Cold

He was walking across the land, his step steady as he passed forests and fields. Inferior youkai bowed and fled at the mere sight of him, just like they should. Humans were more foolish, sometimes, trying to attack him.

Just like that band of bandits from the previous day, who had charged at him - just to be slain, along with their panicking horses.

He growled inwardly - all that had done to him was to make the arm he had been wearing useless. Another futile attempt to make himself whole again.

Jaken and Ah-Un were following him a few meters behind, both silent as they left him to his thoughts.

He was powerful, there was no doubt bout it. He was the future Lord of the West. Yet, he was denied the sword he craved, his rightful heirloom from his father. He had to suffer the humiliation of both not having the Tessaiga at his hip and losing his arm to that disgraceful, uncouth brat.

The brat his mother praised so much over the past months.

He grit his teeth as he walked, paying little attention to the field of flowers in full bloom under the cloud-littered sky. He barely noticed the mixture of scents surrounding him and the auras of fleeing inhabitants of the nearby thicket.

She even had had the audacity to say that this brat was more like their father than he - his perfect firstborn. Their father was powerful and terrifying, an exceptionally talented warrior with charisma and authority, with iron will. That brat was just a mongrel born from an inferior entity.

He had nothing that Sesshomaru didn't have - in a much bigger quantity.

And yet, that whelp had Tessaiga. The powerful blade had chosen him over the superiority of Sesshomaru's youki. The katana had rejected him, as if he was not worthy, as if he was flawed.

He was Sesshomaru, he had no flaws.

He was the perfect warrior and leader, he was more powerful than any other youkai, including his mother. He was beautiful and his control of his great power was without match. He was intelligent and aloof.

And yet, the fang of his father - the one that was useful and held his power - rejected him as if he was not better than the mumbling kappa trailing behind him.

Couldn't Tessaiga see that its place was in his hand, conquering new lands to add to his domain? Didn't it crave a master that could put it to good use?

Why did father leave him the beautiful, but useless Tenseiga instead?

It felt as if first his father, then his fang and his mother - all chose that half-breed over him. Were they all blind? That mongrel couldn't even compare, he had nothing, he was nothing, while Sesshomaru was perfect!

He had to make himself whole again, he had to take Tessaiga back and show all of them who was the real master of the fang, who was the true heir of Touga's spirit, who was worthy to lead the West into a new era of stability and power.

The wind changed and Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose just the slightest. The air smelled of blood. He wouldn't stray from his path to investigate, but the source was ahead of him and he wasn't going to go around it only because there was bloodshed on his way.

"Jaken. Stay here," he ordered and didn't look back to see if his retainer did what he was told.

He moved at an amazing speed, dashing across the land like a silver blur. He stopped on the edge of a small valley between two hills. It was a field with bushes scattered across the ground covered in thin grass. There, between the bushes, Sesshomaru saw a bunch of dead wolf youkai, the cuts on their bodies no longer bleeding, but obviously fresh. Slowly he stepped forward, a flicker of curiosity in his mind, The wolves couldn't be dead for more than a handful of minutes, but there was no smell of the one who had killed them. How odd.

He looked coldly at the bodies of the wolves at their torn, bloodied furs. There were a few mortal animals among the youkai. Sesshomaru spotted the clan sign on the barbaric clothing, one Sesshomaru knew. It was one of the clans that allied with the West, the mountain tribe.

It didn't really matter that the fallen wolves were from that clan, they were obviously too weak to be alive, so someone had done them a favor and put them out of their miserable existence. He almost cringed in disgust at the sight of an adolescent youkai that had fallen with his arms wrapped around a wolf cut in two, his back sliced in four places - obviously the youth had died not as a warrior facing his foe, but had let himself be distracted by the death of a mere animal.

Shameful.

A gust of wind blew through the field and Sesshomaru glanced up, just in time to see a cloud of dust approaching this place. The daiyoukai raised an eyebrow as the fast running individual stopped near the first bodies, his feet sliding against the ground as he dug his heels in.

'Gods!" the male with black hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in furs and stinking not better than the corpses littering the field, gasped as he took in he sight. His face turned pale as his eyes widened in horror. "My pack mates!"

Sesshomaru tilted his head to inspect a broken bush beside the bodies next to him. It had no scent of the killer, as did all of the field. Most interesting.

Pale blue eyes blinked and focused on the only one standing among the carnage.

"You! Is it your doing? Did you kill my pack mates?" he yelled, anger drowning out the horror in his voice.

"This one does not lower himself to dispatching of insignificant weaklings,," the daiyoukai said in his usual emotionless tone. The wolf growled at him, but Sesshomaru didn't even look his way. "Whoever slew them was already gone when this one approached this field."

It had been a wise action on their part. Not that Sesshomaru would want to avenge the inferior canines, but he was mildly annoyed that they had decided to kill the wolves on his path and he had to smell not only their repulsive odor, but also the stench of their blood and entrails.

"Insignificant weaklings?!" the wolf howled looking to the still warm bodies. "They were members of my pack! We're allies with you, dog! They were waiting for me to come back from the Western Lady!"

Sesshomaru glared coldly at the wolf. He was a 'dog', while his annoying mother got a respectful title? Was this wolf even aware that he could easily join his pack members in death, leader of the pack or not?

"You should watch towards whom you are disrespectful, cur," he allowed just a hint of annoyance slip into his tone "This one is your superior both in standing and in power."

The wolf bared his fangs at him. 'I know who you are, you're the Ice Prince!"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. He'd heard this title a handful of times, whispered among the inferior youkai unaware of him overhearing them. It was annoying, but he was far too dignified to acknowledge such childish name calling. So he turned to continue his inspection, trying to sense any trace of the killer - not because he cared, but because he was genuinely curious about the identity of the one, who had left no trace to follow.

Meanwhile the wolf stepped towards the fallen ones, bowing his head and speaking softly to them, his voice tight and shoulders shaking when he reached the adolescent one. Sesshomaru almost scowled as he caught a glimpse of a tear rolling down a tan cheek. Grief and sorrow saturated the already unpleasant scent of the wolf. How useless, how pathetic, how weak. Sesshomaru could barely stand the pitiful whines of names and promises of vengeance.

He was about to leave the site - there was no trail to follow and there was no use lingering around a bunch of bodies while he had his own business to tend to. It wasn't his problem.

"Wait! Did you find out anything?" the wolf - Sesshomaru could probably remember his name if he cared enough, since he'd memorized the names of the leaders of the West's allies - called after him. Sesshomaru turned his head just slightly to peer at the man kneeling on one knee beside a fallen female. "They're of my pack. I want to avenge them."

"No trace. Which is good for you, since a leader as weak as yourself could not avenge his underlings, only fall and bring more shame to his kin," Sesshomaru said with a barely there shrug. The wolf leaped to his feet, which were bare and covered in mud up to his fur-wrapped calves.

How utterly filthy.

"What did you just say?!" the wolf's face was red with anger, which almost eclipsed the previous heartbreak.

"Your hearing is so inferior that you require a repeat of this one's words?" Sesshomaru found a spark of pleasure in taunting the wolf. It was not entirely honorable, to taunt one so significantly below him, but dogs and wolves rarely liked each other, despite both being canine. It was a wonder his lady mother had managed to forge so many alliances and friendships with wolf tribes' leaders. "You are a weak leader. Your pack members were even more pathetic and they're dead now. No matter what you do, you cannot fix the error of your poor leadership."

"Says the bastard, who is no leader at all!" barked the wolf, his fist clenching. Sesshomaru glared at him, his words reminding him about his mother's most recent ranting about his - obviously not existing - flaws. "What, have I stepped on a tail here? Everyone knows the West will fall as soon as Lady Kimiko steps down! No one will follow your lead, you self-centers, arrogant ass!"

Sesshomaru's fur bristled at the insults. How dared this wolf speak so disrespectfully to him?

"This one doesn't need weaklings trailing after him," he declared coldly. The wolf snorted.

"And no strong youkai will follow you either! You know why? Because you'd turn your back on them as soon as you saw something akin to soul in their eyes! Heck, you'd kill them yourself if they didn't kiss your ass hard enough!"

The daiyoukai blinked. What was the wolf talking about? He didn't surround himself with flattering cowards, or soulless husks. He valued power and if his followers weren't strong there was no need for them in his court.

A gust of cold wind blew across the field, a wind that smelled of frost and decay. It failed to distract the wolf from his passionate rant. Sesshomaru decided to focus on it for a moment.

"Leaders are duty-bound to protect the weaker ones!" the wolf glared at him. "They're to lead, to show the way, to make sure the whole group gets stronger! And they're the strongest so they can kick asses of any idiots trying to harm their pack members! Or to avenge them! So if you know anything, you...!"

The rest of his words died on his lips, as the wide, stunned blue eyes looked at the female beside him rising slowly, her movements stiff. Her face was frozen in the same grimace of pain, her eyes unblinking as she turned towards the only one wolf that smelled alive.

"Anzu...?" the male whispered. The next second he dodged a swipe of claws. "Hey, what are you...?"

"Can't you see that the female is clearly deceased?" Sesshomaru asked, almost surprised. He fluidly stepped to the side to avoid a wolf's attack from behind. The attacker stumbled forward and fell on top of a bush, before he started to get up again. "Why are you trying to reason with a corpse?"

"Damn you, she's my pack mate!" the wolf kept dodging. He was pretty decent at that, seeing as he was dodging and blocking attacks from all sides, the fallen wolves surrounding him and intent on slaying him. Some of them were approaching Sesshomaru, too.

But the daiyoukai wasn't foolishly attached to the pack, he had no tears of horror and sorrow, no feelings clouding his judgment.

They tried to attack him.

His whip cut through them with a sizzling noise as Sesshomaru gracefully and effortlessly wielded his weapon, turning in a circle to destroy all and any who dared to approach. He even - since he was a superior being that had no petty grudges against idealistic idiots - slew the wolves that surrounded the other male,

The corpses fell to the ground in uneven heaps, filth spilling on the grass. Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What did you do?" the wolf's voice cracked as he turned to face the daiyoukai. He didn't sound grateful.

"Isn't it obvious? The corpses were about to cover this Sesshomaru's robes in their stink, so this Sesshomaru eliminated the possibility of being..."

"You killed them again! And while I watched!' the wolf barked..

"Would you prefer this Sesshomaru let them overpower your indecisive self? Truly, that would be a double dishonor, not only failing your underlings, but also allowing them to slay you."

"I'll kill you!" the wolf leaped at Sesshomaru, who side stepped him with a bored expression on his face. He turned his head to the side, as he heard soft footsteps, almost too quiet to be heard over the loud stomping of the wolf.

The wind carried the smell of winter breeze, crisp and fresh, despite the odor of decay wrapped around it. Sesshomaru sent his whip at the approaching one, but it was thrown back when a strong gust of wind was called forth by an elegant movement of a hand holding a fan.

The wolf just noticed the woman that was walking down one of the hillsides. She had a face of a Chinese doll, red eyes bitter and yet amused, crimson painted lips quirked in a half-smirk. Her kimono was elegant and made her look even more stunning. She held a fan in her right hand, the item radiating youki as she channeled it in .

"You were to die by your pack's hands, Prince Kouga, but it looks like you are going to die by Lord Sesshomaru's. It will be most fitting, since it will fracture the alliance of the dogs and wolves," she said in a low voice, one that made Sesshomaru almost not focus on what she was saying.

"Woman," he said coldly. "Did you plan to use this Sesshomaru to do your work?"

"Not really, but since you're already fighting..." she lifted her fan to hide her mouth. The wolf leaped towards her, claws ready to strike, a strangled cry leaving his mouth. The woman spared him only one glance and waved her fan, commanding the wind itself to strike the approaching male down. The wolf rolled a few times on the ground, but she seemed to be more focused on Sesshomaru, watching him carefully.

"I won't lower myself to kill a wolf," Sesshomaru said coldly. He wouldn't conform to her wishes.

"You killed them!" Kouga leaped to his feet and charged again, "You'll pay!"

"Name is Kagura," she stated and lifted her fan again. "And when I say, you dance. Dance of the Dead!"

As the gust of wind passed over the field, Kouga's pack members started to stand up again. Their entrails dragged on the ground from the cuts made by Sesshomaru's whip, their bodies missing at least one limb each. But they managed to make Kouga stop his advancement at the woman, he even started backing away from the corpses. After a moment he started fighting them, pain written over his face.

"It was nice meeting you, Lord Sesshomaru. It was also nice to see that the rumors were right," she said to the daiyoukai, as if the battle was of no importance. He felt his pride swell, the word of his prowess proceeded him obviously, just like it should. "You still haven't grown back your arm. Pray, tell me, what magnificent weapon could do that much damage? My master would love to wield it."

He lashed out with his whip, the glowing length dripping with his venom. The woman easily dodged the coiling weapon and pulled a feather out of her hair. As she threw it on the wind, it grew and she easily jumped onto it.

'Fine, don't tell me, my master will find out anyway, sooner or later," she said. As he moved to pursue her. she waved the fan for the last time, sending small but powerful twisters at him. When he dodged them she was already gone. With an angry growl Sesshomaru glared to where Kouga still fought his foes. Some of them were already down, but others were still moving.

It was a poor outlet for his anger. He wanted to skin the bold female alive for her insulting words but since she left no trail, he decided to make sure her plan didn't go as she wanted it. She wanted the wolf leader dead, so he disposed of the remaining corpses.

He left the panting wolf kneeling among his deceased pack, sobbing and cursing. As Sesshomaru made his way back to Jaken, he could hear the wolf howl for his fallen comrades, a song that would make any weaker individual feel pity and sympathy.

He, Lord Sesshomaru, felt only anger. The female had insulted him. More, she had mocked his power and voiced her interest in Tessaiga. Whoever was her master, Sesshomaru was going to punish him as well, for the mere fact that his underling suggested him wielding his father's fang.

.

Kagome sat on a piece of a wooden beam, holding tightly to Inuyasha's shoulder. On the hanyou's other side, her mother was gripping his other arm as the forest spirit ran in big leaps down the forest road. It wasn't the most comfortable way of transportation, but it was efficient. Kaede was tired and needed rest, and they needed to get her back to the village as fast as possible. Shippou couldn't keep his transformation for that long, so Inuyasha gruffly ordered everyone to climb on top of him and now ran as smoothly as he could.

They were almost at the village by now,. Which was good, because her mother was not as fond of doggy back riding as Kagome was Shippou altered between riding on Inuyasha's shoulder and changing his form to a bird to fly overhead. The boy was happily chatting with Kaede, distracting her and making Kagome smile.

The healer could almost forget the horror of aiming her arrow at Inuyasha.

He grunted when she gripped his arm tighter, glancing at her through the corner of his eye. She lowered her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "For aiming at you.. I couldn't... I couldn't stop what my body did..." she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She knew that her arrow was too weak to actually kill him, but it would have harmed him and the mere thought made her stomach clench.

"Feh!" Inuyasha barked, brushing off her apology. "You shot the bastard, not me! I don't care if it was because you fought the spell or if your aim is just that shitty. An arrow like this wouldn't be worse than a punch from Shippou!"

"Hey!" the fox leaped to Inuyasha's head to chew on his ear, but the hanyou easily shook him off, the boy sliding down his back and pulling at Inuyasha's hair until his paws found purchase on the wooden beam against Inuyasha's waist. "Stupid dog."

"Stupid fox," Inuyasha growled at the same time. Kagome giggled and felt a wave of relief washing over her. In his own words the forest spirit told her not to worry about it and that he didn't fault her. She rested her head against his shoulder, feeling his muscles flex with each leap.

A few minutes later they reached the edge of the forest and Kaede perked up at the sight of the village.

"Forest spirit, please, don't misunderstand me, but I want to get to my village on my two feet," she declared. "I'm afraid my stomach will need a small walk to settle after all the jumping it did in past hours."

Kagome still laughed when they escorted her mother to the edge of the village. She didn't care that multiple villagers came to see them, many bowing their heads and thanking the forest spirit and herself. Shippou pouted, since he wasn't included, so Kagome picked him up to cuddle him.

It was partially to cheer him up, but also to make herself feel better. The villagers seemed kind and not in any way hostile towards her, but she still felt a sense of unease looking at them. It dissipated as Inuyasha stepped closer to her and she spotted Ayumi waving and smiling at her from a group of girls.

The headman came to thank them for rescuing the miko, Kaede smiling at them and reaching a hand to put on Kagome's shoulder.

"You are welcome here, at my home, daughter," she said. Kuma nodded, seconding her words. "And the forest lord has my gratitude for all he does for you."

"Feh!" Inuyasha crossed his arms in his sleeves. "You don't get kidnapped like that again, next time I'm not going to save your old ass."

"Of course, noble forest spirit," Kaede nodded and smiled when she stepped back. With that Kagome and Inuyasha turned to leave, walking back to the forest before the hanyou scooped Kagome into his arms and ran back to the den, Shippou complaining about being squeezed, but never trying to get free. Kagome had the feeling that for the next couple of days she would be stuck in the den. It was no problem, since she had work to do there and her favorite hanyou and youkai lived there.

When the night came and the village slumbered, a cold wind blew past. A shadow moved across the sky, but not even Kaede sensed the youki, only snuggled deeper in her blankets.

The shadow lingered for a few minutes, inspecting the village, but then it suddenly moved, soundlessly flying back North.