I dinnae own 'em, at least I dinnae think I do...Actually if I did I'd know, so I don't.

Once In A Blue Moon
An Inu Yasha Fanfic by Hika-chan
Chapter 9: Sakura


The second their feet touched the ground just outside the castle the five youkai once again took their humanoid forms. "It never ceases to amaze me how you can always make an impressive entrance with such little effort Sesshoumaru."

He turned his gaze to the white dog youkai before him, the corner of his lip turned up just a little. "Hello uncle."

Shiroga smiled, "You've changed Sesshoumaru."

The younger youkai raised a brow, "Oh?"

He nodded, "You have always called me by my name before. What brought about this 'uncle' stuff?"

"Perhaps Yuki has rubbed off on me."

"Been seeing your sister?"

"Unfortunately." The two white dogs shared an amused smirk before a black dog youkai approached.

"Excuse me Shiroga-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama. But the council awaits."

"Of course," Shiroga answered for them, "You remember Kuroinu?" Sesshoumaru nodded. "The servants will show your people to their quarters. I'm sure they will be done by the time we get out of the meeting if not long before." Another reason I'll be glad to hand this job over to you.

***


Where is he? Kagome thought as she wandered through the halls. It was early evening now, the sun had set not to long ago. I haven't seen him since this morning... I hope he's not too angry.

Oh no.. why would he be angry? A sarcastic voice muttered in her head.

Yeah yeah I get the point... shut up brain.

Whatever... Kagome sighed, she had had some weird interal dialogue before but that was a bit different. She immediately brushed the idea aside for later, it as probably just her way of distracting herself from the odd turn of events that her life had recently taken. She finally found him, not surprisingly in a tree. And even less surprisingly he was sulking. The nearly full moon was in the air behind him, framing and lighting his form. "Inu Yasha..." The hanyou made no response, he simply sat there staring at apparently nothing. "Come on Inu Yasha, talk to me. You're not mad about the whole... thing this morning are you?"

He didn't say anything for a second then, "How?"

She barely heard the harsh and raspy question. "What?"

He turned his head in her direction but did not look at her. "How did this happen?"

"You mean with Sesshoumaru?"

He jumped down infront of her so suddenly she took a step back in surprise. "What the f*ck do you think I'm talking about, Kagome!?"

She shifted uneasily under his gaze, averting her own eyes. He looked so hurt and betrayed and... lost. She couldn't really blame him, his entire world, well at least his preconceptions of Sesshoumaru and likely herself, were just shattered. That and it was obvious that she and the hanyou's brother were complete opposites, anyone else would have been surprised and confused by it. Of course Inu Yasha took it personally. "I... I don't know exactly. It started when I was here the first time. Tsukinoshi and I were... fighting so to speak, and he helped me. If it was only that things might not have turned out this way, but..."

"But what?" the hanyou asked very near afraid of what else might have happened in those short number of days in which Sesshoumaru held Kagome in his "care" before he arrived.

"It started the night before you arrived there. I as having a nightmare until someone showed up in my dream and he chased them away. I didn't know who he was and I kept having those lucid dreams with this man in them. If I asked who he was I would wake, I never got to see his face and even when I did when I woke I couldn't remember what he looked like." she paused and looked at Inu Yasha. He looked mildly confused, wondering when she would get to the point. "We talked about all sorts of pointless things, he was great to talk to. For a long time I wasn't even sure he was real. Only recently did I begin to suspect it was Sesshoumaru."

"What!?"

"I don't know how it happened, but somehow Sesshoumaru and I became linked through our dreams."

Inu Yasha almost looked horrified, "What the hell did he do to you!?"

Kagome answered him plainly, "Nothing. The only thing I can think of is him using the Tenseiga on me, but somehow I don't think that would normally cause this sort of bond."

Inu Yasha felt his insides twist when Kagome used the word "bond" to describe this.. thing between her and his hated half-brother. "What kind of things did he tell you in your dreams that you could even begin to believe he was... was..."

"Remotely likeable?" Kagome offered, the hanyou nodded. "When the dreams started he was so surreal. We weren't both aware at the same time, and it was like I was talking to his true self. The real Sesshoumaru under the cold pretense and murderous reputation."

"It is not just a reputation Kagome. Sesshoumaru is a murdering asshole!"

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove it to me."

Inu Yasha's eyes widened a moment in surprise, then his eyes narrowed, "He's a murderer Kagome."

"We've both killed Inu Yasha, albeit youkai but we had reasons for it. We never killed anyone without reason, or just for fun." She skirted the issue, she didn't want to remind Inu Yasha of the time he slaughtered the retreating bandits in his youkai rage. The way he noticably stiffened she knew it was a bit late for that. So she steamrolled over the issue. "I don't think Sesshoumaru's has ever done it with pleasure or without reason. Though I would imagine that he has a different kind of reasoning that we do. He would probably consider someone cutting him off a perfectly suitable reason but it's a reason nonetheless."

"He kills humans Kagome. Humans. We do not."

She looked at her closest friend, there was something he wasn't telling her. "What happened Inu Yasha. What aren't you telling me?" He swayed back a second before turning away, Kagome knew that look. That was the "I know but I don't want to tell you" kinda look like he always had after their encounters with Kikyou. She moved closer to him forcing herself into his vision. Inu Yasha shifted uncomfortably, the hairs on the back of his neck raised a bit as he could smell his now absent brother on her. Nothing too major just bit that rubbed off from close proximity, they hadn't... He shook away those thoughts, the important thing right now was not how far Kagome and Sesshoumaru had gotten... he didn't even want to think about it, it was Kagome and her safety. "Inu Yasha... Tell me."

He clenched his teeth and looked away again. "I don't want you to end up like Sakura."

"Who?"

***


"How goes things my lord?" she asked careful not to use his name, while the rooms were magically sealed against sound getting out, in a city of youkai there was much to be wary of.

The dog grinned at her, sensing even now her attraction to him which he used to the greatest of his ability, "So far nothing has happened to disrupt things. Our current Lord and the future one are being held in further discussions with the council. Where are the others?"

"About, I believe they are either in their rooms or the baths, Makumba is visiting her parents."

"I see.. and what can you tell me that may be of use in regaurds to our soon to be lord?"

Her eyes lit up with a michevious light, "Lord Sesshoumaru has chosen a woman," she noticed the dog's bare interest in the matter. "A human woman," she added with a feral grin.

Ah yes that got his full attention, "Tell me more."

***


Sakura was born to a handmaiden in Sesshoumaru's 60th year, a few years after Inu Yasha himself. At first the human girl and hanyou were easy friends, as children often are. But, as humans age twice as fast as hanyou, the girl soon surpassed games with him. Though Sakura still remained Inu Yasha's friend her interests soon began to change.

Sometime during her fourteenth spring, she began to find it hard not to notice her lord's son. And it seemed that he was having similar difficulty concentrating. While his parents shared knowing smiles hers were somewhat worried. True their lord had married a human like them, but even so their mistress was of nobel birth. They were worried for their daughter in that such a match, across both class and race, was completely unheard of and even less possible. But within a year the two had come to each other after many awkward moments and silences, after all Sesshoumaru was not much older than her in relative terms.

"...But you know how dangerous things always are in this time right?" Inu Yasha asked. Kagome nodded, wondering if perhaps Sesshoumaru had failed to protect his first love, she wasn't far off. "Well," the hanyou began awkwardly, "Sesshoumaru was attacked by an older youkai, my brother was more skilled, but weaker due to his age. He won, but barely survived in his victory." Inu Yasha paused looking down at the fish in the pond, "That battle changed our lives, his, hers and mine. At the time I was about equivalent to Rin in age, maybe a bit older. I looked up to Sesshoumaru as much as Souta looks up to me now, if not more. Anyway like I said Sesshoumaru was badly injured. Sakura was watching me when I caught scent of his blood, it was unfortunate that Sakura and I found him first." The hanyou took a moment to take a deep breath before continuing.

"When a youkai is badly injured they enter a rage-like state. They loose all reason and are almost pure instinct. He was still in that state when we found him. She went to run to him, but he attcked. If his claws had reached two inches further he would have killed her. His eyes were red, I remember, and that was when I began to smell her fear. She grabbed my hand and we ran. The dumbest thing you can do is run from a youkai in that state. It's in our blood to chase what runs." Kagome winced, for the second time remembering the fleeing bandits.

"Even though he was injured Sesshoumaru was more than fast enough to catch up to us. He ripped her throat out..." In the pause Kagome's hand unconciously went up to her own throat, not remembering, but knowing what Sesshoumaru had done to her as well. "I don't know what it was I did or said," he continued, "but something about me snapped him out of it. He looked so shocked and horrified a what he had done." It was the only time I ever saw him cry. "When it was over he vowed that he would never again loose control of himself..."

***


"That is interesting," he mused, "Very interesting indeed. Tell me, who is at the castle now?"

"Quite a few lesser youkai, Yuki-sama and Inu Yasha-"

He raised a brow cutting her off, "The three siblings were in the same home and it is still in one peace?" the youkai woman he spoke to nodded. "That's unbeliveable continue."

"A fox kit, a hawk hanyou, and two humans, a monk and a Youkai Taija, the girl is a miko herself."

He grinned, "Well isn't that an interesting little group?"

"Hai, it is... amusing watching them sometimes. What shall we do?"

"Come back later tonight with the other," Kuroinu said, "We will make a plan thn and excute it within the next two days."

***


The day had been long and boring for Sesshoumaru, sitting in council since he arrived, he had skipped the meal he didn't need and headed for bed to sleep. To his blue moon. He found her sitting in a vaguely familiar clearing, recognizing it when he saw the well she sat on. She smiled at him and waved, "Konbawa Sesshou-kun"

He smiled a bit apparently she had taken the oppourtunity waiting for him to get better control of the dreamscape where they met. Of course she had also spent allot of time thinking since she talked to Inu Yasha about Sesshoumaru's first flame. She wanted to ask him more about it but at the same time felt it was a tender subject not to be adressed. Besides that was a long time ago right? I mean it was... ok she didn't know how long but it was at least fifty years. Anyway she was going to show him her world tonight. "So," he asked, "What are we doing here?"

She gave a catlike grin, "I'm gonna show you my home. Come on." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the well with her. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she began climbing the ladder on her side of the well.

"Why did w not just start on this side?" Sesshoumaru asked, perfectly aware and perfectly willing to let her take control of their surroundings.

"Trust me," she said as he came out of the well, looking around the well house, "Things have changed allot!" She pulled him towards the door, "Brace yourself." Sesshoumaru looked around, at first seeing nothing to out of the ordinary. Slightly sturdier looking buildings, but similar in design to ones in his time. Then his vision strayed up past a line of trees to very different looking buildings.

"Those buildings," he asked pointing, "How tall are they?"

"Hmm? Oh I'd say at least ten stories, there are much taller ones but those are just apartments."

Sesshoumaru raised a brow, "The doors on them seem rather close to be called that."

She laughed, before explaining what an apartment was. "Come on, we'll start small I'm going to show you my house first. She walked him up to the pale pink and green house, and was immediately asked questions about what it was made out of and her families social standing to own such a nice house. She told him what little she knew about the arcitechture before answering the second question. Kagome smiled and laughed allot over the next several hours, which was likely allot less time in the real world. Sesshoumaru wasn't lying that time when he told her that he was inquisitive. he often asked her a qustion about something before she finished answering his last question.

"I'm not sure how accurate this view is," Kagome said sometime later when they sat atop the observation deck of Tokyo Tower, "It's been so long since I've been to Tokyo Tower."

"Your world is amazing Kagome," he said, watching the sunlight reflect off the glass and steal monoliths of Tokyo. She smiled and snuggled closer to his side, "It's our world Sesshoumaru, at least it will be yours as well in five hundred years... Will you live that long?"

He nodded, "If am not killed before then, yes. When a youkai reaches adolecense their aging slows, and then even more so once they reach maturity. Also one's blood plays a great role in how long their natural life is."

"And you have the blood of the great Inutaisho."

He smiled and nodded, "Yes I do."

"So..." she asked slyly, "How old and wrinkled will you be in five hundred years?"

He thought a moment, "I will probably appear as one of you when they are in their third decade."

She grinned and kissed him, "But one who has aged gracefully of course."

"Of course" he said, pulling her into his lap. He ran a hand through her hair before pulling her face to his. A minute later when they broke apart she sighed. "What?"

"Is it just me," she began, "Or is this much funner in person?"

"Definitly," he answered, "But this is still enjoyable too don't you think?"

She giggled and gave him another quick kiss, "Yes... it is."

-------------------------------------------
Yeah sorry that took so long, but with school and all. I got two art classes which requires allot of work time,I got a job -ick- and I did run out of steam for this after a while... I honestly don't know how long till the next chapter will come out but I do have it laid out.. (Of course I had this one laid out as well so don't get your hopes up)