"I've learned that home isn't a place, it's a feeling."

By Cecelia Ahern

Traveling to Totosai's place was interesting. Satsuki seemed scared of the wide, open world and I didn't blame him because that was me when I first started traveling. Seeing how big the world was was scary but at least Satsuki had me now. I couldn't imagine how he survived such horrific events; he was a very strong young man. He was a lot cleaner now since he bathed and wiped off all that dirt and blood. He was healing nicely and I re-bandaged his wraps before we set off to Totosai's place.

Just to make sure he didn't overworked himself, I suggested that he ride on Rain just until I got more meat on his bones. He still wore tattered rags but I was hoping that Totosai would have something to give so Satsuki could wear it.

"So, where are we going?" Satsuki asked halfway through our journey.

There was a very nice breeze flying around us and the air seemed to slightly reek of smoke—Totosai was not far from us. "My big brother, Inuyasha, suggested I see this demon blacksmith before I left. Inuyasha would feel better if I had my own blade and this demon guy could create a powerful sword for me to use." I explained enjoying the sun's warm rays. It seemed like winter hadn't reached this part of the country yet.

I wonder how everyone was back at the village.

"I thought your family was…gone?" Satsuki asked, confused.

I smiled briefly, "He isn't related to me but I see him as my older brother." I got a warm, fuzzy feeling remembering that Inuyasha called me his little sister.

"And he's a demon, too?" Satsuki asked.

I shook my head and answered gently, "He's a half demon."

"Oh." Satsuki said looking surprised, "I can't imagine a demon and human being together." He says and glances at me with worry—it was as if he was scared that he offended me.

"Neither can I," I answered with a sour expression on my face, "Demons are…controlling and cruel, well, the ones I've met so far." I couldn't talk shit about demons and outright blame the entire race just because of a few bad apples.

"But…you're a demon, too?" Satsuki looked really confused before realizing, "Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting that you were human once, you know, you haven't told me that story yet." He pointed out with a thoughtful expression.

I smirked, "Perhaps another time, Satsuki, when you trust me a bit more and are comfortable."

I saw him blush and nod, "Sorry, if I keep prying too much. I'm just really curious about you." He says shyly and I show him a bright smile.

"I understand, don't worry, kid."

I asked Satsuki general and friendly questions—just to get to know him better. He was warming up to me as we asked questions to each other. Thorin was trotting ahead, like always, just to keep an eye on everything. Eventually, we reached the top of a mountain and I could hear the sound of metal hitting metal—smoke emitting from a cave. There was a stream nearby and a one-eyed cow grazing freely. The one-eyed cow looked up and greeted us with a lazy moo.

The sound of metal hitting metal ceased.

"Who goes there?" An elderly and cranky sounding voice called from within the cave.

Satsuki looked nervous to be meeting another demon but Kagome and the others reassured me that Totosai was harmless towards humans before I left the village. "Uh, are you Totosai?" I asked stepping closer to the mouth of the cave.

A second later, a short and stumpy demon came out. He had these bulging, huge eyes and wrinkly skin and he wore a green and black kimono. His graying hair was pulling up into a very tight ponytail and he had a goatee, too. He blinked his oversized eyes—which kinda creeped me out, to be honest. "And who are you?" He peered at me curiously.

"Um, Inuyasha sent me here," I explained while rubbing the back of my neck out of nervous habit, "I'm Clementine?" I meekly introduced.

Totosai looked like he was thinking hard about something before his big eyes lightened up, "Oh, you're the fox demon I was told about! Inuyasha sent me a letter a few weeks back…You're Clementine, eh? Well, you certainly feel very powerful," Totosai looked excited and rubbed his hands together, "You came here looking for a sword?"

"Yeah, uh, Inuyasha said you could…make me one?"

Totosai was suddenly in my personal space and prying my mouth open like some savage. Thorin bristled angrily and hissed at the demon blacksmith while I pulled away from him while sputtering, "W-What are you doing?!" I demanded with a snap.

"I wanted to see your fangs," Totosai tilted his head to the side as he scratched his head, "Hey, I know that fur-train!" Totosai's eyes honed in on mokomoko, "That belongs to a powerful demon lord—"

"It used to belong to Sesshomaru," I cut him off and just saying that jerk demon's name sent my skin to crawl, "But it decided to move onto a new, more caring owner." I smirked lightly.

Totosai gaped at me, "And Sesshomaru hasn't killed you over it?"

"Curiously not." I remarked.

Totosai looked stumped before focusing on forging a new sword, "Well, you look very powerful for a fox demon…your aura is similar to Sesshomaru's…Inuyasha told me about your predicament, too. A human you once were before you traveled back in time and you became a powerful demon," Totosai recited beckoning me to come into his cave, "Come, come, and bring your human and dragon along, too." Totosai disappeared into the cave.

I looked over my shoulder at Satsuki, "You can stay out here if you aren't comfortable going inside the cave." I offered with a gentle look.

Satsuki nodded, "I think I will…he looks harmless but he's kinda weird." Satsuki mumbled.

I chuckled, "Don't wander off, okay? Have some dried meat while I go inside with Totosai." Satsuki nodded and Thorin and I made our way into the cave. It reeked of smoke and metal. There was a forge deep within the cave and scattered swords everywhere. Totosai was sitting by his forge and gesturing me to sit down on the mossy ground.

"Have you trained with a sword before?" Totosai questioned.

I shook my head, "Not really, but, Inuyasha said he had a friend in the East Kingdom who would be willing to teach me how to use it."

Totosai hummed lightly as he began taking out tools and laid out several ingots of metal in front of me, "Well. I have several metals we can use. Usually, I would suggest getting some training or staying here to train but since the East Kingdom isn't far away, I'll overlook it," Totosai sniffed and pointed to the ingots, "I don't think I've ever made a sword for a demoness." He adds with an excited gleam in his large eyes.

"Really?" I questioned perplexed, "Are there not many of them?"

"Oh, yes, there are, but female demons are spoiled brats. Not many see the need to learn the skill of a blade to protect them—they rely solely on their powers." Totosai explained.

"Wow, that's surprising."

Totosai explained each ingot to me and asked which one I would like to use. "Uh, what do you think would be best for me?" I was clueless on this subject, obviously.

"Well, an ebony ingot would most likely work best for you since it is lightweight and not so heavy." Totosai took the pitch black ingot and began working away, "Also, I will need your fang to infuse into the blade. It will be the source of power for your blade." Totosai muttered, "Clementine, what is your last name?"

I was surprised by his question, "Why does it matter?"

"If you are going to be a demoness, you need a surname. Many would not want to refer you by your first name as it is disrespectful." Totosai explained patiently.

"Uh, my last name is Mondragon." I always did like my last name—it was unique and not often heard of. I had no idea what it meant, to be honest.

"Moon dragon?" Totosai asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Mon-dragon." I corrected.

"Oh, hmm, interesting last name. I like it—Clementine Mondragon." Totosai nodded as if officially setting my name in this world. I chuckled softly and shook my head with a sigh. Thorin looked irritated by Totosai's presence but that was how Thorin naturally was.

"What about sigils and mottos? You're the first of your kind, ya know, if you have children—you will need to provide this information." Totosai began hammering away on some silver now and was huffing as if annoyed by something.

"Sigil and motto?" I cringed, "Is that really necessary? I'm just nobody, really."

"Ah, you see, that's where you are wrong. Your aura and your presence are almost overwhelmingly strong. You will attract a lot of attention, Clementine, because I certainly have never met a fox demon with such strong auras. I haven't seen a fox with your coloring before either and oh, the amount of tails, too, yeah; you will be bombarded by demons asking for your hand in marriage."

I scowled, "Even if I were to marry, which is highly unlikely, won't my children and I inherit the surname of my husband?" I questioned.

"Yes, but your last name is very important. Until you are married, you still hold that surname with pride but also with your own sigil and motto. No one will hear of your surname or family but they will think that you are from some ungodly household." Totosai explained in a grunt.

Sigil and motto?

What was this, Game of Thrones? I snorted at the thought.

"My sigil would obviously be a fox." I mumbled.

"How very boring and uncreative." Totosai muttered.

I glared at him, "Well, what else can my sigil be?" I demanded hotly.

"Well, quite obviously you would choose something that represents you and you would want to represent any generations down the line." Totosai quipped.

I felt like I was playing Skyrim and I was creating my own character again. I sighed, "A fox with a crescent moon on its forehead." I shrugged and for some reason my mind flashed to Sesshomaru and his purple markings.

"Hmm, that's more like it." Totosai came over and gestured me to open my mouth, "Open wide, demoness."

I saw the pliers in his hands, "Is that clean?" I warily asked.

Totosai gave me an impatient look, "Open up." He ordered.

I huffed and opened up my mouth as wide as I could without hurting my face. Totosai wasted on time in shoving those dirty pliers into my mouth and yanking out one of my fangs. I yelped and tasted the blood on my tongue. I glared dirtily at the old man as he went over the blade he was forging and began hammering my fang into the black blade.

"Don't get angry," Totosai muttered, "You should heal in a few minutes."

I scowled at him and kept my mouth shut until my fang grew back—until the bleeding stopped. "So, what about a motto? I like mottos." Totosai mused to himself.

"Do I really need a motto?" I questioned as I was perplexed on why this man was so curious and intent on this.

"I was going to engrave it into your new sword to make it look nice." Totosai mumbled.

"I think I'm good." I rolled my eyes.

It took maybe an hour for Totosai to finish my sword and it wasn't long before I was thanking him and trying to pay him—but he refused to take my coin. "I don't' ask money as payment," Totosai briskly stated, "You just take good care of that sword, ya hear? It can tell you now it is very powerful more then it lets on. I suggest learning with wooden swords before advancing with this one." Totosai spoke in a professional voice.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

Totosai nodded before peering at me, "Yes, I am. That sword should protect you well enough. I'll send word to Inuyasha that you made it here safely." He added in.

"Tell him that I miss the village and I'm almost to the East Kingdom, will you?" I smiled sadly because I really did miss those dorks.

Totosai was already hobbling away, "Now, time for my bath."

I snort lightly before turning towards Satsuki who is already climbing on Rain with a clean kimono on—it was black and white but it was something to wear until I could get to a merchant town and buy him clothes of his own.

Tied to my hip were my sword's sheath and my new sword—the added weight to my hip would take some getting used to. Now, it was time to go find a nice spot to camp in for the night and then I would travel the short few days to the East Kingdom. As we were leaving, Satsuki leaned over and tapped my shoulder—I had been walking shoulder to shoulder with Rain so, it was easy for him to reach me.

I looked over at him and he shyly offered me an apple and a peach, "I've found them near Totosai's cave. You are pretty adamant that I eat often but I don't see you eat often." He says with a slight blush on his face. I get that warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach and I can't help but to smile at the kid.

"Thanks, Satsuki, it means a lot." I chirped as I happily take the fruit from him and begin munching on the apple, "It shouldn't take long to get to the East Kingdom but…how are you with going there and staying there for a few months?" I asked him with a worried expression.

Satsuki sighs softly, "I won't like it, honestly, but I know you'll take good care of me, Clementine. We've only spent one day together but…I feel like I completely trust you and your judgment." He's blushing again and I almost want to pinch his cheeks.

"I would never put you in danger, Satsuki." I confirm gently, "We'll see how it goes and if we're both comfortable enough there, we can stay, if not I can find somewhere else to stay." I shrugged not finding a big deal about it. I could always hunt for the fox demon tribe Shippo told me about and forget about the East Kingdom.

"Why exactly are you traveling to the East Kingdom?" Satsuki asked softly.

"Well, like, I've told you before, I used to be human up until recently. I don't really know anything about being a demon or anything of the sorts. I was going to East Kingdom to seek lodgings and a job, so, I can stay there until I've studied as much as I can about my new race." Satsuki looked surprised to hear this and looked adorable.

Satsuki was such a cutie.

"I heard what Totosai said in his cave earlier…about the demons going crazy about how powerful you are," Satsuki had a look of concern on his young, handsome face, "You're so intent on my safety but what about yours?"

I grinned at him widely catching him by surprise again, "I can fend for myself, okay? I've been trained by a demon that was more powerful then me." I tell him causing the teenager's eyes to widen, "Yeah, so, don't worry so much about me, okay?" I wink at him.

"More powerful then you?" Satsuki looked pale.

I was sure if Satsuki were to see Sesshomaru then the poor lad would pass out in fear. I snicker softly, "Yeah, don't worry though, I doubt you'll ever see him." I shrug lightly.

"I hope not…" Satsuki whispers before asking a bit louder, "What will you tell the other demons when they ask about me?"

"That you're my ward," I thought back to Rin and how she was Sesshomaru's ward—I guess I was basically turning into Sesshomaru, although, I was such an asshole to everyone and I actually had a damn heart. "If anyone tries anything, I'll kill them." I state firmly.

Satsuki remains quiet but there was a thoughtful expression on his face, I smile because he doesn't look fearful of my words. "So, will you tell me your story now?" He asks again.

I laugh, "You're so persistent!"

"I-I'm jus curious." Satsuki blushes.

I snort, "If you're so curious, I'll tell you then." I finally relent, "Okay, story-time!" This was going to be a long day. The last thing I wanted to do was remind me of my former life and how I was trapped in this era forever.

But how can someone say no to Satsuki's cute face?

Sorry for any errors!