She was brought to the Heavenly Judge to decide her fate. Thousands of gods and goddesses surrounded her, but she paid no heed to them. She barely listened to the judge as he explained her situation to her, already knowing what the outcome was going to be.
"Do you plead guilty or innocent?" he asked, pitying the woman before him.
"I am innocent, of course," she said calmly.
"You do know that you have broken two of heaven's law, do you not?" the judge asked despairingly.
"I have broken only one," she said sedately. "And I believe the Great Jade Emperor has already pardoned me for that."
The judge shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He did not know how to respond to that. Technically, the emperor had pardoned her, but only so that they could bring her back and charge her for the second crime. However, she wasn't cooperating at all.
"As a member of the Elite Heavenly Gods, you have broken the second law of the Heavens," he said, knowing what would become of the woman. "You have fallen in love."
The crowd whispered among themselves, wondering how a respectable woman like she could have broken the second law of the Heavens. She had committed a high crime, and they wondered what her punishment would be. Some sympathized with her, while others, influenced by a certain malevolent god, believed that she deserved what she was about to get.
"So I have," she said, her voice unwavering, eerie in its extreme serenity.
"The Law of the Heavens hereby sentences you to eternal imprisonment in the Moon," he said, feeling as though he had made a grave mistake. "Is there anything you wish before you…go?" he asked. He did not forget that the woman who stood before him had once helped him when his life was in grave danger. He wished he could somehow aid her, bend the rules a little, but the law of the Heavens were final and he knew he could do nothing. Still, he wished that he might help her fulfill one last request. It would be the least that he could do.
"There is nothing I wish that is within your power to grant," she said calmly. She sounded resolute, her face stony in lack of emotion, and she was led away by the guards, head held high, never regretting the "crime" that she had committed, never bending to the will of the Gods.
"So how exactly are we supposed to give her family this charm thing if we don't know where they live, and we can't deliver it to them?" asked Kagome as they slowly meandered through the thick forest. Inuyasha had returned back to his half demon state, and was leading the group carefully through the dense foliage.
"Shut up, wench," he growled, trying to concentrate on where exactly this strange amount of youki was coming from. Kagome suppressed the urge to "sit" him. She knew she shouldn't talk so loudly, not with this strange youkai that was lurking around these parts of the woods, but she still felt the need to understand how Inuyasha was going to take care of the favor that he had promised that princess. It's not because I'm jealous of her, am I? she wondered to herself. That was ridiculous! What was there to be jealous of? Just because she was pretty, elegant, and sophisticated didn't mean a thing. I mean, look at Inuyasha. He is anything but sophisticated or elegant, but I still like him.
She thought about it for a moment. Like him? she snorted to herself. More like love him. I'm such an idiot sometimes, she sighed softly to herself. She really must have been crazy to fall for someone like Inuyasha, but after all, what was there not to like about him? He may have acted like an immature kid most of the time, but she knew that he had a sensitive side to him that he liked to keep buried.
And I can't blame him, Kagome thought, taking care not to fall too far behind her group. With father and mother gone when he was so young, and a brother like Sesshoumaru, I'm surprised that he still has a sensitive side. She sighed. She was hopeless. The guy she liked was walking right in front of her, and yet she still never got the courage to walk up to him and say that she loved him. She knew it was an obvious fact among her friends by now, but she still felt that she should tell him, even though he probably already knew. If he didn't, he was more stupid than she initially thought.
Either that or he's pretending, she thought, sighing again. But she was afraid to tell him. Afraid of what he might say when she finally declared her love for him. Would he push her away? Laugh at her? Scorn her? Compare her to Kikyo?
Or would he just give her those sad eyes of his, eyes that showed he had experienced more pain than he ought to have, more pain than he deserved?
Kagome tried to find the sun though the thick canopy, but failed. He doesn't deserve any pain at all. He should be happy. He deserves to be happy after everything that's happened. But she knew that he would never find it. Not until they reunited the shards of the Shikon no Tama and defeated Naraku. Her eyes surveyed the land before her, green light illuminating the dense brush.
Then she realized that she couldn't find any of her friends in front of her.
"Inuyasha?" she called, afraid to use a loud voice for fear of alerting the youkai there to her presence. Where did everyone go? They were standing right in front of me… She sighed, mentally berating herself for getting lost in her thoughts.
"Oi, where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked as he noticed that it was unusually quiet. He observed his group. Miroku was there, on his right side, looking slightly dazed; Sango was on his left, looking sleepy. Had they all really been this tired? Maybe he shouldn't have pushed them so hard…
He started to frown as he noticed that both Shippou and Kirara were drooping from some exhaustion that he could not understand. Miroku and Sango getting tired, he could understand, and maybe Kirara too, even if she was a demon, but Shippou? What had the child done that was so taxing?
Suddenly, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara all fell to the ground, unconscious. He cursed under his breath. Damn! What do I do? And where's Kagome? He tried to sense the surroundings around him, but detected nothing. That's strange, he thought, his brow furrowing in thought. I can't even feel animals in this forest. What kind of place is this? He glanced worriedly at his fallen companions and debated what to do.
Hmm… Maybe if I…?
He fell to the ground suddenly, seemingly to be in a state of sleep. He tried not to get his ears to twitch when he heard the sound of someone, or something, approaching. Closer… Closer… His hand shot out suddenly, grabbing whoever it was.
"What have you done to them?" he growled, already standing and looking as if he were ready to kill this youkai that was before him.
"You…!" the weak youkai gasped. "Why haven't you fallen like the others?"
"Undo whatever you did to them!" Inuyasha growled, tightening his grip on the demon's neck.
"I—If I do, will you spare my life?" he rasped. Inuyasha was tempted to end the youkai's miserable life then and there. He couldn't stand such cowardice. He had half a mind to kill the youkai, knowing that with the youkai dead, the spell he cast would most likely die also, but then Kagome wouldn't be happy with him. She wouldn't like it if he killed someone who was defenseless and was already asking for mercy.
"Undo your spell, and you live," he said, throwing the pitiful youkai down hard. The youkai quickly sent another wave of spells at Inuyasha, but to no affect.
"Why…?" gasped the youkai as he realized that Inuyasha was ready to tear him to shreds. Inuyasha jumped above him, swinging Tessaiga out of its sheath in one graceful movement. Suddenly the youkai understood. He quickly cast another hoard of spells at Inuyasha. Inuyasha felt his body paralyze, and he barely landed on the ground without a scratch. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open now.
"I understand now," the youkai sneered, his confidence restored now that he had Inuyasha kneeling before him. "You're a hanyou. No wonder my spells didn't have any affect on you. You're neither human, nor youkai. Just a nuisance."
Inuyasha tried to growl angrily at the cocky youkai, but found that he didn't have the strength to. He was fast losing consciousness, though he tried to pool his stubbornness together to hopefully resist the affects of the spell a little bit longer. He couldn't fall unconscious. He had to help his friends to safety, then he could deal with this arrogant fool.
"Still hanging in there?" the youkai mocked. "Poor hanyou. Can't even fall prey to a spell correctly."
"You're the bastard who doesn't even know how to subdue such a worthless thing as a hanyou," Inuyasha spat out, trying to fuel his anger to give him the energy for an attack. One attack would be all it took to knock this demon out of the ring.
"My spells are perfect!" the youkai protested angrily. "It's you who's strange!" Inuyasha remembered how Kagome had said the same thing to him so long ago, when he had gave her his outer clothes and commented on her fragile skin. Was he really so strange? Did he really not belong anywhere? After all, his own mother had abandoned him…
But he could still remember times when she cared for him, loved him, held him close. Muonna had not been far off in her illusion of his mother. Even if she had left him alone in the world, even if she didn't care for him now, he would still honor what she had bequeathed him. Kagome had taught him not to be ashamed of his human side, though he sometimes still had trouble practicing that. His mother made him hanyou, but he would never give that up. Not while there was still a part of him that cared.
"Prepare to die, bastard," Inuyasha said through gritted teeth. He was really having trouble resisting the spell. He swiped his claws at the demon in a familiar move, slicing the demon up.
"Sankon Tetsusou!"
The youkai fell in shattered remains, steaming slightly from where it landed. Strange, Inuyasha thought, his head feeling foggier than ever. If he's dead, then why hasn't the spell broken?
"You fuckin' hanyou!" the youkai spat in rage as he rejoined together. "How dare you…!" Inuyasha could feel a dark wave of youki coming from the demon as he prepared for a spell that would ensure death to whomever it was cast upon. "Die!" he said, blasting the spell at Inuyasha.
He tried to get up to try and block it with Tessaiga, but he was drained of all his energy. Suddenly an arrow of light shot through the air and purified the dark spell, exploding on contact. Inuyasha shielded his eyes from the bright light, and could suddenly feel the presence of all the living things in the forest, as well as the one who fired the arrow.
Kagome…
He saw her shout something to the youkai, and with another blast and the spell on him was suddenly lifted.
"Inuyasha, are you all right?" she asked, her voice heavy with concern.
"Of course I'm all right," he said, throwing on his usual bravado. In truth, he was incredibly tired. That youkai must have been sapping their energy with his spell. "Go check on the others." She looked hurt as he brushed her away like that, but did as he told her to, waking the others gently. He wanted nothing more than to apologize to her, but he didn't know how. Apologizing just wasn't his thing, and he couldn't bring himself to learn how to do it. He watched her guiltily as she picked up the Shikon shard that had fallen from the youkai. He knew he should say something to her, but he had never been too good with words.
"What happened?" asked Miroku, trying to get himself to fully awaken. Sango rubbed the sleep from her eyes near him, while Kirara and Shippou yawned.
"Kagome beat the youkai and got the shard. That's all," Inuyasha said, forcing himself to get up without so much as a wobble. He had to look strong at all times, no matter what. He couldn't' afford to look weak at any one moment. If he was weak, or even looked weak, he knew that he would be susceptible to the dangers of the world that he knew so well.
"What? Kagome-sama defeated the youkai by herself?" asked Miroku, looking impressed with Kagome. But she didn't look pleased. She just watched as Inuyasha started to walk away from her, her eyes filled with something that should not have been there for a girl of her age.
She didn't understand him. She didn't understand why he always had to push her away, why he always had to be alone, tough, never revealing his feelings, his thoughts, his dreams, or his hopes. Why did he always act this way? Why would he never open himself up fully to them, his only friends?
She was trailing behind the others again, thinking. It was a good thing that she had fallen behind, otherwise she might have been entranced in the same spell that the others had. Or maybe she wouldn't have because of her powers? She watched Inuyasha, unsure of what she was feeling for him. Concern? Anger? Love?
She had defeated a youkai by herself, proving that she was as strong as Inuyasha, yet why did she feel empty? She had thought that if she won in this little contest of power, she would be able to laugh and joke about it with Inuyasha, but the atmosphere that had settled on him did not invite any foolishness. He had that scowl on again, the one that he had had the first time that they met. Had the youkai said something to Inuyasha and hurt him?
Kagome clenched her fists angrily. I should have beaten him up to a pulp first, she thought. Nobody hurts my friend and gets away with it.
"So where are we headed?" Miroku asked cautiously, also aware of the air of hostility that surrounded Inuyasha.
"To run an errand," Inuyasha replied curtly. Apparently, he didn't want to talk right now, but Miroku pushed on ahead, not willing to let Inuyasha get absorbed in one of his moods.
"What kind of errand?" he asked, his voice annoyingly calm. Kagome hoped that Inuyasha wasn't going to hit the monk for interrupting his silence.
"The errand that the princess asked me to do," he said through clenched teeth. Miroku stopped in surprise.
"Wait a minute," Miroku said, pondering for a bit. "You're obviously headed towards a specific destination, and it doesn't look like you're sniffing your way there…" Inuyasha let out a warning growl. "Does that mean you know where the princess' family is?"
Inuyasha just turned away from the monk and continued walking, his mood becoming fouler, if that was possible.
"I don't get it," whispered Shippou to Sango as they camped out. "Why would Inuyasha want to help someone he doesn't even know?"
"I don't understand it, either," Sango admitted. "This really isn't like Inuyasha. He usually has to be pushed by Kagome-chan to do something, but this time, he's acting on his own."
"You don't think that he likes the princess better than Kagome, do you?" asked Shippou, earning a scary look from the said girl. He gulped visibly.
"I don't think so," Sango said. "He's not the type," she said, trying to reassure her friend, even though she wasn't participating in the conversation.
"If you don't mind me asking," sounded Miroku's voice from a little distance away. "How are you going to get the charm to her family if you look like a demon?"
"Shippou," Inuyasha said to Miroku, suddenly appearing before the girls and the young kitsune. "I'm going to borrow his power." Shippou looked agape at Inuyasha. Inuyasha was going to ask him for help? Had he missed something? Why was Inuyasha acting so strangely all of a sudden?
"Shippou?" asked Miroku, equally surprised. Had something damaged his friend's brain? This wasn't like him at all.
"Do you have a fever?" asked Kagome, worried about him.
"I'm fine. I just have to do this favor," he said, not explaining why as he jumped into the branches of a nearby tree. "Go to sleep. We have to search for more shards soon."
The other four below him exchanged worried looks. What was going on with Inuyasha?
Inuyasha walked purposefully in front of them, never breaking his stride, seeming to know perfectly where he was heading. They were out of the forest now, and were walking on a small, dirt path. Then again, most of the roads that they took were usually small, dirt paths. Once in a while they would travel a main road, which was simply a bigger dirt path. Kagome frowned as she saw her shoes get covered with the dust from the road.
"Can we rest?" asked Shippou from his perch on Kirara, who was walking peacefully beside them.
"We just rested an hour ago," Inuyasha said, not even bothering to turn around.
"But Inuyasha, it was an hour ago!" Shippou protested.
"You don't even need rest," Inuyasha grouched. "You've been riding Kirara all the way."
"But my butt's becoming numb!" Shippou whined, hoping to get a semblance of the old Inuyasha back. Inuyasha would have normally hit him by now, but today, he wasn't doing anything. Did he really like that princess so much that he would rather help her and ignore his friends?
"Fine, fine," Inuyasha said, stopping and surprising the group. Did Inuyasha just do what Shippou wanted? "Rest for a moment. I have to see how much farther, anyway." Then he dashed off, leaving a puff of dust wherever he came in contact with the road while he was leaping through the air.
Everyone just looked at each other, not quite sure what to do. No one had really thought that Inuyasha was seriously going to let them rest, especially since he seemed so intent on doing the princess this favor. Now that he was letting them rest, they didn't know what to do.
"As soon as Inuyasha gets back, we'll hound him until he tells us what's going on," Kagome said. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
He leapt into a tall tree a little ways from the road and spotted his destination. The old castle stood against the blue, summer sky like blood against snow, its sharp features cutting through the warm air. He took the small charm out from his sleeve and compared the emblem with the one on the flag of the castle wall. They were the same. So, he hadn't remembered wrong after all.
He walked back at a slower pace, knowing that the others could take care of themselves if a youkai should be foolish enough to attack them. He hadn't felt any real threats around them, and he doubted that a youkai would be able sense the shards from so far a distance.
He arrived at the place where he had left the others, only to find that there was no one there. He looked around him, and wondered if he had remembered the wrong place. Suddenly, Shippou appeared and drove a wooden stake into the ground, and Miroku, Kagome, and Sango ran out from their hiding place, holding a long rope in their hands. Miroku, Sango, and Kagome positioned themselves so that each formed a corner of a square, with the wooden stake making the last corner. Shippou and Kirara stood a little distance away, watching as the ward became activated.
"What the hell?" asked Inuyasha, as he tried to grab the rope, only to recoil his hand with a hiss. "What the hell is this for?" he demanded angrily.
"We want to know why you want to help this princess so badly," Kagome said, determined to outlast Inuyasha in his stubbornness.
"You've been acting very strange ever since that princess asked you for a favor," Miroku said calmly, unfazed by Inuyasha's glare.
"We're just concerned because of the way you've been acting," Sango said, not quite sure that this was the right way to get Inuyasha to answer their questions. It wasn't exactly the nicest method, but she knew that the others thought that it was necessary to get Inuyasha to talk.
"So come on and tell us, Inuyasha," Shippou said on his perch on top of Kirara. "It's not because you like her, is it?"
"What?" asked Inuyasha, not understanding how on earth Shippou came up with an idea like that. As if he would ever like anyone except… Well, never mind.
"Ah, judging by your reaction, Shippou must have been correct," Miroku, said, getting an all-knowing expression on his face. "I never thought that you would be like that, but I suppose that I really don't know you well enough."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Inuyasha angrily. "Whoever said that I was doing this just because I like her? I'm not like you, bouzu." Miroku let out a long-suffering sigh.
"Then why are you doing this?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha detected a sense of relief in her voice, and wondered what had she been worried about, anyway.
"I-I'm…" he stumbled. What could he say that would reveal the least? He didn't want them to know why he was doing it. It was his own business, and it was private. He wasn't about to let anyone know more than they needed to.
"I'm doing this out of pity," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms. He hoped he was convincing. He never really was a good liar.
"Pity?" all of the asked in unison. Even Kirara had mewed something that sounded similar. Inuyasha scowled. What? He couldn't sympathize with people anymore?
"Pity, is it?" Miroku asked slyly. "Funny. I never imagined you to be the type."
"Inuyasha, just tell us the truth so that we can let you out," Sango said. "Otherwise we'll just have to keep this barrier up until you tell us."
"I already told you. I'm doing this for charity," Inuyasha said. That wasn't so unbelievable, was it? He had always saved whomever Kagome told him to, didn't he? Then again, he wondered if he would be so charitable if Kagome hadn't been there.
"Inuyasha, your lies are terrible," Shippou said, shaking his head as if ashamed for Inuyasha. "Even I can make a lie better than you."
"What's so secret about it that you can't even tell us?" Kagome asked, starting to do her weak and weepy act. Inuyasha started to get nervous. He hated when she did that. It made him feel so guilty, like the time when he had told her when they were in his father's grave that she might die. He mentally cursed himself for his weakness. He couldn't stand seeing people sad, especially if it was because of him.
"I'm just doing a favor," Inuyasha said, finally relenting.
"Yes, yes," Miroku said impatiently. "And why?"
"One of her relatives has helped me before. I'm just returning the favor," Inuyasha said. "Now can you let down the barrier?" Miroku thought about it for a moment.
"No," he said finally, smiling his insufferable smile.
"Why you—! I already told you why I'm helping that princess. What more do you want?" Inuyasha shouted angrily. Stupid monk… When I get out of here, I'm going to have to punish him. He wondered what he could do that would possibly make Miroku angry. Then again, Miroku never seemed to be angry, except when Naraku showed up, and it wasn't like he could just conjure up Naraku to make Miroku mad. Besides, that wasn't a good enough punishment anyway.
"I want to know what that favor was," Miroku said, obviously enjoying Inuyasha being unable to attack him. He wondered if he should do the same thing in order to get Inuyasha to change his mind about becoming a full youkai.
"Why should I tell you?" shouted Inuyasha, getting impatient with them.
"Because if you don't, you won't be able to get out?" asked Miroku innocently. Inuyasha gritted his teeth in frustration. When I get out, I'm going to pound him, he thought.
"Just get it over with," Sango suggested. She wondered why Inuyasha was being so reluctant to say what the favor had been about.
"She just helped me for one night, that's all," Inuyasha grumbled, angry that he had no choice but to tell them.
"Help you for one night with what?" asked Miroku.
"Don't start getting your sick fantasies," Inuyasha said, annoyed. "I met her when I was a kid, so don't start getting funny thoughts."
"You met the princess when you were a child?" asked Sango. "Wouldn't that make her incredibly old?"
"Not the princess," Inuyasha said, as if it were obvious. "I met one of her relatives. Probably her grandmother if the similarities in their features can attest to anything."
"Her grandmother?" asked Kagome, nearly dropping the rope in surprise. "What did she help you with?" Inuyasha suddenly scowled.
"It was nothing," he said curtly, making Kagome angry. But it looked like the conversation was over. Inuyasha wasn't going to say anymore on the subject, even if they kept him penned up for the rest of the night, which, luckily for him, Sango managed to convince the others out of doing.
But their little interrogation had cost them a day, with both Inuyasha and Kagome having a contest of who was the most stubborn. Inuyasha had refused to tell them anything more on the subject, so in the end, he was the victor. Kagome tried to look irritated at her defeat, but she couldn't quite pull it off well. They were all wondering what exactly had happened on that one night that Inuyasha had mentioned, but it seemed obvious that they were never going to find out.
Kagome put her book away as she felt sleep creeping up on her. She looked up and saw that Inuyasha was resting on the top of a tree near her, and wondered if he had fallen asleep yet.
"Inuyasha?" she whispered, getting only a twitch of an ear in response. Was that just a natural reflex, or was Inuyasha trying to tell her that he was still awake? She sighed, settling deeper in her sleeping bag.
"Oyasumi nasai, Inuyasha," Kagome said sleepily, not expecting him to say "good night" back to her. She closed her eyes, trying to get the sleeping bag warmer so that she could feel more comfortable.
"Oyasumi nasai, Kagome," she thought she heard, but wondered if it was just her sleepy mind making things up. She decided it wasn't important, and drifted off to sleep.
"How long do you think you can hold the illusion?" asked Inuyasha, as Kagome slowly woke up. She got up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawning.
"The longest is probably ten or fifteen minutes," Shippou said, feeling himself to be very important. "But I can't guarantee anything."
"Well, you better make sure you make it to the maximum," Inuyasha said threateningly, "otherwise I'm going to have to hurt you."
"Hey, but we had a deal!" Shippou protested. "If I help you, then you won't bop me on the head for one week."
"That'll only happen if everything goes successfully," Inuyasha said.
"That's stupid," Shippou said. "I'm not doing it anymore," he said as he started to walk away.
"Oi, Shippou," Inuyasha said, cracking his knuckles loudly. "You care to repeat that?"
"Kagome, Inuyasha is being mean!" Shippou complained, running to her.
"Inuyasha, stop being mean to Shippou-chan," she said, still slightly sleepy.
"He's the one who started it," Inuyasha said.
"I did not!" Shippou protested.
"Don't fight so early in the morning," Miroku said, the noise waking him up. "Someone might get grumpy."
"Too bad Inuyasha is already grumpy," Shippou said. There was a loud crack, and soon Shippou was holding the bump on his head, crying.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome said in a menacing voice. Inuyasha flinched at the tone of her voice. But really, it wasn't his fault! It was all Shippou's—
"Osuwari," she said, sending the hanyou slamming into the ground, getting his face full of dirt. As soon as he was able to peel himself off the ground, he started yelling at Kagome.
"What the hell did you do that for?" he demanded loudly. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"You hurt Shippou-chan," Kagome said. Shippou ran in back of Kagome and made a face at Inuyasha, getting the dog demon angry.
"Why do you always take his side?" asked Inuyasha sulkily.
"It's because you're the one who's always wrong," Kagome said, Inuyasha's irritation rubbing off of her.
"I am not always wrong!" he shouted.
"Oh, you so are!" she shouted back at him.
"Break it up already," Sango said, looking very grumpy. "It's bad enough that you two fight practically everyday, but did you have to do it in the morning?" Kirara lay on Sango's shoulder, nodding in agreement with her master.
"Besides, we don't have time for arguments," Miroku said. "Don't you have something you need to do?" he asked Inuyasha.
"I can't do it if the brat doesn't cooperate," Inuyasha said, sounding like he was back to normal.
"I'm not a brat!" Shippou said angrily.
"Of course you're not," Miroku said. "That's why you're going to help Inuyasha, even though he keeps on insulting you. That just shows that you're a better man than he is."
"Miroku…" Inuyasha said in a warning tone.
"I suppose we should start going, shouldn't we?" Miroku asked pleasantly. "We want to get there before nightfall."
The rest of the group just looked at him shrewdly.
"Right," Inuyasha said, voicing everyone's opinions. Miroku was going to go to freeload off people again.
"We don't need any charlatans here," the guard said roughly, refusing to admit entrance to Miroku and the people in the rest of the group. "Especially one who claims to be a monk, but travels with youkai."
"Tono-sama would be displeased if he knew we let a monk and his band in," the other guard said in a kinder and apologetic voice. "Even if there were youkai running around in the castle."
"I see," Miroku said, still smiling politely. "I shall go on my way now." He walked away from the castle, internally sighing at his failed attempt to land them a free room and meal. Oh well, there was always next time.
"Inuyasha, what are you going to do?" asked Kagome, knowing that Inuyasha was determined to go in the castle to pay back the favor from so many years ago. She still wondered what the favor had been about, but she didn't want to ask Inuyasha, since he would get touchy about the subject. I wonder if it has something to do with his childhood… He's implied that hanyou aren't exactly treated with the utmost respect, so I wonder… Does it have something to do with that? Was he hurt, and the princess' grandmother healed him?
"I'll just go in the way I had originally planned," Inuyasha said, turning to Shippou. "You think you can do it?" he asked Shippou.
"Of course I can!" Shippou said loudly, looking irritated with Inuyasha for shortchanging him. But on the inside, he wasn't so sure. He was never really able to hold his form for long, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold Inuyasha's illusion long enough for him to get things done. If his illusion fell away, Inuyasha would be in danger. Just thinking about it made Shippou nervous. Inuyasha wasn't exactly the nicest guy to him, but he didn't want Inuyasha to die. Inuyasha and Kagome were the ones who had given him a family when he had lost his, and no matter how he acted towards Inuyasha, he would still be hurt if Inuyasha should die.
"Why don't we just wait until the next new moon?" asked Sango, picking up the uncertainty in Shippou's movements. Kohaku had always been unsure of himself, and Sango could detect the exact same feeling coming from Shippou. She was surprised that she could think of Kohaku now and not arouse tears in herself, and wondered what exactly was it about the group that made her feel as if she belonged. One hanyou, one youkai, one monk, one priestess, and one exterminator… A strange family, but a family nonetheless.
"I'm not going to wait until the next new moon," Inuyasha said. "That'll take too long. Besides, the charm that the princess gave me isn't any ordinary charm. It's way heavier than a normal one should be."
"What do you mean?" asked Miroku.
"I'm thinking that the girl must have put some secret message or something in the charm," Inuyasha said. "I can still smell the ink. She's probably more than just a hostage."
"You mean she's like a spy, or something?" asked Kagome. A spy right inside the castle… That would make sense.
"But hostages aren't allowed to do much," Sango said, frowning. "They usually just keep hostages for leverage against the hostage's group. There's no way that the princess went there to be a spy."
"She probably isn't a spy," Inuyasha said. "She probably just overheard something, and since we were there, she decided to seize the opportunity to warn her family about it."
"So that's why you want to give the family her message as soon as possible," Miroku said. "Just in case there's something important written in it."
"Yeah. And I better get going before sunset. They'll get suspicious if any strange people appear at the castle so late, bearing a message," Inuyasha said, looking at the sky. "Shippou, do whatever it is you do already."
"All right, but if you get caught, it's not my fault!" Shippou said as a way of warning Inuyasha. He then concentrated on making Inuyasha into another form. He had never done such a thing before, but Inuyasha had told him earlier that it was possible, so he was going to take Inuyasha's word and try. There was a little pop sound, and soon a human Inuyasha was standing before him.
"Shippou-chan, you did a great job!" exclaimed Kagome, looking impressed with Shippou's handiwork. Shippou didn't answer. It was taking all of his strength just to keep up the illusion. He didn't dare break his concentration.
Inuyasha took one look at Shippou and understood, running off towards the direction of the castle without saying good-bye.
"Please be careful, Inuyasha," Kagome and Sango said at the same time. Shippou hoped that he wasn't going to be the one who caused Inuyasha to get caught.
He ran to the castle, his human form much slower than his half demon one. When he was within sight of the castle, he slowed down to a walk, trying to look casual. Tessaiga was at his side, and he hoped that he really looked the part of a warrior as he neared the two guards from before.
"Good day, sir, and what may we do for you?" they asked politely, with a slight hint of suspicion.
"I'm here to deliver something," Inuyasha said, hoping that he didn't sound as nervous as he felt. He showed the guards the small charm with the emblem of a crane with a red sun in back. The guards recognized the symbol, and let him in.
"It's from the princess, right?" the nicer guard asked. Inuyasha nodded affirmative. "She's always trying to help her family, even if she's being held hostage."
"Just keep going straight," the other guard said. "You'll reach the room where Tono-sama usually is." Inuyasha walked towards the direction indicated, hoping that the lord was there. He wanted to get out of this castle as soon as possible. He wasn't good at pretending or tricking people, and he hoped that he could escape before Shippou was no longer able to hold the illusion.
Sure enough, the room had a lord sitting in it, surrounded by a whole bunch of other men, mostly warriors. When Inuyasha entered the room, they all turned to look at him, an expression of curiosity and hostility meeting him.
"A gift from the princess," Inuyasha said, holding the small charm in his hands.
"It must be another message from Yuki-hime," someone exclaimed.
"Bring it to me," the lord said, unable to suppress impatience. Someone took the charm from Inuyasha's hand, bringing it to the lord. Inuyasha stood there, not quite sure what to do. Was he supposed to leave right now? But what if they thought he was rude? Then again, if he didn't leave, what if they thought he was rude because they thought he wanted a reward for his troubles? Inuyasha decided that the safest choice was to leave, and was about to head out of the door when the lord stopped him.
"I thank you for bringing this message with such promptness," the lord said, his expression dead serious. "Is there anything I can compensate you with for your trouble?"
"N-no, thank you," Inuyasha said nervously, not quite sure what to say. He didn't want anything. He just wanted to get out of here before Shippou's spell wore off.
"There has to be something that I can give you," the lord said, getting angry. "Are you saying that there is nothing within my possession that is worthy of you?"
"What?!" Inuyasha said a bit too loudly. He was going to say, "When did I say that?" but thought better of it. This lord was stupid. He didn't want anything, and yet the idiot insisted on giving him something. Must be some pride thing, Inuyasha thought. Otherwise he wouldn't be doing this to show others how generous he is.
"You must have done this for my daughter for a reason," the lord said. "And if it wasn't to get the reward, then what is it?"
"I'm just returning a favor," Inuyasha said rather ambiguously. The others looked confused, and made no movement as Inuyasha walked out of the room.
He was about to exit the premises when he felt a strong barrier blocking his way. He backed up, only to hit another invisible barrier, and he realized that someone had trapped him.
"I thought so," someone said, slowly approaching him. "Your aura felt too strange to be a human's." Inuyasha growled in irritation. He had just done them a good deed, and this was how they repaid him?
"What do you want?" asked Inuyasha, trying to keep his temper in check.
"Want? Why, nothing more than to rid the world of all you youkai," the man said, looking like he was in his forties. He was dressed in a monk's garments, and Inuyasha wondered why a monk was inside the castle if the lord hated them so much. Then again, the monk had similar features as the lord, which meant they were probably related.
"Stupid bastard. Do you want to die?" Inuyasha growled, angry at the man's attitude.
"Oh? So you wish to fight me? You'll regret it, youkai," the man said, smiling. "This should prove to be amusing." With a wave of his hand and an utterance of an incantation, Inuyasha felt himself get shocked by the power of the man's houriki. He gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out, and he felt Shippou's illusion disappear with the first shock. He heard the guards cry out in surprise, and knew that the only way out now was to fight his way out.
"What's going on?" the lord demanded, seeing the commotion outside. Then he spotted Inuyasha. "Y-youkai!"
"Of course it is, nephew," the monk said. "I am simply getting rid of it for you." The lord took one look at Inuyasha, and recognition seemed to flash across his face.
"You're the warrior from before," the lord said, noticing the same sword Inuyasha was carrying earlier. "A pity that you're a youkai. I was going to ask you to join us, but I suppose now it is impossible," the lord said. "I would thank you for running this errand for my daughter, but youkai are undeserving of my gratitude."
Inuyasha wanted to lash out in anger, but the spell had forced him to his knees, and he was already having a difficult time breathing. Any more of this, and he would either die or become human, neither of which was pleasing in a situation like this.
Shippou nearly fell backwards and landed on his head with the sudden shock that ran through his system as his spell was broken. Something incredibly strong had purified his spell so much that it had sent a shockwave to him, and Shippou worried about what had happened to Inuyasha.
"Shippou-chan, what's wrong? Are you all right?" asked Kagome in concern, helping the small child up. "What happened?"
"Something's happened with Inuyasha," Shippou said quickly. "Someone broke my spell."
"Are you sure?" asked Miroku.
"I'm sure! I'm sure!" Shippou shouted loudly. "We have to go and see what happened to Inuyasha."
"Kirara," Sango said, the cat transforming to its larger form at her command. They quickly climbed onto the cat's back and set off towards the castle, all the while Shippou hoping that Inuyasha hadn't been caught because of him.
They arrived at the castle, the sun setting behind a nearby mountain, casting its bloody glare onto the walls of the silent castle. Two different guards were guarding the door now, but the two guards couldn't see the people floating in the sky above them, so they posed no threat to the group. The courtyard was eerily quite, and no signs of any struggle seemed to be apparent. Kagome became more worried at the sight. If someone had tried to catch Inuyasha, then he no doubt would have fought back, but this scene showed that a fight hadn't occurred at all.
"Do you think that someone put a spell on him?" Sango whispered to Miroku as they observed the scene below them. The people in the castle were moving around as if nothing had happened, and Kagome wondered if Inuyasha was even caught inside the castle.
"Did you hear that?" whispered Shippou.
"What?" asked Kagome in a quiet voice.
"The people down there were talking about a hanyou being imprisoned," Shippou said in a quiet voice, trying to strain his ears to hear more. He was a kitsune, so naturally he had the same gift of acute hearing as a dog, though his hearing wasn't as good as Inuyasha's. "That means that Inuyasha has to be here."
"How are we going to find where they're holding him prisoner?" asked Sango, trying to keep her voice low. Soon the sun set completely, leaving them all in darkness. At least now they would have less of a chance of being discovered, although they would also have less of a chance of finding Inuyasha in the dark.
Kagome was about to suggest a plan when she thought she saw someone standing on the roof below her, but when she looked again, there was no one there. She shrugged it off as a trick on her eyes, but then she saw the same person again, gesturing for her to come down.
"Sango-chan, can you please tell Kirara to land on that roof right over there?" pointed Kagome at the place where the person had been a moment ago, but had now disappeared.
"Okay," Sango said, not quite sure why Kagome wanted to land right there. Kirara landed softly, barely disturbing the wind, and Kagome looked around her, searching for the person that she had seen.
"That's strange. I could swear I just saw—!" She had to suppress her gasp of surprise when she found the person standing right next to her, near Kirara. Or rather, the person was standing through Kirara.
"Kagome-chan, what's wrong?" asked Sango, looking at Kagome's pale face.
"C-can't you see?" asked Kagome, pointing to the person next to her. Sango just gave her a funny expression.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, not seeing anyone.
"They cannot see me," the woman said, her hair moving with an unfelt breeze. "Only you. If you want to save your friend, you must follow me. You must trust me."
"Trust you?" Kagome asked, wondering who this person was, and why she wanted to help Inuyasha.
"Kagome-sama, who are you speaking to?" Miroku asked, not seeing the person whom Kagome was talking to.
"They…they really can't see?" asked Kagome to the specter, who shook her head. Kagome looked at the woman beside her and wondered where had she seen her before.
"Kagome, what's going on?" asked Shippou, his voice shaking in fear.
"There's someone who wants to help us find Inuyasha," she said to the rest of the group. "I… I think she's a ghost."
"A ghost?" asked Shippou. Miroku looked at the empty air suspiciously while Sango started to shift nervously. "If it's a ghost, then why can't I see it? I could see all those kid ghosts last time."
"I am not truly a ghost," the lady said to Kagome. "I have been dead for quite some time, and am now awaiting my chance to be reincarnated. I have already left this world, so I do not truly qualify to be a ghost."
"Umm… Okay," Kagome said, wondering how to explain it to the others.
"Think of me as a guardian angel," the woman smiled. "One who has come to help you."
"Uh… She's not really a ghost," Kagome explained. "She says she's like a guardian angel."
"That explains things then," Miroku said. Sango visibly relaxed, but Shippou was still trying to look through the air to see this mysterious person. "She's here to help. That's why only Kagome-sama can see her."
"I don't get it," said Shippou, but Kagome just rubbed his head fondly.
"So what do we do?" asked Kagome to the lady.
"Follow me," she said, drifting off the roof to the courtyard below. With the help of Kirara, everyone else soon landed softly in the courtyard. Kirara transformed into her smaller form, and they all started following Kagome.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to help Inuyasha?" Kagome asked in as soft a voice as she could muster.
"Long ago, I was a friend to him, and he was a friend to me," the lady said, walking through the dark halls without really touching the floor. Kagome tried not to look at her feet and instead tried to concentrate on what the lady had just said. She was a friend to Inuyasha long ago? Could it be that this woman was the person whom Inuyasha had said helped him all those years ago?
"How did you meet each other?" asked Kagome, hoping to get some information out of this woman since Inuyasha obviously wouldn't tell her anything.
"He was hurt," the lady said, her voice becoming distant. "I helped him."
That was all well and nice, but Kagome wanted to find out how she had helped him, and why Inuyasha had been hurt. She tried a different approach.
"So you helped a hanyou just for fun?" asked Kagome, hoping that the lady would become irritated enough the let something slip past her vague explanations.
"He was not a hanyou at that time," the lady said. By now, she had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the group. "He was a human. I did not discover he was a hanyou until today."
"Yet you are still willing to help him?" asked Miroku, impressed by the lady's calm character.
"Be him hanyou or youkai, it does not matter to me," she said in a soft voice. "He was my friend, he is my friend, and he will always be my friend."
"So what happened?" asked Shippou, now walking besides the lady.
"What are you people talking about?" asked Sango, who was now walking in the back of the group.
"We're trying to find out what—" Miroku paused in his sentence. "Wait a minute. I can see and hear you now."
"Hey, me too," said Shippou, just noticing it.
"Well, I can't," said Sango, still just seeing darkness before her.
"The longer I stay away from where I am supposed to be, the more like a ghost I shall become," the woman said. "We must hurry. Otherwise I will again have to wait several years before I am given the chance to reincarnate."
The group started to hurry along, still trying to keep their noise at a minimum. The woman started to speak again.
"It was sunset when I met him, bruised and battered, unable to stand on his own any longer," she said, her voice misty. "He looked to be the same age as I, five years old or so. I brought him to the cave where I was hiding from my father and took care of his numerous cuts."
"Why were you hiding from your father?" asked Shippou, unable to imagine why anyone would do such a thing, except maybe as a joke.
"I was a princess, and unable to go out on my own, so I decided that I would run away for a while," the lady laughed softly. "And it was during this time that I met Inuyasha. He was so polite, and spoke like a prince that I could not understand why he had been beaten as he was."
"Inuyasha? Being polite?" asked Kagome.
"And speaking like a prince?" asked Shippou.
"Are we even speaking about the same Inuyasha?" Miroku asked. Sango tried to puzzle out what they were speaking about with their questions, but really had no luck.
"I know he is the same," the woman said in a softer voice so that it was difficult to hear her. "He still has that same personality, though I must say that his vocabulary has significantly changed," she said in a lighter voice. "He was very grateful to me, but kept on insisting that he needed to leave. I did not understand then, but I do now. He wanted to leave because he was afraid that he would be in danger if I found out about his true heritage. But he should have known that I never would have betrayed him."
The lady paused in her speech as she saw two hallways diverge from the hallway they were standing in. She seemed to think for a moment before taking the right path.
"I could tell that his injuries still hurt him, so I insisted that he stay, and in the end, partly because he could not get up by himself, he decided to stay," she said. "To pass the time, I told him a story that I had heard recently. We passed the rest of the night speaking. I remember that he had told me something about his family, but I am afraid that I do not remember it right now." She started looking at each door that they were passing more slowly, and Kagome knew that they were near their destination.
"I fell asleep, and when dawn rose into the morning sky, I found that he had already gone," she said, observing the pattern on each door. "I was upset, but glad that I had met him. The only reason that I had returned to my father as quickly as I had done was because of something he had said. I knew then that I could not take my family for granted, and returned to be the princess that I was. I never forgot him. I suppose that I had a childhood crush on him, and I hoped to see him again, although it is obvious that I never did."
She stopped in front of a door with the patterns of cranes and turtles on it. She gestured for Kagome to open the door, and Kagome slowly slid the door open. She could feel the tingling of an especially strong spell from the inside, and could see someone lying in the middle of a hastily drawn circle.
"Inuyasha," she gasped, as she quickly walked into the room. She knelt down next to him, and saw his obsidian, dark hair, and knew that the spell must have been one of purifying nature. She tried to pull him to an upright position, putting her hand behind his back and trying to help him up when she felt her hand touch something sticky. She pulled her hand away and saw that it was stained with something crimson, making her skin crawl.
Suddenly the entire room lit up, and she saw that there were many soldiers, as well as one monk standing in the room. She looked at them angrily. How could they do this to Inuyasha? And by the looks of things, they had hit Inuyasha only after he had turned human. Inuyasha would never have stood around long enough to be hit by anyone, even if he was weakened in his hanyou state.
"I knew that his friends would come back for him, but I never expected his friends to be humans," the monk said, smirking. "But I suppose any human that associates themselves with youkai must be deserving of death."
"I suppose I am correct in assuming that it is you who did all this?" Miroku asked, seeming to be in control of the situation. What his face did not show, his heart did, and it was now pumping away madly, unsure of which option would be the safest, especially with Inuyasha out of commission.
"Who else would have such power?" the man asked, as haughty as ever. "But the show is over, and it is time for me to rid this world of scum like you."
"How ironic," Miroku said, taking a step forward and inconspicuously wiping part of the circle away. "I was going to say the same thing to you." There was a bright flash as the spell suddenly disappeared, and an Inuyasha in hanyou form started to get up, touching the back of his head tenderly.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome said, relieved to see him get up. He looked menacingly at the people who had imprisoned him. The soldiers backed up a step, but the monk stood his ground.
"So you're up again. No matter. I will just subdue you again!" the monk shouted, sending a wave of spells at Inuyasha. Miroku hastily erected a barrier to block the spells, but the monk relentlessly pounded the barrier with spell after spell, so that the barrier started to crack, and eventually shattered.
"Humph," the monk said, looking disdainfully at Miroku. "This is what you get for defying your teachings." He sent another wave of spells at Miroku and the others, and Miroku tried to put up another barrier, but he knew that he was too slow. He could feel the spells inches from his face when something stopped the spells in its path, negating their power.
"Let's get out of here," Inuyasha said suddenly, surprising Miroku. Inuyasha was not usually one to let his enemies go so easily, and yet here he was, suggesting a retreat. With his sword, Inuyasha blasted a section of the castle away, allowing for them to escape. They quickly followed Inuyasha out. Kagome looked behind her, wondering what had stopped the spells, and noticed that the soldiers who were trying to come after them were also stopped by some invisible wall.
As she ran with Inuyasha and the others, she saw someone standing there, on the roof of the castle. It was that woman from before. She seemed to smile not at Kagome, but at someone else. Kagome was about to turn around and tell Inuyasha to look at the strange woman when the woman waved, and suddenly disappeared into the night.
"Well?" asked Miroku, waiting for Inuyasha to answer his question. "What exactly happened so many years ago?"
"Yeah. She must have come back to this realm to help you for a reason," Shippou said, curious as to how Inuyasha would reply. There was a lapse of silence before Inuyasha finally started to speak.
"It was on a new moon, when I was still a brat," Inuyasha said, knowing that his friends would never leave him alone unless he told them the story. Friends? When did I start thinking that way? But they really had to be his friends for him to reveal such a guarded thing as his past.
"We know all that already," Miroku said, getting slightly impatient. "That woman told us."
"Yuki-hime told you, huh," asked Inuyasha. So that presence that I had felt there… That was her?
"Her name is also 'Yuki'?" asked Miroku, looking surprised.
"What do you mean by 'also'?" asked Sango, looking at Miroku very suspiciously.
"Heh heh… Nothing at all," Miroku laughed nervously.
"I bet he's talking about that princess from before," Kagome said, giving Miroku a knowing look. Miroku just sighed.
"Anyway, what happened?" asked Shippou, determined to know what happened to Inuyasha. Inuyasha has also lost his parents, Shippou thought. But why does he act so much meaner? Even I'm not that mean, and I saw my father killed in front of me…
"I ended up staying with her till I could leave," Inuyasha said gruffly.
"Was that because you were badly beaten up by someone?" asked Shippou, and quickly covered his mouth when he saw the hurt that flashed ever so briefly across Inuyasha's face.
"Why would anyone ever beat a human child, anyway?" asked Sango. "Inuyasha, did you do something wrong?"
"Of course he didn't do anything wrong!" Kagome said, immediately jumping to his defense. "If he did, then Yuki-hime would not have helped him to escape."
"Maybe she didn't know?" asked Miroku.
"It happened before I transformed," Inuyasha said quietly. "I escaped from them just as I started to change."
Them? thought Kagome. There was more than one?
"So that was why you were injured," Miroku deduced. "Your youkai powers were gone, so they were unable to heal you."
"But why would anyone attack a youkai?" asked Shippou. "Was it another youkai that attacked?"
"Does it matter if it was another youkai or if it was a human?" Inuyasha asked, causing the others to fall silent. "A hanyou is a hanyou. It makes no difference to either of them."
"Inuyasha…" Kagome said, her heart tearing at Inuyasha's pain. Inuyasha… As long as you're with us, we'll never let the same thing happen to you again. We'll never allow anyone to treat you that way… She held his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. So, you don't have to worry. And…you don't have to feel that pain anymore…
"She mentioned a story," Miroku said, wanting to change the subject. "She told a story to you. Would you care to tell it to us? Perhaps it can act as a bedtime story for Shippou?"
"Yeah, Inuyasha. Tell us the story!" said Shippou eagerly, catching on to what Miroku was trying to do.
"You've already heard it," Inuyasha said, turning away, and slipping his hand out of Kagome's. She put her hand back in her lap, wondering why he was always pushing everyone away when he was hurting. He should have known by now that they would always stand by his side, no matter what.
"What is it, though?" asked Sango, wanting to get his mind off the previous topic.
"It was the story of Kaguya-hime," Inuyasha said, not bothering to look at them.
"Oh, the one that Kagome-sama told us the other day?" asked Miroku. He frowned slightly. "If I remember correctly, at that time, you said that there was something wrong with the story. Did Yuki-hime tell you a different version?"
"No… It was the same," Inuyasha replied. He turned to Miroku. "But both versions are wrong."
"What do you mean?" asked Kagome, pretty sure that she had remembered the story correctly.
"There were only six suitors mentioned in the story," Inuyasha said. "But there was one more. He was sent to make clothes that would be hard to break, and would be able to grow to fit the master, and repair itself if broken."
"Hard to break…?" Kagome thought out loud. Could it be…? Inuyasha's clothes! But that would mean…
"Unlike the others, he actually succeeded, and so, true to her deal, she married him," Inuyasha said. "But of course she knew that he would be able to do it. They had known each other even before she proposed her deal, and she had made sure that she selected a task that he would be able to accomplish."
"Inuyasha, how do you know all this?" asked Shippou, looking clueless. Miroku looked at Inuyasha, suspicions starting to arise in him. Inuyasha looked like he had suddenly realized he had said too much, and immediately stopped telling the story.
"Forget it. It's not important, anyway," he said, leaning his back against the tree, careful not to bump his still tender head. Damn it. Why am I telling them this all of a sudden? It's not like they need to know.
"Inuyasha, could it be that Kaguya-hime is your—" Miroku started.
"No," Inuyasha cut him off, sounding angry. "Kaguya-hime flew off to the heavens. My mother died of an illness." But he wasn't sure. That night, he had seen her fly off in the carriage, abandoning him, and yet, the next morning, she was there again. She had been struck down with some illness, but she was there nonetheless. And shortly, she passed away. Everyone said that the illness had killed her, but then, what was it that he had seen that night? Surely he didn't imagine the entire episode?
"Of course," Kagome said. "Inuyasha's Okaa-san would never leave him, isn't that right, Inuyasha?" she asked, hoping to comfort him. Instead, he just looked away and gave a grunt, making her wonder if his mother really had abandoned him.
"In any case, it's getting late," Miroku said. "Everyone should get some sleep. We should get moving as soon as we are able to." Sango nodded in agreement, and starting selecting a place to sleep for the rest of the night. Soon, everyone had chosen their sleeping place and were snuggled in and ready to sleep. Inuyasha hadn't moved up into a tree, and Kagome wondered if he was all right.
"Inuyasha's is the most tired of us all," Shippou whispered to Kagome. Kagome nodded, looking at Inuyasha's sleeping face. She moved her sleeping bag next to him, hoping to offer what little comfort she had to give him.
"That's why I suggested we go to sleep," Miroku said. "He looked a little tired from where I was sitting."
"But Houshi-sama is right," Sango whispered. "We really have to wake up early in the morning and start moving. We've wasted a lot of time."
"Well, then, oyasumi nasai, Sango," Miroku said.
"Oyasumi nasai, Houshi-sama," she replied, turning over so that she was facing away from him.
"Oyasumi," Kagome said to them. She turned to look at Inuyasha again, the fair, sliver of a moonlight making him look pale. Oyasumi nasai, Inuyasha, she thought as she fell asleep, still thinking about him.
Author's Note: This story is probably not going to be updated very quickly seeing as these long chapters take a very long time to write. So, please don't rush me because I'm doing my best to write this story as fast as I can. And please forgive me if I take too long.