Sesshomaru was still in absolute awe at the sight before him. His pale clawed hand reached up and gently placed it upon Eavan's cheek, his thumb tracing across the little freckles that were littered across her nose. Her green eyes slid shut and a smile appeared to her lips as she leaned into his touch, nuzzling his palm and breathing a sigh of content.

"I still can't believe that you are here." He mumbled and continued to thumb the little brown dots as if memorizing where each one lay.

Eavan hummed softly and opened her green eyes to stare in to his golds. "If I were not here, you wouldn't be able to touch me."

She was right; he wouldn't be able to place his hand upon her if she weren't here but how? He watched her die centuries ago, held her as she took her last breath upon leaving this world and yet here she was. She was just as radiant, just as soft and pure as the last moment he saw her alive. Golden eyes ghosted to across her face before settling on her neck and halted his thumb right upon her nose bridge.

His chest felt tight as he gazed upon the gnarling mark that twisted the soft skin of her neck; a large maim lying right above her color bone, a rip that was all too familiar to him. Before he could clear his mind and speak, a memory flashed behind his eyes, the memory of the moment she was struck with the arrow. She fell into his arms gargling on her blood and before he could stop himself, Sesshomaru relived the moment he ripped the arrow from her delicate throat.

He left her this scar, he gave her this scar.

"Forgive me." He choked and dropped his hand from her cheek to settle softly over the mark upon her neck. He could feel the twisted skin under his palm, a forever reminder of what ruined her supple and pale flesh that he loved so much.

Eavan shook her head and placed her small hand over his large one. "I was going to pass whether you pulled the arrow out or not. That wasn't your fault." Her grip on his hand tightened until it was almost painful and her green eyes darkened upon looking at him.

"You said you would protect me." Her voice changed from its airy accented chime to an angry growl. "You said you would keep me safe."

With every word she spoke it felt like a sword was jabbing into every inch of his body. His arm went slack upon her neck but she continued to hold it there, her little hand gripping the skin of his wrist and keeping it in place upon the large wound. Then a sensation hit his palm. With his hand still held to her neck, golden eyes widened upon seeing the crimson shade of blood seep through his fingers and flow down his wrist until it stained his sleeve.

His breathing quickened as his heart panicked against his chest and watched as blood seeped from Eavan's nose and dripped past her lips. A gurgled choke sounded past her teeth and Sesshomaru could only watch as little droplets of her life essence spattered against his face. No. . . No! Not again! He attempted to pull his hand from her grasp but once she dropped her fingers from his wrist, he could only stare as his entire hand was buried into her soft neck like the arrow that took her, blood pouring down her front and her lips choking for breath.

Before he could stop it, the demon lord of the west shed tears.

Eavan ceased her choking and the blood halted its flow and she just stared at him, watching his glassy golden eyes shed tears for his sin and her scowl darkened.

"Why did you let me die, Sesshomaru!?" She screamed so loud that he clamped his eyes shut from the piercing ring in his ears.

I didn't let you die. He repeated in his mind as he kept his eyes clamped shut. He couldn't look at her; he didn't want to be haunted any more by his failure from centuries ago. He tried, he tried so hard to protect her and he told her to stay safe until he got back. It was her who didn't listen.

"You didn't listen." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I tried, Eavan. I tried but you didn't listen to me!" He shouted and her screaming ended. He opened his eyes and saw that her glassy green eyes were gazing upon him and the two just stared at each other.

"So you blame me for your failure." She spoke quietly and with a sloshing noise like churning water, she fell back and his hand was released from her neck with a spray of blood. Wide golden eyes watched her fall and attempted to grab her but she vanished before he could grab her waist. Falling to his knees in the pool of blood that had accumulated under them, Sesshomaru stared at his bloodied hand that was once again tainted.

Again he was alone.

Curling his reddened fingers into a fist, the Dog Lord threw his head back let loose such a thunderous shout that it rocked him to his core and shook the ground that was around him.

"Eavan!"

Byakuya raised a delicate eyebrow at the kneeling demon before him. "My, my what a past, Lord Sesshomaru." He mumbled and called his demon eye back. Now with both his eyes, the dream demon crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his chin with his index finger.

He had been told the stories of the Great Dog Lord of the West by Naraku. He had been told of how ruthless, evil and murderous Sesshomaru was but here he was down on his knees with tears rolling thickly from his dull golden eyes. Byakuya had seen the demon lord at his lowest and was relishing in it. He now held such a secret for Naraku.

"How entertaining." Byakuya smiled and looked around the clearing until his purple orbs fell upon the Tenseiga that continued to pulse thickly into the ground. Naraku had told him about the sword that Sesshomaru carried and how holy it was; able to bring those who have passed back from the netherworld. What a sword indeed. With a thought passing through his mind he let a smirk form at his lips.

If he could defile it, now that would be the end for the demon lord.

Digging through his kimono he pulled out a dark purple colored paper crane that held such an aura that it was frightening and left the demon lord to his prolonged nightmare as he took the few steps to stand before Tenseiga.

The sword was impressive. The dream demon was shuddering from the power that was pulsing off of it but something didn't sit right with him. Furring his eyebrows Byakuya stared at the sword that continued it's pulsing and took a step back once the sword began to jostle and shake. The sparkling blade sent copious amounts of power through the ground that it began to unnerve the demon.

Once Byakuya took a few steps back, the dream demon lifted up his sleeve to block out the bright light that erupted from Tenseiga with a thunderous clap of raw power. The earth shook, the birds flew from their nest and even from behind his sleeve Byakuya fell to the ground from the sheer blinding light that pushed him backward with a loud grunt.

Holding his sleeve to his face a second longer, Byakuya lowered his arm and saw that the Tenseiga was no longer stuck into the ground where it was before; the only thing that was left was a large burnt crater and a stab mark from where the blade pierced the earth. Quickly standing to his feet and placing the crane back into his kimono, Byakuya stepped away from the crater and back to where the demon lord still knelt unmoving and unaware of what was transpiring around him.

"Well that puts a damper into my plans." He mumbled and kneeled before the dreaming lord and raised his hand to hold it just an inch away from Sesshomaru's dull eyes. "I guess I could just let you die in your nightmare, my Lord." A smirk picked at his painted lips and he flexed his fingers that were near the dog demons face.

"Relive your worst moment again and again!"

Before he could fully grasp Sesshomaru's face and fully encase him into his nightmare, a pressure hit Byakuya's chest like a falling tree that knocked every breath of wind from his lungs and sending the dream demon tumbling backward unceremoniously across the clearing.

Skidding to an abrupt stop, the dream demon landed onto his front with a deep rush of air that was followed by a chorus of painful coughs and gasps as he tried to breathe in once more. Byakuya groaned and slid his arms underneath his torso, pushing himself from the dirt and coughing until his airway was clear again. Lifting up his head to where the demon lord lay, his eyes widened at the sight before him.

There standing protectively before the demon lord was the tall form of a panting woman with bright green eyes and billowing red hair that tumbled and curled around her green gowned body. Her eyes, clear green like grass, glared down toward the fallen demon as she sucked quick breaths through her pink lips. Byakuya backed away slightly as the power that was rolling off of her in waves greatly matched what the Tenseiga was pulsing off and when he saw her dress billow away from her right hand, he saw that she tightly grasped the phantom sword with an iron grip.

Standing shakily to his feet and holding a hand to his wounded chest, he let out small chuckle. "So you are real hmm?" A cough passed his lips and soon he stood straight to match his height to the woman's. "You are the Eavan he kept going on about in his dream?"

The woman said nothing as Byakuya stepped closer. He stared at the Tensiega that was gripped tightly in her hand and ghosted his eyes over her form. She was a spirit for sure, a powerful one but a spirit none the less; a human soul that had departed from this world and yet still remained. Purple eyes bore into greens and it was then that a thought graced through his mind.

He could see the energy that was pulsing off the Tenseiga and the same energy was pulsing off of her as well. The same blue powerful aura that is the phantom sword was rolling off of her as well, as if they were the same thing.

It was then that Byakuya learned something.

"Oh how quaint my dear, how quaint indeed." He smirked and dug through his kimono and pulled out his white crane. Smoke sprang to life at his feet and soon Byakuya was atop the white crane and floating in the air with his arms crossed.

"Save your demon from himself if you can, you are the one who caused it." With that the dream demon soared through the darkening sky and disappeared over the tree tops like he were never here.

Eavan watched the demon leave and once he was out of sight the Tenseiga slipped from her fingers and she dropped to her knees, trying to grasp Sesshomaru's bowed head, frustrated when her hands passed through his flesh like a water reflection.

Her brows furred together when his eyes still remained dull and tried once more to grasp him but failed as she passed through his flesh once more. What was she supposed to do? Tears slipped free and glittered down her cheeks at the thought of what he was seeing at the moment. Her proud and powerful demon was on his knees fighting a battle that he couldn't win and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Blowing a sigh from her nose, Eavan tried to think of what she could do to possibly help him but nothing came to mind. How was she going to help him if she couldn't hold him!?

"Sesshomaru." She called to the kneeling demon. "Sesshomaru please listen to me." Eavan lowered her upper body to look at his bowed face and saw that tears were slipping down his cheeks with no end in sight. She could see that he was suffering and it was killing her.

"What you are seeing is not real." She whispered and ghosted her nose against his. "Come back to me."

Her heart stilled at what she asked and a sob escaped her lips. Come back to her. . . How could he do that when she wasn't physically here? Green eyes roamed over Sesshomaru's pained features and breathed out shakily. She wanted him to come back, she wouldn't be here when he would awaken but she wanted him back here. He still had so much to do and she still had so much to do.

Peeling her eyes from her love she looked upon the Tenseiga that was lying forgotten at her side and an idea struck, an idea she hoped would work. Eavan reached over and grasped the hilt tightly in her pale fingers, feeling the pulsing energy that was so familiar to her. With a shaky exhale she pulled the Tenseiga before Sesshomaru and slid the hilt into his palm, staring sadly as her hand passed through his like air.

She saw that once the hilt was slid into his hand, his fingers grasped it in an almost panicked manner and his body began to shake lightly. Eavan smiled and saw that if she couldn't wake him up then the Tenseiga could and with that she softly shimmered away right when dull golden eyes became bright once more.