Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or concepts relating to Inuyasha and acknowledge as much. This story was written for the pure joy, and for no other reason. Please enjoy.

Our story is not about Inuyasha as such. It is about Sesshomaru and it is about the demon – Lady Sakuto and the affect she has upon the world. (Sesshomaru x OC)

The Pain Within

Chapter One: The Past and the Present.

The Lady Sakuto, a dog demon who's past is shaded in grey. For fifty years she has wandered, hiding from the world she was once a part of. So many years she has been alone, so many times she has longed for the past, unable to move on. And yet here she is, standing beneath a crescent moon while looking out over a large, calm lake. Her bright sapphire eyes glancing around the shadows as she brushed a piece of silver hair from her face. She continued to reminisce as she gently ran her fingers over her single crimson stripe on each cheek and traced the ebony crescent moon on her forehead. She smiled sadly to herself as she recalled the days she spent with her family, the second most powerful dog demon clan in the West, and probably the world. She shivered slightly, fighting to suppress the nightmares that had haunted her mind since the dreadful night that managed to destroy everything that was ever held dear to her.

The sound of hundreds of footfalls suddenly met her ears as she snapped from her thoughts. Branches snapped and voices mumbled, as she glanced around for escape. Their scents were human, but she did not wish to be seen regardless. As they continued to approach, she resorted to her last plan. With a shiver, her image flickered as she called upon her powers. Just as the men burst through the line of trees, she looked up with sapphire eyes and flicked her now short raven hair from her eyes.

"What is this? Trying to escape? The men of your village have been called for the army of the Western Lord for a reason! Deserters will be hunted down and killed by the Lord himself! So get your ass back in line now!" The man hissed at her, roughly grabbing her arm and pushing her into line with the other men.

Sometimes it pays to be a shape shifter, but not this time.

The Lady Sakuto, last surviving member of her clan and only remaining dog demon who also possesses the power to shape shift. Yet as she had shifted into the form of a human male, she was seriously questioning her choice of body. She had shifted to that of a mortal woman once before and was nearly raped, and ever since she had found it easier to pretend to be a mortal man. Yet as she was marched along with the other thirty or so men from a nearby village to the Lord of the Western lands, her mind was wandering the young demon Lord she had known so many years ago. Lord Sesshomaru, she had not seen him in many years, not since the night her family had been slaughtered. Quickly she pushed the images from her mind as she turned her attention to the men around her, all downcast as they made their way towards the great demon lord's castle. Slowly a sly smile crept onto her lips as she thought of seeing him again, thought of the mischief she could get up to once more.

Sakuto was never necessarily close to Sesshomaru, but they were family friends since they were young, and had known each other for many hundreds of years. Their relationship was varied, sometimes the two wouldn't speak for years, and at other times they were hardly ever apart. No one was too sure what ever happened to the mysterious Lady Sakuto the night her family was slaughtered. No one was even sure if she survived or not. Many searched for her, but none ever found her. It isn't exactly easy to find a shape shifter, after all. Few believed she was still alive, preferring to think that she had been kidnapped, tortured or even killed. Yet Sakuto had survived, and with her mind shattered and he sanity hanging by a thread, Sakuto vanished into the shadows of the world, taking on human forms as she saw fit in order to survive. Gradually her strength and courage was once again restored, and she ventured further out into the world. Yet she was without a purpose, without a hope to live from, so as this opportunity to visit Lord Sesshomaru arose, she couldn't help but take advantage of it.

That was the first Chapter, I know it wasn't very long, but they will only get longer from here. Think of this one more as an introduction, with the story starting officially in the next chapter.

I have received great acclaim for this story on other websites and hope it will be just as appreciated here. Thank you for reading.