Winter Wonderland

Chapter Sixty

Part One

Kagome's eyes slowly fluttered as the sunlight slowly poured into the room, letting her know that the morning had come. Yawning softly, Kagome rolled over to meet Inu-Yasha's sleeping face, causing her to smile softly. Leaning forward she pecked him on the forehead, giggling as his ears twitched and a soft groan left his lips. Two golden eyes peeked out at her and Inu-Yasha gave another groan.

"You seem really tired," teased Kagome, snuggling up to her mate.

Inu-Yasha gave a small grunt, but wrapped his arms around her tightly, "I'm not tired . . ."

"I know I am . . . you sure had a lot of stamina last night," hissed Kagome, kissing his neck.

Inu-Yasha smirked and rolled over so he was on top of Kagome, kissing her neck softly, "I still have a lot of stamina left . . .shall I show you how much,"

Kagome blushed softly and was about to answer when a small whimper caught both parents attention at the crib beside there bed. Easing her way out from under Inu-Yasha, Kagome crawled out of bed and took only a few steps to the crib where their daughter was sleeping. Natasha gave another small whimper and Kagome smiled as she picked the half demon pup up, "Good job Natasha . . . you saved me from the evil sex fiend,"

"Sex fiend am I? You sure weren't saying that last night," teased Inu-Yasha.

Kagome scowled at him as she crawled back into bed and snuggled up back with Inu-Yasha with their daughter in her arms. Inu-Yasha leaned his head down and nuzzled their daughter while Kagome opened up her shirt.

"She's getting so big . . . and she's only two weeks old," whispered Kagome, sitting up and putting Natasha to her breast to feed.

Inu-Yasha smiled and sat up too, Kagome leaning against his shoulder, "Yeah …"

"Are we going to visit my family today? I have a feeling Grandpa and Souta are anxious to see Natasha,"

The adult half demon have a small groan, "Can we go later this afternoon? It's too early,"

Kagome giggled and kissed his chin, "Sure,"

Inu-Yasha sighed with relief and licked Kagome's temple softly, "I think we need to sleep a little more,"

Kagome gave him a knowing look, "You don't want to sleep,"

Inu-Yasha smirked and licked her temple again, "Couldn't we just stay in bed all day today?"

Kagome smiled this time and leaned more against her mate, "Hmm, that would sound nice . . . however I promised mother we would bring Natasha to my time when she was old enough,"

The adult half demon whined softly and nuzzled his head against hers again. Kagome was about to respond but Natasha was finished with the first breast and had to switch her. Inu-Yasha wrapped his arms around Kagome and kissed the back of her neck this time.

"Kagome . . ." breathed Inu-Yasha, kissing her shoulder.

Kagome sighed softly and gave him a small nudge, causing his ears to droop softly. Smirking Kagome leaned her head up and licked one of his ears, causing Inu-Yasha to shiver, "We can have our time in a minute . . . but right now our daughter is eating,"

Inu-Yasha chuckled softly and nodded in agreement. When Natasha was deposited back into her crib, Inu-Yasha showed Kagome how much stamina he had left.

After their lovemaking, Natasha was retrieved from her crib to cuddle with her exhausted parents. Once Kagome's breathing had calmed down, she giggled softly.

"What's so funny woman?" asked her adult half demon.

"You've gotten better,"

Inu-Yasha's eyes widened as he realized what she meant and smirked with pride, "Of course I have,"

"I guess those books really helped,"

Inu-Yasha chuckled softly, "I suppose they did, I probably know more than the monk now,"

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that . . . Sango said he actually the read the books first before wrapping them up for your gift,"

Inu-Yasha chuckled again and shook his head as he brought a clawed hand up to rub his daughters silver puppy ears. Natasha's grey eyes opened to stare at her father, giving off a small burble, which caused him to smile. Even though it had been two weeks, it was still a mystery when her human night would be. His would be coming up in another two weeks, and he was praying to the gods it wasn't the same night as his. Sighing softly he snuggled closer to his family pulling them closer to him as sleep once again tugged at his eyes. After a few hours of sleep they would head over to Kagome's world to show everyone else their pup . . . but that thought also brought another to his mind, involving the well. It was still yet a mystery to him why it was closing in almost a month, and it led him with a very important decision. Would he trust Hiroshi and just close the well . . . or would he gamble the situation and just leave it open for a while longer.

"What are you thinking about that just made you go all tense?" asked Kagome.

"Wondering about the well," whispered Inu-Yasha, his hand coming up to cup her cheek, "I'm wondering if we should trust Hiroshi and close it in a month . . . or just leave it open for a while longer,"

Kagome nodded in understanding, "Yes . . . but . . . maybe we should trust Hiroshi with this one . . . it's better than to be safe than sorry,"

Inu-Yasha gave a small grunt of agreement as he closed his eyes and inhaled the scents around him, making him feel safe and secure in his house, "I'll worry about it later . . . right now I need sleep,"

Kagome giggled softly, but nodded in agreement as she rested her head on his shoulder for a pillow, and the couple fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Sesshoumaru walked casually down the hallways of his castle, heading towards the thrown room where Rin, Jaken, and Jarlarg were waiting for him. He was planning on visiting his brother and newborn niece with Rin in a week, but Jaken and Jarlarg had wanted to speak privately with him right now, and that was the main focus of his concentration right now. The two had been rather nervous since he had returned from his trip to Kagome's world, but never said anything since his other servants were usually in the room. As he approached the throne room he could hear the tormented cries of a demon, and Jaken's voice, demanding something from the victim. Wondering what the hell was going on in his throne room, he slammed the doors open to see one of his soldiers tied up on the ground. This one dog demon was just a new one and hadn't even been in his army for a month. Slamming the doors shut Sesshoumaru approached Jaken who had been beating the demon with his staff.

"Jaken . . . what is going on?" he asked calmly, glancing down at the bloody demon. Rin and Jarlarg were sitting near the throne, watching the scene from a distance away.

"My lord . . . something terrible has happened," screeched Jaken.

Knowing he wouldn't get a straight answer from the imp he turned to Jarlarg who was heading towards him.

"Jarlarg, explain,"

Jarlarg bowed, "Yes my lord. Akihiro over there has been . . . rather busy when you left for that trip with your brother,"

"Is he plotting against me?"

"No, nothing like that . . . but the talk of time travel some how reached his ears,"

"You mean about the well at my brothers village?"

"Yes my lord. Apparently they were planning on sneaking off and trying the well to see if they could pass through,"

Sesshoumaru turned to look at the dog demon on the ground and then back to Jarlarg, "I can assure you that he cannot pass through, only Kagome and my brother can do that. However the information about the well and time travel must be kept quiet,"

"Indeed sir, which is the reason we have him here, trying to force him to give us the names of the others who know, but . . ."

"But?"

"Akihiro already tried to use the well while you were gone,"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly and turned to Jaken, "And you let one of my soldiers just go to Inu-Yasha's lands for no reason?"

Jaken trembled and was about to answer, but Jarlarg spoke for him, "There was a little bit of trouble with some demons at Inu-Yasha's village. It wasn't serious but since there was no one to protect there we sent Akihiro and two other soldiers over there to make sure everything was okay. That is when we suspect he tried to use the well,"

"Of course he did not pass through . . ."

"Unfortunately he did," whispered Jarlarg.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened again, "What?"

"Rin," beckoned Jarlarg.

Rin came forward and put the object she was holding in the lords hands, "We found this in his room, I think it came from Kagome's house,"

Sesshoumaru stared down at the small square object. Remembering his conversation with his brother, it was call a seedee . . . or something along those lines, "This is impossible . . . no one can get through the well but my brother and his mate. Are you sure he did not get this from their house?"

"No my lord he did not, he has already confessed that he did pass through the well. He told us what the surroundings were like and Rin has confirmed it looks like the Higurashi shrine,"

Sesshoumaru gave a deep sigh and thought for a moment. So this is what his future son had been warning them about, that the well now allowed anyone to pass through it. This had now turned into a more difficult situation that he thought, and if word spread through Japan to the other demons that there was a world where there were more humans to feast on than humanly possible . . . it would be a complete mess.

"My lord . . . what do you want to do?"

Sesshoumaru turned to Akihiro and grabbed onto Tokijin, pointing it at the demons throat, "Tell me the names of the ones who know about the well . . . in return I may spare your life . . . depending on how fast you give the names. As your punishment, your left arm will be cut off,"

Akihiro's eyes widened, "Please my lord have mercy!"

"Mercy? I'm sparing your life . . . now tell me the names of the others and then you will tell us how you heard of the well,"

Akihiro started to tremble softly, "Alright .. . there was only three of us . . . myself . . . Daisuke . . . and . . . Juro . . . I swear that's all I told,"

Sesshoumaru brought his sword back to his hip, "Jaken, call those two to my throne room . . . make it sound like I'm going to promote them to a higher level in my army,"

Jaken bowed before rushing out of the throne room.

Sesshoumaru knelt down beside Akihiro, "Now . . . where did you hear about the well?"

" . . . I . . . I heard about it . . . from Rin and Jarlarg . . . they were talking about a time traveling well . . . and when we were sent to Inu-Yasha's village . . . I wanted to see if it were true . . ."

"So you were eavesdropping . . ."
"We were just curious my lord,"

Sesshoumaru stood and beckoned Jarlarg to follow him towards the balcony. The old demon followed while Rin stood guard over Akihiro.

"My lord?"

"He's lying . . ."

"On which parts my lord?"

"Where only three of them know about the well. Daisuke and Juro are new to the army are they not?"

"Yes, they became part of your army almost two month's ago,"

"In that case . . ."

"Yes my lord?"

"He's protecting the real plotter behind this,"

"The one who's behind it all?"

"Yes, there is a different scent on that object he got. I recognize it as Mashai's scent,"

"Mashai? Isn't he . . ."

"My general? Yes he is . . . however he has never seen eye to eye with me about keeping humans in my land, and not to mention he is not pleased about the relationship with my brother,"

Jarlarg was silent for a moment before speaking, "What do you plan to do?"

"Unfortunately I don't trust those new soldiers . . . either they will be killed or sentenced to life in the dungeons below the castle. That way no one will hear their blundering mouths,"

"I thought you were going to spare Akihiro his life,"

"I am, he'll just been in the dungeon for the rest of it,"

Jarlarg chuckled softly, "And what of the means of cutting his left arm off?"

"I studied his body, and it is built like mine. It should make a perfect fit for my missing arm,"

Jarlarg smiled softly. Even though Rin had softened the lords heart a little, there still were times where he could be cruel and mirthless. The opening of the throne doors caught both demons attention as Jaken returned with the two other demons. Sesshoumaru returned into the throne room until he was eye to eye with both of the demons. Rin blocked the door way incase any of them decided to escape since they noticed Akihiro on the ground all tied up.

"As you can see we heard about your little discovery about the time traveling well," whispered Sesshoumaru, giving them both a death glare. Both demons turned whiter than their hair, "Now, whoever tells me where Mashai is . . . and explains what his plans are for the well . .. I might spare your life . . . so who wants to talk first?"

"Mashai is behind this!?" cried Jaken.

Rin sighed and thumped the imp over the head, "Be quiet!" she hissed.

Juro was the first to speak, "My lord . . . please forgive us . . . Mashai said we would be rewarded greatly if we tested the well for him," begged the demon.

"Tell me what you know . . .and if anyone is lying it will be your head," warned Sesshoumaru.

"He was not pleased that the relationship with you and your half breed brother was going okay . . . he felt that you were growing soft . . . when he heard of a passage to the future, he wanted us to go . . ."

"What did he want you to do if the well worked?" asked Rin.

"He . . . he wanted us to bring something back . . . as proof that we went through . . . and then he would go himself . . . and try to see . . . try to see . . ."

"Try to see what?" growled the lord, losing his patients.

"Mashai knew he would be know match against you . . .so he went to see if there was a weapon there that could over power you, and then he could be the next lord, and drive out the humans out of the western lands," whispered Juro.

"What else?"

"There is nothing else,"

Sesshoumaru growled and drew his sword, taking off Juro's head in one swipe. Rin gave a small squeak and turned her head as the body crumpled to the ground and the head rolled off the left, stopping in a pool of blood.

"I was serious when I said if there was any lying your head would be next," growled Sesshoumaru, "What else does Mashai have planned?"

"He plans on killing Inu-Yasha," whispered Akihiro.

Sesshoumaru turned to the demon on the ground, "Go on,"

Akihiro closed his eyes as he confessed more, "Not only was he going to the future to get a weapon . . . but he would attack Inu-Yasha and his family,"

"Where is Mushai now?"

"We don't my lord . . . he was suppose to pay us today, but we can't find him anywhere,"

Sesshoumaru wiped his sword off, "Very well. Rin and Jaken, take Daisuke and Akihiro down to the dungeons. If they utter a single word about the well to anyone else, kill them,"

Rin and Jaken nodded before taking the two demons away, leaving Sesshoumaru, Jarlarg, and Juro's dead corpse left in the throne room,"

"What are you thinking my lord?"

"I'm wondering what kind of weapon would be powerful enough to overpower me . . . and Inu-Yasha,"

"Guns,"

Sesshoumaru gazed down at the old demon, "Guns?"

"They are quite the powerful weapon now . . . I can only guess that in the future they have advanced even greater,"

The demon lord gave a small nod before becoming silent for a moment. Jarlarg stared out one of the windows, admiring the snowy grounds, waiting for Sesshoumaru to speak his thoughts. After a while Jarlarg finally spoke, "What are you planning to do?"

"I must tell this to my brother,"

"That would be wise my lord. If demons are now free to move through the well, Kagome's family is in danger,"

Sesshoumaru gave a nod, started to head out of the throne room and into the hallway.

"Jarlarg, I need you to see if anyone else knows about the well, if they do . . .kill them, I don't care who they are,"

"Yes my lord,"

"I will be heading over to my brother's village to tell him the information we have just learned . . . and I also want you to find a new general for my army, Mushai won't be returning to the castle,"

"I understand Sesshoumaru,"

Sesshoumaru walked out of the front doors and into the cold late afternoon air. Giving a small nod to Jarlarg, he started to glow a soft white light before engulfing him completely in a white ball, and disappearing. Jarlarg stood there for a moment before turning back into the castle to take care of things.

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As the sun had completely gone down, Sesshoumaru finally arrived at the well in Inu-Yasha's forest. Taking a deep breath, he took in the scents around him. Kagome's, Inu-Yasha's, and Natasha's scents still lingered, but they had passed through the well hours ago, most likely in the afternoon. However Mushai's scent wafted into his nose, and it was fresher than the others, perhaps an hour old. Growling softly Sesshoumaru glanced at the sky and sighed with relief inwardly. There was a moon tonight, so his brother would not be left defenseless if Mushai were to attack, but still . . .

Growling softly Sesshoumaru jumped into the well . . .

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Inu-Yasha chuckled softly as he watched Souta trying to get Natasha to let go of his hair. His chuckled stopped when Kagome nudged him in the shoulder from her position on his lap.

"What?" grunted Inu-Yasha.

Kagome scowled at him, "You could at least help my little brother,"

"I'm sure Souta is doing fine,"

Kagome sighed and climbed off her mates lap to pry her daughter's fingers off her brother's hair.

"Thanks sis," said Souta, taking a seat on the floor.

Kagome smiled and returned to her seat on Inu-Yasha's lap with her daughter in her arms. Natasha stared up at her mother with big eyes, burbling softly as her clawed hands reached up for her. Kagome giggled softly and rubbed her nose against Natasha's. Inu-Yasha smiled and wrapped his arms around his mate tightly, kissing her temple softly.

Mrs. Higurashi returned into the living room with drinks, "I called Hojo and Ayumi so they will be here soon to see Natasha,"

Inu-Yasha was about to respond but a noise outside caught his attention, his ears twitching in every direction.

"Inu-Yasha what is it?" whispered Kagome.

"Hmm, nothing. I'm just going to get some fresh air,"

"Okay,"

Kissing her cheek softly, Inu-Yasha stood and headed towards the front door. Stepping outside into the cold air, Inu-Yasha sniffed the air and golden eyes widened at the scent the filled his nose. Before he could call the name of the owner, a hand was slapped across his mouth to silence him. Inu-Yasha gasped softly as he came face to face with his older brother. Sesshoumaru released Inu-Yasha's mouth with him only to hiss, "What the fuck are you doing here and how in the hell did you get here?"

Sesshoumaru took his brother by the arm and led him over to the god tree.

"Sesshoumaru . . ." hissed Inu-Yasha.

The demon lord stopped at the base of the god tree before speaking, "There will be time for explanations, but right now you and your family are in danger,"

"How the fuck did you get through the well?"

"I will tell you later!" growled Sesshoumaru, his eyes flashing red for a moment.

Inu-Yasha cringed slightly and took a step away from his brother.

"Now as I was saying you and your family are in danger,"

Starting from the beginning Sesshoumaru explained the story and situation to Inu-Yasha, beginning with this morning to up until now. Inu-Yasha was unusually quiet through the whole explanation and didn't say a word until Sesshoumaru was finished speaking.

"So . . . I guess this explains why the well needs to be closed," whispered the half demon.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and leaned against the god tree, "Yes . . . it does explain that reason . . . but according to Hiroshi the well will still be open for another month at least,"

Inu-Yasha nodded his head and thought for a moment, wondering what the plan of action should be, "So is Mushai here?"

"Yes, I could smell his scent by the well. It was a few hours old which means . . ."

Inu-Yasha growled softly, "I could of smelled him if it wasn't so damn windy today,"

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes, "According to Jarlarg . . . Mushai is apparently after a powerful weapon in this world so that he can kill me and your family,"

"So we either go find him . . . or we wait for him to come here," said Inu-Yasha.

The lord of the western of the land looked out to the streets of Tokyo, watching the lights blinking and the sounds of the city, "I hate to admit it . . . but it will be impossible to find him quick,"

The wind shifted direction momentarily before heading back towards the north, but it was enough time for both demons to catch onto the scent that had wafted by their noses. Giving each other a knowing look, Inu-Yasha spoke, "Or . . . perhaps Mushai is thinking a different way. Knowing he wouldn't be able to find what he was looking for quickly . . . he decided to hide . . . and wait for you to cross over time to look for him. Then when you told me what was going on, I would ask Kagome where all the weapon stores are in Tokyo . . .and then he would simply just follow us,"

Sesshoumaru ran past his brother to the trees behind them, drawing Tokijin and aiming for the target hidden in the shadows. The trees collapsed to the ground, but Sesshoumaru narrowing missed his victim who had leaped into the air and landed on the stone floor of the shrine grounds. Inu-Yasha took in the appearance of his enemy and studied it quickly. Mushai was tall . . . perhaps even taller than Sesshoumaru, his black hair blowing in different directions from the wind, and a pair of dog ears on top of his head. His armor was similar to Sesshoumaru's, however it had more spikes, and Mushai also carried more swords that had a certain demon aura coming from them.

"I must say Sesshoumaru . . . ever since you found the worthless human girl I thought perhaps you have gotten soft and not as wise as before . . . but I can see I was mistaken. I also can't believe you would kill Juro, one of your own soldiers . . . I can smell his blood all over you,"

Sesshoumaru did not answer, just stared down his opponent with a hard gaze.

"Hmm, if looks could kill Sesshoumaru I would certainly be dead," chuckled Mushai.

"I don't know what you find so funny, but you're out numbered two to one . . . I would suggest you begging Sesshoumaru to give you a fast death for betraying him," growled Inu-Yasha, flexing his claws, "Because if you don't want to I'll kill you nice and slowly for even threatening my family,"

Mushai continued to chuckle and looked back and forth between the two brothers. Silence filled the air and no one was moving an inch. Sesshoumaru's thoughts were on how to catch Mushai by surprise and not let him get away, while Inu-Yasha's thoughts were hoping and praying that Kagome or anyone else in her family would come out of the house, but then an awful feeling settled in his stomach. Ayumi and Hojo were on their way here . . .and would be arriving any moment. Mushai saw the glint of fear in the half demons eyes and laughed again.

"So Inu-Yasha, are you going to go warn your friends and family about me . . . or help your brother kill me?"

Inu-Yasha snorted, "Keh, if I kill you there won't be anything to warn them about, except perhaps to prepare a grave for you,"

Mushai laughed and turned his attention towards Sesshoumaru who also had remained still, Tokijin still clutched in his one hand, "I'm surprised you haven't tried to attack me a second time Sesshoumaru . . . I have a feeling you want to ask me some more questions before you sentence me to death,"

"I have only one," whispered Sesshoumaru.

"Then ask so we can begin this battle,"

"How did you find out about the well? I know Akihiro was lying when he said he over heard Jarlarg and Rin talking about it. Those who know about the time traveling well make sure that we do not speak of it out loud, and if we do we make sure spells are kept on the rooms so no one else hears . . . so how did you?"

Mushai stared at the demon lord for a moment before answering, "I heard it from a wolf demon by the name of Kouga,"

"That fucking wimpy wolf told you?" snarled Inu-Yasha.

"Yes he did . . . but not intentionally. Almost a year ago during the spring I heard Kouga talking to some of his comrades about something very interesting. According to him he tried to follow Kagome's scent and ended up at a well. At first I thought the wolf was losing his mind, but when Kagome and her friends came to the castle that one time and I saw her clothing, I knew that she was not from this world. Which blossomed hope within me,"

"And why is that?" asked Sesshoumaru.

The wind started to howl louder and snow began to fall from the darkened sky, Inu-Yasha cursed under his breath but listened carefully for Mushai's explanation.

"It all began when your father mated with a human woman . . . Natasha. It was a disgrace to all demons for breeding with such weak mortals, and that I guess you could say is the first time I tried to betray your family. But after his death and you became the new lord, my plans were canceled since you hated humans. I was then happy to server under you, however, then you found Rin . . . becoming softer by the day, and to make matters worse your relationship with your brother got better,"

Sesshoumaru chuckled softly, "So that's it isn't it? You wanted to kill Inu-Yasha for being a half breed . . . and me . . . thinking I've gotten soft because I fell in love with a human girl,"

Mushai then drew one of the swords at his hip, lifting it into the air, "You're weak Sesshoumaru . . . the western lands needs a strong leader, one who doesn't care whether humans get killed or not,"

Sesshoumaru did not reply, but instead charged at Mushai at lightening speed, and the battle had now began. Inu-Yasha's eyes were able to keep up with the two demons sword fighting, however there was no way in hell he would be able to move that fast. The only thing he could do now was warn Ayumi and Hojo, and make sure Kagome stayed inside the house. The wind began to blow harder and the snow now coming down in bigger flakes. Unsheathing Tetsusaiga Inu-Yasha headed to the top of the Higurashi shrine steps just in time to see Hojo and Ayumi walking up them. Before He could scream out their names and warn them, a hand was on his shoulder and tossed him clear across the shrine grounds into the trees, his eyes just glancing Mushai's form. Hitting one of the trees, Inu-Yasha cursed loudly and didn't have to wait long for his head to stop spinning before he was back on his feet. Opening his eyes he barely dodged Mushai who had been tossed this time by Sesshoumaru. However Mushai went crashing through several trees unlike how he had only hit one.

"Go warn the others and tell them to stay in the house, I will deal with Mushai," hissed Sesshoumaru as he ran passed Inu-Yasha to his opponent.

The half demon nodded and headed back towards the shrine stairs. Hojo and Ayumi had now reached the top and waved cheerfully, but then screamed as Inu-Yasha picked them up and ran towards the house.

"Inu-Yasha what are you doing?" screeched Ayumi.

Inu-Yasha did not answer as he ran towards the Higurashi house, but came to a sudden halt as Sesshoumaru crashed into him. Hojo and Ayumi flew to the side and landed roughly on the ground.

"Damn it Sesshoumaru what the fuck are you doing? How hard can it be to kill this guy?" growled Inu-Yasha pushing his brother off him.

Sesshoumaru just growled back and continued his attacks on the demon general. Inu-Yasha tended to Hojo and Ayumi who were lying motionless on the ground, but unconscious from their fall on the ground. Growling softly Inu-Yasha turned his attention to the two demons fighting. Both were skilled and well trained fighters, however Mushai seemed to have one slight advantage over Sesshoumaru. It wasn't that the demon was older than his brother, but Inu-Yasha had a feeling that Sesshoumaru never had any hard battles during a blizzard, and it was obvious that Mushai had. Gripping Tetsusaiga tighter Inu-Yasha charged over towards Mushai, hoping that the wind scar would be enough to badly injure to slow his movements, or kill the bastard.

"Kaze No Kizu!" screamed Inu-Yasha, aiming it towards Mushai.

Sesshoumaru dodged out of the way and the demon general took a full blow of the wind scar. Snow was blown into the air, blinding both demons momentarily.

"Did I get him?" asked Inu-Yasha.

"You didn't kill him, but you did injure him," informed Sesshoumaru.

Inu-Yasha growled softly, "Well at least he can't move as fast as before,"

As the snow settled, Mushai reappeared, leaning against the god tree for support, and his left arm completely torn off and was lying limply at on the ground a distance away from them in pieces.

"What is it with you taking off dog demons left arms?" asked Sesshoumaru.

Inu-Yasha would have laughed at that comment, but under the circumstances, now was not the time for jokes.

"Damn you Inu-Yasha . . . you took off my fucking arm," hissed Mushai, trying to stop the bleeding from the stump that was still attached to his shoulder.

"Your lucky that's all I took off, now prepare to die you bastard!" screamed Inu-Yasha as both brothers charged towards the demon general.

Mushai did not move as he remained leaned against the tree. His arm was cut off and he was in no condition to fight . . .it was hopeless . . .

"Inu-Yasha what's going on out here?" called a woman's voice.

Mushai's eyes snapped open and focused on the house in the distance where a woman stood holding a child. I may not be able to fight honorable and fair now . . . but who gives a damn about that anyway? thought the demon general. He took notice that Inu-Yasha also heard the woman's voice and fear suddenly appeared in the half demons eyes. Knowing what to do Mushai dodged Sesshoumaru's attack just in the nick of time and drew another one of his swords, stabbing the demon lord right in the chest, and then with quick movements grabbed another sword, stabbing it through Sesshoumaru's right wrist so that he was pinned completely to the god tree. Sesshoumaru's eyes were widened with surprise, not believing how the situation had turned around so suddenly, and watched as Mushai whirled around, dodging Inu-Yasha's attack by the Tetsusaiga, and headed over towards Kagome and Natasha.

"NO!" screamed Inu-Yasha as he fell against the snowy ground as everything turned into slow motion and all sounds stopped. Kagome could only stand there and scream as the demon approached her, slapping her across the face and then taking her pup away from her arms. Kagome collided with the shoji door, breaking it into pieces as Mushai jumped back and landed a fair distance away.

"If you want your daughter back Inu-Yasha, come and get her," sneered Mushai, running towards the edge of the shrine and leaping into the night sky, disappearing into the snow. Mrs. Higurashi and everyone else came running outside, shocked and wondering what the hell was going on.

"NATASHA! NATASHA!" screamed Kagome as she tried to crawl hopelessly after Mushai, her shoulder dislocated. Mrs. Higurashi knelt by her daughter's side, repeatedly asking what on earth had happened

Inu-Yasha's heart was pounding with fear as he watched his mate screaming their daughter's name, and then his own rage that his own pup was in danger. Getting to his feet Inu-Yasha let off a howl of sorrow of his own. Nothing mattered at this moment . . . his brother . . .Ayumi and Hojo . . . they were not important . . . what was important was getting his pup back. With out another second thought Inu-Yasha ran past everyone taking off after the bastard who had stolen his daughter.

TBC . . .

Part Two will be up soon . . . .

Lynns