Every muscle in Aaron's body was tensed, ready to move with the slightest changes in balance. His eyes focused on the target, and at his sides, his fists clenched even tighter.

            The sun was shining in his eyes, and his nose was itching, but he let nothing take his eyes off his goal.

            Three thousand sixty eight, Three thousand sixty nine, three thousand seventy.

            The itch on his nose was becoming unbearable.
            Three thousand seventy one, three thousand seventy two, three thousand seventy three.

            The itch was forming itself into a sneeze. It was edging.

            Threethousandseventyfour! Threethousandseventyfive! Threethousandseventysix!

            Aaron sneezed, and the pair of chopsticks that had been so carefully balanced on his nose flew across his alley. "Crap!" He said out loud, glaring at the chopsticks. "Two seconds longer!" He yelled. He stood up, and grabbed the chopsticks. Sitting back down on his pile of clothes, he balanced them once again on his nose. Maybe he could beat his old record this time.

            One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.

            "Hey!" A young feminine voice rang out. "Aaron."

            Aaron let nothing distract him. He recognized the voice though. "Busy right now, Tia." He said, his eyes crossing towards the bridge of his nose.

            Tiamet's clawed foot tapped impatiently on the ground, and her long red hair puffed out in a visible sign of irritation. She was wearing all red. Granted, 'all' was a very generous word for the outfit she was wearing. It was a very. small. outfit. that was very. clingy.

            Aaron seemed to take no note of this, he was used to it. He sighed, and turned to her, one eyebrow raised. The chopsticks were still there.

            "Yes, Tia?" He asked. "What do you want?"

            Tiamet scowled. "Take those chopsticks off." She said, waving her hands. "We've got some serious matters to attend to."

            Aaron stuck his tongue out at her. "Tough. I've got to balance these for at least seven thousand eighty two seconds." He said. "Deal with it yourself."

            Tiamet's lip pouted dangerously. "How did I get stuck with you as a dragoon?" She asked rhetorically.

            Aaron tilted his head to the side slightly as a breeze changed the balance of the chopsticks. "How did I get stuck with you?" He asked.

            Tiamet growled at him. "I'm not the one being difficult."

            Aaron didn't even blink. "Yes, but you are the one who has red hair."

            Tiamet blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

            Aaron turned to her, keeping the chopsticks balanced. "You have red hair. Red incites anger. Anger leads to violence. Violence leads to hardship. Hardship is difficult to get through. Therefore, you are the difficult one."

            Tiamet's mouth parted in non understanding, and her fingers moved in the air as she tried to pick out what Aaron had just said.

            Finally, she scowled, and looked up. Her eyes widened once, and the chopsticks turned to ash on Aaron's face.

            Aaron crossed his eyes in annoyance. "Crap." He repeated. "I only got to six hundred thirty nine." He sighed, and brushed the ash off his face. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

            Tiamet gave him an exasperated look, and rolled her eyes. "Tell me." She said. "Has anything new happened here?"

            Aaron thought for a moment. "Well, lemme think." He tapped a finger on his chin. The chin was slightly scruffy: he hadn't shaved in several days. "Lessee." His eyes brightened. "Oh yeah!" He said snapping his fingers. "InuYasha stopped in a few days back. Said something about looking for his friends."

            Tiamet nodded. "Okay." She said. "Anything else?"

            Aaron thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Naw." He said. "That's all that's weird."

            Tiamet crossed her arms. "Okay." She said. "Good."

            "Why do you ask?" Aaron had pulled out some more chopsticks, and was balancing them again.

            "We just had our monthly meeting with Sesshoumaru." She said. "We had a little argument."

            "About Menomaru?" Aaron asked nonchalantly.

            Tiamet's head snapped up. "How do you know about Menomaru?"

            Aaron shrugged, his head not moving at all. "I dunno." He said, moving his jaw oddly to remain still. "Just seemed like a good time for him to be coming back, so I took a guess."

            Tiamet crossed her arms. "Did Atma tell you?"

            Aaron shook his head. "Just guessed. And besides, it takes someone Sesshoumaru really hates to get him into a fight."

            Tiamet nodded. "That's right." She said. "I keep on forgetting that you were alive back then." She said. "You probably know Sesshoumaru almost as well as Atma does."

            Aaron shook his head. "Naw." He said. "Atma has a special bond with Sesshoumaru. I could never know him as well as she does."

            Tiamet's brow crinkled. "Special bond?" She asked.

            Aaron raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" he asked. "I thought it was obvious. I realized the second I saw little Sesshoumaru as a baby."

            Tiamet pursed her lips. "Realized what?"

            Aaron scoffed. "Well, if you aren't gonna take the time to figure it out, I ain't gonna tell ya."

            Tiamet rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said. "Anyway, Sesshoumaru's going after Menomaru."

            Aaron raised an eyebrow. "That's kinda rash." He said. "I'd go after InuYasha, if I were him."

            Tiamet blinked. "And why would you do that?" She asked.

            Aaron smiled at her, the chopstick underlining his eyes. "Well." He said. "I figure that to break a fang, you'd need another fang. Menomaru will wanna break the seal on his father's power, so he'll go after the Tetsusaiga, right?"

            Tiamet pursed her lips. "Yes, but Vadise has the Tetsusaiga, so we don't have to worry about that."

            Aaron raised his eyebrows. "You sure about that?" He asked.

            Tiamet nodded. "I saw it myself. We met with Vadise before we came here, and she showed it to us."

            Aaron shrugged. "That's funny, because I just saw InuYasha about a week ago, and he had it then."

            Tiamet's eyes widened in horror. "You're joking, right?" She asked. "That's so not funny!"

            Aaron shrugged. "Yeah." He said, nodding. "I mean, what if InuYasha really has Tetsusaiga?" The chopsticks fell of his nose. "Crap!" He said a third time. "Only five hundred thirteen."

            Tiamet looked sick. "Vadise said that she had had Tetsusaiga for over a month." She said. "Are you positive you saw the Tetsusaiga?"

            Aaron shrugged. "Well, it was a thin, beat up Katana that transforms into a six foot long curving blade with a big fluffy thing where the crossbar is." He looked up. "That's Tetsusaiga, isn't it?"

            Tiamet began to feel sick. "Atma." She said. "Better know about this." She suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

            Aaron sighed, and put the chopsticks back on his nose.

            One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven.

*****

            Sesshoumaru stood in the middle of his room. It was a large room, lavishly furnished. The bed was large, and had cloth hanging around it, and heavy quilts stuffed with feathers lay on top.

            Expensive looking wood furniture lined the walls, and near the hardwood door was a large, full body mirror. The mirror had been a gift, from Atma when he had first come to rule Shinjuku. He had had it for only a month. In that time, he had not used it at all.

            The youkai lord stood strait and tall, his good, right fist clenched so hard that his knuckles were white. His claws bit into the flesh of his palm, and blood dripped through his fingers, and onto the marble floor. His eyes were glowing red with anger, fury and rage. Now he stared into that mirror, watching as his hair flew up around him, blown by unseen zephyrs.

            Menomaru.

            His hand suddenly unclenched, and flung out, searching for something. anything. It found purchase on the back of an ornate, ebony chair. The chair was suddenly flung full force into the mirror, shattering glass, silver, and wood all over the floor.

            His fury was only fueled by his anger at himself. He had let himself become out of control. Was out of control, and yet unable to help himself. He held up his cut palm, and inspected it critically. He could feel the rage, oozing through his veins like a fire. A dirty, filthy fire. He was a Tai youkai. He would not loose control like some filthy human.

            With a sudden, sickening feeling, he knew how InuYasha looked at the world. He could still fell the bitter stinging laughter of the Chinese youkai on that bloody battlefield. He could still feel his vision fading as the blade pierced him.

*****

            "Come, son of Taisho!" The Chinese youkai laughed, his green-blue hair waving around his face and shoulders.

            Sesshoumaru growled his defiance, clasping the katana in front of his with both hands. All around him, the battle raged. Youkai and humans slew each other mercilessly, hacking and chopping with anything hands could find purchase on.

            "Bastard!" Sesshoumaru growled, wiping blood away from his lips. He could feel the pain in his shoulder where the Chinese youkai had already nicked him with his long, thick blade. "No way your gonna win!" Sesshoumaru charged, his white haori flapping wildly in the wind, and his short silver hair flaring around his youthful face.

            The two youkai met with a clash. Menomaru leaned in towards Sesshoumaru as they struggled over the blades. "Now, son of Taisho!" He said, his baritone ringing mockingly in Sesshoumaru's ears. "I hope your father isn't this weak, or this battle may be already over."

            Sesshoumaru growled a fit of rage, and threw the Chinese attacker away. "My father could crush you into the ground."

            Menomaru laughed. "I'm sure he could." He fixed his gaze on InuYasha, his amethyst eyes narrowing cruelly. "But daddy's not here right now, is he?" With a sudden blur of movement, Menomaru was under his guard. Sesshoumaru gasped in pain as he felt Menomaru's long blade slash deeply into his side. His vision blurred slightly as the poisoned blade took effect. He fixed his eyes on Menomaru. Just behind the youkai, he could see where his father fought with Hyoga. The Overlord of the West's hair was flying around him. His shoulder guards were broken, and all the formalities of his haori stripped, revealing it to be like Sesshoumaru's: a plain white. Hyoga was standing in the middle of the circle of flailing winds. InuTaisho was making those wind. The had been raging the entire battle.  Sesshoumaru felt his vision blurring further.

            InuTaisho leapt back yet again, dodging yet another blow from the Chinese youkai. He raised his two swords in an X over his head, and sheathed them, reaching out his clawed hands in a grappling stance.

            Sesshoumaru grinned. InuTaisho had told him of this before. It was a sealing. InuTaisho was going to seal Hyoga. and this bastard, Menomaru.

            He stared back at Menomaru, and matched the sinister grin being shown to him. "I won't give you the satisfaction." He grunted. His right fist suddenly came up, smashing into the side of Menomaru's head. The youkai's eyes widened, and then he fell.

            Sesshoumaru staggered, watching as the battle around him waged. He wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction. He dropped the plain, ordinary Katana, and his right hand strayed to his side. Just before the battle, his father had given him his birthright. A sword. The Tensaiga.

            It was a pity that Sesshoumaru hasn't thought to use it on Menomaru. His father had said it held great power. His right hand grasped the hilt, and pulled the blade out. It was a splendid blade. Sesshoumaru grasped the blade with both hands, and inversed it, pointing the tip just below his collar bone. It didn't hurt when the blade slid in. The poison had already seen to it that he was numb. He could feel the strength oozing out of his body.

            Sesshoumaru, the Son of InuTaisho, fell forward into the blood and water and mud of the battle field.

*****

            With a growl of rage, Sesshoumaru ripped of the top of his haori, and looked at his side. The scar was still there, where Menomaru's sword had pierced. The Tensaiga had removed the poison, and healed the flesh, but did nothing for the scar. It stayed there, a constant reminder to his childish rage: the arrogance, and the anger he had let pervade his mind in that fight. He had sworn never again.

            And yet now... His breathing came in short breaths, and his fist clenched again. He was the overlord of the west. He could not let. would not let this poison control him anymore.

            The door to his chambers opened. "Sesshoumaru-Sama?" Echoed Rin's childlike voice.

            Sesshoumaru turned around quickly, not letting the girl see his face. "Yes, Rin?" He asked, his voice seemingly under control.

            But Rin new Sesshoumaru. Better than most anyone. She could hear, and see the millions of little signs. The way his back arch, the way his arm curved away from his torso, the was his feet were positioned on the ground, the tone of his voice flat by just a hair. "What is wrong, Sesshoumaru-Sama?" She asked tentatively.

            Sesshoumaru turned his head, his eyes melting from the blood red to a rich amber. His lips perked around the edges, and his fist unclenched. "Come, Rin." He said, turning around. "Let me tell you a story."

            Rin's eyes brightened. She loved stories!

            She quickly dashed around him, and threw herself onto the bed, burrowing under the thick blankets and sticking her head out in record time. A wide smile was plastered on her face.

            Sesshoumaru smiled at the child's exuberance. "Long ago, when my father was ruler of this city, there came a threat from the east."

            Rin's eyes widened. "What was it?"

            "It was a youkai from China named Hyoga." He said. "And he came as a conqueror, following the invasions of the Chinese barbarians." Sesshoumaru came, and sat on the bed near Rin, placing his hand on her head in an almost paternal gesture. "He wanted power. He wanted my father's power."

            Rin looked up at him. "But." She said. "Wasn't your father the strongest?"

            Sesshoumaru smiled. "My father was the strongest of the youkai." He said. "But Hyoga had something unsuspected." He looked up. "The dragon clan is supposed to be a unit, a clan. However, every once in a while, one does not agree with the clan. One such dragon was the great beast Ryuukotsutsei."

            Rin blinked at him. "Are there many dragons who rebel?"

            Sesshoumaru shook his head. "Throughout recorded history there have only been four." He said. "There was one who planned to overthrow the ancient wyrm Vadise by eliminating her allies. He made the mistake of going after a priestess named Midoriko." Sesshoumaru smiled grimly. "Few people know what happened to them, and I am not one of those few."

            Rin nodded, absorbing all the information. "Who were the others?" She asked.

            "Next there was the dragon Morkleb. He tried to take over when the leadership of the dragon clan shifted from Vadise to Atma." Sesshoumaru stared at the ceiling. "He died at Atma's hands."

            "And." Rin asked expectantly.

            "Then the dragons Ryuukotsutsei and Kiriln left at the same time. Ryuukotsutsei left to China, and made a pact with Hyoga, while Kiriln disappeared into the sea."

            "Into the sea?" Rin asked.

            Sesshoumaru nodded. "Many dragons have affinities to a certain natural phenomena." He explained, secretly happy to be deviating from the intended story. He was under control again. He was under control. "Atma, for instance likes darkness more than almost anything, while Tiamet prefers to bask in heat." He paused a moment. "I don't know why this is, however, it seems to be the case. Kiriln always liked the water apparently, and so she took to the water, and disappeared."

            Rin smiled and nodded. "So what happened to Hyoga?" She asked, returning to the original story.

            Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. "He attacked Japan, in mass numbers, both human and youkai." He leaned forward, obscuring his face from the girl at his side. "My father amassed a force himself, and fought back, for no reason attempting to protect the rest of Japan, rallying all of Shinjuku behind him. The battle was long and hard, and finally, InuTaisho managed to subdue Hyoga."

            "We're you alive then?"

            Sesshoumaru's eyes traced down to the scar on his side. "Yes." He said. "I was alive."

            Rin smiled at this. "So, what happened to Ryuukotsutsei?"

            Sesshoumaru's face didn't even flinch. "With the help of the dragons, InuTaisho defeated him as well, but at high price."

            Rin's eyes widened. "Did he die in the battle?"

            Sesshoumaru looked at her, just a moment his eyes flashing between rage and sadness, then back to the cool, controlled amber.

            "No." Sesshoumaru said. His fist clenched again. "He returned, victorious, to me, his human mate, and his other son, InuYasha, from the battlefield."

            Rin blinked. "Then at what cost?"

            "He was weak." The Tai youkai said. "He was unable to defend himself."

            "From what?" Rin almost agonized.

            "Mating a human was unforgivable, in the culture of Shinjuku." Sesshoumaru said. "It was the one crime the populace could not get around. And so, they waited for his return, and as he walked into camp, they met him." Sesshoumaru's eyes closed again. "He barely had time to tell InuYasha and his mother to run. Then they were on him." Sesshoumaru, for once since that time so long ago, let out a bitter chuckle. "And so fell the mighty InuTaisho." He said. "Killed by his own people, for loving a human."

            Rin said nothing. When Sesshoumaru looked at her, she was staring silently at the floor.

            "So, what did you learn of Aaron?" He asked.

*****

            "Atma!" Tiamet's voice rang out like a gunshot. "Atma!"

            Atma stood, her heavy, purple cloak flowing in the breeze, looking out at the ocean. Her dark eyes scanned the horizon. Something was coming. Something important.

            No youkai bothered her. The aura of power that radiated from her made sure of that. She didn't even turn to look at Tiamet. "What is it?" She asked.

            "I just talked to Aaron!" She said. "He's seen InuYasha in the past week."

            "No doubt." Atma said; her lips barely moved. "He will be looking for Sango and Miroku. They are heading towards Vadise's forest as we speak."

            Tiamet dashed around to face her. "Well you better be heading for Vadise too." She said.

            Atma didn't even raise an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked simply.

            "Because Aaron says that InuYasha has the Tetsusaiga!" Tiamet practically yelled.

            Atma's eyes widened at that. "What?" She demanded, her voice rising in pitch. "Whaddaya mean?"

            Tiamet rolled her eyes. "Exactly what I said." She growled. "Aaron says that InuYasha has the Tetsusaiga."

            Atma's face paled. "Oh, shit!" She said bluntly.

            Tiamet's foot tapped on the marble. "Well?" She said. "Go see Vadise!" She yelled. "See what's going on."

            Atma's eyes narrowed, and she nodded. Then she was gone. No poof, no zap. Just gone.

             Tiamet breathed a sigh of relief. They would get everything sorted out. She glanced up at the horizon, and narrowed her eyes. There was something there. It was a little black speck. A ship, Tiamet concluded. But. with the ship. There was a feeling. Something was there.

            Tiamet smiled slightly. Maybe Atma was right. Maybe the two remaining traitors were conspiring something.

            But in rare cases, fire and water mixed. This was one of those cases. Tiamet tensed, and suddenly bright, crimson, scaled wings burst from her bare back. She flapped once or twice, and then took off over the sea. Kiriln deserved a welcome home just as much as anyone!