Author's Note: Here is the chapter I promised, though perhaps a little bit later than I anticipated. However, I did update I Never Can Say Goodbye within the alotted amount of time. I hope you enjoy. Going to rap this up soon.

Last Time on My Devotion:

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard, cutting off her rant. All of it was true, he just couldn't admit to it. He kissed his way down her neck, pulled her kimono aside, and licked at his mating mark. It didn't take long for her anger to seep away.

"Rin," he groaned and stared up into her eyes, everything he wanted to say on the tip of his tongue.

Chapter 30: Now that I See You

The longer Sesshoumaru hesitated, the more that Rin's lust for him began to wear off. She wasn't even angry. She was just…disappointed.

"Is it so hard?" she asked him. She really just wanted a truthful answer.

He closed his eyes in exasperation. "You do not know what you ask of me."

"You will not say it?" Her heart plummeted all the way down to her shoes as she gazed into his face. He said nothing.

"My Lord…"

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes at the formal way she addressed him. He had not heard it from her for some time. It was not needed. The fact that she used it now made it clear to him that she did not feel close to him right now.

"I have been with you for more than half of my life. In that time I have never wanted for anything. And in return for the favor you showed me, I was never disobedient. I was your most faithful servant.

"But I am not a servant anymore. I am your mate, your wife, your equal. You stand to lose nothing by showing me your contrition. Just tell me why."

He threw his arm out, gesturing towards their bedroom. " You do not act that way in front of the servants. Disgraceful."

No doubt about it, he was angry. But that was better than trying to perpetuate his preferred false coldness. He wouldn't hurt her. And she saw through his anger, besides.

"I embarrassed you." Rin would have liked to say that it did not hurt for him to think that, but it did. She stared past him, out the window behind his desk.

"Have you always felt this way? Embarrassed of me?" She continued, not giving him the chance to say anything, not that he would have. "You must have. I was a human not worthy of you. Now I am some…thing that can't even control itself."

He stopped her by turning her face towards him.

"You are not just some thing to me."

He stared into her eyes, trying to read her as she so often did him. It didn't occur to him that he had never looked at her the way she did him. He had never tried. She had loved him for as long as he had loved her, though perhaps in different ways. That was something Sesshoumaru had taken for granted, the trying. Rin had sacrificed her humanity, her friends, her life, all for the sake of being with him. Where he had gone, she had followed. What had he given her in return? A few trinkets and fine silks that he knew she did not desire? A household to run and servants to help her with tasks she preferred to do herself?

What he saw in her eyes astounded him. This was about more than not letting her know about the twins. Rin had a pride that rivaled his own and she had checked it for the better part of her life. He had bruised it, but his mate was not going to pull it back this time.

"Have I hurt you?" he murmured.

That was all it took for the tears to flow. Strangely, she was laughing as she cried.

"You never share anything with me. You go and you expect me to fall into line without explanation. There was a time when I could do that Sesshoumaru, but I cannot do that anymore. I deserve...better."

The Lord of the lands picked up his lady and carried her behind his desk. He gently placed her in his chair, then sat on the desk in front of her.

"What is it that you wish to know?"

The chocolate-eyed woman pondered that for a moment, wiping the tears from her face. "What did you do today?"

It was then that Sesshoumaru told her about locking the Silkworm Queen in the dungeon as well as a Jaguar demon. When he hedged on the information, she knew and prodded him until he let her know that they were facing an almost insurmountable force of demons who were not thrilled with their children.

"I have had a lot on my mind."

"Yes," she sighed. It was no wonder that news of the twins had not come up in conversation. "What do we do about this, then? I know that everyone here would be willing to help, but I have a feeling we barely managed last time on our own. Perhaps if we sent for Takachi?"

He ran his hand over the hilt of Tokijin in thought. "Maybe. I do not know if even that would be enough."

They sat in silence like that for a few moments and looked at each other as they came upon the same conclusion. Rin was the one to voice it.

"It seems that our only option is the Demon Council."

"They have made it clear that they will offer no aid."

Rin smiled crookedly. "I made a few friends during our brief stay at Lord Masako's. I have kept up with a few of them. They know everything about me. I could see if they would be willing to put some pressure on their husbands."

Sesshoumaru sat back and looked at his mate as she reached for a blank sheet of rice paper and began preparing the ink. She had retained far more than Sesshoumaru had thought during her upbringing. He had always known she was not incompetent, but he did not think her intelligence rivaled her beauty and kindness. After all this time, she could still surprise him.

Rin smiled at him as he watched her compose the letters. She had always listened to Sesshoumaru's way of doing things even though she seldom agreed with it. Though her manner of swordplay resembled her husbands, it was a bit more flighty when compared to his grace. She preferred things to have a trace of her own personality, just as Sesshoumaru did. Whereas her taiyoukai mate may prefer brute strength, Rin appreciated the need for peaceful machinations preceding the violence.

She blew on the ink and set the letters aside to dry.

"I will send this off right now," she said, preparing to rise.

"Rin…there is more."

"Oh?"

"You are a hanyou. That is why you change when the children are in danger."

She frowned slightly. "I guess I kind of already knew that. Does this mean that I could maybe become—"

"No. You will never be a full demon." With that, the smile that was beginning to form on her face fell.

"However, with your changes, the children are becoming more demonic. Why have you not used your powers to cleanse yourself?"

"I…I'm not sure." She absently ran her hand over her belly. "Something inside me knows that the place my powers come from is my spirit. And right now, the children and I are sharing that energy. Even if I were to use that energy and it did not hurt them, I feel…I feel as if I would kill one or both of them if I tried to purify myself. They would be purified with me, I think. I'm not willing to risk that."

"There is a prophecy about you, Rin. The child will be some sort of demon-priest."

"What does that mean?"

"I do not know. I doubt they do either."

"Hmm…then I will not purify myself until after the birth."

Rin set her jaw stubbornly, her mind made up. Sesshoumaru nodded his agreement, proud of her strength. When her lord nodded, she smiled and rose to go deliver the letters. When she reached the door, Sesshoumaru called her name, wanting to know if she truly was alright with all she had learned.

"I am fine Sesshy. Everything will work out fine. You will see."

Rin left the room, leaned against the wall and released a deep sigh. It had been a lot to take in. But she could let it all get to her after her unborn children were safe. Until then, she had some letters to send.

Souten woke up at midday in Shippo's arms, smiling. She was a little tender on her shoulder where he had marked her as his mate, but otherwise very, very happy. She kissed his nose, staring at his eyes as the sun played throughout his russet locks. His lashes fluttered, his eyes the color of pine needles shining and unfocused with sleep.

"Morning, lovely," he yawned, hand already skirting down her back.

She giggled and pushed away from him. "Nuh-uh. It's late. I have to get dressed."

He reached for her and she danced out of reach, laughing. "Nice try. People are going to start suspect. Plus, I have to get something to cover this up."

Souten pointed to her neck and then turned to pick out some clothes that had a high enough neck to cover the mark.

"I think you would look beautiful in a kimono."

Souten blushed all over as she dressed in her usual hakama.

"You should get back to your room," she hinted, pulling the collar up as high as it would go to cover the hickeys.

He laughed as he started picking up his clothes. After he got his pants on, he tried to kiss her. Rather than push him away, she decided to be sneaky. She kissed him back as she edged him nearer to the doorway.

InuYasha jumped back as Shippo came falling through the doorway. There were two things he noticed. First, the fox demon was not wearing a shirt. Second, he fell out of a room that wasn't his.

InuYasha crossed his arms, obscuring his hands in the sleeves of his fire-rat robe. "Keh. You could say this isn't what it looks like, but I think we both know that's not true."

To his defense, Shippo had the conscience to look embarrassed. "Shut up, InuYasha…"

The hanyou smirked to himself as they brushed past each other in the hallway, Shippo off to get a new change of clothes and InuYasha to speak with his…brother.

When he reached Sesshoumaru's study, he stood in the open doorway, unwilling to cross the threshold. Sesshoumaru motioned for him to come inside.

"I must speak with you. In private."

InuYasha entered begrudgingly, standing in front of his half-brother's desk.

"Have a seat."

"I'd rather stand," InuYasha threw back at him.

"So be it. I called you here to tell you that, if you have any allies, that you should call upon them."

"Keh. And why should I do that?"

There was a long span of silence that passed before Sesshoumaru spoke.

"You fought well to protect Rin. If you prove yourself worthy again, I am willing to share leadership of the Western Lands with you."

InuYasha stared at him pointedly, not believing him. But the current Lord's face did not move to belie any trickery. He was resolute in that decision. Say what you would about Sesshoumaru, but he had a sense of honor that he would not betray.

"Keep your land. I don't need a bribe to help her out. So long as I know why so much trouble seems to be following her lately."

Sesshoumaru pinched the bride of his nose in frustration over the entire situation. Things had complicated themselves very quickly where she was concerned. First, she had killed all of them in her demonic state. And every time she transformed, she lost all sense of reason, capable of injuring or killing any number of them again.

"You know that she is a priestess, but she is also a half demon."

"How is that possible?" he asked, though he wasn't surprised given the demonic changes he had witnessed.

"I do not wish to discuss it. It is…complicated. The trouble is due to my offspring. The demons that attacked before wanted to kill Rin before they had the chance to be born."

InuYasha didn't give a fig either way about Sesshoumaru. As far as he could see, the chance for them to have some sort of brotherly relationship had long since passed. He was barely learning how to be civil to him at this point. However, he did sympathize with Rin. He saw very much of his own mother in her, someone willing to love deeply, no matter the consequences.

But what really made him want to do anything to help was the children. They would most likely have a harder life than Rin would. And maybe what had happened to him as a child colored his judgment, but he wanted to protect his nieces or nephews from the evils of the world. The hanyou wanted to believe that things could be different.

"Why the fuss over two unborn pups?"

Sesshoumaru disregarded the question as he had not been finished with his explanation.

"Due to a few…unannounced visits in the past couple of days, I have been alerted to the fact that my enemies are growing in number and will attack us again. We may not be so lucky as to overcome them this time."

"No need to beg, Sesshoumaru. I'll help you."

Sesshoumaru's hand hover over Tokijin murderously, but the half-breed had already made his swift escape from a brush with death by the hands of the killing perfection.

Kagome was sitting on the floor of her room, carving symbols into the wooden shaft of one of her arrows. The scroll was open in front of her. While Kagome was a strong priestess, there was some magic she was not able to wield. She had gone through some of the scroll, testing her abilities.

Laid bare in the scroll was information on incantations, chants, and potions she could use. Near the middle was an explanation on the use of runes that one could draw or carve to boost spiritual energy. She figured that was a safe enough place to start.

"There," she sighed as she finished carving a curly symbol. She leaned over the scroll to read over the part about totems again, murmuring it under her breath.

"You can use a totem with runes to affix spiritual energy, then use it as a focus for dispersion. When in direct contact, this can be used to purify a demon of its energy. Indirectly it can be used to lessen demonic auras…hm…hopefully this works."

Kagome took a single strand of hair that InuYasha had shed and wrapped it around the arrow. Upon contact, it immediately turned an ebony black. As she unwrapped the strand, it gradually lightened back to its original lightning blue. She smiled after retying the hair on the shaft, happy that her work had paid off.

Someone entered her room unannounced. It was Souten.

"Kagome, you gotta help me. Shippo has been following me all over this castle."

"Why's that?" she asked as she tried to block sight of the arrow with her body.

"Oh…no reason. Hey. What's that you've got there?"

"What? I haven't got anything."

"Yes you do. You're holding it behind your back. I see you."

Kagome was caught so she held out the arrow. "Oh this? I had forgot I had it."

Souten furrowed her brows in confusion. The ningen was acting strange.

"This is just an experiment," Kagome explained.

Souten saw the elaborate carving and grabbed it out of Kagome's hands, eager for a closer look. "Wow, this is cool. I—"

"No, don't!" Kagome tried to stop her from touching it, afraid that it would strip Souten of her powers, but she was too late. But Kagome's look of dismay turned to one of confusion as she realized that the Thunder Demon girl was fine. Nothing had happened.

Souten let go of the arrow. "Geez…sorry."

Kagome looked at the arrow one more time. The hair was still black.

"Maybe you should get some rest, Kagome-chan. You don't look well."

And you're acting weird, thought Souten, but she kept that to herself.

"I was working on a purifying spell. I didn't want you to get hurt. I thought it worked. I guess it doesn't."

She paused to think, but noticed an awkward silence had settled uncomfortably between them.

"So, what was this about Shippo?"

Raziel was grinding his teeth, trying to create enough sound in his own skull to keep from hearing his prison mate's prodding questions. Unfortunately, it was not going as well as he had hoped. He had long since ceased to converse with her, but that did nothing to cease the endless barrage of comments and questions from her. The Silkworm Demon Queen, it seemed, was adept at having a conversation with herself.

Raziel knew what she was doing when she asked him why his Queen had not put herself at the mercy of Sesshoumaru as she did. Why had she sent him in her stead just as she would send her people into a battle that could lead to their demise.

Did he think it good leadership, she asked him. Was this the way that their clan operated? With blind acquiescence? If they fought for the cause of another clan that despised them as a means to an end, then who would fight for the Jaguar clan's survival?

Yes, he knew that she was goading him with her golden tongue. But he also knew that he should be honorable and loyal. It just would have been easier to do that if he knew exactly what those words meant.

As a Prince, he was unused to extreme hardships, even given the withering size of his clan. However, from the inside of a cell, he was starting to forget the purpose of his sacrifice. What did two days in a dungeon ever benefit anyone?

Author's Note: Hope you liked it. I know it's been a while. If you have any suggestions, lemme kno in the reviews or PM me. I'm still open to that.