Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters do not belong to me. Masuyo is mine, though I would trade him for Sesshoumaru if given the opportunity.

Chapter Five

That all men should be brothers is the dream of people who have no brothers. ~Charles Chincholles

It was a beautiful day for traveling. The rain from earlier had cleared out, leaving blue skies and wispy clouds. The breeze blew lightly, rustling the leaves of trees and birds sang from somewhere in the distance. The green waves of grass around surged and relaxed with each waft of wind, the flowers peeking out like brilliantly colored sea birds. If Rin had been there, those bird-like flowers would have been caged within her hand and presented to the youkai lord complete with a smile. Yet, despite all the beauty around him, Sesshoumaru couldn't appreciate the day. His brother was preventing it quite efficiently and was about to do so again.

"Are we almost there yet?"

"No, Lord Inuyasha. It is still two days worth of travel."

Five times. FIVE times. He now had a crescent shaped wound on his hand for each of the -five- times his brother had asked that question and Sesshoumaru's claws had bit into his palm in an attempt to reign in his temper.

The Flea, as Sesshoumaru had not so affectionately dubbed Myouga, had insisted that they had to walk to the place Masuyo supposedly was located. It wasn't that Sesshoumaru objected to walking. He normally chose to walk when the choice presented itself, but walking with his brother was quite a different story. Walking took longer, which meant longer that he'd have to keep his patience. In this case, Sesshoumaru would choose to use a more expedient version of transportation. Yet, they couldn't, according to the Flea, because that might tip Masuyo off to their arrival. In Sesshoumaru's opinion, Masuyo was incompetent if he did not already know that the two would be coming. Wasn't that a given? Was the youkai lord honestly supposed to believe that Masuyo wouldn't realize that the great Sesshoumaru would object to not existing?

You're right. The Flea's a moron.

I believe I recall commanding you to be silent.

Actually, you told me to 'shut up'. Watch out, you're being influenced by the hanyou. In any case, you can't simply turn off one angle of your subconscious. It doesn't work that way.

Unfortunately.

You know, hating me is hating yourself. We really need to work on how you're masking your own lack of confidence with overbearing arrogance.

... Excuse me?

If we both know The Flea is a moron, why are you listening to him? Why aren't you using all that is in your ability to get there faster?

Sesshoumaru had no response for that, not that he felt he truly had to answer his own self's questions. Some might think that now, with other companions, the youkai may not have been so compelled to talk with himself. No such luck considering his companions were now an immature, moronic, rash, little brother (and the adjectives could go on. Earlier, he had entertained himself with coming up with an abundance of descriptive phrases.) and a creature that was technically defined as a 'vermin'. Patience. He had to have patience because... Wait. Why did he need patience again? Why couldn't he just kill the hanyou and be done with it?

Because killing your brother could make you fail to kill Masuyo. Inuyasha's life for Masuyo's death.

Right. So he just had to make it through these two days, they'd kill Masuyo, and that'd be the end of it. In fact, Sesshoumaru could kill Inuyasha after that. A malicious light entered the youkai lord's eyes at that thought. His stoic expression slipped to reveal a forbidding smirk.

"Ahh... Lord Sesshoumaru? Is something amiss?" The Flea stared up at him with wide, hesitant eyes, having already wisely taken refuge on Inuyasha's shoulder.

The hanyou was staring as well. Inuyasha could count on one clawed hand how many times he had seen his brother's face express anything akin to amusement, no matter how dark. "What's that look on your face for?"

He was smirking. Sesshoumaru, the great youkai lord-the one notorious for only using expressions when it benefited him- was smirking...and he didn't realize he was doing it. His eyes would have widened in horror if he hadn't gained proper control over his features again, "It is nothing." With that short comment, he continued walking ahead. The slip of control signified a very important thing to the youkai- His brother was driving him insane one step at a time.

"Keh! You honestly think I'm gonna believe it was nothing?" Inuyasha growled, a little surprised with himself that Sesshoumaru's expression had actually managed to concern him. His was not threatened by his brother.

Ignoring Inuyasha's question, Sesshoumaru noted the position of the sun and commented decisively, "We will travel for another couple of hours before stopping to rest."

"Who needs rest? You gettin' tired?" Sesshoumaru didn't have to look at his younger brother to know he was sneering. A pause. "And who says you get to make all the decisions?"

Ignore him. Sesshoumaru clenched his hand, the claws once again digging into his palms. The pain managed to keep him in check and he just kept walking.

"Ah...Lord Inuyasha," The Flea broke in, "Lord Sesshoumaru has traveled twice the distance that you have today and perhaps he realizes the value of being at full strength when you fight...."

Inuyasha let out a derisive snort at that, trying not to feel like a chastised child. What gave Myouga the right to lecture him? He sniffed the air experimentally, eyes becoming unsure as he looked towards his brother. For some odd reason, it smelled like Sesshoumaru was bleeding...

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Masuyo was not amused. After all the precautions he had taken, all the planning, all the effort he had made to hide his true strength...to have such a tiny use of power be what finally alerted others to his presence was galling. The seeing spell had been a paltry one-used by amateurs. He should have had no difficulty in keeping it from being sensed, but something had gone wrong.

Water dripped in a rhythmic pattern from the roof of the cavern. It wore a smooth shape into the rock below, the result of over two hundred years of effort. He stared at it, as he had so many times before, watching that transformation that was indiscernible to any eye. Such an insignificant, weak thing such as water, slowly making the strong rock less. That is how it was. Time, the destructive water of life, was ever so slowly lessening him, and with him, his ambition and strength. With a snarl, he turned away from the steady drip of water, but it echoed in his ears like the pounding of drums.

His actions mimicked the sound as he paced. Drip, turn. Drip, turn back. Two steps, two drips. Three to three. Four to four. Realizing it, he came to a halt, staring sullenly into the dark shadows of the tunnel leading off to the right as he shifted through the bits of information he had learned over the years. Could it be that amassing so much power simply made it almost impossible for him to maintain complete control of it? The thought made him uneasy. If it was interfering with such a simple thing, could he truly manage to do the incantation to reorder time?

Yes. He could. He could not believe differently, after all. That matter settled in his mind, he turned his thoughts to the matter of the two that were on their way. Three if you count that miserable servant of the enemy. He didn't, so his main concerns were the two brothers. How to stop them? Masuyo had no followers, for what did he need them for if he planned on changing the past? Nor was he horribly inclined to face the two down himself, for that would be a waste of his strength and he would need it all.

That only left one option open. He would have to remain low until the anniversary of his defeat by the dog. Five nights. He could manage it. The first thing to do was to find another place to bide his time and the rest would happen as it came.

Turning back to the drops of water, he watched another descend only to cringe at its deafening splattering upon the floor. Impulsively, he reached for a small stone, placing it in the smooth depression, giving a new target for the water to wear down. Amused, he gave an ugly snicker. It would have to start again, the water. It would have to start wearing down the rock underneath it all over again and it was because of him. He had the power to make it obey his desires.

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A/N:

Thank you to those who have been reviewing, you're the best and an awesome source of inspiration!

This chapter went through a lot of rewrite before I finally was content enough to post it. Masuyo, being the villain that he is, was giving me trouble, so do let me know how it turned out.

To those of you who are wondering, this story is focused mostly on Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, though there will be a character added lately who might be a bit unexpected. I've a bad habit of wanting to explore one or two characters fully in a story rather than switch between six. In this case, it's obviously Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's relationship as brothers that has garnered my attention. That doesn't mean I'm not open to suggestions though, so please review! ^_~