A/N: Sorry I didn't get it up in a week, I really did mean to but it didn't work. Thank you so much for your reviews! They were really helpful! I love to know what the readers want to hear and am going to use some of your suggestions! So I meant to but Miroku and Sango in a lot of this but I was going to save it for the end and ran out of room. Sorry about that but that doesn't meant I'm just going to ignore them, I love the relationships and have a lot of plans for them! I hope you like the story! Review some more!

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

"I thought we were leaving! Come on already!"

"Calm down would ya! I'm the one who has to pack all the sleeping bags and food!"

"I told you to leave that stuff behind a long time ago! We don't need it!"

InuYasha and Kagome were in the middle of another one of their pointless arguments, and everyone else was ignoring them like usual. Miroku stood patiently, leaning against a tree. Sango was grooming Kirara while waiting for the others to get ready. Shippo was attempting to talk to his newfound friends and had found there was a number of them that were even harder to talk to than InuYasha. Rune was having a hard time describing to Shippo why most of his companions ignored the fox demon. Thatz was searching for anything on the ground that shined, maybe he could find gold. Cesia, in a worse mood than usual, was leaning against a fairly distant tree, her arms crossed and a frown settled on her face. Rath was sitting in a tree on the opposite side from the company from Cesia and even farther away from the company than she was. Glares met, person to person, like a game of dot-to-dot. Not one person was free from the wicked looks.

"Alright, I'm ready." Kagome announced to the others, "Is everyone else set?"

Rune was the only one that verbally responded, "We're ready, but may I ask exactly where were going?"

Rath, who had been sitting silently in his tree till now, had finally lost control of his sarcasm, "Yeah, and why going there with you." He had directed obviously directed this comment towards InuYasha more than anyone else, but of course that didn't mean he wanted to travel with any of the others, even his fellow Dragon Knights he wished he was without.

This wasn't a secret to anyone, especially not Cesia, who knew more about Rath than anyone, or at least anyone alive. There was one other person who knew more about Rath than her, or anyone else, but that one person had been killed fairly recently, had been killed sacrificing his life for a boy who didn't want to live, because of Rath, Kai-stern had died. "You think you can find the way home on your own go right ahead, but you know I'm going to have to go with you."

"And why's that! What makes you think I'd let you come." Rath had wondered closer to the company now, close enough for InuYasha to take advantage of the two's fight.

"You two fight a lot," InuYasha began with a sly, slightly excited look on his face, "Maybe if you stopped yelling at each other all the time-" InuYasha didn't need to finish, Rath knew exactly what he was going to say.

"That's it you rotten demon! You're goin' down!"

"What did I say?" InuYasha taunted Rath with a completely innocent look on his face and tone to his voice, "I'm merely, pointing out the obvious.

"I said shut up and fight me!" Rath had drawn his sword once again.

"Rath! Put that thing away!" Cesia had intruded, still slightly embarrassed about what InuYasha had said earlier.

"InuYasha! Sit boy!" InuYasha fell face first in the dirt, his pride hurt more than his body.

Rune, who had been shaking his head shamefully at Rath, decided it was about time he entered the slightly violent conversation. "So, where were we going again?"

Kagome, taking a deep breath and ignoring the fact InuYasha was still lying face down in the dirt, answered him, "To Kaede's village. Kaede is the wise elder that lives in the village just ahead, she has helped them so much in her lifetime that they named the village after her. If anyone can help you find your man and get back home, she can."

Rune lowered his voice to a whisper, scooting a little closer to Kagome, "And what are we going to do about Rath and InuYasha? For that matter, you might want to keep an eye on Thatz to, he's a pretty good thief when he wants to be. And Cesia, if Nadil gets his hands on her…" Rune stopped after hearing Kagome begin to giggle. "What?"

Kagome covered her mouth to try and scuffle the giggles, "After the people I've had to spend the last year of my life with, I don't think Thatz or Cesia are going to be much of a problem. Now Rath with InuYasha around…" She began to laugh out loud.

Rune gave her an odd look, what was so funny about the fights going on in a group that would have to work together to survive. He couldn't understand why this girl was laughing at a situation that appeared almost hopeless. She seemed to be a leader figure in the group, and yet she acted like Thatz. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that InuYasha doesn't get along with anyone, literally. Seeing another guy that acts almost as ignorant as him…" She began to laugh aloud again. Rune still trying to understand what exactly was so funny; they continued to lead the group down the road.

Thatz had given up on the luck of finding any gold on the ground and was walking near, for he was afraid to get to close, to Rath. "So… What do you think about-"

"Shut up, Thatz." Rath was not in a good mood, he didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, and he didn't have the spirit to hide his feelings. He began to stray off course till he was walking in more of a diagonal than directly behind the others. If he was far enough away from the others, no one could talk to him and he wouldn't have to worry about hiding anything.

Thatz wasn't real shocked with Rath's reaction, in fact he was almost used to it, but he really did wish Rath would stop acting like such a jerk all the time and act more like the boy he knew when they were younger. Thatz and Rath used to hang out all the time; they had a lot of fun back them. What had happened to the boy he knew? How had Thatz gone from being one of the very few people in the world who new Rath's secret, to being so distant from the boy he sometimes questioned if he had lied about his name like everything else? How had Rath gone form that young, innocent, boy, to a demon-obsessed man? How was the healthy boy he grew up with now dying, and why was that same boy happy about it?

With a sigh Thatz forgot about his friend, there was nothing he could do, the boy he had known was gone. Thatz had moved past the friendship. The person on his mind now more than ever before was a girl he had known for a long time, but just recently started to care for. Kitchel was the only person on his mind lately, the girl he was determined to hate. She had been left back in Nadil's castle, he couldn't help but wonder if she was okay. The main reason he wanted to get back was not to stop Nadil, but get back to Kitchel, to see if she was alright. Thatz had convinced himself that he had these feelings for her, not because he was in love, but because he knew she couldn't take care of herself and would need him there with her. But it wasn't true, Kitchel was strong, she was brave and smart. She could fend for herself, he just wanted to be with her.

A/N: I was afraid it was getting to long so I had to stop. I promise the next one will be better and all of it is going to be about Kirara and Shippo, but mostly Sango and Miroku. There will be more action (including some kidnapping for those of you who wanted to see that), and Nadil and Naraku will be in it too! I hope you like it! Don't forget to review!