A/N: I do not own Inuyasha.

As always, thank you for alerts!

In this chapter Tarou changes to his demon form and there is a beautiful artwork of it! Check out my profile to see Tarou and other characters (Yuutsuki and Oka) from my story, all created by my fiancé.

Chapter 10

A purple umbrella opened, covering the two females from the pouring rain. One of them, still a young child, was shivering with cold. Her long, curly chestnut hair exposed the dark eyes, as she lifted her chin to look at the umbrella's beautiful pattern. She left the protected area and smiled, as if something really plausible had happened, her eyes beamed with excitement. Putting her both arms on her hips she recited a sentence, apparently knowing it by heart.

"I ought to grow used to rain and cold. One day it might prove useful to me."

The other female, already of elderly age placed her wrinkled hand at the child's soaked head and tapped it slightly.

"That's right, Yuutsuki. Now, don't get too wet. I want you healthy."

Hesitating for a bit, the child grabbed the older woman's hand and pressed her face against it.

Neither dreaming, nor awake Yuutsuki kept rubbing her face against a material, still murmuring the remembered sentence.

"I ought to … Grow used to rain and cold. One day it might … Prove useful to me..."

She slowly opened her eyes, and her face became beet red and her pulse increased, for it was not her grandmother's sleeve she had been pressing her cheek against, but Sesshoumaru's warm clothing around his chest. Yuutsuki did not dare to look at his face, completely abashed and fearful of his possible comment. The demon's body solidified and remorse permeated his heart. Once he had held a girl in his arms like this. She had been bringing her small, most of the time unclean, childish face, close to his heart, claiming to listen to its beat. However, it had been a blatant lie, the child had invented the justification just to embrace him. Sesshoumaru wished he had shown Rin a proof of his fondness, be it an insignificant caress, be it just once. His claws twitched and he unwillingly, still immersed in pensive memories, pressed the body in his arms to his chest, trying to imagine Rin's smile. The one he was holding right now caused different feelings in him, not fatherly ones, nevertheless still protective. To his surprise he felt a tight knot in his stomach, when he heard Yuutsuki gasping for air. He reminisced himself haring off upon noticing fire in the village, hurrying to save the Ren he actually had no use of, yet he kept next to him. It could be his honour, after all the family's alliance was concerning him directly, but he was fully aware, it wasn't the solemn reason. His iron grasp tightened even more, before his feet hit the ground and he sprang away high, finally landing in the middle of a clearing. Sesshoumaru released the girl and sat down under a tree, closing his eyes. There wasn't anything in particular he wished to say, there was only one thing bothering him, and he disliked to have doubts. He had caught a strong scent of Tarou nearby, as far as he was concerned, the demon general shouldn't have any particular reason to roam around this part of the west.

Yuutsuki felt ashamed to fall asleep in Sesshoumaru's arms, but fortunately, judging by the darkness around, she hadn't slept for long. There was still around two, three hours before the sun would sluggishly rise up. She still felt the warmth of his arms on her body, the demon lord's behaviour had puzzled her, leaving place for qualms and considerations. She sat on moss covered, cold stone facing him directly, pondering about his actions, but she quickly changed the course of her thoughts, fastening her eyes at Sesshoumaru.

Was it possible, that her grandmother had taught her humility and endurance to prepare her for this journey? Was it the reason why she had recommended her to practise kendo? She was reminiscent of more and more particulars and arguments, proving her theory.

"It's inappropriate for a female to gape at a male that intently." Sesshoumaru spoke with his eyes unchangeably closed.

Yuutsuki stirred at his words, squeezed the pink material of her kimono and mumbled:

"I apologise, I got lost in thought."

"You continue walking, there is no living soul around. I will catch up later."

The girl didn't speak a word, hesitating. She was aware of his reluctance to clarify his acts. Their glances met and Sesshoumaru was the first to set off, leaving Yuutsuki following him with her eyes, but the dense forest and the dark velvet of the night made her task hard and short lived. The girl didn´t stand still for long, instead, made a simple half turn and went on her way. Sesshoumaru had told her that she was the only living being in the area and she indeed felt alone, but the lack of light and the dead silence around her contributed to the unsettling feeling softly running through her. Taking hold of her breath and with small steps, the girl made her way through the obscure disturbing path ahead of her, and with each careful footstep she longed for the white demon guiding her path. It was so quiet; the only sound was the rustling of the leaves on the trees. The girl tried to focus on the riddle her grandma posed, thinking about Kagome and the rest, all in vain, for her eyes played tricks on her, making her see things that weren't there.

She walked for a quarter of an hour or two, yet it seemed like an eternity. A gust of cool, chilling breeze swept across the place, which caused her hairs to stand on end, her spine to quiver and tremble. A noise of cracking twigs made her jump. The wind abated, but the sound remained, twigs snapping continuously, as if somebody was doing it on purpose. Very cautiously, listening, hardly breathing, she ventured a few steps in that direction. The girl screamed, a dry, cracked scream as two birds flew just next to her head. She took a deep breath, calling herself silly and clumsily continued her way.

Sesshoumaru caught Tarou's trace easily. He hissed with annoyance, the fool had allowed his energy to be fully sensed, possibly annihilating his plan of ambushing Naraku's reincarnation. Before making himself visible to his target, Sesshoumaru uttered with an irritated note in his voice:

"Tarou, you fool, what has made you roam this part of my lands?" Sesshoumaru's eyes pierced the underling.

"Se-Sesshoumaru-sama… what are you doing here? Erg…I mean, I didn´t expect the lord of the west to be here. As expected of his greatness, can fully mask his presence." Unavailingly, he was trying to draw a smile, unable to hide his surprise.

"Cut the brown-nosing and answer me!" The demon dog was visibly annoyed; the General should be guarding his property.

"I´m here to scout the area, Sesshoumaru-sama."

"So you are an even bigger fool than I thought, giving yourself out in such a way. No matter, you are somewhat favourable to me. Abandon everything you are doing, hide your presence and come."

Tarou let out an expression of discontent after receiving the order and only reluctantly agreed as he tried to catch up to Sesshoumaru´s speed.

Not even ten minutes had passed as both demons heard Yuutsuki's echoing scream coming from afar. The demon lord increased his speed and in a blink of an eye he was standing in front of the surprised girl and few seconds later Tarou joined him. A waft of anxiety snuck in the girl's mind as she felt an unfamiliar sensation emanating from the ring, filling her with nervousness. Sharing the information with Sesshoumaru wasn't a brilliant idea, since the demon lord seemed irritated, he had only spoke once, ordering her to follow. The group continued walking in human pace, Sesshoumaru leading the way, just behind him Yuutsuki and Tarou. She detected an anomalous aura around Tarou the moment she had seen him, something aberrant was occurring, and Yuutsuki had no idea why Sesshoumaru hadn't sensed it yet. The girl refrained herself from action, even though weird thoughts were pestering her and the ring behaved abnormally. Her eyes were unwillingly locking at Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga, and her heart raced rapidly at the thought of wielding it. The finger was burning violently, like an opened wound treated with alcohol, making her dizzy. Would something happen if she drew Tenseiga? Throwing a short glance at Tarou over her shoulder, Yuutsuki decided to endure the sensations, blaming it on her weariness.

None of them spoke a word anymore as the sun lazily clambered over the horizon; they proceeded through the forest, until Sesshoumaru threw curtly:

"We are close. Tarou, protect Yuutsuki, her fatigue doesn't allow her to fight. Keep her close enough to nullify the shard."

"Understood."

Only few moments later they entered a path leading to a big cave and out of nothing a large creature appeared, which looked like a gigantic armadillo with extendable tentacles. Sesshoumaru silently threw himself towards it, trying to take the enemy by surprise as Yuutsuki, approached the creature in order to nullify the shard. Tarou followed her, his appearance changing to his demon form. His shape remained the same, but his face covered with black, dense fur, his mouth turned to a muzzle with fangs and he grew dog ears. Only his eyes remained of the same, azure colour, which were fixed on Sesshoumaru's figure attacking Naraku's reincarnation. The creature quickly spotted the intruders, but it didn't try to elude Sesshoumaru's sword. Astonishingly, its armour was too thick to be cut or pierced, and the thing itself was startlingly fast for its mass. The ring aligned and the girl knew the shard had been nullified. The creature roared and became a bit smaller, but not feebler, Sesshoumaru had difficulties harming it due to its resistant shield. Yuutsuki unsheathed her sword when the creature felled the dog demon to the ground, and she sighted with a relief when he gracefully returned to his feet, dodging a blow that could be lethal. The creature didn't leave any time for a breath though, extended its limbs in attack, producing a furious blare.

Just a second after the girl had lowered her sword, through the corner of her eye, she saw, as if in slow motion, how Tarou lifted up his sharp claws, clearly aiming for her life. Favourably, she managed to avoid the attack, changing the course of deadly talons with her sword. Nevertheless the impact made her fall to knees. Sesshoumaru had noticed the act of disloyalty in spite of the strenuous fight. With a powerful thrust of his sword, he pushed the creature back and rushed towards the girl and his underling with murder in his golden eyes. Tarou had disobeyed his orders, betrayed his trust and dared to endanger a life he had been supposed to protect. When the traitor was in hand's reach, the demon lord sensed the armadillo's incoming attack. With a half turn he rapidly faced the hideous creature, just to deflect the unexpected blow, whereas Tarou took advantage of his incredible speed and pierced Sesshoumaru's back with his bare hand. A scream came through Yuutsuki's throat and she set off towards the demons. On Sesshoumaru's chest the bright material of his kimono changed the colour to red. In the same exact moment Inuyasha appeared, sending his Wind Scar at Naraku's reincarnation, successfully pushing it back again, although not doing visible damage. Just afterwards Sango, Kagome and Miroku appeared, fully ready to fight. Kagome drew back her bowstring, hoping to ward off whatever danger the creature could pose. To avoid Sango´s Hiraikotsu effectively, Tarou withdrew his hand from Sesshoumaru, who slightly tilted forward while a burst of blood from his chest formed a red puddle on the ground. Tarou however was not expecting the weapon to come back for a second attack, this time hitting its target. The demon stood grounded behind Sesshoumaru, the latter's blood staining the fallen demons arm. Allowing no delay, Miroku placed sacred sutras on Tarou, immobilizing his movements whilst Yuutsuki couldn't even make an action, her eyes were focused on the bloody chest of Sesshoumaru. She urged to call his name, but only a faint swoosh escaped her wobbly mouth. Her teeth were clanging so much out of fear, that if she tried to speak now, she would probably bite her lip. Kagome approached the wounded demon, apparently ready to help treat his wounds.

"Are you fine Sesshoumaru?" The priestess voice was filled with worry.

"Do not dare…" He growled in a menacing voice that made Yuutsuki tremble. Taking a deep breath and slowly raising his chin he finished the sentence. "To touch me." The demon's eyes were enflamed, petrifying and filled with pure rage and bloodlust. Still bleeding significantly, he took several steps in Tarou's direction, saying:

"I shall remove your tongue first, so you cannot pray for forgiveness in hell."

Yuutsuki looked into Tarou's empty eyes and she could not stop thinking that something was erroneous.

"BASTARD!" Inuyasha screamed, as Naraku's reincarnation jumped towards the party. The half demon outran it and stood firmly, facing it to protect his friends. He didn't expect Sesshoumaru to knock him down and tear out Tessaiga from his hands.

"KONGOUSOUHA!" Sesshoumaru summoned the diamond Tessaiga as he swung it horizontally without effort, as if he was not injured at all. This was not a regular Kongousouha, instead of the usual diamond projectiles, an uncountable amount of very fine, diamond wave of needles was projected from the swing, piercing through the hard body of Naraku´s reincarnation. The creature did not scream nor moved, just slowly dispersed in a cloud of miasma. Sesshoumaru ditched the sword and dropped to one knee, gazing at his burning hand as he gasped for air. Inuyasha lifted up Tessaiga, saying nothing, even though normally he would have complained and insulted him. This time Sesshoumaru had saved them all, proving his exceeding skills in the usage of Tessaiga.

"What about the demon that Miroku had seized?" Sango expressed her doubts and looked at Yuutsuki who quietly spoke:

"Kagome, use your priestess powers, don't you sense something weird about Tarou?"

The priestess approached the demon and closed her eyes, concentrating. After few seconds she shook her head in denial.

"There is nothing to sense, Yuu-chan. Just his aura."

"Miroku?" Yuutsuki stood her ground.

"Nothing, nothing beside a really strong aura." He looked at her weirdly. Rationally and granted, her two spiritual friends were right, nevertheless she had been sensing otherwise. To be exact, it was the ring sensing it, channelling the feeling to her. Sango put the familiar weight of Hiraikotsu onto her back and added:

"Yuutsuki, you look tired, maybe you are imagining…"

"Dammit! No!" She couldn't comprehend why she was so eagerly defending her feeling, even when facing more skilled people's opinion.

"Speak, Yuutsuki." Sesshoumaru's low voice silenced everyone else. The demon straightened his posture, still grabbing the wound.

"I am not sure…" The girl answered accordingly to the truth. Her eyes one more time focused on Tenseiga. "Tenseiga… It seems like the ring calls for Tenseiga…" She licked her dry lips, which were still shaking in fear.

Sesshoumaru plainly took out the sword and passed it to her hands, putting his trust in her judgement. Yuutsuki grabbed it tightly, and took a look at Tarou. Her eyes saw several pull-bearers surrounding Tarou's chained body. She had no idea what it meant, just whispering, she returned the sword.

"Sesshoumaru-sama…"

The demon decided to check for himself, grabbed the sword and lifted his eyebrow in surprise.

"He is already dead."

"What do'ya mean, Sesshoumaru? Miroku only put a barrier…" Inuyasha butted in.

"Judging from the look of it, he has been dead for some days already. I cannot help him. He is nothing but an empty shell… Priestess, purify him."

Kagome's eyes threw an offended look at him, but she obeyed, approached Tarou and released her powers. Suddenly a blast of miasma surrounded them, and Naraku's repulsive laugh spread around. Unused to Naraku's attack, Yuutsuki lifted up her sword in a protective manner.

"It is an illusion. Do not be deceived." Sesshoumaru whispered the words next to her ear and she relaxed a bit, trusting the demon lord completely.

"Sesshoumaru!" Naraku's voice was coming from all sides. "Once again I took something from you."

Sesshoumaru hissed and growled out:

"You took nothing from me, but patience. I guarantee you will no longer do as you wish. The cold, unrelenting steal of my blade is urging to end your deplorable existence."

"Proud as always. Oh. You have a Ren here. That's why I cannot sense the shard."

"Coward! Stop hiding and confront me!" Inuyasha swung Tessaiga around.

The miasma faded, along with it Naraku's laugh. Sesshoumaru jumped few meters behind, picking up a small pebble from the ground and as he walked, drops of crimson blood would drip from his wound. He threw the shard towards Inuyasha, grabbed Tarou's corpse and looked at Yuutsuki, leaving just afterwards.

"Where'd he go? Who was that demon anyway?" Sango bombed Yuutsuki with questions.

She answered, but her eyes were focused on the direction the demon lord had departed in.

"Tarou, a servant of his. I will remain with you, is that all right?"

"No need to ask, Yuu-chan. By the way, I thought of going home for few days. Wanna come?" Kagome twitted rather cheerfully.

"Is that possible?" Yuutsuki awoke from the lethargy caused by the recent events.

"Of course it is. You belong to the future. It's enough you hold a piece of Shikon no Tama."

"When will we go?" The girl couldn't hide her excitement, longing for home intensively.

"Oh my, you both will go and we will stay with Oka…Unless she decides to leave as well." Sango sighted.

"Speaking of Oka, she should be catching up shortly." Miroku smiled, but there was no humour in his words.

"Bah, as for me she's good for nothin'." Crossing his arms, Inuyasha thrust his lips out in displeasure.

Yuutsuki laughed slightly, but her thoughts returned to previous worries. Undoubtedly Sesshoumaru was a truly robust demon, notwithstanding this fact, his condition was of great concern. Despite of how he had acted, a wound of that calibre had surely affected him, the girl could only hope for his fast convalesce. In the end he hadn't spoken of her grandmother anymore, maybe one day, after coming back from the future she would still have an opportunity to inquire.

"Let's go back to the village. For now there are no shards to take care of, no trace of Naraku can be found…" The monk's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Yea, let's go or ya will be late for those tests of yours or somethin', Kagome." After the half demon spoke, the whole party began walking.

Sesshoumaru looked at the ground where he had buried Tarou's body. There were many thoughts occupying his mind, but he said nothing, just slowly walked away. He hadn't gone far, he could still smell Yuutsuki's scent. Now his priority was to recuperate. A small, decent kip would help in recovering his wound. Before he dozed off in sleep a thought came over his mind. He regretted he hadn't taken the girl with him.

Two full, long days had passed before the girls were able to jump into the well, returning to their time. Yuutsuki was genuinely shocked after seeing their city again, the heavy smell of pollution, the view of technology.

"So, whenever you want to come back, jump in." Kagome laughed, passing her a shard of the Jewel.

Going back home took her around fifteen minutes, but how wonderful the walk was. Unlike in the other world, everything in here was so normal and familiar to her. She knew every street, tree and building. The girl wondered if her family had been waiting for her, for sure they had been worried. Her wide smile and feeling of wellbeing burst like a soap bubble when she entered her house. One glance at her mother's face was enough to tell that something had happened.

"Yuutsuki! Oh, thank god! My girl…" Her mother's face was swollen, dark circles under her eyes made her look older than she really was. She run towards Yuutsuki and embraced her tightly.

"I am so glad you've come back…" She said, while weeping.

"Mother… What happened?" From the older woman's eyes more tears fell down, staining her pitch black kimono.

"Your grandmother… passed away…"

The funeral ceremony took place on the following day, it gathered many people. Yuutsuki was barely conscious, her watery eyes and head bent down didn't allow her to focus her vision on any of the faces during the ceremony. The girl didn't stay for condolences, the pilling up grief, it was hell. It burnt her ears, it scorched her tongue, devoured her soul. Rubbing the given ring, she released her tightly pulled up hair and grabbed her wooden sword, swinging it aimlessly in the air. Several tears fell down as she recalled her grandmother and the time they had spent together. Guilt and sadness were growing in her, clogging her throat, making her lips tremble.

"Do you feel like sparring?" The girl heard her kendo instructor's voice. Nabu had probably escaped the formalities as well. She used her sleeve to wipe tears and nodded her head, passing him another wooden sword. They both bowed and the fight began.

"You've improved a lot."

Gasping for air, she threw Nabu a small, faint smile. For the first time she had won the fight fair and square, without using tricks or distractions.

"Thank you."

"Yuutsuki!" Her mother was standing with a small envelope in her hands. Approaching the woman, she took a look at her puffy eyes. She had been crying a lot.

"There was a man in here, he asked me to give this to you." Mother passed her the white envelope. "Strangely, he said he used to know your grandmother when she was young… Yet he looked so young himself…" She continued. "Won't you come back? Everyone is asking for you."

Yuutsuki shook her head in denial. There was no possibility of keeping her pose, looking at grandma's black and white picture and people paying respects to it. She'd rather not see it.

"I will be in my room."

Yuutsuki put the unread envelope on her bedside table, it was clearly condolences. She lied down on her bed, closed her eyes and tried to force her mind into blank, however, in vain. Curiosity took over and with one movement she tore the white paper and opened the envelope, deciding to read it out loud.

Ms. Ren Yuutsuki.

The girl unfolded the paper and looked at the neat, straight handwriting.

I was deeply saddened to hear about Hanako's demise. As I said once, her name is familiar to me. If you are still willing to listen, you are welcomed anytime in my antique store…

There was an address written underneath. The letter was strange indeed, but something else had caused an eclipse in her heart. It was the signature, a name, which made her head lighter.

Sincerely,

Sesshoumaru.

A/N

Thank You for reading!

If you dislike the part about the future, don't worry, the story returns to the past already in the next chapter.

I don't think you've missed Oka, but she's going to show up in the next chapter with a bit more important role than heretofore.

Person too lazy to log in, I am glad you liked it ^^v