(Sesshomaru's POV)

"Open up old man! We don't have all fucking day!"

"Yeah, you're trying Sesshomaru-sama's patience right now!"

The aforementioned man shows no reaction to his name being invoked and posts up against his Porsche with his arms crossed. His golden eyes remain closed as his cronies bang on the laundry mat's glass window. It is the only business still open at this hour.

"Fuck you!" His eyes do snap open when the man shouts his response from behind the see-through window. "Fuck you all! I don't need your sorry ass protection, so why should I pay you any protection money? What are you protecting me from?!"

"WHAT?" His minions are in an uproar by now. "How dare you, you ingrate!? You're lucky we don't kill you…" Sesshomaru tunes out the rest of their outbursts as he finally straightens up. He uncrosses his arms and brushes his abnormally long silver-white hair behind his elfish ear before slowly and calmly moving to his trunk. After rumbling around for a few seconds, he slams the hood closed with a loud snap which draws the attention of the combative group. They watch silently as he approaches the wide glass window. The old man's eyes grow wide in horror when he notices the thick wooden bat clutched nonchalantly in the stoic male's grip.

"What do you need protection from, hn?" The four members of his team look at each other at the sound of their leader's chillingly calm tone and take a few steps back.

"W-W-Wait don't—" The poor sixty-eight-year-old senior hardly gets his plea out before Sesshomaru yanks his bat backwards. All the man can do is desperately cover his face as a loud CRASH! rings through the dark empty street and he is showered in glass. Sesshomaru pulls his arm back and gives another hard swing which sends glass shards flying everywhere. Some even manage to cut himself as well but he does not even flinch.

"Stop it, just stop this! Please! Okay! I'm so sorry, please don't do this! I'll give you your money! Just stop this!" Sesshomaru ignores his pleas and breaks the remaining glass on the large window before finally throwing down the bat and stepping into the little shop. As he approaches the small cut up man cowering on the floor, shrill screams fill the store. His eyes flash over to the cash register where he can see a young woman and two kids, no older than six, huddled under the counter. He looks away with cold disinterest and instead focuses on the elder quivering at his feet. "Now do we see how vital protection can be?"

"H-Hai S-Sesshomaru-sama!"

"I would hate for something like this to happen to you again." Snickers from his henchmen follow his callous and obvious lie. "And can you imagine what a hot tempered delinquent would do to you and your little family over there?"

"Please no—"

"Give me my money." He interrupts curtly.

"O-Of c-course." The old man nearly drops the yellow envelope due to his fervent shaking, but he manages to place it in the expecting hand of the boy at least forty-five years younger than himself.

"My men will be back next week and there better not be any issues."

"N-N-Next week?! I just paid you! How—"His sentence is cut short when Sesshomaru kicks him flat on his back. Before the senior can fully process what just happened, he feels the pressure of the Yakuza lord's black boot in the middle of his chest.

"You pay dues every four weeks on the last Sunday of the month, correct?"

"Nnngh…gah…hah, hah."

"Correct?!" His foot presses down even harder in irritation. He has already wasted too much of his precious time on such a trivial case.

"Y-y-y-y-esss!" The man desperately chokes out and Sesshomaru lets up a bit.

"Exactly. And next week is the last Sunday of December, is it not? It is not my fault that you opted to be three weeks late on your dues now, is it?"

"N-No."

"When my men come back you better not give them anymore problems. Or else there will be no warning next time, understood?"

"…But next…week is C-Christmas. Can't you—!?"

The undeniable sound of a gun being cocked makes the man swallow his words as he stares into the barrel of Sesshomaru's .44 Magnum. "Un-der-stood?"

"PAPA!" The little boy who was cowering under the counter shocks both men when he suddenly charges out of his mother arms and at the armed Yakuza. "LEAVE MY PAPA ALONE YOU BAD GUY!" To his disgust the boy latches onto his gun arm and tries to pull him back.

"Shippo NO!" The lady, who he can only assume is the boy's mother, comes rushing over, which prompts her daughter to follow suit. "Shippo let go!" He does not know where the little boy's strength is coming from because between his mother trying to pull him and Sesshomaru trying to shake him off his arm, the blue-eyed kid manages to stay latched on.

"Get your brat!"

"Shippo let go!"

"NO! He's gonna' hurt papa!" Sesshomaru's eyes widen ever so slightly as the little brat sinks his teeth into his arm.

"AH fuck!" Without any hesitation whatsoever, he takes the gun into his other hand and belts the kid in the back of the head with the bunt of his pistol. The child's grip on him instantly becomes slack and Sesshomaru flings him to the floor where he lays limp. Within seconds his previously orange hair is stained red with his own blood.

"OH MY GOD SHIPPO! SHIPPO?!"

"Mommy is he dead?! WAAAAAAAH!" He tunes out the rest of the woman's and little girl's shrieks and instead walks back to the broken window. When he steps out, he finds three of his four members smirking at him in amusement.

"Well now, wasn't that a bit harsh, even for you, Sesshomaru-sama~?" Jakotsu's overtly flamboyant voice only serves to irritate the impatient man further.

"I don't like children."

"Hee-hee, big surprise there."

"Suikotsu." He chooses to ignore the girly man at his side and instead address the bipolar member of the group. Well bipolar is not the word to describe it. They are all pretty sure that the buff man has split personality, but Sesshomaru could care less. As long as he gets his job done, he is another useful subordinate for the Lord. His personal problems are none of his concern. "Go with Renkotsu," Sesshomaru continues referring to the only member who was not chuckling at his previous actions. Although everyone knows that the bald man can be very sensitive, he still puts up a façade of being this stoic mysterious man. "And deliver this money to Naraku-sama."

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama." They both bow before getting in one of the three cars the group had come in.

"Kyokotsu," Sesshomaru finally names the last member in his small group. He tries to minimize conversation with this one since he believes that he is mentally impaired in some way. If it were not for his enormous size of 7'1/300 pounds Naraku would not keep the oaf around. "You and Jakotsu are dismissed." The big guy says nothing and simply moves to one of the two remaining cars to wait for Jakotsu. Sesshomaru shakes his head when he realizes that the giant is drooling.

"Just the new of us now~" Jakotsu attempts to hug the Lord's arm, but Sesshomaru grabs his wrist and spins around him, yanking the other's arm behind his back along the way.

"What have I told you about touching me?"

"Boohoo Sesshomaru-sama. You really are in a bad mood huh?"

"This is not something I should have been called for. You all completely wasted my time which is also wasting Naraku-sama's time. I should kill you all for such a grievous offense. Next time you better handle your tasks properly because if This Sesshomaru is called in for something as commonplace as collecting dues, I might do just that. Understood?"

"Hai, hai."

Sesshomaru releases the queer older man and gets into his Porsche. In no time he is on the familiar commute from the busy city to his home on the outskirts. He was only in the Musashi District of the Western City area. His city or rather, Naraku's city stretches over an almost inconceivable amount of territory. It should practically be a whole other state/province on its' own. And it pisses him off that he only has complete reign over the Musashi Province. Granted it is one of the biggest sectors in his region, but Sesshomaru is not satisfied with such circumstances. He wants it all—he is, after all, the conquering type. Many people would call him greedy for the way he thinks. He is one of six underbosses in the largest Yakuza tribe of all time and…he is only nineteen years old. People cringe at the mere mention of his name. They tremble in his wake. They bend over backward to please him. What more could he want? Well, he wants Naraku's title, and he does plan on achieving just that, not eventually but…soon. He must get the five other underbosses on his side, and it will be like taking candy from a baby. It should not be too hard. His mind ponders his "fellow" Lords in mild disdain:

Kagura: That should be easy enough. The black haired, red-eyed cutthroat woman is in love with him or something foolish to that effect. It should be no chore to bend her to his will.

Muso: That should prove to be more difficult. The long-haired, average looking man is a distant relative to Naraku. However, he is only in his position due to that tie with his boss. Due to the fact he is a pretty normal and average guy, it is possible that the man craves a more simple and typical life. He does not give the impression of caring about his work which thoroughly pisses the younger lord off. However, there are rumors suggesting he is madly in love with some woman. Perhaps he can use that to his advantage.

Akago: Akago is even younger than himself and a closer relative of Naraku. He is an albino brat with whitish-lilac hair and purple eyes who will do anything to get what he wants. When he is bored, he tends to do reckless and violent things just for the hell of it. And he loves manipulating people. He may be hard to control but Sesshomaru only needs to humor him and find something he wants that the teen cannot get himself.

Jinenji: This might be even easier than Kagura. Jinenji is a mild-mannered giant with huge eyes and short hair who is even bigger than Kyokotsu. People only fear him because of his stature. If they got to know him, they would know that he is just an overgrown, weak, worthless excuse of a Yakuza Lord. All Sesshomaru really needs to do is whoop his ass…maybe even simple verbal abuse will suffice.

Lastly there is Bankotsu: This will definitely be his biggest trial. The long-haired man is absolutely ruthless and psychotic. Bankotsu is as power hungry as himself and there are already whispers on the street that he wants to overthrow Naraku. If he cannot convince him to back down and let him take the lead, then he will just have to kill him. That will also prove to be a challenge since he is skilled with a sword and gun such as himself.

Sesshomaru waits patiently as the gates to his mansion-like home slowly creak open. The gates are white gold and have his Yakuza crescent moon crest on the front which matches the Prussian blue tattoo on the middle of his forehead. He is not as tatted as most of his members simply because he thinks it is redundant. He has magenta stripes tattooed on his eye lids, across his cheeks, and wrapping around his wrists. All in all, he is a very eye-catching man though. People mistake him for delicate-looking despite his toned muscles and tall stature. He is fair-skinned with amber gold eyes and has knee length silver-white hair which had went prematurely silver by the time he was four. And he is undeniably a flashy dresser as most Yakuza members are. He does not go as far as Kagura or Jakotsu but he does wear intricate high-class garments.

"I'm home." He mumbles out blankly to no one in particular after entering his enormous house. His eyebrow arches slightly as Jaken, his butler, rushes down the stairs to greet him. How in the hell did he hear him?

"Welcome back Sesshomaru-sama! I take it everything went smoothly?"

He stares down at the midget man before him with no intention of acknowledging his question. He always wondered what made him hire such an annoyingly jumpy and weird looking man. Because of the man's severe chlorosis, or hypochromic anemia, his skin gives off an odd green color. If that's not enough, the man only stands as 4'0, has a glistening bold head, and bulging eyes. It must be his loyalty. "Is my dinner ready?"

"Of course, my lord, the cook has just finished." He allows Jaken to take off his white lush coat and makes a move towards his exquisite dining room, when Jaken's stammering stops him short. "U-u-u-um Sesshomaru-sama?"

"…"

"Um t-there a-a-are s-some—"

"Out with it!"

The short imp-like man jumps at his master's tone and bows gracefully in apology. "Um yes my lord! Sorry, my lord. There are some people waiting to see you in the sitting room."

"People? Who? Is it Kagura?"

"No, my lord."

"Muso?"

"No."

"A client?"

"No."

"WHO?!" He is really trying his patience right now.

"Oh right! Gomenasai! They are travelers from another city—"

"You let strangers into my home?"

"They bare important news!" His eyes bug out further at his Lord's suddenly calm tone.

"…For your sake…you better hope so." Sesshomaru walks away and ignores the imp's audible gulp which resonates down the long corridor. The entryway to his sitting room is not too far from their current position and it is located under his staircase. He barges in but falters when finds a surprisingly familiar old man seated on one of his plush armchairs. "Myoga?"

The elderly man jumps up in alarm and faces him with a nervous smile on his haggard face. "Long time no see eh, Sesshomaru-sama?"

Long time no see indeed. He has not seen the short, pointy-nosed, balding old man since he last saw his own father nine years ago. The ancient man had always been a family friend and he can remember him constantly being around when he was growing up. But all thoughts of his childhood leave his mind as he glares at the man coolly. "And to what do I owe such a disturbing visit?"

"W-Well, unfortunately, I bring bad n-news." He watches as he extends his short arm back towards the chair. His eyebrows furrow in confusion until little feet hit the carpet. The back of his chair had concealed any other person that may have been in the room and when a little hand reaches out to hold the old man's offered hand Sesshomaru eyes widen in genuine shock. Now, partially hiding behind Myoga's leg, is a little boy no older than ten staring at him curiously. His gaudy red jumpsuit is immediately attention grabbing but what really catches the stunned lord's gaze is his actual appearance. The little boy has matching silver-white hair that reaches down to his slender waist and big amber gold eyes. His skin is much tanner than his own and his features are not as elegant but there is no mistaking the shocking resemblance between the two. "Here you are." Sesshomaru's sharp eyes snap back to Myoga who is now holding out an envelope. He snatches it quickly and tears it open to find a letter:

Sesshomaru,

By the time you get this I will have already passed on to the next world. There was a terrible fire at my house in Okinawa. I tried to save Izayoi but failed miserably…but I did manage to protect the boy you see now. I suffered critical injuries and am told that I will be dead before the sun comes up. Listen to me my first born. I know you must hate me for leaving your mother for a woman, who you two considered, of such low class, but you must understand…well how can you? You have never been the sentimental type. But this is not about me or you or even the women. This is about that little boy; he is your half-brother. He has lost everything in a matter of hours and has nowhere left to go. I know about you and your lifestyle and cannot say I am proud or approve of it. Normally I would not dream of sending a child into such dangerous and horrible circumstances but then again…what choice do I have? Neither Izayoi nor I have any other family left. Please son, this is my final request as a man on this Earth. Find it in your heart to care for him. For your brother.

-Loving memory, your father,

Inutaisho

After re-reading the short letter three times Sesshomaru is finally able to pry his wide halcyon orbs from the paper shaking in his hands. He looks back towards the elderly man to find him still anxiously clutching the boy's little hand. "…"

"Sesshomaru…"

"…"

"This is your otouto; Inuyasha."