Hello my dears. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. I had some drama going on and if you're wondering the full explanation is in my profile. I know you want to get to reading ASAP so I'll keep my thanks brief this time and just say a general thanks to everyone who has reviewed and even those who have and have been very patient with me. I apologize in advance for my rusty writing skills.

I do have one very special thanks for Darrakk, who constantly encouraged me and was so very sweet. Thanks hon, it meant a lot.

Anyways, on to the fic and, just to be clear, since I haven't done a disclaimer in a while I'd like to assure all interested parties that I don't own a darn thing in relation to Inuyasha. All characters are the property of their respective owners.

Ties of Blood

Chapter 18

Wisdom

Rin was hesitant to wander about the castle again after what had happened the last time but she really had no desire to go back to her room and she was so irritated at both Sesshoumaru and Tsubaki that she fully intended to avoid both of them for the rest of the day.

Hence, it was with a great deal of caution that she began to explore once again. After traversing the halls with Keroko at her side earlier, she had a slightly better idea of the layout of the castle, so she struck out for the stairs that would take her to the lower levels and then outside. Since she knew the general direction of the courtyard, she decided to take the opposite route this time.

As she walked the halls, she did her best to ignore the many looks that were thrown her way. There were a few curious eyes and even some that showed a disturbing hunger but the majority of them were hostile. It so was obvious that she wasn't wanted here that she wondered how she managed to make it to the door leading outside without bursting into flames from all of the animosity directed towards her.

The young woman breathed a sigh of relief when she came out into the fresh air. Looking around, she couldn't help but smile as she found herself in what had obviously once been a garden. Rin had always been the type who enjoyed planting things and making them grow. She had fond memories of bringing flowers home to her original family just to make them smile. As a child, her dream had been to go to the home of a rich lord and work in his gardens. Of course, such an aspiration showed just how much of a peasant she was but she had never been so arrogant as to turn down work, especially not something she loved as much as gardening.

As she looked around her at the ruins of what had once been a magnificent garden, she found herself imagining what it must have looked like back in the day. Her body moved automatically as she pictured the cherry trees in full blossom and the camellia bushes sporting their flowers in various shades of white, pink, and red.

If she looked hard enough, she could almost see the chrysanthemums flowering along the path which, in her mind, was not overgrown with weeds but firm beneath her feet as it led her on a merry chase ever deeper into the garden. She didn't know what was drawing her forward but she couldn't help the excitement that rose in her as she found herself running down the path, nimbly avoiding roots and clumps of grass that tried to trip her.

She passed a massive pond and slowed, mentally replacing the brown and lifeless lily pads with emerald green ones in their prime. In her imagination yellow and cream water lilies rose delicately from the water's depths and jewel-colored dragonflies darted about, playing hide-and-seek with each other.

Eventually, a grove rose up before her at the end of the path and she paused before the entrance to it. Her skin prickled and she had the weird feeling that she was being watched but she couldn't place it. Whoever it was, she didn't feel any animosity at all. The person or youkai simply gave off an air of patience - endless, endless patience.

However, she was still very much aware of the fact that she didn't have much to defend herself with – she certainly couldn't rely on her capricious powers. Not only that, the interior of the grove was very dark and all she needed was to get lost in the woods, never to be seen again. She doubted that Sesshoumaru would come to get her out of yet another scrape and definitely not one that she got herself into.

Irritation gripped her as soon as she thought about the lord of the castle. She was still miffed at Sesshoumaru and hadn't the slightest idea why she was even allowing him to be a factor in her decisions at this point in time. The taiyoukai might have felt that he was her master and she was even willing to allow him that illusion…when he was actually present. However, the cold prince was nowhere to be found and she always had been and always would be her own person.

Even knowing that she was probably being unnecessarily contrary at that point, Rin still decided to move forward. It wasn't as if she had much waiting for her back at the castle the lure of a potential adventure was irresistible. With a deep breath, she took her first step forward into the unknown and couldn't stop a grin from touching her lips. Even after all her years of suppressing it, her curiosity still had the power to make her do the craziest things and she actually looked forward to whatever she might find on the other end of the path.

Giving a brief look back at the way she had come, Rin took her first steps into the unknown.

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Sesshoumaru paced back and forth in his room, his tail twitching along behind him and beating a steady tattoo against his back due to his agitated state. He didn't know why, but he was bothered over Rin's odd behavior and her meeting with the miko. No matter how hard he tried to tell himself that he shouldn't be dwelling on her so much when it had been his choice to stick her with the woman, he couldn't get the image of her hurt expression out of his mind.

'I don't owe you anything, human,' he growled at the picture of her in his head.

His curiosity had gotten the better of him at one point and he had actually gone to his window to peek out on the two women in his courtyard. They spoke for a while before heading into his castle and he had to force himself not to trail them. There were so many other things he could have been doing like tracking Kuroko's brother, Kuromaru, and finding out why he suddenly had the need to go back home when he knew full well that there was little love lost between him and his father.

He could also have sat down with Jaken and gone over his next move. His focus was shifting from avenging himself on the human rulers squatting on his lands to figuring out a strategy to get that miko, Kikyou, out of the way. Still, there wasn't much he could do to counteract the woman until he found out what made her the way she was and for that he needed Rin to be more knowledgeable about her powers.

And of course he was back to Rin now.

He ran a hand through his hair and nearly sat down on his bed but thought better of it. Since he had yet to command the servants to replace his bedding with something that wasn't saturated in Rin's scent, the last thing he needed was to give his youki an excuse to have him rolling across the sheets, trying to gather in as much of Rin's fascinating smell as he could.

Sometimes he wished there was a way for him to go forward in time and skip the rest of his adolescence so that he could obtain better control over his body and the youki that accompanied it. For all that he had lived a few centuries already, in the eyes of his fellows he was considered to be but a few years older than Rin in maturity. Certainly he had no desire to choose a wife just yet to continue on the bloodline and to that end he'd successfully avoided contact with females of his species just fine. Yet, Rin, a mere human girl, was unraveling all he'd worked for.

She appealed to him and his youki in almost every way. Oh, he stubbornly denied it, but that didn't change the fact that he did not dislike her. Even putting aside her humanity, there was just something so very…different about her. She was unique in a way that had him thinking things he shouldn't, doing things he ought not, and wanting things he could never have.

'I am not my father!' he reminded himself. That had become his prayer every time he encountered Rin. It stopped him from doing anything stupid for which he would be paying for the rest of his life.

Sesshoumaru paused in his pacing as he came close to the wall. He stared at the gray stones and debated whether or not it was a good idea to tap into the castle's youki and look in on the miko and his servant. It was a foolish thought in lieu of the vast amount of self-recriminating he had just completed but his youki was restless.

Forcing himself to turn away, he shifted his attention to the window, taking note of the sun's position. It was well past noon.

'Perhaps a run would do me some good,' he thought. There hadn't been many occasions for him to transform into his inu form and go for a nice long run. Truthfully, he hadn't done so ever since the war began. However, at that moment he thought it might be for the best in order to clear his head and hopefully to get a certain human girl off of his mind. Nothing could compare with feeling the wind flowing through his fur and the enhanced clarity that came with his change.

An idea came to him and he very nearly dismissed it as silly until it occurred to him that he might actually have some use for it. If he was going to go for a run, it wouldn't hurt to pay the youkai he had in mind a visit. Though he rarely assigned credit to anyone, he would admit that now was as good a time as any to make inquiries where he could and the individual he had chosen was one of a very select few that he could trust to answer him honestly.

His mind made up, he walked over to his window and levitated himself up and through the portal, moving forward until he was a sufficient distance away from the castle. The young lord took in a deep breath and called upon his youki, ignoring the pleasurable thrill that seared its way through his veins as the beast he kept leashed behind a humanoid façade came to the fore and he felt his body shifting. Years of practice meant it took mere moments for his bones and organs to rearrange themselves and expand, meanwhile his clothes were absorbed by his youki and his tail lengthened. Opening his jaws he couldn't resist the urge to howl, making sure all of his subjects in the area knew the master was out and about.

'Make them tremble before us,' his youki growled to him and he reveled in his enhanced senses as well as the sheer amount of power he had regained since being imprisoned. His paws touched the ground and he delighted in the feel of solid earth beneath him. With yet another howl he was off, his powerful haunches propelling his massive body forward until his surroundings were nothing but a blur.

Sesshoumaru opted to circle his castle a few times before heading in the direction he needed to go and gloried in the sights and scents of his domain. Though he never said it out loud, he was proud of his inheritance. He liked the forests and rivers that dotted his land and the cool nights where the moon rose large and beautiful. Yes, long nights where he wanted nothing more than to run until his responsibilities, painful memories and now his un-wanted desires were left far behind.

Within moments the sweet joy of running started to soothe his frayed nerves, helping him to relax and forget about his many problems. There, as he streaked between the earth and sky he could forget that his own kind threatened to overthrow him and the memory of soulful brown eyes gazing up at him did not haunt him so badly. He could forget, if only for a while, that he had ever wanted to join the owner of those eyes on his bed, that he had been tempted to taste the sweetness of the skin he'd felt and bury his claws into that soft, curly hair. The longer he ran, the less important such things became until he finally felt as if his mind was sufficiently cleared for him to pay a visit to his father's old friend.

Altering his course for the woods nearest his castle, he had barely taken a few steps before his nostrils caught the scent of the one person he most wanted to avoid. His logical mind told him to stop and turn back immediately but his youki urged him to seek out the owner of the scent and, unfortunately, in his current form his youki was far more compelling.

'We want her,' his youki murmured the moment he began to slow down. Sesshoumaru ignored the demand as he tried to alter his course. Just because his beast spoke the truth didn't mean he had to act on it. His peace of mind required him to keep Rin at bay and with some effort he wrenched control away from his youki, ignoring the way it growled back in displeasure.

He paused in order to ascertain that the human girl was a sufficient distance away, only continuing once her was sure that she was still a long way off. The scent of decaying flowers that accompanied her told him that she was in the vicinity of the garden his father had trysted in with his human lover. Rin was far enough away that he could relax once again and she was unlikely to intercept him. Very few youkai ever entered the woods unless they were in good standing with the master of the grove and the human girl was hardly likely to go for a stroll in a strange forest.

Thus reassured, he leaped up and took flight, gliding over the trees until his eyes alighted on the clearing he wanted. Though it was large enough to contain his canine form, he was in the middle of shifting back into humanoid form before his feet even touched the ground. It was easier to hold a conversation when he wasn't fighting with his youki, who had a pitifully small attention span.

He had just finished changing when a stiff breeze filled the clearing, letting him know that the youkai he'd come to visit was aware of his presence. Golden eyes scanned his surroundings briefly before he turned them towards the largest tree and the face that was slowly emerging from its trunk.

"Greetings Sesshoumaru," Bokusenou said, his voice deep and calm.

The taiyoukai inclined his head towards the ancient tree youkai in acknowledgement. Though he never voiced it, he held a great deal of respect for the being before him. Bokusenou was probably the oldest youkai in existence and he was one of the few who would never pass judgment on him for keeping a human close by. Of course, he wasn't about to voice his concerns to the tree but he did want the perspective of someone else who might give him some idea on how to proceed.

He was just about to open his mouth to speak when the ancient tree beat him to it.

"So tell me, young lord," the tree said, "who is this young human woman I sense in your domain?"

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The sound of a door opening awoke him.

Souta groaned, blinking bleary eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on. His entire body ached from the torture he'd been put through as the Daimyo's men tried to pump information from him about Sesshoumaru. Even if he knew more than he did, he had no intention of betraying his lord.

Though he could understand the Daimyo's desire to avenge himself for the humiliation he had suffered he thought it was foolish to antagonize the taiyoukai further. A clear warning had been left and at the end of the day, it had been humans who captured the youkai and the Daimyo himself who had sacrificed his own people to Sesshoumaru's wrath – the human lord's life in exchange for the people who had trusted and relied on him to protect them.

He shook his head and returned his attention to the commotion in the hallway outside of his cell. Guessing that there was about four of five people if the number of steps was anything to go by he listened as well as he could and almost wished he hadn't. Someone, and a woman at that, was using words that would have made his mother pass out from shock. Even his ears were burning as he listened to her tirade.

"Watch where you're putting those hands," the woman growled at one point.

"Just wait until I get my hands on hiraikotsu. I'll cut your balls off and shove them so far down your throat you'll wish you'd been born a woman."

Here a male voice broke in to try and placate her with a gentle, "Now Sango, I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? Ha! Don't feed me that crap monk. Weren't you the one who said we needed to get closer and reason with them even after they already tried to shoot us down? Thanks to you, who knows what they'll do to Kirara?"

"Will you two shut up," said the annoyed voice of one of the guards.

"Screw you," was the woman's reply.

"Why you little…," the sound of flesh hitting flesh reached his ears and Souta gave the woman credit for not crying out.

Her companion had no such qualms. A brief scuffle ensued and he heard the man say, all traces of calm gone from his voice, "Don't you dare put your hands on her. She has every right to be angry. We didn't do anything to warrant getting arrested."

"You come in here riding on the back of a youkai and expect us to believe you're innocent. Why I out to…," the guard's voice cut off with a squeak and Souta heard a low moan as something that sounded like a body hit the floor hard.

"Put your hands on me again and I swear it'll be a knife there instead of my knee. As it is, don't expect to have kids any time soon," came the woman's voice with a definite note of triumph and the young man winced knowing exactly what she must have done to shut her captor up.

"That's enough out of both of you," said the voice of another guard and he heard a creak as the cell a few doors down from his own was opened.

"Wait, don't we even get a chance to speak with the Daimyo?"

"Oh, you'll get a chance once he's good and ready. Until then, sit tight and rest in there. I'm sure you'll need it." That said, the door closed with finality and the young man listened as the guards, left the way they came, on set of steps far more unsteady than before and assumed that it was the man who had paid the price for hitting the woman.

"Oh, Sango, Sango, I knew that mouth of yours would get you in trouble some day. Does it hurt, Beautiful?"

"Shut up, Miroku. I don't need you fawning over me and I sure as heck don't need your flirting at a time like this."

A heavy sigh sounded and Miroku replied, "One of these days, you'll realize just how special you are to me but for now can we please cry truce and try to think of a way to get ourselves out of this mess."

There was a long pause before she conceded with a resigned, "Whatever."

Souta's curiosity was piqued by the pair and he couldn't resist making his presence known. Dragging himself to his feet, he pressed his face to the door of his cell and said as loudly as he could without yelling, "Hello?"

The occupants in the other cell abruptly fell quiet before the man tentatively asked, "Hello? Who are you?"

Breathing a sigh of relief that they were willing to talk, he called responded, "My name is Souta. I've been here for a few days. I came here shortly before Sesshoumaru-Sa…before the taiyoukai destroyed the town."

"Hmm, why does your name sound so familiar?"

Souta held his breath and prayed that the man wouldn't make the connection between his name and the infamous Souta who was a know accomplice to Sesshoumaru.

"Oh c'mon Miroku, this isn't the time to play guessing games," the female voice said.

"Anyways, my name is Sango," she continued, "I'm a taijiya and the guy who never shuts up is Miroku, he's a monk."

Deciding he would puzzle out the weird love/hate relationship of the pair later, Souta replied, "I am glad to make your acquaintance. How did you come to be captured?"

"Well, we were…," Miroku began but Sango cut him off yet again.

"We were on our way to see the Daimyo to talk about Sesshoumaru, you know, the ugly youkai who's been terrorizing everybody."

He had to hold back a snort. Sesshoumaru was about as far from ugly as the sun was from the moon. No one, be they male or female, was immune to the otherworldly beauty of his face and he hoped Sango wasn't one of those fools who leaped before they looked and drew inane conclusions about things they really knew nothing about.

However, he opted not to correct her since he'd met his fair share of taijiya and as a general rule they deliberately refused to differentiate one youkai from another. As far as they were concerned a good youkai was dead one, no matter if it was aggressive towards humans or not. Needless to say, he viewed them with almost as much contempt as Sesshoumaru did.

Ideologies aside, it wouldn't do to alienate the pair if he wanted to escape so he swallowed what he really wanted to say and asked instead, "And then what happened? I wouldn't think that would be enough to get you in trouble, quite the opposite in fact."

"It shouldn't have," the man said, "and before I say anything more, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't interrupt me this time, Sango. I realize you feel it's my fault we're in this mess but you were the one who foolishly got it into her head to assassinate the Almighty Lord of the West. I tried to discourage you but, as usual, your hot-headedness got you in trouble. Be grateful I was worried enough to tag along with you, a monk carries far more weight than a taijiya. If I had been anyone else, I'd have turned you over my knee and given you a swift swat to get you to see reason. I still might the moment we get out of here."

"I'd like to see you try," Sango growled.

"There won't be any trying to it, my dear. If I decided to punish you, as you so rightly deserve, there wouldn't be a thing you could do to stop me," Miroku replied, his tone dropping a few octaves until his words came out on a purr.

Souta blushed at the implied threat and quickly reassessed the nature of their relationship. Though he was no expert in love, he knew enough to know that the man was clearly in love – or at least in lust – with his companion.

Since it was none of his business, he quickly changed the subject, "So you were going to try and kill Sesshoumaru-Sa…Sesshoumaru?"

"I wasn't planning on doing anything," Miroku said, "I was going along to keep Sango from killing herself."

"As if the likes of Sesshoumaru could kill me, ha! And even if he did, are you saying I'm a coward who's afraid to die?"

"Oh, heavens forbid I should think such a thing. I rather think you could do with a bit more cowardice. How about enough fear to cultivate some semblance of self-preservation, for starters?"

He was starting to get a headache from listening to the two of them. Sango was clearly being childish and Miroku, he suspected, was goading her on to keep her from thinking too hard about her surroundings.

Shaking his head, he opted to address the more level-headed of the two, "Miroku-San, I gather you were against killing Sesshoumaru and given your occupation I find that hard to believe. Most monks as well as miko that I know would be all for killing the taiyoukai of the West. Also, I still do not understand why you were captured in the first place."

"Well, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. We were captured because everyone is on edge about the war and they thought we were suspicious and also because my companion here – for all her spoken dislike for youkai – has one for a pet and we were riding in on her. I'm sure you can picture the sight we made flying in on a nekomata with flaming legs after Sesshoumaru's had all but flattened the town."

"I can just imagine how the Daimyo and his men reacted," Souta agreed.

"As for your other question, I've always been a laid-back sort. I freely admit to meeting my share of both kind and cruel youkai and I personally don't have a problem since there seem to be far more of the former than the latter. And as for the deal with Sesshoumaru, I am far more in the know about the situation than most thanks to my station in life and I can't completely fault him for the war. People tend to forget that humans can be every bit as cruel as youkai when the mood takes them."

"Don't defend him Miroku," Sango snapped.

"Oh, hush. I'm not defending anyone. I simply prefer to remain neutral on the subject of human-youkai relations. That said, I have told you my story and my memory had started to come back to me about your name. Tell me, Souta-San, are you the human who was travelling with Sesshoumaru and, if so, why are you here now?"

Souta's breath caught in his throat as panic rose up. He hadn't intended to reveal his identity but he was a miserable liar and he had hoped it wouldn't come up. Stubborn man that he was, he didn't answer the question directly, rather he responded, "And if I were, what would you do?"

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"Come now, Sesshoumaru. Surely you realized I would know about her the moment you set foot on your courtyard with her in tow?"

Of course, Bokusenou, with a root system that stretched for miles across his lands would know he'd brought a human but Sesshoumaru had hoped to ease the subject of Rin into the conversation. He hadn't counted on the old tree actually being curious enough to bring it up first.

He allowed a tiny sigh to escape his lips before responding, "I did occur to me that you would know but that was not the main reason for my visit."

"Oh," the tree sounded amused, "so you didn't want to confer with me about how confusing she is and why you can't seem to stay away from her? You only seem to visit me when your emotions are getting the best of you. Why, the last you came with such a look on your face, your father had just died and you were fighting with yourself to keep from remembering that, with all his faults, he was still a youkai to be admired. And now, here you are again after stirring things up by bringing a human woman just as your father – who you claim to despise – did before you."

No matter what he said or did, the old tree youkai had a way of making him feel like a child and he was starting to think that perhaps coming here was a bad idea.

As if reading his mind, Bokusenou said, "Don't be overly upset at yourself, young lord. I'm not bringing up any questions that hundreds of youkai haven't been asking themselves for centuries. Human women do tend to have a certain way about them that draws our kind like bees to a flower. However, I will allow you the time to figure out how you want to ask me for advice in dealing with her and simply inquire as to how you have been these past few decades."

"I have been as well as ever," the taiyoukai replied, glad that the subject was turning away from Rin.

"Ah, yes. You're well…as usual. For the sake of keeping the peace, I'll refrain from voicing the differences in our opinions as to what constitutes doing well and what doesn't. And how is Jaken, you've not brought him by in a while."

Sesshoumaru had no idea why Jaken had come into the conversation but since his retainer hadn't been squawking in his ear lately, he replied that the toad was fine as well. What ensued then was a long list from the tree wherein he asked after what seemed like every single one of his subjects and the taiyoukai found himself growing increasingly bored as he gave the same answer to each, hence he was caught off guard when the conversation swung one more to his least favorite subject at the moment.

"So, what's she like?" the tree asked mildly and it was a testament to just how distracted he'd been when he actually answered the question honestly.

"Interesting."

If he had been prone to outward emotional displays, he would have clapped his hand across his mouth. Since he wasn't, he contented himself with pressing his lips together more tightly to keep himself from making a fool of himself. Naturally, the tree didn't help to make him feel any better about his slip of the tongue.

"So…she's interesting is she? And here I thought your interest in humans only extended to however long it took to kill them. Then again, you did keep that other young human around before her so maybe there's more to the story than I thought. And what is your human's name?"

"Here name is Rin," he responded and felt compelled to add, "and she is not my human."

"I have a feeling that she doesn't entirely agree with you on that score and, for some reason, I don't think you're being honest with me about your feelings on the subject either."

"Do not presume to know my thoughts," Sesshoumaru growled in irritation.

"I would never presume such a thing. But there are some things to be said for old age and a keen awareness of most everything that goes on around me. My roots stretch quite far as you know. However, I will kindly put aside the subject of your feeling for this Rin and tell you instead about another concern that you undoubtedly have in mind. Before I do that, though, I must wait for our other guest to arrive. She was wandering about in your father's garden and I couldn't resist inviting her into my abode. I'm simply dying of curiosity."

"Who…," Sesshoumaru began and stopped his self. A feeling of dread came over him as he realized exactly who Bokusenou had invited. He almost left then and there but the tree's voice stopped him.

"Don't be so childish, Sesshoumaru. I need to speak with both of you. Besides, I don't think she bites," he chuckled at his own joke.

"Of course, leave it to you to outdo your father. He brought a princess home and you chose a miko of all people. You don't do things by half, do you by boy?"

The young taiyoukai wondered if it would be worth it to claw the old tree across his face and, with a sigh, decided against it. He needed the youkai and his vast knowledge to accomplish his goals. With as much dignity as he could muster, he marched to the center of the path which lead out of the clearing and back towards his castle to await the arrival of his human guest.

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Well, here I am after a wickedly long hiatus. I told ya'll I wasn't gonna' drop the story ;-) I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and as always, please let me know what you thought. I hope to develop Sess and Rin's relationship more from here on out.