Sesshomaru Gets His Revenge (Part II)

Sesshoumaru had sustained no damage from the battle and simply sighed at the pile of Naraku's bloody remains. As soon as he had heaved that sigh, it had dried up and assimilated into the surrounding dirt as if nothing was ever there. "The scent in the air...", thought Sesshoumaru, "it changed after those lumps of Naraku parted ways... Now the smell that is prodominant in this area is graveyard soil..." Sesshoumaru calmly as ever started following the stream back toward the forest. The wind whistled through the nearby tall grass. Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks, "Show yourself.", he said.

A figure melted out of the shadows of the small abandonned travellers hut to be revealed as none other then Kagura. However, she did not look entirely the same as she had before. She now was much taller, and younger looking. The fan she had allways carried with her and increased in size. In length it was taller than she was.

This site put even Sesshoumaru into a state of suprise. "You don't smell of Naraku...", said Sesshoumaru being very to-the-point.

"Yes...", said Kagura in a more mature sort of booming voice, "I have you to thank for that." She cackled as if this was all part of some plan that he had no idea about. Was he being twisted into doing someone's bidding after all? "It seems that when Naraku wanted to test out that sword, a normal demon puppet would've been insufficient. So, he added the one thing binding me and the other incarnates to him. For stability I suppose. When you vanquished the demon puppet, it returned to being regular graveyard soil and gave us our full bodies. Naraku no longer holds us prisoner.", she said, trailing off.

Sesshoumaru knew of Kagura's sister Kanna and how they were both until now, bound to Naraku. However, this third body of flesh that has flown off; who or what had it belonged too? "So, what does this all mean to me?", said Sesshoumaru coolly. He could feel that Kagura's powers where far stronger than they were."You still have the Shouken...", he said, his eyes widening as he pointed to the sword on her back.

"Yes...", she said, voice booming as before, "I have the sword that punishes demons like meremortals. I intend to collect all of the jewel shards with this."

"What is your motive", Sesshoumaru said starting to grow tense.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out"

"Does this have something to do with Inu Yasha?", he found himself asking.

"If you must know...", she said dissapointingly as if she expected him to just give up. But his struck an idea in her. "Yes, Inu Yasha... He must die. And I find myself in a position that could help us both out-"

"I could kill him whever I chose...", siad Sesshoumaru coldly, predicting what she was about to say.

"Then why have you not done so already, hmm? I think you're losing it. You've been going soft for that girl you travel with, and it's made you have feelings for your brother... Imagine that..."

Sesshoumaru was now upon her ready to strike.

"Are you getting defencive? Then it must be true...", she said with great satisfaction. "How about if you take care of Inu Yasha for me, I will give you the Shouken and the 鉄歳牙 'tetsu-saiga' (Fang (blade) of aged steel)...?'

"I will not make deals with the likes of you!", he said as he drew his Tokijin andlunged atKagura.

"Who said I was giving you a choice?", she laughed. She opened her great fan (which now bore the symbols: 風神 'kaze-jin' (Wind God) in blood red) and waved it as if it was a feather right for Sesshoumaru. Just before his sword would have connected with Kagura's face, he vanished...

Sesshomaru, who was getting steadily more agitated, was seeing a sight similar to that of what Kagome saw when she jumped though the well that trasported her between the Rural Era and thepresent. As quickly as he had been thrown into the abyss, he found himself back on solid ground in a familiar location. He could smell fires cooking many meals in theneabyhuts for the people in the village he knew to have been the residing place of Kaede; the younger sister of the priestess Kikyo.Although the air was drenched with that odor, he looked up to find he was several paces from the very well that Kagome utilized to take her back and fourth through time. "Why has Kagura placed me here...", Sesshoumaru wondered as he stepped forward, "And why would she still need me to takecare ofInu Yasha,when she has theShoukenand her new found strength? Well, I'm not going to do Kagura any favors.", Sesshoumaru continued walking away from the village, thinkingof finally being reunited with Rin and Jaken. He stopped suddenly, as he had just heard what he believed to be a shreak of terror. Intrigued, he follwed the disturbance to the source. When there, he felt his eyes crack into a stare of the deepest loathing and disgust. He had just seen his own brother Inu Yasha fly through the air in front of him, several meters in the airand then smashed to the ground head-firstin a straight lineafter he heard the muffled shout of "sit".Being in the heavily bushed woods nearby the scene, hebackedin a little, trying tonot be seen by the company he would then observe.

"Inu Yasha! I can't believe that you would go peeking in on me while I was bathing again!", screamed Kagome, red covered her face as she ran at him wrapped in a towel that half-hazardly flapped as if it might fall off if she loosened her grip just a little.

"Hey, I wasn't looking at you! I was looking at your wrack!", pleaded Inu Yasha, who was trying to remedy the situation, although a second later he found his face met with the ground; another "sit" ringing in his ears. He raised his face out of the dirt, face soiled with it and looked at Kagome. He was wearing a sincerely apologetic look, his two index fingers before him, each poking the point of the other together repeatedly.

"Oh, I guess it ok if that's all you were doing.", she sighed heavily, as if all was well. She twiched and continued, the calm andforgiving tone had lifted. "I can't believe you Inu Yasha! I'm going home every time I need to bathe from now on!" She turned on her heel and stomped back re-adjustingthe grip of the towel, her hair was very messy and dripping wet from the running. She thentried to straighten it outwith her fingers and wrang it out as she walked away.

"Geez, Kagome." said Inu Yasha apologetically still puting his fingers together in the same fashion, "Give me a break for crying out loud! I am a guy after all!" He got up and ran for her when he looked up to realize she hadn't heard or even seen him saying anything, as she wasstill walking away to retreave her cothes.

"Nope! I'm not changing my mind this time, Inu Yasha!", she said without turning around, she knew he was there. "B-but I'm not going to leave... right now. So don't worry, ok?", she said turning around and winking at him. Inu Yasha felt his cheeks starting to burn red through the dirt that was still plastered on his face.

"Thanks."

"I can't believe my brother could have such feelings. This is pathetic. Demons should never even have suchemotions in their head.", Sesshomaru imput to himself, having watched the whole thing. "It wouldn't be a suprise to me if he managed to make himself a mortal without the assistance of the sacred jewel, at the way he acts toward that girl. To think that Inu Yasha isn't acting much different than the way our father must have been... It is a plague to my mind...", he reasurred himself. "Nevertheless, if he wants to have sympathy toward her, he can go ahead. He's not going to get any more powerfull that way..." Sesshoumaru turned back into the forest and began to walk away from the scene. "My main issue right now in not Inu Yasha... Until I know why Kagura wants me to do it for her, I'm not going to do away with him.", the thought of him being used once again made him twich and he stepped on a twig, it cracked loudly.

Inu Yasha's platinum dog ears perked. "What was that?" he said aloud sniffing, his ears changed direction like little sattle-light dishespicking up the epicenter of where the noise had come from.

"What is it, Inu Yasha?", asked Kagome a nervousness in her voice. They had stopped walking. A few seconds later, a squirrel fell from a tree on Inu Yasha's head and he gave a great start accompanied bya 'yelp',that made Kagome shreak and close her eyes. She opened her eyes and started laughing so hard that tears started gushing out of them. Inu Yasha was on the ground writhing; the squirrel had found its way inside of Inu Yasha's baggy red hakama (pants), and he was attempting to free it anxiously.A look of frustration appeared on his face...

Sesshoumaru had no idea this was occuring because he was far away from Inu Yasha's hearing range and had just kept walking. "Maybe I should inquire a sword smith about this "Shouken" and find out its secrets...", said Sesshoumaru calmly, and he made a mental note that his new objective was none other than Kagura herself.