A/N: I like to think that if you wound the clock back by three hundred years on Tensai that he would sound like Bobby Darin. And am I the only one who thinks the opening lines to this song sound just a little wistful?

Beyond the Sea

Pressing his hands to the taut skin, Kichiruka hesitated before plucking the tangerine. Not too many ripe ones out yet. Far too early in the season. Maybe when late summer rolled around, pickings would be better. "We'll have to come back here sometime soon."

Rin smiled. She swung her feet from the branch where Kichiruka had helped her. "I won't mind."

Kichiruka laughed. "I don't think you're alone on that." He nodded toward the coast. Although they were hardly visible from the tangerine groves, the figures of two yokai dotted Mikan's coast. One nearly pure silver, the other habited mostly in black.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kichiruka asked.

"Considering that half the conversation will depend on Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said, "probably nothing at all." She giggled.

"For all we know it's a glorified staring contest." Kichiruka snickered. "My money's on Tensai."

Rin bounced a green tangerine off the water demon's head. "That's assuming Lord Sesshomaru's even playing."

oOo

Sesshomaru closed his eyes against the harsh sunlight. Part of him wished he could fold his ears against the thundering waves. And, somehow, sand had managed to get into his left boot. He didn't much like the beach. Too bright. Too balmy. Too salty. Too hard on the senses. Damn right an alliance with Mikan was sufficient dowry for Rin. Ichikawa wasn't going to get anything more out of the Western Lord.

There was a low, slow chuckle beside him. The only intelligent sound for miles. Sesshomaru pointed his chin in Tensai's direction. "Hm?"

Perched on a rock, because only Sesshomaru preferred to stand, the swordfish considered the waves off the shore. Sesshomaru, Tensai had observed, was a man of few grunts, so responses to him were to be selected with equal discretion.

"You really don't care for all this, I take it?" Tensai waved his arm to their sunny horizon. Blue sea and skies, and golden sands. Not that it appears so to Sesshomaru.

"Whether or not I care for something doesn't erase its existence." There was a very particular inflection about Sesshomaru's voice when he spoke.

Tensai glanced at the daiyokai, but his eyes remained fixed on the sea. "You come to tolerate it well."

"I still don't like it."

Tensai bit his tongue. And continued his pretense. "Indeed, the sea salt does get agitating."

Now Sesshomaru turned his head to glare at the swordfish. Enough. "What is there for her?"

"What now? I was talking about the ocean." The amber leer intensified. And Tensai sighed, the gaunt planes of his face gone sober. "Nothing…But is it not confounding to attempt comprehension of that which we do not possess?"

"I can see. I need not own," Sesshomaru clipped.

"Then you must be blind to Rin's smiles when Kichiruka's near." Abruptly, Sesshomaru advanced a step with quick, predatory ease. Doing his utmost not to flinch, Tensai slid back just a bit on the rock where he sat. Then slipped his foot into a tide pool just in case. He knew he was treading on quaking ground where commentary on Rin was concerned. "Do you disapprove of Kichiruka?"

"Upon which beach do we stand, swordfish?" Sesshomaru huffed irritably.

Tensai suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "One could get the wrong impression." An idea took form in his head and Tensai spared only a moment to consider it. He didn't want Sesshomaru interjecting something else in the space between. "I had often wondered, Lord Sesshomaru, which you would prefer: the perfect match for Rin, or Kichiruka."

Sesshomaru arched a skeptical brow. "The answer is obvious."

Tensai smirked. "Indeed. Reasoning follows that nothing would be better than the perfect match for Rin. Certainly so?"

Sesshomaru remained silent, but tilted his head. He might have been agreeing.

"But many would confirm that getting someone like Kichiruka is better than nothing." Yellow eyes glinted playfully. "And if nothing is superior to the perfect match, then I'd vouch that Kichiruka is better than even that."

Sesshomaru snorted, but it had an amused lilt. "Better than nothing, huh?"

A faint smile brought out the creases around Tensai's eyes. "It took me a while to realize it myself."

There was no comment as Sesshomaru faced forward to stare off at the seascape. "Then, wanted or unwanted, he is mine now."

Involuntarily, Tensai felt his features tighten. "Yours?" The water demon didn't know why he felt so offended, but that was a lot to presume. Kichiruka never belonged to anyone. Least of all Sesshomaru.

If he noticed this ripple in the swordfish's yoki, Sesshomaru's monotone gave no inclination. But he did elaborate somewhat. "So long as he does not outlive his usefulness."

"You claim Kichiruka in the utilitarian sense," Tensai confirmed.

"There is no other perspective." The daiyokai angled his head so he seemed to look down on his company, but it was a pompous look that Tensai welcomed. Sesshomaru turned his gaze back toward the sea.

Tensai shifted slightly. He fiddled with pleats in his hakama, anxiously smoothing and resetting them. "And, Lord Sesshomaru, you mind well what is yours." Tensai spoke with conviction. Enough that drew amber eyes up.

Sesshomaru studied Tensai's face. In a human guise the expressions seemed somehow easier to read. It wasn't one Sesshomaru cared for. All the concern and worry in plain sight, it looked so raw and bare. The first thing Sesshomaru had noticed – if not quite admired – about the swordfish was his uncompromised guard. How comes this desperation for assurance? Then he remembered Tensai's reaction when Kichiruka had taken Rin's fever into himself. There was nothing guarded or cloaked then. So Sesshomaru nodded.

Visibly, Tensai relaxed. He leaned back on his palms, and continued to speak out to the horizon. "What is his use then?"

"None to me. But I can see he makes Rin smile." His voice was laced with only a touch of arrogance. "And should he ever dare die before then…" Sesshomaru clicked his claws over his sword's hilt in a way that was meant to look threatening, but the talons danced over Tenseiga. Tensai chuckled at the gesture. Sesshomaru offered one of his ghost smiles in return. "I make no idle promises."

Oh, Kichiruka, he does have a sense of humor. May you live to see it. Tensai nodded, trying to be serious.

Sesshomaru returned the movement in perfect grace and dignity. He would look forward to future discussions with this unexpected friend.

"The salt is not the whole of the sea," he decided aloud.

oOo

A couple days after speaking with Sesshomaru, Tensai stopped by Rin's village. He paused at the doorway to her home. He had hoped Rin would be out at this time, and smothered a curse when a cheery, "Would you like to come in?" chirped from inside.

Tensai fidgeted awkwardly. Damn, make my job more difficult. Obligingly, he shuffled in. Why did he feel like a child caught in the pantry? He was here to give, not take. "I…I can't stay," he snapped. Then felt worse for it. "I'm sorry. I've only come to drop this off." He presented the small box in his hands. "I'd rather you not open it until later." He laughed softly, sadly. "My sincerest apologies, but I won't be able to attend the wedding. Much too sentimental for such things. Referring to myself, that is. Something like water and oil. Weddings and me." Vaguely aware that he rambled, Tensai collected himself and smartly moved aside. "Goodbye, Miss Rin. Please take care." He shoved the box into Rin's hands and quickly made for the exit.

Flustered by the abruptness of his visit, Rin could only call after him, "I will, sir."

Tensai was almost halfway out, but he tarried and looked over his shoulder. Oh, dammit all. With stiff, purposeful strides, he crossed back into the room. Back to Rin. Then gently kissed the side of her head. Although the motion was delicate, it knocked Rin off balance. But Kichiruka's teacher made no fuss over steadying her. Tensai took a moment to pat the top of Rin's bangs and smile. Her eyes were the softest shade of brown and they seemed to see right into him. Not as a yokai, but as a person. "I mean it, young lady. Take care." Then, like a river pacing to stay on course, he rushed out of the room, leaving a slightly stunned Rin in his wake.

Master Tensai… He was always a gentleman. Well, always to me. The same couldn't quite be said for Kichiruka who often had to bear the brunt of his teacher's short-fused temper. But even his courtesy couldn't conceal the urgency and – Rin wasn't sure – sadness in his actions. That goodbye sounded terribly final.

Her curiosity and concern winning out, Rin popped open the lid to the box. The half of the sapphire Tensai had borrowed was whole again! The entire gemstone shone brighter than before. Almost like it had an inner light, a life of its own. …Oh. Rin scanned over a note that was left folded beside it. She stopped reading halfway and immediately tugged on her earrings.

"Kichiruka," she said when he answered. "Go find your teacher right now."

oOo

Tensai coughed into his fist. It was getting increasingly difficult to breathe on the terrestrial plain. Or maybe just difficult period. If only he could make it to the brook he might find some relief instead of spluttering like a dying candle. Or a consumptive.

How ironic, isn't it, love?

He stumbled, but kept trekking. If he had managed to put the hillock behind him, then this last stretch to the brook shouldn't be so bad. He heard someone call out to him. And Tensai felt his knees go. He was still too far to crawl into the water. I'm sorry. He had hoped to slip away without leaving any bad memories.

"Master Tensai!" Kichiruka scooped up his fallen instructor. "Sir…?"

Tensai smiled, looking away from his pupil. "Should've known that girl wouldn't have been able to keep a secret."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kichiruka demanded.

"Because you would have made a fuss…" The "just as you are doing now" didn't quite make it out of Tensai's throat.

Kichiruka gritted his teeth. Frustration made his eyes mist over. "I…I told you was going to finish my life when Rin does hers."

"And will you leave behind orphans? Kichiruka, I want you to have the freedom to extend your life. I've had enough years…"

"But they aren't mine to take!"

"Well, that's besides the point, eh?" Tensai smirked. Maybe it wasn't so bad, not dying alone. Even if he couldn't raise his voice against the foolish boy anymore, he could still smile at him. Kichiruka had taught him that much. "Kichiruka…such a face…I'd never thought I'd see the day you'd…"

Tears splattered on the lapels of Tensai's robe. "Please, master…"

"What happened to laughing?" he chuckled.

"Master, don't mock me. Not now," Kichiruka choked.

Tensai tried raising a hand to dab at the boy's eyes, but his strength for that was sapped. Instead, the flat end of the swordfish's nose brushed over spotted cheeks. He inhaled slowly. "May your children have their mother's eyes." Tensai's last breath rattled softly and Kichiruka leaned close for any final words.

"Wakanae." He smiled as if seeing someone. Kichiruka turned to glance over his shoulder to check if anybody was standing there. When he looked back at Tensai his yellow eyes had already dulled and stared off blankly.

A cold shiver raced down Kichiruka's spine. The scene didn't make any sense. Tensai…Tensai wasn't supposed to die. I'm the one who's not supposed to outlive the century, not you! Kichiruka shuddered. A sob caught in his throat.

"Kichiruka!" Rin dashed up. She got a hold of Sesshomaru right after alerting Kichiruka. "Maybe Lord Sesshomaru can use Tenseiga. It could rebind his soul to his body and…" She looked at Tensai. He had just been alive less than an hour ago. There was a bluish tinge to the flesh color of his skin as the human disguise slowly wore off. Rin squeezed her eyes shut, trying to preserve her previous memory of the swordfish.

Sesshomaru appeared over the hilltop.

"Can you revive him?" Kichiruka didn't abandon his place beside Tensai. But the daiyokai didn't reply either. "Please! Please, Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Step back, Kich'." Rin gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Kichiruka gingerly set his instructor down on the grass. At his own stately pace, Sesshomaru drew Tenseiga. The sword pulsed and as everyone living faded from sight, he searched for the pallbearers from the afterlife. A faint cerulean gleam trailed from the old demon's chest then faded.

Kichiruka blinked when the dog-demon sheathed his blade. "Well?"

"He's dead." Sesshomaru said it as though it were obvious and a waste of time to linger any more.

"I thought you could revive him." Kichiruka's voice cracked.

Sesshomaru didn't even blink. "Not without a soul."

Kichiruka faltered. Was Tensai right? We don't have souls?

"Your teacher's soul is already departed," Sesshomaru spoke in a tone reserved for markedly slow children. "He had no further attachments to this world."

"You're certain?"

Sesshomaru glared at Kichiruka.

"He's sure," Rin said. It had been the same for Kaede.

Sesshomaru knelt by the body. He passed a hand over Tensai's face, closing his eyes for one final time. His flat tone saved the gesture from being reverent. "Are water demons cremated?"

"We are returned to our element." Kichiruka glanced at the brook over his shoulder. Sesshomaru made no motion to help. Which was just as well. Gathering Tensai's corpse in his arms, Kichiruka placed him in the little river. Upon submersion, the body and everything else dissolved into the water, reclaimed by the parent element of their demonic line. Everything but Tensai's masters robe and the small, ensorcelled narwhal's tusk he kept. They came from completely different means and Kichiruka fished them out. He folded the robe and tucked the tusk away. Then, without a backward glance to the brook, let Rin guide him home.

oOo

There were no farewells or best wishes or even last testaments written. The note that had accompanied the sapphire was rigidly clinical. Anything Kichiruka found of interest that was formerly Tensai's was his to put his hand to. Beyond that the slip detailed only where to go and whom to seek for a Master of Arcane Arts exam "if you so chose." It was definitely Tensai's hasty, barely-legible scrawl. But he signed it Tennosuke.

A given name, Kichiruka realized. He remembered that when he had first met Tensai he had joked about who would ever be unfortunate to bear the name "disaster." Tensai confirmed that he had chosen it.

Kichiruka looked at the sapphire in the box. It winked brightly in the sunshine. The energy of water yokai was transferable, a reflection of their element, but one demon to another? Kichiruka had never wanted to fathom it, and yet the proof sat before him. Did he do this because…? Fresh guilt knifed through Kichiruka. Master, I never meant…I'm not worth it.

A light touch on his shoulder turned Kichiruka round to face Rin. She traced a finger over the sapphire in the box.

"He asked me for this on the day you took the fever from me. I'm sorry." She blinked furiously, trying to keep her voice from squeaking. "I didn't think there was any particular property behind the rock. I just…"

Kichiruka smirked. "He planned it, then….the jerk."

Rin sniffled. "I'm sorry I'm such a wuss! I should be the one comforting you. You lost…Oh, God…" Rin bit her lip. She wasn't about to cry. Not in front of Kichiruka. She scrubbed at her eyes.

"Hey, hey. No attachments, so it was no regrets, remember?" Kichiruka gently kissed her where Tensai had just earlier that afternoon. "Just…is it okay if I stay the night here? I don't want to go home alone."

Rin hugged him tightly. "Mmm-hm," was all she could manage. It sort of hurt when she swallowed, but she scraped together a clear, "Stay as long as you like."

"Thanks." Kichiruka exhaled heavily. "Ichikawa's probably going to be bawling harder than anyone else."

Rin laughed sorely.

Kichiruka squeezed her a little closer, rubbing his cheek over her head. "Yeah, Tensai was one of his gold finds. Hard to come by someone that talented again." Kichiruka's eyes bugged out. "Aw crap, that means I'm going to have to fill that slot. Dammit, master!"

Laughing a little bit more, Rin let Kichiruka dab at the tears on her cheeks. He's covering up. Maybe they could go visit Kagome or someone who was good at dealing with these sort of emotional things.

A warm wind rushed into the room. Kichiruka smoothed his hand down Rin's hair before slowly stepping back.

"Rin, stay here." Amber eyes swept to where Kichiruka stood. "Come."

oOo

The sunset's orange glow that filtered through the canopy of leaves dappled Kichiruka in even more spots than he already had. The daiyokai before him paid no mind to the play of shadows on his back. Sesshomaru walked ahead and, as ordered, Kichiruka followed. He knew only by the scar on the tree they had passed earlier that they were somewhere in Inuyasha's Forest. Other than that, Kichiruka had no idea where in all the worlds they were wandering. Or even if Sesshomaru knew where they were going besides forward.

"So," Sesshomaru said at length, coming to a stop by a stream, "your beloved teacher isn't here to protect you anymore." As if transferring the lightness of his tone to his feet, the dog-demon easily skipped over the creek.

Kichiruka, however, stayed put. His aura flared at the remark. Tensai's body wasn't even cold yet and Sesshomaru dared to…! But a horrible, twisting sensation knotted his guts. Fear. Fear because Sesshomaru was right. Who would pick up the pieces now? In the fading light, the dog-demon's eyes burned like bright, frightful torches. Kichiruka could feel his palms start to sweat.

"But," Sesshomaru continued, "you don't belong to 'no one' anymore either."

Kichiruka bit his lip. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hazard the guess. "I'm Rin's?"

Sesshomaru frowned. "You belong to me." Then, without bidding his latest acquisition to follow – the expectation to do so was clear – Sesshomaru resumed his walk into the forest. The trees and foliage quickly enshrouding the path behind him.

With a gusty sigh, Kichiruka crow-hopped over the stream. I'm…Sesshomaru's? Kichiruka's pointed ears flexed. For once, he wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that.

"Your requirement is simple," the daiyokai continued to explain when Kichiruka caught up.

Great, he's already issuing orders.

"Don't make Rin cry."

Kichiruka blinked. And stayed quiet, waiting to hear something else heaped on top of that. When Sesshomaru remained silent after a breadth of several minutes, he had to wonder, "Uh…Okay?" This was very confusing. "So…you put me through hell just to be sure I won't make her cry?" Heck, if anyone had squeezed more tears out of the poor girl these past few months it wasn't himself, Kichiruka knew.

"There is more hell ahead of you." Sesshomaru stared off into the deep of the woods as if he could already envision some of it. He stroked the fur over his shoulder, smoothing it down. "But none of it will come from me."

Kichiruka broke into a grin. "Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru hummed. "You should thank your instructor. I am persuaded you may yet be better than nothing."

Kichiruka laughed halfheartedly at the mixed compliment. Or maybe it was just an insult? Wait a sec, did Tensai call me better than nothing? Kichiruka rolled his eyes skyward. Then dashed up in front of Sesshomaru. "I promise to protect Rin's smile." He gave a curt bow with only a little jest behind it. Sesshomaru sidestepped him like a bump in the road. Kichiruka didn't care. He called out, "I should forewarn you, however."

Sesshomaru paused to turn and give Kichiruka a bored look. Warn me?

"As processes therein of making Rin smile may result in the production of more silver-haired half-demons in your immediate fam—yipe!"

Sesshomaru ground Kichiruka's head into the earth for another good minute or two. Mostly because he deserved it. Secondly, it was most undignified for anyone to catch the Lord of the West smiling like a court fool.

.

A/N: One more chapter to go. A (new!) bonus about Tensai and other events occurring beforehand may be found here: fanfiction. net/s/6913863/3/Catch_and_Release Thank you for reading.