A/N: happy new year again, everyone! I didn't realize how draining it can be on your time and energy to work full-time. This should be completed in about 3 to 5 more chapters, and rest assured I will see it through, however long it takes!

Sesshomaru stood still in the blindingly sunlit meadow, gazing at his father, with his silver ponytail and vibrant golden eyes. "Am…" He cleared his throat, "Am I dead?"

The taller man gently shook his head. "You are between worlds," He explained, looking down to his son. "You may choose to return to the land of the living, or to pass on. But you cannot remain here." He looked more closely at his son's hand, still partly upraised, at the thread bound tight to his pinky. "Do you see it?" He asked, nodding to the filament. "That thread will guide you back to the land of the living, if you follow it."

"I…" Sesshomaru looked down at his hand now as well, as the thread began to gently tug at him as if someone were pulling lightly on the unseen other end of it. He knew, somewhere in his chest, that he needed to follow that thread wherever it would lead him, that it was where he belonged. But...what about his father? He couldn't leave just yet. He looked back up into those kindly golden eyes he had not seen in over two centuries.

"I suppose you have many questions, my son. But there is no time to answer them." His eyes followed the thread into the distance as the tugging grew noticeable. "If you remain in the sunny fields too long, that thread will break, and you will have no choice but to proceed to the land of the dead and await reincarnation."

"But how is it you can be here, then?" Sesshomaru demanded. In answer, the man smiled, holding up his wrist. Bound around it was a braided silken rope, such a pure white it was nearly blinding itself. So. He was going to be reincarnated, then. He was passing back over from the land of the dead to the living once more. Sesshomaru nodded in understanding. "Will you watch over us, then?"

"Not for long," The former taishō conceded. "But I will be joining you quite soon, I think." He sighed mournfully and looked away for a moment. "I had hoped, of course, to be reborn as another InuYōkai, but I know the season has passed. Still, if it is within my power, I will find you once more." He glanced down at his cord as he felt something tugging it, then into the distance, where the red thread twined around the pure white cord...they had the same source, it seemed.

Sesshomaru knew he could not stay any longer. He could feel tension building in the thread, and he could not risk it breaking. He had to return to his beloved and his mother and growing family. But first, he threw his arms around his father, surprised to feel how solid and real his spirit seemed. "Goodbye, Father."

"You will not remember any of this when you wake, though I wish you could. I shall see you soon, my Son." He patted the man's back twice and let him go to walk purposefully toward the source of the thread, feeling the tension slowly ease as it grew slowly darker from the blinding whiteness of before.

Abruptly, reality came crashing back upon the white-haired man like a rockslide. Every part of his body was in excruciating pain except the bottom half of his right arm, below the elbow, which was troublingly numb, as well as a sizable portion of his left thigh. It was pitch dark, for his eyes were not open, and it smelled of blood, death, rot, and the fear and desperation of the living. The stench of the combination was overwhelming and he couldn't help but cough in an effort to clear the stale air from his lungs. There was a sudden flurry of noise around him the instant he did so.

"Taishō-sama! Taishō-sama, can you hear me?!" Asked a voice he was certain he hadn't heard before. He couldn't pry his eyes open just yet, but he'd bet money that the voice belonged to a young Ka medic. He managed a soft groan, then a softer word of affirmation. "Thank all the kami. You have been at heaven's gate for two full days, Taishō-sama. We camped on the battlefield in hopes of your survival." Well, that explained the smell, at least...wait, two full days?! Surely it had been mere moments ago he had struck down the corrupt woman who sought to put herself on the throne?

"Rin...my mother…?"

"No one knows where they are, Milord," The voice informed him with great concern. "The battle was over the moment you struck the fatal blow, and the battle never began between the Yama clans. But no one even knows where to begin looking for your mate or the Honored Mother. Those who returned to the palace to bring word of our victory found it nearly empty."

"I know...I know where they hide. But...they will not leave...without my own word." He desperately hoped Rin had not had a vision of him falling in battle. The thought alone would have broken his poor mate. But he would not be in any fit state to run to them for days yet, at the very least. Perhaps even weeks. "My arm?"

"The poison may have some lasting effects. It doesn't seem to have an antidote, at least not one we know, but your body is cleaning it slowly. Do not be troubled Milord, you have every finger and toe in its proper place still." That brought a deep sigh of relief from his lips. Even a few short years without his arm had been maddening, and he could not imagine having to deal with it again.

"Well, Milord, now that you are awake and certain to recover, it is safe for us to return to the palace at last," The medic told him, and Sesshomaru could hear sounds of packing around him, gathering supplies and bundling things for transport. He finally was able to pry open his bloodstained eyes-his blood, or his opponents', he couldn't hope to tell now-and saw that the young man was indeed a Ka, bright-eyed, teardrop-marked and saber-toothed as he offered a smile of relief.

"Your clan...you came to aid us, when others did not."

"Of course, Taishō-sama. The Dō threatened us all, just the same as the Mori and Umi clans, who cowered. They threatened, but still we came when you called. We have never wavered in our loyalty to the true heir, and we never will, Milord."

Sesshomaru relaxed, reassured he once again had allies in this world. His only concern now was finding a way to contact Rin and his mother, to assure them the battle was finished at long last.

The medic fussed over him for what seemed like hours, and most likely was. He was fed and his bandages changed twice, making him gain appreciation for how badly the woman had actually managed to injure him without his notice. By the time they broke camp that afternoon, his numb limbs were regaining their sensation, to his immense relief. He still had no idea what to do about bringing back his mother and mate. He could not entrust the village to anyone, no matter how loyal they were. It simply wasn't worth the risk.

By that evening, they had reached the palace, and Sesshomaru fell fitfully in and out of consciousness from the strong drugs they had finally been able to give him from the palace's healing stores. He had not thought of a solution to his dilemma, and now he couldn't think very well at all. He could barely stay awake, and each blink took a colossal effort. Perhaps it was an issue best left for the morning, though he wanted nothing more than his darling young mate beside him, to comfort her.

Near midnight, a shout from the guard tower shocked him out of another slow blink and his eyes darted around the room in confusion. "They have returned!"

But it wasn't a shout of alarm, there were no bells...no, it was a cry of triumph.

Sesshomaru smiled softly, knowing they would now be informed of his survival and recovery. Perhaps, if he were lucky, they would even permit his beloved to come in to him, so he could see her once again.

It took another long blink for him to hear the door sliding sharply open to his room, with running footsteps to his side and knees hitting the floor beside his head with a sharp thud. A pair of gentle hands, so wonderfully familiar, grasped his head between them, covering his ears for a moment. He was gently lifted and placed in an ever-shrinking lap, with one ear resting against that swelling belly. The growing pup that was his fault, he couldn't help but think with a faint silly little grin. He finally opened his eyes as he took a deep breath of his dear beloved's scent, wreathing around him. "Rin…"

She was crying-hardly surprising-as she held him the closest she reasonably could given the state of his wounds. "You baka," She murmured, resorting to commoner's speech with her obvious distress as her fingers gently combed his dirty hair. "I told you not to hurt even a hair on your head, and that's all you didn't do!"

"Rin. You know...you know I couldn't promise...that I would be unharmed." Even with the herbs to dull the pain, it wasn't gone, and he hadn't realized how excruciating a process talking could be until now.

"Don't say that! Look at you! You can't even move on your own!" She scolded, looking over the mass of bandages that was her mate. It was bad enough that he wasn't even wearing clothes, just a fundoshi to cover the most important bits and a blanket draped for a semblance of further modesty. "Your mother, she wouldn't let me leave until I told her I saw you alive. Because...because I saw you fall, Sesshomaru, and I couldn't be sure you lived…" More tears fell, and some fell on him.

"To be honest, my love...I was not certain either, it seems."

He felt her stiffen slightly under him and was fairly sure he'd be nursing a fresh handprint on his cheek if he weren't quite so injured. After a moment, she relaxed again. "Shh...just relax now. The healers said you need rest the most. Just sleep, and I will be here beside you, love. I promise."