Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha gang! I only own Kazel (the dragon demon).

Kazel: The Dragon Demon

Chapter 4:

Song of the Flute

"Did you tell them?"

"Yes, Master Naraku. I have told them everything."

Naraku looked at the figure obscured in darkness before him. He could only see the slight gleam of the Flute of Michara strapped to the figure's belt. Naraku reached his hand out to touch the scales on the shoulder of the dragon demon that lay beside him, "Good work. Now lead them to me… It is time for them to meet the dragon…"

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"I'm thirsty." --Shippo

"We know, Shippo. That's like the millionth time you've said that since we left the clearing." --Kagome

After a few moments silence, Shippo continued talking, "Do you want to know what I find weird about this whole dragon demon thing?"

"What?" --Sango

"If there is a dragon demon running around, why have we not run into it yet? Because we always seem to run into any sort of trouble before we meet someone who tells us about it." --Shippo

"You know what, Shippo?" --Inuyasha

"What?" --Shippo

"Maybe you should shut up for once." --Inuyasha

"Hey!" --Shippo

While the bickering between Shippo and Inuyasha continued, the group continued walking through the forest, which was growing increasingly thicker around them. Soon, they all had to fight their way through the bramble, even Shippo, who normally had no problems walking through bushes.

"Is this forest ever going to--" Kagome was just about to finish her question when all of them fell through a line of brush and onto a stretch of grass along a vast glassy lake. "--end?"

"Finally! Water!" Shippo exclaimed, and he ran over towards the edge of the lake and began to guzzle the water.

"Now that we finally got out of that stifling forest, I need to rest. And I need a drink of that water over there." --Sango

"Good idea, Sango. We all need a rest from all that walking and climbing we did today." --Miroku

Sango then immediately followed Shippo to the edge of the lake.

"You know what's weird?" --Inuyasha

"What?" --Kagome

"Why is there a lake in the middle of a dense forest that seems to go on forever?" --Inuyasha

"Good point, Inuyasha. Why would a lake just suddenly appear at the edge of a forest?" --Kagome

"I don't know. But while it's here, we might as well take advantage of it and fill our water supply." --Miroku

"While you're doing that, Miroku, I'll start making something to eat. I'll bet everyone's hungry. Inuyasha, go cut some firewood." --Kagome

"Why do I always have to get the wood?" --Inuyasha

"Take Kiara with you. She can help carry it." --Kagome

"Fine with me, Miss Bossy!" --Inuyasha

"Just go do it Inuyasha, if you want any hot food!" --Kagome

Inuyasha couldn't argue with that, so he and Kiara left to go find some wood for a decent fire.

LATER…

The fire was crackling as the group prepared to sleep by the edge of the calm lake. Even when a small breeze blew, the surface did not give even so much as a ripple.

"Night, everyone."

"Good night, Kagome." --Shippo

Not one of them had their eyes closed for two minutes when a loud roar ripped through the night sky.

"What was that!" –Kagome

Everyone was now wide-awake because they could hear the sound echoing throughout the valley.

"(Miroku) That sounded like—

Another roar, which sounded oddly closer than the last one, pierced the air. Inuyasha placed his hand over the hilt of his sword in preparation for danger. Everyone was standing now, not sure what to do. The next sound that the small group of friends heard was the faint sound of someone playing a flute.

"Where is that coming from?" –Sango

"How could someone be playing music at a time like this?" –Shippo

The flute stopped playing as suddenly as it had started. Everyone looked around warily, especially at the trees behind.

Inuyasha didn't like this one bit. All the suspense was making him tense, and slightly nervous. His eyes narrowed during the long silence left after the end of the flute's tune. 'Where the hell did that come from?' he thought to himself. 'This is not good… The roaring… the flute… they're connected somehow… I can feel it… But how could a flute sound like a roar?'