Interlude

"Well, well, ain't this a surprise," Inuyasha quipped.

Kintsuke smiled gently at him, and they shared a quick respectful nod.

"I hope I find you well, Inuyasha."

"Eh, as well as can be, I guess." He glanced over her shoulder at A-un and Jaken in the distance and sneered. "Looks like you brought Sesshoumaru with you."

"We travel together often these days," she shrugged.

"That so…"

The suspicion in his tone was unmistakable. Kintsuke began walking the path that led away from the village and into the forest.

"Perhaps, we should talk."

Inuyasha eyed her sharply for a moment, then fell into step to follow.

"Yeah, maybe we should."

Deep in his forest, well outside earshot of prying ears, Inuyasha snarled.

"The fuck did you do that for?!"

"I had no choice, Inuyasha," Kintsuke said defensively. "He would have found out eventually, and it was better that he didn't think he was being deceived. You know how your brother is."

"But to show him…that," he flustered. "Did you even consider that he'd think I turn human, too?"

"I did, and it gave me pause, I promise you, but…" She sighed heavily. "As I said, he was going to find out sooner or later, and I did my best to make it seem to be less of an inhibition than he might have thought it to be before."

Inuyasha scowled, and for a moment, Kintsuke's ears flattened shamefully.

"I don't think he'll come after you," she tried to assure him.

"Oh, really? And what exactly gives you that idea?"

"He doesn't desire the Tessaiga anymore," she explained, "and considering he finds a use for our mortal forms, especially with General Nobunaga bustling about…"

Inuyasha caught the hint from her trailing tone and deflated some.

"Maybe…"

He crossed his arms, frowning at the ground as the insinuations roiled in his mind. Kintsuke dipped a little to catch his gaze. She needed to change the subject.

"You said it was a good idea that we spoke. Does that mean there's something you wanted to talk about?"

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. How to put it into words?

"Call it a gut feeling, I guess."

She nodded, urging him to continue. He decided being blunt, as he always was, would be best.

"One of my brats found something recently. Turned out to be some kind of container with a sutra inside that drains the power of demons. Miroku and Kagome are still trying to figure out what the writing on it means."

Kintsuke's shoulders tensed at the very idea of such a contraption.

"Was it the only one?"

"Sango and I scoured the area. We didn't find any others."

"And I've not encountered anything like that on my travels."

The two hanyou frowned, both considering.

"I've been through Shinano," Kintsuke continued, "some of Musashi and the rest of the Western domain, as well as all of the South…"

"Which leaves North and East," Inuyasha finished.

Kintsuke pursed her lips.

"Got an idea?" Inuyasha asked.

"Perhaps. I'll let you know once I'm sure. If there's nothing else."

The air between them grew playful as Inuyasha placed a hand on his sword.

"Why don't you show me what you've learned. Been a while since we sparred."

Kintsuke couldn't resist.

Sho, Rin's mate, remained nervous, even as Sesshoumaru conversed pleasantly with his ward. She tried to calm her mate, but the daiyoukai's presence was too powerful. No matter how many times Sesshoumaru visited, Sho always cowered. It pleased the Lord of the West. The male knew his place.

"How long will you stay, my lord?" Rin asked.

Her pleading eyes twisted in Sesshoumaru's stomach. He closed his eyes for a moment, considering.

"I can spare a day, at most."

Her beaming smile returned and she clapped her hands together. Beside her, Izu and Jin shared grins.

"Then, you must return for dinner!" She looked to her mate. "Would you mind checking the meat stores?"

Sho was glad for any reason to leave, and he took Jin and Izu along with him. He still didn't trust this demon. Alone, Rin shifted to seat herself next to her lord.

"I've missed you," she said with all the bald sincerity of a child.

Sesshoumaru glanced down at her as she rested her head against his arm. His mokomoko swished to curl around her. It was all the response she needed to know he felt something akin to how she did. They sat silently together for a time, Rin relishing his presence, Sesshoumaru trying not to note every indication of her increasing mortal decay. It wouldn't be long now until…

"Have you seen Lady Kintsuke lately?" she asked, distracting him.

"I have."

"How is she?"

"You could ask her yourself."

Rin blinked up at him for a moment.

"She's here?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. Something in Rin's eyes urged the words from him before he could consider them.

"She travels with me now. I find her quite useful."

There was something in Rin's smile as she hugged his arm that made him uncomfortable.

"I'm so glad."

It sounded as though she was making peace with something. He swallowed against the discomfort.

"Jaken has not changed," he said, trying to turn his mind from his unsettled thoughts.

"Is he here, too? What about A-Un?"

"They are both waiting in the fields."

Again, Rin beamed.

"Could I..?"

Sesshoumaru nodded, rose, and led the way. A-Un noticed their approach first and huffed deeply, shaking out its mane. Jaken tumbled out of the saddle and sputtered in the crisp, dead grass.

"What's wrong with you, you-" he began at the dragon.

"Master Jaken!"

The imp glanced up just in time to recognize the woman who scooped him up into a strangling embrace. He wriggled and writhed.

"Alright! Alright! You can put me down!" he cried.

Rin released him, giggling, and he caught his breath.

"I swear, no number of decades can change you."

Rin didn't quite understand, but felt it was a compliment.

"You're still so small, Master Jaken!"

"I'll have you know I'm quite tall for my age!" he squawked.

Sesshoumaru, hands in his warm sleeves, watched the familiar scene play out between his ward, his vassal, and his steed. His heart panged strangely as Rin scratched and cooed at the twin-head, and he tried to shove the sense that this was the last time he would ever see this from his mind.

Rin and Kagome cowed the others into making dinnertime a grand affair. It was rare to have everyone home at the same time, with Sesshoumaru also there, and neither woman was willing to let the opportunity slip by. They gathered in priestess's hut, which was the largest, and Sesshoumaru barely endured the cramped quarters for Rin's sake.

Kagome, Inuyasha, and Touzen sat on one side of the square firepit. Sango, Miroku, their twin daughters Rika and Hana, and their son Mirohizu gathered on another. Kohaku and Eiko, Inuyasha and Kagome's daughter, sat along a third side with Kirara in her kitten form. Jaken and Sesshoumaru sat at the fourth with Rin. Sho chose to forego the dinner and kept his children home as well, despite their protests. The hut was crowded enough as it was.

Kintsuke leaned against the wall near the doorway, on guard and taking in the minute interactions that told a story of companionship, suffering, faith, and love. For a moment, she recalled her time on the mainland with the pups, and nostalgia twinged in her chest. This sort of peace was rare, and she relished it for all it was worth. She couldn't help but wonder, though, what little Shu-Ting was up to these days without her older hanyou niece to guide and teach her; and it hurt.

Eiko spouted on about her adventures with Kohaku. Kagome tried her best to not show her apprehension, and Sango considered her brother proudly throughout. Mirohizu declared he would join them one day, and Miroku reminded the young lad that he still needed to complete his monk training before tearing off on some harrowing adventure.

As she watched and listened, Kintsuke couldn't help the feeling that she didn't belong here. Quietly, she slipped outside. Sesshoumaru noticed, but said nothing. Neither did Inuyasha.

Slowly, the affair wound down. Sango and her family bade goodnight and goodbye and left to their hut. Kohaku took Kirara with him as he broke off a bit later to join his sister, who housed him when he visited. Kagome took Eiko and Touzen into a separate room to bed down, and eventually, even Rin was forced to give in to fatigue. Sesshoumaru rose when she did, and she set a hand on his arm.

"I'll ask Lady Kintsuke to walk me back to my hut," she assured him. "Promise you won't leave without saying 'good-bye'?"

Sesshoumaru nodded slightly, aware that his mongrel brother was watching. Rin smiled, hugged his arm once more, then slipped away. Sesshoumaru watched after her, making sure Kintsuke did indeed accompany his delicate ward.

"Sesshoumaru."

The edge in Inuyasha's voice drew the daiyoukai's attention. He turned sharp golden eyes onto the hanyou. Inuyasha's back straightened with a demonic pride Sesshoumaru could respect.

"We need to talk."

"I see." Sesshoumaru settled himself again, a slight smirk pulling at his features. "Speak, then, Inuyasha, and I will decide if your simple words are worth my time."