Authors note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's sort of a blasé chapter. There's a lot of space to fill before the next episodes come in. I'll get into some better content in the next couple chapters. :)

Chapter 30 - Haunt

The sun rose slowly over the land, casting colors across the sky, which then quickly melted into divided blue and yellow. The celestial sphere of heat, slowly rose into the sky. Blazing its adoration onto the landscape below.

The river which they had camped at, was deep in a rocky canyon. The powerful water over centuries had worn away the rock, and formed a deep gorge. In the daylight, Sesshomaru could see the rocky walls rising high on either side of the gorge. The forest which they had entered through, was the only lower entrance to the gorge that could be seen. It was a quiet, protected place. Seemingly devoid of any demons, or humans that he could scent.

As night passed to day, Sesshomaru walked back to where Rin and Jaken slept. A-un had wandered into the greenery, munching on whatever tasty bushes that he found. Jaken was awake, rubbing his bulging eyes with his fists.

"Oh! Lord Sesshomaru!" The imp called out, quickly standing in his master's presence. "I was wondering where you had gone. Ehugh— you didn't leave me again… did you my Lord?"

Not responding, the yokai's eyes were on Rin. She was still soundly sleeping. Good, she should rest as much as possible. It was likely that, if indeed he did have to hunt down Naraku, their relatively simple travels could become more complicated.

"What do you think about this new information about Naraku, Jaken?"

Jaken made a sound of disgust. "You mean what that wench Kagura said, about him being powerful?" The imp crossed his arms over his tiny chest. "I wouldn't trust a word that manipulative woman says my Lord. She's clearly only looking for her own benefit."

Thoughtful, Sesshomaru's eyes lifted to the sky. "True." There was a couple heartbeats of silence before he continued. "But it seemed that she truly wanted to be free of Naraku's control. Whatever her ulterior motives were, it would seem she truly believes that I am the only one who can defeat Naraku."

Jaken scratched his lack of chin with a single claw. "Do you think this Naraku may truly be a threat, then, my Lord?"

Sesshomaru remained silent. He had no idea if Naraku was strong enough to be a threat. What he did know, was that Kagura believed he was. Sometimes intuition was more accurate that knowledge. Something was very wrong.

"My Lord? Will we hunt down this Naraku and slay him?" Jaken's voice became squeaky at the end, a clear fear response.

"It is not our concern." The unspoken 'yet', hung in the air between them.

Abruptly, a cry ended the conversation. Sesshomaru turned sharply toward the sound, Rin had her fists covering her eyes, as she whimpered in her sleep.

So. The nightmares have returned to haunt her again.

Leaning down, Sesshomaru grasped Rin's shoulder, much as he had the first time he'd woken her from her terrors.

"Rin."

Her dark eyes flashed open at the sound of his voice, they glistened with unshed tears, and wet her long lashes. Still captured by her dream, she blinked up at him, as if trying to reconcile his presence. The blink made her tears spill over, they coursed down her cheeks and dropped from her chin onto his hand.

"Lord… Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru didn't confirm, she could see him. "Nightmares?" He asked, what he hoped was in a gentle tone.

Nodding, she wiped her cheeks with her fists, and brought her bent knees to her chest.

"I dreamt about my family."

Considerably more considerate than usual, Jaken showed up at his shoulder with a bowl of water for her. Sesshomaru withdrew his hand, when she reached for the fresh water with a grateful smile at the imp.

"It's okay… it's all gone now." She cast her next smile to Sesshomaru, but he noted it didn't reach her eyes.

The pain still haunts her. Seeing her family killed in front of her.

The flash of a memory tried to surface. His father, blood in the snow. Quickly Sesshomaru pushed the memory away, clinging only to the understanding of the pain she carried — and buried. Standing to his feet, Sesshomaru shifted his gaze away, distancing from the familiarity of such pain.

"Lord Sesshomaru, can we collect some more strawberries before we go on?" Rin asked quietly. "They were so delicious."

Slightly the lord inclined his head, giving her consent.

"Ooo yippee!" Jaken exclaimed. Clearly, he had also enjoyed the treat.

A short time later, now full of yet more strawberries, with additional berries packed for the road - they started out on their daily travels.

Sesshomaru lead their small clan back toward the Musashi province, taking a very wide loop to avoid the main roads. The travel was slow, at a casual pace. There really was no hurry. Sesshomaru wanted to keep an eye on InuYasha, ensure his younger brother did take any wildly rash action against Naraku. Something insipidly stupid, which would force Sesshomaru into getting involved.

Rin, while joyful and upbeat during the day, faced her terrors and fears throughout the night. Almost every night she woke, struggling with the terrors of her memories. There was little that Sesshomaru could do, other than to wake her, and be near when she needed reassurance that she was not alone. He wondered if, she felt safe enough now that the traumatic memories were swirling just below the surface. The nightmares that plagued her, were one of the few foes that Sesshomaru could not vanquish on her behalf.

While Jaken still seemed to struggle understanding why Sesshomaru would have brought Rin with in the first place, he had accepted her presence. Clearly she would not be leaving them anytime soon. Additionally, Sesshomaru's preference for the girl was painfully obvious to the imp. So he accepted her. Grudgingly thought it may have been. His delight, was that her presence seemed to have lessened Sesshomaru's aggression — a little bit.

The longer they traveled, the more cohesive their group became. They settled into a daily sort of routine. Rise, eat, travel, find some fresh water, travel, eat, rest. Sometimes they would travel into the night, depending on Sesshomaru's mood that particular day.