Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-yasha, I wouldn't be writing this. Anyways, Inu-yasha and all affiliated characters are property to mistress Takahashi. Sakura and Kaze exclusively owned by their creator, moi, who happens to be the writer.

A/N: This is my second Inu-yasha fan fiction and my first AU. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One: One Way or Another, I'm getting out of here.

All he could hear was the rustle of the foliage and his heavy, panted breathing. The clothes he wore snapped and snagged on the outstretched branches. The sounds of pursuit started up in the distance. He listened closely while he ran, small cuts and abrasions stinging smartly. He was nearing the edge of the little island. Elation filled him like a bubble and, true to the nature of a bubble, popped as soon as he heard the sounds of many men with guns and other weapons attempting to cut off his escape route. What was left of that bubble hardened into grim determination. He would force them to destroy him, at the least, if he didn't manage to escape. This time he would be leaving this hell hole, one way or another, and it didn't really matter to him which way he left, though he would prefer to be alive. He reached the cliff at that time, which was swarming with 'doctors' and guards. They had a few moments notice, and then their quarry leapt off the cliff, going as far as he could into the lake surrounding the island. Gunshots rang out after orders. He felt the sting of several bullets as he plummeted to the water, halfway out. He had time for one thought before the icy water and unconsciousness claimed him. One way or another, I'm getting out of here.

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The three black-haired girls grinned at each other. They waved at the older woman that had dropped them off at the third's house.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Higurashi. My parents will be back before you know it. We won't do anything illegal or against any parents' wishes. My own left strict guidelines and rules as to what we were to do and not do! I doubt that you would disagree with them." She had a soft, lilting voice that carried well. Her long black hair was silky and hung down to her waist in a shimmering waterfall after cascading from a black bandana wrapped around her head, covering her head and ears. Black-blue bangs were brushed carelessly from her almost-black eyes, where they hung behind her tinted glasses. She was dressed in a white button-up shirt and black shorts. She went by the name Sakura.

Mrs. Higurashi, Kagome's mother, smiled speculatively. It was clear she was having second thoughts about leaving her daughter and two best friends--the female triangle that ruled the high school they went to--in one girl's house without any adults around. It was then she remembered about someone. Mrs. Higurashi looked at Sakura. "Is your brother, Sesshoumaru, going to be there with you?"

The other two girls looked at Sakura expectantly. The scrutiny seemed to go unnoticed by the girl as she nodded. "Yes. My parents refused to let him go to a prestigious party he was invited to, so he's here sulking. He agreed to look after us when they left." There was a soft groan that went unnoticed. Mrs. Higurashi nodded lightly and got into her car, waving to the three girls, who waved back as they moved up the steps of the villa. Sakura's parents were both very good at their work and so made a lot of money.

The villa was a beautiful place and had acres of land surrounding it for privacy and was lakeside property. The island in the center of the lake was lightly forested, but was completely deserted, not that anyone was allowed on it anyways. Sakura considered it a blessing her parents' villa was on the land surrounding the lake, since the island was very rocky and had several cliffs. The lake itself was very large and the island was centered in it, so someone standing on the shore would not be able to see the island unless they had very good eyesight or a device to help them.

The three girls grinned at each other and raced up the steps to see who would get there first. Sakura beat both girls by several feet, Sango coming in second with Kagome in last. It was always like that. They stood there for a few seconds, to allow breathe to catch up with them, and then headed in separate directions. This wasn't the first time the other two had been here. In fact, there were two rooms that were designated as Kagome's and Sango's, each sharing a very large balcony with Sakura's room so the girls wouldn't have to disturb anyone else in going to each other's rooms as they did at all hours of the night.

Sango had gone to get the towels and other household goods they would need while Kagome got their swimsuits and other things that they would need from their rooms. The two girls found Sakura getting an entire cooler of foods and drinks packed together with some very eager help from the resident cook, who everyone inventively called Cook. It was true that she was not the only cook the family had in residence and on payroll, but Cook was the head chef and told everyone to call her Cook. She loved the girls dearly and was absolutely ecstatic when they stayed at the villa, as the girls loved Cook's food and always left the kitchen with more than they needed.

Sesshoumaru was sitting at the island in the center of the very large, decked-out kitchen, watching his little sister get ready to sit out on the beach with her two friends, who had become his baby sisters. He was tall with long silver hair. No one ever remarked on his strange appearance, since he was very rich and very skilled in the martial arts. He smiled at the woman coming through one of the many doors to lean against him in a show of affection. Sesshoumaru looked to his younger sister as she dragged the stuff they would be taking to the beach. "Oh good, you're leaving the house and taking your little friends with you. This means that Kaze and I can make out on the couch without you three interrupting us."

Sakura coughed violently and stared at her brother in shock while Cook glared at him with blazing eyes. He looked at her lightly and innocently. "What? That doesn't mean that you can't interrupt, Cooky. We love you dearly, so we'll let you do what no one else would dare." Sesshoumaru dragged the smiling Kaze out of the kitchen to leave Cook to stutter while Sakura dragged her two friends and the stuff outside.

Kagome, Sango, and Sakura set up their stuff on the beach, fairly close to the water. Chairs were placed next to each other with umbrellas above. The cooler was placed between two chairs and towels were spread over each chair. The three girls looked at each other and took off for the water. After an hour of playing in the water, Sakura got the bright idea to check something out. "Hey! I have an idea! Why don't we go see if we can see the island? There's a stand of rocks right over there that would be perfect. It's a natural dock." She pointed at a ledge of rocks that stuck out into the water quite a ways.

They made their way to the end of the natural dock, never asking why Sakura wore her bandana all the time. The other two had learned she never took it off around others. Sakura stiffened imperceptibly as she saw something silvery in the water at the end of the natural dock that shouldn't be there. Sango spotted the silver in the water as they neared the end of the dock. The teenager pointed at it, "What's that?" The girls looked at each other, and then took off running for the spot closest to that silver. Sakura hung back, afraid of what she might see. Sango and Kagome gasped and cried out. "It's a person! A boy to be exact, he looks our age." The two girls attempted to pull him onto the dock but only succeeding in pulling his head out of the water to rest on one of the rocks. (Two guesses as to whom it is, and one of them doesn't count.)

Sakura's nostrils flared as the faint scent of the silver-haired boy reached her. She ripped off her bandana, revealing black dog ears perched on the top of her head while her hair changed to the color of molten gold. She jumped down to where the other girls and their discovery were and easily lifted the teenage-looking silver-haired boy on her back. Sango and Kagome gasped at the sight of their best friend. Sakura gave them one look and all three took off for the villa house, Sakura running at a seemingly impossible speed with the weight of the boy on her back. Sango and Kagome exchanged a look upon arrival that voiced the same thought of how much their dog-eared friend was holding back on them all those times when she'd just barely beat them, especially since she'd gotten to the door several minutes before they had reached the steps. The two walked into the main living room just as their soul-sister was bearing down and cornering her brother. Sakura pointed to the comatose, silver-haired boy on the couch, "Why does he smell like us? Yet not?! Is he the one I hear Father and you and Mother talk about sometimes? The one that was lost?" Sesshoumaru looked hassled for a moment, and then went to his cool façade as he spotted his adopted baby sisters, "Yes." He then seemed to just notice she didn't have her black bandana on and her hair was no longer black. "Why do you not have your bandana on? How could you be so imprudent as to forget and let them see you as you are?!" He gestured to their house-guests/adopted family.

Sakura changed the subject by remembering the boy, possibly her long lost brother, had probably been in that water for a while and needed to be looked after and cared for. She ordered Kagome and Sango, who were not to be forgotten and dismissed that easily, to get a few things for her. A few minutes after she had what she wanted for him and had started to ease on her ministrations of checking, rechecking, and drying off the unconscious boy while keeping him dressed-a prudent thing to do-she looked over at her brother. "What's his name?" Sesshoumaru studied her for a moment, then sighed gently. "Inu-yasha."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews make for a happy writer and a happy writer makes the chapters come quicker.