The blaze flew from her hands like crows to a freshly killed corpse. Hitting the surface of the water, clouds of steam billowed and covered the entire width of the river. Everything around the area grew quiet, as if nature itself was holding its breath to await the out come of the battle.

                Gold eyes darted in every direction, searching fruitlessly for Sesshomaru. Miyu had to remain calm. Frustration only served to distract oneself during battle. Distractions were not what she needed right now. Her vampires intuition sent a shiver through her body and she whirled around to her right, fire bursting from her outstretched hand, only to pathetically miss its' target once again.

***

The trip had been a long and tiring one. Despite the sweat that came from walking, the spray from the waterfall wasn't at all welcomed or appreciated.  The water was cold and chilled the companions down to the very marrow of their bones. However, Kirara purred happily and licked her fur, completely exhausted from carrying the two for so long a time.

Stepping through the curtain of water, and wringing out the water, Kagome and Sango looked sternly over the assembled group of wolf demons. Some of Koga's followers stood and growled angrily.

"We're looking for Koga!" Kagome shouted, her voice echoing through the small cave. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Forgive us Sister Kagome, our leader left not long ago, to go hunting, he'll be returning soon though,"

Kagome cringed. She didn't really like being called "sister" Kagome. It didn't make any sense; after all, she had refused (numerous times) to become Koga's mate. How many times would she have to tell him and the others before they finally understood that she didn't hold feelings like that towards Koga? Sure, she couldn't deny that he was a friend and ally, but other then that…nothing. They were friends, just friends.

Sighing heavily, they took a seat on a floor, not wanting to leave without speaking to Koga

***

Despite the less then perfect introductions, Sesshomaru was somewhat impressed by the pyrokinetic skills Miyu was displaying. He already knew they were strong from the start but he never imagined that such a small young demon would have been able to hone power like this to almost near perfection. Then again, because she was a demon, he probably wouldn't be able to tell her age even if he tried too.

Though able to dodge each one of her shots, their speed and accuracy was quite good. On more then one occasion he was almost sure that a sliver of the fabric of his sleeve had been burned and every time he stopped, she was quick to find him.

As entertaining as all of this was, it was becoming annoying. Another blaze flew past and he figured that it was time to end the game.

Rushing in front of her, he grabbed hold of her wrist and squeezed tight, the poison in his nails painfully burning her skin. She cried out agony, her other hand desperately trying to pry the poisoned nails away from her.

"Don't struggle," he said coldly. "This battle in completely meaningless."

"I don't take orders from Shinma like you," she hissed. Her eyes were shut tight and her legs began to buckle beneath her. Feeling that he had done enough to the already injured girl, he roughly flung her off to the side. She landed in the shallows of the river with a splash and content sigh as she allowed the water to flow over the burns on her wrist.

***

Inuyasha sat on the stairs of the shrine. A breeze was whistling through the trees and it seemed to take him away fifty years into the past, when he and Kikyo sat together atop that hill overlooking the village. He missed her so badly, was it any wonder that he would go after her? After all of those years of believing in a lie only to learn that Kikyo hadn't betrayed him made him feel so remorseful. To hold her in his arms again would make Naraku's downfall all the more satisfying.

                Kikyo's grave was right behind him. Not that it held any significance any more. No grave was special when there were no remains buried beneath. As much as he hated the fact that Kikyo despised him even though she now learned the truth, he couldn't bring himself to feel the same way. Chances were, he would never be able to. Even if she were to destroy the lives of every maiden in the world, he could never hate her.  

                That of course wasn't the reason he didn't like the idea of Kagome leaving to talk to Koga. It didn't really make any sense that he would be jealous of a guy like him who genuinely cared for Kagome without feeling the same way about another woman. If anything, he should be happy for her. Perhaps it was just the fact that Koga was more or less forcing himself on her that made him angry. Or maybe he felt that way because Kagome looked so much like Kikyo. Maybe he saw this as Koga taking away Kikyo.

                Speaking of Kagome, what was taking her and Sango so long to get back? The wolf demon clans' home wasn't that far away from the village and Kirara could've easily gotten them there within an hour or two. Biting down a growl, he jumped down from the stairs and sped off through the treetops. If Koga so much as laid a hand on her, first he'd slice his hands, and then the rest of his body. Then again, Kagome would put out his back again with a long string of sit commands. And then, pinned to the ground he would be forced to listen to Koga's surely hysterical laughter. He would never live it down. Still, for the sake of his own ego (not to mention Kagome's virginity) he had to go.

***

                "Kagome!" Koga shouted, clearly pleased. Pulling her into an embrace, he smiled. "What brings you back to me?"

                "We need to talk to you about a demon," Sango said, separating the two. Glaring at her, but keeping his mouth shut, he reluctantly released Kagome. She was flustered and blushing. What was she so jumpy about? It wasn't like she had crush on him or anything. But still, when someone declares their love for you on nearly a daily basis, how you not be a little nervous around them? After all, who knew what sort of perverse fantasies ran through he mind during his spare time.

                "A demon? Do they possess a Shikon shard? Or is that insolent puppy too weak to deal with them?"

                "His name is Inuyasha, and he is not an insolent puppy!" Kagome exclaimed. Koga looked at her a little hurt but mostly jealous. Whatever quality she saw in Inuyasha, he wasn't sure but he wasn't about to let his woman go to a worthless half-breed.

                "This demon is called Miyu," Sango began. "She disappeared earlier today in pursuit of another demon. Her guardian, Larva, came to us, asking for help to find her. Kagome and I have come to ask for your assistance as well,"

                "Why does this have anything to do with us?" Koga asked.

                "I can't believe you Koga!" Kagome exclaimed. "I help you defeat the harpies and get their jewel shards and now when I need your help you"

                "You need me?" Koga repeated, cutting her off. Kagome inwardly kicked herself. That was not the ideal way to phrase that. And judging by the overjoyed look on his face he had definitely taken it the wrong way. He really needed to work on not reading into things people said.

                "Of course we'll help you Kagome!" he said grinning. The others looked up in surprise. Some of them seemed willing though.

                "Trust us, sister Kagome," said one of them. "We will find this Miyu that you have lost,"

                "Yes, anything for our leaders mate," added another.

                "I am not Koga's mate!" Kagome yelled, only to realize that her cries fell once again on deaf ears. Oh yeah, life was beyond harsh.

***

Looking up, Miyu saw that Sesshomaru was making no attempt to attack her. This was all very confusing. It was only then that she realized that the setting had changed. She couldn't remember there being a river this close to the shine. Standing, she looked around the area awe struck. It was beautiful to say the least, but where was the city, the shrine?

"Don't expect any further help from me. You seem capable of finding the way back to your village on your own."

'Village?' she thought. Hadn't this shinma heard of cities before? 'And just what did he mean by help?'

"Lord Sesshomaru! Are you hurt? Has this demon girl injured you?" Jaken exclaimed. "Hmph! You save her life and then she attempts to kill you! Some thanks that is!"

Miyu looked over their clothing. It was much different, more traditional, as if she had stepped into the past. Could that have been possible? Recalling the memories of the chase with the shinma, she remembered jumping into a well and then there was a bright light just before either of them hit the bottom of it. Everything after that was still a blur.

Or maybe that was her thirst getting the best of her.

God, where was Larva when she really, really needed him? He had always made sure that she had human blood to feed on but now she was lost in a place unfamiliar to her with nothing to drink and more or less no where to get it. Scooping up water in her hands, marveling at how clear it was, she let the tasteless liquid pour down her throat. No. This wasn't nearly as satisfying as the warm, sweet, sticky blood of a living human. Shinma blood (or at least Larva's) was satisfying but it wasn't like she could just walk up to Sesshomaru and say, "I'm thirsty, may I drink your blood?" Life just wasn't that easy.

Turning her head to look at him again, to her surprise, he had long since left the river and was on the other side, his back turned to her. Jaken scuttled to keep up with him as the two figures retreated into the forest.

 Miyu's gaze then fell to Sesshomaru's neck. It was slender and beautifully curved. In a way, it was almost feminine looking. She could almost hear the sound of his blood as it cascaded through his veins.

Splashing and forcing her way across the river, she followed after him. If worse came to worse, he was better then nothing to feed on.