Disclaimer: Standard…

Kati: Took us long enough, I was writing my other fic, Chels was too

Chels: Yah but you took soooooooooo long!!

Chapter Eight: Bring Out The Big Dogs

"No sign of Rinku, eh, Kannokki?" Unmei and Inuyasha had long since left the forest of Inuyasha. Unmei remained calm though.

"Are you talkin' to that dog thing again?" Inuyasha had been pushing his luck with the wolf since he met him.

Kannokki growled fiercely and rounded on the unfortunate hanyou.

"YOU TWO! NOT NOW! We've gotta find Rinku." Unmei chided.

Kannokki snorted then launched himself at Inuyasha.

"Gerroff me you flea bitten mutt!" Inuyasha was pinned to the ground by Kannokki's oversized paws.

Kannokki growled even more.

"Come on you two! Your such lazy bums!" Unmei kept walking.

"Grrrrrrrrrrr." Kannokki gave her a ticked look and got off Inuyasha.

"Mongrel." Inuyasha muttered.

Hours upon hours later, they had entered the shadow of another forest, this time it was far into the Western Lands, the same one that Unmei had been chased through by Sesshomaru.

"These are Sesshomaru's lands. Be wary." Unmei warned. Immediately, out of the corner of her, she saw Kannokki fade away. He'd become the Mist Form his kind was famed for and then gone out of his way to disappear into the trees. "Kannokki's gone, don't look for him, you won't find him. We're being watched anyway."

"If these are Sesshomaru's lands then I'm a fool. Sesshomaru owns nothing, he's a coward." Inuyasha ranted.

"Fool." A voice mocked him. They couldn't see the source yet, but it was near.

"Speaking of the devil." Unmei mused.

"Hello, Unmei, Inuyasha." Sesshomaru stepped out of the shadows behind Unmei.

"Wha' do ya want?" Inuyasha.

"Do ya need to ask?" Unmei groaned.

"Nothing, at the moment." Sesshomaru kept his gaze fixed on Inuyasha and ignored Unmei.

"It's the Tetsusaiga, isn't it? Well your gonna have to fight me for it then!" Inuyasha leapt into the air and drew the Tetsusaiga, it didn't change, this proved a sufficient enough distraction to allow Unmei to slip into the trees in search of Kannokki.

"You seem to have run out of luck, brother, without anyone to protect, your sword is useless." Sesshomaru drew the Tenseiga, then to Inuyasha's surprise, stuck it into the ground halfway up to the hilt. "We need to speak of more demanding matters."

"Yeah? Like what?" Inuyasha followed suit with his sword, begrudgingly.

"My lands are being attacked by many forces of Youkai. I know not who is responsible."

"And I care because?"

"Rinku was seen among those forces."

"WHAT!" Inuyasha's attention was snagged now.

"I do not know whether it was forced or by choice, but if that is not enough reason I was told the dry well is being overtaken by the same forces."

"Kagome!"

"Yes."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Inuyasha was worried Sesshomaru could sense it, but he regained his mask of indifference.

"You can protect Rinku with the Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha answered too quickly to be really considering, his mind was made up. "Ok, lets go."

Rinku sat there next to this old guys stupid throne, some kind of glowing rope thing around her neck, her ears twitched as she growled in frustration. "Grrrr." She sighed and flattend her ears against her head, and bared her fangs slightly at the approaching guards, the old man tapped her on the head with some kind of staff.

~*~*~*~FLASH BACK~*~*~*~

Rinku trotted along the dirt path, on her way to the dry well, actually she was following Inu's scent but it was leading her to the dry well. When she got to the well she poked her head over the side and sniffed, she wrinkled her nose at the smell. "Humph! that girl, but Inu too, smells like a depressed scent." She leaned over but fell in, "Whoa didn't see that coming." She rubbed her head and sat at the bottom of the well looking up at the ((RING!)) sunlight that was rushing through the base of the opening. She jumped out, but through the corner of her eye saw a shiny string-like glowy thing rushing toward her, she dodged it and smirked at the elderly man who was grinning at her, not too mention the several groups of Youkai joining behind him. She stepped back a few paces, "what do ya want old man? You have no business here" he grinned raising his arm, holding the glowy rope thing that he thrust at her earlier. "You..." she grinned and leapt at him extending her claws "We'll see about that! SILVER CLAW OF-" she was caught off guard as the rope suddenly slid around her neck jerking her back as it grew tighter and tighter, she growled looking up at the man who was grinning wildly, and at the Youkai that had surrounded her.

~*~*~*~END FLASH BACK~*~*~*~

Kannokki smelled the old fear, and the old struggle. It was dim but his sharp nose just barely caught it, Rinku. Kannokki was a Mist Wolf, the last of his kind, he needed no one to help him find his mistress. So he began to set off alone.

"Don't even think about it!" Unmei bounded from the underbrush and landed on Kannokki's back. "I know what you're thinking, but you aren't leaving without me."

Kannokki growled and bucked. But to no avail, Unmei was a Youkai of course.

"Done yet?" Unmei asked, not the least bit shaken.

Kannokki growled in submission, and leapt into the sky. Air travel is faster any day.