Disclaimer: Author's own Fairy Tail or its characters; that right belongs to Hiro Mashima. Nor do I own Inuyasha or its characters; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Lucy leaned back in the natural hot spring that they decided to camp next to. Her mind was sorting and organizing everything that had happened in the two weeks since she acquired the Jade Key, Canis Major. Who was also the father of two of her traveling companions? Currently, Toga was in the Celestial Realm catching up with the other spirits (mostly for her sanity). Because she was ready to find a way to replicate what the last owner of the Shikon no Tama had been able to do with those beads around Inuyasha's neck. One for both said individual and his damn brother.

Leaning her head back and staring at the few stars she could see through the trees as they towered over her. It was crazy, and she felt like pulling her hair out of her damn skull in bloody clumps. If she had thought that Inuyasha was annoying and his brother almost insufferable with his better-than-thou attitude, they were beyond that, and her mind couldn't conjure up a word for it either. Sighing, Lucy let her eyes flutter shut and tried to relax the knots out of her shoulders.

They had been searching for the next key with the clue Toga had given her. It was cryptic, and none of them have been able to figure out anything from it. Then again, with the constant influx of demons trying to attack the little group she now traveled with, on top of having Leo being cranky and making commentary in the back of her head, thinking clearly, rationally, and logically was not possible at the current moment.

"I am swift and vicious. Catch me if you think you are able."

Lucy says up, eyes snapping open as she looked around for the voice she heard. It was a ghost-like whisper in her ear. The feeling of her heart beating fast and heard in her chest as she jerked her body in a circle trying to see if she could sense anyone nearby. When she could see or feel anything near her, Lucy narrowed her eyes and growled low in her throat. She wasn't a fan of perverts, or people playing pranks.

Giving a loud snort, Lucy stood up and walked to the edge of the hot spring. She knew she would be unable to relax any further. Who or, even, what just spoke to her ruined any chance of that happening. Grabbing the towel Virgo had given her, Lucy briskly dried herself than dressed in the jeans and pale green t-shirt she brought. Sending a silent thank you to her spirit as she pulled on thick cotton socks and her calf-high hiking boots.

"The chase is afoot. I am near yet far. Catch me if you can."

A cold chill running down her spine as she sat up straight, Lucy whipped her head around to try and find the speaker again. Not able to stop herself, Lucy stood up and jogged back towards the camp they'd made. Already knowing it was pointless to try and hide the fact that she was nervous and a bit scared, Lucy broke into the clearing and made her way towards Sango and Miroku, who gave her questioning glances.

"Oi, what spooked you like a damn rabbit?" Inuyasha snapped at her.

When she turned to look at him, Lucy saw his ears go flat against his head.

"I heard a voice in the forest while I was bathing and after I got dressed," she said softly.

"A voice, Lady Lucy?" Miroku asked.

Slowly she nodded her head and explained what she had been doing and what was said both times. It disturbed her, possibly a demon trying to get her to run away from the group to be left alone and helpless. Something she was coming to understand had to do with the damn jewel she wore on a chain around her neck. Many have already come for it because of the power that it held and now mingled with her magic.

"Hmm, it sounds as if it is taunting you. Challenging you to catch whoever is speaking to you," Miroku said as he smiled.

This had Lucy pausing and blinking her eyes as she thought about what was said (again). Only to huff in annoyance.

"Well, at least she had enough sense to come back to the damn camp instead of chasing after the damn voice," Inuyasha stated as he laid down and rolled on his side, back to the group.

He had made a lot of rude comments about her and was outright insulting of their friend Kagome. Lucy had heard about his past and what it was like for him to grow up and to a point, she could relate. But for him to open just bash on someone and then keep calling them by someone else's name. Compare them to that person, when said person was dead, was just screwed up on so many levels. Then again, she had no room to say shit since she dealt with Natsu and her team.

This was just too much for her poor mind; Lucy decided it would be best to do what Inuyasha seemed to be doing at the moment — bunking down for the night. Getting up, she went over to the bedroll that Virgo had given her and crawled into it. Once Lucy felt comfy enough, Lucy rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. Amazed at how clear it was as she began to search out the constellations she recognized.

He moved away from the tree he had been leaning against during the whole dramatic spectacle. Sesshomaru didn't have time to speculate about some mysterious whisper that the woman had heard. Though the words were intriguing, it had nothing to do with what he wanted. A thing that the woman denied him because she was annoyed with his brother's antics. Then again, the dark look she had shot in his general direction after the altercation that had caused her to stow his father away in what she called the Celestial Realm.

Of course, he had a lot of questions for his father. But what he wanted was to test how far he has come since his father's death. To prove he was his fathers equal, or could best his father now. It had been over seventy years since his father's death.

"You know she would be pissed if we did what you wanted, right?"

He was spinning around, hand on Bakusaiga as he stared at his father, who was leaning against a nearby tree and looking up at the sky.

"It does not matter what she feels or wants. And I guess this is par for the course with you and your human bitches," Sesshomaru growled.

His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword as he watched his father's head shifted, so he was now looking at him. The way the moonlight made his father's eyes shine like liquid gold as power rolled off his father as displeasure showed.

"Human or not, I was born a spirit and have found my master. So, yes, it does matter greatly what she feels and wants," Toga growled at him.

Sesshomaru slides one leg back, readying himself. His father was still defensive of humans. To him, he could respect the Miko for the fortitude she showed on the journey to right the wrong she had done. And the power she wielded to destroy the half-breed Naraku. This new girl, yes, she had magic and the Shikon no Tama. But he saw it; she didn't use her full potential. The spirits she could summon were weapons and tools, yet she treated them as friends and family, disgusting and weak.

"Really? Your Master. The Great Inu General, Ruler of the Western Lands, would bow before a weak female who doesn't realize the utility of the tools she has at hand?" he muttered.

In the span of an eyeblink, Sesshomaru was nose to nose with his father, neck being painfully squeezed as his body was lifted easily from the ground. The tiny prick on his neck began to burn with the poison from his father's claws. What had him going still was his father's eyes. They had bled red with slitted teal pupils, like his own. His father's beast, inner demon, was rearing his head in anger.

"You are still a child, Sesshomaru. I wonder if I should have left all my lands, riches to you? You haven't changed much at all. Though I know you have a human you care for, it is just because of the bond through the Tensaiga? Would you get rid of her if the bond created was broke?" his father snapped at him.

On his next breath, Sesshomaru felt his body flying through the air. He twisted and landed gracefully and looked at his father. Not surprised that his father looked as if nothing had happened. Face and eyes back to normal, that power he had radiated was gone.

"The stars will speak, they will guide. The key is pale and sparkles. Small and timid, I maybe, but strong I am. For power calls to power and comes in all shapes and sizes."

With those words, he watched his father vanish into a pillar of green and gold light. That was the riddle to find the next key. It still made absolutely no sense. But his father's questions had him thinking as Sesshomaru looked in the direction of the camp.

TBC!