Disclaimer—only own the characters I create. Not Inuyasha or any of the others upon which this story is based.

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Sesshomaru continued staring out of the window at the night sky. Other than a slight evening breeze, the picture was deceptively calm. Yet, he could smell the demon activity coming from many differing locations. Somewhere merely walking, some were fighting, some were mating.

He closed his eyes, very faintly…but still there. His brother's scent seemed to be growing from what humans would deem far away. The increasing strength of it meant that Inuyasha was running for some reason.

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Flashback

Sesshomaru's parents had been dead for only a few hours when he walked into his father's den. There were a lot of scents in here…he was having problems pinpointing who and what was who and what. His father's smell was the strongest of course…his mother's was nowhere to be found. Not surprisingly. Neither Sesshomaru nor his mother was allowed here.

Servants, blood, ink…Sesshomaru covered his nose…that scent was strong and rare to his sensitive nose. It took him a moment but soon he was relatively used to it. His father must have written something before going off to battle.


Sure enough, there was an envelope, with Sesshomaru's name on it on the desk. Sesshomaru ripped it open, pulling the letter out…his eyes scanned through a bunch of what he considered meaningless thoughts lies, about caring, and feelings….only paying attention once he found what he was looking for

Aside from taking his rightful place as the Lord of the Western Lands and receiving all that it entailed, he was to be left something called the Tenseiga.

It seemed that Inuyasha was to be left the wondrous Tetseigua. Sesshomaru had heard of that sword. It was all people spoke of for days. Sesshomaru should have known that damn bastard of a half-brother would get it.

Sesshomaru had not even heard of the Tenseiga.

Maybe it would make no difference anyway. Yet, Sesshomaru could not help but feel more hatred for his so-called little brother. The thing did not even deserve to be on this world, yet not only was he here, he was stopping Sesshomaru from getting what was rightfully his.

He didn't even notice as his eyes glowed red…

Just as suddenly, they were back to normal.

Why waste anger on a child. A child he had not even yet seen.

That was the main reason he was in here. Sesshomaru moved to his father's chair, and bent. He closed his eyes. His father……there…very faint…at least that human wench had not been in here either. But the scent that must be her was still here. It was probably on the clothes his father had worn when sitting in this chair.

Now to find the woman and child.

And kill him.

Sesshomaru had been waiting for this day.

Sesshomaru was disappointed to reach the hut to find it empty. She was one lucky human. He walked around for a second, before closing is eyes.

There. That must be it.

She wasn't why he was here anyway. Now that he had found that scent he was looking for, Inuyasha was dead.

Sesshomaru focused as he seemed to literally soar through the air. The scent grew stronger as he grew closer….yet, suddenly it grew even stronger…

Limping, Inuyasha continued to run as best he could from the people chasing him. He had wandered too far from the safety of his mother. All he had wanted to do was play with the other children, they had beat him instead.

He had let them.

His mother explained once, with tears in her eyes, that he could not afford to strike the children back. He was much stronger than they, and he could hurt them…could kill them, even if he did not mean to.

Inuyasha was always very careful. So he took his beating like the strong little man his mother liked to call him, and said a thankful prayer when a couple of adults came by. He was even more thankful when he noticed they were not from his village.

He thought that they would stop it.

He was right at first. They stopped the beating and sent the children on their way. Only to stare at Inuyasha with growing disgust as his dog-like features caught their eye.

That was when the chase began.

"There he is!"

"Get him!"

Inuyasha somehow managed to pick up speed.

Sesshomaru watched from a tree as a streak of red grew closer…by the looks of him, that was him…

Inuyasha turned, looking behind him for a second…

Seemed that someone had beat the pup already.

Damn humans.

What right did they have to abuse his little brother?

That was his job.

Sesshomaru waited until Inuyasha had run past, before jumping down from the tree.

Inuyasha froze, covering his sensitive ears at the blood-chilling screams filling the air. Slowly he turned around…bodies…

Dead bodies…blood of the men chasing him forming in pools…

Suddenly, Inuyasha gasped as he found himself being by the collar. He squirmed to no avail, and with a tiny gulp he looked up…


When he wasn't struck, Inuyasha stopped moving, and as he stared into the stranger's face, a sense of safety came over him. The stranger reminded him of himself.

He would be okay now.

Sesshomaru readied his claw. And then glanced down for a moment, staring into Inuyasha's tiny face. The boy smiled…had the nerve to smile at him…and his ears twitched excitedly for some reason.

The nerve.

"Why do you let them chase you?"

That answer was obvious, so Inuyasha looked around, as if this stranger was talking to someone other than him. Yet, the question was in fact for him. "I did not want them to chase me."

Sesshomaru actually sighed. "I mean why do you run from them?"

"They want to hurt me."

"All the more reason for you to stand up for yourself." Sesshomaru dropped Inuyasha to the ground.

"They are bigger. And there were two!"

"I stand right before you. Do not raise your voice"

Inuyasha stood from the ground with a nod. "I am sorry."

"Your apologies mean nothing to me."

Did their father teach the pup nothing?

No….of course not.

Their father never saw the pup. He and Inuyasha's mother deemed it too dangerous. As if seeing the now deceased Lord of the Western Lands with Inuyasha would scare the villagers further. As if they were looking to the future of what Inuyasha could become.

Sesshomaru looked down at the bruise forming on Inuyasha's cheek. Remembering how Inuyasha limped as he ran.

Idiots. If the humans beat Inuyasha like this when he was a pup, who knew what they were capable of if reminded that he would one day grow to be a strong…well as strong as possible…hanyou.

Sesshomaru would not kill Inuyasha while he was still a child running from humans.

What would be the point, the honor in that.

Sesshomaru picked Inuyasha up once more and started towards the village at a speed that put Inuyasha in even more awe. "You can run faster than you were." Sesshomaru chastised.

"No…"

"Yes. You can." He dropped Inuyasha again. He could see the village from here. "Your speed had better have improved by the next time we meet."

Inuyasha's grin widened. They would meet again?

Sesshomaru ignored the smiling child, and turned to walk away. But before he even took three steps, he felt small arms around his leg. Sesshomaru froze, looking down at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's eyes grew. He knew his name? He, called him by name? No one called him by name except for his Mama.

"Can you smell me?"

Inuyasha released Sesshomaru's leg at the odd question.

"You should be able to recognize the scent even when I am gone." He began walking again.

"Do you hafta go?"

Sesshomaru did not answer, and Inuyasha watched in wonder as he disappeared in a flash.

Inuyasha looked at the village again. And then he took off, running as fast as he could. As he reached the edge of town, he turned around…no…for some reason Inuyasha closed his eyes.

He jumped in delight as the scent of the stranger reached him, even from this distance.

Inuyasha ran even faster to his hut.

He would run everywhere for days, to his mother's surprise.

He needed to be faster for the next time he met the other.

Flashback End

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As a human, Amarra's scent was fainter than Inuyasha's, but still there. Sesshomaru moved from the window, leaving his chamber all together.

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Flashback

She had spent a lot of her day crying from silently from what she mistakenly thought was the safety of her room.

Sesshomaru could smell the salt of Amarra's tears from down the hall.

He would allow her one day to wallow in self-pity, but if she had not stopped crying by the time day broke, he would…

Well…

There would be some sort of punishment.

Emotional female…all because she could not go back to that pitiful village she lived in. She had accepted his decision with the dignity of a warrior he thought, at first.

She knew automatically she had no choice in the matter. Or her entire village would be slain.

She knew him well enough to know that.

Amarra did not bother to wipe the tears falling from her eyes. But she cried silently, not wanting to give that bastard the satisfaction of hearing her sobs with his damned dog hearing.

Besides..she figured that eventually he would grow tire of her.

Her tears began to dry as she took comfort in the fact that he would eventually be done with her. And then perhaps let her go home for good.

Or kill her.


Whichever suited her.

Even if she had found herself attracted to him…a bit…she reluctantly admitted, that was over the moment he forbade her to leave.

She did not want to be living here away from her family and friends with some damned demon lord who thought of her as nothing but a body for his use.

Of course…she knew he saw her as more than that as well. That was why she wasn't allowed to go home now. All because she had been noisy and helped him save that little girl.

It wasn't Rin's fault though. Amarra promised herself not to take anything out on the child, even though she figured if she did, it would be the quickest way to a now looked forward to death at the hands of Sesshomaru.

Then she refused to eat…and even cried all day.

Pathetic human woman.

Though, he could not hear her cries…Sesshomaru had to give her that much. At least she was not wailing and hurting his ears.

Rin ate her mid-day meal, and Sesshomaru could tell that Amarra's moments of tears were coming less frequently.

Rin ran herself to sleep, and by then the smell of Amarra's tears had not come forth in hours.

Though not as pathetic as the rest of the human women.

Flashback End

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Sesshomaru walked past Jaken. "Gather the girl, Ah-Un, and meet me outside before I decide to leave without you."

"Yes, my lord!" Jaken scurried away.

They would head the opposite direction of Inuyasha and Amarra. More distance between them was needed.