Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. He belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 18

Last time:

Mr. Iwahashi lowered the phone to the receiver and stared at it as though it were a poisonous snake. It could have been a wrong number, but the girl was expecting a secretary, like Daiginkeiko had. And he was getting married, so a call from a young woman was a possibility.

He grinned broadly, feeling much like a kid in a candy store. Daiginkeiko was hiding something. He would find out about the photographs and the name Sesshomaru. If this was as good as it was promising to be, then perhaps he would soon have the mighty Daiginkeiko cowering before him and pleading not to be exposed.

What he needed now were a few answers. And he knew exactly who to ask.

xxxxxx

"So you want me to find out about Daiginkeiko?"

Mr. Iwahashi nodded again, biting his lip to keep from telling the man sitting across from him what he truly wanted to say. Nezumi was a sewer rat through and through. He had his fingers in a bit of every black market in Tokyo, and he knew a lot of influential people such Mr. Iwahashi himself. He hated to do it, but if he wanted to catch Daiginkeiko, Nezumi was the weapon he needed.

Nezumi leaned back in his chair and tossed back a cup of sake in one swig. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and leered at Mr. Iwahashi with bloodshot eyes that seemed to almost glow red in the dim light.

"It'll cost you," Nezumi told him. "And don't nod at me again, you fucking bobble-head. Daiginkeiko is near untouchable. He's tighter than a virgin and not in a good way. At least for guys like us, ne?"

Mr. Iwahashi cringed at the sound of Nezumi's shrill chuckles. He in no way wanted to be categorized with a man like that, but if it got him Daiginkeiko, he would tolerate it.

"Name your price, Nezumi. I'm good for it," Mr. Iwahashi told him. "I just want you to find out anything you can on him. And I think these may be of some assistance."

Nezumi perked up as Iwahashi slid an envelope across the table to him. He lifted it and slit the top open with a rather long, sharp fingernail. He dumped the contents onto the table and lifted a slip of paper.

"Sesshomaru," he read aloud in a bored tone. "What's this about?"

"I managed to intercept a personal call to Daiginkeiko's office," Iwahashi explained. "The female caller had a bad reception and thought I was Daiginkeiko. She addressed him using this name before the phone cut out."

Nezumi smiled at him, revealing very unpleasantly yellowed teeth. "I'm starting to like you more and more, Iwahashi."

He slipped the name into his pocket and flipped over the photograph that had landed face-down on the table. His features hardened, and he narrowed his eyes.

"Youkai!" Nezumi hissed.

Mr. Iwahashi started and flinched as Nezumi's red eyes locked onto him with a keen sobriety that'd he'd never seen in the man before. Obviously, the picture told him something. But what did it have to do with imaginary creatures?

"Where did you get this, Iwahashi?" Nezumi demanded, looking around and lowering his voice to a barely perceptible whisper.

"What does it matter to you, Nezumi? Just find out what you can about Daiginkeiko-"

"Go home, Iwahashi," Nezumi spat and tossed the photo back at him. He crossed his arms and held Iwahashi with a smug stare. "You're a low-class rat same as me, Iwahashi, so I'm giving you this warning. Go home and don't fuck with this guy. You're in way over your head in a sea you don't even know exists."

Iwahashi had put up with a lot of condescending remarks being a business partner of sorts with Daiginkeiko, but he was a man of good standing and a rather sinister reputation of his own. There was no way he was going to take any more of this superiority crap from anyone, much less a scoundrel like Nezumi.

"Don't you dare speak to me in such a manner," Iwahashi spat, his round face red with anger. He leaned forward and thrust the picture against Nezumi's chest. "I've been at this game for longer than you or Daiginkeiko have been around, so you will address me with respect. I don't give a damn about your seas, I want to take Daiginkeiko down a few pegs. So either you get me the info on what he's hiding, something I can use to get him, or I'll take my money elsewhere."

Nezumi chuckled and lifted another cup of sake to his lips. "Don't flatter yourself, thinking you've been at the game longer." He laughed again before draining the cup.

He placed it back on the table with a shrug and said, "Suit yourself, though don't say I didn't warn you. Well, one thing I can tell you right now this guy is hiding, if you can assure me that this is truly a picture of him."

He slid the photo across the table. Iwahashi nodded eagerly, a smirk on his face. He knew that costume meant something.

"Youkai," Nezumi told him and tapped the image.

"What do youkai have to do with that costume?"

Iwahashi shrank back as Nezumi menaced over him. Those red eyes really were glowing now, and the tips of Nezumi's abnormally long fingernails were now buried through the photograph and into the solid wood surface of the table. He snapped his sharp, yellow teeth at Iwahashi and cackled.

"Youkai have everything to do with this, Mr. Iwahashi," Nezumi told him with glee. "I warned you to turn around and stay out of the affairs of youkai, but it's too late now. Welcome to our world, human. I wish you the best of luck in surviving your newfound knowledge."

Mr. Iwahashi cowered away, feeling a deep, primal fear like he had only ever experienced twice before. Once when he was a small boy, visiting the zoo and a lion had gotten free of its pen. The beast locked eyes with him, paralyzing him with fear. He knew in an instant which was the stronger of that challenge, and would not be around today if the handlers hadn't caught the beast in time.

The second incident was during an altercation with Daiginkeiko.

"What- what are you?" he demanded.

"I am the same as your Daiginkeiko, here," Nezumi told him, slouching back into his chair and diminishing once again to rather unkempt man. "Youkai. A rat, to be precise."

Mr. Iwahashi discovered he was breathing hard and his heart was racing. Quite visible sweat stains spread from his armpits. "Are you saying Daiginkeiko isn't human? He's- he's a rat?"

Nezumi frowned at him. "Human, don't make assumptions about youkai. He is a youkai. I know that much by looking at him. What kind, I couldn't tell you, but from the perfection of that humanoid form, I'd say he's several classes above me. Why that 'costume', as you call it, is pretty fancy stuff. Older than I am, and I've seen a couple centuries. He probably lived in one of the four houses even. "

Iwahashi was lost. "What do you mean? Are you divided into classes? Sort of like our human social classes."

Nezumi snorted. "You flatter yourself, human. Youkai societal divisions run much more deeply than human ones ever could. We are divided by what we are and how much power we have. Some of the ruling families have dominated their clans for centuries, and the rigid hierarchies can only be disrupted by extreme violence or disaster.

"Among us weaker youkai, it is usually one of the higher classes that alters things, and that is purely coincidence seeing as they could care less about us than they do about insects or even humans. Even as recently as five hundred years ago, the cardinal lords still roamed Japan, though that was before my time."

Mr. Iwahashi frowned. "So you're telling me Daiginkeiko is royalty among your kind?"

Nezumi laughed. "I doubt it. Most of the cardinal lords left when the human infestation became too much to bear. But those of us with nowhere else to go—we adapted. Daiginkeiko probably came from one of the higher advising families close to one of the lords—the kimono itself bears royal insignia, and armor like that wasn't given to just anyone. He most likely took advantage of his lord's departure to gain a position in the human world."

"Giving that I believe all this," Mr. Iwahashi told him, "that still doesn't do me any good. I need something that will incriminate him in the human world. No one would believe me if I went around screaming youkai. They'd lock me up in an insane asylum. You want your money, get me something concrete."

Nezumi shrugged. "I'll find something, if it's there. But my price triples. The youkai world is even more dangerous than the mortal one, and there are rumors going around that a daiyoukai, one of the nobility, is back or at least revealing himself. I stay alive by keeping my nose to the ground, understand? And I won't lift it to be sniffing around where I shouldn't."

"I'll pay your price, Nezumi. Just get me what I need."

The rat youkai shook his hand and scurried away. Iwahashi wiped the hand on his pants before lifting his own cup of sake and downing it. Could it really be true? Did he really trust Nezumi that there were youkai? That Nezumi himself was a youkai?

While Nezumi did what he did, Iwahashi determined to do what he could. He needed to know if Daiginkeiko really was a youkai, so he needed to force him to reveal himself. As he drained another glass of sake, a plan began to form in his head, one that sang with the brilliance of all things created under the influence of alcohol. A few drinks and several phone calls later, it was on its way to being realized.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"I wish Mother could come with us," Reiku said as she skipped along the sidewalk a short distance in front of Sesshomaru.

Hop, hop, hop, switch legs, hop, hop, hop. Sesshomaru smiled at her youthful antics, scarcely hearing her question. Maika was on his mind, also. Along with the life growing inside her. Their child.

After a moment he replied, "As I am sure she wishes as well, but the pup she carries causes her to be ill at times. I think what is best for her is to get some peaceful rest with no disruptions, so this evening it is just the two of us."

"Well, I hope it's a sister," Reiku informed him. "Then I'll name her Akiko and dress her up and take good care of her."

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow. "You will, will you? And do your mother and I have no say in any of this?"

Reiku looked thoughtful. "I guess you can help. A baby sister might be a lot to handle. But it has to be a sister."

Sesshomaru fought the urge to smile. "And what if it's a brother?"

Reiku sighed. "I'll love a brother, too, but I really, really want a sister to put dresses on."

She skipped ahead detailing all the wonderful things she could do with her new sister, but Sesshomaru stopped listening. His instincts geared into high alert. Someone was trying to sneak up on them. He sniffed and caught the scent of a human, along with four others lurking just ahead in an alley.

How pathetic, even for humans. Without showing any outward signs of wariness, he continued toward the obvious trap. He glanced around, pleased to note there was no one about just now. There would be no need to hold back, then.

Just as they drew even with the alley entrance, the man following them moved. He lunged for Reiku, only to trip over empty air. He turned and found himself face to face with an extremely angry Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru helped Reiku into position on his back where she automatically buried her face against his neck, then stared dispassionately down at the men.

"Give us your-" but that was as far the man got before his head tumbled from his shoulders and landed at his feet. The body quivered in place for a few seconds, before toppling down atop the head. The other men received no better as various other body parts fell from their already dead forms.

Sesshomaru recalled his whip and flicked blood from his still invisible claws. He regarded the bodies with a cool, bored expression before dousing them in poison. Then without glancing back, he left the alley and settled Reiku on her feet. She hummed softly and resumed her skipping.

Back in his office, Mr. Iwahashi sat back in his chair and turned away from his monitor with a sallow look of revulsion on his face. His hands shook and the taste of vomit still lingered in his mouth. He had had to empty his stomach into his trashcan as the poison began to dissolve the bodies. It was only a slight comfort to know they were dead before it happened.

He hadn't intended anyone to get killed. Not even the girl. He had just wanted to see if Daiginkeiko really was a youkai.

What were you expecting? he asked himself. A youkai. A fucking monster is what he is. This has to stop. I cannot let a monster wield such power in our world. I wouldn't be surprised if he really does eat kids. No, I can't just ruin him. He must be destroyed.

He glanced at the wedding invitation on his desk. Whoever the hot gold-digger was, even she didn't deserve a fate like that. Being tied to a monster. He had to end this before that wedding happened. And before Daiginkeiko realized what he was up to and turned that poison on him. Nezumi better have some good stuff for him tomorrow when they were scheduled to meet.

xxxxxxxxx

"A library?" Mr. Iwahashi said loudly as he walked through the doors of the address Nezumi had given him as the rendezvous point.

The librarian gave him a harsh look and put a finger to her lips. He nodded stiffly in response and moved to the back of the building. Nezumi had said he would find him. Sure enough, five minutes later the rat youkai scurried around a bookshelf, looking the worse for wear, his beady red eyes darting back and forth.

When he saw Iwahashi, he ran over and dragged him relentlessly through the maze of bookshelves.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Nezumi?" Mr. Iwahashi demanded as he tried to wrench his arm out of the man's grip. "What have you got for me?"

Nezumi sneered and squeezed the arm even tighter. "More than either of us want to know, human. But I think you need a little history lesson first."

They stopped finally in an aisle in the history section, and Mr. Iwahashi was relieved to have his arm back. "What is the meaning of this?"

Nezumi reached up to the shelf and pulled down a thick volume written in a very old script. He opened it and thumbed through the pages. He smiled triumphantly and handed the book to Iwahashi. "There, read that."

Iwahashi looked at the old script and the rather beautiful depiction of a large, white dog with red eyes beside it. He sighed and said, "I can't read that, Nezumi. It's too old."

"Well, Daiginkeiko could read it, let me tell you," Nezumi taunted. "But I'll give you the summary. Over eight hundred years ago, the Western lands were ruled by a great dog youkai, the greatest general ever known to youkai kind. Even my clan told stories about him when I was growing up. He was a legend, unequalled in power in strength, except for perhaps his young heir.

"Unfortunately, the youkai died prematurely about seven hundred years ago. Some say in battle with a dragon; others even say with a human. So his heir never had the chance to prove himself against the father. However the youth went on to make quite a name for himself as an emotionless assassin while he roamed, seeking power and conquest in an effort to surpass his great and mighty father. His birthright, a sword forged from his own father's fang was said to possess the ability to bring the dead back to life.

"But even he faded into legend with the rest of the great ones and history forgot what became of him."

Mr. Iwahashi narrowed his eyes. "Not that this wasn't fascinating, but I need to know how to take out Daiginkeiko, not the ancient history of youkai. What is so important about that?"

Nezumi grinned, flashing his yellow teeth, and said, "The heir's name was Sesshomaru."

Iwahashi blinked for a moment, trying to comprehend it. "Are you telling me that Daiginkeiko is descended from Sesshomaru, this heir from over seven hundred years ago?"

Nezumi chuckled madly. "No, you fool. I'm saying Daiginkeiko is the heir. He is Sesshomaru. A daiyoukai, Lord of the Western Lands, the most powerful youkai in Japan, possibly the world."

Iwahashi's jaw dropped. "But that would make him seven hundred years old."

"Try nine hundred, maybe even a thousand. I'm afraid he's been at the game a lot longer than you, boy," Nezumi sneered. "And he's still considered young."

Mr. Iwahashi wilted slightly. How was he supposed to kill a virtual god? Daiginkeiko had to have a weakness. A vision of those dead men flashed through his mind. He had to stop him. It was his duty to rid the world of monsters like that. There had to be something, some weakness.

"So, what else can you tell me?" he asked Nezumi.

The rat stiffened and rapped on his head with his knuckles. "Hello in there? Have you not been listening? There is no point to learning more. He is untouchable. For whatever reason, he has decided to blend in with human society instead of leaving like the other great ones. Just go back to your little company and pray that he doesn't ever change his mind and decide you aren't worth having around."

"No!" Iwahashi exclaimed. "I want him taken down. I've seen what he can do. With this light and poison from his fingertips. He has to have a weakness, too."

Nezumi snarled. "Baka! I'm out. I may not rule an empire, but I'm happy to be alive. I told you, I keep my nose to the ground and stay out of the big boys' yards. I'm not going to take on the lord of the Western Lands."

"I'll pay you. Anything. Everything!"

"Keep your damn money. There is no way I'd cross him."

"You don't have to help me," Iwahashi insisted. "Just give me information. What can he do? What can't he do?"

"He's a dog, baka. His senses are a hundred times superior to those of a lesser youkai, even more so compared to a human's." Nezumi snapped. "Anything a dog can do, so can he. And pray you don't ever have to face his true form. He could snap us both up in one bite without even chewing. Damn, I was following a good twenty feet behind on a crowded street and he smelled me. He sniffed me out from hundreds of humans! If he'd been anything other than curious, he would have tracked me down and killed me without blinking."

He pulled out the photograph and waved it in front of Iwahashi's nose. "You see the claws on those hands. He doesn't even need the poison to be able to shred a man in seconds. I've never seen it, but I've heard rumors that he can move faster than the eye can follow, even fly.

"And as long as he's got the sword of life, he cannot be killed. It protects him. Go home, baka, forget about Daiginkeiko. Leave me alone. I don't know you, and I'll kill you so much as look at you."

"Please, is there any way to go against him? Weaken him even? You have to know something."

"Do you know any powerful priestesses?"

Iwahashi glared at him. "They say the father was brought down by a human, and the son will share his father's fate. Tell me what I need to know."

Nezumi sighed and glanced around again. "Fine, I shouldn't do this, and I'll still kill you if I see you again, but there is one thing. Something they use against youkai with elevated senses of smell. I don't know if it would work on a youkai like him or not, hell, for all I know a good priestess might not be able to do anything to him. But this is what I was going to use before I found out who he was."

He handed Iwahashi a small packet of some powder. "Burn this and it will fill the air with a noxious smoke. Most youkai with elevated senses of smell will be killed or at least incapacitated by it. The most you can hope for him is that it aggravates his sinuses. And he'll smell it right away, if you use it too strongly, too quickly.

"I recommend using it gradually, letting it dull his senses to it, then build up to a toxic level. But don't expect it to work. He didn't stay lord for nothing. He's smart as well as powerful."

The youkai dusted his hands and backed away from Iwahashi. "I don't know you, I've never met you, and don't expect me to attend your funeral."

And with that he was gone. Iwahashi stood there, staring at the packet in his hand, while he mulled over what he had just learned. It may not have been a big one, but there was a weakness. And with all the plans for the wedding, Daiginkeiko, no, Sesshomaru would be at his most distracted.

He knew he had to act quickly, though. The wedding was in a week, and he needed to keep that poor girl from marrying the monster. Iwahashi went home, planning out his attack. That night his dreams were filled with visions of him battling down the giant dog beast with his bare hands and a rather voluptuous young woman screaming out her gratitude to him from beneath him.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sesshomaru woke well before dawn. Reiku hadn't made a sound all night, and Maika was still curled against his chest, sound asleep, but he just couldn't sleep any longer. The wedding was in two days, and after that they were going on vacation for two weeks. It wasn't that he was worried about his business; he just had relatively little faith that anyone else could possible be as responsible as he regarding it. Incompetence seemed to be a disease afflicting more and more people these days.

He had come very, very close to firing Mrs. Toyosawa over her losing one of his photos of Rin while trying to clean Inuyasha's mess for him. She was annoying and mistake-prone, but he felt almost like Jaken was still around with her there. So he kept her.

Beside him, Maika moaned softly and rolled onto her back. Her hair spilled over her face like a veil, and her hand slid down from her chest to her stomach. Sesshomaru smiled at her and pulled her hair from her face with a finger. She was so beautiful. Unable to resist, he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

He ran a hand down her arm to her hand, in awe of just how small and delicate it was next to his own. And now this amazing woman carried his offspring within her. He had not thought it possible to feel such happiness and pride, such completeness as he did now. Grinning, he pressed a kiss to her throat, then moved down and nipped at one breast through the thin fabric of her nightgown, before planting one last kiss just below her bellybutton and laying his head on her stomach.

He felt her muscles twitch as she woke and began to laugh lightly. "Good morning to you, too." Her voice vibrated through her chest and rumbled sweetly against his ear.

Her other hand came up and sought out the tapered tips of his ears. He closed his eyes, relishing the pleasurable feeling this gave him. He traced lazy circles against her stomach as she lay there, stroking his hair. This was perfection. This was happiness. And for the first of many times, Sesshomaru did not want to get up and go to work. All he truly wanted was to remain like this, as long as he possibly could.

So he lay there, soaking in every aspect about her. At the very last minute, he pulled himself away and dressed. After peeking in on Reiku, he lingered with Maika a few moments longer.

"I will be leaving early today, by lunch time," he told her. "Would you feel inclined to go out somewhere? I know you have been planning the ceremony and you could use the chance to relax and be waited on."

"This?" Maika laughed. "This is nothing. Do you have any idea what keeping up with your Home is like? I will take you up on that offer, though. Should Reiku and I meet you somewhere?"

"No, I will return here to get you," Sesshomaru told her. "I am uncertain the exact time I'll be able to get away, and I do not wish to make you both wait for me somewhere. Stay well, love. I shall see you soon."

Sesshomaru almost forgot to activate his charm as he walked out the door. Maika's scent still wafted around him like a sweet wine. She was intoxicating. He scarcely noticed the humans around him, even those brave enough to greet him as he passed. He felt like smiling as he stepped off the elevator on his floor, so he did, effectively scaring two young interns so badly they dropped what they were doing and ran.

He strode into his office, still feeling the warmth of her body against his and the soft caress of her hand on his face. The empty sword case on his shelf went completely unnoticed as he locked the door and deactivated his charm. He gave the fur on his shoulder a contemplative stroke, before sinking into his seat and struggling to keep his mind on the mundane paperwork on his desk.

In the small utility closet adjacent to his office, Mr. Iwahashi exhaled in relief. His clothes were wrinkled and his eyes had heavy bags under them from having remained in the building overnight, preparing for today. Despite his physical exhaustion, his eyes shone with a near mad gleam. He, a modern day samurai, was about to take down a monster.

He had the burner and a bowl ready to light the powder once Daiginkeiko arrived. It had taken most of the night to find the perfect location and set it all up. This closet was the only room with a vent connecting to Daiginkeiko's office. The only way to get the smoke into the room without being caught immediately.

The sword had been his next concern. He was certain the sword of life was the one Daiginkeiko displayed in the case above his desk. As long as the monster had that, he couldn't die, but to remove it himself would alert Daiginkeiko to his plan. No, he had needed someone who could enter the room and not seem out of place. The night janitor had inadvertently provided the solution as he bumped into Mr. Iwahashi on one of his rounds.

Mr. Iwahashi informed the man that the others were going to have the sword specially cleaned as a wedding gift, and if he would be so kind as to bring it out to him while he was cleaning. The fool had immediately agreed and handed the sword over.

He clutched it against his chest now, wondering how it was possible for a mere sword to raise the dead. Either way, it was out of that monster's hands now. He was now ready for the final stage of his plan.

Mr. Iwahashi lit the burner and started the powder burning. A thick, white smoke billowed up, but he could smell nothing. It didn't even make him cough like a normal smoke would. Remembering Nezumi's warning, Iwahashi decided to let it fill the room and drift gradually through the vent. Later he would come and fan it in more quickly.

Pleased, he stood and hid the sword within his jacket and exited the closet. So far so good. He walked nonchalantly past Mrs. Toyosawa's desk and subtly knocked a can of pens from the corner. She squawked and harped as she bent to retrieve them, and he quickly slipped a pill into her drink. That would knock her out in half an hour. Muttering a quick apology, he hurried back to his office and hid the sword under his desk. Now all he had to do was wait and see if the smoke would work.

xxxx

Sesshomaru had been working on this file for about an hour, when suddenly the words on the page moved. It wasn't like he had accidentally bumped the page, or had let his gaze stray for a moment, but like each one of them stood up and exchanged places with their neighbor. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, and this time they all sprouted hair and became fuzzy splotches on the page.

He set down his pen, but that made his desk suddenly lurch to the side as though the pen's weight was too much of a burden. He looked up, but the movement made the room spin. He felt sluggish, and his head seemed thick, heavy. Like it was a separate entity from his body, and his thoughts detached from them both.

He tried to take a deep breath and calm himself, but the air was so thick it seemed to catch in his mouth and nose and throat like slime. It was like drowning on dry land; he couldn't seem to breathe. With an effort he looked up again, only to find himself face to face with his mother.

The stern, beautiful youkai towered over him with that carefully maintained look of self-importance and royalty that he had grown up trying to emulate.

"Mo-mother," he gasped, but even that was too much as the thick air slowly moved in to fill his lungs.

He felt so small and vaguely frightened. As if she understood, the youkai knelt down to his level and brushed a hand across his brow.

"My boy," she murmured softly, and drew him into her arms.

Sesshomaru sank into her surprising strength as he had so often as child. He lay his head against her breast and said, "Mother, I can't breath."

"Shhhh," she crooned softly. "It will all be over soon."

Somewhere in the depths of his mind, Sesshomaru knew this scenario. He was grown, not a boy anymore, and this could not be his mother. He looked up and saw the featureless face of the unmother. A youkai he had used so long ago to deceive Inuyasha. One he had slain himself.

He glanced back down at himself only to find he was a child again, or he appeared to be, and his small body was slowly sinking into the body of the unmother. Yet he felt so calm and detached, as if it didn't matter what happened to him. He yielded again to her strength and sighed as she stroked his head and murmured, "My boy."

The brief notion flitted through his thoughts that perhaps this was all a nightmare, though he could not recall falling asleep, one brought on by past sins. He closed his eyes, embracing the darkness as it washed over him.

xxxx

Mr. Iwahashi paced nervously inside his office. He'd let the powder smoke for a while, then gone in to fan it through the vent. A raging Daiginkeiko hadn't come barging into his office slinging poison yet, so he assumed it was either working well, or not at all. It had already been two hours.

Feigning composure, he slipped back out into the hall towards Daiginkeiko's office. The phone was ringing, but Mrs. Toyosawa was slumped over on her desk, snoring loudly. She wouldn't wake for another four or five hours even if the building collapsed.

Cautiously, he tiptoed over to the office door, rehearsing an excuse for being there if the youkai was unaffected. Without realizing he was holding his breath, Iwahashi gripped the knob and tried to turn it.

Damn, he locked it.

Checking to make sure no one was nearby, Iwahashi rummaged through the secretary's desk until he found the spare key. A near manic light in his eye, Iwahashi actually giggled as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. A cloud of smoke billowed out, so he quickly passed and shut the door behind himself.

It was difficult to see through the white haze, but it was as easy to breath as if it were clear air. He gasped when he caught sight of Daiginkeiko, rather, Sesshomaru slumped over his desk. His calf-length hair, which was normally black, shimmered like silver in the smoke. A tapered ear perked out from among the white curtain of hair, and the same strange markings he had seen in the picture were visible. From this closer vantage, he could tell it was a crescent moon on his forehead and stripes on his cheeks and eyelids.

What they meant, he didn't care at the moment. All that mattered was the oddly serene look on his unconscious face.

"Daiginkeiko?" he called, but the pale being didn't stir.

In fact, he couldn't really see the rise and fall of his chest either beneath all that hair and what looked like…fur? Grinning stupidly, he moved forward and pressed his fingers against the pulse point in his neck.

It was faint and the breathing was shallow, but he was still alive.

"Well, Sesshomaru," he said, spitting out the name like it tasted bad. "It looks like the mighty beast will be slain by a human after all. Like father, like son, eh?"

Smiling to himself, he walked back out into the hall and shut the door. A true samurai needed a samurai weapon to slay a monster. He wouldn't use the monster's own sword for fear it might betray him and revive the beast. No, he had another sword set aside for this honor. And after this kill, he thought to display it in his own office. A fitting prize for a hero.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"I've never seen Inuyasha in such a big hurry to get back to the village before," Sango remarked.

Kirara mewed her agreement and hopped up to the slayer's shoulder. Miroku smirked and said, "Perhaps, Inuyasha simply wishes to spend more time with Lady Kagome. Just the two of them."

Both Kagome and Inuyasha shot him withering glares. Sango shook her head and said, "Only you could make a couple days' rest sound perverted."

"It is a gift, Sango my dear," Miroku explained with an innocent smile. "Though if you desire a more productive down time, I would be happy to help you out."

She lifted a fist in warning, and he waved his hands in defense. "Do you see what I mean, Sango? A gift."

"Has that ever worked, Miroku?" Shippo asked, to which the monk grew suddenly close and walked on in silence. The kit grinned in triumph.

"So what is the hurry, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "The wedding's not for two days, and we're only an hour's walk from Kaede's village. I doubt we'll be late."

"Keh, you still need to get ready, you know, in all those fancy layers women put on," Inuyasha told her without slowing his pace.

Kagome stopped and narrowed her eyes. "I don't take two days to get ready, Inuyasha! You're gonna have to do better than that."

"Don't tell me you're anxious, Inuyasha?" Miroku pressed. "Or maybe you're nervous about being around all those hundreds of strange people and want some time to get used to Kagome's era?"

Inuyasha growled and called over his shoulder, "I wasn't. Thanks a lot, monk, now I am."

The others chuckled quietly.

"Are you just that eager to spend some time with Lord Sesshomaru?" Sango asked. She still found it hard to swallow that the infamous youkai was not only still around, but actually living among humans.

"Keh, I told you we shouldn't have told them," Inuyasha complained to Kagome. "And no to the rest of your stupid suggestions. I don't know what the hell it is, but something is just making me uneasy okay. I've got this feeling."

The others were instantly serious.

"You think something has happened to Kaede's village?" Miroku questioned. His face was stern as though he was concentrating on locating all the malicious youkai in the vicinity.

Inuyasha reached up and scratched his ear. "I dunno. Something just feels wrong. I can't sense anything in the area, but I just get this bad feeling that something's not right."

Inuyasha quickened his pace after speaking. The feeling was fairly strong and nagged at him persistently. He didn't sense anything amiss at Kaede's, though. In truth, he feared something was wrong in Kagome's time, but he didn't want to worry her. The look on her face told him it was already too late for that. She trusted in him, believed in him with all her heart, so if he said something felt wrong, she believed there was.

He had to smile at that. It really was nice to have someone like Kagome around. To believe in you even when you don't have faith in yourself. It probably was nothing, but he needed to make sure.

They made good time to Kaede's village, and she assured them everything had been peaceful and downright boring.

"Perhaps, ye are having a premonition, Inuyasha," Kaede told him. "It would be best to take precautions."

Inuyasha nodded absently at her suggestions. The feeling was even stronger now. Something was horribly wrong. He knew it.

"I'm going home now, guys," Kagome announced. "Spend some time with my mom and brother and grandfather."

Inuyasha cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "I'm going, too. Sango, you and Miroku help Kaede set up some protection around the village. I'll be back soon."

He didn't need to voice his concerns. His companions nodded their understanding and waved good bye.

"You know," Kagome told him as they neared the well. "I really won't take two days to get dressed."

"Keh, I'm not worried about that, I just can't shake this feeling," Inuyasha explained, blushing at how much Kagome would probably read into this statement. "I just want to make sure your family is okay."

Sure enough, Kagome blushed beautifully and lowered her eyes. She giggled softly and said, "Thank you, Inuyasha. That's so thoughtful of you."

Mrs. Higurashi had nothing out of the ordinary to report either. Sota had gone to school as usual, and Grandpa had greeted them from the shed as they came in.

"Do you still have that feeling?" Kagome asked, immediately noticing the frown on his face.

Inuyasha looked out the window, almost too deep in thought to reply. "I- I'll be back. I'm just gonna check around town."

Without any further explanation he was gone, bounding from building to building without even bothering to activate his charm. Sesshomaru and his mate were expecting a pup, could something be wrong with either Maika or her unborn pup? He'd seen enough females die during childbirth and pregnancy to know that it was a dangerous time for them.

He had no clue where Sesshomaru lived here in Tokyo, so he sought out the only place he knew to look. The youkai would no doubt be working, so he could just drop by and see how things were. Congratulate him on the pup. Everyone was probably fine and his instincts were probably just acting up, unfortunately, the worry only increased the closer he drew to Sesshomaru's office.

He landed at the front door and remembered his charm when a little girl squealed and pointed at his ears. "Crap!" he hissed and activated the charm.

Warning off anyone who approached him with a growl, Inuyasha made his way to the elevator and up the inside of the building. He noticed a strange smell the moment the doors opened. It only grew stronger as he neared the polished wooden door that read, "Daiginkeiko Reizo."

"What the-?"

His heart lurched when he saw that awful woman secretary slumped over on her desk. His brother wouldn't tolerate someone sleeping on the job. He ran over to the office door and threw it open without bothering to knock.

The cloud of white smoke that hit him nearly had him gagging on the floor. He covered his mouth with the sleeve of his fire rat and peered through the haze. Sesshomaru lay across his desk, unconscious…at least Inuyasha hoped that was all. Behind his brother the large, old man from the meeting stood with a short sword lifted over his head and a mad gleam in his eye.

Inuayasha coughed to clear the smoke from his lungs, but the stroke had already fallen. For Inuyasha, it moved slowly. The blade flashed as it swooped down, through the white curtain of his brother's hair, and erupted in a gush of blood as it pierced flesh and organs and eventually out the other side.

His brother's unconscious form convulsed once, and a low gasp escaped his lips. Then he lay still, a deathly pallor already in his face.