One Is All It Takes

Synopsis: One to go back, to follow, to want, to hate, to belong, to run, to miss. One thing is all it takes to make it... or break it. This is a story of how one thing pulls a pining mother, and an unsuspecting Inu Diayoukia into each others lives. OC X Sesshōmaru

Rating: M for nudity, later sexual content, harsh language and violence.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

A/N: hello. After... three years I'm back! I've decided to begin anew with this story. Why? First, because it's been three years. Second, I've changed a few things here and there in the earlier chapters, as well as combined them for larger chapters. My other stories I'm leaving as they are, for now. I may get back to them, I may just end up discontinuing them, I do not know at this point.

I could go on about the reasons why I've been gone... but really it just amounts to life being life. So, on to the story, yes?

One is All it Takes - To go back I

She was running, a three year old girl clutched to her. Behind her she heard the screams of her sisters and mother, but there was nothing she could do. There was a man running along side her, but she could not look at him. She had not been able to look at him for a long time.

Her long hair shot out behind her as she continued to run. The girl was beginning to wake, and pulled on her sleeve, wanting to know what was going on. She hushed the child, and continued to run, able to hear their pursuers catching up. Desperate to protect the still groggy child she ran faster, only to feel her foot catch on the curb as she came off the road onto the sidewalk across the street. She held back her dismayed cry as she fell forward, twisting her body awkwardly so the girl would not be crushed.

The man came to a stop, several feet ahead of her, and then bolted back. He helped her to her feet again, and shoved something in her hand, his mouth moving rapidly.

Her eyes were wide; clearly surprised he would help her. He shouted at her to get moving, and she nodded, looking one last time at him, and then their pursuers, before she began to run again. She could not help but look over her shoulder, and saw him crumple after being hit by a blue light. Tears came freshly to her eyes. In a desperate ploy to get away she dug deep into herself, and called to something there.

Almost instantly she felt her senses sharpen, and strength return. Her speed increased greatly, and she soon could barely hear those who pursued her. She slowed, looking over her shoulder tentatively. They were still there, but they were in dead falling behind. Setting her jaw she changed course slightly, and continued running.

When she came to bridge she veered away, going down to the water below it. They were still following, she could smell it. So she had no choice, as they had started to gain on them again. Looking at the thing she had been given, a strange pendant, she slipped it around the girl's neck, urging her to remain quiet.

Then she walked with the girl right to the edge of the water. She was murmuring something under her breath, as she lowered the girl so her feet where just above the water. "Please, please just remember my face," she pleaded, before letting the girl go completely.

The child was engulfed in a purple light, which soon disappeared. When it was gone, there was no child, only the woman with her tear streaked face. Hearing those who hunted her sliding down towards her, she turned, and ran out over the shallow water, and up the other side. She continued to run into the night.

"Noriyuune-sama," a man dressed in white dress shirt, black slacks and a long tailed black blazer spoke softly to the woman sitting in the seat by the window. "The pilot has informed me we are set to begin our landing soon."

The woman was looking out the window with her strange indigo eyes. She was supporting her slim face with a pale, delicate hand. Upon each check bone was a sea green strip. On her fore head sat a four point star; a diamond with concave sides. Between each point of the star was an elliptical petal in the same green shade.

When the man spoke she turned her head to him, causing her long silvery violet hair to shift about her shoulders. "Thank you, Alder. You may take your seat," her voice was kind, but she did not smile at him. In fact, she was pressing her lips together, brow knitting in a frown

"Of course," he gave a bow at his waist, causing his long, reddish blonde ponytail to slip over his shoulder. Straightening he quickly moved through the private plane to his seat, were he proceeded to buckle himself in.

She watched him for a moment, before pulling her own seat-belt over her frame. That done her eyes immediately returned to the window. It has been five years since I left, she mused to herself. Five years traveling the world, and she still had not found what she was looking for. Biting her lip she soon was aware of the familiar taste of copper. Sighing, her small tongue pushed past her lips, licking away the blood.

Closing her eyes she took several deep breaths. As she did so she brushed her hair aside to reveal one pointed ear. The tips of her clawed fingers touched the ear lightly as she continued to breathe deeply. As she felt the plane start it's descent the always strange feeling of folding in on herself enveloped her senses. Slowly her ear reshaped itself, till the point was gone. Her fingernails receded somewhat, no longer such a menacing length. The strips, and green mark on her forehead, faded into her skin, which became just slightly more flushed. Last off all was her hair. She could feel it's length receding, until it was of shoulder-blade length. The silvery stuff steadily darkened in colour, and the violet shade disappeared.

As the plane touched down the woman was now black haired, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal brown eyes. This still is so uncomfortable, she thought to herself. Sighing she gazed out the window once more, seeing the pavement speed beneath the plane until it finally came to a stop. Once it did she unclipped her seat belt, and was immediately on her feet.

At current she was dressed in a white blouse, with a grey blazer over top. She wore a slightly darker grey pencil skirt, reaching around her knees, and beige stockings. Rather than heels, the woman wore a pair of simple black flats. She straightened her skirt a little, before retrieving her briefcase. From inside she pulled out a few hair pins, quickly twister her hair up into a bun.

She had been traveling the world looking into ancient legends and artefacts. After coming through the incident that had taken her family from her, she had went right a large company known as Fumetsu Inc. Fumetsu was a powerful company in Japan, with many facets... clothing, food, video games, but the main part was actually unseen by the humans. She'd gone first for protection, and then because she had hoped they would help her find her daughter. She had not intended to get a job there, but they offered, and she took the opportunity. They said she could travel were she pleased, as long as he returned to Tokyo every five years… so here she was.

She was dreading stepping off that plane. She knew it was very likely the media would be there, waiting to interview her. Five years ago they had never gotten the chance; she had been under the protection of Fumetsu, and then slipped out of the country soon after. Unfortunately, that just made it worse now. They would have far too many questions after five years of no real answers on what had happened.

She sighed, and turned to walk through the plane towards the was standing, waiting near the lowering stairs for her to proceed him out of the plan. She did so without so much of a sidelong glance at her servant. The moment she stepped in front of him she could hear the sounds of cameras. Cursing silently, and taking another deep breath, she stepped onto the stairs and proceeded to descend. As discretely as she could, she cast her gaze about to try and see what had happened to security.

They were there, each one of them wearing a badge from her company... but the sheer number of reporters was apparently beyond what they could handle. She was almost instantly bombarded by questions.

"Rezei-san, how does it feel to be back in Japan for the first time in five years?" was predominant at first.

"It is nice to be back were I was born," she replied to that one. There were others she chose not to answer. Most of which having to do about the night her family was murdered, or if she was upset that there were still no leads on the case. The security personal moved into action the best they could, trying to push back the reporters, but they kept ducking under, or forcing past where they could.

Then it came, the one question she just couldn't handle. "Rezei-san, what of the case on your missing daughter?"

She stopped right were she was, midway through taking a step. She felt it flare out of her, even though she tried to keep it from doing so. The nearest camera cracked, startling the reporters. "That is none of your business," she said coolly, regaining most of her composure. Hell, she hoped her pupils hadn't become slits during her brief lapse in control.

Using the shock of the press to their advantage, security finally managed to open a clear path to the waiting limo, which she took. Alder stayed a few steps behind her, until they reached the vehicle, where he stepped forwards to open the door for her. She slipped inside quickly, the man closing the door behind her. As soon as it was closed, she leaned against the cool tinted window with a sigh of relief.

Rezei… she had not heard her surname in a quite some time. Of course, the surname was only for fitting in to human society. She never gave it out when she was on her trips, choosing to go by her first name alone. Or, in some cases, a part of her first name, as some people just did not have the patience for the whole thing. As she absently mulled over this, the glass between the back of the limo slide down, revealing the face of her servant. She became aware that the radio was on, before he had a chance to speak.

'The Rezei plane has been reported having touched down. Rezei, Noriyuune…'

"Turn it off," she called up to the driver, a plump brunette man, who did as he was told. Alder pursed his lips, before closing the partition again, figuring his mistress would rather be left to her own company. The limo was moving by now, and she closed her eyes tiredly, not really interested in the scenery they were passing. The cool glass felt good against her cheek until it began to warm form her body heat

Sighing she leaned back into her seat, although it was a tad awkward with her hair in a bun. "Of all the questions," she mumbled aloud, without meaning to. Leaning forward, she reached out and quickly pulled the pins from her hair, sliding them back into her breifcase. She was returning to Japan having failed to find a way to her daughter, she did not like the reporters reminding her of that failure. With an aggravated groan, she allowed her body to slid to the side, so she was lying on the seat instead.

She remained as she was for some time, dozing off after awhile. When she awoke she wrinkled her nose. The air in the vehichle was to... stifling to her. She had never liked cars very much. Or planes... or really any modern mode of transportation. Pushing herself up on her hands, she reached out with her right hand to press the intercom button. "How long till we change vehicles?" she asked tiredly.

"We are nearly at the switching point," came the soothingly familiar voice of Alder moments later. Alder had served her family for many long years, and continued to serve her well. He was old, very old, but his hair was only now greying.

She found his loyalty a little surprising, when she stopped to think of what he was. The man was not a man, but a youkia; a cross between a snake and a fox youkia to be exact. If you knew that you could pick up the slight hiss that was always present in his voice. As a child she had found the hiss disturbing, and she had mistrusted him. However she had many reasons to give him full trust now.

"Thank you," she said softly, before releasing the intercom button and allowing her frame to fall back onto the seat. Absently she wondered where they were switching, and with a groan she pushed herself back up into a sitting position. Noriyuune turned her head to look out the dark glass, blinking in mild surprise. They must have been driving for some time, as they were currently on a residential street. She watched as steps leading up to a shrine soon came into view, and felt like gagging. To her distress the Limo came to a stop. Why the hell were they stopping in front of a shrine?

A frustrated girl pulled herself up a ladder and out of well. "Stupid Inuyasha," she mumbled as she made her way out of the well house, black hair swaying with the movement. She half ran to the house in the shrine grounds. "I'm home!" she called when she reached the door.

"Oh! Kagome!" came a female voice, soon after a woman peeked out from the kitchen to look at the teen.

"Mama!" Kagome greeted her happily. She smelled something good.

"Your just in time for breakfast," Kagome's mother told her. "Come, eat," she ushered her daughter into the kitchen.

"Neesan," a young boy greeted, "your back."

"Hey, Souta," Kagome greeted her little brother. He grinned at her, as she took her seat at the table. She looked at the elder man who sat there was well, "Hey Jii-chan."

"Welcome back, Kagome," he returned her greeting. The family was soon seated, and digging into their meal. No one really spoke.

"Kagome, If you hurry you can still make it to school today," Kagome's mother told her, as the girl began ot gather up her dishes. "I'll take care of the dishes."

"Thanks, Mama," The teen said before rushing up the stairs to her room. She closed the door, and quickly changed into her school uniform, which had been in the wash when she'd gone through the well this last time. She grabbed her back, and through open the door to rush down the stairs. "I'm off!" she called as she hurried to the door, quickly jamming her feet into her shoes. She slid the front door open, an dashed out, her feet moving quickly over the ground as she headed for the steps. She didn't slow down much as her foot came down on the first step.

When she reached the bottom she turned rather sharply, and then fell back with a startled shout after colliding with someone. She looked up, rubbing her bottom a little, "I'm so sorry!" Kagome stammered out an apology, before getting to her feet. Almost as an afterthought, she looked towards whomever she'd collided with. She blinked in utter shock at the person she saw. She knew who this was... in fact, most of Japan did. She'd been on the news five years ago for over a month, after the disaster that had befallen her family... and her likeness had appeared frequently on the news this past week, as word spread that she would be returning to the country.

Noriyuune was surprised when a girl ran right into her, knocking her of balance, though she didn't fall. She nearly snapped at the girl in a green and white school uniform… until she caught a peculiar scent coming off of her. Straightening herself she brushed out her skirt as the girl apologized, trying to identify the scent. "It's alright, " She said when she noticed the girl was staring at her with her chocolate coloured eyes. Noriyuune found herself frowning slightly. Was she really that well known? "What's your name?"

Kagome blinked at the question, but responded without hesitation "Higurashi, Kagome."

The woman offered her a smile, "Well, Higurashi-san. It was nice bumping into you. Maybe I'll see you again during my stay." She started to turn then, heading towards a little purple car, before stopping to look back at the teen "Oh… please don't tell anyone you saw me."

"Ye-yes, of course, Rezei-san," Kagome stammered. Then she looked at her watch, "Oh no… I'm late. Bye!" With that the teen hastily turned and rushed down the street. Something felt a little strange about her… the girl thought as she continued to rush to school.

Noriyuune watched Kagome for a moment, frown presenting itself. her eyes soon turned to her servant, who was standing beside the waiting car. "Alder, could you smell it? She had a faint scent of youkia, and a hanyou coming off her," He nodded to confirm he had also smelt it. "Yet I can tell she is a human girl." Again her servant nodded, before pulling open the door and offering her a slight bow.

She sighed, and closed the distance between herself in the car, sliding once more into the back seat. Alder closed the door for her, before making his way around the vehicle to the driver side door. Alder quickly slide into the driver seat, sliding the key into the ignition and starting the car. "There aren't any Hanyou's in this area," Noriyuune spoke softly.

"There are none," Alder confirmed with a slight nod, pulling away from the side walk.

She sighed, tucking some of her silky hair behind her ear, "So then why would she have that smell coming off her," she mused absently.

"She must have recently been in contact with one," Alder pointed out the obvious, dark green eyes momentarily flickering to her through the rear-view mirror.

"I know that," the woman muttered in response, nibbling on her bottom lip. "The smell is fresh enough that the contact must have been very recent, yet I can smell no trail from the hanyou she was in contact with." There was no scent of hanyou any were else in the neighbor hood.

"I do not know, Noriyuune-sama," Alder answered, coming to a stop at a red light.

"Perhaps my nose is not strong enough as I am," She murmured. Another possibility occurred to her, however. She tried to brush it aside, but it kept tugging at her mind.

Why else would she have such a smell coming off her, with the smell of youkia as well? This girl could be doing the very thing she had been trying to accomplish for five years.

A/N: Well there we have it, the first chapter of the rewrite, which covers the prologue and first chapter of the old one. Without the title and A/Ns the chapter is 3,110 words long, which is as short as any of the chapters in the rewrite are going to be. In fact, the rest will all be longer. For those of you who read the old story, you'll probably notice where it's exactly the same as before... the next three chapters will be similar to this, the content not much changing.

The next chapter will, without a doubt, be up september 14th, so until then, ta ta~