The sun peaked over the edge of great field and showed a large, beautiful palace that rested against a mountain. As the mountains turned purple in the sun light, the palace stood out with a calming marble look. Before the palace laid a peaceful garden where two inu pups played.

One inu pup had long silver hair, while the other had long black hair. The silver haired, male inu had golden eyes and a blue moon on his forehead. On his cheeks were two maroon stripes that disappeared into his hair line by his ear. The black haired, female inu had dark blue eyes and a silver star on her forehead. On her cheeks was one silver stripe that faded at the pointed ear. They each looked to be around the age of 11 or 12.

"You can't pin me!" The black inu pup ran from the silver haired, "Come on, Sessho, you're becoming no fun."

The silver inu's eyes narrowed and he picked up speed and tackled the black haired inu. In mid-air, the female twisted and landed on her back. He smirked down at her, but it faded when she grinned widely and flipped them over and the silver pup let out the air in his lungs as he landed on his back.

He growled, but it ended sharply as she smiled softly, "Oh, Sesshomaru-kun, you'll be able to do it some day." With that she licked the tip of his nose and climbed off of him.

He sat up on his elbows and watched as she walked away. He rolled his eyes and stood up to follow. He sniffed and his nose scrunched up as he looked down at his now dirty cloths; he needed to bathe and change before being in front of his parents.

Entering the palace, he walked the halls and looked up at the paintings as he passed them. Each one of the youkai in the paintings were his ancestors; great and powerful leaders. He would be one when he was older and this excited him. On the other side of the hall, opposite of the males, were the mates of the leaders. He scrunched up his nose at this; he didn't think he needed a female by his side to rule a kingdom.

Reaching a door, he opened it and walked in. In the room was a closet and a large hot spring. He stripped and got into the water to clean himself from the earlier activities. Thinking back, he grimaced; he really needed to work on his pouncing abilities. If he was ever going to rule the kingdom one day, he had to prove to be a powerful warrior and leader to do so.

He then smirked as he thought about his best friend. She was, as his parents said, his betrothed. What ever that meant. They had been around each other since he could remember. She was the daughter of his father's advisor who was a powerful black inu. They were born only weeks apart and were raised in the same nursery.

A knock sounded on the door, "Prince Sesshomaru, your father wishes for you to hurry and go to the thrown room."

Finishing and dressing in a new outfit, he exited the springs room and headed back down the hall. He came upon double doors with two large inus growling at each other on each door. A guard opened the door and Sesshomaru walked through and looked around.

Sitting in a large thrown was his father, whom Sesshomaru looked very much like. His father had long silver hair, but it was held up in a tie. His eyes were a fierce gold and he held the same blue moon as Sesshomaru did. On his cheeks was a blue stripe that ended at his ears. Next to his father, sitting in a smaller thrown was his mother. She also had long silver hair that was held up in a tie, but it was higher than his father's. She had dark golden eyes and upon her forehead was the blue moon. On her cheeks was the same stripes that Sesshomaru had.

Kneeling by his father on a plush pillow, was Kagome's father. He had long black hair that was loose from and ties. His eyes were a deep purple-blue color and on his forehead was the same silver star. His cheeks held three silver stripes and disappeared into his hairline.

Sitting in a chair that next to Kagome's father, he looked to the side of the room where he spotted Kagome reading a book. This irritated him; he wanted her to notice his presence in the room. Her eyes scanned the page and she smiled a little at something and then continued to read. Huffing, Sesshomaru sat back in his thrown and placed his head on his fist that rested on the arm of the chair.

The doors in the back of the room opened a few people filed in followed by guards. Sesshomaru scanned these newcomers and his brows furrowed slightly. A slight tap gained his attention as he noticed Kagome shut her book and was looking intently at the youkai that filed in. May the long session of lord counseling begin.

After the last complainer left, Sesshomaru stood and walked over to Kagome, "Wanna go outside?"

"Sure." Kagome put her book on the bench and walked behind Sesshomaru to go outside. As the began to leave, Kagome tugged on Sesshomaru's sleeve, "Aw, Sessho, are you still burnt that I took you down again this morning?" She watched as he glared at her, "Don't worry, Sessho, I'll help you get better."

"I don't need your help, Kagome." He then tackled her and smirked down at her, "I got you."

She pouted, "You cheated." She growled slightly and rolled them over to a point where she had him pinned completely, "But I still win."

His brows furrowed, "Where did you learn to do this?"

She giggled and got off of him, only to sit next to him with her knees pulled up, "I had to find a way to defend myself with my brothers."

He raised his brows and then he looked to the ground; he forgot she had older brothers. They simply were scouting the lands right now. They'd be back in a few days.

He sat up and she giggled at him, "You look cute with your hair all messed up like that, Sessho." She tugged on a strand that stood out from his hair.

He shook his mane and huffed, "I'm not cute and stop calling me Sessho. Its Sesshomaru."

She looked over at him and sighed, "Fine." She looked away and looked up at the stars that filled the sky, "I think... coming outside was a bad idea." She saw him give her a confused look, "I'm... tired. Goodnight."

She stood and brushed herself off and left. He watched her leave and his brows furred in wonder as to why her aura felt saddened. Usually he could read her, but as of late, he couldn't.

He walked back into the palace himself and headed for the library. Once inside he saw his uncle sitting in a chair. His uncle was sort of an outcast type for he liked to be on his own, but he stuck around the palace. His uncle had long silver hair, like the rest of his clan, but it wasn't as long as his or his father's. His golden eyes were dark and he held no symbol on his forehead, but had a red stripe on each cheek.

"Ah, Sesshomaru." He looked up, "How have you faired today?"

"Fine." Sesshomaru kept his answer short, "What are you reading today, Uncle?"

"About our lands." He looked down at the book, "There is this dangerous part of our lands called the outlands." He then stopped and got a concern look on his face, "Never mind, young one. You shouldn't be hearing about such. Only the bravest go there."

Huffing, Sesshomaru sat before his uncle, "I am brave."

"Of course you are, my boy." His uncle chuckled, "Its south of here, and not too far." He looked over to see Sesshomaru's face and could see he was interested, "Now, don't get yourself into trouble. Your father wouldn't approve."

Sesshomaru's mind was now wandering to this awesome sounding place. Maybe... if he could go there and prove himself strong, he would be a good leader, "Of course, Uncle."

"Good boy." With that, his uncle stood and left the room.

Sesshomaru looked outside and sighed to himself, "I need to go there."

~Next day~

The red behind his eye lids woke Sesshomaru the next morning as the sun rose. He covered his eyes and sat up to slowly open his eyes. He looked around the room and then decided it was time to wake.

After bathing and dressing, he went down to the dining hall to join his family. Entering the room, he saw his father, mother, Kagome's father, his uncle and his cousin who was his uncles son. Sitting in his seat, he noticed Kagome wasn't in the room. Before he spoke, the doors open and Kagome walked in wearing a fighting GI.

Curious as to why she was, he looked to his father and his father sighed, "She begins training today, Sesshomaru."

'Training?' he looked back at Kagome and noticed she didn't look as spunky as she usually did. Deciding to let it go for now, he waiting till his father took a bite, then ate his meal.

After finishing, Sesshomaru did his morning sparing with his father and then went outside to meet Kagome. Only when he got there, Kagome was no where to be seen. Sitting beside a tree, he looked over the field and spotted an area that was very brown and barren. 'That must be the outlands.' He looked at the sun and then the distance between himself and the area. Deciding it wasn't that far, he stood and started running towards it. He was going to be a brave leader.

Finally making it to where the grass started to die, he slowed down and looked around himself; there was nothing here. There was dead trees and rocks that stood, but nothing much else. Walking further into the land he noticed skeletons of youkai scattered across the ground and had to wonder what killed them.

Continuing to snoop around he heard a branch break off to the side and dropped into a crouch to face the direction. It was then he saw a large bear skull that had to have been a in its true form.

From one of the eyes crawled three large wolf youkai, "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Another laughed, almost insanely sounding, "Lunch." After such a statement, they each laughed.

Sesshomaru's eyes darted behind them to see hundreds of glowing eyes shown in the darkness of the skull; this worried him. Three youkai he could take, but not much more and by the look of it, there were a ton more.

The wolf looking youkai came closer and each began to circle him. He stood still counting each step they took and created a pattern with it so he knew when they went to attack. Right as he was about to lose his patience and pounce himself, he heard a large roaring growl above him and looked up right as his father landed behind him.

His sword was drawn and his eyes red, "Sesshomaru. Get back to the palace."

"I cannot leave you father. There are too many for you." Sesshomaru almost pleaded, "I want to help."

"I believe you have helped enough today." With that, a youkai pounced on his father and the fight was on.

Blood was drawn and swords clashed and in a flash, Sesshomaru lost sight of his father. He heard another roar and saw his uncle, but it was odd, the wolves moved out of the way of his uncle and he made his way towards something. Sesshomaru looked over and saw his father on the ground, bleeding badly. The other youkai were now scattering around and leaving the area.

Running over and skidding to a stop, he lowered himself to his father, "Father." He was alarmed. His father was the strongest man he knew and he was brought down by lower leveled youkai. His breathing was shallow and this was the way his uncle saw them.

His uncle knelt next to them and shook his head, "What did you do, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru ask this question several times in his mind, 'What did I do?'. He looked up to his uncle and saw him draw a dagger, "What are you doing?"

"Your father is suffering and will die painfully if I do not put him out of his misery." With that, he stabbed the knife into his father's chest and immediately, his father's breathing stopped.

Closing his eyes, Sesshomaru's breath became labored slightly, "What am I going to do?"

"I don't know, boy. If it wasn't for you, your father would be alive, wouldn't he?" His uncle stood and brushed off his clothing, "What will your poor mother think?"

His mind began to turn and he looked up at his uncle, "What do you think I should do?"

"Run." His uncles eyes locked with his, "Run away and never return."

Without even thinking this over, Sesshomaru was on his feet and running as fast as his feet would carry him. He ran out of his home land and into the eastern territories until he reached a point where his muscles gave out. He fell onto his hands and knees, then his joints gave out and he passed out on the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cold water was the first thing he felt this morning as it was splashed in his face, "Hey, there..."

Opening his eyes slowly to adjust to the light, he saw a man and woman standing over him. It was quite obvious that they were human, but why were they not trying to kill him? No matter how young he was, he was still youkai.

He sat up and observed them closer. The woman, clearly a youkai slayer, stood tall for a woman and looked to be in her late teens. She had long chestnut hair up in a high ponytail with a tie. She wore a slayer outfit that was form fitting and carried a huge boomerang. The man was also very clearly a monk. He was taller than the slayer and looked to be in his early adulthood. He had rings in his ears and his hair was short, but long enough to put in a short rat tail in the back. He wore purple monks robes and carried staff.

He attempted to stand, but his legs were stiff and sore from his long run. His eyes shot to the ground and remembered that he was in a dry area when he passed out, but it was grassy and luscious here. He gave a questioning gaze to the humans who carried him all the way here.

The girl smiled and held out her hand that had some dried meat in it, "You were surrounded by youkai and they almost got you, but we stumbled upon you and helped you out."

His eyes went back to the ground slowly, "You shouldn't have."

"But we did." The monk gave him a cup of tea, "A child like you seems to have suffered and we though we could help."

"But I'm youkai." He was confused.

"And we are humans. Race matters little to us." The monk continued, "Sure, we have been raised to battle each other, but I believe there is more to see about each other."

Sesshomaru could only nod as he chewed the meat and took a sip of tea; it felt like a rock in his stomach for he was use to plain raw meat, but it was much better than nothing. He bowed his head in thanks and stood on shaky legs, "I thank you for your hospitality."

"Where are you from?" The slayer asked, curious.

"It doesn't matter." Sesshomaru up and over at her, "The past is the past."

"Hmm." She hummed and then smiled, "Well, why don't you travel with us?"

"Yes." the monk agreed, "We go many places and you could train with us."

He had to think about this; he didn't really deserve to live for what he did to his father, but what other choice did he have. He nodded to the monk and slayer and held out his hand, "Agreed."

"Good." The slayer continued to smile, "We will rest here until you have regained your strength and we will leave then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~100 years later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sesshomaru sat on top of a rock on a hill that looked over a large amount of land. With the time that had passed, he had grown into his full height and now stood above most men. His long silver hair now reached his calves and he now had a silver tail that wrapped around his shoulder. His eyes held no emotion and his body was like it was from stone. He wore bone armor around his chest and upper arms and at his side he held a large sword. His kimono was pure white with red hexagonal shapes with flowers on the inside. His sash was yellow-gold and blue.

His eyes scanned the lands and then his ears perked when someone spoke behind him, "Sesshomaru. We should go."

After the monk and slayer passed on, he went on his own and found his own little sanctuary. When he traveled beyond the sanctuary, he found a fox kit named Shippo that had been orphaned and took him in. The kit stood to his shoulders and because of his species, he wouldn't grow much taller. He had long fire orange hair that reached his mid back. He had emerald green eyes, but were filled with emotion. He was wearing a forest green colored haori and black hakamas and his tail barely touched the ground.

"Hai, we should." He stood and turned. He began to walk away and the kit followed. They entered their sanctuary and when they got to the heart of it, they came upon a large pond.

Shippo bounded by him and to the water to get a drink. The kit knelt by the water and Sesshomaru turned around and decided to hunt for their meal. Right as he walked away, he heard shuffling and turned to see the kit sniffing the air. Curious, he waited for the kit to either look for something or continue to drink.

That's when a black blur went from across the pond, to right next to the kit. Alarmed, Sesshomaru raced down and tackled the mass over and onto a patch of grass. They skidded for a few feet, and right as he was about to use his claws, the mass flipped him over and landed on top of him. His eyes closed as the air whooshed from his lungs and the weight settled on his stomach.

He opened his eyes quickly to lock with deep ocean blue eyes. Sudden shock went through him as he thought back to his best friend and took a smell of the air; it was female, "Kagome?"

The eyes widen and jumped from his person, "Who are you?"

He stood quickly and looked her over. She looked amazing since the last time he saw her. Her hair was long and had a beautiful shine to it. The star on her forehead stood out a little more than her skin, for her skin had a light tan to it. On her cheeks still had the silver stripes, but they were light against her skin. Her body was now a full figure and she was much taller than when they were pups. On her shoulder, just like him, rested a black tail that twitched.

"Do you not remember me?" Sesshomaru sounded slightly disappointed, "I'm Sesshomaru."

"S-Sesshomaru??" Her mouth was slightly ajar and she covered her mouth and her eyes watered, "You're alive?"

His brow furrowed, "Yes. I do stand before you, do I not?"

"Your uncle..." she shook her head and the tears flowed which bothered him, "He said you and your father were killed by wolves."

His eyes closed for a moment, "My father was killed by them, yes, but not I."

"This is so great." She wiped her face and walked over to him, "You can come back and take the thrown."

"My uncle is going to do that, not I." Sesshomaru turned from her and started to walk away.

"No..." She grabbed his hand and held it tight, "Sesshomaru, your uncle has let the wolves come into our territory and take over."

Sesshomaru's eyes darkened and turned to her, "What?"

"Our home is in ruin." She cried again, "He killed my father and now he has me betrothed to your cousin, Kenji."

He growled and looked around, "Why are you here?"

"I was sent by your mother to find help." She looked at the ground, "She won't make it much longer if you don't go save her. Your uncle beats her daily."

He shook his head and took his hand out of her grasp, "I can't go back."

"Why not??" She almost screamed, "Your family... Your pack need you."

"Leave." Sesshomaru said as he left the area.

Kagome fell to her knees and wept by the pond. She was so happy to see him, but now she almost regretted seeing him again.

~~~~~~~

Sesshomaru huffed as he paced next to a waterfall; he couldn't go back. He stopped and looked to the sky. Could he? It had been so long since he had been home. What would his mother think of him? He closed his eyes and thought to himself, 'What would she think if I didn't come home to save her from my uncle?'

He opened his eyes again and the white of his eyes was stained with red. That bastard hurt his mother. Looking towards the West he growl fiercely; he would save his mother.

He raced towards the fox kit to find him in the same spot, "Where is the girl?"

The kit looked up with saddened eyes, "She left. She headed West."

"Come." Sesshomaru gathered his energy and a cloud formed at his feet, "We must find her."

The kit jumped onto his cloud and they raced across the sky. They searched for her for a few mile and they finally saw her running and crossing the boarder to the western lands. He lowered his cloud right next to her and scooped her up right off the ground.

She yelped and looked up at him, "You scared me!"

"Do you want to run the rest of the way?" She shook her head and he looked straight ahead, "Good."

Her brows furrowed, "You are coming back?"

"I need to protect my family."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, Sesshomaru came upon the area that was called the outlands, in which he decided this is where he would land; they could walk the rest of the way there. They began to walk and he almost whined at the sight of things around him. It use to be so beautiful, but now, everything was dull and lacking in beauty.

Kagome looked up at him, "You need to defeat your uncle and we can fix this afterwards." She looked back to the surroundings, "Just let this help fuel the fire in your soul, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Sama?" He had to ask. Yes, he was to be king, but he wasn't yet.

"You have always been a king in my eyes, Sesshomaru." She looked up and he noticed a slight blush on her cheeks, "Title or no title."

"Hn." He could see the castle gates in the distance and the stench of wolf surrounded the area, "This is foul."

"Yes." Kagome's nose scrunched up, "Try living with it for a few years."

He looked down at her, "He... hasn't done anything to you, has he?"

"No." Kagome's eyes hardened, "I wouldn't let him. I'm saving myself for someone else."

His heart clenched at this, but he happy at the same time that she hadn't been hurt by his cousin or uncle, "Good."

She smiled up at him and they reached the walls, "Follow me."

They walked along the wall until they came upon a spot that had a hole in it and on the other side was a few bushes, "We can't jump over due to a barrier, but I created this hole and this is how I got out."

They went through the hole and crawled through the other side and looked around. The garden that use to be there was no longer. Every plant that was there was dead and the trees had been knocked over. Water fountains and statues of his father were cracked and broken.

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed red, but they went gold when he heard a scream. Kagome's eyes darted towards the door and then to him, "Go to her."

He then knew that scream; his mother. He jumped over the bush and before he could reach the door, two ookami youkai stood before him, "Well, what do we have here?"

He remembered this one that spoke, for he was in the clearing that his father died in, "I am here to challenge my uncle."

"Your uncle?" The two looked at each other, "Sesshomaru?" When Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, they chuckled, "Well, its been a while, brat."

Raising his claws, he about to strike them down, but a sword slashed across their necks. They fell and Kagome stood on the other side of them, "Go to your mother. The kit and I will take care of the low life's."

He stood there for a moment before deciding that she was right, "You can take care of them?"

"I did train for many years." She smiled slightly, then frowned, "Go."

He dashed past her and into the palace. Once inside, all he could do was take in the horror of the situation. The tapestries that use to hang on the walls scattered across the ground, ripped and torn. The windows were busted and glass littered the ground. The carpet was muddy and bloody from old fights. Vases had been thrown against the wall and there were marks of claws that had scraped against the wall.

Looking around, he sniffed out his mother. Walking up the stairs and towards the old thrown room, he spotted her in a knelt position where a wolf was holding her by the hair and hands.

The wolf's nose went into the air and then he looked straight at him, "Mi'lord! We have an intruder!"

The wolf threw his mother to the side and right as he did, Sesshomaru sprang and decapitated him, "Fool."

"Sesshomaru?" He could hear his uncle's amazement, "Is that truly you?"

He looked over coldly at his uncle, then looked down at his mother who was looking up at him with shinning eyes, "Are you ok, mother?"

"Hai, I am." She rose to her knees, "You've come back."

"Hai." Sesshomaru leaned down and nuzzled his mother's hair, then stood to draw his sword. He faced his uncle and growled, "Submit to me."

His uncle stood from the now trashed thrown, "And what shall you do if I do not?"

"You have no choice. I am the heir." Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he felt the presence of Kagome and Shippo come next to him, "Stand down."

"But, see, Sesshomaru, they think I am the Lord," His uncle pointed to a crowd of wolf youkai, "And I shall not disappoint."

Kagome snarled, "You have no honor."

He ignored her as he drew his sword, "Leave now, Sesshomaru."

"No." Sesshomaru then ran and swung his sword at him.

Kagome looked at the wolves and snarled as they attempted to claw the prince's back, "Come get me, you flee bags!" With that, she dashed out the door followed by a large amount of wolves.

She rounded a corner and smiled when she saw the servants of the former lord form a line to attack the wolves. She turned and as the wolves rounded the corners, they stopped as the inu servants attacked; the war was on.

Sesshomaru's sword sparked as it clashed with his uncles, "You will be killed today, uncle."

"Not if I have a say in it." His uncle ducked as he swung under, then he jumped back, "And I have a large say."

"Sword play..." Sesshomaru jumped at him and the tip of his sword entered his uncle's stomach, "Isn't about saying anything." With that, He thrust his sword deeper and brought it up through the body.

His uncle's eyes blinked for a moment, then he fell, lifeless. Sesshomaru could only stare for a moment at his dead uncle; he tricked him.

-flashback-

"Are you not afraid of what your mother will think?" His uncle taunted, "I mean, you are the reason he is dead."

Snarling, Sesshomaru's sword met his uncle's, "I am here to save her and make up for my mistake."

"I can't believe you really think you killed him." He stepped close and whispered so quietly, "I killed your father." He chuckled and stepped away again and swung, "That dagger had poison. I wanted the thrown and now I have it."

-end flashback-

He shook his head and looked back at his mother, "Are you ok?"

She stood and ran to him, "Hai." She nuzzled her face into his armor clad chest, "Go find her."

He knew she was speaking of Kagome, "Stay here." He looked over at Shippo, "Watch and take care of her."

With that, he left in search of Kagome. He could hear the servants fighting and then heard a yelp and a sword drop. He rounded a corner and saw a wolf standing over Kagome who was backing up slowly. She didn't notice him and started snarling at the wolf, "Sesshomaru-sama will take his thrown back and see to it that you are slaughtered like you did to my father."

"Right." The wolf laughed, "And then he will take you as a mate and live happily ever after?" The wolf raised his sword, "I think-"

Sesshomaru impaled his sword through the wolf's neck and chopped it clean off. Kagome's eyes were closed and she was breathing harshly, "Kagome..."

Her eyes opened and they focused on him, "Did we die?"

"Do you think such lowly things can kill this Sesshomaru?" He scoffed, "Like they could."

She stood and ran to him to embrace him, "Thank you for returning, Sessho."

He grunted with the force she hit him with, but couldn't help but smirk, "What have I said about that nickname, Kagome?"

She stepped back with a blush, "I am sorry, Sesshomaru-sama."

He smiled slightly, but let that vanish in a flash as he stepped closer and held her by her chin, "I will let only you call me such, my Kagome."

"Your Kagome?" She looked up with innocent eyes.

"Yes." He gave her a small kiss,"Mine."

He kissed her again, but this time longer and more passionate. He let her go so they could breathe, then he looked up at everyone around them, "Lets get my home back into order, shall we?"