Ember woke up covered by Sesshoumaru's fur and his arm around her waist. She lay still for a moment trying to adjust to the feeling. It was familiar, warm, comforting... but she couldn't get comfortable. She was sore from the previous night's (and morning's) actions yet for the first time in two hundred years she was satisfied. Through her sensitive back she was able to feel Sesshoumaru's familiar touch. He was stronger than he used to be, especially the muscles on his right arm. Well, after losing the left one he had to have compensated somehow. For a moment she felt like she did when she was nineteen. Loved. Complete. Happy.

But only for a moment.

Slowly Ember sat up and got out from under the fur and reached for her dress. "You always were an early riser." Sesshoumaru said behind her.

She didn't answer. She pulled the dress straight and reached knelt down to pick up she'd dropped the previous night. "My mother said I was born with the sun," She said. "And that's why I rise with it every day."

"Indeed." He sighed. "I remember that day. It was the first day your mother did not serve tea to me and my father. She was back the next day. My father almost locked her in the servants' quarters to make sure she didn't strain herself. He kept telling her that you needed a mother."

Ember headed for the door but Sesshoumaru grabbed her arm. She didn't look at him. She let her red hair fall in front of her face. "Last night shouldn't have happened." She whispered.

"Why?" he hissed sharply. "Didn't it feel good?"

"Why do men always assume that just because it felt good it makes it any better?" she snapped, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't look at you without seeing him. I wasn't even allowed to see him."

"Why are you so angry? You left me. Not the other way around."

"You left me long before I left you." She whipped around to face him. "I begged for you every day. I failed. I wasn't strong enough to bear your child. I didn't need anyone to tell me that. I needed you to tell me that it wasn't my fault. But you weren't there. And by the time you were I was already gone."

"I lost him too!" Sesshoumaru yelled. "Did you ever think for one second that I did not feel guilty for not being there for you? I could have kept you safe from any enemy in the country. We've condemned Adamar from ever claiming his father's lands for heaven's sake. But I couldn't protect you from the very thing growing within you. The very thing we were creating together was destroying you. Don't you think I feel just as guilty as you do for the loss of our son?"

Ember pulled away but he didn't let her go. Tears were pouring down her face now. "Two hundred years, Sesshoumaru. I have gone through two hundred years trying to deal. Every night I have to relive those nightmares. Every morning I take a knife to my throat. But your damn mark keeps me from doing that. Any action that involves hurting myself the mark stops me and I hear your voice in my head. Yours and about a hundred others telling me over and over that I've failed at everything from bringing a child into the world to taking my own life. Now if you think I give a damn whether you feel guilty or not any more then you never knew me to begin with."

His grip loosened and she slipped out of his grip. Before anything else could be said Ember let her power slip through Ash's necklace and she vanished. She appeared in front of the temple but she didn't move for a while. She stared up at the white marble building for a while. She hated the temple. But maybe the center of the angel world was what she needed right now. It was literally the furthest she could get away from her old life.

She took the steps slowly as if in a daze. Inside the temple Arailia and Shadow stood at the end where they could stare at the stars on cold nights. Arailia was twitchy. Shadow was stock still. Before them was Nikko and a heavily bandaged Ash. Arailia saw her first. "Ember," she sighed.

Nikko and Ash turned. Ember strode forward to take Nikko's hands in her own. "My Lord," she whispered. "How is Karu, Nikko?"

"He suffered great injuries, Ember." He said sadly. "There's no hope to repair his arm and he has one foot in the afterlife. I'm sorry. But it looks like he's not going to make it."

She nodded and he excused himself. No one spoke until he was gone. Ash was the first. "Ember, I am so sorry about Karu, I didn't..."

"Don't." Ember snapped. Any concern and tenderness she showed towards Nikko was gone. She turned to Shadow. "I want to speak to Twilla."

A sort of tremor went through the temple. It was a part of the magic within the building. Any head of the line has absolute power in the temple. Their orders were always followed. And ten minutes later Twilla walked into the temple. She looked frightened. As she should. Heads of the lines had absolute power. Depending on the situation even Arailia didn't have a say in what happened. And that was what Ember was counting on. "Twilla, do you remember what I said to you when you volunteered to raise Ash?"

Twilla swallowed hard and looked up at her brother. He nodded slightly. Twilla was nervous when she spoke. Her voice trembled. "Ash was not my responsibility. She was yours to..."

"Don't give me that." Ember snapped. "I didn't ask you to take care of her. You volunteered freely now remind us all what I said that day!"

"You said she doesn't leave the city. That no matter what she stays here. That you would be the one to take her out to the real world when she was old enough to take your place as head of the line."

"Good. But you were the one who encouraged her to follow me outside the city."

Twilla didn't answer. She kept glancing up at Shadow for reassurance. Shadow was not watching Ember with his eyes narrowed. Despite her title and her fury Ember had no command over anyone in another line. So what she was doing now was either to humiliate Twilla, or make her feel guilty for what she was going to do to Ash. Ember had wandered over to the walls of the temple where ancient text covered parts of it.

"You need to know that what I am about to do is your fault, Twilla." Ember hissed as she found a blank spot in the wall.

Arailia realised what she was doing first. She stepped forward but it was too late. Ember dug her fingers into the wall. A blast flame erupted into the wall and filled the room. Two blue lines of flame ran from her hand, along the floor and encircled Ash. Chains blasted through the marble floor, wrapped themselves around Ash's wrists and pulled her to her knees. "Ember, no!" Arailia shouted but it was much too late.

Ember walked up to Ash. "You knew the consequences of leaving the city. You left anyway. You've been lucky that Sesshoumaru was around to save you last time. And you're lucky I'm not going to kill you now."

"What are you doing?" Ash screamed.

"You left the city. Such actions that led to your capture by Naraku. Which led to the inevitability that someone would have to save you from him. Had I known Arailia had gone to Sesshoumaru I never would have come. This is her fault as well. But ultimately this is the result of your leaving the city when I always told you not to. Karu's blood is on your hands." She raised her voice so that it echoed against the walls. The fire seemed to reverberate along with her voice. "Ash, heir to the first line, in the inevitability of Karu's death you will never see outside the angel city."

Through the bright red fire white symbols appeared. At the same time the same symbols began to burn through Ash's skin. She screamed out in pain. Ember's words, though no louder than before, were heard above her cries. "And if Karu is to die you will never receive your inheritance and you will never be the head of the line." Ember's eyes narrowed. "On the slight chance that Karu may live you may see the outside world again. But only if Karu permits it for if he survives you will give your life to him. You will serve him. You will do what he wants when he wants it. And perhaps... perhaps you will see your inheritance and you will become the head of the line." Ember went back to the part of the wall where the ritual all started and placed her hand back on the red hot wall. "In the name of the first line it was said, written and obeyed. If not, may she be put to death."

In a second the fire had disappeared and the temple was no longer filled with fire. The symbols remained on the wall but disappeared from Ash's skin. The chains turned to dust but left rising bruises on her arms. Ember didn't say a word. She didn't look at any of them. She walked out of the room and was halfway to the old training grounds when Arailia finally caught up with her. "That was unnecessary and harsh, even for you." She snapped.

"I did what I had to do, Arailia, I don't expect you to understand."

"If Naraku is such a threat to the angels you should have told us. The army is prepared for this."

"No their not!" Ember spun around to face her. "Your army isn't near prepared for this. You think war is like what the scribes provide for you? Glorious and triumphant where you send your enemies back to their lands with their tails between their legs? It's nothing like that. It never has been! Fifty years ago I got a summons from Sesshoumaru. To fight a tribe of panther youkais his father defeated long ago. I was summoned to defend the western lands as the lady of the western lands. I read the scribe's version of the battle and I burned it when I was done. I didn't fight. I didn't get there in time. But I saw the final battle between Sesshoumaru and Louyakan. There wasn't a great divide between them. Sesshoumaru wasn't standing on grass sparkling in the morning dew and Louyakan wasn't standing on dried decayed land. Our grass is no greener than theirs. They were both standing among their dead on the blood soaked ground. There was no glory. There were no trumpets that day."

Ember glanced around at the soldiers who were pretending not to listen and she sighed. "Naraku wants you to think that you can stop him. He wants you to lead the army against him. It's the only way he can get all the angels at the same time. We are his ultimate power boost. He absorbs the power of his enemies. He wants Angels. Specifically those of the first and fifteenth lines. The angels of the first line are strongest. Those of the fifteenth have greater powers still if they are lucky enough to inherit them. He's smart. It's why he wants you to think he's weaker than he is. Everything I've done I've done to protect the line. And that includes not explaining to you and Shadow why it's important that you all stay here until he's been dealt with."

"By you? What makes you think you can stop him?"

"I don't plan to stop him. I never said I was that stupid. I just plan on doing what I've been doing all my life. I'm going to survive." She glanced back at the soldiers and lowered her voice. "I would suggest you start listening to Shadow. We're not in war anymore but the world out there is just as dangerous. You remember what I looked like when I escaped Naraku. You see how badly injured Ash was and how Keru is doing. Take his advice and stay here. Stay hidden. Stay safe."

Arailia shifted uncomfortably and bit her tongue. "You just called him Keru." She whispered so quietly Ember could barely hear her.

Ember didn't reply. She turned away from the city and vanished. She landed hard in knee deep water and she stumbled in the current and mossy rocks. Someone reached out and took her elbow to help her but her natural defence habit forced her to take the mystery wrist and twist it until she flipped the man onto his back in the water and jump away onto the opposite bank. The man who'd touched her was dressed in a purple robe. On the other side of the river was a girl dressed in taijiya armour and carrying a giant boomerang and had a kitten on her shoulder. Behind her was another girl in odd clothes with a kitsune youkai pup on her shoulder and beside her was someone she hadn't seen in fifty years. "Inu Yasha?" she blinked.

"Ember?" the half demon let go of the sword at his side. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She chuckled. "The last time I saw you Kikyo was pointing an arrow at your chest."

"Heh, yeah, I remember. You were helping Kikyo at the time purifying the village. Hoping to make it a real permanent home for the jewel."

"Yes. Kikyo was wise to have it burned with her. But she was an idiot to think that that would destroy it. I know it will return. It's just a matter of when."

"It's already back. In pieces yes, but back nonetheless. A half demon named Naraku is hunting them."

"Ah... Yes, I know him. He has been hunting the angels lately. He seems to be rather power hungry if you ask me." Ember looked at the man she'd flipped into the water. "Sorry about trying to drown you. I don't like to be touched."

"Usually I have to tell him to keep his hands off other women." The taijiya smirked.

The monk mumbled something, slipped on a rock and landed back in the water. Inu Yasha laughed. "Right, that's Miroku and this is Sango, her partner Kirara, Kagome and Shippou. Guys, this is an old friend of mine. Her name is Ember."

"He means I used to babysit him." Ember smirked. "I'm close to the family."

"Yes." Inu Yasha rolled his eyes. "Close. Let's call it that as there's only one member of my family left. And you two haven't been too close lately."

Ember sighed. "Can we talk? I know meeting up has been an accident but since we're here do you mind?"

"Sure."

The two walked for a while before Ember started talking. "I've lost my way, Inu Yasha. I have no one to go to. The last time I was lost I went to your mother. She was there for me. She was the only one who really knew what it was like to be in love with a youkai lord. And what it's like to never be able to love him again."

"What happened to you?"

"A boy I was training got caught in the crossfire between me and Naraku. He saved my life but in turn gave his own. I had to use an ancient law against my own daughter to keep her safe from Naraku but everyone looks at me as if I'm doing this deliberately to keep the angels in the dark and out of our world. They don't understand how dangerous it can be. Everything is falling apart and I have an entire culture relying on my to save them... even if they don't realize it."

"Have you seen Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes... More so recently. It seems that Naraku has brought us together again." She glanced down at the sword as his side. "I see you've inherited Tessaiga from your father."

"You know it?"

"As well as I knew your father. I was still human when he returned with it newly made. He made it so he could protect you and Izayoi. Even so I always thought Sesshoumaru would inherit it."

"How come?"

"Have you someone to protect." She smiled slightly. "They were the last words your father said to Sesshoumaru. Have you someone to protect. At the time he had me. But it was like Inu Taisho knew that I wasn't going to stay forever. It was like he knew that something was going to happen. Or maybe it was something completely different. I don't know. Maybe he really was just planning your future. So tell me, were you the one who cut off Sesshoumaru's arm?"

Inu Yasha let out a bark like laugh. "You're damn right I did!"

Ember laughed with him a little. Inu Yasha could see the distress on her face. She seemed as stressed as he was. for the last year he'd been fighting and fighting and it was all leading up to the moment in the next little while. The final battle was inevitably going to come. She needed to save her people. He needed to regain the shards of the jewel and protect Kagome and the others. Having the most powerful angel in thousands of years would be helpful. "Hey, why don't you travel with me and the others for a while?" he asked. "You look like you could use some good company."

Ember looked up at him. "I would like that." She smiled and they headed back to the others.

Miroku was out of the river by then and for the most part dry. The fox pup was laughing at him but they were all surprised when Inu Yasha had offered the invitation for her to travel with them. "It's usually us who has to do the inviting." Kagome said.

"Ah shut up." Inu Yasha grumbled. "She's an old friend."

"So you've said." Kagome raised an eyebrow.

Ember narrowed her eyes. This girl in odd clothing looked familiar. Almost like she were a shadow of someone she knew. "Who are you?" She asked. "I thought Kikyo was dead."

"Kagome is her reincarnation from another time." Inu Yasha explained.

"Bound to this place by the jewel. I see." She looked at Miroku, Sango and Shippou. "So what are your stories?"

They began to walk as they explained their stories. The whole time Ember could feel Inu Yasha's eyes on her. She tried to ignore him but it wasn't that easy. She knew him too well and he knew her just as well. She knew that he was going to ask her about Sesshoumaru again. She just wasn't sure what she was going to say when he did.