Disclaimer: Hello all! I have returned once again, I won't be leavin' anytime soon! Just a WARNING to all of those squeamish people out there, if you don't like stories with gore, or anything that may include suicide, rape, sexual content, or extremely CRUDE mental breakdowns, then I suggest you Don't read this! Thank you…
It had happened again. He tried his best to calm her, to keep her still, for fear of the wounds opening again. Her encounters with death were becoming more and more frequent with the passing months. But then why wouldn't he just let her go, let her end the misery she was in? Because she wasn't his to let go, she was Inu-Yasha's.
It was simply another of those fateful days. The now well-known group had just finished getting about four shards from a pack of bears and was now resting. Nothing out the ordinary was happening, not yet.
"Inu-Yasha? How many more shards do you think there are?" Shippo asked, jumping onto his shoulder.
"I don't know. By the looks of it, and the amount of shards Naraku has, probably not that many," he said simply, his mind wondering at the thought of how to get the shards back from Naraku.
His mind was averted from their thoughts by the sound of hooves beating the ground. They all turned to look at the coming horses. Inu-Yasha simply glared at them, knowing the scent that lingered on them.
The three men on horseback stopped right in front of the little group, and seemed to be scrolling at them.
The one in front, who was obviously the leader, dismounted and took out a small scroll. Opening he spoke to all of them.
"I have here a message of great urgency. Who here is Inu-Yasha?" he said, rather monotone.
They all seemed quite stunned at this, except for said one, who simply stepped forward and said, "I am".
"Very well; this is a message from Lord Sesshou-Maru of the West. He calls for you to return and retrieve something of yours."
"Does it say what?" his eyes not leaving the man who spoke, which made him edgy.
"He warned me of this, of your question that you'd probably ask. He told me to personally tell you a single word that would answer all you questions," he told him, smirking all the way to his feet.
Inu-Yasha didn't like the looks of this man, and he certainly wasn't going to put up with his mocking face any longer.
"And what would that one word be?"
"Mate"