I do not own Inuyasha and if you think I do then you need to have the crap kicked out of you . . . I do however claim the characters I've created. R&R please.

A/N: I bet you thought you'd never see me again didn't you? Yes, you did. Yes, you did. Well, have no fear my muse has returned and more important, the slave drivers at college have finally let up long enough for me to let him out of his box. So, please enjoy and review.

Keitaro's heart thundered in his ears, his rasping breath keeping a forced and haggard rhythm. His pale face soon flushed to an unflattering shade of red as sweat quickly condensed on his skin, trying to cool his overly heated flesh. The darkness behind his tightly shut eyelids were illuminated with rapidly exploding stars; even when he opened his eyes, sharp pinpoints of bursting light still claimed his vision. His head began to reel and he felt as though his body were beginning to float in the thick air. He groped at the strong arm and hand that were caressing his neck and began to thrash as the hard body pressed against him. He clutched to them, desperately clinging to anything that might keep him from crashing over death's edge.

Sesshoumaru hoisted him higher into the air, ignoring the weakening kicks and punches that were thrown at him and steadily squeezed his fist tighter, letting his claws dig maliciously into the softly fleshed neck. Keitaro's tongue lulled out as he fought for every pained breath. His mouth had become dry, even though his eyes had become red with unshed tears. His body began to still and he idly thought this was a bad way to begin/end a career he had technically not yet been inducted into.

The small leather bag Keitaro carried with him had somehow managed to stay perched on his shoulder. But as his chest rose and fell with each shallow intake of breath, the wide leather strap began to slip from its threshold, and with an almost pseudo deafening echo, crashed to the soft mossy ground, spilling its contents. However, the silent clatter went unnoticed by both Keitaro, who's ears were still ringing in time with his heartbeat and rushing blood, and by Sesshoumaru, who was simply more interested in watching the picturesque display of pain so perfectly portrayed on his victims face, and it wasn't until he caught glimpse something glittering in the eerie crimson moonglow that he finally looked down at the scattered objects.

Just barely hidden by the open lip of Keitaro's leather bag, lay a small moonstone gem, no larger than the palm of one's hand. It's white, cloudy form gave heed only to the small glowing symbols that had been so carefully hewed into its surface.

Sesshoumaru none-to-gently chucked Keitaro aside, who instantly curled up and began to cough and choke down large gulps of much needed air. The demon lord bent down, picking up the softly glowing stone. His clawed thumb grazed over the intricately carved moon shouldered in between two waxing and waning half circles, crescents. The stone's glowing presence dimmed, leaving behind only the scarcest hints of dying embers in its wake. 'This symbol...' Sesshoumaru tore his eyes from the cooling stone to look at the man laying still crumpled up on the ground, gasping and wheezing for breath. "Did she send you?"

"I was sent by my master, Yue-Lao," Keitaro rasped, cautiously eyeing the demon.

"The Matchmaker? And what would that old fool want with me?"

"Not you, the girl. You two were not meant to be together."

Sesshoumaru growled wild and possessively. "She is to be my mate!"

"She was destined for another."

"Do you know who I am, human? I am Sesshoumaru, son of the greatest tiayoukai to have ever walked upon the face of the earth, and I am a powerful force myself. Who is it do you think will make the better mate, the better husband?"

Keitaro fell silent. That was what he was trying to figure out, but... "Her memories are gone, therefore, I do not yet know who is to be her future husband."

"And yet you are so certain that it is not to be me? Why?"

"You are a demon. Humans should not mix with demons, no matter their status."

Sesshoumaru stalked forward, and roughly jerked the young man up by his scruff. "Know this, human, she is mine and noone will come between us. Not you, the Matchmaker, or your silly little goddess." He dropped Keitaro, who once again collapsed to the forest floor, and turned around, wanting to reign in his is anger and push away the shallow depths of his growing uncertainty.

"Tell me, demon, what is it you have against our goddess?" The demon lord turned slightly, watching as Keitaro struggled to his feet on his own accord this time. "Her blessing is written all over your face," he said, pointing to the blue crescent on the Sesshoumaru's forehead, "so tell me what is that so displeases you."

"Your goddess killed my mother."

"What?"

"You heard me. My mother worshiped the moon just as you and your master. She devoted her entire life to protecting the trinity goddess and how was she repaid for her loyalty? With death...with martyrdom. A blessing? All she has given me cursed reminder of what I have lost."

Keitaro bowed his head in thought and defeat. 'Surely this was not his goddess. She would not turn her back on such a devoted follower, would she? In any case, this was not going well.' He lifted his eyes watching as the demon began to retreat back into the forest, but stopped him. There was one more question he needed to ask. "Demon, that girl back there, her memories, what happened to her?"

Sesshoumaru gave a soft sigh of irritation before answering, "she lost them. I would have thought you realized that by now."

"And of your memories?"

"What of them?"

"Do you...are any of them missing, like hers?"

Sesshoumaru thought back to the times he fought his brother, surrounded by an audience of his faceless companions, of fleeting thoughts of a misplaced little girl. "No."

He had lied, yes. But what did it really matter, his business what his own. He squeezed his hand around the small stone still clutched in his hand and tossed it to the meddlesome young man.

Keitaro caught it easily, and smirked. "You know I was told this was supposed to give me good luck," he said as he traced the small wounds that now adorned his tender neck and throat.

"And it did, you're still alive."

Keitaro nodded in agreement at the fleeing form of his most recent tormentor and quickly went to work recapturing all the scattered artifacts on the ground.

He snuck back into camp, being as stealthful as possible. However that all ended as soon as he ran his toe into the hard solid mass that was Jaken's head.

"Ow, you worthless human!" cried Jaken, holding his head.

"Ooh, I'm sorry...I didn't see you there, honest."

Jaken glared up at the retched human, but before he could he curse Keitaro to all seven hells and back, he cried out again in pain. Keitaro jerked around to see Rin sitting up in her mat, her arm still extended. Apparently, even in sleep, she had good aim.

"What's going on," Rin asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You just threw a rock at Jaken."

"After you kicked me in the head."

"I said I was sorry."

"Damnable humans, the whole lot of you," Jaken grumbled.

"So where have you been," Rin asked as Keitaro sat down next to her.

"I was just...uh...praying, ya that's it, praying. I just needed someplace quiet so I wouldn't be disturbed."

"Oh, I see. So then, are you some kind of monk?"

"A monk? Ya, you could say that."

"A monk!" Jaken cried. "Oh not another one.

Keitaro leaned over to Rin as Jaken once again began to flip and flop on the ground, flailing his arms. "What's with him?"

"Oh, um, he was, uh, beat up by a monk once."

"Oh, really? Unh, must have been a Buddhist."