All right, Happy Halloween! (I know it was yesterday, but whatever), I think this is my longest chapter, filled with lost of good stuff. So, enjoy!

The two taiyokai silently watched the sun rise, its beams of orange and gold lit up the sky. Sesshomaru felt at peace, for once he was not formulating plans in his mind, not fighting, not worrying, just enjoying the sun rise. Demons like him rarely found moments like this, they were expected to lead, to fight and to be the best at everything…such was the life of a taiyokai. Looking to his right, he could see that same burden in Amaya. Thrust upon a throne on her parent's death, risking her life to protect her people and to form an alliance with him. Closing his eyes once again, he felt his mokomoko sway languidly in the breeze, the breeze ruffled his silver strands but he didn't care. Soon though, it would be time to wake the others below them and to begin the one of the hardest weeks they will ever have to face in their short lives, training.

Opening golden eyes, Sesshomaru spoke quietly, as to not disturb the peace.

"The humans will not cooperate with us, Inuyasha especially."

His companion did not move, didn't even open her eyes, she merely sat like an elegant sculpture. A moment of silence passed before she spoke, just as quietly as Sesshomaru.

"If they are reasonable, they will. But if they resist then we shall show them how incompetent they are. It is for their own good."

Sesshomaru knew where this was leading to, and he did not mind. It had been a while since he fought…even just sparred. His thoughts were interrupted by Amaya's smooth voice

"The best way to get them to comply is presentation and intimidation. We shall instill fear and respect, then I guarantee they will be begging for our training."

Both taiyokai's looked at each other and smirked, let the games begin.

The group of humans slept soundly, exhausted from the previous days battle. They had stayed up late, comforting the distraught Kagome, who cried herself to sleep. That night, Kagome dreamt of the deceased Kikyo, remembering her strength, beauty and kindness. Yet, Kikyo was troubled and lonely…her kind heart turning false and replaced with a colder one. Kagome wanted to be strong like her predecessor, to be fearless and confident. So when the young miko awoke, she did so with a renewed determination to become the best miko the world had ever seen. Looking back, Kagome felt disappointed with herself…she had behaved just like Lady Amaya had said. She had cried and kept the group from sleeping with her weakness. But no more! A new Kagome had woken this morning and she was going to kick butt!

Sitting up in her sleeping bag, she stretched her arms with a wide smile on her face before it slowly disappeared as a chill crawled up her spine. Looking around wildly, Kagome could see nothing unusual, but a strange fog had descended, and with it an ominous aura.

"Guys, wake up!"

Kagome looked at her sleeping friends, who merely mumbled in their sleep. She picked up the slumbering Shippo, clutching him to her chest.

She gently shook him awake

"Shippo, wake up"

Opening his green eyes, he looked at his adoptive mother with confusion

"What's going on?"

The miko shook her head "I don't know, but I'm going to wake everyone up…something bad is coming, cover your ears."

Shippo hastily covered his pointed ears, bracing himself for what was to come. Sucking in a deep breath, Kagome screamed

"EVERYONE WAKE UP!"

Inuyasha leaped up, his ears flat against his head, sword drawn.

"What the hell Kagome, what's goin' on?"

Sango and Miroku stood up, still half asleep but alert. They all looked curiously at the girl who had woken them, who spoke apologetically.

"Sorry guys, but I feel really creepy….I think something is about to happen."

Looking around them, the other members of the group noticed the unnaturally dense fog surrounding them, what was going on?

Two heads peaked from under their blankets, Rin and Matsu who were resting by their dragons, looked curiously at the group. Watching the other humans converse quietly and gather their weapons, the two children huddled closer to the dragons, waiting for their protectors to appear.

Everyone was on high alert, their instincts telling them to run and hide. Even the fearless Inuyasha looked about cautiously, something in his blood telling him to either run or submit.

Little did they know they were being watched, two deadly creatures patiently waiting for the opportune moment to strike the wary group.

Suddenly, a deep voice cut through the fog, its location a mystery,

"I see you have finally awoken."

The humans eyes widened as they frantically searched for the source of the deep voice. Soon a second voice, still low but distinctly feminine spoke to the group.

"We could have killed you several times, it took you ten minutes to compose yourselves, pitiful."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed….a male and female, powerful aura's, berating them, he only knew of two people capable of this.

"Sesshomaru, Amaya is that you! What the hell are you trying to do!" He swung his sword for emphasis, waiting for a response.

Low chuckles sounded around them, causing chills to go up the group's spine.

"Clever Inuyasha, but the question now is what are we going to do to you?"

The hanyou felt a brush on his shoulder, but when he turned around there was nothing there but a swirling mist.

This time Miroku stepped up, eyes narrowing

"Show yourselves!"

Glowing golden and violet eyes peered at them through the fog before it dissipated slightly, revealing the two taiyokai's tall forms.

The huddled humans watched as the demons slowly circled them, their youki brushing their skin.

Amaya's voice lazily drifted towards them "We have a question for you…"

Sesshomaru's voice took over next "Based on your little fight yesterday, do you truly believe you can defeat Naraku?"

Sango's responded angrily "Of course we can! We will not stop until he is dead!"

Warily watching the two demons circling them, they huddled closer together

"But if you are dead, you cannot persue him, then what?"

"I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but it aint gonna work!" Screamed Inuyasha, becoming agitated.

Suddenly, the fog became darker, obscuring the taiyokai's from sight once again. Their voices floated towards the nervous and fearful humans, voices cold as ice yet smooth as silk.

"You cannot defeat him in the state you are in"

"There is no organization or planning in your attacks, there are too many weak points to exploit"

"You will all fail…."

Yelling in outrage, Inuyasha prepared his to release his wind scar, but was stopped midway by a soft voice in his ear and a clawed hand wrapped around his wrist.

"You are so rash, Inuyasha. You must learn patience and discipline."

With that Amaya threw the enraged hanyou to the ground before once again disappearing into the fog.

Sesshomaru's voice spoke next, filling their camp with its richness.

"We have decided to train you, so you are worthy to stand with us in the final battle. If you try to resist, there will be consequences."

Immediately, words of outrage were heard, except from the miko, who silently watched her friends rage about the demons demand.

Miroku finally was heard above the noise "And what if we choose not to cooperate, then what? Will you kill us? Leave us?"

A dark chuckle was heard before violet eyes appeared from the gloom, staring directly at the monk

"No, you will all remain alive. But we shall offer you a deal, If you can put up a strong fight against us right now…we will continue on as usual. But if you fail miserably, which you most assuredly will. Then you will allow us to better your skills. I can tell you that if you simply agree to allow us to train you now, you will save yourself the pain and humiliation which you will face shortly."

Kagome was still silent, in her heart she knew that if her friends chose to fight, they would lose. This whole thing was a set up, to teach them a lesson. The first clue Kagome had discovered was when the children, and even Shippo, suddenly disappeared from camp, then the two demons taunting remarks. The whole thing screamed trap….but Kagome doubted that any of her friends would submit to the taiyokai's wishes. Kagome felt her insides twist with anxiety….she had felt something last night.

When Lady Amaya had grasped her chin with her claws, Kagome had, for the first time, felt true power. The female taiyokai was filled with it….and it caused her body to fill with fear and her mind to scramble. Never had she been in such close contact to something like this, it was pure, raw power….something she had vaguely felt from Sesshomaru but never dared explore. Kagome did not want to fight, it was a lost battle. But if her friends decided to fight, then she would do her best to prove herself worthy of being a miko, even if it meant purifiying their butts off!

The rest of the group seemed oblivious to their young friend's silence, instead coming to a unanimous decision about the taiyokai's deal.

"We will fight."

All at once, the fog disappeared, revealing the early morning light, but most importantly, revealing the smirking taiyokai's, claws dripping lethal poison.

'Let the games begin'

There was a moment of tense silence as the two groups faced each other, eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, the taiyokai's disappeared, flying into the tree's. Inuyasha watched as the branches shook around them, leaves falling, but all he could see were flashes of white and blue.

"Ah"

Inuyasha looked down at his arm, where a long gash leaking green liquid was visible. The cut stung, but what bothered him was that he didn't even see it coming. Then he felt another sting on his leg, and another on his cheek. Soon the hanyou was covered in oozing cuts, swing his sword madly. Finally, he caught a glimpse of violet in his peripheral vision and swung.

Amaya's eyes widened as she saw the sword swooping towards her, she quickly ducked below it before stopping her run. Now, she stood face to face with the enraged hanyou, cuts covered his body and tendrils of blood trickled to the ground. Lifting up her hand, she inspected her blood covered claws, smirking at Inuyasha.

"Poor, poor Inuyahsa, you look so pitiful all bloody and furious."

Inuyasha snarled at her, swinging his sword towards her. But Amaya neatly dodged each of his attacks, looking to her left, she saw a glowing arrow flying towards her, missing her nose by a few centimeters. Turning slightly wide eyes to the source, Amaya saw Kagome, determination in her gaze. She smirked at the miko.

'It seems the girl is finally stepping up to her role as priestess'

Amaya did not look for too long because she felt the wind of another sword strike come her way.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru began toying with the monk and slayer.

Miroku and Sango warily watched the tree's, waiting for Sesshomaru's strike. Hearing Inuyahsa's grunts of pain, they looked to see him engaging the Eastern Lady with the Tessaiga. In that brief moment of distraction, the demon struck.

Sesshomaru swooped in between the two humans, swiftly knocking them to the ground. Sango was the first to get up, swinging her boomerang at the tall demon in front of her, but the weapon was easily caught and thrown away. Sango took a calming breath and recalled her training.

'When facing an opponent this fast, small and light weapons are best.'

She drew her katana, pointing it towards Sesshomaru while discreetly turning her eyes toward Miroku, who was stealthily preparing sutras behind the demon. He nodded his head and she attacked.

Using small, quick movements she slashed at Sesshomaru, who twirled around her quickly, dodging her strikes. Thinking hard, she recalled something her father once told her about fighting a high level demon.

'You should never fight an upper level demon alone, they are quick, clever and heartless. But if you find yourself in a situation where you must fight one, the best thing to do is use their intelligence against them. Establish a pattern to your strikes, repeat them and I assure you the demon will notice. Once you see that the demon dodges or blocks your strikes before you swing, change it. Hopefully that catches them off guard so you can make a move. But choose when you change tactics wisely, you want to inflict as much damage as possible….so hopefully you can continue to wound it.'

Sango replayed the conversation in her head, using it as motivation. She did exactly what her father said and used the same pattern of attacks, she watched as, within the first two repetitions, Sesshomaru dodged before even she moved. Finally, she saw a perfect opening, taking a deep breath, she quickly changed her swords course, right towards the demon's face. She felt her sword slide through skin, and screamed at Miroku.

"Miroku, NOW!"

She backed away from the angered demon, who sported a long gash across his face, from his left eyebrow to his right chin. The demon slayer watched as Miroku threw several sutras at the demon, all of them buzzing with spiritual power.

They watched as Sesshomaru was engulfed with blue light, there triumphant smiles turning to horror as the blue light was overcome by white light, dissipating it and revealing the unharmed taiyokai, the sutras strewn on the ground and his face completely healed.

"Well done, you seem to work well together, but you will have to do better than that if you wish to defeat me."

Settling his cold gaze upon the humans, he advanced, bringing out his poison whip. Sango and Miroku prepared themselves, standing side by side, ready for the next round.

Meanwhile, Amaya continued to dodge the hanyou's frantic blows, eventually becoming bored. She suddenly disappeared from in front of Inuyasha, before lightly landing in his sword. Her weight caused Inuyasha to stumble towards the ground.

"Is that the best you can do Inuyasha, and I thought you were supposed to be some all powerful hanyou…at least that's what your little pack thinks. But in reality, you are nothing but a lost and abandoned pup trying to prove yourself."

She once again began her tactic of slowly cutting him down with small, precise cuts. The technique was dangerous though, at the speed she was going at and in such a confined radius, a blow would send her flying hard into the forest, possibly breaking bones.

Focusing all her energy, Amaya darted around the hanyou, avoiding his sword while inflicting small cuts infused with traces of poison. Little by little, Inuyasha weakened from blood loss and pain. He raised his eyes to the frightened miko, who was rushing towards him. His hand lifted to stop her, she was going to get hurt….he had to protect Kagome.

Even down on his knees, Amaya continued her slow torture on Inuyasha, contrary to what the humans thought, she was not enjoying herself. Rather it was a somber and serious event, one that had to be done if they all wanted to come out of the coming fight alive.

Amaya finally stopped when Inuyasha dropped his sword, Kagome, with trembling hands, reached for the fallen hanyou.

"Oh no, Inuyasha…"

Pain-filled golden eyes looked at Kagome, he couldn't believe what was happening….he was defeated, spent, Amaya was doing something else to his body.

And indeed, Lady Amaya was doing something else to Inuyasha, her youki was filling his body, suppressing his own, causing his demon blood to dissipate and leave him more a human then a demon.

Kagome, gently holding Inuyasha's hand, looked about the clearing. Sango lay bruised on the floor, her slayer outfit shredded and torn, her weapons far away. Miroku's beloved staff was broken, the three pieces of it pinning his clothes, and thus Miroku to the forest floor. He was reaching for something…for Sango. Kagome felt rage fill her, what was this madness? How had they fallen so easily, Sango, Miroku…Inuyasha. She felt a looming presence behind her and slowly turning around, met inhuman violet eyes.

"What are you going to do now, human? Your protector has fallen, your friends have fallen and you are face to face with a demon, what is the little miko going to do?"

Blue eyes narrowed in anger as Kagome quickly grasped her bow and aimed it at the crouching taiyokai.

"I'm gonna kick some demon butt."

Kagome fired her arrow, which was glowing with power. Amaya dodged it and began circling the miko, running around her so that all Kagome could see was a whirlwind of color. Not able to pinpoint where the taiyokai was, she looked inside herself, feeling for the power the demoness radiated instead. Taking a calming breath and closing her eyes, she aimed her arrow and waited. Felt the pattern in the taiyokai's running, she released her arrow, and it flew true.

Kagomes eyes sprung open as she felt the rush of her purification power flow over her. Amaya was thrown straight through the forest and into a massive stone which split in two on impact. The taiyokai felt several bones break and puncture her organs.

All eyes turned to Kagome, who glowed with pink energy. Sesshomaru was shocked, how had that little miko released such power? A sudden chill swept the camp, a dense and dark aura decending, pulsing angrily. That was when Kagome realized her grave mistake

'This whole time, they were just toying with us…not really hurting us. Even Inuyasha, he has been stabbed and broken so many times, this was nothing for him, just humiliating…just like they said. And here I go making an attempt to purify Lady Amaya! I'm screwed, this is the end of Kagome Higurashi.'

A low rumble sounded, growing in intensity as the powerful youki crushed the human's spirit. Red eyes peered from the depths of the forest before Lady Amaya emerged, snarling viciously. Her red gaze landed on the stunned miko before she lunged and Kagome's world went black.

I hope you liked it. Please review...they make me want to update. Next update should come within 10 days. Thanks for reading...and reviewing!