A/N: Hello again! I have a surprise for you that entered in the last chapter. More specifically, the last sentence of the last chapter. Just a quick pronuncition and definition point out. The word 'immota' (im-oh-tuh) is the Japanese word for sister and is most commonly used for siblings that are about the same age but more so by twins (if the female one is older if not then it would be imouto). This does not disclude regular siblings, but they would usually say onee-san. Its opposite word is 'ototo' it just means brother in the informal manner. That's pronounced 'oh-to-to' (like the dog from The Wizard of Oz.)

Disclaimer: Drizzt and Co. belong to R.A. Salvatore. Kagome and anyone else from Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi. All of my characters have previously been claimed but there will be two new ones (one only has a small part) in this chapter and throughout those following.

Thank you have a nice day.

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Chapter Twenty: Seeing Double

"Have you learned anything about the effects of my injuries yet or must I kill you as well?" Zakhra said to the latest priest he had hired to attempt to heal him. This one had seemed a bit more promising than the others and the demon lord was reluctant to kill him for that reason. However, he was still in an extremely foul mood. Ih this one turned out to be another useless waste of time, he knew he would likely take this one's head as well.

"I believe so Master." The priest replied uneasily. He could only guess what his master was thinking at the moment. He hoped that he had discovered enough to save his head. "I believe that the power of the girl's sword triggered some kind of energy flux. It steals your power thus lowering your ability to heal. As a side effect, every wound you have recieved from that sword and those similar have begun to bleed. I also believe that since her sword's energy is pure by nature, it causes our attempts to heal you to bring you harm."

Zakhra glowered at the priest. He had already been able to discern half of that on his own. The priest shrunk back and swallowed a growing lump in his throat. "And what of the girl?" the demon demanded. "What of her current state?"

The priest swallowed hard again. "By all appearances she seems to be recovering quickly. Perhaps the combined power of her sword and your other injuries from the Charon's Claw have formed a sort of vampiric conduit." The priest continued to back off as he noticed that his masters angry disposition had not changed.

"You have served your purpose." Zakhra said and the priest was barely able to let out a sigh of relief before his head was rolling across the floor. The demon fell back into his chair, even such a minor execution had taken a toll on him. Perhaps the priest had been right.

More and more blood was oozing from his wound. He could no longer control it.

The demon lord snatched up one of his minions from the floor and drained him completely of blood. It helped a little, but it would take many more feedings before he could regain at least a small amount of power. He cared nothing for his followers and drained a few more before he chose to retire for the night. There had to be another way for him to heal himself. If only Malice or one of her drow had survived....

And then he remembered.

One of the matron's daughters had gotten away. If he found her, he would be able to re-absorb a good deal of his power. It had taken a lot to resurrect them, if he drained her blood and power he would have a chance to win.

The demon smiled wickedly. The drow woman would be easy enough to find.

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Nagaira Sosuro was an aspiring musician and fighter. Unfortunately for him he was extremely impatient and had trouble keeping his mouth closed in the face of certain events. Before he could be accepted into any of the finer schools in Japan, he had to prove himself worthy of such an honor. He had to work hard and practice with the aforementioned. It would also be a greater blessing for him if he learned a bit of humility.

Unfortunately for him, he was paired with a slightly obnoxious though very skilled person. Anyone else would have taken having this person as their partner as an honor. Everyone but Nagaira who did. The little monster as the latter often called him was on his list of least favorite people and that might have something to do with the fact that a bucket of very cold water had just landed on his head.

Again.

"Damn it Amon!" Nagaira screamed and not for the first time at his partner. "That's not funny!" A small chuckle came from one of the darker corners of the hall. Nagaira promptly lunged at the spot. And crashed into the wall.

His partner stepped right out of the opposite wall politely trying to hide another laugh but failing to get rid of the last hints of a smile.

"What was that for?" Nagaira growled as he rubbed his throbbing head.

"Yesterday." Amon said simply. Nagaira did not bother to question him further, nor did he complain. He had at least learned that complaining would get him nowhere when it came to his partner. Everyone else saw his methods of teaching promising if not a little unconventional. He was after all the son of the two most skilled warriors in Japan. Amon and his twin sister were regarded among the highest ranks of Japan and even in other countries.

Nagaira was not about to deny Amon's fighting or magical capabilities. He did not, however, enjoy being made into the younger boy's practice dummy. He dreaded being in this temple a little more than usual for the other simple fact that his twin was somewhere in the building. Twins equal an even bigger headache. Maybe they would be too happy to see each other to prank him like they normally did...

Nagaira wondered again as he had many times before why he had been stuck with Amon as his mentor. If he had known things would be like this he would have high tailed it out of there much sooner and would have even given up on pursuing his dream to be a big musician. And now it was too late. Amon would never let him give up. They were stuck together, no matter how much he hated it. He looked up to see his partner standing completely still and watching him with concern clearly evident on his features. Amon was waiting for him to get up. Nagaira shook off what was left of his daze and accepted Amon's offered hand. He let the hand go as soon as he was on his feet and leaned on the wall for the sake of his pride. Amon remained silent until he was ready to walk again.

"You must always expect such deceptions from an opponent." He explained slowly. "Though not all people are possessed of my abilities, you have no way of knowing if the person you face is not. Being prepared to face illusions can often mean the difference between life and death. If this was a real battle you would have been killed."

"You planned that?" Nagaira asked incredulously. His partner just nodded. Why was he even surprised? "And let me guess, I should probably work on my temper too, right?" he added sarcastically.

"That would be a good thing."

"Right so, where's Kagome?"

Amon just shrugged and headed off in a random direction. Chances were that it would lead to his sister. Nagaira followed slowly behind and was proven right when he heard Amon's voice saying. "Now that's not nice immota." from down the hall. He turned the corner just in time to see Kagome jump up to hug her brother. Her ototo as she called him. Nagaira smiled despite himself, and he had to admit, the twins weren't that bad.

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It was still late at night and none of the companions were at all tired. Kagome had vanished into the dojo again a few hours ago. They didn't think it right to bother her, they could all tell that she was working on something important.

When Drizzt and Artemis decided that it was time for them to get some rest they were thoroughly surprised at the sight before them in the hall. On first inspection it looked like Kagome. And then like Kagome if she had been turned into a male. Drizzt was about to say something when the latter stepped out from behind the young male that looked almost exactly like her. He remembered a conversation they had had back when they first traveled together during which Kagome mentioned that she had a brother. Apparently, her brother was also her twin.

They both knew that it was not possible for twins of different genders to be identical, but these two looked amazingly alike. One could easily be mistaken for the other at certain angles. Identical grins spread across both of their faces as they watched the others look at them.

"Don't tell the others yet ok?" Kagome asked Drizzt. The ranger merely nodded and he and Artemis continued on their way. Likewise the twins went theirs. Another unfamiliar figure bumbled down the hall after them. The ranger and the assassin did not fail to notice the growing bruise on his forehead. It looked like he had been hit with something hard. Again they decided not to question it, everything would be explained to them eventually.

A little ways down the hall Amon turned to look at them over his shoulder. "That's him?" he asked his immota. Kagome nodded and they took a left in the long winding corridor. "And they sleep together?" he continued. Kagome nodded again. He didn't have a chance to ask her more as they had come to Yuri's office door. Together the twins stepped into the room and were greeted by the overly enthusiastic elfmaid. She hadn't been expecting Amon she said and it was a pleasant surprise to have him here.

The three sat down together to discuss Kagome's recent findings on Zakhra. Radiant Death's newly awakened abilities were just as much of a shock to Amon as they had been to everyone else. They made him wonder what his own weapons were capable of. He wielded their mother's swords and used them as Kagome used their father's. Of course he didn't know all of what happened on the night their parents were killed. That was one of the things Kagome refused to talk about with him. Over the years he had never pressed her for the information. He could understand how much it hurt her as only a twin could. He was not there with her when their parents had been slain, after he had found out he knew why he had wanted his sister so much. The bond was strong between them and often when one of them was in trouble, the other wanted nothing more than to be by their side. That was another twin thing.

When the subject came up of what they were going to do, Amon drew up a blank. He had not been there fighting as Kagome had but he promised that he would do as much as he could. Kagome mentioned that she would like to try to learn more of Zakhra's plans through Radiant Death. With Amon by her side it would be a much simpler task. The twins agreed that they should try immediately. Yuri dismissed them both so they could try to see more just as Nagaira hobbled into the room. Once he saw that they were leaving he let out a frustrated sigh and collapsed to the floor. Amon and Kagome looked at each other in amusement and dragged him out the door and to his own room. Nagaira would later be grateful for this. At least until another bucket of cold water landed on his head the next morning.

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Vierna sat on the hillside enjoying the night just as much as any surface elf would. It was good to be free of Matron Malice and her kin. It was too bad that she could not have stayed with Drizzt. She knew that she would have enjoyed traveling with her brother.

A soft rustling noise came from somewhere behind her. Vierna's hand slipped instinctively to one of the fans belted to her waist. She relaxed a moment later seeing that it was just Shiara with a rabbit in his hand. They would eat well tonight. Or she would at least, the elf never seemed to eat much. He had explained this off as him just not being a big eater and that he didn't really need to as much as other people. Certainly not as much as a human, he had added jokingly.

He skinned and cooked the rabbit wordlessly. There was no need for them to talk to each other right now, they were both enjoying the night and its sounds. The silence continued through their meal and the night. Shiara had long ago established that Vierna need not keep watch. He needed sleep less than he needed food. Vierna was amazed at how quickly the elf had recovered from his ordeal with her kin, he showed not sign of any type that he had been a prisoner of a drow matron. Again she passed it off as something she hadn't previously known about the surface elves. She fell asleep contently knowing that Shiara was there watching over her and she did not have anything to worry about.

Neither of them knew that at the same moment someone was looking for them. The demon lord had decided to hunt the last survivor of those he had brought back to life. He needed her blood, her power would be a good bonus to him as well. He had no idea that she was with someone else, or how powerful that person was. She had no idea that the elf she accompanied was not an elf at all. He had been hiding that fact from her rather well with one of his necklaces.

The priests of the demon lord were not having much luck in their search. It would take time that their master wasn't giving them. He demanded that they find that last of Malice's daughters so he could kill her. He had already killed off two more of them earlier that day. The priests did not give up on their search though, if they did then they would all die. The master was not forgiving and he always got what he wanted.

Shiara sniffed the air delicately, he felt the vibration of a scrying for a few seconds and tried to see where it was coming from. It disappeared as fast as it had come though, and he could get nothing from it. Whoever was doing the scrying was far away from him and Vierna. He figured that it was probably just some random wizard or priest scanning the area, maybe they were looking for a place to put a tower. Shiara turned his attention over to Vierna. The drow woman was lying comfortably in the bedroll he had gotten for her. He smiled as she let out a contented little sigh in her sleep. For a moment he felt inclined to join her but decided against it. He didn't want her to think he was up to something. Without another thought he turned his attention back to the sky and watched the night pass over them

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Zakhra cracked his energy whip at the priests again. They were not looking fast enough. He did not want to hear their excuses. He needed to find the drow woman fast. He did not believe that they needed more time. They had to find her now or suffer his wrath.

The priests continued to work as hard as they could even though they were still retreating from their master. They could only do so much. Their master's anger was not helping them move any faster, nor was his whip. Scrying took time. This one took even more because they had nothing of the drow woman's and they didn't even know her.

Zakhra cracked his whip again and the priests tried hard to ignore the dying screams of another one of their number. There had been a few hundred of them when they had first joined the demon lord, now there were only about a score of them left. They had thought that joining him would be a good thing. Now they were beginning to believe that it had been a horrible mistake, even for a brood of dark priests.

There had been whispers of rebellion against the demon lord within their ranks. Only the high priest was still willing to follow every order of the demon lord to the letter anymore. He tried to encourage his men that they should do the same. Zakhra could only bring them vast amounts of glory. And if they should die in his service it was an honor. The ones who had died by his hands had been fools and undeserving of such glorious deaths. They should fight. They should crush the real evil of the world, those under the names of the goodly gods. Only then would they ascend the gated of Paradise and become gods themselves and their godking would be the demon lord. They had to find the drow woman now so their master could regain his strength.

Another priest fell to the ground but his screams were completely drowned out by the master's laughter. All of the priests just turned away again. They had no choice but to do their master's bidding.