A/N: Many thanks to my friends who kept encouraging me to write, even when I felt overwhelmed and ill (which is why this chapter was so late). Also, props to Authoress Mujitsu, beta-reader extrodinaire, whom without my story would make a lot less sense. Also, I wish everyone Oshogatsu no ureshii! (Happy new year)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Your reviews are what keep me going when I get writer's block or come to a hard place to write through! Arigato! And please continue to review!

Elements

Chapter 5

"InuYasha! Slow down!"

Kagome hung on to the hanyou for dear life, clutching at his back, panicked as he raced along the path, blatantly ignoring the miko's cries.

"Please, InuYasha!" Sango called out from behind, straining to keep up with the irate hanyou from astride her fire-cat. "Kirara cannot keep this pace for so long!"

"I agree with Kagome-sama and Sango-san," Miroku said, gripping Kirara's fur tightly. "Please, InuYasha, slow down!"

"Quit whining, you sissies!" InuYasha snapped. "Do you want to get to Naraku or not!"

"I'd like to get to Naraku with some energy to spare," Sango scowled.

"Keh!" InuYasha scoffed.

Kagome sighed, surrendering to his stubbornness, and held him tighter, determined not to fall off.

Behind, on top of the fire-cat, Shippo complained.

"I wish Kagome would just sit InuYasha," he grumbled, folding his arms and pouting. "At least then we might slow down."

"Even Kagome knows not to bait InuYasha too much when he's in such a foul mood," Miroku remarked. "Besides, she'd end up crashing to the ground as well."

"Oh," Shippo said, crestfallen. He considered for a moment, before asking, "Why is InuYasha so angry, anyway?"

"InuYasha sensed a powerful demon at the camp last night. I fear the same demon is following us now," Sango said darkly.

Shippo blinked. "A youkai's following us? If it's bothering InuYasha so much, why doesn't he just kill it?"

"The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war," Miroku remarked wisely. "Although we may feel uneasy, this demon has not shown us any ill will as of yet, and it would be brash to attack one that is not a definite enemy."

"Then why doesn't InuYasha just shut up and deal with it?" Shippo said crossly.

Sango smiled slightly. "In a way, he is," she remarked, watching the hanyou as he ran on. "Being angry and stubborn might be how InuYasha copes with things."

"If that is so, I think our friend is in dire need of a better coping method," Miroku said dryly. "Preferably one that makes him seem less like a toddler and more like a man."

Shippo laughed at that, along with Sango, who managed a slight giggle.

"Oi! Will you three shut up and stop horsing around? We're trying to catch Naraku here!" InuYasha snapped, turning his head to glare at them.

"Gomen-nasai, InuYasha," Sango apologized. "We were just talking."

"Well, keep it down, would ya?" InuYasha scowled, before turning back to face forward. "I don't need to hear your carrying on when I'm trying to follow Naraku's scent while there's a blasted demon on our tail!"

"Hai, InuYasha. We will quiet down."

The three continued their conversation in hushed tones as they raced along. Atop the heated hanyou, Kagome sighed. Although it was customary for her to ride along, carried by InuYasha, sometimes she wished there was room for her to sit on Kirara along with the others. Miroku and Sango were much better conversationalists than InuYasha, and they certainly weren't so inclined to insult her or call her wench as her current traveling companion was.

Not to mention the constant aching of her body after bumping along on InuYasha's back for an entire day...

"Was it really necessary to yell at them like that?" Kagome murmured into one pointy ear.

"Necessary, no," InuYasha admitted, "but they were annoying me."

"Don't you think you might be overreacting a bit?" Kagome ventured. "They were just messing around."

"Need I remind you that an unknown demon is following us around for no apparent reason?" InuYasha said testily. "Those three should be on their guard, not messing around like a bunch of loonies."

Kagome sighed. It was just like InuYasha to get so paranoid over something so little. "Are you still worried about that mysterious youkai, InuYasha?" she asked.

"What do you mean, am I still worried about it!" InuYasha snapped, livid, his voice curt and cutting. "Of course I'm worried about it! There's a powerful demon following us around for no apparent reason! That tends to be a cause for concern! How could I not be worried!"

"I just think you might be a bit paranoid," Kagome said. "They haven't hurt us yet-"

"So that automatically means they're not going to!" InuYasha pounced on her pause, interrupting. "They're still a legitimate threat!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she wished for the days when the hanyou had been so headstrong and cocky and less tense and alert. The old InuYasha wouldn't have been so worried about unknown demons; he'd have simply killed them and been done with it.

Then again, if they still had the headstrong InuYasha, they would have probably been killed by now...

Kagome sighed, and InuYasha turned his head slightly to look at her, fixing her with a searching gaze.

"What's with you?" he asked softly. "You're usually the anxious one if there's a youkai around. Why's this one different?"

"I guess I'm not so sure all youkai are bad anymore," Kagome said, sighing again. "While most are, there's always exceptions to everything, isn't there? Just look at Shippo."

"Shippo's a ruddy kid," InuYasha scowled. "He's too little to be a threat. Full grown youkai are different; you know that." His eyes narrowed. "You don't know who the youkai following us is, do you?"

Kagome considered. "No," she said truthfully.

"But you have some idea, don't you?" he shot back, picking up on her moment's hesitation. "Maybe you've been off cavorting with some demon when you go on your long 'walks' and vanish."

"Oh, of course, InuYasha," Kagome said sarcastically. "Every time I go away, claiming to work on my miko powers, I've been flirting with strange demons, hoping to get some tips on how to slaughter villages and maim children." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, InuYasha! Why does my going off on walks alone bother you so much? You know I can protect myself by now!"

"You're not supposed to do stuff like that!" InuYasha scowled. "How do I know you're not off frolicking with some handsome young demon?"

Kagome's eyes darkened slightly with anger. Jealously or not, her private life was none of InuYasha's business, and he had no right to tell her what she could and could not do! "And if I have?" she retorted, holding her head high.

"WHAT?"

InuYasha stumbled violently, tripping over a boulder and nearly toppling off a cliff, causing Kagome to scream and clutch at his shoulders desperately, nearly falling off, as Sango swerved sharply to avoid hitting them, yelling, "Watch it, InuYasha!"

Blatantly ignoring them both, InuYasha landed nearby and roughly deposited Kagome on the forest floor, sending her sprawling across the ground.

"WHAT!" InuYasha yelled, completely infuriated. "WHAT!" Kirara landed nearby, Miroku and Sango quickly jumping off, the furious hanyou oblivious to their presence.

"What do you mean, 'And if I have'?" InuYasha yelled.

"Kami, InuYasha!" Kagome gasped out, rubbing her sore side. "Can't you take a joke?"

"That was a joke!" he repeated, his eyes flashing.

"Obviously!" Kagome snapped at him, getting to her feet and brushing the dirt off of her skirt. "Honestly! If I had been of fraternizing with some demon, I certainly wouldn't tell you about it that way!"

"You bitch!" InuYasha yelled furiously. "That's a mean and nasty joke! And it's not like you'd actually do such a thing! No demon would have you, anyway!"

"Now, now," Sango said hurriedly, looking disconcerted by all the yelling. "Let's all calm down and talk things out rationally..."

Neither party paid the taijiya any heed.

"Is that so?" Kagome said dangerously, her eyes glittering malevolently. "And what, pray tell, would you do if I hadn't been joking?"

"Then I'd go slaughter that bastard Koga!" InuYasha spat back.

"What the hell's Koga got to do with anything?!" Kagome yelled. "You're not making any sense!"

"He's the charming demon you've been off cavorting with, isn't he?" InuYasha shot back sarcastically.

"For the last time, I have not been off cavorting with anyone!" Kagome snapped, stomping her foot. A thin wisp of pink smoke trailed up from the point of impact, unnoticed by all. "And if I had been, it wouldn't be with Koga!"

"Then who would it be with?" InuYasha snarled sarcastically. "That Jinenji idiot? Ooo, or maybe with your imaginary boyfriend?"

"As a matter of fact, no!" Kagome snapped. "I was thinking of your brother, Sesshomaru, you ignorant twit!"

A heavy silence fell upon the clearing for a long moment, before InuYasha let out a hearty cackle.

"Sesshomaru!" he asked incredulously. "Sesshomaru? You've got to be kidding!"

"And why is that?" Kagome said hotly, her hands on her hips.

"Sesshomaru hates humans!" InuYasha laughed. "The only exception he's ever made has been that little girl, and even that's a stretch for him! There's no way he would ever associate with you!"

Kagome fumed, ready to retort, only to have Miroku hurriedly interject, "Why do you bring up Sesshomaru, Kagome?"

Kagome sighed, letting a slight smile escape. You could always trust Miroku to effectively diffuse a tense situation.

"I think he's the one who's following us," Kagome admitted, hesitant. Miroku raised an eyebrow, and InuYasha scowled.

"Sesshomaru? Following us? That baka must be even more of a chicken then I thought!" InuYasha declared, smirking. "Well, is he's following us, I'll give him a taste of my sword when he finally gets the balls to attack!"

"I don't think he's going to attack, InuYasha," Kagome said, exasperated. "If he wanted to fight, he would have done so by now."

"Keh!" InuYasha scoffed. "Baka! He must be after the Tessaiga, like he always is!"

"Sesshomaru hasn't tried to get the Tessaiga in ages!" Kagome retorted. "He has his super evil sword Tokijin to kill people with now, remember?"

"If not for the Tessaiga, then why's he following us?" InuYasha shot back. "Oh, for you, I suppose?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that Sesshomaru might just be trying to find Naraku as well!" Kagome snapped, her patience wearing thin. "Following us would certainly be the easiest way to do that, seeing as I'm the only one who can sense the shards!"

"Why would Sesshomaru care about Naraku?" InuYasha snorted dismissively. "All he cares about is powerful swords and making sure his pretty-boy face doesn't get marred!"

"Oh!" Kagome raged, nearly incoherent with fury. "I can't believe you!"

"Why not? Because I'm right?" he retorted angrily.

"No!" Kagome yelled, livid. "You know why!"

"No! Why?!" InuYasha yelled back.

"Because you're too much of an arrogant prick to even admit when I'm right!" Kagome said viciously.

"Well, you know what?" InuYasha yelled.

"No! What!" Kagome yelled back.

"I would admit when you're right, if you were ever right!" he yelled triumphantly. "Which you're not! Ever!"

Kagome's eyes lit up with raw fury, and her hair started to float around her, as if it was charged with static electricity. A pebble rattled beneath her foot, glowing with a bright pink energy, before freeing itself and hurtling away from her, whizzing about two feet from InuYasha's side, who dodged reflexively.

"Oh, so now you can't take the fact that I'm right, so you start throwing rocks!" InuYasha snarled, glaring at her. "Is that how it is!"

"Relax, InuYasha," Sango said, trying to calm him down. "It was probably only a stone that a youkai touched reacting to Kagome-chan's purification power."

"Yeah, InuYasha," Shippo piped up. "I remember I stepped on a rock earlier!"

"Keh! Shut up!" InuYasha scoffed, sneering as he bent down and picked up a large rock. He stood, tossing the rock idly in his hand as he glared at Kagome, who was struggling to keep her purification powers under control.

"If Kagome's going to throw rocks at me," he said, cocking his head, "Then I'm going to throw rocks at Kagome!" he declared savagely, flicking his wrist and sending the rock flying at Kagome.

Kagome's arm moved, there was a bright flash, and the next thing the others saw was Kagome standing in the clearing, surrounded by an ethereal pink light, her eyes flashing with anger, her hair flying around behind her wildly, one hand clasping the rock InuYasha had hurled at her, the stone glowing a bright magenta.

Kagome turned to face InuYasha, who recoiled, a flicker of fear in his eyes.

"Don't," Kagome said, advancing on him menacingly.

"Ever." She idly tossed the rock up and down in her hand.

"Throw." The rock was now completely bathed in pink energy, crackling with the power.

"Rocks." InuYasha's eyes widened as he realized with astonishment that it was the rock that was emitting such power.

"At." Realizing he was doomed, InuYasha turned and ran.

"Me!"

Rearing back, Kagome hurled the rock at the hanyou with all her might, sending it whistling through the air, giving off waves of purification power. Pink lit up the valley and the forest, the contrast sharp from that of the darkness of night.

The stone reached the fleeing hanyou, who couldn't help but turn to look at the rock-missile as it approached. Painful sweat pouring down his brow from the proximity of the purification, InuYasha thought, with stark terror, that this would truly be the end of his time on earth as a hanyou.

"SIT!"

The loud scream echoed through the valley, sending InuYasha crashing into the dirt, the stone whizzing over his head harmlessly off into the distance. The others ran to see if he was alright.

"InuYasha? InuYasha!" Shippo yelled, crouching down by the crater in the ground. "Speak to me, InuYasha!" Sango and Miroku quickly knelt down and pulled InuYasha out of the crater, laying him down on the grass face up.

"Whoa..." Shippo said, looking on in awe. "What happened?"

While adorned with no wounds or outward signs that the rock had hit him, InuYasha's hair had turned a pitch black, and his fangs had shrank back into his mouth, making him look much like the human version of himself that appeared every night of the new moon, except for his ears and claws. His eyes remained closed, so they could not tell what his eye color was now.

"He is unconscious."

Miroku and Sango quickly looked up at Kagome, who was standing silently above them, her clothes still billowing slightly in an invisible wind, emanating with restrained power.

"I knocked him out with the force I sat him with," Kagome said, her tone monotonous and carefully controlled. "The hair and teeth are side effects of how close the stone got to him. They will go away in a day or so." Kagome turned and began walking off.

"Kagome-chan! Wait!" Sango called after her friend, rushing to her side. Kagome paused. "Are you okay?"

Kagome smiled slightly, though it seemed strained, as if she were ill.

"Hai, Sango-chan," she said carefully. "I am okay."

"Then where are you going?" Sango asked.

Kagome waved a hand carelessly at the valley. "Somewhere away from here," she said. "You forget, Sango, that my miko powers accumulate inside me. I have to release all this pent-up power somewhere safely, as I do not yet have the ability to control so much for a long amount of time. I will be back later, however, or perhaps in the morning."

Sango bit her lip worriedly. "Will you be okay?" she asked, concerned about her friend despite her reassurances.

Kagome managed a laugh. "Hai, Sango-chan," she responded.

"Are you sure?" Sango said doubtfully.

Kagome smirked and threw her arms out wide, cutting her power loose for a brief moment. Great waves of pink power billowed from her, making her glow with energy, her hair flapping in the wind it created. Sango crouched down so as not to swept away by the winds, squinting up at her friend.

"Do you really think any youkai would dare approach me like this, Sango?" Kagome asked, her voice loud over the harsh winds swirling around her. "And if they do, rest assured, Sango, that I will dispose of them perfectly fine."

Sango smirked, reassured by the momentary display, and Kagome lowered her arms, ending her brief display of her power. Sango smiled and moved back to rejoin Miroku and InuYasha. "I shall set up camp and watch after InuYasha while you are gone," she said. "Take care."

"You too," Kagome responded, smiling slightly, walking off, the pink glow fading from sight as she disappeared into the darkness.

Smiling, Sango turned back to face the group, only to see Miroku and Shippo gaping after Kagome, their jaws wide open.

"...wow," Shippo said, dumbfounded.

"Amazing," Miroku agreed, awed.

Sango smirked. Unlike the others, she had been privy to Kagome's displays of power before, once when Kagome needed help many nights ago. Kagome had looked the same, except more subdued, but now, Sango sensed that Kagome had not even released her full power and had still managed to create such a storm.

Still, she knew the feeling of being awed by the miko.

"Amazing..." Shippo said, flabbergasted.

"Wow," Miroku agreed, still gaping after her.

Sango smirked as she began to set up camp. The other two obviously weren't going to be much help for a while.

¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤¸,ø¤

"Sesshomaru! Rin's feet are tired!"

"Lord Sesshomaru! When will we rest? It has already grown dark!"

Sesshomaru turned his head to send a cutting glare at the two following him, who were immediately silenced.

"We'll stop when I say we'll stop, and no sooner," Sesshomaru said curtly, continuing to walk forward. "And I will not hear another word from you on the matter. Understood?"

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama," the two chorused.

Turning to face front again, Sesshomaru could hear Jaken griping to Rin, "I told you not to bother Sesshomaru-sama! Now you've made him mad!"

Sesshomaru sighed. Had these two always been so obnoxious, or were his nerves just more worn than usual?

Having decided to follow Kagome and her group to Naraku, all Sesshomaru had needed to do was focus on his half-brother's scent, which was putrid enough to be smelled miles from his actual location.

Trust the hanyou to reek of sweat, blood, and anger. Had the fool never learned to bathe?

It had been quite aggravating, really. Sesshomaru would have much preferred to follow the scent of the miko, or even the taijiya or houshi, but InuYasha's scent had drowned all the others out.

Baka, Sesshomaru thought condescendingly.

He had been rather interested in what the miko's scent would be, too. Sesshomaru had long since realized that Kagome had taken to concealing her presence and scent whenever she was away from her friends, presumably to hide from youkai or to prevent InuYasha from finding her. While it was unusual, it was not unheard of for a miko to have such power.

Sesshomaru had thought he would finally discover her scent when he crept into her camp the previous night, only to be disappointed when the stench of blood overwhelmed all others. And now, her scent was drowned out by the filthy one of his brother.

Idiot hanyou. If Sesshomaru ever got his talons around that fool, he would slowly skin him, slice by slice, and clog up the hanyou's oversensitive nose with his own reeking flesh...

Out of nowhere, a glowing pink projectile came hurtling at them from the forest up ahead, whistling with power. Instinctively, Sesshomaru tackled his party to the ground, protecting them with his body. With a burst of power from Tokijin and his demon speed, Sesshomaru attempted to disarm the sudden missile as it whizzed by overhead, only to have it spark off pink flames and land a few meters behind them.

Satisfied that the threat had passed, Sesshomaru slowly rose, uncovering the startled Jaken and Rin, who were both gazing up at him grateful.

"Sesshomaru-sama saved our lives," Rin said, admiring and enchanted. "Arigato..."

"Sesshomaru-sama is trained in the ways of noble youkai warriors," Jaken admonished her slightly, staring at his lord, amazed. "Of course he could save us."

Sesshomaru watched as they briefly shook themselves and returned to their normal dispositions as he approached the fallen missile.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what was that?" Jaken squawked, running after him, with Rin close behind.

Sesshomaru did not respond, instead stopping and looking at the fallen weapon.

It was a rock.

He, the mighty taiyoukai lord, had been threatened by a rock?

An eerie glowing pink rock, perhaps, but a rock nonetheless.

He had never been so insulted in all of his life.

"Hmm..." Jaken murmured to himself, slowly creeping up on the rock, before shrinking back. "My lord, this rock appears to be emanating waves of power from it. I cannot approach it any further."

Raising an eyebrow, Sesshomaru stepped forward, only to feel the painful prickling of purification begin nipping at his skin. He stepped back.

"Indeed, Jaken," Sesshomaru said, looking down at the rock.

"How are we to discover who has thrown the rock if we are not even able to pick it up?" Jaken said, aghast. "Surely this is no ordinary stone!"

"Jaken-sama is silly!" Rin said, dancing forward. "Look! Rin will pick up the rock!" Before either one of them could move to stop her, the girl had dashed forward and done just that.

"This is a pretty rock!" Rin exclaimed happily, examining it. "It glows a pretty pink!"

Sesshomaru and Jaken kept their distance as Rin exclaimed over how great the rock was.

"How is it that the girl can touch the rock while we cannot approach it, m'lord?" Jaken asked. "I do not understand."

Sesshomaru watched as Rin ran about, tossing the rock into the air and catching it again, laughing gaily. "That is a stone cast by a miko, Jaken," Sesshomaru said quietly. "It radiates purification. While we, as youkai, cannot approach it, Rin is ningen, and can touch it without fear."

Jaken nodded, his oddly shaped head bobbing up and down. "Hai, Sesshomaru-sama," he said. "Your genius knows no bounds."

A bright flare of the same power pulsed behind them, in the same direction the rock had been hurled from, and Sesshomaru and Jaken quickly turned to look.

The forest up ahead was glowing slightly pink, as if an explosion had occurred.

"The sky over there is pretty," Rin said happily. "It matches Rin's rock!"

"InuYasha's miko is upset," Sesshomaru murmured to himself, distracted. Jaken looked up at him oddly. "That explains the rock. She must have thrown it at him."

Sesshomaru turned again to face Rin.

"Rin," he said, his tone commanding. "You will stay here with your new rock. It will keep you safe while Jaken and I go off to investigate the source of the pink light. You may play with your new toy if you wish, but you must keep that stone with you at all times."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama," Rin said obediently, before sitting down and proceeding to roll the rock around.

"Come, Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded. "We depart."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama," Jaken said, trotting after the departing taiyoukai lord.

Sesshomaru faced ahead at the valley to the side of the forest as he left Rin behind, sensing the purification power ahead, even from a distance. He could feel the same energy from the rock building there, that of a powerful miko. He felt that it was swelling as it moved down lower into the valley, growing as it moved along.

Sesshomaru looked at the valley wonderingly, Jaken trotting alongside.

What could the miko be doing down there?

¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤¸,ø¤

Yay! Another chapter completed! And I already have a definite outline for the next chapter, a rarity indeed. :P

Please, on your way out, review! I read and cherish every one! Let me know what you think!