It was after midnight. The fool moon was hidden from clouds but when the wind moved them away, flying high in the sky, could be seen a few figures. The first one was Ah-Un with Kagome, Rin and Jaken on its back. Next to the two-headed demon was flying Sesshoumaru, on his 'cloud'. Behind them was Kirara with Sango, Miroku and Shippo. The group was headed toward the mountain that could be seen in the distance.

"You stupid girl..." Jaken turned to Kagome, obviously angry. "We will never get to that wolf in time. He is probably dead..." the green demon was cut off by a stone hitting his head. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama, I'll be quiet..." he mumbled and bent his head in obedience.

Despite the difficult situation they were in Kagome couldn't help but smile at Sesshoumaru's way to make Jaken shut up. However, he had the right to ask and she decided he deserved an answer. "Inuyasha's only way to find Kouga-kun is to fallow his scent." Kagome started and everybody's attention turned to her. "I don't know how good his sense of smell has become with the Shikon shards but he'll never beet my sense for the shards!" she finished with a smile.

The others, even Sesshoumaru, wandered how it is possible for her to act so calm about something so serious. Soon enough Rin fallowed her example and laughed. "Jaken-sama, your eyes are as big as your head!"

Unconsciously Sesshoumaru shook his head. 'Why am I wandering?' he thought. 'I have the same easygoing human girl here...' he looked at Rin and if it wasn't his cold attitude act he would have smiled. Suddenly his eyes narrowed his head snapped to his left, where a small clearing could be seen. Unknown to him, that was the same clearing where his brother had decided to forget everything about himself and to turn completely to his demon side. 'That stupid hanyou...' he mentally growled. 'He's passed through here a while ago... Whatever we do we won't be able to catch up with him on time.'

"Sesshoumaru, do you..." Kagome started, noticing his thoughtful expression, but decided not to bother him. 'Well, he hit Jaken with a stone when he annoyed him...' she thought. Besides she was sure the dog demon had caught Inuyasha's scent. There really was no doubt about that as Kagome saw Sesshoumaru's nose wrinkle a little.

"Hey, Houshi-sama..." Sango whispered, not turning back to look at the monk. Hearing her whisper Kirara immediately slowed down to fall behind the others. It was obvious that the demon exterminator didn't want them to hear what she was about to tell Miroku.

"What is it, Sango?" he asked, leaning closer to her.

"Do you think it was good to let Kagome-chan ride on Ah-Un's back?" she asked and just now turned her head half way to look at the monk.

"No." Miroku said after a moment of hesitation and Sango involuntary flinched. "But now I can be alone with you..." he finished and grinned, preparing for a grope.

"Pervert." Sango growled, nudging him in the stomach to keep him away. "I shouldn't have asked..." she shook her head and patted Kirara on the head, letting her know that she could move faster now.

Inuyasha was finally at the foot of the mountain. It was close to sunrise but it was still dark, due to the clouds and the shadows of the trees. The hanyou took a deep breath and growled. That wolf's scent was near and he couldn't wait to kill him, so he ran toward his destination. He jumped up the mountain slope and the stronger Kouga's scent was getting the more enraged Inuyasha was becoming. Nothing could stop him now.

Kouga was peacefully sleeping in his cave. Suddenly he jerked awake and sniffed the air. 'That scent...' he thought and stood up, exiting the cave. 'It's so close already? And it's coming closer.' he quickly went to the still dying fire and turned it off. Then he returned to the cave entrance and waited there, hidden in its darkness.

Soon enough something rustled in the trees in front. Kouga struggled to see what made the noise but it was sill too dark to see anything, even with his demon vision. 'It can't be a strong demon...making so much noise...' he slowly left his hiding place and stood outside the cave.

Suddenly something burst through the trees and before he could react a strong clawed hand pinned him to the rock next to the cave entrance. He coughed, trying to take a breath, but the hand gripped his throat tighter and he shut his eyes tighter. He heard a familiar growl and his eyes immediately snapped open.

"Inu...ya...sha..." he managed to say, seeing the growling hanyou. Kouga was in utter shock – although he was sure the demon in front of him was Inuyasha, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Inuyasha's pupils were a mix of green and red, and the white of his eyes was almost completely red, his fangs were longer and he was sure – sharper, and from the feel of it the same thing was valid for the hanyou's claws.

"Now you will die." Inuyasha snickered and raised his free right hand to slice Kouga's throat.

Inuyasha's grip on the wolf demon's throat had left him powerless and Kouga could only wait his death. But he wasn't the type to give up. The moment Inuyasha's hand was going to cut him, Kouga found strength to kick him in the stomach and to push him away. The hanyou growled and jumped back in the trees.

Kouga fell on his knees, coughing and holding his throat. He was desperately trying to stay on guard as he fought to catch his breath. 'What the hell was that?' he thought. 'That bastard... What's happened to him?'

The wolf demon was finally able to stand up and prepared for the attack he was sure was going to come from Inuyasha. "Come out, dog-shit! Show me what you've got!" he shouted but nothing happened. Suddenly a horrible thought ran through his mind. 'Where is Kagome? In this condition, whatever it is, Inuyasha could have killed her!'

Noticing Kouga's inattention Inuyasha found this to be a perfect opportunity to attack and jumped at him. Coming back to reality the wolf demon barely escaped the hanyou's claws, jumping back and landing in crouched position.

"If you struggle it will hurt more." Inuyasha snarled, standing in front of Kouga, ready to hit again.

"Where is Kagome?" Kouga asked, getting up. "What have you done with her?"

Hearing that name something in Inuyasha snapped and suddenly he was jumping toward the wolf demon and launching his Sankontessou again. An unexplainable rage burned within him and this time Kouga wasn't able to avoid the attack. It hit his legs, drawing the two Shikon shards out and before he knew what had happened Inuyasha had caught them and jumped back away.

Kouga fell on his back and when he lifted himself a bit he saw his bloody legs and Inuyasha, standing not too far away, holding something. "My shards! Give them back!" the wolf demon shouted and tried to get up but fell back down.

Inuyasha snickered and placed the shards inside his haori, where the other five were. He closed his eyes and a dark red aura appeared around him. His hair started floating slightly in the air and suddenly his claws grew longer. Slowly his dog ears started to move lower on his head's sides and turned to ones like Sesshoumaru's.

The sun was rising and the aura around Inuyasha started to disappear. His eyes snapped open and Kouga saw that they were normal again, except that the pupils were red. The hanyou took a deep breath and then released it, a scary smirk forming on his lips. He cracked his fingers and started walking toward the fallen wolf demon.

'What the hell is that mutt up to?' Kouga screamed in his mind and tried to crawl away, but Inuyasha was closing faster than he was crawling, leaving no chance for him to escape.

When Inuyasha was just a few steps away from Kouga he unsheathed Tetsusaiga and raised the sword in the air. Kouga closed his eyes and waited for him to strike – this time nothing could save him...

"Inuyasha!" Sesshoumaru's voice made the wolf demon open his eyes in time to see the dog demon's green whip wrap around the hanyou's wrist and pull him back.

Inuyasha lost his balance, turning half way around. The others, who were not too far away, behind Sesshoumaru, gasped at the sight of the transformed hanyou. Sesshoumaru was left in shock when he saw his brother and pulled his whip away. Deciding that Kouga wasn't a threat anymore Inuyasha turned all the way toward his brother and held Tetsusaiga in front of him. Sesshoumaru landed and drew out Tokijin.

Not wanting to waste more time Inuyasha immediately attacked. Sesshoumaru also charged at his brother. At the last moment, before the two swords were going to meet, Inuyasha moved out of the way. He slipped behind Sesshoumaru and hit him in the back with the dull side of Tetsusaiga. Sesshoumaru made a few steps forward and fell unconscious on the ground.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken and Rin screamed in horror.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted and her voice caught his attention.

The group of people and demons were closing him fast and he knew he had to either run or fight, but that girl... Inuyasha's right hand started shaking and he dropped his sword. Sesshoumaru had come back to his senses and saw his brother make a step back. Kagome called his name again and his eyes widened.

"Kagome..." he breathed out and made another step back. "No..." he shook his head and an evil smirk found its way to his lips. "I won't give you the Shikon shards! Did you think I would fall for such a copy?!" yelling that Inuyasha threw Tetsusaiga at Ah-Un and ran away, into the woods, not seeing his sword missing to hit its target.

TBC