Just wanted to start off saying really quick. The boy in the cover pic is indeed Yuki, Sesshomaru's second son and younger brother to Momiji.

Also, this story is great to read alone. But if you would like to know how Kuda met Sesshomaru, you can go read Lord Sesshomaru's Challenging Gift. But if you don't want to, that's just fine because like I said this story is great to read alone as well.

And lastly, Enjoy! :)

Momiji ran around the corner of one of the huts where Sesshomaru's soldiers lived. He breathed heavily as he licked to moistened his dry lips and peeked slightly around the corner. As he smiled, it soon fell as he heard feet scuffle through the dirt floor. He swallowed, turned and ran. It's going to catch me, Momiji though as he headed towards the garden, it's going to catch me and kill me! Jumping through the bushes and stomping on the pink flowers, he jumped over the bench that was in front of the giant Cherry Blossom Cherry tree and ran behind it's great trunk. Once more breathing heavily, he listened for anything. And sure enough he heard the same scuffle behind him and with one jump in the air, he twirled around the tree trunk to now hide in front of it where the bench slightly touched the back of his knees. It's going to kill me, he thought again gasping, I can't let it find me. Then Momiji let out a yelp as something landed on his head giggling, with its tiny hands covering his eyes. Blind and forgetting about the bench, he walked backwards only to yelp again as he tripped over the bench and landed on his back. The giggling turned into roars of laughter along with Momiji's. Sitting up, Momiji pulled whatever had landed on his head and held the thing up in the air.

"You cheated," Momiji said with a smile.

"No, Towu no cheat, Momo cheat! Momo wun fas!" The child accused angrily with her little index finger pointing at him.

"No you cheated," Momiji replied angrily, "it's called hide and seek! You always climb the tallest of things to look down and spot the person you're seeking!"

"No!" Tohru squealed angrily and began to thrash in his arms. Momiji quickly set the child on the floor and just as he did, Tohru grabbed his arm and bit him. Momiji hissed and growled at Tohru, but Tohru returned a same small growl with his arm still in her mouth. "You're still a cheater," Momiji stated, making Tohru dig her little fangs deeper into his arm.

"You're both cheaters," stated another voice.

"Yuki, little brother! Have you finally come to join the fun?" Momiji asked him with a smile, forgetting about Tohru's teeth in his arm.

Yuki's faced darkened as he replied, "I would never join you in this, what you actually consider fun. And as I was saying, both of you are cheaters. While she climbs anything to find the person, you run as fast as you can from a child who can even run five feet without tripping. Maybe one day you'll trip as well, brother, with such speed."

Yuki always managed to make Momiji's day turn from happy to anger and annoyance ever since Yuki had lost his markings. He hated how his little brother would always point out the flaws and wrong doings of him. "So what do you want," Momiji asked Yuki rudely.

Yuki sighed as he replied, "Father wants to see you."

"When doesn't he want to see me..." Momiji mumbled. "Alright then," Momiji said and stood, taking Tohru along the way still attached to his arm, "Let go Tohru." The child growled at him and bit down even harder, now making a stream of blood run down his arm. Momiji smirked as he said again, "Let go Tohru, or would you like me to go tell mother?" The child's eyes widen in fright and immediately retreated her teeth from his arm back into her mouth, at the same time falling to the floor on her rear end. On the floor Tohru glowered as she crossed her arms over her little chest, sighing madly.

Momiji laughed at the sight of her and picked her up. Giving her one quick kiss on her cheek, which sent her squealing with madness, and flung her to Yuki. Yuki gasped as he caught the child in arms at the last moment. "How many times has mother told you not throw her!" Yuki yelled at Momiji angrily.

"Not enough times to make me stop throwing her," Momiji said with a smirk as he walked past him, bumping his shoulder his arm.

When Momiji walked into his father's study room his was father was not there, but Archer was. And as always Archer looked bored out of his mind, his fingers absently playing with the side of the bow he always carried as he sat on the floor. He didn't even glance up as Momiji walked over to him and smacked him behind the head. "Not Nice, Momo."

"Where's father?" Momiji asked as he plopped himself beside Archer.

"He went to go retrieve a scroll he said he needed. Do you remember Yucca?"

Momiji blinked as he thought and replied unsure, "Kind of, is she a girl from a village we met?"

"Close," Archer said shifting and finally stared into Momiji's golden eyes with his blue ones, "She's a servant here. Yes, look at your face, remembering who she is now? I heard she's pregnant, Momiji."

Momiji let out a nervous laugh, "You're joking, tell me you're joking!"

"I wish I was, Momiji." Archer replied as he dropped his eyes down again to his bow, "And this is your fault. If you would stop sticking it everywhere, you wouldn't have these problems you idiot."

"I'm sure I'll convince her to get rid of it. I mean, who wants a half breed? I sure don't."

Archer stared at Momiji again with disbelief and said, "You're unbelievable! You would reject your own child? Well now, I guess you'll get satisfaction out of this. I told your mother and she convinced Yucca to get rid of it with a heavy meal of pure pregnancy plants. Your mother also decided to keep Yucca and me shut, because she decided she is going to deal with you herself."

Momiji scoffed and turned head, "She's not that scary..." he mumbled.

"No," Archer said with a grin as he leaned towards Momiji and whispered in his ear, "she might not be scary, but her ways of dealing with a problem are scary."

Momiji pushed Archer away from him roughly, "Don't get too close to me, you stink."

Archer raised an eyebrow at Momiji confused and began to smell under his armpits, "Really? And I bathed with the soap Mey brought me that she handmade herself."

"Yep," Momiji said grinning at him, "dandelions and roses. What kind of man likes smelling like flowers!" And Momiji burst out laugh at Archer.

Archer felt a bit embarrassed, his pale cheeks turning a light pink. "I guess I'll have to refuse Mey's handmade soaps from now on."

"No don't," Momiji said still laughing, "they suit you actually quite nice!"

And Momiji yelled as Archer cracked his bow at the top of Momiji's head loudly. Shooting both hands up to his head, Momiji leaned away from Archer with a pained face while growling. "You can kill somebody like that, you know!"

"Yes somebody, but not a stupid demon like the likes of you!" Archer spat at him darkly.

"Give me that bow! Let's just see how much you like it!" Momiji said and reached for it. But in the midst of their fight over the bow, Sesshomaru walked into the room with a scroll in hand.

Archer quickly kicked Momiji off him and bowed on the floor, "Lord Sesshomaru." And while Archer bowed politely before Sesshomaru, Momiji took his chance and cracked the bow on top of Archer's head just as loudly as Archer had done to him. And everything was quiet, the hit on Archer's head not even making Archer gasp out of pain. Angered, Momiji went into a storm of repeatedly cracking the bow on Archer's head until Sesshomaru stopped him and once more, getting another crack on his head with the bow by his father.

"Now listen you two," Sesshomaru said as he sat behind his desk and rolled open the scroll, "I have been getting reports from one of the trading markets by the port that there have been at least six attacks in just one week."

"What's the point though," Momiji said rubbing the top of his head, "we kill and kill very single last worthless demon and yet more appear out of no where!"

"That's because we need to find from where they are originating from," Archer added, also rubbing the top and back of his head.

"Those two concerns have to nothing to do with this concern. Pay attention," Sesshomaru said to them sternly, "we need to go and kill those demons. I can't have demon attacks affecting the trade in my land."

"Alright, say we kill them all, again. More will appear and attack the same place all over again! We can't be running back and fourth, father!"

"That is why my son, I will leave hundred or so of my soldiers to protect them."

"But that would not be wise, Lord Sesshomaru," Archer said. "If we leave so many soldiers out there to protect the villages from attacks, what would happen if a lord decides to declare a war against you? How would you protect your family and home?"

"There should no declaration of war, Archer. Times now we are at peace, and we would have more peace if it weren't for these pesky demons. You Archer will be a lord soon, are we at peace?"

Archer nodded and bowed his head, "We are at peace, Lord Sesshomaru."

"Now then, we can get to those two concerns before. With soldiers protecting many villages now, we will have more time to investigate from where these demons are originating from."

"I say there originating from Archer's ass," Momiji said, sounding as if his statement was a true matter of business.

Grabbing the bow in his hand, Momiji squealed as he backed away from his father and scurried to hide behind Archer. Smirking, Sesshomaru threw the bow into Archer's open hands and said, "Come look at this map. This map holds caves that I believe go into hell, where it is that demons are escaping."

"Mother, Tohru needs a clean cloth."

Kuda was busy eating a rice ball when her son came into her room. "Yuki, can you do it for me this one time?" Yuki only let out a clear annoyed sigh and set Tohru on the mat and went in search for the clean cloths. "There over there by that little table," Kuda instructed him. As she popped the last piece od rice into her mouth her hand reached for another beside her. She was busy choosing clothing for her and her children and eating on top of them wasn't the wisest choice, but she could care less for is she stained one she would not buy it.

"Have you attended your study class today, Yuki?"

"No," Yuki replied as he removed the dirty cloth from Tohru's body, "the teacher didn't come today. Why do I have to keep taking those studies if I won't be a lord?"

"Because Yuki something can happen to Momiji. If something happens to him, kami forbid it, you will have to be the next lord and you have to be prepared for it. The same with Tohru. In a couple of years she too will be attending studies." Kuda replied. "Do you know why your teacher didn't come today?"

"His wife was giving birth to his child," Yuki said simply.

"Ah," was all Kuda replied.

"Mother?" Yuki asked as he finished changing Tohru. Tohru yawned and rolled over in the mat, closing her eyes.

"Mhm?"

After a moment, "Never mind."

Kuda stopped looking through the clothing and turned to look at Yuki. By now Yuki had thrown himself beside Tohru and closed his eyes for a nap as well. Kuda smiled, how she loved her children, and returned to looking over the clothing. And sure enough, she put one blue kimono back into a case as it was stained with soy sauce. And happily she went looking through more kimonos.

"Momiji threw Tohru again..."

Yuki's soft words froze Kuda with anger. Smacking a red hakama pair into the table, she practically growled angrily as she murmured to herself, "I'm going to beat that boy until he can't breath." And those words brought a smile to Yuki's lips as fell asleep beside his little sister who let out soft snores.