Ok, so I know it's the same thing as the last chapter, so just tell me if you don't want me to do this anymore!

Sorry, it took so long! Hope you like it :D

It seemed like the very air was tense and filled with electricity as Kee-Ara waited for someone to respond. She stood slightly in front of her son, tensed and ready to react as she stared at Sesshomaru's hard face. At the word son his eyes had flashed, with anger or some other emotion, Kee-Ara couldn't tell, tt had been so fleeting. Now she waited in the quiet, the only sound the soft hush of breathing, as she waited for the proverbial axe to fall.

In all of her nightmares she had seen something different, so many consequences to this meeting, and in the glimmers of her hopes she had seen many positive outcomes as well. There were so many paths it could take. But at this moment it seemed as if they would be stuck here forever, the echoes of her words ringing outward for an eternity as golden eyes met for the first time in acknowledgment of their connection.

It felt as if her heart would burst, it beat so in her chest, but she almost wished it would happen and get over with to end this moment. Anything would be better than standing there with limitless possibilities consuming them as each person battled their own internal demons. And then her small, ever beautiful and innocent son, took a step forward and out of her protection as he approached the powerful demon standing above him, and said one word.

"No."

"Takeshi?" Kee-Ara asked, reaching for his shoulder before letting her hand drop back to her side. He didn't need her for this, not right now. Now she needed to let him be strong, the way she was raising him to be. But it was so hard when Sesshomaru's impassive face stared at her boy.

"I said, no. He is not my father. And he will not hurt you. I will not allow it," Takeshi told them, commanding them with an authoritativeness that should have seemed ridiculous coming from his small frame but his golden eyes nearly glowed with passion as he dared them to deny him. Kee-Ara's heart simultaneously broke and swelled with pride as he uttered those words, denying the father he had never met and demanding respect from him at the same time.

"You will not allow it." Sesshomaru repeated, his cold tone somehow indicating a mockery. Kee-Ara's eyes narrowed, a golden glow leaking from her finger tips as she dared him to even say anything to hurt her boy. For the first time Sesshomaru's eyes met hers with something akin to recognition, it was almost respect, as he glanced at her but his eyes deliberately looked away once more to Takeshi.

"No, I will not," Takeshi told him, and Kee-Ara was proud that his voice did not waver as Sesshomaru's powerful gaze rested on him in skepticism, nor did he back down.

"Takeshi, I am able to protect myself. Do not worry, he cannot hurt us," Kee-Ara reassured him confidently, only now moving forward beside him. She gave him an easy grin before looking back up to Sesshomaru.

Then why had they been hiding for so long? Takeshi countered, but he kept it to himself. He wrapped his fingers around his moms hand instead, clasping it tightly. Her power diminished, waning between their fingers until it died out completely.

Sesshomaru noticed the movement and was caught between contempt for her raising him to be weak and disbelief as the boy touched the light effortlessly, not seeming to think twice about the power that had so recently been able to hurt a powerful demon lord. Sesshomaru had to admit to himself that the thought of her punching him had never occurred to him or he could have easily stopped her.

Sheer disbelief had left him open to her blow and even then he was taken aback that he had actually felt the blow. He had not known she had such strength, not physically for she was still human, but her magic. That did not happen very often.

And yet he when he walked into the clearing he had been stunned so many times in such a short amount of time. The sight of her alone had nearly stopped his heart. He could not believe his eyes as he studied her from afar, his keen eyesight easily noticing the way she had changed.

In the way her hair fell around her face, the way she wore it loose but held back, the white and red priestess garb, the bow pointed in his direction expertly held in her hands, even the way she stood with her shoulders back and feet firmly planted on the ground was different than the way he remembered. She had always stood proudly, that much was true, but now he could see the sensibility, the calm assuredness in her pose. She had changed.

And yet when he saw her wide dark eyes, swirling with emotion she was exactly the same, the same woman that had left seven years ago. Her scent consumed him as he inhaled deeply making emotions roar through him. They ferociously consumed him like a raging forest fire. She had taught him how to feel but now it was uncontrollable, assaulting him with emotions he couldn't identify. As he moved towards her he realized the foremost was anger. Anger at her.

It alarmed him as he felt the pure rage that overtook him. Nothing scared him, not even death, but somehow just the sight of this woman made him feel things that disconcerted him and so he settled back into what he knew, releasing the emotions that threatened to tear him apart and sunk into reason and logic. Detachment. He watched her from the corner of his eye.

He should have noticed her scent long before the clearing but he had not expected the woman he had searched years for to suddenly appear. It was the last place he thought she would be. He had stopped looking and she appeared.

She had gotten better at hiding her emotions he noticed, almost regretfully, as her hard face watched him behind her humming bow. Better at hiding and better at magic it seemed. With every step he took his anger threatened to break free of his tight control. Fury made him want to rip the weapon out of her hands and it threatened to consume him as he considered killing her.

And then he was standing next to her, close enough to touch, and her soft voice had whispered his name, just the way she had before. He had to turn and look at her face. Just once to see how much she had changed. Her big brown eyes threatened to engulf him once more as he saw the hurt there, trying to hide behind determination and anger. He coolly looked away.

It took all of hi control not to snarl at her and demand answers. Demand to know why she looked at him with hurt when she was the one that made the choice to leave. He dismissed her instead, coolly turning to Rin. That was why he was here, not for the woman that disappeared without a trace. He realized she was insignificant years ago. Rin's fear made him pull back on his anger and let the cool sensation of detachment resurface but they both couldn't fit inside him. They seemed to battle inside him, and he felt himself slipping back into fury.

InuYasha's insults merely annoyed him, dragging his fury out to lash at the nearest target. He let it out for a moment but it did nothing to lessen it, instead it seemed to increase it as he watched Kee-Ara's eyes widen in horror as the acidic words dripped from his lips. And then he heard a small gasp. His eyes followed the sound, dropping behind InuYasha's and settling on a pair of horror struck golden eyes.

A pair of white ears were nestled in his hair and everything froze as he stared at a small startled face. He had golden hair. And a small crescent moon on his forehead. It seemed to stretch into an eternity as he stared into the perfect reflection of his eyes, his mind and emotions frozen by a shock so profound he realized he wasn't breathing. All of the implications seemed to swirl through his head at once.

The boy's eyes held pure horror as he looked at him and Sesshomaru felt an immediate sense of instinctual regret. And then fury over took him as he realized all that had been hidden from him and his eyes narrowed. Kee-Ara.

He had not realized she had loosed an arrow until he felt the burning heat tighten his skin. He easily moved out of the way but fury consumed him, breaking the last remnants of control he had gathered since seeing her face. He turned towards her, intent on killing her and ending this torment. She fearlessly face him, face snarling as she tossed aside her weapon to face him without it and he hesitated, claws poised.

Memories reminded him of how brave this woman was and the expression took his breath away. And then she had punched him in the face. Pain radiated from his cheek and he instinctively struck, poison enveloping his hand as he aimed to rip out his attacker's heart.

His blow glanced off of the golden shield she erected before him, blinding him for a moment from its unexpected light. He noted InuYasha's approach and dismissed him as Kee-Ara's shield dropped and she attacked once more.

He easily grabbed her wrist as she tried to stab him and he felt the bones crack beneath his hand. She gasped in pain and Sesshomaru froze, staring into her furious eyes before they widened in horror as a growl emanated from behind him.

Sesshomaru saw dread replace whatever anger she held at him and her eyes left him to search for the source of the sound. Sesshomaru could have easily killed her then as she dismissed him. Instead he felt his anger escape out of him in a rush and he dropped her wrist instead, turning towards the sound to see what caused such worry in her.

Kee-Ara stepped around him to Sesshomaru's surprise, leaving her back to him but his eyes were on the boy in front of them. He noted the demonic red eyes and the smell of his scent changed, overpowering any human scent he had noted before. He had changed. Like InuYasha his demonic blood had overtaken him. Sesshomaru'd blood, the blood that ran through him had taken control as he approached them, his claws dripping blue light.

He was just a half demon, too weak to control his blood. He lunged and Sesshomaru heard the boy's name for the first time as Kee-Ara flung herself in front of him. Sesshomaru froze in uncertainty as Kee-Ara protected him from the boy's claws. Kee-Ara's shield covered them both, the strong magic humming around him and making Sesshomaru's skin prickle near the pure magic.

His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the half demon's claws rip through it easily, and attack once more. Sesshomaru pulled Kee-Ara back as his claws ripped past her face. He immediately let her go when she struggled against his hold. He hadn't realized he had grabbed her. His eyes were trained on the half demon as Kee-Ara kneeled in front of him, but he could find no intelligence in his demonic madness. He was going to kill, anyone and anything.

Sesshomaru heard Kee-Ara's pleading words of love but he was poised, ready to pull her away. The musical words of her homeland caused Sesshomaru to look down at her as they tugged on his heart. He had not heard them in quite a while and the look on her face made him falter.

Pure love and acceptance rested in her eyes, peace emanating from her as she stared at her son. She smiled sweetly at him as he took a step forward and Sesshomaru's eyes followed hers, watching the boy's sense return to him as he walked towards his mother.

It felt as if something within himself had snapped, but Sesshomaru couldn't decide what it was as he watched her envelop the boy in a hug. He felt lost, almost empty except for the emerging stunted emotions of something he couldn't cope with. His eyes settled on the boys little dog ears as their golden hair flowed together in their warm embrace.

And then they stood, Kee-Ara's proud beauty only more breathtaking as her maternal protectiveness caused her to shine with power. Sesshomaru noted her injuries with a twinge of regret but it easily died as he retreated to his dispassionate state. He dismissed her entirely.

But he looked down at the half demon, the overwhelming evidence of what he already knew calling at him to feel something. Anything. And yet he couldn't because he knew whatever wanted him to feel it was going to be impossibly strong, and overwhelming. It would break him, tear every semblance of control he had apart. And so he felt nothing.

The boy tilted his head proudly, and Sesshomaru sensed a noble pride about the boy. His eyes were old beyond his years and Sesshomaru couldn't look away from them. He couldn't tell what emotion lurked beneath his golden eyes. And then his world was destroyed as Kee-Ara uttered one sentence, confirming what he already knew and yet didn't quite believe.

"Takeshi. This is your father. Sesshomaru."