"Um . . . Tori? Do you happen to have any of the Sacred Jewel Shards?" Kagome asked as they approached the village he protects.

"Yes. I've been keeping them, hoping I would be able to find the Jewel's protector. Demons have attacked the village several times for them, but mostly low-class ones. Why?" He looked over his shoulder at the gang.

"Because I'm its guardian." Tori looked her over once.

"Oh. Well, when we get to my place, I'll hand them over to you." He stopped at the top of the slight hill they had climbed. On the far side was a small village, surrounded by water on three sides, but not a peninsula. "This is my village."


When the gang entered the village, they noticed something extremely odd. Most of the inhabitants were humans, but there were a good many of them youkai of all types. They followed Tori to the outskirts of the town, where a good sized house-like hut stood. When the gang entered after him they were surprised at the simplistic style, and at all the weapons he's collected.

The hut consisted of a large open front room with a door at the rear of it that lead, presumably, to the bedrooms. It was decorated with tables all around the room. The tables were filled with knives, throwing daggers, ninja stars, and an assortment of bows and arrows. On the walls above the tables were swords and daggers of all sizes, staffs, sickles and chains, and surprisingly, a small variety of sling shots. He beckoned them over to a corner of the room. He stood beside several swords, daggers, a slingshot, and a two-foot bow.

"All of these were made by Totosai. These are my best weapons, which I only use on attacking youkai. Those peaceful youkai in the village have come over the years. Most of them have gotten into trouble with bandits or large groups of humans and they needed a protected village to live in. We are a very tightknit community." He explained while taking down one of Totosai's swords. "This is one of the swords I had made at the same time as Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. This one was made for my daughter . . . " He trailed off lightly as he stared down at the sword. 'If they only knew . . . '

Seeing the sad and loving smile on Tori's face, the gang decided not to ask any more questions. Instead, Inu Yasha opted to be his usual rude self.

"What exactly are you?"

"Eh . . . I'm a little more than a half demon, but not by much. I come from a very messed up family." He added, seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces. "My mom was half, and my dad was a full demon, both inu youkai. So, would you like me to get those Jewel Shards now?" He asked Kagome. She nodded once. He walked into the back of the hut and returned a few moments later, a handful of tiny fragments in his hand. Kagome held out her palm and he dumped them into her hand. The moment they touched her hand they purified, and Kagome started to place them into the crack in the Jewel she had hanging from her neck.

"Where are the rest of them?" She asked when she was finished, shocking everyone. "They're too tiny for me to pinpoint exactly, but they're here." She looked around, trying to spot the familiar pink glow showing only her where they are. Tori smiled.

"I wasn't about to hand over the Shards to just anyone. I hid these to test you." Tori pulled out several more Shards that would be about the size of one of Kouga's together. Kagome took them from him and added them to the Jewel.

"Just Kohaku's and a few tiny pieces left." Kagome said while tucking the Jewel under her clothes. Sango nodded at her in understanding.

"Would you like a place to sleep for the night? I have a few extra guest bedrooms, and it would be nice to have company for dinner." Tori offered. At that moment, Shippou's stomach growled loudly and everyone laughed.

"I guess that's a yes."

End Chapter

Yet another short chapter done. Like I said last chapter, this is the double update for today. I'll try to update sometime before next week, but no promises.;P

Kat-Lyn