"Of course I am!"

"Okay, but they're really nice," Rin said. She glanced at Jaken-sama, who was sitting on a log a short distance away. Ahun was lying down behind him. Rin shrugged to herself and turned her attention back to the flowers. The whole field was practically full of them, and she had chosen the spot with the most to sit down in. She had already made a wreath of large white flowers for her head, and a necklace of purple ones. Now she was working on a bracelet of small yellow flowers, which were somewhat difficult to string together.

Rin sighed and set the flowers in her lap. Her hands were tired, she realized. She had been making things out of flowers since before lunch, and it was now afternoon. It was fun, but mainly it was a way to pass the time. There wasn't much else to do. Sesshoumaru-sama had left late that morning, leaving her and Jaken-sama behind.

Rin picked up the flowers, but then dropped them again. She decided to talk to Jaken-sama.

"Hey, Jaken-sama, where'd Sesshoumaru-sama go?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do!" Rin persisted.

"No, I don't," Jaken-sama said, turning around. "But if I guessed, he went looking for things about Naraku."

"Oh." Naraku again. "What does Naraku have to do with anything, Jaken-sama?"

"Stupid girl! Naraku was the one that kidnapped you."

"But Rin was kidnapped by that youkai lady."

"She works for Naraku."

"Oh. But why'd they kidnap Rin at all?"

"To make Sesshoumaru-sama do what Naraku wanted, which made him angry. Which is why he intends to hunt down Naraku now."

"Because Sesshoumaru-sama was angry that they took Rin?" she asked.

"No! That they tried to manipulate him. Hmph. Sesshoumaru-sama wouldn't take the trouble of killing Naraku just for you."

Rin decided not to point out to Jaken-sama that Sesshoumaru-sama had come to get her.

"Sesshoumaru-sama probably went somewhere where there are lots of youkai," Jaken-sama continued, "which is why he didn't take you."

"But why didn't Jaken-sama go too?"

Jaken-sama stiffened. "Sesshoumaru-sama was probably in a hurry." But Rin thought she heard him mutter something under his breath.

"What?"

"I said, I have to stay here and watch you," he snapped. "Though little good it did last time..." Jaken-sama trailed off, talking to himself. Rin heard something about 'babysitter,' and that he was sure to get it if it happened again.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Hey Jaken-sama, who was that person?"

"What person?"

"That person that Rin saw. The one that looked like Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Jaken-sama looked confused.

"He had the same hair," Rin prompted.

"Inuyasha?!" Jaken-sama exclaimed. "You saw him?"

She nodded. "After Rin woke up. That was Inuyasha?"

Jaken-sama frowned. "Sesshoumaru-sama never mentioned Inuyasha being there. Then again, he wouldn't have."

"So that was Inuyasha?"

Jaken-sama nodded.

So that was Sesshoumaru-sama's brother. Rin didn't really think that Inuyasha looked like all the things Jaken-sama said about him. If he was Sesshoumaru-sama's brother, he couldn't be all bad. She wondered why Sesshoumaru-sama and Inuyasha didn't get along. They fought sometimes, she remembered.

"Jaken-sama, tell Rin about Inuyasha?"

"I already told you about Inuyasha. It's not my fault you forgot since then." Jaken-sama looked away and didn't look back, and Rin guessed that he was done talking. She picked the flowers back up.

So Sesshoumaru-sama had gone to find out about Naraku. The lady that worked for Naraku had been the one that had taken her away. Rin suddenly wondered if Kohaku also worked for Naraku. Kohaku had been nice to talk to, but he had also said that he was her guard. He was really quiet, and he had acted kind of strange, too.

And although she wasn't going to discuss it with Jaken-sama, Rin wondered if Sesshoumaru-sama was just angry at Naraku in general, or angry because she had been kidnapped. Rin wasn't sure what 'manipulate' meant, all she knew was that the lady had taken her and Sesshoumaru-sama had come to get her. That was all that mattered to her.

Rin started again on making her bracelet, and noticed that where she was sitting was now in the long shade from the woods behind them. The sun almost couldn't be seen. Rin wondered how much longer Sesshoumaru-sama was going to be.

She turned and looked at Jaken-sama again.

"Are you sure you don't want some flowers, Jaken-sama?"