InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Eien Ni Nakunatta Shunkan: A Moment Lost Forever ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 23 )

Wow --- Wicked-Oni lives!

Sorry for the 6 month delay. I have had NO computer for ages now and then we had a family emergency --- needless to say, typing wasn't that high of a priority (or even possible most of the time, even if I wanted too!).

I've really wanted to write this chapter for ages and you guys are either going to like it or hate it. This story was all outlined last February, so certain very, VERY dead characters will be reappearing soon (hint - the amazingly wonderful Kagura!), even though it's totally anti-canon. Thank you to everyone who wrote to me and offered great advice when my computer crashed! Thanks to Urd-chan, Jane and Notoes for keeping me posted on what's new with the IY world in my six months of Takahashi withdrawal. If it weren't for them I wouldn't even know what was going on!

And thanks to Jess H. for always keeping my spirits up and checking in on my progress! Seriously, I was feeling pretty damn bitter after that infected e-mail got my computer, and if you didn't write to me or keep encouraging me, I would have totally scrapped this whole, stupid thing. When that person sent me that virus, I was so disgusted and jaded with the fandom universe for awhile and people like you make it all worthwhile! This chapter's ALL yours! Really hope I don't disappoint you!

I don't own any of these characters. Hope the format isn't too messed up here. All my italics keep disappearing or squishing together. Another person has asked to host this story on her website. Hopefully, I'll be able to move to private web-sites and this story will at least look better. Maybe?

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Chapter 22:

Natuskashii, Atarashii Akumu

(Old Dreams, New Nightmares)

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Inuyasha's nose twitched as he stared into the impenetrable blackness of a seemingly bottomless pit. "What the hell is this place?" he breathed, nudging his elbow into Kouga's ribs as the wolf demon crowded too close beside him. The stupid creature refused to move over so he shoved again, a bit more roughly this time. "Bastard," he added under his breath for emphasis.

But Kouga still didn't budge or offer any protest, his pale blue eyes glowing eerily as he too stared into the endless darkness below. "I have no clue what this place is," came his slow, gravelly reply. "I just know it doesn't feel right here. This place isn't ---" The wolf paused, scowling as he seemed to be searching his mind for the appropriate word. "It's not --- natural. There's something very powerful down there."

Inuyasha didn't answer, his attention temporarily diverted by the arrival of his very out of breath companions as they scrambled and slid down the rocky slope behind him. Together they all collapsed at his side in a heap --- Kagome, followed by Sango, and then a very sheepish-looking Miroku. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. So much for all of them staying hidden while he and the brainless wolf investigated. Obviously, the women had wheedled and argued until the monk had agreed to bring them closer. Gods --- why was he even surprised anymore? When the hell had Miroku ever been able to say 'no' to a woman's pleading? And, besides that, when the hell did his companions ever listen to an order HE'D given anyway?

The half-demon's brow furrowed in concentration, and he shifted, returning his gaze to focus on the yawning depths of the great black chasm spreading out before him. For one of the first times EVER, he suddenly found himself in full agreement with Kouga. The wolf was right and it WAS plainly obvious --- something big was happening here and hundreds of feet below him, he could definitely feel the unmistakable weight of some form of barrier. But was it really Naraku or the Shikon no Tama? He gently touched Kagome's shoulder and offered her an encouraging glance, anxiously awaiting her opinion.

"I THINK I feel jewel shards down there," she muttered in response to his unspoken query. But her tone was odd and full of doubt, her words seeming clipped and confused. "I can't explain it," she continued, "it's --- it's weird. It's n-not like it usually is." The miko trailed off without offering further explanation, and it suddenly appeared as if her thoughts were lost elsewhere.

Inuyasha held his breath and studied the young woman for a long minute. Kagome just wasn't acting like herself these past few days. Sure she was cold and tired and very pregnant and definitely over-exerting herself here in this frozen wasteland, and, not for the first time, he really was asking too much of her! But --- but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to it.

His worried eyes met with Miroku's for a brief moment. The monk seemed to be examining the miko just as critically, his face full of the same apprehension. So, he mused, it looked like HE wasn't the only one who noticed the distraction in Kagome's manner and tone ---

"Don't worry, Kagome-sama," Miroku soothed, offering a knowing nod, as he crouched at the priestesses' other side. "You must be tired. And even if the jewel shards feel faint to you, I can definitely sense the presence of very strong jyaki." The monk stretched out on the ground and peered further over the ledge. "Hey, look at that!" he hissed. "There's a path over there and --- stairs!"

"Well, yase-ookami, how does it feel to possibly be right about something for a change!?" Inuyasha sneered, his golden eyes traveling in the direction Miroku had indicated. "Let's go! Hurry up!" he urged, ignoring the wolf's steadily building growl as he gathered the still preoccupied-looking Kagome into his arms. Pausing neither for a backward glance, nor waiting for Kouga to even the score with a quip of his own, he merely leapt further along the ridge to get a closer look.

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Sesshoumaru stared up at the sky, utterly dumfounded --- in the hundreds of years of his long life, he had never been taken so utterly by surprise.

The miko.

Her words.

Rin's halting questions, and his cold admission of a truth he perhaps should have told her long ago.

Just how did all this happen anyway? he wondered. He had always prided himself on being prepared for anything, on being ready to fend off and defeat any adversary. He had not, however, anticipated crossing that undead woman's path. And how could he have predicted her cruel interference? And what the hell?! Just what kind of interference was this anyway?! For years, he had defended his companions from attack --- but --- but how did one shield them when the assault was against their minds and hearts and meant to test their very loyalty?!

He found he was not at all ready or prepared for this sick chain of events that were unfolding all around him. And now --- now he could do nothing but stand frozen, alone in the snow, wondering how he could have miscalculated so badly. That final image of Rin standing alone in the clearing --- her face pale, her expression utterly betrayed, her shoulders slumped and broken --- clouded nearly every thought in his mind. A weighty feeling of foreboding washed over him, and he was suddenly unsure of how to keep this unsettling situation from spiraling further out of his control. The demon stared up at the darkening sky with narrowed eyes, not knowing what course of action to take. Growling quietly, he considered over his two most obvious options:

Alternative one.Chase down the rapidly retreating Rin and force her to listen to his explanation. Then, after she had accepted his words and her eyes were once again filled with their soft admiration, knock Jaken from his lofty perch, and stick him face-first into a snowdrift as retribution for his rather shocking insolence. All of his uncharacteristically defiant followers would come gratefully to heel and life would continue as normal. End of story.

Alternative two.Hunt down that self-righteous bitch whose foul meddling and vicious words had just turned his whole perfect world upside down. Tear her to pieces for causing him these moments of humiliation and doubt. Crush her back into dust for forcing him to waver and for causing him to stand here so indecisively in the freezing cold. Kill her for trying to take away the only sweetness and joy he had ever known since ---

Once again, a quick vision of Rin flashed before him and that same strange pain flared in his chest. Slowly, automatically, he turned in the direction she had fled. The taiyoukai took only a single step before pausing, images of the girl's devastated face suddenly fading from his mind to be replaced, rather unexpectedly, with an image of his half-brother.

His mongrel half-brother, of course, he mused.

Did this Kikyou bitch know about the happiness Inuyasha and his new woman seemed to be enjoying of late? Did the miko know that she had TRULY been replaced by another? His lips curved in a bitter, crooked smile. Surely he could kill the priestess easily, but not before repaying her vindictive words with some interesting information of his own.

A wicked idea began to form in his mind and suddenly, in some strange way, he found himself enjoying this unexpected new challenge. After all, no one had really dared to manipulate him since Naraku had offered that temporary arm and jewel shards in exchange for killing Inuyasha. The demon lord cast one last look at his companions, now no more than dark shadows fading on the western horizon, and he sighed. He could still reach Rin in a matter of seconds, but really --- what ---

What on earth could he say to her now?

His decision made, he turned around and set off in pursuit of the miko.

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Inuyasha, his companions, and one rather smug-looking wolf demon now stood before a steep staircase, just staring at one another in blank indecision.

"Aho me! Moron, I told you this place was messed up!" Kouga beamed, gesturing down at the now glittering shards in his legs. "But you never listen to me." He shifted unto his heel, crossed his arms and offered a wide, haughty grin. "Don't know why that's so hard for you to do, Inukkoro!" He pointed a clawed finger at the hanyou's white ears, his toothy smirk dying a bit as Inuyasha just disregarded him. "Get it?" he prodded obnoxiously, "I mean, that it SHOULDN'T be hard for you to hear me --- you know, with those huge, ugly, fuzzy, stupid things sticking out of your fat head and all, I mean --- "

"Yes, we get it! We ALL know what you mean!" Sango suddenly bit out, interrupting Kouga from taking the insult any further. She turned to Inuyasha, ignoring the now obviously disappointed wolf prince and the odd, flickering light radiating from his jewel fragments in his calves. "So, now what?" she asked quietly, moving closer to the stairs and sliding Hiraikotsu off her shoulders. The demon slayer held the weapon before her, ready for any confrontation.

"I'm not sure yet," Inuyasha muttered thickly in response. Truth be told, he had actually been a bit grateful for Kouga's teasing, as the moments wasted by those childish jibes gave him a chance to adjust to this awful place. It was so bizarre. His head was spinning and his senses were reeling. He thought he smelled Naraku one minute, but in the next everything changed and the scent was completely gone. The hanyou craned his neck to stare further into the darkness of the chasm once more. Wait a minute ---

He was sure the stairs had been winding down in a different direction a mere moment ago but --- but now ---

They were different.

So, it wasn't just the scents that were shifting, he realized with a low growl. The whole damn place was moving. He felt slightly dizzy and a little sick. He pulled Kagome more tightly against his frame, and raised his trailing sleeve to cover his nostrils, trying to stop the assault on his senses. Briefly, the scent of rotting meat filled the air, but then it was gone, replaced by the calming fragrance of spring meadows. That too disappeared, and soon it was the metallic bite of a thunderstorm, followed by the searing wind of the desert, and the smell of cool, damp leaves littering the forest floor --- it made no sense. "Just let me think," he whispered, shaking his head and rubbing at his temple as the others looked on anxiously.

Kouga offered a knowing shrug and merely waited as the half-demon adjusted. Watching Inuyasha, he was suddenly reminded of how he had inadvertently stumbled upon this sinister gorge and his first uncomfortable experiences with this ever-changing place. He knew exactly what the hanyou was feeling right now and, surprisingly, he felt a small welling of sympathy. Only too well, he remembered the lightheadedness, the smell of death, and --- and those damn shadows moving at the edges of his vision and those little whispered voices calling from the dark.

Several long minutes passed, and even though it looked like Inuyasha was gaining control of his senses again, he STILL just stood there, doing nothing, as if he was stuck to the damn floor. Thoroughly bored with this latest delay, the wolf simply picked up a stone and dropped it into the abyss, hand cupped over one pointy ear as he listened to it rattle and crash to the bottom.

"Nice," Inuyasha snapped with all the sarcasm he could muster, finally coming back to himself. The half-demon's own ears flattened to his skull, and his shoulders hunched at the clamor echoing up from the depths. "As usual --- you're fucking brilliant!" Rolling his eyes at Kouga's unbelievably noisy course of action, he finally released the pensive Kagome from his hold and stepped forward to prod at the uppermost stair with the tip of Tetsusaiga.

Nothing moved.

No mass of demons rushed up from the depths to challenge him.

No buzzing hordes of Saimyoushou, no blasts of lethal miasma ---

Nothing.

Still not satisfied and most certainly not liking the way the stairs were still DEFINITELY moving in the darkness far below, he took another step forward, finally testing his full weight on that first landing.

Once again, nothing happened.

"Well, now I guess we climb down now," he muttered absently.

"Climb down --- are you insane?!" Kagome seethed, unexpectedly snapping out of her lethargic trance to stride forward and join him on the stairs. "Or have you taken one too many blows to the head?!" She punched weakly at his chest.

"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" he retorted, his voice rising in pitch as he caught her hand just as she prepared to smack him again.

Kagome let out an exasperated huff. "I mean you don't stick your head into a viper's nest, you wait for it to come out! Don't you?!" She looked to her troubled companions for support. "I mean, come on, doesn't this feel a little suspicious?" The priestess suddenly swayed dizzily and nearly collapsed.

Inuyasha closed the distance between them with one quick step, cradling the girl against his shoulder again. "What is it?!" he breathed. Of course, he realized, that really had been a stupid question. If this place had such an adverse effect on him, just how the hell was Kagome taking this?! He pressed his palm against her forehead. She wasn't fevered, but her hair was damp and plastered to her brow, and her skin felt clammy, much warmer than usual. He shot Miroku a furious look and pointed a clawed, accusing finger back towards the trailhead. "See, this is why I wanted you guys to stay way back there!"

"It's alright," Kagome answered peevishly, fighting his hold. "I'm fine --- it's just this place, or morning sickness, or something --- whatever!" She pushed free from his arms and marched off to lean on Kirara, her lovely face seeming far too drawn and pale.

With too many days in the cold, too many days of fighting, too many days of being hungry and tired and of not being able to predict their own futures, EVERYONE was poised on the breaking point of their tempers ---

"Inukorro," Kouga whispered conspiratorially into the hanyou's ear, watching as the miko took in several deep, calming breaths and rubbed soothing circles on her belly. "This place is kinda weird, but it's not THAT bad --- we're fine now and the other humans look alright. But --- but Kagome looks pretty damn sick. I meant to ask you again --- just how far along is she?"

"That's none of your fucking business."

"It's been about four and a half months," Sango supplied in a low voice, stepping forward even as Inuyasha glared at her to be silent.

"Hmm --- kinda strange, my Ayame was also over feeling sick by that point and she never got that dizzy or turned so white!"

"Me too," Sango agreed, standing somewhat supportively at the wolf's side. "I was never that sick. Ever. I keep telling Inuyasha the same thing. And no, I don't know if this place has anything to do with it --- she's seems to have been getting weaker ever since ---"

"You! Shut the hell up!" the hanyou bellowed back, now pointing his clawed finger at the taijiya's reddening face.

Miroku bristled in anger, coming to stand protectively between Sango and the half-demon. "Wait a minute, Inuyasha --- you can't talk to MY wife like that!"

"Well, if I can't talk to your wife like that, would you do me a favor, houshi, and tell her to SHUT THE HELL UP for me!" Inuyasha's furious shout echoed wildly down into the darkness, causing everyone to cringe.

"Oooh, real smart. Now who's fucking brilliant?" Kouga quipped in the background, as the noise reverberated along the canyon walls. "Nice one! Calm down! Kakka surunja nee ze!"

"Stop it --- all of you! Quiet everyone!" Kagome shouted, not knowing what made her more furious: the fact that their bickering was giving away their position and distracting them from any real danger, or the fact that they were talking about her as if she weren't present at all. "Don't you guys hear that?!"

"Hear what?!" several irritated voices snapped back at her at once. "The echo?"

"No, not that! THAT!"

A faint cry, and then a weary shout, both in a VERY familiar voice suddenly sounded from high above them --- one repeated word of distress that ricocheted from the canyon walls, bringing an abrupt end to any further bickering. 

"Machigare!!!!" the voice called out again. "Stop!!!"

A twisting shadow glided overhead in the next moment and Inuyasha looked up in alarm. He raced forward automatically, catching the exhausted Shippou as the kitsune suddenly popped out of his transformation and plunged from the sky. "What the hell, runt?!" he breathed, his gaze traveling worriedly over the younger demon's shivering form. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"Shut up, Inuyasha! Listen to me!" the fox hissed, just hoping he could deliver his news before he passed out. His face was red with exertion and his bright eyes seemed impossibly wide. "Kohaku's gone --- gone back to Naraku, I think." At those chilling words Sango raced closer, knocking Inuyasha bodily aside.

"Kaisei?" she bit out, trying to blink back her shock. She grabbed fistfuls of the fox's green haori as he sank down to the ground.

"Kaisei is fine --- just a little scared," he replied, his breath rattling. "Naraku didn't harm her --- in fact, Naraku went out of his way to make sure no harm came to her. She was found wrapped in this." Shippou reached into his sleeve and held up a tattered scrap of baboon's hide as the taijiya burst into wracking sobs.

At the sight of that all-too-familiar white fur, Miroku exploded in instant fury, throwing down his staff and racing forward to rip the pelt into shreds. "I'll kill him!" he hissed, charging straight down the strange stairway and disappearing into the darkness in a maddened rage.

The monk reappeared a mere second later, racing back up the stone steps as he seemed to remember his first and most important obligation. He quickly made his way back to Sango, bending wordlessly to help her hoist Shippou back to his shaky feet. Together, they made their way to the patiently waiting Kirara. "Where is my daughter now?" Miroku asked quietly, steadying the kitsune by his shoulder.

"Hatchi --- Mushin --- temple," Shippou grunted, hoping that was enough. He closed his eyes and leaned gratefully into Kirara's warm fur. The flames around the firecat's paws built and in the next second they were all in flight.

Kirara had only glided a few yards, when a whispered word from Sango caused her to stop, and they turned in mid-air to hover above Inuyasha and Kagome. "You don't know how sorry we are," she called down to the pair, resting her head against her husband's shoulder. "But you know we have to go." With that they wheeled around again, speeding steadily towards the south.

Inuyasha didn't answer or argue, shifting to stare longingly into the darkness before him as his friends disappeared into the sky. His mind was still in shock. Kohaku gone? Was the boy the REAL target all along? Was this place just another damn diversion?! They couldn't have traveled all this way for nothing!

Once again, Naraku's foul scent suddenly shifted up about him, interrupting his thoughts. Kouga had to be at least partially right --- at one time or another in the recent past, Naraku HAD been hiding here. But where the hell could he be now? That bastard had shown up in HIS village? And if Kohaku was gone that could only mean ---

"The well! My family!"

Kagome's sharp wail cut off his musings, destroying any final temptation to see who or what might be waiting at the bottom of the abyss.

"My mother," she continued to sob. "Ooh, Inuyasha, think of it --- Kohaku knows about the well! Think of ALL the other things he knows, too!"

The half-demon's mind filled with thoughts too horrible to dwell upon, and his arms snaked out and he grabbed the panicked girl, holding her against his thundering heart as he raced back down the trail in Kirara's wake. Gods --- how many long miles would they have to cover tonight?!

He slid to a stop as a tremendous cyclone of cold air suddenly tore though the icy ground before him, blocking his path. As the rush of wind and snow died down, he lowered his hand and looked up in annoyance in time to see Kouga strut calmly from the center of the whirlwind. "I don't want to hear any arguments, mutt," the wolf-prince snarled, his fists placed arrogantly on his swaggering hips. "Maybe I was wrong about Naraku --- fine. But if the fox says that son-of-a-bitch was at your village --- then I'm coming with you!"

"Damn straight you're coming with me!" Inuyasha sneered in return. "I can't chance another thing going wrong --- and if all Naraku has to do to get the entire Shikon no Tama is kick your sorry ass, then there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight!

"Yeah, hey --- fuck you!" Kouga snarled.

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Sesshoumaru found he did not have to trail the fleeing priestess for very long.

The very moment Kikyou was aware he was pursuing her, the writhing Shinidamachuu faded from her side, and she unexpectedly plummeted from the skies, disappearing into a tangle of dark trees. An instant later, he landed near the spot where she had vanished, pausing at the uncomfortable sensation of another holy barrier shifting up before him.

He glared at the shimmering wall. Though this new barrier caused every primitive demon instinct within him to scream in silent warning, reason told him that this woman really had nowhere near a level of power to threaten or defeat him ---

But still, it was an obvious trap, he mused.

Horrified to find himself facing another moment of weak indecision, he merely drew Toukijin and waded into the barrier to flush his prey out. Once inside, he found himself resentfully admiring the miko for setting up this simple, clever defense. Within the rippling sphere of her power, he found that her scent hung everywhere, and each breath of air he took into his lungs was laced with the heavy, suffocating smells of wet earth, bleached bones, and --- something else.

Bitterness, betrayal and tears.

And just as it had been at Totosai's forge, these overpowering odors besieged his delicate senses, making it entirely impossible to detect his enemy's exact location. Actually, he scoffed inwardly, allowing his own power to build, the miko didn't really deserve ANY of his admiration --- she was only hiding, like a pitiful coward. And this flimsy barrier wasn't a clever defense, he corrected in his mind. It was the only defense --- the LAST defense --- she had left.

"Orokana musume --- you pathetic walking ghost," he challenged aloud, as he silently glided over the dry undergrowth. "You have decided not to run?" He was rapidly losing his patience with her spineless attempt to conceal herself and his slit-pupils sifted through the mottled shadows, seeking to pierce the gloom for even the barest hint of movement. "Do you think you could plead for mercy from this Sesshoumaru? You are more foolish than I ever suspected."

"And you are even more of an arrogant, egotistical ass than I EVER suspected!" came a haughty, disembodied reply. "Do you think I NEED to run from you, demon? Do you think your power REALLY frightens me?"

Sesshoumaru smiled as an arrow suddenly streaked towards his chest, and watched with mild interest as it merely splintered and shattered against a shield of his own great power. He showed no visible reaction to the attack, but his penetrating gaze traced along the path of the shot, and he subtly altered his course to move in the direction of the arrow's flight.

Without warning, he suddenly vanished, reappearing a mere second later in the only place the arrow could have flown from. He paused, refusing to blindly strike out with Toukijin --- after all, he already knew that his hidden assailant was gone. Masking his disappointment, he lowered his sword and resumed his hunt.

"Could it be that you really wish for death to claim you again?" he goaded, trying to force the woman to reveal her position again. He nudged at some tall, dry grass with the edge of his sword before continuing on, "Is that why you have heedlessly provoked this Sesshoumaru?"

"You ask if I wish for death?" came the laughing reply. "It might be preferable to living in this waking nightmare. But, no, I do not wish for it now --- there are a few tasks I must accomplish before I finally return to the earth."

Kikyou suddenly stepped out from behind the gnarled roots of a downed tree several yards to his right and the demon's over-confident smirk faded for a moment. The miko was not quite where he would have anticipated her to be. And not only that, but she had advanced much closer to him without drawing his attention than he would have thought possible. But no matter, he reasoned. Now she stood unguarded and unprotected, waiting patiently in the open, just favoring him with a serene and thoroughly irritating smile.

"Here we are again, you and I --- just like all those months ago." She released a light chuckle at his threatening expression. "I am NOT the villain here," she stated practically, holding out her hands and infuriating him anew with her pitying expression. "This is a situation of your own making. You have no one to blame but yourself. I merely told Rin the truth."

At the mention of the girl's name, any remaining color vanished from Sesshoumaru's already pale face. "Do not speak of her," he growled, bringing up Toukijin in threat.

Kikyou shook her head sadly. "But I forget myself --- you are never to blame," she continued in a teasing voice, ignoring both the demon's  demand and the steady build of dark power collecting along the blade of his sword. She continued to circle closer to the youkai as if they were old friends rather than combatants. Suddenly her lovely face twisted and she bit out, "That's why you were so cruel to HIM! You're the one who made Inuyasha the way he is!" With those unexpected words, a flash of white raced from her fist, her holy powers testing his defenses, seeking to find any weakness she could exploit ---

Sesshoumaru leapt forward, pushing back her power with very little effort "Ano yarou? Him --- your precious half-breed?! That is what this is all about?!" This was actually becoming more amusing by the moment, he reflected, still trying to forget about the wounded look on Rin's face as she turned away from him. These ridiculous humans and their insane emotions! "You are defending my wretched half-brother now?" he questioned incredulously. "Very peculiar --- that last time we met you were trying to kill him!"

Kikyou's tired eyes narrowed and she stumbled back a step as her spiritual energy, so easily rebounded, came crashing back all around her. "Kill Inuyasha?! Never!" she panted, spinning away to avoid a shockwave from Toukijin. She readied herself to deliver a fresh assault of her own. "Force him to see the error of his ways and return him to where he belongs --- yes!"

"And I suppose he belongs in hell?" Sesshoumaru questioned mildly, leaping into the air to avoid her pitiably slow attack. He showered her rigid form with a second blast of youki as he passed overhead, and scowled as the wave was fractured away from her body at the last possible second. "You still believe Inuyasha belongs with you, of course," he leered in contempt, landing smoothly before the base of a tall tree. "Tell me, does it pain you terribly to know that the hanyou has chosen another path?"

The miko gasped, unable to hide her despair. Upon hearing that pointed question, her defenses faltered for a moment, causing the end current of that last wave of youki to rip through her shield. The menacing heat sent up billows of steam as it melted the snow and ice at her feet, partially obscuring her reeling silhouette. Offering no mercy or moment of respite, the taiyoukai simply hurled another burst of power her way. Kikyou was thrown off-balance and knocked backward, crashing into the hard, frozen ground.

Sesshoumaru rocked back on his heels, his eyes glowing with self-indulgent pleasure at his impending and wholly anticipated triumph. Not only had he just discovered the extent of the miko's holy powers, but the stupid woman had also just confirmed where her true weakness lay and just how deep and all-encompassing it was. As usual, he had read his opponent correctly, and it was through this human's emotions that he would find the perfect way to exact the perfect vengeance. He lowered Toukijin, and strode forward, still wisely maintaining a safe distance, but quite unable to resist gloating over his downed and dazed opponent. After all, this woman deserved nothing less than the same hurt and humiliation she had unfairly heaped upon HIS Rin.

"Yes, as I was saying, Inuyasha has chosen another path. This Sesshoumaru greatly wishes to know --- have you seen your dear hanyou of late?" he inquired quietly. "Or rather, have you seen the girl who has taken your place at his side?"

The miko's eyes clouded over, and it didn't take a demon's keen vision to see how her body now trembled at his words. She recovered rather quickly though, her slender hands tightening around her bow as she struggled back to her feet. "And 'your' Rin," she countered, leaning heavily upon her weapon, her breath starting to slow as she fought to gather the last of her strength. "Your little human doll, your plaything --- you would abandon her one day as surely as Inuyasha has abandoned me." She straightened proudly, sweeping her wet, disheveled hair from her face, and fixed him with her most defiant glare. "So, demon, do you enjoy seeing the pain in my eyes? Then remember it well --- because you will soon see it in HER eyes, too! YOU are turning that gentle girl into what I have 'become'. But that is what you excel at most of all --- killing love, destroying dreams and hopes, and changing others until even they CANNOT recognize their former selves!"

Sesshoumaru glowered at the woman, his brilliant plan disintegrating before his eyes. He tried to remind himself that it was always like this whenever he took a life. There was always the pleading, the cajoling, the empty threats. But somehow, something about these words caused him to pause. Maybe --- maybe because somewhere inside, he knew they might be too close to the truth. What if this miko was right? Could his Rin's heart ever be as empty as this woman's?

He raised Toukijin one last time, just wanting to get this all over with ---

"Of course you'll destroy Rin! Just look what you did to Inuyasha! Yes, I know ALL the things you did to Inuyasha!" Kikyou screamed furiously, her eyes trained on the demon's wavering sword, her hands coming up to defend herself. "I know how you ruined his mother's noble house! How you forced her line from your lands when your Father died! Not only did you deny Inuyasha and his mother your protection, but you took away or frightened off any other kin who might have offered them sanctuary! You burned their villages, poisoned their rivers and fields, killed their soldiers, and slaughtered their stock and game! Bad enough you didn't take responsibility for your own brother --- but to take away everything else that might have been dear to him! To murder anyone else who might have protected him! Forcing his mother to beg from other houses --- a tainted woman, a low class mekake pleading for the charity of others! What a proud tale, the great Sesshoumaru --- just a pompous, spoiled brat waging war on a broken human woman and half-breed child ---"

"Silence. You know nothing," the dog-demon answered coldly. "Damatte ni shiro. Samonai to, kono Sesshoumaru ga kono tsume de kisama no seinaru kuchi kara ano amai shita wo kirisakeru zo! Still your tongue or I'll rip you to shreds where you stand." He brought down Toukijin and the resulting blast of youki exploded through the miko's barrier with devastating effects. She screamed in pain as blue flames erupted all about her, and pitched forward to collapse on all fours. He charged her then, moving in to deliver the killing blow. To his surprise, however, his great weapon bounced harmlessly away, deflected by a pink light that surged from and encircled her chest at the last possible second.

But he knew it was over.

This Kikyou was dying --- even though she alone seemed oblivious to that fact. Those damn demon snakes that served her were gone and in this frozen wilderness she had no chance of refreshing herself with new souls.

Yet still she rose once more to fire her bow at him, and he snarled in choked anger as one arrow finally managed to graze his shoulder.

Kikyou watched as the taiyoukai prodded at his wound, his look of arrogant disbelief somehow making her own pain seem more bearable. She slumped down into the snow and quickly counted her remaining arrows, fully prepared to fire until each one was spent. Sesshoumaru, she noted sourly, did not appear to be affected by them at all, but only seemed to grow swifter and more graceful with each attack. She was running out of time.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to a long tear in the sleeve of his haori. Even in the wavering light, she could see that the skin beneath had an opaline shine and was cut by a straight red band that sliced clear across his muscular arm.

His old wound.Of course.

She suddenly knew what was needed to defeat him and realized that she would only have one chance. The priestess closed her eyes and swallowed noisily, trying to ignore the similarities between this heartless creature and his younger brother, trying not to watch the way all that lovely silver hair shone against the sunset. Trying to avoid looking directly at those golden eyes, should her nerve disappear and she forget herself and not have the strength of will to fire.

At the next instant, Sesshoumaru charged again. Kikyou saw the boredom in his haughty face, and she dimly realized this would be his last attack. With a fluid motion, she raised her bow over her head, smiling as the weapon began to pulse with a faint light that beat in time with her racing heart. Searching within and gathering the last reserves of her power, she staggered a few steps to meet his charge, swinging her bow in a downward arc.

If not for the sudden surge in energy building all around him, Sesshoumaru would have laughed at her attempt to use so pitiful a weapon to ward off Toukijin. But somehow, the seemingly fragile bow caught the edge of his blade, knocking it away from his hand and sending it spinning into the darkness. Though embarrassingly robbed of the sword by a weak, dying priestess, he merely smiled. He had other means by which to kill a woman.

Kikyou saw the taiyoukai flex his poison talons and caught the reflected glint of dying sunlight upon them. They flashed for the barest second, their edges rippled and sharp, and then they dragged over her chest. Sesshoumaru's blinding momentum continued to carry him well past her, but she could no longer watch his progress. She could do nothing, in fact, but stare down at her own body in morbid fascination as a hazy glow seeped from a five-tracked wound extending from her shoulder to her belly. As it had been nearly sixty years ago, the wound was inflicted far too quickly for there to be much pain. Now there was just dust, and the strange resistance and unpleasant cracking of her false clay flesh.

She continued to gape open-mouthed as a steady stream of gathered souls began to run from the gash in her chest, and only now did she realize she how near she was to death. But --- but --- she needed to get Sesshoumaru close again.

Closer.It was the only way to save herself.

"You pursued me --- when you should have been chasing Rin," Kikyou wheezed, struggling back to her feet.

Sesshoumaru turned around and blinked in disbelief and annoyance. "Your grief for the hanyou has truly driven you mad," he breathed, amazed that she could still stand, let alone form words.

"Tell me, Sesshoumaru, would it really be so humiliating to father a hanyou? Is it all half-breeds you hate or just the one you've NEVER been able to defeat? The hanyou who carries the precious Tetsusaiga, the hanyou who maimed you --- Inu no Taisho's favorite son born of the woman he GAVE his life for! Your Father's favorite child who's succeeded everywhere you've failed, despite all you've done to stop him, to break him, to ruin him --- " Her words were cut off, for as she had hoped, Sesshoumaru was hurtling back towards her, his face twisted in madness and rage. He was racing low along the ground, his claws extended, aiming for the juncture of her throat and shoulders. But instead of tearing into her again, he seized her by the neck, lifting her into the air to fix her with a hate-filled, murderous gaze.

Kikyou's face flushed and sweat beaded her brow as she gasped to take in a breath, forcing herself to remain outwardly calm. "Y-you mindless animal! Filthy dog!" she rasped, hands dangling limping at her sides. "Think hard before you kill me! You w-will ALL need my help to defeat Naraku!"

"You think I need your 'strength' to defeat Naraku?" Sesshoumaru questioned blandly, wondering just how much he would need to tighten his grip before this clay body splintered into nothing more than fine powder and a few mismatched shards.

"Well, my lord," she choked in sarcastic reply. "N-naraku IS another half-demon --- and --- as we all know, y-you seem to have trouble with them!"

With a snarl of outrage, the taiyoukai pinned the helpless woman against the trunk of a tree, grinding her into the rough bark. "My feeble brother who you 'love' so well might have needed your strength --- once," he hissed. "But do you think this Sesshoumaru has ANY such weakness?"

"No, my lord, you do not have one w-weakness," Kikyou answered with a gurgling laugh. "You have THREE, and you have s-shown them all to me n-now."

"Three weakness? You honestly believe so?" he sneered, slackening his grip, furious at her bold assumptions. He had wasted enough time and energy on this bitch. He drew back one hand and allowed his poison to drip from his fingertips, watching as the miko's eyes seemed to widen in horror.

"Three weaknesses," Kikyou stammered hurriedly, her gaze fixed on his claws as a vaporous green glow began to build around them. "The f-first is thinking you have no weakness, the second is the your sweet girl, your Rin ---"

"And the third?" he interrupted impatiently, seeking to be done with this, only wishing to send her back to hell.

"T-this is the third!" the miko gritted. Instead of trying to pry his iron fist from her throat, her hands shot out to clamp about his wrist --- his left wrist --- he realized belatedly. But it was too late, her cold fingers were already digging into his skin and a wave of holy purifying power was coursing into his body.

Sesshoumaru swung his free arm, aiming to strike the woman's mocking mouth, but she ducked and with a similar movement reached out to him again, her greedy hands scratching and scrabbling up his still healing left arm. He felt her power gather again, but had no time to react before a second current of raw purifying energy rushed through his veins. In the next instant, his knees had buckled from the shock; the miko collapsed with him and they continued their struggle in the snow.

Kikyou relinquished her grip with one hand, her fingers searching frantically through her quiver, trying to draw her last arrow. The minute her fist closed about the shaft, she twisted in the demon's grip. She turned to plunge the weapon weakly into his skin, the bright stripes on his forearm presenting her with a target that was difficult to miss. Sesshoumaru hissed in rage and tore at her wildly, but she knew she could not let go. She had to hang on for just a few more moments if she had any wish to come out of this battle alive. "Do not fear, my lord," she crooned, a bit terrified at how her power was already transforming him. His face, just a few inches from her own, was shifting, those marks on his cheeks were growing and splitting apart; in fact, she realized numbly, it looked like his whole body might split apart, too. "I will not seal you as I did Inuyasha," she whispered, more to herself than to the snarling creature that was fighting to break free of her hold.

At her words, the demon released a cruel laugh, and turned his face upwards, his eyes crimson and his mouth full of far too many jagged teeth. "You could NOT seal this Sesshoumaru if your life depended on it," he thundered in an echoing, unrecognizable, and wholly inhuman voice. "Which in fact, it does."

Kikyou scrambled a few quick steps back, years of experience in demon slaying preparing her to expect the worst at this point. Sesshoumaru seemed to be growing taller before her, his talons were lengthening, and his imposing form was encircled by a rippling red glow. She steeled herself for the inevitability of death. But suddenly the frightening changes in the youkai's appearance dissolved and he was back to his customary form, cursing and writhing on the ground in pain. Desperately afraid he would start to revert back to that truest manifestation at any second, Kikyou sent a third wave of purifying power towards him. The flaring energy struck the wounded demon even as he struggled to recover from the first assaults.

Sesshoumaru could simply not believe what was happening. He had been tested against this manner of power before --- hell, he had been tested against far greater powers --- but never so directly against such newly healed flesh! At the moment, he could do nothing but tear off what was left of the billowing sleeve of his haori, shredding his own white skin with his claws in his haste, anxious to see the damage the miko's powers were causing.

Kikyou crept closer to his convulsing form, fully prepared to flee should he make any attempt to rise. His chest was heaving, and he seemed to be in shock, but it was clear his mind was still sharp --- for there, in his dazed expression, she could still see the bewilderment and embarrassed male pride.

Confident Sesshoumaru would not be foolish enough to move --- at least for a few minutes anyway --- she inched closer to him and forced his chin up with her bow. She gazed into that perfect face, and could not help admiring the deep gold of his eyes, and their fierce, hate-filled glitter. For a moment, she was reminded of another pair of eyes. She smiled ruefully, and supposed she should get used to seeing such malice held within them. No doubt that same cold revulsion would rest in Inuyasha's eyes as well when next they faced one another.

Through the agony of fighting back the purification spell and the haze of his strangely wandering thoughts, Sesshoumaru caught her appraising stare. "Of course, Inuyasha has chosen another woman," he panted in revulsion. "Even that weak, simple-minded Kagome is better than an empty vessel like you. You --- you would not even be able to summon a tear to weep for him with that false body."

"Nor can I summon any tears for to weep for you my lord," Kikyou stated icily, pulling her bow away and turning to leave. "But all is well, because your Rin will probably shed enough tears for both of us on this night."

"Bitch!" he roared, forgetting himself and releasing his injured arm to swipe after her with his claws. The holy arrow in his flesh seemed to burn hotter at his temporary distraction and its power lanced further into his body. He hissed in fresh agony, slumping back to the ground.

Kikyou stared down at the demon lord, lost in the past. Somehow, she was not at all surprised to find out exactly how passionate and intense Sesshoumaru really was behind that careful, smooth façade.

Why, it was almost like watching --- Inuyasha.

No wonder that poor child Rin had lost her heart to this creature.

She was abruptly distracted from her thoughts by a low, pained growl, and she shifted her gaze to the many droplets of green acid and dark blood currently staining the snow. Sesshoumaru was fighting to remain conscious, and he was recovering much quicker than she would have anticipated. He was currently using the power of his own poison to not only burn away her arrow but whatever flesh had been tainted by her powers as well. "It seems you were right, my lord," she whispered with just a hint of admiration in her reflective voice. "I cannot seal you. But I cannot allow you to cause me further delay either. When you finish here, you should go to your little girl. Go to her and think hard about hurting her again." She retrieved what few arrows she could find from around the clearing and began to chant softly in prayer. She knocked one to her bowstring, drew the fletching to her pale cheek and fired, pinning the injured demon's left shoulder to the tree behind him.

Sesshoumaru snarled as the second arrow pierced his flesh, his eyes red-rimmed, his body feeling torn in two. His vision continued to darken, his form kept shifting against his will, and his every muscle, bone and sinew were tensed and fighting the purifying influence streaking in painful currents up his arm, seeking to end his life.

"As you leave me to my thoughts, miko, I leave you with yours," he called out blearily, smiling with dark satisfaction as he watched her limp slowly from the clearing. "You are so concerned with spreading tales of love, of heirs --- then you should already know --- Inuyasha will NOT follow you to hell. You have failed. You have lost him forever. Your replacement, Kagome, carries his child."

Kikyou's shoulders shook, and she turned back to the youkai, a sudden, helpless mixture of sadness and anger burning in her eyes. "So --- it is true?" she asked, speaking in a much higher pitch than she wished.

Sesshoumaru laughed again. "Ahh, perhaps you did n-not know?"

"I knew," she whispered, continuing on her way. "Kagome is part of my soul and --- I knew."

"Then you know he would die for his simpering Kagome. But for you? Now, perhaps, I think Inuyasha will be the one to kill you."

"You heartless, hateful monster! Why do you tempt me?!" she cried out, whirling to face him again and drawing her bow back so far that he thought it might snap in her hands. "You look just enough like Inuyasha to make this worthwhile! Gods, the only reason this arrow does not fly ---"

"Suki ni shiro! Do it!" he bellowed back in challenge, increasing the pressure against his bicep as another curling thread of power sought to bore further up his arm. "And this Sesshoumaru will teach you what true power is!" The air shimmered in a sudden, angry heat and the arrow protruding from his shoulder began to smolder and smoke.

He grinned in contempt and leaned forward, pulling the arrow's head free from the tree's bark. Slowly, he began to rise to his feet ---

Then, without any further warning, his whole form tensed and he gasped. 

Kikyou bit back a gasp of her own as she watched those ragged purple lines of sacred power spread up his shoulder. They moved to disappear under the fabric of his haori, and then reappeared again on his chest, blistering his skin. "Gods, you arrogant beast, why didn't you just stay still?" she shouted angrily, as they fanned upwards and out across his throat and jawbone. The taiyoukai's golden eyes flew wide in confusion at her sudden concern, but only for a moment ---

Sesshoumaru's head nodded limply, his eyes fluttered closed and he fell back, feeling the reassuring rhythm of Tenseiga's power as it stirred at his side. For some reason, the small currents of holy energy did not seem quite so painful anymore, and a feeling of peace and security stole over him. The hard bark his back was pillowed against wasn't quite so rough, the freezing snow was so cool and smooth beneath his neck, and dreams were beginning to wash and color his mind ---

Kikyou returned to the demon's side, anxious to reassure herself that he would survive this experience with no lasting effects other than a bruise to his own lofty self-image. She ran her hand lightly over his perfect face, then into the indent of his neck. Pressing her fingers against his skin, she held her breath, not moving until she felt the slow beating that was his heart. Though somewhat curious to wait and see how long it would take for such a powerful youkai to fight off her spell, she knew it was suicide to linger here.

"Odaiji ni. Take care of yourself," The priestess whispered, smiling down at her sleeping opponent before turning to continue on her lonely journey. Humming quietly to herself, she disappeared into the darkness, feeling strangely compelled to wander further north.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everything was spinning in a fog, and when the world resettled itself, Sesshoumaru found himself staring into the shallow depths of the shimmering garden pond.

He was no more than a boy, and he smiled down proudly, admiring himself. Over the past few seasons, he had grown a bit taller and his silver hair now trailed down to the small of his back. Though he appeared willowy and pale, he was strong --- a perfect reflection of his noble heritage. Known for his quick intellect and inquisitive nature, he was full of confidence and already quite sure of his station. He could explore the wide beach and march in and out of the shiro as he pleased, his booted feet beating in a dominating cadence as they echoed through the large halls.

And --- as long as he was in the company of one of his parents --- he could now travel anywhere in the whole Western Lands.

More often than not, though, it was Hahaue, not Chichiue, who would escort him on such extended journeys. She always watching him now, demonstrating that quiet, cold pride that made her seem a bit difficult to know.

Well, difficult to outsiders at least.

But, he knew her differently, and all the love and affection in him went to her.

After all, only he understood how lonely she was these days.

He kicked a small stone into the pond, scowling at his reflection as it rippled with the disturbed water. Yes, these days it was always Hahaue, who would join him in the training rooms, teaching him the sword and helping him hone his growing powers.

But they couldn't train as hard as he'd like anymore --- after all, Hahaue WAS carrying his little brother! Or sister, he reminded himself, running his tongue over a fang that was coming lose. His eyes widened in expectation and he smiled at the knowledge that in just a few shorts months there would be someone for HIM to look after. And, maybe, when this new little one came, Chichiue would pay more attention --- to all of them.

He heard the sound of bright laughter and music coming from within the shiro, and made his way inside to investigate. He found Hahaue leaning casually against the front alcove, her posture tense, her expression far away. Beyond her, he could see that once again, the genkan was full of all manner of humans who had come seeking audience with his Father. There were greasy merchants, chanting priests and puffed-up soldiers. There were servants, scholars, and bodyguards that he now knew he could snap in two with a mere flick of his wrist.

And once again there were also those hordes of frail, adoring women, each dressed in layer upon layer of vividly-patterned silk, each one hopelessly vying to catch his Father's eye.

His amber eyes grew guarded and surly.

He wondered how Chichiue had patience for any one of them.

It was no sooner than his thoughts turned to Chichiue when the man himself hailed him in a deep, kindly voice that rang out across the reception hall. His Father now stood at the top of the three low stairs of the wide dais, looking as regal and collected as ever. The great demon lord was currently smiling at him --- offering a lop-sided grin that spread from his mouth to his golden eyes, a grin full of approval, mischief and warmth. And, though HE tried not to answer that smile, though he tried to remain angry and aloof, a great pool of happiness came welling up from inside him. He smiled back at Chichiue in return, instantly forgetting about the humans as he recalled the exciting news he had to share.

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and knew without turning that Hahaue had stepped forward to stand at his side. He followed her lead as she marched further into the hall, joining her as she bowed respectfully to his Father.

"You two!"Chichiue laughed, beckoning for them to come closer still. "Why do you stand like strangers in the doorway? Come --- join us! There is something I wish for you to hear!"

"And I have something I wish to tell you too, Chichiue!" he declared proudly, straightening quickly and slipping into his tale without delay. "We heard there was another oni that crossed our borders and it was killing some of our game and ---"

"I must speak first, Sesshoumaru," the taiyoukai replied softly, golden eyes twinkling in amusement at his son's youthful enthusiasm. "After all, what I would like to discuss has much to do with your patrols. From this day forward, you and your Mother will not have to travel so far or put yourselves in such danger. I have formed an alliance with this ningen family. Of any humans I have ever known, the daimyo Saneyori of the clan alone strives for real peace. Saneyori does not seek only power, but the wisdom to wield that power justly. So from this day forward the Katsumata clan will join us in securing and protecting the Western Lands. In return, I will help them win back some of their own territories, lands that were brutally stolen from them only recently. So --- I will be leaving with them --- but only for a short time."

Stunned by this unforeseen declaration, he and Hahaue remained silent, standing frozen in their surprise. He cast a quick look up at his mother, sneaking a glance from the corner of his eye, and knew in an instant that she was not at all pleased. At that moment a tall, battle-scarred ningen male, who he could only assume was this Lord Saneyori, came forward. The old warrior bowed deeply to them, his square chin and rough beard practically scraping the floor. The human then turned swiftly back to Chichiue, unrolling a long scroll that had been held in his sash.

"My house will serve you, Inu no Taisho," Lord Saneyori read in a slow, sycophantic voice. "We will serve you, my Great Master, and your heirs, for as long as you watch over these Western Lands. We thank you for bringing order to our provinces, for keeping us safe, and for helping the Katsumata clan flourish and prosper. In return for your mighty protection, I humbly offer you the treasures of my house. Our armies, our crops, our laborers, our artisans, our musicians, anything you wish from us ---"

Listening to this human's pointless sniveling speech, he stayed frozen where he stood, his small fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. He shook his pale head, hardly daring to believe what was happening! Had Chichiue really just agreed to SHARE their lands? He crossed his arms and shifted his weight from one foot to the other in agitation, as Lord Saneyori kept reading that inane little proclamation. Somehow, he knew instinctively that the human's toadying speech was only going to become even MORE long-winded and dull as it went on. He tried his best to close his mind to the incessant drone ---

His sharp, amber eyes suddenly fell upon a slim, young woman who stood directly across the hall from him. The girl was peering out from behind a paper fan adorned with sakura blossoms, standing precariously on the tips of her toes, and craning her neck to look over the gathered crowd. She was wearing those ridiculous high sandals that those human women seemed so fond of and her tiny feet were slipping through the bindings. But she was SO intent on getting a better look at the main dais that she didn't seem to notice.

He smirked to himself at her stupidity.

The very minute the crowd shifted, that little fool would end up on the ground! But what was she looking at anyway? What could have drawn her interest so deeply that she was now poised for certain social disaster? His curiosity piqued, he followed the girl's gaze, wondering what held the silly creature so enthralled.

To his great surprise, he found she was staring straight at his Father with a kind of fascination --- almost as if she couldn't look elsewhere, even if she wanted to.

Sure enough, at that very moment, the bright crowd suddenly parted as the humans noisily clapped their hands when Lord Saneyori finally came to the conclusion of the speech. The young woman lost her balance and tripped into the open, sprawling across the polished floor. Her fan fell from her hand with a noisy clatter and the crowd gasped its surprise in near perfect unison. From her prone position, the girl pressed her hands to her face in mortification, looking around wildly as she struggled to regain her composure.

It was then the he got his first really good look at her.

The girl's face, no longer concealed behind the fan, was startlingly, indescribably beautiful. She was graced with large, expressive eyes and a teasing, sweet red mouth. All of her features were so balanced, it seemed more likely that she had been carved by a sculptor, rather than born to a lowly, miserable mortal! Her robe was ornate and flowing, its hue the brilliant orange-gold of a sunset. And crowning and perfecting her look was her glorious hair. It was woven with white, new spring flowers and fell in long, ebony waves reaching past her knees. Though now a bit tousled from her unexpected fall, that soft mass swept against her flawless skin, fanning and framing her rather becoming blush. Still quite surprised to find herself in her current position, she rose to stand before the assembled throng, and bowed demurely to Chichiue.

Maintaining his impassive vigil, he watched as the taiyoukai gazed back at the woman in return. He couldn't fail to mark how his Father also stumbled and took a small step to steady himself as a spark of --- something --- flared in his golden eyes. But, whatever that look was, it died rather quickly, as Hahaue abruptly crossed the hall, leaving his side without a word to go stand at his father's.

The human woman's blush now flamed to the same shade of crimson as her kimono, and she bowed again to both of his parents. Lord Saneyori released a nervous laugh at the girl's actions and smiled apologetically. "Please forgive my daughter, my lord," the old daimyo mumbled, sinking to his knees while wringing the sleeves of his fine robe. "She has been most anxious to meet the Inu no Taisho. All her life, she has heard many stories and tales. So, my Master, my lady, my young lord, may I present you with the princess Agemaki."

He continued to analyze this whole introduction carefully and remained rooted to his spot, staring over Chichiue's flushed face to focus fully on this Agemaki creature. He quickly measured her against his Mother, not sure he had ever seen two women so opposite in nature and appearance ---

Hahaue was a thoroughly imposing figure, her tall frame splendidly sheathed in finely polished armor and jewels. Her hair, though as long as the princess', was bound and plaited in a thick braid, each ivory strand of its soft mass in its perfect place and shining more brightly than the silver band circling her forehead. Her skin was as pale and white as the moon, and her slit-eyes full of fire and confidence.

The ningen girl, while equally beautiful, was almost dark by comparison and about as thin as one of the reeds framing the garden pond. And as for imposing? All and all, he sneered in his mind, Agemaki was as threatening as a butterfly newly hatched from its cocoon!

So --- besides her clumsy little fall, what was it about her that caught Father's attention?

She was nothing.

What power did she hold?

She didn't even seem have the ability to hold herself upright, he snorted inwardly, watching with interest as Chichiue politely helped the girl to her feet. As her small hands met his Father's, he continued to assess the young woman, from the filmy, drifting layers of her clothes, to her shining, fragrant hair, to the slightly provocative angle of her almond eyes. Besides being strikingly pretty, he had to reluctantly admit, Agemaki seemed to have at least SOME intelligence. It was obvious that she, TOO, had perceived that sudden change in Chichiue's expression. She HAD obviously seen the taiyoukai's profuse blush and noticed the quickened rhythm of his breath, for she was now responding in kind.

Agemaki smiled up at Chichiue gratefully, and now that her own lord father had delivered his hastily stammered introduction, her whole demeanor seemed to change. She straightened and strode forward with all the grace of a dancer, pressing her frail hands together. "Inu no Taisho," she said in a musical voice, raising a little hand to coyly hide her full lips behind her palm. "My Father's proclamations and speeches can go on for days if you do not interrupt him. I am truly sorry for ruining the ceremony of this occasion, but I have my own thanks to offer."

Chichiue seemed to be having difficulty finding his voice. His Father was now staring back and forth from the Lord Saneyori to the young woman incredulously. "This is --- this your daughter?" the taiyoukai stammered. "This is Agemaki-hime? S-she is the very image of her mother."

"That she is," Lord Saneyori agreed with a wistful sigh. "And both would have died long ago if it weren't for your honored wife, the beautiful Lady Sesseika." The aged daimyo smiled and bowed deeply to Hahaue, while Chichiue cleared his throat quickly, as if he had temporarily forgotten his wife had been standing so close.

Hahaue seemed unfazed by Chichiue's obvious discomfort. She stepped up to  Agemaki, looking down her long nose as if examining an insect, her great height and commanding stature forcing the suddenly far too uncomfortable young woman to back up several hasty steps. The princess almost fell again in the process, this time tripping over the trailing hems of her costly gowns.

"Sesseika?"His Father pressed curiously, obviously trying to get any form of conversation flowing again. "What is this tale? You saved them?"

He heard Hahaue sigh in resignation and watched her flash a brooding smile. "Yes, it does not seem all that long ago, but, they were attacked by a pair of --- c-centipedes." Her voice trailed off quietly, as Chichiue led the beaming princess up the stairs to the low table prepared on the dais.

He blinked his honeyed eyes up at his Father, completely taken aback. The girl followed the taiyoukai readily, moving with delicate, mincing steps, her face fairly burning with pride. She settled herself comfortably beside the great demon, sinking into the silk pillows and cushions in one graceful movement. Then, as dutifully and meekly as a slave, the princess began to serve Chichiue, offering him that strong drink that humans were so fond of, and inviting him to sample the other strange dishes they had brought. The lord and human woman smiled at each other, and fell into easy banter, laughing as if they had known one another all their lives. The supposed formality of their setting seemed to fade from their minds --- in fact, it seemed that they forgot there was an audience surrounding them altogether.

Presently, Chichiue turned back to Lord Saneyori. "Tell me," he asked. "How did my Sesseika save your now departed wife? Lady Izayoi --- that was her name, was it not?"

"Yes," Lord Saneyori answered solemnly, his eyes seeming to mist at some memory. "It was nearly twenty years ago, when my late first-wife, Izayoi, came to live with the Katsumata clan. Our marriage had been arranged since nearly before she was born, for she had lost most of her own great family to war. Her own house was far to the east and she knew no one among my people. She was young, and bored, and prone to foolish stunts to pass the days. Much like this one here," the grizzled daimyo paused, offering Agemaki an affectionate nod while the girl pouted prettily. "We had been joined for several months, and we were expecting our first-born when she foolishly decided to sneak from the compound, choosing to join our servants collecting firewood in the forest. Their party was ambushed by a monstrous centipede youkai and Sesseika-sama, along with your young heir, saved them ---"

Upon hearing that small reference to himself, he finally decided to cross the main floor, and joined his parents and the humans at the table. Seating himself quickly, he watched as Hahaue shifted in obvious tension as the story continued to be told, noting how her glittering eyes never left Agemaki's face. What was going on?! If Hahaue's expression and the rigid set of her shoulders were any indication, it would appear that she thought this little creature was dangerous for some bizarre reason!

"Hnnnnn, seems like the Lady Izayoi was in need of quite a few rescues," Hahaue muttered dryly, turning to Chichiue."Danna, if I am not mistaken, didn't you have to save her once or twice as well?"

Chichiue let out a small laugh, and threw Hahaue a loving and patient smile.

Now in much closer proximity to his Mother again, he could clearly see that she was not at all appeased by Father's actions --- after all, the demon lord never did answer her query, choosing to return to his meal instead of replying.

"Tell me, Lord Saneyori," Hahaue questioned blandly, lifting a fine porcelain cup to her full lips. He observed how she cleverly paused then, stopping to take in a few deep sips of sake and forcing the daimyo to wait expectantly for her next words. When the tension was almost unbearable, she finally continued on in a sweet tone, "Why is it that you humans do not teach your females to fight? After all, I believe there should be more to a woman than beauty and a willingness to walk meekly in the shadow of her lord."

No one seemed to want to challenge the clear, sarcastic edge in her deceptively gentle voice.

"Yes, aaaahhhh --- I am not sure how to answer that, my Lady," Saneyori stammered, shifting to stare up at Chichiue quickly. "We live quite differently from y-youkai. A-anyway, my lord, back to the story --- my good, departed wife and my sweet daughter were ultimately saved from that merciless beast and, as you can see, Agemaki is now a woman grown. She will soon to be married herself ---"

Sitting just a few feet away, his wide child's eyes caught how Agemaki trembled at that rushed announcement. And though he clearly felt the tell-tale skip of her frightened heart, Saneyori continued on, seemingly oblivious to his daughter's sudden fear.

"Next spring I will take her to meet the man I have chosen for her," the old warrior rattled on.

Agemaki'seyelashes fluttered closed at that final statement and she sighed heavily. "Then I hope that the winter lingers forever this year," she muttered under her breath. Until that moment, she had been smiling sweetly, but now it appeared she might lapse into uncontrollable tears at any moment.

"Do not look so sad," Chichiue said softly, taking note of the girl's anxious and vulnerable expression. "You should smile," the taiyoukai added kindly, turning Agemaki's stiff chin up with a cupped hand.

His Father's fingers drifted upwards, fleetingly catching on the flowers woven through the princess' shining hair. "And --- and you should always wear flowers like these. They suit you."

Agemaki looked on, her face full of despair and scarcely veiled longing, and he could hear the swift, sensual breaking of her breath."But I am afraid, Inu no Taisho. I-I do not know this man that father has chosen for me," she whispered. "And I shall have to leave everything I know. Everything I love."

At the girl's halting admission, Hahaue suddenly leaned forward and grinned ferally, her crimson lips in perfect dramatic contrast from her even white teeth. "Come ojousama, do not despair," she chided in the very same voice she used when she helped gentle Aun. "After all, my own marriage to the lord of these Lands was arranged." Her thin, black eyebrows arched to disappear under her wispy silver bangs and she raised her cup again, this time in a dismissive salute. "Perhaps, my dear Agemaki, you too shall be as blessed as I to find a husband you can love. A husband of your very own."

The girl nodded dumbly at Hahaue's seemingly sincere wish for her fate, and then she turned her strange, mournful smile back to Chichiue. "Maybe, my lady," he heard her whisper after an exaggerated break. "But I still should have liked to have been the one to choose my husband. Maybe someday --- my own daughters will be so fortunate." Her soft brown eyes were clouded, and in her distraction the trailing edge of her sleeve pulled a sake tokkuri from the table. The earthenware jar was up-ended, splashing its contents across Hahaue's beautiful pastel robes. "Oh, noooo!!!" Agemaki bleated, utterly distressed. "Oh, I am so, so sorry, my lady!"

"It is alright," Hahaue stated graciously, as she regarded the wide stain blooming across her hakama. Though her expression seemed soft and forgiving, her grin was no longer brightening her amber eyes. She wiped at the horribly ruined silk to no effect.

His annoyance mounted as he watched Chichiue politely take Agemaki's hand to help the girl around the table. Well, at least he could take some satisfaction in the fact that his Father now looked extremely out of sorts as performed this simple, common courtesy. It appeared that the mighty Inu no Taisho, with his kind soul that always looked for the good in any creature, and his always honest intentions, was finally beginning to realize that this foolish ningen's feelings went far beyond mere devotion to her lord ---

Agemaki didn't seem to want to let go of his Father's hand, even as she bowed to Hahaue, apologizing profusely. "I am so clumsy!" she whined. "Please, let me make amends! As my father said --- we will give you the best that our family has to offer! And --- and we much have finer silks than these at our shiro!" The girl bit back a gasp and hurriedly raised her fan to hide her red lips. "I mean, I realize you d-dress in this manner because you are nearly always in battle but ---" 

From where he sat stunned, he saw Hahaue's spine stiffen and he found he could not stop the rumbling growl that was building in his chest. He decided he did not like this Agemaki AT ALL. As far as he could tell, she was nothing more than an empty-headed little upstart with a few bold dreams. Bold dreams that quite obviously included gaining some measure of admiration and affection from his Father.

But Hahaue had gone back to ignoring the young princess, turning her full attention to Chichiue again. "All this talk about defending ningen villages and wayward ningen girls and you have yet to ask about your son," she stated dryly, dismissing Agemaki's thinly veiled insult and changing the subject once more. "As I keep telling you, Sesshoumaru is exceptionally powerfully for one so young ---"

Hahaue's golden eyes were now practically burning in her pride and fierce delight. "When we were attacked by those miserable oni --- a --- band --- a whip of poison --- burst from Sesshoumaru's claws! It was amazing and far greater than my own skill! It was swift as a storm wind and just as powerful as the strike of lightning! Nothing could come near us!"

He watched as Chichiue's face and form seemed to tighten for the slightest of moments, but the tall taiyoukai did not say anything at first, obviously trying to mask vast displeasure. Unconsciously, from where he sat, his own small shoulders hunched in reaction. He knew precisely why his Father so was upset ---

Chichiue believed he was still too young to fight.

Not only that, but his Father had had specifically asked his Mother not to look for trouble and to cease all needless combat until the new child was born.

But Chichiue would never dare correct Hahaue in the presence of all these humans, no matter how much leeway or favor he appeared to give them, and so now they all sat in a tense, awkward hush. As long minutes dragged on, the only noises he could hear were the tinkling of fine porcelain and the cries of the gulls flying outside.

"But I should not be telling this story!" Hahaue finally stated loudly, startling him and nearly everyone else at the table with her fervor. He saw her calculating eyes moving appraisingly over the many humans of Lord Saneyori's retinue, noting how she focused a lazy sneer on the many bodyguards standing at attention along the hall. "Sesshoumaru, my treasure, YOU tell your Father what you have done!"

"Sesshoumaru, what is this power of yours? Show me," Chichiue asked, his handsome face finally softening and filling with intense curiosity as he met his gaze.

At his Father's mild command, he immediately rose to his feet and tread closer to the demon lord, padding under the warm glow of the lanterns. He knelt at Chichiue's side, torn half-way between a child's resentment and blind, adoring worship.

And --- and he wasn't sure what to do next.

As his mother had a scant minute before, he allowed his gaze to drift around the hall, eyes traveling over the faces of the many ningen eagerly awaiting their own audiences.

In that moment, his bitter jealousy and anger instantly won.

"Hahaue and I were patrolling the borders," he began in his most imperious voice. "Even though you asked us not to. And --- and I found out I can do this ---" He held up his right hand as a faint green glow built around his talons. He let his youki spark and writhe until it formed into one thin stream of power. But then he let it die out, the indignity and weight of it all becoming too much to bare.

"I can --- I can do ---" he let his words die like his youki, trailing off with a disappointed sigh. "It does not matter what I can do. I killed another weak, pathetic demon, that is all. And then Hahaue and I looked for some more. But we found nothing. Nothing ---- but more of these worthless humans trying to set up a new settlement on OUR lands!" Now his words were flowing in a torrent, and he found he could not stop them from continuing. "More ningen come to the West everyday, for they --- they will be s-sheltered here and they multiply like filthy rats, knowing they will be cared for and protected like spoiled children!"

At that moment, he felt a building rise of outraged youki radiating out front of him --- but, strangely, it did not originate from Chichiue. The taiyoukai was just sitting before him in shocked silence, his big clawed hands frozen on the table, his usually up-turned mouth now thin and closed as tightly as a trap.

His keen senses prickled again, and he looked past Chichiue's dumb expression of hurt and sadness to focus solely on Hahaue instead. The spike of power he felt had erupted from HER form, and her usually stoic expression was now one of utter bewilderment. And --- and she was crying?! He watched in astonishment as a single tear drifted down the planes of her noble face. Her eyes narrowed when she met his gaze and she quickly reached up to swipe at her damp cheek, destroying the evidence of her deep pain before anyone else could notice.

He glanced away from her and tried to press on quickly with what he needed to say. "Ummm, Chichiue, what I mean is --- Hahaue and I WOULD like some assistance --- but we do not want or need help from these ningen --- why can we never find you any more?"

"Sesshoumaru," Hahaue interrupted in a voice that was flat, dangerous and meant to be instantly obeyed. "Now is NOT the time for such talk."

He raised his stubborn chin in rebellion. He didn't understand why his words were hurting his mother. And he didn't understand why she was getting mad at HIM either, after all, in publicly shaming his father he was only hoping to defend her. Maybe Chichiue didn't realize just how alone and ignored they felt! He glanced back at Hahaue again and thought to give it one more try. "Ahhhh, Chichiue, what I mean to say is --- that --- that is harder for me, your son, to gain your audience than it is for any one of this swarm of whining ningen ANIMALS!" He slammed his fist down on the table, as the humans seated around him jumped and shivered in instant fear. He took no small measure of delight in the fact that princess Agemaki seemed to be the most distraught of all. He fixed her with hard, sullen eyes, hating everything about her. The girl hid her face behind her pretty fan and shrank back submissively. He offered her one last sneer of disgust and then turned away, anxiously awaiting Chichiue's reaction.

But there was none. His Father was still completely stunned --- absolutely speechless and mute. His Mother, apparently, was NOT.

"SESSHOUMARU!Back into the gardens --- NOW!" she hissed icily.

The next snide remark he had been planning to spit out choked in his throat as he watched Hahaue's look of simple anger give way to a one of barely controlled rage. (Which was a shame really, he thought. His next comment would have been a particularly clever and cutting one about the stupid Agemaki's scent and it probably would have sent her fleeing from the hall with big, fat, tears flying in every direction.) His mouth snapped shut though, still not understanding why his Mother was so furious. She SHOULD be grateful to him. His words were putting those greedy, grasping humans back in their places and, more importantly, they were alerting Chichiue to the fact that they felt neglected, ignored --- forgotten.

With another growl, he pushed away from the table as violently as he could, upsetting a few more fine porcelain bowls in the process. Stomping his booted feet dramatically, he followed Hahaue out to the gardens, not really sure of what would happen next.

She walked along the narrow, winding path before him, her head held high. Only when satisfied that they were far enough from the main house, did she turn slowly to watch his approach, her expression still brimming with fury.

But he could also see a measure of sadness there as well. He could smell the distinctive floral scent of her power, as if she was using the Dokkasou to mask her tears. With a clipped gesture, she motioned for him to sit at her feet, her eyes never leaving his face.

He suddenly found he was pressing his white hands to his knees to hide their shaking. He had thought his plan was brilliant, but he had displeased her greatly --- gods, he NEVER displeased her.

"Sesshoumaru," she spoke at long last, and, despite preparing himself for a rebuke, he still jumped at the harshness of her tone.

"Hai, Hahaue," he mumbled under his breath. Gods --- he hadn't heard her sound like this since long ago with the centipedes!

"My son, on this day I am going to teach you another lesson. One I pray you will NEVER forget."

He fidgeted uneasily, wondering if he was actually going to be punished. Maybe Hahaue would insist that Chichiue take Aun away from him! He didn't even want to think about it, especially after all his hard work in taming the dragon! He was suddenly distracted from that very dismal thought by the return of music and laughing voices chiming from within the genkan again.

The festivities, the awful celebration --- everything was continuing as if nothing had ever happened!

Another small growl built in his throat and then he was silenced as Hahaue's white hand snapped forward, catching him by the chin. He swallowed noisily, withering under the piercing glow of her gaze as her slit-pupils bored steadily into his.

But she did not scold or yell next, even though he half expected her to. She merely cleared her throat and began to speak in a low, soothing voice. "Sesshoumaru, please realize that there is not one single moment on any single day that hundreds of creatures, both ningen and youkai alike, do not know where your great Father and I are, or what we are doing. For when we issue a command, all of these creatures rush to obey us. And when we are silent, they ALL tremble and shudder in fear. Our names are caught on the lips and buried in the hearts of all who live in these Western Lands, for our favor means life."

She sighed heavily, released him, and drew her sword from its thin, lacquered sheath. Turning the weapon over and over in her hands idly, she continued with a half-smile. "And our wrath, Sesshoumaru, it brings instant death. We are powerful taiyoukai and we have many powers and strengths. But there is ONE strength that is greater than all others and, surprisingly, it is something that any creature can possess."

"Any creature?" he breathed, completely intrigued.

"ANY creature," she confirmed with a small nod, re-sheathing her curved sword. She took him by the shoulders, and turned him to face her fully. "Any creature, from the mightiest demon to the filthiest human beggar. And this strength is the most powerful weapon of all, and it is something no enemy can ever reach --- well, at least not unless you allow them to."

"What is it, Hahaue? Tell this Sesshoumaru about this strength!" he demanded, suddenly forgetting his fear of punishment. In fact, it looked like he wasn't to be punished at all! He leaned closer and tugged demandingly at her sleeve, eager to learn whatever hidden secret she would impart.

"It is our inner-most thoughts, my son," she murmured, her hand gently tracing the crescent moon on his forehead. "Never utter ANY word without giving it the greatest deliberation. This is something we all must learn and I would rather you learn it now, today, than on a field of battle. I always weigh my decisions carefully before I speak for I know that once I HAVE spoken, each and every one of my words will most likely be repeated all over our lands. So, you must never foolishly display your clever mind, your inner pain, or reveal too many of your bright conclusions in front of anyone --- oh, here," she broke off unexpectedly. Her hands clasped his and she pulled them to her belly allowing him to feel the trembling movement of the baby within.

"You must never so casually reveal your most secret thoughts or allow others to discover what ails your heart," she repeated slowly, stroking his hair as he leaned to press his cheek to her armor, listening to the lulling rhythm of two strong heartbeats.

"But ---" he sputtered, his thoughts flashing out of his meditative peace and back to the many humans in the genkan. "This Sesshoumaru had to say something! T-This is not right!" He pulled away from her stubbornly, stomped away and leaned heavily against the garden wall. "Hahaue, I would have waited until Chichiue was alone, but he is never alone anymore, is he? And that stupid woman. Agemaki --- so --- so disrespectful."

Vaguely, he realized some poison had seeped from his claws during his short outburst. He quickly shifted his position, trying to hide the fact that two basins of acid were burning into the rocks where his hands had rested.

Hahaue sighed in exasperation. "Amaenbou --- spoiled little thing."

But he could feel her underlying gratitude, and knew without a doubt that she was currently trying to disguise her real emotions almost as desperately as he was trying to disguise the damage he had just caused to the garden wall. He knew instinctively that deep inside she was quite touched that he had defended her, but --- but she was right, of course.

He should have found some way to speak to Chichiue ALONE, just as she was advising him now.

Gods --- all of his lessons seemed to come from Hahaue these days. What was wrong with his Father? What was so damn special about these human creatures anyway?

Agemaki!

Who the hell cared that she had the same face and 'adventurous spirit' of her mother!

Adventurous spirit?

One woman who ran straight into the jaws of youkai! And another who insulted his own Mother batted her long eyelashes at Chichiue!

There was nothing adventurous about either of these actions --- they were brainless, rash, and impulsive. And THAT was what they said all the women in their line were like?! It was a wonder they weren't all dead already!

As distasteful as it was, he forced himself to remember the long ago day in the forest with the centipede demons more clearly and that simpering creature's mother, Izayoi, when she had been no more than a mere girl herself. Now that he thought about it, the two women did look strikingly similar. He recalled how Izayoi had groveled at his feet, babbling incoherently.

Now it came as no surprise now why she had clung to his knees so desperate, so relieved!

As the lord Saneyori had said, Hahaue had not only saved her that day, but the unborn Agemaki as well. And then Izayoi had lived on to become the honored matriarch of her pitiful clan, she had aged, she had grown weak and frail, and --- she had died. But, as those long years had flown past, his own mother had remained ever-young and beautiful, and he was still no more than a boy.

Years?Who needed to count years?

Agemaki, with her shy looks that were every bit as fawning as Izayoi's, was a woman now. As her pathetic father had announced in the hall of the shiro, she would soon be traded-off to some other human clan. The girl would wed and have daughters of her own, and then they would have daughters and so on, and so on. What did he care if every one of HER stupid offspring had that same stupid smiling face for all time! That face would never haunt him! He stiffened in anger, his full bottom lip sticking out mutinously ---

Hahaue patted his cheek to snap him out of his brooding, and laughed lightly as he jumped in surprise. "My goodness! Do not scowl so, my treasure!" she chided. "And do not worry about your Mother, she can fight her own battles and take care of herself!"

All at once she grew serious again. "But please, Sesshoumaru, think very hard about what I have explained to you today. Do not EVER speak your true mind, except perhaps to those you take as your most trusted friends. But, I must warn you, in your life there will be very few you CAN take as friends. For if you wish to surpass your Father and I and reach the height of power you were born for, you will be truly alone. There will be no one you can turn to. Except maybe to Inuyasha, of course."

"Inuyasha?"

She rubbed her white hand along the curve of her belly again. "Inuyasha," she repeated with loving grin. "That is the name I will call this one if it is a boy."

"Is it a boy?" he asked eagerly, his mind filling with images of the mock-battles and games, of competition and sport, and all of the other countless adventures a younger brother could provide.

"I am not sure. But your Father seems to think so," she replied. "He chose the name, after all. Do you like it, Sesshou-chan?"

He repeated the name over in his mind and decided he wasn't exactly sure. "It's alright." He proudly pondered his own name for a second too, partial to its dignified and deadly meaning. He shrugged noncommittally. "Inu ---yasha. Doesn't sound very --- noble --- at all."

Hahaue's laughter chimed out. "No, I suppose not. But Chichiue says it will be quite easy for the ningen to remember when they need ---"

The happiness of the moment vanished once more. "All for humans?!" he blurted out heatedly. "Again? We are making it easier for them again? Even with a stupid name?!" His arm shot out, and there was a flash of light as he impulsively decided to unleash the power he had been unwilling to demonstrate for his Father in the great hall. In the next instant, one of the stone cochin in the garden was reduced to a molten pile of sludge.

"Sesshoumaru!What has gotten into you?" Hahaue scolded, throwing her hands in the air as she surveyed the damage.

His Mother caught him quickly, as he tried to flee, just wanting to sulk alone in his quarters. "Yes, humans, Sesshoumaru!" she barked, gripping him tightly by the arm, as he struggled to get away. "Cease these tantrums at once! Have you heard nothing I have said this afternoon? Understand, my son, that before long those words you spoke to your Great Father, though you believe he deserved to hear them, will be repeated over and over throughout the courts of those whining humans! The lords will whisper among themselves. And then their gossip will reach their fragile, little women --- those very same painted birds who flock and preen and try to catch your Father's pretty eyes. Next it will reach the ears of their servants, as they prepare their master's meals, curry their horses, and draw their baths! And so on, and so on!" She knelt to his level, her face beseeching, giving him a moment to absorb all of her patient words.

"And very soon," she murmured, watching the understanding bloom in his young face, "very soon every great sweaty peasant in every great muddy rice-field will know that their Master's heir is unhappy. They will know that so well-born, noble and powerful a youkai lord envies even the poorest farmer for the time and attention of his Father! And THAT, Sesshoumaru, will give them terrible power OVER you!!!"

He fell back with a gasp, and worried his lip with a fang as he watched her, marveling at her simple wisdom. Once again, it seemed so embarrassingly obvious and he wondered now how he could have been so careless. All because of a few pitiful humans --- why ever did he allow such insignificant creatures to drive him to such outbursts?

Hahaue looked away and up into the sky, the sunlight filtering through the heavy ocean clouds casting her in a warm glow. "And the time is fast approaching, my son, when such carelessness can cost us quite dearly. Your Father does not leave us because he has any greater love for these human creatures, no matter what whispers and petty rumors you might hear! The real reason your Father must go is because the humans have been attacked by a terrible demon. It seems Ryukossei has returned to our lands and ---"

"Ryukossei?Who is Ryukossei?" he asked. Ryukossei? A dragon? He eagerly awaited her response, intrigued by the seriousness in her tone.

Hahaue sighed. "He is an ancient demon, a great taiyoukai like us. But he is strong and cruel and far too clever and greedy for his own good! For months now he has been stirring up the trouble, and attacking the lands that border our own. He has been making pledges and forging pacts with these human warlords and daimyos --- just as your Father has! Though unlike the Inu no Taisho, Ryukossei will most likely devour his loyal subjects when he is through with them!" She barely concealed her sardonic laugh. "That monster wants OUR lands for himself and he has been killing our kind since --- long, long before you were born. But your Father and I will put a stop to him this time, though it will not be easy. After all, neither of us have waged war against so powerful a rival."

He found he did not like to hear her voice so full of doubt and, wait, there was some other scrambled memory creeping in --- Ryukossei? Didn't he already know something about that demon --- 

Didn't something happen with him? Something awful?

Enormous red-slitted eyes flashed in his mind. Then an image of bright flames and crooked rows of needle-teeth stained with black blood. What!?

Everything in his mind shifted, months flowing by, scenes and memories snapping and changing all around him ---

It was suddenly night, and he awoke with a start, his eyes blinking sleepily at a strange orange haze coming from beyond his window. Confused, he rose from the comforting warmth of his bed, and moved to look outside, staring not out over the sea as he usually did, but up into the dome of the sky instead. Sweeping his tousled silver hair out of his eyes, he dimly noted that the full moon now hung at its highest point and not a single breeze was stirring from the bay. In fact, he realized, the air was incredibly --- almost unnaturally --- still. He inhaled deeply, surprised to take in the scent of smoke coupled with the scent of --- another --- another demon? He had just begun to ponder over who the intruder might be, when the eerie quiet was suddenly broken by the frantic pounding of running footsteps in the hall.

The door was flung wide and in the next instant, Hahaue had caught him round the chest, knocking him to the ground as the wall he had been leaning against erupted into an explosion of flame. Before he could even regain his breath or comprehend what had just occurred, she was snatching him up to his feet. She dragged him out through a fractured hole in the ruined wall and down the twisting corridors.

"Hahaue!" he choked, squinting through the deadly glare of flames. "What's happening?!"

"The demon --- R-ryukossei!" she panted, shielding him under her armored shoulder as long, burning ceiling beams crashed down around them."Come on!"

He heard an uncharacteristic rattle of steel as she fumbled with her scabbard and he realized her hands were trembling as she drew her sword.

At that moment, his confusion vanished and he felt his first taste of fear. Hahaue was --- shaking. She was frightened. And if his mother was frightened, there had to be good cause. He spun around quickly, suddenly noticing that all along the corridor, the tall, wooden screen doors were inching open, and the very walls of the shiro were creaking in strain. The main house was bowing and cracking, collapsing under the weight of some enormous creature that was clearly hovering above them. His eyes were burning from all the smoldering ash in the air, but he told himself to remain silent and calm for Hahaue's sake.

Together they continued to move through the ruins of their home, each and every footstep careful, quiet and furtive. When they finally reached the once bright reception hall, he stared up in disbelief at what awaited them: the entire ceiling of this part of the shiro was gone, and, beyond, he could see that the high walls and gate of the courtyard were nothing more than scattered, twisted debris. They moved to turn back again, to retrace their path, but the flames had built and now the main corridor was nothing more than a deadly sea of fire. Crossing the great hall was their only option, but that would leave them exposed --- helpless in the open.

They retreated as far as the growing blaze would allow and rested momentarily, pausing in the entry way of the shrine. Staying as close to the floor as possible, they fought to find good, clean air and tried to catch their breaths.

"I had heard so many stories --- but I ---was --- not ready. I have never before felt p-power like that," Hahaue whispered in between a hoarse spell of coughing.

He nodded at her absently, his whole attention focused on a plume of incense that wavered in an odd, sudden draft. A mere second later, the armor and weapons on the walls began to rattle. There was a loud crack, and their horrified eyes became fixed on a ragged split snaking its way through the far wall.

"MOVE!"Hahaue shouted and together they raced back they way they came.

All too quickly, they arrived back at that destruction that was formerly the great hall. His Mother caught his doubtful look as they both stared across the empty expanse stretching before them. "We have no choice," she whispered, ducking behind a split column and motioning for him to do the same. She pushed a few loose tendrils of her sweaty hair back over her shoulder, her nose twitching as she scented the air. Appearing somewhat satisfied with the danger level, she prepared to step out into what was left of the room, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. "Are you ready?"

He nodded, his stomach rolling with nausea, his head reeling from the overpowering smoke.

"Good! We have to find your Father! I am no match for this worm."

An unfamiliar laugh suddenly rang out high above them. "That is correct, my Lady, you are no match for me."

He cried out in alarm as a shifting beast reared up from where it lay hidden in the shadows, the sheer magnitude of its bulk blocking out the sea and stars. In all his life, he had never known such a demon existed --- it even dwarfed Chichiue in his truest form! He found he could not move, even though his senses began to clamor wildly within him, and every demon instinct he possessed screamed that he should flee.

This Ryukossei WAS a great dragon: all claws and armored scales, and a great leering mouth. The creature was grinning down at them, exposing rows upon rows of jagged teeth that glittered like slivers of diamonds, so cold and hard in the fire's light. In the middle of the beast's forehead, he saw there was another face, this one ghostly and cruel, with skin that was a deep, wild blue. Seated deeply within that second face, were two eyes that were fierce and glowing crimson. And somehow, for some reason, THOSE cunning eyes were a thousand times more terrifying than the reptilian eyes of the dragon beneath them.

For one long, frozen moment, this monster glided towards them with a sickening slowness, and he glanced up at his Mother, surprised to find her gaze fixed firmly upon HIM instead of upon the advancing predator. She offered him a small, sad smile and then there was an echoing boom as the last of the wooden rafters above them splintered into pieces. What little remained of the charred ceiling came crashing down upon them, leaving them no choice but to leap forward where there was nowhere left to hide.

When the dust and ash cleared, Hahaue pulled him tightly against her side. "Are you hurt?" she asked quickly, her sword held at the ready, her arm no longer shaking. He shook his head quickly, and together, they advanced forward in a slow march.

Ryukossei beamed at their wariness, their hesitation. He waved a clawed hand in a surprisingly cordial gesture, inviting them closer and then that voice boomed out again, "Trying to sneak away so soon, my lady? Tell me, if you are not up to the challenge of facing me yourself, then where is your great lord husband this night?"

He felt Hahaue's arms tense about his shoulders and then she pushed him behind her forcefully. "You brute --- you should be grateful the Inu no Taisho is not here," she shouted defiantly. "You do not strike me as the type who wishes for a fair challenge!"

"A fair challenge?"Ryukossei questioned in return. His bright coils whipped around to encircle them, cutting of all possible escape routes in the span of an eye blink. "Tell me, will it be a 'fair' challenge when you stand by your husband's side to fight me? Or would it be 'fair' when that little whelp behind you would join in the hunt as well?" The dragon's tongue flicked out to scent the air, all those eyes focused squarely upon HIM, and that strange face smiled with glee. "Yes, there he is! The noble young lord! I have heard much of him. Of how strong he grows with each passing day! My --- how precious he looks! How innocent. How --- tasty. You can run along now, Sesseika, run and live --- but your son is my prey."

"Bastard!" she shrieked, drawing herself up to her full height, her eyes filled with rage. "How dare you! Do you think I will let you touch him?!"

The dragon cut off her words with an echoing laugh. "Then shut your pretty mouth and save your strength for fighting, my lady. You inu-youkai never learn. I knew you would not abandon him, but I was curious all the same."

Ryukossei's monstrous form wound further around them, and all of the dragon's pent up hunger, ambition and anger seemed to break forth in his words like a wave. "After all, I cannot allow YOU to live either, Sesseika," he jeered. "For even if I kill THIS particular pup --- your belly is still swollen and fat with another! You will just keep spawning new enemies for me to stand against, won't you, bitch?"

The beast's grin stretched so wide that it looked like his face might split in two and he continued with his sadistic taunts. "It is a shame that you can not transform, isn't it, my dear? After all, you won't make a mouthful for me as you are now! Besides, it might have been interesting to learn the feeble extent of your powers!"

Ryukkosseisnapped forward so quickly that they almost couldn't register the motion, and the monster's hot, stinking breath whistled past their stunned faces. "Ohhhhh," he hissed down upon them in mock pity. "But how can you transform, Lady Sesseika, without killing the unborn pup within you and trampling that other one under foot?" He reared back into the sky, laughing wildly at his own humor.

Hahaue began to growl. "When I tell you, Sesshoumaru, I want you to run," she grated, trying to keep her lips from moving too much.

He stared back up at his Mother in shock, hardly believing that she would dare to suggest such a thing. "No," he bit out vehemently. "Never!"

High above them, Ryukossei called down, "Very good, boy, it seems you are not so pitiful as you look." Smiling at the pair's obvious surprise that he had been able to make out every word of their brief exchange, he added, "Yes, fools, I can hear your fearful whispers. I know your pathetic thoughts. And I can assure you, Sesseika, that if that scrawny pup were to obey your command and take one single step from the 'safety' of your side, that move would be his last."

"Coward!" she shrieked.

The dragon's creeping, seemingly shapeless coils flowed ever closer and he nudged his Mother's elbow gently, closing his eyes as he tried to reign in both his outrage and building fear. "Please go, Hahaue," he whispered, suddenly finding a strange sort of pleasure in the knowledge that Ryukossei could hear him. Though a cold sweat was drenching his night clothes and running down his bare chest, he would not cringe before this ugly beast. He would not run. "You can --- f-find Chichiue. Chichiue can save us from this foul thing!" He stood motionless and looked up at the demon defiantly, and waited ---

With a sudden sweep of his tail, Ryukossei sent him sprawling for his insolence. He flew backward and skidded across the broken slabs of the floor, stunned. There was a steady stream of blood trickling from his nose and he blinked in disbelief as those two set of evil eyes bored into him as if they could set him on fire with their gaze.

"I SAID YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH MY SON!" Hahaue screamed, racing towards the dragon. "Sesshoumaru!" she called over her shoulder. "Listen to me now --- Get up! RUN, LIVE!!!" She was bounding in great leaps, her long tail billowing out behind her, her curved sword flashing ---

But Ryukossei only chuckled deeply at his enemy's words and actions. His vast bulk shifted with blinding speed, and Hahaue's charge came to an abrupt halt as she ran straight into a wall of diamond-hard scales. She fell to the floor with a feeble groan.

"Tsk, tsk. Are you always this pathetically slow, my lady?" Ryukossei inquired without pity. "Or perhaps it is all the strain of carrying a little one?" The dragon's great talons shot out and he captured his two dazed opponents easily, dragging them unceremoniously into the air. Clutching his helpless prisoners in his powerful hands, he lumbered down towards the beach below.

For a few long minutes, Ryukossei seemed content just to hold them, forcing them to watch as he directed furious waves of flame at what remained of the shiro. Only when the raging fires spread to the surrounding forests, did he seem to grow tired of his sport, and at last, he spoke, "Sesseika, my lady, can you guess what I am doing right now?"

"I can not even begin to imagine, you disgusting snake!" she seethed, snarling and struggling to free herself from the creature's iron grip.

"I am granting you one last chance to look over these lands you hold so dear," Ryukossei replied pleasantly, ignoring her curses and thrashing. "Your time has come to an end. The death I bring is swift and certain. So, before I devour you and your son, I will remove your heads from your bodies and leave them here for your dear Inu no Taisho to find. For when he returns --- if he returns --- I wish for him to know what it means to defy me."

Hahaue twisted in the dragon's grasp and tried to spit at his painted face.

The great demon's lips twitched in a bored sneer, and he merely watched as the spittle evaporated against the burning heat of his scales. There was a rush of energy and wind as the dragon prepared to spray a final volley of flame at them ---

Trapped in the monster's stinking palm and fighting just as desperately as his Mother, he was suddenly blinded by a searing flash of green light and, in the next instant, both Ryukossei and Hahaue were crying out in pain. The dragon's talons unexpectedly opened, and, in the next instant, they were all plunging back to the ground.

He hit the wet sand and rolled, temporarily stunned again, his dizzy mind trying to sort out just how the hell they had managed to escape those dreadful claws. Hahaue seemed to be wasting no time with such thoughts, and was scrambling to her feet and rushing to his side again. "Hashire! Run!" she shrieked. "The cliffs!" They began another desperate sprint and he turned in surprise as she suddenly staggered and fell.

Her movements were so strained, so uncoordinated, and only now did he realize that she was covered in blood, her skin pierced with her own poison darts. He glanced up, belatedly noticing that Ryukossei's clenching yellow talons were also coated with a fine line of quills. So, that was how they had escaped that crushing grasp. Hahaue had released her poison, but with her hands held fast at her sides and with no room to hurl her own youki, the darts had been buried in her own skin as well. He reached out to support her, marveling at her force of will, wishing she would just run --- and leave him to his fate.

But there was no time to argue or plead. They were still surrounded. There was no where to go, and now, assailing his sensitive ears and adding to his agony, were the deafening sounds of the dragon's furious roars. He could barely even think as Ryukossei continued to writhe in pain, his slippery coils eddying and swirling all about them. An opening suddenly appeared, and he wheeled Hahaue around and charged towards it. But his mother realized his intentions instantly, and wrestled away, using all of her strength to push him through the breach instead, even as he yelled and fought her in protest.

"I will not leave!" he shouted, turning and lashing out at the flailing dragon with his own power. He watched with satisfaction as his acid ate away some the youkai's brilliant scales. "I will not leave you!"

"What did I say --- amaenbou! You will do as I TELL you!" Hahaue shouted back firmly, dodging to avoid a vicious swipe from Ryukossei's claws and launching another volley of poison quills into the air.

The dragon's massive tail smashed down again, forming a wall between them and he lost sight of her for a brief second. When he found her again, she was nimbly racing along the monster's rolling body, swinging her sword in a glittering arc. With a shriek of triumph, she brought the blade down, burying the weapon deep in Ryukossei's foul heart. The creature's four eyes blinked in dumb surprise and wonder as he gaped from her, to the ridiculously puny sword sticking out of his armored chest, and then back again. He spit one last blast of flame into the sky, heaved one last violent shudder and then crashed back into the cliff side.

"Sesshoumaru!Look out!" Hahaue shouted, jumping out of the way as the black rock of the sea wall rained down upon them.

Several long minutes later, when the destruction was over and the world had stopped shaking, they pulled themselves from the strewn debris, their faces black with grime. "Kono uneuneshi mimizu me!! Ryukossei is finished!" Mother's voice was hoarse with emotion, but clear and strong, even over the loud noise of the flames and sporadic shattering of a few last tumbling boulders.

At her confident words, he staggered weakly towards her. "Is it dead? Is it really dead?" he asked, eying the fallen creature dubiously.

Hahaue didn't reply at first and just paced in an aimless line, rubbing at her swollen belly and humming softly to herself --- or to the baby, or maybe even to him. He couldn't really tell. "Hai," she finally answered solemnly.

For some reason, he was not satisfied, and he approached the dead dragon slowly, snapping his wrist forward one last time. His power cut deep into the creature's scales, and he watched in nervous anticipation, alert for any signs of movement.

There was none.

He let out a shaky, exhausted breath and sank down in the sand, hugging his knees to his chest to stop their shaking.

After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the soft rustle of silk and he lifted his head to watch his mother as she moved to retrieve her heirloom sword. She leapt agilely back up that huge lifeless body, and bracing her booted foot against Ryukossei's tough hide, tugged back savagely to free her bloody weapon from his heart. Gods --- Hahaue was incredible, his mind clamored excitedly. To have killed this unbeatable monster who was threatening their lands and lives!

Such honor and bravery!

And he had aided her! He alone had stood boldly at her side!

He felt almost giddy with relief and self-satisfaction. Legends of this deed and her vast power would be whispered among all great demons for hundreds of years to come! He flopped onto his back in the sand, staring up at the stars with a wide grin.

When he finally looked up again, it was simply to search Hahaue's stern, noble face. He just wanted to watch her now; he just wanted to memorize everything about her in that very moment.

The sight that greeted him, however, caused his blood to freeze like ice in his veins and he wished he had only risen just one second earlier ---

He was desperate to block out this new nightmare world. Beyond his Mother's form he could see Ryukossei's deep wound was gone, and that his snakelike head was slowly rising. And right now, the folds of that pale, glittering throat were expanding as it prepared to spew another blast of molten fire.

He screamed in warning --- but his cry was too late.

Hahaue tried to react, tried to throw herself from the center of that white jet of flame, but it ripped through her side, instantly melting through her armor, flesh and bone.And he could do nothing at all.

He could not look away.

He could not shut out the sounds of her agony.

He could not even slow his rapid breathing, nor calm the racing of his heart, no matter how valiantly he tried.

The streaming firestorm faded, and Hahaue stood in numb disbelief, her fingers trembling as she hesitantly touched her wounds. Her sword was gone, as was most of the arm that wielded it. As soon as she became aware of that fact, it seemed that all that was left of her courage and will faltered, and she paled.

He slid to her side just as her knees buckled and she collapsed. Groaning under her limp weight, he tried to drag her away. The only places left to hide were among the boulders that had fallen when the dragon had smashed into the cliffs. With no other option, he pulled her behind one of those, shielding her stunned face with his hand as Ryukossei's fire sizzled towards them again. When the blinding light and heat had passed, he opened his watering eyes and stared in renewed horror at a ragged tear in her chest. He tried to ignore the sickening smell of charred flesh and the way the edges of her wounds were still smoldering. He tried to ignore that oozing stump where her strong arm had been and the way he could hear a rattle of air escaping her lungs each and every time she sucked in a slow breath. Most of all, he tried to ignore the fact that her heart's rhythm was so slow it was nearly inaudible, and that the quick fluttering sound of the baby's heart was already gone.

"Tada no yume da kitto yume da.Only a dream," he murmured aloud.

With a snarl, Ryukossei had knocked away their makeshift shield and stared down upon them in wicked delight. Hahaue lifted her tired, golden eyes to the dragon's and they merely looked at one another for a long moment, facing each other in a deadly vicious silence.

"This is your last chance to run, my Lady," Ryukossei mocked. "While you still have two legs to carry you that is ---"

He was just a child, no match for this creature at all, but, at those cruel words, he choked in a frenzy of rage and rose to defend his mother. But the woman was already gone. He looked up in surprise as a second shadowy figure now towered above him --- that of a massive white dog.

"I was waiting for this," Ryukossei snarled, taking in his foe's altered form with a perverse sort of admiration. "Perhaps now I will have a 'real' fight on my hands." Hahaue's long fangs ground together, and she howled in fury. She tried to attack one last time, shuffling clumsily on her remaining paws. But the dragon simply wheeled directly towards her maimed foreleg. She struggled to turn out of the way, simply trying to protect her gravest injury, and stumbled, falling heavily unto her side.

In the next instant, dripping jaws closed about her vulnerable throat, and her feral growls became smothered whines. Then there was the sick, wet snap of bone and then the triumphant dragon dragged her limp body the length of the beach, as blood poured from the deep gashes in her neck and breast to stain the white sand. Only when the beast was satisfied that his prey was no longer any threat, did he finally release his hold to vanish into the sky, lost among the dust and stench that rose from the clouds of flame and smoke.

He raced towards his Mother, staring mutely at the awful spectacle. Her blood soaked the ground, flooding into gruesome little pools or covering the span of the dunes in long, gory spurts. On the cliffs above, the shiro was nothing more than splinters. The land was burning as far as his aching eyes could see. But --- but --- through all the chaos he swore he could hear her voice. Hahaue was somehow still alive and she called out to him faintly, still begging for him to flee.

Through the haze he finally found her, and though her body was fighting to mend itself, it seemed her strength and youki were fading faster than she could heal. She had reverted to her customary form --- a beautiful, elegant woman lying broken in the dirt, the gritty, wet sand clinging to her shredded silk garments and melted armor. Sweat and blood were running down her torn throat, and her lovely face was streaked with ash. Yet still, she raised her fist and waved it at him in annoyance. "I t-thought I told you to run away, spoiled boy," she wheezed, her voice rough and unfamiliar with strain. She stared at him for one more moment of contrived anger before attempting to smile.

He collapsed to the ground and cradled her against his chest, arranging the fluffy weight of the white fur over her shivering shoulders. "Hahaue, shinanaide! Shikkari shite! Stay with me! Hold on!!" he choked, not even recognizing his own weak voice.

Her burned hand reached up and she gently touched the crimson stripes on his cheek. "It will be alright," she murmured. "In the hundreds of years it took for this Sesseika to rise to power and to rule, the love I had for your Father --- and all that time I struggled to hold on to what was mine --- in the end, I learned there was nothing. Nothing but you. And I am very proud of you."

His eyes were full of tears and he buried his head against the warm pelt surrounding her shoulders. "You should not speak," he scolded, catching her hand and squeezing her long fingers tightly. "Chichiue will be here soon. This Sesshoumaru knows it."

"It is too late," she answered practically. "I am not afraid of going to that other world." She pulled her hand free from his and pressed it against the curve of her belly. "I will not be lonely, you know. And --- for a true demon there is no better death than this. It is far better that my days be ended in battle --- but --- please --- I just need to know that you will live." Something above her seemed to catch her glazed eyes, and her white face became full of horror and fear. "Iya, onegai --- noooo," she moaned into the sky. "Too late." Her body trembled one last time, and then she was gone. He craned his neck, turning his head up to see what he caught her final gaze. Seeking to find what had stolen her last words from him --- 

Almost before he knew what was happening, there was another rush and Ryukossei was upon him, the sheer weight of the wind plowing him down and churning him into the cold sand. Somehow, he managed to break free from the force, scrambling on his belly. Pulling himself to his feet, he stared up at the grinning monster and could not keep silent for all he saw were its claws wet and dripping with Hahaue's blood. With a feral scream he charged, sending every ounce of his power into his attack. The band of green acid slashed forward, winding itself around the dragon's already damaged talons.

"Well, well, for one so damn small --- you can sting a bit," Ryukossei bit out with a callous chuckle as he inspected his burned claws. "I can only imagine what a nuisance you would have grown to become if I were to allow you to live." The beast sighed in mock-disappointment. "You certainly would have provided more of a challenge than your mother. But then we'll never really know --- will we?"

With that taunt, that cruel dishonor, he felt his youki flare about him. Something in his will was causing his claws to lengthen and his jaw felt far too tight. His skin suddenly felt painfully small for his frame and his heart burned with single-minded desire to rip this creature into unrecognizable pieces with great, bloody savagery. There was stretching and ripping, and he felt as if he were being pulled in a thousand different directions at once, and then --- just as unexpectedly as it started --- it stopped.

There was nothing, no energy left to draw upon.

He collapsed back to the soft sand, utterly exhausted, as the cool ocean waves licked at his feet. He gasped in pain. There was nothing. Nothing but one humiliating realization --- his power was not enough.

He felt the dull, rumbling stomp of massive footsteps and weakly rolled onto his back to find the dragon looming over his prone form, both pairs of its eyes alive with glee. "So you seek to threaten me?" Ryukossei snarled. "You are in not any position to do so, pup! Not even old enough to assume your true form! How sad! Your reckless courage has only hastened your own death."

He tried to growl out a suitable curse, but he didn't even seem to have the power to form coherent words. An instant later, he found it didn't matter anyway for he was being dragged across the ground and into the air. Sputtering and coughing, his mouth filled with salt and sand, he fought weakly, and having no other weapons, he bit down with his teeth and clawed with his hands. His poison ran freely, and the whip of light and acid snapped at anything it could reach, growing fainter with each strike ---

Without really aiming, the line suddenly struck the dragon's snout and he heard a pained snort. He looked up in surprise, and laughed madly at the bright weal stretching across the beast's muzzle.

Ryukossei's sharp claws pierced his flesh in instant retaliation. He tried to wrench away, but those barbed claws only sunk deeper, impaling him and holding him immobile.

"Mou sonna ni okaachama ni aitaku natta no ka ne? Missing your mama already, little boy? Have no fear --- remember, she's not alone in that other world. She died with her child. Let's honor them together, shall we?"

The dragon tightened its grip until he was sure his lungs would burst and it lumbered to stand over Hahaue's corpse. "Should we have a little pyre??" Ryukossei asked in a sickeningly sweet and sympathetic voice. There was a sudden rush of flame, and he screamed as the dragon's fire devoured her fallen body. The flesh peeled back and raged into red coals scattered by the wind, as if she never existed ---

"This Sess --- I will kill you," he sobbed, still finding he could barely control his own voice.

But Ryukkossei only smiled broadly and with a snap of his wrist the dragon had dashed him hard against the sea-cliffs, silencing him again.

"Hush, little one," came that high, cold voice again. "I am thoroughly bored with you and --- and I am quite hungry now. Time for you to join the rest of your family, onii-chan!"

Ryukossei's claws shifted once more, he heard something tear, and the pain was so intense he realized he would have pleaded for death, if only he could remember how to speak at all anymore. There was another tear and, though he could not speak, he suddenly found he could scream. In the agony of his dying, he continued those screams, and, though he hated the sound of his own failure and despair ringing in his ears, he found he was unable to silence himself. Blessedly, his humiliating cries were suddenly strangled as a choking rush of his own blood filled his mouth. His body convulsed in shock and Ryukossei suddenly threw him aloft, laughing maniacally at the shame and suffering that must have been etched so deeply on his face.

So, HIS death would be nothing more than a cheap game for this creature too, he mused.

But he was past caring anymore. He was only grateful he could see the heavens again. For a seemingly endless moment, he was floating and he saw that the dark sky was still strewn with its lovely silver stars, the perfect, shining moon ---

And something else too.

Something was streaking across the sky. Something ghostly white and huge and --- and --- he thought he heard Chichiue crying out his name but he could not focus anymore ---

He was only vaguely aware that he was tumbling down towards the earth again and could sense his own soul leaving his broken body to sink off into some deeper, wider emptiness. He welcomed that awful feeling, closing his eyes as Ryukossei's cruel, yawning jaws snapped up to devour him ---

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sesshoumaru knew in that instant that he was merely reliving the old nightmare again. For some strange reason however, he felt quite unwillingly to open his eyes, even though something in the deepest recesses in his mind warned him it was desperate that he do so --- NOW. Yet despite all the prickling in his subconscious, he chose to linger in his dreams, his only wish to drift back into sleep once more. Wrapped securely in the fur of his tail, he growled in protest and allowed the welcome warmth of the afternoon sun to play on his upturned face.

The sun?

And wait --- he wasn't really comfortable and warm. He was cold. Damn cold!

Why the hell was he cold?!

With another growl of protest, he bundled the soft, thick pile of white fur firmly under his chin and rolled onto his side only to scream out in very UNIMAGINED agony this time. His golden eyes finally flew open and he stared down in shock at his bloodied left arm. The reality of his situation and the events of the past few hours came crashing down around him and he felt a wave of revulsion as intense as the stuff of his recent nightmare.

Just how long had he been lying here? How long had he been combating that miko's purification? His thoughts were lost in a sudden, mad scatter as he speculated upon the wasted hours that must have flown by as he lay in that senseless stupor.

He reached up, fist closing around the arrow protruding from his shoulder. Within seconds, it had dissolved into nothing. He swayed to his feet and quickly took back to the sky, cradling his injured arm to his chest. So, that was a miko's true power, he mused. That was what it was like to be sealed. For a brief instant, he found himself wondering what horrors Inuyasha had dreamt about all those years he remained pinned to the Goshinboko.

And --- and just how great a role had he played in his half-brother's most desperate visions?

But he couldn't think of these things now. His only wish was to return to the west as quickly as possible and discover whatever had become of Rin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Too numb to really think, Rin had simply let Aun carry them back into the west, and now, after countless hours of flight, she called an end to the day's travels before either she or the exhausted Jaken could fall from the dragon's saddle. They touched down on some craggy cliffs and wordlessly set up a hasty camp. Crouching on her knees and staring off into the distance, she was suddenly surprised as her normally gruff youkai companion threw a soft blanket over her shoulders.

"Jaken-sama," she whispered gratefully, wrapping the blanket more snugly about her. "It's alright. You can go back to our Master now. I don't want you to get into any trouble."

"Why do you think I'm here in the first place?" he snapped in irritation. "This Jaken would be in a lot MORE trouble if anything were to happen to you."

"That's debatable," Rin snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You still have time, you know."

To her surprise, the toad just patted her hand. "Just this once, this Jaken will not argue with you. Try to sleep. I've never claimed to know what is going on in his great mind, and I do not really know what just happened back there, but he --- he does favor you. Sesshoumaru-sama has changed --- so much --- perhaps more can be expected. All things ---"

"All things in time?" Rin finished for him. "Totosai said the same thing to me once --- but can time change him?" she asked longingly, digging her toes into the rough gravel of the slope. "More likely it will change me first, just as the Miko said." The girl fell into a wistful silence and quickly scanned the eastern sky.

All those lonely miles they had covered and --- and Sesshoumaru-sama had not followed them.

She wasn't sure what that fact alone even indicated. And she couldn't decide how to really react to it either, whether she should be grateful, or seething in anger, or weeping with self-pity. The girl buried her face in her small hands. She felt as timid and unsure as a helpless fawn at the edge of an open meadow and --- and she hated herself for it.

"We should sleep. It's a long journey back to the shiro," Jaken stated, a bit more forceful with his tone this time.

"The shiro?" Rin echoed blankly.

"Well, err --- that IS where we're going right?" he asked worriedly, watching as deep shivers wracked her frame.

Rin rose, and moved to huddle in the crook of Aun's massive forelegs. She snuggled tightly against one of his necks for warmth and petted him gently, finding that the action was as soothing and comforting to her as much as it probably was to the dragon. "I suppose," she answered. "I haven't really been thinking about where we're going. Maybe Totosai would know ---"

"Totosai?!" Jaken screeched, flailing his arms wildly. "We are NOT getting that disrespectful, old lunatic tangled up in this anymore! I am escorting you back to the shiro! I don't know why Sesshoumaru-sama hasn't stormed into this camp already --- but he'll be here soon. Mark my words!" He scowled at the dark circles under the girl's eyes, and then gestured at her torn, filthy robe and the dusty rock-face on which they were perched. "Is this the way you want Sesshoumaru-sama to find you again? Hiding in the ash and soot? Let's go home, jo-chan."

Rin's jaw dropped open as some strange dawning of awareness and self-discovery flooded into her. "You're right, Jaken-sama," she answered quickly, her eyes lighting with a strange inner fire, as she scrambled awkwardly back to her feet. "I have to speak with him! I think --- I think I'm entitled to a full explanation!"

Jaken dropped the Nintojou with a squawk. "An explanation? Rin, are you mad? Ask Sesshoumaru-sama for an explanation?! That's not what I'm saying!? I just think we should go home and put this all behind us! Pretend it never happened!" At all the noise and commotion, Aun's sleepy eyes blinked open and he raised both heads in concern, whining mournfully in response to the building tension in their make-shift camp.

"Pretend it never happened?" Rin choked. "You mean let this go? I can't! Not this time!" She spun on her heel and paced as frantically as her sprained ankle would allow. She gave that up rather quickly though --- quick motion, she discovered, much like the very act of quick thinking, just hurt too damn much at this particular moment.

"Do you want to wind up dead?" Jaken stammered, watching the girl as she stared off blankly into space. He turned his back on her, dismissing her crazy words as a simple by-product of her grief. But the little human would come to her senses soon --- she always did! "Ask Sesshoumaru-sama for an explanation --- really! I don't think that's such a great idea! Toroi --- even you aren't that dumb!!" he chuckled.

"Sesshoumaru won't hurt me," she retorted, ignoring his insult. In truth, she did not really feel great confidence in her own statement, but she pressed on. "Besides, I don't fear death anyway." Her fingers traced over a few of her scars and she smiled ruefully. "I've already experienced about one of the worst you can imagine!"

Jaken shuddered once in hearty agreement, and then tried to ignore her again, hoping the raving girl would fall into sleep.

But Rin would not settle down. "I was SO stupid," she whispered aloud, slipping back into the past. During those first few days back in Sesshoumaru's care, there had been a several tense, accusing moments when she could have pressed him further, or could have renegotiated a new understanding for how she expected to be treated.

There had been moments when she could have demanded some clarification of what her true role in his life would be ---

Last time, she had been so happy to return to her Master that she had never really challenged him for throwing her away in the first place. For choosing her fate without a single thought for her wishes or decisions. "I was so, so happy just to get my old life back that I never really held him accountable for hurting me," she added a moment later with a sad laugh.

Try as he might, Jaken couldn't ignore her anymore.

"Hold h-him accountable!?"

The toad's knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground, wondering if he had really heard her correctly. "Rin --- kurutteru no ka?! Are you crazy?!" he screeched, overlarge eyes shifting back and forth in panic. "Oh no! It's too late! You HAVE spent too much time with Totosai --- you're as insane as he is now!"

The little youkai suddenly ended his building tirade with a muffled yelp. He stiffened and whirled around, racing to the cliff-side to peer down into the edges of the woods far below.

"What is it?!" Rin breathed, instantly recognizing that he was deeply afraid.

She hobbled over to join him at the ledge. Not a noise could be heard in the snowy forest stretching before them. Everything was deathly still and eerily silent in that most dreadful manner that experience had taught her meant only a demon, and not a natural predator, was stalking close at hand. Her eyes were panicked as they searched over the dark pine boughs as she half expected to them to meet with two pinpricks of golden light staring back ominously from the shadows. "He's near, isn't he? Sesshoumaru-sama is coming?"

"My senses aren't like our Master's, you know," Jaken answered haltingly, squinting and scanning over the wintry landscape. "But something is definitely watching us."

Rin's head swung up in alarm at those words, and she swallowed, too confused and numb to speak for nearly a full minute. Jaken's next words didn't make it any easier for her either ---

"Whatever it is --- it has great power and it's been wounded." The toad banged his head against the worn shaft of the Nintojou fretfully, his mind lost in imagining what terrifying new forms of torment and persecution Sesshoumaru-sama held in store for him.

"Wounded, you say?" Rin asked hesitantly, clutching her naginata tightly in her hands as a cold fear touched her heart.  

But Jaken was no longer listening to her, choosing instead to mumble neurotically to himself. "Perfect --- if it IS Sesshoumaru-sama, if he IS wounded, he'll be in a wicked temper! This Jaken had better prepare his most sincere and humble apology. Sesshoumaru-sama, Lord of the Western Earth, Skies, and Seas --- no, err, My Most Exalted Master, Ruler of All He Surveys, No!" His most wishful and desperate thoughts began to bleed into his chosen titles. "Oh, My Gracious Prince Who is Nobly Striving to Improve His Patience and Mercy In Dealing With Ungrateful, Useless Followers ---" He broke off with a pathetic whimper and rubbed his head, already envisioning it being crushed by a booted heel as Sesshoumaru-sama simply walked over him, flattening him where he stood..

Rin released the breath she had been holding and turned so abruptly that even Aun started in panic. "Oh, stop that whining, Jaken-sama!" she seethed. She picked the still babbling toad up by his collar and hefted him unto the dragon's back as if he were a sack of rice, ignoring all of his shrill protests.

She needed to get home and quickly.

Though most certainly not his intention, Jaken's words had awoken something in her blood. A wave of embarrassment washed over her as she DID vividly recall the first time she had seen Sesshoumaru after being sent away, of how she had cowered in the dirt on the floor of Totosai's forge. If that mysterious creature Jaken was sensing truly WAS her Master, she suddenly realized she had no wish to be found cringing in the dark again, just lying here helpless, awaiting his decisions and command. She pulled herself back into Aun's saddle with little difficulty despite her painfully throbbing ankle, and wrestled the reins back from her still cursing youkai companion. Clicking her tongue and jabbing with her uninjured leg, she guided the dragon back into the night wind, hurrying straight towards to the Western Lands.

Unnoticed and far below the girl, a dark figure emerged from the tree-line. Following her path through the sky with a longing gaze, it leapt through the trees in careful, patient pursuit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The freezing rain came down in great glassy sheets and a heavy cloak of snow shrouded the garden, adorning the bare tree branches and trimming the high compound walls. The ornamental pond was covered with a thick skin of ice and the great rocks and stone cochin were blanketed under piles of white.

Side by side, Rin and Jaken walked through the imposing iron gates of the shiro, making their way slowly, steadily through the courtyard. Trembling from head to heels from the vicious cold and the exhausting pace of their flight, they finally stumbled into the great house. Too weak and exhausted to move, their joints stiff from the cold, they collapsed together on the floor of the entry way and slept.

Rin finally awoke hours later, feeling just as hollow and dead inside as she had when her eyes had drifted closed. Mechanically, she dragged herself back to her feet and gently nudged the small youkai snoring beside her. Her mouth was disgustingly dry, and so she made her way straight to the kitchens, with the yawning Jaken tripping closely at her heels.

She prepared a small, hurried meal for them to share and then ate without tasting, chewing her food slowly, as her hands glided over the old wounds on her throat. A sudden, pressing question popped into her mind and she drew back her still damp hair, exposing the complex web of shiny scars. "So --- this --- this mark means nothing, eh, Jaken-sama?" she asked quietly.

Jaken fidgeted nervously, clearly very embarrassed. With a sidelong glance and a sigh, he stared at her blemished flesh, focusing on one wound in particular. "Well --- s-sometimes --- a mark like that means nothing."

Rin let out an exasperated huff and slammed her hand down on the table's surface. "I'm SO sick of half-truths! I'm so sick of silence and brooding! I'm so sick of walking around like the earth is about to be ripped out from under me at any moment! Can someone give me a straight answer --- for once!?!"

Jaken pursed his lips at her shrill, sudden outburst and tapped his blunt claws together in an annoying tempo, not knowing where to begin.

"Well, sometimes a mark like that means nothing," he muttered haltingly, shifting to stare up as if deeply interested in the construction of the high ceiling. "But to the woman he'd share his life with --- to the woman he'd stay with --- of course, to her it would mean something --- but then again ---"

"I don't get it!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I'm NOT a demon, as you all love to remind me! Speak plainly!"

Jaken snapped back to attention and quailed under the furious gleam in her over-bright eyes. "Well, you have to try to understand, marks like that don't remain on demon woman --- it's more of a scent really! And he's been with lots of women so ---"

"How many women?" Rin blurted out, unable to help herself or contain the sudden storm of envy that crashed over her heart.

"I don't know!"

"I thought that was your job as 'minister' of his mighty 'empire' --- to keep track of all his conquests?!" she spat out derisively.

"I don't keep count of those kinds of conquests!" Jaken stammered. "I don't think he does either --- besides I'm sure he'd have lost track by now ---"

"Disgusting," Rin muttered, her cheeks flushing crimson in her jealously and humiliation. She quickly released her dark hair and allowed it to fall free, covering her throat and that awful mark once more. Gods --- the miko was right. It WAS only a sign of possession, not a symbol of enduring love.

Everything felt so different.

Even now she could hear his words in the clearing, telling her beyond a doubt that though he had chosen to offer her his companionship and his body, he still did not deem her worthy enough to deserve his respect or his heart. But, she realized, her final fate wasn't decided. Not yet anyway. Not until she had something to say about it.

Without another word, she pushed away from the table and marched slowly from the kitchens, leaving her pottery bowls on the table in a great cluttered heap. She dropped her sodden outer clothes absently in the halls as she passed.

Jaken trotted at Rin's heels again. Even though she walked with a pronounced limp, he could barely able to keep up with her surprisingly quick strides. His initial relief at finding himself home was fast disappearing, and he now stumbled in her wake, trying to tidy up her mess as he went, staring up at the girl in mounting concern.

Within moments, Rin had reached the door to Sesshoumaru's great room. What did this all mean? she chanted over and over again, her mind still too uncooperative and numb to supply a decent answer. Just as it had been when she first returned to the shiro, in that clearing she had been too devastated to ask the taiyoukai for the full truth. For the hundredth time she had squandered a perfect opportunity to discover his intentions!

So --- what would become of her now?

What was it that he expected from her?

She touched the door-frame with a timid hand. "You let yourself be deceived by your own pitiful fantasies and dreams. You accepted his 'apology' for abandoning you without even realizing he NEVER really offered one," she half-laughed aloud, shaking her head in shame. "You are so stupid."

"Huh? What did you say?" Jaken asked behind her, his fear increasing by the second.

Rin ignored the old toad, choosing to continue with her musings in silence now. In light of her changed relationship with Sesshoumaru-sama, in light of the unexpected joy of being taken to his bed, she had just let things continue as they always had. She had been too blinded with silly notions and bashful, girlish longing --- she stared around the demon's room with a heavy scowl --- too blinded with awful, meaningless presents!

In a sudden flurry of excess energy, her tiny feet carried her to his large mono-oki. The girl yanked out a voluminous kimono, relieving some of her frustrations by crushing and wringing the pliant fabric in her hands. With some satisfaction, she noted that it was one of the billowing outer layers of uchiki she had worn on the night they had first made love. She flung the pretty gown onto the floor with a small noise of disgust, kicking and stomping at it until it was spread wide. She then proceeded to collect the rest of her new belongings, and deposited them onto the delicate creases of the robe, muttering angrily to herself all the while. When everything was somewhat organized into a large pile, she folded the corners of the uchiki over one another, forming a large makeshift sack. She wiped the sheen of sweat from her furrowed brow and slowly, defiantly began to drag her possessions back down the wide corridors, moving steadily towards HER old room.

Jaken stared in slack-jawed amazement as she struggled past. "What the hell are you doing?!" he squeaked, stooping low to pick up some items that had fallen from her pack along the way.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she snapped back. The youkai hunched his shoulders at her icy tone, eerily reminded of the night his master had rifled through her belongings in much the same manner. Rin caught his frightened look and instantly regretted her outburst. "Jaken-sama," she whispered, staring blankly towards the end of the long hallway. "I plan to return to my old room --- a-and I need to ask you a small favor ---"

"You're not going to ask me to burn that? Are you? After all, that's what HE did the first time," Jaken mumbled fretfully. He tried to hide the Nintojou behind his back, with very little success.

"No," Rin answered sadly, suddenly reminded of all she had lost. Gods --- it was just another thing she had dismissed from her mind! In her excitement to be back in her Master's favor, she had also neglected to mourn all those simple treasures HE had so thoughtlessly destroyed! All of those herbs and seeds and flowers and pretty seashells she had collected over the years! Even that first dainty little orange kimono he had ever provided for her! Everything she had prized, gone in an instant --- taken away callously all in one fit of HIS sour temper!

She turned away from Jaken, trying to conceal the building resentment in her eyes, not wanting the little youkai to think any of her ire rested with him. After all, Jaken may have claimed to have accompanied her strictly for her Master's sake, but deep down she suspected there was another force behind his actions. Something that the toad would never, ever admit to feeling for her even if Sesshoumaru was threatening him with Toukijin ---

Friendship.

Rin knelt down to his level. "Last night, Jaken-sama, you said something was following us. Well, if it was Sesshoumaru-sama, then HE knows where we are." She suddenly found it difficult to swallow. "He'll be here soon --- and I don't think YOU should be around when he arrives."

Jaken's face paled from a deep moss to a distinctly lighter shade of green. "W-what the hell are you planning to do?" he choked. "You're not still thinking like you were last night?"

Rin rose back to her full height, shrugged her shoulders and then resumed her slow march down the airy corridor, dragging the heavy bundle of gifts behind her. She suddenly noticed the bag was becoming increasingly harder to tow and she turned around in annoyance, not at all surprised to find that Jaken was tugging in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Cut it out, Jaken-sama! Yamete!" The girl wound the edges of the uchiki around her fists, pulling the small youkai off balance and dragging him across the floor. "Let go!" she yelled.

"No! NO!" the youkai hissed back. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do, and, believe me, I've seen you do a lot of stupid things ---"

With an exasperated sigh, Rin limped back around the pile. "I'm warning you, LET GO, Jaken-sama!" she threatened, pinching at his warty hands as she attempted to pry his claws free from the silk. She cursed most unbecomingly as only Jaken pinched back. Their building scuffle ended abruptly as they were both distracted by a sudden rustling noise and a tiny flash of white. Rin glanced up with a frightened gasp ---

But that flash of movement had been nothing more than a little piece of bleached parchment that had been blown from a stately pedestal from within the family shrine. She stepped into the room, staring mournfully at that bit of paper lying on the floor. She knew what it was in an instant, just those three shaky characters forming his name, scribbled in her weak childhood script. She found she had no desire to pick it up and restore it to the place HE had chosen.

Her hands flew instead to her armored chest, and a sudden tightness snapped through her as Totosai's words echoed in her mind. "Protect my heart, huh?" she mused aloud, still not quite used to the feeling of all that cold iron under her fingers. "So, that's what you were trying to say, Ojii-sama? Well, your gift didn't do much good."

Mechanically, she worked at the lacings at her side and removed the armor, placing the delicate band of hammered metal against the wall with the other weapons.

"I'm going to do what I SHOULD have done when I first returned to the West," she swore in a low voice, not really knowing who she was speaking to. She bent her head, hiding her face behind her bangs, as she offered a silent appeal to the heavens that she would somehow find the wisdom to work through this latest crisis. In secret, she hoped Sesshoumaru-sama's great ancestors were not ALL like him and that they wouldn't be TOO terribly offended by a simple human praying in their final resting place. Thinking suddenly of the taiyoukai's mother and of her great sacrifice, she cringed miserably. Doubtlessly, THAT particular member of her Master's family tree would not be aiding in her plight. Somehow, she still very much doubted such a strong and proud woman would ever accept such a lowly creature for her precious first-born son. "Anyway," she concluded with a resolution she really didn't feel. "I am going to try to question Sesshoumaru on ALL of his plans for my future. And --- if his answers aren't the ones I'm hoping for --- I --- I will be leaving."

"A-are you insane?!" Jaken squealed shrilly, breaking the peace.

"I can't live like this!" the girl shouted back, sinking down to the floor. "I can't live knowing that at any moment I might be thrown away and forgotten again!" Her sorrowful eyes drifted over the untidy piles of costly silk and riches she had so hastily gathered from his room. Here it was --- her whole life wrapped and tied in this one messy bale. All ready for her to drag off to a very uncertain future! But, Jaken was right --- Sesshoumaru might get very angry! Or worse, maybe --- maybe he wouldn't care at all! A chill ran down her spine and she suddenly felt as helpless as she did on that day she had been beset by wolves.

The girl and the youkai sat opposite one another in the hallway for several long minutes, too deeply lost in their own thoughts to continue their argument. As the painful silence stretched on, Jaken took a long moment to study the noisy, irritating creature who had always plagued him to no end, who now looked so small and fragile. Yet for some unknown reason, he mused, this slip of a ningen girl had managed to draw and hold his Master's fascination. She was a nothing, a scrawny little brat, a human --- but somehow she had confounded and altered the hopes and ambitions of a VERY powerful youkai lord. He scratched a claw against his chin thoughtfully. Though Rin still flinched at the mention of Sesshoumaru-sama's name, she WAS struggling to control herself. And at the moment, though the scent of tears clung heavily about her, she sat with her spine straight and her pointy chin held high. As was usually the case, the little youkai suddenly found himself reluctantly admiring the human girl's unwavering spirit, though --- though it might FINALLY mean her death this time.

Rin looked up at the noise of sharp claws clicking against the lacquered floor.

"Fine --- I will not try to stop you," Jaken said, turning his face from her with a small snivel. "I will do as you ask, baka na ningen me. If you should need my services, I will be wisely hiding in the stables with Aun. And I'll leave room for you too, should you come to your senses and decide to hide as well."

Rin sniffed miserably, "I'm really sorry that I got you into trouble with Sesshoumaru-sama --- again."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sesshoumaru stormed into the shiro, ignoring the shrill squeaking of the high iron gates as they rattled in the fierce ocean wind. He crossed the dark courtyard in two quick leaps and heaved the front doors open a bit more forcefully than was really necessary, causing another searing pain to arc from his fingertips to his shoulder blade. As soon as those fine doors slammed shut behind him, he tore carelessly at the bindings of his o-yorai, allowing the comforting weight of the armor to slip from his frame. It clattered to the cold floor in a messy heap. A second later, he was kicking off his boots impatiently, stooping low to throw one across the genkan in a fit of wild temper. He cast a dark smile into the shadows when he heard something crash and break, instantly locating the object that had been destroyed, even in the blackness.

Lying in a splintered pile on the polished floor were the remains of a fine porcelain vase. The ancient heirloom had been filled with those garishly bright weeds --- those --- those stupid azalea flowers. Wonderful.

The sudden snap of silk above him drew his attention away from the broken shards and scattered petals, and he paused to glare at the high wooden rafters of the ceiling. A large tapestry billowed wildly there, caught in the untamed wind. His eyes narrowed as he stared impassively at the watery image dyed into the cloth --- just another tattered portrait of his great father in his truest form.

"Have you any wisdom to offer on my predicament, Chichiue?" he sneered at the faded likeness, trying to forget what the real man had been like. Powerful, commanding, wise, kind, patient --- loving. His lip curled in disgust at the bitter irony of it all. "Of course not," he laughed, deciding to answer his own mocking query. "You would not have gotten yourself into this state of affairs, would you? You had no problems spawning some mixed brat. If everything was about love --- why weren't you thus enlightened when it came to Hahaue and myself!?"

In a measured outburst of power, a green glow burst from his fingertips, followed by a thin band of light that snapped up at the image, burning through the linen ties anchoring it to the wall. He watched as the old painting was snatched up by the gale and blown to the far end of the room, drifting into a crumpled heap on the floor.

His thoughts immediately returned to center exclusively on Rin. Surely she had settled down by now. Though her eyes had been filled with such pain in the forest, she HAD returned directly to the shiro. That meant --- something. He had been half-expecting to have to track her down and drag her out of Totosai's forge. So her very presence here was a rather encouraging sign in itself. Perhaps the little thing was already over her momentary outburst of temper and would now be willing to listen to reason.

Without a backward glance, he proceeded down the rich hallways, bursting noisily into his room, fully prepared to confront the wayward, disobedient girl and make her understand his will. It was fine, he reasoned. It wasn't too late. After all, if a foul-mouthed, sputtering ass like his half-brother could make that stubborn, slow-witted miko understand his mind, surely HE could reason with Rin. She was such a rare and gifted little spirit and he was intelligent, rational, collected --- surely it wouldn't take much to make her understand his point of view?

Gods --- he just couldn't wait for this whole messy ordeal to be over.

Massaging his still throbbing arm, he padded softly across the wooden floor, turning into the far alcove and drawing back the sheer netting that sheltered the sleeping area ---

"Rin! Wake up! Okiro! This Sesshoumaru wishes to speak to you now!" he began, his words dying in a sudden shock.

He never got to sink to his knees or nudge gently at her sleeping form. He didn't have to tug at the rich covers to draw the girl out, she was ---

At that instant, his senses alerted him to the most embarrassing, and inexorable truth --- she was --- NOT there.

Sesshoumaru kicked at the soft nest of pillows hardly daring to believe what he was seeing. Rin was NOT here in his bed as he fully expected her to be. He stared about the room in growing astonishment, keen eyes scanning through the shadows. With a jolt, he belatedly realized not only was the girl gone --- it appeared ALL of her possessions had been removed as well! And removed rather hurriedly at that, he noted, as he picked up the shape of one impossibly tiny little sandal lying forgotten near the doorway.

But her scent was still strong. She was still here in this house and he knew exactly WHERE in an instant ---

He pounded angrily down the winding hallways turning toward her old quarters. HIS old quarters, he corrected, memories of centuries past still surging fresh in his mind. A rage burned within him and he was so angry at her simple defiance that he it didn't even occur to him to simply appear in that miserable little room at will. He arrived at her door, yanked the sliding screen off its track, and stepped inside, only to crash immediately into a low dresser that had been pulled across the threshold. He hissed at this latest unexpected pain, rubbing absently at his knee, staring down in utter astonishment. The dresser, the benches and tables --- all of her fine furniture and gifts, in fact, were piled in front of the doorway to form a pitiful screen to block his path! He gaped in slack-jawed amazement, utterly dumbfounded that Rin should set up such a pitiful barricade against the likes of him. She knew what he really was! Of all the stupid, puny defenses ---

A slow blush crept up his throat and into his cheeks. A stupid, puny defense --- but --- but look at who the hell had run right into it! What was happening to him lately?!

"What in the name of hell!" he gritted, hoping, somewhat fervently, that the darkness concealed the embarrassed flush of color blooming on his face. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Rin merely looked up at him from her own childhood bed, and regarded him with a bland look. "Oh --- nothing, Master," she stated rather coolly. "I have merely returned to my own room." She dropped her gaze and resumed idly sketching on a roll of parchment that spread across her covers. "I have only returned to where I belong," she added under her breath, knowing full well that his sensitive ears would have no trouble picking up that casually whispered remark.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed into slivers of molten gold. Though Rin's words were composed and even, her eyelids were swollen and puffy, as if she had been crying all night and all day. And, just as it had been in the forest, he could still hear that raw edge of desperation in her lilting voice. Though they had NEVER fought before, he knew in that instant that it wouldn't take much for her emotions to explode or his own temper to snap. He watched in growing horror as the girl's glance shifted back up, her gaze resting pointedly on the many items she had used to create that crude barricade before the door. "Now, please leave, my lord," she ordered, her curved eyebrows arching to disappear beneath the thick fringe of her bangs. "As you can see, you have NOT been invited."

Sesshoumaru shook his head in shock and building outrage, hardly daring to believe he heard her correctly. Bracing his palms on the fine dresser and digging in with his sharp talons for sheer spite, the taiyoukai vaulted over the ridiculously crude blockade, and stared down upon her with a look of unparalleled disbelief. "What did you just say to this Sesshoumaru?" he gritted.

In the next instant, her serenely vacant expression had vanished. "Rin --- said ---" she began slowly and sweetly. Her words suddenly died and her voice built to a piercing shriek. "GET OUT!" she snarled in an unfamiliar tone that was as intense and dominant as any youkai woman's. "After all, I have fulfilled my sole duty to you several times already this week! Surely, you do not require my attentions yet again, MY LORD?!"

"Do NOT call me that!" he barked, knocking another small table out of his path, working his way steadily towards her.

Rin threw back the quilted kaimaki and rose from bed. She couldn't help feeling absolutely stifled by the past and by the future. But --- most of all, she couldn't help feeling stifled by this --- this impossibly arrogant demon --- this impossibly arrogant demon that she adored more than anything and was now looming over her like a dark storm cloud! Ask him what his intentions are, that annoying inner voice chorused in her tired mind. Ask him what you mean to him. As she fought to organize her next words, she allowed her eyes to travel over his body for the first time.

She was unable to muffle her frightened gasp.

Sesshoumaru's arm --- his left arm --- was a burned and bloody wreck. The once pale skin was now a lurid purple and a fine web of angry red and black wheals were woven across his flesh. Despite her anger, she couldn't hide her automatic concern and she found her eyes watering as she searched over these terrible wounds. What could have hurt him so? Had it been the miko? Her heart ached to comfort him, and she suddenly found herself wondering if he was in much pain, and what she could do to ease his suffering ---

Damn you, shrieked some corner her mind. Why?! Who cares how HE feels right now? What's the matter with you, you fool?! She shook her head to clear all the echoing voices and took a small step forward.

Sesshoumaru watched her slow approach with a wary eye. He had caught her look of reflexive fear and pity as she stared at the bloody mess of his burned arm. But in the next instant, any and all tenderness had vanished from her expression. Her shoulders were squared and she limped over to confront him, her rage seeming to build with each unsteady step she took. His dark eyebrows furrowed angrily, noting how the girl tucked her robe tighter about her frame, smoothing the material dramatically over the legs as if he had NO right to view any part of her pale skin.

"Why shouldn't I call you that, Sesshoumaru-SAMA?" she screeched. "That is your due title after all! And that's all that seems to matter to you!" She paused and leaned back against the wall, nearly out of breath. "So --- then, if the miko is correct, in the future, after the LORD of the Western Lands is finished with me at night, shall I spend my days serving the 'Lady' of the Western Lands as well? Will I be expected to mend her kimono, prepare her meals and amuse her with my stupid human follies and silly banter?"

Sesshoumaru's jaw snapped open as if he meant to answer, but Rin merely continued on, not particularly interested in his reply. This was ALL too much! She had served him loyally for so long, she had endured his moods, his will, even his cold-hearted abandonment --- why didn't he tell her his full feelings? Why was he still leaving her with no choices!? She had never spoken like this to anyone --- least of all him --- but gods, it felt so good!

She paced the length of her fine childhood room to stare out the window, just seeking to avoid his burning eyes. She was starting to lose focus of her carefully rehearsed argument, her questions about her future prospects being replaced by questions that betrayed her nagging jealousy and her doubts about the past. "And just who shall it be, MY LORD!?" she persisted. "Kagura perhaps? And why not --- you've already HAD her, after all, haven't you?"

"What are you raving about?" Sesshoumaru shouted as he raked his claws across the wall, his temper wildly out of check at her bold outburst. "Kagura?!? What?!"

"Ooooh --- I know ALL about it," Rin countered airily. "It's just another lie." She limped back across the dark room to stand before him, trying to forget how he towered over her slight form. "Ah - I'm sorry, my lord's great honor prevents him from lying," she bit out in a cynical, sing-song voice. "Is it just another fact you've chosen NOT to admit, huh!? Well, I've KNOWN all about it --- SHE told me everything weeks ago!"

Sesshoumaru blinked in surprise and stared down at the rampant girl in matchless confusion. Nani? Kagura had told Rin that he had taken her --- wait --- what --- when the hell did Rin SEE Kagura?!

Rin's cheeks grew even more flushed in her envy and wrath as she watched the confusion wash over Sesshoumaru's pale, perfect face. "Yes! I saw her --- yes! Yes! YES!" she cried in exasperation, stomping her bare foot on the floor, not caring that the childish action pained her swollen ankle like the fires of the deepest level of hell. "You and Kagura --- that disgusting demon! T-that disgusting, filthy demon woman who's stolen me and hurt me and handed me over to your enemies! And you t-took her anyway! She told me how you and she --- she ---"

"Be silent this instant!" Sesshoumaru shouted imperiously, his mind still trying to grasp the all the implications behind Rin's charge. Sometime over the past few months, she had run across the path of the wind-sorceress? How did she escape without injury? And ---

"WHEN the hell did you see Kagura?" he barked out. "How? Where? What did she want? And what the hell did you say to her?" His eyes were hard as he demanded too many answers at once and with one step he closed the distance between them. He seized her roughly, his claws accidentally digging into the already bruised skin of her upper arms.

Rin barely felt the pain of those sharp claws as she choked in a fit of jealous fury. All attempts to be rational and work her way back to the subject of her fate faded as quickly as summer flowers after a frost. Just look at her great master now! she seethed inwardly. He didn't care about what Kikyou had said to her! He didn't care that she was terribly hurt! He didn't care that her heart was breaking! Right now Sesshoumaru was so anxious, so damned concerned, but only about that loathsome demoness, Kagura!

It WAS true then! Sometime after he had abandoned her, he had taken that woman! While she had been sobbing alone in the darkness of the forge, inconsolable over that fact that she had lost him from her life forever, he had been ---

She found herself imagining the two beautiful youkai clenched in a heated, passionate embrace, the soft brush of flawless bare skin against skin, the gentle murmurs in the darkness, the --- wait! It wouldn't be like that --- would it!? her mind continued to scream in bitter betrayal. It wouldn't have been slow and sweet, but all consuming, wild and fiery! And --- oh gods --- did he --- because Kagura was like him --- a true demon --- did he give her ALL of himself in that way she would apparently never know?! Rin doubled over and slid from Sesshoumaru's grasp. She clamped her hands tightly across her belly, fighting the urge to be violently ill.

Though still anxious to know what had taken place with the wind-witch, and VERY concerned that his greatest enemies might have found out about his new connection to the girl, Sesshoumaru was unable to stand Rin's pain any longer. He took another step forward, attempting to pull her into his tight embrace again. His head absolutely pounded, both from the strain of his fighting his injuries and in trying to anticipate her next move. "Rin, this Sesshou ---"

But the girl merely growled, her shoulders hunching in obvious revulsion at his touch. "Of course, Kagura's perfect for you, isn't she?! You BOTH have NO heart!" she cried out in disgust. He shook his fair head at her icy accusation, completely at a loss and unable to understand her rapidly shifting moods and emotions. "That is not ---" he began to state, but his words died as the girl abruptly ceased pushing him away. She was clinging to him now --- drawing him close, her cool hands winding around his nape.

"Is SHE what you really want, my lord?" Rin cooed seductively. She stumbled into his body and he jerked back in surprise. Her lithe fingers twirled around a long tendril of his hair and she yanked down harshly, pulling him to her level to kiss him passionately. He found he was unable to prevent a soft gasp from rushing past his lips as they parted in surprise to her bold actions. He was equally unable to stop the strange startled sound that was drawn from his throat at that first scrape of her tiny fingernails against the angle of his jaw.

"Is that what you really like?" the girl asked savagely. "I mean --- between two youkai --- is it like this? Is it better when there's no tenderness, no love?"

While Rin spoke, she continued assaulting him with violent kisses, sending waves of pleasure crashing through his weakened body. Each kiss somehow seemed more disturbing then heartening, it all felt so wrong, but fierce need raked through him, threatening to slice away all his self-control. Her pale, slender hands were stroking at him, tripling the torment as each touch forced more sounds of rough hunger from deep within his chest.

His breath caught again as Rin's kisses slowed. Ever so carefully, she took his lower lip between her white teeth, and then lightly drew her tongue across it. Almost as soon as that bold caress began, the girl retreated, leaving him with only the barest hint of her enticing taste.

Sesshoumaru's amber eyes fluttered closed in attempt to disguise his feelings of great loss. What had he done to her? Who was this creature standing before him? He pushed Rin back and watched, in growing alarm, as his sweet girl flashed a bleak, unloving smile and seductively traced the tip of her tongue across her own lips, as if savoring his taste, too.

All his nerves and muscles clenched painfully, hardening his whole body as he fought against emotions that were rapidly spinning out of control. He had learned to expect many things from Rin but --- but not this ---

Her eyes seemed to be those of a stranger's and they glittered fiercely as they roamed over his body filled with a smug, disdainful fire. That cold, new smile of hers was equally unfamiliar to him, seeming nothing more than a grim slash of self-satisfaction --- as if she saw him as an enemy. An enemy who could be easily defeated and --- and then promptly forgotten. She was shaking her head as if he were something to be pitied and he could do little more then stare back in stunned silence, gasping as she brazenly licked her full lips again. As if she had tasted something sweet. As if his current state of horror, bewilderment, and pain was something delicious.

Rin reached up to him and he made another startled sound as that sweet, pink mouth brushed compellingly against his once more. With deliberate slowness she flicked the tip of her tongue across the seam of his lips, seeking entrance, and despite feeling increasingly unsure of all of her uncharacteristic shifts in behavior, the call of her willing body and its temptations were too great. Against his will, something snapped in his blood and his lips parted fully of their own accord. His breath panted in a warm rush, and his involuntary cry was silenced as she slid her tongue deeply into his mouth. She tasted him fully, and with a hoarse whimper he welcomed her invasion, offering her his own tongue with embarrassingly little resistance.

His shock and confusion continued to build as he felt Rin's small, cool hands drifting lower over his fevered skin. Her fingernails were easing from his throat, scraping downwards along his heaving chest, tracing in a straight, certain lines to his trembling hips. Her hand suddenly shifted away and the demon gasped in relief, thinking she was finally coming back to her senses. That relief proved short-lived, however, and he groaned as the girl's hand suddenly returned, her flat palm pressing forcefully against his rigid arousal. He swore he heard her mocking chuckle an instant later but could do nothing more than groan as the pressure of her hand increased, moving up and down that hardened ridge of flesh. Even dulled by layers of silk, the sensations were enough to make his blood pound as if his heart were about to burst. But it just wasn't right --- especially considering the emotional upheaval of the past few days. "Do not," he murmured. "Yamero."

"Kawaisou na Danna-sama. Oh, my poor Master," Rin sighed, as Sesshoumaru's body sagged weakly against hers, his sweaty forehead pressed against her own, his breathing harsh and irregular. "Here's one thing you can't lie about, I suppose. Your body can't lie, can it? Does it worry you --- what other youkai will say, I mean? Will they all talk about how you, too, have humiliated yourself? Lusting after a human! And not even a rich, well-born hime, like your great father, or a powerful miko like your half-brother. Will they all whisper that you've fallen into disgrace over some lowly orphan? An unwanted village brat?"

With a savage, strangled curse, Sesshoumaru's amber eyes flew wide and he tried to force her away again. But Rin merely grabbed his large hand and, one by one, took his fingers into her talented mouth, kissing and sucking at his fingertips passionately. "W-why are you doing this?" he hissed. "Do not ---" A strange mixture of profound sadness and blistering pleasure caused his throat to tighten suddenly and his next words were choked off as her greedy hands tugged aggressively at the long ties of his white hakama. His sensitive ears caught the soft whispering of silk, and he released a stifled moan as those fingers continued to skillfully ease the ties of his clothing free.

"Please, don't pretend for MY sake any more," Rin chided in a patronizing tone that seemed a blatant imitation of his own aloof manner of speaking. "After all, it's not like I'm suddenly reminding you that I'm not worthy of your love. You've NEVER forgotten that fact, have you?" Her deft motions had opened his fine clothes enough to release him from the suddenly painful confinement of his hakama. "You still feel that way --- even now," she continued, her soft voice still as foreign as a stranger's. The girl fell into silence once more, all her concentration seemingly engaged on forcing his body into further response.

 "Is this how Kagura touched you?" Rin whispered hatefully, unable to help herself. The taiyoukai released a feral growl at the fiery brush of her fingertips against his bare, heated skin, and her smile broadened. The way his hands now clenched convulsively at his sides, the helpless drive of his body against her hand was --- fascinating.

"So hard," she murmured, lacing her fingers around him and circling from the base of his rigid shaft to caress his whole length. "And so fine. Especially right over here," she teased, fingers dragging repeatedly over one particular spot, drawing a rising plea from him. "Koko ni? Yes, so perfect," she continued. "Just like all that pretty silk you used to blind me. Was that you wanted? Is that what love means to you?"

"S-stop," he bit out between clenched fangs, fighting to get back to his senses.

Didn't she know what she was doing?

But Rin continued to ignore him, pressing a quick, nipping kiss against his collarbone as she stroked over his straining length once more. A searing bolt of sensation, both from her actions and the unexpected cruelty of her words, ripped through him, and for the space of a heartbeat he balanced at his breaking point, glowing crimson staining the whites of his eyes. As it had been while he fought the miko's spell, he felt torn in pieces, but this time his body was caught between the burning need to throw her down and take her, the need to shove her away, and, fiercest of all --- the driving need to pull her close. Some strange, insistent desire to hold her in his arms, to shelter, console and comfort her. To beg for forgiveness and ask her how he could make her happy again. He could feel an icy sheen of sweat glazing his body as he fought to drag all these opposing feelings under control.

"Never like this," he finally bit out on a long shuddering breath. "For us --- I do not want this. Kono you ni kesshite nidou to suru na. Never in this way."

"You spoiled creature," Rin giggled shamelessly, her words breathed against the tensed planes of his chest, as she used her chin and lips to push his haori aside. "It's always about what you want. Perhaps, my lord, just this once, you could maybe try thinking about what I want."

With a warning growl, he pulled away from her in revulsion. He heard Rin's low laughter and she merely reached out to recapture his retreating hand, dragging it up to her warm breast. "Aren't you going to call me Aijin, my love?" she hissed, guiding his splayed fingers under her embroidered collar to rest against her broken heart. "What's wrong, Sesshoumaru-SAMA? It can't be that I'm touching you the wrong way? After all, you've taught me only too well just what exactly you prefer." Her hazel eyes gleamed like a hawk's as they met his in unmistakable challenge, and she shifted closer, clever hands searching through the folds of his hakama once more. "You've instructed me so carefully --- as you always have." 

Those vile, accusing words slashed through Sesshoumaru, ending the spell of seduction like nothing else could. "ENOUGH --- yamero!" he bellowed throatily, fully expecting the girl to cringe and recoil at the naked threat in his tone. He felt like he clung to his sanity by the slimmest margin, and he glanced down at his hips, at least somewhat grateful that he had only managed to surrender only a small drop to her practiced stroking.

But Rin still chose not to obey him, and her soft lips merely curled upwards in a cat-like smile. She gazed up at his face in malicious speculation. "Go on, my lord," she urged sweetly, only moving to increase the pace of that sensuous, dizzying glide of her hands. "After all, you don't have to worry about any hanyou offspring if you spill yourself like this."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in disgust and pain and before Rin could say another hurtful word his hands flew to her slight shoulders. There was a soft ripping sound as he shoved her away with unrestrained strength.

Rin's breath exploded in a sharp cry of surprise as she stumbled and fell to the hard floor. She looked up at Sesshoumaru, her face as white as the sea-salt left behind by the tides on the beach below. Her practical mind screamed that she should feel terrified and defenseless right now. But, for some reason, at that moment, even though he had struck out at her, even though he had forced her back, she had never felt more powerful or more desired. At that moment, she KNEW there was nothing in his thoughts but her. And --- at that moment --- HE was the one who was really frightened.

"A-are you hurt? Kizu tsuketa ka?" Sesshoumaru gasped, straightening his clothing as he hurried towards her, the stripes on his cheeks flushed with concern.

"Nothing you do can hurt me anymore. Not after hearing the truth," she snapped out caustically, stubbornly refusing his aid.

Sesshoumaru took a step back, hating the sudden, ruthless looks that kept snapping into her lovely hazel eyes. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He had already discovered how deeply it grieved him to see her frightened or sad, but seeing her like this, he decided --- seeing her so twisted with bitterness and fury --- was unbearable.

"So what is it to be then, Master?" the girl whispered, tucking her wild bangs behind her ear. "If not my hands, then perhaps you would prefer ---" She bit her lower lip as she crawled weakly to back to him, kneeling submissively at his feet. He called out her name as she began pressing demanding kisses up his now shaking thighs ---

He wasn't sure what wounded him more, the hostility of her callous words, or the lewdness of her response.

At that very moment, Rin felt equally disgusted with herself, even as she clung more fiercely to his body, pushing him off balance so they tumbled across her small bed. She felt the wooden frame snap beneath them, and she dragged her mouth up to his. She heard his growled protest, and in the next instant he struck out blindly again, forcing her back as they flailed in a tangle of bright red blankets, fighting to be the first to get back upright.

"I SAID NOT LIKE THIS!" he bellowed, reaching to straighten his clothes once more, and struggling, rather unsuccessfully, to do the same with his wounded expression.

"Gods," Rin sobbed, finally seeming to come back to her senses. "The miko was right --- I will be nothing more than a bitter whore! Please! Just go!!! I don't know what's wrong with me! This isn't me --- but I can't stop! It hurts too much! What's wrong with me?!"

"Nothing is wrong with you, Rin" he answered softly. "But you must get control of yourself now. How many times must this Sesshoumaru say it!? It can NOT be like this between us! You will calm down and listen --- immediately."

Rin fixed him with dazed eyes. "You --- you can't --- you can't tell me what to do now, my lord," she replied sadly. "You can't --- because --- you're the one who's hurting me! Don't you see? I love you, you've given me everything, I should be grateful, I know, but --- you're ripping my heart to pieces! Why can't I be good enough for you?! Why did you take me if I'm not good enough for you?"

"Rin," he ordered, appearing unmoved by her passionate appeals. "You will control your ridiculous outbursts, you will listen now!"

Tears built at the corners of her eyes and without another word, she reached up and tore one of the jeweled combs from her hair to hurl it into the darkness. The precious gift struck the near wall, smashing in a shower of tangled silver chains and crushed pearls that rolled noisily across the cold floor.

At her action, Sesshoumaru's expression became positively murderous, hard, cold and evil. He shook his head in denial, and then vanished into nothingness.

Now sitting all alone in her dark room, Rin collapsed back into the broken mattress, wondering how everything had gone so wrong.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yes…out of character for Rin, but trust me, I'm going somewhere with this.

Amaenbou - spoiled child, pampered child

Chichiue - Father

Daimyo - warlord

Damatteni shiro. Samonai to, kono Sesshoumaru ga kono tsume de kisama no kuchi kara ano amai shita wo kirisakeru zo! - Be silent! Should you not, this Sesshoumaru will tear your tongue from your mouth with these claws!

Hahaue - Mother

Hahaue, shinanaide! Shikkari shite! - Mother, don't die! Hold on!

Hashire - Run!

Iya, onegai - no, please

Kakkasurunja nee ze - a bit of new slang! Either don't get your balls in a twist or don't get your panties in a twist! Kind of thought it would be a funny thing for Kouga to say!

Kawaisouna Danna-sama - Oh my poor Master!

Kizutsuketa ka - Were you injured?

Kokoni? - Right here?

Konouneuneshi mimizu me - You wriggling worm!

Konoyou ni kesshite nidou to suru na - never do that in this manner again!

Machiyagare - Wait!

Mekake - low class concubine

Mousonna ni okaachama ni aitaku natta no ka ne? - Do you miss your mother already?

Ningen - human

Odaijini - Take care of yourself

Okiro- wake up!

Onii-chan - 'big brother'

Orokanamusume - foolish girl

Sukini shiro! - Do as you wish

Tada no yume da kitto yume da - It's only a dream, it's got to be!

Yamero - stop

Yamete - stop