A/N: This title is owed to a famous Biblical scene. Happy Easter!

Five Loaves and Two Fish

Winter stormed hard on the heels of autumn that year, slicking down the landscape and stripping the trees of their last leaves. The season had blasted in with a wicked blizzard that decimated the village's livestock. Only a couple weeks into winter and the chilling wind howled its threat to claim anyone who wasn't fit to weather these trials.

Snow crunching softly under boots, Sesshomaru shouldered his fur a little closer. Not that he minded the cold – enough talk circulated that ice water ran through his veins anyway. Rather, his was an attempt to keep the parcel he carried dry. Heavier clothing was necessary at this time of year, especially for humans. These times were the thinnest Rin's village had known in a considerable span of years. He had first left his young charge in a human village for her safety, but Sesshomaru quickly came to understand there was little protection against the elements. The wielder of Tetsusaiga, his miko and the taijiya siblings were meant to keep out manageable danger, such as unsavory yokai. And even those precautions had fallen short, Sesshomaru thought sourly.

Since autumn, Rin had been sporadically lodging with Inuyasha and Kagome. She hadn't told Sesshomaru. He had to track her after knocking on the post of an empty house. This time, he rapped on his brother's home.

The priestess answered.

"These are for Rin," he announced, turning over the garments.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru," Kagome said politely coupled with a bow.

Sesshomaru sniffed quickly. "Where is she?"

"Rin's with Sango right now – you know, their growing family needs all the help they can get." Kagome laughed lightly in spite of her unease. The first time she had heard Rin's story, coming in snippets between hiccups and tears, Kagome's primary impulse had been to lay into Sesshomaru. But then she listened to what Rin relayed of Kichiruka's reasoning. Trying to find a way that would let her speak with the elusive daiyokai was just as difficult as avoiding confrontation altogether. For Rin's sake, Kagome tried to keep the shaky peace.

"Huh." Golden eyes locked with another glowing pair. "Why the face, little brother?"

"You know damn well why," Inuyasha growled, his ears flattening.

Sesshomaru eyed the half-demon askance. "She'll outgrow it."

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah, she's done a fine job of that with you."

Kagome felt the hair-prickling current of Sesshomaru's aura crackle dangerously in the air. "Inuyasha…" she warned. She had been so worried about Sesshomaru picking a fight, Kagome hadn't considered Inuyasha picking one.

"I'm just tellin' him like it is." The half-demon spread his feet and stood his ground. "In case he didn't notice, Rin hasn't stopped going about her day. Despite having a perfectly nice guy ripped out of her life, she hasn't stopped living. It just no longer includes you, asshole."

Sesshomaru started. If not for the protective flare of the miko's aura, Inuyasha would have been disarmed of his tongue. Claws flexing at his sides, Sesshomaru hissed. "Then may my unnecessary presence be endured no longer." Pivoting on heel, the dog-demon strode from the house, the snow melting in where he stepped.

Kagome turned to her spouse. "Inuyasha, I can't believe –"

"He'll be back," Inuyasha stated with the surety of experience. "That bastard just seriously needs to think things over. And all your damn pussyfooting ain't gonna accomplish squat."

Kagome threw him a look. But her gaze tracked back to the solitary daiyokai who was soon lost on the white landscape.

I sure hope so.

oOo

Sesshomaru crushed a fallen branch underfoot. Rin hadn't spoken to him since the summer's close. That was one matter. But her dressing like a commoner was another. If it was as Inuyasha had said, that Rin didn't want any part of him in her life, then Sesshomaru was…unprepared to concede such a point.

He remembered when he first brought her new clothes. The smiles and first hums of appreciation in spite of her muteness. Like the favorite daughter of a noble house, Rin was given a style that suited her.

He remembered how during her first winter with him, she spent the whole day running around in the new boots. Skipping, sloshing through the white powder and building a snowman with Kohaku and Jaken.

Without a care to the chilly day, the daiyokai had felt a spark of warmth in seeing his girl-child happy. If his responsibility was her safety, Rin's happiness was his reward. Many could make her smile, but he was the toothy grin's first line of defense. And always her security was and remains priority. In those days, the two seemed so easily fulfilled.

Sesshomaru let loose a sigh into the whistling wind. He'd return again in a couple of weeks. What he would give for matters to be so simple once more.

oOo

"Combination twenty-seven. Third degree transmutation."

Kichiruka focused on the purple sea urchin. Its little tines contracted and expanded reminding him of Rin's titillating delight when she got to pet the quills. Even though it would mark only the beginning of their troubles, that day at the beach had been one Kichiruka's favorites.

The sea urchin exploded to size of a small dog.

"Did I call for magnification?" Tensai barked.

"Sorry, master," Kichiruka replied listlessly. He tapped the conch staff to the sea urchin's quills and it shrank back to normal. "Um…what did you want me to do again?"

Tensai swore and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Transmuta—ah, never mind…" Kichiruka had been like this for months now, making it nigh impossible to teach him anything new. Were it not for a fragment of empathy, Tensai's short-fused patience would have gotten the better of him a long time ago. All things considered, the boy was coping with it better than a younger swordfish once had. At least Kichiruka hadn't slipped into mindless hedonism.

Blue fingers wagged low next to the sea urchin and the little animal hopped into Tensai's palm. Carefully, he set it back in a porcelain bin with its friends – another urchin, two anemones and a starfish. The old demon sighed. "You should be so happy that neither of you are dead."

Kichiruka slumped on the desk, arms outstretched and his hands dangling over the edge. "I wish I were."

Tensai struck him. "No, moron. Nobody would want that."

"Except Sesshomaru," he groaned.

"And least of all Rin," Tensai countered.

"I know…" If there was any one person Kichiruka wanted to see right now it was her. At the end of the day, all he lived for was to see her smile. But that can be accomplished without me. "I still don't know what I'm going to tell Ichikawa."

"Well, as far he knows, Lord Sesshomaru simply wants the winter to consider." Tensai busied himself with rearranging the vials on the shelves.

"How long are you going to keep feeding him that line?" Kichiruka drawled.

"Oh, shut up. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Y'know…" Kichiruka said to no one in particular. "A little piece of me wishes she might show up around here.

"Pah, unlikely."

"My, aren't we the pessimist," Kichiruka drawled.

Tensai turned around, arms crossed into his sleeves. "No, it's winter right now. Humans don't venture far from their homes at this time of year."

Dragging his chin across the desk, Kichiruka angled to look at his teacher. "Why's that?"

Tensai rolled his globular eyes theatrically. "Have you seen the snow?"

"A little precipitation stops them?"

"It's not just a little precipitation when you're human." Tensai testily knocked his knuckles against Kichiruka's skull. "Remember, we're yokai. We take it for granted to have ties to such forces. But for short-lives there's temperature, weather, sickness, fatigue, hunger – humans are vulnerable." And it's fulfilling to have something, someone, to protect.

Kichiruka sat up. "I want to go back."

Tensai frowned. He hadn't meant to worry his student. "The girl lives in a community and has, for all intents, a watchdog. I don't think she needs your—"

"I want to make sure." Kichiruka's blue eyes brightened for the first time in while. "It's just to check and see."

Tensai huffed. A sharp "I wouldn't" was on the tip of his tongue, but he knew better. He would. Hell, he himself had… "Stepping down from the straight and narrow? You'll regret it, Kichiruka."

"I might…" He shrugged. "But sometimes some things are that simple."

oOo

Kichiruka visualized the waters of Rin's brook. But when he arrived there, he realized with a start that the weather had significantly affected the geography. The second he tried to bob to the surface as he used to a solid sheet of ice clunked him over the head.

Well, this is new. Brr! And cold!

Even for a demon the freezing temperatures of the water were enough to elicit a chill up the spine. Kichiruka couldn't begin to imagine what the trek to Rin's might be like. But it might help to find an opening out from under this brook first. Pinching his nose closed and squeezing his eyes shut, the dolphin yokai squealed. Then listened for an echo. There was a little hole in the ice just upstream. After finding it, making a suitable exit large enough for his frame was a matter of using the conch staff.

There it is!

Swimming closer, Kichiruka paused to watch a line with some writhing grub dropped into the water. He gave it a playful tug. And strong yank from the owner thunked the water-demon's head right under the ice. Ow! Another pull and Kichiruka crashed through the sheet, landing on top of a wide-eyed villager. The poor mortal toppled back off his haunches with a yelp.

"S-sorry," Kichiruka apologized between shivers. Guess he wasn't exactly the catch this man was expecting. Sliding off the startled villager, he promptly issued another apology…and did a double-take when he recognized Rin's neighbor. "Rikichi!" Kichiruka beamed at the familiar face. "What brings you out here?"

Collecting himself somewhat and struggling into a seated position, Rikichi bobbed his head amiably. "I should ask the same of you! Am I left to assume it's true that Lord Sesshomaru has driven you from town?"

Kichiruka nodded. "Yeah…but it was partially my decision as well."

"And now you're coming by to visit?"

Kichiruka fiddled uncomfortably with a loose thread on his robe. Now that he was actually here, he wasn't too sure. "I just wanted to know how everyone was doing," he answered honestly.

Rikichi met the young demon with equal candor. "We're in dire need of food," he said, the gaunt planes of his face stretching with every syllable he mouthed. "Say, as water yokai, you wouldn't happen t' know where we could find ourselves a good cache of fish around here, eh?"

"I'll do better than that!" He looked around; the stream was near completely iced over. "Do you have any, uh…" He gesticulated wildly for a second. "Those fishing snares?"

"Y'mean, nets?" Rikichi made similar motions back.

"Yeah, those. Got any?"

"'Fraid that this be all I have right now." The man withdrew an old net from the past summer. It looked like it had been repaired after catching something that wasn't fish nor meant to be contained.

But was caught anyway. Kichiruka looked forlornly at the net. "That'll do."

"It's pretty decrepit." Rikichi looked dubiously at his equipment. "Around this season all we usually do is poke holes in the ice, drop a line, and wait for a bite if we're lucky. You sure this'll work?"

Kichiruka nodded smartly. "Give me a short while and I'll return before you can make a new hole," he promised, then merged into the brook.

Well, what should I do now? Rikichi waited anxiously in the cold. He remembered how Kichiruka had brought Rin to the village when she sprained her ankle. And all other services he had freely provided the village once he became a regular visitor. A regular part of us. Even for a demon.

The ice covering the brook unexpectedly split open. Kichiruka sprang out of the cascade, a full catch of fish netted. He slipped on the ice and flopped on his stomach, the conch staff landing on his head.

Rikichi laughed. "I appreciate your promptness."

Kichiruka rubbed his head. "I'm sure it's quite amusing." He watched the human load the net into a basket that would have only accommodated what he expected to catch. Rikichi struggled with the straps as he hoisted the basket on to his back.

"If it's too heavy for you, I'll call…um…" Kichiruka looked guiltily at his conch staff. He had terminated its connection to Rin's earrings in an effort to avoid the temptation of contacting her altogether. He chewed the inside of his lip.

Rikichi waved his hand dismissively. "It's all right. I've got it." Though he looked askance at the water-demon. "I suppose you're not to return with me?"

Kichiruka shook his head. "I know my place."

"I'll tell Rin you said—"

"No."

Soft brown eyes blinked. "Why ever not?"

Humans were so vulnerable. "For her protection," Kichiruka decided.

oOo

When he got home, Rikichi was greeted with exclamations of praise and gratitude. Heading to the largest house in the village – the local monk's, naturally – his neighbors bustled together to partake in the distribution.

Amidst the clamor, only one young resident quietly asked, "How'd you get these?"

Rikichi smiled at her. "There's fish in the brook."

"How?" she pressed.

He considered the best way to answer this without dishonoring the previous solemn request. "The water spirits are kind."

Kich'.

Rin withdrew into the crowd. Kichiruka still could make her want to laugh and cry all at once.

.

A/N: Rikichi, who has appeared in Chapter 24 of this story, is a canonical character (as far as the anime is concerned) from the InuYasha series. I just think it's nice to actually have a name assigned to Generic Villager #6. Thank you for reading!