AN: PART II! Actually, the ending of Part I and the beginning of Part II are fairly blurred, but I will usually refer to this chapter as the beginning of Part II.

AN2: Chapter 13 has undergone some editing. GO BACK AND READ IT! Things got changed! I would post the changes for the lazier people, but I deleted the e-mail my new beta reader sent me. Yes. I now have a beta reader. THANK YOU SO MUCH Nassau!!

AN3: WEE! Sessh can't cook. Actually, for anyone who doesn't know FF7, you might want to look up a little information. I'm going to have a couple running jokes about FF7 and Sesshomaru and if you don't know the basic plot of FF7 then the jokes will be lost. I mean, no biggie. They aren't that important to the plot; it's just funny. Sorry, it's my little tribute to the misunderstood genius that is Sephiroth. (Sephiroth: *strikes victory pose*)

Chapter 14: Anger

"Sessh?" Rin asked as she walked in the front door and closed it behind her. I walked out of the office and nodded at her. "Ah, there you are. I'm back."

"How was your class?" I asked. Rin was taking a few history courses at the local college, so she was gone Mondays and Wednesdays for a few hours.

"Fine. How did making your own lunch work out?" Rin asked. I remained silent. "Sessh? What is it?"

"I didn't eat lunch."

"Sessh! You can't continue missing meals like this. I don't care if your are a full Youkai; even full Youkai's need nourishment. What happened? What can go wrong with instant ramen?"

"The water evaporated."

"Huh?"

"I left the kettle to boil for too long."

"How long is 'too long'? How many minutes?"

"Thirty."

"THIRTY MINUTES?! YOU'RE LUCKY THE HOUSE DIDN'T BURN DOWN!"

"The kettle did explode. It's still sparking in the back yard where Jaken managed to dispose of it."

"Oh, Sessh!"

"I got…...... distracted."

"I thought we talked about this!"

"I can't help it! Final Fantasy 7 is exceptional hard to beat!"

"Sesshomaru!" Rin pouted, stomping her foot. "If you keep messing up and missing lunch I'll end up spend all my class time worrying about you and your health! Am I going to have to punish you?"

"Maybe I want you to punish me." I smirked. Rin giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Come here." Rin grinned kissing me on the nose.

"I…......" I began, but suddenly I could sense a youkai energy coming towards the house. "Go into the den, Rin."

"What?" Rin frowned, slightly confused. Suddenly, her eyes widened and looked up at me questioningly. I noded and pulled out of our embrace.

"Be careful." Rin muttered, before leaving. Hurrying to the door, I grabbed Toukijin. I had had the gun specially made for dealing with disruptive demons, especially since Tensaiga, the gun my father left me, was useless for anything but healing. I made sure Toukijin was loaded before opening the door and stepping out. I scanned the front area between my porch and the large, iron gate quickly and saw a blur of black and white heading straight towards me. I stepped back in surprise, sure my nose was playing tricks on me. There was no way he could be here. I watched as the blur stopped inches before stepping foot on my porch and I saw Inuyasha looking at me.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hey, Sesshomaru." Inuyasha laughed with a stupid grin on his face. I watched as he tilted slightly and started to fall towards me. Dropping Toukijin, I caught him on reflex, and helped him lay down on my porch. "I ran the entire way here."

"Stupid." I frowned but Inuyasha didn't respond, as he was already unconscious. Letting out an almost inaudible sigh, I hoisted Inuyasha into the air and carried him inside.

"Rin?"

"Are you all right?" Rin asked, as she walked out of the den. "OH! Inuyasha?!"

"The stupid fool ran all the way here. He's just tired and weak."

"Shall I call a doctor?"

"No. That's the last thing he needs. Help me set him up in a guestroom and when he's better…...... I'm going to talk with him."

"All right."

"Rin, don't tell anyone that Inuyasha is here. I'm willing to defend him while he's like this, but I'm not going to invite trouble."

"Do you think anyone will find out?"

"I'm sure they will, but not for a while at least. The Purist will be regrouping for now," I explain as I walk up the stairs to the guestrooms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Sesshomaru?" Rin called as she walked down the hall. "Oh. You're still here. Well, I'm going to my class."

"All right." I nodded, kissing her on the cheek.

"Are you going to work today?"

"No. Jaken can handle another day without me."

"Are you sure? You've been gone for two days, since you skipped work the day Inuyasha arrived."

"It'll be fine. I need to speak with my brother and I don't want him doing something stupid in my absence."

"It's your call." Rin sighed before kissing me on the forehead and leaving. I looked over at Inuyasha's sleeping form and sighed. Two and a half days of watching him sleep was driving me out of my skull in boredom. Standing up, I walked around the room, stretching my legs before I looked back over at Inuyasha. He was looking back.

"How old am I?"

"I…...... what?" I asked, blinking.

"Am I fifteen or thirty-five?"

"You're thirty-five."

"Damn. It wasn't a dream."

"No. Don't sit up." I replied as I sat back down in my chair. "It wasn't a dream. It's all very real."

"Oh."

"That's why you need to go back."

"Go back?"

"Yes. Inuyasha, things are very dangerous out here in the real world."

"I know that. They were a danger for me for the first fifteen years of my life. I do remember hiding in my closet with mom while you and dad sent the purists away."

"But things aren't like they used to be. Once dad died, things fell apart. Attacks on you and your kind used to be rare, though a reality. Not to mention, you were very sheltered when you were young. You know that dad fought a war to keep Hanyou's safe, right?" I asked, looking over at Inuyasha. He nodded quickly and I sighed. He wasn't getting the point. "Once he was dead, there was no one to keep a lid on those factions anymore; no one was there to keep them in fear. Factions sprang up overnight and they are by far more forceful these days. These murders aren't even secrets anymore. They kill in broad daylight, in city centers. They no longer care who sees."

"What's your point? It's not like you care."

"I don't know why I do but the fact is…...... I do care, a little. I'm working on it—the problem, I mean. Really, I am trying, but I can't just kill every purist that exists. For starters there are way too many, and what if I do keep them under wraps? The second I die, it'll be like father's death all over again. I…...... I've been trying to get something permanent together. Like laws and treaties."

"I can help!"

"No. I can't protect you, Inuyasha, and the purists are gathering strength. Kitsune, one of my strongest allies, was recently murdered along with his wife. Things are starting to unravel around the edges. I'm starting to think that father was right and that a war will be the only way."

"So fight a damn war!"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO A SINGLE FUCKING THING I'M SAYING?!"

"Like hell I am!"

"Then listen again! If I fight a war, the second I die, it will just revert to the exact state before the war. The end of a war depends solely on the winning side's leader and his or her ability to strike fear into the hearts and minds of all that trespass against their word. Not to mention, when dad fought his war, it was the Middle Ages. Our kind still haunted the woods of Japan and when we wiped out a demon village or town, the humans blamed it on a neighboring army! Nowadays, the slightest skirmish makes the humans send in their news crews and tabloids and wonder for decades what could have caused such destruction."

"Sure, but half of them blame it on aliens. But either way, you must be nuts. There is no way I'm going back there, you bastard. I spent twenty years locked up just because you though it was safe!"

"It was safe! Was there one day you lived in fear?"

"Yes! Three days ago!"

"You would not have been hurt. My servants were there."

"Oh, that's very reassuring. What about the others?"

"They are not my concern. It is enough for me to worry about you and your kind. Must I now worry about the humans caught in the cross fire?" I asked, fixing him with a glare. "Think about what I have said. I have some work to do, so I must go."

"Feh." Inuyasha sniffed, looking away.

"Oh. And don't try to leave." I smirked as I stood up and stretched.

"I've had a monk place a barrier around the house so you cannot leave the grounds, but, otherwise, feel free to walk around my home… if your legs can support you." I told him as I close the door behind me. I walk down the stairs and motion for Kagura and Kohaku to follow me. We walked down the white hall, and I briefly noticed that Rin had put up a new picture of us on the table near the stairs. I pulled out my key-ring and unlocked the door to my office, before walking in and turning to face them.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Why did you call us?" Kohaku asked, as he took off his jacket and draped it over his large duffel bag.

"We need to discuss three nights ago."

"What about it?"

"Do not play stupid, Kagura! I know what you did earlier that day! And you, Kohaku. You disobeyed my orders!"

"Lord, I disobeyed to save my sister! She would have been killed, my lord!"

"But you did not ask. You left Kagura to take care of both targets safety, while you ran off alone. You knew when I was giving you your orders that your sister worked at the institution. You should have asked for permission then."

"I understand." Kohaku replied, bowing his head.

"Ask next time and I will send another as well. How can Kagura rely on you if you do not fulfill your duty?" I asked as I stood up and walked over to my bookcase and ran my finger over my books. I finally pulled out a thicker volume and flipped through it, but I wasn't really interested in the early demon wars; I just needed to do something with my hands. I could hear someone on the couch shift nervously, and I put the book back on the shelf before turning to face my two employees.

"Well, something needs to be done about both of you." I muttered, before looking over at Kagura. "Kagura. This had better not happen again. I'm not paying you so you can fund some sort of crack addiction."

I noticed that Kagura winced slightly and looked down at her lap, not meeting my eye. I knew she was sorry, but I also knew that if I didn't correct her habit, it would only get worse.

'Let it NEVER be said that I do not look after my employees. Even to the point of nausea.'

"Kohaku," I began, catching the boy's eye, "since you care so much about you sister, I… I will let it go for now. But, don't either of you even dare to think that I'm letting you off the hook!" I continued quickly cutting off any response that might have been forming on Kohaku or Kagura's lips.

"The next time either of you disobeyed my orders without an exceptional reason—and when I say exceptional, it ought to be better than 'I was going to be killed'— the next time you will be given a punishment at least three times as hard as what I would normally give. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru." Kohaku and Kagura replied in unison, neither one meeting my eye. ('What is so fascinating about their shoes?' I couldn't help but wonder.) "I understand."