What's A Dragon to Do?

Chapter 8

Shippou knew his barrier wouldn't last long against the imp's staff. So using more of his fox magic he turned himself and Rin into stone statues. The imp's fire would not harm them now and after the imp left he would change them back and help Rin escape to find Sesshoumaru.

Shippou watched as a servant picked him and Rin up and handed them to Jaken.

"Master Jaken. These are all that's left from the ashes of the child's bed." The servant watched as Jaken looked at the items and then handed them back to the servant.

"Return the toys to the play room. Lord Sesshoumaru would not like it if any of the old toys got destroyed." Jaken looked at Rin's bed once more then turned and left the room.

Shippou didn't think the imp would ever leave. At least the rest of Sesshoumaru's servants tried to save Rin and he could hear several of them crying over her death. After Jaken and the servants left them he quickly changed them both back and helped Rin down from the shelf the servant had placed them on. He motioned for Rin to be quiet. He walked to the door or what remained of it after the fire and made sure no one was around. He turned to Rin.

"How do you get outside from here?"

"I know the way but Jaken always catches me." Rin looked around her room and was saddened at the destruction Jaken had caused. He had even blown a hole in her wall.

Shippou put his arm around Rin to give her a little comfort. He looked around the room and noticed a door that appeared to lead to a balcony.

"Is that a way out Rin?" He pointed to the door.

"Yes but it is far from the ground and I can't climb very well." Rin ran to the door and opened it. She walked out on the balcony and looked around the garden below her room. There were many guards around the area looking for any sign of the being that dared to attack Lord Sesshoumaru's ward. "There are too many guards in this section of the garden, Shippou"

Shippou stepped outside on the balcony and quickly pulled Rin back away from the balcony.

"We have to get to the other side of the castle where there are fewer guards."

"I know a way that Master Jaken doesn't know about but Lord Sesshoumaru told me not to use it anymore unless it was an emergency. I don't know what this emergency thing is though so I haven't used it since." Rin sat on the floor and stared up at Shippou with tears starting to come to her eyes.

"Well Rin this is what he would call an emergency if I ever saw one. Lets go."

He helped Rin up and motioned for her to lead him. He kept hold of her hand just in case he smelled a demon and had to stop her suddenly. He watched as Rin led him to a wall and then she touched it. The wall slid open and he followed Rin into the dark chamber. As the door shut behind them it left the duo in the dark. "Rin, I will lead us now. I can see in the dark. Where does this lead us anyways?"

"It leads into Sesshoumaru's garden. It is on the other side of the castle." Rin sidled along behind Shippou

"That is good. Once we get there we need a way to get out of the palace grounds. The wall is too high for me to fly over if I am carrying anyone. Any ideas Rin?" Shippou stopped and allowed the human girl to rest for a moment.

Rin stopped when Shippou did and used the time to catch her breath.

"Ah Un could get us past the wall. All we have to do is get to the stables. I am sure they would take us to Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Kagome." He changed into a small horse and looked at Rin.

"Climb on I will get us to the gardens quicker this way. I can carry you for a short distance but that is it." He waited till Rin climbed on and then took off running to the exit of the tunnel. It didn't take them long. He gently opened the door and sniffed around. No guards in this section of the garden. Luck was with them so far.

"The stable is right over there." They crawled through the flower gardens until they were beside the stable. They made it to the stable in safety and found Ah Un settled down in his stall. Rin motioned for Shippou to be quiet and tip toed to Ah Un's stall. She unlatched the gate and walked to the sleeping dragon. She gently nudged him awake and put her finger to her mouth to keep the dragon quiet.

"Ah Un you need to take me and Shippou to find Lord Sesshoumaru. I can no
longer stay at the castle with Jaken. He tried to kill Shippou and me and if Shippou had not been there I would not be here." Rin grabbed his reins and walked him out of the stable. "You must be quiet Ah Un we don't want the guards to see or hear us." Once they were out of the stable and away from the castle Rin and Shippou climbed on his back. "Now take us to Lord Sesshoumaru" Ah looked at Un and saw him looking at him.

"What now oh smart one? It was your idea about the orb. You come up with
something."

"We can not let the small ones go running around the forest without any protection and too many demons know that Rin is Sesshoumaru's ward and would do anything to get their hands on her." How do I get us into these situations? He looked back to the tired pups on their back.

"Well we can't just fly around all night. We have to do something."

"Why don't we take them to Sesshoumaru like she asked. What harm could it
do?" They turned toward the cave where they had secured Sesshoumaru and Kagome.

"Fine but you are taking the blame for this one." Un looked around them to make sure that they were not being followed.

"Everything is clear. We can land now." They flew into the cave and resealed the barrier then walked to the orb. Shippou looked around the cave and saw nothing but a huge glowing orb.

"Why did they bring us here Rin. I can't see Kagome or Lord Sesshoumaru anywhere. I can't smell them either." Rin looked around the cave then to Shippou and then finally to the dragon.

"Ah Un why did you bring us to this cave. We asked you to take us to Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Kagome. Not to a cave and what is that big round thing?"

"Fine job you did this time Ah" Un picked the children up one at a time and set them down in front of them.

"I guess we just put them in the orb. We don't have to worry about them getting attacked by anything in there." They lowered their heads and the children were engulfed in small orbs and were put to sleep. Their orbs floated toward the larger one and were soon joined with it. When the children entered the orb Ah Un lay down beside the orb. Maybe we can finally get some rest now.

Sesshoumaru awoke and looked around the clearing. Something in the orb had changed. He jumped down from the tree and walked over to Kagome.

"Kagome you need to wake up now."

"Just five more minutes mom." She turned her back to him and covered her head with her arms.

"Wench if you don't get up now I am going to throw you in the river." Sesshoumaru jumped back as Kagome quickly stood up and looked around the clearing.

"Oh, your still here. I had hoped that I had dreamed the whole thing of being with you." Kagome stretched and looked around again. "So why did you wake me up?"

"Now listen wench this Sesshoumaru is not the one who put you here." Sesshoumaru glared at the human in front of him. She may be brave but he had never considered her stupid until now.

"I am sorry Sesshoumaru but I am cranky when I don't get enough sleep and I should not have taken it out on you. Now will you please tell me why you woke me up?"

Kagome smiled at him hoping that it would help make him tell her why he woke her up.

How can she change moods like that, "Something about the orb has changed. Can you detect anything new?" Kagome used her powers to search the area's closest to them. She felt something headed toward them.

"Something is headed this way but I can't make out what it is." Sesshoumaru nodded at her then stood in front of her and drew Tokijin.

"Can you use your powers without your bow?"

"Just for healing. Inuyasha was to possessed with gathering the shards to complete the jewel so that he could bring Kikyo back to life for me to get any real training. The breaks I did have I used to go back home to visit my family and to go to school." Kagome smiled at him then went to stand back away from him.

There was no sense in letting him know how really strong she had become. Besides it wasn't like he couldn't protect her so there was no reason to tell him the truth. Why show your enemy your hand when there was no need.

"Since I'm not going to be any use to you I'll just wait over here while you take care of what ever is coming."

"We definitely need to talk when this is over wench." Sesshoumaru could feel the power heading toward them. He drew back his sword and readied it to attack whatever was coming their way. Then he saw two small orbs floating toward them. When the orbs reached the small clearing by the stream one headed toward Kagome and the other headed for him.

When the one coming at him got close enough he saw an outline of what appeared to look like Rin inside it. He watched the orb land at his feet then disappear and Rin was laying at his feet sound asleep. Why would she be here? She should safely be in her bed at his castle. He heard Kagome gasp and turned to see her kitsune lying on the ground in front of her. He watched as she picked him up and hugged him to her. He bent down and lifted Rin and carried her to Kagome then set Rin down beside her.

"Why are they here? Is the kitsune awake?"

"His name is Shippou. I would have thought you had a better memory than you appear to be showing me. And no he is still sleeping." Kagome laid Shippou down beside her and settled Rin's head on her lap.

"They do not appear to be harmed but I smell the scent of smoke strongly on both of them." He scrunched up his nose at the strong stench of smoke coming from both of them.

"Why in the world would they smell like smoke?" Kagome looked closer at her kit and the human child beside her. Both their faces were covered in soot and she looked down at Sesshoumaru's haori where she had held Shippou and it was covered in the black silt also. Then she looked up at Sesshoumaru and saw his tail and chest was covered in it also. "They are covered in soot Sesshoumaru I hope your castle didn't catch fire and burn down."

Sesshoumaru looked down at his chest and saw the black soot smeared over his chest then he looked down at his tail. It too was covered with the mess. It would take him forever to get the stuff out of his tail.

"My castle would not burn so easily. AH UN I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU NOW."

"Sesshoumaru you are going to wake the kids up." Kagome frowned at the demon lord in front of her.

"At least we might get some answers on why they are here." Sesshoumaru felt Ah and Un coming toward them. It's about time. He watched as they walked up to him and bowed.

Ah and Un jumped up when they heard their master shout at them, so much for getting that rest now. They ensured their barrier was still in place then lowered their heads and were soon in the orb with their master.

"My Lord how can we serve you?" Ah and Un spoke together and bowed to their lord.

"You can start by telling me why they are here and why do they smell like they were in a fire?" Sesshoumaru glared at the dragons before him.

"My lord they came and asked us to find you. Rin said that Jaken tried to kill her and if the kitsune had not saved her she would be dead and now you were the only ones who could protect them. That is all we know my lord." They bowed to Sesshoumaru and turned to do the same to Kagome before they turned and left.

Sesshoumaru watched them leave. Surely they must have been mistaken. Jaken would not dare harm Rin. He would get to the bottom of this when Rin woke up. Till then all they could do was wait. Sesshoumaru picked Shippou up with his tail and then he sat down beside Kagome and laid the pup on his lap while Rin continued to sleep with her head in Kagome's lap. He pulled Kagome against him and settled down for the rest of the night.

Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. Sesshoumaru just put Shippou on his lap and pulled her to his chest. She was so shocked she couldn't move. Besides she didn't want to wake the children up. They had obviously had a bad night so far. She leaned her head against Sesshoumaru's shoulder and closed her eyes. She would just rest for a minute.

Sesshoumaru felt Kagome relax against him. It didn't take her long to succumb to sleep once again. He moved his tail and used it to cover both children and Kagome. Then he settled down to rest beside of them.

Sesshoumaru awoke later when he felt the kitsune stirring on his lap. He opened his eyes and found the kitsune glaring up at him. He was slightly taken aback from the glare he was receiving from the kit.

"What is your problem Shippou?" Shippou was too mad at the Lord to be afraid of him at the moment.

"How could you leave Rin with that cruel imp. Letting him beat and starve her while you're away. If you don't care about her why don't you just find a nice ningen family to take her in?" Shippou stood up on Sesshoumaru's lap and crossed his arms over his chest and growled at the demon lord in front of him.

"You are talking nonsense kitsune. Jaken would not dare to abuse Rin nor would he starve her." Sesshoumaru glared at the brave kit on his lap.

"I saw him with my own eyes Lord Sesshoumaru He tried to hit her with his staff and I placed a barrier around us to protect us. He then used his staff to hit the barrier but when it didn't do any damage he raised his staff and summoned fire to attack the barrier. I am just a kid and my barriers can't stand that kind of damage for long.

I turned Rin and myself into stone statues as the barrier fell and Rin's room was consumed in flames. After he blasted a hole in Rin's wall he yelled that Rin was attacked by demons and that they had killed her and myself. The servants put out the fire after it had completely destroyed her room then Jaken sent your guards on a search for the demons responsible." Shippou continued to glare at the Taiyoukai before him.

Sesshoumaru was very angry that a small kit would take him to task on his apparent lack of concern for his ward.

"Kitsune, this Sesshoumaru had no knowledge of the things that you have told me. I will deal with Jaken when we get out of this orb. You have my word that Rin will no longer be abused in any way."

Shippou stared at the great Lord before him. He knew that Rin would now be
treated with the utmost respect now that Sesshoumaru was aware of what had befallen her. He nodded his head to Sesshoumaru and sat back down and then looked over and found his okaa-san awake and watching him and Sesshoumaru.

"Okaa-san I have missed you so much." Shippou jumped from Sesshoumaru's
lap to his mother's arms. He hugged her and nuzzled her neck seeking comfort in her embrace.

"Oh Shippou I am so glad that you and Rin made it here safe and sound." She picked Shippou up and held him out in front of her making sure that he was unharmed. She didn't see any injuries on him. "Your not hurt are you?"

"No okaa-san. Rin and I are fine. Just a little smoke and soot covered." He looked at Kagome and just then noticed how close she was to Sesshoumaru and that the Taiyoukai had his tail around her and Rin. He looked up to Sesshoumaru and smiled at him. "Is there something you would like to tell me my Lord?"

Sesshoumaru stared down at the kitsune held in his mother's arms. He is wise
beyond his years sometimes.

"Not at the moment but should the occasion arise I will ensure that your the first to know." Shippou nodded to the lord then returned his gaze to his mother.

"Can I take a bath now okaa-san? I can't handle the stench of smoke anymore."

Kagome listened as Shippou talked to Sesshoumaru She had no idea what they were talking about but they obviously did. She set Shippou down and pointed to the herbs he would need to get the soot and smoke out of his fur.

"Take some of those herbs with you and make sure you wash your clothes also." She watched as Shippou jumped out of her arms and gathered the herbs then jumped in the river. Then she turned to Sesshoumaru. "What was that all about?"

Sesshoumaru wasn't about to tell her what him and the kitsune had been discussing.

"We have an agreement between men and you don't need to know it right now. When the time is right I might tell you what it meant."

Kagome looked up at him and just shook her head. Let the boys have their secrets for now. She looked down when she felt Rin stirring.

"Rin is waking up. We need to find something for the children and ourselves to eat."

Sesshoumaru unwrapped his tail from the girls and stood up and laid his swords down beside Kagome. Then he walked to the river and removed the soot and smoke from his being. He had to agree with the kit. The stench was really getting to him also. When he was done he retrieved his swords and looked down at Kagome and Rin.

"I am going to see what I can find to eat. I will return shortly." He walked into the forest and was soon out of sight.

Rin opened her eyes and turned her head and found herself looking up at Lady Kagome.

"Kagome your here." She threw herself into Kagome's arms and hugged her tightly for a few seconds before sitting up and looking around her. "Have you seen Lord Sesshoumaru?" Kagome smiled down at the child

"He went to find us something to eat."

"I am so happy that I am with you both now." She looked around and panicked when couldn't see Shippou She jumped up and started looking all around the clearing for the kit. "Where is Shippou? He is supposed to be with me."

"Rin calm down. Shippou is taking a bath to get the smoke and soot out of his fur and clothes. Which is something that we should be doing also." Kagome helped the child up from where she was looking under a bush and then walked her to the river. "You get started Rin I will get us the herbs we need to get the smell off."

Kagome went and picked the herbs and returned to the river. She removed Sesshoumaru's haori and carried it into the river with her. It was going to take her forever to get the soot out of his haori. Why did he have to wear white? She scrubbed the haori and was surprised to see the soot come right out of it.

Shippou watched as his mother and Rin join him in the river. Why was okaa-san wearing Sesshoumaru's haori?

"Okaa-san why are you wearing Sesshoumaru's haori?"