Author-chan's Notes: KON'NICHI WA, MINNA-SAN!!! My third chapter! YAY!!! Enjoy!

* Disclaimer *: I don't own Inuyasha or The Mermaid Saga. They both belong to Rumiko Takahashi. (*Sigh*) Oh well, at least I own Koru and my other original characters.

* Important Note! Must Read! *: Okay, this chapter is a flashback. It talks about how Inutaisho met Yuta. The chapter set about two months before the last one. The exact location of this chapter is unknown, but you can be sure that it's far away from the village where the last two chapters were set.

The Golden Stare of My Brother

(Chapter Three: Meetings)

* Flashback (two months ago) *

"Stupid map," Inutaisho muttered to himself, "Why in the seven bloody hells would humans change everything?! You buy a map, and then it's useless one hundred years later!!! Damn it all!!!" Inutaisho had been wandering about Japan for a few weeks now. The Demon Lord had begun traveling about due to the advice of one of his most trusted advisers. Inutaisho had disguised himself as well. Using a thick black wig to cover his white hair and pointed ears, the dog demon didn't look too out of place among humans. True, his golden eyes with their cat-like pupils had drawn a few stares, but no one ever made a fuss about them. At least, not too much of a fuss…

"Damn! I nearly got myself killed in that last village! I have to remember to keep my eyes down. Why did I have to go traveling in the first place? " Inutaisho asked himself, "Oh that's right. All because HE said that I'd find a mate in my travels. Why in the seven hells would I want a mate?! Look at my first mate! She was scandalous evil thing. I don't know whether to be sad or thankful that she's dead. Wait, I know how I feel about her death. THANK YOU, ALL YOU GODS ABOVE, THAT SHE'S DEAD!!! He also said I'd find a loyal friend who would not only be useful to me, but to my son as well. Feh! Imagine Sesshoumaru being friends with anyone who was friends with me! That pup takes after his mother in more ways than I would like." Inutaisho was still lost in his thoughts, until two voices interrupted him.

"Give it over!" a harsh voice demanded.

"I already told you, I don't have anything valuable in my pack," another voice sighed. The new voice didn't sound frightened, just very annoyed. Inutaisho peered over a few bushes to see two human males. One man held a sword and wore clothes that didn't match with each other, as if he had gotten them from several different places. Inutaisho could easily guess that the man was a thief. The other man was dressed rather plainly, but at least his clothes matched. The second man wore his shoulder length in a ponytail. Across his shoulder, the second man had a thin pole that carried a small pack.

"I said hand it over!" the first man yelled again.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" the second man asked quietly. Inutaisho blinked. This human wasn't worried about dying. In fact, the second man seemed almost bored. He wasn't worried about dying, and that confused the youkai lord. Didn't humans cherish their lives above all things?

"JUST GIVE ME THE SACK!!!" the thief roared. Suddenly, the thief charged forward with his sword. Inutaisho chose that moment to act.

"OOF!" the thief gasped as Inutaisho leapt on him. Inutaisho knocked the sword out of the thief's grasp as he tackled him.

"RUN!!!" he yelled at the second man. The human hesitated.

"I SAID RUN, DAMNIT!!!" Inutaisho roared. The man ran.

"So he got away," the thief muttered, "Too bad."

"Any baka with eyes could see that the pack that man was carrying had next to nothing! You're pathetic!" Inutaisho snarled.

"Not as pathetic as you!" the thief snarled as he kneed Inutaisho in the stomach. The youkai didn't even have time to catch his breath as the other man grabbed him, and tossed him against a tree. When Inutaisho hit the tree, it shattered.

"You're pretty strong," Inutaisho muttered as he glared at the thief, "Too strong."

"What can I say?" the thief said smugly, "I'm rather impressed with you myself. I'm surprised your bones didn't shatter like that tree. You don't have a scratch on you."

"Feh!" Inutaisho spat, "I know what you are. I can smell it!"

"That so?" the thief said mockingly, "What about you? What are you?"

"Shut up, kitsune!" Inutaisho snarled.

The newly identified fox demon laughed, "There is only one youkai that has a nose powerful enough to smell through my disguises. You're an inu youkai, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?" Inutaisho asked.

"I've heard rumors about an dog demon that cares for humans. That saves their pitiful lives. Only a weak youkai would care about humans. Isn't that right, Lord Inutaisho?" the kitsune said mockingly.

"Who are you?" Inutaisho demanded.

"I am Koru, the Great Demon of the Eastern Lands," the kitsune said smugly, "I must say, Inutaisho, I am quite surprised a little lapdog like you was able to hold the Western Lands for so long. I suppose the Western Lands only have weak demons to oppose you. How sad!"

"The Eastern Lands must have even weaker demons if a kitsune was able to hold the Eastern Lands," Inutaisho sneered. The kitsune burned with rage.

"WHY YOU!!! I'll show you how I became the Great Demon of the Eastern Lands!!!" Koru snarled.

"ICE FIST!!!" Large icicles threw themselves at Inutaisho.

"DAMN!" Inutaisho snarled as he dodged the attack.

"Impressive," Koru said, "You managed to dodge my Ice Fist."

"You're not a full kitsune, are you?" Inutaisho said, "Kitsune magic is based on illusions and fire. Kitsune cannot control ice."

"Smart dog," Koru said, "My mother was an ice elemental. I got most of my magic from her."

"Feh! I don't care if you're mother was an ice elemental or a bloody donkey! You're still a pathetic little fox!!!" Inutaisho sneered. At first Koru seemed to boil with rage. Then suddenly, he smiled.

"Do you want to know something, lapdog?" Koru taunted.

"Why would I care about kitsune garbage?" Inutaisho asked, a bored expression on his face.

"You're a fool, lapdog!!!" the kitsune hissed, "You have no idea what that human was carrying!"

"Feh! Judging by the size of his pack, he wasn't carrying much," Inutaisho shrugged.

"Foolish lapdog!!!" Koru spat, "If my guess is correct, that human has something more valuable than any golden treasure! Immortality is right within my grasp!"

"Feh!" Inutaisho grunted as he turned away from Koru. Koru seethed, realizing that the other demon had simply dismissed him as a pathetic little kitsune, not worth a decent fight with. The fox demon growled.

"DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOU BACK TO ME!!!" Koru snarled, charging at the unprepared Inutaisho. Inutaisho turned around too slowly. But before Koru had reached Inutaisho, something stopped the furious kitsune.

*THONK!!!* Koru collapsed on the ground. Standing over him was the second man from before holding a large branch, which he had obviously used to knock out the demon with.

"Sorry I took so long," the man said sheepishly, "I couldn't find a big enough stick."

"You didn't have to do that," Inutaisho told the human, "I could have handled him."

"Is that so?" the man said, raising an eyebrow, "He looked like he was ready to strangle you. And I didn't need your help either. That thief wouldn't have killed me."

"Feh! He looked like he was just about to run you through with that sword when I came in. You would have been dead if it hadn't been for me," Inutaisho snorted.

"Let's just call it even," the human suggested, " You saved me, I saved you. How's that?"

"Feh! Whatever," Inutaisho shrugged.

"So, what are we going to do about him?" the man asked, gesturing towards the unconscious form of Koru.

"Leave him here," Inutaisho shrugged, "The crows can have his worthless hide."

"WHAT?! Isn't that a bit harsh?" the man asked, "This man is still breathing, you know! We can't leave him here to die."

"He would have done the same to us," Inutaisho shrugged, "Why would you care if this man would die or not?"

"I've seen enough death," the man sighed, "Why should we leave this man to die? It's not necessary to kill him." The corners of Inutaisho's mouth quirked up in a small smile.

"Calm down," Inutaisho told the human, "He won't die out here. Demons are a lot tougher than they look."

"D-demons?" the man sputtered. Inutaisho grinned, as he kneeled down beside Koru. Combing through the kitsune's hair, Inutaisho located the leaf that Koru used to cast his illusions. With the leaf gone, Koru's true form was revealed.

Koru's hair, which used to be pitch black from the illusion, turned a silvery-gray color. The kitsune's skin turned several shades paler, and his face became more pointed. Silver fox ears appeared on top of Koru's head. A long bushy silver tail completed Koru's change.

"How did you know he was a demon?" the man asked Inutaisho.

"I just did, that's all," Inutaisho shrugged. The two got up together, and began to walk away from Koru before could wake up.

"So where are you going?" the man asked Inutaisho.

"I not sure," Inutaisho shrugged, "I'm trying to find someone. And what about you? Where are you headed?"

"I don't know where I'm going either," the man laughed, "And I'm trying to find someone as well."

"What an odd coincidence," Inutaisho laughed, "Maybe we should travel together for a bit. Who knows? Maybe we'll both find who we're looking for."

"That's fine with me," the man said, "By the way, my name is Yuta."

"It's nice to meet you Yuta," Inutaisho said politely, "My name is, um, Inu."

"Inu? As in a dog?" Yuta asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Hai," Inutaisho said sheepishly.

"Well, Inu, I have one question for you," Yuta said.

"What?" Inutaisho asked.

"Are you really man's best friend?" Yuta asked teasingly.

"Baka," Inutaisho muttered, punching Yuta softly on the shoulder. Yuta grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes," Yuta said with a grin.

Author-chan's notes: Wow! I finally finished this chapter! You might think that this chapter is kind of useless, but trust me, this chapter is very important. Koru will show up later.

Just in case you don't know who Yuta is, Yuta is a character from the Mermaid Saga. In the Mermaid Saga, Yuta ate the flesh of a mermaid and gained immortality. However, as time went on, Yuta grew tired of immortality and tried to search for a cure for immortality. He was told that the only way to become a normal man again was to find a mermaid. Then the mermaid should be able to turn him back to normal. He searched for five hundred years, and he is still searching as far as I know. This isn't Yuta's entire story, but it's enough for you to understand my fic. If there's anything else you need to know, you can either review me and ask, or I'll tell you later in the story. (So now you know why Koru was after Yuta. Koru probably found out that Yuta was an immortal, and Koru probably thought that Yuta might have some more of the mermaid's flesh on him. It looks like Koru wants to be immortal. What a greedy little boy. Tsk, tsk. You also now know that the person that Yuta is looking for is a mermaid.)

P.S. Please R+R!!!!! Questions will be answered in the Author's notes in later chapters. (Remember, flames are bad for Author-chan's health! They're also bad for the story's health!)