A/N: Wow. I haven't updated this in a really long time. Well, I've pretty much given up on this fanfic of mine...It's also not really how I write anymore...scowls But I still had stuff in it, so I just decided to post the rest of it up. Why?

BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT!

Just don't expect anything.

Disclaimer: ...Yeah. Don't own stuff.

Chapter 7: Startling Moves

Sesshomaru sat at the base of the tree, watching as the fire crackled in the night. Rin and Jaken were already asleep.

"You can come out," he said softly, as to not wake up the sleeping forms of his companions. Kagura emerged from behind a nearby tree. "You've come again, have you?"

"Sesshomaru…"

Sesshomaru almost blinked. Kagura usually called him "Lord".

"How many times must you come before you get it through your head that I will not help you?" he replied.

Kagura only stood, a few feet away from him, the light of the fire playing with the shadows on her face.

"And how many times must I come seeking aid until you can accept the fact that I wish to fight by your side?"

Sesshomaru did blink at this. He had merely thought that she wanted him to do all the dirty work for her…But fighting side by side?

"…Why do you want me to help you, out of all people?"

"Because…You are the only one who can defeat Naraku. I wish to help in his demise."

Sesshomaru watched as Kagura came closer to him…And kneeled in front of him. He looked at her, unfazed.

"Please Sesshomaru…I beg of you this time. Aid me."

Sesshomaru got up and looked down at her for a minute. She did not move.

"…I will fight."

Kagura looked up at him, surprise in her red eyes. She slowly got up. Then, she did something no one would have dreamed of seeing. She hugged Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru, being the dead pan person that he is, even allowed himself the slightest bit of emotion to seep through. Surprise was soon in his eyes as well.

Kagura, remembering where she was, let go and blushed.

"Thank you…Sesshomaru…"

With that, she took off on her feather into the night sky.

Rin, pretending to be asleep, had seen the whole thing. She smiled as she watched Sesshomaru look up at the sky for a moment, and then sit back down against the tree.


Inuyasha and the others had found an inn to stay at for the night, as they had come across a village just after the sun had set. They were sitting around, eating, while Inuyasha sat in the corner.

"Come and eat, Inuyasha," Miroku tried persuading the hanyou. He merely grunted.

"Don't tell me you're still angry about Kouga," Kagome said to him. He narrowed his eyes. "Oh come on! You told me just the other day that Kikyo was to be our ally!" Everyone grew quiet. "Now I'm telling you that Kouga will be too, and you're acting like a child! At least I was reasonable and accepting enough to Kikyo, so why can't you be for Kouga!"

Now Inuyasha was angry. "Wench, I'll never call that wimpy wolf my ally, friend, or even acquaintance, for that matter!"

"Then I won't think of Kikyo that way either!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, watching the two as they looked angrily at each other. Inuyasha just turned his head and didn't bother looking at Kagome. She stood up.

"You won't even take what I say into thought, will you?" she asked him softly. He didn't answer. "After all, I'm just a shard detector to you, aren't I!"

He continued looking away. She felt tears pool in her eyes.

"You stupid jerk!" she shouted at him. "At least answer me-YAAAA!" she screamed as the inn shook violently.

"What's going on?" Sango said out loud as she grabbed Haraikotsu. (her boomerang bone).

The group ran outside to see a large youkai terrorizing the village. It was yellow, and had horns on the top of its head. It had long, sharp claws, which it was using to swipe down houses.

Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga in a heartbeat and ran towards the demon. Miroku and Sango were not too long in following. Kagome ran inside to grab her bow and arrows, told Kohaku and Shippo to go to a safe place outside the village on Kirara, and ran outside. Inuyasha was already swinging his sword down on the creature.

"Haraikotsu!" Sango yelled as she threw her massive boomerang. It soared through the air, cutting the youkai's shoulder. It roared and ran at her, swinging down a claw. Miroku jumped in and pulled Sango out of the way.

"Time to finish this," Inuyasha said before swinging down Tetsusaiga in front of him. "Kaze no Kizu!" (Wound of the Wind, Cutting Wind, Wind Scar, etc.)

Instead of finishing the youkai off, the blasts of energy rushing towards it completely disappeared as the youkai opened its mouth and surrounded itself in a purple barrier.

"What!" Inuyasha yelled.

"The youkai managed to deflect your Kaze no Kizu with some of strange barrier," Miroku pointed out, holding his hand. "Let's try this; Kazaana!"

The youkai found itself being sucked towards the monk's Kazaana, but it stuck both its arms in the ground and stayed put.

"It's not working!" Sango shouted. Miroku quickly resealed his hand. The youkai rushed at him and tried to hit him as he dodged most of its attack, but got scraped on the arm.

"Damn!" he muttered before turning around.

"Miroku!" Kagomeexclaimed before notching an arrow. "You're going down, ugly!" she yelled at the youkai. She fired her arrow just as the youkai put up his barrier, although this time, the arrow managed to pass after a struggle. The beast roared in anger and charged at her.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. He reached her as fast as he could, shielding the youkai's attack from her. The youkai clawed his back as he tried to shield Kagome.

"Inuyasha!" she cried as he flinched from the pain.

"I'm fine," he lied as he turned around. "I think you disabled his barrier with your arrow," he told her. He held up Tetsusaiga and charged once again.

"Tetsusaiga!" he yelled as he easily sliced the youkai in two. As he landed, he sunk to one knee, using Tetsusaiga to steady himself.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted before running over to him and the remains of the youkai.

"Houshi-sama, are you alright?" Sango asked Miroku. His left arm was bleeding.

"I'm fine…I just need a little cleaning up," he replied with a smile. She smiled back. They both turned to see Kagome run past them and to Inuyasha, who, by the looks of it, had lost quite a lot of blood.

"Inuyasha, can you stand?" she asked him gently. There were gash marks along his back that didn't look too deep, but severe nonetheless.

"I think so…" he replied weakly. Using Tetsusaiga as a prop, he let Kagome help him back into the inn.

Kirara had come back with Kohaku and Shippo after the fight was over. Kagome was tending to Inuyasha's wounds as Sango tended to Miroku's.

"Inuyasha…I'm so sorry," Kagome told the hanyou, referring to their fight earlier.

"It's not your fault," he said. "I don't…don't think that you're just a shard detector."

Kagome looked at him, startled. He turned around and looked her in the eye.

"I might have thought that earlier…But now, that's changed."

"Inuyasha…"

They were interrupted when they noticed Shippo watching. Blushing, they looked away.

"Houshi-sama…Thank you," Sango told Miroku as she bandaged his arm.

"Not to worry, Sango," he responded with another smile that made Sango blush slightly. "After all, I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt."

Surprised, Sango looked at him quizzically. She then noticed that their faces were only a few inches apart…

Sango noticed Kohaku looking at the two of them, and she quickly edged back a little, blushing like mad.


"So what do you think?" Shippo asked Kohaku in a whisper as to not wake up any of his companions. Everyone was now sleeping; Inuyasha in usual spot in the corner, Kagome near the fire in the middle of the room, and Miroku near Sango, although not too close for fear of being hit.

"I say my nee-chan and that monk definitely love each other," the freckled boy replied.

"And same goes for Inuyasha and Kagome, even though they'll never admit it," Shippo added sadly. There was silence for a moment until Shippo then said,

"Do you think that youkai today was from Naraku?"

"I don't doubt it for a minute," Kohaku said earnestly.