Chapter 4

"A Deal with the Devil"

Naraku gazed silently into Kanna's mirror. He could see her, a suwan youkai in agony amidst a lone patch of white roses in the centre of the woods. An odd sight, indeed. It was obvious that the pitiful soul had come in contact with Sesshoumaru judging by the faded jade burns on her neck. Who was this girl to stand up to him? An ignorant angel, no doubt. Nonetheless, she would surely prove to be of use to him.

"That will be all, Kanna," he said, waving the slight incarnation of his flesh away. She bowed and left the room.

Hmm... this girl is still alive, but why? The marks of the dokkasou are plainly visible, and I've never known Sesshoumaru to spare a foe. Unless of course that Human child got to him and begged him not to. Imagine that, a tiny creature threatening one four times her size. Naraku laughed lightly and then regained his indifferent composure. If this girl was after Sesshoumaru, there's no doubt that she had also fought Inuyasha. I should confirm this myself.

With that, Naraku stood and strode from Lord Kagewaki's Castle, which had for a while since been his own. He would have sent oni after the young girl, but this was a task that he would rather execute himself. Reaching the girl he knelt down over her. As he had expected, there was also a faint aura from the Kaze no Kizu lingering about her.

"Inuyasha..." he realized. "So, you too have carried out a noticeable amount of damage on this adolescent."

As he spoke, the girl began to stir.

"Inu...yasha? Taiyoukai..." her voice came out abrasive as rock. Then a small smile appeared on her face. "They cannot kill me...they cannot kill me..." she repeated this over and over again and again.

"Can they now?" Naraku asked, looking down at her.

She turned to him as if acknowledging his existence for the first time. "Who are you?"

"It would do if you would call me 'Naraku'."

"Well, Naraku...what do you want?"

He dug into a small sack connected to his belt and pulled out three shards of the Shikon no Tama. He held them out to her, the light crimson glow from the corrupted shards reflecting from her pale blue flesh. "I offer these to you, juvenile youkai. Within them is a power that can be rivaled by no one, but there is yet one catch."

The girl struggled to sit up. "What is that, Naraku?"

"Once these shards take over your body, they will soon take over your soul, and unless you are willing to give in all of your natural strength for an estranged, unknown power, you will find these shards to be an early death for you," Naraku's explanation was purposefully abridged, for what the little beast did not know would not hurt her...much.

"Very well, then, Naraku. I accept your shards, and with them I surrender my very life. After all, I only need to live long enough to destroy Inuyasha and his arrogant brother. Only then shall my body rest in peace...only then..."

Naraku held in a grin. It was easier than he thought, getting to this girl. And here he believed that she would at least put up a fight. The Shikon Jewel would soon overcome her mind and her fighting technique would become wild and brash. They would kill her, but she should have plenty of time to dispose of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. And all Naraku had to do was watch...

...

Kimi winced as the odd being clad in a baboon pelt, Naraku inserted three glowing shards of the Shikon no Tama into the burnt flesh of her neck. Almost as soon as the jewel made contact with her open skin, she felt her entire body change. What was once weak was now strong again; what was once dimming had once again brightened; what had once been defeated had now returned for revenge. She felt more powerful than she had ever felt in her entire life. She felt as though she could confront anyone now.

She sat up swiftly with not an ounce of pain and casually drew Shoushi-Ken, swinging into the flank of Naraku. It cut through him and he fell, sliced in half. She did not know why her body was driven to destroy him, but that was the least of her matters. Sheathing Shoushi-Ken, she began to walk in the direction of the nearest son of the daiyoukai. She would take the both of them down without the necessity for effort.

...

Inuyasha crawled across the ground sniffing at the dirt. Kagome looked down at him and blinked in confusion. Oh why does he always do this? Why can't he track a scent standing straight up? It was times like these when even a blind man could decipher Inuyasha's race.

"Methinks Inuyasha has found something," Miroku said sarcastically.

Kagome smiled and covered her mouth, shielding a giggle. Inuyasha didn't seem to care. He moved on, crawling on his hands and knees until they came upon the peak of the hill they had been walking (and crawling) up. Kagome shielded her eyes from the relentless rays of the sun and saw a familiar village. They had unknowingly passed into Musashi's Domain. What force drove them there?

"What are we dong here?" Shippou asked.

Inuyasha stood up and sniffed the air once more before he began to sprint down the hill at full force.

"Inuyasha?" Sango asked.

"It's probably that suwan youkai again. You should follow him from above, Sango. The rest of us will catch up with you later," Miroku suggested.

Sango nodded. "Come, Kirara!" she said. The adorable little kitten made her transformation and Sango mounted her. The two of them flew high into the air in the same direction Inuyasha was running.

Kagome watched helplessly. She was so worried about him. He had been so silent lately, that was rare for Inuyasha. She missed hearing his voice, even though what he had to say was annoying and rash most of the time. Is he worried? And if he is, why? He got rid of the suwan youkai so easily before.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome put her hand onto her chest and sighed heavily.

...

Keh...what the hell does he think he's doing here? Inuyasha thought to himself, leaping from the hill and landing onto his feet in front of Musashi's Domain. He could smell Sesshoumaru from a mile away. First it was that lowly suwan trash now this royal headache. She probably tried to kill him, too, he thought, I bet he annihilated her. I wonder if she even found him yet. I won't let him have all the satisfaction!

Peeking his head around every house, every tree in Musashi's Domain, he did not even catch a glimpse of his brother.

"What the hell? I was sure I smelled his scent..."

Then the scent began to get stronger. Inuyasha quickly grasped the hilt of Tetsusaiga. He would get this over with as quickly as his body would allow him to. Hugging a wall, he peeped behind it and caught sight of Rin and Jaken. Wherever they went, Sesshoumaru couldn't be too far away.

"Lord Sesshoumaru hates me now, doesn't he, Lord Jaken?" the little girl, Rin asked the imp.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he never wants to see you again after what you pulled!" Jaken criticized.

Rin stopped in mid-step, lightly tugging on the reigns of Ah and Un. Then the little brat pointed in the exact location where Inuyasha stood. Inuyasha grunted. Apparently, his shadow had been visible from behind the corner the entire time.

"Look, it's Inuyasha," she said in the annoying little way she said everything.

Releasing his grip from Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha took a few steps forward. "Where's Sesshoumaru?" he asked (actually more demanded than asked).

"Oh," as the question was asked, Rin's expression saddened and she looked down to the ground.

"That's no business of yours, you unworthy maggot!" Jaken declared.

"You shut up!"

As these words were spoken Inuyasha immediately sensed two familiar scents pummeling towards him. Before he could even react, a pale blue apparition flew past him, knocking Rin, Jaken, and himself to the ground. Pulling himself up he saw Sesshoumaru come up from behind them. His Tokijin was drawn. She was here, that suwan youkai, but her smell had changed. It was almost as if she was a different person.

Sesshoumaru aimed the blade of Tokijin towards the suwan youkai and shot out several pulses of bright energy towards her. A pale blue shield suddenly appeared around her, completely absorbing the attempt. She did appear weakened by it however for she took a few steps backwards, holding into her chest.

Inuyasha then decided to intervene. He ran forward, drawing Tetsusaiga, but in seconds, Sesshoumaru was standing in front of him.

"Away with you. This is my battle, hanyou," he insisted.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Don't think you're special, you jackass, she wants us both dead! Of course you already knew that, but you just want to hog all the glory for yourself, as usual!"

Rushing ahead of Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha held Tetsusaiga high and brought it down, executing the Kaze no Kizu on the youkai. Weakened enough from the power of Tokijin, the youkai collapsed, but not before her shield reflected the Kaze no Kizu right back onto Inuyasha. The Tokijin's evil energy must have been too much to reflect, which was why she absorbed it instead.

"Ahh!" Inuyasha screamed as his own attack ran directly into him and Sesshoumaru, throwing the both of them aback. Inuyasha fell onto his back and Sesshoumaru landed on his feet unharmed, it appeared.

The youkai spread her wings out and flew high into the air and spoke. "Before you die, I would like to introduce myself properly to you all," she began. "My name is Kimi, and I am the commander of the suwan militia in the hidden lands to the north. I will not allow myself to be defeated by meager dogs, and I will not return to my home until I have once and for all rid this world of you."

Sesshoumaru must have sensed something for he began to back away. Inuyasha followed his lead after he began to sense something as well. They had done so just in time, for Kimi drew her sword and quickly swung it diagonally towards them. Two large rays of pale light jutted from this blow, tearing into both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha...

...

Sesshoumaru felt Tenseiga pulse. The damned sword's only worthy use was to thwart the power of attacks he himself had no way of recognizing before it was too late, and moments like these were of exceedingly rare for the great Sesshoumaru. He watched as a blue energy escaped from Tenseiga and formed around him. However, Inuyasha was in such close proximity that Tenseiga had no choice but to guard his life as well. What a bother...

"What?" Kimi seemed quite stunned. She lowered herself to the ground, holding Shoushi-Ken to her side. "Why won't you die...?" she asked.

Inuyasha laughed. "Heh... that annoys me as well," he said, standing up. Then he turned to Sesshoumaru and frowned. "You didn't have to save me you know."

"Hmm...don't make me laugh, Inuyasha. It is not by my force that Tenseiga has a will of its own and cannot seem to determine ally from foe," Sesshoumaru confirmed.

"Your sword...Tenseiga, you called it, it acts on its own accord to assure your safety? Keep you alive?" Kimi asked, her inquisitive tone of voice not matching with her cocky smile at all.

"It would appear so..." Sesshoumaru's answer was vague on purpose. He knew that Kimi's next move would be to rob him of Tenseiga so that she would have a fair chance in killing him. Little did she know that even without the Tenseiga, Sesshoumaru was utterly invincible to one of her competence. She would discover this sooner or later.

"Hmm..." was all Kimi said in reply. Then she sheathed Shoushi-Ken and looked directly at Inuyasha for what seemed like an entire minute.

Sesshoumaru glanced at Inuyasha who was returning this icy glare with one of his own. Fool...do you even know why she's looking at you? In an attempt to break the bothersome silence, Sesshoumaru gracefully brought up his arm, which had began to glow a soft green. Deadly poison began to shoot from his talons in a light shower directly at Kimi.

She vanished into thin air. He knew that she would escape and he did not even bother trying to stop her. He would see her again.

Sheathing Tokijin, Sesshoumaru turned and began to walk away, followed by Rin and Jaken and they're cries of, "Wait up, Lord Sesshoumaru!"

...

Inuyasha wasn't exactly sure what just happened. Everything was occurring so fast that his brain started to hurt. So far he gathered that Kimi had become stronger and was able to absorb and reflect attacks, but he was sure that there was more to the incident than just that.

"That sword of hers...that attack would have done me in if Tenseiga hadn't interfered."

A large shadow appeared above him.

"Inuyasha!" Sango's voice rang as Kirara landed next to him. "Now do you believe me? About what I said when I warned you of the power of the suwan youkai?"

Inuyasha was too deep in thought to respond to her. He folded his arms and began to pace back and forth throughout the village thinking more and more about this Kimi character. She had given him an odd look, as if she knew something he did not. This foe was somehow unlike any he had fought before. This Kimi was a lot more confusing, and he was sure that that was to her advantage.

After a while, Kagome and the others caught up with him and they decided to stop by Kaede's home for dinner. She served them and gladly answered all of their questions. According to the old hag, Sango was right about everything all along. Suwan youkai were not to be played with. Their power had been witnessed by few because of their reclusive existence in the wild north amongst a quiet collection of dark woods, but that did not mean that their power was as soft as the lands that birthed them.

In history it was noted that the suwan youkai had once fought a great battle against several other clans of youkai and beaten them all without losing one warrior. Among these warriors were very much like Kimi and were probably the "daiyoukai parents" she so proudly boasted in the presence of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. The two suwan daiyoukai were deadly enough separately, but together, their power was unstoppable.

"So how come Kimi went down so easily before? If she's a taiyoukai, which is what Kaede is implying, why was she so easily brought down by the Kaze no Kizu?" Inuyasha asked.

Kaede replied, "Perhaps because of her youth and ignorance to the world, she underestimated you. Just think, Inuyasha, when it comes to battle, Kimi may be a commander of the militia but how many wars do you think she's been in? Few to none, one might presume."

"One skilled in battle is never as strong as one skilled in battle whom is also a veteran of war," Miroku quoted.

"You have to know combat before you can call yourself a true warrior, no matter how powerful you are or who your parents were," Sango agreed.

"I guess so..." then Inuyasha's gaze lingered outside the partially opened entrance and up to the moon...which was all but disappeared. He gasped.

Kagome, noticing his concern followed his look and let out a quick breath of surprise. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "The night of the new moon is almost here!"