Ah! I took a nice long break from writing (more like the worst case of writer's block I've ever had). Did you miss me? Probably not… ah well.

I completely edited the story's ending for like, the 10th time. I love how much this thing has changed ever since I first began it. I started creating it on Christmas of 2004 when I read the 14th manga where Sesshomaru heals Rin. It was then I decided he needed a girlfriend, since he was capable of feeling compassion. Did you know that Hanako's name before it was "Hanako" was Koryu, the name of her dead daughter? Then it was Kanna, until I realized that there already was a Kanna in Inuyasha. Then it was Momo for a day until I realized that Totosai's cow thing was named Momo… haha.

Before manga number 14, Sesshomaru never had much of a character, huh?

But yes, this story has come that far. I wonder if I'll actually finish? Would you all kill me if I just randomly decided "Uh… yeah I'm not gunna finish it cuz I'm too damn lazy…"?

Don't you just love how I blabber on about nothing before every chapter? Oh come on. Admit it. My gay little author's notes make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Chapter 39: A Familiar Face

"Hanako-chan", Rin said to her, "It's time to change your bandages!"

Hanako sat down on command and took new gauze that Rin had been carrying. She removed her old bandages and carefully wrapped the new, clean ones around her wounded arm. Her arm had only just begun to heal. Jaken gaped at it with confusion, wondering where the gash had come from.

Sesshomaru watched her wrap the bandage around her cut, inhaling the smell of her blood. There was another scent along with it that lingered in the surrounding air. Naraku.

"Both of you, stay here," Sesshomaru said, suddenly becoming more serious than usual.

Hanako and Rin looked at him with equally confused expressions. "Why?" Hanako said, "Is something wrong?"

"Don't ask questions of Lord Sesshomaru," Jaken said sounding annoyed.

"Sorry…"

He ran into the woods, refusing to hesitate or even think about the situation. In their previous meeting, Naraku had gone too far, and had gotten Hanako involved somehow. What he had done angered him, and this time, Sesshomaru would not hold back. The scent drew nearer.

His demonic energy grew to a greater form as he ran. His eyes narrowed, and his keen senses scanned the area before and around him, looking for some sort of clue. He darted through trees and bends, over rocks and mud, through the woods around him.

Deeper into the forest a man dressed in a white baboon skin fled from the demon that now flew toward him at full speed. He ducked near a river. He had not expected Sesshomaru to react that way, or even find him.

(…)

"Why did Lord Sesshomaru leave all of a sudden?" Rin asked Hanako. She kicked up loose rocks from the ground as they walked along a dirt road, following where Sesshomaru had run off.

"And why didn't he take me with him!" Jaken exclaimed, feeling quite hurt that he had been left behind with these two pathetic girls.

"Dunno," Hanako sighed, "But there must have been a good reason, I suppose."

The late summer humidity caused beads of sweat to gather and drip down their faces. The sun beat down such unbearable rays of heat, that shade was not even a sanctuary. The three of them made their way through the hot grass.

"Master Jaken?" Hanako called, her voice sounding tired.

"What do you want?" he responded, kicking away tall weeds that nearly grew over him.

"May I get a drink of water? It's really hot…"

Recalling what had happened the last time that Hanako had not gotten a drink of water, he let her go. She dashed off into the woods to where she knew a stream was located. She had been there once before.

(…)

Sesshomaru glared at Naraku, his eyes burning his image. How he detested him…

"Sesshomaru…" Naraku said, trying to sound pleasant, "How very nice to see you again so soon."

"And you thought you could run away…" Sesshomaru growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Now, now…" Naraku laughed, "Why don't we talk in a more… peaceful manner?"

Peaceful was the opposite of what Sesshomaru wanted. He had kept his cool before. He had held in his sheer anger. Enough was enough. He was sick of holding back when one cut would get rid of Naraku for good.

In a flash, Sesshomaru was in front of Naraku. He whipped off his head with his claws. Naraku's body toppled over and turned to dirt. A small wooden doll lay in the middle of the mess.

A golem spell again… Sesshomaru thought with anger, That coward. I should have known…

(…)

Hanako stepped over puddles of mud, humming a pleasant tune to herself. The sun beat down, and she wondered with desperation how much further the stream was. She sighed and trudged on dragging a stick behind her, marking her path so she would not get lost.

She lifted the stick and hit away at the thick bushes in front of her, making a pathway to where she remembered the stream was. She kicked through the brush and made her way out of the bushes to the other side.

Sesshomaru stood near the stream, his back facing her. He stared at something on the ground that looked like a pile of dirt with a small wooden doll planted in it.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru!" she called happily, "I found you!" She ran up behind him and tapped on his back. "Why did you run away?"

He looked over his shoulder at her; his face not turned enough for her to see. He glared at her.

"Lord Sesshomaru…?" Her happy smile fell to a concerned frown. "…Are you okay?"

He turned around to glare at her. She gasped. His face was not his own.

His eyes were a blood red crimson, and he showed his teeth, his fangs shining. He was terrifying. She backed away, her eyes widened in fear. The shock caused her to fall backward. She backed away on all fours. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. He came closer to her.

"…Hanako?" he said, recognizing her through his anger. His voice was not his own either. It sounded angry, demonic, possessed.

His eyes faded back into their normal color, and he closed his mouth, once more revealing his usual frown. He stared at her, her entire body shaking as she looked upon him. He had frightened her.

Oh great…he thought, she has seen my demonic form. She's afraid.

He came closer to her. She covered her eyes and brought her knees closer to her chest with a whimper.

"I told you I was a demon, did I not?" he asked with indifference, even though he truly did not want her to ever fear him, "Why are you so surprised? I'm not going to hurt you."

She did not respond. She was scared stiff, the image of his face, raging with anger, still stuck to her mind. He was a demon, she had always known that, but had never thought about it. The true reality began to dawn upon her. Is that what he really looked like? His eyes, instead of their usual beautiful amber color, were actually that bloody red? She could still feel the evil energy coming from him. He still had not cooled down.

At that moment, Jaken and Rin came through the bushes. Rin stopped and stared at Hanako and Sesshomaru.

"There you are Lord Sesshomaru!" she exclaimed, her eyes never leaving Hanako. She looked upon her with confusion. Why was she on the ground?

Jaken walked straight forward to Sesshomaru. Without any hesitation, he began interrogating him, which brought on great annoyance to Sesshomaru, but he said nothing.

"Where did you go all of a sudden, Lord Sesshomaru? Why didn't you say anything before you left? Why is Hanako all curled up on the ground? Did something happen to her? Well, aren't you going to scold her for being foolish?" And he babbled on and on.

Sesshomaru glared at Jaken, his eyes revealing that he was fed up with his talking. Jaken silenced immediately.

"It seems," Sesshomaru began, to answer at least one of his questions, "that Hanako has come upon me in a more… demonic state…"

Jaken and Rin both gaped at Hanako. She looked up at them, and then her eyes met Sesshomaru's for only a moment. The warm wind blew the hair out of her face, making her unable to hide the fear that was clearly visible across it.

"Are you afraid of Lord Sesshomaru, Hanako-chan?" Rin asked, a form of comfort in her eyes, "You don't need to be."

Hanako peered at Sesshomaru's face again, observing it carefully. He still showed the same expression: complete indifference; really nothing about him to fear. But his face at the previous moment…

Hiding behind his indifference was a hint of shame and sadness. He never wanted Hanako to fear him in any way. He almost felt ashamed of his demonic self, but he quickly effaced the feeling. There was no reason for him to feel shame over his greatness and power.

"I see…" Jaken said at last. Hanako's eyes shifted over to him.

"Every demon that possesses great power, as Lord Sesshomaru does, appears to us in a disguise: a human form." Jaken became serious while discussing the matter. He felt like gracing the world with his vast "intelligence".

Rin sighed. She felt a lecture from Jaken coming on.

"All demons that appear in a human form have a true demon form as well. They only take upon this form when it is necessary." He paused and gazed at the people who unwillingly became his audience, expecting to see their interested faces gazing back at him. Instead, Rin and Hanako stared at him with identical dumb expressions and Sesshomaru looked past him, not even paying attention. Jaken sighed.

Despite their short attention spans, he continued. "For instance, Lord Sesshomaru's true form is of a giant dog."

This caught Hanako's attention. "…Giant dog?"

"Yes, that's right. And quite frightening he is: a beast. Perhaps Lord Sesshomaru doesn't look it now, but in reality he is a raging, foaming, angry, ferocious, wild-"

Jaken's rampage of adjectives was put to and end by the bottom of Sesshomaru's foot. Hanako and Rin watched with little amusement. This they had seen too many times before.

The more Hanako thought about it, the more it made sense. Whenever she thought of a demon, she pictured a fearsome beast. It was only logical that Sesshomaru also was this. But it hurt her that he was in truth terrifying, when right now before he appeared calm and controlled (and most appealing). She hoped that she would never have to see this form of his. She got up off of the ground. All eyes were on her.

"I supposed… I'm okay…" she said quietly, wanting everyone to stop looking at her.

"We are off then," Sesshomaru said, his solemn expression still never changing, but Hanako caught a glimpse of something else in his eyes before he turned away. It caught her by surprise.

He almost seemed… sad…

She stood silent, wondering why he had looked at her like that. Could it be that he actually did not want her to feel any fear toward him?

She looked up at him, observing his back in front of her and his long silver hair trailing in back of him. Who cares what he was? All that truly mattered to her was who he was, and she loved who he was.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Can I ask you a question without you getting mad at me?"

He looked over his shoulder. She looked at him with serious eyes that pleaded to him.

"What is it now, Hanako?" he said, his tone becoming slightly softer.

Suddenly, the seriousness left her eyes completely. She smiled at him and giggled.

"Since you're a dog demon and all…" she began, holding in bursts of laughter, "Do you think that… sometime we could play fetch?"

Rin giggled and Jaken widened his eyes in disgust.

"…Never say that again Hanako," he grumbled while glaring at her.

"Aw, but why not? It would be so cute!" She clapped her hands at the adorable image that danced through her mind.

"You dare to say such things about Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken blurted in Sesshomaru's defense, "Why, you dirty little retch! You foolish wench! When did you even begin to think you had the right to address anyone in that manner?"

Hanako regained her self-awareness and bowed. "I-I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I honestly don't know what came over me! Please forgive me…"

"Forgive you!" Jaken growled, continuing his rage, "You want us to have mercy? You're pathetic! Worthless!"

"Master Jaken…" Rin said, silently defending Hanako.

"Silence Rin! You know nothing of this matter!" Jaken yelled.

"Jaken…" Sesshomaru's voice boomed with an irritated tone.

Jaken looked up at his lord with fear. His eyes widened. Sesshomaru simply shook his head. Jaken gulped. He was being passive aggressive, which was never a good thing. He began estimating the number of years he had left to live as they walked onward: Sesshomaru leading the way, Jaken following behind him holding Aun's reins, Rin on Aun and Hanako walking beside them.

(…)

It was a dark summer night, and yet bright at the same time. The moon was full and bright yellow, and it seemed that every star was visible and glittering in the sky. The wind twirled every strand of hair on each of their heads. The air hung thick, and yet it was pleasant. Fireflies danced around the wet, dark, green grass, as if music was their guide.

Rin snored quietly on Aun, soundly sleeping on her stomach. Hanako focused on trying to catch a firefly using her hands. Sesshomaru watched her, completely entranced by each of her not-so-graceful movements, fascinated by her. Jaken watched him gaze at her with mystified eyes, wondering what was running through his mind to make him stare at her so lovingly.

Hanako grabbed at a firefly that was obviously beyond her reach and fell to the ground, getting grass stains all over her white kimono. She looked down at it, regretting her actions for fleeting moments, but soon shrugged and kept on trying to retrieve a firefly, the damp wind brushing against her face.

Ahead of them, a human village seemed to be celebrating an event. It almost looked aglow with all of the lights that glittered around the tops of the buildings and huts. From a distance, people could be seen about the streets and running around. Hanako ceased her attempts at catching fireflies to watch them.

"Is it a holiday, Lord Sesshomaru?" Hanako asked him, turning her head to look at him.

His glance snuck away from hers and to the people a little ways ahead of them. He eyed the village for several moments before responding.

"Why would it be a holiday?" he asked her, keeping himself from getting lost gazing at her again. He did not know what was making him want to look at her so badly.

"Look at all the people dancing in the streets. And the lights…"

"Are you blind?" Jaken exclaimed, "Those people are not celebrating! That village is under attack!"

"What…?" She gasped, taking a closer look at the village.

It was true. The dancing people were actually running away from what looked like a pack of demons. The lights on the rooftops were fires that had been set. Screams could now be heard since they were coming closer, and smoke rose to the sky.

"Oh no…" Hanako said silently, her eyes widening, "I… I have to do something…"

"Heh…" Sesshomaru cackled, almost chuckling, "I do not know why you feel such pity for humans, Hanako. They are not your kind. They are bugs to beings such as you and I."

She turned to him, anger glittering in her eyes. "Just because I have some stupid healing power thing doesn't mean that I'm not human."

"You are not human Hanako. I have thought of more proof than just your supernatural abilities."

"Like what?" She challenged him to prove it.

He gladly accepted the challenge. He knew he would win. "That time you were in Naraku's castle… did you feel any sort of pain?"

She cocked her head to one side. "…Pain?"

"Yes. Any sort of discomforts?"

She shook her head. "No I did not. What does that have to do with anything?"

He smirked. "Then you are not human." He came up closer to her. "No human could ever survive such a terrible demonic aura and such poisonous toxic vapors as the ones that infected Naraku's castle. And yet they did not bother you at all."

Her eyes widened more and she looked down at the ground. That was true…

She shook her head. "Well… fine. Maybe I am not a mortal girl." She began to take off toward the village. "But at least I am human enough to help others… even not of my own race!" She ran from him.

"You retch!" Jaken shrieked. "Get back here now!"

She ran faster until she was at last in the burning village. A woman hiding under a wagon caught her attention. She sprinted to it and ducked under the wagon as well.

"What is going on here…?" Hanako whispered, guessing that the woman was probably hiding from the opposing demons.

The woman, who was actually a young girl, was in tears.

"Th-the demons of the Northern lands…" she wept, "Have come to take our land as their own!" She shivered and curled herself into a ball. "They… they took my baby!"

"They what?" Hanako watched the weeping girl who had lost her child. Her, of all people knew what it was like to lose a child; how painful and agonizing it was. After her daughter Koryu had frozen to death, she had seen life from a new pair of eyes. She had only had the child for a few hours, so the effect had not been as huge. It must be worse for this girl.

"The demons!" the girl cried louder, "They took my daughter, Riku…!" The woman looked desperate.

Hanako became determined to retrieve this child.

She got up slowly from her spot and crouched near the wagon. She peered at the demons terrorizing some children near a burning hut. The demons looked like people too, just with pointier ears.

Sesshomaru also looked this way: like a person with pointier ears. Was there a time when he terrorized innocent villages as well? She could never imagine it.

She stopped staring off into space and looked around. To her left she could see Sesshomaru coming into the village, most likely to get her away from the fire. He obviously didn't understand.

To her right was a demon that was piling up people to throw in a fire. In the mix of people there was a small female toddler that was all by itself, crying for its mother. Could this small child be Riku? The girl and the child did sort of look alike…

Hanako made herself hidden and then sprinted over to the crying child. The child looked at her.

"You are Riku…?" Hanako whispered in the child's ear. She nodded.

"I can't find my mum…" she whimpered, "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"Go on," Hanako whispered to her, bending down lower so she would not be noticed, "Run over there under that wagon. You're mum is there waiting for you."

The child flew away from the line and under the wagon. Hanako crouched and made her way away from the line and closer to the wagon. The girl embraced the child and cried happy tears. Hanako smiled to herself.

"There's a mighteh-fine lookin' lass, my lord!" exclaimed a hideous voice from behind her. She felt hands rub down her back and grope her rump. She gasped and turned around, only to find herself in the arms of the oldest and ugliest thing she had ever laid eyes on. It smirked, revealing broken yellow teeth.

"Hm," said a voice of a man who sounded younger, "You are right. She's adorable!"

"She's a keeper?"

"Indeed, good fellow, indeed!"

The ugly thing laughed lecherously and pulled her along. Hanako scratched and bit the thing's arm, but he would not let go. She began to cry, and looked around her. Sesshomaru was so far away, and had not seen her yet.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" she shouted.

His head turned immediately. His eyes widened at the sight of her being carried off by some fat demon. He sprinted over to her, cussing to himself about how she always got into trouble. What would she do without him?

The fat thing threw her to the ground. Her face landed in sharp rocks. Pain was stabbed up her face and blood dripped from her nose. The ground was spotted with red.

"Here. This one can be yurs for da night. I awready 'ave five girls… an' I don' wanna look like I'm hoggin 'em er nuthin…"

Hanako froze in fright. What did they mean by that…?

"Ugh!" exclaimed a kinder but strangely familiar voice, "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want a hoe? I think it's terrible! And I also thought it was terrible to even slaughter these people in the first place! They didn't do anything to us…"

Hanako peered up at the man who had just spoken. He sounded so familiar and she did not know why. He looked down at her as well. His eyes widened with surprise.

He had perfect emerald green eyes, and thick black hair that was pulled back. His skin was dark and tan and he had the broadest shoulders that she had ever seen.

Wait… I know him! I know him! He's…

He continued to gaze at her in shock. "…Hanako-chan…?"

Sesshomaru ran up closer to her through smoke and dead bodies of slaughtered humans. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw whom she was talking with now…

Hanako was just as shocked as he was. She had never expected to see him again.

"…Bo-chan…it's you…"