The quick trip back to the little village where Lucy had met everybody was. Entei's herd had been more than willing to ferry them in the direction of the next Spirit. Though, Lucy hadn't expected it to be where they had started the journey. But everyone had agreed to check on Kaede, and the villagers would be a good idea.

Sighing, Lucy shifted on Entei's back. Her butt was sore, her hips stiff. So she personally wanted to soak in the natural hot springs. Lucy had an insightful conversation with Entei while making their contract. His abilities were standard. She had access to him and his herd for transportation. But if she ever used them as pack animals, the contract was nullified instantly. Luc was more than okay with this clause because it wouldn't ever happen.

Just as Lucy found a comfortable position, alarm bells went off in her head. The air felt wrong and smelled stale like death. Lucy swallowed the saliva that seemed to fill her mouth quickly. Then without hesitation, she slammed the Sapphire Gate of the Horse closed. She ignored the shocked reactions from everyone present as her feet touched the ground. Which vibrated, surged up, and threw her into the air.

Wide red eyes looked around the vast starlit space. It took a few seconds to orient themself, as they heard hushed talking to the side. With a single of their head, causing long, fiery hair to slip over their shoulder as they stood and walked towards the sound of the talking.

The sight of many Celestial Spirit's gathered around a large pool had them snorting. When the group lifted their eyes and looked at them, silence fell.

Taking a step forward, they looked back into the pool. Only to be shocked at the scene playing across its surface. It was blond, and Lucy was battered and bleeding, leaving a feeling of anger to well up in their chest.

"Now, Entei, this is just who she is. So don't get too angry."

"Yeah, Miss Lucy never wants us to be hurt. Otherwise, she feels great pain and shame."

Entei narrowed his red eyes and snorted again. Eventually, Entei lifted his pale hand and ran it down his face. Only to pause and realize he was in his humanoid form for the first time in a long time. Meaning his new owner was more powerful than he had thought.

Lucy felt her eyes start to close. She tasted copper in her mouth, indicating it was bleeding, like a dozen other parts of her body. Shifting slightly and hiss as a fresh wave of pain burned its way down her back. But what mattered was the two children Lucy had protected from the giant, insane Snake.

After initially being flung into the air, pain flared in her left leg. Lucy had stared as the Giant Snake reared back and demanded she give it the Shikon no Tama. It was at this point Lucy realized this was the next Spirit. It had Cobra's Cubellios beat by hundreds of meters.

From there, Lucy had summoned Virgo, who told her where the massive reptile would appear again after it burrowed back into the ground. However, that hadn't lasted long as numbness spread through her body. Lucy wasn't stupid; she easily realized she'd been poisoned in the first attack. And the poison blocked her magical flow. Lucy was barely able to access enough to use her whip.

"The jewel summoner. Give it to me."

"Brother, I need my brother!"

This dialogue confused Lucy, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Give me the kids and move your ass before you die."

Lucy lifted her head and glared at InuYasha. But she gave a small nod of her head and removed her arms from around the kids. When Lucy saw enough distance between her and InuYasha after moving away, Lucy pushed her exhausted body up and to the side. Glad for all the fights in the Guild, on missions, and sparring. The sixth sense she'd developed was what was saving herself right now.

The ground where Lucy had just erupted, flying in all directions. The stinging pain from the clumps of dirt and shards of rock flew past her; Lucy gritted her teeth and reached for her whip. When all her fingers did was curl around nothing but air, Lucy felt the chill of fear pool in the pit of her stomach.

"Foolish human! Give me the jewel."

"Brother! Where are you?"

As Lucy stared frozen and numb, mentally willing her body to move. She realized this was slowly turning into a lose-lose situation. And not just for her. There had to be a way for the tides to turn in not just her favor but the groups. If not the villages.

"Will you trust me, Lucy?"

When one of her Spirits spoke, Lucy felt her brown furrow. It was an odd question. Didn't they all know she trusted them, explicitly with her life?

"Yes, always," Lucy finally replied as she watched the Snake reared back, mouth opening as it lunged at her.

Sesshomaru frowned as Bakusaiga was parried by the dense scales of the Snake's tail. It seemed to be able to neutralize most attacks. And his poison was useless as well. He felt like a pup first learning to fight. The experience was very unpleasant.

A sudden tug on his Youki had Sesshomaru jerking to look at the woman, or at least where she had been previously. What met his sight was a scene that had him wide-eyed. The Giant Snake's head was being flung backward by the pale gold and lavender bubble he presumed engulfed the woman. The raw power from it was almost triple what she had displayed while using the Taurus Star Dress.

Feeling something wasn't right about this sudden surge of power. Sesshomaru started to move towards the gold and lavender sphere as it seemed to burst when a softly spoken yet harsh curse came from beside him. Sesshomaru went still. The aura rolling from his companion, or rather a father, bursting with anger.

"I knew it," Toga spat. "He is testing her again!"

Sesshomaru hadn't looked away from the woman. So when she became visible, he felt as if his chest was being weighed down. There, the woman Lucy was standing. Her appearance seriously changed. Though once I could tell it was still her at first glance.

His eyes started at the top of her head, where two long, slightly floppy ears protruded from her blond hair now mixed with lavender. The blond hung to her mid-back while the lavender fell to mid-thigh. As Sesshomaru's eyes dropped further, he could see the soft brown eyes glowing with a pale blue limbal ring at the outer edges of her iris' in a darker shade of lavender. Her lips were a dark blue and twisted into a cold, detached smirk.

But as his eyes dropped further, Sesshomaru found himself swallowing thickly. She was wearing a short Kimono dress of dark and pale greens (Juromaru's actual clothes from the anime) that stopped above her knees. However, the top was barely staying closed via the obi due to her well-endowed chest. To finish the change was the traditional tabi socks and double geta sandals. That demanded one look at the woman's well-toned, shapely calves now marked with deep blue lines that added a delicate touch as they curved upwards.

But his mind chose to be rational and logical as he asked his companion the question that popped into his mind, "Why the rabbit?"

There was a soft sigh, along with a few more muttered curses before the answer was given.

"Rabbits may be timid by nature, but don't forget your hunting lessons, pup. When anything is cornered, its true nature can be revealed." Toga growled.

Blinking once, Sesshomaru recalled as a pup he had cornered and grabbed a rabbit. He'd been exhausted and jubilant. Arrogance and pride had clouded his eyes from the victory of capturing his prey, proving he was the bigger predator. Only to hear an ear-splitting scream followed by pain. The rabbit had kicked him swiftly in rapid succession. The long-hidden nails in its hind legs tore his arm and face open.

"But that's not the problem. He forced the fusion," Toga snapped angrily. "That dumb rabbit is testing her again. And it's dangerous to force a fusion. Since it naturally displaces the summoner's soul."

Sesshomaru felt cold at his father's words. Yet he didn't move as he watched the transformed woman lift her leg and slam it down, sending her into the air. The small crater left behind showed the strength used. Though Sesshomaru could feel the power she had rolling from her fluctuate unsteadily.

"If you move to help, any trust between her and the idiotic Leporidae will disappear!"

Having learned about her magic and contracts, Sesshomaru was honor-bound not to interfere. So he watched as the woman jumped, spun, twisted, flipped, and kicked the Snake. Who oddly kept calling her brother? Making him recall a story Miko had told about two of Naraku's reincarnations. He felt his lips twist at the irony of it all.

TBC!