• 1-Remember
• 2-Falling
• 3-Reminisce
• 4-Change
• 5-Covet
• 6-Resolution
• 7-Commencement
• 8-Possession
• 9-Hunter
• 10-Beguile
• 11-Time
• 12-Reasoning
• 13-Crescendo
• 14-Contradiction
• 15-Kismet
• 16-Threshold
• 17-Exchange
• 18-Allusion
• 19-Rendevous
• 20-Breakthrough
• 21-Catalyst
• 22-Clarity
• 23-Acceptance
• 24-Endearment
• 25-Spite
• 26-Foreboding
• 27-Destiny
• 28-Deliverance
• 29-Rebirth
• 30-Sou'unga
• 31-Awakening

Inuyasha grunted, slumping forward as Touran's weight came down in the center of his back, her elbow stabbing him between the shoulder blades. This was getting annoying. He was so close... Kagome was right there, not ten feet away from him, and he couldn't even do anything about it.

He'd known that something was wrong since that afternoon in the city, and it had driven him almost insane with worry ever since. Why had she run away from him? And why hadn't she answered any of his calls since then?

Sharp eyes snapped upward, focusing in on his brother's smug, regal face.

Yes. That had to be it.

Sesshoumaru...

Where ever Sesshoumaru went, trouble followed. And where had he found his brother this time? Right by her side... alone in this clearing...

Inuyasha growled lowly to himself. He could feel the hatred throbbing in his veins. Why else would these feelings have surfaced so suddenly after all these years? Why else would his instincts have lead him to her? For his friends to turn on him; to hunt him down like some kind of animal. They'd put this leash back on him... because of Sesshoumaru... but...

He bit down on the inside of his cheek, ignoring the taste of blood as it dripped immediately onto his tongue. They couldn't stop him. Nothing could stop him. She was his Kagome. His to watch over. His to protect. And he'd kill every last one of them if he had to. He'd kill them all, if it meant saving her from that bastard...

*~~~

"Kagome," Shippou smiled, hurrying to her side.

She hadn't changed a bit in all this time. It was the same raven colored hair he remembered; the same cherry lips, and brilliantly shining eyes.

"Kagome-sama..." he whispered, the emotions overflowing as she allowed him to embrace her.

Yes. It was even the same warm hug. She was right here in front of him now, after so many decades. After all these years of hoping and wondering. He didn't have any words to describe it.

"Shippou," she breathed next to his ear. "Is it really you this time?"

The kitsune smiled. "I'd hope so."

"What's going on?" Kagome asked him, pulling back slightly to look up into his eyes. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well..."

"Don't listen to him, Kagome!" Inuyasha barked from somewhere behind them. "You bastard... you're helping them! You did this! You and your bitch!"

"Bad doggy!" Touran reprimanded, giving the hanyou another swift elbow between the shoulder blades as he tried to rise. "You be quiet now."

Shippou flinched inwardly. This wasn't the way he'd planned to get in touch with Kagome. They'd wanted to wait until Sesshoumaru held up his side of the bargain, but...

His eyes wandered over to where Inuyasha lay, a smugly oblivious Touran taking up residence on the man's back.

The plan had been to extract the golden pearl, release the subduing spell, and keep the hanyou out of sight until the side effects had worn off. He wasn't supposed to have escaped; wasn't supposed to have come directly to her... Something had gone wrong, and now it looked as though it would be too late to fix it...

For now, though, there was one chance to make things right. Both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru would have to wait. There was too much he had to say first, and this time he wouldn't wait to say it.

"Shippou?" Kagome tugged at his sleeve.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," he replied easily, laughing as she stared up at him with wide eyes. "Anything and everything."

"Well it's a start..." she breathed, looking past his shoulder to where the miko now stood, tucking the spell scroll into one billowing sleeve.

"This, at least, is an easy one to explain." He pulled back and ushered the miko forward. "Kagome, this is my wife, Tsuyako."

The woman bowed. "It's nice to finally meet you, Kagome."

"Nice to meet you..."

"I'm guessing you already know Touran..." the kitsune went on as he gestured toward the woman currently sitting on Inuyasha's back.

The demon waved sweetly, and Kagome cringed inwardly. Bitch... the word came, unbidden, into her thoughts.

They stared at each other, silence falling in the small clearing. The tension was suffocating. Chancing a glance toward the imposing figure at Kagome's side, Shippou was almost relieved to see that the withering glare he found there wasn't directed at himself.

Better make this quick... he sighed inwardly, squaring his shoulders as he prepared himself for the worst.

"We should go somewhere," Shippou hurried on. "Somewhere we can talk."

"Enough," a deep, commanding voice cut in.

Kagome blinked, glancing over her shoulder to where Sesshoumaru now stood. Stony didn't begin to describe the look on his face. The softness had fled and in its place was a grim, calculating expression that knocked the wind from her lungs and the questions from her mind.

"You will all leave this place," he commanded icily, eyes like steel as he looked at each of them before coming to rest on her face. "It is time we returned."

"Sesshoumaru..." she began, stepping toward him.

Warmth rose up from his skin as she rested a hand against his arm. Golden eyes sought hers, and Kagome felt a flutter in her belly as his features softened. She slid her hand into his, ignoring the looks she was sure came her way at the gesture.

"You should... you should come with us, Shippou," she offered, turning to face him as she spoke. "You should both come. You and Tsuyako."

She turned to where Inuyasha lay, avoiding his eyes as she spoke. "I think you'd better go, Inuyasha..."

"What?!" his voice was nearly a whisper.

"You should leave," she repeated, looking him in the eye this time, her voice strengthening with conviction. "Until I can figure things out..."

"You don't mean that," Inuyasha strained, trying to shake the cat demon loose from his back. "You don't mean-"

"What you just did..." Kagome began.

"No!" he bellowed, twisting from beneath the woman and dragging himself to his feet.

"Calm down, pup," Touran warned, slinging an arm across the hanyou's chest from shoulder to waist.

"It's him, isn't it?" Inuyasha demanded, struggling against the woman, his eyes locked with his brother's. "You did this to her. You fucked with her head. Made her hate me..."

"You're not thinking straight, Inuyasha," Tsuyako put in gently. "The spell-"

"You gonna do to her what you did to the kid?" the hanyou spat, blood seeping into his eyes as he spoke.

Sesshoumaru stiffened. He could feel the tiny hand holding his tighten at the words. He gave it a gentle squeeze in answer, teeth clenched and jaw set. Inuyasha would not have the better of him. The hanyou was, yet again, delirious in his single-minded quest to remain the sole protector of what was no longer his to protect. He would not allow such pointless words to affect him.

"You gonna drag her around with you everywhere you go?" he could hear the boy snarl lowly. "Make her think she's worth something, then leave her to die? Or are you gonna fuck her and kill her like you did Haya-"

Within an instant he had released the girl, his claws finding a new home about his brother's neck. He could feel the tendons quake with power as he sought to wring the very breath from that treacherous throat.

"You dare not speak that name to me," the command burgeoned on a threat as the sound of twisting bones and straining gasps met his uncaring ear.

"Sesshoumaru! No!"

The kitsune's arm came between them, but still he held fast.

"This isn't the way," Shippou pleaded, struggling to keep his balance while forcing his way between the two men. "You know he's not himself! Just give us time to stabilize him. You can do whatever you want after that!"

"Stop it!"

All eyes turned in unison at the exasperated command.

Kagome crossed her arms, stamping her foot and glaring daggers at the odd assembly of people standing before her.

"You stop this right now!" she fumed, ignoring the hard set of Sesshoumaru's face as his eyes narrowed at her command. "Let him go this instant!"

Something akin to intrigue flickered in the demon's eyes, and she was nearly certain those powerful claws had tightened fractionally, before he withdrew them from about Inuyasha's neck. The hanyou fell to the ground with a gurgle and a thump.

"You," she strode forward, grabbing Shippou by the arm, "are coming with me. You too, Mr. Short Temper. No buts!"

She whirled to where the blue-haired cat demon stood, fiddling with those perfectly manicured nails in bored nonchalance.

"I want you to take Inuyasha home now," the little brunette went on. "I don't care why you're here, or what you want. Take him home and keep him there."

"Why you-"

"Touran."

Kagome jolted. She hadn't expected Sesshoumaru's voice to come from so close behind her. She was certain she'd felt the warm puff of his breath along the curve of her throat as he spoke that single word. Her sudden burst of courage had deflated in an instant, and her eyes drifted nearly closed as the overwhelming strength of his presence made itself known once again.

"Fine," the cat demon relented, "but you'd better get on with this stupid plan before I decide to stop helping after all."

"Plan...?"

"Why don't we just get going now?" Shippou put in, placing a hand over hers where she still gripped his clothing. "Which way, Kagome?"

Wary eyes blinked up at him, and the kitsune groaned inwardly.

He knew that look. He had a lot of explaining to do, and Kagome was going to make sure he got it all done before the day was through...

*~~~

"You're getting soft."

Sesshoumaru allowed a small, irritated sigh to slip from his lips, lowering the scroll he had been reading for the third time that night. The boy hadn't moved from his spot at the balcony doors. It was there he'd taken up residence for the whole of three hours, doing little more than making snide remarks and sufficiently working to annoy and distress his elder sibling. He was quite prepared to leave the troublesome runt there, opting to find a less accessible outpost in which to complete his reading undisturbed, but something was obviously on the boy's mind this night.

Best to have this done with now... he groaned inwardly.

"Why do you insist on aggravating me with your presence?" he demanded lightly, resting the scripts and reclining, his gaze settling on the hanyou's face. "What is it that you want, Inuyasha?"

"You mean you weren't even listening this whole time?!" his brother yelled in exasperation. "Dammit, Sesshoumaru! This is exactly what I'm talking about!"

He squelched the sudden urge to roll his eyes at the boy's outburst. "You come into my quarters simply to insult me, and now you wish me to acknowledge your efforts?"

They glared at each other for a moment before he allowed himself yet another sigh of annoyance. He could only hope this decidedly human response wouldn't become a common habit over time.

"Tell me, Inuyasha," he prompted, rising and walking past the boy to stand at the balcony rail. "Would you prefer that we continue our yearly training? Prefer that I continue to strip you of what little dignity you may have by destroying that pathetic half-breed body of yours time and time again, only to have you heal so that I may repeat the task within a scant few months?"

He could hear the low grunt somewhere behind him, and it nearly brought a smile to his face.

"I don't care about that," the response him came, strangely soft in the quiet night. "You just... don't understand."

Brow slightly raised, Sesshoumaru turned to glance at the figure slumped in the terrace archway. It had been quite some time since he had given his full attention to his younger sibling. The years seemed to come and go so naturally, he'd nearly missed the subtle changes the boy had undergone. So much so that had he not taken the time even now, he surely would not have noticed the tiny lines of age; the jaw squared with experience; the hands calloused and roughened with the struggle of time. This boy was no longer a boy, but a man of the new and changing world.

Features set, he turned back to the view of the moonlit meadow below. Perhaps it was time to consider an elevated title for the hanyou...

"I'm sick of you acting like some goddamn pansy-ass!" the voice behind him spat.

Or perhaps not...

"You have any idea what it's like living with you?" Inuyasha demanded insistently. "One day you're building up this goddamn empire of yours, the next you're lounging around in the field like you don't have anything else to do! If you're not out walking around like a zombie, you're inside with your stupid face in a stupid scroll! What the hell are you looking for in there anyway? And why aren't we training? You forget how to be a cold-hearted bastard or something?"

The last comment was rewarded with a tiny smirk on his part.

"If it is training you desire, there are many within the staff that would readily oblige," Sesshoumaru murmured, affecting a bored expression as he straightened a fold on his dark blue haori. "I no longer find such childish activities amusing, therefore, I shall no longer accept your challenges for said activities."

"But-"

"Afterall," he continued, returning his gaze to the dark summer sky, "you have no need for these annual combats. You gain neither strength nor skill. Why seek to improve on that which has long ago reached it's peak?"

He could hear the small intake of breath at the off-handed compliment. A low murmur of understanding came next, then the shuffling of robes, and the eventual sliding of the shoji before Inuyasha's footsteps drifted off along some distant corridor.

Ears keenly trained, Sesshoumaru sifted through the low hum of activity in the compound below. He sought about with his mind's eye for an instant before turning and striding back to low table where his scrolls lay.

A shadow of a smile crossed his lips. He could not sense which direction his brother had gone in. In fact, he could not hone in on the boy's presence at all.

Somewhere deep in the darkest corner of his mind, the barest hint of pride flickered, sparking for an instant before it was tucked away securely to be looked upon again some day.