Note: This is my version of episode 35 of Inuyasha (and beyond...). Although the story and dialogue is somewhat similar in the beginning, it will branch off into my imagination later on. I am just trying my hand at writing, and all Inuyasha rights belong to the respective owners, no copyright intended. Cheers!

1. Descent: A Meeting of Strangers

The great forest was cast into deep scarlet in the late hours of day. It was nearly sunset and the leaves and soft blades of grass shone with the likeness of flames cast by the sun. The trees were still and no commotion came from the village that stood on the edge of the forest. Suddenly, in a deep thicket, there was a great whooshing sound and a cyclone of wind cast the grass and leaves into disarray. A great light filled the clearing and as it faded, it revealed a figure of great stature, proud, tall and silent. He was not a human, but clearly a demon. The markings of the dog were evident upon his smooth face and a Prussian blue moon, an heirloom of his heritage, shown upon his forehead. His garb was a white tunic with red chrysanthemum flower crests at the collar and sleeves, showing he was of royal birth. A great fur rested over his right shoulder. Upon his chest was a cuirass and attached to that, a spiked pauldron that covers his left shoulder. At his belt was a single sheathed sword. But despite all his glorious appearance, he was barely conscious and fell upon the grass where he alighted. In his eyes was the fiery red glow of his demonic power, aroused by his recent near death experience.

He had been weakened, attacked and nearly defeated by a foe he detested, his own brother. His sword, the Tenseiga, still pulsed softly in its sheath. Only because of this useless sword had he survived. It had not allowed him to die by his cursed half-brother's sword.

His name was Sesshomaru and he was the heir of the great dog demon that had once ruled the land. He was a full demon, although his half-brother, a half-demon named Inuyasha, defiled his family's name. He bitterly hated his father for allowing himself to have fallen for any human mortal like the mutt's mother. And to make it all worse, his father had left Inuyasha the great and powerful sword Tetsusaiga, while giving him the weakly Tenseiga. Sesshomaru, believing that Inuyasha could not possibly wield the true strength of the sword, had fought him for possession of it but in the end, Inuyasha had exacted the Wind Scar, a powerful technique that would have killed him if not for the Tenseiga.

Sesshomaru hated this defeat above all else. Consumed by rage, he curled up in the clearing and breathed deeply, allowing his wounds to slowly heal. He would not be able to regain his full strength for several days, after suffering so great a wound. He had been foolish to seek the Tetsusaiga like he had done, and now he had all but paid with his life. The fury continued to pulse within him as the sun sunk lower and lower. Yet as he began to cool off, Sesshomaru realized his presence in the forest had not gone entirely unnoticed. As no demon in their right mind would have come near the aura and terrible anger he was admitting at this moment, he wondered who the intruder might be. An unintelligent forest creature, perhaps, or…a human?

He tested the wind and caught the scent. Definitely human. The thought of Inuyasha welled inside him anew and his eyes reddened dangerously, the fire rekindling. He turned swiftly in the direction of the presence. Shuffling leaves and a broken twig could be heard just beyond the clearing. Sesshomaru dug his claws into the earth around him. He would not be compassionate towards any living thing that disturbed his recovery. Suddenly, out of the shadows behind a white oak tree stepped a young human child. She was dressed in a tattered kimono and had no shoes. So taken aback was Sesshomaru, having intended to kill any arrogant hunter that thought they might attack him in his weakened state, that he stared at her for several moments. She gasped upon seeing him and he lashed out, causing her to flee back behind the tree, only daring to peek around the trunk. Sesshomaru's claws flexed and his demon blood rose but he was not yet so ruthless to strike down such a young human girl, no matter his feelings towards humans. He allowed her to flee his wrath.