Hi. I know, another tremendous wait for a chapter. This time, I can't blame the holidays...it was all me. I truly am sorry, and will REALLY work to get chapters out in a more timely fashion. I know how frustrating it is when an author takes forever to update, and I will work towards finding more time in which to write.

...

Anyway, back into my lighthearted mood. YAHOOEY! The game Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is a fantastic game for the GBA that everyone should own or at least play. And more plot twists abound in this chapter, including another showcasing of everyone's (at least, all the fangirls') favorite demon!

I changed my email address. garythunder@yahoo.com was a sack of crap and wouldn't receive any mail except, oddly, bulk (read: spam) mail. So now it's the sleek and efficient garythunder@moreaufamily.us! Where I can actually receive emails from! If you have a comment, or a specific question? Drop me an email!

Apparently there was a bit of confusion when I mentioned the second story. Let me clarify. I'm going to write a second story...AFTER I finish this one. The problems of updating timely with this story are insignificant compared to updating TWO stories timely. I'd never be able to do it.

It won't be a sequel, and indeed, it won't even have Tobias in it. He's kind of a one-trick character, to be frank. And the ending of this story does not lend itself to a sequel. If I ever get around to it (which I almost certainly will, don't get TOO worried) it'll probably be a romantic comedy between Inuyasha and Kagome. I have a romantic subplot in this one, but I feel a stand-alone story would allow me to more fully explore the intricacies of their relationship.

REVIEWS!

Kai19: Inuyasha might be embarrassed, but he doesn't show it easily. But Tobias is a very determined embarrassment sometimes. * Tybalt...who DOES he work for? A mystery in and of itself. I'll reveal it eventually. * The General might be there. Then again, he might not, for reasons that will soon be revealed. * Yeah, this time it wasn't ff.net's fault. It was me. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! *sobs*

Ryguy5387: I actually liked last chapter more than my previous five or six chapters, I think it was better written. I guess I'm just better at writing that kind of stuff.

Silver Warrior: Why doesn't Tobias give Inuyasha his sword? Because Tobias needs to defeat the General himself, to avenge his slain country. Besides, I don't think Tobias's sword and Inuyasha's natural powers stack. * Tybalt might be like that...or it might just be because he was drunk. * Please, no time-travel alternate-person subplots. They are more trouble than they're worth.

Jeanne-chan56: Oooo...kay... I'm not sex-driven (any more than any other guy) and I may just write more lemons in the next story I'm doing.

lunarinuyasha: That's the problem. I had a bit of a writer's block too.

Tsukinoko1: I appreciate your concerns, but what you might not know is that four years have passed from the beginning of the show to the beginning of this story. People have changed. They have nearly all the shards, so maybe Inuyasha's not so manic about finding them. And maybe Inuyasha realized that just bashing Tetsusaiga about was idiocy against a skilled opponent, so he taught himself to fight better. Yeah, I was off about the size of the swords. And Tokyo is a huge place. There's the big-city part, and there's the other places (where Kagome lives). You take a cab from one part to another.

Hino Mitsukiko: I think he pronounces it "Tet-saiga". That's because in Japanese, a lot of the 'u's are silent, like in Sesshoumaru, Kikyou, and Kouga. I just leave them out. That's how they spell it in the American version, anyway, which is the only one I've seen. About the drinking scenes? If only you knew...

JUNA: I'm afraid I don't know what "halwrios" means. And about Tetsusaiga vs. the other swords? Only time will tell.

CharMoonshineINU: I've been trying to write lighter recently. Did it work?

hersheykiss1012: I can 100% guarantee I will not forget this story for that one. Because I won't start that one until this one is done. ^_^

draca8u: Skill. Talent. Luck.

nini: Do you really want it to be over? Seriously, now. Think about it.

STORYTIME, AND AWAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!1!!!!one!!!shift+one!

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Chapter 49: Impassable, Impossible

Kagome woke up. The sun had just barely risen. Light was streaming through the open window next to her bed. Inuyasha was gone. She sat up and glanced around. He wasn't in the room.

"Sango?" she said questioningly. "Miroku?" Sango walked in. "Where's Inuyasha? And..." she added, looking around again, "where's Tobias?"

The door chose that moment to burst open as Inuyasha appeared, briefly framed by the doorway as he fell forward onto his face.

"Inuyasha?!" Kagome leaped out of bed and ran over to him.

"He's fine, Kagome," came a dolorous voice from the hallway. Kagome glanced up and saw Tobias leaning against the wall, hand clasped to his forehead. "Well, he isn't injured, anyway." He turned a slight shade of green. "Either Tybalt poisoned us or this is the worst hangover I've ever had."

Miroku tottered by, looking quite as bad as the other two. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then turned quite green, clamped his mouth shut, and ran for the door to the outside.

"Why won't the pain stop?" mumbled Inuyasha.

"It's kind of interesting, really," said Tobias, before he joined Inuyasha on the floor. "I can heal a mortal wound in an hour, but I can't get rid of a goddamn hangover to save my life." His voice was slightly muffled by the floorboards.

Kagome sweatdropped as she looked at the two collapsed warriors on the floor. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stood up.

"You brought this upon yourselves," she said, in an annoyed voice, "so you'll just have to live with it." And with that, Kagome stepped right over them to get to the bathhouse.


The bathhouse was, thankfully, empty. Kagome sank into the hot water and sighed with pleasure at the feel of it on her skin. She had not had a proper bath in over a week, and she was way overdue. She got out her soap and started to scrub.

Kagome was still sore from her *ahem* exertions with Inuyasha. She hadn't done well walking over, having instead to be carried by Inuyasha. Of course, she thought with a grin, that wasn't so bad in and of itself.

She heard a noise and quickly looked up, but it was just a tree branch brushing against the near window. Kagome settled back into the bath, just soaking up the heat. She had half expected the sound to be Inuyasha coming in with either his complete lack of tact showing...or a toothy grin and open arms.

I still wonder though...whatever happened to Kikyo? Inuyasha hasn't told me and I'm starting to worry. Kagome ran over her body with a washcloth absently as she thought. I'm pretty sure that he didn't do anything with her of his own will, but with Kikyo you never know. She might have put a spell on him or something.

Outside, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Tobias were having slightly less of a good time. Inuyasha in particular had had far more than he could handle; more than enough to kill a normal human. Even his enhanced constitution did nothing to quell the throbbing headache or nausea he felt. He lay on a bed (having been nursemaided there by Sango) between the other two, who were in beds of their own. He turned to Tobias.

"Tobias?" he said weakly. "Is it this bad every time you get this drunk?"

"Yeah," said Tobias. "But you don't get used to it after a while like you do with other pain. Every time," he said, propping himself up on his elbows, "it seems an entirely new hell."

The owner of the hotel walked in. "Are you feeling any better?" she said sympathetically. They all cringed and covered up their ears.

"Not so loud..." murmured Miroku.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Here, my husband and I prepared some herbal tea to help you feel better." She brought in a teapot and three cups and set it down on a table in the middle of the room before quietly slipping out.

Tobias looked at Inuyasha, who looked at Miroku, who looked back at Tobias.

"Okay...which one of us is going to have to get up?" said Tobias.

"Not me," they all chorused. Inuyasha sighed and closed his eyes.

Nearly two hours later, Kagome stirred in the bath. She shook herself. Did I fall asleep?? How long have I been in here? She glanced down at her fingers, which were very wrinkled. Ugh. Too long. The water's just so warm...it lulls you to sleep. She got out and dried herself as best she could. Putting on one of the robes that were hanging near the bath's entrance, she walked out and through the corridors.

Nearing the entrance to her room, Kagome noticed something odd. It's that feeling you get, when you know you're being watched. Her suspicions were confirmed when Inuyasha leapt down from the shadowed ceiling, grabbed Kagome, and in one bound had her in the bed with him on top of her.

"I feel much better now," he growled softly. Kagome felt the heat between her legs build at the sexy tone in his voice. "And I think you'll be feeling better, in just a few seconds. A lot better." She moaned softly when Inuyasha moved down and captured her lips in an intense kiss.

Inuyasha groaned as his tongue slid into her sweet mouth, relishing her unique flavor. I'll never get tired of this, he thought to himself. He gently cupped her breast in one hand through her robe. Kagome squirmed underneath him; he merely smiled into the kiss. With his other hand, he began to remove her robes.

"Hey, you're feeling better too?" Inuyasha lurched upwards and glared daggers at Tobias, who was standing in the doorway. Tobias noticed Kagome's flushed skin, and Inuyasha's death glare.

"Oh, is this a bad time?"

The people in town were at that moment astonished to see a man, clad in some sort of armor and with a cape; come flying out of one of the windows in the inn, through the air, and landing far away in the forest, out of sight.

Tobias disentangled himself from the briars that he had been thrown into. "Well," he said a bit wearily, "that's another fine mess I've gotten myself into." He trudged back toward the village.

After a late breakfast and some reconciliation with the others, they all finally regrouped and headed out. They had gotten some semblance of directions from the priestess in the village, and now they at least knew where they were going. Tybalt had apparently vanished during the night; nobody in the village could seem to locate him.

They took a faster pace than before, mostly due to Kagome's need to get back home. It turned out that the well was not so far away as they had guessed, and they came upon the village near the well within the day. They entered the clearing with the well.

"Finally," Inuyasha said. He walked toward the well. "You can get back home after all this time. Don't take too long, though. We still need to-" He froze. Kagome came up behind him, peered into the well, and gasped.

The well had been blocked up. The inside was solid ice, so completely filling it that not even a tiny gap remained between the well and the ice. Before anyone could make a move, the air flickered.

Kagome, due to her powers, sensed it before anyone else did. She whirled in that direction and trained her abilities on identifying it. Soon, though, it became obvious.

The General stood in midair in front of them. He was hazy and translucent. With a roar, Inuyasha rushed him, but Tetsusaiga passed right through without leaving a mark.

"First," said the General, "I should like to say that there is no use in attacking me, because I know you will. This is merely a programmed image, I am not actually here. The reason for this is a very curious one, but we will get to that later." Kagome listened, wide-eyed, to the recording of the General.

"I could not have you passing through the well, Kagome. After you so deftly slipped through my fingers once, I took steps to ensure that would not happen again." Tobias's sword began to glow as he shook with anger. "This is, as you can imagine, magical ice. It will not melt or break unless I do so myself. I doubt, boy, that you could conjure enough fire to destroy it. And even if you could, would you? That would be most inadvisable."

Why? thought Kagome. But the General continued. "Even if you were powerful enough to melt it, which you are not, you also lack the precision required. Fire strong enough to melt the ice would also incinerate the well. And we cannot have that, can we?" Tobias's sword lost a bit of its luster, but glowed still. Tobias, fuming, looked away. "Not only would it seal your fate, but also mine. Although I could just wait it out, waiting another five hundred years is something I hope to avoid; which is the reason I did not simply destroy the well in the first place.

"You are likely wondering why I am not here myself to intercept you." The image of the General began to pace in midair. "Kagome's escape coincided quite nicely with some very pressing business I have, and I could not spare the time to wait for you. At this stage, my presence is constantly required.

"As you might imagine, this business had to do with the Shikon no Tama. However, since the jewel is now beyond my grasp, I have devised an alternative method. The jewel, while still very useful, is no longer necessary. Of course, this does not mean I shall let you have it.

"While I must admit that I did not think you were capable of escaping, I did have some fortune after all. Kagome escaped before she was taught to reunite the shards. With the last capable miko gone, she will be forced to learn by herself. That should buy me enough time to finish my business and catch up with you once more.

The General, somehow, looked directly at Tobias. "You, boy," he said. "I hereby extend to you a challenge. Once I have finished with my business, I will be once again free to battle you. On that day, I challenge you to meet me on the field of battle...and we will, for once and for all, decide which of us is more powerful.

"You will know where to go when the time comes. I am certain of that. This most pressing business of which I speak has to do with you, mainly; and it will ensure your arrival at the specified time and place. And with that, I bid you all farewell." The image winked out.

In the General's sanctum, the witch chanted some arcane verses. She was reading from a scroll that was floating in midair in front of her. As she said each word, it lit up faintly on the scroll. She had just finished the scroll when a small, blue light appeared before her.

"Ah, they reached it," she cackled. She turned around to see the General standing behind her. "General," she said. "They have triggered your programmed image."

"So they have reached the well, then," he said quietly. He looked out the window at the fruits of his progress. It was completely and utterly black.

"Are you certain we can accomplish this without the jewel?" the General said.

"Certainly, Corporal." The witch tittered to herself while the General sighed slightly. "But we need some ingredients for a potion I must make, to renew my strength and vigor. It is really an awesome task...I'll need all the power I can get, in addition to yours. I'll need the powdered horn of a unicorn spirit, first off."

"Here," said the General, reaching over into a cupboard and handing the witch a small bottle filled with powder. The witch looked at him in amazement before continuing. "The shredded skin of a dire wolf born at midnight under the full moon."

"I think there was some in the storage area," said the General simply. "The people who used this castle previously were very well stocked in all manner of magical ingredients and such. Perhaps it was once a school of magic...but I do not know. Go on."

"Three drops of the most powerful poison that any living creature has."

"That may be more difficult," the General murmured. "There is only one creature I know of that has poison more powerful than that we have here. He is an inu-youkai, a full-demon. The brother, actually, of that troublesome Inuyasha. I shall be off at once to get some."

Sesshomaru stood on one of the balconies of his castle. His humiliation at the hand of the

General had fortunately not been observed by anyone other than himself, so he had been able to keep it quiet. Other than that, it had been business as usual for him.

"Lord Sesshomaru. Once again, I am honored to make your acquaintance." The General walked in behind Sesshomaru, in the room leading out to the balcony. Sesshomaru inwardly flinched, but kept his cool exterior.

"What is it this time?" he said icily.

"I again require something from you, oh Lord of the Western Lands. But this time, it is more tangible than information."

"Tell me then, and I will see what I can do, or indeed, if I will do anything," said Sesshomaru.

"Defiant to the last. But you are very courageous, standing up to one who has cast you down in the past. I respect that, Lord Sesshomaru. I only hope we can conduct our business a bit more...civilly than last time."

"That is still undecided," said Sesshomaru, with a bit of a growl in his voice. "Tell me what you have come for."

"Three drops of the poison that comes from your claws. I require it for a great work of magic I and others are performing. Your participation would be most appreciated."

"Tell me," said Sesshomaru coldly, "Why should I help you when you have spurned me in the past?"

"Because I still hold the power to spurn you yet again. Let me put it in a more meaningful way." The General walked up closer to Sesshomaru. "If you do not give me this poison, I will raze the Western Lands to the ground, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, but he still maintained his calm demeanor. "And why would you go to such extremes to procure this poison?"

"Because, right now, those few drops that mean nothing to you mean more to me than the Shikon no Tama itself." Sesshomaru's eyes widened further and he took a step back. "Surprised?" remarked the General. "The jewel was a means to an end. I have found another means to that end, so the jewel has become superfluous. The new means, however, are now as necessary as the jewel was in the past. So if you would..." The General reached into his pocket and brought out a small vial.

Sesshomaru, glaring into the distance, put three drops of his poison in the vial. The General took it back and sealed it, putting it back in his pocket. "Do not worry," the General said lightly. "This magic will not affect you in any way, I give you my word."

"And why would I trust you?" retorted Sesshomaru. "What have you done to prove your integrity?"

"I take that as a personal affront, Lord Sesshomaru," said the General. "I have never broken my word, in living memory."

"It is simply that there are so few trustworthy persons in these times..."

"Rest assured that I am among them. Until we meet again, Lord Sesshomaru." The General vanished into the shadows. Sesshomaru let out a sigh. At least he has done no harm to me...yet. He will be a very difficult problem to overcome. Sesshomaru gazed out into the sunset, which framed his lands. I will have to seek out aid in defeating him.

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No cliffhanger (mostly) but we are all left wondering...WHAT IS THE GENERAL DOING? It will all be revealed in time. REVIEW!