InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Latent Destiny ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and its characters are created by Rumiko Takahashi, not me, but the new plots and the original characters (Akiyama, Moriko, Kajimaru, Eiko, Shoichi, Katsuo and Natsumi) are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

A/N: (Hugs all) Thanks so much for reviewing! I love reading the reviews you left for this story. And um… to those of you who had noticed that I'm writing a Naruto fanfiction, please do not worry that I'll abandon this one, okay? So, here's the next chapter - please enjoy!

A Latent Destiny by elle6778 - Chapter 7

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as Inuyasha's claws descended towards him.

His first instinct was to flee in the face of the threat. Then he realized that he was not allowed to do so. His pride would not allow him to do so. No, he would not show any fear. He would defend himself. And furthermore, he would gain experience by this battle.

Steeling himself, Sesshoumaru prepared to launch in the air to counter Inuyasha's attack.

But before he could move, a glowing rock flew past him. A thud sounded a second later, stopping Inuyasha mid-air and then sending the hanyou flying some distance away.

Inuyasha crashed loudly, throwing up chunks of earth as his body carved a crater in the ground. Rubble from the explosion caved in around him. Sesshoumaru could not help but wince at the sight of the hanyou's buried head. The position was highly debilitating. It was hardly surprising that Inuyasha was in such a foul disposition if he was regularly being humiliated in this manner. Perhaps Kagome was not aware of its effect.

“Wwmmuhh! Ughh!” came the sound from within the rubble, while the owner struggled to free himself.

Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulders to find Kagome wearing a grim expression, her eyes flashing with anger. “Perhaps you should refrain from subduing Inuyasha,” he suggested quietly.

She responded in a tight voice, “He deserves it, Sesshoumaru.”

Sesshoumaru shook his head. “It is humiliating. Also, it is dishonorable for me to depend on your protection. It is only right that I accept his challenge.”

Kagome gaped at him disbelievingly. “You can't be serious! You're going to allow that bully to beat you up?”

Bully? Frowning at the girl's strange speech, he chose to ignore the word and went on, “I will uphold my honor. Please understand.”

“I can't let him beat you up, Sesshoumaru.”

Sesshoumaru straightened, his expression turning implacable. He had to stress to her the importance of allowing this battle to commence. It was to be expected that Inuyasha wished to test him to measure their relative strength. After all, they were siblings. However, if Kagome insisted on subduing Inuyasha, the test would not happen.

He had to explain this to her. “In matters such as this, there could be no compromise. I will shame my line if I do not prove myself.”

She fell silent, but he could see the indecision in her eyes. Sensing that she required another small push, he added, “I am a full-blooded youkai. Any injuries will heal fast.”

She sighed heavily. “I'm sorry, but I can't let it happen.”

His frowned in annoyance at her persistence. She did not know him, nor his culture, which explained why she insisted on interfering. But he could not allow it. “It is none of your concern. Give me your word that you will not interfere.”

Her lips parted in surprise as she gaped at him. Then, after a while, a thoughtful expression crossed her face. Slowly, she asked, “Can you really handle him? Honestly?”

Slightly affronted by her insinuation, Sesshoumaru declared, “I'm the heir to the Western Lands and I'm trained as such.”

She stared at him for a long moment before she finally nodded hesitantly. Before she could say anything else, the sound of clattering rubble drew Sesshoumaru's attention to Inuyasha. His brother was now standing upright, glaring at him with ill-intent. It was time to resume their battle fairly.

With that thought, Sesshoumaru streaked towards the hanyou, catching Inuyasha's look of surprise just moments before his claws sank through the red fire-rat robe. In response, Inuyasha jumped back while Sesshoumaru landed not far away. A quick glance down at his small claws told him that he drew blood, but it was clear that the wound was not deep. He had only succeeded in scratching the hanyou. The battle was far from over.

“Why… You stupid brat!” Inuyasha shouted. “I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget!”

“You will fight fairly,” Sesshoumaru said calmly, although he did not feel calm at all. The odd mix of excitement and trepidation was sending his blood coursing wildly through his veins.

“Keh! There's no such thing as a fair fight!” the hanyou spat, darting towards him.

Sesshoumaru took to the air to avoid the attack, but Inuyasha immediately followed. A large hand clamped around his ankles, and to his alarm, Sesshoumaru felt himself being pulled back down. He hit the ground, stumbling slightly before he righted himself only to see Inuyasha looming above him with outstretched hands, displaying his claws.

Then to his surprise, Inuyasha caught him in a chokehold. Sesshoumaru immediately brought his hands up. His claws sank into the hanyou's forearm, its sizzling poison forcing a yelp of pain from the hanyou. Still, Inuyasha's hold did not loosen. But what astounded Sesshoumaru further was the manner in which Inuyasha chose to retaliate.

With his fist, Inuyasha thumped the top of his head.

Hard.

Then the hanyou released him.

Sesshoumaru's eyes grew wide in shock as he staggered back. The top of his head throbbed, but he was too stunned to pay any attention to it, even though it was likely that a large bruise would form. He had expected Inuyasha to attack seriously. Instead, the hanyou had chosen a more insulting action by knuckling his head. Even now, Inuyasha was smirking down at him mockingly.

“How dare you belittle me!” Sesshoumaru hissed furiously.

The hanyou's brow rose. “I'm not low enough to beat up a helpless pup, even if it's you,” he scoffed carelessly.

Sesshoumaru's youki crackled erratically around him, and he fought to restrain it. He could not remember experiencing this much anger in his life, ever. Still, he must not let anyone see it. His mother had often told him that he must not display his emotions. That those emotions could be used against him. His hands clenched into tight fists, he tried with all his might to keep his body from trembling in his fury.

A gentle voice broke the silence. “Sesshoumaru?”

His attention shifted from Inuyasha to Kagome. She was wearing a look of concern, but he could also detect a sense of relief from her. The sight of the human wench was oddly calming.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I am unharmed.” Casting his eyes onto Inuyasha, he continued, “That was not a fight.”

“Keh! You seriously want to be beaten up?” Inuyasha retorted, the infuriating smirk still on his lips.

“I wish for a fair fight,” he declared firmly.

Then Sesshoumaru's eyes rounded incredulously when he felt Inuyasha's fist landing on his head firmly again. Laughing out loud, the hanyou said, “Yeah, when you're a little bigger, maybe.”

The urge to snarl was so intense that Sesshoumaru almost choked. How dare he? He would not allow this insult to go unpunished.

“Do not patronize me!”

With that, Sesshoumaru launched himself at the hanyou.

…***…***…***…

The sun shone brightly, bathing every plant, rock, human and youkai in its warmth. There was no breeze in the air, giving an impression of stillness in the atmosphere. The only sound which broke the silence was the cheerful chirps of the birds around a quiet group of travelers.

Glowering murderously at the self-satisfied hanyou's back, Kagome trudged along the dirt path with a silent Sesshoumaru beside her.

She knew that Inuyasha had something against Sesshoumaru from all the times the adult Sesshoumaru had beaten him up but could he not see that this Sesshoumaru was a child? Inuyasha could have held back, just a little bit. But no, of course he would not. The idiot really had to rip into Sesshoumaru at full strength, even though it was to knuckle the poor kid's head over and over again. It had only been her words to Sesshoumaru which prevented her from subduing Inuyasha.

She supposed that she should be thankful that Inuyasha had only given Sesshoumaru what he had often bestowed Shippou in the past. But it was obvious that Sesshoumaru did not share her sentiment. The stunned disbelief and the fury which had flashed in his golden eyes clearly showed just how insulted Sesshoumaru had felt at Inuyasha's treatment.

Glancing down at the distended lumps on Sesshoumaru's head, she wondered how he even managed to walk. But he was doing so with no apparent problem, head held high and stepping steadily along without a single complaint. The entire sight made her mad. She glared again at Inuyasha, almost hoping that he would combust with the strength of her glare, even though an inner voice kept telling her that Inuyasha had not really been serious during the fight.

“Don't.”

Startled at the expectedness of Sesshoumaru's voice, she looked down. “Huh?”

Sesshoumaru shook his head. “Do not blame him. I'm not injured.”

Kagome's eyes widened incredulously. “Look at your head. What do you mean you're not injured?”

Sesshoumaru shrugged slightly. “I've gained knowledge. These damages are small compared to the knowledge I've acquired.”

She could not believe she what she was hearing. Sesshoumaru seemed to have taken the unfair knuckling as a lesson. He had fought with determination, but it was obvious he was at a disadvantage in terms of experience and strength compared to Inuyasha, who had spent most of the battle alternating between defending himself from the little claws and finding openings to bop the top of Sesshoumaru's silver head.

Frowning, she said, “Getting beaten up is not a lesson, Sesshoumaru.”

“It allows me to increase my strength and tolerance, as well as study my opponent's abilities.”

Exhaling loudly, she shook her head, completely at a loss of how to respond to Sesshoumaru's words.

However, this entire debacle had given her an insight on how Sesshoumaru had ended up the way he did. If he was like this as a child, he must have gotten into quite a lot of fights in the quest to improve his skills. Vaguely, she wondered if all those time the adult Sesshoumaru had beaten up Inuyasha, it was simply because he wanted Inuyasha to improve.

She shook the idea from her head. That was just stupid. From what she could remember, Sesshoumaru had almost killed Inuyasha many times before in the past. That could not possibly be training. It was only later that the taiyoukai developed some sense of compassion.

“Oi, wench!”

She looked up from Sesshoumaru to find that Inuyasha had stopped a short distance away, his arms crossed over his chest. He was eyeing the sword on her hip. Earlier that day, he had tried to get it back from her. Still angry at his treatment of Sesshoumaru, she had refused to give him Tetsusaiga, even though she knew that she had to give it back soon if she did not want to mess up the entire timeline even more. And once she gave it to him, it was important to remember to let Inuyasha fight the battles without interfering. If she helped him, he would not improve as fast as he had done before.

Idly, she wondered if she should just go back through the well and reset the past. But what was to guarantee that nothing else would go wrong the next time she tried? What if something more serious went wrong? At least now she had gone as far as to get the Tetsusaiga, and the centipede demon and Yura had been taken care of. Plus, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were by her side, albeit a much younger version of Sesshoumaru. All she needed to do was to teach him some compassion, and then maybe his grandmother's spell would wear off. And since this Sesshoumaru seemed to be a lot more accepting than the adult one, it should not be too hard, right?

“Give me back my sword,” Inuyasha demanded, interrupting her thoughts.

She glanced down at Tetsusaiga uncertainly. If she gave Inuyasha the sword, did it mean that he would leave? Tetsusaiga was the only reason he was still there after all. Unlike before, she did not have the subjugation beads to keep him in line. But if he wanted Tetsusaiga…

“I'll make a deal with you,” she finally said.

Inuyasha's eyes rounded as he uncrossed his arms, letting them fall to his side. “What?! That Tetsusaiga is MINE! You heard what the Baba said!”

She felt a twinge of guilt, but she quickly pushed it down. “Well, the rules have changed a little. If I give you Tetsusaiga, you must promise to stay with us, to travel with us.”

“WHAT! Hell no!”

She tapped Tetsusaiga's hilt pointedly. “Well, I guess I'll be giving this to Sesshoumaru, then,” she said casually.

“He can't touch it, remember?” Inuyasha pointed out smugly.

“I cannot touch the sword?” Sesshoumaru echoed curiously.

Kagome glanced down to find Sesshoumaru eyeing Tetsusaiga speculatively. Knowing that she had to tell a little white lie to hold Inuyasha in check, she said, “You can hold Tetsusaiga.”

Inuyasha snorted. “Keh! That's a lie!”

“I swear I've have SEEN him holding it! And he can use it.” She did not add that Sesshoumaru's hand had been burnt badly after that.

Eyes narrowing, Inuyasha asked, “When?”

Telling the truth about all this time traveling business was out of the question, not to mention it would take a good part of the day or two to explain everything fully. So she decided to sidestep the question. “I mean it, Inuyasha. I'll give it to Sesshoumaru if you don't agree to my terms. You know how much he wants Tetsusaiga, right? Do you want to take the risk?”

“I do not want the sword,” Sesshoumaru declared, looking confused.

She gave him a slightly pained smile, the irony of the situation not escaping her. “It's a powerful sword, Sesshoumaru. Any youkai would be proud to wield it.”

Sesshoumaru looked unconvinced.

Inuyasha's golden eyes flickered as he stared at her suspiciously. “How long do you want me to stay with you?”

Forever, she wanted to say, her heart twisting as she recalled the demise of the other Inuyasha she had known. But this Inuyasha would no doubt freak out of she said anything of that sort. She needed to settle on something more finite.

“I want us to stay together until Naraku is destroyed.”

“Huh? Who is this Naraku?”

She would have explain some time, but was this was hardly the right time especially considering that Kikyo was involved? Finally deciding not to tell Inuyasha just yet, Kagome said, “Believe me, Inuyasha. He's someone you'd want to kill.”

His brows furrowed. “You're not making any sense, wench.”

“Inuyasha have to lead me to the Western Lands,” Sesshoumaru interjected, drawing their attention.

Her eyes widened in recollection. Oh, yes, there was that as well. It might be a bit problematic. What could she say to Sesshoumaru? That what he would not see what he expected to see when he got home?

Inuyasha snorted. “The Western Lands? That's-”

Kagome quickly interjected. “Oh, that's right. Um… It's probably best that we find Naraku first, right?” She shot a pointed look at the hanyou and then hardened her voice. “Right, Inuyasha?”

“Keh!”

Sesshoumaru frowned. “Why should we find him first?”

“He's dangerous, and he must be stopped before he could do more damage,” she explained rather vaguely.

“The demise of this Naraku does not interest me. I wish to return home,” the miniature youkai declared imperiously.

Kagome sighed inwardly. What could she say to get him to stay? Knowing Sesshoumaru, it had to be something that would benefit him. She hated to manipulate a child like this, but she could not very well let him wander off alone. And she knew for sure that Sesshoumaru would do exactly that if he felt that there was no reason for him to stay with them.

Then it hit her.

“You know, Sesshoumaru. We'll probably encounter many other enemies along the way. It's a good way for you to… um… train, to gain more battle experience, right? Besides, we could use a helping hand and it won't take long.” Way to lie, Kagome, she scolded herself. The last time she had done this, it took what? Two, three years?

Inuyasha sputtered, “What?!”

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly, and then the light in his eyes turned assessing. Lips pouting slightly, he appeared to be thinking it over. She could almost see the wheels in his head turning, a sight which was strangely adorable. And adorable was not a word she had ever expected to associate with Sesshoumaru.

After a long while, Sesshoumaru nodded. “Only until this Naraku is defeated.”

A breath of relief escaped Kagome. One down, another to go. Turning to Inuyasha, she raised a brow. “So, what do you say?”

Inuyasha gave her a contemplative look which reminded her eerily of Sesshoumaru. They were more like that she had thought. Then with a huff, the hanyou crossed his arms over his chest again.

“Fine,” he finally muttered gruffly.

Kagome beamed in satisfaction.

…***…***…***…

Sesshoumaru could not comprehend the reason behind their presence inside this castle-like compound.

Yes, the human called Nobunaga with his white monkey was concerned about some hime. Yes, it could very well be true that the hime was tricked. But what had that got to do with the three of them? Why were they now standing in some dark hallway facing a sickly green toad clothed like nobility? The youki Sesshoumaru had sensed from him confirmed that the nobleman was indeed possessed by a youkai.

Still, Sesshoumaru suspected they would not be leaving until they rescued the human hime. He glanced impassively at the sniveling Nobunaga. The human was cradling the pale hime in his arms and it did not appear as if he was about to let go anytime soon. It was rather…pathetic.

“Get him, Inuyasha!” Kagome yelled as she gestured towards the sneering toad.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the hand clutching his in a death grip. Kagome was surprisingly strong. She had warned him not to interfere and to let Inuyasha handle the toad. Not that he would. Chichi-ue had taught him to choose his fights wisely. And at the moment, Sesshoumaru knew that it would be foolish to do anything but watch and learn. Unlike the battle with Inuyasha, this toad was not seeking to test anyone, but to kill.

He watched as Inuyasha charged at the toad youkai, unsheathing the Tetsusaiga. Then the hanyou stopped abruptly, staring down at the blade.

“Did you break this stupid sword?” Inuyasha yelled, shaking the rusty-looking sword in the air. “It's supposed to be powerful or something, right? That's why Sesshoumaru is after it!”

“Inuyasha!”

“I do not want the sword,” Sesshoumaru immediately declared. He still did not understand why they continued to insist that he wished for the sword, or the strangeness of their speech when they referred to him on occasion, as if they knew him before. Brushing it aside as an odd quirk caused by their human blood, Sesshoumaru proceeded to inform Inuyasha, “Tetsusaiga is not broken. You're simply not channeling your strength correctly.”

Inuyasha cast him an incredulous look. “What the hell does that mean?”

Before he could reply, the toad youkai opened his mouth and let out a gust of toxic fume. The purple fumes spread out, filling the hallway. Sesshoumaru looked around in surprise as everyone began to cough. He, of course, was immune to the poison. However, he noticed that beside him, Kagome was not doing so well. It would be troublesome for the rest of them if she was poisoned. Dragging her down to her knees, he called forth his barrier. The golden sphere was small, but it was sufficient to cover both of them.

Her coughs abating, she eyed him with surprise. “You can form a barrier,” she exclaimed.

Unsure what to make of her reaction, he simply nodded. It was one of the things that he had learnt from his father. Defense was a necessity, considering that he had not mastered his offensive skills yet, as was proven by his battle with Inuyasha a few days ago.

Spinning towards the toad, Inuyasha's eyes flashed angrily. “Your opponent is me, not them!” he snarled furiously. “Leave them alone!”

At his heated words, the sword in Inuyasha's hand suddenly pulsed. Then Sesshoumaru's sharp eyes noted the flow of energy running from Inuyasha into Tetsusaiga, transforming the rusty blade into a large fang. The familiar pulsating youki surrounding it confirmed its origin. So, their Chichi-ue had bestowed a fang to each of them. Glancing over his shoulders at the Tenseiga strapped to his back, Sesshoumaru wondered what it was capable of. It was odd that he did not recall receiving this in the past, but then again, he could not remember how he had ended up in an unfamiliar place either.

“Take this, you ugly toad!” Inuyasha shouted as he shot forward.

Another stream of poison filled the air, momentarily obscuring the visibility, causing Tetsusaiga to meet thin air. The toad youkai released a menacing laugh and grabbed the hime from Nobunaga. In a split second, the toad youkai barreled through the wall away from them with a loud crash. The smoke began to dissipate out of the hole in the wall.

Kagome gasped as Inuyasha struggled to his feet. Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed. Inuyasha should be immune as well. Unless his human blood had rejected the protection.

“Lousy stinking toad! No way is he getting away!” Inuyasha snarled viciously. With a quick glance at them, he declared, “I'm going ahead.”

Inuyasha disappeared out of the hole in the wall. Deeming it safe, Sesshoumaru lowered his barrier. Kagome instantly jumped up and pulled him along, following Inuyasha's trail. They ran for a while before they reached another wooden structure with a hole in its wall. Without pause, Kagome climbed through, tugging him along with her.

They were greeted by the sight of Inuyasha fighting the toad-like nobleman. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he watched Inuyasha deliver blow after blow at the toad. Although he was a hanyou, his brother did not appear to be lacking in battle skills. Just discipline. Inuyasha's blows were erratic at best, following no set technique. Chichi-ue would be appalled if he saw this.

Still, the toad was losing, Sesshoumaru noted with interest. He must be a weak youkai then and a weakling like that should not be too difficult for an adult like Inuyasha to defeat.

Then he noticed the surrounding for the first time. He grimaced when his eyes landed on what appeared to be slime-covered eggs which contained young women within each of them. How distasteful.

“NO!” the hime protested from the side. “My Lord is still alive. Don't kill him!”

“What did I do the last time? What did I do?” Kagome muttered.

Sesshoumaru glanced up at her, wondering what she meant by `last time'. She had encountered this demon previously?

“Perhaps if the youkai is expelled from the human body, her lord would live?” Sesshoumaru suggested.

She instantly brightened. “Exactly! I used my can of spray last time.” Then she groaned dejectedly, clapping her hand her forehead. “But I don't have it with me now.”

Spray can? Whatever it was that she was referring to, it was clear that she did not possess it, and thus, unable to expel the youkai from the human. Sesshoumaru glanced at the still-fighting Inuyasha. Being a hanyou, Inuyasha might not be able to summon up enough youki to do so either. Then he glanced down at his own hands, wondering if it would benefit him to join this battle. His offensive training was incomplete but perhaps he should practice. Besides, the sooner this battle concluded, the sooner they could leave.

Mind made up, he stepped forward.

“Sesshoumaru, stop!”

Ignoring Kagome, he simply concentrated on the possessed human fighting with Inuyasha. The hanyou paused to glance at him sharply.

“Oi, brat! Get away from here!” Inuyasha warned loudly.

Sesshoumaru frowned, deeming it unnecessary to reply. The hanyou had no concept of proper speech and would no doubt come forth with some crass retort. Turning to the youkai, Sesshoumaru concentrated his youki, bringing it forth to his hands. A golden flow of youki radiated from his finger, forming a long thin whip. Knowing that he would not be able to maintain it for long, Sesshoumaru streaked towards the toad youkai.

“Inuyasha, step aside,” he instructed.

Inuyasha's eyes went wide, but to Sesshoumaru's surprise, he obeyed. The toad youkai switched his attention, and Sesshoumaru found himself staring into a pair of gleaming eyes. A webbed hand descended towards him, and Sesshoumaru sidestepped it easily. His opponent was too slow, he decided.

Unperturbed, the youkai advanced again, hissing a stream of poison directly at him.

“Sesshoumaru! Get back!” He heard Kagome shout, followed by Inuyasha's, “Keh! Just watch!”

Ignoring them, Sesshoumaru focused on the battle. Realizing that the poison would obscure his vision, even though it would not poison him, Sesshoumaru decided that he had to act fast. He began to spin swiftly on his toes, knowing that his body and his youki whip would displace the air, and thus, the poison.

Soon, the air was clear again. At that instant, Sesshoumaru darted forward and brought his glowing whip down with a command to expel, and not kill.

A howl of pain erupted from the youkai as the whip made contact.

Then a heavy burst of youki exploded outwards as the youkai was expelled from the human body. Due to his close proximity, the force propelled Sesshoumaru outwards. His eyes widened in alarm as he felt air rushing past him as he shot out of the building, Kagome's and Inuyasha's anxious calls growing more indistinct in his ears.

Just as he was about to crash into the grounds outside the castle, Sesshoumaru managed to summon a small cloud of youki to cushion his fall.

Then he found himself on his back, staring up at the clouds, his heart beating wildly in his chest at the realization of what had just occurred. While it was true that on occasion, he had observed his Chichi-ue's battles, he had not been personally involved in real battles in the past. All his fights had occurred in the relative safety of the training halls. He was pleased that this time, he had chosen to join in instead of just observing. This was his first true battle as a youkai, and it was… exhilarating.

Still feeling rather pleased with the experience, Sesshoumaru stood up and dismissed his cloud. A quick glance around confirmed that he was indeed just outside the castle grounds. He had not been certain of his decision to travel with Kagome and Inuyasha, and now he knew that he had made the correct choice. This would certainly aid in the improvement of his skills.

Just as he was about to walk back into the castle compound to join his traveling companions, Sesshoumaru suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence. Tensing immediately, he spun around to face the newcomer.

Standing some distance away was a blue-haired youkai, and from what Sesshoumaru could tell, this was not an ordinary youkai. From the water-drop on his forehead, and the signature of his youki, it appeared that he was a water elemental.

“What do we have here?” the elemental mused thoughtfully as he stepped closer.

Curious, but not wishing to speak to the stranger, Sesshoumaru simply regarded the youkai silently. The slender form and the non-threatening manner were deceptive, as Sesshoumaru knew that elementals were generally strong. It would be interesting to ascertain his strength in a battle. Perhaps he would do so once he reached adulthood, for it would be impossible for him to defeat such a skillful opponent at this moment.

“Hmm… how curious. You're not a young youkai, are you?” the elemental asked contemplatively.

This time, Sesshoumaru frowned. “What do you speak of?”

“You are be-spelled,” the youkai noted, his voice tinged with interest.

Be-spelled? Was that why he could not remember what had brought him away from the Western Lands? Still, what the elemental said about him being not a young youkai did not make sense. Perhaps Inuyasha or Kagome would know.

“Sesshoumaru! Where are you?!”

“He's close by, wench! I can smell him. Oi, Sesshoumaru, get back here!”

Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulders in the direction of Inuyasha's voice. When he turned back round, the elemental was giving him an astonished look. Why was he so surprised? Did the elemental recognize his name? Why was the elemental there in any case?

“Sesshoumaru, hmm?” A small smile flitted across the elemental's lips. “Perhaps we will meet again in the future.” There was a hint of challenge in his tone.

Meeting the elemental's blue eyes unflinchingly, Sesshoumaru inclined his head.

“Hn.”

…***…***…***…

A/N: There! No cliffhanger this time (grins). Hope this chapter entertained you, and if you can, please review. Thanks!

:elle6778: