First: Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! Only Amaya Misaki.
Second: Again Sesshomaru is questioning not only why he's still with Amaya, but he's also beginning to feel for her
Thirdly: Constructive reviews are welcome!
Fourth: Sorry again for the delay. I've been sick this past week so I didn't spend much time on the computer. But don't worry, I'll have chappy 6 up by next Friday. I PROMISE!
Lastly: If you see any mistakes I may have overlooked please let me know so I can fix them
Arigatō mina for staying with me :)
~Wafflez

It wasn't long before Amaya led Sesshomaru into a small village. The people in the village took one look at the Inu youkai and the air filled with the overwhelming scent of fear. The village was filled with demons, humans and their hanyou offspring. All watched the two powerful demons, edging away as they walked. Amaya was usually met with fear and hatred as she was known for her history of slaughtering entire villages for no reason. She began to doubt herself and turn back when she felt it. The one pinprick of calm in the sea of fear. Standing in the street fifteen feet was a fox demon. It was unusual to see him in a humanoid form but his scent was unmistakable. He smiled warmly when he saw Amaya, his eyes aglow with happiness, but dulled with age.

"Hello Amaya." He said softly. Amaya's eyes lit up and she smiled in return.

"Hello Papa." There was an audible gasp and even Sesshomaru's aura spiked in curiosity. Murmurs traveled through the crowd.

"Master Hitoshi knows this demon?"

"Is it possible she is of some relation?"

"Papa? But she is Inu youkai…he is kitsune!"

"Come. We have much to talk about." Amaya nodded and followed the kitsune demon to his hut on the outskirts of the village. "I see the young Western Lord travels with you." He said no completely acknowledging Sesshomaru, but not completely the ignoring him either.

"More I travel with him." Amaya mumble through her teeth.

"Oh?" The demon turned his eyes to her, one eye brow was arched in amused puzzlement. "You never seemed like much of follower."

"I owe him a life's debt." She said, glancing at Sesshomaru out of the corner of her eye. She could tell the young lord was irritated that the two were speaking of him as if he weren't there. This brought her little satisfaction and in fact it upset her a little as well.

"I see." Hitoshi sat himself down on one of the mats in his home. Amaya did the same, resting her hands on her bare legs and letting out a soft sigh. Sesshomaru rested against the wall, his eyes vacant. Though he seemed lost in thought, Amaya knew he would listen intently to what she and Hitoshi said. "How long has it been since your last visit?"

"Eight or so years I believe. Years blend together after a while when you're on your own. I tried to return but by the time I did everyone was gone and I couldn't pick up a fresh scent." She let her hurt slip into her words, watching as Hitoshi's eyes grew sorrowful.

"We found it in the best interest of the villagers to relocate." He said softly. "Hanyou , youkai and even human children were showing up dead. People were not happy about what we were doing, peacefully coinciding with each other." Amaya nodded.

"I came across a corpse not to long before my attempted return. It was horribly mangled by what seemed to be a bear youkai. But I recognized the scent of the blood as Akira's kit. Mitsuko wasn't it?" Hitoshi nodded sadly.

"Yes. Akira grew sick with grief. We lost her several weeks later. Her mate was left to raise their two young on his own. Sadly we lost him and his youngest this past winter. Misaki is the only left of her family." Amaya frowned, her eyes darkening in sadness.

"What of her mother's people? I know Akira came from a clan of Fox Demons who had taken in many hanyou over the years." Hitoshi shook his head.

"It's true they do not discriminate against anyone who bears the scent of their blood, but they live in the mountains bordering the east and the western lands. She insists on going but it's far to dangerous for a young hanyou child such as she to be traveling alone." Amaya let out a long. She knew what it was like to lose everyone you cared for. When the idea hit her she had to suppress a gasp of surprise. She cast a glance over her shoulder when she saw Sesshomaru stiffen slightly. He eyed her suspiciously, his golden eyes narrowed. Turning her gaze back to the frowning demon in front of her she grinned inwardly.

"Papa Kitsune, "She said brightly. "Sesshomaru and I could take her, since we're heading that way anyway." Amaya heard a low growl as the young demon lord rose to his feet swiftly. He stared down at her and without a word he left the hut. Amaya sighed and stood. "Excuse us." She mumbled bowing respectfully, before running after the retreating figure of Sesshomaru. "That was extremely rude you know!" She snarled. "Even someone like you must have respect for your elders."

"Assuming that I will take a half breed to the edge of my land and starting a possible war is rude as well."

"So you're saying you won't help her?"

"Hn." Amaya snarled deep in her chest.

"She's just a child! A motherless, fatherless child! She deserves a stable place with someone who can take care of her and love her!" She stopped and shook her head back and forth rapidly. "You don't know what it's like…to be alone like that." Sesshomaru said nothing, his face gave away nothing. Sighing she turned. "Fine I'll take her by myself. I can assure you that my last condition still implies if you try to stop me."

She wasn't surprised when Sesshomaru didn't follow, but her heart squeezed and she felt more than a little hurt and upset. When she re-entered Hitoshi's hut she was surprised to see a young girl sitting beside the older youkai. Her hair was a deep red-orange, black tipped golden yellow fox ears popped up from her fiery locks. Behind her, a fluffy tail-matching her ears- twitched. She watched Amaya we shining ice blue eyes that were so sad Amaya's heart squeezed. Her scent let Amaya know that this girl was Misaki, the last of Akira's children.

So young…She thought sadly. Left to face this world on her own.

"Amaya, this is Misaki." Hitoshi said, smiling sadly at the young girl. Misaki stood and bowed in respect, her long hair nearly brushed the ground. Amaya bowed it return.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said. The young hanyou said nothing in reply.

"She hasn't spoken since her fathers death. I'm afraid she may never speak again." Amaya looked at the Misaki and sighed softly.

"I believe it time we take our leave. We have a long journey ahead of us and the sooner we begin the better." Bowing, Misaki left the hut.

"Take care of her Amaya. She needs someone good and strong in her life." Amaya bowed.

"I'll try Papa Kitsune." She said softly. Hitoshi placed a hand atop her head, causing a pleased growl to escape her throat, like the purr of a cat. Hitoshi smiled lovingly. Amaya turned and left quickly, touching Misaki's arm. "Come."

The two traveled in silence the rest of the day. Amaya was lost in her own thoughts while the hanyou child was trapped in her own silence, her own mental prison, silenced by fear and grief. Amaya's senses were on high alert as they walked and she found herself growing tiered as afternoon turned to dusk and dusk brought with it the cool night. Amaya built a fire and soon had a nice plump rabbit cooking for the fox child. She watched Misaki closely as she at, her icy eyes trained on the glowing fire.

So sad… Amaya's thoughts were quite. She leaned against a tree watching the fire. She was unaware of how long she sat staring until she felt something press against her side. She looked down to see Misaki curled up beside her, breathing deeply. She's asleep. With that, Amaya closed her eyes and said,

"Did you think I didn't know you were following us?"

As her words danced on the air, Sesshomaru stepped forward to sit gracefully across the fire from Amaya and the sleeping Kitsune. He looked just as unaffected by everything as ever.

"Hn." Amaya couldn't help but smile softly. Something inside her was glad Sesshomaru was there. The two sat in a peaceful silence, something Amaya didn't know was possible with Sesshomaru. For the longest time, Amaya just thought Sesshomaru was all about the awkward, tense silences and angry looks. Amaya found that she had become use to always sitting in silence. When Sesshomaru spoke, a small, almost inaudible yelp of surprise escaped Amaya's lips. "You called that Kitsune 'papa'." The statement was just that, a statement. It didn't require an answer yet Amaya nodded anyway.

"I did. He was more of a father to me then my true father." She found herself petting Misaki's hair the way her mother had when she was young. Sesshomaru watched her expectedly. "My father was a powerful man, known for his strength in battle. He was seen by many as a man of integrity. However, he was not only powerful but also cruel. And this cruel power was not kept secret from his children. His son maybe, but never his disgraceful daughter." She shook her head.

"For as long as I can remember my father would wake us hours before dawn to train us in the way of the sword and in advanced martial arts. Each day I would make the smallest of mistakes, being the small child I was. And each day he would beat me until I bled and cried out for forgiveness. Of course this daily act caused a problem between mates. But, having already been marked as his, and living by the golden rule that 'inu-youkai mate for life', all my mother could do was clean my wounds and tell me to be strong."

Ho-ou began to stir as the story progressed. Amaya placed a hand on her sword so not to wake Misaki.

"Gathering the blood she had cleaned from my wounds, Mother forged this sword for me. From my anger and hatred it took life. Of course, my mother kept Ho-ou away from me. She planed to give it to me when I finished my training, and I was deemed worthy of having my own sword instead of using one of hers.

"But our home was attacked by an enemy army. The four of us fought off the demons the best we could, and it was then that my mother gave me my sword. It was as good a time as any I guess. Together Ho-ou and I fought as my home fell apart around me. My brother, the apple of my father's eye, was the first to fall. His head was sliced clean off his shoulders. Of course, my father was next. My mother ordered me to run, to carry on our legacy. And so I did." She stopped and inhaled deeply, refusing to let her tears of anger and sorrow fall.

"Hitoshi found me wounded and exhausted in the forest. He took me in, helped me heal and grow. He taught me how to truly master my sword, how to control it's lust for blood and how to strengthen my bond with it. Where my father demanded perfection, Hitoshi understood that making mistakes was just apart of learning. Where father treated the sword as a mere object used to kill ones enemies, Hitoshi helped me to understand that the sword is an extension of one's arm." She sighed and closed her eyes. "He's a kind hearted demon who would do anything if it meant helping someone he cared for." She sighed again.

Sesshomaru knew that Amaya had succumbed to sleep when her hand grew still upon the hanyou's head, and her breathing became deep and slow. He watched her closely. Why had he followed the two? Why had he turned back as soon as she had left the village? Why had he felt uneasy, leaving the two alone even when they weren't truly alone.

She owns me a debt. He concluded, though he knew that was it.

"You pride driven man."His inner voice laughed. "You followed because you care about her."

"You're wrong!" Sesshomaru bit back a little to quickly. This caused the voice to laugh again.

"Am I? You ach for companionship. You yearn to have someone at your side. And for the first time you have someone to protect and you enjoy it." While the voice had been speaking Sesshomaru found himself taking a closer look at the sleeping demoness before him. The flames cast sharp shadows of her face, brining definition to her demonic features. Her high, angled cheek bones, her small nose and her pointed ears. Her clawed hand rested delicately on the hanyou's shoulder, the blood red markings danced and twisted around the pale flesh of her wrist and forearm. Identical markings wound up her legs to end just above her knees.

Something twisted inside him as he took in her beauty. It was deep in his stomach, knotting up and causing the young lord to feel sick in away. The change in his aura was so unexpected that Amaya's muscles tensed as she sensed his unease. Sesshomaru quickly composed himself, burying the feeling away and Amaya relaxed, slipping deeper into slumber.

"See?"

"This proves nothing." The thought was final and all was silent after that.

Standing, Sesshomaru walked away. He journeyed only so far, still close enough to hear Amaya's strong, steady heartbeat. He wandered aimlessly, searching for anything that posed a threat. He walked late into the night finding nothing. This satisfied him and he made his way back to camp to find the hanyou child awake and alone, stirring the fire and feeding small sticks and leaves to the flame. She looked up at Sesshomaru with no fear evident in her eyes, but his highly trained eyes caught the slight tense in her muscles and her scent was laced with fear. At least she was good at hiding it from mortals.

"When did you return?" Amaya asked as she appeared with more firewood. When Sesshomaru said nothing Amaya rolled her eyes.

"You didn't sleep very long." Sesshomaru pointed out. Amaya fed some wood into the fire, a small grin tugged at her lips.

"It's nearly dawn. I slept all night." Sesshomaru was mildly surprised when he noticed the subtle change in the sky's color. "What were you doing all night?" The demon lord just looked at Amaya who muttered, "Right. Not my business."

As the sky grew lighter, Sesshomaru grew restless.

"Come." he said coldly. Amaya and the half breed looked up from what they were doing. "We leave."

"The child hasn't eaten yet." Amaya protested, rising swiftly and elegantly to her feet.

"The child will survive." Amaya snarled, flashing her teeth in anger and annoyance. Normally Sesshomaru would have just ignored her disobedience and walked away, knowing she'd follow. But today something inside him came loose from it's restraints and Sesshomaru snarled in response. A louder, fiercer, more feral snarl that was fueled by pure instinct. Amaya quieted but the rebellious fire in her eyes didn't die.

"Misaki, it's time to go." The child stood obediently and found her place at the demoness' side. The fire was put out and the trio left.