Alone

In the morning they awoke to the smell of a fire with food cooking; there was still no sign of either Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru but with the food nearly ready, the dark night faded quickly into a happier day. While the food cooked, Izamai made the others go to the river to wash with special instructions to Souta who had wet himself in the night.

While she watched the food and the fire she didn't notice that she was being crept up on by a large animal until it knocked her over and bared it's fangs in her face. Izamai froze absolutely terrified; she had never come across something so hideous or frightening, it even looked as if it were smiling before it kicked out the fire and ran off with the meat.

The others came quickly when they heard their sister scream and stood silently watching her as she cried, frustrated at her inability to protect the food. There was nothing for it but to go and start everything again; one pup tried to rescue the fire while the others fished or looked for berries and fruit.

Later that morning, the children were getting sluggish and tearful again; they were hungry and had eaten everything that was around in the area, the dry leaf litter was mainly gone, the rest being damp and mouldy and Souta had needed a whole new lot for his bed. The pups were also getting cold due to the fact that they were hungry, but in the afternoon after they had gathered as much dry matter as they could, the animal returned.

This time there was no cooked food for it and it turned to the pups once again with that sickly grin on its face. All the pups grouped together and Izamai put them all behind her as she stood with a branch in her hands, the only defence she could muster. Hissing at her siblings to stop whining, she held her stance bravely as the creature closed in.

Izamai was trembling but courageous, then with another flash of its teeth at her, the animal ignored the pitiful pups and ripped up all their belongings that had been piled into a spare scrape; then it came once more towards the pups and growled. It was all too much and the pups scattered in all directions calling for their Papa while the animal curled up in the clearing and went to sleep; preventing the pups from returning to the area.

Izamai lifted her head and called a long howl to summon the rest of the pups to her; Inuyasha had taught them to answer if anyone made the call and then to stay together. Soon she had Kaede and Shinmaru with her, but no sign of the other two. They had run a long way from their original camp, further into the forest and they were now tired and cold as well as very hungry. Telling the pair to stay put, Izamai went off to look for her missing siblings, making the call every so often and listening for a reply or for the strange animal.

After searching for a couple of hours, she found them both in different directions and herded them back to the others. She reassured them that they were all together and that Papa hadn't abandoned them, but Grandpapa wanted them to learn what it was like for the Little Hanyou who was on his own. Remembering this helped them to calm down and between them they had just about enough energy to climb into a large tree and try to get comfortable in the canopy to sleep for the night. It was still early but they all needed to rest; Kizume offered to tell them a story as Izamai was nearly asleep, but the pups still ended up crying themselves to sleep again.

Sesshoumaru meanwhile had his hands full with Inuyasha who was objecting to the treatment of his pups; several times his son had been near to transformation in his efforts to throw Sesshoumaru off, but his father showed his true strength, as even in his more human form he was well able to contain the hanyou.

"You must allow this Pup; the children are in no danger."

"They don't know that; they are scared and miserable, they need me…"

"They need to train, I was in training far younger than they; you know as well as I that even though there is peace now, all that can change. They must hone their senses and learn to think on their feet; suppose that at sometime they are left alone, as you have already taught them they must rely on each other. This has put them in a real situation to do just that and they are coming through very well.

"It will not harm them to go through this exercise, and it should teach them a little more respect for you, which will also be no bad thing. You have protected them from so much from the sometimes harsher reality that they take many things for granted, including you. Your pups have very strong youkai and need to know their pack positions too or they will all start to fight to find it."

But despite understanding what Sesshoumaru was trying to achieve, Inuyasha nearly lost it again when the animal frightened the youngsters; he was drawing Tessaiga and actually turned his face with his fangs bared and bit Sesshoumaru on the hand when the Daiyoukai physically stopped him. Sesshoumaru knew it was instinct but he still backhanded Inuyasha; his own eyes glowing red and he then picked up the boy by his shirt front growling;

"You know the animal is one of my Kitsune guards transformed and therefore will not harm your pups Inuyasha, control yourself." Sesshoumaru sighed as he looked on the contrite Inuyasha; his pup was so young still and acted before he thought a lot of the time, he too had not had the proper training he should have done.

Inuyasha behaved after that, too well; even when the kitsune trashed the camp and scattered the pups his face was impassive and he went off to sit by himself to watch over his children at a distance so that they couldn't scent him. He was very proud of the way his eldest daughter took charge and was protective and responsible for the younger ones; the way the almost defenceless little girl stood strong against the danger she saw reminded him so much of Kagome and how often she had defended him against the odds.

But when they were all in the tree and he could hear their tummies rumble from hunger and scent their tears as they cried for him once again; they were afraid and lonely and it was all he could do to stop going to them. He dragged his red sleeve across his eyes but he couldn't stop his own grief for his small ones being obvious, the tears kept coming even when he felt Sesshoumaru's arm come around his shoulders.

Sesshoumaru was not being cruel; he knew that the pups were safe, just unused to not being looked after and if they had been his own children he would have left them for the whole week without parental contact, although he would have made sure they would find food and shelter. But he also knew that Inuyasha couldn't take much more; this time had brought back memories that were full of pain for him too and he was nearly at his limit.

"How can you bear to hear them cry and not go to them Father…how can you leave a pup to cry?" Inuyasha's hidden question was heard by Sesshoumaru and he pulled his son to him.

"They will stop soon Inuyasha, just as you did and then they will get stronger and more resilient but you are right; I was a failure as a father and a son, you put me to shame. We will go to them in the morning and take them home."

"You did not fail Papa, you learned and are making it right; we all make mistakes, it's if we don't correct them when we can that we fail. The pups must learn to survive too, we won't take them home just yet, but I must see them."

"Very well Pup, now dry your eyes so that I know you are alright." Inuyasha did as he was told, but he welcomed the fact that Sesshoumaru stayed holding him the entire night until they could both go to the pups in the morning.

Once again the pups woke to the smell of breakfast cooking but this time both their father and grandfather were sitting there too and the pups ran to Inuyasha to cling to him with all their might. They were crying and laughing at the same time and Inuyasha recognised the release of nervous tension in their behaviour.

Sesshoumaru was amazed at the difference in his own pup; gone was the unhappy and tearful youth of the last couple of days and in his place was the strong father, comforting and cajoling his offspring whilst at the same time praising and listening to them all. Yet he could now see how much Inuyasha could adapt to his situation or what he wanted to project and Sesshoumaru realised with belated horror that he had always done the same whenever they had met as adversaries in the past.

His son was adept at concealing his pain or hurt; usually Sesshoumaru thought he could read the boy like a book but now he wasn't so sure, although perhaps it was just that he was a good father who was a pillar of safety for his own pups. Watching him with his children, Sesshoumaru was very proud of him and of who he had become in spite of all his trials and he was even more determined that Inuyasha's pups should come to appreciate their remarkable father.

As everyone settled down happily to eat breakfast Sesshoumaru made certain that he was the one that distributed the food. He had noticed some glances that showed the pups were a bit wary of him and he didn't want them to think that the trials they'd been through were some form of punishment; it was training and also to show them more about their father and what made him as he was. It didn't take long before the pups were acting normally near him again and asking Sesshoumaru to tell them more about the Little Hanyou.

Inuyasha looked at Sesshoumaru in alarm, he really didn't want his pups knowing all his history with Sesshoumaru yet; he didn't want them to fear or distrust his father and they were too young to deal with some of the atrocities in general that Inuyasha had lived through. Sesshoumaru saw and understood Inuyasha's concern and smiled gently in a reassuring response.

The pups were full of questions; was the Little Hanyou true, was he still alive, how had he survived if he was so young, was he always alone? The answers and some of the stories that went with them took quite a long time to tell, but Sesshoumaru didn't dwell on the Little Hanyou's problems; rather he focused on the pup's bravery and courage as he battled to survive, unknowingly overlooked and barely protected by his brother from a distance.

"Your father wishes for your training to finish now and for us all to go home little ones; this we can do and venture out another time if you would prefer… perhaps when you are older." The answer was so predictable as far as Sesshoumaru was concerned and Inuyasha's annoyed glance showed that his father's twist of speech hadn't gone unnoticed by him either.

The pups couldn't wait to assure both adults that they were perfectly able to undergo any training; if someone younger than they had survived out in the wilderness, then they certainly could do so. Sesshoumaru nodded and they could see the pleasure in his glance that they had chosen to carry on; it gave them courage to see that he was proud of them.

"Very well; I shall take you somewhere special to the Little Hanyou, you had best wash before we go and wear your clothes as you now have no others. On our way we shall hunt so keep close attention."

Sesshoumaru was a very patient teacher and for the rest of the day, the pups had fun but learned many of the ways of the life that lived in the wild. Inuyasha was astonished at how much the children had bounced back after their frights of the last couple of days, just because they had been rescued. He had never had that feeling; people near him meant pain not rescue, and for years he had lived under a cloud of despair and growing anger, always bitter at the fact he had no place in anyone's world.

All he had known was fear if he was discovered and he knew a fleeting jealousy of his pups again as they were taught and cared for in a way that he never had been. Being out here, watching his pups and hearing his own story retold, had brought many of his repressed memories to the surface and at one point he had to run and get away, leaving the pups in Sesshoumaru's care.

Inuyasha didn't return until later that evening when Sesshoumaru had led the young ones out of the forest and towards the mountains. The elder didn't make a fuss of the younger's reappearance, he had felt the turmoil and scented the salt that had permeated the air before the hanyou had fled, but he knew that his son would not leave his pups for long. However he did 'woof' in an undertone, making Inuyasha look at him in surprise; Sesshoumaru had noticed the hanyou's eyes were still reddened and didn't want his son thinking that he didn't care or understand.

Soon they came to a rocky area and Sesshoumaru showed the pups a tiny crevasse in the rock face and led them in to a twisting passage that revealed a small round cave. Inuyasha would not go in, too many bad memories lay in that particular cave; memories not particularly of ill treatment, but of staggering loneliness, at least his pups would have each other for company. But it was left for Sesshoumaru to show the pups around after making sure that nothing else had taken up residence since Inuyasha had used it as shelter.

Later in the foothills of the mountains, the pups were encouraged to hunt and collect food; they needed enough for two days, besides firewood and soft materials for bedding once again. All this they had to cart into the cave and learn how to light the fire, which would then be someone's responsibility to keep alight; there was no natural light seeping in anywhere and the following evening would be the pup's human night.

Once again Inuyasha was nervous and unhappy sitting in a tree; he was not concerned that the pups wouldn't be safe or that there wouldn't be enough to eat for them. On the contrary, there was plenty of wild fruit and game to be hunted, just as there had been when he used to hole up in the cave. But he remembered being unable to sleep as he tried to tuck himself up into a corner, the wind found nooks and crannies and even when it wasn't cold it made strange noises in the dark and Inuyasha had been terribly afraid and alone.

The first night for the pups was an adventure; the two adults who were outside could hear laughter and singing before the pups went to sleep. The children were warm and well fed and this time unafraid, knowing that their father and grandfather were close by. The fire was welcome and comforting and they had all found a corner for themselves in which they had made their beds, using the abundant bracken and they were so tired from the walk and hunt that they soon succumbed to sleep.

Next day once again found them without obvious carers but they did not worry and all piled out into the sunshine to play. They found a hot spring which afforded a lot of carefree fun and there were plenty of wild fruit trees that allowed them to eat at their leisure throughout the day. In the afternoon the sun was warm enough to sunbathe and idle away the few hours left before the pups knew they would have to take shelter in the cave.

That was when the trouble started however; they had forgotten Sesshoumaru's warning and the fire had gone out and the cave was getting cold, they started to argue about whose fault it was which got them nowhere. It was Kaede who reasoned that they were wasting time when they should be trying to relight the fire, which would be essential for light and heat that evening aside from cooking their food.

It took over an hour for them to light a flame and get a sufficient fire started that wouldn't go out in the tiny but powerful breezes that danced around the cave and they all wondered how often the Little Hanyou had had to go without. They knew that he had been much younger than they and alone and untaught so he had probably not had fire for a long time.

The sudden dramatic change came over them all and there were gasps of surprise as they had all lost track of the lunar cycle; they were human and more susceptible to the cold. Now the small fire was even more important, their eyes were nowhere near as efficient in this form and their sense of smell was almost gone. For the first time in their lives they became wary of this night; sounds spooked them and shadows cast by the fire took on lives of their own.

None of them wanted to go to their separate beds as they couldn't see where each other was and they didn't want to leave the fireside. Izamai eventually volunteered to stay awake to keep watch while the others slept; she couldn't help thinking of the Little Hanyou and her heart went out to the boy, living in here on his human nights without the comfort of siblings. Her own started to drift asleep all around the fire which she kept alight all night; never taking her eyes off the warm glow and concentrating on the crackles of the wood rather than the darks shadows and the howling of the wind.

That night the pups shivered but if they woke up, the fire and their older sister were there to comfort them; it was a time they would never forget and as they got older their respect for Izamai grew because they were better able to appreciate her leadership and care of them for the week. The night was the longest that the children had spent until their youki came back but they were exuberant, they had not given up even when they felt they were sorely tested.

In the morning Izamai took a burning brand to search the cave; while she had been awake she had had time to think and when her senses came back she wanted to test out a theory. While they had been excited about the first night, they had not explored the cave and yet her subliminal senses had registered something strange.

Now she wandered to the back of the cave and she found an old blanket and a very old roughly carved plate and cup. They had to belong to the Little Hanyou and the vague lingering scent in the blanket told her exactly who that orphaned boy was. It also raised a lot of questions in her mind and she felt that she wanted the answers. The week had helped her to grow in maturity and although she was still only a child, she had now got protective feelings towards her father via the stories of Sesshoumaru.

TBC