Sesshomaru was a firm believer that nothing ever changed. At least, not entirely. People could come and people could go, relationships could be created and ended, names could change, scenery altered, techniques taught, thoughts turned around in order to reach a new perspective. But, as a whole, things would never truly change. People would still always be incapable of getting along all the time, regardless of any love or friendship. Enemies could occasionally become allies, but afterward they would always still be enemies. Trees could fall, rivers could change direction or dry up, animals could come and go, but in the end, a forest would always remain a forest.
Nothing ever changed. Not really.
So when the miko, Kagome, suddenly approached him one day with an offer of alliance, he could say nothing for a moment out of sheer surprise. As he sat there against the tree, noticing but not really paying attention to the fact that her other friends were cautiously approaching, he had to wonder: if nothing ever changed, then what in the world brought this on? They weren't his friends. However, he had never considered the miko and her friends to be his enemies. Not really. Not even Inuyasha could truly be considered an enemy. Not entirely. Perhaps at times, but not on normal occasions. A threat, certainly. The bane of his existence, most definitely. But not an enemy. Not quite.
That left Kagome and her friends.
Sesshomaru wasn't very familiar with the monk and taijiya, though he knew enough to discern their reasons for traveling with his half brother and the miko. He knew of their connection to the Shikon Jewel and to Naraku, and he knew them to be generally honorable in their words and deeds. Granted the slayer could be occasionally overcome by emotion and the monk had a reputation for less than honorable dealings with women, but both her and monk were still intelligent and undeniably strong. Both of those characteristics could prove threatening in certain circumstances, but, as the pair had as of yet failed to threaten him directly, he mostly ignored them. The young kitsune that traveled with them was no threat either, though Sesshomaru reluctantly admitted that, given the proper time and training, the kit most certainly could be a threat. Still, the boy needed time to grow, and not just physically. He was sharp and unusually perceptive, but ultimately, he was still an immature prankster, and just a child.
Which left Kagome.
She was perhaps the most unassuming of the bunch. Granted, her unusual clothes and demeanor drew more attention than was strictly necessary, and he knew for a fact that she held more power than she even realized, but she still didn't outwardly seem like much. However, he knew that thought was erroneous. Something didn't have to look important to be important. He knew that much for certain. She was undeniably powerful, and he knew she was intelligent, educated, even.
Which led him to wonder what she was planning.
She must have been planning something, or else he doubted she would be here. She'd come with a simple offer of alliance, but he suspected there was something more to it than that. There was something she wasn't saying. His gaze slid to the left. And his brother… He wasn't saying anything. Sesshomaru had expected Inuyasha to yell, to argue, growl, attack, to do something, but he hadn't expected his brother to do nothing. Which meant what? That Inuyasha was okay with this? That he and the miko had agreed to attempt to form an alliance with him? Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed subtly. What sort of game were they playing?
"Sesshomaru-sama?"
This soft inquiry roused him from his thoughts and he looked across the few feet of empty space separating him from the miko as she crouched there, obviously waiting for some kind of an answer, regardless of what it was. He forced his nearly rigid posture to relax somewhat and leaned back more comfortably against the tree he had been sitting against when she had initially approached. He leaned his head back as well and closed his eyes. He could feel their eyes on him, all of them watching, waiting, hoping for an answer he did not wish to give.
Finally, he opened his eyes again and fixed the miko with a heavy, yet guarded look. "Why?"
Her smile was soft, containing none of the joy he usually saw in her, the few times he actually did see her. Instead, it was sad, and he didn't know what to make of it. "We need your help," she replied, her voice just as soft as that smile.
Normally, he was loath to repeat himself. It was irritating, a waste of both time and words, but he wanted answers, and somehow he knew he wouldn't get them if he didn't ask. "Why?"
"There are many dangers," she told him vaguely, and he found himself growing annoyed.
"Naraku has been dead for some time," he replied smoothly, his tone betraying nothing. "There has been no large threat since."
"Not yet," she replied.
His gaze, as well as his interest, sharpened. What could she possibly know of what was to come? He reluctantly acknowledged the fact that she could very be right. Perhaps something was coming. However, if that were true, it led him to wonder how in the world he'd missed it, missed the signs, failed to see them even now that he was searching for them?
"Explain."
When the miko hesitated, the taijiya took a wary step forward. "If I may…?" At his subtle nod, she inclined her head ever so slightly, a polite act that even the miko had never afforded him, and began to speak. "We discovered a cave a few weeks back," she began slowly. "Miroku and Kagome-chan sensed something dark inside."
"Naturally," the monk interceded, "we went in to investigate."
Then suddenly the kit was talking as well. "And some dark thing attacked us!" he exclaimed, his emerald eyes wide. "It tried to swallow Kagome, but when she tried to purify it, it flew away and disappeared into the ground!"
"It was like a shadow," Sango continued. "It passed right through the earth like it was nothing. It flew through us as well, almost like a ghost."
A ghost, a shadow, a dark thing… Sesshomaru was uncertain what to make of it. Somehow, he doubted this was a demon, but if it was, it certainly wasn't one that he'd ever encountered before. And for it to evade Kagome's purity so easily… this was troubling, indeed.
"It'll be back," Inuyasha said quietly, drawing Sesshomaru's attention to him. "It's gonna fester and grow, like an infection, and then it'll be back."
Sesshomaru knew little of this creature, nor did he know what it was capable of, but he understood that right now, despite being powerful, it was, for whatever reason, weakened. However, it still posed a threat. And Sesshomaru did not take threats lightly. Nodding once to accept what the group, Kagome really, had offered, he closed his eyes once more.
Things were not supposed to change. Because things didn't change. Not really. And yet, somehow, on that day, he knew that something did.