The Path To Malsshinyor

As the days progressed, Kagome began to notice a change in the behavior of Saeka and Sesshomaru. They seemed…closer. She wasn't sure what gave her the impression, but the argumentative aura in the air between them seemed to have begun to dissipate. In fact, as they all had been making their way to the higher mountain peaks, she saw them walking together and talking quietly. It made her heart warmer when she realized that they still cared for each other.

Once, when they had started to cross a small ravine, Saeka went first over the crumbly bridge that connected two sides of the cliffs together. The rope bridge held at first, but as she reached the middle, the wooden planks suddenly gave way and she fell through, hurtling toward her demise at the rocky bottom. But before she got too far, Sesshomaru had actually leapt off the ravine and snatched her from the air before she reached the bottom, raising them both back up to the top. Instead of then moving away from him, she stayed right beside him for the longest time.

Kagome, noticing the sudden change, consulted Kaede when everyone else had gotten further up. Sango joined them.

" Lady Kaede, what's going on? They seem different now." Kagome whispered, remembering Sesshomaru's keen hearing.

" Last night, I had the two children lead them both far away from us in the hopes that they'd forgive each other for what happened. It seems that Sesshomaru already had, and was regretting his decisions. Apparently, she did as well. Now, it appears that they are back to normal."

Kagome and Sango glanced up ahead. Sesshomaru was leading the group and Saeka was right beside him, neither speaking, but just enjoying a comfortable silence.

" I see. I would guess that it worked." Sango pointed out. Kaede nodded. They both watched as Saeka said something quietly and Sesshomaru nodded a reply. With that, Saeka closed her eyes and to the shock of them all, a large snowy pair of wings sprouted from between her shoulder blades and she ran to the side of the cliff and jumped off. Minutes later, she reappeared about twenty feet down and began to circle the ravine, apparently searching for something.

After a while, she returned with a handful of purple flowers in her hand. Her wings vanished within her back and she showed Sesshomaru the flowers. " I got them. Sinensil. I believe it's the same herb that Jaken used, or so Rin told me."

" Good." He said. Saeka smiled and stuck them in her bag still slung over her shoulder. She then continued on up the ravine.

A few feet from Kagome, InuYasha raised an eyebrow. " I still don't believe that he actually cares for her." He grumbled. Kagome looked over at him.

" Why InuYasha?"

" Because she's a half-demon, like me. He hates half-demons."

" Apparently not all half-demons." Kagome pointed out. " I mean, he certainly seems to love her."

" I still don't believe it." He said.

" I can offer some good proof, InuYasha."

" Oh? Okay, go ahead."

" Fine. One, he's brought her back to life twice, two, when Naraku forced them to fight each other, he refused to kill her, and three, and this is the most important one, they have Miharu."

At the last one, she quickened her pace a bit and left him standing there, staring after her. " Oh sure, act all smart, and stuff." He muttered. But when he realized no one was listening, he sighed and kept going.

After about an hour, they came across a wide ledge jutting out from the side of the cliff. Rin ran past everyone and glanced around it eagerly. " This is it! This is it! This is the path to Malsshinyor!" she cried, turning to them. For the first time in a long time, Sesshomaru seemed to perk up a little. Saeka noticed this and sighed. " How do we get there?" she asked.

" We can't now, it's night. We have to wait until Twilight Time tomorrow when you can see the curve of the earth. Then, and only then will the bridge to Malsshinyor be visible to the eye. Because demon eyes and my eyes are stronger than those of some of you, the bridge is probably visible. I can see it a little bit, though that will quickly fade by night fall."

" So when twilight comes, the bridge is crossable?" InuYasha said in wonder, staring out over the ravine. Rin nodded. " Yes. This is how I was taken to Malsshinyor back when I was known as Khiinli."

" Very well." Sesshomaru said. " We'll wait here until twilight tomorrow. Then we'll find Miharu."

" I hope she's okay." Saeka whispered. Sesshomaru put his arm around her shoulders and stared out over the ravine. He hoped so too. Saeka looked at him.

" Sesshomaru?" she murmured.

" Yes?"

" Do you think this will work?" she asked. Her emerald green eyes were filled with worry and deep pain. Sesshomaru felt his heart wrench just looking at them. He hugged her close and looked back over the horizon. " Yes, Saeka. I'm sure." He said.

Miharu stood at her balcony, watching the shuttles coming in and going out with their various cargos. Despite her usual anticipation of victims, today, she dreaded going down. What was happening to her? She was the kikuurama, The Demon of Death, she was supposed to relish killing and maiming. But after her experience with that young man, Tobias, she just couldn't get back in the mood.

She sighed and fingered her silvery hair. At this moment, she wondered where she had gotten her silver hair. She couldn't remember anything of her past before becoming the kikuurama. She couldn't recall ever having parents or anything. She was told she was a test-tube child.

Her door opened and Drasmond walked in. " Ah, Yaazi. I see you're at your usual hobby of watching your future victims." He said, coming to stand beside her. She faced the horizon. He put his hand on her shoulder. " Is something troubling you, Yaazi?" he asked concernedly. She sighed. " Milord, Am I really the kikuurama?"

Drasmond's face registered surprise. " Why, of course you are. You are the greatest thing in Malsshinyor since the flame laser. Are you not happy? Just name what you wish, Yaazi." He said. Miharu shook her head. " It's, it's nothing. But could I please speak with the prisoners?" she asked. Drasmond appeared surprised.

" Why would you want to speak with them?" he asked.

" Not them, just one. I wish to speak to the one named Tobias." She said. Drasmond's face darkened. With a swift movement, he snatched her wrist and pulled her close. " Now listen here, Miharu. I forbid you to talk to that boy. He is of no interest and you will be tearing his heart out within the next couple of days. I want you to stay in this room until it's time for the next session. Hear me?" he growled. Miharu struggled out of his grip and backed up against the balcony rail. He stormed out, leaving her to stare after him in shock. Miharu got to her feet.

" Why won't he let me talk to Tobias? What's he hiding?" she whispered.

That night, Shippo, Miroku, Tama, Rin and Botan all hung around the fire helping to grill the fish. InuYasha was off on a walk with Kagome and Kaede, who wanted to talk to him. Sango was sleeping, her head resting on Kirara's back. Sesshomaru was sitting over by the edge staring out at the place where Rin said the curve of the earth could be seen. Saeka was leaning against him, weaving a rope out of dried grasses. He would glance at her occasionally. " Where did you get all of that grass?" he asked. She looked at him. " Magic." She said smugly.

" Of course you did." He said. Saeka put it down. " Are you saying you don't believe me?"

" That sums it up."

" Ah! You're mean." She said, taking up the rope again. She gave him the evil eye. " I still love you." She added. He looked down at her, a small smile on his face. " I'm glad to hear that." He said. " But this won't bring twilight faster."

Saeka sighed. " I know. I want to see Miharu, too. I love her as much as you do, I'm sure."

" Stop worrying, Saeka. She's safe, I'm sure of it."

" I can't stop worrying." She said, pulling apart a double knot.

"Why can't you stop worrying? It's simple." He said.

" I'm being a mother, Sesshomaru, it's natural for me to be worried."

" I wouldn't know." He said, looking away. Saeka rolled her eyes. " I hope you meant that in the way I think you think you did." She said. Sesshomaru made a face. " I don't think that even made sense."

" Maybe to you it didn't." she said snippily.

" In any case, I understand your meaning. You want Miharu back. So do I."

Saeka smiled and snuggled against him. " I'm glad you understand. I'm also glad that we aren't fighting anymore. It was rather depressing."

She closed her eyes. Sesshomaru smiled a little and stared over the horizon, debating on whether he should go to sleep until twilight. He finally decided that if he went across the border to Malsshinyor, and ended up having to fight for Miharu, he'd need energy saved. Even he got tired now and again. Back in the days of Normalcy as he affectionately dubbed them, when he had traveled the land with Rin and Jaken, the fact that he had to rest occasionally had always irked the little imp. Right then and there, Sesshomaru realized how much he actually missed the little imp. He figured that killing Jaken's killer didn't solve anything. All it had done was anger Saeka.

He looked down at Saeka and closed his eyes. He did need rest. But he didn't sleep. He only dozed.

Several hours later, Rin woke them up at twilight. Sesshomaru woke up instantly. " The bridge is visible?" he whispered so as not to wake Saeka if he didn't have to. She was still leaning against him, sound asleep. Rin nodded. " Yes. The bridge is visible. I'm going to wake the others. Hurry. The curve of the earth can be seen now and we must hurry and cross before the bridge becomes invisible once more. Then, Malsshinyor will be inaccessible for another twenty-four hours."

Sesshomaru nodded and gently woke Saeka. She stirred without much trouble and sat up. She yawned. " Time to go and get our daughter." She said sleepily. But despite how she felt, she forced herself up and waited while Rin got the others up. When they realized that twilight was on now, they all hurried to get ready.

Rin led them to the edge of the ravine and pointed up. The curve of the earth was actually layered colors of purple and orange in a bowl-shaped pattern in the sky. She then gestured straight ahead. There was a transparent substance hanging in the air above the steep fall. She turned to them. " Everyone, that is the path to Malsshinyor." She declared.

A/N: I hope you like this chapter. I got some inspiration from the Acorna books. I highly suggest them if you're into sci-fi.