My Sanctuary

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/30407622.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Fandoms: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 半妖の夜叉姫 | Hanyou no Yashahime |
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon (Anime)
Relationships: Rin/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha), Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Characters: Rin (InuYasha), Sesshoumaru (InuYasha), InuYasha (InuYasha),
Higurashi Kagome, Kaede (InuYasha), Kouga (InuYasha), Kouga's Pack
(InuYasha), Inu no Taishou, Jaken (InuYasha), Higurashi Kagome's
Mother, Higurashi Kagome's Grandfather, Higurashi Kagome's Family,
Higurashi Moe, Higurashi Souta, Kirinmaru (Hanyou no Yashahime),
Zero (Hanyou no Yashahime), Naraku (InuYasha), Kagura (InuYasha),
Abi (InuYasha), Shiori (InuYasha), Tsukuyomaru (InuYasha), Izayoi
(InuYasha), Sesshoumaru's Mother (InuYasha), Sango (InuYasha),
Miroku (InuYasha), Shippou (InuYasha), Kikyou (InuYasha)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aged-Up Character(s), Romance,
Drama, Fluff, Sexual Assault, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Foreplay,
Sexual Roleplay, Oral Sex, Sex, Rough Sex, Outdoor Sex, Doggy Style,
Smut, Mating Bites, First Kiss, First Time, Masturbation in Shower,
Angst and Hurt/Comfort, One Night Stands, Pregnancy, Unplanned
Pregnancy, Pining, Mutual Pining, Separations, Slice of Life,
Parenthood, Reunions, Pregnant Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Light
Bondage, Light Dom/sub, SessRinWedding, Weddings, Action, Fights,
Kidnapping, Battle, Happy Ending
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of My Sanctuary
Collections: SessRinNation Fanfic of the Day/SessRinNation Fanfic del Dia
Stats: Published: 2021-04-12 Completed: 2023-07-24 Words: 378,016
Chapters: 45/45
 My Sanctuary
by LuvinAniManga

Summary

Modern AU. Rin needs a vacation, so she decides a camping trip is in order. After scoring
entry to an exclusive wilderness sanctuary, she sets out on her planned two weeks of solitude.
But when she finds a wounded man in the middle of the forest and proceeds to nurse him
back to health, she discovers he’s actually a demon—a highly feared but endangered species
shrouded in secrecy. Despite his best efforts, she’s determined to know him better. But when
Rin’s vacation comes to an abrupt end, will what they shared be enough to bind them beyond
the boundaries of the sanctuary—or will he go back into hiding and out of her life?

MAIN STORY: COMPLETE.

SIDE STORY: HAUNTED HONEYMOON: COMPLETE.
COMPANION FIC: UNRESOLVED FEELINGS: IN PROGRESS (see "Ch. 45" for details)

Winner of the 2022 SessRin is Canon Awards "Best Ongoing Fanfic."

Notes
See the end of the work for notes
 An Impromptu Vacation
Chapter Notes

Hey everyone, I’m back~. Yeah, I know I told you guys there were no guarantees of me
writing another fic, but no sooner did I finish Denying Her Nothing than a rabid horde
of plot bunnies attacked my brain and feasted upon it. This is the result.

So, fun fact: Until a few months ago, I actually didn’t care to read modern AU Inuyasha
fanfiction…but then I read one and got addicted, so I wanted to try one myself. As such,
this will be a pretty different style than what you’ve seen from me before, but rest
assured I’m still going to try to keep everyone in character as much as possible while
adapting to the modern setting. All that being said, I’m so excited to finally share this
with you, and I hope you like it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it!

Also, I apologize if I get anything medically-related wrong in this fic. I have absolutely
zero experience or knowledge of the medical field, so whatever is here is based on
internet research. Same goes for camping and most outdoor-related activities. (Why
have I done this to myself?)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rin Higurashi plopped down on the couch in the maternity ward break room with an
explosive sigh and uncapped a bottle of apple-cinnamon-flavored tea. She sank into the
couch as if to become one with it and took a generous sip of the drink, the slightly spicy
flavor bursting like the newly arrived autumn on her tongue.

She let her gaze unfocus as she stared ahead at the familiar bulletin board on the opposite
wall. It was laden with all the usual, faded papers: the required worker’s rights notices, the
shift calendar, the Demon Slayer Corps’ trademarked “If You Suspect, Call 444 Direct” ad
with an oni mask grinning on it.

She tried to stretch the stiffness out of her shoulders, rolling her head along the back of the
couch and groaning when something cracked. She worked as a perinatal nurse, assisting
women before, during, and after their deliveries while making sure they suffered no adverse
conditions. The last month of work had been particularly intense, but now, at the end of
September, the number of deliveries had positively exploded.

They called the influx of their newborn patients “Christmas babies”—conceived around the
winter holidays and now making their way into the world. This time of year always saw
more births than normal, though. Winter meant people went outside less and sought more
comfort indoors.

The result? More babies.

She loved her job, though, so she didn’t really mind.

The door to the break room opened, and Rin’s favorite OBGYN to work with, Dr. Kaede
Kimura, walked in. They had become good friends over the last few years, despite the vast
age difference, and Kaede had asked Rin to drop formalities outside the delivery room long
ago.

“Well done with Honoda-san’s delivery today, Rin,” the doctor said in greeting, heading to
the cabinets to root through the stash of staff snacks. “I know I say it all the time, but I can’t
say it enough: We’re very lucky to have you.”

“Aww, thank you! And you did marvelously as always, Kaede. I’m always so in awe!”
Especially since the woman was still going strong in her sixties with no hint of slowing down
or going into retirement.

Kaede sat in a chair across from the young nurse and looked her over with her one good eye,
the other hidden behind an eye-patch—a keepsake from her short stint with the Demon
Slayer Corps. “You do a great job of taking care of the patients, but I fear you’ve not been
taking care of yourself lately, child.”

Rin rolled her shoulders. “I’ll be fine, but thank you for worrying, Kaede. We’ve just been
so busy lately that my body’s trying to catch up.”

As much as she tried to deny and mask it, Rin knew she was stressed—even her body was
telling her so. For the last couple months now, her period had been spotty, not coming when
she expected it and then suddenly showing up in full force a couple weeks later (like now,
actually—another reason for today’s particular tiredness). It had been happening at some
point every year, usually—ever since she started her clinicals during college—so she wasn’t
worried about her long-term health, although the irregularity did always rattle her. Still, it
was never a huge concern, especially since she didn’t have to worry about these delays being
possible pregnancies. After all, she had heard only the Virgin Mary was capable of an
immaculate conception, so…that was that.

“When was the last time you took a day off?” Kaede asked.

Rin bit her lip as she thought about that one. It took her a full minute. “Ah! It was last year
when Souta and Moe got married.”

Kaede frowned. “Wasn’t that in the spring?”

“Yes! The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and their wedding photos were absolutely
gorgeous!”

“And before that?”

Rin thought about it again. “Um…you know, I can’t really remember.”

“You haven’t taken a day off in almost a year and a half, and you can’t remember the last
time before that?”
Rin chuckled weakly, scratching her head. “Yeah…I guess so. Time sure does fly.”

And she certainly felt it. She was twenty-six already, having worked for almost two years at
this medical center an hour and a half’s drive from the rest of her family in Tokyo.

Now that I think about it, when’s the last time I went to visit them…?

“You need to take a vacation, Rin.”

“Maybe you’re right. I’ll think about it after the Christmas baby rush is over—”

“Let me rephrase, Rin. You will take a vacation. Two weeks and no less. Next month.”

“But Kaede, we’re so busy—”

“Trust me, it’ll be winding down soon, and we can manage. Everyone else takes their
vacation days, Rin. You need to learn to do so as well.”

“If you say so….”

“I do. Remember, other people’s health depends on you, and if you’re not at your best, your
mistakes could have a serious impact.”

Rin’s heart dropped. This sounded like the prelude to a serious conversation. “Have I…done
something wrong, Kaede? Did I make a mistake?” Her biggest fear was failure and
disappointing those who had faith in her.

Kaede shook her head. “Nothing serious. Just some small oversights here and there on
paperwork or making sure we have all our equipment on hand from the start.” Rin winced.
She had been making a lot of extra trips lately to fetch equipment she forgot. “It’s just not
like you, and I’m worried. The bags under your eyes are growing, and while the patients
won’t see that your smiles are at half-mast, I can tell. Take a break, Rin. Before something
more serious happens.”

Rin ducked her head, censured. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I expect to see the vacation request in by next week.”

A tight string seemed to unwind from inside Rin, loosening the anxiety around her heart.
Maybe Kaede was right. She did need a vacation. Most of her life revolved around work.
When she wasn’t at work, she was at home or running errands. Her social life was almost
nonexistent.

Nursing jobs were competitive in Tokyo, so even with the abundance of hospitals and
healthcare centers, she had struggled to find a job in a maternity ward until she opened up her
search area to those outside of the capital. After months of searching, she had finally
managed to land a job at a medical center in one of the more rural areas an hour and a half
outside the city—close enough to go home when she wanted but far enough that she didn’t
make the trip often. She had come to this area knowing absolutely no one and having to
make friends from scratch. She had made some work friends, but most of them were the
friends you made out of necessity for an excuse to socialize after a shift. None of them had
become her best friends.

She had left those behind in Tokyo, and now they were moving on with their lives, whereas
she felt kind of…stuck.

Maybe it was time to update her languishing social media page with a nice post about her
being on vacation. Let someone envy her life for a change, instead of the other way around.

She smiled at Kaede. “Understood. I’ll do it.”

First though, Rin had to figure out how she wanted to use her vacation. She knew she should
take the opportunity to go visit her family, at least for a few days, but she really wanted to go
somewhere and do something. Something outside of Tokyo.

She was an outdoorsy girl who loved hiking, camping, fishing, and mountain climbing. You
name it, she had tried it. Childhood family vacations had fostered that love of the outdoors
within her, and so she had visited most of the national parks in the country by the time she
graduated high school. She recalled those vacations fondly, missing the built-in school
breaks that had allowed her and her family to traverse the country. Now, because her work
hours were so crazy, she had only managed to visit the nearest parks and sanctuaries in the
Tokai and Kanto regions. She wanted to go someplace new.

Ideally, she wanted to travel the world, hitting such great natural wonders and hiking spots as
the United States’ Grand Canyon, the Swiss Alps, and the African savannah.

But buying an international ticket on such short notice sure was expensive.

She made good money as a nurse, certainly, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t frugal. So
maybe it was best to stick to some place domestic instead and wait to plan out an
international trip a little better in the future.

Besides, as comfortable as she was travelling alone, the idea of taking such a big trip by
herself without anyone by her side to share in the majesty of the moment left her heart feeling
empty. Better to stick to a domestic view, once again, where it wouldn’t bother her so much
to reach a mountain summit alone and snap a selfie.

As she was scrolling through lists of the best camping sites in the country, clicking off the
constant barrage of shopping and Demon Slayer Corps hotline ads, her cell phone rang, and
Kagome’s picture popped up. Rin grinned as she accepted the call. “Hey, sis! Good timing,
‘cause I’ve got a question for you.”

“I hope it’s a long one, because I feel like I haven’t heard your voice in forever,” Kagome
answered.

“Kaede’s basically forcing me to take a vacation, so I’m trying to decide where to go—”

“What? No way! You’re taking a vacation? Well, finally!”

Rin laughed. “I know, I know. I’m a workaholic. What can I say? I love the babies.”

She had actually applied for both neonatal and perinatal job postings and had honestly been
hoping for a neonatal position so she could take care of the newborns directly…but the
medical center here was the first to offer her a job for their perinatal posting, and she had
taken it, so sick of the job search process. She didn’t regret it though. As a smaller regional
facility, when the nurses were short-staffed, she did have the opportunity to help out the
neonatal nurses from time to time, so she still got plenty of time with the babies.

“Then when are you going to start having your own, girl?”

Rin laughed. “I don’t think I need to whip out my nursing degree to tell you it doesn’t quite
work like that. Babies don’t just come on their own.”

“Yeah, so…what are you doing to find you a baby daddy?”

Rin snorted in laughter even as she winced at the term. Kagome had a tendency to drop that
sort of lingo from time to time. “You never know. I’ll probably find someone at the medical
center one day. I know a lot of old classmates that had medical romances.”

“Yeah. In a metropolitan hospital teeming with hot, single doctors. You’re out in the middle
of nowhere, where, and I quote, ‘Everyone gets married right out of high school or college at
best.’”

Rin scrunched up her nose at hearing her own words used against her. So her delusions about
waiting to find love after focusing fully on completing her Master’s in nursing and
subsequent certified nurse specialist credentialing had taken a hit. But she still had time,
right? She was only twenty-six.

Never mind that most everyone she knew from back home was already married or at least
engaged, and half of them were starting to have kids….

Good thing her sister was still single. Rin always felt a little better about herself knowing
there was someone else out there—someone older—who shared her single fate.

Or…wait, she’s not exactly single anymore, is she? I forgot about that new boyfriend of
hers. Then again, knowing Kagome, it probably won’t last.

Kagome continued chatting. “So it sounds to me like a vacation is exactly what you need to
find a guy.”

“Find a guy. Yeah…sure…,” Rin answered noncommittally as she scrolled through a list of
the most secluded spots in the nation.

Time for a change of topic. “So, was there a reason you called?”

“Oh, yes! I had to ask your opinion. So, what do you think it means when a guy asks you to
come out to his family’s private resort for a weekend?”
Rin’s finger froze over the mouse. “Either he’s looking to get in your pants…or he’s
planning to propose to you.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“I’m guessing Nishikuni-san asked you this?”

Kagome huffed. “I’ve told you to call him Inuyasha, Rin. Neither of you are big on
formalities, so I don’t see why you persist in calling him that.”

“It just feels strange to use his given name when I haven’t even met the guy,” Rin answered.
She hoped Kagome felt the barb she meant to deliver with that comment.

“I’m sorry, and I keep trying to schedule something, but between both of your insane
schedules, I’ve just about given up. No worries though. I’m sure it will happen soon.
Especially if he, you know…plans on proposing.”

Rin’s eyes widened, and she stared at the phone in shock. “You really think he’s going to
propose? What happened to the sex theory? I mean, you only started dating a few months
ago, right?” Kagome didn’t answer. Rin peered at her phone like she could see through the
airwaves to her sister. She was tempted to turn this into a video call, if only to confirm
Kagome was wearing her “sheepish guilt” face. “Kagome, what aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing! Just that, uh…well…he wouldn’t really need to go through all that trouble….”

“Kagome…have you guys already had sex?”

“…Maybe.”

“Kagome!” Rin shrieked.

“I know, I know, but it just happened—”

“How does sex ‘just happen?’”

“It just does, okay? I wouldn’t expect the girl who’s never even been on a date to
understand!”

Rin winced, stung. It wasn’t her fault that any guy she had ever liked hadn’t liked her back.
Or vice versa. She was still waiting to feel that click with someone. Naturally, then, she had
to defend herself. “Yeah, well, you know what they say about school, right? Grades, sleep,
or a social life: pick two of the three. I chose grades and sleep. You choose sleep and a
social life.”

“Ouch! Take the dagger out of my back, why don’t ya? I mean, you’re right, but still….”

They were silent for several tense seconds before Rin took a deep breath and put on her
professional nurse voice. “Did you use protection?”

“Of course we did! Geez, Rin.”

“It’s my job to ask.”

“Yeah, well, if you must know, I even got on the pill a few months ago, just in case.”

“I see. So, when exactly did this happen?”

Kagome sighed and murmured, “A couple weeks ago.”

“And you’re only just telling me? Girl, I’m your sister. You’re supposed to tell me these
sorts of things immediately!”

“I know, I just…didn’t want you to be disappointed in me. Like you are now.” Rin opened
her mouth to argue, but Kagome beat her to it. “Don’t try to deny it—I know you’re one of
those who believe in waiting for marriage and everything.”

“Didn’t you?” Rin asked, somewhat befuddled by that comment. Kagome had always been
an insistent older sister as far as that was concerned. Or was this a case of “rules for thee but
not for me?” “I mean…you and Houjou never went that far, right?”

“No, we didn’t. He wanted to wait, and at the time, I was okay with that. I mean, we were
still pretty young. And I didn’t…I don’t know…ever feel the overwhelming urge to do it
with him, you know?”

Rin didn’t say anything, because she didn’t know. She felt the urge to have sex, certainly—
she was a young, somewhat frustrated (if she had to be honest) virgin. But she hadn’t ever
met a man she’d had an overwhelming urge to do it with just to “scratch the itch,” as they
said.

Kagome continued talking. “Don’t get me wrong: Houjou was a great guy. He was super
nice. But I just didn’t feel any passion with him. In the end, he just felt like he made a great
friend, but not a boyfriend. You get what I’m saying?”

Rin could see that. Houjou had been your typical sweet-boy-next-door. The entire Higurashi
family had loved him. He and Kagome dated from middle school all the way through
college. Everyone thought the two of them would get married. But now that Rin was older,
she could look back and see the signs. Dating for that long, it must have felt more like
something too comfortable to break off until it couldn’t be helped.

When Houjou had proposed, Kagome refused, citing that she wasn’t ready to get married
yet. Houjou said he would wait. Kagome didn’t want to. They broke up. She had dated on
and off over the last few years, but nothing ever lasted more than a few weeks.

Not until Inuyasha Nishikuni. Even so, while six months was a recent record for Kagome, it
still felt to Rin like a really short time in which to propose. But if they had already had sex…
why else would be go to all this trouble?

Maybe he’s just a really nice guy and wants to pamper her for a weekend.

“Well, there must be passion with Nishikuni-san if you’re already sleeping together.”
“Okay, geez Rin, it was one time.”

Rin wasn’t knowledgeable in the ways of modern dating, but that seemed strange to her.
“Really? Just once?”

“Okay, one night, not one time. And I’m telling you, I was totally surprised when he
agreed. I mean, we had kind of talked about it before, and as I said, I was ready months ago,
but he seemed a bit skittish, you know? Which I thought was weird, because he’s really
gung-ho about everything else he does, so it just seemed odd that he wasn’t as anxious to do
this as I was. But then one night he finally agreed. I have no idea what prompted the
change. Then again, it’s not like we’ve done it since, so…maybe you’re right?”

“Have you guys ever talked about getting married?” Rin asked. She was pretty sure those
discussions happened before the proposal.

“It’s come up once or twice.”

“So there’s a possibility it could be a proposal?”

“I guess…maybe? I mean, why else would he choose such a fancy place to stay? This is not
the sort of place you go just to sleep together. He even had to give me this exclusive entry
ticket and everything. I’m telling you, Rin, I knew his family had money, but I didn’t think it
was like this. This place seems really, really high-class. Honestly, I’d be a little nervous to
go there. I’ll probably stick out like a huge zit.”

“Then ask him to go somewhere else.”

“I tried, but he was kinda insistent. I don’t know why. He just said he really wanted to show
me something there.”

“Sounds like you’re kinda stuck then.”

“Well, that’s the thing. I told him I’d go, and he already gave me the ticket…but Grandpa
surprised me the other day, telling me he spontaneously bought tickets for us to go to the
National Shrine Keeper’s Convention in Kyoto, and of course it’s that same weekend.”

“Wait, there’s a shrine keeper’s convention?” Rin asked.

“There’s a convention for everything, apparently. Grandpa’s been wanting to go for years
now—something about wanting to meet all the bigwig priests and priestesses in the country
—but it never seemed to work out, and this year he finally just took the bull by the horns. I
really don’t want to disappoint him, and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot about being a priestess
myself, but…if Inuyasha’s really planning on proposing, I would hate to cancel on him, you
know?”

Rin hummed in thought. Truthfully, she was a little shocked by this turn of events.

Kagome had only met Inuyasha Nishikuni one night six months ago at a party that their
friends, Miroku and Sango Fukushima, had held. He was apparently a college friend of
Miroku’s, although as Sango had intimated to Kagome and Rin, she hardly ever saw him
come around. He hadn’t even come to her and Miroku’s wedding, although he had sent an
extremely expensive gift for both it and the births of their three children. Apparently, his
schedule was so tight, Miroku had to go out to meet him when possible. So by all accounts, it
had been a rare circumstance for him to even show up at this party that night.

If she had at least met the guy, Rin wouldn’t have minded so much of the mystery, but to
date, Kagome had only shown her some pictures of him. He appeared a normal enough
young man (despite sporting rather a lot of extra length in his hair—and thank goodness he
didn’t sport the infernal man bun) with brown eyes and black hair, and he had a tendency to
wear baseball caps.

She really wanted to judge this young man for herself before any possible proposal.

“Well, you said his family owns this place, right? So would it really matter if you had to
reschedule? Just tell him something came up and you can’t make it, and if he really does
love you, he won’t mind having to wait a little longer to make it happen,” Rin suggested.

Kagome sighed. “You’re right. It shouldn’t be that big a deal. Still, I hate to waste this
ticket….” She gasped. “Rin, why don’t you use it?”

“Me? I don’t know, Kagome. I wasn’t really thinking of going to a resort for my vacation
—”

“No, listen, it’s already paid for, basically. I mean, it was free. And you have to enter on the
date printed on the ticket, or it’s no good. So it’d be a waste not to use it. And I think you’d
love it. Apparently it’s on this huge tract of pristine sanctuary land or something. It’s totally
private, so you’d never be able to explore it otherwise.”

“Really? Do they have a website? Let me check it out.”

“Hang on, let me get the ticket.” There was some rustling in the background before Kagome
came back to the phone. “Okay, here it is: www.westernsanctuary.jp.”

Rin typed in the address, but the screen that popped up was nearly blank. The Western
Sanctuary logo, which sported a crest of a curled-up dog, stood out against a black
background. Beneath it appeared to be the company’s tagline: Where you can be your true
self. A simple white field filled in with the words “visitor code” completed the page. “Whoa,
this place really is exclusive. You can’t even access the website without a visitor’s code.”

“Oh, that must be what this number is here at the bottom.” Kagome rattled it off, and when
Rin typed it in, the website finally opened into something more recognizable. She went to
the “About Us” tab, where it showed photos of the resort and all its amenities.

“You’re right—this place does look rather ritzy. Although it’s weird that they don’t show any
people in these photos….” She scrolled past the text about the place’s history—founded
during the early Meiji era, apparently—and resort offerings until she finally saw the words
“wilderness sanctuary.”
 “Oh my gosh, this place is huge!” Rin exclaimed as she scanned the information. “I mean,
they have thousands of acres of land here. How have I never heard of it?” She had
researched most of the famous hiking places in the country, even if she hadn’t visited them
all. They were on her bucket list. “And it says that camping outdoors is encouraged. That’s
a relief. Sanctuaries are usually there to protect wildlife, so they don’t usually allow people
to stay there.”

“Girl, don’t tell me you’re going to rough it in the woods when you have a high-class resort
right there.”

“Why swim in a pool when you can swim in a lake?” Rin asked, grinning.

“Ugh! What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me?”

“You know I do.”

Rin did know—she just liked hearing it for reassurance. A habit picked up from a loveless
childhood.

The more Rin looked it over, the more this trip seemed to resonate as the one. From the size
of this sanctuary, she could easily get lost in the woods for a week or more and keep herself
entertained.

“Kagome, can you mail me that ticket?”

“I’ll drop it in the mailbox as soon as we get off the phone.”

Chapter End Notes

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Different as this setup
is, if you’re read my other fics, you can probably guess where this story is going, my
lovelies~. XD Let me know what you think so far!

Anyway, buckle up, because it’s going to be a long ride. I’m returning to my lengthy
fanfic roots; according to my properly made outline (no pantsing for me this time), this
one will probably be around twenty-five chapters.

Although I’ve been working on this for a few weeks and already written a few chapters,
the plan is to give you regular updates by posting once a week every Monday (giving
you something to look forward to on this most horrid day of the week) until I finish
writing—and then I might give you more in those last weeks. (I’m trying to give myself
time to work on other things as well and not burn myself out.)
Concerning my use of honorifics/last names:
I have chosen to use certain honorifics (primarily -san and -sama) to retain the Japanese
concepts of honor and familiarity. However, for other popular terms (such as the familial
onee-san, okaa-san, etc.), I will be using the English equivalents (mom, sis(ter), etc.). It
simply flows better with my dialogue, which—let’s face it—is going to have a fairly
American-sounding cadence.

Also, given that this is the modern era, every character now has a surname (which will
also be presented in the Western fashion after a character’s given name, just for the sake
of reading familiarity). Here are the ones I chose for this chapter for Kaede and
Inuyasha:

木村 – Kimura, literally “tree village.” (This is a common last name that just happened
to fit perfectly.)
西国 – Nishikuni, literally “west country/land.” (I totally made up this name and
apologize if I butchered the language. I know modern AU fanfics like to use “Taisho”
for Inuyasha’s family name, but for a number of reasons, having his family’s surname
mean “General” sounded weird to me, and I went another route that better matches the
setting of this story.)
福島 – Fukushima, literally “fortune island.” (Another common last name that might
have perhaps inspired Miroku’s fiscal habits, haha.)
 The Sanctuary
Chapter Notes

Thank you for all the lovely reviews/comments! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The Western Sanctuary was so far out in the middle of nowhere, Rin had no choice but to
drive there. Normally, she would just hop on a bus or train and walk to her destination, but
the nearest bus stop was ten miles away, and the bus only went in one direction every two
hours on the weekend. It was fine. She hadn't driven for a while, so her car needed a little
exercise anyway.

She set out before dawn, anxious to make the most of her vacation days. The ticket sat in its
envelope on her passenger's seat, and her phone lay in a cup holder, barking out directions at
her. Soon after turning off the local highway and onto the mountainous back road that would
take her to the resort, a barbed wire fence rose up alongside her, almost like the land it
ensconced was some military facility rather than a wilderness sanctuary. The sight of it made
her somewhat uncomfortable, as if telling her, "DO NOT ENTER," but she brushed off the
feeling and looked back at her GPS—

Which had just lost signal.

Well, that was alright. She liked it best when she could be disconnected from the world out in
nature. She had looked at the maps beforehand and knew that there was only one turnoff on
this road to get to the sanctuary.

Or so she told herself, but when she drove for another fifteen minutes and ended up at an
intersection with another mountain road, she realized she must have missed the turnoff. She
turned around and headed back, keeping her eyes peeled for any sort of entrance.

It was so hidden in the trees, she almost missed it.

The turnoff was only a gravel path—one she might have mistaken as a maintenance road if
she hadn't spotted a trail marker with the dog crest next to it. For a high-class resort, you'd
think they'd have a huge sign or something out on the road to direct people to it.

She pulled in, uneasiness crawling down her back as the towering trees closed in around her.
The fact that she felt unsettled bothered her more than the sensation itself. Why should she
fear the forest? She loved the outdoors.

Only a moment later, the gravel road evolved into asphalt again. A brick sign with the
Western Sanctuary logo beckoned to her from ahead, the road splitting around it into an
entrance and exit, each barred by a black, wrought-iron gate with the dog crest on it.
Now that's more of what I was expecting. She glanced in her rearview mirror but couldn't see
the main road anymore. Why is it so far back in the trees though, where people can't see
it? She shrugged the thought off. Perhaps it had been visible back when it was built and the
trees closed in around it. Nature did have a tendency to reclaim its territory.

She pulled into the entry lane and next to a kiosk, where she rolled down her window. A male
voice—prerecorded, but with a deep, engaging charm that still made her want to come in—
spoke from the kiosk.

"Welcome to Western Sanctuary. Please insert your ticket."

Rin dug out the black ticket and fed it into the machine. The kiosk slurped it up and whirred
for a few seconds before saying, "Welcome, Kagome Higurashi, to Western Sanctuary, where
you can be your true self. Please proceed through the gate and head straight down the road to
the resort for check-in."

At the kiosk's words, the gate swung open in front of Rin, and she pulled her car through. No
sooner had the back of her car passed the gate than it was closing again, and like magic, all of
the uneasiness Rin had felt for the last half hour while driving beside the resort's land melted
away. She drove along the road a little further until she spotted another turnoff and a sign.
One way pointed to the resort; the other pointed to the sanctuary parking lot.

She paused, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. Surely if she didn't plan to stay in
the resort, she didn't have to check in, right? It had to be like a national park—once she was
in, she was in, and she could go where she wanted.

Decided, she turned in the direction of the parking lot. She knew Kagome would probably
shake her silly to know she wasn't going to the resort, but being pampered really just wasn't
Rin's style.

She pulled into the parking lot, which only sported a couple other cars, some of them so
covered in fallen leaves that they appeared to have been there for a while. An information
board advertised itself at the edge of the lot, so once she was parked, she went out to
investigate. The board marked the start of the trails and showed a map of the entire sanctuary.
Stacks of brochures tucked in plastic bins illustrated the same map but gave more detailed
information.

There were several trails to take, each leading to different areas, such as a lake, a mountain
peak and a bog. She smiled as she took it all in. She was going to explore it all over these two
weeks!

Just then, a crack like thunder rumbled through the area. Rin frowned and looked up at the
sky. The sun had only broken over the horizon half an hour ago, but despite the semi-
darkness, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

The thunder echoed again, and Rin pulled out her phone on instinct to check the forecast,
only to remember that she had no cell signal. She turned the roaming signal off to save
battery and then looked back overhead. It neither looked nor smelled like rain, so she would
chance it.
After all, it wasn't as if she could leave, what with her entry ticket being used up, and it
wouldn't have been the first time she had been caught camping in the rain. It came with the
territory.

She ran back to her car; grabbed her specialty backpack, fitted out with all her camping
essentials; and took off down the trail that headed towards the mountain. She decided to start
her vacation on the path that would use the most energy, so that later she could spend a few
days relaxing by the lakeside fishing. She would need the fish to eat by then anyway—she
had only packed enough light food to supplement her plans to forage and fish.

The forest trail soon spit her out into a valley spread out before the mountain. Wildflowers
and grasses rustled in the breeze as she walked past. It took her an hour to reach the base of
the mountain. The fresh air that filled her lungs melted the months of built-up stress with
every breath, and the autumn sun that kissed her face was just warm enough to keep her from
growing too chilled in the mountain air but not hot enough to make her uncomfortable while
walking. Her heart thrummed in her chest from exertion, pumping out endorphins.

Yes, this type of vacation was exactly what she needed.

She took her time ascending the mountain. While there were several trails of varying
difficulties, there were also a few cliffs that beckoned to her, and she just had to pull out her
rock-climbing gear and scale them. She craved the burn in her arms and legs that only
hauling herself up a cliff side could bring.

As such, it took her most of the day to reach the summit, and when she did, she collapsed
onto a boulder and took in the vista.

It was still early enough in the fall that plenty of green dotted the landscape, but fiery patches
of leaves shone through. The lake that had been marked on the map curled around the base of
the mountain's other side, and she traced the stream that extended from it until it got lost in
the trees. The only sign of human civilization she found for kilometers around was a large,
traditional-Japanese building complex to the west.

That must be the resort, she thought. It's farther out than I realized.

Having taken in the sights and snapped a few photos and selfies with her phone, she
connected her solar-powered charger to it, set it in a patch of sunlight on top of the boulder,
and then lay back herself against the rock, letting the warm rays soak into her and the breeze
cool off her sweaty skin.

She ended up dozing for half an hour under the sun before getting up to continue her hike.
She took the trail that led down the other side of the mountain, which apparently passed by a
series of waterfalls that fed the stream that flowed into the lake.

Although the walk up a mountain burned her thighs—in a good way—going down a
mountain had always been Rin's least favorite part, gravity scrunching her toes against the
fronts of her shoes and stressing her knees.
About an hour into her walk, she stopped, finding a fallen tree blocking the path. Although…
fallen didn't appear to be the right word. The thick trunk appeared to have been cut clean
through.

"What in the world could have done this?" Rin wondered aloud, going over to investigate.
She ran her finger over the slice and gasped at its smoothness, as if a giant machine saw had
gone through it. But when she looked around the area, she found no tracks from machinery or
equipment.

Then she noticed more trees knocked down towards the east. Abandoning the path, she
followed the trail of destruction. Some trees, like the first, had been cleaved in two. Other
stumps were jagged splinters, as if the tree had been broken in half from some huge force.
The leaves on the trees were still full—a mix of greens and yellows, not dried-up browns—so
they had just gone down within a couple days.

Did a tornado go through here recently? I don't recall there being any bad weather in this
part of the country, though.

The memories of the strange, thunderous sounds she had heard that morning came back to
her. Was this the source of the noise? But what caused it?

Then she noticed the gashes on the trees—ones that looked like claw marks. Except they
were far too large to belong to wolves, bears, or large cats.

A chill ran over Rin's spine. Only one species had the power to cause such wanton
destruction without any equipment. Don't tell me all this was done by…demons?

Her heart accelerated, sending her body into high alert. She looked around, wondering if they
were still around.

If so, she needed to get out of there.

She had never seen a demon before, but she had been taught all about them.

Demons had long plagued humankind, but with the evolution of technology, humans were
eventually able to fight back against them more effectively. With the rise of industrialization
in Japan during the Meiji era, humans started to even the battlefield. Once World War I
ended, they had turned their new technology away from each other (for a time) and towards
the demons, all but annihilating them.

However, just because there were so few left did not make them any less dangerous.

As the Demon Slayer Corps often touted in its commercials, the demons that survived may
have been more human-like in appearance, but that only made them all the more treacherous
and crafty than their brutish, animalistic brethren who had been wiped out. They had adapted
to the changing world order. Now, they hid among humans in broad daylight. It was said you
could be walking and talking with a demon every day and never know.
Just as every child had to memorize the 110 and 119 emergency numbers, they also had to
memorize a third: 444, the Demon Slayer Corps hotline. Billboards, commercials and posters
around the country urged citizens to call the hotline to report witnessed demon attacks or
even send anonymous tips about suspected demons and demonic activity.

Rin grabbed her phone, checking again in vain for a signal. With that option lost, she instead
took pictures of the trees. She could still report the damage to the Corps when she returned
home. She hadn't seen an attack, of course, but as the Corps said, "No evidence should be
ignored." Even if they couldn't track the demons since the attack had already passed, they
would at least be able to put this area on their radar and watch it for future activity.

Of course, now the question was: Did she go back to her car and get out of here, or did she
keep moving?

She looked up at the sky, which was already darkening into a mix of charcoal and burnt
orange. Every day, the light faded faster. She would never make it back to her car before the
sun set. So for tonight, at least, she was stuck out in the woods.

Still, I should get as far from this place as I can.

She turned around to head back up the mountain, since she had already come that way
without incident. However, as she did so, something flashed in the corner of her eye. Her
heart stuttered as she looked back, fearing a demon rushing at her.

But it was only a ray of sunlight glinting off something further into the forest along the path
of destruction. It didn't appear to be anything living; rather, it shone like metal. If it was more
evidence…it was her duty to record it for the Corps.

She stalked forward, keeping as quiet as possible. Hopefully the sound of so many chirping
birds would mask any noise she made—

She froze. Chirping birds.

If the birds were here and talking, then the danger had long since passed. She sighed in relief
and straightened, striding forward confidently until she came upon the object.

It was a sword—but the blade had been broken in two. She snapped a photo. She had seen
enough crime shows to know she shouldn't tamper with the evidence, but she was still
curious. This was no katana—it had the hilt and blade of an ordinary sword. Aside from the
break, it was in pristine condition, as if it had been well-taken care of recently.

But what need did demons have for swords? Weren't they supposed to have fangs and claws?
All the Demon Slayer Corps adverts indicated as much. Had a human been here, defending
himself? But what human had a sword nowadays?

The mystery ate at her. Despite the possible danger, she had to know.

After all, part of the fun of vacations was a dose of spontaneity. And if her vacation was
going to be cut short like this, she wanted to get as much out of it as she could.
She stood up, looking around the clearing for more clues. And then, when she peeked
between two trees, she gasped.

A pale man with long, silvery white hair coming unraveled from a loose ponytail lay against
a tree, his clothes all torn and bloody.

"Oh my gosh," Rin cried out, running over. She dropped her backpack and knelt beside the
man, who she was surprised to discover appeared young, despite the white hair. "Sir? Sir, can
you hear me?" she asked as she felt his neck for a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when it
came through—not strong but not so weak he was on the verge of death. "Sir, if you can hear
me, please say something. Even a grunt," she continued as she rooted through her backpack
for her first aid kit. As a medical professional, she never left anywhere without some supplies
in hand, and she had customized her kit with a few more items than store-bought ones
normally had.

The man didn't respond, so she went about taking stock of his injuries. His face had some
minor abrasions on it (though his skin was otherwise flawless, she noted jealously—what a
beautiful man!). The tears in his clothing—a long trench coat lined in thick fur over a three-
piece suit, of all things—revealed clotting gashes beneath it. His legs appeared to be alright,
since there were no tears or bloodstains in his pants, but his left arm was in the most serious
shape. At least one deep slash crossed over it nearly from wrist to shoulder, and the entire
arm was so covered in rivulets of blood, there could be more wounds. He was lucky his arm
hadn't been cut right off.

How has he not died yet from blood loss? she wondered as she looked over the wound. The
way the shallower but still large cuts on his chest were clotting, he had been lying here for at
least a few hours. It was a miracle he wasn't dead.

What was he even doing out here this far in the forest? And in a suit no less?

Was he dumped here? she wondered as she sorted through her supplies to set up what she'd
need. He looks well-to-do. Was he mugged, and the thieves took him out here to dump the
body? But this is private property, isn't it? So…did this happen at the resort?

She took out her small, handheld flashlight and opened his eyes to check for a concussion.
They were crystal blue—Foreigner for sure, likely a resort guest, she thought—but his pupils
were the same size, and they both dilated, which was a good sign. Then she noticed the slight
ring of discoloration around his irises.

Contacts, she realized. Normally, she would remove those immediately, but since he didn't
appear to have any eye or brain injuries, they would have to wait. There were more pressing
needs first. Every second counted.

She repositioned him so that he was lying flat on the grass instead of sitting upright. Then,
she gathered his voluminous hair (the silkiness of which she couldn't help but envy, given the
perpetually kinky mess on her own head), tying it together and pinning it underneath him so
it didn't get in her way. Finally, she cut away the rags of his left coat and suit sleeves. Blood
had adhered the cloth to much of his skin, so she pulled out her water bottle, squirting some
along the fabric to reanimate the blood and loosen it. When she was done, she took out a
rubber strap and tied a tourniquet around his upper arm.

She needed to suture the wound. Thank goodness I got that extra schooling and
certification, she thought. Because of it, she was legally allowed to suture a patient's wounds
without doctor supervision—but she would still have done it regardless to save the man's life.

She glanced around the darkening forest. She'd have to work quickly, but with so many
lacerations, it would take time.

Rin pulled on the pair of latex gloves she had stashed inside the kit. Then, she poured more
water on his arm and used her spare towel to wipe the excess blood away. But when she
wiped over a certain spot on his forearm, the blood stains remained. She tried again, and still
the blood wouldn't come off. She looked at her cloth to see if it needed more water but
noticed something else. How had the cloth gotten so worn down? It was as if the blood was
slowly eating a hole through the fabric. She frowned and clicked on her flashlight, holding it
between her teeth as she examined the area on his arm.

These aren't blood stains or gashes, she realized. Now that her lighting was better, she could
see they weren't quite the color of blood either. Rather, they were more maroon, and they
trailed down his arm and into his gloves. She cut through the fine but bloodied gloves and
peeled them off. The maroon markings ended at his wrist and palm.

Tattoos? she wondered, examining them more closely. It certainly appeared that way,
although the color seemed stronger than most tattoos she had seen. Maybe they were
fresh? They're rather odd tattoos, though. As she was looking at his hands, she noticed
something else. And his nails are very long for a man…even if they are well-manicured.

She quickly dismissed the thoughts, because it wasn't her place to judge, nor did she have the
time.

Next, she pulled out a bottle of alcohol to disinfect the wound—singular, she now realized,
since what she had first taken for lacerations were tattoos. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Instead of being torn to shreds, he just had one, deep gash. That would make things easier,
although he was still in danger of dying from blood loss.

Once the wound was clean, she got to work, starting at his wrist, where the skin was thinnest.
The light dimmed as she worked, mopping any seeping blood as she went along, and
eventually she had to rely only on her flashlight, positioning it so that the meager light would
fall where she worked.

When she at last tied the knot after the final stitch, cut the thread, and removed the
tourniquet, she sat back with a sigh and rolled her head. Her neck and shoulders ached from
hunching over, and her knees and shins were damp and numb from kneeling on them in the
grass for so long.

But she wasn't done yet.

The next most serious wounds were on his chest, so she cut away his suit jacket, vest, and
shirt to inspect the wounds. None were quite so deep that they needed stitches, and they were
already clotting, so she just cleaned and bandaged them.

Gosh, he has a nice body, she couldn't help but notice as she wrapped him. He had the kind
of pecs that only movie stars and body trainers had, although his muscles were lean rather
than bulky. Even his abs were nicely defined.

Once she was finished there, she sat back and wiped the sweat from her brow. Now that the
adrenaline was leaving her system, when a cool, nighttime mountain breeze raced over her
skin, she shivered.

She looked around, finally noting just how dark it had gotten. None of his other wounds
looked as serious, and she needed to get them some light and heat. She took her flashlight
and scavenged the area for tree branches. Luckily, from all the broken trees, there was plenty
of fallen wood to be had. She brought some back and found a patch of dirt with the least
amount of grass before setting up the logs to create a fire. Then she used some dry grass and
leaves as tinder, pulled out a match, and lit it. She watched as the flame caught onto the
boughs, and satisfied that the fire wouldn't die, she stood up and looked around.

She needed her patient closer to the fire, but how was she going to bring him there? He was
at least two heads taller than she was—she had always been on the short side, to her
everlasting irritation—and she didn't want to hurt him by trying to carry or drag him across
the rough forest floor.

She snapped when the idea hit her. My sleeping bag! She could use it like a stretcher and then
drag him over to the fire. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was the best one she had. She
unrolled her sleeping bag next to him and carefully shifted his body onto it. Then, she pulled
him next to the fire so that she could see better and finish tending to him.

With his torso done, she methodically pulled off his pants to inspect his legs, and that was
when she noticed the discoloration in his knee.

She felt around it, frowning. He wasn't awake to tell her where exactly he was in pain, but
from what she could tell, it was dislocated. She would have preferred to know how he had
gotten the injury to be sure, but it didn't appear to be so a serious dislocation that it would
require surgery. Popping it back in should be enough to fix it. And she could probably spare
him a lot of pain if he was knocked out while she did so. Without cell service and unable to
get to the resort before tomorrow—which would still take hours to walk to—he would be in a
lot of pain otherwise.

"Sir, can you hear me?" she asked one more time, just to make sure. He did not respond. She
took a deep breath and then worked to pop his knee back in.

Once she was satisfied that it was in place, she grabbed some of the straightest fallen
branches she could find and fashioned a splint for his leg to keep it straight. Even with his
knee joint relocated, the poor man wouldn't be walking for a few weeks due to the strain.
How in the world was she going to get him back to the resort?
 She'd think about that later. First, she had to take care of the rest of his injuries. She cleaned
and put band-aids on a few little scrapes on the rest of his legs and navigated around his
boxers to make sure there wasn't any damage to his groin. Then she moved up to deal with
the abrasions on his face.

However, as she started cleaning them, something lighter than blood came off on her towel,
and when she looked back up at his face, she did a double-take, thinking she had left massive
blood smears on his cheeks. The firelight cast a yellow-orange glow over everything, so she
took her flashlight to shine a whiter light onto the cloth.

Mixed with the blood was a light, peachy smudge. She shined the light back on his face and
noticed the faded smudge over the two marks.

It's those tattoos again! But he's covered these ones in makeup. Why? She finished cleaning
one cheek, revealing two magenta stripes, the same color as the ones on his arms. Then she
cleaned the other cheek and found two more. As she wiped off his forehead, she unearthed a
blue crescent moon. Gently wiping his eyelids revealed two magenta stripes like tattooed
eyeliner.

"What in the world?" she muttered to herself. "Why get the tattoos if you're just going to
cover them up?"

The man obviously had money. If he didn't want the tattoos anymore, why didn't he just get
them lasered off? It was like he wanted to keep them but also wanted to hide them.

Rin froze. Hide tattoos…or hide markings?

She suddenly remembered the contacts. Were they simple, clear contacts…or were they
colored?

Rin set aside the cloth, put band-aids on the scrapes on his face, and then doused her hands in
alcohol and wiped them. She pulled open one of his eyelids and gently grabbed the contact
between her fingers, pulling it out of his eye.

The blue came away to reveal an inhuman, gold color.

Rin's mouth dropped open.

She had just spent all evening saving a demon.

Suddenly, the demon's other eye flashed open, and she shrieked, snapping her arms away. He
reached out with his right hand and snatched the wrist that held his contact, holding it in such
a tight grip, his long nails—no, claws, she suddenly realized—dug into her skin.

He spoke in a deep, silky voice that flowed through her ears in pleasure even as it thrust a
spike of fear into her heart. "What are you doing here?"

Chapter End Notes

Sorry there wasn't much dialogue in this chapter. That's what happens when you go on
vacations alone, lol. #RealLifeExperience But I promise there will be plenty of dialogue
to enjoy next chapter, fuhuhu~ As always, thank you for reading, and please tell me
what you think! See you next week!
 Of Humans and Indignities
Chapter Notes

Once again, thank you all SO MUCH for the kind reviews! I was absolutely amazed at
the response to the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one just as much, if not more!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The first sense to return to Sesshoumaru was his smell. Musty earth, the mix of sharp cedar
and sweet bamboo, and the crispness of glacial spring water formed a hazy picture in his
mind of Dog's Throne, the highest mountain in the Western Sanctuary.

What didn't fit in with those familiar scents was the spice of his acidic blood, the tang of
antiseptic, and the stench of…human?

His sluggish brain wasn't as worried about that as it should have been. He struggled to open
his eyes but found himself unable—or unwilling?—to as he tried to come to terms with what
had happened.

He must have fallen unconscious. It should not have seemed like such a grand revelation, but
to one who rarely slept so deeply, it was a deduction of the highest magnitude. How long had
he been asleep? He needed to wake up faster. There was no telling what had happened to him
in this vulnerable state.

The more his mind awakened, the more a second sense returned to him: touch.

A line of fire raced up his left arm. Pain gnawed at his right knee. The rest of his body felt
like it had been trampled by a herd of horse demons.

Then his right eye opened—but not of his own accord. His somnolent mind struggled with
what he saw—some blurred, peachy object poking his eye—and then it was gone.

There was a gasp, and as his vision coalesced in his open eye, he finally put all the pieces
together.

Human scent. Human woman. Taking out his contact.

His mind jolted into awareness, sending an electric shock to his heart. His other eye flew
open, and he reached up with the arm that didn't feel like it had been branded with an iron
and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

When the human woman didn't answer right away, Sesshoumaru squeezed her arm tighter,
and she winced, her heart picking up tempo. But she quickly masked the pain and fear with a
professionally neutral look.

"Right now, I'm tending to your injuries," she replied. "That fight you got into left you in
pretty bad shape."

"Who says I was in a fight?"

She looked down at him drolly. "The trees, for one. You left a swath of destruction in your
wake."

The memories started coming back to him. Damn that Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru hadn't realized
his younger brother was that serious.

Then what she had said earlier hit him, and he looked down at himself. Bandages covered the
entirety of his currently useless left arm as well as his torso. His knee was in a makeshift
splint, and there were various band-aids and plasters all over his body.

And of all the indignities—

"Where are my pants?" he demanded.

"They're not going to fit over the splint on your knee."

"I will make them fit."

"You will do no such thing," the woman answered. "If you're looking to preserve your
modesty, here," she said, reaching out with her free arm to pull over his furred trench coat
and lay it over his legs. "Although I promise you, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Sesshoumaru huffed and turned his head away so that she saw no hint of his shame at being
so obviously called out. "I did not ask about your sex life."

"My what—?" she almost screeched, her professional demeanor slipping. But she took a deep
breath and let it out slowly. "What I mean is…I'm a nurse."

Sesshoumaru looked down at his bandaged arm. That explained the professional work.
Beneath the bandages, though, that line of fire seared a trail down from his shoulder to his
wrist, and when he tried to move it, the skin tugged. "What have you done to my arm?"

"I had to sew it up. Your arm was torn open—you're lucky it wasn't completely hacked off."

"That was unnecessary."

"Why? Because you're a demon?"

He whipped his head back to face her and glared, squeezing her wrist even tighter. "Yes."
She still held his contact in her fingers. Had she found out what he was before or after she
doctored him?

After, no doubt, he thought. No human would ever willingly help a demon.

So the question remained: why was she still here?

"What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"I told you—"

"In the sanctuary."

"Oh. Well, I came to go camping, if you must know. I just didn't expect to meet a demon on
my first day."

How could she be so nonchalant about meeting a demon? She claimed to be a nurse, but was
that true? What if she was part of the Demon Slayer Corps?

But if she were, she would not have hesitated to kill me the moment she discovered what I
was.

"How did you get in?"

"Into the sanctuary?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she continued. "With a ticket, of
course."

How on earth did this human gain a ticket to a demon sanctuary? Like the black market, you
had to know someone who knew someone to be able to gain a coveted ticket. His family ran
the Western Sanctuary, and they had put all sorts of protections into place to make sure that
the Demon Slayer Corps never found out the resort's true purpose.

"How did you get a ticket?" he asked.

For the first time, she looked irritated. "What are you implying, sir? That I cannot afford
one?"

Sesshoumaru furrowed his brows in confusion. "That is not at all what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

Did this girl not realize where she was?

"Why did you come to this place?" he asked, needing to figure this out. If a human had
slipped past defenses, he needed to inform his father right away.

"I told you: to go camping. Do I need to check you for a concussion again?" she asked,
picking up a flashlight. "Let's get that other contact out—"
"Camping?" he echoed, ignoring the rest of her words as she shook off his now-loosened
right hand.

"Yes. I've been to most of the natural parks and wildlife refuges in the country, but I had
never heard of this one. So when I did, I simply couldn't resist coming to see if for myself.
Now hold stil—" She reached for his left eye, but he batted her hand away.

"Where did you hear of it?" This was a serious breach of security.

"From my sister. Why?"

"Your sister?" Was this girl somehow related to demons? Was that why she did not seem to
fear him? But how could that be? He could smell the humanity in her. "Who is your—"

"Hold that thought," the girl said, placing his contact in his hand and jumping to her feet.
"Pardon me. I need to, ah…use the facilities." And before he could say another word, she ran
off with her flashlight into the trees.

Sesshoumaru tried to get up, now that she was gone, but when he moved, his entire body
screamed in pain, and he gave up. He would heal soon enough—he just needed a few days of
complete rest. And since this girl knew he was a demon, he might as well rest comfortably.

He took out the remaining contact and then popped off the latex molds that bent the tips of
his ears into a human shape. He massaged them to get the blood flowing again, and suddenly
the world was marginally louder than it had been just seconds ago. Then he pulled out the
tooth veneers that disguised his fangs. He tucked everything into his coat pocket. He wouldn't
be able to use the contacts again, but he had dozens at home—that wasn't a problem.

This human girl, however, was.

Humans only ever caused problems. After all, his fight with Inuyasha, his half-brother—
which had left him in this pathetic state—had started over a human.

When Sesshoumaru heard from their father that Inuyasha planned to bring his human
girlfriend, Kagome, to the Sanctuary and reveal the truth of his half-demon nature to her,
Sesshoumaru didn't waste any time summoning him to the premises.

Inuyasha had fallen for a human once before and gotten his heart broken. Sesshoumaru did
not care about Inuyasha's soft heart, but his half-brother had displayed such recklessness
concerning their family's safety last time that it had taken Sesshoumaru by surprise. He did
not intend to let Inuyasha get away with such an impulsive action again.

Of course, when he summoned Inuyasha, he discovered that the situation was worse than he
thought.

Early that morning, Inuyasha had found Sesshoumaru inspecting the quality of the outdoor
dojo's blades at the resort. The half-demon arrived looking like he had just gotten off work
instead of preparing to go to it: loose tie around a partially unbuttoned shirt, suit jacket
thrown wide open, and a fedora cocked over his dyed, black hair to cover his silver dog ears.
The hat also helped hide the band that kept his prosthetic humans ears in place.

All demons had to conceal their looks to some extent. Only the true shape-shifters—such as
fox demons—had it easy, but for the rest of them, makeup had to cover their markings, latex
gave them human features, tooth veneers masked their fangs, and some even had to dye their
hair. (Sesshoumaru did not envy the demons with wings; he had been told they were a literal
pain to keep hidden.)

The modern era had made life a little easier—"unnatural" colors were more acceptable in
some circles now, and globalization offered a new realm of possibilities for identities.
Sesshoumaru had had to demean himself and dye his hair black for decades before Japan
truly opened up. Since then, however, he had gone back to his natural color and claimed to be
a foreigner or mixed-blood, usually of Nordic descent. (He had, in fact, learned Swedish just
to toss out the occasional word to starry-eyed Japanese when needed.) When colored contacts
had come onto the market, he accepted them as a small but necessary nuisance, for his golden
eyes had caused him no small amount of consternation over the years.

Inuyasha himself had a closet full of hats, wore brown contact lenses and, like Sesshoumaru,
usually wore gloves instead of trimming his claws daily (unless the occasion demanded bare
hands). Depending upon the era and his tolerance, he also dyed his hair black. It often
depended on how social he was during a certain decade and whether or not he hung out with
his human friends on the night of the new moon—the time when he lost both his demon
powers and looks. Whereas he used to hide his night of weakness in the old days, he now
used it to his utmost advantage.

In recent years, Inuyasha had also embraced showing off the family silver—at least, until the
new moon night some six months ago when he had met Kagome. From what Sesshoumaru
had heard, it was an instant attraction, and in order to keep up the ruse while still seeing her
on other days and nights of the month, Inuyasha had taken to meticulously dyeing his hair
black and camouflaging himself as he hadn't done in decades.

Not since the last time he fell for a human.

"Well, I'm here, so whaddya want?" Inuyasha griped, crossing his arms.

Sesshoumaru did not even spare him a glance, but he frowned nonetheless. He had
summoned the half-demon two days ago, after all. "I found Kagome Higurashi's name on our
guest list for today's expected arrivals."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to take care of that. Turns out she couldn't come today, so don't worry
about it."

"Do you intend to issue a second invitation?"

"What's it matter to you if I do?"

Sesshoumaru pulled his favored blade, Tokijin, from the wall. "You're a fool if you think I
will allow you to risk our family's lives so you can stop playing pretend with that human
girl."

"That's just it, Sesshoumaru. I don't want to pretend with her anymore. I love her, and she
loves me. I'm not saying she won't be shocked at first, but…I believe in Kagome. So, I'm
going to bring her here soon and show her who I am. And once she's had time to process it…
I'm going to ask her to marry me." His eyebrows dipped into a sharp V. "Don't bother trying
to talk me out of it."

"Idiot," Sesshoumaru hissed. "Did you not learn your lesson the last time?"

Inuyasha growled at him. "Shut up."

"That woman turned her back on you. She didn't love you like you thought she did. What
makes you think that this one will be any different?"

"She just is, okay? I know it!"

"You know nothing. And I will not stand by this time while you jeopardize everything our
family has built for centuries to keep demonkind safe."

"So what are you gonna do? Kill me? Because that's the only way you're gonna stop me."

Sesshoumaru raised Tokijin at him. "If necessary. For now, maiming you would be enough.
Human women are fickle. You will discover just how fleeting her so-called love is when she
realizes you are no longer whole."

And then he attacked, and Inuyasha barely had time to grab his sword, Tessaiga, from the
wall to block him. Seeing Tessaiga in action once again only made Sesshoumaru's blood boil
further.

Long ago, his father had asked the master demon sword smith, Totosai, to create two swords
for his sons: Tessaiga, which he had gifted to Inuyasha, and Tenseiga, which he had gifted to
Sesshoumaru. But Tenseiga was a useless, dull sword that didn't cut. Mere decoration. It was
obvious who the favored child was.

So Sesshoumaru had commissioned Totosai's disciple to make Tokijin back in the Warring
States era. Such demon blades were precious heirlooms now and had to be treated with care,
since Totosai had long gone into hiding, and his disciple did not live to see the turn of the
17th century.

Even if Tokijin had been crafted by a lesser talent, it had lasted him for hundreds of battles
and years.

Until it didn't.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha carried their fight into the forest, their skirmish knowing no
bounds. They sliced through trees and blew them away.

"Give it up, Sesshoumaru! You can't change my mind!" Inuyasha shouted as he swung at his
older brother.
"Stop playing the fool and grow up. You should have learned the failings of humans by now."

"Stop. Trashing. Humans!" Inuyasha roared, swinging down at him, and as Sesshoumaru
blocked his strike, the force of it rattled through his whole body.

Tokijin? he wondered, worried for the first time that it would fail him.

Inuyasha hit him successively, one after the other, and Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he
found himself unable to do anymore more than block.

Where had this surge of power in Inuyasha come from?

"I am sick—" slash "—and tired—" slash "—of you—" slash "—doubting me!" Inuyasha
bellowed. "And don't—" slash "—speak about—" slash "—Kagome—" slash "—like you
—" slash "—know her!"

And with one last, vicious swipe, he broke Tokijin in two.

Sesshoumaru barely managed to dodge as the blade came down, but it still cut through his
chest. He hissed as his blood sprayed in an arc between them.

Inuyasha had dared to wound him, the great Sesshoumaru?

He was done playing around.

He threw aside Tokijin's hilt. "That was your mistake, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru growled. His
demon energy surged, sending his poison blood boiling through him. His teeth and jaw
elongated; his body grew in size and contorted as he sprouted fur until he was standing before
his brother in his true, dog demon form.

He swiped at Inuyasha with his claws, feeling them catch on flesh as he sent his brother
flying. Inuyasha crashed through several trees before he came to a stop and heaved himself
up with Tessaiga. Blood soaked around the tears in his clothing, and he spat some out of his
mouth.

"You're gonna regret that, Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha growled. He set off running towards the
dog demon and then leapt into the air, his sword raised to strike. Sesshoumaru snapped at
him, sending a spray of acidic saliva splashing against the trees and melting them.

But his jaws snapped shut over nothing, and Inuyasha jumped on his snout and over his head.

"Bigger doesn't always equal better, Sesshoumaru. It just makes you a lot
slower and stupider!"

Sesshoumaru whirled around, his tail flattening a copse of trees. He looked around for
Inuyasha. When he couldn't see him, he sniffed him out.

There, Sesshoumaru thought, swiping at some towering cedars. Some of them cracked under
his force; he left scars upon the others. Inuyasha jumped out before they could topple on him.
He raced straight towards Sesshoumaru's snout again. Sesshoumaru snapped at him and felt
something hit his nose.

He stopped, trying to gauge if he had caught Inuyasha in his teeth, but he couldn't feel him.
Yet his scent was overwhelmingly in his nose. He pawed at his snout and watched as
Inuyasha's suit jacket fluttered to the ground.

Suddenly, something whacked into his right hind leg with such force, Sesshoumaru yipped
and stumbled. He tried to stand on the leg but couldn't.

Then, Inuyasha's voice came from the left. "You wanted to maim me? Well, let's see
how you like it!"

Tessaiga slashed across Sesshoumaru, and if he had been a second slower in rolling away, the
slice would have taken his whole arm off. As it was, the sword still sliced across the length of
it. The force of the blow sent him toppling backwards through the trees, breaking trunks
hundreds of years old.

As his energy waned, Sesshoumaru morphed back into his human form, collapsed at the base
of a tree. As he struggled to keep his eyes open, Inuyasha landed before him and raised the
point of Tessaiga to his throat.

"I want you to remember this moment, Sesshoumaru. Right now, I could take your life if I
wished. But Dad wouldn't be too happy about that, and your mother would find some
passive-aggressive way to make my life a living hell, so I'm going to spare you. But if you
ever doubt Kagome to my face again, I'll finish what I started on your arm. So, you just sit
here and let your head cool while I go and prove you wrong about her."

Then Inuyasha turned and left, and it was the last Sesshoumaru remembered before he woke
up to a human picking his contact out of his eye.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, the human woman came waltzing back into the
campsite. Before he even had a chance to restart his line of interrogation, she said, "I need to
get the tent set up, and then we'll get you inside, okay? Just hang tight."

He frowned. "There is no need. I will stay out here."

"Nonsense. The autumn nights are chilly. You'll catch cold—especially without any clothes
on."

He could hear the smile in her words, and he gritted his teeth at the mention of his indecency.
"I will not die of exposure."

"Are you sure about that? The embarrassment might kill you before the cold."

He glared at her, and she bit back a snort of laughter, clapping her hand over her mouth to
hide her grin. She shook for several seconds with restrained mirth before she finally lowered
her hand from a straight mouth and cleared her throat. "I apologize. That wasn't very
professional of me." Her smile popped back into place like a reflex. "But you're just so easy
to tease. In all seriousness, though, regardless of what you say, I'm not willing to take the
chance with your health, especially with your wounds as serious as they are."

He sighed in resignation and closed his eyes, though he kept his ears attuned to her
movements, waiting for her to reveal her true colors and strike.

Instead, she hummed a tune to herself while she set up the tent, and as Sesshoumaru listened,
he was surprised to find he knew the song.

"'The Last Rose of Summer?'" he asked before he could stop himself.

The girl stopped humming, and he opened his eyes to find her gaping at him in astonishment.

"Yes! How did you know?"

He had lived for centuries and travelled the world over. He knew traditional songs from
several cultures.

But she did not need to know that.

Nor did she seem to care that he didn't answer, because she just kept talking. "I'm just
surprised, because not many Japanese know that song. Understandably, since it's Celtic, and
while I have a decent grasp of English, I don't understand all the words—and obviously, I
have no idea what they're saying in Irish—but that's never really mattered to me, you know? I
love how nature is a central element to their music…and you can really feel that connection
in the instruments they use and their lilting melodies. While I prefer to listen to nature's own
music as I hike—the wind, the birds, and the water make a beautiful orchestra, don't they?—
if there's one type of music I don't mind listening to while I walk, it's Celtic music, because I
can sense that same energy. Oh, I'd love to visit Ireland one day and hear it played live. It's on
my bucket list."

Did this girl never tire of speaking? He hadn't asked for her life story.

"So do you also like Celtic music…ah…you know what? I never got your name," she
continued.

He had no plans to give her his name. The less she knew about him, the less of a liability she
would be until he decided what to do with her.

He could have just killed her, of course, but in today's hyper-connected world, that just
created its own set of problems. By her own admission, her sister had told her about the
sanctuary, which likely meant that her sister knew where both she and the sanctuary were. If
this woman did not return home in a timely fashion, the sanctuary would be the first place
said sister would think to look. It would launch an investigation, and his family would be
hard-pressed to keep the resort a secret any longer.

No, he could not kill the girl, so he had to find some other way to silence her.

"You're not very talkative, are you?" she asked.

He would not deign that with an answer.

"That's alright. I can talk enough for the both of us. I've been told I have the gift of gab."

"That is not usually a compliment," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Ah, but it got you to respond to me!"

Curses.

"Would it help if I told you my name first? You can call me Rin. That's what I tell all my
patients: call me Nurse Rin."

"Just Rin?" he asked, unable to help himself. The so-called intimacy of addressing her by
only her given name did not bother him. It just surprised him, because it was not the Japanese
way—for humans, at least. After all, demons had only possessed given names for the longest
time, but when necessity dictated they meld into human society, they adopted surnames so as
to not give themselves away. However, he answered to the name Nishikuni only out of reflex;
it held no special meaning for him.

"I spent a year of high school studying in America, so I guess I just got used to it. I rather like
the informality. It closes the distance, you know? I felt more of a connection with people
because there was one less barrier to let down. Americans aren't quite as casual and touchy-
feely as we like to believe they are—I hear Europeans are much more so, in certain regards—
but honestly, most cultures are less formal than the Japanese. Still, I kind of enjoyed that way
of living, to be honest. I've never really liked standing on ceremony, so that's probably why it
suited me better."

What need was there to interrogate her when she gushed like a fount of information? No
doubt she would answer all his questions without him having to ask.

"There," Rin said, standing up and brushing off her hands. "The tent's all set up. Now, just
hold still, and I'll drag you in—"

"You will do no such thing."

Rin leaned over from behind his head, frowning at him from upside down. "Nurse's orders,"
she responded simply before grabbing the edge of the sleeping bag and pulling it backwards.

He tried to sit up and get off, so that she would know she held no power over him, but again,
his body refused to obey without protest. So he lay in seething silence as Rin dragged him
into the tent. She collapsed as soon as she had him where she wanted him.

"Wow, you're really heavy. I can tell you're tall, but everyone's taller than I am, so I've never
been a good judge. But I figure you must work out too. No one gets muscles like that from
sitting around."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her, fighting back a smirk. "I don't think it's very
professional to ogle your patients as you attend them."
Rin flushed from her cheeks to her neck. "I wasn't—! I don't need to ogle you to be able to
tell—" She seemed to realize her words were only making the situation worse, so she
snapped her mouth shut and looked at the ground for a couple beats. Finally, she raised her
head, but she wouldn't look at him, and her cheeks were still red. "Anyway…there's a slight
problem."

He waited for her to elaborate.

"I wasn't expecting company…and I only have the one sleeping bag."

"I told you, I have no need for any of this. You could leave me outside, and I will survive."

"But you won't be comfortable, will you?" she asked.

He would be reliving his wandering years. He had had no concept of "comfort" then. "It is
what it is."

"That won't do. You're my patient, and I have to keep you comfortable."

"Just take it. My coat will be enough. You, however, could freeze in your sleep." And while
that might serve his needs, it would also launch that investigation he needed to avoid.

Rin bit her lip in frustration before she relented. "Very well."

Sesshoumaru's abdominal muscles screamed as he tried to lift himself, so she helped him
shift just enough to let her slip her sleeping bag out from underneath him while sliding the
open coat into its place. The fur around the collar acted like a pillow, and she arranged it
beneath his head as best she could. She had only cut off the left sleeve of his coat, so he
wriggled his right arm into the other; however, she made him keep his left arm tucked against
his body as she buttoned up the coat. The trench coat only reached down to his knees, and as
much as he wanted to put his pants back on for modesty's sake (not warmth), she insisted
again that the one pant leg would not go over the splint. But at least he finally convinced her
that he would not die of cold.

The only reason he relented in having his coat against him was that it brought his fur back
into contact with his body. The fur had always been a part of him when not in his true form,
but he had had to adapt its looks over the years so that it blended in. He was aware that the
fur-lined coat gave him a vintage appearance that straddled the line of being called a "dandy"
nowadays, but it was the closest he could manage, and he didn't care what humans thought of
him anyway.

Once she was finished, Rin sat back and clapped her hands together. "Alright, done. Now,
let's see about something to eat. Unfortunately, I only have some light rations, since my plan
was to supplement my meals with fish and foraging." She dug through her backpack. "But I
do have a can of beans. I suppose that will have to work for now, and it will get rid of some
of the weight. We can share."

"There is no need."
"Of course there is. Eating will replenish your energy, which will help you to heal faster. I
don't care what you are—plant, animal, human, or demon. The same concept applies to them
all."

"I prefer not to eat human food."

"And what do you prefer? Humans?"

He cut her a dark look. "You're rather cheeky for a human who doesn't know whether or not
she is on the menu."

"If you were planning to eat me, you would have done so by now. Your grip on my wrist was
strong enough to hold me in place."

So she had noticed. She wasn't so stupid after all.

He turned his head away again. "I find humans unappetizing."

"Well, that's good news for me then. So what do you eat?"

In truth, he was a very picky eater. His mother had bemoaned the fact for centuries. Even
when demons had free reign of the land to consume humans, he never did so. He killed them
if they got in his way but otherwise left them alone. She assumed he had the same
compassion his father had for them, but in truth, he had tried human as a child (when she
forced him to) and not found it to his liking. Nor had he ever cared to eat human cuisine.
However, in today's world, where blending in was paramount to survival, he had grown to
tolerate it. After all, he could not be the only one to refrain from eating during business
lunches with human colleagues. It would make him stand out when he needed to lie low.

"Why do you care whether or not I eat?"

"I told you, I'm a nurse. It's my duty to help those in need to the best of my ability."

He closed his eyes in resignation. "Do what you wish."

She was quiet for several seconds—before interrupting his peace again. "So…does that mean
you'll eat these beans like a good little demon?"

Sesshoumaru's hackles rose, and he whipped his head around, baring his fangs. "Do not treat
me like a child," he hissed.

She jumped, her heartbeat kicking up a notch, and her eyes widened as she stared at him.

He should have known it wouldn't stop her from speaking.

"Did you know your eyes turn red when you're angry?"

He growled in annoyance and turned away from her again. Her heartbeat resumed its normal
pace.
This was going to be a long, long recovery…even if it lasted only a few days.

She left the tent, and the moment she opened the can, the tangy, saucy scent of those infernal
beans wafted over. It only grew as she cooked them over the fire.

Should he pretend to be asleep when she came back so that he didn't have to eat them?
Nurses usually let their patients sleep, didn't they? Or would she wake him up to force-feed
him the vile-smelling legumes?

He didn't have time to make a decision, because it took her only a few minutes to heat up the
beans before she came ducking back into the tent with that nearly ever-present smile on her
face.

"Ready?" she asked, holding up a utility knife that had an attached spoon.

He was not.

"Eat your fill. I can have what remains," Sesshoumaru said, trying to delay the inevitable.

"Nonsense. Your health is more important right now. I can survive a night without eating
much, but you need the strength." She looked at him then and frowned. "But it would
certainly be difficult to swallow lying down. You need something taller than that fur
pillow…." Her eyes lit up with an idea, and she scooted over next to his head.

"What are you doing?" he asked, not liking how far she was encroaching into his personal
space.

Not that this woman hadn't already invaded every inch of it.

She placed a few fingers under his head and nudged upwards. "Can you lift you head at all?"
He did so, if only to keep from touching her, but then she scooted closer towards him and
placed his head down onto her lap.

"Now, your right arm appears to have enough strength to lift a spoon, but I can feed you if
you'd prefer."

"I do not require your assistance," he answered, grabbing the spoon from her. She held out
the pot of beans over him, tipping it so that he had a better view and ability to scoop. His
nose crinkled as the smell assaulted him at full force. He took one small scoop of beans, put it
into his mouth, and chewed through the mealy mixture as quickly as possible. Then he held
the spoon back out to her. "There, I have eaten. Now leave me be."

"No, sir. That was hardly enough. Ten spoonfuls, and I'll let you off the hook."

Confound this woman. "You cannot force me to eat."

"They're only going to get cold if you keep talking instead of eating. Come on now, stop
being a baby and just get it done and over with."

He gripped the utility knife so tightly, a little more force would have snapped it.
How dare this lowly human continue to treat him like a child.

But if it would shut her up, he would eat the damn beans.

He did as she said: ten spoonfuls. No more, no less. When he finished, she took the spoon
from him and leaned over, looking at him upside down. "See, was that so hard?"

"If you continue to test my patience, human, you will regret it."

Rin sighed, lifting his head up so that she could slip out from under it. "You did well, so rest
now. I'll go finish eating outside to give you some peace." She left the tent, and he finally had
some quiet.

Except for the constant sounds of her scraping the pot of beans outside. After a while,
though, she got up and left. She was gone longer than she had been the last time. Had she
gotten lost in the darkness of the forest?

But soon enough, she reappeared, clambering back into the tent. "Good thing I spotted the
cascades earlier. I needed to wash out the pot so we don't attract bears or something."

Sesshoumaru huffed. "You will not be bothered by any such creature as long as I am here."
The same went for the few demon visitors on the property, although he was fairly certain that
their guests were either at the resort or staying in other habitats around the sanctuary. It was
the slow season, so he was able to keep track easier.

"And why is that?" she asked, putting the pot back into her oversized backpack.

"If not my scent, my demonic energy will keep any creatures at bay."

"Ahh, so you're the big baddie around here, is that it?"

It was a crass way of putting it, but it was true. However, his reach only extended so far. If
she went beyond it, she was out of luck.

Rin crawled over to the sleeping bag she had left beside him and slipped into it. He watched
in astonishment.

Granted, the tent was not large, but why wasn't she putting as much distance between them as
possible?

She shuddered as she pulled the sleeping bag tight around her. "Oooh, that's better. It's gotten
quite chilly outside, and the spring water was so cold! I'm going to sleep now, but don't
hesitate to wake me if you need anything. We never did figure out the, ah…bathroom
situation for you—"

"That will not be necessary."

Rin's eyes widened. "Really? Demon anatomy must be truly remarkable. I'm envious."
He scowled at her. "I mean that you will not be assisting me in any such endeavors." He
would drag himself out of the tent by one arm, should it come to that. But demon metabolism
was slow. He did not foresee a need until he was mobile again.

"Well, regardless, if you need me, just wake me up," she repeated with a yawn. She closed
her eyes and snuggled further into her sleeping bag, still facing him.

What a naïve girl, he thought, listening to her breathing and heart rate settle. She was asleep
within minutes.

Even after decades of hiding, he had not rid himself of the constant need to be alert and
watching for danger. Demons no longer fought physical battles with each other for domain
anymore—out of a tacit agreement that they needed to keep up what numbers they had—so
they instead put that energy into business competition, which had its own way of keeping him
apprehensive. And, of course, the need to keep his family hidden from humans was another
worry keeping him constantly vigilant.

Yet this girl could fall asleep in front of a demon so easily? He wondered at her level of trust
and knew it was something he would never have—especially for a human.

After all, how could you trust the species bent on your complete destruction?

The seemingly immortal lives of demons had once been a boon, allowing them to partake of
pleasures for centuries; now, those same lives had become nothing but an endless masquerade
as they pretended to be humans.

Sometimes, Sesshoumaru wondered if all the hiding was worth it. However, he was not so
cowardly as to throw his life away, and he was stubborn enough to believe that one day,
demonkind would make its comeback. After all, as with everything, the modern age had
made their ruses easier, so he had hope that in continuing to hold out, demons would
someday be able to turn the tide in their favor and live more freely.

Still, that didn't make this current life of hiding easy, especially when they were such a proud
race. Even if humans had created horrendous new weapons with which to destroy them, on a
biological level, demons were still superior in every way.

So, if they could not lord this fact over humans in public, they would do so in private.

Nishikuni Corp., the human-facing parent company of Western Sanctuary, boasted a wall of
CEO portraits. For Sesshoumaru's family, it was like a public trophy display of their 150-
year-long successful ruse.

There were a variety of photos that rotated mostly between Sesshoumaru; Inuyasha; and their
father, Touga. They started in vintage sepia and black-and-white, displaying the men in
kimonos and dyed black hair. Those photos eventually gave way to colored ones; with them,
"foreign" blood had been introduced into the family, so the three posed with white hair,
contact-colored eyes, and suits.
It was amazing how some different hairstyles (including the addition of facial hair), clothing,
and eye colors could confound all the humans who walked past. The hardest part to disguise
had always been their lack of aging. In the past, humans had found their ever-youthful
features suspicious. The Nishikunis had had to stage deaths and retirements so much more
frequently.

As such, the birth of the motion picture special effects industry last century had been a boon
to their kind, and Sesshoumaru's father had started buying latex facial masks to give their
family wrinkles on demand. Touga, the once-feared Dog Demon General, seemed to enjoy
the process (when his role called for it), claiming it was like sculpting—he wanted to see
what he unearthed from the clay that was his face.

Sesshoumaru only saw it as a degradation, but he nevertheless fulfilled his role dutifully
when the time came for him to "age."

Of course, people still noticed the strain of resemblances in the portraits, but since Nishikuni
Corp. was family-owned, the concerns were easily dismissed. Despite being in the age of
cameras, humans appeared to notice less than their ancestors had. Sesshoumaru figured that
they were so bombarded with visuals nowadays, nothing seemed to faze them anymore.

Still, that was no excuse for demons to slack on safety, so he, Inuyasha, and Touga would
continue to play each other's fathers, brothers, nephews, and cousins for as long as needed.

From the start, his family had concocted a plan for how to remain in Japan for the long term
but create new lives for themselves. They rotated identities and business positions every few
decades, sometimes skipping out for a few years to live elsewhere. When one of them needed
to bow out from the public sphere and Nishikuni Corp. for a while, he managed Western
Sanctuary.

A few years back, Sesshoumaru had taken over the resort from Inuyasha after announcing his
"retirement" from Nishikuni Corp. and moving up his "successor," Touga. It had been a
strange several years to appear in the same meeting rooms with his father, he wearing the
wrinkle masks and his father looking his fresh, young self.

Now Inuyasha—who had attended college once again near the end of his interim at Western
Sanctuary in order to "get with the times" and reintroduce himself to modern society—had
moved into the successor position at Nishikuni Corp. Their father would begin to "age
gracefully" in a few years.

In this way, they had succeeded in living in plain sight for a century and a half. No human
could ever find out the scope of their ruse. Both Nishikuni Corp. and Western Sanctuary
employed dozens of demons; each company also did close business with other covert demon
operations. Touga believed it was their duty to help demonkind stay alive and prosper. After
all, he had once ruled over the Western Province, so the need to protect so many lives was
ingrained in him.

Luckily, it seemed like Rin had no idea just what she had stumbled onto. For the next few
days, at least, he would be able to keep her occupied by being her patient. Once he recovered,
however, he would have to find a way to ensure her silence before releasing her back into the
 human world. The best way was to figure out her weaknesses and threaten her. But it would
have to be done delicately to keep her from running to the Demon Slayer Corps with that
information.

So, he would do his best to find out everything about her in that time—all while making sure
she found out nothing about him.

Chapter End Notes

Poor Sesshoumaru. Humiliation upon humiliation: a beat-down from his brother, being

poor baby. 😆
stripped nearly naked AND having to eat beans—all in one day? I've just tortured this
As if that wasn't enough, adult Rin is so much harder to scare off and
refuse than child Rin, lol. What did you think of this re-imagined scene of their meeting
(and Inuyasha's part in it)? Let me know in the comments/reviews!
 Information Gathering
Chapter Notes

Let the fluff commence!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Unlike when she was awake, Rin was a quiet sleeper. She did not snore, nor did she move
much. As such, Sesshoumaru was able to doze for hours—never fully asleep but not entirely
awake either.

However, during the middle of the night, when it was coldest out and the chill had well
seeped into the tent, he woke up to the sound of Rin's sleeping bag rustling. Despite the fact
that hardly any light shone through the tent, he could see just fine. He looked over and found
her face screwed up in discomfort. She tossed and turned, as if trying to get comfortable, and
with every movement, she shifted closer and closer to him until her back met his side. She
turned over one last time, her head scooching off her pillow and nuzzling against the fabric of
his coat sleeve. Finally, she stopped moving.

Sesshoumaru gaped in amazement at this sudden development, wondering how she could not
possibly have awoken during such acrobatics. He was tempted to shove her away, but she
wasn't doing any harm, and he was too exhausted to really care, so he resigned himself to a
few hours of having her against him.

Given their newfound proximity, however, he decided to try to learn what he could about her
just from looking.

Her hair was black from root to tip, lacking both any chemical stench from dye and the rough
texture that came from too much treatment. (He was well acquainted with both, alas.) So in
that regard, she was unlike most female humans today, who were constantly trying out new
colors just for the fun of it.

He knew she had the brown eyes common to this land, but her eyelashes were long and thick
enough that she did not need to use mascara, if she did indeed use it. Now that he looked
again, he did not detect any makeup on her face. Granted, a woman who planned to camp
alone in the woods likely had no need for it at that point, but she didn't have the drier skin or
clogged pores that usually accompanied frequent makeup wearers. His eyes moved down to
her lips— lips that seemed to be in constant motion unless she was sleeping. He scented the
use of lip balm, but it appeared to be untinted.

Then he looked over the hands curled up near her head. No rings adorned them. So she was
unattached. It made sense, if she had come on this vacation alone. No human he knew that
had a significant other took vacations without his or her beloved.
So, she was a single nurse who did not care to primp and enjoyed the outdoors enough to go
camping alone. Nothing about this woman seemed dangerous. Had it really just been some
great coincidence and accident that she ended up in the sanctuary?

Which brought up the question: why was this woman alone? She said she had a sister, but did
she have no other friends or family who would vacation with her? While Sesshoumaru
himself preferred to travel alone (and often did), his servant, Jaken, had stayed by his side for
centuries, and in rare moments, Sesshoumaru could admit that there was something to be said
for having even just a little company.

He dozed off again for a few hours, only to awaken when he heard a small gasp. He opened
his eyes to find himself looking right into her startled chocolate ones.

"Oh my goodness!" she cried out, jumping up so quickly that she got tangled in her sleeping
bag and flopped right back down. After wrestling with it, she broke free and turned away,
though he hadn't missed the red creeping across her cheeks like the dawn. "I'm so sorry. I…I
must have moved in my sleep. I didn't mean—"

"I know."

That shut off the flow of her words. As the silence dragged on between them, she finally
started to shiver, the early morning air still not warmed yet by the sun. She rooted through her
backpack, keeping her back to him.

"I'm just going to go…wash my face and brush up," she murmured, scurrying out of the tent
without looking at him.

He watched her leave in mild interest. He had thought nothing could fluster this girl. After
all, she had stripped him nearly naked the previous day. But waking up with her head against
his arm prompted such shyness?

This was a weakness he could use.

A smirk crossed his lips, his pride responding to this unusual turn of events. He was no
stranger to female reactions to him. He was, after all, one of the most power demons to have
lived—and still live. Several demon women (and unknowing human women as well) across
the centuries had practically thrown themselves at him for a chance to seduce him. In a
human's eyes, he knew he was considered handsome; demons had a different scale of
judgment, given their varied shapes and forms, but with the annihilation of the most
animalistic brutes, their standard for beauty had started to align more with that of the
humans'. However, the extent to which that mattered to demons was up for debate. As far as
he could tell, most demon women sought power over beauty—the latter was simply an added
bonus. The ones who had come after him coveted his prestige and the protection he could
provide.

But this girl was different. She wanted nothing from him. She was not playing a game (in
vain) to try to elicit feelings of pity or protectiveness from him. Her reactions were genuine.
Under that nurse's mask she always wore, she had no doubt stifled some of her surprise at
finding a demon yesterday, but at the same time, he was sure she had seen so much in her
medical life that many things no longer shocked her.

So for such a simple interaction to rock her morning, well…he wondered if he could use that.
He still had information to gain from her, after all.

He thought back to how the women who had come after him had acted. He wouldn't need to
go quite so far, but he would certainly have to tone down the animosity and acquiesce to—
even initiate—some forms of physical contact. All of which would require him to reign in his
utter distaste for humans and keep it from showing.

That…would likely be much harder than he thought.

When Rin returned, all hint of embarrassment was gone, and her usual smile was back in
place. "My apologies. In my haste, I forgot to ask how you're feeling this morning." She knelt
down next to him. "Perhaps it's just the morning light, but you're not looking quite so scuffed
up now."

Sesshoumaru then realized the first step to getting her to open up would be to engage in
discussion with her. He fought hard against the impulse to remain silent and forced out the
words, "The smallest of injuries will have healed."

"That's remarkable," she answered, moving to unbutton his coat.

Reflex had him grabbing her wrist and snapping at her before he could stop himself. "What
are you doing?"

He mentally cursed. Not two minutes into his plan, and he was already failing.

Though her heart stuttered once when he made contact, it quickly resumed its normal beat. "I
need to check on your arm to make sure there's no bleeding. I did have to stitch it half in the
dark, after all. It's possible I missed something."

He permitted it, but she needn't have worried, because there was no residue on the bandages.
Still, she unwrapped his arm to examine the stitches now that there was full light.

"It's still red and a little puffy, but that's to be expected from such a wound. I'll disinfect it
again to make sure."

He had not been awake yesterday while she tended his arm, so her light, cool-fingered
touches against his bare skin as she applied the disinfectant were…strange. Every move of
hers was clinical, and yet the feelings left what he would almost swear were goosebumps on
his arm.

But he didn't get goosebumps—he inspired them in others. So he dismissed the thought.

Still…of the women who had dared to (or been allowed to) grasp his arm before, none of
them had felt like this. Their fingers clutched at him either in desperation or like a leash,
trying to hold him under their power, or slid across him, trying to arouse him. None of it
worked, because he knew their game.
But there was no game here, so he wasn't sure how to feel. Apparently, his body didn't either.

And the fact that she touched him without hesitation, despite knowing what he was….

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" he suddenly asked, not having calculated the question before
it slipped out.

She glanced over his wounded body, obviously biting back an amused smirk from her face.
"Should I be?"

If this girl had any idea who I was—

"I've never met a demon before. Certainly, I've heard the stories. But they are the stories the
Demon Slayer Corps feeds us and the legends that have been passed down for generations.
For such a large threat, your kind is almost treated like aliens: with conspiracy theories and
the utmost government secrecy. Any news coverage that comes on is veiled in 'potential
sightings' and 'what-ifs.' Honestly, demons have been more myth to me than reality, despite
what the Demon Slayer Corps would have me believe. And now that I've finally met one, I
find a man who looks very much like a human; who does not like to eat humans, by his own
admission; and who has not harmed me once since I found him."

"I could have snapped your wrist multiple times."

"But you didn't. And you were only reacting to an invasion of your personal space. If you
think that's the only time I've been grabbed by a patient who doesn't want me to touch them
or a patient in so much pain, they cut off the blood flow to my hand, you would be mistaken."

He gritted his teeth, unsure of why he was trying so hard to convince her of what a threat he
was when his goal was to learn more about her. "You should not take the Demon Slayers'
warnings lightly."

"Perhaps not. But you have not given me any reason yet to fear you, ah…sir. I see that I still
don't know your name."

"And you will not."

"I understand. You want to keep your identity a secret. I suppose I haven't earned your trust
yet. I know from experience that earning trust is…difficult."

He didn't answer, sensing by now that she would tell him what she wanted to say, regardless
if he wanted to hear it or not.

She did. "You asked why I do not fear you or demons. The truth is, more than some supposed
creature I have never seen—until now—I have found many humans to be far crueler than
demons. Of course, any nurse who has worked in the ER might tell you the same…but I don't
just mean that.

"You see, when I was four years old, my parents and my twin older brothers died in a car
accident. They were on their way to pick me up from preschool, and we were supposed to go
on a trip for Golden Week. They never arrived. I can't remember much from my childhood
with them. I hate to say it, but I can't really even remember their faces anymore. When I think
of them, I see images from photos I was allowed to keep. However, that day I remember
very, very clearly.

"As it got later and later, I kept crying because they weren't showing up, and like any child
who is told to expect something to happen, I was upset that the day wasn't playing out like I
thought it would. The teacher called our home phone over and over, trying to get in contact
with them. Eventually, the police answered. My teacher had to take me home and stayed with
my while the police showed me pictures of my parents and brothers to have me identify them
and while they brought in welfare officers and tried to find my next of kin. But my parents
were both only children, and my grandparents had all passed on, so there was no one to take
care of me. I was put into the foster care system, shuffled from one family to the next,
waiting to see if one of them would decide to adopt me.

"Of course, I soon learned the good things in life never last. The families that I was happiest
with always gave me up. They were usually the larger ones that took in children for a short
time out of the goodness of their hearts. But financially, they could not sustain it over the
long term. Then there were the families that were only in it for the money the government
gave to them for taking care of me. Some were worse than others, but...suffice to say, the
money they received didn't get used for me. There were days I went hungry, months where I
wore clothing I had outgrown, and corporal punishments I received for not doing chores
correctly or not doing what I apparently should have anticipated my foster parents wanted.
After ping-ponging back and forth so much between happiness and sadness, I finally stopped
setting any sort of expectations but the lowest. I even stopped talking for a time, I was so
miserable."

She was silent for several seconds as her eyes stopped seeing him, even as she continued
working on his arm. He knew the cruelty of humans—demons were by no means the only
ones who had cornered that market—but as he looked at this woman's kind face, he wondered
how any human could want to mistreat her.

She seemed to snap back out of it after a moment and popped her professional smile back on.
"I'm not telling you this to garner any pity, you understand. Only to illustrate my point."

He wanted to ask how long this had gone on. How recent were these injuries? She did not
appear to be much older than a college graduate. Had even a decade passed since this abuse?

He was spared the urge to ask when she continued. "But you know what? All that changed
when I was nine years old and a new family took me in. They treated me with such love and
kindness that it shone down like a light on my heart, and a seedling of hope began to sprout.
Sure enough, they decided to adopt me. Finally, I had parents, siblings, and even a
grandfather again.

"Of course, as I said, the good things never last, and it felt like no sooner had I been adopted
than my foster father died. I was so scared they would let go of me after that. He had been
our sole provider, and as the newest addition, I felt I was just another mouth to feed. Yet,
even in her grief, my mother noticed that I was clamming back up, and she reassured me that
what I feared would never happen. 'We're family,' she said, 'and it's at times like these that we
have to stick together more than ever.'
"We ended up moving in with my grandfather at his shrine, and my mother was able to take
on some extra jobs to help pay the bills. I always admired her for that, you know? She went
from a married homemaker to a single mother of three in the blink of an eye, and she never
let it show to us how much she must have struggled in those early days as her life was turned
on its head."

Rin turned a full, genuine smile on Sesshoumaru—not the professional one he was getting
accustomed to, but one that rose from the bottom of her heart, and the beauty of it shocked
him so much, he could only stare.

Rin patted his hand. "But I've been talking your ear off for a while now, and we haven't had
breakfast yet, so…." As she got up and went to her backpack, he realized he had been so
engrossed in her story that he hadn't noticed she finished re-bandaging his arm.

Rin pulled out some snack bars. "They aren't the greatest, but they have the nutrients we
need. I'll scope out the area and go foraging after this while you rest."

Rin wandered through the forest after having made sure that the demon was comfortable
enough to relax. She was supposed to be gathering food—mushrooms, berries and anything
else edible she could find—but her mind kept wandering from the task at hand.

Why was this demon so easy to talk to? She never mentioned her childhood traumas if she
could help it. She had learned early on that it changed the way people thought of her. So if
the topic of her family came up, she usually just left it at, "I was adopted as a child."

Was it because he was a stranger? People said it was easier to talk with strangers about
difficult subjects, since they held no preconceived notions of who you were and you never
had to worry about seeing them again.

Or was it because he was so silent? She was no stranger to silence, of course, but ever since
the Higurashis had opened their hearts and home to her, she had grown to detest silence, since
it reminded her of those dark times in her life. It was why she was so talkative now—she had
a need to fill that silence.

Of course, there was another reason she recognized for why she just couldn't shut up around
him.

She was totally babbling…because this demon was gorgeous.

She had thought before that she knew her type, but this demon blew all her previous notions
away. Admittedly, she had always been attracted to Caucasians, especially the light-haired
ones, but his pale skin and silver hair just made him look ethereal, even as bandaged up as he
was.

And while she had never really been a fan of tattoos—happy to admire the art but put off by
their permanent nature and what she knew on a medical level that they did to the skin—she
was so intrigued by the markings on his body. Was he born with them? Did they hold any
meaning? Or were they like zebra stripes—just a part of him? If he hadn't woken up when he
did while she was pulling out his contacts, she might have started tracing them.

Speaking of contacts…those eyes. Gods, she had never seen so many facets of gold. His
oblong pupils really did make him look like a predator—rounded and relaxed when he was
and constricting to slits when he was angry. They reminded her of wolf eyes.

But if she was being completely honest, the part of him that fascinated her the most were his
pointed ears. Her love of Celtic music had spawned a deep dive into Celtic lore and history.
That culture had one of the richest mythologies, with such fascinating tales of the Tuatha Dé
Danann, and there were so many artistic renderings of them. With his strange ears, markings,
and hair, he looked like he could have walked among that tricky flock, a being to be both
feared and respected.

Now that I think about it…I wonder if the Tuatha Dé Danann are the Irish equivalent of
Japanese demons. Do they actually exist…and are they in hiding too?

She had never considered that possibility before.

I wonder if he knows. I should ask him. Then again, he probably wouldn't answer. Still, she
would keep trying to get him to open up.

There came a certain desperation with age that a young woman had when confronted by an
attractive, hopefully single young man: the need to speak to him at all costs (i.e. learn more
about him and find out if he was indeed single) and see if there was any chemistry.

Rin knew it was ridiculous—he was a demon, after all, and he had shown
absolutely no interest in her. Rather, he appeared to want nothing to do with her. But the
spark of attraction had already kindled a small fire of hope in her heart.

Yes, she knew this was the ultimate act of desperation. But…what if? As the saying went,
you never knew if you didn't try. The fact that he hadn't ripped her to pieces yet for disturbing
him or finding out part of his identity was at least a start.

But as when she had been a child, she tried to smother those feelings of hope and
expectation. In two weeks, you'll be back at the medical center, and life will go on as usual.
Just watch. Despite the odd start to this vacation, nothing about your day-to-day life is going
to change in the end.

Vacation indeed. She could just hear Kagome now: Of course you would end up taking a
vacation where all you did was work!

Certainly, she had not meant to spend her hard-earned time off caring for an injured demon,
but she couldn't just leave him, accelerated recovery or no. Still, she was going to have to
find a way to get him back to the resort, assuming that's where he had come from. She would
have to ask.

They would probably have to call in a helicopter to come and airlift him—
Wait. There could be no helicopter. He was a demon. He couldn't go to a hospital.

So how did demons get their wounds treated? Would he even tell her? There was so much she
didn't know, and she wanted to do what was best for him, but if the stubborn man
wouldn't tell her, then what could she do beyond what she was already doing?

In her distracted state, she wasn't totally watching where she put her feet, and when her foot
ended up descending further than she expected it, she cried out as she tumbled into a
depression. She sat up and looked around at the crushed and muddy plant life around her—
not her doing. "What the…?" She stood up and noticed that the spot she had fallen into was
very clearly defined—completely unnatural. A fallen tree lay nearby, so she stepped out of
the depression and climbed onto the tree trunk, looking down from the higher vantage point.
She gasped.

She had fallen into a giant, canine paw print, easily a meter longer than she was. She looked
around where she was, noting the broken trees. That was when she noticed something else.
She had thought all these trees were broken—but upon closer inspect, some of them
looked melted.

She ran over to investigate a fallen bough next to its still miraculously upright tree. Indeed,
where the bough would have connected to the tree didn't end in jagged splinters; rather, it was
much smoother, as if it had been eaten away by acid.

Was this the giant beast that had left her demon in such a sorry state? No wonder his arm had
been nearly torn off. She wondered if he would tell her now that she knew.

Distracted as she was by investigating the scene of the fight for clues (in the very likely case
that her demon did not tell her what had occurred), it took her hours to forage for food and
find her way back to the campsite. When she returned and poked her head back into the tent,
the demon met her eyes. She smiled and held out the plastic bags she had used to collect the
food. "I'm back! And I brought goodies. Want some hickory nuts?"

That seemed to pique his interest, if the minute rise of his eyelids was any indication. Her
smile widened. "I'll peel them!"

Rin prided herself on her ability to read people. It was part of her job as a nurse, after all. In
college, she had learned a fascinating statistic: in 1971, one Dr. Albert Mehrabian theorized
that communication is 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal. Her professor taught that as a way to
reinforce that patients were not always forthcoming with their pains, for various reasons. It
was up to nurses to be able to spot what patients weren't telling them.

She was starting to learn that this demon was more like 2% verbal and 98% nonverbal, so she
was going to have to watch his every movement to learn what she could about him.

As she sat down and started peeling the nuts, she casually glanced over at him and said,
"So…while I was walking around, I came across some giant paw prints. I'm talking bigger
than me. Did you fight some sort of beast demon lurking around here?"

He stared at her, his face unreadable.

Dang it, he was really good at hiding his emotions. I'll just have to work extra hard. She
chewed her lip, wondering how she could get him to answer. "I…only ask because I'm afraid
it might…come back. You might be a demon, but you're in no condition to fight, and it
apparently got the better of you the last time. I certainly wouldn't stand a chance."

"You need not fear. It will not be coming back."

Nailed it! "Oh? How do you know?"

He didn't say anything more, but what he had revealed was enough. If he had killed it, she
would have seen a corpse. If he had mortally wounded it, he probably would have told her
out of pride, right? So what wasn't he saying?

Maybe she should try another line of questioning.

She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I was wondering…. Demons don't just reside in Japan,
right?" No answer. "I mean…every culture has legends about supernatural beings. I know the
ones about Ireland specifically—ones concerning the Tuatha Dé Danann. Have you heard of
them?"

"…Yes."

An answer! Score! She couldn't help but smile as she put the pile of peeled nuts on the bag
between them. "Have you…ever met them?"

The way his eyes flew to hers, pinning her with an intense stare rather than one of confusion,
only made her smile grow in triumph. "So they are demons! I knew it! Can they really do
everything the legends say they can? Like control the elements or transform into animals or
—" She froze, looking down at him just then. He watched her with a wary stare. "Wait…
can you transform into, say…a giant animal?"

He broke eye contact, turning his head away from her. "Don't be ridiculous."

But Rin did a little jig in her seat. She hadn't yet spent a day with him, but she already
knew that tell of his. He only looked away from her when he wanted to hide something.

Like the truth.

"You can, can't you? So that's why you were so sure that demon wouldn't come back! It's
you, isn't it? What are you? Maybe a wolf demon?"

The demon whipped his head back around and bared his teeth. "I would never be something
so mangy as that."

Rin nodded. "Okay." But he had basically just confirmed he was something. And based on
that paw print, he had to be some sort of canine. She gasped. "Oh, are you maybe a nine-
tailed fox? No, wait, that can't be—you don't like eating humans, and they eat human livers."

"Do you believe every legend about demons is true?" he scoffed, reaching out and grabbing
some hickory nuts. Since he was looking this way, she did a small victory dance in her head
instead of out in the open when he ate them. She resolved then to find more hickory nuts and
perhaps a variety of others to see what he responded to.

"Well, considering that I've now learned that other countries' legends are in part true, there
must be a grain of truth in all of these. Wouldn't you say?" Again, no answer. "So…I'm
guessing you're not a fox…or maybe you're just a really picky fox?"

I wonder if he eats berries? She pulled some out and put them next to the nuts. He ate those
too.

"You are free to believe what you want," he answered. But no matter what type of animal she
asked about next, he refused to give her a clear answer.

Eventually, she moved onto other topics, not wanting to end the tenuous sense of camaraderie
they had established. (In her mind, she equated camaraderie with this demon as him not
telling her to shut up or get lost.) She talked about some of the most interesting cases she had
seen during her clinicals and her time in the maternity ward.

Although she knew he would give few answers, she still couldn't dampen all of her curiosity,
so she still peppered him with questions.

Was that his natural hair color?

Yes.

Was he often mistaken for a foreigner?

Always.

Had he ever lived outside of Japan?

Temporarily.

Did he like it?

Yes.

Did he enjoy travel?

Yes. (She inwardly rejoiced at hearing that answer, for it meant they had a shared interest!)

Each one-word answer was a challenge to her. Could she get two words of elaboration? How
many more questions would he answer?

There were some details he refused to tell her, of course. How old he was. If he had any
family. What had led to his fight in the forest and with whom.

That train of thought led her back to the question she had had earlier while foraging. "How do
demons get medical care? I assume you can't just walk into a hospital," she asked.
"We have the facilities we need," he answered.

"Is there someone I should contact for you? If you feel you'd be comfortable enough here for
a few hours, I could hike back to my car and go to the resort to get help."

"There is no need."

"But you need better treatment than this emergency field dressing I did."

He looked her in the eye and said, "You've done a fine job on your own. It will heal."

The unexpected compliment dried up her arguments, and she didn't bring it up again.

The next day passed in much the same manner, although the demon was able to raise himself
into a seated position by then. He had also removed many of the band-aids while she was
sleeping, and to her surprise, the only marks left were faint scars, as if several days had
passed and not just two.

Now that he could sit and scooch himself with his right arm, she helped him out of the tent so
that he could breathe in the fresh air and bask in the ambiance of the forest rather than stay
cooped up.

At one point, she brought back the broken halves of the sword she had found. "Is this yours?"

He opened his eyes and glanced at it before closing them again. "You may cast that back
where you found it. I have no use for a broken sword."

Rin looked down at it. "I don't know much about sword-smithing, but can't you have it
mended? It seems a shame to leave such a valuable thing in the forest."

"If it cannot defend me, it has no value."

"If you say so." She went back to the trail and laid the sword on the edge of it. Maybe
someone else would find it and wish to fix it.

That night after dinner, they were sitting around the campfire. While Rin was staring at the
play of flames, the demon's gaze was turned up towards the gap in the canopy created by the
newly felled trees. When he had stayed so preternaturally still, gazing like that for some time,
she finally looked up with him. She blinked as she tried to get the burn of firelight out of her
eyes. After a minute, some of the stars came into focus.

"Oh…that's beautiful." She hadn't had much time the past couple nights to really appreciate
the night sky, busy as she had been caring for him.

"It would be better if there were no light," he said.

The words weren't a total admonishment, but she understood the cue. However, the fire was
at the height of its blaze now, so she waited for it to die down on its own, relishing the
warmth while she could. When it had shrunk to small licks of flame and embers, she doused
it in dirt and then moved over and sat beside him. She craned her neck up to look at the sky.

"Wow, you're right—I see so many more now. You can't see the sky like this in Tokyo. I only
know a few constellations, but…oh, there's Cassiopeia!" She reached up and pointed.

He grunted in acknowledgement. "Below it is Andromeda."

"Where?" she asked.

He took her arm and adjusted the angle, using her finger to trace the sky. "There. Can you see
her figure?" he asked.

"Oh…I think so. Yes…now I see it!" Her skin tingled under her clothes where he touched,
and the shiver raced up her arm to her back and crawled along it. However, instead of chilling
her, it kindled a blaze in her chest, and she found she no longer missed their campfire's heat.
Her face started to burn, and she was so glad it was dark. "Do you know any more?"

"Yes."

She lay back on the grass. "Will you teach me?"

He relented and lay back with her, pointing out the constellations that were visible in their
patch of sky.

She didn't speak while he showed her—partially because her throat was choked up from the
tears that sprang to her eyes as his soothing, low voice recited the names of the stars. She
didn't trust herself not to give her emotions away.

This was the most romantic thing she had ever done in her life. And at my age, how pathetic
is that?

She couldn't help it: that ember of hope had grown into a finger of flame.

His grip on her arm, which was already feather-light to begin with as he helped her trace
constellations, lightened even further. "Am I hurting you?"

"W-What? No. Why would you say that?" she asked through a thick throat, trying to sound as
normal as possible.

"You're crying."

He could tell? How? Egads, could he see in the dark? Or smell the salt in her tears? If he
really was part canine, he probably could. Well, the truth was out, so she just had to muddle
through it.

She sniffed and took her arm away from him, using it to wipe her eyes. "No, you're not
hurting me. The…the night sky is just so beautiful…it makes me want to cry. Haven't you
ever seen something so beautiful it moves you to tears?"
He didn't answer, but when she opened her eyes, he was looking right at her. Her heart
lurched, and knowing what she knew about his senses now, she was sure he heard it, so she
sucked up her courage and placed her arm back in his grasp. "Now, which constellation were
we looking at again?"

While the demon was able to move more easily the next day, he still spent the majority of it
resting. As Rin went out to gather food, she noticed a patch of spider lilies and whipped out
her phone to take pictures. Her family and friends often made fun of her for having more
flower pictures on her phone than human ones, but what could she say? Each flower was a
unique vision in breathtaking beauty. Her foraging mission turned into a flower-finding
mission, and she ended up photographing a wealth of flora.

When she returned and they were eating her pickings, she showed him the picture of the
spider lilies.

"This was my surprise find of the day!" she announced with a giant grin. "You know that
feeling you get when you see the spider lilies in bloom and think, 'Ah, so it's that time of
year'? I felt that. Did you know it's also called the 'resurrection lily' in some places? I've
always found it sad that we associate this flower with death and loss, because the idea of
resurrection is such a beautiful one…."

She showed him the other flower photos on her phone, describing the names and attributes of
each. Pink chrysanthemums for longevity. Queen Anne's Lace for complexity and sanctuary.
Chinese bellflowers for unchanging love and honesty.

Her arm started to cramp from holding it up at an awkward angle in front of him, so she lay
down next to him and held up the phone while resting her arm against her stomach. She even
showed him pictures of her plant babies, which she cultivated in her apartment—everything
from bonsai to succulent dishes.

He did not make many remarks during the time, but his attention never wavered from her
phone or her face as she spoke. Of course, lying there, Rin found herself getting sleepy, and
at one point, she rested her phone on her stomach and laid her head back just to close her
eyes for a second.

When she woke up, the light had decreased dramatically. She glanced over and found the
demon had his eyes closed as well, his head tilted slightly towards her. She stared at his
sleeping face—a rare thing for her, as he always seemed to be awake whenever she was.

He was such an enigma, but she was starting to figure him out. She had discovered some of
his food preferences: natural, uncooked items, such as nuts and berries. (The exception
seemed to be mushrooms, which he would not touch, so Rin happily grilled those for herself.)
He also didn't like foods with an overpowering scent. When she had brought back wild
onions earlier, his nose had scrunched in distaste.

He always reacted to the slightest noise, which meant he had enhanced sight,
smell, and hearing—all of which went in line with her theory that he was a canine demon.
 He had an interest in astronomy and enough in nature to comment on certain plants she had
shown him.

He was not prone to speaking more than he had to, and it took all of Rin's abilities in reading
body language to guess at his true feelings. She wondered how much of that was him and
how much of it was from years of hiding who he was. In that way, they were complete
opposites, but instead of finding his silence oppressing, she found it fit him. Even bruised,
bandaged, and half naked, there was still this regal air about him that she couldn't explain,
and the silence only added to that.

It was a soothing silence—not a deafening one.

She didn't think she had ever seen his face so at ease, however, that she just knew she had to
capture it. Very carefully, aware that he would wake up if she made the slightest sound, she
unlocked her phone, thankful for once that she had turned off all the little unlocking and
photo clicks that accompanied the functions. She opened the camera app and turned it into
selfie mode. Then she held it up in front of them, making sure to fit both their heads in the
frame. She tilted her head to make sure that he was still asleep, and when she glanced back,
she noticed the shutter function flash across the screen. Her finger must have slipped on the
button. She took another one, this time looking at the camera with a full-blown smile.

Chapter End Notes

So much for not letting Rin find out anything, huh, Sesshoumaru? XD Thank you for
reading, and please let me know what you think!
 The Embers of Desire
Chapter Notes

You readers are AMAZING! Thank you all so much for the outpouring of love in the
reviews/comments. I was astounded at how much you enjoyed the previous chapter! In
fact, because you seemed to enjoy it so much, I even added an extra fluff scene to this
chapter that wasn’t in my original draft—just for you! It meant that I had to push off
what was originally the final scene to the next chapter…but it still serves a purpose, and
I think the flow of the story (and the characters’ development of feelings) is better, so it
works out for everyone! Can you guess which scene it is?

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Five days into their forced companionship, Sesshoumaru felt quite rejuvenated. In fact, he
couldn't remember the last time he had felt this carefree and relaxed. How many centuries
had he been toiling without rest?

He tested his leg when Rin went to wash up for the morning. While he still couldn't put the
full weight of his body on it, within days, it would likely be well enough again to support
him. His body had recovered enough that if he wanted to, he could fly back to the resort now
and sleep in the mostly unused bed in his family's suite.

But then he would be subject to the stares, whispers, and outright questions of workers,
servants, and family. Everyone would wonder what force could have possibly caused the
great Sesshoumaru so much pain that he had to rest in bed for days. As it was, he was already
going to have to explain his impromptu absence, but it would be far easier to craft a lie to
others if they did not see him in his mangled state and he was already fully recovered when
he returned.

Besides, the resort was not very busy at this time—most companies were in the midst of sales
season, and people couldn't afford to take time off—so it wouldn't all go to hell if he wasn't
there. That said, there were still a few guests staying here, and he did not want to risk them
seeing him so degraded. Rin had finally let him put his pants back on last night (retying the
irritating splint over his pants leg), but he was still in no shape to be seen by lesser demons.

Still, from what he could remember of the guest list, none of the current guests were high-
ranking or bold enough to intrude upon him should they sense his demon energy out here.

However, that would change in about a week, as he recalled.

At that point, a whole pack was expected to arrive for some "corporate retreat." While there
was no guarantee those guests would venture into the sanctuary immediately, if they did, he
was confident he would be able to scent them before they arrived and flee with Rin.
They stank of wolf, after all.

His presence could keep the other demons in the sanctuary at bay—they still feared him. But
the wolf demons thought themselves above the dog demons, and so, weak as they were, not
even his demonic energy would deter them.

So for now…he would stay with Rin.

He tried not to acknowledge the pleasure that decision induced, born from a feeling that he
didn't want to return to his silent, lonely life just yet.

He also tried not to acknowledge the fact that he knew his mere presence would keep Rin
protected from other demons while she finished out her vacation—which she deserved to do
in peace.

He knew he was inconveniencing her. Regardless of the fact that she had unknowingly
trespassed on demon lands, she had come here for the purpose of recreation, and he didn't
know how long she intended to stay. She was a nurse, after all. How long could she afford to
be gone?

When she came back from her ablutions, he was sitting outside the tent against a tree waiting
for her—just as she had left him. "When are you leaving?" he asked.

She jumped at that. "What do you mean? I only just got back. Or…did you want me to go?"

"Your vacation. You must have used much of it upon me. How long did you intend to stay
here?"

Her smile popped back on. "Oh! No worries. What day is it, anyway?" She grabbed her
phone, which was charging in the sun, and checked the date. "I was going to stay about
another week, give or take a day."

Sesshoumaru wasn't sure why the words eased his heart. "That is quite a while to spend alone
in the woods."

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, I had planned out a few activities. Luckily, I already checked
rock climbing off my list on the way here. I had planned to do some fishing and swimming at
the lake, but it's fine. Sometimes, the unexpected makes a trip more exciting than what you
originally planned! I never anticipated learning so much about the stars, after all."

There weren't many to see in their limited field of view in the forest, even with so many of
the trees having fallen. Given their same, small field of view every night, Rin had nearly
memorized all the stars he had taught her. He needed a new, expanded horizon upon which to
test her.

"We would have a better view by the lake," he said.

"Certainly, but you can't walk yet—"

"I will manage."

"You really shouldn't—"

"I will not have you waste your vacation tending to me. We can go. I will be fine."

She looked down, fiddling with her hands as she murmured, "It's not a waste."

He could not detect a lie in her words. Again, that sense of ever-present tension eased in his
chest. What was this woman doing to him? Were these the beginnings of a Florence
Nightingale effect?

It would make sense. She tended to me when she did not have to, and now I feel indebted, like
I need to return her kindness.

Sesshoumaru hated feeling indebted.

If anything, he needed to be inspiring the full Florence Nightingale effect in her so that she
would keep opening up to him. As much as she talked, she had yet to reveal the name of that
sister who had given her the ticket to the sanctuary.

Is her silence some sort of retribution for me not giving her my name? Sesshoumaru
wondered. He immediately dismissed the thought. She is not so petty as that. She would
probably answer if I asked directly.

But he didn't want her to suspect that he was mining her for information.

He also didn't know why he didn't want her to suspect him like that.

He shouldn't have cared. She was just another human. He should have gotten what he wanted
from her and been done with it.

But…he could not deny that she had made what would have otherwise been an unbearable
few days of wallowing in physical misery and emotional torment…tolerable. Even pleasant,
at times. For instance, he found he enjoyed imparting his knowledge of the stars on her, and
she was an eager pupil. The rest of his family did not understand his fascination with the
heavens. The only other great demon he knew who did was Kirinmaru, one of his father's
greatest rivals turned old family friend. Kirinmaru himself was decent, if a bit too much of a
romantic for Sesshoumaru's tastes, but Sesshoumaru could barely stand the demon's sister,
Zero, so he tried not to interact with that family more than necessary.

"Then…I guess I'll tear down camp," Rin said. She did so quite efficiently, and they left
shortly afterwards.

Sesshoumaru did not deign to fly. He did not want to give away that secret to her just yet.

Besides, when she offered herself as a crutch, Sesshoumaru had a feeling—based on days of
observation—that the closer she was to him, the more she would let down her guard out of
attraction. So when she slung his arm around her shoulders, her racing heartbeat was a
gratifying response.
They moved slowly, but Rin didn't seem to mind. She pointed out the flora as they passed or
made goals out of it.

"Look!" she'd say, pointing ahead. "I think that's a sumac, but it's hard to tell from back here.
Let's make that our next rest point, and we'll see."

At that speed, they didn't even make it fully down the mountain the first day. Rin found a
clearing not too far off the path and set up camp. The canopy obscured their view that night,
so they couldn't continue their stargazing. The temperature dropped quickly with the sun, and
after coaxing a fire to life, Rin spent a few minutes rotating herself like a rotisserie to warm
up.

"Brrr, it's cold tonight!" she said with a shiver. "I'm going to grab my sleeping bag." She
ducked into the tent and pulled it out. As she slung it around her shoulders, she hesitated and
looked over at him. "I know you said you won't die of exposure…but are you sure you aren't
cold?"

He was about to tell her, again, that she need not worry when a thought occurred to him.

Every night, they lay next to each other, naming the stars. Without that activity, how would
he bridge the physical distance with Rin tonight to unnerve her just enough that she might
reveal what he wanted to know?

It was a classic trick, but sometimes it was best to stick with the basics.

He didn't look at her as he said, "I will not die…but it is not the most comfortable."

He glanced over at her then and found her shaking her head with an exasperated smile. "You
should have just said so, silly." She unzipped her sleeping bag and then plopped down next to
him, throwing it over both their shoulders and wrapping it around them.

"There! Shared body heat will make us extra nice and toasty. Oooh, speaking of toasty…."

No sooner had she put on the sleeping bag than she threw it off, going back to drag her
backpack out of the tent. When she set it next to her, she scrambled back into her spot and
pulled the sleeping bag back over his shoulders.

Already, it felt warmer with her next to him.

"A toasty fire plus a nip in the air is the perfect recipe for…dun, dun, da-dun! S'mores!" she
announced, pulling out some snack bags and a chocolate bar from her backpack (that
Sesshoumaru was now convinced was a bottomless pit holding absolutely everything
imaginable) with a flourish. "Nothing distracts you from the cold like s'morsy goodness."

"S'mores?" he echoed.

"Do you know them? They're chocolate and marshmallow melted between graham crackers:
a classic American camping treat! My host family shared the magic of s'mores with me, and I
brought some ingredients because I knew I wouldn't be able to resist having some in this
environment!" She showed him her baggies of halved graham crackers and giant
marshmallows. "You would believe how difficult it is to find marshmallows and graham
crackers in Japan. I found them in a pharmacy, of all places. Do you want to try one?" she
asked, looking over at him with a hopeful smile, which immediately closed up into a
thoughtful frown. "On second thought, you probably wouldn't like them, because there's
nothing natural about them at all. They are quintessentially human food."

Sesshoumaru grunted noncommittally and watched as Rin pulled over a stick, sharpened the
end of it to a point with her utility knife, and stuck a couple big, fluffy marshmallows on the
end of it. "Give me your hand," she said. He did so, hesitantly. She placed the stick in his
palm and wrapped his fingers around it. "Hold that for me, would you? And be sure to twirl it
so that they toast evenly. Also, don't let the flames lick them so much that they catch fire and
get black!"

Sesshoumaru stared in shock at the stick she had thrust in his hand, and he looked over to see
what she could possibly be doing to prevent her from toasting her own marshmallows. She
hummed to herself as she broke pieces of chocolate and put them on some graham crackers.
After laying out a couple, she looked over toward the fire. "Oh! Turn it!"

Sesshoumaru was so shocked by her sudden exclamation that he did as she said. The tops of
the marshmallows were now a deep brown.

"Don't worry—all's not lost. Just keep an eye on the other side," Rin said with a smile.

When she judged that they were done, she told him to hold the end of the stick out towards
her. She took two pieces of graham crackers, the bottom one holding chocolate, and
sandwiched the first of the marshmallows between them, sliding it off the end of the stick in a
gooey mess. She did the same with the second and then handed the s'more to him. "Here you
go. Dig in! And no worries if you don't like it—I'll eat it, trust me!"

She bit into her s'more with gusto, marshmallow ballooning out the sides of the sandwich and
onto her fingers. He watched as she rushed to eat the chocolate-laced marshmallow edges
before they dripped off.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the s'more he held between two talons. While regular dogs
could not tolerate chocolate, he could—the darker, the better, in fact—but the sugary, sweet
smell coming off the marshmallow was almost nauseating.

But Rin looked so happy eating it that he felt compelled to at least try it.

He took a tentative bite, not wanting to create a mess like she had, but as soon as he bit down,
he realized his mistake.

There was no proper, dainty way to eat a s'more. It would explode no matter what.

A mixture of marshmallow and chocolate pushed into his mouth against his will, the bit of
graham cracker he had taken not enough to mask it. The texture of the marshmallow was
unlike anything he had ever had before—slick and soft yet chewy in an unnerving way. His
nose curled as he chewed through it.
Rin giggled, pulling him out of his deep contemplation of the snack. He looked over at her,
and she held her hand out. "I didn't think you'd like it, but I'm glad you tried it anyway. At the
very least, you can say you've had a new experience!"

A new experience? The last five days had been nothing but new experiences for him.

He looked back down at the oozing s'more in his fingers.

He had had worse.

He took another bite and looked to Rin for her reaction. She was gaping at him.

"Y-You don't have to prove anything to me, you know. I'll finish it for you. It's fine."

He wouldn't dignify that with an answer. Instead, he asked, "Why do Americans put so much
sugar into their desserts? I was forced to consume New York cheesecake once. Not only was
the slice massive, but every bite was so dense, it felt like balls of lead dropping into my
stomach. I thought the sugar intake alone would kill me before any Demon Slayer had the
chance."

Rin burst out laughing and then covered her mouth. "I'm sorry—that's horrible, and yet…it's
so true! I developed a taste for certain treats over there, but there were definitely some that
were far too sweet for me! And you're right about everything being huge over there."

As she spoke about her time in America, Sesshoumaru finished consuming the s'more. When
she finished, he looked over at her. "You have some chocolate on your face."

Her sticky hands flew up to her cheeks, trying to cover them. "Where? Here?" She licked a
corner of her lips on the opposite side of where the chocolate was.

"Other side," Sesshoumaru said.

Rin licked the other side, but the smudge was too far out of reach. "Did I get it?" He shook
his head. She rubbed her hand over her cheek and erased the smudge—only to draw out a
new one, courtesy of her dirty fingers.

Sesshoumaru sighed. They'd be at it all night this way. "Hold still."

"W-What?" she asked as he leaned towards her. She clenched her hands and closed her eyes
as he wiped the chocolate smudge from her cheek. When he pulled away, she cracked open
an eye. "Is it gone?"

"Yes," he answered, licking his thumb as perfunctorily as one would to turn a page in a stack
of papers.

Rin's eyes zeroed in on his fingers and then moved back to his mouth. Her lips contorted into
an annoyed frowned. "That's not fair! How were you possibly able to eat that whole s'more
without getting even a crumb on yourself?"

He smirked at her. "Superior demon dexterity, I suppose."

She scrunched her nose at him in a mocking sneer. Then, her lips curled into a devious smile.

She darted forward and swiped his nose with a chocolaty finger. Sesshoumaru froze, his eyes
widening in shock.

"There," she said. "Now we're even." She started sucking her fingers one by one to get the
marshmallow and chocolate off, watching him from the corner of her eye like a satisfied cat.

Sesshoumaru was still too in shock to move. And the more he watched her suck her fingers,
the more a foreign coil of fire unfurled in his stomach.

Her vengeful look faded away, replaced by a coy one. "Do you want me to clean that for
you?"

Unbidden, an image of Rin leaning over and licking the chocolate from his nose came to
mind. The dog demon in him panted at the thought.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, more to get the image out of his mind than to answer her
question. He rubbed his nose, ridding himself of the goo. But still he did not feel right. His
heart was a fraction faster, his body temperature a degree higher.

It's just the Florence Nightingale effect, he told himself. It must be. Nothing but a
manufactured emotion. It will cease as soon as we part ways.

It had to. Otherwise, he was in serious trouble.

Rin yawned as she cleaned her fingers with a wet wipe and chucked it in her trash bag. "I
thought sugar was supposed to wake me up, not make me sleepy. Maybe it just hasn't hit my
bloodstream yet."

Without warning, she tilted, her head landing against his shoulder. He tensed as the contact
sent tingles running down his arm. "Mmm, don't move. Your shoulder is the perfect height,"
she murmured sleepily. "Between you and this fire, I'm not cold anymore."

He certainly wasn't anywhere close to being cold. The contact was only stoking the fire in his
gut. But the feeling was…pleasurable. He figured he could indulge for just a little while.

So he let her lay against him as she fell asleep.

The next day, Sesshoumaru was able to put more weight on his leg. He considered telling her
that he could walk on his own (albeit slowly), but the memories of her touches last night
reignited that ember of desire within him. He tried to resist the feeling…but it was like
getting a first hit of nicotine. He wanted more. So he didn't say anything, and she stayed
under his arm the entire time they hiked that day. The dog demon within him growled in
contentment.

When they finally reached the lake that afternoon, Rin didn't hesitate to kick off her shoes
and run straight to the water.
"Ah, it's cold!" she screeched, laughing. "But it feels so good after all that walking! Would
you like to come in?"

"I am fine where I am," Sesshoumaru answered from where she had left him sitting on a
boulder. He watched her skip through the shoreline, kicking up water and twirling like a little
girl instead of a young woman. Her carefree air and simple jubilance prompted just a hint of a
smile from him.

After she set up camp, she brought over her collapsible fishing rod, now fully stretched out.
"Have you ever fished before?" she asked.

"Yes."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. Sorry, I assumed…well, you just don't seem like the type
to go fishing—what with you wearing a suit in the forest and all. What's the biggest fish
you've ever caught?"

He thought back to the old days, some five hundred years prior, when a particularly
condescending fish demon had presumed to eat him. Sesshoumaru yanked it out of the water
and carved it up with his claws.

He looked over the lake and pointed to an island halfway across it. "From head to tail, it
would have fit between here and there."

Rin did a double-take, looking at where he was pointing, and then she burst out laughing.
"I've heard some fish stories in my day, but I've never heard an exaggeration that bad."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I am not exaggerating. You would have been the size of one of its
teeth."

She only laughed harder. "I'm trying to imagine you reeling in this 'monster fish' of yours
with a teeny fishing pole—"

"I used only my hands."

That just sent her rolling along the ground in spasms. As she wiped the tears from her eyes,
she said, "You're not very good at this, are you? You have to make it at least
a little believable."

He gritted his teeth. If he had not sworn to himself not to fly around her or reveal just how
well he was recovering, he would have gone just then to show her exactly how he "fished."

"In the meantime—" she choked off to giggle, "—I'll just teach you how to use a pole. How
about that?"

"Do as you wish."

First she dug into the dirt to find some worms, and he was repulsed yet intrigued by how she
did not flinch when she found the squirming things, took them between her fingers to drop
them in a small container, and even skewered one on the hook. Then she showed him how to
cast, and when he did so perfectly the first time, sending the line out so far, the bobber was
hardly visible against the glinting water, she clapped in amazement.

"You're a natural!"

His pride felt soothed after that.

Of course, he hadn't realized just how tedious the human version of fishing would be. It was
all waiting with little action. Rin set up camp in the meantime, and afterwards she came to sit
with him as they waited for the fish to bite.

"You have to reel in slowly—give them something to chase," she said when she noticed the
line was slack. She covered his hand with her own and placed it on the reel, moving it at the
proper pace to show him. "And if nothing bites, you just cast it back out."

It took a few casts before one bit. Rin jumped up and shouted encouragement at him. "Come
on—reel that sucker in! Oh, this one's a fighter! Look at how the pole's bending!"

Of course, weakened or not, Sesshoumaru's strength was more than enough to overpower a
measly fish, and in no time at all, it was splashing towards the surface at the edge of the lake.
When he finally reeled it above the water, he frowned.

"Oh, great catch!" Rin called out, taking the line and grabbing the squirming fish. He
watched in fascination as she unhooked its lip while keeping a firm hold on the creature.
"Look, it's a rainbow trout," she added, holding it out and pointing at the pink hue along its
lateral line.

"All that time for something so small," he remarked.

"Well, you never know what you're going to catch. That's what makes it so exciting! Maybe
we'll get something bigger next time. But we can't throw him back—he's still big enough to
be dinner!"

They managed to catch two other trout before the sun set. Once Rin scaled and deboned the
fish and got a fire going, she said, "Umm…so, I've noticed you don't care for cooked food.
But…all I can do is grill the fish."

"I will have mine raw."

Rin blinked. "Oh…sashimi? Yes, I suppose we can do that too!"

"Grill yours," he commanded.

Rin frowned. "I like sashimi. I'll eat it."

"It has not been properly prepared. You could get sick."

"And you won't?"

Sesshoumaru smirked at her. "My body is more toxic than any germ."
"What do you mean?" she asked, handing him his share of the fish, even as she proceeded to
grill hers.

"Poison runs through my blood and imbues every part of me. I could melt the flesh off your
bones, if I so wished."

Rin smiled at him again. "If you hoped to inspire more fear of demons in me, then you've
failed, sir. You've had this power the entire time, and yet you haven't used it. Although…that
explains why the cloth I cleaned your blood with seemed to wear out so quickly."

He realized then that he had just given away information about himself that he normally kept
hidden until his battles called for it. When had he gotten so comfortable with this human?
They hadn't even been together for a week.

But he found he was so easily able to just be himself with her. He didn't have to posture (well,
not as much as usual, anyway, and she never fell for it), didn't have to watch his every move
or reaction, and didn't have to hide his emotions.

She brought a sense of peace and completeness to his life that he hadn't realized he was
missing—that he would miss when their vacation ended.

Sesshoumaru knew he would only be able to play the invalid for so long. He told himself he
was only staying with Rin so that he could return to the resort completely healed in order to
hide from everyone the fact that Inuyasha had beaten him to a pulp.

But with every passing day that he got better, his excuse got flimsier and flimsier until he had
to be truthful with himself and say that he was staying there to protect her. Even if he left, she
wouldn't leave the sanctuary until her vacation was over. If another demon found her, in the
worst case, she would be eaten (which would launch an investigation), and in the best case,
the guest would bring her to the resort for him to deal with. She wouldn't think to hide the
fact that they knew each other, so it would only be a matter of time before the truth of his
disappearance from the resort came out. Thus, in the end, by protecting her, he was actually
still protecting himself.

He refused to acknowledge the suspicion in the back of his mind that he had come to care for
her in some small way and that was why he wanted to protect her.

They spent an entire week camped at the lake. By day, they would take short walks (with her
acting as his crutch, since Sesshoumaru refused to show the extent of his knee's recovery),
fish, forage, and bird-watch; by night, Sesshoumaru lay next to her, teaching her the
constellations. The activities were simple, and yet he found his mind empty of worries and
his body relived of stress.

Finally, the morning came when Rin said it was time for her to go home.

"It's a long walk back to my car, but once we get there, I can drive you up to the resort," she
said.
"There is no need. I can return on my own."

"But you still can't walk well."

"I can walk just fine. See for yourself, if you must."

Rin peered at him in suspicion, but she removed the splint and pushed up his pants leg to
look at his knee. The contusions were gone. She frowned. "Lie down on your back. I'm going
to work the joint a little. Tell me at all if anything hurts." He did as she asked, if only to prove
that he was telling the truth. She grasped his calf and heel gently, her delicate fingers like
butterflies against his skin, feeding more of those growing flames in his belly. Then she lifted
his leg, slowly easing the bottom half downward. She bent it a few more times, and when he
didn't say anything and she appeared satisfied, she rolled his pants leg back down.

Her professional nurse voice was back, although perhaps a little brusquer than usual. "I'm
happy to report that your knee seems in fine shape. It would appear you were…correct about
your accelerated healing. On that note, I should look at your stitches one last time." As he sat
up, she knelt next to him and unwrapped the bandage on his arm to examine the wound. Her
surly tone vanished, replaced with awe. "Incredible. For such a deep laceration, it's already
healed to the point where I can remove the stitches."

This did not surprise him.

"This shouldn't hurt, but it may feel a little strange," she said as she got out her scissors and
needle. Sesshoumaru stayed still as she plucked them out, the sensation of thread sliding
through his skin, pulling this way and that, unsettling. But as she said, it didn't hurt. She did
her doctoring well.

When it was finished, he could finally see the long, pink scar bisecting his arm. That would
still take a couple days to fully disappear. He would have to hide it when he returned home.

Rin cleared her throat and said in a subdued tone, "You should still get everything checked
out by one of your demon doctors when you go back home. All I did was emergency field
dressing. I would hate to think I was responsible for causing you some permanent damage."

"It will not be necessary. I told you before: you did well."

Rin looked up at him then, her cheeks growing pink. Her hands still rested on his arm, and
her face was only a few inches from his. He stared at her, unable to take his eyes off that
blush.

She leaned in slightly, and he knew what she expected: a kiss.

He should have been disgusted at the very thought. A mere human daring to kiss him, a
purebred demon with one of the most noble and enviable lineages in the country?

And yet…part of him was curious to find out if her lips were as soft as her touches. Would
they inspire the same pleasant sensations that her fingers did upon his body?
He had watched those lips move without ceasing for days. Now he knew he had the power to
render her speechless—if only he would take it.

But in that second, he didn't know if he had it in him to bridge that final gap between demon
and human to give her what she wanted.

What part of him knew he wanted, even as he denied it.

Then she paused, and her grasp tightened ever so slightly on his wrist. "Are you…ever going
to tell me your name?"

The words dropped like a weight between them as reality came crashing down back on
Sesshoumaru.

He turned his head away from her, not trusting himself to answer. Curse this Florence
Nightingale effect. He knew he had gotten far too close to this human over the last several
days, but not all was lost. He may not have ferreted out who gave her a ticket to the
sanctuary, but at least he also still had his secrets. He still had his name.

After all, when she left, who knew what she would do with the information of her time spent
here?

Still…the Rin he had come to know would not give away such information, even if she did
like to talk. She understood the weight of their situation. And if her desire to kiss him was
any indication, she probably liked him enough not to risk causing him harm with a misplaced
word. His plan to get her to let down her guard around him had succeeded.

Perhaps a little too well.

Would it really be so bad to tell her his name? What would it be like to hear those four
syllables drop from her lips? He had heard almost every other word under the sun over the
last week and half.

But his name was the one word he found he wanted to hear most of all.

He must have taken too long to answer, though, because she removed her hands from him,
and the moment passed. She stood up and went to root through her backpack. When she was
finished, she wouldn't look him in the eye. "I'm going to go wash up before packing up camp.
You don't…have to wait for me. Since you're better now, there's no longer any reason for you
to stay, after all. I suppose this is goodbye then. It's been…a pleasure getting to know you…
sir," she murmured, her voice growing thicker with her word. She hurried past him, her scent
disintegrating the further she went downwind.

Such a parting didn't sit well with Sesshoumaru; his heart had twisted into a knot. Whether it
was the right thing to do in this situation or not, he would wait for her and walk her back to
her car to keep her safe from any other resort guests.

As he waited, he couldn't help but replay that moment over and over again in his mind. What
if he had moved to let her kiss him? What if he had told her his name? Would he have been
 able to regain the peaceful feelings she brought him rather than carry this unbearable tension
around his chest like a coil of chains?

What was he going to do when she returned? She probably didn't want to be anywhere near
him, given that he had stopped being able to hear her footsteps some time ago. Just how far
down the lake had she gone?

He was so lost in thought, he almost missed Rin's faint scream for help.

Chapter End Notes

So, fun fact. When I lived in Germany for a year and my fellow American friend and I
were craving s’mores, we went on this intense hunt for marshmallows in every grocery
store we could find (I had already imported graham crackers via my suitcase, haha). We
searched high and low and were about to give up when I just happened to go to a
pharmacy. And there they were, on a shelf near the checkout line: “Rocky Mountain
Marshmallows.” So American. So random. Who would have guessed?

Anyway, as always, thank you for reading, and let me know what you think! Your
reviews/comments always make my day!
 The Urge to Live
Chapter Summary

Time to earn this fic's rating. 💗

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Rin trudged as far down the lakeshore as she could to distance herself from the demon. The
wind blew at her back, doing nothing to cool down her face, which burned in embarrassment.

Of course he had rejected her. What had she been thinking? That a few days of kindness
would make him open up—much less become attracted to her? She should have known better
by now. They might have only spent a week and a half together in constant company, but the
fact that she still hardly knew anything about him should have tipped her off as to how he
would respond.

She could count what she knew of him on one hand.

He was a demon with enhanced senses (but what kind of demon remained unknown).

He did not like to speak when he did not have to, but he was fine with listening; in fact, he
was very attentive, even when he didn't seem to be paying attention.

He was proud and hated relying on her for help, but the more comfortable they had gotten,
the less he protested.

He preferred to eat natural foods, and what meats he ate, he consumed raw.

He had a deep interest in astronomy and a love of travel.

But she knew nothing else. She didn't know what he did for a living, who his family was, or
how old he was.

Of course, the worst of it was she still didn't even know his name! And if he couldn't trust her
with that most basic of information, then she obviously remained a temporary nuisance he
had to put up with while he was recovering.

But he was completely recovered now, so there was no need to bother with her any longer.

She should have known he wouldn't want her. It wasn't even just about being human
anymore. After twenty-six years of living, it was getting harder to convince herself that
she could be loved by a man when all the evidence pointed out otherwise.
Although…she supposed that wasn't entirely true. There had been one boy in high school
who had admitted he liked her: Sango Fukushima's younger brother, Kohaku. But he only
confessed to it a couple years after the fact, once he had moved onto liking someone else. Rin
couldn't blame him for keeping quiet about it—she knew all too well the feelings of futility
surrounding one-sided loves and useless confessions—but part of her still wished he had
been able to tell her at the time, if only so she could feel what it was like to be important
enough to someone to warrant that courageous step.

But again, she would be the pot calling the kettle black, because she had not had the courage
to do so for her teenage crushes either. She blamed her childhood on that. It wasn't easy to get
over passing through so many families with not one (until the Higurashis) willing to love her
enough, so she guarded her heart well. If her experience as a foster child had taught her
anything, it was that unconditional love was rare, and when you finally found it, it should be
nurtured.

Yet it had to be found first, and that was the difficult part.

But that's not what this is, silly, she told herself as she kept walking without looking at where
she was really going. Of course you can't fall in love after only a week and a half…even if
you've spent almost every moment of those days together. This is an infatuation and nothing
more. At least on your part. On his, it's nothing. So stop expecting it to be something.

She wiped away the tears that jumped to her eyes. But this sure is one hell of an infatuation.

She finally stopped when she came to the bend in the lake that marked its end and looked
around to make sure no one else was there. She hadn't seen any other resort visitors in her
entire time here, though, so she wasn't too worried. She peeled off her clothes and placed her
bar of natural soap—no chemicals to pollute the water—on a rock before she waded into the
lake.

Ever since they came down to the lake a week ago, she had taken to swimming/bathing every
day, since she hadn't been able to fully immerse herself in water until that point. She had been
aware she smelled like dirt, sweat, and all things forest, and if that was the only thing putting
the demon off, that would be great.

But she knew it wasn't.

Still, he had a sensitive nose, and even she had gotten annoyed with the grime building up
after camping for five days on the mountain. Up there, she had washed her face, arms, and
legs every day in the mountain stream, but she had only scrubbed down the rest of herself a
few times, especially since it had been so chilly in the shadows of the trees, and the stream
water was frigid.

She shivered as the lake slowly swallowed her, for despite the warm air, it was still cool. At
least with the sun shining down on her, the water felt somewhat refreshing. At this point,
there was nothing for it but to dive in. She waded until she was waist-deep and then pulled up
her feet to plunge. She swam underwater for a moment to acclimate to the temperature before
popping back up and taking a deep breath of sunshine and autumn air.
"Yes, that's exactly what I needed," she sighed, lying on her back. She stretched and floated
like that for some time, letting the sun warm the parts of her body that broke the water's
surface.

After several minutes of just swimming, she went back to the rock and grabbed her soap. She
gave her entire body a good scrub, making sure to lather it in her hair as well. Some days, she
would wash her dirty clothes too, since she had only brought a few pairs to rotate out as she
washed them, but since she was heading home today, there was no need.

She got out of the water and grabbed her small wicking towel, running it over her limbs and
ringing out her hair.

She was just reaching for the clean sports bra she had brought along when an unfamiliar
voice cut through the air.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Rin yelped and whirled around, clutching the towel to her bosom and squatting down to hide
herself better. Her heart hammered in her chest as her eyes found those of a man standing on
a boulder only a couple meters away. How had she not heard him arrive?

The man wore an athletic jersey and shorts, his long, black hair tied back in a high ponytail.
Sharp, ice-blue eyes pinned her to the ground. Then she noticed the bit of fur hanging out the
back of his shorts.

No, not fur. A tail. Like…a wolf's tail.

This man was also a demon.

Her heart rattled against her ribcage. What are the chances that I've never run into a demon in
my life, and now I meet two within two weeks?

"Excuse you!" Rin cried out. "Why are you spying on a lady while she's washing?"

"It's not exactly spying if I'm out in the open like this, is it? You're just the one who didn't
notice me." He sniffed then. "Then again, as a human, it seems like you wouldn't have
noticed me coming anyway. What's someone like you doing here?"

"L-Leave me alone," Rin said. "I just came for a swim and a bath. I'm not here to bother
you."

"No can do, sweetheart. You don't look like the type to lie, but you're also not supposed to be
here. That makes you a threat, and we have a duty to eliminate threats."

"What do you mean I'm not supposed to be here? I got a ticket to this place the same as you, I
suspect!"

The wolf demon's eyes widened. "Did you now?"

She had him off-guard. Now was her chance. "Look, I won't tell anyone I met a demon here. I
promise!"

Her heart was trying to push its way out of her chest now. If her demon had believed her, then
maybe she could convince this one as well….

But the wolf demon vanished from the rock, and not a second later, he was in front of her. He
grabbed her arm, yanking her up. The towel fell out of her hands, and Rin yelped, trying to
pull out of his grasp, but it was like an iron manacle.

"You say that, but everyone knows humans can't be trusted with that kind of secret. So for
that, you won't be leaving here alive." Noticing Rin's stricken look, he absently tacked on,
"Sorry, doll. ...You know, come to think of it, it's been an age since I last had human meat.
The boys'll love this treat." His frigid eyes then ran down her exposed form. "Though it's
rather a shame, you bein' so pretty and all. In fact…some of the boys would probably get
angry with me if I let you go to waste like that. So I guess you're staying alive for at least a
little longer."

Before Rin could even try to protest, the wolf demon threw her over his shoulder. The impact
knocked the wind out of her, but she flailed, trying to kick him in the gut or groin—whatever
she hit first.

He smacked her naked butt. "Hey, stop movin' around, or I'll really make it hurt the next
time."

Incensed, Rin reached over and yanked on his ponytail with all her might.

"Yow!" the demon screeched.

Suddenly, something slashed against the backs of her thighs, leaving white-hot trails. Rin
cried out and curled against his shoulder in pain.

"Do that again, and I'll do more than just scratch you." His finger then swiped against one of
the wounds, and she winced. "Mmm. You've got some good-tasting blood, girly. You're going
to make a fine meal."

"Help!" Rin screamed as the wolf demon bounded away from the lake.

He just laughed. "Ain't no one gonna help you out here, girly."

Rin's mind went blank as she tried to figure out what to do. Blood trickled down the backs of
her legs, and at the speed the demon was going from this height—how was it possible they
were jumping above the trees?—even if she threw herself off, she might just kill herself in
the fall.

The fear that in mere moments she would be raped and eaten hovered like a specter over her
mind, paralyzing her. No one would ever find out what happened to her, because there would
be nothing left to find.

I have to escape. But how? Even if I manage to run away, he's so fast!
Suddenly, the demon landed like a thunderbolt and threw her to the ground. Pain shot through
her thighs from the scratches, and she curled in on herself to hide her nakedness—

And then noticed the dozen pairs of eyes staring at her in surprise from around some
campfires.

"What's this, Kouga?" a wolf demon with short, gray hair asked.

"Something I found wandering by the lake, Ginta," Kouga answered.

"Can we eat her?" one with a blond Mohawk asked.

"Why do you think I brought her back, Hakkaku?"

"Do we have to eat her right away?" a burly wolf demon with a deep voice and large fangs
snarled. The predatory way he looked at her caused Rin to shiver and grasp herself even more
tightly. They would have to cut off her arms and legs before she opened up.

"She is a pretty one, ain't she?" Kouga answered. "Course, that sorta thing's not really my
style, so you guys do what you want. Just make sure not to bruise the meat. After all, this'll
be our first human meal in, what, almost two hundred years?"

"What a way to start off this year's retreat!" Hakkaku cried out with a fist pump.

Ginta was salivating with a far-off look in his eyes. "Oh man, human meat…. It's
been so long."

"You're all animals!" Rin shrieked, tears prickling at her eyes. "How can you talk about me
like I don't even understand what you're saying? Have none of you any decency?"

Kouga's nose scrunched up. "Oh yeah, I should mention: she's kinda mouthy. Anyone bring
some duct tape? We should probably shut her trap."

"I've got some, Kouga!" a skinny, teenage wolf demon piped up, waving a roll.

"Might as well tie up her hands too. She's a fighter," Kouga added, rubbing the back of his
head with a wince.

Rin flinched at the screech of the roll of duct tape unwinding.

What can I do? I'm surrounded. If I try to attack one of them, the others will only grab onto
me. If I try to run, they'll catch me.

The young wolf demon with the duct tape knelt down in front of her. "Now hold still like a
good girl—"

Rin slapped his face.

The pack of wolf demons just stared at her in shock.

"T-Touch me…and you'll regret it," Rin said, though her voice wavered with fear. Oh, why
couldn't she hold her emotions in check? It would have been more convincing otherwise.

"Wow…. This girl is either really brave or really stupid," Ginta stage-whispered to Hakkaku.

The hulking, large-fanged wolf demon then jumped over and grabbed her outstretched arm,
yanking it behind her back. He reached down and snagged her other arm, purposely groping
her breast as he did. He pulled it behind her as well, exposing her chest to the entire pack.

"C'mon, kid, let's get this over with," he snarled at the adolescent demon with the duct tape.
In seconds, her hands were bound. The big brute had to hold her head still for the teen to
place the duct tape over her mouth. Then the bigger demon stood up and came around,
shoving the boy aside. He knelt down so they were eye-to-eye.

"Well boys? Shall we inspect the meat?" he asked, running his hands along her thighs, his
taloned thumbs tracing the crevices between her hips and legs.

Rin screamed at him through the duct tape, trying to scooch away without opening her legs.

And then the burly brute was lifted off his knees, a clawed hand wrapped around his throat.
Steam rose from the points where talons dug into his neck.

"Touch her again, and you'll regret it."

Rin shivered as that deep, silky voice she craved hearing so much coursed through the entire
campsite with even more power than if it had been a shout.

Rin wanted to cry in relief. He's here. Her beautiful, silver-haired demon. Though he was
bare-chested, a fur lay over his right shoulder—was that the fur from his coat?—and despite
his frayed pants being covered in dust, he still managed to look more majestic than any of the
slobbish wolf-demons in their athletic wear.

Then she noticed then that he was lifting the wolf demon with his left arm, the pink scar
staning out in relief against his white skin.

He really is completely healed. But he still came to save me.

Her heart surged with an emotion she could only define as love.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kouga asked. "What are you doing here? And what the heck happened to
you?"

Rin's heart lurched again. Sesshoumaru. She would carve that name so deeply into her heart,
she would never forget it.

Sesshoumaru turned to Kouga, still dangling the massive wolf demon, who wriggled in his
grasp as he choked. "Leave before my poison eats through this mangy beast's neck."

"Hey man, what's your deal? We found her trespassing and just wanted to get rid of the
evidence for you."
Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed in a way that Rin knew meant his patience was nearly gone.
"Are you that stupid, or is the one collective brain cell you lot possess only focused on
humping? If you kill her, her disappearance will launch an investigation—one that leads
straight back to us."

Kouga growled. "So what do you plan to do about it, Mr. High-and-Mighty? We can't let her
go. She's seen too much."

"I will handle it. Now leave."

Kouga sized him up. "You don't seem to be in any shape to be making threats, Sesshoumaru.
Especially when there's twelve of us against you."

"Heh. I only need one hand to be able to deal with you weaklings."

Kouga seemed to weigh that over. Finally he turned his back on Sesshoumaru and waved him
off. "Look, I don't want to sour our little trip from the start over some petty
misunderstanding. Let's head out, boys. We'll leave the girl's fate to Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru dropped the wolf demon, who landed like a boulder, coughing, wheezing, and
clawing at his neck. Hakkaku and Ginta both ran over to him and slung one arm each over
their shoulders, carrying him as they retreated with the rest of the pack.

Rin watched as they ran off, and Kouga looked back, meeting her eyes and sneering at her
before the wolf demons disappeared into the trees.

Something soft wrapped around Rin's shoulders, and she flinched away from the contact. She
turned to find Sesshoumaru kneeling in front of her, frozen in the act of wrapping her in his
fur. She tried to apologize, but the duct tape gag muffled her words.

"Hold still," he said. He gripped the edge of the duct tape, his eyes a thundercloud as her
ripped it off in one smooth move.

Rin grunted in pain. This was ten times worse than waxing. It felt like he had taken half the
skin of her lips off with it.

Sesshoumaru moved behind her and sliced through the duct tape around her wrists, tearing it
off in another single motion, for which she was thankful. She brought her hands back around
and rubbed her wrist and mouth, hugging his fur close to her chest to preserve what little was
left of her modesty. He knelt back in front of her.

"T-Thank you—" She broke off as her throat clogged up.

Suddenly, she threw her arms around Sesshoumaru's neck and burst into tears. He gathered
her into his arms and flew—Since when could he fly?—away from the wolf demons'
abandoned campsite.

Her last trip through the air had been a haze of panic and fear. But as she turned her head into
his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart under her forehead, she cried in a mix of relief
and delayed shock.
She had come so close to being raped and dying. If Sesshoumaru hadn't come for her….

Her hands still jittered, and her heart pounded so hard against her chest, she was sure
Sesshoumaru could feel it reverberating against his. He soon landed at their campsite and
ducked into the tent, laying her down on her stomach.

"I will tend your wounds," he said. Rin just nodded miserably, burying her face into the fur.
The strands caressed her face in the same silky soft manner of his hair slipping through her
fingers.

The familiar click of the first aid kit and the scent of antiseptic filled the air. Soon, the cool
press of a wet cloth against her skin made her shiver.

After a couple minutes, Sesshoumaru finished cleaning her wounds, but he made no move to
bandage them. "These scratches are deep. The blood isn't clotting quickly."

Rin tried to look over her shoulder, but it was difficult to gauge the wounds from this angle
and distance. "They might stop soon once we bandage them…or we'll just have to cauterize
them to be safe."

His face darkened. "I do not wish to cause you more pain."

"It's the only way."

He shook his head. "There is another. A far simpler remedy." He glanced at her. "Turn around
and rest. I will not harm you."

She didn't know what he planned to do, but she trusted him. He had saved her life, after all.
So she turned around and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Seconds later, she felt something warm and wet lap across the wounds. She stiffened and
peeked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened.

Sesshoumaru was bent over her legs, licking her wounds like a dog.

She gaped. "What are you doing? That's unsanit—" She froze as Sesshoumaru suddenly
glared at her, his eyes flashing red and his stripes growing jagged. She turned away and let
him continue.

A simpler remedy indeed. She knew saliva had a coagulant in it—hence why animals licked
their wounds so. She hadn't realized Sesshoumaru had such a…primal side to him. This was
not the refined demon she knew.

She thought his eyes only grew red when he was angry, but was there more to it than that?
Did any sort of deep emotion trigger the reflex? That demon—Kouga—had said her blood
tasted good. Was Sesshoumaru enjoying the taste even as he helped her? But he said he didn't
eat humans, so—

She gasped as he licked mere inches from the apex of her thighs. Her face burned and her sex
tingled. The fur tucked between her legs grew hot and damp against her. He paused in his
ministrations.

Oh goodness, please tell me he can't smell that. But she knew how keen his senses were, so
she needed to distract herself—and him.

"D-Didn't you say your whole body is poisonous?" she blurted out. Yes, think of poison.
Deadly poison, bad for libido. Bad. "Why doesn't your, um…saliva…hurt?"

He gave her another lick. "I should hope that after all this time, I can control my own
secretions."

Rin wanted to bury her head back into the fur. Does he even realize how that sounded
coupled with what he's doing right now?

Her core twisted, and she had to fight from squeezing her legs together.

After a couple more minutes, he finally, finally, pulled away and rummaged through the first
aid kit. He elevated on leg on his knee, and she peeked over her shoulder again to find him
wrapping bandages around her thighs. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until he
was finished and she let it out with a head-hanging sigh.

He moved so quickly and silently, she didn't realize he had until there was a finger under her
chin, tilting her head back up, and she was looking back into his normal, golden eyes. But his
words still leaked anger. "Did he do anything else to you, Rin?"

The memories doused her arousal in seconds, and the tears burst past the dam once again.
She shook her head, trying to form the word "no," but she just couldn't do it. He reached out
to her, and she pushed herself up to move into his arms, where she settled in his lap and clung
to him as she wept.

It took several minutes for her to cry out the rest of her tears, and then she spent several more
just lying against him. The entire time, his thumbs moved back and forth in soothing strokes
across her shoulder and knee.

With anyone else, she would have forced herself to get up and move away even before she
felt calmed and comfortable, knowing her weight and silence would be awkward and too
much. But she knew he didn't mind silence, and he had already demonstrated just how strong
a demon he was.

After a while though, she finally sat up and wiped her eyes. Sesshoumaru's arms fell away
from her. She sniffed, hiding her face from him in her hands. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess." She
took a deep breath and pulled back her eyes, waving at them to dry them faster. "You were
right, of course. Demons can be very frightening."

"That is why you need to leave. You are in danger here. They are not the only demons on the
premises."

She was starting to realize as such. Nevertheless, she leaned back against his chest, her head
on his shoulder. Please, I just want to enjoy this closeness for a little longer. "Maybe so, but I
know I'm safest right here."

"That is not true."

She popped up again, feeling some of her fire return, despite her dampened mood. "Of course
it is. I said demons can be very frightening—not that all demons are frightening." She
reached out and cupped his face, rotating it to face hers. "You're not like them,
Sesshoumaru."

His eyes widened when she said his name, and she faltered. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone.
I'm just…so glad I finally know what to call you. I'm glad to know the name of my savior."

She took a deep breath and resolved to do what she felt would be the bravest action in her
entire life. "Thank you for saving my life, Sesshoumaru."

She stretched up and kissed his cheek.

Sesshoumaru froze as her lips made contact with his skin. The press of that soft flesh against
his felt more like a sledgehammer coming down on a thick sheet of ice, cracks racing across
it. The kiss sent a tingling sensation skittering across his nerves—an electric jolt straight to
his heart.

His hackles rose. Between the fact that those mangy wolves' stenches were all over her body
and that his fur was wrapped around her most intimate of places—he could feel her nipples
peaked against it, and damn it all, he had nearly gone mad earlier when he scented her arousal
and felt the wetness seeping into his fur—he was already having trouble keeping it together.

Now a kiss?

This is why he had told her she wasn't safe with him. He had to get that through to her.

When she pulled back, he frowned and grabbed both her arms, making sure not to touch her
abused wrists. He held her so close that they were nearly nose to nose. He unleashed just a
hint of the demonic energy that started his transformations, his blood surging and his fangs
elongating. "Do not test me, Rin."

Her eyes widened as she took in his face, but then she pursed her lips at him. "You don't scare
me, Sesshoumaru. Even if your eyes are red."

"You should be scared," he said, grasping her arms tighter even as he fought to keep his
talons from digging into her flesh. He didn't want to hurt her—just frighten her.

"Why? Because you're a demon?"

"Yes. You are naked in my arms, wrapped in my very own fur, and you think you do not
tempt me? I am no better than they."

She scowled at him. "How can you say that? It's like saying all humans are good in contrast
or even that all humans are murderers. There are no absolutes. Yes, I have learned that some
demons are indeed brutes. But there are those that aren't—like you. You would never ravish
nor eat me."

"I would ravish you right this second if you let me."

She gasped, and even his eyes widened, surprised at how the truth had slipped from his lips.

He never spoke out of turn. Every word of his was always precise and calculated. What was
this woman doing to him?

"You…want to…ravish me?" Her heartbeat quickened again, forcing blood into her cheeks
and—damn it all again—into her sex. She shifted in his lap, and the dual sensation of his fur
slithering between her legs and her legs sliding against his thighs caused his cock to jerk.

No, no, no. He could not let this go any further. He had to make her leave. Make her want to
leave.

Even if that meant saying things he didn't mean.

"Only to get that stench of wolf off you. It offends me."

Instead of looking insulted, however, she peered at him, like she was trying to puzzle him
out. "You really are a canine, aren't you?"

"What does that matter?"

"You're right—it doesn't. After all, whatever you are, you must be magnificent."

His heart jerked at her words. It was not the first time he had heard that term applied to his
person. His longstanding servant, Jaken, rattled off such platitudes on a near hourly basis. He
didn't doubt that Jaken believed what he said, but the imp treated Sesshoumaru more like a
god to worship—and worship often became a repetitive habit.

So why did her words feel more…genuine? Like she sees me and not some image of what I
should be. Like everyone else does.

"It's just…the way you're acting, you remind me of a dog wanting to mark your territory. On
me." They way she glanced back up at him from beneath her eyelashes caused his cock to
give another mighty twitch.

Yes, that must be exactly what this feeling is, he reasoned. And no modern woman would wish
to be treated as such.

He could still salvage this situation and send her home before they went too far.

"You're right. I simply view you as mine and wish to make it known."

The words had made sense in his head, but they appeared to have the opposite of his desired
effect, because instead of making her scowl at him in post-modern feminist rage, her blush
only deepened.
Still, if her silence was any indicator, she appeared to be chewing over his words. Eventually,
she looked up and stared directly into his eyes.

"So, let me get this straight. You're saying you only want me for my body? Because someone
else dared to touch it?"

No, he didn't. She was not toy, a thing to be used and discarded as he pleased. She was so
much more than that. She had brought light into a time of his life where he should have been
drowning in a deep sea of despair. After all, his younger, half-demon brother
had humiliated him, bringing him nearly to the point of death, rendering him unconscious,
and giving him enough wounds to leave him wounded for over a week. Sesshoumaru's
temper should have shaken the mountains. His shame and vindictiveness should have known
no bounds.

But he had nearly forgotten all that over the past week and a half as this girl barged into his
life and made him look at the world—at humans—in a different way.

This girl who had only ever seen him at his weakest and still wanted him. If he had shown
such weakness in front of any female demon, she would have either abandoned him or used
his powerlessness against him, asserting her own dominance in their relationship from that
moment forward.

But not Rin. He didn't have to hide anything from her. He realized that now.

But that fact did not erase the dangerous reality of their situation and world, so he had to say
the damning words. She couldn't stay here. This could not go further.

So why couldn't he speak?

She appeared to interpret his silence—and whatever hint of his feelings dared show on his
face. "Sesshoumaru, do you want me—all of me—that badly?" she whispered, and the scent
of her arousal was so thick, he couldn't help his answer.

"Yes."

Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru, her stomach a Gordian knot at this point. No man had ever
admitted to wanting her like this before. Heck, it had been hard enough to find a family that
wanted her badly enough to adopt her, let alone find a man who wanted her just as much as
she wanted him.

And she wanted him right now, with every fiber of her being.

She knew it would be beyond reckless. She was not on birth control—there was no need to
waste the money on it when there was no chance of having sex. For that same reason, she had
no condoms, nor would she have ever thought to bring any on a solo camping trip even if she
did buy them.
She knew this was a temptation to stray from her vow to stay chaste until marriage. Knew
that she had the ability to say "no," and he would let her go, and that would be it.

But then she would have to leave, because how could she stay here next to him after this
moment and not constantly think about what could have been or what could still be?

Besides…she was feeling a little reckless.

She had been seconds away from dying. Not as a virgin, in the technical sense, given the wolf
demons' cruel plans for her, but still never having known the physical love that most others
got to enjoy.

She knew life could be unexpectedly short—her parents and brothers were a testament to
that. Sometimes life was so short, it barely even started. There had been more than one baby
she helped deliver who died due to complications.

There were no guarantees in life. She could die tomorrow. At the rate her life was going, she
would run into another demon and actually be devoured this time. Or she could get into a car
accident on her way home or to Tokyo, where the drivers thought they were competing on a
speedway.

And if she did die, wouldn't this be a huge regret? Not necessarily just dying as a virgin—
although that would be one hell of a regret within itself—but dying without acting on her
feelings for him. Because whatever this was she shared with Sesshoumaru, it was real. And it
went both ways.

Carpe diem. Seize the day.

"Then you can have me," she murmured, pushing herself up and pressing her lips to his. She
cupped her hands against his head, making sure he couldn't move away—because she felt in
her heart that, for whatever reason, he was trying his best to distance himself—and though
she had never kissed before, she tried to apply what all her romance novel reading had taught
her. She brushed her tongue against his lips, asking for permission, and like a key fitting into
a lock, her tongue slipped through as he opened to her.

In her enthusiasm, she thrust her tongue into his mouth—and it sliced against a particularly
sharp tooth.

She made a little noise of distress, sucking her tongue back in and pulling away.

"Are you hurt?" he asked as she brought her fingers up to her tongue and tapped it, trying to
gauge if there was blood. Her fingers came away with only spit.

"I don't think so. I think…it just took me by surprise."

His grip tightened on her ribcage—when had his hands gotten there? "Rin…we should stop
this now before it's too late. My body is dangerous to you." As if to reinforce his words, she
felt the pinpricks of his claws against her bare skin, but they did not pierce her. That
reassured her.
"No. I was too hasty. I forgot about your, er…fangs." She smiled sheepishly. "You know, the
vampire romance novels never seem to mention that peril. It's all about the neck biting with
them," she giggled, trying to lighten the mood.

But if anything, his expression only darkened. "Those novels only succeed because humans
don't understand the animalistic urges that overtake one in those moments. I am an animal,
Rin. A demon one…but an animal nonetheless, even if I do not appear as such right now."

"But you have the utmost control. I've seen it. I trust you," she said, placing her hands against
his, purposely running the pads of her thumbs over his lengthy nails.

He stared at her hard for two heartbeats. "I have no control," he said.

Just then, the constricting fur covering her body relaxed. He pulled out a hand from under
hers and tore the fur away, baring her chest to him, which he attacked with a hungry mouth.
She gasped as he sucked on her nipple, flicking it with his tongue, rolling it between his
teeth. He laid her back as he moved to the other, his hand replacing his mouth and massaging
her breast.

She moaned as he worked her, her body both excited and falling into torpor. Was she
supposed to just lie here like a doll and let him have his way with her? She was so tempted,
but she knew she was supposed to reciprocate—somehow.

She noticed his ears then, their pointed tips sticking out and just begging to be nibbled on.
She leaned her head forward and grasped the tip of one between her teeth. He froze over her,
and encouraged, she sat forward more, nibbling her way down the shell of his ear until it met
his jaw, where she placed a kiss.

He turned his head then and took her mouth, this time forcing his tongue into hers and
stroking it. She tangled her hands in his hair, running the silk through her fingers and
relishing the velvet of his tongue.

Suddenly, he pulled back and ripped the end of the fur from between her legs. She yelped as
the friction of it skated across her already sensitive sex. Sesshoumaru brought the fur to his
face and buried his nose in it. Rin's cheeks flamed when he gave the fur a lick, and she
crushed her thighs together.

He smirked at her. "Just how wet are you to leave such a mess on my fur?" He pushed her so
that she was lying back again and took her knees, prying her legs open. She barely resisted,
although the rush of cool air back onto her most private of places made her shiver.

Then he lowered his head, and Rin panicked. "Sesshoumaru, no, please—" He cut off her
begging with a lap of his tongue against her entrance, and she cried out, bucking against his
mouth. He only took it as further invitation; his tongue darted inside, swirling around her,
causing her womb to tighten like a spring. He moved in and out, flicking her bud with his
tongue and slipping back inside, and Rin moaned and gasped in time with his thrusts.

Her core grew tighter and tighter, and she knew it was only a matter of seconds before she
exploded. She needed to let him know.
"Please…don't stop. I'm…so close."

He looked at her over her mound, his canine eyes glinting like he was on the hunt. "You
know my name now, Rin. I want to hear you say it as you come."

She couldn't speak—had to save her energy for that one word alone, so she just nodded.

He growled and attacked her sex again with renewed frenzy, concentrating his tongue on
flicking her clit as his fingers slid into her.

"Oh please, ah…ah—! Sessh….Sesshoumaru!" she cried out seconds later, throwing back her
head as her muscles spasmed.

Her legs drooped as her orgasm leeched the energy out of her, and then the clink of a belt
buckle pulled her attention back to him.

Sesshoumaru yanked off his belt and tore open his pants, apparently unable to get them off
fast enough. "I cannot wait any longer, Rin. Not when you call out my name like that."

Rin watched in awe as he soon revealed his manhood to her, completely erect and ready for
the taking.

What a magnificent penis, Rin thought, her medical mind unable to help but appreciate its
fine anatomy. She had seen a plethora of penises before during her clinicals, but the majority
were flaccid and attached to old, wrinkly men, so she had never really appreciated one
before.

This one was textbook perfection. Then again, she could have been biased, because this one
was all hers.

Still, it gave her an idea.

When he moved over her, getting ready to enter, she placed a hand against his chest to stop
him. He stilled, but his face tightened as if in pain.

"Rin…I will respect your wishes…but if you're telling me to stop now—"

She put a finger to his lips to silence him. "Shh. Before that, Nurse Rin would like to give
you an examination." She smiled playfully at him.

His facial muscles relaxed by degrees. "What…sort of examination?"

She sat up, forcing him back onto his shins. "The kind men don't normally like. But I promise
I'll try to make this one—" She reached out and cupped him, giving him a squeeze, which
made his nostrils flare as he sucked in a breath. "—more pleasurable." She massaged his sac,
reveling in its give. "Hmm, no apparent problems here. Let's check the shaft, shall we?"

Sesshoumaru just watched her with a wide-eyed expression as got on her belly to keep the
weight off her wounded thighs and take a closer look at him. She ran a finger up the
underside of his penis, and he shivered. "Hmm, this is pretty stiff. In a normal examination,
that would be a bad thing, but in this case…the stiffer the better." She stroked it a few more
times, watching from the side as his hands clenched into tight fists on this thighs. Her grin
widened. "Now, let's check the head."

She hesitated only a second. While she had grown comfortable enough to touch a man's
genitals through years of medical work, using her mouth would be a first. She was almost too
embarrassed to try, but then she thought, You're an adult, for crying out loud, not some
anxious teenager. If he can do it, so can you. Live a little, girl.

She bent down, licked his cock like a popsicle, and then took it in her mouth. She swirled her
tongue around the circumference of the head, wicking up his salty precum. Sesshoumaru's
arms slammed down on either side of her, caging her in. She looked up at him, his manhood
still in her mouth, and noticed the ragged edges to his stripes and red eyes had returned.

He was taking deep, steadying breaths. "Rin…how much longer…will this…examination

take?"

She let his member slip out of his mouth with a pop and grinned saucily at him. "I suppose
that depends on how much more you can take."

He snarled and flipped her onto her back, roughly enough that it jarred the wounds on the
backs of her thighs. She tried to hide her grimace as he climbed over her. His pupils had
nearly disappeared in his now-turquoise irises. "I can't take anymore. I have to be inside
you now."

Sesshoumaru thrust so suddenly into her and buried himself so deep that Rin cried out in
shock and tensed. She gripped his arms with her hands, his waist with her legs, and his shaft
with her sex.

He froze.

"Rin…is this your first time?"

She opened her eyes and looked into his, which were widened in…surprise? Apprehension?

"Yes," she admitted, a prickle of defensiveness sending her heart fluttering. She knew it was
stranger than not nowadays to be this old and still a virgin, but she hated the look of shock
people gave her when they found out, like she was some alien creature that had landed
amongst them. Like they were judging her as unfit.

But Sesshoumaru's face didn't have that look of bafflement or judgment on it. Instead, he was
the one who appeared wrecked.

"Why?" he asked on a breath.

She scrunched up her brows. "What do you mean, why? I was just waiting for the right
person." Granted, I thought I would be married to him first, but….

His brows furrowed in consternation. "I don't understand."

"What's there to not understand?"

"Don't humans consider the first time significant?"

"Yes…."

"Then why me?"

Her face softened as she realized the problem. She reached up and cupped his cheek. "Why
not you, silly?"

"I'm a demon, Rin."

"And why should that matter?" She brought her other hand up, her thumbs brushing over the
upper stripes along his cheeks. She was going to have to lick those jagged lines later.
"You're you, Sesshoumaru. That's why. It doesn't matter to me whether or not you're a demon.
You're my quiet, contemplative Sesshoumaru who put up with this human that butted into his
life when, as he first said, he could have survived on his own. But even when she was
stubborn, this kindhearted Sesshoumaru tolerated her and even went so far as to save her
from his own kind when it would have been easier for him to have just let them eat her. This
Sesshoumaru just happens to be a demon—a demon that she wants. And this human
consented because this demon appeared to want her too."

He brushed the bangs away from her forehead. "I do not know this demon of which you
speak."

"Sure you do. He's right here," she said, bringing a hand down to touch his heart. "He's
always been here. He just needed time to come out of his shell."

Sesshoumaru shut his eyes, the tiniest of smiles quirking up a corner of his lips. "So you say.
All I know is that this demon," he added, taking Rin's hand in his as he held it against his
heart, "wants his human whose voice is nature's music, who shows no fear in the face of
danger, and who puts the interests of others—including a demon's—above her own."

Tears welled up in Rin's eyes, and her throat tightened. "Who is that?" she chuckled weakly.
"Surely not this overly-talkative girl who is simply used to taking care of others and was most
definitely afraid."

"But you did not show it," he said, bending down and kissing her forehead. "You never do.
Even when a demon is standing right in front of you, you stand your ground, as if you have
the power to kill him on the spot."

The tears spilled down Rin's cheeks. "You see? I knew it."

"Knew what?" he asked, kissing away her tears.

She took hold of his face again. "That I made the right choice." She brought his lips to hers
and kissed him. This time, she took care to tease her tongue into his mouth, feeling out his
fangs so that she would not scrape them but then stoking them sensuously as she plumbed his
mouth.
Sesshoumaru moved against her, and she gasped as it sent tingling butterflies of sensation
into the knot in her core. It took her a few strokes to overcome all the unease of her stretched
opening as well as to learn and match his rhythm, but by then Sesshoumaru had moved onto
laying trails of soft kisses along her jaw and down her neck, distracting her.

Every thrust pushed out a groan from deep within her, and her womb just kept tightening and
tightening. The strokes against her sex suddenly bordered the line of pleasure and pain, and
every movement brought her closer and closer—

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru pulled completely out of her, and her core felt cold and bereft.

She opened her eyes in shock, seeing that his face had gone almost feral.

"What is it?" she asked, reaching up to him.

He grabbed her hand to stop her. "Turn over."

She blinked. "O-Okay." She rolled onto her belly, but as soon as she did, he yanked up her
hips so that she was on her knees and elbows. Her thighs stretched in protest, but the pain
was nearly lost in the tidal wave of embarrassment that smashed through her body.

"Wait, Sesshou—" But her words cut off as soon as his tip prodded back at her entrance, and
in one swift move, he slid back into her. She gasped at the sensation. It already felt so much
deeper, seeming to hit different parts of her body.

He renewed his thrusting, and Rin could do nothing in this position but take it. She had never
imagined to be doing doggy style her first time—had never imagined her refined
Sesshoumaru would do something so animal—but she was quickly realizing that the demonic
part of Sesshoumaru took over when he lost control, and truthfully—

She liked it.

She was quickly building back up again, especially when he reached down and fingered her
clit, sending shockwaves across her belly.

"Are you close, Rin?"

"I-I think so," she gasped. "Don't stop. Just…a little…more."

His finger strummed her clit just then like a guitar, and all of a sudden, the pressure was too
much to bear, and she exploded. "Sesshoumaru!"

The call of his name was like a trigger. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up so that
her back was flush against his chest. She winced as her torn thighs met his as she sat on him.
In a guttural voice, he growled, "You are mine now, Rin."

Then she felt his teeth scrape against the meat of her shoulder—and his fangs pierced her
neck.

"Ow!" she yelped just as she felt his hot release within her. "Sesshoumaru, that hurts!"
 He let go almost instantly, his grip on her arms like steel. She tried to turn her head to look
down at the bite mark, but she couldn't see it, though it throbbed.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, leaning back over her. His breath tickled her ear. "I didn't mean….
I went too far." He then proceeded to lick the wound. She winced, but the soft wetness of his
tongue lapping against the bite lulled her away from her irritation and pain.

"It's okay. Just…don't bite like that again."

He paused in his ministrations, and his silence seemed heavy before he answered, "I won't."

She leaned away and turned her head so she could get a better look at him. His eyes were
back to normal, although his stripes were still jagged, and he had an unreadable expression
on his face. Was he upset that she had chastised him? Her heart broke a little at that.

"It's fine," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek. "We're learning. I only ask that you try to be
more gentle next time. If you bite, don't break the skin."

His amber gaze flickered towards her, a spark reigniting. "Next time?"

She bit her lip in shyness. "…Whenever you're ready."

He chuckled. "Perhaps it should be whenever you're ready. A demon's stamina is no small

thing."

"I was kinda hoping you'd say that."

Chapter End Notes

You all were SO frustrated last chapter that Sesshoumaru was being so dense.
this chapter made up for it! Let me know if it was steamy enough for your needs.
😝
I hope

😁
Now, you might be thinking, "Welp, they've had sex. They're together. This is the end."
No, my friends. This is just the beginning. We have a loooong way to go.

Also, I felt really bad writing Kouga like I did, but let's be real—he didn't care about
humans at all before he met Kagome. And he has not met her in this story…yet.
 Selfishness and Sacrifice
Chapter Notes

WOW, the response to last chapter was simply UNBELIEVEABLE. Thank you all SO

🤤😇😂
much for all your comments and theories! They made my week! You're all such angels.
Thirsty, THIRSTY angels, but angels nonetheless.

ME?! 😝
Also, apparently I was a few days early for SessRin Smut Week AND NO ONE TOLD
Since I found out literally the day it started, I was going to make last chapter
my "unofficial" entry and skip the week, believing I didn't have time, especially since it

😆
did happen to basically cover all the Smut Week prompts (oops, did I give something
away…? ). But I was bad and decided to officially join, thus dividing my attention
between stories. So, if this chapter is a little heavy on exposition and doesn't seem as
well-edited to you, I do apologize, because I've been distracted by writing daily smut.
Lots and lots of smut.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rin rolled off Sesshoumaru's waist, freeing his member for the—was it the fourth or fifth
time now?—from her grasp. She snuggled into his side and laid her head on his shoulder with
a satisfied groan.

Sesshoumaru chuckled lowly, amused at how whether it was conscious or unconscious, she
had been seeking his side like that all week. He turned his head and buried his nose in her
hair, relishing the fact that his scent was now well-mixed with hers, and no trace of those
damn wolves remained. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so languid, without a
care in the world. Even these last couple weeks with Rin, he had always been on guard—at
first against her and later against other demons. But in this moment, nothing bothered him.

And it was all because of her. Would she always make him feel this way? In terms of days,
they hadn't known each other long, but in terms of time spent together, it already felt much
longer. And they had already gone so far. He couldn't imagine this ray of sunshine no longer
being in his life.

Now that he had experienced this feeling, he wished it would last.

He allowed himself to fantasize for a moment about what would happen if she were to remain
with him. First, he would have to take her back to the resort and make sure everyone
was well aware that she was not to be touched—especially their wolf demon guests. He
couldn't afford to throw out such a large portion of their customer base and risk the tribe's
patronage, but they could still be reminded, once again, what angering a demon of his might
would mean for them.
Of course, taking her back would mean eating a metaphorical feast of crow.

He could live with Inuyasha's rage and teasing. He might shock his father into an early grave,
but he would gladly accept Rin.

The problem would be his mother.

She still had not gotten over his father's betrayal seven hundred years ago. And with the way
the demon race was dying out, she had been harping on Sesshoumaru for decades that it was
his duty to ensure that the purity of the race continued. She had long picked out a list of
potential brides for him. He constantly ignored them, all the while knowing that one day he
would have to give in.

Had this been the past, when he could go years without seeing her and she wouldn't know his
business, he might have gotten away with having a secret relationship with Rin, but that was
no longer possible. And now, living with his mother in such relatively close quarters, Rin's
mere presence would be like a bug buzzing around her head.

And she would go out of her way to squash the human woman—emotionally, if not
physically.

Sesshoumaru ran his fingers through the ends of Rin's long, black hair as he contemplated
that. More than likely, this girl would be able to stand up to his mother and give her a run for
her money. After all, this was the same woman who had barely flinched when she found out
she had tended a demon and who had forced said great dog demon to bend to her every
instruction.

So perhaps he did not have to worry so much about his mother.

Perhaps there was hope.

Rin skated a hand over his ribs, tracing the magenta stripes that wrapped around them. "It's
official. You've ruined me for all other men."

His hackles rose at the thought of these hypothetical "other men" coming anywhere near Rin,
but he tamped down on the instinct. She had made no promises. No claims.

Not like he had.

His eyes drifted over to the bite mark he had made on her neck. Already, her skin was
discolored, the thin tracery of veins normally unseen now a greenish-purple spider web
around his bite.

He hadn't been in his right mind that first time—he recognized that. His demonic nature had
gotten the better of him—so much so that when he came into her, he felt an overwhelming
need to brand her before all others as his. What he had originally hoped was a simple bite—a
byproduct of his overexcitement—he could no longer deny was a mating mark.

Her cry of pain had been the only thing to bring him back to his senses, and he tried to stem
the minute trickle of poison from his fangs that would mark her, but apparently it had been
too late. He had feared the poison would hurt her frail, human body in some way, but aside
from the discoloration, it hadn't seemed to have affected her. Her heart continued to beat at
the proper tempo, and she had shown no less energy than was to be expected from their
successive copulations.

The fact that he had taken her so many times—that they had likely put the Kama Sutra to
shame—was probably some unconscious sign that his body knew if he did not have his fill of
her this day, he never would.

He clenched his jaw at the thought. Indeed, some part of him had known from the start that
she was not for him, but even so, he had selfishly indulged.

After all, she was free to walk away from this encounter, if she wished, and never look back.

He, however, would forever belong to her, because he had tied himself to her for life.

Mating bites were an exchange of demonic energy, tying two demons' life energies was an
absurdly romantic notion, based on the idea that with such long, potentially immortal lives
before them, a demon's mate would not want to go on living should the other die. So, the
mating mark ensured it. Most demons were too guarded to become so vulnerable as to trust
their partners with their lives, so it wasn't altogether common.

While a true mating could only happen between demons, he knew it was possible for a
demon to make such a mark on a human, even though the human could not reciprocate. After
all, every time he passed by Izayoi, Inuyasha's human mother, he sensed his father's mating
mark on her.

The mark was a brand declaring the demon's mate off-limits.

And a demon could only make such a mark once. Hence why he had never sensed it on his
own mother. So it still boggled his mind that his father had sought out the woman he had
once left for his true mate and asked her to live with him—in a separate building, of course,
but on the same estate nonetheless.

Before the Meiji era, Touga lived solely with Izayoi and Inuyasha, leaving Sesshoumaru to
his own devices and his mother, Inukimi, alone in her palace. But when demons started to go
into hiding, Touga approached Inukimi and Sesshoumaru with a proposal that they all live
together to better protect the family.

Sesshoumaru declined at first out of pride. It wasn't just that he felt he didn't need to hide nor
that he needed help defending himself. He simply didn't want to live with his father's "new,"
human-tainted family. Sesshoumaru had never cared for humans, and the fact that they were
driving demons into hiding only heightened his dislike of them. Although his father had
somehow found a way to preserve Izayoi's life and youth (he had never cared to find out, and
it was something he hadn't even noticed until decades passed and he suddenly realized that
Izayoi should have at least shown some age if not outright died), she was still, at her core, a
human.
But to Sesshoumaru's shock, his mother had agreed to the arrangement. He never understood
why she acquiesced to living as one strangely blended family, especially knowing that Izayoi
was Touga's mate, but as a result of her decision, Sesshoumaru ultimately joined them, if only
to make sure his mother was not disrespected on the estate. She held tremendous power as a
great dog demon, but she would always bear the stigma of being the former-wife of the Great
Dog Demon General, who had left her for a human.

And while Inukimi and Izayoi did have to switch roles as "public wife" every few decades to
help with Touga's identity ruses, Izayoi alone had always remained Touga's true wife in every
way that mattered in private.

He focused on the bite mark on Rin's neck again. Likely, it would make no real difference to
her life. If anything, it would provide a modicum of extra protection for her, lest she ever run
into another wild demon, although the chances of even that much happening were slim. Her
experience with Kouga had been a fluke. There was a reason she had told Sesshoumaru she
had never met a demon before him. She probably had—she had just never realized. Demons
preferred hiding to going on rampages these days.

The only other result of the mark was that he had tied his life energy to her, meaning that if
he died, she would too. However, he was confident in his ability to survive, so likely, her
mortal life would extinguish long before his did. And since she could not return the gesture,
he had no need to fear a premature death for himself.

Still, the words "ruined me for all other men" rang in his head. They presented an opportunity
—one that would normally seem too soon, too forward in this day and age. But he decided to
make the offer, on the off-chance she would accept it.

"It was never my intention to ruin you, Rin. I will take responsibility, if that is what you
wish."

Rin blinked sleepily at him, as if trying to puzzle out his words, and then her eyes widened in
understanding, and she chuckled, pushing feebly at his chest. "This isn't the 1800s, silly—
that's not what I meant. Perhaps what I should have said was: I don't ever think I'll be able to
have sex with any other man, because I don't think anyone could compare to you. Better?"
Internally, he preened at the words. He tried not to let it show, but her knowing look said that
something must have crossed his face. "Nevertheless, I do appreciate the gesture." She
paused then, frowning in thought. "You didn't happen to be alive during the 1800s, did you,
Sesshoumaru? Because then that would make a whole lot of sense."

He didn't see the harm in keeping that information from her any longer—not after everything
they had shared. "I was."

Her mouth dropped open. "Then…what about the 1700s?"

He nodded.

Her eyes took on a suspicious look. "…The 1600s?"

His eyebrows rose in a modicum of impatience. Was she going to go back each century until
she ran out? "Rin…."

"Just tell me how old you are. Please?"

Sesshoumaru sighed. "I was born in the 112th year of the Asuka Period."

Rin scowled, her eyes screwing shut. She groaned, burying her face into his shoulder.
"Sesshoumaru, don't make me do math right now. I can barely think. Just give me a number. I
mean, I can't even remember when the Asuka Period was. Do you know how long it's been
since I had a history class? Was that part of early Japan? Like…pre 700 CE or something?
Because that would be old. Like, really old."

It was a personally philosophy of Sesshoumaru's that one should never stop learning, even
outside of school, so he decided to indulge her curiosity with a little history lesson. "I was
born about a hundred years after Buddhism was introduced to the country. It was…how do
they say it now? It was 'trending' among the nobility back then."

Rin burst out laughing at what was probably a horrible misuse of some new English slang.
He knew he should have kept his mouth shut. "You are old. And if your suit is any indication,
you've probably built up quite a fortune over the centuries. Sounds to me like I scored myself
a silver-fox sugar daddy," she said, picking up some of his silver tresses and running them
between her fingers.

"You'd never have to work again," Sesshoumaru said seriously.

Rin snuggled back into his shoulder with a yawn. "Maybe, but I love my job. I could
probably find other things to do, but I honestly don't want to quit."

And just that quickly, reality came crashing back down on the heels of his euphoria.

He could talk about bringing her into his life, making her his mate, and keeping her by his
side forever, but he couldn't forget the most complicated and important aspect of his life that
would change hers forever: he was in perpetual hiding. Which would mean she would have to
be as well.

She was human, yes, and would still be able to have a freer life walking about the world than
he would. But if she was bound to him and his family, she would have to sacrifice much of
that freedom.

It was possible she could keep rotating jobs at hospitals, although with the way modern
technology was recording every aspect of everyone's lives, it was getting more and more
difficult to stay hidden. He might even be able to get her a job at a secret demon hospital, but
even if they did accept a human in their midst (unlikely), he knew she loved to work with
babies, and those were few and far between for demons—a problem that, as a race, they were
trying to overcome. But as with all races that possessed great longevity, change came slowly.

On the other hand, she would be more than welcome to join Nishikuni Corp., if she wanted,
but he did not know if the business life would suit her. Knowing Rin, she would be willing to
try for his sake, but she didn't exactly have great female models to look up to.

When it had become more acceptable for women of higher station to work, Touga tried to get
Inukimi and Izayoi involved with the family company.

It was a short-lived endeavor.

Sesshoumaru's mother had been allowed to be CEO only once: during World War II. Touga,
sensing the impending war with the signing of the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy in
1940, enlisted so that he would be an officer by the time war broke out (his pride at dropping
from general to private could only withstand so much, after all).

By 1943, with the war well underway and Japan desperate for more fighters, all males in the
family had either already enlisted or were conscripted. None of them complained. They had
years of built-up battle lust that they were only too happy to unleash.

With Inukimi's previous experience in helping to head a vast demon empire, she had been
willing to head the company while the men were at war. At the time, her iron-fisted rule and
demand for more output hadn't been out of place; rather, it had appeared to humans to be the
epitome of patriotism to the national cause. However, after the tragedy of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and the subsequent need to rebuild Japan, her despotic personality—which lacked
any sympathy whatsoever for the struggles of humans, especially in the working class—
lowered company morale to such an extent that Nishikuni Corp.'s workforce bled out, and the
company almost went under for lack of employees. The business suffered for months before
Touga ousted her, under the excuse that he would take over again while she returned home to
"take care of their family."

Inukimi was so insulted, she vowed never to lift a finger to help the company again, even if
Touga begged her. She also didn't speak a single word to him until 1950, when she
grudgingly allowed that a new decade could mean a new start. Sesshoumaru couldn't
remember a time when his mother had held such an obvious grudge—not even when his
father left her for Izayoi centuries ago.

As for Izayoi, she had never felt comfortable with the notion of heading a large corporation,
but as a human, she had more freedom to move about the world, and she helped in what ways
she could. Some decades, she infiltrated the Demon Slayer Corps as an undercover agent.
Other times, she played something of a human ambassadorial role at Nishikuni Corp.,
holding a high-level position where she wasn't expected to do much beyond meeting with and
wooing human clients. Other times, she simply managed their vast household.

Sesshoumaru had never cared to think before how Izayoi withstood this type of life. Did she
enjoy it? Did she mind it? Or had it been too long for a human? She had been alive since the
late 1200s, after all.

At times, that age seemed a weight keeping her rooted in the past. Izayoi still struggled to
adapt to modern technology, often decades behind. Touga and Inuyasha had only just been
able to detach her from her rotary phone and familiarize her with a cell phone, but they kept
her restricted to the flip-phones that were geared to the aged population. Izayoi could barely
handle a computer—she was in no way ready for 24/7 access to the internet on a smartphone.
Much of it had to do with the noble sensibilities she had been born with. (The influx of
pornographic adware would likely have sent her into apoplexy.) But those ingrained
sensibilities were also the reason she did not take an active interest in building a "career."

The feminism wave of the 1980s had completely passed her over (to her credit, she
sometimes said she felt like she was still living in the 1780s). She even struggled with the
concept that women were allowed to work, let alone that they wanted to. Touga had offered
to send her to college multiple times since the mid 20th century, but aside from taking some
typist and secretarial classes in the 1950s (in a rare instance when she had followed a trend
other than fashion and homemaking), she hadn't bothered learning more. It was a start, at
least.

So perhaps life as a secluded housewife suited Izayoi more than he would have thought.

But he already knew that Rin and seclusion did not go together. She was a product of the
modern world: connected to everyone through the internet and social media. His family, on
the other hand, did not form deep attachments to humans, lest the latter figure out their
secrets. They took as few photographs as possible—virtually none aside from their trophy
CEO portraits. They had no social media. They sought to erase anything that could show
they existed.

There was yet another sacrifice she would have to make as well—likely the greatest one of
all.

He knew she was tired, so he hoped in her somnolent state that she didn't find his question
strange. "Rin…if you had to choose between staying here with me or returning to your
family…which would you choose?"

Rin pressed a soft kiss to his skin. "Right now, I want nothing more than to stay here forever.
I never want to go back to the real world," she said with a soft laugh. Then she sighed. "But I
have a job, and I would eventually miss my family. Is there a reason I can't have both?"

The innocent question cracked something inside him. She has no idea. "I don't think so."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"Would your family accept you—" and he hated to use this word, but he couldn't think of a
suitable alternative at the moment without frightening her "—dating a demon?"

Her grip on his arm tensed. "I…honestly don't know."

"It wouldn't matter anyway, Rin. Because they can't know. The secret is too great to put in the
hands of that many humans." He had already chosen to fully trust her—but his trust and that
of his family's only extended so far.

And knowing how she had longed and struggled to find a family, he had no doubt it was the
most important thing to her. He couldn't take that away from her.

Bringing Rin into his life would be like trying to hide the sun in a cave.
He buried his face in Rin's hair again and clutched her tighter, his body fighting what his
mind was telling him.

He had to let her go.

He just wanted to hold his mate for a few moments longer though.

No, not my mate. He couldn't think like that. If he did, he would never be able to part from
her, and he would not be able to live with himself as a result. No matter what Rin said, he did
not deserve her unconditional kindness, and she did not deserve the life of hiding he would
foist upon her.

Rin lifted herself onto her elbows and stared into his eyes, like she was trying to figure out
what he was thinking. Then she leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. He accepted
her greedily, knowing, fearing that this would be the last time.

And all too soon, she pulled away. But then she brought a hand up to his face, tracing his
brow with her thumb. "Don't think too hard about the future right now, Sesshoumaru. Let's
just enjoy the moment. Alright?"

He nodded. She leaned back down as if to kiss his lips again, but then changed direction and
ducked behind his ear, nuzzling it with her nose before sucking the tender skin there. His
whole body jerked, cock flying up to half-mast in just one move. She had discovered earlier
that the areas behind his ears were his most sensitive spots (human form or not, he was still a
dog, after all), and she took advantage of it often.

If he had his tail, it'd be wagging. Instead, he slipped his arms around her and let a smile
cross his lips. Then he murmured in a gravelly voice, "I see we're playing dirty now."

He flipped her over, pinning her beneath him. She cried out in shock, and her cries quickly
transformed into ones of pleasure as he lavished kisses all across her body, memorizing every
dip, curve, and freckle—internalizing what types of moans she made when he nipped her
lips, sucked her tits, or licked her clit. He would need the comfort of these memories in the
fast-approaching future. But for this moment, at least, he would savor everything she had to
give and give her everything of himself in return.

Night had fully settled when Sesshoumaru woke up. His body tensed as he tried to get his
bearings, for he was still not used to getting so much rest in such a short period of time. But
when he found Rin curled against his chest as she slept, he relaxed, but only a fraction.

He had delayed the inevitable long enough.

He pressed a kiss to her crown and extracted himself from her hold. He already knew she was
so deep a sleeper, a bomb could go off next to them, and she wouldn't wake, although that
didn't stop her from flopping around as she slept. So, it was a testament to their coital
exercises that she was so exhausted, she didn't even move.
He left his fur with her, a way for him to keep feeling her against him even as he went about
their camp, packing up all her belongings. He even returned to the spot on the lake where he
had found her clothes and soap the previous day after hearing her cry for help. He gathered
them, but when the scent of the soap hit him, it brought the memories of her skin beneath his
lips bubbling to the surface, so he slipped the bar into his pocket instead of her backpack.

With everything but her sleeping bag and tent packed, he lifted her out of the tent, keeping
her ensconced in the sleeping bag, since the night air bit with frigid teeth. He broke down the
tent and packed that away. Then, he dug out the car keys he found in her backpack.

He found her cellphone next to them and remembered all the pictures she had showed him of
the forest and the flowers. While he trusted her not to reveal the secrets of this place, he could
not take the chance that the photos would get out. Even if they were only flowers and the
location tracking hadn't been enabled on the photos due to the lack of signal, with all
cellphone photos now saving to the cloud, it would be easier than ever for the Demon Slayer
Corps to hack in, if necessary, and he didn't want to take the chance that they could trace
where she had been.

He unlocked her phone, having seen her password multiple times over the last several days,
and went to her photo album. He scrolled through the last several days of photos, all of the
sanctuary and some selfies of her. She had asked early on to take photos with him, but he had
declined.

He stopped scrolling when his eyes snagged on two thumbnails she had not shown him.

She was lying awake next to him while he slept. The first picture appeared to be an accidental
candid shot where they were facing each other. It was dated from only their third day of
knowing each other, yet her expression was so relaxed and unguarded, it was easy to think
she was gazing at him with something like…love.

But that was impossible, because it was far too early. Even after all that happened today, such
words had never been spoken. He himself did not understand the concept of love. What had
happened today had been a potent mix of lust, fear of loss, and territoriality.

Of course, it was harder to tell himself that when she slid over to the next picture, where she
looked at the camera with a huge smile.

Perhaps it was a conditioned response to taking a photo, but…he had grown to understand
her smiles over the last few days. The professional one. The resigned one. The sad one that
didn't quite reach her eyes. And, of course, her ecstatic one. This photo was the lattermost.

His heart constricted as he flipped back and forth between the two photos. Since he needed to
avoid having tangible reminders of himself left for others to find, he had never cared about
having his picture taken. Capturing moments in time held no sentimentality to him.

But for the first time, he wanted a reminder. Oh, how he longed to keep these.

His family had rules, however. Besides, it would be best for her to forget him—much as the
idea tore at his heart—and he would have to try to forget her, even though it seemed
impossible right now.

So he went to the beginning of her trip and deleted every photo thereafter.

He then shouldered her backpack, hoisted the still-sleeping Rin into his arms, and flew
towards the sanctuary parking lot.

There were only a few cars in the lot, so hitting the unlock button on the key fob lit her car
up. He brought her over to it, settling her in the passenger seat and putting her backpack in
the back.

He drove her out of the sanctuary. The barrier they had purchased from the bat demon tribe
(who ran a security company on the surface for humans and sold their demonic barriers for
rather exorbitant prices to demons in secret) would keep her from reentering. It kept out all
those, aside from his family, who did not possess a ticket, which was the only way they could
enter the barrier. Demons were physically unable to enter, and as for humans, the barrier
subtly repelled them with negative thoughts and feelings, more forcefully inducing illness
upon those who tried to cross it.

He drove her down the road a ways and parked on the side of it so that no one would
necessarily associate her as having come from the sanctuary. He opened the door and put out
a leg, but then he made the mistake of turning around to take one last look at her.

It felt wrong to leave her like this, with her last memory of him being what they shared
earlier that day. Aside from the marks left on her body, he had already erased every physical
hint of their time together with the photos. It would be easier for her to forget him that way.

But for some reason…he still wanted to leave her with some sort of memento. He wanted her
to know that he wasn't doing this because he was using her and throwing her away. Never—
not her. Even though he knew it was for the best he let her live her life without him so that
she could remain in the open, he wanted her to understand his feelings for her…whatever
they were.

The proper thing to do would be to wake her up and tell her, so they could finally talk about
this. Though she had shied away from any decision-making before, the proper thing to do
would be to give her the choice to continue this relationship or end it.

But every look at her sent a jolt of possessiveness and arousal coursing through his body, and
he knew he was still too keyed up from their joining to make any rational decisions. If he
woke her up and she made any sort of plea with him to pursue this relationship, no matter the
personal cost to her, he would not be able to resist. Yet, if she ultimately chose to walk
away…he wasn't absolutely sure he would be able to let her go. It would defeat the purpose,
taking away her choice entirely.

He was a selfish creature, after all, used to pursuing only what he wanted.

For once, he was trying not to be selfish. He couldn't risk ruining that.
He sighed, looking around at the mountainous road, and that's when he spotted it, growing
along the side. Most considered it no better than a weed, but as he recalled what Rin had told
him a week ago, he knew it was the perfect summation of his feelings, and she would
treasure it as she treasured all flora.

He found an old, empty, plastic water bottle in her cup holder. Using his claws, he sliced off
the top of it, dug up the plant, and placed it inside, dripping some water from her camping
water bottle into it to keep the flowers from wilting.

He placed it on her driver's seat, then leaned in and pressed one final kiss to her lips before
locking her car and shutting the door.

The hardest thing he had ever done in his life was to turn away and fly back into the
sanctuary, tossing his cut-up shirt, suit jacket, vest, and coat into the dumpster as he passed.

His instincts screamed at him with every meter—Go back, she's yours, don't let her get away
—but as much as the thoughts tore at his insides, he soldiered on.

He landed in front of the resort's main doors, dressed only in his fur, pants, and shoes.
Without his keys (which he had left on his desk that fateful morning before he confronted
Inuyasha), there was no other way to get into the resort. Luckily, with it being so late at night,
there would only be one attendant on duty at the front desk.

Despite the turmoil whirling inside him, he walked into the lobby with his head held high,
like he was coming back from a simple trip to Tokyo and not a ten-day disappearance.

Shippou, the fox-demon receptionist on duty and one of Inuyasha's close friends, was leaning
back in a chair, his tawny fox feet crossed up on the desk as he paged through a magazine. He
looked up from it and yelped, jumping so badly his chair tipped over.

"S-Sesshoumaru-san, where have you been?" he asked, scrambling up to his full height.
Despite being an adult, he still barely reached five feet, even with his new-age man bun,
which he had adopted to hearken back to the hairstyle he wore as a child.

Sesshoumaru approached the front desk and held out a hand. "Give me the master key."

"O-Of course," Shippou answered, unclipping it from his belt. "But sir, can you at least tell
me what happened to you? Your arm—"

"I'll be in the family suite," Sesshoumaru said, not bothering to explain. He heard Shippou
sniff twice, subtly, and he whirled on the receptionist, glaring at him. "Do not try to scent my
whereabouts."

Shippou yelped and flinched back, crashed down into the seat. He bowed his head repeatedly.
"Y-Yes, sir. I-It won't happen again!"

Sesshoumaru bared his teeth as he strode down the hall to the master suite. Just his luck that
the demon on duty had to be the fox. No doubt he could smell the forest and sex on him. The
question was whether or not the boy would believe what his nose was telling him. Then
again, Sesshoumaru wondered if Shippou even knew what sex smelled like. The boy chased a
million girls, but nothing ever seemed to work out.

The Nishikunis kept a suite for themselves on the premises to use as they pleased. On the
nights when Sesshoumaru stayed over, given the long drives back to Tokyo, where the family
complex was located, he used it to freshen up.

Even though the exterior of the building was the same they had built back in the Meiji era,
they had renovated the interior multiple times over the years to keep things modern. Some
rooms still retained their original Japanese motif; others had been done in the Western style.
However, all the rooms featured heavy front doors with mechanized locks. Demons were
territorial after all and did not feel safe any longer behind simple shoji doors.

Their family suite was on the top floor overlooking the resort grounds. He entered the set of
rooms and went to the closet, pulling out one of his extra suits. He would have to get his fur
sewn into a new trench coat, since that one was ruined.

He threw the clothes on the bed and went into the modern bathroom. He tossed his fur over
the shower door (knowing he would have to wash it as well), kicked off his shoes, and
shucked off his pants. They landed with a thud on the ground, and he frowned, picking them
up to dig in the pockets. He pulled out Rin's bar of natural soap along with his human falsifier
accoutrements. He had forgotten about the soap.

He brought it into the shower, turning on the water. Cold water blasted him at first, morphing
into warm, but he made no move to wash himself down.

He could still smell Rin on his body. She was especially potent on his cock. He didn't want to
wash her away. He growled, leaning his forehead against the tiled shower wall and clenching
his fist as the water beat against his back.

He had to forget her. But why was it so hard?

Was it because this was the first time he had denied doing something he wanted?

He grabbed her soap, rubbing it between his fingers, releasing its mellow scent. Memories of
licking her skin crashed over him like a deluge, and his body reacted.

He growled, putting the shower on the coldest setting possible. Humans said it worked to
damper arousal. He wondered if he, who could not feel the cold as much, would be affected.

He stood there for a moment, waiting, but it didn't seem to work. Finally, he grabbed his cock
with his soapy hand, pumping himself, pretending it was Rin's fingers wrapped around him.

Her words from the previous night drifted into his mind. Let's check the shaft now, shall
we? He smirked at the memory. Who knew she was such a little minx?

He worked himself until he came, gasping her name. He leaned against the wall of the
shower, watching as his seed slid down the tile. But it only reminded him of watching his
essence trickle down Rin's thighs, so he moved aside to let the water wash it away. He sat
down, resting his head on his knee.

He had been her first. While part of him rejoiced at that, the other part worried at just how
much his leaving was going to hurt her because of it. She had given herself to him because
she trusted him to care for her—not leave her. Hadn't she told him how low she set her
expectations for finding a family, so she wouldn't be disappointed? How could he dash the
one high expectation she had had?

To that end, he almost wished he hadn't been her first. It would have been so much easier to
forget him if he were just one in a string of men she had already had.

Of course, the thought of any other man having her, past or future, made his hackles rise. He
knocked his head against the shower, trying to shake some sense into himself. What use was
it going around in circles? He had made his decision. He had to stick to it.

He wasn't sure how long he sat in that cold shower, trying to forget about Rin. He knew
eventually he would have to soap himself down and erase the last vestiges of her, but he just
couldn't do it.

Still…the scent of the soap on his cock was comforting. If he had to wash himself…it would
be with her scent. He stood up then and took it in hand, but it was then he noticed just how
small the bar was.

This soap was a precious memento, and he did not want to waste it by using it all up too
quickly. He would reserve it for those times when the memories became too much to bear.

So, he would use it just this once—just to start weaning him off her—and then he would put
it away.

He rubbed her soap all through his hair, his body, and his fur. The tension in his muscles
relaxed as the scent enveloped him, but the demon within still paced in anger, upset that he
even had to commit the atrocity of using the soap as a substitute for her.

When he was finished, he shut off the shower and wrung out his hair and fur. He slung a
towel around his waist and pulled out the hair dryer from the vanity. Like any dog, he hated
having excess water on him.

It took him twenty minutes to completely dry his locks and fur. In the meantime, he finally
was able to get a good look at himself.

A long, pink scar still bisected his left arm. That would be easy enough to hide. The slashes
on his chest had long healed, only the palest traces remaining. None of the other superficial
wounds remained.

No one need ever know.

When he was done drying, he opened the bathroom door and froze as two new scents mixed
with that of Rin's soap pouring out of the bathroom.
His eyes darted over to the chair by the window, where his father sat waiting.

Sesshoumaru closed the door to the bathroom, not wanting any hint of the sex smell on his
discarded pants to hit his father's sensitive nose.

And then a familiar, squeaky voice exclaimed, "SESSHOUMARU-SAMA!"

Jaken, his centuries-long retainer, ran out from behind the bed, arms extended as if to hug
Sesshoumaru's leg. But the imp reeked of forest, leaves and mud sticking to his uniform, so
Sesshoumaru stepped aside to avoid him, and Jaken collided face-first with the door.

"Oh, why are you so cruel to me, Sesshoumaru-sama? I've been searching the forest for you
for days!"

Sesshoumaru ignored him and strode toward the bed. His father met his gaze, gold to gold.
His markings were on full display, and his ears unbound. So Touga had already been here,
rather than in the city, where he stayed disguised almost all the time, even at home.

"Sesshoumaru, where the hell have you been?" the great dog demon demanded.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. He rarely saw his father so upset. So this is where Inuyasha
gets that tempestuous personality.

The lie came easily. "I took an impromptu vacation."

Touga's stern face exploded into one of shock as his mouth dropped open. "A vacation? You?
Don't lie. You've never taken a day off in your life."

"So it was time," Sesshoumaru answered. "But I'm curious. How did you know to come
here?"

"Shippou contacted me, of course. I told the entire Sanctuary staff to call one of us as soon as
you had been found."

"Us?"

"Your mother and I were worried sick this past week."

Sesshoumaru's brows rose. His mother, worried? That didn't sound like her at all. He huffed.
"I used to go years without seeing her. She never cared before. I find it hard to believe she
would do so now."

Touga gritted his teeth. "You don't know, Sesshoumaru, because you do not have children. Of
course your mother cares. You are her only son. She sent me texts every day, wondering if I
had heard from you."

"I am an adult and can take care of myself. I hardly need to let you know my business,"
Sesshoumaru answered.
"Dammit, Sesshoumaru, you know things are different now. You can't just disappear without
us worrying that you've been captured or killed. Now why don't you tell me
what really happened?" He walked over and dropped Sesshoumaru's wallet and cellphone on
the bed. "You left those on your desk. Somehow, I doubt you got very far on your 'vacation'
without them."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "You went into my office?"

"Of course I did. Jaken and I went looking for clues as to your whereabouts. Besides,
someone had to take over your duties after you vanished."

They're acting like this is all some great mystery. Did Inuyasha say nothing about our
fight? He would have expected his brother to be crowing to the rooftops that he had defeated
him.

There was a sudden click behind him, and Sesshoumaru whirled around to find Jaken
opening the door to the bathroom. "Jaken, what are you doing?"

Jaken froze. "I-I was merely going to retrieve your clothing and put it in the laundry,
Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Instead of seeing you my dirty clothes, why don't you wash yourself instead? You reek, and
it offends my nose."

Jaken's eyes bugged out. "M-My apologies, Sesshoumaru-sama. I will go wash at once!" He
ran out of the room, no doubt to head to the employee restroom, since he would never
presume to use the one in the Nishikuni suite unless permitted.

Sesshoumaru returned his attention to his father. Touga peered at him in suspicion, but
whatever he was thinking, he didn't say. "Now, why don't you start by explaining this?"
Touga asked, grabbing Sesshoumaru's scarred arm.

Sesshomaru's arm tensed. "A small disagreement with Inuyasha."

"Small?" his father scoffed, releasing his arm and going back to the table, where he picked up
a bag that clinked. "You certainly have a knack for understatements." He shoved the bag at
Sesshoumaru, who took it and looked inside.

The broken pieces of Tokijin lay within.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Where did you get this?"

"Jaken found it this afternoon. He was part ecstatic, part terrified, but it was the first clue we
had gotten to your whereabouts, so he ran back to tell us the news. We had no word from you
for ten days, Sesshoumaru. All the staff knew was that you and Inuyasha had gotten into
another fight, but he came back and left, whereas you didn't. They weren't worried at first,
thinking perhaps you were cooling off somewhere, but when one day turned into two and two
turned into three, they started to fret. It didn't help that as soon as I confronted Inuyasha about
it, he blew up in my face and suddenly ran off on some 'business trip,' where he refused to
pick up his damn phone. He returned a week later, but I was here, so I couldn't confront
him…."

Touga sighed and walked back towards the window, running his hands through an already
messy ponytail, like he had repeated this action constantly throughout the day. He leaned
over on the table, gripping it so hard, the wood creaked. "I swear," he spat, "you two are both
adults, and yet you still act like teenagers sometimes. When Jaken found that sword, I finally
realized how serious the situation must have been. I'm not ashamed to say I blew up
Inuyasha's phone, but he turned it off. I finally got Izayoi to extract the story from him." He
took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The only answer I'm missing now is where you were
if you weren't near your sword."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "If you know about the fight and what started it, then you should
know what my position was on the matter. The encounter showed me how stubborn Inuyasha
was being, so to prevent myself from killing your beloved son, I decided to remove myself
from the premises and…clear my head for a few days."

It was a lie, and the look his father gave him said he didn't buy it. But his next words
surprised him.

"So, did it work? This…'impromptu vacation' of yours?"

"Yes, surprisingly."

Touga assessed him carefully, looking for the lie. But this time, he spoke only the truth.
Finally, his father sighed. "If that's the case, I'm glad to hear it. I've been worried about you
for a long time, Sesshoumaru. You've been too focused lately on our survival. You're
forgetting how to live."

Sesshoumaru's brows creased in confusion. "But you're one of the demons most adamant
about our species' survival. Why should you care if I pour all my focus into ensuring it?"

Touga walked over and put his hands on Sesshoumaru's shoulders, giving them a squeeze.
"Because I want to see you happy, Sesshoumaru. If furthering the cause of our survival
brought you joy, I wouldn't mind in the least, but I know you see it merely as a duty to fulfill.
I want you to find something to live for."

Sesshoumaru's heart squeezed. He had just left behind the one person he might have lived for.
She was probably long gone by now. Still, how could he bring himself happiness at the cost
of hers?

He would just continue to live life alone, as he had always had. He was used to it. It wouldn't
be that hard.

He hoped.

Touga continued speaking. "You're my beloved son too, you know. I wish you would try to
remember that." He cracked a sardonic smile. "I would have been just as furious with
Inuyasha for killing you if you had done the same to him."
 Inuyasha had said something similar to him after the fight, hadn't he?

Sesshoumaru huffed and twisted out of his father's grip, reaching down to pick up his suit.
"He surprised me with his fervor. I did not think he cared about the girl so much. I will not let
him take me by surprise next time." He thought about it for a beat or two, and then added, "If
he wishes to bring the girl here as he planned, I will not stand in his way this time."

Touga blinked. "That's…very generous of you. But I don't think you have to worry about that
anymore.

Sesshoumaru's eyes flitted up to meet his father's. "So, it's done then? He's given away our
secret to her?"

"Yes. Apparently, he also used this 'business trip' to cool off…but when he came back, he was
more resolved than ever to tell Kagome the truth, but he didn't want to risk bringing her back
to the resort after you made your…opinions known. So he met up with her last night and told
her."

Though Inuyasha's impetuousness once again chilled him, Sesshoumaru could no longer
stoke the fires of anger from their fight. After all, what could he say, when just hours ago, he
had been with Rin and even considered bringing her into the family?

But he would never admit that aloud. After all, his family could never know about the time
he spent with her.

Still…now that he knew it was possible for a human to accept a demon fully in this day and
age, he wondered if maybe he had been wrong about Kagome.

"And? How did she take it?"

"According to Izayoi, your brother came home last night, wouldn't say a word, locked
himself in his room, and hasn't come out, so I'm guessing…not well."

Chapter End Notes

So…I hope last chapter sated some of your smexy time needs, because as you might

😙
have guessed from this one…it's gonna be a while. (#SorryNotSorry) Don't hate me.
Love you guys.

In the meantime, if you find yourself in dire need of some SessRin smut, you can check
out my SessRin Smut Week contribution, Coitus Interruptus: The Cockblocking
Chronicles, which has a little plot sandwiched between some heavy overdoses of smut.)
 Boys are Stupid
Chapter Notes

To any male readers out there, the chapter title is a reflection of the characters' opinions
and not a blanket statement, lol. Anyway, I hope the chaotic mess of feelings and
thoughts in this chapter makes sense.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rin shifted around as she woke up, her naked body hitting the cool parts of her sleeping bag
and sending shivers across her skin. She tucked the sleeping bag up higher against her neck,
burrowing into it. Her limbs ached—not from sleeping on the ground but rather from being at
an awkward angle. Something was different…wrong…but her mind was too tired to think it
through.

As she shifted her legs to regain some feeling in them, the stickiness on her thighs and
soreness in her sex brought memories of that afternoon rushing back. Her heartbeat started to
pound, wiping away every trace of drowsiness, and she smiled to herself.

She opened her eyes, expecting to come face-to-face with Sesshoumaru, only to freeze in
confusion. Darkness surrounded her, but patches of starlight winked down at her through…
windows?

She sat up, her sleeping bag slipping from her torso, the cold night air wrapping over her as
she looked around.

Was this a car? Now her heart was pounding for a completely different reason.

With one hand, she pulled up her sleeping bag to cover her and with the other groped for the
overhead light, flicking it on. She relaxed as she noted the familiar white lily charm hanging
from her rearview mirror. It was her car. But how had she gotten here? From the corner of her
eye, she didn't notice anyone in the driver's seat, so she twisted around to look at the back.

"S-Sesshoumaru?" she asked. But only her pack lay there.

Then something white in the driver's seat caught her attention and she twisted back around.
Her car keys lay next to a cut-open water bottle holding a thick stem of Queen Anne's Lace in
full bloom.

Something about the flower sent an arrow of panic right into her heart, but her jumpstarted
mind was still turning over a jumble of terror and questions.

First things first: find out where she was.

She grabbed her keys and put them in the ignition, then turned just the battery on. The clock
flashed, reading 19:27. As she reached over to flip on the headlights, a draft of cool air blew
over her fingers, and she noticed the driver's side window was opened just a crack.

Her high-beams illuminated a stretch of road before her, a grassy meadow on her side of the
street. Along the opposite side of the road, the barbed wire fence that surrounded the
sanctuary stood sentry on the edges of the light.

"No," she murmured, looking around again. "No, no, no. Sesshoumaru, where are you?" she
said in a slightly louder voice, but the silence of night kept her from screaming it. Her heart
kicked into overdrive. She looked back at the Queen Anne's Lace. She hadn't brought that to
camp, so he must have left it here. But why?

It took Rin's mind a minute to place the meanings for the plant.

Complexity. Yes, their human-demon relationship was certainly a complex one. But wasn't
that something they could work through? She wouldn't have gone as far with him as she did
if she hadn't thought he also wanted to be together with her.

Delicateness. Was this his subtle way of telling her why the relationship wouldn't work? Was
she too humanly frail for him? She recalled his horror and shame yesterday at biting her. As
if the memory had opened a valve in her nerves, her neck twinged, and she brought a hand up
to the spot, gently prodding it. She winced in pain. She had been able to ignore it earlier for
the most part, but how bad was it?

She pulled down the vanity mirror and angled it so she could see. A purple-green bruise
surrounded four bright-red scabs at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Her mouth dropped
open. She knew he had bitten her, but she hadn't expected the wound to be quite so
prominent.

Did seeing it frighten him? "No, you don't need to worry about that, Sesshoumaru," she
whispered, tracing the darkened capillaries with her finger. Everyone got carried away
sometimes, but she trusted him with her life. He had saved it, after all, and he hadn't done
anything to harm her after their first sexcapade. If she had known he would take the
reprimand to heart so seriously, she wouldn't have said anything.

She took the bottle-turned-pot in hand and brought a cluster of the tiny white flowers to her
nose, inhaling the plant's fresh scent. Still, there was one other meaning to Queen Anne's
Lace.

Sanctuary.

Was that supposed to be a reminder of the place where they met? But why would be leave her
with a reminder if he didn't want her? After all, why else would he dump her in her car and
leave her on the side of the road if he didn't actually care?

Or does he mean…I'm his sanctuary?

Tears prickled at her eyes as she squeezed the bottle so tightly, it crackles, jostling off bits of
soil onto her hand. "Oh, you stupid, stupid demon. If I'm your sanctuary, then why did you
leave me?"

It made no sense. She was positive he felt the same way she did. He wouldn't necessarily say
it—she understood that much about him—but she had learned over these last ten days that his
actions spoke for him.

He hadn't had to come save her, but he had. He had held back from kissing her at first, but
after their run-in with the wolf demons, he hadn't held anything back. She had the bite mark
to prove it.

If he had only been interested in getting in her pants, he would have kissed her back the first
time and let things escalate from there. Or if he truly had been uninterested in her but wasn't
willing to turn down a woman who basically threw herself onto him, he probably would have
been satisfied with their first time.

But he had pounded into her over and over, sometimes initiating their lovemaking, sometimes
letting her, and after each successive coupling, he held her to his chest afterwards while they
rested, preparing for another round. Like her, he hadn't been able to get enough.

So she was positive: he wanted her. Badly. And not just for one night.

What we did meant something to him. He wouldn't have left me the flower—
this specific flower—otherwise. What I don't understand is…why did he leave me without
saying anything?

She wracked her brains, trying to look for some clue into his thought process. Everything had
started because of those horrible wolf demons.

Was that why he got her out? Was he simply trying to protect her from them?

But that didn't explain why he wasn't right there beside her, waiting for her to wake up and
talk with him.

She thought back to that afternoon—to the snippets of conversation they had had when they
weren't kissing and moaning and crying out each others' names. But it was difficult to recall
all their words, because she had been so tired after each round.

Something niggled at the back of her mind. Something she had dismissed. What was it?

Bits of his voice floated through her memory. If you had to choose between…me or returning
to your family…which would you choose?

Would your family accept you dating a demon?

Her eyes widened. She had said she didn't know and then silenced his worries about the
future with a kiss. And that had been the end of their discussion.

Had he taken that as a rejection?

Rin's brows furrowed in determination.

That's it. He's not getting away that easily.

She set the bottle into a free cup holder, making sure none of the delicate branches of blooms
broke off or bent, and then dove partway into the backseat. She tore open her backpack to
find some clothes, throwing on the first bra, shirt, underwear, and pants she found.
(Everything she owned was already filthy anyway, so what did it matter?) Then she
clambered into the front seat and started the ignition. She turned the car around and crept
along the road, watching for the turnoff to the sanctuary.

Uneasiness prickled at her skin. It wasn't just the eeriness of being on a rural road alone in the
dead of night and fearing some animal or creeper would jump out in front of her car. There
was something about this place that made her really want to leave.

But she wouldn't. She had to talk to him about this. She no longer had a ticket, but if she had
to climb over the gate, hike all the way to the resort, and knock on each door until she found
him, she would do so.

Since she was expecting it, she found the gravel entrance road easily enough, but as soon as
she turned onto it, a vise seemed to clamp around her chest. Her heart pounded, and her blood
thrummed through her, reverberating like she was standing next to an amplifier at a concert
and absorbing all the bass beats. The constant pulse brought her gorge to her throat. But she
kept pressing forward.

Yet the feeling got worse with every meter that passed, and when her lights finally flashed on
the Western Sanctuary sign, nausea hit her.

She stopped the car and threw open the door, bending over and retching onto the gravel. Her
eyes watered as she emptied her stomach. She felt more sickness coming, so she stumbled
out of the vehicle and tottered back several paces, trying to keep her car out of the splash
zone. The pain and nausea seemed to ease with every step she took away from the sign.

What's happening? she wondered.

It was too sudden to be natural. She didn't understand what was affecting her, but one thing
was clear: it was meant to prevent her from getting into the sanctuary.

Come on, Rin. Just pull through it. Go to the gate.

She took a few deep breaths and put one foot in front of the other. But by the time she made it
back to where her car sat running, she had to lean on the open door and dry heave again, her
stomach completely empty save for bile. She tried taking a few more steps, but the
reverberation of her blood in her veins made her feel like her heart was going to explode.
Instinctively, she understood how dangerous this high blood pressure was.

Had Sesshoumaru cast some sort of demon magic spell on her to keep her out?

Tears that weren't a result of vomiting squeezed out of her eyes. Sesshoumaru, why?
She couldn't think properly with her body so jittery and ill, so she slumped back into her car
and backed out, nearly ramming into a tree in her haste, because she was having trouble
concentrating. But once she made it back to the road, the blood slowed in her veins, and her
heart relaxed. The sight of the fence still sent an instinctive shudder down her back, but she
knew now that that feeling was manufactured.

She pulled back onto the side of the road and turned the car off. She grabbed her water bottle
and took a swig, swishing the liquid to get rid of the sour taste in her mouth before spitting it
onto the street. After her mouth tasted less acidic, she sighed and let her head fall against the
steering wheel, taking deep breaths to calm her jittery nerves.

What was that? she wondered again. It's like the entire sanctuary is trying to repel me, telling
me I'm not welcome here.

She froze. The thought triggered memories.

What are you doing here? How did you get in? Sesshoumaru had asked when he first woke
up.

You're not supposed to be here, Kouga had said. That makes you a threat, and we have a duty
to eliminate threats.

She lifted her head from the steering wheel and looked back at the military-grade fence edged
in barbed wire. A physical deterrent to keep unwanted visitors out to supplement whatever it
was that had made her so sick when she approached.

It hadn't been a coincidence that she had met all these demons in just ten days.

This was a demon sanctuary.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. How did I not realize it before?

The exclusive tickets. The secretive website with no photos of guests. Even the
slogan: Where you can be your true self.

It was all right there, and she had completely missed it.

But Kagome gave me the ticket to this place, and she got it from….

She sucked in a breath. Was Nishikuni-san a demon? Kagome had said his family owned the
resort, hadn't she? Unless he was some secret demon sympathizer, and this was his family's
version of a safe house.

She had to talk to Kagome and figure this out—

"No," Rin told herself, shaking her head. "Focus on one thing at a time. First Sesshoumaru,
then Kagome." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Okay, think, Rin. If you can't get inside, how else can you contact him?
Contact?

…Would he have left her his contact information?

It was a faint hope, but it was a hope nonetheless.

She snatched her phone, wondering if he might have unlocked it and put it in there. She
hadn't exactly been careful about hiding her password. She went straight to her contacts and
scrolled through, looking at each name. He may not have put it under "Sesshoumaru"—
he was living a secret life, after all.

But after scrolling through the list twice, she found no hint of him.

Would he have left her a video message to say goodbye? It didn't sound like him, but she
would check just in case.

She went to her photo album and froze, looking at the date of the last picture.

It was from over a month ago.

She tried to scroll past it, but that was the end. Where were all her pictures from the trip? Her
selfies from the mountain summit, all the plants, the fish they had caught?

The pictures she had taken of them as he slept?

She was right: he had been in her phone. But instead of leaving part of himself behind, he
had erased every single trace.

He wasn't planning on coming back for her. And he had done everything he could to make
sure she would never see him again.

The realization stomped on her last bit of hope, flattening it.

A fresh wave of tears spilled out. "No!" she screamed, slamming the edge of her phone case
against the steering wheel in rage, causing the horn to blare. "Sesshoumaru, how could you?!"

She tossed her phone into the passenger seat, not even cringing when it bounced off the door
with a thunk, collapsed against the steering wheel, and bawled. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she
shouted, hitting her forehead against it.

She wasn't quite sure who she was calling stupid—him for leaving her or herself for doing
exactly what she had always told herself would be a big mistake and giving up her virginity
in the heat of the moment.

This is exactly why you said you would wait, idiot! she berated herself. Premarital sex only
ever causes unnecessary worries and problems!

But on the heels of that thought, the memories of that afternoon flooded her, and she clutched
her middle as she remembered every tender look and kiss from him.
But how can I regret something so beautiful?

But how could she not if she was never going to see him again?

"I never wanted a one-night stand, Sesshoumaru!" she screamed, pounding her fists on the
dashboard, breaking down into heaving, wordless sobs for several minutes.

After her face had gone numb from crying and the tears had stopped to flow, their tracks
drying on her cheeks, she took a few deep, shuddering breaths.

Okay, I can't give up just yet. I still have one avenue left. I know it probably goes against
every privacy policy in place, and if demons are that secretive about their information, he
probably wouldn't do it…but maybe I can get Kagome to beg Nishikuni-san for
Sesshoumaru's information. If he was a guest, Nishikuni-san must surely have access to it.
And maybe, just maybe…he would understand, since he's dating my sister.

She took one final, deep breath; held it in; and then let it out slowly. Decided, she sat back up
and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Then she turned her car on and drove down the road
back towards civilization.

That malicious hint of unease still lingered with her until she turned back onto the rural
highway, where it disappeared. A moment later, her phone exploded with a litany of dings,
telling her she had emails, texts, missed calls, and voicemails. Tempting as it was to look, she
didn't want to distract herself while driving at night, but she did need her GPS, so she looked
only briefly enough to open her navigation app. One of her notifications mentioned seven
missed calls from Kagome.

Seven? That's a lot. Did something happen? Her earlier realization about Nishikuni-san came
to mind, and her heart lurched.

No, it may have nothing to do with him. Something could have happened to Grandpa or
Mom, and she was trying to get a hold of me.

Her finger hovered over the phone button to call her, but then a sharp turn in the road came
up, and she swerved before she drove straight into a ditch. She dumped her phone back into
its cup holder and kept both hands on the steering wheel as she crept along the pitch-black
roads of the countryside.

The drive back to her town only took about an hour, but between the excitement of the day
and her crying spell, exhaustion had her eyes drooping as she drove over the town limit.
When she drove under the first street lamp, some tension she didn't know she had been
keeping in her body eased.

Five minutes from home, she stopped at a red light that turned for the only other car she had
seen on the road. As she sat there, staring blankly at the intersection, eyes drifted over to the
darkened sign of the local pharmacy.

Oh crap. Her hand went to her stomach. I need a morning-after pill, don't I?
She had never had to worry about contraception before, and in light of her sudden
abandonment, she had almost forgotten. Dang it. They're closed now, and every other
pharmacy out here will be too. This town wasn't like Tokyo, where a few pharmacy chains
were open all night. I'll just have to go out and get one first thing in the morning. She knew
every extra hour was a risk, but there was nothing else she could do at that point.

A few minutes later, she made it back to her apartment. She dragged out her backpack and
threw it haphazardly over her shoulder yet made sure to cradle the Queen Anne's Lace in her
hands before trudging up to her apartment.

The first thing she was going to do was take a relaxing bath to wash the woods—and stupid
Sesshoumaru—off while she calmed down. Then, she was going to collapse in her bed and
not get up for eight straight hours. It was pretty late, so she would call Kagome in the
morning and handle any other messages then—after getting that pill.

She unlocked her door and pushed it open—then froze when she found the lights on and the
TV blaring. Her heart starting straining to break free of her chest again, imaging a stranger in
her home. Dear gods, by morning, she was going to suffer a heart attack if this kept up.

Okay, while it's possible I left the lights on, I swear I didn't watch TV the morning I left.

"W-Who's there?" she asked from outside, wanting to leave open a quick escape route if
needed.

"Ugh, finally. It took you long enough!" a female called from within as the TV paused and
the couch creaked. Though the voice was achingly familiar, Rin couldn't believe it, because it
was so out of place.

"Kagome?" Rin asked, stepping inside just in time to see her sister come around and peek at
her from the doorway leading into her living room down the hall. Her sister's eyes were red-
rimmed.

"Welcome back," Kagome said without her usual enthusiasm, but she nonetheless held out
her arms and walked straight to Rin, wrapping her in a hug.

"Don't get me wrong—I'm thrilled to see you. But what are you doing here?" Rin asked,
fishing one hand out from between them to pat her sister's back. "Have you been crying? Did
something happen? Are Grandpa and Mom alright?"

Kagome nodded against her shoulder. "They're fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I…I just needed to be with my sister," Kagome sniffed, clutching Rin tighter.

Rin peeled Kagome off her and set down the Queen Anne's Lace so that her sister wouldn't
squish it. "Kagome, what happened?"

"I…I broke up with Inuyasha!" Kagome bawled, breaking into a fresh wave of tears. She
latched onto Rin again, and Rin wrapped her arms around her, stroking her hair even as her
mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Oh Kagome, I'm so sorry. What happened? Last time we spoke…things seemed to be going
so well. Wait, don't tell me. Did he propose after all? Did you…refuse?"

Kagome shook her head in Rin's shoulder. She took a shuddering breath, and in a small voice,
she said, "He lied to me."

Rin frowned. Lying was never a good thing in a relationship, but was it really so serious that
they had to break up?

Although, if what she suspected was true, there was one lie that could indeed send her sister
into this tailspin.

"What did he lie about?" she asked slowly. She needed to deflect from her suspicions, just in
case, so she tacked on casually, "He wasn't…seeing someone on the side, was he?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, he would never do that. Or at least…I don't think he would. I
don't know. I don't even know who he is anymore!"

Rin's hold on Kagome tightened. "Was it that bad?"

"Yes. He lied about who he was."

Rin's heart thudded in her ears. "Who was he pretending to be?"

Kagome was quiet for several long seconds. "Someone who could be with me," she finally
said.

Rin glanced over at the bottle of Queen Anne's Lace, and with that, her final hope dissolved
into ashes.

Would your family accept you dating a demon? Sesshoumaru had asked her.

Apparently now, she had heard answer. If Nishikuni-san was indeed a demon—and the way
Kagome was hedging around the words nearly confirmed it—Kagome had broken up with
him because she couldn't accept dating a demon.

So how would she ever accept it if her sister did?

"Boys are stupid," Rin said through a thick throat, tears prickling her eyes as she thought of
Sesshoumaru.

Kagome laughed against her collarbone and then sniffed. Good thing Rin's clothes were
already gross—Kagome's tears and snot were probably going to be all over them.
"Boys are stupid."

"You'd think they'd get…get smarter…when they become men…b-but that's not the case a-at
all," Rin blubbered.
Kagome pulled back, wiping her eyes. "Hey now, why are you crying?"

Rin sniffed. "Because y-you're crying, silly. I'm a…a sympathetic crier. Y-You know that,"
she said, the words only half a lie. Changing the direction of the conversation, she nodded her
head towards the living room. "W-What are you watching? It sounded loud and obnoxious."

Kagome waved her hand dismissively. "Some stupid action movie with no plot and lots of
explosions."

Rin laughed, wiping her eyes. "That doesn't sound up your alley at all."

"It's not. But I can't watch any rom-coms or dramas right now without crying. I tried straight-
up comedies earlier, but nothing makes me laugh. So I thought I'd watch guys beat the shit
out of each other. That made me feel a little better. But the movie's still pretty stupid, since all
the guys are muscle-heads. Seriously, do guys ever think things through?"

Rin burst out laughing, wiping her tears away. "Isn't that why women exist—to do their
thinking for them?"

They laughed at that together, and Kagome held onto Rin's arm. "Oh Rin, I'm so glad you're
back. This is exactly what I needed. Pure girl time. But you took forever. I thought you were
supposed to get back this morning, so I came here around noon. Seriously, I've been
waiting all day. I called you, like, a bajillion times, you know. What good is your phone if
you don't answer it?"

"Yeah, sorry, there was no service out there."

Kagome then looked at Rin a little worriedly. "So…did you end up going to Western
Sanctuary then?"

Does she know its a resort for demons then? If she does…she'll start asking questions.

Rin already found it hard to lie to her sister; she didn't want to go further down that rabbit
hole. So one lie would hopefully cover it.

"Actually, after I got the ticket and did more research on the place…I started feeling a little
funny about it. I mean, Nishikuni-san meant for you to have it, and I didn't want to take
advantage of his family's business like that, so I decided to go camping somewhere else."

"Oh. Okay. Actually…that's probably a good thing. When I ended up telling Inuyasha I
couldn't make it, he said that was fine, but he asked me to shred the ticket. But I had already
sent it to you, so…I lied and told him I did. Did you throw it away?"

"Yeah, it's gone." That technically wasn't a lie.

Kagome sighed in relief. "Okay." Then her eyes latched onto Rin's shoulder. "Hey, what the
heck happened to your neck?"

"My neck?" Rin asked, her hand automatically flying up to cover the bite mark. "O-Oh, you
mean this? I, uh, took a tumble into a bush, and the branches really jabbed me."
"Are you okay?" Kagome asked, looking over her whole body.

"I'm fine—it's nothing serious. I had my first-aid kit and everything. That being said, I really
should go get cleaned up. Then I'll join you for the movie, okay?"

"Yeah, you do smell pretty rank. Go take a bath," Kagome said, returning to the living room.

Rin just shook her head in amusement. As she passed by the open door to the living room,
she watched her sister return to a nest of blanket and pillows on the couch. A trash can
overflowing with waded up tissues sat right in dropping distance from Kagome's hand, and a
veritable explosion of boxes, bags, and wrappers of post-breakup junk foods littered the floor
and side table next to her couch.

"Maybe you could clean that up while I'm in the bath?" Rin asked, making a little circle with
her finger as she gestured to the area.

Kagome looked at the mess sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Right. I'll do that."

Rin dumped her back backpack in her bedroom and grabbed some pajamas and fresh
underwear before heading to the bathroom.

Goodness, it felt like she hadn't used a toilet in years. As much as she loved the outdoors, she
definitely preferred the convenience of toilets and toilet paper that was gone with a simple
flush.

She took off her clothes, and when she saw herself in the mirror, she gasped.

Sesshoumaru hadn't just left one bite mark—he had left all sorts of love bites across her chest
and stomach.

She traced a few of them like she had the constellations they looked at together, and more
tears rose to her eyes.

She still couldn't reconcile the man who had shown her such love that afternoon with the one
who had left her alone on the roadside, like an abandoned child.

She turned away from the mirror and went to the bath, stepping into the tub to rinse herself
off with the showerhead and scrub herself down. She winced as she scrubbed between her
thighs, that area still tender. Then she filled up the bath with warm water—another luxury she
hadn't felt in days—threw in a bath bomb, and sat inside, letting the minerals soak into her
skin.

As she ladled the bath water over herself, she couldn't help but consider her body. Still the
same as it had been that morning…and yet completely different now that it had known a man.
She ran her fingers across her abdomen, still able to feel the phantom of Sesshoumaru's
manhood within her. Now that she knew what it felt like, she would never be able to forget.

Tears slipped out of her eyes again, mixing with the perspiration from the bath-induced sweat
on her face as she realized that he was well and truly lost to her now.
Asking Nishikuni-san to consult their guest list for his name had been a long shot, but now
that they had broken up…Rin couldn't ask Kagome to speak to him like that. It was possible
she could get Miroku to ask him, since they were college friends, but if Kagome really had
broken up with him because he was a demon…there was no way he was going to give away
the information of a fellow one to a human.

Especially if he was as heartbroken right now as her sister was.

She slouched in the tub until the water was right below her nose. What does it matter
anyway? It's not like Sesshoumaru and I promised each other anything about the future. I
guess that's the point of casual sex. No strings attached.

Except it hadn't been casual for her at all. She was still clutching all the strings he had cut,
hoping they would lead her back to him. She had never felt this way about any man. She
didn't care if he was a demon and their life would be complicated. She didn't want to let him
go now that she had finally found him.

Rin sat in the bath for a good forty-five minutes, fortifying herself to go back out to face
Kagome. She couldn't let any of her own worries show on her face. She had to be Kagome's
support for however long she was planning to stay.

Besides, spending time with her sister would be a good distraction from her own heartbreak.

Maybe it was fate that neither of us needed to wallow in our own sadness today.

Rin finally got out of the bath, dressed in her pajamas, and went to join her sister on the
couch. She moved some junk food off to make room for herself. "Geez, Kagome, did you buy
the whole store?"

Kagome glared at her. "Well, it's not like you had any in stock that I could mooch off of.
Seriously, I think the junkiest food I found in your cabinets was veggie straw chips. I took the
liberty of stocking your freezer with ice cream, by the way. Feel free to thank me."

"You know…that actually sounds good right about now. Thank you," Rin said, standing back
up to go to the adjoining kitchen. "You want some?"

"Absolutely!"

As Rin made some bowls of ice cream for them, she tried to think of a safe topic to talk
about. "Oh! How was the shrine keepers' convention last weekend?"

Kagome sat up straighter, an excited light coming into her eyes. "Actually, it was really great!
I found out I have spiritual powers!"

Rin frowned as she brought their bowls of ice cream back into the living room. "What does
that mean?"

"It means my talismans will actually work…unlike Grandpa's, which are honestly kinda hit-
or-miss. And I can purify a place of evil."
"Really? That's amazing! How did you find this out?"

"So there was this one seminar for newcomers where a member of the Demon Slayer Corps
gave a presentation. They brought in an ancient scroll that was rumored to be cursed. I could
tell immediately that it was true—I got this creepy feeling, and it was like there was this
black aura surrounding the scroll."

Rin pointed her spoon at her. "Is this like that creepy feeling you mention whenever we pass
by Suicide Crossing?" It was the local name for a train crossing where it seemed more
suicides happened that usual.

"That's exactly it. I've never liked that area—it's always been so dark. I don't know whether
the area's cursed or whether there's a demon luring people to their doom, but now that you
mention it, I should probably check it out and see if I can purify it."

"Well, just be careful. You're still new to this. I wouldn't want you getting hurt," Rin
answered.

"I will. Anyway, this older Slayer came out on stage, chanted over a talisman, stuck it on the
scroll, and this black spirit rose out of it. Then she took an arrow and jabbed it into the spirit,
and it disappeared in a glow of light! I was so amazed, I stood up to give her a round of
applause. I was like, the only one though, so it was totally embarrassing. But then she
looked right at me and asked the audience if anyone could describe the appearance of the
spirit she had just exorcized. I raised my hand—again, the only one—and when I told her, she
asked me to come up to the stage.

"Turns out the entire seminar was a test they put on every year to find other priests and
priestesses with spiritual power. She gave me all sorts of advice and even gave me her contact
information, because she asked if I would consider joining the Demon Slayer Corps.
Apparently, they really prize people like us in the Corps, because our power is really effective
against demons. Here, I've got a picture of us. Let me show you. Hold on." Kagome set down
her bowl and scrolled through her phone.

Rin, meanwhile, had tensed up. "And are you…considering joining the Demon Slayer
Corps?"

Kagome frowned. "Well, honestly, I was. I mean, Sango's in it, right? So I'd be able to get
two recommendations to join. But now…I'm not so sure."

Rin glanced over at her sister, assessing her. "Why not? You sounded so excited when you
were telling me the story."

Kagome shrugged. “I’m just…not sure how I feel about killing demons. It’s one thing to
purify cursed objects but another to actually end a life.”

She must be thinking about Nishikuni-san.

“Anyway, here it is. Doesn’t she look great for her age? She’s seventy, and yet she’s still
working for the Corps! I hope I look that good when I’m her age.”
Rin looked at Kagome's phone, which showed a picture of her next to an older woman with
long, sleek, black hair—was it dyed?—and a soft smile in her face that belied the steely
determination in her eyes.

Rin frowned. "I don't know why, but she looks familiar for some reason…."

Kagome took back her phone. "Maybe you've treated her before? Her name's Kikyou
Kimura."

Kimura? Rin's eyes flew open. "Wait! I think that's Kaede's sister!" She had seen the black-
and-white photo of a young Kaede with her sister on the doctor's desk so many times—no
wonder this Demon Slayer had seemed familiar. Of course, the two had been decades
younger in the picture.

"That doctor you work with?" Kagome asked.

"Yes! Who would have thought? What a small world!" Rin laughed. "But if her sister's still
working at that age, I guess that explains why Kaede hasn't retired yet either. That drive must
run in the family."

The two sister talked late into the night, and although Rin could barely keep her eyes open,
she didn't dare lay her head down to sleep. Kagome didn't seem tired, and Rin knew how
badly the memories and thoughts you didn't want to acknowledge ate at you when you were
left alone to think. However, when they put another movie on, Rin couldn't last any longer,
making it only halfway through before falling asleep.

She woke up on the couch the next morning stiff. She stretched—and ended up kicking
Kagome.

"Ow!" Kagome gasped, jolting up, looking around in a daze. She groaned and lay back down,
covering her head in her blanket. "Rin, why'd you have to wake me up so early?"

Rin grabbed her phone to look at the time. "It's 8:35, Kagome. Hardly early."

"It's early when we stayed up until 5:00 watching movies."

"You stayed up. I think I fell asleep before that."

"You sure did, traitor. Leaving me awake alone."

"Sorry. All the camping exhausted me."

"You can make it up to me with one of your awesome Japanese breakfasts," Kagome said,
peeking over the blanket. "Pretty please?"

Rin chuckled weakly. "Alright. Why not? I haven't had a full breakfast like that in a while."
She groaned as she got up, every bone seeming to crack as she realigned herself. "By the
way, are we going back to Tokyo today? That was my original plan, after all."
"…Do you mind if we stay here, just the two of us? I wanted a little bit of an escape. Mom
said she'd understand if you didn't come home this weekend, and Grandpa said he could
handle the shrine alone for a couple of days."

Rin smiled softly. "Sure. I'll just go on my next 'weekend.'"

While she had been looking forward to seeing her family again, maybe it was for the best that
she didn't see them. She didn't know if she could stay upbeat around all of them all weekend,
pretending like she hadn't just had her heart torn out.

Because if she slipped and let her emotions show, they would ask why, and she couldn't let
them know—about Sesshoumaru, her near-death/rape experience, the sex, or any of it. Not if
she wanted to honor Sesshoumaru's worries and keep everything she knew about demons a
secret.

He might have hurt her, but he didn't deserve to be outed and potentially put on the Demon
Slayers' radar just for that.

Besides…the reason it hurt so much was because she still cared for him. And she didn't know
if she would ever stop.

They say love fades with distance and time. I wonder if that's true.

Part of her hoped it was so, just so that the pain and loneliness would ease…and part of her
hoped it wasn't, because she could not imagine going through the rest of her life without
feeling such a beautiful aspect of life again.

Rin and Kagome kept each other occupied for the next two days, not once leaving the
apartment as they cooked, baked, ordered take-out, played games, and watched movie
marathons, all in an attempt to distract themselves and forget their woes.

Rin was scheduled for a twelve-hour shift starting Saturday morning at 6:30, so on Friday
night, she and Kagome had one final dinner—pizza delivery—at her apartment before
Kagome returned to Tokyo.

Kagome hugged Rin at her door. "Thanks so much for letting me crash here for a couple
days. This is just what the nurse ordered."

Rin chuckled, hugging her back. "I'm so glad you came to visit. It was such a nice change. I'll
try to come back home sometime soon to see everyone."

"Yeah…sorry about changing the end of your vacation plans."

"No problem. I promise I'll come soon. Bye, sis."

"Miss you already," Kagome said, giving her one last squeeze before leaving.

When Kagome left, Rin spent the next hour cleaning up the remnants of their extended
sleepover.
Then she noticed the Queen Anne's Lace on her windowsill next to a few of her other plant
babies, still in its water bottle. She had moved it into the sunny spot and managed to water it
over the last couple days, but she hadn't had the time yet to put it in a pot, which is what it
really needed.

I should have one in stock, she thought, going to a closet to fish one out. She went out onto
her porch to plant it. It still pained her to look at the cluster of flowers and know that
Sesshoumaru's hands had touched it and left it for her, but the wound had scabbed over with
resignation.

"What should I name you?" she asked the plant. All of her babies had names. She thought
about it, but couldn't think of anything but the obvious. "Is it pathetic of me if I call you
Sesshoumaru? I might actually feel like I'm getting to talk to him if I get to talk to you." She
sighed. "At least you won't up and leave me after having your way with me."

Just then, her hands stilled.

She had forgotten all about getting the pill.

She almost swore out loud and looked at the time. The pharmacy would be closing in twenty
minutes, and it wouldn't reopen by the time she headed out for work tomorrow.

She still had time. She raced back into the house, almost shoving her plant back on the
windowsill before snatching her purse and jacket with hardly a glance and running out the
door in her loungewear. She raced to her car and yelled at every stoplight that ate up minutes
between her and the pharmacy. Finally, she skidded into a parking spot and darted in. Aside
from a single cashier, she was the only one in the store, which gave her a measure of relief.

Realistically, she knew no one would bother or care with what she was getting, but she still
felt embarrassed about going to the family planning aisle and looking for morning-after pills.

It took her precious minutes to find the one type they had in stock, and when she grabbed a
box and saw the price, her mouth dropped open.

"5, 200 yen for one pill?" she hissed. "What a rip-off!"

But I guess this is how they keep women from relying on only this method. They'd all go broke
if that was the case! She read over the box.

Reduces chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex, she read. Take as soon as possible within
72 hours (3 days) of unprotected sex. Will not harm an existing pregnancy. An asterisk next
to the claim said that results were possible but not guaranteed up to five days after
unprotected sex.

She did the math in her head. I should be under the 72-hour deadline, but it's getting
close. She brought the pill to the cashier. As the disinterested woman rang it up, Rin reached
into her purse for her wallet. She dug around with her hand, but when she couldn't feel it, she
opened her purse in confusion.
Where was her wallet?

Panic overtook her. She hadn't left the house all weekend. Where could it be?

Then it hit her. The pizza she had ordered a few hours ago for her and Kagome. She had
taken out her wallet and set it on the counter when she accepted the delivery and gave the
deliveryman his payment. She hadn't put it back, and in her haste to get out the door, she had
overlooked it.

"Miss?' the cashier asked. "That'll be 5,700 yen."

"I'm so sorry, I forgot my wallet." She looked at her phone. "Any chance you could stay open
while I run back to get it?"

"How long?"

"Ten minutes, tops."

The woman looked at the clock on the wall. "We close in two."

"Please? I really need to take this."

The woman looked at her with an expression Rin read as, Then maybe you should have
thought about that before you opened your legs. "Sorry, miss. You'll have to come back
tomorrow."

Rin sighed in frustration. "Fine," she bit out, storming out of the pharmacy. She'd just have to
come back after her shift.

Despite being so frazzled from working a twelve-hour shift on the heels of coming back from
vacation she managed to remember about the pill after work and went back to the pharmacy.
She was past the 72-hour deadline by now, but she knew these pills could potentially work up
to five days after sex, although the results weren't guaranteed.

Is this even worth it then? she she really spend all that money on something that had such
little chance of success?

What are the chances I would get pregnant anyway? It was one day, and my period's been so
spotty lately.

She gave her cheek a little slap.

No, no, no. You're asking for trouble if you do that. There's always a possibility with sex. You
know that. You work in reproductive medicine, dang it.

She knew what her colleagues would tell their patients: Spend a few thousand yen now or
spend millions of yen on childcare.

And while she knew in her heart of hearts that she wouldn't necessarily mind spending the
money on childcare, because she wanted a baby that badly, rolling the dice like this wasn't
 the right way to go about it.

A child deserves a whole family with both a mother and father to love it. She knew enough
about broken families to never want her own potential child to experience anything similar.
And while she didn't doubt her capacity to give any baby of hers enough love…she knew her
attention as a single mother in the medical field would be seriously divided between work
and the child, putting their relationship at risk.

It's for the best, Rin. You'll just have to hope you find another man someday who will be able
to give you everything you want.

But deep down, she knew what she had told Sesshoumaru was true: he had ruined her for all
other men. So it was a hollow hope indeed.

Nevertheless, as soon as she got home, she grabbed a glass of water and popped the pill
before she could do something else reckless, like talking herself out of it.

Chapter End Notes

😆
If this were a three-act play, this would conclude Act I: The Sanctuary. Any guesses
what Act II will be about?
 Double Exposure
Chapter Notes

Hey guys! As I figured would happen, last chapter drew some mixed responses. Before
we start, I just want to say that I acknowledge every reaction/criticism and understand it.
We all perceive things and react to situations differently. This was simply my take on
how this story's Rin—who I see as a girl who cherishes family (and wants her own)
above all else, who just started experiencing her first true love, and who has a deep-
seated drive to go after exactly what she wants—would react in this very complex
situation. If I have not conveyed her personality well enough so far though, that is my
fault entirely.

However, this is also fanfiction, and we're working with preconceived characters, so I'm
banking on some of those original characteristics being in your mind. In the original
series, Rin accepted what others saw as Sesshoumaru's faults yet still adored him
unconditionally. It didn't mean she wasn't sad when he left her though; she just trusted
that he would come back.

That being said, whatever life throws at this Rin next, you can bet she's still got plenty
of emotions to sort through, because that trust she had just gained in him has taken a

know the answer to THAT QUESTION. 👶👶

beating. Anyway, I'll shut up and let you read now, because I know you're all DYING to
?

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rin knew it was a dream the moment she saw Sesshoumaru. But her dream self didn't care.

She didn't care that she should have been angry with him and demanding answers. She only
cared that he was naked and huddled in on himself and in pain. The waves of sorrow and
loneliness coming off him reverberated through her like it was her own agony.

She ran toward him, crying out his name, but no matter how loudly she called, he never
looked up.

And though Rin herself knew what was coming, her dream conscious continued to run
toward him like she would be able to reach him. But just as she fell to her knees to wrap her
arms around him, she hit an invisible wall.

Dream Rin pounded on the wall, calling his name, but he never looked up. It was as if the
wall completely suffocated him from sound, so even his enhanced hearing was of no help.

Yet she heard it when he raked his hand over his head, clutched his hair, and ground out,
"Rin," in the most tortured voice she could imagine.
"I'm right here!" Rin cried out, tears streaming down her face as she hammered at the
invisible barrier between them. "Look at me! You don't have to be sad anymore! I'm right
here, Sesshoumaru!"

But as with every other time she had had this dream lately, it was no use. Her words never got
through.

And then someone grabbed her from behind, hauling her up.

"You are a pretty thing, ain't ya?" Kouga the wolf demon whispered in her ear as he held her
in a steely grip. Suddenly she was naked and striving to break free.

"Sesshoumaru!" she cried out, looking around for him, but he was gone. "Sesshoumaru, help
me!"

If she called, he would come and save her. He had done it last time. She had to have faith he
would come back.

"Scream all you want. Ain't no one gonna help you here, girly," Kouga said.

Then he groped her breasts, and Rin lurched forward, trying to rip from his grasp. Her captor
only spun her around to face him.

And suddenly, it wasn't Kouga anymore, but the bulky wolf demon with the giant fangs
leering at her. He threw her down to the ground and pinned her in place, spreading her legs
apart.

"Sesshoumaru don't leave me!" Rin sobbed.

"How do you taste?" the wolf demon asked, lunging for her neck.

Rin kicked herself out of her sleep and woke up with a pounding heart. She lay there for
several seconds, taking deep breaths to get her pulse under control. Nevertheless, tears
prickled in her eyes as flashes of her dream replayed in her mind.

Her stomach rolled, and her throat was hoarse and dry, like she had been screaming in her
sleep. Maybe she had been. She reached over to her nightstand and fumbled for the cup of
water she left there. As she did, the red numbers of her alarm clock blared at her: 3:13.

Great, Rin thought, taking a few tentative sips of water so she wouldn't upset her stomach
even more as she forced it past her clammy throat. It's going to be one of those days.

She had to be up in about two hours anyway, so even under normal circumstances, she
probably wouldn't have been able to fall back to sleep at this point. She certainly never would
with the visions of those wolf demons haunting her.

She set down her water and threw herself back down on her pillows, groaning at the
unfairness of it all. It wasn't the first time she had woken up from a nightmare about the wolf
demons.
Sometimes, they chased her through the forest, and she kept running and running until they
pounced on her from behind and, she assumed, killed her, because that was when she woke
up. Sometimes, they tried to take advantage of her—and often succeeded. She hated those
dreams the most, because she never woke up before they raped her—like she would when
they killed her—and they felt so real. Now that she knew what it was like to have a man
inside her, her mind filled in every detail, down to the awful sensation of those brutes driving
into her.

This had been one of the tamer dreams, at least…but her heart still throbbed with anguish.

Anguish that wasn't entirely her own, she now knew.

It made no logical sense, but she was starting to realize that when it came to demons, all the
ordinary rules in the playbook of life had to be tossed out. The realization had happened to
her over the course of a few weeks.

A few days after Kagome had left, Rin realized what a boon it had been to have her there
during the onset of her own heartbreak. She had been the perfect distraction. And at work,
Rin was so concerned with her patients' care that she hardly had any time to concern herself
with her own thoughts and feelings.

But every time she came home to her empty apartment, drained from another long day of
work, she would flop onto the couch and turn on the TV, hoping to find some show or movie
with which to numb her mind.

She hated being alone with her thoughts now. They only depressed her. And the toll of those
emotions only drained her even more. She found herself slipping back into the quiet child she
had become being shuffled around in the foster system—the one who had lost all hope.

But even knowing that, she quickly realized that depression was not so easy to root out,
because it affected how she saw the world. Where she had once been so optimistic in every
situation, bitterness was now her first response. She even lost the will and drive to do the
things she loved, like go hiking. Normally, she wouldn't have minded the turn in seasons.
Brisk air wouldn't stop her—it would just invigorate her. In fact, by now, she should be
looking forward to the first heavy snow, when she could take out her snowshoes and go take
photos of a winter wonderland.

But now, the cold just made her want to curl up in her blanket and hibernate, and the
overcast, rainy fall coupled with the hours and hours of darkness only soured her mood.

So it had taken a while to realize that the anguish she sometimes felt twice over wasn't just
her own but a compound of hers and his. She had started suspecting as much when she had
been in the middle of helping with a delivery. She had been so focused on the task, that she
had felt absolutely nothing but a desire to see that baby born.

Then all of the sudden, a wave of loneliness washed over her.

Which was strange, because in the delivery room, she was surrounded by colleagues and
would soon be meeting an adorable new baby, so she had no reason to feel lonely. In fact,
coming to work was now her one joy in life precisely because she didn't feel as lonely.

It happened a few more times at work, and it was then she started to notice that there was
something different about these feelings. While she did feel them in her heart, there was a
sort of detachment from them—like she could see them, feel them, empathize with them, but
tuck them away so they didn't affect her.

Not so when they were her own feelings.

Then, what really tipped her off was how the bite mark on her neck would tingle every time it
happened.

She reached up then and touched the mark, scratching it as it itched in the way she had come
to expect. The scabs from where Sesshoumaru's fangs had pierced her had healed over the
last several weeks, but their outline and the greenish-purple tracery of veins bursting out from
them like stars remained. She was lucky her scrubs covered the mark, because she didn't
know how she would describe what it was to anyone.

Once she noticed the correlation between the mark and the onset of feelings, she started to
look out for it when she was at home. Sure enough, during the times when she was
wallowing in her own misery and her heart just felt overwhelmed with emotion, she finally
took notice of the itch and was able to compartmentalize his feelings, separating them from
hers. It helped eased the tension in her heart, even if it didn't erase it.

She could only surmise that whatever this mark on her neck was, it allowed her to sense
Sesshoumaru's feelings. And if that was the case, he was feeling just as torn up about their
separation as she was.

At first, the realization made her glad. He deserved to feel that way for leaving her behind
without a word.

And yet, knowing that he felt the same way she did reassured her, and she ached for him,
wanting to soothe away his pain.

It was the latter of those feelings that always sent her dream self running towards him without
any reservations.

She sighed, throwing her arm over her eyes. Dreams are supposed to manifest your
subconscious, aren't they? I suppose that means deep down, no matter how angry I am with
him, I know I'd run back to him in a heartbeat if he appeared.

She turned over and buried her eyes in her pillow, smacking it repeatedly with her fist.
"Where are you, you idiot?" she bit out. "If you miss me that much, come and find me!"

But so many weeks had passed already, Rin was losing hope that he ever would. He had been
alive for some fourteen hundred years, after all. Loneliness was probably nothing new to him.
He could likely soldier on for another fourteen hundred before giving in, but she would be
long dead before that time came.
Sure enough, this spiral of thoughts kept her up until it was time to get ready for work, so by
the time she rolled out of bed, she already felt drained from two hours of emotional torture.
But the world kept turning, so she had to carry on with her day as usual. She went to work,
did her rounds for a few hours, ate a salad for lunch, and started her afternoon.

And that was when the routine life she had known ended.

"Well done, Takahashi-san," Rin said with a reflexive smile as she started cleaning the new
mother up after a particularly bloody birth. But as she got another whiff of the afterbirth, her
throat suddenly grew tight, and her stomach churned. Her smile wavered.

Is this…nausea? That's strange. I haven't gotten sick over seeing something medical since I
started college. And I was feeling fine just five minutes ago.

She took deep breaths as she worked, trying to disperse her queasiness, but it wasn't going
away. She finished her job quickly and noted that the other nurses in the room seemed to
have things well in hand. "I'll come back in an hour to see how you're doing," Rin told the
patient. "Ring if you have any problems." To the other nurses, she said, "I'll go take the tools
to be cleaned." She navigated the cart of surgical tools out of the delivery room, and as soon
as she was out of sight of the others, she bent over the handle, feeling that if she stretched her
stomach too much, she might hurl. She practically raced down the hallway towards a set of
chairs a short distance from the restroom in this wing. She sat down for a moment, leaning
over until she was holding her head just above her knees.

She tried taking deep breaths again, but the feeling wasn't going away. I haven't been sick in
forever. Did I catch something? She touched her forehead with the back of her hand, but she
didn't feel feverish. I don't have chills or anything either. Why do I suddenly—?

Her gag reflex kicked in, and she shot up from the chair, running to the bathroom. She
clapped a hand over her mouth as vomit filled it and just managed to get into a stall before
retching into the toilet.

She collapsed onto her knees. "Ugh," she groaned, using toilet paper to wipe the sick from
her mouth and hand. She tossed it in the bowl and flushed, propping her cleaner hand on the
lid and laying her forehead against it as she sat slumped on the tile floor. Her skin crawled at
the thought that she was getting so many bathroom germs all over her, but at the same time,
she just wanted to cradle the toilet, feeling that if she stood up, she would just puke again.

She threw up one more time before her stomach calmed down enough to where she felt she
could safely leave the stall. She hobbled out, washing her hands in the sink and rinsing out
her mouth. She looked over herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed from retching, and
the bags under her now-watery eyes stood out prominently.

Gods, what a mess she had become. Had all the worry and depression really taken this much
of a toll on her body? Was it making her sick?

I should go take my temperature to be sure. I especially can't be around the babies if I'm sick,
she thought. She trudged back to the cart, using it like a walker as she pushed it down the hall
to the supply room.
She dropped off the cart with the techs to let them clean and sterilize the tools. Then she
grabbed one of the digital thermometers and took her temperature. 37.3 degrees Celsius, so
nothing out of the ordinary there. Her stomach still simmered with queasiness, however, so
she went to the break room and grabbed a Sprite from the vending machine to try to soothe it.

As she sat and sipped it, she tried to figure out what could be happening.

Food poisoning? But all she had eaten today were fruits and vegetables, and if it had been her
dinner from the night before, she would likely have suffered by now. Besides, she didn't have
the other symptoms, like diarrhea or a fever.

Is it just a fluke or…? Her eyes trailed up to the shift calendar on the wall, where the current
week—the third one in November—was highlighted.

Rin bit down on the straw as it hit her. Oh no.

She had been waiting over three weeks now for her period to show up. The week she had
expected it, she hadn't been too worried when it didn't show. Sometimes it was a little late.
Not a big deal.

Then she hadn't thought about it until a week after that, and she started to get a little more
worried. But between work and the toll her emotions were taking on her, she had convinced
herself stress had delayed her courses once again.

After all, she had taken that absurdly expensive morning-after pill, so she wasn't supposed to
get pregnant.

But what other excuse could she give when she was hurling up her guts?

Because if she was pregnant…she would be around five or six weeks, which was normally
when morning sickness started.

You knew when you took that pill, you took it too late, and nothing was guaranteed. Damn it,
Rin, you challenged the gods to a game of chance, and you may very well have lost.

She put her head in her hands.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

She was going to be sick again.

She set down the Sprite, ran to the bathroom next door, and threw up.

As she once again rested with her head on the toilet, tears from a mix of vomiting and panic
blurred her vision.

What do I do now?
She shook her head and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Okay, first
things first, you have to do a pregnancy test. Don't panic until it's confirmed.

While it would be easiest to run to the drugstore and pick up a home test, she knew those
weren't always reliable. And even if it did read positive, protocol stated that she would have
to visit her OBGYN anyway (who happened to be Kaede) and have a blood test done to
confirm the pregnancy.

She had a feeling she knew what the results were going to be…and if she had wasted money
on that stupid pill, she'd rather not waste it on an extra test.

Still, she didn't want to inform Kaede just yet, on the off chance that she wasn't pregnant.
How could she get a blood test done on the down-low? Heck, she worked in a medical center
—she could take her own dang blood and pass it off to the lab to have it done, if she wanted.

But then her coworkers would know she suspected she was pregnant, and that would be
mortifying. It was no secret she was single. She had a reputation as a levelheaded, reliable
nurse—not an irresponsible slut who slept around and got knocked up. But that's how their
perception of her would change if they knew.

She groaned. Oh, it figures the one time I act out, I would end up pregnant. How do other
people manage to make complete wrecks of themselves but still sail through life with no
problems?

After a minute, she had been sitting on cold, tile floor for a while already. She needed to get
back to her rounds.

Her stomach felt horrible though. I don't know if I can make it the rest of the day.

That, and she knew she would be too distracted worrying about the possible pregnancy to
give her patients the care and attention they deserved.

Decided, she hauled herself to her feet, washed up, retrieved her Sprite, and went to her
supervisor to request taking the rest of the day off, since she felt unwell. She called up
another nurse to come and take over her shift.

While she waited for the other nurse to arrive, she finished overseeing her patients, and with
her mind focused on other work, the answer suddenly came to her. It was so simple.

She was so used to having all possible medical needs taken care of in-house that she had
forgotten other facilities did exist, even out here in this little town. Their doctors often
received blood work results from a couple other labs in the area.

So, instead of going home when she left, she drove half an hour away to a lab she knew took
walk-in patients without doctors' orders and had her blood drawn. She asked them when she
could expect the results, and they told her it would likely be in twenty-four to forty-eight
hours. She breathed a sigh of relief. She already had tomorrow off, so she could relax at
home for the rest of the day, and hopefully the results would come in before she had to return
to work the following day.
Seeing how nauseous she was, they gave her a ginger lollipop to suck on, and on her way
home, she stopped to pick up ginger ale, ginger gum, and ginger lollipops. The fact that the
latter two were all in the family planning aisle and advertised how they eased morning
sickness didn't make her feel any better.

When she got home, she lay down on the couch with a glass of ginger ale and another of the
lollipops. Soon enough, her stomach settled into something resembling normalcy.

For the second night in a row, she hardly got any sleep. This time, what kept her up were
worries about what the future would bring if the results were indeed positive.

Twenty-six hours after she visited the lab, a notification dinged on Rin's phone, and she
yanked it over, as she had in response to every notification all day, waiting to see if the email
would come through.

Sure enough, it was a message from a patient portal: her lab results had been uploaded.

She tapped the link with shaking fingers, having to retype her username and password
multiple times as her fingers jittered across the screen keyboard until it finally opened up to
her dashboard. She went to her results and scanned them.

She tested positive for HCG—the human pregnancy hormone.

Rin set down her phone and collapsed against the back of the couch, covering her face with
her hands. She took a few deep breaths, but she didn't feel the panic build in her heart like she
had feared she might.

Instead, she just felt…numb.

After all, at this stage, it was only a confirmation. As soon as she had suspected, she had all
but accepted the reality.

She was going to have a baby.

A half-demon baby.

How was she supposed to feel about this?

Nervous that she was now responsible for a living being?

Terror that this living being was going to present her with unforeseen challenges because of
its father's heritage? That it was going to be in danger all its life just for being part demon?

Anger that its father had left her no way to contact him?

Sadness that said father would never know his child?

Joy that she was finally getting to have the baby she had always wanted but feared with every
passing year she would never get to have?
Shame that soon, everyone was going to know about the one time she had chosen to be
irresponsible, even though she knew better?

Every single one of those emotions tangled themselves into a knot that sat heavy in her heart.
There were so many, she couldn't pick it apart and focus on a single one. So instead, as with
Sesshoumaru's emotions, she felt detached from them. And numb. Completely numb at
having this life-changing news thrown at her.

A different knot twisted in her throat, and she blinked out tears out as she flopped facedown
into one of her couch pillows.

"I'm such a fuckin' mess," she ground out, sobbing. If she couldn't even get a handle on her
own self, how was she expected to care for another human being?

She thought back to that day when she had bought the pill, when she had been considering
just letting fate roll the dice, and she would be happy with either outcome.

Where was that optimistic girl now?

Gone. So mired down in depression and anger and tiredness and fear that she can't get
escape it.

Rin hated this shell of herself that she had become these last few weeks. She missed being
happy and finding the joy in life. And under different circumstances, this news should bring
joy to her life. She should have been bouncing off the walls in ecstasy, because finally she
was going to get part of the life that seemed to come so easily to everybody else, and she
wasn't going to be lonely anymore and—

Focus on that.

She took a deep breath and surfaced from the pillows, wiping her eyes.

Work had been her focus all these weeks, allowing her to put aside her negative emotions for
a time. That was what she needed: focus.

And what better way could she channel her focus now than planning for a baby?

But as soon as she thought that, a torrent of worries hit her.

She worked such a time-consuming job that could demand her at strange hours any day of the
week. No doubt, she was going to have to find a daycare or nanny.

Did she even make enough money to support herself and a baby—plus the added cost of a
caretaker? How much exactly did a baby cost? And what about space? She looked around her
apartment. It was just enough for one person and would be for her and a baby while it was
still in a crib, but after that? This place would be far too small. And it would be so much
easier to move before she had the baby—

"Stop," she told herself, putting her head in her hands again.
It had been one thing to think about having a baby when it was only theoretical—a passing
daydream where she could focus on the simple joy of having a child of her own. But now that
it was real? It meant all the challenges were real too. And right now, she was too
overwhelmed to even want to consider them.

She dragged her hands down her face and flopped back down on the couch with a sigh. Her
eyes fell on the Queen Anne's Lace sitting in the windowsill. The blooms were now long
gone, so it just resembled the spindly weed everyone would rather pluck out than wait to let
flower again and enjoy.

And there had been days when, in a fit of anger, she had considered yanking it out of the pot
and tossing it in the trash. But she resisted, knowing that she would hate herself for it later.

"We're having a baby, Sesshoumaru," she murmured, the words barely able to get past her
throat. "Where are you? I need to tell you. Come back—please. Don't leave me alone…to do
this by myself!"

She burst into another fit of tears. But after they subsided, she realized she had a more
immediate issue.

He's not the only one I have to tell.

What would her family say when they found out she was pregnant? Her heart clenched.
Would her mother feel disgust at having adopted a promiscuous daughter? Would Kagome be
upset that she lied about not meeting anyone? Would Souta and Moe feel awkward around
her? Would she give Grandpa a heart attack and send him to a premature grave?

And what was she going to tell people at work? She couldn't hide her pregnancy forever. She
knew she would have to come clean. But Kaede would probably want to do all her prenatal
care, which would mean analyzing sonograms and handling the birth itself….

What would happen if her baby came out looking like Sesshoumaru? She could hide the
baby's unique parentage until birth, but if there was some damning factor in its physiognomy,
the staff would have no choice but to call the Demon Slayer Corps, even if the child was only
a half-demon. She didn't know what would happen to it, but she was certain it would be
ripped away from her within hours of its birth.

She couldn't let that happen. She knew all too well the feeling of growing up without love or
a family. She would never wish that on anyone, let alone her own child.

An emotion finally broke through the numbness then: fear.

Fear for her child.

That meant she did care for it…didn't it?

Well, it was a start, at least, for something that still didn't quite feel real yet. But the rush of
love she had heard was natural for expectant mothers hadn't hit her. She was sure it would.
Someday. When she had her own mental mess sorted out.
She placed her hands over her abdomen, tears forming in her eyes as she looked down.
"Don't worry, little one. Mommy will find a way to protect you. I promise."

And though the words sounded a little automatic to her, like something she was just supposed
to say…she meant them. She only hoped she could live up to that vow.

After a couple hours of processing, Rin finally got to work.

First things first: she couldn't let the pregnancy overly affect her job. She needed the money
more than ever now, so the first task was to stave off morning sickness.

She had already bought all the ginger things, but she also knew it was best to keep her meals
light and spread her food intake throughout the day with small snacks, so that her stomach
was never too full or too empty. So, she went out and bought some soup crackers precisely
for that purpose.

After a day and a half of experimenting, she felt more confident that she could keep the
vomiting under control, so when she returned to work, she was in slightly higher spirits.

She still didn't know how she was going to break the news to the staff or if she would just let
them find out organically, but she still had time to figure that out. She first needed to come to
complete terms with the news herself, after all.

Her job helped. It was instinct for her to smile at each baby she helped deliver or each time
she passed the nursery. As she held the squirming tykes or watched the little rows of baby
burritos in the nursery, she would think, In less than eight months, I'll have my own to hold.

She was still scared…but she couldn't deny the thread of excitement growing thicker and
stronger within her each passing day as she tried to imagine that first moment with her
newborn and what her baby would look like.

Two weeks after she received the news, she was assisting during a particularly rough labor
that resulted in an emergency C-section. She wasn't able to leave the room for nearly two
hours, and she hadn't eaten in almost four.

Rin felt that hollow feeling creep back into her stomach as she was helping to clean the
patient up. Oh no. Keep calm, Rin. Keep it down. Just a little longer, and you can go get a
snack.

But nature could not be denied.

Mere minutes later, she dropped the soiled sheets she had removed from the bed onto the
floor and darted into the in-room bathroom, retching into the toilet.

"Rin! My word, are you unwell?" Kaede asked, coming to the bathroom door to block the
room's view of her.

Rin wiped her mouth with toilet paper and flushed the toilet. "I'm…so sorry…Dr. Kimura,"
she heaved, trying to stay as professional as she could in front of their patient, despite the fact
that it was probably already a total loss. She looked at her with watery eyes as she stood and
leaned over the sink to wash her hands and rinse her mouth.

"Rin, what's wrong?" Kaede asked.

Rin shook her head, drying her hands. "I'll be fine. I promise. Please…just excuse me a
moment. I'll be right back. I'm so sorry." She bowed her head, not trusting her stomach to stay
in place if she executed a full bow, and ducked out of the delivery room, walking as fast as
she could without puking to the break room. She aimed immediately for the fridge, taking out
one of her cans of ginger ale and sipping it. Then she went to her purse and dug out a pack of
crackers and ginger gum. She ate a few crackers as she sipped the ginger ale, well aware that
she was on the clock and needed to return to the patient. Her stomach settled after a few
minutes, and she placed the half-drunk can back in the fridge and popped the gum in her
mouth before heading back to the room.

However, just as she made it back, she found Kaede and another nurse exiting it with the
bloody supplies.

"I'm so sorry," Rin said, bowing again, lower this time. "I'll make sure Honda-san is situated
—"

"We've taken care of it, Rin. Tsubaki will take everything to the techs for cleaning," Kaede
said, gesturing to the other nurse. "You come with me."

Kaede marched Rin to her office, pulled a chair in front of her desk, and sat her down.

"Now, why don't you tell me what symptoms you have, and we'll see if we can diagnose
this," Kaede said in her usual no-nonsense manner.

Rin plastered on her professional smile. "I'm fine, Kaede, I promise."

Kaede frowned. "That smile may fool the patients, but it doesn't fool me. I didn't want to say
anything, hoping you'd choose to tell me what's bothering you when you were ready, but I've
noticed you haven't been quite your usual upbeat and cheerful self the last couple of months.
Oh, you certainly put on a decent act around everyone, and you've been very focused lately,
but I know you well enough to understand when something's wrong."

Rin hesitated, unsure of what to reveal. When she didn't say anything, Kaede continued, "If
you're not going to tell me as a doctor, then as a colleague, need I remind you that you need
to take care of your health so that you can take care of our patients' health?"

Rin's cheeks burned with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I just…I don't know what to do."

Kaede's face softened. "Perhaps you can start by telling a friend what's wrong."

Tears brimmed in Rin's eyes as she clasped her hands together, her knuckles growing white.
She couldn't avoid this conversation any longer, it seemed. "Kaede…I'm pregnant."

Kaede gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "There now. Was that so hard?"
Rin's blush deepened, and she ducked her head. "I knew I wouldn't be able to hide it forever,
but…I was just too embarrassed to tell you…or anyone else, for that matter," she murmured.

"Ah, child, I will not judge. You know I've treated many single mothers. Why, I've even had
some repeat patients who come back enough to the point where I ask myself, 'Why do I even
bother writing birth control prescriptions for these women?' Half the time, the fathers aren't
even the same." The old doctor sighed, shaking her head, and Rin managed to get a weak
chuckle out. Then the old doctor met her gaze again with her single eye. "Will the father
of your child be in the picture?"

Rin's heart constricted at the question. "No, I don't think so."

Kaede wasn't the type to pry, so Rin was shocked when she continued her line of
interrogation. "Why is that? Is he unwilling to take responsibility?"

"He doesn't know."

Kaede's brows lifted. "Are you going to tell him?"

"I want to…but I don't have a way to contact him. It was…a one-night stand." That was the
simplest way she could put it. In fact…that was the story she was going to stick with, since it
would lead to the fewest questions about him. And what questions people did ask, she would
just be able to answer with, "I don't know."

However, the words only made Kaede frown. "I'm not judging Rin, but…that doesn't sound
like you. You have a good head on your shoulders. You wouldn't start something that you
didn't intend to see through, and I know you wouldn't risk unprotected sex. Is that really what
happened?"

Rin bit her lip, shame coursing through her. But I did risk unprotected sex. Yet Kaede was
right on the other count. Why did her friend have to see right through her?

Kaede added, "Did you consent to this, Rin?"

Rin's eyes widened, and he mouth dropped open in surprise at the question. "Of course I did!
Oh goodness, Kaede, no, I wasn't raped, if that's what you were thinking."

Although she had come close to being such a victim. Just with someone else.

She shook her head. She didn't want to think of that right now. With the pregnancy her new
focus, she miraculously hadn't had that dream since that fateful day two weeks ago. And she
wanted to keep it that way, if possible.

Kaede appeared to chew over her words, and Rin wondered what she was trying to puzzle
through. Finally, the old woman blurted out, "Did you know he was a demon when you
consented?"

Rin's breath hitched, and she froze. Play it cool, Rin. "I don't know what you're talking about,
Kaede."
Kaede pinned her with an intense stare, that single eye boring into her with such focus, it held
the same weight as two. "Don't lie to me, Rin. This is very serious. I may not have been in the
Demon Slayer Corps very long, but I can still sense demonic energy, and there have been
traces of it around here the last few weeks. At first I thought a demon had infiltrated our
ranks, but if that had been the case, it would have done a sloppy job of covering its demonic
aura, and the demons of today are far from sloppy.

"Then I realized the aura was strongest when I was around you. It baffled me, because I was
positive you were no demon, but then I started noticing the frequent snacking, smelling the
ginger on your breath, and I put it together. I've seen too many pregnant women over the
years not to know the signs.

"However, what concerns me even more is the fact that your child—your half-demon child—
is still so undeveloped and yet projecting this much of an aura. Its father must be a very, very
powerful demon indeed."

Rin swallowed thickly. What else could she do? The jig was up. "Yes," she answered in a
quiet voice. "I was fully aware."

Kaede sighed, her shoulders seeming to deflate as she let her head hang. "Oh child. Do you
realize what you've gotten yourself into?"

Rin sat paralyzed. She couldn't say anything. Because the truth was, she was only just starting
to come to terms with all the implications carrying a half-demon child would bring.

If old Kaede could sense she was carrying a half-demon child…how many other people
would?

She recalled Kagome's admission from weeks ago: I found out I have spiritual powers!

Her sister would know. Her sister who had broken up with someone who was likely a demon
precisely because he was a demon.

Rin started to hyperventilate.

Kaede reached over her desk and took her hand. "Calm down, child. This is a rare case where
you might have…." She paused and cleared her throat. "Options…if you wish."

Rin blinked at her owlishly, her mind too frazzled to comprehend what she was insinuating.
"Options?"

Kaede took back her hand and folded hers in a professional manner. "As you know, normally,
outside of rape cases or those where the mother's health is a concern, terminating a pregnancy
would be illegal in this country. However, given the…unusual situation, we could use some
loopholes to indicate that the birth of a half-demon child is not only a detriment to your
health but that of society in general. Or, you could retract your earlier statement and claim
that the demon did, in fact, rape you. I don't think anyone would question it—"

"No."
Kaede assessed her neutrally. "Are you certain?"

"I have never been more certain of anything in my life," Rin answered, finally finding her
voice. Her heart burned at the mere thought of killing her baby. Of killing her family.

She worked with babies and mothers-to-be every day. She saw all the stages of pregnancy
come through this medical center—knew that even now, her own child had had a heartbeat
for weeks, even without hearing it from an ultrasound. She had helped deliver premies who
fought so hard to survive after coming too soon into this world.

She could not in good conscience give up this little life within her when she had helped bring
so many into the world. "This baby did nothing wrong. Half-demon or not, it deserves to live,
just the same as any one of us. I made the choice to sleep with a demon. I will take
responsibility for the consequences of that choice. I won't shirk that duty and take the easy
way out."

Kaede nodded. "I had a feeling you would say that. And it would likely have launched an
investigation from the Demon Slayer Corps as well, given the circumstances. But I'm afraid
you aren't out of the woods yet regarding that possibility."

Terror shot through Rin like lightning, and she lurched up from the chair, coming around to
Kaede's side. She knelt down and grabbed the old doctor's hands, the tears that always
seemed so close at hand nowadays springing back into her eyes, and the words tumbled out
of her without thought.

"Oh please, Kaede, don't call the Demon Slayer Corps on me! I beg you. I know what you're
thinking, but he was different, and I want this baby so much."

She hadn't realized just how much until that moment, as the feelings of protectiveness that
had sprouted a couple weeks ago took firm root within her.

Her eyes flicked over to the black-and-white framed photo sitting on Kaede's desk. In it, a
much-younger, dark-haired, patch-less Kaede stood in her Demon Slayer Corps uniform with
a congratulatory bouquet of flowers in her arms. Next to her stood her sister, Kikyou, whose
uniform boasted a few more stripes on it than Kaede's. The slayer's face was less lined than in
the photo Kagome had shown her, but she was undoubtedly the same woman.

If Kaede's sister was still working in the Demon Slayer Corps after all these years…Rin
couldn't imagine Kaede ever having heard a kind word about the race.

She swallowed thickly and continued. "But...if you want me to leave the medical center, I
understand. I know it can't be easy to trust in and work with someone who willingly lay with
a demon." Rin looked at Kaede's eye-patch, knowing a demon was responsible for that
wound. How she must despise their kind. "I just ask that you give me a little time to get my
affairs in order, and then—"

"Child, child, calm down. No one's calling the Corps," Kaede said with a sigh. "There's no
doubt that some demons are evil, but the fact that they live in such secrecy now means they
can control themselves to the point where they don't all pose a danger to humans, I suppose.
Besides, as I said before, you're a kind girl with a good head on your shoulders. Unless this
demon was a charmer—"

"He wasn't. At all," Rin laughed, and the action felt so foreign after so many weeks of misery
that the realization broke her heart a little, even as she reveled in the stretch of her facial
muscles.

Kaede smiled. "In that case, he must be of the decent sort, if you were willing to be with him.
Worry not, dear, I won't tell. What concerns me is you. If this child's father is hiding even
from you, then I fear for what you're going to have to do to keep this child safe."

Tears pulsed from Rin's eyes again, and she squeezed Kaede's hands. "That's what's been
worrying me. I don't know what to do, Kaede. He was so secretive, even with me. I only
know a fraction of what he has to do to keep hidden—and none of it is something I can do to
a baby." Contacts? Makeup? Hair dye? If the baby looked like him, she wouldn't be able to
mask any of it until it was older. So was she going to have to keep the child hidden away in
the house for years until that time? But she wouldn't be able to keep the baby away from her
own family. Rin shook her head, trying to banish the thoughts. "Having a child on my own is
enough of a change, but this? I'm so out of my depth." She put her head on Kaede's knee and
sobbed.

Kaede rubbed her head, shushing here. "There, there, Rin. You can count on me to keep this
secret between us. As it happens, I know a thing or two about demonic hiding habits from my
time on the Corps, so I'll see what I can do to help. And if you'll permit it, I'll take care of you
during your pregnancy and birth as well. We'll keep everything between us. You'll probably
have to have a home birth, just in case, but we'll work out the details over the next few
months, alright?"

Rin looked up, eyes shining with hope as her mouth opened and closed, trying to find the
proper words to express the relief, joy, and gratitude that filled her heart. She stood up and
hugged Kaede tightly. "Oh, thank you, Kaede. Bless you. I can't tell you what a relief it is to
have someone know. I…I fear I won't even be able to tell my family about all the details."

"But of course, child. I will always help you. Now," she said, her tone returning to that of Dr.
Kimura, OBGYN, and Rin pulled back. Kaede turned to her calendar. "Let's get your first
exam scheduled, shall we? We should plan for a sonogram. I'll take care of it myself—we
won't risk bringing in a sonographer in case something…extra…shows up."

Rin wiped at her eyes. "Extra?"

"Half-demons are rare, child, but we know they come in many forms, just like demons do.
For instance, the baby may have an otherwise completely human appearance but still sport a
tail or non-human ears or claws or something."

"Oh, that makes sense." The wolf demons had tails, and Sesshoumaru had claws. Knowing he
was a canine, there were all sorts of possibilities for her child.

"Let's get you scheduled before the new year, hmm? You'll likely want a picture to take home
when you tell the family."
As quickly as the worry had gone, it suddenly gripped her heart again.

Telling her friend and mentor had been hard enough. How was she going to face the
judgment from her family? Especially Kagome, with her power to sense—

"There's something else," Kaede said, interrupting her thoughts. "You can be sure that if an
old woman like me can sense the energy of your child, other Demon Slayers, religious, and
demons can as well. Many demons are adept at suppressing their own demon energies, but
for those that aren't, they use a talisman to help them. The Demon Slayer Corps collected
hundreds of them from demon corpses over the years. You'll need the same, since your child
isn't capable of suppressing its own energy yet, and you do not have the power to do so for
it."

It's as if she read my mind, Rin thought in awe. "How am I supposed to get a talisman?" Rin
asked. She glanced at the photo on Kaede's desk. "You said the Corps had collected a bunch.
Are you…going to ask Kikyou to get one for you?"

"No, that would come off as too suspicious. My sister would wonder why I wanted it.
Luckily for you, though, Kikyou and I come from a old line of priests and priestesses. Family
lore has it that our ancestors purified demons long ago. However, our family temple fell into
decline during my grandfather's time, and the Demon Slayer Corps was just getting started
around then. Their ranks weren't composed of those with spiritual prowess; rather, they
started out simply as an organization that had long perfected demon-hunting techniques.
However, my grandfather bade my father to apply, and the Demon Slayer Corps was ecstatic
to have someone with spiritual power on the force. Kikyou and I were born with the same
talents, and so it was expected that we would join the Demon Slayers' ranks from an early
age. Had I not gotten this injury," Kaede said, tapping her eye patch, "I would likely still be
with them, as my sister is.

"All that to say, I should be able to create a talisman of similar power for you. I am not as
strong as my sister and certainly not as strong as this child's father appears to be, but its
energy is still weak enough that what power I have should still suffice. You will have to keep
it on you at all times until the birth to keep others from sensing it, however. A piece of
jewelry would work best."

"Okay," Rin answered. "But…I don't wear earrings, and we aren't allowed to wear necklaces
or bracelets at work." Such things were likely only to get in the way as they worked hands-on
with patients.

"What about an ankle bracelet?" Kaede asked.

Rin nodded slowly. "I'll see if I have something at home that can work. I'll bring it tomorrow.
Could you make the talisman then?"

"Certainly. I'll refresh myself on the proper spell tonight, but it should only take e moment."

Tears filled Rin's eyes again, and she realized that if she was crying this much already, her
hormones were going to make this a very emotional pregnancy. Not that it already wasn't.
"Thank you so much, Kaede. I don't know what I'd be doing without you."
"I'm here to help you, child. You know that."

When Rin got home that night, she looked through what little jewelry she had—mostly gifts
and heirlooms. All of her bracelets, however, were metal rings and wouldn't be able to fit
over her heel. Was she going to have to go out and buy something?

Then she spotted something at the bottom of her jewelry box that pricked her heart, and she
fished it out. It was a nondescript, beaded bracelet, mostly in navy but interspersed with
white beads like stars in the night sky.

Her birth mother had been wearing it the day she died. The items the morticians had taken
from her family's corpses—her father's watch and her mother's bracelet and necklace—had
been given to her, and she had kept them as mementos.

She tested the elastic, and even after laying largely untouched for twenty-some years, it still
stretched decently. She sat on her bed and slipped it over her foot to make sure. It felt strange
having a bracelet wrapped around her ankle—especially a beaded one—but it also felt…
right.

She would be carrying a part of her birth mother with her as she grew into motherhood
herself.

Please watch over us, Mom. Your grandchild needs you. I need you. Now more than ever.

Christmas day dawned bright and sunny, and though it was still cold, the suns' rays melted
the little bit of snow that clung to the world. Rin spent a good portion of the day on the phone
with her family, reassuring them that she would be home for New Year's, but as the day
darkened into afternoon, Rin got ready to go to work. She arrived early for her night shift at
the medical center. As one of the single staff members, she tended to work the day for those
who wanted to take off and enjoy it with their loved ones—or the few who were actually
Christian. But today she also came in for another purpose. Kaede had told her she would stay
late, so there wouldn't be as high a demand for ultrasound machines as there usually were
with appointments during the daytime.

Rin went to their previously agreed-upon exam room and found Kaede already inside, sitting
at the sonogram machine. The old woman smiled at her. "Merry Christmas, Rin."

Rin smiled back a little shakily. She knew she shouldn't be anxious, but her nerves had gotten
the best of her. "M-Merry Christmas, Kaede."

"Come and lie down. You know the drill." Rin did as she was directed, then lifted her shirt up
and unbuttoned her pants, shimmying them down a little. At around ten weeks pregnant, she
wasn't showing visibly to others with her clothes on, but she could tell while standing naked
in front of the mirror that she was putting on weight and her stomach was starting to round
out. Every time she took a shower or bath, she couldn't help but feel the hard outline of her
uterus. The top of it was steadily moving up her abdomen.
Kaede rubbed gel on her stomach and then took the scanner and ran it over her. Rin's belly
prickled with goosebumps as the cold, medical center air ran over the gel on her exposed
skin. The nerves didn't help either.

Kaede was silent for a moment as she observed what was on her screen. Finally, Rin couldn't
take the suspense anymore. "So, how does the baby look? Healthy? Is there anything…
extra?" she asked. She would love her baby no matter how it looked, but she was also scared
of having to try to hide a non-human appendage for the first few years until her child was
aware enough to hide it on its own.

"Mm, oh yes, there's something extra," Kaede answered with a straight face.

Rin's heartbeat ratcheted up. "What is it? A tail?"

"No."

"Then…pointy ears, maybe?"

Kaede shook her head.

"Oh please, Kaede, just tell me already!"

Kaede smiled. "Why don't you listen for yourself?"

Listen? For something extra?

Kaede turned on the audio, and a fast-paced heartbeat filled the room.

Rin's eyes watered as she listened to that fluttering drumbeat reverberating through the
room. That's my baby, she thought in awe. That's—

Then she realized something that made her heart clench in terror. "Kaede…it's too fast. Too
arrhythmic. Something's wrong—" She froze as she listened again when the sound changed.

It wasn't an abnormal heartbeat. It was two separate ones.

Kaede turned the screen around to show her. "Congratulations, Rin. You're having twins."

Rin gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as the waiting tears finally broke from the dam of
her eyes. "I-I don't believe it. Twins? Like…like my brothers?"

"Ah, so it does run in the family," Kaede remarked. "Everything else appears to be normal so
far. No tails or ears. Nothing that we can see yet, at any rate. As you indicated before, you
appear to be about ten weeks along, but twins have a tendency to come early. We'll set your
due date for July 10th, but be prepared a few days sooner."

Rin nodded absently, completely engrossed in watching the two little bean-shaped babies
with their dark hearts pulsing in time with their heartbeats.
 She had come to terms with her pregnancy weeks ago…but for the first time, it felt real.
These were the little lives growing inside her.

She would think about the implications of twins later. The extra costs, the extra secrets. Right
now, none of that mattered.

Because she couldn't stop smiling.

Finally, finally, her heart welled up with the emotion she had been waiting for: love. And on
the heels of that came the joy she had been missing since she came back from that fateful
vacation.

Kaede gave her a recording of the ultrasound and printed out a photo for her. Rin kept them
tucked in her purse while at work, but her thoughts remained on her babies all night as she
worked. And as soon as she got home early the next morning, she pulled the photo out and
sat on her couch next to the windowsill.

She looked up at the bare Queen Anne's Lace. By the time she gave birth, it would be in full
bloom again.

"Sesshoumaru, can you believe it? We're having twins," she breathed in awe. She laid her
head next to the pot, the scent of soil and vegetation filling her nose. "Somehow, I have to
find you. To tell you. To thank you. They're the best Christmas present you could have ever
given me."

And then she cried, overcome with equal parts happiness and longing for the children she had
and the man she still wanted.

Chapter End Notes

And in a surprise to absolutely no one, she's pregnant! 😆

Seriously though, if you've
read my other SessRin fics, you've probably noticed by now that I have a very simple
equation for romance stories: ∫∑x = βαβi∑∫!

Now, while I know the majority of you were all for this, I realize some of you were
hoping that Rin would NOT get pregnant for various and equally valid reasons.
However, this was the plan for this story from the start, because the simple truth of the

often what I choose to write. I LIVE for the baby drama, lol. 😘
matter is: I just have a strange liking for "accidental pregnancy" storylines, and so that is
(But I'm officially 2:2
on SessRin planned vs. unplanned pregnancies in my stories, if anyone's keeping count.)

For those of you disappointed with the outcome of this chapter, I hope that you can trust
me you lead you on a nevertheless fun and exciting adventure where the consequences
of this pregnancy, as you may have noticed above, will be far greater than just Rin trying
to cope with the idea of being a single mother. She and Sesshoumaru still have some
growing to do as characters, and this is part of the journey. But if you choose not to
continue, I understand, and I thank you for reading thus far!

Anyway, I hope I did Rin's chaotic emotions some justice in this chapter. Please let me
know all your thoughts—I welcome all criticisms!
 Facing Her Family
Chapter Summary

Okay guys, I have heard you, but bear with me for just one more chapter of Rin-based
angst, and then things will lighten up and we'll do a POV switch. I promise.

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Rin stood at the bottom of the steps to the Higurashi shrine, her overnight bag in hand. She
took a deep breath of the crisp, New Year's Eve air, trying to fortify herself. The shrine was
pretty empty now, but come tomorrow, it would be packed with people come to make their
first prayers and offerings of the New Year.

Since she often volunteered to work other holidays, she requested this time to have New
Year's holidays off, and it was accepted. She also cashed in a couple more stored vacation
days so that, all in all, she would be able to stay home for almost a whole week.

Normally, she would have run up these stairs in excitement, as she had done ever since she
was a child. But maternity and anxiety weighed her feet down, and it was a struggle to take
that first step.

She still wasn't sure how she was going to tell her family she was pregnant. She was nearly
eleven weeks along. If her mother didn't kill her for getting pregnant out of wedlock, Kagome
might for withholding such critical information from her for so long. And she was still afraid
of giving Grandpa an actual heart attack.

She finally lifted one foot, climbing the steps steadily, her heartbeat picking up pace as she
neared the top. Who would be the first person she'd see? And how long before she spilled the
beans?

Part of her wanted to get the confession done and over with; the other part wanted to delay it
as long as possible.

But there was no one out in the yard. The Sacred Tree stood as a lonely sentinel, patches of
snow still at its roots from last week's snowstorm. She went to the house and entered. She
expected to see her mom or grandfather in the kitchen, but not even Buyo, the old family cat,
was to be found.

Then she heard the familiar soft creak of the floors in her mother's bedroom. She padded
softly up the stairs and set her bag near her old room. Her mother's door was open at the end
of the hallway, and her mother's familiar slippered tread clacked against the floors from
within. It sounded like she was alone.
Rin made a decision then. She would tell her mother first—rip the band-aid off and get it
over with. Then at least she'd have a litmus test for how the others might take the news.

She reached into the pocket of her overnight bag and took out the envelope with her
sonogram in it. She hid it behind her back and walked to the door.

Rin's heart was beating so loudly, she was surprised her mother couldn't hear it. But when she
peeked in, her mom had her back to her as she folded laundry.

Rin knocked on the door. "I'm back," she said, her throat already getting thick.

Her mom yelped in surprise and spun around, her heart flying to her chest. "Oh, Rin, you
scared me! I didn't even hear you come in. Welcome back, my sweet girl!" She opened her
arms, and Rin ran to them, clasping her mother tightly as she buried her head in her shoulder.

But when her mother made to let go, Rin kept holding on, afraid to look at her. "Sweetheart,
is something wrong?" her mom asked, stroking the back of her head.

Rin sniffed, pulling just far enough away that her mother would be able to hear her but not
see her face. "Mama…I have something to tell you."

"What is it, dear?"

Tears sprang to Rin's eyes—she was getting so sick of these pregnancy hormones causing her
to cry all the time—and in a trembling voice she said, "I'm scared to tell you, Mama. Y-
You're going to be…so d-disappointed in me." She sucked in a sharp breath at the admission.

Her mother guided them to the bed and sat down, holding her. "Sweetie, you know you can
tell me anything. And you're always much harder on yourself than you need to be. What you
think I'll be disappointed in is probably not as big a deal as you fear."

Rin shook her head against her mother's shoulder, wiping tracks of tears against her favorite
yellow cardigan. "N-Not this time, Mama." She pulled back, sniffling again, and held out the
envelope.

"What's this?" her mom asked, taking it and opening it. She pulled the sonogram picture out.

"I'm pregnant," Rin whispered.

Her mother's mouth dropped open as she stared at the sonogram picture, but she said nothing.
After several seconds passed, Rin added, "Mama, please say something."

"I…I don't know what to say, sweetheart. I…I didn't even know you were seeing someone."

"I'm not," she squeaked. Her mom looked over at her then, concern etched into her face. And
before she could ask, Rin added, "It was an accident. We weren't safe. But I knew full-well
what I was doing." Her mom blinked at her and then looked back at the photo. When she still
said nothing, Rin continued, "You are disappointed in me, aren't you?"
"I'm certainly, um…shocked. This just isn't the sort of news I ever expected to hear from you.
Kagome, maybe, but even then…." Her mother swallowed and looked back at her. "Is the…
father…going to do right by you?"

Rin bit her lip, shifting her gaze, knowing that if her mother wasn't disappointed now, she
was going to be soon. "I haven't told him…because I don't know where he is. It was a one-
night stand, Mama."

Her mother's brows puckered. "Rin, is something going on? This just isn't like you."

"It was a vacation fling, okay? I got carried away by the excitement of it all," Rin confessed,
more tears spilling out. She buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, sweetheart," her mom said, pulling her into another hug and stroking her hair as she
sobbed. "Shhh, now, don't cry. I understand all too well how unexpected and difficult this sort
of situation is."

Rin wiped her eyes. Of course. Mama went through something similar. She pulled back and
met her mother's gaze. "I'm so scared, Mama. One baby alone was going to be hard enough,
but two?" she said, running a finger over the sonogram still clutched in her mother's fingers.
"I feel like I won't be able to give them all the attention they need. How were you able to
raise three children by yourself after Dad died?"

Rin's mother took her hand between hers and rubbed it. "It was hard. I won't deny that. And I
was in a dark place for a long time. But what helped me not give into the darkness was
knowing that you three were relying on me. I was devoted to making sure you didn't have to
suffer anymore than the pain of losing your father." She reached up then and fingered a lock
of Rin's hair. "And besides, dear, you needn't worry so much. You're already more prepared
than I was. I married Dad right out of high school. I helped Grandpa out with the shrine
before Kagome was born, but I never had a real job, and I didn't have the education for
anything that paid well. So it was quite a learning curve for me when I got my first retail job
in those initial months. But you're a smart girl with a steady, well-paying job. You'll do just
fine by these babies. Besides, I didn't do it alone. Grandpa offered to help right away. If it
wasn't for him, I'm not sure what I would have done. Family is always there for each other,
Rin. So I hope you know that you can always count on us to help you. You won't have to do
everything alone."

Rin clenched her hands. "B-But how? I live so far away. And even if I came back, I can't
afford to leave my job and find a new one—not now! And I don't know where I should live or
where to start with daycare—"

"Shh, shh, shh," Mama interrupted, rubbing her back. "Don't think about all that right now.
These things have a way of falling into place—you'll see. We'll work everything out with
you. I promise." She grabbed a tissue off her nightstand and wiped the tears from Rin's
cheeks. "Don't cry anymore, okay? We're not going to do anything drastic like taking you off
the family register. In fact, we get to look forward to adding two names the register." She
smiled, and Rin couldn't help but smile in response. Her mother had a way of evoking that
sort of response from her.
"So, don't say you've disappointed me. Rather, it looks like my prayers have been answered.
Perhaps not completely in the way I thought they would be, but I've been hoping for
grandchildren for years, and now the gods have seen fit to give me two at once."

"Oh, Mama," Rin sniffed again, hugging her in relief.

Mama rested her cheek against Rin's scalp. "Have you told anyone else yet?"

Rin shook her head. "You and Kaede are the only ones who know."

"I see. Well, at the very least, I think you should tell Kagome personally. But if you'd like, I
can break the news to Souta and your grandfather."

Rin squeezed her tighter. She knew she should be brave and face them all at once…but she
had used up most of her stock of courage for today. "I'd appreciate that," she murmured.
"Grandpa's probably going to die of shock. I don't know that I could bear to see the look on
his face."

"He'll be fine, sweetheart. In fact, I'm positive he'll see it as a wonderful omen for ringing in
the New Year. No doubt he'll say a thousand blessings for his great-grandbabies tomorrow."

Rin sniffed again. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Rin sat back and nodded in acceptance. Mama smiled. "It's settled then. We'll do
it tonight, okay? This way, you don't have to have it hanging over you the whole time you're
home."

"Where is everyone, by the way?"

"Grandpa's probably in the shed making sure we have enough trinkets for tomorrow's
visitors. Kagome went out to buy some groceries. Souta and Moe will come by around dinner
time."

"Can we wait until after dinner?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Whatever you'd like. Now, why don't you help me fold these clothes
and tell me everything that's been going on lately? Because it's apparent now you've been
leaving out some pretty important life details on our phone calls."

Rin grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "What do you want to know?"

"Why don't you start at the beginning? A…vacation fling, was it?"

Rin's heart constricted. She had put herself on this path. Now she had to see it through. But
having already revealed one major truth to her mother today, guilt gnawed at her heart that
she was going to hide so much more.

But she needed to lay the foundation for the safety of her children now. If her babies came
out with their father's pale features, she needed a believable story that didn't involve demons.
Her family lived in a shrine, after all. Her grandfather was always on the lookout for demons
to purify. Whether he was successful or not was a matter of debate, but Kagome had already
shown more aptitude for purifications. And given her bad breakup with Inuyasha, Rin didn't
want to risk it.

She knew her family loved her, but she could only ask them to accept so much. Children out
of wedlock was probably the limit.

"Well, I met him when I went camping in October. Or found him, rather. In the forest. Which
wasn't as difficult as it sounds, because he definitely stood out. Turns out he's Swedish.
Anyway, he had taken a bad spill, so I patched him up with my first-aid kit…."

Rin tried to be her usual, chatty self through dinner, but she just didn't have the emotional
energy to talk at length. The only reason she felt she came off as even semi-normal was that
everyone kept asking her questions about what she had been doing lately and how she had
been.

Of course, answering those questions was like running through a minefield and hoping you
didn't blow yourself up, so she tried to turn the conversation to the others' lives when
possible.

After dinner, they retired to the couch and turned on the TV to watch the New Year's Eve
programming specials. Buyo made his rounds with everybody, searching for a place to rest
his fat, royal rump. When he reached Rin, she scratched him behind his ears.

"Hey there big boy," she cooed. "It's been so long since I've seen you, but you haven't
changed a bit."

Buyo lowered his head and sniffed at her, poking around her stomach. After a moment, he
made his choice and settled on her lap, keeping her belly warm.

Rin blinked. Normally, she wouldn't have thought twice about it, but she wondered, Can
Buyo smell the twins? Is this his way of acknowledging them?

Those gosh-darn tears prickled at her eyes again, and she kept them open, trying to dry them
out before they fell. "I take that back, Buyo. I think you've put on a few pounds," she
chuckled. "Grandpa, how many treats are you feeding him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," her grandfather harrumphed, and the family just
laughed, knowing that was a lie.

Rin met her mother's eyes and nodded subtly. Her mom gave a tight smile, bobbed her head
in return, and then turned to Grandpa. "Dad, wasn't there something in the shed you needed
Souta to help you get down, since it's so heavy?"

"We can do that later. The show's coming back on," Grandpa answered.

"No, I think we should do it now, before we forget," Mama said, standing up. "Come on,
Souta. Dad, you have to show him where it is. I don't remember which box you wanted."
"Oh, alright," Grandpa grumbled his joints creaking as he stood up from his favorite
armchair. He waddled a few steps away. "Oooh, my back. Souta, don't ever get old."

Souta just laughed as he stood up. "I'll try, Grandpa, but I won't make any promises." Mama
led Souta and Grandpa out of the house, and when the front door clicked shut, Rin took a
deep breath.

She reached for the remote and muted the TV.

Kagome and Moe both turned to look at her, confused. "Hey, what's up?" Kagome asked.

"I have something to tell you," Rin answered.

Moe's brows furrowed in concern. "It sounds serious."

"It is," Rin murmured.

At Rin's tone, Kagome put down the sweet red bean soup she was eating. "Rin, what is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

Kagome burst out laughing. "Okay, that was a good one. You had me going there. But it's
New Year's, not April Fool's Day, so—"

"I'm serious, Kagome," Rin snapped, meeting her eyes, although her own vision was now
growing blurry with tears. "I'm having twins. They're due July 10th."

"Oh my," Moe gasped, a hand going to her mouth.

Kagome looked like Rin had thrown a ball right in her face, and she couldn't figure out where
it had come from. Suddenly, she stood up and yelled, "Who the hell knocked up my baby
sister, and where is he?!"

Rin winced at Kagome's volume, but she was touched that her sister chose to defend her from
the onset rather than blame her. Of course, that could change soon. "I don't know where he is.
It was a one-night stand. A vacation fling."

Kagome stared at her incredulously. "Vacation fling? As in…that camping trip you took in
the fall?" Rin nodded miserably. Kagome frowned. "You told me you didn't meet anybody
during your trip!"

"I lied. I'm sorry!" Rin cried, the tears finally breaking free. "I just…felt so ashamed. I
thought he'd be different. I thought we were starting a relationship. I didn't realize he'd just…
leave. That's why I didn't tell you. I thought in the end it wouldn't matter…but I guess it did."

"That bastard!" Kagome roared. "What's his name? I'll find a way to hunt him down."

"You won't be able to. He's a foreigner. From Sweden."

"That doesn't matter! There's social media—"

"He doesn't have any. No online presence."

"Oh. He's one of those," Kagome sneered. Then she seemed to remember that Rin didn't
really do much on social media either. "No offense."

"It's fine," Rin replied on autopilot.

Moe reached over and took Rin's hand. "Did you love him?"

Rin froze. It was the first time someone had asked her that question. Kaede and Mama had
both been more concerned about the babies' existence and who the father was and whether
she had been treated well.

They had never asked why she might have decided to forego her principles and have a fling.

"Yes. …No. Maybe? I don't know. Can you fall in love in ten days?"

"Sure you can. Did you know my father proposed to my mother just three weeks after
meeting her?" Moe asked.

Rin wiped her tears. "No, I didn't."

"What's perhaps more remarkable is that she accepted!" Moe giggled. But she quickly grew
sober once again. "He's always said he knew from the moment he met her that she was the
one. So, between growing up with that story and watching way too many Disney movies as a
child, I never thought there was any problem with the whole 'instalove' idea—I just thought
that was how love worked for everyone! Needless to say, I learned differently as I got older.
But you know what? After my very first date with Souta, I went home and told my parents,
'I've met the man I'm going to marry.'" She scratched her cheek and smiled sheepishly. "It
took him a little longer to figure it out, of course, but we got there eventually. All that to say,
if that's how you felt too, I understand. And there's nothing wrong with it."

Rin bit her lip. "I-I'd be lying if I said I hadn't felt that he was the one. And I thought he felt
the same way." Her hand reflexively went to her neck, where his bite mark lay hidden
underneath her shirt collar. But he wouldn't have tied us together like this—wouldn't have let
me know his innermost feelings—if he didn't feel the same way. So with more conviction, she
added, "No, I know he did. …That's why I agreed to sleep with him in the first place!" She
burst into sobs anew.

Moe moved onto the couch next to her and laid Rin's head on her shoulder while rubbing her
back. "I'm so sorry, Rin. Did he say anything when he left? Something that might tell you
why?"

Rin was almost certain he had left because he didn't think she would want to be with
someone who lived in hiding. But she couldn't tell them that. She thought back to the Queen
Anne's Lace he had gifted her. "Not really. The only message he left was a flower—Queen
Anne's Lace. It means 'sanctuary'—as in I am his sanctuary. That's why I'm convinced his
feelings were real. But it also means 'it's complicated.' So obviously, he believed that our
feelings weren't enough to overcome whatever problems he has."
"Well, the jerk up and left you with your own problems," Kagome snapped. "I mean, you said
you're having twins, right? That's a lot of work and responsibility!"

Rin smiled sadly. "I know…but at the same time, I'm actually looking forward to it. You
know how much I love babies. And weren't you the one who told me to go find a baby daddy
just a few months ago?"

Kagome flushed. "I-I didn't mean like this!" Moe and Rin just laughed at her.

Just then, the front door slammed open. The familiar clip clop of Grandpa's sandals smacked
against the wood floor as he ran into the living room. "Rin, is it true? You're having twins?"

Rin's heart seized. "Y-Yes, Grandpa."

Grandpa rushed over and grabbed her hands, tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Congratulations, my girl! What joyous news to start the New Year! When I ring the shrine
bell tonight, I will dedicate every peal to your wellbeing and theirs."

"Oh, Grandpa!" Rin cried out, pulling him into a hug. "You're the best. I-I love you so much."

"Ah, that reminds me! While we were in the shed, I dug this out for you." He reached into his
kimono and pulled out a vile of powder. "Legend has it that if pregnant women mix this
powdered kappa's shell into water and drink it, you'll have a safe pregnancy and delivery!" he
said, pressing it into her hands.

"Ew, Grandpa!" Kagome interjected.

Rin just smiled at him. "Thank you, Grandpa. I'll be sure to drink it tomorrow."

"Seriously, Rin. Don't," Kagome said.

"At least one of my granddaughters love me!" Grandpa said, hiding his tears behind his
sleeve. Kagome just rolled her eyes.

Souta came shuffling in behind. "Wow, that's, um…some news, sis. Congratulations?" He
looked unsure of whether or not that's what she wanted to hear.

Rin turned a soft smile towards him. "Thank you, Souta."

He scratched the back of his head. "I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around the fact that
I'm going to be an uncle. It just…doesn't seem real yet."

"Rin, why don't you show them the sonogram? That might help it sink in better," Mama
suggested.

"Yes, I'll do that! Up you go, Buyo," Rin said, lifting the fat cat up.

He yowled in protest as she dropped him unceremoniously on the floor and went upstairs to
get the sonogram picture. When she brought it back down, Grandpa wouldn't let it out of his
possession, and Souta joked that she should call them Red Bean One and Red Bean Two until
she came up with proper names. Kagome looked at the picture as well, but she didn't say
much for the rest of the night.

At around 23:00, Kagome and Grandpa went out to ring the bell one-hundred-eight times for
New Year's. Rin stayed inside with her mother, Souta, and Moe, and they watched the
newscast from downtown Tokyo, where a giant celebration was taking place in the streets.

Just before midnight, they trundled outside in their coats to stand at the top of the shrine steps
and count down the seconds to New Year's, just as they had done for as long as Rin could
remember. When Grandpa and Kagome tolled the final bell at midnight, fireworks lit up the
Tokyo skyline, and the family watched the show until it was over. Then they went inside to
drink toso, the spiced sake they drank every New Year's, although Rin just toasted to them
with water.

Souta and Moe left soon afterwards, and the rest of them went up to their rooms to get ready
for bed. Rin washed up, changed, and then plopped down on her bed, her mind swirling as
she recounted the events of the night.

At last, her family knew. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart.

Now if only I could find and tell Sesshoumaru. But she felt like she was at a dead end there.
Where would she even begin? Did he live in Tokyo? It would be easy for a demon to get lost
in a crowd of fourteen million…and yet that also meant fourteen million potential people to
find out his identity.

He doesn't seem like the type to live in a big-city sky rise. He really enjoyed the quiet of the
outdoors. Maybe he lives out in the country.

Months ago, she had tried looking up his first name online, given how unique it was, but she
was unable to find any mention of him—not even those creepy online yellow pages that
accessed your public information and reported where you had lived when.

Just then, a knock sounded on her door. "Come in," she said, sitting up.

Kagome walked inside and shut the door behind her. "Hey."

"Hey."

Her sister traced her toe on the floor as she looked for the right words to say. "I just…wanted
to say I'm sorry."

"For what?" Rin asked, baffled. If anything, she was the one who should be apologizing.

"For how I reacted to your news tonight. I know it wasn't easy to tell us about this, and I'm
sorry if I didn't come off as…as supportive as everyone else."

Rin smiled gently. "There's no need to be sorry. I know the news was shocking. It…takes a
while to process. Actually, it took me weeks to come to terms with the idea myself. To be
honest, everyone took this a lot better than I thought they would. I guess I was worried for
nothing."
"Yeah, you should never worry about telling us anything," Kagome said, sitting on Rin's bed
beside her. Then she pursed her lips. "That said, missy—you have a lot of explaining to do!
You practically raked me over the coals when it took me only a couple weeks to tell you I
slept with Inuyasha, and then the first thing you asked was if we used protection. There's a
major disconnect here! So, spill the deets, girl! How, exactly, did you get pregnant?"

Rin raised her eyebrows in mock disbelief. "How do you think? I didn't bring any condoms
on my trip, and neither did he. And they don't exactly grow on trees."

Kagome's suspicious expression morphed into one of shock. "Are you telling me you had
sex outdoors…in public?!"

"We were in a tent…and it was the middle of the forest, so it wasn't really that public."

"Sis! I didn't know you were so wild!" Kagome giggled, slapping Rin's shoulder. Then her
face snapped back to seriousness in a split second. The transformation was so quick, Rin's
eyes widened in awe of her sister's speedy facial muscles. "Did you at least go buy the pill?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Rin groaned, flopping back onto the bed and putting her hands over
her eyes. "That was an ordeal in and of itself. I did take it, but it was apparently too late." She
wasn't going to say exactly how late…or that one of the reasons she had been so late was that
Kagome's unannounced visit had booted the task from the forefront of her thoughts.

"…Okay…so, forgetting for a minute that's he's a jerk who left you knocked up…was he at
least a good lay? Tell me you got something enjoyable out of this."

"Kagome!" Rin hissed, covering her face but peeking through her fingertips at her.
"You know how thin these walls are!"

Kagome waved her concern away. "Grandpa was already snoring when I walked past, and
Mom's at the other end of the hallway. Now spill it, girl."

"I did not ask how your sex with Nishikuni-san was…nor was I interested!" Rin lied.

She was totally interested. But for once, she wasn't going to pry, because even she had limits
—and respect for her sister's privacy. Apparently more than Kagome had for hers.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Tit for tat. You tell me, and I'll tell you."

Rin decided to get it over with. She lowered her hands from her face. "It was…good."

"Good? Good? Girl, if that's all, I'm about to go find me a Swede and punch his lights out—"

"Okay, okay! Geez. So, it was kinda rough the first time…but still enjoyable. It got much
better after that."

Kagome's eyes lit up. "The first time? Just how many times were there?"

Rin blushed. "I'm taking a vow of silence on this one."

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "No! You dirty girl! I didn't raise you to be a nympho!"

"I-I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't need to! It's written all over your face! What, did you do it like…three or four
times or something?"

Rin stayed quiet.

"…Five?"

Still no answer.

"Not…six?"

Rin buried her face back in her hands and nodded.

"Girl, no wonder you're pregnant!" Kagome shrieked, shoving Rin's shoulder playfully.
"Inuyasha and I only managed it twice before we were wiped, and then he had to leave
suddenly before dawn even broke—" She broke off as if something had just occurred to her.

Rin looked up from her hands. "Kagome, is something wrong?"

"Nah. Things are just…starting to make sense now."

Rin's heart dropped, and she sat up and took her sister's hand, rubbing her thumb over her
knuckles. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I know it must still be tough to talk about him. Especially after
everything you shared…."

Kagome sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I guess we both took a swing and struck
out in the 'saving-it-for-Mr.-Right' department, huh?" She then met Rin's gaze. "Honestly
though…I've been wondering lately if I should give him another chance."

Rin froze. She would consider that? A future with a demon? Or did I read this whole thing
wrong to begin with? She wondered if she could get Kagome to open up a little more now. "I
don't know what he lied about, but didn't you say it concerned something…fundamental?"
She waited for Kagome to take the bait, but her sister stayed silent too long for Rin to feel she
would be forthcoming. Aw well, I tried. Guess it's back to playing ignorant. "Is that
something you can forgive? What if he does it again? You can't trust a liar, Kagome—that's
just setting up for problems in the future."

"He wouldn't do it again. At least…I don't think he would. Like I said before, I know why he
did it. It just…hurt that he kept the truth from me for so long. But I get it. He was afraid to
tell me because of how he thought I'd react. And I did just what he feared—I left him. So
really, who's the one in the wrong here?"

Rin leaned her back against the wall, touching shoulders with her sister. "That's…a very
mature way to look at the situation. But I understand it completely. I haven't told many
people about the pregnancy…but each time, they're always quick to blame the guy. Even you.
It's probably because you're all biased in my favor, but…the truth is, we're both to blame. It
takes two, after all. It's true I'm the one bearing all the consequences for it, but if you think
about it…the fact that he's going to miss out on his children's lives is its own sort of
punishment, don't you think? He'll never know the joy of seeing their faces or playing with
them or watching them grow up like I will. He'll never know their love. And if I learned
anything about him, it's that he's a person in desperate need of love." Even now, that distant,
aching loneliness that wasn't hers filled her heart, and she scratched the itch of the mark on
her neck. She wanted to ease his pain so badly, but she didn't know how.

Kagome leaned over and hugged her. "You…are far too kind for this world, Rin. I don't think
many people in your situation would think like you do."

Rin leaned her head against Kagome's. "Well, you already know how much I love babies, so
someone who didn't adore them like I do probably wouldn't feel the same way."

"It's not just that. You're so brave too. Facing this whole situation alone. Facing us. In fact…I
want you to know I admire how brave you were tonight. I know it wasn't easy to tell us you
had a one-night stand that resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. And I can tell you're beating
yourself up about it too—that you let it get to this point. But…your courage has inspired me.
So I've decided: I will talk to Inuyasha about us. I don't know what will happen after that…
but I shouldn't have walked out on him like I did. He deserves better than that."

"You're so sweet, Kagome. I'm sure Nishikni-san will appreciate that."

After a moment, Kagome sat up and turned around to meet her gaze head-on. "So…
you are excited to become a mom…right?"

Rin smiled tiredly. "I'm trying to be. I know I can be…and will be as more time passes. But
the first time I really felt any of that happiness was a few days ago, when I saw them on the
ultrasound. I think I've just been too stressed out lately to really let the excitement come to
me. First with finding out about the pregnancy, and then wondering how I was going to tell
people, and then finding out they're twins…." Rin heaved a deep sigh. "It's been…a lot."

"Then it's settled. We need a de-stressing session. And nothing will cheer you up like looking
at cute baby things!" Kagome grabbed Rin's phone from the nightstand and unlocked it with
the password.

I really should change that, Rin thought, remembering how Sesshoumaru had managed to
"hack" her phone as well.

"Do you still have that Pinterest account I made for you—? Ah! Here it is. I'm actually
surprised you even have the icon on here." Kagome tapped on the app and waited for the
screen to load. Then she clicked around and frowned. "Rin! Why is everything on here
about plants?"

"It's my Pinterest board, not yours," Rin grumbled. "I don't need boards of K-drama actors to
drool over."

"If I didn't need access to this new board, I'd un-follow you," Kagome grumbled. "There. I've
created a Baby Board for you. I'm also sharing it with my account so at least one of us will
keep it populated with ideas." She cut a dark look at Rin, who shrugged. "Now, let's start with
'twins' and see what comes up—OH MY GOODNESS, IS THIS NOT THE CUTEST
THING?! We are so doing this when they're born!" The photo showed a portrait of twin
newborns posed in the shape of a heart. Kagome saved the pin.

Rin laughed. "One would think you're more excited about this than I am—and I'm the one
having the babies!"

"Girl, Aunty Kagome is going to spoil those kids rotten, just you wait. Oh, look at this one!"

They spent the next hour on Rin's phone, sorting through hundreds of baby-themed pins. By
three in the morning, though, Kagome relented and let Rin go to bed, saying a pregnant
woman needed all the sleep she could get. Rin just snorted at the irony.

But when she woke up the next morning, her whole body felt lighter than it had in
months. Family really is the cure for everything. Her hand drifted over her abdomen, feeling
the hard outline of her uterus, and she smiled.

With New Year's being one of the busiest times of the year for the Higurashi shrine, Rin spent
the whole day helping her family with the shrine. But as soon as she woke up on January 2nd,
she got ready to go out. When she walked downstairs into the kitchen, she found Mama at the
stove, who greeted her with a smile and a knowing nod. They were the only two awake at this
hour, and Rin had a task to see done.

Rin left the shrine and went to the nearby florist to pick up a bouquet of white
chrysanthemums. Then she picked up an apple and some strawberries at a grocery store.
Finally, she drove to the cemetery.

This early in the morning, the cold wind and clear-morning sun were her only companions.
But it was perfect. Though the temperature hovered around freezing, the sun bit into Rin's
jacket, warming her. She rented a pail of water and meandered through the rows of graves
with her offerings before finally making it to her birth family's grave.

"Hello Mom, Dad, Sora, Haru. Happy New Year." She kissed her fingers and touched them to
the stone before pouring water over the grave and spending the next several minutes cleaning
it. Then she placed the apple and a few of the strawberries in the offering dish and laid the
white chrysanthemums—symbolizing peace—beside it. She sat down next to the grave.

"I have some pretty big news to share this time. I'm pregnant—surprise! I'll be having twins.
…I know this probably comes as a shock to you since I haven't exactly brought a man here to
meet you. But please don't think too badly of him…or me."

And because there was no one around but her and the dead, who were the best at keeping
secrets, she told them everything that had happened between her and Sesshoumaru, leaving
out no details. She hadn't realized until she was saying the words just how good it felt to
finally get them all off her chest. With Kaede, everything had been perfunctory, concerning
the safety of her and the babies.
 She had never been able to tell anyone the whole story—and how it made her feel—until
now.

What tears slipped out dried quickly against her cheeks in the wind, but they were tears of
relief, so Rin didn't mind shedding them.

"I hope that being half-demons doesn't stop you from loving them. In fact…I know I've
already asked for Mom's blessing," she said, lifting up her leg and tapping her ankle, where
the bracelet she wore was hidden inside her boot, "but I'd like to formally ask for all of your
blessings…for them and for me.

"Sora, Haru—as twins yourselves, I hope you'll watch out for your little nieces or nephews.
Maybe see if they can give me an easier time than you did Mom and Dad?" she chuckled.

She took a deep breath then and wiped her eyes, only clearing the way for more to fall. "And
Dad? If there's any way you can help lead me back to Sesshoumaru—or him to me—I'd
appreciate it. Not just for my sake. I want him to experience the joys of being a father. The
twins need him, and he needs them. I know you understand."

Rin took a shuddering breath and wiped away the tears one final time. Finally, her eyes were
no longer leaking. She smiled at the grave. "With all of you watching over us from wherever
you are, I'm sure I'll find the strength to weather the trials ahead." She pressed another finger-
kiss to the grave. "I love you all, and I hope that you're at peace. Rest well, and don't worry
too much about me. The Higurashis are looking after me better than I deserve, and they're all
being very supportive of this unexpected event. So I'll say goodbye for now, but after the
babies are born, I'll bring everyone by to say hello, okay?"

She got up, bowed to her family, and left. But despite the cold that had been clawing into her
limbs as she sat at their grave all that time, a warmth blossomed between her shoulder blades
and spread throughout her.

It could just have been the sun boring into her back, but she liked to think it was her family,
laying their comforting hands on her and silently urging her on.

Chapter End Notes

So I realize not a lot happened this chapter, but confronting her family was such a huge

say I cried while writing that last graveyard scene. 😭

hurdle for Rin that she deserved the screen time to overcome it. And I'm not ashamed to
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed
seeing the Higurashi family, and I can promise you'll see them again in the coming
chapters!
 Mind Games and Propositions
Chapter Notes

The people have spoken! …So you get an early Sesshoumaru chapter. Seriously, this
whole chapter was NOT part of my original outline, but you all missed him SO much
and you're all such magnificent readers that I decided to go back and fit in his POV
return a little earlier than planned. And you know what? It works! I'm actually quite
pleased that you all guilt-tripped me into doing this, because with just the original
chapter where I was going to come back into his head, I felt it was lacking some
buildup. So, here's your buildup.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sesshoumaru scowled as soon as he saw the centerpiece that would greet visitors when they
stepped into Western Sanctuary's reception hall. "Did you even put water in the vase? The
evergreens are drying out."

The employee in charge of the floral arrangements stiffened, glancing over guiltily at the
work in question. "I apologize, Sesshoumaru-sama; they are sucking up the water faster than
expected, but I swear I just filled the vase—"

"The needles have lost color."

"H-Have they?" she asked, torn between looking at him and the evergreen boughs.

His father cleared his throat beside him. "That's enough, Sesshoumaru. It's fine. No one will
be able to tell."

"I'll be able to tell," Sesshoumaru growled.

Touga frowned. "It's nothing to get so upset over." In a lower voice that would be difficult for
anyone but those demons with the most acute auditory abilities to hear, he murmured, "I
know you've been stressed lately, but don't take it out on our team members. Remember that
we are nothing without them."

"Hn." His father insisted on calling their employees "team members" nowadays—some drivel
he had read recently in a business book about making them feeling appreciated and part of a
whole instead of just like cogs in the machine. As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, there
was a strict relationship between employer and employee that would never change: one paid
for the other's work. And his family certainly spent a fortune on their employees' wages and
benefits. These demons were lucky to have the security and livelihoods they did.
Sesshoumaru was not there to make friends with them: he was there to direct their lesser
minds into achieving greatness.
As for his stress levels, his father didn't know the half of it. This party was the least of his
concerns.

His greatest concern was a petite, human woman his father didn't even know existed. And the
fact that this woman—his mate—wasn't by his side 24/7. Because he had been foolish
enough to make it that way.

Every day, he wanted to kick himself for leaving her alone on that roadside, and every day he
told himself it was for the best—for her sake. It was the only way to make the pain tolerable.

"Heh," Inuyasha grunted as he dodged a ladder and the employee atop it stringing lights. He
lifted a freshly-cut pine tree from his shoulder and set it into a prepared tree stand.
Sesshoumaru noted with distaste that Inuyasha now had tree sap staining his white button-up,
which he had already wrinkled by rolling up at the sleeves. It wasn't his job to be helping the
employees here—he and Touga were only supposed to help supervise and approve of
everything Sesshoumaru had planned out—but the half-demon never seemed able to resist
getting his hands dirty.

His little brother continued, grousing, "I'd say dried up evergreens are perfect for Naraku, of
all people." He shivered. "That guy's always given me the creeps. I swear, he's had it out for
me since we met…which was, what, fifty years ago now? But hell if I know what I ever did
to piss him off."

As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, Inuyasha's mere existence could piss people off.

Inuyasha scratched his head and then froze, groaning when he pulled his hand away and
found his hair sticking to the sap on his fingers.

Idiot.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had gone out of their ways to avoid each other for the most part
these last few months, so Sesshoumaru had been pleasantly surprised to see his brother's hair
was now back to the gleaming family silver. Apparently, Inuyasha still used the ancient,
natural dyeing methods their family had first utilized in the 1800s when they had to hide their
appearances: dyes that would completely wash out after a while, unlike the more permanent
chemical box dyes of today. It indicated to Sesshoumaru that even Inuyasha had some pride
in his demonic heritage and looks, given that he knew his human ruse would not last.

"Now, now, son, don't be so paranoid. I admit, Naraku's a little…smarmy, but he's made quite
a name for himself in only fifty years, which is most impressive. Why, I had never even heard
of him before then, and I know everyone," Touga replied with a chuckle.

"All that concerns me is that he has amassed a fortune and was willing to pay it to whomever
could provide the best venue for his New Year's gala," Sesshoumaru said.

He had made sure they beat out Kirinmaru's Eastern Sanctuary precisely for that purpose. His
family's relationship with Kirinmaru's was what the kids today would call being "frenemies."
His father and Kirinmaru had been rivals since the beginning, the beast kings of the west and
east respectively, but they had always maintained a cordial respect for one another and had
even worked together throughout the years when demonkind as a whole was in grave peril.

There was also the fact that Touga owed Kirinmaru a life debt.

"And you did fine work indeed, convincing him we were the way to go, son," Touga added,
clapping Sesshoumaru on the shoulder.

Inuyasha walked over then, opening and closing his hand with audible sticking noises. "Hey
Dad, I'm gonna go clean up before we leave, alright?"

"Sure, son. Just come get me when you're done."

Just then, an obnoxious, modern-pop ringtone filled the air, and all the heads in the room
turned towards the sound.

Inuyasha's brow furrowed, like he was confused to hear the music, but then he reached into
his pocket and pulled out his phone, careful to only touch the edges of the case. He sucked in
a short breath, and his grip on the phone tightened as it continued to ring in his hand.
Sesshoumaru glanced over and noticed the word "Kagome" on the screen.

"You gave her your actual phone number?" Sesshoumaru asked, once again in awe of
Inuyasha's stupidity. They had burner phones for human contacts, in case their calls got
traced. They only gave out their personal numbers to family and the most trusted of demon
friends.

"Answer it, son," Touga prompted, cutting Sesshoumaru a "don't start this now" look.

"I…I dunno," Inuyasha mumbled.

"We're all on Wifi calling here, Inuyasha. It can't be traced. Just answer it." Still Inuyasha
didn't move, showing uncharacteristic restraint, in Sesshoumaru's eyes. But then his father
ruined it by sighing, reaching over, and sliding the phone icon to accept the call.

"What the— Dad!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

Despite not being on speakerphone, the mellow, female voice on the other end still carried to
Sesshoumaru's ears. "Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha pulled the phone to his ear. "Uh…hi Kagome," he said in probably the most
subdued voice Sesshoumaru had ever heard from him. "What's up?"

He started walking away, and Sesshoumaru only caught the words, "I've had some time to
think, and—" before Inuyasha took the phone out of earshot. Sesshoumaru glanced back at
his father, who looked at him with raised eyebrows. Then Sesshoumaru looked around the
room, where the entire staff was staring after Inuyasha, straining their ears to hear.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Back to work," he barked, and the entire room jumped into action.
Touga motioned for Sesshoumaru to follow him, and he did so. His father led him to
the engawa, the raised porch surrounding the traditionally-styled reception hall, and then sat
down on the edge of the platform, leaning back and swinging his feet as he waited.
Sesshoumaru continued to stand, arms crossed. A cold wind with the scent of oncoming snow
blew across the yard, but it did not penetrate through Sesshoumaru's fur-lined trench coat.

Not a moment later, Inuyasha came striding back from across the yard, staring at the ground
in a daze as he walked. He only looked up when he came face-to-face with his father and
brother.

Touga leaned forward. "Well? What did she have to say?"

"She…wants to meet with me. To talk. About us." He blinked slowly, like he still couldn't
believe it. "She says she wants to see the real me, so…she wants to meet somewhere safe.
She said I could choose the place."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Are you sure it isn't a trap? It wouldn't be the first time you were
fooled into a meeting with a human woman, only to end up shot."

Inuyasha rubbed the spot above his heart, like he could still feel the bullet wound there that
had nearly claimed his life fifty years ago. "I don't think so, but…maybe you're right. Maybe
I shouldn't be so trusting this time."

Sesshoumaru's brows rose in surprise at Inuyasha's admission, and silence fell around the
three dog demons for several seconds before Touga slammed his hands onto his knees and
stood up. "Tell you what, Inuyasha. Go ahead and arrange to meet her at one of those nature
parks outside the city, where there won't be any cameras. Sesshoumaru and I will tag along,
scout out the area, and keep watch for trouble, just in case. If it is a trap, we'll get you out of
there. If it's not, then that's great." He tacked on his usual smile for reassurance.

"Why do I need to come along for this? Inuyasha should be able to handle himself,"
Sesshoumaru scoffed.

His father leveled him with a tense look. "Sesshoumaru, if this is a trap, as you seem so
inclined to believe, you know just how many forces the Demon Slayer Corps could send for
an ambush. We need all the manpower we can get." He then turned to Inuyasha. "Also, let's
not mention a word of this to your mother until after. Just in case things go south. She doesn't
need any reminders about the last time."

Sesshoumaru had found out too late back then that Inuyasha had gone to his human paramour
to reveal the truth of his heritage. So it was only by sheer luck that Sesshoumaru went
straight after him once he did find out. He had intended to stop his foolish brother, only to
find him passed out and lying in a pool of his own blood.

It was the first time in a century of hiding that Sesshoumaru had risked giving away his
identity in public, turning into a ball of light and racing Inuyasha like a shooting star to a
demon hospital faster than his car would have ever gotten him there.
And apparently, every single one of those extra moments had counted. It was only Inuyasha's
demon blood that had kept him from dying immediately upon being shot, but the bullet had
been laced with spiritual energy, inhibiting Inuyasha's healing abilities. Even after the
surgeons removed the bullet, though, he didn't wake up, and it had been touch-and-go for a
few days.

Sesshoumaru recalled how his father and Izayoi had hardly left Inuyasha's bedside. Izayoi
had been in tears most of the time, and his father hadn't been much better. Seeing the raw
pain and distress on his father's face, Sesshoumaru had convinced himself that that was
precisely the reason he had rushed to save Inuyasha as he had, rather than leaving the halfwit
to die from his own foolish mistake. Not because of any affection he held towards his half-
breed brother.

And it was with those memories in mind that he agreed to look after Inuyasha this time as
well.

The next day, the three of them arrived at the park where Inuyasha planned to meet Kagome.
Theirs was the only car in the parking lot. A fresh blanket of snow erased nearly all trace of
green, blanketing the world in white and grays. The sun hid behind an overcast, January sky,
which threatened to dump more snow on them at any moment.

"You look ridiculous wearing those sunglasses," Sesshoumaru told Inuyasha as they got out
of the car.

"Hey, she wanted me to come as I am, okay? 'S not like I'm just gonna pop out my contacts in
front of her in the cold," Inuyasha sniped, slamming the door to their SUV shut.

Touga led them over to an information board that showed the park map. "Where did you plan
to meet her?" he asked.

Inuyasha pointed to where the looping trail disappeared into the surrounding forest. "Here.
Harder to shoot bullets with so many trees in the way," he murmured in a downtrodden voice,
like he hated even thinking that Kagome was capable of such a betrayal.

"We'll split up and scout the perimeter, then rendezvous there at 13:30," Touga instructed.
"That leaves us a thirty-minute window to get into position so we remain unseen but still
within striking distance. If you find something while scouting, send a text. Keep your phones
on silent, but check them every five minutes, just in case. If you're in trouble, shout, and the
other two will come in. Understood?"

"Yes, father," Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru answered. The three of them bounded off in
opposite directions.

Sesshoumaru conducted his perimeter checks without noticing anything strange. Even the
animals were hiding, preparing for the coming snowstorm. He didn't know whether they had
lucked out with the weather today or if it would backfire on them. When he made it to the
rendezvous point, he found Inuyasha already waiting; their father joined them moments later.
"Everything seemed clear on my end. There's not a soul in this park today," Touga said.

Inuyasha rubbed his arms. "Yeah, go figure. We're the only idiots out here freezing our asses
off."

"Speak for yourself," Sesshoumaru answered. He and his father wore their fur-lined coats, but
Inuyasha had to make do with a human-crafted jacket. Granted, even Sesshoumaru had to
admit that the chill was a tad on the uncomfortable side. But it was easily withstood, if he
didn't think about it too much.

"You wait here for her, son. Sesshoumaru and I will find somewhere to hide with a clear line
of sight." Touga clasped Inuyasha's shoulder. "Don't worry. We're not going to have a repeat
of fifty years ago."

Sesshoumaru bit back the retort of, Why are we even risking it then? Because he knew if Rin
had called him up, asking to see him, he would have been after her like a dog straining at its
leash that finally pulled free.

But I purposely left her no way to contact me. That was the point, Sesshoumaru thought
bitterly, the same uncomfortable feeling he was starting to recognized as "guilt" prickling his
heart once more. He hadn't enjoyed how often his heart squeezed in on itself these last three
months when he thought of her, and at times, the feelings had boiled so close to the surface,
he would have to leave a room, lest someone see any hint of the anguish pass on his face.

He had thought the feelings he had for Rin would ease with time and distance, but if
anything, they had only strengthened.

He had used up that soap of hers far faster than he thought he would. It led him on a weeks-
long mad hunt to find out what it was. The faded logo engraved on it had given him a clue,
but it had still taken a lot of legwork and a lot of soap-sniffing to figure out exactly which
brand and type she used and where to buy it.

When he finally found it, he bought all the stock on the shelf that day.

If he expended even half that amount of time and energy towards searching for Rin, he was
positive he would have found her.

But the point was that he didn't want to find her.

Or rather, he had to keep himself from going to find her. Because if he did find her, he knew
he would never let her go again. And then he would only be dooming her to a shaded
existence, like a sapling in the rainforest that grew stunted and withered from lack of
sunlight, because the jungle canopy was so thick.

But most days he wished he possessed less willpower than he had, if only to have some
excuse to go after her.

Sesshoumaru turned and darted into the trees before his frustration showed in front of his
family. He picked up the faint hum of electricity from a wildlife camera and made sure it
wasn't pointed in Inuyasha's direction. Then he skirted around it, looking for a place to
remain both out of its sight and Kagome's.

The bare deciduous trees did not make for easy camouflage, but there were enough snow-
laden pines that provided decent cover. Luckily, he had worn white today, and together with
his skin and hair, he blended much better into the snow. He dug out a small bunker in the
snow a ways down the path that still allowed him to keep an eye on his brother.

"Sound check," he said.

"Confirmed. Sound check," Inuyasha repeated, and Sesshoumaru grunted in affirmation.

"Hold on boys. I'm still finding the right spot," Touga answered, an unofficial sound check of
his own.

Sesshoumaru settled in for the wait. Inuyasha paced on the pathway. Finally, several minutes
later, he heard footsteps.

When he saw the head of black hair from a distance, Sesshoumaru's heart leapt. Rin, he
thought, his body tensing, ready to spring out of the bunker.

But then her scent carried on the wind, and while there was a hint of familiarity to it, it wasn't
Rin's. Sesshoumaru relaxed and analyzed her closer. Indeed, now that he looked, the girl
appeared similar to Rin, but she was taller, and there was a different wave to her hair.

He fought the sense of disappointment that welled up within him.

The girl—Kagome, he assumed—tucked her hands under her armpits and visibly shivered.
"Geez, Inuyasha, I know you need to be careful, but was this really necessary? It's freezing."

"Hey, you said you wanted to see me as I am. Well, hidden away like this is how it has to be,"
he answered, pulling the beanie off his head and twitching his ears.

They froze then, as if taken aback by the quick return to familiarity, despite all that had
happened.

Kagome cleared her throat and rubbed her hands. "Right. Well, thanks for agreeing to meet
me though. I appreciate it."

"Yeah, it's no problem," Inuyasha answered in a more subdued tone.

Kagome looked him over. "So…this is you, huh? White hair, dog ears, and…hey, are your
eyes yellow?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Nothing! Nothing. I'm just…not used to seeing you like this. You look different. A good
different, but still…different."

"Is that all you came to say?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. What I really want to do was tell you face-to-face that I'm
sorry. I can't imagine how much courage it must have taken you to show me the real you, and
I…I reacted badly."

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well…I can't say I entirely blame you. I'm
sure the last thing you expected me to spring on you was the fact that I'm a half-demon."

"It was…shocking, to say the least. But I've had a while to think about it, and I realized…if
you were going to eat me, you probably would have done so already. I mean, I gave you
plenty of chances when we were alone."

"Uh, first of all, ick. I would never eat a human. My mom's a human, remember? And
second…is that really what freaked you out? You thought I'd eat you?"

Kagome blushed, ducking her head. "Well, I mean…you sort of already have, but not
in that way." She chuckled weakly, and Sesshoumaru's nose curled.

If he was learning about his brother's sex life, it was time to leave. There didn't appear to be
any danger here.

Inuyasha apparently remembered that he had an audience, because his nose—already

reddened by cold—went pinker, and he rushed to say, "Uh, right, but seriously Kagome, what
made you change your mind?"

Kagome took a deep breath. "Actually, it was my sister. She, um…had to make a confession
recently that was about as high on the shock meter as yours was."

"What, she's not a half-demon too, is she?" Inuyasha quipped.

Kagome cleared her throat. "No, ah…she's pregnant."

"Oh."

Sesshoumaru didn't understand the tense pause between the two of them. Finally, Inuyasha
added, "She, um…didn't get married or something in these last few months, did she?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. She's going to be doing this on her own."

"Seriously? What happened to the guy?"

"Apparently it was a one-night stand."

"And she didn't get his number or anything?" Kagome shook her head. "Bastard."

"Right?" she answered, her voice growing louder with frustration. "But at the same time,
I know there's something she's not telling me about all this. I mean, she even lied to me in the
beginning about not meeting anyone on her vacation, and then this happens? She's not the
type of girl to just sleep around like that! I don't know what's going through her head!"
Inuyasha's eyes widened, and if Sesshoumaru could read his brother at all, he figured
Inuyasha was a bit taken aback by Kagome's sudden outburst. "Well, uh…I might be able to
help track him down, if you want. Dogs are…pretty good at that sort of thing."

Kagome's angry look cleared from her face in an instant, and she looked at him with a smile
that Sesshoumaru could only describe as fond. "Thanks, Inuyasha. Maybe we'll take you up
on that, but…I've derailed a bit. Sorry. The news is just fresh, and it's been on my mind a lot
the past few days."

She put a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath before looking at him again. "But that's
not what I came to talk about. I meant what I said about apologizing. The point is, I saw how
hard it was for my sister to come clean about her pregnancy, and watching her do that…I
realized you must have gone through the same thing. And then I felt like a coward, because
you were willing to go all the way with this relationship and reveal all your secrets to a
human, and here I immediately shut you down, thinking it was impossible. But I guess this
sort of relationship can't be impossible, right? You're a half-demon after all. You said your
mom was human, right?"

"…Yeah."

"So I figured…what the heck is stopping me? I love you, Inuyasha." Inuyasha stiffened in
shock. "That hasn't changed these last few months, and when I realized that…I felt like an
idiot. We wasted all this time, just because I got a little spooked."

"Well, to be honest, we were both kinda idiots. If I had shown you the way I originally
planned…well, it could have been a lot worse." Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. He couldn't
even imagine the chaos that would have come down on them if Inuyasha had brought her to
the resort as intended. "I knew you'd need time to process, but I guess I just didn't realize how
much. And I should have. I know what sort of propaganda shit the Demon Slayers put out. If
that's all you know about demons, then yeah, you should be scared out of your mind. I just
forget that sometimes."

Kagome grabbed his hands then, swinging them between their bodies. "So…am I forgiven
then?"

"Are we getting back together?"

She bit her lip and looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "If you want to…then I'm
one-hundred percent willing. Promise."

Inuyasha smiled. "Then yeah. You're forgiven."

Kagome pushed up on her tip-toes then and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck,
kissing him. His arms went around her waist like a sprung trap that wouldn't let her go.

Sesshoumaru looked away, a feeling he was all too familiar with clamping its jaws around his
heart but with more pain than he had ever felt from it before.

Jealousy.
A hand landed on Sesshoumaru's shoulder, and he turned around to find his father there, a
finger placed over his mouth and…really? Was he getting misty-eyed over this?

"Damn, this is better than The Notebook," Touga said with a sniff. "I should've brought
popcorn."

Sesshoumaru gave his father a droll look. He had no idea what The Notebook was, and he had
no intention of finding out. He also didn't understand what his father liked about the bland
snack food. All it did was drive kernels into your teeth, and to give it any taste at all, it had to
be coated in obscene amounts of butter, salt, cheese, sugar, chocolate, caramel, any or all of it
—none of which Sesshoumaru found appetizing in the least.

"Can we leave now?" he murmured back.

"Nah, it's just gettin' good," Touga answered with a wink, nodding back to the couple.

They pulled apart, and no sooner had they then Kagome's mercurial features morphed into
one of determination. She frowned and jabbed him in the chest with a mitten-covered finger.
"Okay you, all may be forgiven after you dropped that truth bomb on me, but that doesn't
mean I'm going to stand for anymore lies between us! If you want this relationship to work as
much as I do, you're going to tell me the truth about everything from here on out. Got it? If
you can't commit to doing that, then I'm going to turn around right now and walk away, and
we'll pretend we never had this conversation."

"I won't lie anymore, I swear," Inuyasha said, pulling Kagome back into his embrace and
tucking her head under his chin.

Kagome smiled, gave him a squeeze, and then pulled back. "So…one last thing."

"What now?"

She bit her lip and shifted in place, almost like a kid needing to go to the bathroom. "I didn't
get a chance last time because you scared the shit out of me, but…can I touch them?"

Inuyasha's brow twitched, and he glanced back towards the trees. "Touch…what?"

Apparently, Kagome didn't feel the need to wait for permission, because she tore off her
mittens and reached out with both hands to feel Inuyasha's dog ears. Inuyasha shuddered.

"Hey…Kagome…cut it out, will ya?" he asked, but instead of coming off as cranky, he
sounded more…whiny.

An image flashed in Sesshoumaru's head of Rin sucking the soft spot behind his ears as they
rutted, and his hand clenched as his cock twitched.

Time to leave.

Kagome's eyes widened. "That's new. Then again, you didn't have those before." A wicked
smile crossed her lips, and she brought one hand down to his chest, walking her fingers up it.
"I don't know about you, but I'm freezing. What do you say we go somewhere where we
can…warm up a bit?"

"Uh…hold that thought," Inuyasha said, pulling out of her embrace and bounding over
towards his father and brother.

Kagome was left standing in the cold, her mouth agape. "Inuyasha, what the heck? Where are
you going?"

Inuyasha landed in front of Sesshoumaru's bunker. Their father was obviously trying to keep
a straight face.

Inuyasha's cheeks were clearly no longer burning from the cold. "Okay, so it's obvious this
isn't a trap. You can leave now. Go ahead and take the car. I'll catch up…later."

"Are you sure, son? She might just be waiting to catch you with your pants down," Touga
answered, biting his tongue as he tried to suppress a snigger.

"Shut up, old man," Inuyasha growled.

Sesshoumaru sighed, wanting as much as Inuyasha to get out of here. "Do what you wish.
Just don't do something foolish like bringing her as your plus-one to Naraku's party tonight.
And don't be late."

Inuyasha scowled at him. "Yeah, you don't need to tell me that. I learned my lesson. I'm not
just going to throw her headfirst into a room full of demons and expect her to be okay with
it." Apparently feeling satisfied with what he had said, he turned around and leapt back to
Kagome.

"Where did you go?" Kagome asked.

"I thought I heard something. I went to check it out."

Not technically a lie, Sesshoumaru noted, although not the full truth either. Meaning his
pitiful brother had already broken the promise he made to Kagome just moments ago.

He doubted it would be the last time.

Inuyasha and Kagome sauntered away, and Touga and Sesshoumaru waited until they were
out of earshot to follow them.

"Well, if a Demon Slayer ambush was one extreme of how this could have turned out, I'd say
that was the other, and I'm rather pleased by it," his father announced.

"Do you honestly think it will last?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. But at least they're willing to give it a try."

Sesshoumaru frowned. He knew his father hadn't meant the words to be a knife, but they
stabbed at him anyway.
"After all," Touga continued, "she said she loved him. There's no better start."

"But how do you know what you're feeling is love?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Touga stopped walking just then, and Sesshoumaru had to pause and turn around. His father
stared at him with a strange face. "Why do you ask, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, trying to give nothing away. "Because I do not understand
such…human emotions."

"Uh huh…" his father answered, resuming his walking but not sounding wholly convinced.
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, son. Every love feels different. For instance, the way I
felt for your mother was a…different sort of love than the one I felt for Izayoi."

His father had loved his mother? No wonder he had left her for Izayoi. Surely, his mother had
not reciprocated.

"How so?"

He knew he was being uncharacteristically nosy, but it was only him and his father now. He
just needed to be reassured of…something.

That he had done right by leaving Rin instead of bringing her into his world, for instance.

"The love I have for your mother was born out of a familiarity, I think. We had known each
other ever since we were pups, and there had long been hopes that we would marry to ally
our clans. And even though she doesn't show it well, she does love deeply." Sesshoumaru
scoffed. Touga frowned at him. "She does, Sesshoumaru. She just has a hard time expressing
it—like someone else I know." He gave his son a pointed look, which Sesshoumaru turned
away from. "And that was, in part, what attracted me to Izayoi. She was not afraid to show
her feelings—to be vulnerable. Sometimes, I felt Izayoi showed more courage in wearing her
heart on her sleeve than your mother did standing against an army of demons."

To be vulnerable. He had shown more vulnerability to Rin than he had anyone else—even to
his parents, excluding his childhood years. But was that alone a sign of love? His father really
hadn't answered his question, though he supposed it was a start.

"And was it this feeling that drove you to mark her as your mate?" Sesshoumaru asked. Was
it calculated on your part, or did you lose yourself in the moment, as I did?

That was the question he really wanted to ask but couldn't.

Touga laughed. "You know, growing up, I was always led to believe that mating was
a choice. And I did offer your mother the choice. I was fully willing to share my demonic
energy with her. But as I said—as you know—she does not like to leave herself vulnerable.
The thought that I would be able to feel her deepest emotions probably frightened her more
than the idea that we would live and die together. So we never mated. And then I met Izayoi,
and in the moment, it just felt so right that I couldn't help myself. And that's when I realized
that mating was instinctual, not something you necessarily plan. There were moments with
your mother that I felt a certain urge to mark her…but she could sense that, and she wouldn't
have any of it. She also had the power to stop me. Izayoi didn't, so when I marked her, it took
us both by surprise."

So he wasn't the only one to lose control of himself like this. While it was in part a relief, on
the other hand, it only brought up a more worrisome question: did that mean he loved Rin?

"Is there a…reason for these questions, Sesshoumaru? You didn't even ask this much when
going through puberty." He laughed weakly. "You took The Talk way more in stride than
Inuyasha did."

Frankly, The Talk had disgusted him (and what adolescent didn't initially feel that way?),
which was in part why he hadn't said anything. He had just wanted the awkward conversation
to come to an end, so he could get on with what really mattered in life: training and becoming
as strong a demon as his father. With mental maturity, of course, the disgust has diminished,
and he had come to see sex as simply a natural course of life. But despite some of his own
fleeting interests and several advances others had made towards him, he had never felt the
overwhelming urge to actually act upon those desires.

At least, not until Rin. Then, it felt like he had taken out the puberty he had long put into a
savings account, and the feelings hit him all at once—backed by centuries of accrued interest.

"I only wondered if the son would follow in his father's footsteps."

What Touga wouldn't realize, of course, was that this son already had.

That night, the oft-quiet Western Sanctuary buzzed with the lights and noise of Naraku's
party. The Nishikuni family had been invited as guests, despite their co-hosting duties, so
while Sesshoumaru still walked around, keeping a casual eye on the reception hall, the
resort's events manager was technically in charge tonight.

Sesshoumaru quickly wished he could claim to be on duty instead. Then he would have an
excuse to escape this hellish gathering.

To begin with, it was winter, so they kept the doors to the reception hall closed as a courtesy
to any guests who were not as comfortable with the cold. And while the reception hall had an
HVAC system to mitigate the creeping cold or the heat generated by dozens of demon bodies,
it did little to disperse the smell.

The second Naraku and his ilk entered, the room went rank. Not even the freshly-cut sprigs
of pine with which they had decorated the hall could mask such a stench. Sesshoumaru
recalled from previous meetings that Naraku's demonic aura was foul, but for some reason, it
seemed especially potent this time around, crammed into such a small space.

Then again, his entire family of five was in attendance, and they all smelled frighteningly
similar.
Stench aside, the night started out decently enough. Sesshoumaru mingled with many old
acquaintances. Inuyasha, he noticed, was often in deep discussion with Shiori, the daughter
of Tsukuyomaru, the bat demon scion who had replaced his father, Taigokumaru, when the
old bat died at the hands of the Demon Slayers early on in the 20th century. (The son, it was
whispered, had not overly grieved his father's death, and there were even rumors that he had
called the Slayers on his father himself).

Touga was in discussion with Kirinmaru and his sister, Zero, who stood docilely at her
brother's side, though her eyes never left Touga's face. Sesshoumaru avoided that group—it
was sickening to see a demoness pine so openly for a mated male.

"Hey there, man," Kouga suddenly announced, striding as casually toward him as if
he hadn't given Rin to his clan to rape and eat.

Sesshoumaru glared at him, baring his teeth and releasing a low growl.

Kouga smoothly turned on his heel and went the other way. "I see we're still not speaking to
each other. Noted." In a lower voice Sesshoumaru wasn't sure he was meant to hear, the wolf
demon added, "The hell's his problem?"

The only thing that had kept Sesshoumaru from melting through Kouga's scrawny wolf neck
when he and his pack returned to the resort proper after their camping retreat was the wolf
demon clan's longstanding patronage of their business. Touga would demand answers for
why Sesshoumaru had murdered one of their VIP guests, and overall, murdering patrons was
just bad for business. Mostly though, Sesshoumaru simply couldn't explain the reason
without revealing Rin's part in it—and his life.

But he had made it clear to Kouga that he was to keep his flea-bitten muzzle shut about "the
human trespasser incident" if he wanted to keep on living.

Sesshoumaru went back to scanning the crowd and then noticed his mother speaking with a
demoness he vaguely recalled seeing at some other parties but to whom had never bothered to
introduce himself. She stood tall and regal with long, black hair and sharp red eyes. A gray,
pterodactyl-like demon sat perched on her shoulder, and she stroked it occasionally as she
spoke.

Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru did not look away soon enough before his mother noticed and
said just loudly enough that he could hear, "Sesshoumaru, come."

Nothing good ever came of his mother giving him an order, but he resigned himself to obey.

When he approached the ladies, his mother continued, "Son, have you ever had the pleasure
of meeting Princess Abi of the bird demon clan? She goes by Abi Hime in the human world.
Clever, no?" Despite the supposed cleverness, his mother did not giggle in amusement.

"I have not," Sesshoumaru answered, ignoring the tail end of his mother's remark. Did the
woman have a business proposition for him? Was that why his mother had called him over
here?
Abi looked him over. "Your mother tells me you are in charge of this fine establishment?"

"For the time being," he answered, not seeing a need to elaborate.

"You do our kind a great service by providing such a refuge."

He inclined his head in acceptance of the compliment.

When the "thank you" she was obviously waiting for never came, Princess Abi looked down
at her painted nails and added in a somewhat forced-casual tone, "I myself work for the Red
Cross."

Sesshoumaru's brows rose a fraction. It was rare for a demon to work for a human
organization—said demon was usually either extremely confidant, playing a long game, or
utterly desperate. And to work for a life-saving organization at that? "How…noble of you,"
he said, wondering if this was some strange bragging right she was trying to show off.
Regardless, he did not see how she could help his business in any way. That left only one
alternative to why his mother had introduced them.

She was trying to match-make again.

"Oh, not really," she answered, waving her hand dismissively. "I do it only to have easy
access to human blood. My pets were never able to successfully adapt to a non-human diet,
you see, and I'd be damned if I let this wondrous, ancient species that survived even the
extinction of dinosaurs die out on my watch." She stroked the underside of the creature's beak
on her shoulder.

Pets? "Such ancient beasts must be exceedingly rare."

Princess Abi's face darkened. "Indeed. The humans seriously decreased their population last
century, so my darlings are nearly extinct. But I still have over one hundred of them in
captivity, so I plan to breed them back to a higher population. It will take time, of course."

One hundred? So this woman was the equivalent of a spinster cat lady but with birds. A bird
lady, so to speak. Sesshoumaru fought back a sneer of derision. He was done with this
conversation.

Unfortunately, when he tried to extract himself, his mother snared him back into the
discussion, and he had to stand there while Princess Abi prattled on and on. She and his
mother got on famously. In fact, the more Sesshoumaru listened to them, the more he realized
just how similar they were.

No wonder his mother saw Abi as a potential mate for him. He suppressed a lip curl at the
very thought. One personality like his mother's in his life was more than enough for him.

A gentle hand landed on the back of his shoulder just as a hint of familiar perfume managed
to snake into his nose beneath Naraku's foul aura permeating the air. He turned around to find
Izayoi at his elbow.

"Sesshoumaru, dear, it seems you're needed outside," she said.

"I see. Excuse me, Mother, Princess Abi." He turned and left without waiting for their parting
words, Izayoi on his heels.

When he slipped out of the doors and onto the engawa of the reception hall, he took in a deep
breath of the crisp, winter air, trying to dispel the scent of Naraku from his lungs. He turned
to Izayoi. "Well? Who needs me?"

She smiled slyly. "No one, dear. You just looked like you could use some saving. I see your
mother is playing matchmaker again."

"Hn," he huffed, grateful to the human woman, not that he would tell her as such. "She gets
into these moods sometimes." He started walking to a far corner of the engawa that looked
over a pond kept unfrozen during the winter with carefully placed fountains and aerators.

"I'm afraid it might be your father's fault this time," Izayoi continued, following him.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "My father?"

"Yes. He mentioned the other day that you had…questions. Of a romantic nature. He
apparently took that to mean you were open to looking for a relationship. And…he might
have mentioned his suspicions to your mother in his excitement."

Sesshoumaru's jaw clenched. "I am not." And he meant it. He had found the only relationship
he ever wanted, but he couldn't have it.

"I see. Well, I'll have a talk with him and see if he can curb Inukimi's matchmaking a bit. I
know she gets…anxious about this topic."

Anxious was an understatement. The fact that she let her worries show on her face when she
spoke about the extinction of purebred demons meant she was nearly fanatical in her quest to
make sure the dog demon clan—namely, Sesshoumaru—did its part to keep that fate from
befalling their kind.

Sesshoumaru did not answer Izayoi though, and he knew she did not take offense. They had
lived on the same premises for about 150 years, after all. By now, whether he liked it or not,
they knew each other's mannerisms and had accepted them.

She left him in silence, and he stayed outside, graciously taking advantage of the time she
had bought him to have a moment alone and regain his peace of mind—and sense of smell—
before he went back inside to face the who's-who of demonic society again.

He looked up and was surprised to note how clear the sky was after it had been so snowy the
last couple days. The winter stars blinked down at him.

He could no longer look at them without recalling Rin's hand in his as he traced her finger
over the constellations. How naïve he had been back then to think that he was the one
manipulating her emotions when she had completely wrecked his.

He suddenly tensed as the scent he had been trying to escape followed him outside. He
braced himself for Naraku's oily voice.
But the unctuous voice that spoke to him was female, not male.

"Bit cold to be standing out here by yourself, isn't it?"

Sesshoumaru turned and found Kagura, Naruku's second-eldest daughter, standing beside
him, her hand resting on her hip. She wore what he could only describe as an oxymoronic
dress: one that completely covered her back and yet plunged so deep and wide in front that it
left barely anything to the imagination. In fact, as the cold settled against Kagura's skin, he
noted the points of her nipples peaking against the dress.

She glanced over at him with a smirk, catching him in the act. "It's rude to stare, you know."

"If you're so worried about the cold, dress warmer," Sesshoumaru answered, turning away
from her gaze.

"It's misogynistic assholes like you and my father that insist I shouldn't be proud of my own
body and be free to display it as I please. But at least my father only stares with disgust, not
lust."

"You flatter yourself if you think I lust after you," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Is that so?" He didn't answer. She stayed quiet for a moment before adding, "Not planning to
go back inside, huh?"

"Why should I?"

"I don't blame you. It's so stuffy in there. I hate these stupid parties Naraku throws."
Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at the distant use of her father's name. "He's just trying so
damn hard to fit in, you know? Too damn hard. Take this party for instance. Instead of
throwing it on New Year's Eve like anyone else, he purposely set it for the following
weekend so that no one would be able to give the excuse of having alternate plans. Honestly."

Sesshoumaru did have to admit that that was crafty on Naraku's part. He was glad they
weren't business rivals. Playing chess games with Naraku would likely give him a headache.

Kagura was still talking. "And don't even get me started on how he's using us to achieve his
dirty work. I swear, the man only had children to use them as blood-bound servants. I'm sick
of it."

"Then why don't you leave?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Tch, trust me, I've tried. He has a way of tracking us down and ensuring we come back." She
glanced over at him. "Though it's possible you could help me."

"This sounds like your problem, not mine. I have no reason to help you."

She latched onto his arm, purposely holding it in the exposed valley between her breasts, and
Sesshoumaru stiffened at the contact. "I could make it worth your while."
"Do not touch me," he hissed, yanking his arm away from her and nearly ripping aside what
little fabric covered her in the process.

"Sheesh, don't get your panties in such a twist. I just thought we might as well have a little
fun. From what I've seen, we're a lot alike, you and I. Help me escape my father's grasp, and
we could travel the world on the wind, free to do as we please."

"You assume I wish to leave behind my family obligations."

"Are you really that devoted to this place? Or is it just a way to pass the time?"

Sesshoumaru considered that. His father no longer had an empire for him to take up. That had
fallen with the decline of demonkind. Nishikuni Corp. was the closest he had to an
inheritance, and he had spent years cycling through the two family companies, often at its
head.

And yet…he still felt empty. Like he had been passing time at a job, waiting for a better
opportunity to come along.

Or a reason to live.

When he had been with Rin, for the first time in his life, he felt a true sense of belonging. He
felt as if he had a purpose: to guard that woman and make her his.

And now, he was back to passing his days. Only this time, he felt the weight of each day on
his shoulder, where before, years would go by before he would concern himself with these
sorts of thoughts.

But what other way was there to distract himself from going after Rin, like his inner demon
craved to do?

"I am where I have to be."

"Suit yourself. …But that doesn't mean you can't have one night of fun every once in a while,
right? What do you say we ditch this lame party and go have one of our own somewhere?"

"It's an hour's drive back to Tokyo," Sesshoumaru answered.

Kagura rolled her eyes. "Why would we need to go to Tokyo? You have plenty of rooms
here, don't you? And full access to the alcohol?"

Oh. That was what she meant. Why was she still on about that? Hadn't he made himself
clear?

"Not interested," he answered, hoping to get it through her stubborn skull this time.

Kagura huffed. "Well fine then. I'm not a woman to beg. But you just scream sexually
frustrated, and I'm sure jacking off with your hand isn't all that satisfying."

Sesshoumaru stiffened. How could she possibly know?

Before she could read the emotions on him, he whirled around and headed back inside.

Only to find that the dance portion of the night had begun. Naraku had insisted on having a
Western-style dance floor sectioned off for this party, and as slow music drifted through the
air from the speakers, Sesshoumaru noted several couples dancing a waltz on the floor.
Having lived so long, most of these demons had lived during a period when Western
influence first seeped into the country, bringing its formal dances with it, and they had
learned to fit in. Old-fashioned as demonkind was, it retained a nostalgic atmosphere rather
than the mindless turning in circles that modern couples considered "slow-dancing" today.

Sesshoumaru took up his customary position against the wall, scanning the floor. He found
his father and Izayoi on the dance floor…as well as his mother and Kirinmaru.

Sesshoumaru frowned. If his mother was dancing with Kirinmaru, then where was—?

"Would you care to dance, Sesshoumaru?" Zero asked, suddenly at his side, and he cursed
Naraku's stench for overpowering his nose so much that everyone was taking him by surprise
tonight.

He looked over at the demoness. Her white hair was coiled into an elegant up-do, and her
long-sleeved black dress fell off her shoulders, baring just a hint of cleavage. She wore a
golden necklace that spanned much of her throat, evocative of a spider with its dangling
pieces crawling over her chest. A more tasteful outfit than Kagura's dress, at least, if still
more than he wanted to see of her.

But then he imagined Rin in one of these women's gowns—standing elegantly at his side in
Zero's with her arm laced in his…or thrown down on his bed in Kagura's, her face and
breasts flushed with arousal (he would never let her out of the house—no, the room—in that
scandalous dress, after all).

He clenched his fist. He had to stop thinking about her.

"I don't dance," Sesshoumaru answered.

"I know for a fact that's a lie. I've seen you accompany your mother on the dance floor in
years past."

"Only to be polite."

"Oh? And I don't deserve the same courtesy?"

"I owe you nothing."

Zero frowned, reaching up to stroke her necklace. "You truly did inherit nothing of your
father's charm."

"Were you hoping I had?" Sesshoumaru bit out. "Looking to find what you cannot otherwise
have?"

Zero's lip curled, baring a sharp tooth. "You truly are insufferable, Sesshoumaru."
"Then why do you insist on speaking you me?

A strange glint came into Zero's eye, and she sighed. "In truth, your mother made a wager
with me. She was adamant that I would not be able to coerce you into a dance. She said you
were too stubborn to accept. I was, alas, confident that I could."

"My mother knows me well."

Zero sighed. "I suppose she wins then. And for that, I will have to give up admiring Touga
from a distance…."

Sesshoumaru glanced over at her in mild interest. Zero had actually agreed to such a wager?

Then she continued, "…And turn my attentions toward you instead."

"What?" Sesshoumaru hissed.

"She was most adamant about that last part of the deal," Zero added.

Sesshoumaru's hands fisted. "And what if you win?"

"Hmm? Well, it doesn't really matter anymore, does it? But if you must know, should I win,
she is to ask my dear little brother on a date." Zero looked out towards the dance floor. "They
do make a charming couple, do they not?"

Sesshoumaru frowned. That didn't make sense. Zero and his mother were civil at best and
snippy with each other at worst. Why would Zero be trying to set up his mother with her
brother?

As if she could read his thoughts, Zero added, "I'd do anything for my brother, and he's such
a romantic fool sometimes. I know he longs for a companion, and I've often wondered why
he never settled down. But when I thought about it, all the pieces fell into place."

Sesshoumaru didn't care one way or another what his mother did with her life, but she had no
right to make him a part of her wagers. She could take on the penalties of losing herself.

He thrust out a hand towards her. "Very well."

Zero chuckled as she placed her hand in his. "Oh man, such a gentleman."

Sesshoumaru walked her to the dance floor and placed his hand as lightly as possible beneath
her shoulder, hardly wishing to touch her. But he knew the steps and guided her seamlessly
into the dance.

After it was finished, he stepped back from her, breaking all contact. "There. Are the
conditions fulfilled?"

"Most certainly," she said with a wicked smile.

He turned and walked away.

Not long after, his mother inevitably came to find him.

"What was that, Sesshoumaru?"

"What do you mean?"

"I never thought to see you willingly bring Zero onto the dance floor."

Sesshoumaru looked down at her from the corner of his eye and glared. "Next time you make
a bet with Zero, Mother, keep me out of it."

Inukimi frowned. "What on earth are you talking about, son? I've barely said two words to
her all evening."

Sesshoumaru frowned in confusion and then looked up, seeking out Zero's form. He found
her standing next to her brother, but her gaze bored straight into Sesshoumaru, laughter
written in the lines of her smiling eyes and upturned lips.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in shock. The bitch had played him. But for what purpose?

Inukimi looked back and forth between the two of them, and then she chortled. "Oh, my poor
Sesshoumaru. I do believe you've met your match."

"Zero is not my match, Mother."

"I'm not sure about that, son. After all, it's not every day that a woman can get the best of you
and isn't afraid to earn your ire."

He already had a woman exactly like that. And what made her even more amazing was that
she was merely human.

His mother walked away, still laughing to herself, and Sesshoumaru resolved not to speak
another word for the rest of the night.

It turned out to be a fairly easy promise to keep, given what came next.

When the next song ended, Naraku took center stage with a mic in hand. "I'd like to thank
everyone for graciously attending my New Year's Gala tonight. And a special thanks to
Western Sanctuary for providing us with such a safe and exceptional venue." Polite applause
filled the room. "I've actually admired the work of both Western and Eastern Sanctuary for
many years now. It cannot be an easy feat to provide a secure and relaxing area for demons to
unleash their true natures…but I am willing to try."

Sesshoumaru's ears perked up, and the room went silent at that.

"I am pleased to announce that after fifty years of acquiring the right lands and making the
needed investments…I will be opening my own sanctuary this year, and I trust you will come
to enjoy some of the…special benefits that we will provide." He smirked, he red eyes cold as
he surveyed the audience. "For instance, Princess Abi, would you join me here on the floor?"
The princess of the bird demon clan came forward and stood next to Naraku, a self-satisfied
smile on her lips. "As a special thank you for coming to my party tonight, I would like to
offer you a special treat that will be available at my resort, courtesy of my partnership with
Princess Abi." He snapped his fingers then, and his five children entered the room bearing
trays of wine-filled glasses.

Except that when Kagura approached Sesshoumaru and handed him his glass, the
unmistakable scent finally hit him.

Human blood.

Sesshoumaru stared at the warm glass in his hand with disgust. Meanwhile, exclamations and
murmurs of appreciation filled the room. He looked around. It was easier to pinpoint who
was not enjoying the surprise delicacy than who was. His father held Izayoi in his arms rather
than a glass, glaring daggers at Naraku. Kirinmaru regarded his own glass with distaste.
Tsuyukuomaru set his down on a table and walked out of the room, Shiori following close
behind him. Inuyasha blatantly held his fingers over his nose.

"While you have enjoyed the fine hospitality our friends at Western and Eastern Sanctuaries
had to offer, I'm sure I speak for many of us when I say that there is more we can do to
improve the lives of demons in this day and age. Consider this a mere taste of what will be
available at Naraku's Sanctuary. We will reveal more details in the weeks to come. Thank you
for your attention, and please enjoy the rest of this evening."

The room erupted into applause, and Naraku took a bow. As the room settled into chatter
once again, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha made a beeline for their father and Kirinmaru.

Izayoi had a hand over her mouth, looking like she was going to be sick. "Inuyasha, take your
mother to the suite," he said. "Don't leave her side."

"Yeah, Pops," Inuyasha answered in a subdued voice, taking custody of Izayoi and gently
guiding her out of the hall. The stench of blood hung in the air as dozens of demons breathed,
and it only seemed to mix worse with Naraku's odor.

"They say competition is healthy, but this isn't right," Touga continued once they were gone.
"We're supposed to be learning to cohabitate with humans, not return to feeding off them."

"I agree. And if this was only 'a taste' of what's in store, I can only imagine what other
uncouth practices he hopes to revive at this 'sanctuary' of his," Kirinmaru added.

"I suppose we'll just have to drive him out of business the old-fashioned way," Touga sighed.

Sesshoumaru huffed. "As usual, I fear you are overly optimistic, father. Did you not read the
room? Demons will flock to this sanctuary of his—wherever that may be—on the mere
promise of what he can give them."

Touga frowned. "Yes, that was clever of him not to reveal all the details. No doubt to take the
temperature of the room and prevent sabotage from his…business rivals."
Kirinmaru looked between Touga and Sesshoumaru. "I propose we hold a meeting this
Monday about ways we might align ourselves to drive him out of business…perhaps before
he even starts."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Touga murmured. Sesshoumaru wished
the two of them would just spell it out. He didn't have the advantage of knowing Kirinmaru's
mind the many extra centuries his father had.

Kirinmaru glanced around at the crowds of people and lowered his voice. "Did you notice
Tsukuyomaru walk out? I believe he was the most disgusted of us all. And if the rumors are
true, he might know the best way to safely make that call."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. Call the Demon Slayer Corps on a fellow demon?

Well, if it rid the world of Naraku's foul stench, he certainly wouldn't mind.

The following Monday, Sesshoumaru walked into his home office at the family estate in
Tokyo to grab his laptop for the promised meeting with his father, Inuyasha, and Kirinmaru
that they were holding at Nishikuni Corp. headquarters. He went to his desk and stopped
when he saw some portfolios stacked on his desk. He frowned, knowing he had not left them
there. Had Jaken?

He went over and flipped open the top portfolio. A photo of Princess Abi greeted him as well
as what looked like a complete background check. Was he supposed to bring this to the
meeting? Why hadn't his father said something? But a quick sniff found his mother's scent on
the portfolios, not his father's.

He checked the next portfolio and found a similar set of information on Kagura, although it
was a much smaller stack of papers than Princess Abi's.

"Jaken," he called out.

"Y-Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken screeched, running into the office.

"What are these?" Sesshoumaru asked, dropping a hand on top of the stack.

"Uhh, your Lady Mother dropped those off at your desk earlier and said they were bridal
candidates for you, Sesshoumaru-sama. Indeed, I was so shocked, because I have never seen
any indication that you were interested in—"

But Sesshoumaru stopped listening after those words: bridal candidates.

He didn't even bother to look at the rest of the stack. With a soft snarl, he lifted the thick
portfolios and went to throw them in the waste bin beside his desk, but the receptacle was too
small to hold them. Instead, he flung them at Jaken, who scrambled to catch them before they
toppled to the floor.

"Throw them away," Sesshoumaru snapped.

 "Ah, but Sesshoumaru-sama, your Lady Mother said not to—"

"I will not repeat myself, Jaken."

Jaken shivered and bowed. "Y-Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama. I will take care of it." The imp
scampered out of the room.

Sesshoumaru collapsed into his chair and leaned his head back. Was his mother so singly
focused that she couldn't even see now wasn't the time to be thinking about marriage—not
with Naraku's debauched business looming on the horizon?

Not that he would ever entertain the thought. After all, no demoness could ever measure up to
Rin.

Chapter End Notes

😋
Are you happy now? InuKag AND Sesshoumaru's POV? What more could you ask for?
Just kidding. I know you have a laundry list of SessRin wishes, and I am working

so was I, lol!😝
furiously to fulfill them. Also, if you were surprised by the turn of events with Naraku…
That whole thing crept up on me at the last minute, but like I said in the

😆
beginning, I'm pleased with it, I think it works, and even I'M anxious to see how it ties
in with what I've already planned!
 Missions Impossible
Chapter Notes

I feel like I've given you guys both heartache and severe anxiety by turns lately, so let's
have some fun this chapter, shall we? Also, I shouldn't have to put up a big, red, "DO
NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" sign over this chapter, but I will:

following cravings as Rin does. She is having demon babies. 👹👶🤨

Dearest female readers who are or may become pregnant: do not give into one of the
You will not (unless
you're into some sort of occult thing, and then we may need to talk ). I have declared
there to be a difference in this universe. Thank you for your time. Please carry on.

UPDATE 7/1/21: Due to ignorance and oversight on my part, I changed all previous
mentions of “Lunar New Year” to “National Foundation Day” and updated some bits of
the timeline.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rin came to the mall two towns over with the intent of shopping for maternity wear. She had
put it off for too long already—she absolutely hated clothes shopping—but her shirts were
now constantly riding up, stretched too far over her expanding belly, and she popped the
button on her pants more often than not. Thank goodness her scrubs were looser and
comprised the majority of her daily wardrobe anyway; otherwise, she would have had to
make this trip a lot sooner.

Unfortunately, she had already been to three stores and had only one bag of clothes to show
for it. Maternity wear wasn't flattering to begin with, given the body shape it had to
accommodate, and while Rin had never been overly picky about her clothes before, she was
growing more and more self conscious as her body changed.

It also didn't help that she knew she would only be wearing these clothes for a few short
months and likely never again, so she couldn't justify spending a fortune on such a short-lived
wardrobe. But like everything with a short shelf life, that just made it all the more expensive,
so finding a deal was difficult.

Just walking into the mall knowing she had to shop had already drained half her energy
reserves; now, after so many fruitless searches, exhaustion was making her cranky and even
less willing to put in the effort.

The only thing that had made the trip worth it was that the maternity sections were always
conveniently placed next to the baby sections…and even if she didn't find something for
herself, she always wound up walking away with something for them.
She wouldn't find out for a few more weeks what the sexes of her babies were, so she was
keeping her purchases gender-neutral at this point, but as she combed through aisles of
onesies, bibs, toys, blankets, and more, she felt some of her joy return as she squealed over
how friggin' cute everything was.

For them…she didn't mind spending a little more money.

As Rin crossed through the food court on her way to the next store, the smell of fish and soy
sauce hit her like a baseball between the eyes. Unlike the smell of miso, which now made her
want to vomit, this scent triggered an instant growl from her stomach that was audible even
over the dull roar of mall chatter and ambiance.

"But I already had lunch…" she mumbled to herself. Her feet didn't seem to care as they
walked her over to the sushi stand boasting a line of visitors. Her mouth watered as her eyes
trailed over the colorful selections on display in the counter window.

Her stomach growled even louder, feeling like it was caving in on itself. She looked down at
her belly.

"If I didn't know it was too early to feel you, I'd say you two were trying to kick me into
getting this for you," she murmured to her babies.

The scent of fish seemed to get even sharper and more irresistible.

Rin peered at her stomach in suspicion. "Are you two messing with me somehow? Are you
already trying to bribe your mother into giving you what you want?"

She realized then that she was talking out loud to herself and looked up. A couple people
were looking at her, but most were still off in their own worlds.

What the heck are you doing, Rin? This is your craving. Why are you trying to act like it's
their fault? she admonished with a shake of her head.

But as she stared at the succulent strips of fish over packed rice and seaweed, she
remembered that first morning by the lake in the sanctuary, when she and Sesshoumaru had
eaten their first catch together. He had eaten the fish raw, though he refused to let her, in case
she got sick. Apparently, his children had a similar appetite but didn't care about the potential
repercussions.

Rin already had some knowledge of what pregnant women shouldn't eat, but Kaede had
given her a list of foods that she was to avoid anyway. While raw meat was forbidden,
she could eat properly prepared fish—even sushi—but only certain kinds, since different
species were susceptible to higher levels of mercury, which would be dangerous for the
babies.

She couldn't recall the entire list, so Rin whipped out her phone to find out which fish were
safe.
And thus, minutes later, Rin sat down at a table in the food court and popped open the plastic
container holding her salmon sushi. She cracked apart the wooden chopsticks, pulled the lid
off the cup of soy sauce, dunked her sushi into it, and popped it into her mouth.

She groaned in orgasmic bliss when the salty tang of soy-dipped salmon and rice hit her
tongue, and she chewed for an extra few bites just to savor the flavor.

"Are you happy now?" she asked her kids.

Her stomach just growled again, as if the babies were telling her to shut up and keep stuffing
her face hole.

Just then, her phone rang, and Kagome's picture popped up. She accepted the call and put the
phone to her ear. "Hey sis, what's up?"

"Hey! You're still coming home for National Foundation Day next week, right? No sudden
schedule changes?" Kagome asked. It had been a month since Rin was home for New Year's,
and the holiday fell on February 11.

"No changes yet. I've got to work the beginning of the week, but I have the end of it off.
Foundation Day is on Thursday, right? I think I have Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off."

"Thursday is perfect. Make sure you're here, because Inuyasha wants to celebrate by going
out to dinner with a bunch of our friends that night, and I want you to come too!"

"You mean I finally get to meet this mystery boyfriend of yours?" Rin asked with a smile,
biting off a small piece of sushi.

When Kagome had told Rin Inuyasha agreed to meet up with her after New Year's, Rin had
been waiting and waiting for her sister to call and tell her how it went. Kagome didn't call her
until hours after she was supposed to meet him, and when Rin asked if that meant it had gone
well, Kagome's answer had been, "Sis…let me just say I never really understood the concept
of makeup sex until today, but it was amazing." Rin hadn't needed to know that—or the
subsequent, graphic details Kagome divulged about said makeup sex—but her sister had been
in a sharing mood, so Rin just smiled and accepted the new scar on her mind.

"Yes! And bring a nice dress. I told him not to go overboard, but it's Inuyasha, so of course he
went and got reservations at the Ginza Sky Lounge for 19:00, specifically so we'd be able to
see the fireworks go off later."

Rin whistled. The Ginza Sky Lounge was one of those elite places she had never dreamed of
going to: a French restaurant in the heart of Tokyo rotating above the skyline. She frowned
then, realizing she'd be at the mall for a while longer yet. "Well, good thing I'm at the mall
clothes shopping, because I don't think I have a dress that will fit me anymore." She sighed.
"But I'm still going to look fat in whatever I get."

"Oh Rin, don't say that! It's not fat—it's baby fat. There's a difference. The latter makes you
more loveable. Speaking of babies…how are my two favorite nieces or nephews doing?"
"They're growing well. They are also being fed at the moment, so they're quite content."

"What do they like?"

"Sushi," Rin answered, taking a bite.

"Oooh, they have good taste."

"They are my children, after all," Rin answered with a mock haughty air.

"Eh, well, if they have any taste at all, it's going to be because I give it to them."

"Oh! Take the knife out of my back, why don't you?" Rin laughed.

"Uh huh. Tell me how much you've bought for yourself on this rare shopping trip of yours,
and then we'll talk taste."

"Well, to be honest…I've got one bag of clothes for me…and three bags of things for the
kids."

"Ha, see! But also, yes! You're going to send me pictures of these baby things when you get
home. This is not a request."

"I will."

"That said, I know it's going to be hard, but don't go overboard buying things for yourself,
because remember I'm throwing you a baby shower in a few months."

"I know, I know…but Kagome, these things are so cute, I just couldn't resist! Everything's
so tiny," Rin squealed.

"Argh, Rin! Look what you're doing to me. I'm gonna have baby fever by the time this is all
over!" Kagome growled.

"Well, just stay on that pill and keep those condoms handy, or you're going to scare off
Nishikuni-san right after you've just gotten him back."

"I know, I know. Trust me, I'm not planning to have kids quite yet." The way she emphasized
the word made Rin narrow her eyes in suspicion. She was about to prod when Kagome said,
"Oh, Grandpa's calling me. I have to go. But I'll see you next week, okay?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too! And tell those babies Aunty Kagome loves them!"

"I will." Rin hung up and looked down at her stomach. "Aunty Kagome says hi, and she loves
you." Then she went back to eating her sushi, creating a new shopping plan of attack.
A week later, Rin surveyed herself in the mirror in her old bedroom. She turned left and right,
tugging her dress this way and that. Was it possible she had gotten visibly bigger in only a
few days, or did the dress just look completely different now than it had in the store lighting?

The A-line cut of the fabric wasn't as flattering as she would have liked, but she didn't see
herself wearing this again during her pregnancy, and it had been on clearance, so she had
gone with it. And it was too late to do anything about it now.

After all, she had found only one dress with a high collar that would cover the mark on her
neck. Her family had all seen it by now and asked about it, and she had crafted another story
about where it came from. Still, she didn't want to bring unnecessary attention to it around so
many family friends.

Don't be so self-conscious. It's still a pretty dress. It's just prettier on the hanger than you,
that's all. The midnight-blue fabric came just below her knees and paired well with her dark
hair, but the cut-outs lining the edge of the sleeves and across her shoulders prevented the
ensemble from being too dark and overwhelming by letting her pale skin shine through.

For tonight, she wore her talisman bracelet on her wrist instead of her ankle, and she topped
off the look with a string of fake pearls and a flower pin to hold back a portion of her hair.

She looked at herself again, head on. As long as people didn't see her from the side, the dark
color hid her bump pretty well. It was only when viewed from the side that she stuck out
more than she would have liked.

Oh well. The price of being pregnant.

Rin hopped downstairs and found Mama and Grandpa sitting on the couch in the living room.

"I'm off!"

"Have a good time, and say hi to everyone for us," Mama answered.

"Will do!"

Rin headed out to her car alone, tilting her head back to look up at the night sky. As usual, no
stars here—not even a moon tonight. At least where she lived, she got to practice naming a
few constellations. Unable to do so now, she slipped quietly into her car and drove towards
downtown.

She had arrived in Tokyo only a couple hours ago, since she had gotten off a night shift that
morning and slept during the day before driving over. Kagome was already gone by the time
she arrived, and her sister had texted to say she would meet Rin at the restaurant with
Inuyasha.

Rin reached the Ginza Sky Lounge a couple minutes before their reservation time and parked
her car in the garage. When she walked to the elevator that would take her straight to the
suspended restaurant, she found three familiar faces waiting for it.

"Eri, Ayumi, Yuka! Hey!" Rin cried out, waving.

"Rin-chan!" Eri exclaimed, running over and hugging her. She pulled back almost
immediately with a gasp. "I almost forgot—no roughness here!" she said, giving Rin's belly a
gentle pat. Rin was slowly getting used to the fact that everyone reached out and touched her
stomach now, whether she gave permission or not. "Kagome told us the news:
congratulations!"

"Thank you," Rin answered with a smile, walking over to receive hugs and well wishes from
the other two.

"How far along are you again?" Ayumi asked.

"About seventeen weeks," Rin said.

"Into the second trimester, huh? That should be a relief. You're not sick anymore, are you?"
Yuka asked. She had two kids, so she knew the drill.

"Not on a regular basis. I just have to watch out for certain trigger foods. What I'm looking
forward to now is finding out their genders and feeling the babies kick. I find out the genders
in a couple weeks, and the kicks should come and week now!"

"How exciting!" Ayumi said, clapping. The three girls peppered Rin with questions as they
waited for the elevator, and when it finally arrived to take them to the top floor, Rin asked a
question of her own.

"So, have you guys meet Nishikuni-san before?"

"You mean Inuyasha? Sure. We actually met him pre-breakup," Eri said.

"More like forced Kagome to introduce us," Ayumi giggled.

"Yeah. We weren't letting Kagome get away with keeping him a secret. She strung us along
all through middle school with that hot-and-cold Houjou business before they actually got
together, so we were for sure going to meet this mysterious boyfriend of hers sooner rather
than later," Yuka added.

"And? What's he like?" Rin asked.

"You haven't met him?" Ayumi gasped.

"How can that be? You're her sister!" Yuka exclaimed.

Rin shrugged. "I don't live here anymore, and I guess it was just never a good time when
I was here."

"He is a hard one to pin down. You'd think he was the prime minister or something with how
packed his schedule apparently is," Yuka continued with a frown.

"Well, you can rest assured that he's a really sweet guy," Ayumi put in. "A little rough around
the edges at times, but really sweet. I'm glad they got back together."
"Me too! I always thought Kagome would be the first of us to get married, given how long
she dated Houjou, and now she's the only one who's not!" Eri proclaimed. "I've got a good
feeling about them though, so I hope for Kagome's sake that he's the one. I mean, she's not
getting any younger, you know?"

Rin did know. Even though she herself was six years younger than her sister, she already felt
like she had aged out of the dating pool, so Kagome had to feel it even more.

Not that I'll ever be dating anyone anyway, she thought, resting a hand on her stomach.

Just then, the elevator doors opened into a wood-paneled reception area. The Ginza Sky
Lounge name blazed in tasteful LEDs on the dark wall, and a maitre'd in a tuxedo stood at the
podium.

"Fancy," Yuka remarked, voicing aloud Rin's thoughts.

"Hi, we're here for the Nishikuni reservation," Eri said, stepping forward and taking charge,
as she always did.

"Of course. Right this way, ladies," he said, gesturing to a server to take them to their table.
The entirety of the sky lounge's outer walls were comprised of windows overlooking the city.
Although the restaurant's rotation was slow, it still made Rin a little dizzy to walk past the
tops of all those buildings and look down at the streets hundreds of meters below.

When they arrived, they found three other people already sitting at a long table: Kagome, a
black-haired man Rin recognized as Nishikuni -san from Kagome's photos, and short man
with reddish-brown hair pulled up in a man bun.

Kagome's friends squealed as they all went to embrace her, and then Rin got her turn.

"Hey sis!" Kagome said, hugging her tight and bouncing her from side to side. She stepped
back and ran an eye over her. "Look at you—you're gorgeous! And I can barely tell you're
pregnant in this dress."

"Thanks," Rin answered.

"Come here, come here," Kagome said, dragging her to the other side of the table where the
two men were now standing to greet the ladies. "Finally, you meet! Rin, this is Inuyasha."

Rin had seen him already in photos, of course, but seeing him in person struck a different
chord within her. For one thing, he wasn't wearing his usual hat. For another, this time,
something about his face struck her as familiar—not in the sense that she recognized him
from the photos but something more subtle…like his bone structure or something. She just
couldn't quite put her finger on why though.

Either way, she had given herself a mission for tonight: find out if Nishikuni-san was actually
a demon or not. And thanks to her initial meeting with Sesshoumaru, she knew exactly what
sorts of things to look for.

"Nice to meet you, Nishikuni-san. I've heard a lot about you," Rin said, bowing.
"Oh geez, call me Inuyasha," he answered with his own bow. "Can I call you Rin? Kagome
says it so much, I don't think I'll remember to call you Higurashi-san. It would just sound
weird."

"That's fine. I don't really like to stand on formality either. It's so nice to put an actual face to
the name and not just a photographic one. I see there's no hat today, huh?" Rin asked with a
grin.

His hand went to his head and felt around, as if looking for something. "Ah, no not today.
You noticed, huh?"

"Kagome's sent me a lot of pictures."

"Have you taken that many?" Inuyasha asked with a raised eyebrow in Kagome's direction, a
slightly wary look on his face. Kagome shrugged sheepishly. "Geez, you know I don't like
having my picture taken," he grumbled.

"Yeah…but I like having your picture so I can have a piece of you when you're not around,"
Kagome answered. That brought some pink to Inuyasha's cheeks.

Rin's listened to the conversation with interest. It wasn't conclusive evidence, of course—
there were tons of people who hated having their pictures taken—but given how
Sesshoumaru had gone out of his way to erase her photographic evidence of him, she
suspected that demons tended to shy away from photos.

But she needed to find something more concrete. She took a casual step towards him, trying
to take a closer look at his face. She had thought he was hiding something under his hats—
ears or horns or whatever—but that assumption was now busted. Apparently, he just liked
hats.

She peered into his brown eyes, looking for the subtle discolored ring that would indicate he
wore lenses, but she couldn't see anything. And his skin appeared free of makeup, nor could
she smell any on him.

Is he really not a demon then? Maybe his family is just a bunch of demon sympathizers. Huh.

"Uh…something wrong with my face, Rin?" he asked, scratching his cheek.

She colored as she realized she had been staring too closely. "Oh, sorry about that. You just…
look kinda familiar, and I'm trying to figure out why. Sorry. So, uh, who might this be?" she
asked, turning to the other man and hoping to smooth over her awkward first meeting with
her sister's boyfriend.

"The name's Shippou. I've been one of Inuyasha's best friends since…basically forever," the
man said, sticking out his hand. Rin was surprised to find that he was even shorter than she
was—and she was tiny! She put out her hand to shake his, but then her mouth dropped open
as he caught up her hand and casually placed a kiss on her knuckles. "And may I say, you
look lovely tonight, Higurashi-san," he added.
Rin blinked at him in shock. "I…I…t-thank you," she answered, feeling her cheeks warm
even more. He smiled at her and winked. She glanced at Kagome and Inuyasha, who both
just rolled their eyes. Rin's smile twitched in response. "Umm…I'm going to go set down my
purse," she said, pulling her hand away. She scurried around to the other side of the table,
since Yuka appeared to have commandeered the spot on Kagome's other side, but she still
managed to hear the two men's exchange.

"Really, Shippou? Even a pregnant woman?" Inuyasha sniped under his breath. Rin busied
herself with putting her purse in the seat across from Kagome's.

"Hey, I didn't see a ring on her finger." A second later, "Ow." Rin looked up and found
Shippou rubbing the top of his head, Inuyasha's hand clenched in a fist.

"Hey, play nice, you two," Kagome snapped. Then she looked over towards the restaurant
entrance. "Oh, Sango and Miroku are here!"

"There you are," Inuyasha said, glancing at his watch as the couple approached. "You're late,
you know."

"Yes, well, the girls were throwing a tantrum about being left behind, and Hisui wouldn't go
to sleep. The joys of parenthood," Miroku answered with a sigh.

"But you wouldn't trade it for anything, right?" Sango asked, an appraising glint in her eye.

"But of course, darling! How could you doubt me so?" Miroku asked, giving his wife a peck.
Sango smiled in satisfaction.

There was another round of hugs, and when it was Rin's turn with Sango, the older woman
stepped back and held her hands between them. "I can't believe it. I still remember the first
time I met you. You were this little, middle-school girl wanting to hang out with us big
college girls, and now look at you! All grown up and having your own kids."

"I know. It's surreal, right? I'm going to be asking you for lots of tips on raising twins," Rin
said, squeezing Sango's hands.

"Kin'u and Gyokuto are ecstatic about the thought of having another set of twins to play with.
They've already proclaimed they're going to forget all about Hisui."

"Aww, that's so sad but also so cute! We'll definitely have to set up some play dates when
mine are older. I may even be moving back to Tokyo, so it'd be easier, but who knows? I
haven't quite decided yet."

"Don't tell me this blossom of womanhood is our Rin-chan!" Miroku said, coming over for a
hug.

"Who else would it be?" Rin braced herself and hugged him, and—yep, there it was. The
hand rubbing her butt. She stepped back and lightly smacked his cheek. "You are a married
man, Miroku. When will you stop?"

"Ow! I swear, I thought it was your stomach! They're both about the same size now."
She didn't even have time to smack his other cheek before Sango beat her to it.

"Do you have any tact? You do not say that to a pregnant woman who is not me!"

"Ladies, why are you so mean to me? You know I love you both," Miroku whimpered,
rubbing his red cheeks. When Sango growled, he added, "In completely different ways, of
course. Rin-chan is like my little sister. We grew up together! You know that."

Rin just laughed at Sango's fit of jealousy, because what Miroku said was true. His
grandfather, Mushin Fukushima, owned a nearby temple and had been a longtime friend (and
rival) of Grandpa's. Grandpa Mushin had tried to get Miroku into the religious life to take
over the temple one day, but unsurprisingly, the lecher just hadn't been suited for life as a
monk. However, after years of conning innocent students into buying things for and from
him, he decided to make a living as a salesman, crafting a bunch of trinkets and spells for the
Fukushima Temple to sell. The temple made a killing, and Grandpa was left calling them a
bunch of no-good swindlers…even as he had Miroku design some Sacred Jewel and Sacred
Tree trinkets for the Higurashi temple to try to sell. Miroku now helped temples all over the
country with their marketing and sales.

The friends all sat down at the table. Rin sat across from Kagome between Sango and Ayumi.
They all made small talk as they looked over their menus. All of the entrees were written in
French, so Rin had to read over every description to figure out what sounded appetizing.
Unfortunately, nothing was jumping out at her, and this wasn't the type of menu to post
pictures of the food next to the items and their ridiculously high prices. (But according to
Kagome, the meal was on Inuyasha, so she didn't feel quite so bad.)

She sighed, looking around at other tables for inspiration, but it was difficult to see anything,
especially when the plates were half-eaten.

She had just consigned herself to feasting mostly on the baguette slices left on the table when
a waiter passed by them, carrying a tray to the next table over. An amazing scent hit Rin's
nose. Her stomach tightened with that pang she was now associating with cravings (aka her
children's desires), and she watched the waiter lift two plates from the tray: one with some
sort of dark meat covered in sauce—nope, that wasn't it—and another that looked like pieces
of chopped, pink meat with an egg yolk on top.

That. It called to her.

"Inuyasha, do you know what that is?" she asked, nodding towards the dish at the other table.

Inuyasha turned around and looked over. "The hamburger steak or the steak tartar?"

"Steak tartar," Rin echoed, looking through the menu for it. She knew what a hamburger
steak was and had no interest. Sango gave her a sharp look.

Rin found the listing and reread the description: Raw beef finely chopped and mixed with
onions, capers, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Topped with a raw egg yolk.
No wonder she had skipped over this listing the first time. No, babies, I can't eat this. No raw
meat for mommy. There could be salmonella or something. Her stomach rumbled in protest.

Just then, Sesshoumaru's voice echoed in her head: My body is more toxic than any germ.

She froze. Did her babies have toxins running through their blood too? But if that was the
case…wouldn't the poison have been running through hers as well?

Rin shook her head, trying to suppress the rising hysteria. Calm down. If you were being
poisoned on a daily basis, you would have figured it out by now. Besides, they're only half
demons. They can't have all of their father's attributes.

But apparently, they did have his taste for raw fish and raw meat.

Don't even think about it, Rin. Raw meat is an absolute no.

Her stomach just twisted harder, and the sharp scent of Worcestershire sauce tickled her nose.
She could almost feel the egg yolk bursting in her mouth….

They do say cravings might be cries for nutrients the body needs, but….

She groaned. This craving was going to kill her. Or worse, her babies—if she gave in. Rin

My babies are half-demons, so they must need something in meat. …I just need to find
something cooked.

But as another tray of food passed by, the smell of seared flesh twisted her stomach, where it
never had before. And the idea of charcoal rubbing off on her tongue made her want to puke.

Is this what Sesshoumaru feels like around cooked meat? No wonder he wanted his fish raw.

Science or instinct? Science would tell her in this case to deny all her instincts and not eat
raw meat.

But science had also told her nothing about carrying half-demon children. Who was to say
demon mothers-to-be didn't eat raw meat all the time? It wasn't like she knew any female
demons to ask them.

But did she dare risk the health of her unborn children because of a feeling?

The waiter came by to take their orders. Rin scrambled to find something—anything—else
that sounded appetizing, but nothing pulled at her like that steak tartar.

"And for you, miss?" the waiter asked, stepping up beside her.

"Steak tartar," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Of course. And to drink?"

"Just water, please."

"Rin," Sango hissed, lifting up her menu to screen them and leaning over. "Are you sure you
want that? You understand what it is, right?"

"I do."

"It's just…you know you shouldn't have raw meat in your condition, right?"

Rin turned and plastered on her most professional smile, trying to keep the irritation at bay.
She knew Sango meant well, but…. "I am a trained medical professional and well aware of
what is happening in my body. Thank you for your concern, Sango, but I am decided."

Sango pulled back, startled, the menu dipping slightly in her grasp. "Um…okay."

Inuyasha, oblivious to their concerns or, apparently, the issue at hand, said, "Brave choice,
Rin. I didn't take you for the type. And normally I'd join you on that, but I'm just not feeling it
tonight. Guess I'll go with the hamburger steak instead. And I'll take a Pilsner," he told the
waiter.

"I think I'll have what the lady's having. Steak tartar," Shippou said. "With a glass of
Beaujolais."

After the waiter finished taking everyone's orders, he left, and the table lapsed into an
awkward silence as everyone waited for someone else to say something.

Miroku was the first to break it. "So, Rin-chan, I have to admit I've been dying of curiosity to
know about this lucky mystery man who got you to bear his childr—yow!" Miroku yelped,
bending underneath the table. "What was that for, Sango?" he hissed.

"Ix-nay on the ather-fay!" she hissed back in what was supposed to be a whisper but ended up
being loud enough that everyone at the table heard.

"You can't blame me, Sango—not after Rin rejected me every time I asked her myself,"
Miroku replied.

"Yeah, me and every other girl in the neighborhood," Rin answered with a deadpan voice that
matched her stare.

"W-When was this?" Sango gaped. "We've been married for eight years now!"

"Don't worry, Sango. It was when we were kids. Or at least, I was still a kid," Rin answered,
still unamused. "He asked Kagome too."

"Kids?" Sango echoed in dismay.

"Hey now, I'll have you know I waited for Rin-chan until she hit puberty," Miroku replied
with such a serious nod, it was obvious he was fully convinced he had done nothing wrong.

"Yeah, because there's nothing creepy about a high school third-year asking a middle
schooler to bear his children," Rin answered, taking a sip of water. "Weirdest proposal ever."
Sango looked ready to throttle Miroku, if her white-knuckled grip on her napkin-wrapped
utensils was any indication.

Kagome groaned. "I had to put up with it far longer than Rin had to, that's for sure. Even
when I was with Houjou. Come to think of it…I guess his proposal wasn't the first one I
rejected. Just the first proper one." She shook her head in dismay. "Still, it didn't help that
Grandpa Mushin was determined to have us marry and start a chain of temples. Grandpa
wouldn't hear of it though."

Miroku rubbed the back of his head with a laugh. "Your Grandpa never really did take a shine
to me, did he?"

Inuyasha looked back and forth between Miroku and Kagome, finally turning a disgusted
sneer on Miroku. "I knew you were a lech from our college days, Miroku, but this is even
worse than I thought. You didn't ever actually do anything with him, didja Kagome?"

"Of course not!" Kagome snapped, causing Inuyasha to flinch, and Rin couldn't help but
giggle. Looks like Inuyasha is already well-acquainted with Kagome's fits of pique. But if he
had agreed to go out with her again even knowing that, then he couldn't be a terrible person.

Miroku put a hand to his heart, a long-suffering expression on his face. "You wound me, my
friends. Taking a childhood joke and twisting it around to make me out to be some sort of
pedophile."

Most of the table gave him disbelieving looks. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, none of this
tells me anything about Rin-chan's mystery man—"

"Actually," Kagome interrupted, reaching for her purse and digging through it beneath the
table, "there's a reason Inuyasha and I wanted to gather you all here tonight. And that's to
announce—"

She stopped digging and grabbed Inuyasha's hand, holding both of theirs up so the table
could see the diamond ring glittering on her finger.

"—We're getting married!"

Rin's mouth dropped open. Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka squealed, jumping up from their seats to
tackle Kagome with hugs. Sango gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, while Miroku and
Shippou gave Inuyasha surprised looks.

"Congratulations, Kagome!" Sango said, reaching across the table to clasp Kagome's hands.
"Let me see that rock." Kagome held up her hand for closer inspection, and Rin also leaned in
to take a look. Sango whistled and looked up at Inuyasha. "Someone sure knows how to treat
his girl nice."

Miroku leveled a look at Sango. "And what are you implying, Sango dear? Not all of us can
be heirs to corporate conglomerates. Some of us come from more humble backgrounds that
stress letting go of material desires."
"Says the salesman who goes out of his way to convince people to act on material desires
they don't have to begin with," Sango rejoined.

Rin ignored them as she stared at the band of silver twisted on her sister's finger. She didn't
know anything about diamond sizes, but at a quarter the size of her thumbnail, it winked at
her like a giant spotlight, and her heart constricted a little.

She knew she shouldn't be jealous. After all, she was going to have children, which was just
as great a milestone in life as marriage. But knowing that her sister would experience all the
love and comfort a man could bring her in addition to one day having kids, and knowing she
herself might have had that with Sesshoumaru if things had gone differently—

Stop it, Rin. Be happy for her. You'll have your kids, and she'll have Inuyasha.

Rin plastered on a smile she hoped came across as genuine. "Congratulations you two." But
her darker feelings bubbled over just enough to push out the words, "I can't believe it. That
was so fast. I mean, I just met Inuyasha tonight, after all. And now he's going to be my
brother-in-law?"

There was an awkward beat of silence at the table before Miroku interjected, "Could it be we
actually have another pregnant lady at the table—oof!" he grunted. "Sango!"

"That wasn't me," Sango replied.

"It was me," Kagome answered, her face flaring red.

Inuyasha looked at her in something resembling alarm. "Kagome…you didn't accept because
you actually are pregnant, did you?"

"Oh my—argh! Don't you think I would have told you if that was the case, idiot?" Inuyasha
flinched. She took a deep breath and let it out in exasperation. "Let me spell it out for you,
just in case I wasn't clear: no, I am not pregnant. Geez! Like I would be that careless." She
sucked in a breath and looked over at Rin. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"You didn't say anything wrong," Rin answered quietly. It was true—she had been careless.
But it had been her choice, initially, to be so.

"S-So when's the wedding?" Eri asked, obviously trying to defuse the tension as she took her
seat again.

"Heh. I told Kagome we should just elope and be done with it, but she wants the whole
shebang, so we're getting married May 11," Inuyasha said.

"That's in only three months!" Yuka exclaimed. "How are you going to get everything
prepared in that time?"

"Well, we started planning two weeks ago, when Inuyasha asked me—" Kagome explained.

"Wait. Does our family know about this?" Rin interrupted.

Kagome blinked. "Um, yes. I couldn't exactly hide the ring from Mom and Grandpa all this
time—"

"And you didn't tell me?" Rin asked. This felt like their sex talk all over again. How long was
Kagome going to keep hiding things from her? Was this the price of her moving away?
Should she really just go ahead and move back to Tokyo before the babies were born just so
she could stop feeling left out?

"You weren't here, Rin, and I wanted to surprise you with everyone else here, that's all. I
asked the others to keep quiet for that reason."

"But you've been planning this major event, and I had no idea," Rin replied weakly. Kagome
had been helping her the whole past month planning for the babies, and she hadn't been able
to reciprocate at all. Rin felt sick at the thought.

"You have a lot on your plate right now, Rin. Actually, that's another reason we wanted to do
this so quickly. We wanted to make sure you could still have fun at the wedding. Once the
babies are here, you're going to be…distracted. And busy. You're my sister. I want you to
have fun at my wedding."

Tears welled in Rin's eyes. Why was Kagome accommodating her? It

was Kagome's wedding. She should have been doing what she wanted.

"A-Anyway, it turns out both our families are pretty traditional, so we're holding
the yuino next month," Kagome continued. A yuino was a meeting between the parents of the
bride and groom, where each family exchanged gifts for the new couple.

"Inuyasha's family, traditional? That's an understatement," Shippou remarked. "Do they know
about this?"

"I told my parents, if that's what you're gettin' at," Inuyasha sniped. "Actually, I'm bringing
Kagome over for dinner and to meet them this weekend."

"Wait, you haven't met his parents yet?" Yuka asked Kagome, eyes wide with shock.

Inuyasha leaned back in his chair. "It won't be a problem. My dad can't say anything against
our marrying anyway."

"Why's that?" Eri asked.

"Because Inuyasha's a love child," Shippou snickered, reaching for the last slice of baguette
in the basket nearest him.

Inuyasha hit him over the head again.

"I am not! My parents are legally married, and you know it." Seeing the curious but awkward
looks from Kagome's friends and Rin, Inuyasha sighed and said, "Look, it's not a big deal.
My dad's divorced and my mom is his second wife, that's all. What, you don't know anyone
like that?"
There were general murmurs of agreement around the table.

Then Shippou opened his mouth again. "Yeah, it'd be totally normal…if your dad didn't live
on the same estate as his first wife too."

With a growl, Inuyasha stood up, leaned across the entire table to grab a piece of bread from
the only partly full basket left, and then shoved it in Shippou's mouth. "Shippou, if you don't
shut your pie hole, I'm gonna—"

"Inuyasha, sit," Kagome hissed, yanking him so hard by his suit jacket that he fell back into
his seat.

"Wait, what? No offense, Inuyasha, but that is kind of weird," Eri said. Rin couldn't help but
agree.

"Look, it's complicated, alright? It all involves my jerk-wad older brother, and I don't
understand anything that goes on in that guy's head, so just drop it, okay?"

"You have an older brother?" Rin asked. She thought back over their conversation. "Does he
know you guys are engaged yet? Was he supposed to come tonight as well?"

"Ha! Fat chance. Like I'd even invite him," Inuyasha answered. "Not that he'd come if I did."

Rin's heart dropped. They must not get along very well. She hated to see siblings like that.
She loved her siblings so much—and missed the ones she had lost—that she couldn't ever
imagine purposely keeping them out of her life like that. Siblings were precious, after all, and
her babies were going to be lucky enough to be born with one right away.

Just then, the waiter reappeared with their food, laying out all the dishes before everyone. As
the waiter set Rin's steak tartar in front of her, the warm smell of meat drifted up to her nose,
and her stomach growled in anticipation. A soft egg yolk balanced on the edge of a cylinder
tower of chopped, raw beef and onions, drizzled with Worchestershire sauce.

"Itadakimasu," the table said in unison. Then Rin broke the egg yolk, watching it explode
over the steak tartar, coating it in gold. She brought the dripping beef to her mouth. Her
tongue slipped over the unfamiliar, slick texture, and her teeth felt strange gripping chewy
meat instead of tough meat.

But the raw flavor of bloody beef combined with the runny egg yolk was a tantalizing shock
to her senses, and she practically shoveled the food into her mouth.

"Nice," Inuyasha remarked sincerely, watching her eat. Sango glanced over worriedly from
time to time but said nothing.

Rin was so ravenous, she was the first one to finish her meal, making sure to scrape up every
last bit of egg yolk with the bits of beef. She rubbed her stomach afterwards, both out of
satisfaction and a motion she was getting used to as a way of communicating with her babies.

Are you happy now, darlings? Given how content her body seemed to be, they must have
been. Hopefully the feeling would persist and she wouldn't come to regret this decision later.
Throughout the rest of dinner, the table engaged in small talk and then moved onto drinks and
desserts as they waited for the National Foundation Day fireworks show to begin.

At one point, Sango said, "Oh, Kagome, were you still considering joining the Demon Slayer
Corps? I never heard anything from you after that convention, when you texted me."

"Uh, actually, I'm still not really sure, but I'd definitely like to learn more about using my
powers, if possible," Kagome answered.

"Come on, we could really use you on the team," Sango wheedled. "It's so rare to come
across someone with such strong spiritual power. I can only think of three in the whole
Corps, and they're all really famous. I'm sure you'd get paid a ridiculous amount just because
of that."

Kagome scratched her cheek. "Maybe eventually. We'll see. I'm a little engrossed in wedding
planning at the moment and figuring out next-phase-of-life stuff, so I'm not looking for a new
career right now."

"I understand. But be sure to let me know if you change your mind. I'd love to give you a
recommendation," Sango added.

Rin rubbed her stomach to try to ease her nerves. She had almost forgotten Sango was a
Demon Slayer. Kaede had given her more information about demons than she would have
had otherwise, but the ex-Demon Slayer hadn't been able to tell her much about half-demons.
Would Sango know anything more?

This seemed as natural a time to bring it up. But she had to act casual.

"So…anything new in the demon slaying world?" Rin asked, and the boys' end of the table
suddenly got very quiet.

"Oh, yeah actually. Did you know I moved out of combat and into research and
development?" Sango asked.

"Oh, no I didn't!"

"Yeah. While I enjoyed patrols, I've just been feeling that…with young kids especially, it'd be
a little safer to be off the front lines. Demons do well at hiding, but when they get cornered,
they tend to go all out, and anything can happen, you know? I had actually gotten my
chemical engineering degree to work for the Demon Slayers in the first place, but you've got
to put in your service first before you can get a job behind the scenes. So now I work on
developing our supplemental weapons—things that can blind demons' heightened senses,
tranquilizers…that sort of thing."

"How interesting! R&D huh? So…is that all Demon Slayer researchers do? Develop
weapons?"

"Well, it's true a lot of our research goes into demon suppression tactics, but we also study the
demons we capture as well. A century and a half of live observation as well as corpse
dissection has given us so many things, like poison antidotes, materials for sturdier weapons,
and all that."

Rin's heart pounded, and she rolled the beads of her talisman bracelet tightly between her
fingers. This was it: the opening she had been waiting for. "Really? The Corps must have
come across so many types of demons, if that's the case. Actually, I've always been curious.
Has the Corps ever found a half demon?"

A sputter on the other side of the table drew their attention. Beer dripped off Inuyasha's nose
and mouth, and there was a wet spray across the white tablecloth.

"Whoa, Inuyasha, this isn't college. No need to try and chug!" Miroku laughed.

The seemed to snap Shippou out of his anxious-looking trance. "Haha, he's always been like
this. Swear he doesn't even taste what he puts in his mouth…."

"You okay?" Kagome asked, handing him a napkin so he could wipe himself. He did so and
then leaned over to whisper something in Kagome's ear while glancing at Rin. Kagome just
shook her head vehemently.

"I haven't, personally," Sango said, slowly turning back to regard Rin. "They're incredibly
rare, for obvious reasons. I think the Corp's run into them only a few times during its entire
existence."

"I see. So they're treated like demons then, even though they're half human?" Rin continued.

Sango shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Like I said, I've never heard of anyone coming
across one while I've been in the Corps. I know half-demons have some demonic aspects, but
it's apparently pretty hit-or-miss on how powerful they are. Depends on the type of demon the
parent is too, I think. I suppose it would be a case-by-case basis. But don't quote me on that."

Rin tried to keep her disappointment from showing on her face. How was it she had ties to
more Demon Slayers (or ex-Demon Slayers) than most people did, and yet she still couldn't
find out anything about half-demons?

Looks like we'll be figuring out how to fit you in this world on our own, little ones, she
thought, rubbing her belly.

Luckily, Sango didn't seem at all suspicious about why she had asked such a thing. Rin
congratulated herself on her fine acting skills and thanked the gods that her talisman really
did appear to be doing its job.

"Now Sango, enough about work," Miroku cut in. "Why don't you tell Inuyasha and Kagome
about our trip to Singapore last fall? They're still trying to decide on a place to honeymoon,
and I think that'd be a great choice."

With Sango's attention diverted, Rin excused herself to go to the restroom, and by the time
she returned, a new set of conversations were underway on each end of the table, neither of
which gave her a place to join in. Sango and Miroku had moved on to catching up with
Inuyasha, while Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka were giving Kagome pointers on what to do and not do
for her wedding.

Rin glanced around and saw that Shippou seemed to be in the same boat as she was. She felt
for him. At least she knew everyone else here; he only knew Inuyasha, which had to make
this dinner pretty awkward for him. Despite how forward he had been at their introduction,
she decided to overlook her discomfort and give him another chance. The seat next to him at
the head of the table was empty, so Rin went over and took that spot. He smiled at her when
she did.

"You looked lonely over here," Rin said.

"So did you. Hard to believe, given how many people are at the table, but it happens,"
Shippou answered. He leaned on his elbows towards her. "So, what sort of work do you do,
Rin?"

"I'm a perinatal nurse. I work with women who are giving birth."

"Oh wow, a nurse! You must be pretty smart then."

Rin shrugged. "I did well enough in school." Well enough to earn some scholarships that
helped drastically reduce her student debt to the point that she had already paid it off—a
blessing in light of the fact that all her money was now going to go into raising two children.
"How about you?" she asked.

Shippou adjusted his bowtie. "I'm in hotel management."

Inuyasha snorted next to him. He turned towards the two and said, "That's a fancy way to say
you're a concierge."

"Inuyasha, mind your own business," Shippou growled.

"Shoulda thought of that before you went airing my whole family history to everyone earlier,
shouldn't you?" Inuyasha growled right back.

"There's nothing wrong with being a concierge," Rin piped in, not wanting Shippou to suffer
yet another knock to the head this evening. "Are you aiming to manage the hotel you work at
someday?"

"Ha! That'd be nice. But as long as Inuyasha's brother is my boss, I don't see it happening,"
Shippou answered. "I'll just have to wait and see what happens, I guess." Inuyasha grunted in
agreement, but then Kagome pulled him back into another conversation.

Meanwhile, Rin was still digesting that bit of information. "Wait…you work for the
Nishikunis?"

"Yeah, I always have." He leaned in and whispered with a glance towards Inuyasha,
"Inuyasha's always looked out for me, and he hooked me up with the job. He's a good guy,
but don't ever tell him I said that."
Rin giggled as Shippou sat back, smiling in response to her laugh. Her heart started
pounding. Was this the opportunity she had been looking for?

"You don't happen to work for Western Sanctuary, do you?"

Shippou's face suddenly blanched. "W-Where did you hear that?"

Rin blinked, aiming for pure innocence. "Well, Inuyasha was going to take my sister there a
while back, and she told me about it."

"O-Oh, yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's where I work," Shippou said, loosening his bowtie.

Rin tried not to let the suspicion show on her face. Don't tell me…Shippou's a demon? She
wondered if she could get close enough to do the same inspection she had done on Inuyasha.
Rin leaned closer to him against the table, rubbing her lips together to bring some color into
them. She felt guilty about using Shippou's obvious interest in her against him, but she had to
know.

"Shippou, actually…I was wondering about something."

"Yeah?" he asked, leaning closer to her. Now her heart was pounding for a different reason.
She hadn't ever tried to flirt with a man, aside from Sesshoumaru. Of course, her attempts at
flirting really hadn't worked on him (or maybe they had, in retrospect, and he had just been
holding back his reactions until that final day when she went for pure seduction over
flirtation), so she wasn't sure how naturally they'd come off now. Would he be able to tell she
was faking it?

She looked over his face, but once again, she couldn't detect contacts or makeup. He didn't
wear gloves, and his nails were cleanly trimmed. No markings poked out from beneath his
sleeves or anywhere else she could see. Maybe she was over-thinking things. After all, if
Inuyasha's family was simply a bunch of demon sympathizers, it stood to reason that there
could be others as well, and it made sense they would work for the family.

Rin bit her lip coyly. "So, there's this person I want to find, and I think he was a gu—"

Just then, the lights to the restaurant dimmed, and a voice came over the speaker. "Dear
guests. Thank you so much for dining with us this evening. As a compliment to you for
spending National Foundation Day at Ginza Sky Lounge, our waiters are now coming around
to pass out our specialty Foundation Day cocktail on the house. We will cease the rotation of
the restaurant and will guide you over to the north face of the restaurant so that you may view
the fireworks tonight with ease. Happy National Foundation Day!"

Waiters spilled out of the kitchen and came by, handing out the drinks to everyone. Rin
accepted politely, and though she wasn't going to drink it, she held onto it to offer to whoever
might want it later. The waiter led their table over to the windows, where they all waited as
the restaurant was assembled and the lights dimmed even further.

Unsurprisingly, Shippou ended up next to her. "This is quite something, isn't it?" Rin asked.
"I've never done something like this for National Foundation Day."
"Yeah, we have a little celebration at the resort, but nothing huge like this. I usually have to
work though. Holidays are prime time for hotels."

"I'm surprised you were able to get the time off then," Rin said.

"Well, it helps when you're friends with the boss's brother," Shippou said with a wink.

Just then, some diners shushed each other and pointed out the window, where an arc of light
shot up into the sky.

"Oh, looks like it's about time," Rin said, turning to face the glass.

Cheers of "Happy National Foundation Day!" rang out throughout the restaurant just as a
splay of fireworks lit up the Tokyo skyline. Rin's eyes went wide as the crack of the fireworks
echoed across the city's buildings and even penetrated the inside of the restaurant.

"This is incredible!" Rin gasped, her face splitting into her first genuine smile of the night.

Apparently, Shippou noticed the difference. "You should never stop smiling," he said.

"W-What?" Rin asked, looking over at him.

"You're so beautiful when you smile, and seeing the fireworks dancing in your eyes—it's
simply breathtaking."

Rin was so floored by the compliment, she had to look away. She was no long a stranger to
having sweet nothings whispered to her, but it just didn't feel right that it
wasn't Sesshoumaru saying those sweet nothings.

Still…no one ever said you couldn't appreciate a compliment from another man, Rin told
herself. So she turned that smile back on Shippou and said, "Thank you, Shippou. That's
incredibly sweet."

"You won't be drinking this, will you?" he asked, gesturing to her full glass.

"Um, no. Do you want it?"

He grinned and took it from her. "If only to give you something more appropriate to hold."

Rin frowned in puzzlement, and with a flourish of his hand, Shippou appeared to pull a pink
rose out of thin air.

Rin gasped. "How did you do that? I thought you were a concierge, not a magician."

"It's just a simple trick," he said, pressing the flower into her hands. "There, much better.
Now you could be the goddess of spring."

Rin blinked. "Oh, come on. Now you're laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" she giggled.

"I mean every word."

Rin swallowed thickly and returned her attention to the fireworks. But she remained hyper-
aware of the man next to her.

When the fireworks were over, the restaurant turned the lights back on, and while some
people went back to their tables, many others continued milling around the window, chatting.

Shippou cleared his throat, drawing her gaze back to him. She noticed then that they were
fairly separated from the rest of the group. When had that happened? "So, I was wondering…
could I get your number?"

A guy had never asked for her number before. Under normal circumstances, she would have
declined, because as charming as Shippou was, she just wasn't interested.

But if he could potentially get her information about Sesshoumaru….

"Sure," Rin said. He pulled out his phone, and she rattled off her digits.

"There. I've sent you a text, so you have my number. Don't be a stranger, okay?" he said.

"Sure thing," Rin answered automatically, her heart twisting in guilt. I don't have to string
him along for long, do I? How far do I have to go to ask if he can look up Sesshoumaru in
their guest register for me?

Should she just get it done and over with and ask him now? Then she could ignore him, and
she probably wouldn't have to see him again except for the wedding.

"Actually, Shippou, I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Rin said, putting a hand on
his arm, hoping that might make him more amenable. Or flustered. Whatever she could do to
get him to agree to break some security laws for her.

"What do you need? I'll try to help if I can!"

"Well…I don't know. I'd be asking you to do something sneaky, and I feel bad about that."
She squeezed his arm a little.

"What kind of sneaky? I don't mind sneaking around." The way he said the words made Rin's
ears burn, because she knew she wasn't imagining the double entendre. "I've also been known
to pull a prank or two," he added with a wink.

"I wish it was just a prank. Actually—"

Kagome was suddenly at her side, pulling her away. "Hey Rin, come on! I've been calling
you for the last minute. Everyone's leaving. Let's go!"

"Oh! Um, alright," Rin said. She looked back at Shippou as Kagome tugged her along. "I
guess we're going."

"I guess so," he laughed, following after them. "But what was it you wanted me to do?"
Rin glanced back at Kagome and then whispered to him, "I'll text you later." She put on a
smile to sell, well, something to him.

Whatever she sold, he bought, because his grin only widened. "Yeah? Okay." When she
turned back around, she found her sister frowning at her.

"What's up?" Rin asked as they stopped at the table to grab their purses.

"We'll talk in the car," Kagome murmured.

That sounded ominous. "Okay…."

Of course, it was another fifteen minutes by the time they all made it down the elevator and
said another round of goodbyes in the parking garage, some promising to see each other
soon, and others saying they would see each other at the wedding.

"Talk to you soon, Rin," Shippou said, flashing another grin as he walked off with Inuyasha
towards a sporty Acura NSX. Inuyasha kissed Kagome goodbye and then looked at his friend
in disgust.

"Are you being serious, Shippou? Cut it out." The rest of their conversation was cut off as
they got into Inuyasha's car.

Rin and Kagome got into her car, and after pulling out of the parking lot, Rin said, "So…
marriage, huh? Sounds like you didn't hesitate this time."

"I didn't. This time, it felt completely right to say yes."

"That's good," Rin hedged, unsure of how exactly to bring up what she was thinking. She
didn't want to put a damper on what had been an overall lovely night, but it was going to eat
at her if she didn't say something, so she decided to just go for it. "It's just surprising is all. I
mean, you went out with Houjou for so long and said no, but then you go out with Inuyasha
for, what, six months, break up, and not three weeks after you're back together, you get
engaged? Are you sure your relationship is…stable enough for marriage? Especially having
the wedding so fast?"

"Look, Rin, he dropped a bombshell on me, and I didn't handle it well. I apologized, and you
know the rest. We never stopped loving each other. We hated being apart. That told me more
than anything that this was the right move. Besides, I've spent enough time waiting around
for something to happen in my life. I realize I have to make things happen." She turned to
look at Rin. "I understand you're worried for me, and I appreciate that. But just trust me when
I say I know what my heart's telling me."

"Alright, if you're sure," Rin said with a small smile. "I just…know what it's like to…live in
the moment, only for it not to work out like I imagined. I don't want the same thing to happen
to you."

Kagome reached out and squeezed her sister's hand on the steering wheel. "Thank you, Rin. I
mean that. Really. Although, speaking of seizing the moment, I know you're no longer
a total novice to romance, but…as someone who's been around the block a few times, I just
wanted to caution you about—"

Just then, Rin's phone trilled with her text notification. "Can you see who that is?" Rin asked.
She always answered her phone or texts when she could, just in case it was someone from the
medical center.

"Yeah," Kagome replied, digging Rin's phone out of her purse. She held it up and turned on
the screen.

"Oh, hell no," Kagome said.

"What? What is it?"

"You gave Shippou your number?" Kagome practically screeched. "Rin, this is exactly what
I'm trying to tell you! You're so naïve, you're just going to give your number to any guy who
asks! I know the idea of raising twins alone is frightening, but you can't just latch onto the
first guy that comes around—"

"Okay, first off, I'm not that naïve, Kagome. I knew exactly what I was doing when I gave
my number to him. And second, I am not latching onto anyone. I was just being
friendly!" And trying to pump him for information, but Kagome can't know that.

"Uh huh. You knew what you were doing so well the first time you hooked up with a guy that
you got knocked up!"

Rin's mouth dropped open. "I knew it. I just knew you all were secretly judging me for that."

"Well, it's kind of hard not to, Rin. You're supposed to be this smart, responsible, healthcare
worker, and you didn't even hesitate to practice unsafe sex!"

"I just told you I got caught up in the moment, and you were so understanding then. What's
happened in the last minute?"

"What's happened? What's happened is that your flirtation with Shippou tonight went way
further than I thought."

"And so what if it did? It's none of your business, Kagome!"

"I'm making it my business. All he wants to do is get in your pants, Rin!"

Rin scoffed. "No man in his right mind would want to get into the pants of a woman pregnant
with another man's baby."

"Some men aren't exactly picky, sis. Like Shippou, for instance. He has four girlfriends."

"Wait, what?" Rin squawked. "I mean, I know he's a flirt, but…four?"

"I heard it straight from Inuyasha, who's the only one Shippou's ever told."
"But…how does he juggle them all and keep them a secret?"

"Don't ask me! I don't even want to know. All I know is that my little sister will not be the
fifth girlfriend!" Kagome said, and her fingers zipped across Rin's phone, unlocking it.

Dang it, I still haven't changed that password, Rin thought. "Kagome, wait, what are you
doing?"

"Saving you from making any foolish decisions. I don't care how horny a baby-mama you are
right now—you are not hooking up with Shippou. You get attached way too easily."

Rin's mouth dropped open. "T-That is not the reason I gave him my number!"

"Well, you sure as heck weren't interested in him for real. Even I could tell that much. So I
can only guess you're feeling deprived. Regardless, Shippou just can't take a hint, so he fell
for your awkward smiles." She started tapping a text on Rin's phone.

"Wait, what are you typing? Kagome, stop!" Rin said, weakly reaching over to try to grab the
phone while still keeping her eyes on the road.

Kagome just turned out of reach. "Four…girlfriends…really?!" she mumbled as she typed.
"And…send. And…contact blocked."

"Kagome, wait! I'm not trying to sleep with him or string him along—I just need to know—"

"And message deleted…and contact deleted," Kagome said with a "hmph" for good measure.
She tucked Rin's phone back into her purse.

"Kagome! How could you do that?"

"Trust me; no good can come of associating with that flirt, Rin. Don't get me wrong—
Shippou's super sweet, and he's a great friend, but he's as bad a womanizer as Miroku was.
And worse: he's craftier. Because he actually gets away with it, whereas Miroku tried too
hard and just ended up notorious. You'll thank me. And I'm betting he'll back off at the
wedding once he actually sees how pregnant you are. Guys totally shy away from baby
bumps. You weren't really showing tonight, so I think that's why his guard was down."

Rin twisted her hands over her steering wheel in a death grip. She couldn't believe it! She had
been this close to being able to get someone to find Sesshoumaru for her—and her sister and
just destroyed her chances in four taps!

Rin took deep breaths, hardly listening as Kagome prattled on in her self-righteous way.

It wasn't a huge deal. Shippou was going to be at the wedding. It was only three months
away. Since she couldn't ask Inuyasha to do this for her—not without Kagome finding out
and questioning why she had lied about meeting her mystery "Swede" at Western Sanctuary
—she would corner Shippou at the wedding and ask him point-blank to do this favor for her.
No more pussy-footing around.
 And if even he wasn't able to find anything…then she would finally give up on ever seeing
Sesshoumaru again. Even so, her heart tore at the thought.

Chapter End Notes

So the OG gang's all back together again! I hope you enjoyed this little chapter of fun
(and I hope it was indeed at least somewhat fun). And I know, I know—you're ready to
kill me for being such a tease with people finding out about Sesshoumaru and Rin's
relationship, but I promise I won't string you along for too much longer! We're getting
VERY close. Hang tight.
 Marital Expectations
Chapter Notes

Hey everyone! To my fellow Americans, Happy (belated/observed) 4th of July!

Speaking of national holidays…it's confession time: I didn't realize Japan didn't
celebrate Lunar New Year like most other East Asian countries. That's my bad. I should
have double-checked. However, the country does celebrate National Foundation Day on
Feb. 11, which is just a smidge later than when I had planned for last chapter to be on
the calendar. I have gone and revised the last chapter to reflect this realization. Nothing
critical changed—it just shifted the current timeline up a little bit, so don't feel pressured
to reread it.

Also, wow guys, I'm sorry. I totally didn't mean to make last chapter feel so heavy, and I

work cut out for me to make you like her again, haha.
help…?
😅
really wasn't expecting all that intense hate to come Kagome's way. Now I've got my
Maybe this chapter will

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sesshoumaru parked his McLaren in the garage at the family estate in Tokyo. The garage was
a massive structure that had been built on the land several decades after the estate itself, given
how gasoline automobiles hadn't been invented when they first started residing there. A
veritable museum of cars rested inside, from the very first his father had purchased—the
1917 Mitsubishi Model A, only twenty-two of which had been produced—to the European
and American sports models that he, his father, and brother now favored for their speed and
smooth driving, which was the only way they could feel like they were running without
restraint or flying again outside the boundaries of the sanctuary.

Jaken opened the passenger door of the sports car and slipped out of his booster seat. He
pulled back his hoodie and ripped off his kids' Transformers mask, grumbling as he usually
did about the indignities of having to wear such a thing while riding. Despite all the family
vehicles being tinted, the Nishikunis did not want to risk casual sighting of Jaken's imp face
from police stops or any other stray incident. Just as Sesshoumaru had to drive disguised as a
human, so too did Jaken have to ride disguised as a playful, human child.

Also, it was more dignified than being shoved into a dog kennel, with which Sesshoumaru
had threatened the imp on more than one occasion.

Jaken tailed Sesshoumaru as he walked through the garage, where the dog demon noted that
all of the family's daily-use vehicles were parked. It wasn't a surprise that he was the last to
show up, since he worked outside the city now and they did not.
He hung his keys on the custom rack by the door that boasted over two dozen hooks labeled
with each car the family owned and then exited the garage onto the family grounds. Ancient
trees lined the fence, enclosing the several-acre estate. They had lived on this land long
before it became incorporated into the Tokyo metropolitan area. Now, it was a rare, green
oasis in the concrete-and-glass jungle that the city had become—and the family paid the price
for the location in astronomical property taxes.

As with Western Sanctuary, one of the bat demon clan's barriers protected the estate from
prying eyes, projecting a static image of the grounds, so that nothing demonic appeared on
satellite surveillance, drone image captures, or any other stray photos and videos.

Sesshoumaru took the familiar stone path from the garage through manicured lawns and
gardens to his and his mother's house, a modest affair compared to her now-destroyed palace
in the sky, but large enough for the two of them to live together without having to be
constantly on top of each other. He could only take so much of his mother's presence, after
all.

The home still had its original, traditional Japanese façade, but like the resort, it had been
renovated inside over the years as new technology became available. One of his mother's best
such renovations had been having the walls of the building soundproofed in the 1970s. It had
helped to cut down on the growing noise of the metropolis as the world grew louder—but her
real reason had been so that she would no longer need to worry about potentially overhearing
Touga and Izayoi in the midst of their lovemaking across the estate. Sesshoumaru had been
equally thankful for the innovation.

He slid open the front door and removed his shoes in the foyer before stepping onto the
pristine, waxed, wooden floors of the hallway. He passed by the living room on the way to
his bedroom and noticed his mother lounging on her divan, her head resting on a propped up
arm as she gazed at nothing in particular. She was dressed in one of her classic magenta and
white kimonos, her fur drooping through the crooks of her elbows. Their family preferred to
wear traditional clothing when at home—centuries of habit everyone had yet to break. When
he stopped in the doorway, her golden eyes flicked over to him.

"Mother," he said in greeting.

She looked down at her silver wristwatch. "You're cutting it close, Sesshoumaru. You still
need to fix yourself up before dinner. Your father insisted on dining casually."

It would be a relief to wash the makeup from his skin. Despite having worn it for decades, he
still hated the smell.

"Did he give you a reason for this sudden 'family dinner'?" he asked. His father had only told
him to make sure to be here by 18:00 and to come "casually"—in other words, without his
human falsifiers. But he wouldn't say why he wanted the family to come together. It was
assuredly rare, since their families tended to keep to themselves most times.

"You know as much as I do," Inukimi answered. "Now hurry up. I don't want to be late. It's so
gauche."
Sesshoumaru went to his en suite bathroom, tossed aside his gloves, and pulled out his
contacts and tooth veneers before washing his face. He slipped the tie out of his hair, letting it
fall free as he preferred. He only kept it in a low ponytail because it helped him blend in
better as a man with long hair in the modern era.

He exchanged his suit for his favorite white kimono and hakama combination, and his body
immediately relaxed, free of the constraints of the tight, Western clothing. When he walked
back to the living room, he found his mother waiting for him in the hallway.

"Have a pleasant dinner, Sesshoumaru-sama, Lady Mother," Jaken said, bowing as they
passed. He too had changed into traditional clothes.

The dog demons left the house wordlessly, walking across the family compound to Touga and
Izayoi's home, a similarly designed structure on the other end of the estate.

They entered the home without bothering to announce themselves, since the families had a
standing open-door policy for each other. At once, the familiar scents of his father, Izayoi,
and Inuyasha filled his nose, along with only a slightly familiar one.

Ah. Her.

His mother frowned in confusion. "A guest?" she asked.

"So it would seem," he answered.

"How curious. Your father said this was a family dinner."

Apparently, Kagome was now considered "family."

As they walked the familiar hallway to the dining room, the conversing voices inside grew
clearer.

"Remind me about your family, dear. Inuyasha doesn't tell me much. For instance, how many
can we expect from your side?" Izayoi asked.

"Well, there's my mother and grandfather as well as my younger brother, his wife, and my
little sister. And soon I'm—no, we're going to have two nieces or nephews. I'm so excited!
I'm going to spoil them rotten. Be prepared, Inuyasha. I plan to babysit as often as I can."

"Ah, that's right," Touga said. "Inuyasha did mention that was the reason you wanted to hold
the ceremony sooner rather than—"

"Aww, hell no, Dad," Inuyasha interrupted. "Why are they here? I said I just wanted this to be
a casual family dinner."

"This is a casual family dinner, son. They're family. That's why they're here."

"Umm…who are you talking about?" Kagome asked just as Sesshoumaru slid the door to the
dining room open.
Four pairs of eyes turned to look at him and his mother. His father's golden eyes and blue
markings were on full display. He was dressed in a similar white kimono and hakama outfit
to Sesshoumaru, while Izayoi wore a splendid floral pink kimono. Inuyasha's ears were out in
the open, and his amber eyes glared at Sesshoumaru; he boasted a red haori and hakama
outfit.

Sesshoumaru's gaze flitted over to Kagome, who had apparently gotten the memo to dress
traditionally, as she wore a patterned green and white kimono. Her lips flipped from a
surprised "o" into a smile as she stood up. "You must be Sesshoumaru and Inukimi! Pleased
to meet you. My name is Kagome Higurashi," she said, bowing to them.

Sesshoumaru's hand clenched on the doorway. "Father, what is the meaning of this?" he
asked with a frown. Kagome's expression faltered.

But his mother answered before Touga could. "If you took a moment to look at your
surroundings, son, it would be obvious. Or did you miss the diamond on her finger?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes zeroed in on the gem that glinted from the overhead light. He turned an
accusatory look on Inuyasha. "You asked her to marry you?"

"Yeah, what of it? It's not like I needed your permission," Inuyasha groused. Kagome bit her
lip and quietly sat back down, averting her eyes from the newcomers.

"Well, this should be interesting," Inukimi intoned, striding into the room and sitting at the
other head of the long table, opposite Touga. "Don't keep us waiting and come sit,
Sesshoumaru." She promptly turned to Kagome, who sat on her left. "So, when is the
wedding?"

"May 11," the human answered.

That fast? Sesshoumaru had been caught so off-guard, he couldn't move from the doorway.
He didn't understand. Hadn't they just gotten back together? Now they were suddenly getting
married? It was all so quick.

But, admittedly, not as quick as his relationship with Rin had been.

His heart thudded. This shouldn't be a surprise. Inuyasha did say he would ask her to marry
him once she overcame her shock. Frankly, he had forgotten all about that, since the couple
had been separated for three months.

Had Inuyasha made clear all the sacrifices she would be making by joining their family? If
so, this was an opportunity to learn and perhaps…revisit his decision about Rin.

Assuming he could even find her. Assuming she deigned to take him back. Assuming he
hadn't destroyed all her trust in him.

Those worries dampened his hope, but the ember of them that remained was the single thing
that propelled him to the table to sit on his mother's right, with Kagome across from him and
Izayoi on his other side.
The servants came in to serve their meal, and as they were pouring the first round of sake
around the table, Inukimi glanced at the bottle. "Juyondai Ryusen Junmai Daiginjo? My, my,
you are treating us tonight, Touga." She picked up her cup and sniffed it. "Mmm,
that is exquisite."

"Well, it's not every day your son gets engaged," Touga answered with a wide grin.

"True. But if you're lucky, you'll get to experience it twice," she answered.

Sesshoumaru and his father sent her identical warning looks before Touga turned to the
couple and smiled while lifting his cup. "On that note, I'd like to a propose a toast. To
Kagome, who was able to look past prejudices and see the man within the demon."

Kagome blushed as the others raised their cups and answered, "Cheers," before downing their
drinks. Sesshoumaru, for his part, raised his glass a few centimeters but said nothing before
partaking.

Kagome then took the bottle of sake and gestured towards her future in-laws. "Please, let me
pour you both some sake, because really, I should raise a toast to you, Touga and Izayoi, for
raising such a fine son." She looked at Inuyasha lovingly. "I've never met anyone like him,
and I'm thrilled to know I'll be spending the rest of my life with him."

Sesshoumaru's heart clenched as she poured everyone another cup and they repeated their
toasting. He hadn't realized seeing their stupid-in-love, silly grins would bring him such pain
and bitterness. Their smiles were a glaring reminder of the ones that he had lost.

"The rest of your life," Inukimi echoed, swirling her finger over the edge of her cup. "Indeed,
what do you plan to do about that, Kagome?"

Kagome turned to her and blinked. "Pardon me? I'm…not sure I understand."

Inukimi's golden eyes cut into her. "I mean what is it that you do, dear? Your occupation?"

"Oh! I'm a priestess at my family shrine. I'm learning the ropes from my grandfather."

"I see. And did you plan to take over when he dies?" Kagome flinched at her bluntness.

"Inukimi," Touga hissed.

"It's a legitimate question, Touga," Sesshoumaru's mother continued, unfazed.

Kagome's brow twitched. "Well, yes, that was the general plan, although I certainly hope it
doesn't happen for many years yet."

"Of course not. But priests and priestesses generally reside at their shrines, do they not?"

"Yes…and I think I see where you're going with this, but I've thought about it. Inuyasha and I
will just find a place of our own for the meantime, somewhere between his workplace and
my home. I don't mind having to commute for a while. But when my grandfather does, ah…
pass on, I'm sure we'll have to move back into the house so I can take care of the shrine every
day."

Inukimi chuckled lowly. "Oh my dear…may I offer you a word of advice? I see already that
you two need to work on your communication skills. Take it from me: a lack of
communication can be the end of a marriage," she said, eyes flitting across the table at Touga.

Touga snapped his sake cup in two.

"Dear," Izayoi whispered, nodding to the broken ceramic. He pulled his hand away, and a
servant rushed to replace it.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome demanded.

"I mean, dear, that Inuyasha knows perfectly well that you'll be living here, but apparently, he
hasn't told you yet."

"That's a rather bold assumption. I'll have you know that he did, in fact, make that offer, but I
told him I'd rather we had a place of our own. No offense, Touga and Izayoi—your home is
absolutely lovely—but…I think it would be better for our personal growth if we both stopped
living with our parents once we're married. I mean…I never even stayed in college dorms,
and I know Inuyasha has lived here since you built the place, so it would be good for us to
discover what it means to be independent."

Inukimi laughed again. "Oh my dear, but that's how it was always done! Why, it wasn't until
only recently—say, the last century or so—that children ever escaped the family compound!"

"I realize that, but this is the 21st century now. And I think we deserve a little space of our
own."

Touga cleared his throat. "Kagome, if you'd really like your own space, we would be happy
to build a new home on the property for you."

"Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to do that! We'll make our own way."

Throughout this entire exchange, Inuyasha had been completely silent and staring at his
plate. So he hasn't made everything clear to her, Sesshoumaru thought. Part of him felt smug
about this—validated, even—that he had been correct in assuming a modern woman would
chafe under his family's restrictions. The other part, of course, felt like both his heart and his
ember of hope had been stomped on and snuffed out.

Sesshoumaru finally blurted out, "Inuyasha, tell her why you have to live here."

Inuyasha slammed his chopsticks down and sighed gustily. "Look, you're the last person I
want telling me what to do."

"Inuyasha, what's going on?" Kagome hissed.

"Look Kagome, they're beating around the bush about it, but the truth is…I kinda have to
stay here. For my safety. There's a barrier around the estate—"
"Oh, that! I was wondering what that was!"

Touga's eyes widened in interest. "You could sense that?" She nodded. "You must be a
powerful priestess indeed."

"Well, to be honest, I only recently learned about my spiritual prowess. But Inuyasha, you
should have told me. If I get some proper training, I should be able to put up a barrier for us
around our new home—"

"Tell her the other reason, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru interjected, picking at his meal.

Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome…I appreciate you wanting to help, and I'm totally supportive of
your desire to live on our own…but signing a rental contract or buying a home would just
create more paper trails. We try to keep as few properties as possible for that reason. That and
nosy neighbors. We stay here because we don't have any."

"Oh. I see," Kagome answered in a subdued voice.

Seeing Kagome up close like this, she looked so much like Rin that Sesshoumaru could just
imagine his mate being in the same spot, her eyes losing their vitality as she realized what
exactly she would have to give up to be with him. The image brought back all the pain he
carried when he had left her by that godforsaken roadside.

It was Kagome's obvious disappointment that snapped the restraint Sesshoumaru had had
thus far.

"Did either of you even think this through?" he spat. "Inuyasha, have you told her
about any of the sacrifices she'll have to make?"

"Sesshoumaru, stay out of this—"

"Sesshoumaru," his father said in a low, soft tone, but one that still cut through Inuyasha's
threat. "This isn't the time."

"This is the time, Father. Obviously, Inuyasha has once again kept her in the dark." He said
the words purposely, knowing that Kagome's condition for taking back up with Inuyasha had
been complete honesty.

Apparently, however, Kagome didn't take the bait. "Look, I realize marriage is no cakewalk,
and I'm aware marrying a half-demon will be difficult, but I am fully committed to this
relationship, Sesshoumaru."

"Is that so? Then let us begin with something simple. How many social media accounts do
you have?"

Kagome looked puzzled at the change in topic. "Well, all the basics, I guess. Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LINE—"

"And how much time each day do you spend on them?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

Sesshoumaru smirked, feeling avowed. "That much? Well, at least you'll recoup a lot of your
free time with this marriage, since we cannot have social media accounts."

"W-What now?" Kagome murmured.

"Did you not find it strange that Inuyasha has no internet presence?"

"I mean, yeah, I did, but some people are just like that—"

"Some people are like that. All demons are like that. There can be no photos, no public
messages—nothing that can be traced back to us. Do you understand?"

Kagome flinched. "O-Okay. Yeah, I get it. It'll take time…but I can wean myself off it. Sure.
No problem." But she looked a little sick at the thought. Then something seemed to hit her.
"Wait, does that mean…we can't even have photos of our wedding? My family will find that
very strange, if so."

The table went silent. Touga finally answered in a careful voice, "Photos are a dangerous
thing for us, Kagome. The more that are out there…the more chances we have of being
discovered, since they exist in perpetuity. Especially nowadays, with everything being
digital."

"But who's going to know what you are aside from us and any demon guests? You disguise
yourselves every day already. And I can hardly stop all the guests from taking photos on their
own phones—they would all find that very strange."

"Yet another reason why a human-demon marriage in this day and age is impossible,"
Sesshoumaru added.

Touga cut him a dark look. "A ceremony and a party do not define a marriage, Sesshoumaru.
There are hurdles to overcome, yes, but…I may have an answer. I know an old demon who
might be willing to help. He's dabbled in many art forms over the centuries, and I'm sure he
would have taken up photography—for landscapes, if nothing else. Kagome, if you can
consent to asking the guests to refrain from taking their own photos, I would feel better
knowing we had a demon as a photographer—one who will know whom to avoid when
capturing a photo or, if it is unavoidable, will be able to blur backgrounds and make only the
humans stand out. I do not foresee much human-demon intermingling at the reception, aside
from our immediate families, but if the photos of us will only stay within our families…I
suppose I can acquiesce in this instance."

Kagome beamed. "Of course! Thank you, Touga. I just want a reminder of that day that we'll
be able to look at in the years to come, when I'm old and gray. Something our children will be
able to look at as well."

"It certainly is a magnificent age to have that be possible," Izayoi chimed in. "The best we
were able to have was an ink painting portrait." She looked at Touga with a smile. "Not that I
don't love it still, but if we could have had photographs at the time so we could look back and
see the differences that have occurred over the centuries, that would be fascinating."

"Do you still have this painting? May I see it?" Kagome asked excitedly.

"Certainly, dear," Izayoi replied. "I'll take you to see it after dinner."

While they had moved on, Sesshoumaru was still stuck on something Kagome had said
earlier.

When I'm old and gray.

Did she not realize that Izayoi's life had been extended? She must have—Izayoi had made no
secret of what time period she came from. But had Inuyasha not thought to ask their father
how he had managed such a feat? Or had he already asked and it was impossible?

Sesshoumaru hesitated to voice aloud the question. On the one hand, if he never knew, he
wouldn't be tormented with the idea that he could have Rin forever, if he only went and found
her.

On the other, if he did know and it wasn't possible…would that be worse?

Apparently, however, his mother was thinking along the same lines but did not share his
reservations. "I'm curious, girl. You seem to believe you are going to age normally. I
commend you for it, of course—humans shouldn't get greedy. But you are literally sitting
across from a 700-plus-year-old human woman, and you didn't think the same fate might
befall you?"

Kagome bit her lip, looking back and forth between the two other women at the table. "It's
not that I didn't notice or wasn't curious. Inuyasha and I have talked about it. I just…didn't
want to get my hopes up."

Inukimi's brows rose in surprise, and then as if something clicked, she said, "Ah, I see. It's
because he's a half-demon, isn't it? He might not have the instinct, I suppose. Or the power."

Sesshoumaru frowned. Instinct? Power? Was that all it took? Did his mother know how
Izayoi's life had been extended?

"I have damn well enough power, and you know it, Inukimi," Inuyasha snapped, slamming
his hand down on the table.

She chuckled. "Is that so? And yet here she is, engaged in purely human terms and still quite
mortal. But your scent is all over her, so you cannot tell me you haven't been intimate."

Kagome's face flushed. "His what is all over me?"

Inuyasha growled. "It's none of your business when or how we—!"

"Oh, when. That makes sense, I suppose. You did keep your demon self a secret from her for
so long. But not even once since then? Or do you still wait for the new moon?"
"Butt out, you old ha—"

"Enough," Touga growled. "Inukimi, can't you see you're making Kagome uncomfortable?"

"I'm only making an observation, Touga. But as you wish, I shall say no more."

Sesshoumaru clenched his hands in frustration. He had hoped they would keep talking and
reveal the secret on their own without him having to ask. He didn't want to betray that
curiosity. It would be far too strange coming from him. But if he could loop the conversation
back around naturally….

"Say you do have the power, Inuyasha," he blurted out, and the entire table turned to face
him. He didn't know what "power" exactly this entailed, but he would use his mother's
language. She seemed knowledgeable enough. He turned to face Kagome. "Have you
considered the consequences of a near-immortal life?"

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Your vocation as a priestess at your family shrine. You wouldn't be able to continue it
forever."

"True…but I suppose that I would be able to try out other sorts of jobs then. That's the beauty
of having time."

"Except that human jobs leave paper trails. So you would simply be restricted to working at
Nishikuni Corp. for the rest of your life. Or perhaps going undercover as a Demon Slayer.
Could you live with that?"

"I—"

He didn't give her a chance to finish, his pent up emotions forcing out all the thoughts that
had swirled in his mind for months. "And will you be able to give up your family, who would
otherwise notice that you never age? Could you watch as your family shrine is sold to
someone else one day, when your siblings' descendants don't want it?"

"Don't listen to him, Kagome. I'd buy it for you through a third party, if that's what you
wanted," Inuyasha said.

"That is not the point, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru snapped. "The point is: do you realize how
selfish you are being by condemning her to this sort of existence?"

"Hey, who are you to talk about being selfish, Sesshoumaru? Besides, last I checked, I'm the
one with the human mother, and seems to me she's coped with this life just fine," Inuyasha
rebuked.

"Your mother and Kagome are nothing alike!" Sesshoumaru barked. "Not least of which your
mother comes from a completely different era. She was raised to accept living locked away
like a prized heirloom. Your modern fiancée won't be able to handle it."
"Who are you to say what I can and can't handle?" Kagome retorted. "You don't even know
me!"

"I don't have to know you. I just have to know the world you grew up in. And that world is
the one that is currently most dangerous to our kind but best-suited for yours."

"Sesshoumaru, that's enough," his father said in a soft voice, but it lacked the vehemence he
had leveled at Inukimi earlier. Sesshoumaru looked over and found his father staring
pensively at the dish in front of him. "Every marriage has its individual struggles. No two are
alike. I can personally vouch for that. Yes, Sesshoumaru, they still have some problems to
work out, but now is not the time. We came together tonight to celebrate, not denigrate."

"Father, if not now, then when is the time? After they are married, possibly mated, and stuck
together?" Sesshoumaru glanced at Kagome. "Or has Inuyasha failed to explain that to you as
well?"

"I am well aware of what mating is," Kagome answered in a low voice, her brows furrowed.
"And if you really must know, Inuyasha wants to wait until our wedding day to attempt that,
and I've agreed. Why are you so determined to think the worst of him, Sesshoumaru? Yes, he
hid a lot from me at first, but I understand why he did it. Was it difficult for me to accept
initially? Sure. But how would you feel if one day the person you thought you just might
spend the rest of your life with suddenly turned out to be a different species? It's not
something you can just cope with in a few minutes."

Sesshoumaru gripped his knees, hating how each of those words hit his heart like an arrow.
He had known from the start that Rin was human, but he still allowed himself fantasies where
they might spend eternity together. And if his near-nightly masturbations in the shower were
any indication, he still hadn't coped with her loss.

Kagome wasn't done however. "But after we got back together, he's been very honest with
me. Maybe not completely transparent—I think tonight has shown me that—but I'd like to
think it's because he's willing to put his safety on the line, just to make me happy." She
reached over and took Inuyasha's hand, smiling at him. "Am I right?"

Inuyasha's cheeks pinked, and he glanced away from her. "Don't go makin' me out to be all
noble and self-sacrificing or somethin'. I just…wanted to ease you into this life. Figured a
few years of being more…public…wouldn't make a real difference in the grand scheme of
things."

"I appreciate that, but I don't want you taking any huge risks just for my sake."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. He only had one card left to play. "But you'll risk her safety by
bringing her into demon society, now that Naraku has it salivating for human blood?" he
asked Inuyasha.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked, her eyes widening.

"Which is why I'd rather have her by my side to keep her safe," Inuyasha retorted, ignoring
his fiancée's question.
"You said yourself you feel Naraku has it out for you. Doesn't that place her in greater
danger?" Sesshoumaru rejoined.

That seemed to bring Inuyasha up short.

Touga sent a warning look to Sesshoumaru before putting a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"Son, don't let fear take away your potential for happiness. I'm elevating protection for your
mother too. Of course we'll make sure Kagome is safe." He looked up at Kagome then,
whose features had morphed into a combination of confusion and worry. "To make a long
story short, Kagome, a business…ah, associate of ours has decided to open a rival sanctuary,
where at the very least, he plans to serve human blood taken from the Red Cross."

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "That's despicable! Is there some way we can stop him?"

The way she said "we" so easily, like she was already including herself in this family, pricked
at Sesshoumaru's heart.

"We're looking into various solutions, yes. As sickening as taking donated blood is, I am
grateful he has not resorted to more…inhumane methods," Touga answered.

"Hmm, well, it's only a matter of time," Inukimi announced in a somewhat bored tone,
tracing the rim of her sake cup again.

"What makes you say that, Mother?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Because the blood he served at New Year's was only palatable, at best," his mother
answered. "Yes, it certainly took the edge off, but you could tell it had been chilled and
reheated. It can't compare with fresh blood, and I'm sure Naraku knows this. He'll hook them
with this bagged blood, which will work for a time, since everyone's so deprived, but then his
customers will demand better quality, and Naraku certainly seems the type to please."

Touga frowned. "You actually drank that swill?"

She looked over at her ex-husband. "Of course, Touga. Unlike you, I have no particular
attachments to humans coloring my palate. Besides, I knew none of you were going to
partake, so I figured someone had to do a little research on the competition."

Sesshoumaru then addressed Kagome. "Do you see now what he's getting you into?"

Kagome took a deep breath and then leveled him with an intense stare. "Okay, you've made
your point: I don't know all the ins-and-outs of marrying into a demon family, and maybe I
don't know all the right questions to ask, because I just can't imagine all the pain of hiding
that you've had to go through. But Inuyasha's promised to help me in any way he can to make
the transition as easy for me as possible, and he's promised to protect me. What more can I
ask for? Every single day, his life is already in danger; it would be hypocritical of me to walk
away from him just because I would have to put my life on the line too.

"And you know what, Sesshoumaru? I don't care if it is hard for me to cope, like you say it
will be. I would rather struggle every single day of my life to live in hiding than to go the rest
of my years without knowing or loving Inuyasha. I only wish you could feel one iota of what
I do, so you'd understand that these aren't just hollow words and that I mean every single one.
But if my convictions fall on deaf ears, well, that's not my problem."

There was a loud sniff to Sesshoumaru's right, and the whole table glanced at Izayoi, who had
pressed a napkin to her mouth, her eyes squeezed shut and tears flowing out. "I-I'm sorry, I
don't mean to break the mood, but…Kagome, as Inuyasha's mother, your words could not
make me any happier. I will be so proud to call you my daughter."

"Oh, Izayoi," Kagome breathed with a smile, her own eyes misting. She got up from the table
and walked around, hugging her future mother-in-law, who accepted her with a soft chuckle
and a kiss on her cheek.

That was the final straw for Sesshoumaru. He stood up from the table in silence and went to
the door.

"Son, where are you going?" Touga asked.

"They have made their point, Father. No matter the consequences, they intend to go through
with this marriage. Nothing I say will convince them otherwise."

He left then, heading straight back to his home on the other end of the estate. He hoped the
walk would clear his head of Kagome's words, which circled and stabbed at his heart,
like he should be guilty for caring so much about Rin's happiness and not wanting her to
struggle or suffer any more than she already had in her short life, but the silence of the estate
only deepened his introspection.

When he got home, he retreated to his study and sat behind his desk, ready to bury himself in
work so that he could distract himself from Kagome's accusations and the guilt that welled up
from the wounds where they hit.

Mere moments later, his mother opened the door to his office and took a seat on the other side
of his desk. They sat in silence for a moment. He did not want to speak to her right now—or
anyone for that matter—but if she had something to say, he knew she would not leave until
she said it.

Finally, his mother spoke. "You were awfully invested in your brother's relationship tonight."

"And you weren't?" he answered. "I recall you held your own Spanish Inquisition with
Kagome."

"Oh, I was just toying with the two to get a rise out of them. How they choose to bungle their
lives is no concern of mine, nor should it be of yours. And yet…you seemed quite concerned
for that girl."

"If I did, it was only because I am concerned what calamity she will bring to our family and
our ability to stay in the shadows," Sesshoumaru half-lied.
"Hnn," his mother responded, sitting back in her seat as if debating whether or not to believe
him. "Well, I suppose their little announcement will have an impact on you, so you have a
right to be concerned."

He finally glanced at her, frowning. "How so?"

"You cannot put it off any longer, Sesshoumaru. Now that your younger brother is getting
married, so must you."

Sesshoumaru huffed in annoyance and turned back to his computer screen. "This isn't the
Feudal Era, mother. Such antiquated notions of elder sons marrying before younger ones no
longer hold any water."

"That's not what I mean, Sesshoumaru. While predictable, it is nevertheless lamentable that
your brother chose a human for his intended. Despite his half-blood status, he comes from a
powerful, noble, demon family and would have sired a powerful mostly-demon child had he
chosen differently. Though it's a shame Tsukuyomaru has the same proclivities as your father,
even his girl, Shiori, would have been a better pick than this human. Instead, Inuyasha's
descendants will hold less and less demonic blood until it is but a drop and essentially wiped
out. So, my son, you are this family's last hope in continuing its demon lineage. In fact, it is
your duty as a pureblood."

"Again, your antiquated notions are lost in this day and age."

"Sesshoumaru, our kind is dying out. Do you not care that your own species is fading from
existence? What will you say when you are left alone at the end, the last of your kind, and
wondering what you could have done to prevent our demise?"

"Do not presume to place the entire fate of demonkind on my shoulders. There are other
purebloods out there who can do the same." He leveled a look in her direction, hoping she
realized the hypocrisy of her words, but she was inspecting her claws and didn't notice.

"And when every pureblood has the same answer as you? It is a collective duty,
Sesshoumaru. You must step up."

"Then why don't you step up, Mother, and do your duty? Last I checked, you were single
enough."

She looked up, and her eyes flashed red as she snarled at him. "I did do my duty,
Sesshoumaru. I had you. And what an ungrateful return I have gotten for it!"

I was a duty, was I? He didn't know why that thought made his heart squeeze. He knew his
parents' marriage had been one of convenience, but to actually hear those words from his
mother's own lips….

Inukimi sighed, resting her head on her hand. "Son, what do you have to lose?"

Nothing. Because he had already lost everything when he let Rin go.
But the thought of sharing his life—not to mention his bed—with another woman (and a
demon at that) made his skin crawl in a way it would not have six months ago. "You cannot
force me to wed, Mother."

"We shall see. Now then, where are those bridal profiles I gave you last month?"

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru barked.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" the imp asked, sliding into the doorway like he had been standing
outside the whole time, just waiting to be called.

"Where are these profiles of which my mother speaks?"

"You, ah, asked me to throw them out, milord."

Sesshoumaru smirked at his mother in triumph, even as she glared back at him

"F-Forgive me, sir," Jaken continued, "but the files looked important, and I knew your lady
mother had taken great pains to put them together, so I…kept them safe." The imp's voice
trailed off as Sesshoumaru's smile turned into a scowl. He pulled open a small, heavy drawer
of his desk that he kept stashed with rocks just for this sort of moment.

Inukimi, on the other hand, looked like she had just chased off a cat, and before Sesshoumaru
could throw a rock at Jaken's head, his mother said, "Well done, little demon. Now, go and
fetch them for us."

"Y-Yes, milady," Jaken squeaked, scampering out of the room.

"I've always had my doubts about your retainer, but he does appear to come in useful
sometimes," Inukimi noted with a satisfied smile, leaning back in her chair. Sesshoumaru just
ground his teeth and shut the drawer with more force than necessary.

Jaken reappeared moments later, juggling the thick set of files in his arms. He ran over and
handed them to Inukimi. "H-Here you are, milady."

"That will be all, little demon," Inukimi said. Dismissed, Jaken left.

"That will be all, mother," Sesshoumaru said, hoping the words had the same effect on her,
but of course, they did not.

"Hardly. I am not leaving your side until you have picked out a bride, Sesshoumaru. If I must
live with the indignity of your half-breed, younger brother marrying first, I will at least see
you engaged by the time of his wedding." She placed the portfolios in front of him. "Now,
these are the final options of my curated selection. I went through great pains to scour all of
demonkind for the best matches for you, son."

Sesshoumaru pulled open the first file, hoping to appease his mother enough that she would
leave him alone if he made a show of considering the choices.

Princess Abi.
"Really, Mother? The woman supplying our competition with ill-gotten blood?"

"Well, if you want to think about it from a strategic standpoint, by marrying her, you could
eventually cut off Naraku's blood supply, since it would become a conflict of interests for
her."

He tossed Abi's file aside without looking further. Strategic or not, he could only handle one
haughty woman in his life, and since he was stuck with the one who gave birth to him, he
would not willingly seek out another.

He picked up the next file, then frowned and turned it around so his mother could see. "Are
you serious, Mother?"

It was Touran of the Panther tribe.

Inukimi sniffed. "Yes, well, at this point in the game, Sesshoumaru, there aren't many options
left as far as purebloods go, and of the three female Devas, I thought she fit you best. Unless
you'd like one of the other ones? What were their names—?"

"Mother, they are from the panther tribe. Father's mortal enemies."

Inukimi waved his concerns away. "Pish posh. The days of mortal enemies are well and truly
done. Business rivals, perhaps, but I haven't met a businessman yet who wouldn't sell his
mother—or daughter—for a good deal."

"The lion will lie down with the lamb well before the dog lies down with the cat,"
Sesshoumaru remarked, throwing the file onto the rejected pile.

"I can't say I blame you, dear."

He flipped open the next file. Kagura. Sesshoumaru fought the inclination to roll his eyes.

"Are any of these supposed to be serious candidates, Mother?" he asked, throwing down the
open portfolio.

Inukimi glanced at Kagura's picture. "Again, there could be some business strategy behind it,
but I admit it's a long shot. Honestly, I only put her in the stack because she seems rather
attached to you, which is more than I can say for any of the others. Trust me when I say you
want a partner who is loyal to you, Sesshoumaru."

"I would not be able to stand her stench. She reeks like Naraku."

"Very true, and I find that odd in and of itself. I understand family scent, of course, but this
goes well beyond that. After meeting all his children at the New Year's party, I concluded
they all have exactly the same smell. Suspicious, no? And isn't it curious that Naraku, whom
none of us had even heard of before fifty years ago, has all these children but no apparent
wife? It's possible she died, of course…but then, it's also possible she never existed."

"What is your point, Mother?"

"I'm saying he claims to be a purebred demon and says his children are the same, yet how
would it be that we would never have heard of him or his family, especially since the Meiij
era?"

Sesshoumaru tapped a bored finger on his desk and raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"My simple son, this man is the very definition of nouveau riche, meaning he has not been
alive as long as he claims, nor have his so-called children. In fact, I believe those children
were born from him and him alone. Demons may be a wondrous race, but even we must
adhere to the laws of biology. Unless you make a clone of yourself, it should be impossible to
create entirely separate beings from only one sex. That man is not at all what he claims he is,
and if he's lying about that, I don't want to think what else he's lying about."

"So you would rather I not marry Kagura," Sesshoumaru said to clarify. If so, then what was
the point of making her a candidate?

"Correct. However, if you insist on doing so, I will not stand in your way, since I know just
how stubborn you can be."

That was a double-edged truth if he had ever heard it. She would not prevent him, but she
would find some other way to punish him in the future. She would just bide her time and wait
for it.

He read through a few more, calmly rejecting them. Surprisingly, his mother did not
complain as the pile of rejections grew.

Suspicious.

He picked up the final file: Zero.

His frown deepened. "Did Zero agree to this?"

"She is willing, if you are," his mother replied.

"Why?" The woman had been lusting after his father since before Sesshoumaru was even
born. Their talk at New Year's had confirmed that she found him less charming than his
father, so why would she agree to consider marrying him?

She either means to make me a substitute for him…or she plans to use this marriage as an
excuse to get closer to Father.

"You know your father and Kirinmaru have long hedged around combining the might of the
East and West. Zero, it seems, has finally gotten on board with that sentiment."

Combining the East and the West…. He looked up and met his mother's golden gaze. Perhaps
there was a way to save himself from this horrid fate after all.

"Mother…if Kirinmaru is so inclined to join forces and you're so concerned about continuing
the pure line of demonkind, why don't you get remarried? You're still able to breed, are you
not?" He was sure he had smelled her in heat at some point in the last decade. "Why not ask
for Kirinmaru's hand? You two seem to get along well enough."

His mother's nostrils flared, which Sesshoumaru recognized as a sign of deep distress that she
tried not to let show. "Luckily, we are well out of the age when sons had to find new
husbands for their single mothers, so if you would please, Sesshoumaru, leave my
relationships alone and concentrate on your own, where you're having a difficult-enough
time."

Sesshoumaru frowned. Why wouldn't she give him a straight answer about that? She only
beat around the bush when something really bothered her.

"Kirinmaru is a romantic—perhaps more than even Father ever was. I suspect he would work
to make you happy."

Inukimi frowned. "He cannot make me happy, Sesshoumaru. Now, stop prying, son."

Just then, a simple but horrifying truth came to light.

"Mother…you're not waiting for Father to come back to you…are you?"

Inukimi was silent for several seconds as she held her son's stare. Neither blinked, knowing
the first to do so would back down.

In the end, Sesshoumaru won.

Inukimi looked away. "He already did once, didn't he?" she asked in a soft voice. "He came
back to make us a family again."

"A family? You call this twisted spectacle of playing house a family? We don't even live in
the same building. Yes, he felt responsible for looking after his son and, by extension, that
son's mother, who was still alone. But do not read more into than that."

"And what do you know of the bond between a male and female, Sesshoumaru? I advise you
to keep your opinion on such matters to yourself until you have more experience than I do.
And that will be a long time coming, from what I've seen. Besides, I can be patient. I knew
this would be a very lengthy game, but I intend to win it. Now, enough about me. What
is your decision, Sesshoumaru?"

But Sesshoumaru couldn't think after what his mother had just revealed to him. She wants
him back? Does Father have any idea? No, he can't—he wouldn't let her hold out such hope
for so long if he did.

He wasn't even sure if he wanted his parents back together. Touga and Izayoi had been a
couple for so long, Sesshoumaru had just accepted it as an unfortunate aspect to his life.
Nothing could change the fact that his father had once left his mother, had another son, and
lived with that family for centuries before deciding to bring the two halves of his life
together. Besides, Touga had left a mating mark on Izayoi. He would never be able to leave
one on Sesshoumaru's mother, meaning that he would never be as devoted to her as he was
his human wife.

And yet…Sesshoumaru could sympathize with his mother's inability to move on. After all, he
had only met Rin a few months ago, but the pull she had on him was just as strong as it had
been the day he left her.

Is this what I'm going to become? he thought, staring at his mother's troubled, slightly pouty
lip. Pathetically pining for someone the rest of my days?

He looked back down at Zero's profile, and another horrific realization reached him. That
makes us the same.

Zero was pining for someone she had never and would never have; he was pining for a
woman he could have had had but had let go.

Even so, one similarity was no reason to get married. Nor would he agree to. Not as long as
Rin was alive.

"…I need some time to think about this," he lied, hoping to send his mother off.

"Ha! Time to think or time to deflect and ignore? No, Sesshoumaru, your days of
procrastination towards your duty are over. I was not lying when I said Kirinmaru wishes for
an alliance between our houses—even more so in light of Naraku's new scheme. However,
the deeper truth of the matter is, Zero is not as young as she used to be. Like me, she has
fewer and fewer…opportunities for bearing children. Kirinmaru is desperate to see his sister
happy. He hopes that a child with your blood—and, by extension, your father's—will be
enough to give her some peace of mind and finally help her overcome this tragic love she
has. Zero, it seems, has also grown desperate enough to take this action. Therefore, you have
two choices, Sesshoumaru: if you do not come to this marriage willingly, Kirinmaru will call
in your father's life debt, asking him to hand over his son in marriage."

Sesshoumaru froze. The life debt had been a Damocles Sword hanging over his father since
the day of Inuyasha's birth. In truth, had Kirinmaru not ordered his puppet vassal, Riku, to
bring herbs and medicinal supplies to Touga that day, the dog demon general would have
perished from his wounds inflicted by both Ryuukotsusei and Takemaru. Although both beast
kings were well aware of the life debt Touga owed Kirinmaru, the Lord of the East had never
once hinted at calling it in, as far as Sesshoumaru was aware.

His mother continued, unsympathetic to Sesshoumaru's rising panic. "However, if you marry
her willingly, Kirinmaru has promised to completely forgive the life debt." And then, with a
smirk that indicated his mother knew her next words would be the icing on the cake, she
added, "This is something only you can do for your father, Sesshoumaru. He will never forget
it."

He sometimes forgot how cruel his mother could be, even to him. She knew how inadequate
and neglected he felt as his father's son, compared to Inuyasha.

But this was something Inuyasha couldn't do for their father.

What his mother didn't know, however, was that for the sake of staying true to Rin, he would
have given up on any desire to please his father. Although he had chosen not to be with her,
he could not bear to be untrue to her either.

Sesshoumaru clenched his hands. I could put a stop to this all right now if I just told her that
I am already mated.

Part of him wanted to believe that his mother loved him enough to want only his happiness
and that she would eventually accept that he had mated a human.

Another part of him feared that his mother was so frightened of their pure line dying out that
she would do anything in her power to find Rin and kill her, so as to clear that way for his
marriage to Zero.

Sesshoumaru had never wanted to die before, but right now, he was feeling very close.
Whether he cheated on his mate or accidentally unleashed his mother upon her and killed her,
he would be destroying his heart in the process.

He could not risk Rin's life.

But…he did not necessarily have to cheat on her either.

Right now, he and his mother were only discussing an engagement. She was not telling him
to get married as quickly as Inuyasha was. Who was to say he couldn't drag this engagement
out for a century, so that by the time he was forced to be with another woman, Rin would be
well and truly dead after having hopefully lived a full and happy life? Yet he felt conflicted,
because her death was something else he did not want to imagine.

Sesshoumaru looked back down at Zero's profile, a mixture of dread and resignation churning
in his gut. He hated coming in second to anyone, and bringing her into the family, where she
would be near his father every day, seemed unnecessarily risky. He could only imagine the
drama that would ensue.

However, if he was to be a substitute for his father…it was only fair that she be a (poor)
substitute for Rin.

If he thought of it that way, perhaps he could learn to sympathize better with the woman he
would one day share the rest of his life, and he wouldn't begrudge her so much for a choice
he felt forced to make.

"If this was your ultimatum to begin with, why even put on a show with the other
candidates?" Sesshoumaru asked, buying a few extra seconds as he gathered his courage
amongst the shattered pieces of his heart.

"My intent was never to punish you with marriage, Sesshoumaru. Whether you believe it or
not, I do care about your happiness. If you had seriously wished to marry another demoness,
your father and I could have made our excuses to Kirinmaru, citing a prior understanding
with the woman. But as I figured, you were uninterested, and so you are left with only one
option.
 "What you may not realize is that this is not a new discussion, son. Kirinmaru has hinted
about such an alliance to your father for decades now. But because of Zero's uncertainly, your
father was able to deflect on your behalf up to this point, giving you time to find someone on
your own. You have not, and now that Zero is ready, he can delay no more. So you see, in the
end, you do have a choice."

Not much of one. "Fine," Sesshoumaru spat, picking up Zero's file and tossing it at his
mother. "I will go through with this farce willingly, if only for Father's sake. At least the other
party knows exactly what she is getting into."

Inukimi accepted the file and met her son's gaze. "Don't be so grim, Sesshoumaru. She can be
rather boorish, but perhaps in time you can soothe over those feelings of hers. Who knows?
You might even come to get along and—dare I say it?— like each other. Perhaps one day,
she'll even become your mate."

"She will never be my mate."

"Never is not a word you should use in a life that's nearly forever."

Sesshoumaru refused to deign that with an answer. After all, his mother could not know that
his one and only mate was Rin, and that human woman would be the only one he would ever
desire.

Chapter End Notes

🍅
*Opens umbrella like a shield.* I'm prepared this time, guys. Bring on the rotten
tomatoes.
 The Web of Secrets Unraveling
Chapter Notes

So, I guess it's a good thing I didn't try to tack part of this chapter's contents onto last
week's (like I originally planned to), because I ended up writing what basically
constituted as half of this chapter at the last minute (you're welcome). But I'm much
more pleased as a result. Hopefully you are too. Anyway, I hope this helps soothe some
of you who were upset with Sesshoumaru for getting engaged and satisfies those of you
who were really upset at Kagome on Rin's behalf.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Between conversations from the disastrous family dinner replaying in his head and the news
that he was being forced into an engagement, Sesshoumaru discovered that not even work
could distract him from this sort of mental torment. So he did something he rarely did.

After taking a shower in an attempt to relax, he went to bed.

He knew he was unlikely to get any rest, since his mind was so active, but he also knew his
mood would be even fouler in the morning if he didn't try. So to try to lull himself to sleep, he
gave over to the most secret of fantasies he would never dare admit to having.

Inuyasha's engagement must have gotten under his skin more than he realized, because he
started imagining himself in his brother's place, proposing to the woman who was already his
mate. Part of him knew it was silly—he and Rin were already tied together for the rest of her
life with a bond that went deeper than some silly token of promise on her finger—but his
curiosity got the better of him.

He couldn't quite picture the ring he would give her. Rin didn't wear jewelry, so he didn't
know what her taste was, but he imagined it wasn't ostentatious and size wouldn't matter.
Inuyasha had gifted Kagome a sizeable diamond. If Sesshoumaru knew Rin would value it,
he would too, but something told him that even if it was the smallest, cheapest diamond out
there on the plainest of bands, she would appreciate the sentiment more than the actual ring
itself. However, Sesshoumaru still had his pride as a man (and a very wealthy one at that), so
he would simply have to compromise between her tastes and his desire to gift her with the
best money could buy, since it was only what she deserved.

Still, he couldn't imagine it.

In today's fantasy, he pretended he had told his family about Rin and that, somehow, his
mother had accepted it as a done deal and let him have his way. So he went on a weeks-long
mad hunt for Rin, stalking all the hospitals and medical centers in Tokyo, knowing only that
she was a nurse.
When he found her, she was just coming out from the hospital dressed in purple scrubs,
looking at something on her phone. He raced in front of her, and she nearly collided with
him, since he hadn't been there a second before.

"Excuse me—" she started to say, and then when she looked up at his face, her eyes widened,
her mouth dropped, and her phone slipped out of her slackened grasp. Sesshoumaru deftly
caught it for her.

Her next words to him weren't a scream or an accusation. This was supposed to be a pleasant
fantasy, after all. Rather, they were full of relief and amazement.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a breaking voice, and then he cupped her jaw in his
hands, and she allowed it because that was the kind of forgiving soul she was.

"I didn't want you to suffer by staying with me in my world," he answered.

"Silly. Don't you realize I suffered more away from you than I would with you?" she asked,
tears brimming in her eyes.

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Will you forgive me?"

She made a show of thinking it over. "I don't know…. I might need some convincing."

He leaned down and kissed her—softly, at first, before she wrapped her arms around his neck
and pulled him in deeper. Seeing that as permission granted, he parted her lips with his
tongue, delving back into the moist warmth that was his Rin that he had been denied for too
long.

When they came up for air, he asked, "Are you convinced?"

"Hmm, it's hard to say. I may need a second taste, so I can be sure."

"Or perhaps this will convince you," he said.

Sesshoumaru had never willingly knelt to anyone in his life, save for the times when he was
knocked down during sword practice or in battle. None were worthy of his respect to that
degree.

Except Rin. He would kneel for her and only her.

So he got down on his knee and pulled out a ring box, the contents of which he could not see.
"Will you stay by my side, Rin, now and forever?"

She gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock, and the tears
finally spilled down her cheeks. Finally, she pulled down her hands to reveal a beatific smile.
"Forever with this Sesshoumaru. I like the sound of that."
Then he slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her again.

Sesshoumaru's heart clenched, pulling him out of the fantasy. Was it making it better or worse
to imagine such things? Because a fantasy was all it would ever be.

The truth was, even if he could bring himself to go find her…he was almost afraid to.

Because what if his mate rejected him?

No matter what he imagined, the truth was that he had left her alone with little to nothing in
the way of explanation. Rin might not forgive him. Or she might not be willing to change her
way of life so drastically to be with him. Or she might even hate him now after what he did
and want nothing more to do with him.

Wouldn't such a fate be worse than this one? At least if he didn't know how she felt, he could
imagine she still wanted him.

It took more fantasies—of their wedding and wedding night and him peeling her out of a
lacy, white gown that hugged her body (which only served to get him hot and bothered rather
than calm him down)—before his tired mind finally succumbed to sleep.

When Sesshoumaru opened his eyes the next morning, he woke up rested and…resigned. As
usual, his emotions had cooled with sleep.

Still, that was no reason to stay around the estate and be reminded of what had happened.

He got ready for the day and packed, preparing to head back to the sanctuary. But when he
passed by the living room, where his mother was already lounging and reading the morning
news, she stopped him with a simple, "Where are you going?"

"Work," he answered.

"No, you're not."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "And why is that, Mother?"

"Before you go hiding in the forest like somebody on the run, you're going to go and pick out
an engagement ring for Zero. The engagement may be tentatively arranged, but it is not set in
stone until you present her with a proper proposal."

Sesshoumaru did not even hesitate. "Jak—"

"You will not have Jaken order a ring online," his mother interrupted with a growl, finally
setting her tablet aside. "You will go and pick out the ring yourself. At least make some effort
for this marriage, Sesshoumaru. If you go into it prepared for nothing but the worst, that is
precisely what you'll get from it. Have an open mind. Make an overture that she'll appreciate.
Start out on good footing so that it only gets better from there. Don't make yourself miserable
if you don't have to be."

"Are you speaking from experience?" he threw out, hoping it would hurt.
If it did, his mother did not show it. "I was committed to my marriage, Sesshoumaru. As was
your father…for several centuries, at least."

"Are you done?" he asked, not ready for yet another lecture this early in the morning and
right on the heels of last night's at that.

"Almost. Why don't you visit Housenki?"

"Is he still alive?"

Inukimi rolled her eyes. "Where do you think Inuyasha got his ring?"

"I never cared to know."

"Well, now you do. Ask your father for his most recent…address. I can't keep up with that
pond-hopper. Lucky for him though that he can live hidden underwater, because he'd never
be able to survive on land looking like he does."

Feeling their conversation was finished, Sesshoumaru strode out of the house. On his way to
the garage, he called his father. Even though he was only a few seconds' run across the estate,
Sesshoumaru did not want to see his father's face this morning.

Touga answered on the second ring. "Good morning, Sesshoumaru. How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"…Are you sure? You were pretty…heated at the dinner table last night."

"Just be glad I did not toss Inuyasha through the wall on the point of my sword,"
Sesshoumaru answered.

"What sword? You never got Tokijin repaired, did you?"

No, he hadn't. What was the point? He didn't if Totosai still lived, and if so, where he was
(not that the old codger would have repaired the blade of a student who had so disappointed
him anyway), and if Touga knew, he hadn't said. Sesshoumaru would have to make do with
other swords for now, although none of them felt quite right in his grip.

Again, he did not need another lecture, so he asked, "Where does Housenki live?"

His father was silent for so long, Sesshoumaru checked to make sure he hadn't lost the call as
he entered the garage. Finally, Touga said, "Your mother told you then."

"Last night."

His father swore, and Sesshoumaru's brows lifted in surprise. He knew Inuyasha had gotten
his sailor's mouth from somewhere, but his father usually kept a better lid on his profanity.

"Of all nights to drop that on you…. Clearly, you weren't in the proper frame of mind to
handle that sort of news, and yet she still told you. I swear, that woman is bent on driving me
insane, and I'm not even married to her anymore."

Perhaps that is precisely why, Sesshoumaru thought but did not say.

"What makes you say I was not in the proper frame of mind?" Sesshoumaru asked, sliding
into his McLaren. He did not turn it on yet however.

"Don't even try, Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha's engagement obviously bothered you."

"Did you think it wouldn't?"

"No, but…you just reacted…unexpectedly."

"Unexpectedly how?"

"Well, it was almost as if you…cared more about Kagome's welfare than keeping our
identities safe from humans. That was always your concern with Inuyasha's human
relationships…wasn't it? Can I ask what changed?"

Sesshoumaru frowned. Was he so predictable that a simple line of questioning had both his
parents so concerned? "I simply found it ironic that Inuyasha claims to love this woman so
much, yet he was willing to subject her to such danger not a month after Naraku announced
his plans. Nothing more."

"…Are you sure that's all there is to it?"

Sesshoumaru was tired of this conversation. "Where does Housenki live?"

Touga sighed. "Sesshoumaru…for the record, I'm sorry it came to this. Kirinmaru's hinted at
this alliance for so long, but…I always thought it would just be one of those things that gets
talked about and never acted upon. I never guessed he would call in my life debt to see this
through. I never wanted you to carry that burden for me, son."

"Just as sons are expected to carry on their fathers' legacies, so too do they often inherit their
burdens as well. It is what it is," Sesshoumaru answered, punching the ignition for his car. It
hummed to life around him.

"If you need my help for anything, you know you only need to ask. Please remember that."

Help. That was something he was not accustomed to asking for. It was a weakness, after all.
If you couldn't handle your problems by yourself, you were weak. It was as simple as that.

"What I need is Housenki's address."

"Fine. I'll text you the location. It's actually not that far from the sanctuary…but it's a bit of a
hike."

As suited the life of a hermit in hiding, Housenki's pond was out in the middle of nowhere.
Sesshoumaru had to park his ostentatious sports car on the side of a backcountry road and run
through a patch of forest and a meadow before he reached it.

When he approached the lake's edge, he said, "Housenki."

The water rippled, and a giant clam rose to the surface. It popped open just enough for a pair
of yellow fish eyes to peek through.

"Well, if it isn't Touga's eldest boy. Never thought I'd see the day you came to darken my
doorstep. You'll pardon me if I keep my clam closed until you make known the reason for
your visit."

Sesshoumaru frowned. He wondered if Inuyasha had received the same greeting or if his
reputation had preceded him. Not that he had made a habit of killing demons since before the
1860s—and especially friends of his father at that. "I hear you make…rings nowadays."

"Heard that from your brother, did you?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer. Let him think what he liked.

The clam opened to reveal Housenki II, a demon easily twice as tall as the average human
man. He boasted green, scaly skin and horns like coral. "Well, you've come to the right place.
What sort of ring are you looking for?"

"Engagement."

Housenki's eyes widened. "Really? You? I-I mean…certainly. I can craft the ring into any
shape you'd like. Do you have a particular style in mind?"

He did not know Zero's preferences, nor did he care. He could not imagine what sort of ring
she would wear.

"I do not."

"Well, perhaps I can assist. I have some designs I've worked with before. Perhaps we can find
something you like and do create a little similar. I prefer my works to all be custom creations,
you understand. Something special for each client. But I don't have a problem recycling
inspiration." He dug around in his clam shell before coming up with a binder of photographed
designs that he handed to Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru flipped through it uninterestedly. Most likely, when he finished paging through
the portfolio, he would probably just flip it open to a random photo and pick one.

But then he turned a page near the end and froze. The ring looked like a flower unfurling in
bloom with a pearl nestled at its center.

Rin.

This was it. The ring he hadn't been able to imagine in his fantasies. Or something like it. But
floral. It had to be floral.
"Ahh, she likes flowers, does she?" Housenki asked.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru murmured distractedly, his mind now racing with exactly which flower
it should be. They all had meanings, and that would be critical for Rin. After meeting her, he
had found himself researching flowers and their meanings in his spare time, hoping to see the
world a little more through her eyes. He had to get this right, because Rin would know the
meaning as soon as she saw it—

But she wouldn't see it. Because he wasn't buying an engagement ring for her. He had almost
forgotten that.

His grip on the edges of the booklet tightened.

"Is something the matter?" Housenki asked.

"No," Sesshoumaru responded automatically, relaxing his grip. Nothing except that he could
now envision the perfect ring for his mate, but he was stuck buying one for a woman he
couldn't care less about and one who would never compare.

He flipped through the rest of the book, looking for an inspiration for Zero, but his mind was
still on Rin's ring, cycling through possible flowers. In the end, he turned back to that page,
staring at it.

"I think we have a winner," Housenki remarked with a sharp-toothed grin, pulling out a
sketchpad. "Do you have a specific flower in mind?"

As soon as he said the words, the answer hit Sesshoumaru. "Primrose."

"Ah, yes, that will be lovely," Housenki said, already starting to sketch.

Primroses signified, "I can't live without you." They also meant, "Our love is eternal." While
Sesshoumaru still wasn't quite sure what "love" felt like and they had never actually said the
words to each other… the "eternal" part of the sentiment fit. Whatever it was he felt for Rin,
be it a mere byproduct of the mating bond or something more, it would be with him for the
rest of his days.

Housenki broke into his thoughts again. "I take it this will have adamant—or rather, a
diamond—in the center?"

"Yes."

"What sort of cut would you like? There's a chart in the back of the binder," the demon
jeweler said. Sesshoumaru flipped to it and perused the different cuts.

"Round."

"Yes, that does match with the motif. And special requests for the band?"

"Vines and leaves." The more nature that was on it, the better.
"Excellent. Do you have a preference on the metal? Flip that page over to see your choices. I
suppose the first question would be silver or gold? If you want a silver color, we'll have to
delve into a specific metal—"

Rin's bright disposition could only be reflected by a bright color. "Gold."

"White, yellow, or rose?" Housenki asked.

Sesshoumaru frowned. Wasn't gold gold? Why were there so many options? He turned to the
page. He was tempted to get rose gold, if only because of the flower setting, but he didn't like
the thought of the entire ring being colored that way. It would blend into her apricot skin too
much.

"Must it only be one color?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"No, no, I can craft something with multiple colors. Is that your preference?"

"The primrose should be rose gold," Sesshoumaru said.

"I agree. And the band?"

Sesshoumaru hesitated, unsure. The white gold would stand out well against the rose gold,
but he had wanted the sunshine yellow for her personality. "…Yellow gold, I suppose."

Housenki looked up at that, as if he could sense Sesshoumaru's hesitation. "What was the
deciding factor?"

He didn't want to share his sentiment with Housenki, but if would help him craft a better
ring…. "She is the sun bursting from the clouds."

Housenki smiled. "Ah, I see. …Might I make a suggestion then? If she is the sun and you are
the moon," he said nodding towards where the crescent moon was currently covered on
Sesshoumaru's brow, "then how about something like this?"

He added a little more to his sketch and turned it around to let Sesshoumaru see.

Perfect.

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"Any changes or other requests?" Housenki asked.

"None."

The demon jeweler smiled. "I do so enjoy an easy client. Would you like anything engraved
on the inside?"

There was no need, since Rin would not be receiving this ring.

"No."
Housenki then pulled out a set of metal rings and tossed it to Sesshoumaru. "The last thing I
need to know is her ring size."

Sesshoumaru thumbed through the ring of rings, feeling their widths and trying to recall the
width of her fingers interlaced between his. "This one," he said, holding what he was ninety-
five percent certain was the correct size, although with such standard measurements, it was
difficult to completely pin down.

"I can always resize it if necessary," Housenki noted. "Very well. Now, I assume you're fine
with the hole this will put in your wallet?"

Sesshoumaru gave him a droll look. "You know I am good for whatever the cost."

"Yes, yes, I know. Just wanted to make sure the dog demons hadn't gone bankrupt in the last
month." He told him the sum, which was indeed astronomical. But Sesshoumaru didn't care.
This ring would be worth any price he had to pay. "Anyway, give me a week, and I can have
it complete."

Then Housenki's clam snapped shut and delved back underneath the pond. Sesshoumaru was
left staring at his reflect.

Suddenly, he let out a single breath of disbelieving laughter.

For the first time in his life, he had let himself get carried away by a salesman's banter and
bought something obscenely expensive that he had no use for: a ring he had no intention of
giving Zero—or any woman for that matter.

But instead of feeling shamed and conned, he felt the first tendrils of joy than he had felt in
months.

The ring would be a token for himself, he decided. He had given Rin something to remember
him by, but all he had taken from her was a bar of soap long used up. And he couldn't exactly
carry the replacement bars with him on a daily basis.

Even though she had never touched nor owned this ring, he would think of her every time he
looked at it, and he would keep it on his person always. Even when he was one day shackled
to another woman.

So it was that Sesshoumaru ended up driving to a human jeweler's later that day and pointing
at the first teardrop-shaped ring that caught his eye in the casing. He ordered the thin band to
be made of black zirconium (despite not being sure of her ring size and the ring not being
resizable), figuring that it was her favorite color. It reflected the blackness in her heart, after
all—although he supposed he had plenty in his too.

All in all, the ring was a fairly cheap thing—at least compared to what Rin's would be—but
he had already put more effort into purchasing it than he wanted, so he called it a fair trade.
A week later, Sesshoumaru returned to Housenki's to pick up his ring. The sketch had not
done it justice.

"I must say, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out," Housenki said.

As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, Housenki had outdone himself. The sparkling, round
diamond glittered like a captured star in the center of the rose-gold primrose setting. As for
the band, Housenki had woven together two, thin, leafy vines: one of white gold and the
other of yellow gold, as if Sesshoumaru and Rin had been entwined together. Despite the
multiple colors of gold, he did not feel it was gaudy or overdone; rather, it bespoke a simple
but ethereal elegance.

Sesshoumaru was positive Rin would have loved it.

In response, when Sesshoumaru handed over their agreed-upon payment, he added a very
generous bonus.

As Housenki counted through it, he frowned. "There's too much here, Sesshoumaru."

"Keep it. The work is worth it," the dog demon answered.

Housenki beamed. "Coming from you, that is high praise indeed. I am glad you are pleased. I
hope the lucky lady is as well."

Sesshoumaru turned and left without bothering to answer, and behind him the clam sank back
beneath the waves, the water popping as it came together over the top of the bivalve.

Sesshoumaru had already picked up Zero's less-inspired ring. Unfortunately, he now had to
see to the business of proposing to her formally. To do so, he had to drive all the way to
Kamakura, on the southern coast of the Greater Tokyo Area, where she and Kirinmaru lived
on their estate. As happens with the long-lived, they had secured prime real estate
overlooking the bay—a way for Kirinmaru to still have his fill of the sea even while staying
on land.

When Sesshoumaru arrived, the beast king was there to greet him.

"Welcome, Sesshoumaru. I am pleased to see you've come. While I know you are a demon of
your word, I admit I've had my doubts that you'd actually show up."

"I do not take kindly to orders," Sesshoumaru answered as a jab.

The beast king simply looked amused. "Yes, I am aware. Now, can I get you some tea?" he
asked, accompanying Sesshoumaru into his home, which was just as traditional on the
outside and modern on the inside as the Nishikuni estate was.

"I did not come for a social visit," Sesshoumaru replied.

Kirinmaru laughed. "Ready to get straight to business, hm? Well, you always were a man of
action as opposed to talk. Very well. Zero is waiting for you in her sewing room." Kirinmaru
led him through the halls before stopping in front of a set of doors decorated in a spider
motif. When he opened them, they found Zero sitting at a loom, weaving silk. It was too
early yet to see the design she was creating.

Zero turned to greet them. "Welcome, Sesshoumaru. What a pleasure to see you today."

Sesshoumaru did not return the greeting.

"I'll take my leave then," Kirinmaru said, backing out of the room and shutting the doors.

Sesshoumaru walked forward and placed the ring box on the loom beside her. He had made
sure to switch out the jeweler-branded one with a plainer box.

"If you truly wish to go through with this farce, then here," he said.

"My, I think that wins the award for worst proposal ever," Zero said with a slightly amused
look. "Won't you at least open the box for me so I get some semblance of a proper proposal?"

Sesshoumaru frowned and opened the box, but he left it sitting on the loom. Zero picked up
the ring and examined it. The black band gleamed against her corpse-white skin. The one
concession Sesshoumaru had made with the ring was to get a larger diamond over a smaller
one, knowing that for Zero, it was all about the show.

Zero's face didn't change, but he could tell she was not overly impressed. Good. He was
equally as unimpressed with her.

He continued, "We are both well aware this is a contract before it is a marriage. You and your
brother have wanted this alliance for a long time." And you need a way to replace my father
in your shriveled heart.

"Goodness, Sesshoumaru. Are you going to be this cold in bed as well? I wonder now if I
should even accept," Zero murmured, nevertheless putting on the ring and twisting her hand
back and forth to look at it.

The thought of taking this woman to bed as he had Rin twisted his stomach. He knew that
was the point of this whole charade, after all—to get her with child so that his mother could
stop harping to him about the end of demonkind—but he wasn't sure he could actually go
through with it.

Well, perhaps by the end of his hopefully century-long engagement, once Rin was well and
truly gone, he might not even care anymore, and it would just be another unpleasant task he
had to see through. Even then, the only way he might be able to bring himself to bed Zero
would be with memories of Rin still coursing through his blood, driving him to erection.

Still, he hated the feeling of having to make himself miserable just to please someone else.

Yet he would rather make himself miserable than make Rin miserable by forcing her into this
life of hiding.

"Do not expect any more than a fulfillment of the letter of the contract," Sesshoumaru said in
response.
Zero glanced up at him with a little frown. "You could at least attempt to make this enjoyable,
Sesshoumaru. You are not the only one who finds these conditions less than ideal. Do try to
remember that."

"Then why did you even agree in the first place?" It would have probably been easier for him
if she had rejected. Then Kirinmaru could no longer force the issue, and he would be free of
this wretched fate. Even if his mother tried her matchmaking again, he could make every
other woman reject him, and his mother wouldn't be able to force him into marriage, no
matter how much she wanted to.

"Pining is a lonely business, Sesshoumaru, and I am sick of feeling sorry for myself. If I don't
change my life, no one else certainly will."

Sesshoumaru scoffed, hating how her words rang within him. Pining is a lonely business. He
knew it was the only thing they had in common, but it was hardly a solid foundation for a
marriage. "It does not seem to be much of a cure when you're planning to move onto the
same estate as the one for whom you pine and then use his son as a substitute."

Zero pursed her lips. "What can I say? I have certain preferences, and I would be doing
myself a disservice if I lowered my standards any. Don't pretend you get nothing out of this,
Sesshoumaru. You are relieving your father of an otherwise near-impossible debt to pay off.
No doubt you craved the ability to say you, your father's eldest, could do something that your
precious little brother cannot."

He was surprised Zero knew him enough to understand that about him. That, or his mother
had been blabbing.

However, Zero would never know him like Rin did, for he would never be able to be so open
with her.

"Well, to give you a formal answer, I accept, Sesshoumaru. For better or worse, I accept."

Her words sounded too much like a wedding vow, and the thought perturbed him enough that
he merely nodded and left.

Rin's phone buzzed with a text message, and she was already ninety-percent sure she knew
who it was.

Yep, Kagome.

Kagome: Rin, can we PLEASE talk? 😭

Rin hesitated, her thumb hovering over the message field. She had ignored every text and call
from Kagome for the past two and a half weeks, still angry over her sister acting holier-than-
thou and making Rin's decisions for her.

But today, it was harder to just put the phone down.

Today, she had found out the genders of her babies. As much as she would have liked to keep
it a surprise—there were so few real surprises in life anymore, after all—as a perinatal nurse,
she could read enough of a sonogram to tell the sexes of babies, so it would never have been
a surprise for her anyway. Besides, part of her was also glad it wouldn't be a surprise, because
twins were difficult enough to plan for anyway, and the added uncertainty of their genders
would just be another stressor she didn't need at this point.

Because along with finding out the genders, Kaede had mentioned that the babies appeared
slightly smaller than they would normally be at this time. She told Rin it wasn't enough to
worry about yet though, and she reminded her that they were dealing with half-demons, so it
was natural to expect some differences with this pregnancy.

But that was only a recent stressor. A larger one was that she was trying to find a new
apartment that would be big enough for her and the twins. Her first apartment search had not
been a cakewalk, but she thought it had at least prepared her better for the second go-around.

How wrong she had been.

Frankly, she was surprised at how Japan, in some regards, still didn't quite reside in the 21st
century. When she had gotten a realtor to help her find an apartment, the inevitable question
had come up: for how many? Three. The man had taken one look at her and assumed the
three were her, her husband, and their coming baby.

Rin knew it would come to light eventually, so she hadn't even tried to lie and told him that
no, it was her and two children. There was no husband. While the realtor had seemed
understanding enough, apparently, landlords were not as much so. Certain ones refused to
rent out to unmarried women with children (unless they were widows), not wanting to risk
bringing that sort of sinful life to the neighborhood. Others wouldn't rent to her because of
the babies. Walls were thin in apartments, and babies crying constantly would only upset the
neighbors—especially the old and crotchety ones that were already hard enough to deal with.

Her realtor had gently suggested that perhaps she look for a house instead, but even though
she had some savings, she knew deep in her heart she couldn't afford it. Not when she needed
all those savings for childcare, especially once she went back to work and needed to hire a
nanny or pay for daycare—whichever option was cheaper for twins.

Mama and Grandpa had offered for her to come back and live at the house and turn Souta's
old room into a nursery until she could find something else in Tokyo, but if she did that, she
would be out of a job, because she couldn't commute an hour and a half each day (not even
counting traffic) just to work, and she wouldn't even be able to start looking for a new job
until after she had the kids. Her first job search was traumatic enough; she didn't want to go
through that again quite so soon unless she had absolutely had to.

She had only mentioned to Mama that she hadn't been able to find an apartment yet—not the
reasons for it. She didn't want Mama to worry about her more than she already was.

But if Rin was still talking to Kagome, she would have been able to vent these last couple
weeks.
Kagome would have been the first one Rin called with the news about the babies' genders as
soon as her appointment with Kaede was over. Instead, she had sat on the news. Rin knew if
she called Mama, word would flow down to Kagome, and Rin wanted to punish her sister
just a little bit more. Maybe to some, it didn't seem like a huge punishment, but Kagome
knew this day was coming, and she had been excited about it leading up to that Foundation
Day dinner.

So, aside from not talking with her, this was the only way Rin knew how to make Kagome
feel as left out as she had when Kagome announced her engagement news.

Still…Rin didn't know if she had it in her to continue being this mean for long. It hurt her to
know she was hurting Kagome, even if her sister deserved it. She could also admit that she
missed talking to her big sis.

She couldn't think about this right now. She set down the phone and put off the decision for
another time, returning to the show she was watching.

Half an hour later, her phone rang, and she looked down, expecting it to be Kagome again.
Her eyes widened in surprise.

Souta? That's weird. He hardly ever calls.

It wasn't that she and Souta weren't close, but he was a guy, so that automatically meant he
didn't talk much on the phone and his texts were generally one-word answers. If he was
calling, it had to be important.

She accepted the call. "Hey, what's up?"

"How long are you going to keep giving Kagome the cold shoulder?" he asked without so
much as a "hello."

Rin scowled. Kagome must have put him up to this. "For as long as it takes her to say she's
sorry."

"Well, she can't say it unless you talk to her."

Fair point.

"Also, she says she's apologized about a trillion times through text," Souta added.

"Well, I want to hear the words."

"Then talk to her."

Rin sighed in aggravation. "Do you even know what she did?"

"As far as I understand it…she deleted the contact info of a notorious man-ho from your
phone. Honestly…I might have done the same."

"No, you wouldn't have."

Souta chuckled, "Yeah, you're right. But I get that she wanted to protect you. I at least feel the
same about that."

"Do you even want to hear my side of the story?"

"I'm listening."

"She thinks I've suddenly turned into this sex-crazed manic, but that wasn't why I got his
number! I needed information from him."

"What are you, the Black Widow? Pumping guys for information through seduction?" Souta
laughed. Rin just flushed.

"It's not funny," she grumbled.

"It actually…k-kinda is," he said, starting to laugh even harder. "I-I'm trying to imagine
you…layin' the moves on this guy…and I just can't! You're too…you!"

Rin rolled her eyes. "Well, at least one of my siblings doesn't think I'm a sex-crazed manic."

"Kagome doesn't think that," Souta said, calming down.

"No? She all but said so when she called me a horny baby mama."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"Okay, but you know she doesn't have a filter sometimes."

"Make that all the time."

"Right, but the point is, Rin, why didn't you just tell her that?"

"Um…it's complicated." Poor Souta. He was even more in the dark than either she or
Kagome was about the whole demon situation. Both his sisters were embroiled with demon-
related men, and he had no clue.

"I'm sure you're making it out to be more complicated than it is. What kind of information
were you trying to get from this guy?"

Rin hesitated but finally said, "You have to swear not to tell Kagome."

"Why?"

"Just swear it, Souta!"

"Geez, I'll never understand girls and their secrets. Fine, fine, I swear," he said in the
exasperated voice he always used when one of his sisters dragged him into something he
didn't really want to do.
"So…I thought this guy might be able to tell me where, you know…he is."

"Oh, that guy?" Souta sniped, and Rin was surprised by the venom in his voice. She hadn't
realized Souta was so bothered by the man who had impregnated her. "Why is that such a big
secret? If you had told her, I'm sure she would have let you contact him. Heck, she might
have led the charge."

"Well, it's not that simple."

"Of course it isn't," he sighed. Rin could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"You see…the, uh…notorious man-ho doesn't exactly know where he is, but…he might be
able to find him."

"How?"

"…In the guest database of the hotel he works for."

Souta was silent on the line for several seconds. Finally, he said, "Rin, that's a crime."

"I know, but—"

"Look, I get that you're desperate, but that's…wow. I didn't think you'd go that far. This guy
could've lost his job if you got him to do that for you! Did you even think of that?"

"Sort of," Rin lied. Honestly, she hadn't. She was more concerned with the results.

"Not only that, but both of you could have gotten sued for hacking this guy's private
information. You can't exactly afford a lawsuit right now, Rin."

"He wouldn't do that!" Rin exclaimed. Sesshoumaru would never sue her.

"Oh, and are you confident about that? I mean, you don't exactly know this guy. It was a one-
night stand, right? I mean, do you expect him to just welcome you with open arms when you
arrive on his doorstep and announce, 'Hey, oh, by the way, you're about to be a dad to twins.'
Speaking as a guy, Rin…I'd be more than a little freaked out."

Did Souta think she hadn't imagined meeting Sesshoumaru again a thousand times by now?
How often had she recited what she'd tell him about the twins? Whatever she thought of
never seemed right. And no matter what, she could never picture his reaction.

Mostly because, outside of sex, she had rarely seen any emotion other than anger and
indifference on his face.

Those darn hormonal tears prickled at her eyes again. "Okay, okay, it was a stupid idea. I get
it."

"Rin…." Souta's voice was laced with pity now. "It's not that I don't understand where you're
coming from. I just feel like this sort of plan would backfire on you, and I don't want to see
you get hurt anymore. Kagome feels the same way."
Rin sniffed. "I-I know she means well…but that doesn't give her the right t-to meddle in my
life!"

"Ha!" Souta exclaimed so loudly into the phone that Rin winced. "Kagome, meddle in your
love life? You do know who we're talking about here, right? Kagome is literally the nosiest
person on the planet."

"I know, but—"

"You've heard the story, right? About how she forced me to confess to Hitomi in third grade?
It wasn't that long before you started living with us."

"Yeah, I've heard—"

"I mean, she forced me to practice confessions with her, dressed me in a suit, had me buy a
bouquet of flowers—do you know how much that put a dent in a third-grader's wallet? I
probably could have bought her a few hundred yen's worth of chocolates, and she probably
would have been happier. And then she watched me from afar after forced me to call Hitomi
to the park and go confess to her. I mean, it got us together, although looking back, I wonder
if third grade wasn't a bit too early in life to start dating…."

Rin giggled. "Yeah, that sounds like Kagome alright."

"The point is, Rin…she gets carried away sometimes. We both know this. But she's our sister,
and we're stuck with her, so you're gonna have to forgive her at some point, because dear
heavens, she will not stop blowing up my phone."

"Really?" Rin snickered.

"The whole point of getting another sister was supposed to be that Kagome would stop
focusing on me and put most of her attention on you." Rin laughed, knowing that Souta was
mostly joking. "Seriously, I don't know how you put up with her. It's a constant barrage of
texts and phone calls. I mean, she is literally freaking out that you're going to cut off all ties
with her and never let her see the kids. It's been especially bad today because she says you
found out their genders today, and she's afraid you're not going to tell her."

"I did find out," Rin answered quietly.

Souta was silent for a beat. "So…do I actually get to be the first person to know for once?"

The words sent a pang through Rin. Souta understands. He's sometimes the last to know too.
All because Kagome and I share news with each other first.

And that sparked an idea.

In truth, she wasn't only angry about Kagome deleting Shippou's contact information. That
had just been the final straw. A large part of it was also about Kagome keeping secrets. Rin
knew this was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but…she needed to at least make a
point to Kagome, and now she knew just how to get through to her.
"Okay, Souta, you win. I'll talk to her. On one condition."

"What is it?"

"Isn't Kagome going to some party with Inuyasha soon?" she asked. Mama had mentioned it
in passing on the phone.

"Yeah, this Saturday. Why?"

Good. She had off then. Even if she hadn't, she would have swapped shifts with someone to
make sure she had off that day. "Invite Mama and Grandpa to your place for dinner."

"Okay, but…why?"

"You'll see."

She and Souta weren't twins, but since they were always in the same grade growing up,
people had usually assumed as much, until they found our Rin was adopted. Nevertheless,
she and her brother still had something of a twin/sibling mind-meld at times.

"I think I see what you're doing here. …Kagome's going to be really upset."

"That's kind of the point," Rin answered.

"…Are you sure you're going to forgive her after this?"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll have words afterwards. That's what you want, right? For me to listen to
her? And she better dang well listen to me too."

Souta sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'm not even going to pretend to understand the crazy schemes
you girls get up to. I'll tell Moe to expect three for dinner."

"Well, technically it's five—and let me tell you, these babies eat their fill, so take that into
account."

Souta laughed. "Alright, five it is."

"But don't tell anyone but Moe I'm coming. Swear her to secrecy."

"Fine, fine. Geez, with all these secrets and love dramas, you could star in your own soap
opera."

"Hey!"

"Just sayin'. Seriously though, I don't know if I can survive for another week like this. Having
Kagome's full attention is exhausting."

"You get used to it. And Souta? Thanks."

"You're welcome…I think."

Inukimi had insisted on throwing Sesshoumaru and Zero an engagement party, despite the
former's wishes. He had wanted to keep their engagement as quiet as possible. His mother
wanted to announce it to the world.

She tended to get her way with these things.

But when Sesshoumaru's mother mentioned the matter to his father, Touga had thought it
would be a wonderful way to slowly introduce Kagome into demon society, as this party
would only be a select group of friends; Izayoi had then suggested they make it into a double
engagement party. After that, it was completely out of Sesshoumaru's hands. He had had no
part in the planning (and preferred it that way). His mother had simply told him when to
show up at the reception hall at the sanctuary.

And so one Saturday night two weeks after his formal proposal, he found himself amid a
crowd of demons wishing him well on an engagement he never wanted in the first place.

Zero, at least, hadn't been latched onto him the entire night.

In the beginning, she had stayed on his arm, the perfect picture of a woman with her fiancé as
they greeted guests, but after the initial flood of arrivals, the two broke apart to converse in
separate spheres, and he was just fine with that.

He found himself watching Inuyasha and Kagome as his brother introduced the human to
their demon friends. For her part, Kagome seemed to be handling herself well. She had
greeted Sesshoumaru civilly but coolly, and he couldn't blame her for that. She had even
offered her congratulations to him, for which he did not thank her, since he hadn't wanted
them to begin with. Luckily, that was the sum of their interactions that night, as both brothers
gave each other a wide berth.

Still, as he watched Inuyasha and Kagome go around, arm-in-arm with smiles on their faces,
he wondered just how different this night might have been if it had been Rin by his side
instead of Zero. He resisted the urge to take the flower ring out of his breast pocket and
thumb it at the thought.

Most of the night was not notable, and he was content to let it pass him by. He said what he
had to and sat next to Zero as he was supposed to. Thank goodness demons had never picked
up the human custom of tapping glasses to make a couple kiss. He might have vomited if it
came to that. But demons were not used to public displays of affection, so they did not ask
for them either. Inuyasha must have warned Kagome as such, because she did not appear as
overly touchy-feely as she had the couple of times Sesshoumaru had seen her.

The night was well underway when Sesshoumaru heard his father boom on the other end of
the hall, "Housenki! I'm so glad you could make it."

Sesshoumaru froze, cocking an ear. Housenki was here? It wasn't a surprise that he had been
invited, but it was rare for him to show his face.
"It's rather inconvenient to get here when you can't travel by car and flying clams aren't
exactly lawful transportation," the demon jeweler answered, towering over everyone in the
room. "But I would not have missed it. Congratulations, my friend, on your sons'
engagements. I'm sure my father would have been overjoyed to wish you the same, were he
still with us."

"Thank you. And I have no doubt he'd be proud of what a fine craftsman you have become.
Thank you for helping my boys out, Housenki. Kagome's ring is stunning, and Zero's suits
her—although frankly, I'm impressed you were able to get enough out of Sesshoumaru to
make such a fitting ring for Zero, given that I imagine he wasn't very helpful. He has little
care for artistry, unless it has to do with a sword."

"On the contrary, Touga, Sesshoumaru was greatly invested in choosing his ring. To be
honest, I was a bit shocked myself. He was more meticulous than I thought he would be, but
together we came up with a great design. If I may be allowed to say, I rather outdid myself."

"Really? I'm pleased to hear that. In fact, you should be sure to tell Zero. I think she would
appreciate hearing how much though Sesshoumaru put into his gift."

Sesshoumaru heart skipped a beat. He couldn't let Housenki see Zero. As soon as he saw her
ring, he would say it wasn't his, and that would leave his father and Zero wondering what
ring he had purchased from the demon jeweler.

"But of course. Where is she?"

"Right over there. Let me take you to her. Have you been introduced before?"

"I can't say I've had the pleasure. I didn't get out much, even before going underground—or
underwater, as it were." Touga laughed at the pun.

Sesshoumaru extricated himself from his current conversation, trying to

intercept Housenki before he could get to Zero, but guests kept pushing into his way to ask
about his and Zero's plans, and he kept having to move around them.

Still, he overhead when his father and Housenki reached his fiancé. "Zero, I'd like to
introduce you to an old friend of mine. This is Housenki, the demon who designed your
engagement ring."

"Oh?" Zero answered. She looked up at Housenki. "I met your father once many, many years
ago. He was extremely talented. I suppose you are still perfecting your craft."

"Well, I'm not sure I'll ever be as good as my father, but I am trying," Housenki said with a
twitching smile.

"Nonsense, Housenki. Your work has been splendid. Now, tell Zero what you told me."

"Of course. I was just mentioning to Touga how invested Sesshoumaru was in creating your
ring. He picked most everything down to the last detail."
Zero held up her finger and looked at her ring with a puzzled frown. "Truly? I would not have
expected that of him." Her frowned flipped into a pleased smile. "I suppose I should have
learned by now to trust his actions over his words. Thank you for telling me."

This time, Housenki frowned. "But that's—"

"Housenki, I need to speak with you," Sesshoumaru said, finally making it to their side.

The fishy demon met his stern gaze and nodded once. "Yes, I think you do."

Sesshoumaru led Housenki back outside, glancing behind them once to find his father
watching them depart with a curious look on his face. It wasn't until the two had walked to
the other end of the ornamental pond in the garden outside the reception hall, far enough
away from prying ears, that Housenki said, "That was not my ring."

"No."

"You said you needed an engagement ring."

"Yes."

"Where is it?"

"I have it."

Housenki frowned. "And for whom did you have it made?"

"Myself."

Housenki's brows rose. "Is that so?"

"Do you doubt me?" Sesshoumaru asked, fishing the ring out from his pocket to show him.

Housenki's brows furrowed in puzzlement. "I see. But I believe that defeats the purpose."

"What I do with this ring is none of your business. I paid you well for it. So unless you would
like me to fish you out of your clam and fry you on the hot asphalt of Tokyo, I suggest you
keep quiet about it."

Housenki flinched. "No need for threats, Sesshoumaru. I was simply confused as to why you
paid me an extraordinary amount to make such an engagement ring…and then turned around
and bought some cheap human creation for your fiancée instead. Though I have to say, I am a
little upset that people are going to associate my name with that paltry thing around Zero's
finger. Even she could tell the craftsmanship was inferior, and others who see it will feel the
same. My reputation is on the line. …But so is yours, it would seem."

Sesshoumaru turned and snarled at him, "What are you implying?"

This time, Housenki was not cowed, and he stared down at Sesshoumaru with narrowed eyes.
"You put great thought into crafting that ring, Sesshoumaru. You had someone specific in
mind. But that someone is not the woman you are celebrating with tonight."

Sesshoumaru said nothing. He did not know what to say.

Luckily, Housenki seemed to realize he would be getting no straight answers from him.
"Well, you have your reasons, I suppose, and as you said, you paid me more than enough. I
will just have to assure myself that my reputation can withstand some of the bad publicity it
will get from this stunt. I only hope you know what you're doing, Sesshoumaru. And I
wonder if you shouldn't perhaps confide in your father a little. It seems to me he might be
best suited to understanding what you are going through."

"And what do you think it is I am going through?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

"I think you are marrying someone you do not love while you are still in love with another."

"Your notions are nonsense."

"Are they?"

"Do not presume to waste my father's time with telling him such drivel."

Housenki smiled grimly. "No, I don't think I will. Rather, I will leave that to you." The giant
demon then turned and walked away, leaving Sesshoumaru standing alone once again at the
edge of a pond, staring into its reflection. This time, it showed the network of the stars
overheard—but he knew it was only a beautiful illusion that would break the moment
something disturbed the pond's surface.

Rin slammed on the brakes as a jolt of alarm shot through her. Luckily, she was in the
parking lot for Souta's apartment and not the middle of the highway. As she navigated into a
guest space, she rubbed at her chest.

Something had disturbed Sesshoumaru just now.

While she was terrified something had happened to him, it was almost a relief to feel that fear
—because it meant she was still feeling him.

She hadn't felt any strong emotions from him in a couple weeks. Around three weeks ago,
anger had radiated from him while she was on duty, and she found it difficult to keep a smile
on her face around her patients as his mood affected hers. The anger had been followed by
spike of panic, on the heels of which came sadness. But the following day, she had felt some
happiness from him, so she hoped whatever had upset him had been resolved.

A week later, though, she had felt annoyance and disgust. But after that, nothing of note,
other than the dull pain of heartache that she was well familiar with by now.

What could have frightened him tonight?

She thought about it as she took the elevator to Souta and Moe's high-rise apartment, resting
a cake box on the swell of her stomach. When she reached it, she rang the doorbell. Moe
answered.

"I brought dessert," Rin said by way of greeting, holding up a cake box.

"Oh, what a surprise!" Moe greeted with a wink. Rin smiled at her sister-in-law and stepped
inside, removing her shoes.

"Let me take that," Moe said, gesturing to the box.

"Thanks. It's an ice cream cake, so it needs to be frozen."

"I'll go put it in the freezer then," Moe said. She disappeared into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Mama asked from inside.

"And what do you have there?" Grandpa chimed in, ever one to sniff out sweets.

Rin stepped into their line of sight and waved. "Surprise!"

"Oh, Rin!" Mama called out, jumping up from the sofa to hug her. "What are you doing
here?"

"Isn't it obvious? Our girl missed us!" Grandpa said as he joined the hug.

"Come in, come in. We were just about to sit down to dinner," Mama said. Rin let Mama fuss
over her, making sure she sat first and getting her place set up for her. Then Moe and Souta
laid out all the dishes, and the family sat down to eat. Rin was amazed at how easily she fell
into laughing and chatting with her family, like nothing at all was wrong, although everyone
knew she and Kagome weren't on speaking terms at the moment.

When they had finished dinner, Moe brought over the cake box. "Rin brought this for us
tonight."

"Oh, what kind of cake is it?" Grandpa asked.

"Ice cream, right?" Moe said.

"Yes, but what flavor?" Grandpa wheedled in exasperation.

Rin just grinned. "It's a surprise."

When Moe opened the box, the family peered into it. Inside was a round, white cake with a
frosting illustration of two baby carriages and two question marks above them.

Mama gasped. "I was wondering when you were going to tell us!"

"Wait, I don't get it. Isn't it supposed to say?" Souta asked.

"You have to cut the cake to find out, silly," Rin giggled. "Grandpa, would you do the
honors?"
"Me? O-Oh, of course!" he exclaimed, accepting the cake cutter that Moe passed him. He
carefully cut a slice and pulled it out, holding it up so that everyone could see.

In between three layers of vanilla cake were two layers of strawberry ice cream.

"Oh, they're both girls!" Moe squealed with a clap.

"Congratulations, sis," Souta said as Mama leaned over to kiss Rin on the cheek and hug her.

Grandpa deposited the piece of cake onto a plate and sniffed loudly as he continued cutting.
"Oh, to think we'll have little girls running around the house again, just like when you and
Kagome were kids."

There was a brief, awkward silence as they all remembered the fact that Kagome wasn't there
to celebrate the news with them.

"Uhh, so Rin, have you decided on names for them yet, now that you know?" Souta asked,
and Rin sent him a look of thanks.

"I'm still thinking about it, but I have a few ideas. What do you guys think—do any of these
speak to you?" She counted them off on her fingers. "Aiko, Chiyoko, Ena, Etsuko, Haruka,
Subaru, and Towa."

"Those are all beautiful options," Mama said.

"I see a bit of a theme," Moe added with a smile. "Love and long life. I think those are great
sentiments for your girls."

Souta appeared to be giving her question serious thought. "It's got to be something that
sounds good with Higurashi, and most of those apply, but…I think I like Towa Higurashi best
out of that set. But you need another name, and I don't know…."

Rin smiled. "That's okay! I haven't looked at all the possibilities yet either. But I'll keep Towa
in mind for sure! That'll be a frontrunner."

The family ate the cake together and discussed other name options for the girls. Mama then
told Rin they would have to go into the attic this weekend and start looking through all of
Kagome's old baby stuff to see what was useable now that they knew she was having girls.

After they finished dessert and chatted for a while, they divided the cake, so that the family
could take some home, and then Rin left with her mother and grandfather, driving them back,
since they had taken the train to Souta's apartment.

Mama was surprised to see the lights on when they got back. "Kagome must be home from
the party. I thought she would be later."

When they opened the door, they found Kagome lounging on the couch, scrolling on her
phone. She turned to regard them with a smile, asking, "How was dinner at—" She froze
when she saw Rin. Then she popped up like a whack-a-mole. "Rin! What are you doing
here?"
"She came home for a surprise visit. Isn't that fun?" Mama asked, hanging up her coat.

Rin went to put the leftover cake in the freezer. "I just couldn't put off telling you any longer.
I was dying to share, but I wanted to make it a little special."

"Share what?" Kagome asked in a small voice.

Rin looked at her with a pointed stare. "Just a little gender reveal celebration. Sorry you had
to miss it."

An awkward silence fell on the room. Rin hated the mounting tension, but she shook off her
coat like she was nonplussed and hung it up in the closet, not meeting Kagome's eyes.

"W-What? But…you hate the idea of gender reveal parties. You told me that…" Kagome
said.

"I do. I think they're too big a fuss. But a little cake among family? I'm fine with that." Rin
finally took in Kagome's devastated face. And ignored it. She smiled. "How was the party
you went to? Any fun?"

"I-It was fine," Kagome said, still looking shaken. "I met a lot of the Nishikuni's friends and
business partners, so…it was kind of a whirlwind. But at least I'll know some of the people
attending my wedding…."

"Glad to hear it," Rin answered offhandedly. She yawned. "Well, it's been a long day, so I'm
going to head up. Good night, everyone."

"Night, sweetheart," Mama said, and Grandpa echoed the sentiments. Kagome didn't say
anything.

Rin headed upstairs to her old room and threw her overnight bag on the bed. As she was
pulling out her pajamas and toiletries, furious footsteps stomped up the stairs outside. Rin
glanced up at her open door just as Kagome strode in and slammed it shut behind her.

"What the hell, Rin?"

"You want to run that by me again?" Rin asked in a cold tone, continuing to unpack.

"How could you? I'm sure Mom told you I'd be gone tonight. Could you really not wait one
more night to tell us, so I could be there too?"

"How does it feel, being left out of a family celebration?"

That brought Kagome up short. "What?"

"Now you know how I felt when I was the last to know about your engagement," Rin added.

"Hang on. Is that why you've been mad at me this entire time? I thought this was about
Shippou."
Rin tossed her bag onto the floor and looked over at Kagome. "It is about Shippou, Kagome,
but it's also about more than that. It's about you leaving me in the dark over such an important
part of your life when you went and told the rest of the family. It's about how you freakin'
judged me for having one lapse of judgment in my life. And it's about how you can't even
seem to trust me to make my own decisions! It's my life, Kagome. You can't just butt in and
make my decisions for me."

Kagome's mouth dropped open into a forlorn O. "Rin, I'm…I'm sorry. It's not that I didn't
want to tell you or that I planned to keep it a secret. It's just that you're not here, and since we
were already going to surprise everyone else, I thought it would make it more fun for you
than me just breaking the news over the phone. And I wanted to give you a chance to
socialize, since all you do it work, and once you have the kids, you're going to see no one
aside from them and your colleagues—and us, I guess, when you deign to come visit. But I
didn't mean to make you feel left out. If anything, I wanted to include you."

"But you put me on the level of friends, Kagome. I'm your sister. Even if you didn't tell me
first, I should have found out with the rest of the family."

"Okay, but…to be fair, Mom and Grandpa already knew, because Inuyasha asked them for
permission to marry me. So really, it was just Souta and Moe I told when they came over for
Saturday night dinner."

"But still! I'm you sister! I just…I don't want to be treated like some outsider in my own
family. I can't…I can't go through that again." Rin's voice hitched as her ever-ready tears
jumped to her eyes once again, and she plopped down hard on the bed.

"Rin, I'm so sorry! Please don't cry. I get it now, okay? I won't do it again. I'll be the first to
tell you the next big piece of news, whatever that is. Even if it has to be over the phone. I'll
call you right away, okay?" Kagome sat down next to her and rubbed her shoulders. After Rin
had calmed down a little, Kagome added quietly, "And as for the judging…I'm sorry about
that too. Honestly, you just…kind of pushed my buttons at that point, and I lashed out in
retaliation. I shouldn't have."

"I pushed your buttons?" Rin asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean… I already felt like everyone at dinner was judging us for getting
engaged so quickly after our break, and then you basically told me I wasn't ready to get
married yet, like you knew what my feelings were, and I got angry. So I…I hit you where I
knew it would hurt, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did about you being reckless.
We all make mistakes—"

"Lapses in judgment," Rin interjected.

"Huh?"

Rin sniffed. "They're not a mistake," Rin answered in a small voice. She made sure never to
call her tryst with Sesshoumaru a mistake, because doing so felt like she was invalidating
their children.
"Oh. Oh, no, of course not. Right. So, we all have lapses in judgment, but I'm just so used to
you being the perfect little sister. I mean, it's hard being your big sister sometimes, you
know? People are constantly comparing us. You're the smart nurse. I'm just a shrine priestess.
You're a career-oriented, independent woman; I've been the one who can't keep a guy and still
lives with her parents. I feel like I'm being judged all the time for being…lesser. It was just
kind of shocking and, admittedly, a little refreshing to know that you were human too and
could come down to my level sometimes."

Rin sniffed and frowned. "Come down to your level? Kagome, you're amazing. You have
friggin' spiritual powers. Who else do we know that has that?"

Kagome shrugged it off. "And what good do those powers do me? It's not like the shrine
visitors really care. We all know religion is losing its hold in today's world. Most people now
just come out of habit or loyalty to the shrine, not because I'm any more spiritual than
Grandpa Mushin or someone else. But you? You bring lives into the world every day. It's
hard not to be jealous of that."

Rin sniffed. "Well, I admit, my own jealousy prompted me to question your engagement like
that. I am happy for you. Really. After looking for this long, you deserve to be with a man
you love and one who loves you. But…the wound is still fresh, and it just hurts seeing you so
happy with Inuyasha like that when I thought I could have been just as happy a few months
ago."

"Oh, Rin," Kagome murmured, hugging her from the side. "Can we just chalk this whole
thing to us being messes on the inside and say bygones be bygones?"

Rin straightened, inadvertently shrugging Kagome's arms off. She turned around and stared
her sister straight in the eye. "That part, maybe. But that still doesn't excuse the fact that you
basically invaded my privacy by deleting a contact from my phone and tried to control my life
when I had things completely under control."

Kagome sighed and leveled Rin her typical big sister look. "Okay, fine. If you can tell me
why you want to contact him, I can get his information back for you."

Now it was Rin's turn to pause. She still couldn't tell Kagome the truth. Or could she? If
Inuyasha's family really was one of demon sympathizers, then Kagome wouldn't judge her
for sleeping with a demon and having half-demon children…would she?

…No, Kagome hadn't regained her trust quite enough to be privy to such information just yet.
But that also meant Rin couldn't come clean about why she needed Shippou's info. Besides,
Souta had been right—asking Shippou to invade Sesshoumaru's privacy—something she had
just gotten mad at Kagome for doing—wasn't the right way to go about finding him. Not
when it risked Shippou's livelihood. If it had just been herself risking her own neck, she could
have done it. But she wouldn't risk someone else's neck.

Kagome nodded. "I thought so. If you can't even tell me the reason, then it must be
something you're too ashamed to admit, and it seems it was for the best that I erased it."
"Maybe so, but that still doesn't give you the right to do as you please with my stuff
and my life. If I want your help or your advice, I'll ask for it, but don't just force it on me!"

Kagome stared in shock at Rin's outburst, but slowly she nodded. "Okay. I'll try to be better
about it. I promise. Next time I think you're about to make a mistake, I'll just talk your ear off
about it, but I won't do anything to stop you."

Rin snorted. Well, she supposed that was as good as she was going to get from Kagome.

"…Am I forgiven now?"

Rin thought about it. Honestly, she was sick of ignoring her sister. It cut her heart just as
badly as all the rest of Kagome's inflicted wounds had.

Decided, Rin stood up. "Come on. Let's go downstairs.

Kagome frowned, obviously wondering why she hadn't answered the question. Mama and
Grandpa had apparently gone to bed, because the rest of the house was dark. Rin turned on
the light to the kitchen and went to the fridge. "Sit down," she said, pulling out the cake. "I
hope you're hungry."

Kagome never took her eyes off the cake box. "I can get fat for one night if it's for this." She
bit her lip in excitement. "Can I see?"

"Hold on," Rin answered, grabbing a couple plates and forks. She opened the box but kept
the cake obscured from Kagome as she cut her a small slice. Then she placed the piece in
front of her sister.

Kagome took in the strips of strawberry ice cream. Her fists flew to her mouth, and she
looked at Rin in anticipation. "Nieces?" she squeaked. Rin nodded. "Ahh!" Kagome squealed,
popping out of her chair and wrapping Rin in a tight hug. "Are you happy?"

"Of course! I would have been happy no matter what they were."

"Good deal. Okay, new game plan," Kagome said, resuming her seat and digging into the
cake while Rin cut a more generous slice for herself (the girls were hungry, even at this time
of night). "We're going to have to assign them colors. Since they're both girls, they can't both
be pink. I mean, what if they're identical? What do you think about purple and pink?"

They chatted over their cake about ideas for the girls (or at least, Kagome did most of the
chatting, while Rin gave her input), and when they were done eating and Rin had put the cake
away, Kagome filled Rin in about her and Inuyasha's yuino, which was being held the next
weekend.

"While you're here, help me convince Grandpa not to give Inuyasha's parents some creepy
charm from the storage house," Kagome groaned. "I don't want him to embarrass me in front
of them."

Rin giggled. "If he did though, I'm sure they'd just find him a funny old man. I don't think
you have to worry. But I'll try to steer him towards a proper yuino gift."
She wasn't about to tell Kagome that Grandpa had already been texting Rin often about
which charm would be best to give Inuyasha's parents: a lucky kappa's foot or an ushi-
oni horn that was meant to bring prosperity.

Although the yuino was a private ceremony just for the bride, groom, and their parents, Rin
was happy that her family was trying to include her anyway by asking for her opinions. And
for her, that was more than enough.

After chatting until midnight, Rin announced that this time, she actually had to go to bed.
Kagome got up out of her chair and went to hug her again.

"I'm really, really happy we're talking again," Kagome murmured. "I didn't get a chance to
tell you about my dinner with the Nishikunis, but I met Inuyasha's brother, and let's just
say…I'm so thankful that our relationship isn't like theirs is."

"I did get the sense that they weren't on the best of terms."

"That's an understatement. If I thought you were questioning our marriage, he was downright
against it. Although, in some aspects…I admit, I had an uncomfortable realization about what
he was doing. He showed it in a weird way, but he was worried about us and that we weren't
making the most informed decision. It kind of…reminded me how I had treated you with
Shippou—yelling at you when you said you had your reasons and to trust you, but I didn't
and I thought I knew better. Honestly, that's why I was trying so hard to contact you these last
few weeks. I didn't want us to become like them. So promise me, okay? I know we're not
always going to agree, but I don't want our relationship to ever completely fall apart because
of some silly argument. We'll talk it out. Like we did tonight."

"I don't want to lose you either, sis. So yeah. I promise," Rin said with a smile.

The next weekend, Rin got a photo text from Kagome.

Kagome: Look what Grandpa slipped into the yuino gifts for Inuyasha's parents! 😡
Amongst a few assorted traditional gifts, there lay a severed, lucky kappa's foot.

Me: Oh dear. Well, I did try. So, where's a photo of you guys? I want to see everyone in their
kimonos!

Just then, she felt something like gas slip up her stomach. But it didn't gurgle. She
frowned. Weird.

Another text came from Kagome.

Kagome: Inuyasha's parents are kind of camera-shy, so it'll be hard enough to get them to
pose for one that the wedding photographer will take tonight. But I'll show you as soon as we
get them! We're going to use our couple portrait on the invitations.

The tickling sensation swiped up Rin's stomach again. And then again.
 She gasped when she figured out what it was.

Me: KAGOME, THE BABIES JUST KICKED!

The reply was nearly instantaneous.

Kagome: OMG, WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK SO I CAN FEEL THEM?!

Rin laughed.

Me: I think they have a little more growing to do before you can feel them from the outside.
But it shouldn't be too much longer now! By the wedding, I should think.

It was only two months away. The time would fly.

Kagome: Can't wait! G2G, TTYL.

Rin set her phone aside and placed a hand over the spot where she had felt the little flutters.

Things were finally starting to feel right again. She was talking with Kagome. She could feel
her babies. Good things came in threes, didn't they? Hopefully that meant she resolve her
living situation soon too.

Chapter End Notes

I swear I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer for the SessRin reunion than you
have to, but like I said, you wanted this, so I fit it in and gave it to you. That said, I

😉
know you're getting impatient. But I promise your patience will be rewarded by the end
of July….

Also, in case you're curious about Rin's choice in baby names, here are the meanings:

Aiko: Love child (child who will be loved)

Chiyoko: Child of Forever (thousand generations)

Ena: Gift from God

Etsuko: Joy child

Hanako: Flower girl

Subaru: One who unites

Towa: Eternity (but you knew that)

 Meet the Parents
Chapter Notes

As you should all be well aware by now, I am in no way Japanese, so any incorrect

😘
information about Japanese wedding customs is entirely my own fault. Research can
only tell you so much. That said…enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"Is this a wig or a helmet?" Kagome laughed nervously as the hired bridal team set the ornate
hairpiece on her head. "This is really heavy."

"Now just imagine having to wear your hair like that every day of your life," Rin commented
from her seated position on Kagome's bed. "Good thing we don't live in the Feudal Era,
right?"

Kagome laughed more genuinely this time. "Ha! We wouldn't have been rich enough to wear
our hair like this. Inuyasha's family maybe, but not us."

"But since you're marrying into their family, you would have worn your hair that way, isn't
that right?" Mama rejoined.

"You have a point."

"Better you than me. I'll go hair down and barefoot any day," Rin said, kicking up her
currently bare feet for emphasis. Granted, the only reason she wanted to be barefoot right
now was because her feet were swelling. At seven months pregnant with twins, she already
looked like she had swallowed a beach ball. She couldn't imagine what the next two months
would bring. The weight was already taking its toll on her petite body, but most days, there
was nothing she could do about it. She still had to work, although she tried to sit on the job
when she could. She lay around as much as possible on her days off, but today was Kagome's
wedding, so the entire family was scrambling to make it go smoothly.

Given the traditional nature of the Higurashi and Nishikuni families, Kagome and Inuyasha
were holding a traditional Shinto ceremony at the Higurashi shrine. After the ceremony,
everyone would head over to the reception hall, where friends and coworkers would be
waiting. If she had been completely true to tradition, Kagome would have changed into
an irouchikake, a brightly colored kimono, at the reception. However, she had always wanted
to wear a Western wedding dress, so as a compromise, she would change into it before
heading to the reception hall.

Soon, the team of specialists started wrapping Kagome in the shiromuku, the white wedding
kimono. When they were done, they stepped back to let Kagome have a full view of herself
in the mirror.
"Wow…I look…different," Kagome answered. She tried to move her arms, but looked more
like a penguin flapping its wings. "Is it normal to feel like I'm suffocating in all these layers?"
she asked the bridal team, smiling to let them know she was partly joking. "I mean, what
masochist in the past thought it was a good idea to wrap up a bride like this so she can hardly
move?"

"Maybe that was the point—to prevent her from running away," Rin thought out loud.

"Tch. Figures," Kagome grumbled.

"I think it's worth it. You look beautiful, sweetheart," Mama said, getting up and kissing
Kagome's cheek. Tears sprang to Mama's eyes. "Oh, I can't believe this day has come."

"Okay, get the tears out now, because they haven't put my makeup on yet," Kagome sniffed,
waving a hand at her eyes, which were growing pinker.

Rin knew the tears were never going to stop if this was allowed to continue. "Mama, I still
need to get changed. Can you help me with my kimono?" she asked, slowly getting to her
feet.

"Yeah, why haven't you gotten dressed yet?" Kagome asked, daintily wiping the moisture
from her eyes. Mama was already in her navy and gold kimono.

Rin placed a hand on her protruding stomach. "I didn't want to put on my kimono until the
last possible second. These maternity clothes are way more comfortable."

Kagome looked out the window, where the sun was setting. "Well, I think this qualifies as the
last possible second. Inuyasha's family's going to be arriving soon, and I want you to meet his
parents before the ceremony starts," Kagome said.

"Will do," Rin answered.

She and Mama went back to her room, where Rin pulled out her kimono. As she started
wrapping it around herself, keeping it looser than normal to account for her extra girth, she
looked in the mirror and groaned. "Oh Mama, I look like a blimp. Everyone's going to be
staring at me."

Mama just chuckled as she helped her arrange her obi. "Darling, pregnant women have been
wearing kimonos for centuries. They won't think anything of it. Besides, they'll all be too
focused on Kagome to be staring at you."

"You're right."

"Would you like me to help you with your hair too?" Mama asked.

Rin smiled. "Sure." She herself wasn't very good at hairstyles, so she was happy to have
someone else lend her a hand. Mama twisted Rin's hair into a beautiful knot, securing it with
Rin's fanciest hair sticks—metal ones made to look like silver branches with pink cherry
blossoms blooming along the ends. When they were done, Rin made no move to get up from
her bed.
"Are you alright, Rin?" her mother asked.

"I'll be fine. I just need a minute. My feet are still aching. It's already been a long day, and we
haven't even gotten to the wedding yet."

Mama kissed the top of her head. "I understand. Rest while you can. I'll go check on
Kagome, and I'll let you know when the Nishikunis arrive." Her mother left, and Rin turned
to face her mirror so she could apply a light touch of makeup without getting up. She patted
on some foundation, dusted on a little shimmery pink eye shadow and put on some matching
lip gloss. Then she added a touch of perfume, content with her primping. It was all just
enough to dress herself up. There was no need to go overboard though. Not only was she
unpracticed with anything more intense, but there wasn't anyone for her to dress to impress
anyway.

Mama hadn't come back yet, so she sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes
for a moment to take a breather. Of course, just then, one of the babies—or both, since it was
hard to tell—gave her a kick. She patted her stomach. "I know, I know. You're excited too,
aren't you? Just give Mommy a minute to rest her feet."

But the minute ended up taking longer than she thought, because the next thing she knew,
there was a knock on her door, and her mother peeked in. "They've just pulled up, dear, and
Kagome's just about done. I'm going to head down to meet them. Why don't you come down
with Kagome?"

"I'll be right there," Rin groaned, scooting forward on the bed. She flexed her toes, reveling in
the last bit of freedom they'd have for a few hours. Then she hiked up a foot onto her knee
and put on one of her socks.

When she pulled up the other foot, she noticed the bracelet around her ankle. "Oh, guess I
need to wear that on my wrist today." She pulled at the stretchy bracelet to get it over her
enlarged ankles and heel.

And then the decades-old elastic snapped, sending beads flying across the room.

Rin's mouth dropped open in astonishment as she sat there, holding a broken string and a few
beads clutched in her fingers. "Are you kidding me? Right now? And today of all days?" But
of course, it wouldn't be a wedding without a wardrobe crisis.

She had neither the time nor the patience to get down on her hands and knees to pick up all
the beads right now. But that wasn't her greatest worry. Her heart pounded as she realized the
implications.

I can't mask their auras tonight, and I'm going to be around so many people. Wait, is Kagome
going to sense them? If Kaede could, wouldn't Kagome be able to? Maybe she'll be too
distracted. Oh dear gods, I hope she's distracted. I mean, it's only for a few hours, right?
Then she'll go back to the Nishikunis', and I'll be heading home tomorrow, where I'll be
staying until I go to work. I can restring the bracelet and get Kaede to put the spell on it first
thing Monday morning.
Rin tried to think of anyone else that would potentially sense them, but she was too frazzled
to think straight. She barely managed to slip on her other sock and find where she had put the
sandals that went with her kimono.

Her mind was still numb as she went back to Kagome's room, but upon opening the door and
seeing Kagome made up and in full attire, including the white wataboshi hat that now
obscured the wig and framed Kagome's face in a soft triangle, her worries were wiped away.
"Sis, you look amazing!" She shuffled forward to grasp Kagome's hands, which was about
the most either of them could do, one being strapped into a formal kimono and the other
being so very pregnant.

"You look great too, Rin! Although…is it just the getup that's making you seem different?
There's something else that I…can't quite put my finger on."

Rin panicked, knowing she was probably feeling the girls. "It's probably that I just look really
different from the last time you saw me in a kimono. I was normal-sized then. Come on, the
Nishikunis are waiting."

"Are you walking me out?" Kagome asked.

"As long as I don't have to help you down the stairs, because I think I'm going to be the one
needing help," Rin chuckled weakly.

Luckily, the bridal team helped both of them down the stairs. Rin clutched the railing and a
specialist as she went down. Her center of gravity had been off for a while, but at least in
pants, she could control where her legs went. Even looser than normal, the kimono restricted
her leg movement so much, she felt like she could topple down the stairs.

She shuffle-waddled to the foyer, where she winced as she slipped on her shoes. But then she
plastered on a smile and linked her arm with Kagome's as they went outside to meet her
sister's in-laws.

The sun had already set, its last rays coloring the Tokyo horizon magenta and purple.
Grandpa and Souta had set up strings of red lanterns around the shrine, and the two girls
walked down a pathway lined in them. Rin grinned in delight. She had never seen the shrine
so decorated before—not even for New Year's.

A group had congregated in front of the Sacred Tree, and she gasped when the lantern light
glinted off a head of silver hair caught up in a ponytail. She froze, yanking Kagome to a stop
with her.

It couldn't be…could it?

"Rin, is something wrong?" Kagome asked.

But Rin wasn't listening. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

What do I do? What do I say? What—

Then the silver head threw itself back in laughter; but the rich baritone that escaped it was not
the same timber she had been expecting.

Her heart twisted as relief and disappointment clashed with each other, but she finally found
the courage to move again. "Sorry, minor leg cramp," she lied to Kagome.

As they approached the group, Inuyasha was the first to notice them. He blinked owlishly.
"Kagome, is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" Kagome answered, and then the whole group turned around to
watch as Kagome detached from Rin and went to Inuyasha's side. There was a click from the
darkness, and Rin looked around to find a photographer standing quietly behind the group,
looking down at his readout and starting to adjust settings. "I'd kiss you, but I don't want to
smudge my makeup."

"Yeah, probably for the best," Inuyasha answered quietly, still lost in staring at her.

Meanwhile, Rin was staring at the two who could only be Inuyasha's parents—except that
they still looked so young, she never would have guessed it had there been a larger crowd of
people gathered. She was struck by his father's drastic features: dark, tanned skin that set off
his silver hair (prematurely white or some mixed heritage?), but with thick, black eyebrows
winging over his ice-blue eyes (definitely mixed heritage then).

His mother had astoundingly long, black hair tamed into an up-do, and she wore sparkling
blue eye shadow and vibrant red lipstick that Rin swore only supermodels in ads could pull
off. Rin looked over at Inuyasha then to compare him to his parents. He himself looked rather
striking with his long, black hair and clad in the black montsuki haori kimono. The dog
emblems she recognized from the Western Sanctuary logo were on his sleeves. While
Inuyasha definitely got his coloring from his mother, she saw much of his father's face in
him.

Some people just have everything, don't they? Looks, youth, and money.

Of course, if she hadn't already tried to prove Inuyasha was a demon, she would have sworn
they all were. They just seemed too ethereal to be human. But then, she had one primary
reference for demon looks, so she might have been a little biased. (She blissfully ignored how
plain the wolf demons looked, given how much she tried to repress memories of them.)

In fact, there was something about Inuyasha's father's face that also reminded her of
Sesshoumaru. It must just be the hair and eyes. Sesshoumaru used blue contacts. But he's so
much paler, and his features aren't as…open as this man's.

Curiosity niggled at her, and she wondered if this man wasn't wearing contacts as well…but
it was too dark to tell just by lantern light.

Kagome must have caught her staring. "Oh! I'm so sorry. Touga, Izayoi, this is my little sister,
Rin. Rin, these are Inuyasha's parents."
Rin smiled at the family and bowed as far as she could with her stomach being so big. "It's a
pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

"And it is so lovely to finally meet you," Izayoi said, returning her bow. "My goodness, dear,
you are simply glowing. Kagome has told us how excited she is to become an aunt, but I can
see motherhood has also invigorated you. You'll be well suited for it."

"Thank you so much, Nishikuni -san," Rin answered.

"Oh, please. Call me Izayoi. In just a few minutes, we will be family, after all."

"Izayoi," Rin echoed with a smile. She turned to greet Inuyasha's father.

There was a slight prickle of confusion between his brows as he stared at her, his smile still
there but almost tacked into place—not the easy, carefree one he had been laughing with just
a moment ago.

Oh goodness, had she done something wrong? Was part of her kimono out of place? She
patted her hair and glanced down at herself, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, he seemed to snap out of it, and he lifted his smile to her. "A pleasure to meet you,
Rin. I look forward to getting to know you better. I believe Kagome said you were due at the
beginning of July. Is that right?"

"It is. July 10th. Although given that there's two of them, they might just decide to come out
earlier," Rin laughed, placing her hands on her belly.

"I see." Touga's gaze went distant, though his brows furrowed in determination, like he was
doing some serious mental gymnastics.

Just then, Grandpa came out in his finest priest robes. He stopped upon seeing Kagome, and
his eyes welled up with tears. "Oh my, if only your dear father could see you now…." He
turned around and sniffled, holding a sleeve to his face.

"Oh, Father," Mama said, coming around to put her hands on his shoulders.

Their grandfather shook himself, and with a loud sniff, he turned back around like he was in
the military. Despite his wet eyes, mustered up a proper somber, religious look. "Right then.
Inuyasha, Kagome, if you will come with me, we will briefly rehearse the ceremony, and then
we'll get right down to it."

Grandpa led them off, leaving Rin with Souta, Moe, her mother, and Inuyasha's parents.

"This is all so exciting, isn't it?" Izayoi asked with a smile. "I'm so glad we're able to
celebrate such a wonderful occasion as family. My own parents didn't approve of my
marriage to Touga, you see, so our own wedding was just a private affair."

Rin's eyes widened in shock. She would never have expected such a demure-looking woman
to go against her family's wishes like that. I thought from the looks of them, Inuyasha would
have gotten his spunk from his father, but maybe he actually got some of it from his mother
too.

Mama smiled and looked back at the Sacred Tree. "I wish my own husband could be here
today to witness this in person, but I know that he's watching nonetheless. It was right under
this very tree that he proposed to me, so I'm positive he's still here with us."

Rin's heart clenched at the memory of her foster father. She hadn't known him long, but the
little time she had had with him was among her cherished memories. When Inuyasha and
Kagome returned from the honeymoon in Hawaii, the whole family planned to visit his grave
for a picnic to introduce him to his son-in-law.

Silence fell over the group, and that was when Rin realized something. "Is Inuyasha's brother
not coming?"

Touga's eyes snapped over to her. "He had not planned to. He had…a conflict."

"Oh, that's a shame," Moe said. "I know Kagome was hoping something would change so he
could come."

What could possibly prevent someone from missing his own brother's wedding? Rin
wondered. Although…didn't Inuyasha mention they weren't on the best of terms? Oh Rin, why
didn't you just keep your big, fat mouth shut?

"I don't suppose we'll meet him in the future?" Rin hedged.

"You…haven't met him already?" Touga asked carefully.

"Oh, no. I didn't even know Inuyasha had a brother until their engagement announcement on
National Foundation Day," Rin answered.

"Are you positive?"

Rin screwed up her face in confusion. What kind of question was that? Even Izayoi was
giving her husband an odd look. "…Yes, I'm positive."

Touga took a deep breath. "Actually, will you all please excuse me for a moment? I need to
go make a call."

"Right now, dear?" Izayoi asked. "The ceremony's about to start."

"Yes, right now. Don't worry. I'll be right back." Touga took out his cellphone and walked
away from the group, heading down the main steps of the shrine as he dialed. Izayoi frowned
after him.

A couple minutes later, Grandpa came back with Inuyasha and Kagome. "Well, are we ready
to begin?" he asked.

Inuyasha looked around. "Where'd Dad go?"

"He went to make a call," Izayoi said.

Inuyasha frowned. "Really? Business, even on my wedding day? Who could he possibly be
calling at this time of night?"

"I don't know. I tried to stop him, but you know how stubborn your father is, dear. If you have
any doubts, just look in the mirror." Inuyasha huffed and looked away from her. Kagome just
giggled.

"So sorry about that," Touga said just then, coming up the steps. "Let's not waste another
moment, shall we? Time is precious, after all."

The ceremony began in a way specific to the Higurashi shrine, with the couple approaching
the Sacred Tree, spreading water at its roots, and offering up a prayer for its protection
through the years. Then the two proceeded to the shrine proper, their families following in a
train behind, and once everyone was seated inside, the traditional Shinto wedding ceremony
began.

Grandpa announced the couple's intention to marry before the gods, and then Inuyasha and
Kagome took turns sipping from sake cups poured three times, each dose increasing. Then,
Inuyasha took up a script of vows and read them to the gods with Kagome standing beside
him. Even though there was nothing particularly special about the vows themselves—as all
Shinto priests did, Grandpa had prepared them—when Inuyasha got to the part that said,
"Going forward, we will love each other, trust one another, share the good times and the bad,
and swear that this will stay unchanged throughout our lifetime," Rin started crying. She
blamed it mostly on the hormones, but she was reassured that Izayoi was dabbing at her eyes
too.

Then Inuyasha and Kagome offered sprigs of evergreen to the gods, and Rin was able to get
her tears under control…until the couple exchanged wedding bands, and a fresh wave of
waterworks poured out again.

Kagome just looked so happy, and Rin was filled with nothing but love and joy for her.

Well, maybe a little envy too. But she tried hard to suppress that.

Finally, after sake had been poured for all the guests (though Grandpa slipped Rin some
blessed water instead), they announced, "Congratulations!" and everyone drank to the couple.

With that, the twenty-minute ceremony was concluded.

The photographer then took some formal portraits of both the bride and groom and a mixture
of their families with them. Although Rin would have liked to hide her belly behind someone
for photos, the everlasting consequence of being short meant that she was always pushed to
the front, so her stomach was on prominent display. Well, at least my girls will be able to see
themselves in their aunt and uncle's wedding photos…sort of, she thought with humorous
resignation.
With the photos done, Touga and Izayoi declared they would head out to the reception hall to
start greeting guests as they arrived. Grandpa and Souta went with them, while Moe stayed
behind with Rin and their mother to supervise Kagome switching into her wedding dress.
Although it felt like the bridal team had spent just as long getting Kagome into her kimono as
she had actually worn it, they summarily unwrapped her and removed the wig. When
Kagome had her new dress on, their hair stylist wrangled the bride's locks into a half-up-half-
down cascade of loose curls.

Rin watched the transformation in awe. Two white dresses, but one so timeless and
traditional while the other was so modern and chic. But she felt they both perfectly
represented the two sides of Kagome herself.

Kagome then asked for someone to go give the photographer downstairs explicit instructions
to capture Inuyasha's face when she walked through the door. Although such candid shots
were unusual requests for weddings, Kagome had read about this practice in the West and
wanted a photo like that to treasure for herself.

Rin volunteered, needing the extra time to navigate the stairs in her kimono before everyone
else came down. She finally made it outside to find the photographer chatting with Inuyasha,
but as soon as she came out, they wrapped up their discussion. Rin gestured the photographer
over to her and whispered to him the instructions; he promptly walked away, looking for the
right angle.

Rin approached her new brother-in-law with a smile. "Well? How does it feel to be officially
married to my sister?"

Inuyasha scratched his cheek. "Honestly…not quite real yet. And it probably won't until
tonight when this is all over and we just get to be alone, you know?"

Rin nodded, glancing back at the doorway to see if they were coming yet. "I'll tell you
though, I've never seen Kagome so…blissful before. Her love for you was so visible during
the ceremony, it actually brought me to tears." She honestly felt kind of bad now for doubting
Kagome right after she announced her engagement. Had Rin been able to see then what she
saw today, she never would have brought up her misgivings.

And maybe she would have had the opportunity to see that expression if she came home more
often to actually see her family.

Well, I might just be coming back whether I like it or not, she thought, given that she still
hadn't found a new apartment yet.

"That so? I'm glad to hear it. Thanks," Inuyasha answered.

Rin cleared her throat, trying to put on her best stern voice. "That said…I shouldn't have to
tell you this, but take good care of her, okay? She was heartbroken when you guys broke up
last year. I should know. I was there after the fact when she needed a shoulder to cry on. All
I'm saying is, I don't want a repeat of that."
Inuyasha assessed her. "Well, let's be honest—we're going to fight. Probably a lot, actually.
We both like to have our way." Rin chuckled, nodding in agreement. "But I guess I can
promise you I'll always try to make up with her before she comes crying to you. I don't want
to lose her again either."

"You'd better make it quick then, because Kagome's first instinct is usually to call or text me
as soon as something happens," Rin added with a cocksure grin.

"You guys really are close, huh?"

"Of course! She's my one and only sister. The bond of sibling-hood is one that can never be
broken."

"Hmph," Inuyasha snorted. "Tell that to my brother. He'd just as soon cut our ties, if he
could."

Rin wanted to hit herself. Why do I keep bringing him up? Stupid, stupid. She needed to make
up for her mistake. "I've never met your brother, so I can't say…but if he hasn't cut your ties
yet, I don't think you actually have any reason to worry. …Although I do admit that him not
coming to the wedding is…um…." Rin didn't know how to put her thoughts delicately about
someone she had never met.

"A dick move?" Inuyasha supplied. "Yeah, well, I can't say I didn't see it coming, and I did
try to warn Kagome not to get her hopes up over a potential change of heart. I mean, he never
supported my relationship with her in the first place, so there was no way he'd show up when
we actually tied the knot."

"Why is that, if you don't mind me asking? Does he…not like my sister?"

"Nah, I don't think it's anything about Kagome personally." Inuyasha visibly chewed over his
words. "Let's just say…he doesn't think we're compatible. He doubts we can make our
marriage work."

"Oh. Is he…speaking from experience or something?"

"Ha! The only relationships that prick's ever had are with his ego and his work. Torrid love
affairs, the both of them. I'd be the first one to die of a heart attack if he was ever standing
where I am today."

Rin giggled. "Oh, you know what? I'm sorry, this may sound strange since we've just been
talking about him, but I still don't know your brother's name."

"Oh, really? Kagome never told you?" Rin shook her head. Inuyasha shrugged. "I mean, I
don't see why you really need to bother, since I doubt you'll ever meet him. He's not one for
family gatherings. But if you really want to know—"

Just then, the front door opened, breaking off Inuyasha's train of thought. Mama peeked out.
Spotting Rin, she smiled, and Rin gasped and shuffled a few steps back, so she wouldn't be in
the photo frame with Inuyasha. Kagome wanted this shot of him all for herself.
Rin already knew what Kagome looked like in her dress, so her attention was fully on her
brother-in-law as her sister emerged from the house. Inuyasha's eyes widened and his mouth
popped open ever so slightly. The camera clicked. Rin beamed.

Kagome walked right toward him and grabbed his hands, since he didn't appear capable of
movement. "Well, love, what do you think?"

"Kagome…I don't…. Is that really you?"

Kagome's smile flipped over as she scowled at him. Click. "What do you mean, is it really
me? Why do you keep asking that? Who else are you expecting to show up in wedding
dresses?"

"It's just…I thought you'd go back to looking like you after you took that insane wig off, but I
still hardly recognize you! I mean…gosh Kagome, you're beautiful!" Click.

"What is that supposed to mean? That I'm not beautiful any other time?" Click.

Rin slapped a hand to her mouth to keep her laughter contained. She knew her sister was only
joking—well, half joking—and watching Inuyasha try to dig his way out of the hole of his
own making was worth the price of admission. Apparently, the photographer thought so too,
because now the photographer was just having fun.

"That's not what I— I mean…argh, forget it. Just…." He pulled her in then and kissed her,
silencing her. Kagome's eyes widened, and then she threw her arms around his neck. Click.

"They're going to have a very…unique wedding album," Mama whispered to Rin.

Rin smiled. "But it's them, so it's perfect."

Afterwards, they all bundled themselves into a couple cars and headed to the reception hall.
After dropping off their things in the bridal suite, which essentially served as a changing
room, Rin went ahead with her mother and Moe to get inside the main hall, since Inuyasha
and Kagome would be making their special entrance soon. As Rin walked past the rows of
tables, she smiled and waved to family friends.

Then she glanced over at Inuyasha's side of the room.

Is it just me, or is everyone staring? Several of the guests had puckers of confusion etched in
their brows. You'd think they'd never seen a pregnant woman before, she thought. Ignore it.
They're probably just curious about who just walked in.

But then she noticed a familiar head of auburn hair turn around to look at her, and when his
eyes landed on her, he looked a little startled. She smiled shyly and waved at Shippou, who
waved awkwardly back. She had never gotten to apologize for basically ghosting him
(through no fault of her own though), so she'd have to right that tonight.

When they reached the family table, positioned about halfway back from the front of the hall,
where a raised platform with the bride and groom's seating was on display in front of a
golden screen, Rin went to sit on the side of the table with Souta and Moe, as far from the
grooms' guests as possible, since she still felt several gazes boring in her back. But Touga got
up and directed a smile at Rin, pulling out a chair between him and Grandpa. "Rin, please sit
here. My wife and I would love to get to know you better."

Rin didn't understand why he was singling her out, but she couldn't find a polite way to
refuse, so she took her seat next to him. Mama sat down across from Izayoi, who
immediately started talking with her, and Grandpa launched into his typical wedding story
with which to regale Touga (one Rin had heard a thousand times), although he appeared to be
paying about as much attention to Grandpa was she was, given the stern looks he kept
shooting around the room.

When the newlywed couple entered a few moments later, the guests greeted them with a
round of applause. Inuyasha had changed into a tux to match the look with Kagome’s
wedding dress. They took their seats at their special takasago table, and waiters went around
filling glasses of champagne as someone handed a microphone to Kagome.

"Welcome everyone, and thank you so much for joining us here today. I cannot tell you how
thrilled we are to be able to bring our families and friends together to celebrate with us. If you
had told me a year ago that I would be standing before you here today, married to a man I had
been dating for just two months at the time…I would have told you you were crazy." There
was a smattering of laughter at her words.

"Now, why was that, you might ask? Well, as some of you know, I don't have the greatest
track record when it comes to accepting proposals, but what can I say? I always knew I was
waiting for the right person…and it was evident to me pretty early on that I had found him.
So first, I would like to thank our friends, Miroku and Sango Fukushima, for throwing the
party last year that changed my life and Inuyasha's for the better." She raised her glass of
champagne. "To Miroku and Sango—who have officially bumped themselves up to the top of
our friends' list just for that." The room laughed again.

"Cheers," the guests intoned, raising their glasses and drinking. Rin once again took a sip of
water, not entirely bummed from having to miss out on mandatory alcoholic intake.

"There's also someone else I'd like to acknowledge. Inuyasha and I come from very different
families, so we had some differences to work out. Six months ago, those differences brought
us to what seemed like the ultimate breaking point. I'm ashamed to say I was the coward in
that situation, and I didn't have the strength to try to move past it on my own. So, I want to
take this opportunity to thank the person who gave me the courage to keep going down the
hard road and not give up. She's one of the bravest people I know. She always goes after what
she wants or what she thinks is right, and it doesn't matter how difficult the path ahead is—
and that's my little sister, Rin."

Rin's hand flew to her mouth in shock, and tears clouded her eyes. Mama leaned back around
Grandpa and reached for her hand, squeezing it affectionately.

"Without her," Kagome continued, "it's likely none of us would be here tonight celebrating
this wedding. So, this toast is to Rin, for inspiring me to fight for the love of my life. I'll be
forever grateful to you."
Rin blushed, hiding her face in her hands as everyone drank to her.

Kagome then handed the microphone to Inuyasha, who scratched the back of his head. "Now,
Kagome's gonna be reading you some mushy letter to her parents at the end of the night—"
The mic caught the brief, "Hey," Kagome let out when he said that, and several of the guests
chuckled. "—but I'd like to take this opportunity to say something to mine. Though, as most
of you know, I'm not one for long speeches, so don't expect much. Anyway, Mom, Dad, it
probably comes as no surprise that you guys are the best role models I have for what a long-
lasting, loving marriage can be." Izayoi and Touga looked at each other with equal mixtures
of love and pride in their eyes, and as if they were of one mind, they leaned in to peck each
other on the lips. Inuyasha smiled upon seeing them. "So I just want to say, thanks for being
who you are, and you can bet Kagome and I will be coming to you for advice in the future,
because I hope to share as many years with her as you two have together. Cheers," he said,
raising his glass.

After they were finished toasting, Inuyasha added, "So, let's get right to eating and do all the
other speeches and shit afterwards, yeah? 'Cause to be honest, I'm starving. Getting married
takes more energy than I thought." Izayoi put a hand to her forehead and shook her head as
the guests laughed at Inuyasha's no-nonsense attitude.

As Inuyasha wished (or rather, as was planned), dinner was served with all the traditional
foods that wished a couple a happy and long life together. Rin was starving so badly, all she
wanted to do was shovel as much of it into her belly as she could, particularly those sushi
cakes calling to her with their strips of smoked salmon.

But Touga seemed determined to keep her using her mouth for talking instead.

"So what do you do for a living, Rin?"

"I'm a perinatal nurse," she answered, sneaking in a bite of food.

"Here in Tokyo?"

"No. In a little town about an hour and a half southeast of here," she answered, picking at
the kazunoko. The herring was a little overcooked for her current tastes, but she was frankly
too hungry to really care.

"And is there anyone…special in your life?"

Rin grimaced. She officially hated that question. Everyone assumed there was, since she was
pregnant, and she couldn't blame them for it, but it still bugged her. Between that and getting
more and more hangry as the chance to down food was denied her, she answered more tersely
than she normally would have. "No, not anymore."

But instead of looking sad, Touga simply nodded, like her understood. "May I ask why?"

Geez, I didn't think he'd be this nosy. Inuyasha hates people prying, so I figured his parents
would be the same. "He left. I didn't have a chance to ask the reason."
Touga frowned. "Did he know you were…expecting?"

Rin shook her head. "It was too early for that. Neither of us knew. But he didn't leave me his
contact info, so I never got to tell him." His mouth twisted in consternation, and she could
sense another question brewing, but she didn't want to talk about this anymore. "Sorry, maybe
you could, uh…tell me something about your family for a bit? I'm just really hungry, and—"

"Oh, of course! Please, go ahead. I should know better than to keep an expectant mother from
her meal." He smiled so charmingly at her that she forgave him—well, she forgave him after
devouring one of her sushi cakes.

He did regale her a little bit with information about their family, including Nishikuni Corp.,
what it did, and Inuyasha's rising position within the company. He made no mention of the
sanctuary or his eldest's job managing it, and though Rin would have liked to return the
earlier favor by prying more into this family secret, she was too hungry to want to resume
talking.

Unfortunately, she finished her meal all too soon and was left staring at empty dishes,
wondering where everything had gone. As if protesting the sudden cessation of nutrition, one
of the babies gave her a strong kick.

"Is something wrong, Rin?" Touga asked politely next to her.

She smiled sheepishly. "I guess it wasn't as much food as I thought. I suppose I'll just have to
wait for dessert."

"Nonsense. You're eating for three. I noticed you liked those sushi cakes. Here, have one of
mine to tide you over," he said, putting an uneaten sushi cake on her plate before she could
protest. Then he flagged down a passing waiter. "Could you make sure this young woman
gets another helping?"

"Of course, sir," the waiter replied, going back to the kitchen.

"You didn't have to do that," Rin protested with a blush.

"Certainly, I did. Your wellbeing is important."

Nevertheless, Rin was thankful for Touga's sushi cake, because it took several minutes before
her second helping came. She tucked into it with just as much gusto as the first. When she
was finally sated, she sat back with a sigh. "Now I feel like I need to walk around to work all
that food off."

"Why don't you go say hello to everyone then, dear? We have to make our rounds ourselves,"
Mama said. She, Grandpa, Touga, and Izayoi would walk to all the guests' tables, pouring
beer for them from handheld bottles and offering up cheers to the new couple.

At that point, the four elders got up and went to get their beer. "How many of the guests do
you reckon don't even need any more alcohol tonight?" Touga joked as he left, his blue eyes
sparkling. Too later, Rin realized she had just missed out on the perfect opportunity
throughout dinner to check him for contacts. Oh well. There would be plenty of time later
during the speeches.

Rin stood as well, deciding to take her mother's advice, but she winced as her back pulled,
and she rubbed the lower part to relieve the ache building there. She couldn't wait to go
home, crawl into bed, and just relax. Between her feet and her back, she was going to be so
sore tomorrow.

Only a few guests were up and mingling at the different tables, but several were preoccupied
with their own conversations. Then she spotted Shippou sitting quietly at his table, munching
on some datemaki omelets, not joining in on whatever conversation his tablemates were
having.

Man up, Rin. Time to face him.

Rin approached him and tapped his shoulder from behind.

He jumped and whirled around. When he saw Rin, his eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, hi Rin. You're
not who I was expecting."

"Who were you expecting?" she asked with a grin. "You look terrified."

"I, uh…keep getting the sense that my boss is here, but I haven't seen him, and I just know
he's going to pop up when I least expect it."

"Your boss…. Oh, you mean Inuyasha's brother, right?"

"Yeah," Shippou said, looking her up and down, his eyes straying to her shoulder. "Him. But
I heard he wasn't coming, so that's just weird, right?" He laughed, but it came out high-
pitched and nervous, causing a few of his tablemates to glance over.

"Right," Rin answered on reflex. Why was Shippou so fidgety? Was being around her that
uncomfortable? I mean, it's not like he knows what happened, so…I should explain. "Look,
Shippou, I'm really sorry for never texting you back. Or at least, what was texted back to you
didn't come from me. Ugh, it's a long story, but Kagome messed with my phone and ended up
deleting your message and contact info, and—"

"You know what? It's no problem. In fact, it's probably better this way. You're a lovely girl,
Rin, but, uh…I just can't see us taking this anywhere, so…oh, you know what? I think I see a
really important client over there. My boss would kill me if I didn't go talk to him, so I need
to say hi. Uh, thanks for coming over, and…uh…have a nice life," Shippou said, scooting out
of his chair before practically bounding away.

Rin frowned as she watched him dart across the room. "Rude much?" she muttered. He's
acting the complete opposite of how he did at National Foundation Day. I guess Kagome was
right. You can't tell with players like him.

She sighed. Still…I know I promised not to get him involved, but there goes my last chance at
finding Sesshoumaru.
She turned around to head back to the bride's side of the room when she almost bumped
straight into someone.

"I'm sorry, please excuse me," Rin said, dipping her head. But the woman didn't budge. Rin
took a step back to get some space between them.

Is she part of Inuyasha's family? She has that similar, bleached hair, but…she looks nothing
like them. The woman was dressed in an elegant, gray gown with lacy sleeves. Vivid violet
eye shadow lent severity to her features, making up for her near-invisible eyebrows. She
clacked long nails painted in black against the cup of a full wine glass.

Rin tried to move around her, but the woman blocked her way, continuing to stare down at
her, like she was dirt on her fancy, high-heeled shoe. Rin finally had enough. "Can I help
you?"

"There'sss only one way you could help me, but I can't make lightning sssstrike where I want
it to," the woman sneered with a slight slur, taking a swig from her glass. What would be a
pink blush on anyone else was a violent mauve on her pale, pale cheeks. How many drinks
had she already had?

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we've even met," Rin answered evenly, drawing upon years of
working with patients in excruciating pain or those high on painkillers.

"No, we haven't. Who are you?" the woman demanded.

Rin flinched at her abruptness. "My name is Rin Higurashi. I'm the bride's sister."

"Oh, you. The one 'responsible for bringing us all here together tonight,' right?" the woman
mocked in a slightly higher tone as she tried to quote Kagome's speech. Several of the nearby
tables turned to look at them, and Rin blushed in mortification. As much as she was used to
dealing with irate patients, she was only used to doing so in a more private setting—not in
front of an entire wedding guest list.

"Ma'am, please, we're at a wedding—"

"Oh, don't even say that word! I don't want to hear it from your mouth."

"Ma'am, please, I don't understand why—"

"Then let me help you understand," the woman answered. She jabbed a finger so drunkenly,
she missed Rin's chest and landed on the crux of her shoulder, right where Sesshoumaru's
mark was. "You're not only the slut who's going to ruin me, but apparently, you're responsible
for getting this whooooole mess of an engagement even started, because you just had to bring
those two back together and put ideas into Inukimi's head. I suppose you thought you'd all be
just one, big, happy family, is that it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but—"

Rin had no idea what this woman was talking about. "Ma'am, I think you have the wrong
person," she interrupted before this could go any further.
"It's you, missy, who has the wrong person. He isn't supposed to be yours. He is supposed to
be mine."

Rin frowned. "Who are you talking about?"

The woman sneered. "My shitty fiancé, who couldn’t even bother to show up and accompany
me—who else? The man who also apparently shoved his noble prick into some lowbred cun
—" A gloved hand slapped over the woman's mouth from behind her.

"My apologies, miss. My sister here has had far too much to drink, and it appears she had lost
control of her tongue."

Rin stared at the newcomer in surprise. Sister? They don't look related in the least. But who
was she to talk about relations? She was adopted, after all.

Where the woman was colorless, the man was all bronze skin and vibrant, red hair. In fact, he
had the longest, curliest hair she had ever seen on a man, with part of it covering his right
eye, like he was going for some pop idol trend.

He continued speaking through Rin's silence. "She has a right to be angry, of course, but
that's no excuse for vulgarity in this civilized setting, and such things are best discussed
in private, are they not, sister?" he asked in a low voice, glaring at the pale woman. She
wrenched his hand away from her mouth, and they had a silent staring contest.

"Sir, I apologize, but I think your sister is confused. I'm sorry for whatever pain she is going
through—it certainly sounds agonizing—but I have no idea what she is talking about. Ma'am,
I can assure you, I would never sleep with a taken man, engaged or otherwise."

The woman rolled her eyes with a dismissive click of her tongue, but her brother calmly
assessed Rin. "Indeed. I will have to take your word for it."

"Then if you'll excuse me," Rin said, ducking her head and scurrying away as quickly as she
could. She had to get out of this room for a few minutes and get away from all these stares so
she could breathe.

But as she walked past another table, a hand latched onto her wrist, and Rin looked over to
find Sango staring up at her with a pleading look, a pink flush on her cheeks. "Hey, Rin, let
me come with you. I need to talk to you for a second," the woman whispered loudly. The
scent of alcohol on her breath ghosted over Rin's nose.

Inwardly, Rin groaned, but she made no move to leave. The gods save me from more drunks
tonight. But at least Sango won't call me a slut. "O-Okay. What about?"

"Not here," Sango whispered again, getting up and dragging her outside the room and into the
hallway of the venue. Rin took a deep breath, glad to have the stares off her back. Sango
brought them to an empty corner and then looked around, as if searching for threats. Finally,
she turned around to face Rin and murmured, "Don't freak out…but I sense a demon here."

"A what?" Rin yelped, her hand reflexively going to her belly.
"Shh," Sango answered with a slight slur. "Some demons have really good hearing."

"D-Do you know who it is?" Rin asked, her heart picking up pace.

Sango shook her head with an exaggerated motion. "It's been pretty faint, but…it feels
stronger now, for some reason. I dunno. Miroku thinks I'm crazy. He keeps telling me to relax
and keeps pushing drinks at me, and I'm like, 'I know what I sense, okay? This is part of my
job.' I mean, he always claimed he had the same senses, coming from an ancient line of
monks, but either his senses have dulled or he's full of shit, because it's so obvious, and yet he
can't tell?"

Rin swallowed thickly. "I don't mean to doubt you, Sango…but, uh…are you sure it's not the
drinks making you feel that way? You seem, uh…tipsy." That was an understatement. The
girl was a sip away from being sloshed.

Sango narrowed her eyes at her. "You don't believe me either."

"It's not that, Sango. I suppose it's possible. I mean, demons are supposed to integrate so well,
you can't tell them apart from humans. So maybe there is one in the mix here. It's a pretty big
party." Kagome's side of the guest list had been fairly small, but Inuyasha's side was huge.
She didn't recognize most of the people in the room. Unfortunately, after the stunt with that
woman earlier, they would all probably recognize her. "That said…I don't think the demon
would do anything rash if they're trying to blend in with the guests," Rin continued.

Sango suddenly pulled Rin in for a hug, rubbing her back. "You are too sweet for this world,
Rin. You know that? You believe the best in everyone." She sighed, jerking them apart so
suddenly, Rin almost got whiplash. "But you just never know. I mean, sure they act as nice
and human as they can on the surface, and they really can seem genuine…but they're all
hiding vicious animals under their skins, and we just can't take the risk that they'll go
berserk."

Rin's hands clenched. "So you'll slay them before they have a chance to defend themselves?
Do you ever let a demon speak?"

Sango stumbled back in shock, blinking owlishly at Rin. "That's just…that's what we're
supposed to do. It's what we're trained to do. Rin, why are you getting so angry?"

"There you are!" Miroku cried out, swooping in and wrapping his fingers around his wife's
shoulders. He smiled at her and pulled her closer to him. "I've been looking all over for you,
dear. Why did you leave the table? I'm so lonely without you around."

Sango brushed him off. "Don't think…I'm not onto you, mister! You've been—" she
hiccupped, "—plying me with alcohol all evening. If you think that means I'm going to let
my guard down so you can put another baby in me…think again, mister!"

"Oh dear, you caught me," Miroku answered with a wobbly grin and a chuckle so weak, even
Rin could tell it was fake. Why would he lie about something like that? she wondered.
Sango, in her inebriated state, apparently couldn't tell though. "You lech. Three kids aren't
enough for you, huh? Still trying to have me make up for all the women you've ever asked
that refused you?"

"I think you need some fresh air," Miroku said, turning her bodily around and heading
towards the outside doors that led to the garden. He looked back at Rin. "Sorry about this," he
added. Then he paused, studying her again. "Actually, Rin, can we talk later—?"

"No, we can't leave, Miroku. There's a demon here! I sense it!" Sango interjected, speaking
over him.

"Ugh, I should have brought a couple glasses with me," Miroku grumbled as he pushed her
outside.

Rin let out a sigh of relief, rubbing her belly and feeling the twins kick in response. That was
close. Sango almost caught on, and Miroku….

Had he sensed the twins? The man had looked stone-cold sober (compared to his wife, at
least), and she hadn't missed the contemplative look her gave her.

I'll worry about that later. It'll be ages before we see each other again after tonight anyway,
and he seems to have his hands full.

She didn't really feel like going back inside the hall yet, but she didn't want to miss any of the
speeches or performances, and those would likely be starting soon. So, she slipped back in.
All she really wanted to do was go back to the table and sit down, but Souta and Moe had
disappeared, and she didn't want to sit there all alone. Noticing that Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka
were up at the takasago table with Inuyasha and Kagome, Rin made a beeline for them.
Inuyasha had vacated his spot, standing a ways away as he watched Kagome and her friends
laughing and posing together in front of the photographer.

Rin smiled as she neared them. "They look like they're having fun."

"Yeah. They're a wild bunch alright," Inuyasha remarked. "Why don't you go join them?"

"No, it's alright. They've been doing this sort of thing since middle school. I don't want to
interrupt." She was positive the girls wouldn't mind, but she wasn't sure she could muster up
smiles for photos right now.

After a moment, the girls left to go back to their seats, and Inuyasha went back to his. Rin
was about to leave as well, but Kagome beckoned her over. "You both should have joined
us!" she exclaimed. "It would have been such fun!"

"And have your friends put me in embarrassing poses? Yeah, no thanks," Inuyasha answered.

Just then, footsteps clacked loudly against the hardwood floor. "Heeey, mutt face, I think it's
time you finally introduced your new bride to me. Where you been keepin' this beauty, huh?
It's like you didn't' want me to meet her."
Rin froze as that voice rolled over her, sending a bone-deep shiver up her spine. How many
times had she heard it in her dreams these last several months? How many times had she
woken up in a cold sweat from it?

It can't be. What is he doing here?

Rin's heart thudded in her ears as she turned and looked behind her.

"Name's Kouga, by the way. I'm an old friend of Inuyasha's," the newcomer said, walking up
to the table and extending a hand to Kagome. Inuyasha snorted at the introduction. Kagome
reached over to shake it, but Kouga brought it to his lips instead and kissed her knuckles.
"And may I say, you make one hell of a bride, Kagome. I admit, I was shocked—I didn't
expect the mutt here to land such a looker."

Rin couldn't stop staring. Sango had been right, even if she didn't know it.

There was a demon here. A wolf demon. He looked every inch as she remembered him,
except his tail was nowhere to be seen. But she would recognize that face, that dark pony tail
and those ice-chip blue eyes anywhere.

Her breaths grew short and choppy, and she couldn't move. He hadn't noticed her yet. His
gaze was completely focused on Kagome as she popped out of her seat and twirled around
playfully for him, drunk on happiness.

He wolf-whistled. "Damn, girl, it's like that dress was made for you."

"I see you have very good taste, sir," Kagome answered with what Rin could only assume
was a champagne-induced smile.

"Hey, flea-bag, stop ogling my wife," Inuyasha growled.

"Oh, hush, Inuyasha. Let the man look. It's not every day I get to be praised in my wedding
dress. I do have to return it tomorrow," Kagome answered.

"You are a very easygoing woman, Kagome. I like you. I'm gonna have to pay a visit to the
estate so we can…get to know each other better."

"Are you seriously hitting on my wife when I'm right here?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Look, all I'm sayin' is, if you ever get bored of hangin' around Inuyasha all day, feel free to
give me a ring, ya hear?" Kouga answered, extending his thumb and pinky next to his ear,
giving his hand a shake, and winking at her.

Kagome giggled. "My, what a charmer. Unfortunately, sir, I'm happily taken, but if you turn
to your right, you'll find a perfectly wonderful single girl right there."

"Oh?" he asked, and Kouga finally turned, meeting Rin's terrified stare. She couldn't look
away. His eyes narrowed in confusion, and he gave a loud sniff. "Have we, uh…met before?
You look kinda familiar."
Rin had to keep her mouth from dropping open.

He didn't remember her? He had ordered her to be raped and eaten, and he didn't remember
her?

Her hands fisted at her sides, and her body trembled as rage flushed out all her fear. "Yes, we
have," she ground out through gritted teeth. Inuyasha frowned.

"Really? Sorry about that. I'm usually good with memory recall, but—" He broke off,
suddenly turning to Inuyasha. "Hey man, is your brother here, because I keep getting the
feeling that he is, and it's freaking me out. We haven't been on good terms in a while, and I'd
rather not run into him, if I can help it."

"Huh? Why would you think that? Of course he's not here. He ain't comin'," Inuyasha
answered.

"Are you sure, 'cause…." Kouga trailed off, looking more closely at Rin again. "Where did
you say we met again?" he asked tentatively. Rin couldn't speak, she was so angry. "Maybe
you can give me a clue?"

Give him a clue? Yeah, she could do that much.

She stepped forward, reached around his back, and yanked on his ponytail. Hard.

"Yowch!" he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. "Geez, what was that for?"

"Rin!" Kagome gasped. "What's gotten into you?"

Empowered by his pain, Rin's words suddenly came back to her and burst out. "So sorry," she
spat in a sarcastic tone. "I thought you'd prefer I didn't say anything since I've, and I
quote, 'got quite a mouth on me.'"

Kouga's squinted at her in confusion. Then his eyes went to her shoulder. Then her belly.
Then back to her face. And she watched as he stiffened when everything dawned on him.

"Oh, shit," he said, backing away. "Mutt face, I wasn't here, alright? It wasn't my fault. I
didn't touch her. She touched me. Tell Sesshoumaru that before he comes to kill me."

Rin sucked in a breath. Inuyasha knows Sesshoumaru? Had the key to finding him been right
beside her sister all along?

"Sesshoumaru? What the hell's he got to do with anything?" Inuyasha asked.

"Is that schnoz on your face just for show, or—? Oh, wait, forgot you're nose blind tonight.
Shit. But wait, are you seriously telling me you don't know?"

"Know what?" Inuyasha asked. "Just spit it out already, flea-bag."

"She's—" He froze like prey sensing a predator and gave the air another sniff. Rin watched as
his entire body went tense and on high alert. His head swiveled like a compass, eyes fixing at
 some point over her shoulder. "Oh no," he groaned.

Rin turned to look in the direction that he was, and a glint of silver hair caught her eye.

Glass shattered, and the room instantly quieted, looking around for the source.

But Rin just stood rooted to the spot, her gaze locked on Sesshoumaru, who stared back at
her with blue eyes widened in shock. Inside her heart, the part that housed Sesshoumaru's
emotions dawned with growing horror. The pale woman from earlier hung onto his left arm
while his right was suspended uselessly in front of him, the remnants of the goblet he had
been holding glittering at his feet as blood-red wine crept around his shoes.

And that was when Rin realized she was the slut the woman had been raving about.

If Sesshoumaru hadn't been engaged before, he apparently was now. Her heart cracked at the
realization.

As if to confirm Rin's suspicions, the woman—no, she had to be a demon if she was engaged
to Sesshoumaru, which meant she and Kouga and Shippou and apparently everyone and their
mother here were all demons who had been giving her weird looks tonight because they
could sense her half-demon babies, and though the Nishikunis did a damn good job of hiding
it, she had been right all along about them being demons too—looked back and forth between
Sesshoumaru's face and hers, and when she landed again on Rin's, she glared at her with so
much venom, it was a physical promise that she'd bring Rin and her children pain.

That look, coupled with the shock of seeing her erstwhile lover again so suddenly (who,
despite what she felt from him these last several months, must have moved on), triggered the
most primal of responses in Rin.

She fled.

Chapter End Notes

FINALLY. 😆
 A Sudden Case of Fatherhood
Chapter Notes

IT'S HAPPENING, GUYS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Seriously, I have been waiting for

😆
WEEKS to write/share this with you! And I know you've wanted to string me up for the
last week because of that cliffhanger. So without further ado…I hope you enjoy.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Under normal circumstances, Sesshoumaru would not be altogether surprised when his father
called. But today was Inuyasha's wedding, and if he remembered correctly, the ceremony was
supposed to start around now.

So when he saw his father's name flash on his phone, he knew it couldn't be good news.

Sesshoumaru accepted the call. "Father?"

"Where the hell are you right now?"

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed in surprise. Why did his father sound so angry? "At the
resort. Why?"

"Do you even know what day it is?"

Sesshoumaru knew he didn't mean the calendar date. "Certainly. Which is why I'm here and
not there." He was spending the night at the resort until Inuyasha and Kagome set off on their
honeymoon tomorrow. "They are aware I'm not attending," he added, in case his father didn't
know—which he thought was strange, because he could have sworn he made it clear to the
entire family.

Truthfully, his absence was mostly a show at this point. He still thought their union was
reckless, but he was in no position to condemn them for it. And while he found human
ceremonies mundane and theatrical, he could have attended…if he felt like inflicting even
more self-torture upon himself, which he didn't. In truth, he just couldn't bear to see them
being so happy together.

Because their happiness only reminded him of the happiness he had given up.

So no matter how many times Kagome had pestered him these past few months to attend the
wedding, trying to wheedle a confirmation out of him even yesterday, he had refused and let
the couple believe he was staying away because he didn't approve.

There was some truth to that, at any rate.

His father took a deep breath on the other side of the phone. "Look son, I don't care whether
you approve of this marriage or not, but this is your brother's wedding, and you need to at
least make an appearance and appear supportive."

"For what reason? Inuyasha will know it's all a show."

"Then put on the show the Higurashis and the guests, if no one else. We don't need them to
see our family as divided, do we? It will undermine our standing."

He was not stupid enough to fall for the game his father was playing. "Anyone invited to that
wedding is already well aware of the internal workings of our family. They will not be
surprised, so I see no need for me to attend, Father."

"You say that because you're not here to see what I see."

"And what is that?"

"…Something you need to come and see for yourself. Then, perhaps, you can explain exactly
what it is I'm seeing to me, because honestly, I can't quite wrap my mind around it."

Why is he being so cryptic today? "Unless you can give me a concrete reason to come, I will
pass."

His father paused on the other side of the line. And then he snarled, and Sesshoumaru was so
surprised, he pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if it had grown fangs.
"Do not make me order you, Sesshoumaru. As your father or the head of our clan."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. Why were his parents dead-set on ordering him around lately?
They had let him live his own life for centuries. Why was this year suddenly so different?

"Why can you not just tell me what is so serious that you feel the need to order me?"

"Because I realize I can no longer trust your words, Sesshoumaru, and I must see the truth on
your face for myself. You are my son, so I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but
you are making it nigh impossible right now. And you had better believe that as soon as we
reach the reception, no one else will be giving you the same benefit I am."

"Father, what are you talking about?"

"Your reputation is on the line, Sesshoumaru. The rumors will spread instantly."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "My reputation will not suffer for missing my half-breed brother's
wedding." It was no secret he and Inuyasha were not on the best of terms.

Again, Touga growled. "Half-breed. I never want to hear that derogatory term come out of
your mouth again. Do you understand me, Sesshoumaru? Enough is enough. It's past time
that you got rid of those antiquated prejudices." He sighed. "I swear, if it wasn't staring me
right in the face, I would never believe…."
"Believe what, Father?" Sesshoumaru demanded, getting tired of all this coyness. It was
unlike him. Both his father and brother had a tendency to cut straight to the heart of a matter,
so what was causing him to behave so uncharacteristically?

His father refused to answer, however. "You will come here and explain yourself,
Sesshoumaru. If you do not, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands, and you
will not like that at all, son."

What did he have to explain? The curiosity was eating at him more than his father's threats.
However, if his father said his reputation was on the line, it had to be serious. For that alone,
he supposed he should go. He took a deep breath of resignation. "I will not make it in time
for the ceremony."

"That's fine. Just be sure to show up at the reception. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Good. And Sesshoumaru?"

"What?"

"Leave. Now." His father hung up without even saying goodbye.

What has him so riled up?

Despite his father's words, he took his time shutting down his computer and tidying his desk
before announcing, "Jaken, we're leaving."

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama!" the imp cried out, somehow always right there when
Sesshoumaru called for him.

Sesshoumaru drove for the next hour back to Tokyo, and it was late enough when he arrived
that traffic wasn't horrible. He stopped by the estate to drop Jaken off, but while he was there,
he decided to take a moment to touch-up his makeup and prosthetics. He would be mingling
in a crowd of humans, after all. For that matter, I ought to change my suit as well. Men in the
family usually wore black suits to weddings, and he was currently in a charcoal gray
ensemble. He didn't want to stand out any more than he already would with his coloring.

His mother found him at work in his bathroom. "I thought you weren't coming home
tonight," she said by way of greeting.

"Father has requested my presence at the reception."

His mother frowned. "Odd. He did not object earlier when you said you were not attending.
And he did not make me attend either."

Had it been Inukimi's turn as public wife, she would have been forced to attend the ceremony,
for the sake of Nishikuni Corp.'s human colleagues that were in attendance. However,
although Kagome extended an invitation to her (out of sheer politeness, no doubt), Inukimi
declined, noting that one did not usually show up to the celebrations for an
ex's other children.

"I wonder what changed his mind?" she continued. Sesshoumaru didn't answer, because he
himself wasn't entirely sure. "Well, I suppose it's for the best. You really should be
accompanying Zero as her plus-one, shouldn't you? She is your fiancée, after all. You need to
appear together in public more often."

He had heard enough. "Goodnight, Mother," he said, finishing straightening his ponytail and
striding past her.

He drove to the reception hall and followed the signs for the Nishikuni-Higurashi reception.
Although the halls were mostly empty, the remnants of scents of dozens of people having
passed through still lingered. He was about to walk inside when one particular scent stung his
nose, and he froze.

It can't be.

He paused, trying to sniff it out, but the trail ended around the corner of the hall in a little
alcove, and there was no one and nothing there.

Am I imagining it? He had to have been. What were the chances that Rin would be at his
brother's wedding? He had never even heard Inuyasha speak her name before.

There were so many scents here, he was probably just confused. Rin had been on his mind
lately with Inuyasha's nuptials and all.

He finally entered the hall, a barrage of scents blasting him in the face: foods, alcohol,
perfumes, human scents, demons scents. A majority of the guests were sitting at their tables
and conversing, most of their plates cleared and half-drunk glasses of alcohol littering each
spot.

"You're incredibly late," his father said, suddenly appearing at his side.

Sesshoumaru turned to him and frowned. "I came as quickly as possible."

"Then let's not tarry. I need you to confirm something for me."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever met Kagome's sister?"

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I have not." I drove all the way here just so he could ask me that?
Why couldn't he have just asked that over the phone?

"Are you certain?"

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. The accumulation of smells in this crowded hall was
overwhelming his nose, and he wanted to leave. "Why would I bother to meet her sister? I do
not care about meeting her family. Did you honestly ask me all the way out here just to do
so?"

"Yes, I did."

"If that is all, I'm leaving," Sesshoumaru said.

His father grabbed his arm before he could go. "Sesshoumaru, you are not. This concerns the
future of our clan, dammit!"

Sesshoumaru frowned. "What do you mean?"

His father jerked on his arm, practically hauling him across the room. Several pairs of demon
eyes he recognized flitted over to him, and they started whispering.

"He's here."

"Do you think it's true then?"

"It must be. Touga looks furious."

"Father, what is going on?"

But it was not his father who answered.

"So now you fiiiiinally show up." Zero's slurred voice hit him from the right, and he turned to
find her and Kirinmaru walking towards him. Kirinmaru's face was a thundercloud as he
glared at Sesshoumaru, and Zero's pale countenance was flushed burgundy as she held onto a
nearly full glass of wine. She practically stumbled forward and clutched onto his arm, ripping
it from Touga's grasp. The wine sloshed dangerously in her glass, so Sesshoumaru took it
from her before it ended up on his suit.

"What is the matter with you?" he hissed.

Zero frowned. "I'm staking my claim."

"What claim? We're engaged, aren't we? Everyone here knows it."

Kirinmaru laughed darkly. "They do, which is why my poor sister has borne the brunt of
interrogation all night in the face of these rumors."

"What rumors?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Kirinmaru frowned and turned to Touga. "He doesn't know?"

"What. Rumors."

"Kirinmaru, please, let me handle this," Touga answered.

Zero grabbed onto Sesshoumaru's lapel, trying to pull him down to her level, but his strength
was greater than hers, so he neither budged nor complied. In a low voice, she hissed, "You
had best pray that this is one giant misunderstanding, Sesshoumaru, or you and
that trollop will never know the end of my wrath." The way she said "trollop" made
Sesshoumaru's hackles rise, and a cold sense of foreboding splashed down his spine.

Zero whipped out a hand and pointed straight to the right without even looking. "Now
explain yourself, dear. Were you always planning to make a fool of me?"

Sesshoumaru followed the direction of Zero's finger, pointing at Inuyasha, Kagome, Kouga
(who was staring at him in justifiable horror), and another woman whose back was turned to
him.

Just then, he caught the whiff of that familiar scent again, and as he recognized the shape of
her bare neck, the precise color of her brown-black hair, and the petite frame he knew so
well, it hit him like a physical kick to his gut.

Rin.

And then his mate turned around, and her eyes found his unerringly.

His own dropped straight to her rounded stomach.

He dropped Zero's glass of wine, and it shattered all over his shoes.

The conversations around them when silent as everyone turned to stare.

In a voice so quiet that only the demons closest to Touga could hear, he asked, "Do you know
that woman, Sesshoumaru?"

But he didn't answer. Couldn't. He could only stare at the woman he had been dreaming about
holding again for seven long, long months.

The woman who had apparently been carrying his offspring for seven long, long months.

She's here, right in front of me. Finally.

Why did I leave her?

She's pregnant.

I should never have left her.

I'll never leave her again.

She's mine.

Everyone knows it.

Then that thought hit him with more power.

Everyone knows. Zero knows.

Rin's in danger.

And as if she sensed what he was thinking, Rin suddenly bolted like a spooked deer.

"Rin, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, getting up to follow her.

Sesshoumaru moved as well, but Zero kept a tight hold on his arm, pulling him back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zero growled. "Answer the question, Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru whipped his head around and glared at her, tearing his arm away. "Yes, I know
her. She is my mate. So back. Off," he snarled.

Several of the demon guests gasped, and distantly, he heard Kouga curse. He cut a withering
glare at the wolf, who pointedly looked away. Next to him, Inuyasha simply looked
completely bemused.

The doors to the hallway clicked open, and before he knew it, Rin was out of the room. How
had a pregnant woman moved so fast? He tore his arm out of Zero's now-loosened grip and
cut Kagome off as she was heading in the same direction.

"Wha— Sesshoumaru? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Kagome, please wait," Touga said, reaching out to grasp her arm.

"What the hell is going on?" Inuyasha asked behind them all. "Flea bag, you'd better
explain."

Sesshoumaru didn't wait to hear the mangy wolf's explanation. As he left the hall, however,
he did hear his father announce into a microphone, "Ladies and gentleman, if you would all
take your seats, we'd like to invite Inuyasha and Kagome's friends and family to come up and
say a few words…."

Sesshoumaru banged the doors and stormed into the hallway, just in time to see Rin round a
corner.

"Rin!" he barked. She didn't respond.

He growled, his inner beast responding to the chase.

"Oh, hey, Sesshoumaru, you're here!"

Sesshoumaru whipped his head around and glared at whoever dared interrupt him.

Inuyasha's human friend, Miroku, flinched back, holding on tighter to his wife…who was
apparently so drunk that she didn't even register how feral he appeared at the moment.

"Get. Lost."

"Time to go, sweetie," Miroku said, steering Sango back towards the party.
"No, no, no," Sango protested. "Rin was…running. Something's wrong. I've been telling
you all night that there's a de—"

Miroku slapped his hand over his wife's mouth and laughed too loudly.

"Haha, oh dear, Sango, I think it is well past time we go home now. Let's go round up
Grandpa and the kids, alright?" Sango tried to say something beneath Miroku's hand. The
man glanced back over his shoulder at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru bared his teeth, and the
monk-in-training-turned-salesman practically yipped and steamrolled his wife into the
reception room.

Sesshoumaru prowled through the hall, scenting the air and stalking after Rin. He took his
time, making sure there were no other stray party-goers around. Besides, there was nowhere
she could hide that he wouldn't find her.

He tailed her scent until he came upon a door labeled "Bridal Suite 1." He tried the door, only
to find it locked. He bared his teeth but tried not to let his frustration leak into his voice, so as
not to frighten her. "Rin, open the door." Silence answered him. "I know you're in there."
After another beat of silence, he added more tersely, "I will break the lock if I have to, Rin.
I need to see you."

The lock finally clicked open, but the door did not. He waited a beat for her to back away
before he swung the door open and found her backing halfway across the sitting area of the
changing room. The sight made his heart squeeze in hurt. She had never feared him before.
Why now?

He shut the door behind him, locking it again. "Rin, why are you running from me?"

Instead of answering his question though, she threw out another. "What are you doing here?"

"That isn't what's important right now—"

"What are you doing here?"

Sesshoumaru huffed, deciding to placate her. "Inuyasha is my younger half-brother."

Rin nodded, like she had expected as much. "So Inuyasha is a demon."

"Half demon."

She paused as she mulled that over. "And Touga is your father."

"Yes."

"So that makes you Inuyasha's jerk brother who doesn't approve of his marriage, right?"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, not wanting to show her how much Inuyasha's words hurt
coming out of her mouth.

"Why don't you approve of it?"

"Rin, that's not impo—"

"Why don't you approve of it?" she repeated in a louder, firmer voice.

He stayed silent, knowing any words he said now would only hurt her.

But she interpreted his silence as only she could. "You don't believe demon-human
relationships can work. Even though your father is married to a human woman."

"It's different for them."

"Why? Why does it get to be different for them but not us? I mean…if you don't approve of
mixed unions, then why…?" Her words broke off as her voice hitched, and she put her hands
over her stomach, showing him all the words she wanted to say but apparently couldn't get
out.

"You're different."

"There you go again! I'm different, your parents are different! What the hell does any of that
mean, Sesshoumaru? You think I can't feel what you do right now?" she asked, one of her
hands going to her neck where his mating mark was. "Even at this moment, you're dying
inside. So why did you leave me?"

"Because you're not suited to the life I have to live!" Sesshoumaru snapped, and Rin sucked
in a sharp breath.

"Who are you to say that when you haven't even given me a chance—given me a choice—to
try?"

"But you have had a chance, because you're carrying a demon's child, and you know how
dangerous that is," he said, keeping his gaze locked on hers. "Isn't that right?"

"Children," she corrected.

Sesshoumaru froze, completely losing his train of thought. "What?"

"We're having twins. Girls," she murmured.

Daughters. He had fathered twin daughters.

His inner demon rumbled in satisfaction, proud to have put not just one but two pups in his
mate from the start.

His rational mind, however, began to panic.

He was not father material. He knew that. He was cold and distant, just like his own mother.
He believed in self-reliance. Having to care for someone did not come naturally to him.

Rin was the opposite. She would have more than enough love for their daughters, because her
kindness knew no bounds, and she would always help those in need. And children needed
affection from their parents to grow up normally.

He had only to look at the difference between himself and Inuyasha. It wasn't just a genetic
matter of having different mothers that made them so different. It was the fact that Touga and
Izayoi had showered Inuyasha with all the affection Sesshoumaru had never gotten as a child.
At that time, his father was constantly off at war and overseeing an empire, while his mother
only took enough interest in her child to make sure he stayed alive and grew into a powerful
demon.

It was no wonder he had already failed as a father by failing to be there for his children's
mother all these months. All because he had been too stubborn to go and look for her.

He wanted to love these children. They were a combination of him and Rin, after all. And if
there were any gods, these girls would have his power and her kindness and both their
determination to do what was needed in spades.

But did he even have the capacity to give these babies the love they required? The love Rin
would want him to show them?

Perhaps seeing the shock on his face—however that had managed to manifest itself—or
feeling it from him, Rin furrowed her brows in confusion and asked, "Can't you sense them?"

He shook his head. "No."

Terror brushed over her face, and she wrapped her arms around her middle, as if trying to feel
them through herself. "Why? I was told they give off powerful auras. Why aren't they—?"

"Because it's the new moon."

"W-What?"

"They must be like Inuyasha. They turn human during the night of the new moon."

Had he been able to sense them, it might have been enough, but he couldn't tonight—nor
could he hear their heartbeats over Rin's thundering one. But he needed to hear them to
soothe his inner demon and reassure himself of their safety. Of their existence.

Now.

"They do? But then...if all the demons in the hall couldn't sense them…what were they
sensing?"

"The mark that I left on you. The one telling them that you're mine." He stalked toward her,
and she retreated from him until she was up against the far wall.

"No, Sesshoumaru, stay back. Please don't touch me. I can't…I can't handle this right now."

He stopped directly in front of her, pinning her with his gaze. "Rin, please. I need you."
He saw it in her widened eyes that she knew "please" was not a regular part of his vocabulary
and that he was therefore very desperate. Slowly, she nodded.

He reached and gently grasped her hand. Every skin cell of his that touched hers sent electric
jolts shooting up his arm, and he felt something pulse back to life within him. He brought her
knuckles up to his nose, taking a deep inhale of her scent.

Immediately, the tension in his body eased.

Home.

That was what she smelled like.

He placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles and looked down at her through lowered lashes. "Rin,
not one day has passed in which you haven't been on my mind. I missed you every. Single.
Day."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her hand clenched around his; he could only assume it was a
reflex, given how frightened she had been acting. "And yet you got engaged to someone
else."

How does she know? The thought brought a frown to his lips. "That is over, Rin. The moment
I saw you again, it was done."

"Does she know that?"

"If it was not already obvious to her, I will make sure to spell it out to her in no uncertain
terms."

"You still didn't answer my question. Why did you get engaged? That's such a commitment…
but you're just brushing it off."

"It was an arrangement, Rin." He would not tell her why it had been arranged. He did not
want her to feel like his family would regard their children as being any lesser for being born
half-demons—even if his mother would feel as such. "I never wanted it to begin with."

"If that was truly the case, then why didn't you come find me and put a stop to it?"

He knelt down and tentatively laid their hands over her belly, staring at it reverently like it
was a religious icon.

"Had I ever thought they were a possibility, I would have. I would never have left you to go
through this alone."

Rin's face screwed up in confusion. "How could you not? We weren't exactly careful,
Sesshoumaru. Did the thought I might get pregnant really never cross your mind?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, frustrated with his lack of knowledge once more.
"No. Because demons do not procreate so easily. Even my father, who has been married to
two different women for over fifteen hundred years, only has two sons."
He had honestly never even thought of the possibility that she would conceive. Demonkind
bred differently, depending on its race. As for female dog demons, they went into heat every
so often. When they were younger, their cycle occurred every one or two years. The older
they got, the less they fell into heat. His mother, for instance, was now going a decade or so
between heats.

He knew humans bred more easily and more often than demons, but it was like knowing
rabbits bred faster than humans. Just because he knew they bred more quickly didn't mean he
understood the reproductive cycle of a rabbit, because he had never cared to learn it. The
same applied to humans. Before Rin, he had never cared to learn more about them.

Had she been in heat that day? He didn't remember her smelling the way his mother had at
times over the years, but maybe a human in heat's scent was different. Did humans even have
a "heat" period? But Rin had obviously been fertile, so he should have smelled something.

Then again, maybe the smell had just been one part of the overwhelming scent of her arousal
combined with her nakedness and the looks she gave him, and he had been so lost in her
tempting body, that he would have taken her regardless of whether or not she had been in
heat.

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to her stomach, and she sucked in a breath at the
contact. Her heart rose to a crescendo, and if he listened closely enough, he could make out
his baby girls' fluttering heartbeats beneath their mother's.

He couldn't believe it. He had stopped the hearts of so many over the centuries, listening to
them fade out. Yet he was in part responsible for making those two little hearts come to life.

Just then, the babies gave a strong kick right between his eyes, and he jumped back, staring at
her stomach in surprise.

There was a soft snort of laughter, and he looked up to find Rin covering her mouth with her
other hand and looking away from him. She swallowed thickly and said, "I think they're
trying to kick some sense into you."

He looked up at her and frowned. "What sense?"

"The sense that you don't just up and leave a woman after sleeping with her, Sesshoumaru.
Even if you don't think she'll get pregnant." Her eyes were misting again. "Whatever you
were worried about, you should have talked to me."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "I had already forced a mating bond on you. I did not want to
make you sacrifice any more of your freedoms…or your family."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Had we talked and you chose to leave, I did not think I would be able to let you go. And you
would have hated me for that." More than the pain of living without her, the idea of her
hating him cut him even more.
"Why did you assume I would leave after giving my all to you?"

Sesshoumaru looked down at the floor just then, dropping his head. Because even my father
left me, he wanted to say. But the words could not get past his throat.

Luckily, she didn't seem to be waiting for an answer.

"Did you think this was just some casual fling for me? That I just wanted my virginity to go
out with a bang from a demon, and then part ways like it never happened?"

"No."

"Because the moment I gave myself to you, Sesshoumaru, I was all in. No matter what was
going to come our way, I was prepared to meet it head on. I mean…look!" she said, and he
did so. She gestured to her stomach. "I can't be any more 'all in' than having your children.
Even though I have been struggling to keep myself afloat from the moment I found out I was
pregnant, trying to plan how in the world I am going to be a single mother to twins, I have
been all in."

Sesshoumaru looked up at her, a mixture of wonder and sadness in his eyes. He did not
deserve this woman.

"And the fact that they were half-demons never once deterred you?"

"No, it didn't. Because they were ours."

He couldn't believe the magnitude of her graciousness. "Did you even consider the
ramifications of bearing half-demons?"

Now she frowned at him. "Of course I did."

But had she? Did she even know what life as a half-demon meant? His heart started racing at
the thought.

What sort of world were they bringing their daughters into?

"Are you certain? Did you consider the persecution they will live through? The life of hiding
they will have to endure?"

"I'm not stupid, Sesshoumaru. It was basically the first thing I thought about."

"And you didn't spare them that misery?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Are you telling me I should have aborted them? How dare you!"

He squeezed her hand, wanting to reassure her that that wasn't what he wanted, but she tore
her hand away and shoved him back. Though it broke his heart, he let her. He clambered got
back up on his feet. "Rin, they're going to be hunted all their lives. If something were to
happen to them…if they were to be killed—"
It would kill him. As surely as if Rin had been the one murdered, their deaths would kill him
as well. He had known about his daughters for less than an hour, but already he knew their
loss would destroy him.

"So you're saying it's better to kill them off now before they ever get to take a breath—before
we ever get to meet them—because it's better than the possible alternative of watching them
grow up, coming to love them, and then watching them die? Is that it?" Her tears flowed
freely now.

"Rin, listen to me. You have no demonic support system. There are levels of hiding you
cannot even comprehend. Did you realize that demon slayers can sense demonic energies?
The children have been in danger all this time, and if the slayers find them, they could find
our entire family through them—"

"Don't you tell me what I know and don't know! I am well aware of who can sense their
demonic auras! Don't you dare judge me on just the one night the charm I was using to
conceal them fell apart. I am lucky I even found out that much about demons, because the
gods know it wasn't like I could rely on you to help me, because all you left behind was
a flower! Not a phone number or an email address. A flower! I had no way to contact you. I
never thought I'd see you again!"

"Then why did you keep them?"

"Because I wanted them! Is that so hard for you to understand?"

Even after how much I must have hurt her…she was still willing to bear my children?

He honestly couldn't comprehend such a kind heart like that.

Rin closed her eyes, placed her hands on her stomach, and took a deep, steadying breath
before she let it out slowly. "Sesshoumaru, trust me, I understand your fear for them. I've felt
it from the moment I knew I was pregnant. But we can't live our lives in fear like that."

He looked up at her in shock. She claimed that he, the great Sesshoumaru, was living his life
in fear? Impossible. He had never done so.

Or perhaps he had. On some level, hadn't he feared her rejection all these months and avoided
it?

She continued. "Love is always a risk, Sesshoumaru. When you open your heart to someone,
there will inevitably be hurt somewhere along the way. Gods willing, we will never have to
experience hurt to the degree of watching our daughters die. But if you don't risk opening
your heart, you'll never feel the wonders of love either—the same wonders that make all the
risks worth it."

He ducked his head. When she said it out loud like that, he realized how selfish his fears
sounded.
"But it's clear to me now you're not ready to take that risk. After all, if you couldn't risk
opening your heart to me, then I can't expect you to do so for your children."

"That's not true. You are the only one I have ever opened my heart to," Sesshoumaru rebuked.

"But obviously not enough to want to try to have a relationship with me!" she snapped. Her
red-rimmed eyes squeezed out a few more tears, and he longed to brush them from her
cheeks. But he knew she would not let him touch her again. Not now. "Look, I was never
expecting anything from you, and I'm not expecting anything now. You don't want to get into
a relationship with a human because you think I can't handle it. I get it. I'd just be a burden to
you. We'd just be a burden to you—as well as a constant source of worry, apparently. Rest
assured, now that I know what Inuyasha is, I'll just go to him for help to learn what I need to
do to keep them and the rest of your family safe. I won't be the one to give away your
secrets."

"Rin, that's not what I—"

"Just go, Sesshoumaru! I…I don't want to talk to you anymore!"

"Rin, we're not finished here."

"Go!" she screamed, turning away from him and burying her head in her hands. From the
way she was shaking, he knew she was holding back sobs so he wouldn't hear them.

Sesshoumaru clenched his hands, torn between respecting her wishes and going to comfort
her.

Then his father's scent hit his nose, and Touga uttered a growl so soft, Rin would not hear it
—a subtle instruction to Sesshoumaru to come see him.

It took every ounce of his god-like willpower to tear himself away from Rin and exit the
changing room. Every step that caused her scent to weaken and the sounds of the babies'
movements to lessen felt like he was dragging lead weights.

He opened the door and stepped just outside, shutting it firmly. He could still smell her, but
he could no longer hear his girls.

He couldn't go any further. Not now. Not when he finally had her back.

His father's large, warm hand landed on his shoulder. In a quiet voice that Rin would not
detect through the door, he said, "Sesshoumaru, go straight back to your car, sit there, and
wait for me."

Sesshoumaru looked over at his father, the muscles in his face tight. "I can't leave her again,
Father. Especially not now that she's with…pups. Zero will—"

Touga squeezed his shoulder and leveled him with a stern look. "Zero is gone. Kirinmaru
took her home. The other guests will be leaving shortly. Kagome should be presenting the
letter to her parents right now, and afterwards, Izayoi will give a concluding speech in my
stead to wrap things up."
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I will not leave her again."

Touga sighed. "Sesshoumaru, I understand that you are trying to make up for a past wrong all
at once. But take it from someone who messed up his own relationship with his family.
Acceptance—and certainly forgiveness—do not all come at once. You need to give her some
space and let her process everything. If she truly loves you like I think she does, she will be
willing to talk to you again soon."

There was that word again: love. Sesshoumaru looked away from his father, not wanting to
meet his eyes. "If she ever loved me, surely I have destroyed any of that emotion that
remained in her."

"Son, you made a mistake. A big one. But if you're both willing to put in the effort, it's not
too late to overcome this obstacle. A relationship is just like swordsmanship. It takes constant
effort and practice for you to master."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and gripped the door handle he was still holding tighter—so
tightly, he feared he might break it off. "I cannot leave until I know she is safe."

"Sesshoumaru, she is your mate, and she carries my grandchildren. Do you think I won't
protect them like my own in your stead? Now, go and wait for me, and don't speak to anyone
on the way there. We have more to talk about than I could have possibly imagined, but I need
to have a word with this young lady first."

Sesshoumaru clenched his other fist but nodded shortly and left, despite every instinct telling
him to run back to Rin and stay by her side, guarding her.

He barely noticed where his feet were taking him, his thoughts were so consumed with the
night's revelation.

I finally held Rin again.

She hates me.

I've fathered twins.

I've missed all this time with her. With them.

I need to stay with her every second to make up for it.

She's never going to let me near them.

I need to beg her forgiveness.

I have never begged for anything.

For her, for them, I would do anything.

The thoughts circled in his head, but strangely, he couldn't feel anything other than…
numbness. Was he in shock? Had he ever felt this way before?
Yes. Once. The day his father told him he was leaving his mother to marry a human woman.
He hadn't been able to believe it. He thought it was a joke.

And then his father left. And Inuyasha was born. And Sesshoumaru had to acknowledge the
truth of it all.

But there was no denying this truth. He had seen Rin's condition with his very eyes and heard
every hurt word that came from her mouth.

As he passed the doors to the reception hall, he vaguely heard Izayoi's voice. If it was that
loud, she was likely giving the speech his father was supposed to have given to close out the
reception. He walked faster, not wanting to be caught in the flow of departing guests.

He went to the underground parking garage, slid into the driver's seat of his McLaren, closed
his eyes, and lay back. But the same thoughts circled in his head.

She hates me.

How do I win her back?

Half an hour passed, and he was no closer to finding the answer. He was so lost in agonized
thought, it took him a moment to realize that a different familiar scent was coming closer.

He opened his eyes, trying to wipe away any of his wretched emotions from his face.
Suddenly, the driver's door flew open, and a fuming Inuyasha reached inside, grabbed him by
the lapel of his suit, and dragged him out of the car. His brother's thick, dark brows were
furrowed deeply enough to rival even Sesshoumaru's on his worst days.

"Are you seriously the bastard that got Rin pregnant?"

Sesshoumaru looked away, not wanting to answer, knowing the tirade his brother would
unleash on him.

"Answer me, Sesshoumaru."

"…Yes."

He saw the slow, human-paced punch coming, but he did nothing to stop it, because he knew
he deserved it.

"I knew you were a fuckin' bastard, but you mean to tell me you just knocked her up and left?
What kind of shit move was that?"

"I didn't know she was—"

"The hell's that matter? You don't screw a girl and leave her without a word, you asshole! Do
you even know what she's gone through because of you?"

"I—"
But Inuyasha apparently wasn't planning to give him an opportunity to speak. "Was this some
sort of sick and twisted revenge you were trying to take on me for mopping the floor with
you that day in the forest? Were you trying to hurt me through my girlfriend by screwing her
sister?"

"I didn't know she was Kagome's sister."

But how he wished he had. He would have put all the puzzle pieces together that much
sooner. Hadn't he first heard Kagome speak about her sister's pregnancy back around New
Year's, when she and Inuyasha had gotten back together? Hadn't she mentioned the twins at
that disastrous dinner?

Why hadn't his damn brother ever said Rin's name out loud over the last seven months?

"Okay, fine. So maybe it wasn't revenge. But how the hell do you explain chewing me out for
being with Kagome, then turning right around to go fuck a human yourself—"

Something snapped then in Sesshoumaru, and he snarled, fisting Inuyasha's shirt into his
hand. "Rin was not some mindless 'fuck,' Inuyasha. Never make such a crass implication
about her again."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, and he finally seemed at a loss for words. Even his grip loosened.
"Uh…okay. Won't, uh…won't do it again."

Sesshoumaru shoved him off, ducking back into his car.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? We're not nearly finished yet! You have a lot of
explaining to do, especially to Kagome and her family—"

"Does she know?" Sesshoumaru asked, his hand already on the door, ready to close it.

"I don't know if she put all the pieces together during the reception or not. I made Kouga fill
me in, but damn if that wasn't embarrassing as hell. I hate being out of the loop on these
nights," he grumbled, scratching the top of his head where his dog ears would normally be.
"Either way, when Dad and Rin came back, her family demanded answers, so I think Dad's
telling the Higurashis now. Though I don't see why he's the one doing it and you're just sitting
on your ass in your car like a schmuck."

Sesshoumaru looked away. "Rin does not want to see me right now."

"Well, I don't blame her. I never want to see your pale-ass mug, but I don't exactly get much
choice in the matter."

Sesshoumaru scowled at him, but he let the insult pass. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard it from
his little brother before. "I would have preferred to tell her family later. Your wife especially
should have been able to enjoy this night in peace."

Inuyasha's mouth dropped open. "I'm going to assume you're saying that because you don't
want her to come and kick you in the balls right now and not because you actually care about
your sister-in-law. But what the hell do I know? Apparently, you like humans a lot more than
you've let on."

Sesshoumaru snarled at him, and Inuyasha just sneered back. The brat ought to know better
than to test him when in his human state…but in this public setting, Inuyasha could rest
assured that Sesshoumaru wouldn't actually be able to harm him.

Instead, Sesshoumaru just pulled the door shut in his face, and Inuyasha went back to the
reception hall.

Rin knew she would regret sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, because she wouldn't be
able to get up easily later, but as she started sobbing, her knees just wouldn't hold her up
anymore.

What have I done? she thought. I've finally got to meet him again, and I ran away! And then
when he came after me, I told him to get lost! What the hell is wrong with me?

What was wrong, of course, was the latent anger that had burst forth from her.

She had imagined the moment they would reunite so many times. But none of them had been
like this.

She had always known she would sound off on him for leaving her, but she thought the joy of
seeing him would override most of the anger. She had imagined she would throw herself into
his arms in joy.

There had been one similarity with her fantasies: he had been happy to see her again. The
sheer contentment on his face when he brought her hand to his lips, and the utter awe in his
eyes when he had listened to the twins had given her a brief hope that maybe—just maybe—
she could forgive him that very night for leaving her and they could pick up where they left
off.

But then his joy at finding her quickly turned to worry for the future of their children, and he
had had the gall to suggest she should have had an abortion. So of course, she lost it. Thus,
instead of pouring out the love she meant to show him, all the anger and pain she had kept
pent up since their separation flared out instead.

Every scathing word she threw at him had been a tortuous exercise in masochism, because
each one was like a blade she stabbed into her own heart, given how much she hurt him.

He deserved to hear those words, of course. Good riddance! she tried to tell herself. If he
doesn't want them, they don't need him either. We'll be fine on our own.

But while her head tried to feed her lies, her heart knew the truth: she wanted him to love
their girls. She wanted their girls to know their father.

She wanted them to be a proper family.

And in the heat of the moment, she had forgotten something critical. Sesshoumaru had
literally just found out he was going to be a father. It was normal to panic. If she had only
remembered those first few weeks of depression, panic, and insecurity she had gone through,
maybe she could have empathized better with him and tried to help him through this phase so
he didn't have to suffer through it alone like she had.

But now she had ruined her chances at that.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! She banged her hand against her fists.

She sobbed anew and gasped when a soft knock came at the door to the suite. She looked up,
her heart thudding once in painful hope. The gods are giving you another chance. Take
it. "Sesshoumaru?"

The door slid open, but it was not her love that poked his head inside. "I'm sorry that I'm not
who you were expecting," Touga said. "May I come in?"

Her heart fell in disappointment…but there was also a little relief mixed in as well. Even
though she was mentally slapping herself silly, she didn't know what more she could say to
Sesshoumaru after that conversation. So she nodded, and Touga stepped in, closing the door
behind him.

"What are you doing on the floor, when there's a perfectly good couch sitting right next to
you?" he asked softly with a fatherly smile. Rin tried to say something, but her throat was too
tight, so she just sniffed in response. He looked at her with pity and reached out his hands.
"Come on, let's get you up here." She nodded and grasped hold of his forearms, preparing to
push herself up, but to her surprise, he lifted her without any effort and guided her over to the
couch, where he sat her down.

He pulled the cloth out of his pocket that was only meant to be decoration but handed it to
her like a handkerchief as he sat next to her. She took it gratefully and wiped her eyes, even
dabbing her nose with it as she tried to sniff the majority of snot back up, so she
wouldn't totally soil the cloth that was likely rented from a tuxedo shop.

He cleared his throat after a moment. "So…it seems you do know my eldest son after all."
She nodded mutely. "…What else do you know about Sesshoumaru?"

She finally managed to find her voice again, albeit the quiet one. "If you're referring to the
fact that he's a demon, I know that too."

Touga's shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad he was at least that honest with you."

"Oh, I knew that almost from the start. I had to treat him, after all. I found all the marks on
his body."

Touga's eyes widened. "How exactly did you meet?"

She recounted for him how Kagome had given her the ticket to Western Sanctuary, how she
had found him torn up in the forest, and how she had nursed him back to health over the
following days.

Touga was staring at her in wonder by the end of her tale. He took her hand—the one
Sesshoumaru had not kissed—and held it gently between his, squeezing it. "My dear, no
words could possibly convey my gratitude to you for saving my son as you did. When I saw
the scar on his arm after he came home, I knew things had been much more serious than he
let on, but I had no idea his life had been in such danger."

Rin blushed and ducked her head. "There's really no need for that, Touga. As Sesshoumaru
told me over and over at the time, he would have healed just fine on his own. I simply…
didn't realize what he was at the time and did what any medical professional in my position
would have done."

"No, Rin, you deserve all that gratitude and far, far more. You may have noticed that
Sesshoumaru is the king of understatements. He likes to put up a front so as not to show
weakness. So, whether or not he would have healed on his own is up for debate. Actually, the
truth is…he still has the scar on his arm."

Rin gasped. "What? But all his other wounds healed so quickly. Why should that one be any
different?" She paused, worry making her heart beat faster. "Was it because I stitched it
together? Did I unknowingly create a scar when the wound otherwise wouldn't have?" Had
she botched her work and marred his perfect skin for life?

"No, I guarantee it's not your fault. Demon biology is…tricky. It's true, we have amazingly
fast healing and regenerative powers. Often, even a cut-off limb can be fully re-grown…
although not always. Actually, it was only last century that demons started theorizing that our
psychology has something to do with what heals and what doesn't. We have to want to heal. I
can't speak for Sesshoumaru's own psyche—and somehow, I doubt even he could himself—
but if I had to guess, I would say that the reason that scar alone—the one wound you spent so
much time doctoring—did not heal was because it was a physical reminder of you upon his
person, and in his heart of hearts, he did not want to give up that last connection to you."

Rin's heart clenched. Here was yet another reminder that Sesshoumaru did want her. So why
was he trying to run away from those feelings?

Touga leaned back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling with an expression of dawning
epiphany. "Actually, everything is beginning to make sense now. Not just the sudden leave of
absence and the scar, but his recent irritability as well. I mean, he's always irritable, but it's
been much, much worse since the fall. And it's no wonder. If I had left my mate alone for
months on end right after consummating with her, I probably would have felt the same way.
Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't literally bitten anyone's head off yet."

Rin sniffed again. "Mate?"

Touga's brows furrowed as he looked at her again. "He didn't tell you?"

"I mean…he mentioned something about a mating bond just now, but…in light of everything
else, I forgot to ask about it."
Touga swallowed. "Rin…did Sesshoumaru by chance leave a bite mark on you somewhere?
One that hasn't faded?"

"Oh, yes," she said, clutching at the area on her neck that tingled even now as she felt
Sesshoumaru's anxiety and despair. "Is this the mating bond?"

"In a way, yes: it's your mating mark—the physical sign of your mating bond."

"And it somehow tells you I'm…taken? Is this why you were staring at me so weirdly when
we first met?"

"Ah, yes, I apologize if I came off as rude. I just…didn't expect to feel my son's energy
coming from a mating mark—on a human no less." A flash of panic crossed his face. "What I
mean to say is…his feelings about humans are rather…notorious."

Rin nodded. "I am aware." He had made no effort to hide his disdain for her race in the
beginning. "So is that all? It's basically just his way of marking his territory?"

Touga winced at the phrasing. "Partially, but it's far more than that, Rin. It's something of a
pledge—the most serious one a demon can ever make, in fact. It's even more binding than
spoken marriage vows, because the mark itself is a bond transferring the bearer's demonic
energy to the recipient."

Rin's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that why I can feel his emotions?"

Touga's eyes mirrored her own shock. "You've realized that?"

"I figured it out a while ago. I just didn't understand why he connected us if he was only
going to leave me."

"You would have to ask him, but in my experience, the mating bond is largely driven by an
instinct too powerful to ignore. He may not have even realized he was giving it to you until it
was done."

Rin thought back to that moment, recalling how subdued he had been after she chastised him
for biting her. Had that been why he seemed so upset? She frowned. "So you're saying he
didn't even really want to mark me? He just did it in the heat of the moment?"

"Ack," Touga hissed, scratching the back of his head. "I'm not explaining this properly. Rin,
you need to understand, demons don't make these marks lightly. I told you they're an
exchange of demonic energy, right? They literally tie the partners' lives' together. In a normal
bond between demons, it means when one dies, the other will die. It's a sign that
Sesshoumaru can't bear the thought of living without you."

Rin's breath hitched, and she clutched the faux-handkerchief to her chest. "But…then you're
saying he's going to die when I die? He's purposely cutting his life short to match my mortal
lifespan?"

Touga swallowed thickly again. "Well…I've learned that in demon-human relationships,

that's not exactly how it works. Humans can't reciprocate this, you understand. You don't
have the same type of energy to exchange with him. So while you're able to feel his emotions,
he's never been able to feel yours, nor will he in the future. And since he's given
you his demonic energy…he's tied your life to his, Rin." He looked at her meaningfully, and
it took a few seconds for the implication to sink through.

"You mean…I'm going to live for as long as he does?" Hadn't he lived for almost fifteen
hundred years already? How much longer would he live?

She couldn't even comprehend that amount of life.

Touga nodded. "Which is part of the reason I'm extremely disappointed in him for hiding you
from us. I don't know if he just never realized it, but had this meeting never happened…he
would have left you to go through life wondering why you're not aging normally and why
you're not dying when you're supposed to and all the ramifications that come with that."

Rin frowned. "Are you absolutely certain of this, sir?"

A wry smile crossed the demon's face. "Do you know how old my wife is, Rin?"

Rin blinked. "She's appears very young—like she would only be in her twenties, maybe."

His smile grew. "She actually just celebrated her six-hundred and fifty-third birthday last
month."

Rin's mouth dropped open. "You're kidding!"

"I assure you, I am not. I've been by her side for most of those years," he laughed.

"But you only have—" She stopped, shutting her mouth with an audible clack of her
teeth. Don't be rude, Rin. It's none of your business.

"I only have what?" he prompted.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Please feel free to ask me any question, no matter how personal. The least I can do for you is
answer them, given how my son has not."

Rin fidgeted, rubbing her thumbs together. "It's just…and I don't mean to pry, but…if she's
been able to live for so long, I don't understand…." She blushed. "Inuyasha is your only child
with her, right? Surely there would have been…more?"

She couldn't imagine living that long with Sesshoumaru and not having more children.
Whether by desire or accident, if their time in the woods had been any indication of the sex
life they could lead, she foresaw many opportunities for more.

"Ah, I see your concern. The truth is, Inuyasha was actually our miracle child."

Rin blinked again in surprise. "Oh?"

Touga smiled and nodded. "Obviously, our knowledge of medicine was not as advanced back
then, and Izayoi's courses were…irregular, to say the least. We didn't know it at the time, but
we've since found out she had polycystic ovarian syndrome. Anyway, the fact that she didn't
bleed monthly made her…defective in most suitors' eyes, since it was unlikely she could bear
them an heir. So when I met her, she was unattached, and the family was falling on hard
times, so they were desperate. And while her family did not approve of her marrying a
demon, it was not exactly a great loss, in their eyes. Still, I was more than willing to offer
them whatever they wished for her hand. Of course, she did have one persistent suitor, but…
that's a story for another time.

"All that to say that when she did discover she was pregnant with Inuyasha, we were
understandably shocked but absolutely overjoyed, because we knew he would likely be our
only child. And so he was. She was never able to bear another after that, and while my
mating mark assured her longevity, it did not stop the course of her reproductive life. What
we didn't know at the time but you know now was that women are only born with so many
eggs, and those wither and run out with age. That cycle cannot be stopped, even with a
mating bond. So you see," he said, reaching out and laying a hand gently against the side of
her stomach, "the children you're carrying are very, very precious to my family, and I promise
you that we will do everything in our power to make sure they are always safe and taken care
of."

His words only made the tears well back up in Rin's eyes. "But Sesshoumaru doesn't want
them," she said, her voice getting high-pitched as she fought to keep the tears from falling.

Touga tensed. "What do you mean?"

"He told me…he told me I shouldn't…have let them live…just so they could live in hiding all
their lives!"

A furrow of consternation appeared between Touga's brows. "Rin, if he said that to you, I…. I
am so sorry. But I beg you not to take that to mean he doesn't want them. It's no excuse, but
he's never been the best with words, and he's…very confused right now. I'm sure you
understand how strong the maternal instinct is. I only ask that you imagine it from his
perspective for a moment. Our paternal instincts are very strong, and he's probably just afraid
of not being able to give his pups the full lives he thinks they deserve."

Rin sniffed, wiping at her eyes again. "Pups?"

Touga sighed in aggravation. "Did he not tell you what type of demons we are?"

"Well, I know you're some sort of canine, but—" She froze and then laughed, a welcome
change from all the crying. "Of course. The logo. It all makes sense now. You're dog demons,
aren't you?"

He nodded.

Rin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Wow. I feel like I just got a crash course tonight
in demon biology and culture. I was aware I knew very little, but to think there was this
much…." She had thought with Kaede's help that she was decently prepared to handle raising
half-demons, but apparently she had been oh so wrong.

"You needn't worry about that any longer. Now that we are aware of the situation, we will
take care of you."

"Oh, sir, that is very kind, but you needn't do that. I can see to myself. I did promise
Sesshoumaru to ask what I need to do to be able to keep all of your identities a secret, but
aside from that, I expect nothing else."

At that, Toga's face darkened. "You have every right to expect that and more. My son has
mated you, and you carry his children. In demon culture, that is akin to taking you as his
wife. You are family now, Rin."

A small smile blossomed on Rin's lips upon hearing that.

Family.

The one thing she was always searching for.

"Speaking of, we should probably bring your family here to let them know about this…
development."

Rin shook her head solemnly. "No, please wait. I don't want to ruin Kagome's night like this.
She deserves to enjoy this evening for herself. She doesn't need any of my drama polluting
it."

Touga smiled softly at her. "You are a very sweet girl, Rin. I can see why even my son was no
match for the kindness in your heart. Very well then. Let's make it tomorrow, first thing. I see
you don't have your phone on you, so perhaps you can give me your contact information in
the meantime, since we will have…quite a lot to discuss."

"Um, okay." She rattled off the digits, and after making sure it was correct, Touga saved the
number with a smile and pocketed the phone.

"Now, though I fear it's over, we should get you back to the party. I promised Sesshoumaru I
wouldn't leave you alone, but I have no doubt your family is worried about you. Rest assured,
no harm will come to you in there."

Rin had never been worried about coming to harm at her own sister's wedding. "Why would I
come to harm here, sir?"

Touga's mouth tightened. "It's nothing to worry about, Rin. We have some…issues we need
to take care of on our end, but the fact that you are Sesshoumaru's mate means that all of
those issues are of no importance anymore."

Rin's hands tightened as she recalled the woman who was draped over Sesshoumaru's arm in
the hall. "Are you talking about her? His fiancée?"

Touga looked at her with sad eyes. "He told you?"

 "I made him."

"Please don't blame Sesshoumaru entirely, Rin. Part of the fault lies with me and his mother. I
know for a fact he wanted no part of this engagement, and now I understand why he was so
vehemently against it. I just wish he had spoken up about you sooner and saved us all the
headache and embarrassment. But rest assured, it was only ever to be a marriage of
convenience, for the sole purpose of providing…heirs. However, that appears to be all taken
care of at this point, so no harm done," he added with a smile down to her stomach.

Rin felt like there was something he still wasn't telling her, but she didn't know what. "Does
she love him?"

"I don't think so."

"But she was so upset earlier. I understand being angry because she was cheated on, but…."
If she really had been as apathetic as Touga seemed to suggest, why had the woman seemed
so enraged that Rin was involved with her fiancé?

Touga sighed. "There's another thing. I am so very sorry I was not able to stop her when she
accosted you. However, I want you to know how proud I was to see you stand your ground
against her. It's becoming more and more obvious to me as the night goes on why my son fell
in love with you."

Rin bit her lip to keep from refuting Touga on that final point. It was possible
Sesshoumaru did love her. All the evidence pointed to him wanting to be with her forever.

But he would have to prove it—as well as his commitment to her and their children—before
she fully trusted him with her own heart again.

Chapter End Notes

So, did that reunion play out like you thought it would or not? I'm anxious to see your
reactions.

Also, I hate to do this to you guys just one chapter before the "official" end of Part Two,
but it's the way the cookie's crumbled: I need to take a break next week. To be honest,
the only reason I am able to give you around 10,000-word chapters on a weekly basis is
because I have no life, lol. However, starting this weekend and for one week only, I will
in fact have a life (part vacation part work travel—woohoo!), which means that I will
not be able to write/edit as much as I normally would. Yes, technically I'm "ahead" in
writing this story, but honestly, I also need some time to fully plot out the details for this
final part, so that it doesn't come out as the haphazard mess it seems to me to be right
now (you guys deserve a finale that's just as well-crafted as the first two parts). And
truthfully…I just need the mental break. I've really been pushing myself on a lot of
fronts these past few months, and it's taking its toll. Don't get me wrong—I love this
story, and I love you guys, and you give me life every week with your comments! But I
do need to refresh for a spell.

😉
All that said, I will return with a new chapter on Aug. 9 to finish off the reactions to the
big reveal. And hey—at least I didn't take a break after last chapter, am I right?
 Coming Clean
Chapter Notes

I'm back! Thank you all so much for the well-wishes—they were greatly appreciated,
and my head doesn't feel like it's about to explode anymore. I've also got a much better
idea of how to do Part Three, but for now…let's finish up Part Two!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Touga didn't let Rin out of his protective embrace as they walked back into the reception hall
against the tide of outgoing guests, several of whom stared at them as they passed. Since they
were people she didn't recognize, Rin assumed they were Inuyasha's demon guests—all of
whom had apparently put together the puzzle pieces about her and Sesshoumaru early on
because they had sensed his mark upon her.

Would they have sensed it had the talisman not broken? she wondered. It was a moot point
now, but it was something she might have to test later.

Inuyasha, Kagome, Izayoi, and Mama were at the doors saying goodbye, and all of them
glanced over as they passed—Inuyasha with a determined look, Kagome with a worried one,
and their mothers with concerned expressions. Rin forced a smile towards her family to try to
reassure them, but she wasn't sure it worked.

As Touga escorted her back inside, Rin was surprised to find the room mostly empty. Only
the Fukushimas remained at their table, with Grandpa and Grandpa Mushin conversing while
Souta and Moe talked with Miroku and Sango. Moe had little Hisui in her lap while Kin'u
and Gyokuto were coloring on notepads their parents had had the obvious foresight to bring.

Rin took a deep breath and hoped her face didn't have any evidence of crying upon it. She
just had to keep it together until Inuyasha and Kagome left, and then she could break
down….

But she should have known from the way Touga had his arm wrapped protectively around her
shoulders that Mama would know something was wrong. Rin heard her familiar tread in
stubby heels clacking against the wooden floor as she approached them from behind. Rin
glanced over her shoulder. "Rin, has something happened? Are the babies alright?"

Rin nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

When Mama approached, Touga gently pulled away from Rin to let her mother in. Mama put
her hands on Rin's shoulders and rubbed them. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Rin shook her head. "Nothing. Just…tired." Internally, she winced when her voice cracked on
the last word.
Mama frowned. "Rin, if something's wrong, you can tell me." When Rin still didn't say
anything, her mother added, "Does this have something to do with that man who chased you
out of here earlier?"

Rin swallowed thickly. "You saw that?"

"Everyone saw that, sweetheart. He's…hard to miss. Obviously European. …Swedish, I

assume?" The tears boiled over so fast in Rin's eyes, she almost missed the thoughtful look
Touga shot her, but then she tucked herself into her mother's embrace. Mama took a deep
breath, running her fingers over Rin's scalp. "I thought so." Then, a thread of steel Rin rarely
heard slipped into her mother's voice. "Where is he, Rin? I want to speak with this man."

Grandpa suddenly yelped in shock, and Rin pulled back to find that Touga was bowing
deeply to them.

"On behalf of my son, I offer you my deepest apologies."

"Touga, what on Earth? Please rise," her mother fretted. "What could Inuyasha have possibly
done—?"

"Not Inuyasha. My other son, Sesshoumaru. I am gravely embarrassed by the hurt he has
caused Rin these many months."

"Waaait, wait, wait," Sango slurred from behind them, and everyone turned to look at her.
"Are you saying Sesshoumaru and Rin…." She put up her two pointer fingers and tried to tap
them together in front of her, but one finger ended up missing and sliding into the tunnel of
the fingers curled into her palm. She tried over and over again to tap them, but they just kept
sliding, and Rin wanted to hide her face for shame at the accidentally apt gesture.

Miroku threw a hand over his wife's fists and brought them crashing down to the table. "Oh
my, here we meant to leave a while ago, and look at us, the last guests to go! We don't want
to overstay our welcome, so kids, let's clean up and get moving."

"Finally!" Kin'u cried out, abandoning her crayons on the table. Miroku swept them into the
little backpack they had brought for the kids and practically yanked Hisui out of Moe's arms,
dropping him into Grandpa Mushin's. "Carry him for me, will you? I have a wife to steer."

"No, no, Miroku, we can't leave now that we're about to solve the mystery. Aren't you the one
that'ssss been soooo curious all these months?" Sango asked as her husband practically
manhandled her out of her seat.

"Dearest, I love you, but please stop talking now," he hissed loudly at her.

Grandpa Mushin considered the partially full wine glass still in front of him, then picked it up
and handed it to Grandpa. With a grim set to his ruddy features, he said, "I think you're going
to need this more than I do." Rin bit back a smile that threatened to escape. You could always
count on Grandpa Mushin to try to lighten a situation with alcohol.
Without hesitation, Grandpa downed it. Rin gaped. She had never seen her grandfather quaff
alcohol so quickly.

What was this news going to do to her family?

As Miroku hurried his family out the door to say a quick goodbye to Inuyasha, Kagome, and
Izayoi, Mama announced, "Now, I believe an explanation is in order."

Rin's heart plummeted. So much for keeping things quiet this evening. A quiet anger
simmered in Mama's eyes, and though she directed the look at Touga, the firm but neutral set
of her mouth indicated she was not blaming him for his son's actions. She just wanted
answers.

If Touga was the dog he claimed to be, Rin could just imagine his ears flattening in shame.
He looked around the room at the wait staff cleaning up the tables and said, "Might we speak
somewhere more privately?"

Her mother's hold tightened on Rin. "Let's wait for Kagome and Inuyasha to finish."

"Mama, no, let them go home. I don't want to ruin their wedding night with my problems,"
Rin said, her voice breaking.

"Rin, Kagome at least will want to know."

Mama pushed Rin towards the bride and groom, who were making their last goodbyes to the
Fukushimas. When they arrived, Kagome turned to them and said, "Okay, will someone
finally tell me what's going on?"

"Let's go to the bridal suite," Mama suggested before pushing Rin past her.

Behind her, Inuyasha asked, "Dad, where is he?"

Rin's heart dropped. Inuyasha already knew. She couldn't bear to turn back and look at her
new brother-in-law. What would he think of her after this? She knew how much he didn't get
along with Sesshoumaru. What would he think about the woman who slept with him?

"I sent him to his car," Touga answered quietly.

"I'll be back," Inuyasha grumbled.

The entire family walked to the small bridal suite, packing into it and shutting the door.
Mama led Rin back to the couch she had only just recently vacated, and Kagome came to sit
down next to her.

"Hey, Rin, what's going on?" she asked gently. "Why'd you run off so suddenly?"

Rin knew it was time to summon her courage again. She couldn't let Touga tell the story
anymore. But it was still hard to get the words past her throat. For the moment, she could
only manage two. "He's here," she whispered.
Kagome frowned. "Who's here?" Rin couldn't speak without crying, so she rubbed her
stomach, hoping Kagome would catch on.

The sibling mind-meld worked, and Kagome's mouth dropped open. "That bastard Swede?
What the hell is he doing here? Wait…." Her brows furrowed as she thought back, and then
dawning realization widened her eyes, and she stared at Rin in shock. "Don't tell me…. Rin,
was it Sesshoumaru?"

Rin just nodded dumbly.

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

"Umm…I'm sorry. Who's Sesshoumaru again?" Moe asked.

"My eldest," Touga supplied. Izayoi put a calming hand on his back. The pitying look on her
face told Rin she already knew too. Of course Touga told her his suspicions earlier.

"Oh," Moe said.

"Rin! Did you know who he was this whole time?" Kagome inquired.

"I knew his name, but I swear I didn't know he was related to Inuyasha. He never mentioned
it. You never mentioned it."

"Has his name seriously never come up before?" Kagome asked, flabbergasted. "It's been
seven months!"

"Trust me, if it had, this would have happened a lot sooner," Rin answered.

Kagome scowled. "Did he know I'm your sister?"

Rin shook her head. "He's always known I have a sister, but I never told him your name.
Never gave my last name either. We were…cautious in the beginning and didn't share some
of the basic details about ourselves. Later, I just…never got around to telling him."

The room fell into an awkward silence again.

The Souta broke it. "So let me make sure I've got this straight. My two sisters shacked up
with two brothers, who are your sons," he said, pointing at Touga.

"Inuyasha and I did not shack up, Souta!" Kagome protested.

"Married, shacked up, same difference. Well?" Souta asked Touga again.

Touga blinked. "Well, that's certainly a…succinct way of putting it."

Souta scratched his head. "Wow. You guys were always so different. Who knew you'd have
the same taste in men?"
"Hey, our taste is completely different," Kagome snapped. "Trust me, if you knew
Sesshoumaru, you would not put him in the same category as Inuyasha."

"Uh, sorry, I just meant—"

"We know what you meant, sweetheart," Moe said, patting his hand and effectively shutting
him up.

Mama finally spoke up. "So where is he, this…Sesshoumaru?"

Rin flinched. She didn't know if she could face him again so soon. Was that where Inuyasha
had gone? To fetch him?

"I sent him off to wait for me. He was, understandably, very shocked," Touga said. Rin
released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

However, her mother's gaze darkened. "Well, bring him here. I have something to say to
him."

"No, Mama, please. You can't say anything to him that I haven't already said," Rin begged,
her heart rate picking back up. She wasn't ready to see him again after all. Not tonight.

"Rest assured, he will come to speak to you and apologize. I will guarantee it. But for now, it
might be best to…give them both some space," Touga added.

"Space?" Mama echoed. "My little Rin has had more than enough space for seven months—"

"Mama, please. Let it go," Rin murmured.

"Once again, I offer my deepest apologies," Touga said with another bow. "But I promise we
are going to work out the details of this matter as quickly as possible."

"What sorts of details?" Mama asked.

"Well, their marriage, for one thing," Touga answered. "In our family's eyes, my son and your
daughter are as good as married already."

Rin sucked in a breath, and Mama's eyebrows shot up. "As pleased as I would be to see him
do right by my daughter, I do not want to force her into a union she does not want." She
looked down at Rin and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"It's not that I wouldn't want to, Mama," Rin murmured. "I just…need a little time."

Touga nodded. "Of course. Understandable. But Rin, I must warn you…Sesshoumaru will
not be able to remain separated from you for long. Not now that he's seen you again, and
especially now that he knows you're carrying his pu—er, children."

"So he was fine breaking her heart and leaving her behind when he didn't think there were
any consequences to their actions, but now that he does, he suddenly wants back in her life?"
Mama asked, her voice growing louder and harsher. Rin had never seen her normally
unflappable mother so angry before.

She really does love me, Rin thought, tears brimming in her eyes again. Any doubts she might
have still harbored about not feeling like a true daughter in the Higurashi family were
completely wiped away just then.

"...It's a complicated situation, I'm afraid," Touga answered.

"Then un-complicate it for me, Touga."

Touga glanced at Izayoi, and after sharing a brief look together, she nodded. Kagome sucked
in a breath.

Rin sat up in alarm, seeing the resigned looks on their faces. No! They can't give away their
family secret because of me!

"Mama, it's okay, really. I understand why he left. I promise, he didn't do it to hurt me on
purpose," Rin said, trying to prevent Sesshoumaru's worst fears from coming true.

But Izayoi quietly moved to the door to the dressing room and locked it. She took up a stance
in front of it that was almost militaristic in nature—completely at odds with what Rin would
ever imagine from her. Souta looked back at her questioningly.

Then Touga said, "I suppose it was naïve to think we'd be able to keep this from you forever.
But we are family now—twice over, at that—so you deserve to know." He reached into his
mouth and removed his tooth veneers. When he spoke next, his fangs were easily visible.
"The truth is, we are a demon family."

"Good heavens!" Grandpa cried out, whipping out a sutra charm from inside his tux jacket.

"Oh!" Moe gasped, and Souta pulled her closer, though he couldn't take his eyes off Touga's
teeth, like he was more interested in examining them than frightened of them.

Mama's hold tightened on Rin, but she scrambled out of it. "Please, nobody panic. They're
nothing like the Demon Slayer propaganda says. They'd never hurt us!" Rin exclaimed.

Kagome looked at her sister with wide eyes. "Rin…you knew?"

"Of course! I knew exactly what Sesshoumaru was from the very beginning. And I knew
exactly what my babies were going to be too."

The mention of her children brought all their focus to her stomach.

"Rin…how in the world were you going to hide something like that from us?" Kagome
asked. "What if they came out looking like Inuyasha? How were you going to explain that?"

"What's wrong with Inuyasha? He looks perfectly normal. Like…too normal," Souta said,
frowning in thought.
"Because he's human tonight," Izayoi answered. "While my husband is a demon, I am human,
so our son is a half-demon. On the night of the new moon, he loses his demonic powers and
looks. Come sunrise, they'll return, and he'll resemble his father more." She ran a finger
through his silver ponytail to illustrate.

"Souta whistled. "Whoa. I don't want to even ask how that's all biologically possible."

"You girls knew about all this? And you were…okay with it?" Mama asked, looking more
hurt that they had kept such secrets than shocked that the Nishikunis were demons.

"Absolutely," Rin answered without hesitation.

Kagome added, "It did frighten me at first. That's…actually why we broke up for a few
months. But I realized my mistake, and I've completely accepted it now, Mom. I wouldn't
have married Inuyasha otherwise."

Mama looked up at Touga, who held her gaze. She sighed. "Well, what's good enough for my
daughters is good enough for me. You needn't worry about us turning you in. We'll keep your
secret." Souta and Moe nodded in agreement.

"Now wait just a minute there," Grandpa interjected. "You're being mighty accepting of all
this, my dear. While I don't like to doubt my granddaughters' judgment, demons are known
for their wily ways. Why, they could have charmed the girls into doing just about anything!"

"Oh, geez. Grandpa, we were not put under any sort of demon spell!" Kagome groaned.

"I will be the judge of that!" He walked over to them, and whipping out yet another sutra
from inside his jacket, he rehearsed a brief Buddhist chant before sticking the charms right in
the centers of his granddaughters' foreheads. Rin winced as his finger prodded her brow, and
Kagome just narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you satisfied now?" Kagome asked in a deadpan voice.

Grandpa stroked his beard. "Hmm, yes, all seems well here. Now as for you," he said,
spinning around faster than a man his age had any right to and advancing on Touga. He
reached into his jacket again and whipped out a mummified kappa's foot, slapping it right
against Touga's chest. "If you have any ill intent, this lucky kappa's foot will disable you!"

Nothing happened.

Kagome groaned and put her head in her hands. "I even removed that from the yuino gifts
and hid it. How did he find it again?" she mumbled.

Touga looked down at the item in surprise and then gently plucked it out of Grandpa's hold
and examined it. "I believe I know the owner of this hand. Would you mind if I returned it to
him? He will most surely appreciate having it back."

Grandpa just blinked and smoothly stepped back to stand by Souta and Moe again. He
coughed once to clear his throat. "He's clean. Nothing to worry about."
Touga chuckled and shook his head with a wry smile as he slipped the kappa's foot into his
jacket. "Your acceptance is truly a thing of wonder, Higurashis. I cannot thank you enough
from the bottom of my heart. In all honesty, it is a weight off my shoulders to have you know.
I dreaded having to hide such a secret should Inuyasha and Kagome one day have children,
but now with Sesshoumaru and Rin…I see it was for the best."

"Well, given that your wife is human, I suppose you can't be as harmful as the Demon Slayers
say," Souta remarked.

"Ah, well, do not underestimate a demon's power, young Souta. Just because we can live
peacefully does not mean we have been declawed." He pulled off a glove and wiggled his
fingers with the aforementioned extremities at Souta, grinning. Souta's eyes widened like a
child spying a new toy in a shop window.

Touga replaced his glove and put his tooth veneers back in. "Now I ask that you please
excuse me. I need to go have a talk with Sesshoumaru, and we need to inform his mother
about this…development. I will contact you tomorrow after we have settled some…family
matters." Touga bowed in farewell, then approached his wife at the door. "Dearest, I hate to
leave you here, but would you mind driving yourself back home? I know it makes you
uncomfortable."

"I will manage, darling. Do what you need to do. We still have to clean up the decorations
and such anyway, so take all the time you need." They kissed briefly before Touga left.

"I suppose we should go and clean up," Mama said, standing. As Rin moved to get up, Mama
gently pushed her back down. "You stay here and rest."

"Mama, I'm fine—"

"Rest, Rin."

Rin finally gave up the fight and just nodded.

"I'll be there in a minute to help," Kagome said.

"Nonsense. Once Inuyasha returns, you two go on home. It's your wedding day. Enjoy it.
We'll take care of clean-up," Moe answered with a smile.

"You guys are the best!" Kagome announced, jumping up and hugging all of her family, her
new mother-in-law included.

When Izayoi opened the door again, everyone around the threshold balked, suddenly finding
Inuyasha standing on the other side of it.

"Oh, son, you're back," Izayoi said.

"Yeah. I just ran into Dad. He said you guys were still here." He looked over and caught
Souta staring at him. "What, do I have something I my face?"

Souta shook his head. "Just trying to imagine a you that looks like your dad, apparently."
Inuyasha jerked back and looked at his mother. "They know?" She nodded. "Huh. Well, that
makes things easier, I guess."

"We're going to clean up the reception hall. Kagome will be out in a moment," Izayoi
answered.

"Actually, wait!" Kagome called out. She turned to Rin. "Is it okay if he comes in too?"

Rin shrugged. Everyone knew at this point. Might as well get all the conversations out of the
way at once.

As the last to leave, Souta closed the door behind him. Then, Inuyasha came to stand in front
of his wife and sister-in-law. He avoided Rin's gaze, and her heart clenched.

I knew it. What must he think of me now?

After several seconds of awkward silence, Kagome broke it. "You did use that ticket, didn't
you?" Rin nodded, and Inuyasha looked between them, his brows furrowed in suspicion.
Kagome sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me from the start? We probably could have avoided
all of this mess."

Rin stared down at her lap. "I was going to tell you about everything…but then you showed
up at my apartment, telling me you broke up with Inuyasha because he lied to you, and I
kinda put the pieces together, figuring he was a demon, and if you felt you couldn't be with
him because of that, I didn't think I could tell you that I had been with a demon."

"Oh, Rin," Kagome groaned. "So it's really all my fault this went on for so long?"

Rin shrugged. "I don't think we can pin the blame on any one person."

"Hang on now," Inuyasha interrupted. "I'm missing something here. Why did you suspect me
of being a demon? And what ticket exactly are you talking about?"

Rin took a deep breath and glanced at her sister before looking up at Inuyasha. "Well, I guess
it's time for us to come clean. Kagome gave—"

"I gave her the ticket to Western Sanctuary that you had given me back in the fall," Kagome
blurted out. "She said she didn't know where to go on vacation, and I didn't know it was a
demon sanctuary at the time, so I thought it was better to give it to her and let her pamper
herself than let it go to waste."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, and he looked over at his wife in dismay. "You told me you
shredded it!"

"I told you I got rid of it. And I did. Just…not in the way you thought." She frowned at him
when he opened his mouth to speak again. "Don't you dare get onto me about lying! Not with
what you were pulling at that time."

"Okay, fine, but the whole reason I wanted to bring you there was to tell you the truth, you
know."
Rin grimaced. Given how Kagome reacted even though she hadn't been brought there, Rin
imagined that would not have gone over well.

Kagome apparently already knew this, however, because she waved it off. "That's not what's
important right now. What's important is that's where you met Sesshoumaru, right?" Rin
nodded. "How did you actually meet him? Did you check into the resort?"

Rin shook her head. "I told you I was going camping, and that's just what I did. But the first
day there, I found him lying in the forest, unconscious and all torn up. I had no idea what had
happened to him, and he looked completely human to me, so I rushed over and bandaged him
up. It was only as I was tending his wounds that I found out he was a demon."

"Oh, shit."

Kagome and Rin both looked at Inuyasha as the exclamation left his lips. He scratched the
back of his head. "Yeah, uh…that was my doing. Which I guess means…damn. Is this whole
mess my fault in the first place?"

Rin's mouth dropped open. "You did that to him? Inuyasha, his arm could have been
completely cut off!"

He shrugged, like that didn't bother him. And now, recalling her conversation with Touga
earlier, Rin wondered if it really wouldn't have been a big deal. Perhaps
Sesshoumaru could have re-grown his arm, had that happened. "Yeah, well, it served him
right. He was harping on and on about how fickle humans are and saying Kagome wouldn't
accept me if I told her the truth about myself, and I'd just had enough, so I…lashed out a bit."

Kagome deflated. "I hate that I proved him right."

"No, you didn't, because even if you did leave in the beginning, you still came back and
accepted me in the end," he said, reaching down and grabbing her hand. She smiled back at
her husband and squeezed his hand in return. Then Inuyasha looked over at Rin. "But I still
don't get how the bastard pulled a one-eighty from trashing humans and their feelings to…
to…." He gestured vaguely at Rin's pregnant person.

Rin smiled grimly. "I suppose you would have to ask him that yourself. All I know is that I
tended to him for the next ten days, and over that time, we got closer. Then, um…." She
hesitated.

Aside from telling the story at her family's graveside, she had never spoken to anyone other
than Sesshoumaru about her experience with the wolf demons. She knew she shouldn't feel
ashamed for being an assault victim, but in a way, she did. Maybe if she had been more
aware, she wouldn't have been caught off guard, and—

"Rin, what is it?" Kagome asked, letting go of Inuyasha to take Rin's hands. "What
happened?"

Rin's tears welled up again as she thought back on that day, and she hated that it still affected
her this badly. She thought she had gotten over it by now, because she hadn't had those awful
nightmares in months. Through a thick voice, she said, "Um…so…I went to go wash up
before going home, and I…left Sesshoumaru at the campsite. It was kinda far." No need to
explain why she chose a spot so far away from him. She did not need anyone else to
know that embarrassment. "And while I was bathing…Kouga found me."

"Kouga?" Inuyasha and Kagome echoed.

Then her sister's eyes narrowed, and Rin wondered if she was remembering what happened in
the reception hall. In a steely voice, Kagome asked, "What did he do to you?"

Rin licked her lips, buying her throat time to unlock itself. "He…um…took me back to his
campsite…where there was a whole pack of other wolf demons. He told them…they could…
um…have their way with me and then eat me."

"Shit," Inuyasha hissed as Kagome gasped in horror. "I'm going to pound that flea-bitten sack
of shit into the dirt next time I see him—"

"Oh Rin, please tell me you didn't get hurt. Please. I will never forgive myself if—" Kagome
broke off, tears washing over her own eyes as she picked Rin's hands up and squeezed them.

Rin shook her head. "Kouga left some deep scratches on me, and one of the others molested
me a bit, but no, they didn't, um…rape me."

Kagome let out a deep sigh of relief.

"I'm still gonna kill him," Inuyasha grunted.

"Me too," Kagome added. "I can't believe it. I know I just met him, but he didn't seem like
that type of guy…."

"I think you'll have to get in line. Actually, Sesshoumaru came and saved me. He threatened
them, and they left."

Inuyasha nodded. "Okay, yeah, now the reason he hasn't spoken to Kouga in months makes
sense."

"Then what happened?" Kagome asked.

"Well, he brought me back to the campsite and tended my wounds, but we were both keyed
up from that whole experience and…." Rin pulled a hand away and sheepishly rapped her
fingers over the top of her stomach.

Kagome's eyes widened. "And so you had marathon sex because of it? Oh my gosh, it all
makes sense now."

"M-Marathon?" Inuyasha asked with a twitching eye just as Rin cried out, "Kagome!" Her
cheeks flushed red.

"What else do you call doing it six times in a row?" Kagome threw her sister another
suspicious look. "You didn't lie about that part, did you?"
Rin just hid her face in her hands and shook her head.

Inuyasha's entire face was twitching now. "I…I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Inuyasha, grow up!" Kagome shouted, slapping his arm. "Everybody has needs, including
Sesshoumaru." She whirled back on Rin. "So then what? Did he have regrets and leave or
something?"

Rin sighed and rubbed the mating mark on her shoulder. "I don't know about regrets, but…I
think in his own, stupid way, he was trying to protect me. I mean, he apparently mated me,
and Touga said it would have been really difficult for him to leave after that, so he must have
truly felt it was for the best."

"Wait, he mated you too? Damn, girl, even we haven't done that," Kagome remarked.

"You haven't?" Rin asked, surprised.

"Well, we were planning on it for our first night in Hawaii, since we're flying over tomorrow
night and we obviously can't tonight, what with Inuyasha being, you know…." Kagome
trailed off with a little shrug. Then she grinned, adding, "Let's just say we're looking forward
to our honeymoon."

Rin's brows rose, and she glanced over at Inuyasha, curiosity now nibbling at her. "Um,
Inuyasha, can I ask you something kind of…frank?"

He shrugged. "That's the only way I like to hear questions, so shoot."

"Um…your dad made it sound like mating is…um…instinctual. Like, you just can't help it. Is
that not totally the case? I mean…I know you two have had sex before. Just sayin'."

"Of course you do," he grumbled, looking at Kagome with an eye roll. She shot him a "watch
it" look. He scratched his cheek as he thought. "Look, to be honest, I don't really know. We're
treading new territory here with me. My dad's a full-blooded demon, and I'm only half. Sure,
I've got a lot of demon powers and instincts, but in a lot of cases, they are duller than my
dad's or even Sesshoumaru's. I have to work twice as hard to be on par with them.

"So, to be frank…we've only done it once in my true form. The day we uh…got back
together, you know? And I did feel this instinct to mark her then. But at the same time, I had
enough sense to pull back and wait. I mean, we had only just gotten back together, and I
didn't want to bind her to me like that until she was absolutely sure about me, you know? So
we talked about it, and just to be safe, we've only, ah…been together on my new moon nights
since then."

Rin's eyes widened. Then she turned to Kagome with a knowing look. "So there is something
new you get to look forward to with marriage, huh?"

"Shut up!" Kagome answered with a blush, lightly shoving Rin.

Rin just giggled, and the action surprised her. Without realizing it, a weight had lifted from
her chest.
I finally got to tell someone—someone alive—the whole story.

Not only had she found Sesshoumaru, but she no longer had to keep everything a secret.
Even with all the uncertainty surrounding their situation, she hadn't felt this light in seven
months.

"Well, speaking of your marriage night, I should let you two go. I've ruined your day
enough," Rin answered.

"Hey, you didn't ruin anything," Kagome said sternly. "I mean, you definitely brought some
major drama to it, but if I'm looking on the bright side, that'll just make it so much more
memorable. And if our wedding was the only way to make you happy again, I'm glad for it."
She paused, a look of doubt crossing her face. "Are you happy about seeing him again?"

Rin glanced away. "Ultimately, yes, I think, but…it was more difficult to see him again than I
thought it would be. And some of the things we said—" Just that quickly, the pain came
rushing back, clogging up her throat again and making her eyes sting.

"Hey, hey, it'll be okay. This is just the first step, and trust me when I say that the first step to
reconciliation is the hardest," Kagome answered, taking her hand again and rubbing a thumb
across it. "You just have to trust that everything will work out in the end. …Although if you
see him walking bow-legged next time, just know that I did that—or I plan to, at least—
because he still has a lot to pay for for knocking up my baby sister and leaving her."

"Kagome, don't do that!" Rin admonished. "Violence isn't that answer."

Kagome regarded her with a flat look. "You could just be honest and say, 'Don't go for the
jewels,' because you want more babies with him. I suppose I could hold back for that."

Rin flushed, but she didn't refute her.

"Okay, I don't need to hear anymore about this," Inuyasha cute in. "But seriously Kagome, if
you want to wallop him, I'm not going to hold you back. I already took a shot at him myself
tonight. Hope I left a nice mark on that stupid, sculpted jaw of his." He rolled his shoulder
with a self-satisfied smirk and cracked his knuckles.

Rin gaped. "You didn't!"

"Sure did."

"Inuyasha, you've got to stop hurting your brother like that! I can't always be there to patch
him up."

Inuyasha's brows rose in surprise, and then he snorted. "I think you're the only person in the
world who can talk about Sesshoumaru like he's some weak-ass wuss." He grinned. "I really
wish he could hear you right now, if only to see the look on his smug mug."

Rin glared at him. "I know he's not weak, Inuyasha, but that doesn't mean he can't get hurt—
physically or emotionally. Perhaps if you treated him nicely, you'd see the side of him that I
do."
Inuyasha flinched, likely surprised she would be defending him in this situation, but then his
brow started twitching something fierce. "What, you sleep with the guy one—no, I guess it
was six times—" he corrected with a shudder, "—and suddenly you're an expert on him? I've
put up with that jackass for centuries, Rin. I think I know him better than you do."

"Do you? Because I wonder if you know him at all," Rin answered testily, hugging her
middle. Inuyasha had the grace to look slightly chastened. Rin sighed. "Look, I don't want to
fight on your wedding day, and you are right—I don't know what's happened between you
both over the last few centuries. But it's apparent that if he could go from insulting humans to
being with one in just ten days…something in him changed. And maybe if you stop laying
into him, you'll see it too."

Inuyasha pouted, turning away from her. "Keh. You're just determined to see the best in
everyone, aren't you?"

Rin's heart lurched once in dismay, hating that she was starting off on the wrong foot with her
brother-in-law, but then Kagome suddenly scooted over and hugged her from the side, laying
her head on Rin's shoulder.

"And you know what, Inuyasha? I bet that's exactly what drew Sesshoumaru to her in the first
place," she said with a pensive smile.

That night, after Rin, Mama, and Grandpa got home from the wedding reception, Rin walked
back into her room and groaned, seeing the beads of her necklace still littering the floor. She
had completely forgotten about it in light of everything else that had happened that night.

But the last thing she needed was to wake up in the middle of the night needing to use the
bathroom (an unfortunately side effect of having baby bladder) and slip on a bead or three in
the dark. So she knelt down with a sigh and started crawling around, picking up beads. Her
stomach weighed down her back like a bent cow with a full udder.

"Rin, what are you doing?" Mama suddenly asked, and Rin turned around to find her
standing in the doorway.

She held up the beads. "These are what's kept demons and Demon Slayers from reading the
babies' demonic auras all this time. It broke tonight. Which I guess was providence, because
otherwise, Touga would never have realized whose children they were…."

"Go sit on the bed and let me do that," Mama said, kneeling down and scouring the floor for
the rest of the beads. "What was it?"

"It was my mother's old bracelet. The elastic snapped."

Mama looked at her with pity. "I think I have some elastic string in my old sewing kit. We'll
get this fixed up for you tomorrow."

Rin sighed in relief. She assumed the protective spell had also broken with the bracelet, so
she would have Kaede bless it again on Monday. She would only be without its protection for
perhaps thirty-six hours. "Thank you, Mama."

When Mama had gathered all the beads she could find, she dropped them into Rin's cupped
hands and then went to fetch a baggie they could put them in. When she returned and the
beads were all safe, Mama sat down on the bed next to her. She undid the knot in Rin's hair
and let it fall, combing it with her fingers. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

Rin sighed. "I don't know. Still a little overwhelmed, but I think I'm finally starting to process
everything."

Mama sniffed just then, and Rin turned to face her. "Mama, what's wrong?"

Her mother's eyes glistened with wetness. "My heart just hurts so much for you, Rin—
thinking about everything you've been burdened with all these months. I understand why you
never said anything, but…to think there was more on top of the pregnancy that you were
carrying. Oh my girl, I wish you had said something."

Rin hugged her tightly, and her mother returned the embrace. "I'm sorry, Mama. I wanted to.
There were so many times I wanted to tell you all the whole truth, but…Sesshoumaru and his
family value their privacy for good reason, and I just…didn't want to risk it."

"You've done so much for this man who left you, sweetheart. I'm just…in awe of your
capacity to love."

Rin blushed. Love? Moe had once asked her if she loved Sesshoumaru. Truly, she still didn't
quite know. But it didn't require much love to be a decent human being and keep him safe.

"I just hope he's going to return the love you've shown him tenfold. Because you deserve that
and more," Mama continued.

Rin could say nothing to that as her mother rubbed her back. After what he had said to her
earlier, Rin wasn't sure if he would be able to love her…or if he would only see her as a
burden he got stuck with because of the children they had conceived.

Sesshoumaru smelled his father before hearing the knock on his window. He opened his eyes
to find his father staring at him, like he could see his son through the tinted glass. The heavy
set of his thick eyebrows did not bode well for his son. Sesshoumaru lowered the window,
wary of family now that Inuyasha had already dragged him out of his car.

"Get out. I'm driving," Touga said.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I am perfectly capable—"

"You are not. Get. Out."

Sesshoumaru popped open the door without anymore argument and slunk out of his seat,
storming to the other side of the car while his father slid in. As soon as Sesshoumaru belted
himself in, Touga pulled out of the parking garage and drove off.
"Where are we going?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Where do you think? Back to the estate. You need to have this conversation with your
mother face-to-face—not over the phone."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I can face her myself."

"I know you can, son. But even the strongest warriors need backup at times, and I wouldn't
wish the coming conversation with her on even my worst enemy."

Sesshoumaru looked out the window at the passing buildings. "It's Inuyasha's wedding day.
Are you sure you should be leaving?"

Touga sighed. "The reception is over, and even if it wasn't, I would still be here, because right
now, you need me more than he does. As you're soon going to find out, Sesshoumaru, having
multiple children means balancing their needs."

Sesshoumaru's jaw clenched. "That never seemed to matter to you before."

Touga threw him a sharp look. "What do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru fisted his hand. Could he really say it, after all these centuries?

"Sesshoumaru, tell me."

Look what keeping my emotions at bay has already cost me. With that thought in mind, he
relented. "You've always placed Inuyasha's needs first. Ever since he was born, you never left
his side."

"Are you saying I neglected you?"

Sesshoumaru thought about that. Certainly he had not been neglected in the material sense.
He had grown up in rich surroundings. He had just grown up…alone. "In a sense. You were a
completely different father to him than you were to me. You were always there for him."

"When wasn't I there for you, Sesshoumaru? Tell me."

"It would be easier to count the times you were there. Even before you left for good, you
were always gone."

"I was looking after our lands, Sesshoumaru. It was my duty."

Sesshoumaru could almost hear the words his father didn't tack on: one you shirked.

"I know. And I never begrudged you that. I only ever looked up to you. That is, until you left
for Izayoi." After that, Touga had no longer seemed interested in war and caring for his lands
as much as he once did.

Touga glanced over at him. "Are you still angry at me for that? Even now that you've found a
human woman you love?"
"It is not about loving a human, Father. It was simply that you left, and you never cared to
look back. Not until our world as we knew it was ending."

Touga gripped the steering wheel harder. "You didn't seem to care, Sesshoumaru. You sought
me out the night Inuyasha was born to ask for my swords—as if you expected me to die and
didn't care whether or not I did."

Knowing how close his father had come to death that night, Sesshoumaru regretted that
conversation now. He was glad those had not been his last words to his father, like they could
have been had Riku not appeared in time to tend to his father's wounds.

"After that, you never came by again. I knew you were angry with me about the swords at
least. Perhaps even still about leaving. I just wanted to give you space."

"And I wanted to be acknowledged."

"Acknowledged as what?"

"As your son."

Touga furrowed his brows in confusion. "But you've always been my son, Sesshoumaru."

"After Inuyasha was born, it did not feel like it. I felt…forgotten. Set aside. Like Mother."

Touga took his eyes off the road long enough to look at his son, stricken sadness lining his
face. "If you felt this way, why didn't you say anything?"

"Because acknowledging that I somehow depended on you for validation would be a

weakness. And you and Mother always taught me to value strength." He had always felt his
parents set higher expectations on him than Izayoi and Touga ever had on Inuyasha.

"Wanting to have a closer bond with your parents isn't a weakness, Sesshoumaru. In fact, I
hope you don't make the same mistakes I did and that you do make yourself a part of your
daughters' lives from the moment they're born." He sighed. "It is true, however, that I didn't
raise you and Inuyasha the same way. I was a different person when he was born. But that
never meant I loved you any less. It pains me that you've felt this way all this time, even
now."

Touga reached out and put a conciliatory hand on Sesshoumaru's knee. Sesshoumaru glanced
over at him, meeting his father's eyes whenever they left the road. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the
father you needed, Sesshoumaru. I hated how we grew apart, but you can't imagine how
happy I was when you agreed to live with the whole family again. I've spent these last several
decades trying to make up for that, in the hopes that I could show how much you mean to me.
Apparently, I still have more inroads to make, but I want you to know just how much I've
enjoyed working with you and your brother all these years. I think together, we've created an
outstanding business, and I am proud to call you my son."

The words Sesshoumaru had always longed to hear finally broke through the stone wall of
Sesshoumaru's heart.
As he looked back on their recent decades together, he could finally acknowledge that yes,
his father did apparently care for him as much as he did Inuyasha after all.

In the privacy of this car with just the two of them to hear it, Sesshoumaru decided he could
test out these words. "Thank you."

He didn't dare look at his father to see his reaction, and Touga didn't speak for several
seconds. Finally, he said, "Don't thank me just yet, Sesshoumaru. While I am proud to call
you my son, I am not proud of how you've behaved lately. So before your mother tears you a
new one, we need to have a serious talk."

Ah, and now the tables had turned. Sesshoumaru braced himself.

"I realize I haven't been the perfect father to you, but I at least thought I taught you how to
treat women with respect. You don't just bed a girl and leave, Sesshoumaru—especially if
you have an understanding or—heavens forbid—a goddamn mating mark."

"I didn't want to—"

But his father wasn't finished yet. "How could you not tell us something so important,
Sesshoumaru? Are we really that meaningless to you? This is your mate, for crying out loud
—not some floozy you met in a bar and hooked up with for a night. Regardless of whether or
not she got pregnant, you changed her life."

"I know she can sense my emotions now, but I try not to fee—"

"Your emotions are the least of it, Sesshoumaru. Don't you understand what you've done?
You've tied her lifespan to yours." Sesshoumaru whipped around, staring wide-eyed at his
father. Touga glanced over, his brow furrowing in concern. "Did you not realize that, son?"

"Is that why Izayoi is still alive?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Touga's brow furrowed even further. "I thought you knew. You even talked about it the night
Inuyasha first brought Kagome over."

Sesshoumaru looked down at his lap in shame. "Mother made an inference, but I did not
know what she was talking about. I kept up the pretense in the hopes that someone would say
it out loud."

"Egads, Sesshoumaru, why didn't you just ask? If you had, we might have figured all of this
out much sooner!"

Sesshoumaru clenched his hands. "I did not wish to appear ignorant."

"If you are ignorant because you have not had the opportunity to learn, that is not weakness,
Sesshoumaru. But if you are ignorant because you refuse to ask questions, that is
foolhardiness. No one has all the answers. It's okay to ask questions. It's okay to ask for help.
As much as you like to think it, you're not all-powerful, son. You can't handle every problem
on your own. You need to learn to ask for help. We would have found a way to protect Rin.
We will find a way, because regardless, she's part of our family now."
"That's not…entirely why I left her," Sesshoumaru countered. "She's going to suffocate
having to live in hiding, Father. I never wanted that for her. I wanted her to continue living
the life of freedom she was born with."

Touga's hands tightened again on the steering wheel, causing it to squeak, and he sighed.
"That's a noble intention, son. But did you even try to discuss it with her?"

"…I asked her who she would choose to be with between me and her family. She couldn't
decide."

"Did you explain everything to her to help her make a decision?"

He hadn't. He had just taken the rejection in stride. Just as he had taken his father's leaving as
a matter of fact so many centuries ago.

Touga must have interpreted his silence correctly. "Noble as your intentions were, they were
misguided. You can't make these sorts of decisions by yourself when a person you love is
involved. You have to take their feelings into account."

"She wouldn't have understood—"

"Then you should have tried to make her understand! And maybe she still would have been
fine with it. Has Kagome's willingness to be in the family taught you nothing?"

"They're being impetuous. They dated for less than a year before breaking up, and almost as
soon as they got back together—"

"You're going to talk about Inuyasha being impetuous? You met a girl and, as far as I
understand it, made her your mate and impregnated her less than two weeks later! Who's
being impetuous here, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru could not refute that.

"Speaking of…did it ever even cross your mind that she could get pregnant?"

Shame coursed through Sesshoumaru once again. He hated that his father was talking to him
like an adolescent when he was a fully-grown demon. He hated that his ignorance—
ignorance born of stubbornness—had led him to this point. "I am not entirely knowledgeable
on the human reproductive system, Father." He knew enough to understand that he was
sexually compatible with a human. Beyond that, the finer details were lost on him.

Touga sighed. "I suppose I cannot entirely fault you there, if your mother is your only
example of a reproductive female, given that Izayoi has been out of her childbearing years for
centuries. Did Rin really say nothing to you about the possibility? Or anything about using
protection?"

"What does it matter? Whether she did or not changes nothing," Sesshoumaru answered. In
fact, Rin hadn't said anything, so he had assumed all was fine. A human would know her own
body best, after all.
"Did she?" Touga pressed.

"…No."

Touga's grip shifted on the wheel again. "Well…it takes two, I suppose. Nevertheless—"

"You've made your point, Father. You're disappointed in me. It would not be the first time."
He refused to look at his father, unable to bear seeing that disappointment in his eyes once
again.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru, I am disappointed in how you've handled this. I'm also hurt that you
didn't think you could trust your own family to stand by you and help you in this matter. I
know your mother is difficult, but I thought I had made it clear by now that you could come
to me about anything."

Sesshoumaru stayed silent. He had already made himself clear on that issue. Yes, his father
had made strides in recent years to close the gap between them. But Sesshoumaru's entire life
had been a study in self-reliance.

Still, he realized now that he needed to work on being less stubborn about this matter in the
future. Especially if it involved Rin or the children.

His father continued, unaware of his internal resolutions. "Of course, it probably wouldn't
have been easy for you to face us. You've made it clear for so long how much you detest
humans, and then to suddenly mate one—I can see how embarrassing that might be."

"I am not embarrassed by Rin," Sesshoumaru answered. He could never be embarrassed by

one who so fully completed him. "I simply did not want her to suffocate in our world."

"…Is that why you told her she should have terminated the pregnancy?"

Sesshoumaru's head whipped around at that. "Were you listening?"

"No, she told me. She was extremely upset about that Sesshoumaru—and for good reason!
Why the hell would you tell the mother of your children something like that? She thinks you
don't want them!"

Sesshoumaru dug his nails so hard into his fist, he drew blood. "Of course I want them."
They were the perfect union of himself and Rin—how could he not? "But they will always be
in danger, and I find that I…hate the thought that they will never know peace."

It wasn't even just the Demon Slayers that posed a threat anymore. Although Naraku had
been quiet since New Year's, the Nishikunis knew it was only a matter of time before he
opened his "sanctuary." He had promised to do so this year, and the year was already one-
third gone.

"You panicked. Trust me, I understand all too well. You think it doesn't hurt me to see you
and Inuyasha have to hide what you truly are after so many years of roaming the world free?
But even had circumstances been different and you had been born into a world of hiding, I
cannot imagine a life where I do not know you and Inuyasha. You are my precious,
irreplaceable sons. I know you haven't met your children yet, but I guarantee that the moment
you do, you'll understand what I'm saying. They're going to become your entire world, and
you're going to do everything in your power to protect them and give them the life you want
for them, even under chafing restrictions. You're not always going to succeed…but you will
never regret trying."

Sesshoumaru said nothing. He thought his father had been lecturing him, but now it felt more
like he was trying to impart fatherly advice. It made Sesshoumaru feel less wretched.

Just then, Touga pulled into the garage of the family estate, and Sesshoumaru was surprised
to see they had made it back home. He hadn't even realized their drive was over.

When Touga put the car in park and turned it off, he leaned back against his seat.
"Sesshoumaru, look at me."

Sesshoumaru turned his head just the slightest and glanced at his father out of the corner of
his eye. Touga met that stare head-on.

"I just want you to know that despite everything I've just said…I'm happy you've finally
found someone whom you cherish, son, and who cherishes you. I know Rin is hurt right now,
but I can tell she cares about you. She seems like a lovely girl, and I'm ecstatic to know I got
not just one but two daughters-in-law today. Not to mention, I am beyond delighted to
become a grandfather." A smile crept onto his lips, and he patted Sesshoumaru's knee. "So
buck up, alright? All's not lost. There's still a few battles ahead of you yet, but we'll get you
through this."

Sesshoumaru nodded once, and it was enough to cue Touga to open the door to the car. The
dog demons exited and made their way towards Sesshoumaru's and Inukimi's home.
Sesshoumaru looked over it with new eyes.

Soon it would be Rin's home too—because sooner or later, she had to come live here. What
would she think of it? Would she hate living with her mother-in-law? Sesshoumaru already
could barely stand it. Maybe he should build a separate home for them on the property.
Surely they had enough room for another house—at least, if Inuyasha and Kagome weren't
already planning to build one as well. Could they fit four houses? Or maybe they could kick
his mother out and build her a smaller residence. She was only one person, after all, and he
and Rin would be a family of four soon. They needed the space.

Somehow, though, he did not see his mother taking her eviction into a smaller setting well.
Especially after the coming conversation.

They entered the house and followed Inukimi's scent into the living room, where she lounged
against her chaise in complete darkness, staring out the window towards the front garden—
the garden they had walked through to come inside.

She had been waiting for them, Sesshoumaru realized. His hackles rose in alarm. His father
subtly turned on a nearby lamp to give them just a little light, even though they could see her
perfectly fine. Still, the light was reassuring. Sesshoumaru preferred to have a clear view of
his adversaries, so that he could anticipate any attack.
Inukimi did not turn to face them. Instead, she said, "I received the most…puzzling call from
Zero a little while ago. She was so drunk—a feat in itself, I presume—that she could barely
string two thoughts together. So much of it was incoherent nonsense, and if I inferred the
situation correctly, Kirinmaru was in a constant battle with her to wrest the phone from her
hands before he finally terminated the call.

"However, what she did make clear to me were the words, 'The engagement is over.'" His
mother finally turned her head like an owl and pinned Sesshoumaru with eyes that glowed
gold in the soft glow of the lamp. "What have you done, Sesshoumaru?" She glanced over at
Touga then. "It must be something of tremendous magnitude if your father has decided to
grace us with his presence as well."

"Kimi," Touga started, and the pet name had her tensing up in what looked like a cross of
irritation and alarm. "Please be understanding. He has the most valid of reasons." He looked
over at Sesshoumaru, his cue to get it over with.

Of course his father would make him confess. But how best to tell his purist mother that he
had mated himself to a human and gotten her pregnant?

Ah yes: make it center around her.

"You're going to be a grandmother."

A single eyebrow rose over one of Inukimi's steely eyes. "Are you attempting a jest,
Sesshoumaru?"

"No, Mother."

Her eyebrows slammed back down into a V. "And Zero is not the mother."

"No."

"Who is?" his mother asked in a voice as calm as the eye of a hurricane.

"Her name is Rin. She is…human."

Touga cleared his throat, adding, "And Kagome's sister, at that."

The room was silent for several seconds. And then Inukimi suddenly burst into laughter.

Hysterical laughter.

"Oh, say it isn't so," she chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye as she collapsed against the
back of the chaise. "First my husband runs off with some human floozy—"

"Kimi," Touga growled.

"—And now my son, the precious boy I bred to detest humans, has gone and knocked one
up? Is that what you're saying? Pray tell, when did this happen?"
"Last fall," Sesshoumaru answered through gritted teeth. He fisted his hands, his claws
digging right back into the wounds that had already healed from the last time he clenched
them so hard.

Inukimi took a deep breath, fanning the tears out of her eyes. "Is that what your 'impromptu
vacation' was about? I must say, Sesshoumaru, I did not think you were the type. But you are
your father's son, I suppose, so perhaps it is in your blood to want to mess around with human
girls. Would that you had been more careful though!"

"Kimi, that's enough," Touga warned again.

"No, Touga, that is not enough. Tell me, at least, that you did not do something as insipid as
falling in love with her and that this was just some unfortunate, random fling, Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru didn't know if he was in love, but he did know that Rin would never leave his
side again once they had their living arrangements settled. "She was not a fling, Mother. She
will be coming to live here."

"Oh, my foolish son." Inukimi stood up and walked calmly towards them. "I want you to
understand, Sesshoumaru: this does not change your situation. Whether or not you come to
an…understanding with Zero about keeping this girl as your…mistress, shall we say—a
practice that is sorely outdated, I must point out, since that seems so important to you as of
late—you are going to take Zero for your wife, regardless. And if Zero does not agree, you
will abide by her wishes and cast this human out of your life. Keep the bastard child here if
you must—it will expose us otherwise—but once this girl has given birth, her role in this
family is done."

"Children."

"Pardon me?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at his mother. "Rin and I are having twins, Mother."

Inukimi scoffed, turning away from him. "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better. Next
you'll tell me that you made her your mate." When Sesshoumaru said nothing, Inukimi turned
around slowly, leveling a wary gaze at him. "Tell me you didn't, Sesshoumaru."

"I did, Mother."

Inukimi lashed out at a side table, sweeping the porcelain lamp off it and sending it smashing
to the floor. "How dare you, Sesshoumaru! How could you sit here and make fools of all of
us! You've known all this time that you mated this woman, and yet you said nothing as we
went through the engagement process! How are you going to explain this to Kirinmaru and
Zero?"

"I already have, and I will handle the fallout on my own."

"You most certainly will, because I will say nothing on your behalf, Sesshoumaru." She put a
hand to her head in dismay. "Are you going through some sort of late rebellious period? Are
you purposely trying to drive me mad? As if you haven't just embarrassed our entire family,
now you've gone and added the shame of half-breeds to our line, and there's no hope of
redemption! Our pure lineage is finished because of you, Sesshoumaru. Finished! Do you
understand what you've done? You've led to our downfall!"

"Inukimi, that is enough!" Touga roared, stepping in front of her. "Why can't you just be
happy for our son? He's found the woman he wants to be with for life. He's waited fourteen
hundred years, Kimi. And whether you like it or not, demonkind is on the decline. Perhaps
comingling is nature's way of ensuring our species survives in some way instead of going
extinct."

"Don't you dare preach to me about happiness, you backstabbing, cheating bastard!" Inukimi
screeched, her eyes flashing red as she lunged for his throat. Touga's eyes bled red in
response, and he grabbed her wrists, preventing her from reaching him. That didn't stop her
tirade, however. "This is all your fault! You've poisoned our son's mind with your soft-
hearted, human-fucking tendencies! He was this family's last hope!"

Touga growled, "Inukimi, if you don't calm down right now, I swear I—"

"Your swears and promises are worthless, Touga! I learned that centuries ago—and now our
son is the same sort of faithless creature!" As she tore her arms out of his grip, she slashed at
Touga's face, leaving three, bloody scratches across his cheek. Touga froze in shock, lifting a
hand to the wounds and pulling it away to see the blood smeared on his glove.

When Inukimi whirled away and stormed from the room, he growled low and menacing.
Then he prowled after her.

"Father, wait," Sesshoumaru said, perturbed more than he would have thought to see his
parents so angry. He didn't even remember his mother growing this enraged after his father
announced his intentions to leave. "Let her calm down first."

Touga whirled on Sesshoumaru, his eyes still red and his fangs enlarged. "Do not tell me
what to do, Sesshoumaru! I have known your mother far longer than you have. I can handle
her just. Fine." And with that, he stalked after her. A distant door slammed shut—presumably
the one to Inukimi's room. Whatever yelling was surely taking place behind it, thanks to the
soundproofing, Sesshoumaru could hear nothing. He walked forward to the couch and sank
down onto it.

He had always known this conversation would not go over well with his mother, but he had
never expected her to fly into such a rage.

What sort of hell was he bringing Rin and their children into?

Sesshoumaru sat there hunched over for the next hour, unable to find the energy to get up.
His head swirled with thoughts about Rin and the babies.

Was Rin feeling any better? Had she gotten home safely? How soon could he see them again?
What was he going to say?
 At the same time, he wondered if he would ever be able to repair his relationship with his
mother.

Some time had passed when the door to his mother's room finally opened. Sesshoumaru
looked up expectantly, waiting for his father to come back and tell him what happened. But
Touga's footsteps treaded towards the back door, not the front. Sesshoumaru got up and went
outside, only to catch sight of his father bounding as fast as he could across the estate towards
his home. Sesshoumaru frowned and, against his better judgment, went to his mother's room.
Outside, his father's scent was mixed with the metallic tang of blood and the salts of sweat
and tears; for a second, he thought he caught a whiff of another slightly familiar, musky scent
that made him pause.

Now more than a little concerned, he knocked on the door. "Mother?"

"L-Leave me be, Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru jerked back in shock. That single tremor in her voice….

Was his mother crying?

No, impossible. His mother never showed hurt. She was incapable of feeling hurt.

But that wasn't true, was it? Not after what he had just witnessed in the living room.

His father's words from months earlier came back to him then: Your mother loves—deeply.
She just has a hard time showing it.

Just what had he done to his family?

Chapter End Notes

Well, what did you think? Were everyone's reactions realistic? In character? Out of
character? I realize Inukimi showed far more emotion than usual…but bottling up your
emotions is never good, and I can only imagine what bottling up CENTURIES of
emotions would do to a person. Anyway, this ends Part Two: Separation Anxiety.

Also! I finally decided to buckle down and have SOME sort of social media presence,
since I'm actively writing again. I know the bulk of Yashahime social media is on
Twitter and Tumblr, but I honestly don't do either, so I created a Facebook page, where
I'll post story updates, teasers, questions/polls, and all my reactions to the new
Yashahime episodes once they start again (as well as that FRIGGIN' AWESOME trailer
that just dropped Friday—SQUEE!). Please follow it so we can chat about all this fun
stuff (or so you can chat with other fans)! You can also go there to see the little
thumbnail sketch I posted for this chapter. Just search for Luvinanimanga. Hope to
see you there! (Because I SERIOUSLY need people to fangirl with about Yashahime
😬
this year. Stalking the Twitter feed as an outsider will no longer be enough, lol. )
 White Orchids
Chapter Notes

Well guys, I've roughed out the new end to my story outline, and I've realized…we are
now only about halfway through the story instead of three-quarters, as per the original
plan. That's right: I'm projecting about thirty-one chapters with an additional two for a
side story.

I also made an uncomfortable realization several weeks ago. Somehow, this story started
mapping the arcs of the Twilight saga: Part (Book) 1: Trying Not to Fall in Love,
Failing, and Parting; Part (Book) 2: Separation Anxiety. Luckily, we're skipping Book 3
—because there's no love triangle here and that was my least-favorite book anyway—

now two separate parts). What have I done?!

Lessons in Love (aka Domestic Fluff).
😅
and heading straight for Book 4: Domesticity and the Final Battle (although these are
Anyway, let's begin Part Three:

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sesshoumaru would rather have gone as early as possible to formally break things off with
Zero, but when he called Kirinmaru at the first decent hour of the day (8:00) to ask if it would
be a good time, the beast demon informed him that he should wait for a few hours, since Zero
had the devil of all hangovers and would be in an even fouler mood than warranted if he
visited just then.

Inukimi still hadn't ventured out of her room since the night before, so Sesshoumaru took to
pacing around the house, running over what he would say to Rin later that day—only to
realize that he had no way to contact her. He texted his father to see if he had her information
or could get it from Kagome.

He received a curt reply in return:

Father: I will call her.

Perhaps that was for the best. If Rin hadn't even wanted to see him anymore yesterday, she
probably didn't want to speak with him either today.

On the heels of that text, he got another one:

Father: When are you leaving?

Sesshoumaru checked the time. Why did it seem to be crawling this morning?

In an hour, he texted.
After that, he didn't hear another word from his father, so he went back to pacing and
planning what to say in any scenario Rin could throw at him. At one point, Jaken asked why
he seemed so agitated, and Sesshoumaru literally kicked him out the door.

When the hour had passed, he practically bolted to the garage in his haste to leave. There he
found his father leaning against the outside wall with his eyes closed, waiting for him.
Sesshoumaru froze in shock when he saw him.

If he hadn't known dog demons did not require nightly rest like humans did, Sesshoumaru
would have sworn his father hadn't slept all night, given his puffy eyes and the bags beneath
them. All the vitality appeared to have been leeched from his face, dragging down his
features. Touga slowly opened tired eyes.

"Let's get this over with," his father said in an uncharacteristically gruff yet exhausted voice.

"You do not have to accompany me. I can handle this myself," Sesshoumaru answered.

"I know, but I want to. And…I need to get off the estate and clear my head a bit." Touga
pushed inside the garage without another word. Sesshoumaru stepped inside after him and
was about to ask what he and his mother had talked about last night when he underneath the
ever-present smells of exhaust and oil, he got a strong whiff of Inuyasha and Kagome.

The newlyweds were packing their suitcases into the trunk of Inuyasha's Acura, which
Sesshoumaru found odd. He swore they were supposed to leave that night, since flights to
Hawaii left late to arrive on the islands in the morning. Even though the two were flying in
the Nishikuni's private jet, the schedule was meant to make the most of their time. It was
certainly easier to sleep on a flight when you had a full plane to yourself and weren't packed
like a sardine in economy seating.

Kagome looked over to see who entered the garage, and when her eyes landed on
Sesshoumaru, they flashed with rage. She stormed over, and Touga practically leapt out of
her warpath. Sesshoumaru stood his ground though, analyzing her form and intent.

He would give her one shot, as he had Inuyasha. In fact, she deserved it more. So she had
best make it count.

Unlike his brother, she chose a slap over a punch, and it echoed across the expansive garage
as it met his cheek.

"I hope you know you're getting off easy there, pal, because I'd be going for your balls with
some clippers if Rin didn't like them so much!"

Back by the car, Inuyasha had just hefted a suitcase up to throw into the trunk when his wife's
words threw him off balance and he fell backward, the suitcase landing with a thud on top of
him.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a fraction. Is she saying that only because Rin is pregnant or
because Rin intimated she still likes me?
He sincerely hoped it was the latter, because he could not imagine going celibate the rest of
his days now that he had met her again.

Kagome, apparently, wasn't finished. "Because if you knew how many times I've imagined
meeting the Swedish bastard that impregnated my sister and sending his dick back to his
parents as a sausage Game of Thrones-style, you'd have the decency to look a little more
scared!"

Sesshoumaru considered her. Kagome was certainly a firecracker, but he saw her as more of
the pop-rock variety, where she might throw a lot of punches at once, but they would only
sting if they hit. He could not see her as a mortar, able to blow off a limb if she wanted.

Then again, he didn't think she had harnessed the full potential of her spiritual power yet, so
that could very well change. Perhaps he should stay on his guard.

"Well, don't just stand there like a freakin' Greek statue. What do you have to say for
yourself, Sesshoumaru? Why the hell did you leave my sister without saying anything?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. He constant stream of questions was annoying, to be sure,
but he supposed she did deserve something of an explanation. "Because I mated her without
realizing, and I did not want to tie her to me for life if she did not wish it. Had she initially
accepted and then come to regret living a life of hiding, I am not sure I could have let her go."

Kagome's frown faded away, but the sharp set of her eyebrows remained. "So you wanted to
give her a choice…without actually giving her a choice. Have I got that right?"

"Dude, you were way over-thinking things," Inuyasha muttered, but Sesshoumaru heard it
loud and clear.

He bared his teeth at his brother. He did not want to hear such opinions from one who plainly
did not think things through enough. "I did not want to take Rin from her family. She has
suffered that enough."

Kagome's eyes dawned with realization. "Wait a second. That's why you were so upset that
first night I came to dinner, isn't it? You weren't mad at Inuyasha and me. You were mad
at yourself." Touga looked over at her in surprise.

Sesshoumaru frowned and turned away from her gaze, but he could not refute her words.

Inuyasha scoffed. "And you didn't think to go find her after that? Instead, you went and got
engaged to Zero of all people?"

Sesshoumaru had neither the patience nor the time for this line of questioning. So he stepped
around Kagome and headed to his McLaren. She spun around. "Sesshoumaru, wait! He has a
point. Why did you do that?"

He ignored her and popped the doors open. She stormed up and blocked his way into the car,
putting her hands on her hips. He narrowed his eyes in irritation.
"Okay, fine, don't answer. But at least tell me this before you go. What are you going to do
now?"

"Is that not obvious?"

"No, it's not. Because apparently what I think is obvious—like not leaving a girl after
knocking her up or going to look for her instead of getting engaged to someone else—isn't all
that obvious to you."

His lip curled, and he had to bite back a snarl. "I am going to speak with her, and then I will
bring her back here to keep her safe."

"And what if she refuses?"

"Then I will find some other way to watch over her."

"And the kids?"

"What about them?"

"Are you going to be a father to them or not?"

"If Rin wishes it."

Kagome pursed her lips but then nodded in acceptance and stepped aside. Without another
word, he got into his car and shut the door. His father followed suit, and they left.

For once, his father was silent as they drove to Kirinmaru's estate. Normally, Sesshoumaru
would have no problem with this—he would even be pleased—but his suspicions about last
night's argument between his parents rankled him more than he would have thought possible.
So he decided to broach the subject.

"You seem tired."

Touga glared at him, but it had little bite. "Yes, well, as if hosting a wedding isn't tiring
enough, you did not make things any easier yesterday."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. Apparently, he was going to have to beat a little less around
the bush. "You left rather quickly after speaking with Mother, and she still seemed…upset. I
take it your conversation did not go well?"

Touga turned away from him and looked out the window. Sesshoumaru was horrified to
realize that was his own tell; he thought it was something he had only inherited from his
mother. "I do not want to talk about your mother right now, Sesshoumaru."

How much more could he push? The curiosity ate at him. "Did something happen?"

Touga whipped back around and snarled, "I said I don't want to talk about it."

Sesshoumaru shut up, and they rode the rest of the way in silence so thick, it choked him.
He had never been bothered by the quiet so much.

When they arrived, a servant led them into an empty, dark sitting room lit only by a couple
soft lamps and informed them that the masters of the estate would be with them shortly.
However, the servant left without offering them any tea.

Apparently, they were not worthy of such a basic courtesy, and it was to be a short visit. That
was fine. Sesshoumaru wanted to get this done and over with as quickly as possible anyway.

After about ten minutes wherein father and son exchanged not one word, Kirinmaru and Zero
entered the room and took their seats. Kirinmaru gave a curt nod of greeting to each of them,
but Zero refused to look at either one. Then again, she sat with her back to one lamp, so
Sesshoumaru wondered if her hangover was still troubling her.

When no one spoke, Touga cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Sesshoumaru. He took
his father's cue and finally said, "I have come to clarify what happened at the wedding
yesterday."

"I'm surprised you even bestowed us with such an honor," Zero sniped. "After all, you made
yourself very, very clear about the matter yesterday."

"You said she was your mate. Are the children she carries yours as well?" Kirinmaru asked.

"Yes."

The news didn't appear to surprise the two eastern demons. "At least you are not denying it,"
Kirinmaru added. "But that woman is far advanced in her pregnancy. Do you mean to tell me
that you agreed to marry my sister knowing full well you were already mated?"

"Yes." He did not feel the need to explain his reasoning to them.

"How dare you humiliate me like that, Sesshoumaru!" Zero cried out, slamming a fist onto
the table between them. "Tell me, were you planning to always keep your little tramp a
secret? Have a second family on the side while I kept your bed warm at our home?"

Sesshoumaru frowned. "You presume much to think you would be keeping my bed warm,
Zero." She sucked in a sharp breath at those words. He continued, undeterred. "However, I
was unaware of my mate's condition until yesterday, so no, I never intended to have a 'second
family.'"

"That makes no sense," Kirinmaru cut in. "If she is your mate, why haven't you been beside
her all this time? It is my understanding that the mating bond makes it unbearably stressful to
keep mates apart for prolonged periods."

He was correct about that, but Sesshoumaru was not going to tell him as such. "The reasons
for our separation do not concern you. Your only concern here is the dissolution of our
betrothal, Zero."

Zero gritted her teeth. "That's it? That's all you have to say to me?"
"What more is there to say?" Sesshoumaru asked. His father seemed to snap out of whatever
trance he was in and scowled at him.

"How about an apology, you barbaric troglodyte!" Zero screamed.

Sesshoumaru's hackles rose. He was a higher being than most, and therefore not prone to
apologizing for his actions. To Rin, however, he would give an apology willingly. She
deserved that and more from him.

He could also tolerate apologizing to her mother and grandfather, since he knew it would
comfort Rin to know that he was trying to get along with her family.

But Zero would die before getting any words of regret out of him.

"I have nothing to apologize for. We both knew this union was contractual from the start. I
entered this engagement against my will, as, I assume, you did as well, so the world is simply
righting itself to the way it was," Sesshoumaru announced. His father looked ready to hit him,
but he didn't care.

"I do nothing against my will, Sesshoumaru," Zero snarled. "I agreed to marry you because
I wanted to."

"And why was that again? So you could use me as a substitute for my father? Or enter our
family just to be close to him?"

Zero's eyes widened, and she glanced in panic at Touga, who simply looked stunned at the
admission. Sesshoumaru frowned. Did he honestly never realize? For someone who is more
adept than I at reading feelings, how could he be so blind?

Taking advantage of the room's silence, Sesshoumaru continued, "Your silence speaks for
you. Be that as it may, since it could be said that you too would have served as a substitute
for my estranged mate, should this union have progressed, I would say that makes us even,
and we owe each other nothing more."

Zero finally snapped out of her stupor and wrenched her engagement ring off her finger,
holding it up in front of him. "Mark my words, Sesshoumaru. You will rue the day you
embarrassed me so. I swear it upon this demon-crafted ring: I will not rest until you have felt
my pain ten times over."

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed in irritation, so he could not help but inflict one more bit of
pain. "Swear all you like, Zero. It is but a human trinket and therefore useless as far as
binding vows are concerned."

Zero's eyes widened in mingled horror and rage. Nevertheless, she gripped the ring in a tight
fist, stood up and stormed out of the room.

Kirinmaru watched her go and turned to face the two dog demons, a grim cast to his features.
"She will not forgive this slight, Sesshoumaru. That is not who she is."
"She can direct as much anger at me as she wishes. I can handle it." His father gave him a
sharp look at that.

"Can you? I know my sister. She will not be satisfied until you are on your knees, begging
her for forgiveness. And she will aim for your greatest weaknesses to do so." Kirinmaru's
pointed stare said enough.

Sesshoumaru stiffened. "You dare to threaten my mate and children in my presence?"

"I make no such threats. My sister, however, does."

"Rin is innocent of all this. She had no idea."

"I am aware, and I do not blame her in the slightest. I place that squarely upon your
shoulders. But Zero will not care." The beast king of the east stood to leave.

"Kirinmaru, wait," Touga said, getting up from his seat. Kirinmaru paused and turned his
head. "I am ashamed of the embarrassment we have caused you and Zero. However, I hope
that you will be able to…overlook your anger for the sake of our alliance against Naraku.
You know as well as I that for the good of human-demon relations, he must be stopped."

Kirinmaru regarded them carefully. "You can expect no help from my sister, I'm afraid. As
for me…we shall see. Your son has insulted my sister and in doing so insulted me as well.
Now, my servant will see you out." Without another word, he left.

Father and son said nothing as they were shown out of the estate, but as soon as they got back
to the car, Touga fell into the passenger's seat with a sigh, resting his elbows on his knees and
clutching his head in his hands. Sesshoumaru had never seen his father look so beaten. At
least, not since the day Inuyasha was born, when he had nearly died.

"Father, I am confident that even without Kirinmaru's help, Tsukuyomaru will be enough to
aid us against Naraku, even if he does not have ties to the Demon Slayers," Sesshoumaru
said, wanting to bring his father some peace of mind.

"That may very well be, Sesshoumaru, but that's not what's important right now. You knew
Zero would be angry, and yet you still baited her. It wasn't enough that you risked your own
life—which I will remind you that you have now tied to Rin's—but now, in all likelihood,
Zero will go straight for your mate."

Sesshoumaru bared his teeth. "She can't. She wouldn't know where to find her." The city was
huge. It would take days to sniff Rin out—and that was assuming she hadn't gotten whatever
talisman she purported to have repaired. By then, Rin would be out of the city and back
home, wherever that was in this country. "When she cannot find her, she will take her anger
out on me."

"You're not listening, Sesshoumaru. Your life is no longer your own. You can no longer go
into every battle thinking only about yourself! If you die, Rin dies too; if she is still pregnant,
the twins die with her. If she is not, you'll have left them orphans. There are too many lives at
stake."
Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "I am not afraid of Zero."

"I made that same mistake once, son. I was not afraid of Ryuukotsei. And yet the wounds I
suffered from him could ultimately have killed me if Riku hadn't shown up in time that night
to save me. Had I died, Izayoi would have as well, and Inuyasha would have been left an
orphan the day he was born. Even he likely would have died from neglect."

The words hit their mark on Sesshoumaru's heart, as they were meant to. His father was not
only reinforcing his point; he was reminding Sesshoumaru how he once would have left his
brother to die, had such an event happened.

"I vowed after that to never risk my life so cavalierly again. It was why I pulled away from
all the wars and battles I fought so much during your own youth." Touga sighed. "Your safety
aside, can't risk Rin's or the twins' lives. We have to bring her to the estate as soon as
possible."

With that, Sesshoumaru could agree.

"Now, the Higurashis are expecting us. Are you ready?" Touga asked.

Sesshoumaru nodded, and his father finally gave him directions to their family shrine.

The more they drove, the more Sesshoumaru's nerves started jumping across his body. How
was it that he could stand his ground firmly in front of two ferocious demons, but the idea of
confronting his mate and begging for her forgiveness brought him to sweats?

He still wasn't sure how he could convince her to give him another chance. To convince her
of his sincerity.

They were driving through a neighborhood heading back towards the highway when they
came to a stop at a red light. Normally, Sesshoumaru paid little mind to his surroundings as
he drove, aside from other cars and pedestrians on the road, but as he looked around, he
spotted a small florist's shop tucked in between two tall buildings.

Then it hit him, and it was so obvious, he wondered how he hadn't thought of it before.

When the light turned green, he pulled ahead smoothly slid into a tight space in front of the
shop.

"What are you doing?" Touga asked.

"I'll be back," Sesshoumaru answered, getting out of his car before his father could utter
another word.

Sesshoumaru ducked into the tiny shop, an old-fashioned bell ringing over his head as he
stepped inside. There wasn't much room in the store, and every conceivable surface was
covered in plants. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming. He didn't even know where to
begin, because they were all screaming at him for attention.
"Can I help you sir?" a bent old man asked, coming out from behind the counter and all the
plants on it that otherwise hid him. He adjusted his glasses and looked up at Sesshoumaru…
only to keep looking up and up. "Oh my. Um…no English. Sorry."

"I am Japanese," Sesshoumaru answered curtly.

"Oh. My apologies," the old man said, dipping his head, since his back was already
permanently bowed. "We don't get many like you 'round these parts."

Sesshoumaru cut straight to the chase. "I need flowers for an…apology."

"Ahh," the old man murmured with a sage nod. "Lover's spat?"

"Something like that."

"Well, we have plenty of bouquets to choose from, but I recommend—"

"No cut flowers. Something potted."

The old man nodded again. "I see. I'm afraid we have fewer of those, but let's take a look,
shall we?"

The old man toddled over to the corner of the store beneath the front window. There, an
assortment of small bonsai and potted plants thrived in the bit of sunlight that reached them
in the densely built neighborhood.

Sesshoumaru glanced over them, not particularly pleased with the display. In his head, he was
filing through the flowers he had studied that specifically meant, "I'm sorry." "Do you have
any blue hyacinths? Or lilies of the valley?"

"Those just went out of season, I'm afraid," the florist answered. Then the old man smiled at
him. "But I can see from your preferred choices that you are learned in the language of
flowers. I'm impressed."

"My…." He stumbled on what to call Rin. He could not use "mate" in front of a human, but
he did not like calling her something as trivial as "girlfriend." However, though he might
regard her as his wife, she likely did not regard him as her husband, so what could he say?
"…Intended is well-versed in their meanings. I wish to show her my sincerity as well as the
honor she deserves."

"I don't know what you've done to merit needing apology flowers, but you sound like a good
lad to me if you want to say all that," the old man answered with another saggy smile. "Tell
you what—I might have just the thing in the back. It's a little pricey for most of my usual
customers, so I've just been keeping it on display as a showcase flower, but I think it might be
just the thing for you." Sesshoumaru followed him to the counter, and the man went over and
pointed at a white orchid atop a shelf. "Be a good lad and pull that down for me, will you?"

Sesshoumaru did so and looked over the orchid. He knew every color for this species meant
something different, but he had not yet gotten around to committing all of them to memory.
"What does it mean?"
"This is the flower most associated with sincerity. And, of course, white is the symbol of
peace and agreement—perfect for making up after an argument, wouldn't you say?"
Sesshoumaru nodded and was ready to pay, but the old man continued to talk in the way that
the lonely elderly did when finding any ear to listen. "Of course, there are many meanings
other associated with it as well. Confucius declared it represented the epitome of the cultured
being— the 'perfect person,' if you will: one who exhibits a harmonious blend of refinement
and humility. To that end, it can also symbolize elegance, innocence, hope, reverence, and
beauty. That makes them a popular gift for brides or mothers-to-be. Historically, even our
own emperors have been well-known to cherish them. I suppose that's not saying much,
because even in the West, they were seen as a sign of wealth, so to confer such an exotic
plant on someone shows how much you treasure them."

For once, Sesshoumaru did not regret listening to the ramblings of an old man. "Then it is
perfect."

The old man nodded and rang him up. "That'll be 7,100 yen."

It was a fortune to pay for a single plant, but Sesshoumaru handed over the cash without
hesitation. Whether or not Rin accepted his sincerity, he knew she would not be able to turn
away the plant itself, because it needed a home and could not be returned, so she would do
her best to take care of it, and she would enjoy it. In that regard alone, it was worth every
cent.

When he got back to his car, he handed the potted orchid to his father. "Hold that and keep it
from snapping."

Touga looked down at it, and a smile twitched on his lips. "This is a nice touch, son. But I
hope you aren't simply trying to impress her with an expensive gift. The smart ones can see
through that, you know."

"Rin will not be impressed by the price." She would likely know how expensive it was, and
that might be a factor in her regards to keep and care for it, but that was not what would truly
matter to her. "What will matter to her is the meaning."

"And what does it mean, Sesshoumaru?"

"That I regret ever leaving her…and that she is the perfect woman to be my mate and the
mother of my children."

For the first time that day, Touga smiled. He reached over and rubbed his son's shoulder,
squeezing it affectionately. "Well done, son. Well done."

The morning after the wedding, Rin received a text.

Unknown: Hello, Rin. This is Touga. May I call you?

Rin took a deep breath, even as she saved his contact information. Was she ready for this
talk?
What are you waiting for, Rin? You've wanted to find Sesshoumaru for seven months. Now
he's here. Stop hesitating.

She replied with a simple "yes." Not a moment later, her phone rang, and she answered.

"Hello, Touga."

"Hi, Rin. How are you feeling today?" Rin frowned at the dull cadence of his voice.
Yesterday, his soft rumble had been such a calming influence. Today, he just sounded…
weary.

Rin thought about her answer. "Less frazzled, but…still a little shell-shocked, I think. How
are you?" she asked on reflex.

Touga paused. "A little tired, admittedly. Yesterday was a more…eventful day than I think
any of us could have anticipated."

"Mm," Rin murmured in agreement. She debated asking her next question but just decided to
go for it. "And…how is Sesshoumaru?"

"Anxious to see you."

"Is he?"

"Of course, Rin. You're his mate. He's practically pulling at his leash to go meet with you.
The only thing holding him back is knowing you might not be ready."

Rin couldn't help the giggle that escaped her as she thought of Sesshoumaru pulling on a
leash on all fours.

But then her imagination decided to divest him of his clothes so he wore nothing but the
leash, and she stopped laughing real fast.

I should be feeling warm fuzzies in my heart about the fact that he wants to give me space—
not getting hot and bothered in my pants because of a sex fantasy.

Her libido apparently disagreed.

Touga paused on the other line, perhaps emboldened by her laugh. "Would you be…willing
to see him today, Rin?"

Rin clutched her phone tighter. She could do this. She wouldn't freak out this time, because
she knew it was coming. Yesterday, everything had just been so sudden, she wasn't prepared.
Today was different. It was a new day and past time to tackle all of these misunderstandings
and issues head on.

"Yes."

"I'm glad to hear that. I realize you might still feel…conflicted about all of this, but I feel that
the sooner we work things out, the better. If you'd rather I not come, then—"
"No, please. Do come." She didn't know what would happen if she were left alone with
Sesshoumaru. Would she start screaming at him again? Or would she jump his bones,
because apparently she was more deprived (and depraved?) than she thought. Touga was like
a balm on her nerves, and knowing he would be there would keep her libido in line. Besides,
if Sesshoumaru was going to be as close-lipped as usual, Touga would hopefully be more
enlightening. She added, "This actually works out, since I'm going back home tonight. I hope
this hasn't interrupted any plans you might have had. I know you must be very busy…."

"Nothing is more important right now than discussing your and Sesshoumaru's relationship,
Rin. We will never be too busy to dismiss that."

His words warmed her heart. "Great. Um…do you want to meet somewhere, or…? I imagine
since it's a sensitive topic, it will have to be somewhere private."

"Would your mother mind terribly if we imposed ourselves upon her and came by?
Sesshoumaru has some groveling to do."

Rin giggled again. She couldn't see her proud Sesshoumaru groveling to anyone, even her. "I
don't think she'll mind."

"Excellent. We have another stop to make this morning, but I imagine we could make it by
you early this afternoon."

"That should be fine. I know Kagome and Inuyasha were planning to come over for lunch to
visit with us before they take off tonight."

"Ah, yes, I might have overheard something about that. Please reassure your mother I will
recompense her for any broken furniture or items that result from my boys being in the same
room with each other."

Rin laughed again. How did Touga manage to know just how to cheer her up, even when he
sounded so out of sorts himself? "I know they tend to fight, but surely they can be civilized
company in someone else's house?"

"…You haven't seen the two of them together, have you?"

"No."

"But you've seen the aftermath of one of their arguments."

"Yes," Rin answered, remembering the wounds that had started this whole predicament.

"As I said, please assure your mother I will pay for any damages. Well, I should get going,
but we'll see you later. Goodbye for now."

Rin barely said, "Bye," before he hung up.

She left her room to go inform Mama and Grandpa that Touga and Sesshoumaru would be
coming by later as well. As she did, however, she passed by Kagome's old room, and she
took a moment to stare into the familiar yet now-foreign space. Kagome's bed was still made
with her old duvet, and her desk was still in the same corner it always had been, but for the
most part, Kagome had cleared out all the knick-knacks—either boxing them up for storage
in the attic or moving—that made the room hers as she transferred her things to the Nishikuni
estate over the course of the last week. What was left was only the shell of some thirty-two
years of life.

Rin wondered then if Kagome had felt this same sort of emptiness when Rin left home a few
years ago. No longer could she just waltz into her sister's room and find her there, ready for
another girl chat.

Rin's eyes teared up at the thought. Somehow, without Rin realizing it, their adult lives had
kicked into motion after feeling static for so long. And now that everything had changed, she
missed what had once been.

When she got downstairs and told Mama they were expecting more company, the woman's
first question was, "What sort of snacks do demons eat?"

"Mama, you don't have to do that. I don't know about Touga, but Sesshoumaru has a very…
particular diet. I don't even know if he drinks tea. I'm sure it's a dog demon thing. Just a bowl
of nuts or berries would be fine, but I don't even know if he'll touch it."

Mama frowned. "Well, I suppose I can set that out…but Touga appeared to have quite the
normal appetite at the yuino and the dinner last night. …I'll make some rice balls."

"You don't need to make anything more. I can already smell something delicious cooking. Is
that for lunch?" Rin asked.

"Yes, it's homemade ramen. It's Inuyasha's favorite, and I wanted to spoil my new son-in-law
a bit."

An hour later, Kagome and Inuyasha arrived, and when Rin opened the door to them, she
froze on the step, shocked at Inuyasha's transformation. He still had brown eyes—though she
figured they could be lenses—but his hair now matched Sesshoumaru's and Touga's silver,
and he was back to wearing a hat.

Seeing him like that, she was able to note the similarities between the three men. That
niggling sense of familiarity she had felt at National Foundation Day upon meeting Inuyasha
now made sense. If she had seen him in his natural hair color, she would have connected him
to Sesshoumaru in an instant.

It made her heart ache to realize Sesshoumaru had been so close to her for so long and yet
still just out of reach.

"There's my new son-in-law—oh! Your hair!" Mama cried out as she came over from the
stove. Her eyes widened in appreciation. "It's so shiny."

"Inuyasha," Kagome prompted with a knowing look.

He sighed as Rin shut the door behind them. "Yeah, yeah, let's just get it over with." He took
the cap off his head, revealing twitchy, silver dog ears.

Mama gasped. "They're so cute!" Without even asking, she forged ahead and started rubbing
them between her fingers. Inuyasha's brow twitched, and Rin winced, mouthing "sorry" at
him. He just shrugged.

When Mama was finally done with him, he turned to her. "Do you want your turn?" he asked
Rin in a wary voice.

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm alright, but thanks." He looked relieved at the answer.

"She's gonna have her own dog to pet soon enough," Kagome cackled, practically skipping
into the living room and flopping onto the couch. Inuyasha followed after her like a puppy.

"Kagome!" Rin cried out, her face flushing. Honestly, would her sister ever get a filter?

She already knew the answer to that: no.

"Oh, don't try to deny it. It's only a matter of time. We saw him this morning as we were
preparing to leave, and I'll have you know, I gave him the business!" her sister announced.
"But…he did come clean about why he left, and as you said…even though it was a stupid
move, he did it with you in mind, so I guess I can't really hate him for that."

"Actually, he'll be coming by later…with Touga," Rin said.

"Oh, that's just great. What a way to ruin the start of our honeymoon," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Ramen's ready!" Mama cried out.

"And just like that, today's lookin' a whole lot better!" Inuyasha cried out, jumping up from
the couch and making a beeline for the table.

The family ate lunch in peace, and Rin finally had a chance to enjoy her new brother-in-law's
company and get to know him better in a cozier setting. After they were finished, Mama
cleared away the dishes, and Rin jumped up to help her clean them, feeling too jittery to sit
still any longer. She kept glancing at the clock, her heart pounding faster with every passing
moment.

Touga hadn't given her an exact time. He had just said early afternoon. When would they
arrive?

Suddenly, she wasn't sure she was ready to face Sesshoumaru anymore.

"Would you relax?" Inuyasha said from the table. "I can hear your heart pounding like a drum
in my head. It's making me nauseous."

"Rin, are you alright?" Mama asked, setting down the dishes she was cleaning.

"I'm fine. Just…nervous. I don't know what more I'm supposed to say to him," she confessed.
"Don't say anything," Inuyasha supplied. "As far as I see it, he's the one that's got to do all the
talkin'. And if he doesn't come straight out and apologize, just walk away without a word.
That'll serve him right."

"You're right, I suppose."

Inuyasha rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to see if that bastard actually gets on his
knees and grovels. That'll be a once-in-a-millennium treat right there. Gotta savor it."

Rin chuckled weakly. "Actually, um…if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go outside for a
minute to get some fresh air and calm down."

"Take your time, sis. We'll be here when you need us," Kagome added with an encouraging
smile.

Rin stepped outside and immediately took a deep breath of the spring air, catching a hint of
that sweet mix of flora on the cool breeze. Footsteps sounded on the main stairway, and she
froze, waiting for Touga and Sesshoumaru to appear—but it was only an elderly couple come
to visit the shrine. She greeted them as they set off for the temple.

She took a few more deep breaths, but when even the fresh air didn't slow her pulse, she
grabbed the broom from the storage shed and started sweeping the walkways to let out some
excess energy. However, when she started to sweat in the late spring sun, she put the broom
back and fanned herself in the wind, not wanting to smell like the outdoors when she was
going to meet Sesshoumaru again.

She was just contemplating whether or not she had time to go upstairs and freshen up when
more footsteps sounded on the front stairway. Seconds later, Sesshoumaru and Touga rose
into view, and when Sesshoumaru's eyes locked on Rin, her breath caught in her throat.

His eyes neither blinked nor strayed as he walked straight towards her, carrying a beautifully
potted white orchid in partial bloom. Though he stopped a respectful distance away, the bond
within her ached, as if he longed to step even closer.

"How are you, Rin?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine," she managed to get out, hating herself for the stutter.

"And the children?"

She put a hand on her belly. "They're fine too."

He nodded, as if reassured. When Rin didn't say anything else, wondering if she should lead
him inside then, he asked, "May we speak somewhere in private first?"

"Um, sure…if you'd like." She looked around. Going up to her room in the house would
mean passing through the living room where her family—and now Touga, it seemed, since
she couldn't find him on the grounds—already were, and she didn't want to do that walk of
shame-not-shame in front of them. The older couple still hadn't left the temple proper, so that
was out.
That left just one more place on the property left for privacy that would comfortably fit the
both of them.

She led the way without a word, Sesshoumaru following silently behind her, and approached
an old, wooden shed. Rin opened the door and flicked on a light they had installed only in
recent years, revealing a sunken, dirt floor with an old well in the center of it.

She, Kagome, and Souta had spent so many hours playing hide-and-seek on the grounds,
using the well as a hiding spot or playing adventurers and climbing in and out of it. The
nostalgia once again brought tears to her eyes.

Would her girls do the same when they got older?

She walked down the familiar steps towards the well and sat down on its edge, as she had for
so many years. Then she noticed that Sesshoumaru had not moved from the top of the steps
by the door. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"This is a very old well."

Rin nodded. "It's called the Bone Eater's Well. Grandpa always told us people threw demon
bones into it back in the day, but I don't know if that's true or not."

"It is."

Rin's eyes widened, and she started to panic. How could she have been so stupid to bring him
here, to a place that was basically a graveyard for his species? She had forgotten all about
that. Had she offended him? "How can you tell?"

"Because I have seen it."

"Oh, right. I forgot you're a living history book. Sorry, we can go somewhere else." She
started standing up, but he shook his head and walked down the stairs.

"It is no matter. If they were that weak, they deserved their fate." He looked at her for
permission to sit at her side, and she nodded.

She looked down at the space between them, wondering what to say to start things off. But
the first thing to pop to mind was, "Is it also true that the wood was cut from the Sacred
Tree?"

"Yes."

Rin smiled softly. "It seems you'll have many stories to tell our daughters. That is…if you
want to be part of their lives."

"I do, Rin," he said, placing a gentle hand over hers, which caused her to look up.

"Even though they're half-demons, and you don't believe in human-demon relationships?"

"Rin, I—"
"Don't lie to me."

"I would never. Not to you."

"Then tell me why you disapproved of Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship, even after
everything that happened between us. And don't just say, 'Because it's different for us.'"

Sesshoumaru grimaced, and it took a moment for him to answer. "I could not believe a
human had willingly chosen to share her life with a half-demon, given the secret lives we
must life. I wanted to test your sister's resolve. She passed. It made me…angry to realize that
I had denied myself a possible life with you, when apparently such a thing was possible. And
thus, I grew jealous of my brother, because he was able to take the risk that I could not."

"And why couldn't you take that risk?"

"…Because I was afraid of rejection."

He then held out the delicate, white orchid to her.

"Last time, I left you a flower that I hoped conveyed my meaning, yet I failed to leave you
any words. This time, I wish to give you this as a token of my sincerity…and my hope. Mere
words cannot express the depths of my regret for leaving you as I did. I thought I was being
strong, but it seems I was actually being weak. I am not…accustomed to this feeling. I am
also heartily sorry for what I said yesterday, Rin. About aborting the children. I did not mean
to infer I did not want them, nor to insult your decision to raise them alone. I was simply…."

When he couldn't seem to say it, Rin supplied, "You were afraid."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and said in a pained voice, "Yes."

Rin nodded and gently put her hands around the pot, accepting it from him. She traced the
gentle curve of the plant with its five blooming flowers and the three buds yet to bloom. This
was an expensive plant, but the fact that he had said it was a token of his sincerity…. That
was the greatest association with the white orchid. There were a myriad of others, and as she
considered them, she wondered if he had gotten this specific flower for her, knowing those
meanings.

And she could hear the sincerity in his voice. For someone so proud, it could not have been
easy to admit to these fears.

But she still needed more from him before he was completely forgiven.

She set the plant at her feet, then turned to him and said, "It's natural to be afraid of becoming
a parent. I know I was, when I first found out."

He looked down at his lap in consternation. "Fear is foreign to me, Rin. I cannot recall feeling
it since I was a youth. I did not feel it again until the day Kouga took you." His brows
furrowed deeper in displeasure at the memory. "Now I find the same sort of feeling welling
up within me when I think about our daughters being born into this world. I do not know how
to be a father, Rin. The role model I had is…not the one you would desire me to be for them."
Rin frowned. "How so? Touga seems to be a very loving father."

"Now, perhaps. But when I was a child, he was often absent. Fighting wars and running an
empire."

"Oh, I see."

"I do not want to be an absent father, Rin. But I do not know what they will require of me to
be…happy."

"They just require your love, Sesshoumaru. Well, food, sleep, and a change of diapers too,
but that all comes when you love them."

Sesshoumaru's brow crinkled into an unfamiliar look, and as hints of uncertainty filtered
through their bond, she quickly realized it indicated he was troubled. "What does it mean to
love, Rin?"

She didn't mean to, but she burst out laughing, and Sesshoumaru glanced over at her in
startlement. "I'm sorry, but we suddenly just got so philosophical."

"How so?"

"Well, that's the question humanity has been trying to answer since the dawn of time: what is
love? '…Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me…no more,'" she started singing softly in English
as a joke, but she quickly trailed off when his questioning expression didn't change. She
cleared her throat. "Sorry, it's an American song my host-father used to play a lot."

"I thought humans were the masters of love. I did not realize they did not have the answers
either."

"Love isn't really something you can define—it's based on a multitude of feelings and
actions. Such as the desire to never leave a person's side, or to never want to see that person
hurt, or to want what is best for that person. And when it's…sexual love…then you want that
person body and soul," she added, glancing away from him.

When Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, she chanced a glance back to find him glaring
pensively at the ground. "Sesshoumaru, what's wrong?"

"If what you say is true, then it appears I have loved you all this time."

Rin sucked in a breath, and her heart kicked back into overdrive. "Sesshoumaru, I may have
oversimplified it—"

"I never wanted to leave you, and I hated every minute that we were apart," Sesshoumaru
broke in, turning to meet her gaze. "I imagined holding you in my arms every single day, and
every day I had to convince myself not to go find you, because I did not want to see you hurt
by coming into my world. I realize now this was a mistake, but I hope you understand that I
only wanted the best for you. I still only want the best for you."
He took her hand again, and Rin let him, because her mind had stopped being able to issue
commands to her body as it tried to process his words. He continued, "I believe what is best
for you now is to never again leave my side. But if that is not what you wish, I will respect
that, because I do not want you to loathe me."

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles again, just as he had the day
before. "I want you with every fiber of my being, Rin. Body and soul. So tell me, do I not
love you?"

She swallowed thickly. "W-What about me do you love?"

"I believe I told you once, but I will tell you as many times as you need to hear it. I love your
voice, which is nature's music."

He placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist, and it sent a tingle straight from her pulse point to
her heart.

"I love that you are strong and show no fear in the face of danger."

He stretched out her arm and placed a kiss in the crook of her elbow, both the contact and his
breath skittering ticklishly across the sensitive skin.

"I love that you put others' interests above your own."

He scooted closer and brushed away the frilly sleeves on her shoulder, pressing a kiss there as
well, and she was suddenly thankful she had worn this particular shirt that day.

Then he pulled up and moved only a hair's breadth in front of her face. "What I failed to
mention before was that I love your smile, which lights up my dreams." He tucked a piece of
her hair behind her ear, and she shivered as his fingers ran over the soft, thin skin behind it.
Her heart galloped in her chest as his ice-blue eyes gazed directly into hers, asking for
permission to bridge the final gap between them.

She never could stay angry for long.

So Rin closed her eyes and leaned forward, meeting his lips.

And suddenly, the world tilted back onto its proper axis.

She gently pulled away before it could get any deeper, however, because as much as she
wanted this, she also didn't want to rush right back into the burning hot flame that had been
their affair in the fall. They still had much to sort out, after all.

He did not chase after her lips, but he kept his hands cupped around her jaw, running his
fingers through the hair around her ears. "I have longed to do that for the last seven months."

Rin grasped his wrists, reveling in the feel of his skin against hers. "You know you could
have, if you had just talked to me. I wouldn't have left you." Her eyes misted, thinking of all
the time wasted, and a couple small tears dropped.
Sesshoumaru brushed his thumbs against her cheeks, smearing the tears, and looked at her
sadly. "I realize that now. I am just…not used to being chosen in such a situation."

There it is again. Afraid of rejection. Not used to being chosen.

She was getting the sense that they were more alike than she originally thought.

"What do you mean?" she prompted.

He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes, as if pulling the words up from his gut. "…Even
my own father left me behind, when he married Izayoi. I thought it would be too much to ask
for you to stay when even he could not."

Rin's heart broke for him. Even though Sesshoumaru's father still lived, he was like her, in
that regard, feeling his loss.

She rubbed her thumbs across the backs of his hands. "Sesshoumaru, I want to make this
work. In part for the babies' sake—I want to give them more than I had growing up, and a
major part of that is a father. But I also want this for me. Even though your leaving hurt me
more than I ever could have imagined, I still missed you."

She paused and took a deep breath as she collected her thoughts. She wanted to make up—
that much was true. But Touga had indicated that Sesshoumaru might be ready to dive right
back into their relationship, picking up where they left off, and she wasn't sure she could do
all of that just yet. There was already so much going on in her life. She wasn't sure she could
juggle rekindling a passionate romance right now.

But if not now, then soon.

Finally, she said, "When you mated me, you made your choice. Now I want you to know
mine. I choose you, Sesshoumaru."

He kissed her forehead. "Those are the words I have longed to hear all this time."

She was glad for that. A human man might have wanted to hear, "I love you," but even
though Sesshoumaru had said it, to some effect, she wasn't sure she was ready to do so just
yet. But as long as he showed her the demon he was in the forest all those months ago, she
foresaw herself being able to say the words sooner rather than later.

"However, I want you to understand something," she added, and he looked at her intently, as
if you commit her next words to memory. "The same day you came for me when I was in
trouble, you left me without a word. I need to know I can trust you to fully commit to our
relationship and to being a father to our girls. If you leave me behind, that's one thing, but I
would rather our girls grow up without a father than with one who is cold to them or absent,
because even just your presence in their lives would give them hope of a better relationship,
and I don't want you to crush that with broken promises or dreams. Do you understand?"

Sesshoumaru grasped her hands between his. "Rin, if you are the one to teach me, I believe I
can be the father they need."
Rin nodded, satisfied. She pulled his hands away from her and then picked up her new plant
baby. "I think perhaps we should go inside now. I'm sure everyone's waiting for us."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I am ready to face your family."

"Did your father tell you he revealed the family secret to them yesterday?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened, and he shook his head. But after a moment, his gaze relaxed,
and he smirked softly. "I should have realized your family would be as accepting as you
were. They raised you, after all."

"I don't blame you for being overly cautious. I'd rather you stay safe than risk your life," Rin
said.

He nodded. "As my father has reminded me, my life is now your life. I will endeavor to be
cautious, so our daughters do not have to grow up without their parents."

Rin reached out and laced his hand with hers. "Even if that did happen…at least I know they
would be cared for. We have our families, Sesshoumaru. We can rely on them. It's more than
I had as a child."

Sesshoumaru sighed. "Yet another lesson I am striving to learn." He met her gaze again. "And
I have remembered one more thing I love about you: you are able to trust so easily—even
your new family whom you've barely met." She leaned over and pecked his cheek.

They got up and left the well, heading back inside hand-in-hand. When they entered, they
found everyone sitting in the living room around the coffee table. Their families looked up
when the two walked in the door.

Touga smiled when he saw them come in together. Even with the smile, Rin could spot
weariness in the lines of his face that hadn't been there yesterday. At the wedding, he had
looked as youthful as his sons; today, he looked like he had aged ten years.

Grandpa peered at them in suspicion, while Mama watched them neutrally. Kagome bit back
a smile, like she was trying to be stern, and Inuyasha zeroed in on their held hands, staring at
them like they were attached to a set of third arms.

"Well, go on and take a seat then," Grandpa huffed, watching Sesshoumaru like a hawk.
There was a conspicuously empty spot just wide enough for two on the couch. Kagome and
Inuyasha were camped out on the floor while Grandpa sat in his recliner, Mama in the other
chair, and Touga on the far end of the couch.

Grandpa ran his eye over Rin's demon beau as they approached. "Snagged yourself a pretty
one, didn't you, Rin?"

Kagome frowned. "Hey, that's not what you said about Inuyasha the first day I brought him
home."

Grandpa waved at her without taking his eyes off Sesshoumaru. "Inuyasha's handsome, sure,
but this one is pretty. As far as I'm concerned, it's the pretty demons that are the wiliest."
Grandpa narrowed his eyes at Sesshoumaru. "Is that your true form, boy?"

"No."

The answer shocked the Higurashis into a second of silence before Grandpa leapt up and
pointed at him, exclaiming, "I knew it! Rin my dear, you have been deceived!"

"No, Grandpa, wait, please don't—!" Rin tried to get out, but it was too late.

"Spirits, reveal this demon's true form!" Grandpa cried out, pulling a charm out of his kimono
and making a break for Sesshoumaru's forehead.

Sesshoumaru calmly intercepted Grandpa's wrist before the paper could touch him. The old
man grunted, fluttering his fingers uselessly to try to make some part of the paper hit the
demon. Sesshoumaru crinkled his nose at the paper fluttering in his face and then plucked it
out of Grandpa's hands without harm. He tore it in two, and Grandpa's jaw dropped.

"You do not wish for me to transform into my true self here," Sesshoumaru stated calmly,
dropping the pieces of paper on the table. "I would destroy your house."

"Is that so?" Mama asked.

"He's huge, Mama. I fell into one of his paw prints on the mountain. It was longer than I
was!" Rin interjected.

"Paw print?" Grandpa echoed.

Sesshoumaru flicked his icy gaze at Grandpa. "I am a dog."

Grandpa harrumphed and resumed his seat. "Yes, well, that explains a lot." He looked
pointedly at Rin's stomach.

"Please excuse Grandpa. He's a bit…zealous," Mama said while reaching for the teapot
sitting on a tray on the coffee table. "Would you like some tea? It's a wildberry flavor. I
wasn't sure what else you liked, so I have a little bit of everything. Please, help yourself. I
have some almonds and a few rice balls as well, which I can fetch, if you'd like."

"You did not have to go to all this trouble," Sesshoumaru said. "Tea will be fine."

Mama poured Sesshoumaru a cup, and Rin was surprised when he drank it without flinching.
Was he just being polite, or did he actually like it?

After a moment of silence where everyone watched Sesshoumaru sip his tea, Touga finally
spoke up. "Sesshoumaru, don't you have something to say?"

Sesshoumaru set his tea down, but his eyes remained on the cup, like he couldn't bear to look
anyone in the eye. His hands tightened over his knees, and without thinking, Rin reached out
to lay a hand over his, rubbing a thumb over the back of his hand to give him courage. She
knew this wasn't easy for him. She knew how he looked down on humans. But he did have to
say something.
It probably didn't help that Inuyasha was sitting forward on his heels, a look of anticipatory,
malicious glee scrawled all over his face.

Sesshoumaru finally glanced over at Grandpa and then turned to meet Mama's gaze head-on.
"When I left Rin, I thought I was doing what was best for her. While I would rather have
chosen never to part from her, I did not want to bring her into a demon's world of hiding.
However, I can see that my ignorance and shortsightedness have caused your daughter great
pain, and for that, I am truly regretful."

Well…it wasn't quite the apology her family was probably expecting, but Rin knew it was the
most—perhaps even more—than one could ever expect from such a proud demon. And a
glance at Inuyasha showed warring looks on the half-demon's face: one of surprise and one of
disappointment, like there hadn't been quite as much groveling as he'd hoped to see. (Kagome
yanked him back down from his haunches onto his butt with a hushed, "Sit!") Grandpa
appeared to still be waiting for the actual words, "I'm sorry," which Rin was one-hundred
percent sure he wasn't going to get, but a glance in Mama's direction showed…resigned
acceptance.

The Higurashi matriarch nodded. "Thank you for telling me your reasons. While I wish Rin
never had to suffer alone in the first place, I appreciate that your heart was in the right place,
insofar as you were putting her first. However, moving forward, I hope that you will consult
her on everything that concerns the both of you instead of just making decisions on your
own."

Sesshoumaru's hand tensed under Rin's. Can he bring himself to give a promise to a
human? she wondered.

"I vow that from this day forth, Rin will have a choice in everything, and I will respect her
wishes." Rin sucked in a breath, and her heart swelled.

Mama nodded. "Thank you. Now, here is the first test of your promise." She looked to Rin.
"Darling, do you want this man back in your life?"

Rin's skin prickled as all eyes turned to her. But she only focused on one pair: that of the
demon sitting next to her, gazing at her with a hope she wasn't sure he knew was reflected in
his eyes.

She smiled at him. "Yes, Mama. Sesshoumaru and I have already discussed this, and we are
going to try to make things work. I realize I have much to learn about demon culture and
lifestyle, but I hope the Nishikunis will help me through it."

"I will endeavor to make sure you feel as little burden as possible," Sesshoumaru supplied.

Touga clapped once. "That's settled then. As I mentioned last night, their mating bond all but
announces them as wed in demon culture. Of course, I understand if you will want to hold a
marriage ceremony for a human audience as well."

Rin's hand tightened on Sesshoumaru's in mild panic. Marriage? So suddenly? It wasn't that
she didn't want it, but…the girlish part of her that still fantasized about the proposal and the
wedding and the party wondered just how much she could get from a shotgun wedding. She
didn't a huge affair like Kagome's, but she still wanted something.

However, Touga was still talking. "Still, that can be decided at a later date. What is
imperative now is that we move Rin to our estate."

"What?" Rin asked in a small voice, blindsided again.

Touga leaned over to look at her. "Yesterday proved to be, shall we say…and indication of
what could happen if you continue to live without demonic protection. Your Demon Slayer
friend, Sango, for instance. Had Miroku not kept his wife plied with wine and distractions,
she may very well have realized where the demonic energy in the room was coming from, as
all of our demon guests did."

Rin frowned. "Wait…do you mean to tell me that Miroku knows about you? But Sango
doesn't?"

"Yeah, that's been rough," Inuyasha spoke up while scratching his cheek. "Miroku and I met
in college, you know? And I…might have let it slip to him one night when we were tossing
drinks after exams." At this, Sesshoumaru shook his head in disappointment. "I didn't think
he'd remember in the morning, but he did. He took it well though, and he's kept the secret
ever since, even from Sango, though I know it bothers him to do that. But with her being a
Demon Slayer, we just couldn't take that chance."

Rin's mouth dropped open. She couldn't imagine how hard it must be on Miroku to lie to
Sango like that. The image was at odds with the carefree man she knew.

"Okay, I understand that yesterday was bad, but I promise it wasn't indicative of how I've
been living up to this point. I have a talisman that hides the girls' auras—and the mating
mark, apparently. It just happened to break. Mama and I repaired it this morning, and I was
going to have it blessed again when I got home," Rin interjected.

Touga and Sesshoumaru looked at each other for a moment. Sesshoumaru finally said, "Many
demons took notice of you yesterday, Rin. Most of them are…friendly towards me. But word
will spread, and there are others that are not."

Rin frowned. "What do you mean? Are you trying to say they would…hurt me just for being
associated with you? But I thought—"

"You thought that because demons are dying out, they wouldn't hurt each other, right?"
Inuyasha jumped in. "Well, I hate to break it to ya, but neither you nor the kids are demons.
And while some attitudes are changing, most demons still hold ancient prejudices against
half-demons and wouldn't consider it a crime to hurt them. They might even see it as a favor,
to rid the world of what they think is an abomination." Inuyasha cut a dark look at
Sesshoumaru, daring him to disagree.

Rin turned to face her lover then, and the seriousness of Sesshoumaru's face told her just how
real this threat was. But there was something more. A layer of unease beneath that
seriousness. Guilt, in fact.
He once held these views himself, Rin realized.

Had she alone really been enough to change his mindset on that? She had a hard time
believing it.

She realized then that someone had asked a question, and everyone was looking to her for her
response. She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

"Dear, I just said…this seems like it might be the answer to your prayers," Mama repeated.
"You still haven't been able to find a bigger apartment, right?"

"No, but…what about my job?" she muttered.

"You need not ever worry about money," Touga said. "Sesshoumaru can more than provide
for you and the children."

"It's not that, Father," Sesshoumaru cut in, and Rin looked up in surprise. "Rin loves her
work."

Her heart squeezed at that. He remembered.

Touga looked a little taken aback by the situation. Chagrined, a smile twitched on his lips.
"I'm sorry, Rin. You'll have to forgive this old dog for not considering that. My wife and
my…ex…still prefer to be housewives, er—ladies of leisure, I suppose. Living the life we
lead, careers were a nonissue for them."

Rin frowned. "What do you mean, 'living the lives we lead?'"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "Rin…I believe I mentioned that being with me would require
many sacrifices."

Rin remembered. "You talked about my family, yes. But…my job?"

"Think about how much information HR has on you," Sesshoumaru said. "How much they
will always have on you. And when you lead a life like ours…the less information out there,
the better."

Rin's mouth dropped open. "So…all the schooling I did? All the work I put into my career…
is going to be for nothing?"

Sesshoumaru met her eyes. "I knew this would be too much to ask of you. That's why…."

That's why he had left without a word. Trying to spare her the pain of giving up a huge part
of her life.

Rin didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, his leaving had hurt her so much.
On the other…she understood a little better now why he thought it was best for her. And it
was very caring of him, to put her desires first.

But still, it should have been her decision in the first place, shouldn't it?
She didn't know what to say, so she just opened and closed her mouth like a fish.

Seeing this, Touga cut in. "Rin, I wouldn't say all is lost. If you really do want to work in the
future…I have some connections at demon hospitals, and maybe I could help you get
something there."

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "If they would even let her in the door." Rin looked up at that. He's
thought of this. He probably thought through everything before he left.

Because that was the sort of person Sesshoumaru was. He put her overall happiness and
wellbeing first.

"She's your mate, Sesshoumaru. It will take time for word to get around and for her to be
introduced to society, but it will happen, just as it did with Izayoi and as we're doing now
with Kagome." He leaned over to look more fully at Rin. "Could you be patient with us, Rin,
as we try to help you adjust?"

"I can be patient, yes," she answered. Her childhood had been an exercise in patience, after
all. She took a deep breath. So, it seemed decided. She was going to move in…with
Sesshoumaru.

It felt strange. She knew by demon custom that they were married, and she the bond
resonated enough between them enough to make her feel connected to Sesshoumaru on a
spiritual level. On the other hand though, her human sensibilities found it odd to move in
with a man she hardly knew and one with whom she hadn't held a marriage ceremony yet.

But as Touga said, that could come. Right now, the babies' safety and wellbeing came first.
The less stressed she was about moving and her job, the better off they would be.

On the bright side…you get to live with Kagome again. That thought alone eased her worries.
Having her sister beside her would make the transition much easier.

"How soon should I plan to move?" she asked.

"By the end of the week would be ideal," Touga answered.

"The end of the week?!" Rin, Mama, and Grandpa exclaimed.

"But, I can't just leave my job like that," Rin protested. "Especially if I have to pack—I need
to give two weeks' notice at least."

"Oh dear, you're going to need help getting everything together. Moving her was quite a
process," Grandpa said. "So many plants, you see."

"It's fine, sweetie. I'll come over and help you," Mama said.

"Two weeks…. Can you handle that, Sesshoumaru?" Touga asked.

"If that is what she wishes." He turned to face his mate. "I will come and stay for the duration
to help you, Rin."
 "In my apartment?!" Rin squawked.

A flicker of consternation made Sesshoumaru's brow twitch. "I can get a hotel room, if you'd
rather."

Truthfully, she just didn't have room for him. Even if she felt comfortable sleeping in the
same bed with him—and she was still up in the air about that—the only other place she had
was her couch, and she couldn't see her proud demon sleeping on the couch.

Assuming he did sleep. He wasn't injured now, and he had made a point of telling her back
then that he didn't rest much otherwise.

"I just…don't have a lot of room, and if we're going to be packing, it's going to be a mess
everywhere…."

"I will get a room then, if it eases you," he answered, although the thought seemed to
displease him.

"Okay, but…my lease isn't up yet, and—"

"We will take care of any cancellation fees, as well as any moving costs. It is because of us,
after all, that you have to move so suddenly, so it's only fair," Touga answered.

Rin's mind numbed for the rest of the visit as the family discussed particulars. She only paid
them part of her attention as she tried to figure out how she was going to tell the medical
center that she was suddenly quitting, how she was going to handle Sesshoumaru being in her
apartment, what she needed to pack, and how she was going to handle all of this while seven
months pregnant and exhausted every day.

Luckily, the visit wrapped up shortly afterwards. Sesshoumaru left early to go back and pack
a bag, so that he could return in time to tail Rin to her apartment that night. Touga rode with
Inuyasha and Kagome to the airport so that he could take their car back home.

And thus Rin found her whole life's situation changed in the space of one afternoon.

Chapter End Notes

😉
That kiss was just a taste of the fluff to come.
As a reminder, be sure to check out my Facebook page @Luvinanimanga for some
exclusive chapter sketches and more. At the very least, you should go check out my poll
about what you think Touga and Inukimi did in her bedroom…. Click here to vote! Poll
closes Friday!
 Getting Reacquainted
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

And so it came to pass that as Rin drove back home that night, an unfamiliar but ostentatious,
tinted car followed her, keeping just barely a couple car lengths behind. When the most
daring of drivers managed to squeeze in between them to change lanes, Sesshoumaru's
McLaren instantly sped around the interloper and pulled up beside her until she pulled ahead
enough to give him space to maneuver back onto her tail.

Honestly, it was the most nerve-wracking drive back home she had ever taken. She felt like
the president of the United States driving with a cavalcade of armed guards around her—
except her one guard had enough power to wipe out the entire Secret Service in one blow.

When they finally pulled up to Rin's apartment, she turned off the car and sat for a moment,
taking deep breaths. Funny how she and Sesshoumaru had been intimate enough to make
babies, and yet the thought of letting him into her apartment to see her living space seemed
even more intimate.

Or maybe it was just the thought that she wouldn't be able to keep him at bay (or even
herself, if it came to that) once they were in that small, enclosed space together.

She tried to push those thoughts out of her head. If I don't acknowledge my libido, it isn't
there. Right? Right.

Wrong.

She could almost see herself yanking him down onto her couch and—

Wait, did I leave my blanket all crumpled up on the couch? When was the last time I washed
that? He has such a sensitive nose. Come to think of it, when was the last time I cleaned? Two
weeks ago? Or four? Now I've lost track….

Well, it was too late to sweat the cleaning now.

She got out of her car and went to the backseat to remove her new orchid in its new, carefully
padded box (which she had then belted in to prevent its shifting while driving). Then she
popped open her trunk to get her overnight bag, but Sesshoumaru was already there, reaching
for it.

"Oh, thank you," she murmured, unused to having male help around to carry her things into
her apartment. She could not count how many grueling times she had had to lug groceries
and suitcases up three flights of stairs. She used to be able to make those trips in one go, but
with pregnancy, she had stopped carrying so much weight so she wouldn't strain herself.
Unfortunately, that meant many more trips up and down the stairs, and as her girth grew, so
did the pain in her feet with each trudge up and down.
If there was one thing she was actually looking forward to about suddenly having to live with
Sesshoumaru, it was that she no longer needed to do everything by herself.

Well, and she'd be less lonely. There was that.

She noticed Sesshoumaru wasn't carrying his own things—a good sign that he had listened to
her and booked a hotel room and wasn't expecting her to change her mind and let him stay
over. She led him to her apartment. After stepping inside, she removed her shoes and waited
for him by the entry to the living room.

"Well…here it is," she said lamely as he shut the door. "I guess you can at least look around
and get a sense for what all we'll need to pack over the next couple of weeks." She then went
over to place her orchid on her living room window sill or the table below it—whichever had
space not already taken up by all her other plant babies.

Sesshoumaru peered into the living room, looking over her furniture and knick-knacks. Rin
noticed the blanket all crumbled on the couch. Oh, and look: a pile of mail on the side table.
Of course. She hadn't wanted Sesshoumaru's first impression of their coming life together to
be that she was a slob, but, well…cleaning had been on the backburner for a while between
work and baby prep.

He then came to stand beside her, examining her indoor garden. She tried to look at the
crowded table of plants from his perspective. I look insane, don't I? But he should have
known—she had shown him pictures back in the fall, after all.

"Yeah…I know it's a lot. Moving these was Grandpa's worst nightmare," Rin chuckled
awkwardly as she shifted a few pots to make room for the orchid in a spot that didn't receive
direct sunlight.

Sesshoumaru didn't reply but only continued to look over them. Finally, he said, "You kept
it."

"Hmm?" She followed his gaze to the Queen Anne's Lace, which looked so plain without its
white splays of flowers. "Oh, yes."

"I wasn't sure you would."

Rin bit her lip, debating whether or not she should tell him the truth, but if they were mated
and going to be living together, she needed to be honest with him, just as he needed to be
with her. "Some days, I wasn't sure I would either. There were times when I wanted a
reminder of you…and times when I didn't, because it was just too painful. If I hadn't realized
that I was feeling your emotions—your pain—as well, it's quite possible I would have gotten
rid of it, thinking I didn't matter to you and that I was being stupid for holding onto a
memento of a man who left me."

Sesshoumaru looked at her then, and a prickle of his hurt touched her heart. "I saw the photos
you had taken of us. For the first time…I wanted to be remembered by someone that way."
She turned around to meet his eyes then. She had forgotten about that the last couple days,
but the memory rose now, scratching at the scabbed wound. "However, I was too used to
guarding myself against anything that could expose my identity, so I deleted them. I am
sorry."

Rin swallowed thickly and nodded. Another apology? She needed to mark this day down on
the calendar.

Well, she would—but for a much more important reason. They were finally together again.

He added, "Still, I wanted to leave you with something. It was…selfish of me."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad you left at least that much. It told me the
situation was complicated and that I meant something to you, even though you did leave. If
you hadn't left even that…I don't know what I would have thought."

She probably would have drowned in even greater despair than she already had.

He suddenly stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, melding their
bodies together in a way they hadn't been since they separated in the forest—in a way they
couldn't from her front side right now. He pressed his nose and lips to the crown of her head
and murmured, "I swear I never wanted to leave you. I never wanted to hurt you either. But I
thought my leaving would be the lesser hurt."

She clasped his forearms and rubbed them soothingly, even as her heart started dancing a jig
at his proximity. No doubt he could feel it, as his arms were resting right above the traitorous
organ. "I understand that. I just wish you would have talked about it with me instead of
deciding for yourself. I'm getting sick and tired of people deciding that I can't handle my own
choices. I mean, if Kagome hadn't deleted Shippou's contact information, then we probably
would have been able to meet again months ago."

Sesshoumaru suddenly tensed, pulling her even closer to him. "When did you meet
Shippou?"

"On National Foundation Day, when Inuyasha and Kagome announced their engagement to
their friends."

He pulled away from her suddenly and spun her around to face him. A thin veneer of
patience masked the growing tension in his face. "He gave you his phone number?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Rin ducked her head and started fiddling with her thumbs on top of her stomach. "Umm…
well…I may have given him the impression I was…interested…so I could get some
information from him. About you. So I hoped."

Rin jumped when she heard the low growl escape Sesshoumaru's throat.

"And was he interested?" Sesshoumaru advanced on her, backing her towards the wall.
Rin bit her lip as she quickly found herself with nowhere to go. The only thing keeping
Sesshoumaru from being right up in her face was her bulbous stomach. "Don't be angry,
Sesshoumaru. It was just some harmless flirting."

"Flirting?" Sesshoumaru echoed, his contact-blue eyes glinting like a predator sensing his
prey. "That fox's days are numbered. You are clearly mine," he growled, reaching out towards
her. Rin thought he was going to cup her cheek, but he grasped the side of her neck, his
thumb rubbing against her pulse and tracing down to the mark on her shoulder beneath her
clothes. The way he traced it, as she often did, she was astounded he knew the shape so
perfectly when he hadn't seen it in seven months.

"H-He didn't know," Rin gasped, goosebumps rising from his touch and crawling across her
chest, making her heart spasm. "I-I had my talisman on, so he didn't sense the babies or your
mark. Not like at the wedding. He wouldn't even get near me. He sensed it then and ran,
Sesshoumaru. I swear."

"Good. At least the fox has enough sense not to try to take what does not belong to him."
That was the second time Sesshoumaru had called Shippou a fox. Was he a fox demon?
Suddenly, his perfectly crafted human features and ultra-charming personality made sense.
"But it irritates me to know my mate was flirting with another demon. I think you need to
show me your sincerity."

His words sent a coil of heat running down through Rin's core, but she screwed up her lips
into a pouty frown, knowing she needed to put him in his place. "Says the demon who went
and got engaged while his mate was pregnant with his children."

"That engagement was a farce," he answered without hesitation. "And I did not realize the
mating mark would gift you my lifespan. I planned to make the engagement last a century…
so that I would never be untrue to you."

Rin's heart seized at the words, and she sucked in a breath. "You would have stayed celibate
for one hundred years just to stay true to a woman you had a one-night stand with?"

"Not a one-night stand," Sesshoumaru answered, moving his hand up to run his fingers across
her temple and through her hair. "My mate. The only woman with whom I will share my
life."

Rin's eyes teared up, and as much as she would have liked to blame her pregnancy hormones,
she knew she would have gotten misty regardless.

That almost sounded like a proposal.

His hand moved to his breast pocket just then, and she almost wondered—would he indeed
pull out a ring? It would certainly be the icing on the cake of sudden life-altering-choices she
had faced today.

But that made no sense. He had only seen her again last night. Surely he couldn't have gotten
an engagement ring in less than twenty-four hours. She wasn't sure how ring-buying worked,
but she thought it took longer than that.
Either way, tonight she didn't want to find out—not now and right on the heels of what the
last day had brought her.

It wasn't that she planned to say no, should he come to ask. And it wasn't that she would care
where he asked her—even in her apartment like this would be fine. She just wanted the let
that moment stand specially by itself—not tacked onto the array of other emotional
rollercoasters that day.

So she did the only thing she could think of to distract him.

She pulled his head down for a kiss.

His hand faltered and then swooped up to cradle her skull as he leaned her head back and
took over the kiss, swiping his tongue against the seam of her mouth to beg entrance. She
granted it, and when their tongues met again for the first time in seven months, then spent
precious seconds of no oxygen just exploring the contours of each others' tongues,
reacquainting themselves.

Rin pulled away when she could no longer deny her need for air, but Sesshoumaru just
moved away from her lips and slid to her jaw and down her neck. Each kiss sent a spark
shooting through her, grazing her loins. He pulled her collar aside and licked her mating mark
before sucking on it, and she half cried out half gasped. The sensations his lips delivered in
that spot seemed heightened there, as if the mark had become the epicenter of her nervous
system. Every nip at it had her core tightening. Any second now, she was going to tear his
clothes off and push him towards her bedroom and finally see his glorious body once again—

The babies gave a firm kick to her bladder, wiping the haze of lust from her mind in an
instant.

She pulled away, and Sesshoumaru looked at her in confusion. "I-I'm sorry, but the babies are
sitting on my…and well…um…I have to go to the bathroom, stat," she whispered in a rush,
diving under his arms and waddle-running towards the bathroom.

When she was safely inside with a door between him and her, she seated herself, pulling up
her shirt over her stomach. As she relieved herself, she stared at her bulbous midsection.

And just like that, any lingering traces of libido were gone.

Did you really think you had a chance taking him to bed looking like this? she asked
herself. You've turned into a fat cow. He may have been taken with your body once, but back
then it was svelte—and not marred with stretch marks or leaky breasts.

She patted her stomach. "Thank you two for kicking some sense into Mommy's head," she
murmured.

The time she and Sesshoumaru had spent that last afternoon in the forest was a beautiful
memory. She didn't want to taint those images in his head with these new images of her
distorted frame. Better that they wait until the twins were born and she had regained a normal
shape before attempting anything resembling sex.
Actually, this is good. We should take things slower this time. No more jumping right into
bed. We should get to know each other a little better before that.

Now that he wasn't holding back any more secrets, it would be so much easier to talk to him
than it had been in the fall. Yes, this will work.

Decided, she finished and washed up before going back into the living room, where
Sesshoumaru was standing with his back to her, staring at something in his hands. He tucked
it back into his pocket before turning to face her. "They have a sharp intuition."

Rin blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"The children. It appears they could sense your hesitation."

Rin's heart stopped. Oh crap. Did he hear me talking to myself in the bathroom?

Of course he had. The walls were thin, and his hearing was exceptional. She was so used to
being by herself, she hadn't even stopped to think.

Wait then, did he hear me peeing too?

Oh, this was going to take some getting used to.

"Sesshoumaru, I—"

"It's fine, Rin. I was getting…carried away."

When he looked away from her in consternation—anger at himself, not her, she realized—her
heart ached for him, and before she could stop herself, she walked up to him and took his
hands in hers. "Sesshoumaru, you're allowed to feel. And you can act on those feelings for
me. It's okay. I…I do return those feelings. I promise. It's just…so much has happened this
weekend, and I need a little time. I just feel like we should make take things slower this time
around."

He nodded once. "As you wish." When he glanced back at her, he hesitantly pulled a hand
away from hers to rest it on her belly. The spot warmed quickly under his touch.

"Can you feel their auras now?" she asked, remembering that it seemed to bother him
yesterday when he couldn't.

He nodded. "Their strength surprises me. How much greater will they be when they are
born?"

Rin put her free hand on top of his, and their combined weight was one she was glad to add
to her already considerable load. "Much greater, probably. They take after their father, after
all."

They stood in silence for several seconds, Rin watching Sesshoumaru simply contemplate
their daughters. It was a comforting moment she would have loved to preserve between them
for the rest of her days, but a glance at the clock told her she could not afford to tarry much
longer.

"I'm afraid I need to get ready for bed now," she broke in softly. "I need to be up early
tomorrow for my shift. And to be honest, I'm pretty exhausted. Do you mind if we leave
things here tonight?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "You must rest when you need to. Your health is paramount."

"And you…got a hotel?"

"Yes."

"Then…how do we want to do this tomorrow? I don't have any moving supplies or—"

"We can decide tomorrow. Text me when you wake up," Sesshoumaru said.

"It'll be really early—"

"That does not matter. I will not be sleeping."

"Oh. Okay. Um, let me get your number." She pulled out her phone, and he rattled off the
digits to her personal cellphone for her. She sent him a smiley face with hearts as a text. His
phone vibrated, and when he went to check it, the corner of his lips twitched.

"Goodnight, Sesshoumaru," she said, walking to the door and opening it.

He stopped in front of her and then gave her a soft peck on the lips. "Sleep well, Rin."

For the first time in seven months, she believed she might. Because as hectic as things were,
the problems she had been fretting over were finally getting resolved.

After Sesshoumaru left, she quickly got ready for bed. Just as she was climbing under the
covers, her phone dinged, and she found a text from Kagome to the whole family:

Kagome: Check this place out! I never want to fly economy again.

What followed was a photo of a plane cabin unlike any Rin had ever seen. A plush couch
lined the right side, while a half-rectangular booth of chairs and a table filled the left.

While Rin was thinking about what sort of answer to type, her family already started chiming
in:

Mama: Wow!

Souta: So…when is my new brother inviting his in-laws for a trip on that thing?

Moe: Souta! …At least let them get through their honeymoon first. Then we can talk travel
plans.
Me: Way to rub your new #wifelife in our faces, Kagome. 😋
Kagome: Hey, don't be jelly. You're joining the Nishikuni #wifelife too. I have no doubt
Sesshoumaru will whisk you off somewhere on this thing after the babies are born.

Souta: Hold on, what did I miss?

Me: Mama, did you not tell Souta what happened today?

Mama: No

Souta: Just tell me what's going on! Did you get engaged or something?

Me: Not exactly…but I am moving in with him.

Souta: What? Why? I thought this guy was still on our blacklist. 😠
Me: He came over today to apologize and talk.

Souta: Must have been one heck of an apology. But it didn't include a proposal?

Me: No.

Souta: And you're moving in with him anyway?

Kagome: Souta, it's complicated. As far as the Nishikunis are concerned, they're married
already.

Moe: When are you moving?

Me: Two weeks. He's here to help me pack.

Souta: He's with you at your place?!

Me: He's staying at a hotel, dweeb.

Souta: He better be.

Rin got a text from Souta on their personal chat chain a second later: I want to talk to this
guy. Put him on.

She just replied: Too late. He left.

Rin didn't want to digitally argue with her brother anymore, so she put her phone on her
customized sleep mode and went to bed.

When Rin woke up to her alarm at 5:00, she stared at the clock, trying to remember what day
it was. Monday, right? And I have to go to work today? She felt like there was something
more important she was forgetting….
She grabbed her phone as she always did to find something to scroll through to wake herself
up when she found another set of texts from Kagome sent over the last hour in the family
thread:

Kagome: Just landed in Hawaii!

Kagome: OMG, it's gorgeous here!

A few photos of massive, tropical flowers; palm trees; and a shot of the beach followed as
well as a selfie of her with Inuyasha candidly in the background outside a ritzy-looking hotel.
Rin typed back, Glad you made it. Have fun! 3, before backing out of the chat. Then a shock
went through her heart as she saw the chat thread she had initiated last night to Sesshoumaru.

That's right. Sesshoumaru is here, and he asked me to text him when I woke up.

She typed off a short message: Good morning.

The reply was nearly instantaneous:

Sesshoumaru: Did you sleep well?

Me: Yes, actually. You?

It was a reflex answer, and her fingers hit the send button before she could rethink it. Hadn't
he told her last night that he wouldn't sleep?

Sesshoumaru: I am relaxed now that I can see you again.

Rin's heart jumped, flooding blood into her brain. She was officially awake now.

How am I supposed to stay calm and take things slow when he drops lines like that? And how
was she supposed to reply?

She couldn't think of a suitable response so early in the morning, so she decided to dodge.

Me: I have to get ready for work now. If you'd like to get some moving boxes while I'm
gone, we can start packing tonight.

Sesshoumaru: What time are you leaving?

Why did he just completely ignore the last half of my text?

Me: Around 6:15.

He did not reply after that, so Rin just shrugged and went about her regular morning routine.
When she finally made it down the stairs to the parking lot, she looked around and spotted
Sesshoumaru in the same spot he had been parked in the previous night. Odd. Usually all the
parking spots are taken by residents between late night and early morning.
He couldn't have stayed out there all night…could he? No, he said he got a hotel. He
wouldn't lie about that, right?

She knew the moment he saw her, because a flare of relief and joy from him burst in her
heart. She smiled as he got out and walked over to her. She was happy to see that he was
dressed in a different suit today, so he must have gone to the hotel at some point.

"Good morning," she said, and on a whim, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
"Did you miss me?"

"Always," he answered, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Then a tiny crease appeared
between his brows. "How long until you can have your talisman repaired?"

The sudden change in topic surprised her, but Rin fished the restrung bracelet out of her purse
and showed it to him, also reassuring herself that she had packed it. "I'll have Kaede bless it
again as soon as she comes into work."

"Kaede?"

Oh boy. She had known this conversation was coming, but she still wasn't sure how to broach
the fact that her OBGYN not only knew about the babies' heritage but was also an ex-demon
slayer.

Again, when in doubt, dodge.

"Sesshoumaru, I do want to talk about it, but I really need to get going, or I'll be late—"

"Then we will talk in the car," he said.

Rin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I will drive you to work."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

Well, it wasn't like she had to use her car while at the medical center anyway. "Alright, if you
insist," she said, going over to his passenger side. Admittedly, she was curious to see what
riding in his fancy sports car was like. He sped ahead and opened the door for her before she
could get there, pulling out a child's booster seat. She frowned in suspicion.

"Sesshoumaru, is there something you're not telling me? Like maybe I'm not the first woman
to bear your children?" she asked, peering at him.

"It is for my retainer. He is…child-sized." Sesshoumaru held out a hand to her, and after only
a couple seconds of consideration, Rin took it, using him as a balance while she slid herself
and her prominent belly into his low-slung sports car.

"Your retainer?" she asked.

"Jaken. You will meet him at the estate."

"I see."

He shut the door when she was firmly inside, threw the booster seat into his trunk, and then
got back on the driver's side. He looked pointedly at her and did not start the car until she was
fastened in.

Rin gave him simple directions to the medical center. "So, today's a lucky day where I get off
at 2:30. That should give us time to swing by somewhere and pick up some moving boxes, so
we can start packing tonight." She looked around his car in thought. Actually…maybe we
should have taken my car instead. I don't think flat boxes will fit in here."

"It will be fine, Rin. And while you are at work, I will make arrangements for a rental truck."

Rin clapped once. "Oh, that would be perfect! What about movers?"

"Inuyasha and I can handle it," he answered.

"Oh, give him a break! He'll have literally just gotten back from his honeymoon at that
point."

"All the better reason to put him to work."

Rin just shook her head in amusement. "Well, regardless, that will give you something to do
while you wait—although I'm sure you have a lot of work to do yourself as well. Are you
sure you're okay with coming back to pick me up? I know it's a moot point now, but—"

"Rin, I want to."

She nodded, effectively silenced.

After another moment, Sesshoumaru asked, "If an eight-hour workday is lucky for you, how
long do you usually work?"

"Oh, well, it depends, but it's not uncommon for me to have twelve-hour shifts."

Sesshoumaru frowned and glanced over at her. "Do they have no consideration for your
condition?"

Rin shrugged. "It's my job, Sesshoumaru. There's not much I can do about it. Yes, my feet are
usually killing me by the end of the day now, but I sit when I can and try to take frequent
breaks—they've been at least that accommodating."

His fingers worked the rim of the wheel, the leather squeaking beneath them as they grasped.
"I know you enjoy your job, Rin, but…part of me is glad you will not have to work for the
remainder of your pregnancy."

Rin bit her lip. "Well, to be honest…it's kind of a relief to me too. Don't get me wrong—I do
love my work. But it's a demanding job, and being pregnant is such a strain on the body. I
just…couldn't afford to leave before now."

He reached over and took her hand in his. "From now on, you need only work as much as
you want to. We will figure this out."

She nodded with a soft smile, not quite ready to think about a future more than a few weeks
or months in advance. Raising twins would be enough of a handful to keep her occupied for a
while, she figured. "What about you? You run the sanctuary, is that right?" He nodded. "Do
you enjoy your job?"

Sesshoumaru was silent for several seconds before giving his answer. "I prefer overseeing the
sanctuary to working at headquarters. The sanctuary is…remote. Tranquil. I do not like the
city."

"I grew up in Tokyo, but I also prefer the quiet of the woods to city life. And the sanctuary is
beautiful—at least the part I've seen. Have you always managed it?"

"No. By necessity, my father, brother, and I switch roles every few decades."

"Oh. How long has your current job there been?"

He appeared to think about it. "Not long. Ten years, perhaps."

Rin laughed. "Only a demon would say a decade isn't long."

"I still have a few decades to go before my father takes over. Then I will return to
headquarters as the rising heir."

Rin frowned. "Is there no way you could find a job that you enjoyed?"

He glanced over at her. After another pause, he added, "I am not sure what I would enjoy in
this era."

"What do you mean?"

"In my youth, I trained to be a general, like my father. It was expected I would inherit his
lands—and battles—one day. When he left, however, and that responsibility fell to me…it
felt like a burden. I enjoy battle itself, but strategizing bores me. I preferred to survey our
lands myself and fight off invaders."

"So a career in the military isn't necessarily for you, is what you're saying."

"It is risky for us to remain too long in the military. I fought in World War II alongside my
father and brother. I have not fought since. Besides, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are a
peacekeeping force—they only move when threats are made to our land."

Rin gaped at him. Grandpa had been too young to fight, but his father had been drafted. She
chuckled then. "Only a demon could talk about being in World War II so casually." With a
teasing lilt to her voice, she added, "Well, I assume since you're so old, you are well-versed in
sword-fighting, right?" He nodded. "Have you ever considered opening a dojo? Perhaps that
could give you the battles you want but without the strategy.

He glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. "I do not have the patience to be a teacher."

"Nonsense! You taught me the names of the constellations. I think I still even remember most
of them."

"We'll have to test your knowledge later. But the only one I have such patience for is you."

Rin bit back a smile. Testing her knowledge meant laying out under the stars—or at least
being outside together at night. That sounded like a promise for a date.

"Oh, turn here!" she exclaimed, pointing to the parking lot for the medical center. "Would
you mind dropping me off by the front doors? The less I have to walk, the better." He pulled
up as requested, and Rin had just barely unbuckled herself before Sesshoumaru bolted out of
the car and held her door open, again offering his hand so she could pull herself to her feet
with the extra weight she had to balance.

"Thank you for driving me, Sesshoumaru. Text me if you need something, alright? Have a
good day," she said, reaching up to peck his lips this time.

However, when she started walking into the building, Sesshoumaru's voice halted her. "Wait
there, Rin."

"Why?"

Her only answer was him getting back into his car and whipping into the first available
parking spot he could find. She watched as he got right back out of his car and power-walked
back to her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I am not leaving your side until you have a talisman again."

Rin sighed. "Sesshoumaru, I'll be perfectly fine."

"I also want to see where you work."

"Oh, fiiiine," she said on an exhale. Looks like I have a guard dog whether I want one or
not. She led him inside and into the maternity ward, where she directed him to sit in the
waiting area. "Look, Kaede won't be here until eight, so just relax. I have to make my rounds.
But I promise, nothing's going to happen to me. I've been working here just fine from the
start. So just relax, okay?"

He didn't say anything, but he looked pretty surly when she left him to drop her belongings
off in her cubby in the break room. The flickers of annoyance she felt through the bond as she
walked away only further indicated his unsaid opinion about the situation.

Sesshoumaru was not one to sit around patiently. He had once been constantly on the move,
travelling the land daily. Office work had since restrained his impulses, but being at the top of
the company also meant that he spent more time away from his desk than at it, so that helped
free the restlessness from his legs.

But sitting in a waiting room while Rin waltzed out of his sight, unprotected? Not an option.

He had already memorized her new tread—heavier now that she was pregnant—and listened
for it. He watched her enter the employee break room, and after she came back out and left
his sight, he tracked her footsteps down a hallway. When the sound changed, becoming a
more distant echo, he surmised she must have turned a corner. He got up then and followed
after her, picking up the faint hint of her scent beneath the overwhelming tangs of sanitizer,
blood, urine, and other unmentionables he didn't want to think about.

When he turned the corner in the hallway, he didn't spot Rin, and her tread had ceased. He
continued walking, listening closely for a hint of her whereabouts. Finally, he heard her
voice.

"Good morning, Tanaka-san. How are you feeling today?"

"More rested, although I think my painkillers are starting to wear off, because the stitches are
starting to hurt."

"Let me check to see when it was you last took them," Rin answered, and Sesshoumaru could
hear the smile in her voice. She behaved with this patient just as she had with him when he
was recovering from his fight with Inuyasha. Friendly but insistent. Always with that
professional smile on her face—but one that was more often genuine than forced.

When Rin told the lady she would return in an hour, Sesshoumaru raced around the nearest
corner, waiting to see where Rin would go. He followed her at a distance like this as she went
on her rounds.

After half an hour, she stopped by the nursery, asking if there was anything she could do to
help. One of the nurses took pity on her, telling her she needed to stay off her feet more, and
had her sit down to feed one of the babies that was on a bottle.

Sesshoumaru leaned against the wall, watching her from a discreet distance through the
window. Rin chatted to the baby with an enormous smile as the child drank, and
Sesshoumaru had to fight back his own smile that threatened to break free in response.

So this is how she would act when their twins were born. She already had the perfect instinct
for mothering, and his inner demon huffed in smug contentment, proud that his own instincts
had led him to choose the perfect mother for his young.

The realization made Sesshoumaru falter. It truly had never crossed his mind that she would
get pregnant so easily, but had his most primal instincts—the ones buried so deeply, they
didn't even consciously register—felt otherwise?

He would need to ponder that further. He was so used to staying in control of his baser
demon instincts that the idea he could lose control, as he had the day he marked her, still
frightened him. The marking had hurt her at first, which in turn pained him, and he had been
so careful after that to make sure he did not hurt her again.

But last night, his inner demon had insisted on slathering her in his scent once more. The
mark was not enough, because it would be masked as soon as she had that talisman again. He
had rejoiced in the way she accepted his kisses and the heat building between them…but in
the end, Rin hadn't been ready. He needed to restrain himself lest he make her uncomfortable
again.

He watched as Rin finished feeding the baby, and then she placed it over her shoulder to burp
it. The action was so natural to her, but he realized he likely would have forgotten all about
such a thing.

Would it hurt the girls if he forgot to burp them? What else would not seem obvious to him
when learning to handle their small bodies? Just how much did he have to learn?

Suddenly, the panic that overtook him two days ago when he found out Rin was pregnant
washed over him again. How many months until they were born? How long did he have to
prepare himself to be a father?

However long it was, it wasn't long enough.

He did the mental math and aligned it with the information about human pregnancies he had
spent almost all night looking up on his phone while he camped outside Rin's apartment in
his car, keeping watch. (He had left his vigil only briefly as soon as he determined she was
asleep to check into his hotel, shower, redress, and then return to her complex.) They had met
in October, so she was seven months along, meaning….

Two months. …Assuming she followed a normal human gestation period. Nine months
seemed short to him, since demons, by contrast, with their highly-developed abilities often
took longer to develop than humans—even if their animal counterparts had shorter
gestations. Dog demon pregnancies, for instance, took about a year.

He should have asked his father how long Izayoi had been pregnant. He would. Now, in fact.

He was just reaching for his phone when a loud pair of footsteps sidled up next to him and a
male voice penetrated his thoughts, the chipper tone practically piercing his eardrum. "Which
one's yours?"

Sesshoumaru glanced sidelong at the stranger and frowned. The thing he hated about having
to blend in with human society was that, at times, common politeness was a necessity.

"The nurse," Sesshoumaru answered.

"The—? Oh, I see! Not quite there yet, huh? But soon, from the looks of it. If there's one
thing I'm happy to be done with, it's having to run out in the middle of the night to satisfy one
of my wife's cravings. But other than that, I enjoyed the pregnancy. She always loved seeing
the baby on the ultrasounds, but I personally loved watching my wife grow every month,
knowing we were getting closer and closer to having our little boy. That's him, third from the
left in the front row, by the way. How about you? What's your favorite part?"

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say. Not even forty-eight hours ago, he had had no idea
that his mate was even pregnant.

He had missed everything.

No, not everything. There's still time, he thought, looking over Rin. Worst-case scenario, he
had two months.

But he had read online that twins tended to come sooner, since there was less room for them,
and they were born smaller as a result.

It does not matter when they come, he told himself to quell the rising tide of panic. He would
try to make up for the seven months he missed by packing all his affection for her into the
end of her pregnancy, however long it ended up being.

But there was one thing he could tell this man to hopefully get him off his back.

"I enjoy feeling them." The man would take it to mean physically feeling them—and
Sesshoumaru was pleased by the force behind his girls' little kicks, even as another part of
him worried over how they put Rin in discomfort—but he was now trying to learn how to
differentiate the two of them by their demonic auras, to see if he could tell who was who after
they were born. He wondered if he could get a sense of their personalities even before he met
them.

"Oh, yeah, that was always a magical experience. You can't see your child, and yet it's there,
not even a centimeter away from you and yet behind an impossible barrier. Crazy, isn't it?"

"Hn."

"Have you picked out— Oh! Dr. Kimura, good morning!" the man said, bowing to a
hunched, stocky old woman walking down the hallway.

"Tanaka-san, good morning," Dr. Kimura answered, and Sesshoumaru was surprised to see
she sported an eyepatch—a rare accessory nowadays.

But even more surprising was the amount of spiritual energy radiating off her.

This must be Kaede.

"I trust your wife is doing well?" Dr. Kimura asked.

"Yes. Thank you again for taking care of her during her surgery," Tanaka-san said with a bow.

"Not at all." Her beady eye zeroed in on Sesshoumaru, taking him in. "Would you go tell her
I'll be in to check on her shortly?" she asked.
"Of course, doctor. Thank you," the new father said as he practically ran back down the
hallway.

Sesshoumaru ignored the doctor and returned to watching Rin, who was now feeding another
baby.

"I see," Dr. Kimura said.

"What do you see, old woman?" Sesshoumaru answered.

Dr. Kimura chuckled dryly. "Well, now I see Rin was right—you certainly aren't a charmer."

Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at her. "Rin?"

How did she know of his relation to her? Would Rin have told Kaede the truth about why she
needed a talisman? Did this woman know the truth about his daughters' heritage?

Even if she did, she should not be able to tell what he was, spiritual power or not. He was
masking his demonic aura, as he always did in public.

"Don't play coy. I'm too old to beat around the bush. We don't get many foreigners here, and
you can't take your eyes off her."

…Perhaps his newfound instinct to guard Rin had made him a little obvious.

"Why don't we talk in my office? I have some things to say to you." The old doctor glanced
over at Rin. "And I can see her talisman needs replacing."

Well, that answered that. She did indeed know the twins were half-demons. But if she had not
turned Rin into the Demon Slayers Corps yet, perhaps she could indeed be trusted.

Kaede started walking forward, but when Sesshoumaru didn't follow, she stopped to turn and
look at him. "Are you not aware of who I am?"

"You're Kaede," Sesshoumaru answered, not caring about the lack of honorifics and only
calling her as Rin did.

"Hmph. Indeed I am. And I look forward to finding out just who you are. Wait there a
moment. I need to go speak with Rin."

Kaede shuffled into the nursery and asked Rin to come to her office when she was done.

When the doctor reappeared in the hallway, she motioned for Sesshoumaru to follow her, and
this time he did—but only because he needed to know the extent of what Rin had told this
woman and find out how trustworthy she actually was.

He followed her to her office, and she sat at her desk. Even after she gestured to the chair
facing her, Sesshomaru remained standing.
"So, why don't you start by telling me your name, as it seems you already know mine,"
Kaede said.

Rin never told her? Even though this woman would surely have known the children's father
was a demon, Rin really had gone to great depths to keep the rest of his identity a secret,
despite his leaving her.

How would he ever be able to repay that debt to her?

Perhaps he could start by trusting the people she trusted. Her family had not reacted as badly
to the news of his family's demon heritage as he thought they would.

"Sesshoumaru."

"I see. Well, Sesshoumaru, you seem to be the type of man who appreciates a frank
conversation, so let me be blunt. If you put that poor girl through any more emotional harm
than you've already done, make no mistake that I will exorcize you on the spot."

Exorcize?

That was a term the Demon Slayer Corps used as a euphemism for annihilating them.

A glance over her desk revealed a single black-and-white photograph of two young women in
Demon Slayer Corps uniforms.

Sesshoumaru's blood boiled when he saw the face of the taller one.

"You're a demon slayer," he said to confirm.

"Ex-demon slayer."

He relaxed a fraction, and after he once more took in the Kaede's hunched back and single
eye, confidence crept back into his tone. "How many decades has it been since you were in
the Corps, old woman? I would like to see you try."

Kaede narrowed her eye. "Make no mistake; this old woman still packs enough power to
knock you down a peg or two."

Normally, Sesshoumaru would have considered that statement one of bravado, but when he
looked at the photograph again, he wondered if that was the case. "Who is the woman next to
you in that photo?"

Kaede looked over at it in surprise. "My sister."

Ah. So if Kaede was Kikyou's sister, then perhaps her words did carry some weight.

Kaede narrowed her eye at him. "Do you know Kikyou?"

"Not personally." They had never met, but Sesshoumaru had seen her from a distance
occasionally when she and Inuyasha had been dating fifty years ago.
However, she had been nowhere to be seen after she left Inuyasha lying in a pool of his own
blood.

"But you know of her."

"She has a reputation in our community," Sesshoumaru dodged.

Kaede looked back at the photograph, her brow creasing in thought. "That may be, but she
has not been on the front lines for some time, and you recognized her from this old photo.
Images did not circulate as widely back then, even for up-and-coming star demon slayers
such as herself." Kaede's eye widened then, and she looked at Sesshoumaru in question.
"Unless…are you somehow related to Yasha?"

Sesshoumaru clenched his hands. Yasha. His brother used the shortened name occasionally as
a human pseudonym, since it stood out less than having the obvious "dog" reference at the
beginning. "What did she tell you about him?"

Kaede sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Only that he turned out to be a demon—"

"Half-demon," Sesshoumaru interjected, feeling that mincing these sorts of details was
acceptable when the truth about him was out anyway.

"—Half-demon, and that she had dealt with him accordingly. I always worried that my sister
broke her own heart that day she came home from…'breaking up' with him. I never asked,
and she never said, but did she…kill him that day?"

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw, unsure of whether or not to speak. If he let Kikyou's sister
know that Inuyasha was still alive, Kaede could potentially tell the old demon slayer, igniting
a sense of unfinished business, and sending her on a hunt to track them down.

And if she tracked Inuyasha, she would find their entire family—including Rin. And given
her past hatred of half-demons, that would put his children in danger.

Kaede seemed to read his thoughts. "I will not tell my sister either way, if that is what worries
you. Whatever she did, I think she believes that chapter of her life closed and buried. She is
near the end of her life at this stage; I do not want to plague it with anymore regrets than she
might already have."

Sesshoumaru battled with himself a few seconds more. Finally, though, he let his hands
relax. If Rin can trust this woman…I suppose I must learn to as well. "She tried."

Kaede nodded with a sigh of relief. "So she failed. I admit, I am glad to hear that. I never met
him, but from the way she spoke of him when they were dating, I did not get the sense that he
meant her any harm; rather, it sounded as if he loved her deeply." When Sesshoumaru said
nothing in reply, Kaede apparently took that as her invitation to continue. "And if you loved
Rin even half as deeply, you would not have left her to face this pregnancy alone."

Sesshoumaru frowned, ready to tell the old busybody she presumed much to think that the
small flame of his brother's old love life in any way compared with the blaze of affection he
felt for Rin, but her next statement brought him up short.

"Do you have any idea of the torment she went through trying to hide your heritage and
taking the fall for being a single mother—all on her own shoulders?"

He didn't. If the bond worked both ways—if she had been able to mark him as a demoness
would—then such feelings might have driven him to find her. But he had never felt her, so he
never felt her pain.

For that reason and that reason only, he lamented that she was only human.

"I intend to make her my wife."

"Because of the children or because of her?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Can it not be both?"

"Most people in my generation would be pleased enough with just the show of you doing
right by her. But I know Rin would be hurt even more if you gave her such hope and then
ripped it away. After all, you left her once. What's to say you won't again?"

"I do not need to answer to you, old woman."

Kaede raised her eyebrow. "When Rin told me her child—children, as it turned out—would
be half demon, I daresay I tried to imagine the sort of man who had found his way into her
heart. …You are the complete opposite of what I was expecting. Frankly, I don't even know
what she sees in you."

"I do not care what you think of me. Only Rin's feelings matter."

Kaede pursed her lips in thought. After a moment, she said, "That is true enough. And if you
captured her heart, I suppose you can't be this testy all the time."

Just then, Sesshoumaru heard a familiar tread, and seconds later, there was a knock on the
door. "Come in," Kaede called out.

Rin poked her head in and froze upon seeing her mate. "Sesshoumaru, what are you doing
here?"

"I was having a very frank discussion him, given that he's the father of your children," Kaede
said. Rin bit her lip, looking guilty for not having been the one to reveal that tidbit. "Of
course, I will not relay to him any of your medical information without your consent."

Rin closed the door behind her and sat on the other side of the desk. "Is that what this is
about? You can tell him anything about the pregnancy, Kaede. I trust him."

"Very well. I will give you the short of it, Sesshoumaru. So far, Rin's pregnancy has
progressed rather normally. The children are healthy, although they appear to be smaller than
average for this time of development. Of course, this is the usual case with twins, but I
wanted to make sure it was nothing more. Unfortunately, I can only analyze them from a
human perspective, not a demonic one. But perhaps you can assist in that department. Do you
know of any a demon doctor that would be willing to consult on Rin's pregnancy?"

Sesshoumaru did not know any demon OBGYNs off the top of his head, but his family knew
several doctors at demon hospitals, so someone was likely to give them a referral.

"Yes."

Kaede turned to Rin. "Would you be willing to see a demon specialist, Rin? I simply do not
want to take any chances with your health."

Rin looked up at him. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course." As if she had to ask.

"Then yes."

"Very good," Kaede said. "Inform me once you make an appointment, and I will give you a
copy of the necessary documents to take with you, as I assume I will not simply be able to
send them over to the physician, given the…secrecy involved. We can reassess your birth
plan after that."

Birth plan? What in the world was that?

Rin fiddled with her fingers. "Actually, Kaede…it's probably going to change regardless. You
see…I'm moving."

Kaede glanced over at Sesshoumaru and watched him as she said, "Where?"

Rin seemed to notice the look. "Back to Tokyo…with Sesshoumaru."

"I see. And when is this taking place?"

"In two weeks. I need to type up a resignation letter at lunch, since I didn't have time
yesterday, but I will be turning it in today."

"I see a lot has changed over the course of one weekend."

Rin nodded. "And actually…none of this would have even happened if my talisman hadn't
snapped." She reached into her pocket and handed it to Kaede. "I've restrung it, but would
you please bless it once more?"

"Certainly, although I imagine this one over here has plenty of aura-suppressing items stashed
in whatever lair he has," Kaede said, nodding her head towards Sesshoumaru.

Now that she mentioned it, the family probably did have something lying around. Izayoi had
to wear a talisman, after all, to keep his father's mating mark from alerting demon slayers.

"That's okay. I'd rather keep this one, if you don't mind. It was my birth mother's. I like to
think that she and the rest of my birth family are watching over me." She smiled with a shrug.
 "Who knows? Maybe they even made it snap that day, just so I'd meet Sesshoumaru again."

Sesshoumaru looked at the bracelet in a new light. He hadn't realized Rin still had tokens
from her birth family. She had been so young when they died, after all.

"Rin." His call caused her to look up at him. "Do not forget that you have a new family that
will watch over you as well."

Rin's eyes widened in realization, and then she aimed the smile he loved best at him—the one
that shone like the sun.

Kaede harrumphed as she prepared to bless the bracelet. "Well, perhaps there is some charm
in you after all."

Chapter End Notes

I hope you enjoyed this little chapter of fluff! I know we're kind of crawling at the
moment, given that only a couple days have passed since Ch. 15 (and in contrast we
went through a span of months over just as many chapters in the beginning of Part Two),
but there's a lot for these guys to catch up on and come to terms with now that their
situation has changed. Even so, we're moving along!

Also, if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to my Facebook page,

Luvinanimanga, for fun stuff and updates. If we hit 50 followers (we're close!), I've got
a little treat planned.
 Gemini
Chapter Notes

Hey guys, I just wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to ALL my readers. You
guys are honestly the best. I love seeing how many of you leave reviews that rival my
chapters for size (LOL), but no matter how much you say (or in what language), you've
ALL been SO supportive. I love our discussions, your theories/analyses, fanfics, and
fanart. I also love that you guys make me aware of things happening on the other
platforms where I'm not (thank you!) Though I've come to rely on your lovely words to
boost my Mondays (or the end of the week, as is the case with some reviews—you
know who you are), I don't want to take any of you for granted. Feel free to drop me a
PM in Facebook if you want to chat further—I'm always open to it!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Even after seeing Kaede bless Rin's talisman with his own eyes and feeling as all traces of his
and his pups' demonic energies vanished when Rin slipped the bracelet over her ankle, he still
did not want to leave her side. However, he let up on tailing her from room to room and
instead returned to his car to retrieve his laptop so he could sit in the waiting room and work.

When Rin found him still there an hour later, she came over to him and sighed.
"Sesshoumaru, you don't have to stay here all day with me, you know."

"I want to."

"Well…then at least go sit in the break room. You'll be more comfortable there than here."
She led him there and settled him at one of the small tables set up inside. "There. I'll come
back here for my break to keep you company, and later we can have lunch together." She
paused. "Will you be eating lunch? I can always get you something from the cafeteria
downstairs."

"Will you be eating something from there?" he asked.

"No, I brought a salad from home. If I'm moving out in two weeks, I need to eat as much of
my food as I can so we don't have to lug it all with us."

Sesshoumaru frowned. A salad? That's it? He did not eat much, but even that would not
satisfy him—let alone a woman pregnant with twins.

"Well, I need to get going, but I'll see you later," she said, waving as she left.

Immediately, Sesshoumaru went to the break room fridge and investigated its contents. A
quick sniff caused him to flinch—someone had brought egg salad, and the stench of eggs and
mayo was overwhelming. But after a few more whiffs, he found a hint of Rin's scent on a
large, plastic tub. He took it out and peeled back the lid.

The odor of raw fish smacked him in the nose (but at least it smelled better than egg salad),
and indeed, he saw small strips of raw salmon—as one would find on sushi—layered over a
bed of greens, mandarin oranges, carrots, cabbage, and chopped almonds.

Well, at least she had some protein in her meal, but something in Sesshoumaru told him that
she needed meat and lots of it.

He put her lunch back and immediately set to scouring the internet for a list of all the
available take-out restaurants in the area.

When Rin came to sit with him during her break, she started munching on a baggie of veggie
straws, which gave him an in to the conversation they needed to have.

"Rin, do you have any cravings?"

"Pregnancy cravings? All the time!" she laughed, crunching through a straw.

"Such as?"

Rin glanced around at the break room and, though finding it empty, whispered, "Don't tell
anyone, but I am always craving a good, raw steak."

Inwardly, he smiled in triumph. I was right. She needs meat. "How often do you give into this
craving?"

She sighed. "It's so weird, but I found out soon after I got pregnant that I suddenly developed
your taste for raw meats. Cooked meat just doesn't smell right anymore! That said, I don't eat
the raw stuff often. It's not that I haven't eaten it while pregnant, but I know I'm not supposed
to. At least…not if I were carrying normal babies." She looked to him for confirmation, and
he nodded, trusting his instincts on this matter. "Regardless, I'm afraid I wouldn't cook a rare
steak right. I'd rather trust a professional cook, but…I feel so awkward going to nicer
restaurants alone. The host always looks at you funny when you say, 'Table for one,' and the
waiters always start out by asking, 'Are you waiting for your husband?'" She blew out such a
loud breath, she fluffed her bangs. "It's so annoying. So I just make do with buying fish
prepared for sushi, and I actually found that jerky helps too, although it's a little too salty for
me to eat all the time. "

Sesshoumaru nodded in understanding, even as an idea was beginning to bloom. "Any other
cravings, besides meat?"

"Mmm…basically fruit everything. Whether it's just plain old fruit or fruit tarts, fruit
smoothies, cakes with fruit toppings and drizzle. Oooh, now that you've got me thinking
about it, I really want a fruit sandwich. That would be a perfect desert!" She glanced sadly at
the fridge. "I guess I'll have to settle for the oranges in my salad though." Her pout was both
adorable and gut-wrenching to him. So he decided.
She would not have to settle for just oranges.

Rin looked up at the clock and sighed. "Well, back to work. Hopefully it will take my mind
off those fruit sandwiches." She scowled at Sesshoumaru. "Thanks for nothing, by the way.
Making me think of cravings…. Who does that?"

He would make it up to her. "What time will you be taking lunch?" he asked.

"At eleven. I tend to eat lunch early when I'm on the morning shift," she said.

He nodded. "I will be waiting."

As soon as Rin left, Sesshoumaru packed up his laptop and whipped out his phone, searching
for grocery stores, bakeries—anything that would sell this "fruit sandwich" Rin craved. He
only had an hour until Rin took her lunch break.

By the time he made it to his car, he had located the single bakery in a 15-kilometer radius
that sold the treat. It was stationed in a mall half an hour away.

If he drove like the speed demon he was, he could make it there and back in time. He called
in to place an order for pickup so he didn't have to waste precious minutes when he got there.

The one good thing about being in the more rural parts of the country was that there weren't
as many cops as in the city just sitting there and waiting to catch ostentatious cars built for
speed. He managed to shave five minutes off the assumed travel time, strode into the mall
like he knew where he was going (when in reality, he was relying completely on his phone
for directions, since stopping at a directory would have taken too long), and found the bakery
with ease. Given that it was a Monday morning, there was only one person in line, so he was
out the door in five minutes and speeding back towards the medical center.

He arrived at the break room with five minutes to spare—only to find Rin already tucking
into her lunch.

"Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry I started without you. I was already hungry,
and my last rounds ended a few minutes early, and I didn't know where you'd gone. But I
literally just started, so we still have plenty of time left! Where did you go, by the way?" she
asked.

In answer, Sesshoumaru walked over to the table and set the bag with the sandwiches in front
of her. She looked at the bakery logo on the front of the bag in puzzlement.

"Did you…go to the mall?" she asked. He nodded, and she looked up in surprise. "But why?
That's such a long way to go! How did you even get back here this fast?"

He nodded to the bag. "Open it."

She did and pulled out the tray of assorted fruit-and-crème-filled sandwiches, whose innards
were lined with artful cuts of strawberries, kiwis, and peaches. She gasped. "Sesshoumaru,
you didn't have to do this!"
"You wanted them."

She looked up at him, her eyes glassy, and he grew alarmed. Was she upset with him? Had
she not wanted fruit sandwiches after all? He had often heard women said what they didn't
mean, but Rin wasn't usually like that.

However, instead of getting angry, she smiled sniffed, chuckling as she wiped the moisture
from her eyes. "I never thought I'd have someone to do something like this for me. I feel so
lucky." Then she started crying even as she opened the tray and practically shoved a
strawberry sandwich into her mouth, moaning around it. "Ith's thso cweamy," she moaned
through a full mouth as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

Sesshoumaru watched this display in fascination. This was a side of Rin he had never seen
before—and honestly, it was one he had never imagined. She was tucking into that sandwich
like it was her final meal. And as for the tears….

"Are you happy, Rin?" he asked, just to make sure. He had read pregnancy could make
women emotional, but he had thought Rin was already emotional. Apparently, she could be
even more so.

"Oh, yes!" she answered, nodding enthusiastically. She finished one sandwich and then
turned back to her salad. His eyes, however, strayed to the bit of crème still caught at the
corner of her lips. "I have to parse those out—don't want to eat them all at once!" She smiled
at him then, and finally, he was reassured, because it was her genuine smile. "Thank you,
Sesshoumaru. It was so sweet of you to do that for me."

"Whatever you need, Rin, you have but to ask," he answered.

"Well, although this felt like a need, it was probably more of a want…."

"Whatever your heart desires, Rin. I am here to fulfill your every wish." He bent down to her
level and held her gaze, staring at her with just a hint of the hunger he always felt for her.

She visibly shivered, as if startled by the realization, she looked around. "Did they crank up
the air conditioning even more? It got so cold in here all of the sudden."

But the erratic beat of her heart told him otherwise. No doubt she was going to feel very hot
very soon.

"Did it?" he asked. Then he darted forward and kissed the corner of her lips, swiping his
tongue over that crème. Never had a sweet tasted so good to him.

She gasped as he pulled away, and he smirked, saying, "You're right. That did taste good."

Rin reached over and promptly shoved another half a sandwich in her mouth, crème
blooming on her lips. Sesshoumaru's smile widened.

Looks like he was getting his dessert too.

After Rin's shift ended, Sesshoumaru drove them to a hardware store that sold packing
materials. To Rin's amazement, he managed to make several medium-sized boxes and a small
roll of bubble wrap fit in his trunk.

When they returned to her apartment, he started folding the boxes while she changed out of
her scrubs and into some casual wear. By the time she came out, he had finished putting
together about half the boxes they bought. She sighed and looked around the living room. "I
don't even know where to start."

"The non-essentials," Sesshoumaru suggested.

"Oh, good idea! That will be all the décor then. We'll have to save the plants for the night
before. I don't want to neglect them or take them out of their environment too early. Could
you start pulling down pictures from the walls and grabbing any tabletop frames you see? I'll
go grab a few things from my bedroom."

Sesshoumaru did as asked, retrieving frames and laying them against the couch. He wanted
her to sit when she came back; he would gladly run around the house fetching things for her
as long as she was off her feet and putting them in boxes.

When he heard her now-heavier tread, he watched her waddle back into living room, holding
the front of a photo frame against her breast.

She took a deep breath. "Before we start…I thought you might want to see our daughters."
She held out the frame to him, revealing a sonogram.

He took it between gentle fingers, scanning the photo. Their shapes were fuzzy—almost like
the indistinct mental pictures he got from tracing their auras earlier.

But now he could see them. His daughters. He still couldn't believe he was going to be a
father.

Rin moved around him so that she could look over his shoulder and point to the photo. "I'm
not sure if you can tell, but there's one of our little girls. See her head? And here's the other,
upside down."

"How many weeks ago was this?" he asked.

"This is from when I found out their genders, so…a little over two months ago at this point.
I'll likely get another—probably my final one—whenever I see this demon specialist."

"And that will be your last appointment before the birth?"

"Oh goodness, no. I was scheduled to have a lot of appointments with Kaede now that I'm
nearing the end of the pregnancy. Regardless of who my official doctor ends up being, I'll
still need weekly checkups to make sure the twins are healthy and to check on their sizes.
Even though Kaede says they're still on the small size, I feel like I'm already as big as a
house, so there's a possibility I'll have to be induced if they get too big for me. Twins tend to
come early as it is, but…." She trailed off as she noticed him staring at her, something akin to
horror rounding out his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I thought this was all supposed to be natural. How is it that a child can grow too big and not
feel ready to be birthed?"

Rin smiled sadly at him. "There's a reason childbirth was so dangerous before modern
medicine—for mother and baby. Don't worry. I'll be fine. And if you don't believe me, I'm
sure whatever demon doctor you find can reassure you."

"Perhaps."

She grinned. "Cheer up! Think of the ultrasound instead. Oh, I can't wait for you to see them
move! I love being able to watch them and hear their heartbeats. It's so magical."

"I can hear their heartbeats as we speak."

"Oh, right. I keep forgetting about that sensitive hearing of yours," she said, reaching out and
tweaking one of his ears. But the playful tug soon turned sensual as she ran her fingers over
the crest of his ear, slipping over to that spot behind them that she had so loved to tease him
with that final day in the forest.

Sesshoumaru shivered and clenched his hands, taking deep, controlled breaths as she worked
the latex mold off his ear, letting the pointed tip spring free. She rolled it between her fingers,
bringing the blood back into it.

And bringing blood rushing somewhere else within him too.

Did she not realize what she was doing to him? Or was this her revenge for his sneak attacks
with the fruit sandwiches earlier?

Her dark gaze as she stared at his ear showed that everything she was doing was masterfully
intentional.

Slowly, she moved to the other ear, working off the latex mold and massaging it.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru finally growled out.

"Yes?" she answered in a breathy voice.

"Are you planning to take responsibility for your actions?"

Rin regarded him carefully. Slowly then, she bent down towards his ear. "You're one to talk
about taking responsibility." Then she nipped the tip of his ear, and he practically lurched out
of his skin. His cock certainly jerked to attention. She moved to the other side, giving that ear
an extra-long nibble. He reached up to turn those torturous teeth and lips to his, but then she
whispered into his ear, and her warm breath made him pause as it sent gooseflesh all along
the appendage, crawling straight down his chest to his tightening crotch.

"Now, why aren't you packing?"

He stiffened, and she pulled back with a teasing smirk on her face before sitting down on the
opposite end of the couch and cutting bubble wrap like she hadn't just kick-started his
erection.

He growled, "Rin."

She looked up at him with a no-nonsense face, but her red cheeks belied her aloofness. He
scooted over to show her that she couldn't get away with teasing him like that but instead
found a pair of scissors pointed at his chest.

"Nuh-uh. You gave me only two weeks to pack, and I have to make the most of the time I'm
home. So go start collecting décor." She waved the scissors towards the other end of the
room.

It took every ounce of his willpower not to drag her back over to his side of the couch and
crush his lips to hers. The little minx had said she wanted to take things slowly, but it had
only been one day since she made that declaration, and he was going to crack like weather-
beaten asphalt if she was planning to tease him like this for innumerable days.

And when he did crack, she wouldn't know what hit her.

But he nevertheless got up and went to fetch more breakable décor to wrap up and pack.

Once he had painfully adjusted himself out of her sight and subsequently brought over all the
décor he could find, littering it across the floor, they sat in quiet companionship, the only
sounds that of stray bubbles popping and packing tape screeching. Sesshoumaru saved the
sonogram for last, taking in every detail before he wrapped it up.

It had been taken over two months ago. The knowledge only reminded him of how much she
had gone through of this endeavor by herself. Suddenly, he had to know.

"How did you feel when you found out you were going to be a mother?"

She jumped in surprise at the sudden break in silence, then looked over, assessing him. "How
did you feel when you found out you were going to be a father?"

"Don't you already know?" he asked. She could feel his emotions through the bond, after all,
and she had been there for all his sordid responses when he found out.

"I have an idea. But I want to hear you say it."

He could not lie to her. "Surprise. Panic."

She nodded, a silent gesture to urge him on.

"My whole world changed in an instant."

Rin smiled grimly. "That's precisely what I felt. I'll admit, I wasn't in the best of places at the
time. I was still…pretty angry with you and very, very heartbroken. I wasn't quite sure what
to feel knowing that the man who had left me—the man I cared so much for—had also
impregnated me. I love children, and I've always wanted them, but obviously this wasn't how
I foresaw having my first kid—or kids, as it turned out. And that was a whole other
revelation to come to terms with." She took a deep breath. "Kaede helped me through that
difficult period. If I hadn't been able to open up to her, I don't know what I would have done."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "If the bond worked both ways for us…if I had felt your pain at
that time, I don't think I would have been able to stay away. It is only because I could not feel
you that I was able to suppress my own desires for so long." He looked up and met her eyes.
"I will not leave you again, Rin. I swear it."

"I know."

There was another question he had thought of when he looked at the sonogram. Now seemed
a decent time to ask. "Have you already chosen names for them?"

Rin returned to packing her décor in a box. "Mmm, I had been thinking of Towa for one of
them. But I hadn't yet decided on another yet."

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side. "Why Towa?"

Rin bit her lip, hesitating. Was she embarrassed? Why? "Do you not like it?"

"I did not say that."

"…Tell you what. Since I came up with that one, why don't you think up a name for our
second daughter? We can discuss it, of course, but…I figure you should have as much input
as I do. Once it's decided, I'll tell you why I chose Towa's name."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but then he returned to bubble-wrapping. "If that is what you
wish."

"I have a book of baby names, if you'd like to borrow it. Maybe as you go through, we
could…I don't know, spend a little time every night going over any interesting ones you
found?"

"As you wish."

"Speaking of books…we can probably pack those too, now that we're done with décor.
They're on a little bookshelf in my room. Can you go get them?"

He nodded and walked to her bedroom, stilling at the entrance to it.

It was nothing special, of course—but the fact that she had a separate bedroom meant this
apartment was an upgrade from the studios he knew many young people like her usually
rented. However, it was still small, with a twin-sized bed, a chest of drawers, a nightstand
holding some books underneath it as well as a small bookshelf groaning under various,
weighty medical books and stacks of romances and manga.

Small or not, this room was his mate's most intimate space—the place where she slept and
nested. Her preferences were on completely display for him, from the books on her shelf to
the clothing peeking out from the closet. And best of all, it smelled only of her—something
that pleased the demon within very much.

He could not wait to have her nestle into his own home. He had arranged for her to have a
separate bedroom, wishing to respect her desire for space, but if he could change her mind in
these next two weeks so that she would consent to sharing his room, then their scents would
mingle even faster.

He started with the tomes under her nightstand and found them to be a stack of parenting
books. He stared at the top one on the stack as he brought them to the living room: Double
the Diapers: A Guide to Raising Twins.

As he set the stack down, he picked up the book and read the summary on the back cover.

"You can borrow that, if you'd like," Rin said, pulling him out of his reading trance. He
looked over at her and found her smiling softly. "That book had some great pointers in it I
had never thought about. I think it'd be helpful if you read it. You can borrow any of those, in
fact," she said, gesturing to the stack.

He nodded. "I will."

Now he had something more to pass the time with as he stood guard outside her apartment at
night.

After packing her books, papers, magazines, and all other reading and writing material, Rin
wiped her hands on her pants and sighed, looking at a nearby clock. "I don't know about you,
but I feel the pre-hunger twinge coming on. Maybe it's time we start thinking about dinner."
She pushed herself up off the couch until she was standing. "Let me go see what I have in the
fridge…."

"Never mind that, Rin. I have dinner reservations for us in about an hour."

Rin stopped and turned to look at him. "Sesshoumaru, I told you I need to eat what's here."

"One night, Rin. If you desire to eat the rest of your food after this, I will not stop you. But I
would like to take you out tonight."

"Take me out? Like…on a date?"

He nodded. "If that is what you wish to call it."

"Is that what you wish to call it?"

After a slight hesitation, he nodded.

She smiled. "Okay. Yeah, let's go out on a date." Then her smile faltered. "Where are we
going? Is it casual or fancy? I can't see you picking out a casual place, so…what level of
fanciness is required? Are we talking cocktail dress or evening gown? Oh no, what am I
supposed to wear? Even if I can't look good, I want to at least dress properly for my first-ever
date."
Sesshoumaru blinked. "First-ever date?"

Rin bit her lip. "Sesshoumaru…surely you've noticed by now that you're my first everything."

He held out his hand to her, and she took it, allowing him to tug her over until she stood next
to him. Even standing, her stomach still did not reach over his chin, but he bent over and
kissed the top of it. "I do know, and the knowledge that you are mine and mine alone pleases
me beyond words."

Of course, while his thoughts were filled with ways of just how to convey his silent pleasure
to Rin, her mind appeared to be on another track completely. "You always look so dapper in
these suits. Is this what you're wearing tonight?"

He could not hold back the tiny, resigned smile that quirked his lips. "Yes."

She sighed. "That still doesn't tell me how fancy this place is, because you wear suits every
day."

"It is not as high-class as where I would take you in Tokyo, but it is all that is available out
here."

"Is it near the mall?"

"Yes."

"And you're only telling me now that we have to be there in an hour? Geez, Sesshoumaru,
way to give me some notice! How am I supposed to pick out what to wear in time? Oh, who
am I kidding? I only have one thing…." She hurriedly extracted herself from his grasp and
then shuffled to her bedroom. Before closing the door, she poked her head out and stared hard
at him. "No peeking until I come out to show you."

She barely gave him time to react before she shut the door and locked it. He shook his head
in amusement at his quirky little mate and then went to observe her table of plants to better
understand her preferences as he waited.

Her door opened again soon enough, but then she rushed into the bathroom across the hall
and shut that door. The longer she took though, the more anxious he got. Rin was not a high-
maintenance woman, and he had never seen her all dolled up before. He loved her just the
way she looked and couldn't imagine that even makeup or a dress could enhance her figure in
his eyes.

Finally, though, the door opened again, and Rin walked into the living room, announcing, "I
know it's a little out of season, but it's all I have that will fit on such short notice, but I think
I'm okay with that, because I honestly never thought I was going to get to wear this dress
again, so I guess I'm getting my money's worth out of it. What do you think?"

As he turned to face her, she slowly twirled around, causing her midnight-blue dress to flare
over her knees. Sesshoumaru took in every inch of her: the fabric that managed to hug her
breasts and shoulders and yet add enough slack to her waist to soften the sharp curves of her
belly; the cut-outs on the sleeves that were just large enough that Sesshoumaru could imagine
planting a kiss in each one as he trailed them up her arm; the little half-ponytail she had tied
up that beckoned to him with “come hither” waves as she turned; and the faint dusting of
shimmery blue eye shadow and glistening pink lip gloss that called to him like a bright
flower to a butterfly (oh, he would gladly dive in and suck that nectar…).

Perhaps after dinner, she would let him consume her for dessert.

She stopped twirling when his dumb, frozen self took too long to say anything, and
immediately, her brows puckered in worry. She looked down at the dress. "I knew it. It
doesn't work on me anymore since I've gotten so big, does it? But it's all I have…."

Did she think she looked distasteful in that dress? How could she, when it so prominently
displayed her motherhood? And with her on his arm, it would be a sign to all the human men
that she was thoroughly taken.

But his mate needed reassurance, and he would strive to give it to her. He stepped forward
and caressed her cheek. "You are stunning, Rin."

Her cheek warmed under his thumb, and she glanced away. Although he smelled makeup and
noticed she had applied it all over her face to even out her skin tone, he was pleased to see
that her use of makeup did not extend to artificial blush, because her natural one was just so
much better. "You're just saying that."

"I will never lie to you, Rin."

She looked back up at him from beneath her eyelashes, and he loved the fact that they were
not covered in thick, clumpy mascara, like so many women's were today. Even his mate's
choice of what makeup to use was tasteful. He leaned over and kissed each of those soft, fine
fans over her eyes. When he pulled back, he said, "Would that you could see yourself as I
do."

"And how is it that you see me?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Perfection."

She broke into a fit of giggles, causing him to frown. "Some might say you have your love
goggles on. I've told you before that I'm not perfect."

"But you are perfect for me."

She blushed again and then ducked around him—but not before grabbing his hand so she
could bring him along. "We should get going if we're going to make that reservation."

She didn't see the small smile that slipped onto his lips as he let himself be tugged away by
her through her door.

They arrived at the restaurant half an hour later (for although Sesshoumaru trusted his
instincts as a driver, he would not risk Rin's and the children's safety by speeding as he had
done earlier that day) and were seated immediately. They both ordered water before perusing
the menu.

"Don't feel as if you have to refrain from alcohol on my account," Rin said once the waiter
left. "Even if I could drink it right now, I likely wouldn't. I'll take a glass here or there on
special occasions, but I just can't justify the expense for each glass otherwise."

"You need not worry. I am not partial to it. The alcohol is more overwhelming than any other
taste I can detect," Sesshoumaru answered.

She giggled again. "I should have expected. I haven't forgotten your eating habits."

Sesshoumaru cut her a dry look. "Now that we are in a civilized setting, I will be able to
show you that I am not as picky an eater as you might think."

Rin hid her burgeoning smirk behind her menu. "Somehow I doubt that," she murmured, and
he wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear it, but he did.

After several seconds of staring blankly at the menu—he had already decided that afternoon
what he would eat by looking at the selection on his phone—he looked up when Rin
suddenly put her menu down.

"Does this feel awkward to you?"

He wanted to answer "no" right away, because being with her would never feel awkward, but
he decided clarification was in order. "Does what feel awkward?"

"This," she said, gesturing to the table. "Going on a date…especially after all we've been
through. I mean, you're supposed to ask all the basic questions on the first date, right? But we
already know so much about each other."

"Is that what you're supposed to do on the first date? I was not aware," he teased, sitting back
with a smirk.

Rin flushed. "Hey, I told you already this is my first date. So…I don't know what to do
either."

His inner demon rumbled in contentment upon hearing those words once again. Even though
they were going about their relationship all backwards, he still hoped to finds more firsts to
give her. "I do not let others' standards dictate what I do with my life. This does not have to
be a standard first date. It only has to be our first date."

A smile slowly unfurled on Rin's lips as she considered his words. "Yes, I like the way you
worded that. Although to be fair, now that I look back on it, I feel like that first night we
studied the stars could have been classified as our first date. Though you never would have
admitted it at the time."

No, he would not have, although looking back on it, he realized he had already been snared
by her charms. "Would you like to take a walk in the park afterwards, so I may test your
knowledge?" Sesshoumaru asked with a sly smile. He had studied the area around the mall,
just in case an opportunity for an addition to their outing arose.

Rin chewed on her lip, thinking about it. "I'd love to, Sesshoumaru, but we have so much to
pack…."

"Rin, you need not worry about packing. I can take care of much of it while you sleep, if you
allow it. For tonight though, I simply want you to relax."

She let her smile loose, and it hit him like a blast of sunlight after coming out of a dark
building. "Then yes, I'd love that."

When the waiter came, they both ordered rare steaks. Sesshoumaru planned to slowly eat his,
and if Rin was hungrier than what her plate provided, he would gladly give her the rest of his.
It turned out to be the right choice. When the food came, she devoured her meal, and he was
pleased they had come to the steakhouse. If she truly hadn't been eating as much red meat as
she should have while carrying pups, she needed all she could get to make up for it. When
she was finished, he let her have the rest of his meal, which was most of it.

After he paid for dinner, he took her to a nearby park that wasn't in the hubbub of the town
center. Although there was more light than he'd have liked, it was still dark enough to make
out several constellations in the late spring sky. They walked around a pond holding hands,
and Sesshoumaru pointed out the constellations they wouldn't have seen in the fall to her.

At one point, Rin sighed. "You know, it's moments like these where it feels like no time at all
has passed since we first met. And yet so much has happened, and so much is going to be
happening soon. I mean, can you believe that in just two months, we're going to meet our
little twins?" She looked down at her belly with a smile, patting a spot that, based on her
reaction to it, was a place one of the girls had just kicked.

Speaking of twins…. He turned her to face the west and pointed above the tree line of the
park.

"Behold Gemini, the Twins."

"Oh! Where are they? I can't tell."

"Do you see those two bright stars?"

Rin leaned her head on his shoulder to better align her sight with where he was pointing. The
spot tingled. "Yes."

"To the left is Pollux, and to the right is Castor. Those are the names of the twins as well as
the stars that make up their heads. Look down, and you will see their bodies, like stick
figures. They are holding hands. Do you see?" He traced the constellation."

"Yes, I see it now!"

Sesshoumaru's other arm was wrapped around Rin's waist, and he casually brushed his
fingers against the side of her stomach. "Did you know that despite being twins, they were
not fathered by the same man? Only Pollux was Zeus' son. Castor was the son of a Spartan
king."

"Really?" Rin asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "I've only read about that sort of thing
happening in stories."

Sesshoumaru smirked dotingly at her. "It is a story, Rin."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot. The way you talk about it though, I'm inclined to believe whatever
you say, because you've seen so much that humans today might think is just a story."

Sesshoumaru chuckled. In a lower voice, so as not to be overhead by any other park visitors,
he murmured in her ear, "Even I was not alive during the time of the Ancient Greeks."

"Was your father?" Rin whispered back.

"Yes."

Rin grabbed the hand that stroked the side of her belly and brought it up higher, placing it
atop the swell so she could rest her own hand over it. "I think between you and your father,
we'll never run out of bedtime stories for the kids."

"Hn," Sesshoumaru answered. "Do not ask him to tell stories if you ever want them to stop.
He enjoys…reenacting his best battle scenes." Touga often made Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru
stand in as the enemy; Inuyasha was a more willing participant than he was.

Rin giggled. "I'm sure the girls will love that when they are older. If I know kids, they'll want
in on all the battles. So, on that note…maybe don't use those as bedtime stories."

"They are my children. Of course they will want to fight," Sesshoumaru answered. "They
will be powerful warriors, just as Castor and Pollux were."

"Hey now, I don't want them getting into fights at school, Sesshoumaru. But I don't mind
disciplined fighting. We can discuss martial arts and swordsmanship when they're older."

"We will have to discuss school as well."

Rin looked up at him then, worry widening her eyes. "You mean…because they could be
found out? Are there…special schools for your kind?"

"I am not certain. I have not paid much attention to matters involving children before." It was
something else he would have to research.

"Do you think…will we have to move to America or something, so we could homeschool

them?"

He had not even considered the possibility. He supposed it was an option, but it would also
pull Rin away from the rest of her family. He could do without seeing his while the girls grew
up, but he felt certain Rin would be terribly homesick. "We do not need to discuss it now,
Rin. They have not even been born yet. They may be able to blend in easily."
Just then, a hint of saline tickled Sesshoumaru's nose, and he tilted Rin's head up to better
look at her. "Why are you crying, Rin?" She always seemed to cry when he showed her the
stars.

"When we talk about stuff like this, I just wonder…are we ready for this, Sesshoumaru? To
make a life together with our girls?"

He certainly didn't feel ready to be a father. But he was more than ready to have Rin fully
embedded in his life. So that was enough.

"I am ready to accept whatever comes our way, Rin, so long as we face it together."

Rin nodded, squeezing his hand like it was a lifeline. "Can you forgive me for still feeling…
anxious? I know you're here now, but…I've gotten so accustomed to the idea of doing this on
my own. I will absolutely welcome having your help, but it may take time for me to…learn
to ask you for it."

Yet another thing they had in common. His father had made it clear he needed to learn how to
ask for assistance as well.

Rin continued, "I've always had to be independent—I learned that at a young age. Of course I
depended on Mama and Grandpa for life's necessities once I was adopted, but even just
starting to apply for college…all of that I had to do on my own. Mama knew nothing about
applying to schools, nor did Grandpa. Kagome helped, but she was never as studious as I
was. I did a lot of the extra work on my own to get my scholarship. And then moving away…
I had to be completely independent. So what I'm trying to say is, it's not that I don't want the
help—being single is so freaking hard—but…I've just gotten so used to it. So please don't
take offense if I just don't think to ask you for something. I know you have knowledge about
a side of them that I don't—it's becoming more and more apparent to me with each passing
day. But still, it takes me by surprise sometimes. I mean, now that I think about it…I suppose
I had always just planned to raise them…well, like me. I know it seems selfish that I would
have made them suppress their other sides, but…I didn't see any other way around it until
now."

Sesshoumaru tried not to be overwhelmed by her sudden gush of feelings and worries. So
instead, he just gently nodded. "I understand. I will simply have to work that much harder to
anticipate your needs. Then, you will not have to worry about asking."

Rin leaned her head against his arm. "The road works both ways though, Sesshoumaru. If you
need something from me, you have to ask. I can feel your emotions, yes, but sometimes I
misinterpret them. I need you to be clear with me."

"I will bear that in mind."

Unfortunately, what he needed from her then was something he felt she was not yet ready to
give. He wanted to envelope her in his scent once more—possess her body and soul. Granted,
he wasn't sure if it was even biologically responsible, given how pregnant she was. Would
lovemaking hurt the children? He seemed to recall back in the day that sex was discouraged
during pregnancy, but had modern science overturned that idea yet? He hadn't learned.
Perhaps he should look it up. Would on of her parenting books mention it? Or, better yet, he
could ask the doctor once she had her next appointment.

Yes, he would do that. He needed to give her time, after all. She wanted to take this slowly.
He had waited seven months. He could wait just a little while longer.

The next four days passed in much the same manner. Sesshoumaru would stand guard outside
Rin's apartment while she slept, and whenever she had her shift—be it morning or night—he
would hang around the medical center.

The medical staff didn't quite warm up to him, but they at least grew used to his presence in
the break room, even if he did hear them gossip amongst each other about Rin's "super-clingy
boyfriend." Of course, his presence had kickstarted other rumors as well—ones relating to
her unplanned pregnancy and why he had suddenly reappeared in her life—and if Rin heard
any of them, she didn't let on. Sesshoumaru, for one, was glad that she would be leaving this
workplace soon. She did not need to be around others who spoke condescendingly of her.

After her shift, he would drive Rin home. Sometimes, she needed a nap. Her twelve-hour
shifts completely wore her out, and she would usually give Sesshoumaru some basic
instructions on things to pack while she slept. Other times, she helped him. He always shared
a meal with her, and after that first day of discovering her recent diet and then subsequently
poking through her fridge to see just what she planned to eat until the move, he went out and
bought a few packages of meat.

She had protested at the wasteful expense, of course, but Sesshoumaru was firm:
she would have a proper intake of protein and other meaty nutrients in at least this one meal.
He always cooked it for her, for although he did not cook often, given his aristocratic
upbringing, his father had made sure he knew how to cook when out on the battlefield
(although those days were now long gone), so despite being out of practice, he could still
cook her rare beef in a variety of methods so that she did not always feel like she was eating a
whole steak.

She made it clear she was impressed with his cooking skills, and the compliment made him
proud of this skill he had never once considered anything special.

Still, no matter how many little kisses or touches they shared (and she always seemed to keep
things from getting too steamy between them), whenever Rin went to sleep for the day or
night, she always made him leave, still assuming he stayed in a hotel. He did not inform her
otherwise.

On the fifth night Sesshoumaru had stayed in this rustic town, he stood outside Rin's
apartment complex, staring at the waxing moon overhead. With the lamp post shining in his
face across the way, the lunar body was about all that could penetrate the sky through the
nearby haze of light. As ever, one ear was tuned to Rin's apartment. He could just make out
the soft sounds of her deep sleep breathing.

One minute it was steady and slow; the next, it turned sharp and choppy, punctuated with
moans of distress.
He was at her door in a flash, grabbing the key under the flower pot outside and jamming it
into the lock. When he got inside, he wasn't quiet about shutting the door, wondering if that
would wake her up, but apparently it didn't, because she just kept moaning.

He ran to her bedroom, finding her asleep on her back, her face puckered in discomfort. One
hand was cupped under her belly, and at that moment, he feared the worst.

"Rin," he said, kneeling by her side and trying to shake her awake. She didn't respond. "Rin,"
he repeated. But nothing worked.

He went to her stomach then and placed an ear against it, making sure that the twins were
alright. One…two…. Two fluttering little heartbeats beneath Rin's rapidly rising one. He
frowned. It was difficult to tell if their heart rates were elevated too, given how loud Rin's had
gotten, but they weren't kicking, so hopefully they were asleep. To double-check, however, he
needed to feel their auras. He yanked her bracelet off her ankle.

Their demonic auras appeared, and he froze.

He prodded against them with his own, but their auras were tucked in so tightly against their
bodies, they were like small shields.

They weren't still because they were asleep. They were still because they were afraid.

What was happening? Were they feeling Rin's own anxiety? Was that possible?

Or was something more nefarious at work?

He wanted to reassure them that they would be okay. But how?

The books he had been reading in his car while he watched over Rin's apartment always
mentioned talking to babies. They could hear and differentiate parents' voices and be soothed
by calming sounds. He needed to speak to them as a father.

"Father's—" He stopped as the word came out of his mouth. It was too strange to use the term
on himself when he had always used it to address Touga. Besides, it was so…formal. A title
used by a boy who had grown up in a demon court to use to show respect to the ruler of the
West who sired him.

He did not want his children to treat him with such distance. Even such a small step could
start him down the road to making the same mistake his father made.

He thought about all he had learned about babies recently, including the first sounds they
would babble and how those first words could establish an even closer connection.

"Papa is here," he told them, trying to lay his aura over them like a soothing blanket. "Do not
fear. Papa will protect you."

He stroked their auras with his, trying to calm them as if he himself could touch them.
Tentatively, one of them prodded back in curiosity before relaxing into his stoking, like a dog
letting its head drop into the hand scratching around its ears. With the one now comfortable,
the other soon followed suit.

"Good girls. Now, help me wake your mother." He turned the comforting strokes into little
pokes at their auras, trying to get them to retaliate. It took a moment, but soon they started to
poke back, and finally, when they got a little more courage, he felt a feeble kick against his
hand. That's it. "Let her know you are well," Sesshoumaru murmured to them. He kept that
hand on her belly, letting the twins feel his weight, even as he turned to Rin with his other
hand and grasped hers.

"Rin, open your eyes," he commanded.

A tear squeezed past them instead, and he squeezed her hand tighter. Could he use the same
method on her that he had used on the girls? Would she feel his demonic aura? She was only
human after all.

He heard the kick one of his daughters delivered, and Rin's hand automatically moved to the
spot in response. But her eyes remained shut.

So she could respond to physical stimuli. But shaking her hadn't been enough. The twins
kicking was starting to help—was that some sort of maternal instinct at work?—but what else
could he do to snap her out of her dreams without physically hurting her?

His eyes were drawn to the mark on her neck, completely exposed from the haphazard way
the straps of her nightgown lay as she tossed. He recalled then how she had turned to putty in
his arms the other day as he sucked on it and how only a kick from their children had brought
her out of the haze.

He moved over then and cradled her head with one hand as he further bared her shoulder to
himself with the other. Without hesitation, he placed his lips against his mark. Though his
blood thrummed, it was from panic, not lust, and he had to force himself to make his lips
tease at her in the gentle but insistent way that he had before.

He heard the girls deliver another sharp kick just as he sucked up at the skin, and suddenly
Rin jolted awake. Her breath seized as her heart started pounding like a rock band drummer.

When Sesshoumaru lifted his lips from her shoulder, she screamed. "W-Who's there?!" she
cried out in a somewhat groggy voice, shifting away.

"Rin, it is I," Sesshoumaru said.

She stopped moving. "S-Sesshoumaru? Is it…is it really you? You aren't…a dream?"

"You are awake, Rin."

"W-What are you doing here?"

"I heard you in distress. I came to check on you and the children."
Rin's hand went to her belly, and he heard the girls move within her reassuringly. She let out
a deep breath. "Oh, thank the gods. They're alright."

"Was it a nightmare?" Sesshoumaru asked, reaching for Rin's hand. She clutched onto it
when their digits met.

"Yes, but…something about it felt so different. I've had lucid dreams before, but I just
couldn't shake the feeling that this one was real. I kept seeing these green eyes staring at me,
and so I tried to run away, but no matter how far I ran, they were still watching. And then a
woman spoke, and her voice sounded a little familiar, but I just couldn't place it."

Green eyes? It can't be.

But Sesshoumaru knew it could.

Zero.

How had she found Rin? Was she here? He didn't smell her anywhere—not even outside.
How had she done this?

Rin was still speaking though. "Then she was…she was threatening to…to…." Her words
broke off as her throat choked up, and even more tears sprang to her eyes.

Sesshoumaru growled. "What did she say?"

"S-She said she was going to…r-rip the babies r-right out of me…and eat them!" Rin burst
into sobs.

Sesshoumaru immediately sat on the edge of the bed and helped her sit up so that she could
cry into his shoulder.

But even as he rubbed her back to soothe her, his inner demon seethed.

Zero will not get away with this.

No one threatened his mate and children.

After Rin had calmed down a few minutes later, she sniffed and reached for some tissues
beside her bed. When she had finished blowing her nose and wiping her eyes, she sighed. "I
don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep after that." She looked at the clock. "What day is it
again?"

"Friday."

"…I don't have to go to work then. That's good. That would have been rough."

"Rin," he said to get her attention, and it worked. She looked up at him. He cupped her cheek
and brushed at the remaining moisture there. "I am afraid that was not merely a dream."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a threat. From Zero."

Rin frowned. "Your ex-fiancée?"

Sesshoumaru fought back a cringe. He hated hearing the demoness associated with him like
that, but he could not refute it. "Yes."

Rin's eyes widened in alarm. "Would she really do that, Sesshoumaru? Would she…tear them
out of me and eat them?"

He honestly wasn't sure. Zero did not seem the type to act quite that barbarically. As he
recalled, her methods were more…subtle. She was a spider demon, after all. She wove webs
to catch her prey, letting them fall into deeper depths of fear and despair as their struggled
uselessly to free themselves before she finally came and sucked them dry.

She must have been truly, truly angry to so blatantly threaten Rin.

"Perhaps. Nevertheless, I do not want to leave you so exposed like this anymore. We should
move up our timeline. We need to get you to the estate. Today."

Rin's heart picked up again in panic. "But I still have a whole week of work left, and we're
not nearly finished packing, and—"

"I do not see another way, Rin."

She thought about it. "Okay…okay, what about this? Let me call Kaede in the morning and
see if she has a spell to deter…whatever it is that Zero's doing to reach me. And if you're
really that afraid for my safety…you could stay here, with me."

Sesshoumaru's heart sang. She was finally letting him in.

He was going to ignore the fact that she had only acquiesced to do so because she was in
danger.

"On one condition. If the old woman cannot protect your dreams with a spell, we are leaving,
Rin. I do not like that Zero has access to your mind."

Zero could break Rin from inside—a place where Sesshoumaru could not follow to save her.
He hated feeling so helpless.

Rin nodded. "I can agree to that." She sighed and looked at the clock again. It was two in the
morning. "Should we just go ahead and do some packing now? I'm never going to get to
sleep again."

"Are you still tired?"

She nodded miserably.

Sesshoumaru toed off his shoes and then hauled his legs up onto the bed. He pulled Rin's
head to his chest and laid an arm over her side and stomach as he rubbed her temple and her
belly.

"Rest your eyes, Rin, if you can do nothing else. I will let no harm come to you."

Rin nodded against his chest and dozed. However, she must have underestimated her
tiredness, because after about half an hour, her breathing shifted into that of deep sleep.

As much as Sesshoumaru would have liked to continue holding her just like this until she
woke again, he had to see to a matter that could not wait.

Gently, he laid her down on her pillow and pulled up her duvet over her body. Then he took
her wrist and slowly slipped her bracelet back on, a part of him mourning how his twins'
auras were so quickly extinguished. But it was safest for her.

Now that he knew Zero was not in the immediate vicinity, he felt better about leaving Rin out
of his arms while she slept—although he still would have preferred not to let her go. But he
also did not want to wake her.

He assumed Zero would not try the same trick again so quickly after the first time, so he shut
Rin's door and called Zero's number as he strode into the living room.

Her phone rang and rang and rang, and with each ring, his patience grew thinner and thinner.
What he had to say could not be left to a mere voicemail. But he also could not just drive
back to Tokyo and leave Rin unprotected.

Finally, she appeared to be done toying with him and picked up.

"Only drunks and people in emergencies call at this hour, Sesshoumaru. There's a reason it's
considered rude."

"Says the one who created the emergency."

"Oh? And what emergency could that be?" she asked, her smug tone belying her knowledge.

"Do not play coy with me, Zero. I know it was you who entered Rin's dreams."

"Is that so? And what proof do you have?"

"What makes you think I need proof? Motive has always been enough for me." Zero scoffed.
In response, Sesshoumaru growled. "Whatever anger you have towards me, Zero, direct it
at me—not at Rin. She has done nothing to you."

"On the contrary. That trollop has usurped my position."

The insult made Sesshoumaru see red. "It was never your position to begin with. It was
always hers, though she had no knowledge of it."

"Tsk tsk. As they say in Buddhism, the wicked man is ignorant and needs instruction."

"Instruction, not punishment. You tortured her with threats about eating our children."
"On the contrary, I was merely instructing her on what happens to humans who cross
demons. They like to think that just because they got their hands on some new weapons that
they're now at the top of the food chain. But they have forgotten just what powers we have."

Well, at least she had admitted to her misdeeds—for all the good it did him. "I will warn you
only once, Zero. Cease your threats against Rin and my children."

"Or what, Sesshoumaru? Will you kill me? You'd only create an eternal blood-feud between
our families."

Sesshoumaru clenched his hand. His first instinct was to kill her. But she was right. While he
would call Zero's invasion of Rin's dreams an assault on his mate and a justifiable reason for
retaliation, it had not put her life in danger. Others—namely, Kirinmaru and his retainer, Riku
—would likely not view Zero's death in the same light, no matter how reasonable the former
tended to be.

He needed another way to cow Zero. She had his weakness—he needed hers. But what was
it?

Ah. The answer is so simple.

He could not hold back the smirk as he realized just how to hold her in check, and it leaked
into his words. "Threaten them again, Zero, and I will tell my father exactly what you've
done. Right now, you are still his friend and even someone to be pitied. He still likes you."
Not in the way she wanted, of course, but the desperate always took what crumbs they could
get. "Yet what would he think of you after you threatened to eat his own grandchildren?"

Zero was silent for several heartbeats, and with each one, Sesshoumaru's smirk grew. If she
no can longer reply with barbs, I have her.

Finally, Zero parsed out, "Well done, Sesshoumaru. Instead of using brute force, you are
finally learning how to use an opponent's weakness against her. Very well. If you do not
speak to Touga of what transpired tonight, I will not raise a hand against her again."

He had confirmed it: Zero would rather die than have his father hate her. He would forever
use that to his advantage.

Still, the way she backed down from this fight so quickly left Sesshoumaru feeling uneasy.
There was something she wasn't saying. She was a trickster, after all. If never did to take her
words at face value.

I will not raise a hand against her again.

I.

Ah.

"That includes sending your minions after her, Zero. If you give the order, it counts as your
hand."
"Tch." Sesshoumaru smirked. I caught her. "Yes, yes, neither I nor my minions will harm her.
Are you happy now?" she groused, and from her irritable tone, he knew he had won this
round.

"See that you remember it." And without another word, he hung up.

He stood in silence for a moment, contemplating the conversation. Was Rin truly safe from
Zero now?

His warrior's instincts said he may have won the battle—but certainly not the war. The Zero
he knew was stubborn to a fault. She would not give up on her goal, no matter how much of
her life she wasted. She would take time to regroup and re-strategize. But at least for now, he
had bought Rin a little more time—at least enough for her to finish out her work here as she
wanted before he took her home.

Just then, Rin's voice called out softly—almost hesitantly—from the bedroom.
"Sesshoumaru?"

He was at her side in a minute. "Rin, is something wrong?"

She shook her head and fumbled for his hand in the dark. He grabbed hers, since he was able
to see. "No. I was just…afraid you had left." The final word went unspoken: again.

"I will not leave you, Rin." How many more times would he have to say it before she
believed it? I truly have shaken her faith in me. "I simply had to make sure Zero understood
her place."

"You talked with her?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"She will not touch your dreams again."

Rin sighed and leaned back against her pillow. "Thank goodness. I didn't know what I was
going to do if I had to fear going to sleep." She glanced over at the clock. It was just after
three. She hadn't slept for very long. "I mean, I can't believe I was even able to get back to
sleep earlier. I think…." She ducked her head. "I think it's because you were here with me."

The words warmed his countenance from the frigid one he had just donned with Zero.

"Would you…um…continue to hold me for the rest of the night?" she asked meekly.

"Of course, Rin. Nothing would please me greater."

Though her bed could barely fit a grown demon and a pregnant woman, he turned on his side
and kept himself as close to the edge as he could so that she had the majority of the mattress.
He wrapped his arms around her as she spooned him. He lay there for several minutes,
soaking himself in her scent and the feel of her body once more against his.
 And in this way, Sesshoumaru fell asleep for the first time in a long while.

Chapter End Notes

So, this coming weekend is Labor Day weekend in the U.S., and I will be out of town
once again. Therefore, I cannot promise an update next Monday. While it's possible I
could update then, I make no promises. It may be that I could post on Tuesday instead
though. We'll see. Stay tuned to my Facebook page for updates. Thanks for reading, and
have a great week/long weekend!
 Home Is Where You Are
Chapter Notes

dollar short. 😉
Hey guys! Surprise(?) update! It's a day late but hopefully a dollar more rather than a
(I can't tell you how many times I reworked these scenes to make them

wouldn't go! 😆
better, lol.) I swear, I kept trying to get this couple out of Rin's apartment, but they just
They've leaving though, I promise….

When Rin woke up later that morning, she felt so comfortable that she had completely
forgotten about the ordeal just a few hours prior.

Until she went to turn over and found a giant mass behind her—that mass being
Sesshoumaru. His arm was draped protectively over her hips, like a seatbelt keeping her
fastened to him.

No wonder she had felt so cozy (if a little stiff, given the restrictive size of her bed).

He shifted then, likely in response to her movements, and she took advantage of the moment
to fully turn over and look at him. His vest and shirt were all wrinkled from a night of sleep,
there was a smear of makeup on her pillow from his cheek, and his ponytail had been pulled
all out of proportion, yet the single band of bright sunlight that broke through Rin's curtains
and crossed over him cast him in such an ethereal glow, he looked like a Greek sculpture. He
opened his eyes, and it was blue that met her, not gold.

It was unfair, really, that someone could look so beautiful upon waking up.

"Good morning," she murmured.

"Morning." His sleepy voice was even gravellier than his normal one, and it sent a shiver
down Rin's spine.

"You slept with your contacts in."

He blinked slowly at her, as if registering the words. "So I did."

"And you slept in your clothes."

He shrugged, as if that did not matter.

"Did you sleep well at least?" she asked.

Finally, he smiled and scooted over to kiss her forehead. "Better than I can recall in many,
many months."
"Even on this tiny bed?"

He tightened his arm around her, drawing her just a centimeter or two closer—as much as her
girth would allow. "Because I am in this tiny bed."

It hit her all of the sudden.

She had officially let him into her bed just one week after reuniting with him. Had she just
altered the dynamic of their relationship last night without realizing? Would he expect to
come back to it tonight?

Would he expect more?

…It was too soon after waking up to think about this. She was officially classifying these as
Future Rin's problems.

"I suppose we should get up. We've got to make the most of today, considering I don't have
another day off until moving day," she remarked.

"Are you going to call Kaede?" he asked.

Kaede. Right. She needed some sort of protection from Zero, or Sesshoumaru was going to
drag her to the Nishikuni Estate today whether she liked it or not.

She got up on her elbow to peek over him at her clock. To her surprise, it already read 8:07.
She hadn't expected to actually make up the sleep she had lost during the night like that. "I'll
call her in a bit, after the morning rush is done." She flopped back down. They continued to
stare at each other, and Rin knew then she would never have tired of looking at his face if it
was the only thing she saw for the rest of her life.

But after a moment, she sighed and turned over onto her back, taking the first halfhearted
step to getting out of bed. But she just groaned instead of taking the next step. "You know,
normally I can get out of bed pretty quickly, but for some reason, I just feel like being lazy,
even though I know I have so much to do."

Then she realized why that might be—in this moment, at least. This was the first time she
and Sesshoumaru had woken up to the new day together as a couple. Yes, they had slept next
to each other every night in the tent, and yes, she had taken little snoozes in between bouts of
sex during that final day in the forest. But none of that felt the same as waking up in her
mate's arms after a solid session of sleep.

It was the sort of feeling she had expected to experience that final day in for forest, but then
she had woken up in her car alone.

"There is no rush. Shall I make you something for breakfast?" Sesshoumaru asked, his breath
puffing against her neck. He then nuzzled the shell of her ear, causing it to tingle. Suddenly,
that whole side of her head was acutely attuned to him.

"A-Are you going to eat anything?"

"Depends. Is there something you would like me to eat?"

It took her a couple seconds, but when he started nibbling on her ear, she realized the
question that she had taken literally, he had taken in quite a different direction. Her heart
started racing as she realized exactly where they were. Of course he had been talking in
innuendos. What was she thinking?

Thankfully, her stomach chose that moment to growl, giving her an easy way out.

"U-Um, oh, sorry, I thought you were being serious…about…breakfast. I'm getting hungry."

He chuckled once lowly and pulled back from her ear after giving one final tug. "I was. I
would prefer if you were properly nourished before starting the day's…activities."

Her heart lurched again.

Oh, he's good.

Dang it, but this demon was going to be the death of her. She had to give it to him—he was
trying his hardest to get her to give in. Every sexy word that came out of his mouth was like a
pounding surf crashing against the rock that she was, slowly eroding her resistance away.

She needed to lay down some ground rules here and now.

"Sesshoumaru...I meant what I said the other day. I want to take things slowly. I'm not…
ready to go further yet."

Liar, her libido said. It was true—now that the potential for having sex lay right beside her in
all his delicious glory, she wanted it—wanted to scratch that itch that had built up for seven
months.

But at the same time, she wanted to make sure their relationship was built on foundation
stronger than just sex and their children. She wanted to reaffirm that the connection they had
had in the forest wasn't just the result of her caring for him for days and him saving her from
death.

That, and the man had left her for seven months. The spiteful part of her didn't think he was
deserving to get back in her pants quite yet. She did have some pride, after all.

Even if Kagome had said makeup sex was a wonderful thing.

But Kagome hadn't been grossly pregnant with twins when she had makeup sex, so Rin was
going to stick to her guns and ride this out.

"I understand," Sesshoumaru answered, reaching over and fingering some of her kinky
morning hair. "And I do not want to risk harming the children. But there are still ways I can
love you without doing so, are there not?" he asked, his hand sliding along the edge of her
breast and down her side, creeping along the waistline of her panties and towards the apex of
her legs.
How was she supposed to refute that?

Luckily, her stomach made its protests known once again, and she slapped a hand against his
roaming digits. "Sesshoumaru, I have to stop you right there, because I am just shy
of starving. So in all seriousness, will you be eating anything?" She had barely seen him
consume more than a few bites all week. At most, he nibbled on things during lunch to put on
a show for her coworkers, and at dinner, he had more nibbles but elected to give most of the
food to her.

He paused for a moment as he considered it. Finally, he said, "I think I understand why my
father acts as he does now."

"What do you mean?"

"I have told you I do not need to eat often. The same holds true for my father. Every morning,
he drinks tea as they breakfast, and unless he is away on business, he will always at least eat
dinner with Izayoi and Inuyasha, who do need the sustenance. On weekends, he lunches with
them as well. I never understood why he felt the need before."

"And now?" Rin asked.

"Now I understand he wants to spend every spare moment he can with them, even if that
means eating when he does not have to." He pressed a ghost of a kiss to her ear. "I will take
tea, Rin, if you wish that I should breakfast with you."

She nodded. She would have felt awkward if he sat there eating nothing while she stuffed her
face, but at least tea was something. Her stomach growled something fierce again, and even
the kids gave her a kick, as if to get her moving towards the food faster. She bit her lip in
embarrassment. She had never been so conscious of sounding human around someone before,
but next to a demon, she became aware of all the extra noises her body produced. "Well, why
don't we go do that then? I think all the…excitement from last night's made me extra hungry
this morning."

A flash of annoyance crossed his face at the reminder of Zero's invasion of her dreams, but he
quickly wiped it away. "You take your time getting up. I will prepare it for you. What would
you like?"

A warm feeling fluttered in her chest. Who needed sex when she had a man who would make
breakfast for her? (Okay, in an ideal world, she would have both, and one day she would.
Today was just not going to be that day, she knew.) Still, when was the last time she had been
this spoiled? "I'm feeling traditional this morning. I should have some leftovers in the fridge
to help make it quick."

Sesshoumaru nodded and then gracefully got out of bed. He grabbed his shoes from the floor
and walked out of the room.

As she listened to him busying himself in the kitchen, Rin smiled. It was so odd to hear
another person moving in her apartment like this. She got up and stretched before going
about her morning routine. By the time she was ready, Sesshoumaru was laying out covered
dishes at her table; a pot of tea bookended by two cups sat steaming there as well. The smile
she had been wearing unconsciously all morning broadened. Yet another rarity: having more
than one person sit at this little table. How lucky she was to finally have someone to share it
with.

After breakfast, Rin gathered the dishes, swatting at Sesshoumaru's hand as he tried to take
them from her. "You cooked; it's only fair that I clean."

After a few seconds, he relented. "Very well. In that case, may I use your facilities to freshen
up?"

Freshen up? As in…use her shower?

"O-Of course," she stammered. Why did that unnerve her so much? Kagome had obviously
stayed over before and used her shower.

But thinking of Sesshoumaru being naked just on the other side of her bathroom door….

She swore he could read her thoughts, because he leaned over and murmured in her ear, "I
will keep the door unlocked if you wish to join me."

She attacked the dish she was scrubbing with renewed vigor as a blush fanned across her
cheeks. His hand trailed lightly across her back as he left the kitchen and out the front door.
She was confused by his actions until he came back carrying both a garment bag and a small
duffel. "Will we be staying in for the rest of the day?" he asked as he passed.

"I assume so, unless we need to get more boxes."

"Hm." He took the bags to her bedroom, and a minute later, she heard the bathroom door
close. Then the shower turned on.

You're not going in that shower with him, are you?

No. That at least was easy enough to answer. She was not ready to show him this new body
of hers. Especially not after seeing his elfin face glowing this morning. She could just
imagine what he would look like with water running down the planes of his sculpted chest,
trails following the markings along his body…markings she had neither seen nor traced since
the fall….

She was suddenly very, very tempted to take a peep.

No, bad Rin. Give the man some privacy. Would you want him peeping on you?

Under normal circumstances, yes, but currently, her body would probably only repulse him,
so that wasn't a show she could confidently put on.

Think of something else, she told herself as she finished washing dishes and went back to her
room to grab her phone and text Kaede, asking her to call when it was convenient. When she
was done, she looked up and noticed his bags lying in the corner.
Suddenly, Future Rin's problems seemed to have caught up with her.

This is it. He brought his luggage in. He's moved in for the remainder of our stay here. I can't
possibly kick him out again, can I?

She took a deep breath as she thought it over. You know what? It's okay. Just because we're in
the same, tiny apartment doesn't mean we'll jump each other's bones. We slept in the same
bed last night, and nothing happened. I just have to make sure nothing happens for the next
week. Shouldn't be that hard, right?

So she told herself, but forty-five minutes later, she was dying to use the bathroom. At this
stage of pregnancy, she was lucky to go two hours without having to pee. Sesshoumaru had
turned off the shower half an hour ago, but the hair dryer had been going ever since.
(Admittedly, he did had a lot of hair to dry.) But the second the hair dryer turned off, Rin
lurched towards the door and knocked.

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked.

He opened the door for her, and the sight of him nearly made her heart stop.

He was wearing a towel and only a towel.

"Did you need something, Rin?"

You.

Rin mentally slapped herself. What did I just tell myself about not jumping his bones?

But she couldn't take her eyes off him, tracing those gorgeous stripes encasing his ribs and
the ones that followed the V of his hips….

"Wait…isn't that my towel?" she asked before she could stop herself.

She realized then she hadn't given him a towel to use, but she had a second one hanging in
there for decoration. Wouldn't he have been able to sniff out which was clean and which was
dirty?

She jerked her eyes back up to find him watching her with amusement glittering in his golden
eyes.

"It smelled most strongly of you. Since you declined my earlier invitation, I needed some
way to have your scent upon me."

Rin's facial temperature skyrocketed.

With a devilish smirk, he added, "Do you want it back?"

Rin's head was so overheated, her central processing unit shut down. She could only gape at
him as she tried to derive his meaning.
He reached for the fold of the towel then and started pulling it undone.

"No, wait!" Rin cried out, reaching for his hands to still them.

Of course, she was so flustered that she missed his hands completely and landed straight on
the towel, batting it out of his hands. It started slipping, and faster than she had thought she
could react, she pinned it in place. The back of the towel slipped out of her hold though and
fell around his buttocks, the curtain rapidly pulling back towards his crotch.

Her traitorous hand reached over and slapped the towel in place—right over his penis.

Rin wanted to die right then and there.

All I wanted to do was go to the bathroom. How did this happen?

She didn't dare look up at him. But that meant staring down at his barely-hidden penis, which
—dear gods, was that bulge getting bigger?

"Rin."

She finally chanced to look up. "Yes, Sesshoumaru?"

His gaze on her was molten. "What do you think you're doing?"

"P-Preserving your modesty," she squeaked out.

"For what reason? You have seen everything already."

Because if I see you naked, how am I supposed to resist you, dammit?!

But oh, how her hand ached to creep just a little lower and stroke him. Could she make him
moan like she had before?

Don't be mean, Rin. Teasing kisses are one thing. Teasing like this is entirely different.

But who was to say she couldn't give him a hand job?

Her hand twitched lower, ready to get to work, when she suddenly forced herself to stop.

Sesshoumaru was the kind of lover who gave her twice in return what she gave him. If she
pleasured him now, he would try to do the same for her. Which would mean undressing her.

She didn't want him to see her naked.

She stepped closer, carefully spreading the towel out without revealing any of his lower glory
to her. Then she reached around him to rewrap the towel. Her nose was practically buried in
his sculpted chest at that point, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath as she folded the
towel over his hip.

He smells so good. What is that scent? Aftershave? No, wait, does he even shave? He hadn't
grown a beard the entire time they had been in the woods together. His soap then? Actually,
now that she thought about it, this soap smelled familiar…. Is this my soap too?

She couldn't help it. Her traitorous tongue darted out and licked his nipple.

His chest vibrated beneath her as he growled. "Rin."

She ignored him. Now that her hands were free of his towel, she trailed them upward to
finally trace those stripes along his ribs like she had been wanting to for the last few minutes.
She watched as goosebumps rose in wakes behind her fingers.

Something else rose too, prodding her belly.

Sesshoumaru turned her head to look up at him, and his eyes glinted with promise. "The
towel was not enough. No more teasing, Rin. I want your scent all over me, now." He crushed
his lips to hers, and she moaned into his mouth as he drove his tongue into her well.

Even as her fingers latched around his ribs, wanting to melt into that kiss, the rational part of
her mind screamed at her, knowing that this path could only end in bed. She had to keep that
from happening.

He pulled her closer then so that her arms wrapped around his neck and her body was pressed
against his. But it also put pressure on her abdomen, reminding her instantly why she had
knocked on the door in the first place. Then she got an idea.

She pulled him closer, squeezing her core tighter to keep her bladder closed for just a few
more minutes as she spun him around, backing him towards her room.

Then she pulled back from the kiss and pushed away from him, retreating to the safety of the
bathroom and closing the door so that only her head stuck out. "I'm so sorry, but I need to use
the bathroom."

He frowned. "You used that excuse last time."

She huffed. "Sesshoumaru, seriously, why do you think I even knocked? I'm pregnant. When
I've got to go, I've got to go." Then she slipped inside and shut the door.

From the other side, he said, "That was the last time, Rin. Next time, your panties will get
wet one way or another."

Her mouth dropped just as her panties did.

"You had better be dressed by the time I come out!" she shouted back. "We have lots of work
to do!"

He was silent for several seconds before answering, "As you wish, Rin."

She sighed in relief—well, double relief, as it were.

When she finished, she opened the door to the bathroom and looked across the hallway into
her bedroom, where Sesshoumaru had brazenly left the door open as he was getting dressed.
His back was turned to her, and he was just slipping a pair of black jeans over his gray
boxers. She watched his toned calves disappear into the dark material, and when he fiddled
with the front button, she recalled that her hands had just been right there as well. He reached
over for his shirt, and his back muscles flexed as he pulled the charcoal, V-neck T-shirt over
his head. The fabric fell like a curtain over those delicious indentations. He glanced over his
shoulder at her then with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

He turned around, showing off his casual ensemble—the first she had ever seen him in. The
magenta stripes on his arms drew her eye, wrapping boldly around his lean muscles, which
she followed up to the fitted shirt that let her very comfortably see the soft definitions of his
pecs.

Surely he was doing this on purpose. That shirt was meant to remind her of everything she
had just made him cover up.

Maybe she was doomed after all. Clothed or not, how could she not jump his bones when he
looked like such an Adonis?

"Rin?" he prompted.

She swallowed thickly and tried to deflect. "I'm, uh…surprised to see you in short sleeves. I
didn't think you'd wear them because of your markings."

"They pass for tattoos in this era," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Honestly, I didn't think you owned casual clothing."

"I do not have much. But if we are only packing, they are more practical."

"You should wear those clothes more often," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

A hint of a smirk flashed on his lips. "And why is that?"

Rin glanced away. "You look…really good in them."

"Is that so?" He stalked closer to her. "How good?"

Rin never got to find out what she was going to say, because at that moment, her phone rang.

"That might be Kaede," she said, ducking into her room to get her phone and secretly glad for
an excuse to evade his sinful advances. Sure enough, it was the doctor. Rin answered the call.

"Hi Kaede."

"Hello, Rin. Is everything alright?"

She glanced back at Sesshoumaru, who nodded once. "Actually…not so much. You wouldn't
happen to have any sort of spell that would protect my dreams, would you?"
There was a beat of silence before Kaede said, "Why don't you tell me what this is all about?"
Rin explained, and after a moment, Kaede sighed. "I hate to see you in such danger, dear. I
feared something like this would happen eventually, given your circumstances."

Rin knew the words weren't supposed to be an admonishment, but she felt like they were
directed at her for the series of decisions she made to involve herself with a demon.
"Kaede…."

"Does Sesshoumaru have anything to say about this? I'm surprised he hasn't put forth a
solution."

"Well, he has. But it involves us moving today instead of next week."

"I see." Rin could just imagine Kaede rolling her eyes. "Very well. I can stop by after work to
put up a barrier around your apartment that should keep out malevolent spirits."

"Thank you so much, Kaede! I don't know what I can begin to do to repay you."

"This is not something you need to repay, child. I do this happily for my friend."

Whether it was the work of the barrier or Zero not trying to enter her dreams again, Rin was
able to sleep peacefully the rest of the week. That didn't stop her from being a bundle of
frazzled nerves by the end of it though. She had most definitely underestimated how difficult
it would be to keep Sesshoumaru at arm's length when she herself didn't truly want to.

The last few days, at least, had proved somewhat distracting. Two days prior, her work
friends had wanted to take her out to a farewell dinner after work, and since it had just been
colleagues, she forced Sesshoumaru to stay in her apartment (so he would not wait in the car
in the parking lot) while she was out. By the time she got home, she was so exhausted that
she hadn't even had the energy to pack, so she gave Sesshoumaru a little list of things to pack
and went to sleep alone. She didn't wake up that way, but waking up to an alarm and having
to get ready for work meant there was little time for flirty shenanigans.

And yesterday, between overseeing the last of her duties, having her exit interview with HR,
and making sure that the other nurses would be able to take over her duties as seamlessly as
possible, she had been so busy that she had barely spared a thought for Sesshoumaru all day
until they went home. Then, of course, she was solely focused on the final bits of packing—
in particular, making sure her plant babies were safely cushioned and protected from tipping
over during transit.

To her surprise, both Touga and Inuyasha showed up to help her move that morning.

"Hey Rin," Inuyasha said when she opened the door.

"Hi, welcome back!" she exclaimed, giving her new brother-in-law a hug. Kagome had sent
the family a text the previous afternoon when their plane landed at Narita. Then at three that
morning, she had sent a separate one to Rin, apologizing that she would not be able to help
her move because she had a serious case of jet lag and would probably still be sleeping when
Rin arrived.

When Inuyasha stiffened in her embrace, she pulled back. "Sorry, too soon?"

"Nah, I'm fine with the hug. It's that one who's concerned," Inuyasha rejoined, nodding his
head behind her. She turned around to find Sesshoumaru glaring at his brother.

She frowned in turn. "Don't do that. He's my brother too now," she admonished. And like the
truly soft puppy that he was, Sesshoumaru's glare smoothed out, and he nodded to her in
acquiescence.

"Damn, you really are whipped," Inuyasha murmured.

Sesshoumaru bared his teeth at him.

"Now boys, we don't have time for this. Hello, my dear," Touga said, shoving himself past
Inuyasha to give Rin a hug. "How are you feeling?"

She couldn't lie. "A little overwhelmed. I honestly can't wait until this is all over and done."

"Then let's hop to it. Boys, load up the furniture first. We'll put it in the back, since that's
going straight into storage until you figure out what you'd like to do with it."

"Thank you again so much for that. I'm so sorry to be such a burden, but I promise I'll get rid
of it soon, somehow or another."

"It's not even an issue, Rin. Moving in two weeks is difficult enough—we wouldn't have
dared ask you to try to figure out these particulars when you haven't even seen where you're
living yet. We have a room set up for you, but just say the word, and we can swap out all the
furniture with your own, if it makes you more comfortable. Of course, Sesshoumaru tells me
he's been staying here with you the last week, so you would also be welcome to move into his
room, if you prefer."

Rin swallowed thickly. She had known from the start she would be getting her own room,
and quite honestly, as much as she had enjoyed sharing a room with Sesshoumaru this
week…it had also been a nerve-wracking experience.

She knew she was partly to blame. She had been teasing him mercilessly this week with coy
looks and kisses but never going any further than getting a little handsy. She knew she was
testing his limits—seeing if he really would let her determine the pace of their relationship.
And he had…but that hadn't stopped him from trying to influence her decisions.

For instance, their second night together, he had basically strip-teased her before bed, pulling
off his clothes and only wearing a pair of sleeping pants. Being pressed against his bare chest
that night, it had taken her hours to fall asleep.

Frankly, she was surprised he was still making advances towards her, given how she looked.
But then, clothes hid some of the less-than-flattering details pregnancy had wrought upon her,
so she was certain that actually seeing her naked would give him pause. She didn't want to
see that disappointment on his face.

But it wasn't just the sex appeal that had her softening. He was so attentive to her every need
that she just felt the desire to reward him. She knew exactly what rewards he wanted…but
then she would tease him again, and it all became a vicious cycle, her libido levels fluctuating
as badly as her pregnancy hormones.

So she kept her back to Sesshoumaru as she gave her answer, not brave enough to see the
hurt on his face. "I think I'll keep my own room. For now," she tacked on, hoping to soften
the blow. Just until after the girls are born.

It was her self-imposed deadline. Not only did it give them time to get to know each other
without the sex, but it would allow her body some time to return to normal. She knew there
would still be stretch marks and other changes post-birth, but at least they wouldn't be quite
so hideous once she had resumed her normal shape.

Touga just nodded in understanding and then cracked the whip on the boys to get them
moving.

She watched in awe as they deftly moved out all her furniture, boxes and suitcases as if they
weighed nothing. (How exactly had she fit so much stuff into her apartment?) They didn't
boast their strength ostentatiously by picking up more than the average human man could
handle (there were neighbors watching, after all), but by the time all of her things were in the
truck, none of them had broken into a sweat.

Which was rather unfortunate, she thought, because this was only the second time she had
ever seen Sesshoumaru in casual clothing, and she wanted to see more efforts of his
exertion…like she had when they had had sex.

Okay, time to think of something else, Rin thought, knowing all too well how quickly her
hormones could turn against her.

She pushed the thoughts aside as her landlord came by to do a final walkthrough. Then she
gave him her keys, got into her car, and said goodbye to her home and workplace of the last
three years.

Touga and Inuyasha led the way in the rental trunk on the drive back to Tokyo, while
Sesshoumaru took up his guard post behind her car once again. They drove clear across the
city to the western side, and it felt strange for Rin to bypass her usual exit towards home. The
buildings grew smaller around her the further they got from downtown, and more greenery
started to appear. Then a brick fence rose up, and Rin got the same sort of eerie feeling she
had gotten from the sanctuary—a subtle fear poking at her mind, telling her she shouldn't be
there. But she knew she should, so she kept following the truck for about a block until they
slowed to a stop outside a gate.

As the gate opened, the door to Sesshoumaru's McLaren popped up behind her, and he
stepped out, coming towards her car. Rin rolled down the window.
"Come with me to the gatehouse. We need to register you with the barrier."

"Barrier?" she echoed, turning off her car. She looked over at the wall apprehensively.
"Like…the same sort of barrier over the sanctuary?"

Sesshoumaru nodded.

She swallowed. "Is it…going to make me ill again? I can't risk that spike in blood pressure,
Sesshoumaru. Not with the babies."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a fraction in sad realization. "You tried to get back in."

"I didn't want to leave without talking to you." Her throat grew thick at the memory. "I tried. I
really did, but I just…I couldn't. My heart felt like it was going to burst."

Sesshoumaru reached out and grasped her hand on the steering wheel. "It will never hurt you
again, Rin. Hold my hand, and you will not suffer its ill effects."

He walked hand-in-hand with her to the two-story gatehouse that was probably as large as her
apartment. Sesshoumaru led her inside, past the window where a guard sat on duty. Seeing
them, he stood and bowed as they passed, murmuring, "Welcome back, Sesshoumaru-sama.
Welcome, Rin-sama." Rin's eyes widened, shocked both that he knew her name and also that
he had addressed her so formally. She was about to protest the suffix, but Sesshoumaru did
not stop as he led her upstairs to a security control room, where they found Touga standing
with another person.

Another demon, rather. Because this person sported blunt horns and bat wings.

"Tsukuyomaru, let me introduce you to my other new daughter-in-law, Rin Higurashi."

"Kagome's sister, correct?" the bat demon said, bowing slightly in greeting. "It's a pleasure to
meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Rin answered, bowing as far as her girth allowed.

"Tsukuyomaru is a close family friend," Touga continued. "He is the head of the bat demon
tribe, which creates the barriers that protect us from unwanted guests and allow us to live at
home without needing to conceal ourselves every second."

"How was it then that I was able to enter the sanctuary?" Rin asked.

"Did you have a ticket?" Tsukuyomaru asked. She nodded. "That is how. We configured the
Western Sanctuary barrier to allow those with tickets on their persons to approach and enter
the premises. The setup for the estate here is a little different, given that it is private
residence.

"As with the sanctuary, once family and workers are keyed in, they have unrestricted access
to entering and exiting the estate—although the demonic profiles associated with workers do
track their comings and goings, for security purposes. While we can set up our clients to add
and subtract demonic profiles from our barriers—a necessity, given employee turnover—
humans, with their lack of auras, are a little trickier to input into our systems, hence why I am
here to personally oversee the process. In fact, I was just here a couple weeks ago to add your
sister. So, shall we begin?"

Touga then moved to a safe in a wall that Rin hadn't realized was there. When he opened it,
Sesshoumaru squeezed her hand, as if to keep tight hold of it. The inside of the safe revealed
a red, glass orb containing a piece of coral. Rin wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but
it hadn't been something so…simple.

Tsukuyomaru reached inside and grabbed the orb, which she noticed disconnected from a
port. Even so, the orb glowed at his touch. The bat demon was silent for several seconds
before he said, "Rin-san, please give me your other hand. Sesshoumaru, do not let go yet."
Rin did as instructed, noting how Tsukuyomaru's tanned hand was such a contrast to the
ultra-pale one holding her other. "Good. Now you can let go, Sesshoumaru. I don't need your
energy confusing the orb." Her heart pounded a little harder as Sesshoumaru let go of her
other hand, but while immediately it felt cold, she didn't feel sick. Tsukuyomaru then placed
Rin's hand atop the orb. After a moment, he frowned.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Was it not going to work after all?

"Not wrong, just strange. The orb is picking up several signatures, but I can't determine—"
He stopped. "Are you perchance wearing something that erases demonic auras?"

"Oh, yes! Is that a problem?"

"Ah, that's it. I'll need you to remove it, so I can sort these out."

"Is it safe to take off?" Rin asked.

"You will never have to wear your bracelet inside this barrier, Rin," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Oh, that's a relief. Then could you remove it, Sesshoumaru?" she asked, sticking out her
ankle. He bent down without another word and cupped her calf to support her as he worked
her shoe off and then slipped the bracelet off her ankle.

Tsukuyomaru's hand twitched over hers. "Ah, yes, now I sense them. I recall feeling
Sesshoumaru's mating mark from the wedding a couple weeks ago, but I had not sensed the
children at the time. How interesting," he murmured.

"What's interesting?" Touga prodded.

"Well, it makes sense now why the orb was getting confused earlier. It was picking up on
Sesshoumaru's aura from her mating mark and noted him as already registered. However, it
was also reacting to the children's auras and trying to let them through but at the same time
preventing them. I suspect that is due to the fact that they currently reside within Rin-san.

"Bat demons are clan-oriented, you understand, so our barriers tend to be more permeable to
those of the same family. Touga, it would seem your grandchildren's auras are already strong
enough that the barrier is recognizing them as part of your clan. Rin-san, it's even quite likely
that your pregnancy would have weakened the barrier's resistance toward you. I am almost
tempted to test that hypothesis, for the sake of updating our security practices, but I also don't
wish to place undue strain on you and the children if the barrier does reject you. I know it is
not a pleasant experience."

Rin thought back on the drive earlier. "How close would I have to be to the barrier for the
sickness to kick in?"

"The closer you are, the worse it feels."

Rin nodded. She recalled that from her time at the sanctuary. Back then, she had needed to
get to the other side of the road before she could breathe. Here, she had pulled up just on the
other side of the sidewalk from the fence around the property, which she assumed was also
the edge of the barrier. "I could feel that niggling sense to turn away outside, but it didn't feel
as strong as the last time I tried to break past one of your barriers. I would say it was a little
stronger than when I drove by the sanctuary with my ticket and just had this general sense of
unease though."

"Fascinating," Tsukuyomaru murmured distractedly. Although he did not appear to be doing

anything physical, Rin could tell his mind was somewhere else as he stared at the orb. After
several more seconds, he blinked and smiled. "There, all set. If you remove your hand, you
should find yourself feeling perfectly fine."

Rin tentatively lifted her hand—and felt nothing. She smiled at him. "It looks like it worked."

"Excellent. Touga, since the twins' energies were already so strong, I took the liberty of
keying them in so that you do not have to go through the hassle when they are born."

"Thank you, Tsukuyomaru. I do appreciate that. Can I invite you in for some tea? I'm afraid
Izayoi would have to entertain you for a while as we get Rin settled, but—"

"No, no, I won't intrude today, though I'll take up your offer for another time, if that's alright."

"Absolutely. In fact, we probably should get together and have a discussion about…certain
matters sooner rather than later," Touga added.

Tsukuyomaru nodded. "Of course. Well, I had best be going then. But it was lovely to meet
you, Rin-san. I hope we'll get to see more of you now that your status as Sesshoumaru's mate
has been made public. I'd love for you to meet my daughter, Shiori. I feel you two would get
along swimmingly."

"I would be happy to meet her," Rin answered.

Tsukuyomaru donned a hat to cover his horns and threw on light trench coat that hid his
folded wings. Touga walked out with him, and Sesshoumaru led Rin back to her car.

When everyone was back in their vehicles, the gates opened, and she followed the rental
truck inside. The brick fence was like a barrier between civilization and nature, for once she
passed, she felt swallowed by it. The driveway passed underneath an archway of behemoth
trees. They seemed as large around as the Sacred Tree, and she knew it was hundreds of years
old. How old were these? Were they original to the property?

Rin felt some of her anxiety about moving in melt away just then. It's beautiful here—like a
little oasis in the middle of Tokyo.

She couldn't believe this place was going to be her new home—and she hadn't even seen
where she was going to actually live yet. But already she loved the cozy feel of being tucked
away in nature alongside the relief of knowing they were still within the limits of urban
convenience.

Only a few hundred meters in, the driveway branched off, and she noticed Sesshoumaru pull
onto that road towards a building that made Rin do a double-take. The roof was styled like
that of a traditional Japanese building, but it was two stories tall, and there was a row of five,
sleek garage doors, one of which started rising as Sesshoumaru approached it. Rin didn't have
a chance to peek inside as the trees lining the main road blocked her view again, but already,
she was starting to get an idea about the Nishikuni Estate. Simply, it was a blend of
traditional and modern.

She had rotated through so many homes as a child, she had tried to stop comparing them, so
that she would not get her hopes up or miss what she had lost, because missing the past did
nothing to help her present self. But she had never quite been able to staunch the initial
bubble of hope or disappointment that followed when she saw her new residence for the first
time. And right now, her bubble of hope grew bigger and bigger.

With so much natural land, she could not imagine a better place for the twins to grow up. She
smiled just thinking about all the picnics they could have or how they could play hide-and-
seek amongst the trees. Maybe they could even climb some. The girls would be half-demons,
after all. They could probably jump from tree to tree when they got older.

The trees on the left fell away when a cobblestone path branched off the road. The truck
turned onto the path that led towards a traditionally styled manor. Rin couldn't keep her
mouth from dropping. She felt as if she had stepped back in time.

The L-shaped house was painted in bold red and white with a dark tile roof. In the crook of
the L lay a pond, and a connected room had been built on stilts overlooking it. There was
even a bridge that crossed over from the engawa to a garden path on the other side of the
pond. Rin hoped the rice-paper windows along that room were actually doors she could
throw open so she could sit inside and look over the garden.

The bubble of excitement inside her just kept growing and growing.

Then she spotted something that made it burst.

She shrieked and jumped when someone tapped at her window. On the other side,
Sesshoumaru frowned. Rin turned off the car and opened the door.

"I did not mean to frighten you," Sesshoumaru said, helping her out.
"No, it's okay." How did he get here so fast? Didn't he park in that garage a little ways
back? "It's just…Sesshoumaru…is that who I think it is?" she asked, pointing covertly to the
white-haired woman waiting outside the main door on the engawa.

His mouth flattened. "Yes, that is my mother."

Rin had forgotten all about Sesshoumaru's mother. She had never met her, and Sesshoumaru
had not spoken of her except in passing. Though she now recalled Inuyasha had spoken her
at the Foundation Day dinner, but at the time, his brother had meant nothing to her, so Rin
paid it little attention.

It dawned on her that she was now about to meet her future mother-in-law.

Or was she already her mother-in-law? This whole demon-custom versus human-custom
thing was still throwing her for a loop.

"Sesshoumaru, be honest with me. Does she hate me? I wouldn't doubt it if she did. She
probably thinks I trapped you into this—"

"Rin, do not fret," Sesshoumaru said, cupping her cheek and bringing her attention back to
his warm honey eyes. "My mother and I are…very alike. Just as you have made me open to
you, I trust you will one day do the same to her. And no one thinks you trapped me into
anything. I gave you the mating mark. Everyone is aware of what that means."

Rin swallowed, still not completely reassured. Sure, it had only taken her ten days to wear
down Sesshoumaru's cold exterior towards her, but she had had the power of sex appeal on
her side. She would not have the same with his mother. She glanced one more time at the
regal woman, who was dressed in a formal kimono and wearing a large, fur boa. "W-What's
her name?"

"Inukimi. But you should call her 'Mother.'"

"Oh no, I couldn't. I haven't earned that right," Rin protested. And no doubt, she would think
me impertinent if I did. No, better to be on the safe side and call her Inukimi-san. No,
Inukimi-sama. They seem to use that suffix here. Better to be too polite than not enough when
meeting your in-laws.

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed. "How have you not earned the right? You are my mate and
the mother of my children. Besides, she needs to get used to hearing you say it, so that it will
sink into her stubborn mind."

Hearing Sesshoumaru call someone else stubborn made her laugh, easing the tension in her
shoulders a bit. Sesshoumaru just raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes…alright. I suppose you
know your mother best."

"Perhaps. Now come. Let us get this over with."

Rin took deep, calming breaths as Sesshoumaru led her to the entrance of the house. She
noticed neither Touga nor Inuyasha joined them, electing instead to open the back of the
truck and start fishing through the trailer.

When they climbed the couple steps of the engawa to where Inukimi stood, Rin bowed as
low as she could—which really wasn't all that low. She used her most proper Japanese.
"Greetings, M-Mother. My name is Rin Higurashi. It is a pleasure to meet you."

She heard a soft "tch" at the word "mother," but otherwise, Inukimi did not remark upon it.
Or anything. After several seconds of keeping her head bowed, Rin cautiously popped back
up to find Inukimi giving her a thorough once-over.

Then, she turned to her son. "Really, Sesshoumaru, I expected more of you. If you had to
inherit your father's proclivities, I assumed you would have inherited his tastes as well. At
least I understood what drew Touga to Izayoi—she's beautiful, for a human. But this one?
Quite average—and so small too. Well, stature-wise, at least. But I hear twins do distort one's
figure so."

Rin fought back tears. Normally, she would never have let such words get to her—she had
heard worse in her youth, and everything Inukimi had said about her was true, after all. She
was so plain compared to Sesshoumaru, it was a wonder he ever saw anything in her. But for
those to be the first words her mother-in-law lobbied at her still hurt, and the hormones
loosened up her tear ducts.

But she could not let them fall. Not now. Later, in privacy, but not now. She wanted to speak,
but she didn't know what to say.

Sesshoumaru's hands tightened on Rin's shoulders, and he growled,

"Mother, enough. Apologize to Rin. She does not deserve your ire."

"Doesn't she? She seduced my son and got herself with child—something so easily
preventable nowadays. That is called entrapment, Sesshoumaru. Or am I wrong?" she asked,
turning to Rin with a haughty glare.

Rin realized then she must have heard them speaking by her car. She had been so panicked,
she forgot Sesshoumaru was not the only one who could hear so well.

But if there was only one impression she could leave on Inukimi today, it would be one of
truth.

Rin straightened, and though tears blurred her vision, she steeled her voice. "If you think
Sesshoumaru could fall for any trap I set, then I think you greatly underestimate your son."
Inukimi's brows rose in surprise. "It's true that we were not careful, and I accepted the
consequences for that. But make no mistake: I want these children, and I was determined
from the start to have them, whether Sesshoumaru was there or not. I did not ask him to mate
me. I did not ask him for money or a mansion to live in or even his love. I asked him if he
wanted to be in our daughters' lives, and he said yes. Whatever he has done since has been
entirely his decision."

Rin couldn't read the look in Inukimi's eyes, but Sesshoumaru's grip relaxed ever so slightly
on her shoulders.
Inukimi blinked once, as if bored. "As Sesshoumaru has not denied it, I must take your words
for the truth. However, if you believe you have no influence over my son's behavior, you are
either very dense or putting on a show of modesty. And I do so detest false modesty."

"I never said I didn't. I only said Sesshoumaru makes his own decisions."

Rin held Inukimi's gaze for several seconds, not daring to look away. They were dog demons,
after all, and she knew to look away was to surrender.

Finally, Inukimi sighed and closed her eyes. "You have a backbone—I'll give you that." She
opened her eyes and looked at Sesshoumaru. "Her room has been set up next to yours, as you
requested, son. At least you have spared me the knowledge that you will be sharing quarters."

Rin was sorely tempted to change her mind in that moment and say she would be sleeping
with Sesshoumaru, thank you very much, but she didn't want to give Sesshoumaru hope when
all she was doing was using the offer out of spite. So she put on her best nursing-professional
mask and bowed again. "Thank you for going to so much trouble…Mother." She tacked on
the word to irritate her. Just a little.

"Hm. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be—"

"Hey Rin, do you want these inside or outside?" Inuyasha barked, walking up towards them
with a plastic tub full of plants. Rin breathed a sigh of relief. Leave it to Inuyasha to dispel
such awkward family tension.

Inukimi's eyes widened as she took in the tub. "Did she bring a whole greenhouse?" she
asked derisively.

"This isn't even all of it. Dad's bringing the other tub," Inuyasha answered. He turned back to
Rin. "So?"

"Umm, I don't…I mean, I haven't even gone inside yet to know—"

"Put them in front of the window in the living room, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru cut in.

Inukimi frowned. "They are not staying there."

"These plants are precious to Rin, and she tends them well. To leave them outside would
invite pests. She will place them inside wherever she wishes, Mother. This is her home now
too."

Too? Did that mean his mother lived in this house as well?

Oh gods—why hadn't he told her?

Suddenly, she was a child again, doing her best to appease the newest family to take her in
but already feeling that it wasn't going to be the most welcoming. "I-I can just keep them in
my room, provided there's a window with decent sunlight," she added meekly.
"The living room receives the best light. Put them there, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru
commanded.

"You hear that, Dad?" Inuyasha threw over his shoulder as he stomped past them and into the
house.

"Yes, son," Touga answered quietly as he came by carrying Rin's next load of plants. He
briefly met Inukimi's eyes and dipped his head. "Good afternoon, Inukimi."

"Is it?" she scoffed. "I was rather enjoying the utter silence of the past two weeks with
everyone but Izayoi gone."

A dimple appeared between Sesshoumaru's brows. "Where were you, Father?"

"Just seeing to some things at the sanctuary while you were away, son. That's all," he
murmured, brushing past them and into the house just as Inuyasha walked out.

"Hey, are you just gonna stand around there and yap all day? This is your mate's stuff we're
haulin'," Inuyasha griped at his brother.

Sesshoumaru sneered back at him. "I need to see Rin settled first."

Just then, a loud, squeaky voice wailed, "Sesshoumaru-samaaaaa!"

Rin yelped in surprise as a small, green, toad-like man came running out of the house like his
pants were on fire. To this day, she had only ever seen humanoid demons; she hadn't realized
the ones drawn in lore still existed.

Is this the "retainer" Sesshoumaru bought that booster seat for?

The toad latched onto Sesshoumaru's leg and looked up at him with tears streaming down his
eyes. "Milord, where have you been?! You left two weeks ago with nary a word, and I have
not heard from you since! I was afraid you had gone and gotten lost again! It did not help that
every time I asked your lady mother if she had news of you, she only turned away—" This
statement earned a "tch" from the woman in question. "And your lord father vanished as
well! Why do you do this to me, milord? Why?"

"Jaken, enough," Sesshoumaru said.

Like turning off a faucet, the waterworks ceased, and Jaken leapt off Sesshoumaru, bowing
his head. "Apologies, milord. My emotions overcame me." Jaken glanced over at Rin then
and looked up, his eyes darting back and forth between her belly, her face, and the arm
Sesshoumaru had wrapped around her. "Um…milord…who's this?"

"This is Rin. She is my mate and the new lady of the house," Sesshoumaru answered calmly.
Inukimi's lip curled at that last remark, and Rin spoke up to protest it, but Jaken's screech cut
her off.

Jaken smiled and nodded sagely. "Oh, yes, of course, your mate." His eyes popped wide open
a second later, and he recoiled so hard, Rin was afraid he'd fall over. "Y-Y-Your whaaat?! B-
B-But how? When? Who? …She's human, my lord! And pregnant, at that!"

Sesshoumaru glared at him. "What of it?"

Rin had a feeling Jaken changed whatever it was he was about to say under the force of that
withering stare. "C-Con…gratu…lations….?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Lead her to the Peony Room, Jaken."

"Oh, is that why that room's been opened up?" In a lower, grumblier voice, he added, "Why
doesn't anyone tell me these things?"

"Jaken."

"Y-Yes?"

"Take her now. She needs to rest." He turned to her then and reached over, tucking a stray
strand of hair behind her ear and letting his thumb trail across her cheek as he did. His
mother's eyes widened. "We will bring in your things in the meantime."

"No, Sesshoumaru, I should at least be here to tell you what goes and what stays."

He shook his head. "I remember what is what, and even if I did not, you labeled everything
well. If you get to your room and see a need for furniture, you may tell us. However, you are
not to lift a thing. If you want something moved, tell Jaken to do so."

Rin smiled wryly at him. "I won't strain myself by lifting boxes, but I'm perfectly capable of
unpacking them, Sesshoumaru."

"That may be so, but at the lady of the house, you need not do so." With that, he returned to
the truck. Rin looked down at Jaken, who was unabashedly staring her up and down.

"R-Right this way…milady," Jaken said with a bow, leading her past Inukimi, who took a
seat on a bench in the garden and watched the boys at the truck like an overseer.

"Oh, please, there's no need to be so formal. Rin will do just fine," she replied as she
followed him inside.

"Milord made sure to mention you were the new lady of the house. Of course I must address
you as such." He darted a quick look behind him, as if to double-check that Sesshoumaru—or
perhaps Inukimi—was not behind them.

"But I'm no lady. I'm just an ordinary girl," Rin answered.

"Hmm, yes, well, true as that may be, you are Sesshoumaru-sama's mate, which means you
are no longer as ordinary as you might like to believe. Besides, you carry Sesshoumaru-
sama's offspring. His heirs. You will be afforded all due respect as their mother."

"Will I?" Rin murmured, looking around the hallway he led her through. Despite the
traditional exterior, the interior appeared to have been remodeled. The classical artwork that
would have decorated the doors and walls of such a manor centuries ago were installed as
panels against sheet-rock walls, and Western-style doors punctuated the L-shaped hallway.
Though the artwork was beautiful, there were no family portraits or photos to be seen. It felt
more like a museum. So…impersonal.

Jaken glanced back at her, his yellow eyes squinting in consideration. Finally, he murmured,
"If this is about milord's lady mother…you need not feel singled out by her ire." His tone
grew louder and louder as it took on the plaintive tone of a long-suffering servant. "I have
served milady for the last century and a half since milord chose to reside with her, and
she still refuses to call me by name, although I have told it to her ten thousand times!"

Rin giggled as she watched the demon huff and puff down the hall. She wondered if this was
her way to start bonding with the little guy. "She certainly has a commanding presence. I can
see where Sesshoumaru gets it from, although it can also make them a little…standoffish."

"I am pleased to see that you can appreciate Sesshoumaru-sama's majesty so well! Indeed,
with that mindset, you will make a fine wife for him indeed." Rin bit back a smile. Jaken was
such a simp, and it was actually kind of adorable. He continued chattering. "In milady's case,
she will leave you alone if you leave her alone—unless you are Sesshoumaru-sama, of
course, for she makes it her business to know what he's up to—but if you stoke her ire, you
had best be prepared to fight off the flames!"

She winced as he all but shouted that last part. Isn't he afraid of her overhearing him? Still,
he had lived this long without losing his head, so apparently, he knew when he could speak
against his masters and when he could not.

Still, if Jaken was Sesshoumaru's right-hand man, her mate had afforded him some respect, so
she figured a little flattery couldn't hurt to help her get into his good books. It was obvious he
was still skeptical that she could be worthy of his master. "You have such a way with words,
Jaken-san! Thank you for your insight. I'll be sure to keep it in mind as I settle in."

"Yes, well…that's good. Very good. Milord will be of no help to you in handling his mother,
because he tends to simply ignore her. She tolerates it from him but will not tolerate it from
others," Jaken answered, now seemingly having settled into his role of instructor. He then
stopped in front of a Western-style door in the center of the hallway, got up on his tiptoes, and
turned the knob. "Now, here we are, at the Peony Room. Sesshoumaru-sama's room is just
next door," he added, pointing to a door they had just passed.

She saw immediately why it was called the Peony Room. The walls were covered in ancient,
peony-patterned wallpaper. Plush carpet covered the floor, and a queen-size bed with a
peony-patterned comforter dominated the space. A dresser in front of the bed held a flat-
screen TV atop it, and a desk rested under a modern window on the right.

"It also has en suite bathroom," Jaken said, pointing to a closed door on the left side of the
room. "Can I get you something to drink as you wait for milord?"

"Yes, thank you, Jaken-san. Just some water would be lovely," Rin answered, taking a seat on
the bed.
"Right away, milady," he said, scampering off.

No sooner was he gone than the three dog demon men came gliding in, carrying boxes.

"Where do you want these, Rin?" Inuyasha asked.

"Just line the walls anywhere. I'll sort it out later," she said. Looking around the room, she
added, "By the way, I think I will end up needing my bookshelf, when you get to that."

"Certainly," Touga said. "We'll go get the next load." He and Inuyasha left, but Sesshoumaru
stayed behind, watching her.

"Are you well?" he asked, coming over to her.

"I'm okay. Just…processing," she sighed. She glanced over at the door, not wanting someone
to overhear her next words, and he must have recognized the look, because he went over and
closed it.

"Say what you need to say, Rin. The house is soundproofed."

Oh, that was a relief. She didn't know how she was going to be able to live with having
absolutely no privacy around multiple dog demons. "So…your mother lives here too?" she
asked.

"Yes."

"I see."

He paused only for three seconds before saying, "I will hire an architect this very week to
draw up plans for a new home for us, Rin."

Rin looked up at him in surprise. "No, you don't have to do that for me! There's plenty of
room here for us and the girls, and…I don't want you to have to…run away, just
because I'm uncomfortable."

"I have run away from home once before. I have no problem doing so again."

"You have?" She couldn't imagine that.

"Yes. After my father left to be with Izayoi. I spent over five and a half centuries wandering
the land. Very rarely did I return home. Not until we had to settle here, like this."

He said the words so nonchalantly, and none of his feelings came through the bond to her, but
she could read between the lines.

A son had been so upset by his father leaving to be with another family, that he could not
stand being in his own, emptier home anymore.

"Sesshoumaru," she said, getting up and walking over to him. She clasped the back of his
neck and brought his head down, pushing up on her tiptoes to press a firm kiss to his lips.
When she pulled away, he looked at her, perplexed. To answer his unspoken question, she
said, "I hope that the home we create for our daughters is one you only ever want to come
back to—not one that pushes you away."

His eyes widened slightly in understanding, and his lips quirked upwards in a tiny, soft smile.
Her brought his hand up to hers and slowly pulled it forward so that he was able to turn and
gently kiss her palm. "My home is wherever you are, Rin. I will never run away again."

She smiled. "And I will not run away from your mother. Change is uncomfortable for
everyone, but we'll get used to it. I'll do my best to win her over."

"I have no doubt of it," Sesshoumaru answered. "But if it ever becomes too much, you need
only say the word, and we will move."

"I understand. But I don't want to be enemies with your mother for the rest of my now very
long life. I want to at least try to get along. I mean…if she and your father can live on the
same land, there's hope for me, right?"

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched back down. "Perhaps."

A hint of unease passed through their bond. She squeezed the hand wrapped around hers.
"Sesshoumaru, what is it?"

"They had a rather large…disagreement a couple weeks back. I fear it altered the détente of
their relationship."

Rin's heart panged. Sesshoumaru might have had a hard time showing it, but just like
everyone else, he too worried about his parents.

And given both Inukimi's line of questioning outside as well as her similar personality, Rin
was positive that the demoness was simply worried for her son, who probably appeared to be
acting very out of character lately to someone who had known him for fourteen hundred
years.

Rin resolved then that she would do everything in her power to reassure Inukimi that she
would treat Sesshoumaru with all the love and care he deserved. Because in the end, wasn't
that all a mother desired for her child?
 Baby Fever
Chapter Notes

Okay, I packed a LOT of stuff in this chapter for you guys (trying to get to the smut in as
few updates as I can, lol). Most of the middle I ended up writing spur-of-the-moment
yesterday (so I apologize if it isn't as refined as the beginning and end), but I realized I
needed to put it there for chronological reasons. I hope you enjoy it.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

After all of her things had been brought inside, the first thing Rin did was spray down her
plants in the living room, since they hadn't had water in almost twenty-four hours,
specifically because of the move. She was contemplating just what to do with them. She had
been so used to keeping them all on a single table in front of the window in her apartment,
but now she had room to spread them out. Her plants were so easy to care for when they were
all grouped together, but if she divided them, would she forget any on accident in this new
space?

Just then, the front door opened, and she jumped in surprise, not expecting it.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called out.

"Kagome!" Rin cried out, waddling over to the doorway. Kagome made it there before she
did and peeked in. When she saw her little sister, she made a beeline for her and wrapped her
in a hug.

"Ahhh, welcome back!" Rin cried out. "How was your trip?"

"It was amazing!" In true Kagome fashion though, she got distracted by her surroundings as
she looked around the room, nodding in approval. Then she spotted the tubs of plants and
smiled. "I see you're making yourself at home."

Rin smiled sheepishly. "Guilty. But I don't know where to put them. I thought maybe I should
just bring them all to my room. I have a window, and I don't want to impose…."

"Nonsense! I haven't been to this house before, and it's just as pretty as Touga's, but it's
distinctly less…homey. Kinda looks more like a catalogue than a home. I say litter the house
in plants. They'll add a cozy touch."

"I thought so too," Rin whispered, still conscious of her mother-in-law popping up
unexpectedly. "Come on, let's go to my room. We can talk more there."

"Your room?" Kagome echoed as Rin led her down the hallway. "As in…a solo room and not
one you share?"
Rin nodded as she led Kagome inside and shut the door. Kagome's brows rose with the
information. "Can I ask why?"

"What do you mean, why? If you count all the time we've spent in each others' company, it
hasn't even been a month. Even you weren't sleeping with Inuyasha—let alone living with
him—after a month."

"True…but I also wasn't pregnant with his children or his mate either. That changes things."

Rin shrugged noncommittally. "I just…need my own space is all."

"Hey, I'm not judging. I totally get it. I'm just a little confused because…well, I know you let
Sesshoumaru stay in your apartment this past week. And somehow, I doubt he stayed on the
couch. Poor boy finally gets to get out of his car and into your bed, and now you've kicked
him out again?"

"Wait, what do you mean, 'Get out of his car?'"

Kagome's hand went to her mouth. "Oops."

Rin frowned. "Wasn't he staying in a hotel?"

Kagome winced. "Not exactly. I mean, I think he went to shower and stuff, but for the most
part, he just stood guard outside your apartment all night. The only reason I know is because
he would text with Touga and Inuyasha at times."

Rin's heart dropped. So he hadn't just gotten lucky every morning by getting the same
parking spot. He had never left it. And now it made sense how he had reacted so quickly the
night of Zero's dream attack.

Rin sat down on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands. "Oh gods. I'm a horrible
human being. Why didn't he tell me? He told me he would never lie to me, and he said he got
a hotel room—"

"Which he did," Kagome interjected. "So, technically, not a lie."

"But not the whole truth either—and a total waste of money!"

"I think money is the least of Sesshoumaru's concerns."

"It doesn't matter! I left him outside all night like he was some bad dog I was punishing!"

"Well, to be fair, he had been a bad dog for seven months by leaving you—"

"But I've already forgiven him for that!"

"Maybe so, but you don't have to let him get a big head about it. Make sure he knows not to
cross you! Make sure he knows who wears the pants in this relationship! He can't just waltz
in and expect you to open yourself back up completely to him. You know what? I've changed
my mind. You should totally keep this room to yourself. Make the boy wait before you give
him what he wants."

"Kagome!" Rin said, slapping her arm. I'm already doing that, and it's killing me as much as
it's killing him. She ran her hands over her hair. "That's not…exactly why I'm keeping him at
bay."

"It's not?" Kagome asked, sitting down on the bed.

"I'm just…really self-conscious about how I look right now. I wanted to wait until after the
twins were born," Rin mumbled, rubbing her stomach.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense," Kagome replied. "Though to be honest, I don't think
Sesshoumaru will care. I mean, I can't say I knew him all that well before the wedding, but
even I can tell the difference between how he acts with you and how he acts with everyone
else. You've got him wrapped around your finger, girl. The man is freakin' besotted.
Inuyasha's honestly pretty grossed out by it. He just shivers for no reason sometimes, and
when I ask, he says it's because he's recalling something Sesshoumaru did around you, like
smile or hold your hand."

Rin laughed. "That's all? He's not even recalling us kissing?"

"Oh, I think he'd vomit if it came to that. He does not like to recall just how long your sex
marathon was to result in those babies," Kagome said.

Rin groaned, hiding her face. "I still can't believe you blurted that out to him like that. Is
nothing sacred to you?"

"Hey, Inuyasha needed to know what he's up against. I swear, I've never seen a man so
competitive—and it's ten times worse if he's competing with Sesshoumaru. In this case
though…I kind of wanted him to be competitive, given that it was our honeymoon and all,"
Kagome hedged with a sly smirk.

Rin's mouth dropped open. "And? Come on, you promised to give me all the juicy details.
Like, did he mark you?"

"See for yourself," Kagome said, pulling aside the collar of her shirt. There were four dark
pink marks there, still fresh from losing their scabs.

"Yours looks so different from mine," Rin said, touching her neck. "Mine's all discolored."

"That's probably on account of Sesshoumaru's poison. Inuyasha doesn't have that, so it's
literally just bite marks with me."

"So…was that actual mating any different from your normal sex?"

Kagome squirmed in her seat. "Yeah…in more ways than one."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kagome bit her thumbnail, trying and failing to keep the secret smile off her lips. "Well, for
one, it was the first time we did it without any sort of protection."

Rin's mouth dropped open. "Really? Why? Are you guys already trying to have a baby?"

"Well, we weren't trying necessarily, but we discovered that it was kind of necessary for the
process. The whole mate marking thing is really instinctual, after all."

Rin frowned. "Right…but what does that have to do with protection?"

Kagome took a deep breath. "So, things were obviously kinda hectic after the wedding, so we
waited to go through with it until we got to Hawaii. And the first night, Inuyasha did try to
mark me. But he said that while the urge was there, like last time we did it with him in his
normal form, it just wasn't overwhelming. Something didn't feel quite right to him, and he
didn't want to risk anything going wrong with the mating process as a result.

"So he talked it over with his dad, trying to figure out if he was doing something wrong or if
it was just because he was a half-demon and the instincts weren't as strong. Touga did some
reading up on it, and would you believe demons have actually studied mating bonds and
practices over the years? I mean, like any humans in academia, they've also got demons
trying to better understand their species. But mating marks are so rare that there's not much
written about them. Still, he found some studies with some interesting hypotheses.

"So, as rare as mating is, it's even rarer today than it was a hundred or more years ago. Part of
it is due to population decline, of course, but the researchers also think the emergence of
contraception is to blame as well. Basically, the urge to mark a mate is incredibly primal, and
it's tied to the most basic instincts an animalistic demon can have: to procreate. But sex is
incredibly psychological as well as physical. So, Inuyasha wondered if maybe his instincts
weren't totally kicking in because a part of him knew that between the pills and the condoms,
there was a very slim chance of any baby-making happening."

Well, that hypothesis certainly aligned with what happened between Rin and Sesshoumaru.
She would have to ask him if he felt the urge to impregnate her or not. He had been so
shocked by her condition at the wedding though that she was inclined to doubt it. Maybe it
was just so instinctual, it didn't register.

"So he asked if we could try doing it, ah…au natural just once to see if anything changed.
Sure enough, it did. He said the instinct was much stronger that time, and coupled with the
different, uh…physical sensations, he was able to mark me. We went back to using protection
after that though, just because, well…we weren't quite sure we were ready for a baby yet. I
mean, we just got married, after all."

"But you could be pregnant right now," Rin said.

Kagome shook her head. "No. I started my period a few days ago. No baby for me." She
nudged Rin on the shoulder with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "We can't all get
pregnant on the first shot like you can."

The way Kagome said it though, she didn't sound as relieved as Rin would have thought.
"Kagome…did you want a baby?"

Her sister shrugged. "I admit, you've given me a bit of baby fever, but I know that's just me
getting caught up in the excitement of it all. Still, I told myself if it was supposed to happen,
it would happen, and I'd be okay with it. But I guess I didn't give as much thought to if I'd be
okay with it if it didn't happen. Maybe I was a little disappointed, yeah. But it's probably for
the best. Inuyasha and I need time to adjust to married life first."

"And does Inuyasha feel the same way?"

"I think so. It's kind of hard to tell. I think he caught on that I was a little more disappointed
than expected when my period started the other day, and he was trying to cheer me up, saying
it wasn't like this was our only chance or anything. When I asked him if he wanted a baby, he
just shrugged and said. 'I mean, it might be nice.' I don't know if he's trying to downplay his
feelings or if he really doesn't care one way or the other. I think he wants some time alone for
just us too, but he's also lived so much longer than I have, so I imagine by now
he would want one…."

Rin didn't quite know what to say, so she aimed for a little humor. "Well, you know that baby
fever's only going to get worse when the twins are born and you two have chubby babies to
snuggle," she teased, waggling her eyebrows.

"Ugh, don't tell me that!" Kagome exclaimed, flopping back on the bed.

Rin laid herself gently next to her. "Think about it. They'd have a cousin so close in age, and
you'd have perpetual playmates for your kid."

Kagome glared at her. "Are you trying to convince me to have a baby?"

Rin shrugged. "Just stating the facts. But obviously, don't force yourself if you and Inuyasha
aren't ready."

Kagome tapped her stomach. "I know. But I also can't stop the nagging feeling in my head
telling me that I'm thirty-two years old, and I'm running out of time." She sighed. "Strange
how even being granted a longer life doesn't give us more chances at kids. If we want them,
we have a limited window to have them. So in that sense, nothing's changed."

"I completely understand," Rin answered.

After a moment of silence, Kagome clapped once and sat up. "Well, who knows! Maybe
throwing your baby shower will get me in such a mood, I'll finally make up my mind.
Speaking of which, is there a time in June that works best for you? You're about to pop, girl,
and we need to get this show rolling."

Rin groaned as she pushed herself up into a seated position, feeling very much indeed like
she was about to pop. "I am officially jobless and confined to this estate, Kagome. I have
nothing but free time. Except for doctors' appointments. Speaking of, I think my first one
with that demon doctor is this week…."
"And you have to go create a registry for the baby shower too. Also, don't forget that we have
to go visit Dad's grave sometime to introduce him to Inuyasha—and Sesshoumaru too, I
guess."

"Wow, this is going to be a busier week than I thought," Rin said. Maybe she could get
Sesshoumaru to do the baby registry with her after her doctor's appointment, since they'd
already be out. "It might actually be kind of nice not to have to work."

"Mmm, well, I've still got work at the shrine, but I'll talk with Mom about the grave visit.
Would next weekend work?"

"I think so," Rin answered.

"Cool. It's settled then. I'll work on invitations then, and once you have your registry done, let
me know, and we'll draw up a list of invites and get them out."

Rin nodded in agreement. After a moment of silence, she sat up and scooted off the bed,
saying, "So…now that you've divulged your sex life to me, why don't you tell me about all
the non-sex stuff you did on your honeymoon? And while you're at it, help me unpack."
Kagome was more than happy to oblige.

Kagome stayed over for the rest of the day so they could catch up, and they raided the fridge
for dinner, as they were wont to do. Sesshoumaru must have smelled what they were cooking,
because he came in a few minutes later.

"Hey, big brother," Kagome said, and Rin snickered at the grimace that warped
Sessohumaru's face. "What are you doing here?"

"I told Rin I would partake in meals with her from now on," he answered.

Kagome's brows shot up. She looked to her sister for confirmation, and Rin nodded. "But you
don't have to tonight if you don't want to, Sesshoumaru. Kagome's here with me. We're
having girl chat, so if you don't want your ears to burn off, you might want to make yourself
scarce anyway," Rin added with a grin.

Sesshoumaru's brow rose. "Girl chat?"

Now a wicked smirk crossed Kagome's features. "Well, now that we're both mated to
brothers, we're trying to understand demon ways better, so we've been…making
comparisons."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "What comparisons?"

"Kagome," Rin warned, although she couldn't help the undercurrent of laughter in her tone.

Her sister ignored her. "Oh, you know, the usual things: endowments and endurance."

Rin waited for the words to register with Sesshoumaru, but he did not seem fazed at all. In
fact, his simply closed his eyes and replied, "Then it will be obvious to you by now that I
surpass Inuyasha in all such matters."

Kagome's mouth dropped open, and Rin broke out into a fit of laughter. She loved
Sesshoumaru's deadpan humor, and she was glad Kagome was able to experience it.

"I am now very tempted to have a sibling orgy, just so you can put your money where your
mouth is," Kagome announced.

Rin gasped and slapped her arm. "Kagome! That's so wrong!"

"I do not think Rin would appreciate me putting money where I should be putting my mouth
in such a case," Sesshoumaru answered with a glint in his eyes.

Rin's heart just about stopped—and Kagome's must have too, for that matter, because she
grasped her chest and feigned having a heart attack.

"W-Who are you, and what have you done with Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked.

"Precisely the question I would like to ask."

Rin and Kagome both whipped around to look at the doorway to the kitchen, finding none
other than Inukimi standing there. She ignored them, instead pinning her son with a hard
stare. He held her gaze unflinchingly.

"Really, Sesshoumaru, I thought I raised you better than to partake in such…

vulgar conversations."

"What do you want, Mother?" he asked.

She looked around the kitchen with distaste. "I only came to see what all the ruckus was
about. Between the smells and the raucous laughter, my once-quiet home is no more, it
seems."

"You forget that this is Rin's home now too. She may eat and converse whenever and
however she pleases," Sesshoumaru threw back.

As cowed as Rin felt by Inukimi's words, she did not want to appear weak in front of her.
"You are welcome to join us for meals, Mother. Sesshoumaru will be eating with me from
now on. I can happily brew more tea, if you only wish to drink."

Inukimi assessed her for several seconds before stating loftily, "Very well, daughter. I will
accept your invitation. I only hope you don't come to regret it."

"I would never," Rin answered. As Inukimi slipped past her and Kagome towards the table
where Sesshoumaru sat, Kagome gave Rin a look that screamed, You just had to go and ruin
the fun, didn't you? Rin just gave her a helpless smile.

The girl finished cooking their meals and brewing the tea, and then they all sat down at the
table together. Rin poured tea for Inukimi first and then Sesshoumaru.
"At least you have enough manners to serve your mother-in-law first, even if the art of the tea
ceremony has been lost on today's youth," she said, bringing the cup of tea brewed from a
bag to her nose and sniffing delicately.

Rin gritted her teeth. "I'm afraid I was more concerned with having a roof over my head
rather than learning the tea ceremony when I was child." She grabbed some fish from her
poke bowl—a raw fish dish Kagome had had while in Hawaii and suggested they make that
night, considering Rin's recent dietary habits.

Inukimi cut her a look. "And why is that?"

"I spent five years of my early childhood in foster care, before the Higurashis adopted me,"
Rin answered.

Inukimi's brows rose. "You are an orphan?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

Inukimi did not answer.

The table sat in tense silence for a few minutes. Rin tried to keep her mouth full of food to
avoid having to start a conversation. Kagome looked like she was dying to say something but
blessedly rethinking it. Sesshoumaru just kept his eyes on his mother.

Suddenly, Inukimi said, "It occurs to me that I never heard how you two met. For the life of
me, I have not been able to imagine what could lead to…this," she said, gesturing towards
Rin's middle.

"You didn't tell her?" Rin asked Sesshoumaru.

"She was not inclined to listen when I broke the news," he answered.

The words stabbed at Rin's heart. If Inukimi had been that upset upon hearing she was so be a
grandmother, did she have any chance of turning around the demoness' hate for her?

"When I found him, he was hurt. I nursed him while he healed."

Inukimi cut her son a narrow-eyed look. "This happened when you disappeared, yes? So it
was all Inuyasha's doing."

"Hey, don't blame Inuyasha for any of this. He was defending my honor when Sesshoumaru
taunted him," Kagome interjected.

"This sounds to me like a classic case of the Florence Nightengale effect," Inukimi said,
putting down her tea. Rin was surprised to see the cup was drained. "You thought a little
tender care equated to something more. Really, Sesshoumaru, I'm surprised at your naivety."

"Please don't say that!" Rin snapped, slapping her chopsticks on top of her bowl. "He
did not mistake my ministrations as something more, because they did come to be something
more. I was enamored with your son nearly from the start, but I'm sure you will be happy to
learn that he wanted nothing to do with me. He told me as much—repeatedly."

She couldn't meet Sesshoumaru's gaze at that moment. "Enamored" was as close as she had
come yet to saying she loved him. Part of her was ready to admit it aloud, but part of her
wasn't. Besides, she did not want the first time she said the words to him to be a way to spite
his mother.

"Then what changed?" Inukimi asked.

"I…I don't know. I suppose he just got protective."

"Protective?"

"I was attacked by some wolf demons. He rescued me."

Inukimi finally turned her attention towards her son. "You've been awfully quiet,
Sesshoumaru. Or do you simply have nothing to say, because this girl speaks the truth?"

"She accepted all of me. I did not want to lose the one person who did."

Inukimi frowned. "I accept all of you, Sesshoumaru. As does your father."

"That is debatable," Sesshoumaru answered.

Inukimi stood just then. "I have heard enough for one evening. Carry on with your frivolity, if
you must." Without another word, she left the kitchen.

Kagome let out a gusty sigh. "We have got to work on the concept of a friendly family
dinner."

"I need some air," Rin announced when she and Kagome finished dinner. Sesshoumaru did
not blame her for the sentiment. He wanted to get out of the house right then too. His mother
had a way of making others feel uncomfortable in their own homes.

"You haven't had a chance to see the rest of the estate yet, right?" Kagome asked. Rin shook
her head. "There's still a good hour or so of light left, so why don't we go on a tour? How
about it, Sesshoumaru?"

"If Rin so wishes."

"Yes…that'd be perfect, I think," he mate responded. "We'll just clean the dishes, and then we
can get going."

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru called out. Mere seconds later, his retained appeared.

"Yes, milord! What can I do for you?"

"Have a servant take care of the dishes. Go fetch one of the carts. I am taking Rin on a tour of
the estate."

"Of course, milord. Have a pleasant time," Jaken said before racing out of the room.

Rin just watched him go, stunned. She is not yet used to having servants wait on her. In a
way, he liked that Rin was so independent. On the other hand, he wanted to spoil her,
especially while she was with child, and have her waited on hand and foot. "Come," he said
as he stood. Rin looked back at the dishes they left on the table, as if they were called her to
clean them first, but she managed to drag herself away and follow him.

He brought her and Kagome outside, and only a moment later, a groundskeeper pulled up in a
golf cart with Jaken riding beside him. Both servants got out, and the groundskeeper bowed
before asking, "Shall I drive you, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"No need," he answered. He got behind the wheel and placed a hand on the spot next to him.
"Sit here, Rin."

"We're not going to walk?" she asked, climbing into the cart. Kagome hopped into the back
seat.

"There is a lot of ground to cover, and you have been on your feet all day," he answered.

She smiled. "Thank you. That's very considerate."

He first took her to the garage, where a servant had parked her car earlier. When they went
inside, her eyes widened.

"Wow, I've never seen such a collection of cars!" she exclaimed. Then she noted her little one
between Sesshoumaru's McLaren and Inuyasha's Acrua. "Oh goodness — maybe you should
just park my car outside. It doesn't belong in here with the rest of these."

"Nonsense. It is parked with the rest of the everyday drivers," Sesshoumaru added.

"Only you would have a McLaren as an everyday driver," Kagome remarked.

"Indeed," he answered, quite proud of that fact.

Although Rin didn't gush over the collection (not that he had expected her too), she was at the
very least appreciative of the history. When he showed her his father's prized Mitsubishi
Model A, she was excited to examine the antique.

"Most people who have these types of cars just collect them to own them. It's amazing that it
was your original family car though.I'm trying to imagine everyone riding in this back in the
day. I know you would have looked the same, but I'm having trouble picturing you in
traditional clothes and such," Rin remarked.

"Oh, you'll have a picture soon enough. They like to wear traditional clothes around the
estate," Kagome piped in.
"Really?" Rin asked, looking to Sesshomaru.

He nodded. "And you would not have recognized me back at that time."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked, and he even drew Kagome's attention.

"I dyed my hair."

"No way," Kagome replied.

Rin's hand went to her mouth. "That seems like such a waste. I love your hair." Inwardly, he
preened at that remark. "But I would be so curious to see you with black hair. Another thing
I'm trying to imagine, and I can't."

"I will take you to Nishikuni Corp. one day after hours so you can see. The only photos in
existence are there," he answered, turning back towards the exit.

"I thought you didn't take photos!" Rin protested, catching up to him.

"There is an exception."

"Well, I think when the girls are born, there's going to be a few more exceptions," Rin
grumbled. "I'm going to at least need a personal album for them, if I can't have anything
else."

"Good! Maybe between the two of us, we can convince these guys to allow some family
photos in the home," Kagome said, putting an arm around Rin's shoulder.

He next drove them to his father's house.

"Would you like to come inside and see?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe another day. I'm starting to get tired."

"It has been a long day. Well, I'll just get off here then. Goodnight, sis! I'm so glad I'm
basically living with you again!" Kagome hopped off the cart and gave Rin a hug. "As usual,
just text me if you need something!"

When Kagome left, Sesshoumaru asked, "Would you like to return to the house?"

"Is there anything else left to see?"

"Yes, but we do not have to get out, if you do not want to."

"Alright. Let's do that."

Sesshoumaru drove her just past his father's house to the family pool. Inuyasha had
commissioned it to be built in the late 1980s, during the economic bubble of prosperity.
Sesshoumaru had always seen it as a grossly unnecessary expense, but Inuyasha had always
liked the water, so he convinced their father to give up some land to it.
He would admit that it was tastefully done (and tastefully renovated over the three decades
since). A bathhouse was built in a traditional style, although floor-to-ceiling windows
encased one wall. It was there that the indoor part of the pool began; then, it flowed under the
wall to the outdoor portion, which featured a small waterfall. The lights were already on,
highlighting the falls, the garden around the book, and lining the pool itself.

"It's beautiful!" Rin cried out. "I changed my mind. I want to go and look." She clambered
out of the cart faster than he would have thought and hurried over to the concrete courtyard.

No sooner had she reached it than she went straight to the steps leading into the pool.

"Rin, it will be cold. They just opened it up to let it start warming," he warned.

"Then that's perfect. My feet are aching." She kicked off her shoes, held onto the railing, and
stepped down a couple steps. She sighed. "Yessss. Oh, I've missed this. I love the water. I was
dying to go to a public bathhouse all winter and soak in the warmth, but I can't do that while
I'm pregnant. But a dip in the pool would be perfect."

"Then it will interest you to know that we have a hot tub and sauna inside," Sesshoumaru
said, pointing to the bathhouse.

"I don't care if it will be the middle of summer when I give birth. I'm going straight in there
after the girls arrive. But for now, the pool awaits."

Sesshoumaru had never been one to swim for fun, but if Rin was going to, he absolutely
would. He pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text to Jaken: Purchase a pair of swim
trunks for me.

Jaken was a slow typer, since he had to use a stylus with his taloned hands, but his reply was
quick: Uh…was that a typo, milord?

Sesshoumaru frowned and was about to tell him otherwise when Rin said, "Although…now
that I think about it, I guess my current swimsuit won't fit me. I'd have to get a new one." She
turned to Sesshoumaru then. "Is it really worth buying one just to use for a couple months? I
probably shouldn't. I mean, what would I even wear? Do I have to get a bikini? I can't do that.
No one needs to see this hanging out," she said, rubbing her hands over her stomach.

Sesshoumaru stiffened. Rin in a bikini? Pregnant Rin in a bikini?

He had to see it.

He would wall off the whole of the pool to keep others from looking at her, but if she would
show this much to him, it would be more of her than he had seen in months.

"Wear whatever makes you comfortable, Rin. We are not in public. This is your home."

"True…but I don't know that I can justify the expense. I mean, I suppose I could wear a
bikini again when I'm back to normal…but I'm just not used to wearing that sort of thing."
Sesshoumaru placed his hand on the small of her back and leaned down to murmur in her ear,
"Then wear it just for me."

She hunched her shoulders in shyness. "…I might be able to do that."

"So, will you buy it?" he prodded.

"…Maybe. It would depend how it looks on me."

"I can tell you how it will look on you," he said, bringing his hands up to trace the outline of
a bikini top just under her bra line (so she could feel it) and over her swollen breasts. Even
beneath the fabric of her bra cups, he felt her nipples tighten. He rolled his thumbs over them,
and she sucked in a breath. A hint of a sweet smell tickled his nose just then, but he couldn't
place it. It wasn't the musk of arousal. Nevertheless, he continued tracing the edge of her
imaginary bikini up around her neck. "Ravishing," he growled in her ear.

Rin swallowed thickly and then turned to face him. "Will you have to come straight back to
work after my doctor visit on Monday?"

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed at the odd segue. "Not necessarily. What do you need?"

She placed a couple fingers on his forearm, walking them up. "I was thinking that we could
do a little shopping afterwards."

Sesshoumaru's brows rose. "Swimsuit shopping?"

Rin smiled coyly at him.

"I believe I have all the time in the world for that."

He texted Jaken back: Never mind.

It was getting dark by the time Rin pried her feet out of the pool and he finished giving her a
tour of the pool house. He took a detour on his way back to the house, showing her the
entrance to the gardens and promising to bring her back when it was light out.

When they got back home, Rin headed straight for her room. Sesshoumaru followed her. She
stopped at her door and turned to him. "Well, I'm going to turn in for the night."

Sesshoumaru looked at her like a puppy begging to be let up on the bed. "Are you sure you
wish to sleep alone?" he asked.

"It's fine," she deflected. "I'm sure you have a lot of things to do and catch up on after being
away for two weeks."

"It can wait."

She sighed. The whole point of having separate bedrooms was so that they wouldn't sleep
together. Not that she didn't want to, but when they did, it was so much harder for her to resist
him.

And after his behavior at the pool just a little while ago, well…she was sure this old dog
would be up to his old tricks if she let him in. And she was feeling more than a little self
conscious at the moment, since even that light play with her nipples caused her to spring a
leak. Thank goodness she had bought those breast pads a couple weeks ago and started
wearing them every day.

"I'm very tired, Sesshoumaru. I just want to sleep."

"Very well."

"But you can kiss me goodnight."

The resigned set of his mouth softened into a tiny smile, and he came over to place a tender
kiss on her lips. "Goodnight, Rin. Sleep well." Then he knelt down and placed a kiss on her
belly. "Goodnight, children. Try not to kick your mother awake tonight."

Rin's heart warmed at the sight and she giggled. "I think that's a tall order for them."

"Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Goodnight, Sesshoumaru." Then she stepped back and closed the door to her room,
breathing a sigh of relief even as her heart ached.

Six weeks to go , Rin. You can do it.

When Sesshoumaru walked back to his office, he found his mother in there, perusing his
bookshelf without actually looking at it.

"Did you know she was adopted?" his mother asked without preamble.

Was she still concerned about that? "Yes, from the start. Does that matter?" Perhaps she
would answer this time, now that it was just the two of them.

"She will not let go of those children—not knowing what it's like to grow up without a
mother."

"I know."

"Then you plan to keep her here forever?"

"You seem to be the only one who had delusions otherwise," Sesshoumaru answered, going
to his desk and waking up his computer as if she wasn't there.

"Why her, Sesshoumaru?" He looked up, seeing his mother's lips pouting in consternation.

"Why does it matter? I have chosen her. That should be enough for you."
"I just do not understand it. She has no wealth, no connections, no family—"

"None of that has ever mattered to me. And besides, she does have a family."

"Her blood family is dead."

"Is that all that matters to you—the ties of blood?"

"It mattered to you once too."

Sesshoumaru thought about it. "I have found blood ties to be more frustrating than anything
else." His early days of persecution against his half-blooded brother had been a fixation—one
he had never entirely let up on until now. He needed to let it go. There were more important
matters in his life now that required his full attention. "My daughters will change that—
precisely because they are Rin's as well."

"I do not understand what you see in her. She has an inner strength, yes, but apparently,
strength never mattered to you either, because all of the women I presented to you were
strong."

"They are purebred demons and always grew up with strength. They do not accept weakness,
because it is foreign to them and something to be disdained. Rin, however, grew up weak and
yet cultivated her strength without losing her smile."

He could not boast the same. He had had a privileged youth, yes, but a lonely one. The
smiling personality he could have easily inherited from his father did not surface. Rather, the
dour one his mother favored had been much easier to embrace.

Slowly though, he was finding his smile again. He had surprised himself by bantering with
Kagome this evening.

He had…enjoyed that.

Finally, he was starting to enjoy life again. Now, the days that had felt so monotonous excited
him, because each held the promise of discovering more about and with Rin and their
children.

"So in the end, all it took to lure you was a pretty smile?" his mother asked.

Why did she insist on making it all sound so simple? He turned back towards his computer,
annoyed. "Spend more time with her, and you will see for yourself."

His mother must have understood that that was as much as he would say, because after that,
she left.

When Sesshoumaru asked his father two weeks ago for recommendations for a doctor for
Rin, he was surprised to find that the recommendation came not from Touga but from
Inuyasha.
Inuyasha texted him the contact information: Dr. Jinenji, General Practitioner.

Sesshoumaru had not been inclined to let this doctor see Rin. He was male, after all, and
Sesshoumaru did not want a male demon looking anywhere around Rin's naked body. When
Sesshoumaru texted back asking for a female doctor, Inuyasha just said: I know what you're
thinking, but unless Rin has a problem with it, don't worry about it. Jinenji's nobler than
you'll ever be.

Sesshoumaru took offense to that, but alas, Inuyasha was not within reach, so he wasn't able
to throttle him.

Sesshoumaru had subsequently showed Rin Dr. Jinenji's profile on the hospital's website. He
knew she would want as much information about Jinenji as she could before making a choice
on whether or not to see him.

When his picture popped up, Rin just said, "Oh," in a soft, almost pitiful voice. Sesshoumaru
saw why. There was something odd about Jinenji's face. Sesshoumaru couldn't quite put a
finger on it, but although it resembled a human face, it just looked…off somehow.

"Are you uncomfortable with a male doctor?" Sesshoumaru asked, hoping she was.

"Well, I do think it's easier for women to understand me, but in general, I try not to be biased.
I know we all got the same education. And if Inuyasha recommends him, he must be fine."

"Hmph."

"But wait…he's a general practitioner? I need an OBGYN."

Sesshoumaru scrolled through Jinenji's qualifications. As Rin read through them, her eyes
boggled. "He's a general practitioner? The man delivers babies and does heart surgery! How
is that possible?"

"Demons live very long lives and are much more nimble and capable than humans. What
takes a human a lifetime to master will not take as long for us. Most demon doctors are multi-
disciplinary," Sesshoumaru answered.

Although humans had driven the modern age of medicine, demons quickly adapted it to their
needs. With their dexterity and enhanced senses, they were able to master surgeries much
more quickly. And because of the relatively low population of demons, there were naturally
fewer doctors, so they needed to be able to diagnose and treat more ailments than a typical
human doctor.

"Oh. Well in that case, I suppose I could rest assured if something unexpected happened
during delivery," Rin answered.

Sesshoumaru's arm tightened around her waist. "Do not say that."

Rin turned on his lap to look at him. She brushed his hair back behind his ear. "I trust
everything will go well, but I want to be prepared for the possibility, Sesshoumaru. I've been
through enough tough births to know one should always expect the unexpected." She kissed
his temple. "Let's schedule an appointment with him, okay? Let him reassure you."

The day of the appointment had finally arrived, and when Sesshoumaru pulled into the
parking garage at Hakurei Hospital, Rin looked around in confusion.

"What are we doing here? Isn't this a human hospital? I even interviewed here for a job," she
said.

Sesshoumaru looked over at her in surprise. "Is that so? But you did not get the job?"

"No. I had applied for a general nursing position, but they saw I was interested in working
with babies, and they didn't have any openings in their maternity ward, so they passed on
me."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "It is a smaller hospital, precisely because it is demon-owned."

"What?"

"Yes. The hospital does treat humans and have humans on staff, but they are relegated to the
south campus. The north campus is for demons—and hidden behind a barrier. None but
demons know that, however."

"I don't understand. You mean demons are being treated right under humans' noses, and
they've never been found out?"

"The chairman of the hospital takes the security of the demon campus very seriously. You'll
find that demons have found it best to hide where humans least expect them. Imagine a
hospital being in a neighborhood but turning away all human patients. It would only invite
suspicion. This way, no suspicions are aroused, and it is not unusual for emergency vehicles
to come."

"So…do demons enter through the front doors, just like everyone else?"

"No."

Sesshoumaru parked and led her to an elevator with double-sided doors. A card slot sat next
to the buttons. Sessohumaru pulled a card out of his wallet and swiped it.

"What card is that?" Rin asked.

He showed it to her. "Health insurance."

She frowned. "You have health insurance?"

A hint of a smile graced his lips. "Yes, even our kind has health insurance. But it is a
monopoly, and the lone provider allows us to use it as an ID card of sorts to distinguish
ourselves at hospitals."
Sure enough, the elevator started moving after he swiped his card, and then the doors behind
them opened, revealing a long skyway that hadn't been visible from the outside. As they
walked over the street below them, Rin looked through the windows with wide eyes.

Then they entered the north campus and went straight to a human-looking receptionist at the
front desk. The receptionist didn't even bat an eye at Rin—likely thinking her a demon who
had masked her aura, like everyone else. She must have been a type without a heightened
sense of smell. Other doctors and nurses that passed by did double-takes in their direction.

They signed in, and Rin filled out paperwork as they waited their turn. At one point, she
leaned over to Sesshoumaru and whispered, "It looks so…normal."

He bit back a smile. "That is the point. Layers of security."

Finally, a nurse led them to an examination room with an ultrasound machine.

Sesshoumaru just sat and watched as the nurse took Rin's blood pressure and started typing
her information into a computer.

Rin handed over a folder containing the medical records Kaede had given her. "My previous
OBGYN was human, so she wasn't able to send my medical records to you. Do you need to
see them yet?"

"Yes, thank you. Let me input that information." She asked Rin several questions, looking
into the folder as needed. Sesshoumaru was quickly losing patience. How much money was
he paying for them to do paperwork? When would the actual doctor arrive?

Rin had promised there would be an ultrasound, and he wanted to see his children.

Finally, the nurse closed Rin's folder and said, "Dr. Jinenji will be here in a few moments to
discuss things with you. In the meantime, please go ahead and lie down."

Rin did as instructed, but she didn't move to raise her shirt yet. Sesshoumaru noticed the
goosebumps on her skin.

"Are you nervous or cold?" he asked.

"Cold. Hospitals are always freezing, aren't they? That's the only part I never liked about my
work. I was never warm!" Rin laughed.

Sesshoumaru removed his suit jacket and laid it over her. "Oh, thank you! I can still feel your
body heat." She smiled at him, and he smirked at her in reply.

"I am always happy to share my body heat with you, Rin. You need only say the word."

Her face went red, and she started fanning herself with his jacket. "You know, I'm really not
that cold anymore."

The door opened just then, and Dr. Jinenji walked in. Rin's eyes widened, and Sesshoumaru
imagined he knew why. The man was a hulking giant—something that couldn't be captured
in his headshot.

He, however, was surprised for a different reason. Dr. Jinenji was a half demon—he could
smell it in his blood.

Then the doctor spoke, and the soft voice that came out of him matched neither his face nor
his huge stature. "Hello, Sesshoumaru-san, Rin-san. It's a pleasure to meet you." He held out
a large, scarred hand towards them, and Rin sat up and shook it with a smile. Sesshoumaru
just inclined his head. Dr. Jinenji sat down behind the ultrasound machine and pulled up Rin's
file on the computer. "I see I've acquired another human patient."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Will that be a problem?" He would not stand for his mate to be
maligned, and he knew only too well the prejudices demons carried.

"Not at all. They certainly are not the majority of my clientele, but you are not the only one,
and I am happy to treat whoever needs my help. Now, I understand you were also seeing a
human OBGYN for most of your pregnancy, is that correct?" he asked Rin.

"Yes, sir. But she recommended I see a demon doctor if possible, since she was not sure if
having half-demon children would cause any side-effects to the pregnancy that she would be
unaware of."

"It's wonderful to see that you found someone you could trust so much with this secret. The
mothers of half-demons have never had it easy. My own mother, the gods rest her soul, was
feared as a witch all her life because she had me. She was certainly a much stronger personal
than I've ever been."

"You're a half-demon?" Rin asked.

"I am indeed."

Rin smiled. "That's wonderful! My brother-in-law is as well." She turned to Sesshoumaru.

"To think we have so many people we can go to in case we ever have questions," she said
with a smile, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

Dr. Jinenji smiled softly. "What's wonderful is to see such as happy mixed couple like
yourselves. I can tell these children will not want for love when they're born."

Rin smiled and blushed, ducking her head. Sesshoumaru's heart squeezed.

How could this man assume he would make a good father in just two minutes? He had
known about the babies for two weeks now, and he still wasn't sure he was fit for the job.

"Shall we progress to the ultrasound?" he asked. Rin nodded and laid back, removing
Sesshoumaru's jacket. She glanced at him nervously before looking away and pulling up her
shirt, exposing her round belly.

It was the first time Sesshoumaru had seen Rin's naked swell. A dark line now extended from
her pubic bone to her navel, and faint, white marks peppered her skin.
He understood now the fascinating Rin had with tracing his stripes. He wanted to do the same
to hers.

He tried to catch her eye to convey this to her with a look, but she kept her eyes glued to Dr.
Jinenji's hand as the man applied a gel to Rin's stomach. For a man so large, he touched Rin
as delicately (and appropriately, Sesshoumaru was pleased to note) as if she were an antique
vase. Then the doctor pulled out the scanner and started running it over her belly.

After a few seconds, a black-and-white image appeared on the second screen facing him and
Rin. He noticed vague shapes moving, but could not detect exactly what they were. Then the
doctor turned up the volume, and the baby's heartbeats resounded in the room.

He smelled salt and looked around to find Rin tearing up as she watched the screen. She
turned to look at him. "Aren't they beautiful?"

He looked back at the screen. "Show me."

Dr. Jinenji pointed. "Here's one of them. If I move over…ah, she's turned away from us, but
you can make out her ear here and just the tip of her nose, right?"

Sesshoumaru did not blink as he stared at the screen. He couldn't believe he was actually
seeing his daughter.

His daughter.

It still hadn't quite sunk in yet that he was going to be a father in just a few short weeks. But
now he could not wait to see them in person—to meet them—to see just how much they
might take after Rin.

But for now, this ultrasound would tide him over. Still, he had to know: which of his girls was
this one?

He noted where Dr. Jinenji's hand was over Rin's womb, and then he reached out with his
demon energy to coax the one he felt there. The baby's arm jerked onscreen as her energy
responded to his, nuzzling up against it. He had used every night this last week as he slept by
Rin's side to get to know the feel of his girls. He had been disappointed that he could no
longer do so, but he made sure to tell them goodnight in both word and energy before Rin
went to bed.

Dr. Jinenji smiled and looked over at him. "Keep doing that, and you'll have a very exciting
sonogram. Not all parents are as lucky to have active babies onscreen."

"What's he doing?" Rin asked.

"He's communicating with them using his demon energy. Isn't that right?" the doctor asked.
Sesshoumaru nodded.

Rin gasped in amazement. "I didn't know you could do that."

"This is our shy one," Sesshoumaru answered nodding to the screen. "Her sister is more
active."

"Let's see if that's the case," Dr. Jinenji said, moving the wand over to the other side. "Ah, we
have a better picture of her. Look, you can see her entire face." He picked up a pen to gesture
to the screen, as his finger would just have covered all of it. "Here's her mouth and nose.
There are her eyes."

Sesshoumaru pulled his energy away from the other baby and starting his little poking war
with this one. She did enjoy being tickled.

Immediately, the baby's limbs started jerking onscreen, like she was doing a dance of joy.

"Oh my," the doctor said. "That made her very excited."

"Excited happy or excited anxious?" Rin asked, a thread of worry in her voice.

"Assuredly happy. It's clear she recognizes her father," Dr. Jinenji replied.

Rin looked over at him with an emotion he couldn't name swimming in her eyes. But it was
one that made warmth blossom in his chest—the same warmth that overtook him as he
watched his girls kick and squirm. She reached out to him and he stepped over to her.

Her eyes were wide and teary as she said, "I love that you're getting to know them like this.
It's what I've always wanted for them."

She must have been quite overwhelmed with emotion, because she suddenly tugged him
down by his shirt and pecked him against the lips.

The brief contact froze him. Unless he initiated contact or she was teasing him in retribution
for said contact, she had been shy about doling out kisses to him lately. But this one wasn't
lustful, nor did it promise any such acts to come. But as he stared into her joy-filled eyes, he
treasured it as he did every other kiss.

Dr. Jinenji's next words pulled them out of their love spell. "From what I can tell, the children
have completely human body shapes. That may seem given, since Sesshoumaru-san here has
a very human appearance himself, but you would be surprised. Half-demons can come out in
all shapes and sizes."

"My brother-in-law has dog ears," Rin piped up.

Dr. Jinenji nodded. "Inuyasha, yes? I am aware. While these two don't seem to have the traits
their uncle does, it's something to keep in mind for any other future children you may have."
Sesshoumaru's ear twitched at the mention of more children, and he looked over at Rin to
find her biting her lip in embarrassment. Dr. Jinenji apparently took that for worry. "I do not
mean to alarm you; I only wish to make you aware of all the possibilities. My father was as
fair of face as your mate is, Rin-san, but even so, I came out…somewhat deformed, I suppose
you could say." He pointed at his face. "This isn't my actual face, you see. Once plastic
surgery developed, I had facial reconstruction surgery done. I had been in complete hiding up
to that point. I could not have lived in human society with the face I had." He reached over
into a drawer and pulled out a file folder, handing it to her. "You can see for yourself."

Rin opened the folder, and even Sesshoumaru bent around to look. There were a series of
before-and-after cosmetic shots. The doctor hadn't just had one surgery done—he had had
several, each one slowly transforming his face to make it more and more human-looking.

Now he understood why Jinenji's face appeared odd, even in human form. The surgeons had
had their work cut out for them. His original face had been more akin to a horse's or cow's,
with large, front-set eyes and a low mouth where a human's chin would be. Frankly,
Sesshoumaru was shocked the surgeons had even been able to reconstruct his face into
something half resembling a human's.

"It's not perfect, of course, and there's no hiding my height and girth, but at least with a
human face, others simply see me as a deformed hunchback than as a demon, and now I see
more looks of pity than I did the hate from when I was growing up," Dr. Jinenji continued.

"I'm so sorry for everything you've had to go through," Rin said, handing the file back to him.

Sesshoumaru would never cease to be amazed at his mate's loving heart. She herself was one
to be pitied for her childhood, and yet she pitied this ancient half-demon. Perhaps it was
because of her experiences that she was able to sympathize so.

The doctor turned back to the ultrasound. "I noted from your file that you are about thirty
weeks along?" Rin nodded. "And it says that your due date is July 10th. This is based on the
traditional nine-month human gestation, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"I see. You should be prepared to go beyond that. While it varies by species, most demons
have longer gestation periods than humans do. It has to do with the development of all their
abilities and powers, you understand. The more complex the being, the longer the gestation,
usually." Dr. Jinenji turned to Sesshoumaru. "Perhaps your father could tell you how long his
wife carried Inuyasha. It might give you a better estimate, since you are also a dog demon."

Sesshoumaru wordlessly took out his phone and shot the question to his father in a text. He
had completely forgotten in the craziness of the past couple weeks to do so. His father's reply
was almost instantaneous.

"He believes Izayoi carried Inuyasha for ten months, although they were not so exact in
counting back then," Sesshoumaru interjected, and Rin looked at him in surprise.

Dr. Jinenji nodded. "That is a good starting point then. We'll set your new due date tentatively
for August 10th, but I'd like you to come back in a couple weeks for another ultrasound so
that we can check on their growth. Twins are always smaller, but even so, they are not as
large as large as a human fetus would be at this point."

"Okay," Rin answered a little more hesitantly.

"Your file also notes that you are planning a home birth?" Dr. Jinenji asked.

Rin looked over at Sesshoumaru, and his brows rose. "Well," she hedged, "that was the plan
back when I had to keep this a secret. My doctor and I didn't want to be in a hospital where
there would be so many eyes and ears."

"Do you still wish for a natural home birth, or would you rather be in the hospital? We would
take you in, of course," Dr. Jinenji said.

Rin sighed in relief. "Really? Because truthfully, I would rather be in a hospital. I'm not
attached to the idea of giving birth naturally. I admire the women who do it, and I know
women have done it for centuries, but I'd rather be somewhere with quick medical care, just
in case. And I don't want to have to go through any more pain than I have to," she laughed.

Sesshoumaru nodded. Whatever Rin chose, he would support, but he also did not want to see
her in pain.

"Then let me make those changes," Dr. Jinenji said, typing into the computer. Afterwards, he
asked, "And have you taken or were you planning to take prenatal classes?"

Rin looked back at Sesshoumaru and bit her lip again. "Well, originally I wasn't, since I'm a
perinatal nurse, and I already know what I need to about babies, but…would you like to take
the classes, Sesshoumaru?"

His eyebrows rose up in surprise. "I thought such classes were for women."

"Prenatal classes are for both parents," Rin explained patiently. "Yes, they teach you about
different birthing positions, but you also learn what you need to know about taking care of
newborns: changing diapers, changes the babies will undergo—that sort of thing. I don't mind
going if you'd like to learn."

Sesshoumaru hesitated. True, he knew nothing about taking care of children, but the idea of
being in a class surrounded by other people and having his ignorance on full display,
lowering himself to their level…. He didn't like the thought of that.

Rin could just teach him what he needed to know. He would like that better.

He was about to say just as much when Dr. Jinenji supplied, "I might suggest you take our
prenatal classes here, Rin-san. Although your children will only be half-demon, it may
behoove you to learn about the differences with demon babies and what you might need to
expect. In addition, we would give you a tour of the facility, since you've decided on a
hospital birth."

"Oh, those are good points," Rin said. She turned to Sesshoumaru. "Would you take the
classes with me?" When he hesitated, she added, "If you're not comfortable, I can go by
myself and tell you everything later."

How did this woman already know him so well? Ah, she can probably feel my discomfort
through the mating bond. He kept forgetting that aspect of their relationship now.
As uncomfortable as he was with the idea, he also didn't want her to go anywhere alone. "I
will attend with you."

The smile that lit up her face just then would make any future embarrassment on his part
worth it, he was sure.

"Excellent. Why don't we sign you up now? I'd like to inform the instructor personally that
you will be joining. I do not want it to come as a shock that a human will be in the class," Dr.
Jinenji said.

"Yes, please," Rin added.

"We also have two other courses that might be of interest to you: one dealing with multiple
births and one specifically for first-time fathers. Now, the multiple births one goes through
the human side of the hospital. The demon birthrate is low as it is, so we can only offer our
general parenting class once a month, and we would rarely have anyone sign up for a
multiples class if we did offer it. However, the first-time fathers class is one that we offer on
our side. Should I sign you up for those as well?"

Rin looked back at Sesshoumaru. "I'd like to do the one for multiples, but it's up to you about
the class for fathers."

"I've had many fathers say they find the class very beneficial, because they are able to speak
their worries in a male-only setting," the doctor supplied.

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. Truly, he did not want to go to any of these classes…but he
had promised Rin he would do his best to become the father their daughters needed. And he
was so woefully ignorant, he could use any help he could get.

Perhaps it would be relieving to be in a class of strangers who would not judge him for his
ignorance, like his own family might.

"Very well," he said. Rin grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles, letting him know he had
made the right decision.

Once they were finished signing up and Rin was cleaning gel off her belly, Dr. Jinenji asked,
"Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Rin took a deep breath and said, "Actually, I'm a little concerned about this potential extra
month of pregnancy. Will my body be able to handle that?"

"It should not be a problem, since the twins are growing slower than human fetuses would,"
the doctor replied.

"Right, but…what about all the other changes in my body? I mean, I think as far as it knows,
it's following the nine-month plan. I've got colostrum leakage already and everything.
Normally, wouldn't it be a bit early for that if I'm going to be pregnant an extra month?"

"Colostrum?" Sesshoumaru echoed, not aware of the term.

"It is a thicker fluid than milk, but very nutrient-rich for the children. It may appear yellowish
or even on the verge of brown. Not to worry—it is completely normal," Dr. Jinenji explained
to him. Turning to Rin, he added, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your milk won't come
in until you give birth anyway; a little extra time for your body to prepare itself shouldn't
harm it. And inducement is always on the table if we start seeing a need for it in the coming
weeks. But we shouldn't worry about that yet. All that said, if leakage becomes an issue, you
can buy breast pads to soak it up."

Rin swallowed. "Yes, um…I've done that…."

Sesshoumaru's ear perked up. Rin was leaking milk from her tits?

An image came to mind of her sitting atop him then, her full breasts leaking beads of milk
like his cock wept with precum for her. They dripped under her breasts and over her womb,
creating a trail that he would lap up back to her nipples and he sucked them to bring out more
of that nourishing liquid.

Now he had to have her before she gave birth.

"Is it safe for her to have sex?" he asked.

Rin's eyes bugged, but Dr. Jinenji simply nodded. "I get that question often, and the answer is
yes—gentle sex is, in fact, recommended, as it can help the womb better prepare for labor.
Provided, of course, that the lady feels up to it. Women's hormones are constantly in flux
during pregnancy, so it is not out of the ordinary for them to feel sexual cravings one day and
abhor the very thought the next."

Sesshoumaru met Rin's gaze, and she flushed, glancing away from him. He was not worried
about being able to tell when she was feeling those cravings or not.

"Will that be all?" Dr. Jinenji asked. Rin nodded vigorously. "Very good. However, may I ask
for a few more moments of your time? You see, when I learned you were a mixed couple, I
took the liberty of contacting my friend, Shiori, to come speak with you."

Rin's brows furrowed in thought. "Shiori. Why does that name sound familiar?"

"She is Tsukuyomaru's daughter," Sesshoumaru said.

Dr. Jinenji smiled. "So you are already acquainted."

"I am. Rin is not," Sesshoumaru answered.

"I see. Well, the reason I thought you might like to talk with her is that she developed a
special…half-demon society, I suppose you could call it. It is meant to assist half-demons,
since there are still many prejudices against them in demon society, but they are not always
human enough to pass in human society. Of course, I understand that this is sudden, and if
you do not wish to speak to her, please do not worry; I will simply take her out to lunch to
make up for the trouble of asking her to come out."
Rin's face lit up. "I've been wanting to meet her since Tsukuyomaru-san mentioned her—I
just never thought it would be so soon! I'd be happy to hear her out. Is that alright,
Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru did not know what this society thought it could do for his daughters that he
could not do, but if Rin wanted to find out, they would do so. He nodded, and she beamed.

"Excellent. If you will wait here, I will send her in. Have a good day." The giant doctor then
got up and left.

A few moments later, Shiori walked in holding a folder. She inclined her head to
Sesshoumaru. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Sesshoumaru-san." He nodded curtly. Then
she turned to Rin. "And it's a very greatly pleasure to meet you, Rin-san."

"Oh please, there's no need for honorifics," Rin answered, dipping her head. "Please, just call
me Rin."

Shiori smiled at her. "Then, of course, you must call me Shiori. You may not have seen me
there, but I was at Inuyasha's wedding."

"Were you? I'm so sorry, I don't recall," Rin replied, looking genuinely troubled.

"No, please don't feel badly. It's quite understandable, since you were there for Kagome.
And…you were preoccupied at the time."

Rin licked her lips and swallowed. "How much of that did you see?"

Shiori smiled sadly at her. "My father looked ready to get up and pull Zero back from you if
Kirinmaru hadn't gotten there first."

"Really?" Rin asked at the same time that Sesshoumaru barked, "Zero?"

Shiori turned to Sesshoumaru. "Oh, yes, I recall you weren't there at the time. Did Rin not tell
you about that…confrontation?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin, who bit her lip. "Honestly, it slipped my mind. As you said, I
was a little…preoccupied. I'll tell you at home, Sesshoumaru." He nodded, only slightly
appeased. Rin then asked again, "Why would your father have helped me?"

Shiori smiled. "Oh, well, he too has a soft spot for humans. My mother was one, after all, so
he's never liked it when demons pick on half-demons' mothers."

"Oh, so you're a half-demon too? Of course, now it all makes sense," Rin said. "Dr. Jinenji
said you wanted to talk to us about some…half-demon society?"

"Yes. I established it many years ago as a group where half-demons could lean on each other
for support. Here, I have a brochure," she said, handing it to Rin, who started looking it over.
"You see, traditionally, half-demons were never really accepted into either society. They
weren't demonic enough for demons, but they were too demonic for humans. In the past,
many half-demons were hunted down by demons just for the sport of it and to eat them."
Rin gasped. "That's horrible!"

Shiori nodded. "Centuries ago, I started a half-demon village for children who had lost their
parents or whose parents had abandoned them. I felt it was the least I could do—especially
after Inuyasha saved me as a child. That was how I met him, you see."

Sesshoumaru glanced over in interest. He had never heard this story. He had been roaming
the country at that point and rarely busied himself with Inuyasha's affairs. He knew the two
had a close friendship, but he had never bothered to ask how it started.

Shiori continued, "You see, when I was a child, my grandfather found out I could create
barriers like my father could. He thought my father was weak for loving a human woman,
and he did not like the way his son, who would head the clan one day, took on a pacifist
approach towards humans. So…he actually tried to kill my father, and if my father hadn't
dodged quickly enough, the attack would have killed him. As it was, he was gravely
wounded, but he managed to fly back to me and my mother. My grandfather came to us and
offered me a deal: he said that if I came willingly with him, he would spare my parents' lives.
So I went.

"My parents were heartbroken, of course. And while my father was still recuperating, my
grandfather attacked the village where we lived, killing many of the residents. It was around
that time that Inuyasha happened by. He managed to drive off many of the bat demons, and
when he found out my grandfather was basically holding me ransom, he worked with my
father to save me. Despite the fact that my grandfather had tried to kill him, my father wanted
to show him mercy, so once they rescued me, Inuyasha helped our family flee into the
mountains, where we established our new home that eventually became the half-demon
village."

"That's horrible. I can't imagine what it must feel like to have your grandfather and father be
so at odds," Rin said.

"Well, my grandfather was killed by the Demon Slayers during World War I, so we don't have
to worry about him anymore," Shiori answered matter-of-factly.

Sesshoumaru watched her closely. Touga and Kirinmaru had reached out to Tsukuyomaru
back in January about the possibility of banding together to fight back against Naraku's new
sanctuary, and he had agreed. But despite their attempts to weasel out whether or not
Tsukuyomaru had indeed called the Demon Slayers on his father and if he still had those ties,
the bat demon had not given anything away. Rather, he suggested that they wait for Naraku to
reach out to him.

"After all," Tsukuyomaru had said, "Naraku will never be able to have his sanctuary without
a barrier, and whether he likes it or not, we have the only viable technology for it. So once he
does reach out, we'll have men on the inside to help us bring it down."

Unfortunately, there had been no word from Naraku as yet, and the year was almost half over.
Unless his plans had been delayed, Sesshoumaru didn't see how Naraku could have failed to
start building his sanctuary yet if he planned to open it this year. Touga was worried too, so
he had sent out his old friend, Myoga the flea, as a spy to see what he could pick up. But
every time Myoga came back to report, he said that same thing: "I've searched everywhere,
milord, but I cannot even find where Naraku lives. It's as if he's vanished."

So for now, they were waiting to see when the demon would rear his smarmy head again.

Rin sighed, blissfully unaware of the danger. "Well, I'm glad you and your parents can live a
little more safely now," she said to Shiori.

"Oh, it's just me and my father. My mother died almost five hundred years ago," Shiori
explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize. I just assumed your father would have mated her, and…I
apologize. I shouldn't have assumed," Rin answered.

Shiori shook her head. "No, you were quite correct: he did mate her. However, while a
mating bond placed on a human prolongs his or her natural life, humans are still mortal and
susceptible to unnatural deaths. My mother…caught a disease and could not be saved with
the medicine of the time." She looked at the two of them sadly. "Rin, I'm not saying you
would ever grow complacent with your newfound life, but I only say this out of care: please
continue to be just as careful with your life as if you were not bound to Sesshoumaru-san.
Disease or bodily injury can still kill you, and I know it will devastate the family you leave
behind should the worst come to pass."

Sesshoumaru's heart panged. When he had left Rin, he came to terms with the fact that he
would never see her again—that she would grow old and die with him unawares. But now
that she was back in his life and he knew that she would naturally live as long as he did, he
could not bear the thought of losing her. Even though the bond did not work both ways, he
was sure that it would kill him nonetheless.

He had to make sure she would never been in such danger.

Rin nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Shiori. I will remember that."

"Anyway," Shiori said with a light clap," enough with the sad talk. We're here today for a
very happy reason: two new half-demons will soon be born! So, as I was saying earlier, the
society is basically an extension of the half-demon village I used to run. I do still foster any
half-demon children who grow up without parents, but they are fewer and further between
nowadays."

"Are there many half-demons in this society?" Rin asked.

"We have around a hundred members." Rin's mouth dropped open, and even Sesshoumaru's
eyes widened in shock. He had had no idea so many existed. Shiori smiled. "I know—it's
more than you expected, right? Of course, many of them, like Inuyasha, Jinenji, and myself,
have been around for centuries, but I'd say we tend to add a new member at least once every
few years. Mixed couples aren't common, but they're probably more so than you realize! And
I'm confident there would be a lot more if demons could come out of hiding."
Rin was scrolling through the brochure as she spoke. "Oh, Sesshoumaru, look! Here's the list
of the society's leaders. Inuyasha's the treasurer. Did you know that?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. Inuyasha had never before mentioned that he might be involved
in some secret half-demon society.

"That doesn't surprise me," Shiori said. "We don't advertise ourselves. We're very much a
word-of-mouth sort. Although all demons are in hiding now, many still have prejudices
against half-demons. We do have our own clubhouse, so to speak, that we call The Academy.
Not only do we host social events just for half-demons and their families, but we also offer
ways to help half-demons get on-par with demons, whether that's through special classes or
networking events. That networking has helped to support half-demon businesses and
startups."

Sesshoumaru had no intention of letting his girls grow up thinking they were any lesser than
full-blooded demons. They were his children, after all—no doubt that even as half-demons,
their powers would surpass those of many full-blooded ones. His family also had all the
connections they could possibly want. Although he would expect his girls to earn their places
themselves when they grew older—as he had—they would nevertheless be exposed to the
height of demon society as they grew up. His connections were their connections.

"Now, like all societies, we do have an annual fee for members to help provide for these
classes and events, most of which are put on by volunteers, but you can read for yourself the
testimonies in the brochure about how helpful our society has been. For many, the price is
worth the ability to find friendships and be with people like themselves. We try not to charge
too high a fee, since not all members are as well-off as Inuyasha and I, for instance. In fact,
even with the low fee, we do occasionally still give financial assistance to some starting
members. Inuyasha has always been a generous donor in both that regard and for hosting
extra events that our fees cannot cover, but of course, several other longtime members have
become generous benefactors as well."

Now Inuyasha's actions as CEO of Nishikuni Corp. began to make sense. He had instituted
service days and charity drives during his time at the top. Sesshoumaru wondered now how
much of that had been a front to give money to this society. He would never have been able
to publically name it though, given its secretive nature.

Still, finding out that Inuyasha could keep such a secret for so long felt strange. Sesshoumaru
was used to Inuyasha being the one to blab secrets, not keep them.

"All this to say that, once your daughters are born, should you wish to enroll them, they
would receive automatic membership into our society by nature of their heritage. As their
parents, you would be honorary members, having the ability to attend events and classes with
them until they turn eighteen and can take over the decision-making for themselves," Shiori
concluded.

"Are there currently any other young members?" Rin asked. "It sounds like a wonderful
society, but what I'm most concerned with is finding some possible friends for our girls
around their age."
 "Of course! We've inducted a few parents and their children in the last few years, and
naturally, I sponsor my foster children to be members as well. You needn't worry about there
being children for your twins to play and learn with."

"What do you think, Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked, handing him the brochure. He did not need to
glance over it.

"If it is important to you that the girls know other half-demons, then we will enroll them," he
said.

Rin grinned at him again, and he basked in it like a reptile needing the sun's warmth to move.
Even Shiori smiled softly, saying, "I understand that this likely goes against all you were
brought up to believe, Sesshoumaru-san, but may I say that I am very happy to see you
embrace our cause like this. Knowing that one such as yourself has taken a human mate…it
gives me hope for the future of demon- and humankind yet." Shiori then pulled out a business
card and handed it to Rin. "This is my direct contact information, but of course you can speak
to Inuyasha as well, if you have any questions. I await the day I hear that your daughters are
born. We will be overjoyed to welcome them."

Chapter End Notes

Well, I obviously had to change Shiori's back story a little bit since I kept her dad alive,
but otherwise I tried to stay true to the story. I feel like even just a slightly different
movement on Tsukuyomaru's part could have saved him. Or like with Touga, if Riku
had just gotten there a few minutes earlier…. The smallest actions can have the greatest
consequences.
 The Many Faces of Rin
Chapter Notes

Guys, I'm not gonna lie—this chapter was tough to write, and I still didn't cover all I
planned to, because the scenes took turns I wasn't expecting, and I ran out of time. I
almost feel like I'm spinning my wheels, trying to move this story forward and not going
anywhere. *insert wry laughter, because this story was originally supposed to be done
by the time Yashahime season two started* Well, let me know what you think.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

As soon as the department store attendant gave them their scanner and sent them on their
merry way into the maze of baby items, Sesshoumaru stared down hard at Rin. "You brought
me here under false pretenses."

"Did I?" she asked coyly as she turned down the stroller aisle.

"I assumed we came to the mall to go…clothes shopping."

"And we will. The baby clothes are down a few aisles," Rin answered, gesturing vaguely
towards the back of the store as she perused the offering of strollers. "Ah ha! Found a two-
seater. Is this the only one? Check if there are any others, so we can compare."

Sesshoumaru huffed in resignation and proceeded to look at the selection of obscenely

overpriced strollers. "I do not understand the purpose of this registry. I can buy everything we
will need."

"I know, but Kagome's had her heart set on throwing me a baby shower long before we knew
you were going to be back in the picture." He knew her words weren't meant as a criticism,
but they still jabbed at his heart anyway. "At this point, I think she just wants to throw a
party."

"Her wedding was not enough for her?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"What can I say? She's an extrovert. You know she and Inuyasha met at a party, right? I could
never have done something like that. Mostly because I don't go to parties, haha."

As he passed her, he trailed his fingers across her lower back and murmured, "I, for one, am
glad for that. Otherwise, someone else may have taken you before I could."

Rin blushed even as his touch left her. "Oh no. I'm too much of a wallflower for that. Besides,
I much preferred our party for two in the forest," she giggled rubbing her stomach—which
contained the favors from that very party. "So, have you found any other double strollers?"
He did, and after comparing the two, they picked the sturdier model—much needed for half-
demon strength. After picking out a stroller, they moved next door into the crib and bassinet
aisle. Sesshoumaru did not much care what they purchased—he trusted her to know better
which items were more functional or better suited for babies—but Rin still asked his opinion
on everything.

When they got to the baby clothes, Rin shot off like a rocket towards a certain rack. He
watched in surprise as she latched onto something, turned around, and said, "We have to put
these on the list."

They were brown dog onesies, complete with hoods sewed with button noses and floppy ears.
Little tails poked out the backs.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "No."

Rin's mouth dropped open in astonishment—as if she had never dreamed he could refute her
(admittedly, it was difficult). "Why not? They're perfect for them!" She lowered her voice.
"It's not like they're going to have ears like your brother. So why can't we dress them up a
little to play the part?"

"It is demeaning."

"How so?"

"Because you are reminding them and everyone else that they will have no other form."

Rin frowned. "Reminding them? Sesshoumaru, they're babies. They're not going to
know what we put on them. And who's everyone else? You?" Her face darkened. "So
it does bother you that they will only be half."

"I did not say that."

"But you were thinking it."

He frowned, starting to get upset. He didn't want to be angry at Rin. He hadn't been this
confrontational since they first met. They were so far past that now. They should not be
fighting over some silly matter as this. "How do you know what I am thinking? The last I
knew, you could only tell what I was feeling."

"Yes, and I feel you getting angry."

He could not refute that.

"So if it's not you, then who else will have the gall to say, 'Oh look at those cute twins dressed
as puppies. Isn't it a shame they aren't actually puppies?' Would that perhaps be your mother,
who can't stand me?"

"She needs time, Rin." But yes, his mother would most certainly point that out.

"Well, I think your father, for one, would find them adorable."
He probably would.

Sesshoumaru sighed, seeing that he was not going to win the fight this way. "They are also
the wrong color."

Rin's face brightened a fraction. "What's the right color?"

He flipped out his ponytail. "What do you think?"

"White? Hmm, let's see. They have a Dalmatian print—"

"No." His family prided themselves on the fact that they were pristine silver and spotless.

"There's not much choice, Sesshoumaru. It's Dalmatian or the brown ones."

"How about neither?"

"Oh, sometimes you're impossible!" Rin huffed, hanging the onesies back up. "Fine, you win!
Let's move on."

As if to spite him though, suddenly everything she started scanning for the list was puppy-
themed. Puppy bottles, puppy bibs, puppy high chairs, puppy stuffed animals.

"You're angry with me," Sesshoumaru said after ten minutes of not speaking to him.

"No I'm not," Rin answered in a snippy tone.

"Rin—"

"All nurseries nowadays have themes. Their theme is going to be puppies."

"And why can we not have another theme? Such as…." He looked around wildly for
inspiration, because he had none. Tigers, elephants…. "The jungle?"

She threw him a disbelieving stare. "Because puppies are the obvious choice, Sesshoumaru.
It's a reflection of who they are. I, for one, thought you'd like to have them reminded of their
heritage."

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to do. He hadn't seen Rin so adamant about something since
she had forced those infernal beans on him after he woke up from his injuries. He had read
about pregnant women suffering from mood swings, but aside from sexual mood swings, he
hadn't yet witnessed Rin going from happy to angry in a snap second—until now.

"It is not though."

Rin frowned up at him. "What do you mean?"

"They are descended from a proud, noble, and ferocious race, Rin. They are practically
royalty among our kind. But to surround them with images of docile puppies and to dress
them up as such? It is an insult to their nobility. They will not understand the weight of their
heritage."

"Sesshoumaru, they'll be babies. They're not going to understand anything for a long time."

"But others will. They need to take our daughters seriously. I do not want them mocked for
appearing lesser than they are."

"And who will dare mock your daughters?" Rin asked. When Sesshoumaru made to answer,
she held up a hand. "Okay, okay, you've made your point. But what would you have me do?
You want me to put them in some sort of ferocious monster onesie? First of all, they don't
even make those, because—hello—that would scare the babies. Babies are meant to be
wrapped in cute things that comfort them. I'm not trying to demean them, Sesshoumaru."

"I know." And he did. She just didn't understand.

And how can she, when she has never seen my true form?

He would have to rectify that—soon.

"I just…thought it was cute and added a little humor to the situation," she muttered. "But I
can tell we're not going to see eye to eye on this, so…what do you want to do? If not puppies,
we need another theme. Heads up: they're all going to be animals. Would you rather they be
surrounded by kitties?"

Sesshoumaru's nose crinkled. "Never."

"Then what?" She looked around and pulled out a little pink and white blanket with a stuffed
unicorn head attached to it. "Unicorns?"

Unicorns resembled kirins too much. And related to that noble kirin was…. "No."

Rin sighed, putting it back. "Then what, Sesshoumaru?"

He glanced through the baby blankets on display, and then his eyes latched onto one, and he
pulled it out. "What about flowers?"

Rin's eyes widened, and she smiled at him. "Yes…that could work. No fauna. Just flora." But
as soon as her face brightened, it closed up in thought. "Are you sure though? I
mean, I obviously love flowers, but…I feel bad, because that seems more like a reflection of
just me than you. I'd prefer for their theme to be something we both love."

Hadn't he already shown he enjoyed flowers now by gifting her them twice? Still, he knew
that would not convince her. Sesshoumaru looked back around. He walked over to a rack to
thumb through some onesies—and that's when he found it. "Then…how about nature in
general? I believe I have found their pajamas."

He pulled out purple and pink onesies covered in smiling stars.

Rin gasped in delight and pattered over, scanning them immediately. "Sesshoumaru, it's
perfect. Everything that brought us together. Yes, nature will be their theme. I want their
nursery to look like a forest. We can use the sanctuary for inspiration."

Rin's entire demeanor changed after that, and Sesshoumaru even found himself enjoying their
tour up and down the aisles of the baby store as they shopped for their registry. It no longer
felt like a chore to give his input—he wanted to. Because he realized that later, when Rin had
gotten some of these items as gifts, he would be able to look at them and recall the memories
of selecting the perfect items for their daughters with her.

Now all that was left was to select their names. Or rather, he had to select a name, since Rin
seemed settled on Towa for one. Although he didn't necessarily have a problem with it, he
still wanted to hear her reason for choosing that name before he fully accepted it. The only
part about the choice that bothered him was that she had chosen it when she was alone. He
did not want to be reminded of that fact every time he said his daughter's name.

Regardless, Rin was not alone any longer. If he suggested a name, she would be there to say
yea or nay on the spot. Unfortunately, despite thumbing through her baby names book while
he was stuck in his car at her apartment at nights, he hadn't yet found any that spoke to him.

He would have to start looking harder. But first, he would have to wheedle the thoughts
behind Towa's name out of his stubborn mate first.

After they had finished doing their registry, Rin started heading in the direction of the parking
garage when Sesshoumaru pulled her a different way.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he dragged her through the mall.

He didn't answer, instead pulling her into a large department store. It wasn't until he headed
for the women's section, where manikins posed with the latest summer dresses and flouncy
bikinis, that she understood.

"Sesshoumaru—" she started with a hesitant whine in her voice.

"I brought you here to preserve your integrity."

Rin's brow furrowed in confusion. "My integrity?" That was most definitely not what she had
thought he was going to say.

"Yes. You would not want me to think that my mate plans to deceive me for the rest of our
lives, do you? I am trying to make an honest woman out of you."

Rin bit back a smile, finally understanding. He certainly has a one-track mind. "You know, I
never said I wanted to go swimsuit shopping. I only said I wanted to go shopping."

"And yet you said it while we were at the pool after our discussion on just such a topic. It was
only logical to believe you inferred it."

"Well, yes. That's what I was counting on," Rin laughed.

It wasn't that she minded shopping for a new swimsuit—she was just wary of doing so with
Sesshoumaru. After all, swimsuits showed skin, and given how horny he apparently was
lately, she needed to keep him level so that he wouldn't try to seduce her clothes right off her.

But she really did want to go in the pool while she had the chance, since once the twins came,
she probably wouldn't have time afterwards to do so. Not until next summer, at least, when
she could set up a little kiddie pool for them nearby and let them splash around. She smiled to
herself at the thought.

She couldn't wait to meet her girls.

Sesshoumaru looked down at her sternly. "Under normal circumstances, I would applaud
your slyness. But not now. Let's go." He pulled her into the racks, looking around. Several
other women were perusing the section, and they all looked up and started whispering as he
passed. Rin bit back her smile. For once, she was the lucky girl who could say the guy
turning heads was hers.

When Sesshoumaru appeared to finally find what he wanted, he snatched it off the rack and
handed it to her. "Try this on."

Rin's eyes bugged as she beheld what hung from his fingers.

A string bikini.

And a skimpy one at that.

Rin shook her head. "No way. That would barely cover anything under normal circumstances.
I'd fall out of it now."

Sesshoumaru smirked. "I know."

Rin rolled her eyes. Was he always this perverted? Well, she was flattered, certainly, but she
had absolutely no plans to wear those strings passing themselves off as swimwear. She
needed to put a stop to this. "Alright. Let's say I got it. Would you really be okay with me
wearing that, if, say, your family was around?"

"My father and brother are mated. They will be too busy looking at their own wives."

Rin scowled. She had really thought that would work, given how possessive he was. She was
about to saying something more when Sesshoumaru cut in.

"Model a bikini for me, and I will model a swimsuit for you."

Rin's eyes widened. Sesshoumaru in a swimsuit?

I want to see it.

But then she would have to try on a bikini, and she'd be back at square one, trying to fend
him off.
Unless…. An idea hit her, and she couldn't hold back a smirk. There's no way he'd go for this.

"Even if it's a Speedo?"

Sesshoumaru's brows rose in surprise. Rin was about to do a victory dance in her head—until
he nodded. "Model this bikini, and I will model a Speedo."

Crap. How do I fix this while still getting to see him in Speedo glory? Rin plucked the bikini
out of his hands. "Not this bikini…but a bikini. I need to find maternity ones, Sesshoumaru. I
know you wouldn't understand, but these cups have absolutely no support, and that's what I
need most right now," she said, fingering the triangular bits of fabric on the top.

He nodded his head graciously. "I can accept that."

Good. Now she just needed to get him out from underfoot. "Well, go find something to try on
then."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "The men's department is on the lower floor."

I know. "And?"

"And unless you come with, I will not be able to model."

"Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru. This is the 21st century." She reached out and grabbed his tie,
pulling on it so he bent his head down. She whispered into his ear so that the other patrons
would not overhear. "Send me a picture. It'll last longer."

Whether he bought the Speedo or not, she would put that photo to good use in the future.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Rin…you know I do not take photos."

"I didn't say you had to take a photo with your face in it. Just give me the goods,
Sesshoumaru," she murmured, kissing his cheek and patting him low on his stomach to get
her point across.

When she pulled back, he eyed her warily, as if trying to sense the trap. After several
seconds, he bit out, "Very well." Then he left her and headed down the escalator.

Rin didn't see any maternity swimsuits in this area, so she meandered over to the maternity
section, which was much less crowded. Only two other woman were looking through it and
comparing their findings with each other. She did indeed find a rack of bathing suits, but
compared to the normal swimwear section, pickings were slim. Still, they had all the types:
one-pieces, tankinis and bikinis.

These bikinis are actually kind of cute…and not quite as revealing as they could be, she
thought as she picked one up. It was an off-the-shoulder type with thin straps to help secure
the top; a large ruffle hid the cups and crossed around the arms. The bottom was actually a
high-waisted, ruffled skirt. I wonder how it would feel to have that waistline pressing on my
stomach though. Well, I guess there's only one way to find out.
Her phone chimed just then, and she pulled it out. All the preview said was that Sesshoumaru
had sent an attachment.

Rin clicked on it and gasped, fumbling her phone in her attempt to hide the screen against her
chest. The two other women looked at her, and she said a quick, "Sorry," before grabbing
both the bikini and a semi-risque tankini—one boasting a mesh, illusion neckline cutout
between the breasts—and heading for the changing rooms.

She slipped into the handicapped stall (needing all the room she could get with her girth),
locked it, and hung up the swimsuits before taking a much-needed seat. Then she unlocked
her phone again.

And Sesshoumaru's bulging crotch opened to meet her.

He had taken her words at face value and basically cropped out everything but his Speedo-
enclosed pelvis. None of his delicious abs or toned pecs—just dick, and lots of it.

Oh, this photo was absolutely sinful, because that Speedo did nothing to hide her man.
Frankly, she was surprised he could keep everything tucked into that thin band between his
legs.

She quickly made a new folder on her phone, titling it something innocent—on the surface at
least: Meal prep.

And…saved.

It occurred to Rin then that this was her first-ever experience with borderline sexting.
Emboldened by the fact that she was safely away from him and behind a screen, she mustered
up the sultriest persona she could.

Me: That's my big boy. I like what you're packin'. 😘

Sesshoumaru: You're always welcome to unwrap this package.

Rin's face flamed. He was getting really good at this sexy banter.

And it was safe banter, because Sesshoumaru wasn't there to rub her and kiss her and make
her want to take off all her clothes.

Well, she did want to take off all her clothes, but they couldn't do that here in public.

Me: If there's a good, thick vegetable inside, I'll happily do so. I always did like fresh 🍆.
Sesshoumaru: I prefer melons.

It took her a second to understand him, but when she did, she gasped and then got an idea.
She took the risqué tankini top and pulled it on, deciding to keep her bra off to check that it
was properly supportive. When she looked at herself in the mirror, the shadows of her
cleavage were on full display through the mesh cutout. The whole black top was pretty
slimming, so even looking at herself head on, it was difficult to judge just how big she was.
She rather liked that top.

Dare she say she looked…sexy? Well, as sexy as a pregnant woman could look.

She took a photo of just her breasts and sent it to him.

Me: You mean these melons?

Sesshoumaru: Mmm, beautifully ripe. But that's too much fabric to be a bikini.

She laughed.

Me: It's a tankini. See?

She then slipped on the skirt with shorts that came with it and sent him a full body shot.

Sesshoumaru: Stunning. But I stand by what I said before. Too much fabric. I held up my
end of the bargain. I demand you hold up yours.

Me: Yes, you delivered. Although I would love a shot with your chest in it. I want to imagine
tracing my fingers along all those hard definitions you've got.

Sesshoumaru didn't respond right away, presumably trying to get the right shot, so Rin took
that opportunity to try on the bikini. The skirt's waistline came up just below her prominent
belly button. While it didn't look horrible, she supposed—the actual swimsuit was very cute
—she still wasn't sure she was pulling it off.

Nothing good can come of displaying this out in the open, she thought, running her hands
over the sides of her swell.

Just then, her phone dinged, and she opened it to find a new photo from Sesshoumaru—and
she almost dropped the phone again.

This time, he was seated, with a naked, muscled leg propped up. He had taken the photo from
under his chin, showing her a smooth, Alpine slope of muscles culminating in a sharp
promontory point that jutted out in Speedo blue.

It looks bigger from this angle. Wait…is it bigger?

She wondered if he was getting a hard-on from all this sexting. Her underwear was certainly
starting to feel a little wet.

Better wrap this up so I don't get any wetness on this swimsuit, she thought as she saved this
second photo.

Me: I see you've left a spot open for my head between your legs.

Sesshoumaru: Rin….
Me: *wink* Just thought you might need some help keeping the mood before I show you
this.

She struck a pose in the mirror, trying her best to make it sexy by pushing her breasts
together with her arms and finding the right angle for her belly. But going from above made
her look like she had an udder. From the side made her look fat. She settled for a three-
quarter profile view, which was the best she was going to get.

😞
Me: Attachment. At least the tankini flattered my stomach, making me look smaller, but I
really look like I swallowed a beach ball here.

His response was delayed by several seconds, and she wondered what he was thinking.

Then the flurry of texts started.

Sesshoumaru: Do not take that off.

Sesshoumaru: Why are you so hard on yourself?

Sesshoumaru: You look beautiful.

Sesshoumaru: It is a testament to your motherhood.

Sesshoumaru: Where are you?

Me: In the maternity section.

Sesshoumaru: I'm coming. DO NOT TAKE THAT OFF.

Rin frowned. Did he want her to show him in person?

That hadn't been part of the deal. She wasn't about to parade out of her stall looking like this.

She started shimmying down the skirt when there was a knock at her stall door. "Rin,"
Sesshoumaru said in a low voice.

Rin gasped and pulled the skirt back up. She yanked open the stall door and looked around.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed. And how did he get here so quickly? "This is the
ladies' changing room!"

"There are no other ladies present," he said, pushing his way into the stall and locking it
behind him. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, and her had only done one button on his vest.
His tie hung loose around his neck. She had never seen him so disheveled in public.

"Did anyone see you?" she asked.

"The shoppers outside were preoccupied," he said, his eyes riveted to her body.

Rin stepped away from him, covering her stomach with her arms. I don't know why I feel so
self-conscious about this. I mean…he did just see it at the doctor's. But still….
Sesshoumaru just followed her until he had her backed against the dividing partition. Cold
plastic bit into her exposed back as she pressed herself against it.

"Do not hide yourself from me," he said, taking her arms and placing them at her sides. She
bit her lips and looked away as he took in the sight of her mostly naked belly. Although the
bikini top and skirt covered more of her than a usual bikini did, she still felt completely naked
before him.

"You will buy this," he said, taking a bit of the ruffle covering her breast and tugging it down.
The elastic line of the top dipped with it, revealing the top of her breast and coming
dangerously close to popping out her nipple.

She batted him away. "Not there." If he started touching her breasts, she might leak again,
and she wasn't wearing her bra or bra cups to soak up the mess.

He smirked at her. "Then where should I touch?" he murmured, taking his gloves off and
shoving them in his pocked before placing his hand on top of her abdomen. He traced a line
as if to bisect it, passing over her belly button and following it over the waist of the skirt. Her
skin tingled where his fingers slid.

She needed to stop him. This was going too far.

And yet her core ached to have his touch again.

He stepped closer. "Perhaps here?" he asked, his hand slipping under the skirt and tracing
along the seam of the bikini around her leg. He hooked a finger over the fabric of the crotch
and then frowned. "Still wearing your underwear, I see."

"Well yes. I can't take it off to try on clothes, Sesshoumaru. That's unsanitary."

He smirked. "That did not stop me."

Oh. She hadn't thought about that. She had been wholly consumed with distracting him and
getting pictures of his package.

"But it is not a problem, as I plan to buy the garment, given your obvious interest in it." He
slipped his finger past her panties and slid it against her wet folds. She sucked in a breath. He
smirked like the devil as he rubbed her. "As I said. Obvious interest."

"Sesshoumaru," she whimpered as he slid his finger up to her clit and started rubbing it with
her wetness. His claw tangled through her curls, leaving ticklish trails.

He leaned in and breathed against her ear, "Just know that if we did not have to mind the
babes, I would take you against this wall right now." Then he thrust his finger into her so
suddenly that she cried out. He placed his free hand over her mouth. "Shh, or we'll get
visitors." Her eyes widened. "Now…what was that about leaving enough room for your head
between my legs?" He used his knees to nudge hers further apart as his finger continued to
pump her. She clenched against him, trying to make herself tighter around the digit so she felt
more sensation. He growled low and then knelt down, kissing his way along the path his
fingers had traced earlier over her stomach until his face was level with the skirt. "Place your
legs over my shoulders, Rin."

She shook her head, but then he shoved in a second finger and renewed his thrusting. Her
knees almost buckled from the onslaught of feeling as his talons scraped gently along her
tender insides. As her womb tightened, the children started kicking, only adding to the
sensation. She would never be able to stand on her own if this kept up, and Sesshoumaru did
not seem intent on removing his fingers anytime soon.

Nor did she want him to.

So first she placed one leg over his shoulder, and when he steadied her with the hand that was
not currently squirming inside her, she placed her other leg over his shoulders, keeping her
back flush to the wall to support herself.

He then removed his fingers from her, leaving her walls clenching and unclenching
desperately around cold air. But he just shifted her further over his shoulder so his face was
directly between her legs, and with one hand pulling up her skirt and the other pulling aside
the dual fabrics cupping her lips, he stuck his tongue between her seam and licked from
bottom to top.

Rin clapped her hands over her mouth and throat to keep her moans from escaping as he
laved his tongue up and down, flicking her clit every time her reached it. She scooted
forward, ready to feel that fleshy muscle inside her, and he must have understood, because he
obliged, pushing it into her wet channel.

Finally, finally he was inside her again. It wasn't his cock, but it was something, and she
would take it.

"So then I said, 'If you think we're going to name our daughter after your video game waifu,
you've got another thing coming, mister," a woman's voice rang out, and then a second one
laughed. Rin's eyes widened as she realized the other maternity section shoppers must have
come in. She tried to meet Sesshoumaru's eyes, but her stomach was so big, it hid his whole
head beneath her—not to mention the skirt covered his skull like a photographer of old taking
a portrait. He, however, continued to pump her with his tongue, apparently unfazed.

The two women continued talking as Rin did her best to stay silent and still, so as to not
shake the partitions. Her toes curled and uncurled, and her thighs and calves trembled as
Sesshoumaru moved to sucking her clit and gently rolling it between his teeth.

I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come!

She pulled her legs flush across Sesshoumaru's back, practically melding his face to her
pussy as orgasmic waves rolled down her legs and up her back to tickle the base of her head
and numb her brain. The children started kicking again, as if demanding to know what had
caused the earthquake that made the walls of their temporary home tremble so.

Sesshoumaru finally pulled his head out from under her skirt and leaned to the side so he
could lock gazes with her, his mouth and chin glistening with her fluids. She removed her
hand from her mouth and took deep, heaving breaths as stared into his steady, blue eyes,
willing herself to come down from her high.

When she had calmed down, he took the ruffle of her skirt and wiped his mouth with the
underside of it, as if he had just completed a formal meal.

She gasped. "Sesshoumaru, you can't do that!" she said barely at a whisper, but she knew he
heard it anyway.

He helped her carefully untangle her legs from around him, and when she was standing on
her own two feet again, he stood up and whispered in her ear, "Oh dear. Looks like you'll
have to buy that bikini after all."

Rin's mouth dropped open. The slyness of that demon!

Then he took her hand and placed it against the bulge in his pants. "Shall I try on that Speedo
again so you can pick up where you left off in our texts?"

As if it knew it was being spoken about, Sesshoumaru's phone buzzed just then, and he
glanced down at his pocket in irritation. Rin pulled her hand away from his crotch as he went
for his phone. When he saw the screen, he scowled and looked at Rin. "Unfortunately, I have
to take this," he mouthed. He cocked an ear, listening to the chatting of the other two women,
then quickly opened the door and slid out of the stall and changing room like a ghost.

Rin just stood in her same spot against the wall, her mind fogging over.

Dear gods. I just had oral sex in a public changing room. How debauched have I become?

Given the new photos of Sesshoumaru's package now saved into a secret folder on her phone,
she was afraid she knew the answer.

She quickly changed out of the bathing suit, wincing at just how wet the crotch of the skirt
was, and then hurried out before the other women had finished changing. She found
Sesshoumaru outside, just hanging up.

How was she supposed to act with him now? She had been holding him back for two weeks
now, but after that…how could she not let him go any further? She had no doubts he would
do everything in his power to try to get into her bed tonight.

After all, he had made a point to ask Dr. Jinenji point-blank if she could have sex. And after
what just happened, could she really say no?

Still…oral sex was one thing. Actual sex was another. He hadn't seen her totally naked yet.
And she still wasn't sure she wanted him to.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"There are some maintenance issues at the sanctuary. I need to return home to do some
research."
"Oh! Understandable. Let's check out then and get going."

Saved by the sanctuary.

When they got back from the mall, Inukimi's voice rang out from the living room as they
passed. "And just where have you two been?"

"Rin had a doctor's appointment," Sesshoumaru answered as they stopped in the doorway
with their bags.

"And then we went shopping!" Rin exclaimed. "Well, sort of. We went to make a baby
shower registry, so we didn't actually buy anything…but it was all so precious, it was hard
not to walk away with something! Oh! Would you like to see a few of the things I've
collected over the last few months for the girls?" she added, hoping she could start to bond
with her mother-in-law.

Inukimi turned away in disinterest. "No need. I'll see them once they are used."

Rin deflated. Just how was she supposed to bond with Inukimi if Inukimi didn't want to have
anything to do with her or the girls? She trudged back to her room, her buoyant mood from
earlier popped and sinking. When she got there, she dumped the bag with her swimsuits
(having bought the tankini for personal preference and the bikini because ethically she could
not put that back on the rack after the lewd things Sesshoumaru did to it) on her bed and
collapsed onto the thick mattress. Her feet ached from walking, her brain ached from
shopping, and her soul ached from Inukimi's coldness. "Your mother is a tough nut to crack.
Usually grandmothers get all excited about baby things."

"Do not fret over it, Rin. She is still…unaccustomed to the idea that she will be a
grandmother."

"No, she's unaccustomed to the idea that she'll be a grandmother to half-demons."

Sesshoumaru did not refute her. Rin sighed. "If only there was some way to make her bond
with them like you do. Whatever you did with your demonic energy today, it made the girls
so active—" She froze as a thought hit her. "Sesshoumaru, is there a DVD player in the living
room?" He nodded. She grinned. "Perfect." Then a yawn overtook her even as her stomach
gurgled. Well, I can enact that plan tomorrow, I guess. "Ugh, I don't know what to do first.
I'm exhausted and want to take a nap, but I'm hungry and want to eat."

"Then lay here, and I will have someone prepare dinner for you and bring it here,"
Sesshoumaru said.

"Would you do that?" she murmured, already scooting up to the bed to put her head on her
pillows.

"Yes." He grabbed a nearby blanket and settled it over her legs. "Rest, and I will return."

"Don't you have work?" Rin asked. "I kept you away from it all afternoon." When he didn't
reply, she opened her eyes and found him staring at the floor, as if debating internally with
himself.

"I do, but I do not wish to leave you."

"Sesshoumaru, I'll be fine. We may live together now, but you don't need to be by my side
24/7. We're still our own people. You have work to do, just like I had work the last couple of
weeks. It's okay."

"Even if it takes me away from the house?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Well, sure. You run the sanctuary. I understand. It's fine to have some space."

"Even if I must stay overnight?"

Actually, that might help me at this point. Less temptation. "Yes, even then." Still, he did not
look convinced. "What's the matter?"

"I already missed out on so much of your pregnancy. I do not want to miss out on any more
of it."

Oh. She reached out a hand, and he walked over and took it. "At this point, it's just doctor
visits and waiting, honestly. Until the birth, there's nothing else really big to miss. But I
appreciate the sentiment all the same." Her stomach growled again, and she sighed. "So…
about that dinner."

"I will inform the staff," he said, kissing the crown of her head. "Get some rest."

Rin did just that. She dozed until she heard a knock on the door, and a servant came in with
her dinner on a tray. She ate, and after shoveling it down, she set aside the tray and settled in
for a nap on a full stomach.

She woke to a hand on her shoulder. It was Sesshoumaru.

"Rin, I'm afraid the situation at the sanctuary has become urgent. I will need to go."

"Now?" she asked, looking at the clock. It was 19:53.

"Yes. I will have to stay overnight. Possibly tomorrow as well. Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine—I promise. I can keep myself preoccupied."

He nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

"Sleep well," he said, leaning down to peck her lips.

"Be safe. Those country roads are dark at night."

"I will."
"Text me when you get there."

"I will."

He left then. Rin was awake by now, so she got up and tossed the new bathing suits into the
laundry. Then she texted Kagome the link to her registry.

Kagome: Thanks! Can we finalize the guest list tomorrow?

Me: Sure! What time?

Kagome: It'll have to be after I get back from the shrine. Late afternoon?

Rin: Got it! Or maybe I'll stop by and see Mom and Grandpa now that I'm back.

Kagome: Sounds good!

Well, at least she had something to do tomorrow.

Rin didn't realize she had become so accustomed to Sesshoumaru's presence already. Even
though they had only been living together for about a week and a half, she was now used to
seeing him every morning. To not wake up with him next to her or to walk into the kitchen
for breakfast and not have him follow suit felt strange, whereas only a few weeks ago, it had
been the norm. He had texted her first thing that morning, of course, but it wasn't the same as
seeing and hearing him say it.

She had only been here a few days, but this was the first time she had been left by herself in
the household.

Well, herself and Inukimi.

Now seemed the perfect time to enact her plan.

After finishing breakfast, she went back to her room, grabbed a DVD, and headed for the
light and airy living room. Just spotting her plants still sitting in their tubs by the window
made her smile. I should find homes for those today.

But first things first. She found her mother-in-law reclining on her divan, reading the
morning news on her tablet. That appeared to be Inukimi's routine, judging by how Rin had
found her there at the same time every morning.

"Good morning, Mother," Rin said upon entering.

Inukimi glanced at her without lifting her head, huffed in response, and then resumed
reading. Rin continued over to the entertainment center. "Do you mind if I pop in a DVD?
The TV in my room doesn't have a player, and there's something I'd like to watch…."

Inukimi waved her off, so Rin took that as an allowance and popped in the DVD. She
navigated the TV's input until the player screen came on. There was only one file on the
DVD, so she clicked it to play as she sat on the couch.

Not one sound echoed out of the speakers as her latest ultrasound began to play on the screen.
She casually darted looks out of the corner of her eye, waiting for Inukimi to comment.

After a moment, Inukimi said, "I know what you're doing."

Rin put on a look of innocence as she turned to face her, though Inukimi kept her eyes on her
tablet. "Well, I would say it's pretty obvious. I wanted to see my babies again, so I'm
watching the ultrasound from yesterday." She smiled, and this time it came out genuinely.
"They're very active. Did you know Sesshoumaru uses his demonic energy to play with
them? They respond to it, and it made for such an engaging ultrasound! Would you like to
see?"

Finally, Inukimi glanced up. "They react to him?"

"Yes! Hmm, let me speed up a bit, because you can really see it happen on the other one."
She fast-forwarded until the ultrasound switched over to their rambunctious baby. "Okay. So
you see how calm she is? And then…there! He's started reaching out to her, and she's gotten
all excited. Can you see those little arms of hers flying?" she squealed. She got up and
walked to the TV, pointing them out like a doctor to a patient.

Inukimi watched silently for several seconds. "And what of the other one?"

"Sesshoumaru says she's shy, so she doesn't respond quite as much, but I can show you when
she did. She was at the start. Hold on." She rewound the ultrasound back to the beginning and
then let it play. "Aaaaand…there. Did you see her fist pump? That's when Sesshoumaru
prodded her."

"Hm."

"Did you ever play with Sesshoumaru like that when you were pregnant?" Rin asked.

"Certainly."

"Would you like to meet the twins that way?"

Inukimi finally lifted her head to look straight on at Rin. "So that was your plan."

"What plan?"

"Do not play coy. I detest falseness."

Rin sighed in resignation, but she filed that away for later. Blunt and truthful over sly and
coy. Got it. Her mother-in-law was certainly very sharp. She would have to be more mindful
of that in future. "Okay, yes, that was my plan. But I'm a little upset that I had to resort to
something like that to even get you to consider the idea. I mean, they're your grandchildren,
after all. Don't you want to get to know them?"
Inukimi closed her eyes and huffed once as she lay back against her divan. "Did you know
that Sesshoumaru detested Inuyasha for centuries merely because he was a half-blood?
Despite being his brother, he refused to accept him. Even now, he only tolerates him."

"I've gathered as much, and I don't expect them to suddenly start hanging out at ball games
together or something—there's centuries of a…rough relationship to work through first. But
Sesshoumaru would not live on the same property as someone whom he detests, and his
feelings on humans and half-demons have obviously changed. Otherwise, the girls and I
wouldn't be here."

"Yes, well, unlike my son, I do not have some human lover to change all my ideals
overnight."

"No, but you do have half-demon granddaughters. In some ways, I can understand
Sesshoumaru's continued grievances towards Inuyasha. He's the son of another woman, even
though that isn't his fault. And I think Sesshoumaru understands now that he shouldn't blame
Inuyasha for that. But these girls are your own flesh-and-blood. How can you hold any part of
themselves against them?"

Inukimi sighed. "What is it that you want? If you are waiting for me to say that I accept them,
do not hold your breath. My son was supposed to continue our line for the good of
demonkind. We are dying out, and he is a pureblooded demon. If you were in the same
situation, what would you wish for your child?"

"I understand, but you cannot change what's happened. And I may not be a mother quite yet,
but aren't mothers supposed to want their children's happiness above all else, even if it doesn't
follow our own desires?"

Inukimi's nose crinkled. "Mothers also want what's best for their children."

"I agree. But sometimes, what's best doesn't make them happy. In this case, however, I think
what's made Sesshoumaru happy has also been what's best for him."

"Oh? And how would you know? You've spent, what, a grand total of a month in his
company?"

"I have. And I've noticed that the Sesshoumaru I know is completely different from the
Sesshoumaru everyone else knows. When Kagome spoke to me about 'Inuyasha's brother,'
she was always frustrated about trying to get through to him or about how unwelcoming he
seemed. Now, she's trying to plan double dates for us because he's finally showing others the
side that he's shown me, and she wants to get to know him better now."

"If you're trying to convince me that wearing his heart on his sleeve is for the better, you're
doing a poor job."

"I'm not saying he wears his heart on his sleeve; on the contrary, he's still frustratingly closed
with expressing himself sometimes. But it is better for him emotionally. He's been carrying so
many burdens within himself for—dare I say it?—centuries, and by letting them out, he's
starting to let them go. It's not healthy to keep things locked inside. Trust me. I kept so much
inside when I was a child, I just stopped talking altogether."

Inukimi turned away from her. "I tire of this conversation. Leave, before I get truly irritated."

But Rin was on a roll, and she sensed a breakthrough nearing. "No."

Inukimi turned back to her, her eyes widened in surprise. "So impudent. I thought a girl like
you would do everything you could to respect your…mother-in-law." She said the words as if
they were rancid meat coating her tongue.

"Respect goes both ways, Mother. I may not be a lady like you, but I am your son's chosen
mate. If you cannot respect that and you cannot respect your grandchildren…I'm afraid I'll
have no choice but to keep them out of your life. I will not subject them to a family member
who derides their very existence. Children deserve to be loved, not hated for something they
could not control."

"Hard to keep them out of my life if you are living here."

"Then we won't live here. Sesshoumaru has offered to have us move out already. I need only
say the word, and he will make it happen."

Rin swore she saw a flash of something—panic, perhaps—waver in Inukimi's golden

gaze. She acts coldly towards Sesshoumaru, but she has lived with him all this time. He said
he ran away for centuries. I cannot imagine any mother being anything other than joyous to
have her son back in her life.

It was a gamble, of course, since Inukimi was the most demonic demon she had met thus far,
and given Sesshoumaru's own questioning of love, she wondered if Inukimi even knew what
it was. But she had to believe there was at least some motherly instinct in there to want to be
part of her son's life.

After several, tense seconds, Inukimi said, "If I meet them now, will you finally leave me be,
so that I may continue my reading in peace?"

Rin barely held back her sigh of relief, not wanting to let her stern façade break. "Yes. Just
once is all I ask."

"So be it. Come here, and let us make this quick."

Rin's heart thundered with rising excitement and nervousness as she walked over to Inukimi's
divan, where she rested with an elbow propped up on the armrest. She stared at Rin's
stomach, but since Rin couldn't feel demonic energy, she had no idea whether Inukimi was
reaching out or not.

Seconds later though, she felt a kick, and she gasped. Without thinking, she reached forward
for Inukimi's propped-up hand and pressed it against the spot on her belly. "Do it again!" she
commanded.
 Inukimi's eyes widened in affront. "The nerve! I did not permit you to—" But just then, the
babies kicked once more against her hand.

Inukimi tore her hand away, as if she had been electrocuted, not nudged by her grandchildren.

Rin tried not to let the reaction bother her. Baby steps. "See? They like you. That's exactly
how they react when Sesshoumaru touches them. Maybe they can sense you're also family. I
don't know much about demonic auras, but Tsukuyomaru-san noted that the barrier can
recognize the auras of family members, so maybe the twins can too." She smiled.

"Perhaps. Well, I've done as you've asked. You may leave now," Inukimi said dismissively,
giving one last look at her belly before returning to her tablet.

"Okay. Thank you," Rin answered. She turned the TV off but purposefully left the ultrasound
inside when she exited the room. She waddled outside, needing to get some fresh air into her
lungs to calm her staccato heartbeat.

As she took a walk through the garden, Rin ran over the conversation again and again in her
mind.

Was I too forward? But she responds better to strength, doesn't she? I did the same with
Sesshoumaru, and look how that turned out. Oh, I just hope I haven't made things any worse.

She rubbed her stomach as she sat down at a bench. Worst-case scenario, if I can't change
her mind, then I hope once you two are born, you'll be able to.

Because Rin had no doubt in her mind that Inukimi was as lonely as Sesshoumaru had been,
and she needed the love and vitality of her family now more than ever.

Chapter End Notes

Changing room sex was not originally on the menu, but you all were thirsty for

😆
SOMETHING, and when the idea hit, I was like…well, that would be different. Let's try
it.

Anyway, I hope that limey goodness will be able to tide you over for a bit, because due
to SessRin Twins Week starting this Friday, I will NOT be updating My Sanctuary on
Monday. (I just can't fully invest myself into two fics at once like that anymore—sorry!)
However, before you get too upset, note that I WILL be writing/updating a new fic
every day for Twins Week (or that's the plan, at least), so I hope you'll come check it
out!

I don't have a finalized title or summary yet, but here's the hook: The Parent Trap meets
Crash Landing on You. I've had this idea in my head for months, and I'm so excited to
finally write it! I hope you come check it out too, but if not, see you back here in two
weeks!
 No Rest for the Pregnant
Chapter Notes

I tell you guys, having that extra week off definitely helped me, because I finally figured
out the transition piece I needed for this story, which is basically this chapter and some
of the next one. FINALLY. Now I feel ready to tackle the rest of Part Three—and there's
honestly not much left (perhaps three chapters by my count).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"Thanks so much for carrying all this for me, Kagome," Rin said as they walked down the
steps of the Higurashi shrine. For Kagome, it was already her fourth trip back down to Rin's
car. Rin sighed, adding, "I seriously think Mama is just using the babies as an excuse now to
clean out the attic. Look at all this stuff! I can't believe she kept so many of your baby things.
And I just didn't have the heart to refuse her when she wanted to give them to me. Are you
sure you're okay with me using them for the twins?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Kagome asked. "It's not like I'm going to be using them."

"Yet," Rin added with a smile. "But I'm sure you will soon, and when you do, just let me
know."

"Rin," Kagome hissed as they reached the bottom of the steps. "Don't let Mom hear you
talking like that. She'll get ideas. Inuyasha and I still haven't committed yet to baby-making."
Rin just giggled and popped open her trunk, but when they looked inside, there was no room
for the new box.

"The front seat it is, then," Rin said. "Look at all this. I'm going to be organizing for a week."

"Have you picked out a room for the nursery yet?" Kagome asked, shoving the box into the
passenger's seat.

Rin froze. In all the commotion of moving, visiting the doctor, and getting accustomed to the
Nishikuni estate, the nursery had all but slipped her mind. "Oh no. Kagome, what do I do? I
haven't even started yet!"

"Hey, calm down," Kagome said, coming over and patting her on the back. "You've still got
some time, right? The doctor even said you've likely got an extra month of pregnancy to look
forward to, so you have some leeway. Besides, it's not like you have a job keeping you from
getting it set up anymore. You have all the time in the world."

Rin nodded automatically, even though she wasn't feeling totally reassured. "Yeah…yeah,
maybe you're right. Still, I should talk to Sesshoumaru about where we should set it up, and
—"
Just then, the sound of tearing paper ripped through the air, followed by several thuds of
objects hitting the concrete sidewalk. Both girls spun around to find a pale woman staring
down at her torn grocery bag in dismay. A wide-brimmed straw hat obscured her features, but
Rin noted that her hair had been covered in a scarf. Meanwhile, an assortment of fruits and
vegetables lay at her feet, and some stray apples rolled toward the street.

"Oh, let me help you!" Kagome cried out, scrambling for the runaway apples.

"Thank you, miss," the woman said.

Rin tried to bend down to help, but Kagome tutted and said, "Ah-ah! I've got this."

"I'm sorry I can't be of any help," Rin said, resting a hand over her stomach. "Oh! But I think
I have a plastic bag in here you can use." She rifled through her trunk, taking a bag from one
of the boxes and handing it to the stranger.

"Oh, this is enough, thank you. I wouldn't dare ask for more from you. I mean, goodness me,
you look like you're getting close. When's the baby due?" the woman asked. Something in her
tone made Rin pause

Why does her voice sound familiar?

Rin realized the woman was staring, waiting for an answer, so she snapped out of it and said,
"Babies. They're twins. They're due July—er, August 10th." She still hadn't gotten used to the
new due date yet.

"Twins? How exciting," the woman replied, bending down to stuff her groceries in the new
bag. Her tone didn't match her words, however.

"Here you go, ma'am!" Kagome announced, cradling the stray apples. She carefully placed
them in the open bag.

"Thank you so much. Oh, would you mind helping me up, dear? My knee seems to be acting
up," the woman said.

"Of course!" Kagome answered, offering her hand. When the woman grabbed it, Kagome
furrowed her brows, staring at their connected hands. As soon as the woman was standing,
Kagome shook her head briefly and let go.

"I'll be off then," the woman said. "Thank you both so kindly." The sisters watched the
stranger walk down the block and around the corner.

"That was weird," Kagome said.

"What was?"

"When I touched her hand, I felt something in my head—almost like a dog scratched at a
door to be let in."

"Let in?"
"I don't know how else to explain it. I didn't sense anything unusual about her before, but
after that…."

Rin grabbed Kagome's hand and whispered, "You don't think she was a demon, do you? Are
you wearing some sort of charm to mask Inuyasha's mating mark?"

"I am, and so are you, so it shouldn't be a demon…but I suppose it's possible. I didn't get a
good look at her face, did you?"

Rin shook her head. "The hat was in the way."

Kagome nodded absently. "Not that a face is any indicator nowadays, but still. …Best to be
safe. You should go back home now. I won't be far behind."

Rin nodded. "Okay. Let me know when you're leaving, alright?"

"Will do."

After Rin got home and had some servants bring in the boxes, she promptly lay down for a
nap, exhausted from going through baby things with her mother. After a couple hours, she
woke up and promptly went to the kitchen to eat dinner. Her only other plan for the night was
to call Sesshoumaru to ask him where they could place the nursery. He had told her that
morning not to expect him until late today or even tomorrow.

However, she had just made it back to her room with the intent of laying in bed and calling
him when the front door slid open and someone ran into the house still wearing shoes.

"Who is it?" Rin called out, her thumb poised over the dial button.

Then Sesshoumaru appeared like a whirlwind in the threshold to her room and rushed over to
her bedside. "Sesshoumaru, what are you—?" He grasped her hand without prelude and
started sniffing her. She jumped. "W-What's wrong? I thought you weren't coming back until
later."

"Did she touch you?"

"Who?"

"Zero."

"Zero?!" Rin squeaked, her body tensing up and her heartbeat ratcheting up to the next level.
"What are you talking about? I haven't seen Zero in person since the wedding!"

"Then how do you explain her scent on Kagome?"

"W-What?"

"Inuyasha called me. He said he smelled it as soon as he got home. Zero's scent was all over
Kagome's hand."
Her hand? Then it hit her, and she gasped. "That was why that woman sounded so familiar!"

Sesshoumaru's pupils narrowed to slits, and his grip tightened on Rin's arm. "So you did meet
her."

"I didn't know it was her. I just went home—er, to the shrine—to visit my family, and when I
was about to leave, a woman dropped her groceries. Kagome helped her get them, and she
did take Kagome's hand, but she never touched me. Kagome did find it strange though. She
said when she touched her, it felt like something was trying to invade her mind."

"There is no question then that it was Zero," Sesshoumaru growled. "The only consolation is
that she has stayed true to our agreement: she did not lay a hand on you. Had she done
otherwise, I would be at her home right now, tearing her apart."

Rin pulled him down to sit next to her on the bed. She reached up and smoothed the hair at
his temples. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm okay. Nothing happened. In fact, it seems like even though
she did try something, it didn't work on Kagome. Maybe that's because of her spiritual
powers."

"But had she tried the same on you, it would have worked. You have no defense against her."

"But she didn't."

"Nevertheless, this was a deliberate threat—a way to taunt me, showing me that she is
capable of finding you and harming you when I am not there to protect you."

Rin's expression faltered. "How did she know I would be going home today? Other than that
and going out with you yesterday, I haven't been outside the estate once since I came."

Sesshoumaru squeezed her hand. "Then there is our answer. You cannot leave the estate again
unless I am with you."

Rin pulled her hands away and frowned at him. "Sesshoumaru, that's ridiculous."

"No, it is safe."

"You can't possibly drop your work and come with me every time I need to go somewhere."
When he didn't answer her, her eyes widened in shock. "You mean to say you don't want me
going anywhere, is that it?"

"We will of course leave for your doctor's appointments. Otherwise—"

She cut him off. "You can't keep me locked up here, Sesshoumaru. I'll go stir-crazy!"

"Rin, think of the children."

"I am thinking of them! Do you know how stressful it would be for me to stay cooped up
here 24/7? Stress is not good for a pregnancy, let me tell you! And I just can't be like you,
Sesshoumaru, and go centuries without talking to people. I need outside interaction."
"Then I will bring others here to you."

Rin bared her teeth and growled. He looked at her as if he had never expected such a reaction
out of her. "Sesshoumaru, you're missing the point! First you take my job, then my home—
now you want to take my freedom too?"

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed. "I told you there would be hardships in mating a demon, Rin.
Do you regret it?"

"Of course not! I'm simply trying to find some sort of compromise! I don't want to risk the
girls' safety, but I don't want to risk my sanity either."

"I think you are overreacting. A couple months at home will not cause you to lose your
sanity."

"And how would you know? I think I know my own self, Sesshoumaru! Who are you to tell
me what I would and wouldn't feel?"

Sesshoumaru set his features in stone. "Rin, calm down—"

"No, I will not calm down! In fact, I don't even want to see your face right now. Get out!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. "What?"

"I said get. Out. And don't come back until you're willing to be rational about this!"

"I am being rational. You are the one—"

Rin narrowed her eyes, her voice like a thin thread about to snap. "Say it. Say I'm being
irrational. I dare you."

Sesshoumaru stood up and turned his back to her. "I will return when you are in a better state
of mind." He left her room, closing the door behind him.

Even though Rin wanted the door closed as a barrier against him, the door clicking triggered
something in her, and she shouted, "Oh sure, close that door, why don't you? Go ahead and
practice locking me up for the next couple months!"

And then, because pregnancy made her emotions a mess, she burst into tears, hating that she
was having such a massive argument with him. But she wouldn't give in. She couldn't.

The next day, Sesshoumaru waited in his office for Rin to wake up and come by to talk to
him. No doubt a night of sleep had helped her see reason.

But when he smelled fish, rice, eggs, and more cooking and still hadn't seen her, he went to
the kitchen to find her sitting at the table on her phone while one of the staff whipped up a
large, traditional breakfast for her.

"Good morning, Rin," Sesshoumaru said from the doorway.

She didn't even look up from her phone.

"Rin."

Still no answer.

So she was still angry. Fine then. Two could play at that game.

"When you are ready to talk, you may come and find me."

And for the first time since they had started cohabitating, he deliberately chose not to spend a
meal with her, returning instead to his office to work.

An hour later though, his patience paid off. Rin came to see him.

She didn't knock on his office door though—just stood in the doorway and waited for him to
acknowledge her.

"Are you ready to talk, Rin?" he asked.

"Where are we putting the nursery?"

His brows creased in confusion. "Pardon?"

"I want to get started on the nursery. Which room can we use?"

If she would simply move into my room, we could use the Peony Room, as it's right next door.
But he knew now was not the best time to suggest that. "I suppose the Iris Room will do. It is
on the other side of the Peony Room."

Rin nodded. "Okay." She turned to go, and he frowned.

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked.

She paused and thought about it. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Since Kagome and Inuyasha are
back, my family planned to go picnic at Dad's grave to introduce Inuyasha to him as part of
the family. You ought to come too, considering that you're now part of the family."

While he was reassured to hear her say he was part of her family, her flat tone held no
affection or welcoming embrace in it. And he did not know if accompanying her while they
were fighting was for the best. "Are you sure your family would be comfortable with my
being there?" He was well aware that they did not care for him. Normally, he did not care
what others thought of him, but he knew it would be important to Rin for her family to like
him, which meant he had to try to find a way into their good graces.

"My mother wants you there. Not to mention, my brother keeps bugging me about when he's
going to finally met you. He's still pretty upset about you leaving me, and I think he wants to
get that off his chest." A hint of smugness crept into her tone. She is angry enough with me
that it pleases her to think her brother is looking for a fight.
The timing was not ideal, but perhaps going would show her family—and Rin—that he did
honor her and her wishes.

Besides, she wanted out of the house, and this would be a way to mollify her.

"Then I will come."

"Good." Without another word, she left.

For the next three days, Sesshoumaru watched as Rin poured herself into transforming the
Iris Room. She had servants remove all the furniture to put into storage. Boxes of baby things
replaced them, and a table full of paint colors and wallpaper samples appeared.

She never left the estate, instead sending servants to fetch was she needed, but she rarely
spoke to him either, and he had not joined her for a meal since their argument.

On the third day, his mother stormed into his office.

"You must put a stop to this."

"To what?"

"To that girl. As if it isn't enough that you allowed her free license to destroy a perfectly
beautiful bedroom—"

"The children need a place to sleep, Mother."

"Yes, and it was perfectly suited to that. But to think she plans to replace my vintage, iris
wallpaper with bland, pastel green paint."

"If Rin is doing so, it must be more suited for children," Sesshoumaru answered, only half
paying attention to his mother's rant.

"You have not even seen what she's planning. You've been holed up in here for the last three
days."

"Rin does not wish to speak with me."

"Would that she felt the same way towards me."

Sesshoumaru threw her a warning look. "She will come to me when she is ready."

"Is that what you think?" She let out a bark of laughter that caused him to look up.

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you've noticed by now that the girl is almost as stubborn as you are. While you sit
here, waiting for her to seek you out, she is most assuredly doing the same. Although, if she
knew you half as well as she seems to imagine she does, she would realize that is in vain, for
you were never one to be the first to bend in an argument."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I am giving her space to reconsider her position. I know she will do
what is best for the children in the end."

His mother shrugged a shoulder, as if she didn't quite believe him. "Hm, well, I suppose I do
not care one way or the other whether you resolve this little tiff. If it makes her run off, so
much the better."

"Rin is not so flippant as to run off because of an argument."

"She might be if she felt you were too restrictive. These modern women value their freedom,
Sesshoumaru. They are not the pliable dolls of the past."

"I understand that. But she does not seem to grasp the danger she faces."

"Perhaps. I will only say this, Sesshoumaru. Whatever faults your father had, he never sought
to lock me away for my safety."

"You had the ability to defend yourself," Sesshoumaru countered. His mate did not.

Inukimi laughed. "Do you think that mattered to him? All you dog demon men are the same
when it comes to your pups and their mothers: you do not trust us to know our own bodies. If
you can trust us to carry your children, you should trust us to know how to protect them. Did
your father beg me to stay at home? Yes. Did I? No. Did he learn to live with it? He did. And
you will do the same."

"You did not have a demon intent on destroying you or your child," Sesshoumaru argued.

Inukimi's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Did I not? Your father was one of the most
powerful demons in the land, Sesshoumaru. He governed a vast empire. And do you know
what every ruler's weakness is? His heir. Of course I was in constant danger—as were you.
But as you said, I was perfectly capable of protecting myself, whereas that girl lacks the same
means." Sure turned around and walked back to the door. "Well, it is no matter of mine how
you choose to solve that particular problem. Whether you stay the course and fuel her
resentment or give in and let her have her way, you are the one who must live with the
consequences."

Her words rang in his ears after she left. Stay the course or give in.

He did not want Rin to resent him. But he did not want to put the lives of his family in danger
either. So what was he to do?

He didn't get much work done over the next couple hours as he pondered how to resolve this
argument. They would be driving to the cemetery soon, which would be the perfect time to
talk—if he actually had something to talk about.

Unfortunately, he still hadn't decided on a course of action by then, so their drive to the
cemetery was silent, save for her asking to stop by a florist. Normally, silence was a balm to
him. No longer did it feel soothing though; this silence felt like a jagged knife sawing away at
the tethers of his mind, torturing him with every blunted strike. Perhaps he should have taken
Kagome up on her offer to carpool. But Rin had asked them to drive separately, so he had
hoped that meant she wanted to talk.

Apparently though, she didn't.

When they arrived at the cemetery, Rin led him down the rows of graves until he spotted the
rest of her family setting up a picnic area around one.

"Hi, Mama! Hi, Grandpa!" Rin exclaimed, going over to hug them and smiling like she hadn't
just been in a mood for the past three days.

"It's so lovely to see you so often again, dear," her mother said. When the woman looked at
Sesshoumaru, he inclined his head.

"Hello."

She smiled back, just like her daughter. "Hello, Sesshoumaru. It's a pleasure to see you
again."

She didn't make the words sound empty, but he wondered if they were.

"So this is him, huh? The guy who up and left my sister?" a new voice Sesshoumaru didn't
recognize asked. He turned to find a young man with a cowlick like Kagome's staring sternly
at him.

This must be Souta.

Sesshoumaru held out a hand to him to shake. "How do you do."

Souta ignored his hand and tried to stare him down, but it was like a Chihuahua trying to size
up a Great Dane. Still, he had to give the boy credit. He kept a stiff spine. "What are your
intentions with Rin?"

"Souta, not now in front of your father's grave," a woman with light brown, braided hair
stage-whispered next to him.

"No, now's the perfect time, so Dad can hear his answer too."

"Is it not obvious from the fact that she has moved in with me?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"No, because the rules are different for you rich types, aren't they?" Souta asked.

"Souta!" the brunette who must be his wife hissed again.

"I'm just saying, I've seen the dramas. They keep the women in comfort, but they never
actually do right by them, and then everyone ends up miserable," Souta said.
"That's not what he's doing, Souta," Rin answered, coming to Sesshoumaru's side. He looked
over at her. He hadn't thought she would stand up for him—not while they were in the middle
of a fight.

"Then tell me what you're doing, Sesshoumaru," Souta answered. "And don't hide behind my
sister like a coward."

Sesshoumaru bristled at the word "coward," and he fought back his trademark, cold-blooded
smirk—the one that foretold bloodshed. This one had some backbone, despite looking like
the type of pencil-pushing pushover one would find in any corporate job. "She is my mate,
and I have taken her in as such. She is no mere mistress, if that is what you fear; she is the
lady of the house."

"And are you planning to marry her?" Souta asked.

"Souta," both Rin and Souta's wife protested.

"Whenever she is ready to have me," Sesshoumaru replied. Rin's head whipped over to face
him.

Souta regarded him for several tense seconds and then nodded, sticking out his hand. "I
respect that you're putting her wants first. So, put 'er there." Sesshoumaru warily shook his
hand.

"Aw man, did I miss the fight?" Inuyasha barked from several rows down.

"Inuyasha, pipe down! We're in a cemetery, for cryin' out loud," Kagome retorted, her voice
no lower than his.

"Nah, no fight," Souta said. "Just making sure we understand each other."

"Pfft, yeah, no offense, Souta, but like Sesshoumaru would even take you seriously,"
Inuyasha scoffed.

His words set off a fuse in Sesshoumaru's heart. "It is true he would be no match for me, but
his defense of Rin is admirable nonetheless."

"Uh…thanks, I guess?" Souta said, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay boys, that's enough posturing. Inuyasha, let's get you and Sesshoumaru officially
introduced to Dad," Kagome said, dragging her husband to the grave, placing some rice in the
offering dish. She bowed, and Inuyasha hastened to follow suit. "Hi, Daddy. I hope you're
doing well, wherever you are. Guess what? I got married a couple weeks ago! I wanted to
introduce my new husband to you, Inuyasha."

"Uhh, hello…sir," Inuyasha stammered, looking around, like he was unsure of where to
direct his words. "I um…I swear I'll take care of Kagome for the rest of her life. Rest assured
on that." Kagome smiled at him and kissed his cheek.
When Kagome looked over at Sesshoumaru and Rin, he realized it was their turn. Rin
brought him forward. "Hi, Dad," Rin said. She laid a bouquet of white mums on his grave.
"Things have been pretty crazy lately, but I hope you haven't been too worried. I wanted to
introduce you to my…mate, Sesshoumaru. We're going to have twins in a couple months—
you're going to be a grandpa! I hope that gets you excited." She beamed at the gravestone.
"So we'll be sure to come back and introduce the girls after they're born." She turned to
Sesshoumaru then. "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Conscious of her family and his brother listening, he could not say all that was in his heart.
He decided to sum it up. "I will strive every day to be worthy of your daughter."

Behind him, Souta muttered, "Damn, he's better than I thought."

Rin laced her hand with his, and he looked over to find her smiling up at him for the first
time in three days. He bathed in it, like a dehydrated man stumbling upon an oasis in the
desert. "You are already more than worthy of me, Sesshoumaru," she answered.

He would not fight her on this, so he simply shook his head and tightened his hold on her
hand. "Then we will have to agree to disagree."

After the rest of the family took their turns updating the deceased on their lives, they settled
in for the picnic. Sesshoumaru was pleasantly surprised to find Rin's mother put out bowls of
mixed nuts and berries. She smiled at him again as she set them before him. Perhaps her
words earlier had not been empty after all.

The Higurashis took turns recalling some of their favorite memories of the deceased. They all
obviously knew these stories by heart, but they still smiled and laughed at their retellings, and
he recognized that it was as much for his and Inuyasha's benefit as theirs to get to know the
father-in-law they would never meet.

After about an hour, the family packed up, but when they got back to the car, Rin said,
"Sesshoumaru, there's somewhere else I'd like to go, if you don't mind." He nodded, and
without telling him where exactly they were going, she gave him directions.

He ended up pulling into a different cemetery, and suddenly, he knew what they had come to
do.

"We won't be long," Rin told him. "I just thought that since we introduced you to Dad today, I
might as well introduce you to my birth family too." He nodded in acquiescence and followed
her unerring path through the gravestones.

The grave they came upon had four names and dates etched on them. The two boys' names
inscribed on the bottom listed the same birth and death dates.

Twins. Had he known that about her brothers? He couldn't recall, but it suddenly made sense
why they too were having twins.

Rin bowed to the gravestone.

"Hi Mom, Dad, Sora, and Haru. I hope you're all resting well. I know the last time I visited, I
probably seemed a bit…overwhelmed. And I asked for your help. Well, I wanted to come
back and thank you. I can recognize a gift when I see it." She looked up at Sesshoumaru and
hooked her arm around his. Though the summer sun blazed overhead, a different sort of
warmth ebbed along his arm from her touch. "I have no doubt now my bracelet snapped that
night for a reason, and that was to bring the both of us back together. So I'm going to assume
we have your blessing. Still, I wanted to bring Sesshoumaru by and introduce him to you."

Sesshoumaru stared at Rin. He should have guessed she would be more inclined to believe in
the supernatural, having grown up at a Shinto shrine. But until that moment, he hadn't
realized she had such faith in whatever it was she believed in—the gods, her ancestors,
spirits.

As a demon, Sesshoumaru did not have that sort of faith. When one had the power to make
the world his own, one did not need to believe in a higher entity to help make things go his
way.

But he realized now that it was precisely that quality of Rin's—her faith—that had always
been at the root of their relationship. For a girl who had suffered so much in life to still
believe in the good of people and to believe that she could find a way to raise the children of
a demon who left her—or even that she could make a life together with that demon, despite
his having shaken her trust and all the sacrifices she knew she would have to make….

He wasn't sure he could have done the same, had he been in her shoes.

No, in fact—he was positive he would not have reacted the same way. After all, his faith in
his own father had been shaken centuries ago, and obviously he still had not been able to trust
in him entirely, since he had kept Rin a secret for so many months.

And then it hit him. The answer to their argument was so simple and yet so difficult for him,
someone who had always relied on only himself.

Sesshoumaru had always though humans' faith in what they could not see was a weakness.

But perhaps…perhaps it was actually a strength. Because a person who had not had that faith
might have given up long before this point.

He did not know if Rin's bracelet breaking was truly a monumental coincidence or the work
of some dead ancestor's influence, but Rin believed it, and he would not refute her, because it
comforted her to believe it.

There had been words he wished to say to Rin's adoptive father but been uncomfortable
expressing with such a large audience. Here, however, he felt he could say them.

"Honorable father, honorable mother, your daughter is the light of my life. I had not realized
until I met her that I was stumbling blindly around my path; now, I see no way forward that
does not involve her and our family. A blind man who receives the gift of sight does not
willingly venture back into darkness. Know that I will never forsake your daughter again, no
matter the circumstances."
"Sesshoumaru," Rin murmured, tears limning her eyes. "I don't understand what I did to
deserve such…devotion." A single tear spilled down her cheek.

"What did I do to deserve yours?" he countered, wiping away her tear.

Instead of answering with words, she pulled his head down for soft yet passionate kiss. In
that moment, he felt he did not need the bond between them to go both ways, because he
could feel her emotions ringing through to him loud and clear.

When they pulled apart, he said, "Rin, I wish to compromise."

Her eyes widened in understanding. "I'm listening."

"I do not wish to restrict your freedom, but I fear for your safety. Would you consider taking
one of my family or a trusted servant with you whenever you leave, no matter where it is you
go?"

She clasped the hand against her cheek. "I can feel how difficult it is for you to ask me this. I
know how much you want to take this responsibility on yourself. What made you change
your mind?"

The night she came back into his life, his father told him he needed to learn to ask for help.
Now, he was finally willing to try.

"I never had faith that my family would help me…or perhaps help me in the way I saw fit.
But the faith you have in your family inspires me, Rin. And for you…I am willing to try."

With their argument over, tensions eased in the household, but Rin still busied herself with
the nursery—so much so that even Sesshoumaru was starting to worry she should be relaxing
herself. He had detected a change in the pattern of her heartbeat these last few days, but when
he mentioned it to her, she waved it off, saying it was only anxiety about getting the nursery
done in time.

That following Monday evening, they had their first parenting class. When they walked into
the classroom, they found three other couples seated. Everyone turned to look at the
newcomers, and when their eyes landed on Rin, they stiffened.

"Oh, you must be Sesshoumaru and Rin. Welcome! Please, feel free to relax your aura and
disguise and take a seat," the teacher, a female snake demon, if the patches of dry skin were
any indication, said, putting on a welcoming smile.

But as welcoming as the teacher's words were, the other couples trained wary eyes on them—
or more specifically, Rin—as the two walked over to an empty table. He glared at them all,
daring them to say a word. A bird demon couple sat next to them, and they each pulled their
wings in a little closer as the two sat down.

Despite what should have been an obvious threat from him to leave them alone, the female
bird demon leaned over slightly and asked, "You're human, aren't you?" She alone did not
appear pregnant.

"I am," Rin answered.

"And you willingly…?" The bird demon glanced at her rounded stomach.

Rin smiled. "Oh, yes. We are mated. See?" She slipped her bracelet off her wrist, allowing
Sesshoumaru's mating mark to finally manifest. The other couples jolted at first as soon as
she took it off, as if the power of his mark had whacked them in their faces, but they slowly
relaxed.

"Great. Now that everyone is here, we'll go ahead and begin," the teacher said. "As you may
be aware, demons mainly classify reproductive results into two main categories: live births
and egg-laying. I see we have one egg-laying couple with us while the others will have live
births. I'd like to begin by showing you a short video about both the birthing and egg-laying
processes. This way, when the big day comes for each of you, what happens to the mother's
body might not come as quite so much a shock to either of you."

Sesshoumaru was not sure what to expect when the snake demon put in the video, but he was
confident he would remain unfazed.

How wrong he was. He swore he had seen battlefields strewn with less gore.

As he watched the live-birthing mothers on video scream their way into pushing out bodies
that were far too large to fit through such small openings, he looked down at Rin in concern,
but she only looked bored watching the video.

Of course. She had attended hundreds of births. This was nothing new to her.

But how did she feel knowing she would be going through this same pain? Had she prepared
herself for it? Already, he couldn't stand the thought of her succumbing to such torture. And
what was worse—what sent a burning sensation crawling up his throat—was that he knew he
was ultimately responsible for causing her this pain.

When the torturous movie finally ended, the teacher then saw fit to humiliate them by making
each couple get down on a mat on the floor, fathers kneeling or sitting behind the mothers.

"Now, we're going to practice different birthing positions and breathing exercises," the
teacher explained. She put up a poster of various demon silhouettes in all kinds of ridiculous
poses. "Now fathers, several of these positions require you to play an important role of
support. Those of you with wings will have to work facing each other rather than back-to-
front. We're going to go through eight different positions today. Mothers, just remember that
what feels good today may feel awful on birthing day. Get a feel for each position so that you
can try out whatever feels best the day of."

Sesshoumaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was expected to assist in this process?
What happened to the days of fathers waiting outdoors while the women simply lay in bed
and pushed the children out? Why did he need to see every sordid detail? When did it become
such an involved process? Truly, the modern era was more of a curse than a blessing.
"Let's start with the supported squat. Fathers, sit in the chairs. Loop your arms underneath
Mother's armpits and help her squat. Ah, let me come help you with some egg-laying
alternatives," the teacher said, going over to the bird demons. As Sesshoumaru watched the
two other birthing couples maneuver themselves into position, he frowned.

Absolutely not. He would not submit himself and Rin to such public degradation. These
positions were far too intimate to be shown in public.

"Come on, Sesshoumaru. Get in the chair and help me squat. I've shown women how to do
these positions before, but I've never tried them with my own beach-ball stomach. I want to
see how different it feels now."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes in resignation. How could he deny his mate when it was his
fault she was in this state—his fault that she would have to suffer great discomfort to bring
their children into the world? So he got up into the chair and looped his arms beneath hers,
helping her to squat.

"Hmm, I like the way it opens my pelvis up, and having you hold me helps my knees…but to
be honest, as much as I like this corded muscle of yours," she said, reaching up to rub her
fingers along his arms and sending lightning shooting straight to his heart, "they're so steely,
it kind of hurts to have you hold me this way. Let me try putting my arms on your knees and
spreading my legs."

Sesshoumaru let her do as she wished. The teacher then brought over a birthing ball for a
third positions, allowing Sesshoumaru to sit flush against Rin's back and support her stomach
as she spread her legs past the edge of the ball. He often glanced over at other couples to
make sure no one was staring, but each couple was wholly focused on their own birthing
positions. It was a small mercy, at least.

As Rin worked through the positions, her heart rate increased.

"Rin, are you well?" he asked.

She nodded, taking deep breaths. "I'm okay. Just thinking of it like exercise. Not to worry."

They worked through several positions before, mercifully, the teacher decided it was time to
move onto the next lesson.

"Nursing! Believe it or not, there is a right and a wrong way to nurse," she said. As she went
through suggestions for proper breastfeeding procedure and described all the changes a
woman's breasts and nipples would go through—including the discomforts—Sesshoumaru
realized he and Rin had never spoken about how long she intended to breastfeed—if at all.
He did recall her adding a breast pump to the baby shower registry, so he assumed she
planned to, but if her breasts were going to be so sore and tender, did this mean he couldn't
touch her for six months or—kill him now—two years, if it came to that?

They were going to have a serious talk when they got home.
Finally, they moved onto other baby care, and the snake demon proceeded to share
information Sesshoumaru would never have seen fit for public discussion—namely, the
rainbow of colors a child's first fecal deposits shifted through over the first few days of its
life. Until the teacher had told them not to panic over "that first black poop," it had never
even entered his mind that he was supposed to panic about such a thing.

The final task of the day was to practice changing a diaper on a baby doll. The teacher placed
a doll in front of each couple with some pretend supplies: a diaper with Velcro straps, a cloth
to simulate a wipe, a separate cloth and baby powder, and fake diaper rash cream.

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin, who smiled at him in turn. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she
asked.

His eyebrows rose. "You wish for me to do this." It was an observation, not a question.

"Of course. I already know how to change a diaper. But I would be surprised if you've ever
even touched one."

She had him there. When was the last time he had even come in contact with a child, let
along one in diapers?

"I see no need to dirty my hands this way. We have servants who can tend to the children's
base needs."

"Oh no, mister. You said you were willing to become a hands-on parent. Nothing is more
hands-on than getting to know your babies' butts." Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at her
crassness. He would have sworn it was Kagome speaking if he had not been staring right at
Rin. "Come on, take its legs."

"Legs?"

"Weren't you even paying attention? Here, like this." She demonstrated, grabbing the baby
doll by both ankles and lifting the rubbery legs into the air, hefting the bottom off the table.
Then she set it back down. "Now you try."

"It does not hurt the child to handle it this way?" he asked, grabbing the baby's ankles and
immediately noticing a problem.

His claws.

This was only a doll that he was poking, but already white scratches showed on the plastic
where he had scraped it with his claws. Had this been his daughter he was touching for the
first time, he would have torn through her skin. He would kill himself if he hurt her, even
accidentally. So, he set the legs back down and worked out a way to grab the legs without his
claws scratching the ankles.

Rin smiled at him. "Good. Now, remove the dirty diaper."

Sesshoumaru did so, and there was a simulated yellow stain inside. Apparently, the baby doll
was designed to hold water. Rin laughed. "Trust me, it will look—and smell—a lot worse
than that." Sesshoumaru's nose crinkled at the thought. Rin apparently noticed. "Actually…
are we going to have to get you a swimmer's nose plug to keep by the changing table? I know
your sense of smell is far more sensitive than mine."

He hadn't thought about that. But as much as the smell would offend him, he would not cover
his nose in fear of it. "I have smelled the offal of humans and demons alike in battle. This is
no different."

"Ah, good point. Now then, while keeping the baby suspended, take the wipe and, well, you
know. Wipe anywhere that's dirty." He did as instructed, though he felt foolish playing
pretend with this doll like a child. "Now set the clean diaper underneath." He did so. "Good.
Okay, see that bit of redness? They've simulated diaper rash on this baby, so take the cream
and apply it."

"We have to touch…?"

Rin giggled. "Of course, silly! What, did you think you could change a diaper without
touching a baby's butt? I told you, you're going to get to know your babies' butts really well
by the time they get out of diapers."

Once again, he had to be careful of his claw as he applied the cream to the fake rash.

"Good. Finally, baby powder. Now, there's a right and a wrong way to do this. Put the baby's
legs down, and shake some powder onto the cloth. Be sure to apply it around the genitals, but
not on them." As he followed her instructions, she added, "By the way, make sure when
you're doing this in real life to keep all bottles and things as far as possible from the baby.
This is just a doll, but the actual baby will be flailing around as you change her diaper. The
last thing you want is for a stray foot to knock over your baby powder and send it flying. Oh,
and don't be surprised if as soon as you put down a clean diaper, Murphy's Law kicks in and
the baby decides to go right then and there, making you have to start the process all over
again."

Sesshoumaru turned and stared at Rin, and something of his fluster must have shown in his
eyes, because she laughed again. "Oh, my poor Sesshoumaru, don't worry! You'll get the
hang of it. We all do. It just takes practice. And poop. Lots and lots of poop."

"You are enjoying laughing at my expense," he said, his words dangerously close to a whine.

Rin bit her lip. "Well, yes, a little bit." Then she darted over and pecked him on the cheek.
"But I'm also so proud of you for coming here to learn and try," she whispered in his ear. "It
means the world to me." She then pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

Sesshoumaru's heart eased as he turned back to the doll and pulled up the diaper, Velcroing it
closed.

Rin was proud of him. Within mere weeks, first his father had said it, and now his mate.
Centuries of dedicating himself to the battlefield to prove himself worthy, and all it took to
earn their pride was dedicating himself to his mate and changing a fake baby's diaper.
 He would never have believed he could become such a changed demon.

Sesshoumaru had hoped that Rin's little kiss at the parenting class was a precursor of things
to come. They had not had an intimate moment in almost a week—not since their debauchery
in the changing room at the mall.

Perhaps tonight he could finally finish what he had started.

When he brought Rin back to her room, she turned around and leaned up, pecking his lips
with a half-lidded gaze. "Goodnight, Sesshoumaru." But before she could escape, he caught
her in his arms and walked them back into her room, shutting the door behind them. She
looked at it somewhat in alarm. "Sesshoumaru, what are you doing?"

In answer, he kissed her, sucking sensuously on her bottom lip until he pulled a little moan
from her. He pulled away and gazed at her, watching as the heat in his eyes brought a blush to
her cheeks. "I will have you tonight, Rin."

Her breathing grew unsteady. "No, wait, Sesshoumaru, I'm not—"

"Not ready?" he asked, attacking her pulse point on her neck and feeling it thrum erratically
beneath his lips. "You tasted more than ready last week at that mall."

"But that…you…ah!" she squeaked as he took the edge of a claw and gently ran it up the
seam of her pants between her legs, tracing up to where he knew her bud would be and
massaging it. Her heartbeat stuttered, but the scent of her arousal perfumed the air.

"Why are you trying to deny the both of us, Rin?" he asked, pushing a little harder into her
clit and causing her to gasp.

"I'm not…I just—" He pressed his mouth against hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth to
steal her words—lick them off her very tongue and swallow them.

When he pulled away, he pinned her with his most predatory stare. "Do not lie, Rin. I cannot
abide it."

"Sesshoumaru, I…I…." Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she started breathing more
heavily. "I don't feel—"

Rin's eyes suddenly rolled back up into her head, and she collapsed lifeless into his arms.

Chapter End Notes

Don't kill me, please and thank you—especially when I announce that for the next
couple months or so, My Sanctuary will move to an every-other-Monday update. Why?
The simple truth is that while I got a great start on my SessRin Twins Week fic, The
Wall, I did not manage to finish last week like I had hoped I would. The story got a little
too big, so I still have some more to write for it. However, given how much time it takes
to write a chapter for each of these stories, I cannot possibly update both each week, and
since I don't want to favor one audience over the other, I decided the best way to do this
was to alternate weeks until The Wall is finished. I am hoping it will only take five more
chapters or so, but we'll see. So, I do apologize to change the schedule like this, but if
you will be patient, I hope it will not be for long. Thanks!
 How to Tame a Monster-in-Law
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

A tight grip on her arm—growing ever tighter and more uncomfortable—pulled Rin from
unconsciousness, and she shifted, trying to escape it.

"Rin-san? Are you awake? If so, can you open your eyes?"

Rin blinked blearily and immediately regretted it as the fluorescent light of God shone down
upon her. She groaned, turning away from it.

"Rin."

That single syllable—said in a deep voice she knew and loved so well—was tinged with
concern, urging her to crack open her eyes again. As her vision came into focus,
Sesshoumaru solidified in the seat next to her, his hand clasping her left one.

Her pulse pounded in the painful squeeze below her right bicep, so she flopped her head over
to find a blood pressure cuff wrapped around her arm and a demon nurse standing over her.
Finally, she took note of her surroundings—the raised bed, the machinery, the frigid air. They
were in the hospital.

"What are we doing here, Sesshoumaru?" she asked in a groggy voice.

"You fainted. Do you not remember?" he asked, reaching out to tuck some hair behind her
ear.

Rin shut her eyes to think about it. They had been at the parenting class…. Had she fainted
there? Was that why she was in the hospital?

No, wait…they had made it home. Everything came rushing back to her—Sesshoumaru
pulling her in for a sensual kiss. Her heart thudding like an amplifier in her chest as he
seduced her and murmured the delicious threat in her ear that he would have her that night.
The panic that flooded her, because as much as she wanted him, she was so afraid to show
him her new body, and—

And she had fainted on him.

She wanted to sink into the folding hospital bed and disappear. What must he think of her?

The nurse removed the blood pressure cuff after reading it and recording the number. "Rest
here. I'll go fetch Dr. Jinenji." She left.

"How are you feeling?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"I'm okay. Just embarrassed."

"Why?"

Because I got so over-stimulated, I fainted. That's why. She wasn't about to admit that
thought. Talk about an ego-stroker for a man.

Perhaps he guessed along what lines she was thinking, because he squeezed her hand and
said, "Rin, I am the one who should apologize. I have…not been able to read your reactions
properly. Many times, you say you are not ready to pursue a physical relationship once again,
but then you act as if you are. I should have listened to your words. You were not ready. That
is evident now."

"Sesshoumaru, wait—it's not like that," Rin protested, although she couldn't deny that she
had been giving him mixed signals for weeks. She felt so torn between doing what she
wanted—throwing him down on a bed and having her dirty way with him—and doing what
seemed logical: waiting to develop their emotional relationship more before jumping back
into bed with him. Of course, her insecurities about her pregnant body didn't help matters at
all.

She recalled what she had thought of herself when she found out she had gotten pregnant. I'm
still such a fucking mess. But now my mess is affecting someone else besides myself. Should I
just tell him I'm embarrassed and be done with it? Even if he didn't like it, at least he'd finally
understand.

But the rational part of her mind countered, Maybe you haven't told him yet, because you
realize it's a foolish reason to keep him from making love to you. Deep down, you know he
won't care.

She took a deep breath. Yes, if how he had acted in the changing room at the mall was any
indication, he didn't care.

Still, it wasn't that easy to just rid herself of her feelings about her body. But maybe she
should just come clean about it.

"Sesshoumaru, I—"

The door clicked opened, and Dr. Jinenji walked in. "Sesshoumaru-san, Rin-san. A pleasure
to see you again, although I wish it were at a checkup and not in these circumstances."

"What is wrong with her?" Sesshoumaru demanded before the doctor even sat down.

Dr. Jinenji just smiled patiently at him. "A moment, please, Sesshoumaru-san." He turned to
Rin. "Can you tell me what led up to your fainting spell, Rin-san?"

Once again, she wished the bed would just swallow her. She knew she shouldn't be
embarrassed to tell him—doctors had seen and heard everything. But still, to put into words
what they had been doing…. "Um…Sesshoumaru and I were…uh…having a moment of…
erm, passion, and I think I just got too…over-stimulated," she ended, her voice barely coming
out by the end.
"I see. And how were you feeling prior to that? Did you have any problems earlier?
Headaches? Nausea? Shortness of breath?"

Rin thought about it. "I don't think so…."

"I believe she overexerted herself during the parenting class," Sesshoumaru supplied. His
amber eyes bored into her. "Your heart rate and breathing were quite elevated."

Oh, right. Those labor positions had been a little tough on her. She felt like a friggin' cow
going down on her hands and knees and sporting a gigantic udder.

Dr. Jinenji nodded. "You've also experienced quite a bit of change in your life recently,
haven't you? I believe at your appointment last week, you mentioned you had recently
moved."

Rin took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding. "It wasn't even just moving. I had to
quit my job. I've been trying to adjust to a new home and to being around demons. I'm also
trying to get the nursery set up, now that I have time."

"What was your occupation before, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Perinatal nurse."

"I see. A demanding job with a lot of hours. And you were still working this late into your
pregnancy?"

Rin looked down at her stomach, shame creeping over her again. "I…didn't really have much
of a choice. I was planning to raise them on my own…until I met Sesshoumaru again."

"I understand. Well, Rin-san, I believe the reason you fainted was due to high blood pressure.
Your numbers last week were still normal, though they were near the edge of being classified
as "elevated," so I planned to keep an eye on that. This time, however, your measurement was
127 over 82. As I'm sure you're aware, you've jumped straight into the stage of hypertension.
While I suspect that the stress of these past several weeks—in addition to the added stress of
carrying twins—has finally caught up with your body, I will want to run some tests to
determine whether this is stress-related, gestational hypertension, or—in the worst case—
preeclampsia."

"Explain," Sesshoumaru demanded.

"Gestation hypertension is just as it sounds—elevated blood pressure brought on by

pregnancy. Since the woman did not have it before pregnancy, it is not chronic, and she
should recover after birth. Preeclampsia is a more serious pregnancy complication, though
still fairly common. It too is characterized by high blood pressure but also damage to an
organ, such as the liver or kidneys.

"Given the symptoms, I'm inclined to say this is not preeclampsia, but I want to be sure. As
such, I'd like for you to remain here for the next few hours, so we can monitor your blood
pressure before we let you go." He set a urine sample cup on the nightstand. "Now, if you
could fill that up for me, we'll get that tested. Regardless of the results, I'm putting you on
complete bed rest until our scheduled appointment next week. At that time, we'll determine if
we need to continue with it. I don't want you doing anything more stressful than walking to
the bathroom. Even when washing yourself, I'd prefer if you sat. And of course, this also
means no sexual activities. Understood?" He looked pointedly between the two of them.

Rin nodded miserably, her throat growing tight. What have I done? How did I let it come to
this?

Dr. Jinenji left, and as soon as he did, Rin put her head in her hands and sobbed.

"Rin, what is the matter?" Sesshoumaru asked, putting a hand on her wrist.

She sucked in a warbling breath. "I…I…I'm going to be a…t-terrible mom!"

Sesshoumaru frowned in confusion. "Why would you say such a silly thing?"

"B-Because I've put the girls in danger…and they're not even born yet!" Rin cried. "And I-
I'm…a failure as a healthcare professional. I ca-can't even…keep my own body healthy. I do
this…all the time! Did I tell you? T-That's why I took that vacation last fall…in the first
place. Kaede forced me to go…because I worked myself…too hard!"

Sesshoumaru moved his chair closer to her head and brought it to his shoulder, letting her cry
there. She burrowed her face into his suit jacket, the padded shoulders a comfortable if
expensive pillow.

As he stroked her hair, her deep voice reverberated against her ear. "You are not to blame for
this, Rin. All of this…stress you are experiencing? It is my fault."

Rin pulled away, shaking her head. "No, don't say that."

"It is," he countered. "I got you pregnant. I left you to carry them alone. I made you quit your
job—although I am more and more convinced that is for the better, in this case. I made you
move. And tonight, I pushed you too far, physically."

Rin wiped away her tears, sniffing. "No, you can't blame yourself for all of that. I allowed
myself to get pregnant. I maintained my hectic work schedule even while pregnant. I agreed
to the move, because of the danger and because…I do want to be closer to you. You didn't
push me too far, Sesshoumaru. I just..." I'm just embarrassed. But it felt so stupid to say that,
so instead she said, "I just wasn't feeling well."

It wasn't too far off the truth at least. Her body never felt one-hundred percent while
pregnant. And at least she no longer had to make any more excuses to fend off his advances.

But for something that should have been a relief, her heart weighed more like a stone than a
cloud at the realization.

Just then, Sesshoumaru's phone buzzed, and he took it out. He frowned at the screen.

"What is it?" Rin asked.

"My mother is asking after you."

Rin's eyes widened. "I…didn't think she'd care."

"She says Jaken is annoying her with his constant stream of questions."

Ah, that sounds more like her. "Well, tell her I'm fine. That should shut him up for a bit."

"I will tell her the truth: you have hypertension and must be put on bed rest. I will make sure
she does not bother you. We would not want your blood pressure to rise again."

She didn't know if he meant it as a joke or not, but she burst out laughing at that. And it was
the best medicine he could have given her in that moment.

After the doctor finally released her from the hospital early that morning, Jaken was waiting
at the front door of the house like a lonely dog for his master. He barked out questions with
the same excitement as such a dog.

"Milord, you've returned! How is she? Are the children unharmed? Do you need me to fetch
anything?"

Sesshoumaru ignored him, carrying Rin bridal-style back to her room and carefully laying
her in bed. Jaken followed on his heels, still asking questions. Finally, Sesshoumaru snapped,
"Jaken, go fetch Rin some tea."

Rin jumped in to say, "But I don't ne—"

"Right away, milord!" Jaken answered, running off to the kitchen before hearing her out.

"I don't need any tea," Rin finished quietly.

"But I need him out from underfoot," Sesshoumaru replied, going to her dresser and
unerringly finding the drawer that held her pajamas. He brought them over to her. "Is there
anything you do require?"

Rin shook her head. "Just sleep at this point. It's been a long night."

He nodded and bent down to kiss the top of her head. "Text me or Jaken if you need
anything. He is at your complete disposal."

"No, Sesshoumaru, I can't take him away from you like that. He's your secretary. Playing
nurse to me is not part of his job."

"He is not my secretary—he is my retainer. He carries out my every order."

Rin sighed and leaned back against her pillows. "If you say so." She smiled softly up at him.
"Can I get one more goodnight kiss though?" she asked, tapping her lips.

Sesshoumaru looked torn. "I do not want you to faint again."

Rin flushed. "I'm not that enamored with you," she grumbled. I knew he would get a big head
about that. "I just wanted a little peck is all. Not like you have to give me any tongue."

He smirked at her. "When I give you my tongue, you will be begging for it." He leaned down
and pressed a kiss to her cheek, murmuring in her ear, "And it will not be in your mouth."

Rin's face flamed from simmer to boil, and she put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed
him away. "You know what? Forget what I said. Apparently, you sir, are bad for my health. I
can feel my blood pressure rising again."

Sesshoumaru's brows puckered, and he took her hand from his shoulder and squeezed it. "I
apologize, Rin. You bring out a part of me that enjoys a lack of restraint. But I am fully
capable of reigning myself in."

She reached up and cradled his jaw. "I know, Sesshoumaru. You've proven that not only over
these past few weeks but over the last several months in general. I am lucky to have a demon
such as you for a mate."

His eyes widened, and his hand crept to his breast pocket. He knelt down next to her bed.
"Rin, I—"

"Rin, I've brought your tea!" Jaken squawked, waltzing into the room with a tray bearing a
kettle and a cup. He froze on the threshold as Sesshoumaru glared at him. "Oh, er…but I can
keep it warm and come back later…."

"That's alright, Jaken. We were just saying goodnight," Rin answered. Sesshoumaru clenched
his hand and stood up.

"Goodnight, Rin," he said, leaving her with one final backwards glance. Jaken slipped past
him and placed the tray of tea on her nightstand. He poured a cup of steaming tea and handed
it to her.

"Thank you, Jaken," she said, accepting it. She hadn't felt like drinking it before, but as soon
as the warmth seeped in her hands, still frozen from being in a hospital for five hours, and the
fragrance of pomegranate and raspberry hit her nose, it suddenly seemed like the perfect way
to relax.

However, Jaken didn't leave as she sat there, waiting for her tea to cool. "Was there…
something on your mind, Jaken?" she asked.

"No one has answered my question! What seems to be the matter with you, Rin?"

"Didn't Mother tell you?"

"Tell me what? She went to her room after Lord Sesshoumaru ran out of here with you and
hasn't come out all night!"

Odd. But she texted and said that he was annoying her with questions. …She wasn't actually
worried about me, was she?
Given that her mother-in-law hadn't come over to see her yet, she doubted it.

"Oh, well, I fainted from high blood pressure. The doctor has put me on bed rest for the next
week at least."

"High blood pressure? Don't tell me…." Jaken glanced around and then scooted closer and
whispered, "Is it because of Lady Mother? I know she gives me high blood pressure at
times."

Rin bit back a snort. "Well, that might be part of it. But it just seems like I've been pushing
myself too hard lately. I suppose I'm still acting like I'm single and trying to do everything
myself, even though I'm…mated."

"Indeed, you have a mate now, so you must be more mindful of milord!" Jaken admonished,
standing up to his full, diminutive height and crossing his arms with a sharp nod. "Milord,
after all, has deemed you worthy to carry his heirs—it is your duty to ensure they have a
gestation free from stress! Your sole concern in life now should be to make sure you bear and
birth his children well."

Rin's brows rose, and she took a tentative sip of her tea to test its temperature. Is this how
women were spoken to back in the day? I can see why women's right became a thing. "Are
you saying my only worth in this household is as Sesshoumaru's brood mare, Jaken?" She
didn't think he completely meant it that way. A week in the house had been enough to show
her though that he was about as old-fashioned as Sesshoumaru and even worse with his
words, though he used them much, much more frequently.

"I—!" He held up the middle of his three fingers (Rin had to remember that that was all he
had, and he was never trying to flip her off when he did) as he stopped and thought that over.
"O-Of course not! I am simply saying that you should treat your body as the temple it is!
Sesshoumaru-sama's children are precious, you understand. They must have only the best!"

"So now I'm just a house for his children, is that it? Whatever will happen to my worth once I
give birth?" she asked dramatically, a smile playing at the corners of her lips as she sipped
more tea. She was actually enjoying watching the imp dig himself deeper into his hole.

"You…you simply must be more mindful of your body, Rin!" he snapped. "Goodness knows
you gave Sesshoumaru-sama quite a fright tonight! I have not seen him rush out of the house
so quickly in…well, ever, I suppose. That is how rare it is! It is obvious milord holds you in
great esteem, and so you should not trouble him by ignoring your health. Do you
understand?"

"Yes, yes, I understand." She gave him a sly smile. "I understand you're worried about me."

Jaken's bulbous, yellow eyes bulged even more than usual, and his beak dropped open in
such comical fashion, Rin couldn't help but laugh. "W-What gall! As if I would be worried
about the welfare of a human! If you must know, I see it as my job to look after you, since my
job is to take care of any problems for milord."
"Uh huh," Rin answered, sipping more of her tea. I've got your measure now, Jaken. The little
imp could pretend to be solely devoted to his master all her wanted, but there was a heart in
there somewhere. It was perhaps Grinchy and two sizes too small, but it was there.

Strange how all the members of this household tried to hide their true feelings.

Well, if I could get Sesshoumaru to open up…I should definitely have a chance with Jaken.
And maybe even Inukimi…someday.

"Hmph, well, is there anything else you need?" Jaken asked.

"Not tonight—er, this morning. I guess I'll figure out how to continue living my life from my
bed when I get up."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, Jaken, there's just so much to do! I know that's what's put me in bed to begin with, but
how am I supposed to de-stress when part of what's causing my stress still isn't dealt with? I
still have to finish the nursery. Then we're going to have to buy any other baby things we
need that we don't get from the shower in three weeks, though I suppose that's where online
shopping comes in handy. But we still have a couple parenting classes to attend—"

"You leave the nursery to me."

"I appreciate the thought, but there are decisions I need to make—"

"And you will—from your bed. I will bring whatever samples you wish to look at. I will set
up a camera so that you can see the room being worked on in real time and tell me what to
do. You need not lift a finger."

Rin smiled, feeling a weight slide off her shoulders. "Thank you, Jaken. I would really
appreciate that."

"Well, we can't have you fainting again."

"Aww, and you said you weren't worried for me," Rin answered, sticking out her tongue
playfully.

"O-Only because if something happened to you, Sesshoumaru-sama would be in a most foul

mood, and I would bear the brunt of it! He has an entire drawer full of stones in his office,
you know. And my poor head can only take so much!" he whined, rubbing his green noggin.

"He keeps rocks in his drawer? Why?"

"To throw at me, silly girl! Weren't you listening?"

Rin snorted into her tea. She just couldn't imagine Sesshoumaru acting so petty as to throw a
rock at someone. It was so…cute.

Now that's something I have to see.

A week later, to Rin's dismay, her bed rest was extended.

Her blood pressure had dropped a little, but it was still higher than Dr. Jinenji wanted it, so he
sentenced her to two more weeks of lying in bed like a loaf. Not only did her legs ache with
the desire to stretch and walk, but she was positive part of the reason her stress hadn't fully
abated was due to her worries about preparing for the babies' arrival. Despite Jaken's help
with the nursery, it still made her nervous that she couldn't buy anything extra for it until after
the baby shower in two weeks (which was technically a couple days before her next
appointment, but she didn't see how sitting and socializing at a baby shower was going to be
that strenuous).

The first few days, Sesshoumaru came in so often to check on her that Inukimi finally
snapped.

"Go back to work at the Sanctuary, Sesshoumaru," she said, stopping by Rin's room.

Sesshoumaru frowned at her. "I will work from home until Rin is better."

"And what if she remains on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy? You cannot run a resort
off-site, son. Not for that long. You were already away for two weeks when you ran off to
help her move. Honestly, this is such a troublesome habit of yours. You drop all of your
responsibilities whenever you fixate on something else."

"Sesshoumaru, she's right," Rin said. Both mother and son looked at her in astonishment.
"I'm fine. It's not like I'm in this house alone—there are plenty of servants to help me. Go to
work. I'll be right here when you get back. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere," she laughed
wryly.

So it was that Sesshoumaru started making the long commutes to the sanctuary again, but he
always came back at night instead of staying over.

Even though she had told him to leave, she still missed him. Inukimi might have lived in the
same house, but she never stopped by for a chat. Rin only ever saw her when she passed the
room. Jaken was busy handling both her requests and Sesshoumaru's from afar. Kagome
stopped by every day, but she still had to work at the shrine. Touga and Izayoi came by too,
and when he saw how confinement was eating away at Rin's soul, he stopped by that
Saturday with a surprise: her family.

Rin burst into grateful tears when she saw them, as did Mama, who had been worried sick
since Rin talked to her the afternoon after her hospitalization. So naturally, Mama proceeded
to baby Rin on that first visit, making her way to the kitchen and practically shoving aside the
staff to cook Rin the comfort foods she knew she loved. Grandpa moseyed around the house,
examining the antiques in detail (they all knew he was looking for demon-possessed ones)
and asking Rin about each one he found (Sesshoumaru dated them with exceeding patience,
and Rin loved him all the more for humoring her grandfather). Moe talked with Rin, but the
latter was (understandably) distracted by Souta engaging in a stare-down with her mate as he
tried to engage him in conversation.
"Damn, Grandpa was right. You are a pretty one." Rin could almost hear him tacking on in
his mind, Too pretty. Blessedly, he did not say it out loud. "So…are those tattoos or what?"

"They are markings."

"So…you're born with them?"

"Yes."

"So, they've got no special meanings or anything, huh?"

"The moon indicates my mother's heritage."

"Your mom, huh? Are we ever gonna get to meet her?"

Rin blinked in astonishment. Now that Souta mentioned it, Inukimi had been noticeably
absent.

"She will make herself known when she is ready."

Apparently she wasn't ready that day—or any of the other times her family members stopped
by to visit (and her mother made sure to come by every few days).

Even with a healthy dose of visitors to occupy her, two weeks into forced bed rest, Rin was
dying. She hated the Peony Room. She hated the smell of her bed. She hated everything.

So when Izayoi popped her head into her room wearing a summery cover up and straw hat
over her coiled hair, Rin sat up in anticipation.

"Izayoi! What brings you here?" she asked.

Izayoi came over and kissed Rin on the cheek. "I had a sudden urge to go to the pool, and I
thought you might want to get out of this stuffy old room and join me. A little birdy told me
you bought some swimsuits a couple weeks ago and haven't had a chance to use them yet."

Rin's breath caught. "That would be wonderful. Even if I can't really walk around the pool
much, I will happily lay out and sunbathe."

"We have some of those reclining floats you can lay on. And yes, I can't imagine why the
doctor would disagree. Come on. Let's spring you out of this cell," Izayoi giggled.

Rin's legs felt ready to give out as soon as Izayoi helped her stand, and the blood rushed to
her head. Izayoi helped her to the dresser to grab her tankini and a large T-shirt, and then
brought her to the bathroom, so she could sit and change. Izayoi rubbed sunscreen on her
back and legs afterwards, then braided her hair.

When Rin was ready she walked through the house with Izayoi on her arm, supporting her.
As they passed by the living room, Inukimi called out, "And just where do you presume to
take that one? She is confined to bed rest." The demon didn't even look up from her tablet as
she spoke.
"We're just going to the pool," Izayoi stated in a tone just passing for neutral. "Rin can't be
cooped up inside all the time like this. She needs some fresh air and Vitamin D."

"Even mild exercise is forbidden," Inukimi continued.

"I'm not going to swim around. I just want to lay in the sun and the water for a bit," Rin
answered.

Inukimi was silent for a few seconds before finally shutting off her tablet and setting it aside.
"I suppose I have no choice but to join you then, just to be sure. Sesshoumaru would not be
pleased if you overexerted yourself."

Rin barely succeeded in keeping her mouth from dropping open, but Izayoi responded cooly,
"Oh dear, I hope you don't plan to join us wearing that." She nodded towards Inukimi's full
kimono ensemble. "You'll bake alive out there. Really, Inukimi, there's no need."

"Your concern is noted, Izayoi, though not warranted. I do possess a swimsuit, after all."

A dimple formed between Izayoi's brows. "I believe I have only ever seen you in a swimsuit
once, Inukimi, and that was the first day we opened the pool after it was built—to celebrate."

"Yes, that's the one."

Izayoi's brows rose. "Inukimi…that was over thirty years ago."

Inukimi raised a single brow in response. "And?"

The two women held a staring contest that lasted only a few seconds, but the intensity of their
gazes had Rin feeling there was more to this debate than just Inukimi's outdated swimwear.

Izayoi finally broke the stare with a polite smile. "Well, they say everything comes back in
fashion. Shall we wait for you?"

"No, no, I'll catch up. I'll have to find where I stored it," Inukimi answered brushing past
them and heading to her room.

The two continued outside, and as soon as Rin passed through the door, she took deep breaths
of the fresh, summer air, tinged with the scorch of sun and humidity. She didn't care that there
wasn't a breeze. She was out.

Izayoi brought her over to one of the estate golf carts and drove them over to the pool. When
they got there, she settled Rin on the steps in the pool, letting the girl's feet soak while she
went to the supply closet and pulled out a couple of floats. She took Rin's T-shirt and then
helped her onto the inflatable recliner before pushing her into the middle of the pool. Then
she pulled off her cover up, revealing a modest, floral one-piece with a skirt attached. She
then slipped into an inner tube and paddled over to Rin, who had floated to the deep end.

Rin sighed in bliss, letting her hand trail through the cool water. She flicked some over
herself, relishing the feel of something other than a blanket hitting her skin.
"Thank you, Izayoi. This is exactly what I needed."

"Of course, dear. I know what it's like to stay cooped up during pregnancy—absolutely
maddening. I'm not sure if you're aware, but I had…trouble conceiving."

"Touga did mention to me that you had PCOS. It's a miracle you were even able to get
pregnant at the time."

"Indeed. I had…multiple miscarriages. Each one devastated me. I knew Touga already had a
son, and he told me over and over that he didn't mind if we never had children, but I wanted
so badly to give him a child. Not just because I had been raised to believe it was expected of
me, but because I loved him and wanted a family with him.

"So when Inuyasha's pregnancy finally seemed like it was taking hold…neither one of us
wanted to take any chances. Touga was already protective, but he grew
downright suffocating at the time. I didn't really mind though, because ultimately we both
wanted the same thing: for me to stay healthy and deliver a healthy baby. So I was practically
on bed rest for my entire pregnancy." Rin's mouth dropped open in horror. She was ready to
tear her hair out from two weeks of bed rest—she couldn't imagine enduring months like
Izayoi had to.

And on a futon on a wooden floor, no less. Rin shivered. I truly need to start counting my
blessings.

"I was lucky though, to have him and servants to take care of things for me," Izayoi
continued, and Rin was once more blown away by the capacity of this woman's heart. Here,
she had been thinking Izayoi suffered a horrible time, and yet Izayoi thought herself lucky. "I
can't imagine how hard it must have been on you to do go into this by yourself and face it for
seven months alone." The older woman grabbed Rin's hand in the water and squeezed it.
Despite the shades covering both their eyes, Rin sensed that Izayoi was close to tears. "You
are such a brave, beautiful girl, Rin, and I am so happy that you are now also part of this
family. I've wanted to tell you that for weeks. And I…I know strictly speaking, I'm not your
mother-in-law, but I would be honored if you thought of me as…a second one."

"Oh, Izayoi, of course," Rin answered, squeezing back and feeling tears push against her own
eyes. "Honestly…you're the kind of mother-in-law I've always wanted to have. Thinking of
me today and bringing me out like this…I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'm happy
to finally spend some time getting to know you better."

Izayoi gave her a sad smile. "I know that living with Inukimi is a…tough adjustment. But I
have full confidence you'll win her over in the end. I mean, you managed to hook
Sesshoumaru, and those two are so alike!"

Rin's face fell. "I wish I could believe that. But it's obvious she doesn't think I'm good enough
for her son."

Izayoi rubbed her thumb across Rin's knuckles. "The mating and the pregnancy just…came
as a great shock to her. Truthfully, it came as a shock to us all, but she took it the hardest. I'm
not sure if I should be telling you this, but…maybe it will help you understand her actions
better. You see, she saw Sesshoumaru as the family's last chance to help save the demon race
from dying out, and—"

"And I ruined that by making her granddaughters half-demons," Rin murmured.

"You didn't ruin anything, Rin. I…understand Inukimi's concerns, of course. No one wants to
see their species die out. But to foist all of those expectations on your children? I never
agreed with that. And I'm glad that in the end, Sesshoumaru chose who he wanted and not
who his mother wanted. She's been trying to matchmake for him for years, but he wouldn't
have any part in it until this year. We should have known something was wrong when he did
agree to marry Zero. I know I'm a little old-fashioned myself, but even I've come to accept
that children must make their own life decisions."

Rin rubbed her free hand over her belly. "Speaking of children…do you have any pointers for
birthing or raising half-demons?"

"Raising half-demon puppies? Make sure you have plenty of chew toys. I learned the hard
way that a teething Inuyasha was akin to a teething puppy. He went after all the wooden
furniture in the house. Of course, it was all wooden at the time, so there were teeth marks up
and down all the tables and doorways. Thinking about everything we had to replace…."
Izayoi put a hand to her forehead and groaned.

Rin burst out laughing. "What did you do to stop him?"

"Well, we didn't have those fancy teething toys that are available today, so I had to have
someone carve out a block of wood for him and make sure he understood that that was the
only acceptable wood to chew on."

Rin shivered. "Did he ever get splinters?"

Izayoi nodded sadly. "But that was all we had available at the time. At least you don't have to
worry about that particular problem anymore. Now, what else…?" Izayoi tapped her chin in
thought. "Ah, sleeping was a problem. Their hearing is so sensitive, you know? I would put
Inuyasha to bed, and everything would sound quiet enough to me, but something he would
hear would set him off, and I never understood what was wrong until Touga would tell me
that the servants were conversing in their room or the smoke from a campfire was particularly
potent. He usually took Inuyasha out then and found somewhere free of sound or harsh smell
so he could sleep. That was the benefit of having a demon husband back then—he could take
care of the baby while I rested, except when Inuyasha had to feed, of course. But you have
soundproofed rooms, so hopefully that won't be as much of an issue."

"True. I never thought of that," Rin answered in a subdued voice. She cupped her belly. "Had
I done this on my own…well, I'm just trying to imagine waking up in the middle of the night
to them screaming and not knowing why they're crying—all because I can't hear what they
can hear."

Izayoi stared at her pointedly. "So we will thank the gods that things worked out as they did
and that you and Sesshoumaru were able to find each other again." Rin nodded absently.
"Speaking of you two…I don't mean to pry, my dear, but is everything alright? I understand
that things have been hectic, but we're a little surprised that you aren't, um…engaged yet."

Rin's cheeks heated. "It's possible he was planning to ask me that first night we were in my
apartment, but I got spooked and dodged it. But we've never even talked about marriage, so
maybe I was reading too much into it. To be honest, I kind of assumed it was a done deal
since we were mated already. No marriage necessary in demon culture, right? But then my
brother asked Sesshoumaru a couple weeks back if he planned to marry me, and he said he
would when I was ready. I was floored. I didn't realize he was even considering it."

"That's a good sign."

Rin sighed. "It is…but the fact that he hasn't asked is probably my fault. I've confused him so
much by giving him mixed signals."

"Oh? Are you…unsure about being with him?"

"It's not that. If he asked, I would say yes. I mean, I've forgiven him for leaving me. I
understand why he did it. And in living with him for the past month, I've gotten to know him
so much, I feel like we've known each other for years, not weeks. It's just that…um…I've
held off on things physically, and I think that's made him doubt my feelings for him."

"Well dear, that's absolutely your right to hold off in that department if you're not feeling up
to it. You're eight months pregnant, after all. Any man should understand when to back off.
For instance, after we found out about Inuyasha, Touga didn't touch me in that way even
once. We were both too scared to be rough on my body."

Rin blushed harder, and she hoped she could blame it on the sun. "Well…it's not that
I don't feel like it. I'm just…embarrassed."

"Whatever for?"

"Oh, Izayoi, look at me. I'm humongous." She peeled back the bottom of her tankini a bit,
letting some of her stomach peek out. "No man wants to see this."

The gate to the pool slammed open, and with Italian sandals clapping against the flagstone
deck, Inukimi announced, "As reassuring as it is to hear that you and my son have not
engaged in a repeat of what created this whole situation in the first place, I feel the need to
inform you that you are sorely misguided on this subject."

Rin was only half listening, because her mouth did drop open this time as she watched her
mother-in-law stride across the pool deck and shrug off a cover-up to reveal what was
undoubtedly a dated swimsuit but one that Inukimi absolutely rocked. The periwinkle one-
piece halter scooped low through the valley of Inukimi's breasts, baring a teasing amount of
cleavage. When she turned around, Rin noticed that the back fell all the way to the bottom of
her spine, and only two thin, tied strings in the center of her back helped hold the one-piece
together. Inukimi was also the type of woman, apparently, to wear jewelry to the pool,
managing to pull off a chunky, quartz necklace that would have looked gaudy on anyone else.
Rin looked down at her bloated body and wanted to cry. How did her freakin' mother-in-law
look even better than she did when she wasn't pregnant?

Damn those demon genes. No, don't damn them. I'm sure Sesshoumaru has made me some
really gorgeous babies. He will definitely offset my plain genetics, that's for sure.

"Oh yes, now I remember that swimsuit," Izayoi remarked. "I was so surprised at the time,
because I didn't take it for your style, flattering though it is."

"Pray tell what about it isn't my style?" Inukimi asked.

"Oh, well, it's obviously meant to draw the eyes of men, but there's never been anyone for
you to impress here. Ah, but I suppose that is your style then." An edge crept into Izayoi's
voice, and Rin glanced over at her in confusion.

Inukimi lay back on a deck chair. "Is that still eating at you, Izayoi? Perhaps you were not as
understanding as you made yourself out to be."

Curiosity gnawed at Rin's brain, and she so wanted to ask what they were talking about, but
the tension was getting so thick, she knew she shouldn't.

Instead, she blurted out, "Umm…so what exactly am I misguided about, Mother?"

Inukimi pulled off her sunglasses and started cleaning them. "Saying a dog demon would not
be interested in his woman's pregnant body? Hardly the case. If anything, it makes their…
urges even stronger. You'd think they'd feel satisfied knowing they pupped their women and
that any demon with even a bit of sense could tell who the father is, but no. A dog is a dog
after all, and he still feels the need to mark his territory over and over and over," she said, her
golden eyes slipping towards Izayoi. Wet plastic squeaked as Izayoi's fist clenched around the
edge of the raft, and Rin's eyes widened in alarm.

Don't tell me they're fighting about Touga?

But Inukimi just kept talking. "Touga was downright insatiable when I was pregnant with
Sesshoumaru. I did have to fend him off at times, of course—sometimes one is just not in the
mood." Her eyes slid to Rin, and she locked gazes with her to get her point across. "But you
should not mistake their lust for true affection. I've learned, after all, that a man can pup you
but still leave you in the end. I do believe you've already experienced that." Tears sprang to
Rin's eyes.

Izayoi's brows furrowed. "That is not what's happening here, Inukimi. Sesshoumaru mated
Rin. He only left her out of a misguided sense of protecting her."

"So he says. But his actions have always belied his words. If he had truly wanted her, he
would have found a way to keep her. As it was, I am ashamed to admit he behaved like a
baser sort of man by taking what was obviously offered and leaving."

Rin wanted to protest—she knew that wasn't true—but she couldn't speak past the lump in her
throat. She started paddled towards the stairs. She needed to leave.
Izayoi came to the rescue.

"Do you even know what happened, Inukimi? Or did you never bother to ask?" Izayoi
snapped.

Inukimi looked over at Rin, who had reached the steps. "I'm not sure I want to know."

Rin gritted her teeth, pulling herself up so that she was standing. She glared at her mother-in-
law and swallowed, trying to free her voice. "If you think…I would offer myself to
Sesshoumaru without any real feeling—and that he would accept without reciprocating that
feeling—you are mistaken." She stepped out of the pool, leaving a trail of dark footsteps as
she walked over to Inukimi's deck chair and loomed over her. "For your information,
Sesshoumaru saved me from being raped and eaten by a pack of wolf demons."

"What?" Izayoi gasped behind her. "Rin, why haven't you said anything? Touga would die if
he knew his guests—"

"Sesshoumaru took care of it," Rin interrupted, not wanting to deal with Izayoi's pity right
now. Her eyes were fully trained on Inukimi's face. There was the subtlest furrow between
her brows and purse to her lips. "The fact remains, your son saved me when he didn't have to,
and I…I—"

"Offered yourself to him in thanks?" Inukimi supplied.

"No. I offered myself because…I didn't want to have any regrets. Not when I had just faced
death. But I only offered myself because he told me he wanted me."

She swore Inukimi's brows twitched upwards in surprise, but she remained otherwise
composed. "And this is when he mated you?"

"Yes."

"I see. So he marked you to declare you off-limits to a bunch of mangy, barbaric wolves."

Rin's hands fisted at her sides. "If that were his intent, then he would have been satisfied after
the initial mating, wouldn't he have?" she asked.

"Are you saying he wasn't?"

Rin was too angry to care that she was sharing such personal information with her mothers-
in-law. She needed Inukimi to understand. "Well, after you've had six rounds of sex in one
afternoon, I'd say you're entitled to feeling wanted by the other party. Wouldn't you
agree, Mother?" Inukimi finally raised her head toward her, and Rin wished the woman
weren't wearing sunglasses so she could see her eyes. With Inukimi and Sesshoumaru, all of
their emotions lay therein. Rin took a shuddering breath, feeling the tears prickling at her
eyes again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

"It's inside the bathhouse, dear," Izayoi said quietly. "Right inside the door—you can't miss it.
Do you need help getting there?"
"I can handle it," Rin answered, taking slow, careful steps towards the glass and wooden
bathhouse. She didn't even bother going to explore the sauna or indoor pool. She just headed
straight for the bathroom. She did have to go, so she did her business and let a few tears fall
at the same time.

Just when I thought she might finally give me some motherly advice—finally tell me that
Sesshoumaru will love me for how I look, no matter what—she has to go and twist it like that!

The thought made her cry harder, and she stayed inside longer because of it. After she had
composed herself, she moseyed out into the bathhouse and took a look around, letting her
eyes dry and also taking the unsupervised opportunity to work her legs a little. What did the
doctor know anyway? She was feeling much better now, and she needed to walk, dang it.

The indoor pool was a gorgeous affair. Two edges of it aligned with two walls of floor-to-
ceiling windows. The pool was outlined in waxed, shiny wood, and potted bamboo trees
towered in the corners of the room, giving the indoor space a decidedly outdoorsy feel. She
took a peek then into the sauna and found it outfitted more like a natural hot spring (although
given how long the family had lived on this property, it could have been a natural hot spring,
for all she knew—she'd have to ask). The blue-green mineral water steamed, and a dip of her
toes warmed them. This would be a great place to relax in the biting cold of winter.

Satisfied that she was prepared to go back out and face what had turned into a tense afternoon
instead of a relaxing one, she cracked open the well-oiled, silent door but stopped when
snatches of conversation hit her from the pool.

"If you're here to make Rin uncomfortable, then go back to the house. I brought her here to
cheer her up, not bring her down," Izayoi said.

"She is free to ignore me as I ignore her."

"She's not that kind of person—and you ignoring her is part of the problem! I understand how
shocked you must have been, but it's been over a month now, Inukimi. It's time to accept that
Sesshoumaru made him choice willingly, and he made it eight months ago. If you would just
take the time to get to know her, you'd see why—"

"And what exactly do you think it is that I am doing? Have I not learned more than enough
this afternoon? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by how much she is willing to share with a
near-stranger. Look who her sister is, after all."

"Antagonizing her is not the way to connect with her, Inukimi."

"She will need to be able to stand up to more than verbal abuse if she is to raise half-demon
children."

"Is that what this is? Some sort of test on the strength of her character? She was planning to
raise two half-demons in secret on her own. What more do you need to know about her
character?"

Inukimi did not answer that.

Izayoi sighed. "Look, if you're not willing to be the mother-in-law that girl needs, fine. I will
happily take on that role. But at the very least, if you cannot be nice to her, then at least be
civil."

There was a brief, tense pause before Inukimi said, "And so you are trying to take yet another
person from me."

"Do you really have the right to say that anymore?"

Silent cut through the air again.

Finally, Izayoi said, "Very well, our own issues aside, you've finally expressed a desire to
claim Rin as your daughter-in-law—twisted sort of possession though it is." Inukimi just
huffed. "Your words may be caustic, but…like Sesshoumaru, you always act on what's in
your heart, even if you don't say it, and I admire that about you. So if you want to get closer
to her, make a gesture. It doesn't have to be anything grand. I daresay even spending the
afternoon here with her is enough. But by the gods, please think before you speak. I don't
know how your pregnancy was, but I remember the storms of emotions that came over me.
And to top it all off, Rin is so stressed, her body is protesting. Just let her be."

When Inukimi didn't say anything, Rin took that as her cue to walk out and make her
presence known. When she returned to the pool, Izayoi plastered on a smile, as if she and
Inukimi hadn't just been in a major debate, and launched into happy chatter.

Inukimi didn't say a word for the rest of the afternoon, remaining a silent spectator.

Eventually, all three women ended up lounging on the deck chairs. Rin even dozed off,
enjoying the slight spray of sun that tickled her through the canopy of the trees towering over
the pool.

She startled awake when the gate banged open and looked over to find Sesshoumaru striding
over, still in his business suit. He stared at his mother's reclining form in a mix of shock and
puzzlement.

"Sesshoumaru, what are you doing back so early?" Rin asked. She assumed it was still early.
She didn't have her phone.

"Neither you nor my mother were answering my calls."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot my phone in the room." She glanced over and saw Inukimi's phone lying
innocently on the table next to her.

Inukimi answered, "Mine died."

Whether that was a lie or not, Rin did not know. She looked up at her mate. "Did you come
home just for that?"

"I feared something happened to you that my mother did not want me to know," he said,
sitting down on the edge of her seat. He felt her cheek. "You are warm."
"Yeah, I fell asleep in the sun, but it felt good," Rin answered. "Better than in my bed."
Nevertheless, he grabbed a fan Izayoi had left lying on the table between them and started
fanning her. Rin groaned. "Mmm, my own personal fan service. That feels nice."

He leaned in and murmured in her ear, "By the way, you look ravishing in this suit."

Rin blushed, her earlier conversation with her mothers-in-law running through her head. It's
like he knows. "Oh?"

"I look forward to seeing your other one in a more…private setting at a later date."

Now she was sure she was getting sunstroke. "Fan faster, Sesshoumaru."

His devilish smirk showed he knew exactly why she was asking, but he nevertheless obliged.
Inukimi just watched them out of the corner of her eyes.

Several moments later, the electric whir of a golf cart pulled around, and then Inuyasha,
Kagome, and Touga entered the area, carrying bags.

"What's all this?" Rin asked.

"Izayoi texted and said everyone was at the pool, so we decided we should do a cook-out for
dinner!" Kagome announced, holding up the bags.

"Nothing says summer like firing up the grill," Inuyasha added with a smirk, setting his bags
on the patio table near the grill.

"Besides, we never did get to give Rin a welcome dinner like we did for Kagome, so we
figured this would be the perfect opportunity, since everyone was out," Touga added, striding
over to the reclining women. Like Sesshoumaru, his brows rose in surprise when he passed
Inukimi, but then he turned his attention to his wife as he too set down his bags. "Hello,
darling."

Izayoi got up, went over to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Welcome back,
dear." Then she pulled him in for a long, slow kiss. Touga's eyes flared open before closing as
he surrendered to it.

"Ugh, Mom, Dad, if you're gonna do that, at least go in the bathhouse or something. No one
need to see that," Inuyasha groused, holding up a hand to shield his view.

"Inuyasha, don't be such a child," Kagome hissed, smacking his arm as she started unloading
the bags.

When Izayoi pulled away from a stunned-looking Touga, she twirled her fingers through his
ponytail and said, "Maybe we'll do just that."

"Really?" Touga asked in a breathless whisper.

"After we eat, please. I don't want to lose my appetite knowing what you're up to, and there's
too much meat here to go to waste," Inuyasha said, sorting out the stacks of groceries.
 Touga cleared his throat and looked at Sesshoumaru. "Son, why don't you go change into
something more comfortable and meet us back here?"

"Oooh, are we going to get to see Sesshoumaru in a swimsuit too?" Kagome gasped, an
anticipatory gleam in her eyes. Inuyasha scoffed as he walked back towards the pool and bent
down, feeling the temperature of the water.

Rin's own eyes widened in alarm, and she looked at Sesshoumaru and shook her head
infinitesimally. That Speedo was for her private consumption only.

Sesshoumaru smirked at her, then leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Not to worry. That
Speedo was not the only thing I bought."

Inuyasha's ears twitched, and he straightened, twisting around to stare at them. "You
bought what now?"

Sesshoumaru put down the fan and stood up. "It is none of your concern."

Then he walked over to Inuyasha, casually placed his foot on his brother's back, and shoved
him headfirst into the pool.

Chapter End Notes

Well, this chapter got a little too long for me to add in the final scene I wanted to round
it out, but it shouldn't change the amount of chapters left in part three. Only two left! I
hope you enjoyed some of the different family interactions we got in this chapter.

Also, Sesshoumaru fanning Rin at the pool was a little (late) homage to Hisako Sato's art
of them fanning each other in the summer, and you can thank RainbowSeibee for that
request.
 The Baby Shower
Chapter Notes

Hi guys. To those of you who did not see my message on Facebook, sorry for the delay
today! I was out of town and just got back tonight. Though I knew a while ago, these
every-other-week updates make it hard for me to remember/plan out my author's note
reminders so far in advance. Still, that is my fault.

This chapter's a little shorter than they've been recently, and I'll explain why at the end.

😆
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it. This is one of the few chapters from Part Three that
has actually been planned from the start!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

When Rin entered her old home, she was pretty sure a herd of unicorns had come through
and barfed all over the living room. Pink and purple streamers hung from the ceiling,
matching balloons crowded the corners, and baby girl signs were plastered all over the walls.

It was entirely possible—no, probable—Kagome had gotten overly excited for this baby
shower.

No sooner had she stepped into the living room than she was surrounded by a swarm of
family and old friends greeting her with hugs and pats on her belly. One pat was a little more
clinical than the rest.

"Oh my goodness, Kaede! Thank you so much for coming!" Rin cried out, bending down to
hug her.

"Of course, child. I wouldn't miss it. That, and I wanted to see how you were doing since you
left a few weeks ago."

"Uh…better?" she hedged in a sheepish voice.

Kaede gave her a flat stare. "And what is that supposed to mean, my girl? Have you been
leaving information out of your texts?"

"It means she's been on bed rest the past three weeks, and she's technically still on it,"
Kagome announced, and Rin threw her a dirty look.

Kaede's eye widened, and Rin hastened to add, "But I'm feeling much better now, and I'm
positive my doctor will let me off the hook tomorrow. Besides, how stressful can a baby
shower be?" she asked with a grin.

"Did you drive yourself?" Kaede prodded, changing into physician mode.
"No, my mother-in-law did," Rin said, looking behind her to find Izayoi putting on special
baby shower guest slippers by the door.

"Ah, so you must be Sesshoumaru's mother," Kaede said, extending a hand.

"Oh, no, I'm actually his stepmother," Izayoi answered, coming to shake Kaede's hand. She
nodded to Kagome. "My son is Kagome's husband."

"Ah, Inuyasha," Kaede replied, her voice mellowing, though for what reason, Rin didn't
know.

"Yes! But Rin has graciously allowed me to also call her my daughter," Izayoi answered,
rubbing Rin's shoulder affectionately.

Kaede smiled. "I would expect no less of her." But then her smile flipped, and she tugged on
Rin's elbow. "Come now, you should be sitting."

"Ugh, Kaede, I've done nothing but sit and lie down for the past three weeks!" Rin groaned,
even as she allowed herself to be led to Grandpa's recliner, the most padded seat in the room.

After she sat down, the other guests came by in groups to chat with her—Ayumi, Eri, and
Yuka, as well as a couple of Rin's own friends from college and high school that she still kept
in contact with, although she hadn't seen them in a while.

"Thank you all so much for coming," Rin said to each of them, her eyes continually tearing
up. She couldn't believe she was seeing so much of her family and friends all in one place—
just to celebrate her.

They had been chatting for about twenty minutes when the doorbell rang. Mama started to
get up, but Kagome practically launched herself off the couch and ran to the door. "I'll get it!"
Rin wondered who she was so excited to greet.

Kagome threw the door open wide. "Oh, Sango! There you are." She didn't sound quite as
excited as running over had merited.

"Sorry I'm late," Sango said, stepping inside and setting a gift bag down before heading
straight for the kitchen sink. "I'll give you a hug as soon as I wash my hands. They're full of
grease." She flashed her black-streaked hands to prove her point.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

"Well, I would have been here half an hour ago, but when I got off the bus and turned down
the street to your place, there was this posh woman panicking because she had a flat tire and
she had left her phone at home and didn't know what to do. She asked to borrow my phone,
but since she seemed so distraught and know how to change a tire, I decided to do my good
deed for the day and put on her spare to calm her down."

"Oh, how nice of you! Was it a patron?" Kagome asked. "She could have come up to borrow
the house phone."
"Not sure. Her name was Otsuyu, I think?" Sango said, wiping her hands and finally hugging
Kagome.

"Never heard of her," Kagome answered, and when she looked at her sister for confirmation,
Rin only shook her head and shrugged.

Sango then came over and hugged Rin. "Hey, girl! Look at you! It's almost time, huh? July
10th, wasn't it? That's in just a couple weeks. Are you excited?"

Rin's smile stiffened. She had forgotten the fact that she had told Sango her due date all those
months ago. "Umm, well, about that—"

"The date has been pushed back a bit," Kaede butted in. "The twins are still a little small, so
we're going to monitor things closely to see when they're ready to come out.

"Oh, is that so? I wasn't aware your due date could be changed like that," Sango remarked.
"Are you her doctor?"

Kaede nodded once and held out her hand in greeting. "Kaede Kimura. Rin and I worked
together." When Sango wasn't looking at her, Rin mouthed, Thank you, to Kaede. The old
woman's twitched in response.

"Kaede Kimura…" Sango murmured. Her eyes lit up. "Not Kaede, Kikyou Kimura's sister?"
Izayoi's head whipped around in their direction.

"The very same. Do you work with my sister?" Kaede asked.

"I'm in the Corps, yes, although I've recently transferred to R&D, so I'm not in the field with
her anymore. But it was always such an honor to work with your sister. She's an amazing
slayer."

"Indeed," Kaede answered.

"Did you know Kagome's met Kikyou too?" Sango asked, pointing to her.

"Rin did mention that, yes," Kaede answered.

Although it was a little worrisome to have her friends and family discussing the Demon
Slayer Corps at her baby shower, Rin was satisfied that Kaede had been engaged in
conversation and wouldn't be left alone, so she decided to catch up with her old school
friends while they talked.

The guests milled around the kitchen table and living room, feasting on an assortment of hors
d'ouvres and sweets, but after another half hour had passed, Mama looked to Kagome and
asked, "Do you think we should get started?"

Kagome looked at the time on her phone and frowned, then glanced back at the front door.
"Yeah, I guess we should…." She cleared her throat and stood up, clapping her hands. "Take
a seat, everyone! We're going to play a few games before we get to the presents!"
As everyone sat down on the sofa and various chairs placed around the living room, Mama
went over to the coat closet and pulled out a large board, bringing it into the room and setting
it on an empty chair so that it faced everyone. Rin clapped a hand to her mouth to keep from
crying when she saw it.

"Aww, look at how cute you were, Rin!" Eri cried out.

The top of the board asked, "How Old Am I?" It was covered in ten numbered photographs
of Rin at all different ages.

"So our first game is 'Guess the Mom's Age,'" Kagome announced. "Consider it a sneak
preview of what the twins could look like in a few years! Now, just in case you're wondering,
Rin turns—"

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Kagome's face lit up. "I'll get it!" she cried out, running back
to the door. When she threw it open she cried out, "Welcome! I'm so glad you could make it!"

Rin peered around her mother, who sat next to her, and her mouth dropped open.

Kagome practically skipped back into the living room. "Everyone, this is Inukimi,
Sesshoumaru's mother and one of the twins' grandmothers."

A genuine smile turned up Izayoi's lips. "Inukimi, you should have told us you were coming.
We could have carpooled."

"Precisely why I didn't," Inukimi answered, taking off her sunglasses to reveal ice-blue
contacts like her son's and her markings perfectly covered in pale makeup. She wore a classy,
white dress that cut off at her knees and boasted gold clasps around the neck and shoulders as
accents. Matching gold, strappy heels gave her an even more imposing figure. It was the first
time Rin had seen her mother-in-law in her human disguise. She had been starting to believe
the woman never left the estate.

Izayoi's smile tightened. "Well, I'm glad to see you could make it—even if you are rather
late."

Inukimi didn't deign to reply.

Kaede leaned over towards Rin a couple chairs down and muttered, "Now I see where your
boy gets it." Rin bit her lip to keep from laughing as Inukimi glared at them from the corner
of her eyes.

Mama stood up immediately and went over to shake Inukimi's hand. "Oh, welcome,
welcome. It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Rin's moth—"

"I know who you are," Inukimi answered. "You have been to my house repeatedly these last
few weeks." She ignored Mama's outstretched hand and instead held out a sizeable, lacquered
box to her as well as a pink gift bag.

"Is that a gift?" Mama asked, blinking down at the ornate box that contrasted so much with
the baby-themed wrapping paper all over the table in the corner. "The gift table is over there,"
she said, gesturing towards the back wall. When Inukimi didn't move, Mama smiled, took the
packages and said, "I'll just go put them with the rest."

Inukimi took what had been Mama's seat next to Rin, but she didn't even glance at her.
Everyone stared, obviously waiting for her to greet Rin, but Inukimi's manicured fingernails
apparently proved more interesting.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Well, as I was saying, for this first game, you have to guess Rin's
age in each of the photos. So, if you don't know, she's twenty-six right now, turning twenty-
seven next weekend, and those are the only numbers you get." Mama went around and passed
out paper and pencils to everyone. "Just write down the number by the photo and the age you
guess, and we'll have Rin read off the answers at the end. Ready? Go!"

The guests all got to work, and after a few minutes, when everyone had stopped writing,
Kagome gave Rin a paper with the answers.

"Just in case you forgot when they were taken," she said with a wink.

"Thanks," Rin answered. She looked at the first photo, which was one of her with Souta at
their high school graduation. "So the answer to number one is 18, if you couldn't guess from
my school uniform and the graduation bouquet."

"Who is the young man in the photo with you?" Inukimi asked.

Rin was shocked she even spoke. "That's my brother, Souta. Moe's husband," Rin said,
pointing Moe out, who gave a helpful wave. "We're the same age."

"I see," her mother-in-law answered. Rin noticed she hadn't written anything down. But at
least she was asking questions. Yuka leaned over and whispered something to Eri. Inukimi
glanced at them, but no emotion crossed her face.

"Anyway, next!" Rin announced. The following photo was one of her and Grandpa at a
summer festival during her last year of middle school. "Number two is fourteen."

"I love that picture," Mama remarked. "Grandpa's actually looking at the
camera and smiling." The guests giggled, more robust chuckles coming from those who
knew her grandfather, who couldn't be counted on for either.

The third picture brought tears to Rin's eyes as she tried to speak past a tightening throat.
"Um, so…in the third picture, I'm only four months old."

It was one of the photos that had been part of the family albums she got to keep after her
parents died. It was a formal family portrait, with her father sitting beside her mother, who
held her, and her twin brothers standing behind them with matching grins.

Inukimi frowned in thought at the photo. "This is your birth family?"

"Yes," Rin answered softly.

"I really see your dad in you, Rin," Sango said quietly, peering at the picture.
"I certainly got his hair texture. Look at that awful nineties mess on his head," Rin laughed,
tugging at her own curled hair with one hand and wiping away the moisture from her eyes
with the other.

"And the boys are your brothers?" Izayoi asked.

"Yes. They were twins. It explains a lot, right?" Rin asked, rubbing her belly. Inukimi did
glance over at that. Rin cleared her throat. "Anyway, moving on. For number four, I'm nine
years old. This picture is actually my favorite one." She was tearing up again, and now she
knew she was going to cry.

"Why is that?" Kaede asked.

In it, Rin held up an official-looking document while Mama, Dad, Grandpa, Kagome, and
Souta all ringed her, giving her a group hug. "That was the day I was adopted. Those are my
adoption papers. It was the happiest day of my life," Rin confessed. The only one so far that
rivaled it for happiness was the one when she made love to Sesshoumaru at the sanctuary, but
the heartbreaking events that bookended it tarnished the memory just a little.

They went through other photos: the last one her birth parents had taken of her when she was
four and starting her first day of preschool, her college graduation, her first day as a nurse,
her study abroad in America. There were no photos of her between the ages of four and nine,
when she started living with the Higurashis, so most of them centered on the later years of
her life. But she loved that Mama and Kagome had made sure to bring out the photos that
featured all their family members, alive and passed on. It made it feel like those who were
gone were still celebrating right there with her.

When they were finished with the game, one of Rin's college friends piped up, "Don't you
have one of you and your fiancé? I want to see what he looks like!"

"Fiancé? I thought he was just a boyfriend," her high school friend said, looking at her ring-
less fingers. Rin casually hid her left hand in the skirt of her dress.

"Oh, um…I don't have any photos with him yet," Rin answered, ignoring the whole "fiancé"
bit, since she didn't want to get into that here. Well, I did have two, but Sesshoumaru deleted
them the day he left. "But if you'd like to know what he looks like, just imagine Inukimi as a
man."

Inukimi's brow furrowed. "I cannot tell whether that is a compliment or an insult."

"A compliment, of course. Not only do you both have the same coloring and bone structure,
but he inherited all of your grace," Rin answered.

Inukimi gave her an odd look and then glanced away, as if unsure what to do with the
compliment.

"Is he coming by later?" her college friend pressed.

Rin hesitated. Sesshoumaru knew where she was, of course, but she hadn't mandated he make
an appearance. He had already had to attend the first-time fathers' class at the hospital this
past week, and that had apparently been more than enough group interaction for him.

Inukimi whipped out her phone just then and shot off a text all in one fluid movement. Barely
thirty seconds later, her phone buzzed, and she said, "He is on his way."

"Seriously? What did you say to him?" Rin whispered.

"What does it matter, as long as he comes?" Inukimi answered.

"Oh, well…thank you."

Inukimi glanced over at her. "Save your thanks. He deserves to experience exactly what he is
putting his mother through this afternoon because of his carelessness."

Rin bit back a smile. "I see." And see she did. After what she overheard at the pool the other
week, she had caught onto Inukimi's method of showing interest. Always a clever comeback,
but it's just a cover. After all, the fact that Inukimi had even deigned to show up had Rin
convinced her mother-in-law was warming up to her.

They could work on her manner of communication later.

"Alright!" Kagome spoke up again. "So, our next game is parental advice! Everyone write
down some advice for the mother-to-be—whether your own if you have kids or what you've
seen your parents do, as will be the case with me—and when we're done, we're going to put
them all in a bowl, and as Rin picks them out and reads them aloud, we're going to guess who
gave what advice!"

Mama handed out more slips of paper to everyone and placed a bowl on the floor in the
middle of everyone, so they could drop their answers in. When everyone but Inukimi had
submitted their advice, Rin reached for the bowl.

"A moment," Inukimi announced, and Rin froze. She looked over in surprise to see the
demon scribble something down and toss it in the bowl.

Rin mixed up the papers and then started drawing advice. "Always keep the twins on the
same feeding and sleeping schedule, or else you'll never eat or sleep."

"Sango!" several of the women cried out.

Sango laughed. "It was that obvious, huh?"

"Trust me, I really appreciate any specific twin advice I can get!" Rin answered, writing
down Sango's name on the back and setting it aside. Then she pulled out a new paper. She
recognized the handwriting right away. "Make sure your husband does his share of changing
the diapers. Doctor's orders." The group burst out laughing.

"Kaede, right?" Mama asked.

"I already know that's a yes. I'd recognize this doctor's handwriting anywhere," Rin chuckled.

"I'm quite serious about that advice, child. Don't take everything on yourself," the old woman
said, giving Rin a stern look.

"I would pay big money to see Sesshoumaru change a diaper," Kagome cackled.

"As would I," Inukimi muttered, hardly audible above the jocularity.

Rin seized on her words with a smirk. "Would you care to make a wager on that, Mother?"

Inukimi's brow rose in surprise as she looked at her. Though she said nothing, Rin recognized
it as the same raised eyebrow Sesshoumaru gave her when he was waiting for her to complete
her thought.

Rin considered her position. "The day we bring the twins home, if Sesshoumaru changes
even one diaper and doesn't leave Jaken to do it…you pay for our entire honeymoon out of
your own pocket." There were several gasps around the room.

"You are not yet engaged," Inukimi responded.

"It's only a matter of time," Izayoi interrupted matter-of-factly. "You know that as well as I
do, Inukimi."

Inukimi regarded the other woman with barely concealed annoyance. "Very well. But wagers
are offered on equal terms, girl," she said, glancing at Rin. "What will you give me should
my son keep his hands clean?"

Rin hesitated. She was so sure she would win this bet, but Inukimi was right: for show, she at
least needed to put up her own stakes. But she didn't have nearly the sort of money to match
what she had demanded of Inukimi.

Inukimi leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "I do not even know why I asked. There
is nothing you could give me that I could not get for myself. But your wager interests me, so
we shall leave it at this: if he does not change a diaper that first day, I will have the
satisfaction of being reassured that I do know my son after all and he isn't the total stranger
he appears to have become." Some of the guests exchanged awkward looks with each other.

"Alright. Deal." Rin cleared her throat and pulled out the next slip. "Anyway, who's this next
one from?" Again, she could tell from the handwriting, but for the sake of the guests, she
read, "'Always make sure that meals are a family affair, even if you don't do the cooking.'"
The guests chattered, making various guesses.

"A family meal, huh? That sounds a lot like Higurashi-san, if you ask me," Eri announced.

Rin grinned and pointed at her. "You are correct!" She smiled at her mom. "Thanks, Mama.
I'm going to take this advice to heart." Sesshoumaru had promised to be a hands-on parent,
after all, and that meant helping her feed the girls until they were old enough to feed
themselves. And then dealing with the dirty aftermath.
As if sensing what she was thinking, Inukimi threw her a sidelong glance, and Rin met it.
Then Rin smirked in thought. And there's another one who needs to join us at the dinner
table every night….

It got her thinking.

They went through several more slips of paper, recognizing some handwriting but not others.
And then she pulled out a slip written in an elegant script. This has to be Izayoi or
Inukimi. "'Manners maketh man. Instill good behavior in children while they are young,
because you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.'"

The word "dog" made her look over at Inukimi, but then Kagome announced, "Is that yours,
Izayoi?"

Izayoi smiled sweetly. "Guilty."

"Are you talking about Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, snickering.

"Guilty again. I'm afraid to say I got a little lax in the manners department with him." The
group chortled again, particularly those who knew of Inuyasha's personality. Inukimi, for her
part, just huffed.

Rin took out the final slip, and given how everyone else's had been read, they all knew who
this was from. She opened the paper to find just as beautiful handwriting as Izayoi's. "'Talk to
your children every day so that they know you care.'" Rin looked over at Inukimi, her eyes
tingling with the pressure of building tears. I can't imagine the courage it took to write this,
knowing it would be shared with everyone. Knowing her and Sesshoumaru's
relationship. "Thank you for the heartfelt advice, Inukimi."

"It is worth what you paid for it," she remarked offhand.

Rin didn't let her mother-in-law's dismissal of the advice bother her. Gifting her with an
insight into her own failing made this the most meaningful advice Rin had gotten that day.

"Well, shall we do cake and then presents?" Kagome asked, and there was a round of assent
around the living room.

Rin leaned over to Inukimi as several of the guests got up to go mill around the kitchen table,
where the cake sat. "I can get you some berries or something else to eat."

Inukimi gave her a sidelong look. "I am not as picky an eater as my son."

"Oh, well that's good to know," Rin answered with a smile. "Though you may be surprised to
learn that he ate a s'more before. I don't think he liked it very much, but I was impressed he
ate the whole thing!"

Inukimi blinked. "What is a s'more?"

"Chocolate and toasted marshmallow squished between two graham crackers," Rin
announced happily.
Inukimi's eyes widened. "He ate that? You have a tighter hold on him than I thought…and I
already feared it was too much."

Rin chuckled and then went to the cake table, since Kagome was waving her over for a
picture. Rin let her take a photo of her with the cake as well as some with her family and
friends (they tried to rope Inukimi into a photo, but she refused), and then they cut it up and
passed it around. Rin plowed through her cake quickly—too quickly, to be honest (the twins
were most appreciative of the snack)—and so she moseyed over to get a second piece while
everyone else was still working on their first.

It was then that Sesshoumaru arrived. He entered the house like it was his own and made a
beeline straight towards Rin, ignoring the small gasps of surprise and appreciation from Rin's
and Kagome's friends. He looked her over. "Are you well? Why are you standing?"

"To get cake," Rin answered.

"Piece number two," Kagome chimed in, and Rin threw her a look.

"What is it that you need?" Sesshoumaru asked.

She blinked, perplexed. "Uh…nothing. Just…cake," she said, holding up her new slice.
"Why?"

Sesshoumaru cut a glare at his mother across the house. She did not even acknowledge him.
"Mother said you needed me."

Rin bit her lip. Oh, it that how she got him here? "You know what? You're right. I do need
you. These gifts aren't going to unwrap themselves." She laced her hand with his and brought
him over to the living room. Sango, who had been sitting on Rin's other side, got up and sat
elsewhere, letting Sesshoumaru take her seat.

"Rin," he said in a low voice edged with warning.

"I know," she replied, low enough that the humans in the room wouldn't hear it. "Bear with it
for just a little while. Please?" He only squeezed her hand in response, but it was enough.

"Rin, aren't you going to introduce us?" her college friend asked.

Rin went around the room, pointing out those whom Sesshoumaru hadn't met.

"You and Inuyasha don't look at all alike," Sango remarked. Sesshoumaru frowned.

"Ah, well, people say Inuyasha resembles me more," Izayoi said. "Just as Sesshoumaru
resembles his mother."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Where is your family from?" Yuka asked.

"Japan," Sesshoumaru answered flatly.

Yuka's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed…."

"I know what you assumed."

Yuka blushed. Rin rushed in to save her from Sesshoumaru's bluntness. "They have Swedish
ancestry."

"Oh! That makes sense," Yuka answered.

"What do you do?" Rin's high school friend butted in.

Rin's heart sped up. Could Sesshoumaru say he ran a resort? Wasn't the sanctuary supposed to
be a secret? To her surprise, he answered quite deftly, "I help manage the family business.
Hospitality and land management." The succinct way he provided the answer brokered no
real way for discussion.

"Should we start on the gifts?" Rin suggested, hoping to save Sesshoumaru from any further
interrogation by her well-meaning friends.

"Yes, let's!" Kagome said. "Sesshoumaru, since you're here, can you get these big ones for
me?"

Sesshoumaru acquiesced and brought over some sizeable packages that Rin was positive a
couple men would need to carry. Her friends marveled at how strong he was. One of them
muttered, "He doesn't look it, but he must work out."

"Rin's so lucky," another friend whispered back.

Sesshoumaru sat at her side while Rin unwrapped the gifts. Mama, Kagome, and Moe went
in together to get them matching cribs.

"I thought about just giving you Kagome's and Souta's old one out in the shed, but I thought
it'd be cuter if the twins matched," Mama said. "So we'll just wait to use the old crib for when
Kagome or Moe have babies."

"Mom!" Kagome cried out while Moe hid her face in her hands. "Aren't two grandkids
enough for you right now?"

"What? I can't ask for any more?" Mama inquired.

Rin saw an opportunity for some payback. "I don't think you'll have to wait that long,
Mama," she said in a sing-song voice. Kagome glared at her.

Mama's eyes widened, and she looked back and forth at the two girls. "Is there something I
should know?"

"Nothing, Mama. Rin's just deflecting attention from herself, as usual," Kagome threw out.

"Nothing gets a girl in the mood like a baby shower, isn't that right?" Rin answered, biting
her tongue to keep from laughing.
"Sesshoumaru, go get the next gift," Kagome ordered. He merely cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Please," she tacked on. He went to fetch the next largest gift, which also had a smaller box
on top of it.

"The bigger one first," Izayoi said. It was a twin stroller. When Rin reached for the smaller
box afterwards, Izayoi added, "Touga wanted you to know that this one is from him
specifically, although I'm the one who made them." She winked.

After tearing through the paper, Rin unearthed a clothing box. She took one peek past the
tissue paper and then slapped it back over the gift before Sesshoumaru could see it. She
couldn't keep the grin off her face as she looked at Izayoi. "You didn't. How did you know?"

Izayoi glanced over at Kagome. "A little birdie might have mentioned your shopping woes."

Sesshoumaru frowned, noting the shit-eating grins all three women were passing around. He
looked down at the box. "What is it, Rin?"

Rin finally pulled out the matching, white, hooded puppy onesies—complete with tufted ears,
black noses, teal eyes, and fluffy tails. They were custom-embroidered on the front,
reading: My GrandPAW is Top Dog.

The room was filled with "awws," barring two very obvious exceptions: Sesshoumaru and
Inukimi.

"Izayoi, you sewed those?" Mama asked.

"I did."

"They're wonderful! And so apropos," Moe giggled.

"Tch, Touga always did have a lowbrow sense of humor," Inukimi remarked. Sesshoumaru
nodded.

"If your father approves, you can't be that mad, Sesshoumaru," Rin muttered, unable to stop
smiling. She was going to dress the girls in these onesies every chance she got.

"Hn."

The rest of the gifts were far less contentious. Kaede gave her a nursing set. Sango gave them
a huge stack of new clothes but also promised that if Rin wanted any hand-me-downs from
Kin'u and Gyokuto, she had plenty of sets of twin clothing. Rin's friends got them some toys,
play mats, and other goodies for the babies themselves.

Rin purposely saved Inukimi's presents for last, wary as she was of whatever would be in
them. When Sesshoumaru handed her the lacquered box, the guests all oohed and aahed over
the intricate artwork inlaid upon it: a regal dog with a long, curling tail howling at the moon.

Sesshoumaru was staring at it with a strange look in his eyes.

"What is it?" Rin asked.

He only looked up and past her—at his mother. Rin turned to find that Inukimi calmly held
his gaze. They said nothing, but Rin had noticed they often spoke without needing words.

Rin carefully pried off the top off the box to reveal two white baby kimonos, a colorful wrap
patterned in purple with yellow butterflies as well as two blue and purple blankets.

Rin carefully held them up to show the audience. "Inukimi, thank you so much! These are
beautiful. Are the kimonos for their naming ceremony?"

"Yes. The kimonos and blankets were Sesshoumaru's, and I wore that wrap to his naming
ceremony," she answered.

Rin froze while the rest of the group awed over how sweet it was that she was passing those
down. Meanwhile, Rin tried to keep her hands from growing clammy.

These were Sesshoumaru's?! These shouldn't be in a wooden box—they should be in a

freakin' museum! I'm holding friggin' relics in my hands!

"D-Did you know about this?" Rin asked Sesshoumaru, who was now staring at the clothes
and blankets.

"I was not aware she still had them," he answered.

Rin turned back to her mother-in-law, trying to keep from gaping like a fish. If Inukimi had
kept such items all these years, even after moving into the estate, long after Sesshoumaru no
longer needed them…then they must have been so very precious to her.

And she was giving them to Rin.

Tears once again welled up in her eyes. She set down the fabrics, and before she could
rethink it, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around her mother-in-law. Inukimi stiffened
in her embrace.

"Thank you, Mother," Rin whispered, blinking out a couple tears that dripped onto Inukimi's
pristine shoulder.

Inukimi cleared her throat but didn't make a move to return the embrace. "There is no need
for such theatrics. They are only some old garments."

No. They are so much more. Rin pulled away, wiping her eyes. "I will take very, very good
care of these," she said, quickly but gently folding the garments back up and replacing them
in the box, which she now had no doubt was also just as ancient as the baby clothing. How
had those clothes even survived this long without turning yellow? Demon magic, no
doubt. "Thank you again. That was incredibly sweet of you."

Inukimi just sniffed. "There's more," she muttered, gesturing to the pink bag.

"W-What could this be?" Rin stuttered, looking in the bag. She didn't think she could handle
holding another ancient artifact. Luckily, these gifts appeared to be much more modern: a
whole bag filled with various teething toys.
"If they are anything like their father, they will need them early and often," Inukimi supplied.

Rin shared a questioning look with Izayoi that said, Did she hear us talking at the pool? The
woman shrugged imperceptibly.

"Rin, let's get a picture of you and Sesshoumaru with your gifts," Mama suggested, holding
up her phone. Sesshoumaru stiffened.

Inukimi had already shot down an offer for a photo; if Sesshoumaru did, the human guests
were really going to think something was wrong.

Rin leaned over to Sesshoumaru. "You owe me two photos," she said, giving him a look that
meant he had better remember why.

The way his shoulders deflated said he did. "Very well. Two, and no more."

Rin had to make them count. She held up the box from his mother in one hand and clasped
his in the other. That was one photo.

Then, Kagome had to go and open her big mouth. "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" she chanted, which
got some of the other younger crowd going.

Sesshoumaru's hand tightened against hers, and Rin's heart panged as supreme annoyance
slithered through their bond. She knew how he felt about public displays of affection.

"Come on, boy. You've got such a pretty girl there. Don't leave her hanging," Kaede drawled,
and the look of venom he shot the doctor didn't even phase her. But it did prompt him to turn
and deliver a soft peck to her lips. The shutter sound on Mama's phone clicked at the perfect
moment.

"There, all done. Thank you," Rin answered, bringing his gloved hand to her lips and kissing
the back of it.

Afterwards, the party wound down. Sesshoumaru gladly took up the task of bringing gifts to
the various cars the family had brought and trying to fit them inside, so that he did not have
to participate in any lengthy farewells. While he was gone doing that, Rin's school friends
came up to her.

"Rin, you're so lucky!" one of them gushed. "He's a hunk!"

"How did you meet again?" another asked.

"It's so nice that your parents approve of you marrying someone with foreign blood."

"You're telling me," Rin answered with a weak chuckle. Little do they know.

"You're going to have such beautiful babies!"

"So, you're not engaged yet, right?"

 Rin faltered. "Um…not exactly. It's complicated."

"Oh, well better hurry and tie the knot soon before these little ones are born," her high school
friend said, tapping Rin's belly. Rin's heart clenched. "Anyway, be sure to keep us posted on
all the updates! Take care! It was great seeing you again!" The girls all took turns hugging
her before they left.

Aside from Izayoi and Inukimi, they were the last guests to leave. When they did, Kagome
came over to her and wrapped her arms around her from behind. "Hey, don't listen to them.
They don't know the whole story. You guys just take it at your own pace."

Except I'm the one slowing the pace down, aren't I?

After all, if even Inukimi had basically accepted their relationship today…then what was
stopping Rin?

You've got to face this, Rin. You've got to face him.

Chapter End Notes

…So, if you follow my Facebook page, you'll notice that my teaser didn't make it into
this chapter, and for that I'm sorry. The truth is, it's in the next section, which I was
originally going to tack onto this chapter…but the good times just kept rollin', and it got
so long, I had to break things off somewhere. The division between it and the baby
shower seemed best. So, all that to say, I apologize for dashing your hopes and

spicy. 😉
expectations for this week, but I promise that NEXT TIME, things will get good and…
Also, this gives me a writing buffer that I seriously need, especially since I'll
be out of town again in a week (business this time, which makes writing difficult), but
since I have the buffer, I'll still feel confident in having enough to update the following
week. Anyway, I'm not going to try to estimate how many chapters we have left to go
anymore, because it's obviously changing week to week, LOL.
 Body Image
Chapter Notes

Hi everyone. Sorry this was delayed a week. For those who don't know, I took a

😊
business trip a couple weeks ago that derailed my update schedule, so I needed more
time. That said, "the long winter" is finally over. Enjoy.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Even though Dr. Jinenji finally lifted Rin's bed rest restrictions, Sesshoumaru found his mate
didn't entirely have the energy anymore to do everything she wanted to. And perhaps that was
a good side effect of her bed rest—she no longer felt the need to push herself beyond her
limits.

In the days after the baby shower, Rin took her time organizing the nursery with their new
gifts. He worked from home those few days to make sure she wasn't overexerting herself and
also because, at this stage of her pregnancy and their relationship, she apparently wanted his
input on everything. So instead of fielding five dozen awkward video calls, he just walked
down the hall when she called to him.

Once she had finished putting together what they had, she then started shopping for the other
necessities they needed. As she had promised him, a servant or a family member always
accompanied her. She always came back from these forays exhausted and promptly went to
take a nap.

On one such day, Sesshoumaru was working in his office when the front door opened, and
the scent of Rin mixed with burning summer air filtered through the house. She and a few
servants walked past his office, laden with purchases that they dropped off in the nursery, and
on her way back to the living room, she stopped by to give him a kiss in greeting.

"I'm going to take a nap in the living room. Is that alright?"

"Of course. This is your home."

She had been staying out of her room as much as possible, proclaiming that three weeks of
bed rest had soured the very sight of it for her. (She proclaimed that peonies were now
officially her least favorite flower, but he noted with some confusion that she still admired the
huge blossoms in the garden. Apparently, his Rin was not capable of hatred.)

Nevertheless, Sesshoumaru hoped to use her aversion to his advantage to get her to move
into his bedroom—but he was waiting for Rin to give him a clear signal that she
was interested. Off bed rest she might be, but he had not forgotten how she had reacted the
last time he tried to seduce her. He would not risk her health for the sake of his desiccated
libido.
After about half an hour, her seventh sigh drifted over from the living room. Fabric rustled
and she groaned; he recognized the sounds of her pushing herself up.

He abandoned his computer and went next door to find Rin staring wearily at the ground as
she sat on the couch.

"What happened to your nap?" Sesshoumaru asked, coming to kneel next to her.

Rin let out a humorless bark of laughter. "I've been trying, but these two are conspiring
against me," she said, placing a hand on her stomach. "I feel like every time I'm about to doze
off, one of them kicks me back into alertness. I think they're having a party in there."

Sesshoumaru frowned. He did not like seeing Rin with such bags under her eyes. She had
already had fears about sleeping since the night Zero invaded her dreams. Luckily, in the
safety of Tsukuyomaru's barrier, such nightmares had not plagued her again, but it did not
stop the fear.

Fear.

The word sparked a memory of that night, when he had eased the children's fears with his
demonic aura. He wondered if, perhaps, he could do the opposite as well, although he didn't
intend to scare them—merely reassure his dominance.

His mate needed to be well-rested for birthing their pups in another month and a half or so,
and they needed to let their mother sleep.

"I guess I'll go back to online shopping and crossing things off the list, though I don't really
feel like it right now," Rin grumbled, scooting to the edge of the couch.

"Rin, wait. Lie back down," he said.

"Why?"

"Let me try to help you sleep. Lie back down."

Rin peered at him in confusion a moment before resuming her position on the couch with
what looked to be entirely too rough a pillow cushioning her head. Sesshoumaru placed a
hand over her stomach, immediately feeling a kick. He bit back a smile. As much as he
enjoyed feeling his young ones being so active, now was not the time.

"Let your mother sleep," he said, exerting his willpower into his demonic aura and
impressing it upon them. Their auras retreated a bit in surprise, and they stilled. Sesshoumaru
smirked in triumph.

But then he felt a small surge of power pushing back against his own, and his eyes widened.
One of the children kicked again.

Rin must have noticed the surprise on his face. "Sesshoumaru, is something wrong?"
"No." Quite the opposite. He could not be more thrilled. "Our children already show such
strength. They do not balk in the face of fear." He had always thought them strong since the
night they fought back against Zero when she invaded their mother's dreams, but to know it
was not a one-time occurrence lifted his heart.

"What do you mean? What are you doing?"

"I am trying to make them submit to my authority. They are…fighting back."

Rin laughed. "They aren't even born, and they're acting like stubborn teenagers already!"

Stubbornness. Yes, that seemed to be a family trait.

"Still…they are mere children." He exerted his will again, as he would nip a pup, and this
time, they submitted. When they hadn't moved for about a minute, he nodded in satisfaction
and removed his hand. "There. They should be quiet now."

Rin smiled. "Thank you." She fluffed the couch pillow and closed her eyes. Sesshoumaru got
up to leave to give her some peace.

"Oof."

He stopped and looked down at her.

Rin cracked an eye open at him and rubbed her stomach. "Apparently, when daddy's away,
the girls will play. I guess they're not so afraid of you if you aren't right there."

"I see I will need a firmer hand then."

"Sesshoumaru, it's fine. Don't bother them too much. They're only babies."

"They need to learn early on when to listen to their parents," Sesshoumaru countered.

"I agree, but you can't stop babies from kicking. It's what they do."

But he could. He had. And Rin needed sleep.

"Sit up."

"Lie down, sit up," Rin grumbled. "Would you make up your mind already?" But her tone
was teasing as opposed to accusatory.

Sesshoumaru slid beside her and tossed the rough pillow aside, arranging the end of his fur to
curl over the arm of the couch and his lap. He would never admit it to others, but one of the
perks he most enjoyed about working from home was not needing to don his fitted suits and
instead wearing his loose and airy kimono and hakama. He even wore his fur around the
house, as he had once done daily before going into hiding.

He patted the fluffy extension of himself, inviting her to lay upon it across his lap. "I will
keep them calm while you nap."
She looked at his fur longingly but said, "Sesshoumaru, your hand will fall asleep."

"What does that mean?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Has one of your limbs seriously never fallen asleep
before?" He blinked at her in response, still not understanding. She sighed and lay over his
legs. She groaned as her head came into contact with the fur, and she buried her face into it
with a smile. Sesshoumaru stiffened. He had meant to offer her this assistance in innocence,
but if she kept mewling and rubbing against his fur like that, she was going to have a stiff
visitor poking at her side.

"Fine. If you don't mind being my personal pillow and soothing agent, then I'll take you up on
it."

He had no qualms about it whatsoever. In fact, holding his pregnant mate in his arms like this
only felt right. Even if his groin was tightening to the point of pain.

To distract himself from the way she twisted her fingers through the strands of his fluff, he
lay one hand over her belly to keep the children quiet and ran another over her hair, rubbing
his thumb in soothing circles along her scalp.

Rin's breathing changed within minutes to the long, slow breaths of deep sleep. He changed
the pressure of his demonic energy—instead of making it impressionable, he tried to wrap it
around the children like a soothing blanket, hoping they too would fall asleep. He did not
want them to be frightened of him. Well, more than necessary, of course.

They lay there like that for nearly an hour. Sesshoumaru busied himself with examining Rin
from head to toe, much as he had done that first night in the forest. He counted the black
hairs on her head, finding a couple silver ones already peeking through. Those would be with
her forever, but she would not grow new ones—although at the same time, he wondered what
a Rin with his hair color would look like.

He followed the contours of her rounded, shapely body, relishing that he could touch it now
as he did, for it helped take the edge off. He studied the curves of her fingers and nails,
wondering when he would next feel them rake against his skin.

His body grew warm at that thought, and he decided that perhaps he should focus on
something else in the room to keep his erection at bay.

He looked up then to find his mother staring at them from the doorway, something almost
haunting in her otherwise neutral expression.

Sesshoumaru's face soured, hating the interruption on an otherwise relaxing moment with his
mate. Granted, she had surprised him by not only attending the baby shower but gifting Rin
hand-me-downs that equated to heirlooms, given how she had kept them for so long and in
such pristine condition. Perhaps he no longer needed to be so wary of her. "What is it,
Mother?" he asked in a tone so low, it wouldn't wake up Rin.
A wistful sort of look crossed his mother's face. "They were keeping her awake, weren't
they?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened marginally in surprise, and he nodded.

Inukimi closed her eyes. "Your father did the same for me when I was pregnant with you."

To be fair, Sesshoumaru always had trouble imagining his mother pregnant. It wasn't as if he
had a full-blooded younger sibling where he could have seen such a phenomenon firsthand.
But to imagine his strong mother as tired as Rin was and needing the comfort of his father….

No, he still couldn't picture it. It was much easier to imagine his father being so caring with
Izayoi, whether she was pregnant or not.

His mother continued to watch them in silence for another few seconds before she turned on
her heel and left.

But not before Sesshoumaru caught the faintest whiff of saline from her.

Rin woke feeling warmer and more comfortable than she had in weeks. As she nuzzled
against her fluffy pillow—no, fur, she recalled—and felt the hands on her head and belly, she
had a sudden sense of never wanting to leave Sesshoumaru's embrace.

She shifted, turning onto her back and opening her eyes to find his warm, golden ones gazing
back at her with such adoration, she couldn't believe she had ever doubted his affection for
and attraction towards her. Here she was, waking up all bleary-eyed and probably with some
fur marks on her face, and he was staring at her like she was his entire world.

He was so good to her.

I love him.

The resolve she had been working towards ever since the baby shower finally solidified. She
had to tell him. She had to show him.

She reached up and cupped the back of his neck, bringing his head down to meet hers. She
pressed her lips gently against his at first, relishing their softness. Then, she sucked on his
upper lip, deftly slipping her tongue into his waiting mouth. He sucked the little muscle
further in, lightly scraping the edges of his teeth over the flesh.

The sensation of his fangs teasing her tongue ignited an ember in her belly.

She broke their kiss and then tried to sit up to get better access to him. His fur moved and
pushed her up so that she was sitting on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and
then placed a series of kisses along his jaw, moving towards one of her favorite nibbling
spots: his ear. She sucked the lobe between her lips and gnawed on it gently, eliciting a chest-
deep growl from him.
"Rin…do not test me," he said, burying his nose in her neck and pressing a kiss against the
mating mark there. Sparks shot from it and cascaded down her back and chest, heading
straight for her nipples, making them tighten. Offhand, she wondered if she was going to
leak.

Don't worry about that now, she thought, massaging the tip of his ear with her fingers. It's
time. He deserves to see the full extent of my love for him.

Still, knowing what she had to do and actually doing it were different matters. She needed to
ease into this—get comfortable in her own skin while still showing him her love.

After all, leaky nipples were not exactly attractive.

She had given it a lot of thought over the last few days, and she finally had a solution to how
she could give them both what they wanted. She had just been waiting for the right time,
because she wasn't sure how he was going to react to it.

Perhaps now, while he seemed so enamored—so unlikely to say no—was the time.

"I am not testing you, Sesshoumaru." She pulled away to stare him straight in the eye. "I'm
ready."

His grip, which had made it to her backside when she hadn't noticed, tightened, and it was as
if those clawed fingertips were attached to strings making her core twitch with every move.
"Are you certain?" he asked.

"Yes."

He lifted her then like she wasn't a bloated elephant and strode into the hallway.

And, of course, an annoying green toad popped up.

"S-Sesshoumaru-sa-MA!" he cried out as Sesshoumaru stepped right on the imp, ignoring

him.

"Sesshoumaru!" Rin gasped, looking around his shoulder. "Jaken, are you alright?"

A groan was his only response.

They had just reached the door to Sesshoumaru's bedroom when Jaken came scrambling back
towards them. "Sesshoumaru-sama, wait! You have an urgent call—"

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red as he glared at Jaken. "It will wait."

Jaken squeaked as a shiver cascaded down him from head to toe. "B-But Sesshoumaru-sama,
it's about Naraku. Myoga finally found his sanctuary."

Sesshoumaru froze, his arms tightening around Rin's back and legs. Rin looked up at him in
confusion. "Who's Naraku?"
"Vermin that must be exterminated," he answered tersely. He looked down at her, obviously
torn between desire and duty.

Rin clutched the end of his fur still in her hands. Actually…this could be better. I think I still
need some time to prepare. "Go take care of it, Sesshoumaru."

"No, Rin…it can wait. You are more important."

She reached up to stroke the markings on his cheek. "Sesshoumaru, go take care of it. That
way, later, we won't have any distractions, right?"

He sighed. "You are correct." He set her down, but she did not let go of his fur. "You realize
that you must let go if I am to see to this business as quickly as possible."

"Can you leave your fur with me? As a…promise?" she asked in her coyest voice possible,
holding up the fur against her cheek. She swore the fur twitched in her hands along with the
crotch of his hakama.

He removed the fur from his shoulder and wrapped it around hers, leaning to whisper in her
ear, "I expect it to be the only thing covering you upon my return."

Rin shivered against his hot breath and glanced up at him. "We'll see."

As soon as he left, Rin got to work with her preparations. She went back to her room and
changed out of her clothes into a silk kimono, electing to leave her underwear behind. Then
she grabbed her old sleeping mask she had often used when, after a night shift, she had to
sleep during the day. When he still hadn't returned, she got antsy and went to the kitchen to
grab a few snacks to give her some energy before their planned romp.

He was taking longer than expected. She had figured he only needed to take a phone call, but
by the time an hour had passed, she was still reclining on his bed, her snacks finished and on
the nightstand.

She absently stroked his fur as she waited, and after a moment of petting, the end of the fur
wrapped around her leg of its own accord. Rin stared at it in shock and then got an idea of
how to speed things up.

First, she got up to close the door. No need for an accidental voyeur.

As she returned to the bed, she slid the collar of the kimono open, letting it gape between her
breasts. She took the end of the fur she still had clasped in her hands and kissed it. Then, she
ran it over her cheek, down her neck, and slipped it inside the front of her kimono, circling
her breast with it.

"Mmm, Sesshoumaru, you're so soft," she murmured, not certain if he could hear it, but the
words still tightened her womb with want. Her sex tingled with the need to be rubbed and
invaded. A baby kicked, but that did not deter her focus.

She spread her legs wide, the loose kimono parting around her thighs. She took the head of
the fur and started tantalizing her folds with just the edges of that silky hair. Each flick
against her center sent a tingle of anticipation running up to her heart and down her legs. She
imagined it was Sesshoumaru's tongue, tracing the edges of her folds.

Suddenly, she stopped teasing herself and pressed the fur fully against her center, rubbing it
in slow circles along her core. Every pass of the fur matted it with her juices, making it
rougher and rougher, like Sesshoumaru's slick tongue swirling over her.

The end of the fur wrapped around her leg twitched then started humping the limb.

She closed her eyes and threw her head back against the pillows. Memories of his silver head
pressing into her core as he made love to her with his tongue in the changing room at the mall
filled her mind, heightening the tension building in her sex. She moaned and panted as she
started rubbing the fur up and down the seam of her opening, envisioning Sesshoumaru
slipping his thick penis through her tight canal like a wide cargo carrier trying to breach a
narrow pass and then finally plunging it into her and thrusting, thrusting, thrusting until she
broke.

Her legs spasmed as sensation overtook her—not quite an orgasm but some relief
nonetheless.

The door to the room flew open, and Rin slammed her legs shut tight over the fur, gripping it
between her thighs and pulling her nightgown down around it.

The wood of the doorjamb creaked as Sessohumaru's claws dug into it, and he stared at her
with wild, red eyes, the bulge in his hakama entirely noticeable.

"Rin…what are you doing?"

Rin bit her lip coyly, sitting up on her knees and casually rubbing herself along the length of
his fur still trapped beneath her. His grip on the doorjamb tightened. "Sesshoumaru, you told
me that if I ever need something, I can come to you." She rubbed herself along the fur once
more to emphasize the word.

"Your impatience has led you down the path to cheap relief," he ground out, finally stepping
inside and shutting the door. "Or is that what you always wanted?"

The tug of disappointment she felt from him caused her to blink in confusion. "What do you
mean?"

The W-shape of his brows indicated his disappointment. "I know you have been hesitant. Is
this what you meant when you were said you were ready tonight? Not for me, but for…
relief?"

"No, Sesshoumaru, that's not it."

She wanted to tell him why she hadn't given in yet, but he continued before she could. "Your
body is clearly ready. What holds you back?" Then his expression lightened as he thought of
something. "Are you in pain? Tell me if it is so. The books you lent me indicate pregnancy
can make sex…painful. Is that what you fear?"
"No. I feel fine today. Not every day…but I would let you know if I didn't want you touching
me."

"So I may touch you?"

She hesitated. She wanted his touch more than anything, and yet the thought that he could be
repulsed by what he saw tore her heart. "Not right away."

A wary look crossed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You must earn it. But in doing so…we will both get relief."

His brows rose a fraction, and then a hint of a smirk crossed his lips. Suddenly, he was
stalking toward her like the dog he was until he was towering over her. He slowly reached out
and ran a thumb over her brow and down her cheek, leaving a tingling trail in his wake. She
fought back a shiver as she stood—or rather, sat—her ground. "And pray tell how I might
earn that privilege."

"You will do exactly what I tell you and no more."

He narrowed his eyes. "Such as?"

She reached up and removed his hand from her face. "You will not touch me."

He frowned. "But you will touch me?" She nodded. He contemplated her for several seconds,
as if trying to read her mind. Finally, he closed his eyes and let a small smirk bloom. "I see.
You wish to use my body for your own pleasure, which in due course gives me pleasure."

Rin's face felt like a furnace. That makes me sound so selfish…but that's exactly what I'm
doing, isn't it? Oh dear. This is wrong. I shouldn't. It's not lovemaking at all—it's just using
him, as he said.

She was about to take it back when Sesshoumaru sat down beside her, meeting her gaze.
"Well-played, Rin. You are well aware I could never refuse you in whatever capacity you will
to give yourself. Use my body as you wish. I will refrain from touching you."

Her heart pounded faster, and she scooted closer to him. "Is that so? Let's test this out then,
shall we?"

She reached out and trailed her finger up his chest until she came to the base of his Adam's
Apple, just above the crossed collar of his kimono. He swallowed distinctly. She grinned and
bent over to place a kiss upon it. Then she moved her kisses up his neck to his chin and
finally made contact with his mouth. She wiped her tongue against his lips to ask for entry,
and he opened them. She slipped her tongue inside, running it along the edge of his. It
flinched and started to prod back against hers, but then it relaxed, and she realized what he
was doing. Even in his mouth, he would not reach out to touch her, as she had requested.

She pulled back and smiled at him. "Good boy."

Sesshoumaru growled. "You dare to treat this Sesshoumaru like a dog?"

Rin looked up at him coyly and fluttered her lashes. "Oh, are you not going to obey my every
command then? Perhaps we should just stop here in that case…" she trailed off, starting to
pull his fur out from underneath her, the friction causing her to shiver with lust.

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth and clenched the comforter beneath him in his hands. "Rin,
don't."

"Are you going to behave?"

"Yes."

She grinned. "Very well then. Let's see how long it lasts." She got off the bed and then pulled
the yellow and purple sash at his waist, undoing the knot and sliding it off. "Put your head on
the pillows and lie down, Sesshoumaru," she commanded.

He did as instructed.

"Now, place your arms over your head."

His eyes latched onto the sash she was twirling around her fingers. "I am capable of
restraining my own limbs, Rin."

"Maybe so. But I want this to serve as a little reminder, just in case," Rin said, snapping the
sash in front of him.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and placed his hands above his head.

"Good boy," she replied, and he growled again at the words as she took his wrists and tied
them to the bedpost with his sash. It wasn't a sailor's knot by any means, but it was enough to
secure him. "Now, do not rip that tie off, understand? I know you can, but restrain yourself."

"I understand."

Then she grabbed the sleeping mask she had brought and held it up. "Lift your head."

He frowned. "You said I could not touch. You did not say I could not see."

"I stated that you would have to do exactly as I said, and you agreed. Now I'm telling you that
you have to wear this mask, or I won't go any further."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "You test my patience, Rin."

Rin raised her eyebrows. Then she reached over and boldly cupped his straining crotch. He
sucked in a sharp breath through his nose. "There is more than one way I can test your
patience, Sesshoumaru. But the quicker you agree to the mask, the less patience you will
require."

"Put it on."
She smiled in triumph and settled the mask over his eyes. She looked over his prone body, his
crisp, white kimono stretching over his lean muscles, looking far too smooth and composed.

It needed disheveling.

As she debated, Sesshoumaru said, "Rin, what are you doing?"

He sounded so…wary. So uncertain. It was rare to see him so vulnerable, and a part of Rin
relished it. This was a part of Sesshoumaru only she would see. Still…probably best to
reassure him.

"Don't you trust me?" she asked as she leaned over and gently placed her lips against his. She
nipped at his upper lip and then started sucking it, relishing the feel of that soft skin molding
between hers. She finally pulled away. "Well?"

"Yes," her answered lowly, and she smiled, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth before
inching down his jaw towards his collar. She peeled open his kimono as she kissed her way
down his chest. She swore she saw goosebumps rise in her wake, but they disappeared
quicker than she thought possible.

Now she had a challenge: to make him shiver.

"I want to see those stripes again," she murmured. "It's been far too long."

She loosened the ties of his hakama and then yanked the tails of his kimono out in one go,
spreading the robe and underlying juban wide. Then she gripped his hips, where his stripes
curved over and descended beneath the waistline of his pants. She traced the stripes on each
side with two fingers each, stopping when she reached the edge of his loosened hakama and
placing one last kiss against the dusting of silver hair that started below his navel.

She was rewarded with a shiver.

She glanced over at the bulge in his pants. It was sizeable…but not big enough.

She would fix that.

"Someone's getting excited," Rin remarked, slipping her hand beneath the rim of his hakama
and then gasping when she met boxers.

"Not going traditionally commando?" she inquired, slipping her fingers further underneath
the elastic band, sliding towards home plate.

"There are some useful modern garments," he replied in a tight voice.

Finally, her hand met his cock, and she grasped its circumference, rolling the semi-hard
length between her fingers.

Sesshoumaru groaned. "Rin, you are teasing."

Rin giggled. "What did you think I was trying to do?"

"Take them off."

"You're not the one giving orders around here," Rin answered, and as punishment, she took
her hand away. She could have sworn he started to whimper as she pulled her hand out of his
pants. The tendons in his wrists stood out with tension as he gripped the sash tying his hands
together. "But it would be rude of me to not greet someone who's so obviously dying to meet
me."

She flipped down the top section of his hakama, making sure to run her fingers over his half-
cocked length as she did. He was already tenting so much that the gap in his boxers gaped
open, allowing her a peek inside.

Rin looked at him again, half-undressed and half-erect. The sight of him so disheveled sent
skitters racing to her core.

She pressed her legs together in response, and her wetness spread to her thighs. Sesshoumaru
took a deep inhale just then, a low growl rumbling in his chest. She looked back at his boxers
again and suddenly got a dirty idea.

She grabbed her phone and opened the camera app. "Did you know you look like you could
be on the cover of a novel like, 'My Naughty Samurai'?" she asked, snapping a photo.

He tensed at the sound of her finger tapping the glass of her phone. "Rin, are you taking
photographs?"

"This is payback for deleting the last photos I took of you," she said, looking for another
angle.

"I paid my debt at the shower."

"Oh, those are just the photos I can show other people. These will be just for me. I mean, this
is a fantasy come true. How many girls today can say they fucked a feudal warlord?"

He flinched at her crass language. "What did you just say?"

She grinned, finally deciding what she wanted and pulled just his pants down until they hung
at his ankles, acting like manacles keeping his feet together. "You heard me. This poor,
orphaned, little peasant girl caught the mighty warlord's eye as he ransacked her village, and
do you know what he did?"

"What did he do?" Sesshoumaru asked hesitantly.

"Why, he unsheathed his mighty sword and impaled her upon it," Rin answered, maneuvering
his textbook-perfect phallus through the hole in his boxers so that everything else around his
hips was still covered except for it and the tops of his testicles. "And the blood of his sword
wet the earth of her womb. So she followed the samurai's trail, knowing she carried his heir,
but she was afraid the samurai would not recognize her. After all, she wondered, how many
other poor peasant girls had he shoved his mighty sword into over the course of his life?"
"Of course he remembered her," Sesshoumaru ground out. "How could he forget the single
woman to turn him away from the path of bloodshed, even if it was only for a few precious
moments of his life?"

Rin's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, their role play was getting a tad personal. She licked her
lips, staring at his cock. "The little peasant girl felt dirty. But not because of what the samurai
did to her—oh no." She reached out and tapped his welling tip with her finger, swirling the
bead of milky precum around his head. "She felt dirty because she never forgot the sight,
sound, and feeling of that sword sliding into her gut," Rin continued, crawling onto the bed
and kneeling around his thighs, the point of him mere millimeters from her slit. Her opening
salivated in anticipation, wetting the fabric of his boxers against his balls, and his thighs
tightened beneath hers. "The samurai awoke a terrible hunger within her. She needed that
sword of his again, and only his would do. So even if he did not recognize her, she vowed to
take what she wanted. When she finally reached his castle, she snuck in that night and tied
him up so that he could not move. And what do you think she did then?"

"She took his sword and committed seppuku," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Did she?" Rin answered, grasping his cock again in her hand and scooting forward, running
the head through her slit. Her heart seized as his flesh ran along her sensitive skin, and on the
second pass up, she was already noticeably wetter. "It takes a lot of fortitude to impale
oneself, after all. One wants that blade to be sharp enough to cut through quickly and with as
little pain as possible. I think she found the sword needed some sharpening first along
her whetstone."She brought the head up to her clit and swirled it around and around, sending
waves of pleasure across her core, tightening it.

One of the babies kicked then, and it felt like a stick bouncing off a drum, her walls were so
tight.

"Rin—"

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He sucked in a breath upon hearing the suffix. "Rin…if you do not take me now, I will not
last much longer."

"Mmm, oh no, that won't do," Rin murmured breathlessly. "Your sword cannot break before I
do. That's an order."

"What if…I cannot keep it from breaking?"

Rin faltered, unsure of what would be a suitable punishment. She could withhold sex, but that
was just punishing the both of them. Realizing that the silence was getting awkward, she
blurted out, "You'll be reduced to becoming a starving dog that must lick away his own seed
from his master's cunt until she comes on his tongue multiple times, finally bestowing him
with the nourishment he needs."

He was silent for enough seconds that Rin started to worry she had gone too far. But then he
said, "Is that supposed to be a punishment?"
Rin was so glad he couldn't see the blush that spread across her cheeks. "Well…."

"You know I would gladly do so anytime, Rin. You need only ask."

"Be that as it may—"

"Though if I were to become the dog you wish me to be, you would find my tongue large
enough to pleasure your whole body, not just your…cunt."

She slid herself against him, dipping just the tip of him inside her, tantalizing him with a
promise of what was to come. "This I would like to see. Should I deny myself then?" she
asked, pulling her nether lips away from him and instead starting to pump him with her hand.

He pulled at the sash restraining his hands. "If it pleases you, I will take you to the sanctuary
whenever you wish to see it. Just sheathe my sword already."

She decided not to point out this time that he had gone back to giving orders, because she
wanted this too. Without further ado, she slid forward and lifted herself up, positioning
herself over his pillar of manhood. And then she eased herself down onto it, conscious of the
fact that it had been seven months since she last had sex with him and the fact that her uterus
was a different shape now.

But as he slid into her core, he was like a key fitting into her rusty lock, and she knew a few
good twists would have her opening in no time.

She moaned, and Sesshoumaru sucked in a breath as she took him further and further, letting
her new weight settle her down as far upon him as she could go.

"Oh, Sesshoumaru," she breathed, squeezing her walls around him, and his legs jerked behind
her. "It's like you never left."

"You are my perfect fit," Sesshoumaru answered.

She placed a supporting hand under her girth to ease the jostle of her stomach as she started
to bounce up and down atop him. His penis slid through her tight cave, a slippery eel darting
in and out of its hidey hole, and Rin realized Sesshoumaru had been right—his fur had been a
cheap substitute. Such banal pleasure could not compare with the sensation of him filling her
so completely.

She gyrated her hips then, swirling herself around his fleshy sword to make sure it touched
all her walls, and Sesshoumaru moaned.

The babies kicked at her again, and then something occurred to her. "Sesshoumaru…I just
realized this is the closest I'm ever going to be to you three. You're all inside me right now,
mere centimeters apart. Can you believe it?" she murmured.

He growled at her words. "Rin…please…let me see you."

"Ah-ah," Rin answered. Granted, she was still wearing her silk kimono, but now that she was
aware of it, she realized the rougher silk inside rubbing against her sensitive nipples was
distracting, so she pulled the robe open, keeping the belt fastened so that the bottom part still
covered her stomach, and let the sleeves fall against her shoulders, exposing her enlarged
breasts to the air. She felt so lewd, watching her full breasts jiggle up and down as she
bounced, the minute stretch marks glinting. Is this how courtesans looked back in the day?

Sesshoumaru's head perked up. "Rin…are you taking off your kimono?"

"Not…completely," she gasped, as she ground herself into him, wanting to rub her nub in just
the right place but not wanting to resort to using her fingers.

"Rin, take off this mask."

"No," she answered, concentrating more on finding the right angle for herself as she slid
against him. She recalled one of their times in the forest that was particularly pleasurable, so
she leaned back just slightly and pumped. His cock ran right over her G-spot, and she cried
out. "Yes, yes, that's it!" she panted, putting one hand behind her to support her and keeping
the other under her stomach. She used her leg muscles to their utmost to rub her insides
against him, and as his member hit that spot over and over, she felt herself rushing towards
her climax.

"Rin, I'm—"

"Oh, Se-sshou-ma-ru!" she screamed, enunciating the syllables with each hit of her G-spot.

Suddenly, the dam of his seed broke within her, but she didn't mind, because the rush of hot
semen against her walls was the final trigger to her own climax, and she cried out in ecstasy
as lightning rushed up her back and to ignite the base of her skull in an inferno.

She squeezed herself around him, tensing at the tsumani of sensation, and as she slowly eased
back down, she worked her walls against him, milking him of every last drop.

Finally exhausted, she pulled off of him and collapsed at his side, resting a hand on his pale
chest and tracing his muscle definitions to let him know she was right there. She breathed
hard, as if she had run a marathon, and looked over her work. Sesshoumaru's cock still stood
proud, glistening with her remnants, and the front of his boxers were dark and damp with her
fluids. He looked thoroughly defiled, and she relished it. She kissed his ribs on those feelings.

"Are you planning to untie me?" Sesshoumaru asked, his fingers twitching, as if he wanted to
wrap her in his arms.

"Just a moment," Rin moaned, nuzzling against his side. After she had caught her breath, she
sat up and straight out her kimono, tucking her breasts back inside. Then she loosened the tie
around his wrists, and he pulled free so fast, she yelped as he tore the sleeping mask off. He
frowned when he looked at her. "Why are you dressed?"

She smirked, glancing at his deflating member. "I don't think you're quite ready for round two
yet."
"What does that matter? I need only to see your body." He reached for the belt of her kimono,
but Rin slapped her hands down on his. His brows furrowed even deeper. "Tell me, Rin. Why
do you insist on keeping your body hidden from me?"

Rin bit her lip. She couldn't keep this to herself any longer. He deserved to know. "I don't…
look the same as I did that first time."

His brows pushed up in puzzlement. "Naturally. And?"

"And…it's just embarrassing, Sesshoumaru. Pregnancy is not flattering. I don't want to…
corrupt your memories of me."

"That is impossible."

"So you say, but…." Something felt cold against her breast, and she looked down to find a
wet spot blooming over her nipple. She gasped and brought up a hand to cover it. When she
looked up at Sesshoumaru, her face burning with embarrassment, her breath caught in her
throat at the almost feral glint in his golden eyes as they locked on her hand.

"You don't trust me."

Rin's face burned with shame. She basically was asking him to prove that she could trust him
to love her body as it was. How horrible was that? "I'm sorry. I'm just afraid…you're going to
look at me differently once this is all said and done. I see my own body shape every day.
Trust me, it's not pretty."

"Hm. I supposed I must revise my earlier statement." When she looked at him for further
explanation, he added, "You asked me earlier if I trust you. I said I did. However, I
do not trust you when it comes to this."

Now it was Rin's turn to frown. "What do you mean?"

"You cannot see the beauty in yourself."

"W-Well how can I, when I look like a cow?" Rin retorted a little too snappish for her liking.

He closed his eyes. "I see I will have to rectify this situation. Come." He got off the bed,
kicking off his hakama but not bothering to tuck himself back into his boxers.

He helped her off the bed, and seed dribbled down her thigh as he walked her over to the tall
mirror hanging on the wall.

He placed her directly in front of it and stood behind her. "My turn now. Place your hands
here," he said, guiding her arms back to grasp his hips. "And do not let go."

"Okay…."

"What do you see, Rin?"

She frowned, not sure where he was going with this. "Us…."
"And have you ever seen me in such a state before?" His kimono hung open, and the sight of
him dangling from his boxers was enough to set off another firework in her core. The babies
kicked again, as if to say, Enough, Mom!

"No…."

"You did this to me, Rin. You and this body," he said, bringing his hands up beneath her arms
and just wrapping his long, slender fingers over her breasts. He pressed against the wet spot
on her right breast, and she sucked in a breath as he slid his hands down her body, following
her enlarged contours. "Do not think I didn't imagine it as you rode me. Why is it you believe
I would dislike it?"

"Because I dislike it," Rin answered.

"We have always had different tastes," he murmured, pressing a kiss behind her ear. She
whimpered. "But in this case, I must make you see things my way."

She shook her head. "Impossible."

He smirked at her from over her shoulder. "Is that a challenge?"

The way his eyes lit up with the fire of arousal sent her heart skittering. "Yes."

"And what happens if I win?" he asked, rubbing her belly in soft circles, causing her to fall
back against his warm chest.

"I'll never hide my body from you again, no matter how fat and ugly I get," Rin answered.

"Precisely what I wanted to hear." His deep voice rumbled in his chest, causing her back to
contract in waves of goosebumps.

"W-What happens if I win, and you can't convince me?" she asked.

"It is a non-issue, for I do not intend to lose."

"You still need to put up a wager."

He ignored her. "Now…you seem to have taken issue with your breasts. Is that the case?"

"Not so much the breasts themselves as the fact that I can't tell when they le-EEK!" she
yelped as his hand slid like a snake through the kimono, clamping around her leaking breast.

"Does this hurt?" he asked.

"No," she breathed, though she dared not move.

He began to massage it, and her nipple puckered so tight, it tingled. "It sits heavier than I
remember, though whatever size, it will always be a perfect fit for my hand. Now…let me see
it." He brought his other hand up to pull the opening of her kimono aside, baring her breast.
He growled as he stared at it in the mirror, and Rin shuddered. "A sight I have not seen in
many a month." He rolled her nipple between his fingers, and a drop of golden colostrum
seeped out. He smeared it over her nipple. "A treat for later," he said by way of explanation,
then brought his finger to his mouth and sucked it. "A sweet treat indeed."

"Sesshoumaru," Rin whimpered.

"Now, Rin, tell me what you think about this breast."

"I think…it needs your lips. To stop the leaking."

He tweaked her nipple in response. "All in due time. Are you ashamed of…leaking?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It's just embarrassing. It's like peeing your pants."

"Is it? Urine is refuse. This milk is a sign of life. Our children will feed on it. Will it shame
you to feed them?"

"Of course not."

"Good. Now, tell me what you see."

Rin stared at the mirror. She knew what he was after now. She could just say what he wanted
to hear. "I see breasts that leak life."

He narrowed his eyes at her and pinched her nipple once again. She gasped. "You do not
sound sincere."

"O-Of course I am," she half-lied.

"Do you want my mouth or not?"

"Sesshoumaru, I said what you wanted to hear. Now stop teasing."

He shook his head. "Not until you believe it." He tore back the other side of her kimono,
exposing both breasts so lewdly to the mirror. He grasped the previously hidden nipple and
pinched both hard, causing her to pulled herself back into his chest as she gripped his hips
harder. He continued pulling and pinching, and it was more pain than pleasure at this point.
All the while, her breasts leaked liquid gold, and it dribbled down her breasts, the bunch silk
beneath them sopping them up. It was as if he had struck oil and he was determined to pull up
every precious drop. Still, she wanted his mouth on her to suck away the tightness and ache.

"I-I see anticipation for our girls!" He stopped his sweet torture on her breasts, listening.
"Colostrum or milk—whatever seeps out—it means my body is ready and waiting for our
babies, and it just can't wait to meet them. Having so much that it leaks—it's a gift. It means
I'll have enough for both girls." Science might disagree with her on that, but maybe
Sesshoumaru would accept the feeling behind it, at least.
Apparently, he did, because he removed her hands from his hips and then moved to her side,
where a droplet of colostrum had ceased its path, dangling from the bottom of her breast. He
stuck out his tongue and caught the droplet, running it over his teeth.

Rin blinked at him in awe. "W-What's it taste like?"

"Salty."

He then proceeded to lick the trail it had left, and she wondered if his demon tongue could
taste that extra hint of salt in the faint residue. He teased the soft flesh with his teeth, and Rin
moaned, grabbing his head so that he stayed there.

Without removing his lips from her breast, Sesshoumaru removed her hands from him and
placed them at her hips. "Do not touch," he repeated, his lips so feather-light against her skin
and his breath so warm against his saliva on her that goosebumps arose, tightening the skin of
her breast even more than it already was.

"Sesshoumaruuu," she whined. "Why aren't you sucking?"

"Patience. I too was promised a treat," he said, proceeding to lick all the other trails of
colostrum that had dripped down her body until his tongue had carved paths all over her belly
and breasts, creating chilly avenues that offset the heat of her skin.

Finally, finally, he latched onto her nipple. He cushioned his teeth with his lips, sucking it and
pulling liquid out, and oh, was this how it felt to breastfeed? It was strange and yet…so
natural.

He moved a finger down to her curls and gently teased her clit as he moved to the other
breast, laving it with attention. Such stimulation right over her heart and her groin—she
swore she was going to pass out again from it.

But she remained standing, even as a ball of pressure built within her nub.

"So close," she murmured.

But it was the wrong this to say.

He popped her nipple out of his mouth and pulled away his finger so quickly that she cried
out at the loss of them.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he returned to his spot behind her.

He moved her hands back from her thighs to his. "Moving onto the main event." Before she
could stop him, he ripped the silk belt off her waist, causing the kimono to part like a curtain
around her belly. He pulled the kimono back until it was hanging only by the sleeves on her
arms.

She stood essentially naked before the mirror—a sight she had seen plenty of times during
her pregnancy, but now with Sesshoumaru at her back, it only made her more self-conscious
of the dark line bisecting her stomach, her protruding belly button, and the dark veins
standing out against her pale skin.

"What do you see?" he asked again.

"An ugly udder," she answered miserably.

"Incorrect. That deserves a punishment."

"What kind of punishment?"

He nudged her legs apart with his knee and swiped his fingers through her wet core, causing
her to jump. He rubbed their fluids over his fingers and then spread her butt cheeks open. She
gasped. "Sesshoumaru, wa-OH!" she cried out as one finger wormed into her puckered ring.
He curled against her sphincter, the edge of his claw lightly scraping her insides, and she
clenched against him.

"As I thought. Not enough of a punishment," he sighed, wiggling a second finger inside.

Rin groaned as he stretched her, and this time, there was a slight pain as he filled her. One of
her hands twitched off his hips to move to her front and rub herself, but his free hand slapped
down against hers, keeping it pinned to his side.

"Not yet. Not until I hear what I need."

"Fine, it's a big, beautiful belly for of life," she said in a rush.

He stared at her flatly from over her shoulder. "Your words ring hollow. You will not win this
challenge that way." He continued to pump her ass as he brought his free hand to his cock
and stroked it.

"W-What do you plan to do?" she asked. As intriguing as these sensations felt, she wouldn't
ever come from him just fingering her anus. But perhaps that was the point.

"Let's take this slowly," he said, still pumping them both without losing a beat. "Do you find
our daughters beautiful?"

"Of course!"

"Then why is the womb that houses them any different?"

"But…that's not them. It's me."

"How else are they to come into being without you?"

Rin sighed. "I understand what you're saying, Sesshoumaru, and I agree—pregnancy itself is
a beautiful thing. But my body—"

"Is equally as beautiful."

"No, it's not. Look at all these stretch marks!" she protested, eyeing the white crevices etched
into her skin. "Look at that linea nigra!"

He suddenly removed his fingers from her backside and brought them around to her front,
tracing the dark line on her belly and leaving a wet trail in their wake. "Why are you allowed
to admire my markings, but I cannot admire yours?"

She froze. "I…didn't think of it that way."

"Nor did I before you stroked the stripes on my cheek that first time," he answered. "They
were simply a part of my skin. As are your marks, temporary though they may be."

Rin bit her lips. "I suppose when you put it that way…they're not that bad."

He smiled softly, and she gasped, bucking forward slightly as his new erection poked at her
backside. He wouldn't enter me there, would he?

"Good. For that, you get a little reward."

He slid his cock through the gap in her legs, pushing them closer together, so that the head of
his shaft peeked through the triangle of her legs on the other side. She had a perfect view of it
in the mirror. She moaned as he thrust back and forth, rubbing against the sticky juncture of
her thighs.

"So wet. An excellent lubricant if I need to punish you again," he said.

"Wait, what?" she gasped. "You wouldn't." She could barely contain him in her vagina—she
didn't think she could take his whole girth in her anus.

"I would, if you don't give me the correct answer." Still, though, he continued to thrust
between them, and that pink little head poking out like a naked mole rat from its burrow had
her womb tightening to the point of pain. If he would just angle himself a bit higher, he could
slip inside…. "What do you see?" he repeated.

"I see…a unique opportunity."

"Oh?" he asked, his pace slowing as he concentrated on her words.

"A chance for you to appreciate certain…aspects of my body for only a few months."

"What aspects?" he pressed, reaching around her front to stroke her pearl. The walls of her
womb contracted in pleasure, though for a second, she feared it was an actual
contraction. No, no, that would be painful. This…this is pure pleasure. She pressed her thighs
tighter, making it impossible for Sesshoumaru to push through her gap any longer.

"Oh? You don't want that anymore?" he asked, positioning himself at the entrance to her ass.

"No, wait, Sesshoumaru—"

He pushed just the head inside, and Rin cried out, gripping his hips so tightly, she
accidentally jerked him forward, pushing him even further into her body.

Pleasure-pain spiked from her stretched walls as she squeezed around him, unsure if she was
trying to suck him in or push him back out. But then he flicked her clit again, and the wave of
pleasure from her front crashed against the stuffed sensation from the back, confusing her
with what she was supposed to be feeling.

"What aspects?" he repeated, a patient teacher with a distracted pupil.

"Leaky breasts for you to lap up," she gasped as he continued to push forward into her
sphincter.

He pulled back then, and her walls cried in relief. He rubbed her nub, circling it continuously
now. "What else?"

"A belly button for you to suck on."

"Hmm, I had not thought of that. Well done." He strummed her clit faster, his rear
movements completely stilled.

She couldn't think straight as her knees knocked involuntarily from the pleasure. "Stretch
marks for you to trace with your tongue!"

"Good," he said, pulling out a little more until just the tip was hanging inside her. He took her
nub and rubbed it between his fingers.

"I see…I see…a body that's only possible…when a man and a woman love each other like
we do! The bigger and rounder, the more proof of our love!"

He stopped stroking just then, his clear, wide-eyed gaze meeting her hazy, lust-filled one in
their reflection. "You love me?" he asked.

"Oh, I do, Sesshoumaru, I do. I love you so much," she whimpered.

He pulled out of her backside so fast, she barely had time to appreciate the relief of the
emptiness before he spread her legs and plunged into her waiting sex. She cried out as he
rammed into her, and he moved his free hand beneath her belly to support her as he pounded
into her. Her breasts bounced obscenely in the mirror, colostrum trailing from both nipples
now, running down her breasts and jumping to her belly.

"I love you, Rin," he grunted as he thrust. "I will love you no matter your shape. I will never
stop. Do you understand?"

"I do!" she gasped as he resumed stroking her slit. "And I love that you want me to love
myself too. Oh gods, Sesshoumaru, I don't deserve you!" she screamed as she came in a flood
of fireworks shooting off in womb and vision, her mind going numb as they blinded her with
starry afterimages.
 "No…I do not deserve you. But once more…we must agree to disagree," he ground out as he
bucked into her. "Tell me once more, Rin, so that I may spill myself to your words."

"I love you, Sesshoumaru," she answered softly, and as he promised, he shot his warm seed
into her waiting womb. They stood there for several seconds, just staring at each other in the
mirror and panting. Then, Sesshoumaru pulled out, and she clenched against his loss. Semen
gushed out of her opening, her body far too filled with children and his previous load to hold
everything he had.

Rin looked at all the fluids mixing on her body—sweat and colostrum mingling on her chest,
her juices wetting the hair of her sex, and his essence dripping down her legs.

She looked disgusting.

She looked loved.

She looked beautiful.

Chapter End Notes

😆 😘
And there you have it, folks—the long-awaited make-up(?) sex. I hope it was acceptable
and that the double-round made up for some of the wait. More to come~
 Body Worship
Chapter Notes

Hey everyone! Thank you as always for your honest comments and reviews—I really
appreciate them! I know last chapter left a lot of people with some mixed feelings, and
that's quite understandable. In fact, I was expecting it! There were a lot of different types
of smutty action in play, so while there was something for everyone, not everyone was
going to like everything—and that's okay! Thanks for bearing with it.

UPDATE 12/8/21: I noticed I kept forgetting little sentences and scenes I wanted to add
to this. Most are minor, but I've retroactively added a scene about Sesshoumaru's scar as
Rin's washing him.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"Well, you've officially seen all of me," Rin said, staring back at him in the mirror. "I have
nothing left to hide."

It occurred to Sesshoumaru that he could not say the same. There was still one part of him
that he had not yet shown to her. He would have to rectify that.

Unfortunately, it could not be today. He would have to bring her to the sanctuary to show her
his true form. But as he stared at them in the mirror, he realized something.

They were filthy.

Sesshoumaru's inner demon relished it. His mate was positively covered in his scent and
essence. No one would question their bond now.

And yet, rationally, he knew they needed to clean up before she went to bed, so he grabbed
his fur and brought Rin to his shower, letting her control the temperature before they stepped
inside. He bade her sit down on the built-in seat opposite the shower head. She rinsed herself
off, and when she appeared thoroughly wet, he stepped into the path of the water, blocking
most of it from hitting her, and grabbed his bar of soap. Without a word, he lathered it and
knelt down before her, rubbing the soap into her feet and then massaging her calves with firm
chasteness.

Rin sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall as he worked. She took a deep
breath. Her brows furrowed, and she sniffed a couple times. "This smells familiar. Why do I
know this scent?"

Sesshoumaru stayed silent as he worked his way up.

Rin grabbed the bar of soap, bringing it right to her nose. The engraved logo had long since
vanished. "Wait a minute. This smells exactly like the soap I use when I go camping."

Sesshoumaru didn't even pause in his ministrations as he replied, "That's because it is."

Rin's eyes widened. "Why?"

"That day we left, when I packed your clothes, I forgot your bar of soap was still in my
pocket. I kept it as a reminder of you and then bought more as it ran out." He decided not to
mention the embarrassing number of stores he went through to track down the brand she
used.

Rin stared at him. "Then…you really were thinking of me all those months."

He glanced up at her, his brows creasing as his hands stopped on her knees. "Did you think I
lied?"

"No, I just…I suppose I underestimated how much you thought of me."

"I think you are still underestimating it," he said, standing up. He placed his hands over hers,
moving them so that the soaped lathered between her fingers. "Would you like to know
exactly how I thought of you each and every day?"

"How?" Rin asked, breathless.

He leaned a hand on the wall over her head to support himself, then brought her slick digits
over to his limp cock. She barely needed any encouragement to wrap her hand around it,
though he guided her up and down at first. His eyes closed of their own accord as each stroke
stoked a fire in his loins.

This. This is what he had been trying to replicate for so many months. But he hadn't realized
that just the motions and a memory would make the experience so incomplete. Her scent
filled his nostrils beneath that of the soap and the steamy water. Actually seeing her as she
pumped him—the tip of her tongue peeked out from her mouth, but whether in lust or
concentration, he didn't know—added another level to the experience.

Even though he had just come within her twice in the last hour, he knew her hands would
drive him to surely come again.

"Like this," he murmured, letting her go as she continued to pump him. "And I pictured that
instead of this filthy hand," he said, holding up his sudsy fingers before her, "that I was
driving myself into you."

"Every day?" she asked.

"Every shower," he answered. As one hand continued to pump his shaft, the other reached
down and massaged his balls, working the soap into them and making them slick. She gently
squeezed them as she worked, and while his cock jumped up a notch with every grasp, his
knees grew weaker and weaker. A year ago, he would never have though a human capable of
bringing him to his knees, and yet this one had and would continue to do so, he knew.
He watched her, wondering whether the flush in her cheeks was from the steamy shower or
looking at him. It was times like these where he wished she too could have marked him so
that he might have access to her feelings. "Tell me what you're thinking," he said.

"I'm thinking…that I have this sudden desire to take you between my breasts," she said.

He sucked in a breath, just picturing it. "And they would not be sore?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Trust me, I wouldn't have let you touch and suck them so much if they
had been. Now I'm just trying to imagine this sliding oh so effortlessly across my chest,
nudging my chin, begging me to bend down and kiss it. Take it in my mouth," she rambled,
the hand on his rod pausing to rub the suds against his slit. He trembled. She removed her
hand from his balls and rested it on the swell of her stomach. "But I don't think I can reach
you with so much baby in the way. Unless…."

She scooted forward, and he stepped back as she maneuvered herself onto the floor of the
shower. The water still mostly hit his back, so it didn't get in her face. "Stand with your legs
on either side of me," she commanded.

Who was he to refuse?

But she was so short compared to him that his cock hung in her face rather than at her chest.
He was about to suggest just what else she could do with it when she said, "Squat." He spread
his long legs and carefully held himself on the ledge, straddling her belly. The juncture of his
thighs just cleared the top of it, and had his dick been flaccid still, it would have brushed the
top of her stomach.

Rin looked up at him. "Can you hold that, or do you thighs hurt?"

A human man might feel pain from holding this position against a slick surface, but he was
no man. "I am fine, Rin. Now, do as you promised." He leaned in closer, his tip nudging her
breastbone.

Rin's hands flew to her breasts as if of their own accord, rubbing once and smearing the soap
across their rounded expanse. Then she lifted them and pressed his cock between them. She
didn't seem quite sure what to do next. She started by moving her breasts in alternating
motions like pistons against him, but as much as her breasts had grown, they were not of the
size to be able to fully envelop him. So after a few strokes, she took to jiggling them up and
down along him.

The friction was of a different sort than he had felt before. It lacked the tight heat of her
womb or the mischievous play of her hand, but the smooth mounds of flesh pushing against
him coupled with the slippery soap still sent warm currents of pleasure flowing down to his
balls.

He checked that he would not slip before gently thrusting against her to help bring some of
that delicious friction lower on his shaft. He groaned as the untouched skin finally felt her
flesh, and as he watched his tip peek in and out from the top of her breasts, so close to her
little pink mouth, his groin tightened to the point of pain.
Rin laced her nipples between her fingers as she worked, her knuckles squeezing down, little
moans escaping her throat with each press. Golden colostrum beaded on the tips of her
nipples again—and then suddenly, they started squirting out like fountains. She froze in
shock, and even Sesshoumaru stared.

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Do not apologize," he said, cutting her off. She looked up at him, that uncertainty back in
her eyes. "I only got a taste earlier. Shall I suck you dry?"

He did not imagine the flush that stole over her cheeks this time. "Not yet. Let me finish
you."

"So be it."

She worked at him again, but he noticed with regret that she no longer worked her nipples.
He would pay close attention to those in a few moments.

Still, as his cock heated and throbbed with pleasure between them, his breathing grew
haggard. He would not last much longer. Rin looked up at him, her hazelnut eyes dark and
sultry. She smirked.

The temptress knew exactly what she was doing to him. It was even more evident when she
dipped her gaze to her chest, then bent her head and licked his tip when it appeared.

That swipe of her tongue lit the fuse to his dynamite, and he exploded against her neck and
chest. His essence dripped down her chest, mingling with the rivulets of water that hugged
every curve of her collar bones and breasts.

His demon flared within him, and he knew without needing to see that his eyes had gone red.
The sight of her drenched in his own seed undid something in him. He carefully got
straightened, then lifted her effortlessly and placed her back on the seat so that her so he
could see her more fully.

Rin's eyes widened. "Sesshoumaru?"

"You are claimed," he said, reaching out and running a finger down the middle of his mess on
her chest, dragging it through the valley of her breasts and over her stomach until he met her
navel.

Her eyes softened, and she clasped her hands around his, pulling it to her breast and laying it
over her heart. "You have claimed me from the start, Sesshoumaru. I am yours and yours
alone."

"Only I may mark you thus. Only I may clean you of it," he answered. He swiped a thumb
through his seed once again and then brought it down to her nipple, coating the top half with
it. Then he knelt on the unforgiving stone tile of the shower and latched his lips to her.

She gasped as he sucked her, and a trickle of colostrum squirted into his mouth. A hint of salt
flooded his tongue, and as he swiped the muscle over her top of her nipple, he mixed their
life-giving fluids.

Rin sucked in a deep breath, pushing her chest further into his waiting mouth, her heavy
breast pressing against his lips. He teased her with his teeth, and she hissed. He pulled away,
tugging at her nipple until he no longer could. "I am preparing you for the pups."

"They will not be nearly as gentle," she laughed. "But aren't you forgetting we're having
twins?" she asked, gesturing to her forgotten breast.

"Of course not," he answered, smearing his seed on that nipple as well and then sucking until
he pulled more nectar from the well of her womanhood.

When he pulled away, he found that the shower had washed away most of the semen from
her chest, so he took the soap, lathered it, and then started at her shoulders, gently massaging
them and tracing his mark on her shoulder. Then he cupped her neck and ran his thumbs
along the column of her throat, his claws an ever-present reminder of how she would always
walk the fine line of danger with him. But her pulse beneath his fingers reassured him as he
carefully ran his talons along her skin. Then he slid down and washed her chest, watching in
fascination as his hands moved her breasts in small circles.

Satisfied, he lathered again and then caressed her stomach. A couple kicks alerted him to the
fact that their children were still awake.

Have we disrupted your rest, little ones? he wondered, kissing her belly before washing
her. Forgive us. Your mother and I have been apart too long.

"Mmm, Sesshoumaru, you're determined to put me to sleep now, aren't you?" Rin sighed,
leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes.

"That will not do. I need you awake a little while longer," he said, moving down and running
his hands over her thighs. Her legs twitched closer as if to close, but he moved between them
and pried them open further. Then he lathered up once more, because this next work of
washing would be his finest.

Her thighs still held a trace of stickiness from their earlier plays, so he made sure to wash
them thoroughly. Then he moved to the crevices of her legs, tracing them with his claws. She
pressed her legs against his, squeezing him between her, and he smirked. Finally, he moved
into that forest of soft curls and traced her outer lips, dipping into the rough folds to reach the
smooth ones below. She shivered and grabbed onto his forearms. He smirked, then ran his
thumbs up her slit until they met at the top, where her nub begged for attention. He rubbed it
between both digits, and Rin moaned and writhed on the seat.

When he stopped rubbing, she whimpered, but in response, he traced a finger through her
opening and then pushed it inside.

She was still so slippery that he slid right in. She slid down the wall as he pumped her,
pushing out her pelvis to better expose her cleft.

"More, Sesshoumaru, please," she whined.

He inserted a second finger, and she gasped as he stretched her. He wiggled his two fingers
within her channel, and she tightened around him. Even so, she was so wet that he had no
problems moving within her. He added a thumb to tap her clit, and he watched as she held her
belly, clenching over and over until finally with a shout she came undone.

He removed his hand from her, licking his fingers of her essence. Then he lathered one final
time and reached up to cup her face.

He traced every plane, memorizing the map. He kissed each cheek, stroking suds across them
afterwards. Then he pressed his lips to her forehead before pulling away and washing her
brow and nose. She closed her eyes, and he placed kisses there as well before smearing soap
across them. Finally, with her eyes still closed, he captured her lips in his.

"You are beautiful," he murmured against them, wanting to make sure his earlier lesson was
not forgotten. He would tell her a million times if that's what it took.

She smiled, reaching up blindly to dig her fingers through his wet scalp. "We are beautiful
together."

"Just so."

Then he moved aside and helped her stand in the rain of the shower while he slipped behind
her washed her back. He trailed more kisses down her spine stopping at her tailbone, but he
gave her rear a good squeeze as he washed her buttocks. She jumped at the contact and
giggled. "Someone's asking for it," she said.

"What am I asking for?" he questioned, turning her around so she could rinse off her
backside.

Rin grabbed the soap and lathered up. "For similar treatment."

She then returned the favor, washing him down and trailing kisses along his body—even
tugging on his nipples with her teeth.

As she washed his arms, her fingers traced the pale, pink scar that still bisected his left one.
“Your father told me you still had this scar. Why do you think it hasn’t healed?”

He had gotten so used to it, he had quite forgotten it should have disappeared long before
now. “I don’t know.”

“Your father thought that maybe…you were keeping it from healing. As a reminder. Of
me.”

Sesshoumaru considered the long strip of flesh. If that were the case, he hadn’t consciously
thought about it. It was an insightful answer on his father’s part, and yet…. “If it was meant
to remind me of you, then why has it not disappeared yet? I have you back with me now.”

She looked up at him and brushed a thumb over his cheek, leaving a smear of soap. “You
do. But do you still fear perhaps that you might lose me?”
His heart grew cold at her words. It was a silly notion, of course—her life was now tied to
his, and he had no plans on dying anytime soon.

But he remembered Shiori’s warning to Rin a few weeks ago: Disease or bodily injury can
still kill you.

He looked down at the swell of her stomach and ran his hand over it once more. He had
lived through too many centuries in which women were just as likely to die during childbirth
as to survive.

It is not the same as back then, he reasoned with himself. Medicine is more advanced. She
will be fine.

But childbirth was only part of it.

The call he had gotten earlier only confirmed that Rin was still in very real danger.

His face must have looked especially grim, because Rin tipped his face back to look at her
and smile softly. “Hey, where did you go? Do I need to remind you that your naked mate is
right in front of you?”

She reached for his cock just then, but as soon as her hands wrapped around him, he stopped
her. She looked at him in question, and he shook his head. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get
back into the mood, but she had done enough. It was time for her to rest. So she simply
placed a kiss on his tip, sending a rush of warmth crashing through his body, but otherwise
washed the rest of him perfunctorily (except for goosing him at the end as payback).

When it came time to shampoo, he enjoyed running his claws along her scalp as he worked
the liquid into her hair (and now she not only smelled of him but his chosen products as well
—his inner demon rumbled in his chest at that).

She in turn massaged his head with shampoo—and then she started having a little too much
fun, piling his voluminous hair on top of his head and making shapes out of it. He quickly
bent over and rinsed out the suds and the crazy hairdos. She pouted. "You're no fun."

"Did I not just participate in a few rounds of fun with you this evening?" he asked, glancing
at her over his shoulder with a glint in his eye.

She ran a slim finger down his spine. "Well, yes, that was fun…but I was talking about the
non-steamy kind."

"There you would be correct. I am no fun," he replied, now rubbing shampoo into his fur.

Rin watched in fascination. "Do you shower with that every day?"

"Not every day," he said. "Only when it gets noticeably dirty." He pinned her with a
meaningful look, and she blushed.

"Sorry."
"Do not be. I relish your scent upon it."

When they were done, he wrapped them both in towels and then seated her on the countertop
and blow-dried her hair for her. She sighed as she wiggled her toes in the air.

"It feels so nice to have someone do this for me. Like I'm at the salon," she groaned.

"You have but to ask, Rin, and I shall dry your hair whenever you wish."

Rin chuckled. "You're determined to make me a woman of leisure, aren't you? What's going
to happen when I'm not independent anymore? Are you even going to love me then?" she
teased.

And though he knew she spoke facetiously, he still replied, "I will love you no matter how
dependent upon me you become."

"Even if I became paralyzed and ended up bedridden the rest of my days?" she pressed.

He frowned. "Even so."

"What if I ended up in a coma? Would you wait for me?"

His jaw tensed. "Of course. But do not talk like that."

"It's just a game, silly," Rin replied, feeling her hair. Satisfied that it was dry, she took the hair
dryer and forced him to turn around so she could dry his hair.

"Why would you play such a game? It is morbid."

"I don't know. I hear couples do it. I guess it's to gauge their affection or something. Or test
how well they know each other. Take the coma, for instance. I think this is where we're
supposed to talk about when I'd want you to pull the plug and be free of me."

He whipped around, grabbing her chin so that she was looking straight into his eyes. She
clicked off the dryer. "I never wish to be free of you. Do you understand?" A thought then
occurred to him, dampening his fervor. "…Not unless you wish it to be so. Or it is too painful
for you to go on."

Rin reached up and slid some of his damp hair behind his ear. "I understand. I just wouldn't
want you to suffer indefinitely because of me." She took a deep breath then. "Okay, you're
right. This is too sad a topic for now. Let's talk about something happier." She turned him
back around and started drying his hair again. "Like…have you had any time to think about a
name for our other daughter?"

He hadn't. He had been so consumed with watching over Rin these last few weeks that he had
quite forgotten he was supposed to choose a name. They were less than six weeks out from
her due date now. They needed to know.

"I will give some thought to it as you sleep," he said.

"Are you not going to sleep?" she asked, a warble of worry sneaking through her voice.

"Likely not, though I will stay beside you until you wake."

"Oh, well…I mean, I just thought you might need the rest after…well, like last time, but if
you don't, it seems like such a waste of time for you. I mean, you even had the important call
right before we—"

He watched her from the mirror as she rambled, her brows furrowed as she tried to both
communicate her desires but keep from imposing on him. He turned around and took the hair
dryer, turning it off. His fur could air dry overnight.

"At your apartment, I told you I would stay with you as you slept. I will keep to that promise,
now that you desire it again."

Rin blushed. "I'm sorry about all that, Sesshoumaru. I really did think we should wait a bit,
but had you been with me every night…I don't think I could have resisted for long."

He reached out and smoothed the hair sticking out around her ears. In the humidity of the
bathroom, it just sprang right back up again. "I understand what you wanted for us. Do you
regret giving in?"

She shook her head. "No. It was time. We're mated for life, Sesshoumaru. Nothing is going to
change that."

With a nod, he reached down and picked her up bridal-style, carrying her back into the
bedroom and over to the bed. Her soiled kimono lay on the floor next to his dirtied clothes.
He set her on the bed before going to his closet and retrieving a couple old bathrobes that had
once been in fashion but that he now rarely wore. He wrapped her in one and himself in
another before tucking her into bed and lying down beside her. She turned over to face him
and grabbed his hand, just staring at him. After a couple moments of silence—rare for her—
he was actually the one to break.

"Are you not going to sleep?" he asked.

She smiled. "Physically, I'm exhausted, but my brain is too wound up. I'm just so happy," she
said, squeezing his hand. Her expression faltered. "Of course, the last time I was this happy, I
went to sleep and…woke up in my car." Sesshoumaru's heart squeezed at her words, shame
coursing through him.

Had he only turned to his father for help back then or had the courage to believe Rin would
stand by his side no matter the cost, he would have never put her through so much pain, and
they wouldn't have lost so much time. He would have to spend the rest of his days making it
up to her.

"Rin, I promise that every night you fall asleep beside me, I will be the first one you see
when you wake up," he said, reaching out and tucking a stray strand of hair off her cheek and
behind her ear.
Her eyes brimmed with tears that quickly slipped over the bridge of her nose and plopped
down onto the pillow. "I love you, Sesshoumaru. I know I said it in the heat of the moment
earlier, but I want you to know I love you so much. You've given me everything I could ever
want," she said, reaching up to cup his cheek with one hand while moving their interlocked
hands down to her belly, where their children rested. She smiled through her tears at him. "I
daresay you too have become my sanctuary."

The words rang through him like a sonic boom, rattling his very sense of self.

My sanctuary.

Those were the words. In a small pocket within the sleeves of his kimono now lying on the
floor was a ring as yet with no engraving, simply because he had not been able to find the
right words for it at the time.

But now he knew. He would go tomorrow to Hosenki and have that problem remedied. And
as soon as it was ready, he would not hesitate to ask Rin to marry him. It would be a
formality, of course—she herself had just said they were mated for life—but he had heard her
friends at the baby shower comment on her unengaged state. Rin had brushed it off, but he
knew she cared what others thought of her. If a simple ring on her finger would help her face
the opinions of strangers, then he would give it to her.

Whether she wanted a formal wedding or simply to go to the government office and both get
their marriage certificate and add herself to their family registry (a necessity to stay blended
in with humans), he was not sure, but he knew he would do whatever she desired. He would
put up with the drollness of a ceremony and the stares and gossip of guests at a reception,
because he knew he would not be wasting thoughts on them that day.

That day, he would be focusing only on Rin, basking in her sanctuary.

Rin woke up cocooned in warmth and love. Her mind sparked awake, and she opened her
eyes to find Sesshoumaru resting his own. Those topaz orbs glided open as soon as she
shifted. "Good morning. You kept your promise," she said with a smile. Words couldn't
describe how right it felt to finally wake up next to him after a beautiful night of passion. He
nodded. When he didn't say anything else, she asked, "Did you end up sleeping after all?" He
grunted noncommittally and pulled her head over to kiss her crown.

Rin bit her lip to keep from laughing. Sleeping or not, somebody is definitely not a morning
person. When she thought about it though, it made sense. He had always been much more
interested in the night sky—and active during that time as well. She looked around, like there
was someone who would overhear her, and then whispered in a teasing voice, "Between you
and me, I don't want to get up either." She giggled.

His gravelly voice, unused for a whole eight hours, sent a thrill from her heart to her womb.
"Unfortunately, there are some tasks I must accomplish. Otherwise, I would gladly stay here
with you all day," he murmured, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply. Regret
pulled on her heartstrings through their bond.
"Oh, poo. I thought the whole point of owning a business was that you could take off
whenever you wanted," she whined in a playful tone.

"Rather, it is the opposite," he answered. "As an owner, I feel I can never take off. Someone
always has a question or a need."

"I have a need. For my mate," she said, wrapping her arm around his chest and pulling herself
towards him, since she didn't have the strength to budge his massive body. She sighed. "But
I'd be willing to take a rain check if you promise to spend the whole weekend with me."

She was so confident he wouldn't disappoint her that her heart stuttered when he said, "I'm
afraid I have a pressing engagement this weekend that I cannot put off."

She relaxed her arm, pulling it back as her heart sank. "Oh. I see. What is this, um, pressing
engagement?"

When she looked up at him, he was watching her with a creased brow. "The call I took last
night. We have finally found Naraku."

"Who's Naraku?" Rin asked again, realizing that he had never really told her last night.

Sesshoumaru rubbed her belly, but it seemed an unconscious action as he stared at her,
piecing together his words. "He is a demon of questionable background that officially
declared himself our rival this year in opening up a new, secret sanctuary."

"Oh, I see. So it's a business matter," she grumbled, and his brow darkened.

"It is not merely business, Rin. He intends to use his sanctuary as a place where demons can
cave into their deepest desires. We know for certain he intends to serve human blood." Rin
gasped, but Sesshoumaru continued. "We can only assume he has other nefarious designs for
humans in mind."

"So what are you planning to do?" Rin asked.

"My father, brother, and I are convening with Kirinmaru and Tsukuyomaru at the sanctuary to
discuss how we can put him out of business before he opens."

"I see. Forget it then. That is a very noble cause. A weekend together can wait," Rin said,
ducking her head to hide her face as her heart thudded with hurt. You selfish, selfish person.
How can you begrudge him wanting to save the lives of humans? Just because you finally
have someone to be with, did you think you wouldn't ever have to celebrate alone anymore?

"Rin, what troubles you?" Sesshoumaru asked, trying to tip up her head to face him, but she
tore it away, trying to blink back tears. Stupid hormones. This is nothing to cry over. His
voice took on a hint of anger. "Rin, tell me why you cry."

"I'm not crying," she murmured, even as her vision swam.

"Rin, look at me. …Please."

Prickles of confusion and hurt trickled through the bond between them, and Rin bit her lip,
blinking free a couple tears. How could she deny him when he used that precious word she
noticed was largely reserved only for her? She wiped her eyes, sniffed, and looked up at him.
He brushed at the tracks of tears on her cheeks. "Rin, tell me what is wrong," he repeated.

"It's nothing. It's stupid. Not worth crying over," she hiccupped.

"Apparently, it is."

She shook her head. "It's really not. I mean, my life is tied to yours, right? I'm going to have
more birthdays than I could possibly imagine. In fact, they're probably get old after a while,
right? So what's wrong with missing one the day of? Nothing. Stopping this Naraku is far
more important," she said.

He froze. "Your birthday is this weekend?"

She nodded. "Sunday. But like I said, it's not a big deal. We can just postpone spending time
together until next weekend, or…whenever you're not busy."

He was quiet for several seconds. Then he said, "Would you like to come with me?"

"What?"

"To the sanctuary. There will be time around the meetings. Perhaps…your sister would
accompany us as well, to keep you company when we are in discussion. You would have free
access to all of the amenities, of course."

Rin sucked in a breath. Nine months ago, those amenities hadn't really beckoned to her, but
big and achy as she was now, they sounded like nirvana.

"I would love that," she said. "The sanctuary was such a beautiful place, but I never even got
to see the resort part of it."

"Then it is settled. We will make a weekend of it. …Shall I ask Tsukuyomaru to invite Shiori
as well?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful! She seems so sweet, and I would love to get to know her
better."

"As you wish."

Rin's heart eased immediately. Once again, Sesshoumaru was spoiling her with devotion. She
couldn't wait for this weekend. Girl time and time away with her mate? What more could she
ask for?

Rin had hoped they might leave Friday night so she and Sesshoumaru could at least spend
that first night together without any fuss. But once Rin asked Kagome if she would come,
then Izayoi wanted to join as well, and somehow even Inukimi ended up getting roped into
the whole affair. (Rin had thought Inukimi would enjoy having the whole estate to herself,
which she mentioned, but her mother-in-law only replied, "Even I like to get out
occasionally.")

With so many schedules to manage, they had to leave Saturday. So it was that that morning,
the two households each got into separate cars and drove to the sanctuary. When the Western
Sanctuary fence first rolled into view, Rin waited for that feeling of unease to wash over her
again, but it didn't come. Sesshoumaru wasn't even holding her hand to fend it off.

"What is it?" her mate asked, seeming ever attuned to her thoughts for someone who didn't
share their emotional link.

"It's strange. I don't feel put off or ill this time," she said as they pulled into the hidden drive.
Unease did wash over her then, but it was born from her last memories of the gate and her
struggle to push through the sickness to get to Sesshoumaru.

"When Tsukuyomaru entered you into the estate's security system, he transferred the data to
the sanctuary's as well," Sesshoumaru explained. "You will always have free access here."
Indeed, as he pulled up to the gate, it opened without him even having to roll down a window.

The asphalt road ended at the top of the mountain, and as gravel crunched underneath their
tires, the resort finally came into view. Rin practically smushed her face against the window
as she took in the grand, traditional inn and the overflowing garden beside it. A large pond
sparkled in the sunlight that lit up the clearing. Aside from the inn itself, there were two other
traditional buildings on the opposite side of the garden. The evergreens ringed around the
complex, giving it a feeling of seclusion without the overbearing weight of the forest hiding
them.

"It's beautiful," she said as her parked in the small parking lot. "If it weren't for the cars, I
would feel like I just stepped back in time."

"Like our home, the façade is original, although the inside has been remodeled multiple
times," Sesshoumaru stated as he turned off the car. "Even some of the trees and flowers in
the garden were first planted when we opened."

Inukimi was the first one out of the car, and she spoke her first words since leaving the estate
an hour ago. "I've always hated how long that ride is. I'm going to stretch my legs. Take care
of my luggage for me, son." She walked towards the edge of the forest, and all of the sudden,
transformed into a ball of light and sped over the canopy.

Rin gasped. "What happened to her?"

Sesshoumaru didn't even look in his mother's direction as he opened Rin's door for her (when
had he gotten there?). "She wishes to stretch the muscles of her true form."

"She's a ball of light?"

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched. "No. She is a dog, as are my father and I. The light is simply a
stage of the transformation."
He walked her into the resort, leaving their suitcases in the car. To her surprise, the lobby was
empty; no one was even manning the desk, although there was a light on in the open door of
the office behind it.

When they came to the front desk, Rin looked around for a bell. "Do we need to ring?"

"No. He knows we are here. He is simply hiding."

Rin frowned. "Who's hiding?"

"I do not pay you to cower in the office," Sesshoumaru announced.

Just then, a familiar head of auburn hair in a man bun peeked around the threshold. Rin
beamed. "Hi, Shippou!"

"Um, h-hello," he answered, slinking out of the office. Rin's eyes widened when she saw the
little fox feet poking out of the bottoms of his trousers. He hadn't even bothered with shoes.
A bushy tail twitched behind him as well.

"So this is the real you," she said, her smile growing. At that same moment, Sesshoumaru's
arm wrapped around her, pulling her closer, and a twinge of jealousy made its way through
their link.

"Yeah," Shippou murmured, still standing a safe two meters away from them.

Rin's smile drooped. "Shippou, I wanted to say sorry again—"

"You have nothing to be sorry for!" A quick glance upward and to her left made the fox
demon squeak. Rin felt enough hot anger inside to know that the look on Sesshoumaru's face
had to be downright murderous to merit that level of emotion. "I-In fact, I'm the one who
should be apologizing. I never would have hit on you if I knew you were Sesshoumaru-san's
mate!"

Sesshoumaru released the barest of growls, but it had Shippou ducking down behind the
counter, curled up into a ball. "Please don't kill me, sir! Or worse—please don't fire me!"

"Sesshoumaru, stop!" Rin admonished, gently slapping the hand on her shoulder. She stepped
away from him and peered over the edge of the desk. "Shippou, please don't be frightened. I
want us to be friends."

"You do?" Shippou asked, peeking out from his curl of protection. Sesshoumaru growled
again, and he yipped. "S-Sorry Rin, but I don't think Sesshoumaru wants that."

"Sesshoumaru, what is the matter with you? I've never seen you like this," Rin said.

"He confessed to hitting on you."

"Yes, and I led him on." Those wolfish eyes flashed to her, but she stood her ground and held
his stare. "Nothing else is ever going to happen between us, Sesshoumaru. I think everyone
is very clear on the fact that we are mates. I was hiding your mark when Shippou and I first
met, so he didn't know. You can't hold that against him."

"But I can make sure he knows his place." He switched his attention back to the fox, who had
gotten the courage to peek over the desk. "You will treat her the same way you treat me. You
shall never touch her, unless she needs physical assistance. Is that understood?"

"Or unless I allow it," Rin tacked on, glaring at him and just daring him to countermand her.
He did not.

"No touching. Treat her like an empress. Understood," Shippou replied. Rin just sighed and
shook her head.

"Good. Now go fetch our luggage and bring it to the suite before I fire you for neglecting
your duties," Sesshoumaru said, dropping his keys on the desk.

"Right away, sir," Shippou answered, grabbing the keys and scampering out the door.

"That was too much, Sesshoumaru," Rin said.

"You are not a demon, Rin. The territorial impulse is…strong."

She stopped and turned him around, reaching up to cup his face in her hands. "Do you really
think I would stray from you? Have I not shown that you are the only one for me?"

He wrapped his hands over hers. "It is not you I doubt. It is him. He always smells of a
different woman. He is too casual with his touches. He needs to understand once and for all
that you are off limits."

Rin tried to bite back a smile, because Sesshoumaru did have a point there. "I think it's safe to
say he's learned his lesson. Now, give me a kiss so that you smell of me. I don't need any
female staff or guests here getting any ideas."

A smirk flipped onto his lips. "None of them would dare."

"I don't know. I bet the women gossip about your gorgeousness behind your back. I
know I would."

"There is no need to gossip. Simply tell me that you find me irresistible. I will reward you for
it," he answered, giving her the peck she desired.

"Irresistible, huh?" she asked as he pulled away. "I don't know. I wouldn't want to go around
giving you a bigger ego than you already have." She smiled to show she was teasing.

"Impossible," Inuyasha called out from the door as he and the others entered. "He's got the
biggest ego I've ever seen. You only risk popping that over-inflated bubble."

Kagome skipped over to her sister. "So, what do you think, Rin? Isn't it amazing? I swear my
eyes almost popped out of my head the first time I was here."
"It's breathtaking," Rin agreed.

"And you haven't even seen anything but the lobby yet! Geez, I still can't believe you had
a free ticket here, and you didn't even drive up," her sister groused.

Rin shrugged. "Hey, I wouldn't have met Sesshoumaru otherwise."

"I swear I'm not related to you," Kagome muttered.

"Well, technically you're not," Rin laughed.

"Ugh, you get my point."

"Well, since this is Rin's first time here and she's the birthday girl, where would you like to
begin?" Touga asked, rubbing his hands together. "Would you like to head up to the suite to
freshen up, or do you want a tour of the facility first?"

"I'm fine with a tour," Rin said. "I'd like to walk around a little." Although she wouldn't go so
far as to say it was a long drive, like Inukimi had, it had been long enough that she did want
to stretch her pregnant legs.

"I'll come with you! I'm not sure I got to see everything last time, since I was just here for the
engagement party," Kagome said.

"Ugh, really Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. "I'll give you a private tour later. Why don't we just
—"

"Excellent!" Touga announced, cutting him off. "So as you may have noticed from the
outside, the resort was built in 1893…." Touga launched into full tour-guide mode, with
Izayoi jumping in when he forgot certain details, and Rin happily followed behind with
Sesshoumaru at her side. Kagome tailed them, and Inuyasha joined with an audible groan.
The elder son listened patiently to his father's spiel, although he had likely heard it more
times than he could count (Inuyasha was visibly less patient, distracting himself on his phone
as they walked).

They visited the dining room, the bath house, the gardens, the reception hall, the pool, and
finally the dojo. As they walked along the wall of weapons, Inuyasha finally showed some
interest.

"Hey, Old Man," he said, taking a ratty-looking sword off the wall. It hung in the middle as
part of a set of three on a special wood mount in the center. "What do you say we give these
ladies a real show, huh?"

"You think you can take me on, son?" Touga asked even as he reached for the bottom sword,
a long blade with a massive pommel on the end. "I think it would be better if you two came at
me together," he said, looking at Sesshoumaru.

"I will pass," Sesshoumaru answered.

Touga smirked, and Rin finally saw where Sesshoumaru got half his confidence (the other
half most obviously coming from Inukimi). "I understand. You don't want your mate to have
to see your old man give you a beating, is that it?" Sesshoumaru just huffed.

Rin was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to see Sesshoumaru in action. She had only had a
glimpse of his true power when he fought against Kouga. On the other hand…. "Isn't this
dangerous?"

"Not to worry, Rin. We've been fighting each other for years," Touga assured her.

"Yes, but…the last time Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha fought, he ended up nearly in two
pieces," Rin said. The room grew deadly silent at the reminder.

Suddenly, Inuyasha grinned. "I can't believe I almost forgot about that. That was a
sweet, sweet victory."

Sesshoumaru raised a hand and cracked his knuckles. "Just see if you can replicate your
success."

"Three-way-battle. Right here," Inuyasha said, jumping into the center of the dojo and
tapping the end of his sheath against the wooden floor. Sesshoumaru proceeded forward.

Rin looked back at the final sword on the wall in panic. She grabbed it, surprised by how
heavy it was. "Sesshoumaru, don't you need this?"

"I can take Inuyasha barehanded," he answered.

The fact that he didn't mention his father worried her. "But against them both?"

Touga looked at her with a kind smile. "My dear, that sword is not for battle."

She frowned, staring at it. "It's not? But…why else do swords exist?"

"That is Tenseiga. It is a sword of healing, meant to revive those who have lost their lives."

Rin's eyes widened, and she looked at her mate's back. "And this is your sword,
Sesshoumaru?"

He did not turn to face her. "I cannot use it."

That awkward silence returned for a couple heartbeats. "Why not?" Rin dared to ask.

"Because it requires you to have an actual heart, not to mention compassion," Inuyasha
answered with snark.

Rin's brows furrowed in confusion. "But Sesshoumaru is very compassionate."

Crickets could have started a symphony with how quiet it got in the room.
Finally, Touga said, "You know, son, I think she's right. I believe Rin is living proof that you
are now more than capable of using it…though I pray you never need to."

A mix of emotions flooded Rin from Sesshoumaru just then—uncertainty, embarrassment,

pride, love. Gratitude. But none of those emotions crossed his face. "Enough. Are we doing
battle or not?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"But you still need a weapon," Rin said, returning the sword to the wall.

"I am a weapon," Sesshoumaru answered before flinging his fingertips out and sending a
green whip of light flying towards Inuyasha.

Inuyasha dodged and drew his sword, which grew at least four times its size before he swung
down for Sesshoumaru's head.

Rin cried out in dismay, for how could he possibly dodge in time?

But then Sesshoumaru caught the blade. Bare-handed.

Rin gasped in awe.

Even Inuyasha looked surprised. "What the—? Why isn't Tessaiga repelling you?"

From the side, Touga was beaming. "It is as I said, Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru has found
compassion—for humans, no less."

"Keh," Inuyasha spat, ripping the sword away and jumping back. "That doesn't change
anything. I'm still going to wipe the floor with you."

Suddenly, Touga rushed forward and swung at his younger son. "Don't forget you have a
second opponent, Inuyasha!"

Rin was so engrossed in watching the men fight that Izayoi had to tap her shoulder to get her
attention. The woman gestured to some cushions on the floor. "Why don't you take a seat?
They're going to be a while."

"Are they?" Rin asked as Izayoi helped her sit down. She was thankful for the chance to rest.
Her feet were starting to ache from the tour.

"Indeed," Izayoi sighed. "We could probably leave, and they'd forget we're even here."

"No," Rin and Kagome said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. "Are
you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rin asked. They had watched so many idol dramas and
movies together growing up, how could she not know what he sister had in mind?

"Let the competition begin!" Kagome announced, fist-pumping the air.

"Competition?" Izayoi asked.

Kagome didn't even bother to whisper, likely knowing that the men were going to hear
anyway. Or perhaps making sure they could hear. "We're going to rate them. On a scale of
one to ten: who's got the best moves, form. Physique."

Izayoi's eyes glittered. "I see. But aren't we all a little biased?"

Kagome put a hand to her heart. "That is why we must all swear right now to be as objective
as possible. These men are not our mates. They are pieces of eye-candy getting hot and
sweaty in front of us. We have a duty to rate them for their efforts."

Inuyasha's twitching ears were the only indication that the men heard them. But Rin swore
their moves after that became just a bit flashier.

When Inuyasha whirled that massive sword over his head, Kagome announced, "Ten points
for that display of strength!"

"I agree—most impressive to do that with one hand," Rin added. Having just held the thin
Tenseiga, she couldn't imagine how much that massive sword weighed.

Izayoi sighed. "It's quite unnecessary though. He's just showing off. Six points, baby."

"Six points?!" Inuyasha griped, bringing Tessaiga down. "Mom, how could you—?"

Sesshoumaru calmly slid into Inuyasha's lowered guard and kicked him in the stomach,
sending him flying across the dojo.

"Oh, ten points for that sneak attack!" Izayoi clapped.

"Ten points for speed," Kagome inserted. "I didn't even see him coming!"

"Ten points for that leg," Rin groaned. "You can't tell me the arc of that leg wasn't perfection
incarnate. I only wish he was in skinny jeans instead of regular ones to show off those
muscles." She licked her lips.

"I think someone's just a little horny," Kagome muttered, and Rin slapped her.

"Kagome, why would you say that?" Rin snapped. With a sniff, she turned away and said,
"Although I admit that it's no secret pregnancy makes a woman's hormones go out of whack.
Therefore, any horniness on my part should be excused."

"Ugh, enjoy playing the pregnancy card while you can," Kagome answered with an eye roll.
"And don't be upset if I ever use it."

Rin and Izayoi's eyes met around Kagome with questioning looks, but Kagome didn't seem
inclined to comment further on that topic.

They turned back to the battle just in time to watch as Touga ran forward and swung his
sword in an arc aimed at taking off Sesshoumaru's head, but his son ducked just in time.
Sesshoumaru tried to get a punch in under his father's guard as Touga finished his swing, but
when the blow connected with his stomach, the elder dog demon only slid back a few
centimeters.

"Oooh, ouch! But an impressive defensive stance," Rin commented, rubbing her belly in
sympathy. "A miss on the earlier swing though, so I'll have to give it an eight."

"An eight? Are you kidding? He just displayed abs of freakin' steel," Kagome countered. "He
gets a ten."

"As one who has personally touched those abs, I would concur with Kagome. No, I'd say
they're an eleven," Izayoi added, and the girls burst into laughter.

Inuyasha then leapt all the way from the other end of the dojo, swinging down to break the
deadlock between his father and brother. Touga and Sesshoumaru jumped apart, and Tessaiga
hit air before it slammed into the wooden floor.

Kagome winced. "I hope we don't have to pay for that."

"Oh, don't worry, dear. The floor is made of demon tree wood. It will repair itself," Izayoi
added. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.

The girls continued awarding lewd comments and points to the dog demons. At one point,
Sesshoumaru sliced off Inuyasha's shirt, and Kagome screamed, "Thank you, Sesshoumaru!
Show us those pecs, babe!"

Inuyasha casually ripped the torn shirt off, whirled it around his head, and threw it at
Kagome, who grabbed the sweaty shirt like a crazed fan girl at a concert. "Ten points for fan
service!"

"Those are nice pecs. Ten points indeed," Rin mused. She didn't miss the glare Sesshoumaru
threw in her direction.

She laughed. "Don't be mad, Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha just knows how to play to the crowd!"

"A proper warrior does not let one get close enough to rip his clothing," Sesshoumaru
countered, flipping out of the way as Touga took another swipe at him.

"Wonderfully executed flip!" Izayoi said with a clap. "But I'll have to dock three points for
that dismal attitude towards fan service."

"Indeed," Kagome answered. "Sorry, Sesshoumaru: seven points for you."

Sesshoumaru's nose crinkled when he looked at the two other girls, and then his eyes flitted
towards Rin.

Truthfully, Rin very much enjoyed watching Sesshoumaru fight, and she would have always
given him a perfect score. The way he moved, it was as if he were putting on a dance
performance, not executing lethal maneuvers.
But that wasn't the game they were playing, so she shrugged. "You know how to get ten
points, Sesshoumaru." She mimed taking her shirt off.

Touga was biting back laughter. Then he announced, "Real men tear their own shirts." An
aura of red demonic energy enveloped him, and Rin swore she saw his muscles bulging. His
eyes flashed red, and his teeth and talons got just a little longer.

Then his shirt tore into pieces and fluttered to his feet.

The girls all screamed and whooped.

"Eleven!" Kagome chanted.

"Eleven for creativity!" Rin added.

"Eleven for impeccable style!" Izayoi cried out.

Just then, the babies gave a particularly hard kick, and Rin’s hands went to her middle.
“Oomph! The babies agree—eleven points for their grandpa. He’s definitely top dog!”

The girls burst into fits of laughter. Touga preened, and Sesshoumaru glared, obviously
remembering the onesie from which that joke had originated.

“Come on, Sesshoumaru! You know what to do!” Rin called, smiling widely to try to lighten
him up.

Unfortunately, she wouldn't get to find out if her mate would voluntarily join in the fun or
not, because at that moment, a male voice asked, "Did I come to a fight or a strip show?"

The girls all whirled around to find Tsukuyomaru and Shiori entering the dojo. Shiori was
hiding her laughter behind her hand, and Tsukuyomaru just had a bemused look on his face.

"Oh, welcome!" Izayoi said, standing up to greet them. "We're so glad you could make it. Do
pardon us. The boys started fighting, and we were just trying to make it interesting."

"I'll say," Tsukuyomaru remarked.

The men put down their weapons, walking over to the bat demons. "Welcome, Tsukuyomaru.
So glad you and Shiori could make it!" Touga said, grasping his friend's hand. "Do you know
if Kirinmaru's arrived yet?"

"I think he'd be here if he had," Tsukuyomaru laughed. "You know how he loves a good
fight."

"Indeed. Well, perhaps we should go clean up so we can be ready to go when he does get
here," Touga said. He turned to the girls. "Can we leave you to your own devices, or are we
going to come back to some drunken orgy here?"

"Honey, stop," Izayoi said, slapping his shoulder lightly. "We were just having a bit of fun."
Touga smirked and looked at his boys. "So were we. If I hadn't stopped taken this seriously, I
would have beaten down these boys a long time ago when they started their posturing for the
ladies."

"Speak for yourself," Sesshoumaru retorted. "I am not the one who degraded himself into a
stripper."

While the others laughed, Izayoi pulled a one-thousand yen note out of her wallet and tucked
it into Touga's waistband. Touga stared down at the money with wide eyes. She smirked and
held up another bill. "Do you do private showings, sir?"

Touga scooped up his wife just then. "Excuse me, gentlemen. It seems I have to fit another
job in before getting cleaned up. Please, take your time. I'll meet you in the conference room
at noon." Inuyasha looked ready to pluck his eyes out.

Tsukuyomaru watched them leave, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Do we expect him to
be ready by noon?"

"If he says he'll be there, he will be there," Sesshoumaru answered.

"Well, don't give Tsukuyomaru anymore reason to wait," Kagome said. "You two go clean
up. We can take care of ourselves." She locked arms with Rin and Shiori.

Sesshoumaru looked over at Rin, and she nodded subtly, his cue to leave. Inuyasha followed
him out.

"You girls have fun. I think I'll get a little flying in before the meeting," Tsukuyomaru said
before exiting the dojo.

Shiori turned to the girls with a smile. "Thank you so much for inviting me along. I'm looking
forward to spending the weekend with you!"

"Same!" Rin exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again. I'm so glad you could make it."

"Well, who would turn down a free trip to Western Sanctuary?" Shiori added with a giggle
behind her hand.

"Right? I am ready to take advantage of this place!" Kagome said.

Rin nodded. "I haven't been here since the fall, so I can't wait to see what else it has to offer."

Shiori blinked. "You've been here before?"

Rin blushed. "Oh, well, yes. It's kind of a long story, but this is where I met Sesshoumaru."

"Oh, that sounds like a story I need to hear," Shiori said.

"She'll have to edit out certain parts though, if you know what I mean," Kagome inserted,
pointing a thumb at Rin's stomach.
In a conspiratorial whisper, Shiori said, "Feel free not to edit. Quite frankly, if my father
hadn't confirmed your twins were Sesshoumaru's, I still wouldn't believe it." Her eyes
widened in a mix of expectation and disbelief, and the girls all burst into laughter.

"This was just what I needed. Girl time with girls my own age. Er…well, sort of. You know
what I mean, Shiori," Rin tacked on.

"I do, and I'm honored you feel a kinship with me. I know, for instance, that Izayoi is
technically younger than we are, but I'll always see her as Inuyasha's mother," Shiori replied.

"Wait, what?" Kagome exclaimed. "What do you mean she's younger than we are?"

"Oh. Well, she stopped aging at twenty-three. That's when Touga took her for a mate."

Kagome just stared at the half-demon. In a monotone, she murmured, "I'm…older than my
mother-in-law."

"Only physically. Certainly, she has quite the age gap on you," Shiori said, trying to soothe
her. When Kagosme didn't look appeased, Shiori suddenly announced, "Oh, Rin! I have
something for you. Why don't you and Kagome come to my room so I can give it to you?"

Shiori brought Rin and Kagome to her and Tsukuyomaru's room, and it was the first time Rin
had seen one of the sanctuary's suites.

"This is beautiful," she gasped, walking through the set of rooms. Although the tatami mats
beneath the rugs and the sliding screen doors separating the rooms of the suite hearkened
back to another age, all the furniture and amenities were the epitome of a modern luxury
hotel.

Shiori went over to her luggage and pulled out a long, pastel pink gift box. She handed it to
Rin. "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to make it to your baby shower. We had already scheduled a
major fundraiser months in advance for that day that I wasn't able to miss, but I really
appreciated the invitation, and I wanted to get you this."

"Oh, thank you, Shiori—but you didn't have to do that!" Rin said. "May I open it?" At
Shiori's nod, Rin tore open the gift. Inside was a collection of bow bands, bonnets, and hats in
a variety of soft colors and neutrals. In the center of each of them lay a snap.

"Oh, these are so cute!" Rin exclaimed, pulling them out.

Shiori pointed to a velvet box tucked in the corner. "Open that, and I'll explain."

Rin did as instructed and found two thumbnail-sized, scarlet, oval gemstones with a tiny
fragment of something inside. Rin peered at the fragments, wondering why they looked
familiar. The back of each gemstone was flat, and the other half of the snap was glued on.

Wait. A red gemstone with…could that be coral in the center?

She looked up at Shiori, the question in her eyes. "Are these what I think they are?"
 Shiori smiled. "The girls are going to need a way to hide their auras until they're old enough
to do it themselves, but they're babies, so they can't exactly wear jewelry like you do. I
thought that adding it to some of their head accessories would work. What do you think?"

"I think it's brilliant! Oh my goodness, Shiori, I'm amazed you came up with this." Rin set
aside the gifts and got up to hug the girl, even though they were still technically just
acquaintances. "To be honest, it totally slipped my mind that the girls were going to need
talismans like I do. Here I've just been concentrating on baby things we'll need, and I've
totally forgotten some of the demon considerations we'll have to make, and—"

Rin started tearing up again, partly from gratitude and partly from the stressful reminder than
her life was going to change completely in just a few weeks and was she really ready to be a
mother to half-demons?

"Oh, Rin, don't cry! You can't be expected to remember everything on your own," Shiori said,
rubbing her back. "I'm sure, even if I hadn't given you this, Sesshoumaru would have thought
about it, or Touga. You're not in this alone, Rin. You have your family and friends supporting
you—not to mention the Half Demon Society."

Rin nodded against Shiori's shoulder. "Thank you," she blubbered. "I just…keep forgetting
that. I'm so used to doing so much on my own…."

"Right. So you know what we're going to do? We're going to pamper ourselves today,"
Kagome proclaimed. "We're going to get massages, mani-pedis, sip drinks by the pool, and
completely relax. And then, you're going to look fabulous tomorrow for your birthday.
Understood?"

Rin laughed. Pampering wasn't usually her style but…one day of it couldn't hurt.

So that's exactly what they did.

Chapter End Notes

So, I realize that ended up being something of a filler chapter, but I hope it was still
enjoyable. Some more smut and some humor before things get serious. I had more
planned for this one, but it was getting too long…and I ran out of time for editing the
next part, haha. Anyway, the plan is for Part Three to end next chapter, so be prepared
for that!
 Some Modest Proposals
Chapter Notes

Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. First off, I
want to apologize for failing to put a notice in last chapter about my holiday update
schedule. I meant to, but I thought I had enough time to post it in the following chapter
(i.e. this one)—but I mixed up my dates, so I couldn't. But we're back on track now!
(Speaking of the holidays, I posted a SessRin Christmas fic called Erotic Exhibition, so
if you haven't already checked it out, I recommend you do so!)

One more thing before we begin: although I caught my omission just a couple days after
posting the last chapter, I know most of you had already read it by then, so I wanted to
point out that I did go back and add a section to the shower scene I had forgotten to
write. It's somewhat significant, so if you'd like to head back and read that (you can
scroll down to where Rin's washing him—that's the scene), that may put some things
into perspective.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sesshoumaru smelled him in the hallway long before even opening the door to the conference
room. Kirinmaru turned in one of the swivel chairs to face him.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head. "Kirinmaru."

"Sesshoumaru," Kirinmaru answered.

Sesshoumaru made no move to walk over and shake the demon's hand. Instead, he took a seat
on the opposite side of the table.

Kirinmaru considered him for a moment in silence. When Sesshoumaru didn't say anything—
what more was there to say?—the beast demon said, "It would seem your mate has finally
settled in with you."

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Kirinmaru took a deep breath. "You wear her scent, as a mate would. Zero remarked a while
back that you did not leave an overpowering scent on the girl, and she wondered if perhaps
your relationship had taken an…unexpected turn."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, recalling the day Kagome had come home smelling of Zero,
even though Rin hadn't. "Zero should never have gone near Rin. We have an agreement."

"So I've heard. But she was quick to tell me she never touched your mate, as agreed."
Sesshoumaru could say nothing to that. "Nevertheless, she is clearly plotting."

"Assuredly."

"Do you know her plans?"

"I haven't the slightest."

Whether or not that was true, Sesshoumaru couldn't be sure. But Kirinmaru was a noble
demon and would not wish harm on an innocent like Rin and the children, so Sesshoumaru
was inclined to believe him.

Just then, Touga and Tsukuyomaru entered with Inuyasha bringing up the rear and shutting
the door.

Touga immediately went over to his friendly rival and extended his hand. "Kirinmaru,
welcome. I…was not sure if you would make it."

Kirinmaru stood and slowly shook it. "I know we have had our differences lately, but I can
set those aside for the sake of removing Naraku from power."

"I'm glad to hear it." Everyone took their seats around the conference table, Touga sitting
behind a laptop. He turned on the computer and projector, slipping in a USB stick. "Well,
Myoga? What do you have for us?"

A little flea popped off Touga's head and bounced along the table, coming to rest on top of
the laptop's screen. "Greetings, gentlemen. May I say, it is a pleasure to be back. It's been,
shall we say, many long months of fieldwork."

"But your work has paid off, it seems," Kirinmaru said.

"Indeed, sir. And I found that the reason we have been in the dark for all this time is that the
sanctuary—and I use that term loosely—is hidden behind a barrier."

Tsukuyomaru frowned. "A barrier? But I can assure you he never placed an order through
me."

"He would not have, Tsukuyomaru-sama. It appears Naraku is capable of creating his
own barrier."

Tsukuyomaru's eyes widened, and then he met the gaze of each table member in turn. "I do
not mean to sound insensitive to the plight of humans, but it seems that like you, I now have
direct competition for my business as well. For as ambitious as this Naraku seems, I doubt he
will want to remain only in the hospitality industry."

"Indeed. There are plenty of other wealthy demons who could fund similar…enterprises for
what Naraku has planned at his sanctuary," Touga stated, tapping the USB stick with a talon.
"If he could replicate his barrier around theirs like you can, Tsukuyomaru, I can only imagine
the horrors that would spread."
"Horrors that we will cover in depth shortly, my lords, if you'll allow me to continue," Myoga
said with a polite cough.

"Please do," Touga said, setting up a presentation on the projector screen.

"As it was, once I discovered the barrier issue, I had to do some close undercover work in
order to make it through. But Naraku does not only hide his sanctuary—he hides himself
within a barrier at his residence as well, rarely coming out except for the most important
meetings or to supervise his sanctuary. Mostly, his children carry out his work in the world.
But he has so many of them, and they are so far flung, it's hard to keep track of all their
comings and goings. I did manage, however, to discover their primary occupations."

The little flea jumped down onto the "enter" key, flipping to the first slide of his presentation.
Sesshoumaru scowled when he saw the familiar face pop up.

"First, there is Kagura. She appears to be something of a messenger, secretary, and yakuza
debt collector all in one. She is the one to first meet with clients and establish relationships
before Naraku gets involved. And, if clients don't uphold their end of the bargain, well…let's
just say this one's got a surprising amount of fire in her. Her victims usually end up in the
hospital, their lives only just spared to deliver a warning."

He jumped on the enter button again, and a pale woman in white appeared. She was passingly
familiar to Sesshoumaru, but he couldn't place a name.

"This is Kanna. She mostly works behind the scenes. The best I figure, she's Naraku's IT girl.
She lives in a room full of screens, maintaining Naraku's IT systems. Very quiet—doesn't say
or get out much."

He jumped again. A dandy man with dark lips and a long ponytail appeared. Sesshoumaru
did know him, though they had rarely spoken. "Next is Byakuya," Myoga continued. "He's
my rival, you could say: Naraku's spymaster and head of security. He literally has eyes in the
sky. I've seen him pop an eyeball or two out of his head and send them flying. Most humans
mistake them for bats."

With another bounce, a face Sesshoumaru had never seen before popped on screen. He had
white hair and wore a mask, but there was only a question mark next to his photo. "This is
Juuroumaru. Unfortunately, if Kanna hardly speaks, this one doesn't speak at all. I only
discovered him when I finally made it into the sanctuary, and I wasn't able to get a full grasp
on his part in Naraku's schemes. Best I could tell, he handles a lot of the grunt work, basically
following orders from two others—one of whom lives in his stomach, hence the mask." The
flea bounced again, and this time, a blurry photo—obviously taken incognito from a distance
—appeared. He had the exact same head as Juuroumaru, but the rest of his white body was
wormlike, save for a pair of praying mantis scythes. "It would appear Naraku has not five
but six children. This is Kageroumaru. I consider him the brains behind Juuroumaru. He stays
hidden, for obvious reasons, but he's vicious. Those scythes are not for show. He'll cut down
anyone who gets on his bad side. Now, the other one Juuroumaru answers to is…."

Myoga jumped again, and yet another pale, white-haired demon flashed onscreen, similar
enough to the previous two that their siblinghood was obvious but different enough that they
could not be considered triplets. Sesshoumaru's nose curled as he looked over the man. He
had spoken with this one on occasion, and this one wore arrogance like a king's mantle. "This
is Hakudoshi. From what I can tell, he's Naraku's favorite and the second in command. While
Naraku stays in his residence, Hakudoshi manages the construction of the sanctuary as well
as its planned entertainment."

When Myoga hit "enter" again, a video popped up. "Now, I managed to hitch a ride on
Naraku when he finally left his home and ventured to the sanctuary. I took some video, and
here is the condensed version of what I found."

Touga clicked on the video. It began in silence as a gargantuan, Japanese castle rose up from
its resting place upon an upraised bed of rock and earth in the middle of a forest—or so it
appeared at first glance. While the structure itself implied the shape of an old Japanese
fortress, harkening back to a time when demons had free reign, the building itself shone, the
"tiled" roof composed of gleaming metal instead of clay and the walls a mix of steel and
glass, giving the towers the appearances of skyscrapers rather than wood architecture."

"Clever—he's appealing to the old aesthetic but setting himself apart as uniquely modern
compared to our sanctuaries, which have establishment and nostalgia on their side,"
Kirinmaru remarked.

"He's trying to show we're outdated," Inuyasha remarked, and Sesshoumaru was surprised by
his brother's foresight. Then again, they had all worked to market Western Sanctuary over the
last century and a half, so he supposed something had to rub off on Inuyasha after all that
time.

And indeed, as the camera navigated through the courtyard, which teemed with crews carting
painting supplies, appliances, and furniture, Sesshoumaru noted how everything seemed to be
state-of-the-art and done in a palette of cold neutrals: blacks and grays with the occasional
blue or violet to add a pop of color. When the video moved inside, Sesshoumaru took in the
lobby: spacious with tons of natural lighting and the front desk cut in sleek, curved lines and
metals. A spike-ball chandelier hung from the ceiling with large Edison bulbs reaching out
like rays of light.

It would appeal to some, Sesshoumaru supposed, but he wasn't altogether impressed. After
all, demonkind was long-lived, and he knew most of their clientele appreciated a reminder of
the old days with just enough of the comforts of the modern era to satisfy them.

But as the virtual tour moved into the next room, Sesshoumaru wondered if Naraku was even
appealing to the same clientele.

Screens took up one entire wall of the room. On the other, a massive bar that took its
inspiration from trendy downtown clubs dominated the space. And throughout the room,
state-of-the-art gambling machines were being lined up beside card and game tables.

"A casino?" Touga murmured in surprise. "Reminds me of Las Vegas."

"Indeed, Master," Myoga remarked. "This is its own Sin City."

There was indeed a club room as well as a stage boasting dance poles. More screens covered
the walls in this room.

Kirinmaru frowned. "Pole dancers and strip shows? Well, at least we know this isn't a family-
friendly resort. That's something to our advantage."

Is it though? Sesshoumaru wondered. Certainly, demons had children but at no where near
the rate humans did. The vast majority of their long-lived kind were adults, many with
centuries of money to spend on lavish obscenities.

"This is not the worst of it, my lord," Myoga added.

As he said the words, the video brought them into a glass elevator that quickly descended
into a tunnel with running lights in the corners that gave riders something to watch before the
space finally opened up. Through the back of the elevator, they looked down into the pit of a
giant arena.

Inuyasha sprang forward in his chair to get a better look at the screen. "What the hell is that?"

"That, Inuyasha-sama, is the Kodoku Coliseum. The rest of the sanctuary sits atop it. This is
the main attraction for Naraku's Sanctuary. Much like the Roman Coliseum, it is meant to
provide all manner of entertainment. Guests can sign up to do battle against each other, but
Naraku has also managed to somehow find a plethora of demons that, frankly…I thought
were all extinct."

Upon exiting the elevator, the camera moved into a side corridor set up like a gladiator pen.
Behind reinforced doors, beasts such as Sesshoumaru had not seen in well over a century
lurked. Dinosaur-like demons with spiked spines and dagger-length teeth. Giant insects. Wild
horses and bulls with insane red eyes and flames licking their legs.

"Where on earth did he find them?" Kirinmaru asked. "I have traveled the world over dozens
of times, looking for the last remaining natural sanctuaries on this planet, and even then, I
could not find demons of this size and ferocity."

"Wait but a moment, and your question will be answered, Kirinmaru-sama," Myoga stated.
Finally, some audio filtered through.

"Have you come to make another deposit today, Naraku?" Hakudoshi's soft but cruel voice
asked, and the camera panned toward him. Indeed, a smirk matched the cut of his words.

"Indeed. This one has been begging to come out," Naraku answered. Hakudoshi led him to an
empty cage, and they walked inside. Naraku then lifted an arm. It bulged and twisted like
some grotesque creature with a life of its own. Inuyasha gagged. Sesshoumaru frowned.

Lumps of flesh fell out of Naraku's arm, combining to form a serpentine dragon.

"Egads," Touga let out on a breath.

How is any of this possible? "I have never before seen a demon that could birth a completely
new demon from its body," Sesshoumaru said. Rock demons could combine themselves, and
plant demons could spawn through spores, but animal-based demons, though regenerative,
lacked the ability to reproduce outside of the natural way. "Just what is Naraku?"

Myoga bounced on the mouse to pause the video. "I'm afraid I was unable to find that out,
Sesshoumaru-sama," Myoga answered. "However, after observing Naraku's children, I do
have a theory. You see, all of them bear the same spider-shaped scar upon their backs—as
does Naraku. And as I never heard mention of a wife, mistress, or mother to these children, I
suspect that they were created in much the same way. If you recall Kageroumaru, though his
head was humanoid, his body was that of a monster. From what Naraku said, it seems as if he
has multiple bodies inside him that he can feel yearning to escape."

"Are you saying he consumed multiple demons and is…regurgitating them somehow?"
Touga mused.

"That is an excellent theory, Master," Myoga replied.

Tsukuyomaru fell back in his chair, slowly shaking his head. "This…is so much worse than I
thought it would ever be. Imagine if he released these monstrosities out into the world. How
many can he create?"

"Luckily, it appears he can only create them once a month. It must take a tremendous amount
of energy, because after this, he returns home," Myoga said. "Still, I counted five beasts.
Assuming the Coliseum was completed first, he must have begun filling the pens five months
ago, and he will likely continue to do so. The schedule I found shows that the beasts are
meant to fight each other. However…they are also meant to face off against humans."

"Humans?" Tsukuyomaru echoed.

"Indeed. A moment more of your time, my lord," Myoga said, jumping on the mouse again to
restart the video.

Breathing heavily, Naraku ordered Hakudoshi, "Give it a taste of human flesh."

Hakudoshi left the cage. Ferocious as the dragon appeared and exhausted as Naraku seemed,
the dragon made no move to devour its parent. When Hakudoshi returned, he carried a thin,
naked, human male over his shoulder. He tossed the man into the middle of the cage.
Sesshoumaru had thought he was dead, but the man groaned and jerked when he hit the floor,
rubbing his joints.

"Hey, wasssss the big idea-r, t-treatin' yer elders this way?" he slurred. His eyes were
bloodshot and rheumy over deep, puffy bags, his gray hair lank though not terribly greasy, as
if it had been washed recently. Patches of black and white stubble covered his jaw.

"This one is too old to put on a decent show. But he should make a good snack," Hakudoshi
sneered.

In a cold voice Sesshoumaru could just imagine bearing Naraku's smarmy smile, the demon
said, "Eat."
The dragon did not hesitate, and it happened so fast, the man did not even notice it move
from the shadows. The dragon snapped its jaws over the man's stomach, engulfing his entire
torso. Blood spurted, and there was a faint cry from inside the dragon's mouth before the
giant serpent tossed the bloodied body up into the air and let it land in its mouth, swallowing
it whole. The video ended.

Inuyasha turned green. Even Sesshoumaru's heart quaked, and he was no stranger to killing
humans—or watching them be eaten. But it wasn't so much sympathy as it was fear that
gripped the organ in his chest. If Naraku ever got his hands on Rin or the girls…. His body
went cold just thinking about it.

Tsukuyomaru's mouth had fallen open. "What is he thinking? Making humans go missing is
going to set the authorities on him before we can get there," Tsukuyomaru said.

"It appears Naraku is taking humans that, for lack of a better term, society has forgotten. He
picks the homeless off the street. The drug addicts with no one left to turn to," Myoga
answered.

Ah, that explains the slur and eyes, Sesshoumaru thought.

"He keeps them here, under the influence of sanyosho venom," the flea continued. Photos of
humans in plain but basic accommodations, appearing somnolent and drugged flashed
onscreen. Then Myoga jumped again, and a photo of a giant, striped bee appeared. "These are
the sanyosho, or hell insects. Their venom is toxic to demons, though it will only slow them
down, given their metabolisms. However, it is much more potent in humans. Much like
opium, it requires a careful balance to prevent overdosing. A single sting will kill a human;
however, in a small enough dosage, it will keep a human drowsy and pliable—unable to run
away. Naraku keeps a bee farm on the property, where he breeds the insects and harvests their
venom. Of course, who else would administer it but a trained nurse?"

When Myoga jumped again, Princess Abi's photo appeared. "As promised at the gala, Abi is
indeed supplying Naraku with human blood from the Red Cross." He jumped, and photos of
industrial refrigerators filled with blood popped up. "But as I understand it, she is also his
chief medic, though that isn't the word I would use. Certainly, she'll patch up a demon, but
her main role is to procure blood and keep the humans sedated and in good physical health.
Some of the humans, it seems, will be continually harvested for blood. Others will be used as
entertainment. Still others…. They will be on the menu not just for Naraku's monsters but for
the guests as well."

"This is barbaric," Kirinmaru spat. "The veneer of sophistication only makes it even more
so." He turned to the others. "So, how are we going to put a stop to this?" He looked at
Touga, and together they turned to Tsukuyomaru.

The bat demon noticed their stare. "What is it you wish to ask me?"

"Please do not take offense to this, Tsukuyomaru, but…surely you've heard the rumors,"
Touga began gently. When Tsukuyomaru only raised his eyebrows in question, Touga
continued. "The ones that say you were the one to call in the Demon Slayers on
Taigokumaru. If that is true, we'd like you to tell us. Rest assured that the information will
never leave this room."

Tsukuyomaru considered each demon around the table before finally sighing and closing his
eyes. "Until one confirms or denies a rumor, it remains just that. Be that as it may…this was
certainly a poorly kept secret, given how long the rumors have been circulating. So yes, I
admit it: I was indeed the one to call the Demon Slayers on my father." His fist clenched on
the table. "I…he…."

"You do not have to explain yourself to us," Sesshoumaru interrupted, knowing full well the
complicated feelings a son could have for his father.

"No…it's fine. I would rather you know the truth—if only for my own sake. I consider you
all my friends, and I would hate for you to see me differently because of this."

"We have known the rumors for a century, Tsukuyomaru, and we have always understood
that you must have done it for the greater good. Your father was not exactly…accepting of
humans. We know you hoped then and now that humans and demons could live together in
peace," Touga replied.

"You honor me with such words, my friend. But the truth is far more selfish than that."
Tsukuyomaru's lilac eyes darkened as he stared at the table, looking back on a past that no
one else had seen. "You are all aware that my mate, Shizu, was a human and that she died
back in the feudal era." All the heads around the table nodded. "And you know that she fell
ill. Given the lack of medical sophistication at the time, we could not save her. The fact that it
was nature that took her—something I physically could not fight against to protect her—was
the only thing that kept me from going insane with the loss."

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. He had never before empathized with Tsukuyomaru for his
loss. Now, however, in being mated to Rin and knowing her so fully, he was amazed that the
bat demon had carried on for this long without his mate.

I am not sure I could do the same.

"Having Shiori helped, of course. She too was grief-stricken, but we helped each other
through the pain. And I could not in good conscience follow my mate and leave our daughter
to fend for herself."

Sesshoumaru caught himself nodding with Tsukuyomaru's words. Yes: if something were to
happen to Rin, their daughters would be his only saving grace.

But if something were to happen to all three of them….

I would not survive.

He knew it with a certainty that chilled him.

"During World War I, my father wished for me to join him in his battle against humans. He
said it was my duty as a demon to keep our race from dying out. I understood, of course—I
know none of us wants to see our kind wiped out." Touga and Kirinmaru nodded. "But my
father has never seen the good in humans, so he was all too eager to kill them. I…could not
bring myself to. Not when my mate was human. Not when my daughter is half human. So I
refused. My father could not understand my reasoning. He would not accept it. And he was
so furious…he let slip the secret he had been carrying for four hundred years."

"Don't tell me…" Inuyasha started.

Tsukuyomaru clenched his hands on the table. "I will never forget the exact words he spoke.
He said, 'I thought getting rid of that human woman would make you strong again. Yet it
seems to have only made you weaker.' I didn't understand what he meant at first. Shizu had
died of an illness, after all. But my father was only too willing to brag.

"After Inuyasha saved my family and helped us run away from my father, I was in no shape
to defend my mate and daughter. But winter was fast approaching, and Shiori and Shizu
needed proper clothing and shelter. What little we had, Shizu gave to Shiori to keep her
warm. As a result, Shizu came down with a cold, but she said it was nothing serious—that
she would recover.

"But my dear Shiori was so worried about her mother. One day, she came back with some
heavy kimonos. When I asked where she had gotten them, she said someone gave them to
her. I didn't think to question it. I was simply grateful a kind person had given us what we
needed to survive.

"But then Shiori got sick, and Shizu's illness took a turn for the worst. She had trouble
breathing, and I couldn't sleep at all, for fear she would stop breathing while I rested. Shiori
experienced only mild symptoms and managed to recover, but Shizu never did. She was gone
within days. I couldn't believe it. I was so lost in grief, I never even stopped to consider what
could have happened.

"It turned out that my father had indeed found us and approached Shiori when she was out
looking for ways to keep us warm. He gifted her the kimonos, telling her he wished to make
amends but that he was too ashamed to face me, given what he had done. He made her
promise not to tell me or Shizu where she had gotten the fabrics. And my poor Shiori was so
young and trusting, she didn't sense any deception.

"They were a Trojan horse. Bats are known to carry a set of diseases—ones we know now as
coronaviruses—though they themselves don't manifest symptoms. However, as demons, or
physiology is different, so when we contract a conronavirus, it appears as a common cold. I
never thought of it as an issue. Apparently, though, various strands of this disease can kill
humans. The kimonos my father gave Shiori came straight from infected bat demons. He did
not even mind infecting Shiori as well, figuring that if she survived, it would only prove her
more worthy of bearing our blood; if she died, it would be a good riddance. But he had
always planned to kill Shizu with it. And so he did."

"Bastard," Inuyasha hissed, slamming his fist on the table. "I should have killed him when I
had the chance."
Tsukuyomaru shook his head. "Do not blame yourself, Inuyasha. I asked you to spare him.
Though he had attempted to kill me, I could not bring myself to bring about my own father's
demise at the time. No doubt some of you see that as a weakness..." The bat demon glanced
at Sesshoumaru as he said this. "…And you would likely be right. For if I had allowed
Inuyasha free reign, Shizu could very well still be with us today."

Tsukuyomaru took a deep breath before he continued. "So, finding out that my own father
killed my mate…that if I had been stronger and healed faster and simply more aware,
I could have protected her…. That last barrier of love I held for my father shattered. I fell into
a rage and grief as I hadn't experienced since Shizu died. And so I told Shiori what I was
going to do. I approached the Demon Slayers and asked that, in exchange for sparing the life
of myself and my daughter, I would get them past my father's barrier so that they could kill
him. I knew they would take the lives of many of my brethren as well, but I was too
consumed with rage to care. They agreed. You know the rest."

The room was silent for several heartbeats after Tsukuyomaru's confession.

"Tsukuyomaru…words cannot convey how sorry I am to hear that tale," Touga said. "For a
father to treat his own son in that manner…I cannot imagine." He looked up at Inuyasha and
Sesshoumaru with golden eyes full of love and gratitude for being the way they were.
Sesshoumaru knew he was not the perfect son, and yet…his father loved him anyway.

The level of trust Sesshoumaru felt towards his father in that moment was one he had not
experienced in many centuries. Not since he was a child. But now he knew better. The way
his father had helped him in this situation with Rin showed him that. And even his mother….
She may not have approved at first, but at least she had never outright tried to kill his mate.

"Thank you. But it was a long time ago, and I have come to terms with it now," Tsukuyomaru
answered.

"Even so, the pain of losing a loved one like that is something I imagine never leaves you,"
Touga replied.

"That much is true."

"Have you had any contact with the Demon Slayers since World War I?" Kirinmaru asked.
"As you may have guessed by now, we asked you here to relay your experience with that,
although much has changed since then."

Tsukuyomaru looked back at the screen displaying the photo of the sanyosho. "You wish to
call the Demon Slayers on Naraku."

"Precisely," Sesshoumaru said.

"I see. Certainly, none of the original people I contacted are still alive. But given how the
Demon Slayers thrive on record-keeping…it would indeed be safest if I were to approach
them once more. I have a history with them, at least, that may prove beneficial."
"So, wait, is the plan to let the Demon Slayers do the dirty work for us?" Inuyasha asked in a
tone a hair close to a whine.

A small smile twitched on Touga's lips. "Well, that is their job, Inuyasha. Why not put our tax
dollars to good use?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and slumped in the chair. "Here I thought we'd finally get to do
some real fighting again."

"That isn't to say we will not be playing a part," Tsukuyomaru said. "Just as I had to lead
them past my father's barrier, so will we too need to somehow bring down Naraku's barrier.
However, I would have to analyze it myself to see if there are any weaknesses."

"Can spiritual powers not bring down a demonic barrier? As long as we direct the Demon
Slayers to it, they should be able to handle it from there," Sesshoumaru interjected.

"Yes, but we also need to make sure Naraku will be present at that time. We need to
capture all of his brood," Kirinmaru said. He looked at the flea demon. "Myoga, you said that
Naraku goes to the sanctuary once a month to create a new demon. When was it that you
went with him?"

"Only five days ago, sir. I came back as soon as I got what I needed from the sanctuary,"
Myoga answered.

"That gives us just over three weeks, likely, until he goes back."

Inuyasha frowned. "Wait a minute."

"What, son?" Touga asked.

"I think…we're going to have to let Naraku create another demon before we attack."

"And let him create another enemy to overcome? A foolish plan, little brother," Sesshoumaru
retorted.

"Hey, just think about it. We've already seen that there's more to Naraku than he's letting on,
right? We can't underestimate him—he may have even more up his sleeve. But Myoga said
that once a month, he goes to deposit a new demon, and then he's used up all his energy. It's
a weakness—one any enemy would want to exploit. Trust me—I know a thing or two about
monthly weaknesses."

"You might be onto something there, son," Touga murmured. "Was the moon in a specific
phase five days ago?" Inuyasha looked it up on his phone, but there was nothing special
about it.

"Just because Inuyasha's weakness is tied to the moon does not mean that all half-demons'
are," Tsukuyomaru said. "Shiori's weakness is tied to solar eclipses, so she experiences them
for a much shorter duration and number of times during a year than Inuyasha does."

"Are you intimating that Naraku is actually a half-demon?" Kirinmaru asked.

"It's quite possible. Half-demon biology is so unpredictable. It could very well have given
Naraku these powers we've never seen before," the bat demon replied.

"Whether he is or not isn't the point. The point is, he's got a period of weakness. We need to
time this attack at that point and take him by surprise," Inuyasha said.

"But I have detected no rhyme or reason to this period. That will make it very difficult to plan
precisely," Myoga answered.

"Then we shall simply have to keep a close eye on him and stay ready to go at any moment,"
Sesshoumaru declared.

Rin hadn't realized just how exhausting relaxing could be. The three girls started right off
with the massage, which was perhaps the worst they could have done, because after that, Rin
was so loose and relaxed, she didn't feel like doing anything. Following up with mani-pedis
at least allowed her to zone out in a chair while she tried (and failed) to wake up, but then
sitting in the sun by the pool sipping drinks (non-alcoholic versions for her) had her dozing
off. She knew she made for poor company that day, but Kagome and Shiori didn't seem to
mind. In fact, they told her it was for the best.

"Enjoy that sleep now—you're going to miss it when those twins come out," Kagome said.

Shiori yawned. "To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind taking a nap right now either. I'm
pretty nocturnal myself."

Come evening, the men still hadn't left the conference room, so the girls broke to freshen up
before dinner. Rin luxuriated in the shower, happy to finally get the lotion and oil from the
massage out of her hair. They ate and chatted for a couple hours in the resort's dining hall, but
once they started laughing at each other more and more for how often they were yawning,
they decided to call it a night. None of the men had come to dinner; Izayoi had joined the
girls, but Inukimi was nowhere to be seen. So Rin went back upstairs, fully expecting to go to
bed alone. But when she opened the door, she found Sesshoumaru standing at the window,
waiting for her.

"You're back! How did it go?" she asked, walking over and giving him a kiss.

"We have learned of Naraku's plans and laid out a counter strategy."

"So it was a success then!"

Sesshoumaru inclined his head. "I will only deem it a success when Naraku is in Demon
Slayer custody."

Rin's eyes widened. "You're utilizing the Demon Slayers?"

"Yes."

"But how?"
"Tsukuyomaru will make contact with them."

Rin clutched his hand. "Isn't that dangerous? I know you can call in anonymous tips, but…."

"That is why we are leaving it to Tsukuyomaru. He has…a favorable history with them."

Rin frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru's jaw tensed, a sure sign of confliction. "He called upon them once. That is all I
can divulge."

"He called them? But why—?" Rin stopped herself. Something resonated in her mind about
Tsukuyomaru and the Demon Slayers. What was it…? Then her eyes widened. "Wait! Didn't
Shiori tell us that her grandfather was killed by the Demon Slayers? Was that—? Did he…?"
Seeing Sesshoumaru's grave look, Rin gasped. "I don't believe it. He called the Demon
Slayers on his own father?"

"It was justified. But I will leave it to Shiori to tell you the story in her own time,"
Sesshoumaru answered.

Rin was still in shock. She couldn't imagine ever making a call to kill a family member, even
a troublesome one. But given what Shiori had said about her grandfather, perhaps
Tsukuyomaru had seen it as the only way to protect his family. Even so, going as far as
patricide?

Despite how different demons appeared from humans when they were not in disguise, Rin
had trouble reconciling those she saw with what the demons the Corps touted as vicious
creatures that needed to be put down. For the first time, however, she could finally see what
made the kind Tsukuyomaru a demon.

Still, the man had shown her nothing but kindness, and history or not, he was willing to put
his life on the line to contact the Slayers again to bring down Naraku. How would Shiori feel,
knowing her father was taking such a huge risk? She can't lose another parent. I know that
heartache too well. "Are you sure you don't want me to make contact instead? I could ask
Kaede to tell Kikyou, or I could even give Sango a tip."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Even should you call in anonymously, I do not trust the
Demon Slayers to keep from ferreting out who tipped them off and why." He placed a hand
on her stomach. "I will not risk the Corps discovering our children."

Rin placed her hands over his, and she felt the pulse in her stomach beat against his hand.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Oh! Speaking of the babies, let me show you what
Shiori gave me today."

She went to her luggage and pulled out the set of bows and hats with their talismans. "Isn't it
genius? Shiori was so kind to gift these to us."

"Extremely kind," Sesshoumaru said, picking up one of the ruby stones and examining it.
"Even a small talisman such as this carries a high retail price. She honors you by gifting not
just one but two."

Rin blushed. "We have such great family and friends, Sesshoumaru. I don't know what we'd
do without them."

He grunted in acknowledgement. She put the gift away. Then he said, "If you are not too
tired, I wish to show you something."

"What is it?"

"Come." He led her outside, and as soon as they were out the door, he scooped her up into his
arms and leapt high. She shrieked in shock, wrapping her arms around his neck as he leapt
over to the roof of the dojo. Rin gasped as she took in the view of the gardens from above,
the summer stars reflecting in the still water of the pond.

"It's beautiful, Sesshoumaru."

"That is not what I wished to show you." He carefully set her on her feet. "Can you stand on
your own?" Rin nodded slowly as she found her balance and removed her arms from him.

"Yes, I think so."

He floated off the roof and hovered before her. Her eyes widened. She hadn't seen him fly
like this since the day he saved her from the wolf demons. She still had a hard time
reconciling the demonic side of her husband with the human façade he wore so often. How
else would he continue to surprise her?

"A few days ago, you said you had showed me all of yourself." She nodded. "Now it is my
turn to do the same."

Rin blinked, his meaning not quite clicking yet.

"Do not be frightened."

Puzzled, Rin braced herself for…what exactly, she did not know.

Then Sesshoumaru's hair stood on end. His eyes bled red, as she had seen them do during
sex, and his fangs elongated.

But then she saw something change she had never seen before.

His lips peeled back into a ferocious grin, and his skin sprouted white fur. In a cloud of
smoke, he grew until what towered above her, even on the dojo roof, was a giant, white dog
with a massive ruff curling around one shoulder. Moonlight glinted off the beast's back,
making him appear almost regal. Then he turned his head, and a jagged tongue lolled out
from a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth as long as her forearm. Bulging red eyes stared down
at her.

But above all those vicious features, a familiar crescent moon lay on the dog's brow, and
magenta markings created vees at the corners of his lips.
She gasped in amazement, tears welling in her eyes as she reached out to place a hand against
his snout. "Your true form. Oh, Sesshoumaru, you're beautiful."

He whined in contentment as he carefully nudged his snout against her tiny hand, which lay
comfortably on the ridge between his nostrils.

She couldn't believe just how big he was. She glanced down at his paws—easily the size of a
trampoline—and recalled the day she fell into one of his prints in the forest. It was difficult to
tell from up here, but those talons were probably as long as her legs….

Just then, he bent down so that his back was level with the edge of the roof. He motioned
with his head to his back, but Rin didn't understand.

"Can you not speak?" she asked.

He barked in response.

She bit back a smile. "I see. Are you…asking me to ride you?"

This time he nodded. So at least he could still understand her.

Her heart trilled at the prospect of flying with him again. "Okay, let me find my way on
here…." She grabbed some of the thick, curly ruff to use as a handhold while she gingerly
walked off the roof and onto his back. It felt strange to walk upon a being of flesh like this,
but he was so broad, she didn't topple over the ridges of his bones or anything. His fur was so
springy and soft as she ran her hands through it. She finally made it to the crux of his neck
and sat down, taking fistfuls of thick fur as reins.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Sesshoumaru stood, and Rin clutched him tighter as he moved. His shifting muscles beneath
her felt both strange and familiar, making her sex tingle. Her face flushed. Goodness, Rin, are
you that horny that you think of sex even when he's walking around as a dog?

Of course, that thought opened up a whole other room of dark ones, but the door slammed
shut on them quickly as, with a graceful leap, Sesshoumaru flew into the air and she quite
forgot all about her libido.

The balmy night air blew Rin's hair back in a stream, and she exclaimed in awe as she beheld
the majesty of Western Sanctuary below her. Lanterns dotted the walkways of the garden and
glinted off the pond. Beams of light streamed from the resort, making it appear to be a giant
lantern from above. Rin then turned her attention to the surrounding landscape. The dark
peak of Dog's Throne stood proudly against the backdrop of the heavens as Sesshoumaru
flew in that direction. When he passed over that familiar peak, the lake and river below
glimmered in the moonlight.

Finally feeling stable and a little daring, Rin let go of Sesshoumaru's fur and spread her arms
out, catching the wind and whooping with joy as they soared over the forest. Sesshoumaru
howled with her, his call echoing across the entire sanctuary.
"Sesshoumaru, this is amazing!" Rin cried out against the wind. Though he gave no
indication that he heard her, she reached over and scratched gently behind his ear to further
indicate his pleasure. Her demon dog mate whined, and a small shudder ran down
Sesshoumaru's spine. Rin giggled. "Oh, you like that, do you?" She started scratching harder.

Now a low growl rumbled through the throat beneath her legs, and suddenly, Sesshoumaru
made an about face, flying back towards the lake they had passed. Rin's heart thudded as she
beheld the familiar scenery, and it only continued to do so when Sesshoumaru touched down
on its banks.

She looked around at the lakeshore. Though nature had left its seasonal touches here and
there, it remained largely the way it had been when they camped here in those final days
together. She would never be able to look at this spot without remembering it as the first
place they had made love.

Sesshoumaru lowered himself to the ground, and this time, Rin slowly scooted down his arm
like it was a slide until her feet touched the dirt. She trailed a hand over his silken paw—yep,
those talons were indeed as long as her short legs—even caressing one of his deadly claws.
She looked up, finding she held his enormous red eyes in rapt attention.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru, for showing me yourself and the world as you see it." His head
was still just low enough that when she stood on her tiptoes, she was able to kiss the tip of his
cold nose.

In a flash of light, he returned to his human form. "You are determined to seduce me this
night," he said.

She chuckled. "Would that be so bad? Reenacting everything where it all began?" She rubbed
a hand over her belly, feeling the fruits from that day kick within her."

Sesshoumaru pulled off his fur and laid it on the ground. Rin's heart leapt, and her sex
practically drooled in anticipation.

Sesshoumaru took a deep breath and shook his head with a wry smile. "Very well, Rin. I will
offer you a reward if you can pass a test."

"What sort of test?" she asked, walking over to him and already thinking of ways she could
cheat.

He helped her down so that she lay part on the grass and part on his fur, staring up into the
night sky. He settled next to her, their shoulders touching.

"What do you see?" he asked.

Ah, a constellation test. She laced the hands between them together. "This feels so nostalgic."
As she looked across the stars, she frowned. "Especially the part where I have no idea what
I'm looking at. Not many of these look familiar. What happened to Gemini?"

"Its time has passed."

"Oh, poo." After their date last month, she made sure to commit that one to memory. But
everything else was hazy. She sighed. "I guess I fail my test." She looked over at him with
what she hoped was a cute pout. "Is there any way I could earn some extra credit?"

A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. "Perhaps."

She lifted up their entwined arms and pointed at the sky. "I'm ready to learn, sensei."

He grasped her wrist, directing it like a magic wand. "The entire myth of Perseus and
Andromeda is in the sky. Look." He first pointed out a squiggly constellation. "That is
Casseopeia. She was a queen and the mother of Andromeda—" He moved her arm to trace
another constellation next to it. "—and proclaimed that they were both more beautiful than
Aphrodite."

"Ah, that never ends well," Rin said.

"Indeed. Poseidon flooded the coast of their kingdom and sent the sea monster Cetus to
terrorize it. Andromeda's father, King Cepheus, consulted an oracle on how to rid themselves
of the beast. Cepheus was to sacrifice his daughter to it. So he chained Andromeda to a rock
to be eaten by the sea monster."

"Oh, yes, I'm somewhat familiar with this myth. A hero came to save her, right?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Perseus. Here," he said, tracing the neighboring constellation with her
finger. "He flew in on winged sandals, fell in love with Andromeda at first sight, and slew the
monster. Then he took her for his wife."

"Maybe it's just our setting, but I'm sensing some parallels here."

"Are you?" he asked.

"I mean, I wasn't chained to a rock or anything…but Kouga did find me by a rock on the
lake's edge and later tied me up." She turned to face Sesshoumaru, reaching her other hand
across her body to caress his cheek. "And then my Perseus came flying in to save me.
Although I can't say it was love at first sight for him, but…."

"But it was the moment he realized just how much his Andromeda meant to him,"
Sesshoumaru finished for her. He looked back toward the sky, and she followed his gaze,
wondering what he was looking at. It was at that moment he deftly slipped his left hand into
his pocket. "So only one part of the story remains to be told."

"And what's that?" Rin asked.

"The part where Perseus asks Andromeda to share the rest of his life with him."

Rin nudged his shoulder. "Silly. Andromeda has already consented to that."

"No, she hasn't."

Rin frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru finally turned to face her. "Rin, I forced you to bear my mark without your
permission. While nothing will ever erase that tie, how we spend the rest of our lives I leave
up to you." When he finally pulled his hand out of his pocket, it was with a ring. She gasped.
"If you consent to marry this Sesshoumaru, I will make sure you never feel lonely or
abandoned again. I will raise our pups alongside you. I will protect you from what harm and
heartache I can. I will be your husband and your mate, and I will love you until the end of
time. Will you give me the honor of calling you my wife?"

Hot tears streamed from Rin's eyes, and she nodded vigorously, afraid her voice wouldn't
work. "Yes," she gasped out through a thick throat. "Yes, yes!"

He smiled then and slipped the ring onto her fourth finger of her left hand that still reached
toward the sky. The diamond winked from within what appeared to be a flower—another star
added to the constellations.

Sesshoumaru leaned over then and kissed her. She laced her arms around his neck, pulling
him closer, deepening their kiss, never wanting to part. But he did have to pull away to allow
them to breathe, and when he did, Rin looked up at him in a daze. The moon cast a soft,
glowing corona around his head. He looked like a dark angel, his hair glittering around them
like a star shower.

"Make love to me, Sesshoumaru. Right here. Right where it all started," she murmured.

So he did. He was slow to divest them of their clothing, leaving kisses all along the skin he
bared. She shivered not from the night air, which was pleasant, but from the searing trail his
lips left upon her body.

Because of her girth, he spooned her from behind, pulling her leg atop his so that he had
access to her center. He gently thrust into her in time with the lapping of the water on shore,
running his fangs along her mark and sucking on it.

Her orgasm rolled over her like an earthquake—a gentle rumble that grew and grew until all
at once it rocked her entire body, and in her aftershocks, as she clutched her mate—
her chosen fiancé—between her legs, he erupted like a volcano set off from the shifting
plates of her womb.

He held her for a few moments afterwards, staying seated within her and lazily running his
nose and lips through her hair.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, giving it a little nibble, and she was shocked not by
the words but by the fact that he said them without any sort of prompting from her. She knew
he was more prone to speaking after sex, but were these soft professions of love what she
could look forward to all the days of her life?

She turned around, pulling him out of her (and she swore she heard a soft huff of regret from
from him at that), and kissed his soft lips, hot and swollen from their playing along her
shoulder. "I love you, and I always will, Sesshoumaru. Now and forever," she said, lacing
their fingers together and staring at the ring on her finger.
Sesshoumaru froze.

Now and forever.

Why did that resonate so deeply with him?

Now and forever.

Forever. An eternity.

Towa.

His eyes widened.

Now and forever. In this moment and for eternity.

"I know what we will name our other daughter," he announced.

Rin's eyes widened at the sudden shift in topic, but then she smiled in excitement. "What is
it? You sound so sure."

"Setsuna."

"Setsuna…." She rolled it around her tongue. "Towa and Setsuna. Setsuna and Towa…." Her
eyes lit up. "Oh, I see! Yes, Sesshoumaru, it's perfect!" She wrapped her arms around him and
hugged him to her. Though he welcomed the plump press of her breasts against his torso, he
made sure to curve himself around her belly, not wanting to squash their now-named
children.

"Now you will tell me why you chose Towa's name," he replied as she pulled away.

Rin bit her lip and glanced away from him. "Well…there were a couple reasons, honestly. I
know I was still upset about you leaving, but at the same time…we had a bond. I felt our
bond through your feelings," she said, placing a hand over her heart. "And I knew that bond
would last forever. That's not to say I knew I would have eternity with you," she explained,
smiling and tapping his nose, which caused him to blink in shock and her to laugh at his
reaction, "but I did figure that our daughters would live fairly long lives. Perhaps not as long
as yours, though I certainly hope so. But…it was a sign that the bond…the love we shared
that day would last forever, even if it…well, even if it only felt like a moment!" She laughed
again and sighed. "Yes, the more I think about it, the more I know their names are perfect."

He nodded, warmed by the knowledge that she had recalled him fondly enough months ago
to want their daughter to be an eternal reminder of him.

Rin hummed happily and held up her hand in the moonlight to try to admire her ring. He
wondered how well—or not—she could see it. The strong moonlight was enough for him to
detect every facet and change in color, but she had as yet mentioned nothing of the design.
Did she like it?
As if to answer his question, she asked, "Do you have your phone on you? I left mine at the
resort."

He fished his phone out of his pants pocket and gave it to her. She clicked on the flashlight,
and when she illuminated her hand, she gasped again. "It's a primrose!"

He nodded. "For a love I cannot live without." He gently plucked the ring from her finger so
that she could read the inscription.

"'You are my sanctuary.' Oh, Sesshoumaru! Then I was right—that was the meaning of the
Queen Anne's Lace you left me, wasn't it?" He nodded again. She turned the ring over in her
hands, admiring the entwined bands of yellow and white gold leaves. "It's perfect,
Sesshoumaru. It's like this whole ring was made for me."

"It was."

Her eyes widened. "Wait, do you mean it was custom-crafted?"

"Yes, by Hosenki—a demon jeweler and an old friend of my father's."

"A custom design? But then…how long have you been planning this? We only decided to
come here a few days ago." When he didn't answer right away, she turned to look at him.
"Sesshoumaru, what's wrong?"

He closed his eyes, resigned to tell her. "I purchased it months ago."

"Months? But…we only just found each other again last month."

"I originally went to see him about a design for Zero. I came away with that."

Rin's eyes widened, and she looked at the ring again, a flash of hurt in her eyes. "Then this
ring was for her?"

"No," Sesshoumaru answered, lacing their fingers together and rubbing his thumb along the
petals of the ring. "When Hosenki showed me some of his previous work, a floral design
caught my eye. I could not help myself. The only woman on my mind as I designed this was
you. I found a separate ring elsewhere for her."

"Are you telling me you bought what you thought would be a completely useless engagement
ring just because?"

"Because I wanted another token of you. But it has found its true owner now."

Rin bit her lip, biting back a smile. "Sesshoumaru…before we get married, I think we need to
have a serious discussion about your spending habits. Keep this up, and our girls will be
spoiled rotten."

He kissed her hand, hiding a smile behind it. "They say you can't teach an old dog new
tricks."
 Rin rolled her eyes. "Maybe. But I suppose I'll spend the next eternity trying."

"You already know how to be a wife, I see." But he did not mind in the least—not if it meant
she would always be by his side. "I know it is your birthday, but I rather feel like I am the one
who received the gift."

"Is it tomorrow already?" Rin's eyes widened, and she clicked on his phone screen again. It
was just past one in the morning. "So it is." He watched her furrow her brows in thought and
wondered if she was calculating when he might have proposed. He had waited until midnight
for precisely this reason.

"Happy twenty-seventh birthday, Rin. I look forward to spending each one with you—now
and forever."

Chapter End Notes

So ends Part Three: Lessons in Love—I hope you enjoyed it! We're in the final stretch
now guys. Buckle up, because it's going to be a wild ride to the finish!
 The Wedding
Chapter Notes

Happy #SessRinVersary everyone! I may or may not have planned this chapter to
coincide with it…. Also, after reading the reviews from last chapter, it occurred to me
that I might have been hasty in saying last chapter ended Part Three. This…might be a
better chapter in which to end it. On that note, let's celebrate and enjoy!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

To continue their reenactment, Sesshoumaru and Rin camped out by the lake that night,
though they had no tent or any other supplies, for that matter. It was much warmer than when
they had last camped out, but the night air was still cool, so Sesshoumaru kept Rin wrapped
in his fur, and she had no complaints about comfort. As dawn broke through the trees and
lightened the sky, Rin stirred. She opened her eyes, and as had become a custom that never
failed to lift her heart, Sesshoumaru was the first thing she saw.

"Good morning…fiancé," she murmured, pressing a light kiss to his lips. His return kiss was
her morning greeting.

As she peered over his shoulder at the rays of light cutting through the purple sky, she
chuckled. "I feel like a teenager that stayed out all night."

"Why?"

"Because we're staying here with your whole family. If we don't get back soon, they'll know."

"Why does it matter that they know?" Sesshoumaru answered.

Rin sighed. "I'm just trying to be discreet. You wouldn't like knowing that Inuyasha and
Kagome were out canoodling all night, would you?" Seeing his nose scrunch up at the image,
she laughed. "See? And I'd really rather your parents not know every time we…uh…had
sex." Rin pushed herself up, looking for her clothes.

"Mother is already quite aware of when we do."

Rin froze. "She's what?"

Sesshoumaru sat up, quite unfazed. "She accosted me the morning after our first night
together. Her words were, 'I'm thankful I had the foresight to install soundproofing years ago.
Mind you, it doesn't hinder the smell.'"

Rin groaned and hid her face in her hands. "Is nothing sacred to your family?"
"Unfortunately, there are few secrets in our household."

"Well, let's see if we can at least keep this one. We'll head back and shower, so if we meet
anyone at breakfast, they won't be the wiser."

Unfortunately, this was just one more secret that could not be kept.

They snuck in through the side door, skipping the lobby so no nosy concierge would see
them, and headed for the elevator. However, when it descended and opened, it revealed none
other than a bag-laden Inuyasha and a yawning Kagome.

"Rin!" Kagome shrieked, jumping in front of Inuyasha and slapping his wrists in a poor
attempt to get him to hide the bags. "Sesshoumaru. W-What are you guys doing down here so
early?"

"I would ask you the same question," Rin said as the couple stepped out of the elevator. "This
is way too early for you to even think about getting up, Kagome."

"Not true! I have to be up this early for temple duties," she retorted with another yawn.

"But you like to sleep in on your days off."

Before Kagome could say anything else, Inuyasha sniffed, and his nose curled. "Oh geez,
Sesshoumaru, really? You guys were roughin' it in the woods again?"

Sesshoumaru bared his teeth while Kagome just stared at her husband in confusion. "Honey,
what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Rin stressed at the same time Inuyasha said, "Outdoor sex."

Rin hid her face in her hands again. Kagome's eyes widened, and she turned a way-too-
excited look on her sister. Then her grin slipped off her face as she stared at Rin's face—or
rather, the hands covering it. "What is that?"

"What is what?" Rin asked, pulling her hands down.

Kagome darted forward like an eel and yanked Rin's left hand up to her face. She gasped.
"Oh my—! You didn't." Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru in awe. "You did."

"Words, Kagome," Inuyasha griped.

"You got engaged!" Kagome squealed, wrapping her arms around her sister, practically
squishing the babies between them.

"Say what?" Inuyasha asked, doing a double-take.

"Congratulations!" Kagome screeched, turning to hug Sesshoumaru, though he promptly

stepped out of her way. She frowned and threw him a dirty look before wiping it away with a
smile and spinning back over to Rin. She took Rin's hands again, looking at the ring while
bouncing on her feet. "Damn, Big Brother, you really hit this one out of the park! This
is so Rin. Who knew you were such a romantic?"

"Sesshoumaru? Romantic? When hell freezes over. Let me see that," Inuyasha said, peering
over his wife's shoulder. "Huh. Well, it's pretty…unique, I guess."

"Don't be mean. It's gorgeous. Oh Rin, you're so lucky!"

"Hey!" Inuyasha protested. "I got you a custom ring too!"

"Yes, dear, and it's lovely," Kagome answered, patting his cheek. "But that's not important
right now. What's important is that we've got to prepare!"

Rin chuckled weakly. "Um, maybe we can hold off on that for a couple days—"

Kagome smashed the elevator button, and the doors opened back up. She practically pushed
Rin inside and gestured for Sesshoumaru to get in as well. "You two go shower and get
dressed, and we'll talk this out over breakfast, okay? Okay. See you soon!" As the doors
closed, Kagome snatched Inuyasha's hand, the bags he held rustling as she dragged him down
the hall. "Hurry! We've got to—" The doors cut off her words.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru said, looking at the doors as if he could see through them.

"What?" Rin asked.

"Family is quite meddlesome."

"Oh, come on. They mean well."

By the time they reached their room, Kagome had already texted Rin.

Kagome: Take your time getting ready! Meet us for breakfast at 9. Wear something cute. I'm
taking pictures for Mom.

Rin just shook her head with a smile and responded affirmatively.

At the appointed time, they headed down to the dining hall. As soon as they opened the
doors, party poppers cracked the air, and confetti fell on the two of them.

"Happy Birthday and congratulations!"

Rin stared in shock as confetti slipped off her head and onto her chest. Sesshoumaru brushed
some off his lapel. Kagome and Inuyasha held the two party poppers on either side of the
door. Izayoi, Touga, and Inukimi all stood around the table, the former two smiling widely
and clapping, while the lattermost stood and observed. A store-bought "Happy Birthday"
banner hung on the wall, and a hastily printed-and-taped-together paper one with wedding
rings and "Congratulations on Your Engagement" written out hung below it. Balloons and
streamers peppered the walls and ceiling.

"You guys, what is all this?" Rin asked as Kagome came up and gave her another hug.
"Just a little birthday breakfast for you! Or, well, it was a birthday breakfast, but then Mr.
Romantic here had to go and spring an engagement on us, so it just gave us another reason to
celebrate!" Kagome announced, elbowing her brother-in-law. He frowned, looking down at
his side like she had dirtied it. "Come on, sit down! We have all your favorites."

No sooner had Rin sat down than Izayoi asked, "Will you show us the ring, dear?"

Rin frowned in puzzlement. "You haven't already seen it?" She extended her hand, showing
off the rosy primrose on its gold and white bands.

Touga shook his head. "I take it this is the actual ring Hosenki crafted?" Sesshoumaru did not
deign to respond, but his father must have taken it for a yes, for he only added, "Your sudden
desire to speak with him at the engagement party now makes much more sense."

"It's beautiful, Rin. Sesshoumaru, you did an outstanding job," Izayoi said, smiling at him. He
merely nodded in acknowledgment.

"I did not think you one for poetry, son," Inukimi said from the other end of the table, and
everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes were locked on the ring. "There is a great deal of
symbolism in that ring."

"Yes," her son replied.

Of course, that just meant everyone had to know what the symbolism was, and Rin was left
to explain while the family dug into the meal. After that explanation, of course, Kagome
demanded to know how Sesshoumaru popped the question, so Rin told them, omitting the
fact that they had promptly had sex afterwards (though from the look on Inuyasha's face, he
knew exactly what they were leaving out).

At one point, Izayoi asked them, "So, do you have an idea of when you'd like to get
married?"

Rin and Sesshoumaru looked at each other. He didn't seem inclined to say anything, so Rin
looked away and said, "Well, we haven't quite discussed that yet."

Kagome pulled out of her conversation with Inuyasha and Touga and snapped her head over
towards them, like a dog sniffing out a treat. "Well, there's no time like the present! Would
you be looking to have an autumn wedding or a spring one?"

Rin blinked, her heart unexpectedly dropping at the remark. She knew why Kagome asked:
since they were held in outdoor temples, Shinto weddings traditionally occurred in the spring
and autumn, when the weather was at its most pleasant.

"Gee, I don't know," Rin said, running her finger over the designs on her ceramic tea cup.
"Spring just seems so far away, and in that case, autumn would be better, but…we're going to
be busy with the kids and all. I'd rather be married sooner than later, but autumn seems
daunting."
Sesshoumaru slid a look in her direction. "We do not have to hold a ceremony, Rin. We can
simply go to the government office and register the marriage."

She nodded slowly, her eyes still downcast. "I suppose there is that option."

Kagome frowned and slammed a hand on the table, causing everyone but Sesshoumaru and
his mother to jump. "Nonsense! Sesshoumaru, you've gone out of your way to give Rin this
beautiful engagement ring in the most perfect way possible. You will not ruin the romance
now and deprive my sister of the dream wedding she deserves!"

"Kagome, please. I really don't need anything that big or involved," Rin placated. Then she
looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Besides, I think…smaller is better for both of us."

"So…you don't want to have a wedding?" Kagome asked, looking rather put out.

"It's not that," Rin hedged. "It's just…." She lapsed off, unsure of how to put her feelings into
words and hesitant with so many people listening in.

Inukimi sighed. "Speak your mind, child. Make sure you and Sesshoumaru are on the same
page, and do not let others sway you in their excitement." She cut a look at Kagome, who
reciprocated.

Rin looked up at her mother-in-law. "That's just it, Mother. I don't know what I want. Yes,
part of me wants to just go sign the paperwork so we're legally married before the girls are
born. I know we're mated by demon customs, but…from my human standpoint, it just doesn't
feel right to me to have our children born out of wedlock."

When she hesitated again, Inukimi prompted, "And the other part?"

Rin pursed her lips, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "There's another part of me that…
you know…wants the ceremony and the party and everything. I-I'm not saying it has to be a
big deal, like Inuyasha and Kagome's was," she rushed to say. "But…seeing what they had, it
was beautiful and fun—well, minus the part where we scandalized the who guest list, and I
broke down in tears and sent Sesshoumaru away—but before that, everything was lovely, and
I just…want a little of that for myself. I know it's a shallow reason, but…." She trailed off,
unable to look anyone in the eye.

Kagome frowned in confusion. "There's nothing shallow with wanting a party to celebrate
your wedding. Most everyone does—it's a big deal! Oh, wait. Is this because Sesshoumaru's
not a party person? Are you afraid he wouldn't show up for his own wedding?"

Inuyasha snorted into his drink, and Touga laughed while Izayoi hid a smile behind her hand.
Even Inukimi's lips twitched. Sesshoumaru, however, just glowered at his sister-in-law.

"If Rin wants a wedding ceremony, you can be certain I will attend," he answered.

"Glad to know you wouldn't leave her at the altar," Kagome sniped right back.

"Are you sure?" Rin asked him, laying a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, and his
features immediately softened.
"Of course."

"But…you weren't even going to attend your own brother's wedding if Touga hadn't called
you," Rin replied in a quiet voice.

Sesshoumaru stiffened. "I had my reasons."

"Yeah, two of them: stubbornness and jealousy," Inuyasha cut in. Sesshoumaru whipped
around and glared at his brother, who picked his ear, unconcerned. "What, am I wrong? It
was pretty obvious after the fact. I mean, you're a dick, but even I had expected that by now,
you'd show up for a big family function like that. But you were just so dead-set on me not
marrying Kagome, when you wouldn't have given a rat's ass what I had done before. So
admit it: you just couldn't stand to see me marrying a human because you were too damn
scared that you couldn't make your own human mate happy."

Sesshoumaru shot to his feet. "To the dojo, Inuyasha. We will settle this with actions, not
words."

Inuyasha leapt up with a grin. "Hell yeah, I'll take you on."

"Boys, stop!" Izayoi snapped. "We are in the middle of celebrating—" But both Sesshoumaru
and Inuyasha ignored her, heading out the door. Izayoi huffed and turned to her husband. "Do
something about this!"

"I'll go see if I can get them to settle down," Touga said, getting up and following his sons.
"Sorry about this, Rin," he muttered as he passed.

"It's fine," Rin called back. Honestly, she was more comfortable talking about this with fewer
people anyway.

Izayoi shook her head. "I swear, one day we're going to have a nice, family meal without
them fighting over something."

"Hn. Good luck with that," Inukimi muttered.

"Hey, consider yourself lucky, Rin," Kagome said. "This went much smoother
than my engagement dinner did. Now let's get back to what's important. You were saying you
want to get married before the babies are born, and you want a party…so what's stopping
you?"

"Oh, Kagome, open your eyes! I don't want to be paraded in front of people looking like
this!" Rin answered, putting her hands on her stomach. "I mean…it's an obvious shotgun
wedding!"

"So? Everyone you care about already knows you're unmarried and pregnant." Even Izayoi
winced at her bluntness.

Rin's head fell into her hands. "Yes, but…but is it so wrong to want to look my best self in a
wedding dress?"
"Oh, I see. You want to be married before the babies are born, but you want your post-birth
body," Kagome said. Rin nodded miserably. Kagome chewed her thumbnail in thought. "And
of course, there's also the stress of planning a wedding and party on such short notice. The
girls are due in about six weeks. I mean, regular wedding planning is stressful enough, but on
a shortened timeline? Nightmare. Take it from me—short term wedding planning is stressful
as hell. And we know you don't need any more stress in your life. You just got off bed rest,
after all."

"Yeah…and six weeks is a lot shorter than three months too," Rin added. Kagome hummed in
agreement.

After a moment, Izayoi spoke up. "Is it possible to compromise?"

Rin perked up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it seems to me that you have something critical in your favor: your family owns a
shrine, and your grandfather is a priest, so he could technically perform the Shinto ceremony
for you anytime you want, even if it was…out of season, so to speak, correct?" Rin nodded.

Kagome pointed at her mother-in-law. "I think you're onto something here. The only issue
there is renting the bridal kimono and team, but…I can call the team I used and see if they
have an opening in the next month. It's a long-shot, but—"

"Do not bother," Inukimi interjected. All the women turned to look at her. She examined her
nails. "Between myself and Izayoi, I believe we have the attire and skills to dress a bride and
her hair."

"Well, I can certainly help with her hair," Izayoi said, reaching out and fingering Rin's long
lengths, as if already planning what to do with it. "But I'm short a wedding kimono. Touga
and I eloped, you see, since my father never would have agreed to marry me to a demon," she
explained to her daughters. "We found a faraway shrine and wore the clothes on our backs."

Inukimi looked Rin over. "It would need adjusting, but she can wear my old wedding
kimono."

Rin's eyes bulged. "Y-Your wedding kimono? Y-You still have it?"

"Certainly."

Should I even be surprised? She did hold onto Sesshoumaru's baby blankets and kimonos for
centuries. But still…her wedding kimono must be even more ancient!

"A-Are you sure? I wouldn't want to sully such a precious…artifact," Rin said.

Inukimi's nose crinkled. "Now you're just making me feel old. Relax, child. It is demon
fabric. It repairs itself with a little demonic energy. We'd have to adjust it, of course—you
are much shorter than I am—but the extra length will be useful in compensating for your…
condition."

Rin's eyes watered. "Mother…I'd be honored." She bowed her head.

Inukimi waved her off. "It is nothing to cry over. Honestly, I don't even know why I kept it.
It's not as if I was ever going to have any more use for it. It's only collecting dust."

Kagome smiled. "This is great. Okay, so what part of this is the compromise?" she asked,
turning back to Izayoi.

"Well, you can sign the paperwork and have the Shinto ceremony before they're born, to
make everything legal and morally sound, yes? But then, just…delay the reception until after
the children are born and you've had some time to recuperate. This way, you still get to have
the figure you want, everyone gets to celebrate, and—"

"And the babies get to be put in cute little dresses!" Kagome cut in with a screech, stars in her
eyes. "Oh Rin, can you just imagine them all dolled up for their first major outing?"

Rin giggled. "Kagome, we don't even know what they look like yet."

"Who cares? They'll be so precious, either way! Oh, I love this plan, Izayoi. Rin, what do you
think?"

Rin nodded slowly. "I think I can live with that."

"Good," Izayoi answered. "Because despite Sesshoumaru's intolerance for social gatherings,
Touga will be adamant about giving you two the same party treatment he gave Inuyasha and
Kagome, and he'll need time to pull all that together."

Rin nodded faster and faster, getting more excited about the idea. "Okay. Then…yes! Let's do
it." If Sesshoumaru had any issue with it, she'd convince him later.

"Woo-hoo!" Kagome cried, fist-pumping the air. "So, first things first: when are we going to
have this wedding? We've only got a six-week timeline to work in here."

Inukimi cleared her throat. "Calm yourself. It's best to consult the men on this matter. After
all, do you remember why we're here? They've instituted a timeline where confronting
Naraku is concerned."

"Ergh, way to kill the mood, Inukimi," Kagome grumbled. She sighed. "But you're right.
Inuyasha mentioned something about things going down within the month. So…we might
only have a couple weeks to get this ready. Which means we have to start planning now." She
held out her hand to Rin. "Hand over your phone."

Rin batted it away. "Ah-ah. Never again. You've lost your phone-handling privileges after
that stunt you pulled with Shippou."

"Ugh, fine. Would you please unlock your phone and show it to me?"

"Why?"

"Just do it!"
Rin rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, unlocking it. Kagome reached over and swiped
around until she found the Pinterest app and hit it.

"We've got a wedding board to start."

July 10th. For months, Rin had known her life would change by the end of it. When Dr.
Jinenji moved her due date, it threw her off, and she had a hard time adjusting to the fact that
that day would no longer be special.

But now it would be. Because that was now that day she was getting married.

In her old bedroom at the Higurashi shrine, Rin stared at herself in the mirror in awe. She had
tried on Inukimi's old wedding kimono a couple weeks ago to check the fit, but now seeing
the entire ensemble left her unable to breathe. (Granted, that could have been that fact that
she was wearing about four layers of fabric.) "Mother…this is too much. I…I look like a
princess."

"As you should. Any daughter-in-law of mine is a princess," Inukimi tutted, sticking another
hairpin into the already-elaborate up-do she and Izayoi had labored over.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked.

Inukimi glanced askance at her in the mirror. "You are aware my son is a prince of the Dog
Demon Clan, are you not? The titles are basically meaningless nowadays, but demons have
long memories and still respect them."

Rin blinked. "P-Prince? But I thought Touga was a general."

Inukimi moved on to straightening out the back of Rin's obi. "Back then, warlords were the
ruling class, child. Even among humans, they were more powerful than the emperor himself.
Make no mistake: in mating my son, you became a princess of this clan. So it is only fitting
that you wear a kimono will all the proper symbols of our clan." Indeed, the subtle ivory
patterns stitched into the silk shone in the proper light: a mix of cloud-like swirls and the
floral emblem of the clan.

Rin began tearing up, and Mama rushed forward with a tissue. "Sweetie, I know it's
waterproof makeup, but it's not perfect. Try not to cry before we even get downstairs." Since
Izayoi and Inukimi took care of her clothes and hair, Mama had done her makeup for her. She
eschewed the traditional pale face powder and bold eye and lips colors, focused instead on
highlighting Rin's lips and eyes with a soft, natural pink.

"H-How can I not?" Rin sniffed. "I have t-three mothers…w-who have been so wonderful to
me. A-All of you have accepted me…into your families…when I was n-nothing but an
outsider!" Tears fell from her eyes, and Mama was quick to catch them with the tissue.

"Oh, my dear," Izayoi said, giving her a careful side-hug. "You make it impossible not to
welcome you with open arms. So, you're happy then with how everything's turned out? Any
last-minute changes to your hair or makeup?"
Rin shook her head, fanning her eyes to dry them. "No, it's perfect. I mean…just look at this
kimono. I look hardly half as pregnant as I am!" No amount of clothing in the world could
hide a nine-months' distended stomach bursting with twins, but with all the layers that made
up the trailing, white kimono, she was so padded that her silhouette was much more
gradual. Good thing kimonos were always meant to hide a woman's figure rather than
enhance it.

Granted, she was already cooking like a rice maker beneath so much fabric. Now she could
truly appreciate why Shinto weddings were usually only held in the spring and autumn.
Wearing these in the summer was akin to torture, but she could bear it for the hour or so that
the ceremony and photographs would take.

Inukimi huffed. "Izayoi and I spend an hour on your hair, and that is all you care about?"

Rin blushed and hastened to add, "Of course, my hair looks beautiful, Mother! Thank you so
much!" She tried to bow, but between her belly and bulky wedding ensemble, she could
barely make an angle.

Since Rin's hair wasn't quite as long as that of the princesses of old, Izayoi and Inukimi
modified some traditional styles to give the up-do a slightly sleeker, more modern twist. Rin
preferred it that way, honestly. While she had nothing against the traditional wig Kagome had
worn, she thought this style suited her much better. And in this way, she could combine both
the ancient traditions of her husband's family with the more modern sensibilities she had.

"Don't listen to her," Izayoi answered. "We know you're thankful, and we both know every
girl wants to look like her ideal self on her wedding day."

"There's only one piece left," Mama said, picking up the wataboshi hood. She carefully
placed it over Rin's head, making sure not to disturb the careful work her in-laws had done.
When she stepped back, Rin looked herself over in the mirror again now that her outfit was
complete.

She smiled, remembering how Sesshoumaru had worked to convince her that he found her
bare, pregnant body beautiful. Now, she truly felt beautiful without even having to try. "Do
you think he'll like it?" she asked in a hopeful, slightly hesitant voice.

Mama smiled. "Absolutely. I can't wait to see his face when he sees you."

"Do not expect to see much of a change," Inukimi warned. Then she looked down at Rin.
"Even so, you will feel it through the bond."

Rin nodded. She knew his face would do little to betray his true feelings, but that hadn't
stopped her from requesting a first look photo session anyway. "Somebody's going to help me
down the stairs, right? I'm not sure I'll make it," Rin giggled nervously.

"I'd carry you down if it wasn't going to wrinkle the silk," Inukimi muttered, running a hand
over the sleeve.
"I'll go tell the photographer to get ready," Izayoi said, stepping out of the room and hurrying
down the stairs.

Mama looked over at Inukimi. "May I have a moment with my daughter?"

Inukimi didn't answer but simply left the room, shutting the door on the way out. Her
footsteps down the stairs let Rin know that she was at least giving them as much privacy as
possible, given that it was likely she could still hear them, no matter where she was in the
house.

Mama took Rin's hands in hers, her eyes misting over. "I can't believe it—both my girls
married in one summer. And next month, my first grandchildren will be here. I feel so
completely blessed."

Rin blinked furiously, trying to banish the tears that threatened to resurface. "Oh Mama,
thank you for everything. I know this year hasn't been what you expected at all, but…thank
you for supporting me through all of it."

"Of course. You're my little girl, Rin. Nothing will ever change that," Mama said, kissing her
cheek. "One of the best decisions your dad and I ever made was to adopt you. And I just
know he and your birth family are looking down on you now, and they are all so proud of
you, just like I am."

"Oh, Mama…" Rin said, her voice breaking. Her tears broke past the dam, and Mama fetched
another tissue to dry them.

Mama took a shuddering breath as she dabbed at Rin's face. "I know you've been living with
Sesshoumaru already for the past couple of months, but it just…didn't feel quite real yet. It
just felt like you were still living away from home, even though you were much closer. Now
though…I really feel like I'm handing off my daughter to a new family." Mama brought the
tissue to her own eyes. "Promise you won't forget your mother once you're in wedded and
baby bliss, alright?"

"Oh, Mama, of course I wouldn't forget you!" Rin said, daring to hug her. She could barely
put her arms around her mother with all the layers and a belly between them. "You have a
standing invitation to come over to the estate anytime you want. And of course, I'll bring the
girls to the shrine often."

"Bring Sesshoumaru too," her mother chuckled.

Rin grinned. "Of course!"

"Well now, let's get you downstairs."

They opened the door, and no sooner had they than Kagome bounded up the stairs. She was
dressed in her priestess robes and had been helping Grandpa prepare for the ceremony. She
gasped when she saw Rin. "Sis! You look so beautiful! Just look at this kimono!" She held up
part of the long train of pearly fabrics. "You're going to knock Sesshoumaru dead when he
sees you like this."
Rin laughed. "I certainly hope not. I don't want to become a widow on my wedding day."

"Oh, don't speak of such unlucky things. Come now, Kagome. Help me get her down," Mama
fussed. Kagome held out a hand to Rin, so between holding onto her and the banister, Rin
edged her way down the steps, and Mama held up her train. When they reached the front
door, Kagome paused before opening it.

"Are you ready?"

Rin nodded. She was more than ready to be married to the love of her life.

Kagome pulled open the door, and Rin stepped out into late morning sun, leaving behind the
air conditioning for the simmering outdoors. At least the Sacred Tree shaded most of the
shrine from the burning rays.

But when she locked eyes with Sesshoumaru and his surprise zinged through her, she no
longer cared about the heat. Her lips broke out into a beaming smile as she took in his
widened eyes and just-parted lips. The expression on him was akin to his jaw falling open.

On the edge of Rin's vision, where she wasn't paying attention, the demon photographer's
camera clicked.

As they walked toward each other, she delighted in the fact that she could still shock him
with her beauty, even after he had already seen all of her, pregnant or not. He himself stood
striking in his black groom's kimono, the floral emblems of his clan on his sleeves. His fur
hung like a massive tail over his shoulder, and his unbound, silver hair almost blinded her
like the sun. The only way he could have been more perfect was if he had not had to cover up
his demonic markings with makeup or wear his contacts. She hated that he had to hide, even
on his wedding day, but in a public atmosphere like the Higurashi shrine, none of his family
was taking any chances.

Their hands reached for each others' as if of their own accord.

"Exquisite," he murmured.

"As are you," she answered.

"Only one thing could improve this vision before me," Sesshoumaru said.

Rin's brows rose in mock affront. She knew he would not say such words lightly. "Oh? And
what is that?" From his sleeve, he produced a red chrysanthemum, its bloom as big as her
palm. She gasped. "Where did you get that? It's not in season yet!" Click.

"Seasonality means little to plant demons who own nurseries," he answered. "And I needed
this precise flower for today."

She grinned. Click. "Are you trying to say you love me?"

"Passionately," he answered. "With the hope that our lives together will be long and joyful,
for no matter what, I will never leave your side."
Rin fought back the tears again, for that was precisely what a red chrysanthemum indicated.
Once again, he had found her the perfect flower.

"May I?" he asked, indicating her ear. She nodded, and he carefully slipped his hand beneath
the wataboshi, tucking the stem into her hair like an ornament and resting the head of the
flower in the crook of her ear. Meanwhile, the photographer snapped away. When
Sesshoumaru pulled his hand back, he looked at her again, his lips just barely tilting
up. Click. "Now you are perfect."

They might have stayed there forever, looking into each other's eyes, had Grandpa not cleared
his throat behind them and asked, "Are we ready to begin?" Rin nodded enthusiastically, so
Sesshoumaru guided her towards their family, who was grouped by the Sacred Tree. Kagome
ran up to Grandpa's side, and Mama took her place next to Souta and Moe. Inuyasha stood
between his parents, and Inukimi hovered on Touga's other side. Everyone was dressed in
their finest traditional attire for the ceremony.

"Approach the Sacred Tree," Grandpa announced, gesturing to where they should stand. As
they did, Sesshoumaru looked up at the tree, swooped down and scooped up a stray pebble.
He flicked to into the leaves as he would when aiming for Jaken's head, and something fat
fluttered out of it, flying away.

"Sesshoumaru, what are you doing?" Rin hissed. This was not the way to start off asking the
Tree for its blessings. "Why disturb the poor bird?"

"That was no bird," Sesshoumaru answered, glaring in the direction in which the creature had
flown off.

"Then what—"

Grandpa cleared his throat again and shook his onusa, the papery tendrils rustling as he did.
"Oh Sacred Tree, which has stood watch upon this shrine for generations, we offer up this
prayer of thanksgiving. As we gather here today to celebrate the union of Sesshoumaru
Nishikuni and our own Rin Higurashi, we beseech you to watch over them and guide them on
their matrimonial journey."

Grandpa then held out a wooden pail and ladle to Sesshoumaru and Rin. First, Rin took the
ladle, dipped it into the water, and spread it over the Tree's roots. She clapped her hands twice
and bowed to the Tree. "Oh Sacred Tree," she murmured, "thank you for watching over me
these many years. May you continue to watch over our family and all those that enter into it
as well."

She handed the ladle to Sesshoumaru, and her perfunctorily spread water over the Tree's roots
as well. She did not expect him to offer up a prayer, as she had, but to her surprise, when he
replaced the ladle, he stared hard at the trunk of the Tree and said, "Entrust your care of her to
me. Watch over her when I cannot."

Apparently, Grandpa too realized that that was the best prayer he was going to get from
Sesshoumaru, so then he led the family in a procession towards the temple proper. As they
walked, Rin leaned over and whispered, "Thank you for offering a prayer to the Tree."
"It was no prayer. A sentient tree is no god."

Rin frowned. "Sentient tree?"

"It is not the first I have encountered."

She would have asked more, but by then, they had reached the temple steps, and he had to
help her up them. Then he led her inside to the altar containing the traditional Shinto wedding
ceremony items. She held his hand as they knelt. Their families trailed in behind them, taking
their seats along either side of the aisle, while Kagome came to stand next to Grandpa.

"Oh great gods of the land, as once Izanagi took Izanami as his wife, so too does
Sesshoumaru Nishikuni come today to take Rin Higurashi's hand in marriage and asks for
your blessing," Grandpa announced. "We beseech that you bestow it upon them with these
three ritual sake cups."

Rin had convinced Grandpa that a few sips of sake wouldn't harm her pregnancy; they were
already toying enough with tradition for this ceremony, and she did not want to do so more
than was necessary.

"With this first cup from the heavens, honor your ancestors and ask for their guidance,"
Grandpa intoned as Kagome came and poured sake into Sesshoumaru's dish first. He drank.
Then Kagome moved to Rin's dish, and she followed suit. "With this second cup of the earth,
reflect on the bond you share and vow to cherish one another for as long as you live." Again,
after Kagome poured their sake, they each drank in turn. "With this third and final cup of
humanity, pray that the gods, ah…continue to bless you with children." Rin bit back an
embarrassed smile, knowing Grandpa had altered that line in their case, since they had rather
jumped the gun on having them.

I pray for the health of these children and any yet to come, she thought as she sipped the third
cup.

Then, Grandpa passed Sesshoumaru the vows to read. Sesshoumaru unfurled the rice paper,
and Rin read over his shoulder as his deep baritone announced, "On this great day, before the
great god, we are sincerely thankful for this ceremony. Going forward, we will love each
other, trust one another, share the good times and the bad, and swear that this shall stay
unchanged throughout our lifetimes. In the year 2021, July 10th. Husband."

"Wife," Rin said, thus affirming the vow.

Then they offered sprigs of evergreens to the gods, and finally came time to exchange
wedding bands.

Almost as soon as they had decided the date for the wedding, Sesshoumaru took Rin to see
Hosenki so they could design their wedding bands. When Hosenki saw the primrose ring
upon her finger, he smiled, revealing rows of jagged shark teeth that belied his kind
appearance. "I'm pleased to see my ring has found its rightful home at last. It wasn't meant to
languish in a pocket forever."
"You knew?" Rin asked in astonishment.

"Of course I knew," Hosenki scoffed. "That Zero was going around showing off a ring and
saying it was my work when it most certainly was not! Your mate here had no choice but to
come clean to me." He sniffed and looked down on Sesshoumaru from within the safety of
his large clam shell. "I've heard rumors of how this mess of yours worked out. While I was
hoping you'd have come to your senses on your own without outside involvement, I suppose
what matters in the end is that everything is as it should be."

Rin's brows puckered in concern. "Please don't give him a hard time. He meant well."

"Bah! They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"Enough," Sesshoumaru cut in, his irritation leaking through their bond. "Do you want our
business of not?"

"Of course, of course. Silly me, letting my mouth run away with me. I suppose you'll be
wanting wedding rings now, is that right?" When the couple nodded, he beckoned to Rin.
"May I see the ring on your finger?"

She nodded and held out her hand to him. He hemmed and hawed, examining the ring from
every angle. "Will you continue wearing the engagement ring once you're married? I know
it's rather unconventional in this country."

"Of course!" Rin exclaimed. "How could I not after all the thought he put into it?"

Hosenki nodded with a smile. "Then I must match it to your ring here."

"Are wedding rings not simple gold bands?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Hosenki tutted. "What century are you living in? Do I look like the type of demon to craft
something so simple for some of my best clients? No, no—you'll have something uniquely
you. Besides, gold only represents the lady here; we need the white gold as well to represent
you. But it mustn't clash with the lady's engagement ring either. It should be a solid band, not
twisted then. Still, it doesn't seem like enough…."

"I'm sure whatever you craft will be perfect, Hosenki-san," Rin said. "After all, your work on
my engagement ring was nothing short of perfect."

Hosenki beamed. "Such a kind mate you have, Sesshoumaru. You could learn a thing or two
from her, I think."

Sesshoumaru looked back at Rin. "Are you certain you wish to leave the design up to him?"

She nodded. "I promise I'm fine with it."

Hosenki watched the two of them go back and forth and then snapped his fingers. "Ah ha! I
have it. You're in luck, my friends. I've been cultivating some special pearls these last few
years. I was inspired by the legendary Rainbow Pearls, which I heard can graft the memories
of those who possess them onto another. It occurs to me that your mating mark only goes one
way—is that not so?" Rin nodded. "Then what would you say if I could create a ring with the
ability for Sesshoumaru to feel your emotions, Rin, as you feel his? Mind you, it would only
be possible when he's wearing the ring, but it might be the closest you'll get to mirroring the
full effects of a demonic mating bond."

Rin gasped and turned to her fiancé. "Sesshoumaru, would you like that?"

Her heart resonated with his joy as he said, "Nothing would make me happier."

"Then it's settled!" Hosenki announced, rooting through his shell. He pulled out a couple sake
dishes. "Of course, we don't want just anyone to feel Rin -sama's emotions when putting on
the ring, so in addition to taking a bit of her blood, I will need some from you as well,
Sesshoumaru-sama."

With nary a thought, Sesshoumaru sliced open his own palm with his talons, letting the blood
run into the dish. When Hosenki gave a dish to Rin, Sesshoumaru carefully nicked the pad of
her forefinger with his talon, letting a few drops into the dish.

"That's enough," Hosenki said, taking back the cups. "I will feed these to the oyster
cultivating your pearl, so that their essence seeps into it."

"Can you really make an enchanted pearl in just a couple weeks?" Rin asked.

"It will not be easy, but I have worked on shortened timelines before. Fear not! You will have
these bands in time for your wedding." After he took their finger measurements, he promptly
closed up his shell and sank into the water.

Now, Rin looked at the jeweler demon's fine work. She had already seen the rings, of course
—two smooth bands of yellow and white gold melded together seamlessly in oblong rings,
the yellow part thicker on one side, the white part thicker on the other, and the two dividing
the ring equally between them. On Sesshoumaru's ring, a tiny half-pearl with a pinkish tint
lay embedded in the center of the dominant gold half. On Rin's ring, the half-pearl lay on the
dominant silver half. However, they had yet to try them on. Hosenki had promised they
would not only fit but work as well, and Rin wanted to wait for this moment for Sesshoumaru
to experience her feelings for the first time.

They had also kept it a secret from their families, wanting to make it a surprise…assuming
the rings worked.

Sesshoumaru grasped her hand first and gently slid the ring onto her finger. Rin couldn't help
it: twin tears dropped from her eyes as he once again marked her as his. She then took his
slender hand—he had trimmed his claws and put makeup on his forearms for the day, she
noticed—and slid the ring on his otherwise unadorned finger.

Rin looked up into his face, biting her lip as she struggled to keep her curiosity and
excitement off her face and in her heart. Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed, and he glanced
aside, as if struggling to understand something.

Are my emotions not strong enough? Rin wondered, a hint of worry creeping in.
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. "Rin, what is wrong?" Their families looked up, suddenly
concerned.

Rin gasped, joy bubbling up in her heart. "Could you feel that?"

He nodded, and Rin squealed, pulling his head down for a kiss. Click.

Kagome whooped and Souta whistled, while Touga laughed and the others just looked on in
varying degrees of shock. When Rin allowed Sesshoumaru to pull away, he looked a little
dazed, and a hint of discomfort filtered through their strengthened bond, but she knew that
was only from the fact that she had surprised him with a little PDA.

"I know you're excited, dear, but this is not a Western ceremony," Grandpa whispered, not
unkindly, to his granddaughter.

Rin couldn't tuck in her smile. "I'm sorry, Grandpa, but I can't help it." She turned to face the
family, who was waiting for Kagome to finish pouring the sake. Rin held up her and
Sesshoumaru's hands, showing off the wedding rings. "Because thanks to Hosenki,
Sesshoumaru can now feel my emotions, as if we were fully bonded."

Touga's eyes widened, and Izayoi gasped. Even Kagome stopped pouring Souta's sake too
look at them in shock. He tapped a finger on the spout of the pot to drip some sake into his
cup. "I don't know what that means, but it sounds like the perfect time to offer
congratulations, don't you think?"

The family members all grabbed their cups and held them up. "Congratulations!" they
announced at various volumes, downing their cups.

When Touga slammed down his finished cup, he asked, "Is it true, Sesshoumaru? You can
feel Rin's emotions?"

Sesshoumaru looked back down at Rin, and the barest hint of a smile slipped onto his face.
"Yes, Father. A layer of happiness over my own."

The temple erupted in applause—and a vow that Hosenki was going to have a couple more
imminent orders for such pearls.

With the ceremony concluded, they moved outside to take photos. First, Rin and
Sesshoumaru had their own session, taking several portraits just of themselves. Then the
photographer lined up the whole family in front of the Sacred Tree to take a formal portrait.

Inuyasha suddenly made a face and sniffed just as the photographer snapped the photo. He
looked at his camera and sighed. "Inuyasha-sama, please restrain yourself. Once more."

"No, hold on. I smell someone coming. Someone…familiar." He furrowed his brows in
thought, but the photographer took the photo anyway.

Just then, a bunch of car doors slammed on the street below them, and the clack of boots on
stone resounded through the otherwise quiet temple. "What in the world?" Grandpa said. "I
 know I put a sign out saying we were holding a private ceremony today." He walked to the
top of the stairs to go tell off whoever was coming, and suddenly he yelped.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Mama asked.

Grandpa scurried back over, waving at the house and hissing, "Quick! Hide them! Run away!
Get them out of here!"

"Who?" Mama asked.

Touga stared at the steps and frowned. "Too late."

Sesshoumaru stiffened and held Rin against him. "I will not leave you."

"What's happening?" Rin asked.

Just then, two heads crested the top of the steps, and as they climbed up, their form-fitting,
black uniforms came into view sporting the Demon Slayer Corps crest on their breasts.

Rin sucked in a breath and grabbed Sesshoumaru's hands, her heart lurching out of her
chest. What are they doing here?

Two dozen demon slayers fanned out across the temple yard, guns cradled in their arms. As
the final two parted, one last woman brought up the rear, walking between the ranks and
approaching the family. Unlike the others, she did not carry her gun. Though age lined her
face, she strode forward without hesitation, and her silken black hair glimmered with only a
few silver streaks. Rin blinked, knowing she looked familiar but forgetting why.

Then Inuyasha murmured, "Kikyou."

Kikyou's eyes shot towards him, widening only fractionally before she turned to scan the rest
of the family.

"Ma'am, as you can see, w-we are in the middle of a ceremony. W-What is all this about?"
Grandpa asked, puffing out his chest and stepping forward.

Kikyou straightened, looking down her nose at him, and announced, "We have received an
anonymous tip that the Higurashi Shrine is harboring demons…though it seems 'harboring' is
quite the understatement." Her flinty, brown eyes took in Rin and Sesshoumaru in their
wedding garb as well as Inuyasha positioning himself in front of Kagome. "Therefore, you
are all under arrest for suspicion of harboring demons, being demons, and wedding them."

Chapter End Notes

…Not exactly how you thought the #SessRinWedding would go, did you? Don't kill me
—the fun's just getting started.
 Processing
Chapter Notes

Hey guys—sorry for the extra week's wait. I know this was a killer point to have to wait
longer, but my business trip a couple weeks ago threw off my whole writing groove (as
it tends to do).

One last note. I realize gun/sword laws in Japan are EXTREMELY strict. For the sake of
this story, I'm going to relax them just a tad—at least where the DSC is concerned. As
I've established that the improvement of weapons helped humans overcome demons, I
imagine that the country wouldn't have been nearly as strict in regulating the one
advantage humans had over demons. That said, I do believe that as demons died out,
they would have regulated guns more (because it's Japan), so all that to say, if things
seem TOO lax for Japan in this chapter…that's going to be the reason.

Anyway, I'll shut up, because I know what you're REALLY dying to read!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Everyone was so shocked by the pronouncement that no one spoke or moved. Seeing this,
Kikyou added, "Are you going to come quietly, or will we need to use force?"

"Now, just a minute Chief Kimura," Touga said, raising his hands to show he was unarmed
(and, incidentally, declawed) while stepping forward. "On what basis can you make this
arrest? An anonymous tip alone is not enough. Do you have a warrant?"

"I do not."

"Then by law, you cannot arrest us."

Kikyou's brows rose. "You presume to lecture me on the law?"

"I only wish to keep either side from panicking and escalating this situation."

"I see. However, as you are apparently so familiar with the law, you may recall that, even
without a warrant, I can make an arrest if I have undeniable proof of one being a demon or
associating with demons."

Touga's face remained neutral. "But you have no proof…unless you believe racially profiling
those of us here with European blood constitutes proof."

Rin had to hand it to Touga—he was handling this situation with unflappable calm. Her own
mind had gone completely blank. I need to be more like him and think on my feet.
"European blood?" Kikyou chuckled. "Is that what you tell people? Forgive me if I don't
believe it, because you see…I do have undeniable proof that at least one of you is a demon.
Or rather…half-demon. Don't I?" Kikyou asked, looking straight at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha didn't even react to her words. He seemed lost in his own world, staring vacantly at
the DSC chief.

Kikyou strode around Touga, passing by Sesshoumaru and Rin. Sesshoumaru backed away
from her, using his body as a shield between Rin and the demon slayer. But Kikyou paid him
no mind. She walked up to Inuyasha and Kagome, though she had eyes only for Inuyasha.
They stared at each other in silence for several tense seconds.

"So, we meet again, Yasha. I admit, this is unexpected." She reached out and fingered some
of his silver locks, but Inuyasha didn't even flinch.

What's wrong with him? Rin wondered. I don't understand. How do they know each other?
Why is Kikyou touching him so intimately? Why isn't Kagome saying something? Normally,
her sister could be counted upon to defend her territory, but right now, Kagome appeared to
be in a similar state of shock.

"I would say you've aged well, but somehow, I doubt this color is the result of age," Kikyou
continued. Inuyasha said nothing, and Kikyou finally turned to Kagome, who finally shook
herself out of her trance and tightened her possessive grip on Inuyasha. "Higurashi-san, under
different circumstances, I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, but…." She ran her eyes
over Inuyasha's arm wrapped around Kagome's shoulder, pressing her into him, and her
hands clutching at his kimono—as well as the wedding rings glinting on their fingers. "…It
seems you have been implicated in this matter as well." She sighed. "This is a pity, but I
suppose it all makes sense now. I had wondered at your sudden skittishness in joining the
Corps after we had such a lovely talk at the show." Despite all her dry words, the pity in her
eyes was real—Rin could tell that much. "I knew you reminded me of myself when I was
younger, but I would have never guessed we had the same taste in men. Or…half-demons,
rather."

Quick as a shot, Kikyou reached up and yanked up on the false human ears Inuyasha wore.
The headband tore off his head and upset his tall, eboshi hat, causing it to tumble to the
ground and reveal his dog ears.

Kikyou turned to Touga, spinning the headband around her finger. "And there is your proof.
Now, forgive me for profiling, but given the rather strong family resemblance between
several of you and the fact that this is a wedding, where only the closest of family members
attend, I have both undeniable proof and probable cause to arrest the lot of you. Now, I will
not repeat myself again: will you come quietly, or must we resort to force?"

Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru. The way he was glaring at Kikyou made her fear he was
going to choose the "force" option, but Touga shot his boys commanding looks, like an alpha
directing his pack. Whether Inuyasha registered the look or not was up for debate though.

"We will go quietly and see if we can sort this out," Touga said, making sure to meet
Inukimi's eyes as well. She just sighed as if getting arrested were simply a huge bother.
Kikyou smiled. "My sincere thanks for your cooperation. Now, if you would all place your
hands behind your backs." She snapped her fingers, and several slayers came forward, pulling
out handcuffs.

A male slayer reached Rin first and grabbed her arm, yanking it behind her back. She cried
out, and Sesshoumaru snarled, his hand at the man's throat in an instant.

Immediately, the beads of laser sights appeared across Sesshoumaru's body as the remaining
Slayers aimed their guns at him.

"No—Sesshoumaru, stop! Let him go. I'm fine," Rin said. She turned to Kikyou. "Please
don't hurt him—he's only trying to protect me. I promise we'll go quietly. It's just…you must
know that you've interrupted my wedding. I can hardly move in this outfit and…I'd rather not
have it too ruined. Please…won't you let me go and change into something easier to move
in?"

Kikyou frowned. "We don't make accommodations for criminals."

"Please," Rin begged. Demon fabric or not, she did not want to sully her mother-in-law's
precious wedding kimono. And she truly could hardly walk in it. She didn't even think she'd
be able to sit.

"Chief," the slayer holding Rin's arm piped up. "Honestly, it'll be hard to cuff her with all this
fabric in the way."

Kikyou sighed. "Very well." She turned and addressed two female slayers with their guns still
trained on Sesshoumaru. "Disengage. You two, escort this lady to get changed. Make sure
that is all she does." Kikyou gave Rin a look, as if warning her not to try anything funny.

It's not like I can escape, Rin thought grimly as the two slayers pulled her away from the
group and towards the house. In my state, I wouldn't make it far at all. Behind her, the slayers
moved into action, cuffing the rest of her family. Kikyou added, "And Officer Nanasuke? Do
recall that pregnant women are to be cuffed from the front, not the back."

"Ah, yes, Chief," the officer responded.

The female slayers accompanied Rin inside the house and up to her room. They entered her
bedroom with her and showed no plan of waiting outside as she undressed, so she had no
choice but to start peeling off layers in front of them. Though her skin crawled with
discomfort, she kept telling herself, Think of it like gym class.

However, she was also using her undressing as a means to stall.

Come on, you have to think of some way to help everyone. You managed to get back here,
but…what can you do? It's not like you have any special powers or resources.

Or did she? After all, she knew someone in the Corps, but….

What are the chances Sango would come to our aid when she finds out?
Well…it was a better plan than nothing. If she was lucky, Sango could vouch for them. After
all, she had known Inuyasha for years through Miroku.

Touga doesn't seem worried about being killed by the Corps. I mean…Tsukuyomaru's worked
with them before and survived, right? So maybe w e just have to convince them we mean no
harm. And maybe…hearing it from one of their own will help.

She glanced around and spied her cellphone lying discreetly next to her pile of regular clothes
on the dresser—right where she had left it. She would have to go about this carefully to not
arouse suspicion. But how could she send a message without the slayers noticing?

She thought about it until she got down to the final layer of her kimono and carefully laid out
the rest of Inukimi's wedding attire on the bed. She had to hope that she would return soon to
put it away properly.

Now what was she going to do?

A little kick to her bladder gave her just the excuse she needed.

She grunted, putting a hand to her belly. The slayers glanced at her but otherwise did not
move from their posts. Rin walked over to her dresser to grab her clothes. She casually swept
her phone into their folds, and then faked feeling another kick.

"I'm sorry—I need to use the bathroom before we go," Rin said.

One slayer frowned. "You were only permitted to change."

Rin turned a frown right back at her. "Unfortunately, I don't have full control of my bladder
anymore, since it's being used as a trampoline, so unless you want me to soil whatever car
you put me in, you'll let me get this done now."

The other slayer—somewhat older and likely one who already had children, if the pitying
look she gave Rin was any indication—said, "Fine. Where's the bathroom?"

Rin pointed to the door across the hall, and the Slayers tailed her the couple of steps it took to
get there. Rin was just closing the door when the younger Slayer put her hand on it.

"Keep it open. This much," she said, pushing the door back the width of two hands.

"Seriously? You can't even give me this much privacy?" Rin snapped.

"It's this or nothing. Besides, you'd better get used to it. Your cell will have just as much
privacy."

My cell? Rin hadn't even thought that far ahead yet.

She shook the thoughts out of her head. Don't get distracted.

As much as she hated knowing the two outside could hear every sound she made, Rin took
the bit of privacy offered. At least the door was still shut enough to keep her position on the
toilet out of view.

Rin shuffled over to the toilet and sat down. As soon as she started peeing, she used it to
mask the sound of her typing out her message to Sango:

Me: Help. Arrested by DSC.

She backed out of the text and scrolled through her messages, looking for any possible other
contacts who could help her.

And she found one: Kaede.

Me: Help. Kikyou arrested us.

It was all she could manage to type before she finished her business, so she sent the message
and hid the phone under a nearby set of towels so that the Slayers wouldn't find it on her.
Sure enough, as soon as she was completely dressed, had undone her painstakingly crafted
hair, and left of the bathroom, the Slayers patted her down, looking for potential weapons.

All they found was the talisman bracelet on her wrist. The older slayer pulled it off before
Rin could protest. Then, finding her otherwise clean, they cuffed her hands in front of her and
led her back down the stairs. The courtyard was empty when they reached it, and her escorts
marched her down the steps of the shrine towards a veritable convoy of black vans and
SUVs. They led her to one of the larger unmarked vans and boosted her inside.

Her family and Izayoi were already seated along the walls of the van: seven people packed
into one vehicle.

Rin looked around in a panic as one of the slayers stepped in behind her, shutting the doors
and taking up her spot at the rear of the vehicle. Almost immediately, a wave a reassurance
flowed into her from Sesshoumaru, and her heart relaxed. "Where are the others?" she asked.

"They were taken to a different vehicle," Izayoi said.

They want to separate supposed demons from humans, Rin realized.

But as long as she could still feel Sesshoumaru, she knew he was alive.

Mama motioned for her to sit next to her, and when Rin did, her mother grabbed her hand and
started rubbing it. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry this happened."

Rin shook her head, although the tears that hadn't come earlier prickled at her eyes now.
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

"It's no one's fault but this anonymous tipster," Kagome snapped. "Who the hell would have
done this?" Izayoi shushed her then, nodding her head at the slayer in the back who was
listening intently to every word.

Still, Rin could think of someone.

Zero. I suppose you think this is the perfect revenge, don't you? You blame me for taking
away your wedding…so you took away mine.

Sesshoumaru's skin itched as he sat inside the prisoner's van while they rode to DSC
headquarters—and that was only in part due to the spiritual energy lacing the handcuffs.
Every instinct inside him was telling him that his mate was in danger, so he needed to tear out
of this vehicle and go to her.

The only reason he kept sane was due to the ring on his finger. Rin's emotions weren't
completely steady—she had been rather calm when first separated from him, but then came a
brace of panic and worry that he tried to calm from his end. He wasn't practiced at sending
her emotions, but it must have worked, because her spike in anxiety calmed down and
remained an ever-present but small buzz beneath the surface. Of course, the fact that he felt
no pain from her was his biggest reassurance.

The Demon Slayer Corps was more like a secret police organization than a public police
force, so its inner workings remained much of a mystery to the general public. Luckily, from
Izayoi's undercover stint in the Corp several decades ago, Sesshoumaru at least knew
something of what to expect, although their information was severely out of date, and that
was likely to cost them.

The most obvious difference he had seen by now was, where the police force kept out-of-date
guns on hand for a last resort only, the DSC kept an array of state-of-the-art weapons (often
crafted from its own research center), including semiautomatic guns with spirit bullets.
Having so many sights trained on him earlier, his heart had quaked in fear. If Rin hadn't
stopped him, his damn instincts might have left her a widow and his pups fatherless.

He needed to rein himself in. He needed to exude calm, like his father.

But damn if it wasn't killing him not to have Rin in his sights. How was his father standing
being separated from Izayoi?

For now, Sesshoumaru saw it as a good sign that they were bring brought to DSC
headquarters. After all, the alternative was being killed on the spot, and since that hadn't
happened…perhaps there was still hope.

But then, perhaps the worst was only yet to come.

From what Izayoi had reported decades ago, unlike being arrested by the police, there would
be no series of hearings and trials for demons. Once you were discovered to be a demon, the
DSC undertook intense investigations into your background, trying to uproot all your secrets
—including those leading to other demons. However, she had been too low-ranking to know
exactly what happened to demons after they were initially locked up. But rumors still made it
back to her: that some were taken to the research center for examinations and others were
tortured for answers until they gave them up or died.

Humans were treated better, he heard. They were eventually transferred into the court system
to be tried by the law. Depending on the severity of the humans' association with demons,
they could be let off with a simple fine or do jail time.

He, his parents, and Inuyasha had been completely silent nearly the entire way over. Again, it
was thanks to Izayoi's undercover work that they kept their heads.

Back when Izayoi was working for the Corps in the late 1960s, she had learned that the
research division was trying to configure mobile equipment that would allow them to hear
frequencies to which only demon hearing was attuned. While they weren't sure the Corps had
ever succeeded, given the technology boom of the last couple decades, it seemed none of the
dog demons had any doubts that they had.

Their family had run drills in the past on what to do if apprehended. Sesshoumaru had
scoffed at them but dutifully attended, never thinking they would come in useful. He wished
he had been right.

When they finally arrived, they were led into the side door of a utilitarian, gray block of a
building. Sesshoumaru didn't see or smell any sign of Rin, and his hackles rose in anxiety.
The slayers brought the four into a sterile, white room, where a camera as well as a table of
gloves, wipes, trays, and contact cases were located. The slayers filed in and dropped clear
bags of their possessions—taken at the time of arrest—into what looked like airport security
bins.

Kikyou walked in and took up a post along the wall as four other Slayers snapped on latex
gloves and one positioned himself behind the camera. "Thank you for your cooperation thus
far. Before we can process you further, we must first determine whether you are human or
demon. Please do not resist as take your photographs and begin our preliminary checks. Any
signs of aggression will result in immediate suppression, by any means necessary."

Her words were clear: attempt to maintain your dignity, and you may die trying.

One by one, they each had their photograph taken. Kikyou even returned Inuyasha's false ears
and eboshi hat for the occasion.

"What the hell, Kikyou?" he snapped, finally seeming to come out of his dumbstruck phase.
(Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru though, he would likely never make it out of his "dumb"
phase.)

Kikyou just smiled as she watched the proceedings. "Think of them as before-and-after shots,
Yasha. We like to show the new recruits the extents demons go to to hide their true natures."

Sesshoumaru bristled as one slayer—that Officer Nanasuke that had dared to grab Rin—then
approached him with a makeup wipe. He wanted to bite off the hand that touched him, but he
refrained, reminding himself over and over that his dignity was of no use to Rin and their
girls if he was dead.

Officer Nanasuke was very thorough, wiping his brow, his eyelids, his nose, his cheeks, his
mouth, and his chin. Then the officer took to inspecting the rest of his head. He clipped some
of Sesshoumaru's hair, dropping one lock into a vial of solution and another into an empty
one. Then he found the fake cartilage of Sesshoumaru's ears, picked out his contacts (a
decidedly less pleasant experience than when Rin had done the same back when they first
met), and carefully removed his tooth veneers with some tweezers, keeping his fingers well
away from Sesshoumaru's mouth (a smart move, as Sesshoumaru was tempted to bite them
off).

Then came another pat-down. But rather than looking for weapons this time, Officer
Nanasuke appeared to be looking for extra appendages. He felt around Sesshoumaru's
shoulder blades and patted around his tailbone. Sesshoumaru clenched his hands at that, glad
his talons hadn't grown back yet, or he might have pierced his own flesh.

For that matter, the slayer checked his hands too. Except for his mother, who could get away
with wearing her talons naturally in this day and age, the men had all trimmed theirs for the
wedding. Already they felt longer, though, and they would likely be fully grown again by
morning.

But then the bastard tried to take off his wedding ring, and Sesshoumaru snarled.

Immediately, Officer Nanasuke backed up and his hand went to his gun, but Kikyou held up a
hand and approached Sesshoumaru. "What's so special about this ring that you'll tolerate
everything but having it taken from you? Is it the talisman dampening your demonic energy?
Because I assure you, there's no need for it anymore."

"No," Sesshoumaru answered.

Kikyou looked at the ring. "Is it simple sentimentality? I suppose you just got this wedding
ring."

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to do. If he admitted to what the ring really could do, they
would likely take it just to analyze it.

Rin, I'm sorry, he thought, savoring the feel of her emotions like a last sip of water before a
journey through the desert. He lifted his hand and twisted the ring off, wincing as the layer of
Rin's emotions vanished from beneath his. "Yes. Sentimentality," he said to Kikyou, holding
it out to her.

Though she did not appear convinced, she held out the tray with his belongings, and he
placed the ring into it.

Then the humiliation continued. Now that Officer Nanasuke had inspected his hands, it was
time for his feet. Sesshoumaru had to remove his shoes and socks. That did reveal the claws
on his feet as well as the markings around his ankles.

Inuyasha apparently had had enough of the invasive procedure. "What's next, Kikyou? You
gonna strip us all and strap us down to an exam table?"

She smirked. "Not to worry, Yasha. The stripping happens later. As I said, this is only to
confirm that you are demons…or a half-demon, in your case, as I recall."
"Do ya gotta be so damn thorough? Pretty sure it was obviously once you took off their
makeup," Inuyasha spat.

"We like to make sure there won't be any…surprises. For our safety," Kikyou answered. Once
the slayers were done, they stepped back and awaited her inspection. Kikyou came forward
and looked each one of them over. She ended at Inuyasha. "Now that I see you as your truly
are, I can see the family resemblance is there, though your human blood has certainly blotted
out certain demonic characteristics. Fascinating. I'd be curious to meet your mother. Then
again, I suppose she passed away a long time ago. Is that right?"

Inuyasha said nothing. Touga's jaw tightened.

"You do this to everyone you arrest?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes…so your wife will undergo the same treatment. It's a precaution, you understand. Some
demons hide themselves better than others. Although since demons can't have spiritual
powers, I suppose I could have her skip this process…."

Now completely unmasked, they had to endure having their photos taken again. Finally, they
were escorted out of the room and into a holding cell in an office area. Spiritual charms were
etched onto the bars themselves, and when Sesshoumaru tapped one with his finger, it stung
like an electric shock.

"Whoa, is this all from that one tip?" an older slayer sitting at a computer asked, his eyes
wide.

"This ain't even half of them, Inspector Kuzu," another officer, whose uniform read "Rokuta"
answered. "Of course, we suspect the rest of them are human."

"Yeah, might want to quit playing solitaire over there, because you're about to get real busy,"
Officer Nanasuke chimed in with a snicker.

Inspector Kuzu gaped at them in affront. "I am not playing solitaire!" A hasty click on his
computer said otherwise.

The demons were shoved into the holding cell while the slayers took their personal affects to
their desks and started typing away. Sesshoumaru watched as they pulled out each item,
logging it into their system. Whenever they found a wallet, they pulled out all pertinent ID
cards and scanned them.

It was all so very…bureaucratic, that it took Sesshoumaru back. Is this really what the
Demon Slayers have become nowadays? Paper pushers like everyone else?

He admitted his prejudices against them stemmed from the early days of the organization,
which asked no questions and killed any demon that rampaged. Of course, it was a different
time then when demons still roamed freely and many were intent on killing humans. But
Izayoi's stint in the Corps had shown the family that the organization—at least, some fifty
years ago—was still prone to being trigger-happy.
This was not the DSC he knew. This was almost…civilized.

They waited in silence as the slayers made their reports. There were several snickers, some,
"No ways," muttered, and lots of interested hums.

In boredom, Sesshoumaru finally took to staring around the room. That's when his attention
snagged on a small bulletin board on the back wall, almost obscured by workplace regulation
posters, filing cabinets, notices, and more. His eyes widened.

"Father, look," he muttered, and Touga turned to follow Sesshoumaru's gaze.

"I see," Touga replied.

The photos on the board were so old and faded, it was obvious nothing there had been
touched in years. But two old, sepia photographs stood out to Sesshoumaru: mug shots of
Tsukuyomaru and Shiori. They and a few other photos were listed under a large banner
reading: DSC Demon Allies: Do Not Process Except for Crimes Against Humanity.

Just then, the door to the offices opened, and in strode the Higurashis and Izayoi.
Sesshoumaru's eyes flew straight to Rin, assessing her for damage, but she seemed unharmed.
She met his gaze with a relieved smile and sighed. The slayers put the humans into the
holding cell next to them and then went to their desks to start processing.

Sesshoumaru went over to the bars and tried to reach through for Rin's hands, but they
zapped him. Rin reached through instead and held his hands. "Are you and then children
alright?" he asked.

"Yes," Rin breathed. "You?" He nodded. He noticed her ring was gone too.

Just then, the door to the demon holding cell opened, and Inspector Kuzu stood there. "You,"
he said to Sesshoumaru. "Come with me."

The inspector led him to an interrogation room. The civility once more surprising him,
Sesshoumaru sat down at a table opposite the inspector, who looked over some newly printed
files.

"So, your alias is Sesshoumaru Nishikuni. Is Sesshoumaru your true name?" Inspector Kuzu
asked. Sesshoumaru didn't reply. Even if they found his trail of aliases, he had gone by
several different names. Last time he was Sho Nishikuni. Before that, he was Sven Tougason.
Just because he occasionally used his given name didn't mean he had to admit to it.

The inspector sighed and moved on. "Date of birth…April 12, 1989. Somehow, I doubt that.
Care to give me your real age?"

"I don't know it," Sesshoumaru answered, deciding that now was a good time to appear
helpful and speak the truth.

"That old, huh?" Inspector Kuzu muttered. "Perhaps round to the nearest hundred?"
Sesshoumaru stayed quiet. "You're a talkative fellow, aren't ya?"
"What were you doing at the Higurashi Shrine?" the inspector asked. Sesshoumaru glared at
him, and the slayer looked over his clothing. "Getting married, by the looks of it. Was the
bride aware of your true nature?"

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say. To say yes would implicate Rin and get her further
into trouble. But if he denied it, he was likely to be found a liar later, so that would make
trouble for him. As usual, he determined it best to not say anything.

"Sometimes, silence is not the best course of action," Inspector Kuzu prompted. "Makes you
seem guilty."

"Aren't all demons guilty in the eyes of the Slayer Corps?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Not all. Some have actively worked with us in the past. We appreciate their contributions to
creating a safer world. You may have noticed our Safe Wall in the office…though not many
get there, so don't get your hopes up."

"What does it take to get on there?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Whether the inspector indulged him because he was finally showing interest and talking or he
didn't see the harm in telling him, Kuzu replied, "You'd have to prove beyond a doubt that
you're committed to ensuring a safer world for humanity. Usually involves turning in your
own kind. Not too many have the guts to do that. I think the last one we put up was at least a
decade ago. Or wait, maybe two? Damn, I've been here a while."

Was now the time to bring up Naraku? Or would he simply look desperate? Perhaps it was
better to consult with his father first before jumping headlong into this.

When Inspector Kuzu could get nothing more out of Sesshoumaru, he gave up and had him
escorted out of the interrogation room.

Rin watched as they took Sesshoumaru away. Where were they taking him? She couldn't
keep her heartrate down, and the children were starting to get antsy, continually kicking her
as if to ask, What's wrong, Mama?

Then Officer Rokuta came for Rin. "Your turn," he said, motioning for her to get out. He
pushed her into a hallway with several doors, chose one that looked just like the rest, and
nudged her inside.

There was a table set with two chairs. Officer Rokuta saw her seated before sitting down
opposite her.

"I want a lawyer," Rin interjected before he could start talking.

Officer Rokuta chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not how this works—at least not yet. True, you'll
likely be turned over to the court system for the crime of marrying a demon, but until that
happens, you're under our jurisdiction, and how you answer our questions—or not—will
determine whether this process is short or long and drawn out. Now, do you prefer Higurashi-
san or Nishikuni -san? Your license reads Higurashi, but when I ran your name, your
marriage license appeared, filed just three days ago."

Rin gritted her teeth but sat tall and straight, as one befitting her husband's family. "Indeed, I
am Rin Nishikuni now." There was no use denying it, after all: they had the paperwork. She
couldn't help but add, "And at least had the grace to finish my ceremony before you all so
rudely interrupted."

The officer didn't rise to the bait. "Your husband is listed as Sesshoumaru Nishikuni, which
matches the name on his ID. Is that the name by which you know him?"

Rin didn't see any harm in answering that one. "Yes."

"Is he the father of your child?" Officer Rokuta asked. Rin stayed silent.

Suddenly, Kikyou's voice came over a hidden speaker. "Children, Officer. Nishikuni-
san appears to be carrying half-demon twins. Strange how I could not feel their presence at
the shrine, but once she was brought in, I could. I assume you were wearing a talisman
before?"

Rin didn't answer. She didn't want to risk them going back to the shrine and searching for the
bracelet the slayers had already taken off her.

"No matter," Kikyou said. "Continue your questioning, Officer."

"How did you first meet Sesshoumaru?"

For this, Rin returned to the lie she had been telling her family for months. She explained
how she met him in a national park and saved him.

"You expect me to believe a demon needed saving from a human?" the officer asked.

"That's what I said."

He dutifully wrote it down. "When was this?"

"Nine months ago."

He glanced at her stomach. "And how far along are you?"

Rin glared at him. "Nine. Months." Even he ought to understand the implications of that—
even if she wasn't due for another month. But he didn't have to know that. "I swear, if I go
into labor because of this—"

"We have a fully trained medical staff on hand, Nishikuni-san," the slayer replied. "But now I
must ask…." Officer Rokuta cleared his throat. "Did this Sesshoumaru rape you? Did he
force you to marry him?"

"No, of course not!" Rin spat out, indignant. "He would never do such a thing!"
"Were you aware he was a demon when you had sexual relations with him?"

Rin's face burned, but she said nothing. To admit to it would as good as doom her.

"Obviously, you found out eventually, since it appears you were wearing a talisman earlier to
disguise your children's auras. Therefore, we can assume you knowingly married a demon,
which, as you know, is a crime. Admitting to knowing what he was leading up to it will
hardly add to the sentence."

Rin swallowed. Since they had already figured out that much, what more could she possibly
hide?

So be it. If Sesshoumaru is fated to stay here, then I'll be right by his side.

"Yes, I did know."

"So, you admit that you knowingly had relations with and married a demon?" Officer Rokuta
pressed.

"Why must that be a crime?" Rin demanded. "Just because they're a different race? They're
good people—they would never hurt anybody unless it was in defense of themselves or us!"

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it," the officer answered, writing down his notes
before he slapped down the pen and closed his folder with a clap of finality.

When Inspector Kuzu returned Sesshoumaru to the holding cell, Rin was gone from the other
one. He panicked only momentarily, because once the inspector pulled his mother out, he
realized they were each going in for a preliminary interrogation.

Once the inspector was gone, Izayoi leaned over and whispered into his mother-in-law's ear.
Even from here and with the air conditioning blasting overhead, he heard her.

"You and your family need to deny knowing they're demons."

His mother-in-law frowned and shook her head. "That wouldn't be fair."

Rin certainly got her upstanding morals from her mother.

Izayoi continued, "It doesn't do us any good to have you all imprisoned with us, and there's
no need. Until two months ago, you didn't know anyway. Just pretend that you still don't.
Besides…think of Rin and Kagome. They'd be relieved to know you're all free."

He watched the conflicted look of pain cross the woman's eyes as Izayoi said that.
Sesshoumaru was starting to understand that pain: choosing between doing what he wanted
and what was best for his loved ones.

"Touga," Izayoi pleaded, pulling away, and the name caused Higurashi-san to look over at
her in-law. Sesshoumaru followed her gaze and watched his father nod.
With a sigh of resignation, Rin's mother nodded, then leaned over and whispered the
instructions to her son, who whispered them to his wife, who whispered them to the old man
(and though Sesshoumaru was happy to see the message was passed along just fine, he hoped
Rin's grandfather wasn't as hard of hearing as he was crazy).

A certain tread of boots—one that was growing irritatingly familiar to Sesshoumaru—

clacked back into the room. "And what might we be chatting about here?" Kikyou asked,
coming up to the holding cells.

Izayoi spoke before anyone else could. "Higurashi-san is understandably very confused by
this situation. You see, she and her family were unaware of the nature of the family her
daughters married into."

Whether it was real or a bout of acting, his mother-in-law suddenly sobbed and put a hand to
her mouth, lowering her face. He swore she saw a tear fall down her nose.

"Is that so?" Kikyou asked. "I suppose we'll find out shortly." She was about to walk away
when she narrowed her eyes and glanced back at Izayoi. "You know, it's been bothering me
for some time now, but seem familiar. Have we met?"

Beside Sesshoumaru, Touga tensed. Just what we needed: the one person here who could
possibly remember.

But Izayoi said nothing. So Kikyou called out over her shoulder, "Do we have her
information yet?"

"I just finished typing it up, Chief," the young, female demon slayer who had taken Rin back
to the house said as she ran to the printer spitting out paper. She slid a few sheets into a folder
and handed it to Kikyou.

Kikyou took the folder and looked at it. "Alias, Isa Nishikuni, born Oct. 8, 1972. And yet…
confirmed human." She looked up with a wry chuckle. "Oh my, you must tell me your secret.
You look stunning for being only fifty." Kikyou walked away, muttering, "Isa…Isa…." She
sat down at a computer, and as she started to type.

Meanwhile, the slayers took each of them in separately for interrogation, leaving the others to
sit in boredom and fear. When Rin returned, Sesshoumaru sat back-to-back with her, her hand
pushed through the bars so he could hold it and rub his thumb in comforting circles around
hers. It was the best he could do, since he could not longer read her inner emotions.

Kikyou only got up twice from her desk in all that time: during Inuyasha's and Kagome's
interrogations. As usual, no one mentioned anything about what they were asked when they
came back. They only sat like Sesshoumaru and Rin, back-to-back or shoulder-to-shoulder.

It made for a long and tedious wait. Until the door to the office slammed open.

A woman Sesshoumaru vaguely recognized as his brother's best friend's wife (what was her
name again?) burst in, taking everything in at a glance. Her eyes landed on the groups in their
holding cells.
"Sango!" Kagome cried out, jumping to her feet and wrapping her hands around the door
bars. Sango rushed over to her.

"Kagome! Are you alright? Where's Rin?"

"I'm here," Rin said, and when Sango found her in the cell, the woman breathed a sigh of
relief. He didn't miss the way her startled eyes flickered on and off him.

"Sango, what are you doing here?" Kagome asked.

That pulled Sango's attention back to Kagome. "I got Rin's message."

Sesshoumaru looked at his mate, trying to convey with his eyes the pride he felt in her. She
had thought on her feet. She must have understood what he was trying to say, because she
returned his look with one of tender love.

Then Sango turned to the demons' holding cell, her gaze seeking and finally resting on
Inuyasha—and his ears in particular. The relief leeched out of her face. "Inuyasha…is that
really you?"

His brother obviously saw no point in lying. "Yeah."

"So, it's true…." Sango looked torn at the admission.

"Lieutenant Fukushima, do you know the detainees?" Kikyou asked, getting up from the
computer.

Sango spun around and saluted. "Yes, Chief."

"How?"

"Kagome and I were college roommates. I've been good friends with her family for years
now." Sesshoumaru noticed she said nothing of Inuyasha and Miroku's long relationship.

"Ah, yes, I do recall Higurashi-san mentioning something about a friend in the Corps. So,
would you say you know her family well?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"They claim to not have known Kagome and Rin Nishikuni married into a demon family."

Sango's eyes widened. "All of them?"

"Indeed. All of their stories matched."

Sesshoumaru could only assume this was thanks to the lies Rin had fed them for months.
They already had the perfect story to tell.

"Then…if they say it, it must be true. Because Chief, I'm ashamed to admit…I also had no
idea."
"I see. Lieutenant, how often have you seen Inuyasha—or his family, for that matter?"

"I've only met the family at Kagome and Inuyasha's wedding, Chief. As for Inuyasha
himself…I haven't met with him often, but…often enough, I suppose."

"And you never once suspected his true identity?"

Sango closed her eyes in obvious shame. "I did not. Although in retrospect…things make
more sense now."

"I'm disappointed, Lieutenant. A slayer of your caliber so easily misled?"

"I've been too lax, Chief," Sango answered, bowing in remorse.

Just then, the door to the office opened again, and another slayer poked her head in. "Oh…
Lieutenant Fukushima, you are here. Uh…your husband is in the lobby and demanding to
speak with you."

Sango whirled around, her face transforming from shattered glass to a thundercloud in an
instant. "Do not let him in here! I told him to stay home!"

"Oh! Understood," the slayer answered, shutting the door. Mere seconds later, however, she
yelled from the other side, "Wait, wait! You can't go in there!"

The door slammed open again, and this time, Miroku strode inside.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to come!" Sango snapped. "What did you do with
the kids?"

"They're with gramps," Miroku answered.

"Then turn around, go back, and get them!"

"I'm sorry, Sango, but I can't just stand by while my best friend is in danger," Miroku
answered.

Kikyou's brows rose. "Your best friend, you say? Pray tell who that might be?"

Sango grabbed onto Miroku's arm to stop him, but he shouldered his way past and looked
Kikyou straight in the eye. "I can vouch for the decency of Inuyasha Nishikuni—and his
entire family, for that matter—as I have known him for well over a decade now."

Kikyou's brows rose. "Do you mean to say you've known Inuyasha Nishikuni's true nature for
the last decade then?"

Miroku gritted his teeth. "Yes, and if that makes me complicit in sheltering a demon, then go
ahead—arrest me," he said, holding up his wrists.

"Miroku!" Sango cried out, her voice breaking. "Stop! Think of the kids. Think of me."
"I have been thinking of you, Sango—all these years!" Miroku snapped. "You know I met
Inuyasha before you. Obviously, I was predisposed to siding with demons. Yet when I met
you, I couldn't help falling in love with you, even knowing from the start how you intended
to join the Corps. I didn't agree with it, but I also wanted to support you, because I love you,
and I knew I'd never be able to talk you out of it.

"Inuyasha could tell you how often I agonized over it. He's probably damn sick of how many
times I've vented into my beer. But I couldn't help it. I love you so much, and
I've always wanted to be with you…but I've always hated that I felt I was betraying my best
friend because of it. But you know what? He supported me—told me that a love like ours is
lucky to come once in a lifetime, so I shouldn't let it get away." He cut a glare at Kikyou, and
Sesshoumaru knew then that Miroku was well aware of what had happened to Inuyasha fifty
years ago.

"But he gave me a choice. He said if I couldn't stand the lies to just go ahead and tell you, and
he'd disappear from my life. Said he'd be fine either way. But I couldn't do it, because it felt
like I had to choose between my best friend and my wife, and I just…couldn't stand the
thought of not having both of you in my life."

Sango slapped his cheek, and it rang across the office

"You couldn't choose between your wife and your friend? You didn't swear an oath to
Inuyasha, Miroku! You swore an oath to me. I am the damn mother of your children!"

"You think I don't know that?" Miroku shouted back. "I've chosen you in every way that I
could, Sango! I learned self-defense at your request. I took the gun classes and went to the
shooting range and hunting with you, and I paid those exorbitant fees to keep the guns we
have. I have done all I can to support you, short of joining the Corps itself, but I have to draw
the line when your employer endangers the life of my best friend and his family—for
doing nothing wrong but breathing."

Silent tears streamed out of Sango's eyes now, but no one in the room said anything.

"Shit," Inuyasha hissed, the conflict of watching his best friend's marriage taking a hit evident
in his grimace.

Kikyou finally broke the tense silence. "Lieutenant, I think it's best that you return home for
now. You're obviously too close to this situation. In the meantime, Fukushima-san, we will
take your statement and progress from there." She waved over Inspector Kuzu, who pulled
Miroku into the hall that led to the interrogation rooms. Once another slayer escorted Sango
—who was openly sobbing now and couldn't see—out of the room, Kikyou sighed. "And the
paperwork just keeps piling up. I have to admit, Nishikunis…your case has been intriguing
from the very start."

Meanwhile, Kikyou went back to the computer she had been using, glanced at it, and then
proceeded to the mapping board, where the various slayers had started piecing together the
information from their various reports. Everyone who had been brought in had a photo placed
on there. Lines between them marked legal relationships, though the ones between the
Nishikunis themselves were circled with question marks.
Then the computer dinged, and Kikyou moseyed back to it. Her eyes lit up. "Ah ha. We have
a match." She printed what was on her screen, grabbed the papers, and brought them over to
the human holding cell.

She looked directly at Izayoi. "I thought I recognized you. Officer Izayoi Kamakura, born
Oct. 8, 1946. Amazingly, you haven't changed a bit." She turned around the papers, showing
off a black-and-white photo of Izayoi in a DSC uniform from the late '60s. "According to
your file, you began working here in 1965 and left in 1972…conveniently when your new
alias was born." Kikyou chuckled self-deprecatingly. "To think we've been infiltrated by
demon sympathizers before…. How could this have happened? But then…it was a long time
ago, and I wasn't in charge. In fact, I was also brand new to the agency." She furrowed her
brows as she looked at the file. "Here it states that you were single. Your current alias states
you as married to Tai Nishikuni—" She nodded at Touga. "And mother of Inuyasha
Nishikuni. A convenient ruse, I suppose."

Sesshoumaru clenched his hand. Would that the truth can be disguised as a ruse. Inukimi had
been his father's "legal" wife during World War II and the post-war era. However, Inuyasha's
untimely shooting prompted the whole family to trash their aliases and garner new ones in
preparation for a Demon Slayer investigation that never came.

While Touga, Izayoi, and Inuyasha kept to their actual familial bonds with today's aliases,
Sesshoumaru was legally listed as Inuyasha's younger cousin—still his mother's son, but with
Inukimi being Touga's younger sister now. Sesshoumaru's time at Western Sanctuary was
allowing his to grow into his new alias. He had only officially shed his last one a few years
ago, "dying" quietly in retirement.

Kikyou looked at Touga. "Did you fall in love with yet another human then? But then the
question is, if you can so obviously preserve a human's youth, why wouldn't you do it for…?"
She stopped, her eyes widening as she turned back to Izayoi. "Are you truly Yasha's birth
mother?"

Once more, Izayoi remained silent. Sesshoumaru was shocked at how much this Kikyou had
already found out. But then, she was revered as one of the greatest DSC Chiefs for a reason.

Kikyou didn't seem to mind Izayoi's silence, because she was still engrossed in the mystery
that was this woman. "What bothers me is the suddenness of your leaving the Corps," she
said, tapping the file. "'Resigned, effective immediately, due to undisclosed family
emergency.'" Her face tensed as she stared at the paperwork. She lifted her steely eyes to
meet Izayoi's equally steely ones. "What was the family emergency? Was that truly the
reason? Was someone here onto you, or—?"

"You know better than anyone what my family emergency was," Izayoi ground out. "After
all, it was you who pulled the trigger."

Kikyou snapped the folder closed. "I see."

Izayoi stood up and walked up to the bars, so she was standing face-to-face with Kikyou.
"I've waited a long time to say this, Chief Kimura. If you ever endanger my son's life again,
this time, I will not let my husband hold me back. I will come after you, and I will kill you.
So, I hope you understand that my husband, who filed that—" she reached through the bars
and jabbed a finger onto the folder, "—is the only reason you are alive today. Mercifully, he's
less hot-headed than I am."

"Noted," Kikyou answered. She looked down at the files in her hands. "Will the revelations
of this day never cease? Here I thought that Yasha and I met by chance, but I suppose it
would make sense he was hanging around our raids if there was a spy among us." She took a
deep breath and straightened. "I think we have enough for today. Take the Nishikunis in for
incarceration. The Higurashis are free to go, as we currently have no evidence proving their
willful assistance in harboring demons. However, as we are still conducting an ongoing
investigation, we ask that you stay within the country and cooperate when asked. Any flight
now would raise suspicion. Furthermore," she said, turning to Rin's grandfather,
"you will need to pay a fine, since, unknowingly or not, you did commit the crime of
marrying a demon to a human."

"O-Of course," the elder answered, the picture of acquiescence as Officer Rokuta came in and
unlocked his cuffs as well as the ones on the other three. Rin's hand tightened on
Sesshoumaru's, and though he could not feel her emotions anymore, he was sure she was
relieved that her family, at least, was getting out.

"What's going to happen to my daughters?" Rin's mother asked, rubbing her freed wrists.
Sesshoumaru knew she did not mean to slight his family by ignoring them, but she too was
keeping up the act of being blindsided by the knowledge of their demonic natures.

"Unfortunately, your daughters have confessed to knowingly marrying demons and

conspiring to help hide their identities. We will be keeping them here until our investigation
is through," Kikyou answered.

"How long will that take?"

"That depends on how much there is to find."

Higurashi-san appeared troubled by the vague answer. "May I…come visit them?"

"Not while they are in our custody. If we deem to transfer them into police custody at a later
date to be tried for their crimes, you may inquire about visiting privileges with them."

"But Rin's going to give birth within the month. If she's still here…w-what's going to happen
to the children?"

"That has yet to be determined."

Rin whimpered, and Sesshoumaru held tightly to her hand. Nothing will happen to them. Not
on my watch.

Her mother seemed equally perturbed, because she flew over to her daughters and pulled
them both into a tight embrace.

"My girls…I'm so sorry," she said.

"Mama, don't worry about us. We'll get through this," Rin answered, her voice high and
breaking.

"Yeah, don't cry, okay?" Kagome said, though her thick voice belied her words.

"Oh, my girls. I love you both so much," their mother said, kissing their heads. "I'm going to
get you the best lawyers, and…and we're going to fix this."

Sesshoumaru appreciated the sentiment, but lawyers would do her daughters no good while
they were stuck in here.

"Ma'am, it's time to leave," Officer Rokuta said, coming up behind the woman.

She pulled away from her girls, wiping her eyes. The rest of the Higurashis came over and
hugged Kagome and Rin, wishing them good fortune and wellness and vowing to see them
again. Then, Souta put his hands comfortingly on his mother's shaking shoulders and led her
out behind Officer Rokuta.

Afterwards, Sesshoumaru and Rin were once again pulled apart as the group was sent off to
begin their incarceration. He, his brother, and his father were led into a "fish tank," where
they were forced to disrobe, shower, and undergo a disinfection treatment in full view of the
slayers before putting on a prisoner's uniform. There were only four cell blocks in the DSC
headquarters, as far as Sesshoumaru knew from Izayoi's undercover work: two for demons
and two for humans, a block each for male and female prisoners.

Sesshoumaru didn't know whether to feel elated or worried at the lack of prisoners that he
passed. There were a couple humanoid demons and another couple of frog-like ones that he
was frankly surprised had survived for this long looking as they did. The three dog demons
were placed in separate cells but all next to each other.

Once the slayer returned to his station in the center of the cell block, Touga said in a low
voice, "Do those pieces of shit really think they can keep up sealed in a measly spiritual
barrier?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at his father's uncharacteristic crassness. "Father?"

But Touga didn't look angry; rather, he was watching the guard on duty in their cell block.
The guard's face remained stoic—and completely unaware.

Touga sighed. "Good. Looks like if they have the equipment to hear other frequencies, he's
not using it. So, if we're going to talk, we'll do it now."

Inuyasha jumped in. "Dad, what are we going to do?"

"Myoga was with us at the shrine. I sent him off as soon as the slayers arrived. With any luck,
he'll contact Tsukuyomaru, and we'll see if we can negotiate our way out of this."

"So, we're still going through with the plan, even after all this?" Inuyasha asked.
"It's our only option at this point, son. Hopefully the slayers will realize as they start
investigating us that we are a peaceful sort. If we can tempt them with netting true threats to
humanity, like Naraku, then hopefully we can get ourselves out of here, as Tsukuyomaru did
when he handed over his father."

As soon as his father mentioned Naraku, Sesshoumaru remembered something. "I agree with
Father. In fact…it is likely crucial that we move forward with the plan, hastened timetable or
not. Were you aware there was something—or someone—watching us in the Tree of Ages at
the shrine?"

Touga frowned. "Yes, I noticed that too."

"Given what Myoga reported about Byakuya, I assume it was one of his eyes. It's likely that
he was the one who called the tip in."

Inuyasha scratched his head. "But why? As far as Naraku's concerned, we have no quarrel—
at least not yet. I mean, I know he seems to have it out for me, but it's not like it
was my wedding he was interrupting."

"He might have found out about our plans," Touga said. "It's a costly mistake in warfare to
assume you're the only one with intelligence."

"How would he have done that?" Inuyasha asked.

Sesshoumaru didn't know, but he didn't want to discount anything at this point. As the men
discussed theories, he twisted the empty area on his finger where his wedding ring should be.
He had only worn it for a few hours, and yet it already felt strange not to have it—like that
part of his finger had been cut off. Rin's last emotions resonated in his heart like a phantom
limb, and he tried to push out more calming emotions towards her.

He wished he still had that bond, if only to reassure him that she was alright. Because he
couldn't shake the feeling that something else was about to happen.

Rin tried to get comfortable on the metal bed anchored to the wall, but she just couldn't. The
thin mattress didn't support her pregnant self well, and even the extra-large shirt they had
given her for her prison uniform was still uncomfortably tight across her belly, though it
gaped on her arms and breasts.

She didn't know why she bothered. Trying to sleep was a vain attempt anyway. Her insides
roiled as she wondered about what was going to happen.

What are they going to do to Sesshoumaru? What about our babies? Would they punish them
just for being born?

Waves of calming reassurance flooded her bond with Sesshoumaru, and she tried to take
those vibes and wrap them around her heart. Even though they had taken his ring, he still
knew what she needed. It was truly a miracle that he was able to feel her emotions earlier,
even for just a little bit. Imagine if he could have felt them from the start. Perhaps we never
would have separated, because he would have known how I felt without fearing what I would
say….

Footsteps clacked down the darkened corridor, but Rin ignored them. An officer had come by
earlier to do a count. At night, they were allowed to lay on their beds instead of reporting to
the door. Not that there were many people in this cell block: only she, Kagome, and Izayoi
were imprisoned here.

Just then, the footsteps stopped and some keys jingled. Rin turned over as her metal cell door
screeched open.

Sango stood in the doorway, staring at her flatly.

"Sango? What's going on?" Rin asked.

"You're being transferred," Sango answered in a lifeless voice, holding up some cuffs.

Rin frowned. "In the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

Rin shook her head. "That can't be right. Kikyou said we wouldn't be transferred until the
investigation was complete."

Kagome's voice floated across from Rin's left. "What's going on?"

"Sango says she's transferring me," Rin answered.

"Not just you. All three of you," Sango replied.

Izayoi said, "Rin's right. Prison transfers don't happen in the middle of the night. Not unless
something shady is going on."

Kagome gasped. Then she whispered, "Sango…are you breaking us out?"

Sango just held up the cuffs in response.

Is that what's going on? Rin wondered. "Are you doing this for the others too?"

"We don't have much time," Sango said, stepping into Rin's cell. "Hands out front and
together." Rin didn't have much choice as Sango grabbed her hands and cuffed them over her
stomach. Then she led Rin out and proceeded to unlock Kagome's and Izayoi's cells. Once
she had them cuffed, she chained the three of them together.

"Is all this really necessary?" Kagome asked.

"To bypass the guards, yes," Sango answered.

But as Sango led them past the guard station in the middle of the cell block, Rin didn't spot
any guards. The station was empty.
Where did they go?

Sango led them out of the block, down a stairwell, and out a back door. There, a van was
waiting with its back doors flung open.

"Get in," Sango answered, pointing to the empty van that purred softly in the night.

Rin tried to peer around to the driver's seat to see who might be there. "Where are you taking
us?"

But Sango didn't answer as grabbed Rin's upper arm and tried to haul her into the van. Rin
grunted in pain, and Kagome lurched forward, taking hold of Sango's wrist.

"Hey! Sango, what's wrong with you? What the—?" Kagome frowned, staring at her hand on
Sango's arm.

Sango froze, looking slightly dazed. Slowly, her face grew strained, sweat beading at her
temples.

"Sango?" Rin asked, stuck half in and half out of the van.

Sango's mouth worked open and closed. Finally, she bit out, "I…run."

Rin blinked. "What?"

Suddenly, a cane slapped against Kagome's hands, and she yelped, pulling away from Sango.
The three women whipped around to see a hooded figure standing next to them holding an
ornate cane with an amber pommel emblazoned with a spider.

"Stop squabbling, and get in the van," the woman said.

Rin gasped. She would know that voice anywhere—because when it had haunted her dreams,
it left a scar that still hadn't healed. "Zero?"

"Sango, get them inside," Zero bit out. Sango's body trembled, but she didn't move to obey.
Zero turned to Kagome. "Tch. You and your damn spiritual powers again. I didn't think they
actually would disrupt my control of her like that."

"Control?" Kagome echoed, looking at Sango, whose face had gone red with exertion.

"So, you were the one behind all this?" Rin snapped. She stepped back down onto the ground
from the lip of the van. "How dare you! You gave Sesshoumaru your word that you wouldn't
lay a hand on me! He will show you no mercy for this—"

Zero's dark chuckle interrupted her tirade. "And I didn't lay a hand on you. Nor did my
servants. In fact, it was your friend here who did. So, you see, I've abided to the letter of our
agreement."

"You're despicable," Kagome spat, rubbing her bruised hand.

 "And you're a fool to think I would simply lie down and take the insult Sesshoumaru lobbied
at me," Zero answered. "Of course, my quarrel is only with this girl," she added, nodding at
Rin. "Not with you."

"Then why am I here?" Kagome asked. "Why Izayoi?"

Zero smiled. "Because my business partner has interest in you both."

Izayoi frowned. "Business partner?"

The driver door opened then, and another hooded figure stormed over in a huff, growling out
in a sultry voice, "Are you having a damn tea party back here or something? Shut them up
and let's go. I, for one, don't want to get nabbed by the slayers tonight."

Rin didn't recognize the newcomer's voice, but Izayoi did.

"Kagura?"

Kagura ignored her. "What's taking so long, Zero?"

"This one disrupted my control on the demon slayer," Zero answered, pointing her cane at
Kagome.

Kagura huffed. "I knew this wouldn't work. We're going with my plan now."

"Tch," Zero hissed. "Fine. Be a boor."

Kagura lashed out and struck Kagome on the back of the neck. Kagome's eyes rolled up into
her head, and she crumpled, jerking Izayoi and Rin down with her. Rin cried out, trying to
protect herself from a jarring fall that could hurt her children.

But Zero caught her arm before she could hit the ground. Rin looked up and blurted out,
"Thank you," before she could stop herself.

Zero's lip curled. "Don't think I helped you for your own good. We have plans for
you and your brats."

Then Kagura hit Rin on the back of the neck, and she blacked out.

Chapter End Notes

To all of you who thought Zero and Naraku were working together…you were right!
Now, how are the girls going to get out of this mess?

Also, I sincerely hope this chapter was logical and didn't jump all over the place (I tried
really hard to make sure my original word vomit became a continuous flow of
something digestible), but this was an absolute bear to write. So. Many. Regulations. I
think (hope) the next chapter will come a lot easier…. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!
 On the Menu
Chapter Notes

Your angsty comments were all delicious. That is all I have to say. Bon appetite.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

A prick of pain pierced the darkness of Rin's unconscious, and she slowly came to, groaning
as she tried to lift her head and her neck throbbed. When she finally blinked open her eyes,
she found a needle sticking out of her arm, blood flowing into a tube.

That woke her up in an instant.

She jerked her head up to find two unfamiliar women in the room. One in scrubs with curling
black hair sat by Rin, changing out vials as Rin's blood flowed into them. The other, a woman
with pupilless, red eyes; dark, sleek hair pulled up in a twist; and wearing a black hoodie and
black leggings stared at her in boredom as she waved an elegant folding fan at her face. Rin
didn't understand the need for the fan, because it was absolutely freezing in the room.

"Who are you? And what are you doing? You can't take my blood without my permission!"
Rin protested, trying to rip the needle out, only to realize that her arms were strapped to the
chair like she was a maniac or criminal.

"I'm afraid you'll find that the rules of human society do not apply here," the nurse said as she
finished taking Rin's blood and wrapped a bandage around her arm quite professionally. She
got up to label Rin's blood and set the samples aside before grabbing a new needle and some
empty vials. Then she slid her chair over to Rin's right, and Rin gasped when she realized
Kagome, Izayoi, and Sango were all sitting strapped in a line of chairs next to her, their heads
dangling in unconsciousness. The nurse rolled up the sleeve of Kagome's prison uniform and
stuck the needle into her arm.

"What's going on here?" Rin demanded again.

A loud clack echoed through the room as the woman in black snapped her fan shut. "This is
the human girl Sesshoumaru chose to mate?" she asked, striding over and lifting Rin's chin
up with the end of her fan. Rin glared at her. The woman huffed a laugh and then pulled
away. "Well, she has spunk, I'll give her that. But not much else going for her." The way her
eyes slid over Rin from top to bottom, lingering on her bulging middle, made the girl flush in
anger.

Rin knew a jealous woman when she heard one, and a confidence she would never have had
before Sesshoumaru prompted her to spit out, "Obviously, I've got more going for me than
you do, since he chose me, as you pointed out."
The woman quickly hid her mouth behind her fan, though not before Rin caught the sneer
curling her lips. "Go ahead. Feel high and mighty now as the mate of Sesshoumaru. But that
doesn't change what you've always been: a mere human at the bottom of the food chain."
Rin's eyes widened in alarm as the woman snapped the fan shut again, showing off a
malicious smirk, and stormed out of the room.

The nurse chuckled as she brought Kagome's sample back to the counter for labeling. "You
just earned yourself another powerful enemy, girl. Kagura may not have been happy to
partner with the demon Sesshoumaru originally asked to marry him…but both can
commiserate in being scorned for a human. The more you mouth off, the more suffering
you'll inflict on yourself."

As if you care, Rin thought. A woman illegally taking blood from unconscious humans
obviously held no sympathy for them. Rin narrowed her eyes as the nurse sat down to draw
Izayoi's blood. "I take it you're not a woman scorned?"

The nurse laughed. "Certainly I am—not that I care. Inukimi was more interested in matching
up Sesshoumaru and myself than either of us were."

This woman had also been in the running to be Sesshoumaru's wife? Just how many were
there? She was going to have to have a talk with him and her mother-in-law once she got
back—if only to figure out just how many women were apparently out to get her.

Because she would get back to Sesshoumaru. She had to, for the sake of their children.

"So, what's your skin in this game then?" Rin asked, figuring that if this woman was going to
be talkative, she might as well get more information.

"Ah, yes, you weren't at that gala, so you wouldn't know. This is purely a business matter for
me, you understand. I supply the sanctuary with blood, and Naraku pays me handsomely, in
part by providing a sanctuary for my pets so that they may breed and grow."

Rin didn't know what "pets" she was talking about, but the word "blood" set her nerves
alight. "Blood? You don't mean…?"

The nurse smirked, pulling the needle out of Izayoi's arm. "That you're on the menu? Yes
indeed. Or at least, that's what we'll be finding out. Once I run your blood samples, we'll see
what we're dealing with. You see, for demons, drinking blood is like drinking wine. There are
so many variations and factors that go into a bouquet," she explained as she set aside Izayoi's
sample and then returned with a final set of vials for Sango. "Blood type, of course, but
health also plays a large part into it. Some bloods are fattier than others. Some are soiled with
nicotine or alcoholic toxins. There's a market for that too, but we have to label and price it
properly, of course. And then, well…there's half-demon blood."

Rin's face went cold, as if this woman had just stuck a needle into her neck and drained all
the blood from her face. "W-What?"

The nurse smirked. "Didn't you know? Centuries ago, hunting half-demons was a beloved
sport for demons, in part because half-bloods proved a delicious meal. Human blood with a
demonic tang? There's nothing quite like it. And we hear you have two gestating."

"No, you're not doing anything to my babies!" Rin shrieked, causing Izayoi to jerk awake.

"Unfortunately, that's not up to you," the nurse said. "Zero and Naraku have plans for both of
them. And as you're so obviously receptive to demon seed and carrying multiples, well…
you'll make a lovely brood mare for the sanctuary. I hear Zero is most zealous in drafting the
waiting list for demons who want a turn with Sesshoumaru's mate." Her callous grin numbed
Rin's entire body.

Izayoi, despite the still-dazed look in her eyes, managed to find her voice. "Abi, I…I can't
believe you. That is…absolutely sick!"

The nurse named Abi shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me—I didn't come up with the plans. I'm
just in charge of seeing them through. And for right now, that means overseeing blood and
body collection." After she finished with Sango, she labeled the samples, set them aside,
tossed her gloves, and pulled out a cell phone. "They're ready," she said without introduction
before ending the call. A moment later, two white-haired demons entered the room.

"Good morning," one of them said in a soft but oil-slick voice. He smirked at Izayoi and
inclined his head. "How nice to see you again, Izayoi."

"The pleasure is all yours, Hakudoshi," Izayoi growled. She glanced at the other white-haired
demon. "I don't believe I've met your…brother."

"Ah, yes, the resemblance is there, isn't it?" Hakudoshi asked. "This is my older brother,
Juuroumaru. He's not very social, so he doesn't get out much." Rin didn't know why, but the
mask Juuroumaru wore looked more menacing than medical. Hakudoshi then pulled out a
few eye masks and some specialized, metal face masks similar to what Juuroumaru wore bit
perforated. He handed two of each to Juuroumaru and said, "Do pardon us as we put these on
you. We're still finalizing the look of the sanctuary and wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for
the grand opening tour, you see."

Rin saw alright. They didn't want their prisoners taking note of how to navigate the hallways
in case they tried to escape.

"As for the face masks, well…the sanctuary is shrouded in a pretty potent miasma,"
Hakudoshi explained as he approached Rin. "Demons can withstand it, but humans? Not so
much. It wouldn't kill you—probably—but you'd certainly never make it out on your own,
should you attempt to escape."

Rin didn't try to fight though as Hakudoshi put the masks on her. Having a ruthless demon's
hands near her head was frightening enough—he could snap her neck if he wanted to.
Although, given the sounds of the plans Zero and Naraku had in store for her, she imagined
Hakudoshi would suffer terrible consequences if he damaged the merchandise.

He freed her hands from the chair arms only to cuff them again and lead her and Izayoi, it
sounded like, out of the room. Their footsteps echoed when they stepped out into what she
assumed was a hallway, and as much as she tried to keep track of the twists and turns they
took, after walking for ten solid minutes, she felt that Hakudoshi was messing with her and
gave up.

Finally, he opened a door and tugged her inside. When the door closed, he took off her and
Izayoi's blindfolds and face masks. Once again, they were back in a cell. This time, however,
it looked like Rin would at least have company. There were four beds bolted to the wall as
well as a toilet, sink, and a showerhead poised over a drain. A curtain was all that separated
the "bathroom" from the rest of the cell. There were no windows. Rin shivered, the cold in
the air natural and not air conditioned, though there were vents in the ceiling—too small to
crawl through, unfortunately.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Hakudoshi said, taking off their cuffs as Juuroumaru
dumped Kagome and Sango on two of the beds. Somehow, the two of them were still out
cold, even after being pricked and dumped like sacks of potatoes. "And feel free to freshen
up. There are new uniforms for you on the beds. Naraku will come by later to welcome you
personally, and he'll expect you to look your best."

Hakudoshi and Juuroumaru left, locking the metal door—which had a plexiglass window on
it—behind them. Their footsteps echoed down the concrete hallway. Rin went to the door
immediately, stepping up on her tiptoes and peering through the window to try to get a better
lay of the land. A purple haze drifted through the air, still swirling in Hakudoshi's and
Juuroumaru's wake. Across the hall, similar doors stared back at her, and a few curious heads
peeked through. Most of the eyes that stared back at her were baggy and haunted.

"From one prison into another," she murmured. "We're not the only ones here."

"I suspected as much," Izayoi answered, sitting down on one of the unoccupied beds. She
lowered her voice. "These must be Naraku's human stock pens."

Nausea bubbled up in Rin's throat then, and she sat down next to Izayoi, covering her mouth
and taking deep breaths. When she felt like she wouldn't throw up, she said, "How can
someone be so cruel, treating humans like…livestock?"

"Unfortunately, that was largely how demons regarded humans back in the day," Izayoi
replied, tracing shapes on the linoleum floor with her shoe. "When I was growing up, for
instance, we had a strict curfew. Demons were known to roam at night, so my father locked
the gates at sunset. Even during the day, we had to be careful. 'Don't ever go into the forest
alone,' my father warned over and over again. 'Lest a demon snatch you.'" She huffed a laugh.
"I don't think either of us guessed his words would come true."

Despite herself, Rin grinned. "Let me guess: Touga snatched you?"

"In a manner of speaking," Izayoi answered, a small smile blooming as she leaned back and
reminisced. "Despite being nobles, our family fortunes had fallen by the time I was born, so
the opulence others of our station lived with I did not always have. My father tried to keep up
appearances…but there was only so much he could do. As a result, I had more freedoms
growing up than most noble women. I was allowed to pursue interests that helped the manor
and village. I enjoyed learning about plants, and so the local medicine women taught me how
to make herbal remedies. We often ventured into the forest during the day to collect
specimens, but we always had to be back come nightfall.

"One day, we found some gekkabijin plants that were poised to bloom that night. They only
bloom one night a year, and the flowers are known to grant strength, so it's a very important
but very rare flower. My teachers bemoaned that we would miss such a chance because of the
curfew, but they would not risk breaking it. They were older than I was. They had seen the
carnage of demons firsthand. Largely sheltered as I was, I had not.

"So that night, I decided to sneak out of the manor and go into the forest. I brought a lantern
and lit it when I was far enough in that the guards wouldn't see me. Then I went about
searching for the gekkabijin. I found it and ran into no trouble. And the flowers were
stunning. The name, of course, means 'beautiful woman under the moonlight,' and it was
obvious to me why the poets gave it that name. It almost felt cruel to cut off those blossoms,
but I did so.

"However, while I was cutting, a low growl echoed through the trees. I froze, thinking at first
it was a wolf, but it sounded so much…bigger. I looked up, and these enormous, red eyes
were staring at me. Rin, I tell you, my heart jumped so hard out of my chest, I was surprised I
didn't die on the spot. But I just kept staring at the beast—no, I knew then it was a demon,
given the size of those glowing eyes—knowing that if I looked away, I was done. Even so, I
didn't want to die sitting, so I stood up.

"Then the demon lunged, and I crouched right back down, curling up in a ball as if that would
help. Wind rushed over me, and the demon snarled before the earth shook beneath me as it
landed. But I didn't feel its hot breath or anything, and when I dared to peak behind me, I saw
that this massive wolf-like demon had a giant snake demon in its jaws, thrashing it around.
But the snake demon didn't die easily. It bit the wolf on the leg, causing it to let go.

"I scrambled away as the snake fell to the ground, but luckily, its purpose had been diverted
from eating me to slithering away. Even so, the wolf didn't let it escape. It slashed at the
snake's tail, cutting it off, and as the snake roiled in agony, the wolf pounced, grabbing the
snake behind the head and finally tearing it clean off. Its blood flung onto the trees and even
smacked me on my body and face. I remember standing stock still as hot blood ran down my
cheek and into my gaping mouth. That metallic taste finally brought me out of my trance, and
I spit it out, figuring that nothing good could come of swallowing demon blood.

"I was just about to run away from the scene when I noticed the wolf licking its leg where the
snake had bitten it. There were two, deep puncture wounds, each the size of my head. I froze.
If the snake was poisonous, then the demon that saved me could die. And that just didn't sit
right with me.

"So, I approached it slowly, trying to show I meant no harm. It didn't appear concerned. Then
I said, 'Let me help you.' That got its attention. I held up the basket of gekkabijin. 'I can help,'
I said. He stopped licking his leg long enough to let me look at it, but his eyes remained on
me the whole time.

"The wound didn't appear discolored in the lantern light, so I didn't suspect it was poisoned.
But the demon seemed sentient, so I asked if it felt any burning or muscle contractions. It
shook its head in such a human-like manner, I almost laughed. Of course, my next issue was
how to wash the wound. I knew there was a stream nearby, but I would waste precious time
getting there. So, I asked the demon if it would take me. It obliged. I hung onto its leg while
it went to the stream. When I asked it to put its leg in the stream, I stepped in and washed the
blood out of the wound and matted fur. I couldn't help but notice how that white fur gleamed
in the mix of moonlight cutting through the trees and my lantern.

"I found some rocks and ground the gekkabijin flowers into a poultice that I applied to the
wound. But then I was left with a problem: what to bind it with? Even if I had had bandages,
they would have been far too small for a beast and wound of this size. The only supple, white
clothing I had was my juban."

Rin's mouth dropped open, for of course she knew who the "wolf" was. "You didn't."

Izayoi bit back a smile. "I did. I just thought it was a wolf demon. I didn't think anything of
undressing in what I assumed was little more than an oversized animal. A smart, oversized
animal, but an animal nonetheless." She giggled. "When I started shedding my clothes, his
eyes widened. And when I went to remove my juban, that's when he finally turned his head
away, though I noted his eyes drifted back and forth a few times. It was summer, so I wasn't
feeling particularly cold, and so I decided to wrap his wound in my juban, naked, so I
wouldn't get even more blood on my kimono. Because that was my next task, was washing
the blood off my kimono. After all, my father would demand answers if he heard my clothes
sported such a large stain.

"When I was done, I laid out the kimono to dry a bit before deciding to head back. I felt safe
in the wolf's presence, and I knew it would be a cold return anyway, but I didn't want to be
dripped wet when I got back. I ended up falling asleep against the wolf's soft fur and didn't
awaken until the first of dawn's rays hit my eyes. Then I knew I was going to be in trouble. I
grabbed my still-damp kimono and rushed off, promising to come check on him later."

"Did you get found out?" Rin asked.

"My maid had already awoken and found me missing by the time I got back. But she had
been so worried, that as soon as I was back, she promised she wouldn't say a word as long as
I never went out at night like that again. I promised. But I did go back later that day to check
on the wolf. He spent most of the time dozing, although he did wake up when I came to
check his wounds and speak with him. I went back the next day as well. Finally, when I
returned on the third day, I found a man sitting on a rock on the streambed where my wolf
demon was supposed to be. An absolutely beautiful man—the most beautiful man I had ever
since. In fact, more akin to a god, I thought. Yet his markings spoke of demonic heritage
rather than divine. He calmly handed my folded juban to me and said, 'Thank you for your
care. I wished to return this to you before I left.'

"Needless to say, I was shocked and mortified. Because that meant—"

"He had watched you prance around naked and said nothing," Rin supplied, biting her lip.

"Yes," Izayoi groaned. "This gorgeous man who had apparently saved me from being eaten by
a snake demon had also seen me in a way no man other than my husband should have. You
have to understand that we had stricter propriety back then. So, in my embarrassment, I
blurted out the first thing that came to mind: 'You have to take responsibility.'"

Rin clapped a hand over her mouth. Parting her fingers just a little, she asked, "What did he
say?"

"He just looked at me in confusion. 'Responsibility for…? Ah, you mean payment for the
treatment.' And then he had the nerve to pull out a gold koban and handed it to me. I just
stared at it in shock. Yes, my family could have used that money, but I shoved it back at him.

"'That's not what I meant!' I told him. 'You've laid eyes on my bare body. You should take
responsibility and marry me!'"

Rin's eyes widened. "You were willing to marry yourself to a demon you had just met?"

Izayoi sighed. "I know it's probably hard for a modern girl like you to imagine. I've told you
before about my…fertility problems, right? The fact that my period was irregular was a red
flag to potential suitors in need of an heir, but for those that already had one? It didn't matter.
I would be prime material to serve as a concubine for the sake of a political alliance. War was
a matter of course in that time, after all. For years, I had been living with a sort of Sword of
Damocles over my head, wondering when I would be sold off and to whom. As a likely
barren woman, I wouldn't hold a high station in the household and would likely be doomed to
rot my days away within it. So, the chance to choose a man on my own? One who had
already shown some interest in my life by saving it? I leapt at the chance as only a foolhardy
teenager can."

Izayoi took a deep breath, and wry smile pulled at her lips. "Of course, little did I know—"

"He was already married," Rin said solemnly.

Izayoi nodded. "He said as much. Of course, that confused me, because I grew up in a world
where men took multiple wives. So, I tried again. 'I'll be your concubine then,' I said. He
looked…flabbergasted, honestly. Then he said, 'I'm afraid that's not possible. Even if my clan
allowed multiple wives, my wife certainly would not. She would kill you in an instant, and I
would regret that bitterly.'

"'So, you acknowledge that there is some bond between us?' I asked, for I did not think a
demon would 'bitterly' regret the loss of any human. It was the wrong thing to say, however,
because little did I know that that he was fighting an attraction he felt he shouldn't have.

"He told me, 'Go home and live a human life, my dear. But know that I'll always remember
your kindness.' And then he leapt away without another word."

"Sounds like someone I know," Rin grumbled.

Izayoi chuckled. "Yes, when I heard the truth of what happened between you and
Sesshoumaru, I saw many parallels between our stories. Father and son are more alike than
they think."
Rin knew they should probably be coming up with a plan, but Kagome and Sango were still
asleep, by the looks of it, and Izayoi's story had calmed her down, taking her mind off their
predicament for the moment. She needed to stay calm if they were going to find a way out of
here. Besides…she was curious about the ending. "So, what happened? Obviously, you met
again."

"Yes, well…despite what he said, I found I had gained something of a protector during my
outings. I caught him hovering between the trees, trying to stay out of sight. He was more
successful at it when I was with others, but when I was by myself…it was like he couldn't
help trying to make me notice him. So, of course I called him over, and we would talk as I
picked herbs. This happened on and off for perhaps a season before I finally got the news I
had been dreading: I was to be married off. Yet by then…I had already fallen in love with
Touga, even knowing he was married and that my father never would have permitted our
union if he wasn't. I forced myself to be strong and tell Touga without tears that I would not
be coming back to the forest again, since I was to marry. He did not say a word.

"We traveled in a procession to my betrothed's manor. I rode in my own palanquin, of course,

as was custom. And because I was alone, I finally let myself cry. Later I learned that Touga
had been tailing our procession and heard my sobs. That was what prompted him to act. He
ran straight for my palanquin, tossing aside one of the bearers and tearing open the door.
Before I even knew what was happening, he had absconded with me. When we were well
away from the procession and out in the middle of nowhere, he finally put me down. I
thought he had changed his mind and that he was going to take me as his concubine. But then
he handed me a sack of gold and pointed down to a nearby town. 'That should allow you to
live the life you desire. Go be a healer or whatever it is you wish to do. You are free now.'

"Kind though they were, each word was an arrow to my heart. Knowing I had nothing more
to lose, I said, 'You are the life I desire.' And then I kissed him. And that…that one move
seemed to unleash some sort of animal inside him. He mated me right there on that hillside."

Does Sesshoumaru know any of this? Rin wondered. Already, she saw so many parallels
between him and his father. Both trying to do the right thing. Both unable to resist the urges
deep within them. I know they're understanding each other better now, but perhaps knowing
this would help him find even more acceptance.

"Of course, when he realized what he had done…Touga was understandably distraught. I
thought it was just about sleeping with me and that he feared the repercussions for being
unfaithful to his wife. I didn't realize that in mating me, he had created an everlasting bond
between us—one he could not pretend had never happened. Here I was, high on post-
orgasmic bliss and half delirious with joy knowing he had chosen me of all creatures to be his
mate…and yet I was also devastated to know that my mere existence was causing him such
agony on what should have been a joyous day. It took him a couple days to cope with it, but
eventually, he brought me to the Sky Palace to inform Inukimi of what had happened. He
didn't want to bring me, but…he feared that without the proof of the mark on my neck, she
wouldn't believe him."

Izayoi blew out a breath. "I was…shocked at how placid she was when Touga told her.
Naively, I thought that meant she didn't care, like he feared she would. Perhaps she would
even let me stay there as his mate and concubine, so he needn't be separated from his wife
and son. I never meant to destroy his marriage. As for Touga…it was as if he took all the
emotion she wouldn't show and added it on top of his as he poured his heart out to her. In the
end, she just told us to leave. I always wondered about her, of course, but I didn't realize until
much, much later how much that day hurt her."

Izayoi drifted off into silence, the lighthearted atmosphere from earlier blown away once
again by the winds of solemnity.

Sniffles and stifled cries caused the two women to look over to the opposite bunk, where
Kagome was lying, facing them. Tears dripped down her cheek onto the bed.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Izayoi asked, rushing over to check on her.

Kagome nodded. "Y-Yes. I'm s-sorry. I don't know why I'm c-crying. It's just…that was such
a sad way to end the story, e-even though…I know it's a happy ending! Or at least…it was.
Now? Now we're stuck…stuck somewhere."

Izayoi smiled patiently and smoothed back her hair. "There, there. Don't count us out of
happy endings yet." She looked over at Sango, whose back was against Kagome's. "Is Sango
awake yet?"

"I am," Sango answered in a subdued voice.

"How long have you been awake?" Rin asked.

"…Long enough to hear most of the story."

She was so quiet, I didn't realize. Maybe she just…needed to process all of it. Process how a
demon and a human can love each other, Rin mused.

Kagome wiped her eyes. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Naraku's sanctuary," Rin said.

Kagome then noticed the bandage on her arm. "And what's this?"

Rin explained everything Abi had done and told them.

That finally got Sango to sit up. "So, there is still a need for demon slayers after all."

Kagome grabbed her hand in sympathy. "Sango…I'm sorry we kept all this a secret from you,
but…you understand, right? And you can see that not all demons are bad, right? Of course, I
totally agree: Naraku has to be stopped! And if demon slaying is what it takes, then so be it."

Sango sighed then reached around to her back, feeling around. She frowned, then cursed.
"Damn it, they took my gun."

Rin's eyes widened. "You were carrying a gun? I didn't think concealed carry was permitted
by law."
"The DSC gets some leeway on that," Sango answered. "Not that it does us any good now,
since they took it while I was knocked out."

"We'll think of something," Izayoi said. "But for now, we should play pliant. I may not know
Naraku well, but I know him better than any of you. That man is calculating. He's always
thinking ahead. We need to let down his guard by pretending to be mere sheep he can herd."

"And what if becoming a sheep simply leads us to the slaughter?" Sango snapped.

Izayoi winced. "Then we fight if it comes to it. But first, we should gather information. We've
barely been here. We don't know if there are guards outside, what their rotations are, how
often we'll be brought food. This is all critical to planning an escape."

Sango sighed again. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just feel so damn helpless."

"We all do, Sango," Kagome added, squeezing her friend's hand.

"But we're not. Sango, you and I are trained demon slayers," Izayoi said. At that, Sango's
eyes widened in shock. "Kagome has spiritual powers. Rin is a medic. These are all strengths
we can use to our advantage. We just have to find the opportune moment. But for now…let's
get those uniforms on. The more we follow Naraku's directions without protest, the less likely
he'll take out his anger on us. And between you and me…I'd rather not test out the limits of
his anger."

The next morning, Officer Rokuta came and unlocked Sesshoumaru's, Touga's, and
Inuyasha's cells. "The chief wishes to meet with you," he said, leading them out of the cell
block and into a large interrogation room. To Sesshoumaru's surprise, his mother and Miroku
were already waiting for them there—as was someone else.

"Kaede," Sesshoumaru said, to the bent, old woman.

"Sesshoumaru," she greeted solemnly.

What reason did she have to be here?Had Kikyou bragged to her about imprisoning
Inuyasha? Had she also turned herself in in a noble if useless gesture? "Why are you here?"
he asked.

Kaede glanced over at her sister sitting at the head of the table before saying, "I received a
distressing message from Rin." Once again, Sesshoumaru's heart lifted with pride in his mate.
Not only had Rin contacted Sango—she had found a backup plan. Perhaps one better suited
than Sango, given the woman's unconfirmed loyalties. "Officially, I'm here to check on Rin as
her doctor, but—" A look from Kikyou silenced her, and immediately, Sesshoumaru's hackles
rose in trepidation. Was something wrong with Rin? Before he could ask, Kaede continued,
"But unofficially, I'm here to talk sense into my sister."

"Damn, I would have never recognized you, Kaede," Inuyasha remarked, taking a seat at the
table like they were meeting for dinner and not an interrogation. "You sure haven't aged
well."
Kaede gave him a flat stare. "And unfortunately, you're just as rude as I remember. Granted, I
only met you the once, and you look nothing like you did back then either." Inuyasha
shrugged.

Touga watched the exchange with interest. "Chief Kimura, perhaps you could explain why
you've gathered us all here? Are you…letting us go?"

"Not quite," Kikyou answered. She grabbed a remote on the table and clicked on a monitor
mounted to the wall. The screen woke up to a video set to play.

Immediately, Sesshoumaru knew something was wrong. Everyone who had been taken
prisoner yesterday was here—except for Rin, Kagome, and Izayoi.

"There was an…incident last night. We're conducting an investigation, but we're wondering if
you can shed some light on the matter." She clicked play.

Colored security footage rolled, although the darkness on the edges of the feed and the bright
light below the camera indicated it was the dead of night. A black van was parked in a way
that its plates didn't show, but the back doors were thrown open. Just then, the below the
camera opened, and Sango marched out, towing Rin, Kagome, and Izayoi behind her.

Miroku sat up instantly. "What the hell is she doing?"

Sesshoumaru relaxed a fraction when he saw it was Sango leading them. Did she help them
escape? He would be thankful if she did. He would rather Rin be in hiding somewhere than
trapped in this prison, even if he couldn't be beside her.

But the moment he saw Sango try to yank Rin into the van like a prisoner and not like a
friend, his anxiety ratcheted back up. Kagome latched onto Sango, and there seemed to be an
exchange happening. But mere seconds after she did, the passenger door to the van opened,
and someone in black clothes and carrying a cane got out and smacked Kagome with it.

"Who the hell is that?!" Inuyasha shouted in indignation.

"We're wondering if you can tell us," Kikyou answered.

As if we can with that hood up, Sesshoumaru thought. They were demons, not omniscient
gods.

But the scene didn't end there. The women in the video were all just as shocked now as the
viewers. And then someone else walked around from the driver's side. The face was barely
visible in the light from the doorway, but when the person hit first Kagome and then Rin,
causing them to drop, Sesshoumaru's bloodlust surged, and the perpetrator became his sole
focus, as if he could reach through the screen and throttle her. Yet the partial views of the face
as well as the person's movements and stance triggered a feeling of familiarity in him. He
paused, peering at the image in confusion, and a name came to his lips before he could think
it through.

"Kagura?"
Now his mother sat forward, staring at the screen as Izayoi went down. "…Son, I think you're
right."

"Are you referring to this suspect?" Kikyou asked, pausing the footage and pointing at
Kagura's semi-exposed face beneath the black hood. Inukimi nodded. "Who is she, and why
might she have abducted these four women?"

"Four?" Miroku asked. Kikyou nodded and resumed the video. Kagura summarily knocked
Sango out and hauled her into the back of the van along with the others—though
Sesshoumaru was relieved to see she was gentle with Rin. Afterwards, Kagura and the other
suspect returned to the cab.

"Wait, go back a second," Touga said. Kikyou paused and rewound frame by frame, the
unidentified suspect now walking backwards from the cab to the back. "Stop. Can you zoom
in? The face is hidden, but that cane…. I have to be sure." Kikyou pressed a couple buttons,
and zoomed in on the suspect—the cane in particular. There was just enough light to show a
hint of amber and a black mark over it that looked like a spider. Now Sesshoumaru
recognized it, but his father was quicker to express himself. Touga snarled. "Shit. I'd know
that cane anywhere. The Azusa no Yumihari."

Inukimi's brows rose in understanding. "Zero."

Sesshoumaru gripped the table so hard, his talons left gauges in the metal. "Give me my
wedding ring," he demanded in a voice dredged up from Dante's coldest circle of Hell.

Kikyou's brow rose. "Pardon?"

"Now."

"And why should I do that?"

"I need to make sure she's alive."

"And you can do that with this ring?"

"Yes."

"Will it work like that, son? Rin isn't wearing hers," Touga pointed out gently.

He hadn't thought about that. But surely Hosenki was crafty enough to create rings that, while
bound, operated independently of each other. After all, Rin could always feel his emotions
anyway, so she had no true need for hers. So, was the cut pearl symbolic or a necessary
anchor on her ring?

"There is only one way to find out," he said.

Kikyou sighed. "Very well. I suppose it is in our best interests to try to confirm that at least
one of the women still lives." She sent Officer Nanasuke to fetch it.
When the slayer returned with the ring and held it out to him, Sesshoumaru practically
snatched it from his palm and shoved it onto his finger. His family watched him for any
reaction.

A current of fear slammed into him, peppered with piques of anger and concern.

Sesshoumaru let out a small sigh of relief. She was afraid, but she was alive. His relaxed
posture was all his family needed to know.

"How is she feeling?" his father asked.

"Frightened mostly. A little angry."

"Not sad? Not like…someone died?" Inuyasha asked.

"No." Inuyasha breathed a more obvious sigh of relief. "Then the others must be safe too if
she isn't distraught."

That, or she simply doesn't know, Sesshoumaru thought, but for once, he did not feel like
pointing out his brother's shortsightedness.

Now that he was assured that his mate still lived, he turned his attention back to the monitor
and glared. "She swore she wouldn't lay another hand on Rin."

Touga frowned at him. "Son, what are you talking about?"

As far as Sesshoumaru was concerned, all bets between him and Zero were now off. "When I
was staying at Rin's apartment, Zero invaded her dreams one night. She fed Rin nightmares
about…eating the children."

Touga's eyes widened in horror while Kaede's widened in full understanding. Inuyasha
cursed.

Spurred by his father's reaction, Sesshoumaru added, "She went into the minds of the
children as well. They were…terrified." He would never forget their trembling little auras. He
never wanted them to experience such trauma again, and he would do everything in his
power to make sure of it.

"I can't believe this. Why didn't you say anything, son? I thought we were past all these
secrets!" Touga demanded, slamming a hand on the table. Even Inukimi looked frustrated by
this omission.

"I extracted an agreement out of her—as long as she and her minions never laid a hand on
Rin again, I wouldn't tell you what she did."

"Why? Why would you think that would stop her after what she had just done?" Touga asked.

Inukimi expelled an exasperated sigh. "For a demon so versed in love, you are utterly blind to
seeing it in others," she snapped. The way his parents eyes met told Sesshoumaru they both
understood she was speaking about more than just Zero. "Zero has loved you for centuries."
Touga jerked back and shook his head quickly. "That can't be. She…she accepted an
engagement to Sesshoumaru."

"I was a mere stand-in for you," Sesshoumaru answered, causing his father's head to pivot
back to him.

"Son…you knew about this?" Sesshoumaru nodded. "But then why…?" Touga shook his
head, letting it fall into one of his hands. "Never mind, I know why you did it. But still—" He
popped back up and stared at Inukimi with imploring eyes. "You know I didn't meet Zero
until we were married, Kimi. You have to believe me: I swear I never encouraged that sort of
behavior—"

"You don't need to defend yourself to me," his mother hissed back. "I am no longer your wife,
after all. Besides, I am well aware of your nature to charm others without realizing it
yourself. Her feelings were obvious to everyone but you."

Miroku cleared his throat. "Look, as fascinating as this family drama all is, have we forgotten
that our wives have been abducted by…by this insane, scorned woman and her crony?"

"Kagura is not Zero's crony," Sesshoumaru answered, watching as Kikyou took notes.

"Indeed: why is Kagura in on this?" Inukimi mused.

"Isn't it obvious?" Inuyasha announced, standing up so fast he toppled his chair. He walked
over and grabbed Sesshoumaru by the front of his shirt, glaring at him. "Another woman
you've scorned. Why doesn't it surprise me that because of your constipated heart, our wives
are all in danger? Damn typical!" He launched a punch at Sesshoumaru's cheek, but
Sesshoumaru deftly caught his brother's fist.

The elder brother frowned. "I do not think so. I have been very clear with Kagura from the
start. Besides…if Byakuya was spying on us yesterday, that indicates Naraku is behind this."

"Naraku?" Kikyou echoed, still writing. "And who might that be?"

"He's a downright bastard who—" Inuyasha shut his mouth as soon as Touga held up a hand.

"This is where we make a deal, Chief Kimura," Touga said.

Kikyou's pen froze and her brows rose. "Are you in any position to be making such a deal?"

"Naraku is a threat you can't handle alone."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Touga's frown deepened. "Trust me on this, Chief Kimura. You will need our help."

"Sister, listen to them," Kaede urged. "They know their own society—and they are willing
to help." The sisters had a silent stare off before Kikyou finally broke it and turned to look
over each of them.
"…What exactly are you offering, Touga Nishikuni?"

"Add us to your Safe Wall and give us the same immunity as those who have worked with
you before. We want to live in the freedom and knowledge that you will not break down our
doors at any given moment. In addition, give us the option to work together with the DSC in
the future to create a system where other demons can apply for the same immunity based on a
system of good behavior. We need to start integrating demons openly into society if our
nation—our world—is ever to be at peace."

"You're asking for the dissolution of the Corps, in effect. That is something I cannot accept,"
Kikyou answered.

"On the contrary—as with humans, demons will always need policing, and your Corps is
equipped to handle that job…for the most part. But you wield that power against good and
evil alike, and that needs to change."

Kaede reached out and put her gnarled hand over her sister's. "Just as I've been telling you
since last night, Sister. Not all demons need to be punished for being what they are."

Kikyou's jaw tensed. "You said this would be a deal. How exactly does the Corps benefit?"

"In exchange…we'll help you land the biggest demon haul of the century. Your name will go
down in the history books."

Kikyou chuckled softly. "Fame does not appeal to me, Nishikuni-san." Touga looked ready to
say something else, but she stopped him with a raised hand. "My only motivation is seeing
that humans are safe from demonic threats."

"I swear Naraku is the greatest threat in the country right now. Definitely more so than
everyone in this room…though keep up from going after our mates much longer, and that
may change," Touga said, his words belying his calm delivery. "If you truly want to save
humans, Chief Kimura, you will work with us to stop him."

Kikyou rapped her fingers on the table for a couple seconds. Finally, she said, "Very well—
on the condition that you can provide proof of this Naraku's inherent threat beyond whatever
personal vendetta you find yourself in with him. I'll even take a witness statement."

"Oh, we have more than that. But I'll need to make two phone calls first."

Demon general and demon slayer chief held each other's stares for several tense seconds—
the former trying to convey urgency, the latter looking for deception.

Finally, Kikyou broke the silence. "Granted."

So it was that Officer Rokuta escorted Touga to make his calls, and an hour later, the door to
the conference room opened once more. Tsukuyomaru walked in behind a very wide-eyed
Officer Nanasuke.

"I know demons don't age much, but…dang. He really looks just the same as in his photo,"
he said to Kikyou while jamming a thumb over his shoulder towards the bat demon. The
slayer handed Kikyou a wallet and a USB-drive. "This was all that he had on him."

"Thank you. That will be all, officer," Kikyou said as Tsukuyomaru removed his coat and
spread his wings so he could seat himself more comfortably in the high-backed chair.

"Thank you for coming, friend," Touga said, clapping Tsukuyomaru's shoulder and shaking
his hand.

"Think nothing of it. I was already making my way, since Myoga found me early this
morning."

"I take it this is the evidence of Naraku's threat?" Kikyou asked, waving the flash drive while
returning Tsukuyomaru's wallet to him.

"Yes. Thanks to my friend Touga's initiatives here, we were able to secure footage of the
facility where the girls are likely being held as well as verbal confirmation of his plans."

"Then let's not waste time. Walk me through it," Kikyou said, popping the USB into a laptop.

To Rin, Naraku was only a name, not a face. She had no idea what sort of demon to expect.
Perhaps some ancient, bony thing, stubbornly clinging to the past. Or an oily, leering demon
with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

What she didn't expect was the devilishly handsome and stylish man that walked in. Like
many demons she knew, he wore his dark, wavy hair long, though he had tied it back in a
thick ponytail. Despite the almost sickly, jaundiced cast to his skin, he was extremely fair of
face, and his red eyes were a beautiful shade of crimson—or they would be, if Rin hadn't
come to associate him with the idea of blood. The cruel twist to his lips and the smarmy lilt to
his rich voice soured his beatific image.

"Welcome, ladies. I heard we had an extra visitor," he said, approaching Sango and looking
down at her. They were all kneeling on the floor, as Hakudoshi had instructed they do when
he came in moments earlier to make sure they were "ready for inspection," as he put it. "A
demon slayer—quite the catch. You'll make a fine addition to our arena roster."

"I'm not doing anything for you," Sango spat back, and Rin tensed. Yes, they had planned to
play along with Naraku's innocuous orders, but anyone would have thought it strange if a
demon slayer had not protested her captivity. Rin only hoped Sango wouldn't pay the price
for her words.

"I'm afraid you'll find that you have no choice," Naraku said, grabbing her chin and forcing
her to stare him in the eye. "You see, I run a special enterprise here—one that hearkens back
to the ancient laws of this land. One that restores the world to its natural order. One where
demons lord over humans. And if you disobey, you will be killed and eaten. It's really quite
that simple." Sango's body trembled though whether from fear or anger, Rin couldn't tell.
Naraku smiled and let her go.
"Now, I'm not without some mercies. You must wonder what roles you all will be taking here,
now that you've become part of my sanctuary. I'll gladly fill you in. Tonight, I'm hosting a
preview event for our business partners and some projected VIPs, so I need to be sure to offer
them a taste of what…pleasures they will be able to experience. I've decided our demon
slayer here will play a starring role in a special arena performance. But I think it's not enough
that you should be on your own, my dear. Demon slayers are meant to protect humans, are
they not? So that's precisely what we'll do: we'll give you a human to protect. Izayoi, you
should fall into that role fairly easily, shouldn't you? I imagine you're used to having someone
do the fighting for you."

That's what he thinks. Granted, Rin had never seen Izayoi fight either, so she still found it
hard to believe herself.

"You can sit there all smug for now, Naraku, but when my husband and sons find out about
this, they will tear through this sanctuary of yours until not even a single concrete block is
left standing," Izayoi ground out.

Naraku chuckled. "Ah Izayoi, I count of them finding out. In fact, I will be making sure of it
—although I'm afraid there will be little they can do, being confined to the DSC headquarters
and all."

"You think you're safe here? Once the DSC finds out where we are, they'll be all over this
place," Sango added.

"Ah, well, good thing I have a barrier that makes it impossible for humans to detect." Sango's
confidence slipped with that.

Then Naraku turned to face Kagome and Rin. "As for you two, well…let's just say Zero's
ideas for Rin inspired my own for you, Kagome. Of course, Abi didn't tell Rin everything…."

Rin's heart dropped—and her voice with it—but Kagome still managed to bite out, "What did
she leave out?"

Naraku was only too happy to share. "Half-demon blood and flesh is a rare delicacy, you
know. Once Abi returns with the results of your examinations, we'll see if we can induce Rin
to safely deliver her twins. The safety is only for the one twin, of course. The other will be
offered to our guests as a special treat for our VIPs."

"No!" The scream tore out of Rin's throat. She covered her stomach with her arms. "I won't
let you harm them!"

"Rest assured that the other will live. We'll allow it to grow and provide us blood throughout
the years. Of course, one half-demon isn't enough, so we'll need you to provide more.
Kagome as well, assuming she's able. Why, we can get her regimen started tonight." He
leered and Rin's sister. "I'll even break you in myself, to make sure you're suitable for our
guests."

Kagome's eyes widened as all the implications of his words sank in. She jumped up and tried
to slap Naraku, but Hakudoshi rushed in and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back and
forcing her down to the ground in submission. "You…you disgusting creep!" Kagome
growled. "I will die before sleeping with the likes of you."

Naraku tsked. "Now, now, we can't have that. Your death would hurt Inuyasha, to be sure, but
knowing you've been taken and impregnated by another man? That might just send him mad,
and I would much rather draw out his agony than deliver only one blow."

"What's your beef with him anyway? Why are you doing this to us?" Kagome demanded.

Naraku shrugged. "Inuyasha took someone that belonged to me. So now, I've done the same
to him."

"Who?" Kagome asked.

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Naraku frowned. "Enter." The door flew open,
and Abi rushed inside. She shoved some folders into Naraku's hands and whispered in his ear.
Rin tried to make out what she said but couldn't. Naraku's eyes narrowed, and he flipped
open the file. After looking over it for a moment, he snapped it shut and tapped it against his
hand, thinking.

"It would appear there's been a change of plans. Or a delay, rather. …But no matter. Yes, this
should still work nicely. If the idea of his wife and mate being in my hands is not enough to
torment him…the knowledge of his mate and child being here will." Kagome gasped, but
Naraku wasn't paying attention to her. "Has there ever been such a thing as a quarter-demon,
Abi? What do you reckon the price of blood would be for that?"

Abi smirked. "For the rarity alone? Astronomical."

Naraku smirked. "Then it's settled. See to it she carries the child to term. I'm sure we can still
have our fun without endangering the fetus, however. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go
and inform some others of this…development. Abi, come with me. You can examine them
later."

With that, he left, Abi and Hakudoshi following him out and shutting the door.

Izayoi turned to Kagome and grabbed her hand. "Sweetie, you're pregnant?"

Kagome was still staring at the place where Naraku had been standing in shock. Rin knew
that look. She had worn it herself when reading the pregnancy test seven months ago. "You
didn't know…did you?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. I mean…it can't be true, can it? Inuyasha would have known,
right? They can sense these things, can't they?"

"Eventually, yes, but early on, the signs are very subtle," Izayoi said, smoothing Kagome's
hair. "And if he didn't know what to look for, he might have just dismissed any changes in
your scent as a change of shampoo or something."

"Do you have an idea how far along you could be?" Sango finally chimed in.
 "It…it can't be more than a month," Kagome answered, counting on her fingers. "I know I
started getting a little baby fever around the time of Rin's shower, and I might have started
pushing Inuyasha to just…let loose and see what happened. But I didn't think it'd actually
happen this soon. I know my period's late, but it's only been a week, so I wasn't exactly
worried yet." Tears sprang to her eyes, and she covered her face with her hands. "I…I know I
wanted this, but…why did this have to happen now of all times?"

Izayoi pulled Kagome into her arms and shushed her, rubbing her back. "Kagome, I promise
—we're not going to let him do anything to your or the baby. And the same goes for you,
Rin."

"Then we don't have time to waste. We have to get out of here before tonight. That's when he
said everything begins," Sango stated.

"B-But how?" Kagome hiccupped. When no one said anything, the mood deflated even
further.

Of course, it's easier said than done, Rin thought, hating herself for the doubt. But at this
point, she simply couldn't see any way out for them. Even if they could get out of the cell, a
debilitating miasma waited right outside their door.

Rin knew it wasn't the modern, feminist thing to do, but she couldn't help but say a little
prayer, then wrap up the feelings of that prayer and push it down her emotional tether to
Sesshoumaru, despite knowing he probably couldn't feel it. Even so, she was certain that as
soon as he found out she was missing, he would come for her—one way or another.

Oh Sesshoumaru, please hurry. We need your help. We need everybody's help. Or the family
we've all just started piecing together is going to be irrevocably broken.

Chapter End Notes

Well guys, to be honest, my original plans for the end of this chapter got derailed,
because once Izayoi started talking, she didn't stop, and I couldn't fit in the next scene
and still get this out on time, haha. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed that brief interlude
of non-angst, because it's only going to get more angsty from here….
 Fight and Flight
Chapter Notes

😅
All these back-to-back action scenes between this and The Wall are killing me, guys.
That's all I'm gonna say.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The next time their cell door opened, Hakudoshi walked in carrying four bags. The women
all froze on their bunks, watching him warily. "Glad I have your attention," he said.
"Tonight's festivities are due to begin within the hour. You each have a particular dress code.
Be dressed within ten minutes, or else," he said, dropping the bags on the floor. "The bags are
named, so you'll know who gets what." Then he left. Sango jumped down from her top bunk
and walked over to the bags.

"W-What do you think he meant by 'festivities?'" Kagome asked.

"Whatever it is, we're the entertainment," Sango said, pulling a black uniform out of her bag.
She frowned as she looked at the cloth, then she dug further into the bag.

"Sango, what is it?" Rin asked, scooting to the edge of her bunk.

Sango pulled out what looked like pink shoulder pads. "This is a legitimate Demon Slayer
uniform. It's a little old-fashioned…but it's real. It even has all the accessories—right down to
the mask," she said, pulling out a metal mouthpiece.

Kagome grabbed her bag and peered into it. She scoffed, pulling out little more than a metal
bikini. "What the hell is this supposed to be? A Princess Leia costume?" she asked, holding
up a diaphanous skirt.

Oh no, Rin thought, looking into her own bag. But instead of finding the same slutty outfit
Kagome had, she instead found a black geisha's kimono. Izayoi also had a kimono, although
hers was layered as well as far longer and more luxurious.

"What's going on? Are we putting on a play or something?" Kagome asked.

"If only it were that innocuous," Izayoi answered.

"What should we do?" Rin asked.

Izayoi frowned. "There's nothing we can do but play along. It seems like we'll be let out of
the cell at least. If you can find the opportunity, run for it."
The women were just making final adjustments to their costumes when Hakudoshi,
Juuroumaru, Kagura, Abi, and a pale man with a long, dark ponytail walked in without
warning. Hakudoshi looked around at them and nodded. "Good. Juuroumaru, you take Izayoi.
You know what to do."

The silent demon snatched Izayoi up like a snake, throwing her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing? Put her down!" Kagome cried out, moving forward only to have Abi
block her way.

"Pipe down. You'll see her again soon enough," the nurse demon said.

"Where are you taking her?" Kagome demanded.

Abi only smirked in answer. Hakudoshi looked at Sango. "Demon Slayer, you'd better put
that mask on, if you know what'd good for you."

Sango glared at him. "Why?"

Hakudoshi shrugged. "Because I'm not giving you an extra one when we leave the room. So
if you want to suffer from Naraku's miasma, then by all means, do so. But you might regret
it." Sango tsked but put on the mask.

Rin frowned. "Wait…you didn't give Izayoi a mask."

Hakudoshi grinned. "I know." He turned back to Sango once she had her mask tied around
her face, and then his hand shot like a viper to latch onto her arm. "You're coming with me."
He practically dragged her from the room.

That left the two sisters with Abi. Without warning, she said, "Restrain them."

Kagura and the other demon pounced, the former grabbing Rin and the latter grabbing
Kagome.

"Let go of me!" Kagome cried out, twisting this way and that.

"Oh dear. Abi, you'd better hurry up. I'm not sure I can keep her down," the man said with a
carefree lilt to his voice.

"Shut it, Byakuya. I need to get this measurement exactly right, or those two could end up
dead instead of drugged," Abi said, opening a small medical bag she carried and pulling out a
couple packets of syringes and a bottle of clear fluid.

"Drugged?" Rin echoed. "With what?"

"Samyoushou venom—diluted, at any rate," Abi answered while tearing open one of the
packets. "It'll only be enough to put you into a dazed state, not kill you. At least…it
shouldn't."
Rin's heart jackhammered. "You can't do that! We're pregnant. Drugs like opiates will harm
the babies. N-Naraku wouldn't want that, right?"

Abi pulled some liquid into the syringe and then tapped against it, getting out the bubbles and
squirting a bit out. "It's not an addictive drug, and at this dosage, it doesn't harm you—it only
puts your body into a somnolent state. Think of it more like an epidural—you'd take that,
wouldn't you? Of course, this isn't meant to block pain, but you understand, don't you?" She
walked over to Kagome, whose shoulder was bare in her Princess Leia outfit. Byakuya held
her tighter so that Abi had a steadier arm to work with as she injected the venom into
Kagome.

"Give it a minute to start working, then mask her up and take her away," Abi said, walking
back to her bag and readying the second syringe.

"Why are you doing this?" Rin protested. "How can you be so cruel?"

Behind her, Kagura scoffed. "The world ain't all rainbows and butterflies, girl. It's about time
you learned that."

"You think I don't know that already?" Rin snapped. "You don't know the first thing about
what I've lived through!" But she wasn't about to share the pain of her past
with these monsters. "But you all have a choice. So why would you choose to be so
heinous?"

"It's just business, hon," Abi said, approaching her. The nurse looked over Rin's outfit and
frowned. Then she tugged the edges of the kimono down Rin's arms, baring her shoulders.
She nodded. "That should do. You were looking a little frumpy next to your sister anyway.
Can't change the belly, but at least this gives you some sex appeal." Then she jabbed the
needle into Rin's flesh, not even trying to make it painless.

"There. That should make it easier to get through this next ordeal," Abi said, tossing the
syringe into a biohazard bag. "After all…we can't have you two making a seen when the
others die."

"What the hell is taking her so long?" Inuyasha demanded, kicking a chair clear across the
conference room.

"Son, I understand your impatience, but if we want Chief Kimura's help, we need to give her
time to assemble and brief her soldiers on what they're up against," Touga answered. He
nervously wagging foot belied his calm demeanor. "Now put the chair back."

"Well, she's taking her sweet damn time," Inuyasha huffed, stomping over to grab the chair.
"She's had all freakin' day." Indeed, the sun was setting, and Kikyou had left to make
preparations hours ago.

Once their group had finished briefing Kikyou on Naraku's sanctuary and his hidden
monsters, Kikyou instructed that everyone imprisoned as part of the Nishikuni raid was to be
given back his or her belongings. She then asked them to wait in the conference room until
she returned from the meeting with her slayers.

Meanwhile, Tsukuyomaru drove back to the Nishikuni estate with permission to grab new
clothes for everyone, since what was returned to them were their wedding outfits—not
exactly the best clothes for battle. By the time he returned, the Nishikunis were all showered
and needed only to swap out their clothes. Then, the waiting began.

If Sesshoumaru had as little control over his actions as Inuyasha did, he too would be tearing
the room apart. The only reason he remained sane was his link to Rin through the ring. His
heart had sped up earlier when a spike of anger and fright shot through him, but within
minutes, her emotions had calmed down—eerily so, in fact. She hadn't even been so relaxed
earlier, when bubbles of happiness and mirth had floated up through their bond. He closed his
eyes and instead tried to block out the sounds of Inuyasha's pacing, focusing on Rin's
feelings. He kept pushing reassurance towards her, but he felt no reaction. It was as if she was
almost disconnected from him.

Suddenly, the monitor in the room turned on. They looked around for anyone who
accidentally pressed a button on the remote, but the remote lay in the middle of the table, well
away from any fidgeting fingers.

A logo with the letters "NS" in a crisp, modern font appeared, along with the words, "Please
wait. Broadcast will start soon."

"What the? What's going on?" Miroku asked.

The screen blackened, and a closeup of Naraku's head appeared. "Good evening, everyone,
and thank you for joining us during the soft opening of Naraku's Sanctuary. I'd especially like
to welcome some special guests who couldn't make it tonight, as they are currently being
detained…although it appears that their release is imminent." The screen changed to a feed
that showed the Nishikunis, Miroku, and Tsukuyomaru watching the monitor.

"What the hell?" Miroku exclaimed, his onscreen mirror doing so with only a couple seconds'
delay.

Sesshoumaru flew out of his seat in a second, slashing through the security camera in the
room, and the feed went black.

"Oh dear. It appears our guests did not wish to be on air. My apologies," Naraku said as he
reappeared. "Rest assured, they are still watching—my daughter is making sure of it."

"Kanna," Tsukuyomaru murmured, and Touga nodded.

"As a special treat, for this evening, I've put together a rare performance," Naraku continued.
"We all know about the Demon Slayer Corps. They are the threat that keeps us hiding in the
shadows, unable to walk proudly in the open as we once did." The video cut to show a small
audience in the stands of an arena, all of them booing. Then it switched back to Naraku. "Of
course, one could argue that the demon slayers of today have cushy jobs compared to those
even a century ago, when more of us walked the land. How many demons do
they really capture? And are these demons even threats? It's questions like these that have
plagued our kind for decades: why hunt us if we've done nothing wrong? I mean, take our
special guests for example. Why, they weren't running rampant in the streets. They were
holding a wedding when they were captured. Isn't that right, my dear?"

Naraku leaned over to his right and reached out. The camera zoomed back, and suddenly both
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were on their feet.

Zero sat in an almost throne-like seat next to Naraku, but there was a conspicuous space
between them—one Rin filled, sitting on the floor and slumping against Zero's chair. Naraku
pet Rin's hair like she was a dog, and the girl barely even flinched. Her eyes held a glazed,
vacant stare, and her blinks were long and slow, reminding Sesshoumaru of the opiate addicts
he had seen in Chinese dens back in the 1800s. She wore a black kimono pulled down over
her shoulders, offering a tantalizing view of her cleavage and also making her appear slimmer
than she was at this stage of her pregnancy. A mask covered her mouth and nose while a
metal collar looped around her neck. Zero held the chain attached to it. The demoness could
not stop smiling.

Meanwhile, sitting on the left arm of Naraku's chair and slumped against him was Kagome in
little better than a belly dancer outfit. The mask over her face seemed to cover more of her
than her clothes. Naraku's other hand was wrapped around her bare abdomen, stroking the
side. She too did not move, though her gaze appeared clearer.

"Quite a pity someone saw fit to turn them in for so innocuous an affair," Naraku said. His
smirk was positively patronizing.

Sesshoumaru entire body quaked with the need to transform and break out of this building.
"Vermin."

"What the hell did he do to them? Kagome! Quit lettin' that creep feel you up!" Inuyasha
yelled at the monitor.

"They've obviously been drugged," Touga said through gritted teeth.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Rin maybe, but not Kagome. I've seen her drunk. I know what her
eyes look like when she's halfway to the moon. She's playing well, but her eyes are clear as
day. Just what the heck is she thinking?"

Just then, the door opened, and Kikyou walked in. "What is going on? Security said—"

"Shut it, Kikyou!" Inuyasha snapped.

Before Kikyou could retort, Naraku continued, for of course, he could no longer hear or see
them, given that Sesshoumaru had destroyed the security camera. "So this time, I've taken the
liberty of creating a reason for a demon slayer existence. They serve to protect humans, so
they claim. Now, I know many of us long for a bygone age of feudal lords and ladies,
rampant warfare and despair. Alas, I do not have the power to reverse time…but
I have managed to dig up a real, live princess. Imagine, in this day and age! But why haven't
you heard about her going missing in the papers? Could it be that this princess has been
hiding her identity, just like the rest of us?"

"Oh no," Touga murmured.

Naraku flung out his hand. "Please give a warm welcome to our first player of the night,
Princess Izayoi Nishikuni!"

The scene cut to one of the arena, and a small circle opened up in its center. Whoops and
applause filled the small audience as a metal pillar rose through the floor, eventually
revealing Izayoi chained to it. Her arms were tied up above her head, and she was dressed in
the heavy kimonos of old, her hair long and flowing. Her head lolled on her shoulders, her
eyes half-lidded, and she coughed intermittently.

"That son of a bitch," Touga hissed, his hands gripping the armrests of his seat so hard, they
splintered in his grasp. Inukimi frowned and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Now, every princess needs her hero—or should I say, heroine? Just as I've procured a live
princess for you, dear guests, I've also found a modern-day demon slayer. Give it up for our
lovely Sango Fukushima!"

"Shit," Miroku and Inuyasha said at the same time.

The video cut to an image of an iron gate. Behind it, Sango stood in an older demon slayer
uniform. She wore a mask on her face and held a sickle attached to a long chain in her hands.
Her eyes promised death.

The audience booed.

"Oh dear, the heroine of our match doesn't seem to be very popular," Naraku said with a
malicious grin. "Perhaps you'll prefer her opponent…."

The feed cut to the iron gate on the other side of the arena, where a pair of red eyes glowed.
A bright light flashed in the darkness accompanied by an electric zap, and a bestial roar
echoed through the arena.

Suddenly, the beast's head appeared in the light filtering through the gate as it rammed itself
into the iron door, causing it to shudder. Crystal armor covered its green head, and a mouth
full of serrated, white teeth glinted beneath its reptilian lips.

Miroku's eyes widened. "What in the hell is that?"

Touga's jaw tensed. "That…is a demon of old."

The video turned back to Sango, whose eyes widened and skin paled as she beheld the
demon. The crowd cheered.

"Oh dear. It looks like our resident demon slayer is starting to regret her choice of weapon—
and we did give her a choice, by the way. Except…there was one type of weapon
we didn't offer her." He reached behind him and held up a polished, black revolver.
"That's Sango's!" Miroku exclaimed.

"How can you tell?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's a Hiraikotsu V-2—Sango's favorite. She rarely leaves the house without it. It's not
exactly standard issue for the Corps."

"However," Naraku continued, "I hear that one hundred percent of bets have been
placed against dear Sango. With such odds…it seems unfair not to at least give her a sporting
chance, right?"

The crowd booed, several calling a gun "too easy."

Naraku chuckled. "Of course, I hear you. I don't want to give her too much of an advantage.
So I'll tell you what." He pulled his arm out from around Kagome and then popped open the
revolver, dumping the full magazine of bullets into his hand. Then he placed all but one into
his pocket and held it up. "I'll give her back her gun, but only with a single bullet. Let's hope
she has good aim."

Suddenly, Kagome slapped her hand on top of his, and she moaned as she seemed to
almost snuggle into him.

"I'm gonna throw up," Inuyasha said.

"Quiet," Sesshoumaru hissed. "She's saying something."

"What was that, my dear?" Naraku asked, smiling down at her like he would a child. He tried
to shake her hand off his, but she wouldn't let go. "A thousand apologies, dear guests. It
would seem my companion is having an abnormal reaction to her drugs. I promise I didn't
slip her an aphrodisiac," he said with a chuckle.

"Hmm le mrk," Kagome mumbled, Naraku's mic barely picking it up. She squeezed his hand
again.

"What's she saying?" Miroku asked in a whisper. "With that mask on, I can't even try to read
her lips."

"'Hit the mark,'" Tsukuyomaru said, his eyes closed and his face tight. He nodded, opening
his eyes. "I'm sure of it, although I don't know what it means."

"She's blessing the bullet," Kikyou announced, turning their attention on her. "If Sango was
carrying DSC-issued bullets, they would already contain spiritual energy, but of course, they
still need to be aimed properly. Kagome is adding more energy to the bullet to direct its path."

"Atta girl!" Inuyasha cried out, pumping his fist.

Kagome's hand finally slipped off Naraku's, and her head fell onto his shoulder, like she had
passed out of whatever phase the supposed drugs had her in. Naraku slotted the bullet into the
gun and then held it out beside him.
"Kagura, deliver this to Sango, would you?"

Kagura stepped out of the shadows and reached for the gun. Just as she turned away, Naraku
held up a finger. "Ah, one more thing. I almost forgot." He reached into his jacket pocket and
pulled out a key. "This will unlock the chains around Izayoi's wrists. Give this to Sango as
well. Of course…she'll have to race to get to Izayoi before the demon does." Kagura grabbed
the key and disappeared. "Now, are we ready for the show to begin?"

The crowd erupted with the strength of a full arena and not just a small section.

Naraku leered. "Good. Then let's countdown."

A countdown clock of one minute started on the screen.

"We need to leave. Now," Inuyasha said, turning to face the others.

"No," Miroku answered, and Inuyasha whirled back to face him.

"Whaddya mean, 'no'?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't rush into battle without knowing the outcome of this," Miroku said. He
clenched his fists. "I…I have to know whether I'm going to free my wife…or avenge her."

"What's it matter why you fight as long as we get going?" Inuyasha snapped back.

"Son, stop. He's right," Touga said, standing. Inukimi's hand fell off his shoulder. "Besides,
even if the worst were to happen…we would never make it there in time. You know how long
it will take to get to Naraku's sanctuary, and we'll have to destroy his barrier when we arrive
as well." He turned to Miroku. "Do you trust your wife to get herself and Izayoi out of this
alive?"

Miroku's face paled. "I…I am praying to Buddha that it is so. She's a talented fighter, but…
she's never faced anything like that before. And with only one bullet?" Miroku raised
trembling hands and suddenly ran them through his hair, curling over the top of the table. "I
don't know. Dear Buddha, I don't know."

"Believe, Fukushima-san," Kikyou said, prompting him to look up. "As you said, your wife
has trained well for this. You must believe in her."

"And don't forget—Kagome blessed the bullet," Inuyasha said in a subdued voice. "They'll
get through this."

The countdown timer buzzed, and just then, the gates starting to rise. Sango, much smaller
than the demon, slipped out under the gate as soon as she could bend down and fit. She took
off running for Izayoi in the center of the arena.

She reached Izayoi and slapped her cheek, but the older woman just grimaced. Then Sango
took her mask off and tied it around Izayoi's face. Sango held her breath, but after securing
the mask, she breathed in and started coughing.
With a road, the demon charged out of the gate on all fours. While it wasn't terribly fast, its
size helped it cover more ground as it ran. Now fully revealed, it resembled a cross between
an ankylosaurus with plates of crystal covering its rounded back like armor and a stegosaurus
with spikes of crystal jutting up along its spine and at the end of its tail.

Sango thrust the key into Izayoi's hands and ran away from her, waving and yelling at the
demon. But in her haste and with Izayoi's body still slow to react, the key dropped to Izayoi's
feet.

"Heavens, I can't watch this," Miroku moaned, even as his eyes were glued to the screen. He
started mumbling chants under his breath, interspersed with brief prayers like, "Dear Buddha,
keep her safe," and "Dear Buddha, don't make me a widower," and "Merciful Kannon, don't
let our children be motherless."

Sango waved the sickle and chain around her head. Miroku's heart thudded louder and louder
in Sesshoumaru's ears as the demon bore down on her. Suddenly, she released the sickle and
chain, aiming for the beast's unprotected legs, but her throw was too short, and the demon
trampled on it instead.

She rolled out of the way as the demon barreled past her towards the wall of the arena.
Though it turned early enough to avoid hitting its head, its spiked tail slammed into the side,
leaving gouges in the fresh cement walls. Sango didn't look after it though. She coughed as
she rose from her crouch and then ran for her fallen sickle and chain.

Meanwhile, Izayoi seemed to have regained better mobility now that she was wearing the
mask. She kicked off her sandals and then stretched out her leg as far as the chains would let
her go, trying to hook the key in the sand and kick it back to herself. The video did not zoom
in on her actions, but she must have managed something, because soon she was scraping a
pile of sand towards her. Finally, she grasped the key in the gap of her toed socks.

The demon ran like a bull at Sango again. As it neared, she let the sickle fly, but she let go
too early, and it flew high towards the spikes on the demon's neck. To Sesshoumaru's
surprise, the sickle clipped one of the taller spikes, slicing it so hard that it broke off like
crystal instead of bone, dropping to the arena floor. Again, Sango rolled out of the way as the
demon barreled past.

By now, Izayoi had managed to shimmy her legs through the flap of her kimono and was
twisting her leg up to the side towards her face. Izayoi rubbed her cheek against her arm,
pushing the mask down until it hung around her neck. Her breathed became labored again,
but she bent her head, trying to reach the key with her teeth. She didn't appear flexible
enough to do it with one leg, so after a moment, she wrapped the chains around her hand and
held on as she raised her other leg, letting her right foot rest on her left thigh. Her arms shook
as she held herself up and bent her head forward while trying to raise her foot to her mouth.
She darted forward with her teeth, trying to bite down on the key.

She missed once. Twice. She wiggled her toes, scooting the key out further.

Then she got it between her teeth.

Touga let out a sigh of relief.

Sango must not have been quite as interesting at the moment, because the camera stayed on
Izayoi as she let herself back down onto her feet and then lifted up her chin, presenting the
key to her hands. She reached down and grabbed it, trying to slot it into her left manacle, but
her hand was shaking too badly, and she was coughing from the miasma coating the arena.
Then, she took a deep breath and held it, staring up at her cuffs and finally slotting the key
into the lock.

With one hand free, it was easy enough for her to turn around and free her other hand. The
crowd booed as they watched her, though Sesshoumaru saw only pride reflected in his
father's and brother's eyes. Even his own mother was smirking in triumph.

Then Izayoi slipped the mask back on and shed the outer layers of the heavy kimono, leaving
on only the juban layer. Back in her time, it would have been obscene to be seen in such
undergarments.

Sango had continued her bull-fighting maneuver, keeping the demon out of Izayoi's way, but
Sesshoumaru wasn't sure if she was trying to cut the beast or entangle its legs. Either way, the
miasma was having an obvious affect on her aim. More spikes littered the sand.

Izayoi ran up to one of the spikes and shouted at Sango. Sango didn't take her eyes off the
beast turning towards her, but she nodded in acknowledgement. Izayoi dug through the sand,
staking the crystal spear into it. Then she ran for the next spike and set it up a couple meters
away.

Touga grinned. "She's setting up a defensive line. Good girl."

Naraku caught on as well. "It would appear our princess has a bit of fight in her. Things just
got interesting," he said, pulling Kagome further into his side. He then turned to whisper in
her ear, but the video cut away before they could hear what he said.

Not only had Sango cut off a few of the demon's crystal spikes, but as it crashed against the
concrete walls, more of them had broken off as well. Izayoi ran around the arena, fetching
them, creating a semicircle of spikes near the metal pillar.

However, Sango was visibly tiring at this point. Her rotations were slowing, and she was
missing both spikes and legs more often than not. Suddenly, Izayoi shouted at her. Sango
nodded, slowly maneuvering herself in line with the opening Izayoi left in her trap. The
demon came racing again, but instead of dodging, Sango turned and ran straight into the
semicircle. Once she exited the other side, she turned in a U and headed for the pillar.

The demon was a runaway train that couldn't stop in time, especially on the sandy floor. It ran
through the spikes, which gouged its unprotected belly and legs, causing it to rear back in
fright and pain. It thrashed its head and tail, dazed and agonizing.

That's when the chain end of Sango's weapon flew out and wrapped around its neck. Sango,
who had her mask back on, ran around the pillar and looped the sickle around the chain,
effectively leashing the monster.
"Heavenly bodhisattva, she did it!" Miroku cried out, tears glistening at the corners of his
eyes.

"It's not over yet," Tsukuyomaru said. "Not until the beast dies."

Shocked, the beast yanked at its leash, choking itself, but in its blind panic, it didn't seem to
know what else to do. Sango took out her Hiraikotsu gun and approached it, aiming for its
eye.

"Yes!" Miroku cried out. "Even that monster can't have plated eyes. A bullet to the brain will
kill it."

But the demon was thrashing so much, Sango was having trouble lining up the shot.

Then Izayoi shouted.

The beast's tail lashed out, catching Sango in the side and flinging her halfway across the
arena.

"NO!" Miroku screamed.

The audience cheered.

Izayoi ran after Sango, checking over her. She turned Sango onto her back and felt for her
pulse.

Miroku's eyes widened. "No. Please, don't tell me she's—" He couldn't seem to say the
words.

Once, Sesshoumaru wouldn't have felt sympathy for him. But now, he could imagine Rin
lying in the sand, unmoving, and his heart quaked with anger.

Still, if he had been a mortal being with a dead comrade on the field and only one mask
between them, he would have taken it. Izayoi did not.

She wildly scanned the arena, then darted off a ways from Sango. She scooped the Hiraikotsu
out of the sand and slowly approached the demon.

Inuyasha sucked in a breath. "Dad? When's the last time Mom shot a gun?"

"Fifty years ago, as far as I know," Touga answered in a terse breath.

Was firing a gun like the proverbial riding of a bicycle? Sesshoumaru didn't know—he hadn't
done either one.

"Don't get too close," Inukimi murmured, her eyes on the monitor as Izayoi circled around
the beast, looking for an opening. The sand beneath the demon was dyed red, and its gasps of
breath audible on the speakers. Even a beast such as that had been winded from running
amok and cutting off its own air supply. It fell to its knees, panting.
Izayoi knelt in the sand, further away from the demon than Sango had been. She was out of
range of its tail, but the question was: could she hit a literal bullseye from that distance?

"Breathe," Touga murmured, as if he were coaching her at her side.

Izayoi pulled the trigger.

The audience was silent as the crack of gunfire rang out. A flash of sparkling pink hit the
beast in the head, though it was difficult to pinpoint where. The demon froze. The camera
zoomed in, looking for a wound as the flash faded.

The beast's red eye was still there.

Or so it appeared.

It took a moment for Sesshoumaru to notice it because of the resolution and camera angle,
but what appeared to be a red eye was now a red hole that began weeping blood.

The demon collapsed and it lay still. Izayoi sank to her haunches.

And slowly, Sango tilted up her arm, raising a clenched fist—a sign of victory—before
letting it fall back into the sand and closing her eyes, though her body still moved with
breath.

A weak sign, but a victory nonetheless.

The arena was absolutely silent. A camera moved to Naraku's face, which, despite a calm
veneer, showed great tension in his jaw. Kagome winced, a muted groan escaping her throat
as his fingers—now taloned—dug into her side, drawing blood.

"Get your damn hands off her, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled at the screen.

Naraku did let go of Kagome as he stood up—she practically toppled off the seat as he
shoved her—and went to the edge of the box seat, looking down at the prone demon slayer
and slumped princess, who nonetheless glared up at him while heaving.

Naraku blinked slowly, then closed his eyes, as if trying to restrain himself. Suddenly, he
started laughing, and then he began to clap. Murmurs filled the audience.

"Well done," Naraku intoned. "A most unexpected performance: the princess saved the
demon slayer. I suppose that is fitting of a modern, feminist narrative."

Shouts rang out from the audience. "Kill them! Sic another demon on them!"

"Guests, please, settle down," Naraku said, raising his hands. "You have witnessed an
unbelievable spectacle tonight! I realize many of you are upset. Many of you have lost a
fortune on tonight's gamble. But is this not exciting? We have a real gladiator show on our
hands! How long can our demon slayers keep this up? Stay tuned for the next performance!
And, of course…place your bets. It's more exciting when you aren't assured of the outcome,
isn't it?"
Then the broadcast ended, the sanctuary's logo appearing before the monitor turned itself off.

Miroku bent over his chair, hiding his face, and to any human, his sobs of relief would have
been silent—but not to the dog demons present.

"There will not be a second performance," Touga stated to the room. He turned his gaze on
Kikyou. "We leave now."

She frowned. "We need to wait until morning. It's dark now."

"The most effective attacks are launched in the dark," Touga countered.

"Sneak attacks, yes, or modern warfare relying on guidance systems and radar. We are
humans with guns. Yes, we have night vision goggles, but that still impairs our full field of
vision."

"Then back us up at dawn. The rest of us leave now."

Kikyou sighed. "It does us no good to split up now. We will travel with you. Who knows how
long it will take to dismantle his barrier anyway? We may very well be attacking at dawn
regardless."

"Then it's settled."

Kikyou nodded and left, presumably to gather her squads.

"Naraku is a dead man walking," Inuyasha growled, cracking his knuckles.

"No question," his father replied, the cold tone of his voice promising a very painful end to
Naraku.

"Just wait till I get my claws in him," Inuyasha added.

"I might have something better," Tsukuyomaru announced. He led them outside, where the
squads were already packing into vans and SUVs. The bat demon went over to the one luxury
car in the parking lot and popped open the trunk.

"I took the liberty of bringing these when I stopped by the sanctuary to retrieve the footage,"
he said, pulling So'unga, Tessaiga, and Tenseiga out of his trunk. He handed each one to its
respective owner.

As Tsukuyomaru placed Tenseiga in Sesshoumaru's hands, he added, "I hope you have no
need to use it…but I brought it just in case."

Sesshoumaru hoped the same, for he was not even sure if he could wield it. Rin had faith that
he could, but was that enough?

No, that is enough. For me.

If it came down to it, he would wield Tenseiga. The alternative was not acceptable.
Naraku reached up and slipped his thumb into the cup of Kagome's bikini, stroking her
breast. Kagome tensed. "Well, that show was a little more vexing than I had anticipated. I
think I need to work off some stress." He turned to look down at Kagome with a curled lip.
"What do you say you start paying for your upkeep here?"

Kagome didn't answer, keeping herself draped over Naraku's body. But from Rin's vantage
point, she was able to lock eyes with her sister.

Kagome's eyes were wide, fearful—and completely lucid.

Rin felt more clearheaded than she had an hour ago, but her body still felt so heavy, she could
barely bring herself to move. However, as the fight had progressed, she found herself able to
twitch her limbs more and more, and she forced herself to keep working her muscles in little
spasms. She fought to pull her mind out of the fog, because as clarity returned to her, she
remembered that being outside the cell was their chance to escape.

But she refused to let Naraku harm her sister.

"Noooo," Rin managed to whine out. Ugh, that sounded…pathetic.

Naraku chuckled and turned to her. "Did you have something to say?"

Rin struggled to form words. I can…do this. I have to…save my sister. "Mis…carriage."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Come on, Rin. "Stress…of rape…cause…miscarriage." She expelled the last word on a long
breath, the effort exhausting her.

Zero yanked on the chain, and the pain of it cutting into her throat banished even more of the
fog. She coughed. "Quiet, you. Don't listen to her, Naraku. She's just trying to save the girl."

"I'm aware," Naraku answered, giving Zero a look that said, Underestimate my intelligence at
your peril.

Rin couldn't give up. "Isn't…quarter-demon…valuable?"

That appeared to work better, as a tic appeared in Naraku's jaw. "Kagura, bring Abi here."

"She's downstairs fetching the demon slayer. I think she'll be awhile," Kagura drawled,
fanning herself.

"Then get her on the phone. I just need to know if there's any worth to what she says."

Rin's brows twitched as she tried to frown. "I…am…a nurse."

Kagura sighed and pulled out her phone. But instead of calling, she started typing. A moment
later, she said, "Women in the first trimester are most susceptible to miscarrying. Stress—
whether physical or emotional—can trigger a miscarriage."
"I didn't ask you to look up WebMD—I asked you to get my professional's opinion."

Kagura sighed. "Your professional is busy. Besides, what I just said is common knowledge—
at least to any woman. I also know your tastes, Naraku—you get rough. And even if the sex
didn't trigger something, the trauma could. Not that I care about her mental state…but as the
little cow said, you risk losing a valuable quarter-demon."

Naraku slipped his full hand in and squeezed Kagome's breast hard enough to elicit a soft cry
from her. Kagome kept her head ducked, but Rin saw the tears forming in her eyes.

Why isn't she…fighting back? I know…she's awake. Are there just…too many people here?

Then Naraku looked over at Rin, and a slow smile spread on his lips. "So are you saying you
would take her place tonight?" Rin's eyes widened. "I trust that you are past the point of
miscarrying."

Kagura snorted. "You could seriously get off on that?" She shrugged. "Whatever. Have fun
figuring out how to do it without crushing the cargo."

"I'm not worried about that," Naraku answered. His grin was malicious. "Well, Rin? What say
you? Would you give yourself in lieu of your sister?"

Kagome's eyes widened, and the look she sent Rin said, Don't do it.

Rin's heart pounded, and she wondered if that extra flow of blood was pumping to her head
and clearing it faster. She couldn't let Kagome suffer—whether from rape or a potential
miscarriage. Her sister was strong, but also felt emotions on a far deeper level than many
others did. Something of this magnitude could truly break her.

As for me…I've been broken before and survived. Again and again and again.

Rin knew what she had to do.

"Yes."

Naraku's brows rose. "How noble. Very well, then. I'll spare your sister for now, since you're
being so compliant. Kagura, take Kagome back to the cell. I'll be taking Rin with me."

"Just a moment, Naraku," Zero said as he reached for Rin's chain. "Do you remember what
we talked about before regarding the one's…degradation? I want Sesshoumaru to see it."

Naraku smirked. "And he will. Trust me—I haven't forgotten our agreement, Zero."

"Good. Because if you want the status and power you so covet, you will not forego this part
of my demands."

Kagura pulled a feather out of her hair and threw it to the ground, where it grew into the size
of a small dinghy. She dumped Kagome into it and held onto her chain as she pulled her out
of the skybox. Zero transferred Rin's leash to Naraku, who scooped up Rin bridal-style and
carried her out of the arena and down the hall.
"You must know it's an honor to be invited to my personal rooms," Naraku said.

Rin's skin crawled where their bodies made contact, but that just told her that she was
regaining both motion and feeling in her limbs. This was an opportunity. Naraku's guard
would be let down in his own room. He would think her powerless, drugged as she was. He
couldn't know that she was regaining mobility. After all, he hadn't even bothered to put a
blindfold over her.

He's gotten complacent, she realized. This drug is supposed to haze my mind. He doesn't
think I'll remember any of this.

If she could use the opportunity to escape from the sanctuary, she could go find someone with
a phone and call the DSC for help. She hated having to rely on the demon slayers, but with
Sesshoumaru and his family imprisoned there, she didn't know who else to turn to. Besides, it
was the DSC's job to root out horrid demons like these. They'd finally be putting her tax
dollars to good use.

Though she hated leaning her head against his chest in so intimate a manner, she stayed as
still as possible, watching where he passed through the hallways and which turns he took. He
reached a particular elevator—one separated from the rest. Was it a private one?

He stepped inside and ran his thumbprint on a biometric scanner in the elevator. There were
buttons for every floor, however, so while this appeared to be an elevator leading straight to
Naraku's rooms at the very top, it still got off on every floor.

They finally came to a stop, and the doors opened directly into a penthouse. Naraku didn't
even bother to flick on a light switch as he navigated through the dark apartment, using only
the light from the elevator at his back and the stars and lights outside the floor-to-ceiling
glass windows in the living room. It was only when he reached a closed door and opened it
that he finally turned on the lights.

Rin had to keep from jerking in shock. A wall of whips, flails, and crops met her eyes. Chains
and handcuffs were studded to the wall. Did this nutjob really have a torture chamber in his
own apartment?

Then Naraku turned, allowing her to glimpse what lay on the other side of the room: a
massive, four-poster, red-velvet bed. More cuffs were attached to the bedposts.

Oh.

Not a torture chamber. A "playroom."

Once more she had to repress a shiver. Honestly, though, his tastes didn't surprise her. But
surely he didn't plan to use these implements on her tonight? She was still pregnant, after all!

He laid her on the edge of the bed, letting her legs hang off. "Yes, I believe this is the only
way this is going to work, given your…oversized condition."
Rin's every limb itched to move—to kick him in the stomach or jump up and run. But she
made sure to only move her eyes, and slowly at that. He wasn't vulnerable enough yet.

Unfortunately, she had a sinking feeling that she was going to have to grow increasingly
vulnerable herself in order to bring his guard down.

He mistook her rolling eyes for curiosity. "Admiring my toys? I'm afraid they'd be a bit much
for you in your current state, but don't worry—I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun with them
later on, once you're empty again." He patted the side of her belly, and she winced, biting her
tongue to refrain from making a cutting remark. Naraku just laughed. "What's wrong? You
were beginning to get so chatty earlier. I was afraid the venom was wearing off early…but it
looks like that was simply a lucid episode. That does happen with these sorts of drugs."

He casually lifted her arm, and she let it fall back to the bed when he dropped it. "Indeed,
you're still limp as a rag doll. I can't say that will make this an exciting first experience for
us…but I suppose the main point here is to soil you and enrage Sesshoumaru. And I don't
need you to be feisty for that."

He looked at the manacles on the nearby posts, considering them. Then he shook his head.
"What's the point in holding you down when you can't even move yourself? In fact…I'd
almost welcome you fighting back, if you can muster it. Only certain men get off on rutting a
lifeless woman."

Certain scum like you, Rin thought.

He then reached up towards something she hadn't noticed at the top of the four-poster before:
a camera. He flicked a button, and a red light turned on.

"There. The life of abstinence in prison must be so difficult. Do you think Sesshoumaru will
enjoy our little sex tape when I send it to him?"

Rin sucked in a short breath. Is this what Zero had meant then about letting
Sesshoumaru see?

She couldn't let Sesshoumaru watch this. Not because he would tear down anything in his
path out of rage but because she knew he would be broken beyond repair if he had to witness
her rape. His only goal had ever been to protect her from the demonic side of his life. If he
saw proof of how he failed…he would lose himself, for Sesshoumaru did not accept failure
well.

"Well, let's see what we're working with here."

He pulled the sleeves of her kimono down even further, baring her full breasts to him. He
palmed one, and Rin groaned, flipping her head away and closing her eyes so she didn't have
to watch.

Think of it as a doctor's exam, think of it as a doctor's exam, she told herself over and over.
Despite trying to stay strong though, tears that prickled at her eyes. Dear gods…twice in one
year. I went twenty-five years without any men ever touching me, and now I've been sexually
harassed by demons twice in a matter of months. Why?

She knew she wasn't supposed to blame herself. She hadn't asked to come to Naraku's
Sanctuary. However…she had agreed to take Kagome's place here.

She squeezed her eyes shut, a tear slipping out. Yes…just remember. This could have been
Kagome. Better me than her. I've already suffered tragedy in my life. What's one more
trauma?

She knew she had to endure at least this much. The right moment hadn't come yet. He could
fondle her and undress her, but she would never let him penetrate her.

"Haha, did you like that? I'll admit, they're not bad. In this regard, at least, pregnancy suits
you well," Naraku said. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can stand the sight of your udder just
now, so let's skip to the main event."

He loosened her obi just enough to let him flare out the bottom of the kimono and get access
to her juban's tie, which he pulled apart. Rin had never struggled more in her life than she did
to keep her legs from pressing together on instinct. She wanted to die of shame as Naraku
snorted softly when unveiling her sex.

"I can't say I understand what was so special about you to snare the haughty Sesshoumaru,
but I suppose at the end of the day…a cunt is a cunt." He reached out and swiped his fingers
through her folds, and this time, Rin couldn't stop her body from jerking.

Naraku sneered. "Ah yes, those involuntary reactions. Good. At least your body will respond
in some way. I wonder—can I make you grip me as tightly as you do your mate? I suppose
we should find out."

As he unfastened his pants and lowered them to his ankles, she knew she would never forget
this sight as long as she lived, for it disgusted her: Naraku pumping himself. Seeing yet
another man's penis in the long line she had examined over her work life shouldn't have
bothered her. But knowing that that penis' aim was to invade her being made it all the more
menacing.

An involuntary groan of disgust escaped her, but Naraku took it a different way. "Do you like
that? You obviously have a taste for demon. I guess Sesshoumaru's mate isn't so picky about
her partners, is she?"

Wrong. So, so wrong.

When he was finally red and erect, he let himself go and then went to grab Rin's hips,
presumably to drag her further towards the edge of the bed so he could position himself.

She didn't let him.

She jerked her knee up right into his engorged groin.

"Argh!" Naraku cried out, stumbling back and cupping himself.

That's right. Demon or not, no man is invulnerable to that pain.

Rin pushed herself up off the bed and stumbled over to the door, pushing herself out of it.
The light from the playroom illuminated just enough of the hall to give her an idea of where
the walls were as she ran. When she reached the living room, the ambient outside light
illuminated the furniture, letting her dodge it before she reached the elevator and punched the
button repeatedly.

"Get back here, you bitch!" Naraku cried out, his unsteady footsteps getting closer.

The door opened, and Rin pushed inside, punching the button for the first floor and the "close
door" button. Naraku stumbled out of the hallway just as the doors shut.

She heaved in short, staccato bursts, because the mask restricted her airflow. Her heart
hammered in her chest as she shed the outer layer of the kimono and pulled the juban back
over her breasts. She left the bottom half loose enough to allow her to run.

As she watched the elevator approach the first floor, she panicked. Wait. This probably opens
into the lobby or somewhere near it, right? Someone's bound to be on duty there. I need to try
to get away without anyone seeing me.

She hit the button for the third floor right before the elevator reached it.

There have to be emergency stairs somewhere and an exit leading out a side door. If this
really is just a soft opening, there shouldn't be many guests, and they should all have VIP
rooms at the top.

Sure enough, the elevator opened onto an empty hallway, and Rin took off towards one end,
searching for an exit sign. After rounding a corner, she found it and slammed through the
door to the staircase. She nearly tripped down the stairs in her haste, grabbing the railing and
slowing her descent just enough to keep her girth from using gravity to its advantage and
tipping her over.

One floor up, she saw the exit door.

Almost there. Get out, find a phone, call the DSC. It became a mantra.

But just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, the door to the first-floor hall opened,
admitting Hakudoshi. She gasped and tried to slip around the stairwell towards the exit door,
but she knew even before he grabbed her that she would never beat his demon speed.

"Well, well, well, leaving so soon, are we?" Hakudoshi asked as she struggled in his grip.
"How rude of you to run off after we've given you room and board here. The least you could
do is pay up before you leave. Seeing as you weren't amenable to one form of payment, I
suppose we'll have to exact a different one now. Juuroumaru." His silent brother slipped
around him and reached towards her face.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked, dodging his hands. But he grabbed her mask anyway
and pulled it down. She took a breath despite herself and broke into a fit of coughing as she
inhaled the miasma.

Oh gods, what is this stuff? It's so hard to breathe! It had all the sharp acridity of an
anesthetic piercing her esophagus and lungs but with the foul musk of smoke and rotting
meat. She tried to hold her breath, but she could only manage it for so long, and her body
slumped as the miasma weakened her.

"Carry her," Hakudoshi instructed, practically shoving her at his brother. She fell into
Juuroumaru's arms, and he picked her up and carried her in his arms. They walked down the
stairwell to the basement level, down a corridor, and into another room similar to the clinic
where she had first woken up. However, this one had a reclining chair with stirrups attached
to it. Straps hung from the arms and feet.

At least the air had cleared and she could breathe without coughing again. She wondered if
these rooms all had special purifiers installed or something.

They strapped her to the chair and waited.

And hour passed before Abi burst into the room, her face a mask of exasperation. "Fix the
demon slayer. Induce the cow. I'm only one friggin' nurse! Naraku's being damn impatient."

"Don't get testy now just because you actually have a job to complete," Hakudoshi sneered.

"Excuse me, brat? Who do you think monitors the other humans Naraku's got here? Who
runs their blood tests? I'm doing my fair share of work here, damn it!"

"Just get moving. Naraku's very upset with this one and wants those children out," Hakudoshi
said, going towards the door.

Abi snapped on some gloves. "I'll need to run some tests before I induce her—just to be sure
the children can be delivered safely."

"Don't you dare…induce me," Rin heaved. They ignored her.

"He doesn't care how you get them out. Just do it. His patience has worn thin."

Abi sneered. "You do realize that even as I start to induce her, she may not go into labor for
days. Birth takes time. You can't rush nature."

"Sure you can," Hakudoshi answered with a smirk. "Skip the inducement and go straight to
the Caesarian."

Abi tsked. "If you want her to give birth again and again, it's best we don't."

"I think you're making excuses. Demons have been cutting open humans for centuries. I don't
see why it's a problem."

"Did Naraku hire you to be the chief medical officer around here?" Abi snapped, her red eyes
flaring.
Hakudoshi crinkled his nose at her. "Fine. Do what you must. Just do it quickly." He and
Juuroumaru left with a slam of the door.

"Insufferable brat," Abi hissed, suddenly coming over and lifting Rin's legs into the
mechanized stirrups. She then pulled apart the flaps of Rin's juban so she could see her
vagina.

Not again, Rin thought, the weight of inevitability crashing down on her. This time, after all,
she was trapped.

Abi stuck her fingers inside her, feeling around, and Rin writhed at the invasion. "Tch," Abi
hissed. "You may look ready to burst, but you're no where near ripened yet. It could take days
for your labor to start. Better get comfy. You'll be in here a while," she said.

"Don't do this. They're not ready to be born," Rin answered in weak voice as her body
readjusted to an air free of miasma.

"I'll be the judge of that." Abi then did an ultrasound on her, but she didn't show Rin the
monitor. "They'll survive," the demon proclaimed, turning it off, rolling the machine away,
and cleaning the gel off Rin's belly. She then attached a fetal heart monitor around her
stomach as well as a heart monitor to Rin. Then Abi grabbed a tube Rin recognized as
prostaglandins meant to soften and ripen her cervix for birth. She squeezed the gel onto her
fingers and rubbed it inside Rin's vagina.

"We'll start with this, and I'll return later to see your progress. I suggest you get some sleep
now while you can. You'll need your strength for the birth." Then, with a casual toss of her
gloves in the trash, Abi left.

It had taken them a few hours to get to the general area where Naraku's Sanctuary lay. Then,
they'd had to abandon their vehicles in favor of stealth as they approached the barrier.

The humans kept flinching and turning away. Sesshoumaru knew it wasn't their fault—it was
the influence of the barrier. Even so, it cost them time.

"Father, we should go ahead and disable the barrier. They can come when it is down,"
Sesshoumaru said.

His father nodded. "Good idea. Chief Kimura, do you copy?" Touga said into the earpiece he
wore.

"Copy, General. Shall I assist?"

"Negative. Stay with your men. Over."

"Over."

The demons then advanced on foot through the trees. Then, a new voice spoke up.

"This is it, Master," Myoga said, and Touga held up his fist in the military signal to stop.
"Myoga, how long have you been here?" Inuyasha asked.

"I came with Lord Tsukuyomaru, of course," Myoga answered.

"Then why the hell didn't you speak up before this?"

"I…did not wish to alert the slayers to my presence, Master Inuyasha," the flea added in a
low voice.

"Enough," Touga said. "It appears we're at the main gate. Check for security cameras."

Indeed, an electronic gate stood before them, not unlike the one outside Western Sanctuary. If
Naraku had tapped into the DSC headquarters' security feed, he was likely already aware that
they had left. They needed to hold whatever element of surprise they still had.

"There—on the gate post," Sesshoumaru noted.

"So we should scale the fence away from the gate," Inukimi remarked. "But that will only
work once we remove the barrier."

"Allow me," Tsukuyomaru said, stepping away from them. "There is no barrier out there that
I cannot lift."

The bat demon flew above the line of sight for the camera, his wings covering the moon.
Then he flew forward. However, as soon as he flew past a certain point, his body seemed to
emerge from that same area, heading back the way he had come in some bizarre, mirrored
illusion.

"I see," he murmured to himself. Then he turned back around and shoved out his hands. His
eyes reddened and his teeth elongated as his wings flared with power. A red aura surrounded
him. Sesshoumaru could not see what he touched—in fact, he appeared not to be touching
anything. However, as Tsukuyomaru pushed forward, the tension in his arms indicated
that something was trying to repel him. He only dug in harder. Beneath his fingers, the barrier
slowly took on a physical form. Then, it began to splinter like cracks of glass.

Tsukuyomaru finally pulled back his fist and punched through the fissures. Flares of red light
shot from the point of impact, racing around the area in a dome before the entire barrier
shattered and collapsed from within.

Where once there had appeared to be an empty forest, a gleaming hotel/casino atop a tall,
stone foundation flickered into view.

"If Naraku is at all connected to his barrier as I am, he will have felt that. We have to move,"
Tsukuyomaru said.

"Finally," Inuyasha hissed, whipping out Tessaiga. The sword grew to its massive size, and
before anyone could stop him, Inuyasha ran forward and sliced open a huge chunk of the
fence away from the gate. Then he was off and running.
So impulsive, Sesshoumaru thought, darting after him, though he could not fault his brother.
Inuyasha was worried for his mate; Sesshoumaru's own anxiety was threefold, given the two
other little lives he had to protect.

Behind him, he heard his father telling Kikyou that they had breached the perimeter and that
her squads should follow when ready. Dawn was still a few hours off. Sesshoumaru
wondered if they would follow.

The demons had only made it as far as the bottom of the ramp leading up the stone
foundation before alarms within the sanctuary sounded.

"So much for the element of surprise," Inukimi drawled as she, Touga, Sesshoumaru, and
Tsukuyomaru flew up to the top of the foundation. Inuyasha, meanwhile, jumped from level
to level on the switchback road leading up, right on their tails.

When they reached the main courtyard, they found it empty, though lights blazed in the hotel.

They flew towards the front door, but a shadow appeared from inside, stopping them in their
tracks. Sesshoumaru recognized that stance and gait. He landed, as did the fliers. Inuyasha
caught up with them.

The front door blew open, and Kagura walked out, holding her fan in front of her face. "Well,
well, look who finally decided to join the party. You're late, you know."

"Where're the girls?" Inuyasha demanded, raising Tessaiga into a ready stance.

"Inside," Kagura answered. She chuckled. "I'll admit, they've given Naraku quite a fight
tonight. Not only did Izayoi and that demon slayer upset his plans during the arena fight, but
I hear Rin nailed him good." Kagura opened the fan in front of her mouth, hiding her lips as
she chuckled. "Honestly, I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to have sex with the man either—
even if he wasn't my 'father.'"

Sex.

The word echoed in Sesshoumaru's mind like a death knell.

He didn't.

Naraku was a dead man.

Sesshoumaru's was so stunned by the word that he almost missed what Kagura said next.
"But I hear she's being induced now. After all, since the fight in the arena didn't pan out,
Naraku's got to deliver on something for this party, and he's decided it's time to put those
half-demon brats to use: as meal items."

Rage boiled like the poison in his blood, triggering the start of his transformation. He
growled, giving into the demon, his teeth and claws elongating to even more lethal points.

"Sesshoumaru, stop! Don't let her rile you—you can't go on a rampage when the girls could
still be inside!" his father shouted.
 Kagura snapped her fan shut and tapped it against her chin. "Oh, I wouldn't stop him. After
all…." She trailed off as the metallic creak of a rising garage door rattled. "He's going to need
his size."

Shouts rose up from below, and gunshots rang out. Sesshoumaru frowned. Had the DSC
followed after all, even in the dark?

Kagura smirked. "I see you brought a number of the DSC with you as backup. A pity there
won't be much left of them."

Tsukuyomaru shot into the air, looking down over the area. He sucked in a breath. "Touga,
they've released Naraku's monsters!"

"So what'll it be?" Kagura asked, holding out her fan. "Fight me to get to your mates? Or help
out your little demon slayer friends before they're eaten alive?"

Chapter End Notes

I know this is angsty, but I hope it wasn't too rough to bear. The girls are putting up a
fight!

Just so you know, it's highly likely I won't be updating this as usual in two weeks. I've

💀
got another (whirlwind) business trip coming up next week that's going to kill me (we're
talking an overnight flight ), and it's going to throw off my whole week—I just know
it. And considering how behind I've gotten lately, well…I thank you for your patience.
We're nearing the end guys. Almost…there….
 The Battle Against Naraku: Part One
Chapter Notes

Sorry for the wait, guys! These all-action chapters absolutely KILL me, so it took me
quite a bit of extra time to work this out. You didn't think when you started this story
that you were going to get war scenes, did you? …Neither did I, lol. Nevertheless, I
hope you enjoy it!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"One of us is more than enough to beat you, Kagura," Inuyasha snapped. "First, I'll plow
through you, and then I'm heading straight for that bastard, Naraku."

"You're welcome to try," the red-eyed woman answered with a smirk.

Heat blistered against Sesshoumaru's head, and he looked up to find a gout of flame shooting
down towards them. The dog demons leapt out of the way just in time. When the flames
cleared, Hakudoushi appeared behind them, sitting on the back of an enormous white horse
with a flaming mane and tail.

How did I not sense them coming?

"What do you think of my steed?" Hakudoushi asked, patting the horse's neck. He held a
naginata in his other hand. "Would you believe we found him sealed away here when we
started grading the land? It was a wonderful surprise to find Entei, once known as the fastest
demon, still alive after so many centuries."

Entei? Now that was a name Sesshoumaru had not heard in a long, long time.

Suddenly, shots fired and a cry of pain rang out in the forest below from the demon slayers.
Hakudoushi "Oh dear. I think the demon slayers may have found themselves woefully
unprepared for Juuroumaru's pets. This generation really has gotten soft, hasn't it?"

"I'll assist the demon slayers. You all take care of them," Tsukuyomaru said, flying to the
edge of the foundation and then dropping below it. Hakudoushi let him go.

Touga flew into the air and unsheathed Sou'unga. "Entei, I never took you for the type to
heed a master. Is Hakudoushi really that strong?"

Entei whinnied, pawing at the air. Before Sesshoumaru could blink, the horse vanished, and
then his father was knocked out of the air and into a pile of construction equipment. Entei and
Hakudoushi floated where Touga had been, the latter with his naginata thrust out.

"Dad!" Inuyasha cried out.

Touga pushed himself out of the debris, his body covered in dust and dirt. He coughed. "I'm
fine, son. Don't worry about me. Worry about getting the girls."

"Just try getting past us," Hakudoushi said, and as he cackled, his visage suddenly parted, and
a dozen more of him and Entei appeared, encircling Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and Inukimi.

"What the?" Inuyasha said.

Inukimi looked unamused. "A cheap illusion. Use your nose to figure out the real one, child."

"Why don't you do it?" Inuyasha barked.

"Because I'm going after the illusionist," she answered before turning into a ball of light and
shooting straight up into the sky.

All the Hakudoushis looked up as she left in such dramatic fashion, and Inuyasha used the
opportunity to attack, swinging his sword in an arc through three of the horses and riders. All
three vanished, although only two drifted apart like smoke. The illusions then circled the two
brothers, each Hakudoushi thrusting out his naginata and creating a whirling circle of death.

"Enough of this," Sesshoumaru said, summoning his light whip to his fingertips and thrusting
his arm out. The whip circled around the illusions, dissolving them, but one still remained,
and the fireball that burned in Entei's mouth radiated heat from that short distance.

"Get down!" Inuyasha said, running in front of his brother and holding up both his sword and
the sleeve of his Robe of the Fire Rat against the barrage of fire.

Sesshoumaru frowned as the flames licked his skin. "That was unnecessary."

"Would it kill ya to say thank you?" Inuyasha said, banishing the last of the flames with a
flick of his arm and then charging forward with his sword. Touga flew in from the same time
with Sou'unga at the ready, but by the time father and son reached the spot where Entei was,
the horse had disappeared.

Hakudoushi's laugh echoed from above. "You'll never catch me at that speed."

"We'll see about that!" Inuyasha cried out. "Wind Scar!"

Sesshoumaru leapt out of the way of the attack, landing in sight of Kagura. She chuckled.
"Oh my. Seems you might be out of your league, Sesshoumaru. I suggest you draw your
sword."

She could not know she was mocking him. Sesshoumaru turned to regard her, cracking his
knuckles. "My claws will be enough to rip my enemies apart. You wished to be free of
Naraku, no? Tell me where Rin is and step aside, and I may yet let you live to enjoy that
freedom."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that," she answered, her fan clanking as she whipped it open.
"Then the only freedom you shall experience is when I rend your soul from your body,"
Sesshoumaru replied, rushing forward with claws raised and poison thrumming at their tips.
He aimed for her face, but Kagura held up her fan to intercept him. When he went to close his
hand around it and melt it, she countered by hitting a pressure point inside his elbow. He
recoiled but lashed out with his other hand. Kagura blocked his continual strikes with her
arms and hands, truly a martial arts master. He might have been impressed if he hadn't seen
her use her prowess on his mate, knocking her out. When Sesshoumaru suddenly swiped at
her torso, but she jumped back, flipping through the air as if it aided her. With an opening
now between them, she whipped out her fan.

"Dance of Blades!"

She was still so close to him, Sesshoumaru barely had time to react as arcs of energy shot out.
One clipped him in the shoulder, spinning him partway around and drawing blood; he
grimaced.

Then he saw the blades heading unimpeded for his father and brother, since he had only
dodged them.

"Father!" he called out. Touga whirled around and cut through the blades of energy while
Inuyasha watched his back against Entei.

Sesshoumaru clenched his hands. He hated that he had no demon sword with which to cut
through Kagura's attacks and go straight for her. A whip of air alerted him to her attack once
more, and he jumped out of the way as blades of energy flew on the wind.

He had to get that fan away from her. He bet she could do nothing without it.

He summoned his light whip and snapped it out, aiming for her fan. It caught her wrist
instead.

"Drop the fan," Sesshoumaru said.

"Never," Kagura answered, reaching to unwrap the whip from her wrist.

"So be it," Sesshoumaru answered.

His light whip could be used to touch or destroy depending on his whim. Kagura believed
what held her was a simple garden snake.

Little did she know it was a viper that would sink its teeth into her.

He energized the whip and yanked, taking her hand clean off and cauterizing the wound. The
limb fell to the floor, still clutching the fan.

Kagura's mouth dropped open, and she stared at it in disbelief. "Damn you, Sesshoumaru!"

He used her shock as his opening, sprinting forward to kill Kagura once and for all. Suddenly,
she yanked a feather out of the knot in her hair and threw it upwards. The feather grew into
the size of a dinghy, and she rolled into it as it carried her into the sky.
Sesshoumaru snarled. "You think to escape me?" He launched into the air, confident he could
fly faster than the wind.

Suddenly, Entei appeared in front of him and blew out a whirlwind of fire.

"Sesshoumaru, move!" Touga cried out, plowing into him, sending him flying out of the line
of fire. Flames enveloped Touga.

"Father!" Sesshoumaru cried out. He was sure his father would not be extinguished by mere
flames, but if Entei truly was a great demon of old, then with his power….

The center of the flames burned white-hot, and a burst of light shone from within, scattering
the blaze. The white light grew, coalescing into the shape of an enormous dog with a
waterfall-like tail sweeping the ground. Touga, once more the dog demon general of old,
howled.

Hakudoushi chuckled. "Now things might get interesting." He looked up, spying Kagura
overhead. "Did you drop this, sister?" He tossed up her fan, and she caught it in her
remaining hand. "Can you handle Sesshoumaru, or do you need me to step in?"

Touga lurched towards Hakudoushi , opening his maw wide as if to swallow him and Entei
whole, but his jaws clamped around air as the demon horse sped them out of the way again.

"Ha! Even now, you're still so slow!" Hakudoushi taunted.

Sesshoumaru frowned and flew closer to his father's enormous ear, muttering to him, "We
cannot match his speed out in the open, Father. We have to trap him." His father growled in
acknowledgment. However, Sesshoumaru knew he could not count on his father to come up
with an intricate plan while in this form. Their brains relied more on instinct in their dog
demon forms and less on intellect—something Jaken had noted before and been kicked for
saying out loud. "Keep him distracted. I will look for an opening."

And he would use chasing Kagura as an excuse.

He flew up and looked around for Kagura, but she seemed to have disappeared in the short
time he was with her father. He tried to sniff her out on the wind, but she and he siblings all
smelled the same, so he could not.

Once more, gunfire peppered his ears, and he flew over towards where the demon slayers
battled, wondering if she had escaped there. When he flew past the edge of the foundation, he
stopped, trying to understand the chaos unfolding beneath him.

Sesshoumaru counted five of Naraku's giant beasts: three appeared trapped within
Tsukuyomaru's red barrier, while two others roamed free. Of the latter, Juuroumaru rode one
that looked like a green dragon; the other—a black, spider-like demon with scythes for legs—
swiped at a group of demon slayers. Blood dripped from two of its six eyes.

Sesshoumaru glanced inside the barrier then. Inside, an upright, purple demon with two
yellow horns jutting from its head dodged attacks as the two other demons—what appeared
to be an ice cat and a giant, snapping turtle—ganged up on it.

But hovering above them within the barrier was Tsukuyomaru.

Sesshoumaru rushed to his ally's side. "Tsukuyomaru, what are you doing?"

The bat demon kept an eye on the beasts below as he spoke. "Unfortunately, without the aid
of external devices, I can only create barriers around myself, though size is of little concern.
So, to save the demon slayers from being completely wiped out, I trapped what beasts I could
in the hopes that the mindless things would turn on each other. It seems I was right."

Sesshoumaru watched then as the purple demon lunged before the tortoise could pull it head
back in, grabbing its neck in its steely jaws and ripping off the demons head. The malicious
yet calm glee in those red eyes was…unsettling.

"Can you handle this?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Not to worry—I've only had to dodge the flailing limb. Not to mention, the DSC's stray
bullets can't hit me here. My hope is that the final victor will be too wounded to do much, but
even so, I can handle it. Once these beasts are taken care of, I'll regroup with you."
Sesshoumaru nodded and then looked out over the rest of the field.

While the slayers appeared to be wrangling the spider demon into submission, Juuroumaru
and his dragon had dispersed the remaining slayers. The dragon's body was covered in thick
scales. Bullets bounced off them, and Juuroumaru seemed to dodge every shot that came his
way.

"Where is that damn Wind Tunnel?" Kikyou called out so loud, those listening to her on the
comms probably had their eardrums broken. Even as she waited for a response, Juuroumaru's
dragon shot a bolt of lightning towards the small group of slayers surrounding her. Kikyou
shot a spiritual bullet into the attack, neutralizing it.

Sesshoumaru's hackles rose in a conditioned response. The Wind Tunnel was one of the
weapons most feared by demonkind. The demon slayers had outfitted a heavy machine gun
with special-grade spiritual bullets, giving it enough firepower to take down even the largest
and strongest of demons. Sesshoumaru had briefly noticed such a gun attached to the top of
an armored vehicle in their convoy. Given that it had been the only one he saw, he figured
that must have been it.

"What do you mean, you can't get it through?" Kikyou snapped back to whatever poor soul
was on the other end. "Break down the gates if you have to!"

Though it rankled him to go down and fight to defend demon slayers, of all people,
Sesshoumaru had just resigned himself to doing such when something streaked across the
battlefield, slicing across the dragon. Blood sprayed out across the grass, and the dragon
roared, writhing in pain. Juuroumaru fought to gain control of it. Sesshoumaru caught the
familiar scent and turned his head, unerringly finding the new arrival.
With his back to the newly risen sun, outlining him in a disgustingly dramatic corona,
Kirinmaru hovered over the battlefield with his blood sword held aloft. His wild mane of red
curls blew in the breeze as he looked down upon the dragon and its rider in disgust.

"You are hardly worth the effort it took for me to come here," Kirinmaru declared.

A single laugh gusted out of Tsukuyomaru in relief. "Kirinmaru, you came!"

Kirinmaru glanced over at them. "Yes. I admit when Touga called, I was unsure that I would.
Zero is my dear older sister, after all; I cannot raise a blade to her. And yet…I also cannot
condone what she has done, taking innocent women hostage and subjecting them to these
horrors. Allow me to join you, friends, to recompense on her behalf."

Juuroumaru snarled and whipped up an electric prodder that Sesshoumaru hadn't realized he
was carrying. He jammed it against the dragon's side, and the beast roared in frustrated
agony, getting up and charging towards Kirinmaru. The beast king did not dodge. Rather, he
smirked and rushed the dragon again, slicing along its other flank.

Sesshoumaru had seen enough. Kirinmaru would be able to handle Juuroumaru. He glanced
back at the purple demon and the ice cat within Tsukuyomaru's barrier. As if sensing him, the
purple demon looked up at Sesshoumaru and laughed.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened.

Was that beast…intelligent?

He did not like that one bit—and he would not let Tsukuyomaru fall prey to it.

Sesshoumaru rushed off then, knowing that it worse came to worst, their only chance against
such a create might light with the Wind Tunnel. He flew back towards the road leading to the
sanctuary's entrance, but as he approached the gate, he understood why the demon slayers
could not get through.

Felled trees blocked the path—even the hole in the gate Inuyasha had made earlier (not that it
was big enough for the vehicle to pass through anyway). The trees appeared to have been cut
clean though. What had taken them down?

Just beyond the gate, a few of the vehicles in the convoy sat. Leading them was the armored
one bearing the Wind Tunnel atop it. Another appeared to be the medical van, and
Sesshoumaru guessed the other was either a supply truck or held additional squad members.
The tires on all of them were slashed, and the bodies of a couple demon slayers lay on the
road beside the Wind Tunnel's vehicle, bleeding out. Sesshoumaru didn't see anyone else in
the driver's seat of the Wind Tunnel, but there appeared to be slayers in the cabs of the others.
What were they waiting for?

Sesshoumaru landed in their midst, and suddenly, the slayers looked hopeful.

Then Miroku popped his head out the back out the medical van and shouted, "Sesshoumaru,
watch out!"
He sensed it the second Miroku said something, and Sesshoumaru turned to intercept the
demon coming towards him, but whatever it was was small and fast. It aimed for his gut, and
only because of Sesshoumaru's demonic reaction time was the dog demon able to pull back
just far enough from being gutted. Even so, his clothes tore, and a thin line burned on his
abdomen.

Sesshoumaru turned and barely met the eyes of a tiny, sickle-handed, silver worm with
Juuroumaru's face.

Kageroumaru.

Kageroumaru smirked and then disappeared as fast as Entei.

"Quick, get out of there while you can! He's gone underground again!" Miroku cried out.

Ah, so that was how the demon had managed to take the slayers by surprise. But
Sesshoumaru would not be cowed. Now attuned better to him, every time Kaeroumaru
appeared, Sesshoumaru dodged. Unfortunately, he was not quick enough with his hands to
catch the grotesque beast. Even when Kageroumaru stayed aboveground for a moment,
taunting him, and Sesshoumaru cast out his light whip, he was not fast enough.

Suddenly, two slayers ran out of the unmarked vehicle bearing jugs on their backs and wands
in their hands like pest-controllers. They ran towards Sesshoumaru, spraying the ground as
they went, and even Sesshoumaru balked at the smell, put off by the anti-demon poison they
sprayed.

Normal poison would not affect him, but there was something about this one that he knew
would singe. Still, it was a good plan on their part to draw Kageroumaru out into the open
once and for all. Sesshoumaru took to the air to let the demon slayers handle it.

But no sooner had he left than Kageroumaru burst out of the ground, hissing, "Damn you,
slayers!" The slayers aimed their poison wands at him and sprayed, but the demon was still
too quick. He dodged the spray and then flew under their outstretched arms, cutting them
across their bellies.

The slayers cried out and collapsed, falling atop their packs of poison, which weighed them
down.

"I had hoped to take you down one by one as you came out to challenge me, but my patience
is gone," Kageroumaru growled. "Now I will take you out whether you like it or not."

He shot through the windshield of the supply truck, and the slayers inside rushed to get out of
the cab, getting slashed to ribbons in the process. Only a few slayers emerged from the
armored and medical vehicles and started shooting at Kageroumaru. Were they all that were
left?

Kageroumaru fled back underground, and the slayers stopped shooting, looking around for
him.
Sesshoumaru glanced back at the poison trapped under the demon slayers' bodies. He could
likely get to one of them and grab the pack himself, but the poison in there was so abhorrent,
he didn't want to touch it.

Better to use his own.

"Move," he commanded the slayers before letting his demon blood boil. His skin itched as fur
sprouted; his eyes burned as they turned red; his jaw ached as it grew in size and his teeth
elongated. A few seconds of discomfort always accompanied the changing of his body, along
with a loss of intelligence, so he did not do so often unless completely enraged.

Desperate times.

As soon as his transformation was complete, he growled, startling the demon slayers, even
though they knew he was on their side. Acidic saliva wept from his glands and he sprayed a
blast of poison mist onto the bare ground the slayers had not yet reached. As the grass and
dirt melted and steamed, the few remaining slayers backed up in fright.

They were not the only ones.

Kageroumaru burst from the ground, screaming.

"It burns!" he cried, writhing on the ground like the worm he was. His once silver skin was
now singed red as the poison ate at his flesh. Sesshoumaru kept up the stream of poison mist
until the last of the flesh melted from Kageroumaru's bones, which then melted away under
his breath.

The demon slayers stared at the puddle of goo in shocked silence. Finally, someone broke it.

"What now?" a slayer, who Sesshoumaru vaguely recognized as Officer Rokuta, asked his
remaining comrades as they drifted together, even those who had still been in the vehicles.
"That little bastard did a number on us. Even if we could get Sesshoumaru to move the trees
for us, we don't have enough spare tires for both the Wind Tunnel and the medi-van."

"The medi-van has to be a priority. We need to transport the wounded back to a hospital,"
another slayer said.

"But Chief keeps demanding the Wind Tunnel. They sound like they're dyin' out there,"
Officer Rokuta countered.

Even in his dog form, Sesshoumaru saw an easy solution to this: bring the gun to Kikyou.

He reverted to his human form, landing atop the armored vehicle. Then, he started ripping out
the bolts connecting the gun to the roof with his bare hands. In seconds, the gun was free, and
he hefted it and its tripod into his arms. The slayers just stared at him in shock.

"Prepare the medical van," Sesshoumaru said. After all, if his mate was wounded in any way,
he wanted her treated immediately. Then, he started flying back towards the sanctuary.
"Sesshoumaru, wait!" Miroku cried out, and Sesshoumaru tensed as he felt something grab
onto his fur. He looked back and found Miroku clinging onto it for dear life as they rose
higher into the sky. The slayers below sucked in their breaths collectively.

"What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru bit out.

"Please—I need to see that Sango's alright. I can't wait there any longer."

"The slayers made you stay for your safety."

Miroku frowned. "Look, I'm in combat armor, and I have a gun and everything, alright? Just
let me come with."

"Foolish." Still, Sesshoumaru said nothing else. If Miroku wanted to risk his life for his wife,
well…he could not entirely blame him.

The massive foundation of the sanctuary came into view, and with it, the sounds of battle rose
up. He had just planned to drop the Wind Tunnel by Kikyou and have her men take care of it,
but what little military tactician he had in him chaffed at the idea of giving away the element
of surprise so easily. The foundation with its switchback driveway offered plenty of areas to
place the gun on the high ground and have the positional advantage.

It wasn't a sword, but it was a weapon. He would have to make do.

He flew in covertly, making sure not to appear on the western side of the foundation, where
the battle by the arena was happening. He flew up one level on the drive—low enough that he
could not be seen by those fighting in the courtyard at the top by high enough that he should
be able to aim at any massive demons that remained fighting the slayers.

He touched down, and Miroku finally let go of his pelt when he was back on his feet. Without
waiting for the human, Sesshoumaru crept forward with the Wind Tunnel until he approached
the walled edge of the foundation. The wall was just low enough that the top of the gun
would fit over it while the wall blocked the base from sight.

But as he set the gun down and looked below, he froze.

Tsukuyomaru's barrier was gone, and only two demons remained: Juuroumaru and the
leering, violet monster. The bodies of the others were nowhere to be seen; presumably, they
too had disintegrated like Kagura.

Sesshoumaru quickly sought out his ally, finding the bat demon lying on the earth, his wings
ripped and broken beneath him, bloody covering his body. From this distance, he couldn't tell
if Tsukuyomaru lived.

Kirinmaru, meanwhile, had partly transformed, growing out his horns and scaly arms. Even
so, when he tried to cut down the towering monster, it caught his blade in its teeth and
snapped it in two.

Kirinmaru leapt backward and cursed. "What the hell are you?"
The demon laughed, and no longer to Sesshoumaru's surprise, a deep, intelligent voice
rumbled out. "Did you think me a mindless brute as well, because Naraku locked me up with
his other rejects? No, he locked me up because he knew I was powerful—too powerful for
even him to control. My brother Juuroumaru understands the burden of the shackles we bear
as his children. Don't you, brother?" Juuroumaru did not answer. The demon just chuckled
again. "So carve this knowledge into your heart, Kirinmaru. I am Goshinki, and I can read
your every move before you make it. Your time as beast king ends now; I will take that title
from you."

Sesshoumaru had heard enough. He got to work preparing the machine gun, pulling from his
memories of his time in World War II.

"How can I help?" Miroku asked, but Sesshoumaru ignored him.

He checked the scope to make sure it was aligned. Then he centered it on Goshinki and took
the triggers in hand.

Suddenly, Naraku's stench filled his nose—far closer than it should have been.

"Dance of Blades!"

Sesshoumaru threw out a whip, grabbing Miroku around the waist and yanking him aside as
the blades of energy crashed into the road and hurtled toward him. He grabbed the Wind
Tunnel and pulled it out of harm's way. The blades crashed into the wall, sending concrete
crumbling down the foundation.

So much for the element of surprise.

He set down the Wind Tunnel and released his whip from Miroku, leaping up towards
Kagura in her feather boat. She fled, leading him away from the battle and back towards the
forest. When they were far enough away, she turned around and waved her fan.

"Dance of the Dragon!"

Cyclones whirled out of her fan and spiraled towards him. He weaved through the tornadoes,
using the outer edges of their circular air flow to his advantage in sending him from one to
the next until he broke free of them on the other side, heading straight for Kagura.

"Dance of Blades!" she screamed.

Now that he was in the air, this attack was easier to dodge than her previous ones, but the
repetitive pattern grated on his nerves. He needed to put a stop to this once and for all. If only
he had a sword….

No. He could not bemoan what he could not have. Rather, he would just have to take
Kagura's other hand off.

He sent out his light whip, but Kagura blew it back. Sesshoumaru tried to flick it back her
way before she could use her fan again, but to no avail. He needed something to distract her
so that he could go in for the kill. But the only thing he had on him was Tenseiga.
She does not know that it cannot cut.

Resolved, he finally drew the sword.

"Oh, decided to get serious now, have you?" Kagura taunted.

He rushed forward with the blade drawn. She attacked him with more wind blades, and he
threw Tenseiga straight down the empty center of the attack, right towards Kagura. He didn't
have as much time to dodge, and a few of her wind blades tore into his shoulders and limbs,
but it was all worth it to hear her cry out as the sword hit her breastbone with enough force to
knock her off her feather.

Tenseiga could not cut, but it was still a physical object, after all.

He flew down after her, just barely taking note of where Tenseiga spun down towards the
earth. Kagura crashed into the rocky edge of a creek below. Sesshoumaru touched down
shortly afterwards. Kagura lay on the bed of the stream, her clothes dirty and her body
bruised. Before she could get up, Sesshoumaru rushed over and slashed over her other hand,
tossing the fan away. She cried out, but he choked it off by grasping her neck.

Kagura coughed. "Look…before you kill me…just know…I left the door…to their cell open.
If they're…as resourceful as they've shown…they'll be escaping on their own."

Sesshoumaru's claws dug into her skin, ready to break through it. She grimaced and tried to
breathe. "You think that absolves you of kidnapping my mate? You will find no mercy here,"
he answered.

"I'm…sorry. I had…no choice."

“I don’t believe that.” He raised his other hand to pierce her heart, but she just wheezed out a
chuckle.

“You won’t…find it there. That’s…the whole point. I wanted…my heart back.” He paused,
a tiny crease of confusion appearing between his brows, and he relaxed his grip only slightly,
allowing her to speak. She gasped, a wry grin curling her lips. "Finally got you interested…
did I? Figures. Maybe you've guessed by now…that we, Naraku's children…aren't exactly
that."

"You mean to say you are pieces of himself, like those other monsters."

"Heh. Yes. We just have the intelligence and finesse of power they lack. But the way Naraku
keeps us all under control…is by keeping hold of our hearts. If we disobey, he hurts us; he
can kill us any time he chooses. He may even reabsorb us into his body. I've seen it happen to
one of my brethren—a failed experiment—before." She laughed again. "He's not the
purebred demon he's led everyone to believe he is."

"I assumed as much."

"All that to say…I didn't do any of this to get back at you. Not like Zero. I didn't even want to
be part of that kidnapping, honestly. But Naraku promised that if I helped exterminate you
lot, he'd give me my heart and the freedom I craved. Haven't you ever had a dream you'd do
anything for?"

Rin—she was his dream. And he would do anything for her…if he thought it wouldn't hurt
her in the end. "The ends do not justify the means." He may not have believed that once, but
he did now. He too had thought he had a noble reason for leaving Rin and thus hurting her.
He had been wrong.

"Maybe so. Because despite going through with it…I didn't feel right. I didn't like what
Naraku was planning to do with those women. But I could only do so much without getting
caught. I just wanted to be free. You can understand that much, right?"

He could understand being backed into a corner. He had felt the same when it came to his
engagement with Zero.

But getting ignobly engaged and putting others' lives in danger were not on the same moral
level.

"I will free you from him," Sesshoumaru answered. And instead of digging in his claws and
letting his poison slowly eat away at her or tearing her to shreds and giving her a painful
death, he instead snapped her neck with a simple twist of his hand. Her eyes flared open in
shock and then remained that way. Slowly, her body disintegrated into the wind. He turned
away from the spot and went to seek out Tenseiga where he noticed it had landed. It took him
but a moment to sense its otherworldly energy and snag it, returning it to its sheath.

Suddenly, the rattle of machine gun fire tore through the air, and Sesshoumaru was jerked
back to his war days. But the only machine gun he could recall seeing was—

The Wind Tunnel.

He launched back into the air and sped towards the sanctuary, wondering who was firing it.
When he reached the spot where he had left it, he was surprised to find none other than
Miroku behind the gun, his mouth set in a grim, tense line, and sweat rolling down his
sideburns. Though Goshinki had his eye on Miroku and appeared to be dodging the line just
before Miroku would shoot, a few bullet holes did pepper his body, for the gun apparently
shot faster than the demon could read minds. All the other demon slayers had taken cover.
Juuroumaru was nowhere to be seen. Kirinmaru had brought Tsukuyomaru behind some
cover with other demon slayers as bullets sprayed across the field.

Miroku roared in frustration. "Why. Won't. You. Die?" he screamed.

Goshinki was so focused on Miroku, he didn't appear to notice Sesshoumaru. Miroku just
needed the giant demon to hold still for a second, and he would be shredded. Sesshoumaru
snapped his light whip down in front of Goshinki with a crack, halting him in his tracks and
drawing his attention.

The split-second distraction was all Miroku needed.

A storm of bullets tore into Goshinki, and he roared as their ingrained spiritual energy blew
him up from the inside. He quickly succumbed to the barrage, but Miroku's hands were still
locked on the triggers once he was gone, a panicked, slightly crazed look in his eyes.
Sesshoumaru flew down and pulled his hands away from the gun.

"It is enough," he said.

Miroku's hands shook as he looked between Sesshoumaru and the bullet holes peppered in
the trees and ground.

"D-Did I do that?"

Sesshoumaru frowned. Miroku was definitely shell-shocked; he had seen it happen to many a
human man on the battlefield, and he had found them all the weaker for it. However, this man
had not been trained for battle beyond what his wife taught him with a standard gun. Yet he
had still taken it upon himself to fire the Wind Tunnel and save dozens of lives below.

Miroku appeared too dazed to walk, so Sesshoumaru hefted him up by the back of his bullet-
proof vest and flew them down to where the others were assessing casualties and reforming
plans.

"Fukushima-san!" Kikyou shouted as soon as Sessohumaru touched down. Her age was
starting to show as she hobbled over, and the lines in her face were more apparent than ever.
"I do not wish to throw my gratitude for saving us in your face, but what on earth are you
doing here? Where are the slayers who should be operating the Wind Tunnel?"

"They couldn't get through," Sesshoumaru answered, since Miroku seemed unable.

Kikyou sighed, taking a deep breath. "Fine. And I assume the medi-van can't either?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. She turned to her remaining slayers. "Regroup! Squad One, carry the
wounded back to the medi-van. Squad Two, infiltrate the sanctuary and find our kidnapping
victims. Squad Three, you're with me: we head to the top to assist our allies."

"That is not necessary," Sesshoumaru said. At most, only his brother and father were fighting
Hakudoushi and Entei up there. The slayers would only get in the way. He had no idea where
his mother had run off to. "Is Juuroumaru dead?"

"Yes, I took care of him," Kirinmaru said, coming over with Tsukuyomaru in his arms.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Is he—?"

"Not dead," Tsukuyomaru whispered, cracking his lilac eyes open. Relief coursed through
Sesshoumaru, although the grim look on Kirinmaru's features indicated that their ally might
not be out of the woods just yet.

"Kageroumaru and Kagura are also dead," Sesshoumaru answered.

Kikyou tapped her thumb against each of the other fingers on her hand. "From what I can
recall, that is three of six—is that not so?"
Sesshoumaru nodded. Byakuya and Kanna had yet to appear. As for Hakudoushi….

Sesshoumaru stared at the open garage door to the arena, a plan dawning.

If he could lure Entei in there, the horse wouldn't have nearly as much room in which to
move, and his father or brother would be able to land a hit on him.

"Disperse your squads. I will lure Hakudoushi into the arena," Sesshoumaru announced. The
trick would be keeping Entei from backtracking once he went inside.

A cough drew his attention, and he walked over to Tsukuyomaru, so the bat wouldn't feel the
need to speak up. In a wet voice, he rattled, "Set me…on my feet…Kirinmaru. I'm needed…
in the arena."

Kirinmaru frowned. "No, you are too wounded. I will take you back to the medi-van."

Tsukuyomaru coughed, blood dribbling out of his mouth. "Sesshoumaru's plan. I understand.
Bring Entei…into the arena…and trap him. Put me…in there. I will…cut off his escape."

"You cannot raise a barrier in this condition," Kirinmaru countered.

"Who…says? Do not…underestimate the…bat clan."

Sesshoumaru's and Kirinmaru's gazes met. Who were they to deny the demon's wishes?
Kirinmaru set Tsukuyomaru's feet down, keeping a hand around his back. The bat demon
groaned as he stood, and his wings drooped behind him, dragging uselessly on the ground.

"Take him to the pole in the center," Sesshoumaru said. At least Tsukuyomaru could lean
against it there.

"Hurry, Sesshoumaru," Kirinmaru said before flying off with them. Sesshoumaru understood.
As much of a front as Tsukuyomaru was putting up, he could only do so for so long.

A squad of slayers ran after them into the arena, and the others hastened to gather the dead
and wounded. Sesshoumaru left Miroku in Kikyou's care, flying back up to the upper
courtyard. There, he found his father, still in his true form, as well as Inuyasha battling
against Hakudoushi. Entei spit flames, and Inuyasha bore them with the help of his Robe of
the Fire Rat, while Touga snapped at Entei's heels and slashed his claws towards the horse
and rider.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru called out.

"A little…busy here!" his brother replied. "Wind Scar!" He waved the sword at Hakudoushi ,
but the attack missed as the demon dodged.

Sesshoumaru ignored him. "The demon slayers have cleared a way into the sanctuary." He
then turned and left, knowing he had given his brother enough bait to follow.

"What? Hey, don't go running off on your own! I'm coming, Kagome!" Inuyasha cried out,
dashing after him. But Entei zipped into his path.
"I don't think so," Hakudoushi said, though his once-smug countenance had lost all sense of
play. Likely, he had deduced his brothers had been defeated.

Touga lunged for Entei, and the horse dodged. Inuyasha ducked under his father's flying form
and sped after Sesshoumaru. He jumped off the platform and free-fell hundreds of feet before
landing on the ground and running into the arena after Sesshoumaru. He didn't even spare
Kikyou and her last squadron a glance, hidden as they were in the trees.

"Ha! You've sealed your own fate," Hakudoushi cried out, speeding into the arena.
Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stood in front of the center pole, blocking Hakudoushi's view of
Tsukuyomaru and Kirinmaru. "This is the end of the line for you!" Entei formed a giant
fireball in his mouth and shot it towards them.

"Now," Sesshoumaru said, and Tsukuyomaru just barely nodded. His barrier went up.

Inuyasha grinned. "Perfect. Backlash Wave!" The fireball hit the vortex of power, turning it
into a firestorm that reversed course towards Entei.

Hakudoushi and Entei whirled around to flee, but the demon horse balked as he was met by
Tsukuyomaru's barrier.

"What?" Hakudoushi cried. "No!" He slashed at the barrier, but his naginata simply bounced
off it. He turned around, terror lighting his eyes, but Entei panicked and fled the attack.

Then the Backlash Wave bounced off of Tsukuyomaru's barrier and slingshot across it.

"Use this!" Inuyasha said, throwing his robe onto Tsukuyomaru. He held up Tessaiga to block
stray streams of fire from his own attack. Sesshoumaru held up Tenseiga's sheath, which also
repelled the flames. Kirinmaru pulled the robe off Tsukuyomaru and held it up before the two
of them like a shield.

The Backlash Wave bounced around in columns of fire, and Entei could only dodge for so
long before the attack finally engulfed him.

"No!" Hakudoushi cried out as they were swallowed by the flames.

"Release it," Sesshoumaru said when he could feel their energies no longer. Tsukuyomaru let
the barrier drop with a sigh, and then slumped over to the side. Immediately, Touga flew in,
returned to his human form.

Inuyasha turned around and gaped at the bat demon's poor state. "Shit, Tsukuyomaru, stay
with us! You can't leave Shiori like this, you hear?"

"He's still alive," Kirinmaru answered, though even Sesshoumaru could hardly hear the
demon's faint heartbeat. "I'll get him back to the medics. You three go in and retrieve your
mates." Hoisting Tsukuyomaru up, Kirinmaru flew off.

"Come on, let's do this," Inuyasha snapped, racing towards the other entrance into the pit.

But when his name slipped through the arena speakers like an oil slick, the half-demon froze.
 "Inuyasha. Though I hate to admit it, you and your family have done well to come this far."

The dog demons all turned their gaze towards the box seats, finding Naraku there behind the
mic.

"Naraku! Where are the girls?" Inuyasha demanded.

Naraku smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Chapter End Notes

Lucky for you, now that I've finished The Wall, this story will return to weekly updates
for the rest of its (short) duration!
 The Battle Against Naraku: Part Two
Chapter Notes

Sorry for the delay guys! I went out of town a couple weekends ago/last week, and we
know how that messes up my writing schedule. My April is just insanely busy, and all
my weekends (when I do the most writing and revising) are booked.

I also didn't post yesterday because I was trying to get a whole big chapter done like I
had originally planned…but I have since decided to break it up (see end notes for
details).

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Rin couldn't help it: she dozed. As if advanced pregnancy didn't tire her body enough, the
exertion from her escape attempt and all the emotional stress of the last day had worn her out.
So when the door to the clinic slammed open, she awoke with a jerk.

Then she wondered if she was dreaming or perhaps only half awake, because instead of Abi,
it was Kagome and Izayoi who slipped inside.

"K-Kagome?" Rin murmured, trying to shake herself awake.

"Yeah, sis, it's me," Kagome said, rushing over to her and holding her hand. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, but…w-what are you doing here?" Rin asked.

"What do you think? We're springing you out of this joint," Kagome answered, undoing the
straps around Rin's wrists. Izayoi kept a lookout at the door, peering through the window.

"I don't understand. How did you escape?"

"It was the strangest thing. Izayoi was already in the cell when Kagura brought me back, but
she just dropped me off without a word and left. She didn't even bother to take away my
mask or anything. And afterwards, we realized she hadn't locked the cell door either. I don't
know if it was simple negligence or she was actually trying to help us or what…but Izayoi
and I weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth."

As Kagome spoke about the mask, Rin noticed something strange: Izayoi was wearing a
mask, but Kagome wasn't. "Kagome, where's your mask?"

Kagome nodded towards their mother-in-law. "I gave it to Izayoi, since she had already
suffered in the arena so much. I figured I could at least make it here without hurting too
badly. Turns out—the miasma doesn't affect me at all! I'm guessing my spiritual powers
purify it or something."
Rin was glad to see her sister and Izayoi here and unharmed, but everything seemed to be
working out too easily. After her nearly successful escape earlier was thwarted, pessimism
squeezed like a boa constrictor tighter and tighter around Rin's hopes. "And how did you
know I was here?" she pressed.

"We saw Hakudoushi pass by the cell with you." Kagome finished unstrapping Rin and
looked up to meet her gaze. Her voice wavered with worry. "Sis…w-what did Naraku do to
you? Please tell me—no matter what it was. I…I need to know what you sacrificed for me."
Her voice broke off as her eyes watered, and even Izayoi looked away from the window to
watch Rin's expression.

Rin reached out and squeezed Kagome's hand, smiling despite herself. "More like, what
did I do to him? I showed him what happens when he flashes his balls to someone who
doesn't want to see them." She kicked out one of her legs to illustrate and winked.

Kagome burst out laughing, wiping away the tears that fell, and Izayoi put a hand to her heart
and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods," the latter said. "When Kagome told me what
you'd done for her, I—" Izayoi choked off, blinking rapidly as her eyes grew glossy. Rin sat
up and reached for Izayoi to reassure her, but as she moved, the babies shifted.

"Oof," Rin said, clutching her belly.

"What is it?" Kagome asked, her eyes flaring in alarm.

"Abi's trying to induce me. It's early yet, but things are definitely softening down there," Rin
said.

"Then we have to get you out of here now. No way are you having my nieces in this
hellhole," Kagome snapped, helping her out of the seat. "Can you walk?"

"I think so…" Rin said, although her womb felt so much heavier now, it had crossed the
border into discomfort. Don't tell me the babies are dropping. Not now, little ones—not now!

Izayoi watched her in concern. "We still need to get Sango before we can sneak out of here.
Do you happen to know where she is?"

"I know Abi was healing her earlier, but I don't know what room she's in," Rin replied.

"Well, then she's bound to be around here somewhere—there aren't that many exam rooms,"
Kagome added. "We'll just peak into each one as we go."

Izayoi looked back out the windows. "Actually…it's probably best that you two stay here,
where it's relatively safe. I'll go out and look for Sango. When I find her, I'll come back for
you."

Rin didn't know whether to feel relieved or ashamed. Izayoi probably said that because I'm
just going to slow them down. Can't I be useful at all in this state?

She glanced away, and when her eyes landed on the cabinet, inspiration struck. She could be
useful. She looked back at her mother-in-law. "That's a good plan, Izayoi. You do that, and
we'll prepare ourselves here."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked as Rin pulled away and waddled to the cabinets while
supporting her stomach. She pulled them open and started rifling through them.

"We'll need medical supplies for the journey. Who knows what we'll run into? I want to be
prepared."

Kagome's face lit up. "Good idea!"

Izayoi nodded and then slipped out of the room. Kagome found a bag, and Rin dumped in
band-aids, bandages, ointments, vials, and tools as she found them. A few minutes passed as
they worked, and then the door clicked open again.

Rin still had her head stuck in a cabinet when Kagome turned around and asked, "Did you
find Sango?" Then she yelped. Rin dropped the supplies in fright and spun around.

Abi stood in the doorway, staring at the two in shock.

"How did you—?"

Kagome didn't even give her a chance to finish before she ran over and punched Abi in the
mouth, her spiritual power flaring upon impact. "That's for inducing my sister, bitch!"

Abi screamed, clutching her mouth, which blistered red.

"Kagome!" Rin cried out. What is she thinking? Even with spiritual powers, we don't stand a
chance against a demon like Abi. How were two mortals supposed to take down a high-
ranking demon?

Even just knocking her out so we could escape would work.

Wait. Knock out.

She suddenly remembered something she had come across earlier while digging through the
cabinet and turned back to find it.

"You bitch," Abi hissed at Kagome as blood dripped out of her mouth. "If Naraku wasn't
occupied right now with those damn dogs outside—"

"They're here?" Kagome gasped.

"Not that you're going to see them," Abi sneered, grabbing Kagome and trying to force her
hands behind her back.

"Let go of me!" Kagome growled, struggling.

Rin found what she was looking for: vials of tranquilizers. She grabbed a large, sterile
syringe and tore open the packet, jabbing it into the first vial she could grab and filling it all
the way up. She was taking no chances. Demon metabolism was strong, and even if this
amount ended up being an overdose and killing Abi…Rin wasn't too concerned about
breaking her code of ethics.

It's self-defense, she told herself as the nurse in her winced at just how much tranquilizer she
was drawing. When she was finished, she glanced over her shoulder and found Abi wholly
concentrating on grappling Kagome into submission.

Good thing Sis can put up a fight. Now's my chance.

If she hadn't been pregnant, she could have been quicker and stealthier, but even so, Abi was
too engaged to pay much attention to her as Rin hauled herself up from her squat and slipped
behind the demon.

She jabbed the syringe of tranquilizer into Abi's neck, pushing down on the plunger.

Abi cried out and let go of Kagome, yanking out the syringe and backhanding Rin into the
exam chair. The demon's eyes turned red, and she let out a raptor-like screech, her fingernails
lengthening into five-centimeter-long claws. Rin tried to get up and slip away, but Abi lunged
and grabbed her neck. Rin gasped and choked as Abi squeezed, and she pounded on the bird
demon's wrist to loosen her grip.

"Get off of her!" Kagome cried out, wrapping an arm around Abi's neck and yanking on her
hair.

Suddenly, Abi's grip loosened. Her hand twitched over Rin's neck as she swayed, her eyes
fluttering erratically. Then, Kagome let go as she slumped to the floor.

Rin coughed, trying to get air back in her lungs. "Rin, are you alright?" Kagome asked.

"Okay," Rin wheezed out.

"That's it. We're getting out of here before anyone else comes," Kagome said, grabbing their
bag of medical supplies and putting Rin's arm over her shoulder. Rin pulled up her mask
before they peered through the window to make sure it was all clear. Then they stepped into
the hallway.

They had barely taken three steps when shadows lengthened along the walls at the far end of
the hall, where it turned to the right. Several pairs of boots echoed down its expanse. Kagome
turned around and pulled Rin back towards the clinic to hide, but then someone called out.

"Halt! Are you…Kagome and Rin Nishikuni?"

The girls turned around to find a group of demon slayers staring at them, their guns held at
the ready by their sides. Kagome nodded.

"We're here to rescue you. Are either of you hurt?" the slayer asked, leading the group
towards the two. As they passed other doorways, the slayers peeled off to look through the
windows.
"Lieutenant Fukushima!" one cried out, opening the door to what Rin presumed was an exam
room. Just then, Izayoi came out of the room carrying Sango on her back, and the slayers
rushed to check on their comrade. Izayoi gave them a rundown of her injuries.

A familiar voice broke through the crowd, revealing itself to be Officer Nanasuke. "We need
to get the ladies to the medi-van so we can assess them. But we can't go back through that
arena. Sesshoumaru-san made it sound like it'd become a warzone."

Rin's heart lifted. So Sesshoumaru is here! Abi wasn't lying then. Quiet fury had been running
through their mating bond ever since the arena showdown last night, but she had been too
panicked (or asleep) to really pay much attention to it.

"Do any of you know the layout of this building? Like where we might find an exit?" Officer
Nanasuke asked, turning towards the three Nishikuni women.

Rin turned and pointed further along the hall. "There should be a stairwell with an exit not
too far down that way."

"Good. Then let's move out!"

"Wait," Rin said, halting the slayers in their tracks. "There are other prisoners here besides us.
We need to save them."

"I'm afraid you will not be saving anyone," a breathy voice whispered through the hall. It was
so quiet, Rin was surprised any of them had heard it, and yet it was so foreign that it
commanded everyone's attention. They all turned back from whence the slayers arrived to
find a single, petite woman in a white dress with white hair standing ahead of them in the
corridor.

How did she sneak up on us like that?

"Kanna," Izayoi murmured. The slayers trying to get Sango off her back thrust her back onto
Izayoi and raised their guns towards the newcomer.

"The IT girl?" Officer Nanasuke asked as he raised his own gun.

Kanna raised her hands as if in surrender. In one of them, she held a hand mirror, which fell
open.

Then it started to glow.

"Fire!" Officer Nanasuke shouted, taking no chances.

But no one obeyed his command. Instead, the demon slayers started dropping to the ground
around them, and Kagome gasped.

"Sis, what's happening?" Rin asked, clutching her sister. For whatever reason, only she,
Kagome, and Izayoi remained standing. Sango remained prone on Izayoi's back.
"She's taking…something from them," Kagome answered, her eyes following an invisible
trail over their heads towards the mirror. "Whatever she's taking, it's going into that mirror!"

"Their souls," Kanna replied in her ghost-like voice, lowering her hands as the threat to her
life vanished.

Izayoi gritted her teeth. "Why spare us?"

"I need you aware…for now," Kanna said.

Suddenly, the bodies on the floor twitched, and they began to push themselves to their feet.
Izayoi screamed as Sango grabbed her arms and wrenched her legs out of the woman's hold,
landing on her feet. She twisted Izayoi's arms behind her back and held her. Demon slayers
grabbed onto Kagome's and Rin's arms, holding fast despite how much the girls struggled.

"What the? What's going on? I thought she sucked the souls out of them!" Kagome grunted.

"A soulless body is much easier to control," Kanna replied. "Now come—Naraku wishes for
you to go to the main stage." She turned around, and without even beckoning them, the
demon slayers followed, marching their prisoners forward.

Izayoi sucked in a breath when she saw where they were heading. "Not again."

The gate to the arena stood open, and beyond it, the dog demon men stood in the center of the
pit.

Inuyasha growled. "If you don't plan to tell us where they are, I'll rip the information out of
you! Wind Scar!" He slashed his sword, and the gale-force winds of demonic energy tore
across the arena, shattering the concrete seating as they swallowed the box seat. Inuyasha
smirked. "Heh. Got 'im."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Do not celebrate just yet."

Sure enough, as the smoke cleared, Naraku appeared unscathed with a purple barrier—not
unlike Tsukuyomaru's—swirling around him. He smirked.

"Is that all you can manage, Inuyasha?" Naraku asked, floating away from the ruined box seat
and coming closer towards them. His eyes trialed over the destruction as he flew, and he
frowned. "Though you did manage to make a mess of my brand-new arena. I would sue you
for damages…if I thought you were going to survive this encounter."

"What the hell is your beef with me?" Inuyasha snapped. "Look, whatever it is, just let the
girls go, and I'll settle it here with you right here and now, man-to-man."

"You have no sense of poetic justice, do you?" Naraku asked.

"Poetic what?" Inuyasha scoffed.

"You stole my beloved and my life from me, Inuyasha, so it was only fitting that I do the
same to you."

"The hell are you talking about? I didn't steal nobody from you. And you sure as hell look
alive and well to me."

"Yes, well, I didn't always look like this."

Suddenly, a shot rang out, and the dog demons ducked on instinct. When they looked up, they
found Naraku's barrier had popped like a bubble, and Naraku was bent double, his back
sizzling. He growled and looked for the shooter. Then his eyes widened.

"Kikyou."

The dog demons turned around to find the chief of the demon slayers standing up from
behind some fallen debris just past the garage door of the arena. She kept her gun trained on
Naraku, but every step she took was slow and deliberate. Sesshoumaru frowned. She is too
old for combat. It's a wonder she hit him at all, though I suppose the fact that she did speaks
to her skill.

He couldn't see where she had hit Naraku—his back faced away from them—but he was
willing to bet Kikyou had aimed for Naraku's heart. Given how Naraku was still standing, it
seemed she had failed. But then, it was a miracle she had even hit him from that distance with
a mere handgun and no scope. Even so, she walked forward, her face betraying no trace of
fear.

"How dare you address me as if you know me, Naraku," Kikyou replied in a surprisingly
strong and even voice, coming to stand beside the dog demons. Sesshoumaru wondered why
she wasn't shooting. Surely Naraku was close enough now, even though she had lost the
element of surprise. Unless….

Is she bluffing? Was that her last bullet? Or does she still have one more, and she's making
sure it counts?

Naraku was breathing harder now, a sheen of sweat on his face. With that bullet still lodged
in his back, the spiritual energy had to be eating away at him, even if it hadn't pierced his
heart. "You wound me, Kikyou. I know it's been a while, but I hoped you would remember
me. Hardly a day goes by where I do not think of you, after all. Even now, when you are so
much older, I could still pick you out of a crowd."

Kikyou frowned. "I have never met you in my life."

"Of course you have. After all, I used to be in the Demon Slayer Corps."

"Impossible," Kikyou hissed. "I've been with them for most of my life, and I've never once
seen anyone like you."

Naraku gave a pained chuckle. "Of course you wouldn't recognize me, Kikyou.
Unlike Inuyasha, I've changed in the last fifty years."
For the first time, Kikyou's face wavered. "Fifty years…?"

"Jan. 17, 1971. Do you remember that day, Kikyou? Inuyasha?" Though Inuyasha still looked
confused, Kikyou's eyes flickered with dawning realization.

Together, he and Kikyou said, "The day of the Mamidaira Inn fire."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. Naraku smirked. "Ah, now you remember."

Kikyou glanced over at the half-demon. "Were you there, Inuyasha?"

"…Yeah, what of it?"

Kikyou sighed. "Of course. Now everything is starting to make sense."

"What are they talking about, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked. He did not recall this fire they
spoke of, though he knew of the Mamidaira—a tanuki clan. His father did not appear
confused in the least. Of course he knew what happened.

Sesshoumaru thought back. Fifty years ago, Inuyasha would have been the head of Nishikuni
Corp., and Sesshoumaru would have been his heir apparent, so they would have worked
together frequently, whether they liked it or not. He should have remembered if Inuyasha was
at a major fire involving a demon clan—though if he had known, it was very likely he forgot
it, since it would not have mattered much to him.

For that reason, of course, he and Inuyasha did not always tell each other everything they
did…and Inuyasha did have a tendency to duck out of work when he got bored, leaving
Sesshoumaru to handle his tasks, so it would not have been outside the realm of possibility.

"My apologies, Sesshoumaru," Naraku said. "How rude of us to not explain. You see, the
DSC had been investigating rumors of strange sightings and happenings at the Mamidaira
Inn. On Jan. 17th, they felt they had enough evidence to warrant raiding the inn for demons.
Unfortunately, the demons appeared to have been tipped off, because by the time we got
there, most of them were gone. The few that remained got…skittish. Somehow, they
produced fire bombs and lobbed them at us."

"Well of course they did! They knew that slayers shoot first and ask questions later!"
Inuyasha snapped. "Still, those bombs are all show and no substance. They're a diversionary
tactic at best."

"Even so, they were destructive enough to set the inn on fire. The old wood of that inn lit up
like a dry grassland in summer, cutting my partner and me off from the rest of our squad in
mere seconds. We tried to escape, but the fire grew too rapidly, and the building was coming
down around us. We were trying to judge if we could take some burns and brave the flames
when suddenly our hero showed up—or so I thought. …Oh my, you don't look so good,
Inuyasha. Would you prefer to tell this part of the story?" Naraku asked.

Inuyasha remained silent, his jaw tense with misgiving. However, Sesshoumaru had an idea
of where this story was going.
"Is he saying you're the one who leapt in to save them, Inuyasha?" Kikyou asked.

"…Yeah."

"But why? Why were you even there in the first place?" Kikyou asked. "Why save demon
slayers, if we were your enemy? …Unless?"

"My mom," Inuyasha muttered.

Naraku nodded. "That's right. Officer Kamakura was my partner in that mission—and she
was terrified. Understandably so, given how I hear she's suffered in a fire before and almost
lost the lives of her entire family because of it. Of course, I didn't know that at the time—
but you must have. So poor Inuyasha came running into the flames just to save his dear old
mother." He chuckled. "What a sweet boy."

"Shut up, Naraku!" Inuyasha snapped.

But Kikyou wasn't paying attention to their squabble, her brow twisted as she put all the
pieces together. "She tipped you off," she whispered in realization. "That's why the inn was
so empty. She sent you to evacuate the demons ahead of time."

"Yeah, well, that was kind of the point of her infiltrating the Corps back then," Inuyasha
answered, though his usual snark had lost some of its edge.

"Tell Kikyou what you did next, Inuyasha," Naraku urged. When Inuyasha said nothing,
Naraku continued. "Tell her how you called for your mother and Officer Kamakura answered.
Tell her how the flames blew your hat off, revealing your ears—and your true nature—to me,
a fellow slayer. Tell her how, when you realized what had happened…you pushed me into the
flames and left me to die."

Kikyou gasped. "Yasha, you didn't!"

Something didn't ring true in that statement to Sesshoumaru. That was something he would
have done. Inuyasha was merciful. After all, only a couple years later, he would willingly
reveal his true nature to Kikyou. Inuyasha never killed without reason, and defense was
usually it. True, this would have been considered an act of defense, but…it was too cruel,
even for him.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "That guy—and I ain't convinced it's you, whatever you claim—
pulled a gun on me. I grappled with him for it…and I…pushed too hard. He backpedaled into
the fire."

Sesshoumaru huffed. I knew it. He tried not to acknowledge the strange sense of relief that
accompanied his brother's rebuttal. Certainly it wasn't because he was glad Inuyasha was a
soft-hearted fool. Rather, he was relieved that he did indeed know his brother as well as he
thought he did. He needed to in order to clean up his messes or read his moves in battle.

"Even so…you didn't try to help me out. You simply grabbed your mother and left," Naraku
countered. Inuyasha said nothing to that. "I was already aflame, so I had nothing to lose at
that point. I tore through the inn and stumbled upon the hot springs. I had already burned so
much, the hot water didn't even register at first when I plunged in, but as I lay there, waiting
for someone to find me, the heat became unbearable. I couldn't move, I was so burned.
Finally, some firefighters found me after they put the fire out. They were amazed I was even
alive. They rushed me to the hospital." He turned towards Kikyou then. "Do you remember
who I am yet, Kikyou?"

Kikyou swallowed thickly. "There was only one casualty on our side that day: On Igumo-
san."

Naraku smiled. "So you do remember."

Kikyou shook her head, a strange light of panic coming into her eyes. "No. It's not possible.
He was human—I'm sure of it!"

"So I was…even if in the end, I didn't even look human anymore. When I was taken to the
hospital, I had third-degree burns all over my body. In fact…I still bear some from that day."

He turned around then, baring his back to his audience. Where Kikyou's bullet had hit his
back, the resulting blow of spiritual power had burned away much of the clothing there,
revealing the raw wound—which appeared strangely closed over, though it still leaked blood
—in the center of what appeared to be the body of a spider-shape scar. Though the bullet
wound was fresh, the scar was a dull pink and tough with age.

Naraku turned back around. "The doctors said I would be lucky to survive. I could barely
speak, my skin was so raw and my body so bandaged up. I was ready to give in and let death
take me…but when I woke up, you were right there beside me, Kikyou, and suddenly I had a
reason to live again. For my loving girlfriend had come to take care of me."

Inuyasha looked at Kikyou in shock. "You dated this guy?"

"I told you back then that I had just gotten out of a relationship!" Kikyou retorted. "Which
Naraku failed to mention. I was no longer Igumo-san's girlfriend. We broke up the week
before. Rather, the reason I went to his side that day was not out of love but of compassion.
Recent breakup or not, when I heard he was dying, I couldn't just let him suffer alone in the
hospital."

"Be that as it may, I was still sure my infirmity had showed you what really mattered in life—
and that our petty squabble the previous week didn't actually matter in the grand scheme of
things," Naraku continued.

"Petty squabble? I caught Igumo-san stealing from the evidence locker—and nothing small,
like food or trinkets. Money. Drugs. Jewelry. Whatever was of value, he took! I was never
going to date a thief."

Naraku shrugged, wincing as the action pulled at his back. "Well, it's all in the past now. I
merely wished to illustrate to Inuyasha the reason for my vendetta against him—and that it
wasn't merely because he tried to kill me twice in almost as many days."
"Twice?" Kikyou echoed.

Naraku smirked. "Didn't you ever wonder what he was doing in my hospital room when you
met him there for the first time?"

Kikyou turned to Inuyasha. "You told me you knew him and were visiting."

"Ha!" Naraku laughed. "Well, technically he did not lie. He did know me…though only in the
sense that he had seen me once before. Inuyasha came to finish the job that the fire hadn't.
After all, he couldn't be sure I wouldn't spill his and his mother's secrets. Too bad for him,
you walked in just as he was about to perform the deed."

"Is that true, Yasha?" Kikyou asked.

Inuyasha's silence was answer enough.

"So then, the reason why you visited every day after that wasn't out of compassion but rather
an intent to kill?"

"Look, what does it matter at this point anymore? If he really is this On Igumo or whatever,
he's obviously alive and well and I didn't actually kill him, " Inuyasha growled. "Did I go
there to? Yeah. He was a liability, and I needed to make sure he didn't talk. But you
were always there, Kikyou, so I couldn't exactly do anything about it." Then he muttered,
"And, well…eventually…I just started coming just to see you, since he didn't seem to be any
trouble."

"You did?" Kikyou asked, a fresh burst of young and girlish wonder infusing her matronly
face for just a brief moment.

Naraku spat. "He did. Even I, dying in that bed, could see that much. And I despaired of it. I
watched him stealing a little more of your heart each day, Kikyou, and I wanted nothing more
than to take it back. But what can a crippled man offer a woman? I knew I was at a
disadvantage.

"As my wretched jealousy grew, a voice began to invade my dreams. It promised me that in
exchange for my soul, I could get the woman I so desired. And then one day, the voice took
form. I could not tell whether I was awake or dreaming when I found a spider the size of my
hand sitting on my chest. It spoke to me, saying its name was Naraku and that if I allowed it
to use my body as its host, I would regain all the function I had lost. What need had I for a
soul when it was a body I craved? I agreed.

"The spider feasted then on my flesh, and when it had finished, I was born as you see me
now," Naraku said, spreading his arms with a flourish. "But my body was still weak, and the
demon that took over me was greedy. I fled the hospital, found a corpse to take my place in
the hospital bed, burned it, left it, and then went into the wilderness, where other demons still
hid. I ate them too. By the time I returned to civilization, I found you and Inuyasha had been
dating for some eighteen months. How I wished to exact my revenge then, but for a weak,
young demon such as I, he was untouchable, protected behind an illustrious family and
barriers upon barriers. But I knew his weakness at least: you."
Kikyou frowned. "What are you saying?"

The grin that unfurled over Naraku's face was downright malicious.

And then his body started to change.

Suddenly, they were staring at Kikyou some fifty years younger, her face unlined with age.
And when Naraku spoke, her voice came out: "Inuyasha, I love you more than I've ever loved
anyone else. What do you think of taking our relationship to the next level?"

Red bloomed across the aged Kikyou's cheeks, and with great indignation, she cried out,
"I never said anything like that!"

But Tessaiga's blade dropped into the sand of the arena floor as Inuyasha stared like a deer in
the headlights at Naraku-turned-Kikyou. "No," he breathed.

"Yes," Naraku replied in her mocking lilt. Then he looked at Kikyou, and his face contorted
once more, becoming a black-haired Inuyasha. "Kikyou, I think it's time we talk about the
future. Meet me in the park behind the Heart Motel at midnight."

Now it was Kikyou's turn to widen her eyes in shock. "It can't be."

"He set us up," Inuyasha murmured, his hand going to his heart where Kikyou's bullet had
pierced it.

"But…but how could you have known Inuyasha would reveal himself to me?" Kikyou
demanded.

"Oh, that was quite easy," Naraku answered, his own face and voice returning. "It only took
some observation on my part. Knowing what he was and watching you two, I clearly saw the
guilt written in every interaction you shared. He was just dying for a chance to come clean to
you and for you to accept him. But I also knew you, Kikyou, and how you cannot stand liars,
crooks, and—most of all—demons. I also knew you went everywhere armed. I thought, at
best, you might incarcerate him. But the result I got was so much more than I could have
asked for."

"You bastard!" Touga hissed, stepping forward, his eyes bleeding red. "So it was your doing
that nearly got my son killed?"

"Nearly," Naraku echoed. "And that is why this matter remains unresolved. Your family went
underground after that, and I had to bide my time, climbing the ranks of the demon world in
order to finally meet you again and learn your new weakness. Now I have it. Kanna!"

The door through which Sango had entered the arena last night rolled up. From underneath,
Kanna stepped forward, her movements so quiet, Sesshoumaru could not even detect them.
She held a glowing mirror in her hands.

Then the unmistakable drumbeat of marching boots echoed from the tunnel, and
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he watched the demon slayers prod Rin, Kagome, and Izayoi
into the arena. Sesshoumaru's gaze zeroed in on Rin, flitting from limb to limb and lingering
on her belly. The auras of their daughters still pulsed strong, but there was a tension to Rin's
features—one that matched the soft currents of weariness and discomfort flowing through
their bond.

The demon slayers' faces were devoid of emotion as they pushed their prisoners forward.
Kikyou turned towards Naraku, her expression devoid now of any shock or pity. All that
remained was anger. "Naraku, what have you done to my men?"

"Not I, Kikyou, but Kanna. She can't just make computers do her bidding, you see. By
trapping souls, she can command the leftover bodies as she pleases. How about a
demonstration?"

Just then, Kanna's mirror glowed, and Sesshoumaru watched as a white wisp flew out of
Izayoi's mouth and into the mirror. Izayoi's eyes dulled. Sango let go of her, and Izayoi
reached over to a nearby slayer, grabbing his gun and raising it, pointing it straight towards
Inuyasha.

Kikyou jumped in front of him just as Izayoi fired.

Kagome screamed.

"No!" Touga roared.

The bullet slammed into Kikyou's chest, knocking her off her feet.

"Kikyou!" Inuyasha screamed, dropping his sword and diving to catch her. Naraku's eyes
widened in shock.

Izayoi lowered the gun down a bit to follow Inuyasha as he knelt on the ground with Kikyou.
She shot again.

Touga lurched forward even faster and slashed at the bullet. As Sou'unga's demonic energy
met the condensed spiritual energy in the bullet, it exploded in his face, burning and throwing
him down on his back.

"Get off me!" Kagome shrieked, jerking in her captors' hold. They held fast. "Wake. Up!" Her
hands glowed pink, and a burst of spiritual energy blasted the slayers' hands off her. They
froze, looking dazed. She dropped a bag she was holding, lurched forward and grabbed
Izayoi's hands, pushing the gun up just as Izayoi fired another shot. The bullet flew high over
the group's heads. "Izayoi…stop! If you do this, you'll never forgive yourself! Let. Go!"

Another blast of spiritual energy from her palms blew the gun out of Izayoi's hands. Kagome
rushed over and scooped it up, looking triumphant.

Naraku scowled, but then it turned into a smile. "No…this is perfect. Let this love story come
full circle. Kanna, take her."

"Kagome, run away!" Inuyasha cried out. But before Kagome could do anything, Kanna
raised her mirror, and it glowed even brighter. Kagome's soul slid out of her mouth, and her
mouth, and her eyes dulled as her smile dropped. Slowly, she stepped closer to the group and
raised the gun towards Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru flexed his muscles, ready to jump in and tear the gun out of her hands, but
Inuyasha must have sensed his intent, because he snapped, "Don't you dare hurt her!"

Naraku laughed. "Just as I thought. Even when you are about to be killed, you cannot bear to
harm even one hair on your mate. Tell me, Inuyasha: how does it feel to have not one
but two of the women you've dared to love shoot you?"

Inuyasha stared at Kagome, his face impassive. Finally, he said, "Kagome, I know this isn't
you. If you can hear me, don't blame yourself, okay? I…I love you. No matter what."

A small clink pierced the air. Kanna looked down at her mirror, a small part of which had
fractured. She frowned as a similar crack appeared under her eye.

A tear fell down Kagome's face as her finger fluttered around the trigger.

"No…Inu…yasha," she bit out.

"Impossible," Kanna murmured as another fissure split both the mirror and her face.

Kikyou laughed, but it turned into a hoarse cough, and she spit up some blood. Sesshoumaru
was no doctor, but he had seen enough injuries in his lifetime to know what caused them. He
could not smell cooking meat from the bullet wound, so her armor must have been bullet-
proof, taking the brunt of the force. Even so, if she was spitting up blood, the bullet might
have cracked a rib that punctured a lung when she fell. Whatever she thought of herself,
Kikyou was elderly, after all, and her bones were more brittle than in her prime.

"A strong spirit…like Kagome's…can't be contained…by the likes…of you," she wheezed.

Inuyasha smiled at his wife even as he held his former lover. "Thatta girl. Fight her,
Kagome!"

"Finish it, Kanna," Naraku spat.

However, though Kanna gripped her mirror tighter and tighter, it only continued to splinter.
More cracks radiated out from her eye, creating dark fissures across her porcelain-doll face.

The mirror shattered, arcs of light—souls, rather—flying out of it and returning to the demon
slayers, Kagome, and Izayoi. Kanna dropped the empty mirror frame as her hands snapped
off her wrists. With wide eyes, she gasped one final time before her body burst into thousands
of glittering fragments.

Naraku's eyes and nostrils flared in fury.

With the spell broken, awareness returned to the slayers and Izayoi. Her hands flew to her
mouth as she took in the sight of Touga prone on the ground and Kikyou lying in Inuyasha's
lap. "What have I done?" she gasped, tears pooling in her eyes. She looked back and forth at
her husband and son, as if unsure of where to run to first.
"Mom, I'm fine! Go check on Dad," Inuyasha called out.

She nodded and ran over to Touga, who groaned as she helped him sit up. His face and hands
blistered red, and part of his kimono had been scorched away, leaving a burn on his chest.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Inuyasha called out next.

"Yes, I'm fine!" she answered, running back to her sister. As the bemused slayers regained
their senses, they finally spotted Naraku and reached for their guns.

But before they could shoot, tentacles sprang out of Naraku's wounded back and grasped both
Kagome and Rin, hauling them up beside him. The girls screamed as they were pulled into
the air.

"Don't shoot!" Inuyasha yelled, trying to get up, but Kikyou coughed again, and he froze.

Sesshoumaru snarled, his blood boiling dangerously towards the point where he would
transform. "Quit taking hostages like a coward, Naraku, and face us with your own power."

"Only a fool would give up his advantage and stand in front of a firing squad unarmed,"
Naraku replied.

Sesshoumaru's patience snapped at the same time his light whip did from his fingers, cutting
the tentacle that held Rin. As the severed limb dropped through the air, Rin screamed, and
Sesshoumaru sped forward to catch her in his arms.

But someone else caught her first.

The scent of Eastern spices hit him, and Sesshoumaru growled as he turned to find Rin
caught up in Zero's arms.

"That's hardly any way to treat your pregnant mate, Sesshoumaru. A jostle like that could
send her into premature labor. Or…is that already happening?" she asked, looking down at
Rin's strained face and her arms shielding her belly.

"Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked.

She closed her eyes and shook her head roughly. "No, I'm fine. Don't listen to her!"

Naraku looked down at Zero with barely concealed annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

Zero huffed a laugh. "I was watching the show from afar, since you said it would be
entertaining, but I must say, Naraku—I'm not impressed. You've lost all but one of your
children, and now look at the state you're in. You claim to have all the strength of a greater
demon, and yet all I see is a pretender. Shall I show you how a true greater demon fights?"

She let go of Rin's back and thrust her arm into the air, forcing Rin to grapple for Zero's
shoulders in order to stay upright. Above Zero's head, large balls of pulsing, crackling energy
appeared. She whipped her hand forward, and the energy-laced attacks raced towards them.
Inuyasha pulled Kikyou into his arms and leapt away. Sesshoumaru raced over to Touga and
Izayoi, pulling them to safety. The demon slayers scrambled, some shooting into the blasts to
break them apart, others running for cover, and still others getting caught in the blasts.

As the energy balls detonated in the arena, sand and debris exploded in their faces. Parts of
the newly-built stands crumbled. When the dust cleared, Sesshoumaru looked around the
broken arena for Zero and Naraku, but they were gone.

Damn it!

He was about to run after them when someone grabbed his arm. He turned to find Izayoi
looking at him with pride.

"Sesshoumaru, you saved us. Thank you."

He did not have time for platitudes. "Father, I need Sou'unga." It was still welded to his
father's hand, despite everything.

Touga shook his head. "You are not…in the right mindset for it. It will…overwhelm you."

Sesshoumaru's eyes bled red, and he snarled, "Father, I need a weapon to save Rin!"

Touga leveled him with a serious stare. "And that…is exactly why Sou'unga will do you no
good. It will take over your mind…make you go on a rampage. You are more likely…to kill
Rin…than save her."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" he snapped back. He paused, foreign words on the tip of
his tongue. He had grown up thinking it a weakness to utter them, and yet just a few months
ago, his father had told him otherwise.

What do I have to lose?

Rin.

He finally pushed them off his tongue. "I need…help."

Touga pushed himself up, wincing all the while. His father was powerful, but even he would
succumb to enough spiritual energy—especially as concentrated as it was in those bullets.
Even so, when he opened his eyes, it was pride, not pain, that showed through. "I will…come
with you, my son. We will…save her…together."

"Touga, you're hurt," Izayoi protested.

"This is nothing. Izayoi…I need you…to help the slayers. Kikyou and many others are down.
Help them…get back to the medi-van. And then fetch Kirinmaru. If anyone can talk sense…
into his sister…it will be him."

"Understood."
 "There are medical supplies in the bag Kagome dropped," Sesshoumaru said. Somehow, it
had survived the blasts, and he could smell the medicines and antiseptic from over here.

"Wait a moment then," Izayoi said. She scrambled over to the bag and brought it back, rifling
through it. She pulled out a roll of bandages and some ointment, shoving it into Touga's
hands. "I know you're strong, but take this, just in case." She kissed his cheek and then left to
help the others.

Sesshoumaru helped his father to stand, even though Touga tried to wave him off. Once he
was on his feet, Touga took some deep breaths and nodded. "I am ready."

Inuyasha came up to them just then. "Mom just told me what's going on. Dad, are you sure
you're up for this?"

Touga chuckled. "Goodness, I must be getting old. My wife and my children think a little
spirit bullet can put me in the ground." Despite his words, he tucked the bandages and
ointment into his sleeve. "Come, let's go save your mates."

Chapter End Notes

Well, I'm letting you off the hook with major cliffhangers this week, lol. Hope you
enjoyed Naraku's monologuing, haha. As I mentioned earlier, I was planning to make
this one huge chapter…but it was getting to the point of 14,000 words, which is just a
bit much…and I honestly need another chapter to be ready to post next week, since I'll
be going out of town again. At least that means I won't be late next week—and
hopefully this will give me enough time to not be late with the next chapter the
following week either!
 The Battle Against Naraku: Part Three
Chapter Notes

Guys, I truly cannot express how much your support means to me. Reading last week's
comments brought me SUCH happiness, especially since I was nervous about posting
that chapter. Thank you, thank you as always for your beautiful words.

But now for what you REALLY want. I FINALLY figured this final battle out, so I hope
it satisfies everyone! Also, if this chapter seems cHaOTiC, well…that's battle for you,
haha.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Naraku's foul stench and miasma still lingered all over the grounds, but now that Zero had
entered the fray, they had a new scent to latch onto. They followed her trail back outside and
ended up following a dirt path into the woods surrounding the resort. Though the freedom of
flying through the trees had always relaxed Sesshoumaru, his body remained one giant knot
of anxiety, fed by Rin's nervousness and growing pain. If only their bond could act like a
GPS signal, telling him where she was. Seeing her in the arena had been a relief, but he
would not rest until she was safely in his arms again and he could see for himself what pained
her.

Was she truly going into labor, as Zero had suggested? Would Rin lie to him about that to
keep him from worrying? Kagura had said earlier she was being induced. Had that happened
already, or was it all a ruse to make him lose his mind on the battlefield?

He was so consumed with his own thoughts, he barely paid attention to his surroundings until
Inuyasha said, "You guys feel that?"

"Yes," Touga answered, his face set in a grim line of pain and determination.

Sesshoumaru refocused. Demonic energies. Dozens of them.

They were fairly weak though—perhaps that was why his subconscious brushed them off
earlier. Even so, the demons stayed hidden, yet Sesshoumaru could not taste their fear.
Rather, it seemed as if they were waiting.

Finally, they reached a clearing. The dirt path crossed over the grassy lawn to a complex of
boxy, wooden towers as tall as the trees and arranged in neat rows along the tree line. A low
hum filled the air.

"What the heck are those?" Inuyasha asked.

Touga frowned. "They sound like bees…though much louder than any bees I've ever heard."
Realization dawned in his eyes. "Could these be those saimyoushou Myoga mentioned? The
ones Naraku is breeding?"

If Naraku thought to threaten them with poisonous insects, he would be sorely disappointed.
While it was true his father and brother were susceptible, Sesshoumaru was not. If he had to
destroy every single bee himself, he would.

However, though buzzing filled the air, he did not see even one hovering outside its hive.

Suddenly, something pounded from within one of the towers. "Inuyasha, help!"

"K-Kagome? Shit. Hang on, I'll get you out!" Inuyasha shouted, flexing his claws. He
prepared to jump towards the hives. "Iron Re—"

"Stop," Sesshoumaru said, grabbing Inuyasha's ankle mid-jump and hauling him back down
to earth, where he landed with a vicious thud.

"Ow! Damn it, Sesshoumaru, what was that for? Kagome's in trouble!"

"Use your head. This is a trap."

"Who cares? She's in there with those…things! Didn't Myoga say a sting was fatal to
humans?"

"Sesshoumaru!" Rin called out then, her voice muffled by the wood. He tensed.

"See? Hits differently when it's your mate in trouble, doesn't it?" Inuyasha snapped, brushing
Sesshoumaru's hand off him and preparing to jump again.

"No, Sesshoumaru is right, son," Touga said, laying a gentle hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I
don't think that's actually Kagome or Rin. Why would Naraku endanger the lives of his
hostages like that? It makes no sense."

"But I can smell them," Inuyasha protested.

Touga sniffed. "Yes…but their scents are weaker, as if they merely passed through here."

"How could that be?" Inuyasha asked.

"Because it's an illusion," Inukimi announced, emerging from the shadows of the forest and
striding into the clearing. She marched Byakuya in front of her, holding his arms twisted
behind his back. "This one led me on quite the merry chase, but thankfully, it seems Naraku
finally had need of him. With his attention divided, I was able to pin him down."

"How do we know he's not an illusion? Or that you are, for that matter?" Inuyasha asked.

Byakuya smirked. "You don't."

Inukimi gave the half-demon a cold stare. "Do you think I could be so easily replicated,
whelp? Or that I would mistake a fake for the real one?"

An involuntary shiver ran over Inuyasha's body. "Okay, yeah, you're the real deal." Then he
pulled out his sword and leveled it at Byakuya. "Alright, spill it: what have you done to
Kagome and Rin?"

"I haven't done anything…but it appears Naraku's let them go." Byakuya nodded over
Inuyasha's shoulder towards the hives. "They're right there."

"Don't think that'll work this time!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out. None of the dog demons could help looking back towards the
hives.

This time, Kagome stumbled out from behind one, clutching a bleeding arm to her chest. The
tang of that blood in Sesshoumaru's nose was unmistakably Kagome's. She pulled Rin behind
her, the latter supporting her stomach and struggling as they ran towards them. Alarm raised
his hackles as he scented Rin's blood as well, though he could not see her injury.

"Inuyasha, quick—you have to run away! It's a trap!" Kagome yelled.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha answered, springing towards her, just as Sesshoumaru bolted towards
Rin. When he landed before the girls, Rin let go of Kagome's hand and launched herself into
Sesshoumaru's arms.

"Sesshoumaru, thank goodness. I was so scared," Rin whimpered, burying her face against
his neck.

"Rin, you're safe now," Sesshoumaru said, pulling her close and breathing in her scent. It was
definitely hers. But where was she hurt? Were the babies alright? He reached out with his
demonic energy to feel for them—and then froze.

He couldn't feel them.

He was just about to pull away when something sharp bit into his neck.

Rin's guise melted away into a body of leathery gray. Sharp claws dug at his left arm and
belly, tearing away his sleeve and piercing the front of his kimono. Blood bloomed across his
clothing, a grisly imitation of the cherry blossom crests patterning his clothes. A rough,
pointed tongue lapped at the spurting wound on his neck, and Sesshoumaru lashed out with
his talons, shredding the foul creature to ribbons. Tt fell in hunks of meat at his feet. He
stared down at the intact, pterodactyl-like head. The blood around its mouth steamed from its
poisoned meal, and its tongue had already turned to ash.

Abi's bird demons.

"Gah!" Inuyasha cried out, and Sesshoumaru spun his head on instinct towards his brother,
wincing as the gash on his neck protested the movement. Before he could go to help, Touga
was there, slicing the bird demon off his son much as Sesshoumaru had with his own claws.
The demon dropped dead, and Inuyasha clutched his neck, blood dribbling down and soaking
his haori, which turned a darker red.

"Boys, are you alright?" Touga asked, looking between them.

"I will live," Sesshoumaru answered, though the wound on his neck was deeper than he
thought. He directed energy towards it to at least staunch the flow of blood. "Inuyasha on the
other hand…."

"I-I'll be fine," Inuyasha asserted, though his eyes unfocused for a second and he swayed on
his feet.

"That wound is serious, son. We need to treat it," Touga answered, pulling out the bandages
Izayoi had given him.

"Quit babyin' me—I said I'll be fine!" Inuyasha rebuked. But when he stumbled, it was
obvious his bluster belied his condition. Touga caught him, bringing both of them down to
their knees. Inuyasha withered under his father's determined look. "Fine, do what you want.
But that bastard has to pay for tricking us like that!" he snapped, pointing at Byakuya.

For once, Sesshoumaru agreed with his brother. Up to this point, he had barely reigned in his
anger. Already, his demonic energy surged as he stepped towards the captive his mother held.
What a sight he must have looked: blood drenching his white outfit and flooding his eyes, his
markings jagged with rage, and his fangs prying apart his lips.

Now, he was truly the kind of demon slayers always feared.

He wrapped a hand around Byakuya's neck and squeezed. His mother frowned at him but
said nothing. He growled, "Where are they?"

Byakuya choked but said nothing.

Inukimi looked their prisoner over, then pulled back on his arms. "Speak, or I will cut off
your hands. We'll see how much magic you can perform then."

Byakuya's eyes widened in alarm, but still he kept his mouth shut.

"Very well." With a clean slice of her claws, Inukimi rent the limbs from his body. Byakuya
released a wordless scream, cut off by Sesshoumaru's hold on his neck, and the dog demon
took the opportunity to pull him away from his mother. Sesshoumaru held Byakuya up
towards the other end of the field like a trophy.

He knew Naraku was here somewhere, watching. He always was.

Byakuya's blood dripped from his stumps, splashing on Sesshoumaru's boots. "If you wish
for your son's life to be spared, Naraku, you will hand over both Rin and Kagome—
unharmed—this instant."

"Do not…bother," Byakuya gasped. "I mean…nothing…."

Despite his words, Naraku stepped out from the cover of the trees, Kagome and Rin once
more clutched in his tentacles, their mouths covered by the ends of them. Touga had barely
finished tacking on the end of the bandage around Inuyasha's neck when the latter stood up
and pulled out Tessaiga, levelling it at their foe. He stood tall, though his face was pale with
blood loss.

"So we are at an impasse," Naraku stated.

"Where's Zero?" Sesshoumaru demanded, not wanting to be taken by surprise again.

"Zero is preoccupied at the moment. Kirinmaru found us before you did and tried to save Rin.
I took the liberty of caring for Zero's hostage." He wiggled the limb that held Rin, and she
groaned.

"Enough," Sesshoumaru answered, his hand squeezing involuntarily tighter around

Byakuya's throat.

Naraku frowned. "Kill him, and the women die as well."

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha warned. But Sesshoumaru did not heed him.

"You bluff. Rin is not your hostage to kill, and had you wanted to merely end Kagome, she
would have died long ago. No, your earlier theatrics show just what you have wanted for
Inuyasha: to cause him the greatest prolonged pain possible."

Naraku chuckled. "Indeed, I've shown you my hand, Sesshoumaru. Ideally, I would have
made Inuyasha squirm, taking his wife for my plaything and making her be the one to end his
life. So much betrayal would have been…orgasmic." Inuyasha bristled and growled, taking a
step towards Naraku with his sword. "And yet, watching you both now as you fell for a
simple illusion, so desperate to have your mates in your arms again, I wonder…would it not
be the greater tragedy to let Inuyasha live on without her, wondering what…and who could
have been?"

The cruel smirk he sent Inuyasha's way made gave the half-demon pause. "What are you
talking about?"

Naraku's leer widened. "Tell him, Kagome. Tell Inuyasha who exactly is at stake here." He
pulled back the tentacle covering her mouth and loosened it around her stomach.

"Don't listen to him, Inuyasha! He's trying to trick—ah!" she cried out as the tentacle
squeezed her harder around her chest and legs.

The barest hint of a frown marred Naraku's smile. "Tell him, Kagome, or I will squeeze until
the blood runs down your thighs." The limb twitched towards her stomach, and Kagome
gasped.

"O-Okay."

Sesshoumaru suddenly knew what Kagome was going to say. Had he not been with Rin these
past couple of months, he might never have picked up on the clues.
His brother was going to lose it, because Sesshoumaru himself was holding himself back
only by a hair, and his brother had much less restraint than he did.

Naraku relaxed his hold on Kagome, making sure her stomach was on full display. Tears ran
down Kagome's cheeks as she confessed, "Inuyasha…I'm pregnant."

Tessaiga's blade dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

"W-What?" Inuyasha gasped.

A shred of sympathy threaded Sesshoumaru's heart for his brother. He thought he had found
out about Rin's pregnancy in the worst possible way. For Inuyasha, this was so much worse.

While Inuyasha stood shell-shocked, Touga's eyes blazed with rage, and he stepped forward,
brandishing Sou'unga. The cords connecting his hand to the sword pulsed greedily. "Naraku,
you have tormented my family long enough. Let my daughters go, or face the wrath of all of
Hell." Somehow, the calmness of his baritone voice made his words all the more threatening.

"I am negotiating with Sesshoumaru, not you, Touga," Naraku answered. Then he turned
back to Sesshoumaru. "I know what you want…and I will give it to you, Sesshoumaru." He
thrust Rin forward, depositing her on the ground and unwrapping his tentacle from her. "Go
on. Byakuya for Rin. Make your choice."

"You bastard!" Inuyasha roared, finally snapping out of his trance. "There's no trade without
Kagome!"

"Your call, Sesshoumaru," Naraku replied, only the tip of a tentacle on Rin's shoulder
keeping her in place.

Sesshoumaru met his mate's strained eyes. Beneath the pain, yes, a hint of fear lay there, but
also determination and—dare he say it?—faith in him. Faith that he would make the right
decision.

Sesshoumaru's first priority was always Rin.

But Kagome was Rin's sister. Rin would hate him if he let anything happen to her.

A glint of metal drew his eye towards Kagome. From where the tentacle had relaxed along
her waist, Kagome slipped a gun from her pocket—the one she had taken from Izayoi in the
arena.

She met Sesshoumaru's eye and gave the barest of nods.

Sesshoumaru dropped Byakuya to his feet. "Done."

"Bastard!" Inuyasha cried out, lunging for his brother, but Touga held him back.

Naraku pushed Rin forward, and she stumbled across the grass as Byakuya jogged towards
her.
"Sesshoumaru!" Rin cried out, her eyes wholly focused on him and his on her. He took a step
forward, reaching a hand out for her.

"Let me go, Kirinmaru!" Zero shrieked. Her brother flew out of the woods as if a giant hand
swatted him aside. Rin and Byakuya froze as he flew between them and the dog demons
straight to the other side of the clearing. Sesshoumaru took a single step out of the way, his
hair whipping in the wind as Kirinmaru passed. The beast demon crashed into a thick tree,
snapping the trunk. It toppled onto him.

Zero tore out of the shadows, her eyes taking in the scene of the hostage exchange. "Damn
you, Naraku—this was not what you promised! I won't allow it!" She yanked on the top of
her cane, revealing a sword within. "You will not get your happy ending, Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru tensed, preparing to block her strike.

"Sister, don't!" Kirinmaru called out, pushing the trunk off himself.

The moment she threw her blade, Sesshoumaru realized with horror that he had
misunderstood her intentions.

She had not aimed at him.

Rin's body jerked, and she gasped as the sword pierced her chest.

Kagome screamed.

Sesshoumaru's heart sputtered to a stop as he watched his wife stumble forward.

Inukimi sucked in a breath behind him, and suddenly, a cosmic portal opened up beside
Byakuya. A red, demonic arm reached through and grabbed him, pulling him into the void,
which closed with a whisper.

Naraku's eyes widened. "What have you done?!"

Even Sesshoumaru did not know. But he didn't care.

"A life for a life, Naraku. That was a one-way ticket to the netherworld," Inukimi stated in a
voice of steel.

The justice of it did not matter to Sesshoumaru, for it would not save Rin.

He flew to his mate, catching her before she hit the ground and turning her around to lay in
his arms, careful not to jostle the sword lodged within her petite frame. She convulsed in his
gentle grasp, coughing through the mask and trying to speak. He pulled it down, and blood
spurted from her lips. It pooled up and dribbled out of her mouth like a broken fountain.

Then another fountain burst: the scent of musky water hit Sesshoumaru's nose, and he looked
down to see the juban she wore grow wet around her legs.
"S-Sess-Sesshoumaru," she gasped in a wet voice, her shaking hand trying to clutch his shirt.
Her eyes fluttered in alarm, and her emotions were a storm of fear and anxiety rending his
heart. He grabbed her hand in his, his attention focused solely on her.

"Rin, do not speak. I will get you to the medic—"

She shook her head and cut him off. "S-Save them." She coughed. "O-Our girls."

"Rin, stop—"

"C-Cut them out…of me…if you have to," she gasped, fingering his claws. "Just…s-save
them."

And with a final exhale, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she went limp in his arms. Her
fear petered out in their bond like broken bulb.

Sesshoumaru's very soul went numb.

He stared at her butchered body, the sword thrust through her like the stamen of a spider lily,
its red petals arcing across her chest. Her blood—not his enemies' blood—coated his hands.
Blood did not belong on her—not like it belonged on him. But not her blood. Never her
blood. And that vacant stare…it wasn't her. His Rin was always full of life. Her eyes should
have been sparkling like flecks of gold in the earth. Instead, they stared up at the sky like
burned-out coals.

She couldn't be dead. His beloved, perfect Rin couldn't possibly be dead.

Distantly, he heard a gunshot. Naraku's roar. Inuyasha shouting for his mate and running.

But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore, because Rin was dead.

"Sesshoumaru!" his father shouted, but the cry, though close, was a far-off echo in his ear.
His vision tunneled on the woman in his arms.

But Touga persisted, now shaking his shoulder. "Sesshoumaru, listen to me." Sesshoumaru
did not. Touga snarled. "Son, you have to work fast. The children will die too if you don't
bring her back!"

Sesshoumaru's head jerked around towards his father like a broken robot's. There was pain in
those golden eyes—a mere drop in the ocean of Sesshoumaru's own grief, but pain
nonetheless.

Sesshoumaru heard him…but his mind could hardly process what he was saying.

His father growled with impatience, leaning down and pulling Rin out of his arms. That
snapped Sesshoumaru out of his stupor, and he snarled at his father, reaching for his mate.

"Sesshoumaru," his father snapped, baring his teeth in a show of dominance. "You have
mere minutes before you lose the babies too. Don't let them die before they're even born."
He could feel them now beyond the haze of grief. Their demonic energies had spiked. They
were still alive. But this energy was desperate—like Inuyasha's when he lost to his demon
side. It would not last them long—or if it did, they might harm Rin's body trying to escape to
survive.

Even though her body was already wrecked.

Rin wouldn't have cared though—not if it meant her daughters could live.

Her final words echoed in his head: Save them.

It was the only mantra that could make him move.

But to save them, he had to save his mate.

Touga pulled Zero's blade out of Rin's chest and laid her out on the grass. Only just now
remembering Zero, Sesshoumaru looked around to make sure the demon wouldn't interfere.
He found her, Kirinmaru, and his mother engaged with each other, though he could not tell
who Kirinmaru was fighting.

"Zero will not disrupt you," his father said, rising and stepping back. "Now draw your sword,
Sesshoumaru."

This time, he did not need to be told twice. In fact, before his hand even touched the grip,
Tenseiga pulsed at his side. He drew the sword. Immediately, green imps appeared. They
crawled like vermin around his mate's head and feet, poking at her. One had the audacity to
stare at her stomach with hungry eyes, as if waiting to snatch the two souls nestled there.

Never.

"Do you see them? The servants of the underworld?" Touga asked.

He nodded.

"Cut them down."

It felt strange to hear that command for a sword that could not cut. But the sword spoke to
him, urging him to do just that, and he swung Tenseiga through the imps. With squeaks of
alarm, they vanished—as did the bloody hole in Rin's chest.

Sesshoumaru waited, not daring to breathe until she did.

She inhaled once—normally—as if she hadn't just fought for every last breath, and her eyes
opened slowly—not flying awake as if from a nightmare. When she exhaled her first breath,
he exhaled his. Their bodies and souls were tied together forever. He would not let death take
her without him.

Then he felt for the children: still alive, and their energies were calming back down to
normal. The tension from his heart eased.
"Rin," he said, kneeling down to cup her face and wipe the blood from her lips. "You are safe
now. All of you."

"Sesshoumaru, what hap—?" She cut off with a sharp gasp, clutching her abdomen.

Touga frowned. "She's going into labor. We have to get her back to Kaede at the medi-van."
Sesshoumaru nodded, picking Rin up and preparing to fly back to the convoy. There was so
much blood on her mask, it was practically useless. He would get her to the medi-van, where
they could put her on oxygen.

But when he turned towards the path leading back to the resort, a red-eyed Abi blocked the
way. Her body drooped with sluggishness, but her eyes were trained on the minced-meat
fragments of her two pets.

"Who did this?" she rasped.

No one responded—Sesshoumaru because he did not care to and the others because they
were in the midst of battle.

"Who killed my precious pets?" she shrieked. Then she turned her gaze on Rin, curled up in
Sesshoumaru's hold—and beheld the red stains on his fingertips. "You." Her hand went to her
neck in reflex. "You bloody bitch…and your bloody mate. I'll make you pay for what you've
done to us!"

An inhuman screech pealed out of her lips, and a swarm of bird demons broke through the
canopy around them.

"Kill them!" Abi screamed, pointing at Sesshoumaru and Rin.

Sesshoumaru prepared to dodge, for there was not much else he could do with Rin in his
arms, but his father jumped in front of them and sliced through the first bird demon to come
at them. However, another just took its place, and more crowded in around them. They
pecked at Touga, drawing blood even as he killed them with his sword. His father's eyes
turned even more red as his blood fell, and his strikes grew wilder and less precise. Flesh
wounds would normally not hinder him so, but the blast of spiritual energy from the bullet he
had sliced earlier must have still been affecting him. His wounds were now taking their toll as
a mortal's would.

Sesshoumaru refused to lose any other family this day.

He let Rin's feet fall to the ground and hugged her close to him so he could use his other hand
to form a light whip. While it caught a few of the birds, they were smart, fast demons and
able to outmaneuver his strikes.

I need a weapon to protect her—something that will take them all out at once.

His arm itched then, a familiar line burning down its entire length. He had not felt that pain in
months. A thought both his own and not arose unbidden: Free me.

Free…whom?
Baku—

Spurts of gunfire tore through the air, and several bird demons dropped out of the sky as they
blew up in blasts of spiritual energy. Sesshoumaru ducked with Rin, and his father followed
suit.

Half a dozen demon slayers raced onto the scene, attacking the birds. Abi backed away from
them. "To me, my pets!" she cried, fleeing towards the forest. But her cry just brought
attention to her, and a couple demon slayers turned their guns on her instead. Three bullets hit
her at once, and she screamed before she fell to the dirt.

As soon as Abi went down, the birds screeched in lament and broke all ranks, attacking the
demon slayers with feral madness. Some continued to attack his father. Bullets whizzed
across the battlefield.

Sesshoumaru turned to look for another way to escape with Rin. On the other side of the
clearing, his mother still fought Zero, and now that he could see things clearly, he realized
Kirinmaru was as much fighting Zero as he was Inukimi, preventing either woman from
landing a final blow. He still doesn't want to hurt Zero, despite what she's done.

Kagome had taken cover behind one of the hives, and Inuyasha was dueling Naraku.
Apparently, Kagome hadn't been able to hit his heart with her shot. But even if Sesshoumaru
knew Inuyasha was the better fighter, he could see how the blood loss from his brother's
wound was slowing his reaction time. Luckily, Naraku also appeared to be suffering from his
wounds. But Naraku was bound to play dirty, and Inuyasha was not adept at reading an
enemy's moves before getting caught in a trap.

Sesshoumaru knew this needed to end before anyone else paid the price Rin nearly
had. He needed to end this, for while he bore no blame in Naraku's grudge, he was at fault for
Zero's.

And she needed to pay—by his own hand—for what she had done.

His pulse pounded once more in his arm. There was something there—something that would
help him achieve this goal. He knew it and he needed to free it.

He looked down at his mate. "Rin, can you hold on for a few more minutes?"

Sweat beaded at her temples and hairline, and she but her lip but nodded. " First labor…lasts
a while," she recited as if to convince both herself and him. "Do what you need to…
Sesshoumaru. But please…hurry," she gasped, groaning again and pressing against her
stomach. Then she coughed as Naraku's miasma attacked her lungs.

"Father," he called out.

Touga cut down the last bird demon attacking him, those dozens still circled the demon
slayers. They had spread out now, understanding that when closer together, the bullets hit
easier. "What do you need, son?" his father asked, heaving.
"Keep her safe," Sesshoumaru said, handing her over to Touga.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, holding a sleeve over Rin's mouth and nose to help
block some of the miasma.

"Protect my family," Sesshoumaru answered, turning towards his true enemies.

His arm suddenly burned as it hadn't since Inuyasha sliced it open. An arc of green lightning
crackled across it, and he looked down to find the scar from Rin's stitching glowing.
Sesshoumaru watched in muted awe as the scar peeled off his arm, leaving behind smooth
flesh. It rose into the air and thickened into a familiar shape: a katana. He reached up to take
hold of the hilt. The glowing subsided, revealing a sword with geometric etching along its
blade.

As soon as he touched it, he knew its name as if it were a part of him.

No, it was a part of him—tangible evidence of Rin's compassionate nature and her desire to
save him that had been searing into his skin. Feelings he had longed to receive and been
unwilling to give up when he let her go.

But he didn't have to give them up. He had only to learn from Rin's desire and use it now to
save her—and all those that mattered to them both.

"Bakusaiga," he said.

Raw power—his power—thrummed through the blade as he said its name, just waiting to be
released.

He slashed towards the flock of bird demons, and though their numbers had already been
reduced, as soon as the bolt of green energy hit them, they disintegrated. Those that happened
to brush one another in the crowded sky as Bakusaiga's attack engulfed them passed along
the energy, creating a chain reaction of destruction.

Sesshoumaru could not help the smirk that graced his lips. With my demonic energy, this
blade completely destroys whatever it touches. Truly, it is a sword made for my power.

He turned towards the battle between Naraku and Inuyasha. A giant, bony spike grew out of
Naraku's wrist, and he used it as a sword against the Tessaiga. Naraku swung overhead and
Inuyasha blocked, though the half-demon staggered under the force.

All it would take was one swing of Sesshoumaru's sword to end this duel. He rushed forward,
Bakusaiga crackling with energy.

Naraku saw him coming out of the corner of his eye. In a dirty move, he reached out with his
free hand and whacked the bandage on Inuyasha's neck. Inuyasha cried out and buckled
under the force of Naraku's weapon. The tentacles sprouting from Naraku's back whipped out
and captured Inuyasha. Inuyasha struggled against the bonds, trying to cut through them with
Tessaiga, but Naraku wrapped a limb around Inuyasha's wrists and crushed them until he let
go of the sword with a cry. It fell to the ground, reverting into a dingy blade once more.
Sesshoumaru came to a stop as Naraku turned around.

"So you've finally found yourself a weapon—and a formidable one at that," Naraku
remarked. "However, if you strike me down now, won't your dear little brother get caught in
the aftermath?"

Sesshoumaru's jaw tensed. "Once again, you show your cowardice, Naraku. Taking hostages
is getting old."

"But it's keeping me alive. All's fair in love and war, isn't it?" Suddenly, Naraku whipped
Inuyasha in front of him like a shield and glanced over towards the hives. "Will you risk
shooting your mate again, Kagome?"

"Tch," Kagome spat, lowering the gun she held. Even from this distance, Sesshoumaru saw
her hands shaking. He commended her for keeping heart during battle, but her inexperienced
hands would not be an asset here.

"Very well," Sesshoumaru said. "I will have to cut you down the traditional way." He stopped
the flow of energy into the blade so that it became just a regular sword.

"Be my guest and try."

Sesshoumaru ran forward, swinging Bakusaiga in a diagonal slash towards Naraku's chest.
Naraku brought up his left arm, which morphed into a shield, and blocked it. Then he parried
with the bone sword in his right.

Sesshoumaru delivered quick and efficient strikes, trying to get past Naraku's guard. Given
the double-dose of spiritually-laced lead in his body, Naraku had to be tiring quickly, yet he
still managed to meet Sesshoumaru strike for strike.

It was Inuyasha who gave him the opening.

He had stopped struggling to watch the match, but when the brothers' eyes met at just the
right moment, Inuyasha kicked Naraku right in the center of his back, where Kikyou's bullet
wound lay. Naraku cried out and faltered. Sesshoumaru wasted no time in stabbing him right
through the heart.

Naraku gasped, his eyes going wide.

But then he began to laugh.

His bone sword shortened to the length of a dagger, and he thrust it towards Sesshoumaru's
stomach to gut him.

Sesshoumaru jumped backwards to avoid the hit, pulling his sword free of Naraku's chest.

Naraku rubbed the wound, which bled too little for where it was. "I admit, you almost had
me. Too bad for you, I can morph my body as I please—which means I can move my heart
out of harm's way. Wherever you aim, I will make sure it is not there. I will even eject it from
my body if I have to and form a new house for it."
"Then I will simply have to destroy your whole body at once before you can do so,"
Sesshoumaru answered.

"And your brother along with it?"

Sesshoumaru darted behind Naraku, aiming to cut the tentacles that held Inuyasha, but
Naraku knew his intention and flew into the air. Sesshoumaru chased him there, and they
engaged once more in a duel as Sesshoumaru looked for opportunities to free his idiotic
brother.

Though he kept his attention on his opponent, he sensed Kagome dart out from behind the
hives and run pell-mell towards the fallen Tessaiga, dodging the fight between his mother,
Kirinmaru, and Zero. She grabbed it and raced over to Touga and Rin.

Her voice wafted up to him, quiet yet discernable to his enhanced hearing. "Hit the mark, find
his heart. Hit the mark, find his heart. Hit the mark, find his heart…." Her hands glowed pink
over the sword.

Too late, he realized he had gotten distracted with her antics, and he hadn't seen Naraku thrust
Inuyasha in front of him as a shield when Sesshoumaru swung. He couldn't stop his swing in
time, and though it sliced through some of the tentacles holding Inuyasha, it also caught his
brother across the chest.

"Gah!" Inuyasha cried out, his blood splattering Sesshoumaru.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru hissed, annoyed with himself for falling prey to Naraku's trick and
with Inuyasha for getting caught in the first place.

Annoyed with the concern he felt well up for his brother.

Inuyasha's head drooped against his chest, his heartbeat slowing in Sesshoumaru's ears.

"Oh dear!" Naraku exclaimed with false pity. "Well, it doesn't quite hit home the same as
having his mate kill him, but I suppose I can live with his brother doing the dirty work."
Naraku cackled.

Sesshoumaru knew he and Inuyasha made light of the notion of killing each other…but he
himself had never truly been serious about it. Had he, Inuyasha would have died long ago.

Even so, his anxiety came out twisted as always, and he snapped, "Inuyasha, do not be so
weak as to succumb to such a pitiful attack."

Inuyasha's heart beat once. There was a deep pause before it beat again.

And then his scent changed. His demonic aura heightened.

Suddenly, Inuyasha raised his head, his eyes the red and teal of their family's demonic form.
Jagged markings ran under his eyes, and fangs too large for his human mouth pushed past his
lips.
He snapped his head down and bit into the tentacle loosely looped around his neck, tearing
into the flesh like a mad dog.

Naraku yelped, the tentacle jerking loose around Inuyasha, and he took advantage of the
weakness to tear through the rest of them with his claws. He then grabbed onto the bleeding
ends of the limbs still attached to Naraku's back and swung himself at the demon, his bloody
claws extended to tear him apart.

Naraku raised his bone-shield to block him, but that didn't deter Sesshoumaru's ferocious
brother. He landed on the shield and slashed and slashed at it, even succeeding in bringing
some blood to its surface as he dug, but he kept his back exposed, and Naraku lengthened his
bone sword into a spear, aimed for the weak spot.

Sesshoumaru dove in and blocked the strike. Inuyasha sensed another demon and turned to
attack Sesshoumaru then, but he flew out of reach of Inuyasha's claws.

"Come to your senses, Inuyasha!" Sesshoumaru shouted, rushing forward and punching his
brother in the face. Naraku's bone spear pierced Sesshoumaru's arm just then instead of
Inuyasha's head.

Sesshoumaru had hoped to knock Inuyasha off Naraku and have him fall back to the earth, so
he could finally cut Naraku down once and for all without his brother being in the way. But
Inuyasha's stubborn demon blood kept him in a frenzy, making him cling to Naraku like a
dog with a bone.

Inuyasha scented Sesshoumaru's blood and went after it. Sesshoumaru yanked his wrist free
and pulled back, but Inuyasha swiped at Naraku's spear. The edge of the spear steamed as
Sesshoumaru's blood ate through it, and pain etched Naraku's face. Naraku fended Inuyasha
off, but Sesshoumaru could tell that between his wounds and carrying Inuyasha's weight on
his shield, he was losing energy.

Tactically, Inuyasha held the high ground and could easily overtake Naraku if he thought
things through, but with only his claws and a rage-fueled brain, he couldn't make use of his
advantage.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome cried out. "DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME A SINGLE MOTHER!"

Inuyasha jerked, as if someone had pulled on his leash.

Just then, the air whistled as Tessaiga flew end-over-end towards them. Sesshoumaru looked
down to see his father's arm outstretched in the final phase of the throw. Kagome knelt with
Rin on the grass at his feet.

"STAB HIM AND GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Kagome shouted.

Sesshoumaru couldn't believe his eyes when Inuyasha's snarling face relaxed and he stood
up, reached out, and snagged the hilt of the Tessaiga as it climbed to the apex of its flight.
The second his hand touched the sword, his eyes cleared. Tessaiga grew into its giant, fanged
form, and Inuyasha slammed it down into the center of Naraku's shield. Tessaiga glowed with
spiritual energy just then, and the power forced it straight through the bone, out the other
side, and right above Naraku's hip.

Naraku gasped and coughed out blood.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. He found his heart. Or rather, the blessed Tessaiga had found
his heart.

"Finish it," Inuyasha muttered. His knees buckled then, and his hand dropped from the sword
as he fell off Naraku, tumbling through the air.

Sesshoumaru trusted his father to catch him. He fed his energy back into his sword, and it
crackled to life. "Bakusaiga!" he cried out, slashing towards Naraku.

The demon, paralyzed and already at death's door from Tessaiga's strike, did not even move
as Sesshoumaru's attack hit, ripping him apart from the point of impact. With his entire body
reduced to ash, Tessaiga fell back to the ground.

Sesshoumaru spared only enough time to check on Rin—Kagome appeared to be running

through breathing exercises with her, and the demon slayers were still occupied with the
remaining demon birds—before he turned and flew towards the battle with Zero.

He would end this himself, and then it would be done.

"Step aside, Mother," he said as he flew, and she deferred, jumping away as Zero lunged.
Sesshoumaru aimed straight for her, his sword alight with energy, ready to lop off her head
and burn it.

But just as Bakusaiga slid towards her throat, Kirinmaru jumped between them, his sword
clashing with Bakusaiga and sending sparks flying from the impact.

He pushed Sesshoumaru back, and the dog demon landed gracefully on the grass.
Sesshoumaru frowned. "Move."

"I cannot let you kill my sister, Sesshoumaru." Zero stood behind Kirinmaru like a coward.
Inukimi watched from the sidelines.

"She killed my mate," Sesshoumaru bit back. "Her life is forfeit."

"I am aware of the wrong my sister has committed, and she will atone for it. With Rin's death,
consider your father's debt wiped away."

Zero growled. "Are you blind, Kirinmaru? The bitch is still alive!" She pointed towards Rin,
and Sesshoumaru moved to block her path.

He would not let Zero get to her again.

"Even so, let us end the cycle of death here, or it will never cease," her brother countered.
Still, he looked over at Rin in relief. "So, your father saved her, did he?"

Sesshoumaru lifted his head and announced, "I wielded the Tenseiga."

Zero's eyes widened in shock, but his mother appeared unsurprised. In fact, if he didn't know
any better, he might have thought there was a proud tilt to her lips.

The astonishment melted from Zero's face though as she considered his words. "So that cat
has used up her eighth life, is what you're saying."

It was true: Tenseiga could only renew someone's life once. The fact that Zero knew that put
him on edge.

Sesshoumaru frowned at her threat and moved closer, but Kirinmaru continued to block him.

"Sister, that is enough. Another word from you, and I will be forced to end your life myself,
so as not to further shame our family."

"Then why do you bother to shield me, Kirinmaru, if I am so shameful?"

He looked back at her incredulously. "Because you're my sister, and I love you, despite the
mistakes you have made."

Zero huffed. "Love. What a foolish, mortal feeling."

"But that's what this has all been about from the start, hasn't it, Zero-sama?"

Zero's eyes widened, and Sesshoumaru turned to see his father walking towards them, Rin
safely ensconced in his arms. She held his sleeve over her mouth again, for Naraku's miasma
still lingered, despite his death. Low groans emanated from her. Kagome remained with
Inuyasha on the ground a ways back, bandaging his wounds.

Sesshoumaru's heart twisted as a fresh wave of pain rolled through their bond. He had already
let this go on for too long. Rin too needed medical attention.

But his father, apparently, needed to say his piece.

"Tell me, Zero-sama: what is it that you feel for me?"

Zero hesitated. She looked around at each of their faces. Perhaps she had expected to see
nothing but distaste. Certainly, Sesshoumaru knew his own was clouded in anger, but the rest
of them only looked at her with expectancy, as if to say, Just be done with it.

Zero sighed and stepped out from behind Kirinmaru. "It's true, Touga-sama. I love you, and I
have since I first laid eyes on you."

Touga nodded. "I am flattered to have been so highly regarded by you all this time, Zero-
sama, but I am heartily sorry if I ever inadvertently encouraged such feelings. When we met,
I was married; even now, I am mated. And though I could never give you the love you desire,
I have loved you as a friend all these years…and I had hoped that would be enough to keep
you from harming my family." Touga's hold on Rin tightened more protectively, and his face
hardened. "But I see now that despite what you say—that you love me—that cannot possibly
be true. For if you truly loved me, you would never have kidnapped and hurt my son's
innocent mate, who carries my grandchildren, to exact your revenge for Sesshoumaru's slight
on your honor. Once, I would have plead clemency for you. But this…this even I cannot
forgive."

Zero's eyes widened and grew glassy. She quickly closed them, which forced two tears to fall.
"I see." Slowly, a hysterical laugh bubbled out of her, and when she opened her eyes again,
they shined with unshed tears and a manic light. "Then truly, I have nothing left to lose." She
turned to Kirinmaru. "Brother, will you at least allow me the honor of committing seppuku?"

Kirinmaru's sword dripped, and panic crossed his face. "Sister, you need not do this—"

"She does," Inukimi stated, flexing her fingers. "For if she does not end her own life, I will.
In fact, I will gladly stand as your second to drive home the blade in case your courage
wavers."

Zero scoffed, walking towards the edge of the group. Sesshoumaru backed towards his father
and Rin, wary of a sneak attack. But Zero walked past them without even a backwards
glance. "Of course you would be the first in line to end me. And to think you might have
become my mother-in-law. How ever would we have lived with each other?"

"Thank goodness we will never have to find out," Inukimi answered.

Zero chuckled darkly, picking up her bloody sword-cane in the grass a short distance from
them. "No…you will never have to suffer having a daughter-in-law you despise." She turned
so that she faced the hives, her body in profile to the others, and lifted her staff, pointing the
end towards her chest. Then she smirked. "Demon or human."

She pushed the cane back as if to maximize the thrust into her body. Suddenly, spider webs
shot out of the head of the cane, covering the front panels of the hive towers.

Inukimi dashed forward, one hand reaching for the cane and the other poised as a blade, her
talons glowing poison green.

Just as Inukimi thrust her hand into Zero's chest, Zero yanked back on the staff, pulling the
webs along with it. The demon silk held fast against the hives, and like dominos, they fell
into each other and burst apart as they hit the ground.

A swarm of saimyoushou rose up from their destroyed homes, each the size of a man's
forearm. Red eyes glared out from purple heads, and their yellow thoraxes only highlighted
the menacing, thick red stingers below.

Zero cackled, and Inukimi hissed, her eyes flashing red. Zero's laugh cut off with a gasp as
her chest steamed, her body being eaten by poison from the inside out. Inukimi did not
remove her hand until Zero convulsed and dropped to the ground, her flesh still melting away
from her liquified heart.
The saimyoushou flew across the clearing, their angry buzz raising Sesshoumaru's hackles.
He cut down swaths of bees with just one swing of his sword as they came for him, his father,
and Rin, but more flooded in as soon as their brethren turned to ash. One even managed to
sting him, but he pulled the bug out of his arm and squashed it in his hand.

He was not afraid for himself. Poison would not affect him. But Rin was in danger, as was
Kagome. His father and brother were not immune. Those two would not die, it was true, but
the poison would still hinder them.

A glance in Inuyasha and Kagome's direction showed that his mother, of all people, stood by
defending them. And not only that—she had pulled the Tessaiga from Inuyasha and wielded
it.

It sparked against her hands as she swung it, no doubt blistering her. His father had fashioned
the Tessaiga at a time when demons ran rampant, killing humans and half-demons for food
and sport. He had crafted the sword as a means to protect his human wife and half-demon
child. Other than he, no full-blooded demon could wield it without suffering the
consequences.

He had not realized his mother was willing to bear pain to save Inuyasha and Kagome. But he
could not crush the pride that welled up at seeing his mother—who usually refrained from
dirtying her own hands in physical conflicts—drenched in Zero's blood and swinging a sword
that hurt her as if it did not. The hellish insects also managed to sting her, but Sesshoumaru
had gotten his poison blood from his mother, so she would not go down because of a few
pricks.

Of course, she could not be everywhere at once, and Inuyasha weakly held up the Tessaiga's
sheath as a shield. The saimyoushou that hit it bounced off. Still, he did not look like he
would be conscious much longer, despite Kagome's doctoring.

Now the demon bird had two enemies: the demon slayers and the saimyoushou. The demon
slayers continued to shoot, but the insects made for such small targets, their bullets were
hardly effective. This small squad also did not appear to have any equipment other than guns.

Kirinmaru had partly transformed into his dragonesque form, his arms and legs growing
scales that repelled the bees' stingers. He too slashed at the insects.

Sesshoumaru let his energy flow through Bakusaiga, cutting down whole battalions of the
bees with a single swing. His father would protect Rin with his own body if he had to;
Sesshoumaru had to protect him.

Slowly, their numbers dwindled. Though his energy waned, hope took its place in
Sesshoumaru's chest, pushing him to swing just once more, and once more again. He
concentrated on his goal: eradicating every last enemy so his family could finally live in
peace.

As he lashed out once more, a few bugs slipped past.

One stung his arm. The others headed straight for his father and Rin.
Touga's arms were full carrying his daughter. He did what he had to. He ducked down and
shielded her body, letting the bugs land on him.

Sesshoumaru reached out with his claws to swipe them. He managed to shred one, but the
other, in a panic, stung Touga. Sesshoumaru ripped it out of him, but the stinger remained in
Touga's neck. He tossed the carcass away and reached for the stinger, but the demonic body
part dug into Touga's flesh as if it had a life of its own and buried itself.

"Father."

"I'll be alright. Just finish this!" Touga rasped.

Sesshoumaru's blood boiled, and he let his demonic energy rise to the surface. With renewed
vigor, he attacked the saimyoushou, flying across the battlefield and cutting through the lot of
them without regard for the demon slayers' bullets. One clipped him in the leg, but they
stopped shooting as he tore through the bees. He ignored the pain, pressing on, using every
last ounce of demonic energy he had, even as the bullet in his leg zapped his depleting
strength.

And at last…the buzzing stopped.

He dropped back to the ground before his father and Rin. Touga was still huddled over Rin's
body.

"Father?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Touga slowly uncurled from around Rin as if every moment was an agony. Rin's eyes, though
strained with pain herself, followed Touga's face.

Somehow, she found the strength to lift her hand and feel her father-in-law's forehead.
"Touga…you're burning up." She broke into a coughing fit from the leftover miasma.

Touga panted. "I'll…be fine…as long…as you are safe…Rin."

Then he collapsed.

"Father!" Sesshoumaru cried out, but before he could bend down, his mother was there at
Touga's side, turning him onto his back.

A high-pitched whine filled the air, and a single saimyoushou crawled out from Touga's fur
cape as Inukimi positioned him.

Sesshoumaru darted forward to crush it, but his wounded leg buckled. Still he swiped, but he
missed.

The aggrieved bug shot away from Touga and straight towards Rin.

She screamed and batted it away in reflex.

 Inukimi reached for it then and squashed it in her burned and bloody hand, letting the carcass
fall to the ground.

But something about it looked wrong.

The giant stinger was missing.

Rin suddenly gasped.

Sesshoumaru spun his head just in time to see the saimyoushou stinger sink into Rin's wrist.

Chapter End Notes

THANK GOD THIS BATTLE IS OVER. 😩 Just remember I love you guys. 😘
Oh, I should also mention that while I have a chunk of the next chapter already written,
I'm going out of town again later this week for six days, so while I will try to post on
Monday, it may not happen. (Sorry this has to happen on the most cliffhangery of
cliffhangers.) Stay tuned to my Facebook for the latest.
 The Warrior Twins
Chapter Notes

Sorry for the wait! If you've kept up on my Facebook, you'll know that life's been just a
little bit crazy of late, so writing took a backseat. But I won't keep you waiting any
longer, because I know it was hard!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The sting in her wrist took Rin's focus away from her chest and labor pains for a few blessed
seconds. But the panic that flared in Sesshoumaru's heart and eyes as well as the speed at
which he latched his lips onto her wrist set her own heart pounding, no doubt speeding up the
spread of the venom.

Rin was used to having her blood drawn, but aside from the prick of a needle, she couldn't
usually feel the blood leaving her body. Sesshoumaru sucking against her skin like a vampire
made her feel like a queasy freshman in her first nursing course again. His eyes bled red as he
drew her blood, but he kept his ministrations controlled.

Once more, the paranormal romance novels had misled her. Perhaps the action would have
been more erotic if her stomach didn't feel like it was splitting open and she didn't know there
was poison flowing through her body. (Why was she so calm about this? Was she in shock?
She had to be in shock.)

She squirmed with each pull against her skin before he finally let go. Belatedly, she realized
that he had not spit out a single drop of her blood; he had ingested it, poison and all.

"Sesshoumaru, what's wrong? Is it…lethal?" The look he sent her froze her heart.

My babies. We have to save my babies.

"Did you get it all?" Inukimi asked.

"I cannot be sure. We need an antidote," Sesshoumaru answered, picking Rin up. He
stumbled before righting himself with a grunt.

"Sesshoumaru…are you okay?" Rin asked before she started coughing. There was blood all
over him, but she couldn't be sure how much, if any, of it was his.

He didn't answer; instead, he thrust them into the air and sped over the trail leading back
towards the sanctuary. He zoomed past it into the forest. Rin hardly paid attention to where
he was going, rubbing her stomach and praying she didn't have another contraction soon. He
passed over a gate blocked by several downed trees and landed in the midst of a convoy of
military-like vehicles. Demon slayers, some of whom had red crosses on their arms, ran to
and fro. Further back, a line of bodies lay on the side of the main road.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kaede called out, hobbling over to her. "And Rin! Thank goodness. How are
you, dear?"

Rin huffed, her cheeks already heated and her face sticky with sweat. "Gone into…labor."

"She's been poisoned by saimyoushou," Sesshoumaru added. "We need an antidote."

Kaede frowned. "We need to get her to a hospital then. We won't carry antidotes in
emergency vehicles."

Rin recognized the tensing of his muscles as he was about to take off again, but she stopped
him by grabbing his kimono. "S-Sesshoumaru, wait."

"What do you need?"

Through the fog of pain, she stared at the line of bodies. The nurse in her despaired that she
could not help them. But he could. "You're needed here, Sesshoumaru. You…can save them."

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Your well-being is more important."

Now it was Rin's turn to frown. "If I had your power, Sesshoumaru…I would save…as many
lives as I could."

Sesshoumaru clutched her closer to him. "I will not leave you. You are my mate."

She reached up and cradled his cheek. "And they are other people's husbands, wives,
children, and siblings. They are loved too. You know…it's the right thing to do."

Just then, Kirinmaru touched down holding Touga's limp body in his arms. Inukimi followed,
Inuyasha slung on her back and Kagome clutching the tails of her fur. One of the demon
slayer medics looked at the injured dog demons in alarm.

"Touga!" Izayoi cried out. She was sitting in the back of a medi-van with an oxygen mask on.
She tore it off and stumbled over to Kirinmaru. "What happened to him?"

"He too was poisoned by saimyoushou. He might have been able to withstand it better if he
wasn't already so wounded," Kirinmaru replied.

One of the medics approached, looking over the limp demon critically. "Just how serious is
it? We've called in more ambulances, but they're still a ways away, and unfortunately, we're
already at capacity. We're about to take who we have to the nearest hospital. You're demons
—can you wait?"

Sesshoumaru bared his teeth. "Rin cannot."

Kirinmaru added, "You saw Tsukuyomaru. Even demons can lie on death's door."
"About that. Where are we supposed to take him?" the medic asked.

Sesshoumaru, Kirinmaru, and Inukimi all looked at each other. Rin knew what they were
thinking: they needed to go to a demon hospital, but to reveal that location to the DSC, even
after apparently coming to some sort of agreement with them, was asking for more trust than
they likely possessed.

"We cannot risk carrying Tsukuyomaru with his wings so badly injured. He needs the
equipment in there. We'll put the others in the ambulance. I will drive it," Kirinmaru
announced.

"Legally, you're not allowed to drive government vehicles—"

"Are you going to stop me?" Kirinmaru roared, advancing on the medic and baring his fangs
at him.

The medic stiffened and looked ready to retort when Kaede bustled over. "Just give him the
keys already."

"No offense, ma'am, but you have no authority here—"

"My sister would give the same order if she were able," Kaede answered. She held out her
hands for the key. "Hurry up. People are dying."

Rin wasn't altogether surprised when the medic relented. She had seen many a patient or irate
husband cowed when Kaede faced them with her no-nonsense attitude.

Just then, another contraction ripped through Rin's abdomen, and she cried out. Strangely
though, the pain seemed less than before. Wait…saimyoushou? Isn't that the drug Abi put in
us? Right. Then this venom is also used as an opiate.

If she was already feeling the effects of it, she didn't have much time left. Even so.

"Quick, get her inside," Kaede said, gesturing to the ambulance.

"She does not have time to make that drive," Sesshoumaru answered. Rin didn't know how
far out they were, but if Naraku's sanctuary was anything like the Western Sanctuary, it was
at least an hour towards civilization. "I will take her myself."

"No, Sesshoumaru…they need help," she said, gesturing to the dead. She took deep breaths,
as she always counseled her patient. "You can…save them."

Inukimi hissed in frustration and practically dropped Inuyasha, who landed on the ground
with a groan. Kagome yelped in shock and rushed to help him sit up. "Inukimi, how could
you? He's injured!" she called out.

But Inukimi ignored her and walked over to her son, practically wresting Rin out of his arms.
"You both are too stubborn for your own good. Son, learn this now: do not argue with a
woman in labor." Then, before Rin realized what was happening, a bright, white light
enveloped them. It was the strangest sensation—she could feel them moving, but the wind
did not whip at her hair. She couldn't even see her own body. If she didn't feel the residual
tension in her belly, she might have believed it wasn't even there.

All of the sudden, a wave of dizziness passed over her, and she let her head fall against what
she assumed was Inukimi's chest. The pain was fading.

Was she dying? This wasn't at all like the last time. Her memories of her death were hazy.
Honestly, it felt more like she had dozed off for just a few moments. Had she not recalled the
sheer pain and terror from those moments after the sword pierced her chest—she convulsed
just thinking about it, feeling phantom metal slide through her heart once more and making it
jerk in alarm—she might never have believed she died.

Despite the slowing of her heart, her face grew hot, and she groaned in discomfort. All she
wanted to do was sleep, but nothing in her body felt right….

When they landed, her eyes flared open just long enough to meet her mother-in-law's.
Inukimi frowned. "Stay awake."

Inukimi rushed forward, and the whoosh of sliding doors preceded a blast of arctic air that hit
Rin's face. She welcomed it on her cheeks, although it set the rest of her shivering.

Distantly, she listened to her mother-in-law start barking orders like she owned the place.

"Get her into a treatment room stat. She's been poisoned by miasma and saimyoushou and
has gone into labor. My son tried to remove some of the poison but was unsure how much
remained." A flurry of footsteps flocked around them.

As Inukimi laid her down somewhere—a bed?—Rin felt a kick and another contraction,
though it didn't hurt. They lifted her head and strapped something to her face. When pure
oxygen blasted into her lungs, she coughed, realizing it was a breathing mask.

Perhaps she really was dying. But she couldn't. Not yet. Not until she told Inukimi what she
had to.

They were moving. The squeal and clink of gurney wheels rolling across linoleum was as
familiar to her as her own body, even though the haze of poison. Though her eyelids felt
weighted with lead, she pried them open and found the blurry outline of her loping beside
her. She lifted her arm, trying to grab onto Inukimi's sleeve.

"Mo…ther…."

"I will call her for you," Inukimi answered, taking Rin's hand.

Rin's head rolled from side to side as she tried to shake it. "Mo…ther…. If they have…to
choose…save them."

"Do not speak of such things," Inukimi bit back, her eyes hard chips of gold. "There will be
no choice to make."
Damn the stubbornness of these dog demons! "No, listen. Sesshoumaru…will wither…if
none of us…survive. I want him…to live. I want him…to raise our girls. Tell him that. He
will…not listen…otherwise."

Inukimi's face twisted, and Rin expected her to say something like, "Do not think so highly of
yourself." Instead, she replied, "It will not come to that."

"Promise," Rin said.

"…I promise, daughter."

"My Lady, we have to take her into surgery now. Please remain in the waiting room."

Her hand tore from Inukimi's, but at least she felt at peace now. She had done what she could
to see to it her babies survived.

Even so, tears prickled at the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. I pray I get to
see you, my darling girls. But…please forgive me if I don't.

The doctors hadn't even pumped anesthetic into her yet before she blacked out.

After Sesshoumaru fulfilled Rin's wish to bring the dead demon slayers back to life, he
became useless.

The DSC took hold of the rest of the operation, securing a perimeter around the sanctuary,
freeing Naraku's prisoners, and arresting any guests who had not yet escaped. Meanwhile,
Kirinmaru drove the medi-van with its demonic occupants back to Tokyo. Sesshoumaru sat in
the back with his father, brother, and Tsukuyomaru. Kagome rode in the cabin. Kaede
volunteered her services as the doctor on board; of course, she was also worried about Rin's
condition, so she insisted on coming along regardless of whether or not she would be
welcome.

Worried about Rin's condition—that was precisely why he was useless.

It was only because Kaede was a firm but insistent annoyance in his ear that he even did
anything in the back; helping her position the injured or holding equipment as she worked to
get the worst of their injuries under control.

The bullet in his own leg burned, and the limb spasmed erratically at times as his nerve-
endings fried from spiritual power. He tried to keep the pain from his face. But Kaede was a
doctor and more perceptive than the average human.

"I cannot remove the bullet for you here, Sesshoumaru, but we should at least put pressure on
it before you go into surgery. You're losing a lot of blood."

Sesshoumaru grimaced. "I do not need surgery." As soon as he got to the hospital, he would
seek out information on Rin. Right now, all that was keeping his sanity tethered to his body
was the fact that he had not yet felt her life gutter out in their connection again.
He would never forget that loss or what it had done to him. If Rin died again, he would surely
follow her, because what would be the point of living forever without her?

But Kaede would not budge. "I understand that Rin can feel your emotions—including the
pain that you keep hidden inside. Right now, she is fighting for her life. Will you make her
suffer more?"

Damn Kaede and her insight. Rin was certainly in enough pain. She did not need his on top
of hers.

As always, for her, he would set aside his pride.

"Very well."

He didn't know how long it took for the medi-van to finally pull to a stop—too long, at any
rate, though Kirinmaru appeared to drive as fast as was safe—Kirinmaru threw open the
doors. He helped Kaede wheel Tsukuyomaru out towards the elevator. Kagome then went to
assist Kaede in steering the bat demon's gurney while Kirinmaru returned to pick up Touga.

"Can you handle Inuyasha?" Kirinmaru asked with a pointed look at Sesshoumaru's leg.
Sesshoumaru frowned, and in response, he hoisted his brother into his arms. Inuyasha
grunted in annoyance, but he didn't protest, so he must have still be out of it.

They hurried through the secret entrance to the demon side of the hospital, running across the
walkway and barreling into the lobby. The visitors and waiting patients all turned with gasps,
no doubt sensing the two humans who had run in. Unlike Rin, whom the hospital staff at least
knew by sight now, Kagome and Kaede were strangers.

However, the staff on duty did not panic. When they came over to the group, one of them
said, "We've been expecting you. Inukimi-sama said you were coming. What are the
injuries?"

Kaede gave a rundown of everything she had documented in the ambulance, and the demons
did not even blink at working with a human doctor. One of them brought a wheelchair for
Sesshoumaru, but he bared his teeth, and the nurse stiffened before abandoning the chair and
directing him down towards the general surgery hall. Sesshoumaru did not see his mother in
this waiting room, so he complied, only because he could still feel Rin's life through the
bond, muted as it was.

He flew to the surgery room, but when the doctors attempted to put him under to remove the
bullet, he snarled again and refused.

One of the doctors said, "I have no doubt of your pain tolerance, Sesshoumaru-san, but the
anesthetic is also for our benefit. We cannot have you move or lash out—"

"I won't. Just rip the bullet out and be quick about it!" Sesshoumaru snapped.

He would not be put to sleep while Rin's life was in danger. If he sensed her life extinguish
again, he would be at her side in a moment, whether in the middle of surgery or not.
He didn't care if Tenseiga could only bring a person back once. He would make it bring her
back a second time, if it came to it.

The doctors finally relented, and he suffered through the indignity and pain of having the
spiritual bullet removed from his leg and being bandaged up. Afterwards, they prompted him
to shower, since he was still covered in blood, but with their protests still ringing in his ears,
he flew out of the room and followed his mother's scent until he found her in the waiting
room of the maternity ward.

Inukimi sat in a corner of the lobby, staring out the window with what might appear to
anyone else to be a bored expression, save for the tiniest divot between her brows. She
absently fingered the Meido Stone. Sitting opposite her was Kaede, who had picked up one
of the magazines on a nearby table.

"How is she?" he demanded.

"You would know better than I," his mother replied.

Now he understood why people got fed up with his short answers so often. "What are they
doing to her?"

She looked at him like he was stupid. "She needed an emergency C-section. She couldn't
possibly deliver in that condition."

"How long does that take?" He himself had been in surgery for half an hour—and that wasn't
counting the time it took to drive here.

Kaede spoke up. "C-sections take on average forty-five minutes, but if there are other
emergency issues the doctors need to address, it could take longer. In addition, the children
will be premature, from what Rin's told me. They will need to be taken to the NICU. This all
takes time."

Something of his distress and frustration must have shown on his face, because his mother's
expression softened a tad. "If that's the case, we should be getting news soon. Also,
Kirinmaru informed me about the men's conditions. He is waiting to hear word about them
and will inform us when the doctors return."

Now up-to-date, Sesshoumaru went to the other side of the emergency room and sat at the
window (he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but his leg still throbbed), keeping his back to the
whole waiting room so they could not see his face. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists as
he stared out the window.

How could he have failed so miserably? He had sworn to protect Rin and their children from
every danger.

Yet Rin had died today, and he had almost lost the children too.

And just when he thought he had them back…the gods saw fit to put him in his place and
endanger their lives again, as if rebuking his newfound power over death.
How many more times would he fail his mate and children?

Would he even have a chance to fail them? Rin at least was still alive. Though absolutely no
emotion came through the bond, her life was a low hum within him—the kind you didn't
realize was there until it was gone, like the buzz of electricity when the power went out.

But the children? What if they had already lost them? What if these quacks weren't
competent enough?

The minutes crawled by, and even his fourteen hundred years of existence seemed to have
passed faster than the time he spent in that waiting room. His blood crusted over on his body,
the most superficial of wounds already healed and the others well on their way, now that
spiritual energy no longer inhibited his powers.

Minutes later, his mother got up and left the waiting room. He wondered why until she
reappeared—with all of his in-laws in tow.

Rin's mother rushed up to him and gasped—likely at all the blood that covered him. "My
goodness! Sesshoumaru, are you okay?" she asked, reaching out to touch him and then
thinking better of it.

"I will live."

She sighed in relief. "Your mother caught us up on everything that happened." This time,
she did grab his hand, and he tensed. She met his gaze with the same determination Rin often
did. "Thank you for going after my daughter."

"There is no need to thank me. I would have done it regardless."

"I know. I know how much you love her," she answered, squeezing his hand. "And so…I
know how much it hurts to be sitting here, waiting. I've…gone through this before, and I
would not wish it on anyone."

Sesshoumaru blinked. Of course. Rin said her foster father died shortly after she was
adopted. The stories Rin had told him back in the forest nine months ago suddenly flooded
back to him. Rin had such admiration for her mother's strength.

Sesshoumaru was starting to see it too.

"Inukimi has assured me nothing will happen to them. I know she can't possibly keep that
promise, but…well, she just sounded so confident, it was hard not to believe her!" his
mother-in-law said with a half-hearted chuckle. After a few seconds, she patted his hand and
pulled away. "Let me know if you need anything, alright?" When he didn't respond, she went
to sit next to Kaede and Rin's grandfather. Souta and Moe were there as well, and
Sesshoumaru made the mistake of making eye contact with Souta. The young man got up
from his seat and ambled over.

"How are you holdin' up?" Souta asked.

Sesshoumaru was sick of people asking him that question. How did they think he felt,
knowing Rin was in critical condition? So he didn't reply.

That did not deter Souta. He should have known. He and Rin had grown up like twins, after
all. "You look like a ghost that lost its way back to the haunted house, by the way. I think
you're scaring the visitors."

"I'm sure they have seen worse," Sesshoumaru answered. The older demons would have, at
any rate.

"Even so…you'll probably feel better if you go get a little cleaned up. I've got an extra shirt in
the car. I don't think you'll fit into my pants, but you can take that at least."

"I do not need your charity."

Souta sighed. "It's not charity, Sesshoumaru. It's just…being a brother. I mean, that's what we
are now, right?"

He froze. He hadn't quite thought about that, honestly. These past couple months, his entire
focus had been on Rin. Yes, he had spent some time with her family…but that was just it. He
still thought of them as her family.

But mated or not, it was official now, wasn't it? He had married Rin two days ago.

(Had it really only been forty-eight hours? For the second time in two days, he prayed—
prayed that he would not become a widower within mere days of marrying his mate.)

And now he had yet another brother to deal with. At least he didn't have to live with him.
That already made him less annoying than Inuyasha.

"My clothing is demon fabric. It will restore with time." With energy, actually—energy he
did not have to expend on such frivolities at the moment.

"If you say so, but the offer still stands." Souta was silent for a moment, and Sesshoumaru
hoped that would be the end of the conversation, and he would go back to sit with his wife.
However, his brother-in-law then said, "Hey…Inukimi told us about what you did…for Rin. I
can't believe she—" He broke off, and Sesshoumaru glanced over in mild alarm as Souta
covered his eyes with his hand, his neck and mouth tensing. He took several deep breaths.
"W-What I mean is…thanks for saving her," he whispered, apparently unable to get more
than that out.

Sesshoumaru stared in shock. The only time grown men cried in front of him was when he
threatened them with their lives. This type of emotive display unnerved him. "I would do
anything for her."

Souta sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I know. I know. And for that
reason, I couldn't ask for a better bro." He patted Sesshoumaru's back, and the demon sucked
in a breath through his teeth at the contact, though he did not brush him off. Apparently, he
was going to have to get used to his in-laws' touchy natures. "Seriously though, you look
downright frightening. At least go wash your face in the bathroom or something. Do you
want your kids' first look of you to be like this?"

That was assuming his children would even be alive to open their eyes and see him.

Perhaps Souta read his mind—or at least reconsidered what he said. "Hey, they're half-
demons, right? Not only do they have natural demon strength, but don't count Rin's grit out
either. She's a fighter, and I have no doubt she passed that down to her kids."

The corner of Sesshoumaru's lips twitched. His Rin was a fighter. And whenever she pushed
her humanity to the limit, he would be there to take her the rest of the way. Their children
would reflect that.

Just then, Kagome walked into the lobby and made a beeline for their group. "Mom,
Grandpa! What are you all doing here?"

Her mother popped up and enveloped her in a hug. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad to see you're
alright." She pulled back and gave Kagome a thorough once-over. "You are alright, aren't
you?"

Kagome smiled softly. "Yeah, we both are."

"Inuyasha too? But Inukimi made it sound like—"

Kagome colored just then. "Oh, uh…no. Not Inuyasha. Me and…the baby." Her fingers
fluttered over her stomach. Souta's and Grandpa's mouths dropped open. Kagome shrugged.
"I took an official pregnancy test to make sure Naraku and Abi weren't messing with me, and
then the doctors checked to make sure everything was okay. So far so good, though…it's
early days yet, so—"

"Oh, sweetheart, congratulations!" her mother exclaimed, pulling her in for another hug, tears
gathering in her eyes. "There really is a silver lining to every dark cloud."

When her mother pulled away, Kagome then peered over her shoulder at Sesshoumaru and
asked, "Have you heard anything about Rin?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head and turned away. She took a couple steps toward him, but
Inukimi's voice stopped her.

"Let him be."

His mother knew him well indeed. He already hated his anxiety being on display in a public
setting; having so many people crowd around him was suffocating.

"Family of Rin Nishikuni," a nurse called out to the waiting room. Sesshoumaru whirled
around and was at her side as quickly as his injured leg could take him. There was a whole
crowd behind him of Higurashis. His mother stood, though she remained by her seat.

The nurse's eyes widened. "I'm afraid I can only take immediate family only. Her husband,
for instance—"
"Please, may I join you? I'm her mother," Higurashi-san asked, the worry she had done so
well to hide earlier finally causing a waver in her voice.

The nurse looked to Sesshoumaru for permission, and he nodded. Then her eyes shifted over
to his other side, where he found his own mother had snuck in. He looked at her in question.

"Your father will want to know," she answered by way of the unasked question.

No one denied Inukimi when she wanted something. "Right this way then," the nurse said,
leading them to a spacious, private office. When they stepped inside, they found Dr. Jinenji
seated at his desk. He stood up, and despite the room being larger than doctors' offices
typically were, he still made it seem small with his stature.

"Sesshoumaru-san, welcome. And this must be Inukimi-san. A pleasure to formally meet

you. And…might you be—?"

"How are they?" Sesshoumaru interrupted, the pleasantries grating on his already frayed
nerves.

Dr. Jinenji gestured to the two seats in front of his desk. Inukimi sat down as if she owned the
perch; Higurashi-san attempted to get Sesshoumaru to sit so he could rest his leg, but he
declined. He did have some manners, after all.

Dr. Jinenji folded his hands on his desk, taking on a clearly clinical persona. "First,
Sesshoumaru-san, allow me to congratulate you on becoming the father of two little girls."

"Oh," his mother-in-law breathed in relief, and her hand landed on his arm much as Souta's
had in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. He let it remain.

"They are well?" he asked.

"They are in the NICU." Higurashi-san sucked in a breath, but Kaede had prepared him for
such news. "We had to deliver them via an emergency C-section, since Rin-san fell
unconscious prior to the surgery due to the poison in her bloodstream. For reasons I will
explain shortly, we are still ascertaining if the children's lungs have developed enough to
breathe on their own. Right now, they are both on oxygen. They are also being treated with
antidotes."

"Then the poison did affect them?" Inukimi asked. If Sesshoumaru knew his mother at all, he
bet she was already documenting what she perceived as their flaws as half-demons: a lack of
poison immunity.

Of course he wished they had his immunity, only because it would keep them safe. But he
would not begrudge them something that was beyond their control.

"Yes and no," the doctor continued. "Since we had Rin-san's medical records, which included
the paternal profile you completed, Sesshoumaru-san, we were aware of your abilities, which
helped explain why the children…reacted the way they did."

"How do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"It will be easier if I show you," Dr. Jinenji said, clicking on his computer. One of the
monitors was already turned towards the three family members. He brought up a video file.
"This is a recording of the surgery, which we are required to have by law." He sped ahead to a
certain marker and then zoomed in and pressed play. In the video, Dr. Jinenji removed a pale,
bloody baby from Rin's open womb. Sesshoumaru could just make out a glint of white hair
beneath the blood.

But what was far more noticeable on the wailing child was the crescent moon on her
forehead, the jagged stripes along her cheeks, and the pointed ears.

"Your second child came out much the same," the doctor said, speeding forward again. This
time, he pulled out a little girl with a dark head slick with blood. She too sported the same
moon and stripes, though she also had some along her wrists.

"The first girl showed signs of saimyoushou poisoning. She was running a temperature, and
we worked to cool her down as we hooked her up to oxygen and an IV of antidote. However,
the second girl did not exhibit the same symptoms; rather, she did not cry when we took her
out, and we discovered she had trouble breathing. We found traces of miasma in her blood
after we hooked her up to oxygen. So it would appear that while one is resistant to poison
gases, the other is resistant to venom.

"Their markings disappeared within the hour once they were hooked up and calmed down,
and their ears took on a rounded, human shape. We wish to observe them for at least another
few days to be sure, but we are cautiously optimistic that they are developed enough to go
home with you as soon as their systems are cleared of poison."

Sesshoumaru let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "And Rin?"

"Ah." Dr. Jinenji quietly closed the video. His tone set Sesshoumaru's hackles on edge.

"Tell me."

He would know if she was dead. He kept telling himself that.

"Rin-san made it through the surgery, although her womb showed signs of struggle. When we
removed the children, they displayed small but sharp nails. There were shallow cuts inside
the womb that we treated. We believe the children were relying on their demonic instincts to
survive and trying to escape. Luckily, as babies, they do not have full control over their limbs
yet, so they did not do much damage before we got in there.

"But, as you know, that's not all. As I understand it, she received a lethal dose
of saimyoushou poison, and although Sesshoumaru-san attempted to suck some out, much of
it remained. Saimyoushou venom spreads quickly. While we did administer an antidote
through IV, frankly…it's a miracle that she's still alive. Perhaps Sesshoumaru-san's quick
thinking saved her. I have an additional theory, but I still need to run some tests to be
certain."

"Would you tell us your theory, Doctor?" Higurashi-san asked.

"Do you know what a chimera is, ma'am?" he asked. She shook her head. "It is a Grecian
demon with a lion's head, goat's body and serpent's tail. It became part of human mythology,
although at the time, it was indeed very real. Still, the word became synonymous in human
terms as a being comprised of multiple animal parts, so to speak.

"Now, microchimerism is a documented phenomenon where a fetus' cells cross the placental
barrier and enter the mother's bloodstream. Like stem cells, they have the ability to grow into
any sort of tissue, depending on where they end up. As a result, a mother always carries parts
of her children with her for the rest of her life. I suspect that in this natural exchange, Rin-
san received bits of poison immunity from both her children, which helped to negate both the
miasma and saimyoushou venom just enough that the dosage did not kill her before we could
administer the antidote. Of course, Rin-san is by no means completely immune; however, she
may have a stronger resistance to poisons now."

"Amazing," his mother-in-law said on a breath.

"I suspect it was the fetus' way of making sure her body could care for them. We did run
blood tests on the girls when they came out and while they were still in their demon forms.
They both exhibited the same poisonous blood Sesshoumaru-san has; however, when they
relaxed, that poison went dormant, in a matter of speaking. Luckily, the placenta prevents the
mother's and baby's blood from mixing, or that could have been a disaster. Then again, I
suppose that unique organ is the very reason half-demons are able to exist in the first place,
despite the two races having such differing characteristics."

"Will she make a full recovery?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"We still have her in the ICU and will be watching her. I wish to prepare you for the worst-
case scenario, Sesshoumaru-san. Rin-san has suffered quite a trauma. Given all the poison
that accumulated in her body—from both the venom and the miasma—coupled with the fact
that she passed out before we gave her an anesthetic…it's possible she has fallen into a
coma."

Higurashi-san made a noise of distress. "A coma? Are you certain?"

"Not yet, which is why it is a worst-case scenario. We will wait to see if she wakes up once
the poison is out of her system, but if she remains unresponsive, we will have to run
additional tests."

"If she is in a coma…how long would she be asleep?" she continued.

The doctor shrugged his massive shoulders. "I cannot say. Contrary to what movies and
media would make you believe, most comas do not last years; some last a few days. Others, a
few weeks. We will simply have to wait and see. Rest assured, we will keep watch over her."

"May we see her? And the children?" she asked.

"Of course. Sesshoumaru-san, whom do you wish to visit first?"

Rin's name was on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped. He had children to think of now, and
Rin had made it clear she would put them ahead of her own life. She would want him to see
for himself that they were alright.

"The children."

"Of course. But…I'll have to ask you to clean up first, Sesshoumaru-san. The babies in the
NICU are particularly susceptible to pathogens and you are…well…."

Covered in blood.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I will be quick."

He ended up having to take Souta up on his offer for a clean shirt as well as a pair of athletic
shorts from his gym bag (which Souta assured were also clean). The nurses showed him to a
shower he could use, and when he was finished washing himself and his fur down, he stared
at himself in the mirror for a full minute before daring to go back outside. Souta's clothes
looked ridiculous on him, but he didn't have the energy yet to regenerate/eradicate the blood
from his own.

But if he had to look like a plebian in order to see his daughters, he would do it.

Of course, the interlude meant that his mother-in-law had caught everyone up to date once he
finished, and they all tailed him to the NICU, anxious to see the babies, even if they couldn't
come inside. (They had been notified that only parents—and, potentially, grandparents—
would be given access.) Even so, they waited with their noses practically pressed to the glass
as Dr. Jinenji led Sesshoumaru inside.

He was instructed to wash his hands and put on gloves. Then the doctor led him over to two
plastic bassinets. The pale, white-haired girl lay in the left, and the brunette lay in the right.
Their heads were turned toward each other as if they could sense their nine-month roommate
nearby—and perhaps they could.

Sesshoumaru just stared at the two, tiny girls. They appeared decently sized, although he
judged their little torsos would each fit along the length of his hand. His heart quaked with
conflicting emotions: despair upon seeing them hooked up to so many tubes and wires but
also joy, because they were finally right there in front of him. His hands twitched toward
them to caress them, but he paused.

"You can hold them in your hands, Sesshoumaru-san. But let's start one at a time," Dr. Jinenji
advised.

He wanted to hold them both. How was he to choose? He did not want one to feel left out
over the other. But they both appeared to be asleep, so he reached for his eldest, for in another
life, he would have held her first anyway when Rin gave birth. He was only allowed to
support her just above the bassinet, being mindful of the wires and tubes attached to her.

But at least he was holding her.

"Mind her head," Dr. Jinenji remarked, and Sesshoumaru bit back a retort. He knew the
different ways to hold a baby now, thanks to those classes Rin had made him attend. The
gloves covered his claws, though they could poke through the latex at any point, so he
gingerly lifted his daughter out of the bassinet and cradled her in his hands. She kicked
absently, and the sensation of holding life—not death—in his hands felt so foreign…and yet
so incredibly warm.

She stared fussing more, her face screwing up as if to cry, and without thinking, Sesshoumaru
brought his fur up to caress her head, and she turned towards it, quieting.

"That's good, Sesshoumaru-san. For demon clans such as yours, fur contact is just as
beneficial as skin contact for newborns. Once they're ready to be removed from their
bassinets, we can discuss kangaroo care sessions," the doctor said. Sesshoumaru recalled the
term from one of the parenting classes—holding a naked infant against one's bare chest to
improve their health and family intimacy.

Emboldened, Sesshoumaru let the tail of his fur drift into the youngest's bassinet and nuzzle
her. She didn't wake, but at least he could feel both of them at the same time this way. Dr.
Jinenji smiled. "You should speak to her as well. Let her start to learn your voice."

"I wish to be alone with them," he answered, unwilling to express himself to his daughters
with an audience.

Dr. Jinenji nodded. "Of course. Now, we do have a nurse on staff in here at all times, given
the care these children need, but she will not bother you," he said, nodding towards the
corner, where a nurse worked with an especially small preemie.

Sesshoumaru nodded. He would work with what he could get. The doctor left, blessedly
drawing his familial onlookers to one side and speaking to them to give Sesshoumaru that
privacy he desired.

He turned from them, keeping his back to the window so they could not see his face. Then he
looked down at his daughters once more. He kept his eldest cradled in his arm while he
reached out and stroke the head of his youngest. At the same time, he reached out with his
demonic energy to stroke them as he had when they were in the womb.

"Papa is here," he murmured, just as he had the first time he had spoken to them the night
Zero assaulted their dreams—the first night they had shown him their strength. And now,
once again, they had proven to have more prowess than he could have ever dreamed. "This
papa is very proud of his pups."

While the girl in her bassinet continued to sleep, her energy lazily curling into his like a
reflex, the child in his arms—now fully awake—pumped her limbs in excitement, pushing
back against his energy in the game they had been playing for two months.

Yes, he recognized this one. She had always been the first one to come out and play, whereas
her sister was shyer. By sheer luck, it seemed, she had been the first to be taken out of the
womb as well.
"How many fathers can boast that their children saved someone before they were even born?
Not only did you give your mother a fighting chance at life today, but…you have saved me as
well."

He realized now what a pitiful existence he had led before he met Rin and before she brought
these girls into his life. As his father had intimated back in the fall, for the longest time, he
had simply been surviving rather than living.

"I cannot promise to be the best father. Already, I failed to keep you and your mother safe."
Rin had told him over and over that they would never be the perfect parents. They were going
to make mistakes. Sesshoumaru hated failure…but he had resolved to learn from it now
rather than ignore it. "But I can promise that I will do everything in my power to protect,
provide for, and guide you as you grow."

His eldest's tiny fist whacked against his fur, her fingers opening and closing until she caught
some of it and pulled.

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched upwards. The urge to bend down and kiss that little fist
overwhelmed him. He never felt the need to show such physical affection, aside from Rin.

But these were Rin's daughters, so he didn't fight it.

He held his youngest next, and though she somehow managed to continue sleeping, he
supported her on while arm so he could nudge his finger near her hand until her little fingers
curled around it. His heart leapt, and he pressed his lips to her head, right over a little mark of
red at her temple. It was then that he noticed she had tiny spots of red hair on both sides as
well as the back of her crown. Looking back at his eldest, what he had assumed to be a patch
of blotchy, red skin was actually a small, red forelock.

He wished Rin could be there, making these discoveries together with him. Pain carved
trenches into his heart at the thought that she was missing out on the beginning of their
daughters' lives.

He looked up and took a deep breath, fighting back the emotions. They did no good for him
here. That's when he noticed the posters of information on the walls, all displaying babies in
various states of undress and smiles.

Then it hit him. The answer was so simple and yet so foreign to him.

He set his youngest back in the bassinet and made sure the girls were facing each other again.
His oldest had drifted back to sleep in the meantime, his fur still clutched in her fingers. Then
he took out his phone, navigating to the largely unused camera app, and snapped a photo of
them together.

Immediately, he fired off a text message to Jaken.

Me: Purchase the highest-quality camera you can find.

 The reply was almost instantaneous, as if the imp had just been waiting by his phone for a
message.

Jaken: Of course, milord! But where have you been these last couple days? Why didn't you
return after the wedding?

That was a conversation too long for a text. Besides, he had more important matters to deal
with right now.

Me: We are at the hospital. [Attachment: IMG_001]

Jaken: They're here?! Congratulations, milord! You have sired the most precious offspring!
But why are they hooked up to so many tubes and wires?

Me: Make sure the camera is here by tomorrow morning.

He tucked the phone back into his pocket. Rin deserved to see her daughters' first days. He
did not know when she would wake up, but he would document every day of their lives until
she did.

He brushed a thumb along each girl's cheek in a brief farewell. "Rest well, my warrior twins.
You have earned it."

Chapter End Notes

This wasn't where I originally planned to end this chapter, but it seemed like a good
enough place to stop. On the bright side for you, that means you get an extra chapter!
My current outlook is that there will be two more chapters of the main story and then a
two-part side-story.

Unfortunately…you're going to have to wait a couple weeks for that. I want to

participate in SessRin Spice Week next week, but I think all I'll be able to manage is a
single one-shot, so…my aim is to do that spicy one-shot follow-up to The Wall that I
promised a couple months back. Then I have to write an original work that's on a
deadline for the beginning of June, but after that, I'll come back to finish this up! Thanks
again for all your patience lately!

Also, I have to admit—I was shocked so many of you predicted last chapter that the

😆
girls were going to save Rin from the poison in utero. Here I was thinking that'd be an
awesome little surprise, but nope! Can't pull the wool over you guys!
 The Lights of His Life
Chapter Notes

AT LAST. Guys, I am SO sorry for the massive delay on this. Living Arrangements took
longer than expected, life's been busy in general, and then I screwed up by not looking at
my file properly before Word wanted to overwrite its autosave file, and so I lost a week's
worth of edits to this chapter and had to start over. But I finally finished, and I hope it's
worth the wait!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

When Sesshoumaru approached Rin's bedside, he couldn't help but stare. For the moment,
she was still on oxygen to clear out the rest of the miasma from her lungs. Otherwise, she lay
in quiet repose in a white hospital yukata. He took her cold hand—the one without an IV
sticking in it—and squeezed, his skin conditioned to feel her return the pressure, but her hand
remained limp in his. Their mating bond was quiet, and though he could still feel the gentle
presence of her life through it (how had he lived with its absence before?), the soft rise and
fall of her chest and the regular beat of her heart in sync with the beeping monitor reassured
him she was indeed alive and not dead once again.

Dr. Jinenji stood a respectful distance behind him. "Speak to her, Sesshoumaru-san. She may
yet wake because of it. And if she is, in fact, comatose, there will still be periods when her
mind will be awake and she will hear you, though she appears asleep. It will reassure her to
know you are here. I'll leave you with her, but please don't hesitate to let me know if you
need anything."

When the door shut, Sesshoumaru knelt down on the floor, fighting back a wince as his
healing leg protested. But he suffered the pain. He deserved it, and it was far less than Rin
was suffering now.

He clutched Rin's hand to his forehead. "Rin, I am so sorry." The words that were so hard to
say to others spilled so easily from his lips around her. "I promised to protect you and the
children, and I failed. I promised I would never watch you die again in my arms, and here
you lie as if in death once more. …Can you ever forgive this Sesshoumaru?"

He squeezed her hand again, placing a kiss upon it despite knowing he would receive no
answer. He rubbed his thumb along her pale skin. "I went to see the children. They are in the
NICU, but I suspect their stay there will be short-lived. Do you recall the story of Gemini I
told you? Those are our girls, Rin—our little warrior twins. They…saved your life when this
Sesshoumaru could not."

He proceeded to tell her then of what the doctor theorized. His throat went dry as he spoke,
unused to vocalizing for this long at once. But for Rin, he would do anything, even test the
limits of his comfort. He did not want her to feel alone in the darkness. Not like he did now,
drowning in murky sorrow.

But there was still a light he was swimming towards. He just had to remember that even
though his children weren't with him now, they would be soon.

"They are beautiful, Rin—just like their mother. Our eldest has my coloring, our youngest
yours. I have not seen them yet with their eyes open, but I will tell you what color they are as
soon as I know."

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and as Sesshoumaru stood up, it opened to admit the
Higurashis and his mother. His in-laws bustled in and went straight to Rin, surrounding her
bed. They started talking to her all at once and reassuring her that everyone was well—or
well enough. Sesshoumaru was simply thankful for the opportunity to rest his voice.

After a while, his mother, who stood next to him, asked, "Have you decided on names for the
children?"

She hadn't spoken loudly, but the Higurashis cut off their words, turning as one to look at
him. He nodded.

"Will you tell us?" his mother-in-law asked.

He hesitated. "I…do not wish to choose their identities without Rin."

Inukimi sighed. "You heard the doctor, my son. She may not wake up for weeks. But the
hospital has to finish filling out their birth certificates. They need names, so you must
choose."

He thought back to the meanings of their names: Setsuna and Towa—now and forever. Rin
said she chose the name Towa as a symbol that her love for him would last forever. He had
chosen Setsuna because he had wanted to live in the happiness of the moment when he
proposed to Rin for the rest of his life.

So, it only stood to reason that the child that resembled the parent towards whom those
affections had been directed should get the chosen name.

"Towa shall be the elder; Setsuna the younger."

Souta grinned. "I remember when Rin picked out the name Towa. I'm glad you both agreed to
use it. Did you pick out Setsuna?" Sesshoumaru nodded. "It fits. Good job."

"Did you hear that, Rin?" her mother asked, rubbing her shoulder. "You need to wake up soon
so you can meet them, alright baby?" Her voice hitched on the last couple of words.

Sesshoumaru had only known Hisgurash-san for a few months, but he had come to think of
her as an unflappable woman. Learning her daughters had gotten involved with demons
hadn't seemed to phase her. Seeing the Nishikuni estate in all its ostentatious wealth had only
inspired heartfelt compliments with not a tinge of envy or gold-digging pride in her
daughters' fortunes. Getting arrested by the demon slayers hadn't resulted in a meltdown.
So watching her fight back tears as she looked at her sleeping daughter gave him more
sympathy for a human than he had ever given another outside his mate.

The Higurashis resumed talking to Rin, and he wondered at their ability to hold a
conversation so easily. At one point, Kagome yawned, and her mother looked on with
concern. "You should go home and rest, Kagome. You've just been through a harrowing
experience, and now you've got a baby to think of."

"Is that okay? Rin…."

"I will be with Rin," Sesshoumaru answered.

His mother-in-law smiled softly. "I'd like you to take Kagome home, if it's not too much
trouble, Sesshoumaru."

He frowned. "I will stay."

Higurashi-san nodded to his leg. "You need rest too. Don't worry—I'll keep my daughter
company."

Sesshoumaru was about to protest when Inukimi cut in. "At the very least, you should go
home and change out of that horrendous outfit."

"Hey," Souta protested, though there was no bite to his words.

Admittedly, that did hold some appeal. "Very well."

"Is there a train station or bus stop or something near the estate? I've gotten so used to taking
a car that I don't know the routes over there," Kagome said, pulling out her phone.

"Why don't I drive you guys back to the shrine? Your cars are still there from the wedding.
You can bring them back," Souta offered.

"Oh, that'd be great!" Kagome answered. "Let me just go check on Inuyasha, and then we can
head out, okay?"

"We'll come with," Souta said, standing up with Moe. Sesshoumaru cheek twitched. That
meant he was basically obligated to accompany them to Inuyasha's room, since they were his
ride, though he felt no need to see that idiot.

Even so, he tailed the siblings to his brother's room, and when he heard the ruckus going on
inside, he was suddenly glad he had come. The entertainment alone would be worth the price
of admission.

"Get off of me! Hey, let me go!" Inuyasha cried out, trying to fight off three different demon
nurses as they wrestled him into restraints on the bed.

"What's going on here?" Kagome cried out when they entered. "Inuyasha, what did you do?"
Inuyasha froze, betrayal etched across his slackened face. "What did I do? I'm your husband!
Shouldn't you be taking my side?" While he was still in shock, the nurses strapped his limbs
and torso to the bed.

"It's because you're my husband that I know you all too well. These good professionals
wouldn't have to resort to such measures if you were behaving yourself!" Kagome protested.

Inuyasha suddenly realized he had been tied down. He wriggled, trying to break free. "You
bastards. Let me out of here!"

One of the nurses turned to Kagome and bowed in apology. "Nishikuni -san, I'm afraid your
husband refused to comply with the doctor's orders for bedrest. He got up so fast, he tore his
stitches, and we had to fix them. The doctor wishes for him to recuperate here for the night at
least."

"Of course. He'll behave from now on. My apologies," Kagome said, bowing in return. Once
the nurses left, Kagome put a hand to her head and collapsed in a chair. "Inuyasha, please
don't give them anymore trouble. I can't handle this right now."

Suddenly, Inuyasha was as compliant as trained dog. But Sesshoumaru understood. Seeing
his pregnant mate so weary would trigger the instinct to please. "Kagome, are you okay?
What did the doctor say? Are you…are you really pregnant?" The hesitant way he spoke
about it made it obvious he wasn't sure whether to believe Naraku's claim or not.

Kagome looked up with a soft smile. "Yeah, I am."

"And the baby's okay?"

"Seems like it. It's still pretty early though, so there's not much they can tell us."

Inuyasha sighed, falling back against the bed. "Thank goodness. If that bastard had done
something to you, I would have had to go back and resurrect him, just so I could kill him a
second time."

Suddenly, Kagome's eyes welled up with tears. Inuyasha went on high alert and sat up again
as far as his restraints would allow. "Kagome, what is it? Wait—did he do something to you?"

Kagome shook her head, tears dripping out of her eyes. "N-No, but…he was going to. I-It's
only…thanks to Rin that he didn't." She started crying in earnest then, and Moe walked over
to put her arms around her.

"Wait, what did Rin do?" Souta asked, his eyes wide with worry. Sesshoumaru wanted to
know the same.

"S-She took my place when he…said he was going to…um…use me."

"Bastard," Inuyasha hissed at the same time Sesshoumaru sucked in a breath.

Souta's hands clenched. "Don't tell me that he…to Rin…?"

Kagome shook her head. "She said he didn't, but…h-how can I believe her? She always h-
hides her own pain…to comfort others."

Sesshoumaru's mind went numb. Had Naraku forced himself onto his mate? Just the thought
of it had his hackles rising.

"Did the doctor mention anything about sexual trauma?" Moe asked. It took Sesshoumaru a
moment to realize she was addressing him. He shook his head. "Okay. You could always ask
to be sure, but I feel certain he would have mentioned something had they found evidence."

Evidence. Of course. He would have known if Naraku touched her, wouldn't he? He would
have smelled it—unless Naraku had some way of disguising it. But could he disguise that
putrid scent of his? Unlikely. Naraku had worn that stench like a badge of honor.

"I did not smell him on her," he said for Kagome's and Souta's benefit. They visibly relaxed
at the words.

But inside, Sesshoumaru's heart still roiled. Even if Naraku hadn't raped her, both Kagome
and Kagura had inferred he tried. As if his Rin's life hadn't been traumatic enough, would she
be haunted by those memories for the rest of her life? He wouldn't know what happened
unless she woke up, but he didn't want to bring up the question and make her remember…yet
he also wanted to comfort her if she needed it.

His mind was still swirling when Inuyasha asked, "So…does that mean Rin pulled through
okay?" Sesshoumaru looked away, and Kagome's head drooped. Inuyasha's eyes widened.
"Now what's wrong?"

Kagome gave him a summary of Rin's and the twins' conditions. Afterwards, his gaze was
decidedly softer when he looked at Sesshoumaru. He seemed to struggle with what to say
before finally settling on, "I'm sure they'll all pull through. Rin's built of some strong stuff,
and it sounds like those kids aren't pushovers either. Have you seen them?" He nodded.
"So…what do they look like?"

Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru took out his phone and showed him the picture, already playing the
proud parent.

Inuyasha's lips twitched up. "Huh, cute kids. Certainly no thanks to you."

Sesshoumaru grunted, rescinding Inuyasha's viewing privileges.

Kagome laughed, stroking Inuyasha's head and giving him a little scratch behind his ear.
"Will you behave now, so I can go home and rest without worrying what you're doing to the
poor staff here?"

Inuyasha huffed. "…Fine. I'll stay. But just so you know, I only wanted to get out of here so I
could go home with you."

Kagome smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I appreciate that. But don't worry. I'm
going home with Sesshoumaru, and I plan on passing out as soon as I get there."
Inuyasha leveled his brother with a hard stare. "Make sure that she does, you hear?"
Sesshoumaru didn't bother to reply, but Inuyasha didn't put up a fight about it.

Afterwards, Souta and Moe drove Kagome and Sesshoumaru to the shrine, where they took
Touga's and Sesshoumaru's cars back home. They parked in the garage, and a relieved servant
offered to drive them to their homes in one of the golf carts. The cart stopped in front of
Sesshoumaru's home first, and no sooner had he stepped off than the front door of the home
burst open.

"SESSHOUMARU-SAMAAAAA!" Jaken wailed, tearing down the steps and attaching

himself to Sesshoumaru's injured leg. When he grunted in pain, Jaken hopped off and
flattened himself on the gravel. "Forgive me, Sesshoumaru-sama! I did not realize you were
hurt! How could this have happened? Where have you been? Where is Rin? Why are the
children hooked up to so many tubes? Why—?"

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru hissed, his head throbbing from the imp's shrill shrieks.

"It's a long story," Kagome said, hopping off the cart to better see Jaken. She proceeded to
give a succinct recap of the wedding, their arrest, the women's kidnapping, the battle, and the
resulting visit to the hospital. Jaken's eyes bulged more and more with each successive part of
the tale until Sesshoumaru imagined they would pop out of his head altogether. The servant
driving the cart also listened with rapt attention. No doubt the story would be spread all over
the estate by morning.

Jaken turned wide, watery eyes up to his master. "Milord has suffered greatly these past
several days and must rest. Never fear—I, Jaken, shall handle everything from here! Oh,
speaking of, I did as you asked of me, Sesshoumaru-sama!" He ran back just inside the front
door and picked up a box, bringing it back and presenting it to Sesshoumaru as if it were a
sword. "I even took the liberty of purchasing a special portrait lens." Sesshoumaru nodded in
recognition of a job well done.

"A camera?" Kagome asked as Sesshoumaru took the boxes in hand and looked them over.
"Why did you buy that? I thought you were against taking photographs, since they
leave evidence."

"Now that we have come to an agreement with the slayers, the need for secrecy may not be
so dire," Sesshoumaru remarked. "But even if that were not the case…I do not wish for Rin
to miss out on a single day of her children's lives."

Kagome's eyes lit up in understanding. She then squealed and enveloped him in a hug that
had him stiffening up. Confound these Higurashis and their sneak attacks. It was a testament
to his weariness that he had not even cared to dodge it.

"Sesshoumaru, that's a wonderful idea! Oh, oh, I know! We should make a scrapbook for
her!"

Sesshoumaru's brow twitched. Taking photos was about the extent of his sentimental abilities.
"I would not know how to do that."
"Don't worry about it. You handle the pictures, and I'll take care of the rest. Rin will be so
thankful when she sees it! But I also demand the right to abscond with that camera at any
given time to do photoshoots with the babies. And you'd better be prepared to be
photographed, mister! Rin will expect pictures with you in there too!"

Perhaps the stress of the last few days had indeed overwhelmed him, but he simply didn't
have the strength to stand up to Kagome's hurricane-force enthusiasm. So he quietly agreed
with nod.

The following days were the most difficult of Sesshoumaru's life. Past difficulties in his life
lay in pursuit of his goals of conquest, whether in the warlike or business sense. Failure
brought anger and a renewed sense of determination to try again and succeed. Never before
had his failures left his mind weak and downtrodden.

But now, the emotional distress of watching his mate and children lie in a hospital took a
greater toll on him than he had ever expected it could. As he waited for his babies to be
released from the NICU and waited to see if Rin would wake up, he simply didn't want
to do anything but sit or stand by their sides and watch them. Every moment with them was
precious, he knew now, because they were not guaranteed to be there forever.

When had sitting become so wearying? It took less and less effort each day for his mother or
mother-in-law to prod him into going home to rest. And rest he would. Between Rin joining
him in his bed earlier that summer and him sleeping every day now, the staff had never had to
make his bed so often. But the whispers he overheard weren't ones of derision (at least, most
weren't, though some were rather smug about seeing his arrogant self fall). Rather, they were
filled with pity. Some were even filled with fear—that the new lady of the household who
had softened their lord would never come back.

He always went back to her, however. He took a proper leave from work this time, starting
with one week. He would adjust his time off if needed.

His new routine at the hospital began with a visit to the NICU. That first day after the girls
were born, he came back with the camera (which he had experimented with while "resting"
the night before) and found they had opened their eyes with unexpected shades. Towa
appeared almost albino with her crimson eyes, and Setsuna had the most captivating shade of
indigo. He put that new portrait lens to good practice that morning.

Rin's condition hadn't changed, but he was surprised to see she received a visitor that day
who actually wasn't part of the family: Shiori.

It only made sense for Shiori to visit the hospital, since her father had been admitted as well,
but Sesshoumaru had all but forgotten the bat demon's plight in light of his own family's
state.

As she sat with Rin, she talked to her for a little bit, updating her (and thus Sesshoumaru) on
Tsukuyomaru's recovery.
"Last night was crucial," Shiori explained, weariness lining her face and puffy eyes. "They
said if he pulled through last night, he would probably make it—and he did. But it was touch-
and-go there for a while." Her eyes glossed over, and she scrambled to take a tissue out of her
purse. "I'm so sorry if I look like a mess, Sesshoumaru. When Kirinmaru called me and told
me what happened…I was just so scared—" Her voice broke, and she sobbed silently into
her tissue.

Unease gripped Sesshoumaru's muscles. He knew how others would reach out to comfort a
crying female in a situation like this. Comforting Rin felt natural now (though it pained him
to see her cry), but reaching out to others was still beyond him. So he sat in silence, giving
her the time to let everything out.

After a couple moments, Shiori took a deep breath and dabbed the last of the tears from her
reddened eyes. "I apologize about that."

"There is no need." She gave him a watery smile. "So he will recover?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Shiori took a deep breath. "While many of his minor injuries have already healed, and some
of the major ones are well on their way, the truth is…his wings were crushed. The doctors
said it was almost as if someone had deliberately set out to snap every delicate bone in them."

Sesshoumaru recalled the malicious sneer of Naraku's monstrous incarnation, Goushenki. He

would not be surprised if the demon had done just that.

"Unfortunately, while his body is trying to heal the injuries, the bones were broken into so
many fragments that they're not…healing properly. The doctors are trying to determine if
they can repair them with surgery or if…if they'll have to amputate them." Her voice hitched
again, and she clutched her hand to her chest.

"Could he grow them back?" Sesshoumaru asked. Limb regeneration was possible for many
demons—some more so than others—but it required a great deal of strength and fortitude.

"I'm not sure. And I'd hate to be the one to make that decision for him. I'm just going to have
to pray that they can do the surgery. Of course, the doctors warned that even with surgery, he
might never fly as well as he used to, and he'd have to undergo weeks if not months of
physical therapy to relearn the skill. But he survived, and I'm just thankful for that," Shiori
explained.

She then looked over at Rin, reaching out to take her hand and addressing her. "When I think
of how you lost your parents at such a young age and how strong a woman you are right
now…I'm just in awe of you, Rin. If my father had died in that battle…I'm not sure how I
would have coped." Tears sprang once more into her lilac eyes. "He's been with me for over
five hundred years now. You'd think I'd be satisfied with that. I've had so much more time
with him than humans have with their parents. I've been with him fifteen times as long as my
mother was even alive. And yet…that almost makes it even harder, you know? Because he's
been such a fixture in my life, and the thought of him not being there just opened up this well
of loneliness I didn't know I had. I admire you so much for your strength, Rin. I'm not sure I
would have had the same in me."
Sesshoumaru felt like an intruder on this conversation, but he could hardly bear to leave Rin's
side during visiting hours, even to give the two some privacy. However, his regard of Shiori
grew then, for she recognized his mate's strength for what it was.

His own father's recovery took just three days. When Touga awoke on the third day, both
Izayoi and Inukimi were by his side. Each woman informed her son about the development,
and because Sesshoumaru was already in the hospital, he went to see him first (Inuyasha had
been discharged after a single day, much to the entire staff's relief, and promptly went home
to recuperate with his mate).

When he entered the room, he froze, looking his father over. Touga lay propped up in bed,
smiling as if he hadn't just spent the last three days sleeping off serious injuries. Izayoi sat on
a chair at the head of the bed, while Inukimi sat in a corner near the foot.

"There's the new father!" Touga announced with a grin. "I hope you brought this new camera
I've heard about, because I want to see pictures."

"You look hearty enough. Why not go see them in person?" Sesshoumaru asked, already
pulling out his phone and clicking on the cloud-sharing app where the camera automatically
dumped his photos (that had been a pleasant discovery—Jaken truly had done his homework
in terms of finding the most convenient tool for his master).

"Of course I wanted to the moment I heard!" Touga protested with a puffed-out chest. "But
those quacks aren't letting me get out of the bed yet. And I hear the staff here is…not afraid
to use force."

Izayoi bit back a smile. "I might have told him what happened to Inuyasha in an attempt to
save him some embarrassment."

Bullheadedness certainly ran in the family. Sesshoumaru handed over his phone in
appeasement. And as soon as Touga laid eyes on his grandchildren, his face melted into an
expression Sesshoumaru had never seen before. He didn't quite know how to describe it. For
some reason, the word "squishy" came to mind.

Naturally, the first thing Touga did when he was allowed to get back on his feet the following
day was trail Sesshoumaru to the NICU. The nurses wouldn't let Touga inside, but
Sesshoumaru was able to hold the girls up for him to see through the window. His father
didn't even blink as he stared at his granddaughters, taking in every inch of them.

Dr. Jinenji had said the twins were recovering well and in good enough health that they could
start kangaroo care. After they had eaten, Sesshoumaru laid both their tiny bodies against his
fur-covered shoulder, patting their backs until they burped and then turning the pats into
soothing rubs with both his hand and his demonic energy.

An electronic click caused him to look up, and he found his father with the new camera,
taking a photo of the three of them. When Touga lowered the camera, there were tears in the
demon's eyes and a soft smile on his lips.
And though Touga said it quietly from the other side of the glass, Sesshoumaru distinctly
heard the words, "Well done, my son."

How ironic that the pride he had always sought from his father came not through great
achievements in battle or business—but in the domestic act of caring for his children.

Nevertheless, the last barrier in Sesshoumaru's heart eased with a cathartic release, letting it
swell in humble satisfaction.

In this, at least, he was now content.

Rin had such a large and loving family that her room usually contained one visitor or another.
In that way, Sesshoumaru was able to keep up with news of how their other allies were
faring.

Kagome checked in with Miroku to see how he and Sango were doing after the DSC took
them to a human hospital. Apparently, Princess Abi had actually done a decent job of
doctoring Sango, to the point where the hospital had checked her in, reviewed her injuries,
prescribed her some painkillers as well as bedrest, scheduled a follow-up, and let her go
home. She was officially on medical leave.

While Miroku got away with only a few minor scrapes, most of the trauma he sustained from
the mission was mental. He was afraid to leave Sango's side for even a moment, and he had
been having trouble sleeping lately due to nightmares. Having seen Sango go through
moments of post-traumatic stress disorder in the past, he understood what was happening and
planned to see a psychiatrist soon. (Kagome had been proud of him for taking that step so
quickly, remarking in private to her family that while Miroku may have always been a perv,
he had always been very self-aware.)

While Sango was recuperating, Grandpa Mushin became a near-full-time babysitter, which
was driving him to drink. ("But then," Kagome inserted, "it doesn't take much to do that.")
The twins were due to start school again in a couple weeks, and by then, the doctors surmised
that Sango would be moving about, so the family was just holding out until then for the chaos
to die down.

Kaede also came to visit Rin one day while Inuyasha and Kagome were there. It wasn't long
before she revealed the twofold-purpose of her visit.

"I wanted to tell you in person that Kikyou passed away last night," the elderly doctor said.
Inuyasha stiffened. "Though the doctors were able to treat her injuries, I think that final battle
took out most of her energy. Had she been younger, perhaps she might have survived, but I
fear the stress on her body was too much this time around."

Kagome reached out and took Kaede's hand. "Oh Kaede…I know we had our differences
with Kikyou, but I think I speak for all of us in saying that we can sympathize with the loss
of a loved one. Is there anything we can do?"
"Why didn't you call us?" Inuyasha murmured. The others looked at him. He clenched his
hands in his lap. "You should have called us the moment it happened," he spat out.
"Sesshoumaru could have brought her back!"

Kaede sighed with a grim smile. "Silly boy. Do you think Kikyou would have wanted that?"

"W-What?"

"You're a long-lived lot, so I'm not sure you understand, but when we humans get to this age,
we realize that we're not so afraid of death anymore. In fact…sometimes it is a blessing. I
will miss my sister, of course. Perhaps you will remember her fondly at times as well. But we
should not mourn her. Kikyou lived a full life. She was not some tragic teenager dying young
for a cause she championed. She was the leader she always wanted to be. And in taking that
bullet for you, she died a hero. And I am so proud of her for that.

"In truth, though I was part of the DSC as a youngster, the older I got, the less comfortable I
was with what it stood for. But whatever Kikyou's faults, I like to think that final act went
some way towards redeeming her. And perhaps she felt that way as well. If I had to guess, I
think the guilt of shooting you always stayed with her, even though she told herself it was
ultimately in humanity's best interests to rid the world of another demon.

"I truly believe she was relieved to see you hale and hearty after all this time. Whether her
defense of you was instinctual or some way she felt she could make up for what she did fifty
years ago, I cannot say. But I am confident she is finally at peace. So, why ruin that with what
might be only a few more years in an aged body? Getting old isn't all it's cracked up to be, I'll
have you know."

Properly chastened, Inuyasha didn't bring it up again. And when Kaede informed them of the
funeral arrangements, he and Kagome went to pay their final respects.

After a week in the NICU, Towa and Setsuna were finally allowed to leave. Sesshoumaru
knew their grandparents were dying to get their hands on the girls, but there was one person
who deserved to touch them first—even if she wasn't aware of it.

"Rin, it is time you met our girls. This is Towa," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed and
carefully folding Towa into the crook of Rin's limp arm while supporting them both. He took
Rin's other hand and cupped it around Towa's head. Towa just stared up at her mother, as if
trying to figure out who this new person was. "Her hair is already thicker than Setsuna's,"
Sesshoumaru explained, brushing Rin's fingers through the thin, white strands. Then he
passed over her unique forelock. "And here is that little patch of red I told you about."

He moved her hand down to knuckle the baby's soft cheeks and ghost over the rest of her
form. "Can you feel our daughter, Rin?"

Of course there was no answer—not even a blip of emotion in their link.

He sighed. "Wake up soon, so you can hold her on your own accord." Towa jostled in their
hold, moving her head towards Rin's breast, instinctively searching for food. Sesshoumaru's
heart cracked. In another life, Rin would be nursing their children now. But the C-section and
her subsequent separation from the children delayed her milk production to the point that her
breasts were already returning to normal.

"This is your mother, Towa. Do you recognize her touch? Her smell?" Towa mewled in her
search, and he took that as an affirmative. He thought about taking a photo of Towa in her
mother's arms, but he wondered how that would come across to Rin once she woke. Would
she find it too sad to see a photo of herself holding her daughter and not remember it?

Well, he would cross that bridge when he got there.

He grabbed the camera from the side table and snapped a photo, keeping the focus on Towa
rather than capturing Rin's sleeping face as well. Then he replaced Towa in their arms with
Setsuna.

"This is Setsuna. See how fine her hair is?" he asked, running Rin's hand over Setsuna's
crown. "She has three spots of red in her hair. Two here," he said, tapping her finger against
Setsuna's temples, "and one on the back."

As he was moving Rin's fingers across Setsuna's body, the baby waved her arms, her little
hand clasping onto Rin's finger.

Sesshoumaru snapped another photo.

Suddenly, Setsuna let go of her mother and started to cry.

"What is the matter, Setsuna?" Sesshoumaru asked, taking the baby from Rin and hoisting her
against the fur on his shoulder. He rubbed his daughter's back and stroked her demonic
energy with his, trying to calm her. Then the smell of feces hit his nose, and suddenly Towa
started crying as well, and judging from how she had been looking to feed earlier, he figured
a feeding was due after their diaper change.

He was pleased to discover that the men's bathroom did indeed have a changing table in it,
and anytime a demon walked in and looked at him with astonishment as he changed the girls,
he just glared at them, and they scampered into a stall to hide, even if they had been on their
way to a urinal.

Towa's and Setsuna's cries continued to rattle between his sensitive ears as he prepared their
bottles, and then came the juggling act of feeding, burping, and soothing them
simultaneously. At least in the NICU, there had always been a nurse there to help him with
one of the girls if he needed it. Now, he realized just how difficult this single-parenting act
was going to be.

His hand was halfway to his phone, ready to call Jaken to come and assist him when he
looked at Rin again and realized something.

She originally planned to do this all by herself.

That sobering thought made him put away his phone. There would be help at home. He could
honor Rin by caring for them on his own until then at least.

To his surprise, when he arrived back at the estate carrying the girls in their car seats, nearly
all the staff was lined up on either side of the walkway leading up to the front door of his
house. When he approached, they all bowed in unison and intoned, "Welcome home, Towa-
sama and Setsuna-sama!"

His family was waiting for him on the engawa, Kagome snapping pictures on her phone of
the simple but powerful ceremony. A part of Sesshoumaru he hadn't realized was still worried
relaxed upon seeing the demonic staff accept his half-demon daughters with the respect they
deserved.

No sooner had he reached his family than Touga swooped down to carry both girls in his
arms. "Hello, my precious puppies," he said, rubbing his nose one at a time against theirs, a
natural canine instinct to show affection that Sesshoumaru himself had recently discovered
was a part of himself as well. Towa sneezed in Touga's face as a result, but he just laughed.
"Even your sneezes are adorable." The fact that he didn't flinch showed just how accustomed
he was to baby fluids regularly appearing on his body. Sesshoumaru had yet to master that
reaction.

"Goodness, it's true what they say: men treat their girls differently from their boys," Izayoi
remarked. "You were much more reserved with Inuyasha."

"It was a different time," he replied. "It wasn't acceptable for men to show so much emotion."

"Is that your excuse?" Inukimi remarked, but aside from some raised eyebrows, the others let
her comment slide. She turned to the assembled staff. "You may come give your greetings to
the princesses."

Sesshoumaru hadn't realized this was going to be such an affair, but Touga assured him that
this would give the staff an opportunity to bond with the girls they were to serve.

By the time they were done, the babies were snoozing in their grandmothers' arms. "We
should put them to bed," Sesshoumaru said, stepping inside.

"Wait! Rin and I promised we would do this photo-op when they were born," she interrupted,
shoving her phone in his face. It was opened to the Pinterest app, where two naked babies lay
on their sides facing each other in the shape of a heart. They lay on a quilted heart to
reinforce the image. "I've made the props and everything."

"Perhaps you should save this for a milestone," Sesshoumaru remarked. "Let them acquaint
themselves with their new home."

Kagome frowned. "They're babies—they're going to sleep anywhere you put them. Let me
take a picture in the meantime."

He frowned. "They are part dog-demon. There are unfamiliar smells and auras here. They
must learn that this is home."
Kagome stopped. "Oh. I didn't think of it that way."

Sesshoumaru strode past her. "Remember that eight months from now, when yours is born."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Fine. Since we can't do their one-week milestone, we'll do it for
their one-month one. And maybe by then…Rin will be awake to participate." Her words were
a somber reminder for the group of who was missing this moment, and so once the girls were
down in their bassinets, everyone quickly dispersed.

The sleep Sesshoumaru had partaken in this past week was once more a thing of the past. The
twins woke up multiple times that night, and every time they cried, he rushed to see what
they needed. Diaper changes were easy to detect—he could smell those from outside the
room. But at one point after he and Jaken had fed and burped them, they still would not stop
wailing, and he did not understand why. They had been so easy to soothe the rest of the day.

The girls had been screaming for several minutes without ceasing when his mother came in.
"I had forgotten how loud it is to have a child in the home…let alone two." But without
another word, she took Setsuna from Sesshoumaru and started rocking her, humming a tune
that struck a deep chord in him.

Sesshoumaru stared at her in befuddlement. "You…used to sing to me, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. You were my little boy," Inukimi answered, wiping the tears from Setsuna's
cheeks as she calmed down and snuggled into her grandmother's fur. "It is an ancient song
passed down through our clan. Your father sang it to you as well." Inukimi looked up at him.
"I understand your propensity for quiet, son. But at this age, children need to hear you to be
comforted."

Like Rin needed to hear him now. Once more, he was going to have to push past his comfort
levels.

His mother's lullaby had already soothed the girls, and so they put them to sleep.
Sesshoumaru couldn't help but stare at them for a few moments as they slept. Some
inexplicable part of him needed to be reassured that they breathed. His mother stood beside
him, watching the girls.

Suddenly, she reached out and swiped a thumb against his cheek. He jerked away in surprise.
She merely raised her brows and held her white thumb up. "You had baby powder on your
face. Most unbecoming." He huffed in response. She looked down at her fingers as she
brushed off the powder and then murmured something most cryptic: "Looks like I owe you
two a honeymoon." Sesshoumaru waited for her to explain, but she chose instead to leave.

The next time the girls woke and would not go back to sleep, he told Jaken to leave. Once the
door was closed, Sesshoumaru held the girls against his fur-covered shoulder and hummed a
tune he had heard Rin singing to herself and the babies the past couple months. Perhaps it
was the familiar melody that relaxed them, but they quieted within seconds.
In the previous week, Sesshoumaru had established something of a routine in visiting the
hospital. Now that the babies were home, even that was going to change to some extent.

He brought the children with him, for one. While others might argue that it wasn't good to
expose a newborn to a hospital environment rampant with illness, he felt it was important that
Rin hear them and feel them throughout the day. Besides, he wanted them there for her to see
first thing if she woke up.

Now, however, he had Jaken to assist him. This was the imp's first time visiting Rin, and he
was a mercurial ball of emotions. He ran to his mistress' side and erupted into a blubbery
mess as he took in her prone form. That quickly changed into berating her for making his lord
worry and then to demanding that she wake up soon and meet her cute babies.

Normally, Sesshoumaru might have kicked him out for being so annoying, but Jaken could
talk as long as Rin could at times, and someone needed to keep her company, because he and
his voice were downright exhausted. He would never tell anyone, of course, but if he could
keep silent and save his vocal cords for a while, he would.

But he must not have hidden his weariness as well as he thought, because someone besides
Jaken noticed.

Shiori had started stopping by every day to say hi to Rin after she visited her father.
Sesshoumaru had been quietly relieved to hear that the bat demon did wake up and
underwent multiple hours-long surgeries for his wings. The limbs were specially bound for
the meantime so that they would heal, and it would be months before he could undergo
therapy to use them, but the doctors were optimistic that he would one day fly again.

A couple days after Sesshoumaru started bringing the girls with him, Shiori held Setsuna in
her arms, stroking her plump little cheek with a knuckle. Setsuna pumped her arms and legs,
looking to grab something, and Shiori offered her finger. Setsuna gripped it, and
Sesshoumaru's lips quirked at the sight. Setsuna was already like a little leech, clinging onto
those who held her and crying if they gave her up too soon. Shiori rubbed the girl's tiny
fingers against hers with her thumb.

"You're already so strong, aren't you?" she cooed. "I'm not surprised. You and your sister
have proven yourselves ten times over already, from what I hear." Setsuna grunted as if in
affirmation, and Sesshoumaru's lips twitched upwards even more.

Shiori looked over at him. "It's good to see you smile, Sesshoumaru." He quickly masked his
features, and the half-bat-demon pouted. "Don't be like that. You need to embrace these
moments. You've been through some rough times lately, and even you could use a reprieve."

"I'm fine," he lied, averting his eyes towards Rin.

Shiori followed his gaze. "I know you don't like to leave her side. I can sense you hovering
out by the door at times when there are visitors. But Rin wouldn't want to see you
overburdening yourself like this. You need to get away and clear your headspace."

"I go home each night."

"Yes, but…I think you just need a change of scenery from both the hospital and your home."
When he cocked his head in question, she nodded at the door. "Go out and take a walk.
There's a park nearby. Leave the girls to me. Don't worry—I've been around plenty of babies.
I can handle a diaper change or something if it comes up. Just get out of this hospital for a
bit."

Sesshoumaru hesitated, but he had to admit he craved the outdoors. And he loved his girls,
but they had tired him out more in a few days than some of the days-long battles he'd once
had. So he nodded. "Very well. Jaken will assist if needed."

"Of course, milord! Leave everything to me!" Jaken squawked.

Sesshoumaru did not go far—just to the park Shiori had mentioned. But after making sure no
one saw him, he jumped into a tree and relaxed on a strong bough as he would have done
centuries ago. He breathed in the nature—tainted by city air, but there was no cure for that
here—and closed his eyes, trying to let the stress flow out.

He was surprised when an hour passed and he felt a little lighter.

When he returned, Shiori smiled and asked, "Better?"

He dipped his head in acknowledgment and then reached for Towa, who Shiori was now
rocking in her arms. Towa wiggled as she went, kicking him in the sternum as he transferred
her to his furred shoulder, but as soon as her head hit the pelt, she stopped moving and
snuggled in.

Shiori beamed. "She does love her daddy. Setsuna went right down, but Towa was
struggling."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Setsuna enjoys her sleep." Towa seemed to want to stay awake with
him as much as possible.

"I was thinking about something while you were gone. I hope I haven't overstepped my
bounds, but I've told the Half-Demon Society about what's happened with your family. You're
members, after all, and as a community, we stick together. They want to help but weren't sure
how. How would you feel about babysitting rotations?"

Sesshoumaru tensed. "I will not hand my children off to strangers."

"Of course, I understand that, but what if I introduced you to them first? Once you've met
them, I'm sure you'll realize they only have the best intentions at heart. And I'd only bring on
those who are experienced with children. But I think it would be good for you to get away for
a little bit each day. You need time for yourself, Sesshoumaru. You can't handle this all on
your own."

"I'm not." His family was helping. Jaken was helping.

Shiori seemed to read his mind. "I know your family is with you, but I'm sure they could use
a break too. What do you say?"
Shiori was nothing if not persistent. Likely, that's how she'd managed to keep her half-demon
causes going for so long, despite all the trouble she would have faced. "Very well."

"Wonderful! I'll schedule a time this week for a group meeting."

And in that way, Sesshoumaru learned of the kindness of strangers. Over the past year, he had
learned about compassion for one's family, but the compassion of strangers still perplexed
him. He soon realized that it was because the Half-Demon Society saw each other as family
that it was so easy for them to reach out to help one another. It made him realize something
else—something that had stuck with him since Shiori's first hospital visit to Rin.

After the initial meeting with some fellow society members, the others left him and Shiori
alone in Rin's room. She was just getting ready to leave when he said, "You would not have
been left alone."

"Pardon?" she asked.

"If Tsukuyomaru died. You wouldn't have been left alone." He nodded towards the departing
mix of demons and humans. "They would have cared for you."

Shiori blushed. "I didn't think of that…but you're absolutely right, of course."

"The inner strength you said Rin possessed? …You have it as well." Shiori's eyes widened in
surprise. He looked away from her and stood up. "I will permit them to care for my
daughters."

She snapped out of her shock and grinned. "They'll be delighted to hear it. I know several of
them are very excited to hold a baby or two again."

And so, Sesshoumaru started to come to grips with his altered state of life, and the darkness
plaguing his mind began to recede in the light of both his little girls and the friends and
family who wanted to help them.

But the darkness of Rin's illness still pressed in around him, and he knew it would never fully
lift until she had recovered.

Several days later, Sesshoumaru was dozing when a prickle of alarm stung his heart. His eyes
shot open, and he sat up, listening for the girls' cries. But the house was silent.

The fear prodded at him again, growing more desperate, and this time, Sesshoumaru realized
what it was.

Rin.

He called the hospital. As soon as the staff answered, he asked, "Is Rin Nishikuni awake?"

"We have not recorded a change in her behavior or vitals," the staff responded. "Is there a
reason for you to think otherwise?"
"I can feel her. She's afraid."

"Let me get a doctor on the line for you, Sesshoumaru-san. Please hold."

As he waited, he tried to tamp down on his simultaneously inflating hope and rising panic,
instead pushing feelings of reassurance towards Rin. It felt like and hour rather than mere
minutes before the line picked up again. "Sesshoumaru-san?" asked a doctor he recognized as
one of the ones who oversaw Rin when Dr. Jinenji wasn't on duty.

"Is she awake?" Sesshoumaru demanded. He had been ready to fly to the hospital if he took
too much longer, visiting hours be damned.

"I'm afraid she's still comatose, Sesshoumaru-san. I understand you called because you felt
her emotions?"

"Yes."

"That's a very good sign. We'll run some tests to see if there's any change in her brain activity
to be certain, but unfortunately, even if that is the case, she's still not healed enough to fully
wake up yet. I spoke to her while I was checking on her and turned on the TV in the room to
give her something to listen to so the silence wasn't so overwhelming—just in case."

"…She does seem calmer now," Sesshoumaru admitted. But that undercurrent of terror and
frustration—likely at knowing she was awake and not being able to open her eyes—still
hovered on the edges of their emotional link. "Does this mean she has not heard any of us
before this point?"

"That's likely, but do not let that stop you from talking to her whenever you come to visit.
You never know—just as people wake up from hearing noises when they're sleeping, the
same could hold true for Rin-san."

"Will she wake up soon then?"

"I cannot say for certain." When Sesshoumaru was silent for several seconds, the doctor
added, "I understand this is a difficult situation, Sesshoumaru-san, but this appears to be a
step in the right direction for her recovery. Stay strong and keep doing what you're doing. In
fact, I want you to know that all of our staff are in awe of your efforts and loyalty for your
human mate. Such devotion will not be for nothing. If you feel her consciousness again next
time you're here, speak to her. Perhaps you'll receive a comforting response."

Later that day when visiting hours resumed, Sesshoumaru returned to the hospital with twins
in tow. The girls were napping in their stroller, so he didn't disturb them as he wheeled them
near Rin's bed.

He grabbed his wife's hand and massaged her cold fingers. "Rin, do not fear. I am here."

No response.

He hadn't expected one. The activity in their bond had died down hours ago. So once more,
he waited.
One of the Half-Demon Society volunteers came by for her babysitting shift just as the girls
woke up, demanding to be changed and fed.

"What timing!" the half-demon named Ai announced. When she saw Sesshoumaru still
hovering near them, she shooed him off. "Go on! Jaken and I will take care of it from here."

Sesshoumaru nodded and then walked to the doorway.

Suddenly, hints of emotions flickered to life in his heart.

Confusion. Curiosity. Desire.

He spun around darting back toward the bed. Jaken and Ai stared at him in alarm.

"Rin?" he asked, taking her hand and squeezing. "Are you there?"

Confusion again. A prickle of fear.

"I am here, Rin. Do not be afraid."

Joy and love warmed their bond.

"M-Milord?" Jaken asked.

A thousand emotions he could not name flooded Sesshoumaru. He kept his back toward his
servant and said, "Take the girls out for some sun."

"Y-Yes, milord!" Jaken said, prodding a confused Ai with the stroller out of the room and
closing the door.

Sesshoumaru reached up to cup Rin's face. "My love, can you hear me?"

A pulse of contentment and relief. He took that as an affirmative.

He laid his forehead against hers, stroking her cheek. "I am relieved." He kissed her cool lips,
and in a response, a tingle of joy sparked along their link. When he pulled away,
disappointment reached him.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sesshoumaru answered. He looked at her bed. It was rather small
for two people, but Rin was tiny. He carefully shifted her over a few centimeters and then lay
on his side on the very edge of the bed, holding one of her hands and wrapping the other
around her. He rubbed her shoulder. "I will not leave you, Rin."

Relief.

In quiet tones, he proceeded to tell her everything. He started from the beginning all over
again, not sure what she might have heard or missed in the past. He didn't care how much he
had to talk. Feeling her emotions respond to his words was worth every word. He stared at
her face as he spoke, stroking her temple, her hair, her side, her arm—anywhere he could. He
had not held her like this in nearly two weeks.
When her awareness died out once more, he remained laying there as he would if she was
only asleep. He stared at her face, relishing this moment. Having been so consumed lately
with documenting baby milestones, he couldn't help but think of this moment in those terms:
the first day he had been able to feel her and communicate since the battle.

Such moments deserved documentation…and despite what he had told Rin back at the baby
shower, he still owed her some pictures.

He took out his phone, since it was easier to use for selfies. He could never replace the photos
he had deleted of them at the sanctuary, but he could recreate them—with a twist.

For the first, he rested his head beside Rin's and gazed at her with every emotion that had
bubbled to the surface since she had been "awake": love, hope, relief, joy.

Click.

He recalled that in her other photo, she had posed for the camera with a smile. He did not like
to show his smile except to Rin, but a photograph could always end up in someone else's
hands. Still, she deserved something to show his happiness.

So he looked at the camera and hid his mouth by bringing up their entwined hands and
kissing the back of hers.

Click.

When he looked back at the photo, there was a softness to his eyes that even he could see
registered his joy.

Now, finally, he felt that debt repaid.

Rin's burgeoning awareness gave Sesshoumaru a renewed hope every day that she would
wake.

And every day, he had to fight off his disappointment.

Weeks passed, and the girls grew healthy and plump. Kagome marked their one-month-old
milestone as promised/threatened, despite the fact that morning sickness had hit her like a
sucker punch. She lay in bed whenever it hit, keeping a warm laptop resting on her stomach
so she could work on Rin's scrapbook while feeling otherwise drained.

She never failed to show Sesshoumaru her progress, and he was secretly impressed with her
work. Family cuddles, bath time, play time, and some portrait shots all came together in a
beautiful book of memories. He knew Rin would love it, for even though he had seen all of it,
he enjoyed reminiscing as well.

Inuyasha waited on Kagome hand and foot, and it amused Sesshoumaru to see him so servile.
But then Inuyasha had to remark one day on how whipped Sesshoumaru had been during
Rin's pregnancy, and when Sesshoumaru could not refute, he just scowled and left his
brother's house, taking his daughters with him and prompting Kagome to complain loudly
that Inuyasha was denying her baby time with his big mouth.

But as the weeks passed, the drudgery fed his pessimistic side until it started to overshadow
the hope. He tried to keep his mind occupied so that despair wouldn't set in. The girls had
settled into a good routine now, only waking up once during the night. While at the hospital,
he would work on his laptop while they slept. His mother had actually offered to go to the
Sanctuary on occasion and see to what he could not working remotely. The fact that she had
offered to help in such a way, when she had promised in 1945 that she would never lift a
finger to help the family businesses again, took him by surprise at first. But if he had changed
drastically in the past year, his mother had done so as well in just a few months. Now that he
was a father himself, he recognized her desire to help her son—even if she openly griped
about it.

Even so, playing with babies, working, or even taking his daily walks to the park couldn't
keep all the dark clouds of his heart away, and with every succeeding day that Rin slept, his
heart weighed more and more like a stone. Seeing the newly added pages to Kagome's
scrapbook felt less and less heartwarming and more depressing.

How much of her children's lives would Rin miss?

Rin's awareness flickered to life while he and Jaken were entertaining the babies. They
introduced them to her again, moving her hands along their profiles like a blind person so she
could "see" them, and the yearning he felt from Rin nearly broke his heart. Her despair was
so great that his own mood blackened, and by the time her mother came to give him a "baby
break," he couldn't control his tongue anymore.

"I'll take it from here, Sesshoumaru," Higurashi-san said with a gentle pat on his back.

"I will stay with Rin," he murmured.

It had happened enough by now that his family and the Half-Demon Society volunteers knew
that when Rin was aware, Sesshoumaru preferred to have his breaks with her rather than
outside the hospital.

"Oh, is she awake now?" his mother-in-law asked.

Something in him snapped.

He knew what she meant. She meant "aware" rather than "awake." But all the same, he
couldn't take it anymore.

"Of course she's not," he snapped in quiet fury, and Higurashi-san sucked in a startled breath.
"And those damn doctors don't know when she will be."

"Sesshoumaru, dear, you know they've said it's up to her—"

"Is it? If it was up to Rin, she would have woken up by now. She's strong. She could have
done it if she wanted to!"
Hurt. Despair.

He was causing these feelings, and yet he couldn't stop himself.

"What am I paying these quacks for if they can't figure out what's wrong with her?" he
hissed, slamming a fist onto the bed.

"Sesshoumaru, I think you need to go get some fresh air," Higurashi-san said in a quiet,
caring voice.

"I don't need fresh air—just leave me alone!" he barked.

I need Rin. I need her awake.

He was drowning, and Rin's despair was only pulling him down faster.

Then the girls started crying, no doubt scared by his shouting, and the wails drilled into his
ears, inflaming his brain.

"Get them out of here," he snapped. "I can't take any more of their crying."

He regretted the words as soon as he said them, but at the same time, they were true.

Jaken appeared constipated with tension. "A-At once, milord. Girls! Quiet down at once—
your father is weary! Come now," he said, picking up Towa and patting her back as he carried
her out of the room. His mother-in-law watched him sadly as she picked up Setsuna and
wheeled out the stroller before closing the door to the room.

Once they were gone, Sesshoumaru let his head fall onto Rin's belly. He clutched her frigid
hand, squeezing it like a lifeline. "Rin, please. I need you here. I can't do this without you."

Her hurt for him trickled through the bond, and he could almost imagine her answering, Yes
you can. You're the strongest man—demon or human—I know. You can handle anything.

"I can't handle this," he confessed. "I'm trying to live for our girls, but I can't get my mind out
of this pit. You are the light at the end of this tunnel, but right now, you feel so far away, I
despair of ever reaching you. Every time I look at them, I see your face, and I think of how
you should be watching them beside me.

"What is keeping you from awakening? …Is this my punishment for leaving you? I would
have condemned you to do this all alone were it not for Inuyasha and Kagome. Now, I am
suffering that fate. Have I not said it enough, Rin? I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry I didn't come for you sooner. We wasted so much time because of my foolishness.
And even though I meant to spare you the danger of my world, I only inflicted more on you.
I…am a failure of a mate."

A blanket of comfort wrapped around his heart. He hadn't felt her push such a strong reaction
since the battle.
He looked up at her, stroking the back of her hand. "Come back, Rin. The girls need
you. I need you. Please, Rin. Please come back."

He squeezed her hand. A hint of sadness mixed with desperation flowed through the bond.

Her hand twitched.

Sesshoumaru froze, unsure if he imagined it. But then he felt anxiety and weariness come
through—almost as if she were trying her hardest and tiring out.

She was trying to wake up.

He clambered halfway onto her bed, reaching out for her cheek and watching her face. "Rin, I
am here. I can feel you trying to wake. You can do it. Come to me, Rin. Come."

Her strength was dying out again, fading away as it did when her awareness faded.

"No, Rin, please," he begged once more, clasping the back of her neck. His head dropped as
he tried to control how tight his heart squeezed with disappointment. He couldn't let her feel
that. She was trying her hardest. He knew that. He was simply being weak, and he couldn't
afford to be. Rin needed him to be a beacon of strength she could take refuge in. He could not
crumble in the face of this storm.

But the despair battered away at him nonetheless.

"Please," he repeated on a had never begged for anything in his life. But now that he had
hope of Rin's return, he was loathe to let her slip away again.

"M'here…love. Don't…fear."

Sesshoumaru's head shot up to find Rin's eyes open only to slits but nevertheless looking
straight at him.

Sesshoumaru eyes widened, his vision blurring. "Rin," he gasped, feeling as if all the air had
been sucked from his lungs.

Six weeks. It had been six weeks since he heard her voice. He could hardly believe it.

She groaned, closing her eyes again but leaning into his hand to nuzzle it. He kissed her
forehead and laid his against hers. "I knew you could do it," he whispered. His eyes burned
with unshed tears.

"Needed…your help," she whispered, still too weak to talk.

He smiled, and her eyes lit up in response. The irony was not lost on him. His weakness had
brought Rin back—along with her desire to be strong for him.

He would have to remember that. They were married now. As much as Rin would rely on
him, he too would have to rely on her. But for the moment, she needed more of his help.
"Are you thirsty?" he asked. She nodded. Though he hated to let go of her, he went over to
the sink and poured a cup of water. He didn't have a straw for her, but he supported her head
as she drank so that she only took tiny sips. When she was done, she glanced around the
room.

"I want to see…our babies. Where…are they?"

"They will be here soon."

He pushed the call button for the doctor and then dialed Jaken's number.

"Y-Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" he asked upon picking up.

"Bring the girls back. Rin wants to meet them."

"W-What? I don't understand…."

"She's awake?"

"WHAAA—?!" Sesshoumaru winced and terminated the call.

As the doctors came to check on Rin, Sesshoumaru stepped out and dialed his father. As soon
as Touga picked up, Sesshoumaru said, "She's awake."

"We're on our way," his father replied, cutting the call as abruptly as his son had answered it.
Then Sesshoumaru looked up to find Jaken and his mother-in-law hurrying down the
hallway. When she noticed him outside and heard the commotion within, her eyes widened
with hope.

"Is it true, Sesshoumaru? She's really…awake?"

He nodded. Finally, he could use that word. "She's awake."

Her mother gasped and left the stroller, running into the room. "Mama!" Rin cried out in a
weak voice, and then she and Higurashi-san started crying.

Sesshoumaru stayed outside with the girls while the doctors bustled about, but once they
gave him the report that Rin appeared healthy, if weak, he walked in carrying one girl in each
arm. When Rin saw him, her eyes zeroed in on their children.

Rin held out shaking arms, and her mother transferred Towa from Sesshoumaru to Rin. Tears
jumped to Rin's eyes as she hugged her firstborn against her chest.

Sesshoumaru spoke. "This is—"

"Towa," Rin interrupted, turning to smile at him. "The one who…looks albino."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. "You remember?"

Rin nodded, the tears falling down her cheeks. "I listened…to every word, Sesshoumaru.
Thank you…for not leaving me alone…in the dark."

He reached out and wiped away her tears. "I promised I would never leave you again, Rin. I
meant it."

"I can see that," Rin answered, smiling at him in a way he hadn't seen since their wedding. It
almost stopped his heart with joy.

She turned back to their daughter. "Hello, Towa, I'm your mommy. I'm so sorry…I haven't
been able to see you. Can you…forgive me?" She tapped Towa's nose, and Towa smiled,
reaching up and grabbing her finger.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened, and he grabbed the camera always within arm's reach,
switching it on. Rin looked up in surprise. "Sesshoumaru, what—?"

"Tap her again and smile," he commanded, holding the viewfinder up to his eye. Rin did, and
Towa smiled again. He snapped three photos in succession. Then he showed his favorite to
Rin. "This is the first time Towa has smiled."

Rin's gasped. "You mean…I didn't miss it? I got to see…a first?" He nodded. Rin squealed
and cuddled Towa tighter.

Higurashi-san brushed a tear from her eye and rubbed Towa's head. "Oh, little one—were
you waiting for your mama to wake up? Aren't you just the sweetest thing!" Towa grunted,
and Rin laughed. The sound was music to Sesshoumaru's ears.

Then Rin turned to Sesshoumaru. "But why do you have a camera, Sesshoumaru? I
thought…your kind didn't take photos."

"I did not want you to miss a day of their lives."

Rin burst into tears at that.

Then it was time to meet Setsuna. Setsuna did not give her mother the smile she may have
wanted, but she did grab onto Rin's finger, and Rin loved that just as much. Sesshoumaru
took a photo of them both, commemorating the first time Rin got to hold her daughter while
awake. In the background, Jaken wept like a fountain.

They weren't alone as a family for long, for the entirety of the Nishikuni family and
Higurashi family was there within the hour, all packed into Rin's small room. Sesshoumaru
moved into the background, watching his girls get passed from one relative to the next as
they took turns talking with Rin.

Rin lay back on the bed, her eyes half-lidded. Just holding the girls had tired out her arms,
and the subsequent visitors taxed her attention. Sesshoumaru was ready to chase everyone out
so she could rest, but the joy he felt from Rin as she spoke to everyone convinced him to let
them stay. If she fell asleep while they were here, so be it.

"So when are they finally gonna spring you from this joint?" Inuyasha asked.
 "Two days…I think?"

Rin looked to Sesshoumaru for confirmation. "They wish to monitor her for the next forty-
eight hours and run some tests. They also want to devise a physical therapy plan."

Rin's expression deflated, her shoulders drooping as she stared at her legs. They twitched
beneath the covers. "I haven't tried getting up yet…but I can hardly lift them."

She would be wheelchair bound for weeks while she learned to walk again. Sesshoumaru
already planned to make calls when he got home about having the house made wheelchair
accessible. He wasn't worried about the steps—a ramp would solve that—but the gravel
driveway and garden paths were an issue. Rin would no doubt want to enjoy the outdoors
when she could.

"Good thing we have a pool!" Kagome announced. "Isn't water rehab good for this sort of
thing?"

Rin nodded. "That's a great point, sis. Maybe you won't mind…helping me work out then."
The sisters giggled.

"Look, all that's important is that you're awake again," Souta said, patting her hand. "The
walking will come with time."

"You're a young thing. You'll bounce back before you know it," Grandpa added.

"And then we'll really have something to celebrate," Touga said. "After all, we still haven't
held your wedding reception. I can't think of a better way to celebrate your marriage, your
girls, and your recovery."

Sensing Rin's anxiety spike, Sesshoumaru said, "It is too soon to plan such a large affair right
now. Let Rin rest."

"Don't worry, Rin—you needn't lift a finger. Izayoi and I will handle everything," Touga
answered with a grin.

And so they did.

Chapter End Notes

So I've been waiting to write that ending scene with Rin for the last TEN MONTHS.
Gosh, where has the time gone? I hope I did it justice. It was difficult to try to recapture
all the magic of the moment I had dreamed up back then. This chapter ended up a lot
longer than I original anticipated, just because I felt there were so many loose ends to tie
up. But on that note…only one more chapter of the main story to go! I will try my
hardest to get it up on Monday. Thank you again for your patience!
Oh, and Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans!
 Sanctuary
Chapter Notes

I can't believe it! We've finally reached the last chapter. This is a bittersweet moment.
On the one hand, I never expected to still be writing this story at this point in time, and
I'm so thankful for all the support you guys have given it over the last sixteen months.
On the other hand, I am SO excited to be done. I hope you enjoy this final installment!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"Three times in one year I get to see my daughters in wedding dresses," Mama said in a
broken voice, blinking away tears. She smoothed the hair by Rin's temples. "You look so
beautiful, my girl. I'm just…so glad you're here." Tears started dripping down Mama's
cheeks. "When I think about what could have happened to you…that we might never have
gotten to continue this celebration today—"

"Oh, Mama, please don't cry—or I will too!" Rin exclaimed, wrapping her mother in a hug. It
was much easier to move in this modern wedding dress than in her wedding kimono. (It also
helped that she wasn't as big as a whale anymore.) "Today's a happy day."

"Absolutely," her mother replied, pulling away and grabbing a tissue to dab at her eyes. "One
of the happiest."

Towa blew a burbling raspberry in agreement from her spot in Kagome's arms. Moe was
holding Setsuna, who stared at her mother with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe what she
was seeing either.

"That's right—your mommy is so pretty, isn't she?" Kagome asked, holding Towa up on her
baby bump to look at the bride. (The irony was not lost on Rin that each sister would appear
pregnant in the others' wedding photos.) Kagome pressed a kiss to her niece's cheek for good
measure.

Rin's sleek dress draped down her subtle curves into a long, graceful train behind her. Vines
of embroidered flowers burst from a tastefully plunging neckline and crawled over the top of
her bodice before winding down her long sleeves.

Short as she was, Rin hadn't wanted to get a poofy dress that made her look like a child
playing dress up as a fairy princess. The more form-fitting dress gave her the mature air she
desired while also showing off her once-more slender body (she had lost all her pregnancy
weight and then some during her coma, but she was finally looking properly "filled out"
again) without constricting her legs to the point where she feared she might trip—which was
still a distinct possibility. A long, gauzy veil trailed from a crown of white roses—
symbolizing true love, new beginnings, and purity—settled upon her head. (She was hardly
pure anymore, she knew, but Sesshoumaru disagreed, saying that her virginity was not all that
defined her as a pure spirit.) Her hair had been tamed into a half-up half-down twist and
cascade of soft curls.

Maybe she didn't look like a fairy princess, but she sure felt like an elven one.

"Not as pretty as my baby girls," Rin cooed, coming over to tickle Towa's and Setsuna's
tummies. They each giggled in response, kicking out their chubby legs. "Oooh, these shoes
are just too cute!" Rin squealed, holding Setsuna's golden slippers and tugging on her toes.
Both girls were gussied up in identical golden dresses, shoes, and bow bands—a carryover
from the party invitation where Kagome had laid them out to look like a pair of Western
wedding bells.

"Kagome, Moe, you should go bring the girls out. It's almost time for the big entrance, and
Sesshoumaru still needs his first look," Mama said, shooing the women holding babies out
the door. Then her mother turned to look back at her. "Are you ready, Rin?"

Rin took a deep breath, grounding her feet in her white flats. "Yes."

Her mother opened the door, and Rin took slow, steady steps out to meet her husband. Eight
weeks of intense physical therapy brought her back to the point where she could walk
normally again, though too much standing still tired her.

Rin found Sesshoumaru's eyes—blue once more, since they were going to be in mixed
company and Touga was still working with the demon slayers on a public threat de-escalation
plan—and just like on their wedding day, those icy orbs widened just enough to reveal how
floored he was.

Click.

Touga had had to beg his photographer friend to come back and finish the job, assuring him
there would be no more interruptions. The poor demon had only managed to slip away from
the DSC in the confusion because he was able to flatten himself to the point where he could
turn invisible at the proper angle. After playing the pity card a few times and offering some
extra money for his troubles, Touga finally got the photographer to agree.

When Rin reached out for Sesshoumaru's hands, he stepped forward and took hers. Then he
bent over and whispered in her ear, "If I am a demon, you must certainly be an angel. You
look divine." Click.

Rin smiled, her cheeks heating. How he still managed to make her blush was a mystery.
"Thank you. I know I see you in suits every day, but something about this tuxedo just makes
you all the more elegant." Especially with his hair pulled back in a ponytail like his father's.

With their first look done, Kagome passed Towa to Rin and Moe passed Setsuna to
Sesshoumaru. When it came to their entrance procession as a married couple, there had been
no question in Rin's mind about the girls being with them. After all, Touga had billed this
reception as a party celebrating their births as well. They were every bit as much the stars of
the show as she and Sesshoumaru were. (And she was fairly certain Sesshoumaru hoped they
stole more of the limelight from him, given how much he hated it.)

Sesshoumaru extended his elbow to Rin so she could grasp it with the hand not supporting
Towa while they walked towards the door to the dining hall. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Rin answered, still taking slow steps. Though she wasn't wearing heels—she
didn't feel comfortable enough with walking to keep from snapping her ankle in them just yet
—she still didn't want to take any chances in this long dress, especially while holding her
daughter. "But…I'm a little nervous about tripping."

This would be the first time she had walked in public since her coma. It would be just her
luck if she fell flat on her face. But that was just one more reason why she wanted to hold one
of her girls. If she was holding a child, she would walk more carefully.

When they reached the door, a nod from Sesshoumaru had the attendant opening them.

"Please welcome Sesshoumaru and Rin Nishikuni and their daughters, Towa and Setsuna
Nishikuni," the emcee announced. As they stepped inside, guests stood up from their tables to
applaud. Rin's smile burst out like a reflex muscle as she took in the sight of all the people
she loved—and still others that she was only passingly familiar with on Sesshoumaru's side
—gathered here to celebrate her and her family's good fortune.

Her mother and grandfather had tears in their eyes. Kagome was perhaps the most
enthusiastic applauder, while Inuyasha winced beside her with every resounding clap. Souta
and Moe remained calm and composed, though their smiles were wide.

Kaede nodded in satisfaction. Miroku gave her a thumbs-up and a wink, while Sango sent her
a meaningful look as Kin'u and Gyokuto jabbered at her, pointing at Towa and Setsuna in
excitement. Hisui was busy trying to stick his hands between Grandpa Mushin's as he
clapped.

Shiori beamed next to Tsukuyomaru, who stood a bit stiffly with his wings hidden beneath
his coat but otherwise seemed well enough. Kirinmaru dipped his head towards Rin and
Sesshoumaru. Shippo grinned at her (pointedly avoiding Sesshoumaru's eyes), while some
woman on his arm clapped politely.

Then there were her in-laws. Touga could not have looked any prouder. Izayoi sent
intermittent waves to the twins. Inukimi's applause was slow and light, but her presence alone
spoke volumes to the assembled guests.

Tears blurred Rin's vision. How could a little orphan like me have gotten so lucky in this life?

Towa's head flopped back and forth over the crowd with wide, crimson eyes. Halfway down
the walk, Setsuna's face screwed up, and she started to cry. Sesshoumaru bounced her in his
arm, trying to shush her, then nuzzled the crown of her head in an attempt at comfort, but the
baby would not be calmed. They stopped, and several of the guests "aww"ed as Rin let go of
Sesshoumaru's arm to reach for the pacifier attached to Setsuna's dress. As Towa added her
own soothing burbles to the equation, Rin reassured Setsuna she was okay and nudged the
pacifier into her mouth. It took a few tries before Setsuna accepted it and stopped the
waterworks, chewing on the binky like a dog with a bone. Laughter interspersed the applause
as it resumed, and the couple walked up to their table on the dais and set the girls in their
carriers on either side of them.

The lunch that followed was as fancy an affair as Inuyasha's and Kagome's had been, but Rin
ate far less—partly from not being pregnant and partly from nerves. She had a major speech
to give, after all. Still, she tried to enjoy the food as friends and family took turns delivering
their own words about the couple.

Her reception had none of the drama that Inuyasha's and Kagome's had had, which might
have made it less memorable, but that was fine by Rin. Kirinmaru had even attended to show
that his family held no hard feelings against the Nishikunis for Sesshoumaru's brief
engagement with Zero.

Finally, it came time for the presentation of the bouquets. Given that they were not
constrained by the seasons due to Sesshoumaru's demonic connections, Rin chose the
bouquets with care: a mix of red carnations and pink hydrangeas to symbolize gratitude and
sincerity towards their parents. She handed her bouquet to her mother and grandfather with a
hug. Sesshoumaru simply nodded to his parents as he handed his over to Inukimi, who stood
with Touga and Izayoi.

Rin's heart thudded as nerves skittered over her body. Now, as tradition dictated, she had an
extremely emotional letter to read to her parents. She knew she would not get through this
moment without crying. She had wet her computer with tears as she typed it out, wondering
if perhaps it was too much and yet knowing that every word needed to be said. So, once
everyone was seated, she approached the microphone, her breath trembling a little.

"Dear Mama and Grandpa, how do I begin to thank you for what you've done for me? By all
accounts, I shouldn't be standing where I am today. If I was your average foster system
statistic, I would probably be working a minimum-wage job that's just barely keeping me off
the streets—if that. I probably would have ended up in abusive relationships, searching for
love and finding only pain. I might have even had children I was unable to support and thus
had to give up to foster care, beginning the heartbreaking cycle once again.

"But Mama…because you and Dad made not just one big decision but two—to foster me and
then to adopt me—my whole life changed. I'm not a high-school dropout. I'm a nurse. I didn't
end up in an abusive relationship. I found the love of my life, who has blessed me with even
more gifts than I could possibly imagine." She turned back to smile at Sesshoumaru, whose
eyes crinkled in a hint of a smile. Tears burned in her eyes. "And my children—your
grandchildren—will grow up knowing nothing but love and comfort not just from their
parents but from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so many family friends.

"So you see Mama—and Dad, because I know you're out there somewhere listening too—
you didn't just change my life." Rin's voice hitched as she choked up, and her tears broke free.
"You created a domino effect. Because you let me into your family, I was able to meet
Sesshoumaru, and if you talk to anyone who knows him, they'll say he's changed in the past
year since he met me." Even her human ears picked up several grunts of assent in the demon
half of the audience. She glanced back at her husband to find him pinning down his side of
the guest list with a barely-tolerating stare. She continued, "And, of course, you ensured the
birth of our beautiful children. I just wish…Dad was here to see his grandkids now."

At this point, the human half of the room was in tears, and though Rin was having trouble
reading what she wrote through her own blurred vision, she had a feeling the demon half of
the guest list wasn't as unaffected as they might appear on the outside.

"As a mother now, I'm starting to understand just what sacrifices you had to make. Knowing
you made those for a little girl who wasn't even your flesh and blood leaves me in such awe
whenever I think about it," Rin said with a sniff. The emcee handed her a tissue, which she
used to blot her eyes and nose.

"And Grandpa—don't think I've forgotten about you. I lost two fathers in quick succession. I
was lucky to have gotten a second. I never imagined I would be blessed enough to gain a
third. Like Mama and Dad, you made a big decision: letting us come live with you after Dad
died. Suddenly, your quiet house was full of three screaming kids! Now the mother of twins, I
can start to imagine what you must have thought about that back then, but you never
complained. Rather, you played with us and taught us the family lore. You came to every
sports day and festival and graduation ceremony. And like any father, you watched the first
man I brought home like a hawk. I'll never forget you trying to stick a sutra to him!" That line
pulled laughs not only from the human audience who knew Grandpa but also from the demon
audience who were no doubt imaging this frail old man trying to exorcise the great
Sesshoumaru.

"Mama and Grandpa, I know this year wasn't what you expected for us or for me," Rin
continued in a more somber tone. "I began the New Year telling you I was pregnant, and that
wasn't easy for me. I was so scared to tell you precisely because I know how much you've
done for me. I felt like I had suddenly thrown all those careful years of nurturing you gave
me onto the ground and stomped all over it.

"And yet, once again, you left me in awe. Where other parents might have cast out such a
daughter, you only pulled me closer and offered all your help. I can't tell you what that meant
to me. I was drowning in anxiety, and you were a lifeline."

A glance at her parents showed Mama with a tissue pressed against her nose and tears
streaming down her cheeks. Grandpa looked like he was trying very hard not to cry and
absolutely failing.

"And then there was my accident," Rin murmured. Because their human friends couldn't
know the truth of what happened, their family had had to craft a story when Rin fell ill. After
Rin woke up, they let her in on the story—which honestly sounded more outlandish than the
actual event, since Grandpa had a penchant for coming up with obscure medical maladies to
use as excuses—and that was how she referred to it now.

"You could say I was privileged not to have to experience seeing my children in the hospital.
But Sesshoumaru did, and through him, I've come to understand some of that pain. But my
girls were only in the NICU for just a week. You had to watch over me for six weeks, not
knowing if I was going to wake up. And yet you still came by every single day to check on
me. Not only do I thank you for that, but Sesshoumaru does as well. You helped him through
the worst time of his life—and of course in helping him, you helped me, because without
him…I would not have woken up.

"So, Mama, Grandpa, and Dad—thank you for being role models of selflessness. As I raise
my daughters, know that it will be you that I look to as I try to give my own children the best
lives possible. Thank you for taking in a little girl who only wanted a family. Thank you for
loving me as your own." Here, Rin's throat tightened in pain, and she sucked in several
breaths as tears dripped down her cheeks. She didn't need to be able to read the last line. "I-I
love you so, so much."

The hall broke into applause, and both Mama and Grandpa came up to the dais to hug and
kiss her. After the clapping died down and they had wiped away their tears, Touga stepped up
to the stage to offer the final speech of the night, as per tradition for the groom's father.

"Well, that's a tough act to follow," he said, earning some laughs. "I can't promise nearly as
much emotion, because if you know my son Sesshoumaru, you understand that he's not fond
of showing his feelings." More chuckles. "But this is a celebration in honor of him, his lovely
wife, and my beautiful grandchildren, so whether he likes it or not, I'm going to get a little
emotional here.

"Rin mentioned earlier that you've changed over the past year, and as someone who has
watched over you since the moment you came into this world, I can wholeheartedly agree
with her on that. And while your mother and I have always loved you for who you are, we
can both agree that our son is now stronger than ever before—and I, for one, and very proud
of the man you've become."

Rin looked at her mate and smiled, grabbing his hand. Sesshoumaru ducked his head, hiding
his face from the audience, but he squeezed her hand so tightly, she couldn't let go. Nor did
she want to.

"We all make mistakes," Touga continued. "I've made plenty myself over the years in both
relationships and parenthood. Normally, this would be a time when a father would give
advice to his son about how to be a good husband or parent. But in this case, I'd like to
highlight the ways this son has already surpassed his old man.

"As I understand it, nearly from the start of your relationship with Rin, you made her your
top priority. While it's true you were following some misguided notions at the start,
nevertheless, those feelings came from a desire to put Rin's needs and wants above your own.
Any successful couple will tell you that the secret to marriage is putting each other first.
What you mastered in a few months—nay, a few days—took this old dog years to learn."

Rin casually glanced over to Inukimi and Izayoi to see how they were taking this speech—
the former in particular. While her mother-in-law's expression remained placid, her eyes
watched her ex-husband, unblinking.

"I mentioned earlier, we all make mistakes. For those of us who are a little prouder than
others…who might even believe they are damn near close to perfection…." He coughed
delicately with a grin, earning some chuckles from the audience. "Admitting that you were
wrong is especially difficult—even humiliating. And no one likes to feel humiliated by the
one he loves. And yet, for every mistake you made with Rin, you were quick to humble
yourself before her and apologize. And when one apology wasn't enough, you continued to
try to regain her trust. From what I can see, your efforts have paid off. The mutual,
unwavering trust I see you both display in the other is, quite frankly, both awe-inspiring and
enviable. If we all trusted our spouses as you two do, then this world would certainly be a
better place."

Rin raised their clasped hands and kissed Sesshoumaru's knuckles. He still didn't raise his
head, though he did glance up at her from beneath his bangs.

"And finally, there's your devotion to your children. Taking care of your first baby is tough;
raising multiple children is a whole other challenge. But you're in the unique position of
having your first stint in parenthood be with twins, and in a mere two months after learning
about them, you rose to that challenge. The devotion you showed in taking care of them for
the first six weeks of their lives without their mother was nothing short of astonishing. But
more than that, what impressed me most was your commitment to giving each child equal
attention. If Towa wants to play with a toy, you make sure Setsuna is playing too. If you
changed Setsuna's diaper last time, it's Towa's turn to be in your hands. Balancing the
physical and emotional needs of each of your children is one of the most difficult parts of
being a parent. Some of us do it better than others." His voice grew more somber, and the
way Sesshoumaru squeezed Rin's hand let her know that Sesshoumaru heard the words
Touga wasn't saying aloud to the rest of the audience: that he had failed to give Sesshoumaru
and Inuyasha the equal attention from him that they deserved.

"But if you keep this up, I have no doubt that your daughters—and any other future children
you might have—will recognize this sincere form of love in the future and repay you with it.

"So, son, let me finish by repeating once more how proud I am of the man, husband, and
father you've become. And if I might offer one piece of advice…keep doing what you're
doing, and you'll never have to worry about sleeping in the doghouse." He winked, arousing
some laughs and applause.

Sesshoumaru stood up just then, letting go of Rin's hand. He walked over to his father, who
watched him with curious eyes.

Then Sesshoumaru bowed.

The demonic side of the audience broke out in gasps and whispers. Touga's mouth bobbed, as
if he had barely stopped it from dropping open, and even Inukimi's eyes were wide with
surprise.

But as quickly as Sesshoumaru had lowered his head, it was back up again. He approached
the microphone to make his closing remarks.

"This concludes your entertainment for the afternoon. There is a table of favors by the door
from which you may take. Good day."

When he stepped back from the microphone, Rin hurried up from her seat and lifted her
dress, quickly walking over and trying not to trip. As soon as she reached Sesshoumaru's
side, she grabbed his hand and said, "We thank you all for coming out today to celebrate our
new family with us, and we hope you all have enjoyed your time! If you'd like to say hello to
the girls, please come on up!"

"Good save," Touga murmured to Rin, and she just giggled.

In her other ear, Sesshoumaru said, "Why did you prolong this, Rin?"

She turned to him with a frown. "They came all this way in part to see our babies. We can't
just show them off from afar. It's only fair to let them come meet the girls."

"But every moment we delay, you deny me the pleasure of removing that dress from your
body."

Rin's face flushed scarlet. Of course. She had nearly forgotten—they technically still hadn't
had their wedding night.

And given how they hadn't had sex in almost four months—and non-pregnant sex in over a
year—it probably would feel very much like the first time.

Sesshoumaru closed the door to their bedroom and locked it—mostly as a precaution to Jaken
bursting in unannounced. The children were staying with his father and Izayoi for the night,
so that their home would be quiet with no interruptions. Even his mother had driven herself
to the sanctuary to give them some peace—or in her words, "To forget what would be
happening on the other side of their bedroom walls."

Rin stood by the bed with her back to him, the train of her dress hitched up to the bustle. His
eyes trailed over the long line of buttons dotting her spine, and his fingers itched to undo
every one of them.

But there was something else he had to see to first.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Her heartbeat galloped in his
ears, goosebumps littered her arms, and her fingers tap-danced over each other. Noting these
reactions, he ran his lips against the crook of her neck. Rin shivered and giggled, shying
away. "Sesshoumaru, you know that tickles!"

"I do. I want you to relax. You seem nervous."

Rin sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be."

"Why are you nervous?" he asked, feeling only a touch of sadness. Did she think he would
hurt her after all this time?

"It's…been a long time."

He grunted an affirmative. "All the more reason why I look forward to unwrapping my
wedding present," he said, running a talon along her dress's buttons with just enough pressure
that she would feel it.
Sure enough, she sucked in a breath. "Even though you already know what's inside?" she
asked in a meek voice.

"Precisely because I know what awaits me. I have missed your body for too long, Rin. And a
good husband would make sure his wife is recovering well from her coma."

He swept her long hair over her shoulder and started with the fasteners along her neck,
placing a kiss at its base when her collar was undone. The lacy part of her dress fell open, and
he ran his nose along her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck rise. When he
reached the buttons at the middle of her back, he placed a kiss for every two he undid until he
reached the base of her spine. Then he straightened and carefully peeled the gauzy sleeves off
Rin's shoulders.

Doing so pulled the bodice down as well, and his eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs
when he exposed her naked breasts. "This is a pleasant surprise," he murmured, reaching
around to finger one of her hardened nipples.

Rin chuckled lowly. "Cups in the dress. No need for pesky bras."

"Less for a new husband to take off," he added, turning her head and capturing her lips with
his. She twisted to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her bare breasts against his suited
chest. Time to rectify that barrier.

He reached up and yanked off his bowtie when Rin stopped him.

"Just a minute. Don't you think I should get to unwrap my present?" she asked.

Conceding, he let his hands fall to his sides. Rin undid the button on his jacket and pushed
back the satin lapels, letting it fall off his shoulders. Then she reached behind his back,
pressing her chest to his stomach, and untied his cummerbund, tossing it to the floor. Finally,
she went about unbuttoning his shirt, reaching up on tip-toe to do as he had done and kiss a
line down his chest for every button she opened. When she reached his pants, she yanked the
rest of the material out, and he shrugged the shirt off.

"Now we're even. Continue," she said.

He shimmied the waist of her dress over her hips—were they larger now from birthing his
children?—and as the dress puddled on the floor, he paused as he beheld the new changes in
her body. Despite what she claimed, he had not known everything that was inside his present.

Her stomach lay as flat as it had in the fall when he last saw her so thin. Any extra baby
weight she might have gained had been lost during the coma, and while she was putting
muscle and fat back on, Sesshoumaru noted that he needed to feed her more, since she still
appeared somewhat on the skinny side of healthy.

But what stood out most of all was the pink scar slicing across her womb.

Rin shifted, her arms coming up defensively across her middle. "Is something wrong?"
He knelt down and ran a thumb over the incision from her C-section. "This worries you, does
it not?" He looked up when she didn't answer, seeing the concern in her face. "I know you,
Rin."

"I know it shouldn't bother me…but it still does," Rin answered.

"You're right—it shouldn't. This is a battle scar. You should wear it proudly."

"Isn't it…ugly?"

He shook his head. To prove his point, he bent forward and ran first his tongue and then his
fangs along the sensitive flesh. Rin's abdominal muscles quivered under his touch, and the
aroma that drifted out of her sex called to him like a siren. It was not the scent of fertility—he
had learned to smell the changes in her cycle over the last couple months as her body
returned to normal—but it was potent nonetheless.

And it meant that they could play to their hearts' content tonight.

Letting Rin focus on her recovery had given them time not only to plan their future as a
family but to practice the abstinence that they ultimately agreed would become a part of their
marriage. They weren't planning to have additional children quite yet—newborn twins were
more than enough to handle right now—and they would refrain from sex around her fertile
times as needed…but they wouldn't actively prevent potential conceptions either.

As Touga and Izayoi had pointed out months ago, Rin's childbearing years were limited, and
in the face of a near-eternal life, those would be precious few years indeed. And given all
they had gone through in the last few months, they had both learned not to take any life for
granted.

Sesshoumaru's groin tightened, and he lacked the willpower to stand. Instead, he hooked his
talons over her thin lace panties and pulled them down, leaving the faintest hint of red
scratches along her hips. As he revealed the garden of her sex, he dipped his tongue into the
swirling roses to swipe at the nectar therein. Rin gasped, standing up on her tip-toes as
Sesshoumaru plunged deeper. She teetered on her feet and suddenly fell back against the edge
of the bed.

"Are you tired?" Sesshoumaru asked as her legs twitched.

She propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. "This isn't because my legs are tired,
Sesshoumaru." Then she hooked them over his shoulders and brought him closer, her ulterior
lips marking his chest with a wet kiss.

He growled and bent back down to nip her clit, eliciting a shriek from her. He tongued her
over and over under she exploded beneath his teeth.

Rin panted, throwing an arm over her eyes. "Oh gods…that felt so good. It's been…so long."

"I hope you are not satisfied with just that. I have many plans for you tonight," he said,
teasing her folds with his claw. She squirmed around him. "The least of which is exploring
this passage once more." He thrust a finger into her channel, and she bucked and shivered.

"I guess the…good thing about a C-section is…I should still be…pretty tight for you," Rin
gasped.

"No matter how many children you birth in the future, I will still fit you, Rin," he said,
climbing onto the bed so he could brush away a sweaty strand of hair from her neck and kiss
her there. "Now finish unwrapping, or I will do it for you."

Rin looked down and considered him with a wicked grin. "You're sure not going to make it
easy, are you? Just look at this," she said, running a finger over the tent that had formed. Her
touch sent sparks shooting towards his thighs.

"Rin…."

She hummed nonchalantly as she teased his pants open and pulled the zipper down. His
boxer-clad erection burst forth like a Whack-a-Mole, and she grabbed him through his
underwear, running her hand up and down his length. He groaned.

"I almost forgot how big you are. A man like you could break me."

Her words splashed him like cold water. "Is it too soon, Rin?"

She stopped stroking and looked up at him in confusion. "What? No, Sesshoumaru, I didn't
mean— It was just dirty talk. I'm fine. We've had sex plenty of times before, and you haven't
broken me yet."

"Still…we should take it slowly," he said, removing her hand and shucking off his pants and
boxers. Rin watched his erection bob as he freed it. He leaned down and peppered soft kisses
along her chest, eliciting sweet moans from her.

After he worshiped her body for a moment, Rin asked, "What if I don't want to take it
slowly?" She bucked her hips against his, their genitals meeting for an all-too-fleeting
second. "What if I want you inside me right now?"

Sesshoumaru growled against her breast, teasing her nipple with his sharp teeth. "Rin…."

"I want to feel your claws run down my body," she murmured, dragging her own blunt nails
across his back. He arched like a damn cat as she did. "I want to feel your fangs mark my
skin." She latched her lips to his neck, sucking and needling the tender skin there with her
teeth to make a mark. His body trembled with the feeling of being claimed. When she let go,
she whispered in his ear, "I want you to rail me so hard that I'm too sore to walk in the
morning." She clutched onto his back and ground herself against him like a teenager at a
school dance.

"Temptress," he hissed. He wanted to do all that and more to her. But Rin was still healing.
"If I do what you ask, you will fall apart in my arms."

"I want to fall apart," Rin answered, reaching down and grabbing his cock, sliding it towards
her entrance.
"I don't wish to be the reason you fall into another coma," Sesshoumaru said.

Rin stopped maneuvering him as her mouth dropped open in astonishment. "You seriously
think you can knock me unconscious—from sex?"

"I've done it before—with just a kiss," he replied, pressing his lips to the soft skin in front of
her ear with a smirk.

"You—that—I had gestational hypertension! You couldn't replicate that if you tried!"

A familiar switch in his brain flipped. Temptress indeed—he never could resist a challenge.

He disengaged her limbs from his and flipped her over. "Can't I?" He lifted her hips into the
air, relishing the sight of her facedown in such a pliant position. Memories of his first time
taking her flooded his mind, and his skin grew feverish as his blood heated with demonic
energy. A red haze laced his vision.

He lodged his dick within her in an instant.

"Oh! Yes," Rin gasped, her core giving him a hard squeeze. She looked over her shoulder
with a sultry look. "Finally. I've got you right where I want you."

Sesshoumaru leaned over until his chest was flush with her back. "Or do I have you?" He bit
down on her mating mark—not as hard as he had when he first gave it to her, but enough to
hold her in his grip—and thrust his hips hard, eliciting a sharp cry from her. He rammed into
her again and again, and every punctuated breath of hers was music to his ears.

But her moans quickly grew less breathy and more pained. Only the sound of her distress
could banish the lust that had him in its grip.

He stopped, hanging halfway out of her, and released her shoulder. "Rin, am I hurting you?"

Rin peeked back at him. Her hand crept under her belly. "It's…it's not necessarily you,
but…."

"Rin, tell me."

"My incision is starting to hurt."

Sesshoumaru pulled out as fast as he had driven himself in and turned her over, inspecting
her belly for wounds. She didn't appeared to be bruised or bleeding, but he didn't want to take
any chances.

"That will be enough for tonight then," he said, laying down next to her and pulling her into
his arms. He willed his cock to go limp, but having Rin's naked body against him didn't help
in that department.

"What? No, Sesshoumaru—it's our wedding night! Or…our celebration of it at least. I want
this to be special. I'll be okay. I just…can't be on my stomach, I guess."
"And I should not have been as hard," he added, refraining from saying, I told you so.

Rin seemed to know that's what he was thinking anyway. She sighed. "You were right. We
should have taken it a bit easy to start with." She hooked a leg over his and pulled their hips
together, his head touching her slit. "Come on. Let's finish what we started."

Sesshoumaru's hand slid down her side, dropping down to her stomach and grazing her scar.
"Are you sure?"

In answer, she aligned them once more and pushed against his buttock with her leg, nudging
him in. She kissed along his clavicle and over to his bicep. As her lips trailed along his arm,
the skin tingled, as if the scar she had once left there—now a sword safely ensconced in the
sanctuary—still remembered her touch. He raised that arm, breaking off her kiss, and
entwined his hand with hers as he captured her lips. He rolled on top of her, making sure to
hold himself up on his elbows, and from this angle, it was easier to glide in and out of her
body.

"Does that feel better?" he murmured, nipping her ear.

"Yes," she sighed, squeezing their joined hands. "And how do you feel?"

"Like I'm home."

Rin smiled, breathing hard. "Well…I am your sanctuary…aren't I?"

Sesshoumaru smiled back, keeping up his leisurely pace. His balls tingled with the need to
release. "Indeed."

Rin used her free hand to comb through his hair as he moved against her. He gave a little
twist to his hips to shake things up, and she shuddered, gripping the hair at his scalp. "S-
Sesshoumaru?"

"Hm?"

"I-I love you."

The words flooded his soul and broke the dam in his groin. As streams of his seed rushed into
the rich valley that was Rin's womb, he gazed into her earthen eyes and felt two emotions that
were still so foreign, they surprised him every time.

Peace and contentment.

He no longer felt any need to run—from his family, from his duties, or from his heart. As his
father had long hoped, he had found something—someone (or three someones, rather)—to
live for. He would nurture the love between him and his family. He would be grateful for
every day they shared. And most importantly, he would keep them safe.

He would be their sanctuary.

THE END
Chapter End Notes

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! That's right—if you're wondering why it took so long
for me to get this (relatively) short chapter out, it's partly because I broke the original
chapter in half! This just felt like the natural ending to the story, so what I had planned
for the second half of this chapter will now be the first of two side stories. And this first
one will feature—dun dun dun—the honeymoon! Look forward to that! I make no
promises about posting time, since I obviously can't keep them anymore. Just know that
it's mostly penned at this point.

The second side story will FINALLY address what happened in the bedroom between
Touga and Inukimi, which I wrote (yikes!) a year ago. Thank you for your patience thus
far, and I ask for it for just a little while longer!
 Side Story 1: Haunted Honeymoon, Part 1
Chapter Notes

Hi everyone! Thank you for your patience as I worked to get this out. It would have
been up sooner, but I got COVID, and that took the wind out of my sails for about a
week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this first side story. The honeymoon was originally
going to be part of the last chapter, but it just got too long and had too many new
characters to be at the end of a story, so I thought it would be best as its own little piece.
Even now, I've decided to break it into two parts because I'm still working on the end. I
hope you enjoy it!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"Oh, my precious little girls, I'm going to miss you so much. Mwah, mwah!" Rin placed
exaggerated kisses on Towa's and Setsuna's plump cheeks as their paternal grandmothers held
them. Towa appeared nonplussed, not guessing the reason for her mother's sudden show of
love (not that it was anything out of the ordinary), but when Rin pulled away from Setsuna,
the little girl pumped her arms and legs, whimpering in the way she did when she wanted to
be held by her mommy. When Rin didn't take her from Inukimi's arms, she collapsed into a
tantrum.

Inukimi sighed, shifting her fur onto her shoulder and laying Setsuna there to pat her back.
"Enough. The more affection you show, the more they'll cling to you, and the longer I'll have
to put up with their tears."

Rin's heart broke as her daughter wailed, and she longed to reach out and comfort her, but she
knew Inukimi would have none of that. Sesshoumaru, however, disregarded his mother's
warning. He came over and stroked Setsuna's head. "Do not cry, Setsuna." But she persisted.

"You're only making it worse," his mother said, pulling the baby away from him. "She won't
stop until you leave and she realizes you're not going to be there to hold her."

Towa could no longer ignore her sister's sadness, and she too burst into sympathetic tears.
"Oooh, honey no, it's okay," Izayoi cooed, bouncing her. "Everything's going to be alright.
Your Mama and Papa will be back soon—don't you worry!"

Rin's arms twitched forward, itching to take her girls back into her arms. "I don't know…
maybe we should take them with us after all."

"That's hardly a way to enjoy your honeymoon!" Kagome protested. She rubbed her baby
bump. "Trust me—you need this time for yourselves."

"Besides, the girls don't have passports, so you can't take them anyway," Inuyasha added.
Rin blinked. "We…need passports where we're going?"

Sesshoumaru raised a hand, cracking his knuckles as he glared at his brother. "Inuyasha."

Kagome got to him first, yanking down on the ear hidden beneath his baseball cap, and he
yelped in pain. "Inuyasha, don't spoil it!"

Rin rolled her eyes. Everyone in her family knew where she was going on her
honeymoon except for her. She had tried to do some sleuthing—a casual glance at
Sesshoumaru's email when it was open on his computer, a look at what the maids had packed
in her suitcase—but there were no definite indicators. Sweaters and pants lay next to an airy
dress and a brand-new bikini (and she knew precisely who had purchased that).Being the
final week of October, the weather fluctuated between warm and cool. The best she could
figure is that they weren't heading anywhere tropical or alpine.

"It would be typical of you to ruin weeks of my hard work," Inukimi muttered, wiping
Setsuna's eyes now that she had calmed down on a familiar fur.

Rin had found out that much, at least. Truthfully, in all the chaos from Naraku's sanctuary
and her subsequent coma, rehabilitation, and wedding planning, she had forgotten all about
the little wager she made with Inukimi at the baby shower: if Sesshoumaru changed a diaper
himself when they brought the girls home, Inukimi would pay for their honeymoon. He had,
and so she did. It explained why Rin hadn't seen anything in Sesshoumaru's email—all the
plans were stored on Inukimi's, and Rin was not ready to test her snooping skills against her
mother-in-law.

"Go on, kids. Have fun," Touga said, gently pushing Rin towards the ramp up to the private
jet. "And don't worry about the pups. The only thing they're in danger from is being
smothered with love."

Izayoi smiled reassuringly while Towa sucked her fist, quiet now that Setsuna was. "We're
very much looking forward to spending two whole weeks together. Aren't we?" she asked,
tapping Towa on the nose. Towa spit out her hand with a giggle, whacking Izayoi on the chest
and leaving a wet imprint.

"I still want video calls every day!" Rin cried out as Sesshoumaru tugged her up to the plane.
"I don't want them to forget my face already!"

"Meh, they might forget your face, but their noses won't forget ya," Inuyasha said matter-of-
factly. Rin gasped as her heart twisted, and Kagome bonked Inuyasha on the head.

"Would you stop already?" She sighed and turned back to face her sister, her frown flipping
over with ease. "Rin, you don't even know what your time difference is going to be. Just
relax! We'll handle everything. Even Mom's going to come by every day to see them."

"She's right. Just relax, Rin. You two deserve it," Touga said, putting his arm around his wife.
"Sesshoumaru, make sure she enjoys herself."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Come, Rin. We need to take off if we're to be on time." Rin waved
through the door and then turned and froze when she saw the inside of the jet.

"Wow…Kagome wasn't kidding. This is amazing!" Wood paneling gleamed along the walls,
and a plush, neutral carpet set off seats in teal. She sat on the couch lining one wall and
looked out the window behind her, waving to her family. Izayoi waved Towa's hand back at
her, and Touga did the same for Setsuna, since Inukimi didn't seem inclined to. Soon though,
the Nishikunis had to back away so that the pilot could prepare the plane for takeoff.

"You still aren't going to tell me where we're going?" Rin asked as they buckled themselves
into a couple cushy seats.

"You'll find out when we get there," Sesshoumaru answered.

"And when will that be?"

"Tomorrow. For tonight, try to rest."

Once they hit cruising altitude, Sesshoumaru led her on a tour of the jet. Plebian that she was,
she couldn't believe what all fit inside the plane, and Sesshoumaru had to explain to her that
this one was classified as an ultra-long-range heavy jet. It could fit nearly twenty people
onboard, if they wished, and there were five separate areas in the cabin: a galley, a lavatory
for the crew, a living/business area, sleeping quarters, and a spacious lavatory for passengers.

"Wouldn't it be fun to go on vacation with the whole family one day?" Rin asked with an
excited clap. Sesshoumaru looked like he had just swallowed sour milk. She bit back a laugh.
"When the girls are a little older, of course. I think they'd have such fun—especially with
their cousin!" Kagome and Inuyasha had recently announced that they were expecting a girl
—though they were still debating on names. Kagome was dead-set on Moroha, but Inuyasha
though a name meaning "double-edged" was a little on-the-nose. Even though they were
working on a plan to bring more demons out into the open, with cooperation from the DSC,
attitudes against demons weren't going to change overnight.

Sesshoumaru looked over the plane. She wondered if he was imagining a future family
vacation. Finally, he just said, "Perhaps."

They continued with the tour. Rin had already familiarized herself with the front part of the
plane, which, aside from the couch and chairs, boasted a television mounted to a back wall.
That wall jutted out, separating the living area from the sleeping quarters in the rear of the
plane. There, a bed lay on one side of the jet with a couple more chairs and a fold-out table
sitting across from it. The lavatory, though complete with a toilet, shower, and sink, still had
something of that cramped feeling that came from being on a plane or boat, and she noted
that the shower would barely fit one person.

They sat down to eat afterwards, the single crewmember on board serving them. Afterwards,
Sesshoumaru settled on a couch to look through some of his emails, and Rin got fidgety. If
they weren't landing until tomorrow, she still had a lot of time to kill.
She wasn't used to having time anymore. Between rehab and the twins, she hadn't really had a
spare moment to herself. Maybe she could read a book. She hadn't done that in a while.

But when she opened her bag to grab the novel she had packed, she saw a different book
inside and pulled it out instead: the scrapbook Kagome and Sesshoumaru had made for her of
the twins' first six weeks. She had looked at it a thousand times already, committing the
photos to memory as if that could make up for her missing the actual events, but she never
got tired of seeing her girls.

They had already been separated for two hours and thirteen minutes.

She sighed, and Sesshoumaru looked over at her. "What is it, Rin?"

"I miss them already. And I hate leaving them like this when I've already missed out on so
much of their lives." She ran a finger over their first-month commemoration photo, where
Kagome had arranged them both as halves of a heart.

Sesshoumaru pulled her closer to him. "You cannot feel guilty for something you could not
control, Rin. Besides, you have now been awake in their lives longer than you were asleep."

"I know, but…."

Sesshoumaru gently closed the book in her hands. "It seems you require a distraction."

She glanced at him sidelong. "What did you have in mind?"

He stood up and hefted her into his arms bridal style. "If you are to be rested for tomorrow,
we should go to bed."

"But I'm not tired yet," Rin answered.

"Do not disturb us unless we ring for you," Sesshoumaru called out to the stewardess up
front.

"Yes, sir," she answered with a bow.

Sesshoumaru carried Rin back to the double-bed, letting a curtain fall over the entry. He laid
her down on it.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm really not tired yet," Rin repeated.

"Good. That means we can work on our membership requirements."

Rin frowned in confusion. "Membership to what?"

Sesshoumaru looked down at her and smirked. "The Mile High Club."

Rin's eyes flew open as he pushed her flat on the bed and climbed on top of her, claiming her
lips with his. Sure enough, he made her forget all about the children as they shed their
clothes.
Sesshoumaru was sucking at her nipple when the plane jostled. Sessshoumaru bit down
harder than he meant to, and Rin cried out. He pulled away, and Rin wasn't surprised when
the stinging on her breast resulted in two tiny pricks of welling blood.

"Rin, I'm sorry," Sesshoumaru said, rubbing her breast in soothing motions with his thumb.

"I-It's okay. It just got rough a bit faster than I was expecting."

Sesshoumaru bent back down and ran his tongue over her nipple, licking up the blood and
keeping his fangs well away from her skin. He dug the dexterous muscle into her tit, and Rin
moaned, burying her hands in his hair and scratching his scalp. His chest rumbled. Her dog
demon loved having his head scratched.

Just then, the plane bucked, and Rin's stomach swooped before Sesshoumaru fell on top of
her and knocked the wind out of her. He was so large, he almost flattened her, but she
grabbed onto him like a burr while the aircraft jostled around them.

A ding passed through the cabin, informing them to stay seated through turbulence. Rin
sighed and Sesshoumaru pushed himself up. "So much for that."

"On the contrary," he replied, rolling onto his back and pulling Rin onto his chest. "Sit up."

Rin did as commanded, gripping his hips with her legs and thighs, and the next jolt of
turbulence caused her to bounce on Sesshoumaru's stomach. "Oh no—did I hurt you?"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. "Your small body could not hurt me, Rin. Rather, think how it
will feel when that happens again but you are…here," he said, lifting her hips and inserting
the tip of his cock into her.

With another roll of the plane, Rin fell from his grasp and slammed onto him. She screamed
as he filled her all at once. The plane felt like it was rolling over a rocky path, and the dual
sensations of Sesshoumaru's member hitting her insides as well as the weightlessness in her
stomach pushed her even faster towards a climax. She half screamed half laughed as the
turbulence continued, feeling as if she were on the most sensual roller coaster of her life.

As the plane evened out, Rin collapsed at Sesshoumaru's side. "That was the most turbulent
sex ever."

Sesshoumaru looked askance at her. "How long have you been waiting to say that?"

Rin blushed. "…Maybe ten minutes?"

Sesshoumaru chuckled and kissed her head. "You must be tired from exerting so much brain
power."

"Hey!" Rin protested, smacking his chest. She turned her back to him then, hiking the covers
up around her. "Just for that, I'm going to sleep."

Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back into his chest. "Rest well, Rin.
You will need it."
Rin woke up to Sesshoumaru drawing whorls along her body with his claws, leaving faint red
streaks that quickly disappeared. Momentary art.

"We will start our descent in an hour. You should get ready. We have a long day ahead."

"We do?" Rin answered in a groggy voice. "What's on the agenda?"

He kissed her lips. "You'll see."

Rin had never showered on a plane before, and it was akin to showering in a bucket. When
she was done, an attendant came to serve her breakfast (and Sesshoumaru some tea) in the
bedroom.

Once the captain announced they were making their descent, she kept her eyes peeled out the
window, trying to figure out from the landscape and cityscape where they were landing, but
nothing jumped out at her as obvious. They flew over green pastures dotted with farms and
grazing sheep. Once they reached the outskirts of the city, it appeared to be mix of old and
new. The older buildings had a distinctly Western look, so she surmised they were in either
Europe or America, though she didn't get the feeling it was the latter.

After the plane touched down, the captain came on and said, "Welcome to Dublin. The local
time is—"

Rin stopped listening at that point. She turned to Sesshoumaru with wide eyes. "Did he just
say Dublin? As in…Dublin, Ireland?" He nodded, his lips quirking up into the smallest of
smiles. She squealed and jumped up to hug him, falling into his lap as the plane trundled
down the tarmac. "Oh my goodness, thank you, Sesshoumaru! I can't believe you
remembered!"

"Of course I did," he answered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He kept her secure in
his lap until the plane came to a stop.

After they deplaned, had their passports checked, and got their rental car, they spent the rest
of the day exploring the Irish capital according to an agent-prepared travel itinerary. When
Rin sent a few pictures to Kagome of them in Dublin, she sent back some of the girls dressed
in green propped up on either side of a sign that said, "Have fun in Ireland!" Rin cried upon
seeing their girls, and that prompted a quick video chat with them and Kagome before the
babies went to bed for the night.

Afterwards, Sesshoumaru drove them out of the city and into the countryside. The Emerald
Isle hardly resembled its namesake this late in autumn. Though the rolling hills were still
mostly green, swaths of crimson bushes and wildflowers coated the land, their appearance
heightened by the green. Leaves of gold and scarlet danced over the road as a perpetual
breeze ran through the hills. Rin watched the scenery until her eyelids could no longer stay
open, the eight-hour time difference catching up with her despite getting good rest on the
plane.
She didn't wake up until Sesshoumaru turned off onto a dirt road and drove towards a tree
line. As her sleepy mind struggled to figure out where they were, a sense of déjà vu passed
over Rin, and she wasn't altogether surprised when, after the car passed under two trees
entwined in an arch, a modest cottage with a gravel parking lot appeared as if from thin air.
Sesshoumaru parked next to a few other cars and brought Rin and their luggage inside the
cottage. The crisp air that had nipped at her all day in Dublin seemed more subdued here.

Rin had never been to an Irish bed and breakfast before, but she imagined this is what one
looked like. The bottom floor appeared more like a café and lounge, and a set of steps in the
back led discreetly upstairs. Behind the counter stood one of the most beautiful men Rin had
ever seen. A thick crop of russet hair curled over the pale skin of his neck and brow. Eyes as
green as the forest gleamed beneath thick brows and lashes. Four small, white birds twittered
on his head and shoulders as he cleaned some glasses. He looked up, and Rin tore her gaze
away from him with a blush to find another couple of willowy guests chatted at a table in the
corner.

The man was as beautiful as Sesshoumaru, though in quite a different manner. Where
Sesshoumaru radiated elegance, this man oozed warmth and charm. She couldn't help but
glance back and smile when he beamed at her.

"Top o' the mornin' to ya," he said in English. Rin's brain scrambled to switch gears as she
struggled to understand his accent, so very different from the American ones to which she
had grown accustomed. "Ach, Sesshoumaru! Good to see ya again, mate. It's been an age!"

"Indeed," Sesshoumaru answered. Rin blinked, startled. She had never heard her husband
speak in English before. She was suddenly very curious to hear more.

"And could this lady be the mysterious Mrs. Sesshoumaru?" the red-head asked, coming over
and extending his hand.

"Hi, my name is Rin," she answered, placing her hand in his. With a flourish, he brought her
fingers to his lips and kissed them. Rin froze in shock.

Sesshoumaru growled. "Aengus."

Aengus just laughed. "Calm down, my friend. You know I cannot help myself."

Aengus? Rin thought. She transliterated the name into Japanese—Oengusu—and her eyes
widened. "Don't tell me…. The Celtic god of love?"

Aengus laughed. "So you've heard of me! What are you doin' feedin' her humans tales o' me,
Sesshoumaru?" the man asked with a wink.

"I've told her absolutely nothing of you," Sesshoumaru replied. The Celtic god just laughed
again.

"I have read stories about you," Rin said. "So…you're not a god?"
Aengus shrugged. "I've helped make some love matches in me day. Apparently, that made me
a god."

"And is it true you know my husband?"

"But o' course! Sesshoumaru here visited back in, oh, when was it again? Musta been the
'20s. As I recall, you were visitin' aes sídhe sanctuaries around the world to get business
ideas for yours."

"Ey-she?" Rin echoed, trying to pronounce the foreign words.

"Ach, yes, you know—fairies. Ah, but you lot'll be callin' em demons where you're from.
There's a different name for them everywhere: tricksters or spirits in America and Africa.
Gods and rakshasa in India. Djinn and angels in the Middle East. We just call them all aes
sídhe here. Some call them the Fair Folk. Wouldn't you agree your husband is of the fair sort,
little lady?"

"O-Oh, of course," Rin answered.

"Well, I'm sure you'd rather be doing something else than talkin' to me on your honeymoon,
eh?" Aengus asked, elbowing Sesshoumaru, who just glared at the Irish sídhe. "Let me show
you around then. Just leave your luggage, and I'll have someone drop it off for you. Now, be
sure to keep up! It's easy to get lost here."

Aengus grabbed a set of old-fashioned keys from a hook and led the two out the back door.
The path behind the house diverged into the woods, signs etched into stones beneath massive
trees bearing carvings of the Green Man and Green Woman. Or at least, that's what Rin
thought until the eyes of one of the Green Men shifted towards her and winked.

"You'll be in cottage number twelve." Aengus led them to a stone labeled "10-15," but the dirt
path ended just before a ring of mushrooms. He stood aside and gestured to the ring. "Go
ahead and step on through. I'll follow behind."

Sesshoumaru took Rin's hand, and they stepped into the ring. Immediately, the scenery
around them transformed, and when they stepped out the other side, a new dirt path lay
beneath their feet, breaking off into five separate directions.

"Oh…it's a fairy ring!" Rin cried out. "So they really do transport humans to the fairy lands,
just like the legends!"

She had been so excited, she spoke in Japanese, so when Aengus stepped through, hearing
the end of her sentence, he looked to Sesshoumaru, who translated. "Ach, yes, as you may
have noticed in getting to know your dear husband, there's some truth to the old legends. We
find our 'fairy rings' mighty useful for gettin' around. Here, let me show you the
amenities. We've got somethin' to suit for every season, so to speak. Helps that we can control
a bit of climate to suit our needs."

Aengus then led them to other rings in the forest. One ring led to a private beach, where
dozens of seals rested in the sun. The rays reached through Rin's jacket, and she had to unzip
it to cool down. "Now, be sure not to let your husband wander alone here, little lady."

"Why not?" Rin asked, fanning herself.

Aengus jerked a thumb over his shoulder and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "Those aren't
just seals—they're selkies."

Ah, yes, Sesshoumaru recalled what those were. Irish mermaids—half seal and half human.
They shed their seal skins and appeared as beautiful women, and tales abounded of human
men stealing their skins, hiding them, and making the selkies their wives.

Aengus continued, "And contrary to popular myth, they're often looking for a man to hide
their fur, if you know what I mean." He winked, and Rin giggled.

Sesshoumaru glowered at Aengus. "As if I would be seduced by a pack of blubber."

Several of the seals raised their heads at that comment and started barking at him.

Aengus guffawed. "Ach, now you've done it! You've set them a challenge. Come, come, let's
get out of here before they charge. It's one thing to have a bunch of naked women runnin'
after ya, but a bunch of pudgy seals? Meh." The seals started barking in earnest now, a few
even getting up to charge, and Aengus hastened the two of them back to the fairy ring.

He led them to another crop of mushrooms, which transported them into a glen. Hidden in the
trees, the temperature dropped from what it had been at the beach, but it was still warm
enough that a dip in the crystal-clear pool before them sounded refreshing. Rainbows
bounced off a glistening waterfall and the pond as if they were prisms. "Be sure to watch out
for leprechauns here. The little buggers leave their gold lyin' around like squirrels and their
acorns, and then they have the audacity to accuse you of theft when you pick it up!"

Rin missed almost every other word he said, but the way he spoke about "the little buggers"
made her laugh anyway. Sesshoumaru gave the two of them a sidelong look.

Yet another ring led them to the base of a mountain, where dirt trails wound up to a slope
dotted at the top with patches of snow. "This here's a private mountain, so ya don't have to
worry about any humans hiking here. Just be sure to suit up properly! We don't mess with the
weather here, and the rain or snow can hit in an instant."

A final ring led them to a circle of stone monoliths that Rin swore was Stonehenge until
Aengus pointed out the lack of tourists. "Our own meetin' place we keep secret from humans,
ya hear? In fact, you came on a great day. We'll be holding our Samhain festival here
tomorrow night for our guests. You should join us!"

At the same time Sesshoumaru said, "Rin is tired from travel," Rin exclaimed, "Oh, I'd love
that!"

Aengus smirked when the newlyweds looked at each other in consternation. "Ach, well, come
if you can, and if you can't, well…just be sure it's each other and not some stray spirits in
your bed that night!" He waggled his eyebrows.
Rin frowned. "Spirits?"

Aengus wiggled his fingers at her. "Ghosts!"

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes.

Rin looked back and forth between her husband and their host. "G-Ghosts? Really?"

"He's joking, Rin," Sesshoumaru answered.

Aengus puffed out his chest. "I wouldn't dare! I'll have you know, we take Samhain very
seriously here. We open the gates to the Otherworld at sunset. If you don't want to be caught
unawares, you'd better be there!"

Aengus brought them back to cottage number 12 after that. "Your luggage shoulda been
brought inside already. I'll leave you to get settled then. Hope to see you tonight!" With that,
he went back down the path and disappeared.

Rin gasped when they entered the cottage. "When he said cottage, I thought quaint—not
something this fancy!" Its small size belied the amenities within. A king-sized bed decorated
with fresh rose petals on the pillows dominated the space. To the left, a cozy loveseat against
a wood-panel wall sat across from a TV hanging above a brick fireplace. To the right of the
bed, a screen hid a large tub from view, but there was also a decently-sized marble shower in
the water closet. A kitchenette sat in the back corner with stainless steel appliances, and a
back door there led onto a small patio with a wooden table and chairs set against the
backdrop of the forest.

She turned to Sesshoumaru with a smile. "This is a lot more luxury than we had the first time
we stayed in a demon sanctuary."

"I believe this is what is referred to as 'glamping,'" Sesshoumaru answered without any
expression.

Rin burst out laughing. "Something like that."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So I can humor you."

"Of course you can," she replied, bringing her suitcase to the dresser across from the bed and
opening it up. "Why would you think you couldn't?"

Sesshoumaru took his suitcase to a closet, summarily opening it and pulling out an ironing
board, his back turned towards her. "You were quite taken with Aengus."

Rin frowned at the change in topic. "Well, yes, he is a very charming host."

"As would be expected from one deemed the god of love," Sesshoumaru said.

"I suppose."

"He's married, you know."

Something clicked in Rin's brain, and she realized what this was all about. She bit her lip to
keep from smiling as she started putting clothes away. "I recall reading a myth about that,
yes. What was her name again?"

"Caer."

"Right. Wasn't she transformed into a swan and he had to pick her out from a flock of them?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer. "I suppose we'll meet her at some point during our stay."

"Hn."

Rin was used to his short non-answers, but he had gotten much more expressive with her
lately. He must still not have been pleased with the situation. She shook her head and rolled
her eyes. Trust her husband, of all people, to think she would be swayed by another man on
their honeymoon. Hadn't his father just given a beautiful speech about how they trusted in one
another implicitly?

She decided to remind him of this fact. "I'm a one-demon girl, Sesshoumaru. I don't plan on
leaving you that easily."

A hanger clanged on the bar with rougher force than necessary as he put up a shirt her had
just ironed. "You may not be able to help yourself."

Rin stopped unpacking and looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "There are reasons the tales here speak of bespelled
humans, Rin. Women and men who are drawn into a forest and don't return home for a
hundred years. Aengus' charms are…especially potent."

Rin sighed. "Sesshoumaru, if Aengus kidnapped his female clients, he would hardly be
running a successful business that's been around for at least a century, given when you last
came here."

"Hn," was the only response she got. Rin groaned in exasperation and got down to the bottom
of her suitcase, where she did a double-take. There lay a package wrapped in tissue with a
note scrawled over it:

Open this when you're alone! – Kagome

Curious, Rin peeked over her shoulder and found Sesshoumaru still meticulously hanging his
clothes in the closet. She picked up the package and slipped into the bathroom, closing the
door. Knowing her sister, she had a sneaking suspicion of what this might be.

And she was right.

Rin opened the paper and lifted up a slinky bit of diaphanous, violet lingerie. It could have
been a lot worse. Her sister had at least taken her modesty into account and gotten her a set
with lacy bra cups and sheer silk that fell in graceful folds down to her waist. It would do
nothing to hide the almost completely see-through thong that went with it, but that was the
point, wasn't it?
 After all, she was on her honeymoon.

If I seduced him in something like this, that would stop him from worrying about nothing,
wouldn't it? Maybe it will help him let loose. He's on vacation too, after all.

Her eyes widened as a plan took form in her mind.

She started pulling off her clothes when a huge yawn overtook her, and all of the sudden,
exhaustion beat down on her shoulders. She realized sexy times would have to wait.

Jet lag, alas, waited for no one.

Chapter End Notes

Hopefully I can keep the momentum going and get Part 2 of this story up next week.
Fingers crossed!
 Side Story 1: Haunted Honeymoon, Part 2
Chapter Notes

Happy SessRin Week everyone! Unfortunately, I swear this time I have NO time to
write something extra for this week (I say this every time, but this time it's true), so this
update will have to do! I mean, it covers the AU, vacation, SessRin family and happy
ending prompts when put all together, so…yeah. Let's just count it, LOL.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sesshoumaru leaned against the legs of one of the monoliths in the sanctuary's stone henge.
His pulse twitched in his temple and his ears throbbed from the trilling of high-pitched flutes,
sharply plucked strings of the harps, and raucous party-goers, the latter of whom grew louder
and louder the more alcohol they consumed. Willowy and diminutive sídhe alike had donned
clothes of old—the women in loose, colorful dresses cinched at the waist with wide belts and
clasped at the shoulders with numerous gold bangles and chains and the men in long tunics
and pants with plaid capes thrown over one shoulder. While he knew these were traditional
forms of dress for the sídhe, worn much as he still wore kimonos around the home because of
the longstanding familiarity of them, the whole event still felt like a costume party—
something he would have avoided with all of his might, given the chance.

But he was a married man now, and he had quickly learned that a happy wife made for a
happy life.

A few sídhe children bobbed for apples in wooden barrels, squealing with delight when they
latched onto one and pulled their sopping faces out of the water. A smile twitched at his lips
as he tried to imagine an older Towa and Setsuna doing the same one day—but then a drunk
sídhe spun past him, sloshing amber spirits out of her glass and onto his shoes, and his brief
second of happiness evaporated.

How had he let Rin talk him into coming to this?

How did she even have the energy to attend a party tonight? Not only was she still adjusting
to the new time zone, but after seeing the mountain trails yesterday, she had insisted they take
a hike to "stretch their legs" after being cooped up on the plane and in the car the last couple
of days.

He couldn't complain—he had always enjoyed wandering in the wilderness. But her stamina
wasn't what it used to be before her coma, so she could only go so far before he had to fly
them back to the base. She was adamant that she would reach the summit on her own two
feet…but had to concede that Sesshoumaru would have to fly them each day to their
"checkpoints" until she did.
After they returned to the cottage that afternoon, she took a well-deserved nap in his arms—
only to be woken to a knock on the door a while later. Sesshoumaru rose from the bed in a
huff, his nose already telling him who had interrupted Rin's rest.

He opened the door to kick Aengus all the way back to his own cottage—quite literally, á la
the Jaken Air Express—but the sídhe had absolutely no concept of tension or personal space,
because he beamed, held up some clothes, and said, "We have some gifts for you and your
lovely lady." A swan waddled out from behind the clothes and honked. Sesshoumaru's brows
rose."Is Miss Rin inside?"

"She's sleeping," Sesshoumaru hissed.

"Oh dear. Did we wake her?" Aengus asked with what appeared to be genuine surprise on his
face, as if he hadn't considered the possibility.

Rin came up behind Sesshoumaru and poked her head out with a yawn. "It's—ahhhh—okay,
Aengus. How can we help you?"

"It is we who wish to help you!" he exclaimed, pushing his way into the cottage, the birds on
his head and shoulders readjusting their perches. The swan too bustled her way in as only the
proudest of birds do, and settled next to Aengus. Rin watched the swan cross the floor
unblinkingly. Then she rubbed her eyes as if doubting her vision. Or perhaps just getting the
sleep out of them.

Aengus spun around with a flourish, brandishing a violet dress with gold chains in one hand
and a set of men's clothing, including a white shirt and pants, black jerkin, and red-and-gray
plaid cape in the other. "You see my friends, there is something of a dress code for tonight's
celebration. Everyone would understand, I'm sure, if you turned up in modern wear, being
that you're foreigners. But my darling wife, Caer, thought you might wish to blend in more,
and so she dug into our old closets for some outfits that might suit you."

"Oh, how nice of her!" Rin said. "I want to thank you. Where might I find her?"

Aengus laughed. "Well, she's here of course!" He nodded his head to the swan, who was busy
fluffing her wings. Rin's mouth dropped open. Aengus frowned at his avian wife. "Darling,
perhaps you could transform just long enough to say a few words to our guests?" Caer
honked at him. "Yes, I know they'll see you tonight." He sighed and looked back at the
Japanese couple with a sheepish smile. "Force of habit, you understand. It used to be that she
spent all year as a swan and only turned human on Samhain. She can switch as she pleases
now, but she rather likes reliving tradition leading up to the holiday."

"That's fine," Rin answered. "Thank you for the clothes. I can't wait to try them on."

"Don't worry about the fit, my friends. Our goddess of weaving herself crafted them, so they
will conform to your size once you put them on. Magic cloth and all that," he said with a
wink.

Sesshoumaru looked at the outfit meant for him from down his nose. He did not play dress
up.
Aengus and Caer soon left, and Rin picked up her dress and brought it over to a mirror,
holding it in front of her and swishing her hips back and forth. "What do you think?" she
asked.

"You will look lovely." She would look lovely in anything. However, he had other plans at
the moment. He reached out and plucked the dress from her grasp. "But I would prefer to see
you without clothes at the moment."

She gasped with mock shock. "Sesshoumaru!"

He pulled her to him, stepping closer to his final destination—the bed—and pressed his lips
against hers. He had set a personal goal of making love to her every day—and on the days her
cycle didn't allow actual sex, he had other methods planned.

"Sesshoumaru," she moaned, running her hand up his nape. "We're going to be late if we
don't get ready now."

"I can think of better ways to spend our time," Sesshoumaru replied, nuzzling against her hair
and taking a deep sniff.

"But this is a great opportunity to experience another culture," she said, running her hand
down his breastbone.

"Must we?" he groused, already dreading the thought of socializing.

She pulled back to stare at him, tucking some stray locks behind his pointed ear. Then she
cupped his jaw, pulling him in for a long, slow kiss. He was seconds away from throwing her
back down on the bed and distracting her from attending the party when she pulled away and
said, "What if I told you that just the thought of seeing you in ancient Celtic clothing is
getting me all hot and bothered?"

"Then I'd propose we move this discussion to the bed."

Rin pretended to consider it. "Or you could get me really hot and bothered by putting on said
clothes and letting me admire your fine figure for a while."

"You can admire it just as nicely without the clothes."

She laughed. "You really don't want to see me in this dress? It's so pretty though…."

Ah, there it was—the tug on his heartstrings. As if he could deny her something she wanted
to do. "I do wish to see you in the dress."

"I know you don't like parties, but if you promise to come and be on your best behavior
tonight…I might just model something else for you tonight." She leaned in against his ear
and whispered, "Maybe that new, itsy-bitsy, teeny-weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini that
mysteriously appeared in my suitcase?"

"Mmm," Sesshoumaru answered appreciatively, already trying to picture her in it. It hadn't
been easy to find a swimsuit at this time of year—most were on clearance—and he could
understand why this one was. The bright orange fabric with large, yellow polka dots might
not attract too many women, but he thought the warm colors reflected Rin's sunshine
personality.

The fact that they were little more than scraps of fabric on strings may also have had
something to do with his interest.

"Or perhaps…another little surprise that my sister slipped into my luggage?" Rin pressed.

His brows rose. Now he was intrigued. Knowing his sister-in-law, that surprise could
be anything. "What is it?"

"You'll see," she sang, her fingers trailing against the stripes on his cheek for as long as they
could until she slipped out of his arms and into the bathroom with her dress.

How was he supposed to forego a prize like that?

So he did the bare minimum of what she requested. He put on the clothes. He came. He did
not maim those who affronted him with their drunken antics or constant yammering in his
ear.

But she could not make him do more than that.

Case in point, two giant bonfires blazed less than a meter apart in the center of the henge.
Several sídhe danced around them, some even daring to pass in between the two infernos,
earning a round of applause as they did so. Sesshoumaru figured it was some sort of
traditional rite of courage (a stupid one at that—if the sídhe were anything like him, they
would be largely immune to fire or have some sort of control over the flames).

Then Rin rounded one of the infernos, twirling in her dusky dress, gold chains glimmering in
the light, and though his eyes burned from staring into the flames, the blazes illuminated her
laughing face as she danced with other sanctuary guests, and he remembered why he was
tolerating their attendance at Samhain.

When had she last looked so carefree? The best he could remember was a year ago—the awe
with which she watched the stars in a skyscraper-free sky, the giggles as her face grew sticky
with s'more goop, and the unrestrained cheers when he reeled in fish for their simple dinners.

His smile almost twitched back into place. If she was happy, it was worth being here.

Almost as if she could sense his softening, Rin caught his eye and beckoned to him. "Come
dance with me, Sesshoumaru!" But he shook his head. He was content to watch her. He hated
dancing, after all, especially in public. Now, if she wanted to do the horizontal tango in the
quiet of their cottage later, that would be a different story….

Rin pouted, once more trying to seduce him to dance with that face he couldn't resist. He
loved Rin, and had it been a more traditional dance, he might have caved. But spinning
around the fires like a buffoon was where he drew the line.
Caer—who had indeed transformed into her human form—stood next to his wife and leaned
down to tell her something, but he couldn't hear what she said over the party noise. Rin's eyes
lit up, and Sesshoumaru frowned, feeling a prick of foreboding climb his spine.

Aengus and Caer had greeted every guest that came to the Samhain festival, but Caer had
stuck close to Rin almost the whole time. Perhaps it was because she was the sole human
among all these sídhe, but even if Caer's intention had only been professional, the two had
been chattering away all evening, and he wondered what wily words Caer was whispering
into her ear.

Sídhe were notoriously tricky, after all.

Just then, Rin disappeared from his sight behind the flames once more—only to reappear in
the gap between the two bonfires.

"If you won't come to me, I'll have to come to you!" she shouted, her voice barely audible
over the roaring conflagrations. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened when she took a step towards
that hellish tunnel.

He could just picture those flames blistering her pale skin or catching her errant hair on fire.
His human mate did not have the gifts the sídhe did for keeping themselves safe.

He shot from his spot like a rocket, fur and cape streaming behind him as he flew between
the fires—a brief scalding along his body—and grabbing her in his arms on the other side,
twirling her around in the air as he settled back down to earth.

Cheers broke out, and he looked up to find the dancers had ceased their whirling and were
instead applauding and whistling at them.

"A s-stunt like that deserves-s a drink!" a sídhe called out in a slur, shoving overflowing cups
of what appeared to be whiskey with quite the aromatic bite into Sesshoumaru's and Rin's
hands. He clapped Sesshoumaru on the back before the dog demon could stop him and then
sauntered on his merry way, joining in the dancing that had resumed. Sesshoumaru looked
down at the alcohol in distaste, but Rin brought it to her lips.

"Ah, ah, ah, little missy," Aengus said, sweeping in and pilfering the cup straight from Rin's
mouth. "That's a little too potent for you. Try this instead," he said, replacing her glass with
one that had a lighter golden color. He jiggled the cup he had taken from her. "There's a
reason the old legends say not to eat or drink from the Otherworldly realms. This fae brew
will knock a human out for a decade or two!"

"Oh! Thank you for letting me know. I have already been, ah…'knocked out' for many months
before. I don't need that to happen again," Rin replied.

"But o' course, my sweet," he answered, chucking her chin. Sesshoumaru bared his teeth,
though Aengus took no , however, strode forward and pinched her husband.

"Yowch! What did I do now?" he asked.

"Tone down the charm, love," Caer answered. Then she turned to Rin, the firelight glinting
off the snow-white feathers weaved into her black hair. "I promise the food won't hurt you
naught though. I had it made for mixed company, but we can't stop the guests from bringing
their own alcohol to a party. They do so like to share, especially on Samhain."

"That's very nice of you," Rin answered.

"Rin, we should go," Sesshoumaru said. The later it got, the drunker these sídhe would get—
and the more dangerous for Rin.

"No, you have to stick around, mate!" Aengus announced, thumping Sesshoumaru on his
shoulder and hitting only fluff. He seemed fascinated by that, repeatedly poking it.
Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, and in that second, Caer pinched her husband again. Aengus
pulled his hand away. "The fun'll really be startin' at sunset!"

The sky was already bruised with the mottled reds and purples of the fading sun. A look at
Rin told him that she wanted to see what happened. He sighed in defeat. A few more minutes
shouldn't hurt.

"Well, I'd best get things set up. Are you coming, dear?" Aengus asked his wife.

"Actually, I just spotted someone I want Rin to meet. Stay here—I'll be but a moment!" Caer
said, and the sídhe couple split off in different directions.

"What kind hosts," Rin said before bringing the glass Aengus had given her back to her lips.

This time, Sesshoumaru snatched it before she could drink. She stared at him with her mouth
hanging open. "Sesshoumaru, what's the matter with you?"

"I do not trust him," Sesshoumaru said, sniffing Rin's drink. "He has probably laced this with
something."

"Nonsense! He has been nothing but kind to us! You need to get this jealousy in check,
Sesshoumaru."

"He is a sídhe, Rin. Even he will not hold back his impulses tonight."

"What impulses?" she demanded. When he just stared at her meaningfully, she shook her
head in aggravation. "For the last time, he is not going to seduce me. Caer has him on a tight
leash."

"The tricks sídhe play are not mere mischief. They have a…dark sense of humor."

"You are unbelievable. If there's going to be any seduction going on tonight, it's going to be
me seducing you. Do you understand?" When he said nothing, Rin set her mouth in a
determined line, then grabbed the hand that held her drink and brought it down to her mouth.
She forced his hand to tip the alcohol down her gullet. As soon as she swallowed, she
shivered.
"Rin, are you alright?" Sesshoumaru asked, dropping their glasses into the grass, not caring
that his spilled all over his shoes and the hem of his pants.

"I'm fine, Sesshoumaru. I just…don't drink hard liquor very often, and it was…something of
a shock on the way down." She hiccupped.

Come to think of it, had he ever seen Rin really drink? A glass of champagne at their
wedding perhaps (though had she taken more than a sip?), but he couldn't recall more than
that. What was her tolerance? Would she be alright after chugging that brew like an American
college frat boy?

Just then, Caer brought over a curvaceous woman with platinum blonde hair and ocean-blue
eyes. She wore a brown-fur cape over her shoulders, the long edges ending it what looked
strangely like flippers. "Rin," Caer said. "Allow me to introduce Roan. I believe she might be
able to help you with your…problem."

Sesshoumaru's brow creased. What problem? And why hadn't Rin told him about it?

"Oh, our names sound similar!" Rin said, shaking the woman's hand.

Roan glanced over at Sesshoumaru with an unreadable smile. "I see you at least got him to
move. But can you get him to dance?" she asked.

Rin giggled, her laugh loosened by alcohol. "I don't think so. He's harder to move than these
stones." She nodded towards the monoliths, listing too far to the side as she did.
Sesshoumaru's hands were immediately on her shoulders, steadying her.

The sídhe barked out a laugh, and Sesshoumaru straightened in surprise. He had expected the
woman to have the sensuous laugh of a seducer, not some raw, unrestrained one. "Perhaps
not as hard to move as you imagine. So, this is your husband?"

"Yes, my Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru preened just a bit, hearing her say that.

Roan then turned to shake Sesshoumaru's hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Sesshoumaru."

"Likewise," he answered on business instinct. It really wasn't a pleasure, but early on into his
family's days of hiding, his father had driven into him the need to be polite to fellow
businessmen (i.e. humans in general), so the answer had become rote.

"Is it? I thought I was too…blubbery for your tastes," Roan answered, pulling away with a
wry smirk. Sesshoumaru frowned.

Rin's face puckered in confusion. "Blu…bluh-ber-ee?" she sounded out, her tongue stumbling
over the word.

Roan gave her a wide smile. "Fat."

Rin's mouth dropped open in exaggerated horror. "Of course not! How could you say that?
You are so thin but so—" Her arms flew up, flying in S shapes to illustrate Roan's curves. "—
thick in all the right places." Sesshoumaru's brow rose. Just how strong had that drink been to
get to Rin so quickly? She would never have been so blunt otherwise.

Roan chuckled. "Only in this form."

Sesshoumaru finally pieced it all together. "She is a selkie, Rin. 'Roan' means 'seal.'"

"Oh, a selkie!" Rin repeated too loudly for Roan's and Caer's benefit. "But then…."
Sesshoumaru saw the moment Rin realized why Roan had said what she did. Apparently, she
still retained some sense. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Please do not be angry with what
Sesshoumaru said yesterday on the beach. He…he…."

Roan waved her off as Rin stumbled over her words. "It is of no consequence."

Before Rin could reply, the tinkling of glass cut across the temple, and Aengus, clinking a
spoon against his mug, cried out, "Attention everyone! It's time for the Opening of the Gates.
Please step into the circle."

"What's going on?" Rin asked, blinking slowly as she looked around.

Caer's and Roan's smiles were full of teeth. "Samhain is starting," their hostess said, an
understated excitement with just a hint of slyness layering her words. Her black eyes burned
like coals. "Excuse me." She slipped through the crowd to join her husband.

"Dear guests, a happy Samhain to you all. Are we having a good time?" Aengus asked as his
wife appeared at his side. A rousing chorus of drunken hurrahs followed. "Excellent! Then
let's not waste any of that energy. As soon as the sun sets, the gates to the Otherworld will
open, allowing you to freely pass through the barrier. Be sure to return by sunrise, lest you
get trapped where you are. That could be a damn expensive Uber back!" The crowd laughed.
"And of course—most important of all—give those humans a good fright, ya hear?"

Rin frowned and looked at Sesshoumaru. "Did…did he just say…they were going to scare
humans?"

Sesshoumaru pulled Rin closer to him. At last, the sídhe were showing their true colors. "Rin,
let's go back to the cottage."

He started pushing her towards one of the stone monoliths when Roan reached out and
grabbed his arm. "Don't move unless you want to end up with the dead."

Sesshoumaru frowned, trying to pull his arm from her, but to his surprise, the selkie held it in
a steely grip to match any demon's.

Just then, drums pounded like the heartbeat of the earth, making the ground rumble. The
voices of the sídhe rose up in a haunting cadence. A strange energy hummed through the air
like electricity hidden behind the walls of a house. The very stones seemed to vibrate with it.
As the air buzzed, a new chorus of echoed in response to the sídhes'—but this one sounded
more like the keening wail of banshees.

Then the archways underneath the monoliths blurred as if in the blazing midday sun, and fog
spewed out from the openings, rolling across the grass.

Suddenly, the drums stopped as one—the heart stopping at death's door—and the only sound
in the henge came from the roar of the bonfires. No one dared move.

A hand slid sensuously across Sesshoumaru's back, and he looked down, believing it to be
Rin.

But both her hands were tucked against her chest, her eyes wide with awe and apprehension.
He whipped his head around to look at Roan, but while her one hand still grasped his arm, the
other stayed still at her side.

And no one else was behind them.

The feeling of that hand slid over his shoulder and pressed against his heart in an intimate yet
chilling embrace.

Then a voice whispered in his ear, //I've found you, Sesshoumaruuuuu.//

Sesshoumaru's hackles rose, and he yanked Rin against his chest, readying his claws. He
spun around, looking for the source of the voice. It can't be.

//You wronged me, Sesshoumaru. One way or another, I will be your wife.//

Zero.

Sesshoumaru affected an otherwise calm façade, though his heart pounded in sudden fear for
his mate. He tried to reassure himself. Zero is dead. She cannot hurt anyone. This is all some
sídhe trick.

//Soon, you will be mine.//

Her breathy chuckle echoed until it faded into the night.

"The gates are open," Aengus announced, making Rin jump with a squeak of surprise. "They
close at dawn. Happy haunting, everyone."

The words had barely left his mouth before the sídhe rushed for the archways like grannies
swarming a limited-time sale. As they passed beneath them, they disappeared, as if they had
walked into fairy rings. Only Roan, Caer, and Aengus remained behind, the latter coming
back to their guests.

"W-What's happening?" Rin asked.

Had she heard Zero's voice too? Likely not—she sounded more confused than scared.
Sesshoumaru's nostrils flared as he demanded, "Do not presume to trick me this night, sídhe. I
am no human plaything of yours."

Caer's eyes widened in alarm, but Aengus only looked intrigued as they approached. "Why
should any of us try to trick you, dear friend? Perhaps…did you see something when the
gates opened?" Rin turned her wide eyes up towards her husband.

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. "I…heard someone. Someone no longer of this world."

Aengus' smirk turned downright mischievous. "Sounds like you're being haunted, my friend.
You have a long night ahead of you."

Rin looked back and forth between her husband and their hosts. "W-What's going on?"

Caer appraised her with a very animal-like stare. "What do you know about Halloween?"

Rin's eyes widened. "Oh, that night where everyone dresses up as monsters? I forgot that's
today. I remember Halloween starting to become popular when I was young. But when I lived
in America, people did so much more. There were pumpkins, and children went from house to
house asking for candy…."

"Those traditions got their start as Samhain, you know," Caer explained."Samhain is the
night when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld grows weak."

"What is the Otherworld exactly?" Rin asked.

"The Otherworld is less of a place and more of a passageway connecting the different
worlds."

"Different…worlds?"

"Of course. The sídhe and others of our ilk—like your husband here—were not originally
from this world."

Rin looked up to Sesshoumaru for confirmation, but he only frowned. "I have not heard that."

"Well, it happened eons ago—long before the first humans even existed. Even for us, that is a
long time. Our legends say that those who crossed over were more elemental in nature. Or
perhaps our people come from a different world than your husband's. If it exists, the
Otherworld knows the path—even to the land of the dead. But the Otherworld also acts as a
barrier between the worlds; however, on certain nights, like this eve, that barrier weakens,
allowing for free passage."

Sesshoumaru stiffened.

"So you go to other worlds on this night?" Rin asked.

"Some may attempt the venture, but few alive today would know or remember the world from
which we came. And once the sun sets tomorrow, the barrier will strengthen again. Should
you get stuck on the other side, you will not be able to come back for some time. Instead, we
use it more like a fairy ring—but instead of being tied to certain locations like the rings are,
the Otherworld portals can spit us out anywhere on Earth we please. But we mostly stick to
Ireland."

"And you…haunt people?" Caer and Aengus glanced at each other, the guilt obvious in their
eyes. But Roan owned up to it, nodding. "Why?"

"For fun, mostly." Rin's shocked expression made her laugh. Sesshoumaru was not surprised.
"Why? Don't humans try to scare each other this night as well?" Rin conceded the point with
a nod. "Eons ago, our sudden appearances gave humans quite a fright on this night. Those
simple creatures thought that they could trick us by pretending to be one of us. Of course,
today that has evolved from dressing up in ghostly costumes to dressing up as superheroes
and princesses. But we enjoy this night when we can roam the world as we truly are. And
playing tricks on humans is just icing on the cake."

"What kinds of tricks?" Rin asked, giving Roan a wary stare.

Roan shrugged. "Anything to give them a scare, really. Stalking them, singing to them, luring
them to get lost in the forest—or, in my case, the sea."

Rin's brows fluttered with unease. "Do they…get hurt?"

"Sometimes," the selkie answered in blasé tone.

"And humans don't…retaliate?" Sesshoumaru knew what Rin was thinking. In Japan, the
appearance of demons had led to the rise of demon slayers. He didn't recall there being such a
force in Ireland, however.

"Ach, well, humans have always feared us…but at one time, they revered us, and there was no
reason to hide," Aengus explained."However, once that accursed Patrick arrived upon the
island, he turned them away from us—convinced them we were servants of the Christian
devil. I mean, seriously—do I look like a demon to you?" He spread out his arms wide,
disrupting the birds that sat on his head and shoulders. They fluttered their wings.

Rin tilted her head to the side, staring intensely at him. "More like an angel, I think."

Aengus beamed, then reached out and tapped her nose. "Takes one to know one, love."

Sesshoumaru's hand whipped out and snagged Aengus' outstretched wrist, applying enough
pressure that a human's bones would have snapped. "Stop touching my wife, and finish your
story." He glared at the man.

"Sorry, you're right," Aengus said, raising a hand in submission. Sesshoumaru let him go—
with one last glare for good measure. The god of love cleared his throat. "Anyway, long story
short, in their fear, humans began to attack us. So we retreated from their sight. But on these
nights, we play tricks on them to take a bit of revenge."

"And the ghosts? Why do they come?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Ach, well, innit obvious? A spirit only haunts when it still holds strong attachments to this
world, like grudges or regrets." Aengus smirked. "Who'd you piss off, my friend?"

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. There was probably a list kilometers long of deceased humans
and demons alike who bore him grudges. He would be lucky if it was only Zero haunting him
—though perhaps she did hold the greatest grudge of all.

"Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked, clutching his jerkin, the concern evident in her eyes.

"Do not worry, Rin. It is no matter."

Caer might not have understood her words, but the meaning was obvious. "If you're
concerned, you need not be. The barrier around our sanctuary repels all but invited guests
from entering. Places like this temple are outside its bounds, though we have other ways to
keep humans from finding them. Ghosts, on the other hand, well…let's just say that once you
return, it will no longer bother you."

Sesshoumaru frowned. They would basically be confined to their cottage for the rest of the
day until Samhain was over, for without Tenseiga, he held no power against a ghost.
Unfortunately, his sword lay halfway across the world—a weapon he was technically
forbidden to own in his homeland, let alone stow in luggage on an aircraft.

Not that he imagined he would need such a sword on his honeymoon in the first place.

Even so, his concerns about this night were not yet settled. "And what of the corporeal
tricksters who would haunt my wife this night?"

An errant sídhe, at least, he could handle…but he would not be held responsible for any loss
of limb or life from the other party should it choose to target Rin.

Caer's face turned serious. "Sesshoumaru, the sídhe here are all well aware that Miss Rin is
our guest and is not to be bothered. Not that it really matters—you shouldn't run into anyone
tonight. They'll be out all over Ireland until the morn."

"Ah, so I guess the party's over then?" Rin asked with a weak smile, glancing around the
empty henge.

"Haha, most would say it's just getting started!" Aengus blurted. Caer gave him a stern,
wifely look, and he settled down with a clearing of his throat."I mean, yes, the party here is
over. But I bet you two could go back and get your own party started, eh?" He elbowed Rin
with a wink. Sesshoumaru's hackles rose again, and Caer put a hand to her forehead with a
groan. Aengus quickly retracted his arm. "After all, you'll basically be the only two on the
property tonight. Best make use of it!"

"Then we will do so," Sesshoumaru said, seizing the excuse to leave and turning Rin around,
pushing her towards the fairy ring that would lead them back to their cottage.

"Wait, wait!" Aengus called out. The couple stopped as he skipped over. He pulled a business
card out of his tunic as if by magic and handed it to Rin. "Those are my and Caer's personal
 numbers. We'll be flitting about here and there tonight, but do be sure to give us a call if
there's any way we can help you tonight." The wink he gave Rin as she took the card made
Sesshoumaru want to snatch it out of her hands and tear it up.

Rin, however, didn't seem to notice. She blinked down at the card, then looked over at Caer
and Roan. The girls all shared a secretive smile.

Roan cut Sesshoumaru a knowing look. "You two have fun tonight."

Sesshoumaru glanced down at Rin in question, but she only smiled back guilelessly.

She's plotting against you. How can you trust her? Zero whispered in his ear.

Sesshoumaru straightened in alarm and whisked Rin into the fairy ring that led back to the
sanctuary proper, Zero's echoing laugh cutting off abruptly as they did. As soon as the
platoon of sentinel trees enclosed them, the cool, prickling sensation of being watched eased
from his back. He looked down at his wife, who still appeared unperturbed. Small bubbles of
giddiness even floated through their bond.

Still, he had to know.

"Rin, when the gates opened…did you hear anyone?"

Rin blinked up at him, a deep flush spread across her cheeks—a combination of the alcohol
and their previous proximity to the fire, he wagered. At another time, he would have found
the view endearing, but right now, all his nerves were on edge. "What do you mean?
Sesshoumaru…is there really a ghost that's haunting you?"

Then she hadn't heard Zero's voice. That was for the best. She did not need to worry about
that woman ever again.

"To haunt implies that such a specter disturbs me. That is not the case."

It was a lie, and he knew it. The words burned on his tongue, for he had promised to never lie
to his mate.

Nevertheless, he would keep a close eye on Rin that night. Zero would not lay one ghostly
finger on her. He would make sure of it.

Chapter End Notes

I'm only two months early for Halloween—no big deal, right? Seriously, if I wouldn't
have felt guilty for waiting so long or posting this separately instead of tacking it onto
the end of MS, I totally would have posted around Halloween to celebrate. Ah well—
we'll just welcome fall a little early!
Also, yes, I know this just keeps getting longer and longer. But in order to get something
out for you, I decided to break this off here. So yes, there will be a Part 3—and perhaps
even a Part 4, because I simply can't restrain myself.
 Side Story 1: Haunted Honeymoon, Part 3
Chapter Notes

Oh look, it's October. NOW it's acceptable to post a Halloween story. (Yikes, this has
taken awhile. Sorry for the month-long delay.)

Also, I had to go back and tweak a few paragraphs at the end of the last chapter in light
of what happens in the following ones. If you'd like to reread them, just start at the point
where Aengus asks Sesshoumaru who's haunting him.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

When Rin stumbled not once but twice on their way back to the cottage, Sesshoumaru knew
that glass of alcohol had hit her hard. So much for her sultry promises. He would be surprised
if she didn't fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

But when they got back to the cottage, Rin surprised him by pushing him towards the bed. He
sat down, and she shoved his shoulder until he was lying flat on the mattress. She hiked her
wool dress up and crawled atop him, her brows furrowed in concentration, as if she were on a
mission of the utmost importance. The feelings coming through their bond were a muddled
mess—likely muted by drink.

"Rin?" he asked as she straddled his chest.

She leaned down and screwed up her lips into a cute frown. "Whyyy do you look ssso
worried…if you're not afraid of the…of the ghost?" she asked, digging her finger a little too
sharply into the furrow between his brows. She pursed her lips as she tried to rub it away.
"Looksss like…I have my work cut out for me."

Sesshoumaru bit back a smile. "What sort of work?"

She ran her finger down the ridge of his nose and over his lips, pausing to trace them.
"Dissstracting you."

"Consider me distracted."

Rin shook her head in an exaggerated fashion. "Nope. You've been thinking too hard allll
night. First you were…w-w-worried about Aengus and—" She gasped and pulled her hand
away, slapping her thighs. "I forgot! I'm supposed to be angry with you right now…
not rewarding you!"

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

She jabbed a finger into his chest. "You got jealous again."
Sesshoumaru summoned his patience. In her altered state of mind, she probably couldn't
recall all the evidence she had just seen concerning the true nature of the sídhe. "Rin, you
heard Roan: tonight is when the sídhe use humans as their playthings. What she failed to say
was that they do not only scare them—they seduce them as well."

Rin groaned. "Caer was right. There. Aengus wasn't going to seduccce me. I was going to
seduccce you. But you know what? I'm not so…so sure I will anymore." She folded her arms
and looked away with a pout that he had seen over and over on Towa's little face.

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched. "You would break your promise to me?"

"What promissse?"

He ran his hands up her sides, causing her to shiver, and then slid them to her shoulders,
teasing the clasps on her dress. "I recall mention of a gift your sister gave you."

Rin's eyes lit up. "Oh, yesss!" She crawled off him and then yanked him up by his fur in one
hand and his cape in the other before patting them back in place and dusting off his shoulders
with more force than necessary. "Now you jussst…sit here like a good boy…and wait until
I…until I come back, okay?"

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow. "A good boy?"

"Yesss." She cupped his face and pursed her lips. "My demon pooch is sssuch a good boy…
trying to protect his mate." She kissed his nose as if he were a dog.

Which he was, admittedly.

Drunk Rin was proving to be more and more amusing. Well, if she wanted to play that
game….

"I don't want to be a 'good boy' tonight," Sesshoumaru growled, trapping Rin's wrists in his
hands. He snapped his teeth at her. She gasped and then giggled.

"That's exxxxactly what I was hoping for," she answered. "You need to…you need to loosen.
Up." She looked around, staring at the fridge. "Aengusss didn't happen to leave any of that…
that fae alcohol in there…did he?"

"I would rather keep my wits about me as I take you. But are you even in any condition to
—?"

"But I want to see my husband ferallll," Rin whined.

Sesshoumaru blinked at her, his inner demon perking up. Yet he pushed it right back down.
Much as he would love to play this game with her, he knew they couldn't. Time to tone this
banter down.

"Rin, remember what happened the other day? You know we can't be too rough right now."
He let go of one of her hands to caress her belly where the scar from her C-section was. Their
wedding night had shown them that sex would have to be gentle for a while.
Rin pushed out her bottom lip, grabbing his hands and swinging them in hers. "But
Sessssshoumaruuuu, we're in a sssanctuary. You deserve…to be yourssself here. You're not
even…joining the shee…shee…the fairies tonight…roaming Ireland…in their true forms."

Sesshoumaru kissed her palm. "You overestimate my preference for my other form. Even
before demons went into hiding, I rarely transformed. The form of an animal limits me. For
instance…." He pulled her back into his lap and pressed her hands against his growing
erection. Then he whispered into her ear, "I cannot fuck you as a dog."

Rin gasped upon hearing the vulgar word come out of his mouth, but given the way more red
crept across her cheeks and the sudden fragrance of arousal her pelvic flower released, he
could tell she was more titillated than shocked.

Then, a sneaky look came over her features, and she massaged his cock. "But…can you hunt
me…like one?"

Sesshoumaru's brain was having trouble concentrating on the conversation with the way her
fingers worked him. "What do you mean?"

She gave him one last squeeze and then pressed a finger to his lips. "Stay right. There.
And don't. Move. I'll be right. Back," she enunciated, shimmying off his lap and stumbling
toward the dresser. She pulled out a package that crinkled like tissue paper before running to
the washroom.

The ghost of her fingertips still haunted his balls as he waited for her to emerge. Rarely had
the minutes felt so long in his lifetime. He closed his eyes and listened, trying to pick out the
sounds of her changing and imaging what she might come out dressed in.

Though he made out the rustle of clothes, he also heard the distinct clicks of…texting? Who
exactly was she talking to in there, and why?

The memory of Aengus handing her his phone number had him clenching his fists over the
duvet—and perhaps leaving a few tears in it. She wouldn't be texting that fiend, would she?

Don't overreact. Perhaps she is texting her sister. Girls like to show off the gifts they give
each other.

Except he was pretty sure Kagome would be sleeping at this time of night—but perhaps
pregnancy had other plans for her. It certainly had for Rin.

An eternity later, Rin cracked open the door to the bathroom and poked her head out. Only a
single shoulder of hers was otherwise visible, and it bore a thin, violet strap. "Are you ready
for our game?" she sang.

He cocked his eyebrow again. "What sort of game?"

"A game of hide. And. Sssseek."

His hackles rose in anticipation, and his eyes flared red. He could already imagine Rin
running between the trees, faint hints of moonlight highlighting her sumptuous skin, enticing
him to bite down on it….

But caution held him back.

"Tonight is too dangerous for a hunt, Rin."

And yet the beast in him salivated at the thought of any extra challenge an ignorant sídhe
might bring. Capturing Rin was bound to be easy. After all, she was only human, and her
body was still weak, despite its rehabilitation. But he loved that she was planning this
for him so that he might exert some parts of his demonic nature.

Perhaps he could just see what she had planned first. Surely she wouldn't make it too easy….

"Aengussss said…we'd be the only ones…in the sanctuary tonight. No. Interruptions."

Sesshoumaru considered. Even if she did run into a troublesome sídhe that night, he was
confident he could make it to her side in time. "Very well. What are the rules of this game?"

Rin grinned and clapped in excitement. "Okay, firssst one! You have to close…close your
eyes. No. Peeking!" He did so. "When I give the sssignal…you count to one hundred." He
nodded.

The door creaked open, and Rin padded across the wooden floor until she stood in front of
him. Though she did not touch him, he felt her presence as if she contained the same energy
the temple had that evening during the Opening of the Gates. Her floral scent enveloped him
along with the sharp scent of new fabric. Nylon, his mind supplied before he could think
about it.

She took his hand and cupped her breast. He squeezed in response, feeling the outline of the
lacy fabric and her nipple poking into his palm. He lightly dug his claws into her, eliciting a
gasp. He almost opened his eyes just then, but Rin dragged his hand down across her
stomach, his talons whining against the sleek nylon. She brought his hand down to the
juncture of damp heat between her legs, pressing the flimsy fabric against her slit.

He moved his fingers against her, pressing into the fissure, and she moaned, humping his
hand. He felt along the crease of her hip, finding the edge of her underwear and slipping a
digit inside. He sunk a finger into her warmth, and Rin moaned again, grabbing his shoulders
as she gyrated against his palm. He stroked her insides carefully, searching for her G-spot.
Rin angled herself against him, obviously looking for the same.

He pulled his finger out, and Rin gasped, "Nooo, Sessssshoumaru!"

But he only needed to switch fingers. He slid his middle finger up her channel next, the extra
length finally giving him the ability to reach the place he sought. He stroked it, and Rin cried
out and shuddered on his hand. His palm was a sticky mess of her fluids, and as he massaged
her from the inside, he slid his thumb up and rubbed her clit in tandem.

Rin's pants turned into wanton cries as she thrust against him, and he pumped her faster and
faster. Her breaths hitched in that way he knew meant she was getting close—passing into the
realm of pleasure-pain. He could not stop now.

So he added a second finger.

"Ah!" she cried out, spreading her legs wider to accommodate the girth. He slowed for just a
moment, letting her adjust to the newest invasion, but as soon as her fingers dug into his
shoulders, he knew he could resume his prior speed.

Her walls sucked at his fingers, as if trying to pull them deeper, and suddenly she shuddered,
collapsing onto his knees. Her head fell to the crux of his neck, and she breathed against it,
licking and kissing the tender skin there. Sesshoumaru's fingers coaxed her through the
aftershocks of her orgasm, sending periodic spasms across her body. At last, he pulled his
hand from her, listening to the rapid beat of her heart and the rasp of her heavy panting.

She sat up from him, and his eyelids fluttered, affording him a brief image of sheer violet
before Rin slapped her hands over his eyes.

"Don't look."

"Why?"

"I told you. It's…a…a sssurprise."

"I'm not a patient demon, Rin."

"I know, but—"

Her words cut off as Sesshoumaru brought his gooey fingers to his lips and slid them into his
mouth. Rin sucked in a breath as he licked them clean. He ran his tongue over his chops in a
slow rotation. "Kiss me," he commanded.

He waited for her, but instead of leaning in, she got off his lap. "Don't peek," she whispered
as she took her hands away. Her feet shuffled, and she tsked. "Look at this
wet messsss. You sir…have been a very naughty boy."

He just smirked. The end of his fur wagged back and forth like the tail of a pleased dog.

One of her hands stroked his ear. "You make me want to be naughty."

A jolt shot down Sesshoumaru's cock. "By all means."

She plastered her lips against his, forcing her tongue into his mouth. Her arousal still coated
his tongue, and he swiped it over her own, making sure she could taste herself. He needed to
coat her whole mouth with it. He grabbed the back of her head and yanked her forward,
pushing her tongue back into its cavern and invading it with his own. When she had to come
up for air, he nipped her lip, not wanting to let go.

"Oh, bad dog!" she gasped. "Bad dogs need muzzzzling."

He expected her to muzzle him with her mouth, but instead, she hooked some elastic over his
ear. When she stretched it, the scent of her juices almost bowled him over before a scrap of
wet fabric covered his lips and she secured another loop of elastic to his other ear.

Had she just muzzled him…with her panties?

He held his breath in anticipation—and because he wasn't sure he wouldn't pass out from
sensory overload if he breathed too deeply.

She giggled. He must look a sight—one only she was allowed to see. Then she leaned in and
whispered in his ear, "Every dog needs something…to track a scent." She tapped the fabric
against his lips. He sucked in the tiniest breath, her smell nearly sending him feral.

Then she nipped the tip of his ear with her teeth, and he was lost.

"Now start counting."

Suddenly, she pulled away from him and raced across the cottage, stopping to grab something
before rushing out what had to have been the back door.

Count? He was supposed to count? She expected him to count after all that—especially with
her overwhelming lust pounding a staccato beat through their bond?

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes and removed the undergarments from his face. Sure enough, a
small triangle of purple lace lay in his hand, and the inside glistened with the remnants of her
orgasm. He examined the panties, noting that the triangle was the only piece of fabric on
there.

It was a thong.

Rin had been wearing a thong, and she hadn't even let him look at her. This travesty would
have to be rectified soon.

Then he looked up and stared at the door, realizing something.

Rin went outside—without underwear.

And if the top she was wearing was as see-through as he imagined it to be…she was basically
running around the sanctuary naked.

His vision blurred red with lust as his inner demon leapt up, ready for the chase.

After all, if anyone happened upon her and saw his mate as only he should see her….

Forget hide-and-seek. He no longer cared about going easy on her and drawing out the game.
He would have her now.

Sesshoumaru raced out of the cottage, scenting the air for Rin. Fog misted over his face, the
dampness weighing like a heavy blanket over the smells of the forest and his mate's trail. He
concentrated on their bond, but while the lust had ebbed a bit, it had been replaced by
bubbling giddiness. Was that the effect of the drink or the chase? She didn't appear to have
the panicked feel of prey hiding from a predator….

Suddenly, a dim glow caught his eye as it bobbed ahead through the trees. It was in the same
direction from which Rin's scent came, so he followed it.

Is she using her cellphone to see? Somehow though, that didn't feel right. Rin wouldn't make
it that easy…unless she wanted him to find her quickly. Mirth rolled through their bond. And
so, he sprinted toward the light, but all of the sudden, it winked out. Sesshoumaru stopped at
the spot where he thought he had seen it and sniffed again. Another light appeared in the
distance, and he frowned, following Rin's trail as it led directly toward the glow.

Again, it disappeared just as he reached it. And Rin's scent was no stronger.

A low giggle echoed through the trees, and Sesshoumaru spun around to find yet another
bobbing light. Rin's voice floated over to him. "Over here, Sesshoumaruuuu."

He frowned, unease making him flex his claws. The voice had sounded like Rin's, and yet…
something felt off.

Nevertheless, he leapt over to the tree…and found nothing.

"She went this way," the wind seemed to whisper as leaves rustled around him. Sesshoumaru
looked towards the voice, but all he could see were trees. When a light blinked on, he jumped
over towards it.

"No, she went this way," another breathy voice rasped. When he turned towards that one, the
glow of another light cast just enough shadows on the bark of a tree to show them shifting.

Ah. The Green Ones were speaking.

But apparently they couldn't be trusted, because they could not agree on where Rin had gone.
Were they in on this too and somehow transporting her? After all, no human could be so fast
—especially one who had been wheelchair-bound only weeks ago.

When Rin's voice giggled again, yet her scent was still no stronger, he knew he had fallen
into some sort of fae trick. He shut his eyes then. He would no longer be led astray by
illusions. He let a little more of his demon loose, enhancing his sense of smell instead. Then
he took a deep breath.

There.

He followed the scent, carefully dodging around trees. The faint remnants of her arousal grew
stronger in his nose.

And then suddenly, a new scent pushed into his nose—a powerful one he couldn't ignore.

Aengus.
Why was Aengus' scent intertwined with Rin's? Had they simply taken the same path…or
was something more nefarious afoot?

Was the god of love trying to seduce his drunken wife? Was he the reason for her joy?

Now his heart thudded for a different reason, as anger bled the lust from his veins. He had
gotten too caught up in Rin's seduction. How could he have let her leave the cottage? He
knew he shouldn't have trusted Caer's promise that no one would target Rin—because her
husband would get away with whatever tricks he could.

"Rin?" he called out.

For once, the silence of the forest sent not calm but apprehension shooting through his veins.
He sniffed the air again, following their mixed scent. Of course, by blocking off his sight, he
wasn't watching where he put his feet.

One second, he was coated in the perfume of trees. The next, waves of alcohol and ash
slammed into his nose, along with the scents of dozens of sídhe. He opened his eyes to find
that he had come back to the henge.

He froze, considering. Why would they have come here? Had he accidentally followed an
older trail from the party?

Even so, he sniffed the air, his feet leading him towards one of the portals. He walked around
it, wondering if the trail was a remnant from the festivities earlier, but while other smells
lingered on the far side of the monolithic archway, Rin's and Aengus' did not. His heart
lurched in realization.

Had Aengus taken Rin through a portal?

A gust of wind blew across the henge, picking up his silver hair and whipping it around him.
A prickling sensation raced up his spine. He never grew chilled from the weather.

No. This sensation came from being watched.

Suddenly, a hand caressed his cheek and cool breath tickled his ear.

//Have you lost your precious mate, Sesshoumaru?//

Sesshoumaru whipped around and clenched his fists when he saw nothing. Not again.

If he couldn't see her, she wasn't there. It had to be so. She couldn't be real.

//Where is she, Sesshoumaru?// Zero sang in his ear. //Where is your little wife?//

The scent of swan tickled his nose just as Caer walked through the portal. Her eyes widened
in tepid shock.

"Oh, Sesshoumaru! You're here already?" He frowned at her. She fought back a smile and
lost. "I suppose a few will o' the wisps weren't enough to fool you for long, hmm?"
"Enough of your sídhe games," Sesshoumaru snarled. "I warned you not to play with me this
night. Tell me where she is, or I will flatten your sanctuary."

Caer tsked at him, wagging a finger like he was an errant pup. "Don't blame us,
Sesshoumaru. We're not the ones who started this game. Rin is. We're just joining in on the
fun."

His eyes widened. Was that why Rin had been texting in the bathroom earlier? "Where is
she?"

Caer stepped aside and gestured to the portal. "You're the one on the hunt. Can you track her
even through the Otherworld? Though I'm afraid your nose will be of no help to you there."

"Then what will?"

Caer put a finger to her chin. "Oh, I don't know. Your love, perhaps?"

He should have expected nothing less than a vague non-answer from a sídhe. Even so, he
stepped into the portal, because he had promised never to hesitate again when it came to Rin.

His foot landed on a stone path. True darkness surrounded him—even he could not see
without the aid of the smallest light. He took a breath and found his insides icing over. And
even though there was earth beneath his feet, he smelled absolutely nothing.

Was this the Otherworld? It felt more like death.

//You're in my domain now, Sesshoumaru,// Zero cackled, but still he could not see her. Her
hands, however, roamed his chest and shoulders. He stepped away, but the back of his boot
hit air, and he froze. Was he on a ledge?

//I had other plans for you, but perhaps I should just bring you down to my level in hell,//
Zero crooned. She tugged on the back of his fur, trying to tip him over the edge. Sesshoumaru
stood his ground.

She was nothing but a ghost. She had no strength. She could not hurt him unless he was
weak-willed enough to wish it.

//How does it feel, Sesshoumaru, to know you will never see your precious mate again after
you spent so much effort to save her?//

"Enough with your nonsense," Sesshoumaru called out. He would get no where by remaining
still. He had to move forward, even if he could not see. He would just have to feel along the
path.

But just as he took a tentative step, a new voice rang out.

"Sesshoumaru? What are you doing here?"

He started, instinctively looking around in the darkness, though he could see nothing.
"Mother?"
Inukimi's voice echoed around him. "Son, has something happened? I swore I felt that girl's
presence here just a while ago, but it was so quick, I thought myself mistaken."

"Where are you?" Sesshoumaru asked.

At that moment, a flash of light brightened the world. He finally saw that he was positioned
on a narrow pathway that appeared to float in the darkness. When he walked towards the
light, he saw the vague outline of his mother cradling Towa, holding up a bottle to her mouth.

"Back home, of course. Feeding Towa, if you must know." He watched Inukimi say the
words in real time. She looked up then and met his gaze, as if she could see him. Could she?
"This child constantly eats."

"Then how did you know I was in the Otherworld?"

"Otherworld?" she asked, glancing back down at the Meido Stone resting on her breast.
"Don't you mean the path to the Netherworld?"

It made sense that different cultures would have different names for it. After all, if the dead
could pass through the "Otherworld," then it must have had ties to the Netherworld as well.
"How are you speaking to me?" he asked.

"Through the Meido Stone, of course. Did you think it was just some expensive bauble your
father got for me all those years ago?"

Indeed he had.

"Silly boy. You should know nothing is ever a simple object with your father. No, he imbued
this stone with the power of the Meido—the ability to open portals between this world and
the next. Now, whatever are you doing there? You shouldn't be able to go there without
Tenseiga, at the very least."

"I'm looking for Rin. Aengus brought her through here. The sídhe use the Otherworld as a
portal on this night."

"…Ah, of course, it's Halloween there. Now I see why yesterday Kagome put the children in
those ridiculous puppy outfits Izayoi made. I assume she sent you the pictures. I'll admit the
children made those outfits…charming."

If Kagome had sent them, he hadn't seen them yet. Much as he wanted to, he had a more
pressing need at the moment. "How do I leave?"

"Well, if you had Tenseiga, it would lead you out, but—"

The portal before him winked out, and another opened down the way. Sesshoumaru walked
over towards it and stared at the familiar wall of weapons in the Western Sanctuary dojo,
where Tenseiga hung.

The sword's name became an involuntary thought when he saw it. Tenseiga.
Tenseiga rattled on its hook.

His mother continued, "—I suppose the secret to it is having a purpose."

"What do you mean?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning back towards where he had seen his
mother, as if she were there, though she wasn't. The portal winked out, and he was plunged
into darkness yet again.

"When the dead pass through here, they all have a purpose: to get to the next step, whether
that is hell, nirvana, or the wheel of reincarnation. Perhaps you've noticed that there's only a
single path before you? It is meant to lead where you are meant to go."

Sesshoumaru frowned, rubbing his wedding ring with his thumb. He needed to go to Rin. Her
earlier feelings of excitement had mellowed out to the point where no longer noticed them
unless he concentrated. Was that a good or bad sign?

Just then, another portal flashed. The moon glowed high overhead, its rays dancing across the
shifting tide on a beach.

Rin, Sesshoumaru thought. The portal glowed a bit brighter, as if beckoning.

Now Caer's words made sense. Had he concentrated on Rin—on his love—from the start, it
would have led him right to her.

"Goodbye, Mother."

"Oh, you've found the way out, have you? Ah, one more thing, Sesshoumaru."

He paused just before he stepped into the portal.

"Get rid of that thing that's tailing you."

Zero's frigid arms wrapped around his torso like a vise. //Always a pleasure, Inukimi.//

"For one of us, perhaps," Inukimi answered.

Sesshoumaru stepped through the portal.

After being bereft of all smell, the scent of salt and animal hit him like a bucket of water to
the face. A pod of seals lay on the beach, sleeping in the Samhain moonlight. The round
shapes of various waterfowl with their heads nestled into their wings dotted the rocks and
cliffs rising high behind them. The stone walls cut off this little patch of sand from the rest of
the shore—a perfect hiding spot for non-humans and animals alike. Sesshoumaru sniffed the
air, trying to keep from gagging at their odor.

They certainly masked Rin's scent well…but not completely. The faintest hint of it lay
beneath the stench of so much fat. But as he looked around, he couldn't see any sign of his
mate—or that bastard Aengus, for that matter.
Then something rose from behind a boulder nearby, and the flash of white skin glinting in the
moonlight set Sesshoumaru's heart quickening. He knew that silhouette.

Rin dropped a robe from her body, baring herself to the stars. She looked over her shoulder at
him with a seductive gaze that would put sirens to shame. Without a word, she strode into the
surf, never breaking eye contact with him until a wave crested over her head.

He smirked. Was his mate trying to escape his grasp and prolong the game by heading into
the water? If there was swimming to be involved, he would rather she had chosen the pool
back at the sanctuary than this beach for that sort of game—all those damned seals and
saltwater were bound to give him a headache, not to mention the course sand
getting everywhere—but he could rectify that shortly. They would both be getting wet tonight
—but not quite yet.

He shot like an arrow over the waves toward her, and she yipped in surprise before diving
headlong into a wave. Sesshoumaru came to a halt, casting his eye over the water. She could
not last for long down there.

So it was much to his surprise that when she finally surfaced, she was much farther out at sea
than he expected. How? She was basically swimming blind in this darkness—not to mention
she shouldn't have been able to swim that fast, even had she been in peak physical condition.
As if she could see the bemused look on his face, she waved to him and giggled.

It occurred to him that she had yet to say anything to him. The Rin he knew would have
taunted him by now. She had done a damn good job of that back in the cottage. Where had all
her dirty language gone?

What was a siren without a voice? Nothing but an illusion.

With a grimace, he shot towards "Rin" and plucked her out of the water like an eagle
snatching a fish in its talons. "Rin" wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her wet,
naked body against his.

If his wife were actually in his arms, he would savor this moment. But now that she was so
close, he had evidence of her duplicity.

She reeked of seal.

"You're not Rin," he said.

The woman's glamour melted away to reveal blonde Roan, who smirked deviously at him.
"Congratulations, Sesshoumaru. You've caught a selkie without her fur. By tradition, you can
make me your wife…assuming you can find where I left it."

That would be so like you—to have two wives at once. Wasn't that what you planned to have
with me?

Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, trying to ignore Zero's sanctimonious voice in his ear. She had
followed him through the Otherworld and all the way here? He was being haunted. She ran a
ghostly finger down his back, and he could not suppress a shiver.

"I already have a wife."

With that, he dropped Roan unceremoniously back into the water, where she landed with a
huge splash. He did not appreciate being tricked like this…and he had a sneaking suspicion
who had put Roan up to it.

He flew back to the shore and extended his awareness for demonic—or fae—energy. And
while he could still feel Zero's presence watching him, he could sense nothing else
supernatural. Of course, the sídhe specialized in glamours. As with Roan, they could take on
any appearance (though he wasn't sure whether the glamour was Roan's own doing or
someone else's). Those will o' the wisps earlier had mimicked Rin's voice. A talented sídhe
could probably do both and mask his or her scent.

But the most powerful would be able to hide their fae energy. Sesshoumaru would not find
Aengus unless the god wanted him to.

And then something glinted in the corner of his vision. He looked over towards the rock
where Roan had first been hiding and found the moonlight shimmering on a large body of
white feathers perched on its top. A long neck stood at attention, the bird—a goose?—staring
straight at him.

No, not a goose. A swan. And since he had neither seen not sensed Caer following him to this
beach, that only meant….

"My patience grows thin, Aengus. Where is Rin?"

Perhaps he's taken her away. How could you let someone else kidnap her so soon after the
last time? Zero asked. He ignored her, keeping his eyes on the bird.

The swan threw its wings out and its head back, its neck bending like a contortionist's body.
Its figure morphed until mere seconds later, Aengus sat upon the rock, one foot resting
casually on his knee. He grinned.

"Ach, my friend, it's a wonder you ever got the little lady to marry you, treatin' women like
you did poor Roan. With that sort of attitude, 'tis no wonder Miss Rin is runnin' from you."
Aengus bent down and picked up the robe Roan had dropped, pulling it through is fingers
like a tailor measuring fabric. "And wearing naught but her underthings too. She must've got
mighty cold waitin' for your slow rumpus—"

Sesshoumaru's hand was at Aengus' throat in a moment, squeezing. "Burn the image of her
from your mind, or I will burn your throat instead." He pressed the points of his claws against
Aengus' skin to drive home the threat.

Aengus slapped Sesshoumaru's wrist, though maddeningly without the sort of desperation an
assassin hoped to get from his victim. "'Tis' just a joke, my friend!" he wheezed.

Sesshoumaru squeezed harder. "I grow tired of your jokes. Where. Is. She?"
"T-This is still…a hunt…i-isn't it?"

Sesshoumaru growled and released the love god's throat. Aengus cracked his neck from side
to side but appeared no worse for the wear or even winded. He had the nerve to simply clear
his throat before speaking. "You've a smart wife, my friend. She wanted to give you a fair hunt
but knew it'd be tough to outwit your speed and sniffer. So she asked for a bit assistance."

"Why would you help her?"

Aengus put a hand to his chest in affront. "It is my duty as a host to see that my guests have
the best stay possible! We'll go the extra step to provide an exception experience." In an
aside, he added, "If you are pleased with our efforts, we kindly ask you to mention as much on
your exit survey. We too are at the mercy of good reviews, after all." He winked.

Sesshoumaru glared, hoping he would get on with it.

Aengus rolled his eyes and continued. "I also might have been a little curious. The last time
you were here, friend, you disdained all humans. I understand, of course. As I recall, it hadn't
been but a few decades since you were forced into hiding. The indignity of that was still fresh.
Even so, I know just how stubborn you are, so I could not imagine you would have changed
your tune in just a century.

"So imagine my surprise when your lovely mother organized this honeymoon for you—and
your human wife. I swear, I dropped the phone in shock when she told me! I simply couldn't
believe it. So, I was determined to find out just how true your feelings for Miss Rin were. I
wondered if perhaps you were putting on an act and had married this poor girl to use her as
part of some nefarious revenge scheme. I mean, I love a good seduction game as much as the
next sídhe, but I found myself hoping that wasn't the case. Because that would be so
mundane, you see. So imagine my joy and surprise when I found you acting like a little guard
dog around her!"

Sesshoumaru growled, and Aengus just laughed, pointing at him. "You see? There you go
again! You appear completely besotted. And still I ask myself—is it all an act? Well, I said,
there's only one way to find out: a true Celtic test of love!"

"I have nothing to prove to you," Sesshoumaru bit out.

Aengus shrugged. "Humor me then, friend. No matter what you do, I will not give up your
wife's location. So, the faster you can find her, the faster you can get back to that business in
bed." He waggled his eyebrows, and Sesshoumaru fought the urge to strangle him again,
knowing it was a useless gesture. So he said nothing. Aengus must have took that for the
grudging consent it was and then gestured behind him to the pod of seals. "Behold your test.
Your wife is one of those seals. Can you figure out which one?"

This time, Sesshoumaru didn't hold himself back. He lunged for Aengus' neck again, but the
sídhe dodged, rolling like a wave off the rock. "You dared ensorcell my mate?" he snapped.

Aengus just laughed, jumping up onto the top of the cliff behind them, as if that would
prevent Sesshoumaru from reaching him if he so desired. "I'll have you know, women love
these sorts of tests. I myself had to pick Caer out from a trumpet of swans. Oh! But perhaps
you're not up to the challenge." Aengus clicked his tongue in a disappointed way. "Goodness
me, imagine how distraught Miss Rin will be if you choose wrong."

Sesshoumaru was going to kill him. Aengus' days were numbered. Sesshoumaru hated being
put to tests like this. Why had he come to this godforsaken island of conniving sídhe again?

Because it had been Rin's greatest wish.

He huffed, telling himself that everything he did was for her—even putting up with this sort
of humiliation.

So with his temper just barely reigned in, he cast an eye out over the assembled seals. A few
flapped their flippers or twitched their whiskers, but otherwise, most of them slept. Even with
his enhanced night vision, they all still looked the same: like giant blobs of fat.

Could he smell her out? Her earlier arousal had been so strong, but it was faint now. Had they
been alone, he might have said something to trigger her lust, giving him an easier out, but he
would not do so in company. It was bad enough that their hosts had seen his drunk wife
running around in lingerie. He sincerely hoped she had been wearing that robe when Aengus
found her, or else he would gouge out the sídhe's eyes.

Suddenly, Zero's throaty laugh carried on the wind.

//I've found her, Sesshoumaru. Can you?//

Panic got the better of him, breaking through the flimsy lid he had just shoved on his temper,
and his demon clawed free. His jaw ached as it lengthened into a snout, but his sense of smell
grew even sharper. His bones burned as he bent over, and he grew in size and ego. He flexed
his fingers and toes—no, his paws—his talons gouging the sand as they sprouted forth.

When the fog of his transformation cleared, he stared down at the sausage-like seals and
bayed.

"Well, I'll be," Aengus breathed, staring at Sesshoumaru with a grin on his face. Sesshoumaru
glanced over to stare eye-level at the sídhe, his glare promising that Aengus was next if he
dared try anything. Then he snapped at the seals.

Dozens of the pinnipeds woke up and started barking, flopping around and slipping over each
other as they scurried off the beach and into the ocean. A couple males dared to confront him
and defend their territory, but when Sesshoumaru opened his mouth wide, they squealed and
scurried away.

After all the commotion, only one seal remained prone in the sand, and the closer he looked,
the more he realized that it wasn't sleek and round so much as lumpy….

He bent down and carefully took an edge of the seal skin in his teeth, pulling it away to
reveal Rin curled up in the sand with a small smile on her face.

Snoozing.
Aengus burst out laughing. "Oh, what beastly luck! You took so long to find her, Miss Rin fell
asleep on you. Strange that your howl didn't wake her though…."

Sesshoumaru turned a baleful red eye on Aengus and growled, but of course the sídhe was
not cowed. The dog demon gently nosed his mate, trying to wake her. Though their present
but quiet bond and her soft breaths reassured him that she was indeed alive—some irrational
part of him still feared that Zero could somehow hurt her, despite being incorporeal—he
would also never forget watching her sleep for six weeks and being unable to wake her.

A few nudges later, and Rin finally groaned, her eyes barely fluttering open. "Who…
General?" she murmured, before she fell right back to sleep.

Had she been dreaming? If she was this tired, she would be out for the rest of the night—no
doubt her drinking earlier had ensured that. Still, Sesshoumaru could rest assured that she
would eventually wake.

He shrank back into his humanoid form, taking the seal skin and covering Rin's waist with it
to hide her bare backside.

Aengus jumped down to the beach and began to clap. "Well done, my friend—that was a
singular performance! Perhaps not quite as intended with a romantic plucking her from the
crowd, but romantic in a different sense, I suppose. You knew your wife alone would not be
frightened of your true form, no? Even though it turned out the only reason she didn't run
was because she was asleep. " He snickered.

Sesshoumaru saw no point in correcting what was an acceptable answer—and a better

alternative than admitting he has simply lost control of himself. He bent down and cradled
Rin in his arms, then started walking back towards where he felt the energy emitting from the
invisible portal. He'd had more than enough of their host for this evening.

Suddenly, Roan stepped into his path, sopping wet and naked as the day she was born. She
held out her hand. "My skin, sir…unless you really would like to take it and have me as your
new wife." She smirked and winked. Then she held up the robe she had apparently borrowed
from Rin. He carefully exchanged it for Roan's fur, making sure to keep what remained of his
mate's modesty preserved.

He was just about to step into the portal when Aengus sidled up next to him and asked,
"Friend, before you go, I meant to ask: did that ghostie of yours come back, by any chance?
Or are you safe for the night?" He did a horrible job of hiding his smile, and Sesshoumaru
realized two things then.

First, Aengus' choice of location had been purposeful. As if putting on this show hadn't been
enough, the sídhe wanted to see Sesshoumaru be haunted. Another layer to his sick sort of
amusement. But apparently, Sesshoumaru hadn't shown him what he wanted to know, since
he felt the need to ask.

Second, the cold feeling that had been plaguing him earlier was gone. And he hadn't even
stepped back into the sanctuary proper yet.
 "No," he said. It was true enough now, he supposed, although he could not think of the reason
for Zero's leaving him.

"Is that so? Well, good for you then. Perhaps it's moved on to haunt someone else."

Sesshoumaru should have felt elated to hear that. Instead, the icy claws of worry pricked at
his heart.

Chapter End Notes

Okay, one more part to go! I hope you enjoyed the smuttier elements at the beginning—
you've certainly waited long enough for them—as well as the mythological/fairy tale
bent to the second half. Now that I've had the breakthrough I needed, I should be good
to go from here. A lot of the next chapter is already written (I needed to write
SOMETHING when I couldn't figure this one out), but I do need to prioritize another
non-fanfic writing project for the next week and a half, so I ask for your patience there.
Let's hope I can get the finale of this Halloween story up…before Halloween!
 Side Story 1: Haunted Honeymoon, Part 4
Chapter Notes

😆
Thank you for your patience as I took care of a few things the last couple of weeks.
Also…would you be surprised anymore if I say this isn’t the end?

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Sesshoumaru set his phone on the coffee table as Rin stirred on the bed. He watched from his
spot on the sofa as she pried open her eyes. They shut again like a spring-loaded trap, and she
rubbed them and her temples with a groan.

He almost felt pity for her…but after the torment she had put him through last night, he was
feeling a little petty this morning.

She lifted her arms to stretch, and then her eyes shot open wide in something like a sense of
wonder. She took a moment to stare up at her fingers, flexing them above her head. A small,
satisfied smile slipped onto her lips.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru said, pulling her attention to him. Her grin widened further.

"Good morning, Sesshoumaru," she purred in a deep voice mired by sleep as she sat up. She
was still dressed in her negligee from last night, though her naked bottom was hidden beneath
the covers. She glanced down at her body, running a hand over her nylon-covered breasts and
belly before looking at the other side of the bed; it didn't even have an imprint of his body
upon it. She shivered and pulled the blankets over her shoulders, sending him a coquettish
look. "It's cold this morning. Why don't you come over here and warm me up?"

"We need to talk."

Just like that, all pretense of flirtatiousness was gone. She turned away. "Perhaps we can talk
later. My head is about to burst."

Sesshoumaru nodded towards her nightstand. "Take the water and pills there."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she did just that. "My, how thoughtful."

"Now we can talk."

The little minx rolled her eyes as she finished off the rest of the water. "Very well. About
what?"

"About your little 'game' last night."

Rin frowned, sucking on her lip. "What game?"

Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed. "Do you not recall?" With how much that alcohol had
affected her, it was likely, he supposed.

"Remind me."

He pulled her panties out of his pocket and held them up hooked over a finger. "You left me
with these last night…and then proceeded to leave the safety of the sanctuary."

Rin smirked. "Oh, did I?"

"You promised me a chase…yet, you ran straight to Aengus."

Now his wife was biting back laughter. "Sesshoumaru…are you jealous?"

Sesshoumaru's jaw tensed. "Do you know what he made me go through last night to get you
back?"

Rin took a deep breath and flopped back against the pillows. "Did I dream of a giant dog
demon last night, or was that you?"

"Rin, I told you that these sídhe play dangerous games. Not only did he take you out of the
sanctuary last night, but he brought you through the Otherworld. One wrong step, and you
could have ended up in the land of the dead."

Rin rolled out of bed, dragging the comforter behind her like a cloak. She walked over and
reached out as if to brush some hair back behind his ear. Her hand hesitated only a second
before she did so, her fingers grazing his ear. Sesshoumaru repressed a shiver.

"It seems I worried you unduly. Perhaps I need to remind you that I am alive and well."

Sesshoumaru stared in confusion as she dropped the comforter, finally giving him a view of
her sex through the folds of her lingerie. His eyes zeroed in on his elusive target now that it
was finally within his grasp…and yet something nagged in the back of his mind.

Rin sounded…off.

She slid her hand down to his chest, letting her fingers snag on the buttons of his shirt. She
plucked one open and then another. "You have too many clothes on," she whispered.

She leaned in and kissed him, but her lips were soft and tentative against his, as if unsure of
how he would respond. When he did, she grew bolder, situating herself upon his legs so that
her naked cunt lay against his excited cock.

Something still felt wrong, though he couldn't put a finger on it. To give himself a moment to
think, he grabbed her hands and pulled away. "Wait."

"Why?" she asked. "Don't you want me?" She stuck out her chest a little.
"Of course. But we should call Kagome, before we get distracted and it becomes too late."

Rin frowned. "Why?"

Now that uneasy sense turned into an alarm bell. He reached for his phone and flicked it onto
what he had been looking at before she woke up. He turned the screen around so she could
see the photo there. "My father sent me these yesterday. Apparently, he took so many photos
of the girls, it took ages for him to choose his favorites to send. That's why we didn't get them
until late last night, well after our…adventure."

Sesshoumaru hadn't thought he would ever care for those puppy suits Izayoi made, and yet
the second he opened the photo, he felt like he'd been shot in the heart with an arrow.

The girls were getting in some "tummy time," as Rin termed it. Setsuna lay on her belly with
a toy in her mouth, peeking up at the camera. Towa was sprawled across her sister's back,
hoisting herself up on her little arms, staring at the camera with her tiny mouth open in a
surprised "o." The fluffy dog ears on their hoods stuck out from both girls' heads, and with
Towa's little butt perked up in the air, she gave the appearance of wagging the fluffy tail on
the suit.

Sesshoumaru expected Rin to snatch the phone right out of his hands and scream at the
cuteness. He expected her to dial Kagome that moment and demand a live viewing of the
girls so she could coo over them in real time.

He did not expect her to mutter, "How charming," as if she didn't mean it, and then pluck the
phone out of his fingers and place it facedown on the table. "I've been waiting a long time for
this, Sesshoumaru," Rin murmured, snaking her hand down to his waistband. She shyly
brushed her fingers against his bulge, pulling back as if she had never manhandled him
before. "They can wait just a little longer."

Now he knew something was wrong. Rin would never set aside a chance to talk to their girls
—especially not in those outfits.

And then he realized what felt wrong: he couldn't feel her emotions.

He felt her—she was very much alive, as evidenced by her personage upon his lap—but the
dull hum in their bond felt akin to when she was in a dreamless sleep. Recalling the past few
moments, he realized he hadn't felt a single thing from her: pain from her hangover, lust from
her horniness, joy from seeing her babies, or annoyance that he was keeping them from
hitting the mattress.

He cupped Rin's head and stared at her. "What happened to you?"

She froze. "W-What do you mean?"

"You're not yourself."

"Who else would I be? Is it wrong of me to want my husband when it's finally just the two of
us?"
Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth. It wasn't—but he had never seen Rin so dead-set on having
him before. Normally, he wouldn't complain, but considering where they were and the
trickery that went on last night—

His eyes widened. Last night.

Of course. Aengus.

"Sesshoumaru, what is it?"

"He did bespell you."

Rin's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Sesshoumaru grit his teeth. "Aengus. Whether he slipped a love potion in your drink or
ensorcelled you while you were alone, I know he did something."

It took a few seconds before Rin laughed—low and throaty and not at all like her usual self.
"Is that what you think? And why would he do that?"

"I intend to find out. Put on some clothes."

"Why does it matter if he put a love spell on me? Won't you benefit from it?" She pressed her
hands to his chest as if to push him back against the couch, but for once, Sesshoumaru would
not cede to her paltry, human strength.

"Because I suspect you will be receptive to anyone who has designs on you until it wears off
or he gets rid of it," he replied.

Rin gasped, quiet delight dancing in her eyes. "You really are jealous! Oh, how interesting
indeed."

The alarm bells had gone full klaxon in Sesshoumaru's head. This was not how Rin spoke.
Would a love spell have tampered with her mind this much?

"May I shower first?" Rin asked. "Perhaps you can join me."

"Throw something on. I intend to get to the bottom of this immediately."

Rin sighed, getting off his lap and muttering, "A one-track mind, as usual," before heading to
the dresser. She pulled off the lingerie top and dropped it, casting a look over her shoulder as
he got a full view of her naked backside. Her breasts taunted him from their reflection in the
mirror. "Are you sure? Last chance…." She ran a hand up her stomach, then tweaked a
nipple.

Sesshoumaru stood, walked over to the closet, pulled out the first dress his hand touched (a
high-necked, ruffled black affair), and then shoved them at her. She tsked, grabbed some
underwear, and went to the bathroom. As soon as she was done, he grabbed her hand and led
her out the door.
He was never one to sit around and wait. He could have called Aengus and demanded the
sídhe come to the cottage, but Sesshoumaru was a predator, and it went against his nature to
destroy the surprise of an attack.

Less chance his prey would flee before he could snag it in his jaws.

In the light of day, the forest seemed harmless. No sooner had he thought that than orbs of
light—those pesky will o' the wisps—appeared. They blended in with the stray beams of
sunlight shining through the trees, appearing like sparkling dewdrops in his vision, but he
recognized them for what they were. Several of them approached, floating around his and
Rin's heads.

He walked through them without care. Rin sneered and batted them away. Sesshoumaru
frowned. His wife should have loved the sight of such ethereal creatures, annoying or not.

One will o' the wisp settled near his ear and whispered, "Go to the temple."

He glanced sidelong at it. "Is that where the master of this forest is?"

"Go to the mountain," another said.

"Go to the sea," a third intoned.

"Useless vermin," Sesshoumaru muttered. No doubt they were trying to trick him again,
though their efforts were downright pathetic this time around.

He sniffed around, catching a fresher scent of Aengus and Caer on the path to the glen. When
Sesshoumaru pulled Rin through the fairy ring and into the world of rainbows and mist, his
back prickled once more with the sensation of being watched.

/Watch out./

Sesshoumaru froze, his head whipping around, looking for the voice. Once again, no one was
there.

But that hadn't been Zero's voice, though it was a woman's. In fact, he didn't recognize the
voice at all.

Then his foot connected with something heavy, kicking it over, and the tinkle of spilling
coins pierced the air.

"Watch where you're going, you clodhoppin' fool!" a high-pitched voice squeaked.
Something whacked his foot, and Sesshoumaru looked down with a growl.

A little, redheaded woman no taller than his ankle and carrying a hammer glared up at him. "I
won't be bullied by the likes of you!" she cried out, gathering some coins that had fallen out
of a small cauldron hidden under the bush. "You won't have me gold, ya hear?"

Sesshoumaru huffed. So this little vermin was what had been whispering warnings in his ear?
His irritation took over, and he kicked the cauldron—and the rest of its contents—clear
across the glen. It landed in the pool with a splash.

The leprechaun's scream of outrage joined the surprised shrieks of those in the pool.

"What in the blazes was that?" Aengus cried out.

Sesshoumaru ignored the leprechaun attacking his shoe with the hammer and strode through
the mists towards the glassy pond. Just as they reached the shore, Aengus got out of the
water, rivulets running down his pale, chiseled body.

"Oh my," Rin purred, staring at Aengus as if she were an art student examining the statue of
David.

Sesshoumaru growled, slapping a hand over her eyes. "Aengus." His voice cut across the
summery glen like a winter wind.

Aengus grinned. "Have you come to join us, friend? The more the merrier." He winked, and
Caer, still in the water, splashed him from behind, although Sesshoumaru noticed she did not
cover herself. The sídhe were not shy about their bodies.

"Friend? Do not use that word with me, Aengus. What have you done to Rin?" Sesshoumaru
demanded as his wife brazenly parted his fingers to peer through them at their host.

Aengus frowned in confusion, and Caer rested her arms on the lip of the pool with a curious
look on her face. "What are ya talkin' about, mate? I've not done a thing to her."

"She's not herself."

"How d'ya mean?"

Rin suddenly slipped out of Sesshoumaru's grasp and skipped over to Aengus, wrapping one
arm around his neck and putting a hand on his pec. Sesshoumaru and Aengus froze in shock
as she pulled the Irish god closer and batted her eyes at him. "You cut a very fine figure, sir."
She walked her fingers down his chest until they dipped so close to his nether regions that
Aengus finally stopped her hand in its tracks. Rin just chuckled. "Did you know I'm partial to
redheads?" She reached up and fingered one of the man's thick curls. Aengus' eyes flicked
from Rin to Sesshoumaru to his wife, as if trying to determine who was the most danger to
him right then.

Sesshoumaru's heart felt as if a sword had gone through it. He knew this was only the work
of the spell, and yet seeing Rin drape herself over another man like that cut him far deeper
than he had believed it could.

Caer's mouth contorted, and Sesshoumaru wondered if she too was so shocked, she couldn't
move to rip Rin off her husband.

Suddenly though, a laugh burst out of her. "You should see the looks on your faces," Caer
giggled, pointing at Sesshoumaru and Aengus.
"Darling, I'm hurt," Aengus answered, looking sidelong at her. "Another woman is draped
upon my naked person, and you're not jealous in the least?"

"Men are so oblivious," Caer sighed. "She's obviously acting."

Sesshoumaru and Aengus both looked back to Rin, who smirked. Rin lazily pulled on one of
Aengus' curls, watching it spring back into place. "I wasn't lying though. I really do like red
hair."

"Miss Rin, if this really is a joke, could you please let go of me before your husband decides
it's no longer funny?" Aengus asked, reaching up to remove the arm from his neck.

Sesshoumaru had never thought it was funny. But Aengus was right about one thing: the
longer Rin stayed wrapped around him, the more likely it was that Sesshoumaru would
separate Aengus' head from his shoulders, so that Rin had nothing to wrap her arms around.

"Rin, that's enough," Sesshoumaru said. Perhaps she was acting now, but she hadn't been
earlier. Something was still wrong with her. He knew it.

Rin moved aside, and Aengus breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived, however, because
she then coiled her arms around his and laid her head on his shoulder. She cut her mate a sly
look, reverting to Japanese. "How does it feel, Sesshoumaru, to watch what should be yours
be with someone else?"

"What?" Sesshoumaru asked.

/Imposter,/ a male voice whispered in his ear, and he stiffened.

"M-My dear, it's getting a little cozy here. Perhaps we could discuss this with a little
breathing room?" Aengus asked, trying to push away. Sesshoumaru watched in confusion as
Aengus, using all his sídhe strength, could not budge from the steel cage of Rin's arms.

Rin looked up at Aengus and let his arm go. "Very well. Let's talk."

But instead of stepping away, she grabbed Aengus' head pulled their lips together. This time,
even Caer screeched in indignation, and Sesshoumaru felt his heart stop.

/That's not Rin!/ two childish voices shouted at him as if he were dense.

Which he was. Because now he understood. But the realization did nothing to restart his
heart.

"Zero."

Rin pulled away from Aengus with a dark smile. "It took you long enough, Sesshoumaru."

"What have you done to Rin?"

"I'm trying out her body for a little while." She twirled around as if she were trying on a
dress. "But this feeling of humanity is positively revolting."
"Get. Out," Sesshoumaru growled, baring his claws.

"W-What's happening?" Caer demanded, not understanding their exchange. She got out of the
water all the same. Aengus looked back and forth at the two in anxious interest.

"Careful, Sesshoumaru. You wouldn't want to damage your precious little mate, would you?"
Zero asked. She stepped towards him, and his body froze, unsure of what to do. Half of him
wanted to pull away, knowing an enemy stood before him. The other half saw Rin
approaching and wanted to move closer to her.

As he deliberated, Zero grabbed his hand, running her thumb along his nails. "Such fragile
beings, these humans." She sliced the pad of her thumb across his claw, and the tang of Rin's
blood filled the air. Sesshoumaru growled and tried to pull his hand away, but Zero held it
fast. She lifted up the bleeding appendage for him to see. "What do you think, Sesshoumaru?
Shall I take a page from Naraku's book and make you kill your own wife?"

She jerked his claws towards her throat, and it took all of Sesshoumaru's strength to wrench
his arm away and backpedal from her.

"I will never hurt her," Sesshoumaru said.

Zero raised her brows. "Then I will." And before he could stop her, she jumped up and flew
into the canopy, disappearing from view.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in alarm, and he leapt forward to go after her. If she could fly,
then was that just a side-effect of possession, or were some of Zero's old powers available to
her in Rin's body? Either way, Rin was in mortal danger.

But as soon as he broke through the canopy, the autumn wind rolled over him uninhibited,
and he lost Rin's scent. He spun in a circle, looking for any hint of her on the horizon or some
disruption in the canopy of trees. Nothing.

"Sesshoumaru, what's going on?" Aengus called out from below. He ignored the sídhe.

He needed to find Rin. Every moment counted. How had Zero possessed her? When? Did it
matter? She needed to be stopped.

The trees rustled as Aengus—now fully clothed but still dripping wet, his clothes sticking to
him in damp spots—leapt up to the canopy and perched on the tips of the branches, defying
physics. Caer followed him. "Has your wife always been able to fly, friend?"

"Of course not!" Sesshoumaru snarled, his eyes flashing red. "She's been possessed by a
jealous wraith."

Caer sucked in a breath. Aengus rubbed his lips and said, "Ach, well, that explains it. She
didn't seem like the kinda girl to go around kissin' blokes for the fun o' it."

Sesshoumaru was in front of him in a second, glaring at the man as he towered over him.
"Wipe. It. From. Your. Mind," he bit out.
"Boys, stop it!" Caer huffed, pushing the two apart."We need to concentrate on helping Rin.
But first, we have to find her."

"I've lost her scent," Sesshoumaru admitted.

"Why do men have such short memories?" Caer grumbled. "She's been possessed by a ghost
who can freely move between worlds this day. You'll never find her by normal means. You'll
have to—"

"Pass through the Otherworld," Sesshoumaru finished. Now he reached out his demonic
senses to feel for any tears in the barrier between this world and the next. Likely, that
entrance would be where Zero had gone as well.

He took off without another word when his awareness brushed against it. The weft of the
portal shimmered only when he was practically upon it, and it pushed against him as he tried
to enter it. Behind him, wings flapped.

Suddenly, he broke through into darkness.

At least this time he knew what to expect. It wasn't hard to focus all his thoughts on Rin—her
safety was all he could think about at the moment. A pathway opened up before him, but as
he passed through the exit, he felt as if he were digging through mud. The barrier was
growing less permeable as the day dragged on; at any other time, that would reassure him,
but right now, he needed unimpeded passage.

The barrier suddenly gave way, and he popped through the other side like a cork from a bottle
of champagne. The heady scent of brine smacked him in the face, and a wave nearly knocked
him out of the sky. He reacted so quickly, the water only licked the sole of his shoe as he flew
up to survey the area.

An archway of rock curved overhead, the sea passing through the tunnel it created. He flew
to the ceiling, sticking to the shadows in case there were humans in the area. It was still
morning, after all. He peeked out from below the lip of the arch and looked up. Jagged cliffs
rose above him, and a white lighthouse perched on top. Sesshoumaru flew closer, keeping
against the rockface. No boats drifted for as far as he could see, and he could not scent
anything but the ocean and the overwhelming stench of gulls and their droppings that littered
the rocks. But in pushing out with his demonic senses, he detected only one human on the
island.

Zero was here. He just hasn't found her yet.

Satisfied that there were no stray humans to see him, he soared above the lighthouse until he
could look down upon the whole area. The archway was actually a towering island whose
middle had been carved out by the tides. Water frothed in its dark maw as if it were the jaws
of Hell. Aside from the modern lighthouse, an ancient ruin clung to the edges of the rocks,
but it too was uninhabited.

Where was Zero?

He looked down at the water. The portal had opened over the waves, so could Zero have
drowned Rin? Had that been her plan?

He nearly dove in to search for her when he stopped. Rin's quiet presence in their bond still
reassured him that she lived. He had grown so used to it now that he sometimes forget it
wasn't a natural part of himself.

Finally, he spotted his love perched on the edge of a cliff that dropped straight into the ocean.
She faced the water, her black dress billowing in the breeze behind her. The sight of her like
that brought to mind the image of some dark angel watching over humanity from on high.

If only her body did not house a demon.

Zero turned around, tucking back Rin's wild hair as it blew all across her face. "You finally
showed up. You took so long, I was beginning to wonder if you really even loved her."

"Enough hiding, Zero. Leave her at once, or face the consequences."

Zero laughed. "And just what do you think you can do to me, Sesshoumaru? In case you've
forgotten, I'm already dead." Her expression hardened, and it looked so wrong on Rin's sweet
face that Sesshoumaru stiffened. "And this time…I will make sure to take your wife to the
underworld with me."

"Nothing will happen to Rin as long as I am here."

"But what can you do? You don't even have Tenseiga. Not that it would work—you have
already used it on her once before."

Tenseiga. He clenched his fists. The sword that could slay those of the netherworld would
certainly be of use here, but what good was thinking about it when it was thousands of
kilometers away?

Something pulsed within him—similar to how Bakusaiga had first called to him and yet…
different. The feeling was not innate. Rather, it was like a prod at his soul.

Tenseiga?

An image of the sword vibrating as it hung on the dojo wall at Western Sanctuary popped
into his head—the same image he had seen last night when traversing the path through the
Otherworld.

Of course. There was a way to retrieve Tenseiga. But he would have to go back down to the
portal in the archway below. Could he lead Zero that way? How? He needed to stall while he
thought up a way.

"What is it that you want, Zero?"

Zero cocked Rin's head to the side. "Have I not made myself clear, Sesshoumaru? I want to
see you suffer. I want your human bitch to die."
"But that's not all you wanted, was it?" Sesshoumaru asked, stepping closer. Luckily, he
appeared to have caught Zero's attention, because she did not back Rin up any further
towards the cliff's edge. "What was it you told me last night? 'One way or another, I will be
your wife.'"

Zero laughed and gestured to herself. "And so I am!"

"Earlier, you were intent on seducing me. Had I not been preoccupied with Aengus, you
might have succeeded." It galled him to admit it, but the fact that he would even say such
words appeared to root her in place.

Even so, a slight grimace wrinkled Zero's lips. "Yes, well…I can't say I've had much practice
acting as a human slut."

Sesshoumaru's fingers twitched with the urge to maul her for that insult, but of course, Zero
wore Rin's face, and he could never hurt Rin. He pushed his anger down, knowing it would
not get him the results he desired. But to get those results…he was going to have to act. And
he was a terrible actor.

He finally stood right in front of her and reached out, pushing some of Rin's wispy hair
behind her ear. Zero sucked in a breath. "Do you hate me or want me, Zero?"

Her expression wavered. Sesshoumaru repressed a smirk. Aengus and Caer were right—a
ghost's primary motivation was its grudge. So to keep Zero from harming Rin, he had to
focus her attention on another aspect of her grudge: him. "C-can't it be both?" Zero
murmured.

"Do you still pine for my father?"

Zero tensed. "Touga made his feelings clear; I reconciled myself to them before I died. What
I do regret….is not having what was mine."

"Me."

"Yes."

An opening.

Sesshoumaru cupped her head and kissed her. Zero froze—a horrible reminder that the soul
in his wife's body was not her own—but he continued to kiss her, using the familiar feeling of
her lips to keep up his act. Soon enough, Zero relaxed, and she wrapped her arms around his
broad shoulders, pulling him in closer. She even kissed him back.

How far would he have to go to fulfill her grudge? It made him sick to think he might have to
go all the way; he wasn't sure he could reconcile the fact that while Rin's body might be
beneath his, her soul wasn't in it.

He pulled away to give Rin's body some air, but Zero just clutched tighter to him. "I know
what you're doing," she hissed.
"Hm?"

"You think this will be enough to appease me?"

He was afraid of that. "What must I do to make you leave her alone?"

Zero looked up at him, her hand snaking up his back to grip some of his long hair like a
leash. She smirked.

"You must die."

Then she jerked them both backwards off the cliff.

It was not a straight plunge into the water. The rigid edges of rock below rushed closer, and
Sesshoumaru tried to use his powers of flight to shove them off course and reverse their
descent, but something besides gravity was fighting him.

Zero. She's flying us headlong into the rocks. Even if he survived, Rin would surely die.

Suddenly, something slammed into him with a pained honk, and as he and Zero spun away, a
flash of white tumbled out of his vision. A swan?

He released the thought and concentrated on trying to pull up. Even though they were
heading for the waves now, from this height and in this position, Rin's whole body was liable
to break upon impact with the waves. With seconds to spare, Sesshoumaru stopped fighting
Zero and instead wrapped his arms and fur around Rin's head and body, twisting in the air to
make sure he was beneath her and hit the water first.

The frigid sea slammed into him like a bed of concrete, and had Sesshoumaru not been a
demon, his bones might have shattered. As it was, his body spasmed, stunned from the
impact. The saltwater burned his eyes and blurred his vision.

It took a few precious seconds for him to realize that Zero was still clutching him. She hadn't
let go. Rin was alive.

He tried to move his body and swim towards the surface, but it protested, still smarting.
Meanwhile, Zero tugged at him, and as the pressure on his body increased, he realized she
was trying to swim lower.

Move, he commanded himself. His legs finally started kicking, and their struggle in the water
kept them suspended. Slowly though, they started rising—but Rin's grip was loosening.

No! She couldn't drown—not when he was right there to help her. He struggled to get a
proper grip on her and pull her up. Feebly, she fought back. When he grabbed her arm, he
found it covered in goosebumps.

If she doesn't drown, she'll freeze.

Suddenly, Rin's emotions came flooding through their link—surprise, fear, pain. They
bombarded him, and he froze in shock.
/Rot in Hell, Sesshoumaru,/ Zero hissed.

She was escaping and he couldn't follow. But Rin was more important. He had to get her to
the surface. He couldn't lose her.

A dark shape darted around the edge of his vision. What was it—a dolphin? A shark?

The dark mass swam right between the two of them, hooking itself through their arms like a
collar and shooting to the surface. Soft fur rubbed against Sesshoumaru's hands. When his
head broke through the waves, he sucked down a lungful of air and brushed the water from
his eyes. Now he had a clear view of Rin. Without his grip on her, she started slipping off the
creature—the seal's—back. Two swans dropped onto the waves, plunging their heads into the
water and pulling at her clothes with their beaks to situate her back on the seal.

/Sesshoumaru!/

Sesshoumaru whipped around upon hearing the voices of the two children again. But he
couldn't see anyone else on the rocks or waves.

/What is this?/ Zero cried. /Who are you? Let go of me!/

/Hurry!/ a male voice—different from the one who spoke to him in the glade—added. /We
can't hold her for long!/

/Call the Tenseiga!/ a woman's voice—the one he had mistaken for the leprechaun—pleaded.

Who were these ghosts helping him? It didn't matter—he would take what help he could get.
But Rin—

He met one of the swan's eyes—Aengus, he was sure—and the bird made a sound and
flapped its wing in a direction as if telling him to go.

He would have to trust that these sídhe would save his mate. He flew out of the water, its
weight slowing him as he soared towards the entrance to the portal that loomed over them.
That familiar vibration in the air told him he had reached the entrance.

Sesshoumaru held out his hand. "Tenseiga, come to me!"

/Fool! You are not that sword's master. It will not heed you!/ Zero cried out.

A pulse resounded in Sesshoumaru's body, and he concentrated hard upon that connection,
tugging it like a rope. Come. Come to your master.

It could have been a glint of the seas, but Sesshoumaru swore he saw a blue glow through the
ocean mist. He reached through, his hand struggling against the barrier of the portal.

And then he grasped a hilt.

It took more strength than he expected to pull it through the gateway; the sword felt tethered
to the other side, and his bruised body protested. But he didn't give up, and Tenseiga
materialized centimeter by centimeter in his hand.

/Impossible!/ Zero shrieked.

Sesshoumaru smirked, feeling the cold, steel grip warm in his palm. The sword swung like a
divining rod, and Sesshoumaru spun around until the blade was pointing straight at Zero.
Finally, he could see her—as well as the spirits holding her back. Five of them—two men, a
woman, and two boys, all human—gripped Zero's limbs and body with all their unearthly
might.

/You will not harm her ever again!/ one of them men shouted at Zero. His '90's length hair
stuck out from his head in familiar kinks, and Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in realization.

Rin's father.

Then the others….

A look at their struggling faces showed there was no time for that insight now. It appeared
that even ghosts had hierarchies of power.

"Now you are truly finished, Zero," Sesshoumaru declared. He swung Tenseiga at Zero's
exposed neck, making sure not to hit the other ghosts. She cried out—in horror or rapture, he
couldn't quite tell—as her form dissolved into beads of light.

His five unexpected helpers straightened and turned to face him. The lone woman smiled,
and the tilt of her brown eyes were Rin's.

/Thank you, son./

The other man gestured to the portal. There was a softness to his face that he recognized in
Souta and Kagome. /Go on. They took her back to the sanctuary./

Sesshoumaru turned to go and then paused. He glanced back. "Thank you."

/You're welcome, bro!/ the twin boys called out, straightening with youthful pride and
grinning with Rin's smile.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head to his deceased in-laws and then sped into the portal. His
thoughts of Rin led him back to the sanctuary, and when he emerged in the forest, the wet,
salty scent of her, Roan, Aengus, and Caer led him back to their cottage. Aengus stood sentry
outside, drying off with one of their towels.

"Well, that'll be a Samhain to remember for sure," Aengus remarked when Sesshoumaru
landed.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She's awake, but the cold's made her sleepy. Caer and Roan are giving her a bath and
making her some tea to keep her awake while she warms up. They'll make sure she's fine."
 Aengus' words matched the feelings coming through Sesshoumaru's bond with Rin—those of
tiredness, relief and just an undercurrent of worry.

Aengus then offered Sesshoumaru a dry towel hanging on the back of a patio chair. He took it
in silence and paused, knowing he should thank their host for his help…but he was still
irritated about the previous night.

Suddenly Aengus blurted out, "I'm sorry, mate."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "For?"

Aengus scratched the back of his head, his sagging curls now a dark russet. "I may have been
heeding your wife's plans last night, but I shoulda been smarter goin' about it. It's likely my
fault your little lady was possessed. I brought her outside the barrier of the sanctuary, and
I'm bettin' when she fell asleep—and after one too many drinks at that—her mental defenses
were lowered enough to allow that lowlife of a ghost to possess her. …Did you take care of
it?" Sesshoumaru nodded. Aengus exhaled a breath. "Good. That's somethin', at least. And as
a token of my apology, allow me to refund half of your stay here." He held out his hand.

Sesshoumaru stared hard at the appendage for a moment before finally taking Aengus' hand
and shaking it. "Do not think you can buy my forgiveness for last night." He let go and went
to open the door but paused. His conscience nagged at him, so he bit out the words, "But I
will not forget what you did for Rin tonight." Then he pushed his way into the cottage.

Aengus chuckled behind him as the door closed. "Words of gratitude from the great
Sesshoumaru. What other wonders will this day bring?"

Chapter End Notes

I know I promised this would be the end; however, not only was proofreading taking
longer than expected, but this felt like a good place to break off the original chapter
between the climax and resolution. A classic five-act story! Anyway, never fear, because
the end is already written (just not proofread), so…I'll finish this spooky story in the
proper spirit and post the final update on Halloween. It's a promise! Until then!

PS: The island where Sesshoumaru and Zero have their final standoff is Bull Rock. I
read somewhere that its opening is known as the Gates to the Underworld, so I couldn't
resist using it as a portal for that reason. Look it up - it's pretty cool!
 Side Story 1: Haunted Honeymoon, Part 5
Chapter Summary

Happy Halloween!

Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Rin woke up to find herself in her pajamas and tucked into bed. The curtains were pulled
over the windows, cloaking the room in darkness, but not even the light peeping from behind
the window curtains very strong. She lifted her head to look at the clock and blinked in
confusion. 15:56. How long had she been asleep?

Her last memories slowly came back to her: shivering as she drank tea in a hot bath. Why had
she been so cold? A vague recollection of drowning hit her, but surely that was a dream.
After all, how would she have gotten into the ocean?

Ocean…. Beach! Hadn't Aengus taken her to the beach so she could continue her game of
hide and seek with Sesshoumaru? Yes! Roan settled me under her skin, but it was so warm,
and I was so tired, I thought I'd just close my eyes for a minute before Sesshoumaru came. Oh
dear—I must have slept right through that.

She shifted, suddenly realizing that a cage of arms was wrapped around her middle. "S-
Sesshoumaru?"

As soon as she turned over, Sesshoumaru reached out to caress her temple. "Rin, are you
well?"

"I'm fine," she answered, pulling herself up and yawning. Sesshoumaru sat up with her. "Oof,
but I might have slept too long. My eyes are still tired. What happened? Did you…." She
blushed. "Did you find me?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"Do you not remember?" Cheeks reddening in shame, she shook her head. Sesshoumaru
glanced away as if out of guilt. "You were…possessed."

Rin frowned in confusion. "Possessed? By what?"

"…Zero."
Rin gasped. "Are you serious?" Her heart hammered, and she grasped his hands in hers. "W-
What happened? What did I do? Are…are you okay?"

Sesshoumaru reached out and rubbed her cheek, soothing her. "You did not do anything.
Zero…held you hostage. But she is gone now—for good. Body and soul. You will never have
to worry about her again."

"How can you be sure?" Sesshoumaru nodded to the dresser, where Tenseiga lay atop it. Rin's
eyes widened. "How did Tenseiga get here?"

"Later. First, there is something more pressing we must do."

Rin blinked. "There is?" Then she blushed. Oh, right. By the sounds of it, we didn't actually
get to do any lovemaking last night.

"Yes. You should get dressed."

That was not the answer she was expecting. Rin arched an eyebrow, scooching closer to him.
She pulled off her pajama top and ran her hands over his shoulders, twisting some of his hair
around her fingers. "Really? Are you sure about that?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her breasts like a starving man. He then closed his eyes as if it pained
him. "For the moment…yes. There's not much time."

"Not much time for what?" Rin asked, disappointment welling within her as he pulled
himself off the bed.

Sesshoumaru tossed her some warm clothes and tied Tenseiga to his belt. "Visitors."

"Visitors?" she echoed, unsure who he could mean. Had her in-laws surprised them and
brought the babies over after all? But no, they couldn't have gotten passports that quickly.
And Sesshoumaru would not tolerate his brother and her sister coming to visit on their
honeymoon. So who could they be? Nevertheless, she dressed as she was told, and then
Sesshoumaru took her by the hand and led her back through the forest.

"It's very quiet today," Rin commented.

"Most of the sídhe stumbled back to their beds this morning. They were…loud."

Rin stifled a giggle. She had a feeling Sesshoumaru had heard more than he intended to last
night.

He brought her back to the henge. The hum in the air had quieted, the energy less
overwhelming. The sun lay just over the horizon now. Why were they here? Who were they
meeting?

/Rin./

"Yes?" she answered, looking at her husband.

He glanced back at her. "I did not say anything."

Rin frowned. "But someone…."

/Rin./ This time, the voice was female.

Rin spun around. "W-Who's there?"

"Do not fear, Rin. They will not hurt you."

"They?"

/Rinny!/ a couple of childish voices exclaimed.

The name jolted through Rin, striking a chord deep within her. Rinny. Who called me Rinny?

The names came to her lips without conscious thought. "Sora? Haru?"

It can't be. Her heart seized with sudden hope.

Cold fingers pressed against Rin's hands, pulling her forward, though she saw nothing.
Goosebumps broke out over her body, and she looked to Sesshoumaru in fear; he lifted
Tenseiga.

But instead of unsheathing his sword and slaying whatever had grabbed her, he tied it to her
hip.

She faced forward again, and as if a veil had been torn from her eyes, two pale forms
coalesced in front of her, tugging at her. Two little boys she recognized more from photos
now than memory.

Tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh gods. Sora. Haru. It is you." Had her brothers always been so
small? She recalled them towering over her as a child, yet petite as she was, they still only
came up to her waist. Little lives cut so short.

/Come say hi, Rinny,/ Haru said, leading her a few steps closer to a monolith.

"Hi…?"

They came to a stop in front of one of the portals, and when Rin looked up, three more spirits
appeared. Rin gasped.

/Hello, sweetie,/ her birth mother said.

/How's my little girl doing?" her birth father asked.

"M-Mommy? Daddy? Is…is that really you?"

/We're so happy we can finally speak to you,/ another male said, and Rin's tears flowed anew.

"Dad!" Her foster father smiled at her.

Rin blinked the tears away, trying to see her family's already indistinct forms more clearly.
"I…I don't know what to say. W-Where do I start? There's so much. Oh!" She ran back and
grabbed Sesshoumaru's arm, pulling him forward. "This is my husband, Sesshoumaru. A-And
we have two daughters: Towa and Setsuna. Here, wait, I can show you a picture—" She
fumbled for her phone, but her birth father put his hand over hers with a smile.

/We know, Rin. We've been watching over you all this time./

/Besides, you already told us all this stuff by the grave,/ Sora said in that way children do
when they think it's funny that adults forgot something.

/But now we can actually talk back!/ Haru piped up.

"I don't understand. You haven't…reincarnated yet? It's been so long."

Her family all looked at one another, as if debating what to say. Finally, her foster father said,
/I'm surprised Grandpa hasn't drilled it into your head, Rin." He hunched his shoulders,
squinted his eyes, lifted a finger, and recited in a warbling voice eerily reminiscent of his
father's, "No spirit can pass on when there are lingering regrets. If you can't appease it,
exorcise it!/

Rin laughed. She had forgotten her foster father had such a sense of humor. When she calmed
down, she considered his words anew. "Does that mean you all have…regrets?"

Her mother smiled sadly. /We have so much to tell you, but so little time. So, suffice to say:
Rin, we're so proud of the woman you've become./

Rin clutched her heart as it squeezed. "Thank you, Mommy. I…I was so worried I'd
disappointed you—"

/You could never disappoint us, sweetheart,/ her mother said, placing her cold hands on Rin's
shoulders. /Rather, isn't it we who disappointed you? We left you behind./

Rin shook her head. "The accident wasn't your fault. I never blamed you for that."

/Still, we hated to watch you suffer,/ her mother replied, stroking Rin's hair, and it moved as
if on a breeze.

Rin looked over at her foster father, a little stricken. There was a horrible truth that was so
obvious and yet…to unearth the words was to bring attention to them. Still, with so little
time, she felt it must be said. "Of course I wish I had never lost you all, but…would you hate
me if I said…I can't imagine my life without the Higurashis either? T-They've been so good
to me—" Her throat closed up, and she broke off in sobs, unable to speak anymore.

Two cold kisses pressed against her forehead, and she looked up to find both her fathers
pulling back from her, their hands on her arms.

/How could we begrudge you the love you've found?/ her birth father asked. /We are more
grateful than words can express for the Higurashis./
/It goes both ways, Rin,/ her foster father added. /I know I don't just speak for myself when I
say you enriched my life. You made my last years all the more special. I still remember the
drawing you gave me for my first Father's Day after your adoption—it was one of my
favorite gifts ever. And of course, all the pictures and wildflowers you later decorated my
hospital room with. I felt so lucky to be loved by a daughter like you./

"Dad," Rin sniffed, unable to get any other words out.

The sun slipped down the horizon, a bright ray shooting straight through the stone arch in
front of Rin and blinding her. She squinted. Her family's forms already seemed faded. Her
heart lurched in fear.

Samhain was ending.

"Wait, don't go!" she cried out. "I still have so much more to say!"

/As do we," her mother replied. She looked at Rin's father, who stepped back. Suddenly, he
bowed towards Sesshoumaru.

/Sesshoumaru, thank you for looking after our daughter. I know it may not mean much now,
since all is said and done…but you have our blessing./

Her mother smiled slyly. /After all, if you hadn't, Touga might have gone the whole night of
Inuyasha and Kagome's wedding none the wiser./

Rin sucked in a breath. "Then it was you. You broke the bracelet." I knew it.

Her mother shrugged. /It's true that the barrier between this world and the next is strong, but
there are some places, like the Higurashi shrine, where that barrier is thinner. Ghosts cannot
do much, but sometimes…with enough willpower, we can touch something in the physical
world. Just enough of a nudge to make an impact./

Rin took Sesshoumaru's hand and looked at him with a smile before turning back to her
parents. "Thank you. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without him either."

Sesshoumaru inclined his head to her family. "I will always protect her."

/We'll help if we can, just like today!/ Haru exclaimed, throwing out a punch.

/Yeah, no mean ol' ghost lady will ever hurt our little sis again,/ Sora agreed.

"What?" Rin asked, looking at her husband in confusion.

"Later," he said.

/We must go now, Rin,/ her father said. /But know that we're always watching over you./

"Wait!" She looked at her foster father and pulled out her phone "Dad, don't…don't you want
to talk to Mama, Grandpa, Kagome, and Souta? Maybe I can record a message. They'll be so
happy—"
She froze, looking between the screen and the air in front of her in shock. Nothing but haze
appeared on her camera, yet her family was still visible beyond the screen.

So it was true that ghosts couldn't be recorded.

"Okay, m-maybe I can't do that, but can't you, um, find a way to…to see them too while
you're here?"

/If the time should come when they need to see me, then they will,/ he replied. /But for now,
perhaps you could pass on a few messages for me?" Rin nodded, concentrating hard to
commit his words to memory. /Tell Dad, 'thank you.' Tell your mother I've never seen a
stronger woman. Tell Kagome I'm proud of her and looking forward to meeting my next
grandchild. Tell Souta that he's become a fine man with a good heart—and that I fully expect
another grandkid from him in the future!/ He chuckled. /And of course…tell them all I love
them./

"I will, Dad," Rin said, sniffing.

/We love you, Rin!/ Sora announced, hugging her waist. Haru joined in too. Despite feeling
like a band of ice had wrapped around her middle, Rin returned the gesture, though her arms
passed through their small backs.

"I love you too!" Rin exclaimed. The boys faded away, and she looked up in alarm, reaching
for her parents as the last of the sun's rays shone through their vanishing forms. "I love you
all!"

She was afraid they hadn't heard her, but as the wind rushed through the henge, she swore she
heard their words echo around her: we love you, we love you, we love you….

Rin turned to sob in Sesshoumaru's arms, but he reached instead for Tenseiga at her hip. "Rin,
wait here for me."

"W-Where are you going?"

He held up the sword. "I must return this to the dojo. It will raise unwanted questions if we
try to fly it back home."

"Oh, r-right." She looked back at the sun, where just a sliver hovered over the horizon. "But
will you make it back in time?"

"It will take only seconds."

She watched in awe as he tried to push through one of the portals. It resisted—until it
suddenly swallowed him whole. She cried out, racing for the portal and putting her hands
over it. She pushed, and it didn't budge.

"Sesshoumaru? Sesshoumaru!" she screamed.

Suddenly, he was in her arms again as the last of the sun fell below the horizon. The hum of
the stones died, and the rattle of leaves tumbling along the grass grew almost deafening as a
result.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rin breathed, burying her face in his chest. "I didn't want to spend the
rest of our honeymoon alone."

"I would have flown to you straightaway, with or without a plane, had I gotten stuck," he
answered.

She burst into tears—from relief, from seeing her family, from sheer love for this demon who
sought to give her one last opportunity to speak to them. He rubbed his hand over her back
until her face was numb from crying and she could squeeze out no more tears. Once she had
stopped, she sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"By the way…what time is it in Japan?"

Sesshoumaru consulted his phone. "Just past midnight."

Rin deflated. "I wanted to talk to my family and see our babies."

"We will call them first thing tomorrow morning," Sesshoumaru said, pulling her back into
his arms. Then he leaned down and kissed the path of drying tears up her cheeks. "But
perhaps in the meantime, I can find a way to bring back your happiness."

Rin smiled. "But I'm already so happy, Sesshoumaru. I never imagined I'd receive such a gift
as to see my deceased family again. I thought that when I died, that would be the last time."

Sesshoumaru stilled around her. She knew how much it pained him to be reminded of her
death, as short-lived as it was. It was why she rarely spoke about it to him—why she hadn't
brought this up before. "You remember your death?"

She nodded and whispered, "A little. I remember walking towards a light. And then people
started calling my name, and I saw them off to the side—my family. They pulled me away,
and the next thing I knew, I was standing over you as you…well, as you clutched my body
and called my name." He remained preternaturally still. "I didn't need to feel your emotions
for them to get through to me. You looked as if…as if the world had just crumbled before
your feet, and it broke my heart."

"It had." She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes anew upon seeing the deep pain reflected
in his. "You and the girls are my world, Rin. Without you, I am nothing."

Rin shook her head. "Don't say that. If something were to happen—"

"Nothing will happen to you or to them."

"But if it does," Rin insisted, "I don't want to die knowing that I'm leaving behind a shell of a
man. Not when our daughters need you. I'd…I'd become a ghost and haunt you, you know?
Because I'd have regrets, like my parents!" She forced on a half-smile, half-glare, trying to
inject some humor into the situation and break the tension.
Sesshoumaru just pulled her back into his arms and held her close. "I would welcome you
haunting me. Because then you would be with me again." In a quieter voice, he added, "But
there would be no need to haunt me, Rin. I would go to you."

She shook her head in his chest. "Don't say that. You can't do that, Sesshoumaru. Promise me
that if something ever happens to me, you won't leave the girls without a father."

Sesshoumaru stroked her back. "Isn't it the human way for parents to pass on before their
children? Have you accustomed yourself to demonic life so much already?"

Rin clutched his shirt. "It's different, Sesshoumaru. It's one thing to pass on naturally, but
you…. You would be taking your own life, and I can't stand the thought of that."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "I see. So it is a matter of principle. …Then you would have no
qualms if I found someone else to do it for me?"

"Sesshoumaru!"

He tilted her head up and held her gaze. "These are all suppositions, Rin. If something
happens to you, and if the children are old enough to handle it…I will find a demon to fight.
And if he should best me, I will welcome death."

Rin didn't know what more she could say to that. Sesshoumaru was so stubborn after all. So
instead, she wiped her eyes and said, "Why are we talking about such a morbid subject on our
honeymoon? This is supposed to be the start of our life together, and here we're talking about
a hypothetical end!"

He stroked her hair. "You are correct. I envisioned a much different conversation between us
today."

"Like what?"

"One that doesn't involve words."

He kissed her mouth then, and Rin pulled him closer, his strong heartbeat reverberating
against her chest. They were both alive and well, and she wanted to live without any regrets.

She slid her lips down his neck, unbuttoning his shirt as she went along. "I'm sorry my plans
went awry last night. I really did want you to let loose and enjoy yourself. It's our
honeymoon, after all."

"I still can," he answered. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist,
nibbling his ear just the way he liked it as he strode forward. They couldn't get to the cottage
fast enough, as far as she was concerned.

Too soon, however, he stopped and laid her down on a hard, flat surface. She looked around
in surprise, finding herself spread out on a slab of weather-beaten stone, like a pagan sacrifice
upon an altar. Her eyes widened in surprise, even as the cold rock against her back made her
shiver. "Here?"
"The cottage is too far," Sesshoumaru answered, already unbuckling his belt.

"B-But what if someone walks in on us? Are we even alone?"

"We are. And you weren't so concerned about being seen in the nude last night."

Rin flushed scarlet, hiding her face in her hands. "Oh gosh, stop telling me about everything I
did last night. The more you do, the more I want to just crawl under a rock and die."

"No more talk of death," Sesshoumaru said, pushing up her sweater and shirt, effectively
removing her hands from her face as she lifted her arms in compliance.

Rin bit her lip. "Not even…la petit morte?"

"That is the only sort of death we shall suffer." He pressed a kiss in the cleft of her breast and
looked up at her, his golden eyes shining with anticipation in the darkening gloom. "For the
record…I relish the thought of chasing you naked through the forest. But perhaps we will
wait until we are back on our own land to do so…and you are more recovered." He traced a
claw along the scar on her midriff, and her belly tightened with a mix of desire and natural
apprehension at having so sharp a claw drawing across her skin. "I would have you on your
knees in the dirt, your cunt offered up to me."

The evening breeze ghosted along Rin's half-naked frame, but it was her husband's
ministrations that sent goosebumps rising in waves along her body. Sesshoumaru noticed and
threw his fur around her like a corona, cocooning her, and Rin snuggled against it as he slid it
beneath her back. "In this ancient henge, I already feel like an offering made to a demon
god."

He smirked. "This offering I accept and will devour with gusto."

He snagged the front of her bra with his teeth, yanking it down so fast, her breasts popped
free and pebbled in the cool evening air. Her bra straps slid down her shoulders, restricting
her arms' movement. But it didn't matter, because Sesshoumaru was in control, and he
attacked her pert little nipples. His fangs ground against her skin as he sucked hard against
them, and Rin writhed, gripping lengths of his hair to keep him pinned against her.

"Bite me," Rin moaned.

He glanced up at her, his eyes gleaming. He teased the edge of his fangs over her skin, and
she shuddered, her body intrinsically afraid of a predator's bite. "Are you sure?"

"I told you—I want your demon."

"You already have him," Sesshoumaru growled licking the outline of her left breast. As his
tongue slid over its swell and upon her heart, he placed a kiss there. "Here I will lay my
claim."

"You claimed my heart long ago."

"Then let me have what is mine."

He opened his mouth wide, and Rin steeled herself as his fangs glinted in the fading light.
She yelped when he pierced her soft flesh, digging her fingers into his fur and pulling it as
she tried to distract herself from the pain. Sesshoumaru quickly laved the wound with his
tongue, the warm, repetitive ministrations reminding her of their first frolic in the woods over
a year ago, when he had cleaned the scratches on her thighs in the same way. Soon, it wasn't
just her fingers stroking his fur in pleasure; she slid her feet along its silken expanse, and it
seemed to quiver beneath her touch.

"Look at me."

Rin jumped, her eyes flying open at his uncharacteristically rough voice. His blood-red gaze
stared back, and his hair stood on end, as if he had been electrocuted. The once-smooth
markings on his cheeks now cut across his face like forks of lightning.

"Do you see me?" he asked, a harsh cast to his words as his lips wrapped around elongated
teeth. "Do you see what you and your blood do to me?"

"I see you," she whispered, reaching up to thumb the thin brows above those beautiful,
crimson eyes. "And I want you."

He needed no further invitation. He hooked his claws in her waistband and slid her leggings
and underwear off in one fell swoop. The moment the wind breeched her nether regions, she
couldn't help but close her legs, trying to conserve body heat.

She needn't have worried about keeping warm. Sesshoumaru ripped her legs apart and dove
into her crotch like a rapid dog, running his tongue up and down her slit and swirling it
around her nub. Rin's legs flailed as each stroke sent a blitz through her core. Her heart
stampeded, and she felt sure it would give out if he kept this up much longer. He must have
heard its unrelenting drumbeat, but even so, he moved away from her slit and nipped at the
insides of her thighs, the pricks of his fangs making her body jolt each time as if he were a
defibrillator shocking her heart back to life.

Rin glanced down to find trickles of blood marring the insides of her legs, but Sesshoumaru
licked every drop clean, placing soft kisses over his previous bites. Rin laid back and gasped
for breath at this little reprieve, hoping her heart might calm.

It was not to be.

All of the sudden, he nipped her clit—not quite a bite but enough to make her detonate with a
shout. Her limbs slumped against his fur, her core pulsing erratically. Her pussy still
throbbed, and as Sesshoumaru finished unfastening and pushing down his pants, revealing an
erection almost as red as his eyes, she wondered if she would survive this encounter or if her
heart would give out from overstimulation.

He slid his shoulders under her upraised knees, and without any teasing, thrust into her. "Oh
gods, Sesshoumaru!" she cried out as he rammed straight to the back of her vagina. She tilted
her head back, catching a glimpse of the rising moon.
Suddenly, he grabbed her chin, his claws pricking her skin, and pulled her head back down to
face him so they were nose to nose. The moon she stared at now was the one upon his
forehead. He pulled back and thrust deep into her again, her thighs stretching as he shoved
them back against her torso. The bite marks he left there burned with every press, but a
different sort of fire had taken root in her core, the friction of his cock along her walls
enkindling the start of another orgasm. She tried to look away from his potent gaze, but he
held her jaw in place. "Do not—" thrust "take your" thrust "eyes off" thrust "me."

Rin nodded, and he removed his hand, but after a few seconds of staring at him, the tension
grew to be too much, and she averted her eyes, only to land on their joining below. She
watched his slick member pull out and disappear back into her channel again and again, his
heavy balls dancing to the rhythm. Such a salacious view made her belly tighten and toes curl
against his fur.

His thrusts grew jerkier. "Rin." She looked back up at him. "Surrender."

Surrender? What did he mean? Was she supposed to come on command? He growled and
grabbed her hair, yanking it to the side and exposing her neck. "Ah, ah!" she squealed as he
buried his face in its crook. Her skin was naturally sensitive there, and she tried to curl her
head back around her neck, but he kept her from doing so.

Then he licked her mating mark, sending a warning tingle down her body before he bit into
her again. "Sesshoumaru!" she screamed, the sensitive mark igniting her release. His throat
bobbed as he swallowed a mouthful of blood, and then he too erupted within her. With her
legs bent so far back, the pressure remained steady on her belly, and the liquid fire of his
release bottled around her opening, oozing out around the rim of his cock and down the cleft
of her ass.

He didn't move off her as his orgasm died down, and Rin stayed prone, unsure of what he
needed from her in this state. After a moment, he released her neck and licked the wound
closed. He continued in that vein for a few moments, his cock softening within her, though he
did not pull out just yet.

Rin smoothed down his hair as it fell back into its calm, curtain-like state. "How do you
feel?"

He lifted himself up, staring into her eyes and brushing her sweaty bangs back from them. "I
should be asking you that. I've promised not to be rough with you lately, but you were
determined to make me lose control." He skimmed a thumb over the bite marks on her
shoulder, which were already congealing.

"And I'm determined to do it over and over again," Rin answered, pulling him down for a
chaste kiss. "This honeymoon has only just begun."

The next week and a half was far less exciting compared to those first few days—and the
couple was more than happy to keep it that way. With Sesshoumaru's help, Rin eventually
hiked her way to the top of the sanctuary's mountain. They took day trips to Irish tourist
attractions. Some nights, Sesshoumaru flew her over the ocean—in his human and dog form
—so she could experience the beauty of the world in moonlit-darkness. And of course, they
spent hours upon hours making love where they pleased—with no further interruptions.

They kept the more troubling events of the beginning of their stay a secret from their family.
Rin knew that to tell that whole story would mean explaining her deceased family's part in it,
and she wanted to relate those words to her family in person.

When they finally flew back home, Touga was at the airport to pick them up. Apparently, the
girls had been napping when he left, so no one wanted to disturb them, but he assured the
couple that they babies would be awake by the time they were back at the estate.

When Rin and Sesshoumaru stepped into Touga and Izayoi's living room, they found both
their families gathered. Grandpa, Souta, Moe, Kagome, and Inuyasha sat on the couch, taking
part in tea and snacks. Rin's mother and Izayoi were on the floor, playing with the girls.
Inukimi sat in her own chair, quietly watching the scene play out.

"Welcome back!" Kagome cried out, pushing herself off the couch. She opened her arms for a
hug, but Rin ignored her sister and went straight for her babies.

"Look at you!" Rin cooed, pulling both of them into her arms. "Who are these cute puppies?
They can't possibly be my puppies, can they? It's only been two weeks, but I swear they got
bigger!" Rin exclaimed, peppering kisses across their faces. Towa and Setsuna wiggled under
the onslaught of affection, the hoods of their puppy onesies falling back. When Rin had seen
the photo of the girls in their outfits, she had demanded to be greeted by them in person when
they returned. She was pleased to see her family followed her instructions.

Touga walked in behind them. "I purposely bottled up all my questions on the ride over so
you only had to tell us everything once," he laughed, patting Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "So,
how was it?"

"Did you take care of your little problem?" Inukimi interrupted, piercing her son with a
knowing stare.

"Problem?" Touga echoed, looking back at them with concern. "What problem?"

Sesshoumaru and Rin looked at each other, wondering how to begin. "The start of our
vacation was…eventful," Sesshoumaru replied, bending down to nuzzle his daughters in
greeting. Towa waved at him, and he took her into his arms, where she proceeded to feel up
his face, as if trying to remember who this familiar stranger was. "But yes, the problem was
dealt with."

Inukimi nodded, her shoulders relaxing.

"So, tell us all about it!" Kagome demanded as Rin finally gave her a hug. "What was Ireland
like? Was it everything you ever dreamed of?"

Rin tilted her head back and forth. "Yes and no. There were some parts of it I wouldn't have
ever even thought to dream about."
 "Like what?" her sister pressed.

" Like…the people I met. Sídhe and selkies…and ghosts."

"Ghosts?!" Kagome exclaimed. Inukimi's eyes flicked Rin's way. But Kagome gave her sister
a hard look. "You're pulling my leg."

Rin held up a solemn hand. "On my honor, I swear I met people I thought I'd never see
again."

"Like who?" Kagome pressed.

Rin pursed her lips in thought, wondering how to explain. "Someone who hates us…and
others who love us very, very much." Seeing the confused expressions on her family's faces,
she said, "Let me start at the beginning…."

THE END

Chapter End Notes

Finally! What was meant to be a quick, one-chapter thing turned into 25,000 words, aka
the length of one of my "short" stories.

Anyway, I know you're all anxious for the original side story I promised you—the one
where we FINALLY find out what happened in Inukimi's bedroom! Sorry it's taken so
long to get to this point, but hopefully now that I'm back to pure drama (my bread and
butter) and no more action or worldbuilding, I can get it out faster than this side story,
haha! Unfortunately…it will have to wait for a while.

I'm using November (National Novel Writing Month) to rewrite The Wall as an original
story. (I'll try to post some fun stuff about it on my Facebook that month—perhaps even
polls on what you guys think I should do!) In December, I will likely be busy with the
SessRin Christmas Fic Exchange. So, as much as I hate to say it…January is looking
like the time I'd be posting that next side story. So, until then, and thanks for reading!
 Companion Fic: Unresolved Feelings
Chapter Notes

Long time no see! On this, the eve of the anniversary of the end of MS, I wanted to go
ahead and finally start posting the story you’ve all been waiting for—the one that
answers the question: what happened in the bedroom between Touga and Inukimi?

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Chapter 1: The Upstart General

Kofun Period, 280th Year (530 CE)

With her latest suitor brought to his knees, Inukimi tossed her light whip around him and
flung him off the side of her floating palace. His screams made her eyes roll—if the demon
couldn't even fly, how did he think he had any chance of wooing her?—and she returned to
the receiving hall inside, where she took up her seat once more on her padded throne. She
reclined across the chaise longue, resisting the urge to sigh.

How boring.

With every challenge for her hand, her hopes for a capable husband grew dimmer and
dimmer. She didn't care whom she married as long as he fulfilled her one requirement: having
the strength to stand up to her. She was not interested in a weak demon. No, her husband
would have to defeat her in battle in order to win her hand.

She had already bested all the single males of her court who were currently milling about in
the hall, and while at first it had been satisfying to toss them all off her palace steps, she grew
more frustrated as time passed, annoyed that so many weaklings served her.

Lately, word had spread of her game to other demon tribes, and when the first non-dog
demon appeared, she indulged him in a duel. Since then, her suitor battles had become
something of a show at court. Male demons of all formidable shapes and sizes came to prove
who was the strongest in the land.

She defeated every single one.

Her court never bothered to whisper, since they could all hear one another anyway, but their
predictable, trite concerns slithered into her ears once again.

"Inukimi-sama will never become our ruler at this rate."

"Why did her honored parents insist she marry before assuming the throne?"
"She needs someone to steady her whims."

"But it's not as if she would let her husband rule beside her anyway, so why all this theater?"

"Isn't she being too stubborn?"

"Don't be rude. We should be proud of our lady's strength."

"There's a reason no other demon has been able to conquer the Western Province."

Inukimi said nothing to refute them; she had stated her case long ago, and there was nothing
more to say.

Just then, one of her guards entered the room and came to speak with her.

"My lady, there is a demon here claiming to be your betrothed."

"My what?" Inukimi barked, scowling at the guard. The throne room went silent, and all
attention turned to the throne. "Who dares make a mockery of me?"

"I did not ask for his name, my lady." She couldn't fault him for that, because she had never
cared to know the names of lesser beings anyway, so her guards stopped giving them to her
long ago.

Her mood had already soured, and this news only added to it. She was tempted to boot the
newcomer out on those grounds alone, but a part of her was curious to know which creature
could be so arrogant as to claim a betrothal to her.

Perhaps I can vent off these frustrations on him. "Very well. Send him in."

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that the male who strode in was a dog
demon, though he wore his human guise. He carried a shabby sword sheathed at his side, and
his long, silver hair swayed from a high ponytail. Black, bushy brows flared like wings over
his hard, golden eyes, and forks of blue lightning cut across his cheeks. His armor was of
high quality though patched together—trophies, it seemed, from his battles instead of
properly commissioned pieces. The only noble aspect to him was his trailing fur cape, which
billowed behind him in shimmering silver. Yet despite his ragged appearance, the scent of
fresh pine and lake water wafted from him, and he held his head high as if he were a lord.

At least the ruffian had washed.

Inukimi's mood mellowed with curiosity. I thought I had already made my way through the
ranks of our best, but I've never seen this one before. Is he arrogant or just confident?

Unlike her other suitors, who tried (and failed) to take her down in the most primal of
fashions, he did not advance on her in his true form—though perhaps that was because he
had some explaining to do about this supposed betrothal. Regardless, she would fight him in
either guise.

If she deemed him worthy.

Chapter End Notes

This is just a sneak peek at what you can expect from Unresolved Feelings. To read the
full story, please click here and subscribe to get updates! I will NOT be updating this
story here.
End Notes

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