Sesshomaru stood on the edge of the forest that surrounded his land and watched the band of people that were milling about there. For some reason these trespassers had decided to march right through the northern portion of his land. He had no idea what they were doing there, but they had an obvious plan. His expression was one of grim resignation. He would have to kill them all.

With more power than any human could imagine, he leapt into the air and landed in their midst. His golden eyes shone like the noonday sun and his silver hair lay softly, fluttering down his back.

The party of people scattered and began to run for their lives, like rabbits running from a coyote. They shouted, screamed, ducked behind trees and bushes. Some actually had the nerve to brandish swords at him. So far he hadn't twitched a muscle or turned an eye in any direction. Their natural fear had been so overwhelming, that they had fled before he had a chance to attack.

"Why are you humans here?" Sesshomaru's eyebrow arched.

"Are you going to kill us?" One man shivered until his armor plates clanked together.

Sesshomaru noticed that the man was speaking slightly to the left of him. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed that a female demon was striding towards them at a very fast rate. Her face was intense in her pursuit. Her skin was the color of the richest chocolate and her hair was a shade of blue that belied nature. He could not see the color of her eyes from this distance, but he knew she was not there to kill them. She drew closer still and he saw the man before him collapse in a pile of tears and stinking fear.

"Please protect us from that beast!" The man wept on Sesshomaru's feet. Sesshomaru thought the guy was insane and he told him so.

"You are a madman to think that I, Sesshomaru would help a human." He kicked the man backwards with a booted foot. He was about to strike the man dead with his Tokijin, when a streak of blue and black came between him and the coward on the ground. "What is the meaning of this? You have interfered where you are not wanted."

The men were deposited safely with the rest of the group that were cowering some distance away. Slowly, the female demon came to stand before Sesshomaru. Her manner was not that of a killer. Now that she was this close to him, Sesshomaru noticed that her eyes were colorless. It wasn't that they had no color at all, but that they were so lightly tinted that it was hard to perceive their actual color. He wondered at her eyesight and thought it might be impaired.

"You are not to kill these humans." Her voice was steadfast and strong.

"What is it to you if I kill some stupid trespassers?" Sesshomaru brought forth the Tokijin and swung it full-force at her head. He stopped the downward swing just before it was about to slice through her skull and on through her body. She did not dodge the blow or even blink at it's closeness. 'She must be blind.' Sesshomaru lowered Tokijin and sheathed it.

"I am not blind as you suspect. And these people are not trespassers." The look in her eyes made him take a step back.

"I will not allow these humans to pass through my woods." Sesshomaru caught himself before he took another step in retreat. "They are trespassing on my private holdings. Why would a demon like yourself tag along with humans that are obviously scared to death of you?" He could not take the words back once he said them, but it was his curious nature that had stopped him from slaughtering Inuyasha many times over.

"I tell you again they are not trespassing. They are only passing by your lands and until this morning they were completely unaware of my demon blood. It wasn't until my cousins dropped by that they knew I was a panther demon. Those bumbling oafs dropped a horse carcass on my dinner table and began to devour it there…uncooked and bleeding on my rugs. When my eldest cousin saw that my staff were entirely human, he felt the need to hunt them like a cat hunts a mouse. Of coarse they scattered and the chase was on. It is only now that I have caught up to them. Of coarse two of them were caught and killed before I could stop it."

Sesshomaru almost laughed aloud, but held it in. "I ask you again…why would it matter if I had killed them? They are only human."

"I, Ukaran do not harm humans. It is hard enough to live in this world. I do not kill something just because others perceive it to be inferior. I for one, think humans are my equal and deserve to live as well as I."

This time he did laugh and it was a laugh that could have put a permafrost on the ground beneath them. "Humans are worthless."

She looked him up and down with a disconcerting glare. "Dog demon do not bother me again."

He returned the glare and in kind dismissed her. "This Sesshomaru does not waste his time delaying felines such as yourself. Remove your cat stench from my lands and take your pitiful human pets with you." He turned his back on her and walked diligently back to the forest border.

Once he was back in the shade of the trees he turned back to watch her gather her people. They were scared, but eventually came to the conclusion that he had. She wasn't about to kill her guards and house pets. For a while, Sesshomaru stood there watching her. His eyes took in her strange attire. She was in a foreign garb. Her feet were bare. Her leggings were made of white silk with blue trim. Her shirt was something flowing and white with small blue flowers around the collar and cuffs. For some reason he found himself attracted to her willowy body. Her silky hair, that was pulled back into a ponytail high on her head, was swinging back and forth like a pendulum. She had gold rings and bracelets on every finger, toe, wrist, and ankle. Gold necklaces draped her neck and a single white diamond pendent nestled in her cleavage. Two diamond and gold earrings hung from each perfectly shaped lobe and one ruby stud went through her left nostril. All this he had noticed from his single encounter with her. He would see that image of her often when he was feeling alone.

When she began to walk away with her entourage all around her again, he saw her face turn in his direction. And as though she knew he were watching her…she smiled and winked. Sesshomaru scowled when he felt himself blush.