Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha and characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.

Kagome winced as she felt her consciousness coming back to her. She didn't hurt, other than her head however, she realised that she was not where she had been before she had passed out.

She moaned lightly, turning her head against the floor she was lying on. She attempted to sit up but found her hands bound behind her back. She felt her consciousness return to her faster at that realisation. She managed to manoeuvre herself upright, her eyes only partially open to try and quell the throbbing in her head. She dropped her head as she leaned back against the wall, breathing deeply and trying to pull on her spiritual reserves.

Her eyes flew open, her heart starting to race when she couldn't feel her power, something cutting her off from the presence her spiritual powers always had within her.

It was gone.

That wasn't possible. Was it? She attempted to quell her panic, searching around the room, finding herself unable to discern anything around her. The room was almost pitch black.

She let out a small yelp as she heard a snap and a light appeared above her head, illuminating a space about three feet in diameter around her. Her eyes flew shut at the sudden light, her head throbbing even more as she dipped her head down.

She froze as she heard a chuckle from the other side of the room, her head snapping up and her eyes easing open. She couldn't see anything beyond the light that now sat above her but she now knew there was someone else there.

How had she not sensed them there?

"You know, you're boring as fuck when you're passed out." That voice. She knew that voice. It was harsher than the one she had heard before but she knew it.

She grit her teeth as she heard someone walking towards her, shoes clacking against the floor she was sat on, moving at a deliberately slow pace as they approached. She looked down at the ground, seeing a very clearly expensive pair of men's shoes breach the circle of light she was in. She kept her eyes at the same point as he stopped in front of her.

She let out a breath as she allowed her gaze to travel upwards, taking in the black slacks he wore, his hands casually settled in his pockets as he stood there, clearly relaxed. She took in the deep red of the dress shirt he wore, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showcasing the broad muscles he sported, showing his strength in a subtle way before she finally settled her gaze on his face.

Isamu.

But it wasn't the Isamu she knew. This Isamu looked down on her cruelly, his violet eyes flashing with an emotion she couldn't quite put a name on. His lips were twisted in a vicious smile as he looked down at her and she knew in that moment that Kaede had been right to suspect him. He may have been human but he wasn't on their side. He wasn't helpless.

"What's the matter?" He tilted his head, his smirk growing as he took in the look on her face. "Not what you were expecting?"

Her chest stung with the betrayal she felt and her own stupidity. She had begun to trust the man in front of her. She had worried about him after the attack, worrying how he was coping with his injuries and how he was coping mentally. And he had played her the whole time. He was on the side of the youkai.

But why made no sense to her.

"Why?" She whispered, her voice not following her brains orders to appear strong in front of him.

"Why what?" She could hear the humour in his tone and she realised that he was enjoying seeing her this way.

"Why are you helping them?" She glared up at him, wishing that her hands were free. He may have been human but he had been aiding the youkai for who knew how long. It couldn't have been long as he had only just moved to Tokyo. Maybe he was under some kind of enchantment by a powerful youkai. Kaede had suspected a Daiyoukai in the area. Who knew if they had that kind of power? "Why would you side with the youkai? You have to realise that they'll just kill you once you've done your job."

"Oh, will they?" He chuckled once again, running a hand over his face as he grinned down at her. "I don't think you know what you think you know. You have no idea what's in the works right now. What's been in the works for the last forty or so years. Give or take a year or two."

"What are you talking about?"

His smirk grew as he stared her down. "You wanna know a secret?" His smile suddenly became playful as his shoulders hunched and relaxed slightly, as though he was a child that had learned something juicy about a sibling. But this was the sibling that would literally stab you in the back when you weren't looking. "It's a good one."

She didn't answer him, choosing to remain silent, glaring at him as she moved towards her, leaning close as he crouched down.

"I can see you wanna know." He grinned devilishly as he leaned forward, his breath tickling her ear as she fought not to cringe away from him.

"I took Kaede's eye."

Those four whispered words had Kagome's attention immediately as he stood up, his face looking incredibly cruel as she stared up at him, wondering what how that had been possible. He didn't look any older than she was. To be able to have done that, he had to have been at least forty years old, everyone in the Organisation knowing that it had been that long since Kaede had lost her eye. No, he would have to be even older than that.

"Why don't I put you out of your misery," she turned to look at him, her eyes widening in horror as he began to change in front of her, the inky black hair melting into shining silver, the violet eyes she had found so intriguing vanished into brilliant gold, striking purple marks appearing on his cheeks, his smirk revealing a wicked set of canines indenting his bottom lip. She also noticed that his ears had disappeared from the side of his head and she realised that they were now a pair of dog ears perched on top of his head. She would have thought they were cute if she hadn't been hit with the realisation of what was standing in front of her.

Inu.

She had an Inu standing in front of her. She had only read about them described by others that had been lucky – or unlucky as it were – to lay their eyes on one and lived to write about it in their reports back to the Organisation. No one had seen one in the last forty years.

Save Kaede.

"I see the lightbulb." He was amused. She could hear it in his voice.

"What do you want?" She rasped out. "What do you want from me?"

"You?" He crouched down next to her again and she could see the intricate pattern in his golden irises. "Oh no, Kagome, I don't want anything from you. I just need you out of the way."

"Why?"

"Because you'll do something stupid otherwise," he snorted, tilting his head again. "Like attack me."

"I get free, I'm gonna purify your ass!" She hissed and he chuckled.

"It's been tried." He grinned again. He was enjoying this far too much for Kagome's liking. "The problem humans find is . . . that you can't completely purify a hanyou." She blinked at the revelation before something came back to her. He had stopped outside the cell of the hanyou girl they had had in the basement, something about her drawing him in. Because he was hanyou too. "Purification powers don't work on humans. And you may be one of the best in your little Organisation . . . but you're not good enough to beat me. Even if I'm human."

"Hanyou," she whispered and his eyes glinted in the light above them.

"My mother was human, my father Inu. The result? Me."

"But why are you doing this?" She asked again, hoping to get an answer to her question this time. "What did the Organisation ever do to you?"

His eyes darkened, becoming more amber than the molten gold they had been before. "Do you remember the question I asked you? Outside the cell of the hanyou girl? Her name is Shiori, by the way. She's been reunited with her family." Kagome grit her teeth at the memory of the lights and sirens going off, the thought that he may have been behind it seeping into her mind. She didn't know how but he must have been. Now that she thought about it, it was too coincidental. She should have listened to Kaede. "Well? Do you remember?"

She didn't answer him, squaring her jaw even though she did remember the exact words he had uttered in the sub level, looking into the cell of the hanyou girl.

"What if you're wrong about the youkai you're killing? What if it turned out that the youkai you had killed, wasn't the one that was attacking people. What if they exist among us but we don't know because they're not doing anything to draw attention. What if you get it wrong? Kill the wrong youkai?"

"You remember." He stated and she closed her eyes, not wanting to know what he was leading up to but the realisation whispering in the back of her mind. "Don't you?"

She gasped as he grabbed her chin, sharp claws against her cheeks as he gripped her face tightly, forcing her to look at him. The anger she saw in his eyes made her heart race and she had no doubt he could hear it pounding as though it was racing in his own ears.

"Well guess what," he snarled, his top lip curling, revealing those treacherous canines again, no doubt capable of considerable damage. And she was completely helpless, bound, her powers nowhere within her reach, her face in the grip of this . . . creature. That's what she had to see him as now. "You got it wrong."

He violently released her face as he growled the words out, the animalistic side of him coming out. He stood up, moving away from her as she sat there, her breaths coming in shuddering gasps.

"So what?" Her voice was quiet but strong as she kept her head down. "You're going to kill me then?"

He snorted, his ear flicking as he regarded her. "No. I'm not gonna kill you. And neither is anyone else." He sounded so certain of that. But then again, everyone knew that when an Inu gave an order, it was followed. They were reported to be the strongest breed of youkai there was, the Daiyoukai InuTaisho being strongest of them all.

"You'd risk that?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "You'd risk the Organisation coming after you?"

"Oh, sweetie," his tone was mocking, his eyes still carrying the anger he had shown a moment ago. "When I'm done . . . there won't be a Shikon Organisation anymore." Her eyebrows shot up. "You've too much damage, killed too many innocent youkai who were just trying to live their lives, to be allowed to continue. No," he shook his head, his ears practically disappearing into his hair, "when I'm done, the Shikon Organisation is going to be dust."

"You might of found us here but you've forgotten about the rest of the world." Kagome smirked, looking up at him as he grinned.

"Have I?" He sounded so smug that it made Kagome nervous. "You think I didn't think about the other branches? You think that I've spent the last forty years building up to this to overlook the other branches? No. You remember when Miroku was so easily telling me about how the branches were all linked up? Everything feeding back to the main headquarters here in Japan? I already knew that. I was already inside those branches, just like I was inside yours."

"What?"

"I've had free reign of your systems for weeks now. I've been able to look at whatever I want without your security systems detecting a thing. Mostly, 'cause I had control of them but that's by the by. All it took was some last-minute preparations which were taken care of over the last few days. And here we are."

"You can't think you're going to get away with this," she muttered lowly and he laughed.

"And why not?" He moved towards her, crouching down and hooking his finger under her chin, pulling her head up. "Because you're oh-so-powerful. You can't even feel your spiritual centre right now, can you?" She didn't answer but her silence was the only answer he needed. "Took a while to figure that one out but we did it."

"Where are the others?" She asked, staring him in the eye.

"They're safe. And just like you, they're not going to be harmed. Well, most of you won't be." Her eyes widened, wondering who he was talking about and then she thought back.

"I took Kaede's eye."

"Kaede," she whispered, her eyes starting to sting as she thought about the woman that had been her mentor for the years she had been with the Shikon Organisation coming to harm while she was powerless to stop it. If only she could figure out how they had cut off her powers. She could fight her way out if she had those back. "Why?"

"Because that woman has caused too much harm." He snarled, his hatred for the old woman clear. "She has caused the deaths of far too many youkai that didn't deserve it. Because of her orders, an ookami tribe on their annual migration was decimated, many orphans have been created, pups and kits taken from their parents, hardly out of infancy. And a pair of kitsune, murdered under the orders of your beloved Kaede," Kagome had never heard such venom in someone's voice as he spoke, "leaving their infant kit behind. You have no idea of the destruction that woman has caused. The pain she has caused. And I'm ending it. For good."

He stood up and walked away from her, out of the circle of light she was in. She could just about see the glint of his silver hair.

"Is your name really Isamu?" She asked quietly and he stopped.

"My name is Inuyasha." He stated simply and she sucked in a breath, knowing his name as all the hunters did. He was the hanyou son of the great Daiyoukai, InuTaisho. No wonder he hadn't been worried at all about being close to her, even trussed up like she was, she could have been deemed as dangerous.

"Who was it?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper as he opened the door, a faint light coming from behind him. "If we got it wrong, who was it?"

He growled lowly as he gripped the door.

"My father."

And with that, he snapped his fingers, the light above her head disappearing as he walked out of the door, slamming it closed and leaving her encased in darkness once more.

*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*

Inuyasha couldn't help but think back to the moment his father died as he walked out of the room, his human façade slipping back into place as he walked.

**Forty years prior**

Inuyasha could hear the sounds of the battle between his father and Ryukotsusei from a mile away, his lungs heaving as he ran full pelt towards them. The sounds had died down, leaving nothing but silence. He worried for his father. The Inu-Daiyoukai was formidable but if there was anyone in the world that would give him a challenge it would be the dragon Daiyoukai he was currently up against.

His father had heard that Ryukotsusei was in the area and that humans had gone missing and knowing the dragon had something to do with it he had gone to confront him. InuTaisho had a soft spot for humans, not surprising considering he had mated a human and sired a half-human pup. Inuyasha hadn't been able to talk him out of going and he found himself wishing that his brother had been there. Between the two of them, they may have been able to stop him.

Inuyasha raced through the deserted streets, a blur to anyone that happened to look out their window at that moment before coming to a halt, seeing his father, panting and covered in blood, much of it his own from the scent. Inuyasha saw the body of Ryukotsusei lying before him. It wouldn't be long before the Daiyoukai reverted to his true form, the monstrous Dragon he was fabled to be. He would need to be moved before then.

"Father?" Inuyasha approached his father carefully, the older youkai's youki flaring as he approached. He stopped, wondering about how to bring his father back to himself. He was running completely on instincts and his words wouldn't be heard. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head as his father let out a formidable growl, answering with a low whine. One of a pup calling to their parent. If his father was running on instinct, he would have to appeal to the overprotective side that dwelled within all Inu's when it came to their offspring.

Hearing the sound, InuTaisho turned, the sclera of his eyes a blood red as he regarded his son, moving as quickly as his wounds would allow, his nose running over his child, checking for any injuries. Inuyasha allowed this, knowing any resistance would be met with disapproval. He had discovered that when he was much younger, much to pain of his ears. Clearly satisfied that his offspring was not harmed, InuTaisho pulled him to him and Inuyasha could smell the blood of his father more potently than before. He was badly hurt. The battle with Ryukotsusei had injured him greatly.

"Inuyasha," InuTaisho murmured and Inuyasha's ears twitched slightly.

"Father, you're hurt," Inuyasha looked at his father, seeing the marks on his face as well. They would no doubt heal but seeing his father this way was worrying.

"I will be fine, Inuyasha." Inuyasha nodded, looking over, once again at the body of Ryukotsusei.

Inuyasha knew that he needed to get his father some help. While he would heal on his own, it would take a long time and if anyone were to discover that the Daiyoukai was as injured as he was, it could spell big trouble.

The two Inu's turned to make their way back home when they heard light footsteps surrounding them. Inuyasha's ears twitched as he picked up the sounds, sniffing as he detected human scents. At least twenty of them.

He barely had time to register when he and his father were forcefully thrown by a wave of spiritual energy. InuTaisho's arms immediately wrapped around Inuyasha, shielding him from the energy and the resulting blow to the ground. The Inu rolled the two of them over, his instincts once again kicking in, the life of his offspring more important than his own as he shielded him from the threat.

"Inuyasha," his voice was a low grumble and Inuyasha turned his head to face him. "Stay here."

"But-"

"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head, his own instincts bowing to the will of the Alpha of his pack. "You. Will. Stay. Here! I will not have you getting hurt."

Inuyasha didn't have a choice. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't fight against his father's will. His body and his instincts wouldn't let him.

His body wouldn't move from where his father had hidden them away from the threat as his father moved, running his hand through his son's hair, his nose burying itself for a moment between the ears perched on top of his head, rumbling lowly in his throat.

He grasped Inuyasha's ear in between his teeth, the reassuring rumble turning into a growl of dominance as he reinforced his will onto his pup, ensuring he couldn't push past the orders of the Alpha. Inuyasha let out a submissive whine and InuTaisho was satisfied with this response as he released his ear and unwrapped his arms from his son.

He stood and watched as Inuyasha rolled onto his front, unable to do anything else, the weight of InuTaisho's command keeping him down. He was out of the way, he would be safe there. Hopefully, with his hanyou blood, they would not pick him up as easily. The human miko's and houshi's always had slight issues picking up hanyous as their human blood was an unknown quantity. They weren't common to begin with so there would be little chance these hunters had come across one before.

Inuyasha's ears flattened and his hair stood on end at the magnitude of spiritual energy surrounding him. He could barely move, every twitch of a muscle excruciating. He could still hear his father's booming voice above him, telling him to keep low and out of sight as he stood there, covered in blood.

He could see his father, see his opponents from where he was, unable to move, feeling as though he was being smothered by the very air, his father's Alpha command also keeping him down. He heard yelling and clear sounds of battle and he had to wonder how many his father was going up against, feeling completely useless as he lay there. He gasped for breath, trying to pull himself forward as he looked towards his father again to find he was no longer there.

His eyes widened, dread and pain filling him as the Alpha command broke and Inuyasha felt the link that was always there between Inu family shatter. "No!" Inuyasha glanced around, seeing nothing of his father other than the fire rat robe he had worn for centuries, floating towards the hanyou. "Father!"

Time seemed to slow as he reached out, the fire rat seeming to float directly into his outstretched hand, the course, thick material heavy as he held it. There were blood stains and rips that Inuyasha knew would fix themselves scattering the material and Inuyasha felt the piercing pain of the truth.

His father was gone.

The rock of the Inu family . . .

The Lord of the West . . .

The Great Dog General . . .

InuTaisho . . .

Daddy . . .

Was gone.

Inuyasha's lip curled back, a growl forming in his throat as he caught sight of the retreating backs of those that had taken his father from him. He could see by the body language and sense from the lingering energy in the area that the woman closest to him was the one that had dealt the spiritual blow.

He stood slowly, letting the fire rat drop to the ground as he dashed towards her, taking her by surprise as he lashed out, his claws connecting with her face and he knew that he had caused significant damage to her eye, if not completely destroying it before he was hit with a wave of spiritual energy and sent flying.

It was as though electricity was surging through his body, frying every nerve and eroding every muscle he had as he landed in the same corner his father had stuffed him in when they had felt the energy for the first time. The fire rat was under his hand and he felt the material once again as the pain disappeared. His hand fisted the material, not doubting that they would kill him once they found him.

He lifted his head upon hearing a roar that sounded reminiscent of his father but knew that it couldn't have been possible. His father was gone and he hadn't done a thing to stop it.

"Yasha!" His eyes opened a sliver, seeing the flowing silver hair of his brother, feeling his arms wrapping around him. He pulled him to him as he turned, snarling at whoever was there. Inuyasha wondered for a moment how he was still alive after the pain he had felt. He had been sure that he would be joining his father in whatever happens after life on Earth ends. He caught a glimpse of black over his arm, realising that it was his hair and he had his answer.

He hadn't been completely purified. He couldn't be completely purified. Not with his half human blood.

He curled into his brother, feeling even more vulnerable after realising that his hanyou powers had vanished, however temporarily. He had the fire rat clutched in his hands as he felt Sesshomaru stand and he allowed himself to be protected by his brother in his moment of weakness.

And he knew no more.

*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*I*

As soon as Inuyasha walked into the room, Sesshomaru knew that he was lost in the past of that night. The night they lost their father. Sesshomaru hadn't had any idea what was happening until it was too late. He had been at the fortress, settling some business his father had assigned to him when he had first felt the threat that he later learned was Ryukotsusei and his father in battle. He had left immediately, turning himself into the ball of light that could travel great distance at speed. Even as he flew across the country, he knew that he wouldn't be there in time.

And he had been right.

When he had arrived to where he had felt the signatures of his father and brother, surrounded by the residual spiritual energy emitted by a miko. He could see said miko crumpled in pain, surrounded by her hunters, trying to help her. His attention was immediately drawn to his brother.

His human brother.

He immediately rushed to Inuyasha's side, seeing the dazed look on his face, made softer by the humanity in his features that only appeared once a month.

He knew that his father was gone. He had felt the pain of the loss of family as he had travelled, the feeling spurring him on faster. He had gripped his brother tightly to him, noting the fire rate robe that their father had always worn, even though the garment hadn't been worn by the general populace for a few centuries.

He tightened his hold on his brother as he sensed the hunters approaching slowly. He snarled at them as he felt Inuyasha shifted in his arms. He looked down to see his brother gazing at the hair that had fallen across his arms as Sesshomaru moved. He had to get Inuyasha out of here. He wasn't safe, especially if they discovered that he was half human. He didn't want to think about what could happen if that information got out.

Crouching, he noticed that Inuyasha had gone slack, losing his fight with consciousness as he used his powerful legs to launch the two of them into the air, taking on the ball of light form as he headed back in the direction he had come.

He would take Inuyasha to the fortress. He would need to be somewhere familiar. Inu's took the loss of family hard, the ties of family meaning more than anything to them.

He would keep his baby brother close while they tried to reconcile themselves with their loss.

Sesshomaru shook himself out of his own thoughts as he looked to Inuyasha who had stopped just inside the door, his brow furrowed in thought.

Standing up and slowly walking towards him, not wanting to startle the younger Inu. He placed a hand on his shoulder and felt Inuyasha start a little under his hand.

"Are you alright, brother?" He asked, his tone soft, amused by the way Inuyasha's ears twitched as he spoke. He nodded slowly, his eyes meeting the matching golden eyes of his older brother, feeling slightly off after his confrontation with Kagome and his subsequent venture into the past. "We both need rest before tomorrow." Inuyasha nodded again, letting himself out of the room and heading towards one of the rooms set up for the two of them to be able to rest and conserve their energy before confronting the woman that had taken the most important creature on the planet from them.

Tomorrow, Kaede would answer for what she had done.