They set out on their travels once more, but this time their destination was the little Kaede's Village, far away in Musashi Province.
After saying goodbye to Granny Medicine, Han began her journey back. Sesshomaru said nothing, but Han knew he did not truly object.
Ever since hearing that Kikyo had died and Inuyasha had been sealed, Han had been in low spirits. Only the great battle with the Leopard Cat Tribe had briefly pushed her worries aside.
Kikyo's death had dealt Han a devastating blow. Her immature heart did not yet know how to handle such feelings-the sorrow, the bitterness, the longing to see someone again when she never could. They settled deep within the girl's heart, where she locked them tightly away. Even now, Han found it hard to believe that Inuyasha would really hurt Kikyo without mercy. In her brief memories of that village, the time those two spent together seemed the brightest scene amid the faded, yellowed images.
The way Inuyasha looked at Kikyo was so pure and ardent. Even a simple glance back from her would draw a shy, fanged grin from him. And only when Kikyo was with Inuyasha did the silent weight and loneliness she carried quietly slip away.
Sesshomaru's feelings toward Inuyasha were far more complicated. Though he never spoke of them, both Han and Jaken could sense the quiet concern beneath his expressionless silence. Inuyasha was the only person left in the world who shared his blood. Perhaps Sesshomaru's life held no place for the notion of family, but Inuyasha was certainly one of the few people he cared about.
No one knew that, after his father's death, he had once seen Inuyasha from afar. Inuyasha had still been a tiny child then, wearing the red Fire-Rat Robe their father had