Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha.

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The smell of blood was thick in the air. It was harsh even to a nose as young as hers. Without the warmth of her outer layers, her tiny body shivered but she worried more the buddle she clutched. Her Mama had told her to keep her brother close and protect him, so she would. She was scared, she was so scared. Her tiny beat that she feared the ones chasing would hear it. Mama's blood, her blood, and Otouto's blood was in the air. The ones pursuing them ran past their hiding place in the burrow among the tree roots. But they chased Mama deep into the woods. And she knew they would never see Mama again. Then she smelled Mama's blood, thicker than before, it was then she knew her Mama was dead.

The golden eyes, cold as a midwinter's night, opened to see a spring morning. She sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She brushed her silver white bangs out her face with clawed fingers as casually as anyone would. Her dog ears twitched as they picked up the sounds of birds chirping. The girl's thick tail absentmindedly thumped against the futon as she rejoined the world of the living. One ear perked as a servant approached as presumably hearing her wake up. The servant came into the room without a word. The girl watched with little interest as the servant girl prepared her garments for the day.

"Good morning Azami-sama. It is another fine morning here." Azami stretched her body like a dog.

"I suppose." The maid continued her forced smile, something Azami detested. She got to her feet and shamelessly stripped herself of her sleeping kimono. The maid hurried to help her into her day garments. Azami patiently stood still until the maid finished lacing her breastplate that the girl wore out of habit. Her breastplate bore the same mark as the girl's brow, a plum colored crescent moon. The maid then sat her mistress down and combed her hair into a high ponytail to keep it out of the way.

A messenger servant entered the room and bowed before Azami. Azami snorted t him in response and dismissively flopped her tail to the ground. It curled and uncurled periodically, as if to remind the room's occupants that she was not human and to watch their mouths.

"Azami-sama, Okumoto-sama his sent for you this morning." Both servants caught the slight wagging the girl's tail took on. Her face was skillfully neutral.

"Is that so? I would appreciate is you finish my hair quickly so I may meet him then." The maid nodded timidly and pulled the last few locks of silver hair into a high ponytail atop her head. She bowed her head lightly to the maid and strode out of the room and grabbing her sword on her way out. After exiting her bedroom she pulled n her boots, a habit that made all of the servant girls despise her. She walked down the hall with her head held high, all the servants cowered. Humans, Azami snorted, she didn't need such pitiful creatures. So caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the child tackling her.

"Azami-Nee-chan!"

"Good morning Akiko-chan." Azami stated dryly.

"Wow you knew it was me! There are three of us that call you Nee-chan too!"

"None are as loud as you. Are all kitsunes this loud?"

"No, my papa wasn't loud!"

"Oh, so your human mother was. Perhaps kitsunes find that admirable." Azami stated, rolling her eyes to the side. The kitsune hanyou flattened her large ears. She slowly let go of her sworn sister and tapped her bare feet to the hardwood floor. Her own bushy tail was swinging to and fro indignantly.

"Well excuse me, Azami. We can't all be the hanyou of imperial demons." Azami's gaze made the room temperature seem to drop several degrees. The servants all scurried away. Azami glowered down at the kitsune half-breed. Akiko needed to remember her manners when addressing her alpha. Her head tilted, causing her to appear even more intimidating. Azami's long tail swept the floor and her toenails clacked dangerously as she locked eyes.

"Little kitsune, I have told you and the others many times. I care not for who my demon parent was. He was obviously a scoundrel for abandoning a helpless human with not one but two hanyou children to care for. It is not my bloodline that makes me superior to the others hanyou if this castle, it my ability to fight and kill. It is my ability to command others to my will, including my subordinates."

"Yes, Nee-chan."

"I would appreciate it, if you did not speak to me that way again." Akiko's ears flattened, her tail snuck between her legs. She was shaking a bit.

"Yes, Nee-chan." Azami's expression softened. She placed one hand on top of her head.

"There's a good girl. Now go on and play, I'm sure the others are waiting for you." Akiko brightened and nodded. The kit ran off in a different direction, cheerfully skipping away. Seeing her work as done, Azami continued to her original destination.

Azami glanced over her shoulder, slightly saddened by the lack of an eager kitsune girl. She had frightened her. It wasn't uncommon and an alpha did need to enforce her will using fear occasionally. However it made them afraid of her, not just Akiko, but Takashi, and Umeko too. They were also hanyou, every one of their breed was younger than her which made her the head of their little pack. Though her "brothers and sisters" loved her, there always a sense of fear. All of them were afraid of her considerably more demon like nature, all except-

"Nee-chan!" She found herself tackled by another one of her "siblings". Except this one actually was related to her by blood.

"Good morning, Ichiru." The younger boy smiled angelically and Azami felt her icy heart soften for him. Ichiru was her younger brother, the brother she had cared for since his infancy. While Azami seemed incredibly demon like for a hanyou, he was incredibly human. Ichiru had black hair and black fur on his dog ears. His face bore no markings like his sister, and his eyes were brown not gold, though pupils were still that of a demon. He had no tail and a cheerful countenance. But Ichiru was not afraid of Azami and he loved his big sister dearly.

"Going to talk to Okumoto-sama, Nee-chan? Another mission?"

"Yes, good thing too, my muscles were getting stiff from lack of use." She blinked when Ichiru grabbed her arm. His small talons dug into her arm guards.

"Can I come with you?" His flashed his best puppy eyes. Azami was about to say no, but one look at his eyes and she faltered. There was only one person who could make Azami do something she really didn't want to, Ichiru. They locked eyes for a good thirty seconds, neither relenting. Eventually Azami sighed a little.

"Fine."

"Yay!" He latched onto her arm again.

'He looks like mother.' She thought to herself. Azami paused after that thought.

'Now why would I say that?' She barely remembered their mother. Black hair, soft hands and a kind voice, that was all that remained of their human mother in her mind. Ichiru didn't remember he face at all, not even the scraps that his sister did. It was understandable; he was only an infant when she died. It saddened her, to know that. He was so painfully human for a hanyou and she was so painfully demon. Ichiru would value memories of the mother, far more than she could. The feeling his smile provoked was one of the few things that convinced her that the human in her memories was her mother and not a demon.

With Ichiru hanging off one arm, practically skipping at her side, which made walking far more difficult than it should have been. They approached the throne room where her master sat, chatting to one of his advisors. His wife was god knows where, and his children off at their studies. Upon the entrance of Azami, his face brightened. The worn face of man who had seen far too much hardship smiled the smile of young lad, full of aspiration. Such was how he looked upon his samurai and most trusted warrior, Azami.

"Azami-sama."

"You can call me Azami, my lord. There's no need for honorifics with me." She told her lord, kneeling before him, her long, silver hair brushing the ground. He chuckled.

"You have changed very little over the past twenty years, Azami-sama."

"And you have changed very much, Okumoto-sama." Azami remarked. It was true. Twenty years had passed since the young Lord had come upon a pair of dog hanyou living like hermits in the woods. Then Azami had appeared to be a young maiden, on the verge of becoming a woman. Her brother was still a pup. The lord had been seventeen when they had met. Now the Lord was a man, married with a son and daughter. Azami had grown more beautiful in the years that had passed. She was a young woman now, looked like she seventeen herself, though her true age was unknown.

Beautiful was Azami, a lovely creature that had only grown more beautiful with time, while her first human friend and her Lord slowly grew old. It would only be a few more decades and he would die. What would happen to the hanyous he took in, no one knew.

"It merely a retrieval mission, Azami-sama. There is a young dragon hanyou that had been discovered a few days travel from here. He's in the old temple on Hikari Mountain. I would request that you bring him here Azami-sama." Azami merely nodded.

"Yes my lord." She stood up.

"Azami?" The sound of her name, without an honorific hanging onto the end, stopped Azami in her tracks. Even Ichiru jumped a little. Okumoto always treated Azami with the utmost respect, calling her as one would a Lady, to refer to her so personally was surprising.

"Yes, my lord?" She questioned.

"Be careful."

"Always." She smirked. The old lord smiled.

Azami made her way outside the castle gate and walked not two steps before receiving her "goodbyes" from the hanyous. They attempted to tackle her to the ground; however, Azami expected it and skillfully evaded them. Her blood siblings lay in a pile on the ground. She sighed quietly, tilting her head in an exasperated manner. Her tail twitched irritably. Azami was not one to express her emotions facially, but rather through her tail and ear movements. On the bottom of the pile lay her brother Ichiru and Akiko. On top of the pair lay the hawk hanyou Takamaru. On the very top of the pile, lay Umeko, a forest sprite hanyou.

"I've not fallen for that trick in many years. Surely you would have learned by now."

"We're just playing around, you wet blanket." Takamaru remarked. He was harsh faced lad. He looked about fifteen, long dark brown hair in a thin plait. He had talons for fingernails, and wings on his back; he wore hakama pants and matching shirt. From his back emerged a pair of dark brown wings. Small fangs resided in his mouth and red eyes graced his face.

"Oh, we just wanted to see you off, Nee-chan." Umeko said shyly. Umeko, being the half-forest sprite child that she was, had green hair and blue eyes. However her prominent feature was the white flower growing out of the side of her head. Little vines and leaves accompanied the blossom. Dressed more like a healer or a priestess, she was the youngest and gentlest of the hanyous. Her skin was a sickly white and she gently clung to Azami, softening her, much like Ichiru did.

"I will be back in less than a week. I'm sure you four will not burn down the palace in my absence."

"Of course not, Nee-chan." Grinned Akiko. Azami blinked, her tail swept the ground skeptically.

"May I hear such a promise from one who I know speaks the truth?"She asked dryly sweeping her eyes over the group of half-breeds.

"We promise!" They chorused. Azami's tail flicked Ichiru on the nose and she turned.

They watched Azami's elegant human body shift to that of a large dog. Her dog form, or demon form, as everyone called it, was the size of a tiger. Everyone, Azami included, found it strange that her human form exhibited straight fur on her ears and tail but her dog form was a bundle of tight curled fur. She bounded off through the forest with destination in mind. While she did detest her demon father, no, not detest more like total indifference. Anyway, despite her feelings toward her demon father, she did thank him for the ability to run free like this. She was a dog demon, a hunter, a runner, she was at the top of the food chain, and no one stood above her. She served Okumoto because he was kind to her. Had he shown even the slightest cruelty to her or Ichiru, his head would have fallen from his shoulders long ago.

Azami was not a cruel, just merciless. True there were very few who held her interest or her love, but those who did held her eternal loyalty. Anyone who knew Azami over twenty years ago would have told you that she had become much warmer, for her. Azami killed unnecessarily years ago. She protected her brother desperately, killing was her only tool. When she had first come the palace, she had not allowed anyone to approach her or Ichiru for several months, maybe even years. Blood was everything to demons, to Azami, trusting those of kin was natural however; those who were not were enemies. Once she had warmed up to Okumoto, he had introduced her to Akiko and the others slowly. The other hanyous regarded her with similar suspicion, hanyous had no place except with their apparent and siblings but they felt could not even trust others of their own kind. It was a sad fate they were born into. Sometimes Azami wondered if their parents knew how selfish they were, bringing such children into the world.

Nightfall came sooner than she would have liked. Personally Azami loved running at night, but it was wiser of her to stay put and hope a foolish meal wandered into her midst. She laid her head on her large paws and listened to the sounds of the night. Her nose twitched as she caught the scent of an ogre approach, she lay and low and waited for it to get closer. It probably smelled the human blood in her and assumed she was an easy meal, how ironic things would become.

Azami, if nothing else, was a hunter; and an excellent one at that. It was natural of course; because the demoness had learned to hunt she was barely able to speak. Azami couldn't stomach human food, a fact she learned early when she had to provide for her child self and infant brother. Only demon flesh could satiate her appetite. She assumed, human flesh could do the same, but that was cannibalism wasn't it? Her elegant curly furred tail swept the ground behind her as she waited for the ogre to approach. Her floppy ears moved further and further back to allow sound to flow in.

The ogre stumbled blindly into the clearing where she crouched. In one foul swoop, she pounced and bit into the ogre's neck. She loved the feeling of power she had when her powerful jaws closed over the demon's jugular. Its blood sprayed over her pristine fur. She ripped out the throat and began to devour her meal under the starry night sky.

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Princess: So begins the first chapter of my next piece. Azami is an inu-hanyou if you hadn't figured it out, so her brother. Full-blooded siblings. To put it simply, all demon characters introduced so far are hanyou. Yeah, I've been playing with this idea for awhile. I swear Azami's character changed more than anyone from the original idea, the plot is different too, but it's a little early to go into detail. Oh yeah, this takes place decades, at least fifty, after the events of the Inu-Yasha manga.