Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the story lines I put them in. Thanks to all those who've been reading and especially those who take the time to review. The fact that you take that extra minute to write one means so very much to me. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy.

A Little Reminder

"You know...it's a wonder those two ever got together." Kyou muttered under his breath to Andrea the next morning, watching his aunt and uncle out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know what the hell had happened on their walk but whatever it was it had the pair walking as far apart as possible. If they weren't chained together they'd probably be walking in opposite directions and to hell with the whole save the future thing. Obviously his uncle had done something pretty bad. Or he could have just been himself, that would do it too, Kyou thought ruefully. His uncle wasn't exactly any woman's idea of Mr. Right, looks aside.

"More like inadvertable." Andrea disagreed, giving Kyou a look that made him feel a stupid little kid.

"And you figure that how?" Kyou demanded to know. To his way of thinking his aunt and uncle as a couple made no sense now that he was seeing what they'd been like before. He'd thought his uncle was bad when it came to emotions and social interaction before he'd come here. The way he was now made him seem like Ayame from Fruits Basket in the future.

"Their chemistry. They're fated to be." Andrea said with a confident look in her eyes. "They were born for each other. You're just too stupid to see it."

Stewing about being called stupid for a moment Kyou tried to think like Andrea but truth be told he didn't even know where to start. His friend was pretty damn complicated and weird, at least to him. "Okay, explain it to me then. How did you come to this conclusion? Frankly I'm at a loss to what you're seeing, no matter how much better they get along in the future. He's still an anti social iceberg in either time period."

"Even if I tried to explain it to you you still wouldn't get it."

"I hate it when you say that."

"I know. That's why I say it."

"Those two have an interesting chemistry too." Kagome whispered to Inu yasha, elbowing her husband lightly in the side as she motioned towards Kyou and Andrea with a slight nod of her head. "They sorta remind me of us."

"She's a lot less violent and temperamental then you." Inu yasha pointed out, not exactly appreciating being compared to his son who came off as a easy going but a hot tempered idiot alot of the time. He wasn't, but you had to get to know him to realize it.

"I can still sit you, you know." Kagome warned though she didn't mean it. She was too busy observing her son anyway. She knew two of her five children were married and she was curious if Kyou would be the next in line. Andrea didn't appear to think so and with Kyou it was too hard to tell. This could be a love/hate relationship though. "Which do you think is right, Inu yasha? Kyou or Andrea?"

Understanding what his mate meant Inu yasha looked over at Sango and Sesshoumaru. He was surprised there weren't shards of ice trailing behind them, the atmosphere was so cold. You got chills just looking at them. In other words Sango was seriously pissed since usually she had a fiery temper when she was angry. For her to be this cold bloodedly furious something big had to have happened. The question was, what? There hadn't been a mark on his brother when the pair had returned from their walk though there had been some grass stains on both. Had they fought? But if they had he would have heard something and human or not Sango would have at least gotten one hit in. She was no ones victim. She would have called for help too, knowing how easily his brother could kill her. They must have argued then but about what? And how long were they going to be like this because it was getting pretty damn annoying. Seeing Kagome's questioning look Inu yasha paused, realizing that he hadn't answered her. "I don't know. She seems pretty certain and I don't know how they are in the future. I just know they hate each others' guts at the moment."

A faint twitch appearing under his eye Sesshoumaru forced himself not to react to his half brother's remark. Apparently the idiot had forgotten that his older brother's hearing was far superior to his own. Especially since the idiot in question hadn't even bothered to keep his voice down the way his mate had. How lowering must it be, to know your human mate was twenty times smarter then you were, Sesshoumaru wondered to himself. At least his brother had had the sense to pick Kagome over that pathetic disgrace of a priestess. One of his brother's few sensible decisions. Looking over at Sango to see if she had heard his brother he saw immediately that she had. If it was possible the vibes she was sending off were even colder then before. Impressive.

Feeling his eyes on him Sango cracked her fingers as she closed her fingers into a fist before opening them, repeating the actions over and over again. Damn him. Damn him to the lowest pits of hell. Fighting the urge nor to look down at her wrist she thanked all the gods and goddesses for her slayer uniform. Thanks to the sleeves that went over her fingers no one could see her left wrist. See the mark Sesshoumaru had left there as both a warning and a promise. Her cheeks flushing slightly her mind went back, as it had a thousand times already to last night. To the moment he'd marked her. He'd pulled away from her first, as humiliating as that was. She hadn't wanted it to end. She'd just stared stupidly into that gorgeous face of his, not saying a word when his free hand had grabbed her wrist and pulling it away from his neck had lifted it to his mouth, placing a kiss on the center of her wrist. Then he'd bitten down, not hard enough to break skin but enough to leave a mark. Then he'd let it go and taking her face in his hands, holding it firmly as he informed her that that mark was a reminder. A reminder that he was only to be pushed so far before he would give her exactly what she was asking for. That the next time he wouldn't hesitate or show mercy. Then rising he'd yanked her up and dragged her back to camp without another word. Not that she'd been in any condition to think enough to say anything. Lifting a hand to rub the spot on her wrist with her other hand Sango stopped as soon as she noticed what she'd done. Damn it, she had to quit doing that. Before anyone, especially HIM, noticed.

Noticing Sesshoumaru counted it as the thirty second time she'd done that since this morning. He just wished he could figure out what the hell he'd been thinking when he'd done it. And what had he meant with his threat? Had he meant he'd kill her the next time she crossed him...or had he meant something else entirely?

What on earth had happened between her parents last night, Sora wondered for what seemed like the millionth time it seemed. They were almost at the holding and there was no way Lord Treize was going to let them near Tomoyo given the vibes her parents were giving off. The last time her mom had been this pissed off was at one of Dare's sculpture showings when her dad kept getting hit on by all these good looking women. Of course he'd scared them off pretty quick but her mother had still been pretty steamed about it. The steamed had gone to bone chilling anger though when he told her she was overreacting as well as being an annoyance. That had not gone over well. At all.

"Makes you wonder how you ever came to be, huh?" Kouga said with a knowing look, falling into step with her. "It's amazing how different two brothers can be. You'd never know that walking bad ass could have such a pain in the ass pup for a brother."

"Carefully, that bad ass could rip you to shreds without a thought in the mood he's in." Sora warned, knowing odds were in would fall on deaf ears. Kouga wasn't exactly known for thinking things through before he did them. Hopefully his animal instinct for survival was on alert, she'd hate to see him splattered all over the forest, especially since she'd just had breakfast. Not to mention it would take a lot to convince her father to bring the idiot back to life after.

"No kidding. I get chills just looking at him." Kouga replied, shaking his head ruefully. Sesshoumaru was the definition of danger normally, much less when he was pissed off about something. Plus with Sango attached to him with that spell he couldn't kill the bastard even if he was lucky enough to get the chance. Kagome would never forgive him if he accidentally killed the slayer. Speaking of Kagome... "Can I ask you a question?"

"If you want."

"I love Kagome. I know it's stupid and that she's stuck on the mutt but I was wondering if...if I end up with her sister because I can't have her? I'd like to think that I wouldn't sink that low but..but it's been bugging me." Kouga confessed in as low a voice as he could, not wanting either Kagome or Inu yasha to hear him.

"You love Mina." Sora said simply, reaching out a hand to pat his shoulder before returning her hand to her side. "I don't know what it was like before I was born but when you're in a room with her your eyes always stray back to her. I've never seen you look at Aunt Kagome the way you look at Mina."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Adults are so weird." Shippou commented with a sigh, his hand in Rins as the two walked side by side with Miroku and Jakken bringing up the rear, both adults watching Sesshoumaru and Sango with a combination of horror and despair.

"Yeah, they are, aren't they?" Rin agreed with a giggle, smiling at the fox demon. She'd never gotten to really talk to him alone before but she knew when to give her master space and this was one of those days. "Why do you think they're so mad about?"

"I'd go and ask her but Sesshoumaru would snap me like a twig." Shippou said with regret, nodding his head wisely, no doubt in his mind.

"Yeah, he's pretty mad at the moment. She's really mad too." Rin added, a little surprised that the pretty slayer could give off as cold a vibe as her Lord Sesshoumaru. Watching the pair Rin cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "She keeps rubbing her wrist. Do you think maybe she hurt it and that's why she's mad?"

"He better not have hurt it." Shippou growled, not that that he'd ever be stupid enough to confront the demon lord about it. Better to get Inu yasha to do it for him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru wouldn't do that." Rin insisted though she wasn't a hundred percent sure about that. She didn't think her lord would do something like that anyway. He didn't go around hurting people after all. He just killed them.

Frowning as he watched the decidedly irritated swing to Sango's hips Miroku wished he could go over and comfort her. Unfortunately every time he got within a few meters of her Sesshoumaru turned to look at him and gave him a death glare that could stop the heart of the most courageous of men. It wasn't like the demon was hurting Sango, but something was definitely up. Damn it, how could Sango choose to end up with someone like Inu yasha's brother? Hadn't he asked her to bear his children and live with him? Hadn't he always been there when she needed him? How could she choose that heartless killing machine over him? Not to mention the fact that he apparently ending up with a wife so crazy she'd traumatized his son to such an extent that the boy had yet to recover. Imagine, a son of his line being afraid of women. It was just too disgracefully to comprehend. What sort of harpy had he ended up with when he should have ended up with someone like Sango?

Inwardly fuming Jakken glared at the slayer's back and wished he could bludgeon her to death with his staff. How dare she? How dare she bewitch his great lord into becoming her mate? He didn't know how she'd managed it but she'd obviously had to have used deceit and trickery. Perhaps she had had her priestess friend put a spell on Lord Sesshoumaru? He'd expect such lowly tactics from a filthy human like her. Well now that he knew what she planned he wasn't going to let her out of his sight. If she thought for one minute he was going to allow her to become his future mistress she was stupider then his lord's idiot, half breed brother. He'd failed to protect his lord from her once, he would not fail again.

"Ah, we've finally arrived." Miroku said under his breath, talking to himself. He didn't imagine they'd be staying long though. Odds were they'd be shown the door before they'd even stepped through it.

"About time." The toad demon grumbled, his ugly face looking that much uglier to fit his present mood. "They'd better let Lord Sesshoumaru through. In the mood he's in right now he won't take no for an answer."

"We won't allow him to do anything to these people. They have the right to turn us away." Miroku objected, frowning down at the toad.

"As if you could stop him." The frog chuckled, sneering up at the pathetic monk.

"No." Treize said bluntly, staring into Sesshoumaru's eyes as he tried to ignore the sweat sliding down his back. It was the look in Sesshoumaru's eyes. He could handle the demon's death glares and cold behavior but there was something in the demon's eyes he'd never seen before. Twin flames, barely banked and only visible to those who could meet the lord's eyes which were few and far between. Something had stirred the demon lord of the west to provoke a physical reaction to the degree that some emotion was actually seeping past that icy control. Now, when it was the worst time possible to deny Sesshoumaru he had to. The gods save him.

"I thought as much." Sesshoumaru said carefully, his eyes never leaving Treize for a moment. As a general rule this was one demon who was usually able to maintain the facade that he wasn't afraid of him fairly well. That facade was visibly cracking before his eyes.

"She's ill. Whatever happened when she went back has effected her health. I won't allow her to try again, especially not so soon after." Treize said firmly, grinching his teeth slightly. He could see that Sesshoumaru was seeing through him. Damn those all knowing eyes of his.

"Fine." Sesshoumaru said simply, inwardly amused when Treize simply stared at him in wonder. Obviously the demon had thought he was going to force his way through. He'd considered that of course but he didn't see the benefits outweighing the cons to that plan. Even if he could get the wench to look into the future they couldn't do anything to help them on their quest through those tests. Besides that, he really had no wish to see anything else pertaining to his past paraded in front of anyone, much less his brother. There was one secret he had that Inu yasha must never, ever learn about, much less remember. Inu yasha had never brought it up and perhaps the idiot had been too young to remember. Either way those three days were never, ever to be spoken of. He couldn't take that, not now.

"Fine?" Treize repeated, not quite understanding. This couldn't be it. Could it?

"Did you expect me to force you?" Sesshoumaru asked silkily, raising an eyebrow. Would the demon admit it?

"Yes." Treize said simply, too stunned to think whether honesty was the best option at the moment. This wasn't like Sesshoumaru at all. There was nothing the demon hated more then being denied something he wanted. Sesshoumaru didn't ask for that matter. Usually he just told you what he wanted and expected his wishes carried out. When had that changed? Looking over discreetly at the human female chained to the demon lord Treize wondered if this was her doing. Wouldn't that be the greatest of ironies. The very weakness that had afflicted Sesshoumaru's father repeating in his son.

Nodding in acknowledgment Sesshoumaru simple turned and started back the way they'd come, dragging behind him a slayer who was quite openly shocked, Sora and Andrea being the only ones not ready to keel over from disbelief. Sora because she thought her father hadn't contested because he didn't want to see any more of his personal life shown to anyone and Andrea because she knew Sesshoumaru too cunning a strategist to think forcing his way through was a wise course of action.

"You're just going to leave?" Sango demanded to know, forgetting completely that she wasn't talking to him as they continued down the hill with the others close behind. "You aren't even going to argue with him?"

"Why bother? He'd still refuse me and eventually I'd have killed him out of annoyance. Then his whole clan would have attacked and I'd have had to kill them all too. I have enough to deal with at the moment." Sesshoumaru pointed out, not sure whether to be pleased or annoyed that she'd started to talk to him again. On the one hand it proved her weaker then him since she'd broken the unspoken vow of silence between them first but on the other hand he'd been enjoying the silence too. It was easier to pretend she wasn't there when she wasn't speaking to him. And at the moment, he very much wanted to pretend that he wouldn't be spending the rest of his life with her walking beside him, churning him up to the point where he didn't know who the hell he wanted to be anymore.