After meeting with Koenma, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Kenta had gone straight to the human world to begin their search. However, when they got to the department store in which they were supposed to meet Kyubi, they ran into heavy interference, with the last person they needed to see…or rather, last three persons. On top of the building, there were three of the dragons that had fought them in the tournament; apparently, they hadn't been executed yet. Yashira was the first to descend, followed by Setare and Kentamaru; all of whom, weren't happily seen by Kurama and Kuwabara. Kenta, however, seemed to have an abrupt change in attitude, going from cocky and arrogant in one instant to shady and rather tense the next; Kurama was the only one to notice, and immediately caught on to the situation; there was going to be more than one problem on their hands, but it was no doubt that the three in front of him had come for only one thing: the emerald around his neck that he had taken from Yashira…He wasn't wrong.
Yashira: I believe you have something that isn't yours, Fox.
Kurama: I believe that you are mistaken.
Yashira: The emerald; give it to me.
Kurama: I will not.
Yashira: Then I'll kill you.
She rushed at him, her speed having increased greatly from before, and she caught him off his guard, which threw them both up against the wall of the building behind them. Her claws dug into his shoulder with the force of the impact, and to prevent himself any further injury, he went against his more proper impulses and knocked her away by the use of a kick in the stomach. He heard Kuwabara's disapproval of the action, but ignored it as he dodged another lunge from the white dragoness. However, he wasn't the only one fighting against one of them. Kenta had gained a fierce opponent, as Setare entered the battle. Using jets of water, he threw the black dragon back against the same wall, but the force of this impact was much more fierce than the first. Kenta slammed into the building with enough force to send a tremble through the foundation, and it wasn't only Kurama who noticed. Kentamaru, though watching the fight before him, wasn't interested in fighting, but in capturing; he lunged at Kuwabara and caught him by the throat, trapping him before he teleported away. Kurama caught sight of the action, as well as the fact that Setare stopped fighting the minute it happened; he teleported as well, disappearing in a sharp flash of blue light.
Yashira: What's wrong, foxy-boy? Wondering where your friend is? Well, I might tell you, if you give me the Emerald.
Kurama: You'll tell me, and I'll give you nothing.
Yashira: Oh? Well, don't be so sure about that; if you want to know where they are, I suggest you find Hitairu. He's the only one of us who knows where Kuwabara will be going. But don't think you're off the hook; I'll be back, and when I do return, you will meet your end, demon.
In a second, she was gone, but the instant she disappeared, Kyubi emerged from the store, apparently either worried, confused, or both, judging by the look on her face. She ran over to Kurama, who looked none too pleased at the recent occurrence, and turned to the vixen, cutting off her question.
Kurama: There's no time to explain. We have to put our gem-hunting on pause for a while; there is a more pressing matter on our hands at the moment. (looks over) Kenta, you live in the Dragon's Realm. Where is Hitairu?
Kenta:…I don't know. He may be somewhere with those three, but I have no idea where that could be…
Kurama: Very well, then. The best thing we can do right now is find Yusuke and Hiei, and hope for the best. Let's go.
He turned and ran toward the other ends of the city, where the portal to the Demon World could be recreated; Kenta and Kyubi followed with swiftness equal to his own, even though they knew not of where they were going to be going. Already, they were off to a bad start, and by experience, Kurama knew it could only get worse as time passed…
Although Kurama, Kenta, and Kuwabara were having a bit of trouble with dragons, they weren't the only ones fighting against them. When Yusuke and Hiei arrived in the northwestern area of the thirteenth level, they were met with a very unexpected and unnerving sight as they emerged from the forest. Blood littered much of the ground before them and was still spilling from the beasts fighting in that specified region; all four of them looked as though they had been in combat for quite some time, for they looked as though they were beginning to exhaust and weaken. They recognized only two of them right off the bat: Hitairu and Abunai, but judging by what they remembered, Sesshoumaru was also picked out of the scuffle. However, there was one fighter that they didn't recognize; because they were all fully-transformed, it was difficult to follow, but the one what was completely unrecognizable was apparently a wolf, which had fur of a navy color and eyes of a very pale lavender, judging by the flashes of them that were seen. Like Sesshoumaru, he had muscular legs, and a long tail, but unlike the white-haired demon, he didn't look completely like a dog. All three canines fought hard against Hitairu, but it looked as though they were having a few troubles…
Hiei looked around, finding Inuyasha among the trees of the forest edge, and climbed the them, jumping branches to reach him. He looked as though he were either hiding or protecting something, and as he got closer, he noticed that the something was indeed a person; a small person, at that. It was a child: a pup, in this case, who had large brown eyes and long black hair. It was definitely a female, for she looked like nothing but such, and she had pale skin and small claws. She must have been a demon as well, and by the scent of it, Inuyasha's demon; most likely his child. He was holding her close to him, his arm hiding what the branches of the treetop didn't of her form, and he was looking worriedly down at the fight playing out before him. Sesshoumaru was remaining much stronger than the other two on his side, but with the constant blows from the dragon's claws tearing into the same wound on his right shoulder, he was not faring well. Though he had not yet allowed himself to limp from the wound, much of his blood was running from his body, the injury never having time to stop bleeding before it was torn into again; Abunai and the other wolf were hurt as well, and though not critically, they didn't look as though they could remain standing much longer.
The three were fighting in an unorganized pattern, each attacking at a random interval, and trying unsuccessfully to defeat the monster before them. With each leap at its throat, it would bat the offender away, and once more would be attacked, only for the same action to be taken; this repeated again and again, never ending until one fated second, things changed. The unrecognized wolf made a lunge, a bit quicker than it had been previously, and sank its fangs and claws through the scales on the dragon's back. The action drew a rush of blood and an angered roar of pain from Hitairu; however, the wolf was also thrown off forcefully, the clawed hand of the dragon coming down hard on his stomach, tearing through flesh and slamming him down onto the rocky soil. Beside Hiei, Inuyasha tensed momentarily from the sound of the sickening snap echoing through the air to his sensitive ears, and as though understanding, the girl in his arms whimpered softly with a startled yelp; but they weren't the only ones to notice this. Maybe it was the sound reaching him that gave him the boost he needed to attack, or it was the snarl he gave that created the sound in the first place; whatever the case, Sesshoumaru made one more lunge, and made contact with Hitairu's throat…but not without a price. As his fangs tore into the dragon's neck, the fatal blow came slowly because of the thick hide around the vulnerability; however, as his throat was being torn into, Hitairu slashed with his claws along the demon's sides, creating deep gashes as the dog was thrown off. Sesshoumaru landed on his feet as Hitairu faded from before him, and as he knew the dragon was gone, his tension released, allowing him to return to his regular form. The blue-haired wolf had cancelled his transformation the instant he connected with the ground, but Abunai was the last to return to her manipulative form. Sesshoumaru's breathing was undoubtedly haggard, and unusually rapid. Blood trailed from the newer wounds on his sides and greatly from the shredded flesh of his right shoulder, but he ignored all of this, his stance never slouching from fatigue, and he looked toward the trees where Inuyasha was located.
His eyes contacted with his brothers, and then trailed down to where he knew the child was located; Inuyasha leapt down from the tree, carrying the girl, and walked over to his elder half-brother; a look of concern shown defined in his eyes. Sesshoumaru spoke briefly before Inuyasha leapt off again, this time not returning, and the full-demon turned to Yusuke; he raised an eyebrow slightly as he did so. Yusuke took the action as a sign that it was safe enough to come out without having to fight anybody, and Hiei landed next to the dog-demon, his eyes instinctively moving to the wounds that he bore. Sesshoumaru shrugged this off, and turned to Yusuke, whom he just knew was going to ask a question.
Yusuke: So, uh…What'd we miss, exactly?
Sesshoumaru: Nothing of your concern. Do you know the location of these "Gemstones" that dragon speaks of?
Yusuke: Well, no; but we have the other half of the team looking for them now.
Sesshoumaru: Very well then…I shall return later; for the meantime, I suggest you make your way to the castle.
Without another word or allowing one to be thrown his direction, Sesshoumaru walked past him and through the dense trees. His energy feeling slowly faded away, and after watching the direction in which the dog-demon lord had gone, Hiei and Yusuke turned to Abunai and where she was fighting the other demon on the ground, apparently trying to keep him down. However, she lost the fight, and he knocked her backward, standing after he did so, with his hand to his bare stomach. Blood dripped over his fingers, but he seemed to shrug this off as he looked at the two beings standing near him; he wasn't too sure who they were, but he did have a clue as to why they were there.
"You must be here to meet with Sesshoumaru. Well, as you can see, he likes to run off at times like these; you wouldn't happen to know where exactly he ran off to, would you?
Hiei: No, we don't; who might you be?
"I should be asking you that question, but very well; I suppose introductions are in order… My name is Taisei; I suppose you can determine why. I am a very distant relative of the dog-demon you know; fourth-cousin, to be exact, and a few times removed. Make no mistake, however; I am indeed not related in any way to that half-bred mongrel of a canine called Inuyasha; Sesshoumaru is my only true living relative. Now, who are you?"
Yusuke: (points respectively) Hiei; Yusuke. Detectives…well, he's a detective; I'm a demon lord--but then again, he really doesn't detect, because he was supposed to be watching the gateway to the Demon World--
Hiei: We work for Koenma…Unfortunately. Since its apparent that Sesshoumaru isn't here at this precise moment, what do we do?
Taisei: Go to the castle. Oh, but you see that giant one over there against the mountain? It isn't real, between you and I. The real one is underground, and in a completely different worldwhere it was moved after the Feudal Era, five-hundred years previous...you'll understand when you see it.
Yusuke: Why move a castle? Was it in danger or something?
Taisei: It holds several valuable items, such as heirlooms, treasures, and the sort. To be honest, he had replicas of the place built all over the Demon World, so his enemies couldn't find the real one; some are mirages, and others are just fakes. And even if you were lucky enough to make it to the right location, you'd have to navigate a dark maze to find the proper of his twelve underground homes.
Yusuke: Twelve?! How did he get twelve identical castles build underground?!
Abunai: The simple fact that people fear him. Now--(turns to Taisei)--You'd better get to that castle, before you collapse from blood-loss. That's no minor injury, you know.
Taisei: Woman, please. I'm well able of taking care of myself.
Abunai: You are impossible; (looks at Hiei) Oh, Hiei; there was a woman looking for you earlier today. She's at the castle; I told her to just wait for you. Do you know who she is?
Hiei: Hn…If only I didn't.
Yusuke: What is with you and that woman? She's nice enough; what about her don't you like?
Hiei: She's an immature child; her interests aren't up to standards with mine.
Taisei: Do you refer to the female with the long violet hair, and strange eyes? In my opinion, she seems very mature, but I suppose that's because I look at women in a different light than you may…Nonetheless, I do believe you will change your mind when we arrive at the castle; who you'll find may surprise you…
Well, that's the end of another chapter. I would have updated sooner, but I hadn't realized anyone had read this newer story yet. Also, zee, you were confused as to why I changed my name and profile. Well, because you missed the author note before it was erased, I'll just fill you in here, and get you out of the dark. You see, I know you may be tired of hearing this, but Silver Cerberus: AKA, Chris, wasn't the one to write that other story. I was the one to do so, and I had given him a copy of this fan fiction work. He must have copied it and posted it as his, and his sister's (?), I think…but I'm not too sure. Anyway, I don't really care that he did it, seeing as how I never even knew about the site before then, so now that I do, I think I'll post some other stories under other anime that I like. So, no hard feelings toward him, and I'm willing to let the whole thing drop since he is. To be honest, he helped me, rather than hindered, because now, I know there are people out there besides him that think I'm a good writer.
So, from now on, all honesty, and to all of the others (3?) that reviewed, I appreciate it! Makes me feel all loved and everything! The loyal reviewers are back, so I see, and as I get to know you myself, I hope we can get to more friendly terms…Even though I can tell you're nice. So, keep those reviews commin', and any criticism and help is appreciated. I may need it before the half-way point has been reached. Oh, and that preview at the end of the other story was valid; I just have to find a way to tie it all in together…