Sanctuary

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Hopefully, this chappie will be a nice addition to the story! ^-^. By the way! For those of you who read/ have read my other fic: Chibi Mamoru (Sailor Moon) it's almost complete! I almost feel sad that it is though…

Disclaimer's Note: Hey! No matter how many times I wish I owned InuYasha and co. I don't.

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SesshouMaru flew gracefully through his half brother's forest. His silver locks blew past as he ran quickly in youkai speed, with only one thought in his head: his father's fang.

'I must acquire the Tetsusaiga immediately'

He slowed down a bit once he smelled a certain scent. It was old, but it gave him comfort. It smelled of lavender and lilacs, and reminded him of his mother. He stopped on his tracks and decided to walk to where it was the strongest.

Surprisingly, his nose had led him to an old well not far from the hanyou's forest. He didn't recognize the scent before, it being so faint, but now, as it gently wrapped itself around his senses, he remembered his brother's companion, the woman that looked much like his old flame, Kikyo.

'Kikyo? No… that girl… her name was… unique'

He stopped. He stopped thinking and he stopped moving. He was disgusted with himself. He had thought of a lowly ningen as unique! But then again, he thought Rin was unique. She gave life to the fortress. No matter how much he denied it, she gave it life. She gave him life. But something was missing.

SesshouMaru chuckled softly as he thought. He had considered Rin his daughter. His daughter gave the fortress life. She brightened every corner of the fortress… save two. His face darkened as he thought of whom they had belonged to.

He quickly dashed back to his fortress and stealthily crept into one of the two mentioned. It was beautifully decorated and smelled of lavender and lilacs. The scent was old, but even though they had not been used in over half a century, her scent still lingered on. A faint scent of meadows mingled with lavender and lilac. It was her personality.

His father had once told him that a person's personality takes on a different scent than that of their physical attributes. Everyone had their own scent as well as their own personalities, and that is how you can distinguish whose scent is who.

SesshouMaru sat down on her bed and took the garment that was laid on it. He had the servants lay her clothes there, just in case she might return. Lady Yumemaru, his mother, had been lost and declared dead almost 60 years ago. A wave of bitterness washed over SesshouMaru as he remembered the reason why she had left in the first place…

A young SesshouMaru ran happily through the gardens without a care in the world. Suddenly, he is stopped dead in his tracks by the sound of his mother crying. He ignored his instinct to run and hug her to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Yume… don't do this… you and I both knew this was going to happen sooner or later…"

SesshouMaru couldn't understand. His father, InuTaisho was hovering over his mate and looking at her with pity and guilt.

"I…I don't know why… but I fell in love with you…"

He saw a flash of guilt and shame on InuTaisho's face.

" I'm sorry Yume, you were my best friend… but… I needed a full youkai heir… and… Leiko… she's my life mate"

'No…no!'

SesshouMaru was young, but he knew of life. A life mate was someone you were to be with for the rest of your life… and nothing would be able to change that.

" You may do as you wish, Yume… but the pup stays with me. He is the next in line as Lord of the Western Lands"

Being careful not to wrinkle the soft garment, he laid it softly back on the bed. He recalled the last thing she had said before she left. Don't let your pride blind you from your heart. He hadn't known what it meant back then, still didn't.

He gracefully walked towards another room, which Rin did not have the permission to run into. It was an unused guestroom reserved for his future mate.

He went inside and noted that his mother had been here as well. ' No doubt when that hanyou's ningen mother was here!'

InuYasha's mother had intruded in his family's life and ruined any chance of a future for his own mother. Yumemaru was the envy and talk of anyone in Japan. She was the most beautiful and most graceful youkai ever to have graced this earth. She had a kind soul that most women did not posses.

Especially not that ningen. SesshouMaru knew that Leiko was just after his father's land. He knew that she was just like every other female in the country who hounded over power. But InuTaisho was too blind to see what was happening. Before SesshouMaru could warn him… he was sent to an academy for training. By the time he came back, his mother had delved into depression and was stripped of her title. And Lady Leiko, was with pup.

SesshouMaru was half surprised that he could not smell Leiko's scent in the room. Not even a faint clue that she was even there. ' The master chambers'

He cautiously walked towards the ivory doors. InuTaisho's room was the farthest room from the hall and was the opposite of his mother's. It was strictly off limits to anyone and everyone. Only the servants who made sure everything was clean were the only ones to have seen the magnificent room.

He pushed the doors open and was amazed at the beauty of the room. As he stepped in, he was bombarded with his father's scent as well as InuYasha's mother's scent tangled together. SesshouMaru sneered as he stepped outside and slammed the doors closed. He wished his curiosity did not lead him to anger. He then went on with his original plan and pursued his half brother.

He stopped just before he stepped through the barrier. After InuTaisho had ceased to exist, the barrier that he had placed no longer worked, therefore, SesshouMaru himself had to place one in its stead. But there was something there, the same scent he had smelled at the well. Only, it was stronger, as if InuYasha's wench had been there recently.

'That would be impossible. No ningen or youkai other than Jaken or Rin are allowed to pass through. They would have been demolished instantly…'

Forgetting his hanyou brother once more, he followed the sweet scent of lavender and lilacs.

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Author's Note: Strange. Again. Oh well… more to come!

Glossary: (I forgot to post one before!)

Ningen: human

Imouto: little sister

Hanyou: half breed

Miko: priestess

Youkai: demon