It had been a week since Natsukaoru found his way to Inuyasha's home village. The ningen residents had not been comfortable around the DaiYokai, but they did not express their displeasure for the Hanyou as openly. Inuyasha was able to roam his own village without fear of being beaten, though Natsukaoru was not amused by human play. The ever stoic pup was a mystery to the Hanyou. No matter how much Inuyasha wanted to play with the ningen, Natsukaoru preferred to keep him within eyesight. It was as though the Hanyou was in need of protection, little did he know that it was really Natsukaoru showing dominance over the young Inu. Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi was not as ill-treated as her pup. Through patience and listening into ningen conversations, the young DaiYokai learned that Izayoi had been mated to Inu No Taisho. It was seen as a taboo to the village, Izayoi had been promised to another ningen male but fell in love with the DaiYokai Lord and bore Inuyasha. Still being of a higher rank than the villagers, the ningen saw it fitting to spare her but not the Hanyou pup. Inuyasha was safely playing with a ball as Natsukaoru leaned against a tree watching the pup, from the corner of his eye he saw a man walking from the tavern.
"That bitch has taken in another Yokai?" The man growled
Another walking by the man nodded and grunted in disappointment.
"From what I've heard it's another pup, wandered into the village from the woods."
Natsukaoru resumed his watch of Inuyasha as he listened to the men ramble about Izayoi, the sake proving to loosen their tongues. The two men obviously did not enjoy having another Yokai within their village; however Natsukaoru had no real reason to leave. The third night of staying within Inuyasha's hut Izayoi made the young DaiYokai promise to look after Inuyasha. It was an odd request but the villagers were always skulking in the shadows and plotting. Should anything happen to the woman it would be up to Natsukaoru to raise Inuyasha, or at least find someone who could. There was no denying that the pup was stubborn when he wanted to be but he was still human, if only half.
"Natsukaoru, play with me!" Inuyasha called from the tree he had been chasing the ball around.
The DaiYokai pup looked to the Hanyou with a raised brow, the silver haired pup pouted and walked to Natsukaoru. Inuyasha learned rather quickly that his friend did not like to speak loudly, only when the Hanyou was in danger would the DaiYokai raise his voice. With his ears laid back Inuyasha licked Natsukaoru's nose and whined, the action would normally get him the result he wanted. Without a word the rose blonde vanished and reappeared by the ball the Hanyou had been chasing. With a grin Inuyasha got Natsukaoru to hit the ball between the two, it seemed to be a foolish game but if it made Inuyasha smile than he would endure it without complaint. To be quite clear Natsukaoru often found Inuyasha to be rather feminine; when he was mad he would put his hands on his hips and glare. The action alone made him seem off, most young men would put up their fists and want to fight. With Inuyasha it was the opposite if his harsh words didn't get the offender to move along. Natsukaoru had learned that not everyone treated Izayoi with respect or enjoyed the fact that out of all the hands offered to her she had chosen a Yokai to marry and have a child with; it was all a rather short stick for young Inuyasha. The pup could barely get anyone to listen or even play with him without being under their torment, once in a great while a young man could be seen watching the silver haired pup from beyond the woods. Their aura nearly oozed out in malice and hate, as if they had been forced to do what they were doing, luckily they never showed their face but their scent was ice blood iced over. A rather cold feeling always swept over Natsukaoru whenever the stranger was watching the two, Izayoi would caution the rose-haired pup to mind himself when he growled to the woods. There was always something in Izayoi that reminded Natsukaoru of his own mother, however with a new moon fast upon the Hanyou; Inuyasha was less sensitive to the world around him as he Yokai blood seemed to become weaker.
'Could he be affected by the loss of the moon?' Natsukaoru questioned in his mind as he saw Inuyasha lay down by the ball.
"Natsu…" Inuyasha whispered, too tired to say his adoptive brother's full name, "Will you walk in the woods with me tonight?" The pup shyly asked.
Natsukaoru tilted his head to the side before he walked to the pup and sat down by him, tenderly running a clawed hand through the silver locks. Golden eyes looked back into pools of deep blue as the Hanyou waited for an answer. A soft breeze blew making the DaiYokai face the direction the wind as coming from. The scent of icy blood filled his nose before he nodded, he knew that Inuyasha was not always keen on when the new moon would take place but he was. He could always feel it in his very being and the idea of ningen Inuyasha in the woods alone did not sit well with the pup. Inuyasha smiled to himself as he closed his eyes for a moment, he did not want to let his brother see that he was scared of the scent in the wind. It was not a pleasant smell to him and always gave him nightmares about a large white dog that would chase him down and eat him. Inuyasha did not know why the dog seemed to hate him nor did he even recognize it, his mother would tell him that the dog was cruel but very close to him. It bothered the Hanyou to think that such a violent and malevolent thing was close to him, at rare moments he would catch a glimpse of a man watching him. Cold amber eyes and silver hair like his, but skin as pale as the moon. Sometimes Natsukaoru would growl into the woods and the man would go away, other times the man would show his own fangs and growl back before leaving.
"Do you know the scary man?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes opening half-way.
Natsukaoru tilted his head.
"This Natsukaoru knows only the scent, not the man." The blue eyed pup replied; Inuyasha's ear flattened against his head.
"Kaa-San says there's a big scary Inu close to me: it smells like the man in the woods." Inuyasha said sadly, "Did you know any Inu?" The shy Hanyou asked.
The DaiYokai chuckled softly; it was a rare thing for the pup to do but it made Inuyasha tilted his head and frown.
"What's so funny Nii-Sama?" Inuyasha asked, his ears perking up as if his brother knew a secret.
"The Inu is the man in the woods." Natsukaoru said as he pointed to himself. "As full blooded Yokai we have an animal form that we can take if we are in great danger or are in battle." He explained. "It is the embodiment of our Yokai blood, some are in a form half human and half animal while others can take a full animal form."
Inuyasha whined softly and laid his ears back, being a Hanyou meant that he would never have an animal form. But to know that the Inu from his nightmares and the man from the woods where the same made him even more scared of the man. Natsukaoru closed his eyes half-way sensing his brother's fear. With a silent sigh he looked up at the clouds moving through the sky, it seemed as if they were being gently pushed to a place beyond their knowledge by the wind. They had little fear of what may happen to them but they traveled on through the ever changing color of the sky. Inuyasha looked up at his brother and licked his jaw softly before nuzzling into the DaiYokai next to him; it was nice to finally have someone besides his mother who did not push him away. The man in the woods might have been scary but his brother could be scary too, more so when the villagers were cruel towards him. When his brother would get mad his fangs and claws would grow, his eyes turned a violent red with blue around them. His hair would bristle out and he would appear to grow two tails. The look alone would scare those who were bullying Inuyasha away; when they were gone Natsukaoru would turn back to normal as if nothing happened.
"Natsu-San… Am I below you?" Inuyasha's small voice whispered, the pup was afraid of the answer but couldn't stop the question from being asked.
Natsukaoru closed his eyes and rested his head on Inuyasha's.
"In the natural order… Hai." Natsukaoru said slowly. "Hanyou are half-breeds bound to be weakened by their human blood, but through our bond as brothers you are not below me." The DaiYokai offered the Hanyou a rare smile.
Inuyasha's ear perked up with a soft smile. It had been the first time he had seen his brother smile, though he had hoped it would not be the last. Natsukaoru's smile was as warm as the summer sun and could make Inuyasha smile just as easily. Deciding to tell Izayoi where they would be, the boys had started to run back to the house only to find it ablaze. Inuyasha's eyes widened at the sight before he fell to his knees. Natsukaoru looked around to find that no one was around anymore, as if the home was set fire and then forgotten. In a flash Natsukaoru had to hold Inuyasha back from the fire as he tried to reach the dying breaths of his mother. With a heavy heart the two pups watched as the sun had slowly set behind the burning house, everything Inuyasha had ever known was taken away in that one act. His home and his mother were gone, leaving him an orphan along with Natsukaoru. The DaiYokai did not know how to comfort the young pup and lowered his eyes before he lead Inuyasha to the woods, away from the villagers with murder in his eyes. Inuyasha could not feel a thing; not his brother's hand on his back or the branches that tugs at his hair and clothes.
"Okaa-Sama." Inuyasha whimpered pathetically.
Natsukaoru let out a soft sigh and stopped to hold his brother; the Hanyou could no longer hold in his emotions and fell apart in the arm of the full blooded pup. With all his strength Natsukaoru resisted against the tears that glittered in his eyes, their color a deep purple, lost within a feeling of sorrow and anger. With night fast approaching Natsukaoru and Inuyasha carefully wandered through the woods searching for a cave to call shelter for the night. Though Natsukaoru was strong Inuyasha still feared the man who was in the woods, his scent was everywhere as if he had owned the very land the two walked on. Glancing up at the night sky brought dread to the Hanyou pup, the moon was nowhere in sight, even then he could feel his body change. His senses dulled as his eyes lost their glow, his claws turning to blunt human nails. His hair darkened to an inky black as did his eyes, he felt like a scared and lost child now, clinging to Natsukaoru whom had stopped. Inuyasha feared what the DaiYokai would think of him and hid his face from sight, fearing that his protector would leave him like everyone else had done. To his shock a soft hand ran through his hair, it felt comforting as he looked up he blushed softly. Looking back at him was not his rose-blonde brother with deep blue eyes, but a feminine version with silver hair and bright violet eyes. Inuyasha tilted his head as he looked at the now female DaiYokai whom lowered her gaze to the ground.
"It would seem that the loss of the moon affects us both, ne Inuyasha?" The female said; her voice a melody in the night.
Inuyasha was at a loss for words, but had slowly gained a smile on his human face. For once he was not an outcast, Natsukaoru could still look at him with a smile and that was more than enough for him as they finally found a large tree with a hole in it to take shelter under. Curling around each other the two huddled close to each other; Inuyasha closed his eyes as Natsukaoru remained ever watchful. Her eyes darting from side to side as a scent hit her nose, her eyes narrowed as she caught the glimpse of a young man with silvery hair. Though he looked to be 18 Natsukaoru knew better and growled holding the human Inuyasha close as the man began to walk towards their hiding place. Inuyasha looked up to see the man walking their way and hid his face in Natsukaoru's chest, the DaiYokai wrapped her arms around the scared boy and growled louder as golden eyes glared down at her. The man was now close enough to touch the two before he crouched down with stern look before his eyes slightly widened at the scent of summer from Natsukaoru, in turn she had caught the chilled scent of winter from the man whose glare had lessened before he spoke.
"This Sesshomaru is not a threat to pups that cannot even defend themselves."