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Sesshoumaru's POV

"Shiro-chan! Over here!" Hikaru excitedly waved her arms at me. I reluctantly walked towards her, but only because I wanted to stop her from making such noise so early in the morning. It wasn't like I wanted to come. Definitely not. Next to her stood a raven youkai with impressive black wings. I noticed that he was Lord Yato of the Northern Mountains. Her father. There was another, younger youkai, probably around two hundred years older than us. He had the exact same hair color as Hikaru, but his eyes were a light orange. He was her older brother, the heir to Lord Yato's throne. The other two bowed when they saw me. I guessed they knew who I was, unlike the clueless girl next to them. She only ever called me by that childish nickname she came up with. I was sure she didn't even know my real name. Not that I cared, of course. Whether that obnoxious girl knew me or not have nothing to do with me.

"Shiro-chan, are you hunting?"

I nodded. Today was the hunting day. Youkai would go out in the morning and come back in the evening with whatever prey they'd caught, which would be served in the night banquet. Although it was supposed to be done for fun, this had became a competition of sort for youkai of each clan to show off their ability.

This event was for males only, so why was Hikaru here instead of drinking tea with the other ladies in the castle?

"I'm going to hunt too!"

Hikaru answered, as if she somehow could read my mind. It was just like her to want to do something only males would enjoy. But then again, that was what made her unique.

"No, Hikaru. You cannot go. It's unbecoming for a lady of your status to hunt for food," Lord Yato scolded. I couldn't blame him for doing that. After all, he had to think about his reputation as a lord.

"But-"

"Now, Hikaru. Why don't you go back to the castle and stay with my mother," her brother said. His tone was sincere, but his scent stank of menace. He must had inherited it from his mother.

"What if I go with Shiro-chan? He'll protect me."

There she go deciding things for me again. Why in the world would I protect her anyway? Although I was extremely strong for my age, I wasn't about to accept the burden of protecting someone.

"... Alright, but only if he agrees to protect you." At this, Hikaru looked at me with a hopeful expression. Although she wasn't an inuyoukai, she made the perfect impression of a puppy dog's eyes. I wanted to decline, but instead what I said was: "I accept."

Hikaru made an exclamation of something between a "woohoo!" and a "yay!" (I didn't even know how it was possible) and hugged me tightly. Why did my cheeks feel hot? Strange...

"Let's go, Shiro-chan! See ya, Father!" She dragged me towards the east of the castle, to the forest located not far from here.

"Hmmm... What should we hunt? A boar? A deer? I heard pheasant meat tastes great too."

Hikaru was chatting incessantly, obviously excited about the hunt. She was dragging me by the hand through the dense forest. It was by no means the first time I stepped into this forest, so why did I feel so... nervous? It must be because Hikaru was nearby, and I had to protect her should anything happen. It wasn't because she was holding my hand, not at all!

I was wondering if I should tell her there is no big prey in this forest, only rabbits and snakes, contrary to her beliefs, but I pushed that thought back when I smelled something. An unfamiliar youkai, obviously not part of the hunting event. Whoever that was, was heading closer to us at a fast pace. Hikaru seemed to notice as well as she squeezed her hold on my hand.

As expected, a large lizard youkai carrying a blunted sword appeared before us. His scent was mixed with human blood, obviously from some villages he plundered. I moved in front of Hikaru to face him. I promised to protect her, and I was ready to risk my life to honor my promise.

"Shiro-chan..." She whispered, fear evident in her trembling voice.

"Stay back. It's dangerous."

The lizard youkai leaped at us. The nerve of that filth. He must not know who I was. I let go of her hand and swept my claws across. The youkai let out a scream when his skin was scratched and the wound festered immediately from my poison. That, however, did not discourage him as he plunged at Hikaru this time.

"!" Before I knew it, I had moved in front of her to block the incoming attack. The blood-soaked sword cut at my back and I resisted the urge to scream out in pain. Hikaru was frozen from fear as well as shock.

I stood up again to face him, despite the extreme pain from my back.

The lizard once again swung his sword. I was still unsteady when that happened and inevitably could not move away fast enough. To my surprise, a wall of vines sprang up before me and blocked the attack. The blunted sword was lodged deep inside the grove of thick vines and the lizard youkai could not take it out.

"Are you okay, Shiro-chan?" She trembled a little when she held my arm. I noticed the tears running down her cheeks. She was afraid, and I was responsible for not protecting her properly. What good was a taiyoukai who could not keep his promise?

Anger filled my entire being as I glared at the enemy. I would destroy him. I would save her. And I would not let any harm befall her person ever again. With that thought, I leaped at the filthy youkai and plunged my claws deep in his chest, letting the poison seep into his heart. He screamed in pain and died a while later, the poison having slowly destroyed his organs.

When that was over, I allowed myself to sit down into the ground. The wound on my back made me lose quite a lot of blood.

Hikaru saw that and immediately ripped out her kimono sleeves in an attempt to bandage the wound. As she wrapped it around my body, she sobbed softly, tears trickled down her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry *hick* it's all my fault. I shouldn't have *sob* come with you. Why am I so useless? *sob* I always let the people around me suffer."

I was at a loss in what to do. In an attempt to comfort her, I lifted my hand up to her cheek and wiped the tears from her eyes.

It must have been that moment when I decided to protect her with my life.

Hikaru: Welcome to Hikaru's Trivia or Maybe Random Conversation!

Inuyasha: Keh, at least you didn't kidnap me this time.

Hikaru: So, let's start the trivia.

Inu: What? I don't get to choose between trivia and conversation?

Hikaru: Of course not.

Inu: But you let Kagome choose.

Hikaru: I don't trust you to make the right choice.

Inu: What? It's not even that important!

Hikaru: Is too.

Inu: Is not.

Hikaru: Is too.

Miroku: Alright, alright, you two. Stop this childish argument and make peace. We don't have time for this, right Sango?

Sango: Where do you think you're touching, pervert?

*bam*

Miroku: San...go... butt...

Sango: NO! He's still conscious!

*bam*

Hikaru: Uh... Sango-san, I think you just killed him.

Kagome: Miroku-sama? Miroku-sama? ! MIROKU-SAMAAAAA! ! ! !(Author: get the preference?)

Hikaru: Well, thankfully this conversation has nothing to do with the real storyline, so he'll be alive again once we're done with the flashback

Hiroshi: Hikaru, stop breaking the fourth wall...

Hikaru: That's it for now, folks. Although we didn't get to do any trivia this time, you should still review. You hear me? REVIEW! ! ! ! !