Post-note: I'm extremely pissed with for bumping my story script. Hell, the last time i checked everything was in perfect order. And thanks to a reviewer, i was informed that i had repeated sections. . That really sucks. Anyway, i've fixed it.
At least, it better be fixed.

Honto ni gomen nasai!

I guessed I was just simply too busy and lazy to update during my school term. Really sorry about it. The good news is that I'm now on a 2 month holiday term break. Of course, I may be getting a part-time job, but until that, I shall stick to updating. Thanks a lot for all the comments for the last chapter!

Here's the chapter long over-dued

Disclaimer: I own inuyasha in my dreams receives a whack on the head What! You mean I can't even own inu in my dreams! This suxs. I don't own inuyasha. Boohoo.

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It had been 2 days since the demon had last been released to walk freely amongst the village. Despite the fact that their lives were spared and protected via the mere promise from the inuyoukai himself, tensions ran high as a few of the village elders voiced their worries.

' Kagome-sama, with all due respect, is it truly safe to allow such a dangerous youkai to run free in the very vicinity of our village? A leopard never changes its spots, a youkai can go back on his words!'

'Don't you worry about this. Sesshoumaru isn't just any youkai. His pride and honour to his promise will ensure your safety.'

Folding his arms, the village elder held the miko's words with distrust.

A crowd by then had already gathered, surrounding both the priestess and him in a semi-circle, eager to hear and join in on the discussion. A few of them whispered something into the elder's ears, in which he responded with nod of the head, whilst the rest simply nudged one another, eagerly discussing the subject with ready frowns and much disapprovals.

' That isn't enough,' the crowd rebelled.

With a sigh, Kagome gave up. ' Fine.. then what do you suggest?'

' We have to ensure that he will not harm us, chain him or maybe – ' As quickly as the elder had said that, he cut himself short as a tall dark shadow loomed before them. Slowly he began to tremble, as his knees gave way and he had to be supported by a couple of young men. Behind him a few of the members had chosen to scatter, whilst a muffled silence passed through the now startled villagers, their eyes now traveling beyond Kagome as they shrink back in fear, holding on to each other for help.

Turning around, Kagome was not at all surprised to see the dog demon, the wind now whipping his silvery locks, the same old stoic mask surrounding his handsome features.

For the past two days he had not strayed far, staying rather closely instead to the little village.

Because of that, the children hadn't been allowed to stay out of their parents' sight for long, and neither were they allowed to venture far from their houses.

Approaching the priestess, Sesshoumaru's gaze never left the villagers, a small smirk slowly forming upon his soft pink lips.

' Do go on. You were saying something, about chaining me up before I startled you, care to continue?' The smirk upon his lips were maliciously curled, the claws upon his hand flexed dangerously, threatening the answer.

The elder's face, now a ghastly white, he muttered something inaudible before he fainted. There was a scurry of footsteps as a few of the men hurriedly brought the elder to a healer. The crowd quickly dispersed and before long, the area was empty, except for the occasionally gust of wind swiftly blowing in the air.

'Sesshoumaru, you know the villagers don't mean it, they're just afraid, that's all.'

The response she got was silence. As if he were deep in thought, Sesshoumaru had his face towards the wind. It always gave him a sense of calmness, to feel the cool breeze gently caressing his face and hair.

' They don't need to. I'm leaving.'

' What! But how are you going to protect the village as promised?'

Ignoring her very presence, the inu youkai whirled around and left.

Running after the dog demon, Kagome reached over, her outstretched hands grasping his sleeves, pulling it into a tug thus causing the demon to stop in his tracks.

' Let go, wretch.'

' I can't believe you're running away! A powerful demon such as yourself! So much for honour and pride!'

The result she got was instantaneous. With a twist of his arm, Sesshoumaru had his hand around her wrist in a vice-like grip. Yelping out at the sudden pain, Kagome winced as Sesshoumaru brought her closer to him with a yank, holding her wrist now high above her head.

The proximity between their faces was deathly close.

Their noses were barely touching and for the second time, Kagome was able to drink in his beautifully features. His pale, creamy white skin was absolutely flawless and the magenta stripes carved seductively along his cheeks were simply irresistible. For a moment she wished she could run her fingers along its outline and caress the smoothness of those soft pallid cheeks.

A jerk on her hand broke her from the train of thoughts and this time, she could see the fiery building up within Sesshoumaru's golden orbs.

' Onna, listen good. This entire village has been marked with my scent. It should serve enough warning to any nearby youkai. On top of that, I have a wretched jewel to safe keep, which could attract even more demons out there to attack this village should I stay. Now use your head for once and leave me alone!'

So I was wrong.

I wronged him.

And that made him mad.

'Sesshoumaru!'

The lone figure in the distance paused.

' Gomen. I was wrong.'

Without bothering to acknowledge her apology, the demon continued walking, his bushy tail ( yes, I know's its not a tail, but hell, in this fic it is a tail!) flicking her comment aside.

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Dusk had just settled.

With Sesshoumaru gone, the people were more at ease and the children were running around, catching up on the hours lost for playing over the past few days.

Kicking a little red ball, the children's laughter were sharp and merry.

As a little boy ran forward to retrieve the toy from the bushes, a rustle of leaves from the nearby shrubs seized his attention. Curious and wary, he approached the bush with small steady steps.

And then, something lunged out from within the leaves, something with scales and claws.

Screaming for all its worth, the boy fell as his friends turned and ran, screaming loudly for their parents.

Sprawled over, the boy could only look on with trembling eyes as the youkai emerged from behind the bushes, its scaly tail swishing vigorously in the background. And it was not alone.

With a thump of its mighty tail, luminous red orbs began to shimmer within the darkened depths of the trees.

They were demonic lizards. Hissing their forked tongues menacingly, they sniffed the air cautiously, as if wary of any stronger youkai in the vicinity. Salivating at the sight of a shivering human in front of them, the first few lizard demons began their approach, their eyes eyeing the boy hungrily. With a snarl, the first demon jumped, it's razor sharp claws extended for the kill.

Paralyzed upon the very spot, the young boy cried out before he closed his eyes and awaited the pain.

It never came.

A bolt of purifying energy had ripped the lizard straight through its oversized mouth.

Nocking another arrow, Kagome instructed to the boy ' Quickly, get out of here!'

' Filthy miko, we are here for the jewel. Give it to us and we shall spare your life.'

'Well, too bad, the jewel's not here, now leave or I shall be forced to take action!'

Laughing aloud, the demonic lizard mocked ' I sensed its powers here. Now you shall die for going against us!'

' Not so fast!' narrowly avoiding the first few attacks, Kagome released her arrows, killing off a few of the youkai. Looking back at the village, she could see that a few of the villagers were trying their best to battle the lizards with rakes and sticks. Screams of despair and pain now filling the once peaceful village.

Clenching her bow, Kagome renewed her strength and fought on.

But the strain was taking its toll. Her purifying arrows could only do so much, and besides, she was running out of arrows.

Taking a careful aim, she released a powerful jolt of purifying energy towards the leader of the demon pack, only to miss as the agile creature leaped away, snarling in contempt. Trying her best to nock another arrow, a tail came smacking down as it landed across her face, flinging her onto the other side.

' Say goodbye to your life, human! – Arghhhx!'

Opening her eyes, she felt something wet splattering across her arms and sleeves – blood.

In front, lay a dismembered lizard youkai, its eyes still glowing an eerie red. And against the darkened sky, the priestess was able to make out the silhouette of a man. In a flash, he was gone as echoes and screams of the rest of the lizard youkai resonated throughout the village.

Pushing herself to her feet, Kagome made her way back to the village across the masses of dismembered bodies. As she came to rest against the tree, she saw the last of the youkai, screaming as it did as a yellow whip attached itself to its head with a sharp snap, before it lolled off.

There, in the middle of the masses of dead youkai, stood Sesshoumaru, his claws fully extended as he surveyed the mess.

With the demise of the lizards, the villagers proceeded to clamber out of their hiding places, cries and muffled sobs stirring gently across the crowd as some noted the deaths of their loved ones.

' You monster!'

Looking up, the miko could see the village head giving the dog demon, who had just saved their lives, a piece of his mind.

' You monster! We should have killed you when we had the chance! Murderer!'

Confused, Kagome intercepted ' Monster? He just saved this entire villagers' lives! He has fulfilled his part of the deal!'

Crying softly to himself, the man fell to his knees as he gently cradled the dead body of his only son.

' Look around you! What do you see? We are surrounded by deaths! I'm not the only one who has lost a son. That youkai may have saved us all, but he did that through yet another blood bath! I cannot condone this! Demons are all the same! Bloodthirsty murderers!'

The reality of the situation had finally sunk. So what if the village was safe? Things would never again be the same.

Starring down at the broken hearted villagers, Sesshoumaru remained silent. Despite the fact that he had killed so many youkai, not a single drop of blood had stained his kimono. It gave Kagome the chills to know that such a demon could ever exist – to have killed so much, and yet, retain a look of purity. What will he do now?

Slowly, Sesshoumaru took a step forward.

The villagers watched him with wary eyes.

Reaching over, his hands closed tightly around the sword that hung around his perfectly slim waist. What was he trying to do?

Pulling it out of its sheath, he stood tall over the huddled body of the man and his dead son, the sword gleaming beautifully in the moonlight.

' Move aside.'

' What do you intend to do! My son is already dead, leave us alone!'

' I said, move aside.'

' NOO!'

' Sesshoumaru..' Kagome couldn't understand. What was Sesshoumaru trying to do? The child was dead. Was he trying to add salt to his wounds by hacking the poor child to pieces? Just like what he had down to the rest of the lizard youkai?

And yet, something deep inside her told her to trust him.

She had never felt anything like this before. The way he had stared at the villagers had been completely devoided of hatred, but then again, she had never found him to be a person of compassion, thus the reason for her to feel so mixed up. Was Sesshoumaru truly trying to help them? She did not know. But instincts told her to trust him.

' Trust him. Move aside.'

' WHAT!'

As if to make a point, Kagome moved forward, and took his arm, pulling him away from his son.

' What are you doing! Stop!'

' Please.. for once, trust him.'

Looking on, the crowd gasped as Sesshoumaru's sword began to glow a crystal blue colour. Concentrating upon the body of the child, he closed his eyes, before slicing the sword through the air and the child.

Amazingly, it did not cut the flesh, but instead, it went through it.

And then, just like a miracle, the boy slowly regained consciousness.

' Aki! You're alright!'

Pulling the boy into a hug, the father could only sob as he apologized profusely for his earlier actions, thanking his new benefactor.

Sheathing his sword, Sesshoumaru turned, this time, leaving the village for good.

' Wait! Where are you going?'

Silence.

' To kill Naraku.'

His answer had been so simple.

For a moment, Kagome wished she could understand him so much more. He wasn't at all a ruthless, cold-hearted demon. Beneath that cold exterior, was, she believed, a kind-hearted soul. Despite the fact that Sesshoumaru could very well be a merciless killing machine, deep down inside, she knew that the word compassion still lived. The fact that his face was an emotionless façade, only proved to show how much emotions and feelings the dog demon was hiding and if ever given the chance, the capability to show it.

' Well, then I shall come along with you.'

Stopping in his tracks, Sesshoumaru glared up into the empty dark sky. A sudden breeze had picked up its speed and once again, he could feel the comfort and gentleness of the wind against his skin. The miko was one feisty lady with ample courage. That he had to admit. Companionship was something he did not need, but then again, it was something he could live with.

' Suit yourself.'

Against the silvery moonlight, a wolf howled in the distance.

It was going to be a long night.

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A/n: I am finally done. Actually, I wanted to stop at an earlier part, but then I decided against it. I seldom type really long fics because I don't have that kind of stamina. Ah well, it's the holidays for me and I had this sudden urge to continue this fic. By the way, just to ask, are any of you guys interested in shounen-ai fics? I've been writing a bit on other sites, but I just thought I'll ask cuz I really want to start one.. haha.. of course, I may just go ahead regardless of the answers.

Oh well.. please review and I apologize for any typos. I'm very bad when it comes to clearing typos. > Until next time!