Chapter 16

"Dammit all!" Inuyasha looked every bit the dog as he crawled on hands and knees trying to catch any trace of Kagome's scent. It was tainted by the scent of wolf, bird, and blood. Plus the wind Kouga created as he ran kept her scent from sticking to anything heavily.

"Anything yet Inuyasha?" Miroku called impatiently.

"I ain't a fucking bloodhound! Just give me a second!"

"Maybe we could split up? Miroku and I could go higher up and see if we catch anything." Sango suggested. Inuyasha growled in response, his frustration evident. She thought about putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, something she'd seen Kagome do for him many times. It always seemed to relax him, but she wasn't sure how he'd take it coming from her.

Sango suddenly stiffened at the feel of a hand on her leather covered behind. She colored and delivered a stinging slap to Miroku's cheek. "Now is not the time you perv!"

"Sorry, my hand wonders when I'm stressed." The biting comment she wanted to throw his way was on the tip of her tongue, but suddenly Inuyasha was standing and his ears were twitching a mile a minute. Sango took a step forward to ask him what he heard, but he put a hand out to halt her.

"Someone's calling my name." He said. Soon the distant sound of Inuyasha's name rang throughout the clearing, but it didn't sound like Kagome at all.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha, can you hear me? Inuyasha!" Shippo continued to flap his wings as he made his way through the cliffs. He was quickly tiring, not used to using his magic this quickly or for so long. He'd been flying for what felt like hours, but probably wasn't even 10 minutes. He took a deep breath to continue calling out the hanyou's name, when he was abruptly snatched from the sky.

Shippo let out a small squeak as a clawed hand snaked around his neck, the pressure slight and not enough to cut off any air.

"Don't kill me, I'm just a kid!" He wailed, undoing his transformation and showing himself as he truly was. He opened his eyes for the briefest of moments, and realized he was being held by a dog demon with silver hair and red clothes. "Inuyasha! I found you!"

Confused, the half demon sent the little fox a chilling glare. "Who the fuck are you runt?"

Shippo swallowed hard and mentally told himself to stop shaking, "You gotta go save Kagome! The wolf demons still have her and they're probably angry that she set me free. She told me to come find you, she said you could save her!"

"You know where she is?" Sango spoke up from the background.

"Yes! I can take you to her." The group shared a brief glance before nodding in consensus.

"You lie and you're dead." Inuyasha threatened. Shippo shook his head vigorously in agreement and began to lead the group back in the direction from which he came.

Kagome stood on the edge of the cliff, hand stinging from the slap she'd given to Kouga and heart pounding with the fear of Shippo wouldn't find her friends in time.

"Everyone leave." Kouga never looked away from Kagome as he spoke. No one took a step. "Now!" He commanded, finally springing his followers into action. As the crowd dispersed Kagome began to grow nervous. There was nowhere for her to run, not with her back to the cliff and Kouga, one of the fastest demons she'd ever met, blocking her way.

She was surprised when Kouga walked away from her and sat on a nearby boulder. He patted the spot next to him in a gesture for her to join him, she gave him a suspicious look and he sighed.

"You've already defied me and accosted me girl. If I was going to kill you or eat you I would've done so already."

Kagome, agreeing with his points, decided to move closer to him. She kept a respectable distance, but obliged him by sitting on the rock.

"I don't blame you for trying to run," he started, "I forget how flighty you humans can be. Always needing to know what's what and make sense of things."

"You asked me for help." She stated, leaving room for the demon to elaborate.

"You can sense the shards and I need your powers to take a suspected shard from the birds of paradise. They nest in the cliffs east of here and have been picking off the men, women, and some children from my tribe. We have been mortal enemies for a long time, but there seems to be something different about them lately. I know it's the jewel."

"And what do you want me to do about that?"

"Tell me which bird has it, so I can kill it and take the shard. Without the power of the jewel those feathered vermin are no match for us. Though they will still attack from time to time."

"If I help you, you'll return me to my friends?"

"Yes." He said matter of factly, his eyes sincere and determined.

"Fine, take me to the nest."

"Look! A graveyard." Sango pointed out from Miroku's back. The small group flew over a canyon almost filled to the brim with bones. Wolf bones.

"More like feeding grounds." Shippo said. "We're passing the birds of paradise's nest, the greatest enemy of the wolves."

Inuyasha's face turned grim as they flew over the area. The itch under his skin he just couldn't scratch, becoming increasingly irritating. Kagome had been gone too long, it was taking too much time to find her. Every moment she was away was an opportunity for disaster to strike. He had to get back to her, make sure she was alright.

A small pop brought Inuyasha's attention to his right shoulder.

"Don't be so nervous, I bet Kagome is fine." Shippo said in a comforting tone. "She saved me. So she's gotta be strong, right?

He only reacted in anger because he was embarrassed. Embarrassed by the fact he was wearing his emotions so plainly on his sleeve even a damn child noticed what he was feeling.

"Keh! Don't talk like you know me!" Sending the kit from his shoulder with a flick of his wrist. If Kagome was around she would have annoyed him with a lecture on being nicer and why it was a better way to be. He dismissed the thought with an audible scoff.

It was the sound of falling rock and the screams of men that had them moving at a sprint. The stench of wolf and bird was ever present the closer they came to the commotion, but under that was a different scent. The scent he'd been on his hands and knees searching to find.

"Kagome!"

Kagome ducked as a large bird with one humanoid figure perched on top tried to grab her. She'd pointed Kouga to where she thought the jewel shard was. She could feel it's presence directly above at the peak of the mountain. Kouga didn't think he'd be able to fight with her on his back.

"You'll be save here." He'd said before making a mad dash up the rock. Little did he know he had virtually left her to be a sitting duck. There was no protection up here and it was too high to climb down herself. One misstep and she would be a goner. At least she had her bow.

The ugly creature came down once more, intent on taking her to its nest to eat her. She notched her arrow and let it fly, turning the beast to dust.

"What a shot sis!" She heard from down below. She peaked over to see Ginta and Hakakku waving at her enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes towards the sky. When they first arrived, Kouga had delivered a powerful battle speech. It was awe inspiring and rallied the troops. Giving them the courage to lay down their lives, if necessary, for their clan.

Then he'd boldly proclaimed her his woman. Grabbing her around the waist and planting a kiss to her lips that left her dazed. It was less the kiss itself and more from the shock of it all, that left her unable to react. She'd been so caught off guard she couldn't have dodged the gesture if she'd wanted to, which she very much did.

The whoops and hollers from his tribesmen had her cheeks aflame. She gave him a nasty talking to on their way towards the shards. Though, nothing she said deterred him or made him feel sorry in the least. The bastard had the audacity to actually smirk at her when she was done.

"I could die right now you know. Sometimes a man's greatest act of bravery has nothing to do with battle, but everything to do with his heart."

They were sweet words, though they did nothing to quell her anger. Kagome was just about to remind the wolves, that she was not, and never would be, their sister. No matter Kouga's claims she wasn't interested in him like that. But the words were stolen from her the minute she watched an unsuspecting Hakakku, be picked up and carried away by a giant bird.

"Someone help!" He yelled as sharp talons dug into his bicep. He was too young to be bird food! Just as the young demon was thinking it best to resign to his fate, he was released and quickly began to plummet to the earth. He felt more than heard Ginta grunt as he was caught in his best friend's arms.

"Are you okay Hakakku?" Ginta asked worriedly.

"Yeah, what happened?" He asked disoriented.

"Sis saved you!" Hakakku looked up at that. His sister's bow still pointed and ready to demolish any threat that came their way. She was a fighter. There was no wonder Kouga loved her.

Kagome couldn't wonder how Hakakku was doing for too long. The smashing of rocks above drawing her attention away. Kouga had somehow coaxed the bird with the shard out of it's domain. The thing looked similar to the other birds except there were two humanoid figures instead of one. She watched as Kouga was almost swallowed by its giant jaws. He tried to stick his weapons in it's mouth to stave them off, but the wood snapped under the pressure.

He evaded being eaten whole, but his left arm was caught between their razor shard teeth. He cried out and Kagome felt helpless. There wasn't enough space on the passage for her to turn around and shoot upwards.

She released her breath when Kouga flipped his body and sent his foot flying through their front teeth, releasing himself and falling limply to the surface below. He laid there, unmoving, and Kagome's hands began to shake. The bird of paradise was circling, like a vulture waiting for a carcass to rot and die.

"Get up Kouga!" She screamed. He didn't move an inch and the giant bird dove from the sky coming right for him...

"Iron reaver soul stealer!" A blur of red and silver passed through Kagome's vision. She heard the bird screech as its left wing was severed from its body.

"Ugly half-breed! How dare you!" It shrilled.

"Who you callin' ugly?" Inuyasha questioned as he pulled his sword from its sheath and turned to face the demon bird. He turned towards the wolf, who had slowly began to come to behind him.

"Glad you ain't dead yet," Inuyasha called out, "Your death won't be as satisfying if I don't do it myself."

"Keep talking mutt face, and we can go right here."

"Soon as I'm done with this son of a bitch, your ass is grass fleabag!"

Kagome palmed her face as she listened to the heated exchange. They were such idiots.

"Inuyasha!" She called from below, he looked at her and she couldn't remember a time she felt safer. "The bird has 2 shards of the jewel in it's mouth!"

Inuyasha smirked at her words, and tried not to let the relief of seeing her alive show too much. He still had an image to uphold. The bird came down, slower than before with only one wing. Inuyasha brought Tetsusaiga down in a powerful arc, a wave demonic energy bursting from the blade, engulfing his enemy and turning it into nothing. Kagome watched in awe at Inuyasha's power, thinking about how much he'd grown since they first met.

The half demon began to climb down the mountain with the wolf in tow. Kagome smiled as Sango called out to her from Shippo's back, who brought them both safely to the ground. When the cloud of Shippo's transformation had disappeared, Kagome was met with an upsetting sight.

Kouga kneeling before Inuyasha as Tetsusaiga was pointed squarely in his face.

"On your feet wolf, you'll die for touching Kagome." The girl in question looked on as Kouga's clan members began to gather around their leader, knowing he was in no condition to fight. If she didn't diffuse the situation soon more blood than necessary would be shed.

"Inuyasha that's enough!" She called as she ran over, taking Kouga in her arms and using her body as a shield. Inuyasha was sure he swallowed a few flies from how wide his mouth had fallen open.

"You can't be serious wench? He kidnapped you!"

"He's in no condition to fight, back off!" She glared at Inuyasha and the dog demon only gave her a glare to match. She quickly turned to Ginta and Hakkaku, "get Kouga out of here."

With affirmative nods they picked up their king and ran back to their caves.

"You can't be serious?" He repeated for emphasis, his tone wholly incredulous. How could she have sympathy for that flea bag? Unless...she had actually gained feelings for him? He didn't know why that struck a chord so deep within him, to the point his legs felt weak and he had to sit down on his heels.

"What's wrong with him?" Sango whispered to her void demon companion. She'd never seen Inuyasha look so melancholy.

"Seems he's upset about Kagome's defense of Kouga. He should know better than to think Kagome would allow anyone to be kicked when they're already down."

Inuyasha sent the two a glare and they scooted back at being caught in their gossip. He missed Kagome's approach due his glaring and growling. He felt her feather like touch on his ear and he swatted her away. He would not be pacified so easily. She kneeled next to him and he moved slightly to put some space between them. It was childish, but he never claimed to be anything else.

"Stop it Inuyasha, nothing happened with Kouga. You should know me better than that by now."

"I heard them call you 'sister', there's only one way for a female to become a part of demon's clan." Inuyasha knew he'd stuck his foot too far in his mouth, when the sympathy and warmth faded from Kagome's eyes leaving something cold in its wake.

She gave him a poke in the side and he yelped as her spiritual energy gave him an unpleasant zap. "I can't believe you! You keep treating me like this and I will go back to Kouga!"

Kagome stood and began to walk away, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku following behind her and snickering at Inuyasha's expense.

"Do it! See if I care!" He yelled as he stood to catch up with his friends.

"You should eat, before you become frail." The young boy looked at her with disdain, not moving an inch to touch or take the food she'd provided. She scoffed at his stubbornness. "Fine, starve."

Kagura stood, opening her fan and covering her face as she turned to exit the room.

"Wait." The rasping voice called out. He'd also been refusing to drink. She looked back at him, the look on her face bored. "How is my sister? I want to see her."

"The other slayer? How should I know?" The boy looked down at that. Kagura eyed him for moment, sighed, then closed her fan.

"She met with up a miko and two hanyou." She watched as some hope retuned to the freckled boy's face.

"She's alive?"

"For now. Naraku is not fond of her companions. I'm sure if she decides to join them, he'll kill her just as he plans to do with the rest." The limit of her generosity had been reached, so she turned once more to leave the room. A small voice stopped her on the way out, and a quick glance over her shoulder showed the boy taking a bite of food.

"Thank you."

Kagura left without saying another word, not quite understanding what use Naraku saw in the young boy. Feeling confined the wind demon stepped outside to release her feather and take flight. She continued to grow weary of being under her creator's thumb. Picking Akumu for a partner had been a bust. The resurrected human was too concerned with getting the Miko back. He had no true bone to pick with Naraku and therefore he's desire to kill him was weak.

The dark haired woman gripped her kimono, right where her chest was empty, over the spot where her heart was missing. She growled to herself as she continued to fly with no direction. This is what she wanted, all that she desired. To be free. To feel the wind in her hair and to go wherever her feather decided to carry her. Without her heart she would forever be a bird in a cage.

She needed to find someone strong, someone who hated Naraku as much if not more than she did.

She needed Naraku dead.

Almost a week had passed since Kagome was kidnapped and rescued from Kouga. The encounter with the wolf demon had left a bad taste in Inuyasha's mouth for several days after, but slowly his attitude returned to bearable. Since the birds of paradise, shard rumors had been scarce, until a group of monkey sprites they helped pointed them in the right direction.

"Thank you for freeing our master!" One said taking a deep bow. Inuyasha scowled at the pests, remembering how they'd tricked him into holding a small rock that turned into a large boulder in less than a minute. As they scoured the village for the master of the sprites, Inuyasha had been forced to lug the thing around, the weight throwing out his back and leaving him exhausted.

"We're sorry for the prank sir!" Another chimed. Inuyasha crossed his arms and didn't give them the time of day. The group turned to leave, when the voice of the third monkey stopped them.

"Are you all headed northeast? Be careful, just a few days ago a dark youki passed over this place and was headed in that direction."

The group looked at each other, nodding in complete understanding. It had to be Naraku the sprites had sensed. The demon they searched for had been hard to find since the fight that destroyed his castle. The puppet had been all the remained after the fight was over, leaving zero clues for where to turn next.

As a hanyou with distinctly animal like characteristics Inuyasha was used to being stared at. It took them passing through several villages before Inuyasha realized that the distrustful eyes of the villagers, were not on him.

"You got something on your face Sango?" Inuyasha said half joking.

"Not that I know of. So, I'm not only one who noticed?" She replied. In all her years she'd never been regarded with such mistrustful looks before, people were usually relieved when they recognized her uniform and understood her life of work.

Growing weary of the eyes, Sango approached a vegetable stand. Before she could open her mouth, the owner was cowering with fear and offering her his wares in exchange for his life.

"Sir I'm a demon slayer, you have no reason to fear me."

"That's what we all thought, until that boy passed through here." Interest peaked, Miroku and the rest of her group came to stand beside her.

"A boy?" Miroku probed.

"Yes, dressed just the same as her." The stand owner lazily gestured toward Sango, "he seemed lost. Someone approached him, offered him help. He sliced them to bits."

Miroku noticed how stiff Sango had become. He went to put on comforting hand on her shoulder, but she stepped forward to bring the man closer to her by the collar of his clothes.

"How dare you speak such lies! My brother would never do something like that!"

"It's the truth!" The man said, his voice shaking with fear. "We all hid until he passed. Other villages near here have similar stories, please don't hurt me!"

Sango wanted to argue, to defend her family. Kagome called out to her and she released the man without care. His backside coming in hard contact with the ground.

"Let's move on." The brunette said lowly, walking away from the group without making sure anyone was behind her. Miroku, Kagome, and Inuyasha all exchanged a worried look.

Even with the townspeople feeling on edge around Sango, Kagome was able to get them a room to share in the headman's house. It took a lot of convincing and a few of her evil warding charms to get them the lodging, but as the rain began to come down it all felt worth it.

Dinner had been quiet, no one really talking or putting an effort into making conversation. Even Shippo sat close to Kagome, eating his rice slowly and methodically. Kagome stopped as she went to put a bite of food into her mouth, a sensation she was all too familiar with creeping down her spine.

"I sense a shard." She stated. With her friends on high alert they all left their food half eaten. The group flew into a clearing where a giant praying mantis like demon was swinging it's claws wildly at its prey. Before anyone could move, sango was jumping into the fray.

"Kohaku!" She screamed as she released her weapon. The demon was somehow able to dodge, and the skilled slayer caught her weapon as it returned to her. The boy looked up at her and Sango stood frozen. He looked just the same as the day they were separated. His eyes were still the same chocolate and lined with the same freckles she was used to. She smiled at him, but it faded when after a few moments it wasn't returned.

"Kohaku?" Her name was called desperately and she held up her weapon just in time to shield herself from a claw meant to maim. Her body became air born as she was pushed back, landing hard on the ground. Beyond irritated Sango stood with a growl, readjusting her grip and letting her Hirakotsu fly without mercy.

She knew it was over when the demon's head was rolling on the ground.

Running to her brother, she checked him over for injuries and engulfed him in a tight embrace. Tears gathered in her eyes but she kept them there. There were no words to explain how it felt to have her brother back, after losing everything.

"I'm so glad you're safe." She whispered. Her hold on him loosened as she felt him try to pull away. Before she could ask him what was wrong their eyes met and the confusion she found in his brown orbs was disturbing.

"Um, do I know you miss?"

Hi, happy holidays, hope life has been treating you kindly.

Tell me what you think, until next time.