Rewritten prologue

Ha...ha...ha... The male's breathing cadence was broken. At each difficult inhalation his chest rose with a different rhythm. He hissed as he took another breath. The pain was unbearable. It was the worst he had ever felt and it made him think that fire was burning his body from the inside. The aching, like liquid lava, slowly spread from his torso to set aflame the rest of his body. It seemed strange for him to be undergoing such suffering while he wasn't physically injured. He had even touched his rib to make sure they weren't broken, nor his lung perforated.

Resting beside a tree, he raised a trembling hand to his face and, by this gesture, revealed two red marking on his wrists. As he wiped the sweat from his forehead, he grazed the blue crescent moon on it, which drew a slight moan from his parted lips. His withdrawing arm brushed his long silver hairs and some of them caught in his fingers. The man, if you could call him that, was beautiful. Some passing stranger, after having stolen a glance at him, could have confounded him with a stunning young woman because of his more than refined feature. The blue moon on his forehead wasn't the only display his physical appearance had to offer. On each of his cheek were paint two blood red marking, as well as one red stripe on his eyes lids. His normally piercing glaze, now filled with pain, was golden. As for his ears, they were pointed in an elvish way.

If one took the time to do a closer inspection, he would have noticed that the creature was indeed male and not female. The demon - he obviously wasn't human - was dressed in a white kimono with red honeycomb and flower crest decorating the collar and the sleeves. His lower body was covered by a Sashinuki hakame, gathered at his ankles to produce a ''ballooning'' effect. Over his kimono was a black armor. It included a spiked pauldron covering his left shoulder and attached to the upper section of the cuirass. Around his right shoulder, was the moko-sama, a large billowing collection of white fur. As for his footwear, it was simply a flat pointed ankle-high boots. At his side laid his two swords, Tenseiga and Bakuseiga.

Raising his head, Sesshomaru gazed at the sky and wondered about the length of time that had flowed since he had collapse beside the tree. He knew that it had been a long wait and that he had to move before... before HE appears. His skin rose as the simple thought of that. He, the mighty Lord Sesshomaru was afraid. No, he wasn't; he was NOT afraid. He repeated that same thought over and over again inside his mind, trying to fool himself. After all, his present state didn't allow much liberty to defend his person. That fact was as humiliating than terrifying.

How did he come to this? If only he wasn't cursed by... by this condition that he had inherited from his mother, he wouldn't have been in this state. He would have been the Sesshomaru everyone had in mind and he wouldn't have been betrayed and oh, how much this betrayal burned at him. He had lost everything in one day: his title, his pride and his love as he was forced to flee. His tormented mind hadn't kept count of the passing time as he wandered helplessly around the land. Days and nights seemed to melt together. He had to seek help, but where would he find some? That, he didn't know. His brother...yes, Inuyasha might be able to help him.

The youkai gathered all the remaining energy that his throbbing body had to offer and raised slowly on his feet, helping his ascension by grabbing the tree with weak arms. As every cell that was his trembled, he attempted to walk. He put an uncertain foot in front of him and when he didn't crumble beneath it, he put another one and repeated the same cadence until his body was able to keep going at a slow rhythm. At a normal walking speed, Inuyasha was about six hour from where he was. Unfortunately, his state didn't allow such a speed. Who knew how long it would take him to reach his destination? Normally he would have rest until he was able to continue, but he couldn't afford it now; not with HIM pursuing his trail. His wavering limbs kept moving him at a slow pace, but Sesshoumaru came abruptly to a stop. Right there, behind him, he could sense a tremendous amount of youki flaring in his direction. The beating of his heart increased dramatically. NO! It couldn't be. He didn't want it to be. Choking, he slowly turned his body in the direction of the energy and his heart almost stopped at the sight greeting him. There he was, the man he didn't want to see, the man he didn't want to be found by.

'' I found you, Sesshoumaru'' said the male with a sweet voice, almost too sweet for the grin he wore on his face.