Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha and co. I don't own any of the songs that I put into the story, except on cd's. But I do own Shiori, Miyu-Guardian-mother to Shiori & Koshin Hakogami-snow youkai from modern Japan-father to Shiori, Kil Kai-another snow demon from feudal times & Aisu-female snow demon from feudal times, they are all mine.

AN: " " is speaking, ' ' is thought

AN: The She that I am referring to in this is the Goddess, I thought that I would put 'she' in italics & capitalize, instead of writing 'Goddess' all the time.

AN: Since my editor is been very busy lately, I've done my own review of this chapter & hopefully I didn't miss anything.

And thanks to those that read & review, especially toTurquois Girl,I don't want to give too much awaysoplease justbear with me & I hope you like this new chapter. :-) Hope I keep you all interested in this story. The reviews mean a lot. Enjoy!

Now on with the show.

Glossary:

youkai-demon

taiyoukai-demon lord

inu-youkai-dog demon

ningen-human

ookami-wolf demon

osuwari-sit

aisu-ice

Previously:

"Why do you need us, Lady Shiori?" Miroku asked, still amazed.

Sesshomaru answered, "She'll need someone to be there when she uses her powers for the first time." This caused Shiori to spin around and stare at him. "I am right, aren't I?"

"Yes, but how do you know?" she asked, watching him closely.

"Because, I was somehow there when you first used your powers. It was against a large, lizard youkai," he answered, watching her closely. "You were around three years of age. You were with your parents on a picnic."

Shiori listened to him in shock, but then a memory began to surface. She was three years old again, she relived that day, but something caught her eye. Something white, tall, long hair. She looked at the Western Lord with wide eyes. She saw him, when she was only a small child. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I do not know, but if you know who has the answers then maybe we should talk to them," he quietly suggested.

"You're damn right we will, but first we need to get Rin ready first." She turned to Miroku, Kaede and Kagome. It was time to get Rin ready and leave to have it out with a certain, pesky Goddess!

Chapter 25: Things Interrupted

Taking one thing at a time, Shiori took a deep breath and knelt down in front of Rin again with a smiled. "Hey, would you take a walk with me? We need to check out the binding spell."

"Who's coming with us?" Rin asked, a little afraid of what could happen after hearing what Shiori and Sesshomaru said.

"Well, Kagome, Kaede and Miroku. I need their help in checking out your binding spell . Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that nothing is going to happen. You may or may not feel anything, but that is what we are going to try to find out," Shiori answered, smiling.

Rin nodded her head. "But, can Sesshomaru-sama come with us?"

"I'm sorry, but not yet, munchkin. Remember I said, 'I don't think anything is going to happen.' I could be wrong and the binding spell could break while we're checking it. I don't want any of our youkai friends near you if that happens. Just call me cautious."

"Could I hurt him by accident?" Rin looked worried. She didn't want to hurt her adopted youkai father, she loved him too much. And she knew that he cared about her, too, even if he didn't show it.

Shiori sat down on the ground and pulled Rin to her side, ignoring everyone around them to concentrate on the worried child. "It's possible, Rin, I won't lie to you, but as you train and practice, you make it harder to have an accident like that. You understand?" She watched as the little girl nodded her head. "Now, learning to control something that is a part of you is hard and takes time, but it is worth it. So, don't forget to practice your control. That way you can be around your Sesshomaru-sama and any other youkai friends you have without being afraid of hurting them. Like me, Kagome, Kaede and Miroku. We can be around youkai without harming them unless we want to because we have learned control of our abilities. You can, too."

Rin smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll work very hard."

Shiori tapped Rin's nose playfully and smiled. "That's my girl. I knew you were a tough kid. Now, let's go for a walk and take a look at what's going on with you and your mother's spell." With that said, the two stood up and turned to the other three that would join them. Kaede already grabbed a few little bags of herbs and a small pot. Miroku held a cast iron kettle and a bag over his shoulder of things that Kaede felt they may need. Kagome smiled at Rin.

"Ready for a walk in the woods? I think it's a fine day for one, don't you, Rin?" Kagome asked.

Rin smiled back and nodded. Then she turned to Sesshomaru, "I'll be back soon, Sesshomaru-sama."

He nodded his head in response and turned his eyes to Shiori. They stared at each other for a couple of heartbeats, then he said in a smooth voice, "I trust you will keep her safe?"

Shiori replied,while walking by him back into Kaede's hut to grab her black bag, "As if she were my own, Fluffy. So, don't worry." Then on her way back, she felt the urge to turn and blow him a kiss, then tease, "Don't wait up, dear, I don't know how long we'll be."

Sesshomaru felt a strong urge to smile at her little tease, but supressed it with his iron control. He didn't like how this one disrespectful woman could get under his skin. He knew that he needed to stop letting this woman effect him at all. Though he did enjoy that kiss they shared while dream walking.

"Kagome," Inu Yasha called walking up to her.

"Yeah."

"Becareful, and I'll be here if you need me," he said with a light blush and a smile.

"Thanks, Inu Yasha, and I'll be careful, I promise. Don't worry, just relax," she replied, smiling up at him.

He nodded his head and stepped back and watched her head off towards the woods.

Miroku smiled at Sango and followed the little procession. The little group received waves and greetings from the villagers they passed on their way out of the village.

As soon as they were gone, everyone began to settle down and wait. Sesshomaru turned to look at his brother, then he walked to a tree that would put him down wind of the village.

Inu Yasha caught the look from his older brother and sighed. He walked up to him and asked, "What is your problem now, Sesshomaru?"

Without looking up at him, Sesshomaru answered, "You are, little brother. Your very existance is my problem. That and the fact that you have father's great sword. It should have been mine."

Inu Yasha surprised his brother and Sango by just sighing. "Would it have made a difference if I had been born a pure blooded youkai like you and father? That I was born of your mother not just your father? And that father had left you is great sword and left me with the Tenseiga?"

Sesshomaru still refused to look at his brother. "If you were a pure blood then I would not see too much of a problem with you. I wouldn't go so far as to want you and I to share a mother. And, yes, if I had gotten your sword and you had mine. But, I don't see how you could change that, little brother."

"You know, I wanted to be a full youkai for a long time, just so I could win your approval of me. I wanted it so bad that I couldn't think of anything else, but you know what," he waited to see if he had Sesshomaru's attention. "I don't think I need nor want your approval. I've outgrown that need, so if you want to continue fighting for father's sword that's fine with me. I just ask that we wait till we have dealt with Naraku. Then, we can get back to trying to kill each other. Deal?"

This caught Sesshomaru's attention and he was focused on Inu Yasha before he was finished with his little speech. In a way, he was proud of his little brother, but again this was nothing that he would ever dream of admitting outloud. He just watched as his usually rash, hot-tempered younger brother, having said his piece, just turn around and walk away. He saw how the taijiya stepped up to him and whisper how proud she was of him. He caught the small grin from the hanyou before he walked to a nearby tree and settled himself on one of its branches facing the direction his miko had just gone.

"Now, that is a very interesting young man," Kil Kai mentioned, having witnessed the interaction between the Taisho brothers.

"Why do you say that?"

"I have heard a lot about him and his brash attitude. I'm surprised that he was so calm. It was like a different young man, don't you agree?"

"I agree that something has made the whelp decide to act like a Taisho instead of a baka," Sesshomaru said, the glancing out of the corner of his eyes at Kil Kai, "But that is all I will admit to."

Supressing a smile, Kil Kai said, "Of course. Well, I think I will see what there is to see in this village." With that, he got up and dusted off his hakamas and began to stroll down the main thoroughfair of the village accepting and returning greetings from the villagers.

Aisu went to strike up a conversation with Sango, asking questions about the taijiya clans and how they began. The two females seem to get along just fine and were comparing information and fighting techniques.

But, try as he might, Sesshomaru could not take his mind off of what was going on with his little Rin. 'My little Rin?' he thought. Then after a few heartbeats, 'Yes, she is. I've taken care of her for the better part of three years now and I wouldn't change having her with me. I see her as a daughter.' He wore a small self-depreciating smile on his face. 'I have finally let a human into my life and I don't regret it one bit. Could I fall even more?' He didn't think so, but then a woman with long, blue steaked black hair, ice blue eyes, a confident tilt to her chin and a small smile popped into his mind. He closed his eyes and sighed. 'Why would I even be interested in a woman like that? She's rude, outspoken, disrespectful, cocky, and a mysterious woman. Shimatta! I think I'm going crazy.'

The feeling of power breathing along his skin brought him out of his musings. He looked around and noticed that the rest of group had also felt it. He noticed that his brother's ears peak up and were turned towards the direction the group had gone. He was still, trying to listen and smell to find out what was going on. Then there was something that sounded like an explosion coming from deeper in the woods. And without saying a word, everyone near Kaede's hut took off towards the explosion. Kil Kai had just been walking back to the hut when the explosion went off.

As they drew closed, they could hear the sounds of metal on metal and the other sounds that warned of a battle ahead. Sango and Kirara were the first to break though the tree line that surrounded the clearing. Only to find that her friends were fighting what appeared to be a group of disgusting pig youkai. She was looking for Miroku first.

He was standing back to back with Shiori and Kagome who had their swords out trying to keep the youkai away from Kaede and Rin, who were in the middle. Kaede was holding Rin, trying to keep her calm.

Sango wasted no time to join the little group with Kirara to help battle the youkai. She hadn't been fighting for a few seconds before the rest arrived.

The look on Sesshomaru's face was mirrored by his younger brother, both faces promising death to the fools that dared to threaten what was theirs. They flew into the thick of the pig youkai, swords drawn, bringing death to unsuspecting group.

AN: And again, I'm so sorry that it has taken so long for me to update. I hope you like this chapter. LOL I hope this chapter is enjoyed by my loyal readers. How do you guys like it so far? Please read & review. Or I won't write any more! just kidding, please review.

I would like to thank my wonderful editor, ninjawarrior4life, my bro. glad you like it.

And thanks to everyone who has been reading this story from the beginning when I first started posting it. And to those who read and like it.

THX to all my readers.