Author's Notes: I wrote this fan fiction when Inuyasha was fresh on tv. Yes, I know the storyline is far from the true plot. Again, this was several years ago that I wrote this and only a few episodes in.

Chapter 1: Fate Returns

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken called out. He sighed and looked back at Rin whom was throwing sticks at him and giggling. "Why does he have to go off and leave me here with the human?" There was no sight of his master anywhere. "Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you!?"

Sesshomaru was not too far off but ignored the calls of his annoying toad servant. There was only so much he could take of Jaken's useless rambling. It was still early evening and he had a few hours before night would fall. Sesshomaru always returned at night for the human child's sake, Rin, whom was afraid of the dark. To leave Rin with Jaken at night would be a terrible nightmare. Waking up to see Jaken was even enough to scare Sesshomaru.

Something was moving about him in the trees, he could sense a demon. Sesshomaru grabbed the head of his sword and looked around.

"Show yourself." he said calmly. "If you are not afraid." Sesshomaru's voice was tranquil.

Still there was movement in the trees and Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. The scent was familiar but he could not put a name to it. Suddenly a young demon woman appeared in front of him, a wide grin on her face. She was strikingly beautiful with long red hair and hypnotizing blue eyes.

"Well, Well, Well. If it isn't Lord Sesshomaru, King of the Dog Demons." Her voice was sweet, innocent, and devilish, all at the same time and said it with a bit of sarcasm.

A slight smile crossed his face, it was a familiar face indeed. It was Ania, a young demon he had befriended after raising her from when she was ten. She was near twenty four years old and not only healthy but very attractive. Over six years ago she had ran off, leaving no trace for Sesshomaru to follow. She held out a dagger and walked forward slowly, dagger pointing out at his chest.

"Give me a reason why I shall not kill you now?"

Sesshomaru let her approach closer than any demon would be allowed before he would kill them. The tip of her blade touched his throat but he continued to look at her with an expressionless face.

"Well? I'm waiting." Ania stared in to his eyes.

He quickly grabbed her waist with one hand and with the other knocked her stiletto out of the way. He pulled her close and kissed her lips.

"Good answer." She pulled away and tucked her dagger back at her side.

"You've been following us." Sesshomaru continued to look at her.

"You're a hard boy to keep up with, even with that human child." She stepped up to him and ran a hand through his hair, "It's not like you to take in humans." He pulled her closer. "Is fluffy getting a soft spot?" she smiled. In fact, she would have done the same, help a human child if it were needed.

She pretended like she was going to kiss him before brushing past his face when she touched his arm and looked at it. It wasn't his original arm.

"Your hand." she looked up at him. "What happened to it?"

She could see and feel Sesshomaru tense up. "Inuyasha." His voice was full of hate.

"Your brother? He is still slaved to the tree that Kikyo bound him to. Is he not?"

"No." Sesshomaru looked around. "It's a long story." he gestured.

Ania smiled and grabbed his arm and started to walk with him, knowing Sesshomaru would prefer to walk. "I'm not going anywhere." She looked up adoring him like any young woman would do with a boy they had a crush on.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken nearly threw himself at Sesshomaru when he saw him walk out of the bushes. "Where have you…………….." He stopped in his tracks when he saw a familiar face saunter out behind his master. He could feel his stomach turn as he remembered how much trouble she use to get him in with the master. "Ania!" He gasped.

"Hello, Jaken." She pulled her sleeves up over her shoulders and straitened her armor, she was not pleased to see the rotten toad. "Still alive are you? I thought Sesshomaru would have killed you by now."

She walked passed Sesshomaru, brushing his side with hers and flashed a seductive look before winking.

Sesshomaru stood watching her pass, his face calm as usual. If his face was as obvious as he felt inside, he knew Ania would have won over him. He was a demon, he didn't belong to anybody but himself. He certainly felt no love for anyone, just a mere feeling that let him spare innocent beings if they crossed his path. 'Or do I?' he thought about Ania. He definitely had these "strange" feelings for her, ones that he thought put past him when Ania ran off over a year ago. Sesshomaru had to be careful, he knew that every once in a while Ania could use her powers and read his mind. 'If I am a full demon, why can I not block her from entering my mind?' He thought.

"Because you don't want to." Ania smiled and held Jaken up by one foot, his head facing the ground.

"Sesshomaru!!!" a small voice called out and soon enough Rin came from the bushes and grasped on to Sesshomaru's leg.

Sesshomaru looked down at the small little girl who was so eager to see him. Ania's eyes narrowed on the little girl and then she threw Jaken behind her and started towards the human.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHOWWWWWWWW!" Jaken screamed as he landed with a hard thump somewhere behind in the bushes. "Lord Sesshomaru. HELP!"

Sesshomaru paid no attention to Ania for he knew that Ania would not harm the human child, instead he was glaring at the direction Jaken flew off in. Why was Jaken asking for help when he knew Sesshomaru would not help him. Ania kneeled down and looked the little girl in the eyes, obviously reading her mind. The little girl looked up at Sesshomaru for comfort but soon giggled, feeling no fear from the female demon. Ania smiled in return, what a sad life the little girl had had.

"Red hair!" Rin pointed. "Can I touch it?"

"No."

"Please?"

Ania stood up, rather annoyed. "No!"

"Please, Please, Please, Please, Please.."

"Rin, why don't you go to sleep?" Sesshomaru gestured for her to go lay down by the fire.

Rin crossed her arms and stomped off while Jaken dusted himself off and ran to go stand behind Sesshomaru and glared at Ania.

"What is she doing here?" Jaken grabbed on to Sesshomaru's robe.

Ania watched as Sesshomaru pushed Jaken out of the way and sat down and propped himself up against the tree by the fire. Ania sat across the fire and faced him. She wanted to tell Sesshomaru that she did not run off but instead was kidnapped by demons and taken to another dimension. She had immediately escaped out of the demons keeping but was unable to get out of the dimension until recently. She was able to escape through a port hole that had been opened during the entering of another demon in to the dimension. Not a day had gone by where she thought about Sesshomaru, and what he must have thought about her leaving.

She took a deep breath and looked across the fire. 'How long had I been dreaming?' It was still dark and both Jaken and Rin were fast asleep, Sesshomaru's eyes were closed but he was awake.

"Sesshomaru?" Ania kneeled on her knees beside the full demon, her eyes full of tears.

Sesshomaru's eyes opened and he looked at her.

"I just want to tell you about that night. The night I left."

Sesshomaru didn't want to hear it, he closed his eyes. It didn't matter to him if she had left that night. He didn't care.

"I…I didn't go by choice." She looked away for a long time, tears forming in her eyes. She was acting very un-demon like, more like a frightened human child. "I was so scared!" She dug her face in to Sesshomaru's robe, her body quivering from crying.

Sesshomaru's plain face turned to a frown and he put an arm around her, placing his chin on her head. 'What does she mean?' he thought. It didn't matter, she was here now. "Tell me." He demanded in a soft tone.

Ania looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "They call themselves the Night Demons." She looked around. "Before I had a chance to detect them they had taken me. I couldn't even cry for help, they were to overpowering." She put her back to the same tree Sesshomaru was leaning against and then burrowed in to Sesshomaru's side. "Not even a full demon like yourself are able to detect them. They are ghosts from another dimension." She yawned. "I was able to free myself as soon as I got to the other dimension but I couldn't get out until recently. I escaped through a porthole when one demon was entering the dimension." She placed her head on Sesshomaru's fluff. "Now I am able to detect them, that is one thing I learned." She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Sesshomaru placed an arm around her and leaned back. 'If she speaks the truth, they will be looking for her once they learn that she is no longer in their dimension.'

Jaken, who had been pretending to snore, chuckled to himself. Now if only he could find the "Night Demons." They would take back Ania, possibly even kill her and out of his master's life. How he hated that demon, she was the only being besides Rin that Sesshomaru cared about. Jaken hated who Sesshomaru was becoming, he missed the merciless master who used to kill anything in his way. 'Or.. If I trick her into crossing Inuyasha's path he is sure to kill her.' Soon, very soon, Jaken would get rid of the two women that paraded around his master, and Jaken would be able to knock some demon-sense back in to Sesshomaru.

Ania had been awake for a few moments, not only was the sun shinning in her face, she knew that the human child was standing in front of her.

"What?" Ania opened her eyes.

"Lord Sesshomaru is coming back soon."

Ania sat up and yawned, looking around.

"Where did he go?" Ania asked.

"To get the human child, and you food." Jaken hastily answered.

"Then we're going to go on our adventure."

"Adventure?" Ania stood up and dusted herself off.

"To collect the jewel shards." Rin started jumping from foot to foot and danced around Jaken.

Ania frowned. 'That's right. That reincarnation of Kikyo shattered it. Who knows what kind of demons have it now.' Ania swung around to face Sesshomaru who was coming out from the bushes, with him he had fish in one hand and with the other fruit. Ania looked at him oddly. 'He's bringing food to us? He always helped me find it, but never got it for me.'

"Let me guess. You want the Shikon to become a more powerful demon than you already are?" Ania caught the fruit that Sesshomaru threw to her.

"I must find it before Inuyasha."

Ania bit in to the fruit. "Right. Brotherly competition."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled innocently and bit in to the fruit again.