(Prologue) CHAPTER 8:

It was fairly early in the evening, probably nearing seven thirty. In the orphanage of downtown Tokyo, a young girl, ten years of age, slumbered cozily amongst two stuffed animals and her warm blankets. She always slept soundly, knowing that he was watching over her, and protecting her. He was always there, no matter what, and he had promised that he would always protect her. She had absolutely nothing in the world that could hurt her, just because he was her guardian. And he had been for six years; ever since she was four.

x

Slowly, the door of her room was pushed open, and revealing a huge animal lurking in the shadows; his shoulder resting at the height of the doorknob. Shaking his fur slightly, the animal emerged into the light of the small girl's nightlight, exposing him as a large, silver dog, with light red stripes running along his jaw line and a purple-blue crescent shape on his brow. His amber eyes glistened in the dark, and sparked with warmth as they landed on the sleeping girl. He padded silently to her bedside, craning his neck over her to watch her fondly. She shifted and gave a small gulp in her sleep, and the dog contentedly watched the girl breathe calmly, one of her arms wrapping around the plush lion by her side. The dog gave a soft chuckle, and the girl cringed and opened one chocolate coloured eye slowly.

"Sessho-Maru?" she asked at a whisper.

The dog smiled down at her.

"Hai, Rin," he replied, "Did I wake you?"

The girl, Rin, smiled and shook her head, sitting up slowly and rubbing her eye with her knuckle.

"Where were you?" she asked, her gaze suddenly becoming worried, "I was nervous without you here."

"I'm sorry," Sessho-Maru apologized, "I needed to think outside for a little while."

x

Lately, Sessho-Maru had been having strange dreams… Flashbacks almost, though he didn't remember any of it actually occurring. Then again, he didn't remember many things. When Sessho-Maru had been twenty-three, presumably almost completing college, he had been transfigured into the beast he was now; a huge, silver, flop eared, youkai dog. Along with the transformation, his mind had been wiped of… well, almost everything. His family, where he lived, his own history… All but his name. Sessho-Maru had deducted that perhaps his dreams were the key to regaining his memories, though he wasn't positive, and lately, he had been taking a lot of time outside to think.

x

He had come to live with Rin when she was four; she had been lost one night, and he had found her, and he had been her protector ever since. He felt almost reluctant to admit it, but he felt as if the girl were his daughter; she was the only family he had.

x

Rin smiled at Sessho-Maru and gently ruffled his floppy ears.

"I just worry about you," she said, wrapping her small arms around his furry neck as he hopped onto the bed, "Poor you and your nightmares."

"You shouldn't concern yourself with that, you're just a kid." he said, "I am the adult here, let me do the worrying."

Rin shrugged and nestled into his thick, silver fur, giving a contented sigh.

"That doesn't mean you don't need someone to worry about you and hug you sometimes," she said.

Sessho-Maru smiled fondly and licked Rin's head.

"Maybe you're right," he chuckled.

He lay down and sprawled his body out across the bed. Rin smiled and snuggled against his chest, between his forelimbs.

"Do you think… that they're your memories coming back?" Rin inquired softly.

Sessho-Maru shrugged one shoulder and sighed, laying his snout close to Rin's head.

"I don't know," he whispered, "Maybe."

"I hope they come back," Rin said, "I even hope that you'll become a youkai again soon."

She rolled over and smiled up into Sessho-Maru's golden, drowsy eyes, but her smile fell suddenly and she grasped tightly to the huge canine's neck fur.

"Oh… We can still be best friends after, right?" she pleaded, "Please, Fluffy-kun?"

Sessho-Maru sighed and rolled his eyes at his slightly humiliating nickname, but then smiled gently down at the young girl.

"Of course Rin," he said, "When that happens, I'll get you out of this place."

"You will?" Rin inquired, automatically brightening.

Sessho-Maru nodded, and she yelped happily and embraced him even tighter.

"Thank you so much, Fluffy-kun… But…"

She trailed off and looked at Sessho-Maru embarrassedly.

"Does that mean I'll have to call you "Dad"?"

Sessho-Maru shook his head.

"Nah," he said, "Sessho-Maru's still fine."

Rin grinned happily and snuggled deeper into Sessho-Maru's fur. He gently pressed his paw to her lower back to keep her held close, and he smiled.

"Go back to sleep," he instructed quietly.

Rin nodded and sighed happily, and was soon slumbering quietly in between the youkai dog's paws.

x

Sessho-Maru couldn't help but smile; Rin was a very interesting child. He had first met her not long after he had first been turned into a dog. Disoriented and bleeding badly, Sessho-Maru had somehow arrived in an alleyway on the opposite end of the city.

There, he had spotted a four-year-old Rin, huddled behind a dumpster, lost and frightened. Sessho-Maru had been delighted when he had found that he was able to communicate with her, and they went back to the orphanage together. Rin had gotten permission for Sessho-Maru to stay there to watch over her, and they hadn't left since. Because of this, however, it was impossible to find Rin a surrogate family. She had her own room at the orphanage, as did three other children around her age. As the years went by, Sessho-Maru had come to consider Rin almost as his own daughter. It was his not-so-secret wish to make it official once he figured out how to reverse the spell cast upon him.

x

He sighed sleepily as he regarded Rin's sleeping face, and he let himself relax on the bed. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but lately, he had been exhausted. Going to sleep at seven o'clock was quite an appealing thought, indeed…

xXxXxX

"Sessho-Maru… Sessho-Maru?"

The voice o f a young male called out Sessho-Maru's name, and slowly, the youkai groggily opened his eyes.

There was a young hanyou crouched above him, his face pale, his amber eyes wide and panicked looking. The child swiftly brushed a little of his long silver hair over his shoulders, his small dog-ears drooping.

"Whelp?" he croaked out, "What's up? Why're you still up?"

The young hanyou bit his lip and bounced anxiously on Sessho-Maru's chest.

"Thunder…" he muttered, "I'm scared… Sessh, can I stay here?"

Sessho-Maru snorted out a soft laugh, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, and sat up slowly, forcing the young boy into his lap. The hanyou squeaked quietly, and Sessho-Maru found himself gently playing with the dog-ears crowning his head.

"I told you," he chided, chuckling quietly, "If it's thunder, don't even wake me up. Just come in."

"Oh…" the hanyou mumbled, looking up with a tiny blush marring his cheeks, "Uh… Arigato…"

Sessho-Maru laughed softly again and shooed the hanyou off his lap so that he could lie down again. At a gesture from the youkai, the little boy eagerly clambered under the blanket to cuddle close.

"Arigato, Nii-san…" he whispered.

xXxXxXx

Sessho-Maru hadn't been asleep for more than five minutes when the dream came to him, and upon its end, his amber eyes shot open and darted around the room. He blew out a quiet sigh, closing his eyes frustratedly. What were these? Dreams or memories?

The little hanyou always seemed to be in his dreams, but he had never called him by name. Only "whelp" or "pup". This was extremely wearisome. Sessho-Maru was almost positive that the little hanyou was enormously important. After all, the whelp had called him "Nii-san"… If he was real, did that mean Sessho-Maru had a younger brother? The youkai sighed out deeply and gently slid his body out from underneath Rin and hopped gingerly off the bed top. Rin shifted quietly, and he grasped her blanket in his teeth and pulled it up around her before turning and padding softly out the door. He needed to think again.

x

Sessho-Maru walked quietly through the main hallway, past the reception area, and out a huge dog door that had been installed for him. Outside, the cool air buffeted his fur and he sighed contentedly. A breeze always helped him think. He shook his fur slightly, sniffed, and then walked slowly down the sidewalk, pondering. These dreams coming to him now… The little hanyou boy… The house that they were always in… The youkai man and human woman that were there occasionally… What did it all mean? Were they his family? Why the hell couldn't he remember?

I swear, if I ever find out who did this to me… That man is in deep shit, he thought grumpily.

That was about all he knew of the person who had cast the spell on him. That it was a man. He sometimes would hear the man's sinister laughter in his nightmares. Not knowing whom the voice belonged to was what really tried his nerves, though. What if he did have a brother? What if his brother was under the same spell he was? What if the only way to break the spell was to destroy the one who cast it? And how the hell would he do that if he didn't even know who had cast it?

Whoever he is… He did this on purpose… Sessho-Maru growled mentally.

If Sessho-Maru did have a little brother, he hoped that he was all right. He hoped that he was safe somewhere, out of that man's grasp. But… what could've been the motive for this curse?

x

Sessho-Maru let out another long sigh, and then broke into a slow lope. Running helped his thoughts come along as well. He galloped down the sidewalk, his mouth open to force extra air into his lungs. He had no clue where he was headed; he only knew that he needed to run for a little while. What was the curse for? Maybe the man had something against him…? Or his parents…? Or someone else in his family. Or maybe he was one of those "Youkai-Hunters", and there hadn't been a motive. Could it have been for pleasure? Sessho-Maru slowed to a walk again and shuddered visibly.

"My God, that's sick…" he mumbled.

x

Soon, the youkai was into a calmer part of town. He knew little about the area, save for the fact that there was a large shrine nearby, as well as a park. He had always been drawn to the park, ever since he had first come to realize its existence. He felt as if it were very important to him somehow. Deciding to walk through it a little, Sessho-Maru scanned the air with his nose for its location, and once he had it, began to pad towards it along a hedged wall. Then, the sound of three bikers and hoofs, and four adolescents, two humans and two youkai, sped around the corner, nearly running headlong into the dog that was nearly as tall as they were. Sessho-Maru raised one eyebrow and bared his fangs slightly at the already scared-looking boys, and three out of four of them shrieked, and they sped off past him, yelling about a conspiracy of big silver dogs. Sessho-Maru watched them go, cocking his head. He sniffed the air, and then smirked. There was, in fact, another youkai dog in the area, and by the looks of things, the canine had effectively scared those four boys shitless. Chuckling quietly to himself, Sessho-Maru continued on his way.

x

As he reached the closest archway that lead into the park, he found himself passing a teenaged girl with long black hair and worried hazel eyes. As he came into her sights, her eyes widened and it seemed as if she couldn't help but stare at him. He blinked at her and stared back, his amber eyes locking with hers.

"Yes?" he asked.

The girl jolted and smiled embarrassedly, shaking her head.

"Oh… Nothing, sorry. That was rude," she said, "Sorry, you just reminded me of someone was all."

"Oh," Sessho-Maru replied casually, and continued past her.

He could feel her eyes still on him, and he shifted a little uncomfortably.

I reminded her of someone…?

A little puzzled, he bowed his head, staring at the grass and thinking. Passing in between two large hills, he spotted something silver glinting in the dirt, but paid little heed to it and continued forward, only to run headlong into another dog, their skulls connecting painfully, sending each canine to the ground. Sessho-Maru growled and righted himself, preparing, perhaps, for a fight, but as he saw the dog he had walked into, his jaw dropped. It was a young male, almost his size, with thick silver fur not unlike his own. The dog was like a husky, almost, except for much larger. He seemed so freakishly familiar that it made Sessho-Maru's heart bang up against his ribcage.

x

The other dog cringed, swearing softly under his breath, and shook his head, slowly pushing himself to his feet. When their eyes met, both canines were gawking. Each was met with identical amber. The two stared for a moment, before the younger dog smiled slightly, his ears folding backwards with embarrassment.

"Sorry about that," he said, "Knocking you over, I mean."

"Oh…" Sessho-Maru said with a dismissive shrug, "That's… fine. I wasn't looking where I was going."

The other dog nodded, and then looked troubled for a moment.

"Neither was I," he said, "Um… Hey, you didn't happen to see a silver ring around here, did you? My girl lost it."

Sessho-Maru tilted his head.

"I did see something silver… A few feet behind me… In the dirt," he said.

The other dog's ears perked immediately, his tail wagging.

"Oh, dude, thanks! You're a lifesaver!" he said, grinning.

"No problem," Sessho-Maru replied, "Good luck with your girl."

The younger dog nodded and smiled, rushing behind Sessho-Maru to carefully dig the ring out of the dirt, while Sessho-Maru continued his journey through the park. Despite the cheerfulness of that dog, he was much more troubled than before. He knew him from somewhere; he was positive about it. He frowned with irritation. It was going to drive him insane if he couldn't remember soon. He turned to look back at the other dog. He watched as the dog seemed to find what he was looking for. Sessho-Maru frowned, thinking, and then took off loping through the grass.

XxXxXxXx

By the time Rin awoke in the morning, Sessho-Maru was back on the bed, curled up in a troubled sleep by her side. Taking one look at his face, Rin deducted that he had had a rough night, so she changed swiftly, grabbed her backpack, and kissed him on the nose before heading to the kitchens for breakfast and to go to school. It was Monday, after all.

x

Sessho-Maru had quaked slightly at Rin's kiss, and then groaned. He awoke shortly after the bus picked her up for school, but the youkai dog had a splitting headache that he had no way of explaining. Moaning with pain, he eased himself off the bed, though all four of his limbs felt heavy and awkward. For some reason, he had an urge to walk on his back legs, but he quelled it and walked out into the main hallway, and then padded into the living area. He leapt onto the couch, burying his head under a pillow to help dull the headache, but it was to no avail.

A pity Advil doesn't work well on dogs, he thought.

"Hey," a male voice said.

Sessho-Maru looked up slowly and squinted. The speaker was Dave, a young man who had come to Japan from either Canada or the U.S.A; Sessho-Maru couldn't quite recall which at the moment. He raised his eyebrow at the human, asking him what he wanted.

He couldn't communicate verbally with many people, so with most he had to make due with facial expressions.

"Don't see you out here often," Dave commented, sitting beside him, "Not feeling well?"

Sessho-Maru shrugged one shoulder and sighed, laying his chin on the arm of the couch. Dave gave him a sympathetic smile and looked to the kitchen.

"There's food if you want it," he said, "Bacon and eggs."

Sessho-Maru shook his head and sighed again. He really wasn't in the mood for food. He felt extremely ill. The human raised one eyebrow.

"Wow, you really aren't feeling well, are you?" he asked.

Sessho-Maru shrugged again and closed his eyes.

I hope I don't vomit, he thought.

His head was reeling and throbbing painfully now, and to make matters worse, Dave flicked on the T.V. Sessho-Maru groaned quietly and bared his fangs, his headache intensifying. The human obviously didn't notice and flipped through the channels until he landed on the news.

"I'll turn it off in a minute," he assured him.

Sessho-Maru blew out a quiet sigh of relief, but was worried that a minute might be too much for his aching brain.

"A man has just been rushed to hospital," a news anchor was saying, "He was hit by a car minutes ago. A doctor at the scene said that he'll be incredibly lucky if he lives. And now to sports!"

"Wow, that's pleasant in the morning," Dave grumbled, "And then everyone died, now onto the happy news… I can't stand these."

Sessho-Maru managed a weak laugh, but couldn't stand the throbbing in his head any longer. Dazedly, he flopped off the couch and carefully walked to Rin's room, lurching sideways every few steps. What the hell was going on? Why was he feeling so ill, and so strange? Why could he barely walk on all fours anymore?

x

Shoving Rin's door open with his shoulder and kicking it closed behind him, he awkwardly climbed onto the bed again and curled up in the blankets. He trembled with pain, his chest contracting at regular intervals, causing him to pant and gasp for breath.

"Am I dying?" he whispered aloud.

He had no way of answering his own question, however, and he continued to shiver until he felt something very, very weird happening to his paw. His dazed eyes looked down at it, and at first, he thought that he was just imagining things. Blinking again, he realized that he clearly wasn't. The thick, black skin on the bottom of his foot began to thin out and turn a pale peachy colour. Sessho-Maru stared in shock and bafflement at his paw, watching as his fur thinned out and disappeared, and as his toes elongated into fingers. Whimpering in astonishment, Sessho-Maru tried to jump to his feet, only to find that he could barely stand at all. He glanced at his hind paws to find them elongating into humanoid feet, the fur disappearing on them as well.

x

He groaned with pain as his knees reversed directions and his limbs grew slightly. He could literally feel, with excruciating agony, all his insides being rearranged, and his bones growing. His tail lengthened, as did his claws, becoming slightly sharper than before, and his ears slid down to the side of his head. They thickened and straightened out to become pointed youkai , the fur on his back and torso began to recede, as did it on his face and up the back of his neck. He let out a small yelp, clapping his new hands to his face as his snout slowly pushed back into his face, leaving a human-like mouth and nose. Sessho-Maru clenched his eyes shut as he felt his hair begin to grow out again, the ends tickling his back and his bangs touching his forehead gently.

x

The youkai let out another whimper of panic, feeling over his face carefully.

"Wh… What's going on?" he whispered.

He propped himself up with his arms, his head still throbbing, and then heaved himself out of the bed, falling with a thud and a moan onto the floor. He tried to force himself to stand, but his legs were aching from the sudden reversing of his knees, so all he could manage to do was crawl. He squirmed his way over to Rin's closet, where she kept a large mirror. Tentatively, Sessho-Maru wrapped his shaking fingers around the doorknob and pulled back to reveal the mirror. He stared at his own, normal face reflected back at him, unsure of what to think. His amber eyes cautiously traced over his own body, and biting his lip, remembered a sense of decency and wrapped his tail around himself.

"Is this me?" Sessho-Maru asked aloud.

Cringing, he grabbed onto the top of the mirror and heaved himself to his feet, standing shakily on two legs for the first time in years. He looked himself over again, and then smiled slightly despite his pain. He recognized this form. It was his real body. Sighing, Sessho-Maru gave in to a soft laugh of relief and slumped to his knees again, but then realized how cold it was without his fur... Shivering, he scooted back to the bed, pulling off the green quilt and wrapping himself tightly in it.

x

Then, the worry set in. Sessho-Maru bit his lip. What if Rin was scared of him? She'd still like him now, right? Of course she would! Rin loved him. He'd be fine… But… The throbbing of his head had not subsided yet, and before he could even begin to puzzle out the reason, he found out why.

"Sesshy?"

"Sessho-Maru?"

"Nii-san?"

"Sessho, honey, are you all right?"

"Whelp? Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry, that scrape will heal quickly."

"We're so proud of you son."

"Hey Nii-san! Look! Watch what I can do!"

"Your father and I will always love you…"

Voices… Echoing through his mind… Images flashing before his open eyes, images of a black haired human woman, her arms wrapped around him as a five-year-old… An inu youkai man teaching him how to play baseball… A white hospital room where he first saw that little hanyou…Too many visions to be named sped across his sight, despite the fact that he had now scrunched his eyes shut.

His memories…

His father… Taishio… His stepmother… Izayoi… The tiny hanyou boy he could almost feel held lovingly to his chest…Inu-Yasha…

"Inu-Yasha?" he whispered, "Oh… Oh my god…"

Sessho-Maru shivered, despair taking him, and he wrapped his arms around himself, rocking back and forth. Hot wetness formed in his eyes and began to trickle down his pale cheeks.

"M… Mom… Dad… Yasha… Oh shit… Shit, shit, shit…"

Sessho-Maru slunk under Rin's bed, not wanting to be seen or to see himself. He quaked under the blanket, unable to stop tears from coursing down his face.

"Yasha… My poor little brother…" he whispered, "Mom and Dad… Oh shit…"

He buried his face in his hands, his chest aching as the tears refused to stop.

x

What would he do? His parents were most likely dead… And his brother? Inu-Yasha probably shared the same fate as he himself had… Trapped in the body of a dog, with no memories of his past life. He sighed out heavily, upset. Little Yasha… That cute little ten-year-old hanyou… What had become of him? Was he getting his memories back too? Of course, he'd be sixteen by now but…

x

Sessho-Maru drew in a short gasp and blinked through the dark of underneath the bed. That dog, whom he had run headlong into the previous night…

C…Could it have been Inu-Yasha?

The dog's voice and scent… and his eyes… They had seemed so familiar to him at the time. Now, it made sense. Sessho-Maru bit his lip and tried to regain his normal calm stature, but failed as the image of his baby brother flashed across his mind, forcing him to quietly shed tears into the carpet.

He probably doesn't even remember me…Of course he doesn't… Oh shit…

He sighed, his heart aching. The only family he had left in the world, and he wasn't even included in his memories. He missed Inu-Yasha dreadfully now, as if all the time he should've been missing him all rushed back to meet him in this one moment of agony.

His body slumped once more, and he lay on the carpet, panting and letting the tears for his family flow. After all, he hadn't been physically able to cry for six years; and now he was going to damn well get it all out of his system.

x

But now, he also needed Rin. He needed to hold her, cuddle her, and tell her that he loved her like a daughter. But Rin wouldn't be home for a while. The youkai sighed, sniffed quietly, and laid, waiting, under his charge's bed, for her return.

Rin was home from school soon, but still not nearly soon enough for the youkai under her bed. Unaware of Sessho-Maru's plight, she happily accepted a soda from Dave, and she ambled in her room, toting her schoolbag along with her."Sesshy; I'm back," she said cheerily, but was alarmed to hear strange sounds of sadness and pain pouring from under her bed.

"Sessho-Maru?" she questioned worriedly, dropping her bag, "Are you all right?"

She bent to look under the bed, but she heard Sessho-Maru give a small gasp.

"No… Rin, don't look… I'm naked," he muttered.

"Um… Sessho-Maru, you're always naked," Rin said puzzledly, "Are you feeling okay? Come out."

"Rin I…" he mumbled quietly, "I… I… Don't scream…"

"Um… Okay…" Rin said, perplexed.

She could hear Sessho-Maru shifting quietly under the bed, and he slowly squirmed out onto the other side, out of her view.

"Sesshy…" she mumbled, "Come on… It's okay. Did someone dye your fur?"

She heard a small grunt from her friend's end, and then slowly, he emerged from his hiding spot. He was still wrapped tightly in Rin's green quilt, so that it covered his whole lower half and most of his torso. Rin stared, gawking, at the man before her. She automatically knew that it was indeed Sessho-Maru, but she was still shocked.

x

He clearly wasn't a canine any longer; now, he was a youkai with long silver hair, a tail, and the same facial markings she recognized from his dog form. He stared at her with sad amber eyes, silently pleading for her acceptance. Slowly, the girl stood and tilted her head, eyeing Sessho-Maru over. He cringed slightly under her gaze, waiting for some sort of shriek, but none came. Instead, Rin gave him a wide grin and rushed to him, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Oh… Sesshy!" she exclaimed, "Sessho-Maru! Oh my gosh!"

She sat on one of his blanket-cover knees and hugged him tightly, kissing his cheeks. Slowly, Sessho-Maru put his arms around the young girl, holding her close and pushing his nose into her hair.

"Rin…" he whispered, "Oh… God, Rin…"

Rin merely giggled and nestled against his blanketed torso, but then looked up into his sad eyes and became suddenly concerned.

"Sessh? What's wrong Fluffy-kun?" she asked innocently, tilting her head.

She put her small hand on Sessho-Maru's cheek, tenderly feeling the streaks of wetness on his skin. She frowned with worry as Sessho-Maru sighed and gave her a weak smile.

"I… I remember," he said.

Rin blinked at Sessho-Maru, her eyes growing wide.

"Y-You do?" she inquired.

He nodded, and then buried his nose into her hair again, letting out a strange, agonized laugh of "I remember now," over and over again. Rin didn't know what to tell him, and embraced the older youkai once more, hoping to somehow comfort him. He smiled into her hair and lifted his face.

"Thanks," he said, "Rin…"

He sighed.

"I need to find my brother. Will you help me?" he inquired.

Rin blinked up at him and nodded, smiling.

"Aw, Fluffy-kun, of course I will. You won't need my help though," she said, "You can do anything."

He stared at Rin, and then his smile grew.

"Will you ask Dave if I can borrow some clothes?" he inquired, "And to let me see the adoption papers? We have a house waiting for us Rin. It's not too far."

"We do?" Rin asked, suddenly excited, "When did you get a house?"

"I've had one all along," he said, "I just didn't remember."

Rin smiled, hopped off his knee, and scurried from the room. Sessho-Maru could hear her rambling quickly at Dave, and the man seemed suddenly shocked. Sessho-Maru chuckled and sighed, but then glanced forlornly out the window behind him.

Don't you worry little brother… I'll find you again… I'll make sure he never hurts us again, Inu-Yasha.

The youkai trained his senses on Rin, who was clearly ecstatic about the whole situation, and his smile slowly reappeared.

Time to start my real life again… Sessho-Maru thought.