Chapter Forty-Seven

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ONWARD!


"You are sure it was her?" Miroku presses, not for the first time since we had regrouped after Mayumi had disappeared with Kohaku. I had healed Miroku before the poison from the insects he had absorbed could take full affect, but he still looked drained.

"I'm sure of it," I reply with the same conviction as the first time, glancing towards Inuyasha. He was standing nearby, and oddly silent as his amber eyes observed me with an intensity that twisted my stomach painfully. "It was Mayumi's aura, I would know it anywhere," I add softly, hands clenching tightly into fists at my side.

"Well, she's obviously in league with Naraku now," Sango speaks up, voice bitter. I feel a flare of defensiveness rise inside of me, gaze snapping to the demon slayer.

"We don't know the whole story," I argue gently, trying to be patient and understanding towards my friend. She was still stinging with the loss of her brother once more, and no doubt worried about what was to become of him in Naraku's clutches.

"What more is there to know?" Sango demands, her voice sharp. "She took Kohaku!"

"And for that I'm deeply sorry, Sango," I reply calmly, feeling the guilt wash over me anew knowing that I had once again been powerless to help save him. Right now wasn't about me or my feelings, though. "You have got to believe me when I say that Mayumi would never willingly join forced with Naraku. Not in a million years," I fairly well plead for her to see reason, but if I was being honest, I was also pleading with myself, hoping that I was right.

That Mayumi hadn't been tricking me all along.

"Inuyasha? You've been oddly silent," Miroku points out, turning towards the half-demon in question. I look towards him as well, catching his amber eyes as they glance towards me before looking back to the monk.

"What is there to really say?" He asks gruffly in return, folding his hands into opposite sleeves. Miroku looks stunned at his nonchalance.

I have to admit that I'm shocked as well.

"It's Mayumi, Inuyasha," I emphasize, frowning. "She's returned from the dead. Surely you've got some opinion on the matter."

"Nobody can return from the dead," Inuyasha argues firmly, frowning at me now. "It ain't possible, and Kikyo is proof of that. Mayumi not alive. If anything she's just an illusion concocted by Naraku to throw you and I both off," I blink rapidly, taken aback.

Because he might be right.

"That's probably the most logical thing I've heard tonight," Sango quips, Kirara jumping into her arms in her smaller form.

"He had her soul, remember?" I remind the group, swallowing thickly as the guilt washes over me anew. "With everything he's done so far, would it really be that farfetched for him to be capable of resurrection?" Hope tinges my voice. Hope that maybe Mayumi has been given a second chance at life. Hope that we could save her from Naraku's control.

Hope that I could actually meet her and thank her for all that she'd done for me, and to apologize for all that I've done to her.

A clawed hand comes to rest on my shoulder, and I turn to see Inuyasha's sad, gentle eyes looking down at me, his lips turned downwards into a delegated frown. My mouth parts slightly in surprise, almost able to predict word for word what he is about to say.

Was he about to comfort me about Mayumi? Should it be the other way around right now?

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Yua. Mayumi is gone. It took me a long time to come to terms with that, and now you need to as well," Inuyasha murmurs, before drawing me into his strong arms and wrapping me up in a protective hug. I melt into it, burying my face against his chest and taking in a deep breath of his comforting scent.

But I know I wouldn't be able to let this go, let Mayumi go.


We decided to rest for the remainder of the morning, to regroup, before moving along later that afternoon. There was an odd silence in our group, one that even little Shippo seemed to be afraid to break. The tension was coming off of Sango in waves, almost smothering me with their intensity. I knew enough not to take it personally - her anger wasn't directed at me.

'It still feels as if I am somehow responsible. As if Mayumi is still connected to me, and so are her actions,' I reflect, stomach tightening as the guilt over Kohaku's abduction hovers. I look over towards the rice patties that line up the hillside we were currently walking beside, gazing down at my reflection in the water as we move along. My breathe catches at what I see.

Mayumi's brown eyes stare back at me, instead of my green ones.

I freeze, heart racing as I squeeze my eyes shut before opening them once more. Swallowing thickly, I'm relieved to see the green replacing the brown from moments before. What had that been all about?

"Yua?" Shippo asks curiously, startling me. I look ahead where the group had paused upon realizing I had stopped, all of them looking at me quizzically.

"It's nothing," I pacify them, shaking my head before jogging lightly to catch up to them, skidding to a stop mid-stride when an odd noise come from somewhere behind us.

"What was that?" Inuyasha asks sharply, turning his head right to left in hopes of catching where that sound came from.

"Sounds like it came from behind us," Sango replies, our entire group turning to see a young boy appear over the hill on the road behind us, clearly distraught. He continues to scream, even tripping and falling down as he got closer. I frown, quickly moving towards the boy and kneeling down to help him sit back up. Pushing his black hair back from his forehead, I quickly look over him for any visible injuries, thankful when I saw none. When I finally looked into his brown eyes, however, all I saw was fear.

"What's wrong?" I ask urgently. He looked no older than ten, close to Sota's age.

"It's my grandpa! Please, you need to help!" He begs, standing and quickly brushing off dirt from his grey yukata.

"Is it a demon?" Inuyasha asks, having come to stand behind me after hearing what the boy said. The boy doesn't even have a chance to answer before Inuyasha takes off faster than we can all keep up. I turn to him, the fear now gone on his face and replaced with bewilderment.

"It wasn't a demon…he just fell," I hide a smile and force back a snort of laughter, shaking an amused look with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo.

Oh, Inuyasha was going to love that when he finds the old man.


We travel in the direction Inuyasha had taken off, meeting up with the unimpressed half demon only fifteen minutes or so down the road. The boy's grandpa was happily situated on Inuyasha's back, looking no worse for wear.

The same could not be said for Inuyasha's mood.

"Thank you, lad, you've been a great help," the elderly man gratefully states, Inuyasha huffing slightly in response.

"I thought a demon had attacked, but no. You got me all worked up over nothin'," Inuyasha childishly complains. I do my best to hide my smile, but he catches the tugging of my lips nonetheless and sends me a harmless glare.

"Good thing they came along," the boy adds, not deterred by Inuyasha's irritation. In fact, the boy had almost insisted on walking right beside him, under the pretenses that he was keeping an eye on his grandfather.

The awe and admiration in the young boy's eyes pointed to another reason entirely.

'Despite his sour attitude the kid really likes Inuyasha. It's kind of cute,' I can't help reflecting as I look at the pair beside one and other. 'I wonder what Inuyasha's would be like, look like, with our own son?'

That thought nearly has me missing a step.

My chest warms and aches with this new feeling, this new longing that suddenly overtakes me. Imagined images run through my mind of Inuyasha holding a small bundle with such uncharacteristic care and nervousness, looking at the baby in his arms with amazement.

In that moment the need to make that a reality hit me so strong it nearly caused tears to build in my eyes.

'Someday,' I comfort myself, taking a breath to centre myself once more. It doesn't go unnoticed by my mate, the future Father of our children, so I give him a reassuring smile. 'When we've killed Naraku, and things are put right, we'll have our chance for a family.'

If he wants to have children with you.

The cold voice barges through the warmth and happiness, bringing it all to a grinding halt. I feel like ice was flowing through my veins, looking down at the road then to avoid Inuyasha noticing the change. 'He said he had only considered children after meeting Mayumi, that he hadn't had any desire to bring children, his children, into this world before her,' I chance a glance towards my lover who was thankfully looking around and away from me at the time. 'He's so worried about having his own children grow up like he did being part demon. What if he doesn't think I'm strong enough to support them through the hard times as well?'

"I had twisted my ankle when I fell over," the grandfather began to explain, thankfully distracting me from my thoughts. "And now you're even carting me back to my village!" Inuyasha continues to look less impressed as the man goes on.

"No need to worry about it old man," Miroku assures him, a gloating type of amusement in his tone of voice. "Besides, it's on our way. Isn't that right, Inuyasha?" He asks, clearly rubbing insult into injury. Inuyasha simply grunts as a response, not even bothering to rise to Miroku's clear attempt at goading.

"Well I certainly am indebted to you," the elderly man states gratefully.

"Look, the village!" Shippo exclaims from my shoulder. Inuyasha looked visibly elated at that, even moving a little faster down the road. It was a beautiful little village tucked away and surrounded my large knolls and hills. Rice patties surrounded the outskirts, giving the place a feeling of tranquility. The elderly man directs us to where his home specifically is, assuring Inuyasha that he could walk the small distance once we reached the path through the rice fields that would lead to the front door of their home. Even though he was clearly frustrated, Inuyasha handles the older man with care, kneeling down as low as he could to let him slide off his back as gently as possible with the help of his grandson. I glance around, before offering the elderly man a small smile.

"If you are comfortable with it, I could heal your ankle for you?" I suggest, Inuyasha throwing me an annoyed look.

"You couldn't have offered that before I gave this guy a ride home?" He asks, crossing his arms impatiently. I simply shrug my shoulders in response, before looking back to the elderly man for an answer. He looks surprised, but nods.

"That would be a great help! Do you have training?" The grandfather asks, and I nod, kneeling down on the ground and placing my hand over the visibly swollen ankle.

"Something like that," I reply, before concentrating my energy on the injury. "I don't doubt you have a lot of work that needs to be done, and can't be done on a sprained ankle," I add. "You might feel a little warmth, but it's normal."

"You have healing powers?" He asks with a gasp when he feels the warmth I had warned him about. I nod in answer, concentrating. "I haven't see someone with abilities like your's since I was a young lad," after taking my hand away the elderly man twists his ankle around to test it, clearly feeling no residual soreness. He gasps in surprise. "Again, I'm in awe and completely indebted to you all," I stand, brushing my knees off. The boy is now staring at me wide eyed, mouth dropped open in complete shock.

"There's no need for all that. It's a simple injury to fix. I would still take it easy for the remainder of your day, though," I advise, before looking towards the young boy. "Which means you need to make sure you're being extra helpful today, okay?" I ask, reaching over and lightly ruffling his hair.

"I will, and thank you!" The boy exclaims gratefully, unconsciously fixing his hair that I had just mussed up.

'Just like Sota,' I muse to myself, the prang of homesickness hitting me unexpectedly. How long had it been since I'd see any of my family back during my time? Weeks? Months more like it. Maybe it was time for a short visit home when we return to our village.

"Thank you as well Mr. Dog-Man for carrying my grandfather back!" The boy adds, causing Inuyasha's recently calm expression to drop to one of annoyance rather quickly.

"Dog-Man?" He asks lowly, testily, behind me.

"Oh come on now. I actually quite like it," I playfully through over my shoulder, Inuyasha glowering at me now instead. The boy begins to dig into the folds of his yukata then, grabbing something from it.

"As thanks I'm going to give you my treasure!" He exclaims happily, walking up fearlessly to the glowering half-demon and pressing whatever it was into his hands. I watch the scene tenderly, trying not to let me earlier dark thoughts invade in on this moment.

I would see more moments like this in the future, of that I held high hopes for.

The boy even turns around as he begins to lead his grandfather down the path back to their home, waving excitedly to us all. "Bye! Thanks again!" I laugh a little, waving back.

"He sure was a cutie," I sigh softly, Inuyasha scoffing behind me.

"Whatever," he mutters, before opening his hand to see what the boy had given him. Miroku looks over his shoulder on one side, and Sango on the other, but obviously very curious.

"What did the boy give you?" Miroku asks lightly. Inuyasha lets something slip down from his first to hang at his fingers.

"A molten snake skin," he grumbled, his face showing just how unimpressed he was with his 'treasure'. I can't help bursting into laughter at the sight, grinning widely. Shippo jumps from my shoulder onto Inuyasha's shoulder to get a better look.

"You know what they say - one man's trash is another man's treasure," I quip lightly, before seeing the confused looks on all four of their faces. "Oh, right," I murmur sheepishly. "You might not have heard of that one before."

"Sounds very poetic to me," Miroku smirks, winking at me.

"Can I have it if you don't want it, please?" Shippo begs, sounding incredibly excited about the snake skin. Sango giggles, glancing towards me.

"Well, your odd saying makes more sense to me now," Sango admits, looking towards Shippo and Inuyasha with amusement. Inuyasha easily gives up the 'treasure' to Shippo, who begins to cherish it the moment he has it in his little hands. He stays on Inuyasha's shoulder as we make our way out of town and back down the road, waving the piece of skin back and forth.

"Wow! Neat!" Shippo gushes. Glancing back towards the boy, the scene is too funny not to giggle even a little. Inuyasha continues to look unimpressed, even more so as Shippo waves the piece of skin around in front of his face.

"Glad you like it," Inuyasha quips insincerely, crossing his arms. "We don't have time time to be saving people."

"It's not like we went out of our way to help them out. Besides, if that had been my grandpa I would hope someone would help me," I try to reason.

"Whenever you do a good deed you become ill-tempered afterward," Miroku points out. Inuyasha scoffs at the monk's accurate observation, before suddenly stopping and stiffening, his noise pointed in the air. I feel anxiousness bubble up inside of me, already knowing that something wasn't right.

"I smell human blood," Inuyasha answers without us even having to ask, voice gruff.

"What?" Miroku asks sharply.

"Smells like a lot of people," Inuyasha adds ominously, causing my heart to race. To my utter dread he turns his body to face the direction we had just come from, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo quickly following suit. I, however, hesitate, afraid of what I would see when I do look. When I do, I can see the smoke on the horizon, just over the hill.

Right where the village was that we had just left.

"Oh no," I murmur in dread, glancing towards Inuyasha.

"It's the village where we just left the kid and his grandfather," Inuyasha confirms, before turning his back to me so I could climb on. I do so quickly, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo hopping onto Kirara's back after she transforms, and we all race back the way we came.

"Do you smell a demon's scent as well?" I ask Inuyasha over the wind blowing by us.

"Not yet, but the stench of human blood is so overpowering it could be masking that scent," he answers, my stomach twisting in painful knots.

"I hope the boy and his grandfather are okay," I murmur more to myself. With his good hearing Inuyasha must have heard me, because I felt his hands squeeze my thighs gently a second later, trying to ease me.

It wasn't working.

Then, we see someone with an arrow sticking out from their back stumbling towards us.

"It's the boy!" I shout out, eyes wide. 'We don't even know his name,' I think to myself with disbelief as Inuyasha skids to a halt and I slide off of his back quickly. By then the boy had fallen to his knees, gripping the arm closest to where the arrow was currently sticking out on his back by his shoulder. I drop to the ground in front of him, wrapping my arms around the boy's shaking form as he falls weakly into me.

"Please help gramps," The boy nearly whispers out against my chest as I hold him, careful of his wound and not to jar the arrow.

"It's alright, you're safe. I'm going to heal you," I murmur to him soothingly, heart in my throat. I move my right hand, placing it around where the arrow head was embedded in his skin. Every instinct in me was shouting at me to not pull it out, that it would cause more damage, but I also knew it was damage that I could quickly erase. "I'm so sorry," I whisper the apology, knowing I was about to cause the poor boy pain, before yanking firmly at the exact angle the arrow was protruding from his back. The boy lets out a pained cry, and my heart nearly breaks in two. "Shhh, sh, I've got you. It's going to feel better soon," I promise him, quickly placing my hand over his now openly bleeding wound to not only staunch the flow, but to begin healing. My powers take affect immediately, his wound quickly closing up. Only when the boy seemed stable, did I use my healing powers to put him into a peaceful sleep, figuring it was best for him.

"You should stay here with the boy while we go and deal with the village," Inuyasha states gently, his amber eyes softening as he gazes at the boy's form in my arms.

"I'll stay as well, just in case Yua needs my help," Sango volunteers, Miroku nodding in agreement.

"That's a good idea," Miroku quickly agrees, about to take off before Sango stops him.

"But take Kirara with you. I'll feel better knowing she has your backs," she quickly offers up, Kirara nodding her head once, before standing beside Miroku. Miroku's eyes shine with something clearly unspoken as he looks to Sango, the demon slayer staring back with a similar emotion before he climbs onto Kirara's back and they take off. Inuyasha crouches down, clasping his hand around the back of my neck and bringing out foreheads together.

"Stay out of trouble. We'll be back before you know it," he murmurs to me, nudging his nose with my own. I nod, though am still uneasy with us splitting up even though I knew it couldn't be avoided this time. Inuyasha no doubt sensed this, and though he would never admit it, he didn't like the idea of having me out of his sight either. With some reluctance he pulls away from me and stands, turning and following after Miroku, easily catching up to him and Kirara.

My unease only increases as the three of them disappear out of sight.


Once the boy regains consciousness Sango and I decide it's about time that we go and find the men. It had been nearly a half an hour since we had seen them, and I had a odd feeling that something was wrong.

I hate being right.

We walk into the centre of the destroyed village, the bandits taken immediate note of both Sango and I. They look at Sango in particular with an unnerving hunger in their eyes, which she promptly replaces with fear as we fight our way through wave after wave to the center of whatever it was that was happening. Kirara seems to come out of nowhere to the demon slayers defense as well, ripping apart bandit after bandit that was brave enough to try and get near Sango.

"What a delicious looking human."

I freeze at that, instantly recognizing the aura of the demon as he approaches. He's inhumanly pale, with dark hair, painted lips, and an odd eye shade that just didn't seem natural. It was obvious that he was the demon in charge here. The demon's human form was tall and broad, exuding power.

And his eyes were trained on me.

I frown, focusing my energy into two glowing orbs - one in each hand - as I glare at the creature before me.

"Where are Inuyasha and Miroku?" I demand, widening my stance as I note the demon's eyes slide over me towards Sango, Shippo, and the boy we finally found out was named Jin. A breeze rushes over me from behind, carrying my scent across the small distance that separated the nameless demon and I. His eyes seem to widen for a moment as his nostrils flare.

"You've been claimed by that half-breed," he quickly assesses, and I find my hands shaking slightly with rage as he deflects the one thing I demanded to know. As if sensing my ire, his painted lips turn upwards in a smirk. "What a waste," he sighs dramatically, turning his gaze towards a ball of webbing I hadn't taken notice of before. "It appears your mate will soon disintegrate, along with your monk friend."

"No!" I cry out in fear, barely able to sense either Inuuasha or Miroku through the cocoon like structure. I turn back to the demon when I noticed his movement out of the corner of my eye, the bastard moving to step closer. "Stay away from me!" I shout, before throwing both orbs of my aura at him. It deters him, if only long enough for me to run to where the men were both trapped.

"Yua, no! Don't! It's poisonous!" Sango's warning comes just in time, my hands only seconds away from ripping the webbing away in a desperate attempt to uncover them.

Then I feel that demon's presence at my back, a coldness slithering down my spine as his aura overwhelms me. For some reason I freeze as he lifts my hair out of the way, tugging at the collar of my shirt to bare my mark. It felt so invasive, disgusting, to have his breath fanning over it as he examined the marking closely.

"Hm, I see a mark but can scent no real claim on you. In fact…" he takes a deep breath in, and even though I can't see his face, I can tell there is an expression of pleasure on it in that moment, "you're a virgin. How delightful," I cringe at how genuinely happy he does sound about his revelation. "How does that feel, little man, to know that I'll be touching what was once yours? Defiling her in the most delicious ways as you rot away in there. Slowly, painfully," he directs at the cocoon.

And I snap.

"You'll be doing no such thing," I snarl, and with my whole body, I force my aura outwards, blasting the demon behind me off of his feet and sending him flying away from me. Turning I can see the path his body left in the dirt as he skidded along, his form struggling to sit back up from where he had been thrown a good fifteen to twenty feet away.

The sound of ripping can be heard suddenly from behind me, along with an inhuman snarl that had goosebumps appearing on my arms and a shudder running down my back.

I instantly knew what was happening.

"Inuyasha…" I whisper in despair, feeling his hot breath against the back of my neck as he clearly came to stand behind me.

The only answer I get his the feeling of his nose brushing along my jaw line, inhaling deeply as he does.

Then all hell breaks loose.

His first victim was easy to predict. The demon didn't have a chance to morph into his real form, didn't have a chance to even scream, before Inuyasha's claws tore through him like ten hot knives through butter.

The demon was dead before he hit the ground.

"Inuyasha! Stop this!" Miroku shouts out desperately from where he staggers to stand beside me, his blue eyes filled with a mixture of fear and horror as Inuyasha continues his cruel and bloody tirade. He targets bandit after bandit, and though I knew that I should be horrified as well, I found myself consoled by the fact he was seemingly only going after the slimy bastards responsible for the destruction of this innocent village.

'Where is his Tessaiga?' My eyes are locked on the hip where it would usually hang. 'Has it been broken again?' I think, feeling numb. Looking around wide eyed, I finally spot it in the hands of the old man we had helped earlier, his grandson sticking close to his side as they watched on with the same horrified expression. I race over to them both, Miroku close behind me.

"You need to get somewhere safe," I tell the grandfather, taking the sword that he freely offers forward. "Inuyasha isn't in control of himself right now, he could easily mistake you for one of the bandits," I look down to the Tessaiga in my hands, fingers clenching around it tightly, almost as if it were a life line. 'Is this even going to work? Why is he transforming now with the sword still intact?'

"Sango and I will get them to safety, along with the women. You are the only person Inuyasha will let close to him when he's like this," Miroku places his hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up from gazing at the Tessaiga in my hands. The monk's blue eyes will filled with concern. "Just be careful, okay?" I swallow thickly, nodding before turning and running towards Inuyasha, only to find he had followed a group of men on horseback that had managed to get away. Kirara comes running up with Shippo on her back in that moment, and so I grab Shippo gently off of her, placing him on the ground and nudging him towards Sango and Miroku.

"Go with Sango and Miroku, Shippo," I order him, quickly climbing onto Kirara's back.

"But what about you?! You can't go alone!" Shippo cries out in worry, and I offer him a small smile.

"I'll be fine so long as I know you're safe," I reply firmly, nodding towards the demon slayer and monk as they gathered what villagers were left. "Go on," and after urging him a final time, I grip onto Kirara with one hand as the other holds onto Inuyasha's sword, and she takes off. Up ahead I can see flashes of red as he moves through the small group of bandits, horses flinging to the side and landing unmoving on the ground, the bodies of their riders falling next to them. Sometimes it wasn't even a whole body, I realized as Kirara began to run by the first of the victims. There were puddles of blood on the ground, horse and human mixing together to create a gruesome scene. At the end of the trail of destruction stood Inuyasha, his form looming over the three lone survivors from his massacre.

His chilling laughter echoing through the clearing.

Kirara skids to a halt, and I launch myself off of her, running the last few feet with Tessaiga still firmly in the grasp of my one hand. "Inuyasha, this needs to stop!" I shout at him, hoping to break through whatever hold he was under. I come around the three bandits to his side, his red eyes looking at me now intently. His gaze flickers from my face to his sword and back again, enlarged fangs poking out even further as he snarls at me in warning. His fingers, all saturated in blood, crack with his tell tale sign that he's about to attack. "Inuyasha, that's enough," I press firmly, taking another step closer. "These guys are scum, but this isn't like you. You don't slaughter without remorse, you don't laugh as you kill," Inuyasha's head snaps towards me, a deep chested growl that has me shuddering in all the wrong ways erupting from his mouth.

"You are the one that needs to stand down, mate," Inuyasha's voice isn't even his, the tone so dark that I feel like a cold wave was washing over me. "Know. Your. Place."

"And what place is that exactly?" I snap back at him, realizing that this wasn't Inuyasha speaking. This was the demon locked deep inside.

"On all fours," Inuyasha smirks cruelly, his gaze turning heated as he slowly gives me a once over. My back goes straight, hands shaking as they both claps the Tessaiga.

And then he takes a menacing step towards me.

'No, not like this,' I think to myself, feeling my heart racing with true fear, taking a step back despite knowing that I had to appear strong. Seeing Inuyasha like this, seeing him be okay with potentially hurting me, had me shook to the core.

"Don't touch me," I hiss at him in warning, holding the Tessaiga outwards. "If you do, you'll regret it," the men, now forgotten, rush away as fast as they can manage.

"You're mine to do with what I please," Inuyasha replies lowly, his face turning dark with warning once more. "You have no right to deny me," he takes another couple of steps closer, but this time I don't back away. An almost impressed look crosses his twisted features, and I do my best not to wince with disgust when his claws reach towards the side of my face.

The smell of the blood on his hand would haunt me for a long time.

The moment his claws touch the skin of my cheek, Tessaiga pulses and then seems to explode with energy, sending Inuyasha flying backwards through the air. I gasp in shock, falling to my knees as his body falls to the ground, skidding along his back before coming to a stop. I look wide eyed from where he lay recovering, to the sword in my hands, back to Inuyasha once more.

Had Tessaiga just protected me?

'It makes sense. It was originally forged by Inuyasha'a Father to protect his Mother,' I think to myself with wonder, holding on even tighter to the hilt of Tessaiga. It felt warm to the touch now, and thrummed with barely contained power under my fingertips.

Tessaiga felt alive.

"Interesting,"

The new voice directly over my shoulder startles me, and whipping my head around I nearly have to do a double take to be sure I was seeing who I was seeing.

"Sesshomaru?" I question, bewildered. The dog demon simply continues to gaze down at the sword and I, his amber eyes filled with curiosity, before the movement of Inuyasha standing draws his attention instead. The smallest smirk pulls at the corner of the handsome demon's lips, his amber eyes filling with amusement.

"You are nothing more than a murderous demon," Sesshomaru comments, gesturing to the carnage that surrounded us. I stood shakily, turning my back on Inuyasha to instead face what I perceived to be a new threat. Quickly shoving the blade through my belt, I allow my energy to flow through my body, hands glowing purple now and at the ready as I take a few steps back.

"I won't let you hurt him, not even when he's like this," I warn Sesshomaru, his amused gaze now redirected at me.

"Even after he just threatened to rape you?" He asks evenly.

"That wasn't him," I insist, orbs of light building in the palms of my hands. Sesshomaru tilts his head ever so slightly.

"You're right, that wasn't my weakling of a brother," he agrees, shocking me. My mouth falls open slightly, eyes widening, before Sesshomaru takes the opportunity to step around me. I quickly turn, raising my hands up to his towering back, but what he says next has me freezing on the spot. "Tessaiga might not return Inuyasha back to his original state."

"How do you know that?" I ask sharply, faltering. Glancing over to the side I can see Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all arriving, standing beside Kirara.

"I hardly believe this is the time for that conversation," Sesshomaru replies cryptically over his shoulder. "Come at me, Inuyasha," he openly challenges.

"What?! No! Are you crazy?!" I demand, stepping around Sesshomaru then and quickly using my aura to create a wall. It stops Inuyasha short, his fists smashing against the barrier with a frustrated snarl. Sesshomaru sighs behind me, reaching forward with one of his hands and easily clasping my right wrist. I brace myself, waiting for his poison claws to melt at my skin, because there was no way in hell I was going to let Inuyasha take on his brother in this state.

I'd rather die than see him slaughtered.

But what I don't doubt would be the indescribable pain of skin melting from bone never comes. Instead he only applies an uncharacteristically gentle amount of pressure, his long fingers squeezing only slightly. He was surprisingly aware of his strength.

"I am not here to kill my brother. Not like this. It would be too easy," Sesshomaru states genuinely. "When I kill Inuyasha, it will be when he is at his top strength. Today is not that day, you have my word."

"What?" I gasp out in shock, looking over my shoulder at Sesshomaru with wide eyes. "A-are you trying to help him?"

"I'm trying to make him stronger, and eventually, a turn him into a worthy opponent," Sesshomaru replies. "Now move out of the way or be moved, girl," he adds firmly, applying enough pressure to my wrist now to make me uncomfortable. I hesitate, starring into his amber eyes a bit longer, trying to see any hint of dishonesty.

But I find none.

'Actually, it's hard to see any type of emotion in his eyes,' I think to myself, before ever so slowly and very reluctantly, allowing both my arms to fall to my sides.

The barrier falls, and chaos ensues.

Sesshomaru moves the battle away from me, whether on purpose or by coincidence I can't really be sure. As soon as he has occupied Inuyasha, however, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara are at my side. Sesshomaru draws a new sword during one of Inuyasha's charges, and all of us gasp at the feeling of it's power as it effectively holds the persistent half-demon back.

"His new sword can slay an enemy with even the slightest of pressure!" Miroku observes with shock, Sango leaning forward beside the monk, watching intently with worry. "Inuyasha! Back away! You'll be destroyed before you can even get close to him!" Miroku shouts towards his friend, though Inuyasha was clearly not listening, or not able to hear him through his own blood rage. I swallow thickly, feeling light headed.

Had I just made a huge mistake trusting Sesshomaru?

Inuyasha's grunts of pain and effort can be heard as he struggles to break through the power of Sesshomaru's blade. Suddenly he is able to clasp his right hand into a fist and knock the sword out of his way.

"He fought off Sesshomaru's sword!" Sango comments, equally as shocked as the rest of us. Even Sesshomaru looked visibly stunned as well, his mouth parting slightly in surprise. In the next moment my surprise is replaced with worry when I see his forearm spurt blood from multiple lacerations caused by withstanding Sesshomaru's defense. Inuyasha is crunched down on the ground now, hardly paying his arm any mind.

"That was foolish," Sesshomaru critics coldly, causing Inuyasha to launch into his next attack. He charges Sesshomaru once again, swiping at him and missing the dog demon as his older brother easily dodges and leaps out of the way. Sesshomaru twists around mid-air to face Inuyasha once more, extending his sword outwards, the blade pulsing with immense energy. It is enough to send Inuyasha sliding back, the currents slashing through even his fire-rat robe into his skin easily. Blood spurts out in every direction, the sources undetectable underneath the material of his clothes.

"He's cut all over!" Shippo cries in worry from where he had jumped onto Kirara's back.

No, enough was enough.

I move to step forward, before Sesshomaru turns his sword on me. The energy is like a tidal wave, crashing over my body before I can even prepare to defend myself. It sends me flying backwards a few feet, and I land painfully on the ground. Upon impact my head had smacked hard against something jagged and sharp, most likely a rock. Vision going blurry, I can barely make out Sango's silhouette as she kneels down beside me, her hands moving to gently help me to sit up. I reach around to the side of my head, pulling my hand back to see red painting my palm.

"Yua? Yua are you alright?" Sango's worried voice breaks through the fog as things slowly come back to focus. Before I can answer her either way, a bright light suddenly bursts from behind the demon slayer, Sango curving her body instinctively over my own to protect me from whatever was happening. When the light finally dims I look around her, stomach dropping with dread.

Inuyasha was laying on the ground a good distance from Sesshomaru, and he wasn't moving.

"Inuyasha!" I can't help screaming despite my throbbing head, scrambling onto my hands and knees. Sango wraps her arms around my middle, half trying to hold me back and half helping me to my feet. Once standing I quickly push her arms away, bolting across the clearing and through the dust as it begins to settle. When I reach Inuyasha's prone form I throw myself over him without a second thought, landing the nastiest glare I could manage on Sesshomaru.

"Get out of the way, girl," Sesshomaru warns, his voice level. I shake my head firmly.

"Enough, Sesshomaru. You've made your point," I argue, forcing my energy outwards then to create a protective barrier around both Inuyasha and I.

"Hardly," Sesshomaru rebuttals, taking a step forward towards us despite the obvious obstacle of the barrier. "Though he has finally been brought down, I doubt his tirade is over. If you wish for him to stop completely, give him the Tessaiga to fully reverse the transformation," I blink in surprise at the demon above me, once more shocked by his behaviour.

Was he trying to advise me to the benefit of Inuyasha's well-being?

"Otherwise," Sesshomaru continues, "he will resume fighting when he awakens."

"You could have finished him off earlier if you wanted to, but you merely held him off with your sword," Miroku observes as he and Sango both come to stand protectively in front of Inuyasha and I. "Why did you stop at that? We all know you despise Inuyasha. I can't believe that you've developed feelings for your brother?" The monk demands.

"I will slay him, eventually," Sesshomaru confirms calmly. "Why kill him now when he doesn't know himself? There would be no point," he turns then, calmly walking away as if the battle between himself and Inuyasha hadn't just happened. I watch him go with wide eyes, Miroku and Sango equally shocked at the sudden end to the fight and the calm departure of the older demon. A soft groan from below me turns my attention back to Inuyasha, leaning over him hopefully seeing that he was slowly coming to.

"He's back," I sigh in relief, seeing the amber in his eyes once more. He blinks a few times after turning his head to face me, wincing in pain as everything seemed to hit him.

"Don't speak, don't move. Let me heal you first," I caution him gently, before placing one hand on his belly and the other on his forehead after tenderly brushing his bangs back. The warmth of my energy flows through my hands and into him, and I can tell the moment Inuyasha feels the affections, his eyes closing softly and his face relaxing. Only after he was healed did I let him sit up, his gaze turning curious as he looked around at his surroundings.

"What happened?" He asks, Miroku frowning as he steps forward to offer his friend a hand up.

"You don't remember?" The monk questions as Inuyasha comes to stand. Inuyasha offers me his hand in return, before freezing when he sees the blood coating his fingers and claws. Quickly snatching his hand away from me, horror clear on his face, he looks between his fingers before tilting his nose into the air and sniffing. Slowly his gaze turns towards the corpses of the men that littered the road some distance behind us, the colour visibly draining from his face.

"What did I do?"


Inuyasha's mood changed drastically from horrified to sullen after he had demanded to see the village. We had all advised against it, tried to prepare him for what he would see if he chose to go.

Nothing I doubt could have prepared him for the destruction he saw.

I had tried to console him, pointing out multiple times that he didn't hurt any innocent people during his transformation. Inuyasha wasn't comforted by this at all, and as we helped the people of the village build a large pyre to throw the bodies onto, his mood only continued to grow worse.

As soon as we had traveled far enough that the scent of blood and decay, he had jumped into the river to try and wash of the stench.

"Inuyasha…" I whisper to myself sadly. I was virtually helpless as he scrubbed and scrubbed at his hands for what felt like hours in the cold river. Finally he sloshes his way over to the bank where I offer him a towel that he rejects on his way by. Instead he sits down on the grassy bank, one leg bent and the other crossed under it, resting his right forearm on his knee. Sighing softly I move over towards the half demon, falling to my knees in front of him and place the towel over my thighs. Reaching forward I take his right hand, gently moving his arm from where it was resting against his knee and placing it down on the towel. Wrapping it up tenderly, I gently rub away the dampness, before giving him his hand back and moving to the left to repeat the same process.

"You should be disgusted by me," Inuyasha finally voices, his tone low. Frowning I quickly shake my head.

"Never," I reply firmly, and after releasing his hand from the towel I take it in my own. Thumbs gently massaging his skin, I look up into his eyes, even though he refuses to meet my gaze out of shame. "You'd never hurt me, not even in that form," I add confidently, though in reality I was protecting him from the truth.

Thank god he didn't remember threatening to rape me.

"How can you be so sure?" Inuyasha asks sharply. "And it's not just you I'm worried about. What about the others? Shippo? Miroku? Sango? Kirara? What if I turn against them next time?"

"There won't be a next time," I reply firmly, frowning. "We're going to get this under control."

"How?"

"The Tessaiga is what keeps your demon nature from taking over. It suppresses it. That's why when Goshinki broke it you transformed for the first time. It was your body's natural defence to protect yourself," I remind him, chewing on my lower lip as a thought suddenly occurs to me. "Totosai was the one that told us all this in the beginning. Perhaps he might have some more answers?" Inuyasha finally looks at me, his face showing some shock at my suggestion.

"So you want me to go and talk to that crazy old man? You think he will have the answers?" Inuyasha asks doubtfully. I shrug.

"Would it really hurt to try?" I ask in return, watching the mixed emotions play out on his face before he sighs, shoulders falling in defeat. "Can I go with you?" I ask gently then, his gaze softening before he reaches forward for me, wrapping both arms around my waist and pulling me into his lap. I end up straddling him, but the tone isn't sexual, even when he gently removes the tie that holds my hair in place. He gently guides my head down to press my face in the crook of his neck, his claws ever so gently running through my now unbound hair. I take a deep breath of his scent, take in the warmth of his body even through our layer of clothes

My entire body sags against his own in pure comfort.

And as he melts into me as well, I realize that this closeness was for the both of us.

"I don't want you out of my sight," Inuyasha murmurs into my ear, kissing behind it sweetly, and I can't help the big goofy grin that spreads over my face. "Yes, we can go together."

"Thank you," I whisper back in return, placing a soft kiss of my own on his neck, before nuzzling myself even deeper against him.

We sit like that, just the two of us taking each other in, until well after the sun sets.


Well what do you think? Hahaha. Sorry for the delay - I got a new puppy! So excited! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing from you! Until next time!

T.O.T.