It was dark under the bridge but he could see everything as plain as if it was day. He was an inuyoukai, blessed with enhanced senses. His heart pounded as he crept to the upper part of the bridge, the harsh light of the street lamps casting an eerie glow on his tall form. His unique eyes, with their iridescent mixture of gold, purple and brown, blinked up at the offending fixture before he tucked his head under his hood, annoyed at the brightness of the electric fixture.

A clawed hand snagged to his hood to hold it, Kyo made his way down Vera Avenue, his steps silent and his breathing light. He was a predatory creature by nature and a silent and intelligent creature by practice—which made him a formidable assassin and tracker and a very successful planner.

The trek to the home of Shenji Katakana was brief but exhausting, due to the expansive amount of alleys that Kyo had to take in order to avoid the hectic traffic of the main garden in the middle of the city—where he usually ran in the early mornings. But since most demons were active during the night, save for inuyoukai and most bird youkai, the main garden was filled with demons of every sort.

Kyo growled. He hated crowds. They made his skin crawl and his mouth dry. They irked him off to no end and left him edgy for the rest of the day. Thus, when it was at all possible, he avoided them; like now.

Finally, out of the darkness, loomed the penthouse of Vera Avenue's only demon psychiatrist. Kyo stalked forward, his expression dark. He would find out what about this man bothered his father; because nothing, except things that were inexplicably disastrous, bothered Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands.

—500 Years Ago—

Nothing scared him; nothing fazed him…especially a whelp like this. He would not balk, he would not surrender…he would succeed.

"Sessho-sama? Rin-san made you a pretty flower necklace."

He scowled as Kagome started laughing. "I don't want it, Rin."

"But Rin made it special for Sessho-sama!" she whined, starting to cry. His insides churned. He hated a female's tears. It sent his instincts into overdrive. Inuyoukai females only cried when extremely distressed, frightened, or hurt…and inuyoukai males were bound to keep any of those three things from happening, if it was at all possible. So tears made him queasy and light-headed. He hated them.

"Fine," he ground out, extending his hand for the wreath of cherry blossoms, lilies, lilac hibiscus, and magnolias. He situated it on his neck and stretched his arms out to the side for approval.

Rin clapped, happily, her tears vanishing as if they'd never appeared. He sighed in relief, even as she darted away into the trees to make another embarrassing and feminine-smelling wreath of possession. Or, at least, that's what he called them.

There was a bark of laughter on the outskirts of his peripheral vision and Sesshomaru turned to face its owner. "You will refrain from laughing at this Sesshomaru, ningen. I have no patience for your insolence."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "My insolence? You're the one calling your savior a ningen," she spat, her expression clouded with ire.

He laughed—dark and dangerous. "My savior? I am the one who saved you, little miko, not the other way around."

She glared at him, furious. "I will not finish the bond if you continue to speak to me this way. I am the Guardian of the Shikon no Kakera, the reincarnation of Midoriko and one of the Saviors of the Four Lands. I am not some useless ningen. I am a woman of power, cunning and strength—nearly at the political position of you, yourself, Sesshomaru, save for the fact that I have no need for the royalties and crown jewels."

He stared her down. "Do not speak to me in that manner."

"Get off your high horse, hike up your lacy underwear of non-existent power and superiority and go fuck a bunny or something. You're really getting on my nerves."

He was on her in an instant, his hand around her throat. But she was quick. Her aura-laced hand—pink with her defiance—was latched around his crotch, burning and extremely uncomfortable. He hissed in pain. "Release me, bitch."

"Get off me before I make them fall off instead of just giving them a trim. And don't think I won't. And if you think you can kill me before it happens, you'd be dead wrong. They'd be crispy nothings before I ever stopped blinking." She glared up at him, her face almost as pink as her hands. Determination clouded her normally passive countenance and Sesshomaru found his confidence, unusually, wavering.

As swift as he had appeared, Sesshomaru retreated, crossing his arms across his chest, smiling. "Very well played, Kagome."

She sat up, still very much angry. "I'd suggest you don't underestimate again, Sesshomaru. I could do things much worse to you than castration."

"I'm sure," he drawled, his pointed incisors glistening over his bottom lip as he smirked. "But, unfortunately for you, Kagome, you have to sleep and I…I do not. So when your little eyes close and your breathing ceases, you're at my mercy."

She laughed out loud. "Do you think I haven't conditioned myself to be awake at the slightest sound? I am a demon-hunter/miko/shard protector, Sesshomaru…I practically have the danger senses of a demon."

His smirk morphed into a scowl. "It seems we're at an impasse."

This time, she smirked. "Face it, Fluffy, you need me."

"Hardly," he breathed.

"Would you like your other arm back?"

He cursed, "You are despicable."

"I learned from the best."

—Present Day—

Shenji opened his double bolted door to find a demon lurking on his doorstep. The seemingly teenage boy's silver hair rested against his shoulders and his odd eyes were piercing beneath the shade of his hood. Shenji sniffed, taking in the boy's scent. He was an inuyoukai. Fear crept up from his bowels to his heart. "Yes?" he stammered, trying to stay as calm as possible.

The boy dipped his head in respect before speaking. "First of all, for my state of business, my name is irrelevant and any investigating into who I am will be seen as a breach of the Demon Confidentiality Agreement—Law # 696, decreed on July 4th, 2006 by the Demon Community Advisory Congress." He lifted his face, locking his gaze with Shenji's. "Do you understand?"

Shenji collected himself quickly. This boy knew what he was doing. "Agreed, but any knowledge of my personal information being spread past your immediate superiors and partners will also be seen as a breach of this agreement."

The boy grinned. "Agreed; now stand aside so I can enter."

Shenji stifled a tremor of fear. "Surely, come right in." He cracked open the door to its full extent, allowing the lithe, but tall, teenager into his penthouse. The boy's clothes were done in ebony and dark jade with a few accents of silver. He was higher up in status, Shenji decided also, as proven by the way he carried himself and the way he spoke. "May I take your coat?"

The boy, known to his parents as Kyo, moved his gaze from the fireplace to Shenji. "No, my duster stays on my person. I do not wish to reveal my defining markings to you. And do not think that you can trick me into releasing my identity, Mr. Katakana. You are way out of your league in these matters."

Shenji scowled. "And how can you be so masterful at it? You are but a teenager! A mere 200 years!" he raged, his face purpling.

Kyo laughed. "230 years, Mr. Katakana. And I've been doing this since I was a pup. I am a master of Strategy and all Sciences. I also am incredibly well versed in language. Do not underestimate me."

Shenji's scowl deepened as he settled his paunchy posterior into an armchair. "Well, then, by all means, sit, boy."

Kyo did just that. "Do you have any questions before I proceed?"

Shenji nodded. "What do I call you, boy?"

Kyo smirked. "Sesshome," he answered, his eyes brightening.

Shenji nodded. "Sesshome…well, then, do proceed."

Kyo nodded in return. "My first question, Mr. Katakana, is a simple one." He pulled a pair of glasses, their trim the darkest ebony, out of his duster pocket and placed them on the bridge of his nose. He then pulled out a notebook. "Shenji Katakana," he began, "would you please announce, with my pen as witness, your family name and your species?"

Shenji's eyes widened and he paled. Kyo's smirk broadened. "You see, Mr. Katakana, your trustworthiness is under speculation—due to your unknown species and mysteriously unknown family name. My superiors are very ardent that this knowledge be made known to them or they will call the DCAC to arrest you." He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Surely, this will not be an issue?"

Shenji stuttered, almost as if in agony. "No…Sesshome-san."

Kyo bared his fangs in pleasure. "Good."

---

Here's the next chapter! It's really short, but this story wasn't going to be very long anyways. And I'm sorry about the whole 'hiatus' scare. I was just overwhelmed with the amount of Sess/Kag I was trying to write. So I put this one on a brief hold. I'm all better now, as you can tell.

Oooh….we finally get to know what Shenji is!

…

Darkness: And isn't Kyo just delicious? –snuggles against her favorite Sess/Kag child-

Kyo: Keh. You are embarrassing, woman.

Darkness: Psh. Don't try and act like your father. It doesn't work.

Kyo: My 'clients' seem to think it does.

Darkness: Shenji is a wet-blanket

Kyo: -pregnant pause-

Darkness: Kyo?

Kyo: -giggles-

Darkness: Oi? Did my stoic creation just giggle?

Sesshomaru: -appears- Laughter is good for the soul.

Kagome: -smirks- You can teach them. Told you, Ai-chan.

Ai: Yes, Mama.

Kagome: Pay up.

Ai: -kneels on the ground- Oh wonderful Mother, you are spectacular.

Sesshomaru: -chortles-

Darkness: Okay, this is getting too weird for me. Did you guys go all personality-switchy on me?

Kyo: Maaaaybe.