Overcoming Adversity

Note (This is a long note but DO read it if you are the type to question, or if you have questioned, although many of these answers (except for the ones to technical questions will appear in the text as previously intended by authauthoress):

0) I just noticed my scene separaters are being deleted by the site. I had to separate each scene or passage of time. I'll either do it manually from no won, or use ----

1) Inu removed his scarf because.. well.. perhaps physical example will explain this better.

Put your index fingers behind your ears and press them forward completely. Does everything sound kind of distorted and low? Annoying isn't it? His ears are constantly held down, even by the scarf, and while he can hear better than us, he needs every bit of hearing he can to keep up with Juuroumaru who is very quick and hard to keep up with. Going into battle with handicapped hearing would have been stupid to him at least.

2) The monk's magic is from Miroku's family, not Jii-chan, I believe any monk or priest could use the scrolls themselves as long as they were authentic, which they were because of who they came from. Gramps can't write holy scripture if his life depended on it (which it did) and he called an old friend (for reasons the next chapter or this one if I get to it, will reveal)

3) Kikyou and Shippou. Undecided. I have no idea if they'll appear or not. One may, and I'm not saying who just yet.

4) Go visit my blog if you will, a new poll is there, concerning IY and ideas for new fics I have. Please visit my new site, the Inuyasha section only has this story so far, but I may write one of the one shots, since those are relatively short and require no further addition or writing once published. http:heatherlee.no-ip.info/FanFic/#

5) Sorry for taking more time than necessary to update, but a bit of discouragement arrived from people who apparently were disappointed in the turn of events of the chapter's end of 10...and needless to say, it's slowed me down as much as receiving no reviews may have because then I feel I should delay my writing until a more suitable idea can replace that one. Catch the idea there? But as it would seem I liked my previous idea too much, and others urged me to go on with it regardless of any dislike others may have, I went with it anyway. The reactions of the AFF crew (all save for one person, I should say) are wonderful, and I couldn't thank you enough for your support of a writer's first fic entering the fandom.

6) Also, a few questions came up in the reviews from both sites, that I don't' actually mind answering, but the answers are just... shall we say...long. Here they are.

Courtesy of the shrine, address found below this rant from the authoress I borrowed this explanation from.

4. Why do you spell Inuyasha's sword as "Tessaiga?" I get this email a lot, and I'm freakin' sick of it. So here's a very detailed explanation of why Tessaiga is correct.

When writing Japanese, there are two uses of the character "tsu." One is a full-sized, normal "tsu". It is pronounced like "sue" with a t at the front: "t-sue". The other "tsu" is a smaller-sized "tsu". It is not a sound at all; rather, it denotes a glottal stop--a brief pause between syllables. This sounds almost like a slur of the previous consonant, and thus is romanized as a double letter. [Romanization in this context means spelling out the phonetics of Japanese words using the alphabet that English-speakers use.]

Se[tsu]shoumaru -> Sesshoumaru
Ha[tsu]kaku -> Hakkaku
Shi[tsu]pou -> Shippou

The individual kanji that make up "Tessaiga" may be read as such ("tetsuu“Sv" "saiuÓv" "gau‰åv"), but when they are combined into a compound word, their phonetics are altered for linguistic convenience (for those who are slower, "linguistic convenience" means "able to say it three times fast without stuttering"). Tetsusaiga u‚³‚¢‚ªv -> tessaiga u‚Ä‚Á‚³‚¢‚ªv. Another example would be the compound word formed by "katsuuŠˆv" and "kiu‹Cv," "kakkiuŠˆ‹Cv." So, katsuki u‚©‚‚«v-> kakki u‚©‚Á‚«v). A more simplistic explanation would be that kanji characters can have variations within the two general phonetic categories (kunyomi and onyomi), so just try to keep in mind that Japanese is very flexible in that regard.

If you happen to have Japanese installed on your computer so that you can write in Japanese by selecting a different language from the "language bar" that appears when multiple languages are installed on a computer, you then probably know that you can use an English keyboard to write Japanese by selecting a certain type of input. If you wanted to write "Hakkaku" in Japanese, that's exactly what you would type using the hiragana input method: h-a-k-k-a-k-u. The computer would translate the double-k to be a small "tsu" that forces a glottal stop, and pushing spacebar to create kanji from the inputed hiragana would produce the kanji that make up Hakkaku's name.

At this point, you probably want to say, "Ha! But you have to type "Tetsusaiga" to get the kafor for Inuyasha's sword, so I'm right!" Well, you're wrong again. The reason why we're not able to produce u“SÓ‰åv by typing "tessaiga" is because it is a made-up word. Rumiko Takahashi completely made up that sword's name, and because the word does not exist in the kanji conversion dictionary, we have to manually construct this compound by typing "tetsu" "sai" "ga" and selecting a kanji for each part.

So are you now wondering why Cartoon Network uses Tetsusaiga? This is called "making a mistake," and though you may think that anything on television is correct and true, thinking this is also a mistake. In any event, now you know why Tessaiga is correct--so stop emailing me about it!

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That was courtesy and more answers like it can be found in the Frequently asked questions page. DO please drop by this fan site, and give a donation if you can. She's a brilliant web authoress, and has tons and loads of info on the show and characters.

On another note, this story feels like it may have at least 6 chapters left, which is unusual for me considering I usually end at 11-12.

7) Glad you guys liked the Inu/Kag sweetness. Kagome doesn't seem like the type to hop in bed, neither does Inuyasha either really. I thought you guys might like the Sess/Rin sweetness too.

8) As for R and L sounds in Japanese, there is no actual usage of the L sound in their Kanji. I could list the entire table but that's like 46 syllables and this note would be five pages long by the time I got through with both katakana and hiragana. L is only used for imported words from like, English that there is no Japanese word for. I'll use an example of my favorite video game. Jill Valentine from Resident Evil is named Jiru in Japanese, because the LL sound doesn't exist. When it came to America that changed. On Cartoon Network, when I watch Inuyasha THERE, they call Kirara 'Kilala' but on the closed captioning they still spell it Kirara. Odd huh. I think its just habit of translating to take the R and make it an L if it sounds funny to us.

THANK YOU HIT HITTING ME TO 4500 hits, AFF.net! I love you guys! And finally, nope, Juuroumaru and Kageroumaru both had lavender hair. Kohaku has dark brown. While I could have described him better, I chose not to because I felt lazy. And when I feel lazy, no one can make me do something I don't want to.
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The sizzle of holy magic against demonn crn crackled loudly, causing blisters to appear on the demon's already injured body. Blood gushed, pouring from multiple wounds where Inuyasha's claws struck his opponent.

The beast still had fight in it, however, no matter how many times Miroku burned it, and no matter how often Inuyasha's sharp claws slashed through its body. Juuroumaru stumbled, and tried to land one more hit on his hanyou opponent, before tumbling face first into the grass, unmoving, and apparently quite dead. His lower face mask cracked, laying on the ground before his mouth in two separate pieces, lips parted in death due to his slack jaw. The deceased figure that had appeared to be nothing more than a teenage and human boy, lay pooled in his own blood, eyes wide and staring blankly forward.

"Is it dead, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"Hell if I know. Throw one of those things on it to make sure."

Another holy card was tossed onto the apparent corpse, which ignited and slowly dyed away, provoking no movement from the slain youkai. Kagome's mother ran out to her daughter, hugging her tightly and crying tears of relief to see she was alright, while Miroku and Inuyasha helped up her grandfather who was finally beginning to awaken.

"What was that thing, and why did it try to harm my baby?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. "And what are you?"

Kagome's grandfather just seemed to realize that a half demon was holding him up by the arm on one side. "Demon! Be gone! I shall--"

"Grandpa! Inuyasha just saved us!" Kagome cried, seeming to realize what was about to happen.

"He could have been saving us so he could eat us instead, Kagome!"

While Jii-chan struggled to remove the rest of the holy cards from Miroku, who had quite a grip apparently and was not about to release them so his friend could be harmed and purified.

A low hissing sound alerted the group that they weren't alone. Inuyasha's ears twitched, picking up the sound of scuttling from the direction of the corpse, something rushing towards him. As the hanyou whirled around, Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi screamed when two sharp blade like legs were thrust into Inuyasha's chest. Blood sprayed, the sharp blade of one leg puncturing his left lung. The half demon gasped for air, while his friends rushed to his aid.

The demon was much too fast for Miroku's holy tags to damage it. It scurried and scuttled about Inuyasha's form, furiously stabbing and slicing at the hanyou's body, while he screamed out and slashed wildly with his claws, in a furious panic to remove the thing from him.

"Mom, Jii-chan, go inside and keep Souta safe!" Kagome cried, pushing her mother and elderly grandfather to the door, assisted by Sango who was standing nearby.

"Both of you girls come in! This is no place for you to be right now," Jii-chan insisted, though both refused, unable to sit inside while both of their men struggled for their lives. The d wer were shut, and locked, barring any intruders without the brute strength to rush through it.

The quick little critter, which resembled a silver insect bearing Juuroumaru's head, leapt from Inuyasha's bleeding back, leaving the half demon to fall from his knees, clutching his wounded chest and struggling for every breath that entered his blood-filled lung.

I can't die right now. Not when they're depending on me, he thought, twitching his ears and listening for the sound of the mer ter that had disappeared. He sniffed, inhaling the strong scent of his own blood, as well as the stench of youki from the creature that had appeared. He could smell its own blood now, proof that it was injuredcbut how.

"I think it was part of that other monster, Inuyasha! When I caught a glimpse of it, it was already injured without my card even touching it!" Miroku shouted.

"That means its already weak," the hanyou coughed out, forcing himself to stand tall. With numerous injuries rapidly flowing with blood, he certainly didn't appear to be in any shape for fighting.

"Where is it now?" the other teen asked, putting his back to Inuyasha's so that both directions could be visually covered at all times.

"I don't' know. I can't smell it.c"

Sango held onto her younger cousin, refusing to let her run off into the darkness for the old well house. "Kagome, you don't know where that thing is, don't run off," she cried, struggling to keep a grip on her.

"I have to help them!" Kagome insisted, breaking free, adrenaline pumping as her heart drummed out a rapid bass within her chest. Her feet beat at the ground, and she ran perhaps as quickly as she ever had in her life for the direction of the bone eater's well. Sango ran behind her, a few steps delayed and unable to bridge the gap, yet unable to watch Kagome run off alone during such a drousrous time.

Inuyasha and Miroku startled as she rast, st, and there was still no sign of the hiding Kageroumaru. "Kagome, Sango, wait! Stay on the porch!" Miroku yelled, only to be ignored by both women, Kagome reaching for the door of the well house, while Sango tried to catch up.

At that moment, a trail of uprisen earth followed Kagome, at such speed neither hanyou nor his friend could reach her in time. Inuyasha may as well have been the one about to receive the attack, because he saw every moment of the rather shorte spe spent with Kagome flash before his eyes. Her laughter, her smiles, the joy of taking her on dates, being near her, the skating lesson, her cheering at the tryouts, taking her to the movies, their first kiss, walking her home from the party.

He moved with as much speed as possible, pushing himself onward, desperately urging his body to move faster. He was still several yards away when the insectile youkai burst from the ground, showering earth and rock in all ctioctions, legs positioned for their sharp tips to drive into kagome's exposed back.

I'm not going to make it. I'm going to watch the girl I love die before my eyes.

Despite his serious injuries, and the difficulty of each breath, the burning and aching pain of nearly drowning in his own blood, Inuyasha still passed and left Miroku nd. nd. Kagome turned, and time nearly stilled. Both sharp mantis like legs were ready to enter her chest, gleaming in the light of the moon and illumination of lights from the windows of the house.

-Thwack- It was similar to the sound of a Louisville slugger colliding with a skull. The sound resonated through the night, echoing and creating harmony with the thud Kageroumaru's body made when it hit the earth.

Three shocked faces looked back to see Sango staring stunned at the unconscious demon, still in the throwing stance she had taken to throw the object she used to strike the demon with.

"Sangochow?" Miroku couldn't finish his sentence. He saw what his girlfriend used to throw at the demon, and it was nothing more than Juuroumaru's amputated arm, sliced off by Inuyasha's claws.

"It justchappenedcmy instincts took over. I couldn't let it hurt Kagome-chan," she whispered, nearly collapsing into Miroku's arms. Inuyasha coughed, and spit a mouthful of blood to the side before wiping his mouth and walking forward to see if Kagome was okay.

"Heycyou alright?" he askeditanitantly.

"I should be asking you that," she neared screeched at him. "You're bleeding everywhere and you ask if I'm okay!"

More concerned with her health, and his own male pride, Inuyasha shook his head and refused her help. "Che! It'll take a lot more than this to keep me down. Go check your Jii-chan. He gotrettretty bad bump on his head," Inuyasha began, interrupted by Sango's cry.

"That thing is on the move again, Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled for him, as the lavender-haired scorpion creature darted off, scurrying quickly on its silver legs. A patch of grass glowed with pink light, illuminating the dark ground surrounding it for many inches. "And going for that gem!"

Kagome grabbed the bow and quiver she had set off for in the first place, drawing an arrow and struggling to nock it in correct positioning. Not once, ever, had she shot an arrow before, having refused archery lessons when they were offered at her school.

Her lack of skill showed, the first arrow landing in the ground, only a few feet away from her and the ground.

"Kagome, you can't him! Im! I can catch him!" Inuyasha insisted, despite the woozy feeling of blood loss.

The sweet and innocent girl that had once stood there beside him, may as well have been someone else at that moment. Her features hardened, becoming deathly cold and serious as the second arrow nocked against the bow and string. Her fingers pulled the cord tight, and the arrow was released, soaring through the air and releasing a brilliant pink light, shining brightly with trailing white behind it. Awed, they watched the arrow land mere inches from its destination, a miss, but a spectacular one to the observers

Inuyasha couldn't find his tongue to speak. Were he able to speak he still might not have insisted for her to let him run after the creature. Instead, like the others outside, and three relatives inside watching through the window, he watched the third arrow stretch the bowstring back. The mystical projectile cut through the air, and pierced its target through the torso, effectively pinning it to the ground. An explosion occurred at that moment, emitting such a radiant light that all observers were blinded, the ones outside forced to shield their eyes with their hands, while the ones in the window were forced to turn their faces away.

There was the sound lasslass shattering, as if someone had dropped a precious crystal ornament on the floor, amplified several times. When the light faded, glistening shards of lavender chips remained, a crushed circle beneath and limp and dead form of Kageroumaru. The creature was dead, and the thing he had sought was shattered.

The two couples outside were also in different positions than they were before the light flared. Kagome found herself trapped snugly against Inuyasha's bloody chest, despite how much it may have hurt him for her body to be pressed against his injured torso. His arms were wrapped protectively around her, and he had turned her away from the flash, prepared to take the explosion in his own back.

"Are you okay, Kagome?"

"I'm fine," she squeaked out, still seeing a bright afterimage from the flash.

Miroku and Sango were in a similar embrace. In fact, it appeared more like they had tried to protect one another at the same time, and were mer merely clutching to one another nearly side by side.

"Sango?"

"Hmm?"

"Since when did you become so strong?"

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Kagome stood up from gathering the last of the broken shards, having dumped them all into a small vial and corked it tightly, preventing any from becoming lost until they knew what it was and how it had come from her body. Her mother was tending to a bump on Jii-chan's head, inflicted during the tussle with Juuroumaru.

"Inu-niisan, you wso cso cool!" Souta babbled. "You kept leaping and cutting him, just like in a videogame!"

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed, "Just like in a videogame." The hanyou carefully disguised his own pain, feeling the discomfort of his wounds all too well. Miroku had left briefly to find a shovel, so that the corpses of the two youkai could be buried and properly disposed of.

"A few of Ojiisan's talismans may prevent any trouble from occurring after the corpses are buried," Miroku murmured to a worried Sango as he returned, shovel in hand.

"Need some help with that hole?" Inuyasha asked, turning around to his friend.

"I will be fine, Inuyasha. You're the one that's really injured."

"Che. I don't need any of you babying me," he replied as Kagome approached with the first aid kit. The hanyou gave no further argument, and relented to allowing Kagome to clean his wounds and bandage him on the shrine steps. Her grandfather gave him several weary glances, but seemed to gradually accept him for what he was. Inhuman.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?" The hanyou turned his head towards her curiously, lifting one brow. As he faced her, Kagome reached up and grabbed both ears for a tug. "Hey! Those are attached!"

"They're real!" she exclaimed, delighted by the way they felt between her thumb and forefinger.

Inuyasha winced, and foresaw many ear rubs this night. "No shit."

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"Alright, young man. You do owe us all an explanation," Mrs. Higurashi declared once the wounded were bandaged, and the bodies were buried. Then, as if it were an afterthought, the woman stepped forward to grab Inuyasha's ears, rubbing the fur with her thumbs. "These are real."

Inuyasha gave Kagome a sour expression. "There's not much to it. I'm a half demoncI'm not completely human or youkai. My father was a dog demon, disguised as a human to survive in modern age. Mom didn't unt until I was already on the way. By then it was too late and she kept me for as long as she could, then sent me off to live with my dad and brother."

Sango had a moment of clarity and realized something. "Your brothercyou mean he's a demon, too?"

"A full demon. One of the strongest left in Japan. He's here because a clause in Dad's will stated he had to earn his inheritance. I don't know many of the details, I just know he can't harm humans, and has to teach at the school for six months."

Mrs. Higurashi gave a small audible gasp. "There's a demon loose at the school?! How could such a thing be allowed? I certainly don't want Kagome returning there now if a dangerous monster is in the building."

"Sesshoumaru is anything but a monster. You probably don't wanna hear this from me, but there's demon's everywhere in Tokyo. They hide, and pretend to be human when possible. Sometimes animals. A few of the students in the school had the smell of a half or a quarter demon."

Miroku leaned forward in his seat a bit. "Like who?"

Inuyasha required no time to think about it. "Naraku carries the scent of a hanyou. Don't ask me what type. Shimada-sensei carries the faint scent of a cat youkai to school with him every day. I'm guessing his woman is one, or his cat is a demon in disguise." Miroku, Sango, and Kagome looked completely amazed. Mrs. Higurashi looked faint, and Jii-chan was indignant, possibly considering ideas of his granddaughter being home schooled.

"Not all of us are monsters. Some demons have government jobs, and they can help others get new identification to change their legal ages when necessary."

"So how old are you? You don't look that old," Kagome said, squinting at him.

"I'm not! I told ya, I'm just fifteen! I'll eventually stop aging in a few years and slow down to a crawl. Since my brother is a full youkai, he'll age even slower than me. My father told me that Sesshoumaru has looked the wayhas has now for the past two centuries," he explained.

"Now I know why some of the people at work look like monsters," Mrs. Higurashi joked lightly. "You won't be judged by us, Inuyasha. It would be rude to treat you unkindly after you helped save my daughter from that beastcright, Jii-chan?" she spoke up to her father, who turned red at what his daughter implied. The stubborn old man grumbled in reply, though seemed to show no genuine disliking to the hanyou.

"Now, all of you will remain here for the night at least until the sun rises. Call your parents and let them know where you are," Mrs. Higurashi told them all. "I'll prepare a meal, I know your stomachs must be empty after what happened outside."

Mrs. Higurashi insisted Inuyasha remain as well, especially because she knew his appearance would frighten his own mother to death. A few calls were placed to each home, while Inuyasha was dragged off into the bath by Souta.

It was not necessary for Miroku to give a lie to his father, considering his origins as a holy man as well. He also happened to be rather superstitious and carried quite an eye for the supernatural. However, Miroku decided not to disclose the full details behind the battle, and how close two of them had been to dying. He merely explained that a small demon had been present on the shrine grounds, but that the tags worked at full effectiveness and destroyed it.

"Hot!" all of them heard Inuyasha scream from upstairs. Sensing that the bath would be over soon, Jii-chan rose from the table and walked up the stairs to bring Inuyasha a fresh change of clothes.
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Rin was awestruck from the moment she stepped inside the gorgeous home. It was far from being the size of a mansion, but it was also not the typical Japanese home either. It possessed a plain elegance, rather than being full of rich and precious baubles. Were it not for the sizeable oriental rug, and exquisitely carved tables, the room would have been completely bare. Despite its beauty, the room was much like the owner of the house it was located in: Cold and emotionless. Something told her that the room had once been properly furnished before the current occupant moved in.

"There you are, slow and worthless human. This way, quickly. You are not fit to be in Sesshoumaru's presence in your current condition. This Jaken will take you to the bathing area and supply you with."

Worthless human? Rin questioned silently. Her eyes lowered to fall on a small man, squat and of such a short build that she could almost consider him adorable. What a cute little man, she thought, following him willingly despite his slur on her race. Sesshoumaru wasn't humancso it only made sense that his servants also weren't. But what are they?

Rin wasn't the superstitious type to believe in the supernatural, especially the myths about demons, dragons, and other such things having one day roamed feudal Japan, but after what happened in that alley, the young schoolteacher would doubtlessly believe anything told to her.

The rest of the house followed the same color scheme of reds and creams. There were many windows, all of which were open to allow the light to pour in and illuminate halls that would be dark and intimidating without the sunlight's radiance.

"This is the bathing area. You'll go in there to be cleaned," the one that referred to himself as Jaken commanded her.

"My clothes?"

He scoffed. "Stupid human, the great Lord Sesshoumaru will provide more in their place. Leave them on the floor."

Rin nodded and closed the doors behind her, stripping out of her sticky and grime covered skirt. Her blouse, which had been ivory that morning when she left for school, was now bearing brown stains of dust and debris from the alley ground. She removed everything, down to the last stitch of clothing until every inch of her skin was bare, surprised to find not even the slightest hint of bruising on her skin.

"He is an angelc" she whispered. "I've been completely healedcI don't understand." But perhaps it wasn't for her to understand. She had been given a new chance at life, and it seemed best to not question it and risk upsetting her savior.

The entrance of the bathing room was separated from the bathing area by an old-fashioned screen that matched the gold and cream dռcor of the room. Walking forward and around the screen, Rin found the bath had already been drawn, the deep tub filled with steaming water. The arrangement of soaps lined one edge, along with several scented drop-ins and oils.

Someone who wasn't quite so overcome with astonishment and surprise would have wondered why a man had such a collection. Rin, however, did not. A man that was secure in his masculinity could care less what the opinion of others was. If he wished to smell good, he would smell good, and that seemed exactly like Sesshoumaru. Stoic, serious, and unconcerned with what others thought of him.

The hot water felt good on her skin. Inside the tub she found a ledge to sit on while soaking, the water soothing away the lingering aches of her sore joints. Her recently healed body felt as good as new within moments, and she dreaded leaving the tub after she finished soaping her skin and lathering her hair, rinsing away the dried blood.

She removed the stopper from the tub and climbed out when she finished cleaning, smooth supple skin dripping with water, forming a small puddle with each step she took towards the towel rack. She removed one of the large, fluffy towels, wrapping the thick cottony material around her sleek body to dry off before giving her hair a vigorous rubbing with the towel. I wonder what kind of clothing angels keep in their homes.

On the other side of the partition, Rin found a kimono even more gorgeous than her coming of age furosode kimono. Her fingers swept over the material, finding it to be the finest of silk, rather than the nylon that most wore nowadays. "Gorgeous," she breathed, glancing at the nearby table to find a neatly folded pile of undergarments and a brush.

It took her several moments to dress in each layer of clothing, beginning with the socks and undergarment robe. It had been a while since Rin tied a kimono, and she feared her gracious host would think her rude, or uncivilized if she remained in the bathing room too longer. Nervous fingers managed to secure each belt in place and struggle with the thick formal obi.

Aneki always tied my obicI should have insisted on doing it myself all of those times. Rin examined her reflection in the mirror when she finished. Her hair was an entirely different subject. She brushed out her hair, then pinned it up as neatly as she could before laying down the brush, and stepping out into the hall.

"Foolish woman, how dare you keep Sesshoumaru-sama waiting for so long," Jaken muttered irritably, frightening her back a step. She hadn't expected to find him waiting out in the hallway for her, and raised a hand to her mouth when she realized what he had said.

"I didn't intend to keep him waiting. The obi was so difficult to tie in place," she explained, although the little man didn't seem to care either way.

Truthfully, he had thought the girl drowned in the tub and that Sesshoumaru would kill him for allowing it to happen.

"Come along now." She followed the old midget of a servant, reaching the open double doors of a library. The door closed behind her as she entered, and she saw the figure of her host sitting in a large armchair, staring forward silently. The sheathed sword lay across his lap, his features and expression were unreadable, though if she had to guess, she would assume it were a face of boredom.

"Sit."

The seat across from him was occupying her bottom within moments. Rin hardly had any time to wonder why she obeyed his commands like a weak dog, too happy to serve its master. She was too curious about the events that took place, and why he currently looked so different.

"I am not an angel."

Rin's face almost fell. "Then what are you? I don't understand what happened. I should be dead."

"I am a youkai. More specifically, I am a dog demon born of one of the strongest youkai families."

Her dark eyes seemed to lose their ability to blink. Regardless of whether or not the staring was rude, Rin found she was unable to look away, blink, or speak for that er. er. She had assumed her savior to be an angel, but instead he had turned out to bec a demon. A creature of unholy origin according to many myths and legends. "I don't understandcyou saved me."

"A test," he corrected. "Tenseiga is a healing sword, and it chose to revive you."

Hot tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. So the demon had not even meant to save her life? She had been nothing more than a test of his blade? Rin felt her throat tighten, clenched with her struggle to hold back the building sob that wished to rise from her lungs.

Sesshoumaru scented the salty smell of tears. His surprise would not be revealed however, as the calm expression on his face remained impassive. Why does one simple statement bring this reaction from her? Used to seeing her smiling, and happy, laughing and determinedly struggling for his friendship, confusion was the only emotion her tears could stir in him. "I do not know why you were attacked," he continued smoothly. "But the scent of your blood attracted me to where you were slain. You are able to see my youkai self due to the release of magic that restored your body."

Rin nodded slowly simply to give a response, eyes burning and vision clouding. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"Wipe your eyes."

It was such a sudden and out of place command that Rin blinked, and the first tear fell, rolling down her cheeks. Sesshoumaru was not looking at her, instead, his gaze was on one of the windows, staring indifferently at the scene of the setting sun beyond it. Rin slowly raised her hand from her lap, brushing away the tear with her index finger. She was surprised when he spoke up again.

"Why do you cry?"

"It's a silly reason," she murmured thickly, drying her face of the proof of her tears as much as she could. "Nothing that would interest youc I.. I should thank you again for saving me," she whispered, swallowing, and avoiding his gaze. "I--"

"Don't," he interrupted. "You will remain here until the reason for your attack is known. Jaken will prepare a room for you."

Rin's eyes grew to the side of tea saucers. "But school! I must teach, I can't leave my job. I can't afford to," she began, only for a faint, only slightly detectable hardening of his expression to silence her.

"You shall continue teaching, as will I. Tell no one of what I am. You may leave now. Inform Jaken that you require money to purchase whatever human food you desire."

"Yes," she whispered, standing and bowing as politely as the obi allowed. She turned and walked out of the library, her heart thumping loudly in her chest, blood pulsing and racing.

At one moment, he seemed as if he was completely unconcerned with her, and at another, she could almost swear she saw a flicker of caring beneath the cold wall shielding his thoughts and emotion.
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In the darkness of the forest, a solitary figure sat in an abandoned shrine, cut off from the rest of the world. The sound of one of his minions announced he was no longer alone, and he waited patiently for the buzzing insect to stop in front of him.

It's lone return could only mean one thing. Only it had survived the attack on the Sunset Shrine, and it had brought something with it that he would seem useful.

He half expected the jewel. He could sense its dulled presence, as if it had lost power over the many years since its disappearance. For five hundred years, Naraku had patiently waited, biding his time until the moment came that he could claim the shikon jewel and put it to its rightful use.

Naraku lifted and opened his hand impatiently. A single, pink splinter fell and came to rest on his palm. Immediately, his features contorted into an angry snarl. "One piece? Where is the rest?!" Those fools had shattered the glorious shikon, and he was determined to get the rest of it back

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Inuyasha walked down the shrine steps, glad that his bandages were covered by the flowy material of his kimono and hakama. Part of him wondered what the hell Kagome's grandfather was doing with an outfit of such a vibrant red color, but another part was relieved that the old man had a spare change of clothing that would fit him.

As he reached the bottom step and entered the kitchen, everyone turned and stared at him, surprised at his appearance. Needless to say, the hanyou looked veryc.strange and different with his freshly washed and blowdryed silver hair hanging in silken waves down his back, allowing both adorable puppy ears to rise freely and occasionally twitch.

To Kagome, he looked perfect, and she could hardly take her eyes off of him. She wouldn't have if she didn't think her staring would make her look stupid.

"What's with all the funny faces?" he growled.

"No reason," Miroku quickly responded.

"Just thinking that outfit suits you, that's all, Inuyasha," Sango explained for her own staring.

"I suppose it does," Jii-chan said thoughtfully. "It's supposed to be made from fire rat fur. I've had it for a long time but was never able to sell it as a souvenir."

Kagome groaned. "Like the water demon feet, Jii-chan? It's probably dyed cat or something," the girl said with a giggle, getting a laugh from her friends and mother.

Before Jii-chan could protest the authenticity of his goods at the shrine, Inuyasha sniffed the fabric of his kimono. "Actually, it is fire rat fur. The old man wasn't lying. Now what about that thing that came outta Kagome. Any idea what it was or why the demon tried to kill her for it?" he asked, plopping into a seat.

"I may have to consult someone with more knowledge of lore than I," Jii-chan admitted. "I found nothing yet."

"Then I'll keep Kagome protected until we know that she's safe again."

Kagome blinked across the table at Inuyasha, who seemed set and firm in his decision. He wants to protect mecI have a half demon protector. It all seemed like too much for Kagome, and for the rest of the night, even during the meal that she and her friends shared, she was hardly able to think of a useful thing to say.
A/N: I think the top was note enough hehcreview responses coming next chapter. This one was long. I know I didn't get to everything I said I would up above, so you'll have to wait for next chapter. Sorry, that's just the way it goes.