&Ascension of the Spirit

By Banana Rum: Kalliel

ICYGIRL: Thank you so much! Good as usual, though? Have you been around before? I don't remember you…

Yakashakarakamugiyaga Kagome: Congrats for being the only person with a name longer than their review!

SpikeSmeagleSparklies: -blush- Everyone is so nice, I feel guilty for being away so long!

SexySango: I'm afraid you will be disappointed. I cannot write fluff to save my life. ;;

Mysteries Abound: I LOVE your reviews. If I really wanted to, I would go back and redo this whole story, but it's doomed already, so it doesn't matter.

ElshA: Yes, the one and only Shi Hua. And of course Kagome-hime is creepy. She's better this way though, in my eyes.

Elinor: Haha, I like rhymes!

Moggy: I am ESPECIALLY sorry to you! I died for over a month… I feel that way too. Let's be friends! Haha, that sounded really lame, but I'm serious.

Zacckbum: That is just insulting, in a Zackkbum-y kind of way. LOLO. Eh, whatever. At least you read it, right? And btw, you shouldn't ditch your readers. I think at least Moggy here would like to see a new chapter of "A Path in Life"…Thank you for putting me on your friends list! I would ;)

Horse-crazy-gurl: I AM SO SORRY! And no, Ascension is not going to be anything over 20 chapters (considering this started out as a four chapter fic, that's scary). I would seriously commit suicide if I had to write something as long as 100 chapters. Unless they were all 100 word drabbles… And you know what? I just realized I spelled your name wrong in the summary.

Disclaimer: There is a reason this is called fanfiction…

Beta read by Kikyo-the-walnut/Zora…who got a huge b-day present from me…and who seeks the holy grail.

Chapter 11: The Legend of the Taijiya Princess/To That Which the Wind Seeks/Memories That Recur

Elsewhere

There was once a young maiden living with her family in a small village in the mountains. They were very poor, because there was no place to fish and they couldn't farm rice, the most profitable good. All they could do was make weapons out of rocks and rejected demon parts.

But no one needed weapons, except in times of war against the middle kingdom. All the neighboring districts were allies, and it was a long time in between wars, since the middle kingdom lay across the sea.

The villagers were starving, and they could no longer fend off of the scant vegetation on the mountain. They would be forced to leave their homes and become beggars in the streets of a new city, as no one would take them into their homes for fear of bringing strife to the family.

Then one day, the young woman got lost on the way home. She spent the night in a cave, crying. But then she met a youkai. She was afraid at first, but the youkai was a benevolent spirit, and asked her to kill it so she could eat and keep warm with its skin. Obviously, this horrified the maiden, but she wanted to see her mother and father again so badly, she took the demon's offer.

The next day, the villagers were praying for her safe return. Someone saw a youkai coming toward the village, and the rest of the people were terrified. They knew they could not stand up to such awesome power, and prepared to die. But then, the little girl popped out of the fur, surprising everyone.

She said that a kind demon had given all of them hope. The rest of her people couldn't believe her. But she said that they could slay demons for a living around the province. They tried their hand at it, and were successful. Their skill grew, and they became the most prosperous town in all of the land. Leading them into light was that same girl, whose beauty shone as bright was the gleam of the sun's rays smiling down on her people.

Life continued. But then, the 'taijiya', as they had come to call themselves, grew too eager to kill the youkai. They took every request in the area, and killed even the most harmless creatures.

One night not long after a difficult spar with a demon, the ghost of the very first youkai came to the princess.

"Taijiya-hime," it sobbed. "Your family has delighted in the slaughter of my sisters and brothers. I meant for it to be a last resort, and you have taken my gratitude and stretched it to fit your greedy needs."

Instead of killing her, the ghost turned her into the same kind of youkai it was. "If they are truly careful and care for their livelihood, they will know it is you, princess."

The next morning, the taijiya woke up, and saw a small demon with a miserable expression on its face, which was streaked with tears.

They didn't notice. They killed her without question, and celebrated another victory.

The taijiya princess joined the ranks of demons her comrades had slain, and visited every one of her people in their dreams. She told them of her error. The next day, the village burned to the ground, taking everyone inside with it. The princess wept tears and put it out before it came to destroy the youkai's lairs in the forest nearby.

And since then, all taijiya have followed a code. One of reserve, fairness, and compassion. And in every child's mind, the threat of becoming a tragic spirit has haunted their dreams to the point where they would rather commit dishonorable suicide than break the code of the taijiya.

Sango knew the rhymes, memorized the speeches Riie had always prepared for scolding, and yet, she couldn't stop her heart from beating. She was too scared to die, too scared to live in the shameful shadows of the youkai.

So who would she turn to?

In Between

Sengoku Jidai

The thought of being able to create sound was nonexistent, unimaginable. Silence overtook, stealing time for only thoughts and nostalgia. And in the absence of tears or laughter, there stood only one being. Among the weeds and granite, he still lingered.

Scents caught in the immortal wind whipped his face, and imbedded their essence in his skin and clothes. He closed his eyes against the gales, twitching scornfully with want. The want to fly; to ride among the winds and be their smell, not become it. But when you've run so far, the ledges stop and you can go no further by mortal means. Then where do you go? If there is someone searching for you elsewhere, do you answer their calls and come to them or lead them to believe you are an intangible desire?

He opened his eyes again. The wind had changed its tune. From west to east, then south to north, it reversed direction of its own accord. Venture to that which the wind seeks, where 'fate' is never predetermined and magic is crushed beneath a far greater power.

He laughed a little at that, a faint, nigh indiscernible snicker that broke the silence of the country's ways. To that which the wind seeks, eh? Then who was the wind, and more importantly, who was he?

'Inuyasha', she had called him. What a fucked up name. But…he took to it. So, he was Inuyasha. What said person would do in that name, though, had yet to be decided.

He let himself slide into a hunched over seated position, head tucked into his arms with his eyes shaded from the sun. Tiredness set in, with a heaving sigh of desperation turned desolation.

For four years he had hunted down this taijiya woman, bound to her by only petty revenge (or false blame, he reminded himself, but that was only a technicality.) Four years, all for naught. And finally an opportunity had come for her death by his hand. Why not take it? Because that was what that other bitch wanted. Find the strongest conviction, a simple fact and you will be free.

He hated it. Hated it, hated it, hated it. That damn princess had his life in her slimy web; she could be rid of his life whenever she felt the need to take it. How hard he had tried to keep all that was his for himself, only to be brought down by some hallucination-driven princess. Keh. He had so stupidly let her take the one thing that was everything to him.

"Idiot," he admonished quietly, skin prickling at the feeling of the air at dusk, his front warmed by the setting sun and the other half cool as the waters in the lake far below his perch. Lightheaded with upset and fatigue, he listened to the weight the breeze carried that night, heaving with the efforts of all days.

A playful whirlwind flapped amber and blood red leaves onto him, intertwining themselves in his hair and digging their stems into his neck. Mechanically, he dug them out of his mane of silver, careful not to snap the fragile leaves, sending them on their way.

I am such a fucking IDIOT. Playing with the leaves, now. He shifted, eyes making up colors as he looked up at the sun-flooded skies, a dazzling contrast to the darkness of his lap. He felt like shit—tired, confused, and damn to hell if it doesn't hurt. And he felt OLD. There were just too many mistakes for his short one hundred or so years—how could it be possible to blunder through life like that and not get killed?

Marginally aware of the forests awakening to dance under the faint glow of a freshly waxing moon, Inuyasha let himself fall to one side, head connecting with the cold stone beneath him harder than expected. A momentary outburst of profane interjections exloded, and the night became truly alive. All youkai and earthly darkness hunters swept through their domain save for him. And he really didn't give a shit. What was Kagome doing though, he wondered. Or Sango, even.

"Are you the youkai who rules here?" A small voice interrupted his thoughts.

Perhaps it was because the words would not come, or the ones that did appear were the wrong ones, but either way his visitor received no response from him.

"Hey, are you asleep or what?" The owner of the voice prodded his back incessantly. "Why don't you frolic with the other spirits? They need a leader; I know they do." She, for by now the voice was undoubtedly female, kicked him gently between the shoulder blades.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth in annoyance, by then realizing that his position, just lying there with someone behind him, was not the most easily defended. While he debated whether it was worth it to kill the prying creature or spare himself the trouble and let it humor itself, the girl spoke again.

"There was a time when you would fight when someone BREATHED near you. What happened to that?"

"Will you just leave me the hell alone?" he finally turned around, pivoting to face her angrily.

"That's more like it," The girl skipped backwards a few paces. She was wearing a pale pin kosode, its only design a trio of black cranes on the shoulder and lower right hem. Her dark, waist-length hair bobbed teasingly as he leered at her in challenge.

Inuaysha slit his eyes. She was that girl; Sango's companion. He stood up warily, gaze never wavering from her face. "What do you want?" He asked dispassionately.

"I wanna talk to you." She shrugged, folding her arms behind her back and standing on tiptoe, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet nervously while he spoke.

"About what?" He cocked his head suspiciously, stepping towards her and closing the distance between them.

"What are you to Sango?" Mujina clicked her tongue apprehensively, embarrassed by her own directness.

An image of Sango telling him EXACTLY what she thought of him flashed through his mind. "A pain in the ass." He answered truthfully for once, though a guilty grin still managed to curl across his lips.

"You know your lying." The girl stuck her head up towards his accusingly. "Who are you to be with my Sango?"

"'Your' Sango? Becoming a bit possessive, aren't we?" The hanyou laughed. "Hell, take her." He turned back to the cliff edge and out over the forest, off into the distant dusk-touched fields, and began to make his leave.

"Don't even think about just walking away from me!" Mujina grabbed him by the collar, and presently he felt the cool touch of a blade resting on his neck. She tugged him closer. "Answer the damn question." The girl whispered vehemently.

Inuyasha clenched his claws around the arm that was not holding her weapon and whipped her around to his front.

She gasped in pain as her arm twisted, and lost hold of her knife, sending it clattering across the slim diameter of the cliff.

"Girl, you're not a youkai and you're not taijiya. What makes you think," he paused as he threw her down violently, "that you have even a remote chance of being able to threaten me like that?"

"I-uh…" Too late, Mujina was beginning to see some definite holes in her plans.

He continued to loom over her, waiting for an answer.

Gathering her wits once more, she lunged at the youkai. "Don't underestimate me!" Charging head on bare-handed, Mujina flung herself at his body.

He caught her with ease, the force of the blow dissipating instantly as he threw her to the ground behind him.

She rolled a few yards, and jumped to her feet once more. However, she was not counting on the ground ending, and her feet slipped out from beneath her. She screamed as she tumbled backwards, arms flailing about uselessly.

"Shit…" The hanyou wasn't about to let some random village girl die because of him, no matter how irritating she was. Flying towards the open air, he reached down, catching Mujina's arm.

Screaming again, she shouted, "Ow! That hurts! You're pulling my arm out of its socket!"

"Whine all you want, girl." He grumbled as he pulled her back up to level ground. "You owe me now."

After catching her breath, Mujina cooed, "So sentimental." She grabbed him and kicked off the bottom part of the cliff. With a sort of surprised dazedness, Inuyasha joined Mujina in descent. They had fallen close enough to the side to tumble down the slope, crashing through bushes and bouncing off rock piles all the way down. The hanyou landed with a thud, followed by a more muffled one.

"What kind of idiot ARE you!" Inuyasha ricocheted to his feet, growling at Mujina.

"The normal kind, I suppose," She shot sarcastically, calmly clearing her front of dirt by patting it vigorously and sweeping the larger particles off with a clean smack. Picking up a nearby rock, she testily launched it at his person. It missed, but it hit where she intended it to on his character.

"You think you're strong enough to mess with the demons, eh? Well, by now you know you're not, so there must be something you're not telling me." The hanyou reasoned with a sneer, shoving Mujina up against the wall of the cliffside gruffly with accent to every word. "Tell now."

Mujina spat, "No fucking way."

With that, Mujina quickly muttered the very same curse she had been perfecting when Sango had first fought Inuyasha. The strangest of gales blew up, carrying a torrent of autumn golden birds with it. Dividing the two combatants, the fowl swooped down low into the grass, clearing Inuyasha off his feet in the process.

Pheasants? The Tama Shrine that day with Sango's god-damned lunch… The day they paid a visit to the moon's garden. Involuntarily, he twitched, but turned the movement into a ragged attempt to flip back up onto his feet.

"You know Kagome-hime," he said. He wasn't about to stoop as low as directly asking her a question that he wanted the answer to.

"Maybe." Mujina grinned devilishly. "Do you?"

Ignoring her comment、he scowled. "Why in all the hells would someone like her stoop to a bratty human like you?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

Mujina snickered. "She's only a fucking whore and you know it."

Inuyasha lunged forward, attempting to grab Mujina by the neck and strangle her.

And surprisingly, Mujina let him.

"Can anything holy come out of your mouth for once? I'm actually getting tired of you now. You're training to be the village healer, with all the witchcraft shit, but you're just so—"

"Bitchy?" Mujina suggested, and Inuyasha tried to squeeze more air out of her lungs.

Finally, out of complete and utter disgust, Inuyasha released her, withdrawing and perking up his ears. There was someone coming.

The Forest

Sengoku Jidai

A shuffling ball of ratty clothing waddled with a tired gait. The only evidence that it was a human at all was the woven basket on her back as she bent over, looking for edible vegetation on a rocky knoll. An old village woman, actually.

Eying a patch of mushrooms, she hurried over to them and hastily discerned the good from the poisonous. She had to hurry, before it became to dark and the youkai from the forest took her. Scooping up the last of her load, she shrugged her densely woven basket higher onto her shoulders and started toward her village, nervously wishing that the sun was not already fading from the sky.

And on top of that, it was raining. A silent curtain of water had sprung up, to everyone's mild surprise. It was the type of shower that quieted the animals, and chased the wind away. Stretching her ears to their waning extent, she listened for youkai approaching. Her mother and grandmother had always told her that if she stayed to long in the forest at night, she would not come out. And it was true. Sasami, the young weaver's apprentice, had left to gather plants for dyes, and was supposedly killed in this very forest.

The other rumors, of course, were worse. It was said that the demons had found Sasami too repulsive to satisfy their hunger, because she had run away from her apprenticeship and made love to a traveler.

Whatever the truth was, it was of no importance at the moment, for she heard arguing voices. Perhaps it was Sasami and her beloved? The old woman cautiously approached the area where the shouting was loudest. If she returned with the news that Sasami was alive, she would be a hero. But if it was not them, she would die. But then, she reasoned, she was old, and what need would she have of the remainder of her life, wasting away with illness and pain? No, it would be best to end it quick and clean.

With those thoughts in mind, the hag shouted, jumping from behind a bush in hopes of startling the squabbling twosome, "Go home! Begone! Return to your master!"

Indeed, it had not been Sasami and the merchant. Not in the least.

"What the hell?" The first dropped the phrase from his mouth.

Demon, the old woman noted, the fear and realization not quite registering in her slow mind.

"Just fuck off, old woman. Get lost before I kill you."

Ai-ya! That was worse! Hell's guardian itself! The old woman yelped, before turning back towards her hamlet and wobbling, screaming protection 'charms' for warding off evil spirits all the way.

Laughing a little, Mujina turned to the other person. "She's going to call someone to have us exterminated for sure."

"Eh…so?" Inuyasha grunted, retaining his veneer of nonchalance. "It's their death."

Mujina kept laughing. This began to get irritating. It wasn't a hard chuckle, but it was level and constant, like someone who knew that the world was doomed and lacked the heart to cry. "The demon slayers are out tonight; I saw them preparing for their nighttime rounds in this area before I left. How sure are you it will be 'their death'?"

"I really hate you."

"So do I."

Taiji Village

Sengoku Jidai

Sango wasn't as oblivious as her fellow villagers thought she was. Oh, she was well liked, for her usually complacent disposition and technique as a fighter, but there were rumors, and now that she was of marrying age, she appeared to be the favorite topic of gossip in the market, at the well, and wherever else the village women chose to spread her influence.

That's what she was doing now—listening to a few of the lowly concubines exchanging news and wives' tales just outside her room. The nerve of them! Whether she was supposed to be home or not, what if someone from the household heard? Maybe that was what they wished to happen.

"Do you think Mistress Sango is in full health?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"She's not been helping in her share of the chores. When she isn't doing the slaying, she is either out, or playing with the village children! That's a job fit for a younger child, like my Maki-chan."

"Yes!" Another agreed. Sango cringed. For once, it wasn't a falsity. "Just because she is the headman's daughter doesn't mean she should be able to stand idle while the rest of us work day and night!"

A younger woman's voice chimed in. Sango recognized it as that of Hatsuko, a girl she was frequently paired with during the cleaning of the village. "When she does work, she makes so many mistakes! Like she's too important to have to pay attention!"

"Fool! You yourself do the same, and you're no more important!" Ugh. Sango buried her face in the coarse sheets of the futon. Her stringy, wet hair dripped onto the polished wood floors and created beads of water sprinkled on the dull surface.

A fifth gossip-woman joined in the banter. "Maybe she's in love."

Unbeknownst to Sango, the others blushed, covering up their giggling mouths with their hands. "I wonder who the lucky man is," One brave girl commented.

"It doesn't matter, does it? The practice is that the headman's daughter enters one of them arranged marriages, right and proper."

The women fell silent for a spell, until Hatsuko, under the impression that since she was allowed to join in such talk, she was above other girls her age, whispered, "Poor sweet, stubborn Sango. She'll never live if she has to become a real woman like the rest of us. Too wild."

"And what in all the world does that have to do with anything?" The first speaker announced loudly as Matsu walked by, afraid he might have overheard more of their conversation. They needn't have worried, since no one but the other servant girls bothered listening.

"Maybe it's better for everyone if she has an arranged marriage. It'll teach her how to be a proper wife." The others nodded in agreement, and went back to drawing water from the curiously busy well, conversation exhausted.

Matsu lurked around the main room in the household for a while before entering the sleeping room to meet Sango. He carefully set his shoes down in an exact line in the greeting area and wandered in circles aimlessly, pretending to examine the cracks in the floors. He was hoping that his daughter would come out to greet him.

When she did not, however, he sighed in defeat and knelt down next to the lump in the bed that was his child.

"Welcome home, Sango."

Silence.

"I'm not going to ask where you were; it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Maybe it does. Oh, I don't know, the moon kingdom? And did I mention it was with a youkai as well? Sango thought miserably. Their little adventure had been trying enough, but when she got home, she realized just how many of the taijiya's codes and honors she had broken. If anyone found out…

"Are you tired?" Matsu shifted his position so that he could see her face. It wore a combination of listlessness and guilt. He brushed back the loose strands of freshly washed hair and laid them in a coiled pile on the futon, instead of dragging onto the floor. She didn't answer again. Her mouth curved gently downward in a slight frown, her strong features spoiled with a grim attitude.

Residing in silence as well, Matsu began to move his hands in soothing whirlpools on her lower back. It was as tightly wound as the tie Sango used for her hair. He kneaded the knots with an expert's sureness, stretching his strong hands up to the muscles that connected to her lower back. The knots were those of someone who overused their back strength on a daily basis, deep-running and hard to get to once the upper layer had been loosened.

Matsu kept working, and slowly, Sango relaxed, reminded of the days when she was first training and he had to repeat this procedure night after night when she complained of soreness, stiffness, and various other ailments.

After about and hour and a half, Matsu spoke again. "My taijiya sector is going to go to the eastern villages by the forest. As word has it, an old woman was attacked by two youkai wearing a human form." Matsu shook his head in obvious amused disbelief. "We could use some help, since we also need to silence the villagers and stop them from burning down the forest when trying to kill the demons themselves. Though," he added, as if in an afterthought, "You may be too weary after your trip to the unknown…"

Sango smiled. Her father, the high standing man he was, usually had to keep a neutral position. But it was just them alone now; she liked it when she was just his little girl, and he was her father, idly asking her if she would like to go to a festival or not. "Let's go, chichiue."

The Forest

Sengoku Jidai

For once in her life, Mujina was stunned into silence. And it could not have come at a better time, Inuyasha decided. Glancing at the bolts embedded far into the tree's trunk, he surmised the taijiya were very serious about their duties. And for the first time, he wondered whether Sango had really planned to ever kill him—all she had ever brought was her wakizashi, and occasionally that gigantic boomerang of hers.

Speaking of whom, was Sango there, hunting him? Well, shit. It doesn't matter anyway. He and Mujina were huddled between thickly vegetated tree branches, high in the canopy, keeping as silent as possible until the red and black clad slayer finally turned from their area and went to search another.

"I still don't see why I have to hide. I live in the village—how can they mistake me for a demon?" Mujina scowled, plucking wood shavings and leaves out of her hair. And it was raining now, too. Whether things could get worse or not, she was sure they definitely could, but she was not sure what it would be like if they did.

"If you move, they'll shoot at you if you're not wearing a taiji uniform." He scoffed, then added, "Besides, how would if be if they found you where a demon was supposed to have been and they never found one? They probably don't think that much of traitors, do they now."

Mujina pouted by herself after that, staying quiet for the most part. What if what he said was true? Would they throw her out? Matsu had never liked her… Fretting over the possible outcomes of her near future, Mujina kept thinking. The bad got worse, and the realities warped into vague retellings in nightmare form.

Oh, what if they find me—then I'll get killed too, along with this fucking youkai. They'll lay our bodies side by side, and Sango will push through the crowd and cry, "That's Mujina!" She'll cry and… Would she? They hadn't exactly been the best of friends when they had last 'talked' in Niwatori village. And what if she doesn't? Will they burn my body, or just feed it to the hungry ghosts? Then my spirit will wander around this forest and the old hag will really have something to report.

Involuntary tears sprung into her eyes. Oh, how tragic it would all be! She sniffed, brushing them away gently, knowing they would be her last.

Inuyasha gave her a skeptical glance before turning away quickly and scooting towards the edge of the tree limb and away from her. What the hell was she thinking about, with such a theatrical expression?

Mujina sighed. It was late, she realized. What if there really were demons of the monster kind roaming about? Gigantic balls of tentacles and eyeballs, with snakes' tongues and dragon claws, dripping with the blood of its previous meal…

He tried to sit as far away as possible from Mujina. Maybe he should just leave the girl? She was obviously imagining some 'deeper meaning' to the predicament she had gotten them in to. Just then, though, he heard a sound. Whirring and slicing, snapping the branches, weak and thick alike, it roared toward them with an increasing path of destruction, gaining speed and hinting that it would not stop until it reached its target.

Curiously enough, Inuyasha realized, he had heard that sound many times before. Not just heard, though. No, he knew that sound. Keh, maybe Sango had joined her comrades for the hunt after all.

"Get out of the way!" He slammed into Mujina, still preoccupied with her dreadfully out-of-whack predictions of her future.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed, rocking on the perch but not moving off of it.

"Move!" He shouted with more intensity, shoving her into the open air and letting her fall down to catch the next limb below it.

The Hiraikotsu, however, caught at least one of the people it was aimed at, and made contact with a sickening crack. Inuyasha only felt the pain that accompanied that, fighting to balance in the tree before blacking out and crashing to the ground below.

Sango sprinted toward her prey, sword drawn, poised to plunge into the target as soon as she drew within range. The second she got to that point, however, she smacked right into the soft earth as well.

Mujina looked around innocently.

"What'd you trip me for, Mujina?" Sango shouted, then realized who she was talking to. "And what are you doing here?"

"I didn't trip you!" Mujina assured the girl, with an unconvincing smile. "And where else would I be?"

Turning her attention off of Mujina for a moment, Sango looked over to what she had hit with her Hiraikotsu.

"And you said you weren't coming back!" Sango rubbed her head in confusion. What on earth was going on?

Inuyasha moaned too, for a different reason. He ordered himself to open his eyes, stand up, anything, but somehow, none of those messages made it to his brain. Finally, he managed to at least prop his upper body up, glaring at Sango and Mujina.

"Are you all right?" Sango asked, embarrassed. "You shouldn't—"

"What in hell's name do you think you're doing?" He retorted, massaging his cheek. Lucky my jaw's not fucking broken, damn it! He spat out the blood accumulating in his mouth with disgust.

Mujina, feeling left out, butted in. "Oh Sango! Thank the gods you're here now! It was all his fault! Can you stop the rest of the taijiya from hurting me?" Mujina sobbed.

Inuyasha stared quizzically at her. One moment, she was threatening she would kill him, the next he was a blubbering, scared little village girl.

Sango quieted her friend easily, before saying, "What makes you think they're going to listen to me?"

"Sango—you're the headman's daughter! They can't not listen!" Mujina reminded her in exasperation.

"But if I said to stop, wouldn't they keep searching, since my father is the headman, whom they obey?" Sango reasoned.

"Besides, we already accepted the payment. The son of the old hag who saw the demon…er, saw you, wants to see the heads of the two shape-shifters that frightened his mother."

"I hate families." Inuyasha sniffed, cursing them for adding to Sango's distress as well as his own.

Mujina considered Sango's argument for a moment. "But if they don't find anything, would it be that bad? The old hag would only be branded as a hallucinatory witch."

"And how do you expect to hide from my father's men? They'll find you in this forest eventually, for sure."

"What if we're not in the forest? I know a way to the mountains so we can get back home."

Sango gaped for a moment. "And how do you know about that?"

"You would too, if you remembered. But I didn't think you would. Sango's too important to be playing with stupid little girls." Mujina didn't wait for an apology, sarcastic remark, or an excuse. Of course Sango wouldn't remember; she was too busy learning how to be a taijiya, so Mujina had to play with Kirara in said cave. Which was, after Kirara went off by herself, a very lonely experience. "I'll hurry up and leave by myself now. Go back to demon slaying," she glared at Sango, "and you…" She paused, glancing at Inuyasha. "You can do whatever it is you do."

"That kind of took the edge off of your little goodbye." Inuyasha remarked blandly.

Mujina kept walking, ignoring the comment.

"Why aren't you going with her?" Sango asked Inuyasha.

"Why should I?"

"We're still trying to find a youkai to kill in this forest, stupid!" Sango covered her face in despair. Idiot!

"You really expect me to run away from your 'family'? If they don't listen to you, how much do you think they trust you?" Inuyasha settled himself against the roots of the tree he and Mujina had been situated in, looking as if he did not plan on moving until the need arose, or the taijiya came.

"Are you trying to say you don't trust me?" Sango slumped down next to him, biting back a sob of frustration. Why did he have to be so pettily stubborn? "That whole time in the moon garden! I was scared to death that we weren't going to live through that! I could have run away that night; found my own way out. But I stayed with you. Do you know why?"

"You were fucking scared," He muttered, as if it was a well-rehearsed argument.

"Scared of what?" She choked on the words, spitting them out with her last efforts. What was she getting so worked up over? Because she couldn't handle him anymore? When no response to her question came, she sobbed, "I was afraid I was going to lose you, damn it!"

Inuyasha tried to hide the surprise from his face, thinking he was at least partially succeeding but in actuality, for the most part, failing dismally. "What…?"

Sango buried her face in his shoulder, surprising him further.

"I thought you were going to die, okay? But you wouldn't know how that feels—to lose someone you care for, because you're such a—a—"

"Shut up."

"Sango jumped up. "Me? Me? You want me to shut up? You're the one who's so—" Sango took a breath to calm herself as best she could. "You shut up. We're going to follow Mujina right now." The last two words were like a slap to the face.

Dumbly, he sat in stunned silence and didn't object when Sango pulled him so his feet and they began to run after Mujina.

Stealth was not top-ranked among their priorities. Crashing through still water, already gathering on the ground, and plants alike, Sango only hoped the rain would shield their noise. Finally, they caught up with Mujina, who was moping in front of the mouth of the cave. It was relatively small, in comparison with the rest of the mountains in view, and seemed to be made of mud and hillside in the beginning as opposed to rock.

She jerked her head up at the sound of them, and ran towards the two.

Without a word, the group slipped into the veiling shadows of the cave, undetected.

Oh, how wrong they were, however. It was one of the youngest men that saw them; three years three years the junior of Sango herself.

"Oi! Sango!" He shouted after them, running toward the mouth of the cave in pursuit. He arrived, out of breath and lagging, just in time to see the threesome swerve onto a sub-path and into darkness.

"Sango!" He shouted after her. "What are you doing?" His words echoed strangely throughout the chamber, flinging themselves back at him and barely reaching the ears of those meant to receive it.

"There's someone behind us," Inuyasha stopped and turned to face the sound. "He wants you, Sango."

Sango furrowed her brow with a worried thought. "Keep going."

"Are you sure? It'll be dangerous when he's alone in here." Inuyasha tested Sango.

Bastard. She glared at him, and turned away. "Keep going." She repeated.

And that is how the young slayer came to tail them in the catacombs of Mujina's cave. Darting forward, backtracking, and investigating, he knelt on the ground, following wet footprints farther into the darkness, with only a small torch. But since there was no answering bob of light, he surmised that the group of…he checked the different prints on the ground. The group of three must have no light at all. He scoffed at their idiocy. This was going to be a fun one to tell the boys that night. All-important Sango had gone venturing in a cave with that crazy villager and a youkai without any means of light. Heh.

"Sango! If you come back now, I promise not to tell anyone important that you were here!" No, not the adults or Matsu. Just 'the guys'. He shrugged to himself. Who they told was none of this business. He shouted louder. Every word seemed to be bouncing back at him and not reaching forward at all. Why was that? "SANGO!" No response but the clattering of pebbles falling that they left behind.

Had she not heard him? How come no one ever heard him? Not even at home. Gods, was he invisible or something? "Haha, I have a question." No answer. "Haha"

He slammed his fist into the wall in frustration to stave off the memories. If she had just come out the first time, she could have spared him so much trouble…and he would have been recognized for once; bringing back precious lady Sango would have merited just reward.

Then he thought though, she did lead the youkai into the cave. What was that all about? Wasn't she supposed to be turning them over to the village? He frowned. So she was betraying the taijiya! There were really no other words for it. There was no way they could actually be friends, right?

Now, some say it was the punch to the mountain that did it. Mujina swears it must have been the yelling. Sango would like to content herself with the notion that the mountain god did not like his intents, therefore punishing him. But Inuyasha knewit was all their fault either way, and he wasn't afraid to rub it in.

For whatever reason, the pebbles that came tumbling down grew increasingly large, and the scattered drips of rainwater finding their way from the outside into a crevice on the ceiling, grew into steady streams, carrying a curtain of topsoil down with it. Before the poor boy even knew what was happening, his entire section of the cave came tumbling down, the entrance collapsing in on itself and sending countless slabs of granite and mud from above to submerge the young taijiya man in a sea of boulders, sand, and rain.

Mujina screamed when she heard the crash. Grabbing onto Sango's arm, which was the closest means of support to her, she and Sango jumped backward in surprise. They sat in utter darkness for some time, just listening for more shouts to Sango.

"Did he…?" Sango finally spoke. On their side of the cave, only a bit of dust had fallen. It was pitch black now, without the tentative light shining in from the doorway, and the boy's torch.

"Yeah," The two girls heard Inuyasha moving toward them. "What was that about 'keep going', Sango?" He grumbled.

"I… Oh gods, I didn't want…" Sango covered her face with her hands. It was a fact, then. Nothing went right anymore. Break rules, retribution come. Riie always warned, in the Chinese accented language that she had gained from her caretaker and guardian who was a Buddhist monk on a pilgrimage from the Middle Kingdom.

"Sango." Mujina soothed, though the way her voice cracked, she sounded like she was the one who needed the soothing.

"What."

"No offense, but there is really not enough time right now to be worrying about the kid." Mujina heaved her friend to her feet.

"Why would I be worrying about him? He's dead! I'm worrying about his family, his friends, the rest of the taijiya! What are they going to think? And if they find out how he died, what am I going to do?" Sango burst out.

"Well, I…yes. I suppose that is a problem." Mujina reasoned.

"Yes, it is." Sango replied testily. How come no one took things seriously anymore?

"Keep going." Inuyasha ordered.

"Are you trying to make fun of me again? I get, I get it! Dear gods, I GET IT." Sango shouted.

Inuyasha slapped a hand over her mouth. "Do you know what caused the rock slide?" Sango shook her head. "Well, then. It could have been all the fucking shouting, so be quiet. I said, 'keep going', and I meant keep going."

Sango nodded. "Does anyone have a light, fire, or something?"

"No. We'd have used them by now if we did." Mujina sighed. "What about your youkai friend, Sango? He should be able to see in the dark pretty well, huh?"

"Don't count on it." Inuyasha muttered. He was as lost as they were, albeit able to pick out the lumps of rock and the outlines of Sango and Mujina.

"Well, what are we going to do? It's too risky to try to dig out the entrance—that might cause even more trouble." Mujina stated the obvious, not being particularly useful.

"Shouldn't you know? You said it was your special cave, remember?" Inuyasha reminded her sarcastically.

"I've only been this far." Mujina admitted, blushing, though no one could tell in the dark. "I guess we can just keep walking in this direction."

"What? But we'll get lost!" Sango objected.

"Technically, lost is better than being starved to death because we were too afraid to go find an exit, don't you think?"

"You're such a pessimist," Sango said, but she followed Mujina's footsteps anyway.

Inuyasha followed suit as well, straining his ears to catch any other signs of movement. Good thing the brat didn't go farther when she played. This cave is swarming with demon auras. But where? That was the difficult part.

They walked in complete silence most of the way, the only noise the crunch of gravel beneath their feet and the ruffling of clothing as the briskly hiked through the cavern.

"Does it smell…kinda weird to you?" Mujina asked rhetorically, yelping as she sank ankle deep into a sudden puddle of putrid liquid—she wasn't exactly sure if it could be called water, at this point. It stank of rotted fish and algae, combined with the slightly nauseating stench of stone saturated with the less-than-appetizing liquid. "Something tells me this isn't good." At least this cavern was slightly lighter. It was as if a thin trickle of sun was allowed to make its way downward. If they stood close enough, they could make out each other's outlines easily.

Inuyasha stepped to the front, shielding Sango and Mujina from possible attack. His eyes darted back and forth, watching for youkai as his ears listened for a disturbance of the water.

Sango readied her wakizashi. Why, why did she never bring her boomerang when she didn't think she would need it? No, she had to leave it in the forest. There were so many reasons that proved that was possibly the stupidest thing she had done the entire day. Every time she left it behind, of course she got into unaccounted for trouble. Silently, she vowed she would bring the hiraikotsu wherever she went for the rest of her life, even if it was just to pick flowers for a shrine offering.

Finally, the beast showed itself—well, not really, since no one could truly see it, but they did hear it well enough. An inhuman shriek erupted from what sounded like its mouth, though it seemed more like it was attempting to speak though its stomach. Garbled yowls and gurgles resounded in the small chamber, the splashing of water and rush of cool air all-too-evident as it surged toward the trio.

It met Inuyasha in an explosion of sound; the monster squealed as claws ripped through its tender belly, spilling greenish swamp muck. It recoiled, lashing at the hanyou with its tail. It caught him on the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He cried out as spikes plunged into his shoulder and pulled themselves all the way through his flesh.

Sango lunged at what she thought was the snake, but her sword only met with cold stone. She wildly swung around, and hit only air. Yelping as she felt something coiling itself around her leg, she sliced the tentacle, grabbing it and holding tight—if she kept a hold on the creature, she would know where to aim.

Inuyasha rolled out of the puddle, clutching his injured shoulder. "Guh," he panted, and threw himself at the thing once more, grabbing hold of its back. He felt the edges of a spine and thickly corded muscle. And…gills? What in all manner of youkai was this? Damn it. He cursed as the snake-whatever-it-was began to dive into the ghastly pool. He gulped in a last breath of air and followed it under, scraping at the hard scales of its hide in vain, again asking himself what the hell this creature was.

Sango was pulled along too, more tentacles reaching out and taking her down with them. She hacked at them, but not as ferociously, afraid of cutting her own legs.

And then Mujina was left alone. The serpent, Sango, and Inuyasha were all underwater. She fretted silently, her first thoughts wondering what to do if they never came back. She couldn't fight; not with anyone but the village boys, anyway, and that hardly counted. The spiritual power she had learned under Riie were 'preventative medicines', things to hold back youkai, things to keep infection away, but not to cure it. Once the damage was already done, there was nothing she could do. Often, she asked Riie why, since most likely, by the time anyone realized it, the damage was done, and there was nothing within her power to keep it away. Now, she wished Riie had bloody told her the first time. She sunk to the ground huddled in her slightly wet clothing, and wait.

She didn't need to wait long. A dripping, mucus covered body ran towards her, attempting to shout, but coughing out slime and other disgusting materials. Of course, she screamed, thinking it was the demon that had attacked them. "Damn it, shut up and listen! If you hear Sango, tell her that I figured out what the thing is. It's a fish, and it has spikes covering its body." Then he ran back to the arena.

Mujina nodded belatedly, convincing herself that she could be helpful now that she had something to say. So when Sango did indeed come around, Mujina shouted Inuyasha's findings to her. Alas, Sango was not listening. She was yelling at Mujina, telling her to tell Inuyasha that she found out it was a squid, with many tentacles, and a very large mouth. Mujina just nodded belatedly again, deciding that they would figure it out themselves eventually. Maybe.

So, Inuyasha fought, all the while thinking it was a single pointy fish, and Sango carried on under the impression it was a squid.

Inuyasha, having nothing but his claws, aimed for the belly, slashing the skin to shreds and tearing out what he hoped were vital organs. The loss of sight was more vexing than an actual disadvantage, as the fish didn't appear to be able to see either. Suddenly, rubbery tentacles latched around his neck and torso, constricting so that he could barely breathe. Since when do fish have fucking tentacles?

Sango fared no better. With no hope of dodging the arms, she could only wait until they found her, then follow them to the body. This technique was sketchy, however. She had yet to figure out what to do if she could not could the binds away and was eaten up in that large mouth. She shuddered; that would be more painful than most other deaths. Did you get gnawed into small pieces, or digested alive?

She didn't have time to ponder further. She felt a sharp jab to her leg and screamed. Feeling for her calf, she touched scaly, slightly slimy skin, and dampness she knew was a disgusting combination of her blood and the dank water. Yanking the spike out of her leg, she screamed again, and crawled away. Vivid expressions of pain left her mouth as she dragged her leg behind her. Settling herself in a corner, she began to cry, though the sound was drowned out by the thrashing of the…whatever it was.

I can't fight like this. I can't concentrate. I need to calm down. All I've done today is—is—cry… She wished the world would stop turning and wait for her soul to catch up. Tentatively brushing a hand across her wounded leg, she winced, and more tears sprang to her eyes.

Damn… Inuyasha cursed, fighting to draw in more air, fill his lungs so he even stood a chance at killing the creature. He stuggled to free his throat from the death grip, and failed. I can't lose now… He argued with his body. He wasn't an idiot; by now he had figured out that there was definitely two different monsters, one fish and one tentacled being. He desperately wished that Sango had drawn the same conclusion. Biting down into the rubbery mass of tentacles, he chocked back the bile that rose in his throat from the taste and smell, and ripped as much of the tentacles as he could away from his body. This was a sick way to die. Kagome-hime would be disappointed that she wasn't the one to kill him.

"Sango?" Mujina cried, in answer to her friend's screams. "Sango!" She jumped up from her hiding place and sprinted toward the direction of the sound, squealing every time she stepped on a piece of detached squid part.

"Mujina," Sango whispered through her tears.

Mujina groaned inwardly. "Oh Sango, I've said this before, but now is really not the time for this! I want you to be the taijiya princess again. Fearless, powerful, and brave. Remember when we played that game? You were always the princess and I had to be the damsel in distress. And Kirara was the demon, remember? You can be depressed Sango later."

"Is that what you think this is?" Sango hissed. "A game? Dress-up?"

"It was a metaphor." Mujina defended herself. "And as I said, that's really not important right now. Where's the youkai?"

"He has a name, you know. And he's a half-demon, not a youkai."

"Sango, I'm going to fucking slap you!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Why do you have to get so touchy when it's most inconvenient?"

"Maybe it's the inconvenience that makes me touchy…" Sango reasoned, the hard edge of cynicism entering her voice. But she rose to her feet again, favoring her injured leg and holding on to the cave wall for support. "Where is Inuyasha?"

"That's what I just asked you!" Mujina wailed hopelessly.

Sango took a deep, calming breath. "Wait here, Mujina. And don't get caught." With that, she stumbled back into the fray.

Inuyasha lay in the shallow film of mucus, gasping for life like a fish out of water. Spitting out chunks of tentacle, he drew in a ragged breath, glad to be freed of the asphyxiating shackles.

He rolled onto his back and took a series of deep gasps, staring into the blackness waiting for the beast to return. He groaned, and slowly edged his way onto his feet once more, rolling his damaged shoulder. Keh.

The two monsters watched him with glee as he floundered in their domain. He was so utterly beaten and they knew it. They 'floomped' forward, for their really was no other word for the sound they made, and the one with a mouth and an actual means of digestion, the squid, since the fish was not actually a fish, but something that looked like one, opened its jaws wide as it prepared to devour him.

Sango listened in terror as both of them came down on something. "Oh…gods…" She broke down. And she had tried so hard to focus and put everything second on her priority list except getting everyone out of this cave by herself. And she didn't even get to choose herself.

"Inuyasha, I hate your slimy, inconsiderate guts!" Sango screamed.

And in that instant, the fish erupted from inside, sending bits of its skin flying throughout the cavern. She watched wildly, hoping for some glimmer of light to lead her.

"And here I was taking your 'worried' comment from earlier seriously." Inuyasha scoffed, wiping sections of fish innards from his hair.

"That's why I hate you!" Sango sobbed, falling onto him, unable to keep upright on only one leg. "You always have to make me feel so responsible."

I hope she worded that the wrong way. He thought. She doesn't mean I'm a burden to her, does she?

Meanwhile, the squid, only just realizing that its partner was in pieces scattered across the room, 'floomped' as agilely as possible toward them.

"Let me take care of this one." Sango grunted.

"Like hell you will, you can't even walk properly." Inuyasha pointed out bluntly.

"I need to, Inuyasha." Sango repeated in an explanatory tone.

"Fine." Inuyasha snapped. Turning away from her. "Get on."

"What?" Sango asked incredulously.

"Get on my back. You're going to get yourself killed if you even try by yourself." Inuyasha explained in annoyance.

"I—all right…" With a young child's insecurity, Sango gently felt for his body and eased herself onto his back, holding him tightly. It was a lopsided ride, though, because when she put her weight onto his right shoulder, he took a sharp breath. Then, she quickly snatched her hand back, rubbing the palm of her hand against itself to try and wipe the blood away. Then she felt even more guilty for having to use him as transportation. It just didn't seem right, especially when he was injured, but it was he who had offered in the first place, right?

They took off without warning, and she yelped at the jerk. It was far from the smooth rides she had enjoyed in her youth on Kirara, but it would do for the occasion. She made another silent vow not to accept anymore rides from him after this.

Drawing her sword, she was careful to hold it very high, just in case another jerk caused her to bring it to close to his person.

If they were fast enough, the squid proved to be little more than sitting bait with an exceptional amount of hands. With Inuyasha under her, Sango felt more sure, like she knew where they were in relation to the youkai at all times. She slashed at the squid's center expertly, and within minutes it suffered the same fate as its companion.

"Mujina?" Sango shouted anxiously as the beast fell, and Inuyasha directed the two of them to the direction of the answering cry.

"Are we done?" Mujina asked nervously.

Sango felt for her hand and grabbed it reassuringly. "Yes," she said, which surprised even her. Maybe it was the mood she had been in earlier, but she really didn't believe they would ever see the sun—or the moon, for that matter, as she realized with a sinking feeling that it was not completely done. At least not for her and Inuyasha.

"I know how we can get out," Inuyasha said, brightening Sango's mood once more. "The water for the lake—where does it come from? It must be somewhere that leads outside."

"But water's a lot smaller than we are. What if it dripped between the crevices in the rock? We couldn't get through that anyway." Mujina reasoned.

"It'll make the rock weaker at least," Sango felt him shrug.

Mujina gaped. "You can't honestly think that we could break through—no way!"

Inuyasha wasn't listening. He splashed out into the center of the pool, balancing on a piece of dead fish. He looked up, and a slight stream of water poured onto his upturned face. He spat it out, and shouted to Mujina, "We won't need to 'break through' anything."

He leapt up through the opening with Sango. It was a familiar place for both of them. Ah, so it was nighttime already. That would explain why this opening could exist without letting in too much light—the moon was still only a gentle sliver in the sky, though the rain still pelted down relentlessly.

Mujina shouted up after them, "Hey! What about me! Don't leave me in here!"

Grumbling, Inuyasha dropped back down and brought Mujina up as well. The girl gasped when she saw the sight of her other two traveling partners. She looked down at herself, and saw that she looked no better. They were all covered from head to toe in green and brown algae, soaked so that their clothes hung limply off their frames, and both Inuyasha and Sango looked as bad as they felt, sticky with blood and fish insides as well. "Where are we, though?" Mujina looked around, glancing with yearning at the clean waterfalls of pure water glancing off the rock and falling down below. Mm…clean water.

"The Cascades," Inuyasha recited from memories of the time he and Sango had first met Kagome-hime. He collapsed against a wall with an ironic chuckle.

"What are you laughing about?" Mujina sniffed. "You two look like you've been to hell and back, we all smell like shit, and you're laughing?"

Inuyasha shook his head, his actions governed like someone who knew an army was coming before it reached the outer borders.

And in a sense, that's exactly what was happening.

end chapter eleven

Notes on chapter:

10,000+ word chapter! W00t.

Ok. That was really lame. We haven't had a piece of crap like that since chapter seven (but I wrote that one in an hour in a half—this took a month and a half because I'm so lazy! Gah!)

Let's see if I can find anything I liked.

Well, I think the beginning, while lacking in point, was kind of nice, because it was sort of "Inuyasha is depressed, Sango is depressed, they get pulled out of that by a character they don't interact with much". Though, Sango was happy instead of sad and Inuyasha was just annoyed. It was nice that this story got to have a MatsuSango moment and a MujinaInuyasha…erm…thing. Even though I hated writing that section. A lot. I don't really like Mujina, and she and Inuyasha together are just too wild. And I liked how Sango's been going on all these excursions and freely allying herself with demons, but when the magic is over, she realizes she is still deeply tied to human civilization of the era. Mm…yes. I have been writing waaay too much critical analysis these days.

Though, you know, its better that I waited. Before, my English class was reading Tom Sawyer, so Sango probably would've ended up saying, "Oh I dasn't mars Matsu!" Or, "Inuyasha, 'twas a middling warm in school, warn't it?" Maybe even, "Oh I know, I'm a laying up sin for us both, but lord 'o me! I can't lay a whip to him, my own dead sister's boy…"

As I said, I AM SO SORRY THAT I DITCHED THIS STORY FOR OVER A FLIPPING MONTH! I just really. Really. REALLY. Did not want to write this chapter. And what came of that? Major procrastination and a badly written chapter. Ah, well. I hope things get better in chapter thirteen (not twelve, that's just as bad). Actually, I have a lot of excuses lined up for my absence.

My computer broke. I'm not lying!

I got sick. Yes, on top of everything, I was sick. I think I still am.

I am entering high school next year, and I am trying to get a 4.0 GPA for the third quarter. I can't think of a way to say this without it sounding like bragging, but I have all possible honors classes, piano lessons, Girl Scouts (evvvvillll) and Japanese language school, so I have a pretty full plate… lot's to do. And there's that annoying little girl named 'Fanta' who always wants me to do stuff for her when I have my own things to do…

I promise I will never take such a long break ever again. Er…at least not until chapter 16, which is my prolonged romance chapter. Yes, I finally did my outline, so I wasn't being totally unproductive. Romance…is not my thing. I like to read well-done ones, but I can't write it. I'll practice…

Thank you everyone!

Kalliel

カリエル