A/N: Okay, some people are still sad about the deaths of Kags and Inu, but I will say this on the subject matter, I hope people will understand at the end WHY I had to kill them off, and also, everyone who dies WILL be seen again. That's all I'm going to say. So it's not like they're gone forever. (Hint hint…)

Chapter 7: Familiar Acquaintances

Suki scratched the cat youkai Kirara behind her ears. Kirara purred as she did. Suki smiled.

It had been a day since Kuro left, and she already missed him. But she knew, the sooner he left, the sooner he would come back.

And the sooner he comes back…she grinned. It would be hard, waiting for him all this time, but she knew, it would all be worth it.

Kuro…she thought. When you come back…we'll get a little hut, all to ourselves…And we'll live there together…forever…

"Onee-san!" two voices said, running inside of the hut. Yume and Hana were 14 now, with brown hair and eyes, and freckles across their face. They ran up to Suki. "Onee-san!" they said again. "Shippou-chan told us something funny!"

Suki picked up the purring Kirara and placed her in her lap. "What did Shippou-chan tell you?"

They both looked at each other, and giggled. "He said he saw you and Kuro-kun…kissing!" they giggled.

Suki smiled. "Well what's so funny about it?"

They stared at her. "You mean…you and Kuro did…?"

She couldn't help but blush and giggle a little.

"Onee-san!" They squealed.

Sango came out from the back room, smiling. "And when Kuro-kun gets back, your sister is going to be married."

Yume said, her eyes wide "Onee-san…you're going to…?"

"You're going to have babies with dog ears!" Hana finished.

"WHAT? Who said babies with dog ears?" came a very terrified voice.

"Shut up and go back to sleep, Miroku!" Sango roared.

Kuro leaned against a tree, looking up at the sky. Suki…he thought. How long will it be until I see you again?

Kuro and Suki had only journeyed a day away from the village, and he already couldn't wait for the return home. He sighed. But there was no time to think about that. He and Kiri were on a mission, a mission that would hopefully save Suki.

"Hey, you found anything yet?" Kuro asked, folding his arms inside of his haori.

Kiri was trying to sense for jyaki from the youkai, but she was having no luck. "Shut up, and maybe I will!" she said. "I haven't found any youki that's likely from a shape-shifting youkai but…there's definitely a youkai around here. A strong one."

Kuro was suddenly interested. "A youkai, huh? What kind?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm surprised we haven't picked up its scent yet."

He sniffed. It was true, he couldn't find it. "It's probably downwind of us."

Kiri grinned and grabbed her bow. "Then it already knows we're here."

Kuro stared at her. "Are…you…CRAZY?"

Kiri tossed their packs at him. "It's not like we haven't gone hunting youkai before, Kuro. What are you, afraid?"

He growled at her. "No, but…Kiri, you said it yourself; it's a strong youkai, AND it has nothing to do with us. Leave it be."

"It's getting closer." Kiri said. "There's no way it didn't pick up our scent now. And, I'm going after it, if you're not a scardy-cat, then you can come along too." And she took off in the direction of the youkai.

Kuro unwillingly followed. "She's going to get me killed someday…" he muttered.

As they walked through the trees, Kiri said, "Wait…I've got something." They both sniffed.

"It's an inu youkai." Kuro said. This was interesting, they had never met other inu youkai before, they assumed that their father was the last of them.

"There you go, scardy-cat, we don't have to fight, we'll just politely ask for information." Kiri said, loosening the grip on her bow.

Kuro rolled his eyes. "And if it doesn't want to give information?"

"Then, I'll kick its butt."

All of a sudden, the said youkai walked into the clearing. He had long white hair, golden eyes, and an expressionless look on his face. Not to mention the giant fluff on his shoulder.

Both parties stared at each other. And all of a sudden, Kuro felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Who are you?" Kuro demanded, looking at the strange youkai.

"I'll ask you that question first." The youkai responded, his eyes narrowing. Kuro glared at Kiri. His instincts were right, this youkai was dangerous. He didn't doubt that it could attack and kill them if it wanted to.

Of course, not that Kuro would let him.

With a pause, he said, "It's Kuro." in a warning tone. He didn't want the youkai to get any funny ideas.

"And you?" the white-haired, golden-eyed youkai asked.

"Kiri. I'm his sister." She added, in a don't-mess-with-me tone.

There was another pause. "Hanyous?"

"What about it!" Kuro snapped, particularly annoyed.

Sesshoumaru stared at the two hanyous. By now, he knew quite well who they were. Kuro looked exactly like Inuyasha, despite the black hair and brown eyes. Inuyasha's children…he thought.

He noticed Kuro placing a hand on the hilt of a sword. He recognized that sword. "Tessaiga." Sesshoumaru said. "The iron fang of your father."

Kuro gave a small gasp, and let go of Tessaiga's hilt. "Huh? You knew my father?"

"For a time." Sesshoumaru replied. "Where is Inuyasha?"

Kiri and Kuro exchanged glances. Kuro looked down. "He's dead."

Sesshoumaru seemed slightly surprised, but he looked away. That's why he has the Tessaiga, because Inuyasha is dead…He thought over that thought again. Inuyasha is dead…

"And the miko?" he asked, but he received no reply, he could tell from their looks.

I see…Sesshoumaru thought. It seems that Inuyasha is more like father…Father died for Inuyasha and his mother, and Inuyasha died for his miko…I'll never understand them…What's the point in dying?

For a second, he remembered Kagura's death. He remembered how far out he went for revenge. He sighed. Now, he would finally admit to himself, that he was lonely. He had left Rin long ago in a village when she had turned thirteen. Even though he never wanted to admit it, he didn't want to let her go. She had grown on him, since she was the first human to show him kindness. But he knew, she would have to live her own life among humans.

Unfortunately, he still had one servant who followed him around.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" came the cry of an unwanted servant, as he burst through the bush, his staff of two heads bobbing.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken repeated. "You left me as you ran up to investigate the scent, what's going on and—" The annoying frog-like youkai noticed Kuro and Kiri who were now giving him weird looks. "Ah! Sesshoumaru-sama! It's him! The son of Inuyasha! And he has the Tessaiga! Inuyasha, your—"

"Jaken!" Sesshoumaru said, also while applying the bottom of his foot to his face. "Shut up!"

And, unsurprisingly, he did.

"Come, Jaken." Sesshoumaru said, walking away. "We're leaving. I see nothing of particular interest here."

Just before he walked out of the clearing, Kiri said, "Wait!" Sesshoumaru turned around. "We need some information." She said.

"I have no information to give." He replied.

"A shape-shifting youkai." Kuro said. "Have you seen one around here?"

Sesshoumaru paused. "No. Shape-shifters are not out in the open. You would want to look in damp caves." He turned around. "And…take care of that sword. Fath—your father would want it."

And he walked away, with a dumbfounded Jaken in tow. When they were a good distance away, Jaken asked, "Sesshoumaru-sama, why did you not kill them? You had the perfect opportunity to kill the hanyous and take the Tessaiga! Those children are probably weaker than Inuyasha!"

"I do not need the Tessaiga anymore." Sesshoumaru said. "And…I know my father never meant for me to kill Inuyasha. I suppose that means his children as well."

"But, Sesshoumaru-sama, if what you heard was true, and Inuyasha is dead, what does that mean now?"

The inu youkai's eyes were resolved when he said, "I can no longer hope to be superior to my father. Since Inuyasha has already surpassed me."

Kiri sighed as they walked away. "Well, that was pointless."

"We did learn that shape-shifting youkai live in caves, though." Kuro added.

"Besides that." Kiri said. "And…who was that youkai, anyway?"

Kuro shrugged. "The imp said his name was Sesshoumaru, and I felt like I'd met him before, but I don't remember it…the scent seemed a bit familiar though…"

They looked at each other, and then shrugged. "Oh well." Kiri said. "It's not like he's related to us or anything…"

They traveled on, until it was near dusk. "Shouldn't we rest now?" Kiri asked, yawning.

"All right." Kuro said, stretching. Just as he was about to sit down, he felt a sharp prick on his nose.

"HEY!" he slapped it off, and it fell into his hand. He inspected it, it seemed to be some sort of flea-youkai.

"You're so cruel to me, Inuyasha-sama…" It muttered.

Kuro and Kiri stared at it. "Inuyasha?"

The flea jumped up. "What are you doing traveling out here, Inuyasha-sama? Don't you have a family to look after? And on the night of the new moon, after all?"

"Hold it!" Kuro said. "You think I'm my father?"

The flea-youkai blinked. "Whatever do you mean, Inuyasha-sama?"

Kuro slapped his head. It would take a bit of explaining. He pointed to his ears. It stared at them.

"Wait then…who are you?" It asked.

Now Kuro was thoroughly annoyed. He had enough of people asking his name for one day. "First, tell me who you are!"

"I am Myouga, loyal servant to Inuyasha-sama. And…you are?"

"It's Kuro." He said.

Myouga stared at him. "Oh, I should have guessed! You look just like your father…except for your eyes and hair. That is from your fair mother."

"Yeah," Kuro said. "Everyone says that."

Myouga looked over at Kiri. "And…who are you?"

They all sat down by the fire that night and gave an explanation. Of course, Myouga was upset to hear of the fate of Inuyasha and Kagome. He even cried a bit, making Kuro and Kiri even more annoyed since they weren't quite over it yet.

"In the end, he was just like his father…" Myouga said, blowing his nose. He looked over at Kuro, who held the Tessaiga and sheath in his right hand. "But that means, you are now the master of the Tessaiga, Kuro-sama. Do you even know how it works?"

"Course I have!" he defended himself.

"Barely." Kiri muttered.

Myouga wiped his eyes. "Anyway, you say you are looking for a shape-shifting youkai?"

"Yeah," Kuro said, crossing his arms. "Anyway, some youkai called 'Sesshoumaru' or whatever said to look in damp caves—"

"Wait!" Myouga said. "Did you say Sesshoumaru?"

Kuro raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"Why," the flea youkai said. "Sesshoumaru is your honorable father's older brother."

"Wait—" Kuro said, his eyes wide.

"You mean to tell us—" Kiri said.

"THAT WAS OUR UNCLE?" They yelled at the same time.

A/N: Ha ha. A little bit of humor. Well, I always thought the kids needed to meet Uncle Sess one day. Plus, Kuro needed an annoying flea to follow him around. You've probably noticed that Kuro's acting a little bit more Inuyasha-ish. Well, come on! I wasn't going to make him a complete romantic pansy!

Anyway, you guys are going to LOOOOOVEEEE the next chapter. I mean, LOVE it. It's probably going to be my favorite chapter to write. I'm also going to introduce two new characters, one of which is my second favorite new character (besides Kiri!). Heh heh…If I'm lucky, I can get it in tomorrow, so, I'll hope for the best!