Bankotsu: She doesn't own Inuyasha. Only Angie and Alex Warr.

Chapter 5: Let Me See Your Personality

I had left the castle quickly, before they could discover what I had done to their lord. Knowing that he was a demon and could heal from the wound I had inflicted, I had not tarried long. I'd only waited long enough to snatch a plain kimono from another servant, along with some food from the kitchen; not to mention the map I found in his lordship's study. All these I took with me, a grim determination set in my heart, cold and uncaring. Nothing would stand in my way of retrieving Rin.

Only a few miles away from the castle late at night did I hear the bell that tolled sorrow for the surrounding area. During my stay there among the servants, I'd learned to tell how many bell tolls meant what; three meant a birth, five a wedding, ten a death, and four the lord was found hurt in his own home. Little did they know, I was that this missing servant was the one who'd caused damage to our lord.

Nothing much happened after the bell tolled and I went on my way. I'd learned to go without sleep for long periods at a time, so I could travel at night without threat of falling asleep on my feet. The road was well used, but nobody aside from myself traveled it now, which I was glad for. If this had been like back home, I'd be suspected immediately because I was retreating from the scene of the crime.

I continued along the road, and it wasn't until around ten the next morning, as my cell phone read, that I found myself near the mountains that were sure to be where Kouga's tribe was. I recognized them from when I'd watched the show so there was no mistaking them. Not to mention that the map had a little 'x' where the Northern Wolf Tribe was stationed.

Looking around for any way to scale the enormous cliffs in less then it took for the long winding paths, I noticed then a scraggly-looking tree growing at the bottom of a cliff face, truly a rock-climbers dream. I bent down to examine it more closely, blinking when I saw that a knot in the trunk resembled a face. "What the hell...?" I whispered to myself confusedly.

"I am the demon tree Naizen," I heard within my mind. If I hadn't experienced this mind-reading bit before, I swear I was insane.

"Are you... are you alright, Naizen-san?" I asked the demon tree, noting how the leaves on his branches drooped, lacking their normal green luster.

"I have been awaiting you're arrival for some time, girl from a distant land," came the voice again, choking out the words as if an old man's last dying breath. "Since the oni's spirit came to me within a dream, telling me of you saving him from the shard's intoxicating caress, I have been aware of you're presence. I knew that you were holed up in the Lord of the Western Land's castle, yet here you are now, attempting a rescue."

I nodded slowly, my fingers moving automatically to touch the circlet I wore, the peridot flashing a bit. "Yes. A human girl I was put in charge to care for. She was taken by Kouga, leader of the Northern wolf demon tribe," I said, deciding to trust him. "Do you perhaps know of a quick route up to the den?"

The branches moved slightly, a sign I took to mean as a yes. "I do, strange human. But before, I need a favor from you... as my last dying wish for today."

Nodding again, tears pricked my eyes; yet another demon would be dying before me, and I couldn't do a thing. Why did Fate have to be so cruel to me? All I had ever wished for was to find someone to love me for who I am, and not care whose sister I was, or that I was blamed for everything she'd ever done.

"Do not weep for me, strange human. My time has come, at last. The poison Naraku had placed in a shard meant for Lord Kouga has affected me. I ask this of you child: with my last energy, I shall transform into a wooden pole that can extend to any length. That is the easiest way to Lord Kouga's den..."

With those words, the tree faded from my sight, leaving a light golden pole in his place, along with a black glowing shard. Tears trailed down my cheeks as I picked up the pole, clutching it my chest. Two demons had given me gifts, just because they thought I'd saved their lives. Two lives I could not bring back, even if I had the completed sacred jewel.

And a dark part inside my heart loved the thought of all the pain that followed me.

†

I stood at the foot of the cliff, looking up and trying to see the top of it. The sun had tilted so that it was in my eyes, and I was unable to see the top. I knew it was up there, I just couldn't see it. It was the back entrance to Kouga's den, one that they hadn't shown in the show, but it was there. I'd gone around to the front of the den first, but Kouga's two lackeys, I forget their names, were on guard duty. Fortunately for me, I was downwind, so they hadn't smelled me out.

Gripping the pole I'd received from Naizen-san, I ran firmly planted it in the ground, taking a firm hold on the other end. "Okay, Pole, let's go save Rin," I whispered to it, sending a burst of my own power through the wood, making the staff extend at an alarming rate.

I still hadn't learned how to control the thing, even though I'd been practicing getting up cliffs and such for over half an hour while traveling to this place. So, as a precaution, I waited about only a millisecond after it went past the landing to stop the flow of energy, still gripping the pole, and jumped down onto the ledge. The end of the pole came up and shrunk back to its normal size, which I carefully tucked into my belt loop.

Here I was, a strange sight with my modern-day clothes, a kimono about my shoulders left untied, a circlet adorning my forehead, and a golden wooden pole sticking out of the side of my belt loop on my jeans. Not to mention a map was sticking out of one of my pockets.

"Kouga!" I shouted, making sure my voice reverberated throughout the surrounding area. "Come out here and bring Rin with you, you bastard wolf!" That would sure as hell bring him running, but I just hoped he wouldn't tackle me using those shards in his legs.

A tornado came out of the cave, racing toward me. Sure it was Kouga, I barely had enough time to fall to the side as he came out of the tornado at me with a flying kick.

"Why didn't you bring your master, wench?" He growled at me, landing a couple yards from where I lay, winded from the fall. "I gave you precise instructions to bring your lord here to retrieve the ningen girl, human."

Gritting my teeth as I stood up slowly, I barely held the psycho side of me in check. If I wasn't careful, he'd be the one to release the scary side of me, the one that liked to inflict pain... Shaking myself out of it, I sighed and folded my arms across my chest. "Why should I bring my former lord when it is my duty to protect Rin?"

He blinked at me, suddenly startled by what I'd revealed. "What do you mean by your 'former' lord, wench?" He demanded.

I shrugged, making sure my movement was hidden as my left hand went for my staff. I had to keep him busy, so I told him, "I mean that once I return with Rin to my former lord's castle, he'll surely kill me for two reasons: one was letting something happen to Rin, and the other for incapacitating him in order to go and save her."

He nodded slowly, his body visibly relaxing at my given explanation. Why didn't it keep him on guard? Come on, doesn't everyone know that no one could ever possibly incapacitate Sesshoumaru without first being killed? "You brought it on yourself, wench. After all, you're just stupid human bitch. All ningen are like that, except for my mate Kagome, of course."

That did it. My other side, the sadistic one, broke free of the feeble restraints just as my hand reached the extending staff at my side. I don't remember anything beyond that. I simply blanked out...

Normal POV

"You bloody bastard!" The strange human girl screamed at him as she launched forward, grasping a light golden staff. Her short brown hair flew about her heart-shaped face, while her dark eyes glared at him angrily, wildly. "You die now!"

Dancing back as she swung the staff at him, Kouga blinked as he saw a faint tinge of red around the girl's eyes, like he'd seen happy with Inuyasha when the half-demon had turned into his full demon side. "Wench! Stop it right now!" He demanded, growling at the human. Most humans would have stopped by then, but of course, most humans wouldn't have attempted to save a human girl by themselves.

Flipping in mid air, she used the pole to stop herself from flying over the cliff. She landed on her feet daintily, her face pulled back into a cross between a haughty and livid expression. "You think you can order me around, demon?! Hah! You do not even know the kind of power I wield, weakling," she snapped, the wild look still in her eyes.

Has the girl snapped? Kouga asked himself as she launched another volley of swipes at him, never pausing between each stroke. She seemed wild and untamed, a true creature of the natural world about them.

Suddenly realizing what she was, Kouga made the mistake of pausing from dodging, which in turn gave her the chance to whack him on the side of the head, sending him flying into the cliff face.

"Hah! I knew you were weak, demon," she laughed, standing over his prone body, the golden staff raised for a killing blow.

Seeing his chance a second before she brought the stick crashing down, the wolf demon used the shards in his legs to spring up, throwing his arms around her, locking her arms to her side as he buried his face in her neck. "Sleep," he whispered into her mind, barely keeping her struggling body under control. "Sleep. Sleep now..."

"Uh... Wh... What are you doing to me?" She asked drowsily, her body falling limp in his arms. "You... weakl...ing..."

Panting from the exhaustion from evading her attacks, Kouga sat down with the girl still in his grasp. He lifted his face away from her neck, staring down at her blissfully slumbering face in wonderment. "I haven't seen one in such a long time... I thought they were extinct."

End Chapter 5: Let Me See Your Personality