In the previous chapter, The appearance of two longtime rivals of the troupe hampers their search. A soul is taken in vengeance for a lost sister, and a barter is made. A plot for revenge is thickened by a tug on familial strings.

For the record (ahem): I do not own, in whole or in part, any part of the Inuyasha franchise. Nor do I own any of the characters from said franchise that is used forthwith. The following story is solely based on the ramblings of a college student at a boring job and is not to be taken or believed as part of the true Inuyasha saga. That being said, please enjoy my first attempt at fan fiction. Feel free to critique ad nauseum. (Whew!)

Chapter Seven – The Mirror Cracked

Shippo regaled the tale of his heroism to Rin, acting as stoic as he could muster in his excitement. Rin, doing her part, kept picking flowers and giving them to Shippo as thanks for saving her life. They giggled and talked and played around Sesshomaru, who was trying his hardest not to just ignore them and get back to Kagome.

Children are a worthless distraction. He looked upwards toward the direction his instincts told him to go. It would be better for you and them if you just flew up and away from here as fast as possible. He shook his mind to clear his head of that thought. Kagome would not like it if I left these two alone. And after what happened last time, I have no doubt that they would indeed get into trouble.

Rin clapped audaciously as Shippo finally finished telling the tale, ending with his heroically throwing Rin's soul out of the way. Sesshomaru had to focus his energy on the new task at hand to not let loose the smile that was trying to steal across his face. Shippo did act more bravely than I thought he would be capable of doing. He looked back down at Rin, who seemed oblivious to how close she was to loosing her soul in Hell. Admit it. You are satisfied that she is again prattling on at your side. A slight nod shook his head. It is much better than carrying her lifeless body. I would rather have her throwing flowers at him than me, though.

He stopped short, before he toppled headlong over a suddenly frozen Rin. She made no movement at all. "Rin?" Shippo walked in front of her, waving a hand in front of her eyes. Still no movement.

Sesshomaru bent down and grabbed Rin by the shoulders, gently but firmly turning her to face him. She had the tired eyes of someone with a dreadful fever. As if she were crying, but had no more tears. What is this? "Rin. Wake up, we must move on."

His voice stirred her eyes, which glossed blankly over his face. The hollow gesture again sent a chill up his spine. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Can't you feel it?"

When the words left her mouth, Sesshomaru felt a sudden and sharp chill from his feet through his claws. What was that? It was as if, for a moment, all my power was pulled from my body. I felt mortal.

He looked again into her eyes and watched as a single snowflake landed dead center on Rin's nose. As it melted, she shook her head and giggled at the chilled feeling. Life sprang back into her eyes as she looked up at the graying sky. "Ah! It is beginning to snow!"

Not wanting to waste any more time, Sesshomaru scooped up the two children and jumped into the sky towards his mate.

The light was so intense that Miroku couldn't keep his eyes focused on the mirror at its center. He shielded his face and squeezes his eyes shut. This isn't normal. He began to feel something cold passing through him. Or was it on him? He couldn't tell, he just felt enormously cold.

Inuyasha, who was at the very edge of the clearing, shielded his eyes at the same time, but did not close them. He tried to get closer to Kanna, but the closer he got, the stronger the light seemed to get. Only a few feet from her, he stopped dead in his tracks. He felt extremely strange. And cold. This feels familiar. He felt as he did when he changed at the new moon. I feel mortal. What the hell is going on here? He looked around him and saw that all four of them – Kagome, Miroku, Sango and himself – were surrounded by the light. The light isn't everywhere, it is concentrated on us. "You didn't break it, Kagome! Kanna is doing something!"

Kagome was completely blinded by the light, because she was standing in the direct path of the mirror. "What is this? I feel so cold…" She fell to her knees, too busy trying to shield her face from the painfully bright light to continue to stand.

"So do I," agreed Miroku.

"I feel like a fuckin' mortal. What is going on?" Inuyasha tried to hold up Tetsusaiga in defense, but it felt so heavy that he couldn't lift it off the ground.

Miroku slumped over Sango in automatic defense, trying to protect her body from the light. "I think she is gathering our powers in the mirror."

"Stop her, Inyasha…" Kagome sounded frantic. Probably scared, thought Inuyasha, still feeling decidedly acidic towards her.

"How the hell is she managing to do that? I saw the arrow hit the mirror." Inuyasha was becoming increasingly frustrated at his waning powers. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his hair beginning to darken. "Shit!"

The monk saw the light beginning to fade through his eyelids and cautiously opened one eye. As he did, he noticed that it was also beginning to snow. In fact, as the light faded, the snow started to come down harder. It was beginning to cover everything like a blanket. Miroku stood up and strained to see the pale Kanna against the fresh white canvas. "I can't see her."

Inuyasha was also trying to see her, stepping the few feet to where he thought she was. "Damn! She isn't here." He looked up into the trees, but couldn't see higher than a few feet because of the thick snow. "It's a cover. That brat somehow managed to bring snow in. It is a perfect cover for that ghostly white brat."

He was about to run off after her when Kohaku's sickle just missed the side of his face. "What the…" He quickly turned to see Kohaku standing a few feet from him, recoiling the chain. "So she left you to finish us off, huh?"

Miroku chose to leave Sango's body for a moment and ran to Inuyasha's side. The hanyou snickered at the gesture of concern. "Go back to Sango. I can handle him."

Miroku flicked his staff into Inuyasha's hair, bringing it in front of Inuyasha's face. "You seem to have lost your powers, Inuyasha."

He jerked his head away from Miroku. "Even without my demon power, I can beat this brat." He tensed as he said this, though. I can't kill him. Sango will never forgive me. It will be just a little harder to accomplish subduing him without my strength.

Kohaku jumped back and raised his blade. Both Inuyasha and Miroku poised for the attack.

But nothing came. He just stood there, with the pained blank expression still in his eyes. Miroku pointed his staff behind the boy. "Look! There she is." Miroku saw Kanna behind Kohaku. She reached into his left hand and retrieved the little jar of jewel shards. He's waiting for her to take the shards. He is just a puppet. "I don't have a good feeling about this…"

Kanna looked at the pair. "I told you I would require the shards. My master will be please you were so easily swayed." As she said this, she laid her hand on Kohaku's shoulder. "Naraku said you have served him well. He will let you stay here now." And ripped the jewel shard out of his back. Kohaku yelled as the shard was taken from him, then fell to his knees. Instead of falling forward, though, he slumped back on his haunches, with his head lowered, as the snow began to cover him.

Before either of them could react, the snow again blinded them to Kanna's movements, and she was gone. Inuyasha sniffed the air, at least trying to tell which direction she went, but could not due to the heavy fog of snow in the air. "Damn! I don't know where she went."

Miroku went to Kohaku, relieved to find that at least he was breathing. "We know where she went. She went back to Naraku. We can follow her."

Inuyasha sighed as he assessed their situation. "Yeah. With two lifeless bodies in tow."

"One," Sango softly replied as she tried to sit up. She felt so weak and cold. Miroku smiled in relief as she got into a crawling position to make her way over to her brother.

Sesshomaru found his way to the group in the forest, but just barely. About a foot of snow had made its way to the ground where Inuyasha was standing, still trying in vain to sniff Kanna out. The taiyoukai let the children loose and scoured the area. It barely registered that his brother was now a mortal. Only one thought was on his mind. "Where is Kagome?"

Inuyasha eyed his brother with high disdain. "What do you mean? She is over…" She wasn't where she had fallen a moment ago. Only a smooth blanket of snow. He and his brother converged on the spot. There are no footprints. Nothing.

Sesshomaru's eyes turned red with fury as he crouched on his knees and began pawing at the snow. After a tense moment, he saw the red scarf she wore around her neck. Inuyasha forgot his hatred of both of them and helped clear the heavy snow. They unearthed her nearly frozen body. Lifeless. "That little bitch stole her right out from under us. She is being taken to Naraku."

Sesshomaru gingerly picked her up and stood. He stared at her for a moment, as if she would suddenly wake up. But he knew it. Kanna had somehow managed to steal her soul from her body. And he hadn't been there to protect her. After taking her as a mate, I left her to fend for herself and she failed. I failed. He did not know what to do. A primal scream worked its way out of his throat that sent shockwaves through everyone around him.

Kanna arrived at the castle, shaking the snow from her head and shoulders. She had expected to be greeted by Naraku eagerly taking the shards from her hand. Nothing. Unable to withstand the urge, she shook the bottle, listening to the little tingle of the shards against the chilled glass.

An evil laughter snaked across the castle, surrounding Kanna. It made her smile. Only a little. "You succeeded quickly, Kanna." She slightly bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Your sister would be proud."

The smile left her face at the mention of Kagura. She looked down at her mirror. I hold his mate in this mirror. He will pay for what he did to Kagura.

Naraku was pleased at the hatred welling up in his protégé. Emotion is new to her, and she doesn't quite know how to handle it. This is perfect. "Yes. Sesshomaru will pay. They will both pay for what they did to our happy family." His human-like form appeared in front of the girl and reached out his hand. "Give me the jewel shards, and I will begin to put our plan into place."

Kanna instantly did as he directed, wanting revenge but now knowing how to take it by herself. She was used to being a pawn, and it had never really bothered her before. Until she found she could do nothing on her own to avenge Kagura's death.

Coming Soon – Chapter Eight – Soul Exchange

The pawn returns to the master. Death is cheated again, but Sesshomaru cannot be satisfied. And a quest must be begun.