Ch. 5

"Sesshoumaru-sama! I was so worried when you transformed and left!"

Rin hugged the taiyoukai's leg so tightly that she cut the circulation off from it. She cuddled her face into the silk of his billowing pantaloons, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Rin. Release my leg before I lose full function of it."

"I'm sorry, Milord, but I was very worried…"

Sesshoumaru looked down at Rin with his golden eyes.

:Ah-Un: he barked, quite literally.

-Yes, Milord-

:Hold on for a moment.:

"Jaken! You come as well," he beckoned.

As all of the Sesshoumaru-gumi stared straight at their namesake, he sighed.

"I shall be leaving you with my half-brother today."

Jaken made a sound similar to choking as his eyes widened (AN: If possible) in amazement.

"B-b-but M'lord…why?"

Ah tilted his head in confusion.

-I thought you despised your brother.- Ah growled.

'Yes, why leave us with Inuyasha?' Un added.

"Milord, I shall never leave your side…"

"Rin, you are nothing to me. Nothing but a hindrance," Sesshoumaru hissed. "And you as well, Jaken."

"Milord…I have been nothing if not faithful…"

"Did you not hear me?" Sesshoumaru spat venomously. "I don't want to be in the presence of any of you. You are all holding me back!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru…I thought you were kind…you were my nii-sama…"

Sesshoumaru turned steely eyes to Rin.

"I am a taiyoukai. You are a ningen. It was never meant to be. You will go to those of your own station."

His next words hit the young girl hard.

"You are worthless."

"But Milord…I do not understand…" Jaken spluttered

"What is so hard to understand Jaken, you fool? I never wanted you around me. You are just as worthless as Rin. In fact, it would be well suited for you to parade yourself around with Inuyasha. He will give you more prestige."

Jaken swelled with suppressed anger.

"Why did I ever serve such a stuck-up bastard like you!" he finally snarled. "I've never once been appreciated. Well! Your final order is taken with little reluctance, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken blustered, adding the "sama" with intended insult. "Come Rin. We can do better than this, I'm sure."

Sesshoumaru turned to Ah-Un.

"You might as well join them. A dragon killed my father, and it is a dragon I will kill if you do not leave, and that is a promise."

Ah-Un sighed in its draconic fashion.

-As you wish, Koinu-sama.-

'We shall serve your brother.'

-But do not think we know not why you do this. It isn't for self-gain. It's for us. All of us…-

Sesshoumaru feh'd and turned away from them.

"Go to Inuyasha like the vermin you all are."

:And Ah-Un, keep close to Rin.:

The disbanded Sesshoumaru-gumi departed to join their previous lord's hanyou sibling.

As they walked away, Sesshoumaru felt as if they had each carried a part of him away.

Farewell, my comrades. I hope you do well with my brother. It was worth it to lose petty companionship rather than lose you all…even you, Jaken…you were loyal, and you are very courageous in your own way. Rin, I shall miss your antics…And Ah-Un…there is nothing I can think that could measure to you…

Ending his mental eulogy to them, he decided to bed there. He left his human form for his demon form. Winding three circles, he finally situated himself on the ground, placing his head on his paws. However, his eyes didn't close. He may not have been "Man's best friend," but Sesshoumaru felt very lonely, and that wasn't the way a dog was to be. That was why he tolerated Jaken so well, even in his most annoying phases.

Woefully, he began to whimper, until he finally broke into a mournful howl…

Inuyasha sighed. Not too long ago, Sesshoumaru's old friends had come to him, claiming that they would rather serve him. Or at least, that's what Jaken and Ah-Un said. Rin was heartbroken, wailing that her Lord Sesshoumaru had shunned them all away in hate and that she wanted to go back to him. Kagome seemed to understand that Sesshoumaru was her savior, and took her in.

Inuyasha, however, knew why his brother had said all the horrible things to his comrades. He didn't dare to keep Jaken, Rin, and Ah-Un around him, especially when he was a Were-Dog. The risks to them were too great…too great to keep friends around…

A howl raised the hairs on Inuyasha's neck. It was his brother, the great and honorable Lord of the Western Lands.

I'm sorry it has to be like this, Sesshoumaru. I promise that I'll find the cure.

"Inuyasha."

The hanyou jumped as Miroku addressed him.

"Yeah, what?"

"Kagome has prepared some ramen," the monk sighed, scratching his head and feeling on the end of his short ponytail.

"What're you so fidgety for, Miroku?"

"Eh? Oh, it's nothing. Nothing you haven't already heard, that is…"

"So, Sesshoumaru's got you strung up, too? That bastard. He screws everything up."

"That may be true, but you know that you must help him. It isn't his fault he's become a Were-Dog. Come to think of it, if he killed that other Dog, then perhaps that makes him the final Were-Dog in existence…"

"No. Were-Dogs are rarely born. They are made. Just like Werewolves, the bite of a Were-Dog seals your fate; you'll probably die before you sire any Infected pups…"

"That is a good thing," Kagome said, joining the boys' conversation. "So, guys. Do Were-Dogs have that whole 'silver bullet' thing going on for them?"

"Uh…er…yeah," Inuyasha stammered, surprised by Kagome's appearance. "But silver only stuns Were-Dogs…like, um…"

"Like a tranquilizer dart!" Kagome added to finish his sentence.

"Yeah!"

"Well, that's good!"

"Sure, if you can find silver easy!" Inuyasha snarled. "It's fairly rare. And what the hell's a bullet? We use silver tipped arrows!"

"Oh, yeah. No guns yet. Or at least not many."

Kagome put on an optimistic smile.

"Don't worry guys. I can get us silver. It's cheaper than gold, and if I give it to a blacksmith, he can melt it into arrowheads!"

"Good idea, Lady Kagome," Miroku said.

"Thanks!" Kagome replied. "So how about I go back to my time and get us some silver?"

"That would be the best thing for now," Inuyasha agreed. "And soon, 'cause the next crescent moon isn't too far after my secret day. Speaking of crescent moons…isn't that going to be more inconvenient because I think there's two crescents a month…"

"Oh, boy. Inuyasha, you're right."

Kagome had a feeling that the time in which an Inu Youkai changed had something to do with what was about them. For Sesshoumaru, it was the crescent moon. For the other dead Dog, who knew? But she had never given a thought to two transformations a month. That equaled approximately 24 transformations a year. Not good…

R and R, please!