The shone bright and early, waking Utsukushii and Sesshomaru effectively. Sesshomaru started gathering the scattered supplies every now and then looking to see if Rin was up yet. Utsukushii was once again propped on her elbow and running her slender fingers through Rin's hair. She was whispering softly for Rin to wake up and surprisingly enough- it was surprising to Sesshomaru at least- it worked. Rin sat up, stretched, and yawned, wiping traces of sleep from her eyes. Utsukushii gazed at her fondly and smiled when Rin looked her way.
"Good morning, Rin," she said softly. "Did you sleep well?"
"Oh yes! Very much! You were so warm and I felt really safe next to you!" Utsukushii smiled again.
"What about you, Sesshomaru-sama? Did you sleep well last night?"
Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment. No one had ever asked about his welfare. It was a strange feeling. "I slept as well as one can when he still needs to protect his pack."
"So you slept, but you were constantly aware of what was going on around you?" Again, there was that amazing perception she seemed to exude. He nodded. Utsukushii looked at Rin. "Well, little Rin, what do you say to you and I rolling up these blankets and helping Sesshomaru get out of here?"
"Let's do it!" Rin said eagerly. With all three of them working they had all their supplies gathered in no time and then they were off, Rin and Utsukushii riding Ah-Un while Sesshomaru walked.
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Inu Yasha's group entered the forest where they had first found Utsukushii. They were following Akari's scent, but Inu Yasha hadn't picked it up until they had passed the entrance to the forest a long time ago, try the day before. They were taking the long way to where ever it was Akari went. It would be a while before any of them would find an actual trace of her. Halfway through the day Sango heard something that led her to believe that someone was following them. She ran ahead quite a ways to check it out. When she reached a certain point in the woods she let out a terrified scream. The group rushed after her. She hadn't found whatever it was that made the sound, but she had found Akari. In most cases, finding someone is usually a joyous occasion; this was far from it. The site that lay before them was quite gruesome. Akari was sliced in half, no blood on the ground, petrified eyes staring blankly. She was dead. The group could not spare any time, however, but allowed a small moment of silence. They moved on, but were still unnerved by the horrible scene that was behind them.
The majority of the day passed uneventfully for Sesshomaru's pack. It wasn't until around mid-day that something actually happened. They were trudging through the woods when Sesshomaru caught a scent that caused a low growl to emit from deep within his chest. He ran off quick as a flash, leaving the two females behind.
"Does he do that often?" Utsukushii asked curiously, but deep down she was worried. She had noticed the unfamiliar scent too and there was something nearby by that was prickling her senses.
"Sesshomaru does that a lot when he feels as if there's something close that could cause harm to his pack. He either kills whatever it is that he's found or lets them go if they're not a threat." Utsukushii nodded in understanding. Whatever was nearby had not left and now was even closer.
"Would Ah-Un follow my orders if I told him to do something?"
"I would think so. He's a pretty obedient dragon."
"Ok. Ah-Un, I needed you to watch over Rin, I need to investigate something." The dragon snorted in compliance. "Thank you, Ah-Un." Utsukushii quickly patted the dragon and then jumped off. She drew her sword when she landed. She headed in the direction of the other presence. A flash of yellow caught her eye and immediately she knew what it was. Saimyoushu. Swiftly, she cut down the annoying pest and ran in the direction Sesshomaru had gone in. She reached a clearing to find that Sesshomaru was out cold and a man in a blue baboon pelt was standing over him. Utsukushii snarled. Sesshomaru had been nothing but kind- well, maybe not kind exactly- to her and she was not about to let him die.
"You touch him and I will kill you!" She said harshly. The man laughed.
"It is not Sesshomaru I am after," he said.
"Then you're after me?" The baboon-pelt man laughed again.
"Catch on quickly, do you? Yes, I am after you. Or rather what you possess," he said vaguely.
"I have no idea what you're talking about unless you want my sword, but I can tell you now it won't do you any good. There's nothing special about it." Something about this man was making her extremely nervous. Judging by his scent, he was a hanyou, and yet he seemed to exude much more power then your typical pureblood demon.
"No, I am not after your sword. I am after the Shikon shard that is embedded in your chest." Utsukushii stared at him. Shard? When had she come in possession of a Shikon shard? What would she need it for? She was powerful enough without it, but now that she thought about it she did notice the presence of two shards that had managed their way underneath her flesh. One was in her chest the other was in her shoulder. Well, she wasn't about to start giving in that easily. She stepped forward, every intention of cutting down the bothersome hanyou down. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. There's poison in his blood, I wouldn't want to have to kill him because of a careless mistake you made. Hand the shard over."
"What makes you think that I'm just going to hand it over like that?" Utsukushii could not have the death of the lord of the western lands on her hands, but if her instincts were right and they usually were, then she could not let this buffoon have the shard either. An arrangement must be made somehow. Utsukushii inhaled deeply in thought. When she did so she noticed Inu Yasha's scent on the air. She had a feeling that his group was after the shards too. One of them would probably notice the presence of the shard. Quickly she formulated a plan in her head, it was risky, but she had to take a chance. "How about we make a deal? You remove the poison from his bloodstream and I shall hand over the shard, no strings attached."
The hanyou considered it for a moment. "All right, you have yourself a deal." Utsukushii internally sighed in relief.
"You carry out your end first or there's no deal," said Utsukushii, trying to stall him in anyway possible. She noticed that Inu Yasha's scent was traveling this way fast. She almost laughed at the strange half-demon. He didn't even realize he was about to be duped. She took out a small knife to show that she still intended to cut out the shard. When the hanyou was finished withdrawing the poison from the taiyoukai's veins, Utsukushii took the knife and cut her chest, leaving a pretty deep wound. Nimbly she took her fingers and gently pulled out the shard; it hurt like hell, but she knew the pain would pass. Her vision started to get a little hazy; she was losing quite a bit of blood, but she was not worried at all. She examined the shard for a moment, but what she was really doing was procrastinating. Then, she noticed that Inu Yasha was in the vicinity and started to hand over the shard to the baboon-pelt man. True to his style Inu Yasha rushed in between the two of them and snatched the jewel shard from Utsukushii's fingers. She smiled at the half-demon she would later come to know as Naraku. "I would never hand over something as valuable as that over to a half-demon who hurts a comrade of mine. Remember that next time you try a stunt like this again." Baboon man howled in rage and quickly left the clearing before Inu Yasha could draw Tetsuaiga. Utsukushii's vision was steadily getting worse and before she knew it she passed out, blood staining the ground beneath her.
A/N: Yes! I know! I left you at a cliffie! If you want the next chapter than I need at least 5 reviews from 5 different people. I really hope you enjoyed the story, cuz I enjoy writing them and I don't want to stop!
