Whoo! That was one long vacation. Now I have three weeks left until I leave home again. Anywho, just a few comments…

            I was surprised when I checked my E-mail, only to find about A JILLION reviews waiting for me.

            Kitten Kisses: Thank a bunch for all those nice words. I've worked really hard on this, and It's nice to have appreciation. And yes, both Inu and Aaron can be extreme dorks.

            Valese: Hey! You have a name sort of like Vadise? You aren't a dragon in disguise by any chance, are you? Hehe, thanks a bunch for the (Counts on fingers) eighty four reviews. I was happy to get those. Anywho, thanks a bunch for everything.

            Time's Mortal Enemy: Awww, poot! I knew someone would catch those little things, and I was expecting it to be you, too. I normally go through and edit all those, however I only finished that chapter within, like, an hour of when we left on the trip, and I had a lot of work to do, so I decided to skip the final editing phase, and just settled with a spell check. Don't worry, though. I'm back again, with plenty of time, so I'll be checking more carefully.

            Christielea54: 'Ban  a T adin  C .  o. 1' is 'Banana Trading Co. No. 1' With a bunch of letters missing. Some prankster went and scraped some letters off the ship. Sorry if I didn't make that clearer.

            And to everyone else: Snowecat, Jessica T It's Me, RobinOfYJ, Tanwen Whitefire, Rayame 325, and Gossa, Thanks for your continuing support. It's great encouragement!

            Oh, and the link I posted last chapter, I put up an MP3 link of a song I really liked. It was "Above the Rising Falls" and you can find it at It was a cool song, that I felt really went well with Atma's character, so listen to it if you want to. The site isn't that hard to navigate.

            Anywho, sorry, I decided to throw in another popular charcter to the mix, this chapter, so no Inu and Kag yet. But next chapter, definitely.

            Okay, enjoy.

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A wolfs howl pierced through the violent roaring of the falls. Within seconds, it was answered by another howl, and then another. The message was traveling up and down the mountain ranges. The birds were attacking.

            Deep in a cave behind a raging waterfall, something stirred, leaping up from it's bead of soft straw, and down. "Get up you mutts!" A rugged tenor rang out in the darkness. "The damn birds are here!"

            Almost instantly the cave erupted in action, growls and howls coming from all directions.

            "Hikaku, get the rest of the pack ready!" The tenor voice rang out like a shot, the figure it belonged to dashing towards the mouth of the cave. "I'll hold 'em off until you get in position!"

            "Gotcha sir!" Yelled back a rough, raspy baritone. More and more figures were rising in the shadows of the cave.

            The figure with the husky tenor turned, and began running, picking up speed rapidly. He reached the mouth of the cave, took a running leap. The waterfall that covered the entrance to the cavern exploded outward in a geyser of steam and spray, and the figure flew into the air, trailing cyclones of mist after him. He landed on a rock in the middle of the lake the waterfall drained into, and braced himself.

            He was tall and lean, and stood with nobility. His hair was black and silky, tied back in a pony tail hanging to the middle of his back. His face was lean and noble, his eyes intelligent and shrewd. Elfin ears pointed up from the sides of his face. A long, flowing cape of wolf fur hung from his shoulders. He was clad all in furs, with light leather moccasins on his feet. A heavy, wolf fur sash was wrapped around his waist, and from under the sash was a long, wolf tail which twitched and tossed in anticipation.

            His intelligent eyes were scouring the sky, looking at the edges of the clouds.

            "Koga!" A voice rang out.

            The man turned quickly, zeroing in on the source of the voice.

            Another man was running at him, sprinting as fast as he could. "Koga, they're coming from the west!"

            The man, Koga, turned, and glared up at the sky, scouring every inch. "C'mon, ya bastards. Where are ya?" he muttered to himself.

            There, in the distance. A single black speck was in the sky, moving across it rapidly.

            The man who had yelled to him finally reached his side, panting heavily, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He was short, and a large spiky Mohawk of silver hair came from his head. In one hand he had a bloody spear, and in the other a few brightly colored feathers. "I caught one trying to sneak into out territory, boss." He gasped. "Are the others getting ready?"

            Koga nodded, crossing his arms. The little speck was joined by several others, and they were getting larger. "Good job, Ginta." He murmured. "Get in the cave with the rest of the pack. Don't any of you come out until I lead them around for a little while. Get in place as soon as I'm gone."

            Ginta nodded, and then turned. With a single, mighty leap, he sailed through the air, and landed on the ledge of the cliff face right next to the waterfall. "Good luck, chief!" He called, and then disappeared behind the waterfall.

            Koga scoffed. Like he would need it. He could easily outrun these damn harpies. He leveled his gaze at the rapidly growing dots in the sky. They were quickly forming themselves into the formidable shape of the enemy: the Birds of Paradise.

            A howl from above the cliffs let him know that others of his pack had seen them too. All the scouts would be heading back to the den now. Koga smiled. If they were all at the den, non of them could get hurt. He wasn't about to lose any more of his pack to the damn buzzards. It was his responsibility as the leader of his pack. He was, after all, a wolf youkai. He wasn't about to let anything happen to his family.

            His eyes narrowed, and his lips turned up in a snarl of disgust as the distant shapes grew closer, and consolidated into distinct forms. They had large, grotesque, spherical bodies. It was almost as if someone had taken a giant balloon, and stuck feathers, wings, and sharp talons on it. Huge, toothy jaws split the bodies almost in half. And sticking out of the top of each of the grotesque orbs were the upper quarters of a blue, hairless, mouthless, humanoid.

            As they got closer and closer, the freakish beings emitted high pitched, shrieking calls.

            Koga's smirked arrogantly, and raised one finger up in an extremely rude gesture. The shriek became enraged, and the things dove even faster, flying like missiles towards a target. And more dots were still appearing in the sky.

            There were at least thirty now, and more constantly appearing. He stood, muscles relaxed, arms crossed, and fixed his gaze on the forerunner, daring it to attack. The brute was maybe fifty feet away from him now. Koga could feel the wind from the beast's wing beats.

            Thirty feet, and Koga's smile widened.

            Twenty, and the wolf youkai simply remained motionless.

            Ten.

            Five.

            Two.

            One.

Koga could feel the things breath on his forehead. He crouched suddenly, and ran. His feet barely touched the water, sending a titanic splash up where he had run.

            The harpy crashed into the rock full force, its teeth snapping like twigs before the sharp crag thrust into the back of his throat.

            The other birds screeched angrily, and flew at him.

            Koga laughed, and made another very rude gesture. "C'mon, ya buzzards! See if you can keep up with me!" He could now count at least fifty shapes in the sky, and more were still appearing. This was no tiny raid, like normal.

            He began running at an easy lope, dust kicking up in whirlwinds wherever he ran. It was easy to stay ahead of the mangy birds. Koga looked down at his muscular legs. As he ran, they glowed ever so slightly.  After all, he did have the sacred jewel working for him. Three shards of it, anyway. He grinned, and sped up, flashing across the rough terrain in a flash, leaving miniature tornados wherever he went.

            Stopping occasionally to mock the dumb birds, he began to lead them in a giant circle, jumping over boulders, dashing through trees, hundreds of angry screeches raging after him. This was almost too easy. His pack would undoubtedly be in place by now, so it was time to be heading back.

            He slammed his heel into the hard earth, bringing him to an almost instant stop. He felt the invigorating rush of the winds he had created rushing past him, struggling to rip him of his feet.

            The birds, however, didn't manage to stop as fast. They rushed past him, cawing out their rage.

            Koga laughed at them, and spat. "Stupid buzzards don't even know how to stop!" He declared, and instantly began to run again, this time in the opposite direction, back towards the den.

            The birds turned, and began to follow him again, letting out shrieks of angry rage.

            Another wild goose chase later, Koga broke through the rocky outcroppings that surrounded his packs cliffs. His eyes narrowed, and he looked left, then right again. He saw absolutely no wolves.

            Granted, he wasn't supposed to see any wolves. That was the point. But they didn't normally hide this well.

            Well, nothing to do but to trust them. He kept on running, and dashed to the rock (and the bird impaled on it) across the lake, creating a huge splash.

            He positioned himself carefully on the dead bird, arms crossed and cocky smirk plastered across his face, tapping one foot. The birds appeared from above the tree line, screeching their fury. Koga tensed ever so slightly, getting ready to bolt in case everyone wasn't in place. Maybe they hadn't gotten ready in time. He would have to make sure to thrash them for that, but first things first.

            The birds were getting closer. Their teeth were very big. And sharp. Koga had seen one of those things rip one of his wolves in half. Still, he didn't let the smile fall off his face. Oh, they had better be in position, or else…

            He could feel the wind rushing from the birds' wings, and smell the stench of their breath.

            He slowly began to crouch, preparing for a long dash, should things go wonky.

            The leader of the group was almost on him, screeching madly. Koga's eyes narrowed, and he tensed even more. They would be expecting him to run, but they didn't know which way…

            They began to spread out, surrounding him. Exactly what was supposed to happen. But there were so many. It looked like there were hundreds. This was a full scale attack. The birds hadn't attacked like this since the two clans had first started fighting.

            Koga clenched his fists, and reached his right hand down into the wolf skin sash. He brought it out again, only this time it held his friend.

It was a simple, fingerless glove. But in-between each knuckle was a long, wicked looking, barbed claw. He clenched his fists, and drew even more power from the jewel shards. His attack would signal to everyone else the time to spring the trap.

Now he just had to hope that everyone was ready to spring the trap. If not, he was screwed.

One of the braver birds decided that it had had enough waiting, and darted in, slashing out with its huge claws.

Koga let out an echoing howl, and leapt. He planted his left foot into the bird's forehead, right between its eyes. He heard a satisfying crack, but slashed savagely down with the steel claws, just to make sure the job was finished.

Just as he was jumping back, the air erupted in angry shrieks and wolf howls. Koga grinned. The pack practically exploded from every available hiding spot, leaping out of bushed, charging out of rocky crevices, jumping out through the falls.

Caws of pain racked through the air as spears, claws and fangs raked into the birds. Koga let out a triumphal laugh, and launched himself into the fray slashing and kicking. Leaping from bird to bird, never really touching the ground, Koga lashed out everywhere with the claws on his right hand. "C'mon, you bastards!" He shouted out to the wolves below him, wrapping one arm around one of the blue figures, and jamming his claws into it's skull. "Push 'em back!"

            If they could repel this attack, then that would put them at a great advantage over the birds. This must be their largest force, and without that, they would be defenseless.  Quick strike on their lair, and he could finally wipe them out for good. It would be good to be in peaceful times again.

            Gracefully, he launched off the bird, flipping through the air, and sliced the wing off another one of the mangy buzzards as he came down.

            Spears were flying into the sky all around him, and the massive bulks of the birds were falling into the lake, still.

            Koga landed smoothly near the water, and pulled back for just a moment, catching his breath. The battle was going in their favor, so far.

            "Hey, Koga!" An urgent voice rang out from his side. Koga turned his head. It was Ginta.

            "Koga!" The wolf cried, fending off one of the birds with a long sickle. "One of 'em got Hikaku! It's getting away."

            Koga's eyes flared. "Shit!" He swore, looking up the cliff face. There, up towards the top. One of the birds was carrying off a flailing shape. He turned to Ginta. "You stay here, I'll go after Hikaku."

            With that, he took a smooth leap, and began jumping from ledge to ledge on the cliff face, gaining on the bird.

            The thing was bigger than most of them, and looked nasty. And sure enough, Hikaku was dangling from its claws, his bulky frame unmistakable.

            Koga reached the top of the cliff almost at the same time that the bird did, whipping around, and growling fiercely. "Put him down." He threatened, his tone low and promising spilled blood.

            The bird seemed to look at him through huge, evil looking eyes. There were two blue figures attached to the thing. It looked like some freak genetic birth gone wrong. "Do you really think you are a match for me, wolf?" The thing screeched.

            Koga scowled. The thing could talk. Not many of them could do that. Koga grinned arrogantly. "I'm more than a match for you, ya oversized bird snot." He yelled.

            "Boss, forget about me!" Hikaku yelled from the claws, squirming desperately. "Help the rest of the pack."

            The giant bird shook the wolf youkai like a rag doll. "Foolish pup!" It screeched. "You have no hope!"

            Koga's eyes narrowed, and he looked just a little past the bird. There was another shape shooting through the air like an arrow, heading strait for them. Surely not another bird. He returned his attention to the hulking beast in front of him. The thing was big, and probably had a thick skull. Koga would have to hit it really hard to bring it down.

            "I'll eat you whole!" The bird declared, suddenly rushing forward, mouth gaping. "Then kill your entire pack."   

            Koga spat on the ground, and rushed forward to meet the bird, thrusting his claws forward. "No way, bastard!"

            Before Koga's claw even touched the thing, there was a slicing sound, and the bird suddenly fell around Koga, literally. One half fell on one side, the other half fell on the other side.

            Koga blinked, then gave a grunt of disgust, leaping out of the mess of feathers and blood. What the hell had happened?

            "Hikaku, where are you?" Koga demanded.

            "Right here chief." A voice called out from underneath the feathery bulk of the bird. Hikaku slowly struggled out from underneath the mass. "That was some hit boss." He said. Hikaku was a bulky wolf with dressed all in furs with close cropped black hair. He rubbed the back of his head, and coughed. "You must of really put some punch into that one."

            Koga scowled, and sniffed. "It wasn't me." He muttered. There was something odd in the air.

            "Then what the hell was it, Boss?"

            Koga turned around, looking around. "Smells like another bird." He muttered, crossing his arms. "Come on out!" He yelled.

            "As you wish, lord Koga." A light, sonorous voice rang out. There was a flash in front of him, and suddenly a figure was standing in front of him, in a sort of mock bow.

            She was a bird, sort of. She was brightly colored, and had wings, but other than that, it looked pretty much human. She was dressed in a brightly colored synched Kimono, with slits cut in the back for the wings. In one of her hands was a long, slim blade.

            "Who the hell are you?" Koga demanded, holding his claws at the ready.

            "A mere messenger." The bird youkai said placidly, her voice lilting and elegant. "However, before we talk, shouldn't you tend to the battle at hand?"

            Koga glared at her, then turned back to the cliff. It sounded like the battle was still raging down there. He spat, and turned to Hikaku. "Make sure she doesn't go anywhere." He instructed. "And if she tries anything, kill her." He instructed.

            Hikaku nodded, glaring at the woman suspiciously. "Will do, boss." He said.

            Koga nodded, and vaulted over the cliff wall, joining the battle below.

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            Oni and Shin sat across from each other over the sheared off stump of a tree. Shin had her arms crossed, and Oni was grinning at her. Oni liked gambling. So far, she had won Shin's swords, her earrings, and her breastplate. She sighed, and looked casually at one of her poor adversary's earrings, and cast it down on the stump. 

Shin inspected the earring, the sighed, and pulled off one of her bracers. "This time, I toss." She said in Chinese. Oni shrugged, and handed Shin the ancient Chinese coins.
            "Your loss…" Oni muttered, then smiled. "Odds."

Shin tossed the coins, and inspected them carefully. Seven heads, three tails.

Oni let out a triumphal laugh, and picked up the bracer.

Shin crossed her arms, and gave Oni a suspicious look. Then she carefully examined all the coins. There was nothing wrong with any of them.

            "Fine." She said finally, and pulled off her other bracer. "Winner take all." She declared.

            "Deal." Oni said in an offhand manner.

            A very sudden rush of wind blew at both their hair, and both amazons looked around confusedly. Breezes were almost nonexistent in Menomaru's forest, much less strong gales.

            "So…" A sultry whisper echoed from above them, speaking Japanese. "…This is what Menomaru's servants do in their spare time."

            Oni and Shin's heads whipped up simultaneously, staring up at the canopy. Nothing there.

Another sudden rush of wind, and this time, the voice came from right behind them. "I can only assume that you are Menomaru's servants, after all."

Oni and Shin both leapt in unison, landing on the opposite side of the stump, facing the intruder.

She was a small, trim woman, dressed in an ornate red and white kimono. Her facial features were hidden behind a large battle fan, save the crown of her raven hair, tied up in a tight bun, and a blood red eye.

            "Who are you?" Shin asked, reaching to grab for her swords, only to remember that she didn't, technically, own them any more. Oni, however, already had her spear out.

            "You may call me Kagura…" The woman said. Her voice was soft and airy, fading and rising again like the wind.

            "Oh, really." Shin murmured. "And what would you have to do with Menomaru-Sama?"

            Kagura smiled. "I am a simple messenger." She breathed. "I have a proposal for your master."

            "And what makes you think that our master needs anybody's help?"

            "Because you are facing a powerful opponent, whether you know it yet, or not."

            Shin snorted. "The Taisho clan is no match for us." She said derisively.

            "Oh really?" Kagura whispered, her one showing eyes narrowing in amusement. "That little spat you had with him in Shinjuku suggests otherwise."

            Shin took a sharp breath, and her eyes narrowed. "So, you are spying on us?" She demanded.

            "My master likes to know his potential allies." She said with a shrug.

            "A wise master, indeed." The sonorous voice of Menomaru rang out from among the trees. Instantly, Oni and Shin were down on one knee, bowing low. A pair of glowing eyes emanated from the darkness between two trees. There was the faintest shadow of a flowing white cape, and silky hair. "I am Menomaru. Now, I would hear of this proposal."

            Kagura nodded, and lowered her fan, revealing a smooth, round face. "I am an emissary from the youkai known as Naraku." She said slowly. "You are fighting a battle against the Taisho clan, are you not?"

            "I am…"

            "Naraku has long wanted to be rid of the hanyou, InuYasha, however…" She paused just a moment. "Somehow, he always proves to be more trouble than he is worth."

            "And you wish to help me, in exchange for the extermination of Taisho's youngest son."

            Kagura nodded. "As an initial goodwill offering, Lord Naraku offers you my services."

            "And what, pray tell, is special about you?" Menomaru asked, amused.

            "I am a wind sorceress," She murmured. "As well as a skilled necromancer. Mayhap you might be able to use me?"

            There was a low chuckle. "I might…" He said slowly. "And will I ever meet this Naraku?"

            "Surely, milord." Kagura murmured, her voice subservient. "I can arrange a meeting soon, should you like."      

            There was a gleam of fangs in the darkness, and the whirl of a cape. "Excellent." He said simply, and was gone.

            Kagura smiled triumphantly, and lifted her fan once again to her face. "Excellent, indeed." She murmured. She snapped the fan shut, and was gone again, in a gust of wind.

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            "How many did we lose?" Koga demanded, surveying the battlefield. There were bird carcasses littering the waters and the surrounding rocks. He didn't see many wolf bodies, though. That was a blessing at least. But the birds would take days to clean up. Their meat wasn't any good, so they just had to dump the bodies much further down the river. The fish would take care of it after that.

            "Only five, chief." A wolf growled, licking at a wound on his arm.

            Five wasn't terrible.

            No! Five was terrible… anything more than none was terrible. But five wasn't as many as they had had in the past.

            "Who?"

            "Yakul, Toba, Mokuba, Shiro, and Teral." The wolf reported.

            Koga scowled, and picked up a handful of feathers off of the ground. He had just eaten with those wolves last night. Joking, and laughing side by side. Now they were gone. Not gonna laugh, or eat, or joke again.

            "Get the bodies." He growled. "We'll bury them near the den."

            "Right, sir." The wolf said, and quickly dashed off.

            Koga snarled to himself, and stalked off towards the den. Five dead. How many left did they have now? Maybe one hundred? He sighed, and spat. War sucked. They kept on killing birds, and the birds kept on coming. There was just no end to it.

            "Boss?" Hikaku's voice rang out from his right.

            Koga looked over, a scowl on his face. "What?" He demanded roughly.

            "Remember, we got this bird chick here." He muttered, gesturing to the odd bird youkai leaning against the rock face. A great many wolves had surrounded her, and were growling savagely. A bird was a bird after all.

            Koga rolled his eyes. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now. "Alright." He snarled, wading through the sea of wolves. "What do you want." He crossed his arms. "Better be good, otherwise you might just become lunch."

            The bird youkai pulled away a stray strand of hair from her face, and smiled. "I assure you that this is worth your time, Prince Koga."

            Koga raised an eyebrow. "Prince?" He demanded.

            "Well, you do rule the largest wolf pack in these parts…" She murmured. "That gives you some amount of prestige."

            Koga spat. "I lead this pack. I don't rule it. Cut the flattery. What do you want?"

            The youkai shrugged. "I have a message from my lord Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands."

            Koga didn't show his surprise. Sesshoumaru? He had heard that name before… A youkai of unparalleled power. And he had also heard of his title. This was no paltry messenger. "Yes?" He demanded, just enough impatience in his voice to get her to hurry.

            She smiled at him. "My offer will sound odd, given your current situation, however I ask you to consider it anyway." She paused just a moment, then began. "You see, there is an invading army of youkai coming from China."

            Koga narrowed his eyes. He could see where this was going. "We got a war of our own to fight." He growled. "I got no time to help with someone else's."

            The messenger nodded. "I see…" She said, the leveled a threatening gaze at him. "I'm sure that Sesshoumaru will be very… displeased at your refusal."

            Koga shrugged. "Sesshoumaru's fighting a war. He doesn't have time to be displeased."

            The messenger scowled. Obviously, she wasn't expecting someone as sharp as Koga. "Very well." She said finally. "I am able to offer you certain advantages. Perhaps if you help us fight our war, we might be able to get rid of your war altogether."

            Koga wasn't taken in for a second. Sesshoumaru would be making promises like that left and right. No chance he would make good on all of them.

            "No thanks." He muttered. "We've got our own problems to deal with." He turned around. "You got five minutes to make yourself scarce. After that, you're fair game."

            The messenger looked distinctly displeased. "Very well." She said at last. "I wish you luck on your own little struggle here." A few wing beats took her high into the air. "Should you change your mind, then simply head towards the east coast. We will find you there."

            Koga scoffed, and walked on towards the broken bodies lying through the clearing. "Whatever."

            The messenger sighed, and pulled out a scroll from her kimono. "Simply present this to any member of Sesshoumaru's army to be taken to Shinjuku." She tossed the scroll down, then rose even higher. "Good luck, Koga. I think you'll need it."

            Once of the wolves, grabbed the scroll, and it quickly disappeared into the wolves den.

            Koga cast a glance at the rapidly disappearing dot on the horizon. That was just all he needed right now. He sighed, and cleared his mind. They had bodies to get rid of. He could think of wars and allies later.