A/N: In this chapter I'm going to explore Sesshomaru's emotions, because he usually seems pretty emotionless. He may seem a little OOC. Also, I used some French in here, but I don't speak French. If you do speak French, and the translation makes no sense, don't blame me. I worked hard to get what I did.

Disclaimer: I don't own TT or Inuyasha or the Alice references (all of the poems are from Alice).

Chapter 3: Gently Smiling Jaws

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

A beautiful, ethereal sound broke the clearing in which a small girl was sleeping. It filtered through her ears and awoke her nicely like one would awaken from the smell of a hot breakfast being prepared in the kitchen. The sleepy girl sat up and rubbed the sand out of her eyes in a state of semi-consciousness. The sound was intoxicating, lulling the girl to a sense of security and contentment. At that moment, the only thing the girl cared about was hearing more. She perked her ears and strained to hear each individual note, but the music grew fainter. Panic trickled into her mind. As the music became soft, the girl felt as if her life was also being pulled away. She had to hold on. She stood and made her way out of the clearing into the dense forest. The girl carelessly stepped over the tiny creature that she considered family and left without looking back. The music pulled her. She seemed to be able to see though the forest was dark from the thick canopy. The music was guiding her.

The girl traveled through the woods, madly following the enthralling sound. After a few minutes, light filtered through the trees. Another girl shone brightly in the darkness. She was clothed in a white robe, and her long white hair fell about her shoulders. A small circular mirror was held in her tiny pale hands. The girl that had followed the music covered her eyes to protect them from the blinding light, and she listened. The music seemed to be spewing from the mirror. The girl didn't even have time to think this odd before she felt something leave her. She didn't care, though; the music was replacing what she lost. Slowly, bit by bit, she felt it leave her. The music filled the void, but she soon realized that it wasn't enough; she began to feel empty. Ignoring the calling music, the girl attempted to hold on to whatever was being stolen, but her efforts were futile. She had already lost too much. The emptiness overtook her, and she slumped to the ground at the base of a tree. The glowing girl examined the body with little emotion. Only one sentence escaped her white lips: "The resurrected soul returned once, but it will not return again."

Back in the clearing where the girl had been sleeping, a tall man with white hair examined the ground carefully. A worried expression appeared on his usually impassive face. He strode over to a sleeping creature and kicked him hard. The creature awoke, prepared to defend himself, but exhaled in relief when he saw who it was. When the creature examined the man's angry expression though, he grew frightened. To the creature, the man growled, "Where's Rin?"

"Inuyasha, go away!"

"What am I doing!"

"Just leave me alone!"

"I'm just trying to protect you!"

"I can protect myself!"

"No you can't!"

Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. Kagome and Inuyasha had been going at it all day. She couldn't meditate for two seconds before more yells punctuated her calm. Raven quietly floated over the hill, away from the village and the fight.

Meanwhile, Robin was sparing with Cyborg just outside of the village and Beast Boy was attempting to impress the local girls with his shape-shifting abilities. So far, he'd had no luck. All of the sudden, a large dragon-like creature lit on the hill beside the village. A tall man with long silvery-white hair climbed down from the back of the beast with a small child in his arms. A toad-like creature hopped down after him. As Inuyasha saw the man, his face grew hot with anger.

"What are you doing here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha asked with contempt. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, along with the rest of the village, arrived at the scene shortly after Inuyasha made his rude statement.

"Who's that?" Robin asked Miroku quietly.

"Inuyasha's half-brother. They don't like each other."

"I can tell."

Sesshomaru had yet to respond to his brother. He simply moved the weight of the child from one arm to another before saying, "It's Rin."

"Really?" said Inuyasha, ever suspicious of his brother.

"Yes, really. Something's happened to her. She needs help."

"Don't trust him Ka-" but Inuyasha wasn't able to finish his sentence for Kagome was had rushed to Sesshomaru to see the girl. Kagome brushed the dark black hair out of the young, lifeless face. Tears started to well up in her large brown eyes.

"We'll help," she said, choking back a sob.

Sesshomaru gave a tiny smile, the only smile anyone had ever seen cross his face. Kagome saw his cheek sparkle with long dried tears that she knew he would never admit to.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. "What are you doing!"

Kagome spun around to glare at the half-daemon. "SIT!" Inuyasha was slammed into the ground from an incredibly strong invisible force. "Can't you see that this little girl needs help? Can't you set aside you incredibly selfish feud with your brother for two seconds? Can't you even-"

Kagome was cut short by a calm, emotionless voice. "What's going on?" That voice unknowingly became the voice of reason. Kagome calmed down and Inuyasha did not retort. Everyone turned to the speaker as if she was a mediator designated to end the conflict. Her cloak was wrapped protectively around her, and her hood covered most of her face, but her look of confusion was still apparent "Is anyone going to try to explain the situation to me?"

Robin explained, "It seems that Inuyasha's brother, whom Inuyasha appears to hate, came to ask us to help a child who is seemingly in his charge." Robin turned to Miroku and asked, "Am I correct?" Miroku nodded.

"What's there to fight about? If the girl needs some kind of medical treatment we should take her to Kaede. She should know how to treat it." Raven made it sound as if this was the simplest thing in the world.

Inuyasha grew angry again. "But, Sesshomaru-"

Raven scowled at her fellow half-daemon and snapped, "This isn't about Sesshomaru, and this isn't about you. This is about her." Raven pointed to the girl in Sesshomaru's arms. Kagome smiled. I couldn't have said it better myself, she thought.

Inside Kaede's hut, Rin was laid next to Starfire on the blankets. After hearing Sesshomaru's and Jaken's accounts of what had happened and after a thorough examination of Rin, they had all decided that Kanna had stolen Rin's soul. What they couldn't figure out, though, was why. They had explained the basics of what was going on to Sesshomaru and Jakin: how Kanna brought the Titans there from the future, and how she was collecting souls to open a gateway to Hell.

"It doesn't make any sense," remarked Robin. "How is Rin the resurrected soul?"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, and his face flushed. "Wait, you never told me Kanna was looking for a resurrected soul. Rin- she was- I mean…"

Suddenly Inuyasha understood what his normally collected brother was trying to say. "You brought Rin back from the dead with the Tensaiga!" (A/N: sp?)

"I did."

"What?" asked Beast Boy, completely flustered. "First, you brought in new people, and now you bring in completely new words! I can't learn this much!"

"Beast Boy," Raven growled threateningly under her breath.

"It doesn't matter," said Robin. "All that matters is that Kanna has her second soul, and we need to find out who's next."

"The ever-changing soul," Kaede answered.

"Who's that?"

"We have no way of knowing."

That night Robin was sitting silently in the dark next to Starfire. He stroked her long red hair continuously until he drifted off to sleep. Sesshomaru was less sleepy. Instead he was staring into a pool of water near the village. Images of Rin flashed through his head. He saw her laugh and play. He could feel the laugh that he would never let escape bubbling inside of him as he saw her mock Jakin. He could smell the flowers she had picked for him. As he reveled in the scent, he realized that the aroma was not a memory, but very real. It was a mix of lavender and some sort of spice he did not recognize. Curiosity welled inside him, and using his keen nose, he followed the fragrance to its source.

In a clearing hidden just inside the line of trees, Sesshomaru saw Raven. She was sitting in the lotus position holding a mortar and pestle. She was crushing something intensely, and every so often, she would add another leaf or drop of liquid or pinch of powder from the various bowls surrounding her. When she seemed satisfied with her product, she stood and moved to another area of the clearing where a circle of candles had already been set up. A bowl filled with what looked like water sat in the middle of the circle. With a wave of Raven's hand, the candles lit, creating an eerily soft radiance. Raven then sat before the bowl and slowly began to pour her concoction into the water as she chanted:

Tout voir créatures,

Fermé à clef derrière le voile,

J'ouvre la porte,

Reveal the unseen!

Raven's voice grew louder and she repeated the same line, "Reveal the unseen! Reveal the unseen! REVEAL THE UNSEEN!" With her last words, the water mixed with the potion started to glow an iridescent indigo as did Raven's eyes. The water rose out of the bowl and became a solid mirror of shimmering indigo water. Raven too rose into the air; her breath locked in her chest. Sesshomaru watched as she hovered six feet above the ground with the mirror of water glittering before her face. Suddenly Raven was thrown from her position as if an invisible foot kicked her hard in the chest. Sesshomaru ran forward and caught the half-daemon in his arms. The mirror of water splashed on the ground, extinguishing a few candles. Sesshomaru ignored this. Raven's head fell limply against his chest as her heard her whisper, "I saw who's next." She then slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N: Okay, the next chapter will have a fight scene, I promise. Please review!