Summary- Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...resurrected again, to sate his bloodlust.

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha. I do however own this plot.

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Brother of Mine

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Sparkling irises like molten gold shone with the light of innocence, pure and untainted; eyes that have easily warmed the coldest of hearts. Eyes that belonged to the daimyo's youngest born; eyes the ruler had passed down to him and his brother. Along with the hair of winter's snow, white and soft like the most expensive of silks. That and being gifted with a cherubic face, pretty as a girl, and marked with the marks of a youkai. He shared the very same features with his brother, his other half. Although he and his brother had been told by many adult that their manly charm would show through with age, he hardly cared to waste thoughts on such things. Why should he care about charm? He had plenty- retrieved them all from the shrine. Sesshomaru, he on the other hand seemed to be satisfied with that.

In any case, he was the child that was often or not overshadowed by his older brother; which, in all honesty, didn't bother him. So what if their instructors said that Sesshomaru was the most remarkable student they had ever had? Sesshomaru had the fighting skill and he leaned more towards the political aspects. What mattered most was that their father loved them equally. Their mother had been more obvious in her favoritism. Either way, he bore no harsh feelings to his nii-san. Sesshomaru was the eldest after all. It was to be expected. Besides his mother still showed love to him, so when she had unexpectedly passed, he had begun to spend a lot of his time in her favorite gardens. This is where he had been hiding from his tutors until he was hit with the insatiable urge to see his brother. He had decided, only after he was running, that today of all days, they should be together. Today was special, after all. Their father's new love was in the throws of labour; he was going to be a big brother, just like his nii-san.

The child smiled as he ran cheerfully through the corridors of his home; a white blur searching for his brother, his twin. It was strange that his father had impregnated a ningen, though. The baby would be a hanyou. He couldn't really understand it, but Sesshomaru seemed against it; that might've have been their mother's influence.

He burst into the room that had the most concentrated amount of his brother's scent.

"Nii-san!" he cried with glee; tackling his studying copy. He laughed. The sound like the small wind chimes hanging outside the bedroom window; soft, delicate, and pure.

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He was there, playing with his younger brother, happy in their family's private garden, and always protecting him, protecting Inuyasha. It was his duty after all as his older brother. It didn't matter that he constantly skipped out on lessons with his instructors. That was hardly anything new and it wasn't like they could do anything to him anyway.

His father didn't seem to mind. In fact, he encouraged the time he spent with his younger sibling. Besides, as long as Inuyasha was happy, he was happy. He would keep it that way too; even if it tended to displease Sesshomaru. It was nice when he decided to join them though, if only to standby and watch. His nii-san never seemed to join in with them, no matter how many times he was invited. Something that had always confused the middle child…

Chaos.

They were under attack. People were running everywhere. Fires burned, screaming and battle cries merged into a mass of noise that could hardly be distinguished. He was alone. He had to find his brothers. He had to get them safe.

Confusion.

How had this all started? They had peace, didn't they? Father said so himself. Everyone was happy. Everyone was…

Fear.

They were after him. They were after him. It was his fault this had all happened! How he knew this to be legitimate and not some wild childish fear had been quite simple; He had run into them; the intruders. They had cried 'There he is!' 'Get him!' The question on his mind had been why though? What was so special about him? Sure he was the Daimyo's son, but that was hardly anything to go by, wasn't it? Not enough reason to so obviously declare war against the Daimyo of the West, right?

Another vulgar shout

They were gaining. Soon he would have no choice but to fight.

He pulled out his twin daggers.

Pain.

He managed to either knock out or kill half of the group. Something he wasn't exactly proud of. So far he only acquired minimal injury and superficial wounds. They weren't trying to kill him. They were trying to wear him down… and it was working. They were starting to notice.

"Tai!" A welcomed voice called. He turned to see who he knew to be near.

"Nii-sa…ugh!."

A sudden blow to his head knocks him down. His vision wavers, and he feels uncoordinated.

Fighting down nausea he feels blood trickle down his face.

Laying in a daze, he realizes that his white yukata is now tainted with blood and that he was more injured than he'd originally thought.

The youkai are now fighting against onii-san. They think he is knocked out. No longer something to worry about…they are right. He doesn't have to worry. Sesshomaru can handle it. He can handle anything. He is a very good fighter.

Then, just has he was about to succumb to unconsciousness, he hears a terrified whimper. Gold eyes shoot open and look to where the noise came from. Inuyasha. A moment of relief floods him before unadulterated horror strikes. Sesshomaru was too preoccupied with the fight, he couldn't see that their sibling was about to be slain, or he was choosing to ignore that fact. He refused to believe the latter.

Without thinking he makes his move; to shield his sibling with his body.

Cold.

"TAI!!"

Darkness.

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The final moments of my rather short life are what remain clear to me. Oh, there are other things I can recall; bits and pieces of memory that float through my mind. Like the shards of a broken mirror- never to be seen as a whole, and forever to be seen as shattered nothingness. So chaotic they are. Theses flashes of images that I can not explain, nor can I interpret. It's too confusing, and so overwhelming that I feel as if I'd drown. Drown in the memories of a life that are no longer mine.

It's strange to me really- strange that a part of me wants it all back; a part of me that wants these wisps of memory that contain feelings of happiness and security. Then the other part that wishes for it to have not existed at all. For it all to disappear and leave a clean slate for the now.

I prefer the now.

I chuckle when a random memory silly and utterly ridiculous springs to mind, and suddenly get the barest recollection that I had been a carefree child once. The chuckle dies. In any case, it hardly matters anymore. I once was dead and no longer am. And to stay this way, to stay alive, I must serve him. I want to live. So nothing matters. Not petty memories of a life long ended. Not the emotions intertwined with them.

I have a new life. I have a new reason for living.

And yet… why do I feel this lingering doubt?

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A/N

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Kei