The sun bears down on Kaede's neck as she bends to collect just one more mushroom. When she stands, she swipes a sleeve across her forehead and sighs. Not for the first time, she looks at the basket propped against her hip and feels a pang of longing. This time last year she would have not had to complete this task alone; vividly she can recall spring afternoons spent with her sister in the fields, learning which plants would heal and which would harm, listening with rapt attention as Kikyo patiently and lovingly passed down valuable knowledge.

But those days were long gone, as was her sister. Never again would they collect herbs, or laugh together as they splashed in the hot spring, or sit by the crackling fire to share meals they had prepared. Now she was alone.

Few demons had troubled the village since the Shikon Jewel's demise a year ago, and for that she is grateful. But now that the Jewel was gone, no new priestess had yet offered up her services to protect the modest village. While Kaede hoped that a new mentor would eventually appear, she was not hopeful that anyone would volunteer for the job, and even if they did, she knows that no one could ever replace her sister. In the meantime, she has been able to dispose of the few minor threats that have presented themselves, despite the fact that her training is far from complete. Though the villagers cared for her in many ways, being the only one with spiritual powers meant that it was left to her to counter any evil that appeared. She was determined to make her sister proud and continue her legacy, despite the challenges she faced.

She checks her list. All that remained was a bit of wild mint, and she knew exactly where a patch of it grew on the eastern hillside. But just as she turns to head in that direction an ominous feeling settles low in her gut.

Not a moment later a thrum of demonic power reverberates from the west, and she almost fumbles the basket at her hip. Cold fingers of fear tickle her spine.

It couldn't be… could it?

She tries to tell herself that she was just imagining things, but then she feels it again, causing her heart to race to a staccato beat. There was no denying it. Trouble was brewing. And it was coming from Inuyasha's Forest.

Abandoning her task, she sprints for the shrine, hastily dropping her basket of herbs by the door and exchanging it for her bow and quiver. It shouldn't be possible, but if Inuyasha were breaking free of her sister's spell, she needed to be there. This was her duty. With a shaking breath she straightens her spine and heads for the tree line.

The strength of the aura grows stronger as she enters the forest, and she can feel the fury in it. Barbed tendrils reach out and prick at her spirit. The pressure of it builds behind her ears and beneath her ribs, and momentarily she stops, closing her eyes against the menace of it. Her earlier assessment was clearly wrong.

This could not be Inuyasha.

When she opens her eyes again she is surprised to see that the leaves are only stirred by a gentle breeze and no sounds are heard except for the occasional trill of birdsong. The dissonance only adds to her uneasiness as she creeps closer. She wants to turn back but she forges ahead, determined to protect the god tree and the village. But against what? What could possibly be responsible for this kind of disturbance?

From the power she feels, there should be a furious battle here. A war. But there is nothing.

She slows her pace as she comes to the clearing and almost jumps when she surveys the scene. Inuyasha is still pinned to the tree, serene and untouched.

But he is not alone.

Equally serene is the lone figure observing him from the base of the tree.

She doesn't know who he is or where he came from, but two things are clear: he is not human, and he is dangerous. The thrum of discontent that led her here clouds the area, and he is at the epicenter. Wild demonic energy snaps around him, swirling with malice. But it's almost difficult to believe. If she were to trust only her sight, she would see a calm, peaceful demon: beautiful, elegant, refined. But she trusts the dark pounding of her heart and knows that appearances can deceive.

Peeking through the dense leaves of a bush, she observes him. For the longest time he does nothing. He simply stares at the half-demon's sleeping face, gaze unwavering. It's eerie how still he is, save for the wind that teases the ends of his hair and the trailing sleeves of his kosode. She crouches there until her knees ache and she knows they'll be stiff when she stands. It will not bode well for her if she has to fight. She prays that despite the anger in his heart that the stranger will simply pass by.

When he finally moves, it is with deliberate grace. Kaede holds her breath and freezes as he reaches for the arrow in Inuyasha's chest.

Clawed fingers barely make contact with the fletching of the arrow before it erupts in a blaze of crackling pink energy. Sesshomaru withdraws his hand, letting it fall back to his side and ignoring the stinging in his palm.

A spiritual seal. So the rumors were true.

Jaken had told him as much, but he had to see it for himself. The battle with the panther demons had not ended well, but it had ended all the same. Though he certainly did not need Inuyasha's pitiful excuse for power to secure victory, it might have made some bit of difference with Tetsusaiga on their side. At the very least the worthless hanyou could have allowed himself the privilege of an honorable death in the throes of battle, graciously leaving behind the sword for its rightful owner. He glances at the half-demon's side, but finds that his hip is bare.

Where was Tetsusaiga?

Had he lost it? Traded it away? Had another come along and stolen it while Inuyasha was subdued by this magic? To Sesshomaru's utter disappointment and frustration, for whatever unfathomable reason his great and terrible father had chosen to bequeath the powerful sword to this powerless filth, and now he didn't even have it? At another time, in another life, he might have been willing to trade the sword for the hanyou's life, or simply killed him for it, proving the he was the one worthy of it to begin with.

But now Tetsusaiga seemed to be missing, making Inuyasha worse than useless. And to see the son of his father in such a state, sealed by a spell placed on him by a mortal… Disgraceful.

Anger expands inside his chest. This is what his father had died for? This was worth the security of the West? Why he and his mother were discarded? All so that his father's half-breed son could be felled by a human?

Unthinkable.

Killing him outright now would be an act of mercy, the first and last he would bestow upon this wretched abomination.

At his side his knuckles crack as he summons the power within him. With fingers cased in soft green glow, he reaches for the delicate skin at Inuyasha's throat.

"Halt!"

He had been distantly aware that he had an audience, but he had dismissed it. That the human hiding in the brush would attempt to interfere had never crossed his mind. He turns around to see a young girl pointing a wobbling bow in his direction.

He calmly observes her, cataloguing relevant details. She is old enough to be bothersome but still years away from womanhood. She is dressed in the attire of a priestess, but she is still far too young to have achieved mastery. She is missing an eye, which should impact her aim and therefore make any attacks easy to evade.

Threat level: nonexistent.

He regards her with a glare, not bothering to remove his claws from Inuyasha's throat.

When she addresses him again her voice is louder and more confident, but the underlying tremble in her tone and the scent of her anxious sweat give her away. "Who are ye? What do ye want with Inuyasha?"

He almost laughs at the question. What does he want? It's what he doesn't want that matters. He does not wish to suffer this indignity. He does not wish for his family name to suffer this indignity. He did not even want him in the first place. It was long past time for Inuyasha to meet his end, and it was only fitting that he meet it at the tips of his claws.

Sesshomaru narrows his eyes at the girl. "This is none of your concern."

He turns back to his task but a spiritual flare draws his attention back to her. The arrow she holds glows pink. She takes a steadying breath. "Release him, or I shall pin ye right next to him."

So she held some power after all. Mentally he raises the threat she poses to 'minimal.' Not nearly enough to deter him, but enough for him to attempt to dissuade her from pestering him.

He takes his hand away to turn toward her fully. "You are either very brave or very stupid, though neither of those qualities will spare you. Have you any idea who I am?"

She levels the bow at him. "Ye are clearly a powerful demon, and I do not wish to have any quarrel with ye. Please pass peaceably through this forest and end this fight before it begins."

He tilts his head slightly, studying her. "If you regard me as powerful, you should know that there would be no fight at all. Only death. Yours, specifically."

She only narrows her eyes. "Leave now, demon. Do not make me ask ye again."

Sesshomaru feels as though he has awoken in a strange and unpredictable world; few dared to stand in his way, and certainly no human. He should eliminate this problem and be done with it, but curiosity gets the better of him. "And what should you care what I do with this hanyou?" He gestures to the arrow protruding from Inuyasha's chest. "He has obviously caused great misery to your village. You should thank me for eliminating this scourge."

Her eyes pop. "Inuyasha was not a scourge! He was good to the village and to my sister. At least until – "

"Your sister?" The priestess attire takes on greater meaning. If she were related to the human responsible for this spell, then he may need to rethink his assessment of her and the threat she poses yet again. "She was the one to imprison him?"

"Yes. But not because he was troublesome. Sister Kikyo and Inuyasha were very much in love. But something went wrong and he hurt her. Before she died she sealed him to that tree."

Sesshomaru quirks a brow. "So he killed the one he loved. The one you loved. I can see no reason for you to oppose my sending him to his proper place in the underworld. Surely you hate him for what he has done."

Her emotions waver, but her bow does not. "I do, but I don't. I miss Sister Kikyo, but I know that I can't hate him entirely. It would dishonor my sister's wishes."

He takes a casual step forward, keeping her talking as he continues to asses her weaknesses. "Oh? How so?"

"She sealed him. She could have purified him but she chose a sealing spell instead."

Mortals were such sentimental creatures. "You mean to suggest that she spared him?"

"Of course! It is as I said, she loved him."

He stalks a little closer, testing her resolve. "And is this not a fate worse than death? If she had truly loved him, why not send him to the underworld with her so that they could be together?"

Her face falls, though if it's because of his growing proximity or the shattering of her childish logic he can't tell. "I… I had not considered that."

"Indeed." He glances behind him at Inuyasha's form. He wonders if he can hear this conversation despite his slumber. He hopes so. He gives the girl a long look. "It is of little consequence. Your sister may have spared him, but I am not nearly so indecisive."

He turns to finish what he started, but before he can a flash of pink skims just past his shoulder and sails into the forest beyond. Spiritual energy crackles against his own aura, stinging in the same way the arrow had when he tried to touch it, only less potent. Outwardly his expression betrays nothing, but inwardly he can't help but be the slightest bit impressed.

Still, this insult could not go unaddressed. He narrows his eyes and turns back to her. She has already nocked another arrow, and this time her bow does not shake.

"I warned ye, demon."

He lifts his hand, claws shrouded in poisonous green glow. "And I warned you, human."

She doesn't back down. "Ye have no right to tamper with him."

A growl reverberates in his throat. "I have every right."

"By what authority?"

He sneers in disgust. "He is my father's son."

Her eyes widen but her stance remains firm. "Ye would kill your own brother?"

He spits his words. "Half-brother. He is no kin of mine."

The look in his eyes dares her to contradict him, but instead she looks thoughtful. "I believe he mentioned ye, once."

If Sesshomaru were less dignified, he might have rolled his eyes. Instead his voice falls flat. "In radiant terms, I'm sure."

"Yes, actually. He said that he wanted to be a full demon, just like his brother."

The arrow she fired at him is nothing in comparison to this insult. He stalks closer to her, letting his aura flare. "There is no one like me."

She swallows but holds his gaze. "Then why are ye so threatened by a defenseless hanyou sealed to a tree?"

He stops short. His initial assessment had only been half correct: she was very brave, but she was certainly not stupid. However, she had no right to demand answers of him. He counters instead. "Why are you so protective of a defenseless hanyou sealed to a tree?"

She holds her head high. "It is my duty as priestess of this village. And I wish to honor my sister, as I have said."

Foolish child. "Inuyasha's resolve was weak, his ambitions overreaching. A dangerous combination. What would you do if he awoke?"

The look she gives him is part frustration, part pleading. "As I have explained, he was not like that anymore. Though I do not know what went wrong, in the months before my sister's death his wish had changed. He no longer wanted to be a full demon like his esteemed brother. He wished to become human so that he and Sister Kikyo could be together."

Sesshomaru's control slips and he blinks wide eyes. "What?"

"It is true. Sister Kikyo was going to help him do it with the power of the Shikon Jewel."

Sesshomaru can't help it. He laughs. It's a mirthless bark of a laugh, but a laugh nevertheless. It occurs to him that Inuyasha was more his father's son than he would ever like to admit. "He was so affected by a mortal woman that he would relinquish what pitiful power he had?"

She frowns. "Yes! Why is that so funny?"

Sesshomaru composes himself and flicks a long strand of silver hair over one shoulder. He ignores her question. "I have changed my mind. Let him remain pinned to the god tree."

Relief is evident on her face. She lowers her weapon a fraction. "So ye shall leave him alone?"

"Keep him. May his folly serve as an example to all who encounter him."

Her voice is hopeful. "Perhaps… perhaps he can serve as an example to ye as well. People can change. Love has a way of softening even the hardest of hearts."

His brow furrows, all traces of humor gone. "Do not mistake my decision for kindness or weakness, girl. You would do well to remember that I have still not decided what to do with you."

"My apologies for speaking out of turn." She bows low, though he does not mistake her reverence for fear. It was not long ago that she fired an arrow near his head, after all. He regards her carefully, suddenly weary of this and eager to put this conversation behind him. Without another word, he spins on his heel and sets off in the direction from which he came.

She calls after him. "Wait! What name do ye go by, demon?"

He considers ignoring her, but something makes him stop and turn to look at her over his shoulder. "Sesshomaru."

She smiles. "And I am Kaede."

He shrugs and begins to walk away. Her voice echoes through the leaves. "Ye are welcome to visit him anytime ye would like. So long as your intentions are pure, no one shall stop ye."

"Unlikely."

As he makes his way back to the edge of the forest where Jaken was waiting, he ponders the odd exchange, and the unexpected outcome of it. Not a final decision, surely. Should it please him, he could return at any time and slay the wretch in his sleep. But for now, let him serve as an example of the folly of succumbing to the charms of impertinent human women. He would never fall victim to such whims, of this he is certain. Though his father and his half-brother may have disgraced themselves, there was no doubt that he was better than both of them.

In the meantime, he could search for the sword his father had foolishly given away and that his half-brother had apparently abandoned. And he would find it, cementing his reputation, surpassing his father, and becoming truly worthy of his name.

Fifty years pass, and Kaede sees many things with her single eye: the resurrection and subsequent demise of her beloved sister, a girl from the future with the power to defeat evil, the rise and destruction of the reviled hanyou Naraku. Fifty times she has seen the seasons change, watched as the leaves turn from green to red to brown. She has seen her friends and neighbors age and die, and watched as the youth is siphoned from her hands as they complete the tasks at the shrine, smooth skin replaced with spots and wrinkles.

But with all of the things she has seen, she knows that sometimes the most valuable things are those that cannot be seen with the eye.

She feels him before she sees him, the thrum just as powerful as it was all those years ago, though much more contained and controlled. Time has not lessened his power, but it seems that it has tempered his strength with patience. Or perhaps it wasn't time at all.

Rin appears at the top of the stairs to the shrine, but she is unusually quiet, and her toothy smiles are absent. Kaede knows why. When she greets the old priestess she is polite, but her feet shuffle listlessly as she passes her and disappears into the hut. Kaede can't begrudge her her feelings; she knows what it is like to feel left behind. She folds her hands into her sleeves and waits for the little girl's companion.

When he arrives he settles into place beside her, though his eyes stray to the hut more than once. Kaede clears her throat. "It is as we discussed?"

He nods. "Rin will remain here. When she comes of age, she can determine her own fate."

"That is for the best, though I dare say she will not thank ye for it. Not for a while, at least." He doesn't respond, his expression blank. Though he was never expressive, time seems to have made him less reactive as well. She continues. "She told me how ye met."

His eyes slide her way. "You asked?"

Kaede chuckles. "Forgive me for prying. I simply couldn't contain my curiosity on how a little human girl came to follow the great Lord Sesshomaru. She was very brave to approach you."

"Very foolish, you mean."

"I would think ye would be grateful that she did."

"Intervention was not necessary. I healed on my own. You speak as though she saved me."

Kaede takes a risk and peers at him from the corner of her eye. "Didn't she?"

Sesshomaru steals another glance at the hut, and then lifts his nose into the air, ignoring the question. "Human girls apparently have little sense of self-preservation."

"Oh? Have ye encountered many like her?"

He cuts his eyes to her. "Only one, many years ago, though that one was much more mouthy. Not to mention she refused to properly acknowledge my superiority."

Kaede laughs. "Insolent child. She must have had something very important to protect."

Sesshomaru stills, but then shifts to face her. "Again, confirming her lapse in judgment. What she protected was without value."

Her eyes sparkle. "And yet ye still came from time to time to check on her investment, did ye not?"

She can sense that she is pushing his limits, so she doesn't press the issue. He could deny it all he wanted to, but no other demon had quite the aura he did, and she was certain that every few years he would appear in Inuyasha's Forest. The first few times she had waited until he left, checking to make sure that Inuyasha remained unharmed. But as the years passed she grew less and less concerned for his safety and more interested in the reasons for these visits. However, she knows that she will never ask, and even if she did, he would never tell.

As if to confirm her suspicions, he sets his shoulders and stares into the horizon. "I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Of course not, my lord. How silly of me." She thinks she can hear crying from inside the hut, and if she can hear it she is sure that he can too. She softens her tone. "Do ye wish to say goodbye to Rin before taking your leave?"

He looks like he is considering it, but then he shakes his head. "No. But I will return soon. Remind her of that if necessary."

"She will miss ye, I'm sure."

"Hnn."

"Do not worry, my lord. I shall take good care of her in your absence."

He eyes her carefully. "Your skills with that bow have improved, I assume?"

She smiles. "Shall I retrieve my quiver so that ye can find out?"

His expression doesn't change, but in his eyes she can see the hint of a smile. "You have not changed, old woman. You are still too brave for your own good."

"I may not have changed, but it is obvious that ye have. For the better, I might add." Feeling triumphant at the stunned look on his face, she turns and heads toward the hut, waving a hand over one shoulder. "Until we meet again, Lord Sesshomaru."

She doesn't need to see him to know that he lingers for a time, and when he leaves she feels it.

A/N: This has sat on my computer for like a year, 85% finished, and on a whim I decided to polish it up for consumption. One thing I've discovered about myself is that my favorite type of fanfiction to write is little in between moments, or things that help to explain otherwise unexplained moments. This particular oneshot was brought to you by the very end of the series. In the epilogue, we learn that Sesshomaru leaves Rin with Kaede so that she can learn to live with humans, and the implication is that this was Kaede's idea and Sesshomaru went along with it. Given that he literally went to hell to retrieve Rin, and that he likely values no counsel greater than his own, why would he listen to this old human lady who is a virtual stranger and allow her to watch over Rin for a few years? Even if he agrees with the idea, it seems like sort of an odd choice of caretaker. Hence this little ficlet, to help fill in the blanks and provide a headcanon-y response. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and don't for get to let me know what you think!