Chapter 9

If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find we have lost the future.-Winston Churchill

The only indication of the rising sun was the small shaft of light that had made its way through a crack in the otherwise unyielding stone. He simply stared at it, his expression akin to that of revulsion. The so often praised dawn held no allure for him, for it heralded the return of the sun. The sun was only help to his enemies, and thus his only feeling towards it was that of contempt. They had searched for him the previous days, coming perilously close to his location several times. Close. The word held little meaning for him. They did not find him- wasn't that what mattered? He could not afford to be close to gaining his revenge, so why should he care if they had merely been close to discovering him? Close wasn't good enough. It never was.

Dawn was merely a nuisance for him. Ah, but he revered dusk. This dusk in particular. Tonight, the moon would be denied its glorious rebirth and only blackness would remain. The next time the moon rose, it would be ruling over quite a different land indeed- His.

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"Say that again." Sesshoumaru's regarded his brother with a narrowed gaze, his hand flexing in annoyance. He would have preferred to have crossed his arms to complete his irritation, but seeing as there was a distinct lack of one arm, he made the obvious decision not to. It was often amazing how a missing appendage can make itself most apparent in the simple, small ways. He fought without it quite easily, yet he noticed when he wished to perform a mundane task. He still wasn't used to it. Probably never would be. Anyone who had a pair of arms for a couple hundred years would find it difficult to get used to having them reduced to the singular.

"What? Somethin' wrong with your hearing?" Lifting his chin in the air, Inuyasha did cross his arms and returned Sesshoumaru's stare with a belligerent one of his own. Of course, the hanyou couldn't read his brother's thoughts. He was not aware of the fact that crossing his arms was the perfect way to raise the youkai's ire even further.

A muscle twitched in said youkai's jaw as he watched his brother's actions, but he was not about to remind Inuyasha of that particular battle at this point in time. After all, there was the mere technicality that one could suppose that Sesshoumaru had lost that battle, symbolized by the absence of aforementioned arm. Instead of recalling this, he responded in a silky, mocking tone, "Nothing is wrong with my hearing, little brother, I am simply convinced that you were mistaken in what you said. Not even -you- could have the bad timing of turning human tonight of all nights."

Clenching his first, Inuyasha raised it up in a threatening gesture and took a step forward, "It's not like I chose it!"

Sesshoumaru ignored him, directing his gaze off to the distance, "Very well then. I will investigate the rumors by myself."

The hanyou visibly bristled at his brother's dismissal, "Like hell you will! I ain't some rejected puppy to leave behind."

"No," Sesshoumaru sneered, "Your worse than a puppy. After all, you'll be human." Flicking a stray hair flippantly back into place, the youkai lord began to walk away without pausing for the reaction he knew was coming.

"Keh! There's still a few hours till the sun sets."

Sesshoumaru halted, glancing back at his brother, "And what will you do when that happens? Run back here with your proverbial tail between your legs?"

Inuyasha brushed past him, walking down the forsaken road in a steady, determined pace. Myouga had only been able to get sparse information on Masuyo from the various youkai who had fled the area. They spoke of the growing youki in the air and many believed that Masuyo intended to make his move that night. The news had been unwelcome to Inuyasha, since that night also happened to be a night with no moon- the one night that he lost the power of the youkai blood in his veins. Hanyous always guarded that secret of that time closest of all, and Inuyasha was perturbed enough that his brother now knew. He could not wield Tetsusaiga when he was human, which made the situation all the worse. He even lost his claws. In truth, he had no advantage over any other human on nights with no moon. He still couldn't fully understand how humans could stand being so defenseless in their natural forms. Yet, somehow, Sango managed it and she had no supernatural ability. He didn't look back as he responded, "If we find him, I'll stay and finish the job." He was resolved in this. He would risk death if he had to, but he wouldn't take the coward's way out and hide in a corner just because he no longer could rely on the youkai within him.

The tone of voice made Sesshoumaru fall silent and he found himself lacking a cruel reply. Instead, he simply looked after his brother. Idiot. Yet, despite the sentiment usually expressed behind that word, he could not help the twinge of respect towards his brother. Could not help it, but he could deny it, which he promptly did.

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The intricacies of performing the ritual made it a very time consuming one. It had to be started just as the sun went down, and it had to be finished just as the sun began to rise again. Timing was everything and any interruption could cause a mistake to be made. Mistakes were not a thing he could afford, as time needed very little to disrupt it. In his more rational moments, Masuyo had considered that things still might not work out in the way he desired. The time line was a precarious thing. Stepping on a cat's tail in the past could forever change the future, for what if that startled cat ran in front of a passing cart? Suppose the driver of said cart swerved in fright and hit a child, promptly killing the small being? That child could have played an important part in the future, but because one stepped on a cat's tail, the future was irrevocably changed.

That is why there was such a need for perfection. Anything less could be disastrous for his plans, but he was willing to risk it. He watched with growing eagerness as the sun started to sink below the horizon. Forcing his mind blank, he prepared for the task before him.

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Inuyasha's lungs burned in his chest as he strived to keep up with his brother. He could feel his strength seeping away from him, his legs slowing beneath him. The landscape around him dimmed a bit as his eyes shifted from gold to brown, the sounds of the awakening night creatures softening to a barely audible hum. His sense of smell had been the first to go. Not for the first time, he couldn't help feeling almost abandoned in this form. He could still hear, certainly, but it was the same as comparing the sound of fireworks to that of a stone being thrown into a lake. He was distant from everything now. Including his brother, since the youkai hadn't seemed to realize that there was no conceivable way that a human could keep up with him at a full run. Inuyasha was not about to tell Sesshoumaru to slow down. He may have been human, but he still had his pride.

Unbeknownst to Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru had shortened his strides. It wasn't noticeable enough that anyone would mark it. What would others think if they realized that the youkai lord was taking it easy on his little brother? No one would ever know. He had his pride, after all.

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The sky began to lighten and birds lifted their heads in the trees. That, of course, occurred somewhere else, as all birds within a five mile radius of Masuyo had either fled or died. He spoke hurriedly in an ancient tongue, realizing that dawn was quickly approaching.

Sesshoumaru almost collapsed under the force of the youki that surrounded the area. "Inuyasha! Stay back!" Not that he was being considerate or anything, because he wasn't, but he fully realized that if the youki was having this effect on him, there was no way a human could survive it. Assuming that his brother had enough wits to listen, he continued to push his way through, feeling as if he was trying to wade through water rather than just air. Sesshoumaru took on his coldest, most intimidating expression. He couldn't manage an entrance that would strike terror into the cruelest heart at the moment, so he had to make do with what he could. Handing resting on Toukijin's hilt, he came to a stop and calmly addressed, "Masuyo."

"You're too late." A maniacal smile split the other youkai's lips. Sesshoumaru could only stare in horror at the creature before him. He had seen worse things, of course, but he was not expecting this. Scars had rendered Masuyo almost unrecognizable as a living thing, and certainly not as a wolf demon. Deeply set crazed blue eyes stared out from a sickly pale face. The only thing that remained flawless were the white, pointed teeth of his cruel smile that seemed too large for his face. "Three more words and it'll be done!" Even his voice was ugly, as was the snicker that followed. He started to speak again in the cryptic language. One word. Two.

With a snarl, Sesshoumaru unleashed Toukijin's full power, sending a whirl storm of power towards the wolf demon just as he started the third word. To his astonishment, it was simply reflected back. The sword's master lunged out of the way, but not fast enough to escape the outer power and he was thrown into an unceremonious heap.

"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha had not listened, as per usual. He had felt his youkai blood stirring as he entered the area, which allowed him to survive when he really should not have. Fortunately for the hanyou that the sun had just crested the horizon, reverting him back to his normal self. Otherwise the attack would not have worked. Yet, even as the burst of power encased Masuyo, an even brighter light covered the area. Blinded, Inuyasha staggered back, tripping over a rock in the way. Now both brothers were in the ignoble position of being sprawled on the ground and neither could see. Not quite what they had envisioned upon entering this fight, certainly. There was one more moment of togetherness to be had, though neither had a chance to truly appreciate the warm fuzziness of the shared moment. For it was this- Together, they lost consciousness.

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A/N:

The setting of this story is sometime before the Shichintai arc and after Inuyasha gains Tetsusaiga's ultimate attack. As to those wondering where Naraku is, I'm opting for staying out of the way. Naraku was very polite to Sesshoumaru the first time he meant him, though he tried to use him, because Naraku realized that Sesshoumaru was powerful. Masuyo is considerably more so, and I don't see Naraku as wanting to mess with him. Masuyo also hasn't been an obvious presence until just lately, so it's conceivable that Naraku was busy enough with his own agenda that he didn't know about him. Or, who knows, maybe Naraku will make an appearance- if I get the guts to try to write him and his devious, masterful mind.

Please let me know what you all think, and I thank you for all the wonderful comments and suggestions! You all have truly put some thoughts inside my head.

The next chapter may get a bit… silly, but it's what I was intending to do from the first time I considered writing this story, so don't think it's a ridiculous plot device thrown in to make the story longer. It's not. It's a ridiculous plot device that is the reason the entire story was written. ^_^