Author's Note - (Please forgive any spelling or punctuation errors in the last half of this story. For some reason, the formatting decided to die, and I had to reneter it all again, so I may have missed something.)

The day was dismal, wet and cold.
That, in itself, was a reason to smile.
The lands that had been scorched so badly, the lands that were so dry, drank in the rain greedily. If one stood still, they could almost hear the ground sighing with relief as the rains fell, spattering on the dusty soil.
The only problem was that the rain didn't last long enough to really do any good. It rained for about an hour, and then drizzled to a stop.
The kitsune child sat in the window of Lady Kaede's hut, peering outward, his large green eyes worried.
"Well, it started raining, but it stopped again. I don't think it's going to do any good."
Kaede poked at the fire with a long stick, stirring up the embers, "No, it won't. Not enough for the crops, anyway. Just enough to raise the hopes of the farmers, and that's all."
Shippo turned, looking back at Kaede, "I'm getting worried, Kaede. Has it ever gone this long before, without raining?"
"Not in my lifetime, Shippo. It's not a good sign of things to come."
Shippo looked back out of the small hut, his eyes scanning the lands before him, dotted here and there with other small huts.
"Hey, where did Farmer Hauto's sheep go? He used to have a whole bunch of them out there, and now I only see a few."
Kaede was quiet for a few minutes, and then spoke gently, "He killed some, Shippo."
Shippo blinked, and looked back at Kaede, "What? Why? It wasn't time for them to even give wool yet! Were they sick?"
Kaede looked at the child gently, "No...and yes, Shippo. He had to kill the ones that weren't doing so well."
"I don't understand. You said they weren't sick."
"They weren't...but the grass is drying up. The animals can't get enough to eat, and so, in order to save some of his flock, the farmer killed off the weaker ones. That way there will be more grass for the stronger ones, and maybe they will survive."
Shippo stared at Kaede in shock for a second, before quickly looking away. But he wasn't fast enough for Kaede to miss the startled tears in the kitsune child's eyes.
"Well that's not fair," Shippo said quietly.
"No, it isn't," Kaede said softly, "But life often isn't fair, Shippo. And...well...in a way, the farmer did them a kindness."
"How!?"
"They died quickly. They won't be hungry or thirsty anymore. When we're responsible for animals, Shippo, sometimes we have to look at what their lives are like, and what they will be like. And if we see they're going to suffer...and there's nothing we can do to prevent that suffering....sometimes the kindest thing we can do is make sure they die before they suffer very much. And die easily."
Shippo's breath hitched as he fought not to cry.
"Come on, Shippo," Kaede said gently, "I could use some help in taking the scales off these fish. InuYasha and the others will be back soon, and I imagine they'll be hungry."
Shippo jumped down from the window, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, and settled down beside the old woman, "They sure are taking a long time hunting down that demon. I hope everything is going ok."
Kaede smiled, "I'm sure whatever it is, they're doing just fine."

"WindScar!"
Tetsusaiga's attack flashed outward, aiming towards the giant Oni. The beast was huge, a dark red skin and yellow eyes, a single horn jutting from it's forhead. Tattered, rotten skins hung from it's waist for clothing, and it carried a massive club in it's hand.
The Windscar ripped along the ground, tearing up dirt and leaves as it went, before striking the ground before the Oni. The Oni screamed in rage, and threw it's massive weapon at the hanyou.
"InuYasha, look out!" Miroku called.
InuYasha had seen the weapon, though, and easily leapt over the missile, grinning.
"Is that the best you can do?" he taunted, landing again, resting his sword on one shoulder.
"Don't start getting cocky, InuYasha," Miroku warned.
"Oh come on," the hanyou said, glancing towards Miroku, "I can handle things bigger than this."
"Still," the Kageri said, phasing into place alongside Kagome, "It is always best to never taunt an enemy until you are sure of it's abilities."
InuYasha's face darkened, and he turned towards DarkWind, "Yeah? Listen up, when I want your advice, I'll ask for it, understand?"
Kagome stepped forward, "InuYasha, look out!"
InuYasha turned back in time to see the Oni's club come swinging down. It caught the hanyou full-on, knocking him backwards into the forest.
"InuYasha!"
"See?" DarkWind shrugged.
"Not now, DarkWind," Kagome breathed, as she ran past the Kageri. She had only taken a few steps before a crimson streak flashed out of the treeline; InuYasha, bearing back down on the Oni.
"That's it, you bastard! This time you're going down!"
He planted his feet, and again sent the WindScar ripping outwards towards the Oni. The yellow light enveloped the demon, and engulfed it entirely. The demon screamed, before being burned away. When the WindScar rippled out, there was only a black mark on the ground, and a scorched smell left behind.
"Well," Sango said, walking up and gazing downwards at the mark, "That's the fourth Oni we've killed this past week. Strange."
"Yes," Miroku nodded, "It's strange indeed."
"What's strange?" InuYasha sheathed his sword, and walked towards them.
"That we've killed four Oni in one week."
"What's strange about it?"
Miroku rested his staff against a nearby tree, "Well...we all know that Oni are solitary demons. They don't gather together like some other demons...in fact, they seem to actively avoid each other's presence. Yet we've killed several in 1 week, and all within a close radius of each other."
"You think they're gathering for something?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know...I don't even know if it's important," Miroku eyes seemed distant, as if he were looking at something far away....or far in the past, "I just find it odd."
"Well, no matter. This one is as dead as the others," InuYasha said, nodding, "Come on, let's head on to the next village. The farmers in that last one said the next one was bring bothered by an Oni as well."
"InuYasha," Sango said, as she fell into step beside the hanyou, "Do you think you can talk to the next one before you attack it?"
"Talk to it?" InuYasha blinked, glancing at her, "They're not exactly a chattery bunch."
Sango smiled, "I know. Still....like Miroku, I find the close quarters of all these Oni odd. I'm hoping it might tell us something."
"We can always try," Miroku smiled at her.
"What is it you're hoping it will tell you, anyway?"
Sango looked thoughtful for a few minutes, then spoke, "Well, why they seem to be grouping, for one thing. What's going on, if they have plans."
"You honestly think that if they do have something planned they're going to tell you?"
The demon-slayer shrugged, "It can't hurt to ask, really. And some of them can be quite dense. One might actually tell you."
InuYasha shrugged. He didn't think it was likely, but he was willing to try for Sango's sake.
The group regathered their things, and set out again, this time heading away from Kaede's village, and toward what appeared to be another village. This one was bigger. While it didn't seem rich, it wasn't poor either. It seemed to be doing well enough, despite the drought.
"We need to ask the people here if they've seen anything," Kagome explained to DarkWind's confused look, "We'll head back to Kaede's in a bit. If there are any more Oni around, we need to be sure they're taken care of."
"Ah."
As they walked farther into the village, Miroku glanced around, "Odd. The fields here seem to be doing better than the others."
Sango nodded, "Yes, I noticed that as well. You can see the ground is still dry, but the plants are at least still growing. I wonder why?"
Kagome looked carefully at Sango and Miroku, "Do you guys sense anything? Some sort of demonic presence?"
InuYasha blinked at her, scoffing, "A demonic presence? A demon that causes plants to grow?"
Kagome's face suddenly turned red, "You don't know. It's possible!"
InuYasha suddenly swallowed, and cursed his tongue, "Yeah....sorry. You're right."
Miroku and Sango exchanged an unhappy glance, and moved on. Kagome took a deep breath, and nodded, smiling a little at him, "It's ok." She turned and caught up to Sango before the hanyou could begin talking.
InuYasha fell into step behind the others, cursing himself in his mind. It seemed a losing battle. Kagome was never going to feel for him the same way again. He had ruined what had been a perfect thing. And what was worse, no matter how hard he tried, he was still uneasy around her. He still snapped, or spoke without thinking.
It was like he was slipping back into his old ways, the way he was before he met and accepted them all. After they had killed Naraku and had been faced with this new him and Kagome had grown closer and closer, he had seen the change in himself. He had been calmer. Gentler. More at ease with himself, and even with others. Now it was like he was going back to his sarcastic, nasty ways. And he didn't want to be like that anymore.
InuYasha sighed mentally. He knew he wasn't ever going to be perfect. He was half demon, and that half of him would always be wild. Aggressive. Quick to anger, quick to speak, slow to calm, slow to think. But before he had seen there was real hope that he could really, honestly, get along with people, even complete strangers.
Now he was losing that again.
Her presence always sort the demon part of me. Now I'm losing that.
He watched her walk, talking to Sango. The demon slayer said something, and Kagome laughed, tipping her head back a little, the sun shining on her face and throat.
How do I win you back, Kagome? Please give me a hint.
"It's a nice village," Miroku was saying, "The houses have recently been repaired and even painted. Look at that garden. There are flowers here. Its like a little paradise growing here."
InuYasha fell into place beside the monk, "Yeah, and its still weird, isn't it? I dont smell anything, and I dont smell Oni either. No demon scents. Nothing."
Miroku spoke lowly, surprising InuYasha. The monk seemed to want only the hanyou to hear him, "I sense something, but I can't identify it, whatsoever."
InuYasha flicked his ears, and glanced at the monk, "What's it like? I mean, there must be something you can compare it to?"
"Wel.....lyes."
"And?"
There was a pause, and then Miroku spoke, "It's akin to the presence of DarkWind."
InuYasha felt his hackles rise, and he calmly placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, murmuring, "You saying there's another Kageri here?"
"No, it's not like that at all. It's like DarkWind, but so much fainter. Weaker."
InuYasha said nothing, understanding now why Miroku had spoken for his ears only. The women trusted DarkWind completely. It was only himself and Miroku who really knew the danger the Kageri could pose.
"A Kageri that's been here a while ago? We know Naraku has one now, that bastard..." InuYasha inwardly shuddered. Seeing Naraku again, having risen from the dead....and now with a Kageri...
"No," Miroku's voice sounded annoyed with himself, "Not like that either, I just can't.."
"Alright. We'll keep our eyes and ears open, see what happens."
They broke off speaking, as a small group of people were walking towards them. One man wore a dark blue silk robe, and his long white wispy beard betrayed his age. His face, however, was open and honest appearing. He smiled at them.
"Well.....greetings to you, young ones. Welcome to our village."