Disclaimer : I don't own Inuyasha or any of its official characters. Never had, never will. Life is just cruel that way.

WARNINGS : Brotherly love (NO yaoi !), character death (but not permanently... you'll see what I mean) and unmistakable OOCness on Sesshomaru's part (yes it was on purpose, so don't bother pointing it out). Inuyasha will be a bit OOC too... once again on purpose. It's necessary to the plot. Anyhow, I've warned you, so NO FLAMES ! Most likely, they will only be ignored.

A/N : Hi folks ! Doin' well I hope ? Well, this is the first fic I've ever written, so please go easy on me. Personally I'm quite happy with the result (considering it's my first time and all), but hey that's just my opinion. Why don't you just read it and tell me what you think ::winks::

By the way, this fic is being edited. There's quite a lot of grammatical mistakes right now because back when I wrote this my english wasn't that good... I'm working on it though and most of those mistakes should gradually disappear.

Well, let's get on with the fic !

.: The Protector :.

by cherry fantasy

Chapter one : Back to fighting

((EDITED))

"Would you stop and listen to me Sesshomaru !" Inu-Yasha yelled.

But it was no use. Sesshomaru just kept coming, his deadly Tokijin ready to strike him, his golden eyes burning with anger in his cold and stiff face. Wasn't there a trace of red in those eyes ? Inu-Yasha hoped it was just his imagination... As Sesshomaru was about to slice him in half with his sword, he dodged to the left and yelled again :

"Sesshomaru, damn it ! I have something important to tell you ! What's your stupid problem all of a sudden ?"

Without even stopping his attacks, his older brother answered him with an unsettling cold tone :

"You dare to ask ? What kind of cold hearted monster are you ?"

Inu-Yasha blinked. Being called a "cold hearted monster" by his brother sounded like a joke. He wasn't reputed to be the cold hearted one in the family.

Too late, Inu-Yasha realized his short lack of concentration. Sesshomaru was before him in a heartbeat, lowering his sword. He moved out of the way, but not quick enough ; Tokijin left a deep cut in his right arm, the one holding his loyal Tetsusaiga. Inu-Yasha winced, but didn't loosen his grip on his precious sword. Then Sesshomaru spoke again, with the same emotionless tone, although it was trembling with repressed anger :

"You're just a bloodthirsty creature who doesn't deserve to live. I shall eliminate you right here and now."

And with that, he attacked again. Inu-Yasha fought back. Like he had a choice ! What was it with his brother anyway ? He had never seen him like this. In fact, he wasn't seeing him much. Sure they had their differences, and it was most certainly not the first time they were fighting against each other, but this time Sesshomaru looked very angry at him. And Inu-Yasha couldn't understand why.

He had thought that time was over. He had thought that they were OK with each other now. Not best friends or anything like that, but he'd thought they'd at least reached a truce. Pursuing Naraku and trying to find out who would be the first to destroy the demon had become like a game to them, a competition. And they were defying each other in an almost brotherly manner, wanting to prove to the other who was the strongest one. This had somehow brought them a little bit closer. Just a liiiiiitle bit, but it was better than nothing, wasn't it ? The time when Sesshomaru wanted to kill him so badly and steel his Tetsusaiga was far behind them, forgotten to this new alliance they had against their similar foe, among other things. Inu-Yasha wouldn't say it out loud, but he had come to like this new relationship with his older sibling. It reminded him of when they were children. Back then, they had been so close, always supporting one another. Him looking at Sesshomaru with admiration and love, and Sesshomaru standing protectively beside him, defending him against those who were laughing and shouting insults at him because he was a hanyou. His brother had been smiling back then. But it was such a long time ago...

Inu-Yasha didn't know if they were ever going to have that kind of relation again, but he had thought that with their new collaboration, and with time... he had thought that maybe, just maybe, this was the beginning of a reconciliation. He was laughing at himself for thinking that way, but the little boy inside of him was pleading for his older brother to acknowledge him and love him again. He just couldn't help it. And for a moment, he had thought it possible. Something had started to bloom between them, after all those years of hatred, something very small and fragile and yet so familiar.

But it seemed that whatever that thing was, it had been crushed under Sesshomaru's feet, for his brother was now trying to kill him with more determination than ever before. Inu-Yasha dodged another blow. He was cut all over, while Sesshomaru didn't even have a scratch. There was a good reason for that : Inu-Yasha wasn't fighting seriously. He wasn't trying to hurt his brother. For an obscure reason, he didn't WANT to fight Sesshomaru. Was he going crazy ? Or perhaps, was he finally coming to his senses ?

"What do you think you're doing ?" Sesshomaru snapped at him. "Why aren't you fighting seriously ?"

Ah, so he had noticed ? Of course he had, who better than Sesshomaru would know how well Inu-Yasha could fight ? Inu-Yasha didn't answer though. What could he say ? "Sorry but I don't want to hurt you"? Yeah right !

Sesshomaru came running at him, swinging his sword in an attempt to slice through his stomach. But all he cut through was air ; Inu-Yasha had jumped upwards, landing a few meters away from Sesshomaru. How had they come to fight anyway ? Inu-Yasha asked himself. Then he recalled the events from earlier...

o0 A few moments ago... 0o

The forest was quiet. The wind was blowing softly, making the leaves shiver with a rustling sound. Then, suddenly, a blur of red and white. A bunch of birds quickly left their tree, surprised and scared by the newcomer. He was jumping from tree to tree, crossing distances with an ease that no human could ever achieve. A demon, then ? Not exactly...

Long and white silky hair, piercing golden eyes and red Fire Rat kimono. Inu-Yasha was in a rush. He had to find his brother right away. He was a bit tired, though, due to his earlier transformation. Yes, he had transformed again ; during a fight with a huge snake demon, he had lost grip of his Tetsusaiga. He had tried to get it back, but the demonic reptile had hit him square in the chest with its enormous body, sending him a good ten meters away from his sword. And then, because of the evident danger all around him, the pain in his chest, his life being threatened and his sword out of reach, the inevitable had happened : Inu-Yasha had transformed into a full demon. How he hated that !

It could've been a real disaster, but fortunately, he had learned how to fight his demon blood. Not completely, of course, and it didn't last long. But if it could just give him the time to reach his Tetsusaiga, he would be fine. His friends had seen his struggle, and they had helped distract the snake demon so he could go and grab his weapon. Saying he had appreciated the help would've been an understatement.

And so, he had walked toward his untransformed sword, which was stuck in the ground with its hilt pointing upwards. One step, another step, and another, and another... His demon blood was rushing through his veins, demanding to take control. He wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. And his sword was still so far... "I won't make it" he had thought. He was about to panic when suddenly, he had seen her.

A little girl with long black hair and warm brown eyes. She was wearing a cute orange and yellow kimono, and she was looking at him with an expression of pure fear. He could've sworn he knew her, but he couldn't concentrate. His heart was pounding, his head was hurting, and all he'd wanted to do at that moment was to give in and let the darkness swallow him. But he had resisted. He'd known that if he lost control, he would slay the girl for sure. And he couldn't stand that. So, he had just stopped moving, using all his energy to keep his demon side in check, praying for a miracle to happen.

And happen it did : he had suddenly felt a presence before him, really close. He had opened his eyes carefully, curious to see who was foolish enough to come near him when he was in his present state ; it was the little girl. She was shaking whit fear, her big brown eyes looking unsurely into his own glowing red ones. She was holding something, and it looked like... the Tetsusaiga ! The girl had then handed him his sword with trembling hands. His own hands were trembling just as much when he had slowly raised them to take the weapon from her.

And then, in a moment, it was over. Once the Tetsusaiga had been in his hands, his whole tensed body had relaxed. His red eyes had turned back to gold, his fangs and claws had shortened and he had finally been able to breathe normally. He had then lowered his gaze to the little girl at his feet ; her scent, he knew her scent... Yes, she was the child who was travelling with his brother ! But what was she doing here ? Was Sesshomaru around ? Inu-Yasha couldn't smell him...

The kid was apparently still frightened, he had noticed. He was very grateful to her for what she had done. She had been very brave. Really, how many children would come so close to a half-crazed demon and give it assistance ? But then again, she WAS travelling with Sesshomaru. Anyhow, Inu-Yasha was grateful. He had given her one of his rare honnest smiles and said :

"Thanks a lot, kid."

Reassured, she had timidly smiled back at him.

"Aren't you the girl who's travelling with Sesshomaru ?" he had asked.

She had nodded and said :

"Yes. How do you know my Lord ?"

"He's my brother" he had admitted. "What's your name, kid ?"

She had hesitated before answering :

"It's Rin."

"Oh well, thanks again, Rin. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he had told her with a grin before turning around and running toward the fight that was still raging behind them.

The whole thing had merely lasted a few minutes, and Inu-Yasha had been able to destroy the snake demon easily with a thundering Wind Scar. His friends had been relieved to see that he was back to his old self ; a reaction he could perfectly understand. His demon form was dangerous, half-insane and constantly eager for bloodshed. In this from he made no difference between friends or foes, and would most likely slay Kagome and the others without regrets if he ever got the chance. That thought was giving him goose bumps. He didn't even want to think about it actually happening.

Coming back to the present, Inu-Yasha had turned his head around to look where Rin was, while Kagome was taking the two jewel shards stuck in the snake demon's body. Saying that he had been shocked when he had seen that the child was being kidnapped would be a huge understatement. A strange demon who looked like a dragon, except it had feathered wings, was holding a terrified Rin in its claws, and was already flying away with her toward the mountains. Inu-Yasha had run and jumped, trying to catch the little girl, but the dragon demon had flown higher out of his reach, and Inu-Yasha had only succeeded at brushing her right leg with his hand.

He had fallen back to the ground fuming, but not clueless. When he had jumped, he had seen something on the dragon demon's back : a spider mark. Which could only mean one thing : this winged creature was another one of Naraku's reincarnations. But why would Naraku capture a little human girl ? What was in for him ? "That bastard !" had thought Inu-Yasha with a growl. Then he had thought of his brother. He had to warn Sesshomaru. Rin was under his protection, he had to be informed about what had just happened. Inu-Yasha owed him that much. And besides, the hanyou knew what HE would want to do if the same thing should happen to Kagome or any other of his friends : he'd want to go after this stupid dragon and kick its ass personally.

And so, Inu-Yasha had left his friends to go after Sesshomaru. He had given them a short explanation and told them to catch up with him later. After all, if Rin was (or had been) around, Sesshomaru couldn't be far either.

All that leading us to the reason Inu-Yasha was presently running full speed across the forest, trying to pick up his brother's scent. Suddenly, another scent tickled his sensitive nose...

"Shit !" he mumbled when he caught sight of the blood on his claws.

He carelessly wiped his right hand on his kimono. He must've accidentally scratched Rin's leg while trying to grab her. Sesshomaru would kill him for this...

And then he smelled it : his brother was there, not too far ahead. Inu-Yasha sped up ; time was something they didn't have. He came into a large clearing. Sesshomaru was there, just in front of him. A bit out of breath, Inu-Yasha exclaimed :

"Sesshomaru ! Finally ! Jeez you're hard to find ! Anyway, I have something important to tell you-"

"Inu-Yasha" his brother interrupted him with an icy glare.

Inu-Yasha stopped and looked at him. And then he noticed a few details he hadn't seen in the first place : Sesshomaru had the stance of someone who's preparing to fight. His clawed hand was on Tokijin's hilt, and his eyes were burning with anger. In brief, Sesshomaru looked pissed off.

"Inu-Yasha" he repeated in the same cold tone, "prepare yourself to die."

And then he attacked.