Thanx a ton for reviewing, judi! Here's the next chapter – I'm hurrying as much as I can!
Yes, socialkween, you're right… in the end of chapter 3, it says that Sesshomaru "watched the girl situate herself on her half-brother's back" – I meant to put "his half-brother's back". Oopsie!
Disclaimer (forgot to put this in the last chapter): I don't own any of the Inu characters. I do own Lady Raori, but she hasn't come in yet… don't worry, I'll have her come in on the next chapter!
Thanx for reading!
They woke early the next day. Rin joined them at breakfast, but Sesshomaru chose not to show up. The little girl informed them that the youkai lord didn't eat human food and thought that his time would better be spent with the servants, instructing them on what to do until his return.
He came in just as they were finishing and stood quietly by the door to wait for them. When they were ready to go, he swung the doors open and leapt into the air, followed by Inuyasha and Kirara, who carried the others. They soared away into the sunshine, following Sesshomaru as he sped away, seeking out the mansion that was owned by Lady Raori.
The taiyoukai led the way, pausing only once to fall back and speak to Myoga. "I am fairly sure I know where we are going," he said quietly, "but I do not know if the demon we seek will be there. That mansion was given to her a long time ago – she could very easily have forgotten about it by now. She could be anywhere."
The flea nodded. "That's true, Lord Sesshomaru, but your guess is as good as mine. She could be anywhere, so we will try everywhere. We must find her soon."
With a nod, the taiyoukai sped up, ending the conversation and setting his course south.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
At one point in their journey, Shippo caught sight of the poison insects Naraku usually summoned. He pointed them out to Kagome, who bit her lip worriedly at the sight. They couldn't afford to let Naraku figure out where they were – he could follow them to Lady Raori and get to the shard before them. It was too much of a risk.
She quickly told Inuyasha about the wasps. He yelled out to Sesshomaru. "Get down, Fluffy!" he yelled quietly as he dropped down below the tree level. Sesshomaru glanced down at them curiously, but chose to follow. Kirara came right after him, dropping down to land beside Inuyasha.
When he had landed, Sesshomaru fixed them with a stare. "Why have we stopped?"
"The wasps," Sango answered, pointing up to the sky. "You saw them, right? They are spies for Naraku. We'll have to travel on land until we can lose them."
Sesshomaru nodded, his tail re-curling around his shoulder. Just as he was beginning to head off towards the direction of Lady Raori's mansion again, a loud, deranged laughing filled the clearing.
Weapons were drawn instantly at the sound. Kagome's bow and arrow appeared in her hand, Tetsusaiga was raised and transformed, Miroku's staff jangled softly, and hiraikotsu was raised upon Sango's ready back. Shippo tensed and Kirara shot out her claws with a sharp snarl. Toujikin sat in its sheath, unneeded. The taiyoukai was fast enough to bring it out if the need arose. At the moment, he appeared unnervingly unfazed, which was a key in his form of battle. No matter what, the enemy could not see his emotion.
Naraku stepped out of the woods, not ten feet from them. "I see you've decided to go along with your brother, Sesshomaru. How endearing." He chuckled maniacally. "It will only make killing all of you so much more fun."
A huge tentacle rose from the ground, its point heading for Inuyasha. The half-demon leapt up, chopping off the limb before it could touch Kagome. A dozen more replaced it.
At once, Sesshomaru disappeared, moving faster than the others' eyes could follow. He randomly cut through any bonds that hindered the others, never stopping to be caught by them himself. He was too fast for the hanyou to catch, and Naraku knew this. Instead of bothering with the youkai lord, he concentrated on the ones in this little group that couldn't defend themselves quite so easily.
Miroku's eyes widened suddenly as a sharp tentacle rose up and catapulted itself at him. His staff rose to his defense, but he knew he couldn't stop the force of the blow. Just as he was readying himself for the terrible blow, ignoring Sango's terrified cry from behind him, a blur of motion crossed his vision.
The arm fell, lifeless to the ground. He vaguely saw Sesshomaru nod evenly before disappearing again, off to another part of the clearing.
Smiling slightly in gratitude at remaining among the living, the monk turned and lopped off an arm that snuck up behind him. He knew he would damage Sesshomaru's pride by saying it aloud, and Inuyasha would probably kill him for it, but he was thankful that the youkai had joined them. When he caught Sango's relieved eye, he could tell she felt the same way. This battle was going a whole lot better than any they had been in before, and they all knew it, even Naraku.
Meanwhile, Kagome was off to one side with the fire-cat and the kitsune. Kirara fought in front of them to offer some protection. Shippo clung to Kagome's shoulder, doing his best to burn away the few appendages that dared approach them. Meanwhile, she had her arrows out, lending them all her power as she aimed straight for Naraku, knowing that if she could hit him she would help Inuyasha to defeat him. And so it was that when she loosed her powerful arrow, and it slammed into Naraku's chest, she was overjoyed. So was Inuyasha, and he sent her a look of thankfulness at their enemy's painful cry.
To her horror, as Inuyasha was concentrating on her, Naraku lashed out and send a blow directly for him, his wounds bleeding profusely as he glared intently at the dog-demon.
She had just enough time to yell his name before he turned and saw the tentacle hurtling towards him. Sango and Miroku gasped at the sight and Naraku cackled evilly, thankful to finally be rid of the annoying half-demon. His eyes took in the three humans, the kitsune, and the fire-cat, all with horrified expressions. He began to smirk, but the expression froze on his face. Then… where was…
A blur came before everyone's eyes and they stared, blinking in surprise. Sesshomaru was standing over his half-brother, his eyes on Naraku. Inuyasha was no worse for the wear, but was staring at Naraku.
The evil hanyou was gasping, Toujikin having embedded itself straight into his heart where Kagome's arrow had just barely missed before. The puppet crumbled, leaving behind a doll, which Shippo promptly squished under his paw. The kitsune then turned to stare at the taiyoukai in amazement.
Inuyasha slowly rose, his eyes on those of the youkai before him. He suddenly had the odd feeling that, after all these years of fighting, Sesshomaru wasn't quite as cold as he was made out to be. His expression could make you think otherwise, but now the hanyou had his doubts about his older brother. When he had realized that he was going to die, the last thing on his mind was the hope that Sesshomaru would save him. No matter the situation, the thought would've never occurred to him. But it had happened.
Very, very slowly, he bowed his head the tiniest fraction of an inch towards the stony-faced demon lord. And, to his further amazement, Sesshomaru's eyes softened slightly and he nodded his own head regally in return.
The impossible had happened.
Without another word, the taiyoukai turned to leave, leading the way towards their destination, not bothering to look back. With another startled glance at Inuyasha, the others followed him, the events of the battle still flickering in their minds.
An hour or two later brought them to the small mansion they were looking for. It was much smaller and more modest than Sesshomaru's, and they could see that it wasn't nearly as old and used. They landed at the front gate and Sesshomaru quickly strode through, making his way up to the front door. The place had an almost eerie feel to it, and it looked deserted from the outside, but as it looked to be their best bet, they decided to give it a try.
When no one answered their knock, Sesshomaru gently pushed the door open to reveal the great hall. They looked around, searching for anyone that could possibly direct them to the Lady, but they saw no one.
Sesshomaru, trying to remember anything about this place, led them through the hall and deeper into the dark building. Doors were scattered on either side of the long hallway. They were all unlocked, leading to rooms of all shapes and sizes, but they were all empty. There wasn't anyone anywhere in this place, or if there was, they were sure hiding themselves well.
Suddenly a voice rang out clearly from behind them, echoing through the hallway.
"Should I bother to ask what you're doing here?"
Another translation I forgot in the last chapter: a taiyoukai is a demon that rules over their own lands – like a demon lord, I guess. Sesshomaru is taiyoukai of the Western Lands. My sister asked if the word would be the same for a female as it is for a male, and I don't know, so I just assume that "taiyoukai" refers to both femaleand male. If I'm wrong, please let me know and I'll change it! Sorry!