Her brown hair flailed about in the wind that seemed to be getter stronger and stronger while she held down her orange kimono with her dirty hands. She smiled up at him for an instant a bit sheepishly and then continued to run about in the wildflower field when the wind died down. She was picking flowers to make a necklace for her lord. It was cute in a way, but it didn't seem to fit Sesshomaru's cold profile.

The said Lord of the West just stood near the patch of long-stemmed blue flowers with curly petals and point leaves. He looked emotionless as he stared after his ward, his silver hair pushing ever so slightly over his right eye with the breeze. His arms were down by his sides and he seemed normal. It was just his surroundings that didn't suit him. The field of flowers was glorious with all its colors and different scents. He'd always thought Sesshomaru would be more comfortable in a more serene place, like near a desolated pond or something, staring down into the water. It was just wrong, and yet so appealing.

You wait, wanting this world
To let you in
And you stand there
A frozen light…

The toad demon, Jaken, was sitting on a rock in the middle of the field looking rather exasperated with the whole thing in definition. He rolled his eyes every time Rin would run by him shouting things to Sesshomaru in excitement and sighed when his lord of many years didn't notice his jealousy or boredom.

Inuyasha was in a large tree near the edge of the woods, closest to the field. He was actually spying on his brother and his companions, though he'd never admit to it. He'd told Kagome he was going to look for Kikyo again, which she wasn't too happy with, but he'd gotten away with it and that was all that mattered. The hanyou frowned when he saw his brother shift his position to put his weight on one leg; they'd be leaving soon. Then Sesshomaru turned around without warning and began to walk away, but the lord stopped when he heard Jaken and Rin running to keep up with him.

In dark and empty streets
You smile hiding behind
A God-given face
But I know you're so much more…

Rin let out a breath and looked across the landscape with pleased features and a handful of flowers. "Must we leave, my lord? It's so beautiful; I don't think I'd ever want to go. And the sunset makes it even more lovely, don't you agree?" She grinned up at Sesshomaru while he just stared blankly down at her. He then looked out into the sunset and stared for a while before sitting down gracefully on a nearby rock.

"Do as you wish, Rin. I will be here." Jaken looked stunned at his lord and then continued to sulk as he went back to his own rock and Rin set down her pack of plants and went back out to play. Inuyasha's frown turned upward; the girl was changing him. She was softening him up. This was good. She was doing what he could never do in all the years he'd known his brother.

Everything they ignore
Is all that I need to believe…

Rin suddenly turned around from her playing and went to sit next to Sesshomaru with a look of questioning on her face. Sesshomaru took the hint and asked, "Why have you stopped playing, Rin? Do you wish to leave or do you merely want to ask me something?"

This made her smile and she flattened her kimono before saying something. "My lord, why don't you have someone to kiss?" This made Sesshomaru raise an eyebrow in her direction and frown deeply.

"Rin, I do not have someone to love because I do not love anyone. I would rather be alone."

This seemed to puzzle the small human. "Love?"

Sesshomaru's frown deepened if that was possible. "It means to care deeply for someone, like a connection to that person. When love happens among demons, they mate and strengthen the bond between them. Love makes you do stupid things. It's a worthless emotion."

You're the only one I ever believed in
The answer that could never be found
The moment you decided to let love in…

"But, my lord, to…love and be loved in return probably feels like something wonderful. It sounds…nice. I can't wait to fall in love. I can't wait to be loved. And I can only hope you will find love as well." The little girl smiled her missing-tooth-smile and then ran off to play again.

Inuyasha then noticed something in his brother's eyes he'd rarely ever seen. Utter shock. It wasn't often something surprised Sesshomaru. But this statement from the human didn't surprise Inuyasha. It was obvious the girl was smart and she cared for her lord very much. Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk at his brother's sheer blindness. For once there was something Inuyasha knew that he didn't. Then again there was his heart that counted as another thing his brother didn't know…

Now I'm banging on the door of an angel
The end of fear is where we begin
The moment we decided to let love in…

The silence was soon broken by a loud roar of a bear demon ringing out through the field. Sesshomaru's ears instantly perked up and looked in the direction of the bear coming out of the forest toward Rin and Jaken, running at high speeds for its weight. The youkai was faster though and he got to them first and even had time to begin dripping his poisons from his claws. Inuyasha moved more toward the light of the outer woods just in case Sesshomaru needed him, but this was his brother, that was a fat chance.

But then something flashed in Sesshomaru's eyes and the full demon dropped to his knees and held his side in pain as the bear demon still charged. Inuyasha soon went into defense mode and ran out of the cover of the trees as fast as he could. Tetsusaiga was unsheathed and the field was again filled with sound as Inuyasha yelled out his famous attack. "Scar of the Wind!"

I wish
Wishing for you to find your way
And I'll hold on for all you need
That's all we need to say…

The bear was hacked to pieces in one attack and when Inuyasha looked up, he saw Sesshomaru standing once again, staring at him with cold eyes seeming to be dripping with the same poison his claws were. Two words left his mouth only before Inuyasha knew he wasn't welcome. "Half breed."

His ears lowered in response and his sword was back in its sheath. His eyes dropped from Sesshomaru's gaze to his feet, feet that constantly seemed to be stomping on his heart. He hardly noticed when his brother waved a dismissive hand to Jaken, who had run up to see what was going to happen. This made the toad take hold of Rin's arm and begin to drag her away from the two, despite her arguments. Then silence reigned again over the siblings.

I'll take my chances while
You take your time with
This game you play
But I can't control your soul…

"I could have taken care of myself. Why must you always interfere, little brother?" After his question went unanswered except for a glance from Inuyasha, he continued. "You only become a nuisance in my eyes every time you find me. You're worthless and I don't need someone like you to be watching over me like a mother of some sort." Sesshomaru's eyes glared daggers into the top of Inuyasha's head.

"I thought you needed my help…you just…collapsed. I was afraid you might…" Inuyasha choked down the last few words of his sentence; scared his brother would only further mock him for thinking something so foolish. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"In my opinion, you weren't thinking at all. Now leave. I have nothing else to say to you." Sesshomaru began to walk away when Inuyasha grabbed his arm and spun him back around. This only concluded with Sesshomaru letting his weaker brother turn him around and giving him a scratch in the face with his claws.

You need to let me know
You leaving or you gonna stay…

Trails of blood streamed from the cuts on Inuyasha's left cheek. They dragged from his cheekbone all the way down to his lips, cutting his upper lip just a bit. Inuyasha stood shocked for a moment but soon recovered when Sesshomaru tried to do it again. Inuyasha grabbed his hand and stopped the attack. And suddenly he found his voice.

"Didn't you feel anything?" Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he wiggling his hand about, trying to free it from Inuyasha's grasp. "Didn't it tell you anything? Or are your ears to deaf to listen?" This made the lord's struggle cease and he stared at the other.

"'It'? What are you talking about?"

"Your heart. Didn't it tell you anything when you hurt me? When I saved you? Did you feel anything?" Sesshomaru's eyes finally widened for a change and he moved back away from his brother.

"Let go, half breed."

You're the only one I ever believed in
The answer that could never be found
The moment you decided to let love in…

"…No." Inuyasha's voice came out as a whisper. It sounded so pained, like a plea to any god listening that his grip on Sesshomaru wouldn't loosen the least bit, letting him get away and hide. "Tell me."

Sesshomaru tried escaping again, but frantic as he was, Inuyasah stayed steadfast. The lord growled and began to speak lowly. "I felt nothing. You are nothing to me Inuyasha. You will always be nothing to me. I hate you. The only reason I will ever come to see you is to take your sword and then kill you. You shamed our family and it's my duty to make sure you die by my hand only."

It seemed no one heard the hanyou's prayer from before because Sesshomaru ripped his hand away from his brother's then and took a couple steps back. "Why do you continue to love me when I spite you so?"

Now I'm banging on the door of an angel
The end of fear is where we begin
The moment we decided to let love in…

Inuyasha smiled a bit and then looked downward. So he did know. He didn't need to bother to ask how. "Because…I believe that one day, you will kill me. You'll kill me and then feel the guilt and pain weighing on your shoulders. You'll regret ever coming after me. And then you'll realize you didn't know what you had until I was gone."

Sesshomaru was giving him a skeptical look when he continued. "Rin's a smart girl, you know that? I think you should listen to her more often." Inuyasha was about to leave when he heard a voice behind him.

"Inuyasha, you know I have the sharpest nose and I'd never fall down in the middle of a battle, don't you?"

There's nothing we can do about
The things we have to do without…

Inuyasha turned golden eyes onto his brother's. "I know. Trust me, I know." So his brother had played a trick on him. He'd just wanted him to come out of the woods and confess he was watching over him. It was as if the whole world were trying to crush him them. He felt everything at that moment falling on top of him like a huge burden. It hurt him more than he could imagine and he couldn't make himself say goodbye to his brother. If he could not love him, the only thing he wanted to do was get away. Far away. Maybe for now he'd be okay, but by tomorrow morning, he'd wake up and realize what had just happened to him. He lost Sesshomaru.

The only thing he wanted now was comfort or to just be alone. But it seemed he wasn't aloud to be alone. He wanted to cry, but somehow he knew he couldn't.

A strong hand wrapped its fingers around his upper arm then and turned him around slowly to face a welcoming chest. Inuyasha practically fell on his brother as his knees gave out and Sesshomaru only pulled him into a hug and brought them both to the ground so Inuyasha could sit in his lap. "Don't leave; I don't want you to go. Just…stay." A voice cooed in his dog ear and he only clung harder to the body in his grasp.

The only way to feel again
Is let love in…

"I don't want to go. I never will. Keep me, love me, hate me; I don't care. Just don't let me go…" Inuyasha whispered back to the voice. His head moved up to lie on Sesshomaru's shoulder, facing away from him. Sesshomaru's arms were still in a bracing position, preventing Inuyasha from leaving him even if he wanted to. After only a few moments it seemed the two woke up from their trance, though.

"Inuyasha…" Sesshomaru said in his normal tone. "I don't want you to go, but you need to. For me and for you." Inuyasha's eyes widened and he began to get frantic. He was running again. "It's for the best." Sesshomaru wiped away all the blood from his scratch to Inuyasha's cheek with the sleeve of his kimono.

There's nothing we can do about
The things we have to live without…

"How would you know?" Inuyasha pulled away slightly to look into Sesshomaru's eyes. "You don't know what you want. But I do…" Inuyasha placed a hand over Sesshomaru's shoulder and then moved it downward, pulling the cloth of his kimono along with it. When he could see the bare skin of his shoulder, Inuyasha pressed his lips to it lightly while keeping his other arm around Sesshomaru's neck.

Sesshomaru burned up instantly with embarrassment among other things. He wanted Inuyasha badly, but he wasn't his to claim. When he felt Inuyasha laid his head on his shoulder again he decided this was a good time to get up. "No." Inuyasha said firmly. "Promise me."

The only way to see again
Is let love in…

Sesshomaru stared for a moment and then sighed. "Promise what?"

"Promise me that you're going to let yourself go at some point. That you're going to…let love in to your heart…someday." Inuyasha had a dreamy look in his eyes but he sounded completely serious. Sesshomaru stiffened but replied anyway.

You're the only one I ever believed in
The answer that could never be found
The moment you decided to let love in…

"I…promise."

The two moved away from each other without another word and went back to their respective groups then. Both knew what had really gone on. Inuyasha had asked Sesshomaru to love him and come to him when he was ready to do so. And Sesshomaru had responded by saying he would. It was a strange thing, but they were definitely in love. But somewhere along the line, this dream would have to come to an end.

Now I'm banging on the door of an angel
The end of fear is where we begin
The moment we decided to let love in…

-PL

Goo Goo Dolls : Let Love In