Author's Note: Minor Spoilers for manga chapters 304-309 & 489-493. I hope Shishinki is more interesting in my version of the story? He seemed like an awesome bad-guy, raising lots of questions, but Rumiko Takahashi dumped him like garbage. I could not understand how the man who invented the Meidou Zangetsuha was... such an easily defeated pansy, in the end. Takahashi-san barely gave him any backstory!

Chapter 28: A Fool's Paradise

"So, young master..." Sora inquired with deceptive casualness. "The wind-youkai that we battled yesterday, you know her name?"

As they made their way into the Western Lands, yet again, the hanyou and his tutor led the group. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome trailed behind with Shippo and Kirara. There had not been much conversation, because the fox-kit and the fire-cat were napping. As a result, they could not help eavesdropping on the half-wind youkai when he finally spoke.

"Yea," agreed Inuyasha complacently. "So what?"

The demon remained silent for a few more moments. Too far away to see his face, Kagome could only guess at his expression. Finally, Inuyasha's instructor continued.

"Is there any significance to your relationship with the young woman?" Sora asked next. A thread of uncertainty wound through his tone. "You seem to refer to her with a certain amount of... familiarity."

The question was so unexpected that Inuyasha nearly stumbled in the middle of the road. He scrunched up his forehead in confusion. "What the hell s'that supposed to mean?" said the white-haired boy. "Told you our relationship earlier - she's an enemy."

Behind him, the others stared curiously, their interest unavoidably growing when Inuyasha's normally placid and polite trainer followed up with an even stranger inquiry. It took another few seconds for Kagome to guess where he was heading with these questions. It was just that weird.

"So, the young master does not have any expectations of a change in this relationship," Sora spoke, observing the horizon ahead of them with an apparently all-consuming fascination, "In the future?"

"Oi!" protested the young half-demon. "Speak more clearly. The only change in our 'relationship' is going to be that Kagura dies soon."

Once more, Inuyasha's reply seemed to disarm his instructor. Tucking his hands into the sleeves of his haori, Sora shot the white-haired hanyou a stealthy glance. He sounded pleased yet slightly puzzled by Inuyasha's response. "Really? That would be a shame. There are relatively few elemental demons left in the world."

"Keh!" the half-demon scoffed. "Take it up with Naraku - he's the one who created her. Why you askin' about Kagura anyway?"

And although it seemed absolutely mystifying to the white-haired boy, the answer seemed immediately obvious to another member of their traveling party. The bait was too good for Miroku to resist. Edging closer to the two at the front of the group, the monk smiled as innocently as possible.

"If you would like," he added brightly, "I could show you a time-honored technique for requesting that a woman you have recently met agree to bear your chi-..."

Sango's voice interrupted her fiancé's flowery and overly-lengthy speech. "Monk!" she snapped. "I hardly think that will be necessary."

Miroku pouted, a few feet in front of her, carefully keeping out of Sango's reach. Meanwhile, Kagome stifled a giggle with her fingers. Wait, wait. Sora was trying to say that he liked Kagura? It was so unbelievable that it was almost cute.

The monk's not-so-subtle insinuations were enough for Inuyasha to recognize the subject matter too. Stopping mid-stride, he turned and glared at his teacher. The brown-haired youkai merely looked back, as if he could not even begin to comprehend the problem. One of the wolf-like ears on his head twitched uncomfortably, though.

"You were asking... if I liked Kagura... because you wanted to know if she was single?" the hanyou processed this information slowly. Then, an uncontrollable shudder passed over his body, and fuzzy white ears pressed against his skull. "Ugh, that is... disgusting." He stomped away, clearly trying to erase the conversation and all of its implications from his mind. "Not me you should ask! My bastard brother is the one she's always making eyes at."

The half-wind youkai sucked in a short, tight breath. Sora held still long enough for Kagome to catch up to him. Of course, he could not pause in the middle of the path for very long. He was supposed to be leading them to their destination. But she thought the brown-haired demon appeared to be disappointed.

Falling in beside him, she watched as his expression smoothed and he began to ignore all of them for a little while. Eventually though, his gaze slid toward her. She smiled, practically reading his mind. If Sora liked Kagura, but the wind-witch liked Sesshoumaru instead... It would only be a problem if the Lord of the Western Lands returned the sentiment. And as far as anyone could tell, he did not.

With these encouraging thoughts in mind, she tried to reassure the youkai. While she spoke, Kagome realized she became the center of attention. Miroku was a bit of a gossip-monger. Sango was just bored. Neither one of them could resist paying attention.

"Other than the fact wind-demons are very rare," the priestess whispered, although her tone was still loud enough for the others to overhear, "What did you like about Kagura?"

"Oh, good grief!" Inuyasha cried out in disbelief. "Don't encourage this insanity!"

Sora scratched the skin below his ear with one claw. But despite the doubtful look he gave her, he was kind enough to clarify. "What's not to like?" explained the half-wind demon. A small grin lit up his face, and his voice grew nearly besotted with admiration. "She was very fierce. And the way she killed those two young priests, animating their corpses merely to delay us..."

The smile faded from Kagome's face, as he spoke. Obviously, youkai had very different standards for what was considered 'charming' or 'lovely' behavior. In her opinion, the Dance of the Dead was one of Kagura's more revolting skills. She quickly dropped back to walk beside Sango and Miroku, once more.

A few more miles passed, before the two with dog-demon blood began to look uneasy. Sniffing the air gently, even Inuyasha seemed to be able to tell something was wrong. "What is that smell?" he asked. "Smells like burning poison. Are we near the oracle-person?"

With a frown, the half-wind youkai nodded. The breeze was blowing forward, against their backs, making it hard to detect a scent in the area before them. It was not until they reached the top of the hill that Sora and Inuyasha burst into action. They fled down the hillside, into the trees, where a thin line of smoke was rising.

As Kagome and the others arrived, they could see the problem. Nestled among the trees, a low, wooden shack lay in ruins. She could only guess this had been their destination. The place had been completely destroyed. The logs had been blown apart, then burned. Traces of purple miasma drifted through the air.

"I suppose this means that Naraku found the oracle-lady first," noted Kagome sadly.

Inuyasha's snarl was all the confirmation she needed. Even Sora seemed unreasonably upset, as if this attack had been a personal offense against him. And perhaps, it had. Knowing that Naraku could slip onto the Western Lands undetected and obliterate one of its residents, it must have been loathsome to a warrior sworn to defend this place.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Even if this is a trap, Sesshoumaru decided fiercely, it will not matter. I will slice apart my enemy, piece by piece.

Still, his resolve did not help to soothe his mind, as he followed the guide further into the mountains. The petite boy seemed untiring and nearly soundless as he strode forward, and Sesshoumaru noticed that he never wavered or glanced to the left or the right. It was like the boy knew his destination without even looking for it.

Evening had been settling slowly over the land, as he left Jaken and Rin. By now, it was pitch-black. However, a dog-demon relied upon nose and ears most of all, so the darkness did not bother him.

In fact, it was not until an attack nearly overwhelmed him that Sesshoumaru recalled the worst feature of the Meidou Zangetsuha. It had no scent, and it made absolutely no sound. Against a dog-demon, such a technique was especially effective. The only reason he avoided the upcoming attack, it was because the air around him abruptly lifted straight upward, being sucked into a giant sphere of darkness.

Dodging out of the way, Sesshoumaru was forced off the cliff-face. Since he could fly, this did not pose a problem. He merely pooled youki in his legs and stood in the air, staring upward and trying to identify his opponent.

Atop the next ridge, a dark shadow loomed overhead. Without a word, Sesshoumaru drew his sword and fired off an attack in return. Unfortunately, his version of the Meidou Zangetsuha was thin and pitiful looking by comparison. A tiny crescent of darkness dissolved only a fragment of the cliff-face before him.

He purposefully aimed low, because in the back of his mind, he did not want to destroy his antagonist until they had a chance to speak. Sometimes, Father had done this too - attacking without reason or warning, just to keep him on his toes. It seemed like a bizarre training strategy to the taiyoukai, yet he recognized that his opponent might not actually mean him harm.

The tone which replied to him from the darkness was cold and brittle. "Such a pitiful display, Sesshoumaru," a male voice chided. "That was barely thicker than my arm."

Narrowing his eyes, the white-haired demon-lord gathered energy in his feet and shot upward into the air. He landed softly on the rocky bluff above and attempted to take control of the dialogue. Not bothering to be too polite, he asked sharply, "You are Shishinki?"

The man before him wore black and almost nothing else, although a white mask gleamed over half of his face. It looked like vines of thorns had been painted across his chest plate, and he wore the same type of leg guards that Sesshoumaru favored. But instead of a mantle of fur to signify his strength and heritage as a demon-lord, this youkai had a giant puff of feathers on his shoulder. Black feathers drifted down his arm and around his neck. Clearly, the demon was not of the inu-clan, or even a distant relation.

"Perhaps," came the careful reply. The other man remained as still as the rocks around them as he spoke, keeping his weapon aloft. "You are the one whispering this name into the evening breeze? What business have you with Shishinki?"

At this, a thread of unease worked into Sesshoumaru's chest. The other demon had already known his name, before the conversation even started. Furthermore, he had only spoken the name 'Shishinki' aloud once. He certainly had not intended anyone to hear it. But directly afterward, the pale-faced boy with void-like eyes had arrived. And that boy seemed to be a servant of Shishinki. Either this man's hearing was incredibly good... or he had been stalking Sesshoumaru for quite some time, unnoticed.

Deciding to get straight to business, he took a deep breath. "I have been told to seek Shishinki, for the purpose of training the Meidou Zangetsuha..."

A short caw of laughter interrupted the instructions he had been given by his mother. For an instant, the man sounded like a crow-demon. Not that he had ever listened to a crow while it laughed, before, but still... It was the closest approximation he could make for this noise.

"Absolutely not," the masked man disapproved immediately. "There should only be one master of the Meidou."

And while part of Sesshoumaru was tempted to fight back, learning by force what he could not by words, he grit his teeth, willing to try once more. He had not relayed the information that his mother had given him, yet. Digging into his outer-coat, the white-haired demon fished out the necklace which held the Meido-seki. This recalcitrant, obstinate demon had to be Shishinki. Whether he admitted it or not, the conclusion was obvious. So, Sesshoumaru felt safe in offering him the stone which his mother had advised him to exchange for training.

"I will surrender this as payment," he explained softly.

And as he lifted the crystal, he could tell he had the full attention of his audience. The man's good eye widened and he stepped forward, sluggishly, like he was moving through a thick tar-like substance, feet moving without the permission of their owner. But when he raised a hand to take the Meido-seki from Sesshoumaru, the dog-demon stepped back quickly.

"...After the lessons, of course," he finished smugly, slipping the stone around his neck.

The other demon's eyes cleared suddenly. A hazy look had overtaken him briefly, while he moved forward, but it was quickly burned away by anger. His face provided a study in contrast - the white mask made him seem perfectly unruffled and calm, while the flesh and blood half of his face darkened with fury.

"Yes, I am Shishinki," the man finally answered, hostility leaking into every word. "But you will not have the opportunity to 'train' with me, because... you see... I'm going to kill you now."

The weapon in Shishinki's hands was a staff, capped at both ends by a crescent moon shaped blade. A perfect circle of metal surrounded the blade at one end. And it was the circle of metal which first drew his attention, when Shishinki spun the staff. A distinct lack of scent and substance began to exist around it, and Sesshoumaru dove out of the way.

Behind him, a dark orb slammed into the mountainside where he had been standing. The silent black hole had been less broad than his own attack, but it had been a perfect sphere. He stared in surprise. Certainly, this youkai knew how to execute the Meidou Zangetsuha.

Attempting to mold his best version of the attack, Sesshoumaru returned the blow. But the thin crescent moon never even formed. As if his efforts meant nothing more significant than a drop of water in the ocean, Shishinki immediately countered by using the same technique. A nebulous, black sphere instantly absorbed the darkness of Sesshoumaru's attack.

Once again, the dog-demon was forced to dodge. And embarrassingly enough, his opponent had not even lifted a foot yet, despite the fact that he had needed to sidestep twice. "You cannot defeat me with some weak, incomplete sword like Tenseiga," the other youkai snapped.

"Incomplete?" Golden-eyes flickered toward the blade in his hand, momentarily, before returning to the enemy.

"You don't even know, do you?" Shishinki jeered in response. Then, he chuckled briefly. But there was no real humor in his voice, as it echoed off the cliff-sides around them. "When your father fought me, his sword had a different form. Back then, he only carried one sword - Tessaiga."

In confusion, Sesshoumaru mentally repeated the last few sentences. This demon had fought against his father? But that was impossible! The only enemy which the Inu-no-Taisho combated and did not kill was Ryukossei... This insolent demon claimed to have battled his sire, and yet he had not died? It did not make any sense.

On the other hand, the late Western Lord had always carried three swords, as long as Sesshoumaru had known him. Perhaps these events had occurred before his time. How old was this guy?

Shaking his head, he tried to clear away all his puzzlement and concern. Next, he sheathed the sword. He intended to learn the secret behind the Meidou Zangetsuha. However, at the moment, it was not working. So, the taiyoukai did not plan to waste time on it. He would simply defeat this adversary, and then demand the knowledge.

When Sesshoumaru crushed the rock beneath his enemy's feet, it crumbled into dust and collapsed into the valley below. But Shishinki did not fall. The other demon simply impaled his staff into the cliff-face behind him and stood there at an angle, hanging over Sesshoumaru's head.

Silvery white hair shimmered in the light of the moon, as Sesshoumaru immediately tried again. And this time, at least, he forced his opponent to take a step. Because the dog-demon did not want to approach too closely, bringing himself within range of the other demon's dual-bladed staff, he chose to use an energy attack. He snapped a whip of golden-youki toward Shishinki's ankles, hoping to snag one. He did not. But Shishinki moved his legs in order to avoid the blow. Yanking the crescent moon blade out of the rocks, feathers fluttered as the other demon somersaulted out of the way. Then, as he fell through the air, Shishinki used the head of the bladed staff to catch the side of the cliff, once more.

Hn. Well, that was useful information. It seemed his opponent could not use youki in order to fly through the air, as he could. With greater mobility, Sesshoumaru would have the advantage in this fight.

Sadly, Shishinki seemed to realize this as well. The enemy immediately attempted to distract him with words, while he moved to a safer location. Even worse, he succeeded in distracting Sesshoumaru quite thoroughly.

"The Tessaiga has the ability to absorb energy attacks," Shishinki explained. "Your father used this to steal my technique and then destroy my face." Unhooking the white mask that rested over half of his face, Shishinki demonstrated.

Sure enough, half of the youkai's skull seemed to be missing. The white mask had been crafted to hide this massive disfiguration. It was slightly sickening. Or at least, it was disgusting enough that it made Sesshoumaru pause.

With a growl, the inu-youkai glared at his opponent. "So what?" he sniffed disdainfully. "You lost a fight. Did you call me out here just to whine at me?"

By now, the other demon had managed to slip to a lower elevation, where he could stand with both feet flat on a ledge of rock, thereby freeing the use of his weapon again. "Oh... no!" he cooed with mock sincerity. "You seem to think that we were fighting over a sword-skill. We weren't. We were fighting over a girl."

Yet again, the words made him pause, halfway through a move. A girl? Sesshoumaru pondered. Father always did seem to chase women... Despite his instincts warning him to proceed, the taiyoukai stopped to listen to his enemy.

Shishinki sensed that he had scored a mark in his favor, whether the hit was verbal or physical. A small, scornful smirk returned to his face. "I was worthy of her. But your father used the Tessaiga to steal my power and presented it to her like a trophy," the other demon continued slowly, the explanation becoming more and more acidic as he spoke. "He cast both of them aside in the end, you know. My strength, and the prize which he won with it. I wonder if it was too much for him? The Meidou Zangetsuha, a technique that he did not even want."

The white-haired dog-demon blinked, suddenly finding it difficult to dredge up the will to fight. Surely, what this demon said could not be true. It was just an elaborate distraction. That was all.

Wind whistled through the rocky gap next to him, a giant tunnel left behind in the mountainside by Shishinki's Meidou. "I heard your Father had two sons," the masked demon moved in for a final blow. "Somehow, it seems you received the unnecessary, unwanted scrap metal, while the younger brother inherited the true sword, the real one."

Snarling, Sesshoumaru forced a wave of youki toward his opponent, followed by a series of claw-strikes. He would overpower this idiot, he decided, and happily spend the rest of the night digging out the demon's other eye socket. Maybe the bastard would behave deferentially, when he was blind.

But Shishinki had the freedom to swing his weapon, now, since he was standing on a flat surface. Dark orbs of negative energy quickly absorbed every attack the infuriated dog-demon sent his way. "Ah, well." The older demon sighed, obviously enjoying the young dog's distress. "It looks like you've been completely shunned by your father, Sesshoumaru."

These remarks would not have cut him so deeply, if they had not always been one of his deepest fears. The Inu-no-Taisho had never acknowledged his eldest son's strength. Not even on the night he died. It was one of his worst memories. The dog-demon General had been bleeding to death, yet unwilling to ask for assistance, unwilling to surrender his swords to the eldest son as a token of faith and respect...

And now, according to what Shishinki said, Tessaiga was the master sword, while Tenseiga was the servant. Would Father really have gone so far, just to slight him? In the back of his mind, he could hear a contemptuous voice whisper - yes, it was possible...

A thin, keening whine of frustration resounded in his ears for a moment. Aghast, he realized that he was the one making this noise. Clenching his jaw and cutting off the sound, he charged toward the enemy once more.

Still, he did not know how to win the fight. The Meidou Zangetsuha could absorb all youki-based attacks. Physical blows would have to do. Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru shattered the earth below their feet, once more. He could fly. Shishinki could not. Thus, he would simply smash the entire mountain range into tiny particles around them. Yes, this seemed very reasonable.

"You're so upset that you would come at me without a plan?" the one-eyed demon asked, slightly astounded that his words could have so much effect. Slashing at the enemy, Sesshoumaru's left side was unprotected for a moment. The cord around his throat tugged and snapped. Shishinki had flipped his weapon over, using the lower crescent-shaped blade to tear off the necklace that held the Meido-seki. As it fell into the other youkai's outstretched palm, Sesshoumaru dove out of the way, but he was too slow to avoid what came next. "Then, die."

Now that Shishinki had achieved his goal, separating the Meido-seki from Sesshoumaru, it seemed he would make every possible effort to kill. This time, not one, but five dark spheres swept toward him. There was nowhere to dodge, because he was surrounded. Each one of the blackened orbs of negative energy dragged air toward it. His left sleeve was sucked in by one sphere, while his hair was pulled in the opposite direction. Sesshoumaru spun to the side, trying to jump between the empty voids to reach safer airspace above him. But it did no good. After he leapt off the ground to evade the first three orbs, two more emerged which had hidden behind their companions, sliding down the mountainside at higher range.

The last Meidou swallowed him whole.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Brief yips of surprise from her personal guardsmen were the only warning. As the guards whirled about and began to sprint up the palace steps, a thick chain of beads clattered at her feet. The Lady of the West looked up in surprise.

Far above them, crouching on the shoulders of a large black bird which wheeled over the courtyard, she could faintly see a familiar demon. He was still outside the barriers that surrounded the castle. But he had dropped something which slipped through the shields, because technically it belonged to her. At her feet, the Meido-seki shimmered in the sunlight, with tiny segments of the necklace pooling around it.

Waving the sentinels away, she ordered them to remain close but not to act aggressive. Not yet, anyway. Next, the Regent opened a small hole in the barrier, allowing her guest entry.

He slid off the back of his transport and fell through the hole, landing a few steps away from her. It was a slightly unconventional way to approach the castle, but at least he was not rude enough to land at the very top of the staircase. With a frown, she raised her head haughtily. "Well, well. Here is a face that I have not glimpsed in many years."

Yet her arrogant tone did not match her feelings entirely. The last time she had seen this demon, they had both been young and somewhat naive. Clearly, the years had taken their toll. A smooth, white mask covered half his face, and she could not help wondering what could have injured him so badly that he never recovered.

"Did you honestly think," hissed Shishinki, "I would agree to train HIS son?"

The lady merely tilted her head. When she had handed the Meido-seki to her son, instructing Sesshoumaru to seek out this demon, she had been unsure at first. But in her mind, the past was... in the past. "Is this such a problem?"

Her words only seemed to enrage the other youkai even more. He straightened and rose two steps up the stair, until their gaze met on an equal level. "He destroyed more than my appearance and pride, that day! He ruined my life."

Some of the guardsmen inched closer, sensing their guest might rapidly become hostile. A tiny crinkle of confusion marred her forehead, as the white-haired lady attempted to figure out what this meant. She knew that her mate had defeated this challenger, this impudent usurper, but she did not know any specifics of their battle. Staying silent, she allowed him to continue. Silence sometimes worked where words did not.

"Still..." the masked demon murmured incredulously, "I was able to fool myself into believing that you cared. At least remotely. Because you held on to my gift for so long."

The petite dog-demon at the top of the staircase froze, eyes widening in shock. She blinked twice, unable to think of a reply at first. "Cared?" the lady finally asked, tone laced with disgust. "About... you?" And although this was probably all that she needed to say, she could not help but take it a bit further. Watching Shishinki's expression fill with loathing, that was just icing on the cake. "When you proposed to me, I thought it was a joke."

Honestly, didn't this man know how she felt about interspecies mating? Just about everyone else in the entire world did. It wasn't exactly a secret.

The hatred pouring off her uninvited guest was practically tangible by now. In spite of this, however, he merely clenched and unclenched his fists. He never moved to strike her, never attempted to come closer to her form. Obviously, he was not completely blind - he could perceive the guards surrounding him on all sides.

"Yes." Taking a deep breath, Shishinki seemed to retreat within himself. "I understand that now." Stiffly, he turned around and began to walk down the steps, toward the main gate at the foot of the castle stairs.

The Lady of the West stared at his back, watching him go. Her frown grew ever larger. Why would he retreat before finishing their conversation? Something did not add up.

"What?" she called out to him, once he was halfway down the stairs. "Is that all you have to say?"

Shishinki did not even pause. He simply shifted his weapon, so it would be easier to swing in his own defense. "Yes, that's all," the demon noted peacefully. "I wanted to give you the chance to watch your son die, in the depths of Hell. The Meido-seki will show you." His voice sounded serene, frighteningly pleasant, while he said this. As if the message meant nothing more to him than a bland comment about the weather.

The breath froze in her throat. Scooping the necklace off the floor tiles, the Regent clutched it with both hands. No, surely not. When her late husband had allowed Shishinki to live, after their fight, she thought it meant they had parted on... relatively amicable terms. According to the Inu-no-Taisho, the demon was an ally, of sorts. He would not cause problems. He was harmless. In fact, he had been welcome to live in the Western Lands.

Furthermore, her son was not weak! He was even stronger than his father! Sesshoumaru would not lose to some... half-witted demon, who had already lost to the Inu-no-Taisho, years and years ago...

Deep within the darkness of the Meido-seki, the lady saw a tall, long-limbed figure. White hair taunted her, when the figure turned away. He was standing on a long, thin road, which headed into absolute darkness.

"Sesshoumaru..." she inhaled. It was true. It was true, and he was going the wrong way! "Sesshoumaru! Stop!" she called out to her son. But the tiny figure gave no sign of being able to hear her. He continued into the void.

On the bottom step of the staircase, Shishinki glanced toward the central dais again. "Oh... I forgot to mention," he added carefully, finally daring to reveal a shark-like smile now that he was so close to his goal. "I removed the stone's ability to communicate with the underworld. All you can do is watch."

With a scream of rage, she threw one hand up, pointing at the intruder at the foot of the stairs. "Guards! Kill him!"

Naturally, it was too late. Laughing quietly and not quite rationally, he dashed through the main gate and fled to the edge of the castle grounds. By the time anyone caught up with him, Shishinki had already dropped off the side of the floating plateau onto the back of his transport bird.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome was dreaming. She knew it because the last few scenes could only have come from her own imagination. The first thing she had seen was a score of 100% on her math paper, and the next few images were of a roasted swan, which her family served to celebrate her victory over the test.

But then, the dream turned into a nightmare. Ever so slowly, like twilight seeping over the sky as the sun set, her dream faded into black. She was standing on a rocky promontory, waiting for someone.

A step sounded in the darkness, and she turned to see Sesshoumaru walking toward her. He looked upset and bewildered, although he still put on quite a show of remaining calm. She called out his name, and golden eyes snapped upward to meet hers, before the image vanished into the glare of firelight, as Kagome opened her eyes. Heart pounding, she sat up and placed one hand over her chest. Somehow, the dream had been frightening...

"No," whispered a voice into the silent campsite, startling her. "No, that cannot be."

The sun had not risen yet. Sora was crouched next to the fire, reading a scroll. He looked incredibly pale and haggard. It was enough to distract her from the dream, at least. The nightmare began to fade slightly from her mind.

Gradually sliding out of the sleeping bag and trying not to wake her fox-kit, Kagome scooted closer to him on her hands and knees. Strangely, the youkai did not even seem to notice her presence. He had rekindled the fire, solely to read something. So, she crawled around the edge of the campfire, attempting to peer at the scroll over his shoulder. No. She wasn't going to read it, exactly, because that would be rude. She was just curious to know what could have fascinated the half-wind youkai so much.

As she watched the words on the surface of the paper faded away, dissolving into the paper, spreading like ink drops in a glass of water. Then, the ink reformed into a new set of characters. Sora took one shuddering breath, his dark brown ears pinned tightly to his head. Clearly, something was wrong.

"Is everything... all right?" she asked him quietly. "What is that paper?"

He did not answer at first. The half-wind youkai simply finished reading and then rolled the sheet of paper back into the shape of a scroll. But his hands shook as he fastened the bindings around it, and his expression was so studiously empty that it seemed almost depressed, despairing.

"The paper is a message scroll," he noted bleakly. "I carry them when... I am away from the castle, because it allows..."

A bright shine developed in the demon's eyes, as they filled with water. Soon, he stopped speaking entirely. Of course, Kagome's heart instantly went out to him.

"Sora, what's wrong?" she whispered, touching him gently on the back. Without answering her, though, he pushed the hand aside and shut his eyes. Then, rising to his feet, he stalked away from the campsite, like he was simply leaving it all behind. His possessions, his duty toward Inuyasha...

As if he could sense the direction of her thoughts, he reassured her briefly, before he disappeared into the forest. "I will return," he said without any emotion at all. "You will tell Inuyasha-sama... not to leave."

Naturally, the moment he passed out of sight, her hands flew toward the scroll that the youkai had been reading. To hell with decorum! She had to know what had upset one of her friends. And he had been traveling with the group long enough to be considered a friend. So, this was her business now, too!

Unrolling the paper, she could still make out the last few words on the tiny sheet of paper. The characters seemed to have been penned in a hurry, and they were as puzzling as they were unbelievable. It seemed to be part of a longer message, and the bottom of the paper was marked with a crescent moon.

'Thus, essential bring second son to palace. Other lords will not accept hanyou ruler of the West. Safety within walls, complete training.'

It was a very small roll of paper, so this explained the brevity of the letter. But Kagome still felt like she was listening to a long-distance phone call, in which every other word had been dropped. Hanyou ruler of the West?

To the best of her understanding, the Western Lands were ruled by Sesshoumaru. Or, more accurately, they were being held in trust for him. His mother had been named the Regent of the territory, until the taiyoukai managed to satisfactorily prove his strength to other demon-lords in the area, whoever those might be.

The nightmare she had dreamt shortly before waking returned to her. The taiyoukai had been walking through darkness, and she had been waiting for him, because there was something very important which she needed to tell him, before he passed. But she could not remember what it was. Perhaps she never knew. Like ice trickling down her spine, a cold feeling overwhelmed her, as she recalled the desolate expression on Sora's face.

Sesshoumaru was okay, wasn't he?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hell, no!" barked the half-demon. "No, and for the last time, no! I told you already, I'm not gonna be locked up in some damn prison for safe-keeping." He seemed to be at a loss. They all were to a certain extent.

When Sora had finally returned to the camp, the sun had been up for hours. Inuyasha had been livid at the delay to say the least. Still, they had agreed to wait, once Kagome told him about the message.

The hanyou's instructor had seemed older, at that point, while he stood in front of Inuyasha. It seemed like the spirit had been beaten right out of him. Acting extremely deferential, from the start of the conversation to the end, he had gradually explained.

Sesshoumaru was, for all intents and purposes, dead. Which meant the only remaining heir to the throne was none other than Inuyasha, himself. Because the news would spread quickly, they had to remain in the Western palace. Whether powerful or not, many other demons would immediately seek to challenge him, thinking that a half-breed should be easily defeated. That the Western lands were up for grabs.

It had felt like the blood was congealing inside her veins, when Kagome heard this report. None of them could get any more details out of Sora, because the half-wind youkai did not know what had happened. Yet deep down, the blue-eyed priestess thought she should know. The dream that she had woken from, earlier in the morning, perhaps it had not been a dream at all. Inside, she panicked, flustered and unwilling to admit the taiyoukai might be dead. She thought privately - maybe she should just go back to sleep, and they could finish their conversation. She could say whatever she had been supposed to say to Sesshoumaru, and everything would be fine. Of course, sleep was impossible in the middle of the day, and she was far too upset to close her eyes, anyway.

Inuyasha seemed to take the news in a similar fashion. Complete silence, followed by utter denial. He had ordered the others to follow, and they had set out aimlessly across the countryside.

Periodically, Sora badgered him to return to the palace where he would be safer. But each and every time, the hanyou vehemently refused. And ultimately, his part-time instructor did not force the issue.

By midday, they had reached a tiny village just outside the Western Lands - a territory that Inuyasha was firmly still considering his brother's - and the others could see a few youkai drifting past, high in the sky. It would not have been remarkable at all, since the demons were low-powered and they did not attack anyone. However, the half-demon stood at attention after seeing them, and he pointed at the demonic hornets that had been following these youkai. Apparently, the low-level youkai belonged to Naraku, or at the very least, Naraku was keeping track of them by using the demonic insects in his employ.

Soon afterward, they were interrogating a few of the nearby villagers about these youkai.

Unfortunately, the only ones who seemed remotely interested in asking questions were Miroku and Sango. Kagome had not spoken, since Sora returned, and Inuyasha was grumpily staring off into the distance with a scowl. "Demons?" one of the farmers explained to Miroku, replying to the monk's question. "No, no. Hijiri-sama protects us from any harm."

"It's very mysterious!" another man jumped into the dialogue, cheerfully hoping to add a bit of flare to the storytelling. "No one knows what Hijiri-sama looks like! We think he's staying at the top the closest hill - it is a holy mountain! Only priests and monks have been able to approach it, for the last few months."

"Keh!" scoffed the half-demon moodily from the rear of the group, where he stood. "Doesn't mean there's a holy person there. Just means you're all weak and stupid."

The older villagers stared in shock. Then, muttering quietly, they shuffled toward their houses from the rice fields where they had spent the morning. As the townsmen departed, Miroku glared at his friend. "There was no need to be rude, Inuyasha."

"Whatever." Marching steadily forward, the hanyou looked back over one shoulder, after he had departed. "What? If Naraku is sending youkai to do... stuff... then we're gonna investigate. Even if they're small-fry demons."

A few paces behind the leader of the party, Sora took a breath and opened his mouth. The moment he did, however, Inuyasha cut him off. "Don't even suggest it," the white-haired boy growled. "We're going after Naraku."

Falling silent again, the half-wind youkai solemnly nodded his head.

Inside of an hour, they were standing at the base of a tall hill which the villagers had pointed out to them. Yet as they traveled, they had seen more and more minor youkai swarming through the area. In fact, the base of the mountain was teeming with spirits and demons.

"Ready?" the half-demon inquired, turning to face his companions. And most of them nodded. Kagome, on the other hand, stared mutely at the ground. Naturally, the hanyou called her on it. "Kagome?"

Suddenly realizing she had been asked a question, the priestess shivered, regaining a bit of focus. Sadly, she could not keep her mind off the subject of Sesshoumaru. It prevented her from paying much attention to her surroundings. "Hmm?" she responded softly, looking up at last.

Closing his eyes for an instant, as though he was begging for patience, Inuyasha tried again. "Ready to go up the hill?" he asked one more time, even more gently than before.

The blue-eyed priestess merely nodded. Yes. She knew she had to stop worrying about the taiyoukai. This couldn't be healthy. But somehow, her emotions did not have an off-switch. A gloomy mood had descended over the whole group, the entire day, yet it seemed to hover over Kagome the most thoroughly.

The smile that she gave her fellow travelers was so obviously fake that Sango winced, and Miroku rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, while Shippo asked if she was feeling all right. "Oh. Sure..." she answered, sounding slightly dazed, and hating herself for it. "I'm ready to go."

It convinced absolutely no one. With a sigh, the half-demon instructed Sango to take charge. He hoisted the priestess up onto the back of the firecat. "You all go ahead," he explained briefly. "See if you can figure out what Naraku wants with this 'Hijiri' character. I'll come once I kill off all this rabble."

Then, waving one hand at the multitude of low-level youkai at the foot of the hill, he grabbed Sora by the sleeve, dragging him forward. "Hey, teacher!" grinned the half-demon tightly, lips pressed together in a thin line. "What was that you mentioned about weapons training, yesterday? Practice is good, right?"

The short-haired youkai considered this for a moment, head tipped to the side. "Hmm." Sora agreed finally. "Killing tiny youkai is a good stress-reliever too, I suppose, if one is feeling sick at heart."

As they padded off into the distance, the humans heard their hanyou leader protest. "Hey! Who says I'm feeling 'sick at heart'?"

The ordeal went on longer than any of them expected, though. Making their way up the hill, for the most part Miroku and Sango avoided meeting any demons. But eventually, it became unavoidable. Too many youkai had gathered in the area. Only a short distance from the top, the monk was forced to start demolishing some of the mindless mass of insect-like demons around their feet by using holy ofuda. Otherwise, there would not have been space to walk.

Next, using her bone-boomerang, the demon-slayer cleared a small spot in the underbrush for Kagome to sit. "Just wait here," Sango encouraged her friend, smiling, "I'll be right back. Miroku is close enough we can still see him, so I should help him fight."

And just like that, suddenly only Shippo and Kagome were left. The miko and the kitsune gazed at one another, in consternation. Neither one of them wanted to be standing alone, if Naraku or one of his underlings unexpectedly appeared. After all, they had been following a bunch of youkai, which traveled alongside Nararku's demonic hornets. It was possible that their enemy might show up, on this hill, at some point.

All at once, the fox-kit's eyes bugged out. He stammered and stared, gesturing faintly toward the top of the hill. Spinning around, Kagome drew her bowstring taut, only to pause as soon as she recognized what the light in the forest actually was.

A soul-eating insect was drifting soundlessly through the air. It was one of Kikyou's insects! She had seen this sort of creature in the past, whenever her rival was gathering souls, in order to be able to continue moving.

But how was that possible? As far as they knew, Naraku had assassinated Kikyou months ago, on Mount Hakurei. Inuyasha had hoped his ex-lover survived, somehow, but none of them had known for sure. Without even contemplating the danger she might be placing herself into, the girl from the future followed after the Shinidamachu.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Kikyou... is alive?" Golden eyes practically begged her to repeat it, again. Just once more.

"Yes," murmured Kagome, practically expressionless as she stared at the ground. "You'd better hurry after her. She left immediately after I healed her."

The hanyou seemed confused, turning to glance at the sparkling pool behind her. Sniffing the air, he could smell the scent of clay and bones and dirt, which he recognized as belonging to his ex-lover. Well... her new form, at least. Still, he could not bring himself to leave.

"Why do you look so sad?" he protested, crouching down on the rocks in front of the living priestess.

It was the last straw. The final threads of Kagome's patience snapped. "Because today has been a terrible day!" she shrieked, watching as her best friend flinched backward and raised one arm as if to defend himself from her words alone. "Just shut up! Shut up!"

Dumbfounded, the half-demon stared right back at her. "Did... something bad happen between you and Kikyou?"

"Gah! This is all your fault!" Kagome continued to yell, unable to stop yet. She could not work through all the sadness and disappointment on her own. All the emotions she had been put through today, they were wearing her down. "I hate you!"

Of course, it was only fair to expect her friend to speak in his own defense. Inuyasha leaned forward, clenching one hand into a fist. "Hey, now! What did I do?"

And normally, the priestess would have cut herself off at this point. Her friends were looking so concerned, and she did not want to hurt anyone's feelings. Furthermore, she was very tired at the moment, having used up a great deal of power on healing a woman who held half of her soul, Kikyou. But the hanyou's words only drew the rest of her problems to the surface, like he had lanced a giant boil of festering frustration and anger inside of her.

"You..." she growled. There was nothing that Inuyasha could have done. She knew it. She really wanted someone to blame, however, so she placed it on him. "You refused to go back to help Sesshoumaru!"

Wide-eyed, her companion gasped. As he opened and closed his mouth, only shallow breath managed to pass his lips. "The bast... Sesshoumaru is fine."

"How would we know? Sora thinks he's dead," shouted Kagome, tears forming in her eyes, but not quite falling yet. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't. "I healed Kikyou because of you! And I don't even like her! So, it seems like the least you could do for your brother, even if you... hate him..."

Despite her earlier resolve, the tears started dribbling out of her eyes.

"I don't hate him!" the half-demon responded immediately. He stood up so fast that he practically toppled over again, and his claws were digging into his palm. "Don't you say things like that!"

Kagome sniffled, pitifully. "Okay," she murmured, "Okay." Then, wrapping her arms around her legs, she laid her head on top of the knees. "I know. It's just... Just leave me alone... for a while... okay?"

Silence was her only reply at first. Finally though, the half-demon agreed. "Be right over there," he mumbled, sounding equally miserable and forlorn.

It only made her heart hurt more to realize that her hanyou protector missed his brother too. They had both been angry and disbelieving from the very beginning. Hot tears pooled on the cloth below her head, soaking into the sleeves of her uniform. It felt like a knot had been tied in her stomach, and it was extending to her lungs and her throat now. Soon, she was not even able to swallow around the misery in her chest.

After she left Shippo, she had discovered Kikyou, lying in the bottom of a crystal clear pool of water. She had seen the miasma spreading through her old rival's body, and she had worked very hard to clear Naraku's taint from the woman's clay figure. Even a golem-like person did not deserve to suffer continually, as it seemed Kikyou did.

Later, she had been insulted by the fact that Kikyou was rude to her. It felt like the older priestess had tested her for absolutely no reason. Of course, Kagome healed her! How dare the woman question her generosity? She was the type of person who could not resist helping other people, if they needed help! It wasn't a matter of 'choosing' to help or not. Even worse, the dead priestess had not wanted to wait, thereby allowing Inuyasha to speak with her or know she was alive. Kikyou had stalked away, as soon as she had been healed. This seemed positively cruel, when one considered how long the hanyou had been searching for any sign that Kikyou might still exist.

Ultimately though, Kikyou only constituted a tiny part of the problem. In truth, her sadness and distress were caused by Sesshoumaru. Early that morning, they had been told dreadful news concerning the taiyoukai. And all day long, both she and Inuyasha had carefully avoided the topic - refusing to admit, even to themselves, that anything might be wrong.

Now, as the sun set, Kagome finally understood how she was purposefully blinding herself to the truth. Something terrible had happened. And they did not even know what it was.

Guilt nearly overwhelmed her, while she tucked her head more firmly into her knees. If they had not argued, then perhaps the dog-demon would not have left his home. If she had merely listened to his explanation, then she could have forgiven him right away. He would not have tried to go off, and... prove himself... or something.

A tiny voice was screaming inside of her that Sesshoumaru could not be dead. Yet perhaps this was because she did not want to live without him, even inside her own mind. Whether she dreamt about it or not, there was nothing she could do. On this subject, she was helpless.

How foolish! She hadn't wanted to give her heart away to Inuyasha, and yet she had, early on. Then, she had spent many long months feeling miserable every time he professed his love to Kikyou. And just when she began to recover, Kagome had gone and made another stupid mistake! She hadn't necessarily wanted to give her heart away to Sesshoumaru either, yet it seemed... she had. It was disturbing how freely she gave affection away to others. She needed to stop. But she didn't really know how.

An interminable amount of time later, she heard three soft footfalls approaching her from the front.

"Go away," she muttered without looking away from the dirt, " Not done yet."

Wiping her eyes, Kagome guessed it was probably Sora, who had come to fetch her. She did not recognize those footsteps. In fact, she did not even recognize the pair of boots in front of her...

A crease formed between her eyebrows, as she stared, but it was not until she heard the voice that Kagome realized she had a very, very, very big problem. "I probably should not be enjoying this," Naraku reflected, "As much as I am..."

Her eyes snapped up, to meet terrifying red, as she drew a breath. "Inu-...!!" she squeaked.

A hand almost instantly restricted her throat, clamping her mouth shut and cutting off her air supply. Defiantly, Kagome continued trying to scream and struggling to move away from her captor. He had the advantage of being a shape-shifter, however, and she did not make much progress, since he could simply generate an unlimited number limbs to restrain her.

"But surely, you can imagine how happy it makes me to find you here," the dark-haired half-demon continued without pausing, an evil smile corroding his expression into something vile and ugly, "When I only expected to find Kikyou's trail, gone cold."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Whew. Another decently long chapter. Hopefully, you all enjoyed the (sometimes subtle) differences from the original manga/anime series. Next chapter - Sess and Kag get to meet up again... in the underworld. Ah! Lucky them.