A/N I do not own Inuyasha.

Thank You a lot for the reviews and alerts! =)

Please, let me know if there is anything off in the story.

Chapter 5

Yuutsuki had been following him for a couple of hours already. Astonishingly, the more she walked, the better her body felt. Sesshoumaru had been leading the way without haste, albeit he had never looked back, nor said a word. Observing his long, shiny hair and the straightened posture was quite a pleasant view, although the girl had other things to ponder about.

She could ask him about the destination, but truthfully, something else had been on her mind.

The demon called Tarou. Was it really the wisest allowing him to deal with Rin's safety? Yuutsuki was honestly concerned about the cute child. She hoped that Sesshoumaru knew what he was doing, and that Rin hadn't been left in the lurch. Yuutsuki decided to ask him about it. She caught up to him and quietly spoke:

"Sesshoumaru…"

Without stopping he threw a brief, blank stare at her.

"Do you really think leaving Rin's safety in Tarou's hands is a proper thing to do?"

Sesshoumaru frowned, as if the question had been offensive.

"Do not doubt my actions."

"It's problematic. I am not familiar enough with you to trust you carelessly."

The demon stopped, and gave her a long hard stare. Yuutsuki withstood it and after a moment she heard his low voice.

"Take off your covering."

Did he mean her coat? The weather conditions weren't too pleasant to walk in short sleeved clothing. She hesitated.

"Do as I say." Assuming, she wouldn't comprehend his reasons anyway, she obeyed. The cold air embraced her torso as she removed her unclean coat. Yuutsuki shivered slightly, when Sesshoumaru swept her hair, baring her shoulder.

He looked at it thoroughly, making the girl feel nervous and embarrassed.

Suddenly, with a rapid movement, he retrieved the sword he had given her before, saying:

"You do not need it anymore."

She looked at her wound. It was gone! How come such a deep cut healed in a couple of hours? She lifted her eyes at him, awaiting some kind of explanation.

"Tenseiga is a healing sword. Normally it wouldn't heal a human wielder, but seems like the ring enables you to use any demon sword. Interesting." He smirked and began to walk again.

Yuutsuki put her coat on and hurried to catch up with him. So that had been the reason of exchanging swords. Nonetheless, she was really grateful, her wounds were gone. No wonder she felt so well.

"Thank you." Yuutsuki said quietly.

"We fly from here."

She found herself in a bright environment, couldn't see anything else besides Sesshoumaru's back. Next sight was a gigantic skull, the head of a deceased demon with its jaws wide open inviting to go in, but the fangs it bared advising to stay out. From there, the crisp sound of metal hitting metal was clearly audible. Ignoring the dentures, Sesshoumaru made his way inside, followed by his still somewhat nervous companion. Sitting at the centre of the skull was a creature dressed in a ragged green kimono with black stripes, hitting away metal with a blacksmith's hammer.

"Ah Sesshoumaru-sama." said the creature as he turned towards his guests. He was an elderly demon with big round eyes, long and sharp nose and jawbone, with beard on the corners of the upper side of his mouth and chin. Yuutsuki bent politely, he looked at her without a word.

"Totosai. This sword" Sesshoumaru took out Yuutsuki's sword "Do you know it?"

Totosai grabbed it and examined carefully.

"Hmm... Weird…"

The elder was softly stroking the beard on his chin.

"What is?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"You brought a human along."

"None of your business. Tell me about the sword." The silver haired demon got annoyed.

"Ah, yes, the sword."

The blacksmith looked at it again.

"I do know it, and so do you, Sesshoumaru. Your mother's family treasure, wasn't it? Later given to humans due to a vow. A very old sword crafted by an unknown artist. Probably his masterpiece. But wait a second… Last time I saw it, yes… It has been fifty years ago. Why does it seem significantly older? Centuries older!"

"What?" Sesshoumaru in astonishment moved his gaze towards Yuutsuki. "Explain yourself, human."

Yuutsuki felt startled. Just a while ago, he had shown his kindness to her. Telling him the truth would probably shake the little thread of trust between them. She moved nervously.

"Mister Totosai is right. The sword is ancient. It's been in my family for ages. There is a reason why it's older than it should. I don't mean to be bad-mannered, but I can clarify it only to Sesshoumaru."

She thought it was reasonable to tell Sesshoumaru her real motives. Maybe he could help her. Clearly, he was not an enemy and was somewhat connected to her mission.

"Fine. Totosai, are you sure the sword is genuine? Do you know its abilities?"

"It's the real one, yes." Totosai gave it back to Sesshoumaru. "I know it gives strength to the wielder, physical one. There are other rumours as well, but the real abilities of the sword are known only to the creator. Maybe your mother would know more. Is it her who carriers it? You know what happens to humans that try to use demon swords…"

"It doesn't apply to her. Human, we are leaving."

Before she managed to bow to the elder, she was again flying with Sesshoumaru in the familiar light.

The area changed completely. They were in a nearby forest.

"We are alone, now speak up."

Yuutsuki took a deep breath, it was hard to concentrate under his intense look.

"I do not know when the sword was crafted, but currently it's around five hundred years older than it should be."

She bundled herself up in her coat. The weather had gotten worse. Her face was really cold, if not for the long hair, her ears would be freezing. A strong wind was rocking the trees back and forth.

"How is that possible? Explain!" Sesshoumaru was evidently getting impatient.

"It's because I brought it with me, I brought it from the future, as well as the ring. I think that Totosai's opinion about the sword's age proves it."

"Future?"

Yuutsuki nodded.

"Kagome, Inuyasha's companion is from my time as well. Her family and mine had an alliance. I came to fulfil my family's vow."

"You are not lying, are you?"

Sesshoumaru appeared truly interested, his eyes were sparkling in a curious way.

"Honestly? I wouldn't dare." Who would? Nobody wanted to endanger their safety to an overwhelming demon, especially not a human.

"So…" Sesshoumaru slowly spoke "Since you brought the ring and the sword from the future, currently there are two of each in this time."

"About the ring I am sure, but it's not with the Rens. It's missing. The sword… I have no idea, but I presume so." Yuutsuki had been thinking about it before and that was the only right assumption.

"Tell me about the future."

That surprised her. She didn't know what to start with. She resumed in few sentences how her times looked like, how things had changed and how demons, if still among humans, were inexistent. Sesshoumaru seemed unfazed by what the girl had told him and just asked:

"Does the Ren clan know of your coming?"

"They don't, only you and Inuyasha and his party."

"Due to your ridiculous, human habits of politeness, we will rest here for the day and head for the Rens mansion in the morning. If you are hungry go fetch your own food, don't expect this Sesshoumaru-sama to bother himself with such trifles." said the great demon as he sat leaning against a tree.

Yuutsuki was relived to be given some freedom alone and time to rest. Her frail body could use some time-out, therefore the shut-eye was indeed welcome.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha grunted in frustration. "There's no trace of her in here either"

"There's no point in searching like this, she could be anywhere by now" Sango's resigned words made the team reflect on what to do next.

The silence was broken by Kagome's assumption: "Maybe she was able to reach to her family somehow."

"Or maybe she's dead by now. Sesshoumaru isn't the type to like humans."

"Inuyasha, sit!" was the answer to the dog demon's lack of faith in their companions safety.

"We might as well try there, it's our best bet so far. Although the place is quite distant from here, we won't get there before morning, after all we all need a rest." As the monk said this, he led the way.

Once having gathered some fruits and timber, Yuutsuki finally managed to start a fire. This was not an easy task for the wood was damped. Sesshoumaru kept his eyes closed and didn't move throughout the whole time, so the girl wasn't sure if he was asleep or just was avoiding looking at her clumsy attempts to settle.

While warming her hands in the faint fire, she decided to try the food she had brought. The first bite encouraged her to skip that night's meal, it had to be the same king of fruit Jaken had tried the day before. After spitting out that sour bit, Yuutsuki managed to catch a glimpse of the demon's look of disapproval. She tried to make herself as comfortable as she could, but the cold ground and empty stomach made it difficult.

Later that night, Sesshoumaru's rest was interrupted by the intense shivers of his human companion. Upon approaching the girl he noticed her hair covering her pale face and as he moved it, he saw her lips tinted violet from cold. The frail fire, the lass had lit, had long faded and the night's cold embraced the girl completely. Standing before her, the demon decided to gather some bigger and drier lumber to remake the fire. It wasn't long before the girls face regained its colour and along with it, the shivers stopped. One thing unwillingly captured his attention, the girl's sleepy smile of comfort. He returned to his previous position but he couldn't fall sleep anymore that night and remained awake until dawn.

Grrrrrrrr… Yuutsuki's stomach complained in hunger, embarrassing her.

"Has the future come to such a point where you can't even identify an apple tree?" Sesshoumaru's critic came disguised as a hint and it took Yuutsuki two leaps to stand next to the mentioned tree.

"Eat quickly if you must, we aren't wasting any more time over foolishness. We will fly there."

She did as she was told and not long after, the two were standing in front of an impressive mansion.

Sesshoumaru sniffed the air "Inuyasha."

"What did you say?"

"Seems your happy group is close by."

"Yuu-chan we've been looking for you!" Kagome waved from Inuyasha's back in the distance as they approached the mansion.

"We've been looking everywhere for you, what happened?"

"I don't have time for this. Human let's go inside and you half demon and the rest, disappear from here, this doesn't concern any of you."

Not looking back, Sesshoumaru moved towards the gates. Yuutsuki threw an apologizing smile and followed him.

"Wait, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome screamed. "It does concern us, she belongs to our group and we promised to help each other in a task! It's us that…"

"And seems you all have failed." Sesshoumaru's bitter accusation stopped Kagome's speaking.

"Bastard, wanna fight?" Inuyasha took out his sword. The relation between the siblings was rather tense. Sesshoumaru touched the grip of his sword. Yuutsuki feared the worst when luckily, or not, around thirty armoured soldiers stepped forward out of the gates. Among them, there was a middle aged man on a horse, and he was the one who approached closer.

"This is the Ren household, what's your business, demon?" His words were directed at Sesshoumaru.

"Insolent!" Sesshoumaru growled.

Yuutsuki decided to take initiative. She felt an adrenaline rush upon reaching her ancestors household.

"My name is Yuutsuki. I come along with Sesshoumaru-sama for an advice." She purposely didn't use her family name, too much of commotion was never welcomed.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" The man's face got paler. "Make way for Sesshoumaru-sama and his companion right away! The lord of the western lands came to pay a visit! Inform the head of the house!" Sesshoumaru and Yuutsuki were invited inside, however, Inuyasha´s group's entrance was denied.

"I guess we have to wait for them to come out. Let's settle a camp." Miroku sighed in resignation, the rest reluctantly agreed.

As Yuutsuki and Sesshoumaru followed the man from before, the girl´s attention was centred in her surroundings. The mansion was more impressive on the inside rather than on the outside, the corridors were filled with artefacts she had only seen in museums or had read about, there was an unaccountable amount of maids going back and forward like worker ants, surely because of the demon´s presence. From where she was the courtyard was visible and at that time a match between two swordsmen was taking place. It was a training match and Yuutsuki would have enjoyed watching it if she didn't have to enter the room where the head of the house was waiting for her and Sesshoumaru. This room was even more impressive, the head of the house stood on higher ground when compared to his guests, to his left were two other men, to his right, a woman that seemed to be his wife and surrounding them was battle wear and luxurious pottery.

"Welcome to our humble household. How can we be of service to Sesshoumaru-sama?" Said the head of the house while bowing down, forehead touching the floor.

"Spare the grovelling, Yoshiaki. We both know that you were never obedient." Sesshoumaru took out Yuutsuki's sword. "This sword. Isn't it yours?"

Yoshiaki got up and examined it. His hair was long and curly, fastened in a ponytail, resting on his shoulder, his eyes bright and clear.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, it is indeed our sword. How come is it in your hands? As far as I know it's hidden in our armoury for many years now. Are you sure it's not forged? The ring was stolen, so the sword is unusable for humans."

"Ah yes, you failed to protect my family's request. Bring the other sword, I want to see it myself." The golden eyes were piercing the master of the house.

"As you wish, Sesshoumaru-sama." The man´s behaviour changed and his hands were shaking, his voice cracking.

Yoshiaki gave a sign to one of his man, who left in a rush.

Not even a minute passed, and Yuutsuki's widened eyes saw a sword exactly the same as hers.

Sesshoumaru took both of them in his hands, keeping silent for a while. Nobody dared to say a word.

"Yuutsuki, I acknowledge you, so shall they." The demon got up and said loudly: "Those two swords are exactly the same. Nonetheless, the one I brought is older. This girl in here," He pointed the older sword at Yuutsuki. "Is called Ren, Yuutsuki. She brought the sword from the future to fulfil her duty. The proof is in front of your eyes." Sesshoumaru's claw scratched the younger blade, and everyone observed in astound how the scratch appeared on Yuutsuki's sword.

"I demand you to assist her in any way necessary." He continued. "Until she is ready to handle her weapon properly. She has to be taught well."

Yuutsuki was surprised at Sesshoumaru's words, she had never expected him to protect her in such a way. The authority the silver haired demon had among both humans and demons was extraordinary.

"Excuse my rudeness, Sesshoumaru-sama, but she will not be able to use it. It would require the ring…" Yoshiaki stopped, after throwing a glare at her hand.

"The ring!" He shouted. "Why?"

"I brought it with me." Yuutsuki said quietly.

"That's why you can use it." The head of the family looked at her weirdly. "I know! We can just take the ring and live like nothing happened! Rejoice!" Yoshiaki´s behaviour resembled one of a deranged man. With a red face and a grin from ear to ear, the man kept looking around seeking the approval from his subjects who could only pity their irrational commander.

"I´ve been searching…searching for it many years and now it just walks in…hahaha." Step by step Yoshiaki was getting closer to Yuutsuki, his hands were reaching out to her and his eyes fixed on the ring.

"I see you have completely lost it, Yoshiaki." The man was unable to answer. Sesshoumaru´s poisonous claws were grasping his throat, venom burning his skin. The rest of household was watching in terror, too frightened to object.

"Yuutsuki, we are leaving." the demon said before releasing the man´s throat.

"Darling." The woman approached her husband who was motionlessly lying on the floor, not minding the burns on his neck. "What have you done demon!"

"This man´s reason has long left him, you should find a new head of family. Not like it matters anymore. The one to bear out the agreement between the Rens and my family will be this girl." Taking both swords, Sesshoumaru left the room and without uttering a word, Yuutsuki followed him. The girl was deeply disappointment and perhaps a bit ashamed of seeing her ancestor, that grandma had so often praised, succumb in such manner. Also, she had had great hopes for that visit and none of them were met, no answers, no instructions for the future.

Upon reaching the main gates of the mansion, Yuutsuki and Sesshoumaru were stopped by a tall bearded elder, who seemed to have been waiting for them to reach that location.

"You'll need more than the ring to keep your sanity with that sword. Understand this before giving yourself any other training." This person emanated a stronger presence than anyone else in the mansion, his composure and manner of speaking were on a different level of any average human being, which was more impressive given the man's age.

"What do you mean by that?" The girl curiously asked the elderly who silently was looking at the demon in the eyes. A meeting between rivals, there was no doubt they had crossed ways before.

"Come, Yuutsuki." Sesshoumaru said as both males finally broke the intense contact. Already facing forward, the demon couldn't help smirking and that made the girl wonder what type of relationship he had with the mysterious man from before.

Already outside Sesshoumaru passed the older sword to Yuutsuki and said one short sentence:

"Go with Inuyasha, I must attend a business. I will find you later."

Effortlessly, he lifted up in the air, threw a last gaze at her, as if making sure she had heard properly and kept gracefully soaring forward.

The girl's eyes followed his figure, until it disappeared from the view. Sesshoumaru's change of mind about her had come as an unpredicted surprise, a pleasant one, for unconsciously she craved his attention.

Obviously everyone would look up to such a powerful creature, if not because adoration or respect, surely because of fear.

"Yuu-chan, is everything fine? You didn't take long inside." Kagome was already by her side.

Yuutsuki nodded any old how, just not to show disregard, and directed her words at the rest of the group while ceasing her breath.

"I won't create more troubles. Can I continue travelling with you? I need training."

Sango was the one who answered first.

"Of course, that's why we were looking for you."

"Exactly. I am glad you are safe and fine." Miroku sent her one of his best smiles.

"Keh, just don't get yourself taken again." Even Inuyasha seemed fine with it. A big weight was lifted from her mind.

Several days had passed and with Kagome's assistance Yuutsuki managed to get a glimpse of the act of purifying demons and feeling their aura. Nothing remarkable, she was still incapable of performing it properly, but one had to start somewhere. She had aided the group in gathering the shards of Shikon no Tama and had gotten more cognisant of the ring's powers.

There was no improvement in mastering the sword yet. Yuutsuki had been fighting demons, but the sword had been nothing more than an ordinary blade. Maybe the doubts in her heart didn't allow her to unleash the sword's power.

The girl had stopped thinking fondly of the monk, who was entirely submitted to Sango. Outwardly he had been tremendously nice to all women, but one could see the superior thread of understanding between those two. Kagome and Inuyasha were emotionally involved to a point that Inuyasha didn't want to lose Kagome from his sight. Yuutsuki had always wished to share such a special feeling with somebody. Awkwardly, despite of the benefits of being in the group, she felt like a fifth wheel.

It wasn't easy to integrate. Yuutsuki's slight sense of alienation resulted in solitary walks and intense training.

One cold night the girl was strolling to exhaust her body, when sensed a strong demon aura, just a moment afterwards, noticed a figure of a large animal. She squinted and the creature changed shape to human like. The being was known to her, that wild glare was unforgettable. Tarou. The blue eyes were shining in the dark, giving her shivers of a threat.

"Oi. The tasty girl. Tonight Sesshoumaru-sama isn't with you, is he. " In a second he was standing behind her, inhaling her smell.

"Are you scared?" Tarou asked, amused with her silence.

Yuutsuki swung her sword. The demon avoided it swiftly, but he didn't approach again.

"I don't have time to play with you. I must meet Sesshoumaru-sama." He turned away.

"Wait!" How badly she had wished to hear anything about the western lord. "Why are you meeting him?"

Tarou hesitated before answering.

"The little human girl is dead. Sesshoumaru-sama treated her almost like a daughter. Currently he's killing everyone around him and I need to try to calm him down, but most likely I will fail and die." He looked like he wanted to add something, but he disappeared in a blink of an eye, not giving her a chance to ask more. Yuutsuki was left alone in the darkness, kneeling on cold, wet ground, wiping tears from her cheeks. She couldn't do anything for the late child, couldn't help the golden eyed demon. Nothing was left but a dark, bitter flavour.

The sun rose three times since that night. Yuutsuki hadn't uttered a word about Rin's death to anyone. To keep her mind busy she had been practising a lot, however without a decent rest her performance had been rather poor. She had feared never seeing Sesshoumaru again, and that was undoubtedly what had shaken her up the most, even though she was too ashamed to acknowledge it.

Yuutsuki intended to ask Inuyasha about the directions to Sesshoumaru's house, but there was no guarantee he would be there.

During the night she couldn't sleep yet again, therefore she decided to leave the camp and practise her sword skills further. Walking away from the fire, only the moonlight guided her way. Already among the trees, she fell under the impression of being observed, but it died rapidly. Barely few minutes later the dim awareness came back, only to fade like a last night's dream.

"Wanna a partner to train?" Inuyasha came out from darkness, looking completely awake.

Sparring with him could benefit in improving her skills, so she agreed gladly.

The demon didn't have problems fending off her blows, but after a while of constant attacks, his expression changed. Yuutsuki noticed a difference, her strength and speed increased as she sensed a smooth warmness coming out from the ring. The weapon seemed to have dissimilar sensation to it, as if reacting to her desires to match up to Inuyasha's power and speed.

Their little training transformed to a ferocious battle, which pretty much finished when Inuyasha's blow felled her to the ground, his sword aiming straight at her neck. Suddenly a ball of light whizzed above Yuutsuki, knocking Inuyasha down. The sensation of a known demon being near embraced her, the girl's lips moved slightly just to whisper:

"Sesshoumaru…"

Hearing that, Sesshoumaru put his eyes on her, leaving her flabbergasted. A pair of bloody red orbs was in the place of the usual indifferent, golden look. The enraged demon was about to rip the guts out of Inuyasha, but the girl's words had stopped him. His eyes reverted to normal and he freed his half-brother, which fell on the ground, still unconscious. Yuutsuki checked Inuyasha's state, he seemed unwounded. Before she managed to question about anything, Sesshoumaru's strong arm grabbed her and using his fast transportation he took them to a totally different place.

They were standing near the rocky shore of a lake, the moon's reflection was flickering in the water.

Many leaves were falling down with every gust of wind, the landscape was really charming.

Sesshoumaru's outfit was different from before, no fancy clothing and armour, only plain, brown obi.

They were standing side to side in silence. When Yuutsuki was about to dare and break it, the demon slowly spoke, staring into space:

"You cannot die. You shall not."

A/N Sesshoumaru had changed.