A/N: For some of my rude anonymous reviewers, Hikari and the grandparents were at the very beginning so no they are not random, this was all foreshadowed. If you don't like it, there is no need to read it, thank you. I have been very busy with college but I am trying my hardest to finish okay, so no need to bite my head off.

Chapter 26

Keeran crept through the halls as instructed, his "guard" right behind him as they made their way around a corner leading to the room where Neesh had indicated Inuyasha could be found. He had smooth talked his way into letting Neesh escort him to make sure that Sesshomaru had done nothing to him. He of course would not be let out of Neesh's sight, Neesh had made that very clear, but at least he could be sure Inuyasha was okay. He had been admittedly scared when he was locked in a room with Neesh, Sesshomaru decided that giving him to Neesh with no escape was punishment enough. Neesh immediately stared at him with those intensely blue eyes, looking rather pissed. Why wouldn't he be, after Keeran outright drugged him and gave him the slip. His poor rump still remembered the rather rough ordeal. Luckily Neesh did not lounge at him and rape him senseless, well he was never worried about that, Neesh was a very gentle person and he thought it might take a lot more to anger him. That stare alone had made him want to scurry back to his mama. Finally the silence had been far too much for him and e had asked how he would punish him, but Neesh had only given him this eerily creepy smile that made him wonder what he had in store for later. Keeran had then begged him to let him make sure that Inuyasha was alright before he punished him.

Here they were now, creeping through the halls. Well Keeran was creeping out of nervousness, Neesh simply roamed in his normally regal way. The room where they could find Inuyasha was slightly opened and the wailing of babies could be heard from within. Neesh looked to Keeran and Keeran back to him as both wondered why Inuyasha was doing nothing to calm them down, perhaps he was sleeping? They entered the room with slight alarm as both sensed that something was amidst. There was an odd smell about, like a mix of sulfur and death and neither enjoyed the smell. Neesh drew his weapon and ushered Keeran behind him, much to his dislike at being treated as if he could not protect himself. Needless to say he felt flattered that Neesh would protect him from danger or what not. They entered the dark chambers slowly, the candle light flickering from the breeze of the wide open window. Both instantly smelled the blood and ran to the bawling babes. The babes were both fine but obviously frightened and disturbed by something. Keeran attempted to calm them down while Neesh leaned to the ground and sniffed the blood which pooled over the floor.

"This blood is fresh," Neesh said gravelly and glanced around hoping to spot Inuyasha but not counting on it.

Keeran had settled the pups down and he now held them in his arms. "I smell Inuyasha's scent but it is only lingering, like he was here but then left."

"Or was forced to leave," Neesh said with a pointed look to the the window whose glass was shattered and them back to the blood. "I think that there was a struggle here, that might explain why the babies were so unnerved."

"Not...a...struggle," a haggard voice came from the door and both turned on guard, ready to take down any assailant who decided to linger.

"Kanima?" Keeran asked in a shocked voice as he saw the woman struggling to remain standing, his kimono spotted with large, dark spots of blood which was even now slowly streaming down her body to drip to the stone floor. Neesh sheathed his sword and went to support her while Keeran followed with the babes. "What in the world happened to you," he said his voice concerned and still in awe. Kanima was no weakling by a long shot, whoever had done this to her was strong indeed.

Neesh gently sat her down on the floor, noting that she was steadily loosing blood by the minute. "What happened," he repeated, his deep voice laced with malice at whomever had found their way into the castle. Whatever was going on, Inuyasha was in the midst of it and hopefully he was okay.

"Fucking... demon...he smelled like...death and ravens," she hissed as a wave of pain hit her, "bastard, I...did not even... smell him... it's like he had no presence...like a shadow..." She was tired and weak, her body could not regenerate fast enough and she was almost positive she would die. "He moved like... like something unreal..kicked my ass faster than I can...say my own name." She coughed violently and blood spewed forth from her mouth.

Neesh frowned, the action adding a serious air to his normally amused features. "Okay Kanima, don't try to talk anymore, just focus all of your energy on trying to pay attention all the more. "Keeran listen very carefully okay, no matter what make sure the babes are okay, I will be right back with Sesshomaru. I don't know if there was more than one but stay right here. Do you understand?"

Keeran frowned and nodded. "Yes but what about Inuyasha?"

Neesh scowl deepened for a moment. "Let's just hope he does not look like Kanima does wherever he is."

Oo000oO

Sesshomaru was snoozing lightly at his desk, the days exerts tiring him out immensely. It did not help that it had started to lightly rain, the sound of the world being blanketed in a midst of water slowly lulling him into a slumbering state. A nap did not bother the great Taiyoukai, it was not as if the papers scattered over the wooden surface held any vast importance. He felt that he deserved to rest his tired eyes after the nerve wrecking journey Inuyasha had sent him on. Inuyasha...that

problematic mutt... Why was it that he constantly found himself back in his presence... Why was it that he never left his mind fir the briefest of moments? Even now, he was supposed to be resting, but his mind could not go blank because of his thoughts of Inuyasha. His heart thumped in a rhythmical manner, but seemed to skip a beat when those damnable eyes came to his mind's eye, their serious depths full of pain... pain caused by him.

He raised his head, long silvery hair trailing over his face veiling his expression. Since when did he, the Great Taiyoukai Sesshomaru, have feelings of the heart? Apparently since his damn little brother came into his life.

He sighed with resignation as his doors were thrown open. He of course picked up Neesh's scent and was about to tiredly ask what was so important, but of course his nose also picked up on a very peculiar smell of blood. He whipped his hair from his face, eyes searching Neesh's entire composure.

"What?" He asked frantically, that expression would not be on Neesh's face if something was not direly wrong.

Neesh did not answer him at first, just stood there for a moment. "There is a very bad problem." The message in his eyes told Sesshomaru that the result would not doubt be bad before he even tried to fins a solution.

"Neesh..."

Neesh averted his gaze, his intuition telling him that something very bad was about to happen. "I don't have the answers Sesshomaru," he said softly, "I can only lead you to the clues." With that he turned his back and began back to his original destination.

Sesshomaru could not believe his eyes... all the blood. Keeran was giving him a weary look but the demon was the last thing on his mind, he even tolerated him holding his pups. His eyes roved over Kanima who looked so still and lifeless. He kept a healer around for various reason and the old demon now cradled Kanima's head in her lap, her hands glowing with some old healing magic.

"Is she..." He did not want to finish the words, anger coursing through him like some viral disease.

"She lives." The woman answered, the only thing she could offer at the moment.

Sesshomaru turned to the room behind them and then turned back to survey the scene... something was missing.. or more to say someone was missing. "Where is Inuyasha?" He asked to anyone who could give him the answer. When none came he grinned his teeth together before marching into the room, only to be met by the puddle of fresh blood, leading a trail to the window before disappearing. The sound of rustling came from behind and he turned, his expression grim. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Neesh said with a rather guarded look, "I was hoping you could tell me?"

Sesshomaru eyes narrowed. "What?" He closed the distance between them, his shorter stature making it hard for his glare to be that much of a menace. "Are you asking if I had something to do with it?"

"I don't know Sesshomaru, you have complained about Inuyasha for a long time, and just before our arrival here, you promised to punish him... I don't know what to think right now."

"It is none of your business Neesh."

"Yes, you are right, I am not close to Inuyasha, but I care for him because Keeran cares for him." He shook his head, "What exactly will you do Sesshomaru? It is not as if you love him enough to care if he is dead or alive."

Sesshomaru growled, "You know nothing!"

"I know that you are not the heartless bastard you claim to be."

Sesshomaru turned away. "I have had enough of this. You will stay here and guard my family, I will go find the mother of my children."

Neesh stared at him with serious eyes."Be careful Sesshomaru, I have a feeling that you are about to be truly tested. Whoever has done this, has done it as message to you."

Shippo had finally gotten up to the high window of the room he had been locked into. It had taken a lot of furniture and a bit of high jumping, but he had gotten to it and now he was free. He glanced down at the ground bellow him , the height making him gulp. Oh well, there was a bush below, hopefully he would land in it. Either way, he had to rescue Inuyasha!

He braced himself and catapulted over the edge. Turns out the bush was not so soft, turns out the bush had not been his destination, a certain Demon Lord was. There was a string of foul curses and then he found himself dangling from his tail.

"Fox boy!" He heard someone growl before he was turned around to face angry gold eyes.

Shippo covered his eyes. "Put me down Sesshomaru and let Inuyasha go!" He was indeed dropped, which surprised him as he watched Sesshomaru maneuver around him. He frowned and leaped onto Sesshomaru's leg. "I said let him go," he bit down angrily which earned him a hiss and a violent shaking .

Shippo was tossed off and he landed the ground before rolling into a tree. He was a bit dizzy for a moment before he noticed a floating black feather falling down towards him. He glanced up into the sky just as a large grow took flight into the sky, leaving behind another feather.

He caught the one which was falling and held it up, distracted at the impossibly large size of it. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing, he hopped around and glared at Sesshomaru who he found staring out at the large crow drifting away in the air.

Shippo glanced at the feather and then at the bird. "Sesshomaru?" He may have been young, but he could tell by the Demon Lord's expression that something bad had happened. "Sesshomaru where is Inuyasha?"

Sesshomaru glanced at Shippo, then back at the sky. His nose was sharp and it was distinct but he could tell, the smell of that bird, the smell in the room, both smelled like death. His eyes narrowed

The night was deep with darkness and no stars shone in the sky. Sesshomaru crept with silent ease around the cave which the bird had flown into. The fox was perched precariously atop his shoulder and he too stared into the gaping mouth of the cave "I smell Inuyasha," Shippo said with a frown, "and blood."

The only recognition that Sesshomaru had heard him was the slowing blinking of his eyes and the more distinct frown on his lips. Shippo stared on ahead as he waited and wondered what Sesshomaru was planning,

Sesshomaru stared into the gaping mouth, the overwhelming smell of blood radiating from it. His feet had yet to propel him forward, not too sure that he wished to know what was going on... He had a fear that he was not about to walk into something normal. This place radiated eerie feel, the type of feel a graveyard would let off. Sesshomaru was not honestly sure what he thought he would find when he had left his castle. He was far more shaken than he let on... what was all this and why was it happening to him. Was that truly fair to say when it was Inuyasha who was missing, Inuyasha's blood spilled on the floor. What if something very bad had happened and Inuyasha was in the midst of it because of him.

He growled silently to himself. He had enemies but none who knew of Inuyasha and none who would leave his pups alive... None of them could come into his home without a scent or some other tell-tell sign of their presence either. His fist balled at his side, preparing himself to enter the cave...

The world felt hot, but then again it felt cold, or perhaps it was just that he was lying upon the cold stone floor, the liquid that fuel his life dripping from him. It was funny how so many things had happened to him over the course of perhaps a year and yet here he was after surviving it all, dying in a cave all alone, his murderer someone he had never met before. Was this an assassin of Sesshomaru's? No, not Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru hated him with a passion and would kill him himself, by his own hands. Was it an enemy of Sesshomaru's? No, that made no sense at all, who would know of him? This mind was fuzzy and fogged, his train of thoughts being lost to focus on the burn of his neck.

There was his murderer, there perched on a rock, staring down at him with a rather curious expression on his face. His face, although blurry to Inuyasha's fading sight, was eerily familiar. His pale blue hair was not that of the Dog Demon clan, yet, he definitely bore the mark. It was odd forever, a crescent cut through the middle, one side blue,t he other red. His eyes were not golden either, they were black, an oily black, as black as the night if not blacker. His scent, was not that of a dog, it was that of death, death and ravens.

His eyes shifted to the ground were a message was written in his blood on the ground. His sight was getting worse, so could not decipher the message nor the words coming from his captives mouth. There was only the flapping of wings and the figure of a bird before his body lost all consciousness.

Hikari's hand came out and the black raven perched himself on the outstretched appendage, its dark eyes glinting with intelligence. "Did you lead Sesshomaru here?"

The raven emitted a high pitched caw and flapped its wings, a feather dropping to the ground. "Ahh, you are my smart boy, leaving him a feather trail. What would I do without you hmm? If it was not for you my little friend my scent would have been all over the castle." Hikari kissed the bird a top its head and the bird cawed in response, a codded message that they had better leave now.

Hikari looked at the dying half demon and smirked. "Enjoy your slow death Inuyasha, if you happen to wake before you die, give Sesshomaru my thanks for allowing me to kill you. If he had only listened to our warnings in the first place, you could have lived, but alas you stand in the way of our future plans." Hikari stood and brushed off his dark robes. "After all, Sesshomaru is blindly in love

Sesshomaru entered the final room of the cave just as a shadowy figure disappear in the midst of feathers. He cursed aloud at his earlier hesitation which had caused him to lose the assailant. His pride told him to rand go after him, but the cry from Shippo on his shoulder brought him back to the current situation.

"Inuyasha!" The cry was heartfelt and as soon as Sesshomaru laid eyes on the bloody figure, he could understand why. At that very moment he feared he might die for his heart felt as if it was going to stop and burst all at once. Even his breathing seemed to suspend for that length of time. That much blood, who would live with that much blood lost, demon or human. He was frozen in place, the thought of Inuyasha dead was... was not something he thought he could bear... Was that what love was, an overwhelming sadness, grief, the lost of one's mind at the lost of what was theirs and theirs alone.

He was seeing red, his demon threatening to overpower his senses and release itself in a fit of unyielding rage. He had to close his eyes and he stumbled a bit to fight it back.

"Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha he is breathing! We have to stop all the blood." The little fox's sensible voice called to him and he snapped to attention. He was alive! Gods, he was alive.

Sesshomaru was there in a instant, kneeling not caring that his robes were drenched in blood. There was a small sliver of gold shining though Inuyasha's long lashes, his eyes were open but they were clouded and he would no doubt lose consciousness again.

"Inuyasha, what happened?" Even he was surprised at the concern dripping from his voice.

Inuyasha drew in a shaky breath and coughed, blood splattering from his mouth. It was not until now did he see the gash on his neck, the wound dripping dark, dark blood. His hand reached out and touched the blood, the liquid was hot, too hot for blood. "What is this..." He asked quietly to himself.

Inuyasha coughed, trying to speak.

"No Inuyasha just stay still... Sesshomaru will help you... right Sesshomaru?" His large eyes were shimmering with suppressed tears and Sesshomaru could not look into them fr long, guilt flooding over him, something he did not feel often. Could he save him... this close to no doubt death, even closing the wounds would not do much.

"Sh... Shippo... do me a... favor...grow up...strong okay...? M... make sure that... Takuya and...Akinori... have fun even though... they are royalty...and tell them that... their mother...loves them very much..." Inuyasha's ragged breaths told how dire his situation was and Shippo found himself crying.

"Ah Inuyasha... don't... don't say that, you will tell them yourself..."

Inuyasha's stained lips smiled as he weakly reached out to pat Shippo's head. His eyes shifted to his brother and they closed for a moment before he forced himself to open them all the way. "Sesshomaru... you can kill me... but you will not... turn my children into... beast like you... I hate you, remember that... but... you are their father... you will raise them right...or I will... hunt you from my grave..." There was another wheezing cough before his eyes closed and Sesshomaru realized he'd lost consciousness. Well he was still strong enough to threaten him... perhaps there was still time.

Sesshomaru placed his hands on the shoulders of the crying Shippo and spoke to him as gently as he could. "Shippo... we are going to save Inuyasha." He waited for the boy to wipe his eyes and looked up into Sesshomaru's. "I need you to help me okay, I need you to do me a very big favor."

Sesshomaru stroked over Inuyasha's feverish head. He had closed the ones, the taste of the blood told him that there was poison rushing through his blood. He knew by the dizzying effect that it was having even on him that the poison was deadly and potent. He had left the wound on his neck slightly open, allowing the poison to continuously circulate through Inuyasha's body would do no good, at least like this the poison could slowly leak out a bit.

He glanced up when the sound of footsteps echoed thought the cave. The figures of Inuyasha's friends came into view and Sesshomaru sighed in relief, finally he could leave and go about his plan. Inuyasha's friends had brought along the old medicine woman who they aloud to come though first.

He did have the time to stay and answered tot heir distraught looks and questions. He glanced at the woman who was unfolding cloth holding medicinal herbs. "I have to go now, this is the least I could do for now just in case... well if the worst happens at least he has his friends around."

"That was oddly kind of you Sesshomaru," the human girl said to him.

Sesshomaru glanced at her and then at his feverish lover... yes his lover, because he loved him, he was the mother of his pups and he was the one who he would mate... Yes, he would mate him because he would not let him die.

"Not kindness," Sesshomaru said, "love."

Sesshomaru stared at Bokusenou, the wise old tree, an ancient friend of his father doing the same.

"Bokusenou... I have come to-"

"I know why you have come," the wise old tree spoke. "There is a way to save him, but shall be tested Sesshomaru, tested like you have never been tested before. You may even face your own death..."

A/N: Yeah collage apps and school equals not time for writing but I'm back. For those who still care, well thanks for waiting, for those who don't, well can't keep them all ^^ I can't write perfection but I try my hardest so fill in the blanks if you want. Can't give every detail. Anyways I'll try to update again soon.