Well, sorry it took me so long to get this up. My schedules been wacky, and I ended up spending the weekend in Virginia. Anywho, sorry for the short chapter, but I'm on a tight schedule right now, what with the 4th of July tomorrow and all. Anywho, hope you enjoy this chapter. I had hopped to actually have the dragon come into the story this chapter, but it worked to well as a cliffhanger!

Miroku panted heavily as he dashed after Sango, dragging Shippo along with him by the tail. Why had he been so stupid as to convince Sango to go after Kohaku? Now she was tearing through the forest like some sort of demon, and poor Miroku had to try to keep up with her. She barely stopped to eat, and hadn't slept for two nights! It was like she was possessed… but the again, she was always like this when it came to her brother.

            Miroku squinted as a particularly large branch hit him in the face, and knocked him to the side. Unhindered, the monk pressed on, following Sango dutifully. Finally, he caught a site of the youkai slayer's pink and black cat-suit through the thick bush. He burst through the foliage, and stopped next to Sango. She was staring forward in shock.

            "What's wrong?" He asked. When he got no answer, he followed her gaze. The was no longer any sort of forest to be seen. Sprawling out in front of them was a gigantic desert, made of fine, white sand, uninterrupted for miles. There were no cacti, no animals, nothing.

            Shippo whistled. "I don't think we should go in there." He vouched.

            Miroku nodded without speaking.

            Sango's eyes narrowed, and she looked down at the sand for any signs of Kohaku. There weren't even footprints in the sand. She nodded. "He hasn't come this way." She said authoritatively. "I agree."

            "Umm…" Shippo said, turning around. "That might be a little hard." He said.

            "Why?" Miroku asked, turning around.

            Oh.

            Sprawling behind them, where the forest had assuredly been just a moment ago, was more sparkling white desert. Something very odd was going on.

            Sango's eyes narrowed, and her eyes immediately spotted the twin sets of tracks in the sand. They had come this way!

            Sango nodded, and motioned to the others. "This way." She called, and began to dash over the extensive dunes, following the fading tracks carefully.

            Miroku shrugged "She has more stamina than a horse." He said… but then again, now that they were in the desert, his view of Sango running from behind would no longer be obstructed… make the best in every situation!

**

            InuYasha looked around confusedly. Why the hell had the scenery changed so suddenly. One minute, they were in the middle of a deep forest, and the next they had were in a giant mountain range, filled with little rivulets of molten lava running every witch way!

            InuYasha growled his annoyance at the blistering heat, and looked back at Kagome. InuYasha didn't make light of any gift from a Shinjuku youkai… and the quilt was no exception. At the current time, however, it was being used to carry Kagome, papoose style, on his back. She had fallen asleep over an hour ago, leaving InuYasha to look for any signs of a path they should be following. Unfortunately, InuYasha found himself looking at Kagome more of the time.

            She did look very pretty, lying there, using his hair as a slight pillow. She snuggled deeper into his back, and sighed contentedly. InuYasha looked at the blanket, then back at Kagome… She really was very pretty… Kikyo had been beautiful, but Kagome definitely had something that she didn't… maybe it was just that Kagome was much more laid back. Kikyo had always been bound by rules, but Kagome was much more a free spirit. And her clothes were foreign, and odd. They showed much more than most people were comfortable with… although InuYasha couldn't say that he really minded.

            Suddenly, he went rigged, and turned around, blushing slightly. What was he doing? He had never thought that way about Kagome before! He hadn't even thought about Kikyo in that manner that often… why was his mind suddenly running away now?

            Then, the renegade brain drifted his thoughts back towards the night  they had spent together… they way her body had pressed up  against his… all the little details of that night that he hadn't noticed then began to come back to him. He shook his head to get those thought out of his mind! He shouldn't be thinking about Kagome in that way! He loved Kikyo! That was almost as bad as cheating on her… but that little part in his brain that was always so very damn logical denied it. The thing that bothered him about it, was that that little part of his brain tended to be right… and he definitely didn't like what it was telling him about Kikyo!

            There was a movement on his back, and Kagome yawned slightly, and poked her sleepy head over his shoulder. "Where are we?" She asked.

            InuYasha avoided looking at her, and coughed slightly. "I dunno." He said, roughly. Kagome must have noticed his tone, because she looked over concerned at him. "Are you okay?" She asked.

            InuYasha nodded, a bit to quickly, then turned to her. "You're the one who's hurt." He said. "How're you feelin?"

            Kagome seemed to think on this, then shrugged. "I've got the same headache, and I feel sore all over, and really tired, but I don't really actually hurt that much." She let out a big breath, and fanned herself. "Why is it so hot?" She asked.

            As if on queue, a geyser of boiling, molten rock erupted several hundred yards to their left, and sent a wave of heat over them.

            InuYasha grinned, and panted slightly. "I think that it might be the lack of shade." He said.

            Kagome sighed slightly, and shook her head, then perked up. It had been a long while since she had sensed anything like this, and it was feint, but it was definitely there. "InuYasha." She said urgently. "I sense a jewel shard!"

            InuYasha looked up at her, then started to run slightly. "Tell me if it comes near us." He said, running steadily.

            Kagome looked down at him, confused. "Aren't you going after it?" She asked.

            InuYasha half snorted. "We have other things to do right now that are more important than getting those damn shards."

            Kagome blinked slightly… and looked down at InuYasha in shock. Had he really just said that? Was it really InuYasha carrying her? "InuYasha…" She said softly. "Thank you."
            InuYasha suddenly realized what he said… and mentally smacked himself. "Don't flatter yourself!" He said roughly. "I just want to get my shikon detector back." What the hell was that? The little logical part in InuYasha's brain yelled at him. What's wrong with you, you idiot bastard? InuYasha didn't like to admit it, but the part of his brain was right. Why did every time he say something nice, he ruined it by acting like a bastard… especially around Kagome. Why the hell couldn't he just once say something nice and just leave it at that. Physically, he prepared himself for the brutal sitting that was due to him.

            Kagome, on the other hand, decided against it, and sighed. It didn't take a miko to see that the hanyou was obviously trying to cover up from being overly sensitive. And besides, it is not wise to sit the hand that carries you over boiling lava.

**

            Sango had once again stopped, but this time, it didn't take long for Miroku to find out why. Looming out of the sand was a very large ridge. It had spikes running down the top of it, and it was a beautiful azure blue. The surface of it seemed oddly scaly… and warm.

            Miroku nodded. They were now, indeed, in the territory of the dragons.

            There was a slight growl, and part of the wall of sapphire scales opened, revealing a slit like, crystalline eye.