chapter. 1
Who are You?

"Now, where is that no-good son of mine off to this time?" He sighed, slightly squinting under the shield of a delicate hand lest he damaged his delicate face. "Oi. You call this shielding! Can you be more of a useless son?" Knocking his fist to his son's head, he gave a yell as the sun's ray fell upon him.

Rubbing his sore head, Sesshoumaru glanced up at his father with a stone-hard exteriored face before getting up. "Can you not hiss like that, father? We may be demons, but we're not vampires." His voice just as hard as his stone face. Glancing up at the sudden prescence of two, he called, monotonously to his father hiding behind a nearby gravestone."Oi." Getting his father's attention, he nudged his head towards a couple by standers who happened to come to set flowers to their relatives graves.

Sharing a moment of awkward silence between the demon hiding none too proffessionally behind the grave stone in front of his, obviously a relative of the by standers in front of him. Supressing a grin at them (flashing a few sharp fangs or two), they immediately set the flowers down hastily and ran down the steps...hastily.

"Wonder what's with them..." He mused quietly, staring after the dust trail they had left behind.

His eyes stretched out across the red sky. Before him, he invisioned the escence of fire with it.

""OKAA-SAN!" the young boy outstretched his short arm towards his mother inside the burning building.

It was his mother's death anniversary. Every year, him and his father would walk here to visit her, considering how near the lived. This year, his brother, Sesshoumaru, for some mysterious reason came for kicks. The thought of having his half-brother living with them now angered him. Having him visit his deceased mother out of pure boredom drove him more over the edge.

You would think it would make it more of a breather to live near your mother. To be frank, he felt claustrophobic.

Just as the giant ply of wood crashed down, his own heart sank with it. Red-orange flames filled his vision. Feeling a warm fabric cling on to him, he turned around in alarm to find his mother underneath the blanket with him. She made no time for him to speak, and picked him up. She coughed wildly as she stepped over burning objects that often spread from one thing to another on the ground. Her eyes filled with hope when she spotted an open door.

Making a step to her one way out, a flying piece of ply wood landed itself right in front of her, blazing fiercely with its many colors telling her that she was trapped and had no where to go. With a space that small, there was no way she could cross over without risking hurting InuYasha or herself. It was a stronger chance for the young boy to cross over with his statured height. She pursed her lips together, looking determined to defeat the flames. Young InuYasha watched with panic in his eyes as hers did.

She looked down at him, her face grey from the smoke of the fire. She set him down bringing the large red robe around him. He looked up at her with a curious stare. "InuYasha. Be brave for mommy and jump over this piece of wood." She coughed out a smile at her son to reassure him. "Don't worry. This blankie will protect you from the fire."

"But what about you?" He hugged her leg tightly.

She winced as the burning she had shielded herself from had came down on her. She surpressed a smile for the little one that held her leg and patted his head. "I'll be out with you...be brave for mommy."

Ten long years after, now at the age of 21, he still held the memory vivid to himself. Every year, he kept himself silent, void from the world around him to share himself of these memories.

"You look deep in thought."

Whipping his head toward the new voice who had intruded on his alone time, he found himself staring at a girl. She stood innocently over metal bar where he leaned his elbows on. She suddenly flashed a smile at him, causing him to slip his elbows off the slick metal and clamp his tongue harshly between his teeth along with his fanged ones.

"Sonuffabiff!" He cursed with his injured tongue. He shot a glare to the sound of laughter. The intruding girl who had caused his injury was laughing! He growled causing her to stop, but she kept her smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." The amusement in her voice didn't make it sound like a sincere apology to him. Restraining himself from letting his sailor language slip since he didn't want to make himself more of a fool with him injured tongue, he chose to stay scowling at the girl. For the time being while he stayed silent, he chose this oppurtunity to take a look at the girl.

She wasn't much of a looker in his eyes. She seemed decent enough. The kind of girl who you would bring to your parents and proudly present was what he would describe her as. The wind blew back her long tangled tresses of ebony black. Her blue eyes, he had to admit, was her main attractive point. It was strange for a japanese to have blue eyes. He doubted it was contact lens, considering how poorly the girl dressed. She looked no better than a beggar. He stuck his nose up in the air at her.

Before he could take in more of her, she had spoken up, "Nice view, isn't it?" Her voice held the same softness of the breeze that had just passed between them. Locking eyes with her, he suddenly found that she made a better view. He shook his head at that sudden thought, a slight blush taking over his features for the stupidness.

He, then, rolled his eyes at her. She caught him in the act and gave a tilted smile. He blushed in return and leaned against the metal bar and held on tight for pre-cautionary measures. After an awkward moment or so, he spoke up, frustrated that the girl was still here, "And just what are you supposed to be? You're like a ghost appearing out of nowhere like that." His tongue spoke out sharply and clear to the crystal.

"You heal fast, oni-chan," She supressed the last word on purpose to watch the hanyou bristle.

She smiled when she knew she had hit a spot. He watched as she smiled, and couldn't help smiling back for some reason. He couldn't pin point his exact feeling. But he felt, somehow, comforted by this girl. Up until now, he couldn't even remember when was the last time he had talked so comfortably to a girl, or anyone for that matter.

"So. ." He thought his voice to sound out croaked like those other times he had attempted to talk to a girl at his school. But, it hadn't. And it surprised him that even to him, his voice sounded crystal clear. "Who are you?"

After the awaiting seconds ticked by, with no reply, he shifted a curious glance up at the girl, only to find that there was no girl.

Tossing his head side to side for the girl, his confused stare met an angry looking pair of eyes back at him. "OI! WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN! YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUTTA ME!" He laid a hand to calm his rapidly beating chest.

"Where were you when we laid the flowers on your mother's grave?"

He watched as his father's anger change into another kind of anger. Wrinkling his brows in slight confusion, he replied rudely a muffled answer.

"Watch what you're saying, young man. This is a cemetary. Learn some respect." The said to be powerful demon of the western lands and ruler of all who could have killed countless enemies with his bare, razor-sharp claws, bonked his son over the head with a ding.

Annoyed by his countless actions, he swatted away his father's arm. Jamming his two fists in his pockets, he left early leaving his father with a dissapointed look over his face.

Freeing his stress, he drew out a held in sigh at last. His now dull and old golden eyes which had been piercing and intimitading to the demons alone, looked over the scattered glitters of the sky. Closing his eyes, he felt a spirtual wind flow through him. "Oh, Izayoi. What am I going to do about that boy?"

'What's wrong with you!' He cursed at himself. Clawing away at his head roughly as he stomped past by tombstone over tombstone, his keen eye caught a similar lone figure in front of his mother's tombstone.

He watched as the Lord of ice cold expressions laid a delicate daisy on his mother.

He challenging himself if he could read the meaning of Sesshoumaru's expression, but was interrupted when his object had taken notice. He took a surprised intake of breath and subconsciously faced a dot on the cement steps he stood on.

Upon hearing the silent steps of the prince of ice, did he only look up. He shivered inwardly as he watched his brother's retreating form. It was if each step he took left behind a cold trail of continuos river of ice on the ground.

He turned to the written words of the gravestone which embarked his mother's lovely smiling face.

He shuddered as a clip of his past was presented right before him. His mother was wheezing and coughing through the smog of the flaming wall. And he simply watched, being the stupid child as he was. He swallowed his heart, pretending he hadn't seen anything and made back down for the steps.

Downcasting his eyes, again he jammed his fists in his pockets, straining his legs to keep straight lest he fell down the steps.

The house was tense and quiet as always.
It was amazing what 10 years had done to that once cheerful house that was always full of smiles and laughter in the morning, day, and night, even. The air around this house they were living in now, was enough to make InuYasha gag.

Staring at his full plate with empty eye, he pushed his plate, earning a curious glance from both brother and father. Standing up, he excused himself.

Every night it was the same, no, every day of his damned life was like this.

He had heard countless times the phrase, "It's not your fault." Those apologetic eyes backed them up. "What could you do? You were only a child."

He stared deeply at the hole in his wall. A gigantic cotton ball covered the hole. He watched as the ants squeezed its way from the edges. With child-like wonder, he suddenly felt intrigued by their display. A force bigger than they are, much bigger, and yet, they force themselves to let out.

"You should follow their example."

Upon hearing the strange feminine voice out of God knows where, he leaped from across his room only to stare back at familar bright blue eyes. It was a wonder how bright it could be seen with those dimming lights in his room. He had to admit, electricity was dying in this house.

Holding her knees, she turned her head to the blocked hole in the wall. She nudged her head to him to make him look. He followed her, curiously. Half recovering from the shock that she spontaneously came into his room.

"It's amazing, right?" She smiled gently. "I mean, it's not just their size that they could make it out, but...it takes courage, I guess." She laughed. "And I thought ants had smaller brains than dogs."

With that last comment, he had spun his head to give her a look, just as she had calculated. She gleamed at the scrunched up looking face, none too fazed and not about to. Not even when the person had grabbed at a nearby bat.

He pointed straight at her, earning her a curious stare. He threw the thought of it being ridicolously cute in the back of his mind. These were no such times. "You again! Ok! I've had j-just about enough of this! Don't you play joke with me now, girl!" His voice gained courage and he tightened the grip around the handle he was holding in his hand. She noticed this, and smiled. This smile only made further annoyance for the hanyou.

"Who are you!"