Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the gang.

Rin paced within the confines of her lord's massive chamber. She hated to be cooped up. Lord Sesshomaru had instructed her to remain here until his return only leaving once Rin had extracted from him a promise that he would, in fact, come back. Time and again she would press her ear to the door, hoping for some sounds of life on the other side. Minutes crawled by and the hours seemed like an eternity. How had it come to this? She longed to find a way out of the suffocating four walls.

"I don't see why Jaken was allowed to go! He is just as likely to be in danger as me!" she grumbled, sitting hard in a chair with a huff of frustration.

Outside the great hall, night fell and still no one had returned. Now Rin became even more ill at ease. Lord Sesshomaru should have returned by now. Something had to have gone wrong. Why hadn't even Ah-Un returned or Master Jaken? A shiver raced up Rin's spine. Lord Sesshomaru would protect his vassil and the two headed dragon. Nothing had happened to them. There had to be a logical reason for them to still be absent from the great hall. As Rin prepared for bed she glanced out the window to the star filled sky. She hadn't made a wish on a star since she was a girl of 13. The final wish that she had meant with all her heart.

"It can't hurt...that wish came true...after awhile."

Just as she had when she was little, Rin knelt at the window and clasped her hands together, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. She knew her wish had to be exact or else she would never get the outcome she wanted. In her head she repeated the wish three times, word for word, before crawling into bed and pulling the covers tight around her. As her eyes slipped closed, Rin also sent out a prayer that her lord and her friends might return safely.

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"Whoa hold it! You mean to say these demons are gonna be stalking the girls now!" InuYasha snapped, glowering at his older brother from over the flames of a small camp fire.

"Try to grasp this concept if you can, little brother," Sesshomaru sighed, "The elixir will grant them immortality if they are allowed to have even a few drops of it. Since their request was refused, they must seek another way to protect their race. They cannot hope to wield the Tetsuseiga on their own. As full blooded demons they cannot touch the sword. However, should they find a half demon willing to use the sword on their behalf then they will be shielded from extinction."

"And since only a halfdemon born of your father's bloodline can wield Tetsuseiga they will simply watch and see which of your father's son will produce a child!" Kagome murmured in awe.

"Precisely. Rin is safely ensconced within the great hall and her condition is not yet known to them. If we keep only one of the girls from their sight, the demons will realize soon enough which of you is quickening with child."

"So then we have to get Kagome back to the great hall before these demons put two and two together. Great. We were finally caught up to them and now we gotta backtrack. This sucks!" InuYasha grumbled.

Kagome moved quickly to gather up her things while her mate doused the fire. It made tactical sense. She would simply have to go back to the great hall and remain there with Rin until the demons were dealt with. Ah-Un would bring her safely back and Jaken would return as well to keep up the appearance of normalcy around the great hall. It was nothing out of the ordinary for Lord Sesshomaru to go missing for days at a time. His absence would go unnoticed.

"I am still not comfortable with this, Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken muttered crossly, "My staff can hold off an enemy and Ah-Un can dispatch any who might get passed me but what good is this human girl?"

Without warning, Kagome knotched an arrow and fired it into the ground at Jaken's feet. The vassil stumbled back with a squawk of outrage, readying his staff for a counterattack.

"THAT is what good I am, toad. What you and Ah-Un miss with fire, I can purify with my arrows. I'm not some helpless dimwit, you know." Kagome sniffed, placing the quivver of remaining arrows over her shoulder.

"Great. If the enemies don't kill them, they'll end up killing each other." InuYasha sighed.

As Kagome climbed atop Ah-Un's back she felt her mate come to stand alongside the beast. She hated this, their parting and the unknown of when they would see one another again. Still, it had to be done. For Rin's safety and that of her child. Besides, these were only a couple of upstart snake demons. InuYasha had fought much worse and far stronger demons than the likes of them. She knew what InuYasha was going to say.

"You want me to remain at the great hall until you return, to stay out of trouble and do my best to make sure Rin does the same...am I right?"

"That and try not to fry Jaken to a crisp. He may annoy the hell out of Sesshomaru but he still serves a purpose."

"That is just being unreasonable!" Kagome laughed softly before finally bringing her eyes to InuYasha's.

"You'd better get moving. Time is wasting and you know Sesshomaru isn't known for his patience."

"Be careful...please."

"I have to, Kagome. If I got so much as a scratch Sesshomaru would never let me live it down!" InuYasha grinned.

Within moments Ah-Un had taken flight, carrying Kagome and Jaken back to the great hall and to a relieved Rin. Standing by the smoldering ashes of the fire, Sesshomaru and InuYasha watched until the shadow of the two headed dragon was gone. For a moment neither moved nor spoke. Only the women who knew them so well would have been able to ascertain what they were doing.

"They are close...closer than they were a few hours ago," InuYasha said softly, his nose twitching, "If I didn't know better...I'd say the idiots were coming back this way."

Sesshomaru nodded solemnly and lowered his gaze, peering into the darkened trees. The demons were, indeed, closer but not close enough to have overheard the earlier conversation. These creatures stood a chance until they threatened his mate and his offspring. Being so used to the demon blood that flowed in his veins, Sesshomaru was able to maintain an iron grip on his instincts as a dog demon to attack. His brother, being only half demon and therefore possessing both the rashness of human nature and the inability to control his demon blood, might not be able to hold himself in check.

"Let them come. If we give them enough time, they will reveal their intentions to us. And we will have the upperhand. Come, little brother, lets turn the hunters into prey for a bit."

The brothers disappeared into the shadows, leaving only the thin wisps of smoke from a dying fire.

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I have so much apologizing to do to all my faithful readers! My PC crashed hard with a set of viruses and I had to start over from square one. Lets hope and pray this time the matter is solved!