Sesshoumaru continued to glare down at her, amber eyes alight with reflections of their flickering fire. A thousand excuses bubbled up over her tongue, but in the end, she just sighed. What was the point of lying to him?
"We don't know." A low growl escaped his lips, instantly turning his ire on his brother, but she reached up and grabbed his sleeve before he could pounce. "It isn't anyone's fault. She's made this trip before, and Inuyasha was on his way to escort her home when Kohaku showed up."
Sesshoumaru's gaze slid from her hand to Kohaku, the boy inclining his head. "She speaks the truth, Sesshoumaru-sama. I was going to bring her home early, but Rin had disappeared from the village. Inuyasha was quite upset when he found out."
"Oi! I wasn't upset!" Kagome's head whirled around, and she pinned her friend with a stare that would've melted his bones had he stayed still long enough. "Meanin' I wasn't crying and shit. The squirt can handle herself."
"We've been searching for her," Kagome promised, still holding onto his sleeve. "There's been no sign of her, though. Or ransom." That could be good or bad news, but she refused to think it was the latter.
"You have been doing a poor job if no clues have been found," he said, claws finally retracting.
Kagome bit back a retort about none of them having the same instincts he did and instead plastered on a smile. "We'd be grateful if you'd help."
"Unnecessary. I will locate her myself."
"Oi, jackass," Inuyasha snapped, stepping over Kagome's sleeping bag to poke his brother in the chest. "She ain't just important to you, so don't think you're gonna turn this into a solo mission. We care about her too."
Sesshoumaru looked nonplussed but relented at the earnest looks from the rest of the group. "We will begin immediately."
To his credit, Inuyasha didn't gripe about him giving orders, but he still shook his head. "The others need sleep, or they won't be any help."
The daiyoukai's eyes narrowed again, but Kagome tugged on his sleeve. "Why don't you check out the surrounding villages," she suggested, "just in case we missed something." He considered her words carefully, then gave a stiff nod, youki already pooling at his feet.
"Be prepared to leave at dawn," he said, silver hair billowing out behind him as he sped away.
If he weren't as temperamental as a rattlesnake, he might actually be nice to have around, Kagome thought, breathing a sigh of relief before turning to Inuyasha. "Do you think he'll find anything?"
He shrugged. "Who knows? Either he'll be impressed that we were so thorough, or he'll be pissed we missed something."
"I'm going for the latter," Kohaku said, sliding his hand along Ah-Un's snouts, the dragon having returned now that he'd inspected his master.
"Same," she agreed. Not that they'd missed anything, but Sesshoumaru had never been impressed by anyone.
Sesshoumaru hadn't found anything new. He'd been chagrined to admit it, jaw muscles clenched and teeth grinding when he'd returned to the campsite, but there had been no other signs of his ward.
The miko hadn't bothered hiding her reaction, bits of reiki sparking as they prepared for the next village. His brother had brushed it off, claiming he'd known Sesshoumaru wouldn't find anything, but the fact that he'd snapped at Ah-Un when the beast had thought to comfort him was telling. Kohaku had sighed in defeat, though it had only lasted a few moments before he'd squared his shoulders and helped the miko pack up the rest of their belongings.
Now that he'd joined the search, the miko and Kohaku had been forced to find quicker means of transportation, both climbing onto Ah-Un's back and taking to the sky as Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha sped along the ground.
He found it curious that she'd not taken her usual place on his brother's back, but neither seemed bothered by her choice, so he'd let it alone. How she travelled was none of his business, just as long as she kept up.
Sesshoumaru sent out tendrils of his youki in search of his ward, only to find the miko had already done the same, sensing the depth of her power as Ah-Un dodged treetops. He'd known the seal had been broken once Magatsuhi's curse had been lifted, but the maturity, the control, had him wondering just how much training she'd had since her return.
Rin had been ecstatic when the miko had decided to spend more time in the village, constantly bringing up her name and how proud she was of her academic accomplishments. He'd been forced to have yet another conversation with the miko, after the initial one regarding Rin's birthday, just to confirm she had, in fact, found someone to further her education.
Most females sought out life partners after coming of age, seeking safety and the possibility of a family. Sesshoumaru had certainly had his fair share of marriage requests since now that he didn't have the excuse of chasing after the spider.
He hadn't needed any extra kindling that past winter, the parchment the requests were written on burning brightly in the hearth.
He glanced up at the miko; she was currently looking in all directions, leaning forward now and then as she pointed out various things to Kohaku. The fact that she was unattached was also curious. He knew there had been several matches, both human and youkai alike, yet she had refused them all. Or so he assumed, considering she was out wandering with other unattached males.
Perhaps she had agreed to be part of the re-establishment of the slayers. Kohaku had often mentioned that his sister had turned down just as many suitors as her purpose lay within the confines of her own village, forced to rebuild it from the ground up.
The boy was happy with his sister's choice, even laughing when Rin brought up the monk, assuming they'd earned their fairy tale ending after Naraku's defeat.
"Unless you can best her in battle, she won't even give you the time of day," he'd said, grinning with pride. Rin had wanted to know if the monk had tried, but Kohaku had shaken his head. "Miroku-sama just wants her to be happy, and he knows he can't do that for her."
"Because she hit him too much?" Rin had asked.
"Something like that." Kohaku had met Sesshoumaru's gaze then, his own having seen far too much for a boy his age, but Sesshoumaru had understood. It was likely that without the constant threat of death, his sister's priorities had changed, leaving her to break off ties with the monk in search of her own destiny. Sometimes the lifelines one held onto so desperately during battle fizzled under the weight of the title of 'normalcy'.
Sesshoumaru couldn't fault her for it.
"Smell anything?" Inuyasha called out, hot on his tail as they burst through the treeline.
"Nothing. Which in itself is odd." Sesshoumaru slowed to a stop at the next hill, their destination below them at the base of a mountain. Nothing looked out of place, but the best camouflage never did. Ah-Un touched down beside them, the miko's back straight as she gazed down into the valley.
"It's weird we haven't found anything," Inuyasha groused, stuffing his hands into his sleeves.
"They intend to stay hidden." Sesshoumaru flexed his claws, itching to sink them into something.
"It's too bad she doesn't have a tracker on her," the miko mumbled, Sesshoumaru raising an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term. "Never mind. I just mean there's no way of communicating with her outside of actually finding her."
Kohaku tightened his grip on Ah-Un's reins. "If we don't find anything here, we'll go to Sakidou next. Even if Sango hasn't seen Rin, she might have information on her disappearance."
"You don't think anyone else has been taken, do you?" the miko asked, her agitation heavy in the air as they made their way down the hill.
"What I think is that it's strange that Rin was taken without anyone seeing anything. She has no reason to be targeted other than her connection to Sesshoumaru-sama." He looked over at the daiyoukai. "And since there hasn't been a ransom or threat, there's got to be something else going on."
Inuyasha cursed loudly. "I thought we were done with this shit! Weren't we supposed to have a break now that Naraku's dead?"
"You forget, little brother, Naraku spent most of his existence acquiring power. Now that he is gone, others will be vying for the position." The sun had just risen over the clouds, greeting the day with exuberance; their mood was anything but as they made their way towards the village, hoping for some sign of their lost packmate.