A/N: Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! What you've been waiting almost 30 chapters for: more Inufamily!

InuYasha leaned against the wall inside Kaede's small hut, staring into the dying embers of the cookfire. Kagome was sleeping beside him, and ordinarily he would have joined her, but not tonight. Even after several years of peace, he couldn't bring himself to relax enough to sleep on nights like this. He glanced over to his wife's peacefully slumbering form and let a soft smile curve his lips. He gently reached over and ran gentle fingers through her hair, sighing quietly. He pulled his hand back in surprise as Kagome suddenly sat bolt upright, looking frantic.

"kagome! I didn't wake you, did I? I didn't mean-"

"something's coming," she said, cutting him off. "there are yōkai near the village."

"what? Now?" he asked in alarm, sitting up straight beside her. "how close?"

"they're coming this way," she said, getting to her feet and reaching for her bow and arrows near the door.

"you stay here, I can—" she cut her husband off again. "NO! not tonight. Stay here with them, I can grab sango and miroku."

"but Kagome!" he caught her shoulder gently as she started to step outside into the snow. "please. Stay. I can still fight, you know that." She shook her head and brushed off his hand.

"exactly why I want you here, to protect the village…just in case."

Rin and Sesshomaru wound up taking a bit more of a circuitous route to the village, and because of the short winter day, it was after sundown before they neared their goal. Rin admired the stars as they trotted through the snow, noting that there was no moon.

Rin bumped into him as he stopped. We should proceed in human form from here, he told her, shifting back to encourage her to do the same. She took his hand and kept walking, seeing the well in the clearing. As they passed by it, a flash of red and silver darted in front of Rin, disappearing into the trees before she could get a good look. Sesshomaru held her hand tightly, preventing her from following it.

"did you see that?" she asked, staring after the point where the blur had vanished once more into the forest in front of them. Sesshomaru was more concerned with the running feet he could hear coming from the village—apparently they were already aware of their arrival. He let Rin's hand go to put his hand on his sword instead, preparing to draw it and defend her should that become necessary.

"stay close to me, Rin," he instructed her, glancing to where she had been to see she was already gone, following the mysterious blur from earlier. He let out a frustrated growl and followed her footprints into the forest, quickly losing everything but her scent. She was moving somewhat away from the village and the people coming from it, while they were coming straight for them as if someone was able to track them. He was willing to bet it was the miko.

He growled as he tried to follow Rin before they got too badly separated, when he suddenly heard the hum of an arrow through the trees, aimed for his head. He caught the shaft between his fingers, discarding it quickly before the miko's power affected him, and followed the arrow's flight out of the forest. A single shaft like that could easily kill Rin! He came out from the trees, unsurprised to find that Miko, Kagome, along with the formerly lecherous monk, Miroku, and the yōkai taiji-ya, Sango. All three looked very ready for a fight until they saw him.

"Sesshomaru! Onii-san!" kagome quickly lowered her bow, blushing brightly. She knew full well she had nearly skewered him. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Nor I, until this morning." He still greatly disliked being reminded of having a human for a sister-in-law, and a Miko at that.

"Kagome-sama, didn't you say there were two yōkai nearby?" Miroku asked, his staff still at the ready.

"there are," Sesshomaru assured the monk. "Rin seems to have become sidetracked. I was following her before you attempted to skewer me."

"I…do apologize…" kagome murmured, still bright red.

Elsewhere, still in the forest, Rin finally managed to track down the little red and silver imp. It stopped at the root of what Rin recognized as the Goshinboku, or God Tree, and turned to look at her. It seemed to be a pup—a tiny version of InuYasha, perhaps two feet high and two years old, with only one of the little triangular ears standing up while the other stayed folded. He was dressed all in red too, adding to the appearance. Rin squealed in delight and held her arms out for the tot, trying to encourage him to let her pick him up. He wandered over and held his arms up to her. Just as she put the child on her hip, a growling voice suddenly sounded nearby.

"Let him go."

Rin jumped in fright, gasping and turning to face a black-haired man who was glaring at her. He seemed to be wearing shrine attendant's robes, with deep blue hakama and a white kosode without any kind of jacket. Well, he had probably been asleep. He was snarling and holding an old and poorly-kept katana in his hands, the blade chipped and the handle ratty. Rin knew her beloved would never deign to use something so poorly taken care of. She felt as if she should recognize this man—after all, he was from the village, obviously, and his voice was very familiar indeed—but she just couldn't place it. And he smelled just like any other man in the village. "Let. Him. Go. NOW." He growled, his grip on the katana tightening.

She gently allowed the tot back on his feet on the forest floor. As he scampered over to the stranger, climbing his leg, Rin spoke. "who are you? Have we met?"

"I should be asking you that. Yōkai aren't welcome in this village without an invitation, and I know full well I didn't give one."

"well…I—" she began to explain when a short noise only she could hear sounded. She turned immediately toward the sound and moved off at a run, seeming to the stranger to vanish into the darkness.

"hey! Wait! Kagome, watch out!" the man yelled, hoping to be able to warn the Miko before the Yōkai arrived.

Rin stopped beside Sesshomaru and quickly hid behind him at the sight of three armed people prepared to harm her. He held his arm halfway out to the side to cover her as she nestled into his moko, peeking out just enough to see. The strange man came crashing out through the brush a few seconds later, cursing as a branch caught his face.

"good. We are all here." Sesshomaru of course was able to recognize his little brother, and supposed the child now tucked in one arm, clinging to his torso, was his nephew.

"Sesshomaru! What are you doing here?" InuYasha demanded, scowling. And why, of all days, did you choose TONIGHT to show up?!

"Rin wanted to visit you, and we underestimated how long it would take to travel from my mother's palace." Rin was surprised at how calmly Sesshomaru could lie. Or, she supposed he probably just viewed it as telling only part of the truth. "we wish to request accommodation for this evening, and perhaps tomorrow as well."

InuYasha narrowed his eyes at his brother. "don't lie. You'd never just show up in the middle of the night for a social visit. Hell, you wouldn't show up at all."

Rin had to admit that InuYasha was absolutely right about that, of course, and the last few years proved it. Once Rin no longer lived in his village, Sesshomaru had stopped visiting it altogether. The white-haired man nodded, acknowledging the truth of the statement.

"very well. We need a place to hide."

"hide from what?" InuYasha's thick black brows furrowed more deeply over his brown eyes in suspicion.

"there are threats against our lives, both my own and Rin's as well. No one would expect us to come here, so it is more likely to be safe than any other location."

"well you're not hiding here," he said firmly, sticking Tessaiga in the ground in front of him. "get lost, Sesshomaru. And I don't know who that woman with you is, but the last time I saw Rin she'd been turned like me somehow and you'd thrown her out on her ass!"

Sesshomaru could not hold back the quiet growl his little brother's words produced. "foolish little brother," he muttered darkly. "this is the same Rin you speak of. Her transformation is a story for another time." He paused before stating "an assassin tried to take her life, and mine, just last night. I would not be here if I saw another option." He noted the miko and the taiji-ya gasp softly in concern. Perhaps the women would turn the tide in his favor and overrule his annoyance of an otouto.

InuYasha gritted his teeth. "I still don't want you here." Rin began to feel more bold and stepped out from behind Sesshomaru into the light of the small paper lamp Miroku had thought to bring along in the deep darkness of the moonless night. Though she had obviously changed out of her formal attire, she had chosen to keep the softer, thinner sash that tied higher up, which served to make her condition apparent. Seeing this, kagome rounded on her husband. "InuyASHA-!"

He took two steps back from her, holding out his free hand defensively. "wait, wait! I'm holding the—huh?" he looked down at the arm that had been holding his young son, finding only his outer jacket. He then looked up and almost jumped forward in alarm to see the tot standing before Sesshomaru, staring up curiously at him, pudgy hands raised over his head, grasping. Sesshomaru was staring back at the tot, unsure quite what to do with him. Finally, after only a miniscule hesitation, he lifted the tot from under the arms, holding him up for a better look.

"I take it you are my nephew?" he addressed the silver-haired toddler, who reached out to touch his cheek stripes. "pretty…" the little one mumbled in fascination.

"put him down!" InuYasha spat, a note of concern clear in his voice.

"it's all right, InuYasha. He's not going to hurt him." Kagome was far more confident than her husband seemed to be, but she was also right. Sesshomaru settled the boy on his hip and played with his ears a little.

"It seems he takes more after his mother," Sesshomaru noted teasingly. The boy was obviously the spitting image of his father, identical in nearly every detail except eye color. He giggled as his ears were petted, squirming.

"you should see his little brother if you think that," InuYasha grumbled, picking Tessaiga back out of the ground again. "all right, fine. There's a hut on the south end of town, the last one on the last row. You can use it. We're staying at Kaede's for now anyway."

Sesshomaru nodded curtly, setting the toddler down again and watching him run up to the miko and demand to be picked up once more as the four humans moved off, back to their own houses. The women conferred about meetings tomorrow, but Sesshomaru wasn't much listening until Rin took his hand and began to lead him, apparently knowing the way. "I had no idea I was an aunt!" she said cheerfully. "he's so cute!"

He nodded slightly. "I had no idea I was an uncle."

"maybe you two should talk more?" Rin teased, smiling as they reached the hut, which was full of the scent of his otouto and the miko, as well as two small children. This must be their personal house, then. Rin found and lit a lamp, then settled into bed, yawning in exhaustion. Despite knowing his brother would be next to useless should someone follow them, Sesshomaru could not keep his eyes open after he sat on the futon. The past two days had just been so…draining…

The morning sun streamed through the window when Sesshomaru became aware of their visitor.

A/N: well, I left the note at the top alone so you could see how long I've been trying to work on this! Writer's block is annoying, and I finally broke through it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I promise I put a lot of effort into it!