Hello again! Sorry it took me so long to update… It's a long story, so I won't go into it, but from now on I'll do my best to post as often as I can!
By the way, I'm thinking of posting a Wolf's Rain fanfic, a Lord of the Rings fanfic, and maybe a Harry Potter one (one of my friends made me start one and I got into it – it's actually kinda fun to write those). If any of you think I should bother to post them, tell me… which means review, review, REVIEW!!!
Okay, I'll let you read now…
Oh, by the way, I might've already said this, but my sister – socialkween – has finished her story. It's called Captive, and it's a Teen Titans story. If you've seen the show, you should read it – it's pretty good. She's writing a sequel now. Check it out.
Ok, now I'll let you read… Oh, wait, never mind. Disclaimer first!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu or any of the other characters… except Lady Raori, who comes in for this chapter.
Ok, now I'll let you read. Enjoy!
"Should I bother to ask what you're doing here?"
The voice rang out clearly from behind them. They spun around in surprise to see a young lady standing there. She was regarding them with calm silver eyes. Her face bore two black stripes on either cheek. Her brown, wavy hair was pulled back from her face. She had a strange air about her, as if they could all feel the power emanating from her. Their senses cried 'demon!' the moment they saw her, but something told them this was the one they were searching for.
Miroku gripped his staff, readying for a possible fight. "Are you the Lady Raori?" he asked.
She nodded. "I am," she said, glancing at him before looking over the others, mildly curious. "Now, would you kindly tell me who you are and why you have so rudely trespassed into my home?"
"We've come for your shard," Inuyasha growled. "Give it to us now, or we'll be forced to fight you for it."
The demon before them raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Do you refer to a Shikon shard? I am afraid you have been misinformed. I carry no such trinket."
"Yeah, right, like we're gonna believe that," Inuyasha hissed. "Tell us where it is!"
Raori bristled angrily. "You dare call me a liar?" she said icily.
"Yeah, I do," he snarled back at her.
Before he could even blink, Raori had blurred into motion, landing a quick punch in his gut and smirking as he yelped in surprise. He immediately kicked out, but she leapt over his head and landed behind him, swiftly turning and striking him in the back with a well-placed kick. He was pushed to all fours on the ground. An angry snarl escaped his lips and he spun around, whipping out Tetsusaiga in anger.
Raori calmly faced the hanyou, eyeing him disdainfully. "I already told you," she said coldly, "I carry no shard. I will fight you if you wish, but you will gain nothing from it."
"Inuyasha," Kagome said quickly, "she's telling the truth. I can't sense a shard anywhere in this building."
Cursing, the half-breed sheathed his sword, feeling embarrassment take over. He turned to glare at Myoga, attempting to lay the blame on someone other than himself. The flea swallowed nervously, leaping over to Kagome for protection. If only he hadn't listened to those stupid rumors…
In an attempt to redeem himself, Myoga spoke to Raori. "Please, allow me to apologize, Lady," the flea said, bowing to her. "This is my fault. I had heard a rumor that you were in possession of the last shard, and I chose to trust the one who told me such. Alas, my age must be catching up with me…"
"Do you mind?" Inuyasha muttered, sending the flea another death glare.
Sesshomaru stood to one side, annoyed to no end with his half-brother. Not only did he threaten the taiyoukai of this house, but he did it with a false accusation. How much more disrespectful could you get? Then again, the demon lord thought to himself, Inuyasha never respected anyone, so this should come as no surprise.
"Lady Raori," he said quietly, gaining the demon's attention. She glanced at him, her eyes flashing slightly with hostility. He matched her stare with one of his own and spoke. "We are searching for the last of the Shikon shards. Have you any idea where it is?"
"I do not," she replied coldly, still distrustful of these intruders. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave my home in peace. Go search for your shard somewhere else."
"We don't have anywhere else to search," Sango said glumly. "The only clue we had was Myoga's rumor."
Raori glanced at the flea, who still had an apologetic gaze on his face. "From whom did you hear this rumor, flea?" she asked, slightly curious. "I cannot think of a reason that anyone would send you to me. I have not been known to collect these shards."
"I heard the rumor from another demon," Myoga replied. "He did not say his name, but he appeared in human form. I believe he was from the north. I asked him about the shards, and he told me that you had one. I chose to believe him."
"A demon from the north," Raori murmured thoughtfully. "I should've known it would be him…" She glanced up at them. "I am not the one with the shard. It is another demon, another taiyoukai, one with lands far north of here. I believe he is the one that you saw, flea, spreading those rumors. No doubt he did so as to send away any shard-hunters that may come looking for it." She glanced pointedly at Inuyasha, who lowered his eyes sheepishly, knowing that he was one of those shard-hunters who'd been tricked.
"Do you know exactly where this demon lives?" Sango asked.
Raori narrowed her eyes. "What would you do if I said yes?"
"We'd ask you to take us there," the exterminator said hesitantly.
"Then no, I don't know where he is."
"Please!" Kagome said desperately. "You have to help us! This is really, really important!"
"Power always is," Raori said coldly.
"We're not trying to find the shards to get power," Shippo said quickly.
"There is a hanyou that goes by the name of Naraku," Miroku explained, "and he has been our enemy for some time now. We are in a constant battle with him. He strives to gain shards of the jewel, and so we go out after them to stop him from obtaining too many and getting too powerful."
"If we don't get the shard soon, he'll take it," Kagome finished, praying that Raori would believe them.
The demon swept her eyes over the group before they settled on Kagome again. "All right, miko," she said with a sigh. "I will hear you out. This story sounds too far-fetched to be made up."
Kagome smiled gratefully. "Naraku is a half-demon that's after the jewel shards. He created a hole in Miroku's hand that will consume him unless we beat Naraku. He manipulated Sango's brother to kill her family and is using him now to try and kill her. Fifty years ago, he turned Inuyasha and a priestess – Kikyo – against each other, killing Kikyo and pinning Inuyasha to a tree for fifty years with one of her arrows. Because we all hate Naraku, we came together to try and kill him, but he's proved himself way too powerful for that. We started to race for the jewel shards instead, since they were what kept making him more powerful.
"Naraku is extremely strong – he can make other demons out of his own body. He made two sisters, Kagura and Kanna, who we've fought quite a few times. They're still out there, doing what he orders them to. Along with them, he can make puppets of himself, which are also strong. Most of the time we just end up fighting a puppet, while Naraku sits safe in his castle somewhere else, watching.
"Anyway, the point is that he's really, really strong. With the rest of the jewel in his grasp, he could easily kill off every existing taiyoukai and take over all their lands – including yours – therefore controlling everything. If you help us, though, we might be able to defeat him."
"Wait a minute," Raori interrupted, narrowing her eyes. "I thought you were only asking me to take you to the shard. Now you want me to fight this Naraku, too?"
"It would be really nice of you," Kagome said hopefully. "I mean, getting the last shard before him would be so awesome, but still… it'd be great if you could help us fight Naraku, too. Otherwise he could destroy everything. It's for the good of the rest of the world." She glanced at Sesshomaru approvingly. "Lord Sesshomaru agreed to help, even though he normally hates us, because he knows that if he doesn't, Naraku could take over his lands and kill off everything he cares about. Maybe you could join us, too."
Raori glanced at Sesshomaru in surprise. She hadn't recognized him when he spoke to her before, but she knew his name well. "Lord Sesshomaru," she said thoughtfully. "You're Inutaisho's boy, aren't you?"
He nodded.
She glanced at Inuyasha. "And you're his brother," she said, recognition dawning in her eyes.
"Half-brother," the hanyou snarled. "And don't remind me."
For a moment, they caught a glimpse of amusement in her eyes, but as soon as it came it was gone again. "I suppose I will do as you ask, miko," she said, glancing back at Kagome. "For both my lands and for the memory of your father, who was the greatest taiyoukai of his time." She nodded at Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.
"Thank you so much," Kagome gushed. "You have no idea how grateful we are."
"So, first of all, will you lead us to the shard?" Miroku asked.
Raori sighed. "I suppose. I may as well warn you, though, he will not give it up without a fight, and he will not give up a fight until he is dead. It will be no easy task to retrieve the shard from him."
"You talk as though you already know him," Kagome pointed out.
"Yes, we've met once or twice. We never did get along. He usually keeps to himself, though, and not much is known about him. He's known to be powerful, that's one thing – so other demons tend to keep away from him. His temper isn't something you want unleashed on you. His lands, which consist of a wide range of mountains in the north, are nearly deserted. This is because everything, humans and demons and animals alike, fear him."
There was silence for a moment. Finally Inuyasha spoke up. "I don't fear him," he said with a smirk. "We'll beat him. I bet we've seen worse, anyway. I don't see how this guy could be too much of a challenge."
"I think you'll be surprised," Raori shot back. "You have fought demons, true enough, and defeated many. But I have heard of the battles you have had with your brother – excuse me, your half-brother. You have fought him innumerable times. Yet still he stands, unscathed."
(A/N: I know, I know, that isn't really true. He's not unscathed. I remember that Inuyasha cut off Sesshomaru's arm off a while back – in one of the first books. Well, in this story he's got it back. Sorry, I know I should've said this before, but I forgot. It's just so much easier if everybody's got the same number of limbs, you know? So, anyway, in this story he's got both arms. And he's unscathed. Because Sesshie wouldn't be half as beautiful if he had scars all over him… whoops, sorry, back to the story… heh…)
"Yeah, but—" Inuyasha started. Raori interrupted him in the middle of his sentence.
"I would estimate that Lord Sesshomaru is of equal strength to this taiyoukai, from what I have heard of them both. I have never fought either, so I have no way of knowing which of the two is more powerful. The point is, if you find it so difficult to defeat your own half-brother, I can promise you that you will have a very hard time trying to get the shard. If Lord Sesshomaru weren't with you, I would deem it impossible."
There was silence for a moment. "Well, we've got to try," Kagome said finally. "Maybe we can do it and maybe we can't. But we'll never know unless we try."
"I admire your determination, little miko," Raori said approvingly. "Perhaps, working together, you will be able to defeat the taiyoukai after all."
"So, does this taiyoukai have a name?" Sango asked curiously.
"Yes," Raori nodded. "His name is Lord Takinoshi."
"Takinoshi," Inuyasha repeated, pondering the name. "So he's stronger than Sesshomaru?"
"It's very possible," Raori nodded, glancing at the cold demon lord. "No offense, of course, Lord Sesshomaru."
Miroku sighed. "Someone as powerful – or more so – as Lord Sesshomaru must be extremely strong. Imagine that power, aided by the strength of a jewel shard. The very prospect makes me shudder."
Kagome nodded. "Me too, Miroku," she agreed grimly. "Me too."
There was silence for a moment. Finally Sesshomaru spoke, his voice quiet. "When will we leave?" he asked, directing the question at Raori.
"I suggest we leave tomorrow morning for Takinoshi's lands," she replied, glancing over at him. "I will need to check a map to be sure of Takinoshi's whereabouts. I can probably find it and be ready by morning. If you have no other place to stay, you may spend the night here, as long as you do not completely destroy the place."
"I think we will, thank you," Kagome said brightly. "It'll help us to get a good night's sleep before we set out."
"All right," Raori said, and pointed down one corridor. "Those are all bedrooms. Pick however many you have need of. You are free to wander around as you see fit, whether it be inside the house or outside in the gardens. Meet me at the front door tomorrow morning, three hours after sunrise, and I shall provide a meal for you humans before we depart."
With that, she was gone.
Shippo jumped up. "I want to go outside!" he cried. "Will you come with me, Kagome?"
She nodded, smiling at him. Kirara went with them, along with Sango. Miroku, after a moment, followed them out and leaned against a tree, watching as the two girls gossiped and the two small demons played in the flowers happily.
Inuyasha roamed around for a while before leaping to the roof to think things over. He finally jumped down to the garden, sitting in a high branch and watching out over the others, as he was so accustomed to doing.
Raori shook her head, gazing at them from an upstairs window. "They really are inseparable," she murmured, slightly amused. Then, turning away and beginning to rummage in the many drawers of maps, she began her long search for a certain diagram. She knew it was stashed away somewhere around here, but there was so much stuff that it would take a while to find.
As she moved aside a huge stack of papers, her nose informed her of the presence of another person just outside her door. She didn't bother to look up, but spoke distractedly. "Come in, Lord Sesshomaru," she said loudly, and glanced up for a moment as he opened the door to the room. "Can I be of some assistance to you?"
Sesshomaru shook his head and stepped inside, closing the door after him.
"I was merely wondering," he said, watching her shift a few more papers around. "Who is this Takinoshi? Have he and my father ever met?"
"I doubt it," she said, glancing up at him for a moment. "Takinoshi was never a very sociable person. Anyone who met him would tell you such. He chose to live alone, in privacy, in deserted lands. He seldom – if never – showed up in any of the taiyoukai meetings. Those who went out to search for him, to find out just who this mysterious demon was, never returned. Eventually, everyone just forgot about him and left him to himself."
"And how can we trust your word?" Sesshomaru said quietly. "How can we be sure you aren't lying when you say that he has the shard?"
Raori glanced up at him, pausing in her search for a moment. "You heard the girl," she said, referring to Kagome. She narrowed her eyes at Sesshomaru. "I do not have the shard. I also have no reason to deceive you. You were the ones who asked me for help. I merely told you what I knew. It is your choice – you can choose to believe me, or you can choose not to. It doesn't matter to me what you decide." She held his gaze a moment longer before turning back to the stacks of paper again.
"Then we will accept your help," Sesshomaru said softly, speaking for the rest of the group as well as himself. "We have nothing else to go on – we may as well trust you. If you've deceived us, I believe Inuyasha will see fit to try and kill you himself anyway, so we have nothing to worry about."
Raori snorted, which Sesshomaru found highly amusing. "I'd like to see him try," she muttered, finally finding what she was looking for. "Ah, here it is…"
She unfolded an old, worn map, scanning it carefully. Sesshomaru moved to look over her shoulder at it. The map depicted a large mountain range far north of where they were now. He glanced down and caught sight of his father's castle on the map – it said, in flourishing letters, Inutaisho. He glanced back up at the mountains and saw the same lettering just above them – Takinoshi.
"He lives deep in the mountains, I suppose," Sesshomaru nodded, scanning the page. "It makes sense that he would have as much privacy as he wished that way."
"It'll take a few days to get there, of course," Raori said, taking one last look at the map before folding it back up carefully and stashing it inside her pocket. "Perhaps even a week, what with these humans trailing along."
She glanced at Sesshomaru thoughtfully. "I seem to remember having heard of you as the proudest, coldest taiyoukai to ever walk the earth, yet here you are, traveling with a hanyou and three humans. Why the change of heart?"
"They and I have a common enemy," he said icily. "That's all."
"This Naraku character, right?"
"Yes. He has indeed proved difficult to destroy. My half-brother and his acquaintances have been attempting to slay him for some time, and they have failed. They came to me with the notion that you were in possession of the last shard… and they believed I could lead them to you."
"And you did."
"Yes, I did – my father had a record of you from a taiyoukai meeting he held a while back. It mentioned this old mansion that he gave to you. I already knew where this place was, so I led them here."
Raori nodded thoughtfully. "And this Naraku?" she said, moving to the door and opening it, inviting him to walk with her. "I'm guessing they persuaded you to help with his defeat, as well?"
"They did," Sesshomaru said grudgingly. "The miko is quite persistent. She insisted that I help them. She said also that Naraku's goal is to make the world his own – hard to believe, but easier once you have met him face to face. If he had all of these Shikon shards, I have no doubt he would be strong enough to achieve that goal. The miko said all this, and more, pressing me to join for the sake of my lands and my people, and finally I agreed."
"I'm glad you did," Raori said, offering him a slight smile. "I was getting rather bored, alone in this mansion. It's time I got out of here."
"Then you are coming with us?"
"I suppose." She paused outside another door. "If you will excuse me, I have a few things I have to take care of before we depart – feel free to wander around as you wish. We will leave in the morning."
With that, she slid throughthe door, turning down another hallway towards another room with more things she would need for the journey. She wanted a more detailed map, if there was one – and if she could find it.
As she passed a window, sheglanced out at Inuyasha and his friends where they had gathered in the garden. At first glance, they looked enough to defeat any hanyou. It would seem this Naraku was exceptionally strong. Perhaps it was good that she was joining them… at first, she had been pretty skeptical about this whole "hanyou wanting to take over the world" thing, but now she was starting to believe it… and if it was true, these guys could use her help. The world could use her help.
Just in case you were wondering, yes, I did make up the name Takinoshi – he's not a character in the manga. He's my other OC. He'll be a main character later on, too, so you better remember his name…
Anyway, it's late, so I gotta stop writing for a while. Hope you liked the chapter! r&r NOW!