A couple days later...

A southwesterly wind blew past the resting priestess, drawing her attention to the ominous message it whispered into her ear. She stood, walking in the direction it lead, her bow resting readily against her side, and made her way down the hill toward a stream glistening in the early morning sun.

Something gray rustled over the grass at her feet and Kikyo reached down to pick up a feather - a starling feather by the look of it. Several similar feathers were also scattered along the base of the hill. Fingers tightening slightly on her bow, the miko continued along, following the growing collection of feathers strewn across the ground.

At last she came upon a lifeless form clad in dark armor and reclining against a large river stone. Kikyo knelt quietly over the pallid remains of a demon - seemingly of some status. Judging by the stunned expression still frozen on his features, he'd died suddenly and violently, though no wounds were readily visible on him.

The priestess stared deep into the sightless scarlet eyes attempting to understand what he'd experienced in his last moments as well as what led up to his ultimate demise. Silently, she breathed a prayer and placed her blessing over the corpse, watching as the dead demon lord suddenly dissipated before her eyes. The chirping of many starlings filled the air all at once, seeing off the departed.

Satisfied his soul was now at rest, Kikyo gazed at the spot he'd occupied moments before, lost in contemplation, when her reverie was interrupted by a low chuckle from above. Kikyo glared sharply toward the hillside.

Resting indolently in a large pine sprouting from the steep slope, sat a familiar baboon-pelted figure. "How pathetic," he lamented with a slow shake of his head.

"Naraku. What's the meaning of your presence here," she demanded as she rose coolly to her feet.

"You should realize that I had nothing to do with this," the creature admonished, "I have much better taste in demons than that."

"Am I to take it that you know who did," she quipped.

The baboon chortled once again. "Ah, Kikyo, we both know the answer to that. But more importantly, you should know that your beloved Inuyasha is walking right into a trap; one that he may very well not make it out of."

"And what do you have to do with this cult and its leader," the priestess prodded.

"Nothing at all," she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"You don't believe me," he pressed, registering her skepticism, "It's true, I have given them my blessing to do as they please without any interference from me as long as they likewise respect my privacy. After all, what can their success mean except good things for me also?"

"I see," she replied with distaste, turning to leave him.

"Kikyo," the spider called tauntingly after her, "what will you do now? Will you warn Inuyasha? Will you rush to his aid?"

Despite her better judgement, she pivoted back around to face the miscreant, "Now it's you who asks pointless questions."

The palace...

Arriving bright and early, Wade slid the paper door open to find his limited time employer passed out at the table surrounded by sake bottles. Stepping carefully inside, the hired gun crossed the tatami until he loomed directly over the softly snoring, thirty-something-year-old man. He observed the aristocratic lush: slumped over, vulnerable, deceptively stupid-looking and inoffensive. Wade could tick off over a dozen ways to kill his boss in under ten seconds while he creepily watched him sleep. A great idea for a how-to book that people might read while they sat in the waiting room at the dentist's office began forming in his head, which he mentally filed away for later.

Dreams of becoming a thousandaire set aside for the moment, he turned his attention back to the business at hand. Threading his fingers through the haft of his trench knife, Wade now moved in closely until he was inches from the lord's exposed neck. Inhaling deeply, he slowly opened his mouth.

"Gewwwwd morning, Siiiiir!" he roared, savoring the shocked man's expression as he flung himself upright, bottles clattering together onto the tatami.

"Ahh," groaned the daimyo, sinking back to the floor while holding his head.

"It's time for me to give you my full account of last night's rounds," began the merc chipperly, "but maybe you'd prefer to do it over a huge stack of pancakes drenched in maple syrup? I brought a spatula and I can get right on that."

"Why don't you just take the morning off," grumbled the lord, shielding his eyes from the stabbing rays streaming directly into his face, "and shut the doors on your way out."

"You got it. Can I get you anything before I go? Maybe serenade you with something soothing from the Backstreet Boys..." before the other could respond, Wade plunged ahead.

"Yeeeeaahhhh...You are my fire. The one dee-siiiire. Buh-lieve when I say..."

"No, no, that's just awful! Please leave," moaned the other man, pointing emphatically toward the door.

Deadpool did so, humming happily to himself.

Duty-free and determined to deliver a quick update to his homies slumming it on the other side, he now cut through the expansive palace garden. While stone-hopping his way across the pond, he suddenly spotted something white shifting behind a large cherry tree. The mercenary paused, raising an eyebrow. He darted off in another direction, slinking through dense, well manicured flora until he came up behind an unknown woman lurking there.

Upon her sudden realization of his presence, the elegantly attired lady shrank back with a soft cry against the tree.

"Hello, is it me you're looking for?" Deadpool offered her a wide smirk.

"Please forgive me," cried the young woman, timidly raising a hand to hide her face, "I was only curious."

Wade expelled a brusque snort. "It doesn't pay to be curious about me, babe."

Slowly, she peeked out at him from around her kimono sleeve, "It's just that I've never seen a real ninja before..."

Deadpool frowned, wondering how he hadn't noticed her until now. Was she the daimyo's concubine? His interest immediately piqued.

"Heh, you're lucky you're still breathing, sugar-bob; most people who try sneaking up on me are dead before they hit the ground."

She cocked her head slightly to one side, "Excuse me, but are you humming something to yourself?"

"Yeah...I've got this damn Backstreet Boys song stuck in my head. Don't you hate when that happens?"

She moved in closer, staring intensely at him, "I would like very much to hear all about these boys from the backstreet that you speak of; but I would hate to hold you up from all the important things I'm sure you have to do..."

"Well, there's not too much to tell. I'm their leader and I rule them with an iron fist. That's basically all you need to know." He ran a hand 'casually' through his simulated bowl cut. "You should see me dance-fight."

The courtesan tittered daintily behind her sleeve.

Somewhere nearby...

"Good morning, Darling, your miso soup is almost ready!" She turned around from the stove beaming angelically.

Inhaling the wonderful aroma, he settled himself eagerly at the table, wondering what he'd ever done to deserves such a perfect life.

The food promptly served, his bride took the seat across from him. The happy couple shared a smile before digging into their breakfasts.

"Akane-san, this is so delicious," he considered this statement with a baffled pause, "surprisingly." He shook his head dismissively, refusing to further scrutinize such domestic bliss.

Akane paused, holding her bowl halfway to her lips. Her comely brown eyes gazed deeply into his. "Why you kinky little sex kitten," she suddenly chuckled in a guttural rasp.

P-chan jerked awake; his large eyes darting wildly around. Progressively, as the bizarre dream faded, reality dawned: he'd gotten hopelessly lost while patrolling the garden last night and now had no idea how to get back.

The sound of high-pitched feminine laughter from nearby startled the piglet who turned in the direction of a cluster of trees. There he saw Wilson and what appeared to be a courtesan standing close together among the branches. The mercenary seemed to be restrained in some way based on his rigid posture against one of the trunks, but P-chan could make out no visible bondage on him. The lady (whoever she was) moved freely around him, her hands roving over the frozen man's body. The pig felt a blush heat his face, but somehow things didn't seem quite as they appeared.

"Can I help you find anything," asked the 'ninja', watching her fingers graze his naval area.

Something on his belt clicked and immediately the image-inducer turned off, leaving the masked Deadpool in place of his ninja alter-ego. "No thank you. I think I've already found what I'm looking for," she replied.

"So what's this," the hit man managed a slight head-jerk to indicate his predicament, "No leather straps or thongs? You call yourself a dominatrix?"

"I call myself Keiko, and I'm a miko," she corrected with a smile, "but I also have another ability which you are about to see... my ninja from the future."

"I can't wait. Of course, since I'm from the future, I already know everything," countered her captive. "Take a look at this face; do I look worried? So do your worst: ravage me if you must."

"You know nothing," she replied serenely, removing a small blade from her sleeve, "Otherwise you'd know the Eternal One cannot be defeated."

"Do we really have to talk about him right now? It's kind of a mood-killer. Luckily I don't have to defeat him - just his derpy son," smirked Wilson.

The woman drew her palm across the knife, carving a deep gash. "First, though, you'll have to deal with me."

P-chan looked on in shock, as she lifted the lower part of Deadpool's mask up and, forcing his lips apart, dripped the blood from her fist into his upturned mouth.

The mercenary made gurgling noises as he tried to talk through the blood he was being force-fed, but it appeared he had no real strength to resist whatever spell she had on him.

"You work for me now," she cooed as gouts of blood continued to flow from her open wound into his gaping maw.

All at once, the dark priestess withdrew her bleeding hand and the merc's body relaxed somewhat, his head lolling forward. He continued muttering incoherently, even singing (the pig recognized the tune of a banal pop song) as she leaned in and whispered something into his ear.

Finally snapping out of his appalled stupor but without a clue as to what he was about to do next, P-chan charged maniacally at the woman.

The smug smile dropped from her face as the lady beheld a small squealing creature furiously pawing the edge of her fine silk garment. "Filthy little shoat," she raised her tanto to quickly dispose of him.

P-chan braced himself, but all at once she seemed to have another idea. Grabbing the pig by his yellow bandanna, she instead flung him, ass over snout, beyond the garden wall.

P-chan landed with an initial thud, bouncing several times as he rolled downhill, before finally coming to rest in a mud puddle. Wondering, with a pitiful grunt, what the hell had happened between now and the wonderful dream from earlier, he pulled himself out of the filth and shook off only to find himself surrounded on all sides by a cluster of kids rapidly crowding around him.

"Look-it the little piggy in the mud," cried a small girl, picking him up butt-first and clutching him up-side-down to her chest.

Still slick from the slimy puddle, the pig slipped straight out of her arms, landing on his head. A boy was quick to retrieve him by the back leg, "The palace musta threw out this runty one - so Imma take 'im home for my dinner!"

"Wait, let's cut him in half first," suggested another boy.

Having none of it, the small swine swung himself up, biting the boy's wrist. After being dropped like a hot rock, P-chan sped through the obstacle course of short, chubby legs, desperate to get away but completely clueless of the direction he was headed. The kids gave chase until he reached a thicket of dense shrubs where he managed to loose them for good.

Rooting his way blindly through brambles and other heavy ground cover for several minutes, the pig at last broke through to daylight and the blissful absence of screaming children right behind him. Exhaling in relief, but still aware that something had to be done quickly about Wilson's predicament, P-chan's tiny hooves tore up the ground to get back to the palace. He imagined he could remember the general direction even as he cursed his own puny, useless body to do anything.

With one final poorly-planned leap, P-chan suddenly felt air beneath him. He looked down to discover he'd jumped directly off the edge of a steep slope. He bounced and rolled, shrieking the entire way down, eyes squeezed shut as he prayed for another squishy mud puddle to greet him at the bottom.

Impact never came. P-chan instead felt himself inexplicably buoyed up into the air, a shadow simultaneously engulfed him. When he dared crack his eyes open a slit, it was only to discover himself captured within the cage of an enormous, loosely clasped talon. The pig's wail died in his throat, replaced with petrified silence in the presence of the largest, most hideous bird he'd ever seen.

It leered down at him with a mouthful of fangs; on top of its head was the head and torso of yet another horrifying monster. The humanoid attachment (it was female judging by the breasts) cackled gruesomely as it soared them even higher. P-chan saw the entire countryside spread below; he could see the palace and surrounding village growing farther away and many rocky ledges and crevasses covered in gnarled pines quickly approaching. He saw many similar monster birds flying around - a community of them. He immediately concluded he was about to become breakfast for a brood the demon's freakish chicks. The pig's panic rose.

An insane idea came to him in the midst of his growing despair. He didn't know if it would even be possible for him to accomplish as a pig, but as things were, he had nothing left to loose. Exhaling completely and going limp in the demon's claw, P-chan surrendered to his feelings of utter hopelessness.

In the nearby foothills...

The hanyou cut his eyes at the morose kitsune tagging along behind him, "Will you quit sighing, already?"

"I can't help it," exclaimed Shippo, throwing his hands dramatically into the air, "poor Kirara's wound is only getting worse! What if she isn't able to recover?"

"She'll recover, dummy," Inuyasha's gruff response lacked its usual bite, "she's a demon after all; it'll take more than a little flesh wound to finish her off."

"But that poison was bad! I know Kagome's worried too."

"Kagome's got it under control," the half-demon assured him, "now let's hurry up and bring back the water she asked for." He bent toward the stream, filling the canteen Kagome had supplied them with.

"Hey Inuyasha, look at that!" Shippo suddenly interjected.

"Eh?" The white-haired youth's head shot up in time to see a bright sphere of energy shooting straight into the air before immediately plummeting back down, hitting the earth with an audible thud.

Inuyasha reached for Tetsusaiga, snatching up Shippo with the other hand, "Come on, let's go find out where that thing landed and what it is!"

Following a short sprint, the two came upon a decent-sized crater in the middle of the rocky ground, in the center of it lay a stunned bird of paradise, legs straight in the air, groaning softly.

"What happened to it," breathed the kitsune from around Inuyasha's leg.

The only response from the other was a short scoff and Inuyasha marched, sword brandished, to the impact site. Shippo scurried quickly after him.

Inuyasha circled the deep indention, scanning the area for enemies. He then dropped into the depression and planted his foot squarely on the large ugly face of the bird demon, sneering down at it, "Where's the one that did this to you, ya bastard?"

"Ah!" Shippo spotted a pair of stubby animal legs jutting out from under the mass of feathers and gave them a yank. "Hey look, Inuyasha!"

The other boy looked up, mid-punch, from the ruffed-up demon bird, "Yeah, it's a scrawny pig, so what?"

"Don't you recognize him, idiot," shot back the fox, pointing at the yellow bandanna, "it's the same black pig Deadpool had with him!"

"What? You mean he still hasn't eaten that damn thing?"

"He's a pet, not a snack," Shippo rolled his eyes, hefting the semi-conscious piglet up for inspection.

Inuyasha sniffed the air apprehensively, "I don't smell Wade anywhere nearby - or anyone else for that matter." His hackles raised, remembering the surprise ambush from the other night, "Let's get back and check on the others first, then we can continue investigating what happened here."

000

Kagome's brows knit with concern as she carefully removed the soiled bandages from the small cat laying across Sango's lap. There was little improvement in two days; she could tell from Sango's crestfallen expression that the other thought likewise. Once again, she feared their enemy's advanced poisoning skills outpaced her own still burgeoning knowledge of antidotes. Kirara likely needed the aid of a more experienced priestess such as Kaede - or even Kikyo. The fifteen-year-old suppressed a sigh.

"Kagome...!"

Both girls looked up in mild alarm at the sound of Inuyasha's swift, slightly breathless arrival back at the small shelter where they'd spent the previous night. After exchanging questioning looks, the priestess stood, giving her friend what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Just put the salve on her wound and apply the new gauze - I'll be right back."

"Where's Miroku," demanded Inuyasha as Kagome emerged from the shack.

"He said he was just going to step away for a minute. Why - what's going on?"

"Just got a bad feeling, that's all," grumbled the demi-dog, "we saw something strange happen while we were getting water."

Kagome abruptly noticed Shippo and the little pig perched together on his shoulder. "Where did you find P-chan - did he come to deliver a message from Wade?"

"We have no idea," answered Shippo, "we found him crushed underneath a bird of paradise."

Upon beholding Kagome, the dazed pig suddenly sprang back to life. P-chan rolled off the half-demon's shoulder and onto the ground. Squealing plaintively, he ran straight past the girl to the kettle Kagome had warming over a small fire. He turned and stared back at the collected group, snorting insistently at them.

"I still don't know why Wade didn't just eaten him," Inuyasha shook his head.

Sparing him a dark look, Kagome bent down toward the tiny animal, "P-chan what are you trying to tell us?"

"What's going on out here," asked Sango, as she presently stepped out of the lean-to and eyed the unexpected piglet in surprise.

"Apparently Wade's snack has an important message for us," muttered Inuyasha.

Shippo slowly approached his fellow creature with a thoughtful frown, "I think I might know what he wants."

"Let me guess," snarked Inuyasha, "a cup of tea?"

"No. I think he's saying he wants us to splash him with the water in that kettle."

"Shippo, that's not nice," Kagome scolded him.

"I'm serious," insisted the kitsune, "that's what he's saying!"

The piglet began nodding rapidly in agreement.

"Shippo, since when are you able to understand pigs," Sango wanted to know.

The fox demon shook his head. "I have no idea; I've never tried to before."

"Well, it works for me," shrugged Inuyasha, grabbing the kettle off the fire and dumping it directly onto the pig.

The collective group jumped back in shock as P-chan's piercing squeal lowered in pitch to a human scream; his dark fuzzy body rapidly expanded, morphing into that of a naked young man writhing on the grass.

"What in the-" Inuyasha recoiled.

"You didn't have to pour the whole thing out on me," P-chan's scalded substitute shouted.

"Who the fuck are you," demanded the lunging hanyou, his clawed hands instantly around the stranger's throat.

"My...name's...Ryoga," gasped the boy, struggling against the grip on his jugular, "and I'm not...a pig...I'm...human!"

"Inuyasha, calm down," exclaimed Kagome, "at least give him a chance to explain!"

"Yeah, just 'cause he happens to be a human who turns into an goofy-looking pig, doesn't mean he isn't our ally," argued Shippo, "After all, I can change forms too."

Inuyasha let go abruptly, "Fine, go ahead and explain, then!"

"I will," promised the shape-shifting teenager, still gasping for breath. Glancing down and drawing his knees up to his chest self-consciously, he added, "but first, could I get something to wear?"

"Oh! Of course," Kagome scurried into the hut to retrieve her backpack, "I always try to bring a spare change of clothes."

Less than five minutes later, the boy, now clad in a ruffled, ill-fitting pair of yellow pajamas adorned with kittens and yarn balls, sighed quietly as he conceded that at least it wasn't a sailor-girl uniform.

"Alright, why were you disguised as a pig and what are you doing here now?" Inuyasha rounded on him once again.

"I wasn't 'disguised'," defended the boy irritably, "I got transformed when this old lady threw cold water on me..."

"What old lady," Shippo interrupted, "a witch?"

"No. Just a regular old lady watering her plants!"

"Why did that turn you into a pig," Kagome wanted to know, "and does Wade know you're not really a pig?"

"Answer my second question," insisted Inuyasha, "why are you here now?"

"What attacked that demon you were with when we found you," Shippo added.

Sango looked around at the rest of her friends, "Um, yeah, what they said."

Taking a deep breath, the flustered boy replied, "Because I'm cursed, I don't think so, I came here to warn you, and I did that with my Shin Shishi Hokodan."

Shippo cocked his head, "Wait, what?"

"Did you say you came to warn us," Sango quickly seized upon one statement in particular.

Ryoga sat up straight, the yellow banndana wagging along with his nodding head, "It's about Wilson - they're on to him! This crazy courtesan lady had him under some spell and she was forcing him to drink her blood. She claimed that he was going to work for her now - whatever that means; I tried to stop her but - well - she threw me over a wall! That's when I got lost and was carried the rest of the way here by that horrible bird-thing."

Alarmed looks were exchanged among them. Kagome turned back to the boy, "Do you think they know about our plan, P-chan?"

"Umm, Ryoga. It's Ryoga. And it sure seemed like it to me."

Shippo glanced apprehensively up at Inuyasha, "If what P-, I mean, Ryoga-chan says is true, this could be really bad!"

"Shouldn't we better go help him," queried Sango, hastily shouldering Hiraikotsu.

Inuyasha only folded his arms and spat on the ground, "Before we start loosing our minds over something a fake pig told us, I think I know Wade well enough to know he's not going to be done in by some palace hag - even if she does feed him all of her damn blood. If he's got a problem on his end he'll deal with it, just like we're dealing with ours. I say we stick to the plan."

Kagome nodded thoughtfully, "I trust Wade, too, but after everything we've been told about these people, and everything we've seen with our own eyes, I don't feel good about leaving him in such a dangerous situation. He's outnumbered and we don't even know everything they're capable of."

"He knew what he was going into, Kagome; this is what he does. Besides, he told us not to act until we got a signal from him."

"Whatever that means," shrugged Sango, "he never told us what the signal would be."

Inuyasha looked her grimly in the eye, "We'll know it when we see it - believe me."

Ryoga glanced uncertainly from one to the other as a pensive silence fell over the group.

"Shin Shishi Hokodan?" Shippo suddenly blurted out, staring bewilderedly up at the newcomer.

"Yeah, it's my ultimate technique where I -"

"What the hell is taking Miroku so long?" Inuyasha stood up impatiently, "Did he eat too many crab apples at breakfast, or what?"

000

From a blind on a nearby hill, the latest arrival now set his sights on the small group. The recently materialized Deadpool crouched and quietly took aim at his primary target. A head shot was his only chance for an instant kill. Once he'd taken out Inuyasha, picking off the remaining ones would be fairly easy. However, something interrupted him right as he squeezed the trigger; a roar of air engulfed him, pulling him completely off his feet.