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"Akina! You're back!" He cried as he rushed forward, elbowed Miyuki out of the way, and caught his dearest friend in a hug.

As he pulled away, he held her by her shoulders.

"How have you been? How's Koemi?" He asked, getting a good look at her.

She still had deep golden hair, though a couple shades lighter than before. She had filled out, with a soft body and gentle curves. Her violet eyes were just as vibrant and expressive as ever and she had grown to be only about half a head shorter than him.

"Everything is wonderful, Sesshie-kun! Koemi is four centuries old now and he's getting tall; I bet in a few more decades he'll be taller than me!" She said, snagging his waist and hugging him again, "Sorry I was gone for so long, I missed you." She smiled into his haori, listening to his heart beating. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you too…"

"Aw, now isn't that sweet?" Inutaishou said innocently, eyeing the two of them. Sesshoumaru released Akina, ignoring his father's comment and walking away from the group, leading Akina.

"Would you like to visit your rooms? It's been a while, but the servants have kept it clean." He said as they both ascended the stair case.

"Yeah, I'd love to." She replied, bouncing up the stairs on light footsteps. As they disappeared into the upper levels of the castle, Miyuki turned to Inutaishou and Seisha.

"Excuse me, Lord and Lady, I must go." He bowed and took his leave. The two mates then left and went up the stairs, returning to their study.

Sesshoumaru and Akina stopped in front of her rooms. She reached out and ran her slender fingers down the carving of a unicorn in a misty valley surrounded by sloping hills as it stood majestically in the middle of a field, it was rearing back on its hind legs in a symbol of strength and peace with its horn raised up to the sky.

Akina then took the handle and pushed open the door, breathing a sigh of contentedness as she looked around her room.

"Ah, it's just as I remember it! And I love it just as much!" She went through her rooms again, gliding over the floors that she had last walked on four hundred years ago.

"So what's been going on while I was gone? Don't tell me everything's been the same around here!" She turned to him, gesturing to the castle walls around her. Sesshoumaru smiled.

"Actually, not many things have changed." Sesshoumaru scratched his chin thoughtfully. Akina snorted disbelievingly.

"I know you're just being lazy! You don't want to tell me everything. What's different about you, huh? I feel something is different." She said, her look was stubborn.

"Well, yes…" He mumbled. She smirked.

"See, I knew it! So what was it? What happened?" She sat on her bed and motioned for him to join her as she listened to his story. Her eyes were wide and she listened in rapt silence to his story.

When he got to the parts where he and his father were inside the protective circle she was totally engrossed in his story and audible gasps were heard when he told her of how long he was unconscious. When he did finish, Akina was stunned and suddenly grabbed him in a hug.

"That's amazing! How much more powerful are you?" She asked, looking him over as if she could physically see it.

"Not much right now, but father says it will take many centuries until I can begin training the Damon Form. He said it was like childbirth, which was kind of weird, but he meant that the power has to grow inside me before it can emerge and I can learn to use it. He said he would give me some kind of sign when I might be able to train the form and even then it will take a very long time." He told her, his fingers idly toying with the bed cover as Akina looked thoughtful.

"I wonder what the sign will be…" she said softly, tapping her fingers on her chin, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, I wonder too." Sesshoumaru shrugged, "He'll probably just tell me when the time comes." He got a mental picture of his father bursting into his rooms in a few centuries, probably when he was ten or eleven and grabbing his shoulders and saying "You can train your form now!" Then let go of him and walk out. He chuckled at his thoughts, then shook his head. "Anyway, he won't tell me for a very long time."

"Well, I'll be with you, don't worry!" she closed her eyes and laughed, then hopped off the bed. "Aside from that stuff, I say we do something fun now. What d'you think? A picnic? Yeah, we can stay outside all day long!" She grabbed Sesshoumaru's wrist and pulled him off the bed and a few steps towards the door before she released him, and he followed on his own accord.

As they rounded into the hallway Sesshoumaru smirked and looked sideways while they were walking. Akina slid him a look also.

"For old time's sake?" She asked, looking him over competitively.

"You bet. But I set the rules."

"Fine. Set away." Her grin became devious.

"No other forms, no tricks. Whoever grabs food and makes it outside first is the winner, okay?"

"Alright, sounds fair." Her smirk grew mischievously. "Kitchen's still in the same place, right? Has that changed?"

"No, of course not!" He scowled at her, "When I said not much much has changed, I meant it."

"Yeah, whatever. If you're done yapping your mouth, let's go! Or are you just stalling because you know I'll beat you?"

"In your dreams," he shot back, taking a track start with her doing the same. Through their curtains of hair falling over their faces, they shared a sidelong glance.

"I can't believe we're doing this again…" He chuckled.

"Once again…"

"NO I'm not stalling!" He laughed.

"We'll see. Ready."

"Set."

"GO!" She yelled, tearing forward like lightning with him hot on her heels.

The rest of the day, the two friends spent hours together catching up after four centuries of being apart.

By the time months flew by, it was as if they were never separated. They even went to visit the unicorn valley to see Koemi. He was a tall, gentle faced young unicorn with large expressive greenish-blue eyes and golden hair that just passed his shoulders with shorter pieces framing his sweet face.

Akina was right in thinking he would be taller than her because when they were there, the two were dead even. He was the regular social butterfly; he had a personality that attracted everyone in the valley. He, following Akina, regarded Sesshoumaru as he brother also.

On the way back, during their one rest night, Sesshoumaru started awake from his light sleep. He was quaking with a cold sweat, and his eyes darting. The silence of the night pressed on his ears as he looked sideways at Akina who was curled and sleeping peacefully next to him. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes and wiping the cold sweat from his face and hair before he dropped back to the ground for a sleepless night.

He'd had an awful dream about his mother.

When they returned to the western castle Sesshoumaru really began to worry about Seisha. She was gone again and Inutaishou told him she had been gone for weeks while he was at the northern lands.

The day he came home, he was care free and smiling, but when he heard the news of his mother gone again, his whole mood was turned around. He and his father sat in the conference hall.

"Why is she gone again? It hasn't even been two years since the last time she was gone." He slammed his fist to the table, making the items long it shudder.

Inutaishou, sitting across from him, looked calmly at his son.

"Where does she keep going? You're keeping something from me and I want to know. I have a very bad feeling about this." He told his father sternly, looking him straight in his calm eyes. The older demon took a deep breath and calmly started to speak. His apparent unfeeling, calm, apathetic expression and tone infuriated Sesshoumaru.

"Son…" Just that one word in his father's calm tone made Sesshoumaru erupt.

"DON'T talk to me like that! I don't want to be pushed aside! Tell me where mother is NOW or I'll go out and find her MYSELF!" In a jerky movement, the young demon was up, his chair skidding a few feet back from his force. Both of his clawed hands splayed over the table and he uncharacteristically glared down at his father imperiously. As soon as he looked into Inutaishou's eyes they flared red dangerously and he stood also. Drawn up to full height, he towered over his son with energy crackling around him. The daiyoukai's voice grew deep and foreboding and growled out at his son.

"Sit. Down."

As the livid tones reached Sesshoumaru's ears, his eyes widened and he realized what he had done: he had just threatened his own father. He immediately sunk back into his chair.

"I'm sorry, father." He whispered, looking down at the table.

Inutaishou remained standing, but he managed to control his power and his eyes returned to white. His mouth was a thin severe line and he clasped his hands behind his back. He stalked a few steps to the right and then paced back, doing this a few times to calm himself. Finally he spoke. It was quiet and sounded forcibly controlled.

"I will not be disrespected like that, Sesshoumaru." The young demon flinched at the feral undertones.

"I'm sorry, father." He repeated, keeping his eyes downcast.

"I understand what you're feeling, but that gives you no right to speak to me as you did." He stopped pacing and leveled Sesshoumaru with a look, his eyes as hard as diamonds. "Now about your mother…" His voice softened a bit and he took a deep breath. Sesshoumaru looked up from the table curiously now. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you before, but we didn't want to worry you..." He paused. Sesshoumaru sat up in his chair impatiently.

"What? What is it? What happened?"

"Before I tell you, I need to know what it is that makes you think your mother is in trouble." He sat in his chair and lent back, most pretense of his anger gone.

"Well…" Sesshoumaru began, "I had a dream when Akina and I were coming back from the northern lands. I saw mother running through a forest, she was running towards something and was calling out and her eyes were red then she transformed. After that everything went black for a second then I saw her being pinned down, there was blood all over her and she…she stopped moving." He finished quietly.

Inutaishou looked over his son before carefully speaking.

"That could always be just a dream..." He said evenly, though Sesshoumaru heard the very slight fear tinting his tone. He got up and began pacing again.

"Well, I don't think it was just a dream! I think it was a premonition! Why else would I only have a dream of her while she's gone and you won't tell me where she is?"

"Sesshoumaru!" Inutaishou barked, turning and shooting a piercing warning glare at his son, telling him to keep himself in check. The young demon backed off and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "It's just, I'm so worried. Can you please tell me why she's gone?" The words hung in the air between them as their eyes met pointedly. Then Inutaishou looked away and sighed, running his fingers through his long silver hair.

"Your grandparents' grave has been defiled." He said bluntly, fixing Sesshoumaru with a hard gaze, watching his expressions closely. The young demon paused, his eyes growing and his jaw dropped open before he quickly snapped it shut, and his eyebrows came together.

"What do you mean defiled? What happened to their remains?" He asked weakly, his shoulders sagging from the defensive position he was unaware of holding.

"The bones were strewn about and both of their skulls were missing. Needless to say, your mother was furious and still is. She is constantly searching for whoever desecrated her parents' graves, which is why she is gone now."

"But then…"

"We don't know who did it. Son, you said in your dream that your mother was calling out something when she was running before her transformation. What was she saying? If it was a name we might be able to do something." Sesshoumaru perked up.

"Then you believe my dream was a premonition!" He declared.

"It's a possibility." Responded Inutaishou, his face grim. If it was true, then Seisha was in trouble.

"Well, it was hard to understand what she was saying, but it sounded like…Joura or Juusan…yeah, I think it was Juusan. Then she said: 'If I catch you…I swear, you're dead…!' then that was it."

"Juusan?" Inutaishou echoed thoughtfully.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what she was saying. Do you recognize the name?" He looked hopeful as his father searched his mind, not coming up with anything.

"…No, I don't recognize it." He murmured. Sesshoumaru's shoulders fell further.

Then a meek voice suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Um…excuse me, my lord, I'm sorry for eves dropping on your conversation, and I realize it is forbidden to speak out of turn, but…" A young girl servant stepped out of the shadows, out of a corner of the Conference Hall. She stopped about ten feet from the two high-ranking demons and stood there, her knees quaking a bit. She had short jet black hair, short-cropped in the back with long pieces framing her face. Her eyes were sparkling jade green and her skin was porcelain pale in color; Sesshoumaru recognized her.

"You're Miyuki's sister." He said in a kind of question-statement. She nodded shyly, her large emerald eyes glued to the floor.

"What is your reason for breaking the servant's oath?" Inutaishou asked sternly, though not roughly. Their eyes met for a brief second before hers returned to the floor.

"I…I believe I can help you." She said uncertainly. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened.

"Help? How?" He asked, astonished. It was a rare, if not unheard of, for a servant to speak out of turn or not when prompted to do so, and it was even more unheard of for one to offer their help so boldly without being asked if the matter didn't concern them.

Of course her shaky tones were not any universal sign of boldness, but she was just a mere child in the demon world if going by her age. She was definitely not a high-ranking servant like her brother, Miyuki, who was assigned a master. She was probably one that tended the gardens or washed clothes. So her speaking directly to the lord and prince of the castle at all was something that other servants her rank never even dreamed of.

"Do you know who Juusan is?" Inutaishou asked, now looking at the small girl intently. She looked about ten or eleven, and she also looked scared. "It's alright to speak freely," he told her softly after a few seconds of silence, "I'm giving you permission." She raised her eyes and nodded, looking slightly less nervous now.

"Juusan is an assassin from a band of rogue Dragons of the Southern Lands, but most called him Ban. They were ones who craved blood unnaturally. Juusan above all the rest. He is legendary in the south and known for always getting his target. But two got away from him, and only two. I did not know that those people were Lady Seisha's parents or I would have spoken sooner." She said quietly, while the two demons listened. When she looked at them pointedly, silently asking them what they were thinking, Inutaishou's head was whirring with the new information and Sesshoumaru spoke.

"So it was that assassin?" He asked, the wheels of his mind almost visibly turning. "Why would that demon go after the graves? They were already dead. What was his point?" He continued, sounding confused as he looked over at his father who had been silent up until now.

"It was a grudge. Juusan must have held a long grudge against them for being the only two that escaped him and when he finally found out where their grave was, he did all he could to reap his revenge." He answered under his breath, running his hands over his face then through his hair.

Miyuki's sister nodded, then suddenly Inutaishou looked at her.

"What is your name?" He asked. She looked taken aback.

"Um, m-my name? It's Milani, Sir."

"You will be rewarded for your help, Milani." He said, his tone holding no emotion as he was still thinking over Seisha's predicament.

"Oh, no, Lord Inutaishou! I couldn't accept anything, sir!" she began shaking her head, looking flustered. "I am happy to assist you in any way I can!" She sounded terrified at the mere thought of reimbursement.

"Nonsense, I insist." Inutaishou said, coming back to himself and speaking warmly to the small girl. "You are relieved of your duties for life. You may remain in the castle and be taken care of or you may go abroad if you would like. Do whatever you please."

"Um, well…ah…Th-thank you, Sir." She flushed at his gratitude.

"One more thing."

"Anything, sir."

"Do you know where Juusan could be now?" He looked at her with a small spark of hope in his eyes. He needed to find Seisha and hurry up about it.

"Well, I'm not sure, sir. I remember rumors of him having a private lair away from the main one where Lord Jigan and the rest of the Dragons live. It was somewhere in the valleys of Mount Saki." She said slowly, her eyes looking up at the ceiling in thought. The daiyoukai nodded.

"I'll start there. I may be able to stop this." He stood from his chair, Sesshoumaru did too.

"I'm coming with you." He announced, only to be cut off sternly by his father.

"No." He said bluntly, brushing past his son, then turning to face him when he stood the entryway of the Conference Hall. "It's too dangerous." Sesshoumaru inputted a scoff/snort of disbelief and repressed anger. "Stay here and take care of the castle. I'll be back. Hopefully with your mother." He turned and bolted out of the room at such a high speed it looked as if he just disappeared.

"DAMN IT!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed after his father left. He kicked a chair hard, and watched it as it flew and crashed into a wall, splintering into broken pieces. He turned away as servants rushed to clean the wooden mess. "Why does he still think I'm a child?" he kicked one of the Conference Hall doors, trying to release his anger and finally left the hall, the door reverberating on its hinges in his wake.

Sesshoumaru stormed around the castle the entire rest of the day. When night came he decided to go to sleep to escape from the turmoil in his mind. But what he got was the exact opposite. He tossed and turned as his dream consumed him.

The forest around him was dark and dank. He looked around at the dense leaves, then suddenly he ran forward as if he was not in control of his body, then soon realized that he was seeing through his mother's eyes. He felt such hatred in his heart that belonged to Seisha and he could feel red hot anger pulsing through his veins. Her vision snapped upward as a piercing screech filled the silent sky.

Suddenly, the ground shook and she stopped in her tracks. The trees before her where flattened as an immense black dragon dropped from the sky, its glinting scales shone menacingly.

"JUUSAN! JUUSAN! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" Seisha screamed, her eyes tinting red, then grew large and her jaw elongated before she transformed in a brilliant flare of light.

Sesshoumaru's point of view was suddenly changed and he could look around freely. The dragon screeched loudly and raucously, as if laughing and spread its gigantic leathery wings. Seisha reared and struck out with long claws. The black dragon spewed fire, and Sesshoumaru watched as it vaporized a heavy flow of water pouring from a waterfall. He could see jagged rocks at the bottom as the water was temporarily removed before water from the stream filled it again.

He turned sharply to his mother whose loud roar shook the ground beneath his feet. He saw the dragon transform to humanoid form and Seisha did too, though she was covered in blood.

Their fighting continued, slashing and piercing the other. A dark flash over took the scene and abruptly Sesshoumaru saw the two tumble, then Juusan pinned Seisha by her neck to the ground.

Sesshoumaru found he couldn't move in his dream and cried out to his mother as he tried to reach her stilling body…

"No! Mother!" Sesshoumaru sat up in his bed, the words flying out of his mouth. The same cold sweat covered him uncomfortably as he jumped out of the bed. "The Eastern Lands!" he exclaimed, looking about crazily.

"Prince Sesshoumaru! What is going on?" Miyuki came into his room wearing a frown. Sesshoumaru streaked up to him and grabbed the taller demon by his shoulders, glaring at him, his eyes wild.

"Find my father! Tell him to go to Dead Man's Falls in the Eastern Lands! Now!" He released Miyuki with a shove, "I have to go." He changed at lightning speed and jump right out of the balcony, streaking toward the place he'd seen in his premonition. It was the dead of night, but he recognized the waterfall that the black dragon had vaporized as Dead Man's Falls. He was sure of it.

He ran faster as the sun began to rise, bolting through the forests and grassy plains, blowing through plantations, farms and villages. He would be able to reach Dead Man's Falls by nightfall. He hoped he wouldn't be too late.

His eyes glistened with pain as his muscles screamed at him to stop, but he only shook his head furiously in an attempt to clear it. He had been running at hyper speed for much too long. But the sun was beginning to sink as the day started to fade dark and he had only just dashed passed the border between the Western and Eastern lands and it would take him at least another two hours to reach Dead Man Falls if he could keep his pace.

Sesshoumaru silently prayed his father would make it in time to help him. If Juusan was able to overpower his mother, then he was done for if he tried to fight. But he still had to get there. He had to stop this from happening, by any means necessary.

A far off screech of a dragon reached his ears and his blood ran cold, the color drained from his cheeks and he felt his body prickle with dread.

"No!" He let out a choked yell and ran forward blindly, his mind numbed from grief. His legs fumbled, and he had many cuts and scratches from falling and from darting through thorny bushes.

'I'm not fast enough! I won't make it in time! Mother!' He cried in his head, pushing harder, a groan involuntarily parted his lips as his body protested fiercely. He had never run this far, this fast in his life. His heart was beating so hard, all he could hear was blood rushing in his ears.

He heard another roar, this time a tiny fraction closer, but still too far. He gritted his teeth, tears leaked from his glistening golden eyes and he pressed on. The forest became familiar as he ran closer.

Moments later, overhead, gales of wind whipped his hair, the strands stung his face and he looked up, staring into his worst fear.

The dragon was flying away. Its great wings beat the air and it roared and spit flame in victory. He couldn't even register the deafening cry of the dragon. He closed his eyes, tears running.

He smelled blood and mentally braced himself as he flew into the clearing, the great roaring of the falls was drowned out by the blood pounding in his head…and he saw his mother.

He ran to her and skidded on his knees gracelessly at her side. She was lying on the ground brokenly, her hair spread and stained with blood and her eyes closed. He looked over her body, reached out a hand and then drew it back, afraid to touch her. His tears fell to the ground as they trickled down his cheeks. He cried out despairingly and collapsed over her body, sobs wracking his own.

"Mother, no! I'm so sorry! So sorry…I couldn't come in time, I—I could have saved you…why? Why?" He moaned desperately over his mother's body, taking in shuddering breaths, inconsolably weeping for what seemed like an eternity of pain.

Suddenly he froze, his heart jumping agonizingly. His eyes flew open and hope sparked in the watery mess of his teary face.

Her body was not completely cold! She was alive, but only just. He pushed himself to his knees, wiping his eyes hurriedly and immediately checked for a pulse. Yes! There it was! Faint, but there! A smile lit his tear streaked face and he felt more elated than he ever had in his life. His mother was alive! There was a chance! A chance!

He picked her up as carefully as he was able and began to run, his heart doing flips in his chest.

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Ja ne.