(6/22/2006) Edited for some HUGE grammar mistakes that made me cringe and bang my head against my desk. So…it runs even more smoother now…I hope.

Author's Note: Welcome to the next chapter! Cranked it out while listening to Amon Tobin and Mr. Scruff.

Thanks for the reviews everyone! Hope I don't disappoint with this chapter. This is the last bit of background I'll provide before the REAL stuff begins (you'll understand when you get to the end of this chapter).

Hehe…yes, Kikyo is a bitch in this story….and she gets worse, but that's all I'm saying. Honestly, I don't hate the miko (even though I DO agree that only one resurrection should have been enough for the actual series' story cough overkill…), but I needed someone for the part, and well, there she is.

Anyway, that's enough gabbing out of me. On with the chapter.

ooooooooooooooooo

His eyes opened in a snap.

How long ago had that been? A couple of weeks? A month? Ever since that fated day, he had been staying in this village--ironically to his nature, a shrine, no less--healing from that unfortunate battle. Thanks to the priestesses here, he was no longer in a critical state.

His hand passed through dark locks as he sat up on the futon. Who would have thought that he would be taking shelter in a dwelling of mikos? Thanks to his oh-so-considerate half-brother and those three bitches, he had no other choice. His wounds were by far in better state than before, but he was still a long way from being able to make any long journeys. He was, in other words, stuck here until he could repair properly.

His eyes shifted to Tetsusaiga, propped against the wall. He really should be cursing it…that heirloom. Because of the sword, he almost never had a moment of peace. Instead, he always had to use it, be it against a demon who wanted him dead for his 'imperfect' blood, or his brother, who wanted to steal the last piece Inuyasha had of his father.

Never a moment's peace…until now.

A month without Sesshoumaru coming around to shed his blood was unheard of to the hanyou. He knew he shouldn't feel so comfortable around humans, even though he was one himself at the moment, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to care. It was actually quite…nice in this village. No one appeared to hate him or be disgusted by him; it was a welcome change. Of course, he knew he'd have to leave the village sometime--his brother would definitely arrive again, and fuck everything up like he always did.

His head turned when he heard the door to his temporary bedroom slide open. A smirk spread across his mouth as he saw the miko enter and place a tray of food on the foot of the bed. "You've been scarce today."

Brown eyes looked up to him as a glare set upon her face. "Whatever, Inuyasha. Just because I live in a shrine doesn't mean I don't have any other duties to attend to." She set his utensils on the tray in a huff.

Inuyasha raised a black brow at her. "Rough morning, Kagome?"

She threw her head back and sighed at that question. "Like you wouldn't believe. First, Kikyo makes me clean the entire front chamber, then makes me perform six wardings of several families' houses, and now, she's making me head the memorial service of the Taishi's father, while she sits in her room doing nothing!" Kagome fixed her arms to cross against her chest.

"Well, you're a miko. You're supposed to do," he waved his chopsticks in an absent manner as he got started on his rice. "you know--miko stuff."

She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. "Well said, Inuyasha," she noted sarcastically. "Anyway, at least I have a few minutes until I have to visit the cemetery. I didn't even have time for breakfast." She pulled a pair of chopsticks from her robes and stole a cluster of rice from his bowl.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her and pulled his dish back away from her, clearly offended. "Oi! This is mine!"

She placed a hand on her hip. "Hey, I was nice enough to find time during my busy schedule to cook it! Now quit being such a little kid and share!" Her chopsticks dove towards the bowl for another bite, but Inuyasha was faster. He jumped off of the bed and took a few steps away from her, smirking during the entire trip.

"All I want is some rice. You can have the rest of the food," she said, gesturing to the tray on the bed.

"Keh. The only thing you don't screw up is rice. I'd probably die if I touched anything else you cook!"

"Ooooh…" Kagome huffed. "If you weren't still injured--"

"You'd what?" Inuyasha countered. "Even when I'm hu--I mean injured, you still couldn't hurt me on your best day."

"Alright, that's it!" Kagome made a lunge for the bowl. Inuyasha evaded her attack but tripped backwards over the bed. Kagome stumbled on his feet and followed, as both of them watched the prized bowl of food slip out of his fingers and land on the floor in a clatter.

"Now, look what you've done. You've gone and wasted a perfectly good bowl of food, baka." Kagome said as she looked down at him.

"Keh. I'd still rather eat it off the floor than whatever swill is on that tray!"

"Why you little--" Kagome exclaimed, her hands wrapping around his throat.

The door to the room opened as Kikyo entered. Her eyes blinked at the scene once before setting her attention on her sister. "Kagome, the memorial is in a few moments. Get changed and make your preparations."

The younger sister rose off the bed and straightened her robes in a huff with closed eyes. "Goodbye, Inuyasha. May you slip during your bath and fall on some jagged rocks."

"Yeah…nice words, Holy Lady!" he remarked, his smirk widening when he saw her slam the door behind her. She really was such fun to tease.

"I trust you have removed any traces of immaturity out of your system?" Kikyo asked, raising an elegant brow.

"Keh. She started it."

"Be that as it may, it is time for me to check your bandages." He then noticed the bowl of greenish-hued liquid and cloth in her hands and sighed as he held out his wrist. The only real serious injuries were his arms and his legs. Sesshoumaru had gotten a bit lucky on those appendages, and thanks to his human healing, they still had a ways to go before they were fully restored.

A glint of light caught his eye and he looked down at his hand. Quickly, he noted his nails were slightly longer than what they were than he remembered the first time his wounds were bandaged.

'My claws…they're growing back!'

He reveled for a split second before he closed his hand into a fist. He prayed Kikyo didn't get a good look at them. How would he explain that he was demon—well, half anyway? His mauve eyes frantically went to her face.

If the priestess did notice, she didn't say anything while swabbing the wound with the dampened cloth. Inuyasha held in a sigh. He would think about this later. If his youkai half was returning to him, then he would have to leave this place again. No…best to leave that matter to ponder on for later.

Kikyo put the last knot in the bandage and inspected her work. "Is it too tight?" At the shake of his head, she nodded. "I would prefer you to wash your leg wounds in the spring before I rebandage them, if you do not mind." She reached around him to retrieve the forgotten tray of food. As her hand went past him, she leaned in creating a waft of jasmine that tingled the insides of Inuyasha's nose. He inhaled again as she moved to step away from him, tray in hand.

"I assume you are not going to eat this?" she asked before shaking her head. "I don't blame you anyway." She turned and started towards the door. "When you finish your bath, come see me," she said, closing the door behind her, leaving the memory of jasmine dancing around his head.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Kagome sighed as she lit the incense. She tried not to sound disrespectful, but she couldn't help the feeling of relief that her duties for the day were almost over. She was tired and exhausted and found herself looking forward to taking a long dip in the hot spring then, perhaps a nap. Kagome smiled slightly as she knelt alongside the Taishi family in prayer, attempting to hide her anxiousness.

"Thank you, Kagome-sama," the head Taishi female said as she stood, when the ritual was complete. "Aoki will no doubt be glad that he had such a wonderful memorial ceremony this year."

Another smile lit the priestess' face as she nodded. "I'm sure Taishi-sama is happy that you come down and honor him diligently every year." Kagome said as she bowed once. "Forgive me, but I have a few things I must attend to."

The older woman returned the bow. "Thank you again, Kagome-sama."

The miko watched as the Taishi family left the burial ground before gathering her things. The bath she was dreaming about earlier sprung back into her head. 'Yeah, that would feel so good right about now…' she thought.

There was only one spring that was close to the shrine. It was secluded mostly and was only used by members of the holy ground. The rest of the village used community baths, something Kagome was glad she didn't have to do. She was always a bit self-conscious about herself, probably due to being around Kikyo too much over the years. Everyone around her always seemed to compare her to her older sister…as if she was not competent enough to simply be respected for herself and not her family ties. The only one who didn't see her as just the High Priestess' sister was the injured lunkhead back at the shrine.

Inuyasha. That insensitive jerk. Just how cruel were his parents giving him that name anyway, Kagome wondered. To think that she had even thought him to be handsome when he was brought in a month ago! Then, of course, she had talked to him and discovered his unkind tongue. He was really a brute, insulting her at every turn and making fun of everything she did. He was almost hopeless at times.

Almost.

Yet, there was something unexplainable about him. His amethyst eyes were always expressive, whether yelling at her or giving her that damnable smirk. Kagome couldn't deny that there was something there…She knew he wasn't all bad, since he always did manage to ask her about her day whenever she saw him or just find time to chat in general…even if it did usually end in an argument or her reciting her holy vows to herself instead of beating him across his thick skull.

Unfortunately, she could tell she was not the only one who noticed the kinder side to Inuyasha. Her sister had taken it upon herself to completely tend to him…something that was rare for her. Kikyo never usually did so for the males that came in for healing. She would usually ask (or tell in Kagome's case) the other maidens to see to their wounds after initially checking the status before going and performing another duty. The impact of that was not lost on Kagome. However, it was uncommon for her elder sister to take interest in another. A grin crept across her face. 'Maybe she is normal…who knew?'

Her smile froze as she heard screams in the distance, then a loud crash. Wind flowed through the dark strands in her hair as Kagome turned towards the entrance to the village. What in the world was going on?

Her hands automatically secured the strap of her quiver of arrows to her back before coming to a firm grip on her bow. 'Youkai attack?' her mind speculated. 'Great…just what I need today.'

Upon reaching the village, a gasp came from Kagome's lips. Three colossal youkai loomed in the horizon laying waste to the rural farms, houses and terrorizing the villagers. People scattered throughout the area, attempting to distance themselves from the destruction that was occurring all around them.

"Lady Kagome!"

Her eyes abandoned the scene and flew to the villager that had run up to her. "We need help! The demons are wrecking everything in the area! My family was able to get out of our home before it attacked, but our home…" He cast a look at a pile of debris she could only assume that was the remains of his hut.

'If I don't stop them,' she thought to herself. 'Everyone will…'

Her resolve steeled as she notched an arrow onto her bow. Kagome's anger fueled the power that surged from the thin shaft of wood and feathers. The arrow took on a lavender hue as she aimed for the youkai's head. The shot sailed in the air and hit its target--although lower than she had intended--and embedded itself in the youkai's back. The shot youkai, barely feeling a thing, continued its rampage among the houses.

'I can't do this on my own,' she realized. As much as she hated to admit, she would need her sister's aid. Seeing no other option at the moment, her feet broke into a run as she headed for the shrine.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Kikyo-sama!"

The High Priestess looked up from the bandaged ankle and to the door which had just been flung open. "What is it, Sayou?"

The priestess in question took a second to regain herself from running into the room. "There's…a youkai attack on the villagers! Three huge gigantic ones and a smaller one. Keeps yelling about how a Sesshoumaru-sama will destroy everything until he gets what he wants!" The girl panted heavily after delivering her message.

The man Kikyo had been tending to paled at the statement. "Was it an inu-demon that said that?" he asked, his eyes stared at the wooden floorboards as he waited for the confirmation.

"No. A small toad-youkai. He's controlling the other demons. Kikyo-sama, you have to stop them!"

"Jaken…" Inuyasha said with a low voice.

Kikyo sent him a brief questioning look before turning her attention back to the woman. "Gather the townspeople and lead them to the shrine. Do it in groups so the demons do not suspect anything until it is too late. Command Akko to assemble the other mikos to erect a barrier around the shrine on your way out. I will see to the demons myself."

Sayou nodded before leaving the room. Kikyo rose from her seat, turning to Inuyasha. "I assume you know who is destroying our village?"

His eyes hadn't risen from the floor. "Yeah. Sesshoumaru, my half-brother, sent one of his lackeys here. The attack's my fault…" his face hardened as he stood up and reached for his weapon. Kikyo narrowed her eyes at the action.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Inuyasha gave her a look, as if it should be obvious to her. "I'm going out to fight them," he informed her as he strapped Tetsusaiga to his waist.

"Even if you are able to walk and move around freely, your body is not healed enough for combat. Do not be stupid, Inuyasha."

"My brother won't stop until he gets me to hand over something to him. Look, if I go out there, I'll be able to draw the demons away and nobody else gets hurt."

"And afterwards?" she asked, arching a brow.

"It was a matter of time before he came after me. If I stay here, he's just going to keep coming. You're…" His tone became soft and silent. "You're better off without me."

Kikyo stared at him for a moment before letting a soft sigh escape. "Wait here for a moment, and I will take you out to the village. I must see to the villagers' safety." She started towards the door.

"Kikyo…" he said as she turned around. "Thanks…for taking care of me." She gave him the briefest of nods before leaving the room.

oooooooooooooooooo

After she had secured the door, Kikyo hesitated for a moment. She was almost sorry to do it, but there was no way that she would allow Inuyasha to intentionally put himself into harm's way.

She fished through her robes for the scraps of parchment. 'It's for your own good, Inuyasha.'

Very few people had ever caught her eye, and when he had came to after she had the villagers bring him in, she could not help but feel some sort of pull. He seemed secluded, isolated from others, emotions sealed and guarded. She knew how it felt firsthand and was drawn to him as soon as she noticed. Her feelings had increased over the weeks as she began to take note of the kinder side to him. She was not irresponsible enough to completely abandon her holy vows and duties for him, but she could not deny that she felt something for him.

Kikyo had also been noticing a few changes in him lately, however. His eyes fluctuated from his normal purple hue to gold for the briefest of seconds, his jet black hair was now dusted with several ashen-colored strands. Not perceptible to most people, but she had noticed from the large amount of time she spent with him. And the major change was the flares of youkai that she kept feeling coming from him. Subtle, but her miko senses were able to pick up on it.

She chose to be quiet about it, since Inuyasha never had brought up the fact that he had demon blood within him. Kikyo knew that he probably kept it from her because he was afraid, and she had no desire to make him feel any discomfort. It, of course, was a problem she planned to deal with down the line, but things hadn't gotten that far yet. It did, however, come in handy for what she was about to do.

Ending her thoughts, she proceeded to seal the door with the wards. Her powers would be strong enough to keep him within, and even if they weren't, there was no way he could leave the shrine with the barrier around it in place. She was doing it for his own safety…even if it was a bit selfish.

With the wards in position, she met up with her fellow priestess who had assembled among the shrine's entrance. Her brown eyes surveyed the massive demons in the distance. It would be difficult, she realized, to take all three of them down with minimal damage.

"This won't do," she began. "We will have to force them to cease with the least amount of destruction."

"How will we do that, Kikyo-sama?" the miko named Akko spoke up.

The High-Priestess' brows drew together slightly in thought. "First and foremost, we must appease whoever is in control of the beasts."

"Sayou mentioned that Inuyasha-san called it 'Jaken'," one of the other mikos stated. "Besides, we can't appease it, as you said. The only things the villagers have to offer are crops, and the demons are ruining them!"

Remembering the look on Inuyasha's face when he told her his brother was behind the devastation, she then realized that whomever his brother was, was probably worse than even this ordeal. "Then, we will have to pacify it in another way." Kikyo said with narrowed eyes as she regarded the group. "A sacrifice."

The others gasped, and Akko spoke up nervously. "Wouldn't the head priestess be the ideal one to send?"

Kikyo's eyes hardened at the miko. "If any of you had enough power to become my successor, I would not hesitate."

"So then, who will have to go?"

The High-Priestess closed her eyes with a sigh. "I do not disagree that sending any one other than me would be an insult." A cruel and wicked smile tilted the corner of her mouth ever so slightly as she witness the other mikos exhale in relief. "So we shall have to send the next best thing."

"Kikyo!" Kagome's voice fluttered up to them as her figure rounded the path up to the shrine. "We've got trouble! There's some huge demons wrecking the town! I tried shooting them with an arrow, but…" her voice trailed off as she took notice of the looks the other mikos were sending her.

"…What?"

'She's taking a long time,' Inuyasha thought. Kikyo be damned, he was not going to wait around when there were people in danger. He marched to the door and made to pull it open.

"Ow!" Light flared as soon as his hand touched the handle and sent a sharp spark of pain down his wrist. He tried it again, this time leaving his hand on the handle a bit longer, watching as blue lightning crackled around his arm. There was no doubt about it; it was the work of a miko.

"Kikyo…" his voice dropped, a growl rising in the back of his throat. His eyes widened for a second afterwards as he came to a realization.

'She—she knows!'

Kikyo wouldn't have put any of her power behind the door if she thought him to be human. He vaguely wondered how long she had known before looking around for another exit. He'd think on it later.

The window was an obvious choice, and he began moving the bed directly under it as well as stacking a chair on top in order to reach it. He didn't trust himself to jump just yet, if he even had that ability back. For now he'd play it safe and leave the gambling of his body's strength to when he made it outside to fight.

As his hand pulled the rest of his body onto the windowsill, he was at least relieved that it wasn't a high fall…well, not much anyway. His feet hit the ground and he turned, searching for the direction of the demons. 'Shouldn't be too hard,' his mind contemplated. 'Hell, I could take Jaken at least!'

His plans were cut short as he felt himself walk into an invisible wall. 'Right, the barrier. You've thought of everything haven't you, Kikyo?' he thought bitterly.

Inuyasha understood that the only thing he could do now was convince the priestess to remove it. He really didn't want to go through with it, since it meant he'd be wasting valuable time arguing with her, but he also knew it was necessary.

Besides….after boldface lying to him, Kikyo owed him one.

He continued to walk through the forest, his ire increasing as the moments ticked by. 'Jaken should have completed his task by now. I should have done it myself instead of him, the incompetent toad.'

It wasn't as if Sesshoumaru was lazy; lazy was not in his vocabulary. His distaste for humans caused the demon lord to take up his servant's offer to do the task for him. He had smelled enough human stench upon his last encounter with his brother to last him a lifetime. Humans…they were petty, insignificant little beings that only served to get in his way. They never received his curiosity or attention--beneath him-- mere mortals worth less than the dried mud that crudded the bottom of his shoe.

And now, his brother was one of them.

It was that thought that initiated his response to allow his servant to go ahead of him and retrieve the ex-hanyou in his place. And now, he was regretting it, since he had released Jaken over an hour ago. He disliked waiting and demanded promptness. Jaken would be punished whenever he decided to return.

"My lord!"

Sesshoumaru turned and narrowed gold eyes at the voice. "You are late," he stated.

The small toad youkai huffed as he dragged a large package behind him by a rope. "My sincerest apologies, but the humans of the village informed me that Inuyasha had escaped during the assault. They offered a gift as a request for my lord's forgiveness."

"I do not care," the taiyoukai declared as he turned his back on his retainer. "Leave the vessel here." He then began to walk, his nose working to uncover any trace of his wretched half-brother.

"B-but…" Jaken sputtered after glancing between him and the container. "It's pretty heavy! Should we not look at what is inside?" he asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

At that, Sesshoumaru stopped. His head turned back with the slightest look of annoyance on his face. Jaken knew from experience that that particular look meant the servant was really trying his patience at the moment. "Jaken," the demon lord said in a low voice. "Are you questioning this Sesshoumaru's direct orders?"

"N-no, my lord!" Jaken quickly released the rope and scrambled to catch up to the taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru nodded faintly and turned to keep walking.

That was….until he heard an exceptionally loud thump come from the container.

Both youkai turned then, staring at the wooden box. Whatever was in it was alive. His interest piqued, Sesshoumaru moved back towards the package and slowly cut the ropes with his claws. Would the humans be foolish enough to send an assassin that would arise from the box in an attempt to kill him, he wondered. Not that he was afraid of a trivial human, but it would be wise to be prepared at least. With that thought, he slid the top of the container open.

His thin elegant brows drew downwards at the sight of the box's content, certain it was a joke but not particularly finding it amusing.

The humans had sent him a miko.

oooooooooooooooo

So there it is…No more background. Now we can start up the Sesshy/Kag arc (don't worry, there's not going to be too much Inu/Kag …I've decided to go completely in favor of our favorite taiyoukai)! When is the next chapter coming out? Hopefully soon. I'm going to begin working on it either tonight or tomorrow. With luck, it'll be out next week. Updates don't come as fast with me than other authors, but that's mainly because even when I have the time, I easily get distracted. I mean, it's hard for me to sit still for an hour to type ideas down and—hey, is that a blue pen under my desk? Wheeeeeee! spins in office chair

Anyway, you get the point. Also, I tend to write long chapters and in addition, I'm slightly obsessive about grammar and stuffs. So even if the chapter is finished, I need a day to go over it and make sure things are in order.

Alright….this author's note is getting too long, so I'll stop. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully I'll get a bit of input on things to improve, if they need to be. nudge nudge

Thanks for reading!

ACP