Yuki groaned and she felt like kicking herself if only that were possible.

'Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!' She growled internally, chastising herself. 'How could you let him fool you? Of all the-'

It had taken her a few seconds to realize something was wrong. Until a moment ago, she had thought she was still outside, clinging to Sesshomaru to stay afloat above Naraku's body while listening to Byakuya's irritating jibes. However Yuki had soon noticed there was something wrong with Sesshomaru's scent: it was too faint to be right beside her. Unfortunately, by the time the realization and subsequent understanding had sunk in, she found she was already inside Naraku.

In the middle of a fog of miasma.

The instant she had realized where she was, she had ceased breathing to the extent possible, also covering her nose and mouth with her kimono sleeve in an attempt to filter out whatever tiny portion of miasma she could from entering her system.

'This is bad though...' Yuki thought as she wandered about a little. 'I can't smell anything without risking breathing in too much miasma… but without my nose, I have no idea where I am or where to go.'

She could just picture Sesshomaru's face if he could see her now.

'He'll have my head.'

Yuki winced as she breathed in more miasma, and then she paused. In that brief moment, she had definitely smelt Rin… and Inuyasha.

Fully-fledged demon Inuyasha.

"No!"

Yuki took off, almost flying with the speed at which she was racing through Naraku's body. But still she pushed herself faster because there was only one outcome she could predict from Naraku bringing Inuyasha and Rin together now of all times.

"RIN!"


In a different part of Naraku's maze-like body, Kagome moaned and slowly peeled her eyes open.

'Where…?' She thought hazedly, blinking to try and clear her mind.

There was a strange slashing sound somewhere nearby although strangely faint; that was the first thing she registered. Then, as she stirred, Kagome became aware once again of the stining pain in her arm - the arm that Inuyasha had slashed with his claws as he lost control of his body.

'Inuyasha!'

The thought had Kagome jolting awake. Now more aware of herself, she glanced over to the source of the slashing sound. Only to freeze in shock as she saw Sesshomaru standing guard not far away while slashing away all the demons that attempted to come closer to the smell of human blood. The dog demon was unmoving aside from his right arm as he whipped his poison whip back and forth in a steady rhythm, destroying all the other demons instantly.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, still unable to believe her eyes.

The dog demon paused, glancing back at her with barely a tilt of his head. Kagome swallowed as she met cold, unreadable gold eyes; but then Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he turned sharply back to the front to swipe away yet another pair of snake demons that attempted to get closer.

That made her feel a little bolder and Kagome asked tentatively, "Have you been driving away the demons for me?"

Sesshomaru didn't pause in his actions nor did he look back but he answered her with a question of his own.

"Those wounds are Inuyasha's doing?"

Kagome grasped her injured arm and turned her head away, remaining silent. But it seemed that was the response he was expecting as Sesshomaru straightened up from his last kill.

"As a half-demon, I presume he was swallowed up by Naraku's darkness."

Kagome twitched but she shook her head firmly. She recalled the moment before she had fallen off the edge of a cliff in Naraku's body, far above where she had landed. Inuyasha had lunged at her, his eyes red and his face patterned with the purple stripes of a dog demon; but where previously his claws had ripped into her flesh, that time, his hand had closed into a fist as Inuyasha pushed Kagome's shoulder, throwing her off the ledge and away from him before he could harm her any further.

"You're wrong!"

She turned back to begin protesting before she realized Sesshomaru was already walking away.

"Wait!"

Kagome started to scramble after the demon lord only to fall flat on her face as she lost her balance.

Sesshomaru heard the human girl trip and fall and he knew he could easily walk away and leave her unable to follow him any more. He certainly didn't need to be watching over her. But…

Sesshomaru stopped.

There was once a time when he wouldn't have cared less what happened to the human girl. Hell, there was once a time when he would have probably passed right by the girl when he'd come across her lying in a heap on the ground, completely ignoring her even though he could easily smell her blood. And the fact that she was important to Inuyasha would have made him all the more loathe to assist her in any way - in fact, he would likely have been tempted to bring her greater harm for it. He had even done so once before, if memory served him correctly about the time he had battled his younger brother in their father's tomb.

But that was no longer who he was.

With a suppressed sigh, Sesshomaru waited for the human girl to get up and chase hastily after him. He was definitely getting softer since he'd taken on Rin and fallen in love with Yuki, he thought sourly.

'Yuki… Rin...'

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. Naraku was going to pay dearly for taking his woman and his ward away.

As Kagome finally caught up with him, Sesshomaru started forward once more. He never even looked at her but Kagome was still surprised.

'Even though Yuki said he changed… I didn't think it was to this extent.' Kagome thought to herself. 'I can feel it from him - he's become kinder.'

Not that she dared say any of that aloud. Instead, Kagome turned the topic to something else she had been meaning to ask as she followed Sesshomaru, who seemed to be searching for something rather than leading her somewhere. And Kagome only needed two guesses to know who he was looking for.

"Sesshomaru." Kagome began tentatively. "Your nose is as sharp as Inuyasha's isn't it? Aren't you able to locate Yuki and Rin?"

Her question irked him some, mostly because his nose was far superior to his brother's, but otherwise he disregarded it as he tried to focus on finding Rin and Yuki.

'Naraku's body is much larger on the inside than it appears from the outside.' He thought pensively as they walked.

The human woman behind him gasped suddenly, and Sesshomaru glanced over to see what appeared to be Rin sitting at the top of a high wall of Naraku's body part.

"Look!" Kagome cried. "Rin's up there."

"That is only an illusion." Sesshomaru replied flatly, shooting down her worry in an instant.

Meanwhile, his own irritation flared once more as he thought to himself angrily, 'Pathetic. Is Naraku trying to mock me?'

His teeth grit as another illusion, this time of Yuki, popped up. The human gasped again, but when Sesshomaru made no move to even look over, she wisely kept quiet.

Sesshomaru frowned as he admitted to himself only, 'All the same, it is clear that I cannot use Bakusaiga carelessly.'

Suddenly, his nose picked up on something and he tensed immediately.

"Rin is close by." He informed Kagome, who gasped, "What?"

"We have to fly." Sesshomaru ordered and he took off without any other warning.

Kagome quickly grabbed his fur train, which had thankfully extended slightly for her to grab on in time as Sesshomaru flew quickly away, and she asked in surprise, "You mean, you know where she is?"

"Inuyasha is there with her." Sesshomaru answered.

"Inuyasha too?" Kagome asked hopefully, but it was quickly dashed as Sesshomaru added, "However, he remains in demon form."

Kagome's spirit quickly deflated, when suddenly Sesshomaru seemed, if possible, to tense even more.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked tentatively, and he barked sharply, "Yuki has joined them."

Kagome's blood ran cold and she whispered, "Is… is she also-?"

"She is still in her half-demon form." Sesshomaru answered grimly.

Kagome took a shaky breath which was exhaled sharply when Sesshomaru added with a growl, "But she won't be able to hold out much longer."

Kagome clutched Sesshomaru's fur train tighter.

'Please, Inuyasha. Hold out for a little longer. Please, don't do something you will come to regret!'


Deeper inside Naraku's body, Rin shakily backed away from Inuyasha.

She had been attempting to flee a giant face-demon that had chased her as soon as she awoke in this dark, creepy and oddly squishy place. It hadn't been long before she saw who she thought was Inuyasha and she'd run to his side in relief. The half-demon was a friend of Yuki's and Sesshomaru's brother, and Rin had been certain he would help save her.

It seemed that had been a mistake, Rin thought as she stared fearfully into Inuyasha's eyes.

His eyes were scarlet and filled with a violence Rin had seen before but had never seen on Inuyasha's face. His teeth bared like an animal's and Inuyasha cracked his clawed hands. Most terrifying of all to the human child, however, was the lack of crazed gleam in the half-demon's eyes. It was like she was staring at a rabid animal… a rabid animal that had just decided she would be its next victim.

Rin turned and bolted away from the half-demon, fleeing for her life. But before she'd made it even twenty steps, the floating face demon appeared once again right in front of her, blocking her path.

"Ah!" Rin shrieked as she tripped over her own feet in her haste to backtrack and she fell back on her backside.

A loud snarl behind her had her glancing back and Rin screamed as Inuyasha leapt into the air towards her.

"Yuki!"

"Don't… move!"

Inuyasha's choked words were almost lost in Rin's scream. Rin's eyes widened and she couldn't help gasping in confusion, "Eh?"

Still, she did as she was told, trusting her instincts; and sure enough, Inuyasha soared over her head and slashed at Magatsuhi.

It did nothing to the corporeal demon, aside from surprising him.

"Keh!" Inuyasha spat, irritated at the lack of impact while Magatsuhi cocked a brow.

"This is a surprise." The demon observed as he stared at Inuyasha curiously. "Your human heart remains intact."

Inuyasha gave an inhuman growl, almost negating Magatsuhi's comment. But Magatsuhi could see the truth in the way Inuyasha's body trembled under the half-demon's willpower to retain as much of his senses as he could and in the way Inuyasha's jaw remained taut as though he were fighting his own body.

Magatsuhi scoffed.

"However, your pitiful attacks cannot even scratch me, Magatsuhi! And now, you shall bend to my will!"

With those words, the spiritual demon launched himself at Inuyasha. The half-demon couldn't even move before Magatsuhi was entering his body. Inuyasha cried out, his snarls ripping out of his throat as he attempted to fight the other demon - but it was to no avail.

Rin's eyes widened as she watched and she whispered in realization, "He intends to possess Lord Inuyasha the way he did Kohaku!"

She gasped as Inuyasha's body trembled one last time before he slumped forward - only to grin maniacally.

"Hm… this half-demon will serve well enough to challenge Sesshomaru." Magatsuhi chucked, speaking through Inuyasha's lips.

Inuyasha's head lifted and Magatsuhi evilly smiled at Rin.

"And what more would anger Sesshomaru than if Inuyasha were to kill you, his precious human child!"

Rin didn't even have time to react as Inuyasha's body leapt at her once again. Except this time, she knew he wouldn't miss her. Rin slammed her eyes shut, desperately crying out in her mind-

"Yuki! Lord Sesshomaru!"

"RIN!"

Yuki pushed the child down, tumbling out of the way just in time before Inuyasha's claws came smashing down right where Rin had been moments before. Yuki quickly righted herself as well, crouching low in front of Rin as she faced her 'brother'.

"Yuki!" Rin gasped, her relief and unwavering trust ringing in that one word.

"Rin, stay back!" Yuki ordered, just as Inuyasha chuckled darkly once again.

"Well, well, well… To think you would arrive first."

"Magatsuhi. "Yuki scowled, recognizing the strange pitch and manner of speaking that was foreign to her brother's voice. "Release Inuyasha."

"I don't think I want to." Magatsuhi smiled back. "It's far too much fun to watch you struggle. And I can't wait to see the look on Sesshomaru's face when he realizes it was this half-demon who killed you and the little girl."

"Keep dreaming." Yuki spat viciously.

But her body was betraying her confident words; Yuki could feel the tiny tremor in her hands and knew Magatsuhi could see it too. The miasma was really kicking in and the adrenaline wasn't helping things in the slightest.

'Not good.' Yuki grimaced, feeling her heart give a heavy thump. Her own demonic energy was threatening to swell against the new and powerful foe that was her foster brother and the miasma was feeding her darkness, making it harder for her to fight. 'If this becomes a fight… I...'

"Rin, run."

The child stared at Yuki in shocked confusion.

"Yuki?"

"Run and don't look back!"

Yuki had barely got the words out before Inuyasha was attacking her once again. Yuki quickly pulled her twin swords, blocking Inuyasha's claws - but she almost winced as she felt another loud thump in her chest as her body absorbed the demonic energy from the fang imbedded in her swords.

"Hahaha! You're not even making this challenging!"

Yuki snarled when Inuyasha's hand struck out suddenly, punching aside her sword before his claws ripped into her shoulder. Only a last-minute jerk of her body kept Yuki from losing her arm but she was still left with a fairly deep wound in her arm.

'Damn… the miasma's slowing my senses.' Yuki grit her teeth before bring them savagely as Inuyasha charged her again.

'Magatsuhi's doing this on purpose - he's not trying to kill me like he was trying to kill Rin. He's baiting me… and it's working.'

Yuki leapt up and away as Inuyasha pounded his fist into the ground where Yuki had been a second earlier. She used the moment to flip around before launching herself at Inuyasha and kicking him hard in the chest. The half-demon went flying back while Yuki landed in a crouch, one hand clutching her heart despite herself as she gasped against the demonic aura threatening to pull her under.

"Yuki!" Rin cried in concern before movement further down the path caught her eye. She looked over and perked up immediately.

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

Yuki glanced back as well at Rin's relieved shout to see that Sesshomaru was, indeed, flying toward them at an impossible speed, his face a mask of black fury. But even that was a welcome sight to her and Yuki could feel the tension in her body unwinding just slightly at the sight of the demon she loved with all her heart.

"Sess-!" Yuki began, relief building in her; but it was short-lasted.

The ground suddenly opened up beneath her and Rin, and the child cried out at the same time Yuki yelped.

"Yuki! Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin cried in fear as she was sucked into Naraku's body once again.

Sesshomaru shot forward, pushing himself to his limit and dropping Kagome in his haste, while Yuki reached for Rin in alarm.

"Rin!" Yuki cried, but it was already too late. Rin was gone, taken to who knew where, and Yuki herself was also sinking in quickly.

"Yuki!" Sesshomaru shouted sharply, and Yuki managed to turn her head to meet his gaze just before she was sucked under, disappearing right in front of Seshsomaru's eyes.

And then a foot appeared right over the spot where Yuki had been taken away from Sesshomaru once again.

Sesshomaru stopped in his tracks, his eyes for once no longer cold but blazing with anger as he stared right into the face of his younger brother and saw Magatsuhi shining out of the scarlet depths of Inuyasha's eyes. The spirit demon laughed under his breath in genuine delight before Inuyasha drew his Tetsusaiga, holding the fang before him and pointing it directly at Sesshomaru.

The dog demon's expression only darkened further.

"Magatsuhi," Sesshomaru said with contempt. "You have chosen the wrong person to possess."

Sesshomaru drew his sword and, his face twisted with fury, he spat, "I shall cut you down along with Inuyasha!"


"Sesshomaru!" Yuki shouted, slamming her fists in vain against the wall of flesh that had blocked her off from the demon lord.

It was useless, she couldn't smell him anymore and she knew that - despite how short the fall had felt - she was likely in a completely different part of Naraku, away from Sesshomaru and Inuaysha.

"Dammit!" She growled, kicking Naraku just to feel the tiniest twinge of satisfaction. "What are you intending to do with me, Naraku?"

A dark chuckle sounded around her, echoing into the darkness and making Yuki scowl even deeper.

"Come out, you coward!" Yuki yelled, in no mood for any more games from the demon she despised.

"Such a temper! Sesshomaru must surely have a wild taste."

Yuki let out her snarl, turning to face the familiar voice with hatred burning in her ice-blue eyes.

"Byakuya." She spat.

The incarnation simply smiled back at her.

"Alone again at last, my dear Yuki."

*A/N Song of the day: Madder Sky from Code Geass. This is the link: /t2tGEiYU9KU