"My Lord Sesshoumaru," Jaken said as they followed Sesshoumaru, crossing the forest with quick, unmerciful speed. "Jaken is so glad to see you well yet once again, my lordship. But just where are we going in such a speed?"

Sesshoumaru ignored his henchman as he walked for another few minutes. He stopped and began walking slower when he heard a low, small whimper from behind him and sighed quietly to himself. Whether he likes it or now, Jaken was right. He was going way too fast. Too fast for Rin to keep up. And same with Jaken, though in Sesshoumaru's point of view, it was Jaken's own fault.

He stopped after a while. His nose twitched with the familiar aura that he had never being able to forget.

"Jaken."

"Yes, M'lord?" The short toad hurried toward him.

"This is where you and Rin will stay and wait for me." He voice was silky and quiet. This was a safe place to wait. There's a stream nearby, and the demon lord couldn't smell many demons that had been here recently.

"W-wait for you, M'lord?!" Jaken gawked, before protesting, jerking on Aun—the double-headed dragon, Sesshoumaru's transportation for Rin—'s leash. "But you and I…you…"

"You will wait for me." Sesshoumaru said calmly. "With Rin. I will be gone for a few days the most."

Rin cocked her head before running up to the youkai. She clutched onto the demon's hand and gave a small pout.

"Rin go with Sesshoumaru!" She declared firmly.

"No, Rin." The Lord of Western Lands knelt down so he was eye level to the girl. "You must stay here."

"But-but," Rin's eyes filled with tears. "Rin want to stay with Sesshoumaru. Jaken…" She looked back at the henchman.

"Jaken will treat you nicely." Sesshoumaru picked up her reluctance and gave Jaken a look that chilled his henchman to the bones. "Or else…" Jaken visibly shuddered from his position.

"Okay…" Rin said cheerfully. "Sesshoumaru-sama come back and get Rin soon! Rin will be good while you're gone."

"Good."

With that, he turned from them and flew smoothly above the trees, out of their sight.

"You know, Inu-Yasha," Miroku scratched his head as he hurried after the hanyou. "It's okay if we're walking this fast, but what bothers all of us is when we don't know where you're going."

"Feh," Inu-Yasha smirked. "Chill, monk. I'm not looking for a fight today."

"But we're usually never in such a hurry." Miroku protested. "You must have something in mind that we don't know about. You—" Sango put a hand up to stop him.

"What Sir monk is trying to say," the young exterminator took over pleasantly. "Is that we would like to know exactly where we're heading."

"Heh," Inu-Yasha turned around. "Yo, Kagome!" She looked up from her pink bike. "Is the speed too fast for you to keep up?"

"Well," the high school girl looked embarrassed. "It is a bit difficult to cross through these uneven roads with the bike…" She sniffed a little bit and said in a small voice, "I'm sorry, Inu-Yasha…"

He stared at her before scoffing, "Feh, there's nothing to be sorry about. In the next town, you guys will wait for me there." Miroku perked up.

"Wait for you?"

"Where are you going?" Shippo quipped. The small fox-demon was sitting contently on Kagome's shoulders, munching on a type of sweets that Kagome brought from her world called "cookies."

"Yes, you guys will wait for me there." Inu-Yasha said curtly without looking at the group. "This is something I must do by myself. You guys will only slow me down and mess things up if you came along."

There's something about that maiden… he thought to himself quietly. When she first appeared, I felt something that I haven't felt ever since…I don't ever remember when. And that feeling… That…feeling… I don't like not knowing how I feel. I know I felt something.

…But what?

"Well, I like that!" The kitsune piped up. "We'll slow you down and mess you up. In case you've forgotten, we've saved your behind plenty of times!" He gave a howl when Inu-Yasha's fist descended on his head, giving him a bump.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome cried. "That's not very nice!"

"Don't you know by now, Kagome? I'm not nice!"

"SIT!"

Wham! Inu-Yasha fell face flat into the dirt ground. He lifted his head up, gasping for air. "Kagome, you—"

"I told you not to pick on Shippo!" She scolded, cuddling the kitsune in her arms. The emerald-eyed fox knew he had the advantage and stuck his tongue out at Inu-Yasha.

"Nah, nah…" He taunted without volume, mouthing the words at a seething Inu-Yasha.

"Why, you little—" The half-dog demon attempted to get up to trounce the little creature.

"SIT!"

"Inu-Yasha," Miroku sighed. "For once, learn your lesson and shut up."

"Humph," Inu-Yasha got up and dusted himself off with whatever dignity he had left. "I know that."

And he was quiet with thought for the rest of the time, until they got to the designated town. Then, without a word, not even a good-bye, Inu-Yasha hurried away, away from the village, toward that peculiarly familiar scent of the mysterious maiden.

Sesshoumaru lifted his head up and took a deep breath of the cool air in the forest. Then, he smirked. It seemed that conveniently, that half-brother of his was coming his way. The scent of that hanyou was getting strong, but Sesshoumaru made no move to continue on his way, instead, he stood his ground, waiting, until Inu-Yasha appeared.

Inu-Yasha pushed his way out of a thicket and immediately barked, "Sesshoumaru!"

"Your senses are becoming slow, little brother." The prince slowly drawled. "You cannot even smell me ten feet away, while I smelled you when you were miles away. You truly are pathetic." He sighed emotionlessly in front of Inu-Yasha's face.

"I can smell you!" Inu-Yasha defended himself hotly. "It's just that I need to get through here, there's no other way. This is the only road that leads to where I'm going. I'll battle my way through you to get there." He paused for a moment, his ears twitched. "Why are you here anyway?" He asked suspiciously. "This is the road of humans. And we all know how you feel about them." He ended sarcastically. Sesshoumaru brushed a strand of his hair away from his eyes and the crescent moon on his forehead gleamed.

"How I feel about them is none of your business. However, why I am here is." He replied coolly. Inu-Yasha was taken back. His hands slowly closed around the Tetsusaiga.

"If you are going to try and take Father's sword away from me again," he hissed. "Try thinking again!"

"No, at the moment, I have no interest in your sword." Sesshoumaru looked bored. "I am simply headed down this trail to wherever it leads me. Especially to where that maiden lives…" He trailed off slowly, watching his brother's ears perk up from the corner of his golden eyes.

"Maiden…?" He prompted.

"Yes," Sesshoumaru turned to him, a sly smile playing on his lips, a facial expression Inu-Yasha didn't know he had. "The maiden I'm sure you've also encountered, isn't that why you're here?"

"How did you know?!"

"Of course I would know. I know everything."

"Well, I don't know what you want with a human girl, but I just want to get that little rat. She tried to steal the Shikon Jewel from Kagome."

"That could be the reason you're here." Inu-Yasha didn't like the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes at all. Does his older brother know something that he doesn't? "Or…could it be that the crescent moon you've seen on her is the reason you're so interested?"

"Maybe…" Inu-Yasha's voice was a low growl as he eyed the crescent moon on Sesshoumaru's forehead. "You know something, Sesshoumaru. You know something that I don't. What is it? What do you know about that brat?"

"Ah…I see you're interested." Sesshoumaru began to walk slowly down the trail. Inu-Yasha followed uncertainly. Sesshoumaru never walks, so when he does, that could only mean one thing: He's up to something.

"Of course I'm interested." The hanyou snapped. "You know something that I don't. Something that you know that I want to know."

"Am I to believe that you, my little half-brother, wants to know something from me?"

Inu-Yasha stopped walking and pulled out the Tetsusaiga. "Stop playing around, Sesshoumaru. What do you want? I know you want something, you're playing around with me. And you and I both know that we couldn't despise each other more."

Sesshoumaru knows something. He seethed with anger and annoyance. Something in which he won't tell me! He knows something about that girl!

"I know many things that you don't." Sesshoumaru's voice was cool and monotonous.

"Are you going to tell me, or do I have to beat the truth out of you?!" Inu-Yasha finally yelled, taking the position of battle.

"You're welcome to try, for I'd like nothing better than to take the life out of you, little brother." Sesshoumaru continued walking, turning and viewing Inu-Yasha with contempt. "But now is not the time. We mustn't arrive to palace with battle scars. This is a respectable visit, not a one to boast of ability."

"You know, Sesshoumaru." Inu-Yasha, though still angry and scowling, set away the katana and viewed Sesshoumaru with a curious air with a fleck of respect for the first time. Sesshoumaru sounded educated and refined, unlike the common thief he was few months ago. "What is going on? For once, you're acting your age. What? Have you met that wench as well?"

"Frankly, yes."

"…" Inu-Yasha was quiet, not knowing exactly how to put his questions. "…well?" Sesshoumaru stopped walking and sighed.

"Well what?" His brother's stupidity really gets him sometimes. How could that dumb hanyou not smell it?

"That girl…" Inu-Yasha, forgetting that he was conversating with Sesshoumaru, his very worst enemy at times, cocked his head and tried to place his finger on exactly what was it about that maiden that had him so out of his mind.

Sesshoumaru eyed his brother tiredly with bewilderment, then gave another heavier sigh. He guessed his brother really couldn't tell who she was, even with her aura as clear as day.

"Inu-Yasha, Inu-Yasha…" He shook his head, taking the patience. "You're just as senseless as usual. But what did I expect from you?"

"That whelp…" Inu-Yasha muttered to himself. "There is something so familiar about her."

"That 'whelp', is our sister, Inu-Yasha." Sesshoumaru cutted in calmly, as if stating the weather or the scenery. Inu-Yasha froze and felt his heart stop. "Your younger sister and my half-sister."

"No…" Inu-Yasha managed to force out a shocked whisper.

"No." Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose with detestation. "I can't believe you haven't detected your mother's scent on that girl. It reeks as though I was smelling you."

So that's why! Inu-Yasha's brain screamed. Her scent was like Mother's and mine! But I have a sister?! HOW?! How come I never knew this!?

"H-how come…I never knew this…?" He shook his head with disbelief and remorse, still trying to overcome his trauma.

"Your ignorance and stupidity, no doubt." Then, Sesshoumaru, seeing how dejected Inu-Yasha was, said in a gruff voice with a gentle tone that he had never used expect once in a while with Rin. "But, you were pretty young when you were alone."

"Yeah…" Inu-Yasha swallowed hard, but forced himself to get over the death of his mother, which he had never really gotten over. "Well, come on!" He barked and began arrogantly strutting down the trail. "Don't you want to meet that sister of mine?"

Sesshoumaru grimaced and followed after the hanyou. Fool. I've never met such a fool in my life. And I just had to be related to him.

However, as if in knowing that there's stronger bond tying them together, Inu-Yasha and Sesshoumaru forgot—for the moment—that they were enemies, and reunited together to find the mysterious maiden.