1973

Two cars crawled along a poorly maintained road, lined by trees on either side. The green of the forest was spotted with the bright reds and oranges of early autumn, the colors highlighted by the setting sun.

In the first car, a father and son were having their last conversation.

"I think your mother is going to love the necklace you picked out." Toga took a hand off the steering wheel and reached across the armrest to squeeze his youngest son's shoulder.

Inuyasha scowled at the gesture and shrugged his shoulder to dislodge his father's hand. "Keh, don't know why we couldn't just send someone else to pick it up. Now all I can smell is that wolf shit you hired to follow us around." He went back to staring out of the slightly tinted window at the trees passing barely ten feet away. "Like we need protecting anyway," He mumbled under his breath but Toga's superior hearing picked it up easily.

"The hired security isn't just for us, son. You have to think about your mother's safety as well. We can't always be around to watch each other's backs. Plus, Koga is an old friend and the best in the business; his men are some of the best fighters around." Toga had both hands back on the wheel of the car now but kept trying to sneak glances at his surly son. There weren't any lights along the pothole-ridden road they were traveling but his yokai senses allowed him to easily see in the fading light.

They weren't far from the turn that would take them onto the private road that wound through their property and took them to their house nestled deep in the mountains. The abundance of potholes forced their speed down to almost a crawl.

"Who would even go after mom?" Inuyasha asked. "Hell, who would want to come after us? We spend most of our time hiding in the mountains."

Toga sighed, debating whether to tell his son the real reason for the hired security. "Listen, things are a little more complicated than you know. Trust me, I'd rather have the security and not need it than need it and not have them. Nothing is more important to me than you and your mother's safety."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I get it," Inuyasha said. "It still didn't have to be the wolf." He squinted and sat up when the car behind them, occupied by their hired security, flipped their headlights on and flooded the interior of their car with light. "Did those fuckers flip on the high beams? What the hell?"

Toga glanced over to give his son a disapproving look, "Hey, watch you lang-"

Something slammed into the driver's side of the car, cutting off Toga's reprimand. The impact lifted that side of the vehicle high into the air and sent them careening, roof first, into the trees. The sound of the roof crunching was followed shortly by the sound of the tires crashing back to the ground.

Inuyasha shook his head, fighting off his disorientation from being tossed around. He'd managed to end up back in the passenger seat without any obvious major injuries. His jeans and black leather jacket were slightly torn up but the tough clothing had taken the brunt of the damage. Any minor scratches and bruises would heal quickly thanks to the yokai half of his blood. He glanced to his left to check on his father and his breath caught in his throat.

Toga hadn't been as lucky as Inuyasha. He had a large gash along the top of his head and the strap he'd used to pull his hair into a long ponytail had been cut. His blood-streaked hair fell loose around him, creating a white and red curtain that fell over his shoulders. There were numerous smaller lacerations that Inuyasha could see and another large gash along his left shoulder. The smell of his father's blood soaking into his white button-up shirt was overwhelming and Inuyasha could feel his yoki bubbling beneath the surface, demanding he punish whoever caused their current predicament.

"Hey, old man, can you hear me?" Inuyasha shook Toga by his good shoulder and the older man opened his glazed-over eyes. "We gotta get out of the car, something hit us."

His father shook his head, mirroring his son's earlier actions. "What hit us?" he asked, trying to focus on the world around him. His answer was a loud bellow that seemed to come from all around the vehicle.

Two sets of amber eyes widened as father and son locked gazes. Their situation had quickly gone from car accident to deliberate attack. Inuyasha swore under his breath and his father reached across to grasp his arm.

"Listen, we're both going to go out your side of the car but we're going to have to move fast. Kick your door open and go, move as fast as you can, and don't worry about me; I'll catch up."

"I'm not leaving you here old man," Inuyasha argued. "We go together."

"I'll be right behind you, I promise." Toga gave his son's arm one last squeeze before letting go. "We head for a safe house until we know what we're up against. Now, go!"

Inuyasha didn't argue this time. He turned and placed both feet on the door. He bent his knees, pulling his legs back, then slammed them forward knocking the door completely off. In the same movement, he propelled himself forward, landing outside in a crouch and immediately springing up and bursting into a sprint into the woods. He was relieved when he heard his father come up beside him a minute later, both of them blurs of motion. They knew these woods well and they would use that to their advantage.

"Stay close, we don't know how many there are." Toga's voice was strained with the effort of keeping his pace despite his blood loss. He was a powerful yokai and his injuries would heal quickly but he still needed to stop moving for that to happen. He couldn't risk putting his son in danger though so he pushed through the pain and kept going. They were close to one of the safe houses hidden on their large expanse of property and if they could make it past the barrier they would be safe.

Toga grabbed his son's right arm and pushed him, veering to the left suddenly. The loud crack of a gunshot made Inuyasha's ears flatten against his head and he instinctively ducked as they ran. Another shot rang out and he saw his father stumble and go down out of the corner of his eye. He stopped running and got as low as he could to drag his father behind a fallen tree. Kneeling next to his father and maneuvering him onto his back, he quickly checked for the bullet wound.

It wasn't hard to find. The large red stain blooming over his heart told Inuyasha all he needed to know. Yokai could survive a lot, but a bullet through the heart, especially a bullet designed to take down their kind, was a death sentence for even the strongest among them.

"Shit, hang on old man." Inuyasha reached to pull off his jacket but his father's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Son," Toga croaked, his voice weak. He coughed and the blood on his lips and teeth made Inuyasha's gut clench.

Inuyasha took his father's hand in both of his and gasped when he felt how cold the skin was. "Hey, don't try to talk. We gotta move so I can get you to the safe house." They were empty words; his father wouldn't make it that far.

Toga reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a small box. "Take this, get to the safe house." His eyes closed, his breath coming in short pants. "You have to live, tell...tell your mother…" The hand Inuyasha was holding went limp and Toga let out one last gasp of breath.

In the blink of an eye, his father was gone, but he didn't have time to mourn. Someone let out a low laugh behind him and Inuyasha tensed. With shaking hands, he placed the hand he was holding across Toga's chest. He moved his father's other hand to join the first, using the motion to discreetly palm the small wooden box then slip it into the inner pocket of his jacket. Then he stood and slowly turned to face whoever had murdered his father.

The man standing before him was tall with piercing blue eyes and long black hair tied up in a high ponytail. He wore a crisp black suit with the jacket open to reveal the brown strap of his shoulder holster over a light blue dress shirt. One gun was drawn, pointed directly at Inuyasha's chest and he could smell the burn that indicated the weapon had been fired recently.

"Mutt, afraid I'm gonna have to kill you too. Don't worry, I'll let your mother know your deaths were quick."

Inuyasha let a low growl build in his chest. He cracked his knuckles and tensed himself so he was ready to move. "Fucking wolf shit! My father trusted you and this is how you repay him?"

"It's nothing personal. Money is money and someone just happened to pay more." The gun remained trained on Inuaysha's chest but Koga's eyes flicked up and to the left.

Inuyasha turned to follow his gaze and something hard slammed into the back of his head. He grunted and crumpled to the ground, his body lying motionless next to his father.