Tori: yawns I'm tired right now, so I don't feel like doing a disclaimer.
Inuyasha: :struggling with ropes: The…only reason…you're tired…is because you…wasted your…energy tying me…up!
Tori: Ah yes, that's right. So now I really do own Inuyasha.
Inuyasha: You better…take that…back or else…
Tori: Or else what?
Inuyasha: :stops struggling: I'll sick Japanese lawyers on you.
Tori: NO! Not the lawyers! My dad is bad enough!
Kagome: Tori, you know Inuyasha rightfully belongs to Rumiko…
Tori: You're lying! A liar I say! A liar!
Kagome: 0o
Inuyasha: Wench, untie me before I kill you.
Tori: If I untie you, you will kill me.
Inuyasha: …

Prologue
New Babe

Shira hugged her son close to her before waving her farewell. She was going back to her old profession, and her mate to his. Ari would be taking Shippou with him to teach him the trade of trickery. Oh how she would miss her little boy with his cute bushy brown tail and piercing green eyes.

She hurried down the road, away from the nearby village and towards the thick forest that once harbored her Fox clan. The sun was setting quickly and the shadows around her began to lengthen incredibly.

Clutching her furry vest to her body, Shira looked around for a warm place to stay the night. Everything had changed so much since she had left to be Ari's mate. The trees were bigger, the trails less obvious and hidden under the brush, and it was a lot quieter.

A cave suited her needs perfectly and she crawled into a nearby one slowly and curled up into a tight ball. Wind howled outside and every once in awhile an icy breeze would fill the tavern in which she resided.

She fell asleep shivering and woke up the next morning with small icicles dripping off of her body. Standing up, she brushed them off and exited the cave. A light layer of snow blanketed the ground and once again, everything was quiet.

Taking in a deep breath, Shira continued deeper into the forest she used to know so well until she happened upon a barren area.

Everything seemed to be burned down and the only things remaining were charred remnants of what were once hundred-year-old trees. That's when she knew why her forest was so quiet. In her absence, the forest was slowly dying.

She fell to her knees, shaking slightly at what lay before her. Then she saw the cattle grazing in the clearing, surrounded by a fence made out of logs. The humans had done this. The humans had killed her forest; and they were going to pay for it with their lives.

From that day forward, she went from village to village, pillaging and destroying. Killing all of the men, not even sparing the women and children. She had a heart, but she had built up a wall to the humans ever since they killed her home.

The months passed and Shira soon discovered that her forest wasn't the only thing that had been taken from her. A pair of demons, known as the Thunder Brothers, had killed her mate, Ari, and nothing was known about the well being of her son.

Angered even more by this news, she relieved herself by attacking more human settlements and killing more mortals. There was nothing left for her in this world…nothing at all.

One gloom some day, Shira found herself on the edge of a deep ravine. It had been three years since she had found out that Ari was dead and Shippou was missing. Four years since she had seen either of them.

Why was it that they decided to separate in the first place? Oh yeah, so she could help her forest grow. She had felt its pain while passing by and had wanted to reach out to it, only to discover that she was too late.

Shira hesitated at the edge, then took a deep breath and leaned forward. She allowed herself to fall freely towards the sharp rocks below; but she fell unconscious before she actually hit the bottom. It was probably better that way, anyway.

Tougi yawned as he continued his meaningless trek to his onii-san's den. "Why does kaa-san make me visit him anyway?" His long black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and his light blue eyes shimmered in the sunset.

He was walking along the bottom of a steep cliff, unconsciously grumbling about his dislike of his older brother, Kouga.

Out of nowhere, something fell on top of him and squashed him to the jagged rocks that he had been walking over. Tougi groaned in pain as he tried to shift his weight underneath what smelled like a fox demon.

Gritting his teeth, Tougi pushed himself up, sending the apparently limp body off of his back. When he flipped over to see what had fallen on him, his eyes met with the still form of a fetching young she-demon with auburn hair and a white-tipped tail.

"Man, she's cute." His tilted his head slightly, and leaned forward to poke the girl in the shoulder. When he received no reaction, all he could do was look up the high embankment to see just how far she had fallen.

It was at least 500 feet to the top. Good grief, what was this girl thinking?

"Well, I guess you're coming with me." Tougi picked up the unconscious girl and continued his trek at the same slow pace. He looked down at her peaceful-looking face with a stern frown. "You could've died there, you know. If I wasn't there to save you, you would have been done for." Even though she was unconscious, Tougi continued to talk to her like she could actually hear him.

After walking for a few minutes, they reached the edge of some woods, where Tougi decided could be a good place to spend the night.

Laying the fox-girl down, Tougi started a fire nearby and then ran off to hunt for some dinner. His black tail swished behind him eagerly with the thought of some juicy rabbit.

Shira clenched her eyes shut and silently prayed that she was dead. The smell of burning wood infiltrated her nose along with the scent of the forest and of wolves.

Well, if she was dead, this wasn't heaven that she was in, that was for sure. A burning forest and wolves were two of her greatest fears. She couldn't muster up the courage to open her eyes and face this new reality until the sound of footsteps vibrating the ground lingered near.

Her eyes came open and she shot to her feet. At first her vision was a little blurry, and as things came into focus she realized that the forest wasn't burning, but there was a little fire built beside her. The fire was dying: probably due to the fact that it hadn't been fed for a while.

"You're awake!"

Shira jumped and screamed, jerking her head to look at the intruder. A tall young demon stood before her, holding a dead rabbit in one hand and one of his ears with the other. The expression on his face clearly communicated pain.

"Not so loud, the ears are sensitive, ya know?" He let his hand drop from the side of his face and smiled sheepishly at her. "So, what's your name?"

Shira just looked at him strangely, sniffing the air and catching wind of a wolf demon in the vicinity.

The male demon waited for a while, then laughed slightly. "Gomen nasai! My name's Tougi, second prince of the wolf clans!"

"Second prince?"

"I have an older brother named Kouga."

Shira looked at him, and then it dawned on her: second prince of the WOLF clans. "Y-you're a w-wolf?"

"Ya." He smiled, showing his sharp fangs. "What's wrong with you? You seem awfully pale all of a sudden."

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Tori: :looks at readers: Good? Bad? Please review and tell me if you want more. :holds up one hand: If I get five reviews I'll put up the next chapter. I don't care if all five are anonymous and from the same person. I just want five, genuine reviews.
Shippou: …Greedy, heartless pig…
Tori: :cough: Anyway, ja ne!