Chapter Twenty-One

Complications and The Battle That Awaits

Shuzo released a sharp snarl of warning which caused Nii to pause in drinking his sake. Frowning and looking around, he turned a confused glance at his spirit. "What's up?"

Shuzo whirled around, his eyes flashing from their normal lavender hue to a solid black. Nii scrambled to his feet but stumbled back slightly when Shuzo placed himself between him and whatever had him riled up. Nii watched the air in the pools waver and his spirit flexed his claws snarling even more intently.

Nii gasped when a figure emerged and there standing on the bank opposite the pools was a ghost-like image. Frowning, he peered at the face. It was familiar and yet he couldn't place who stood before him.

Shuzo snarled again at the intruder and the ghost held up his hands. 'Easy.' The soft voice said. 'I am no threat to you.'

Shuzo released another warning snarl that had Nii quite impressed with the ferocity.

'You know me, brother.'

Shuzo straightened and blinked, his eyes clearing and staring at the youki in his pools. 'Taizo?' He breathed in disbelief.

'The very same.'

"Wait, Taizo? That's Seihomaru's youki." Nii gasped, stepping out from behind his now calm spirit.

'It is good to see your face, Nii.' Taizo smiled.

"And yours. Seihomaru is here then?" Nii breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank the gods."

Taizo frowned. 'Is it you who is causing your host's body to glow?' He turned his eyes to Shuzo.

Shuzo blinked. 'My host's body is glowing? Interesting.' He glanced at the tree that was humming at being reunited with its spirit and host.

'You were not aware?' Taizo glanced around at the pools which were stale and very much in need of care. 'Can you tell me what happened?'

'I do not know. We both were lost in the shadow realm and only found each other by pure chance.' Shuzo shrugged. 'I suppose the tree missed my presence and with my touching it, it caused Nii to glow.'

'I would suggest allowing your host to wake, although be warned that you will suffer pain when you do so.' Taizo said softly.

Nii frowned and turned his eyes to his tree. He didn't see any injury, but anything could have happened while he was in his spiritual form. "Was I injured?"

'It is more complicated than that, I'm afraid. Do not be surprised if you cannot move or speak right away.' Taizo turned to leave, feeling his tree vibrating with his absence.

Nii gave Shuzo a concerned look but Shuzo was looking at the tree with a frown on his face. His lavender eyes moved back to Taizo's who had positioned himself to leave the pools. 'You look different.'

Taizo smiled faintly and nodded. 'It happens.'

Shuzo gulped and he felt a shiver fill him. 'Is Seihomaru dead? Do you reside in a pup of his?'

Taizo shook his head. 'Seihomaru is alive. More will be explained once your host wakes.'

Nii placed his hand over his heart when he got confirmation that Seihomaru was still alive. When he heard that question, his world almost spun out of control.

Taizo vanished, leaving Shuzo and Nii alone, and his youki waved for him to go into the water. 'Once you are ready I will assist in your waking.'

Nii reclined into the pool and furrowed his brow nodding. "I am not certain I will like this."

'You were always a sissy when it came to pain.' Shuzo snorted and turned his attention to the tree of life to help his host to wake up.

Inutaishomaru lifted his gaze from his scroll, the room now cast in a soft orange glow from the candle. "Everything go alright?"

Taizo sighed. 'He will wake momentarily. He will not be able to speak because his muscles are locked up from lack of use, but I can still communicate with Shuzo.'

Inutaishomaru placed his brush down and pushed to his feet. Walking over to the body of his friend, he watched as the glow his friend had slowly diminish and then a loud throaty groan filled the air. His breath caught in his throat and he fell to his knees.

The minutes passed slowly, and the eyelids finally fluttered, but so sluggishly, it was as though it was a chore to open them. Nii's mouth parted slightly, and his breath hitched in his attempt to draw in a deep breath.

Inutaishomaru had waited hundreds of years to see any of his clansmen open their eyes, and he wanted this to happen so badly that the wait was driving him crazy.

Nii's mouth was opened only a fraction as he sucked breath into his starved lungs and his face contorted in a wash of pain. A loud groan filled the youkai and his eyes opened slightly, narrowed as they tried to focus on anything familiar.

"Easy." Inutaishomaru breathed softly.

He got only a grunt in response and those eyes flew open wide flashing to their unusual black and gold that symbolized his heritage being that of an eclipse inuyoukai. Inutaishomaru moved back slightly as the air around them crackled with the energy flowing out of Nii as his spirit intervened due to the intense pain the host was experiencing. "Hells!" Shuzo snarled through Nii's lips.

Inutaishomaru snorted. "Too much?"

Shuzo's black and gold eyes met his and the brow furrowed. "Only - a - bit." He wheezed, gasping between words as it took all his breath away with the attempt at speech. The youki tried moving his host's arm but confusion crossed those features. With Shuzo being awake inside his host, his heritage markings were more prominent on his face, standing in stark contrast against his pale face making it appear even whiter than it was. "Oie-" He wheezed again.

Taizo crouched beside Nii and stared at him intently. 'Don't try to move too much. The muscles have been unused for quite some time and thus have diminished over the years. It will take a long while before they are what they once were.'

Those black and gold eyes turned to meet Taizo's and squinted as though trying to focus on his face. "How-long?"

Taizo glanced at Seihomaru and waited to see if he would answer, however, his host was frowning deeply. 'Seiho?'

Inutaishomaru's eyes turned to his and he blew air out of his nose. "Too long." He said. With a glance at his youki, he raised a brow. "How long until he can move?"

Taizo snorted. 'Not for some time. Probably months before he can walk unassisted.'

Inutaishomaru's face became slack from disbelief, then it was filled with anger and rage, something Taizo was already becoming quite familiar with. With a sigh, Taizo shook his head.

Shuzo's gaze widened in his disbelief and then those eyes closed.

"Tell me what happened after that shade took your host." Inutaishomaru snarled.

Shuzo's eyes snapped open and tried to focus on Seihomaru's face. Rather than attempt speech, he decided that it was perhaps best to use their spiritual link to communicate. The breathlessness he felt after ever word was painstakingly draining. 'I went searching for Nii and spent years looking for him. In the shadows, there is no space for time, so I was not aware of just how long we were apart. I could feel him within the shadow realm, but my sight was blinded because of whatever that shade placed upon my host.'

Inutaishomaru crossed his arms as he listened.

Shuzo tried to shake his head, but it remained immovable and still. 'Eventually, we found one another. Just how long ago, I have no idea because we only now returned to the physical plane.'

Inutaishomaru closed his eyes as he listened. So neither Nii nor Shuzo knew just how many years had passed since he had faced the twins. It would be a massive shock to both when they found out. Turning away, he walked to the window and stared out at the ghost town he once called home. He knew both would be angry and disheartened as he had been when he had returned home and found every one of his clan who had not been fast enough to escape to the sankin kotai, collapsed on the ground.

He turned to face them. "Five hundred years have passed since that day."

Shuzo's eyes widened and he attempted to gasp, but it came out as a choked cough instead.

With a resigned sigh, he poured a cup of water he had gotten when Taizo had been inside Nii's pool and brought it over to his friend. Kneeling, he placed the cup against Nii's lips and used his hand to lift his head. He allowed a few sips before he gently placed Nii's head back onto the ground.

"Wha-?" Shuzo gasped out his eyes clenched shut tightly.

"You heard me," Inutaishomaru growled softly.

Nii's hand twitched slightly and Shuzo's face contorted with how much of a strain that was. Rolling his eyes, Inutaishomaru placed the cup down beside Nii and unclasped his fur pelt that he wore draped over his back. He placed it over his friend and then got to his feet to the small pile of old pillows that sat against the wall. Quickly dusting one off, he brought it over and propped Nii's head onto it.

"Rest and regain what strength you can. I cannot linger here long as I must go defend my home against a hoard of cat youkai who have decided to attack while I am absent." Inutaishomaru once again got to his feet and walked out of the room. Taizo had no other choice but to follow his host as they were bound together by the red thread of fate, and he sprinted to catch up.

'Where are we going?' Taizo asked once he fell into step beside his host.

"To retrieve my son and take him to where the bat youkai and fox youkai wait. Then we will hunt for some food. I trust that Nii will be hungry after not eating for five hundred years." Inutaishomaru growled.

'You could have picked a better way to tell them.' Taizo said.

"Why sugar coat it? It really wouldn't have made it easier for them to hear, even if I had chosen a different way of informing them." He scoffed.

Taizo shook his head but decided not to push too much, just in case his host decided to send him back to the pools packing. So far, Seihomaru hadn't said anything about his being out in the open, but if he pushed, he would be commanded to return to those dark pools.

By the time Inutaishomaru had returned to his office, Nii was awake and focusing on moving his fingers. The eyes were no longer black gold but were their normal honey color that was filled with questions and confusion. He had heard the entire conversation and his heart had hurt after the news. It wasn't exactly the news that had caused his heart to ache, but the cold delivery on how it had been given. His normally sensitive friend had gotten far more blunt in those five hundred years.

Inutaishomaru knelt beside Nii and he looked into the gold eyes with a raised brow. "Hungry?"

Nii grunted softly. Anytime he tried to speak it ended up in a coughing fit and then a dull aching pain in his chest as he tried to draw in deep breaths. Shuzo sat beside him, his hands working with some patterns on the ground in front of him, and Inutaishomaru glanced at the ghost-like spirit of his friend.

"What is that you are doing?"

'Assisting my host in his recovery.' Shuzo said bluntly, not looking up from his work.

Taizo raised a brow at the cold response from his spiritual brother. He dropped to a crouch in front of Shuzo and peered at his face. 'You hold my host responsible.' He stated matter-of-factly. Closing that barrier so his host would not hear their conversation, he waited patiently as Shuzo's face furrowed in concentration.

Finally, Shuzo sighed. 'It isn't entirely his fault. I know this. Yet that anger is there.'

Taizo snorted softly and glanced over his shoulder as Seihomaru gutted and prepared the rabbit into small pieces so Nii could eat it. 'I have been asleep for three hundred of those years.' He stated.

Shuzo's gaze lifted then and stared at his brother in disbelief.

'I can only contemplate that his grief and despair at not finding a cure has caused him to withdraw from everything. From what I have been able to gather, he even holds his son at a distance.' Taizo sighed and placed his chin in his hand.

'He has a son?' Shuzo breathed.

Taizo nodded, turning his eyes back to Shuzo's. 'A young son, maybe seven years at the most.'

Shuzo whistled and both glanced over at Nii when the head turned slightly to stare at them. Nii's mouth opened to say something but the youkai decided against it and he frowned instead. Taizo lowered the barrier and chuckled. 'How are you feeling?'

Nii grunted and rolled his eyes.

'That good, huh?'

Inutaishomaru sat down and crossed his legs beside Nii. Reaching out, he pulled his friend towards him and propped his head on his leg, and his hand to hold him up slightly. "Here." He muttered as he picked up a small bit of rabbit and held it to Nii's mouth.

Nii shook his head as best as he could.

Shuzo frowned as he looked at his host. 'He cannot move his jaw to chew.'

Inutaishomaru sighed and placed the rabbit down. "How can I assist?"

Shuzo thought for several minutes before an idea came to him. 'Is that hot spring still around?'

"As far as I am aware, yes."

'The heat from the water may assist in loosening the muscles. Massaging them might also help.' Shuzo gave a weak smile.

"To the hot springs we go, then." Inutaishomaru shifted and grabbed both Nii's arms, hoisting him onto his back.

Nii groaned in response.

"No one is around to see." Inutaishomaru snorted. "The curse, remember?"

Taizo had been thinking silently as they walked out of the house and into the forest opposite Bokusenou's forest, and when they finally got to the hot spring, he glanced at Seihomaru curiously. 'There is something that isn't adding up.'

Inutaishomaru glanced at Taizo as he lowered Nii to the ground so he could help in undressing him. "Oh?"

'Nii is awake, but none of the others are.' Taizo voiced. 'Should they not all waken?'

Shuzo blinked at them.

"I have been thinking about that. I think it was because Nii was not part of the curse as the others were. You both were in the shadow realm when the twins died and released their curse upon my clan. Because of that, you as well as myself were not subjected to it." He said. "I placed you within my seal after your body had been found."

Nii's eyes closed briefly as Seihomaru undressed him and then lifted his naked body into the hot springs. They only opened when that hot water touched his skin and a sigh escaped his lips.

Inutaishomaru chuckled lightly before he took his armor off and then quickly shed his body of clothing. Submerging himself into the water, he kept his eyes on Nii to make sure his friend didn't slip into the water due to the lack of movement. Nii's gold eyes drifted closed and both Shuzo and Taizo snorted.

Taizo propped himself up on the edge of the rocks that surrounded the hot springs. 'So if what you say is true, then we will still need to find a way to break this curse.'

Inutaishomaru nodded his head. "In five-hundred years, I have not found anything new. I have gathered several items, but three of them elude me."

Shuzo glanced at him curiously. 'Perhaps when Nii can move around, a fresh set of eyes will be of use.'

"Perhaps," Inutaishomaru grunted, leaning back in the water. He sat up again and slid over to Nii and gripped one of his arms in his hands. He remembered from years ago visiting a human village his experience with a massage and so he started with his friend's hands, he began rubbing the joints and trying to loosen the stiffened muscles. Nii's eyes opened and watched curiously and attempted a half-smile as best as he could with his jaw still stiff from lack of movement.

Nii cleared his throat and grunted when Inutaishomaru found a particular joint that throbbed when it was rubbed and the shadow youkai frowned. Inutaishomaru lifted his gaze. "This one is a bit knotted." He apologized, rubbing it a little bit more before he moved onto the next joint.

Nii sat in the office and stared as Seihomaru wrote something down, quite aggravated that his muscles would still not obey his command to move the way he wanted. Despite having a full body massage from his friend, including areas, he was almost horrified by, and the hot water, even though it loosened the muscles some, it had done little to allow him free movement as he had hoped.

Shuzo snickered beside him as Nii flushed slightly. 'Not a word.'

'You think you're the first male to ever be touched by another male?' Shuzo rolled his eyes.

'No, but I wasn't expecting that part of me to get a massage also.' Nii said.

Inutaishomaru glanced up and smirked. 'Can't have it falling off from lack of use.'

Nii felt his cheeks heat up even more. 'Funny.'

'At least we know it still works.'

Nii rolled his eyes and kept clenching and unclenching his hand. His strength was non-existent and he sighed. 'At least there is that.' He snorted.

Inutaishomaru chuckled and tapped the brush against his chin thinking on what else he needed to document.

'I wouldn't even be able to hold a feather with how my grip is.' Nii said annoyed.

'Give it time. After I finish this, I will go to a mountain shaman and see if she has anything to aid in your recovery.' Inutaishomaru said. "After I get back we must go." He said out loud.

Nii tried to lift his brow, but it remained motionless and he sighed.

'From what I understand the cat youkai have returned from the mainland. If it's the same clan I dealt with two hundred years ago, I am in for one hell of a fight. I had thought that the leader had learned his lesson.' Seihomaru lowered his gaze to the scroll again. 'The sankin kotai is where we made our residence after the fight with the twins.'

Nii watched Seihomaru get up and tightly bind the scroll before placing it among the others on the shelves lining his office. 'Hana and Io are where?'

Inutaishomaru turned to look at his friend. "They are in the room below. Stuck in their sleep." He picked up his sword and placed it in his obi. "I will return before the morning."

Nii sighed. He wanted to go with Seihomaru but he was useless. Shuzo shook his head and crouched beside him. 'Hopefully, once he gets back with a possible remedy we can be of assistance against the cat youkai.'

'I don't know how I can assist.' Nii said.

'With your skills.'

Nii felt his eyes widen. 'Do you honestly think I want to go back there? After being locked away in it for five hundred years?' Nii said exasperated.

Shuzo winced. 'It is who you are. You can't hide from it forever.'

Nii snorted. 'I can use the other skills I have acquired. I do not need to go to the shadow realm.'

Shuzo shook his head but he remained silent. He couldn't blame his host from being on the defensive with the thought of going back to the shadow realm, but he would need to help Nii in getting over that fear once again.

Seihomaru walked into the small camp where Tsukuyoumaru and Marioshi had made camp and glanced at his sleeping son who was curled in his fur pelt. "No issues?"

Tsukuyoumaru shook his head. "Nothing. It has been quiet."

"I must go to the Chugoku mountains and visit an old mountain woman who lives at the top. We will leave by nightfall tomorrow if all goes well." Inutaishomaru said.

Marioshi stood up and stretched. "I will go hunting for some food then. I wasn't sure when you would return."

Inutaishomaru inclined his head. "I will be returning with a traveling companion. One who cannot move on his own. No questions."

Tsukuyoumaru and Marioshi looked at one another before they nodded in understanding.

"Hopefully the mountain woman has a remedy to assist in his healing." Inutaishomaru lifted his head to the sky and released a sharp whistle. "By morning, my pet should have arrived. Sesshomaru knows him."

Both youkai nodded again and Inutaishomaru left the clearing. He had summoned his two-headed dragon to assist in carrying Nii. The dragon should remember Nii's scent, but having his pack pet with him, it would be useful for the human girl and his pup should they grow tired. That way he would not have to make as many stops or be stuck carrying the young ones.

'Is this the same mountain woman we met when your father was infected by that rot?' Taizo asked beside him.

Inutaishomaru frowned. It had been years since he had thought back to those days. 'It is.'

Taizo smiled. He cast a curious glance at Seihomaru but remained silent until his host glanced his way with a raised brow.

'What?'

Taizo shook his head. 'It is nothing.'

Inutaishomaru stopped on the path and growled softly. 'When we get to the mountain woman's hut, I want you back in the pools.'

Taizo sighed but he nodded his head. 'Will I be allowed to come out again?'

'If you are not a nuisance.' Inutaishomaru narrowed his eyes.

Not wanting to be stuck permanently in the pools for the rest of his life with Seihomaru, he reluctantly agreed. 'I am happy that Nii and Shuzo are awake.'

Inutaishomaru grunted his eyes on the forest floor as he made his way up the long mountain trail that he had made just over ninety years ago. This wasn't his first visit to the mountain shaman, as he frequented her hut whenever he needed a brew or herb remedy to an injury. Because Nii's mate Hana was stuck in a deep sleep, he had had to find other sources for his herbs or potions.

Turning his attention to the upcoming battle with the cat youkai who he had thought would have stayed away, he tried to think of some way to send them on their way without a fight. If it was the same clan he had fought years ago, then the fight ahead was going to be nasty. With a slow eerie smile, he realized that the last fight he didn't have his youki awake.

Taizo blinked at his host and then snorted. 'You mastered that grin while I was asleep.'

Inutaishomaru grunted in response. They were arriving at the top of the mountain and he was somewhat surprised that Taizo vanished almost immediately. Nodding satisfied, Inutaishomaru walked over to the aged woman who was in her garden. The air was crisp and cold at the top, but they were both youkai and didn't notice the frigid temperatures. "Risa."

The old woman glanced over her shoulder and then flashed him a crooked grin. "An Inu no Taisho." She struggled to her feet and reached out for her gnarled cane before she squinted at him. "You are not injured." She said matter-of-factly.

"No. I require one of your many remedies, however." Inutaishomaru held open the curtain which Risa smiled as a way of thanks.

She hobbled over to the large table in the middle of her hut and waved for him to follow. "What kind do you need today?"

"I am hoping you have something to relax stiffened muscles."

'Atrophy.' Taizo supplied.

Inutaishomaru paused for a moment, but Risa grinned widely and nodded her head.

"It is good to see you and your spirit have once again been reunited," Risa commented moving to her many shelves that held all her scrolls that were flattened out.

'Shit, I forgot about that ability of hers.' Taizo groaned.

Inutaishomaru lifted a brow and snorted. 'You forgot?' He highly doubted that.

'My brain is still a bit foggy from sleeping so long.'

Risa laughed heartily as she flipped through the many pages. "There is this old technique that originated from Wa." She started, finally pulling a page free and bring it over to the table. Turning the page to face him, Inutaishomaru peered at the figure of a male and several dark marks indicating pressure points. From the script written on the page, it would indicate the use of small objects applied to the muscle or bone to relieve tension. The other part confused him. "What is this?"

Risa glanced at the image and she pulled a vial out from under the table on a shelf below his line of sight. Then she grabbed a parchment and folded it before she reached for a large portion of a black herb and started crushing flakes into the paper. "What you will need to do is crush this into a fine powder and add this liquid to it." She grabbed a small thin piece of metal and demonstrated what he was going to do, embedding the softer end of the needle into the herb and liquid mixture. "Then you will need to apply this into the muscle like this." Risa held out her arm and pushed the end of the pin into the muscle, then she grabbed a candle and lit the end she had soaked in the herb remedy. "Leave it in for a few hours and have the room closed so the herbs can work through the system. Now this will take several weeks, but it is faster than just allowing the muscles to loosen on their own. He is youkai?"

Inutaishomaru nodded.

"Good, then it shouldn't take him long to recover." Risa prepared a few needles and then wrapped the herb pouch and vial into a large box. Placing the needles onto a cloth, she closed it up tightly and handed it to the lord.

Inutaishomaru inclined his head in thanks. "There have been no other incidents since the last time I visited?"

Risa shook her head. "Those pesky young'uns have gone elsewhere."

"Good. You know where to find me should they come again."

"Take this with you." She handed him two large clay balls with kanji on them.

Inutaishomaru frowned. "What are these?"

"You said you were looking for the Manju and the kanju. These I acquired while gathering seaweed near the ocean. The youkai there traded me this tide jewels for one of my water breathing potions."

Inutaishomaru blinked at one of the very items he needed, which meant he was one step closer to finding a cure for that curse. "You have my thanks as always Risa."

"Oh, and Inu no Taisho?" Risa called out to him as he walked away.

He turned and peered at the old woman curiously.

"I am happy to see that your youki has been woken. You will need his added strength for what is still to come." Without another word, Risa reentered her hut and the curtain closed behind her.

Inutaishomaru snorted and continued down the mountain, back to his Shinden-zukuri. If all went well, he would arrive well before morning, and be able to apply this remedy to Nii to get him on the path to healing. He knew that the eclipse youkai wouldn't have the strength to assist in the battle, but it was a start towards his recovery.

Just as the sun crested the horizon, Inutaishomaru slipped into his former house and down the many halls towards his office. He stopped and blinked at Nii who was sprawled on his stomach, trying to inch his way towards the light that was ebbing in through the open window. He snorted which caused Nii to look over his shoulder.

"Damn and here I thought I had made good progress," Nii said.

Inutaishomaru glanced at where his friend had started and then to where he currently was and measured about two feet. "Not bad for someone asleep for five hundred years." He placed the box Risa had given him on the floor and went over to one of his shelves. Long ago Risa had given him a mortar and pestle to grind any herbs and mix any concoction needed in it. Seating himself, he snorted when Nii managed to pull himself around, painstakingly slow mind you, and dragged himself back over to his side.

"What is all this?" Nii asked, finally flopping flat to the floor, in his exhaustion.

"Hopefully, something to help loosen your stiff muscles," Inutaishomaru said as he placed a few flakes of the black herb into the mortar. Dropping a few drops of the liquid into the bowl, he grabbed the pestle and started grinding them together. Once he was satisfied that it was mixed well, he unrolled the needles inside the cloth and started dipping them into the mixture. "Can you roll over?" He asked as he opened the scroll so he could see exactly where to place the needles.

Nii snorted and attempted to push himself onto his back. Several minutes went by when his friend's head thudded to the floor. "I give up. You don't know how long it took me to get onto my stomach after you left."

Shuzo came into view and rolled his eyes. 'Try hours.'

Inutaishomaru chuckled and assisted his friend onto his back. "Once I place these, try to stay put. I would hate to have to dig these things out of your body should you push one too far in."

Nii grunted in response and watched curiously as each needle was placed into his arms, chest, legs, and stomach. He flinched a few times when Inutaishomaru put a few on his face and his eyes widened when he saw the candle come into view. "Just what are you going to do with that?"

Inutaishomaru grinned and began lighting the ends of the needles. Blowing out the flame, he watched the wisps of smoke fill the air and then got up to close the window. "Now just relax and let those do what they do."

Nii swallowed and nodded his head. "These things are kind of heating up. They supposed to do that?"

"Yes. Now try to get some sleep. We leave once night hits." Inutaishomaru left his office and placed what was left of the wooden door over the entrance to keep as much of the smoke inside.

'Don't forget about me.' Nii said in his head.

'If you don't get some rest, I will leave you here.' Inutaishomaru snorted and walked out into the morning air. His eyes traveled to the sky and he sat down on the steps watching the sun's progress through the vast blue. When the area around him started dimming, and his two-headed dragon emerged from the forest, he pushed to his feet and reentered the Shinden-zukuri.

He pulled the wooden door away from the entrance to his office and was quite pleased to see Nii sitting up and flexing his hands. "More movement?"

Nii glanced over his shoulder and nodded his head. Beside him sat all the needles that had been in his skin. "I think I managed to pull them all out." He waved his hand over the discarded needles. He flexed his hand into a fist again and sighed. "Still no strength to speak of."

Inutaishomaru nodded. "That will take time. Have you tried standing?"

Nii snorted. "That did not go so well."

"I have the two-headed dragon here to aid you." Inutaishomaru picked up the needles and dropped them into a jar of water and packed up the mortar and pestle and mixes into the box.

"The dragon is still around?" Nii glanced at him and grunted when Seihomaru lifted him and hoisted him onto his back.

"Yes." Inutaishomaru shifted Nii more comfortably onto his back and walked down the halls and finally exited his Shinden-zukuri. He made a soft chirping sound for the dragon who waddled over.

Nii blinked at the beast and then glanced at his friend. "He is a lot bigger than the last time I saw him."

Inutaishomaru nodded and helped Nii onto the dragon's back. He placed the box into one of the many leather bags attached to the saddle he had made years ago and placed the reins around the saddle. He led the way towards the exit to the valley and stopped about halfway through.

Nii watched curiously as Seihomaru ripped a claw from his hand and muttered a few soft words and then rammed the claw into the earth. His mouth fell open when the entire valley cleared of the huts and the great main house. "Wha-?"

Inutaishomaru shook his head and placed his finger into his mouth, ignoring the curses from his inner spirit. "Come."

He cast one more look over his shoulder before slipping through the trees. By midday in three days, he would be at his sankin kotai where he would most likely face the cat youkai. With a heavy sigh, he led the way to where he had left his small son and companions.