Wow....it really has been a while.... I wonder how many people thought i had died?
There are reasons for my lack of life on here - I've finished my GCSE's and i came out with very good grades (I'm such a swot...), then in September i began my A level courses - what fun they are....
Well, I'm here now with a new chapter, literally an hour and a 1/4 before my 17th birthday - Yay!
Here's a bit of warning - the characters may start to seem really OOC now, but it's only because i haven't watched it in ages.

Disclaimer: though i may wish to own it, i unfortunately have no such luck even with those GCSE grades....

Chapter 25

Kiyani sighed softly as she arranged the flowers in a delicate manner within the vase she had dug out for them. The fragrances had already begun to drift throughout the room and the bright colours of Tsutsuji and Jinchoge gave the room a more cheerful appearance.

"Now if only Tsuki-chan could see this." She squeezed her hands together in front of her. "She would love it, I'm sure!" She looked out of the window, trying to focus on the daily life of the village, her emotions becoming more controllable.

However her emotions became the last thing on her mind.

Thick smoke billowed from the edge of the village concealing large oranges flames, leaping impatiently, trying to snare their fingers on the trees.

She was frozen to the spot, watching the deadly flames inch closer. "Tsuki-chan...Help..."

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"Inuyasha?" Miroku looked at the hanyou, who had suddenly stopped moving. "What is it?"

"Something doesn't smell right..." He sniffed the air again, the scent weak but growing stronger – he knew this but he couldn't place it. "I don't like this."

"It's not Sesshomaru is it?" Kagome was waiting for him to suddenly grasp the Tetsusaiga's hilt and growl. He shook his head, before taking a deeper inhale of air.

"Nah – It isn't that bastard's. Besides, Tsuki's scent ain't there." There had been a few times when they'd had a run in with Sesshomaru's group over the past month, most likely due to the insistence of a certain sister they shared. He'd been right about Sesshomaru reaching her first – but that wasn't something to dwell on, the main point was she was unharmed and safe.

A sudden breeze made the unknown scent much clearer, his mind recognising it without problem.

"It's smoke!" Inuyasha turned to face the new direction, realising where the smoke was coming from. He paled with this new information, causing concern to arise within the group.

"Inuyasha, what it is?" Sango put a hand on the already transformed Kirara, both waiting to go.

"I know where it is." His head was bowed as he turned to face the group, any skin that could be seen was a deathly pale. "It's the village where Tsuki was being held."

"Are you positive?"Kirara pawed the ground impatiently as Kagome checked once again with the now agitated hanyou.

"Yes Kagome! I'm bloody sure!" Inuyasha growled slightly at the young miko before shaking his head once then running back the way they had come, towards the village.

"Kagome, here." Sango offered her hand to the stunned girl. It took her a few minutes but she accepted it and climbed onto Kirara's back behind Sango and Miroku.

"I wonder what's wrong with Inuyasha..." Kagome's words were heard by none but the breeze as it whisked them away.

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Sprawled across a rather flat rock, Tsuki was watching the clouds float by in the sky, for once allowing some time to relax. Rin was currently kneeling in a flower patch, joining flowers together in a long chain as Jaken kept an eye on the child. If she turned her head slightly, she knew she would see Sesshomaru sat beneath a sakura tree, only a few metres away from her current location. She sighed in content as the sun spread it's precious rays across her rock. She closed her eyes, ready to bask in this one care-free moment.

"Sess what is it?" She looked at the daiyoukai as he stood abruptly, his tall figure blocking out her glorious sunshine. Rin and Jaken both paused in their various activities; both eager to hear what he had to say.

"Smoke."

"From where?" She sat up as her interest was aroused – compared to her stoic brother, she was more of a help-when-trouble-arises youkai and smoke was the indicator of fire.

He sighed softly, seeming slightly older than he actually was. "Where would you like to guess?" After staring at him for a while, she could only come up with a possible three locations – only two would concern himself whilst all three concerned her. Taking a breath of air herself, she narrowed it down to only one place. "The village?" His eyes closing for a brief moment was all the answer she needed.

The place where she had been imprisoned and then released from was in danger – there were a few people there whom she would consider leaving to die but in general, most of them had accepted her as a friend. Her mind began to race – smoke from this distance would mean a pretty intense fire... the villagers were only ningen plus Kiyani was the youngest and smallest one there...

"Sesshomaru-sama, will Tsuki-sama come back soon?" Rin watched as the Inuyoukai in question began to disappear with the stallion, Nightshade – when it came to running, there were truly none faster and, to Rin's amusement, her hair streamed out behind her as she moved, glowing a pretty sunlit silver.

Stargaze nudged the young child on the arm in an attempt to reassure her that she would stay with them, before turning her large head to watch Sesshomaru, her warm chocolate eyes full of a deep knowledge.

"Perhaps." He gave a small shake of his head before turning in the opposite direction. "Keep up." The mare tossed her cream mane before starting after the daiyoukai.

Jaken stood with his mouth agape – his lord had always been searching for some clue that would lead him to his sister, and since the two had been reunited, his cold exterior had begun to melt away. Yet now it seemed to have grown even colder than beforehand. Just what was it that made Sesshomaru, his lord, more complete around Tsukimegami?

"Master Jaken, you had better hurry if you do not want to be left behind!" Rin waved back at him from her seat on Ah-un's back – Stargaze was ahead, keeping beside Sesshomaru.

"Ahh!! Wait for me Sesshomaru-sama!!" He decided he would focus on that mystery later – right now he had to keep up with his lord and the young ward.