Alright, here's the chapter you've been waiting for. I tried to send it off from Microsoft word, but it won't take the damn thing. This chapter is abit shorter then my last few, which is a shame, butI've run out of ideas for this chapter. I tried to correct all the little spelling mistakes, but I dont know how well I did. Sorry if theres alot.

My deepest apologies to all my readers. Some . . . issues, have come up, which has kept me from writing. But thanks to my best friend, I have now started getting back into the swing of things. Prepare thyself mortals, my reign over this realm has begun again.

Chaos- - - - -

As he glided through the sky, following the vague directions Sango had given him, his mind wondered back to the events that had flowed in the past few days. Finding new "friends," having a few interesting battles, destroying an entire village. It had all been . . . interesting. Now he was actually trying to save a life? Never happened before. As he gazed down at the broken girl in his arms, he noticed that his thought of the group as a whole had changed, that maybe he could let down his guard, let the secrets out.

Maybe.

He'd just have to wait and see. He had been hurt before, so he wasn't about to let loose the waterfall yet. His gaze leveled back at the sky before him. In the distance a small town was emerging form the shadow of a large forest. Chaos chuckled lightly. After his claim of hating humans, who'd thought he'd be heading back to one of there small villages? Seems he was changing a bit. Just a small bit. Nothing more, nothing less. As he glided over the village, a memory crept up on him, of a village long ago, filled with people yelling and laughing. He could remember kids running though the streets, traders giving out there wares, house wives talking to one another about the latest gossip. Then the scene changed to one of fire, carnage, and death.

Chaos grunted and shook his head, dislodging the thoughts. He closed his wings a bit and angled down for the forest rim, looking for a place to land. A smile crept up on his face as he imagined a roaring fire racing through the trees. Add a flood in the village, with a powerful tempest and ice storm going on around the sky, filled with thunder and lighting. Chaos prided himself in knowing he had elemental power on his side. Fire was powerful, but was kept in check by ice, followed by wind, which stopped short of earth, which was struck down by lighting, after which stopped at wood. A darkness started descending on his thoughts, and he could feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. A sense of . . .power, energy, and an undying hunger.

A shake in his arms by the young girl brought him out of his reverie. He glanced once again at the ground, and upon finding a nice place to land, did just that. As he looked around the village from the safety of his hiding place, he noticed that now many people lived here, maybe two dozen, give or take a few. He spotted an old woman minding some plants in from of a small hut. Chaos snorted. He really disliked gardening. Besides it taking to much time, which he believed he could spend elsewhere, it also took a gentle hand. Yah, sure, like he had a gentle bone in his body. He paused, rethinking that last train of though. That wasn't exactly true. He could be gentle, at one time. But that part of him had been striped bare, to be replaced by what he was today. Another gentle stirring in his arms brought his mind back to the present.

Glancing around one more time, checking to see if the old woman was alone, he moved out from the protection of the trees. Cautiously walking up to the woman, not wanting to scare the crap out of her, he stopped behind her and coughed to get attention. Placing a wrinkled hand on her back, he straightened up with a grunt. Turning slowly, she examined the pair in front of her with a wary eye. Chaos stayed silent, out of false respect, but after fifteen seconds of this, he lost it.

"Alright, can you help her or not, I don't have all day."

Kaede sighed. This demon needed to learn respect for his elders.

"Come in, Ill see what I can do."

Inuyasha------------------------------

Inuyasha raced through the forest, weaving around tree after tree that got in his way, occasionally jumping over a ravine or large rock. All the while his thoughts were on the person in his arms. She had dozed off an hour ago, and Inuyasha let her. After the fighting she had gone through, she needed it. He was still worried about the claw still in her gut, which was still visible. The bleeding had stopped, so Inuyasha breathed a little easier, but it still made him uneasy the way she had convulsed when he had tried to pull it out. It must have been in really deep. A quick glance at Kirara, who was also dozing, and he picked up the pace.

Inuyasha started cursing himself when the sun hit the horizon. He didn't think that they were that far from the village. Worse yet, something was wrong with his nose. He couldn't pick up any scents, except those that were close, namely the two in his arms. Inuyasha grunted, and then slowed his speed to a stop. After taking a quick glance around, he found a high tree to rest in. After finding a nice size branch, he landed, and gently put Sango down so he could try and get his bearings. Jumping off again, he landed on yet another branch, this one at the highest point of the tree. Nothing, all he could see was more forest, and his sense of smell wasn't working yet either.

He glanced back down beneath him, and noticed that Kirara had climbed the tree with him and was looking across the landscape with a wondering stare. Obviously her nose wasn't working either. Strange. Maybe something was in the air that blocked it. Maybe a demon was near that had that kind of affect. Inuyasha grunted in frustration. Without his nose to guide them, he couldn't find the village. Inuyasha jumped back down to the branch with Sango on it. She seemed to still be dozing. He was about to jump off to get a fire going when she grabbed his arm.

"O, so you're awake."

Sango blinked a few times, gaining her bearings. "Where are we?"

"Not sure. Something's up with the air. I can't smell anything."

Sango sighed and glanced up. Kirara jumped from the high branch and onto her shoulder.

Inuyasha patted her hand that was still grasping him.

"You feel okay?"

"I guess. I don't feel much right now."

Inuyasha nodded, not actually understanding what that meant. He hopped off the branch onto the ground and started gathering wood to get a fire going. Night was fast approaching and he didn't want to have Sango out in the cold.

After a minute or so he had enough wood. he had just got the fire going when his ears picked up something moaning from above. He immediately leapt into the trees above him to Sango's position. When he got there she was very pale and sweaty. Her hands were also bloody he crouched down besides her to hold her in place. On her lap was the claw that had dug so deeply into her side.

Inuyasha had remembered how much pain it had been just to tug on it. He couldn't imagine how much she had gone through to actually pull it out. He then picked her up very gently and jumped down, putting her close to the fire. Putting a few more sticks in the fire to get some more light, he got close to examine her wounds. The two on her arm were doing well, having healed enough to stop bleeding, though they were still bruising. He then gently held her thigh in one hand, brushing away the torn cloth with the other. He felt a bit guilty for doing this, and didn't know exactly what would happen if Sango was fully conscious, but he'd have to deal with it later. The three marks were not doing as well as the ones on her arms, the bruising was much worse, but they weren't bleeding, so Inuyasha covered them with the torn cloth again. He then moved up to her torso. at first glance it looked fine, but upon closer inspection he noticed that it was bleeding. Not heavily, but it was a constant flow.

"Damn it." Inuyasha muttered. He looked around for something soft to cover her wound up with, but nothing showed itself. He then got an idea. Taking off the upper part of his kimono, he put it on her. It hung loosely on her slim frame, but it was what he wanted. He then said a silent prayer as he ripped most of the leggings of her left leg. He used it to tie the kimono tightly around her, stemming the flow of blood some. Inuyasha sat back and took in a quick breath. Inuyasha glanced over his handy work, shaking his head some. It wasn't the best, but at least the bleeding had slowed.

Kirara climbed down from her spot in the tree above and snuggled up to Sango. Inuyasha put a few more sticks in the fire and sat close to her and fell asleep. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open when something crashed down near him. He sprang to his feet and glanced around, but couldn't see much through the shadows of the trees. The fire was still burning, but the half moon was reaching the top of the sky. His sense of smell was working somewhat better now, so he could detect a demon near, but not enough to pinpoint where. He turned and glanced at Sango, who was still asleep. Kirara had already transformed and was standing over her protectively. She was actively sniffing the air, but it seemed her nose was working just as well as Inuyasha.

Inuyasha had just turned around when a fist smacked him in the head from behind.

"Damn it pup, how can you fall asleep with her like this!"

Inuyasha sprang to his feet and tried to return the punch, but Chaos easily dodged it.

"Why the hell did you do that? And why aren't you with Shiori!"

Chaos patted Kirara on the head and bent down to check Inuyasha's handy work.

"Not bad. Better then I would have done."

"Stop trying to skip my questions."

"I'm not. Damn, can't you take a compliment? Geez, and people say I'm touchy. First off, I hit you because you had it coming, secondly, Kaede had to do something to Shiori that involved some nudity, which, if I do say so myself, I would not like to see. Thirdly, I came because when you didn't show at sunset, Kaede sent me to go fetch you two, or three, counting the cat."

"It took you until midnight to find us?"

"Yes, yes it did. Now lay off while I show you losers . . . wait, your the loser, the girl and cat aren't. Anyway, I'll show you the way back to the village."

Inuyasha grunted, then bent down and picked Sango up gently in his arms. She groaned but remained asleep. He then got onto Kiraras back,. Kirara leapt into the air as softly as she could and took to the skies. Chaos was close behind, beating his wings above.

"Tell me, why didn't you take to the air before and follow me?"

"I wanted to give Kirara time to rest, after the fighting she did back there."

"Pardon me for being blunt but. . .you do remember she's a demon. She doesn't get tired like humans do. What was the real reason?"

"Nothing. I already said the reason. Besides, I wasn't really thinking about that at the time, only that Sango here might die because of these wounds. So lay off."

"Fine, fine, I'll obey. . .for now."

Inuyasha glanced back down at Sango, his eyes dancing across her face. He absent mindedly brushed a strand of hair from her face, as his thoughts continued on, such as what would happen next, would Shiori be ok, how he could shut the damned dragon up, and most of all, what would happen to Sango. He was worried, sure, but more so then usual, which confused him.

"So, what is it between you and her?" asked Chaos, breaking Inuyasha out of his thoughts.

Inuyasha shook his head.

"Nothing, we are just good friends. Nothing more."

"Doesn't seem that way to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Hey, you haven't told me yet. How'd you, a half-breed, and her, a demon slayer, hook up?"

"Naraku sent her after us to kill us. She was under his control through a jewel shard, so she didn't have much of a choice."

"Strange way to become friends. You said 'us.' You mean you have more in your group?"

"'Were' in our group. There were three others."

"Where are they now?"

Inuyasha glanced down again at Sango.

"We. . .they. . .us. . ."

". . .That hard to say, huh?"

"You dont have to say anything. they either died, kidnapped, or betrayed you. I'll tend to think that they betrayed you. If they were dead, then you wouldn't be here, or speak of them with. . .disgust in your voice. Kidnapped is out of the picture since if they were, you would be out looking for them. So betrayed seems the best option. See? Im not a total idiot." Chaos shrugged, then took the lead.

Inuyasha shook his head. Chaos seemed to be full of surprises. He wasn't sure he was ever going to tell Chaos, or Shiori, the details of what happened. Having your heart ripped out was painful enough, but when it was done the second time, it was almost to much to beat. The only thing that kept him going had been Sango, and of course, Kirara. She still kept him going, though he wouldn't tell her that. He didn't want to put something else on her shoulders already.

"We're there."

Inuyasha looked up, then back at the gourn. The village was coming up in the distance, along with the gentle lights from the huts. It wouldnt be long now until Sango could get the care she needed. Kirara landed just outside Keade's hut. Inuyasha climbed off and walked in, glancing around until he found the old priestess in the back, who was putting a fresh cloth on Shiori's forehead. She slowly got to her feet and turned around, staring at the two who had entered.

"Don't ye know how to stay out of trouble?"

"Not now, she needs help."

Kaede sighed and went over to the side to get a fresh cloth. She pointed to another unoccupied corner. After Inuyasha had laid Sango gently down, Kaede walked over and stared at the young woman.

"Crude, but effective." She slowly and carefully took off the makeshift wrap. She examined the kimono, noticing that a lot of blood had been absorbed into the fabric. Putting that aside, she started inspecting the wound. Inuyasha grunted, seeing that he was no longer needed, and went outside to wait. Inuyasha stared up at the sky, which was now starting to cloud over, and couldn't help but feel nostalgic about the old days, when the group had been whole, when there wanst any betrayal to deal with between eachother.

"So, the stubborn pup does have a heart."

Inuyasha looked up to see Chaos perched on a beam hanging off the roof of the hut.

"I have a heart, im just not sure if you have one."

Chaos tilted his head.

"What would make you think that?"

"For the past few days you keep up this tough act, like you are so much more powerful then us. You try and act all high and mighty, but it wont work on me."

"What makes you think I'm not more powerful then you? That I dont have the right to lord it around?"

"When we fought, I almost killed you. You even admitted it. Though I do have a question. How was it that you were able to block my backlash wave?"

"For one, I never admitted that I was almost beat by you. I said you were stronger then those pathetic mortals, that's it. And two, don't you know that dragons are immune to just about any harmful effects from either magics or attacks?"

"Well, no, not really. . .except for that time when my brother used a dragon's arm to fend off my sword."

"Well then, I'll let you know that dragons can fend off most of those."

"What can't they fend off?"

"Now why would I tell you a weakness of mine?"

"Fine, dont tell me. I'll find out sooner or later."

Chaos shrugged, got up, and disappeared somewhere in the night.

Seven hours later---------------------

Inuyasha's eyes opened slowly, then looked around slowly. He found that he was laying on a mat, inside somebodys hut. he slowly sat up and rubbed his head. he didnt remember falling asleep.

"Good, ye have awoken." Inuyasha looked up to see Keada. She was drying her hands with a cloth and looking him over. Inuyasha rubbed his head, trying to piece together what happened.

"Ye fell asleep. The other demon brough you in and left."

"Ugghhh, my head."

"You received some injuries from and even you will have to tell me, but only after you are well."

Inuyasha looked around slowly for any sign of his two injured companions.

Shiori was sleeping peacefully, but she had heavy cloth wrapped around her small frame, making her look twice as big as she really was. Sango, on the other hand, wasn't looking any better then before.

"Whats wrong with Sango?"

"Nothing that I havn't fixed. It is just her body doing the healing that I wasn't able to do. She will be able to get up and move around by tomorrow."

Inuyasha nodded, took one more look at her, and left. Outside, he found the day to be warm, with people chatting and going about their everyday business. Since there wasn't anybody to actually talk to, Inuyasha went for a stroll around the village. Passing near the forest edge on his third time around, he found Chaos leaning back against a tree, asleep.

A grin started to creep up onto his face as he thought of a way to get him back for all the questions, and the head shot, he had been put through the night before. The plan the crepped into his mind was to either 1) douse water all over him 2) body slam him into the ground 3) yell at him in an annoying way. He discarded the first and third option since he didnt want to run back to the village well to get the water, and he didn't feel like making himself an idiot for this guy was worth it. Body slam would work well. Yes, it would work very well.

Inuyasha lept into the tree branch just above Chaos as quitly as he could, and looking down to mark his target, dived for him. When he hit, he thought he heard an oomf, and felt something soft beneath him, but couldnt actually see because of all the dust in his face. Getting to his feet, he looked down at the ground. No dragon. Just a hole with alot of leaves in it. Inuyasha turned around, but was hit in the head by a flying projectile.

"Ouch! What the hell-"

"Next time, look before you leap. It might save you a few bruises."

Looking up, Inuyasha saw that Chaos had, but some miracle, up on the branch he had lept from, sitting lazily with his legs swinging back and forth, munching on a rice ball.

"How the hell did you get up there!"

"No big deal. Your so slow I could out race you in my sleep."

"I'll get you next time."

"Now who sounds like a child?"

"Don't worry about it. You're to uptight for your own good. You'll never catch a girl like that."

"What? How would you know about that?"

"I've lived long enough to gain some experience."

"And that would be. . ."

"A few centuries. Anyway, how are the girls?"

Inuyasha glanced back at the village.

"Kaede said that they would be fine. Sango looks unwell, but she said that that was natural. She should be on her feet by tomorrow."

"Shiori?"

"As far as I could tell, shes sound asleep."

"Kirara?"

"No clue. Haven't seen her."

Chaos nodded once before leaning back against the tree lazily, his legs hanging off the side with his tail swishing back and forth. Inuyasha shook his head, thinking he'd never beable to pull off that relaxed look Chaos could show. Turning around, he headed back for the village. For the rest of the day, Inuyasha traveled around the village, helping people with simple tasks, getting there thanks, and doing just about nothing.

He was strolling through a small grove of trees when he saw Shiori leaning on Kirara in the shade of a small tree.

"Hiya!" Shiori called out brightly. She let go of Kirara and started limping over to where Inuyasha stood. Most of the cloth that had been wrapped around her body had been removed, all exept some on her forehead, upper thighs, torso, and lower arms. Inuyasha met her half way, where she leaned on him for support.

"You shouldn't be out. Why aren't you still asleep like your supposed to be?"

Shiori looked up at him with bright eyes. "I couldn't sleep anymore. I already slept to much. I was also hav-" She was stopped by a sob that broke from her throat as her eyes teared up.

"She. . .shes gone. . .isn't she?"

Inuyasha looked up, staring into the distance.

"Yah, she is. But I dont think she suffered."

"Really?"

"Really."

Shiroi sniffled, then cuddled up to Inuyasha.

"T-that doesnt m-make it fe-el any better. S-shes still g-gone."

Inuyasha held her close, not having anything else to say. What could he say? He was never good with words. Kirara padded over from her spot under some tree branches and lay next to them, wrapping her tail around the two half-breeds.

In the hut- - - - - - - - -

Sango tossed and turned in her sleep. Disturbing nightmares had been plaguing her for a good few hours now, but she couldn't wake up from them.

In them she would see herself battling two powerful foes, with her friends beside her, then something would blow up and everything would be swept clean. Then later she would see herself fighting some strange wizard, or spell caster, she couldn't tell. Next she could see her companions and herself battling Naraku. Lastly she would see something. . .dark, something ominous, but she couldn't see through the mist to make out what it was. But the constant feeling that somebody was watching her just wouldn't leave her alone.

Somewhere. . . dark- - - - - -

The place was filled with mist, which swirled around a lone figure. Power was emminating off of it in waves, power which had not been seen before. . . power that kept building, ready to be used. Its hunger could be felt by anybody near, it's longing for life, and death. Its want to cause. . . something. . . something big. . . was overwhelming. Its need to be used had lasted for what seemed like an eternity. But soon, very soon it would be awoken. Very soon it would feed, and soon it would be full. It would be. . . unleashed.

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Now my readers, the true story has begun. Now that the gang is together, the plots that I have plotted in my ploting head are about to come to pass. Ready yourselves. My apologies again for making you all wait so long for this chapter. I'll get the next one out as soon as possible, so don't rush me.

Devilchild34: Make them fight? Why do you even have to ask. If made out the fight scene from the very begining. You can count on the fact that they are going to fight.

Phantom Writer: As you can see above, I haven't killed her. . .yet. Yes, I agree with you, she's like a member of the family. Glad you caught that point that I'm trying to create, how they are a family, though ragged around the edges. And you? Threatening me? You can! You have no power over me.

Obliviandragon: Hope I haven't disappointed you with the chapter.

Brookie: Lemons? I doubt it. It might get abit heated, but writing lemons is not my style. Fighting is just about all I know. Bear with me.

Demon Exterminator Barbie: Yes, I am trying, for your sake. Swoon, eyes. . . I believe that he will be freaked out. Not many things freak him out, exept girls. He shall never understand the way girls think.

SpottedShadow2947: Yes, I like being descripitive. Ill continue that for the rest of the story.

Dragon King: Agreed. She was way to possessive over are half-breeded friend. Inuyasha kill Kagome? I'm still thinking on that.

Spudz: I hope to not disappoint you with my character.

Inuyasha-backlashwave:Well, she only had one family member, her mom. Dad was already dead. Backlashwave. Ill be sure to put it in some more.

Dark-Syaoran: I will try and keep it realistic. I'll do my best to keep it up through the rest of the story.