Eh heh, hi. I know, it's been a long time since my last update. I started school on the 8th and since then, it's just been school, school, school... I hate school... Anyway, here I am with an update, though I lost any idea of where I was gonna go with this, but once I start typing, maybe it'll just come to me. Here goes nothing.

Winter's Night: Chapter 25

Inuyasha's Tale

Inuyasha's POV

As soon as the sun rose I was up and ready to go. I snuck quietly, but quickly, through the hallways of the castle, trying to find my way out. Finally after a good half an hour wasted I found the Main Hall, but I growled in frustration at what was on the way to the door. I could smell my brother's scent further down, as well as Rin's. Sighing, I walked along the hall, glancing into each door that I passed. So far so good.

"Inuyasha-sama!"

Guess I spoke to soon...

"Hi Rin." I said, trying to be nice while being frustrated at the same time. I mean, she's a good kid and all, I just don't want to spend anymore time here when I have a mission to complete. A mission to complete... since when did I start talking like that?

"Where are you going Inuyasha-sama? Aren't you going to stay and play with Rin today?" I looked down at the girl in front of me and sighed, crouching down to her level.

"Look Rin, I have something very important that I must do, so I can't stay." I saw her eyes tear up and quickly added "but when I get back, maybe you can convince my brother to bring you to my village."

"Really?" she asked her eyes going wide, her hands clasped together in front of her. I nodded and she squealed, running back through the door that she came out of. I heard her fast talk as I slipped passed and out of the castle.

Finally out in the open, I glanced at the map Sesshomaru had given me, and ran off in the direction that it said to go. It was a little confusing at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. I kept running till about mid day, when I came to a lake. I looked at the map again, noting that I was still on the right path, and decided to stop, but only for a minute or two.

I looked at the body of water that lay before me and shrugged. I might as well make good use of it while I'm here. Checking my surroundings with my ears and nose, noticing no one near, I slipped off my haori and the top part of my inner kimono, setting them on the shore of the lake. I looked at the water and dove in, the cool water separating as I went under. I stayed until water for a moment before going to the surface for some air. I laid back and proceeded to just float on the water, watching an occasional flock of birds fly overhead. It was quiet, and that was strange. I don't mean like deathly quiet, like something was going to happen, but just quiet. No squeaky voice rattling off a thousand questions a minute, no slapping sounds, no laughing or carrying on. It was weird. I had grown so accustomed to having my friends and mate around, that not having them around left me feeling rather empty inside.

I sighed and swam back to the shore, climbing out and shaking the water from my body. I stood there for a second, just staring out at nothing before I shook myself from my reverie and slipped my discarded clothing back on. I took one last glance at the lake before moving on, at a slightly slower pace than before, the emptiness sinking in more and more.

I keep telling myself that I have to do this on my own, that I couldn't have asked my friends to come with me because then they'd be in danger, especially if I transformed. I did what was right, I left them in the village for their safety. I'd just have to push the empty feeling aside and press on. The sooner I kill this dragon or whatever, the sooner I can get home.

"What do you mean I can't get a ride?!"

"You're a demon, I do not allow demons to travel on my ship."

I growled in annoyance and stomped away from the old man. I have been traveling for about a week and a half, and have finally reached Kagoshima. Now if only I can get a ship out of this hellish place, then I'll be set.

"Psst, mister." My ears twitched bringing me from my thoughts and I looked down at a bush I was passing. There stood a boy, probably a few years younger than Kagome, a piece of cloth over his head and some pretty beat up clothes on.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"Well I heard that you're looking for a ride across the sea to Shanghi."

"So what if I am? It's not like you can help me."

"Actually..." the boy said looking down then back up at me, a big grin on his face. "I can."

I looked at the boy strangely, before narrowing my eyes and growling.

"Don't mess with me kid, I not in the mood for some prank." I flexed my claws and smirked mentally as the boy stepped back.

"It... It's not a prank. My father had a small ship that he left my sister and me before he passed on. We're going to China with it to search for our mother." He said, his voice shaky as he looked away after saying that, a pained expression on his face.

"Why do you have to go there to search for your mother?" I asked. I didn't pick up any change in his scent as he spoke, so he couldn't be lying, not unless he could somehow fool a demon's senses, which I doubt a mere human boy could do.

"Well, my father and her had gone across the sea to trade some goods and also my mother has family there that she wished to visit. So my father left her with her family and came back here. When he went back again, my mother's family said that she had been taken by the dragon of Mt. Joma."

I stared at him for a moment. "The dragon of Mt. Joma?"

"Yes." He looked up at me, a curious expression on his face. "Why?"

"I've gotta kill him." I said simply. He didn't need to know my reasons for having to do it.

I watched his eyes widen and his mouth drop open slightly. I rolled my eyes and whack the kid lightly upside the head.

"Hey!" he yelled, rubbing his head.

"Hey yourself kid." I said, crossing my arms. "Now are we gonna go or not?"

He blinked a few times and the nodded turning and leading me into a small forest to which when we came out of there was a hut and a small dock.

"This is it." He said turning back to me. I nodded and looked around.

"By the way, what's your name?" I heard him ask.

"Inuyasha." I said sniffing around. "Yours?"

"Shingo Ariyoshi." I nodded and sniffed again. I swear I can smell a demon, but where is it?

"Hey Yumi, I found someone to come with us!" I heard the boy call as he ran off towards the dock. I suddenly got a whiff of the demon scent and look towards the dock. There stood a demon that looked like Kirara in her larger for, only it was blue and looked like it fin for a tail. I would have run over an attacked it, had Shingo not walked up to it and petted it.

"What the hell?" I asked as I walked over to the dock.

"Oh, Inuyasha, this is Ao. He pulls the boat so that we travel faster."

I nodded but still stared. Other than Sango, I had never known of anyone to have a demon as a companion. This I didn't expect, especially if the kid was a son of a merchant.

"Is this him?" a voice behind me asked, breaking my thoughts.

"Yeah. Inuyasha, Yumi. Yumi, Inuyasha." Shingo said in answer to her question. The person, Yumi, walked around in front of me, and I glared at her.

"He's a half demon." She said, looking over at Shingo.

"You're one to talk, girl." I growled causing her to jump back with a yelp. Doesn't surprise me that a kitsune hanyou would be scared.

"Look, let's just get going." Shingo said, grabbing Yumi and helping her walk up the board and onto the ship.

"Feh." I walked passed him and walked onto the ship going to sit on the deck on the back end. Shingo then helped Yumi put some sort of harness on Ao, and the water cat, dove into the water and began pulling the small ship.

The sun began to set a while later, and I looked up as the sky began to darken. The sound of footsteps approaching brought me back from where my mind had wandered off to, and I looked to see Shingo approaching me.

"What?" I asked gruffly, turning my gaze back to the sky for a moment.

"It's getting dark so I figured that I'd let you know that you can go below deck if you want. There's a sleeping area with a few mats laid out."

"I'd rather just stay out here."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." I said, standing and stretching. "So, how long will it take us to get to Shanghi?"

"Well usually it takes ships a few months to get there."

"A few months?!"

"However, with Ao pulling the ship, it should only take about one and a half at most." I growled slightly and rubbed my temples. I didn't know it would take this long to travel. I turned my gaze back to the sky, thoughts of not seeing Kagome and Kiyoshi for longer than I thought, running through my head.

"You have someone back at your village waiting for you, don't you?" I looked at him strangely and he just looked up at the sky. "My father got the same look on his face that you just had, when he had left my mother in Shanghi with her family. Every night, I would see him sitting out on the dock staring out over the ocean, that look on his face telling me that he was thinking of mother."

"Were both your parents human Shingo?" I asked. He nodded. "Then how can your younger sister be a hanyou? I mean it sounds like your parents were really in love, so why would either of them go off with a demon?"

"Neither of them did..." he clenched a fist at his side. "One time when my father had gone to trade, my mother went into the forest looking for some herbs for some medication that she was making. When she came back, it was the next day, her clothes were in shreds and her face was stained with tears. She had been jumped by a crazy kitsune demon and raped. When she later realized that she was pregnant, she did not want to kill the child for something it could not control. So when Yumi was born, my mother and father raised her as if she was both their child, and not the child of a rape."

I looked at the shaking boy beside me and shook my head looking back at the sky. It was always sick to think that some demons did that to humans. The creatures that they considered vile and the scourge of the land, and some youkai decided to take out his lusts on one. But then again humans did the same thing, just to other humans, not another species.

"I'm going to go check on Yumi." Shingo spoke quietly. "Can you keep an eye on Ao?"

I nodded and watched the boy leave before I walked to the head of the ship. I leaned against the wooden rail and stared out at the rolling dark ocean that lay before the ship, nothing but water everywhere. I sighed and looked down at Ao, who seemed to be going just as she had earlier, not looking fatigued at all. Seeing that the cat was alright, I turned my gaze back to the ocean, my mind turning back to my own thoughts.

Well there you have it, chapter 25. I know, it's not that great and I really couldn't think of what to do. Plus, someone wanted Inuyasha to meet new people, so there ya go, he met new people.

Please Review!

Ja ne!