CHAPTER ONE

One Month Later

The boots of the ruler of the west crunched against the marsh land. His stole flew up behind him as he walked forward, grimly surveying the horizon. His yellow eyes narrowed in the twilight of the starry sky, dangerous and wicked. His own fine senses sniffed the wind without betraying any movement or motion. He had a tendency to do that, making him only a more deadly opponent to both the brave and the foolish alike.

Sesshomaru did not appreciate intrusion. Not even his worthless half-brother was stupid enough to try and find him. Yet some fool now was. He heard him coming a mile away, of course, and had hoped at first that it was simply some bumbling drunkard who had wandered too close. But now, something had followed him right to this very marshland where he now stood. Obviously, something stupid had a purpose in seeing him. He had hoped it was rather good, and perhaps whatever imbecile was coming had earned a quick death. Not mercy, of course, just the chance to die quickly and painlessly.

Sesshomaru took another step on the marshland, letting his foot squish against the ground. This place was secluded and open, a perfect place to lure a would-be ambush. Not that he feared any, but no sense in not using advantages. Jaken and Rin were also away at a safe distance. There would be no problem now annihilating whatever was foolhardy enough to cross his path.

He decided to wait from there, and let whatever was coming make its presence known. He continued to do so for a few moments, before, sure enough, he heard the dead daredevil began to approach him from behind. He snorted at the thought. Why did these imbeciles always think it mattered to approach him from behind? He smelled the air again, trying to get a better whiff of what the thing was. When he did, he was a bit intrigued at first to discover that whatever it was had a most unusual air about it. It was like nothing he ever experienced. But then, he smelled a more familiar scent.

A stinking human…

It doesn't smell like one of the Hanyou's friends…so why is it stupid enough to come here? No matter…I should kill it now. But I might as well wait a moment to see if it can explain its interesting presence about it first.

The footsteps halted at a distance from the monster. Then, they promptly called out to him. "Lord Sesshomaru."

To the demon's surprise, the youth, for that was what he was, actually sounded calm and straightforward, addressing Sesshomaru as an equal or with some measure of respect. If he had nervously announced that he would be the one to kill him, he would have sliced him in half before his heart could beat again. He even offered the title. Very well…

"Your manners have earned you a few more seconds of breath, mortal." Sesshomaru answered. "Before you die, I ask you, why have you come seeking an early grave?"

"In all honesty, I wasn't interested in seeing you." The man calmly answered. "I wanted to see your brother."

"…I have no brother." Sesshomaru answered. He supposed this was going to be boring after all, and now the human dared to associate the Hanyou with him. Already, Sesshomaru began to turn to face him, thinking about his sword. As he turned, his eyes rested on the man.

It was a youth, probably still in the teens by human standards. What intrigued Sesshomaru was that it resembled a miko. It wore the white and red garb of one, had a head of dark brown hair tied back, but instead of carrying arrows bore a katana at its side. It looked more ornate and special than a typical human blade, but no matter. What more, the human looked calm, almost confident, and flashed Sesshomaru an enigmatic smile.

"Oh, but you do, Lord Sesshomaru." The youth answered. "You have a half-brother named Inuyasha, and I wish to speak with him. I figured that you could lead me to him, and so here I am. Now, would you be so kind as to do so?"

Sesshomaru narrowed his gaze at him. He didn't like the human's voice, daring to address him in such a manner.

"There are demons in this world who do not dare to associate that name with my bloodline." He darkly answered. "Much less filthy, pathetic humans. And now you address me like one of your own, as if I was nothing more than a lap dog to your bidding. I was intrigued by you at first, but now you both annoy and bore me. Therefore, I will do as you wish…"

With that, Sesshomaru pulled out his blade and swung so fast that only a streak of light shot across the sky. Within a flash, it had been replaced back into it sheath, and Sesshomaru was left to calmly watch as the human, now in two halves, flew apart before him. His upper torso shot blood through the sky as it turned upward, while the hands and lower torso fell to the ground. Within moments, the bisected human's remains fell to the swamp with a splash, and then moved no more. Without another thought, Sesshomaru turned and began to walk away.

"…As soon as possible, I will send Inuyasha to join you in hell."

With that, the monster struggled to remove the human from his mind, secretly irritated that he had to waste his time with him. He had other matters to attend to and better things to worry about. He began to walk away, leaving the remains behind him as he did so, and headed for where he had left his servant and lady. He soon put a good distance between him and the remains, and put them far out of mind.

Only then did a body, complete and untouched, arise from the muck to stand once again.

"Well, that went exactly as we had thought it would."

"Obviously he's not going to surrender the knowledge willingly."

"Then we must take it."

"But not yet."

"Oh, certainly, not yet. We'll need new targets."

"Already ahead of you. Another shard is not far from here, and four more demons are in the area."

"Excellent. What will that bring the total up to?"

"Forty-six."

"Good. Well…let's snap to it, shall we?"

"Indeed."

Kagome wiped more gray, grassy material off of her school shirt and flung it to the ground in a sloppy mess, trying to ignore the smell. "Ugh…I didn't even know there were dung beetle demons!"

Sango wiped some from her own eyes, secretly thankful that she had wore her mask this battle, while Kirara, to her disgust, actually licked her paws of the foul stuff. "You run into all kinds in this business." She mused. "I don't think I'm going to feel clean for a week…"

At that, Miroku began to inch a bit closer to the huntress. "You know…" He suggested aloud. "If you want to get it all off, especially in all the really, really, hard to reach parts…"

But Sango didn't notice, and promptly pushed him away. "Get back! You stink worse than that creature!" She snapped, holding her nose.

Miroku turned glum and slunk back in defeat yet again.

Shippo ran around at Kagome's feet, furiously brushing at his once-golden, now-grayish tail with a hastily produced comb. "Aw man! I'm never gonna get all this stuff off me! I'm going to have to cut off my tail!"

"I'll help you with that if you don't shut up!" Inuyasha barked back at the fox-demon. "You all are whining like a bunch of babies! The important thing is we got another shard." With that, the Hanyou proudly beamed at the jewel he held between taloned fingers.

Kagome groaned and rolled her eyes. "Next time, guys, if you can handle a really stinking monster without me, I'd appreciate it."

"Are you kidding!" Inuyasha snapped behind him. "You're the only one I have to drag around!"

"Ugh…thanks for reminding me." Kagome moaned.

It was just another typical round of free time for Kagome. Whenever she had any spare time away from school or studying, she was going down the well in her backyard and going some few hundred years back in time to feudal Japan, where she spent her time running around with Inuyasha and the rest of the motley crue. Most of the time, whatever they were doing involved either trying to kill some demon henchman of Naraku, an evil demon overlord of the world, or gathering more Shikkon shards from the Jewel of the Four Souls, so that Inuyasha could become a full demon. That was something Kagome looked forward to less and less…seeing as every time Inuyasha briefly became a full demon the only thing on his mind was ripping the heads off of everything in the area, including her and her friends.

But as of late, it had become extremely tiring being in the old world. They had been non-stop killing demons lately, especially nasty ones too that had been doing horrors to the local people that were beyond human dreams. The thought that Inuyasha so eagerly wanted to become one of those things made Kagome uneasy… What was so desirable about being some hideous monster that delighted in torturing people? Of course, not all of the ones they met had been evil, but the far majority had been. Good ones were pretty much the exception rather than the rule.

This latest one had been rather bad. It had been sealed away for a while, but somehow something had released it from a prison deep within the ground. Kagome had two guesses as to who was responsible… It seemed as if Naraku was quickly becoming the only thing wrong with all their lives. It had begun devouring any village it came across, but luckily they had stopped it before it got too bad. Kagome sincerely hoped the only reason Inuyasha had wanted to kill it wasn't because one of its victims had a Shikkon shard in him or her before he or she was devoured. So it wasn't bad enough that the thing had thrown around poisonous, acidic fecal matter, but to know what the fecal matter was primarily made of… It sent a shiver down Kagome's spine at the thought.

The girl caught a flicker out of the corner of her eye. Something was bouncing along after them. On seeing it, she knew who it was immediately, for he always showed up when the danger was over. Myoga was quickly bounding up right after Inuyasha in the lead. "Well done, Lord Inuyasha! Yet another victory for you and Tetsusaiga! I must say you seemed to claim victory even more effortlessly this time-"

Myoga was cut off as Inuyasha pulled a large clump of gray mess from his kimono and dropped it right on top of the flea, instantly burying him under a pile of dung. "Yeah, and I must say you seemed to escape even more quickly this time…" He hissed at the tiny man. "Remind me again why I haven't squished you already."

"Ugh…I'm glad Lady Kaede isn't far from here this time." Kagome went on. "My mom would never let me in the house smelling like this."

Sango turned her head to the sky, and noticed the setting sun. "It's getting late. Maybe you should stay the night."

That only made the girl groan louder. "Terrific…I knew I should have brought my homework…"

"Don't you know how to do anything but complain!" Inuyasha snapped behind him. "If you would talk about getting me shard pieces half the time you waste whining, I'd have the Jewel by now!"

"Oh, I'm too tired to go after that shard piece to the west today!" Kagome moaned. "I've been chasing around trying to avoid being smothered by that thing all-" Abruptly, Kagome cut herself off. She suddenly realized she had made a big mistake.

Inuyasha halted and quickly spun around, causing the others to stop as well. His eyes developed a greedy look in them. "You mean there's another one this close already!" He burst out. "Well, what are we waiting for? Tell me where it is!"

Kagome groaned. "Oh, not today! I told you I'm too tired! And I'm not going anywhere until I wash this stink off!"

Inuyasha growled. "Man, why you have to be so lazy! And who cares about a little stink!"

"You could use a bath too."

"What! What kind of a wimp are you? I haven't bathed since I moved out from my mom!"

"What! You're taking a bath! I'm not going to run around with you smelling like that! Ugh! I can't believe I ride on you!"

"Grr…out of all the humans in the world I could get stuck depending on, I have to get stuck with some neat freak. You know, you actually smell better this way."

"What!"

"Now I don't have to deal with that stupid fruit stuff you spray all over yourself, and I can't smell your human stench."

"…SIT!"

Shippo, Sango, and Miroku rolled their eyes as they watched Inuyasha crash to the ground, and the carnage begin to unfold yet again.

"Here they go…" Shippo moaned. "We better move along."

"No argument here." Miroku chipped in. The three of them walked on down the road, Kirara following after, back toward Lady Kaede's. They ignored Inuyasha rising and barking at Kagome while she yelled back, and Myoga digging his way out of dung and giving himself some "woe-is-me" tirade. Soon they were walking a considerable distance away, although they could still hear the two of them throwing a cursing storm at each other.

"All they ever do is fight…" Shippo groaned aloud.

Miroku's eyes perked up, and he began to slide over toward Sango once more. "You know, Sango, I really admire how we never argue…"

"I thought I told you to get back!" The huntress answered, shoving Miroku away again. The monk retreated once again in defeat. He turned his head down glumly after that. However, he didn't stay like that long. Instead, he turned and looked back behind them, where Kagome and Inuyasha were still cursing up a storm. A dark look crossed his face on seeing this.

Shippo soon noticed this. "What's wrong?"

"Oh…nothing." Miroku answered, in a tone that showed there more obviously was something going on. He hesitated a moment, then sighed. "It's just…I wonder some times about Inuyasha."

Sango perked a little bit at that. "In what way?"

"I mean…it's just…" Miroku struggled. "I mean…I'm remembering the demons that we've killed. And they've all been pretty savage and uncontrollable. And then…I look at Inuyasha. He's pretty savage as well. He might care about us…but what about when he becomes a full demon? What happens whenever he loses it?"

Shippo gulped. "Then he doesn't care about anything…except what has a healthy supply of blood."

"Exactly." Miroku answered. "That's my problem. So we stop Naraku from getting the shards. So we give them to Inuyasha instead. Then what? What's he going to do with them? Turn himself into a full demon, and then what? He'll turn into that savage creature permanently. He'll attack us all and not care whether we're friend or foe. He'll kill anything."

"Oh…Inuyasha wouldn't do that." Shippo reassured. "We've met some nice full demons. He could be like one of them."

"That's just it, Shippo. Inuyasha isn't a nice Hanyou." Sango answered, joining in on Miroku's thinking. "He can be savage, unruly, arrogant…a million bad things I see in the worst Youkai. What if his human half is the only thing that makes him bearable now? What will he become? What if he's really just as nasty as the rest of the things we've been killing? And if he does turn bad…will we have to kill him before he kills us?"

The group walked silently at that. That was a chilling thought, and one that they hadn't really considered before now. None of them said anything for a while. Shippo swallowed a little. Miroku looked to the ground and mused this over. In the end, he spoke up in a more halting, serious tone. "Let's…get back before dark. It's been a hard day on all of us, and we don't know if any of that demon's poison will have a lasting effect."

The group picked up their pace after that, trying to forget about that momentary fear. But even as they did so, they winced a little each time they heard Inuyasha scream behind them…

She was a shadow of who she was. A wraith. Anything that had been good or clean within her was gone, and all that was left was the insatiable grudge. The love of Inuyasha was dead. This image of Kikyo remained.

She walked among the spirits now, wandering from forest to forest, always surrounded by the ghosts. She too was a living ghost. She would never forgive or forget what had happened to her, and would never forgive or forget Kagome or Inuyasha. She followed them everywhere, as she did now, and yet still had some bearings inside her to prevent her from striking. No, now she merely wandered the woods, growing closer to them and following at a distance their trails. She looked much as she had the day she died, still dressed in the exact same form of a miko. But her eyes were empty, void of any warmth or compassion now. And the white trails of spirits surrounded her always, going in and out around her without fail and without ceasing. They would follow her anywhere and forever, so long as she walked the earth on her borrowed time.

Her feet gently strolled through the forest now. Her legs gently crushed the soft grass, and her clothing swept against the branches around her. She was silent, her face stoic and unmoving as she traveled on. She was focused entirely on her obsession…her purpose for existence. And yet, as she moved…she suddenly halted. There was something moving behind her. She could sense it well, as it was coming. But now, it also made noise. It was slowly moving toward her right that moment, gently plodding along, calm in all its movements. But from the feel, she could tell it was a human. There was something unusual about this one…but it was a human just the same.

She stood still for a moment as she heard the one approach her, still calm and not seeming startled by the spirits as others would be. At last, she called out plainly behind her. "Leave me be." She ordered.

"But I have come for you, Lady Kikyo…or at least, what is left of her that I see before me." The voice calmly answered, smooth and showing no fear whatsoever, but only confidence.

The specter halted, but then slowly turned to face the new arrival. As she did, she saw him continue to walk toward her. She also surveyed him. It was a boy, not much older than the girl with Inuyasha. But he was dressed like her…like one of the miko. His hair was even one of their line. And he was confident and calm, as he walked right up to her. She also noticed no arrows, but a sword hanging at his side. That sword…intrigued her by the look of it. If her mind was not obsessed with Inuyasha and Kagome now, perhaps she could have remembered it. But for now, it was only something faint…but associated with a warning.

She looked up to the youth, and saw he was still nearing her, almost close enough to touch her. "Come no nearer, or you will die." She sharply ordered.

The boy immediately halted, but didn't lose his calm looks. "Lady Kikyo…" He spoke aloud. "I've come to help you."

She darkly glared back at him. "I didn't know there were any other fellow tribesmen in the world of my order, or perhaps I did and I have long forgotten it. But go back to your task, child. You won't be the one to put my soul to rest. Only blood shall do that."

The youth smiled slightly at this, as if to encourage her. "That was what I was talking about, my lady. I wish to help you, by avenging your death."

Kikyo frowned in answer. "Little boy, you haven't the skill to defeat Inuyasha now. Perhaps you will in a few more years, but it doesn't matter. Inuyasha is mine to slay."

"Perhaps I do lack the skill to defeat him." The youth acknowledged. "That is why I require your help, Lady Kikyo."

The woman kept frowning. "I don't need your help though. Leave me be, boy. The dead do not suffer the living, and I will suffer you little longer. There is no need for you to be consumed by my grudge."

The boy did not change, keeping his smile. "But that too is why I have come, my lady. In life, I respected you…but now you are a plague on this world, as are the rest of the demons. Therefore, I will obtain your help in destroying them all to ease you to your rest…while at the same time purging the world of your evil as well. Goodbye, Lady Kikyo."

The specter stared blankly a moment, but then shifted suddenly. She raised an eyebrow, surprised at the speed of how the boy had moved. She slowly looked down to her body, and saw that, in a flash, he had ripped his sword from his sheath and had stabbed her straight in the abdomen. She calmly regarded it for a moment, all the while thinking the fool before her was stupid to think that alone would kill an undead…

When suddenly, Kikyo gasped. She didn't think she breathed any longer, but now she felt air robbed from her lungs. She felt her body grow cold, even though she could no longer feel. The spirits around her whipped about violently, and then fled in all directions. She raised her hands, even as she felt her body stiffening and growing colder. She felt a pulling inside her, as if the sword was pulling her toward it. She gaped and looked up to the youth, who calmly smiled back at her…only now with a hint of maliciousness deep in his eyes. She gaped a moment more, when suddenly her entire body was stretched and compressed and pulled into the blade. It was short, but soon her entire force began to be pulled there, seeping into the sword and flooding it. As death grasped Kikyo again, she at last felt her mind cleared enough to remember the sword…but it was too late. A moment later, and her entire body vanished into it, and she was no more. Only the youth and the blade remained now.

The youth calmly returned his blade to his sheath. "Sixty-seven." He counted, and then calmly walked on alone.

"Lady Kaede!"

The one-eyed old woman opened her one good eye, and turned to the sound. A villager was at her door, looking earnest and tense. She looked him over for a moment, seeing that he obviously had some news for her, and from the looks of it the news was not good. He was panting and sweating from it too much, and had either run to give it to her or was scared. Kaede was on the ground and seated in a relaxation pose, but now she turned her body around and aimed it toward the doorway. She quickly noticed that night was coming, and the sun had already vanished on the horizon.

"What is it?" She asked. "Have Kagome and her friends returned yet?"

"Yes, yes. They're coming down the road." The man responded, seeming as if that wasn't the issue.

"Are they hurt?"

"They are…undamaged." The man spoke with some hesitation, seeming to think that over a moment, but then looked earnest again.

Whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad if they were alright. Kaede addressed the man again. "Very well, what is it then?"

"It's the tribe in the deep forest." The man responded. "Your worst fears were confirmed. Naraku has long since destroyed the place, along with all its citizens."

Kaede froze at this. She was afraid of this news. For years, she had wondered if the tribe even existed. But when she heard of activity in the region of the world where it was, she had begun to fear that if it was real it was now a target. Evidently no chances were taken by that monster. Now, the news that confirmed the existence of the offshoot of the miko tribe also was their epitath. She had feared this as well, but there was no way around it.

"There is more, my lady."

Kaede rose an eyebrow at this. "More?"

"The blade that was told to exist, the Saphsaiga…it did appear to exist. And now, it has been stolen."

Kaede hesitated at this. Inside, she felt an uneasy wave within her however. She held for a little while, but then gave a nod to him. "Thank you."

The man bowed respectfully, and then left. Kaede turned and began to focus again. So…the Saphsaiga wasn't a myth either. That figured…as the reason this offshoot of the miko existed was because of it, if they were true. But now that it was gone, what did it mean? What would it mean for any of them? What was so fearsome about that blade that the legends told no one would touch it, up until the point no one even knew what it was for any longer?

Kaede didn't know. But she had a sad feeling they would all find out soon. Kagome and Inuyasha would have to be warned.