"A demon was stealing your food?" Sango asked, the surprise evident in her voice that a demon would be foolish enough to approach this village. And, going to the head priestess's house, no less! Shaking her head at how foolish or idiotic this demon must have been, she asked, "Did you see what kind of demon it was?"

"I don't really know demons so well…" Jenni said, a wry grin on her face as she placed her chopsticks on her plate and folded her hands in her lap. Scrunching her eyes into a squint, she told them, "It looked kinda like a lizard, or something like that… Maybe a toad…? But, it walked on its hind legs and was wearing little clothes. It was only about two or so feet high, and it carried a strange staff with it; The thing had two faces carved into it. Really was quite strange, I thought… and, it was almost too easy to take the staff away from it and knock it away with the thing."

"Really?" Miroku asked as he popped a sausage into his mouth. "Mnds tke gakn to mh." The monk commented around his food. Sweatdropping, Sango asked, "What did you say? Don't eat with your mouth full of food!"

"'Sounds like Jaken to me.' is what he said." Shippo informed the group as he took a piece of Inuyasha's hashbrown without the hanyou noticing.

"So that bastard came here, did he?" Inuyasha asked no one in particular, still not realizing what Shippo was doing as the little kitsune stole his toast.

"What? Who's the bastard?" Jenni asked, looking to Kagome as the dark haired girl handed Shippo the rest of her food, before the small demon was hit upside the head for stealing Inuyasha's food.

"That human girl just took the words right out of my mouth." a cold voice said, coming from behind the small group. Jumping as one when the voice spoke, the four humans, hanyou, and demon turned quickly to face the aforementioned 'bastard'.

"Sesshomaru…" Inuyasha stated coldly, his hand inching towards the hilt of Tetsaiga instinctively.

"Little brother, I am so glad that you have not forgotten my name." Sesshomaru said, and if it had been anyone else, it would have been considered sarcasm. But, this was the eldest son of the great Dog Demon of the West, who never showed any emotion. "I hope that you enjoyed your morning meal. It will be your last."

"Hmph! Like an ass like you could beat me! Kagome, Miroku, Sango! Oh, and you too Jenni, move away from here!" When all four hesitated, the hanyou growled in his throat and yelled, "Now!"

Doing as he told them, the four humans moved from their seating arrangement, Kagome holding Shippo worriedly.

Creating his youki whip, Sesshomaru faced Inuyasha as the half-demon drew his sword. Standing, they faced each other, neither face showing any emotion other than the need to kill their own brother. Wind lifting their identical hair, the only thing that was similar about them other than their eyes, Jenni watched as they began to rush at each other, striking before quickly jumping away.

'Oh my…' Jenni thought, as Inuyasha dodged a crack of Sesshomaru's youki whip, 'That other demon is actually kinda handsome, once you get over the fact that he looks almost feminine. But, he wants to fight Inuyasha, his own brother, and kill him?! How sad…' As she had thought those two last words, Sesshomaru had turned the tide of the fight in his favor by causing Inuyasha to switch to defensive tactics, his broad sword held like a shield from the snapping end of the glowing whip.

"Kagome? Why does Sesshomaru hate Inuyasha so much? And why does Inuyasha hate Sesshomaru?" Jenni asked the distraught girl.

Without taking her eyes from the red-clad man, Kagome answered, her voice laced with worry for the fighting hanyou, "Well, I think it is because their father loved Inuyasha more, and paid more attention to him. And, I think that Inuyasha hates Sesshomaru because he kicked Inuyasha from his home after Inuyasha's mother died when he was very young. I really don't know if those are the correct reasons, but that is what I have gathered from talking to Inuyasha… Oh no! Inuyasha!!" the raven haired girl cried out as Inuyasha was finally injured. While the two cousins had been talking, Sesshomaru had finally achieved a strike across Inuyasha's chest, and the hanyou had fallen to the ground, blood swelling from the wound.

Inuyasha tried desperately to raise his wounded body from the ground, but found that the pain was to great and fell to his back once more. It took all his strength to just breathe, damnit! How was he supposed to fight Sesshomaru now?! It was during these troubled thoughts that Kagome rushed to his side, quickly assessing his wound. While she demanded that he not get up, Inuyasha growled at her and said, "Kagome, get away from me. He's going to come and try to kill me, and if you don't move, then he will kill you too. Leave!"

"Hey, sorry to interrupt…" Jenni commented as she approached near the two, "But, what should I do with this?" Holding out her right hand, the blonde girl showed the hanyou and miko that she held the rusted form of Tetsaiga in her hand.

"Give it to me girl." Sesshomaru stated as he approached the standing girl, his face a mask of cool collectiveness. "Hand it over to me now, and I will think of sparing the village." Eeping, Jenni looked to Inuyasha and Kagome, to the retreating backs of Sango, Miroku and Shippo, who had all gone to warn the villagers of the danger, then back to the coldly sneering demon before her. Shifting her weight, Jenni readied herself into a defensive stance, holding the Tetsaiga before her. "Come and get it if you want it so bad." the girl stated, her voice cold and sharp while she thought nervously, 'I hope I'm holding this thing right…'

"Onna! Don't! He'll kill you without a second thought!" Inuyasha called out to the blonde who was currently defending him. Why was she doing that?! In that form, Tetsaiga wasn't worth anything in a battle, much less a battle against a demon as strong as his brother. Jenni would be dead in only moments!

"Little brother, always relying on humans to protect you? And, females at that, also. How pathetic. First your mother, then that one beside you," here, the dog demon looked at Kagome, "And finally, this new one. I haven't seen her before. Is she your mate? And I thought that you had chosen the female wench that is beside you. Hn?" Sesshomaru quizzed the fastly blushing Inuyasha.

"M-mate?" the hanyou squeaked, unable to look at Kagome. He -really- did not want to see her expression at the moment!

"Yes, your mate. The one you 'love' and cherish… and protect. And who, in turn, protects you. A mate." the demon confirmed.

"Now, wait just one minute! You think that I would be his 'mate'?!" Jenni asked, her voice rising in anger when Sesshomaru nodded. "Then there's only one answer to this: you're crazy."

"You're not his mate?" Sesshomaru asked, walking forward and catching the girl's scent. Sniffing the air a few times, he looked at the blonde again, "Then, why are you protecting him?"

"Because… well, he's been somewhat nice to me and because he's Kagome's friend! And you have threatened Kagome! You have threatened my family!" the girl yelled to the now thoroughly confused youkai.

"You are related to that half-breed?" Sesshomaru asked as he pointed to Inuyasha's reclining form.

"Only if those two decide to go and get hitched…" the blonde said, her defensive stance never once wavering as the two behind her blushed even redder than they already were.

"Nani?" Sesshomaru asked, his mind not making sense of this girl's words. Relaxing his stance, he demanded, "Elaborate."

Relaxing her own stance minutely, Jenni told the youkai, "I'm Kagome's cousin, my name is Jenni. And, I already know who you are. You're Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older half-brother, who is hell bent to kill him. Inuyasha, that is." Watching as Sesshomaru crossed his legs and hovered in the air before sinking to the ground, Jenni stuck the Tetsaiga's blade deep into the soft earth and blinked and faced Inuyasha as he told her angrily, "Girl! Don't just sit there! Get back up and attack him! He can still kill you, even just sitting there!"

"But Inuyasha, he is thinking. His aura doesn't feel hostile, can't you tell? He's not going to attack soon." the girl responded, never batting an eye at the growls that the hanyou sent her way. Meeting Kagome's eyes, she said, "Kagome, help him back to the village. Kaede should be able to help him. I'll follow after you guys in a bit." Protesting that she couldn't leave Jenni alone with a youkai that was as likely to kill her as to breathe, Jenni asked her if she wanted Inuyasha to get healed. Taking the hanyou by the shoulders, Kagome helped the boy to his feet, nodded to her cousin, and then the two were on their way back to the village.

"Okay, I just want to ask you one thing…" Jenni stated as she turned to see the amusing sight of Sesshomaru trying to grasp the hilt of Tetsaiga. Energy flaring around it, the power shocked around his hand and forced him to the ground, making him land on the ground ungracefully.

"What?" he asked coldly as he turned and looked at her.

Walking within arm's reach of him, Jenni asked the Inu-youkai, "Why? Why do you want to kill your own brother?"

"Why should I tell you?" Sesshomaru asked warily. What was this human up to?

"Because I'll answer a question for you to the best of my ability. A trade of questions and answers, if you will. Agree?"

"Hmph." the dog demon responded as he crossed his arms and legs in thought.

"You know, you really sound and look like Inuyasha when you do that…" Jenni informed him with a small smile. All the response she got was a glare and a growl from the offended demon.

"Fine! I'll let you think about my offer. But, it still stands, in case you ever want to answer…" Jenni stated as she stood and took the hilt of the sword in her hand and pulled the blade from the ground in one jerk. Hoisting the sword over her shoulders, she held the blade with one hand and the hilt with the other as she began to walk the forest path back to the village.

"If you want to come with me, you can. If not, see ya!" the girl called over her left shoulder as she walked away, never turning back to see what the demon was doing. For all she knew, he could have already left. However, after a moment, Sesshomaru was instantly by her side, his strides matching hers in speed. Every now and then, he would try to grab the Fang, and then draw his hand back as the energy swirled and attacked his hand, rejecting his presence.

As the two neared the village, Jenni muttered to the demon who was currently nursing his hands quietly, "And no killing."

"Damn you." was all Sesshomaru said as the village houses and lands came into sight.