WHOOT! I'm back with another awesome chapter! Or… at least I hope it's awesome. *sweat-drops* Anyways, first, a HUGE thanks and cookies to my eleven most AWESOME and recent reviewers: Strength Honor Love, hottieanimegurl, MsWildLuck, KHandFF7fanforever, kidagakaush, slytherin's daughter, Trinabear (Kira: glomp hugs ya for the long and AWESOME review! XD), Lady Syndra, suzie1107, blackenflames, and Gotta Have My Choco! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH! Also, a huge thanks to all the people who have already favorited and/or followed this story! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 10!

BEFORE YOU READ: Okay, so there's been a little confusion on Autumn/Akiko's world. She comes from OUR world. However, she got sucked into the world of INUYASHA. In other words, Kagome's world is NOT Autumn/Akiko's world. Since Kagome's world is still part of the anime Inuyasha, it's still in the anime world, not ours. :)

Terms to know…
Daiyoukai – Great Demon
Youkai – Demon
Inu – Dog

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha, the Inuyasha plot, NOR the Inuyasha characters. I only own my main OCs Autumn/Akiko and Kimiko, any other OCs created along the way, and any part of the plot NOT a part of the Inuyasha anime or manga. This fanfic, however, is MINE and I'd like to keep it that way.

Chapter 10-Life and Identity

Autumn/Akiko's P.O.V.
I blinked up in surprise at the Daiyoukai standing before me, my eyes still somewhat moist from the tears in which I'd been crying just moments before. "Lord… Sesshomaru?" I questioned, still not quite sure whether I was or wasn't delusional. Although, I did give myself a mental pat on the back for managing to remember his formalities.

"Hn. You state the obvious." Sesshomaru voice was the epitome of calm, "This one caught the scent of your distress."

"Distress?" I mentally laughed at the pathetic image I must have made at that moment. Then again, just why was Sesshomaru still around anyways? I thought he left.

"Why were you crying?" he repeated his earlier question.

Silently, I cursed my luck at being caught. "It's nothing, really." I chuckled weakly, almost waving him off until the slight prickle of anger in his Youki halted me from doing so.

Sesshomaru was not someone to be lied to.

"You are lying." The Western Lord read me like a book. Although, granted, it probably wasn't very hard.

I sighed softly beneath his molten gold glare. "So, I was." I admitted, knowing I'd been caught, but still not offering to elaborate. We'd just met this afternoon. Seriously, why would he care?

"Then why?" Sesshomaru pressed, his face showing the slightest, slightest hint of confusion.

"Isn't that my question?" I met his gaze with my own, wondering why he was being so damn persistent, "Why do you care?"

"An Inu such as yourself should not lower yourself to such weaknesses." He sniffed matter-of-factly, causing me to bristle.

"That's just it though!" I snapped, temporarily forgetting that I was addressing someone who could easily kill me with less than ease. I'm sure that if Kimiko had been paying attention, she would have had a heart attack. "I'm not an Inu! I'm just… I'm just an ordinary person." my voice turned hoarse as I plopped my head back up against a tree, "Or at least… I was."

The tenseness in the atmosphere following my statement was almost suffocating. "Explain." The Western Lord's voice was cold, nearly making me flinch, as he demanded an explanation.

"Are you sure about telling him this?" Kimiko's voice cut in worriedly, having returned to the forefront of my mind sometime during my little outburst.

"A little late for that, isn't it?" I stated sourly, "There ain't no going back on this one."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Silence reigned supreme between me and the Daiyoukai as I finished my story. In the end, I'd told him everything, simply excluding any futuristic terms he wouldn't understand. I started with where I was from, to the fortunes, the way I first met the Golden Inu, the dream I'd had after going unconscious, and finally the way Kimiko had popped back up and taken up a temporary residence in the back of my head.

I also didn't fail to mention how I was now stuck here on a permanent basis. Now, just why I told the prickly Inu all of this? I have no idea. Maybe… I just needed to tell someone.

Although, with the silence continuing to stretch between us, I was beginning to wonder just how Sesshomaru was processing everything I'd told him. In all honesty, I was surprised he was even still here after hearing I was actually born a human. For I'd already suspected that the only reason the Western Lord had deemed me even worthy to talk to was because I myself was an Inu Daiyoukai as well.

So, why was he still here?

Sesshomaru's P.O.V.
I had fallen deep into thought after hearing the female's story. As ridiculous as it sounded, her scent informed me that she had told the whole truth. At first, though I didn't show it, I was shocked to learn she was from another world. My next initial reaction was to be disgusted at this worthless mortal who had disgraced my race by wearing the body of an Inu like a suit. Yet, something made me pause in that train of thought. What made me pause was the fact that one of the great Inu spirits had specifically chosen her.

No argument could be made to debate the fact that this Inu spirit had deemed her worthy of its bloodline. Why? Just what had it been able to see in a mere mortal, that made said mortal worthy of such greatness?

"Hn. That answer shall be sought out at a later date." The question now was if this changed my own decision at all.

After several more minutes in deep thought, I decided that, in the end, it did not. The female was still the same golden Inu that ferociously defended her pack and its wounded kit. I had decided she would be mine, and that would not change. Not only would she produce full-blooded Inu pups, but also, seeing as she had a human soul, the female would be more open to the fact that I already more or less had a human pup.

Hmm… I was actually finding this little happening to be quite interesting.

In the long run, I could actually feel that my inner beast was in fact rather pleased that she had opened up to us enough to share such information.

"Though you were once human, you are now a golden Inu. This fact there is no denying." I finally began, choosing my words carefully.

The female, or Akiko, as her name actually was, finally drew her eyes away from the stream to meet my golden gaze. Judging by the surprise her expression held, I had no doubt she had been expecting my initial reaction of disgust. It was not an unknown fact that I held little regard for the human race.

However, judging even by what little I had seen of this ex-human's actions, I held the sneaking suspicion that humans were quite different in her world then in my own.

"This Sesshomaru has no doubt that the Inu spirit in which you spoke of had her reasons for choosing you." My gaze hardened as I willed the young Inu before me to comprehend my words, "You have been bequeathed with a great honor. Since you cannot return, then you must go forward. You should be proud of what you now are, for there is no greater than us Inu."

Autumn/Akiko's P.O.V.
I admit, I truly was stunned by what Sesshomaru had just said, "Us Inu?"

The 'us' in that phrase holding particular meaning.

I don't know why, but the fact that the Western Lord didn't seem to hate me not only surprised me, but in an odd way, made me happy as well. It felt nice to simply let out exactly how I felt about all this to someone who could just take it with a spoonful of calm.

"Besides," the Daiyoukai suddenly continued, "Judging by what you have told this Sesshomaru about yourself, you seem to have kept your human soul. And as a human, you did not seem the type to break beneath the weight of hardships."

A small smile showed on my face at those words, for how right he was.

True, I was an Inu now, but at the core, I was still a Montana ranch woman. When things changed, I adapted. When life got hard, I endured. When times became desperate, I did what was necessary to keep me and my loved alive. "That's right." Standing up, I clenched my fist, eyes hardening along with my resolve, "Now ain't the time to be bitchin' an moanin' bout how life ain't fair."

Yes, because if life were fair, our ranch wouldn't have lost over 25,000 head of cattle during one of the coldest winters in Montana.

If life were fair, my older sister wouldn't have died of cancer when I was only four years old.

If life were fair, I wouldn't be here right now! But that was just it…

Life wasn't fair, and it never would be. When life played dirty, you simply just sucked it up and dealt with it; a lesson my mother had taught me ever since I could remember.

"That's why I chose you." I could feel Kimiko smiling from within me, "Not only are you kind, but you are also a wise and sensible child."

Hardening my iron resolve into steel, a small smile flitted across my face, "I simply do what I must. There'll be time for crying later. Right now, my first priority is to survive this whole ordeal."

Well, I hope you all liked it! :D Now, please, PLEEAAASE let me know what ya thought in the reviews! Seriously, the feedback I've been getting has sent my inspiration level flying to the skies! So, keep up the AWESOME work and I'll keep writing away! Also, please follow and favorite this story as well! See everyone in the next chapter! :D

Rock Out!
Kira