Disclaimer: I own nothing of Inuyasha

Kagome shivered as she wrapped her jacket tighter around her in hopes of increasing the warmth it was providing for her. It was getting colder with every passing day as fall was now upon them. She was slightly nervous about traveling with just her and Raiden during the colder upcoming seasons, but she was sure they would make it through okay, she just hoped that it didn't put a damper on their progress.

As she continued walking she let her gaze drift over to her companion, Raiden was walking beside her matching his steps with her own. As she looked at him Kouga's tale came back to her. It baffled her, Kouga spoke of the being on who he had confused her companion with as being a very strong being. However, he remained in his animal form.

It was her understanding that demons that held their animal form were considered weak and mindless beasts. That those who could hold a humanoid form were powerful. Every demon who had a humanoid form also had an animal one, or similar to match the type of demon they were, but how was it that one that mostly held it's animal form could still be considered powerful?

She wasn't sure. There was no way her companion could be such a thing, he was just an ordinary canine.

Before her thoughts could continue she noticed Raiden stopped and look ahead of them, as quickly as she blinked a being appeared before them and she stiffened too. How had he come upon them without her sensing him first? Looking at the one before them she greeted him tensely "Sesshoumaru-sama how may I help you?"

The demon regarded her with a narrowed gaze, studying her for a few moments before speaking "What are you doing on this Sesshoumaru's lands?" he questioned.

"We are looking for jewel shards and Naraku" she answered, deciding it would do her no good but to tell the demon anything but the truth. In all honesty, she had forgotten they were even traveling on his lands.

"Hn. What of the hanyou?" He questioned.

She shook her head "I don't know where Inuyasha is. He and the others were gone when I returned, so I decided to go off on my own"

He rose a brow but said nothing in return. Instead, he focused his attention on her companion and his head tilted as he studied the beast.

Kagome shifted nervously where she stood as she watched Sesshoumaru closely. Waiting for him to make any movements, after a few moments passed and the demon was still looking at her companion she cleared her throat "Um, Sesshoumaru-sama is there anything else you require from me?" she questioned, hoping to get out of the demon's path.

Kagome watched nervously as Sesshoumaru seemed to ignore her question and continued to stare at her companion. If that didn't make her nervous enough, Raiden was staring directly back at him, his body language confident and not intimidated in the least by the powerful demon. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Sesshoumaru spoke. "What are you doing here?"

While the question was voiced, Sesshoumaru still had his attention focused on Raiden and Kagome frowned. She had just answered that question, just as she was going to voice her thoughts she heard a grunt from Raiden. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and Kagome stiffened when Sesshoumaru growled in response.

Kagome was afraid her companion was about to be killed, but instead Sesshoumaru just Disappeared he was gone and as quickly as he had come.

Her brow furrowed as she looked at Raiden and the spot where Sesshoumaru had just stood What was that? She wondered. Shaking her head she looked down at Raiden who was looking at her expectantly "You better be careful boy" she stated "He's not one you want to cross". Hearing him huff in response Kagome smiled and looked at her watch, it would be nightfall in a few hours and she wanted to cover a bit more ground before they ventured off to set up camp.

They had traveled for at least an hour and a half longer before they had stopped for the night. As usual, she went about getting camp set up. Putting together a fire and pulling out her sleeping bag while Raiden had gone and caught their dinner. He seemed to return quicker tonight, which Kagome was grateful for.

The day had been an eventful one, first they got jewel shards, then they ran into Kouga and then later Sesshoumaru. She was ready to eat and then go to bed. She had a feeling that even with the approaching cold seasons the following months would be eventful and she wouldn't have time to relax or travel as she was now.

She wasn't sure what was going to happen, maybe they would run into Inuyasha and the others. Maybe something else would happen. She just hoped that whatever it was it wouldn't be something bad and wouldn't cause the life she knew to become too chaotic. Shaking her head to clear her wandering thoughts she began to work on preparing her meal.

He watched as she finally settled into a deep sleep. Rising from his position near the fire, he approached the young female and his stormy blue eyes warmed as he looked her over. She had grown so much since the last time he had been this close to her. Satisfied that she would stay asleep while he was gone, he put a barrier in place over the campsite as he made his way into the foliage surrounding them. Sniffing the air, he caught the scent he had been looking for and made his way to it.

It had taken him longer to travel the distance than he would have liked and he cursed himself for not keeping in shape. Coming to his destination he stopped and let his aura flare, feeling a flare in response he continued forward until he entered a clearing.

He looked around the clearing and noted the small human girl, the ever faithful retainer and the two headed beast and finally his gaze rested on the being who had told him to come. He waited until said being addressed him. Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait long.

"Raiden"

He met the young males gaze and could have rolled his eyes at the arrogance it held. Huffing he let his energy flow and felt his body shift. Once he was in his humanoid form he spoke "What is it you wanted of me Sesshoumaru?" he asked, his tone quiet as not to wake the young human girl.

A slight frown came to Sesshoumaru's lips as he looked over the male in front of him, although he had been gone for years, he hadn't changed much at all. "I thought you had died" he questioned.

Raiden rose a brow "Clearly I have not, is that all you wanted to ask of me?"

If anyone else had spoken to him in such a fashion, he would have had their tongue and their head, but the demon before him was not just anyone. He was an old family companion, one who held his trust "It is not." he responded as he looked the black demon over "Where have you been? Why are you traveling with the half-breeds wench?" Sesshoumaru questioned, noticing as the demon stiffened at his last words.

Raiden narrowed his eyes at the demon before him, but shrugged it off. "Always the curious one, aren't you pup? Maybe you should have been a cat instead?" he questioned, his tone teasing. Seeing the other demon's glare he chuckled before continuing "As your family is a close ally to me I will tell you the truth, but you are not to repeat to anyone. Do you understand? " he questioned. Seeing Sesshomaru's nod, he began to speak "I have been traveling, as I always do. As you know when you last saw me there was quite the high price for my body or blood. Unfortunately it traveled out of this land and even to the ones over seas"

Noting that Sesshoumaru was still listening, Raiden continued "Because of this, I had to travel somewhere different."

"To where?" Sesshoumaru questioned.

Raiden tapped his chin "Ah, it's not to where Sesshoumaru, but to when" he answered, seeing Sesshoumaru's confused expression he smirked "I traveled to another time" he finished.

Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed "This Sesshoumaru was unaware that you could do that"

Raiden hummed "As was I pup, as was I" he replied softly before continuing "It was more of an accident really, I was being hunted and had no desire to fight so I opened a portal without thinking of a destination besides somewhere safe and I landed there"

"Why did you not come back?" Sesshoumaru questioned.

"Because I found a reason to stay" he responded. Seeing Sesshoumaru look he chuckled and continued "I found a being I wanted to mate and well...things happened"

Sesshoumaru's brow rose "What things?"

A smirk came to Raiden's lips "One of them was what you had called the half-breeds wench earlier"

At those words Sesshoumaru's eyes widened "You sired a half breed?" he frowned "Ridiculous, the wench has no scent of demon within her"

Raiden's eyes narrowed at his words "Her name is Kagome, use it pup." Ignoring Sesshoumaru's glare he continued. "She is not a half breed, at least not in the same way your brother is." Starting to feel tired of talking after not doing so for so long he wished this conversation would end. But knowing Sesshoumaru it wouldn't end until he was satisfied, besides he had a request for the demon too.

Sighing softly he continued "My mate is a miko. A strong one at that. My kind had never mated a miko before, so I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. Kagome was born human, but held both spiritual powers in her as well as demon. Her demon was locked away, though." Taking a breath, he continued "Having a human form while born and the demon within sealed is normal for my kind. As you know we hold our demon form most of the time as adults, only able to take out humanoid form at night. When my kind is young we stay in our humanoid form until we become adults, then we switch between our humanoid form and our demon form" he frowned at this, but continued "Unfortunately. That is why many of my kind aren't around. We don't often make it to adulthood."

Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed as he took in all the information he had been given. He thought he had known everything of the cursed Inu line but apparently he did not. It made sense on why there was not many of his kind left, in his knowledge the demon before him was the last of the kind. At least he was.

"When does she reach adulthood?" he questioned.

Raiden met Sesshoumaru's gaze as he answered "In one moon cycle from now." he replied "Which is another reason I have come here, I have a favor to ask of you" he stated, deciding to get to the point.

Sesshoumaru rose a brow, this was a first. "What is it?" he questioned.

Raiden inclined his head towards Sesshoumaru "I ask that you provide safety and security for my daughter and I during this time. I am trying to prepare her as much as possible for when the time comes, but doing so leaves us more open for being attacked as it takes a lot of my concentration. It will take even more once she needs to start gaining control of her demon half"

Sesshoumaru's brow furrowed as he thought over the request. He was curious on how the transformation took place and wanted to know more about the cursed demon line. Obviously, his father hadn't known as much as he thought he did. Seeing that the demon was waiting for answer he provided one "This Sesshoumaru shall think about it" he responded.

Raiden nodded "That is all I ask" he questioned before turning his back to Sesshoumaru. Letting his energy flow again he soon shifted into his canine form and started back in the direction he came from.

A/N: I'm not sure when I'll update this next. I want to work on my other stories a little too. Some things that weren't explained that well in this chapter will be explained later on. While Raiden has been a major focus point until now he will soon be taking a back seat. I should have named this story 'cursed', darn. I am terrible at titles and summaries XD Thank you to everyone who has read my story and another thank you to those who have reviewed so far!