Sesshoumaru always knew that Youkai were superior to Humans. After all, Youkai were masters of the five senses, some including the sixth; had strength men could not hope to achieve, surpassed humans in every possible field. But Sesshoumaru never knew that Humans created talking boxes. His opinion on humans in general dropped a few notches.

However, it seemed that talking boxes were actually human inventions masquerading as communication devices. In truth, they were objects of torture, designed to make the welder die a slow death of anticipation.

Or so Sesshoumaru surmised when he managed to receive (after only three failed attempts) a call from a breathless Kagome, excitedly telling him that she had found his sword, Tetsaiga.

The scent of rubber against grass filled the air, accompanying dying squeaks that hinted that Kagome's mode of transportation was in a less than perfect condition.

"Hey!" Was her poor substitute for a polite greeting, "I'm coming down now,"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, hearing the usual clamor as Kagome put her 'bicycle' aside and climbed down the well. When he opened them, she stood before him, holding out both her hands, his sword in them.

"Thank you," Sesshoumaru found himself saying with sincerity he did not know himself to have. A becoming shade of pink diffused into the Miko's cheeks as the girl ducked her head. Sesshoumaru stubbornly tried to push aside to urge to touch her skin, just to see whether the bewitching colour would leave any trace of heat...

She was now biting her lip. He contemplated offering his help.

"You're welcome," she managed shyly, a not unwelcome change from her normal behavior, Sesshoumaru decided. He took the sword from her, careful that he was only in contact with the scabbard.

"This Sesshoumaru is going to try to break the barrier with Tetsaiga. I suggest that you leave in case it decides to rebound," he warned, his hand tracing the scabbard tentatively, the barrier already biting into his skin. He knew that the torment that came after his physically touched the hilt would make his current pain seem like lingering love bites. "Stay far away from the well if you do not want to get hurt. The attack might permeate the barrier completely."

Kagome gave a quick nod and moved to exit the well. She had probably seen the sparks enveloping his hand where his skin touched the sword's hilt as he wielded it cautiously. His father's legacy.

"Kaze no Kizu!" He tried. Whirls of wind swept around him, rippling through his hair and clothes. He felt power entwining from his arm to the sword. The points of power connected in one instant as he swung at the barrier, unfurling a huge explosion.

But.

It didn't work.

The barrier simply refused to be destroyed. It even had the gall to absorb the attack, as if it was mocking him. Sesshoumaru refused to even contemplate the very idea that he might have possibly reinforced the barrier with his blow.

He threw the sword down, growling in frustration. The pain of his burnt hand dulled in comparison to disappointment. It swallowed his entire being, suffocating him. Claustrophobia clutched at him, the prospect of living indefinitely in a well looming threateningly. The urge to tear something apart, preferably himself began to throb in his chest. He hated himself. How could he, the Lord of the Western lands be reduced to state so pathetic?

His eyes began to bleed red, his claws lengthening and his silver hair flowing to coat his body. As he teetered on the verge of transforming, a small hand covered his.

All at once, the previously erratic aura that surrounded him began to calm. His eyes sluggishly receded back into its original colour. His claws retracted and his hair stilled. His anger slowly dissipated, as he took huge, deep, breaths, trying to compose himself.

"It's okay," Kagome said, simply; assuredly. She looked up at him with a comforting smile, without a hint of fear at his almost-transformation. "We'll find another way."

Somehow, as stupidly optimistic as she might have been, foolish even; Sesshoumaru believed her.

**

"It's not as if you would actually understand anyway," sighed Kagome, apparently resigned from trying to explain her situation, despite it's pettiness to Sesshoumaru.

She prodded at the ground beneath her as she sat cross-legged opposite the Youkai; quite a distance away, of course - Sesshoumaru valued his personal space, even after all they have gone through. He was, after all; unlikely to change overnight merely because of a human girl, even if she was a Miko. "You don't have an annoying younger brother of your own. And it's really complicated, because of my mother and her new boy toy."

She was de-stressing on Sesshoumaru again, a habit she guiltily partook in. Her relationship with her family was "taboo" amongst her friends. Ayame's psychoanalyzing could only be tolerated until a certain extent and Sango, on the other hand was a staunch believer that; "Parents are second only to God and should be complied to in all matters." Besides, it didn't seem fair for her to complain to Ayame about her family when Ayame's own parents had been mutilated by wolves in an expedition to study rare plants. No doubt; the experience, coupled with overly enthusiastic psychiatrists were what caused Ayame to dabble in that field.

It had been a few days since the Tetsaiga incident, and Sesshoumaru had resumed his role of being the self-absorbed, arrogant person he was. It was as if his moment of vulnerability (a word she dared only to use privately) had only been a figment of her imagination.

"It seems that you now apparently know me well enough to make assumptions of me." Sesshoumaru answered dryly.

"Well, you are Youkai." Kagome replied, blinking. She had a sinking feeling that Sesshoumaru was feeling a little miffed. He was easily offended, as powerful as he might be; something Kagome would have dubbed adorable should the word also mean 'really, really scary when prodded at'.

"Do you mean to imply that you do not think that Youkai have families of their own?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice strangely flat.

"I'm not insinuating anything. I simply assumed Youkai were creatures born from hatred and -" Kagome caught herself, realizing that she might be insulting a demon with pointy claws that dripped rather fatal poison, no matter how pretty the packaging might be. "Er... And stuff."

"Of course, our very existence is derived of human hatred," stated Sesshoumaru, dripping with sarcasm, one eyebrow cocked. "The world does not revolve around humans, Miko. Youkai - us, we are more complicated than that. It's an insult even to imply that."

"I'm sorry, really." Kagome quickly responded, knowing how Sesshoumaru loved to drivel on about Youkai's superiority to humans; once even stretching for hours at a time. She was getting strangely attuned to his quirks; something she found strangely endearing.

She stared at the Taiyoukai in front of her. It was a wonder how his eyebrows could portray emotions to such perfection. The corners of his mouth neither lifted nor sunk to show pleasure or anger; but with a single quirk of his eyebrow, or a lift in just such a way… Kagome was able to tell whether Sesshoumaru was merely mildly irritated or pissed beyond redemption.

"Why do you own a sword you cannot touch anyway? At least, not for extended periods of time?" She asked suddenly, diverting her eyes with a faint blush whilst trailing her fingers along the scabbard she dubbed as "really pretty".

Sesshoumaru had given the sword to her for safekeeping, or rather, Kagome took it away so that it would not remain in the well, serving as a constant reminder to him of its failure. Besides that, the well was already cluttering up with an assortment of books and manga. Sesshoumaru had, after all; developed a strange addiction to Yu Yu Hakusho.

"It belongs to my brother." Sesshoumaru said, his tone bordering dark. "I was given another sword. Or so I was told. My father was not very clear about his instructions – being dead. When my brother was sealed, I took Tetsaiga and left Tensaiga with him. Tetsaiga is the better sword, the sword that could kill hundreds of Youkai in one swing."

"Hundreds of Youkai?" gasped Kagome. "You mean you could just swing it and hundreds will die? Erm. Sounds very... fun. What does Tensaiga do then?"

"Firstly, Tetsaiga only takes to lives of lower level Youkai, of course. The sort that - as you eloquently put it; fester on hatred and other assorted malevolent feelings. Secondly, it is indeed very 'fun', especially when you are knee deep in those abominable creatures and have no other way to rid of them." Sesshoumaru replied dryly, eyes fixed on the sword on Kagome's hands. "Tensaiga allows me to see the pallbearers of the dead – giving me power over life."

"Isn't it a better sword then?" Kagome asked. She would rather have a sword that could heal. Her mind was full with possibilities on what it was capable of, including the normal debates on what was morally ethical.

"A sword's purpose is to kill." Sesshoumaru was adamant. "Not to heal. What use do I have of a sword that cannot slay my enemies?"

Kagome shifted uncomfortably. Sitting on the bottom of the well was definitely one of the least ideal places one could choose to position themselves in. "What use do you have then, of Tetsaiga, when you still cannot touch it?"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "I was looking for a method to use Tetsaiga. I went to look for Totousai, the forger of the sword. As I finally found a reliable lead, I encountered the Black Miko. You know the rest."

"Ouch." Kagome winced sympathetically.

"Indeed." He affirmed. "I had thought Tetsaiga contained the power to destroying the barrier. But it does not. Even so, I have yet to try using Toukijin or Tensaiga. Toukijin, I am sure the Black Miko has destroyed, as it was the sword I used against her. Tensaiga is still with Inuyasha."

"Did you just say Inuyasha?" Kagome blurted, eyes wide.

"Yes, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru said indifferently. "A pathetic excuse for a name, is it not? It suits him, in its lack of subtlety and depth. Have I not told you his name?"

"No!" Cried Kagome. "And did you say my date smelt like a masked Youkai?"

"I did."

"Sesshoumaru, I might have found your brother!"

***

Kagome cycled home as fast as she could, intent of looking for the scrap of paper containing Inuyasha's number she had buried somewhere after the date. She never really expected to contact him, at least, not so recently. She still thought of the strange awkwardness between them as a bitter aftertaste.

When she finally managed to reach her apartment floor, after being almost squashed by the elevator door; the door burst open on her. The preparator was no other than Sango.

"Kagome! Thank God it's you!" Burst Sango as she latched onto Kagome in an embrace.

Kagome patted Sango's back gingerly. "What happened?"

Sango entangled herself from Kagome and took a deep breath, her brown eyes fixed directly on Kagome; a telltale sign of Sango before she winded herself up for a rant.

"I can't believe that my parents did this to me! For goodness sake, it's the bloody 21st century!" She cried, waving her hands about agitatedly.

Kagome blinked in confusion.

"What kind of person even engages their children to a son of a friend whom they haven't even met before!" Sango ranted, her face red from anger. "Mom and dad were worried that I would grow into an old unmarried maid! I don't understand it! I'm barely into my early twenties and just because I haven't started humping every man I meet doesn't mean I'll be an old dried up spinster with twelve cats!"

"You will, you know, tie the knot sooner or later. You might as well marry someone you hate outright that someone you love only to hate him in the future!" Kagome refrained from acting upon the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the wall at her pathetic attempt to cheer Sango up, fixing a bright smile on her face. Her cheeks hurt from the effort.

"That is so unfair! You're supposed to be on my side – and your argument doesn't even make sense anyway…" trailed Sango, running her hand through her hair in exasperation. "Besides, I'm legally an adult. I swear; it would be just fine to be engaged to a nice, conservative man. But just my luck, he turns out to be a… PERVERT!"

Sango turned around wildly to slap on the cheek of the person behind her with practiced ease. The hand fondling her behind was removed with a tinge of regret.

"I swear," Sango said to him, with fire in her eyes. "If you don't keep your lecherous hands to yourself, I'm sticking a gun up your ass and pull the trigger!"

"Dear Sango," drawled the strange man with a now swollen cheek. "I didn't know you had such plans for my, admittedly lovely behind."

"Yes, plans to decapitate it," retorted Sango, her hands clenched into fists. "-along with every part of your body!"

With that, she stalked off angrily.

The man, presumably Sango's newfound fiancé, wore a whipped look on his face. Kagome merely raised her eyebrows at the sight. He shook his head, as if forcibly extracting himself out of his reverie and turned to Kagome with a smile so wide it was unnerving.

"Ah, so you are a friend of Sango's?" His hands clasped hers.

"Er," began Kagome nervously, not quite sure how to respond to the person in front of her. Her mind raced for ways to extract her hands from his without causing irreparable damage on the other party. "Yes."

"Will you bear my child?"

"SMACK!"

Ignoring the mass of injured man now lying semi-comatose on the sofa, Kagome dug through her handbag before triumphantly dragging out the crumpled pulp, squinting at the blurred numbers.

***

It was just another day after work. She was, after all; a new doctor - regardless of her qualifications. Her job consisted of the most menial, degrading tasks a medical practitioner could possibly do. Despite that, Kagome was in high spirits, the prospect of unveiling her discovery of Sesshoumaru to the only person who could understand, or in other words; she could trust not to make a fuss about the issue. Or so she hoped.

Her high spirits had surprised even Naraku, who was used to her meeting his instructions with a false smile and a solid "Go to hell," behind her gray eyes. Her replacing her usual disposition with a sweet smile and a relatively sincere, "Is that all, sir?" caused Naraku to immediately issue her an appointment with another doctor. Of course, he was hardly kindhearted, as the appointment was set with Jakotsu, of which Kagome abhorred. The guy just couldn't stop insinuating that he wanted to strip her, only to wear her clothes for himself.

Kagome conveniently lost the note almost instantly. She had a nagging feeling that it was probably lying in the bottom of Naraku's ashtray, masquerading as cinders; but she could hardly be bothered to check.

"I'm guessing this is not about a second date, isn't it?" Inuyasha began, arching an eyebrow. His hand was draped on the wooden table that filled the small canteen in abundance. The clinic's canteen was hardly a suitable place for a meeting, considering the amount of trouble Kagome had to go through just to obtain the proper clearance for him to enter the private establishment.

"Very funny... Inuyasha, do you have a brother?" Straight to the point.

Inuyasha cringed. His entire body seemed to stiffen at the question. "What the hell? What kind of question is that all of a sudden?"

"I think I might know him."

"You don't even know me! What makes you think that you would know my brother? Why would I even tell you anything about myself anyway?"

"What's so difficult about informing someone that you have someone related to you?"

"It is when it's supposed to be private!"

"Well, you could just answer my question!"

"Why should I, bitch? You have no right to ask me all this crap!"

"Agh, you're even worse than Sesshoumaru you JERK!"

"Don't compare me to that bastar- Wait, you KNOW Sesshoumaru?" Eyes popped, mouth agape, Inuyasha was the very poster child of Shock.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, blockhead!"

"Didn't he disappear?"

"Well, he just reappeared, buddy!"

"I'm sorry that I'm not too excited about this, wench. That bastard tried to kill me ages ago!"

"Homicide attempts or not, he's still your brother!"

"Half-brother who, incidentally; tried to kill me!"

"Who apparently failed, since you're shrieking at me right now!"

"That's not the point!"

"The point is, I found your half-brother. He was locked up in a barrier for the past 500 years... And now, I need you to help me figure out how to free him!"

"Wha-? Barrier? 500 years?"

"Yes."

Inuyasha's features were instantaneously schooled into an emotionless mask, something Kagome had never seen before. At that very moment, Inuyasha's resemblance to his brother shone through. They bore the same gold eyes, unreadable, intense.

"Take me to the place."

***

"WAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I can't believe you Sesshoumaru, you got sealed by a MIKO???" Was the taunt.

"Says the one who was stuck on a tree for a few years short of an eternity." Was the reply.

If he had been any other guy but Sesshoumaru, Kagome was sure a heartfelt "Fuck you," would be verbally expressed in the most emphatic way possible. However, since it was the Ice Prince in question, the message was undoubtedly delivered in a form of a piercing glare. Unfortunately for the Youkai, Inuyasha was on the other side of the barrier and thus was unable to appreciate the sentiment as much as Sesshoumaru would quite like him to.

Kagome closed her eyes, feeling a headache forming. She had thought reconciliation between brothers after centuries would have more endearment and less violence. Her choice to stay outside the barrier began to seem better and better with each passing minute, she could already hear the hissing of melting rock caused by Sesshoumaru's poisonous claws.

"But you were the one who was insulting all humans and their inferiority."

"Hello…! Human here!" Kagome waved her arms at Inuyasha, trying to divert his attention from baiting Sesshoumaru. It worked for all of three seconds.

"Sorry." Inuyasha had said flippantly, barely paying attention to her. "But back to the main course, me and my gloating."

Green fumes, presumably from melting rock begin to billow out from the well, past the barrier.

"This Sesshoumaru is now picturing the many ways he will torture you before you fall on your knees and beg for merciful death."

"Of course you will - if you could somehow get out from the barrier a mere HUMAN placed on you."

The green fumes began to form thick clouds.

"A DARK MIKO."

"Sure... A dark HUMAN Miko placed on you, as if that's any better. And there you were, insulting me because of my human ties..."

Intervention, Kagome decided, was long overdue. She reached under her shirt to obtain a dog whistle before blowing it with all her might.

The resounding shrieks were undoubtedly undignified, something Kagome secretly found ironic. Both of them were, after all, supposedly prominent characters in the Youkai hierarchy. However, it seemed that both highly esteemed figures had just succumbed to the power of the almighty dog whistle.

"Now would you two listen to me?" Kagome demanded, as she gasped for breath.

Inuyasha nodded, eyes wide. As Sesshoumaru was invisible at present moment, Kagome decided to interpret his silence as an affirmative.

"Right," Kagome began. "What I want to do now is more than a lovely reunion-" Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest but quickly closed it after a glare from Kagome. "But a test on this barrier."

"This Sesshoumaru expected as much." Sesshoumaru said regally, as if trying to regain his dignity. "Inuyasha is-"

"Going to help us experiment on the conditions of the barrier," inserted Kagome quickly, trying to stop Sesshoumaru from further insulting her lab rat. "If Inuyasha can get into the barrier, it would mean that other than me; those of your kin are accepted as well."

"Wait," Inuyasha blinked. "You mean you got in? Are you part Youkai or a witch or something?"

"First of all, I apparently am a MIKO," corrected Kagome angrily. She resisted the petty urge to pick up nearby objects and pelt the person in front of her with them. "Secondly, I have no idea. All I've found out is that living things don't get in, but inanimate objects are perfectly fine."

"If you don't know anything about this barrier, what makes you think I would want to risk staying in the well forever just to help him out?"

"Kagome, I do not need his help," Sesshoumaru interjected. "This Sesshoumaru would rather rot in this infernal place than to be indebted to that louse."

Sesshoumaru would have elaborated further if Kagome had not impatiently pushed Inuyasha into the well.

"Oof."

There was a thud. Kagome peered over the well curiously.

"So are you in the barrier or what?" Kagome called.

"Get off me, you brat!" Was the reply.

"With pleasure, brother."

"Aha! It worked! It's one step down the well for Inuyasha, but one more step closer to freedom for Sesshoumaru!" Kagome crowed. She was in the midst of performing a victory dance when her conscience twinged and she was reminded of their less than smooth relationship that keeping both men alive was in her best interests. "Hey! Don't kill each other down there, will you?"

There was the sound of a head hitting repeatedly against the wall. It soon stopped to be replaced by solid punches and kicks. It was punctuated by the occasional groan, battle cries and screams of pain, of which most belonged to Inuyasha - a result of Sesshoumaru's build up of stress after being imprisoned and the earlier trade of insults.

Kagome sighed, slapped her hand to her forehead and realized that it was going to be a long, long day.

***

Kagome cycled home, sighing at the childishness the two brothers had displayed. (Especially the younger one, but she surmised he was entitled to behave as such; after all, Sesshoumaru had been trying to kill him for years before he was sealed) She was about to sink into her nice warm bed when a telephone call abruptly interrupted her fluffing her pillow.

With a heavy sigh, she rolled over slowly, in an attempt to reach the telephone.

"Is this a Miss Kagome Higurashi?" Said an alien voice.

"Yes?" Kagome asked cautiously.

"This is the Tokyo Police. We need you at the hospital immediately. It's about your family."