InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Patchwork Family ❯ Much Needed Rest, Covert Arrangements and an Apology ( Chapter 43 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/N: All Inuyasha characters and references belong to the creator of Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi and published by Shogakukan. Any other characters are more than likely my own creation. If I borrow directly from another story I will do my best to make sure I give credit where credit is due. I will be pulling some material (ideas and inspirations) from Burn Notice, Leverage, Scorpion, Supernatural, and Lockwood & Co.


To chika alternita: The presence mentioned is not Rhiannon, but she will be making an appearance before long as well, . That being said, what Kagome just saw WILL come back as something much more interesting than a settled knot of energy. Strange things happen when the earth turns in its sleep (insert maniacal writer’s cackle here)…. And yes, they will eventually know each other’s secrets lol, thus the whole point, right? But neither of them are in a place right now where it makes sense for them to be spilling their guts completely, yet. Try to be patient with me, so much more is coming.
I hope to update again soon. This would have been up faster but someone took the cord to my hard drive and I had to order a new one, and it took forever to come in the mail. So long without access to my files T_T. But now we’re good to go.

(Also, as per usual, there are just not enough hours in the day  I have several stories started and I go weeks and weeks sometimes with almost no time to write. Kay, now I’m done whining.)

To pretty in punk: Thank you so much! It was such a wonderful surprise to open my email the other day and see your review. I’m so glad you’re enjoying Patchwork, and glad to hear that my very conscious efforts are successful.  I’m not always certain the things in my head make sense to someone else, so your words are reassuring.


*** Much Needed Rest, Covert Arrangements and an Apology ***
03222015 (numbers are for my own purposes, don’t mind them)

***

Sometime later Sesshomaru opened his eyes. He hadn’t meant to, but he’d fallen into a light doze. The sound of the front door opening alerted him to full wakefulness and he tensed for a moment. He only just remembered in time not to dislodge the young woman asleep with her head on his thigh. Within a second he realized it was Kagome and Inuyasha entering the house. His temper flared a little with irritation at his brother’s presence, but he checked it immediately, clamping it down with cool apathy.

Inuyasha started to ask what he was doing, knowing just as well as everyone else that Sesshomaru was not prone to wasting time in front of the television. The older demon cut him off quickly in a low tone, turning his head just enough to glance at the half-demon out of the corner of his eye. “Quiet. Rosalind’s asleep.”

Inuyasha raised a brow slightly and stepped around the edge of the couch to see Rosalind curled up, resting her head against Sesshomaru, her breathing deep and even. Kagome had followed Inuyasha and glanced from the pair on the couch to the television screen. In an uncertain effort to diffuse the tension after the blow up earlier, she commented softly, “Lord of the Rings, good choice, long enough she was bound to catch a nap.”

Sesshomaru leveled a grudgingly amused glance at her. She licked dry lips nervously and said, “she looked so tired earlier, you planted her in front of a really long movie and I just assumed getting her to fall asleep might have been the idea… um… sorry.”

The brothers exchanged looks for a moment before Sesshomaru nodded once, quietly answering, “rest was the end in mind, yes.” After a moment filled by the nearly muted sounds of a goblin horde, he offered a limited apology, not looking at his brother, but at Kagome. “I’m sorry if my earlier actions caused you to feel unwell.”

Kagome raised her brows in surprise, glancing at Inuyasha, who looked a little grouchy, but also slightly surprised as well. “Me too…” he added awkwardly, looking over at Kagome and deciding if his self-important egomaniac of a brother could manage an apology, he’d better do no less for his part in the earlier disturbance. There was a long uncomfortable pause before Kagome said quietly, “it’s fine. Everyone needs to blow off steam sometimes. Don’t worry about it.”

An obnoxiously loud ringing sound invaded the room just then, coming from Rosalind’s cell phone on the coffee table. Sesshomaru couldn’t move without waking the young woman and Kagome seemed to grasp the same thought he’d had right away. After a brief second to be sure of what he wanted, she stepped forward and hit the button on the side of the phone to silence the call before it could disturb the sleeping Rosalind. Sesshomaru held out a hand for the device and she gave it to him, careful not to actually touch his fingers.

He glanced at the screen, recognizing the number as an Arcata area code, and the contact name from the little Shippo had been able to tell him of Rosalind’s calls on the boat. Inuyasha saw the consideration on Sesshomaru’s face and kept his voice low as he asked, “that’s her phone right? Who is it?”

Sesshomaru nodded once and said, “I’m not certain. This man, Alaric- called her several times yesterday. On the first two attempts he made to contact her she ignored him completely. She spoke with him twice after that. It sounded as if he wanted to hire her for some work-- but I gather she told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t available.”

Inuyasha looked unsurprised and said, “well, she’s got enough on her plate for now, so that’s smart. She should just lay low.”

Sesshomaru nodded stiffly in agreement, still refusing to look at Inuyasha. It did not escape him that after his firm denial of any intimacy with the young woman at the end of their earlier discussion, he now sat on the couch with Rosalind’s head in his lap. He didn’t care to test his temper yet with any irritating looks or remarks Inuyasha might have to offer. Instead, he said, “I left my phone on the counter in the kitchen. I would appreciate if someone could retrieve it. I’ll need to make a call soon and I don’t want to disturb her.”

Without hesitation Kagome strode into the kitchen and returned with his phone, setting it on the arm of the couch next to the demon. Sesshomaru looked up from his phone when his brother asked quietly, “where are you going now...?” There was a soft ripping noise, and then the sound of water running in the kitchen sink.

Inuyasha was looking in the direction of the kitchen, and Sesshomaru heard no answer from the girl. He was surprised when he heard Kagome’s light footsteps come back around the end of the couch to set one of the sandwiches, wrapped in a paper towel, on the cushion where he could reach it. She proceeded to set a glass of water on the nearest edge of the coffee table as well. At the look Inuyasha gave her she just scowled a little and said, “oh be nice; she’s crashed hard. He might be here for a while. If you guys are anything alike at all, he’s going to need a snack to last that long.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and headed to the kitchen, hunting down food himself. Sesshomaru looked down at Rosalind again and pursed his lips on the urge to smile, giving Kagome a grateful nod for her consideration. She seemed to hesitate for a moment then and he waited for her to work her way up to whatever it was she wished to say. Finally she asked, “I’ll… need to check the newspaper’s website … to see if I need to remove Miroku’s photo again. Should I use your computer?”

Sesshomaru considered this, loath to allow his brother the freedom of his office in his current mood, but resigned himself to the necessity. He nodded once and said, “yes, tell Inuyasha the laptop you used before is on the shelf beneath my desk. Just don’t get caught on my IP address if you can help it.” She murmured her thanks and gave him a friendly, if small smile before quickly leaving the room.

When the Inuyasha and Kagome had eaten and retired to the back of the house once more, he unlocked his phone and sent a quick text message to Sango, letting her know he’d managed to get Rosalind back to the couch for a nap and to keep the kids quiet when they came back in later. Sango was generally good about keeping her phone with her, so he wasn’t surprised when she messaged him back right away in the affirmative.

When that was taken care of he dialed another number and held the phone before his mouth, listening to the ringing tone with sensitive ears. As long as he spoke very low, a short call should not wake the sleeping girl. The phone was answered on the other end by an old man’s voice speaking in Japanese. “Moshi Moshi…”

“Kon’nichiwa, Ogiru-san,” Sesshomaru said quietly.

There was a pause and the old man who ran the apothecary he’d taken Rosalind to greeted him a little more formally, continuing to speak entirely in Japanese. “Kon’nichiwa Dai Sesshomaru-sama. What can I do for you this fine afternoon?”

Sesshomaru matched his language choice without a blink, speaking also in the more modern (compared to his experience) dialect of his native language. This was probably wise anyway, in case Rosalind heard any of their conversation. He didn’t care if she protested, but he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to save himself the potential argument.

“I have a special request I wondered if you could help me with. As I understand it, you do not carry any forms of prescription medication; is this correct?”

There was a silence on the other end of the line before Ogiru said, “I do not, my lord. I’m not licensed for that type of dispensary. What is it you are seeking please? Perhaps I can help.”

Sesshomaru let his eyes rest on Rosalind as she frowned in her sleep. “I require several albuterol inhalers.”

The old apothecary made a thoughtful sound and asked, “may I inquire as to who they are for? A child or an adult, and what is their size? Does this person already take any medications, and have they seen a physician? A doctor would easily write a prescription. It is common enough medicine.”

Sesshomaru shook his head, though he knew the gesture could not be seen over the phone. “The person is a young female, twenty years of age, approximately 68 centimeters tall. I would estimate weight at approximately 55 kilograms.” He recognized that all this information would need to be accounted for when medication of any kind was considered, and so was unsurprised at the request. He heard the old man murmur to himself as he wrote the figures down before he asked Sesshomaru, “and are there any other health problems accompanying the asthma? It is asthma, yes?”

“I believe so,” Sesshomaru said. “It’s not safe at this time for her to visit a hospital in the area. Someone who wishes to do her harm is looking for her. I believe she has also been experiencing varying bouts of increased anxiety, but that is all.”

The old man made his thoughtful noise again and asked, “you have chamomile, St. John’s Wort, or lemon balm? These will help with the anxiety. There are also acupressure and shiatsu methods that alleviate such tensions and could additionally help with her asthma.”

Sesshomaru nodded once as he spoke, letting his fingers rest on Rosalind’s shoulder as he said, “yes, the acupressure is what saved me from having to take her to a hospital regardless of the risks last night. Do you recall whether those herbs were among the order we purchased a few days ago? “

The old man considered and said, “all but the lemon balm I think, yes.” He paused, looking over the numbers Sesshomaru had given him again and asked, “is this perhaps the young woman you brought with you to my shop?”

Sesshomaru frowned a little. “It is.”

Ogiru sighed and said, “I am very sorry to hear that she is having such troubles. She has a kind soul-- but tough… I think. You can see it in her eyes.”

Sesshomaru’s lips tugged in a slight smile for a moment as he stroked her shoulder with one thumb through the blanket. “Yes,” he agreed simply. “She will not want the medication, but I plan to have it available as an option should an emergency arise again.”

He could almost hear the old man nodding through the phone. “That is wise. Yes, I think there is someone who might be willing to help for a small fee. I have a young friend who helps me here at the shop on weekends sometimes. He is a pharmacy tech. I think he would be putting himself at some risk to obtain the albuterol without a doctor’s order.”

Sesshomaru considered this and said, “tell him he will be well compensated for his trouble.”

Rosalind shifted a little under the blanket, cracking her eyes open halfway for just a second before she closed them again; not really awake as she murmured to herself softly. He was surprised to hear something that might have been his name among the mostly unintelligible sounds. He said nothing for a long moment, waiting to see if he’d woken her. But she slept on, settled back in against him. Quietly, he said into the phone, “how long will it take?”

“I will speak to my friend tonight and call you at this number in the morning with his answer, if that is agreeable. With any luck, we can have the inhalers for you to pick up with your shipment on Tuesday. I had not heard any different from you, so I assumed you would have the same order as you do this time every year.” Ogiru replied.

“Hai,” Sesshomaru answered. “I must go. O jikan o arigatô. We’ll speak again tomorrow.”

He hung up the call and set the phone on the seat next to him, releasing a distant sigh as he leaned his head back into the couch. Now that he’d started the ball rolling on that errand, he almost thought he might just let himself doze off again.

Rosalind’s phone vibrated next to his and he silenced it immediately. The information displayed was the same as before and he was tempted to call the man back. He knew he shouldn’t. It wasn’t his business or place to answer her phone. Still, the temptation was there. The man was apparently quite persistent.

***

Dark red eyes narrowed and Naraku clenched his teeth in frustration while he listened to the latest report. His shoulder was still bound up where that infuriating girl had managed to shoot him with his own gun. While the injury was well on the mend, it was still deeply uncomfortable. This fact only added to his foul mood. Hiten, his brother Manten, and several others stood about a dozen feet from him. He sat at the end of a long, mostly empty, dining table, where he was mostly ignoring his meal.

“We’ve been checking every inch of the premises, but it looks like they’ve fled. She was definitely there, and the old man’s information about her gunshot wounds may be accurate. There were some efforts to clean the apartment, but her blood was all over the kitchen. I could still smell it. It should have been enough to kill her.”

Naraku made a deeply displeased sound under his breath and Hiten fell silent. No one moved as he spoke, and his voice was smooth and cold like the blackest of silks. “You had better hope that she yet survives, or the consequences for you who let her get away-- much less allowed her to fall into the hands of those pestilential Wardens…. will be dire. You’ll wish that even your ancestors had never been born.”

After leaving appropriate pause for them to consider that threat, he asked sharply, “what of the old man’s claims? Are they with the red-haired brat, near the university?”

Manten stepped up and answered, “we’ve been watching the place my Lord, but have seen very little movement. Inuyasha was seen once leaving the building. It seems that the girl still has ties to the Wardens, though her connection to them is still unclear. Perhaps one of them took a liking to her after…”

The demon trailed off… realizing too late that he’d let his mouth run away with him. It was best not to mention the debacle of several years before. Naraku had lost a sizable payment when the Wardens had raided his shipment to Singapore. Their employer had been forced to dodge an investigation when one of the escaped girls had gone to the police.

It had taken Naraku a long time to rebuild his connection with a lucrative buyer there after the deal had fallen through. That altercation had been the beginning of a bristling sort of friction between the Anansi and the crew run by the Taisho brothers. They seemed to make a point of interfering with his exploits whenever they ran into the occasion to do so-- at least, whenever he tried to do any business between Portland and San Jose.

“How long has it been now…” Naraku drawled, “since you fools made the mistake of assuming she was dead, and then botched the attempt to get rid of her?”

“About two weeks Lord Naraku,” Manten answered, helpfully, clearly not catching the extent of their master’s foul mood. Hiten glared and stepped on his hapless brother’s foot in warning. Naraku watched the small group of demons shift uncomfortably under his glare. “Two weeks…” he observed mildly. “And nothing to show for it.”

Hiten cleared his throat and said defensively, “we have the old man. He’s been of some use. We’ll get to them soon. He received a call from the half-demon Inuyasha, confirming that the girl is alive. I thought it best to give it some time for her to gain strength before we move to take her back. It would be a waste of effort if we moved too soon and gave away our hand, only to have her die on the way back here. I thought you wanted her alive… despite trouble she’s caused you.”

Naraku’s eyes narrowed further at the undertone of challenge in Hiten’s voice. His whole being seemed to stiffen in displeasure at the reminder that the little witch had managed to injure him. He kept the discomfort of the movement from his face as he extended one darkly colored, boney limb from the small grouping he was currently sporting at his back, growing directly from his spine like the legs of a spider, helping him move about in his damaged and weekend state. It was his bad luck that the gun she’d found in his desk had been loaded with special, very destructive ammunition that he’d had specially developed for use on demon muscle and bone.

The strange, arching limb reached out and touched Hiten with a sharp clawed tip, tearing the fabric of the demon’s clothing directly over his heart as Naraku spoke. “Of course I want her alive. She may be of great value to me yet, though if half my efforts were successful I expect that endeavor was wasted when you attempted to kill her yourselves. If not, then surely her body would have aborted a pregnancy when she was shot by your incompetent transporter. Never mind useful… I’m beginning to wonder if you are anything more than detrimental to my plans. ”

Hiten did his best to keep his face straight as the claw at his chest bit into his flesh, blood staining the front of his button down shirt. He was almost successful, though sweat gathered at his brow. Naraku withdrew the long limb slowly and said, “no more screw ups. The next mistake starts an immediate payroll reduction. Send the old man into the apartment to be sure before you blunder in. They trust him. Send a guard-- and make sure you idiots don’t send someone the girl will recognize. Take one of the Lamia spikers to watch our Vini, and make sure he does as he’s ordered.”

Several of the demons wrinkled their noses but Hiten showed no sign of the distaste that seemed to be the group’s general consensuses on the matter. The Lamia spikes were an experimental project of Naraku’s. The formula he’d developed offered the benefit of great increases in strength and power for a limited amount of time. Unfortunately, the solution degraded the mental capacity of the subject, making them slower and dumber after the first few doses, until they had to be discarded.

It wasn’t hard to find young, hungry demons and hanyu who would take a position as amped up hired muscle, especially when they were only pitched the positive aspects of the injections. Naraku enjoyed comparing the results with each test. He’d even tried his little project on a few humans, though they rarely lasted more than a day with the toxic substance in their system; not worth the effort or expense.

Hiten only nodded once and accepted their dismissal. Internally, he resolved again to make the girl pay for the grief she was putting him through. Conveniently, he chose to ignore the fact that it had been his own choice to end her life after she’d gotten loose and attacked them. The little traitor had deserved what he’d dealt her, and more, as far as he was concerned.

***

Inuyasha frowned as he tossed clean laundry from the dryer into a big basket in the basement. As he hefted the load under one arm and started up the stairs again, he felt a sharp pang of emotion shoot along Kagome’s side of their mental connection. He tried to focus both on that, and moving up the stairs without tripping.  

In practice this turned out to be a clumsy division in his attention that almost put him painfully back at the bottom of the steps. She was upset, but it was an aching, sort of resigned pain rather than anything urgent or frightening. He realized for a second how much of their short time together had been exactly that. Urgent and frightening. It had started with her nearly drowned and hypothermic. From there things had just kept rolling along until very recently.

When he entered the bedroom she looked over her shoulder, minimizing whatever it was she’d been looking at on the laptop. She lay across the bed on her stomach, the computer on the blanket in front of her, screen half turned in such a way that he saw the web page change abruptly. He dropped the basket on the floor and sat down next to her, glancing at the current screen. It was the website for one of the newspapers in the neighboring counties. She’d been in the process of checking them all over for Miroku’s mug shot and the budget article.

Her eyes flicked towards him almost guiltily and he frowned, sensing her reticence. However, she didn’t stop him when he moved a finger over the touch pad and pulled up the minimized page. When he saw the web page, the impression he’d gotten made sense. She sighed and looked away, closing the browser altogether and making the obituary photograph of her little brother disappear. She closed the laptop, not looking at him as she got to her feet and started mechanically folding the clean clothes he’d piled haphazardly into the basket.

Inuyasha stood again and grabbed a sheet from the rumpled mess, dropping it around her shoulders, wrapping her in the warm fabric and pulling her close. When her damp eyes still wouldn’t look at him he squeezed her a little.

Her mouth twitched into a slow smile as he started kissing her temple, letting his lips drift down to nibble playfully at her ear and neck. She pulled her head away and he was relieved to see her expression had eased a little.

“I just miss him,” she admitted quietly. Inuyasha nodded once and rubbed her arms a little through the warm bed sheet. Finally, she met his eyes and there was a determination there that seemed to grow a little stronger each day since she’d woken here at Shore House. “I know it’s going to take a while… but tell me we’re going to get him,” she said, her voice a little rough with emotion.

Inuyasha brushed her hair back from her face and said, “we’re gonna get him. And the filthy parasite is going to regret the day he ever decided to tangle with us in particular.”

She let out a long exhalation, a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as he brushed a thumb over her cheek. He leaned down to bump his nose against hers before pressing a kiss to her lips. At this moment she didn’t resist, didn’t hesitate, but seemed to drink in his attention as if sharing in his promise.

Then… there was an unceremonious and pointed clearing of a male throat at the hallway door, from where they could just be seen where they stood in the bedroom. Kagome pulled back quickly in alarm to see Koga standing with one shoulder propped on the door frame. “You know… if you guys are going to screw around you could at least close the door, put a sock on the knob… something….”

“What do you want, wolf?” Inuyasha growled in irritation.

Koga seemed to hesitate for a second before he said, “actually… I wanted to talk to Kagome for a second.”

Inuyasha turned his head to look at him more directly and Kagome’s brows rose in surprise. After an awkward pause Inuyasha said, “so… talk…”

Now Koga almost looked uncomfortable. Almost. He straightened and stuck his hands in his pockets as he added, “… in private.”

Inuyasha’s eyes narrowed and he glanced doubtfully from Koga to Kagome, unconsciously wrapping a possessive arm around her waist. She looked confused. His first instinct was to tell Koga to get lost, but Kagome examined the other demon for a second before she sighed a little, stepping back from Inuyasha and dropping the sheet around her onto the bed. When Inuyasha shot her an inquiring glance she just gave a calculated shrug and shot him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, Inuyasha. I’ll be right back.”

She moved to the bedside table and grabbed her water bottle, though he noticed that despite her relaxed demeanor and her easy tone, the folded knife he’d given her was also gone from the wooden surface when she turned around again; and there was a small outline of something in her hip pocket that hadn’t been there before. He raised a brow, slightly impressed. The pickup and pocketing of the weapon had been so quick and smooth that anyone faced with her back would never have noticed it unless they’d been paying attention.

As she left the room he pondered the idea of her stabbing Koga with the little blade and found it humorous on a number of levels… though he never wanted her in a position where she felt she would have to do such a thing. While he knew she’d fought back with all her might against her captors in Silverton, she didn’t seem inclined to violence by nature, rather the opposite in fact.

The ‘Kagome-ness’ he could feel lately at the boundaries of his mind felt like a strong-- but inherently gentle creature. His eyes followed her as she met Koga at the door and the two moved off down the hall. It was then that he realized this was the first time she’d actively left his side under her own steam since she’d been shot; as well as the first time she’d seemed half-way comfortable with being around one of the other guys. It was progress… he supposed, even if it was to walk off and talk to Koga. He wondered what on earth the two of them could have to discuss.

Kagome followed Koga in silence as he led her down the hall and out into the front yard; far enough away from the house that a quiet conversation couldn’t be overheard. She couldn’t help feeling nervous as he’d pulled the door shut behind them. She slid her hand into her pocket to wrap her fingers around the cool metal of the knife, finding comfort in its presence, even if she knew using it on him wasn’t likely to be necessary. Her own Miko energy would be a more effective weapon against the demon, should she need one. But despite his recent transgression, she didn’t think he’d intended to hurt her. He was annoying sometimes, and brash, but she didn’t get the feeling he was bad.

Her nerves must have shown somehow, because Koga scowled and said, “chill out Kagome. I’m not going to bite you.”

Sharp blue eyes pinned her where she stood in the grass and she flushed in embarrassment. She almost apologized on instinct. His scowl faded and he looked a little guilty. Not much-- but a little… and he muttered just loud enough that she could hear him. “So how come you didn’t rat me out to mutt face? Not that I couldn’t have taken him…”

Kagome studied him for a long moment before she smiled a little ruefully and said, “it’s not my style. I’ve been high maintenance enough lately without being a whiner, too.”

He looked surprised at her answer and his voice was a little gruff as he offered, “listen-- sorry about yesterday… it wasn’t personal, and I didn’t realize it would hit you that hard.”

Kagome swallowed, trying to temper her inclination towards further shame and nerves at the memory of her hysterics in the water. The last thing she wanted was for Inuyasha to come tearing out here to start a fight with the Koga for making her feel bad, and she could feel his warm presence at the edge of her thoughts, monitoring what little he could. Her lips almost twitched in a smile, knowing somehow that it would take very little for him to rush out here in an attempt to shield her. The notion that he seemed to care so much warmed her all the way through.

She swallowed and pushed the thoughts away, nodding once in acknowledgement and shrugging for the second time in five minutes. After a moment, she said softly, “it’s fine… don’t worry about it.” Then she added, “actually… I’m sort of glad you did it.”

His brow furrowed and he suddenly looked uncertain… like surely this would turn out to be a wily female trap. She smiled a little and shook her head, explaining, “it’s good that I know exactly what to expect now. That was the first time I’ve been in the water since… well, since before.“

She looked away, pushing away more thoughts that could still bother her enough to catch Inuyasha’s attention. She cleared her throat and turned her eyes to the blue afternoon sky, watching the clouds move slowly up the coast. “At some point… I might ask you to do it again,” she said thoughtfully. When she looked at him again he was frowning in consternation. Then he asked, “like what… if you’re looking for a heart attack?”

Her lips quirked in another gentle smile and she said, “no… I don’t know if I’ll ever like being in the water again.” That thought bothered her more than she cared to admit. Koga’s words from yesterday floated back to her; the wolf was right. She didn’t want to let Naraku kill her ability to enjoy things she’d once liked very much. But whether she could get her love of the water back or not, she couldn’t let anything debilitate her that way. She couldn’t afford it, and this was as good a place as any to start.

She pulled in a deep breath and repeated, “I don’t know if I’ll ever like it again… but I need to make sure I can at least function without going to pieces.”

Koga’s expression cleared with understanding and he crossed his arms thoughtfully. She added, “I want to work on it… but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make myself actually get in the water to start with… and I don’t know if Inuyasha would just toss me in after the way he had to pull me out last time.” She flushed pink again, cheeks heating with embarrassment at the admission and her smile went a bit wry as she said, “you wouldn’t have any reservations about it.”

This was not the way Koga had thought this talk would go. He eyed her for a long minute in disbelief, almost looking impressed before he said, “okay… fine, but only if you promise to keep dog man off my back. I can take him any day, but I don’t want to have to fight with him over something you ask me to do.”

She nodded and said, “fair enough. I’ll only ask if I need it and I’ll do my best- but you know him, I can’t make any promises. If it causes a problem I’ll just figure it out on my own.”

They looked at each other for another moment, seeming to have reached an uneasy truce, before he smirked and said, “well alright then… this might be fun. Let me know when you want pitched in the big drink. We can do it down at the beach… or in the pool out back when it’s warm enough to set it up for the season.”

She let out a nervous laugh and said, “I feel bad knowing my issues are going to upset Inuyasha too. Neither of us can really help it. It’s… strange.” She almost asked if it was the same with him and his mate, Ayame, but bit her tongue. She didn’t want to imply that she and Inuyasha intended to be mates, though the idea of staying with him was more appealing each day, even if it was impractical. And then there was the fact that she wasn’t sure how deeply personal the issue was, if perhaps it would be a rude question.

Koga let out an amused sound and said, “yeah… well, he’ll just have to demon-up and handle it. You can tell him I said so.”

Kagome rolled her eyes and shook her head, her tone wry as she said, “thanks… I’m sure that’ll help.”

***

When Rosalind’s phone went off a third time around 4 p.m. Sesshomaru silenced it, seeing the same man’s ID show up on the screen as before.

Alaric.

He was frowning thoughtfully as Rosalind shifted in her sleep, her brows furrowing as she clutched the blanket tightly around herself. When the phone started to chime yet again (it seemed to be this man’s inconsiderate habit to call two and three attempts at a time) Rosalind sighed heavily and her hand reached across his lap towards the sound. He’d already silenced the ringer again, but her fingers searched for the phone, her eyes not opening as she demanded groggily, “give it…”

For a brief moment he considered denying her ambiguous request, but he relented and let her have the device. She cracked one eye open to look at the screen, hitting the key to answer the call. She held the phone to her ear and growled in a grouchy tone that she had to have picked up from his younger brother over the years. “What do you want already?”

Sesshomaru’s brows raised slightly, again finding some amusement in the unusual roughness to her tone. She almost never snapped at people in such a way and his beast seemed to humm with approval at the idea that she was reserving her ire for this other male.

He ignored that thought as he listened, for the first time close enough by happenstance to hear both sides of the conversation. He recognized a lower street version of the English accent as this Alaric spoke. “My dear Irish rose… your dulcet tones make me doubt you’ve thought any more about my offer...”

She was still foggy with sleep and hadn’t moved her head from Sesshomaru’s leg, seeming either to be too comfortable to move, or too sleepy yet to register her position against him. “No…” she growled, without elaborating.

There was a heavy sigh and the man on the other end of the line asked, “what if I sweeten the deal for you? $1000 per print… so long as they’re top quality. What say you to that?”

Rosalind opened her eyes a little and blinked a few times, realizing that the sideways view she saw was not her bedroom… and that the pillow under her head was not a pillow... she turned her head and looked up at Sesshomaru, who still sat relaxed on the couch, his hand remaining at rest on her shoulder, silently indicating that he remained content. The television was muted, running the root menu for the movie they’d plugged in earlier, and she realized she must have fallen asleep. She frowned through a slight headache as Alaric’s annoying voice prodded her. “Rosie? Is that the promising silence of consideration I hear?”

She let out another growling sound under her breath and said, “no. It’s not. Leave me alone.”

With that she hung up the phone and tossed it back onto the couch cushion. She wasn’t about to try and have a conversation with that annoying toad right under Sesshomaru’s nose… literally. It wouldn’t be at all good for the man’s health… Alaric’s, not Sesshomaru’s. Stiffly, she sat up and rubbed her face, still wrapped in the blanket, finger combing her long mess of hair as she looked around. Nobody seemed to be about. There were faint sounds of voices in one of the back bedrooms where the kids must have been playing, but other than that, things were pretty mellow.

Sesshomaru was still looking strangely amused and she was puzzled as to why. She would have expected him to be a little impatient, at the very least. “I’m so sorry…” she said, clearing her throat and rubbing her eyes again. “I must have fallen asleep… did you watch the whole movie? What time is it? Why didn’t you wake me up?” ‘Why,’ she thought,’ did you let me sleep on your lap?’ A pleasant little shiver seemed to flicker through her at the idea and she licked dry lips.

“We’ll finish the film another time,” he said, deciding he could stretch this particular maneuver to last, should he need to utilize it again; though he had watched the most of the movie, and surprisingly enough, enjoyed it-- to some degree. When she winced a little and rubbed at her temple the amusement in his manner disappeared and his focus on her sharpened. He noted her apparent discomfort and asked, “how do you feel?”

He listened to her breathing and was satisfied to hear not a rustle or crackle anywhere, though her eyes still had dark circles under them. She shook her head and murmured, “fine… I’m fine…” she reached across him, muttering, “excuse me…” as she picked her phone up again to check the digital clock.

She pulled her hair out of her face and closed her eyes for a moment, finally waking fully and yanking her tired brain into gear. When her eyes opened again she set her phone on the table with a sigh and started extricating herself from the blanket, murmuring more to herself than to Sesshomaru, “I need to grab a quick shower and start dinner. I’ll try to have it ready by six so the kids can get to bed early. Rin still has some math to do and it’s a school night.”

Sesshomaru watched her pick her way loose from the tangled blanket and leave the room, barely awake and already making herself busy taking care of everyone else. Well, she’d gotten three solid hours of sleep, and he’d even caught a short nap of his own. That was something, he decided. It worked out well enough for him. He would be up prepping for two meetings that would start with a 2 a.m. video conference to those he was still heavily invested with in London.

As he stood and stretched the kinks out of his muscles, his mind seemed to drift back over the image of Rosalind, hair mussed from sleep, her voice and eyes a little unfocused. She’d been soft all over, but for the moments she’d spent growling into the phone at the irritating man. He wondered a little darkly how long this Alaric had been harassing her, and then wondered how long he should let it go on before he offered to intervene. He knew she was always concerned about money, yet she was turning down a fill thousand dollars per print. ‘But a print of what?’ he wondered. Somehow, he wasn’t convinced her turning down work was purely out of concern for her current situation with Naraku’s hunters.

***

Inuyasha wandered into the kitchen almost two hours later, nose high as he sniffed appreciatively. He found Rosalind standing at the stove in the middle of the kitchen, stirring the contents of a big pot. Her hair was still damp from her shower, but tied back into a braid, and she’d dressed in jeans and a green shirt, the long sleeves rolled back to the elbow. A white apron was tied over her front and she looked a little better, if still tired. She glanced up and pursed her lips, giving him a look as he picked up one of the dinner rolls out of a big bowl on the counter.

At her expression he dropped it again and grouched, “fine… let a man starve.”

Her lips quirked in amusement and she said, “you’ll hardly starve. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Beef, veggie and noodle soup with rolls.”

Kagome had followed Inuyasha in and asked helpfully, “anything I can do?”

Rosalind’s friendly smile widened, turning grateful. “Sure, you remember where the dishes are? If you could set the table that would be great. And get the tea and juice out… and glasses. Inuyasha why don’t you go let everyone know it’s chow time.”

Rin was working on homework at the table and her eyes brightened. She set down her pencil and started to slide out of her chair. “I’ll go help Uncle Yash.”

Rosalind shook her head and said firmly, but kindly, “I don’t think so, my dear. You have three problems left. If you keep going you can be done by the time we’re ready to eat.”

Rin sighed heavily and settled back into place, looking deeply disappointed. She picked her pencil up again and watched Inuyasha with pleading eyes as he left her to her fate, as if begging for him to save her. Kagome’s lips quirked in a smile and she stood next to the girl for a second, glancing at the page of beginner’s division problems. “Wow, look at those. You’re pretty smart. Want to show me how they work on the next problem while I get the dishes out?”

The girl looked up, quietly interested in the newest addition to their household, and shyly started to explain how she worked the next problem while Kagome laid out the place settings. When she passed Rosalind to get out more spoons, the young women’s eyes met and the red-head gave her a smile, mouthing ‘thanks,’ where Rin couldn’t see it. Kagome gave her a small nod and sat down in the chair next to Rin, helping to keep the girl from getting distracted as people began slowly filtering in.

There was a tension in the kitchen, as by now everyone present knew about the altercation between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha that morning. For the first several minutes that both dog demons had been in the kitchen together, the room seemed too small for them. The air seemed to thicken with their edgy regard of each other. Most everyone was aware of the unease and it was comparable to two large toothy animals prowling in a small space, waiting to see if they’d share a meal or take snap at each other.

To Rosalind it felt like an uncomfortable static charge against her skin and she frowned. She was tired, she was stiff, and the Advil she’d taken had done nothing for her headache. All in all, her temperament this evening did not have its fullest limit of tolerance for conflict in her kitchen. Everything could go to hell the rest of the time and she accepted she could do little about it-- but meals were sacred and remained in her control.

As Rosalind sat down at the table with them she gave each of the silver-haired men a measured look that clearly said, ‘behave yourselves.’ Inuyasha scowled, but after a covert glance at Kagome he didn’t say anything, keeping his head down. Kagome tried not to smile as she watched the inconspicuous, silent conversation taking place, her own magic shifting a little in response to the restless energy of the demons in the room.

Sesshomaru couldn’t miss Rosalind’s look at him either, though she had been careful to deliver it when she was sure almost no one else was looking. While the glance she gave him held less warning than the one she’d sent his half-brother at the other end of the table, it still contained a small amount of cautionary admonition, letting him know in no uncertain terms she didn’t appreciate the remaining friction.

His spoon paused in the air briefly and he raised one dark silver brow at her. It was small, mute, and very artfully done, but it was a sort of challenge none-the-less when it was directed at him. To chide Inuyasha was one thing. That happened all the time. But for her to turn her warning on him as well was another matter…even if perhaps he might deserve it, which was a possibility he wasn’t going to consider.

It took him half a second to figure out how to respond-- as the situation was unprecedented. Yeah… she was definitely more comfortable in her skin these days, no longer a timid adolescent. He let his face go carefully blank, narrowing his gold eyes just enough so that she would know that he didn’t fully approve of her daring. She surprised him again by simply blinking once, her pink lips twisting a little at the corners in acknowledgement, and turning to her own meal with a look that seemed to say, ‘you guys settle down, and I’ll have nothing more to say.’

This left him almost feeling outplayed, almost dismissed, but… not quite, and he had to admire her for it, even if he wasn’t happy with her move. Dinner was a quiet affair, but soon the initial tension eased and relaxed conversation took its place. Everyone was trying to get themselves back into the ‘work-week mode’, discussing plans and events coming up.

Rosalind was grateful when she returned from ushering Rin into her bath for the night. As she entered the kitchen, she found Sango putting away the leftovers and Kagome and Inuyasha dealing with the table cleanup and dishes. Sango handed her a bowl of chocolate ice cream and said, “we’ve got this, go take a minute for a dose of chocolate.”

She stood with the bowl and spoon for a second before she smiled and thanked them, grabbing up Rin’s school bag from the floor by the table as she took her treat with her to Sesshomaru’s sitting room. About fifteen minutes later, said demon opened the door from his office to find Rosalind settled on the big leather couch, her feet tucked under her, a notebook and papers on her lap. She looked up when he came out and glanced guiltily at the empty ice cream bowl she’d left on the side table. “I’m sorry, you probably don’t like food brought in here… Sango dished it up for me and banished me from the kitchen.”

Sesshomaru flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture, setting down the picture frame in his hands, leaning the painting against the couch and coming to look over her shoulder at what she was working on. In response to his interest she held up the math workbook next to her and said, “Rin’s homework, I’m just checking it over before she gets out of the bath tub.”

He nodded once, taking the worksheet from her hands and glancing over it. Rosalind had added a few discreet notations in the margin but overall his daughter had gotten her answers correct. “She’s doing well. You’re tutoring is helpful, I think. She dislikes mathematics.”

Rosalind shrugged and smiled a little. “Yes, well-- I can sympathize. I never liked it much either, but…” she said with a small sigh. “I can handle the third grade stuff. I won’t be able to help her so much when she gets into eighth grade and hits algebra-- though… Kagome was able to work with Kohaku the other night, so who knows? Maybe if we’re lucky she’ll still be around.”

Sesshomaru made a non-committal sound low in his throat and she looked up curiously. His eyes were no longer focused on the math paper and he almost looked thoughtful. “Don’t you like her?” she asked. “It seemed like you were alright with her, especially after the meeting the other night.”

His eyes moved back to hers and he handed her the worksheet. Slowly he answered, “whether I care for her or not is irrelevant. She is useful, and may prove to be…” he paused, as if searching for the appropriate words. She sensed there was more to his thoughts at this moment than he cared to share with her and she furrowed her brow, wondering what it might be that she wasn’t allowed to know. It wasn’t as if she were any stranger to Warden secrets and their keeping.

Finally he said simply, “she may be very important for Inuyasha, if nothing else. Time will tell.”

Rosalind sighed and nodded once in agreement. “Well-- I think she’s good for him.” Remembering the conversation she’d had with Rin a few nights back she mentioned, “Rin likes her. She wants her to stay. I think she sees it too.”

Sesshomaru lifted a brow, inquiringly and she added by way of further explanation, “we all have to be alone sometimes, but it shouldn’t last forever. I’ve never seen Inuyasha with anyone like this before. Has he ever been in a real relationship with anyone?” Rosalind paused and added with a wry smile, “I mean- more than a booty call friend.”

The demon seemed to frown for a moment before his face went blank again and he said, “there was possibly a woman… once, a very long time ago.”

Rosalind set Rin’s homework aside and turned a little in her seat curiously. She hoped Rin stayed occupied for a few more minutes at least in her father’s big bathroom. This could prove to be interesting if she could get anything out of the man. Inuyasha never talked about the past in more than passing comments now and again. “How long is a very long time?” she asked.

Sesshomaru’s eyes settled on the open door for a moment, knowing Inuyasha would not care for the matter to be discussed. But right at the moment he wasn’t inclined to care what Inuyasha wanted. Rosalind glanced at the door too and said quietly, “he and Kagome are working up front.”

He picked up the painting at his feet again and moved around to sit in the leather arm chair next to her end of the couch. When he set the painting on the coffee table, Rosalind saw it was one of the soft watercolor images that Rhiannon had made of the Japanese cherry trees. She smiled and asked, “for Rin?”

He nodded once, his fingers lingering on the edge of the wooden frame. It had felt strange, removing the piece from the wall where it had hung opposite from his bed since this house had been completed a little over seven years ago. It was the only piece of Rhiannon he’d purposefully kept out where he could see it every day.

He’d been surprised at the level on which moving the painting felt like letting something go, even though the piece was only going into the next bedroom over where his daughter could enjoy it. He’d brought it with him into his office earlier, as if sitting it in the chair opposite his desk while he got some work done would help him understand these things. Rosalind had been right though; it would be good for Rin to have something more of her mother to hold onto as she got older.

Finally he looked up, finding the young woman waiting patiently, her eyes settled on the pink flowers painted on the clean white surface. He remembered her question then, and said quietly, “I don’t know the details, but there was a woman Inuyasha was rather attached to about 500 years ago. She was a Miko at a village that used to exist on the outskirts of what is now Tokyo.”

Rosalind’s brows rose and she asked, “really? A Miko… like Kagome? I would have thought, especially then, that it would be unusual. Weren’t they sort of… er…” She paused, looking a little uncomfortable as she asked, “don’t they sort of… dislike demons?”

A low, amused sound rose from his chest and he sat back in his chair, gold eyes finding green as he explained, “yes. That’s one way to put it. A Miko is capable of causing a demon great harm, even killing him, should she choose. We are… more susceptible to their magic than any other kind.”

Rosalind seemed to ponder that for a minute before she mused, “that’s why they were keeping Kagome drugged?”

Sesshomaru nodded once. “I’m certain that was the reason, yes. It caused me some hesitation to allow her here at first. Her power is greater than most, but certainly comparable to that of Kikyo.”

“Kikyo?” Rosalind asked, confused for a second, then she put two and two together and said, “the priestess Inuyasha liked?”

Sesshomaru nodded again. “It seems my whelp of a half-brother has a taste for women that could cast him into oblivion; an unhealthy preference, in my opinion, but I suppose there’s no accounting for his judgment. As I said, I don’t know the details. I was elsewhere at the time… but in the end the woman turned her magic on him and he paid dearly for his mistake.”

Rosalind’s brows furrowed in concern and she asked, “Kikyo attacked him?”

Sesshomaru’s shoulders shifted in the slightest of shrugs. “I assume so. I only saw the results.” His eyes dropped to the painting on the table and he was thoughtful again, speaking quietly. “And that… is a situation which may yet remain unfinished.”

His eyes moved back up to Rosalind and she was clearly confused, brow furrowed again as she said, “I thought this was five centuries ago. How could it still be unfinished? Surely the woman is gone… or is there a way for a Miko to live as long as you guys? Kagome seems normal enough… I mean, she seems human.”

Sesshomaru shook his head and told her, “humans can live every bit as long as demons under certain, very rare circumstances. Kikyo might have lived many centuries longer if she had made different choices.”

His eyes settled on the young woman curled on his couch and he wondered how many years he and his daughter had left with her. Yet again, he had a hard time imagining their strange pack without her presence, though she’d only been in their lives for a short time, compared to the long years before the day he’d seen her being man-handled in the back room of a bar in Chicago.

But he wouldn’t think of that now. He turned his mind back to the matter at hand to say, “but no. It’s true that the priestess Kikyo is long dead.”

She opened her mouth to ask another question, still looking confused, but closed it again quickly when Rin came out of Sesshomaru’s bedroom. The little girl was wrapped in an orange bath robe, a white towel haphazardly wrapped over her long wet hair. She was holding the towel in place and went to Rosalind, looking frustrated. The young woman smiled, knowing what the issue was and held out an arm. “Come here… I’ll fix it.”

Rin knelt on the floor in front of the couch and Rosalind took the towel off of her head, carefully smoothing out the girl’s long, dripping wet hair. As she ran her fingers through the thick tresses she observed, “almost time for a trim, hugh?”

Rin shook her head and said, “noooo, I want it long.”

Rosalind smiled and twisted the girl’s hair carefully, wrapping it in the towel and then twisting the cloth around in an expert motion, securing the whole thing on top and tucking the end in at the nape of the child’s neck. “Don’t worry.We’ll just take an inch off the bottom to clean up the ends for you. Maybe we’ll have time this week.”

Rin got to her feet and thanked Rosalind before she came over to crawl into Sesshomaru’s lap. He made room for her and leaned forward to pull the picture frame onto his daughter’s lap, settling it before them. “What do you think of this, Rin?”

The little girl looked at the painting for a moment. She ran her fingers over the scrolling designs along the wooden frame. Then she smiled as she said, “I like it. It’s really pretty, like the cherry trees.”

Rosalind was watching with a small smile of her own as Sesshomaru traced the frame also with his free hand, his other arm wrapped around Rin as he told her, “Okaasan made this picture for us. She liked those trees just as much as you do.”

The girl’s eyes brightened and she looked at the picture again. “Mama painted it?”

He nodded once, his own eyes falling to study the soft lines, the pinks and greens, and the drifting motion Rhiannon had captured so beautifully. Rosalind’s tone was cautious, as if she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for her to participate in their moment when she said, “your Mama’s a wonderful artist. She’s the one that taught me to paint.”

Sesshomaru felt something in his chest squeeze, and he was appreciative of the fact that Rosalind had used the present tense when she’d spoken of Rhiannon, as if, through the woman’s brush strokes, she remained with her family beyond her passing from this world. He supposed in a way that was true. What other reason would he have had for keeping her artwork so carefully maintained, and this very picture hanging where he could see it every night?

Rin looked over at Rosalind and asked, “could you show me what she taught you? Could I learn too?”

Rosalind’s eyes seemed to shine a little with moisture that might have been tears-- if she were one inclined to weeping. She looked at Sesshomaru, as if waiting for his approval, and all at once he completely forgave her the irritating challenge to his authority at dinner, the beast in his chest was soothed and almost keening with gratitude.

She clearly wanted to share with Rin what his late wife had left her in the way of artistic training. As soon as he gave her a small nod, she smiled as if the tiny gesture had been a great gift. The young woman pulled in a long breath and said softly, “of course, Little Bit. I’d love that.”

Sesshomaru pressed his lips briefly to his daughter’s forehead and said, “we can hang this in your room now, if you like.”

Rin nodded enthusiastically and wrapped her arms around his neck, blessedly remembering to keep her voice down, as her mouth was dangerously close to his sensitive ears. “Thank you Chi Chi.”

The more informal, endearing version of the Japanese language for ‘father’ warmed something in him that very few things in this world could touch, and he held her close. If it were up to him- and as far as he was concerned it was up to him, nothing would ever be allowed to hurt this child. Something in his heart ached, but it wasn’t necessarily painful, not like it had been in the beginning.

Rin’s scent was uniquely her own, but it held traces of both his own scent profile and Rhiannon’s. In the past that had been difficult for him to cope with, though he’d told no one. Smelling something of his former mate in his daughter was slowly becoming more of a comfort than anything else, and he was finally at a point where he could appreciate it, managing at least for a time to shunt aside the guilt he felt for Rhiannon’s death.

Sesshomaru spent a few minutes hanging the painting on the wall in Rin’s room, listening as Rosalind settled the girl in for the night. Neither of them seemed to mind when he lowered himself into the arm chair in the corner of the bedroom while Rosalind read aloud the end of the story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier. Rin wanted her to start on The Snow Queen as soon as they were finished, but Rosalind shook her head. “It’s getting late. We’ll start that one tomorrow.”

She gave Rin a one-armed hug and the little girl sighed sleepily, still snuggled against her where she sat on the bed. Rosalind pulled the blankets up around her small form and without being prompted, began to hum. She opted for quietly humming the melody, rather than actually singing, because Rin was already falling asleep. A hum was all that was needed.

Sesshomaru recognized the same tune from the song she’d sung the other night. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember what Rin had called it. ‘The Looley Song.’ Somehow he doubted that was really the name of the piece, and the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement. He knew he should be in his office, reading through the latest closing market numbers; knew he needed to change his clothing to more professional attire; but he was comfortable here all of a sudden. Finally, with reluctance, he got to his feet and quietly left the room.

Rosalind was watching him from her peripheral vision, wondering a little at the level of contentment to which he’d settled in the corner. When he’d finally left, she couldn’t help the small sigh that seemed to leave her chest with him. She sat with Rin a while longer, almost dozing off before she disentangled herself from the little girl.

Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she carefully closed the bedroom door and turned to leave the sitting room. She almost ran into Sesshomaru, but stopped short just before she would have plowed right into his chest. She blinked a few times and shook herself, thinking, ‘way to go, keep your eyes open long enough to crawl into bed at least, hugh? You’re a traffic hazard.’

When she glanced up, she saw Sesshomaru was dressed for work now, looking sharp in black, perfectly creased slacks. His long hair remained in the tight braids over one shoulder of his starched, blue button-down shirt. Her eyes fell to his hands where he was expertly doing up a set of squared, dark glass cuff links.

Her brow furrowed a little when she saw that his claws were trimmed back again, looking merely like normal human nails except that they were a bit more thick and opaque. He must have noticed her expression because he asked quietly, “are you well?”

Rosalind’s eyes rose to meet his and she asked, “do you normally take them off for meetings?” She couldn’t imagine so. As far as she knew, Sesshomaru had always been very deliberate about how others perceived him; a firm, strong, and definitively demon power base. The claws were a part of that, in her mind, and it didn’t make sense to her that he would cut them off before appearing in front of subordinates, even if it was just on video conference.

He looked at her blankly for a moment, then when her eyes dropped back to his hands he realized what it was she was talking about. Even when she was tired, she was perceptive. He nodded once in approval of that and said, “not generally, no. I have just enough time to apply the acupressure before you retire, if you wish.”

She still seemed concerned about his blunted claws and he wondered at her preoccupation with the matter. Rosalind blinked a few times tiredly and said, “you have work to do. I would have understood if you wanted to put it off. You didn’t have to do that for me. Will they grow back in time for your meeting?”

He studied her for a long moment, wondering if he should be impressed with her or irritated at the suggestion that the sight of his claws was so vital to his image. There were plenty of other ways in which he cut an intimidating enough figure. Finally he told her, “I have made a commitment to do this. It will not cause me inconvenience. To answer your question, my claws will have recovered more than half their length by the time my first meeting begins.”

Before she could protest further he asked, “do you wish to decline tonight?” He hadn’t missed that she’d barely managed to open her eyes again in time to catch herself from walking into him. Despite the lengthy nap, she was in need of some real sleep.

Rosalind was tired, but she would flog herself raw before she would turn down his help when he’d already gone to the trouble of removing the razor ends of his claws for her. She shook her head and chewed her lip for a second before she said, “no, thank you. I appreciate the offer.”

He waved one hand to the couch and she took a seat, feeling a little awkward as he lowered himself to sit on the coffee table before her. There wasn’t a lot of room between the couch and table, and his legs were long, resulting in her right knee sitting between his own. But she hesitated only a moment when he held out his hands for hers. She prepared herself to cringe as his fingers lightly searched the bones and tendons at her wrist. However, when he found the pressure point and held it tightly, it didn’t hurt as much as it had the night before.

Rosalind breathed out a sigh of relief and began to chew her lip again, her eyes dropping to focus on his knee next to hers. Sesshomaru studied her face, watching for the catch, for the tightening in her mouth that signaled pain. While the pain was there, it was there, it was very minimal. He was grateful for this and supposed the process must be more tolerable when her system wasn’t in distress. He’d disliked hurting her before, but it had been necessary.

As he had the night prior, after a few minutes he shifted to her other wrist, pressing his thumb down into the small hollow at the side of the wrist and crossing his other hand over to carefully massage the sore joint he’d previously worked over. Rosalind closed her eyes and let her head bow a little, relaxing into both the ache at one wrist and his gentler touch at the other.

She was too tired to really think, and she figured that was probably a blessing, because now she couldn’t help but notice that the man sitting in front of her smelled good. She could understand why scent was such a big deal to demons, and often had been a little envious of all she missed out on with her dull, human nose.

However, sitting this close, she couldn’t help but catch his scent and, as she had nothing else to do for the moment, she sank into it. She fancifully imagined her nose more powerful, like his was, and attempted to dissect the various facets of what smells she could find. The warm smell of leather was there, as always in this room-- because of the furniture he’d chosen.

She imagined she could smell the rich, sweet musk of the cognac he enjoyed, and perhaps some kind of delicate, woody incense, and on the trail of that- the aroma of… she frowned slightly, perplexed, thinking she must be wrong. Somehow, without her permission, the soft question slipped from her mouth. “Do you smoke a pipe?”

She opened her eyes, flushing self-consciously. She would never have asked if she hadn’t been too tired to filter her thoughts. Sesshomaru’s gold eyes moved up sharply to meet hers as he continued to hold her wrists in his hands. She thought he might have looked surprised for half a second, but then his face was unreadable and he said in a low, smooth tone, “I do… on occasion. I had my kiseru out this evening-- before dinner. I apologize if the smell is unpleasant.”

He was quietly surprised she’d picked up on it at all. The variant of kizami he’d smoked hadn’t been particularly pungent, and the scent should have faded by now to a level well under what a human could easily catch, especially as he’d changed his clothing. But Rosalind was shaking her head, her light frown turning thoughtful. “No, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. It doesn’t smell bad. I…”

She trailed off, chewing her lip for a second before she murmured softly, “I like it… Cigarettes are awful. My father smoked those constantly. They’re gross and I wish Gabriel would quit. I don’t know how he stands them, but… my grandfather…”

His eyes fell to her soft, full mouth as it relaxed to a nostalgic smile. “It’s funny…” she said. “I hadn’t thought about it in years but it reminded me out of nowhere… my grandfather used to smoke an old pipe. My mom always complained, but I thought it made the apartment smell good.”

Sesshomaru listened as she laughed a little to herself and told him, “every time Mom started in on him he’d yell that either he had to have a smoke, or kill a man, and it was up to her druthers which-- but she had to choose one.”

His mouth quirked in the suggestion of a smile at the mental image she painted. He was finding he enjoyed when she spoke with such description. In anyone else he’d have found it annoying. Strangely, that wasn’t the case with her. Rosalind straightened her back as he moved his hands to press the pressure points at her collarbone. He kept his eyes purposefully on his fingers this time, choosing very consciously not to think about how much of her he’d been able to see the last time they’d done this.

Yes, fully clothed was definitely easier, if perhaps a little less interesting... ‘No--‘ he thought, ‘definitely BETTER that she is clothed this time’.

Seeking to distract himself, he admitted, “I find the sensation calms me. Most tobaccos are too strong smelling to enjoy, but there are a few for which the taste and scent please me enough to be worth it.”

Rosalind studied his determined features, remembering how angry he’d been earlier with Inuyasha and wondering if that had anything to do with his choosing to spend a few quiet minutes with his pipe. In her experience, Sesshomaru tended to be very calm, if cool; unflappable, until very suddenly he was not. Then anyone who was the cause of his ire had better watch out.

But there were very few things that pushed him across that marked line. She wanted to ask so badly what it was that upset him, but she hesitated, and kept silent. The awkwardness had faded away and this quiet time with him was nice. She thought of that moment when she’d realized she was waking up with her head on his lap, and realized she’d had quite a lot of that calm, quiet time with him today; more than she had any right to.

As he moved his hands down to the pressure points on either side of her sternum she breathed deeply and decided to leave it all alone. If it was any of her business-- if he wanted her to know what he and his brother had fought about, he’d have told her by now. A little voice in her head hissed at her that there were a great many things she’d never share with him, or anyone, and she should leave his secrets well enough alone… treat them with the same respect he’d mostly given to hers.

Sesshomaru directed her to lay on her stomach along the length of the sofa while he stood over her to work the muscles and pressure points inside her shoulder blades. Within a few minutes her breathing had evened out and he could tell she’d fallen asleep. It didn’t surprise him. She’d looked exhausted; and as she’d stretched out her eyes had only gotten heavier.

He debated whether or not to simply get her a pillow and blanket and let her sleep where she was on the couch. He glanced at the clock. It was a little before 11 p.m. and he knew that when his meetings did start, anyone in the sitting room would be able to hear clearly most of the conversation. It was one of the reasons his and Rin’s bedrooms were on the opposite side from his office, so that his business at all hours didn’t keep his daughter awake.

No. That wouldn’t do.

Decision made, he bent and carefully pulled on her hip and shoulder, turning her over and into his arms. She was surprisingly cooperative and he paused for a moment, wondering if she was more awake than he’d thought. She loosed a small sigh, breathed in deeply and curled against him when he adjusted his arm around her back, pulling her against his chest.

When he looked down at her, she still seemed to be fully out of it; and he indulged in a long moment to examine her more closely, studying her face. Her skin was smooth and fair, excepting a few freckles across her nose and the light pink that the wind and sun had brushed across her cheeks from their day on the boat. Her eyes were firmly closed, moving a little under their lids as she slept, long dark auburn lashes just brushing her cheeks now and again.

The little girl he’d pulled out of a nasty situation years ago was a little girl no more, and it struck his conscious mind with alarming clarity that she really was beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have such an alluring creature with as many good qualities as this woman possessed. At the thought that any man might indeed have this woman someday, the beast in his chest cracked an eye and rumbled at him in discontent and disapproval, as if to say, ‘you fool, that is not acceptable.’

He loosed a sigh of his own and closed his eyes for a second, gathering his thoughts back to where they should be as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. This had turned out to be one of the rare days that Rosalind hadn’t made her bed up. She hadn’t had the energy or desire after the strained night she’d had. This made it much easier for him now, and he set her down on the sheets. She turned obligingly into her pillows, a light, contented sound slipping from her as he pulled the blankets up over her.

He watched her sleep for one more moment. Then, feeling a little silly, he flicked his fingers over her in an old gesture he’d never used before in his life. He’d seen many humans perform the same gesture over loved ones for hundreds of years back in Japan, and so he did it now; even knowing it couldn’t possibly do as intended; knowing that the motion of one’s hand could not ward against bad dreams. All the same, he murmured quietly before he left the dark room. “Sleep well, Rosalind.”