How different everything was.

How had he come to this point?

He, the great demon Sesshomaru, had been escorting a group of mortals, babysitting them as they blindly trekked through the mountains, guarded the idiot samurai's wife as she whelped…all with the help of Inuyasha no less. They all sat there now, chattering idly amongst themselves over the squealing human infants that screeched noisily into the misty dawn of the forest.

How ludicrous, that he should be in a situation like this.

A memory flashed across his mind. A warm smile, bright brown eyes, soft skin…

Kohana…

As with every day since her departure, Sesshomaru found that his senses were constantly on alert, searching for his mate's scent amongst the trees. There was, as there had been for over a month, no sign of her presence.

That proud obstinate woman had changed him, and yet she was not here to witness the result of her influence. She cared so deeply for these humans, Inuyasha and his friends, he found that he could not bear to let her suffer the loss of any of them. That he, Sesshomaru, would be protecting his idiotic half-brother and his noisy friends all for the sake of a mortal woman…

She wasn't just any mortal woman though. She was Kohana. His mate.

He missed her.

How had he changed so much?

"Sesshomaru," a voice spoke. He glanced over to see Kagome staring at him, "Would you like to join us for breakfast?" This wasn't her first invitation, the girl was either too dense or too persistent to take his usual silence as a rejection.

"I don't eat human food." He said, deciding that an answer for once might put the matter to rest.

"You know, you've been travelling with us for a while now, and I don't think I've ever seen you eat once. Just what exactly do you eat?"

He simply looked at her.

"Give it a rest Kagome," Inuyasha called over, "If Sesshomaru wanted to be 'buddies' with us he would've done it a while ago."

"He's a part of the group though," Kagome responded, "He's pulled his own weight and has helped to protect us for at least a month, we can't just keep ignoring him or pretending that he's not here!"

Inuyasha looked as though he'd bitten something sour.

"If you insist on providing food, then feed Rin and Futeki," Sesshomaru said and looked back to the forest, ignoring them. He could hear his son talking to Rin, the little hanyou was babbling to his human sister, trying to imitate the words she was saying as she spoke about the human infants.

How blissfully unaware the pup seemed of his demonic transformation mere days ago.

Sesshomaru reflected on the foresight of his own father. The great Inu no Taisho had planned before his death to bequeath Inuyasha the Tetsusaiga in order to keep his powerful demonic blood at bay, otherwise his weak human soul would be devoured. Futeki, it seemed, suffered the same problem. The blood he inherited from Sesshomaru was too powerful for his human half, and already at this young age his demon half was able to manifest itself.

Sesshomaru's left arm brushed against his swords. The Bakusaiga, the sword he eared when he defended his honor as a demon and surpassed his father, rested against the Tenseiga. The sword of healing puled gently at his side, sensing his troubled thoughts.

The Inu no Taisho had been very cunning, planning which sword went to which son. He had ensured that Inuyasha would be protected, and that Sesshomaru would learn compassion. Their great and powerful father had had the foresight to care for his sons even in death…

…And yet Sesshomaru himself had not possessed the same foresight of his father to prevent his own son's demon blood from destroying him. To think that he, as powerful as he was, would fail to protect his own child…

His jaw clenched in anger.

It seemed that as long as Futeki wasn't in danger the pup remained in control of himself, but there was no guarantee that would last. Naraku was probably aware of his transformation, just as he knew of Inuyasha's. Now that that vermin possessed the entire Shikon jewel, he was sure to be arrogant enough to think that he could exploit every weakness he knew of against them.

Naraku was a fool if he thought he could harm Futeki or Rin while Sesshomaru was nearby, but he'd proven himself to be a devious foe. He would plot to separate them again, that was the only way he could exploit their weaknesses and successfully attack.

Kohana and the idiot samurai were already separate from their group. Should Naraku discover their location and reveal to Kohana Futeki's condition before Sesshomaru himself had a chance to tell her, the results would be disastrous. Naraku would surely use the information to weaken her, just as easily as he would use any information about the infant twins against the samurai.

If Naraku got to them, it would be his first step in destroying the rest of their group.

Sesshomaru wasn't going to let that happen, not to his mate.

He was done wasting time.

"Gather your things," He turned, interrupting an argument between Inuyasha and Kagome, "It's time to leave."

"What? Who put you in charge?" Inuyasha challenged, his ears flattening against his skull.

"We can't leave right now," Kagome added, "Sango still needs to regain her strength; she and the babies aren't strong enough to travel yet."

"Do you assume that Naraku will wait for that?" Sesshomaru asked, "You've wasted enough time with your idle chatter. We've completed our mission in rescuing the boy; it's time we rejoined the others."

"Kohana and Ronuku?" Kagome asked, "But they said they'd be back with Lady Kaida and Naoe when they were finished training, what if they're not done yet?"

"Does that matter?" Sango called over from where she sat, "Sesshomaru is right; Naraku has the jewel now we can't afford to be separated at a time like this."

"Sis, are you sure?" Kohaku asked, "Will your babies be able to travel right now? What about your injuries?"

"They're getting stronger every moment," Sango said, "And I'm feeling a little better now. As long as we're careful I think we can start moving."

"It's not like we can stay here anyway," Risu pointed out from the branches of a tree, "Two newborn humans, a toddler, and two children sitting in a demon infested forest? That's like dangling fresh meat amongst a pack of wolves, we may as well put up a sign offering an 'all-you-can-eat baby-feast'." Kagome gave him a horrified looked and Sango held her children closer.

"Be that as it may," Miroku said, glaring at the squirrel, "We can't simply just get up and go; Ronuku and Kohana didn't tell us where they were going when they left, I'm not sure even they knew where Lady Kaida and Naoe intended on taking them. How do you propose we find them?"

"That's simple," Inuyasha huffed, "Those two cause trouble everywhere they go, they're bound to have pissed someone off. We just gotta follow a trail of angry villages till I pick up their scent and then I'll lead us straight to 'em."

"And you would risk dragging Sango's children, Rin, and Futeki into unknown country while Naraku is out there with the entire Shikon Jewel?" Miroku asked, giving the hanyou a look.

"Well I…uh..." Inuyasha fumbled, "…I'm sure Futeki could handle it…"

"It's not like we can leave them somewhere," Kagome said, "The last time we tried that Naraku sent a horde of demons and Kagura after them the second we were gone. We have to stick together, otherwise he'll just go after them again."

"Is this discussion necessary?" Sesshomaru asked, his impatience growing, "If Naraku attacks, I will destroy him with my sword."

"Oh really? Then why don't you just go and do it now?" Inuyasha huffed sarcastically, "Sure would've saved us all this trouble if you'd thought of that sooner!"

"Naraku's not the only issue we have to worry about," Kagome said, trying to diffuse a squabble before it started "Sango's babies are still too small to be out in the open, they need a proper shelter and nutrients, we can't just take them anywhere."

Sesshomaru's claws itched. They still intended on wasting time babbling, were it not for Kohana he would've killed them by now just to cease their excessive senseless chatter. He could still do it, silence them now and then go slay Naraku by himself…

"Why can't we return to Lady Kaede's village?" Rin asked, turning everyone's attention towards her, "Kohana and Ronuku don't know where we are either, isn't that where they'd go if they wanted to wait somewhere for us?"

"She has a point," Miroku admitted.

"Kaede would also have herbs and know what to do if anything happened to the babies," Kagome agreed, "and if we stick together then we can all protect the village. I'm sure Shippo and Recca and the other children miss us."

"Then it's settled, we'll go back to Old Kaede's place and wait for those two idiots to come back," Inuyasha nodded, "Let's get going!"

Sesshomaru frowned. Rin was correct, the old priestess' village is most likely the place Kohana would return to…

But what if she hadn't returned yet? Until he knew where she was, there was no way to be certain that his mate was safe from being tricked by Naraku. Sesshomaru was fast, he could leave on his own, find her before that vermin did...

"Papa?" Futeki stood at his feet and looked up at him, eyes wide and fearful. It was almost as if the pup had sensed his father's intention to leave, that he would disappear just as his mother had.

If I leave Futeki, he'll succumb to his demonic transformation.

Sesshomaru picked up the child and closed his eyes. He couldn't abandon his son, and he knew that Kohana would rather he protect their child instead of her. But to not protect his mate and leave her own her own…

…For the first time in his life Sesshomaru felt powerless. Powerless to protect the mortal woman who had brought so many changes to his life…

It did not sit well with him.

"Come Futeki," He said, calming the pup, "Let's be off."

Kohana. Stay safe. Stay safe and return to my side.