Looking back, there was no clear moment, no grand instant of clarity. It seemed more like water, gently traveling, changing from a trickle to a stream to a pour. This urge to comfort, to nurture, to raise, to protect.

It was a calling that she had feared she would never feel, even with those she might have bore, though her mother had always assured her. Perhaps that was why she had never truly voiced it, but it had been there, slowly stitching a bond that grant her strength that could surpass any obstacle.

Rin was her daughter.

With that soft realization, Kasumi's attack gave her no pain. The single thought running through her body as it fell was relief, and contentment.

Everything was white noise around her, but she didn't care. She could hear everyone yelling, and a blast of yokai caught her attention and a howl shook the clouds.

A great white dog had appeared, and with a single bound, it had snatched Kasumi off of her perch, shredding her throat with its fangs as she flailed, light spilling from her maw. Dimly Noro realized that the dog was Sesshomaru's true form, and she watched with blurring vision as he ripped the dragon's head from its body.

🍂🍂🍂

Sesshomaru growled and snarled, his red eyes reflecting the boil in his blood. Even his demon could not speak, so enraged as it was. He watched as the dragonesses head fell to the ground, the flesh fading away and leaving only a small glimmering light as its remains. Whatever it was, he would leave it to his brother to deal with. Now that Kasumi had been killed, he had only one thing on his mind.

Transforming back into his humanoid form, he landed in front of Noro.

The woman had been whispering something to his ward, but with his arrival, she motioned the girl away. Rin had tears in her eyes. His eyes followed her as she ran to take comfort in A-Un and Jaken. He turned to Noro.

She was pale now, blood trickling from her lips, and one of her legs was bent at an odd angle. Her clothes were torn and ragged, and altogether, it seemed as though no time had passed since the first time he had laid eyes on her in the woods. Yet they were no longer the strangers that they once had been. Things had changed; he had changed. He knelt down.

She grinned up at him. "Oh, are you finally talking with me again?"

He said nothing. Their fight seemed so long ago.

"I asked Rin to take care of Entei for me. Hopefully... she'll cool that fiery temper of his a bit. Jaken would certainly like it."

Another attempt at brevity. He stared at her, waiting for her to be honest with him.

After a moment, her smile faded, and she glanced away. "Look, I get it. I know... the Tesseiga doesn't always listen to you... you might not be able to bring me back... That's why-" She turned to face him, and her right hand came up and grabbed his empty sleeve, pulling slightly. Her eyes turned desperate, and wordlessly, he leaned in a little closer. She was leaving, but clearly, what she wished to say was important.

"I don't regret anything Sesshomaru, truly... My life since I met you and Rin... has been wonderful... so wonderful. I only wish that..."

A sad smile remained on her lips as she failed to finish the words, and her body stilled, even as she struggled to stay. Her heart stopped.

She was dead.

He reached out and gently covered her eyes with his claws, closing them, and sat silently for a moment.

For once, his inner demon was completely silent. 'Nothing to say?'

'What is there to say? She's gone.' It answered him evenly, loss clear in his mind.

'We can bring her back.'

'Even so, she died.'

Such melancholy. Sesshomaru huffed, annoyed. He gripped Tesseiga tightly, white-knuckling its hilt even as a stillness overtook him. Would his sword even listen to him? It had before, with Rin and Sara.

It had to this time. It would.

He stood up, drawing his fathers sword. Whatever protestations the others may have voiced, he did not hear. He focused on the blade.

The sword was restless however, and seemed to hesitate before settling. The demon lord hoped that its quietness signaled its agreement.

He swung, and the blade passed through her body like a ghost.

One tense moment passed as they waited.

Then two.

Then three.

An eerie gale swept through the courtyard then, and the low thud, thud, thud of a heart beat was heard. Then Noros' eyes flung open, and then suddenly, a swell of yokai burst out of her, and she screamed.