I enjoyed reading that you liked the past chapter as much as I did. This chapter might be a little confusing as part of it takes place inside the peoples mindset. While another part of the chapter is happening in the world. I hope it is not too puzzling. So much for the preface, now enjoy what the raid followed!

Chapter 14: Wind of Changes

The night had been a great experience and old bonds had been renewed and combined with new threads of fate. Inuyasha was very happy of having both worlds and not having to choose between them. In fact until he passed over the threshold he had been scared for some sort of disaster to happen. Something that would cost him his friends, his past and his companions trust in him. The mere thought had tortured him for quite a long time and was reason enough to steal him many hours of much needed sleep. But now, he could hope and look forward to what would come. His old group had slowly started to accept the new yet old friend and they had listened intently to his experiences with the Diwata and their Familiars. Especially Shippo had made a wonderful audience. In the right moment he had held his breath, the next moment he then kept urging him on to talk and sometimes he asked for more details, if the hanyou kept it to vague for outsiders to understand.

At the end of the night the group had updated each other over what had happened in the last year. Sango and Miroku had started to recruit young men and women alike to join and rebuilt the hunter village. It was a slow process, but the necessary determination and perseverance for such a big project were present. The revival of the slayers was no longer wishful thinking.

Shippo had started to train with various other kitsune so that he could rise in rank in his next trickster-examination. The kittling had even managed to gain some friends and even admirers among his kin. Inuyasha took great pride in his kit and said to his kittling that he was proud of the small child. The kittling beamed at the praise and told the hanyou eagerly that he wished to stay for the next while with the slayers. That he would protect them. The mixed-blood's heart swelled at the words. It was amazing how much the kit had matured since he had been found on the battlefield. The scrawny kid had developed well.

Kagome had not really changed much. At the beginning she had ranted and accused him of things he did not even bother to pretend to listen to. Later she had told him how sorry she was for saying harsh things and then she ended with how glad she was to see him again. Inwardly the half-Diwata groaned at the girl. Constantly having mood-swings cannot be healthy. Or normal for that matter! The conversation that followed had been far more pleasing to his sensitive ears. He learnt about the girl that she and that Habo, Hobo or Hobbit guy had decided to move together. Inuyasha kept to these news his mouth shut tightly but inwardly he made a mental note to congratulate the nut-case to his courage. Hopefully he would survive his relationship with the temperamental girl. Maybe he was even smart enough to not get the crazy chick pregnant. Someone like Kagome should never get under the influence of hormones.

What pleased the hanyou greatly was that the 'outwordly girl' had decided to bring books and materials to medicine from her world to this one. She taught Kaede and her young successor Rin how to use them. Kaede tried hard to understand but had a lot of difficulties to follow the instructions and her handling with the little gadgets was terrible.

Rin for that part stayed asleep for his entire visit. Much to Kotodoki's sorrow. What he learnt about her that night he considered rather sweet. The bouncy kid had decided to follow the slayers to the new village once it was created. The child was still afraid of bandits and felt in a twisted way more comfortable having demons around. So why not move to a village filled to the brim with warriors and demons alike. And hanyous for that matter.

Inuyasha had proposed to contact Jinenji and Shiori later, to have these two and their remaining family to join the new village. Both were powerful, kind, talented and most of all lonely. Shiori would be a great addition to the defensive force of the village while the stag-hanyou's knowledge to medicine and plants surpassed even that of old Kaede. The inu had no doubt in his mind that the gentle giant would have little to no trouble to adapt to Kagome's world's medicine. His suggestion was gladly accepted. Who knew, maybe this village would become the haven for hanyou that Inuyasha had searched all this time when he was a mere puppy.

What surprised him was the path Kouga had decided to venture on. Since mating with Kagome did not work, the wolf-prince had started to woo Ayame, with medium success. When he first approached the red-head she had apparently rammed him straight into the ground, but now they seemed to get along rather well. Inuyasha was impressed. The wolf-demon still had the tendency to storm into the village out of the blue and to disappear just as quickly and unforeseeable. The wild prince had already given his agreement to make an alliance between the wolf-demons and the new slayers.

The night continued with the exchange of information and then they started to determine, what course of action would be wise. The entire group had decided that it would be too dangerous to have Inuyasha's puppies wrecking havoc in the village. As long as Sesshomaru was still roaming the area it was to dangerous for any other inu to be around. Inuyasha had to even promise to everyone to keep a low profile and to visit irregularly to make it more difficult for the demon lord, should he start searching for the mixed-blood. The hanyou himself had decided this night to use his powers to provide for both villages and to create certain plants to protect the slayers village as well as the wolf dens. He also had decided to visit from this point on once every week, if his time allowed it. He wanted to help with the restoration of the village, to gather some demonic material for the slayers and to chat. The mixed-blood wished he could come more often, especially now that there was the chance to see the little bat-girl as well as the stag-hanyou again, but his little ones wouldn't allow him too much time for himself. At least not currently. The little bundles of energy had inherited his talent for attraction of trouble and sometimes the hanyou didn't dare to turn his back to them out of fear of what they would do this time.

Lady Shioshiso and her daughter Kotodoki had been surprisingly silent for the remaining night. The pink-eyed females had understood what this evening meant to the hanyou and no matter how much they wished to be selfish when it came to him, this time they accepted his need for his companions and this world. For that Diwata-untypical behaviour the hanyou felt great gratitude towards the proud females. In fact the two ladies only put in their word if they had suggestions or questions to the projects to come.

It had been indeed a great night.

When Inuyasha had returned he was glad to see that for once his pups had decided to stay put and to behave themselves. He played a little with them before he had to put them down for a nap.

Now, he stood right in front of Sainoarashi's library. Aring, as so often was to his left. Both of them, or better said Inuyasha was stared into the ground by an irate flower-Familiar. The grey-coloured man was pointedly ignored. Accusing glares rained upon the hanyou and the youngster wondered exactly how many millennia it would take for the flower to forgive him for stepping onto his root. The green-skinned male with the pinkish petals kept his death glare firmly planted in his face for the greeting and did not bother to greet Aring as his entire focus was on the 'oafish'. The silver-haired male rolled inwardly his eyes and just went past the flower. The fog-Familar followed his example while muttering to the green-skinned male that he should get over that ridiculous incident. Inuyasha could not agree more. This flower took the word 'unforgiving' to a new high.

The two males went past many corridors, decorated with countless scrolls and paintings in black and white, till they found the book-worm in his library. Or better until Inuyasha smelled that foul stench of roses. He placed his sleeve over his nose in shock and went to the source of the odour. The origin of the 'smell of death' was a happy Sainoarashi, blanketed with dozens of scrolls and books which he studied intently. The entire desk, the surrounding floor of said desk and all chairs were covered in white and black. It looked like it was part of the style of the mansion. Inuyasha had the sudden realizations that he now knew why the familiar had such a strange taste in style, it gave the sage the option to spread chaos but to keep it look natural.

Aring grinned at the picture the Diwata presented. Inuyasha on the other hand surveyed the chaos and realized that the short-haired male had already started to make some copies of the scripts he found worthy of passing on. He even made out some piles which were probably sorted. How the crazy guy could look through the mess the hanyou would probably never know.

The hanyou greeted "Good morning Saino. I see you were more than successful last night. But please tell us, why do you smell so bad?! This stench is one of the worst I have ever come across. And another question, what exactly are you wearing?" the half-blood finished curiously.

The Diwata lifted finally his head and smirked at his guests. "It was about time you showed up! First of all to you good morning as well!" the sage gave a polite nod than turned one of his open palm to the desk as he continued "You have seen right my friend. Yes, my raid was very fruitful and I finally had the chance to get rid of some built-up stress. As for the smell and the odd clothing … well, these were part of my cover while I enjoyed myself in the dog-demon castle. But now enough with the pribble-prabble, come over and look at what I've found!" the older man said with childish glee.

The two guests followed the invitation and Aring said with dark amusement "The great lord of the west probably had quite a fit, when he realized that you have taken half his library. To bad that we couldn't see his expression when he realized what had happened." Inuyasha's gaze went to his partner by that statement. For as long as he knew the fog-sprite held deep resentment against his half-brother. It felt like having another furious flower at your neck. At least this one was not against him, but the silver beauty couldn't help but wonder what would happen if these two would ever run into each other.

The train of thought was interrupted when the sage started to laugh merrily "I do not doubt that he will be angry for me lending some of his scrolls, but I can assure you my friends that he will likely only realize what we were after by the coming days. I was very thorough by turning that place hell. The entire castle was redecorated, completely covered in new scents and half of his staff is probably still entangled in thorny vines. Not to mention the surprise I planted in the lord's own private chamber. Yes, oh yes, he will be furious without comparison!" and the Diwata doubled over in laughter and his guests joined him. The mixed-blood imagined how his stoic brother would freak once he saw his territory. Ah, what a picture!

- At the western castle -

The lord of the west strode with long steps through what was left of his chamber. His eyes twitched and his mouth was nothing but a thin line. The lord was close to explode. A single intruder, had in a single night overrun his castle. He had messed with his subordinates, stolen from him and to top it all off he had turned his chamber into a personal torture cellar! The tall demon glided over the broken items of his room, the ripped carpets and sheets and stalked to his balcony, a crumbled notice in his hand. His amber eyes shone with rage and confusion. It was a state the lord was not fond of and as he watched the night he pondered over what had transpired not so long ago.

For the past months things had started to collapse around him. First the nature-incident, that had somehow corrected from one moment to the last. The incident was directly tied to the witch and the nightmare that happened at the investigation, of which he still remembered naught. Later he met some unusual child that led to some crazy chase across his lands. In said hunting session his proof against the panther demons was stolen right from his hand and he was left with an overly emotional little child!

Then there were these other … conditions that seemed just to pop up out of nowhere. For quite a while now he was tortured by a nagging feeling of emptiness. It was as if something was missing. That something was wrong. The feeling grew as time passed and the celestial dog could not help but dread the idea of it growing with no limitation. He did not know what it was, but when he left his instincts free reign he could feel it search. Even when he felt deeply asleep his instincts would rose and continue to search. It searched confused with all senses. For what he did not know. No one knew, not even his primal self that was responsible for the dreaded loss of control.

He had taken this matter to his trusted healer the Ibis-demoness, who also attended his council. She had run some tests and suggested afterwards, that it might be time for him to take a mate, as there was nothing physically wrong with his body. She added further that there must be some matching demon close by, if his instincts were searching this actively for said person. In the beginning he had been insulted, but when he thought about it more logically, it might indeed be time to take a mate. Generally demons started to search for their partners at the age of four or five hundred years. His forth century had long since past and he had never even bothered to look for his other half. Why should he? There had never been anyone around who was worthy of him. That said the demon lord and his healer had decided to go to an annual meeting in which high classed demons tended to search for possible partners, or to create new alliances or trade routes.

He had decided to take part in this year annual meeting that lasted an entire week and had ended just the previous night. It was like he remembered it: Pompous fools throwing their bodies in his face, greedy pieces of slime trying to coax him into trade and everyone praising what little they owned. But there had been a development he had not been aware of. What had surprised the dog-demon had been that even some hanyous had joined the event. All of them belonged to some demonic family that had unlike him accepted the children right at birth. Apparently having a powerful spider-hanyou running amok in the lands had been proof enough, that mixed-bloods were indeed as powerful as most demons. The fact that it was another mixed-blood that determinates the vile beast, while most of the 'noble demons' had to go into hiding had been another eye-opener. The lord had mangled with the mass but his search for a possible mate had been futile. His instincts did not credit an ounce of attention to any of the bodies piling in front of him. At least he could take comfort in managing to gain some new ground in the business sector. So he could chalk up his visit as a small victory as it had not been a total waste of time.

So when he returned and was greeted with the rotting scent of roses, he was baffled. It was not only the scent, but also what he saw even from afar. His once white castle was partly covered by thick black weed. The flora had infiltrated his castle and claimed it brutally, with its aggressive nature and scent. The source of the smell had taken many of his staff and soldiers captive and had rooted itself deeply in the stone of his castle. The noise from those that ran headless from one place to the next had been deafening. Nobody knew what was going on, or where there should turn to. When he entered what was left of his once sparkling and perfect hideout, the staff and guards looked at him in both fear for his temper, as well as in hope for his support. With his poisonous claws he had melted the gigantic rose bush, while giving multiple orders at his hurrying audience. Most of the damage was not severe but the smell left behind was like a slap to the face. It would take at least a week of aeration to get rid of the stench. The repairs would be done in no time once the weed was removed from his property.

The next discovery was made in his library where a dozen shelves had been emptied down to the last book. What had surprised the lord was that many of these documents occupied customs and etiquette in the demonic society. Not exactly a topic thieves normally took joy in.

The last surprise sprang itself at him in his private room. The outspread plants that greeted him here had also been some kind of vines, but the blossoms were hidden within the shadows. He had not really paid much attention to them, because his eyes fell on his rummaged through desk. When he strode to the torn furniture a sharp small needle was shot at him from the edge of the desk. His eyes darted in the direction where the small item came from and he saw one of the elusive blossoms, hidden partly in the shadow. The flower-cup looked funnel-shaped, delicate and with it's soft violet colouring downright beautiful. It also appeared to be deadly poisonous for that matter. Shortly after the impact into his body the needle spread its acid in his veins. It burnt badly and stung even worse. The demon yanked at the needle and forced it out of his flesh – only to get shot by another flower he had not seen a small distance to his left. The lord was definitely not amused. As a Daiyokai he knew when poisons became dangerous and what was considered deadly. A single of these small needles could easily kill a human or a lower demon for that matter. But him, the master of poison? Never! Sesshomaru realized immediately that this trap was not meant to kill, it was to annoy him. To give some fool the pleasure to know that he had bested the Lord of the West. The demon growled and calmly took the offending prick from his body. His eyes wandered through his 'overgrown' room and calculated just how many of these poison-spewing pests were around. Having been shot twice was not a danger to his person, but if he were to be shot by dozens or hundreds of these lilac monsters even he would be in a dire situation. After a quick scan he counted about two dozen floral-assassins scattered in his room. With a quick step he rushed with his amazing speed from wall to wall dodging needles and falling items as he ripped the veins from his property. The silent battle only lasted a minute but went on long enough to decorate the fuming inu with four additional needles. In rage the proud man ripped them out of his skin and strode to his desk.

Yes, here as well. Certain books were missing along with some of his personal records. A small piece of paper caught with its foreign handwriting his attention. The demon grabbed it and lifted it to his nose to determine who had left it. To his surprise it was covered in the thick scent of the flowers, so it was a message from the intruder. Intrigued the lord spread it and started to read it silently

Dear 'Lord on the Rose',

I am well aware that you have lost something precious. Something invaluable. A treasure that is currently in our possession.

You do not remember what you have found and lost. And you are unable to recall the event that occurred at mountain Kengamine. A sad truth but maybe it was necessary.

Unfortunately I cannot return said treasure to you as I, no WE, have taken a great liking to it. And we have decided to claim it as ours. It is kind of ironic that you my Lord had a treasure you had no knowledge of and now you are suffering from its loss, without knowing what it is. How does it feel to be driven by your inner self to search yet knowing said search will be fruitless?

But there is more. As you have probably realized by now, we helped ourselves with your vast knowledge. We can assure you that we shall return what we had to lend. You may expect each full moon some of your documents.

I assume you wish me to explain as to why we were in need of said wisdom. It would be boring to foretell what will come but I shall give you one warning: We shall meet in the future. You only have this one opportunity to win your treasure back!

Heed this warning well, it is the last!

Yours dearly

D

The lord stood stunned in his study. So his instincts were right all this time. Something had been taken from him. He lowered the notice and pondered what was written to him this disrespectfully. Someone who called himself 'D' had infiltrated his castle to gather knowledge and to inform him, that he was aware of what has happened in these black moments of his. He needed to find out who it was. They said they would return! And the lord would wait eagerly for this day!

- tbc –

A confusing chapter, but fulfilling nonetheless. Some of you probably wonder why I made Jinenji a deer-hanyou. Well, each demon belongs to some sort of animal race and I thought about a gentle and shy forest animal, which hardly fought even when confronted with death. So I ended up with the deer. Hope you agree in this part.

I also hope you enjoyed Sesshomaru's reaction. Many of you had been curious of how it would turn out or what Saino had planted in his room. Now that you know what it was, how did you like it?

By the way the alp Kengamine lies in the mountains range Ontake. So it is no fiction.

Another question to you, has my English improved a little? In the beginning you had written that it was very obvious that this language was not native tongue.