Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! But if I did Kikyou would be dead... God she pisses me off... XD

A/N: Now, this is the last chapter people! Are we ready to see if Sesshomaru dies or not? I shall have a small Author's Note at the end! The quote should give you a hint about this chapter ;D

"You have to know the past to understand the present." – Author Unknown

Puppy Instincts

Chapter Five – Farewell Sesshomaru

Kagome wondered if she'd ever stop crying. She had witnessed deaths before, and had been the cause of purifying many a demon...but she had never been so close to someone who had passed away before. Hot trails of moisture slid down her cheeks, and with each tear, her heart broke a little bit more as she gazed down at the fallen puppy. 'I can't believe Inuyasha would do something so heartless...'

The hesitant, subtle spark of an idea came to her, and it filled her with a small hope.

Gently, she set Sesshomaru's head on the ground, wiped her eyes, and stood up. In order to do this however, she was going to have to ask Inuyasha for assistance, something she was against.

To save Sesshomaru's life however, there were no other choices.

She sighed aloud in defeat. "Inu... Inuyasha... can you come here for a minute?" She tried to keep the anger and sadness out of her voice, and for the moment, it worked. Inuyasha walked towards her, and his ears were flat against his head, matching the forlorn expression on his face. As far as she was concerned, he should've felt this way.

He stopped a foot away from her, and she looked to his face. His eyes were swimming with sorrow, anger, and above all, pure shame.

What she said would more than likely snap him out of this state. "Inuyasha... I promise I won't be angry at you if you help me with this." Inuyasha's eyes widened, but he made no motion of agreement. "Can you please help me carry Sesshomaru? I can't do it by myself, I don't want to hurt him worse than...he already is." A voice told her that he WAS dead and that there was no stopping that. What she was doing was futile her mind told her, but she refused to listen to logic.

Tears came again as Inuyasha sighed aloud. She looked up at him pleadingly, and she knew that even if she had to get Sesshomaru on her back and drag his feet on the ground, she would make do.

Then, Inuyasha nodded. She smiled to him and bent down to where Sesshomaru's body lay. Quickly, she shredded part of her shirt to bandage the still-bleeding wound on his chest, all the while wondering if this plan would work. This was hardly the time for what ifs however.

Inuyasha picked Sesshomaru up in his arms, and for a moment, she saw the face of someone who had lost a family member, the face of someone who was trapped in the clutches of the beast of Guilt itself.

"Get on my back. Tell me where you want to go." His voice sounded dry, like parched timber. She nodded and quickly gripped his back, preparing herself for what was to come.

"Take me to Rin."

xXxXx

After what seemed like a lifetime of searching, Inuyasha finally found the group he was looking for. As he traveled, two thoughts occupied Kagome's mind: the first was the thought that Inuyasha might've been taking his time with finding the group, for he didn't wish for her plan of revival to work. She instantly chided herself for the thought, for all the while Inuyasha traveled, she saw that his face was narrowed with intense concentration; he was doing his best, and there was no way he could've fabricated that.

Also, she knew that with every second that passed, precious time was slipping away. There had to be a rule with bringing youkai back to life, some sort of time-limit that was allowed in the grand scheme of the universe. Kagome was worried that she was toying with forces far beyond her control.

Inuyasha landed on a small patch of grass, and she saw the ones that she needed to see.

Ever so carefully, Inuyasha set Sesshomaru on the ground, all the while Kagome eased herself off of his back.

Currently, Rin had been holding the reins of the two-headed dragon youkai as it grazed, and she was accompanied by the toad imp as he daydreamed in the clouds. Rin looked her way, smiled, and let go of the dragon's reins, much to the boisterous protests of Jaken.

"Lord Sesshomaru's brother, and Kagome!" Her smile was so wide and innocent, it made Kagome's heart ache to think of what had happened to the child's guardian. Rin politely bowed to her, and then looked over to where Sesshomaru's body lay. "Why is Lord Sesshomaru on the ground? Is he sleeping?"

Kagome bit her lip to keep from crying out, and the pain distracted her. "Yes, Rin, he's sleeping. We brought him back to you so that you could take him back to his home. Can you do that for me?" She bent down to the child's eye level and gently tousled the girl's hair.

Rin nodded seriously and ran off to get the dragon. Jaken waddled over, and he peered at Sesshomaru's body for the longest time, almost as if to detect a flaw in their plan. Kagome held her breath, for if the loud-mouthed toad exclaimed that his Lord wasn't breathing, they would have a disaster on top of this calamity on their hands. Thankfully, he didn't notice.

Inuyasha picked Sesshomaru up and set him against the dragon's back. Rin climbed on and gripped her Lord from behind, almost as if she were in a sense, protecting him from falling off. "Don't worry, Kagome! We'll make sure my Lord gets some rest!" The dragon snorted and began floating in the air, much to Jaken's loud protests that they were leaving him behind. He grabbed the tail and managed to crawl onto the saddle before they were too high up.

Rin turned around and waved, and all the while Kagome prayed that they would make it to the castle before it was too late. There was nothing more she could do, and her theory was that if Sesshomaru was back in his homeland, that he would miraculously heal. It was a long-shot. But it was all that she had.

"Kagome...?" Inuyasha asked.

She needed physical contact, physical reassurance that reminded her that she wasn't just a formless entity composed of sorrow right then.

Kagome pivoted on her heel and allowed for Inuyasha to put his arms around her. She bunched her hands into the material of his haori, and the tears flowed freely. These tears declared her confusion over these past few days, and she wondered how any of this could've happened. These tears reminded her that the half-youkai that she had freed and befriended was not the same boy she knew if he was capable of murder. And above all, these tears were for her fear of Sesshomaru dying before he had the chance to experience a lesson out of becoming a puppy again.

Inuyasha gently picked her up, and before she knew it, she was back to Kaede's hut. He set her on a futon and left without a word. She knew that he thought it was for the best, and he was right; for the moment, she just couldn't look at him in the same way.

Kagome looked up at Kaede with tear-filled eyes, and the wise priestess came closer to her, and gently put her hand on Kagome's head.

"Never fear child, I know how you feel." Kagome looked up to her, wondering what she meant by that. Kaede chuckled softly. "I was not always an old lady! But I lost my love to a war."

Kagome silently felt tears slip from her eyes as she listened attentively to Kaede's story of love and loss. Then, Kaede comforted her with soothing words on how she was a lovely child that deserved nothing but the utmost happiness.

After awhile, the tears stopped and she was able to communicate the entire story, from the very beginning. Kaede smoothed her fingers through her hair all throughout the tale, and afterwards, she felt her eyes slip closed.

"Rest, child. All will be well." Kagome wanted to protest, but there was no stopping the claim sleep had on her body.

Sesshomaru awoke to the largest pair of brown eyes he had ever seen, eyes that were staring down at him in utmost concern. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Rin just yet. He knew where he was, and he also knew an important fact: he didn't just turn into a pup on accident, nor was it randomized. 'This Sesshomaru wishes he had heeded his father's words, for he did warn me that something like this would occur...'

-Three Hundred and Fifty Years ago-

"Sesshomaru, listen to me: if you do not heed these words, there will be a test thrust upon you when you least suspect it. This will take precendence over all else in your life. You will revert back to your puppyhood, and it will leave you defenseless. It's a common criterion with all youkai rulers. For example, if you were a boar youkai, you would turn into a piglet, and so forth. Your mind would be the same, but your powers would diminish, as would your body."

Sesshomaru remembered scoffing at this, thinking that his father was playing him a fool. His father noted that he wasn't listening at all, and he let out a hefty sigh as he walked towards him. He lay a slender hand on his shoulder, and looked deep into his eyes. Sesshomaru could almost hear his thoughts: he was called the ice prince for a reason by his mother, and all knew him as being brave, cunning, and intelligent. However, what Sesshomaru despised was the thought of his father telling him how the future would play out.

His father's words broke through his thoughts. "If you do not learn to be a kind and just ruler, this test will come and it will be a great ordeal. It will challenge you in ways you cannot begin to comprehend at this age." Sesshomaru recalled not budging an inch, nor was he phased in the least. His father sighed aloud. " I should tell you how to finish the test, but then there really wouldn't be a point of all of this, now would there?"

His father winked at him and took to the skies in his huge dog form.

Sesshomaru opened his eyes once more, and he saw that Rin was nowhere to be found. He decided to break his iron decorum and sigh outloud, something he never would've done in any company. He sat up slowly and gaged that he was still alive, and ran a hand down his chest to inspect the wound. When he saw his claws and his light-coloured skin, he was jolted awake instantly. His normal hands had returned, and he was back to normal.

Had he not been a youkai of high-status he would've leaped out of bed and danced for joy.

Sesshomaru slowly rose from the bed, and gently eased himself off the futon. He quickly located other garments that would be suitable for such a day of celebration. He grabbed a haori that was more decorative than his usual dress, and placed it on his body. He let out a sigh of relief when the fabric touched his skin, for it was a symbol of needing to wear clothes again; he was once again himself.

Quickly, Sesshomaru attached his swords and left out his spiked pauldron and cuirass, knowing that where he was going, he would have no need for armor.

He left his quarters, searching for Jaken so that he could relay a message. After looking through the entire castle thoroughly and bidding his servants acknowledgments, he found the imp outside. The toad was playing with Rin, and he had been tossing small colored stones into a pile, and he appeared to be having a genuinely good time. Sesshomaru inwardly smirked at the fact that even though the toad ranted and raved about how disgusting humans were, how he was so willing to make time for the child.

"Jaken... you will take care of the castle and Rin until I return."

Before Jaken could get a word in, and before Rin could rise, Sesshomaru took off. He would greet them properly later.

Flying over Inuyasha's forest, Sesshomaru landed in a small glade outside of the village. He found a human girl picking herbs alongside the valley, and he informed her that he wanted to see the young priestess in the village, for he had a message to relay to her. The girl nodded hastily and took off, her eyes wide and wondering all the while. He knew this was strange, odd, out-of-character for him...but he didn't care; he had to thank the girl.

'This Sesshomaru has developed a friendship with the human girl...' Mentally, he scoffed at his words, but beneath the armor lay the subconscious truth: he was friends with her.

He waited silently until he spotted Kagome. She walked over to him, and all the while, he saw that her eyes were bright and wondering. He knew that she had suspected that he had died from the wound his brother inflicted upon him, and that was the last she saw of him. It was because of her quick thinking that he was alive.

Every human in the village was watching him, and he knew that they would fly into a rage if he was to do anything to harm her. This wouldn't do.

Motioning silently for her to follow him, not bothering to see if she pursued him or not, Sesshomaru turned on his heel. The sounds of her footsteps alerted him to the fact that she obeyed him. He felt his mouth twitch upwards into a transient smile. She trusted him enough to follow him, and that said something.

They came into the clearing that held the well in the middle of the glade, and he suddenly halted in his stride. Kagome had obviously not paid any attention to where they were headed, and as such, her toes hit his heels, and her nose bumped into the middle of his back.

Before she could react, apologize, or begin stammering, Sesshomaru turned around with his youkai speed and pulled her into an embrace. He heard her gasp, and the way her heartbeat escalated didn't fall upon deaf ears. "This Sesshomaru has learned that this is what you humans do when you wish to say you are sorry, or when you wish to say thank you." He said all this blandly, but all the while, he felt warmth permeate from every pore on his body. He resisted the urge that told him that he could never release this girl again, both from his arms and from his life.

He was never one to fall victim to the instinct of the heart.

Gently, Sesshomaru released her body and he saw that she was gaping up at him like he had grown a second head. She didn't blink for a few moments, and he rephrased his previous statement: perhaps he had grown several heads. Or, that she had seen a ghost. That was well put, for he had been sleeping and recovering from the "challenge" as his late father put it for the past two weeks.

In the time that he had been dressing, Myouga had informed him that Naraku had been defeated, which had been one of two sole obligations. In short, he was angry that he hadn't been able to partake in the slaying of that vile kumo.

Those claims were disturbing, and they told him he had to act. And act he would.

Before Kagome could say a word, much less react, he pushed her backwards into the well.

Kagome had never known real shock until Sesshomaru had grabbed her and hugged her tightly. Forget the time when she caught Inuyasha rooting through her underwear drawer, this moment took every award ever created.

However, nothing compared to the moment of unparalleled terror and awe she felt when Sesshomaru literally pushed her into the well. She supposed she should've expected this retaliation on Sesshomaru's part.

The swirling lights circled around her as she fell deep, deep into the abyss of the well. The colors clung to her, swarming around her head, almost as if they longed to drown her. She landed on the ground with a thud, and it took her a moment to find her bearings.

Quickly, she clambered to her feet and gripped the rope ladder that her mother had recently placed there, and she climbed halfway up, and hit the bottom. There were no colours, and no birdsong; there was nothing. She had to go back there eventually, both to face Sesshomaru and to face what he wanted with her.

Kagome hauled herself out of the well, and walked towards the opening of the door. She gripped the door handles and swung them open, and took in a sharp intake of breath. She was face to face with a striped visage, yellow eyes, and familiar white hair...

Sesshomaru took a step towards her, and she took a step backwards, repeating the process until she was only a few feet away from the stairs that led down the well. Kagome knew that she would fall if she continued in this pattern. Either she would die by falling down the stairs like a klutz, or Sesshomaru would kill her right now for disgracing him in his...other state.

She never dreamed that any of this could happen in a matter of days. Sesshomaru had come here to reprimand her for treating him like a good for nothing puppy, a normal dog and house-pet...and for that, the insult couldn't have been any higher.

Miraculously, she found her voice. "Sesshomaru...I'm sorry..." She managed to choke this out, but fear paralyzed her throat like a large iron vise.

Helplessly, she watched as Sesshomaru took a few steps towards her, a smirk twitching his mouth upwards. Kagome moved back one step, though he was two feet from her. 'All the good it would do me, he'd kill me before I would reach the edge of the well. Even if I could jump down there, I'd die by breaking my neck.'

Sesshomaru's voice shattered any more thoughts. "I have waited five-hundred long years to do this."

And with a loud snarl, Sesshomaru lunged at Kagome.

END!

A/N: And that my dearest readers, is that...

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Thanks for reading,

Saz (The Silent Black Violin)

BETA: Woah...0.o...I never expected that from Sesshers! XO But the important thing is, he's not dead! :) The sequel is underfoot-I believe-and I'd love to know what you think of my Master's story! ^_^