Dungeons and Demons

Chapter 7: dead shadows & wacko spells

Kagome sat at the dinner table picking at her food. If she looked to her left, across the table, she would see Sesshomaru looking across the table at Kikyo, or well, glaring at her, like he knew that she was the one who had talked the cook into preparing vegtables for dinner. Instead, she thought about Okumae, who was somewhere in another part of the palace. She was a demon so she didn't need to eat as much as humans did. She had her meals around once a month and didn't eat at the table with them; she would always eat in her room. Kagome wondered how she was. She had seemed a little distance since they had visited her family's graves.

Sesshomaru had stopped glaring at Kikyo and turned his gaze onto Kagome, wondering about what he had heard during her conversation with her bodyguard and then back to her. The more he thought about Kagome, the more he was confused by her. She was so different.

"So Okumae was right?"

"In the respect that she is different, yes."

"I'm impressed by her little speech in the dojo, what about you?"

"It was...impressive, but brought back unwanted feelings. This Sesshomaru will not allow himself to have such weaknesses."

"Sure; how many times have you said that and failed to keep your word? Over and over again because she always somehow manages to get under your skin. You're just afraid of the feelings that she's making you feel because you think that you can't control them, therefore you're trying to control her!"

"THIS SESSHOMARU IS AFRAID OF NOTHING!"

"You can't fool me, I AM YOU, and I know what you're really feeling because you stuff all of your feelings into the same place in the back of your mind as you put me."

"You will speak no more of Kagome. I hold no foolish sentimental feelings for her."

"Not that you've noticed, yet."

Sesshomaru was still staring at Kagome when Inuyasha stood up in his seat suddenly, knocking it over. "KIKYO, BEHIND YOU!"


Okumae walked around the palace hallways, the light from the torches and lanterns that lined the walls flickered around casting shadows everywhere. She was restless and she could sense it in the air; something was wrong, but what? Her demonic senses weren't picking up on anything, but her instincts were going crazy. She was walking down one of the hallways that led to the dinning hall when she saw what it was. If it hadn't been for her spiritual powers, she might have missed the two demons that were standing outside the doors. They turned around and saw her with blood red eyes. They were completly identical and their figures were clothed entirely in black with swords at their sides; their skin was an unnatural, sickly dark gray.

One of them smirked at her. "You must be the Okumae; the one my master fashioned me and my bretheren after. It's a pleasure to meet you." his voice was like that of snakeskin sliding over dead leaves. The other demon smirked as well and spoke in the same voice as the other one had. "But it seems that he thought too highly of your skills. We are already in the palace and you can not protect everyone at once." He shifted into a shadow and slide under the doorway and Okumae had drawn her dirk and stabbed the other through the chest before he could move to draw his sword.

"I can and will." she said as he disintigrated away into nothing and blasted through the dinning hall doors. She saw Inuyasha jumping out of his chair shouting and the other demon behind Kikyo. She threw her dirk and he screamed as it impaled him in the center of his back, straight through where his heart was. He dissapeared and the dirk landed on the floor. Everyone stood up out of their seats. Inutashio looked at Okumae.

"What is happening, Okumae? How did that demon get into this room without me or my sons sensing them? They have no scent."

All of the men, except Souta drew their swords and Kagome and Kikyo stood up. Okumae had connected to all of her butterfly shigami to see around the entire palace through their connection. "They are a kind of demons who are able to mimic my shadow form; they have gotten past the guards outside and are scattered in groups around the lower parts and ground level of the palace."

Shion and Inutashio nodded to each other. Shion gave his commands to Okumae. "Take Kagome, Kikyo and Souta to a sealed chamber and protect them. We will deal with them." He looked at Kagome who looked like she was going to protest, Okumae beat her to it. "My lord, because these demons are able to copy my shadow form, any seals that I place will have no effect on them. The demons are vunerable to spiritual powers and I know what their weaknesses would be." Shion frowned. "Take care of my children, Okumae. They may fight."

Okumae nodded but not before warning Shion and Inutashio and Sesshomaru as they left. "They will be weakest in the light and if you stab them in their shadows, it will kill them." They left, but Inuyasha stayed with Kikyo. "I'm not going to let anything happen. Where's a place that we can defend ourselves the best in this place?"

Kikyo pointed out and to the right, the opposite way that their fathers and Sesshomaru had gone. "The Chamber of Candles. It's the room where we go to pray and meditate. It's right near the gardens but only has one door and is always lit with hundreds of candles. We can gather all of the servants and get them there for safety. Come on!"

Souta had picked up Okumae's dirk that was on the floor and had hidden it in his belt. He ran out with it, but stopped when they turned the corner to the right. Looking to the left, he couldn't see his father. Gripping the hilt of the dirk, which looked like a sword on him, he made up his mind and ran to the left.

"I can prove how brave I am. This is my chance. All I have to do is find Shippo and we can go help Father."


Shippo was running through the hallways too. He had no clue what was going on, but his demon instincts were making the fur on his tail stand on end. He had to find Souta and warn him. He turned a corner and stopped. In front of him were five scary shadowy-like demons with gray skin and red eyes. He turned around to run away, but more had come up behind him. Shippo looked around, but he was surrounded by scary shadows with swords. One of them raised his to strike at him and he held up his hands and cried, "FOXFIRE!"

His Foxfire had never worked before, but bluey-green fire came pouring out of the palms of his hands. The demons screamed as the fire came in contact with them and they evaporated. Shippo fell down on the floor panting as the demons swords clattered to the ground before crumbling into dust. He gulped and stood shakily back up.

"Shippo!" He jumped with a sqeak of fright when some one called his name behind him and turned around only to see Souta running towards him. "S-Souta! I'm so glad you're okay!" Souta patted him on the back. "That was amazing! You got your Foxfire to work this time. My father went this way with Lord Inutashio and Sesshomaru; did you see them?" Shippo shook his head, but Souta motioned him forwards. "We can help them. This is our chance to prove how brave we are." Shippo was about to object and suggest that they find someplace safe when he remembered his dream to become Souta's bodyguard. Souta ran ahead of him. "W-Wait, Souta! I'm coming."

They ran passing several servants who they told to go to the Chamber of Candles for safety. They finally caught up to Lord Inutashio and Sesshomaru and Lord Shion in a the Main Ball room. They stopped in the doorway of the immense cathedral and stared at them in awe for a moment. Sesshomaru's light whip flew around, slicing accuratly through his enemies as was Inutashio, but his light whip had three strips running from the tips of his claws and although Shion was did not possess strong spiritual powers of a monk or the gracefullness of a demon with a blade, he had enough to cover his sword in it and was cutting through the demons with deadly skill for a human.

He shouted out his challenge as he fought. "No one attacks me and my family on my own lands, in my own home. NO ONE!" The three men stood in a line, shoulder to shoulder when the shadow demons pulled back to one wall, then the ones in the middle parted and one from the dead stepped through. Souta stiffled a gasp and pulled Shippo behind a wall hanging as Inutashio growled low. "Matsu. You dare to show your worthless hide here."

Matsu shouldered his gray sword. "I'm happy to be back. After Shion's little guarddog killed me, my master just brought me back. And he was very interested in, Okumae is it, her little ability and decided to make this little surprise for you. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am."

He pointed his sword towards them and the demons charged again. Inutashio cleaved the first seven and lunged for Matsu. He drew his sword and clashed with him, driving Matsu staggering back several steps. Sesshomaru swung his whip around as he tried to get to his father, but Matsu activated his sword's power and a cloud of gray smoke enveloped Inutashio. He coughed and shut his eyes as pain spread through his head. Matsu raised his sword, but Shion saw his friend in trouble and in a desperate burst of power, swung his sword, sending a disc of spiritual power at him and it collided with Matsu's sword hand. Matsu screamed and dropped his now broken sword and held his badly blistered hand to his chest. He ran out of the room as Sesshomaru reached his father, who almost fell on to the floor.

"Get him. I will be fine, Sesshomaru." Inutashio shook his head and readied his sword. "Shion and I will deal with the rest of these vermin. Don't let that rat get away."

"Father." Sesshomaru replied and ran after Matsu. Inutashio shook his head again, trying to get rid or the lancing pain that was pounding inside it. He had inhailed too much of that mist and it was affecting his eye sight and his movements where slower than before.

Shippo and Souta were peeking out from behind the wall hanging when a demon saw them. He ran at them, sword raised. Shippo raised his hands again. "Foxfire!" A plume of fire that he released was smaller that the first one he had released before; it flew up into the demon's face. His scream was muffled as he held his hands to his burnt face and Souta rushed forward and jabbed forward with Okumae's dirk into the demon's stomach. It wrenched back, pulling the dirk out of Souta's hand and fell on his back and disintegarated. Souta stood still, the shock and realization that he had just killed someone racing through his mind. His hands felt cold and he started trembling. Then, in the corner of his eye he saw his father, who was weakened from the blast of spiritual energy that he had released to save Inutashio, got slashed across the left shoulder by one of the few remaining shadow demons from behind. He fell and Souta saw the shadow demon raise his sword over his father. Without thinking he grabbed Okumae's dirk from the floor and charged!

He jumped onto the demon's back and stabbed the dirk deep between its shoulder blades. The demon arched back with a grunt, throwing Souta off as it fell onto its side and disintegrated. Inutashio finished off the last three demons and steadied himself. His head was still pounding and he was panting; the strange mist was affecting his hearing now, but he turned when he heard Souta calling his father's name.

"Father! Father! It's me, Souta. Come on, please say something." Inutashio went over to the boy who was trying to stop the blood from flowing out of Shion's back. Shippo came over too and Souta looked up into Inutashio's face. "He's going to be okay, right? I'm sorry I didn't stay with my sisters and Okumae, but I just wanted...to show how brave I was, that I was of some use in a fight. Why isn't he saying anything?"

Inutashio ripped open Shion's shirt and, using a very small amount of his poison which was not enought to hurt or kill Shion, he melted the skin on his back where the wound was together. "Your father will be fine, he has just lost a lot of blood. It is fortunate that you were here when you were, or worse could have happened." He picked up his old friend, who was starting to get pale and was breathing heavily. "We must get your father, you and your friend to a safe place."

Shippo pipped up. "The Chamber of Candles is a good place. It's a stone room and is full of light." Souta continued. "That's were Kikyo and Inuyasha are headed with Kagome and Okumae. I-I'll show you where it is." He gasped as he was swung up onto Inutashio's shoulders. "Just tell me the directions, we don't have much time with this." Shippo grabbed onto Inutashio's tail as he ran out of the Main Ball room.


Sango and Miroku were fighting on one of the lower levels and trying to get away from a group of demons. Sango stabbed another shadow and he fell. Miroku kept throwing sutras, but the demons jumped out of the way to avoid them. He stopped and started using his staff. "Where did all of these demons come from?" he asked Sango who tried to punch a demon, but her hand pasted right through like it would smoke.

"I don't know. They don't seem to be solid creatures, but you can kill them with their own weapons. Let's get out of here, we've got to warn Lady Kikyo if they haven't already started attacking her."

They raced down a hallway and almost ran into Kagura. "What is going on?! The wind keeps saying 'Danger! Shadows are attacking!' Where are these 'shadows'" Sango, Miroku and Kagura turned and saw five shadow demons advancing on them. Kagura raised her fan. "Dance of Blades!" Her wind blades passed right through the demons without harming them, but the wind from her attack blew out all of the torches and lanterns in the hallway. The demons chuckled and pressed themselves into the dark walls, melting onto them. They flew along the wall and touched the shadows of several vases that were on a table in the hallway. The vases seemed to float in mid air then hurl towards them. Kagura ducked one, "Why didn't my attack have any effect on those, things?" As Sango and Miroku dodged, three of demons emerged from the wall and attacked one to each of them. Sango tried to explain as she struggled against her opponent's sword.

"They are some kind of shadow demons. You can't harm them through the bodily means." Miroku blocked a strike from the demon who swung at him again, but he knocked the sword out of his hand with his staff. He was about to bring his staff back down when it felt like it was stuck in air. He looked down and saw one of the shadow demon had flown onto the floor and was holding his staff's shadow in place so that it wouldn't budge. The demon in front of him raised his claws to strike him down, but Kagura picked up the fallen sword awkwardly and stabbed a shadow on the wall. The demon screamed and vanished along with his sword. Sango finished off the other four, by following her example and Kagura huffed. "If you can't kill them in the body, then stab the shadow. You said they were shadow demons."

Sango and Miroku sweatdropped, wondering how Kagura could have thought of something so smart.

"We should find Okumae, she should know what's going on." Kagura huffed, but followed them.


Okumae opened the door to the Chamber of Candles. She looked back at the people who were following her. "Alright, we have come to the safety of the Chamber of Candles as Lord Shion instructed us to, now we can either stay here, or go back out to find the rest of the servants and bring them here to keep them safe."

Kikyo rolled her eyes and tossed one of the bows and a quiver of arrows that were in the Chamber to Kagome and grabbed some for herself. "Do you really have to ask. Inuyasha, you and I will take the upper levels where Okumae said there were more servants and demons." They left and Kagome turned to Okumae. Okumae took off a necklace from around her neck that had the same symbol that was on her forehead and placed in around Kagome's neck. Kagome looked confused. "Uh, Okumea, this is..."

"I know, you don't need my help to finish off these demons. You are a lot stronger than any of us." Kagome looked at Okumae. "What are you going to do?" Okumae turned towards the hallway where the demons had fled. "No one beats me at my own game." Her body wavered and transformed into a shadow that flew ove the floor and walls before dissappearing. Kagome smiled. "Those demons don't know what their up against. Okumae sure looked downright pissed." She motioned to several guard and servants who were coming towards her. "Get in here, it's safe from the demons that have gotten in here. Guards, protect everyone that gets in here. Don't worry, this won't take long."

She started running, but stopped when she saw Matsu's running figure in the gardens and he was being followed by Sesshomaru. Kagome frowned and growled as she went to follow them. "Some people should just die and remain dead."


Sesshomaru finally out ran Matsu and cornered him in a wall-secluded alcove filled with trees and flowers. Matsu tried to jump over the wall, but Sesshomaru's whip lashed out and wrapped around his leg; cutting it deeply. Sesshomaru stood over the fallen Matsu who spat at him "Even if you kill me, I'll just be brought back, Lord Sesshomaru." Sesshomaru held out his hand and summoned his poison claws, "This Sesshomaru will make so that there will be nothing left of your foul hide to bring back. Die." Matsu gave a grotesque moan as his body was drenched and melted in Sesshomaru's sakura-scented poison. All that was left was a large patch of withering dead grass and bare dirt.

Sesshomaru spun around on his heel, then his body froze. He couldn't move. He growled dangerously through gritted teeth when he looked through the corners of his eyes behind him and saw Matsu, or what looked like Matsu's shadow, sliding over his own. How he was doing this, he didn't know, but if there was one thing that he loathed with a passion, it was being controlled. Matsu's shadow looked back at where his body had been and back to him, an annoying smirk appeared on his thin lips. "I'm back. Miss me?" Sesshomaru growled as he tried to move to rip this insufferable wretch's throat out.

Matsu raised his hand and Sesshomaru resisted, making Matsu try harder until it did the same. "Still stubborn. Interesting little trick, eh? When Okumae lost control back on the cliff top, she accidentally let the smallest of glimpses of one of her powers slip out of her mind that I was able to catch...before she ripped my head off." He frowned, displeased with the memory, but brushed it off to toy more with Sesshomaru. "It was hard, but my master's genious was able to copy this Shadow Casting trick to me. It reduces even the strongest of youkia into mere puppets that mimic my movements as you see."

Sesshomaru's eyes tinted red. "No one controls this Sesshomaru, fool." He released his increadible demonic aura. It pushed forcefully against Matsu's hold on him, straining it to contain it until it almost broke. Matsu focused harder and Sesshomaru push to release more. "It's no use, Sesshomaru." Matsu spoke, a trail of sweat slid down his face. "You can not keep exerting this much of your youki for long and when you run out of..."

A blinding flash of light pink hissed past Sesshomaru and a Sacred Arrow was embedded straight through Matsu's throat. His eyes rolled up as the shadow that what was left of him was purified. The Shadow Casting hold was released from Sesshomaru who breathed heavily, and he dug his sword into the ground to keep himself from falling over; it took a lot of energy to release his aura while still remaining in control of his beast and keeping from transformating at the same time. Kagome ran into the alcove and looked at him then to where her blackened arrow was lying on the ground. "Well, what are you waiting for? Now that I've taken care of Matsu for now, we have to get back to the palace to help out-" She yelped as Sesshomaru collapsed onto her. She dropped her bow and struggled under his weight. "Geez, this guy weighs a ton!" She half dragged, half carried him a short way to the wall by the door, since she wasn't strong enough to carry him all the way back to the Chamber of Candles in the palace.

Proping him up into a sitting position, she turned to get up. "You're more trouble than your worth," she muttered under her breath. "you know tha-GAH!" an arm snaked around her waist and pinned her arms to her sides as she was pulled back into Sesshomaru's lap. Kagome looked up in shock; the whites of Sesshomaru's eyes were completely blood red with blue instead of gold eyes in the middle staring straight into her own eyes. She was too shocked at the moment to struggle or shout in his face for a few seconds and when she finally summed up the nerve to, a low rumbling vibrated in his chest and her mind spun in confusion when he used his arm around her waist to pull her up and hold her to his rock hard chest, his other hand coming up behind to hold the back of her head as he buried his nose in her hair and he began to sniff her. Kagome's brain was working on overload and she felt butterflies fluttering madly in her stomach. "WHAT THE HECK IS HE DOING?!?!" she screamed mentally and started to struggle a little, trying to free her arms. "S-Sesshoumaru?" A loud warning growl erupted from his throat and she froze; he continued to nuzzle his way up her neck and under her jaw. The growl that he had made moments before tappered off into something a little more gentler; almost like a cat.

"Is he...PURRING?! WHAT'S MAKING HIM ACT SO STRANGE?! I GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Kagome struggled to get loose and Sesshomaru growled again and this time she growled back, finally managing to free one of her arms and pushed against his chest. "Oh, don't you start! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?! LET ME GO, YOU BIG J-MMPH!"


While Sesshomaru had been persuing Matsu, Kikyo and Inuyasha were persuing the remaining shadow demons that were scattered through the palace. They finally cornered the last of the survivors in an elegant sitting room and closed in on them. There were about two dozen in all, they hissed at them as they shuffled around the end of the room. Inuyasha brandished his sword. "Feh, well? Are all going to stand there all night? 'Cause I've got plenty of time."

One of them growled at him. "You can not hope to defeat us, half-breed." Inuyasha just scoffed. "Stop wasting your breath. I'm getting tired of talking to you weaklings. Prepare to die!" He charged forward and Kikyo fired arrow after arrow at the demons who scattered, the slower ones were cut down by Tetsusiaga. A demon shifted into shadow form and tried to touch Kikyo's shadow, but her spiritual powers reacted and he wrenched his hand away as if he had been burned and solidified, snarling, only to be purified by an arrow a second later. Inuyasha quickly cut down the last two and sheathed his sword.

"Well that's the last of them." Kikyo shouldered her bow. "We should find Okumae and check with her to be sure. Right now, let's go back to the Chamber of Candles." she took a step towards the door when Inuyasha let out a growl and she heard Tetsusiaga clatter to the floor behind her. Turning around Kikyo took a step towards Inuyasha who was shaking violently. "Inuyasha?" He turned to her. "K-Kikyo...get away...can't control...my body." Dry laughter echoed around them.

"You have no hope of defeating me, little priestess. Will you hurt your friend before he hurts you?" Kikyo dodged to the side, Inuyasha's claws narrowly missed her head. He was still shaking. "Kikyo...I don't know...what's happening to me...get away!" Kikyo shook her head. "No, Inuyasha!" She jumped away again as Inuyasha eyes started to bleed red; without Tetsusiaga, his demon blood was surfacing in an attempt to force away the demon's control. He picked up and threw a chair at her; it caught her arm and she rolled away. She gritted her teeth. "How the heck am I supposed to fight in this dress?" She looked around the room for something that might help her. Her eyes rested on Tetsusiaga, of course! She strung her bow and knocked an arrow to it, pointing it towards Inuyasha. The demon's voice sounded again.

"You will kill your friend?" he goaded. Kikyo remembered Okumae's words about these demons weaknesses and she aimed lower and shot Inuyasha's shadow. Inuyasha grunted and blood started to flow from his shoulder. The demon spoke again, but his words were forced and painful. "You see, little priestess? You cannot kill me and without also killing your friend. What will you do now?" Inuyasha's hand moved with the shadow on the floor as it pulled the arrow out of its shoulder. It failed to notice Kikyo run over quickly and grab Tetsusiaga off the floor and didn't react fast enough when she jabbed Inuyasha in the chest with it.

Tetsusiaga pulsed angrily against Inuyasha and the demons screamed as its sheath rejected his control. He left Inuyasha's shadow and rose back up from the floor; Inuyasha drew his sword and cleaved his head off with one swing. He turned back to Kikyo. "Thanks a lot, are you-"

She cut him off. "I'm fine don't ask!" she grabbed his hand and they saw Inutashio with Souta on his back and Shippo clinging to his tail. He was holding Shiron. "Father!" Kikyo cried. She ran towards them and placed her hands on his arm. His skin was hot and feverish, with sweat dotting his brow and soaking his clothes. Inutashio looked grim, he was worried for his friend and the mist's effects were not wearing off or going away at all for him. "Your father will be okay, Lady Kikyo. How far are we from this Chamber of Candles?"

Kikyo was trying to keep tears from pooling in her eyes as she nodded. "Down this way."


When Sesshomaru had collapsed from exhastion, his brain had gone into a sort of reboot mode, which ment that his beast woke up first and was the primary conscience as an instinctual caution. His beast smelled Kagome's scent and saw her kneeling right next to him. "You're more trouble than you're worth." He heard her mumble as she made to get up.

"Mine!" his beast said and grabbed her, pulling her into his lap. Her devine scent drifted into his nose and he looked down at her and into her eyes. Their sapphire blue depths drew him in, sparkling and he felt himself drowning as he gazed deeper into those enticing blue orbs. She shifted slightly and he groaned as a gush of her scent washed over him. He pulled her closer to himself, burying his nose in her silky hair, inhailing deeply; letting himself get lost in her, he absently let his arm around her waist wander up her back, burning her figure into his memory. She started to struggle against him. He wouldn't have it. "NO. I won't let her go. She will be mine!" He growled at her and she stopped; he raised his head, slowly brushing his nose against the soft skin of her neck and nuzzled her jaw. The now familiar shifting feeling was changing into something more; almost overpowering in its urge, he found himself wanting to kiss her, mark her and fullfil his question from this morning about how her blood tasted. He started purring with out knowing it, until Kagome made it known by struggling again.

He growled again at her to stop. Her human sense may not be able to detect it, but her scent was becoming heady, arousal was mixing in with her natural scent and whenever she moved, he had to keep himself from taking her then and there. She responded to his warning growl in a very unexpected way. She growled back very realistically and started shouting at him as she pushed her small hand against his chest. "Oh, don't you start! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?! LET ME GO, YOU BIG J-MMPH!" He quickly brought his head down and captured her lips in his own. Holding her head in place with his hand behind it as he pressed. The shifting feeling exploded inside him, racing thorugh his body and his mind was swept away as he leaned in, pushing her head forward to deepen the kiss and taste more. "Delicious." his beast purred, silently congradulating himself on shuting her up.


Sesshomaru's warm lips were suddenly covering hers and something inside her chest burst and flowed through her. She moaned, her eyes rolled back and her mind stopped working coharently and Sesshomaru's hand, that was behind her head, pushed it gently forward, deepening the kiss. Kagome's body was relaxed, her arm encircled around Sesshomaru's neck although her thoughts weren't making any sense. There was a sharp sting in her lower lip when Sesshomaru nipped at it; she gasped and almost died when he slipped his tounge between her teeth and explored her mouth. Without thinking her own tounge met with his to push it out. A growl rumbled deep in his chest and he attacked her tounge with his. The kiss became heated and passionate as they fought for dominace. Sesshomaru beat Kagome's tounge back but she bit down hard on his. She smirked triumphantly only moaned in the back of her throat as Sesshomaru started licking his way down her neck. Her skin heated up and shivers shot down her back as he drew moist patterns across her sensitive skin and scrapped her teasingly with his fangs. He sucked on her pulse where her neck meet her shoulder.

It was too much for Kagome's mind to take in all at once, so she did what anyone would have done in her situation. She fainted.

Meanwhile, as Sesshomaru stopped and seemed to regain his control, someone stared wide-eyed in shock at them.


Okumae had taken out her anger on the first few shadow demons that she had encountered. Unlike them, when she was in her shadow form, nothing could harm her; she was invincible, the very essence of what darkness, fear and nightmares were made from. She reached out to all of the shigami butterflies that she had around the palace and had them all turn into her humanoid form. The demons were wiped out in a matter of hours and she knew exactly whenever one of her shigami killed another. There was one who took something and was running into the gardens; attempting to escape. She used her Shadow Casting ability and ran himself through with his own sword before disappearing into nothing. Okumae picked up what he had taken, when she saw what it was, she stood rooted to the spot. It was her twin sister's hairbrush.

Red flecked at her eyes, but a soft breeze brought Kagome's scent with it to her. She turned and ran towards a small alcove garden where it was coming from. Sesshomaru's and that Matsu's scents were coming from the garden too, but Matsu's was fading. She jumped over the walls and landed silently in a tree. What she saw had her both wanting to cry, barf and hit something. Sesshomaru had Kagome in his lap and was KISSING HER! She stared until she saw Kagome's body go limp and realized that she had fallen unconscience. She sighed and closed her eyes while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Of all the things that HAD to happen...of all the things that they could have been doing while there were demons attacking the palace...they were kissing?! Of all the things that I just didn't want to know." She thought to herself. She focused her spiritual powers and saw the spell that Kikyo had placed on them. She had not thought much of it, since it had seemed that its power was diwindling away, but now...it was...gone! She groaned and smacked her forehead as she remembered a certain detail from the volume that she had read about the spell from.

The spell that Kikyo had used was a branched of version from the original, where both of the participants were the ones that tied their hair together and did the chant. The one that allowed a family member to do the exchange was adapted later, in case one of the participants was injured or in a coma. It was used so that the injured person would be able to support the other if they needed help or extra power, which was why it allowed the priestesses to keep their powers; to be able to heal their husbands. But in Kagome and Sesshomaru's case, the combination of trying to bond a demon of Sesshomaru's caliber and a miko of Kagome's power, had seemed to bend the spell into something entirely different! By some wacko chance, it had changed the spell so that it had been holding itself back from doing what it was originally supposed to do and instead had only awakened the feelings inside of them.

They were falling in love by themselves! Okumae gulped and took a deep breath. "How to explain this to...them." She looked down at Sesshomaru who had seemed to be recovered from whatever he had been suffering from and had gotten his inner beast back under control and was staring a Kagome, who was still in his lap. Okumae shook her head and jumped away back to the palace. "I'm a bodyguard, not a matchmaker. Great, I'll have to tell Kikyo about this."


BAM! NEW CHAPTER! OH YEAH! It's 10:25 p.m. and I have slaved my butt off for all of you who wanted a Kag/Sess kiss scene. I titled it so that it fit the little spell tweaking part. Hope you liked it. More insanity coming up in the next chapter. Okumae's job is getting a lot more complicated. Questions: Why did Matsu's master want Okumae's sister's hairbrush? Is Matsu really dead? (Take a wild guess...) And will Inutashio and Shion be okay after this attack? or will the enemy attack them again while they're down? So many questions! I'M GOING MAD! REVIEW!!! Tell me if you enjoyed this chapter.

Love and insanity,

KZ