Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or Inuyasha

First of all, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update! Between this report and me starting to get sick nothing is going as planned. I don't even have this chapter finished yet, but figured it would be better to give you something than to let you think I gave up on it. Secondly, thank you so much for all of the reviews! I feel so loved! I finally got a negative review and unfortunately, I have to agree with it. My OCs are starting to get in the way, so unless someone would like to plead for them to stay, I will be getting rid of them quickly and humanly. I think Luna might stay because I am starting to get attached to her. We'll see. What do you lot think?

Anyway, here are the responses to your reviews:

i love athrun: OK…. This is getting old. Thanks for reviewing though!

Nikkler: OK, can do. Why Kagome is still alive is one of the few things I do know, and you'll just have to wait to see why, little meanie.

NYV: Thanks!

Kagome1015: Awesome! Another fan of the shows and my fic! I'm dying to get Kags into the picture, but at some point I have to decide what to do with her! I know she is going to be part of the romance aspect of the story, but with who will depend on what happened to her husband which is also still undecided.

Mesa Chan: If you are still reading this, which I doubt from your review, I know what you mean. The OCs that I made are starting to bug me because I have to find something to do with them and they are just not the people I started out creating. I am pretty sure they will be leaving, and soon unless I get some please in their cause. Thanks for the review and your thoughts and opinions. I am sorry to have lost a reader.

Odd-12345: Hmmmm, odd name (teehee! Like you haven't heard that before.) Never fear! Inuyasha will be here! Thanks!

Xaraya: Thanks! I-I (sniff) don't know what to say! (sniff) Thank you so much! What a confidence booster!

Gemini14: Sorry, I like writing cliffhangers. It keeps people coming back. Thank you!

XloneWolfX: lol, Thanks, I will!

OK, to make things easier on me: "…" talking '…' thoughts … Sesshomaru communicating telepathically with someone

OK, now, onto the story…

Chapter 8: Afraid of the Dark

A chill ran through Tsume's body as the outside world slowly returned to him. He had no idea where he was but knew two things about it: it was cold and stank. Plus, something didn't feel right. He couldn't quite place what it was, but something was not right. He tried to open his eyes only to discover they already were.

"What the hell?" he asked, marveling at the darkness he was in. Fear crept into his heart. He could not see, could not smell, and there was nothing to hear.

"I don't like this, I don't like it at all," Tsume snarled.

"Neither do I," said a small, female voice. Tsume jumped, startled by the sound.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"I am," she said.

"Who's I am?" Tsume asked, very annoyed.

"Luna," she said.

"Where are you?"

"Over here, follow my voice." Here, Luna began to sing. Tsume stood stock still for a moment, listening to the song and voice so like Cheza's. He then shook himself and began to follow the voice, arms out and searching for the girl. The going was slow because Tsume was uncertain of his footing. His hand eventually came into contact with another and he inched forward and knelt down and scooted forward until his knees were touching hers.

"I still can't smell you, the stench is too strong," said Tsume.

"I can't smell you either, but I do feel safer now," said Luna, quite shyly. Tsume marveled at how like Toboe she seemed, and, even though he loathed to admit it, even to himself, Tsume did feel somewhat safer knowing someone else was there with him.

"Who are you and how do I know I can trust you?" Tsume snapped.

"Well, I already told you. I am Luna. As for trusting me, you don't know that you can trust me any better than I know I can trust you."

"Are you human?"

"Are you?" The question hung in the air, mixing with Luna's statement about trust. They couldn't trust each other, so the question was unfair. The question hung there in the air between them for a moment, then died.

Kiba, Blue, Toboe, Sesshomaru, Hige, Aurora, Mizu and Manch all crept up the stairs to the door. Toboe was terrified. A large rat scurried across his foot, making him jump and grab Hige's arm.

"Hey, Runt, what are you doing? It's only a rat," Hige teased, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. It wasn't Toboe's fault they were in this mess. Oh, wait…

Kiba sniffed the air for any signs of trouble then looked back at his pack. He noticed that Toboe seemed a little dazed as he bickered with Hige. Kiba's gaze drifted to Sesshomaru. His gaze was cold and uncaring but his aura screamed power. A shiver ran up Kiba's spine as Sesshomaru turned and locked eyes with Kiba.

"Guards!" Blue warned as their reverberating footsteps filled the air.

"We'll have to stand and fight here," said Hige.

"We're doomed," Mizu gulped.

"If we die, we die with pride," said Kiba as he took on a fighting stance.

"Get out of the way, wolf," Sesshomaru ordered in a calm and cold voice. Sesshomaru stood in front of Kiba as though he was waiting to meet someone like a lord or lady of the court.

'An angel,' Toboe thought as he looked at the demon from the back of the group. 'Those demons who died for him, who fought by his side at the staircase protecting the castle, I think I understand why they did…'

The guards came into view on the staircase and stopped dead in their tracks. The stairs were only wide enough for two to come down at a time. The first two just stood there for a moment, apparently staring at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru just stood there looking at them uncaring. He slowly raised his right arm, pulling it across his body as though he was going to slap someone. The guards immediately raised their guns and fired. Unfortunately for them, the guards were not fast enough. Sesshomaru's feet left the ground and he literally flew forward. When he got to the guards he turned his hand so his palm was facing the two guards and slashed them with his claws. Their bodies hit the ground with a sickening thud. Sesshomaru turned to the other guards, hand poised by his left shoulder and dripping with blood. Someone screamed and all of the guards turned to flee. Sesshomaru sliced his hand through the air, an energy whip forming at the end of his index and middle finger, taking out three guards in the process. He flew up a few more stairs and tore apart guards as he went until there was only one left. This one he held in his right hand as he raised his left hand, dripping poison, to his throat. The man's scream was cut short as Sesshomaru quickly dealt with him.

The wolves stood where they had been left for a moment before going to join this Angel of Death. They found him standing by the corps of his final victim looking down the stairs at them emotionlessly. Toboe glanced at the body and became sick when he saw what the poison had done, and was still doing to the man's neck. Toboe then looked up at Sesshomaru.

'How can he look so calm, so uncaring after what he's done? Such a violent way to go, yet he doesn't seem to even care…'

It's because I don't. They are worthless humans, nothing more. You would do well to learn that. Toboe jumped when he heard this, unaware that Sesshomaru had been listenig.

'Like Tsume,' he thought. The pack scurried up the rest of the stairs and stood for a moment outside the passage to the lower dungeons. A draft drifted up the stairs, raising goose-bumps on the skin of the wolves. Blue noticed Sesshomaru looked a little paler then before.

"That's where they are waiting," said Sesshomaru.

"Do we have to go down there?" whined Hige.

"Yes," replied Kiba. He then led the way down into the darkness.

The feeling that something wasn't right and that they were in mortal danger grew stronger in Tsume with each passing moment. By this point Luna had crawled onto Tsume's lap and clung to him desperately. She obviously felt the growing danger as well. Tsume tried once again to catch a whiff of Luna in an attempt to learn more about her. Unfortunately, even at this close proximity his efforts were in vain.

Warning signals flashed in Tsume's mind mere seconds before something brushed up against his back. Tsume jumped up, dropping Luna and spun around trying to find what had touched him.

"TSUME!" Luna shrieked. Tsume dropped to the ground and groped around until he found what he could only assume to be her leg. He tried to pull her to him only to discover a force pulling her in the opposite direction. Tsume grit his teeth, bit out a "Sorry," sat on Luna's foot and started to run his hands up her leg. By the time he reached her stomach, Tsume could feel both himself and Luna being drug across the floor. Tsume moved up and straddled her legs and forced all of his weight down, but it was not enough. They were still moving, just at a slightly slower pace. Tsume realized Luna's arms were streched above her head and concluded that whatever it was had a hold of her arms. Tsume jumped forward to where he guessed her wrists to be and found cold and clammy tentacles wrapped around her wrists. Tsume took out his knife and slashed at them, successfully freeing Luna. There was a hideous, high-pitched shriek that tore through the air and a cold breeze blew by. It seemed they were temporarily out of danger.

"Th-th-thank you," Luna stammered.

'I can't believe I'm doing this,' Tsume thought as he hugged her close and told her that it was all right.

"Wha-wha-what was that thing?" Luna asked, burying herself in Tsume's chest.

"I don't know, but it wont get you, I promise," Tsume whispered. He was glad he had someone to protect, even if he knew he could not last long against whatever that thing was.

The stairs leading down into the lower dungeons were covered in a wet and slippery slime. Kiba slipped on a step and fell down three steps. He rolled his eyes as he heard snickers behind him.

"Perhaps I should lead the way, I do know where we are going after all," Sesshomaru suggested, floating past Kiba.

"What a jerk," Hige whispered to Manch.

"Don't say that, he's just trying to help," Toboe pleaded.

"Huh, yeah right," mumbled Mizu.

"He's dangerous, Toboe," Blue kindly warned.

"He is not!" Toboe yelled. He ran down the stairs, flying past the others and falling occasionally in his attempt to catch up to catch up with Sesshomaru.

'Why am I acting like this? Why do I care? Everything they said is true, I know that, but I can't help but care. Why?" Toboe thought desperately as he wiped the tears from his face. He rounded a bend in the stairs and saw Sesshomaru. He was standing on the staircase, waiting for Toboe. What little light the tunnel offered seemed to collect within him and make him glow. 'Angel, Angel of Death…'

"You are crying," Sesshomaru said bluntly.

"No I'm not," said Toboe, trying to hide it.

"You were. You shouldn't though. They are right. I don't like people as a rule and I do not try to conceal it. And, I am dangerous. I do not kill excessively, but I do what I must to survive, and survive comfortably." Toboe stared at the glowing demon for a moment, then smiled. He brushed past Sesshomaru and continued on down the stairs.

"What?" Sesshomaru asked. Toboe turned back to him and smiled even more.

"It's just that, I have a mission now. I will make you like people. You just wait and see…"

"The flower maiden, I can't believe we have her. Now, let us see if she can sense the miko, or become food for our darling pet, Naraku…"

Brief note:Well, here by popular demand (OK, two people wanted it), Chapter 8 with theTsume and Luna bit.Thank you once again for reading and now please take the time to review. It keeps me happy and keeps the creative juices flowing. I want to know what you think, so please, let me know! (Still frightened of getting flamed for that, Oh well, I trust you guys. I think.) Thanks!!!