Notes:

1. All reviews are greatly appreciated and will be responded to. Guests, please name yourselves something so that there isn't any confusion.

2. I'm not sure how long this fanfic will be, however I do know that it won't be any longer than 10 chapters.

3. I'm willing to accept other (short) story ideas, challenges, and/or prompts.

The Not-So New Pup

Sesshomaru is lost. And utterly alone. This is of great concern. He had woken up with a sore side and stiff neck from laying on the hard ground, and in a pool of fine silk, fluff, and armour that is much too big for himself. Currently he's sitting up and taking in his surroundings, sniffing the air.

It's early morning, and if the colourful leaves on the trees that surround him are any indication, it's also autumn. Which can't be right, because yesterday was the middle of summer. Of that, he is sure. Sesshomaru shivers from the chilly air and wraps the large clothing around his naked form.

The sky is bright blue with no clouds in sight. Birds fly overhead, singing. Slowly, panic starts to grip Sesshomaru in its claws. 'Why am I here?' The last thing he remembers is retiring to his chambers, not going outside in an unknown area in a forest to sleep on some roots!

"Mother?" Sesshomaru hesitantly speaks, golden eyes flickering everywhere. "Father? Are you here?"

Only the chirping wildlife answers him.

Sesshomaru swallows, his throat suddenly dry. "Akani-sensei?" Akani-sensei is Sesshomaru's combat instructor, and it wouldn't be utterly out of character for the man to drag Sesshomaru out like this. Yet, taking another sniff, he can't smell any familiar scent aside from nature. And why is he naked, who's does this clothing belong to?

All alone, Sesshomaru struggles to remain calm; his breathing coming quicker. He slowly stands and hugs the silk tighter. He's momentarily surprised to see two swords by his feet. Moreover, one of the swords is his Father's. That sends another surge of panic through Sesshomaru, because why does he have his Father's sword? What happened to his Father? Father never leaves his rooms without it!

A stick suddenly snaps and Sesshomaru tenses, only to relax when he smells a curious rabbit before seeing it. The grey rabbit twitches by a bush and rubs it's head. Sesshomaru ignores the rabbit and nibbles on his thumbnail, trying to calm himself. He will be fine. He just needs to know his location and then he can find his home. Mother and Father must be dearly worried by now.

Sesshomaru's stomach growls. 'But first I must eat,' he decides. He glances down at himself. 'And find proper attire.' Having a plan helps calm him. He looks back to the rabbit, right before it scampers off. Sesshomaru growls, picks up the two swords, and chases after it. Unfortunately, the rabbit is slippery and as Sesshomaru continues to have trouble catching the animal, he becomes more and more frustrated. True, he only began learning how to hunt a few months ago, but it's one measly rabbit! It should not be so difficult!

Finally, Sesshomaru manages to corner it and sinks his claws into its heart. Sesshomaru grins with satisfaction as the rabbit goes limp and dies. Although the grin quickly turns into a scowl as he realizes that he'll have to skin it, and that he has no idea how too. Every time he has killed game in the past, he would give it over to the servants so that they could cook it.

There are no servants present.

Sesshomaru's stomach growls again. He glares at his useless kill as if his predicament is all it's fault. All his effort; wasted! Regretfully, Sesshomaru turns his back and begins tugging through the thick forest. Using his nose he walks until he scents a human village and corrects his direction towards it.

Sesshomaru huffs and heaves the swords in his arms. They're so heavy! And the belt that Sesshomaru left behind is too big to fit him, even if he were to wrap it around his waist twice. That means that there is no other option but to carry them, for there is no way he can simply abandon them.

Once the village is within sights, Sesshomaru chooses a sufficient spot to hide the weapons. The white clothing is no longer white from trailing on the dirty ground and he can't wait to have clothes that fit him, even if it's under quality for someone of his rank.

Sesshomaru wrinkles his sensitive nose as he draws closer the humans' village. And he nearly gags when he's not but ten feet away from it. The aroma is utterly disgusting! 'How can anyone stand such a stench?' he wonders. Sesshomaru has never seen a human village before, and he is not impressed with his first. 'Is this what all humans' villages are like? No wonder Mother distastes them so. What does Father see in them?'

The total village's land can't be bigger than half of the palace's training field! The human's shelters are huts, which are built out of dried mud and sticks. The crops are pitiful and the humans themselves are boy and covered in grime.

No one has noticed Sesshomaru yet, which he is honestly grateful for. As he eyes the tattered clothing that every one has, he reconsiders his choices. Surely, he's be better off if he simply walks away. The humans look as if they can barely support themselves, much less Sesshomaru. He also doubts that they are able or willing to point him in the right direction.

"Hey! A yokai!" a human suddenly shouts and points to Sesshomaru angrily.

"What?"

"Did he say yokai?"

Sesshomaru widens his eyes and quickly disappears before the humans can gather their wits. He's panting when he collects his swords. Sesshomaru doesn't sense any humans chasing him, but nonetheless he gets away from the poor village. He walks and walks, only getting hungrier and more tired and more miserable as time passes.

The sun will set soon, and if Sesshomaru doesn't find shelter soon he'll be in big trouble. Fortunately, he finds a decent and empty cave. He sniffs to make sure that it isn't any animal's home, and finding only scents that are only old, he settles in. The autumn air only grows colder as night looms, and Sesshomaru puts the heavy swords down and creates a sort of nest with the fluff in hopes of keeping warm.

He wishes he knew how to create a fire.

Restless with his feelings of incompetence, Sesshomaru resolves to get Akani-sensei to properly teach him how to survive in the wilderness when he gets home. That is, if he can find home.

'What is Mother and Father doing right now?' Sesshomaru imagines that a search party has long been dispatched already. So even if he is unable to return home by himself then all he has to do is wait for the trackers to find him. His parents would have sent only the best for him. It shouldn't take too long. After all, how far away can he truly be?

Even still, Sesshomaru feels tears prickle his eyes and he furiously whips them away. No, he will not cry! Crying is for infants! He is eighty winters old, much too old to be crying! 'What would Akani-sensei say if he saw this pathetic display?'

And how did Sesshomaru even end up in the wilderness in the first place? It can't be because of Akani-sensei, because it doesn't explain why he's naked with clothing fit for his Father, the swords, or the lack of instructions on what the goal of the task is. The only remotely possible answer is if someone kidnapped him in his sleep, although why he or she would go to such lengths only to desert him doesn't make any sense. Nor does the fact that he isn't in his night attire!

Thoughts and worries keep Sesshomaru up late, until he finally falls into a restless sleep while curled into a ball.

.

.

.

.

.

"Did-Did Sesshomaru have a kid?" someone wonders, sounding utterly baffled. Sesshomaru curls deeper into the fluff, trying to ignore the faint and annoying voice.

Someone leans in closer and sniffs his right cheek. "Oh, hell," another voice says.

"What?" the first voice questions, "Is he? Sesshomaru's kid?"

The second snarls, "Even worse. He is the bastard!"

"What? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Nobody has the exact same scent as somebody else!"

"Hey," a third voice says loudly and shakes Sesshomaru.

"Shippo, don't do that!"

"Hey, wake up," the third pesters.

Sesshomaru mumbles as he rubs his eyes before opening them. Only to come much too close face-to-face with a boy. Sesshomaru's eyes widen in shock and he scrambles away. "Who are you?" he demands, simultaneously noticing the powerful aura behind the kit.

'Danger! Danger!' his instincts screams at him, causing him to tense and panic to find one of the swords. The first one he grabs is his Father's, the one that doesn't cut flesh, but nonetheless points the sheathed blade at the strangers threateningly. So long that they don't know the blade's limits or the fact that he hadn't started his swordsman lessons not a week ago, he should be fine. His heart pounded in his ears as he locks gazes with the strong yokai. "S-Stay away!" he commands, and dies a little inside when he hears his own stutter.

Only...the dangerous man is a only half inu. A half-breed. But his aura is almost suffocating in the narrow cave, causing Sesshomaru to press himself against the wall to get the hell away. The half-breed pulls his lips back in a snarl, revealing his fangs.

Sesshomaru reacts in kind, although an admittedly much weaker one in comparison.

"Inuyasha!" a human woman snaps, and the half-breed stops snarling to glare at her. The woman ignores the half-breed's look and turns her attention to Sesshomaru. Her expression softens. "Hey, Sesshomaru," she says in a soothing tone, "It's alright. Ignore Inuyasha."

Sesshomaru stays flat against the cave's wall. He swallows a lump in his throat, his raised arm shaking. "How do you know my name?" The half-breed's aura is chocking him up as it oppresses him, pushing his own aura down, and by the half-breed's dark smirk he knows. He's doing it on purpose! That sparks anger within Sesshomaru, yet not enough to over power his instinctive fear.

The human woman glances to her companions, the half-breed and two other humans. "Ah, do you not remember me?" she asks, sounding concerned.

Should he? He can't remember ever seeing the human woman in his life -but it is hard to think properly with the overwhelming aura.

"Oi, Inuyasha, cut it out already!" the kit glares at the half-breed -suddenly on the other side of the cave.

The human woman's eyes snap to the half-breed and narrows. "What are you doing?"

The half-breed doesn't stop glowering at Sesshomaru. "Nothing," he denies, hardly looking innocent.

"Sit!"

BAM!

Sesshomaru jumps in surprise when the half-breed's beaded necklace flashes and he suddenly falls face-first on the rocky ground. Hard.

"The fuck-"

"Sit!"

BAM!

While still utterly bewildered and nervous, the attack on the half-breed takes the power of his aura off of Sesshomaru, and Sesshomaru slowly un-sticks himself from the wall. Sesshomaru lowers his sword and looks between the human woman and the half-breed, who is still kissing the ground. Now that he can think properly, Sesshomaru notices the human woman's attire. The very improper attire. Not only are her knees showing, but also some of her thighs are! 'Is she a harlot?' She must be very well paid, for she doesn't reek like the humans in the village. It's easy to tell that she takes daily baths with soap, which Sesshomaru appreciates. Her black hair shines and looks smooth as it drapes over her shoulders.

The human man dressed in robes and carrying a staff, a monk, and steps forward and crouches to Sesshomaru's level. "Sesshomaru-sama, can you tell us how you ended up here?"

Sesshomaru clutches his Father's sword tightly. "How do you know me?" he demands again. He doesn't like not knowing things, and complete strangers -who he is sure he's ever met before- talking to him so familiarly is alarming.

The monk looks just as lost as Sesshomaru feels. He glances at the others for clues on what to do.

"Answer me!"

The harlot is the one who answers. "We've...crossed paths are couple of times," she says carefully. Sesshomaru narrows his eyes suspiciously. It sounds as if she's holding information back. The harlot notices his look and attempts to throw him off with a smile.

The half-breed, now sitting up, snorts rudely. "Yeah, and he's tried to kill us every damn time!" he snarks hatefully.

'What?' Sesshomaru shakes his head. They must have horribly confused him with another. Although who is his age and has his noble markings? "Who are you?" Sesshomaru inquires.

"My name is Kagome," the harlot introduces herself, "And this is Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and Kirara," she gestures to the monk, the kit, the other female human who's armed with a dangerously huge boomerang, the small nekomata on Shippo's shoulder, and lastly the half-breed. "And this idiot is Inuyasha."

"Hey!" Inuyasha protests.

Sesshomaru still doesn't have a lick of clue who they are. And more importantly, how they know him. True, most can simply tell by his markings, but it doesn't justify speaking to him as if they have history. Sesshomaru doesn't know any other noble who has all characteristics in common with him.

Shippo steps away from Sango and peers curiously at Sesshomaru. Shippo squints, much too close for Sesshomaru's comfort. Sesshomaru tries to back away, but simply bumps into the hard wall. "Why are you so small?" he asks.

That comment wipes away any lasting fears. 'The nerve!' Offended, Sesshomaru sputters, "You can hardly speak yourself! I am two heads taller than you!"

Shippo makes a face.

"Sesshomaru-sama, can you tell us how old you are?" Miroku interrupts.

Sesshomaru huffs, still irked by Shippo. "I am eighty winters old," he says proudly. And so what if he puffs his chest out a little?

Shippo snickers, "I'm a hundred. That makes me older than you!"

"How sad, then, that I'm still taller," Sesshomaru retorts childishly. Surprisingly, he's enjoying his little spat with Shippo. All the nobles' children never want to play with him, so he usually just stays in the library and reads. And of course, the one child that isn't scared of him is the smelly and far too annoying cub called Koga. Thankfully, Sesshomaru only sees him when there's a celebration for all the territories...but still, Sesshomaru is lonely more often than not.

For some odd reason, the humans look to Inuyasha. "He's six in human years," Inuyasha supplies. He then deadpans, "And leaving."

"Inuyasha!"

"Have you forgotten all the times he's tried to take Tessaiga and kill me?!" Inuyasha demands from a scandalized Kagome. "No way am I letting him stay here!"

"We can't let kick him out there," Kagome gestures to the mouth of the cave, where it's pouring and lightening cracks, followed by thunder. "And it wouldn't be right if we just left him in his state either!"

"Fuck that!"

Sesshomaru crosses his arms and raises his chin at Inuyasha. "I was here first, so if anyone is to leave then it is you," he declares haughtily.

Inuyasha growls loudly, glowering, and starts pushing with his aura again.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome warns slowly with narrowed eyes and her hands on her hips.

Inuyasha's ears flatten and he abruptly creases growling, yet still refuses to back down. "Sit me all you want, but he ain't staying and that's that!"

Sesshomaru is very confused on who's the alpha here. At first glance, Inuyasha is clearly the strongest and as the male, he's also the most logical. Yet...Kagome is constantly challenging Inuyasha and has power over him...Kagome does smell of Inuyasha but not to the extent if they were mates...Could it be that they are alphas of two different packs? Why are they together then, and for such long periods of time that their scent rubs off on each other?

Miroku clears his throat, "Why don't we all share the cave until the weather clears and then we can decide on what to do after?" he suggests. "What do you think, Sango?"

Sango, who hasn't said a word yet, examines Sesshomaru as if he were some criminal. She purses her lips. "I'm not sure," she admits.

Sesshomaru, for all his bravery, grows nervous as he glances between all the strangers. He's horribly outnumbered, and so if they truly wanted him gone...he could hardly win a fight against these odds...

Sango glances at Kagome, and sighs. "I guess it's the best option," she concedes.

"But the bastard-"

"He's a child," Kagome huffs. "What on earth can he do?"

Sesshomaru bristles at being called a child and weak because he is heir to the Western Lands and a full blooded inu taiyokai, thank you very much, but doesn't say anything.

"Come on Inuyasha, surely you don't think he's stronger than you?" Miroku teases.

"Of course not!" he exclaims, greatly offended.

"Then he shouldn't pose threat," Miroku nods.

Inuyasha scowls. When it becomes clear that nobody is one his side, Inuyasha storms alone to the farthest end of the cave and shoots everyone daggers, but mostly at Sesshomaru. If looks could kill, Sesshomaru would be twelve feet underground.

'So...he isn't an alpha? Is he a loner and temporarily with everyone else? It's clear that they have history at the very least...' Inuyasha is a wild card so far, but Sesshomaru at least feels secure in his observation that Kagome is the female alpha. After all, the others had followed her decision in allowing Sesshomaru to stay. 'So that means that Miroku is beta -no, wait, he had looked to Sango for authority, so that means that Sango is beta.'

Although...why on earth would an alpha female degrade herself to be a harlot? Surely there are other ways to provide for the pack? Gah! Why is this so confusing? It should not be so!

"Kagome," Shippo tugs on Kagome's skirt, "I'm hungry."

Kagome smiles, "Okay, I think I got something in my bag." After giving Shippo a strange, rectangle packaged thing she turns to Sesshomaru, albeit a tad unsure. "Sesshomaru, are you hungry?"

'Yes,' is his immediate thought. Sesshomaru's stomach roars and Kagome chuckles and hands him the same thing that Shippo is now eating. Dumbly, he stares at the packaged food in his hand. He sniffs it, but it smells like something he never has before. Which intrigues him. 'How are you suppose to open this?'

Kagome has already left to talk with Sango in hushed whispers.

Shippo snickers at Sesshomaru's confusion. "Here," he offers, taking the package and ripping it open.

Sesshomaru nods in thanks and takes a bite. It tastes weird, but not in a bad way. Sesshomaru finishes it quickly and glances at Kagome. "Harlot, may I have more?" His Mother wouldn't have shown such respect to the human, or any harlot in fact, but Sesshomaru figures since she's the reason that they are allowing him to stay he should offer her some courtesy.

Everyone stares at Sesshomaru in shock, although Shippo is simply confused on what a 'harlot' is. Kagome blushes in anger. "What did you just call me?" she demands.

Sesshomaru doesn't understand what the big deal is, and shrinks away from them slightly. "Is that not what you are?" he eyes her clothing pointedly, causing her to grow redder as understanding dawns on her.

Inuyasha makes a move in his direction. "You-"

"Inuyasha, wait," Kagome commands, and Inuyasha gapes at her.

"But he just called you a-"

"I know!" she turns back to Sesshomaru, no longer seemingly mad or offended. "Sesshomaru, I'm not a...harlot," she tries to explain.

Sesshomaru frowns his brows and cocks his head to the side. "Then why are you dressed as one?" he questions.

"Because where I come from this is normal," Kagome clarifies, "This is my school uniform."

"Where do you come from? What's a school?"

"I can't tell you where I come from because it's a secret, and a school is...a place where people get together to be educated."

Sesshomaru finds this hard to believe. Where on earth do they allow women to dress so shamefully? 'Unless...' "Do you live outside of Japan?" It's also a surprise to find that she is educated, for she looks nothing like a Lady.

Kagome smiles, "No, I still live in Japan."

"Why is the location of your home a secret?"

Kagome's smile turns cheeky. "Because it is."

Sesshomaru scowls and crosses his arms. "As heir to the Western Lands, I order you to tell me," he commands. He's feeling quiet smug, in fact, but all that smugness goes away when Inuyasha snorts.

"We ain't on the western lands, stupid. And even if we were there's no way we're telling you anything!"

Sesshomaru waits for Kagome to correct him, but she never does. Sesshomaru's stomach drops. 'Not...On the...How can this be?!' How will the trackers find him now?! How will he get back home?! Sesshomaru's eyes start to tear up with the thought of never being able to see Mother or Father again, or Akani-sensei or his other instructors, or his new pet dragon that is about to hatch soon and has yet to be named, or-

"Hey, hey," Kagome whispers soothingly as she crouches down in front of him, pulling him into tight embrace. "It'll be okay, Sesshomaru. We'll get you back home, okay?"

Numbly, Sesshomaru grips her top and nods, his face buried in her neck and hair.