The sound of teeth grinding echoed in Lucy's head. She was (again) pissed. It had been a week since she had talked to Kagome. InuYasha was still being a salty, petty brat demanding she let him speak to Kagome (or the wench as he called her so rudely). Even after obtaining permission from Choyukai to divulge parts of their contract. But it seemed that the jerk didn't want to understand. Hell, his father had knocked him down a few pegs and InuYasha didn't accept that either.

"Hime, may I talk with the Hanyo, InuYasha?" Virgo asked through their link. "I think I can convince him."

Lucy felt a chill crawl down her spine at the tone Virgo used. She was well aware that each of her Spirits (new and old) were upset that InuYasha was stressing her. Sighing internally as she let her head rest back against the stones of the hot spring. Lucy hesitantly gave consent as long as Virgo didn't harm the idiot (too much).

Lucy stared up at the night sky, her eyes instantly picking out various constellations. It was still amazing how similar the skies of this world and Earthland were. It was a small comfort Lucy had found.

"Lucy, are you okay?"

Blinking, Lucy looked over at Sango. She let a small smile curl her lips as she hummed that she was.

"I'm sorry about InuYasha. He's very..." Sango said, only to trail off.

Lucy understood perfectly. Allowing a wry chuckle to escape, Lucy let her eyes roll back up to the night sky.

"I get it," Lucy finally said. "Natsu can be the same invasive, pushy, demanding, childish, stubborn idiot. But he is someone who will go to great lengths to protect what he cherishes. The only difference is Natsu had the Guild to raise him, while InuYasha was abandoned, alone, and treated with extreme prejudice. So the complex is deeply rooted. Because I doubt he looks his actual age as a half-demon."

The quiet gasp from Sango told Lucy she'd hit the nail on the head. A part of her sympathized with InuYasha, but the other wanted to tear him into little pieces. He was a grown-ass man who used his past to get what he wanted. Nope. Lucy wasn't going to have it or play his little game.

"Hime, I'm done. He will not be bothering you for a while!"

Lucy couldn't suppress the shudder at how sweet, giddy, and content Virgo sounded. But she refused to ask and sent Virgo a quick surge of emotion to say thanks.

He watched silently, eyes tracking each step. The night he had followed the woman had been an eye-opener. Seeing her fight herself, constantly adapting in seconds, gave way to respect. Not that Sesshomaru would tell her. No. But it also let him know why she could handle herself when he trained her.

There was no mistaking how battle-hardened she was. Nor the keen intellect she hid. Sesshomaru felt the urge to stop and spar with her. To see if he could provoke her to the limits she'd shown that night. Their travel had led them south and east. His nose could already smell the tang of water in the air. However, they were still (at least) three days from the Yudanaka River. The terrain would soon change, becoming damp, grassy, sanding, and rocky in varying stages.

"If you stare any harder, I might burst into flames."

Sesshomaru started, blinking slowly at the woman. Her words were spoken in a playful jest as he met her hooded gaze. Curling his upper lip and barring a single fang in answer. Earning a quick roll of her eyes before she turned her back to him.

His instincts clamored. He was a predator. This caused Sesshomaru to frown and fight back the urge to show the woman how foolish showing her back to him was.

Lucy couldn't understand what was up with Sesshomaru. The past two days, he'd been staring at her. Hell, Lucy was sure he hadn't been aware of it. Hence why she had turned around and finally said something. Though this response was to 'try' and intimidate her. If she had her way, Lucy would ask to spar. She still needed to vent. The impromptu with Gemini had only given a momentary patch for her mood. But InuYasha was still aggravating, though not as bad. And to make it stranger, he stared as if he was waiting for something to happen with his half-hearted attempts to piss her off.

Lucy really didn't want to think about it. Or that it might have something to do with Virgo? Feeling a chill crawl down her back (again), Lucy slammed her train of thoughts into a mental metal box, locked it up, and chose to forget them.

"Miss Lucy, I feel a body of water a bit away."

Smiling at Pixis' words as she blinked and looked around. The terrain had been subtly changing, indicating there could be water.

"Thank you, Pixis," Lucy replied. "Which direction?"

"Keep continuing south and east," Pixis quipped cheerily. "Also, I suggest sending for the Spirit."

Humming, Lucy stopped walking and opened her senses. Drawing upon her stores, pulling out a small drop. Her mind imagined it expanding to a large square with faint images appearing. This was the trick Toga taught that she liked. On the partial map, a small red dot appeared. It was still before suddenly rushing rapidly to the east.

Her senses tingled as raw power slammed against her mind. It had her body physically staggering back. The Spirit was aware of her and was not pleased. It was a clear warning she'd have to fight.

Lucy pursed her lips, turned to look at Sesshomaru, and flashed him a wide, toothy smile before speaking, "Let's spar!"

TBC!