"You're pretty old, right Inuyasha?" Sango slurred slightly.

"I think so…" He couldn't quite say how old he was, actually, and though there were a few people who would probably know— he would never ask them.

"So you o'viously have lived for a really long time, right?" She gestured to the sky above them, as if it helped prove her point somehow.

"You could say that." He played along, a part of him curious about where she was going with this. He talked to Sango the least out of their group, not because he liked her any less but because they both weren't particularly verbally inclined, only speaking up when it was time to plan battles or share fighting moves.

"Have you ever…" She paused briefly, her expression contemplative. "H'ever… been somewhere other than," she gestured above her again, and then swept her arm around her, "here."

"Sure, I've been up north and down south." He took a gulp of his sake, no where near close to the level of inebriation Sango was currently enjoying.

"Nononono… nono. I mean outside of Japan."

"Oh. Yeah, I have."

She didn't say anything for a while, and he thought that his short answer might have satisfied her drunken curiosity.

"Where did you go?"

He looked behind them to where their companions were sleeping, listened closely to their loud breathing. Miroku, the fool, had drunk far too much far too quickly. Inuyasha didn't envy him the headache he would have in the morning. Kagome— it had been her first time drinking any remarkable amount of alcohol. She had fallen asleep shortly after Miroku. And Shippou, the only absent member, was curled up at Kaede's house for the night.

He felt a furry head nudge the side of his hand and he obliged Kilala a scratch behind her ears affectionately.

"I've been to a place so far north that it never stopped snowing and then I just followed the coast south."

"What made you return?"

"The farther I got from Japan… the weaker I became. It was gradual. I didn't really notice that I couldn't jump as far or run as fast until I got into a brawl with a human one night. I got beat up pretty bad and I guess the pain— I didn't heal nearly as fast as I should have— set my mind straight. I hadn't seen or sensed any demons since leaving Japan, and when I passed places of worship I wasn't repelled by their spiritual wards though I saw indications of them. Japan has… a different kind of energy I guess, that sustains demons like me. It was either become human, but keep my dog ears, or return here."

Sango was quiet as she considered this, "but… why did you come back?"

At length, he responded, "because I couldn't find what I was looking for, and the longer I searched, the more sure I became that I would never find it."

"What were you looking for?"

"Something to protect."

500 words.

Disclaimer : This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note : Just a brief piece of inspiration. Not sure where it came from.

Fact : Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.