AN: It's a miracle! (bows to my muse) Yes, this is the whole chapter! Yay! And I wrote the second half of it in a single day - a single morning, even! (dances around) Okay, there's just one drawback - the promised action scene? Well, that's gonna be next chapter, sorry.. I wasn't expecting the set-up for the action scene to take up so much room, but the action scene will probably end up being pretty longanyway (wonders if that's a good thing or not..) This chapter is six pages as it is, and that's in size 10 font.. My chapters just get longer and longer.. Looking back at the first ones, I can't believe I thought some of them were lengthy, heh. I swear, though, if I keep moving the plot along so slowly, this thing will turn into a friggin' novel. Ugh. Stupid anal retentive muse.. she's just a stickler for details. That's how everything I write ends up way too long, because she won't let me leave out any tiny things.. And she's not great with that whole "concise wording" concept either, as you all have probably noticed. I know my demonic "creative writing" teacher did.. Grr.. Just a sidenote - never ever EVER take a class with the word "creative" in the name or class description..

Anyway, the next chapter will be up.. um.. hopefully within a month? School keeps stealing away most of my time, and unfortunately action scenes require a lot of writing and editing time, so in that sense, the hiatus continues..

And... don't bother to ask why I thought of tequila when I was trying to come up with a chapter name.. Heh. I think it works well, though. Yay for random bubbles of thought!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters except for Maina, Miharu, and Mai.. and at least one more before this thing ends. Seriously, I would hate to get sued over stealing anime characters for a little fanfiction hobby.. I'm holding out for an illegally-downloaded-music-files lawsuit... (laughs at the government)


Chapter Fifteen - Taiyoukai Sunrise

Quickly but quietly, Maina padded into Kaede's storage room. Pushing aside a stack of mixing bowls and a sack of dried medicinal herbs, she sighed with some relief. Sesshoumaru's armor and his two swords were still stowed in their hiding place. If he had all his strength back, he should have had no trouble sensing the strong aura of the Toukijin, and yet he had not come for it, therefore he mustn't have gone very far. She hurried back to the main room, slipped on her sandals, and pushed aside the door flap, taking a quick look back at the sleeping Inuyasha and Miroku before setting foot outside.

As the goddess stepped into the light of dawn, Ah-Uhn was disturbed from his briefly resumed sleep, but any irritation he felt at this second awakening was dispelled when his two heads rose to behold the familiar hair that shone with the reds and oranges of fall leaves in the morning sun. He cooed affectionately at her, an odd sound when made by a voice so rough as a dragon's, and was rewarded with a kind smile and a friendly pat for each of his heads.

"So he left you behind as well," Maina whispered to the dragon-steed. "Surely you saw him leave the hut - do you know where he went?" With a grunt, Ah motioned toward the half-risen sun.

"Thank you!" she said, waving as she began to jog eastward.

The left corner of Sesshoumaru's mouth raised ever slightly as he listened to Maina speaking to Ah-Uhn, but he decided he would wait until she was close to make himself known. There was worry in her voice - even in a faraway whisper he could hear it. What was there for her to worry over? The village was quiet, so certainly she wasn't worried that he'd begun killing the humans. Could it be she was worried because of his wound, even though she, having been the sole person treating it, knew that it was almost fully healed? For a being so old, one who had been alive well before even his grandfather's birth, her actions at times made less sense to him even than Rin's.

He sat quite still, hidden by the large tree, listening to her approaching footsteps as well as gauging her distance by the strength of her scent. Though sullied by living among the humans for the past four days, there was no mistaking it. Even as he sat beneath a tree, Maina's scent, nearly identical to that of her forest, was easily distinguishable. What was it about her forest that set it apart so from the rest of the world? Its plants differed even from those just outside its boundaries - was it the barrier's protection that was responsible? Did it protect the forest so well that it actually created within itself a separate ecosystem, allowing its plants to remain the same even as those outside evolved into subspecies, or perhaps even causing its plants to evolve more quickly than those outside, as all the plants were allowed to survive and reproduce rather than the strongest alone?

The crunch of leaves about a meter behind him brought Sesshoumaru's thoughts back to reality.

"Maina," he said impassively, smirking when he heard her quiet sigh of relief.

"Sesshoumaru, what are you doing out here?" she asked, stepping in front of him. He only smirked up at her from his spot on the ground. He wore only his hakama, his torso left bare save the bandage wrapped around his stomach, with his left leg outstretched and his right bent up, serving as an armrest. Maina squatted before him so that she was at his eye level. "You're supposed to be resting for an entire week." His smirk remained - her scolding held more relief than anger.

"If you were in my position, you'd have been sneaking out of doors the first day."

"Hmmph," huffed the goddess, though she offered no protest. She eyed his bandage for a moment, her face softening. "Does your wound still pain you?" she asked quietly.

"Only if I move too suddenly."

"That's good.." She turned her eyes to the ground, seemingly interested by the dead, dry leaves littered about. Normally Sesshoumaru would have been content to drop a conversation thus, but the goddess' silence and pensive expression troubled him on some level - and in that same corner of his mind was a strong suggestion of what he might do to rectify that. He assured himself that the feeling was merely a product of hormones, or some similar thing.

"Maina.." Her attention and her eyes snapped back to him, and Sesshoumaru caught himself, for a brief instant, staring into those odd depths of silver and blue interspersed among the naturesque greens and browns. It had to be hormones.

"Yes?"

"Sit with me." Maina quirked up an eyebrow, likely something she had unconsciously picked up from him.

"I am sitting with you.."

"No, you are sitting in front of me, as you have been for the past four days," he told her, gently grasping and tugging on her wrist. With a smile and a breathy chuckle, she settled between his legs, somewhat leaning against his right one with her own legs draped over his left.

"Much better.," Sesshoumaru said quietly. Laying her head between his neck and shoulder, Maina watched the purples and pinks of the sky fading as the sun rose almost completely from its resting place beyond the mountains. Silence reigned once more, but it was a pleasant one.

As the last traces of dawn disappeared, Sesshoumaru's lone arm encircled the goddess.

"How long has it been," he began softly, "since we spent so much time together without…"

"Since before our first time, I believe," she laughed.

"I thought as much.."

"If you intend to rectify that, I suggest we do so somewhere more private."

"I meant nothing by it. I was merely curious.."

"Of course," Maina said with a sly grin which, unbeknownst to her, as her eyes remained focused on the sky, was perfectly mirrored on Sesshoumaru's face. Maina fell silent, but it was not for several more minutes that Sesshoumaru turned his eyes from the sky and again looked upon her.

To his amusement, he discovered that she had fallen asleep. The humans, he knew, usually did not wake until at least an hour after sunrise, so certainly he could allow her sleep for just a short while..

He watched her in silence, idly combing his fingers through her hair. Her steady breathing, the warmth of her body against him, and even her scent served to calm his every nerve, though for the life of him he could not say why.

It was not long before Sesshoumaru, too, succumbed to sleep - a peaceful sleep of the kind usually found only when he laid in their private hut in her forest, a sleep that was not haunted by memories, but that was deep and dreamless..

Kagome was awakened by Shippo's small feet kicking her side, though his kicks were more like repetitive pokes. Opening her heavy eyes upon the kit, she saw that he was still asleep, his eyes tightly shut. He reminded her of a dog trying to run in its sleep.

'Poor Shippo,' she thought, 'he must be dreaming about the Thunder Brothers chasing after him again..'

Taking a quick glance around at the partially sunlit room, she knew it was still a bit early, but decided she may as well get up - perhaps she would have time to study a bit before the others arose; after all, her test was fast approaching. Carefully sliding out of her sleeping bag, Kagome moved Shippo to the center and tucked the blanket around him. She gently kissed his soft, fuzzy forehead, which seemed to calm him, as his eyes relaxed and his legs stopped moving so quickly.

She moved silently toward the door, stepping lightly between the still sleeping Sango and Kaede. Only when she had passed them and was sure they had not awoken did she notice the empty bedding near the room's doorway. Kagome unconsciously raised an eyebrow. Maina had been the last to awaken every morning since her arrival, but suddenly she was the first. Where could she have gone so early?

A few more steps found Inuyasha and Miroku still sleeping, but Sesshoumaru's bed was empty. A sour feeling took root in the pit of her stomach. Had they left sometime during the night? Maina had told her yesterday that Sesshoumaru's wounds were nearly healed, but Kagome knew better than anyone how shaken Maina had been on the day of the battle - she was sure the goddess would not allow him to leave until he was fully healed. But, perhaps they had not left together; perhaps Sesshoumaru had escaped, thinking himself healed enough to do so, and Maina had awoken sometime later and gone after him. But if that was the case, wouldn't Maina have alerted the others? Powerful as she was, she certainly didn't have the tracking abilities of Inuyasha or Kirara, and all of them, even Inuyasha, eventually, had welcomed her into their company. Surely she knew that she could count on their help if she needed it..

If nothing else, wouldn't she have wanted to say goodbye?

Kagome stood by the door flap, unsure of whether she should wake the others and search them out or just let them go. Kagome believed that Maina was their friend, but perhaps that didn't mean all that much. After all, they weren't allies, but two separate groups of allies - Sesshoumaru and Maina were allies, as were Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and herself, but depending on the half-brothers' moods, they could be two enemy camps or temporary allies against Naraku. Perhaps the idea of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru putting aside their differences was just a pipe dream after all..

'Putting aside..'

Kagome grew stiff as her thoughts came to a sudden halt. Quietly hitting her forehead with the base of her palm, she turned toward Sesshoumaru's abandoned bedding.

'Kagome, you idiot! That furry thing of Sesshoumaru's is still beside his bed! He wouldn't have just left it here! They're probably right outside the hut somewhere!'

Her temporary idiocy was confirmed when, as she stepped outside the hut, one of Ah-Uhn's heads lifted slightly to greet her. She could have sworn that odd dragon creature looked quite frustrated before the awakened head lowered again, but she waved it off as another product of the stupid side of her brain.

As she pondered where to begin looking for them, she noticed that the large maple tree nearby had acquired an oddly white above-ground root. As she walked toward it, she both scolded herself for thinking that a pair of legs sticking out of a white sleeping kimono looked like a root and thanked the foolish thought for drawing her attention.

As she approached the tree, a third white-clad leg became visible, this one Sesshoumaru's, but she could hear no talking. She was careful not to make noise, as it would be all the more noticeable to the taiyoukai's sensitive ears if she made a sound when all else was silent.

Peeking around the tree at them, Kagome was overwhelmed by the little scene.

The two of them sat sleeping, Sesshoumaru nestled between the tree's roots and Maina cradled between his legs with his arm draped around her. The early morning sun kissed the couple with its soft light, bringing a slight glow to their white garments and a platinum shine to Sesshoumaru's hair. Maina's hair had spilled over her shoulder like a loose shawl, shining with autumnal golds and deep reds. Her head rested near his right shoulder, and his cheek in turn rested lightly upon the crown of her head. And both of them looked so peaceful.. Sesshoumaru had always carried a look of cold indifference, and Maina had maintained a solemn sadness for the majority of her time in the village, so the calmness of their faces as they slept all but entranced Kagome.

Despite her common complaints about its weight, Kagome found herself wishing she had a camera stowed away in her massive yellow pack. It would have made such a perfect picture..

Until Kagome shifted her weight onto her left foot, snapping the twig that happened to be beneath it.

Kagome felt her face flush as Sesshoumaru's eyes fluttered open and stared coldly up at her.

"Um, sorry..," she whispered. "I just saw that you were gone and.."

"Quiet," came the whispered command. Already a bit flustered, Kagome simply complied. She wasn't exactly eager to receive whatever reprimand Sesshoumaru might give her for intruding on his privacy, but what could she do about it now? She stood silently as Sesshoumaru spared a lengthy glance at the still sleeping goddess.

"Go back to the hut and stall the hanyou," he told her at last. Kagome blinked incredulously. Could it be that he wasn't angry at her?

Sesshoumaru let out an irritated sigh. The human girl was utterly useless.

"I will wake Maina in a moment, and then we shall return to the old miko's hut. Until then, keep Inuyasha from tearing the village apart to find me," he explained.

"Oh, I get it," Kagome said with a nod, though she was still confused over his leniency. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her.

"Go."

"Huh? Oh, right!" she whispered, shaking her head and hurrying back to the hut.

"Humans..," Sesshoumaru muttered.

"So this is the ramen I keep hearing about?"

"Yup, in its full glory: styrofoam cup, some dehydrated vegetables, and even a few rare and tiny pieces of shrimp," Kagome said with sarcastic emphasis, stirring the contents of her cup around with her chopsticks to show it off. Maina picked up a single long, wavy noodle with her own chopsticks.

"Ah, these are the same noodles you added to that chicken dish at dinner the other day.."

"That's right. They're really versatile.."

"And Inuyasha can't seem to get enough of them..," Maina said with a sly grin.

"That's for sure," Kagome laughed.

"So this is all for today's lunch, then?"

"A cup of ramen is more filling than you might think!"

"Hmm.." Maina stared contemplatively at the steam escaping from the row of cups. "If this is all we're having, then we don't need trays or plates, right?"

"Right. You just eat the stuff right out of the cup." Maina spun toward Kagome, flashing a pleasant smile.

"Since our lunch is portable, how about we eat outdoors?"

"Oh, that's a great idea! We can have a picnic!" Kagome exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Suddenly, her smile straightened into a thoughtful line. "What about Sesshoumaru though?"

"His wounds are healing excellently - there's no problem with him venturing outside at this point."

"Uh, yeah, I know that part," Kagome mumbled, hoping she hadn't started blushing. Maina hadn't found out about her stumbling upon the two of them that morning, and every one else had luckily remained asleep until after Sesshoumaru had returned to the hut with her. Nevertheless, Kagome felt a bit awkward about the incident. "What I mean is, I doubt Sesshoumaru will want to sit around with Inuyasha, not to mention us humans, for an outdoor lunch.."

"Don't fret, Kagome, I can handle him. Between me working to keep Sesshoumaru's temper in check and you doing the same with Inuyasha, I'm sure we can keep the peace long enough to eat lunch."

"I guess you're right, Maina.. After all, they've been eating in the same room for four days without killing each other, so maybe preventing a fight in a closer sitting arrangement won't be too difficult.."

"Exactly. So tell me, do you think the ramen has cooked long enough now?'

"It only takes three minutes; it should be perfect by now!" Kagome said, peeking beneath the lid of one cup just to be sure. "All right, help yourself to a cup, Maina. I'm going to tell the others it's ready."

"So we're not playing waitresses today?"

"Are you kidding? I can't balance a bunch of full cups of hot soup with just two arms!" she laughed. Maina chuckled and peeled the lid from the two nearest cups, plunging her chopsticks into one and grabbing a clean pair for Sesshoumaru. It was enough work persuading the taiyoukai to eat the humans' cooking - she wasn't about to tell him to go and get the food himself.

It was beyond awkward.

Somehow, the mismatched group of four humans, three youkai, a hanyou, and a goddess, thrown together by nearly mind-boggling circumstances of fate, and even time travel, had managed to sit together in a fairly close circle for a picnic lunch, and as of yet no blood had been spilled.

Unfortunately, no words had been spilled either..

Nine pairs of eyes, brown ones, gold ones, green ones, red ones, and a certain pair of oddly mottled ones darted about nervously, all waiting for someone to speak.

Both Kagome's and Maina's eyes shifted nervously from Sesshoumaru to Inuyasha and back again. Sesshoumaru glared disinterestedly at his cup of ramen, stealing an occasional glance at Inuyasha or Maina. Inuyasha stared at Sesshoumaru, every minute or so sending an annoyed look to Kagome for having talked him into this. Miroku, who had taken a seat beside Sesshoumaru, as he tolerated him above the other humans, stole nervous peeks at the taiyoukai, trying to see if he were angry or not, but having no luck at seeing through his perpetual stoicism. Sango watched the half-brothers as well as their unofficial partners - she could see that they were keeping constant guard to prevent any violence, but it seemed to her that Inuyasha was the more dangerous one at the moment, glaring in the way he was. Sesshoumaru seemed disinterested in his despised half-brother's rudeness, however, and was politely and indiscreetly eating from his cup, which alone required a raised tray, as he had no second hand to hold it. Even Kirara was wary of the tension in the air, though, keeping close to Sango and looking around as if waiting for the impending battle to begin.

Kaede and Shippo looked to one another every once in a while, exchanging glances of stifled amusement at their friends' anxious faces.

Kagome, always the most friendly and peaceful influence of the group, was inevitably the one to finally break the ice.

"Uh.. So, it's a really pretty day today, isn't it? It's not too hot or too cold, and there's a nice cool breeze..," she began nervously.

"Yes, it's a perfect day to be outdoors," Sango added.

"And.. It's so nice to have a meal out here," Maina joined in shakily. "It's quite a relief after spending so much time inside, don't you think, Sesshoumaru?"

He turned his eyes on her, raising a questioning eyebrow. He hadn't expected her to drag him out here to eat with the hanyou and his friends, of course, but to try to bring him into a conversation with them as well? It was absurd. With a breathy "hmmph," he turned his attention back to the ramen, though he really didn't care for it - it was merely something to look at besides Inuyasha. No doubt the idiot would draw Tetsusaiga in an instant if Sesshoumaru returned his irritating glare..

Maina kept her narrowed eyes on Sesshoumaru. This whole thing had been her idea, though only Kagome knew that, and it was therefore her fault if it worsened the tensions between the half-brothers. She had to lighten the situation somehow, and fast. Perhaps she could... No, that would be suicide! But, then again, it might just be stupid enough to work..

"You know, Sesshoumaru, it wouldn't kill you to stop being such a grouch for a while," she muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear - that much was confirmed when everyone stopped eating and breathing all at once.

Sesshoumaru's chopsticks fell from his hand and clattered onto the tray as he turned a death glare on Maina. She confidently glared right back. Across the circle, Shippo began to inch his way behind Kagome.

"Is that so?" Sesshoumaru said at last.

"Yes. You've been a horrible guest, you know. You could try to be a bit friendlier." Sesshoumaru said nothing, merely cracking his knuckles in the space between them, showing off his claws. By this point, Kirara had taken after Shippo's example and hidden behind Sango, her nose alone peeking out.

"For instance," Maina continued, "you could start by complimenting Kagome on the lunch she prepared for us."

Kagome would have pleaded that there was no need for compliments, but at the moment it seemed fear, or perhaps Kirara, had her tongue..

"She did a really good job with these noodles, surely you agree?" Maina pulled a noodle from her cup for emphasis, twisting it around her finger. Sesshoumaru only maintained his glare. He knew she had to be going somewhere with this, he just didn't know…

splat!

Gasps of shock escaped from the humans and Shippo - Inuyasha, however, wore a goofy smile as he tried to stifle the belly-laugh that threatened to erupt from him.

With the same eerily calm manner he kept during battle, Sesshoumaru grasped the offending ramen noodle between two of his claws and peeled the slimy, wet thing off of his forehead. Maina's hitherto impassive face broke into a wide grin as the rest of the group braced themselves for the shockwaves of battle.

Sesshoumaru's face twisted into a smirk that spoke of devious intentions. The others watched in wonder as he dipped the noodle into his own cup, bringing it back out dripping wet with broth.

splat!

"Ah!" Maina squeaked, frantically pulling the fabric of her top outward and fishing the wet noodle out from between her breasts. Sesshoumaru allowed a few breathy chuckles to escape his throat. Maina threw the noodle to the ground angrily, glaring at the taiyoukai's amused expression.

"I believe the humans have an appropriate saying for such a situation," Sesshoumaru began, his sly smirk subtly growing into a sly grin.

"A saying about throwing noodles down a lady's clothing?" she growled.

"They say, Maina, that turnabout is fair play.."

Maina's angry scowl quickly became a smile against her will. Laughing, she playfully smacked at Sesshoumaru's arm.

The others were simply too shocked to laugh, even Inuyasha. How could they have possibly laughed? Sesshoumaru had suddenly developed a sense of humor right before their eyes- but didn't the heartless, cold youkai who made attempts on all of their lives whenever he felt like it think that killing people was humorous? To put it simply, the whole thing was more creepy than funny to them..

Kaede raised slightly a solitary eyebrow, smiling to herself. It seemed her suspicions about the couple did indeed have some merit..

Suddenly, the rare and almost playful expression on Sesshoumaru's face was gone. He tilted his head up, eyes narrowed, a growl beginning to rumble deep within his chest. He moved his head from side to side in an almost birdlike fashion, listening for some unknown thing as his nose tested the air.

"What is it?" Maina asked.

"Naraku..," he snarled, fangs bared.

"Naraku, here? You're kidding, right..?" Kagome asked, though she knew as well as any of them that Sesshoumaru was not one to kid about such a thing, whether or not he'd grown a sense of humor..

"Now that you mention it, I'm starting to smell his stench too," Inuyasha mumbled, setting his ramen cup on the ground. Nearby, Kirara distanced herself from Sango and transformed in a blaze of fire to her larger battle form. Even Ah-Uhn, still hitched at the nearby hut, had noticed Naraku's scent by now - he pulled against his reigns, snarling menacingly at the sky.

Maina and the humans, however, could sense nothing of him, and the sky seemed just as harmless as it had been a moment before.

Sesshoumaru rose to his feet, facing north, watching the sky silently and diligently. He could not be sure what exactly this threat was - a puppet, a youkai incarnation, or Naraku himself. The only thing he knew was that it carried the scent of Naraku and it was coming at them fast.

Maina stood beside Sesshoumaru, already gathering power into her hands, readying herself to create a barrier if necessary. Miroku and Inuyasha soon followed suit, Miroku holding his shakujou in a defensive stance and Inuyasha keeping his hand on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. Kaede, Kagome, and Sango hurried to the hut, taking a protesting Shippo with them. If Naraku had really arrived, both old Kaede and Shippo needed to take shelter. Within seconds, Kagome and Sango returned to the others, having retrieved their weapons.

Sesshoumaru was confounded. He knew by the strengthening of the scent that their enemy was getting closer by the second, but even with his enhanced senses he could see nothing, nor could anyone else.

"Damnit, what the hell's going on here! Where is he?" Inuyasha yelled.

"I can sense a foreign youki, but it's not nearly as strong as Naraku's," Miroku observed.

"And I can't sense any jewel shards," Kagome added.

"This doesn't make any sense," Inuyasha growled in frustration. "I can smell him coming but I can't see a damned thing!"

"Perhaps Naraku is using some sort of barrier to hide himself, or whatever it is he's sent here..," Sango suggested.

"The invisibility barriers used by youkai and humans are far from perfect," Maina said. "If Naraku was using such a barrier, I would be able to see it."

"So, this thing has Naraku's scent and fairly strong youki, yet we cannot see it. It has no jewel shards, nor a barrier hiding it. Who, or what, could this foe possibly be?" Miroku pondered.

"Three black specks," Sesshoumaru stated softly.

"Huh!" Inuyasha and the humans said together.

"I see them!" Maina exclaimed. "Up there!"

Sooner than the others could make out the tiny dots in the sky, they grew into large, shapeless blobs, speeding toward the ground the group stood on like the rocket-propelled missiles of Kagome's time. The objects swooped above their heads a split second before impact - fast enough to create a shock wave that sent chunks of earth flying and knocked the humans from their feet. It was only after this that the attackers paused in their flight, hovering a couple of feet above Sesshoumaru. Raising himself up from the ground, Miroku gasped in both surprise and confusion at the sight of them.

"They're… saimyoushou?"

AN: Muahaha.. Cliffieness again! How I love leaving everyone hanging while I attempt to write the next chapter before 2006 arrives...