A/N: Here's to three years of fanfiction!

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New Beginnings

Although every muscle in his body was paralyzed with poison, Kohaku could feel the little hand that hovered over him recoil at the simple instruction: "Don't touch him."

And the boy agreed. Yes, please don't. Even if he weren't covered with venomous yokai serpents, the young demonslayer would still not have argued; he had served as a mindless weapon and a contemptible traitor. He had killed his father, threatened his sister, and this very girl who now tried to help him was once one of his marks. I am past the point of human sympathy.

But, somehow, there was cold comfort in that the command, "Don't touch him," had fallen from the lips of a demon, the same who stood between him and Byakuya like an iron catch-net over a tide of death.

He couldn't distinguish the words exchanged, but from Sesshomaru's tone…It sounds like it has a lot more purpose than what I've got going, Kohaku thought before velvet darkness swallowed him whole.

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"Kohaku," Rin's voice was tinged with worry. "You really shouldn't be moving so soon."

The boy ignored her, remaining tight-lipped and set on his trek. He couldn't remember how much time had passed, he couldn't afford distraction with the searing pain in his limbs and torso, he had to get to…Kohaku collapsed to his knees in the dirt. Hairs on his neck stood at attention as an icy tingle zipped its course from there all the way down his spine. The sensation strangely reminded Kohaku of a snuffed candle's last wisps of smoke, curling and expanding right before vanishing.

Even Sesshomaru's sharp ears picked up the whisper with some difficulty. "Kikyo."

Kikyo? The daiyokai frowned. Why would the priestess who sealed his idiot brother be of such importance to this pawn of Naraku?

Though he wasn't sobbing, Kohaku's tears flowed freely now. Kikyo was dead. He had failed to return to her. Failed to return the shard for purification...Failed, failed, failed.

Golden eyes widened, remembering why the boy clawed at the back of his neck. He's the final carrier.

"Rin." The daiyokai's voice carried over the distance. "Come. Jaken wants you." Not giving chance for further protest, Sesshomaru's boot squashed down on his retainer. In a soft growl, the dog-demon instructed, "Occupy her."

Tall and imposing, Sesshomaru towered over the huddled youth. "Boy," he droned. Coward seemed just shy of austere.

Kohaku shuddered. If the stories of Sesshomaru's growing compassion were to be believed, then perhaps the demon would be merciful enough to end his miserable existence. He bowed his head for the fatal stroke.

"Boy, look at me."

Before he could act, Kohaku felt the quiet menace of claws gently press under his chin, tilting his head upward to molten, cat-slit orbs. The young taijiya cringed and adjusted his sights on the blue crescent above them. To his inquisitor, that was response enough.

Sesshomaru's expression remained dispassionate. Although they were a dull, very human brown, the boy's eyes were identical to some of the most haggard of the Western Lord's infantrymen: shallow, drained, and defeated. Those soldiers were always the first to die and Sesshomaru was unsure if such a gaze pleased him any more than the empty apathy it offered under Naraku's influence.

"So," the daiyokai finally spoke at length. "What is it that you hope to attain with your death?"

Kohaku blinked, wondering how Sesshomaru had managed to cipher the very question on his mind. Trying to meet with equal dignity, he took three gulps of air before answering. Though his sights stayed anchored to the daiyokai's azure crest and his voice still quavered like a bowstring. "I-I can…atone."

Sesshomaru's hand dropped to his side. "Is that all?"

The young demonslayer was taken aback. His purpose for existing was to defeat Naraku and that most likely meant losing the Shikon shard, his lifeline. But if it makes up for all I've done, for everyone I've killed…

"You believe you will be more useful dead than alive? You have no ego?"

"I…" The words died stillborn in Kohaku's throat. Whether or not he had an answer wasn't the issue; the fact that the nape of his neck scalded at a swiftly approaching, hostile demonic aura took priority.

Automatically, the kusarigama flew with lethal precision, finding purchase between tough scales. Stunned on the first strike, the demon was dead when Kohaku reeled the sickle back, blade ripping through a mess of vital organs before caught expertly in its handler's clutch.

Still envenomed, Kohaku's arms sagged at the weight before dropping limply to his sides. He huffed at the exertion, but couldn't resist returning a muted smile to where Rin sat safe and content.

The greenish luminescence fading from his claws, Sesshomaru nodded as if answering an unvoiced question. "Come." He didn't wait for a reply, but he obviously expected someone to follow.

Uttering not a word, Kohaku watched his feet shuffle along; the movement was unbidden, but not unwilling. Rin smiled up at him and, surprisingly, Jaken made no remark.

Have I just been accepted?

Glancing over a furred shoulder, the golden eyes returned to him; but it was a gust of wind through silver bangs that revealed the cerulean crescent again. For the second time in a long while, Kohaku felt the corners of his mouth curl as Sesshomaru whirled away once more. It was fitting: the rare sight of a blue moon to christen an even more exceptional occasion.

At the forefront of the party, Sesshomaru smirked. If the boy had no ego, no reason to exist, he had acquired the best of a double-edged blade.

"Kohaku," the demon said in a lofty tone, "I rather like you alive."

Rubbing the soreness out of his shoulder, he straightened in the company of his new traveling companions. And, as if embarking on an altogether new journey, Kohaku had to agree.

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Edit: This oneshot has also been entered in the LiveJournal contest at http: // community . livejournal. com/iy _themes / (remove spaces) for IY Themes' Prompt #19: Blue Moon. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this piece and can't wait to see where it goes from here!