a/n: Hi again! Thanks for all the lovely feedback; you all keep me going!

I got a message expressing confusion about the details of Sesshōmaru and Tōga's conversation at the end of last chapter. Basically, in the city of Kuzuhara, a few Northern tribesmen children were attacked and left for dead, allegedly by city guards. The city Lord denied this, tension rose in the city between the citizens and the tribesmen, and then the tribesmen ended up attacking the city and the rest of the territory. Tōga was able to retake the city off-screen. As of the end of chapter 18, Tōga plans to visit the country's capitol after departing from Hyōkusui to warn the emperor about Katsushika's ineptitude and Ryūkotsusei's scheming. He wants Sesshōmaru and Rin to simply continue on to Inugawa (the Western capitol) while he does this.

There's a more substantial author's note at the end of the chapter. This one is lighthearted again. Hope you all enjoy!

SONG OF THE WEST

an Inuyasha fanfic

xix.

The last few days in the village were slow and sweet like honey. In the days after Rin's altercation with the Northern tribesmen, the tale of her heroic deeds spread like market gossip across the village and even into the temporary regiment camp stationed nearby. Each villager was rather impressed with what Rin thought to be a simple act of kindness; as such, they began to line their largesse, mostly in the form of food baskets, to her, as well as to Lord Tōga, Lord Sesshōmaru, and Master Seiten, along the walls of the guest hut, making it look more like a shrine than a village dwelling.

The gifts to her consisted of easy-to-swallow foods like okayu and herbal teas, with the occasional delicacy of nikuman or fish. Rin, though incredibly thankful, was rather bashful about the sudden outpouring. Even in the past, prior to her brother's disappearance and the plague that took the rest of her family, gifts were scarce. Her family was by no means wealthy; gifts were incredibly rare, and when they did come, they were small—straw dolls or nikuman from the market, that sort of thing. But Lord Tōga, who after two decades of receiving large gifts from villagers knew it was useless to try to reject the showerings of gratitude, insisted she continue to humbly accept the praise and focus on healing.

Yosomi and Kei, the recipients of Rin's bravery, also participated in the gifting. Yosomi brought food and tended to Rin's needs when the others were busy helping around the village. Kei provided moral support and entertainment and fanned her with such fervor that for a brief second Rin thought herself the Empress of Japan.

"You really don't have to do that, you know," Rin said to him from her seat on her futon, her soft voice reflecting a hint of embarrassment.

Yosomi, who sat behind her, shushed her quickly. "It's the least we can do! Now sit still so that this braid will turn out neat."

Rin relaxed as Yosomi went through her hair with her mother's old wooden comb. A few minutes and a few gentle tugs later, Rin's dark hair had been collapsed into one long, simple braid at her back, with a white ribbon tying it all together at the end. Yosomi stepped back to admire her handicraft.

"Your hair is finally shining!" Yosomi clasped her hands together in excitement. "I've been adding gingko root to your kayu—I guess it's already working!"

Rin reached up to feel the crown of her head. Her hair did feel slightly softer, though she suspected that it was due to her newly developed regular eating habits than any herbs.

"You look pretty," Kei said, a slight warm redness on his cheeks. "And now your kosode isn't hidden behind your hair!"

The outfit had been another unexpected gift—and presented to her from Sesshōmaru, of all people! Just days before, Sesshōmaru had returned from his patrolling rounds with a mysterious box in his hands, which she woke to find right next to her futon. When she opened it, she was immediately enraptured by the brightness of its yellow—almost gold—coloring and the kikyo and susuki patterns on the chest, back, shirt, and sleeves.

"You bought this for me?" Rin exclaimed at the time. She had been perfectly content with the simple yukata borrowed from one of the village women. This new one seemed far too extravagant for someone of her low prestige.

Sesshōmaru made a small sound of discontent as if offended by her disbelief. "Yes."

The kosode had come with a similarly colored pair of kiribakama with matching patterns on the legs. She had a difficult time figuring out how to tie it when she was putting it on but based on the glint of mild approval that appeared in Sesshōmaru's eyes when she limped from behind the folding screen, she supposed she was wearing it properly.

Yosomi's eyes widened as if she had a sudden realization. "I have a yellow hair ribbon that would match perfectly!" She stood up and walked over to the door. "Wait here!"

"I could come with you," Rin said, perking up. She hadn't stretched her legs and walked around the village since the day of the attack. The sharp pains in her ankle had long since quelled to a slight ache every now and then when pressure was placed on the wound, and the bruises on her nose had already reached their peak and were beginning to fade slowly.

Yosomi sighed. She was under strict orders from Lord Tōga not to allow Rin to stress the wound further. "The doctor hasn't said you could walk around yet."

"It's basically healed now."

Yosomi shook her head again. "We can't make it worse, then. I'll be quick, I promise!"

Rin pursed her lips and watched the noren settled back into place after Yosomi left the one-room building. When the sound of her footsteps was far enough into the distance, Rin suddenly turned her body to face Kei, who still sat fanning her.

"Kei," Rin called gently. "Can you do me a favor?"

Kei blushed but seemed to know where this was going. "I don't think so…"

Rin fluttered her lashes. "It's nothing rash! I need you to find me a really big stick I can lean on, that's all. I'll give you half of my nikuman later."

The young boy sighed dramatically, but he thought her so pretty, especially with her hair braided back like that, that he could not say no. Energetically he stood from his seat on the floor, disappeared behind the noren, and came back a few minutes later dragging behind him what looked like a fallen tree branch. It screeched as it scraped across the wooden floor.

Rin smiled brightly and stood, continuing to favor her injured leg. Upon taking the branch from Kei, she put it beneath her arm and began to walk around with it. It was sturdy and worked excellently on the hard wooden floor, but outside its tapered end sank into the dirt and made walking a bit more laborious.

"There was one with a wider base back there," Kei said, turning on his heel to flit back through the alleys and towards the tree line. "I'll go get it!"

In the meantime, Rin continued attempting to walk, holding her current branch beneath her arm to use as a sort of crutch. She could hear the gentle, harmonious murmur of a chorus of voices in the distance, but there was no one immediately in the vicinity to observe her slow practice. After the first few steps, walking got much easier, and soon she was moving around like an adult again rather than a child just learning how to stand.

"Rin."

Oh no. The guilty party froze at the sound of the deep voice. Slowly, Rin moved her head to see Lord Sesshōmaru, his lean arms made bare by the red tasuki holding his sleeves, with an annoyed furrow to his brows.

The young woman turned to face him directly, straightened her posture, and with the full support of the makeshift crutch, stood her ground.

"My ankle is feeling better," Rin insisted cheerfully. "And I wanted some fresh air, so—"

"You're bleeding," Sesshōmaru interrupted.

Rin glanced at her ankle. A small but steadily growing stain had appeared on her bandage. She hadn't even felt it reopen.

There was the pitter-patter of running feet. Kei appeared again in her peripheral vision, coming towards her with the thicker branch he had promised.

"Miss Rin! Will this—"

Kei froze in his tracks at the sight of the young Lord. Lord Sesshōmaru's imposing aura, harsh gaze, and reticent nature all had the combined effect of endlessly terrifying the village children and even making the adults slightly nervous, much to Lord Tōga's dismay. Sesshōmaru seemed not to mind this one bit since he had no desire to be bothered with any of the villagers, especially children, outside of the mission to rid the area of the Northern tribesmen, and had only begrudgingly been helping around the village with tasks at the behest of his father, who was perfectly willing to pay for his stay through good works.

It certainly didn't help that Sesshōmaru's sharp gaze was focused on Kei as if the young boy had reached down and slice Rin's ankle open again himself.

Rin wrapped her free arm around Kei's shoulder in a protective embrace.

"Don't be mean to him," she mumbled. "This was my idea, not his."

The young Lord's eyes met Rin's again. "Go inside. Your bandage needs to be changed."

As soon as Rin's arm slacked from Kei's shoulders, he dropped the branch and took off around the corner. With a slight pout, Rin began to walk back to the entrance of the hut using the makeshift crutch, but apparently, that was not fast enough for Sesshōmaru, who slid his arms beneath hers from behind, captured her by the waist, and lifted her as if she were a petulant child instead of an adult.

"You don't have to be so mean, you know," Rin chirped as he placed her gently on the futon.

"Is staring at someone mean?" Sesshōmaru asked, his voice soaked in satire.

"You have an unfriendly stare," Rin countered gently. "You should smile more, especially at children."

Sesshōmaru stared into her dark brown eyes and huffed at the suggestion. If anyone was too cowardly to face him, then so be it. "You smile enough for the both of us. Lift your foot."

Rin obeyed. Carefully, Sesshōmaru took her ankle into his lap. Her foot was small, proportional to her overall elfin physique. Rin felt his fingers graze against the sole of her foot, made a mousy sound, and wriggled slightly in his firm grasp. Sesshōmaru glanced again at her.

"That tickles," said Rin shyly.

The statement was met with a golden eye roll, and Sesshōmaru proceeded to undo the securely fastened bandages on her ankle. In almost no time the wound was cleaned, medicated, and rebandaged.

Sesshōmaru paused. "Your tabi. Where are they?"

Rin blinked. "Tabi?"

The box her kosode and kiribakama came in hand also contained a neatly folded pair of white socks split at the toe. But they had felt odd on her feet, almost as foreign as when she first received her shoes, so she opted to go without.

"It's too hot to wear them," Rin excused. "And I didn't want to mess them up, so…"

Sesshōmaru didn't push further. She was a woman, not a child, and if she desired to run about with her feet indecently exposed, then so be it.

He stood and turned to leave the hut. Rin frowned.

"Can't I at least go sit on the main street?" She asked. "It's boring here all by myself."

"You cannot walk. How do you suppose you'll get there?" Sesshōmaru deadpanned.

Rin was quietly hoping he would carry her, but perhaps his arms were only reserved for emergency transportation. She let out an exasperated sigh.

Her moue had no effect on Sesshōmaru, who glanced at her ankle again. "Your friend and that boy will be back soon."

"You already scared Kei away," Rin replied sullenly.

As for Yosomi, he was correct. The other young woman burst into the hut in a flustered whirlwind and found herself doubly red when she realized Sesshōmaru was there.

"Sorry I took so long!" She quickly said to Rin.

Before Rin could ask what was wrong, Lord Tōga entered the room in a much more calm manner, albeit with his kimono, nagajuban, and hadajuban open, exposing his bare chest and sarashi, with every layer of his clothing, including his nu-bakama, and his hair dripping wet.

Sesshōmaru's rolled his eyes. Though Rin was utterly unphased, it was easy to see how a simple common girl like Yosomi would be distracted by such a sight.

Rin blinked and opened her mouth to speak, but Lord Tōga beat her to it.

"A child fell into the lake and couldn't pull himself out," the Imperial Lord explained.

Sesshōmaru glanced back at Rin. "Keep resting," he ordered before slipping out of the room.

In a few large steps, Lord Tōga was behind the dressing screen. "Pretend like I'm not here!"

This was a very difficult task for Yosomi, whose hands shook as she exchanged the white ribbon in Rin's hair for the yellow one.

Rin's second big gift was even more unexpected than the first. She was outside again, practicing walking against the wishes of Lord Sesshōmaru and the physician when one of the village men came around the corner leading all five hundred kilograms of it.

Rin stared at the horse with a look of confusion on her face. "She doesn't belong to anyone here, sir."

"She does now," Grandma Sen said, following close behind the man. "I've already discussed it with your Imperial Lord. This horse is yours."

Rin dropped her supporting branch out of shock but caught herself against the outside wall of the hut to avoid falling on her face. The horse was a beautiful mare with a golden coat that shined in the summer sunlight and a glittering white mane and tail. Her big brown eyes seemed both wise and youthful.

"This is really my horse?" Rin repeated, her voice filled with excitement.

Grandma Sen laughed at Rin's astonished expression. "I was told you primarily took turns riding with your Lords. I acquired this horse from a man fleeing the tribesmen's destruction a few weeks ago and figured it might be less taxing for you to simply have your own steed."

Rin couldn't believe it. At the beginning of the summer, she had nothing; now, a week before midsummer, she was being gifted with a horse, an expense that many commoners worked half their lives to afford.

Grandma Sen took Rin's hands in her own and looked at her with those grey eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. "You saved my grandchildren. This is truly the least I can do for you."

The mare was soon delivered to the stables where Sai Hu and the other horses rested. As Grandma Sen said, Lord Tōga had already been long aware of Rin's surprise gift and had tasked a soldier with going into town to find Rin a properly sized saddle. Master Seiten, ever the pragmatist, expressed some concerns about the logistics of the additional horse.

"It will be midsummer soon," he mentioned upon seeing the mare be led to the stables. "What will we do when mating season truly sets in and the mare's presence renders our horses functionally useless?"

"We'll simply tie her away from the others at night," Tōga countered lackadaisically.

"It's only been four hours, yet Sai Hu and the young Lord's horse are already getting aggressive with each other. I think I saw the latter attempting to begin courtship just now."

Lord Tōga grimaced at the thought of horse coitus but waved his hand in dismissal. "Let Rin enjoy the fruits of her labor for now. We'll worry about the particulars later."

But those last days weren't just humor and bliss. Reality always flexed its tight grip sooner or later.

A light grey summer rain fell over the village, heavy enough to push everyone inside their homes for the day but light enough so that no one had to cover the entrance with the noren to prevent water from getting in. Lord Tōga scooped Rin, in all her fine fabrics, off the wooden floor of the hut, and carried her to the engawa, where Lord Sesshōmaru and Master Seiten sat. A small spread had been laid out before them, and Rin was delighted to see that she got to eat something other than okayu again.

The four sat out on the engawa, protected from the downpour by the gentle slope of the roof, listening to the gentle patter of the droplets and the men's conversation about the village, Hyōkusui, the north. The dogs were there as well: big, brown Tai darted about the grass chasing the small frogs hopping from puddle to puddle to escape him; little Yua sat by Rin's side, her white fur dingy from the dirt and the rain, waiting for Rin to drop more pieces of nikuman on the ground for her to eat; and Shui…

Suddenly attentive, Rin looked around the rainy milieu in search of the large, black dog. He was missing.

As soon as a brief silence fell amongst the men, Rin swooped in like a bird. "Where's Shui?" Rin asked, the sound slightly muffled by the dough and pork in her mouth and the hand she used to cover the sight of it.

Tōga's jovial expression fell slightly, and Rin understood. The Imperial Lord hadn't mentioned any of the hardships he'd faced at the wall, but if Master Seiten and the villagers had engaged in a battle so close to the little rural settlement, then the wall must have been twice as bad. And if the Northern tribesmen could kill a human with no remorse, then they certainly would not think twice about a dog…

"Don't be so sad," Tōga urged upon seeing Rin's miserable expression. "He's probably being reborn as a puppy in some barn as we speak."

Sesshōmaru glanced at his father with a raised brow. He knew the man didn't believe in transmigration–he had undoubtedly only mentioned it to make Rin feel better.

Seiten huffed. "Hopefully he's done enough good deeds to be a human, instead."

"So that he'll have human responsibilities and burdens?" Tōga countered. "He's better off staying a dog."

"I think I'd like to be a mejiro," Rin sighed wistfully. Her near-death experience and the sudden loss of Shui made her feel unexpectedly spiritual.

Tōga laughed gently. "You say that as if you're an old woman on her death bed and not seventeen."

"I just think it'd be fun to sing and fly all day," Rin explained, shoving another bun into her mouth. "That's all."

"A little yellow songbird; how fitting. I think I'd like to be a great oak tree in a forest somewhere."

"That seems picturesque, until someone cuts you down to build their home," Seiten said.

"Then I will have found a noble purpose," Tōga replied. "I suppose you'd like to be a person again, then?"

"There's nothing better to be, in my humble opinion."

Tōga turned to his son. "And you?"

"What a ridiculous conversation," Sesshōmaru responded.

Rin tried to imagine an animal with a white coat and golden eyes. "You'd make a lovely horse," she offered. "Or a dog."

Tōga scoffed. "With his temper, he'd make a much better bear."

Sesshōmaru rolled his eyes at both of these suggestions and returned to his meal.

As soon as the young physician removed Rin from bedrest, the quartet gathered their bearings and started towards Hyōkusui. Their departure was immediately preceded by another wave of adoration, as well as Rin and Yosomi's girlish promise to see each other once again in the future. Despite the unpredictable nature of life, Rin truly did intend to visit the little village after locating her brother.

Rin hadn't realized how much she missed traveling. It was especially enjoyable now that she had her own horse and did not have to worry about keeping her hemline from inching upwards and revealing too much. Her horse—which she appropriately named Hikari for her coloring—was jaunty and fast, capable of ascending and descending the mountainous milieu with relative ease, so much so that Lord Tōga would often have to remind Rin to slow down and allow the rest of the group to catch up with her.

Their travel did not last long, however. While it was still sunny, the wind picked up its speed, and Lord Tōga predicted it would storm; by the time the sun began its descent, dark storm clouds were beginning to move on the horizon, and the group decided to seek shelter early. Thankfully, there was a small shrine a mountain over with sturdy wooden walls, and after a bit of haggling with the staunch old shrine keeper who objected to the presence of a woman, they secured for themselves a place to stay for the night. Unfortunately, they could not prepare any hunted animals in the shrine, and as such needed to acquire food from the village at the base of the mountain.

"I can buy the food," Rin said, still on top of Hikari.

Tōga hesitated. "By yourself?"

There weren't many trees on the path from the shrine to the village, so there was no concern for bandits. And, dressed like that, none of the commoners would dare hurt her for fear of retribution from a powerful family. Still…

Rin nodded. "I can get more practice with Hikari."

"You have the rest of your life to ride that horse," Tōga chided playfully from his seat on the stairs. "Why not rest?"

"I'll buy the food and ride straight back! I promise."

Tōga conceded. "Fine. You've got about an hour until it begins to rain. Return before then."

The young woman nodded eagerly and spurred Hikari to move. "I will!"

Seiten seemed bewildered by this decision. "You are truly allowing her to go alone?"

"Watch and wait, Seiten," Tōga said in a cryptic, humorous way. "You might witness something interesting."

Minutes after Rin disappeared down the mountain, Sesshōmaru came around from the rear side of the shrine, where he was tying up his horse.

"Oh, Sesshōmaru!" Tōga exclaimed affectedly. "You've come a few minutes too late. Rin has gone to the village below to purchase some food. You didn't want anything specific, did you?"

The young Lord paused. Methodically, his eyes scanned the area for Rin before glancing at his father, then at Seiten, then at his father again.

"She went to the village?" Sesshōmaru asked, though the lack of inflection on the last syllable made it seem more like an unadorned statement.

"Yes, that's what I said," Tōga responded.

"Alone?"

"Alone."

Sesshōmaru stared at his father as if the older man had two heads and a tail. "With an injured ankle."

"She isn't horribly injured anymore, you know," Tōga dismissed gently.

Without another word or annoyed glance to spare, Sesshōmaru turned on his heel and walked back towards the back of the shrine to retrieve his horse.

With his mission complete, Tōga smirked and leaned back against the stairs.

Seiten blinked. "Wow."

"See? Now we know for sure she'll be safe."

"You promised her she could go alone," Seiten said, shaking his head dramatically.

"I did no such thing!" Tōga said defensively. "I only honored her wish to go retrieve the food."

"Why didn't you accompany her, since you're so concerned?" Seiten asked.

Tōga looked in the direction of the town. He found himself remembering how dark Rin's bruises were when he'd returned to the village, how pitiful and small she had looked on the futon. "She wants independence, like any young person—it wouldn't be proper to stifle her. Even so, some extra precaution certainly won't harm anyone. Partial independence is better than none at all."

Seiten huffed. "That's not something you would have enjoyed when you were her age."

"Fortunate that I am not her age anymore, then," Tōga said. "The perks of being old."

The village was minuscule, more of a few select shops for pilgrims to stop by on the way to the shrine than a proper living area. But for its size, it was still admirably busy, mostly being patronized by traveling commoners and small merchants. No one paid her an undue amount of attention as she dismounted.

The food stall was the second building to her right, a nondescript wooden building with an open counter and a blue noren covering the entrance. Behind the counter, a young woman was sleeping with a conical hat protecting her face from the humidity.

"Um, hello?" Rin called out.

The young woman, startled awake by Rin's voice, removed the hat. She had lightly tanned skinned, light brown hair, and bored hazel eyes.

"Oh, good evening," she said sleepily. "What will you have, miss?"

Tōga liked beef stew, even in the summer, with a bowl of rice. Seiten's favorite meal, meanwhile, was roasted vegetables and fish. She had no preference—all food was good food to her. As for Sesshōmaru…well, Rin didn't really know what Sesshōmaru liked, but she supposed he'd like meat of some sort as well. Hopefully.

"What's available?" Rin asked.

The attendant motioned to the signpost above her head, which displayed the stall's offerings. This was useless to Rin, who could not read any of it. She sighed.

"Don't bother with her, miss," a young male's voice beckoned from a few paces away. A man with black hair and a pale face was peeking his head out from the next stall over. "Over here we have rice, steamed buns, vegetables, fruit, fish, beef—"

That was all Rin needed to hear. However, before she could place an order, the female attendant said, "Bastard! No stealing customers!"

"Don't you have a nap you should be taking?" The man said contemptuously.

"Don't you have lives to ruin?" The woman exploded.

The two began to bicker fervently. Rin winced; she had come there to get food, not listen to some sort of ex-lovers' quarrel.

"Look at how uncouth you're acting in front of the–"

"Excuse me!" Rin interrupted. "I really just need some fish, beef stew, rice, and vegetables."

The attendants took one more rude glance at each other before rushing to the back of their respective stalls.

"Not both of you…" Rin muttered. She should've specified who she wanted to make the food. No matter, she thought. She'd just buy from whoever came out with the food first. Simple enough.

Against all odds, the attendants finished preparing the meal–a large pot of beef stew, a plate of fish, and two more containers of roast vegetables and rice–at the same time. Rin sighed. She supposed she could purchase both sets. But…

"I can't carry both of these," Rin realized aloud.

"Don't worry, miss," the male attendant said. "I'll wrap all this up for you now. It tastes much better than the unseasoned fare over there."

"They season it so much to disguise the fact that it's overcooked!" The woman snapped.

Rin was close to not buying either of their plates after hearing those comments.

The two continued to bicker loudly, drawing more and more attention to themselves.

"Look," the young woman said. "If you weren't so busy in someone else's business, you could've been prepared to help your next guest."

Rin glanced over her shoulder to find Sesshōmaru, still bestraddling his horse, looming over the absurd scene like some god of judgment.

She stepped back, surprised. "Lord Sesshōmaru?"

"Lord?" The man exclaimed. He rushed to bow his head in deference. "My Lord! Would you like—"

"No," Sesshōmaru quickly rejoined. He dismounted and walked over to grab the food from the nearest stall, which so happened to be the young man's. "Come. It'll storm soon," he said to Rin as he secured the load to his horse.

Rin blinked. Perhaps meanness did have its merits occasionally.

The woman let out a cry of displeasure at Sesshōmaru's choice. Rin paid for the meal with the Tokudaiji mondokoro and rushed over to Hikari, eager to leave the odd scene behind.

The two rode back side by side, mostly in silence. The quietude allowed for some reprieve. But soon, the silence felt too awkward, and Rin willed herself to speak.

"Did Lord Tōga send you to watch over me?" Rin asked, slightly disappointed. She had hoped the Inu no Taisho still had enough faith in her to send her off alone without much concern after what had happened in the village.

"No," Sesshōmaru replied.

Rin cocked her head inquisitively. He hadn't bought anything else while they were in the village, so he couldn't have made the trip to retrieve something. "You decided to come down on your own, then?"

Sesshōmaru said nothing.

Rin smiled. "You didn't have to worry. It was just a simple trip to get food."

Sesshōmaru side-eyed her.

"Those shopkeepers were an exception," Rin defended herself.

More silence, save for the low rumble of thunder in the distance. The storm clouds were slowly creeping up behind them, a dark fluffy blanket to conceal the blue of the firmament.

"Lord Sesshōmaru," Rin started again. "Don't the clouds look nice?"

"Does it amuse you to hear yourself speak?" Sesshōmaru finally said.

Rin scoffed. "It'll be too quiet if I don't. You never say much."

"There is nothing to say."

"There's plenty to say. The storm clouds sort of look pretty. We'll be at Hyōkusui soon. And we just got all of this hopefully good food from the town. It's a nice day."

Sesshōmaru stole a glance at her ankle. She was wearing her tabi now, along with her wooden zori, a rare sight.

Rin removed her left foot from the stirrup and wriggled it around for Sesshōmaru to see. "Look; my ankle is basically fine now, too. You don't have to brood about it anymore."

"Brood?" He looked sharply at her.

"Lord Tōga said you were brooding over it."

Sesshōmaru huffed in displeasure. "I was not," he said firmly.

Lord Tōga was still waiting on the steps at the top of the mountain when they arrived, with Tai and Yua resting alongside him.

"You two are late," the older man declared, still sitting on the wooden steps. "Did you run into any trouble?"

Rin shook her head exuberantly as she dismounted. "No! I don't know how good this food is, though…"

"I've probably had worse. Let's eat out here before the rain comes."

Rin moved to take the food baskets from Sesshōmaru's horse, but the young Lord had already placed them on the steps. Rin gave him a smile to show her gratitude, and, for a slight second, Sesshōmaru's gaze lingered longer than usual, before he turned to lead the horses to the stables.

a/n: I wrote half of this chapter on pieces of paper towel while I was at work, lmao. I hope you all enjoyed it.

I was considering having Sesshōmaru gift Rin some new shoes as well, but apparently feet were considered such an erotic symbol in ancient Japan (hence Sess insisting Rin wear some socks) that men giving women sandals was a sign of them beginning a sexual relationship. Sesshōmaru and Rin aren't at that point yet, lmao. (Though I'm definitely going to bookmark ancient Japan's obsession with women's feet for later on in this story).

Speaking of random bits of information, Tatosensei asked last chapter what sources I use to do research for this story. For the names of people and towns/cities, I generally just use fantasynamesgenerator . com, which features 2 personal name generators (Edo era and modern), as well as a generator for East Asian town names (the first 3 names in the list are Japanese). For clothing I generally do LOTS of googling but two resources that have been super helpful are the Tale of Genji Costume Museum and this website called oldjapan . org that has a glossary page for the parts of a man's kimono ensemble from undergarments to accessories. Wikipedia also has great pages for clothing items, architectural terms, weapons, instruments, animals/plants native to Japan, etc. Pinterest is also super good for envisioning and describing clothing and architecture. An additional resource for etiquette and other social dynamics is the website Sengoku Daimyo – it has a lot of information for things like armor, the ancient Japanese calendar, furniture, names, etc.

I do use still use creative license for certain things though. For example, during the Asano castle arc I described Sesshōmaru's guest bed as a chodai, which was a type of canopy bed used only during the Heian period. I still don't have a specific period in mind for this story and they looked really cool, so I just went ahead and used it.

Hope this helps!