Miroku, Sango and Kaede stepped outside of the hut, in front of Sesshoumaru. He mentally smirked seeing how uneasy they seemed to feel with him so close. But now was not the time for such thoughts. He had questions and he wanted answers. However, not being a talkative person he just stood there and waited for them to speak first, which he knew they would definitely do.
"What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru?" the monk found the courage to speak first.
"Have some respect, you..." the green demon behind Sesshoumaru started but was quickly cut off.
"Jaken." the dog demon simply said and he ran to Ah-Un and Rin, who were staying a few meters aside. "The sound has stopped. You must've killed the creature." he said.
"I guess Inuyasha did..." Miroku said.
"And where is he?" Sesshoumaru asked not moving his look away from the monk.
"We don't know." Sango answered instead of Miroku, who looked somehow shaky.
The moment Sesshoumaru shifted his look on the demon exterminator she knew what had made Miroku so scared. She had already seen a serious Sesshoumaru but this one was different. This one made her want to rather kill herself than let him catch her. The same thoughts were running through Miroku and Kaede's minds too.
"Does the girl have anything to do with his disappearance?" the dog demon startled them out of their thoughts.
"Y-Yes..." Sango answered again. "He thought she was dead and went off after the demon. A-And since the sound has stopped... the demon m-must be..." she swallowed hard, not able to continue.
"He is transformed, isn't he?" Sesshoumaru asked. "Where is Tetsusaiga?"
"W-Well..." it was Miroku's turn to switch places with Sango. "It's with him. He transformed with a Shikon shard and now he has five."
Sesshoumaru remained silent. Seeing the faces of the people in front of him get more frightened, Rin ran to him and tugged at his right hand's sleeve. He looked at her and the others wandered how she could smile at such cold look. Sometimes that same question was running through his mind too, but he was used to the girl's behavior and this wasn't bothering him anymore.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, don't look at them like that." the girl said. "They'll swallow their tongues from fear."
Sesshoumaru's eyes slightly widened at her words but then he turned toward the others and they sighed in relief. After all he didn't seem to be here with bad intentions. So, calmer now, Miroku stepped closer to him and spoke. "I see you know something about the demon and the sound it was making. Am I right?"
"Yes." Sesshoumaru answered. "The sound affects only dog demons and can be deadly if too strong. How did the creature look like?"
"Well, it was big, black, with some sticky thing on it, its head was on its chest and instead of fingers it had long vines." Sango explained, being the expert in demons.
"Your story sounds absurd." Sesshoumaru said and the others looked at him confused. "80 years ago I killed the last of its kind."
"Then this certainly is Naraku's doing." Kaede finally said something.
"You say that my brother is out there, transformed, with five Shikon shards and Tetsusaiga?" the dog demon asked and slowly that terrifying look in his eyes started to return.
"Yes." Miroku answered and involuntary made a step back.
Then Sesshoumaru did something that totally confused the monk and the other two women – he smirked, looking behind them. When they turned they saw Kagome at the hut's door. She was supporting herself at the wall and Shippo and Kirara were at her feet.
"Kagome, get back inside." the kitsune tried to reason with the girl and the cat demon mewed in agreement. "You're still too weak."
"I'm ok, Shippo-chan." Kagome panted and held her left hand on her chest. "I heard everything..." she said and looked at the dog demon in front of her.
"Do you know where he might want to go next?" Sesshoumaru asked, not paying attention to the two small demons and the humans, who were trying to block his way as he made a few steps forward.
"Why do you ask?" Kagome's voice was quiet but firm.
"Do you know? Yes or no?" Sesshoumaru asked and it seemed that he was running out of patience – another unusual thing for him.
"You are going to kill him and take Tetsusaiga..." Kagome said and tried to make a step forward but stumbled. Sango, being the closest to her, caught her and steadied her.
"I have no intention of killing him or taking anything from him." Sesshoumaru explained. "My only wish is to stop him from showing how unfortunate our father was with such son."
"I won't let you talk like that for Inuyasha." Kagome threatened and the dog demon smirked again, witch made Jaken's blood freeze in his veins.
"Very well." Sesshoumaru said. "Tell me where he is and I won't talk like that about him."
Everybody looked at him oddly and untrusting but nobody dared to say anything. They looked at Kagome and Miroku slightly shook his head to show her that telling him wasn't a good idea. He feared that the only way to stop Inuyasha was to kill him and that must be his brother's intention.
As if reading the monk's mind Sesshoumaru looked at him and spoke with his usual cold and stony voice. "I will not kill him. I don't need another enemy except Naraku. And as much as I don't want to admit this my brother is actually a big help against that bastard."
"Alright, then." Kagome said firmly. "But I have one condition."
The dog demon's eyes narrowed as he shifted his look from the monk to her. "What is it?" he asked.
"You will take us with you." the girl said and everybody expected that Sesshoumaru would deny and that's what really happened.
"I have no intention to drag useless humans with me." he said and turned to leave.
"That's right!" Jaken yelled. "Sesshoumaru-sama will fallow his scent, anyway."
"Think again, Sesshoumaru." Kagome surprised him by daring to challenge his decision. "You are no match for Inuyasha now. Soon he will have two more Shikon shards and when you find him you will surely die."
'That annoying girl is right.' Sesshoumaru couldn't help but thinking that. Just now everybody understood why he was acting to strangely. 'And with Tetsusaiga the threat is even bigger...'
"Don't be ridiculous, you stupid woman!" being the greatest 'fan' of his master Jaken laughed, pointing at Kagome.
"Shut up, Jaken-sama." Rin scowled at the green demon. "Sesshoumaru-sama, take them with you. They are his friends and Kagome-chan is the only one he listens."
The dog demon stood with his back to the humans for a few moments. 'For that idiotic brother of mine his friends are the most important thing in his life.' he thought and turned toward the hut. 'It will be easier to stop him with them.'
"Very well." he said out loud. Kagome smiled and the others just couldn't believe their ears.
"B-But, S-Sesshoumaru-sama!" the green demon jumped down from Ah-Un's back and ran to his master. "This is..."
"Jaken." the dog demon spoke and his servant tripped at the sudden raise of the volume of his master's voice. "You and Rin are coming with me."
Hearing that, Jaken wished he was dead. Going after a crazed and bloodthirsty hanyou-turned-demon with five Shikon shards and the most powerful sword in the world wasn't exactly what he wanted. Rin smiled at his desperation and then went to help him stand up.
"I am listening." Sesshoumaru said and looked at Kagome.
"Most likely Inuyasha will want more Shikon shards." she started. "And since most of them are in Naraku's hands the only one who he can get some from is Kouga-kun. I'm sure Inuyasha's gone after him."
Something rustled through the trees. It jumped from tree to tree with enormous speed. In the darkness of the night only the creature's white hair could be outlined. Suddenly, reaching a clearing, the creature stopped and sniffed the air. It was Inuyasha. He growled and ran again.
For a while he didn't stop and just continued leaping from tree to tree. The closer he was getting to the mountain the faster he wanted to run. Soon he was going to be at the foot of the mountain. He stopped to sniff the air again. He snickered, catching Kouga's scent and ran again.
'This time nothing is going to stop me from killing you and taking your shards.' the hanyou thought and growled. 'You are going to pay for all the times you...' suddenly he stopped – he couldn't remember why he hated that wolf so much, he just knew he did. Another thing that confused him was that he couldn't remember what had been stopping him from taking Kouga's life before.
"Like I care..." Inuyasha snapped and growled. The only thing in his mind was: kill Kouga, take the shards, kill Naraku, take the Shikon no Tama. Also there were some other people and demons but he couldn't seem to remember their names. Only one girl, always smiling, seemed too familiar and was giving him an uneasy feeling. He shook all those thoughts from his mind and found the only solution of this problem that suits to his condition – kill them, but not before getting the Shikon no Tama.
If Inuyasha had been paying attention to the Shikon shards he carried he would've noticed that the more he was surrendering to his demon side the more tainted they were becoming. Slowly the only thing he could think was to see, to smell, to taste his victim's blood, it didn't matter who his victim would be. He just wanted, needed to kill and it seemed natural.
High in the mountain Kouga was sitting by a small fire at the entrance of a cave. It wasn't a cold night but he shivered. 'I have a bad feeling...' he thought and sniffed the air, just in case. 'Nothing, no demons at all...' he stood up and dusted himself off. 'This is not good. Usually there is at least one or two who want my dinner, but now...'
"Oh, well..." Kouga sighed and sat again. "Can't have a dinner and a fight every nigh..." he stopped, catching a new scent that seemed awfully familiar. He stood up and looked around, sniffing. "It's too far away. I'm too tired to go after..." he yawned and entered the cave.
'I wonder what Kagome is doing right now...' he thought and sat on the ground, leaning his back and head to the cave wall. 'I'll see her tomorrow, anyway...' was his last thought before he fell asleep, not even guessing what was coming toward him.
TBC