Disclaimer: I own nothing from Inuyasha
Sesshoumaru glanced down at the group in the distance with narrowed eyes. His aggravation and impatience were growing, the source of such emotions were the ones who his gaze currently rested on. His hanyou brothers pack, or more so two members of the pack. A human female and a hanyou pup. He growled lightly as he watched them closely, he couldn't believe that two small and frail beings were the cause of such feelings within him, and that he had yet to rid their existence from this world.
He had been following the group for two weeks, ever since they had left the safety of the village they usually resided in to now, where they rested nestled in a clearing in the forest, in an area where the hanyou deemed safe for them. He smirked at that thought, anywhere they hid or sheltered in would not keep them safe from him. Which is why he was so irked, he knew he could dispose of them, So why had he not ended their existence yet? He wanted to do the job quickly and with complete perfection, leaving no evidence behind that it would lead their deaths back to him. Which in truth, is why he had yet to act, while some opportunities had presented themselves over the days of him following, he had yet to find the exact one that he wanted.
Along with the previous, what prevented him from doing the task was his other responsibilities, the ones that came with ruling the western lands. At his home, another problem had presented itself- one that also tied in with his current problem, the fact that time was ticking by and there was more of a chance that someone would find out that he sired a hanyou female pup became apparent.
A female as his first born, and mating with a human and producing a hanyou, two things that were looked down upon, were now tied to his person and his name. He had to rip and destroy those ties before they were found out by the elders or anyone else for that matter. He was beginning to think that maybe a rush job would be the best choice for this event. He did not want his name to be tainted as his father's had, he wouldn't allow it.
He had spent so much time, so many hours, cleaning up his families name and reputation. He would not let one small event ruin so much hard work. This failure was beginning to aggravate him more than anything else in the world had. He had killed many before, whether they be children or seniors, He had always gotten the task done without fault. So why was it that he was now struggling to do such a simple and easy task?
He had no attachment to either the hanyou pup nor the female who had birthed it. He had to kill both, or at the very least just the hanyou. It was how it had to be. His sire had felt a strong emotion toward a human female and the hanyou he sired, and what had that gotten him? His death. The decease of his targets would not hurt him in anyway, there were multiples female demons who wished to mate with him, which meant there were multiple females would could birth him a pup. This one would not be his last. He refused to make the same mistake his father did. That was all the hanyou pup was, a mistake.
Turning his attention to the group he watched as they began to settle down for the night. He smirked, tonight he would finish this task and move on . He will not fail this night.
Sesshoumaru waited patiently, he waited until the sun fell and the moon rose. He waited as the fire the group had lit began to die down and the group settled down for the evening. This was the time he would act, while it was a cowardly and usually beneath him, it was the only way he could complete the task without being seen.
However, there was something he had to do before he could complete his task. Make sure that the hanyou would not wake and alert the others of the group. He had no doubt that he could fight the hanyou and his group without a problem. The problem he held with the situation however was that his hanyou of a brother was loud. This would cause un-needed attention, which at the moment was the last thing he needed.
Turning his focus back onto the group, he waited until the hanyou allowed himself to fall into a soft slumber. Then, he acted. Moving swiftly and quietly through the trees, he landed on the branch his half brother rested on, acting quickly before the hanyou could wake, he pressed the needed pressure point that would assure that the hanyou would not awaken in the time he needed to complete his task.
Glancing down at the slumbering group, he watched carefully to make sure all humans were in a deep slumber. Glancing at the feline demon that the slayer kept, he frowned. He could not force the kit nor the feline into a slumber as he had done with the hanyou. Which meant he would need to use a different method to make sure they did not interrupt.
Slipping his hand underneath his armor he pulled out a small pouch, he had yet to use it, however he kept it on him just in case. Now was a time he was glad that he did so. Putting a small bit of the substance inside the container onto the palm of his hand, he blew on it. The powder like substance went into the air, covering the group below. It would not effect the humans of the group, but it would effect lesser demons, such as the kit and the feline. It only worked on full blooded demons, which meant that it would not effect the hanyou pup either, that is fine he thought, for it would not need it.
Satisfied as the poison began to work, he smirked. Jumping down from the branch, he made his way to the miko and her pup with the experience of a silent killer. Stopping as he came to the side of where they rested, he bent down to get a closer look of the pup. Her features had become more pronounced, getting a closer look at the pup he noted that she had more of his features than of the miko.
He lowered his hand and pulled down the fabric that covered the pup and the miko. His original task slipped from his mind as he became intrigued by the small creature. His sharp gaze went over her features, her small dog ears flicked at the sounds of the surrounding forest, her nose scrunched as she whimpered softly. He noted just how small she was. He had kept a close gaze on her as he followed the group, but he had yet to be get this close to her. Not since he had first found that he sired her.
She was the smallest and youngest creature he had interacted with. Though he did have Rin, when he had met her she was a child, almost to her adult years. She had been weak for a human but this hanyou pup, was so weak and small. He was sure that even with his own blood running through her veins, if left alone, she would surely die in the wild.
Glancing at her skin, he frowned, as the sudden urge to touch her began to overwhelm him. This was not the same urge he had to touch her to end her life. No, this urge was different he just wanted to touch her soft skin. Before he realized it, his body seemed to react to the urge as his hand rested on her cheek. Her skin was soft and smooth, it felt interesting. Untainted.
A soft whine brought him from his thoughts and he glanced into the face of his target, his eyes widened in surprise as she nuzzled into his hand, the hand of a killer. Her small hands wrapped around his fingers and tried to bring his hand closer to her as her eyes remained closed, he was surprised at the strength she used.
A branch snapping in the forest brought him back to attention and his mind to focus. Slipping his hand from the hanyou's grasp he pulled back up and held his hand to his chest as though it had been burned. Startled by the event, he took a step back and glared at the small creature as his mind began to race. What was that? Why did he once again stall, what were these emotions that now clouded his mind? Why could he not focus?
Frustrated he walked towards the edge of the clearing, he had to leave. His mind was fogged with these annoying emotions, he would come back later, but for now he had to kill these feelings that bothered him. Growling softly, he took off into the forest with speed he had not used in a long time. Yes, he would be back, he just hadn't a clue on what he would do when that time came.
Kagome awoke to Kaiya doing something that she had never done in her small time alive, crying. Kaiya had whimpered before, but she have never wailed as she was currently doing and she had no clue why her daughter was acting this way. She has been sleeping soundly and then just started crying and nothing was soothing her.
Glancing away from her fussing daughter she turned her attention to the rest of her group or more so the demons of the group. While Sango and Miroku had woken at her daughter wail, all the demons continued to slumber. Which was strange to her, since demons had stronger hearing than humans.
Sighing, she rubbed her daughters back. "Calm down Kaiya, it's okay" she whispered softly as she tried everything that usually calmed her daughter. Sighing once more as her daughter continued to wail, she nibbled softly on her bottom lip as she tried to think of what had caused this and what was wrong with her demon companions.
Miroku and Sango had been trying to wake their sleeping companions but had failed to do so. She watched as Sango sniffed lightly at the air and her frown deepened. "What's wrong Sango?" she questioned, her voice raised as she tried to talk over Kaiya's crying.
Sango approached her so they wouldn't have to yell as they conversed. "There is something wrong with the air, it smells like poison. A Demon kind. But it's expensive and rare so I do not understand who would use it, and use it on us." she stated as she continued to look around the clearing.
Miroku joined Sango at her side "I agree with Sango. There is something unsettling in the air. Maybe that is what is bothering Miss Kaiya".
Kagome frowned as she looked down at her daughter. "Maybe it is" she murmured. As she continued to try and calm her daughter. Nothing was working and it was starting to trouble her, Kaiya had never been this way before. More than her daughter's behavior however, was everything else going on. Why would someone want all of the demons in their group to be in such a deep slumber? She had so many questions going through her mind right now that she didn't know where to focus her thoughts.
She was so distracted that she jumped as Inuyasha landed on the ground beside her. "Y-You're awake Inuyasha?" She questioned in surprise, though the answer was obvious.
Her hanyou companion nodded as he rubbed the back of neck, a look of discomfort on his face. He glanced down at Kaiya with a frown. "What's wrong with the brat?" he questioned as he glanced around the clearing, his frown deepening when his gaze landed Kirara and Shippo.
Kagome shrugged her shoulders "I have no clue, She just started crying awhile ago" she replied with a frown "What's wrong with you?" she questioned as she noticed he was still rubbing his neck.
Inuyasha huffed "I don't know. My neck is hurtin" he grumbled as he glanced down at Kaiya. Sighing as she continued to cry, he growled loudly.
The sound made Kaiya stiffen and quiet, her cry was now a whimper as she looked cautiously at Inuyasha. Inuyasha glared down at her and growled once more, this growl was softer than the first and Kaiya's body relaxed but she continued to whimper as she snuggled into Kagome's body. Kagome looked down at her daughter before looking up at Inuyasha. "What was that?" she questioned.
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "Nothin. I just told her to quiet. Why aren't the runt and kirara waking up?" He questioned as he made his way over to them.
Kagome didn't answer and instead took to comforting Kaiya as Miroku and Sango informed Inuyasha of what they thought had happened to the group. Upon hearing their theory Inuyasha took a sniff of the air and his expression immediately turned sour. Stomping over to where Kagome sat with Kaiya, he held out his hands. "Let me see the runt" he commanded. Carefully, Kagome handed her daughter over to Inuyasha. Curiously and cautiously watching as he held her up and sniffed her.
As she was being examined, Kaiya remained stiff in Inuyasha's hold. He continued to sniff and look her over for a few moments before handing her back to Kagome. He cursed as he looked into the dark forest for a few moments before turning back to the group and meeting the gaze of each member. "Kirara and Shippo will be fine they should wake up soon but from now on, we will not stay out like this. We will stay in a village, even if we have ta travel all day to get to one." he stated before jumping into his usual tree, his ears alert as he folded his arms above his chest and got into his usual sulking position.
The rest of the group knew that once he was in such a position, they would not be getting anything else out of him. Or getting a word in, his decision was made. This was one decision Kagome was happy with, but it did raise more questions. Such as, what had caused that reaction from Inuyasha? He usually disliked going into villages, so why would he want to go in now? Just what or who had been here?
She shivered at the thought of someone being so close when she had been asleep. Bringing Kaiya closer to her body, she looked cautiously into the darkened forest. It seemed as though she would not be getting any more sleep tonight.