By: ~Goku the Paladin~

Author’s Notes: Hello, it’s me again. One day I was spinning around in my chair while listening to music and my muse struck me! I had recently seen "Spirited Away" over a month ago and I thought…what about an Inu-yasha version of "Spirited Away"? I thought it was a good idea, so I tried it. It turned out pretty good to me and most of the characters fit into their parts pretty well, namely Inu-yasha, Sesshoumaru, and Naraku. Oh hai, and in this fic Sesshoumaru and Inu-yasha are not related, so it’s not considered incest. Oh hai, and another thing, I know lately it seems I’ve been making Sess always getting raped by Naraku, but it was only because it was necessary at the time. I promise to make a nice Nara/Sess fic soon. Well, actually, I started working on the Nara/Sess fic a few days ago, so maybe it will be done within a few days or a week. Depends. Oh, and another thing, I did not intend to make this fanfic exactly like "Spirited Away", so please don’t flame me about how it’s missing this and that. Arigato. There might be some slight mistakes as usual, but don’t go postal over it, please? ^^ In the actual Japanese animated "Spirited Away", Chihiro and Haku(a.k.a. Kohaku River) were just good friends, nothing more. Of course, making Sesshoumaru and Inu-yasha just good friends would not work obviously. ^^() Well, feedback or anything else is greatly appreciated! Also, if you think there should be a "sequel" to "Spirited Away By A Youkai", let me now, okay?

Plot: Inu-yasha version of the Japanese animated movie "Spirited Away".

Disclaimers: Yes, I am making so much money from writing yaoi stories of Inu-yasha! These yaoi stories are all over the papers, news, TV, bookstores, and let’s not forget, libraries! April Fools! It’s not April, but still. You get my point, though? I do not make money or anything else, although I wish. Let me repeat, I wish! I am not making any money on these yaoi stories, not even a cent! I do not own Inuyasha, I do not own Sesshoumaru (I wish I did ><) and I do not own any of the other Inu characters! ^_^ So be nice. There’s also a thing called Freedom of speech, so I don’t think you can legally sue me, especially since I have no mullah (money)! Oh, and the ideas, characters, and etc belong to the people who created "Spirited Away". If you sue me or any of the other writers who write or draw any forms or fashions of slash and yaoi, or Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha will avenge our deaths…-_-() Ok, ok, so they won’t avenge our deaths, but still…we can only hope they will…

Dedication: I dedicate this fic to Veronica a.k.a. Lily, Legolas a.k.a. Kristen, and to Gimli a.k.a. Amanda. The fellowship has been broken, but hopefully some day we can hope the fellowship will all be reunited. There is always hope. Aishiteru anata.

Warnings: Spoilers, NC-17, Yaoi, Angst, Interspecies, and Shouta-con

Pairings: Inu-yasha/Sesshoumaru; (Implied) Naraku/Sesshoumaru; Jakotsu/Maraku

Cast:

Chihiro: Inu-yasha

Haku: Sess a.k.a. Sesshoumaru

Yu-baba: Naraku

Zeni-ba: Maraku

Kamaji: Kaede

No Face: Jakotsu

Lin: Kouga

Boh: Rin

Aogaeru: Shippou

Yu-Bird: Naraku's wasps

((Miroku, Kagome, and Sango are mentioned, but do not play a part.))

Spirited Away By A Youkai

A young boy, roughly around the age of 18 or 19, clutched a bouquet of amber carnations to his chest. He was laying on his back on the car seat; his head propped up on a suitcase. Such a handsome boy he was and he practically was the envy of every boy and girl. He bore dark violet eyes, slightly tanned skin, and stunning dark hair that reached all the way down to his hips. In fact, he didn't believe himself to be attractive in any way and ignored all his admirers. He just wanted to be normal. But no, never would he be normal. He barely listened to his parent's small talk. He wished they had let him drive so he would have something to concentrate on. Not only that, the car was extremely hot, the Air Conditioner was broken, and his mother refused to pull down the windows because she didn't want to ruin her hair. He glanced at his flowers and frowned. They were beginning to wilt from the intense heat.

"Shimatta, Kassan! The flowers are beginning to wilt!" The boy complained.

His mother didn't even look back at him as she replied sternly, "Perhaps they wouldn't wilt if you didn't clutch them so tightly, Inu-yasha!"

Inu-yasha growled and glared at the tan ceiling of the car. He glanced down at the card attached to the flowers. It read:

To: Inu-yasha, the Grouchy Baka,

From: Miroku the Ladies Man

It is sad that you are moving, but I will remember you. You were my best friend here and you always will be, no matter what. Always remember that. Amber flowers always remind me of your spirit and amber carnations are said to be friendship flowers. Someday we'll meet again, my friend. Keep your head high and stand tall. Take care of yourself. Oh hai, and if you meet any pretty girls, tell them about me, will you? Farewell.

Inu-yasha shook his head and half smiled. He sure was going to miss Miroku, Sango, and Kagome. But he knew he would always miss Miroku the most, naturally.

"We're almost there, I believe!" Inuyasha's Otousan declared triumphly. Inu-yasha sat up and looked out the window. They were driving through a trail in the woods. His eyebrows rose as he spotted little stone houses in the ground that looked as if birds or fairies would reside in them. Moss was growing on the houses, too, but it just seemed so very strange.

"Kassan, what are those little houses?" Inu-yasha asked as he began to feel bad vibes churn in his gut.

"Oh, those are shrines, Inu." She replied. Inu-yasha scratched his head, but he decided not to continue the subject. His Otousan pointed towards the mountains at a amber house.

"That's our house..." Inu's Otousan informed, pride apparent in his voice as he drove the car deeper into the woods.

"Shouldn't we go back? Where are we going?" Inuyasha's Kassan asked.

"Oh, just a short cut."

"What if the movers get there before us?"

"They can start before us. Don't worry."

They drove on until they reached a red, Japanese-like shrine house guarded by a oval stone sculpture. Inu-yasha's Otousan jumped out of the car and stretched his legs. He glanced around, studying the location. His wife stepped out of the car. Inu-yasha did not budge from his seat.

"C'mon, son! Get out and stretch your legs!" Inu-yasha's Otousan said, walking to the door of the crimson shrine. He knocked on the wooden door. Nothing happened. Then he opened it and peered inside. His wife came to his side. Inuyasha stepped out of the car gingerly and came to stand beside the stone guardian. He cringed visibly. The bad feeling in his gut intensified.

"I don't like this! We should leave NOW!" Inu-yasha yelled.

"Oh, come on, Inu! This is just an old shrine. It won't hurt to just take a look..." Inu-yasha's Otousan replied, a grin still spread on his face. On the contrary, Inuyasha's Otousan didn't know how wrong his words would become.

"I don't care! Let's just go NOW! I have a really bad feeling about this!" Inu-yasha shouted stubbornly. Inu-yasha's Otousan stepped inside. Inu's Kassan turned and looked at her son.

"Wait for us in the car until we return. Alright, Inu?"

She walked inside to join her husband. Inuyasha stood for a moment near the statue. He glanced at it and cringed. It was freaking him out somehow and he didn't want to stay out here alone. He ran inside and clutched his mother's arm in a way a frightened child would.

"Inu! Stop, you're going to make me trip!" Inu's Kassan said. Inu-yasha didn't let go of her arm, but he loosened his grip a bit. He was angry because they wouldn't even listen to him. They still treated him like some ten-year-old boy.

The three of them strode through the dark tunnel until they reached a door and opened it, to reveal a room. It had glass-stained windows, the light of the sun shining through which made it quite stunning, actually.

"Oh, my..." Inu's Kassan gasped as they walked through the room to another door. The Otousan opened the wooden door and a vast amount of sunlight nearly blinded them. They were not even prepared for the beautiful sight before them. They all stepped outside onto the thick, lush green grass. Before them, a valley of lust, green grass surrounded them. The sky was so blue with no clouds in sight.

"Ohhh...I know what this is! This used to be one of those theme parks. Back then, they built a lot of these..." Inu's Otousan stated.

"Oh, this is so beautiful! We should have brought our lunches out here. We could have had a picnic out here." The Kassan said. The Otousan started to walk again, clearly absorbed by the beauty of this place and so was his wife. Inu-yasha was the only one that wasn't fooled by this folly. It seemed a beautiful paradise, true, but it was too perfect and something inside of Inu-yasha clawed at him, telling him to turn around and leave right away. He followed his parents despite it, although he did grumble as he walked. His Otousan stopped and sniffed the air. "Do you smell that? Mmmm...it smells delicious!"

His wife looked at him and sniffed the air too. Without warning, the Otousan took off running towards the smell. His wife and son followed him hastily, although his son's heart was not in it. They came upon brightly colored stands. Inu's Otousan continued to run until he came upon the food stand. All sorts of freshly cooked foods had been placed upon the table. His eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"Come on, guys! Look at all this food!" The Otousan sized up the sights of the huge fish head, pork, noodles, sushi, chicken, beef, and other Japanese delicacies. He started to scoop food onto his plate while his wife seated herself beside him.

"No one is here..." The Kassan murmured. Inu-yasha stood around ten or more feet away, cringing and glowering.

"Guys, come on! No ones here! I don't like this..." Inu said, glancing around. True to his words, no one was around and it seemed very much like some sort of Ghost Town.

The Otousan ignored his son. "We'll just pay the bill when someone comes..."

"That's a good idea. I'm starving..." The Kassan agreed and scooped food onto her plate as well. The Otousan's eating manners and speed seemed to rival those of the (in)famous Son Goku(DBZ) himself. His wife wasn't as bad, but something sure did seem strange. They both ate as if they hadn't eaten something in years. Inu-yasha tried one last attempt to warn them, but they shunned him. Turning around, he walked around, arms crossed. He observed this oddity of a –theme park- with utter caution and suspicion. He found himself standing on a bridge. The bridge led to a strange fancy Japanese bathhouse. This didn't seem to strange to him, either. He leaned over the railing of the wooden bridge to see what lurked below him. He spotted a train rushing by, but nothing else interesting. When he stood up straight, away from the railing, he was very startled to see a beautiful creature standing a few feet away from him. It bore silvery white hair that cascaded down it's back to it's waist and it had porcelain-like skin. A violet crescent moon tattoo, (or so Inu guessed that's what it was) was marked on it's forehead along with two red triangular like tattoos that marked either side of it's face. This creature, (Inu didn't have the slightest idea if it were male or female), even has elfish-like ears. The most intense of it's charming features were it's cold, emotionless, indifferent amber eyes that didn't seem human at all. As a matter of fact, this creature was not human at all.

"You shouldn't be here!" The creature's rich, masculine, but cold voice spoke. Inu guessed by the voice that it was male, after all. Inu-yasha just stared dumbly, feeling like a little child again. A child that had been caught.

"You go! I will try to stall them! Go now!" The Bishounen' creature ordered, turning around swiftly, it held out it's hand and he blew something that resembled silver petals at the bathhouse. Inu-yasha sprinted away, almost tumbling once or twice. It was nearing night fall fast. He ran back towards the stands to find his Otousan and Kassan, but to his utter horror and dismay, he found two large pigs clad in his parent's clothing eating and slurping food as they snorted. Something whipped the two pigs before they could take another bite of the food. Inu-yasha backed away and turned, dashing away, but nearly running into some demonic figures or spirits.

"This is not happening! What is going on here?" Inu-yasha muttered to himself while he ran away. He stumbled into the cold and murky dark waters of what appeared to be a mass-like sea, spotting a lighted boat coming into the harbor. He backed away, stepping back onto the grass. He smacked his face with both hands repeatedly.

"Wake up! Wake up! This is just a demented dream! This isn't real! Wake up!" Inu-yasha told himself. He continued to slap himself until something came out of the boat. He stopped and watched. Strange spirits bounced and floated in the air past him, going right towards the fancy bathhouse.

"I wish this would all disappear!" Inu muttered, but as soon as he said it, he was turning transparent, like a ghost. He stared at his hand in shock. His whole body was turning transparent and he feared he would disappear...

When the odd spirits were gone, he sat down, tucked his legs to his chest, shoved his face into his knees, and hugged his legs, rocking back and forth. He looked so child-like.

A hand touched his shoulder.

"Eat this. You need to eat food in this world or else you will disappear completely..." The rich, alluring, and indifferent voice whispered into Inu-yasha's ear. Inu-yasha glanced at the beautiful creature, but he was stubborn.

"NO! Go away! I want you all to go away!" He shouted, thrusting his arm at the creature, but it only went through the Bishounen's body like a ghost's arm would. Inu-yasha gasped and stared. The Bishounen' pressed a berry to Inu-yasha's mouth.

"Eat this...don't worry, you won't turn into a pig..." The Bishounen' said almost softly. Inu-yasha gave up and let the berry enter his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. It tasted bitter and foreign to his tongue. The Bishounen' pressed his slightly larger hand against Inu's hand, but this time, Inu's hand did not go through him. Inu-yasha was returning back to normal, or well, close to normal...

"See? You are all better now. You need to eat food in this realm or else you will disappear..."

"Who...are you?..." Inu-yasha asked, not bothering to ask what this creature was. Somehow, this creature seemed so familiar to Inu-yasha. He just didn’t know why…

"I am Sess, a Youkai, if you wish to know..."

"A Y-Youkai? But..." Inu-yasha stuttered. He couldn't believe it. To him, Sess looked like an angel without wings. He just couldn't be a Youkai...a demon...

"That's what I am. That's what mostly dwells here. Come, I must get you somewhere safe before any other Youkai finds you. You are fortunate that I was the one who found you first..." Sess said, taking Inu-yasha's hand gingerly and leading Inu-yasha away in a fast sprint. They stopped at the bridge.

"Now, listen to me closely, for this is direly important. No one else must see you! Hold your breath when we cross the bridge...my spell insures that if you hold your breath, they cannot see you. Even the slightest exhale or inhale will break the spell and they will see you. Understand?"

Inu-yasha nodded.

"Good. Take a deep breath."

The human inhaled deeply, then held his breath. He nodded to let Sess know that he was ready. They started to cross the bridge, both demon and spirit noticed Sess, but did not notice the human at all.

"Very good...just hold it....you're doing very good...." Sess whispered. They were half way across the bridge when a little kitsune demon popped up in front of them...

"Hey Sesshy...Naraku is looking for you-" The kitsune began, but stopped when he saw Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha had gasped when the kitsune youkai had popped out of nowhere, which broke the spell.

"What? A human?" The kitsune asked, startled. Sess thrust his hand out and conjured a spell, silencing the kitsune demon in a bubble. The Youkai grabbed the human's hand and flew through the air literally, which caused the skirts of several female demons to fly up over their heads.

"Gomen. I'm sorry." Inu-yasha said as soon as they were behind some bushes.

"No, you did great. They know you're here now, though..." All of a sudden, Sess pressed Inu against the wall, covering the human's body with his own, shielding him from view. The demon glared up at the sky at the wasps that were flying around outside near the highest chamber of the bathhouse...

"That is where Naraku himself dwells. He will try to trick you. You must get a job here. If you don't have a job...he will probably turn you into a pig or something worse. Listen to me...you must get a job. Go to Kaede. She is the one who can help you. Ask her for a job. Don't stop asking for a job until she gives you one. Understand?"

Inu-yasha nodded meekly. He was starting to enjoy the strange feeling of being trapped against a wall by a larger body. The body of a youkai who looked like an angel.

"Sess, how will I get to Kaede?"

"You must travel east along this wall until you see a stairway that will lead you inside..."

"Sess-sama!" Cried a few unfamiliar voices. Sess scowled for the first time. He looked very irritated. "I have to go. Now go, little one...good luck..."

Sess stepped forth towards a glass door. He walked inside and was surrounded by a dozen youkai.

"Here I am. What do you want?"

"Naraku-sama wishes to see you..." Kagura replied, her fan revealing only her crimson eyes.

"So what's new..." Sess whispered, heading towards Naraku's chambers.

~*~*~*~*~

Inu-yasha carefully edged down the creaky, wooden steps. The wind was blowing fiercely, tossing his black mane in all sorts of directions, mainly to his face. The fierce wind was ice cold and strong, to Inu-yasha's misfortune. He accidentally stepped on one of the steps too hard and it broke, forcing him to dash all the way down into a wall, face-first. Rubbing his injured, red face, he found a door and slipped inside. The human glanced around awkwardly as heat blew in his face. He saw a heater and it seemed to be normal. He sighed in relief till he saw Kaede.

"Kaede?" He asked meekly as he studied her. She appeared normal enough, well, for an old woman wearing an eye patch and doing strange things with strange objects. She didn't acknowledge him at all in any way. The human watched as tiny creatures that looked like cute spiders carried coal and then toss it into the fires. They weren't spiders at all. They were spellbound soot.

"Please! I need a job! Can you give me a job!?" Inu-yasha spoke louder.

Without looking at him, she answered, "I have all the workers I need. I need only put a spell on these soot balls and they do as I command. I do not need your help, human." Kaede answered, sneered the word -human-. Inu-yasha's shoulders sagged and he was about to ask again for a job, but he was in the way of one of the soot spiders. The soot spider ran into his foot, which caused the coal to -smash- the spider. It's little legs writhed, wriggled, and thrashed and it chirped. Inu-yasha picked up the stone and to his amazement, the stone was much heavier then he had expected. With much determination, he carried it to the fires and tossed it in. All the soot spiders stopped and stared at him. All at once, the spiders skittled towards him, allowing the coals to -smash- them all. Inu-yasha watched helplessly, but with some amusement. He'd have to give them some credit, after all. They weren't as stupid as they looked and they were excellent slackers.

Kaede grew annoyed at this and shouted, "GET BACK TO WORK, YOU USELESS SOOT BALLS!"

The soot spiders ignored her. Inu-yasha turned and looked at her. Four tokens attached to strings fell onto her lap from a ceiling door. She muttered again as her arm stretched towards the many rows of cabinets like an elastic arm. It pushed Inu-yasha out of the way and opened one of the drawers, retrieving something and then traveling up to place it in another drawer.

"I need a job! Can I have a job? Please?" Inu-yasha asked again, his stubbornness prevailing. But before Kaede could reply, someone entered the room. A wolf Youkai who bore bright blue eyes, pointy ears(oddly similar to Sesshoumaru's), tanned skin, a tail, and dark hair pulled tight into a ponytail. He was carrying a tray of food. He placed a pot of food on the table near Kaede and he still didn't notice Inu-yasha, just yet.

"Kaede, you need to remember to leave your dish outside so I can get it..." The demon wolf scolded until his nose registered a human scent. He turned and gawked at Inuyasha.

"What?! A human? What's he doing here?" The wolf demon asked.

"Kouga, this is my grandson. He needs a job. I was wondering if you could take him to see Naraku..." Kaede replied while she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

"Are you insane? Do you think I want to be killed by the likes of Naraku?!" Kouga growled while he tossed star-looking candies onto the ground for the soot.

"...Would you...do it for...a doggie treat?" Kaede asked, holding up a huge bone that could rival a dragon's leg bone. Kouga's eyes went wide, he drooled, and his tail wagged.

"Fine! Hai, I will do it." Kouga accepted, snatching the bone. "C'mon human..."

"Feh..." Inu-yasha replied, crossing his arms.

"Take off your shoes. You don't need them here." Kouga ordered.

"Okay...whatever...." Inu-yasha removed his shoes.

Kouga snorted. "You humans have such bad manners! Your own manners are so horrid that you don't even call me -sir-!"

"Feh, whatever you say...sir..." The human followed Kouga.

"Aren't you even going to thank Kaede? Sheesh!" Kouga snorted.

Inu-yasha ducked his head back in. "Thanks Kaede..." He then hurried to keep up with Kouga. Kaede nodded and continued eating. Her one eye sparkled and she smiled.

~*~*~*~*~

Kouga led Inu-yasha through many corridors until they reached an elevator. The demon pressed the button that signaled -up- and waited for the elevator to come up to them. Kouga heard a youkai approaching and knew exactly who it was. He shoved the human behind himself just as the elevator door opened. The female youkai called Kagura the wind sorceress strode over to him, malice in her crimson eyes. A fan was idly held in her hand.

"Kouga...you smell like....human all over!" Kagura said suspiciously.

"Are you sure it isn't this?" Kouga held up the huge bone and while Kagura was distracted, he shoved the human into the elevator. Kagura was mesmerized by the bone and Kouga whispered to Inu-yasha, "Pull the lever. Go to the top floor..."

The human nodded and pulled the lever and the elevator doors shut and it started to zoom up towards the top floor. He idly thought about who this Naraku person was. He wasn’t scared or anything like that, he was just slightly nervous. It wasn’t every day you met demons or ask for a job in a demon bathhouse in order to survive. He closed his eyes and remembered the tales, myths, and legends he was taught in school. Being a natural bad ass, he rarely paid any attention to school or his classes, save one. The one and only class he ever had paid any attention to was his History of Japanese Legends class, which was taught by a man who made everything seem interesting. This class had caught the attention of both his eyes and ears. He learned about legends that ranged from demons, spirits, monsters, immortal beings, lost empires, evil dynasties, samurai warriors, Ronin warriors, and etc. All these legends seemed unbelievable to most humans, but there were some exceptions. Even before Inu-yasha had met these youkai, he had believed the legends. His heart believed it, but his human mind did not.

The elevator suddenly halted and it’s doors slid open, allowing the cold draft of air to prickle his flesh with goosebumps. He stood there for a moment, staring into the elegantly decorated corridor. With a determined sigh, he stepped forward into the icy cold corridor, walking slowly, but that was just deliberate. He wasn’t in any hurry to see the youkai known as Naraku. He remembered the way Sess had said Naraku’s name. He had made Naraku to seem like some ruthless tyrant. His bare feet led him to two big black doors that were framed and outlined by silver. Two silver baboon statues were stationed by each door, as if guarding or warning anyone to stay away. Inu-yasha noticed a silver baboon-like head knocker, but he dismissed it and reached for the doorknob. The baboon knocker came to life.

"Aren’t you even going to knock? How rude…" It hissed in an inhuman and emotionless voice as the black doors sprang open. The air was colder behind the black doors then it was in the corridor leading to these black doors. He hugged himself and involuntarily shivered. Before him, many more corridors lead someplace else; almost like a maze or labyrinth. Inu-yasha stood there almost dumbly. He hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to actually go in or just leave.

"Well? Aren’t you going to come in, human?" The voice hissed again. Inu-yasha froze. He didn’t bother to move. He didn’t want to go in. He wanted to see Sess again. Sess…

Without warning, two clawed hands grasped him firmly. They tugged at him almost violently, forcing him to fly through the air through many corridors. They forced him to go left, right, left, and right again until he was thrown into another room, dimly lit by a fire in a fireplace. He sat up, his bare feet and hands felt the carpet under him and the fire that was three feet away from him relieved him of the cold. A familiar scent was lingered in this room, but he couldn’t quite place it. Inu-yasha glanced around the dark room, noticing that it was a room fit for a lord with a high status. A youkai lord, to be exact.

"So…what brings you here…to me?" Asked the same inhuman, indifferent voice he had heard earlier. He almost jumped. He hadn’t noticed that anyone else was in this room. He looked into the direction the voice had spoken. There, at a desk, sat a man whom seemed busy writing on parchment. Inu-yasha studied his every detail. This man seemed to have long and dark wavy hair, dark eyes(with purple eye shadow), and pale skin. As a matter of fact, he looked very human, except for his eyes. His eyes were so dark and cold. No human’s eyes could ever be like that, unless the human himself had been possessed or consumed by demons.

"Are you…Naraku?" Inu-yasha asked with determination strong in his voice.

He didn’t even look at Inu-yasha. "I will have to commend you for even having the courage and determination to come to me…human…" Naraku replied, still not looking at Inu-yasha.

"I need a job! Can I have a job, please?" Inu-yasha blurted.

"Be quiet! Do not even speak such foolishness…" Naraku hissed, waving one hand, which caused Inu-yasha’s mouth to close like a zipper and stay closed, despite the human’s attempts to speak. "…Humans are not allowed to stay here, let alone work here…but…how would you like to be turned into a pig or a nice lump of coal?…"

"HUMHNN NUHHN UHNN!" Inu-yasha protested. The human stopped when Naraku looked at him. A smile was almost traced on those cold lips of his.

"Now, why won’t you tell me who helped you. I’m curious…who helped you?" Naraku asked, waving his hand again, which broke the spell and allowed Inu-yasha to speak once more.

"Please! I need a job! Can I have a job!?" Inu-yasha nearly shouted. From another room rose a great cry of a small child, but loud nevertheless. Naraku jumped from his chair and bolted into another room. Inu-yasha cursed. This demon was graceful, which was really pathetic because Inu-yasha himself lacked just that-grace. The demon’s coos and soothing words could be heard.

"Daddy’s here, baby. Don’t worry, it’s just a human. He’s not going to hurt you. Go back to sleep, sweet one…you’re safe…"

The child seemed to have calmed down a little bit as Naraku strode out of the room. A clever idea struck Inu-yasha.

"Can I have a job?!" Inu-yasha yelled. "Give me a job!"

Naraku glared at Inu-yasha, but the child started to cry again, because of the noise.

"Can I have a job?" Inu-yasha shouted again.

"Fine! Whatever! Just as long as you shut up and stay quiet!" Naraku hissed, rushing back to calm and soothe his child. He returned a few minutes later, not looking too pleased. Naraku picked up a parchment contract while muttering something audible to himself, "Why did I take the oath to give anyone work who asks?"

He stood in front of Inu-yasha, looking down at him. His expression was unreadable. That seemed to be a common trait in demons.

"Hold out your hand…" He instructed. The human almost hesitated, but he obeyed. Naraku pricked Inu-yasha’s finger, drawing blood. "Sign your name in your own blood. Anywhere is fine…"

Inu-yasha took the contract and pressed it against the wall, attempting to sign his name in blood, which seemed impossible, but the moment he pressed his blood to the parchment, it signed his name for him. Naraku took it from him and glanced at it, then he looked at the human.

"Inu-yasha…what a pretty demon name…meaning dog demon…how ironic, since you are going to be my dog forever now…unless you fail to work hard. Your job is going to be very hard…and if you slack off…you won’t like the consequences. Understand?"

Inu-yasha nodded. The room suddenly felt very cold now. He watched as some of the characters of his name fluttered off of the parchment and landed on Naraku’s palm. Naraku closed his hand, trapping the characters.

"Your name is mine now…you are mine. You are Inu. You will be known and called Inu for the remainder of your life. Understand?" Naraku informed.

Inu-yasha nodded and suddenly felt empty. All his life, there had always been a deep emptiness inside of himself that he wanted, no, needed to be filled. This other emptiness…was different, but just as bad as the other emptiness. Naraku had stolen his name and he felt as if he didn’t know who he was. It was almost as if he had no identity at all. Almost.

Inu-yasha suddenly felt a familiar presence beside him. He saw Naraku staring at something and the human followed his gaze to see that Sess was standing beside him, staring back impassively at Naraku. Something seemed very odd, indeed. Sess’s clothes seemed slightly ruffled and in disarray and his hair were not as neat as it were when Inu last saw him. Sess also smelled like the scent in the room. Inu-yasha could not place the scent, but he had a vague idea of what it was, but he didn’t want to think about it at the moment. The room didn’t feel so cold when Sess was with him. He didn’t know why.

"Sess, you will find someone that will be his partner. Preferably Kouga." Naraku ordered.

"Hn." Sess responded and turned away. Inu followed and was confused. Sess was acting as if Inu didn’t even exist.

"Remember…work hard, little human…or you will face…me…" Naraku taunted.

Inu grimaced and hurried to keep up with Sess. The demon led him into a large room filled with demons that were obviously working. As they entered, the demons saw Inu and stared.

"A human? Why is he here?" Kagura asked, fluttering her lashes.

Other demons spoke also:

"Let’s eat him…"

"I heard humans taste good…"

"That’s right, but he’s nothing but skin and bone!"

"Ugh, he reeks!"

"Humans are bad luck!"

"Violating humans is amusing…"

"Only for a little while they are…they break so easily!"

"He looks delicious…"

"He’s pretty…for a human…"

"Enough!" Sess growled. Everyone fell silent. "His scent will wear off after a few days of eating our food. His name is Inu and he has a signed contract with Naraku-sama to work here. You may not eat him, touch him, rape him, harm him, or violate him in any way…unless he fails to do his work."

Disappointed looks befell all the demons. Some didn’t want a human near them and others wanted to do…nasty things to him, but none of them were stupid enough to risk Naraku’s wrath.

"Sess?" Inu said, looking at him. Sess did not look at him.

"Kouga! Come here." Sess ordered. The wolf youkai obeyed.

"What is it, Sess-sama?" Kouga asked.

"You are assigned to Inu. Make sure he knows all the rules, procedures, and everything else that is vital." Sess informed.

"What? But…aww, no! You’ve got to be kidding! Is this a joke?" Kouga complained.

"He is in your claws now." Sess confirmed.

"Oh, great. This is just wonderful!" Kouga replied, sounding unhappy. Without another word, Sess left them. Inu felt empty and cold once more. The only thing he had to live for was…his parents.

"C’mon, human…" Kouga muttered, leading the human into their living quarters. All of a sudden, he turned around and faced Inu with a big grin. "I can’t believe you actually did it! You sure have something special in you, Inu!"

Inu-yasha stood there, dumb-founded. It seemed that Sess and Kouga had almost exchanged behaviors. First, Sess was nice to Inu and seemed to care, and then Kouga acted cold and unfriendly to Inu. Now Sess acted cold and as if he didn’t know Inu existed, and now Kouga acted friendly to Inu. He felt like crying, but he didn’t. He just couldn’t…yet…

Kouga searched in the closets for some work clothes for Inu. Inu-yasha was standing slumped over, biting his lip and trying not to cry.

"Aha! I think this will fit you!" Kouga exclaimed and his face fell when he saw Inu’s posture. He rubbed Inu’s back comfortingly.

"What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

Inu didn’t answer. He didn’t think he could even talk. He feared that if he tried, he might sound weak. Kouga seemed to understand.

"It’s alright, Inu. Put these on. The day is almost over…so you won’t have to work long."

Inu undressed quickly and dressed in the red gi, his face always downcast. Kouga continued to rub his back, knowing full well that it helped. Kouga led him downstairs and found out what they would be doing and where. He led Inu-yasha into a room and they started to work. It was hard work, but Inu managed. It helped to keep him from crying. That was one of the good things about this work. The other was that nothing would happen to him or his parents if he worked.

Their work shift was over and Kouga led Inu back to their living quarters. Kouga deliberately had Inu sleep by the wall near him, so Inu wouldn’t be bothered by the other demons as much. Most of the youkai ignored Inu and preferred to get on their futons to sleep. Inu couldn’t sleep. All he did was lay on his side with his eyes wide open.

A clad foot came from nowhere and he heard a familiar voice say, "Meet me at the bridge…"

The foot disappeared. Inu sat up and looked around. Could it be? He wondered and got dressed in his own clothes. He sneaked out and came to Kaede, looking for his shoes. He noticed that she was sleeping and tried not to disturb her. The soot dragged his shoes out from the mouse-like holes that they live in. Inu thanked them and put on his shoes. The human hurried to get to the bridge and found Sess standing there patiently, holding something in his arms.

"I’m going to take you to see your parents." Sess said. Inu somehow didn’t feel as empty as he did awhile ago. He followed the youkai to a pigsty. Sess pointed to two pigs.

"They are your parents. Take a good look at them and memorize them." Sess ordered gently. Inu stared at them, studying them as well as he could.

"Otousan, Kassan…don’t worry! I will get you out of here soon! Goodbye for now!" Inu promised and turned away.

"Come with me." Sess said softly. Inu nodded and followed the youkai, whom led him under a Sakura tree. The cherry blossoms had bloomed awhile ago and smelled sweet. Sess sat under the tree and gestured for Inu to sit beside him. Inu obeyed, sitting as close as he could to Sess. Currently, the sun was rising.

"You must never go to your parents without me or leave the bathhouse with me…" Sess said and gave Inu the amber carnations and the card that Miroku had inscribed to him. The flowers were still fresh and no longer wilted.

"Read who it is to…" Sess said, watching him carefully.

"Inu-yasha…"

"That is your name."

"It is? Hai, it is…I forgot it until now…"

"Keep this card with you always and remember your name. Naraku will never have power over you if you remember your name. He...takes names and uses them against us. As long as you remember your name, he cannot control you. I don’t remember my name. I try hard to remember, but I just can’t. I don’t even remember why I came here…" Sess explained.

Inu-yasha’s stomach grumbled and he blushed. "Gomen, Sess…"

"No, you are hungry. Eat this, I put a spell on it. It will help…" Sess said, handing him some food. Inu-yasha started to eat fast and uncontrollable tears streamed down his face. It felt so good to be crying and eating. The spell had allowed him to relieve some of his grief, and he was grateful for that because his own pride and stubbornness never allowed him to cry. Sess moved a little closer, draping one of his arms around the human to comfort him. The youkai watched him eat. This human was…just so fascinating to him and seeing him cry…was refreshing somehow. Inu-yasha quickly ate and shed his tears, feeling relieved in two ways. He finally noticed the arm drawing lazy, but comforting circles on his chest. Inu-yasha looked at Sess, and once again, the Youkai’s visage was unreadable. Right now, all the human knew and felt was…he liked the demon’s touch. Another hand started to stroke his face and he leaned into the touch, knowing that if he were a cat, he would be purring like a motor right now.

"It will be all right, Inu-yasha…" Sess promised. Inu-yasha almost moaned. The touching and the sound of his name on the demon’s rich lips was igniting something inside of himself that no one ever had made him feel before in his entire life.

"I think…maybe I should take you back, now…" Sess said, removing his hands from Inu-yasha.

"No…just awhile longer? Please…" Inu-yasha whimpered. The youkai looked as if he were about to say no, so the human crawled into the demon’s lap and clung to him. The human was sure the demon would try to force him off, but he felt the strong arms encircle his body. He buried his face into the chest of the one and only demon that had strived to help him at all. Sure, Kaede and Kouga had helped him, but Sess had been the friendliest and hadn’t been reluctant to help him out.

"Inu-yasha…"

Inu-yasha looked up just in time to have his lips claimed by the demon. The kiss was sweet, soft, and chaste. Inu-yasha returned the kiss softly and he relished Sess’s sweet, rain, and spicy taste. His taste was refreshing and intoxicating at the same time. His loins stirred and he shifted in Sess’s lap, not wanting the demon to feel that. The human felt one of the demon’s hands stroking up and down his back, coming dangerously close to his rear. Sess’s mouth left the human’s mouth to nibble and nip at Inu’s neck. Inu-yasha was often told that males touching and kissing in this way were wrong, but to him, it felt so right. It felt as if Sess was filling up his emptiness.

The hand stroking Inu’s back left, but came to stroke him between his legs. Inu-yasha gasped at this unexpected contact and whimpered, trying not to moan or thrust into this angel’s hand.

"S-sessss…" Inu-yasha whimpered.

"Hai?" Sess whispered into Inu’s ear, tracing his ear with his tongue. The stroking hand traveled under the waistband of Inu-yasha’s pants and started to stroke his arousal. The human couldn’t help but moan at this skin-to-skin contact. Gods, Inu-yasha had never felt pleasure this intense before. Sure, girls have touched and kissed him before, but never like this. Never so gentle and never so passionate.

"I need…you…" Inu-yasha finally managed to say.

"How do you need me?" Sess whispered again into Inu’s ear, nibbling his earlobe.

"I…don’t know…I just need…you…"

"You have me." The Youkai teased, capturing Inu’s lips once again, but this time, the kiss was deeper and more passionate then before. All of a sudden, Sess stopped and disentangled himself from Inu-yasha.

"You must go back now! Naraku’s wasps will come out any minute…"

Inu-yasha whimpered. "And?"

"You’re not supposed to be out here, remember?" Sess explained and Inu-yasha understood, but he felt as if Sess was leaving another important detail out. Inu-yasha kissed Sess long and hard, and then he bolted off towards the bathhouse and made it in time. A few seconds after Inu was safely inside, the demonic wasps left their hives. Sess conjured a spell that would rid him of Inu-yasha’s scent. It wouldn’t be wise to wear Inu’s aroused scent when Sess went to see Naraku.

He sighed. He had done something forbidden and fatal. He had fallen in love with a human.

~*~*~*~*~

"You know what you have to do, my apprentice." Naraku said, walking towards his glass doors.

"Hn." Sess replied. It was still early and work wouldn’t start for another several hours.

"Good. Now go." Naraku ordered. The youkai lord leaped from the balcony, followed by his wasps. He flew off to where only the gods knew. Sess closed the glass door and turned and left. His task wouldn’t be easy, nor would it be pleasant.

Inu-yasha sneaked into Kaede’s room and curled up in a ball on the ground, falling fast asleep. A half-hour later, Kaede glanced over and saw him. Her elastic-like arms picked up a blanket and stretched all the way over to his sleeping body. She placed the blanket over his body and tucked the blanket in so the human would stay warm. It would seem that Sess, Kouga, and Kaede had all taken a shine towards the human. It wouldn’t be long until everyone followed.

The human was later awoken by the sounds of the soot tossing coals into the fires. He looked at Kaede, who smiled at him.

"You’d best be getting back to Kouga. I understand Naraku granted you a job…" Kaede said, spinning something.

"Hai…" Inu-yasha answered. He quickly took off his shoes and hurried out, waving goodbye to Kaede. It wasn’t long until he found his living quarters and the human quickly got dressed in his red work gi. He found Kouga eventually.

"Where have you been, little Inu?" Kouga asked, studying Inu’s unkempt hair and the several love bites on Inu’s neck.

"Have you seen Sess?" Inu asked, picking up a rag to scrub the glass doors.

"Oh….him. No, I haven’t seen him all day…" Kouga replied, an eyebrow raised as he scrubbed and washed the glass doors.

"Do you know where he went?"

"He’s probably out doing dirty work for Naraku, as usual. You do know that he’s Naraku’s apprentice, right?"

"What?"

"You didn’t know? Well, let’s just say, Kagura used to do Naraku’s dirty work, but one day…Sess came…seeking something only the gods know and before he knew it, he was mixed up with Naraku. Rumor has it that he’s Naraku’s concubine and that he does all of Naraku’s dirty work...it’s like he’s Naraku’s wife or something. He’s Kagura’s replacement, one would also say. Most believe Naraku prefers…males…but that is not uncommon among the youkai. There is also a rumor that it was either Kagura or Sess that bore Naraku’s daughter Rin. Personally, I think Sess did. Kagura is made from Naraku’s essence…and if she was the mother, Rin would be a screwed up kid, but from what I heard, Rin’s not that bad. I think she cries all the time because Naraku never lets her leave her room or see Sess…"

Inu-yasha blinked a few times in shock. He couldn’t believe what he heard. Concubine? No wonder Sess was afraid to be seen with Inu by Naraku or his wasps.

"…But…Sess….is…a male!" Inu protested.

"Youkai males can bear children, too, Inu. Of course, humans males can’t…" Kouga explained.

Inu muttered a small oh.

"Sometimes one would wonder why Naraku has a bathhouse/brothel…since he is rich enough and doesn’t need any more money…but I know why. He doesn’t want money or land; he just wants the Shikon no Tama. His greed is only for the Shikon and nothing else. All the customers have to pay with at least one shard from the Shikon no Tama. Why he wants the lousy Shikon, I don’t know…but it cannot be good. For the shards that some do not give to him willingly, he most likely has his wasps and concubine go steal them for him…"

Inu growled inwardly. He wished Kouga wouldn’t refer Sess as a concubine.

"C’mon…we’re done with the windows. We have a lot of work to do…" Kouga urged, walking away. Inu looked and noticed it was raining outside…and that someone was standing outside, watching him. Inu, thinking that it was a customer, opened the glass door.

"Come in, if you want…" Inu invited and made haste to keep up with the wolf demon. A humanoid stepped in, staring after Inu-yasha. This humanoid had been at the bridge when Sess had tried and failed to sneak Inu in without anyone seeing. But this humanoid had noticed.

As a matter of fact, this humanoid was a human zombie called Jakotsu.

"Kouga, you and the human have the frog youkai tub today…"

"What? Aw, that’s not fair! It’ll take all day to clean it! It’s impossible to clean!" Kouga complained.

"Hey, it’s Naraku’s orders!"

Kouga grumbled and led Inu to a room, which contained a huge tub. Leaves were strewn all over the place and in the tub; thick green algae-like stuff grew and stuck to it. Kouga leaped in carefully, but Inu tumbled in, landing on his face. He sat up, rubbing his nose.

"What is this gross stuff?"

"Who knows. All I know is, these frog demons only come to bathe once a year and no one bothers to clean the damn tub. That’s why it’s so…well, how it is!" Kouga explained, trying to scrub the green unidentified muck off the tub, but to no avail.

"Inu, go ask for a herbal token. That’s the only thing that’ll help us…"

"Okay…" Inu climbed up and started to leave, but stopped. "Where do I go?"

"Go find the kitsune demon…he’s not hard to miss. He’s small, but very loud. His name is Shippou…"

Inu nodded and left hastily, searching for the kitsune demon. Before he knew it, he found Shippou perched on a tall stool with a stand of tokens.

"I need a herbal token, please." Inu asked.

Shippou ignored him and was busy smiling and welcoming customers. He was even giving other demons tokens without giving them a hard time.

"Shippou, sir, I need a token, please…" Inu tried again, trying not to lose his temper.

"Oh, don’t be silly, human! Why would I give one to you?" Shippou sneered, then he smiled and welcomed another customer. His face turned sour again when he looked at Inu. Jakotsu stood near Shippou. He picked up an herbal token and offered it to Inu.

"Thank you…" Inu said, taking it and leaving. Jakotsu disappeared.

"Hey! What!?" Shippou squeaked.

Inu quickly returned. Kouga looked up and smiled.

"Hey! You actually got it! That’s great! Now, let me show you how to do it…" Kouga leaped out of the tub and opened a compartment in the wall and grabbed the hook that was attached to a rope. He took the token from Inu.

"All you have to do is attach it to the hook, tug it once, and let it go. Kaede will know what to do…" Kouga explained as he attached the token to the hook, tugged it and let it go. Inu nodded.

"Now what?"

"We wait, Inu."

All of a sudden, a long shaft-like faucet slid from the wall, along with a rope attached to it.

"Now, pull the rope Inu and let go of it. Pull it again when the tub is filled." Kouga instructed. Inu nodded and obeyed. As soon as he pulled the rope, herbal water streamed out from the fosset. Inu slowly let go and watched.

"The herbal water makes the water look murky…so no one can see the nasty gunk in the tub." Kouga grinned. After awhile, Inu pulled the rope again and the water stopped.

"I’m going to get us something to eat. You stay here and keep out of trouble, alright?" Kouga smiled, walking out. Inu sighed and sat at the edge of the tub. His eyes widened when he saw Jakotsu standing in the corner, watching him.

"It’s you again. Thanks for the token…" The human said, walking slowly over to the humanoid zombie. Jakotsu held out an armful of tokens, gesturing for Inu to take them. Inu shook his head.

"No, thank you. I only needed one…"

Jakotsu frowned, as if hurt. He disappeared and the tokens clattered to the ground, but did not break. Inu picked up the tokens and placed them in a basket. He thought about his parents and about Sess, wondering when he’d see any of them again…

~*~*~*~*~

Naraku stood on the balcony, his black kimono whipping in the wind, watching as something big was making it’s way slowly, but surely towards them. It looked like a giant ball of mud with dark eyes. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but something was definitely…off about it. Youkai or not, he would accept it merely because he could sense it had what he wanted. A Shikon shard.

And eventually, he would find out what it exactly was. The human came to mind and a cruel thought formed in his mind. Yes, the human could take care of this guest. The demon lord made his way out from his chambers and instructed everyone to welcome the new guest. He spotted Inu and stood by the railing, looking down at the human.

"Inu, come here. You are to welcome and take care of this…guest." Naraku ordered, his voice quiet, but apathetic. Inu obeyed, although he felt deep inside that he hated this demon more and more every time he saw him. He observed the youkai lord and noticed that with satisfaction that Naraku didn’t smell of that…scent. The human had figured out that the scent he had smelled in Naraku’s chambers had been the scent of sex after Kouga had told him that Sess was Naraku’s concubine. Inu wrinkled his nose in disgust and strangely…he was jealous. He followed Naraku to the bathhouse’s entrance, idly wondering if Sess liked Naraku at all. He had noticed how indifferently the two youkai had looked at each other, but then again, they were either hiding it or it’s just how they are. Emotionless.

The mud-like creature was getting close to them now. It was about fifty feet away, but Inu could already smell it’s decaying scent. The closer it got, the worse it’s stench became. Most of the youkai hurried away, but some stood by holding their noses. Naraku stood, staring at it dully. The stench didn’t seem to bother him at all, but Inu could tell that the youkai lord was not enjoying it, either.

The mud creature stopped moving. It sat three feet away from Inu and Naraku. On impulse, Inu’s hair frizzed and he clutched his nose.

"Stop that, you’ll offend our guest…" Naraku snapped. Inu held his breath and let his arms fall to his sides. He also noticed Naraku breathing normally and wondered how this demon could handle this. The human wanted as the creature held out a mud-like arm, obviously wanting to give something to them.

"Take the Shikon jewel, Inu. The customer wants to pay now…" Naraku said.

Inu held out his hand and watched as a gunk of mud dropped on the palm of his hand and he clutched it, feeling something that felt hard and sharp. He opened his hand and pulled out several jewel shards the size of dragonflies. He thrust them into Naraku’s hand.

"Good boy. Now, go take care of our customer…" The demon lord said, studying the jewel to make sure it wasn’t fake. Inu cringed inwardly.

"Come with me…sir…" Inu said, assuming that this mud monster was a he. The human led the mud creature to the frog tub, since it seemed to be the only tub that would fit it. It crawled into the water, quickly turning the water murky brown. Water splashed out, hitting the human. Inu quickly found the bucket and struggled through the muddy water to get to the wall. He opened the compartment and tried to attach a token to it, but it slipped and fell down into the darkness. Inu cursed and finally attached another token to the hook. He tugged it and let go of it.

"Hmmmm…where did he get all those tokens?" Naraku mused out loud; watching Inu’s every move.

The human struggled through the mud to get to the tub. The shaft-like fosset came out of the ceiling, along with a rope. He climbed it and stood, grasping the rope. With a hard pull of the rope, the herbal water sprang forth from the mouth of the fosset, dousing the mud creature in it’s essence.

"That’s out best herbal water!" Complained Kagura. Naraku ignored her.

When the tub was filled to the brim, Inu tried to tug on the rope to stop it, but he slipped on some mud and fell into the tub. Something grasped him and pulled him out of the water. Inu blinked in confusion as the mud monster held him in the palm of it’s muddy hand. Inu noticed something sticking out from the mud creature’s side and his eyes widened. Kouga came holding two bowls and gasped.

"Inu!" Kouga dropped the bowls.

Inu looked at Naraku. "There’s something stuck in it’s side…like a thorn!"

Naraku tossed Inu a rope. "Tie it to the rope."

Inu kept trying to tie the rope to the thorn-like object, but kept fumbling and messing up. Kouga pushed Inu’s clumsy hands away and proceeded in tying the rope quickly and perfectly to the object. He threw the rope at the youkai. Both Kouga and Inu grasped the rope.

"Now, PULL!" Naraku ordered. Everyone except Naraku, of course, started pulling on the rope. They tugged harder and harder until at last, the rope gave out and they all leaped away as trash and mud spilled forth from the mud creature. The thorn had been the handle of a bicycle.

Inu sat floating in the tub as steam rose. Something was in there with him. He saw a mask covering a face. A clawed hand reached out and placed a small ball the size of an eyeball into Inu’s hands. Then it sprang forth from the water; a long, snake-like body followed the masked face.

"Ah…I should have known…the snake youkai…" Naraku commented. "Clean up this mess."

Several youkai scrambled to carry out Naraku’s orders. Kouga helped Inu out of the tub. Strangely, the human was no longer dirty or wet. He stared at the small ball in his hand and closed his fingers around it when Naraku approached him. To his great surprise, Naraku took Inu into his arms and hugged him tightly. Inu didn’t move. He was in shock.

Obviously, the youkai lord was pleased with him. He let him go.

"Good boy, you gave me a lot of Shikon jewels…" Naraku said, almost smiling. "Sake on the house tonight!"

The youkai cheered and Naraku left them. It would seem that despite his effort to work hard, he had pleased Naraku. That was something he had never wished to do. Sure, he wanted to work hard and earn his stay…but he never wanted to please that…demon. Inu shuddered. He didn’t like Naraku’s touch at all. He hoped that Naraku didn’t have designs set out for him. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the demon lord’s chilling words after Inu had signed the contract…

… Your name is mine now…you are mine…

…Remember…work hard, little human…or you will face…me…

~*~*~*~*~

"Inu, I managed to get us some dinner…" Kouga said, sitting near Inu, whom was currently sitting on the balcony, his legs hanging down as the he stared across the land. Kouga handed the human some food.

"You were great today. You’re not bad…for a human. You work hard and you’ve caught up so fast these couple of days…" Kouga complimented.

"Why do you work here?" Inu asked, eating his food.

"I guess we all got ensnared by Naraku sometime in our lives. I’m working until I get enough money to get the hell away from here…" Kouga explained, helping himself to his own food.

"Do you think I’ll ever get my parents back? I’ve only been here for a short while….and already it feels as if fifty years have passed…as if I’ve been imprisoned against a tree by an arrow…in my heart…"

Kouga studied him and shook his head. "You’re hopeless."

"I hope not." Inu said, staring at the ball. He experimentally took a small nip from it. His face contorted in several expressions of disgust from the bitter taste. He quickly gobbled his food to get rid of the taste and sighed almost contentedly.

"I miss Sess…" Inu whimpered.

"You really like this guy, don’t you?" Kouga asked seriously. There was no hint of jealously, spite, or any other negative emotion in his voice or visage. Inu was glad to see that. It was bad enough he received lustful looks from many of the other youkai. He wasn’t really sure if Naraku lusted for him, nor did he care to find out.

"Hai." Inu answered, one of his hands clutching one of the bars of the balcony’s railing.

"Goodnight, Inu. Don’t worry, Sess will be back soon enough. He always is…" Kouga patted Inu’s back and retired for the night. It wasn’t too long before Inu himself retired for the night as well.

Jakotsu walked around in the empty tub, curiously. He heard a noise and stared when he saw a kitsune demon bound over to him.

"Hey! You’re not supposed to be here! The bathhouse is closed!" Shippou squeaked.

Jakotsu held out his hand and a Shikon shard formed in his hand and he dropped it to the floor. Shippou snatched it.

"Wow!" Shippou exclaimed.

Jakotsu formed several more Shikons and held them out for Shippou. Shippou snatched them eagerly and Jakotsu absorbed the kitsune youkai. The zombie’s appearance changed somewhat. A fluffy foxtail grew; claws grew, fangs grew, and so did fox feet. By morning, everyone was eager to serve him.

Inu woke up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around and noticed that everyone was gone. Nervously, he stood up, got dressed in his red work clothes quickly, and walked out. Kouga came up the stairs and spotted him.

"Hey Inu! I was about to come wake you! You wouldn’t believe how many shards this guy is giving out! C’mon!" Kouga exclaimed, grinning and wagging his tail furiously.

"Who is he?" Inu asked, rubbing one eye.

"Who cares?!" Kouga said, still grinning and wagging his tail. "C’mon Inu…"

"No, I’m going to look for Sess…" Inu replied, walking away.

"Your loss, then!" Kouga said as he hurried away. Inu rolled his eyes and walked out onto the balcony. Something caught his eye. Something large and white was dashing across the grass from half a mile away, with a large mass of something fiercely crimson following it. It soon came into view. It was a large demonic white dog that bore Sess’s violet crescent on it’s forehead. Inu’s eyes widened and he shouted, "SESS!"

The demonic dog was too busy trying to escape from the monstrosities that were chasing him. Inu noticed the wounds and blood all over Sess’s body.

"Oh, no! Sess’s hurt! What are those things chasing him? Birds?" Inu exclaimed, and squinted, trying to get a closer look. They appeared to be wasps. The human gasped as he realized they looked like Naraku’s wasps, but something was different. He distinctly remembered Naraku’s wasps to be yellow. These wasps that were attacking Sess were crimson.

"SESS! YOU CAN DO IT!" Inu encouraged as Sess raced closer and closer. The demonic dog leaped high in the air and soared through the open door. Inu hastily tried to close the glass door, although some of the red wasps managed to get in with them. Furiously, the human stomped and punched the red wasps to death, despite their vile stings or bites. He removed all the remaining sanguine wasps from Sess’s white body.

"Sess, don’t worry. It’ll be all right! I’ll get someone to take care of your wounds…" Inu promised. He noticed all the blood that was splattered against the walls and glass doors. It was truly gruesome. Inu winced. With the blood stained everywhere, it looked like to him as if this were some kind of a gruesome slaughter he usually saw on TV. But this…was not TV. This was real. Something was wrong with Sess, though. Sess kept growling and glowering with pain. The demonic dog charged through the wall and dashed up the stairs. Inu could only guess where the huge dog was going.

The only remaining red wasp clung to the back of Inu’s red work gi, camouflaged perfectly. The human did not notice the wasp and started dashing up the stairs. It wasn’t hard to follow Sess since there was a trail of blood. The human bounded up the stairway, his determination and need to save Sess fueled his strength. He never remembered being this strong before, but he knew he’d have to hurry. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost the silver haired youkai. He ran through the familiar cold corridor and opened the big black doors quickly, but as quietly as he could. He cautiously sneaked into Naraku’s chambers. He heard Naraku’s voice from another room nearby. The door was slightly ajar and he peeked in, spotting Naraku standing near a huge albino dog.

"He’s almost dead. He is of no use to me anymore. Take care of him…" Naraku said coldly. The buzzing of wasps could be heard. Inu growled inwardly, but backed away once he saw Naraku approaching the door. Quickly, Inu did the first thing that came into his mind. He opened the closest door and bolted in. The human glanced around. The room seemed fit for a princess that was still a toddler. Toys were strewn everywhere and so were other child assortments. The walls were brightly decorated that would be to a child’s liking. Inu cringed. The human thought that Naraku spoiled his daughter too much for her own…what? Inu froze. He was in Rin’s room. Even worse, he didn’t see any sign of her anywhere. He always imagined Rin to be a little female Naraku jr. He shuddered. Even worse, he could hear Naraku opening the door to Rin’s room. Quickly, Inu thrust himself under a bunch of over-sized, multi-colored pillows. A second later, the door swung open and the demon lord strode in. He stopped at the pillows, eyeing them almost suspiciously. Naraku worked through them, tossing several of them away as he searched. He stopped when he saw Rin’s face and he smiled. If he had removed one more pillow, he would have found Inu. Rin woke up and whimpered.

"It’s okay, baby. Daddy didn’t mean to wake you up. Daddy’s sorry, Rin." Naraku cooed, soothing his little princess once more. Inu almost vomited.

Rin giggled and reached up to pull some of her father’s curly black hair. Naraku leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight sweetie."

To Inu-yasha, this youkai lord seemed so loveless and so cold that he just couldn’t imagine that this demon had any love. Perhaps Naraku kept Rin as something to further bind Sess, but most likely, Naraku probably kept the little girl because he thought she might come to some use in the future. That was most likely the reason. This demon seemed to use everyone as if they were just some inanimate object that could only be used for so long until he finally threw them away, like useless trash. But…maybe, just maybe...Naraku did really love her.

Naraku turned the fake sunny atmosphere into a nighttime atmosphere. Then he finally left, shutting the door quietly behind him. Inu sighed in relief. He started to leave, but something grabbed his arm.

"You have to play with me. You can’t leave. If you leave, I will cry, and Daddy will come and kill you." Rin hissed. Inu had to admit, she was very strong for a five-year-old girl. The human knew better then to be angry with her. She sounded truly miserable and he didn’t blame her. Obviously, she never got to leave her room. Overprotective Daddy.

"I’ll play with you later, Rin, but I have to go help Sess, now. He’s in trouble and if I don’t get to him now, he will die!"

"Kassan? Sess?" Rin’s eyes went wide and she let go of Inu’s arm. "Take me to Kassan!"

"Hai, but hurry!" Inu leapt from the pillows and dashed across the room. He threw open the door and charged into the room he last saw Sess in, with Rin on his heels.

Naraku’s yellow wasps were trying to push him into a black pit, which no doubt was intended to be Sess’s tomb. With an angry growl, Inu surged forward and swatted the wasps away. The amber wasps hovered in the air, watching him. The human grabbed hold of the white dog before it could slip into the darkness. Inu used all his strength to keep Sess from falling in.

"What’s wrong with Kassan?" Rin asked naively. She also decided to lend a hand in keeping Sess from falling into the dark tomb.

"He’s hurt…we have to save him…" Inu replied grimly.

As if on cue, the blood red wasp detached itself from Inu’s back and flew high in the air. Before any of the other wasps could choose action, the wasp changed into…Naraku?

"Daddy! Help Kassan!" Rin said desperately.

"Be quiet, little girl!" Snapped Naraku, or was it Naraku? He pointed at Rin and she changed into a little black kitten. The yellow wasps flew at him, stingers aimed for an attack, but he rose his hands to them and transformed them all into a single, twin version of Rin. Rin the kitten pounced on Inu’s shoulder and curled up there, hissing at the imposter.

"Naraku, what do you want?" Inu snapped, his temper escalating.

"I am not Naraku. I am his twin brother Maraku and I am here to retrieve something…that was stolen from me." Maraku replied evenly, glaring at Sess.

"And that would be?" Inu asked, holding Sess protectively.

"A golden magic seal. My dear brother has been after it for years and I see he got his concubine Sess to steal it for him. Hai, my brother was always too lazy and cowardly to get his own hands dirty! The fool! Sess and Naraku will both pay for stealing what is mine…" Maraku hissed.

Inu studied him. Maraku did in fact, look exactly like Naraku, which was scary, but there was just…something different about Maraku. Inu couldn’t quite place what it was, though.

"No! Leave Sess alone! Naraku made him steal your gold seal!" Inu shouted. Before Maraku could even blink, Sess’s tail thrashed down, smashing the red wasp. Maraku disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~

The demonic dog version of Sess coughed and sputtered up blood, his snow-white chest heaving up and down. If you had walked in on them, it would be hard to decipher is Sess’s fur had once been white, since it was now stained red by his own blood. Inu panicked when Sess’s irregular breathing became slower and frailer. Rin whimpered and mewed, her lovely lonely eyes stricken with grief.

"Kassan in pain…" Rin whispered, her small kitten arms still wrapped around the dog-like body of her Kassan. Inu regarded her silently. This child appeared very human…and even acted human(even though at the moment Rin was in kitten form). Then again, Naraku did look human, also. This child reminded him so much of Kagome, except for the fact that this very child had never been allowed to see the world as Kagome had.

Somehow, looking at Rin’s sorrow made him stronger. He didn’t know what to do, since Sess weighed nearly a ton as a dog, but it seemed they could barely keep him from falling into the black oblivion which had been fated to be the Bishounen’ Youkai’s tomb. The human couldn’t hold on any longer and groaned when he felt a tug. Something was trying to pull the dog demon into the pit. Both of them knew it was inevitable, so they both clung to the dog. If Sess was going to die, they were going to die with him.

Another violent tug and Sess was sent spiraling down into the darkness. Rin screamed. Inu screamed. Sess’s red eyes bolted open and his legs kicked out. True, he was injured, but there was still fight left in him. With a derisive howl, he landed on the ground of the pitch-black tomb. Hungry snarls could be heard and dark hideous beings surrounded the three of them. But the silver haired youkai would have none of that. Leaping forward, he managed to get into a ramp and bounded down it, not failing to hear the angry and scornful howls of the starved beasts. Rin would have giggled if the circumstances had been different. Sess kept running and running in the darkness, leaping this way and that. Rin and Inu couldn’t tell nor see where they were heading for, but they had a vague feeling Sess was running only for them. Inside, they both knew if they hadn’t been with Sess when he fell, he probably wouldn’t have attempted to escape his cruel fate.

All of a sudden, the bloodstained dog crashed through a wall. He bucked Inu-yasha and Rin from his back before he stumbled violently. Inu blinked. They were in Kaede’s room.

"Oh my…" Kaede murmured.

"Sess!" Inu scrambled over to Sess. "Kaede, we have to help him!"

Rin sat there staring helplessly. She was smart enough to not get in the way.

"He appears to have bad internal bleeding…" Kaede replied. "…that is why he bleeds from his mouth. Something is probably lodged inside him somewhere. If nothing is done now, he will die…"

"No!" Rin wailed, tears watering in her eyes. Inspiration struck Inu and he pulled the small ball from his pocket.

"I was going to save this for my parents…but you are no less important then they are…" Inu-yasha spoke softly to Sess, breaking the ball in half. Inu knelt beside the thrashing beast, not afraid of this frightening creature. He held the half piece between his teeth while he used both his hands to pry the demon’s snout open. Hot and sticky breath brushed against Inu’s hands. It wasn’t unpleasant, but the blood was.

"Sess, don’t panic. I’m only trying to help you…" Inu-yasha soothed as he took the half piece from his mouth and shoved it down Sess’s throat. Automatically, he wrapped both his arms around the snout to keep it shut. The white beast thrashed. "Swallow it! Don’t struggle! It’s going to help you…"

A few moments passed and Sess stopped struggling. It looked as if the demon were going to cough up a hairball, so Inu quickly gave Sess space. The demon raised his head, arched his neck and expanded his jaws. Something covered in black gunk was hurled from his jaws. Sess collapsed, passing out cold.

A golden object lay strewn on the floor as the gunk slithered away, like a worm or slug.

"Get it! Get that slug!" Kaede shouted, pointing at it desperately. Rin was first to act. She pounced on it and stamped and clawed at it as if it were the cause of Sess’s agony. Everyone, distracted for a moment by the slug, stared at the golden object.

"Ah…that must be Maraku’s magic seal. Inside, it is said to hold at least half of the Shikon no Tama. Naraku’s been after it for years…" Kaede informed them softly. Her one eye twinkled. Inu-yasha turned his gaze from the seal to Sess. Inu-yasha couldn’t help but smile when he noticed Sess in his more humanoid form, lying there gracefully on his back, with both of his arms at his sides. His lips were barely parted as his chest rose and fell normally. Neither blood nor any evidence of a struggle was left. Every single blood drop that had stained everything including himself…was mysteriously gone.

The human smiled gratefully as the soot brought him a blanket to cover the unconscious Youkai’s body with. The human tenderly wrapped and tucked the blanket around every curve and part of Sess’s body, save his neck and head. Inu-yasha finally noticed something. He smiled. For once, there was an expression on Sess’s beautiful visage. Serenity. Tranquility. Placidity.

Rin scampered almost playfully over to them after she had rid her little paws of the black slime. She rubbed her head affectionately against Sess’s face while she purred like a motor gone wild.

Kouga entered and stared at everyone, but dared not say a word. Sure, he was a wolf demon, but he still had honor and pride. He would disturb them.

Kaede noticed Kouga’s reaction and smiled. "It’s called love, Kouga. Love. What you see before you is love. Love is what saved Sess’s life. Love is rare around here…"

Kouga nodded and watched the scene before him. It was certainly nothing he had ever seen before. It was all so very strange, yet it seemed to right, so natural…and so beautiful.

Inu-yasha sat there by Sess’s side for awhile, stroking the silken silver strands in silence. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the youkai, the demon he believed were an angel. His angel.

He broke the silence. "I must go see Maraku and apologize for Sess. Only…I don’t know how."

Kaede smiled kindly and searched through a little box until she found some tickets.

"Now remember, you must get off at stop six. Maraku dwells in the woodland area. He will not be hard to find. Follow the trail. These tickets are enough for a few people, but I’m afraid the train can’t take you back here."

"I’ll just walk back along the tracks…" Inu suggested with determination, half-smiling.

"You have train tickets?" Kouga asked Kaede, eyes slightly widened.

"I’ve been saving them for over forty years or so. I don’t need them. Obviously Inu needs them."

Kouga bit his lip. "That may have to wait for a moment. You know the guest I talked about from earlier?"

Inu looked over at his friend. "Hai."

"Well…he…is eating almost everything in sight and has already eaten a few Youkai." Kouga said grimly.

Inu stood up abruptly. "You’re kidding?"

"He wants to see you, Inu." Kouga said quietly.

"Lead me to him." Inu-yasha said. Rin hopped on Inu’s shoulder. Kouga didn’t seem to like the idea of Inu actually going to see the monster, but he could tell the human would not back down. Not now. Not ever.

"Hai, but…just be careful, Inu." Kouga replied.

"I will." Inu promised. He glanced at Kaede. "Thank you for the tickets. Please take care of Sess while I’m gone…"

Kaede nodded. Rin hopped on Inu’s shoulder, digging her claws into his clothes. She seemed to not be content in simply staying put. Inu-yasha picked up the golden seal and took a deep breath. He followed Kouga upstairs. He did not know who this guest was, but he was most anxious to visit Maraku and return to Sess.

~*~*~*~*~

Kouga led Inu-yasha down a hallway, which was flanked by frightened demons on each side. When they saw Inu-yasha, they stiffened and glared at him. Somehow they knew he had let this monster inside. Of course, Inu-yasha hadn’t known better and had believed that Jakotsu was merely a customer, so naturally, he had allowed him inside.

"Oh, look…it’s him…" One of the Youkai whispered.

Inu ignored their stares and glares and stopped outside by two big wooden doors. Shouts could be heard from the inside.

"This is where he is…" Kouga whispered.

"I…WANT…INU…NOW!" An unfamiliar voice demanded in a shrill voice. Inu stiffened and continued to listen. He heard a familiar, colder voice. The voice of Naraku.

"My servants are searching for him as we speak. It won’t be long until they find him." Naraku reassured, although there were a large quantity of annoyance evident in his listless voice. The doors opened and shut and Naraku stood there and for once, he wasn’t wearing black, save for his naturally ebony hair, of course. His red eyes looked Inu over, as if to make sure the human was good enough to be given away or served as an appetizer. What bothered Inu were Naraku’s eyes. One minute, Naraku’s eyes would be dark, and the next minute, they would be red. That really bothered and agitated Inu-yasha. Of course, Naraku himself was enough to aggravate him.

Kouga patted Inu’s shoulder to encourage him. Oddly, Inu could sense that Naraku was enraged, but when he looked into the demon’s eyes…he saw…nothing. He saw…dead eyes. Eyes that held neither life nor death. Eyes that were a void. A void of nothingness.

Naraku opened the door. "Go in. Our…guest…wishes to see you. What is that?"

"It’s a kitten, duh. Doesn’t it look familiar in any way?" Inu asked.

"No. Go in." Naraku ordered coldly. Rin’s ears dropped and she meowed lowly.

The human said nothing and stepped inside. To his surprise, he saw Jakotsu sitting in the middle of the room. Even stranger, Jakotsu was very fat and looked like he was part kitsune.

"Who…are you? What do you want?" The human asked, keeping his distance.

"I want you, Inu. I want to please you. Here, have some Shikon jewels! I have plenty of them!" Jakotsu held out his hands, which immediately filled up with Shikon shards.

"I don’t want them. You didn’t answer my first question." Inu said, despising the lewd look Jakotsu was constantly giving him.

Jakotsu frowned. "Jakotsu."

"Jakotsu, I must implore you to eat this. Eat this, for me. I will take anything you offer after you eat this." Inu offered, holding the other half of the ball. Jakotsu eagerly swiped and swallowed it. The human zombie gagged and vomited.

"Inu…what have…you done to me?" Jakotsu hissed, vomiting again. Inu kicked the doors opened and sprinted down the hallway with a raving, enraged zombie in hot pursuit. Inu sped down the stairs with Rin’s claws digging into his flesh. At the moment, he didn’t feel it at all.

"INUUUU!!!" Jakotsu raved and screeched, vomiting all the contents of his stomach as he ran. He even vomited the three demons he had eaten earlier. The three demons sat on the ground, blinking in shock.

"INU! This way!" Kouga shouted and opened the door. The wolf demon and human sped outside. Jakotsu lingered in the doorway and watched.

Inu-yasha turned around. "JAKOTSU! Come on! Follow me!"

"Are you crazy?" Kouga growled as Jakotsu started to follow them slowly.

"Look, I think Naraku’s bathhouse drives Jakotsu crazy. He will be better off out here than in there, that’s for sure…"

"We’d all be better off out here than in that place…" Kouga sighed.

"I know, Kouga, I know."

"You be careful. I hope you know what you’re doing." Kouga watched as Inu-yasha strode towards the train stop.

"If you as so much as harm a single hair on that boy’s head, Jakotsu, you will know the true meaning of youkai!" Kouga threatened as he retreated towards the bathhouse.

Jakotsu got one last thing out of his system, which was Shippou himself. The kitsune bounded off towards the bathhouse, trembling and terrified. It’s not every day that a zombie devours you.

Inu-yasha stood at the train stop, watching as a train approached. The train arrived and the doors slid open. A youkai held out his hand and waited patiently as Inu gathered the tickets and gave them to the demon.

"Him too?" The demon asked, gesturing to Jakotsu. Inu nodded.

"Come aboard then…" The demon said, disappearing into the train. Inu-yasha stepped in and sat down. Fortunately, there weren’t any youkai on the train. Jakotsu entered the train and stood there motionless.

Inu-yasha patted the seat beside him. "Sit. And you’d better behave…"

Jakotsu obeyed and chose to sit near the human. They sat in silence watching the landscape zoom by as the train headed towards their destination. Fortunately, it wasn’t long until the train came to a halt at stop six. Inu-yasha, Rin, and Jakotsu departed and traveled through the woodland area and they never said a word to each other. Rin snuggled against Inu’s neck, her kitten fur soft against his neck. He scratched under her chin and she started purring.

"Finally, here’s the trail…" Inu murmured as he led he way to where Maraku supposedly lived. The forest was strangely so quiet and it chilled them all to the bone, except for Jakotsu.

A house that might belong to a humble human came into view and they approached it cautiously. Inu inhaled and exhaled deeply. He was about to open the door, but stopped himself. He chided himself. He raised his hand into a fist and knocked politely. They waited patiently as the sound of slow, but steady footsteps were heard. The door swung open and there stood Naraku’s twin brother. Maraku.

"Come in, come in!" Maraku urged them as he stepped out of the way so they could come inside. He had them seated at a table. Maraku’s house was homely and humble…but somehow, it seemed so very warm to them. Even to the zombie.

"You all must be hungry…" Maraku murmured, looking at them with a tilted head.

Inu-yasha’s stomach grumbled and growled loudly right after that. The human blushed and looked away. Then his dark eyes drifted towards Maraku’s own dark eyes.

"You are probably wondering why I am here…" Inu-yasha began.

"Hai, but you haven’t introduced me to your…new friend, Inu-yasha…" Maraku replied.

Inu-yasha blinked a few times. He didn’t know how Maraku knew his real name, but at the moment, he had better things to ponder.

"This is Jakotsu…and Jakotsu, this is Maraku." Inu-yasha hastily introduced them. Maraku stood there, watching them. He didn’t seem content to sit with them just, yet.

"A pleasure." Maraku greeted, his head still tilted curiously.

"Hai." Jakotsu replied, blushing when he met Maraku’s intimidating dark eyes.

Inu coughed and stood up.

"Maraku, I have come here to apologize for Sess. Gomen, Gomen. I have also brought your golden seal back…" Inu-yasha apologized, his head bowed, he offered the golden seal that contained half the Shikon no Tama to Maraku. Maraku accepted it.

"Still…" Maraku began while he examined it. "The enchantment on this seal has been broken…"

"Oh, gomen. I’m sorry for killing that black slug-worm thing…" Inu-yasha apologized.

Maraku laughed. His laughter wasn’t cold or hollow like Naraku’s. It was warm and hearty.

"That wasn’t my enchantment. That was what bound Sess to my brother. That was what controlled Sess and that is how Naraku was able to do anything he wanted with him…"

Inu-yasha blinked a few times. "Sess is free now?"

"Hai, but…he still doesn’t have his name. I doubt Naraku will give it back to him." Maraku replied. "And Inu-yasha…the apology is accepted…"

"Arigato." Inu-yasha replied with a sigh. Rin yawned.

Maraku’s eyes were always studying the human. He regarded Inu-yasha silently.

"In the morning, we will talk, Inu-yasha…"

The human nodded slowly. His brown eyes stared back into Maraku’s dark eyes.

"You know, you look exactly like Naraku…but…you are warmer than him…he’s just…cold…"

"Hai, I am the opposite of what he is. Gods, his home is so tacky…"

"And cold." Inu-yasha added, remembering how cold it was in the corridor leading to Naraku’s chambers.

"Now…who’s hungry?" Maraku asked. Even though Maraku and Naraku shared the same face and voice, Maraku seemed so much warmer. Maraku and Naraku were like…Yin and Yang.

"Guess…" Inu-yasha replied. He really missed Sess…

~*~*~*~*~

Sess stood watching Naraku.

"Perhaps Inu-yasha’s parents are ready to be eaten…" Naraku said coolly, not looking up from what he was doing at his desk. -Rin- was busy eating loads of candy.

"Do you not notice that something is amiss? I’m surprised you did not notice it right away. You have never passed as stupid or witless to me, maybe lazy…but never naïve…" Sess continued, his indifferent amber eyes focused on the youkai lord. Naraku slowly looked up and stared at Sess.

"You are asking for it. I would not kill you, but I would destroy you."

"Then destroy me if you must, but believe me, it will not help you…or your situation."

"Enlighten me, please, oh precious." Naraku said sarcastically in his usual apathetic voice and demeanor.

"Look at your child. Do you not notice something…about her?" Sess asked stoically.

Naraku looked at -Rin- and studied her hand. He waved his hand and the illusion vanished. Instead of Rin, there were Naraku’s amber wasps. Naraku narrowed his eyes. He strode slowly over to Sess and stood eye level with the other youkai. They both were about the same height. Crimson eyes met amber eyes. Both pairs of eyes swirling colors of indifference.

"Where is Rin." Naraku asked calmly while his hand reached up to stroke Sess’s cheek. Sess did not move nor complain. He just stared.

"With your brother." He finally answered.

"Maraku?" Naraku broke contact.

"The one and only."

"You will go and return Rin to me." Naraku ordered. It was not a suggestion.

"I will only go…if you free Inu-yasha. You must free Inu-yasha and his parents. That is all I ask of you…" Sess said.

"Fine…but on one condition: He must pass my test. If he fails, he belongs to me forever. If he passes, he is free…" Naraku compromised.

"Hai." Sess turned away and left. He changed into his demonic dog form and dashed off across the lush grassland…

~*~*~*~*~

Inu-yasha sighed yet again. The food had looked good, but he just couldn’t eat or focus. He was longing to see Sess. It was driving him crazy to no end and he just could never stop thinking about the demon with the long, silvery white hair. He couldn’t get the thought out of his head of how Sess had touched him that day. It had felt so gentle, so affectionate, and most of all, so right.

A white dog trod into the house and swiftly changed form into that of his humanoid form. Inu-yasha was too deep in thought to notice.

Maraku stood up. "Welcome Sess. I know you have come to retrieve Inu-yasha and the girl, but I believe you all should stay the night. You may leave by morning…"

"Hn. We shall do just that." Sess replied. He was slightly amused at the daydreaming human.

"Good. You do know what room you both are welcome to, Sess." Maraku gestured to Jakotsu and Rin. Rin the kitten hopped on Maraku’s shoulder and mewed softly.

"Come with me, Jakotsu. I believe we should leave them alone…" The twin of Naraku opened a door and Jakotsu followed on his heels. Slight sounds and words could be heard as the pair made their way to Maraku’s chambers. "Slow down, this is not a race…you really amuse me…" Maraku said before he firmly shut the door, shutting all sounds out.

"Inu-yasha…" Sess called softly.

"Oh great…now I’m hearing voices again…" Inu-yasha grumbled.

"Inu-yasha."

Two arms encircled the human from behind, earning a startled gasp, as a familiar mouth nuzzled the human’s neck. "Guess who."

"Naraku?" Inu-yasha inquired, knowing full well who was behind him.

"Don’t say his name. Say my name…"

"Sess…what are you doing here?"

"Just shut up and kiss me…" Sess spun Inu-yasha around like a top and ravaged the human’s mouth. His strong, but long, slender arms crushed Inu-yasha against his body and he was satisfied to feel the human writhe and tremble against him. The demon started to nip and intricately lick Inu-yasha’s rounded human ear. Inu-yasha sighed, leaning into the tight embrace. He felt whole again. No longer empty.

"How old are you?" Sess asked the boy, drawing him a little away from him so he could study him.

"Old enough." The human boy said stubbornly. He wouldn’t have cared if he had been thirteen or twelve; he would have still wanted this to happen. He moved closer to the youkai, but Sess restrained him by the shoulders. His cool, apathetic amber eyes bore into Inu’s soft brown eyes.

"I am not like Naraku. I will not rape a mere child…"

"But he never…" Inu-yasha trailed off when he realized Sess’s meaning. "How old were you?"

"It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. The future is now…" The youkai answered, his eyes clouded.

"Eighteen. I am eighteen. I turn nineteen in a few months…"

"So young…" Sess whispered, his fingertips tracing the boy’s full lips. The demon was fighting an inner battle inside of himself.

"No, I am old enough. Remember the last time…at the Sakura tree? How you touched and kissed me? I know you would never do that to a child. I am no longer a child, Sess! You left me quivering with…need. That will not happen again…or will you be so cruel?"

Sess smiled and continued to trace the human’s lips with his fingertips. "It’s the other way around. You were the one who left me, young one…"

"Sess…" Inu-yasha pleaded, his cinnamon eyes big and watery. Not even a youkai could resist such eyes…

The silver-haired youkai sighed, ultimately giving in. He continued to trace the human’s lips while his remaining hand left Inu-yasha’s shoulder to lace his fingers with Inu’s own.

"Come…this place…is not appropriate…" Sess whispered. Inu-yasha nodded. The youkai led the human away. They walked silently through the hallway, their hands mingled together, as if they feared that if they let go, they’d be swept away from one another.

"I miss them…" Inu whispered when they entered the guestroom, which was said to be their room for the night.

"Don’t. Nothing will happen to them. After tonight, you and your parents shall be free…"

The human stared at the celestial demon in mild surprise. "Really?"

"Hai…" Sess replied faintly. Inu-yasha caught a glimpse of sorrow in the Youkai’s eyes, but it disappeared quickly. Sess sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, his hands hiding his face. Inu sat himself gingerly beside the youkai. He could sense and see that something was not right with him.

"Sess?"

"Hai?"

"Why are you sad?"

A barely audible sigh. "I am not sad."

"What’s wrong, then?"

"Nothing, nothing…" Sess dropped his hands to his sides and slowly looked over at Inu-yasha.

"Then…why do you look so sad?"

"I do not wish to steal your innocence…"

"You are not going to steal anything anymore. Especially my innocence. I am offering my so-called innocence to you, my angel. My savoir…take it…I need you to…"

Sess blinked in surprise. "Angel? Savoir?"

"Hai, you saved me. You are my hero, my savoir…my angel. You’ve been there for me from the start. For that, I thank you. Don’t think I’m giving myself to you because of that. I am giving myself to you…because…"

"Because what?" Sess inquired, a soft blush adorned his handsome visage.

The human leaned over and pulled Sess’s face to his own. Ever so slowly and sweetly, he kissed Sess chastely, but with love. "Because…I love you…"

"You…love…me?" Sess repeated, with disbelief.

"I love you, Sess." Inu-yasha repeated and crawled into the Youkai’s lap. Inu-yasha smiled gently when he felt those long, slender, but strong arms pull him closer. The human rested his ear against Sess’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"You cannot love without a heart…and yet I hear a heartbeat beating proudly from inside of you. Do not believe you cannot love…because…I feel your love…I see the way you look at Rin…the way you look at me…or am I mistaken?" Inu-yasha whispered into Sess’s elf-like ear.

"You are not mistaken…"

"Please…"

"Please what?" Sess asked, seemingly content with just holding his beloved human.

"Love me tonight…" Inu-yasha pleaded, his soft brown eyes gazing up at Sess.

The youkai watched Inu-yasha. "Lay down on your back. Relax…"

The human crawled out of Sess’s lap gingerly and lay flat on his back, staring at Sess, waiting for him to make his move. The demon stood up and started to remove all his articles of clothing as the human waited both patiently and impatiently…

The clouds moved away from the moon, revealing the full moon for the first time that night. The silvery moonlight drifted into the room, casting the standing demon in it’s silver magnificence. In all his naked glory, the demon strode over to Inu-yasha, very seductively. The human didn’t have much time to study the seemingly perfect body, simply because that very body was upon him, but not weighing on him. Sess ever so carefully caressed butterfly kisses all over Inu’s lips, face, neck, and collarbone. The human squirmed slightly and mewed by the amazing gentleness of this demon.

"You are…so gentle…" Inu-yasha almost whispered, his brown eyes watching Sess.

"And I will always remain that way…with you…" Sess whispered, taking the human’s hand and kissing his palm, his tongue lapped out to taste more of the human’s hand. He licked and kissed a trail from the human’s hand down his arm. Ultimately, he captured Inu’s lips again, but with a bit more undying passion than before. Inu-yasha returned the passionate kiss, his arms wrapped themselves around the demon’s back…and he could not help but trace his fingers up and down the demon’s backside, relishing in how silky soft his skin was. He could tell Sess liked this, simply by how the demon reacted to him.

"Time…to disrobe…the young human…" Sess teased, smiling faintly at the light blush on his beloved’s features. "Beautiful." He stroked the human’s face, careful not to cut him with his claws. Inu-yasha blushed much more deeply when the demon had called him that. Something more primal and violent inside of him wanted this to hasten, but the better part of him took delight in how slow and gentle it was. Inu-yasha moved to undress himself, but Sess gently pushed him back down.

"No, I will do everything tonight, until you catch up. I don’t want you getting hurt…" He tenderly stroked Inu-yasha’s face yet again, his sweet breath blowing on the human’s oval ear.

"You would never hurt me…" Inu-yasha spoke, squirming again.

"What will soon come…will have pain…but the pain shall not last long at all…"

Pain did not faze Inu-yasha at all. He was used to pain and to him, pain was only a reminder that one was still living. That was what pain meant. Life.

"My mind, body, and heart still remain unchanged…" The human replied, his hands cupped Sess’s face and he brought the face to his own, capturing Sess’s lips with his own.

"Pain is life…"

"And pleasure is love…" Sess replied, his hands almost hastily undressing the human. He was careful to not cut or cause any kind discomfort to the raven-haired Bishounen’. Inu-yasha immediately wrapped his legs around the demon and pulled their hips together, causing friction for both of their arousals. They both muffled their moans by claiming each other’s mouth. The human continued to rock his hips repeatedly, aiming to find relief and release. Sess almost became lost in this pleasure, but regained his sanity just in time. His hands pressed gently, but firmly down on the human’s hips, stopping the delicious friction.

"No…if we continue this way, we will both be undone…and this is not how I want us…"

Inu-yasha gave him a lop-sided grin. "How do you want us?"

"First…I want to taste you. Then I want to be inside of you…"

Sess’s passionate words made Inu-yasha harden painfully, almost making him pant.

Sess’s eyes were always on Inu-yasha, watching him carefully, seeking permission.

"Go ahead…" Inu-yasha replied, his eyes half lidded, glazed with both lust and love.

Without further warning, Sess slid down and took the head of Inu-yasha’s erect member into his mouth. Inu-yasha gripped the sheets and cried out as the slick hot mouth enveloped his whole pulsating organ. Sess bobbed his head up and down, humming. His mouth left the human’s shaft. The dark-haired beauty was about to protest, but a tongue licked the underside of his cock. Sess licked the head, his eyes both on his work and on his lover. He nearly grinned as he watched his lover squirm, moan, and writhe to his erotic ministrations. Sess then dove down and nearly swallowed Inu-yasha’s member. To keep from screaming, the human bit down hard on his bottom lip as his back arched and his head tossed back. The scent of blood drawn drove Sess wild and it only encouraged to sweet torture the human even more. The youkai started to neglect parts of the human’s arousal, tending to only lick certain parts.

"S-sess…p-please…" Inu begged.

"Please what?" Sess teased. Before the human could answer, the demon licked the neglected parts-which were mainly the head and the underside. The human arched his back as far as he could and cried out. He felt a tickle inside and knew that he would find his release very soon.

"You taste very good…I can’t wait to taste your very essence…" Sess huskily whispered, his mouth never neglected him. Sess took Inu’s shaft all the way into the back of his throat, deep throating him again and again until the human came screaming as he shot his seed down his throat. Of what he didn’t swallow, the youkai licked the remains.

Inu-yasha laid there utterly spent, panting like a dog. Inu-yasha was tired, but he wanted something else. He really didn’t know exactly what, since this was his first time with a male, let alone, a demon. Sess sat up on his haunches and watched his lover, his golden eyes clouded. He stared at the blood on Inu-yasha’s lips. Sess quickly straddled Inu-yasha and pulled the human body up to him, so their chests touched each other. He claimed the human’s mouth, hungrily relishing the copper taste of his blood. A few minutes later, they broke apart only for air.

"Gods, every part of you tastes…wonderful…" Sess whispered.

"Let me taste you, then…" Inu-yasha replied, trying to push Sess on his back, but the demon proved stronger then his feminine appearance perceived him to look.

"No." Sess said flat out.

"Please? Only a little taste?" Inu-yasha begged, his eyes big and brown like a puppy. Not even a full-blooded youkai could resist those eyes. He sighed.

"Hai, do what you wish…just don’t get too carried away. I still have something else I plan to do to you…" Sess accepted, laying back.

"Spread em’." Inu-yasha said, grinning deviously. Sess moved around a bit as he made himself more comfortable, propping himself on his elbows and then he spread his thighs for his lover.

Inu-yasha hesitated at the sight. He was entranced and it was overwhelming to have the beautiful demon eagle-spread for him. He shuddered and felt himself grow hard again. Inwardly, he chided himself.

Sess tilted his head almost like a puppy, which proved too adorable. He was patient, but his patience wasn’t unlimited. Inu-yasha settled himself between Sess’s legs and reached down to gently stroke his lover’s arousal. He observed how Sess sighed and watched him with those amber eyes half lidded. Inu-yasha continued to stroke him as he leaned over and licked the head. Sess hissed. Inu-yasha grinned, encouraged, and licked the head again. Sess groaned, obviously trying to control him. Without any sort of warning, the human took the whole shaft in his mouth and surprisingly he didn’t gag at all. Sess moaned almost loudly, trying not to thrust into his lover’s mouth. Experimentally, Inu-yasha gently dragged his teeth along the underside of Sess’s shaft and watched with delight when Sess hissed and moaned with approval. The demon tried to control himself and gain his sanity as the human bobbed his head, humming just as Sess had, which proved to be just as effective. With a groaning hiss, Sess pushed Inu-yasha away and looked at him apologetically.

"I said a little taste. I would let you taste everything, but there is something that is even more enticing then this…" Sess explained.

"Hai, but you taste…so good! Better then the sweetest candy and ice cream…you taste like peaches and cream…" Inu-yasha purred and crawled over to Sess on all fours seductively. Inu-yasha crawled into Sess’s lap, which seemed to be a habit of his. He kissed the demon, tasting himself again on Sess’s lips. Sess tasted himself on Inu-yasha’s lips and broke away, with a wry grin.

"Are you ready, Inu-yasha?" Sess asked, regarding the human with his intimidating, but seductive eyes. Inu-yasha nodded.

"I am going to lay on my back and you will be on top of me. I believe that if you are on top, it will be far more pleasant for you…" Sess explained. His hand brushed against a vial on the bed and he picked it up. A tiny note was attached to it and it read:

To Sess and Inu-yasha, Use this well. I know you will, with love, from Maraku

"He thinks he’s amusing, doesn’t he?" Inu-yasha grinned. "He’s not that bad."

"Hai…" Sess replied and laid on his back, beckoning the human to straddle him. Inu-yasha obeyed. The human was ahead of him, somehow. Inu-yasha snatched the vial, opened it, and rubbed the oil on Sess’s rock hard member. Sess tried not to moan as he poured some of the oil on his fingers and rubbed in on Inu-yasha’s puckered hole. He carefully and slowly slid one finger in, while watching Inu-yasha carefully. When he felt the human had adjusted enough, he slid another finger inside and stretched him slowly and carefully with his two fingers. Without warning, the human impaled himself further on the two fingers and cried out when they brushed against something that sent rocket waves of pleasure coursing throughout his entire being. This time, Sess thrust his fingers deep into him, brushing against the same spot. He tried it a few more times to get Inu-yasha used to it.

"S-s-sess…please…" Inu-yasha whimpered, wanting something more then this.

"Please what?"

Inu-yasha blushed like a schoolgirl. "I want you inside me…"

"Remember, there will be pain…" Sess reminded him. The human nodded. With that final confirmation, Sess removed his fingers from Inu-yasha and eased his head to rest at the human’s entrance. One of his hands used Inu-yasha’s hip as a brace and the other hand helped position his own member. As slowly as he could, he inched himself inside Inu-yasha, his golden eyes watched the human. He did not fail to miss the pain inflicted in Inu-yasha’s features. He regretted it as soon as he saw the pain, but before he could stop, Inu-yasha hastily impaled himself.

"Inu-yasha! You fool! Do you know-" Sess growled, but was interrupted by Inu-yasha’s lips on his own. The human wriggled his hips, trying to get more comfortable. Sess broke away from the kiss and gazed down upon his lover.

"I know what I did. I felt it, but I did it. Pain is life…but pleasure is love. I do not want to wait any longer! Claim me now…as your own…"

"Mine…" Sess growled, bruising the human’s lips with his own. Without any more delay, he thrust slowly, but as deeply as he could into Inu-yasha and on the second attempt, he struck gold.

"Do that again!" Inu-yasha moaned.

Sess thrust up again into his tight heat, but harder, striking the one place inside of Inu-yasha that drove him literally towards the brink of insanity. To give the human even more pleasure, one of his hands went in-between them and pumped Inu-yasha’s hard and pulsating organ in rhythm with the slow, but hard thrusts. It was not before long before they both went at a faster, almost frenzied pace. It was still gentle in it’s own way, but they both demanded release.

Sess pulled Inu-yasha up by the hips, unsheathing him almost all the way out and watched his lover carefully. Before the human could react, the demon slammed into him hard, making the human wrack with tremors of intense pleasure. He did this a few more times while ravaging the human’s addictive mouth, deliberately making the young man feel all this in the best way possible. It wasn’t long before they both miraculously came at the same time. Inu-yasha collapsed on top of the demon’s chest and knew his body weight did not faze Sess at all. He lay his head against the demon’s chest and panted while he listened to the slowing heartbeat of his lover. A soft, pleasant purr rumbled and vibrated from deep within Sess’s throat and chest. The purr tingled and tickled Inu-yasha skin, but he did not mind. Everything about his lover seemed perfect to him. A sudden thought dwelled upon Inu-yasha’s mind and fear was edged in his soft voice.

"Sess…what if-" Inu-yasha started, but was cut off by Sess’s mouth over his own, the kiss filled with much affection and sincerity. The youkai broke away and gazed at his lover, his eyes clouded once more.

"Do not think of the what ifs. It does not matter right now. Everything will be all right in the end, I promise, love." Sess whispered, a flicker of emotion crossed his eyes, but the human failed to recognize exactly what emotion it was. "Sleep now. You need your sleep for tomorrow, Inu-yasha. You are safe here…in my arms…"

Inu-yasha nodded and snuggled into his lover as much as he could while enjoying the warmth and comfort of the demon’s arms. As he drifted asleep, he whispered, "Aishiteru anata, Sess…"

The youkai watched his human sleep in his arms; his eyes no longer clouded. His amber orbs were filled with mixed emotions of love, affection, admiration, and sorrow.

"Arigato, Inu-yasha, Arigato. Aishiteru anata, Inu-yasha…" Sess whispered.

~*~*~*~*~

"…Maraku, will you be all right here? You know how your twin is…" Inu-yasha asked. They all stood outside, standing in the lush green grass. The scent of rich pine filled their nostrils, but somehow, sorrow filled all their hearts.

"Inu-yasha, do not fear for me. We may be almost completely opposites, but we still understand each other, to some degree. I know we have only met just yesterday, but please take care of yourself. Naraku will try to trick you…" Maraku replied.

"Arigato for everything, Maraku…" Inu-yasha thanked, his head bowed respectfully for a moment.

"Is it all right with you if Jakotsu stays here with me? After all, I do need…a partner…" Maraku inquired, his arm snaking around the zombie’s waist. Jakotsu blushed.

"Sure. I think he’ll do better here with you than anywhere else…" Inu-yasha replied, stealing a glance at Sess. The silver-haired Bishounen’s gaze was staring in the direction of Naraku’s castle.

"We must leave now. Naraku is patient, but even his patience ends…" Sess murmured.

"Ja Ne, Maraku and Jakotsu…" Inu-yasha bade them farewell and the twin of Naraku embraced Inu-yasha in such a way that would be considered fatherly or brotherly. Inu-yasha returned the embrace and felt something wrap around his neck. He unlocked the embrace and stepped back. He looked at his own neck and saw a beaded necklace, but somehow, it made him feel stronger.

"This is for you, Inu-yasha. It will protect you in the future. Oh and don’t forget dearest Rin. Sayonara." Naraku said, placing Rin the kitten on Inu-yasha’s shoulder. Maraku’s arm snaked around Jakotsu’s waist again. Jakotsu leaned slightly on the demon, resting his head against Maraku’s shoulder. Sess then transformed into his white demonic dog form…

"Arigato, Maraku…" Inu-yasha whispered and fingered the beads with curiosity.

"Come, Inu-yasha…" Sess commanded in his usual indifferent voice. With a wry grin, Inu-yasha mounted Sess’s back and wrapped his arms loosely around Sess’s neck. Maraku and Jakotsu waved goodbye to them as the dog bounded dashed off through the forest.

Maraku glanced down at his human zombie lover and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Aishteru Anata, Jakotsu…" Whispered words that declared real love for the human zombie.

"Hai, Aishteru anata, Maraku…" He said more boldly, his arms encircling around the youkai.

"Come koibito, let us consummate our…partnership…"

Jakotsu smiled and followed the youkai into the house. With one last glance towards the retreating pair, Maraku firmly shut the door behind him.

~*~*~*~*~

Thoughts and memories overwhelmed Inu-yasha as he rode upon the back of his koi. Something felt so familiar about riding this demonic dog. Something that seemed so distant and so unclear. Like a vision, a memory occurred to him…

Flames were everywhere. A cabin was burning in the woods and Inu-yasha himself, as a preteen, was coughing and sputtering from the ashes and smoke as he tried to escape the burning cabin. He tripped and fell flat on his face. A horrible creaking and groaning of a ceiling beam caught his attention. He looked up just in time as a burning ceiling beam that weighed enough to trap him fell. He shut his eyes tight and waited for his immediate death to come. Nothing happened. He peeked up and saw a tall, angelic-like person with amber eyes, beautiful silvery white hair, and porcelain skin standing over him. He gasped and laid still in shock as the Bishounen’ angelic scooped him into it’s arms and burst through the door, neither of them gaining burns nor scratches.

"Sesshoumaru!" Someone or something shouted. The angelic creature responded immediately to the name. As soon as Sesshoumaru got him to a safe distance, he gently placed the human on the ground gingerly and dashed off…

"Sesshoumaru!" Inu-yasha called after he had witnessed this flashback of a memory. Sesshoumaru kept running, but Inu-yasha felt the demon’s muscles tense up.

"Sesshoumaru. That’s your name! I remember you! When I was in the burning cabin, you came and rescued me, Sesshoumaru! It was you…Sesshoumaru…" Inu-yasha said excitedly.

Sesshoumaru stumbled as he transformed back into his more humanoid form. They both rolled through the grass together. They were half a mile away from Naraku’s palace…

"Inu-yasha…" Sesshoumaru murmured, his eyes wide after they had stopped rolling in the sweet grass.

"I remember now…arigato Inu-yasha…my sweet koibito…"

Inu-yasha helped them both to their feet and they walked together, holding hands.

"We’re almost there…" Inu-yasha said, his smile still did not vanish from his face. Sess said nothing, but he only squeezed the human’s hand a little tighter, to encourage him. Inu-yasha returned the gesture; barely noticing that Rin’s claws had been dug into his own back. It wasn’t long before the trio of them entered Naraku’s castle. Naraku stood there, in front of dozens of pigs that were lined up. Again, Naraku’s expression was unreadable.

Inu-yasha stopped about ten feet away from Naraku. His cinnamon eyes never left Naraku’s eyes, which were red now. The human placed the kitten on the ground.

"I brought back Rin, as I had promised. Now keep your end of the bargain…" Sesshoumaru said coolly, his eyes emotionless.

"Not so fast…" Naraku said slowly, his deep voice held some resentment and amusement.

"There was one condition, remember? Inu-yasha must guess which ones of these pigs are his actual parents. If he guesses right, he is free and so are his parents. If he guesses wrong, he is mine forever…" Naraku continued. Many youkai who were watching groaned and complained. They had all come to like the human. They had even cheered earlier when Inu-yasha had returned. Naraku waved his hand and the kitten turned into the seemingly human-looking girl Rin.

"Did they hurt you, sweetie?" Naraku asked.

"Nope! They were nice to me and we had fun!" The little girl grinned. "…but, if you don’t let Inu-yasha go, I won’t like you anymore, daddy!"

Before anyone else could speak, Inu-yasha stepped forward boldly. "No, I will do this task."

They all watched eagerly as the human passed by Naraku and stood near the pig pen, gazing at all the pigs. A few minutes passed and Inu-yasha blinked a few times. "…I don’t understand. None of these pigs are my parents…"

"Is that your final answer?" Naraku inquired, his voice calm and indifferent.

"Hai." Inu-yasha replied.

All of a sudden, all the pigs turned into demons. These demons cheered and smiled at Inu-yasha, and so did most others.

"Now go back from where you came from." Naraku said coolly. "Before I change my mind."

"Ja Ne everyone! Ja Ne Kouga!" Inu-yasha bade them farewell. "Ja Ne Rin…"

Rin hugged Inu-yasha. "I will miss you, nii-chan!" Rin said.

"And I will miss you, Rin."

After all the farewells, Sesshoumaru led Inu-yasha away. They crossed the very familiar bridge and came upon the lush green grass where Inu-yasha and his parents had first walked upon. Sesshoumaru stopped. Inu-yasha turned around regarded him with wide eyes, realizing now why Sesshoumaru had seemed so sad earlier.

"You’re not coming with me." Inu-yasha stated, instead of asked.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru replied. His once cold, indifferent eyes were now sad.

"Sesshoumaru…" Inu-yasha whispered. He wondered how could he have been so stupid to think that he’d always be with this angel…

"This is feudal Japan, Inu-yasha. It is a place filled with youkai. In your world, which is modern Japan…lies no youkai, but instead is only filled with humans. Your race. I cannot cross into your world with you, even though I long to follow you. You belong there…with your Otousan and Kassan. That place you and your parents crossed through…is one of the only remaining portals that can take some into this world. Do not come back, Inu-yasha. Never return to this Hell. Someone as beautiful as you does not belong in this ugly world…"

Inu-yasha stared at him with big, puppy-dog cinnamon eyes. Sesshoumaru wished he wouldn’t look at him like that.

"But I love you, Sess!" Inu-yasha whimpered, running into Sesshoumaru’s arms. Sesshoumaru stroked his obsidian hair with one hand and the other hand rubbed his back to comfort him.

"That is what we both shall always have…thanks to you. Love. I thank you for allowing me to love you." Sesshoumaru said quietly.

"Sesshoumaru…will…we ever meet again someday?" Inu-yasha asked, hope in his voice. His brown eyes gazed up, revealing his silver tears.

"I believe so." Sesshoumaru promised as he wiped Inu-yasha’s tears away.

"Aishiteru anata, Sesshoumaru…" Inu-yasha leaned up and stole one last lingering kiss from the youkai.

"Aishiteru anata, Inu-yasha…"

Inu-yasha clung to him, not willing to release the Bishounen’ demon.

"You must go now. Your parents await you inside that shrine. They will not remember any of this…"

"Will I remember?"

"Hai, I believe so. This is one memory you will keep forever…"

"I hope we meet again, soon. In this life or the next…"

"Hai, as do I. Now go. You must go and never look back. Don’t look back even once. Never look back. Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…"

Inu-yasha stared at Sesshoumaru for a few moments before he disentangled himself from his lover and with one last lingering gaze, he tore his cinnamon eyes away from Sesshoumaru and sprinted across the grassland, his tears streaming down his face like a waterfall.

Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…

Sesshoumaru stood there, watching him. He looked so strong and calm, but on the inside, he was trembling and overwhelmed with feelings.

Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…

Inu-yasha reached the door and turned his head slightly as if to look back, but he caught himself and smiled bitterly.

Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…

Sesshoumaru almost moved to stop Inu-yasha, but he stopped himself. He knew he had to let go of Inu-yasha.

Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…

Inu-yasha opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door firmly behind him. He instantly saw his parents standing there and ran to them, embracing them both. They stared at him as if he had grown fangs, claws, and dog-ears.

Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…

Sesshoumaru noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It was a small card. It read:

Sesshoumaru, amber carnations always remind me of your eyes. The moon always reminds me of your silver hair. The snow always reminds me of your porcelain skin. The Mountains always remind me of how strong and tall you are. The stars remind me of how mysterious and beautiful you are. All these things will forever remind me of you. You were my best friend here and you always will be, no matter what. Always remember that. Someday we'll meet again, my koi. Keep your head high and stand tall. Take care of yourself. Aishiteru anata, my koibito.

-Inu-yasha

As Sesshoumaru read this, a silver tear trickled down his cheek. He touched it with his fingertips. He shuddered, trying hard not to let anymore tears grace his face, but frankly, he didn’t care anymore. Inu-yasha had probably wrote this in the morning before they had left. So the human had guessed that they would have to part. Inu-yasha had hoped they did not have to part.

Don’t ever look back, Inu-yasha…

Sesshoumaru walked away silently as he allowed his tears to flow freely. Despite the sorrow, somewhere deep inside, he knew he would meet Inu-yasha again. But somehow, it had felt as if they would never have another chance to love each other again. Hope. Inu-yasha had given him Hope. All Sesshoumaru could do was live with Hope. Sesshoumaru had indeed done something forbidden and fatal. He had fallen in love with a human. And you know what? He did not regret it. He did not regret it at all. He did not regret falling in love with Inu-yasha.

~*~*~*~*~

Epilogue:

On the one fateful day that the human Inu-yasha passed away, a new Inu-yasha was born into Feudal Japan. A Hanyou Inu-yasha. This hanyou Inu-yasha was born the half brother of Sesshoumaru. The half demon Inu-yasha didn’t look exactly like the human did, but he reminded Sesshoumaru enough of the human. Because of the eerie similarity, plus the coincidental same name, Sesshoumaru distanced himself away from his brother. Many years had passed since he had last seen the human and during all those years, he had grown even colder, detached, indifferent, and distant. Sesshoumaru feared to love his own brother, so he pretended that he hated the hanyou. But even then and now, Sesshoumaru always carried the card with him that the human Inu-yasha had given him.

Naraku and Rin also died on the day that the human Inu-yasha died. Evidentially, Rin was incarnated as a human, and Naraku was incarnated into a human called Onigumo. Naraku still remembers the past and his hatred for the human Inu-yasha drives him to attempt to kill the hanyou Inu-yasha. Sesshoumaru eventually comes upon the dead Rin, but revives her with his healing sword called the Tensaiga. After Naraku had died, Kouga had returned to his youkai wolf tribe. Shippou died, but was reincarnated as himself again. Maraku and Jakotsu still live happily together, unknown by most of their existence. Kaede died a few years after Naraku, Shippou, and Rin had died and she eventually was reincarnated as a human.

The question about whether Sesshoumaru would ever come to love his brother Inu-yasha still seemed as if there was still some Hope left to it. After all, the human Inu-yasha had given Sesshoumaru the gift of Love and Hope. Will Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha both come to love each other someday, as they had promised many years before? Who knows, for that is another tale yet to tell.

~Owari~

Additional Note: Feedback or anything else is greatly appreciated! Also, if you think there should be a -sequel- to "Spirited Away By A Youkai", let me know, okay? Arigato!