Chapter 9

It had been days since he had last been in that room in that tall keep tower. Since he'd reclined in his window seat overlooking the capitol and listening to the mutterings and pacing of the miko woman in his custody. If he was honest with himself, it'd felt like days since he'd been able to have a clear, true view of the sky above him or the forest around him. This damnedable cart was driving him near to madness.

"Did you doze off again? I certainly hope you haven't dozed off again."

Not to mention the company.

InuYasha flicked a furry ear toward his cart companion, head tilting just enough to regard him from the corners of his eyes. Miroku, sitting cross legged on the other side of the cart was looking back at him. He was cleaning under his nails lazily with the horn of a bull figurine that was hanging from one of the window tapestry tassels and looking perhaps a little more agitated than normal. Of course, the hanyou mused, how could one look a peace and relaxed when they were a single human in the epicenter of a youkai command moving to the fronts. He was hardly stuck in that box for lack of better options to be elsewhere.

"Why?" the hanyou asked lazily, "Did you suddenly decide you actually needed my half of the conversation? You seemed to be doing fine on your own, blathering as you have." Miroku's eyes narrowed a little though InuYasha only met with a fanged, nearly predatory grin. His mind had, yet again, wandered off to thoughts of his prisoner. Despite the distance she lurked in the corners of his mind with her shivs and spirited remarks making it near impossible to give the monk his full attention. The priestess was an enigma. Always threatening some sort of vengeance and justice for her peoples hurts then giving him one of those looks bordering on pity moments later. She was a challenge. Uncomfortable to deal with. Those familiar eyes and familiar looks with such a different and yet similar personality…

The staff jingled as Miroku tapped him on the head roughly three times, causing InuYasha to flinch away from the weapon and ultimately snatch it up with his own grip. When he yanked the staff away from the human he snarled, but the monk simply supplied "You jab at me and then doze off again immediately afterwards. I know you need your brooding time but at least try to focus some." The rebuke was not one he hadn't heard before and he couldn't help but roll his eyes to it. Like some teacher trying to strike a child's knuckles to urge them to listen.

"What, then?" InuYasha spat, thrusting the stave across the distance between them for the monk to catch it with one hand and settle it back across his lap. "Why can't you just sleep?"

"Because I've already slept. I slept last night, I slept a few hours ago, and I'll sleep after the meeting. Do you honestly think I'm just going to sleep for a week straight and not bother you or anyone else? I'm a human, General, not a cat." Well, damn. Now the human was annoyed. Just as he was considering and preparing a snarky retort the monk continued, "Is that how you've not killed each other? She sleeps like she's just some house cat and you're left to brood and grumble on your own?"

"It is of no concern of yours."The general snapped irritably, his patience in no shape to be tested. Miroku didn't seem to be inclined to avoid commenting on the situation the hanyou found himself in. There was certainly no lacking in jovial or pointed remarks about the feistiness of the priestess in contrast to what he had seen in ceremonies in her homelands, or how the hanyou had not yet completely isolated her off into some closet and out of his way. This time, unfortunately, the biting tone of his voice was not enough to turn Miroku from the subject.

Miroku gave him an incredulous look, "Don't be stupid. All joking aside, you must know the position not just you are in. What happens in that castle, with that woman, can turn the tides of countries." Both the bull nail cleaning tool and his cleaned hands were settled across his staff now. He was focused. "This situation is dire and will only grow to be more so. Color me surprised to find that the treasured High Priestess of the Fallen Mother was sitting and playing at laundry maid for the Wild Dog of the North."

"Would you rather she be in chains? Linked up at the foot of my bed in rags and abused? At least she's useful." The hanyou bit off his return, shifting his weight uncomfortably and feeling the presence of the mask hanging from his belt grow heavy. Absently he reached for it. The silk ran over the hills and valleys of the snarling maw, shapes memorized over the years by his fingers. Miroku simply stared. Expectant.

"I'm not stupid. I know the gravity of things. I'm not going to give my brother what he wants; I refuse to act as kicked as he thinks I am by the task he's given me." Before Miroku could reply he felt his own face withdraw a slight wince.

"It's not becoming. For either of you. I know I appreciate the steps you took to keep her from being ripped to pieces but I think this all is a bit… too unorthodox." The gloved hand lifted to cradle under the human's scruffy chin. As the monk reclined a bit further into his chair the hanyou drew the silk from the helm and looked down into the empty eyes of the snarling beast that looked back up at him. "Even if he's aiming to shame you, wouldn't keeping her under thumb be more important? You're hardly ever in the castle anymore and she's clearly been shown to have free reign. Which, by the way, is incredibly stupid on your part." A hand lifted to demand silence from the bristling dog across from him, "What if a soldier comes home and sees her? It would take one swipe and we've lost another high priestess and you've all but lost your jewel until the next reincarnation pops up. Who knows how long that would be. How long do hanyou's live, by the way? You may be dead by then."

"They won't." was InuYasha's dry reply, "I don't think a single youkai doesn't know what and who she is and that the consequences of touching her." Sighing he set the mask aside, letting it settle into the bed of fur that was it's crown. "If anything that castle is the safest place she could be, so long as Sesshoumaru thinks it's wise to keep her there."

A gloved hand ran through Miroku's soft black hair while a sigh escaped him. The sounds one would expect a parent to make of a disappointing child. "It's bizarre."

"You're telling me."

"How little you're taking this seriously, I mean." The monk added curtly. The general bristled once again, a temper on the verge and the human decided to change his tactic. "I know it's not ideal… but I just don't understand the logic."

"I was just as surprised when it happened." replied the general honestly, "Like I said, it was intended to shame but it still doesn't hold much water. I can't begrudge her who she is, she's just another priestess as any other." His shoulder rested against the side of the carriage, jaw settling into his palm as he peered out into the forest what he could glimpse as the curtain swayed back and forth. "I've killed millions of her people, I've been doing this job since before her parents even knew of one another. It is the life we both were crafted for; I want to destroy the wielder of the weapon, not the blade itself. Not right now. She's annoying. A dangerous nuisance and a badge of shame but that's about it when she's in that castle."

"How very philosophical of you."

Amber eyes looked back to the incredulous man across from him, "I think she realizes the same. She postures and snorts but she does a lot of asking and looking. A human ball of rage but open to the experience of the moment." He snorted, shrugging, "Though probably just open to find a weak spot, but it's not like she can do anything about it. She lived loathing me, I've lived loathing the idea of her people. We're different."

"You can't loath humans that much." The monk slipped toward the opposite side of the carriage that InuYasha was looking out from, peering out of the other window to the hint of a sturdy structure through the thick trees. "You wouldn't be bothering with me or these alliances I drag you into."

"Calling the alliances is giving them too much credit, don't you think?" InuYasha watched him for a moment before his attention trailed down to the mask abandoned on the cushion beside him pensively. Until ceremonially required, he would have to wear the thing once outside of the cart and his entire body was already beginning to ache from the idea of it.

"Whatever you want to call it, the deal works. Or did, until you went and pissed them off." Before InuYasha could deny the accusation the cart came to a rolling stop and the telltale clunk of the break being put in place sounded. After a short adjustment of his clothing, Miroku opened up the door and proceeded to slip out and turn to face the hanyou. "I'm going to go make sure everything is ready. You will be alright?"

InuYasha glowered at the human, but those violet eyes were knowing. They had been 'friends' for over a decade now. If he hadn't been told outright, the evidence was clear enough what such encounters did to the usually punchy hanyou after a stint with the helm between them. It was a rough ride. "Get to work." Was all that was said and the door was closed.

Alone in the silent cart the man was left sitting to stew in his thoughts. No more rocking, or creaking of wood. Everything was still and unnervingly quiet. Somehow, in these moments before he would put on the thing, everything slowed down and his skin began to crawl. Like that sensation before you stepped onto a battlefield you were unsure you were going to win, or when you're about to eat something you're not sure will turn your guts to water for the next week. He'd done it a million times before now. It was all necessary for the greater good of the kingdom and to be something the hanyou of the kingdom can aspire to.

As the silken ties that held the bag over the mask were drawn loose and he withdrew the deceptively light wood from its case he dwelled on that thought. For the hanyou. For all of them. This thing that gave him the power of a full fledged demon able to rend through regiments of their enemies was something to aspire to. A wholeness that was denied to them at conception. What they should all be fighting for and what he knew he must sacrifice for; the benefit of them all. That they could crawl from the mud and muck of their pathetic existence and learn to be greater than they are. Be one with their brethren. This was all part of his duty to his King. Something a priestess could never understand.

The ties were loosened on the mask and he flipped forward the thick white fur that he could slip the mask onto the top of his head and begin to secure it. Ears slipped through their designated holes so he could still hear clearly, the lines were tightened now and all that was left to do was pull it down and over himself. He shifted forward and onto the edge of his seat, making sure tetsusaiga was in its proper place, and his armor and clothing were immaculate. A quick check in the narrow mirror beside him assured him that his markings were all painted on accurately. There was nothing left to do. It was time to go. Thick claws scraped over the smooth wooden surface, ears twitching to the sound of the scrape. He was stalling.

"K'eh." he scoffed at his own weakness and he yanked the mask down over his face, quickly securing the last tie before the numbness set in. There was always that initial shudder, goose pimples prickling all along his flesh from the back of his neck down to the tips of his toes before the fire set in. A searing heat erupted in his chest, clenching violently around his heart and spreading in a pulsing wave throughout his body. InuYasha gripped into the edge of the bench, steadying himself as he waited for the initial influx of power to subside, nausea crashing in waves against his consciousness. It was always one thing to put the mask on right before the charge; the thrill of the battlefront and the anxiety of the oncoming fight were like feeders to the demon that lurked just under the surface. It was moments like these, however, where it was all for show. Where it was a matter of principle to show the strength of the king in politics, that it was obscenely difficult. Painful and unapologetic. Moreso with the months gap between the last time he'd worn it.

The hanyou released a sharp gasp and brought his hand up to cover his mouth under the snout of the mask, fighting back a wretch. Where the silence had been deafening before he could now hear each breath of the thousands around him. Every time they shifted their weight, every cough, every beat of a pulse he could swear he could hear it all as it came flooding unabated into his ears. The scents flooded his senses only adding to the vertigo and nausea. The three gentle knocks on the carriage door were like blows to the head. Miroku's voice, he knew, was barely a whisper for anyone who would have been directly in front of him without the barrier of a door, but it was loud and clear for InuYasha.

"They're ready. Let's go."

The flood of light gave him the short moments he needed to adjust to the sudden bombardment. His eyes pounded, sinuses driving cracks into his skull that he had forgotten existed. He relied on following the shadow that he knew was the monk, counting the seconds before he emerged into the open air. His knees buckled, aching from being confined and tingling with the effect of the carved wood on his face; how he now wished they had been able to exit without the fanfare. The moment he was visible his back straightened and his shoulders squared. His head was held high, though only so much as to play off of the carved snarl that the mask gave to him. Each step, despite the raking of his own demonic energies claws through his innards, was taken with collected stride, everything absolutely dripping with decorum and the threat of violence if crossed.

Through the haze of the pulse in his vision he could see the alley created for him leading to the main gates of the town. Demons of all shapes and sizes lined his way to the very last steps where there finally were humans there to greet him with polearms in hand. Their armor was clearly made of the scales and bones of demons who were foolish enough to attack them in the past, or wander too close to their villages at night. Though the sight for a less experienced, or less tried demon might be daunting or even horrific the hanyou was far too familiar with it to be phased. Their masks obscured the majority of their faces, which was the only comfort he could find in the entire ordeal. It was bad enough to be so vulnerable without the visible hatred so similar to the evidence within the castle walls he just came from.

Weak. All of them. Weak.

He grit his teeth. Grinding them against each other he remained silent as Miroku made their introductions. "The General InuYasha of the Lord King's army, protector of the Kingdom of Demons and the Wild Dog of the North, is here to treat with your clan leader. He would seek to observe the customs and protocols of the long standing treaty between the Taijia and the Demons in the hopes of maintaining the current peace and understanding. That you both may continue to prosper in peace." with those words he bowed before the guards, who nodded their heads respectfully in turn. It was all so tedious. It was far too hot in the open air to be tolerating these formalities.

Now bow your head, you idiot.

He bowed his head, stopping at the shoulder as to not show any more reverence for the soldiers than they required. If they even required that much from him.

Lowly mortals.

As the gates opened and the taijia guards turned, two of his own guards came out of formation to stand at his shoulders at least a pace behind. Following behind Miroku he focused his attention on the back of his head and allowed his nose and ears to do what observing he was left to. The scents of the settlement never changed. Blood. Smoke. Wood. Bread and miscellaneous cooking. One would think the stench of his own kin's decaying corpses would litter the town, but the taijia had always been exceptionally proficient. Merely the grizzly reminders of their trade were evident in bones, claws and flesh cleaned, drying and awaiting their final preparation into weapons, armors, and whatever else they utilized them for. Borrowing the strength of his people to supplement their own weak bodies.

Humans.

The tip of his tongue ran over his lips to wet them. His breathing was quiet enough to be inaudible to anyone but him but it was loud under the wooden shell. Stifling.

Focus. Focus. Focus, will have to get back in step.

He reminded himself as he stepped up and into the large building in the center of the village at the foot of a watch tower. As he stepped beyond the sliding doors and off of the porch. Perhaps it was because they were such a warrior's society that they didn't bother with the decadence that his elder brother encouraged. There was no tradition engrained in them to show off their power or wealth. It was all practicality. The interior garden they followed the parameter around wasn't lush or large, but basic and clean. Practical and quiet. Peaceful. One might even have not noticed the guards standing mere feet from each other lining the doorways and walls on the other side of the more traditional human building. Ready for anything as the entourage of the Lord King of the demons came to wait before the final doorway leading to the viewing room.

It would be so easy, though.

Golden eyes distracted away from the guards and their surroundings to plant firmly back to the back of the monk's head. He couldn't let his mind unfocus from the task at hand. It was hard enough to keep himself level when he wore the mask, the temptation of how he might burn this town to the ground was too much. He could already feel his fingertips tingling, the demonic energy burning at his nail beds.

Destroy them; gut the old man on the way to the bitch.

His tongue, again, skated over his lips - a hint of blood teasing at his skin as he had been using his own fang to try to cut through it enough to ground him. The pain was almost nonexistent. The scent was familiar, though, and did the trick to keep a growl from escalating out of his throat. It did little for his racing mind.

Hit her at the throat before she can even call out. The boy would be simple. Down before these guards would even know what happened.

He could feel his eyelids straining against his brows, eyes themselves burning as he forced himself to blink.

The boy isn't even blooded.

Weak. Pathetic. All of them.

"General." his attention snapped back to the monk who stood on the elevated floor in front of him, staff held to his side. It was apparent he had been calling to him a few times now, the stare levied on him one of mild concern and definite annoyance. He was given the time to collect himself before the monk continued with the ceremony. "Do you invite the Taijia to treat with you?"

"Yes." he replied, firmly and loudly; thanking the crane that they had not given him a great deal of dialogue. Even the short response sounded like a feral growl amplified by the long snout of the mask. Miroku nodded, stepping to the center of the floor and to the side to stamp his staff twice onto the mats; the charms hanging from the weapon releasing a roar of jingling. The room he found himself in was sizable - clearly large enough to house many leaders for formal meetings and well tidied. Weapons racks lined the walls, banners of clans within the Taijia community hung between them denoting their specialties and history. Over the wide doorway directly across from them hung a massive boomerang, decorated with tassels on either side and covered in leathery straps and hooks. This particular weapon was clearly retired and decorative - painted with a mural of a battle between the taijia and demons. Something that always seemed out of place in peace talks.

Doors slid open across from him revealing the familiar trio. A man, large and broad of shoulder stepped forward dressed formally in dark blues, blacks and purples. Sunken cheeks and eyes over the same mask the others wore with a heaviness to his posture that hadn't been there before. Frail and disposable. He smelled of sickness despite the obvious measures to hide it through smokes or perfumes. To his left shoulder was his youngest, a much more healthy male. Shorter, though, and, as suspected, clearly unblooded. He did not wear the same style of ceremonial dress of his family who had slain their first. InuYasha bit back a growl to how pleased and at ease he appeared. Then there was the woman. She was dressed as most human women, pale blue skirt over her violet and pink streaked kimono but that was where the similarities ended. Like her father and brother her hands and arms exposed the armor that protected them all under their clothing. A jagged scar crawled out from under the protection of her mask. It was hard to focus on all of the finer details of her person when he focused on her eyes. Dark, violent, and cold. She wanted to see his body strung up and piked on their proud gates. As if those gates would protect them. As if these people could protect them. Not from him. Not from his claws. He'd rip them open himself and let their guts steam in the dirt at his feet.

That bitch. That bitch would be first. She'd take over. He licked his lips again, drawing his tongue roughly over his fangs to try to coax himself to attempt again to settle himself through pain, Prove the threat she hates so much is still fresh. Despite himself his eyes narrowed, the bloodshot red beginning to creep into the pure white, That I am stronger. Will not be underestimated. I am a demon.

Miroku lifted the staff up and on reflex all four of them, Taijia and hanyou alike, drew their weapons from their belts, still sheathed, and held them forward in practiced synchrony. Easing down they placed them on the mat before them. Next came their masks. Each person drew theirs clear of their heads and tucked them respectfully under their arm. The hanyou visibly eased in the shoulders though the savagery of his stare was not diminished. The woman's glower turned more severe. Did she snarl at him?

As Miroku lowered the staff the four stepped forward and onto the mats of their respective sides, stepping over and in front of their weapons and eased down to sit. The whole ceremony was short and sweet, but the trust it spoke to them all was a loud one. The taijia knew they were putting themselves at more risk than he was on the surface; a youkai or even a hanyou like himself were never truly disarmed but, then again… Never was a taijia. They had more pockets on their person than a sponge had holes. Each one filled with something more deadly than the last and this thought had him all the more thankful the treaty could be arranged. Long were the years where they were dealing with both the humans of the south and these taijia bastards. In a fair fight it'd be brutal.

His body ached now, exhausted from just that short time under the mask. InuYasha resisted rubbing his palms over his aching muscles to ease out the knots while Miroku began announcing just why they were there. "The Lord King Sesshoumaru has reason to believe that the Taijia have begun hunting the youkai who travel near their borders. This would be in breach of the treaty which stated clearly that the only youkai who were to fall to your blades would be those foolish enough to attack you or those not under the Lord King's banner. General InuYasha," the monk motioned to him with his staff, his eyes flitting from Miroku to the Taijia across from him, "Is here to hear the reason for such transgressions against his people."

InuYasha nodded accordingly, a low grunt sounding from the back of his throat in affirmation as the Taijia trio remained still. "We've reports that groups of our demons have not been returning home. Many have not even been making it to their checkpoints between here and the keep. This all, despite the fact that we have been making sure that our demons are following the strict routes that had been outlined at the beginning of this cease fire. How do you account for our losses?"

The woman seemed to tense, he could smell the slight hitch in her scent as her temper began to flare though otherwise she remained still. The boy simply looked perplexed. Their leader simply shook his head. "We have been following our part of the bargain, General. None of my people have been going anywhere near your trails. We are still maintaining the same routes as we always have. What evidence do you have that it is Taijia who are committing these crimes?"

As if he had been waiting for the moment of the question, InuYasha lifted a hand to tuck just under the chest guard of his armor. A small, silk wrapped parcel was removed and set down before him. He unwrapped it carefully to expose, laying on the soft silvery material, a single broken spearhead crafted with a hardened bone who's rising ridges were sharpened to points. The shaft was broken off, but the telltale scrap of deep green material often used to mark the taijia weaponry was evident and stained with rust toned dry blood. "It is small." The hanyou began, setting the item on its bed of silk all the closer before he eased back to sit again, hands folded on the backs of his knees. "But it is one of many that was found. If you need us to bring back all of your leavings on what corpses we've been able to find I am sure we could do so."

There was no snarl in his voice. No evident malice. Yet still there was threat there in the calm, diplomatic words. Sure, they would bring them back - carried amidst an army of demons ready to demolish what was left of their already weakened way of life. If there was any positives he could say he gained from his brother, it was the hard won lesson that quietly spoken threats often cut the deepest.

"That cannot be ours." the woman spoke up with firm conviction. "My father speaks truth, and I can show you our patrol logs. We met just a fortnight ago with the other village leaders of our people and we have all attested we are cooperating despite your Kings savagery that persists in the so-"

"Sango." her father hissed, turning his head just enough to get a look at the woman. She tightened her grip on the backs of her knees. InuYasha could tell her knuckles were likely white with the tension, but he wasn't surprised. She was never fond of his ilk.

"Savagery?" he inquired smoothly, doing his best impression of Sesshoumaru in the subtle tilt of his lips upwards and incline of his brow. "We commit war in the south. We are fighting for what is ours by rights, and it is through our cooperation that the humans do not commit their own war on you as well."

The woman snorted, the short tufts of hair that framed her face snapping back and forth as she shook her head. The firelight made that scar all the more gruesome on what he could see of her scowling face. "They threaten war with us now, hanyou. They believe us your allies, not simply tolerant of your movements."

"And that is not all the more reason to stay out of it? It is clear they are unreasonable. You label us the savages, but we have ceased our assaults on you and yours; they threaten you now because you are not chasing us down through the forest for crimes we have ceased committing."

"InuYasha." Miroku sounded in warning, though Sango was already leaning forward again.

"They threaten us because instead of protecting them from demons like we are meant to be doing, we are standing by and letting you run free to slaughter them over some perceived slight!"

"Per-Perceived slight!?" InuYasha barked, composure cracking as he bore his fangs, golden eyes flashing angrily to the woman. If the both of them had been dogs their hackles would be good and raised though one of them already was growling.

"Enough! Both of you!" the man barked, pushing himself to his feet and silencing both the Hanyou and his daughter. "We are to be civil, not launching accusations against one another." though he was tempted to glower to the man across from them his deep chestnut eyes bore into his daughter who had averted her gaze as soon as she had noticed he was speaking to her.

InuYasha watched as the man turned his attention back to him, Sango's head remaining bowed in subjugation. "We recognize that you found some of our weaponry on your recovered kin. I can assure you, this is not an organized attack on our part and we will investigate this issue." Sango's head shot up, mouth opening though her father appeared to know it was coming as a hand came out to bid her to silence. "That is all that I can promise at this time, General."

The room was silent for a tense moment. Miroku's eyes slid from the man to InuYasha slowly, "What say you to Chief Takeshi's word?" Golden eyes flickered between the chief to the monk before he set his jaw tightly. Pushing himself to his feet the soft leather shoes tapped on the polished wood as he stepped back and closer to his heirloom sword. He didn't want to fight with them, not right now and not over this. The woman was always short tempered, but she rarely spoke out of turn against her fathers wishes; and the acceptance of the issue at hand and declaration to investigate… well, he had yet to be betrayed by the chief of the Taijia and they'd been working together on this tight rope of an allegiance for decades now. He owed him some trust.

InuYasha gave a firm nod, bringing a hand up to press to the armor that covered his chest with the rattle of shell and plate as well as the subtle tink sounds his claws made against the smooth surface. "We of the Demon Kingdom accept this at your word. We will host our own investigation into the disturbances and determine whether or not there was any wrongdoing on our part as well." He knew that to be a lie, he had been told as much, but what better way than driving home the agreement than to promise to reciprocate the time and energy.

The strategy appeared to work as Takeshi nodded and stepped back and off of the mats as well, mirroring the motion and offering a short and shallow bow that the hanyou mirrored in time. Takeshi's children lagged behind, Sango more hesitant than her brother to stand with those dark eyes boring into him. He could feel their piercing stare, and was certain there was even a heat as if the fire he was sure she was imagining him drenched in was being manifest. For a split second the general began racing through his knowledge of the taijia to be sure they didn't host any spiritual power of their own that he should be worried about. Though he came up lacking, and was certain it was just the sheer intensity of the woman, he still felt that uncomfortable shudder of threat and malice crawl under the skin. Like how the priestess could once cause his muscles to tighten and teeth to grit in anticipation of a fight with just one severe look or motion; only that he knew the priestess would be more of a threat to his mortality if given the weapon of her magic back. Sango was a close second.

Gods save him if they ever teamed up against him.

"General, as is customary we offer our village to you and your entourage for the evening and only the evening so long as you are not traveling to war." Takeshi stated, pulling InuYasha from the memory of a particularly heinous glower the priestess had given him before he had departed. Miroku, who was now standing as well, answered for him.

"Unfortunately, sir, the General is on his way to rejoin the fronts and shall not be able to stay as per your allegiance agreement. If what was said is true, now more than ever we want as little suggestion of your aid of their cause as ever to spur on the southern kingdom to action." Takeshi nodded with a subtle tightening of his lips, though it again was Sango who spoke up.

"Stopping here on your way to the fronts regardless puts our people at risk. Stopping here at any time does."

"That's the price of war. My time is very limited and I can't be running about making meetings when I'm needed between court and war. It's too risky to send someone else instead because I don't trust them to handle the negotiations." InuYasha injected with a course edge to his voice. This woman was beginning to grate on him. She had never made it any form of mystery how she felt about this entire arrangement, the entire war, but he suspected as she aged and grew closer to taking her fathers place there was less and less hesitance to speak her mind. I should be grateful, he thought, She's warning me of what I'm going to have to deal with the moment the old man bites it. I can at least brace myself for a revolt.

"Sango." Miroku cooed wistfully, moving to approach the woman and take up her hand. "I promise to you I would do nothing to call the honor of your people or yourself into question. I will work tirelessly day and night to rid the winds of whispers of any foul words against the Taijia people." Despite the dramatics of his declaration and the feigned sincerity there was no swooning woman in the other side of that arm. An impatient stare was settled upon him though significantly more tolerant than any look the hanyou had received.

"Lord Monk, I am certain that you are going to do all that you can. I assume that is your way of telling us that you will, again, be accepting the invitation in his stead?"

"I couldn't possibly accept an invitation to the chiefs home-" Miroku began, humble despite the mischievous smile that crossed his features, though his face fell as Sango cut him off.

"Oh, do not worry, Lord Monk. As a man of the cloth we know it is quite difficult in our type of village to find quiet time away without the distractions of our work and our women. So we have built for you a small hut of your very own, given how often you come to visit us. For our comfort, of course."

Miroku hung his head a slight bit, roundly defeated though not so much that he was disrespectful in his disappointment. "O-of course, Lady Sango." With his words she promptly slipped her hand from his grip and looked to her father who was giving her a rather warm, appreciative smile.

When attention returned to him InuYasha nodded. The two men, and the Taijia children, reached for their weapons and replaced them to their rightful positions on their person. It was he who spoke up, hands already gripping the mask between them and before himself. "Our accord has been maintained, and we know our tasks. In one months time we will send word as to our findings and move on from there." The Taijia nodded.

"On this we agree." Was all that was said in return.

An elderly woman sat in her sequestered cave dwelling somewhere deep within the forests that lined the edge of the human and demon lands. Hovering over her bubbling pot, she watched the brew swirl as she stirred it carefully. The scents of her brew filled her crooked nostrils, and her unamused expression contorted. Reaching up she pulled a shaft of herbs from her dried collection, tossing them into the pot and grumbling something about slim pickings.

It was then that she heard the rustling of footsteps, head turning to look over her hunched shoulder to a shadow that darkened the reeds that comprised her makeshift doorway. It was a spindly collection of fingers that pulled them aside, the fur cloaks drawing over the dusty floor. This was not an unfamiliar sight.

"Unless you have something of interest to me aside from a few scant dolls of deception I want no more of your business." The crone rasped, turning back to her pot.

"Nothing that you have made for me has gone to waste." The smooth, masculine voice cooed, "But I should like you to prepare the clay for my next project, I think you would find the challenge invigorating." Fanged teeth flashed from under his pale lips and her interest seemed to increase. From the folds of his attire he withdrew a small pouch that fit into the palm of his hand, offering it to her.

She hesitated a moment, looking between the object and the bearer before she'd snatch it from his hand with a quick swipe of her gnarled hand. Tugging free the ties she sniffed the contents, slipping her fingers into it to inspect it further. "It's still moist and soft… that place is at least a weeks travel by foot from here. And so guarded-"

"Oh, do not ask any questions. Simply prepare." He turner to move toward the door again, pushing the reeds aside, "I shall have your final components before the weeks end."