Author's Note: This is just an idea that popped into my head. I don't know if I'll do more than this with it so let me know if you want more. I own nothing.

A Lone Demon

Unwelcome News

Sesshoumaru had never liked his little sister. Her very birth was the reason behind their lord father's death. He often denied to others that he had a sister, ignoring her very existence but word of her search for the shikon jewel had spread wide. Other news had been carried to his ears by a lower vassal, and it was not so welcome.

"So the priest who guarded the jewel has died. Then my sister has acquired her desire." The vassal, an imp similar to Jaken cleared his throat.

"M'lord, I'm afraid it is not as you say." Sesshoumaru went still as stone as the imp continued to speak. "They say the fight was terrifying, that Inuyasha mortally wounded the priest and made off with the jewel but before she could escape, she was struck with one of his arrows." The imp never saw Sesshoumaru move. In an instant the demon lord had his clawed hand around the imp's throat and squeezed none too gently.

"You are telling me my disgrace of a sister was killed by a single arrow. A half demon she may be but with our father's blood in her veins she would not have fallen so easily." The imp shook its head vigorously.

"No M'lord! Not dead. Sealed in sleep! To a tree near the village!" Sesshoumaru tightened his grip snapping the imp's neck. He dropped the disintegrating corpse to the floor and called out.

"Jaken." The imp appeared in seconds and trembled at the sight of his fallen brethren.

"Yes M'lord?"

"We're leaving." Without a word to where they were going Sesshoumaru opened the door and left the manor. It had once belonged to his father, left to him like the useless sword at his side. He had not stopped his search for Tetsusaiga, and would not until he found the famed blade. But at this moment he had something more important to see for himself.

It took them nearly a week to reach the forest, for it was well out of the Wester Lands, where Sesshoumaru ruled. Inuyasha had always been careful to avoid her brother's land, knowing after their first few meetings that he would not be kind if he found her. He had no intention of visiting the village, he could not say if he would have visited if his sister's supposed killer still lived. Sesshoumaru refused to believe his sister had been sealed away. Only the most powerful fell under such spells, for only they were important enough to warrant it. His father's final enemy was sealed away, a demon of such power that he had mortally wounded the great dog demon. The fight to rescue his half breed daughter and her mother had been what had truly ended their father, something Sesshoumaru knew he would never forgive his sister for.

He could feel a demonic aura, muffled but definitely there. He stepped easily between the trees as Jaken struggled to keep up. He spotted a flash of something red and recognized it instantly. It had once been a robe that belonged to their father, made from the fur of the fire rat it was practically indestructible. His sister wore it as a kimono in the same style as a priestess, for it was not easy to fight in a skirt. He expected the red to move, to make some bid to escape, but it simply fluttered in the breeze. He stepped around to the other side of the tree and blinked rapidly.

She looked peaceful. Her eyes were closed, and her hands hung lax at her sides. Her head was tilted forwards slightly. Her chest did not rise and fall but he could sense life in her, dormant under the magic that held her pinned to the tree. He stepped closer and noted the arrow in her chest. It was the only thing physically pinning her to the tree. By all rights it should have snapped for her bare feet were not touching the ground, but he could sense the power in the arrow. He was almost impressed. The priest who had defended the jewel must have been formidable indeed for such a spell, there were still trace scents of their final battle in the air. Taking a long deep breath in Sesshoumaru smelled the distinct scent of betrayal, regret, anger, and something else. He sniffed slightly. The scent was something he had encountered rarely when he passed close by human settlements and saw couples out for a stroll. Love. He blinked again and turned back to the unmoving form of his half breed sister.

"You were in love with him, the priest who felled you. How pathetic little sister." He caught a second scent similar to the last one but instead of being tainted with his sisters scent it was tainted with something horribly human. "He loved you." It was said with a mix of distain and wonder. That anyone, even a lowly human, could sink so low as to love a half breed, he could not comprehend it. He stepped right up to his sister. Dangling as she was they were nearly at eye level with each other. He raised his claws.

"I will remove the stain you brought on our father's name, once and for all little sister, and send you to your human lover." He said it with poison on his tongue and his claws but as he struck out the poison on his claws dissipated on contact and a painful shock passed through his whole arm. He jerked it back as pink lightning crackled around his sister from the arrow out over her whole body. Sesshoumaru tilted his head, curious. He closed his eyes and let his demon senses take over. The spell that bound Inuyasha to the tree as not a simple thing. It sealed her away, trapped in an endless sleep, but protected from death, for the rest of time. The spell could not be broken save by he who cast it. The priest was dead and had sealed his sister inside her own mind, for the rest of time. Sesshoumaru felt something very similar to anger rush through his veins, she might be a filthy half breed but a clean death would have been far kinder. He could not even do it himself. He growled and turned away from the still form. Jaken bowed and glanced over his shoulder at the half demon still pinned to the tree. Neither of them noticed a tiny figure leap from the fur that rested on Sesshoumaru's shoulder.

Once the demon lord was well out of sight Myouga leapt forwards. He was smart enough not to leap onto Inuyasha, he knew he was likely to be sent flying or even killed by the power that sealed her. He hung his head and spoke to himself, for there was no one else there to hear him.

"Forgive me my lord, it was my duty to protect and guide your daughter and I failed you." He bowed his head and stayed vigil until nightfall. Not once did Inuyasha twitch or even seem to breathe. By the time morning came Myouga was resolved. There was nothing he could do for his departed Master's daughter now. So instead he began the long journey to where his master had found his final resting place. The least he could do was defend the sword his master had meant his daughter to inherit.