"Over and over. Under and over. In the dark of night. You see me but I can't see you and so I'll die of fright. Here I hide and you'll find me. Here I'll die and you'll eat me…"

"Stop. Your songwriting ability leaves something to be desired."

"It was for you though…" the young boy pouted as he looked up at his walking companion.

"Indeed," replied the absurdly tall man beside him.

"You didn't like it, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Hn." Sesshomaru made no move to correct the boy's assumptions but shifted his stance to walk closer to the boy who perked up in response to the subtle comfort.

The young boy reached out and grabbed the fabric by Sesshomaru's hip, tugging gently. "Why don't you let me kiss you?"

The abrupt change of subject would have startled Sesshomaru if it had not been a constant theme the entire trip. The boy kept asking for intimacy with a fervency that baffled Sesshomaru.

"Because you are young."

"And a boy?"

"I would not kiss you if you were female."

"That's a lie!" The boy stopped abruptly and crossed his arms over his stomach, his face contorted in an effort to keep from crying.

Sesshomaru let out a barely audible sigh and turned on his heel to face the distraught child. "Stop speaking nonsense."

"I am twelve! That is almost a man! If I want to kiss you then I shall!"

"Shall you?" Sesshomaru quirked up an eyebrow as the boy looked away, embarrassed.

"But I love you."

"You do not know the meaning of love." Sesshomaru turned back to face the road ahead and kept walking. He did not bother to look back for he knew the boy would follow soon enough.

They walked in silence for a number of miles, the boy obviously wanting some sort of affirmation and Sesshomaru loath to give it. Luckily, his salvation was met in a large building that loomed ahead on the precipice of a hill. As they neared their destination the boy gasped and squealed in delight. "There is no finer house in all of China!"

"Hn." Sesshomaru stood before his new home and felt a weariness that was bone deep. Since leaving Japan, he had traveled for months through China to find this boy. Now, after having sprung the boy from indentured servitude and dragging him back to his palace on the coast, Sesshomaru found himself unsure of what to do. He had never expected to find an incarnation of Rin in the body of a male human, let alone a pubescent one. Yet, here they were.

The boy had grown increasingly attached to Sesshomaru during their journey. It was to the point where Sesshomaru was unsure if he should allow the preteen to stay with him or not. He had never considered himself as the kind of tai-youkai who cared about gender but rutting was generally understood to be between a male and a female. Still, there were plenty of demons who took same-sex partners outside of mating purposes.

Sesshomaru looked at his travel companion out of the corner of his eye and fought back the hysteria bubbling in his chest. Everything about this was wrong. He knew that because he had found 'his Rin' it would only be a matter of time before something happened and the idea of such an outcome was terrifying.

Rin stood in front of the microwave and stared at it with a level of intensity not she generally reserved for threading needles and the New York Times crossword puzzle. She silently willed the numbers to count down faster and the food to be heated up so that she could return to Mr. Tashio and surprise him with her home cooked food. Okay, so she hadn't actually cooked anything but he didn't need to know that it was her roommate Maya who possessed the Betty Crocker gene, not her.

"Little Ms. Homemaker, what have we here?"

A smile spread across Rin's face as she turned around to see the younger Tashio leaning against the doorframe.

"Inuyasha. Come to bother the elder Tashio?"

"Me?" Inuyasha pressed a hand to his heart in mock offense. "I would never. Actually I'm here to see you. How are you feeling?"

Rin narrowed her eyes in confusion as she tried to piece together what he could possibly mean. "I don't…" her voice trailed off at the realization that he was asking because of her fall at the gala. Rin turned back to face the microwave and laughed, high and tinny. "Never been better. Really. No complaints here." She played with the lip of the counter, unsure if she should proceed with the question she had in mind.

"Rin, I can practically feel the table getting a hole burned into it. Just say what's on your mind."

Biting her lower lip, Rin took a deep breath. She didn't turn around as she asked, "Why was it you that took me home?"

The question seemed to catch Inuyasha off guard and a minute passed before he answered. The microwave beeped and Rin removed the chicken alfredo. She mixed up the ingredients and allowed the aroma to cloud her senses while doing her best to pretend like he wasn't there.

"Sorry, eh, I don't know what's wrong with me." Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the room. "You seem like a good kid and we had a good time together. It wasn't like it was a problem for me. I had nothing better to do."

Rin stiffened as she divided the food into two bowls. "Oh,"

"Rin-"

"No, no it's fine. I get it. I really do," she looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Please don't worry, okay?"

With a fork in each bowl, Rin grabbed one in either hand and walked back through the maze of rooms to Mr. Tashio's office. She didn't knock as she pushed the door open with her hip and entered.

Mr. Tashio looked up from the file on his desk, his expression inscrutable. "Ms. Sato, what is-" he stopped and sat up a little straighter, looking at something behind Rin.

Rin shimmed sideways and turned to look at what was behind her; Inuyasha.

"Brother. May I ask why your presence in necessary?"

"Just checking up on your P.A."

"Hn. An inefficient use of your time." Sesshomaru replied coolly.

"Like playing house in your office?" Inuyasha's eyes slid over to Rin before going back to his brother; Rin wasn't sure what was going on anymore but she knew that she most certainly didn't want to be there.

"Do you hear yourself when you speak? I do and it is utter nonsense."

"Just because you don't have the balls to do anything useful doesn't mean the rest of us should suffer!"

"You grow more intolerable by the second…"

"Keh! Get that stick out of your-"

Sesshomaru's lip curled up, effectively silencing his younger brother, though the look Inuyasha gave him spoke volumes.

For her part, Rin attempted to disappear as she slowly inched away from the agitated men and into the other room. It seemed like neither noticed her departure as they stared each other down. But, as Rin passed the threshold her boss's voice gave her pause.

"You may return home for the night Ms. Sato. Your services are no longer required."

Knowing that she was being well and truly dismissed, Rin dumped the food into the garbage can beside her desk. It was just as well, she no longer had an appetite.

As the door closed behind his assistant, Sesshomaru closed his eyes and grimaced. A perfect opportunity was now wasted due to his waste-of-space-brother. He flexed his fingers against his thighs; it had been so long since he had disemboweled someone…

His phone rang in his pocket and Sesshomaru was forced to abandon his murderous thoughts in favor of answering. He ignored his brother, glowering at him from across the room, as he picked up the call without bothering to look at the contact information.

"Yes?" He sounded calm but it was boiling inside.

"It's me."

Sesshomaru withered internally at the sound of Kagura's voice.

"I assume there is an excellent reason you are calling me at this moment. The consequences will be severe otherwise."

She hissed at his threat but her voice continued to drip with sex appeal. "I have what you want. I have a location. I expect payment when I arrive."

"You shall have what was agreed upon," Sesshomaru began but his sentence was spoken to no one - she had already hung up. Placing his phone on the table, Sesshomaru regarded Inuyasha wearily.

"Leave."

Inuyasha sighed, used to his brother's inability to communicate with even a modicum of politeness and turned to leave. "You're going to regret this Sess. I don't know when, maybe it'll be years, but I know you will."

When he was gone and Sesshomaru was alone, Sesshomaru allowed himself a shuttering sigh. He would finally have the information he had been seeking and with it his dark fantasies completed. But Inuyasha's warning hadn't fallen on deaf ears. The price for getting his revenge was steadily increasing. Sesshomaru recalled a time long ago when he had gotten tangled in Kagura's web and it hadn't ended well then either.

The clang of steel on steel turned his attention away from the papers before him and over to the window and beyond. Outside he knew that his male ward was training with one of his generals, Jun.

Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair as his eyes slipped closed. The days had turned to years and before he had realized it, the scrawny boy once always at his heels was no more and in that boy's place was a strong youth - more than capable of holding his own - though Sesshomaru had to remind himself that the boy was only human and thus easily broken.

He stood and left his office in favor of the fresh air outdoors. His feet carried him around to the back of the castle where the two males were facing off. From 100 paces away he could smell sweat, heady in its scent as it rolled off the ward. From 50 paces Sesshomaru could see droplets of perspiration and water sliding down the young man's smooth, tanned chest before getting soaked up in the sash around his hips.

Sesshomaru stood at the very edge of the battle circle and while neither fighter made a move to recognize him, he knew that they were both keenly aware of his presence.

The ward lunged forward and with a burst a speed that would have easily been missed by a human eye, he flipped and landed behind the general. The young general swiveled quickly and brought up his swords to deflect. What the demon hadn't anticipated was that the ward wasn't planning on using his sword. He brought his foot down on the Jun's knee and as the general lost his balance, the ward swung his leg up and planted his foot squarely in the center of the general's chest.

Jun skidded back a few feet, surprise evident on his face. He eyed the youth for a long moment before dropping both his swords as a wide grin broke out across his face.

"Well done! I always say use your advantages! You made a demon proud, boy!" Jun walked over and clapped the ward on the back. But, the young man was no longer focused on his sparring companion. His eyes burned as they held the gaze of his lord and master, Lord Sesshomaru.

While it was in no way outwardly obvious, Sesshomaru was unhinged by the way the boy looked at him. His eyes blazed with an intensity that only came from extreme passion, whether positive or otherwise Sesshomaru couldn't discern.

The ward muttered a few words to his companion, who nodded in return, before grabbing his shirt off of a post on the far side and heading back towards the castle. A slight lowering of his head as he passed the Lord was the only acknowledgment he gave.

A low growl rumbled through Sesshomaru's chest as he watched the boy leave.

"Sire?"

Sesshomaru's head wiped around to his general. The man, tall and lean with glowing yellow cats eyes that stood out in stark contrast to tanned his skin, was looking at him with a mix of respect and unease.

Sesshomaru quickly reined in his temper, knowing the other demon could easily smell his dissatisfaction.

"I presume the lesson went well." Sesshomaru managed to get out, surprising even himself with the coolness of his tone.

"Indeed sire. The boy grows quickly and his skill with a blade is almost as great as his hand-to-hand combat. Though his marksmanship is shoddy at best." The demon ran a hand through his cropped black hair and smile broadly, revealing a row of pointed teeth.

"Hn."

Knowing he was being dismissed, the demon general bowed low and went in the same direction as the ward, presumably to shower and change. As he left, Sesshomaru was overwhelmed by how much the general smelled of his ward. Sesshomaru could not describe the feeling that swept through him as he stood there, but it was all consuming and needed to be dealt with immediately. He had long since tried to ignore how often his ward smelled of, Jun, but something about how the boy had looked at him this day made it impossible to ignore.

He soon found himself in the main room of his ward's sweet. Sesshomaru looked around, pleased that the room was well kept, though he couldn't be sure if that was due to the maids or the boy. He didn't have to wait long - the boy came out of the bathing room clad in a thin dressing robe that stuck to his wet skin and left little to the imagination.

The youth stopped in his tracks and, after a moment of staring at his master, dropped down onto his knees with his head bowed.

"Sire."

Sesshomaru wanted to tell him to rise but could not seem to find the words. Even as the boy knelt in a submissive position, everything about his posture and scent rang with defiance.

"What is Jun to you, Rou?" Even as he asked the question the words surprised him. Did he sound jealous? He wasn't in the slightest.

The boys head snapped up and he looked up at Sesshomaru with wide eyes. "He is my mentor and my companion."

"On the field?"

Rou's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and he nodded slowly.

"And off?"

As if struck the ward reeled back, moving on his knees away from the Lord. His Adam's apple bobbed as he took in his master; his eyes dragged over him from boot to head.

Sesshomaru growled softly and closed the distance between them so that Rou had to crane his head all the way back to maintain eye contact. He would force the boy into submission if he had to. He lowered himself down slightly and gripped Rou's hair forcing him to rise as his neck was bared to his master.

"His scent weighs heavily on you, Rou."

"We have just trained."

"And you have just bathed. It would not be so unless it also resides," Sesshomaru paused and forced back his need to bare his fangs. He felt his eyes bleeding red as he finished his statement. The words were more growled than spoken. "Within you."

The ward's scent changed immediately from trepidation and stubbornness to outright alarm. Sesshomaru felt the tension in Rou's body but was impressed that the boy made no move to pull away. One of the Lord's hands stayed in Rou's hair, keeping his face turned away while the other reached forward and removed the tie around the youth's waist. Rou swallowed hard as his body, bare beneath the robe, was now on full display.

The need to touch that flawless skin was overwhelming. This man, this boy, had the soul of his Rin and it called out to him. It sang in Sesshomaru's veins begging him to take, to taste, to touch. A snarl ripped through his throat as he savagely pushed the boy away causing Rou to fall against the wall. The ward's chest heaved, the top of the robe pooling around his wrists, as he stared at his master. He made no move to cover himself as he desperately tried to regain control of his breathing and rapidly beating heart.

"Master." Rou breathed. He slid down the wall, his legs spread and bent at the knee. Sesshomaru could not deny the sight affected him as did the soft, gravely voice at passed through those young, full lips. "Do not call me Rou anymore."

"It is the name you gave yourself." Sesshomaru replied, unable to look away from those burning eyes.

"I had thought myself your son then. Xue. I had a Chinese name. I am not your son. I have no interest in that sort of relationship."

Sesshomaru remained silent, knowing the weight of what remained unsaid. It was not a lack of relationship his ward was interested in. If the young man's body was anything to go off of, he wanted an intimate relationship of another nature.

Sesshomaru felt his body stir in response and it sickened him. Sesshomaru tore his eyes away and stormed out of the room. He would not be so weak. He would not let that soul, even if it was hers, ruin him. It was a decision he would regret for many years to come.

As he rounded the bend and entered the throne room, a familiar figure stood with their back to him. He stopped short and quickly composed himself.

The figure turned around and blood red lips curled into a devilish smile that told Sesshomaru she could smell his arousal. Luckily for him she didn't know of its origins.

"Lord Sesshomaru," she said as she bowed low.

"Kagura."

Kagura took a deep breath as she waited for the elevator doors to open. She had the information she had spent half of her lifetime searching for. She could finally get what she wanted and be free. Though she would never admit it aloud, the fact that she had been born of Naraku and never had experienced a true family weighed heavily on her.

When she was young she and Sesshomaru had been kindred spirits of a sort; she had often thought that they may have offspring together; but then the war came.

She keenly remembered how he had mourned for her in his own way as she had died. It had been a peaceful death but not a final one. The wind goddess put Kagura back together again with the force of a tornado – an agonizing experience she remembered well. Just like that, Kagura had found herself back in the world she'd left behind. And yet it was not the world she knew. Naraku was dead, and Sesshomaru and his ward played house in his Western palace.

Kagura had thought to return to him but news reached her of how the ward had grown into a beautiful woman and despite himself, the demon lord had become enamored with her. It was clear that Sesshomaru's interest in Kagura had dwindled to nothing and she had been left alone in the world.

That could change now. She had a bartering chip that would give her the power she needed to get what she wanted. With or without the Lord in her family, she would use him to start her own.

As the doors opened, Kagura slid on a mask of cool confidence and strode into Sesshomaru's office. She stood before him clad in a tight red dress that barely reached the tops of her thighs and an ankle length mink coat. Her lips were as blood red as her eyes. There was no denying that she oozed sex appeal; there had been a time when Sesshomaru had been susceptible to it but that was a long time ago indeed.

She held a slip of paper between two fingers and smiled at him coyly. "My reward?"

"We have already discussed your monetary payment."

"I'm changing the demands."

Sesshomaru sneered at Kagura and rolled his shoulders back. "And your demands factor into this, how?"

Kagura stiffened and crumpled up the paper before stuffing it into her jacket pocket.

"If you don't want the intel then fine. It's your mad hunt, not mine."

"Why keep you alive when the answer is in your pocket?"

"I'm not stupid. You'll have no idea how to read it."

Sesshomaru conceded with a slight nod and asked with a confidence that only came from knowing that he always got what he wanted, "What do you require?"

"A fair trade. Your slice of revenge for mine." She licked her lips. It could easily have been mistake for a sexual gesture but it was, in fact, a nervous one.

"And who are you exacting revenge on?"

"The who isn't of concern, the how is," Kagura snapped. When he didn't respond Kagura took that as her signal to continue. "Take me now, on this desk."

Sesshomaru's eyes turned into deadly slits as he rose of his chair and closed the distance between them in an instant. If his hand around her throat was any indication of his opinion of her offer, Kagura seemed to ignore it.

"Give me a child, one of strong blood, and you will never see me again. On that I can swear."

"Why would I allow you to debase the dog clan? Why would I ever allow an heir of mine to grow up without my tutelage?"

Kagura smiled as if her lungs weren't starved for oxygen and reached into her pocket again. She held the crumpled up piece of paper in her fist and spoke in a whisper, "For the price of your mate."