This specific part is during the time when our lovely mixed group of people is traveling to get the jewel back together.
"Kiki! Stop!" Kiko cried as he struggled to keep up with his unburdened sister. The swinging basket of herbs and berries banged against his knees causing them to hurt more and more with every leap forward. "Kanga told us not to go near the road!" he shouted to her as she moved farther and farther away from him.
"The cherries are ripe though! Kanga would be happy if we brought back some cherries!" Kiki yelled back to him once she had reached the dusty road. She didn't cross it yet, but instead waited for her twin to catch up. Across the road was the only clump of cherry trees for miles around. Kiki knew that Star loved them, and Kanga was happy when her sister was happy. Once Kiko had caught up, out of breath and in pain, Kiki scrambled across the road and up the nearest tree without waiting to hear another one of her brother's scolding's on listening to Kanga and following the rules. Defeated, Kiko set down the heavy basket under the same tree his sister had just climbed, and bent over his knees to catch his breath.
"Kiko, open the basket," Kiki asked sweetly. Kiko did as he was asked and soon a steady rain of cherries fell from the tree and into the basket. Kiko didn't bother scolding his twin. They were already at the trees, so it would be a waste of time to leave without some cherries for Star. Frankly, he couldn't see why anyone would like the tart berries. They weren't as tasty as the animal blood that Kanga retrieved for him and his sister.
Kiko felt nervous. He kept looking down one end of the road, and then the other, and then the other end again. He kept doing this until the sight of a distant group of people, appearing over the distant hill, sent a bolt of fear through him. He quietly darted behind the tree and hissed, "Kiki, people are coming." Cherries stopped falling and second later there were the slight, distinctive noises of Kiki climbing down. Sadly, she climbed down on the wrong side of the tree. Kiki looked down each side of the road and then saw the group. The group stopped walking, and silently conversed with each other. The twins weren't old enough to be able to hear what they were saying, but the two were smart enough to know it wasn't good. Kiko silently came from around the tree, and him and Kiki picked up the basket and bolted across to the road.
"Hey!" They heard a women say loudly which made them pound through the trees with a fear that they've never experienced before. The basket between then swung back and forth and greatly dragged them down.
"We aren't going to hurt you! Stop!" A man's voice came this time. The twins didn't slow down or stop. They just kept running. Their fear caused them to drop the basket and run much faster through the trees which hid their home.
"Help!" Kiki yelled.
"Kanga!" Kiko yelled right before someone snatched him by the back of his shirt.
"Wo!" Kagome exclaimed as she almost trampled over the basket that the two dark-haired children had dropped. Inuyasha and Sango ran past her followed by a slowed down Miruko.
"Are you alright Lady Kagome?" He asked stopping beside her.
"Mhm," Kagome muttered nodding her head. She kneeled down and righted the fallen basket. She opened the latch and saw one side was filled with deep red cherries and the other dust roots, herbs, and mushrooms of various colors.
"What is it?" Miruko asked bending over.
"Food," She answered. She closed up the basket and got to her feet. "Let's keep going," She said and the two moved on.
"Let me go!" A young black haired boy yelled as he dangled from Inuyasha's hand. His eyes were tightly shut and his teeth visibly clenched together. His four defined fangs were much bigger than any human's and that unnerved Sango just a little.
"Let him go!" The black haired girl yelled as she struggled in Sango's arms. Her brown eyes were trained on Inuyasha, and like her brother, her teeth were clenched and she had four defined fangs.
"Let them go," A strong female voice came from the veiled trees ahead. The veil parted and out stepped a red haired women with serious brown eyes. A glinting knife was held loosely in her right hand, but her stance spoke of many years of fighting. The veil parted in two other places and out came a tall, pale man with a twig thin body and white hair. His blue eyes shifted to each individual person, resting on Inuyasha eventually. The second person was a girl that looked exactly like the other women but a few years younger. Her eyes trained on Sango.
"Who are you?" Sango asked releasing the girl. She bolted forward and toward the younger red hair woman. She clung to her clothes and looked back at the group with fearful eyes. Her eyes came to focus on the black haired boy though.
"Release the boy," The older red hair women demanded. The younger red haired one patted the black haired girl's head before disappearing with her through the veil.
"First, who are you?" Kagome asked this time.
"Kanga. Release the boy," She said emphasizing each word. Her eyes narrowed and her grip on the knife tightened.
"We aren't here to cause trouble," Inuyasha said and dropped the boy. The boy scrambled up and ran to the white haired man. He picked up the boy but didn't leave.
"What are you here for then?" Kanga asked suspiciously.
"We wanted to ask them if they knew where Mount Mirushino was," Kagome answered.
"It's up the road. Now leave," Kanga said sternly.
"The road leads to a dead end though and…" Kagome trailed off as Inuyasha took a few steps forward it Kanga. Her eyes followed him with suspicion and the white haired man watched with curiosity.
"Tell me half demon, what do these people have to make you stay with them?" Kanga asked cryptically. No one spoke for a few minutes.
"They are friends," He responded. Kanga's lip shifted up for a half a second before settling back into her thin lipped seriousness.
"Friends…that's an answer I've never heard before," She stated.
"Why are you heading to the mountains?" The white haired man asked.
"There have been reports of demons around that area," Sango answered, turning to talk to him.
"There are demons everywhere. You should be careful," he said as his grip tightened on the boy in his arms.
"Even here?" She asked. Kanga's gaze broke from Inuyasha and shifted to her companion.
"Yes," He responded simply. Kanga shook her head slightly.
"But nothing we can't handle on our own," she added. She turned her attention back to Inuyasha. "You should leave," she suggested. The boy took three, silent steps to his partner and rested a hand on her should.
"We would be happy if you could clear them out for us though. They are hiding farther North. We would be more than happy to guide you there should you decide to help," The man suggested warmly. The woman's face hardened but she didn't look up at him. Her eyes showed a hostility that the group hadn't seen so far, and yet Kagome stepped forward.
"We would be happy to. May we ask who you are?" Kagome asked respectively. That made Kanga tense up more and dislike was visibly written all over her face.
"Sey," He responded before turning to Inuyasha, "Can I ask your name?"
"He's Inuyasha," Kagome responded warmly.
"Can speak for himself human?" Kanga questioned roughly.
"Kanga," Sey said so softly that the human's present couldn't hear it. A few seconds of pure silence passes.
"This is yours I think," Kagome said holding the basket up with two hands. Kanga reached forward and took a few steps forward to grasp the basket and then went back to her spot in front of Sey. Kanga wordlessly took the black haired boy from Sey's arms and disappeared through the veil.
"I'll show you the way then," Sey said and opened the veil with arm. Everyone filed though, and then Sey dropped it and took the lead through the shaded path. "I'm sorry about her. She isn't very trusting of strangers, but that's why she's in charge. She's the cautious one who has prevented our deaths more than once with her rules," He babbled on as he nimbly ducked under low branches and moved over fallen logs. The group was a little shocked that Kanga, who looked much younger than Sey, was in charge. "Kanga won't say this out loud, but Inuyahsa you are welcome here as well as your friends."
"Why?" Inuyasha asked.
"Like you, we are all half demons, except we found each other and made a haven for ourselves where humans leave us alone and most demons stay away. You don't look like your being forced to stay with them, so your friends must be alright with half demons. I don't think they'll hurt or sell us out as Kanga does," he said.
"How many of you are there?" Shippo asked innocently.
"There are seven of us here little fox demon," Sey responded after a few seconds of counting. "We would be thankful if you took out those demons. Despite what Kanga thinks, they are a little out of our league and neither one of us can afford to be injured."
"Why?" Sango asked. Sey hesitated.
"Many of us are children. There are three and a half of us who can fight roughly but the rest are too young," He said slowly.
"Half?" Inuyasha questioned.
"One of us is only a few years younger than me and Kanga, but she acts too much like a child for either of us to think otherwise. She treats fighting like a game, when really one false move could kill her. She doesn't understand that yet," Sey explained.
"Was that the younger girl we say earlier?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, her name Star," Sey said hopping over a huge tree root. "Be careful," he cautioned. Over the root, he pushed aside one last tree branch and a sunny clearing was revealed. Stumps of trees we apparent in multiple places, but it was mostly a cleared area. In the middle of the clearing was a house raised on stilts and has a wooden walkway that went all the way around. There were three steps leading up to a paper sliding door facing East, which was open a revealed a round face with silver hair that puffed around two white ears and golden eyes that screamed innocence. Beside the steps was a wooden ladder that lead to the shingled roof. Star sat on the walkway, her feet dangling over the edge, and the two dark haired children on either side of her. In her arms was a struggling brown haired boy that wiggled and squirmed with his dull fangs glistening in the sun. Star's head sprung up and the boy stopped squirming. Five sets of eyes were now trained on the approaching group.
"Sey," A tense voiced Kanga came. She emerged through the sliding door and pushed the silver haired boy back inside. She tightly closed the door but made no move to go to him.
"I don't think they'll hurt us," Sey said reassuringly as he lead the group through the clearing. He stopped at the opposite trees but made no move to follow the path through them.
"The demons hide in the trees ahead. I can't lead you further without endangering myself or my family," He said.
"We wouldn't expect you to," Kagome reassured him. Sey nodded his head.
"When you come back, there will be a warm meal and beds as your rewards. We can't offer more than that," he said. The group nodded their heads and disappeared into the trees. Sey turned him back and walked to the house where his stern faced leader was waiting.
"How much did you say?" Kanga asked immediately when they were alone inside. The children were outside and under the supervision of Star.
"I told them about who we are. They are a mixed company with three humans, two small demons, and also a half demon. I don't see harmful intentions in their actions. As you heard, I asked them to clear out the demons and offered them a night here in return," Sey reported. Kanga listened carefully and slowly nodded her head at the end.
"Kisa told me some rumors of this group. Still it does no harm to be cautious. We will have to be careful tonight during shift changes. One of us should talk to Star about being alert," Kanga rattled off. The sliding door opened a foot and out came the blond haired Chico. He immediately went to Kanga and climbed into her lap, his hands clinging to her shirt. Kanga wrapped one arm around him and patted his head with the other.
"People scwary," He said fearfully as he nestled farther into Kanga. She looked down at him with an almost sad look on her face. She was sixteen years (approximately) and was expected to be a mother to these children when she hadn't had a mother herself. They looked up to her too much and didn't realize that she wasn't as strong as they thought she was. She was strong, but she wouldn't be strong enough to protect her family if Sey's trust was misguided.
"It's alright. I'll protect you," Kanga muttered softly, not believing her own words.