Winds of Change

Dark clouds turned upon the horizon, endless masses of turbulence shifting and churning amongst each other, rumbling their warnings in clashes of distant thunder and bright flashes of blazing light. The wind howled through the trees, a forewarning for all creatures to seek shelter from the storm. But upon the stretch of land torn by battle and stained dark with blood and tears, a lone figure sat heedless of the warnings.

He was crouched before a mound of disturbed earth, his form immobile, frozen in grief and locked with soul-stealing pain. His golden eyes were dull, lost of their sheen and spark, the fire within smothered beneath a raining torment. Resentment, anger, wrath; such things were lost to him. He couldn't find vengeance for the life that had been taken, couldn't find solace in being the hand to strike down the one that had taken so much from him, for it knew that it was his own failure that had brought this tragedy.

He had failed her. He had always sworn to protect her, but he had failed to protect her from what threatened her the most: himself.

And now she was lost to him forever, her soul so ravaged by pain and betrayal, so darkened by her hatred and her resentment for what he had done to her; that she would never rest in the peace she had deserved, never find her haven of sanctuary. He had stolen her hope and her freedom, condemned her to an eternal torment of suffering to be endure alone.

He should be with her, would have been happy to join her.

"The woman you mourn died long ago, Inuyasha."

He didn't even bother to turn towards the sound of his voice, couldn't bear to see the cold resentment, the uncaring scrutiny that would tell him so plainly how worthless he really was. He already knew. He didn't need to see it from him. With jerky movements, Inuyasha reached down and ripped Tetsusaiga from its place at his side. Without looking back, he threw the blade towards his brother.

"Take it," he bit out, his voice ragged and broken with pain. "You've won."

Sesshomaru looked impassively at the fang lying on the found at his feet, the power he had sought for so long no longer holding any meaning to him. "There is no victory to be had from one who has already been defeated." He looked away, lifting his gaze to the dark clouds spreading across the horizon. "The sky darkens. Clouds shadow the light of the sun. But the storm will pass, and life shall move on."

Looking back to the hanyou again, Sesshomaru stepped forward, pausing momentarily to collect the discarded fang from the ground. He was mildly surprised that Tetsusaiga's barrier did not make any attempt to repel him, but considering his desire to protect the miko it was not impossible to understand. His father had thought of everything, everything to keep his mate safe from those who would seek to harm her; everything except how to hold her heart safe from the pain she endured without him.

No matter how many she had surrounding her, Sesshomaru could still see the pain she carried in her isolation. It wasn't hard for one such as himself to see, after all, he too had secluded himself from the world. But while his isolation was one chosen to maintain his strength, to prevent himself from becoming held down by the burdens of the heart that held his father; she was breaking under the stress imposed upon her by her loneliness. She was reaching out, needing someone to take her hand, to keep her from falling.

For now, he had no choice but to be the one that would support her. So long as she required it of him, he would see the Lady safe. But soon she would have no more need of him. Her hanyou had been retrieved; it was only a matter of time before she would fall back to his care. If only the whelp could remove himself from his wallowing in self-pity and despair for long enough to see that he was needed.

"Do not allow the shadows of your past to trap you within their maddened dance," he told the boy as he set Tetsusaiga into the ground at his side, "lest you forget the light that still shines beyond the darkness." Turning to leave, not caring to have been given the role of consoling the boy, Sesshomaru paused for a moment to give his brother one last message. "I wonder, little brother, what light has been shining in your nights these past three years?"

Kagome. Inuyasha's heart clenched even at the thought of her, staling the air from his lungs and making him feel as though he had been punched in the gut. She had been the one Naraku had used him against in his mindless state, and the thought of what he could have done to her made him sick. But she hadn't abandoned him, she hadn't given up hope. She had fought for him even when he had turned on her, believed in him even when it seemed he was lost.

Somewhere, deep inside of him, in a place he kept hidden even from his own heart and mind, he knew that Kikyo had never had such faith in him, that she would never have fought to see the demon that he was preserved. She had wanted to change him, wanted him to become human like her. But Kagome had never wanted such from him. She had accepted him as he was; demon blood and all. She had made him think, for the first time in his life, that there could be a place, even for an outcast.

The first drops of rain began to fall from the heavy clouds that hung overhead. Inuyasha lifted his face to feel the cool moisture on his skin. But as the wash of rain continued pouring down, it was more than the dark stains upon the battlefield that it was washing away. It was the end of a dream, but the beginning of a new life.

He stayed by the grave that housed the body of his once love, watching as the pure water soaked into the ground and settled it in place. Once, he would have given everything for her. She had been the only one in centuries that had showed him any love at all, and he had loved her, he always would. But now he knew that there were others that needed him as much as he needed them. He couldn't fail them as well. He wouldn't.

"I'm sorry, Kikyo."

She had once told him that apologies were meaningless, and now he understood why. He wasn't sorry. Not really. His grief and remorse were so terrible they were nearly unbearable, and his guilt over his failure and the idea of her being alone was consuming; but he was not sorry for what he was going to do, not sorry for the fact that he wouldn't give her his life now when there was still people who needed him, who loved him enough to not want him to give up.

And he couldn't give up now. He still had a debt to pay Naraku, not to mention a war to fight for Kagome. How that girl always managed to attract the worst kinds of trouble he would never know, but he'd be damned if he was going to leave her safety in the hands of that bastard brother of his…now that he had two hands again.

He made a mental note to ask someone about that later. Actually, when he thought about it, there were a lot of questions that he wanted to ask. For starters: how in the seven layers of hell had Kagome ended up pregnant with his father's child? What….did that make her like…his mother or something?

"Aw, fuck. Now that's just sick!" Shaking his head violently to try and clear it of such unpleasant thoughts, Inuyasha suddenly caught a scent that he hadn't noticed with the falling of the rain. In seconds he was on his feet, turning to face the new presence. Oi!" he yelled out in annoyance. "I don't need no fucking audience! So why don't you get yourself outta here, bitch, before I decide you ain't keepin' that heart Kagome gave to you!"

"So you're smarter than you look," Kagura commented as she allowed her feather to drift closer to the ground so that she could see the hanyou more clearly. "And here I thought you would so readily believe that it was me who stole this heart."

Her hand came up to rest softly across her chest, and Inuyasha quickly looked away, a hard scowl marring his features. "I'm not saying I like it," he spit out angrily, his hands drawing tightly into fists. "Hell, if it were up to me I would have let you die. But Kagome can't see the bad in people." His head turned sharply, pinning the witch with his hardened gaze. "But that just means I've gotta watch out for it all the more. I'm watching you, witch. The second you even attempt to step out of line, I'm going to be on you so fast you ain't going to know what hit you."

"Are you threatening me, hanyou?" Kagura asked in a low hiss of displeasure. Her hand came up quickly from her side; her fan spread wide already harnessing the threads of winds slipping through its sails.

"So what if I am?" Inuyasha returned smugly, his right hand coming to rest easily against the hilt of Tetsusaiga. "What you going to do about it, bitch?"

Eyes narrowing sharply, Kagura's hand tensed against her weapon. "I should rip that foul mouth of yours right off," she spit out. But, with and angry sweep of her wrist, she clasped her fan closed and returned it to its holding place. "You're just lucky that I don't get off on killing the weak and helpless."

"Who are you calling weak?" Inuyasha roared as he drew his sword fully from its sheath. Unfortunately for him though, the added weight of the fang in his wounded hands made holding the sword nearly impossible. It slumped weakly in his grasp, the tip of the blade coming to rest on the ground at his feet.

"Like I said," Kagura commented smugly. "Helpless."

"Fuck you!" The hanyou fumed. "I don't need my sword to teach a bitch like you a lesson."

Abandoning his sword, Inuyasha lunged at the wind witch. But she quickly evaded his attack by mounting her feather again and lifting herself into the air.

"Running away, are you?" Inuyasha taunted from the ground below. "I should expect as much from one of Naraku's spawn."

"No good, filthy, repulsive, hanyou! I'll see you eat your words!"

Quick as the wind, Kagura released her weapon and drew forth the cutting blades of her fury. The winds cut through with deadly force in an attack directed at the hanyou below. But Inuyasha had fought Kagura so many times he attacks were nothing more than child's play. He knew her moves, knew her winds, knew how to block and repel them. He leapt from the ground, twisting in the air to narrowly avoid every sharp edged blade, and using the cut of the winds to propel himself upwards. In seconds he had gained the height he desired and lunged himself at the witch.

However, before his claws could connect with the witch, Inuyasha was snagged from behind. The tough fibers of his robe pulled roughly against him as they were twisted and yanked backwards by a firm hand. Growling in rage Inuyasha tried to spin himself to face the new threat, but being held suspended in the air as he was he couldn't gain the leverage he needed.

"You fucking bastard!" He roared in fury. "Let me go and face me like a real man!"

"You'sa migh' wanna rethink your words, Yash, my boy," Tagwin told him smoothly as he set the fuming hanyou down on the ground. He stepped back a pace to ensure he was well out of range of the boy's claws should he think to turn on him, smiling broadly when he was met with Inuyasha's furious golden glare. "First," he brought his hand to his shoulder, brushing his wings gently to clear away some invisible dust. "I'sa ain't no man. And second," he pulled his hand back from his wing, a single feather pinched between his fingers. His eyes locked onto the boy's, hard and fierce as the golden surfaces shimmered with a wave of ruby red. Responding to the shift in energy, his hand began to glow with a golden light. It spread into the feather, the light dancing and jumping between the sprawls of delicate lines that ran its length. "You'sa gonna learn hows to talk to da ladies if it takes e'ery feather in my wings."

Inuyasha watched transfixed as the feather was released from the eagle's hand. It floated down to the ground, seemingly harmless and deceptively beautiful in its golden radiance. Too concentrated on watching the fall of the feather, Inuyasha hardly recognized it when the eagle abruptly spread his wings and took to the skies. But in an instant, a forewarning born of his instincts kicked in and screamed at him that he needed to move. And fast.

Not fast enough though. He had just managed to push himself from the ground as the feather touched down. There was no impact, nothing but a touch as light as the soft down of the feather. But the destruction it caused was massive. The blast exploded outwards in all directions, sending waves of fallout rocketing through the ground and the air.

The shock wave collided with Inuyasha hard, sending him sprawling back with amazing force. He managed to right himself in the turbulent air, gaining a just barely vertical stance before his feet slammed into the earth and dragged him to a stop. Growling in anger and embarrassment, Inuyasha immediately reached to his side to draw his sword…His breath caught and his eyes snapped down to try and assure himself he was wrong. He wasn't. He didn't have Tetsusaiga.

Swallowing down the tightness in his throat, Inuyasha looked back to the eagle. "Keh," he huffed loudly, his feet starting to make small, deceptive motions to try and bring him back to where his sword lay. "I'll admit, that's some parlor trick. But don't you be thinking you've won. I ain't so easy to beat. You just ask Sesshomaru that. He's tried to kill me countless times and I'm still here, but he was the one that ended up missing an arm."

"Ah yes," Tagwin responded with a low chuckle. "And I must t'ank you for that one, Yash. I haven't had such fun teasing Sess in a hundred years!"

"Keh, you must have a death wish," Inuyasha remarked dryly as he moved closer to Tetsusaiga.

Shrugging, Tagwin fluffed his wings and moved to give the hanyou a clear path to his blade. He didn't care for a fight, just a little display of power to let the young one know who he was dealing with. "Sess really ain'ta so bad once you get to knows him. He'sa only so hard on you 'cause he t'inks you can handle it. You'sa are his brother, after all."

"Half-brother," Inuyasha corrected as he leaned down to collect his sword. He eyed the bird suspiciously for a moment, deciding what he should do next. But, after shooting a menacing scowl at the bird, he huffed. "You ain't worth my time," he bit out gruffly as he sheathed the fang and turned to leave.

"Well dat's just too bad, now ain't it? Can't choose your enemies, Yash, my boy. But you be wise to learn when you lookin' at a friend."

"Not interested," Inuyasha replied with a dismissing wave over his shoulder. He didn't bother looking back, didn't care what the bird had to say. He was going to see Kagome. They still had some things to talk about.

But Tagwin knew what the boy was thinking, and he couldn't help but smirk wickedly. "You ain'ta gonna find her," he called out to the hanyou. "The li'll miss has already left."

Inuyasha stilled instantly and snapped around to face the bird. "What do you mean she left?"

Tagwin shrugged and smiled innocently. "Said she needed to take care o' some t'ings. Took'a Sess wit' her."

"WHAT??!!"

"Oh would you shut up, hanyou." Kagura set herself down near to the hanyou, an angry scowl marring her fair features. "It's not like Sesshomaru's actually going to let anything happen to her. He's been protecting her for almost two weeks, her and her child. And if you were smart, though I'm not holding any hopes in that department, you would realize that the safest place for her to be is by his side. And not only that, but that it is by his side that she wants to be."

"You don't know shit, you fucking bitch! Kagome would never…"

"Never betray you like you did her over and over and over again every time you ran off with your dead lover? Don't be stupid, hanyou. She's not yours, and it was you that made certain she never would be. The fact that she's carrying another's child only proves that. She may care for you, but you were the one that made it impossible for her to really love you."

"Why you…"

"Enough!" Tagwin's sharp command brought two livid glares to land on him. He met their hard gazes with his own though and continued. "Sesshomaru has a mission for you, Inuyasha. And if you e'er wish to prove yourself in his eyes, you will do it. Even if you don't, you will do it for de sake of da Lady Miko."

Inuyasha blinked at the bird. It was as if the vibrant play and taunting jests had died and left behind a creature as stoic as Sesshomaru. It was…weird. He shook his head slightly to clear away the confusion. "Feh! I don't gotta do anything for that bastard."

"No," Tagwin agreed, "You don't. You do, howe'er, wish to protect da miko, do you not? It serves her best interests for all of her allies to be gathered a'fore de meeting of da council. It remains to you to seek out alliance with de wolf dens to solidify her position."

"Wolf?" It took Inuyasha a moment to register who the bird was talking about, when it did though… "Oh hell no! I ain't going to go begging for help from that mangy wolf!"

"That's what you say, Yash," Tagwin replied with a smirk. He spread his wings, looking up to the dark sprawl of sky above. "But let's see what it is dat you do."

Inuyasha stared blankly as the bird took himself into the skies. Why was he laving this up to him? He couldn't figure it out. If it was by Sesshomaru's order that he go to the wolf dens to get Kouga's help, then the bird should have stopped at nothing short of dragging him kicking and screaming to where he was told to go…not like he could have, of course. But he hadn't even tried. He had just…left. "Feh!" he huffed in aggravation. "Good riddance! Who needs and annoying squawking bird around anyways!"

"You really are an idiot, hanyou," Kagura murmured, though still loud enough for Inuyasha's sensitive ears to hear. She shot him a disproving look before she too lifted herself into the air and prepared to take flight.

"What?" Inuyasha snapped. "Don't tell me you're planning on going too. Kouga will rip you a new one before you even get a chance to blink!"

"Really, hanyou," Kagura smirked. "I didn't know you cared."

And then she left, leaving Inuyasha behind as confused as ever to watch as her form steadily faded into the distance.

"I don't care!" he yelled after her, though she was too far gone to have heard it.

Inuyasha growled, a low, feral sound that reverberated in his throat. "Fuck!" He cursed loudly, at everyone and no one, but especially at himself as he found that his feet had already begun moving in the direction that the witch and the bird had taken off in.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Thank you, Lord Taked. You have my sincerest gratitude for everything that you have done."

The young lord sighed and shook his head. "Now, Sango, we've been through this. Please call me Kuranosuke."

Inclining her head politely, though out of respect or to his the faint blush that had risen on her cheeks, she wasn't sure, Sango replied. "I'm sorry, Lord Taked, but I can not do that. It is far too personal for me to be calling you such. It wouldn't be appropriate, especially in front of your men."

"It would be appropriate," Kuranosuke said as he stepped closer to the slayer, "If you would agree to my proposal."

Sango took in a quick breath and forced herself to look up at the young Lord. "I do hope that it is not for my sake alone that you have agreed to aid in our cause. There is so much more at stake here than such trivial pleasantries, and I will not have your men fighting in a war that they have no commitment to."

"Trivial? Sango, my sweet, my feelings for you are hardly trivial." He cut of her protest with a slight wave of his hand, turning his sights towards the training grounds where his men were already beginning to prepare for the war to come. "Besides, this war to come, as you say, has much more resting in its balance than our lives alone."

Sango had been with him for three days now, three days that he was most grateful for. He had been surprised and intrigued by her presence, but when she had presented the news of the coming war and her desire to see his forces added to those of the youkai Lord his intrigue had only grown. If it had been any other, he would have dismissed them and the idea as ridiculous, a waste of time. But that it had been this woman whom he had such respect for, a slayer no less, come to him in the company of youkai to present a case for the mutual peace between their kinds; it was not something he could overlook.

A peace between youkai and humans, as far-fetched as the idea sounded, was still such an inspiring cause that he had put a great deal of thought into it. If it were possible, if he could make it so that his people would no longer have to live in fear of being subjected to the terrible bloodshed that the demons of the land had plagued them with for so long, then he simply could not refuse.

Whatever help he could offer to such a noble cause, he knew he must. His order had been sent out immediately, calling from all corners of his lands for all able-bodied men to report to their stations. He did not know what an army of mortals could accomplish against such impossible forces, but he did know that he could not live with the knowledge that he had done nothing.

And with Sango there to help train his men, he knew that they would learn the way of the warrior well. It had been her fluid grace and tempered skill that had fist caught his eyes. She was a warrior like none he had ever seen. Such strength and command he knew would serve his people well. And to have one of such beauty by his side would make him a proud husband…if only he could get her to accept his most generous offer.

It didn't matter though, he thought, his eyes shinning with a faint light even under the looming clouds concealing the afternoon sun. She would come around soon enough. After all, they would have to be spending a great deal of time together in the coming days, and he would make sure to use that time to his advantage.

"Excuse me."

Startled by the sudden appearance of the chameleon, Kuranosuke tensed slightly and spun towards her. Sango, however, had sensed the youkai's approach and calmly turned to greet her.

Stifling a giggle at how jumpy this human male was, Shaeda focused her attention on Sango. "I'm afraid I have some rather unpleasant news. The young ones seem to have commandeered Kirara and are currently riding," she paused to look up at the sky, a faint smile lifting on her lips at the way the sun had been left in shadow behind the looming wall of clouds, "Northwest as far as I can tell."

"Why would they do that?" Sango asked in disbelief.

Though, she wasn't all that surprised that the girls would find yet another way to inconvenience her, especially after they had been so adamant that they knew of a place where she could find help. The problem with that, however, was that all the girls would say was that it was a secret place and that they could not talk about it, only show her the way. Knowing she had a task to complete, Sango had opted for taking their little traveling group to Lord Taked's palace, thinking that at the very least the girls would be offered accommodation for a time before they could find their own way again. What really bothered her now was that Kirara had agreed to take them where they wanted to go.

Shaeda replied to her with a slight shrugging of her delicate shoulders. "I suppose they believe they are helping. They really do seem taken with you." She smiled warmly at the slayer. "Do not worry, my young friend, I am certain they will be safe until we can reach them."

"It's going to be as whole different story when I get my hands on them," Sango hissed out angrily, her fists clenching tightly. Shaking herself slightly to dispel her angered thoughts, Sango turned to Kuranosuke. "I'm very sorry, Lord Taked, but it seems I must take my leave. Can I tell Lord Sesshomaru to expect your arrival at Endo?"

"I will be there, Sango," Kuranosuke replied. He stepped forward and took her hand in his, bending down to kiss the back of her hand affectionately. "Take care of yourself," he said to her as he stood. "We will meet again soon."

Not trusting herself to form words in that moment, Sango nodded her head and quickly turned away from the young lord. Shaeda was by her side as they took their leave of the compound, and Sango's embarrassed thoughts were quickly turned to annoyance when she began to hear the light, chiming giggles of the demoness. "And what do you find so funny?" she asked, her tone clipped and dangerous, daring the youkai to try and push her at the moment.

"Oh, nothing," Shaeda replied with another light giggle. "It is simply that the young Lord is so smitten with you he can't seem to see that you do not feel the same for him as he does for you."

With a long, dragging sigh, Sango shook her head. "Now I know how Kagome feels every time she has to tell Kouga she's not his woman."

"Kouga?"

"The wolf prince of the southern caves."

"Is he to be an ally as well?"

"If it means being able to protect Kagome, Kouga won't hesitate to help. His pack has taken her in as a sister. They won't abandon her. Of course, Inuyasha and Kouga don't exactly see eye to eye, and I can only imagine what kind of tension is going to be added into the mix when Kagome shows up pregnant with the Inu Lord at her side." Sango sighed again, her eyes lifting to the grey sky above. "I wish I could be with her now. She is dealing with so much right now, and I hate the idea of her being alone though it."

"She isn't alone," Shaeda replied with a knowing grin. "Sesshomaru will see all her needs met."

Arching an eyebrow, Sango cast an incredulous look at the demoness. "You seriously think the Ice Prince knows how to deal with a human female, a pregnant human female, a pregnant human female who happens to be a very powerful miko and who has a temper hotter than lava and a mouth that refuses to be silenced by anyone?"

Shaeda blinked and then giggled. "Ice Prince?"

Joining with the demoness in her laugher, Sango nodded. "That one was courtesy of Kagome. I won't tell you where she decided that Ice was wedged though."

Shaeda gasped in horror. "She wouldn't!"

"Oh, she would, and then some."

"Oh, my poor Sesshomaru!"

Laughing again, Sango replied, "Let's just hope Kagome doesn't get any ideas about another subjugation necklace. When it comes to that girl, once she gets an idea in her head, it just doesn't go away until she has seen it through."

"Oh to see the day the Great and Terrible Inu Lord of the West was put on a leash by a human girl!" Shaeda was laughing so hard that her sides hurt. She gasped a couple of times to try and rein it in, wiping at her cheeks as though to brush away invisible tears. "If his father could only see him now."

Pulled from her own mirth at the soft and saddened tone of the demoness, Sango looked at Shaeda curiously. "Did you know the General?"

Shaeda sobered instantly at the question. "Very well," she answered quietly, tilting her head to hide the pain that flashed across her features. "He made it a habit of taking in strays like me. He was the best youkai I've ever known." Out of habit, her fingers wrapped around the silver charm bracelet hanging from her wrist.

Normally concealed by the long, billowing sleeves of her dress, the soft glow of the charms caught Sango's eyes for the first time. She could see the way Shaeda fingered the charms, small motions of assurance that were slowed by her sorrow. "He gave that to you?" she asked, though fairly certain of the answer.

"One of the first gifts he ever gave me. It was to make up for chasing after me when we first met. With every new lesson learned, he would give me a new charm, smile, and say how proud he was that my power was growing. Oh!" She gasped softly, her fingers stilling around one of the crystalline spheres hanging from her bracelet. "I almost forgot. Kirara let me take some of her fur. I'm sure I could track her much faster if I took her form."

"You can do that?" Sango was curious. She had never met a chameleon; it was rare to even hear about one. Their disguising abilities were like no others, and as a demon slayer, she couldn't contain her professional curiosity.

"Oh, yes," Shaeda replied, her darker thoughts lifting as she turned to her new friend. "I can take any form I choose, but in order to have their abilities I must have a part of them with me to complete the transformation. This," she held up her wrist to display the array of charms adorning her bracelet, "holds small pieces of many different kinds of youkai. The General wanted me to always be prepared for anything. Each crystal holds a different form and a different power."

"That's amazing."

"Not really," the chameleon replied distantly. She looked back up to the sky, watching the roll of the darkened clouds as they gathered above the land. "One day I will find the way to truly be one with the shadows. A power all my own that I won't have to rely on those of others to keep me safe."

Sango understood the need to be able to rely on your own strengths in battle. She had been trained her whole life to use her body to its fullest potential. But she also knew that there was only so much one person could accomplish. "It's not so bad having to rely on others. All of us need to fall sometime, and it isn't will or strength or power that will be there to catch us." She flashed a quick smile to Shaeda when she finally looked back to her. "Besides," she added, shrugging off her sentiment with a slight roll of her shoulders and turning her eyes back to the path she was walking on, "To make your enemy's greatest strength the very weapon you use against them isn't a talent that you should so easily dismiss."

"Always thinking strategy." Shaeda rolled her eyes playfully, a light, happy smile pulling on her lips. "You sound like Sesshomaru. I bet the two of you would really get along, so long as there was a battle on the horizon."

"He is a formidable opponent." Sango had seen the Inu Lord in battle many times. On the battlefield, he was an awesome force. But there was more to him than skill. He was strategy as well. Inuyasha was brazen, always charging headlong into a fight. It often resulted with the hanyou bleeding unnecessary wounds. Sesshomaru, however, would stand back, weigh his options, only attack when the opportunity was ideal or when he knew there could be no more waiting. Despite the situation they were in, despite the fact they were walking forward to a battle that would likely take more than one of the lives she held dear; Sango couldn't help but feel anticipation to join her skills within the ranks of the Western Lord's army.

"Oh dear! Sango, we must get going."

"Wh…" Sango was cut off quickly when a large drop of rain fell directly on her forehead. She reached up to brush it away, only to feel several more drops come quickly after. A sudden flaring of demonic energy brought Sango back to her guard. She braced instantly, her hands coming up in ready to take hold of her weapons. Her stance loosened somewhat though when her eyes took focus on the darkly shifting energies of Shaeda. The chameleon was changing. A wash of crimson flames leapt up into the dark light surrounding the demoness, the fires growing rapidly to consume her body. With a surging pulse that carried a wave of heat outwards from the centre of the fires was the final transformation, and the fires that had taken over began to clear.

Not being able to help herself. Sango gasped quietly. There, in front of her, standing in the place of the demoness, was Kirara. Her size and shape and form were identical. The fur, the claws, the fangs, even the demon fire surrounding her was the same as Kirara's. It was the eyes though, the dark shine in the burning irises, that gave away the deception.

The demon cat mewled, the sound perfectly matched to the real Kirara's; and Sango understood perfectly. Ignoring the unsettling feeling of taking mount on a firecat that wasn't Kirara, Sango quickly too her place on the cat's back. Once she was settled, the cat took to the skies in a great leap. Sango could feel the difference immediately. Shaeda was not Kirara, had not had the feline's time in the skies or in this form. The chameleon looked exactly like Kirara, had her abilities, her speed and strength; but she used them in her own way.

In the skies, they made quick time, racing the storm to find the missing girls before it did.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"That's the tenth branch you've missed, hanyou. You're getting sloppy."

"Shut it, witch!" Inuyasha barked irritably. He was having a hard enough time keeping his eyes open; he didn't need a commentary about it. Especially from her. He grit his teeth and pushed off from the next branch. His whole body ached, but he'd be damned if he was going to stop now. They were nearly at that mangy wolf's den, and he wasn't going to let his guard down for a minute.

The next landing jarred him painfully. The ache in his limbs magnified with the tight gripping in his chest. He cursed under his breath, at Naraku for putting a jewel in his chest, at Sesshomaru for having his fun in digging it out along with almost half of his blood, and just at the world in general because it hurt like hell and it fucking sucked.

Letting his anger fuel him, he pushed off again. This time however, his feet didn't touch down on his intended target. Before he could reach his next foothold, he was pulled upwards mid-jump by the rising of a soft surface. He scowled angrily and spun around to face the witch. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he barked out at her.

Kagura matched the hanyou's angry scowl. "I'm giving you a ride, you ungrateful mutt. So just shut up and accept the chance to rest while you have it."

"Feh! I don't need any help, least of all from someone like you!"

"Well you're just going to have to get used to it, hanyou. Unless you would prefer to jump off from this height." She gestured absently over the edge of the giant feather they were nestled on to the sprawl of the land hundreds of yards below.

Not liking the idea of any more broken bones at the moment, Inuyasha reluctantly accepted the free ride; but not before making sure to snarl angrily at the wind witch for assuming he needed her help or thinking he would accept it from her.

Smirking in triumph at seeing Inuyasha settle himself for the ride, Kagura couldn't help but taunt him a little. "Don't get too comfortable, hanyou. I'm not about to become your ferrier."

Inuyasha growled lowly in aggravation. "Quit calling me that," he snapped back over his shoulder.

The wind witch pulled back slightly at his venomous tone. "What?" she asked in confusion. "Hanyou? It's what you are, isn't it?"

That's not all I am... "What's it matter?"

"It doesn't."

"So why are you still talking about it?"

"Why don't you want to talk about it?"

"Because I…Damnit!" Inuyasha turned stiffly to face Kagura. "Just shut up, would you? You wouldn't understand anyways."

"Understand what? Being a hanyou? Being an outcast? Having everyone hate you because of what you were born from? Open your eyes, Inuyasha. I pledged to give my services to the miko, but I fight Lord Sesshomaru's war because it favors me and the future I am finally being allowed to make for myself. If you would quit being so stupid, you would realize that it does for you as well."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but found he had no words. For so long he had fought against Kagura while she was under Naraku's control that he hadn't bothered to label her as anything but 'enemy'. But now she was acting of her own volition, not being controlled by the dark hanyou; and she was trying to tell him that she was more as well.

She was hanyou, like him. Born of mortals and demons and of the magic sealed within the Shikon and the dancing power of the winds that she commanded; she was the only one of her kind. And now that she had found her freedom from Naraku, she had nowhere to go and nothing to go to. She was an outcast, something he knew too well of.

"Feh," Inuyasha huffed, though lacking the gruff and angry undertones of earlier. "You talk too much."

"This coming from the one that hardly pauses in their cursing to swing his sword around like a fool."

"At least I fight with a sword and not a girly little fan."

"What, this?" Kagura asked innocently as she pulled her fan out, hiding her smirk at the hanyou's sudden stiffness behind the fringes of the blades as she fanned herself lightly. "You know, there is something to be said about the grace and mystery offered a woman from behind the concealment of a proper fan."

There was something about the softness in her eyes and the way the fuchsia surfaces were lightened by the cast of the late afternoon sun breaking through the dark clouds of the passing storm that made Inuyasha very uncomfortable. He tried to look away, but with the fan she held blocking the rest of her features, he was drawn to her eyes.

It was a change in the winds that finally snapped him out of it. Carried upon the breezes, mingling with the fresh cleanliness of the lands after the rains, was the thick muskiness that could only have one source: wolves.

A low growl broke from his throat and he snapped his attention down to the ground below. He may not have known anything about the politics of Sesshomaru's war, but he was hella sure he could knock that mangy wolf into line.

Wrapping his right hand securely around the hilt of his sword, he nodded shortly at Kagura. "Let's get this over with already."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well now, it's been a while, hasn't it? Hmmm, well for my prolonged absence from this story, you all get an extra long chapter. I almost continued on with it so that I could get to a scene that I've had written for, oh, three weeks by now; but I decided that I needed to call it a night. So folks, this is what you get for now. Hope you've enjoyed.

Later

Shadow