardly to retrieve the hakama from the floor as well. She was aware of the mirror at her back, and certain that her movements would probably expose her most intimate parts for her mate's scrutiny if she wasn't careful. Since her pregnancy and Saya's birth, Rin had slimmed down, but she was still highly self-conscious of the plumpness that remained. Embarrassed, humiliated, she passed the haori and the hakama to Sesshomaru without meeting his gaze. Her lips were twisted in a silent, angry snarl.

At first it seemed that Sesshomaru would take the clothing uneventfully and leave her to the maids. But as Rin placed the haori and hakama on top of the other clothing she'd already shed, Sesshomaru dropped everything to one side, making Rin startle and gasp, taking a step backward. Before she could speak, indeed before she could make another move, he was directly in front of her, his only hand wrapped around her waist, keeping her close.

Rin gasped and her hands rose up to fight him off, but paused midway as she felt his mouth against her neck, his breath in her ear. Shivers ran up and down her spine, loosening up her muscles. The hands that had meant to push him away relaxed now and laid palms flat against his broad chest, feeling the musculature just beneath his robes.

He growled into her ear, a low, comforting sound, but spoke no words. His fingertips moved up down her back, feeling the curve of waist and hip and then migrating back toward her front. Cautiously, those same clawed fingertips touched on her breast through the thin fabric of her slip.

He had not touched her since she'd run away, not truly since she'd been pregnant. He'd treated her like glass. Now the changes in her body beckoned to him, especially her breasts, rich and swollen now with milk. He had witnessed Saya nursing many times, a scene he had never been privy to before, though the scents, with their inherent pheromones, had spoken to him many times on a deep, primeval level. Human milk was not like inuyoukai milk. It was sweet, like vanilla—the scent fit Rin very well, complimenting her to his sensitive nose.

She melted into his touch at last, pressing her body against his. Her legs began to give out as her body lost interest in the rest of the world and focused entirely on Sesshomaru.

He shifted his hand, instead using it to scoop her higher onto his body, to balance her. The slight change in position allowed her to feel his arousal. She responded most positively, breathing faster and making a small sound that he interpreted as want.

He growled again, low and deep in his chest, letting her feel the vibration, and bent one leg, propping her up higher still. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. Sesshomaru took the opportunity and brought his hand to her thigh, slipping his fingers boldly underneath the fabric of her slip and dragging them upward slowly. She shuddered as his touch advanced and moaned once.

His hands reached her breasts and he gripped one more firmly, with confidence…too much as it turned out.

Rin's body stiffened and she made a small noise, not of pleasure, but pain. Sesshomaru pulled back at once, releasing her and stepping away. As swiftly as it had begun, the encounter was over.

To Rin Sesshomaru appeared wild, his eyes were lit from within with a feral glow. His face was unusually soft, loosened by desire. His nostrils flared with each breath. She tried to find something to say but was oddly breathless. Her lack of clothing had ceased to matter, as had the mirror behind her and her embarrassment over a little extra baby-flab.

Sesshomaru knelt and scooped up the clothing Rin had shed at his command. Rin felt her heart drop as it appeared almost certain that he would leave her without another word, but again he surprised her. Instead of leaving, Sesshomaru placed the folded and stacked clothing on the futon beside their sleeping daughter and moved to a closet beside the mirrors. He slid it open and reached inside, pulling out a dove-gray kimono.

He strode forward with the kimono outstretched in his one hand. Rin felt her cheeks burning once more, but not with anger or humiliation this time. She stretched out one arm and slid her arm through the kimono. Sesshomaru dressed her other side, gently, almost tenderly. As a child he had occasionally helped to dress her, though more often he left it to Jaken, though the toad despised the job.

Together, moving slowly, with no hurry at all, Sesshomaru gathered the other elements of Rin's clothes, socks, an obi, an outer robe. The motions were done in silence, but the couple met one another eye to eye more often than they had in weeks, even months. It was a kind of courtly dance, almost as intimate as anything they might've done physically. Rin watched the inuyoukai's reflection as they worked whenever she could until at last the image was drowned out by sudden, unexpected tears.

Sesshomaru stopped, his hand stilled where it held the obi behind her, about to pass it back to her. "Rin?"

She sniffed her tears back fiercely. "Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Why are you crying?" his voice was calm and gentle.

She shook her head, rippling her messy, knotted black hair with the motion. "I don't know." Her voice trembled slightly. A few of the tears spilled out of her eyes and she wiped them away.

Sesshomaru's face rippled once with some unreadable emotion, then he shifted, pushing the long line of fabric in her obi forward again, as if they had never stopped. Rin took it firmly and finished securing it. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, with Sesshomaru knelt just behind her. Her chin wrinkled, quivering slightly. She opened her mouth for a moment, as if to speak, and then closed it and turned to face him directly.

He stared down at her, the corners of his eyes crinkled ever so slightly. The emotion might've been concern, but whatever it was he was firmly focused on her. Rin stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his without warning. She half-spoke while they were still in the position, murmuring, "I love you."

After a short moment Sesshomaru stepped away from her. A tentative, miniscule smile curved his lips. "Good day, Rin."

He turned his back on her and moved, almost wraith-like, from the room. Rin wiped her tears away and drew a long breath, releasing her tension. Her eyes flew to Saya though the baby had been silent the entire time. It was then that she noticed the clothing on the bed, still folded.

Sesshomaru had left them all behind, uncaringly. It seemed his true motives were obvious and had been all along.

A/N: wowie! Done! Here's a peek at Innocence which I have already begun writing…

Something latched onto Koinu's lower back and then actually fell to his butt, squeezing.

Yelping, he jumped away, whirling to face Kasai with wide, almost terrified eyes. His mouth fell open, opening and closing on the air like a fish.

Kasai raised her hands in a defensive motion, her cheeks were bright pink. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she crossed her arms over her chest then and looked toward the sky. "There was a horsefly. They can bite through clothes you know." She was blushing down to her neck.

Until next time…