Brotherly Love

by Elocindragon

Inuyasha travels to Mt. Hakurei to stop Naraku from his evil plans. But where he arrives, someone else is there searching for something--Sesshomaru! What happens when the brothers are forced to help each other without their will? Sibling fights and plot t

Brotherly Love

Disclaimer: Don't own Inu-Yasha, yady, yady, yady, yada!

Note: Not yaoi! The characters Komashi and Heromata are just made up villains I thought of. Also. This is my (Very)first fic so please be nice. Being a first fic, ignore punctuation and grammar mistakes. Another thing to make note of– I didn't make it as funny in the first half as the second half . Somehow I switched into a more comical mood while writing later on. So if things seem to be more random in the second half, you now know why. One more thing...I suck at writing battle scenes, be nice... Thanks for your time. Sibling Rivalry Rules! Sesshy v.s. Inu

Inu-Yasha walked quickly and quietly down the musty tunnel of the Mt. Hakurei.He sensed something. –A familiar aura about... "What is it?" Inu-Yasha said to himself. He quickened his pace and rounded the corner pondering his thoughts, when he saw him.- Sesshomaru. His elder half brother. Unlike Inu-Yasha, Sesshomaru was a full blooded demon; evil, clever, and most of all hated half breeds.

"Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha said in surprise. What was he doing here? Inu-Yasha had no time for this he knew. He had to go and find Naraku's heart that was buried deep within the Mt. Hakurei. If he didn't, terrible things would happen. Things that he dared not think about. But if he blew it off, Naraku's evil would increase and he would soon become a full fledged bonafide demon. Still...

"What are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru smirked a little. "I should be asking you the same thing." He paused as he looked Inu-Yasha up and down seeing his wounds and bruises. "Goodness gracious, brother! Where on earth did you get those scratches? Never mind, it cannot be helped... I was here to find something most precious that is said to bring about good fortune. But I see..." Sesshomaru's eyes became slits. Inu-Yasha stiffened. " That I have found an even greater treasure. " Inu-Yasha gulped. "Tetsusaiga."

With a sudden movement Sesshomaru leaped toward Inu-Yasha with shocking speed. Arm stretched out he knocked Inu-Yasha to the ground. Inu-Yasha howled in pain. Again Sesshomaru prepared for another swing, but this time Inu-Yasha dodged.

"You will never get my sword!" Inu-Yasha yelled as he supported himself against the rocky walls. Quicky, he pulled out the tetsusaiga as it transformed into a great big fang. "You should know that by now. Father gave you the tensesaiga. You should learn to respect and use it !" Inu-Yasha held out his sword in defense position, waiting for Sesshomaru to make a move.

Sesshomaru smiled from across the room. " Have no fear. I should have gotten the tetsusaiga instead of the useless tensesaiga. But dear father transferred that sword over to you... the dirty little half breed!" Inu-Yasha flinched a little. Sesshomaru continued his insults. " Your dear mortal mother would be proud of you... that is if she were still alive. But being a worthless human being, of course she died off quickly." Sesshomaru grinned evilly as he saw Inu-Yasha begin to shake in anger.

"Sesshoma-"

"Dear brother," Sesshomaru continued. "Do not be offended. It was not your fault you came along. I never understood father's passion for humans. I watched from afar as he slowly became entranced by HER. I was appalled as he spent more and more time with that thing. What about his duties? What about his time with me. But no, he was to busy with what he clammed 'more important matters.' Then you came along. Born out of their ridiculous affections!" Sesshomaru frowned. "That weak mortal wretch of a mother died for the good of the world. It was good riddance." Inu-Yasha was now fully shaking, about to burst.

"And now you carry on the tradition little bro. That filly that you haul around. You seem to have affections for her -the annoying little thing she is- but as they say 'The bee is attracted to the flower.' You can dally around with her for eternity half breed, if you wish. You deserve her. Go play with that filth."

Inu-Yasha lifted his head in anger. "Don't you dare bring Kagome into this Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru shrugged. "Whatever. Now back to the subject. The point is that tetsusaiga will be my property. And you will soon be dead."

Inu-Yasha lifted his sword, enraged at all of Sesshomaru's insults. He blindly began attacking everywhere... rocks, walls, etc. Sesshomaru easy dodged and swung his nails into Inu-Yasha's flesh. Poison flooded into his veins making him brake his focus. Inu-Yasha's eyes widened as he was dealt another blow from Sesshomaru's fist. As he hit the ground, dirt scrapped across his face into his eyes and mouth. Inu-Yasha lay there in terrible pain. I must get up. He thought as his whole body twitched. I must! He propped his arm up in attempt to stand. He winced in pain as he supported himself. It felt like hundreds and hundreds of pounds were on top of him. His breath became ragged and hoarse. The sweaty bangs on his head dangled across his face. His eyes had a determined look and his fangs gnashed in anger. I must fight. I must... I- Inu-Yasha began to sway and with a thump everything went black.

Sesshomaru watched from behind as his brother fell in exhaustion to the dirt of the cave. He waited a few seconds more to see if he would get up. When that did not happen, Sesshomaru stepped quietly out of the shadows. "I didn't give him that much poison." Sesshomaru said to himself as he looked at his talons in an almost confused tone.

But soon his tide changed. "Oh well," He shrugged. "I guess the half breed is not as strong as he boasted. Now I can take the tetsusaiga for myself."

Sesshomaru walked gracefully over to his fallen brother, who still had the now untransformed tetsusaiga clutched tightly in his hands. Sesshomaru slowly extended his hand and finally got a good glance at his brother. His mangled form looked almost timid and meek lying there. The rips of his clothes, his bloodstained hair... Sesshomaru slowly withdrew his hand into a tight fist. I cannot take it like this. Sesshomaru thought to himself. Not while he is unfit to fight. There would be no pleasure if there was not a challenge. Inu-Yasha had been the closest thing to a real opponent. Yet again, this might be the only time tetsusaiga might be unguarded. Sesshomaru growled in indecision. What should he do? It was like he was a thread pulled in two different directions.

He abruptly shook his head, clearly disappointed with himself. What was he thinking! He was Sesshomaru. The son of the great dog demon, Inutaisho. Lord of the western lands. He was invincible to everyone and everything. There was no way a little decision could block his way to victory!

Sesshomaru again reached for the tetsusaiga that laid in Inu-Yasha's hand. He had to rap the sword within his cloth when he picked it up . This is due to the fact that he could not touch it. Why his father put a spell on it against him was a puzzle . He was the head son, he had the birthright, why grant Inu-Yasha with more power?

He tucked the wrapped sword tightly beneath his sash, and patted it gently. Sesshomaru smiled to himself and snorted. "Now that wasn't to hard Sesshomaru. Dear Inu-Yasha shall never get the best of you now." He started towards the exits of the lair, when he heard a faint growl. Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks as a low snarl rented the air. "Don't be to sure Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru spun around in surprise to see Inu-Yasha standing hunched over. There was something different about him, yet something familiar all the same. Sesshomaru sniffed the air. Yes, that was it! Inu-Yasha's blood scent had changed! Sesshomaru's eyes widened in surprise. Not again! The last time this had happened Inu-Yasha had truly acted as a full blooded demon going into an absolute havoc. Now Sesshomaru could see the uncontrollable power pulsing through Inu-Yasha.

Inu-Yasha lifted his head towards Sesshomaru and snarled. His fangs were elongated now, his eyes were a deep shade of red, and the pupils were only little dots of blue. His cheek line now had one purple demon stripe on each side too. Claws extended and body ridged, Inu-Yasha readied for attack. "Now... you die Sesshomaru." The declaration was true. Inu-Yasha cracked his knuckles and leapt straight into the air at Sesshomaru.

"I don't think so."

Sesshomaru also leapt into the air pulling out his corrupted sword- the Tokijin. "Sorry about this dear little brother." Sesshomaru said glancing at his sword. "This is what will end the fight." He swiped the sword at Inu-Yasha, almost an inch closer and the blade would have decapitated him. But Inu-Yasha was to quick, he dodged and scratched Sesshomaru across the face. Sesshomaru howled in more anger than pain. "My face!" That was it. Inu-Yasha had gone to far! Sesshomaru circled around Inu-Yasha, as our "hero" glared back. Calmly Sesshomaru said, "You will pay." He swung Tokijin grazing Inu-Yasha's arms, who barely sidestepped out of the way.

Inu-Yasha had never felt this maddened before. Well, maybe he had felt a little bit before, but this time was beyond anything. He wanted to kill and to kill as much as possible. Nothing would stand in his way, not even the being that stood in front of him- The one who had caused him so much pain.

Inu-Yasha leapt into the air and spun around, his razor sharp claws targeting his opponent. "I won't pay as much as you will!" He yelled as his hand caught Sesshomaru midair and plunged downward. Downward through Sesshomaru's breast plate and into his stomach. Sesshomaru's eyes widened in shock as they both plundered down to the earth. The air rushed faster and faster until finally they hit, sending rocks and dirt flying.

Neither demon moved. Sesshomaru looked down to see that Inu-Yasha's fist was still embedded in his stomach. Gasping for breath Sesshomaru yanked Inu-Yasha's hand out of it and tossed him aside. He coughed up dark blood as he struggled to stand. But just as he straightened up Inu-Yasha jumped onto him, claws raking, sending both of them rolling down the tunnel toward the center chamber of the mountain. Thwak! Sesshomaru kicked Inu-Yasha's face with his hard boot. This making Inu-Yasha tumble farther down the tunnel.

Quickly seeing the chance, Sesshomaru brought Tokijin into attack pose. "Now time to see your dear filthy mortal mother Inu-Yasha. Go to the underworld!" Inu-Yasha got up and charged at him slashing and hacking everything in sight. But Sesshomaru was ready. With only a couple of slashes here and there Inu-Yasha finally looked beaten to a pulp, as blood spewed everywhere. Despite all of his injuries, Inu-Yasha took no notice. He slashed and swiped at Sesshomaru, who avoided them easily. It was obvious that Inu-Yasha was losing energy and that he was slowing down. As these futile attempts were happening, Sesshomaru remembered something that the old tree hermit had once said he him. 'If he becomes endangered, his demon blood will take over and cause a transformation. However, he cannot stay in that form for long or else it will eat himself away and he will lose his soul completely. This is because his half body is not able to handle the pressure and the strain like a normal demon can. He will be reduced to a monster in short time. No anger, no joy, no sorrow, no nothing. A demon of death.'

Then another thought entered Sesshomaru's head as he continued to strike the tiering Inu-Yasha. The voice of the little lass in their last encounter. 'Help, what do we do! He's losing control again, he's slaughtering the whole village!' Then the voice of the little flea demon. 'Lady Kagome, the tetsusaiga, the tetsusaiga! Give the tetsusaiga to Inu-Yasha! It will undo the spell!'

'That's right, the tetsusaiga is Inu-Yasha's sealing sword, he will turn back into a half demon if he has the tetsusaiga.' Sesshomaru stopped his attack on Inu-Yasha and stared at his brother. He was panting desperately, his body shaking all over, the power was still flowing through him as if it could not be stopped. Sesshomaru did not want to fight Inu-Yasha like this, never again. He hated to say it but, it sickened him to the bone. This was defiantly not worth it. He wanted to fight him, the real Inu-Yasha, not this- this savage!

Sesshomaru untied his sash that held the tetsusaiga, and walked slowly over to his enraged brother. 'Once the real Inu-Yasha is back I can kill him, with no hesitation.' Sesshomaru looked at his surroundings for the first time since the battle. They were now on a ledged walkway in a cavern over a volcano of bubbling lava! 'This must be where the fortune is.' Thought Sesshomaru as he neared Inu-Yasha. 'A place where it is hotter than the sun, the treasure lies. A place where any being may enter, yet any evil dies. This is it! The Holy Magma River!' Sesshomaru smiled to himself. He may have lost the tetsusaiga today, but the other doohickey he wanted was sure to be here, in this very cavern! Sesshomaru blocked a blown Inu-Yasha tried to swing, and thrust the enchanted sword into his hands. "There. As much as I hate to admit it, you need it more than I do." Sesshomaru turned away from his demorphing brother and gazed out at the scenery before him.

Inu-Yasha opened his eyes in confusion. "Huh? What? Where am I? " Inu-Yasha rubbed his eyes with his hand as he tucked tetsusaiga into his tie. "Man, it's hot in here!" In shock he saw Sesshomaru a few feet away from him looking at the cavern walls, almost as if searching for something... Inu-Yasha looked over the edge of the walkway in curiosity, but yelped as he saw the rumbling fire river below. "Sesshomaru! What the heck is going on, where are we!"

Sesshomaru slowly turned around. "Ah, so you are awake now. I am only wondering, but do you recall what just happened to you?"

Inu-Yasha looked at Sesshomaru in confusion. "What garbage are you spewing now! All I remember is that we were in a big fight or whatever because you wanted the tetsusaiga and called my mother some awful things... And then everything went suddenly black . Then I felt as if there was some sort of force controlling me. And then..." Inu-Yasha's eyes went wide in shock.

"No! I transformed again didn't I!" Inu-Yasha waited for an answer but it never came. "Sesshomaru what happened! Did I transform!"

Sesshomaru shrugged his shoulders in annoyance. "Whatever. It's not important, at least now I can kill you and take tetsusaiga as my own!" Sesshomaru bounced forward with his hand in a fist. "I will miss you, little, dear brother. Goodbye." He swung at the newly "awaken" Inu-Yasha in attempt to smash him. But with the demon effects still wearing off, Inu-Yasha ducked just in time, leaving the deathblow Sesshomaru concocted to over shoot.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Sesshomaru began to lose balance on the edge of the walkway over the bubbling river below. He started to fall backward on the slippery rocks. In shock, Inu-Yasha hurried over to his doomed brother just as he fell from sight. "Noooooooooooo!" Inu-Yasha yelled as he reached over the edge nearly missing the end of his brother's tail.

Inu-Yasha pulled with all his might in hopes to pull his brother up the edge. Grunting, he saw Sesshomaru reaching for his hand. "Don't fall in Sesshomaru or you'll vanish! This is the Holy Magma river. NO demon has ever made it out" Struggling some more Inu-Yasha pulled and pulled.

"Ow! My tail!" Sesshomaru yelled down the cliff side.

"Well," Inu-Yasha grunted "It's a good thing you aren't a big poofy guy or this would be really difficult!" Slowly Sesshomaru began to ascend. "Reach!" Inu-Yasha yelled as he stretched his hand down to Sesshomaru's. After a couple of misses they clasped hands. "There!" Inu-Yasha half pulled half dragged Sesshomaru onto the solid ground. HE then let out a hard breath. "That was a close one."

Nearby in the shadows Naraku -the evil demon that has thwarted the heros time and time again- watched. He chuckled to himself. Little did they know death was near. He looked down at the almost complete Shikon Jewel. "I think it is time to put an end to all this chaos." He grinned evilly, his red eyes shown through the darkness. "Goodbye Inu-Yasha."

Inu-Yasha quietly sat up against a rock and closed his eyes. He was tired. Too tired to do anything else at the moment. "You saved my life." Inu-Yasha jerked his head in surprise toward Sesshomaru.

" Ah, It was nothing."Inu-Yasha was amazed at Sesshomaru's words. But it could just be that he had just saved his life. He again closed his eyes it was time to sleep. Sesshomaru may still kill him, but that was a risk he was willing to take. So... Tired...BOOM! Suddenly Inu-Yasha was on his feet. BOOM! "Sesshomaru!" BOOM! "Sesshomaru! Where are you!" Inu-Yasha spread his arms out to try and keep balance. BOOM!

"I'm over here you ridiculous half breed." The voice of his brother came from behind. He turned and there Sesshomaru was standing amidst the crumbling rocks. "We must leave." Sesshomaru said turning around.

"Huh?" What was with Sesshomaru all of a sudden? Why was he helping him? Was it because he had saved his life? Whatever it was, Inu-Yasha didn't argue. Inu-Yasha leapt over the rocks after his brother. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! More and more rocks came down as the blasts shook the walls. "Hurry." Boulders began falling down around himself.

"Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha called in panic as rocks began to pile all around him.

Sesshomaru turned in horror as huge boulder fell, straight for Inu-Yasha. He leapt over mounds of rock and dirt grabbing Inu-Yasha just before the boulder smashed him. "Darn it! You slimy slug of a brother-"

"Watch out!" Inu-Yasha screamed. "The river, we'll never make it!" They had jumped the cliff and now were headed straight down to a fiery death.

"Hold on tight." Sesshomaru said quietly to Inu-Yasha as he guided their fall. The wind whipped around them. I think I'm going to be sick. Inu-Yasha thought to himself. He closed his eyes tightly. Thumph...

"Huh," Inu-Yasha stuck his head out of Sesshomaru's puffy tail. Land! They were still on land! It was amazing. Before Inu-Yasha leapt for joy he noticed that it was only a little drifting rock in the stupid lava river. Sesshomaru dropped him on the ground hard and surveyed the area. "This will only serve as a temporary resting ground. So I suggest we keep a look out for a safe jumping distance." Inu-Yasha nodded his approval. It was true. They were stuck in the middle of a very big fiery death with no place to go. So they would just have to wait. He smiled to himself. Maybe Sesshomaru wasn't as bad as he thought.

"No." Naraku said to himself. "This cannot go on like this." He frowned down at the sacred Shikon jewel in his hand. "More power. I need more power." A sudden wave of energy pulsated out of the jewel. "Yea wahoo, baby!" And Naraku leapt into the air laughing. Well no, he didn't do that, but he was one happy demon! "Whaa, haa, haa, haa, haa, haaa, haaaa!" Naraku chuckled loudly. "Now all I need is that cursed treasure and I will rule the universe! Mwah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Back to the bros now...

BOOOOOOOOM! "What is that!" Inu-Yasha yelled looking up at the cavern ceiling.

Sesshomaru looked at him. "I bet I know what it is-"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Sorry, but Sesshomaru was unable to finish his sentence.

"Ahhh." Sploosh!

Sesshomaru turned around to see Inu-Yasha had fallen into the river. "Inu-Yasha!" Sesshomaru yelled. No answer. He scanned the bubbling lava. After a minute or so, he then tilted his head in failure. And he was just beginning to have this feeling of-. Well... now he was all alone. Actually that wasn't entirely true. That scummy little Jaken was always willing to tag along, and Rin would stick by him too. But it felt like he had lost something more.

Sesshomaru turned his back to the lava and scanned the walls. This was no ordinary earthquake. It was done by someone. Someone very, very evil.Sesshomaru squinted his golden eyes. They would pay. Splooshhshug! Sesshomaru turned around in surprise as Inu-Yasha crawled up onto the rock coughing. "Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha are you alright!" Sesshomaru observed that Inu-Yasha was now fully human with dark brown eyes and jet black hair. "How is it that you survived?"

Sesshomaru now looked straight into Inu-Yasha's eyes. Inu-Yasha looked somewhat embarrassed and tilted his head down in shame. "It's because, you know, I'm half human and this fire only kills full blooded demons. So it washed away my demonic half." Inu-Yasha remained silent, almost shy.

"Inu-Yasha-" BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha looked up in horror. "Don't fall in! Don't! Or you will die!" But it was to late. Sesshomaru tail and all hurtled off the rock splashing head first into the river. "Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha yelled in panic as exploding lights flashed all around where Sesshomaru had landed. Tears welled up in his eyes as he watched the shimmering lights fate away. Inu-Yasha put his head in his hands. "I never cry!" He yelled angrily. "Never!" Inu-Yasha pounded the rock in frustration.

"He's gone..." Inu-Yasha shrieked in grievance. "No! He's gone!" Thud! Inu-Yasha turned to see the river was now going through a tiny tunnel. Sharp rocks judded out everywhere. "Oh Crap!" Inu-Yasha tried to turn the rock, but you know it was a rock, come on! It was futile. He would never get out of this one alive. Especially in a wimpy human body.

Inu-Yasha's eyes widened in horror as a huge jagged stone came into veiw. His rock was destined to hit it. Inu-Yasha clung onto his rock and hoped for the best. THHHHHHUUUMMMPPPHHHH! Everything went black again.

Thip, Thip, Thip, Thip, Inu-Yasha groaned in fatigue. "No, Shippo this is no time for pranks. Thip, Thip, Thip, Thip, Thip, Thip. Inu-Yasha wrinkled his face in frustration. "Dang you Shippo! This is no time for stupid horseplay. Can't you see I'm trying to sleep!" The noises just got louder and louder. "UUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Inu-Yasha tried to sit up but couldn't due to wounds. "This is stupid!" He said beginning a temper. "Go get Kagome, O.K.?" Why was everything so dark in here? Thip, Thip, Thip... "Gees! You idiot, show yourself!"

Inu-Yasha began to worry. What was that sound? Thip, Thip, Thip... Suddenly the sound stopped. Inu-Yasha strained to heard more, but his human ears just weren't as attuned to his demon ones. Dang, Inu-Yasha cursed himself. Why did he have to fall in that crappy river? Being human was the worst thing that could happen to him. Inu-Yasha began to heard the sound of blades scraping against each other.

A smooth silky voice interrupted the blades raking. "So. It ends here Inu-Yasha?" The scrapping continued. "A shame you have to leave this world in that pathetic human form."

Inu-Yasha turned toward the sound of the voice. Despite the fact that he could see nothing at all. "Who the heck are you! What are you doing here?"

" My name is Komashi. But, no little half demon, I believe the question is, what are you doing here?" It was a chilling question that countered back onto him. "Plotting to spoil Naraku's plans, I presume?"

Inu-Yasha gasped. Did Naraku know he was here? If so, was this one of his many minions? He had to find out. "How would you know if I was plotting or not?"

There came a delicate laugh from the figure. "What an absurd thought! Can you really picture the great Naraku stupid enough to ignore this!" 'Yea,' thought Inu-Yasha. Inu-Yasha inhaled sharply, so Naraku had been monitoring his progress. This wasn't too surprising since he had all kinds of spies everywhere. But still, if it hadn't been for the interference with Sesshomaru, he could have gotten to Naraku's heart quickly and disposed of it. To late now. Plus his brother was dead for all he knew. Not even ashes on that bloody river! He would revenge his brother!

"I'm waiting for an answer half-demon! I can see where you are. Don't even think about running."

Inu-Yasha snapped out of his thoughts. This was another one of Naraku's spawn. 'It must be nocturnal too, if it can see where I am.' Slowly he opened his mouth as if about to bite into death itself. " I don't know who you are but I am not here to kill your lord nabooboo, or whoever he is. I'm on a mission to search for the...the..."

The silky voice cut in. "Wrong answer!" With that, there came the sound of blades unsheathing. " You, simpleminded fool, I know you came here to kill Naraku, as did he knew too!"

The sound of heels running fast came from behind Inu-Yasha. He spun around fast and smacked into a wall. "Owww.." He moaned as he rubbed his head. The clicking heels came from behind again.

"Die, Inu-Yasha!"

"Ahhhhh!" Inu-Yasha grabbed desperately for his Tetsusaiga. SHHINCK! The three blades collided against each other sending a quick spark of light. Inu-Yasha managed to see an outline of the figure named Komashi. Surprisingly she was very small, and dressed in a traditional kimono. She had bat-like wings and ears protruding from herself. Her red eyes flashed evilly in the dull spark. No wonder she could see well in the dark. - She was a bat demon! Their blades clashed again and again sending sparks everywhere. 'Crap! I will never be able to get out of this alive! Especially if my Tetsusaiga doesn't transform.' He had forgotten that when he was human that Tetsusaiga didn't transform. His blade, nor his body, would be able to keep up must longer.

" Now, half breed farewell!" Komashi giggled evilly and flipped Inu-Yasha's blade out of his hands and onto the dirt covered floor.

"Gak!" Inu-Yasha felt Komashi's knife slide up under his neck. He stopped resistance immediately.

"Ha, I've won this little game! Time to send you to the netherworld!" Blood began to trickle down Inu-Yasha's neck, he breathed heavily. If this was it. If this was his time, his time to leave, then...

Whack! Inu-Yasha blinked in surprise, "What!" came Komashi's voice. Another whack, and Inu-Yasha felt Komashi's blades leave his throat. The intruder continued. A horrid sound found Inu-Yasha's ears. A yell followed as the intruder stopped his/her gruesome torment. Komashi screamed in agony. "You! How dare you injure Komash-" Shinnnnnnngghhh! Silence. Again. Now what? thought Inu-Yasha. Komashi must be dead.

"You must be the one responsible." The voice was that of a deep male. "Come to steal my treasure eh?" There was no point in arguing, even if he didn't know what this man was talking about. "Treasure, what treasure! I didn't know there was a treasure in here. I only came here to destroy Naraku's heart."

The intruder only scoffed. "Naraku whata? Heh, ya right, buddy. I've been following you for awhile and you have that look of desire in your eyes. I've lived here for along time now and I know what you kind of people want. They come in here all the time looking for what is rightfully mine. They only find death or well... they surrender."

Inu-Yasha only smirked. " You fart, do you really think I'm here on a mission to get your little treasure or what ever. Because I really don't have time for something like this!" Inu-Yasha leapt to his feet and swung his arms around blindly. "Get out of my way I have a demon to kill!"

He managed to push the stranger aside and as quickly as he could, and felt the sides of the walls for support. 'Dang!' He thought. "I can't get out of here like this! It's still pitch black! What if that guy can-".

"See?" The stranger laughed from behind. "Yes, you are one hundred percent correct. And now have a nice sleep."

A sharp ping hit Inu-Yasha in the chest and he slumped to the floor. The stranger laughed evilly to himself as he adjusted his sight goggles to a higher concentration of light. He lifted Inu-Yasha up across his shoulders. And slowly began to walk through the cavern hallway. "Another down for the count."

Naraku did not feel a lost as he studied his almost complete Shikon jewel. "So," he muttered to himself. "Komashi has lost." Naraku grinned evilly as he tossed the thought away. "Well I guess it's time to take this fully into my hands."

"Uh," Inu-Yasha moaned and sluggishly lifted his eyelids. Everything was blurry and disoriented. He blinked rapidly a few times and sat up slowly, swaying on the spot. Waiting for the blur to pass Inu-Yasha cried out in pain as he tried to move his arms. One of them appeared to be sprained while the other was badly bruised.

Now in focus, Inu-Yasha looked at his surroundings. He gasped when he saw that he was trapped in some sort of cage. He grabbed the metal bars and pulled. No use. His human arms were too weak. What was he going to do? How was he going to get out?

To no avail Inu-Yasha slumped back down in frustration, only to land on something soft.

"What the h-" He looked down to see that the thing he had landed on, was in fact, Sesshomaru!

Inu-Yasha's eyes went wide. "What! But Sesshomaru, YOUR DEAD!"

Inu-Yasha thumped himself on the head. What was he thinking! This was all a dream. Sesshomaru couldn't come back from the dead! Besides, Inu-Yasha leaned closer to get a good look. He didn't even look like a demon. In fact he looked fully human! That could never happen, Inu-Yasha knew. Yes, it had to be a dream. Inu-Yasha fell back onto the hard floor and closed his eyes. Sleep. It was just a dream. Just a dream...

"Inu-Yasha?" the voice came from next to him.

Inu-Yasha eyes jolted open and he leapt to the other side of the cage. "Begone, you fake!" He saw the figure turn around slowly to face him. 'This is all a dream, this is all a dream.' He kept telling himself.

"Inu-Yasha is that you?" The human Sesshomaru blinked disbelievingly. Inu-Yasha only nodded his head rapidly, too shocked to say anything.

'How can this be!' Inu-Yasha kept telling himself. 'It's only a dream.' Inu-Yasha came to grips shook his head, and closed his eyes. "Wait! I don't even know why I'm talking to you."

"What do you mean!" Sesshomaru said angrily.

"Well," began Inu-Yasha. "Because this is only a dream. A fiction of my imagination. I saw you die in that stupid Holy Magma River! No one can come back to life from that!"

"Inu-Yasha you retard, this is too, real. We are in a cage, in a room, in a evil genius's house, embedded in this cave, in this absurd mountain!"

Inu-Yasha opened up one of his eyes slowly and looked around at all the experimental stuff in the room. There was everything from wooden gadgets to piles of scrolls or mounds of gold and jewels. "Okay, Okay, I get you on that, but I have a few questions for you."

"What kind of questions?"

"Questions that will tell me if you are really my brother or not."

Sesshomaru only shrugged.

"Okay first question, what is my name?"

Sesshomaru stared at him dumbly and then started laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny about that! Huh? Is that a question that is to hard for you to answer!"

Sesshomaru stopped his fit of laughter. "No, It's just that it was a really dumb question, that's all. Your name is Inu-Yasha!"

Inu-Yasha cursed himself. It was to easy of a question, people in dreams tended to know what your names were. "Okay, next question. What is my quest?"

"To seek out Naraku's heart and kill it."

"Oh, well that was also a really easy question." Inu-Yasha rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Next question, what is my favorite color?"

"Pink."

"What! How did you know that!"

"You dumb, dumb. Don't you remember when I got my first case of eyeshadow? And it was pink? You fell instantly in love with it. Always trying to steal it when I wasn't looking. Ohhh, it made me so mad!"

Inu-Yasha was finding this harder and harder to think this was all a dream. "Alright last question... what color is my underwear."

"Duh, pink!"

"Okay, now that's just scary!" Inu-Yasha walked over to Sesshomaru. "A-are you sure this isn't just a dream?"

"Would you stop it Inu-Yasha of course this isn't a dream." Sesshomaru managed to pulled Inu-Yasha down to eye level. His brown eyes blazed with determination. Almost as if saying 'See I told ya."

Inu-Yasha gasped. This wasn't a dream, now he just knew. He didn't know how to explain it but this was all real. "Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha grabbed Sesshomaru around the middle and hugged him tightly.

"What the crap are you doing!" Sesshomaru tried to pry Inu-Yasha's arms away from himself. "Get off me!" Sesshomaru began to lose his cool and smacked Inu-Yasha right in the face, sending him flying to the other side of the cage, and crumpling to the floor. Realizing what he had just done Sesshomaru called out in alarm. "Inu-Yasha are you alright!"

Inu-Yasha began to giggle in a sickly voice. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, hee, hee, hee. Yup! You are the real Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes in annoyance. Now that this was over he could explain to Inu-Yasha what was really going on. Sesshomaru helped him to a sitting position, and sat down next to him.

"You okay?"

Inu-Yasha snapped into a serious state. "Ya." It was time to figure out what Inu-Yasha knew. "Inu-Yasha," Sesshomaru started, also in a serious tone. "Do you know what happened to you, and who attacked you?"

Inu-Yasha looked confused. "You mean the bat girl or the weird assassin guy?"

"Both. I need to know everything if we are ever going to get out of here."

Inu-Yasha took a deep breath. " Well after you fell into the river I also had an accident. The rock we had been on crashed into some jagged rocks, and knocked me out. When I awoke everything was pitch black and I didn't know where I was. Then a bat demon attacked me clamming that she was an agent of Naraku. So obviously Naraku knew I was here. Then right as I was about to die a stranger killed Komashi and-"

"Komashi?"

"The bat demon girl. That was her name."

"Oh, continue."

"So the stranger came and killed her and demanded whether or not I was here to take his precious treasure or something like that.-"

Sesshomaru practically hit the ceiling. (He had jumped that high.) "Did you say he had a treasure!"

"Ya, why?"

"Well that was why I was originally here in the first place. That is before our little spittle." Sesshomaru eyed Inu-Yasha evilly then continued. "I was searching for this treasure."

"So, that's why. Well, the guy said it was his and that if anyone tried to take it he would either kill you or make you surrender."

"So I am suppose to believe he mistook you for a treasure-grabber?" Sesshomaru almost had a humorous look on his face. Funny, Inu-Yasha thought. Sesshomaru seemed to be more open to his feelings as a human. He could understand if that were the case. He personally hated being fully human, the emotions just streamed out everywhere. He always wondered how Kagome, Miroku, and Sango managed to control it. Well, Kagome wasn't the best at keeping it together either. Maybe this was why Kagome always ran away and cried. But he had to admit-she was certainly better at keeping it together than he was.

"Yes, he thought I was going to take it, so he stunned me and I ended up here."

"Hmmmm." Sesshomaru thought to himself. "Did he say anything about what would happen to you if you surrendered?"

"No, it was straightforward. 'You will be killed or you will surrender.'" Inu-Yasha tried to mimic the man. Sesshomaru chuckled a little. "So... how did you survive that river's lava? You're a demon, and demons vanish in there. What were you thinking right then?"

Sesshomaru blushed stupidly. "Nothing."

"Oh, come on, you had to be thinking about something good, other wise you would be dead."

"Mind your own business."

Inu-Yasha dropped it there, no point in going on if Sesshomaru wasn't giving in. "You know, your different when you're human."

Sesshomaru frowned. "Yes, I've realized. # human emotions! How can you stand it!" Sesshomaru looked at him in a pleading way. A way Inu-Yasha had never seen him before.

"You can't stand it. That's the problem. I always wonder how the others take it so well. Always laughing at my new moon experiences and at my handicapness. But they are always at my side, no matter what. Especially Kagome."

There was a long silence as the two stared off into the distances. "Do you love her Inu-Yasha?" Sesshomaru asked.

Inu-Yasha was taken back by the unexpected question. No one had ever asked him something like that before. "Yes." he said quietly, gazing off into space. "Kagome has cured me in a way that no one ever has. The way she walks, the way she talks, entrances me. Her whole being is on fire, like the holy magma river, destroying any evil nearby. Yes. I love her. And I miss her greatly. She wanted to come along this time, but I wouldn't let her. If anything ever happened to her, I'd never forgive myself." Again the silence returned, but this time in a more peaceful manner. "What about you?" Inu-Yasha asked curiously.

Sesshomaru only turned the other way not saying a word. Inu-Yasha patted him on the back reassuringly. "Oh, come on, you have a true love, don't you? I mean the thought of you being single for nine hundred years is kind of.." Sesshomaru glared at him. "Whoa. sorry!" Inu-
Yasha said defensively getting the point. " But isn't it lonely? I don't know how you can stand it. " Thinking hard, Inu-Yasha went through many images of ladies who liked Sesshomaru. Not one of them Sesshomaru loved back. Then an idea struck him. Almost evilly Inu-Yasha continued. "I know who you like! That little kid, what's her name again- Oh! Rin, that's right. You seem to like her a lot."

Sesshomaru turned to glare at Inu-Yasha. "Are you perverted or something! That's just sick! Why would I have a kid for a wife!"

Inu-Yasha grinned nervously. "But I thought that-"

"Well you thought wrong!" Sesshomaru finished for him. "I love Rin almost like a daughter, nothing more."

Inu-Yasha began to point at Sesshomaru and laugh. "Ha, see you do love her!"

"No! Not like that you little idiot!"

Inu-Yasha still howled with mirth. "Ha! Sesshomaru loves a kid! Sesshomaru loves a kid!"

Sesshomaru tried desperately to cover Inu-Yasha's mouth with his hands. "No you baka! Stop it! Someone will hear you!" Inu-Yasha dodged Sesshomaru's palm. "You just don't get it do you!"

Inu-Yasha dogged Sesshomaru's hand again. "Oh, I get it completely bro. Your going to wait till she's like seventeen or something and marry her!" Sesshomaru gritted his teeth. He watched as Inu-Yasha began to count on his fingers. "You see, she's about seven now and your about nine hundred years old in demon years. But you appear to be about nineteen in human years. So when she's about seventeen it will be as if you are still nineteen years old! Dang that's weird... The bad part to this though, is that you will be a widow when your about twenty...You're going to have to find a new wife in about eighty years. So, if you live to be about two thousand, in your lifetime you could be married to about, I don't know, what 26 girls! That's kind of sad. You would be a polygamist! Ahhhh! No I won't let you! Don't you just love math! It tells you about everything! Now I'll be able to stop you from a horrid future...Wait a second!" Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyes. "How do I know you haven't married twelve girls already! Your nine hundred years old, who knows what you've done!"Sesshomaru rolled his eyes as Inu-Yasha went off on his little tangent. "No! Sesshomaru your so evil! You can't go one like this! I'll save you!"

Sesshomaru pulled one the ruff of Inu-Yasha's fire rat's shirt so that Inu-Yasha was looking him straight in the eye. Sesshomaru smiled sarcastically. "Dear brother, I believe you've had to many blows to the head this evening. I think it's time to stop. "

This only made Inu-Yasha talk more. "Well it's not completely my fault I'm all beat up if you remember accurately. A lot of those blows hurt Sesshomaru!"

"Well, you know you could always go back to bed and get some rest."

Inu-Yasha saw a wicked smile from Sesshomaru. Scared, he backed away. "What are you planning Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru rose a fist into the air. "One more punch won't addle your brain too much will it?"

Inu-Yasha cried out as Sesshomaru delivered the hit home. Inu-Yasha hit the floor out cold. Sesshomaru smiled to himself. It was such a pain being a older brother. Sometimes the oldest child needed to be alone. This was one of those times.

Heromata fixed his robe as he walked into his experimental room over to the cage of the two humans. Good. He grinned evilly to see that both were still asleep. Time to put his plan into action! Slowly he opened the cage and woke Inu-Yasha. Too surprised for words, Inu-Yasha backed away from the tall, hulky man.

He had a long, black braid intertwined together, that ran down his back. Also he had protruding fangs, long dragon like claws and spikes on his back. (They had obviously ripped through his long trench-coat.) A thick hide of fur laid on his shoulders, making them look twice as big. A long tail flicked back and forth behind the man, and it was as spiky as his back It was noticeable that he once had been a man by the way half of his body was demon-like while the other half was human. An example- his face. Scales covered one side whereas the other looked of soft peach flesh. It was almost as if something was slowly changing him.

"Well, you finally up for a tour?" The man asked in a deep voice. Inu-Yasha only stared in horror. It was the same man that killed Komashi and stunned him.

"What do you want of me?" Inu-Yasha asked as bravely as he could. He knew in human form he didn't stand a chance.

Heromata only smiled back and reached for Inu-Yasha's neck.

"Inu-Yasha?" Sesshomaru asked sleepfully as he rolled over only to find Inu-Yasha rapped around the waist tightly by a giant tail. "Sesshomaru run for your life! It's the guy who's got the treasure!"

Sesshomaru stood up to his full height. He glared at the dragon man. "Put my brother down now!"

Heromata crackled evilly. "Well that's a jackpot! Two brothers. I know you two are very strong. In fact if it hadn't have been for your uneventful falls into the river, you would have been too strong." Heromata turned away from Sesshomaru, and began closing the door slowly. "By the way we were never properly introduced. I am Lord Heromata. You are dog demons are you not? And dogs always have a master. Always ready to serve faithfully. Are you ready to serve me faithfully?"

Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles menacingly. "Not in your life!"

Heromata only shrugged and shut the door before Sesshomaru could rush out. Sesshomaru snarled angrily as Heromata carried his helpless brother out of the room. For the the second time that day he had failed his brother. Sesshomaru sank to the ground in despair and pounded the ground furiously. He still had to get out, but how?

Inu-Yasha struggled against the bonds of the dragon-man's tail. "Let me go!" But of course the dragon-man did not let go. He only tightened the grip.

"See the wonderful empire I have created dog demon?"

Inu-Yasha took a chance to look at his surroundings as the continued to go deeper and deeper into the caves. He gasped to see people working with picks and axes, digging the rocks of the earth. They were all bound together with chains and wore ragged clothes. Some carried coal and others pushed wheels to make hot furnaces burn minerals. Their smithies! Inu-Yasha thought to himself. But that was not all they were. Inu-Yasha glared down at Heromata. "You jerk, I didn't know you had slaves too!"

Heromata turned his half deformed face to look at Inu-Yasha. "They are the people who have threatened to take my precious treasure. This is their punishment."

Inu-Yasha only glared more at the dragon-man. "Then why am I not down there diggin' in the dirt, if I was tempted to steal your thingamabob, huh!"

Heromata sneered. "Because you are to valuable that kind of work. They are only human. But once I restore your whole demonic self I will be able to train you to serve me."

"What'cha gonna make me do! Fetch the daily newspaper!"

"A bodyguard was what I had in mind."

"You know, I could fail to kill some assassins that are after you, and have them kill you in the process!"

Heromata laughed. " I doubt you would do that."

"And why?" Inu-Yasha folded his arms.

"Because as a full demon you will not have as much freewill. Plus my treasure will reprogram your thinking abilities."

"Hey! Watch it buddy! There's no way you can make me full demon, because when I do become one, I kill blindly. You won't stand a chance!"

"I'm sure."

"No, I'm serious, you don't stand a chance!"

Heromata shook Inu-Yasha in rage. "Actually, I think you don't stand a chance, bad boy, because at this point in time I am slowly changing into a powerful demon myself."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Into what? Puff the Magic Dragon?"

Heromata reached a door and turned the knob. "Once you are a full demon I will discipline you greatly."

Inu-Yasha wanted to barf this guy was so stupid! He acted as if he were king of the world, by the way he boasted about his treasure, and his empire. His empire of what? Mineral mining slaves! How moronic.

"We're here!" Heromata said as he walked into a small room of jewels, gems, and diamonds of all kinds. Inu-Yasha gasped in awe. It was full of riches from top to bottom!

"Whoa!"

"Impressive huh?" Heromata, still holding Inu-Yasha, who began to dig in the piles for something. "Come on you little bugger where are you..."

"What'cha looking for?" Inu-Yasha asked curiously, leaning down a bit to see.

" I'm looking fort the thing that will make you shut up!" Heromata said angrily shoving gold coins and jewels around everywhere. "Ah ha! At last there you are!" Heromata held up a shiny round collar-like thing, while in the other hand, a small and worn scroll. "Now, dog demon you will submit yourself to me! Mwah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"Whoooaaaahhhh!"

Heromata flung Inu-Yasha into the opposite wall and began to read from the script. "Scri ma ra di daceth en langfin, ho fa ni defashi grunden!" Shimmering matter began to swirl around Inu-Yasha. "What the heck!" Inu-Yasha began to feel different, he was converting back into a demon!

"Arrggghhhhaaahhh!" Inu-Yasha hollered shaking the room's walls and all of it's piles and piles of fortunes. He shuddered as the transformation shifted his very being around. The red slits returned as well as the blue pupils. Claws, fangs, dog ears, his white hair- all of it returned. "Sesshomaru..." he moaned as his devilish form became complete. "Help me.."

Now back to our trapped hero.Sesshomaru tinkered at the lock with his fingernail with no success.

"Crap!"

Sesshomaru tried some more at the lock only to brake one of his abnormally long nails. "Oww!" He yelled pulling his finger out of the hole and jamming it into his mouth. " Dang these human excuses for claws!" Sesshomaru managed to say through his stuffed mouth. This was not working at all. He needed help. Sesshomaru glared angrily at the lock and gave it a kick. "Sucker!" He yelled at it. "Open up! I am Lord Sesshomaru of the western lands, son of the great dog demon- Lord Inutaisho! You here me! No one.- Nothing stands in my way!" He gave it a few more kicks and then slumped to the floor, folding his arms, burying his head and sighed.

"Having a bit of trouble?"

Sesshomaru looked up from his knees to see none other than Naraku. "What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru asked befuddled. " Inu-Yasha's that way." He pointed his finger toward the door. "Don't ask me where, but I know he is, if you want to kill him. There's nothing I can do."

Naraku stepped closer to Sesshomaru's cage. And stroked the bars gently. "Say, how about I make you a deal?" Sesshomaru hardened his glare. "What king of deal?" he asked suspiciously.

Naraku leaned against the cage door and smiled. "I will set you free to save your brother and get your treasure, IF... in return you steal the last Shikon shard from Inu-Yasha. What do you say?"

Sesshomaru considered the thought for a moment. If he were set free he could save Inu-Yasha, and get his treasure, but it would also strengthen Naraku, possibly resulting Inu-Yasha's death. It was a tough decision to make... "Deal." Sesshomaru held his hand through the bars.

Naraku grasped his hand in return. "Good choice." Sesshomaru opened up his hand to find the Shikon Jewel glowing brightly around him. He looked up questionably at Naraku. Naraku only grinned. "It will turn you back into a full demon. You don't want to go rushing off in a weak human body now would you?"

Sesshomaru felt the changes happening; His tail appeared, his ears elongated, his hair changing back to its silvery color, as well as his brown eyes back into their eerie golden color , his strips emerged, fangs, claws, and sense of smell. The newly revived Sesshomaru busted the iron bars apart and walked calmly out of the cage. "You have my thanks." He said coldly to Naraku.

And swiftly left the room.

Naraku called out to him as he ran through the rocky way. "Remember my friend once you save your brother, bring the last shard to me!"

"Now Inu-Yasha feel my power!" Heromata ran over to the raging Inu-Yasha, and pulled out the shiny collar. Inu-Yasha turned around speedily smacking Heromata to the ground. "See." He growled. "I said you didn't stand a chance!"

Heromata got up uninjured, anger burning in his eyes. "You fiend!" Heromata swayed his tail towards Inu-Yasha, who jumped out of the way. Inu-Yasha vaulted around the room knocking the piles of riches raining to the floor.

He laughed menacingly as Heromata tried to hit him. "You fool!" He said smacking him from behind. "You are only a half-demon right now, while I am a full fledged demon!" Inu-Yasha sent some more wild punches and kicks to the dragon-man.

"Whah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! This is what I call fun!" Inu-Yasha turned to see Heromata slowly getting up. Heromata was in a lot of pain. He didn't realize that the demon was so strong. Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes in impatience. "Don't die on me yet! We are just getting started!" Inu-Yasha walked over to the dragon-man and picked him up with a fist full of hair, rising him so they were face to face. Inu-Yasha smirked. "Who's the master now?" Heromata only managed to moan before he was flung into a pile of gold.

Disinterested, Inu-Yasha turned and smiled at the piles and piles of fortune around him. "Now this is the key to success." He grabbed a hand full of diamonds. "The perfect way to propose to Kagome." He could picture it now, Kagome at his side as his queen, and their many children as the dukes and duchesses of surrounding kingdoms. No one would dare appose them. Power was a fickle thing, but if you knew how to control it, the power could be a mighty ally. He liked the sound of that. He smiled to himself as he snatched a couple of rings from the piles. Yes, everything would go his way.

From behind Heromata stood in rage. No one touched his gold, he was the dragon lord of these lands and nothing would stop him. He roared causing Inu-Yasha to turn around quickly stuffing the jewels into his pocket. "Now what? I thought you were dead."

Heromata's hands became fists, and his whole being tensed. "You will be punished dog demon." Heromata's face began to grow more scales, his spikes and claws extended. The transformation was beginning to speed up. Soon he would be a full dragon. Through the rapidly moving scales covering his face, he continued to speak. "No one ever touches my treasure and lives!" Heromata lunged at Inu-Yasha sending jewels and gold flying everywhere. Inu-Yasha surged upward landing on one of the unstable piles. There he crouched. "Ha, ha, ha! Do you really think a little transformation will stop me?"

The dragon lord growled and skyrocketed up towards Inu-Yasha. "Yes, I knew you would fall for that!" He spun around, smacking Heromata directly in the chest causing him to fall all the way back to the floor. Inu-Yasha didn't stop there. He slid down the collections of gold right to Heromata, and began racking him with his claws.

Heromata countered the attack, wiping Inu-Yasha with his tail. The force sent Inu-Yasha flying into a wall. But he was back up in a second. His demon blood flowed through him in a quaking manner. He more and more he fought, the more it channeled through his body. Soon he would be no more than a demon of death, never able to return.

The two demons now locked braces, neither one giving in. Both grunted, trying to knock the other back. This continued for some time until Inu-Yasha, being the crafty demon that he was, swung a massive kick to Heromata's legs, making him fall. Whumph! Heromata shuddered as he hit the ground Blinking rapidly he tried to regain focus. This guy was strong as a demon! What was he going to do? He searched desperately for and barrier, anything gain him some time . Skimming the gold with his hand he touched a smooth band. Yes! Now the tide was turning.

Inu-Yasha looked down at the terrified dragon-man. Feeling his accomplishment, he cracked his knuckles. "Experiencing defeat? Feeling the pain that comes with it? Well, if so, I'll end it now by eating your heart!" Heromata struggled to sit up, but was yanked into Inu-Yasha's grasp. Inu-Yasha snarled and rose his clawed hand, ready to strike his target. "Die you mutant!" Inu-Yasha opened his mouth showing his pearly fangs.

"Stop!"

Inu-Yasha pivoted around to see none other that his brother, Sesshomaru! He was also a full demon. He walked elegantly down the path of scattered jewels. Inu-Yasha growled as his brother came near. "This is my victim not yours! Find your own meal!"

Sesshomaru merely stopped in front of the two struggling demons. "I would never want to eat such filth. I know you are not the same person I once knew, Inu-Yasha. Right now you are simply being controlled by your demonic blood." Sesshomaru stepped even nearer to them, making Inu-Yasha growl even more and bare his fangs. "I want the other Inu-Yasha to return. Not this monstrosity before me!" Sesshomaru pointed out.

Inu-Yasha tried to comprehend what he was saying, but it was getting harder and harder to hear over the voice in his background. It was saying Kill, Kill, Kill! That's all he wanted was to kill. "Sesshomaru I cannot understand what you are saying, but let me reassure you, you'll be next!"

"You idiot of a brother do you really see me becoming one of your next meals? Gees! You'd get fat."

"Shut your trap Sesshomaru, I'm warning you!"

"Actually it is you who should be warned."

"Oh, ya?"

"Ya!"

Heromata watched as the fight continued on. Smiling to himself, he fingered the collar into a tight grip. It was now time to smack the thing onto the demon's neck. Then he would command him to kill his brother! Soon he would rule the world. Little did they know that he was recharging back to his full power. And it was all thanks to his treasure. He lifted his arm. Here goes nothing!

Sesshomaru stopped the argument and sniffed the air. "Stop Inu-Yasha! Something doesn't smell right."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "What are you talking about? I'm about to eat this guy, of course he's going to stink!"

Sesshomaru eyed the dragon lord seeing the glistening collar in his risen hand. His eyes went wide, and he pushed Inu-Yasha to the ground, picked up the dragon- man. "What the # are you trying to do to my brother!"

Heromata laughed. " The same thing I was going to do to you. But I guess It would be better to start off with you!" Heromata shoved the collar onto Sesshomaru's neck.

"No!" He screamed in agony dropping Heromata. He grabbed at he neck trying pull the retched thing off. But it wouldn't budge. Heromata watched in fascination as Sesshomaru withered onto the ground. Soon slowly coming to a complete stop. Still in a shock that he had actually put the thing on the demon, Heromata stood up. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So," he said quietly. " You are mine now. Arise dog!" Sesshomaru rose slowly into a standing position. And growled softly. His eyes seemed to be glazed over with a brick red, and his body hunched into a dynamic posture. "Kill your brother!"

Sesshomaru leapt for his still fallen brother, claws extended. Inu-Yasha trashed wildly on the ground trying to get up. Sesshomaru arrived and began slashing every which way. Snarling, too, Inu-Yasha stood and began fighting. Both brothers were locked in another deadly battle. Neither one having the advantage over the other. Fwish, smack, ram, bang! They continued out of the room and onto the walkway over the fiery furnaces below. The heat wavered the images of the two fighting beings. Pointing and shouting came from the slaves beneath them. They all stopped their work to watch, whispering excitedly.

"Inu-Yasha," Came a weak call from Sesshomaru's mouth. "I don't want to hurt you. Please... You are the only one who can control yourself. Become who you once were."

Inu-Yasha continued to duel. "What the freak are you talking about! I am the real Inu-
Yasha!"

Sesshomaru tried to raise his voice over the loud churning sounds of the furnaces. "No. You are not the real Inu-Yasha. You are a monster of hate and death! Think back. Think back before all this! Remember!"

Inu-Yasha felt as if a light penetrated his darkened mind. He reached for that light. What was it saying? He strained to listen

Remember...

He didn't have time for this, he needed to kill and kill and kill!

Remember...

There was that voice again! 'Remember what?' He asked himself. 'What is so important to remember?'

Remember...

Images began to appear inside his head as he moved in for a kill. They were images of people. Were they people he knew? Yes, they were. There was Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, Myoga, and his beloved Kagome. They were all laughing. What were they laughing at? Inu-Yasha's anger began to grow. He needed to know!

A sweet voice came from his mind. 'Inu-Yasha why don't you come down and talk to us?' It was Kagome's voice. She giggled profoundly. 'No one is against you. It's you who seems to be against us. We're here to help you, because we are all friends, and friends never abandon each other. Right guys?' The group all nodded their heads in unison and voiced their agreements. 'See?'

That image faded into another one. This time it was just of Kagome and him. They were in a big tree. He was in human form and in a embrace with her. 'I will always be there for you Kagome. Nothing will stop me from protecting you.' Kagome cried into his shoulder. ' Yes, I know.' Together they sat in the tree watching the sun set behind the mountains.

More and more images passed by, clouding Inu-Yasha's mind. Sad times, happy times, fun times, horrid times. Friendships, trust, and love. He stopped his fighting and fell to the ground panting. "I-I remember!" he said in awe. He looked at his clawed hands covered in blood. What he had done! Inu-Yasha closed his eyes as if trying to erase the horror picture. "No. No." He moaned backing away. "I don't want to be like this! I want to be free of this hatred!" Inu-Yasha felt his demonic side propelling him to finish the fight, while the other side begged to be free. He grabbed the edge of the rocky pathway and held on for dear life. He was dangerous! If he were loose in the world there would be massive chaos.

Like a magnet, he tried to resist the tempting urge to fight. "No." He told himself. "I will not be like this!" He gripped the path harder. This was becoming more and more difficult.

Sesshomaru within his controlled body, watched Inu-Yasha struggle to regain his sanity. 'Come on, Inu-Yasha you can do it!' He yelled inside his head. 'Control yourself!' Swirling energy flew around Inu-Yasha covering him. Sesshomaru managed to open his mouth. "Inu-Yasha!"

The dust like substance cleared, showing Inu-Yasha standing to his full height. He slowly turned around. His golden eyes glowed brightly in the reflecting heat. He was half demon again. He walked over to Sesshomaru blocking the blows he sent at him, and pulled the collar off. Sesshomaru released a breath of air, and a sigh of relief.

The two stared at each other for a long moment and then, in a awkward way, collapsed into a great big hug. Both rocked each other, weeping. This had been a long, long, day, they both knew.

"Hey dog I thought I told you to kill him not hug him!" Heromata said from the gold room in shock. What had happened to his collar? No one could brake it. It was indestructible!

"What happened to my collar!" Heromata ran over to the two now separated brothers.

Inu-Yasha smiled. "Oh, you mean that collar?" Inu-Yasha pointed a finger down over the edge of the walkway.

Heromata gasped as he saw his precious collar melting in the magma of the furnace. "Noooooo!" Heromata turned to face the two bros. "What did you do!"

Inu-Yasha winked at Sesshomaru. "Do you really want it that bad?"

Heromata nodded his head vigorously.

"Then we'll help!"

Sesshomaru kicked Heromata flying over the edge and into the burning furnace.

Inu-Yasha hollered over the edge. "That's what you get for enslaving all these people and controlling them, you greedy pig!"

Inu-Yasha looked down to see that many of the slaves were scared stiff. O.K. It was time to end this. Inu-Yasha cupped his hands to his mouth. "Good people! Please do not be afraid! We have come here to free you from bondage. You master is dead. Therefore you no longer have a master!" The people smiled and started talking excitedly amongst themselves. "We will be down in a minute to free you! But don't you even think about stealing that treasure now, or we will have to hunt you down. And personally that would not be a fun thing to do."

One hour later Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru were back in the large lava cavern. They looked down nervously as they descended. Once to the main hanger, they stopped to have some last words before their departure. "Well, I guess this is it." Inu-Yasha said uncomfortably.

"Yes. I believed we did what we both needed to do." Sesshomaru patted his sash gently. While freeing the slaves, Sesshomaru snatched the treasure he had came for. It just so happened to be the scroll, not the gold.- Anything you asked for, it gave to you.

"So what are you going to do with that treasure?"

"Well I might not even use it at all."

"What!"

"All I am saying is that some things are not as important as other things. Such as relationships." Sesshomaru smiled at his confused brother. Boy was he dense! Sesshomaru shifted his smile to a frown. "And that is why I must protect you at all costs. You wondered what I was thinking as I fell into that river- Well, I was thinking about you. And I will not loose you again." Inu-Yasha's eyes widened in surprise. Sesshomaru? Confessing this? He was shocked even more to see Sesshomaru pull out the last Shikon shard.

"Where did you get that!"

Sesshomaru lifted it up high. "From your coat pocket when you were not looking."

"I don't understand! You aren't collecting the jewel shards. Naraku is!"

"Precisely."

"What?"

"I made a deal with Naraku, that if he set me free, I would give him the Shikon shard in return."

"That is the most stupid thing you could do! Why did you do that?"

"If you recall, you would have been dead or a servant of that dragon by now if I hadn't showed up. This was the only way I could save you."

" You are absolutely stupid! Naraku will just kill us anyway once he has his darling jewel! We are only postponing death!"

"Calm down Inu-Yasha. I have a plan to get out of this."

Inu-Yasha lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of plan?"

"You know how Naraku must have his heart and all the rest of his body to receive any piece of the jewel, because he is so corrupt?"

"Ya, why?"

"Well if you came here to destroy Naraku's heart, then when he comes to get it, his heart will be right in the open. That way you can kill him off quicky and not have to search the whole mountain."

"Ah, that makes sense now. Okay, should I hid some where or something?"

"Yes. Hide behind these rocks, and I'll give you a signal to jump out. When I say poof, you will come out... got it?"

"Ya... but why does it have to be poof?"

"Because I said so."

"Hey! Your not the boss of me! Make it sound cooler like 'Wannahackalugi!'"

"NO. It will be poof and that's final."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Okay, okay, it'll be stupid poof!"

"Alright, now were getting somewhere!"

Sesshomaru held up the Shikon jewel in his hand, while Inu-Yasha ran behind some rocks.

"Naraku! I have your precious shard! Come and get it. I fulfill my side of the promise!"

Out of nowhere Naraku appeared in front of Sesshomaru. "Ah, I see you have it. Give it to me." Naraku shifted a bundle to his other side and held out his hand.

"O.K." Sesshomaru walked over to Naraku and lowered the jewel. "O.K. I will give it to you. But you know what?" Naraku raised an eyebrow questionably. "Sometimes I just want to poof."

Naraku wrinkled his face up in confusion. "What did you just say?'

"I said, sometimes I just wanna POOF!"

"What!"

"POOF!...POOF...Poooooofff!..."

Sesshomaru blushed. No one came. Sesshomaru sighed. "Find I'll do it myself!" With that Sesshomaru grabbed the bundle in Naraku's hands. "Begone evil heart!" And chucked it into the boiling river below.

"Noooooo!" Naraku began to crumble into pieces. Sesshomaru couldn't stand watching any longer. He walked over and booted him over the edge.

Naraku screamed. "ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! I DESPISE YOU, POOF MAN! " Down, down, into the bubbling river.

Once satisfied that Naraku was dead, Sesshomaru went behind the rocks to find Inu-Yasha fast asleep, mouth wide open with drool hanging out. "Dang you, Inu-Yasha!"

Inu-Yasha snorted and opened his eyes. "Huh? Sesshomaru? When's Naraku coming?"

Sesshomaru felt his blood rushing to his head. "He's dead you baka!"

Inu-Yasha smiled, closing his eyes. "Well that's nice..."

Sesshomaru lifted his foot...Wham! Inu-Yasha, still smiling, had a large boot mark on his face. "# you little half breed!" Sesshomaru looked on the ground to see the pink Shikon jewel was right at his feet. Agitated, he picked it up and threw the tiny ball and the little shard onto the unconscious Inu-Yasha. "Brothers!" He mumbled as he walked out of the musty cavern and into the fresh mountain air.

"Ah, Kagome this tastes good!"

"Thank you Shippo. Hope you enjoy it." Kagome smiled at the little kitsune who was stuffing his face. She sighed and looked towards the west. The sun was beginning to set. When was Inu-Yasha getting back? She sure was worried about him. He had been gone for three days now. He could be hurt, lost, or even dead! And all she was doing was making lunches and dinners!

"Lady Kagome, is something bothering you?" Miroku asked reaching for some more pie on the picnic cloth.

Kagome smiled sadly. "Well I miss Inu-Ya-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A loud scream erupted from Sango. "Ahhh, You pervert!"

Apparently Miroku reached out and grabbed Sango's butt instead of some pie.

Smack!

Sango huffed and moved over to sit by Shippo. Miroku now had a large red hand mark on his face. "Uuhhhhhhh," He said in an almost dreamy manner. " I thought I was reaching for the pie..."

"Sure!" Shippo said sarcastically, still stuffing his mouth.

Kagome sighed. Inu-Yasha... Kagome closed her eyes she could almost imagine Inu-Yasha walking up to her, up over the hill... and-

"Kagome! Hey, you guys!"

Kagome snapped open her eyes to see Inu-Yasha walking down the hill to meet them. "Inu-Yasha!" She screamed and ran up the hill and tackled him.

"Arfh, Kagome!" Inu-Yasha mumbled from under her body. "Get off!"

Kagome slid off him and smiled. " Well, sorry I thought you were dead. So-"

"No need to explain, Naraku's dead."

"What, you killed him! Where's the Shikon Jewel?"

"No, I didn't kill him. Someone else did..." Inu-Yasha said distantly pulling out the completed Shikon Jewel. "Someone very unexpected."

Kagome wrinkled her face. "Who? Whoa, and you got the whole jewel too!"

Inu-Yasha handed her the jewel. "I'll tell you sometime. But now lets celebrate." They began walking down the hill back towards the others. " Hey, You guys, I'm back!" Inu-Yasha yelled down to his friends.

"Inu-Yasha!" They all called in unison. They all sat down together for lunch and had a wonderful time. After explaining all that transpired, the holy magma river, Sesshomaru, Komashi, the dragon-man and Naraku, Inu-Yasha sat back and relaxed. He closed his eyes and put his hands in his pockets and practically flipped over in surprise. There were about ten diamond rings in his pocket! He looked at them in awe and picked out one that was especially decorative. Then he glanced over to Kagome who was playing with Shippo. An idea formed into his head... Nervously he stepped over to where she was sitting. "Uh, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled, happy to see Inu-Yasha. "Hi. What's up?" Inu-Yasha seemed nervous about something. "Is something wrong?" Inu-Yasha grunted something unintelligent and looked away. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

Inu-Yasha turned back to Kagome and sighed. "You know how Naraku is dead... and well..."

"Yes?" Kagome probed him.

"Well, and now that the Shikon Jewel is complete and out of harms way..."

"Yes..."

"Um..."

"Yes!"

"Uh-uhhh..."

Kagome threw her arms to her sides impatiently and yelled in Inu-Yasha's face. "WHAT! WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO TELL ME!" She continued to burn. "Tell me now else I'll S-I-T you!"

Inu-Yasha started backing away. "No, Kagome please, let me explain..."

"That's it...Sit boy!"

Inu-Yasha was thrust into the ground making a deep crater. He moaned and collapsed, still holding the diamond ring above the ground. Kagome walked away in frustration.

Sango happened to be nearby and saw the ring, and scooted over for a better look. She gasped at its beauty and called Miroku and Shippo over to see, followed closely by Kirara and Myoga. They all gazed at it intently. "It's so beautiful.." Finally Sango stopped gazing at it, and came to her senses. "Hurry find Kagome! This might mean what I think it means!"

A half an hour later, Kagome and Inu-Yasha sat staring at the fire. "So," Kagome began. "You never got around to telling me what you had to say." She grinned knowingly. Inu-Yasha blushed some more. "Well, that's not entirely my fault, seeing how you wouldn't even let me finish."

Kagome held back her temper. "Well now you can tell me."

Inu-Yasha sighed. "O.K. Fine. Kagome," He reached into his pocket (Not the pocket with nine rings) and yelled. "Wait where did it go! I had it just a little while ago. Crap! Sorry Kagome, I seemed to have lost the da-"

Kagome thrust the ring into the light. "You mean...this?"

Inu-Yasha's mouth fell to the ground. Man did he want to crawl under a rock! Kagome had found it before he could even say anything!

Meanwhile in the bushes, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo watched in awe. Miroku chuckled to himself. "This is getting good. Lets see what happens..."

Kagome saw the embarrassment on Inu-Yasha's face and felt guilty. "Inu-Yasha," She said reassuringly. "If this is what I think it means, then I accept."

Inu-Yasha slowly lifted his head. "You mean you'll-"

Kagome stared at him in wonder, but before Inu-Yasha could ask anything else, Kagome cried out. "Yes!" And fell into his arms. "Yes, I'll marry you!" Now surprised and relieved, Inu-Yasha dumped the rest of the diamond rings onto the grass. They glittered in the blazing fire light making Kagome squeal in delight. "Ohhh! You are such a dog!" She laughed and pushed him over making Inu-Yasha push her back, which erupted into a full out, playful fight.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo crept out of the bushes and into the fire light. They watched as Inu-Yasha and Kagome laughed. Miroku looked from the diamond rings to Sango, and from Sango back to the diamond rings. He tapped Inu-Yasha gently on the shoulder causing Inu-Yasha to stop the ridiculous duel. "Ya, Miroku?"

Miroku looked back to the diamond rings. "I was just wondering... could I have one of those rings for the most beautiful girl in the world?"

Sango turned bright red, picked up her boomerang and mashed Miroku on the head.(Knocking him out cold) "Corrupt monk!" Everyone laughed into the night air.

Nearby Sesshomaru watched the happy people continue to holler with laughter. "Goodbye Inu-Yasha." With that he turned from the marvelous sight and into the forest.

"Lord Sesshomaru, why did you let that half-demon brother of yours go?" Jaken said running to try and catch up with Sesshomaru.

Rin followed close behind. "Well, maybe Sesshomaru really loves his brother?"

"Shut up Rin!" Jaken said in annoyance. "Don't you dare question the Lord like that!"

Sesshomaru smirked to himself. "Jaken, didn't you just question me as well?"

Jaken gulped and stopped dead in his tracks. "N-n-no my Lord. I would never disgrace you by asking such things. You are far to important to be consulted like that."

Jaken continued to babble on and on until Sesshomaru couldn't stand it anymore. "Jaken!"

Jaken stopped immediately. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Shut up." Sesshomaru turned around and sent a powerful kick. It channeled Jaken to fly into a nearby tree.

"Oh!" Gasped Rin in awe. "How powerful you are my lord! You got him good!"

Sesshomaru returned walking, smiled to himself and disappeared deeper into the forest.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Jaken called out hobbling on one leg. He tripped on a jutting root and crashed to the ground. He rubbed his head and sighed. "Ohhhh, I really need a hug."

THE END

So was it alright? Ya, I realize it was kind of cheesey and random. But I had fun writing it.After I wrote this story I was skimming for some fanfiction with more sibling rivalry...and I found a story that had human sesshomaru and inuyasha trapped in the cave together...Please people, I did not copy this story. I've had this story plotin my head for a long time, ever since I told it for the first time to my sister in Thailand on a boring shopping trip. I wrote this for her because she is a very BIG Sesshomaru fan. Thankx for your time. Review please. I'd like to know what you thought.