Chapter ten: The First Attack.

'The words of the spell don't truly translate. It's an ancient dialect, and a very subtle one at that; there wasn't even a translation-spell. But from what it says, we're on the right track. Trigon used a divider spell to separate himself from his body just before I killed him.'

'He became a ghost?' Miroku said tiredly.

'More like an astral spirit. Not alive, but certainly not dead. And he retained his powers. The spell would have allowed that. The disadvantage of the divider spell is that the spirit needs to transfer into another body immediately. There was nobody there who could have withstood his life-force without their body shattering; even mine wouldn't have worked, since I wasn't old enough. So I presume he threw himself back in time to find a demon there.'

'And succeeded, because he sent the prophecy to Jinx and Sesshoumaru from the future. But she went back to the past too, and brought him here, but he found Naraku instead….this is giving me a headache.'

'It's not exactly grade-school math, is it.'

'But if the prophecy's from the future, then doesn't that mean he'll succeed no matter what we do?'

Raven thought about that. 'It might,' she acknowledged frankly. 'But I'm not going to stop trying to defeat him, no matter what.'

A memory. Starfire, young and naïve, but every bit as determined as she was now. 'Our friendship has already changed Warp's past. I believe it can also change our future.' So maybe that was true and maybe not, but Raven had learnt never to give up.

'That's very interesting,' Sesshoumaru commented from his place just behind Raven's shoulder. Her chair overbalanced and she fell backwards, her cloak falling open to expose an expanse of leg as the back of her head hit the floor. He didn't catch her, though she knew he could have. Damn him.

'Stop-doing-that-' she rasped as she flailed her legs, trying to get up. As always, he made no reply. Miroku coughed and averted his gaze from her with uncharacteristic politeness. Sesshoumaru gazed pointedly at the bare leg scrabbling for a second before she caught herself on the floor and stood up.

'Can't you wear more clothes?'

'I don't like having things clothes to my skin.'

He didn't know exactly what she was saying, but he did recognise the tone. Sesshoumaru sniffed loudly and stepped back.

'I presume you heard the entire conversation?' Raven said.

He didn't like the implication that he was eavesdropping. Then again, he had been, so there was no point in getting all offended about it. He didn't reply, though. That would have implied that he thought Ra-the research interesting enough to follow it from her room across the tower, and he didn't want to do that. As if she were reading his thoughts, Raven twitched a lip sideways and shook her head sadly.

'Denial is not a river in Egypt.'

And what was that supposed to mean? Hn. He played the conversation back in his head, and there wasn't anything to suggest……..denial? He never denied anything! He was completely honest with himself!

Rin, his stupid chattery conscience suggested, smirking. Inuyasha, Kagome, Jaken, Naraku, Raven, the prophecy, your father, Izayoi………want more?

Okay, so he denied someth…………..Naraku? What was he denying about Naraku?

His conscience rolled around, laughing madly.

'Earth to Sesshoumaru. Earth to Sesshoumaru. Do you read me?'

He snapped out of whatever bizarre alternate universe he was trapped in and stared at Raven. She was floating, which meant that he couldn't stare down his nose at her. What a pity. Instead, he ignored her steadily. She folded her arms in the classic you-ignorant-male-will-you-listen? pose; at the same time, something tickled at the back of his nose, something familiar which shouldn't have been there.

He glanced out of the closed window. The sky was still half-dark, but there was an ominous reddish hint to it that did not belong. And his hackles were prickling.

'Youki,' he whispered, too lightly for anyone else on the planet to hear him. He took a deep breath, setting aside the well-memorised spice-and-flowers scent that was Raven and focusing on the scents he didn't recognise. At the same time, his sixth sense twinged in that familiar way.

'Naraku's youkai,' he said so they could hear, walking calmly over to the window and looking outside. The horde of flying lesser youkai were approaching the tower at a tremendous speed in an airborne flood.

Before the others could even voice their questions, he heard the sching of the transformed Tetsusaiga and the scent of the Wind Scar assaulted his nose.

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Inuyasha had long discovered that nobody else in the Tower could be trusted to stay away when he and Kagome were having some alone time (what Sango called 'romantic interaction', Miroku called 'sucking face' and everybody else called nothing at all if they wanted their heads to stay attached). One time, they were on the couch, and Cyborg had let out an interested 'Boo-yah!' when they parted and cordially offered comments on their technique. Kagome's face had erupted with red, and Inuyasha had sulked for nearly an hour because he wasn't allowed to hit him. The time when Rin had interrupted them was even worse. The child had been innocently questioning, and though they'd discovered some interesting facts about Sesshoumaru's love life (or lack of it since that green-haired cat-youkai clan leader had moved north), the embarrassment was just not worth it. Taking it into one of their bedrooms was just not the done thing, so after the fourth day, they had found a secluded corner of beach.

He pulled away from Kagome's hands, which were currently absorbed in finding that spot on the base of his ear that made him kick his leg out, flowing upright and turning instinctively to place himself between Kagome and the strange scent.

'Inuyasha?' she questioned. He was growling lightly, and it was unfriendly. She knew all his growls, and this was one he reserved for……

'Naraku and Trigon,' he said flatly, unsheathing Tetsusaiga. The transformed sword was comforting in his hands, and while the time and place were unlike anything he had fought in before, the enemies he saw were those he knew. Everything was familiar again. A wicked grin curved his mouth. Oh, yes, very familiar.

The first few youkai died even before the others arrived. Foolishly, they had tried to attack low, trying to catch Kagome, no doubt. The Wind Scar sprayed water to an impressive height as they simply fell apart. He leapt into the air, thrilling in the freedom of almost-flying as he clawed three more youkai in a single stroke. They turned to dust.

'Hiraikotsu!' The boomerang sliced through more youkai, but there were others behind them. Well, the cavalry had arrived anyway.

'Oi, jerk!' he shouted over his shoulder, not needing to look to know Sesshoumaru was standing on the beach, watching. 'What's the matter, chicken?'

And suddenly Sesshoumaru was in front of him as if he had only waited for the invitation, dodging around Tetsusaiga and killing the youkai Inuyasha had been aiming for. He took the time to smirk condescendingly at his younger brother before he blurred on to the next one, vanishing from the hanyou's sight for a second before reappearing a second later with his glowing claws already run through the snake youkai he had targeted. Inuyasha swore and leapt up, their innate rivalry flaring up again as he batted away a youkai that was trying to bite his head off. Another Wind Scar, aimed at a youkai directly between them. Sesshoumaru twisted neatly away in midair as the youkai between them was destroyed, his energy whip snaking around a larger youkai to balance the move. Inuyasha knew he'd dodge. The son-of-a-demon had too sharp a nose to be hit with the Wind Scar. Almost idly, Sesshoumaru punched him on the back of the head with his elbow as his whip struck at a youkai who was aiming for Inuyasha's back. 'Jerk,' Inuyasha mumbled as he punched clean through a youkai with much more force than it really needed.

Kagome watched, awed, as the inu brothers decimated the youkai. They complemented each other perfectly: Inuyasha's sheer strength, his fury and his open delight in battle; Sesshoumaru's grace, his deliberate ferocity and icy composure. They moved backwards and forwards, attacking and defending. It was like watching a sports team in action…… though they had no past experience, they seemed to fight in choreographed precision, moving around each other as if they had practiced for years. Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, move sideways, strike upwards, energy whip lashing just past Inuyasha, spin, Wind Scar as Sesshoumaru moved sideways again to dodge it, taking out the youkai behind him as he faced another direction again.

Apart from picking apart the occasional youkai that broke through the brothers, the others didn't really do much but watch them. Sango sent Hiraikotsu out a couple of times, and Miroku swore fluently when he saw a bunch of saimyoushou lookalikes taunting him with its presence, but that was about all they did.

Kagome could still hear Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru swearing at each other, but the hate was gone, from Inuyasha anyway. She knew the hanyou better than anyone. Fighting beside his brother was a thrill, and he was enjoying it too much to hate him – at least while it lasted. And even Sesshoumaru was grudgingly pleased by the way his brother was fighting. She shook her head in a way that any other woman would have recognised immediately. Stubborn idiot males.

The fight was over quickly, considering how many youkai had come after them. Inuyasha sheathed his sword as Sesshoumaru's hand stopped glowing, both standing ankle-deep in the waves. He hadn't used Toukijin. Neither were breathing too hard, but the battle-light was still in their eyes as they grinned identical, slightly fanged, feral grins at each other. Kagome could pinpoint the exact moment when they realised who the other was. Inuyasha's mouth straightened suddenly, and Sesshoumaru became even stiffer than normal. They turned away from each other simultaneously, huffing, and she giggled quietly at how alike they were before she made for Inuyasha.

Unfortunately, by the time she covered the twenty feet that separated them……

Arrogant cross of arms across chest. 'Hah. I got three more than you did!'

Smirk. 'Ignorant fool. I took two more. Don't you even know how to count?'

Instant flare of anger. 'Well enough to know you've half the brains you should have!'

Baring of fangs. 'Why you….(snarl) (sching)'

'Sit boy!'

Thump.

'Sesshoumaru……'

'Yes, miko, I do remember.'

'Since when are you and the jerk all chummy? Doesn't he already have one little girl simpering over him?'

'Sit sit sit sit siiit!'

'Gah! KAGOMEEE!'

The sound of the waves rushing into a sizable crater in the rocky beach. Inuyasha sputtered angrily as he rose from his Inuyasha-shaped hole, fire-rat robe dripping. Sesshoumaru averted his face so that they wouldn't see his smirk, but not before he caught sight of a remarkably similar smirk on the miko's face. She winked cheerfully at him. Well, so this whole pack thing had some advantages after all. Ganging up on Inuyasha was a definite plus.

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'So those were youkai,' Beast Boy said contemplatively as they watched Inuyasha bawl at Kagome. He held a matchbox in one hand, and was flipping it from side to side. It rattled dully as if there were something inside it. He was obviously waiting for someone to ask the inevitable question. Robin sighed and surrendered.

'What's in the box?'

BB grinned widely and opened it. Inside lay a very dead saimyoushou. 'Any bets that Batman would know someone who can concoct a vaccine for this thing?'

'How did you get this?' Miroku exclaimed, grabbing the poison-insect and examining it.

'I went hummingbird.'

'If I were immune to the saimyoushou……..' Miroku's eyes gleamed. 'Perfect.'

'Beast Boy, that was really……..awesome.' Raven had the matchbox now.

'I'm actually quite buzzed about it.' He ducked as the box flew at his head.

'I'm sleep-deprived, tea-less and I haven't meditated in a day and a half. Do you really want to die?'

'And we move on to the next thing,' Beast Boy said hastily. 'I suppose you've all been terribly curious about what I've been doing the last few days.'

They all looked bored.

'Aww, come on now,' he whined. 'Doesn't anybody want to know?'

'Will it stop you if we say no?'

'Raee-ven!'

'Okay, okay. Tell us.'

Beast Boy grinned widely at them and then transformed……into a large dog. In fact, he came up to Raven's shoulder. He had a mean set of teeth and weird fluffy fur on his back. He transformed to human form, a little slower than he normally did.

'Oo-kay, so I need to work on the size a bit…….still, neat, huh? Huh?'

'Well, it's hard to judge, unless we can see what you adapted it from,' Raven suggested with an evil smile.

'I will not take on his true form at the request of weaklings like you,' the youkai said, suddenly standing next to them – behind Raven, which made her yelp yet again. He seemed to enjoy doing that, Beast Boy noted.

'Sesshoumaru?' Raven was itching with curiosity, and if playing sweet-little-girl got her what she wanted……..the youkai arched an eyebrow at her as if he were reading her thoughts, and shook his head. 'Pretty please?' she said, trying her hardest to look cute. 'I'll be so grateful. I'll even……..three boxes of Ferrero Rocher.'

Something amused flickered in Sesshoumaru's eyes for a second. 'Out of the question.'

'Four and a pound of soft-centred mint chocolates.'

'Hn.'

'Five boxes, the mints and three bumper packs of salsa and tortillas.'

Sniff!

'Come on, that's my pocket-money for two months!'

Eyebrow twitch. Robin intervened, curious. 'I'm sure we could finance it from the Justice League account. We could write it up as……..money paid for information.'

'Yes!' Beast Boy cheered. 'New deal. All you can carry at the chocolate shop downtown that I showed you, in addition to whatever Raven promised.'

Sesshoumaru nodded. And transformed.

Raven goggled.

The Dog – because Raven simply couldn't think of it as a dog – towered over them. It was far more impressive than her own demon form, though less eerie. Full-red eyes, white, white fur, strong muscles, and the crescent moon on his forehead seemed darker than ever. He also had a very long, very fluffy tail, and she restrained the positively suicidal urge to touch it. Sesshoumaru's demon form was……..gorgeous. Powerful, terrifying, but perhaps that was why it was so……….

'Sesshoumaru-samaaaaaa!' Rin squealed from behind them. 'Ohh, you look so cute!'

Raven could swear she saw the Dog cringe with embarrasment at those words. Inuyasha began to snicker. Rin, oblivious, darted up to the youkai with enviable confidence and grabbed a handful of his fur, stroking. 'Rin thinks you are as fluffy as your mokomoko-sama!' Inuyasha was howling, and everyone else was trying to restrain themselves with varying degrees of success. Sesshoumaru regained his human form rather quickly and blurred out of sight. Odd, Raven thought. Sesshoumaru was so pretty, almost feminine; his youkai form was as……well, male……as it was possible to be. The two balanced each other rather well.

Raven started. She had been so absorbed in Sesshoumaru that she'd almost forgotten why he had been asked to transform in the first place. It was as bad as the first time she'd met Aqualad. Except that Aqualad's superiority complex was trivial compared to Sesshoumaru's. All those scattered memories of his that had seeped into her head as she slept…….he was an arrogant, cold, vicious youkai bent on world dominion. No matter how……. nice….he was being right now, he was going to get back on track sooner or later and return to his original agenda. Which begged the question: why was he being different? What made them special?

What made her special?

A/N: Eh, Imagined Eyes, hope you're happy with this. I only posted the chapters in bunches because a) I have a dial-up connection and b) I'm an impossibly lazy bum. The rest of the story will be reformatted. Someday. Hark, do you hear the Last Trump?

Six chapters and an epilogue to go...