Sango: the author got fed up with doing all those disclaimers, so I'll be doing them from now on.

Miroku: Sango! Your angelic voice will surely persuade the readers to review!

Sango: -slaps Miroku- just because you gave me a comment, doesn't mean you can grope me, you letch!

Sango: the author doesn't own Inuyasha…and the author is sorry for the late update!

Chapter Eight: Cloud of Demons

CoCoCoCoCoCo

"I thought you were headed back to your own time," Inuyasha said as soon as he saw Kagome walk into the room. Earlier in the day, the miko had said that she was returning to her own time to bring back some more supplies and Inuyasha wondered why she was still here.

Kagome shrugged. "I realized that maybe it would be best if we looked for Clara before I confront her mother," Kagome said as if it were the most obvious answer.

"I just wonder where she is, though," Sango said softly. "Kagome…you said Hakudoshi pushed Clara into the waterfall…if she's still alive, do you think she was carried downriver?"

Kagome looked at her friend and smacked her forehead. "Why didn't I think of it before?!" the priestess said, berating herself. She grabbed Inuyasha's hand. "Come on, Inuyasha, we're going back to the waterfall to look for Clara."

"We're coming with you," Sango said quickly as she and Miroku stood up and followed Inuyasha and Kagome out the door.

CoCoCoCoCoCo

Naraku gripped his half of the Shikon jewel tightly. He had been scouring the land for days for the other half of the jewel, the other half that Miidoriko had with her when Hakudoshi killed her. He narrowed his eye menacingly at nothing. Could she have possibly hidden the jewel somewhere? Naraku thought as he slightly loosened his hold on the jewel. If she did, where could she have hidden it…With Kikyou perhaps?

Naraku scowled. If it was indeed with Kikyou, then taking it would be difficult. A mad grin replaced the scowl on his face when he remembered that Kikyou was dying and with Kikyou gone…

Everything would fall into place.

If only he had the other half of the Sacred Jewel…

He called Kanna into the room and the young incarnate obediently went in. She stood in front of him and held her mirror high so that he could see. "Show me Kikyou," he said. Kanna's mirror flashed with light. He saw Kikyou. She was in a village, treating soldiers and sick people. "How typical of you, Kikyou," he said more to himself than to Kanna. "Do you wish to do good before you die?" A small smirk crept up his lips. "Well, Kikyou," he said softly. "Let us make the remainder of your life here, hell, shall we?"

CoCoCoCoCoCo

"I think it's healed already, Rin-chan," Clara said softly, referring to the wound at her side. She remembered what Sesshoumaru said about her leaving. "And I think I should return to Lady Kikyou now…" her voice trailed off. She and Rin were sitting near a riverbank, allowing their feet to dangle freely in the water. Sesshoumaru was away, where, Clara didn't know but Jaken was there with them and he was grumbling that his lord had kept him just to baby-sit and that Sesshoumaru should kill him now.

Rin sighed. "Should you?" Rin asked. "I mean, it gets pretty boring with just Jaken-sama to talk to…"

Clara sighed. "I should go, Rin…I've been away from Kikyou for a week…I've been away from my mother for nearly a month…she must be worried sick about me," Clara said as she thought of her mother. She sighed again. She never really thought that she would miss her mother this much. Besides, she wanted to stay away from Sesshoumaru. During the time she had spent with him and Rin, she felt awkward whenever she was around him. She couldn't tell if it was from fear or from something else.

"You're lucky, Clara-san," Rin said softly.

Clara looked at Rin; there was sadness in the little girl's eyes. "What do you mean?" Clara asked.

Rin bowed her head sadly. "Well…Before I joined Lord Sesshoumaru…my parents and entire family were killed by bandits…" Rin's voice trailed off as tears slowly sprang to her eyes.

"I'm sorry I asked," Clara said softly as she drew Rin close to her in a comforting embrace. "I didn't know…forgive me for asking such a foolish question," Clara apologized again. Rin looked up at her and nodded and soon enough a toothy grin replaced the sad frown on her face.

"It's alright, Clara-san," the little girl said as she began wiping the tears away from her eyes. "After all, I have a new father!"

Clara tilted her head sideways at her. "What do you mean? You have two fathers?"

Rin nodded. "Lord Sesshoumaru!"

Clara raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. "Oh?" she said. She never really thought that Sesshoumaru, who, in Shippou's opinion, was a cold blooded killer, could ever be a father figure. "Well…I'm quite surprised." Clara and Rin continued to gaze at the surface of the lake where the water glittered like jewels.

Clara abruptly stood up. "Where are you going, Clara-san?" Rin asked.

"I have to leave now, Rin-chan," Clara said softly. "My wounds have healed and…I'm sure Lady Kikyou is worried about me."

Rin sighed. "Will you visit?" she asked innocently.

Clara gave her a small smile. "We'll see." She walked towards the forest but found her way blocked by Jaken.

"Who said you could leave, human?" he demanded.

"Sesshoumaru…he told me when my wounds have healed, I could leave," Clara said with a shrug.

Jaken narrowed his eyes at her for a moment then stepped aside. Clara walked past him and into the forest. She glanced over her shoulder at Rin. The little girl was looking at her, waving her hands in goodbye. Clara waved her hand once then went into the forest. She walked for a while before she bumped into someone.

"Ow!" she said as she staggered backward. She looked up. "Oops…" she said as soon as she saw the person whom she had bumped into.

"Human…have you no eyes?" Sesshoumaru asked coldly.

"Actually, I do," Clara said coolly. She was getting fed up with his stuck-up attitude. "It's just that I thought you would move you know…like a gentleman." With that, she hurriedly walked past him before he could do or say anything. Sesshoumaru glanced at her from over his shoulder and decided that she wasn't worth the effort and returned to where Rin and Jaken were.

CoCoCoCoCoCo

"Miko-sama!" a voice called out.

Kikyou looked up from the wounded man that she was treating just as two men came hurrying toward her. An older man was supporting his much younger companion who looked as if he had been beaten. The young man's right arm hung oddly at his side.

"What has happened to him?" Kikyou asked as the people around her made way for the old man and his injured companion.

"He was beaten by bandits," the old man said solemnly. "By the time the villagers and I came to help him, he was like this. The healer at the village said that maybe you could help."

Kikyou instructed the young man to sit on the ground beside her. He did so with difficulty. The miko ran her hands gently over the man's sides. "Broken ribs…three or maybe even four," she said to more to herself than to the old man. Her eyes fell on the young man's arm which hung oddly from his side. "Has his arm been…ripped from its socket?" she asked herself. She gently wrapped a hand around the arm and the young man moaned in agony. She turned her attention to one of the wounded soldiers who was now recovering. "Hand me you dagger," she instructed. The soldier raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Miko…are you going to cut off his arm?" the old man asked with shock in his voice.

Kikyou shook her head. "No…the dagger please," she said and took the dagger the soldier offered her. She turned her attention to the young man. "I want you to bite down on this…like that, very good," she said. She placed both her hands on the man's arm and applied a whisper of pressure. The man tried to muffle a scream. "Bite down on the dagger!" Kikyou said as she deftly slammed the young man's arm back into its socket. A horrified scream filled the man's lungs but soon quieted down to a whimper of relief. He looked up at her with grateful eyes.

"Thank you, priestess," the old man said as he helped support the young man to his feet.

"Take him to that over there…there is a healer there who will help him," Kikyou said as she stood up.

"M-miko-sama!" a boy shouted as he pointed at the darkening sky.

"What…?" Kikyou looked up at the sky. The clouds had darkened over and figures were headed toward the village. Kikyou squinted up at the approaching figures. "Soul Collectors…?" Sure enough, black soul collectors burst through the clouds. There were hundreds of them…and they were headed toward Kikyou.

Her eyes widened as demons followed after the Soul Collectors. The people around her screamed and ran. Naraku, Kikyou thought. Are you planning to snatch the souls away again…?

"Everyone, run!" Kikyou ordered. The people around her immediately fled, running in all directions. Kikyou looked around for her bow and arrows and found them lying nearby. She ran to them, grabbed them and began firing her holy arrows at the demons and soul collectors. Her arrows killed some of the demons.

"Oh no!" Kikyou shouted as a soul collector flew past her and snatched one of the souls from her body. Her own soul collectors chased after the black ones that were harming their mistress, but there were just too many of them…

Kikyou fired another arrow. Getting rid of the demons was her main priority. A dozen more black soul collectors flew past her and each of them snatched a soul from her clay body. Kikyou dropped her bow and quiver of arrows, its contents spilling on the ground.

"No," Kikyou said softly. "They have…snatched too many…I…I…" The lack of souls made Kikyou fall to the ground, lifeless.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Kagura said. She was flying above the sky on her feather, watching the scene below. It was Naraku who had ordered her to attack Kikyou. "And I thought she would hold out…oh well…" She pointed her fan at Kikyou and the demons hovering in the air above her flew towards Kikyou, ready to attack and destroy her.

CoCoCoCoCoCo

Clara stopped in her tracks. Just above the trees, above a village, she spotted a black, ominous cloud. "What is that…? Clara said to herself. "I have such a foreboding feeling about that cloud…" Her eyes widened as she saw a holy being fired towards the clouds. "A holy arrow…? Could it be Lady Kikyou's…?"

She ran to the village and her eyes widened even further. Black soul collectors hovered above Kikyou's now soulless body. Her arrows and bow lay on the ground beside her and demons were headed towards her. Clara ran to Kikyou's side, dodging the demons as she did so or rather…it was the demons that were dodging her. At her arrival, the black soul collectors hovering above Kikyou scampered.

"Lady Kikyou!" Clara said, kneeling beside her. She was completely lifeless. Where are the soul collectors…? Clara thought as she looked around.

"You're still alive…?" a rather haughty yet shocked voice said. Clara looked up. A woman was hovering on a feather above her. She was holding a fan tightly in her hand and the demons were hovering beside her.

"You did this to her!" Clara said as she stood up and glared at Kagura.

"So it seems that Hakudoshi failed to kill you," Kagura said, feeling relieved that their ticket to freedom wasn't dead.

"Are you working for Naraku?" Clara asked.

Kagura smirked and sent a barrage of wind blades at her. Clara dodged them by jumping backward. She landed right beside Kikyou's bow and arrows. She quickly picked them up and fired an arrow at Kagura. It lit up with white light and…missed.

Clara's eyebrow twitched. "I hate bows…" she muttered.

Kagura laughed at her. "Little girl…it seems that you can't even hit a non-moving target!" the wind witch taunted. She pointed her fan at Clara. "Forget the undead priestess…take her!"

Clara hastily notched another arrow to the bow. "Come on, hit!" she said as she fired the arrow. The arrow sped towards the army of demons, obliterating them as it did so.

Kagura gritted her teeth. "So this is why demons fear Midoriko," Kagura said to herself. "One arrow purified…a hundred demons…no matter! There's more of them, little girl!" At Kagura's word, more demons appeared from behind the clouds, all headed towards Clara.

Clara's eyes widened. She tried notching another arrow to the bow, but her fingers shook and the arrow fell to the ground…and the demons were getting near. Her eyes widened and she closed them, waiting for the strike of a hundred demons to end her life…

"Dragon Strike!" a voice shouted. A blast of blue energy spiraled dangerously towards the youkai and killed them all.

Clara looked up. "Sesshoumaru…?" she said. The dust settled down to reveal the youkai lord lower his sword slowly.

"What is he doing here?" Kagura asked aloud. "It doesn't matter…Kikyou is my main target!" She raised her fan and more demons came from behind the clouds.

"Is there no end to them?" Clara muttered. As more demons came hurrying from behind the clouds.

"They come from the dark clouds," Sesshoumaru said as he walked past her and raised his sword. "It is an ancient spell…a dark cloud where an endless number of demons come from…Naraku's doing, no doubt."

"Don't tell me you're helping Midoriko?" Kagura asked with disbelief. "Am I to understand that the proud and powerful Sesshoumaru is helping a human?"

"I am not helping her," Sesshoumaru said acidly, glancing up at the wind witch. "I am merely here to get information…from you."

"Oh?" Kagura asked with amusement, taking Sesshoumaru's words as an act of…flirtation. "And what do you want to know…?"

"Why did Naraku send you this time?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

Kagura shrugged. "I am not here for Midoriko…I am here for her!" She jabbed her fan in the lifeless Kikyou's direction. Sesshoumaru glanced at the dead priestess. It seemed as if all the souls in her body had been taken away. Without saying another word, Sesshoumaru sent another Dragon Strike at the hoard of demons that sped towards him, obliterating them.

"Don't think I'm that easy to defeat!" Kagura shouted as she sent more demons from the cloud at them. Sesshoumaru growled in anger. If he wanted to get rid of the demons, he'd have to get rid of the demonic clouds…and that was difficult. The only way to get rid of the clouds quick enough was by using a holy arrow.

Meanwhile, Clara was back at Kikyou's side. "I have to get her somewhere safe," she muttered as she slowly started to pull Kikyou to her feet. Sesshoumaru was suddenly beside her.

"Put her down," he said, grabbing Clara's wrist. "You are coming with me."

"Hey! What gives?" Clara said as she dropped Kikyou.

"Take the arrow and the bow, woman," he ordered. There was such a note of command in his voice that Clara hurriedly picked up at bow and arrows.

"Dispel the clouds with your arrow, woman," Sesshoumaru ordered as he slashed at the demons that were headed towards them.

"I can't hit that far!" Clara complained as she notched the last arrow to the bow. "I'm not a master archer like Kikyou!"

Sesshoumaru glared at her. "Fool." Clara watched as his form flickered and in his place stood a gigantic majestic silver dog.

Clara blinked. Where did he go? She looked at the dog in front of her. "Se…sshoumaru?" she asked timidly. He was a dog? Who knew?

She watched as the colossal dog bent its forelegs. "You want me to…ride on you…?" she asked. He gave her a look that seemed to say, "Duh."

Clara glanced back at Kikyou. She approached the dog hesitantly. If she had known how big dogs could be, she would have been afraid of her pet Chihuahua back in the States. She hesitantly got on his back and the moment she did so, he sped upwards towards the sky with such speed that Clara nearly fell off.

"Hey!" she said angrily as she grabbed a fistful of his silky fur.

Kagura's eyes widened when she saw the dog headed towards her. Damn, I didn't think he would transform, she thought as she maneuvered her feather in order to avoid him. She looked up at them. They sped past her, headed towards the black clouds. Kagura glanced at Kikyou on the ground, she was defenseless.

"Attack her!" she shouted, pointing her fan at Kikyou.

Clara glanced behind on the ground her eyes widened when she saw the demons headed towards Kikyou. "Lady Kikyou!" she shouted and without hesitating, she jumped off the white dog.

The canine turned its head to the girl. What a fool she was! Didn't she know that when she hit the ground, she would die?

Soul Collectors suddenly caught Clara as she fell-Kikyou's Soul Collectors. They set her down on the ground and she quickly ran towards the demons that were now feet away from Kikyou. "Get away from her!" Clara shouted as she notched an arrow to her bow and fired it at the demons. Her aim was off. The arrow only disoriented the demons, sending plummeting towards Kikyou. Clara's eyes widened in shock as demons missed Kikyou by inches.

She ran to Kikyou and knelt beside her. The undead priestess's face was covered with dirt and her hair had come loose. "Lady Kikyou…" she said.

"Fool!" Kagura shouted as she waved her fan and more demons came pouring out of the clouds, as numerous as raindrops.

The colossal dog sped back towards the two priestesses and stopped in mid-air. He felt a great amount of holy energy from Clara. Sesshoumaru quickly morphed back to his humanoid form and landed yards away from where Clara was. It wasn't Clara though.

It was Midoriko.

The priestess's eyes glowed white as she looked up at the demons.

Midoriko? Sesshoumaru thought. If Midoriko was here…where was Clara?

CoCoCoCoCoCo

"Can you feel, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked the hanyou as they all stopped in their tracks. They had just come from the waterfall with no results.

The hanyou looked at the monk. "Yeah," Inuyasha said. "I can feel it…the presence of an endless number of demons…and…this scent…" Inuyasha sniffed the air.

"What is it?" Kagome asked. She too, could feel the foreboding aura of a great many demons.

"These scents…Sesshoumaru's…Kagura's…Kikyou's and…Clara's!" Inuyasha announced.

"Did you say Clara?!" Kagome asked.

"Come on! There isn't much time to loose!" Inuyasha said as they sped off.

Moments later, they came to an abandoned village where the dark cloud of demons hung. "What the-!?" Miroku said as soon as he saw what lay before them.

"That's…Midoriko," Sango said with awe.

Indeed. Midoriko was standing beside Kikyou's limp form and a few yards away from her stood Sesshoumaru. Midoriko was looking up at Kagura, her eyes were glowing white.

Damn! Midoriko! Kagura thought as she quickly flew off in fear of her life.

Sesshoumaru watched as Midoriko held out her hands and a glowing bow notched with an arrow appeared in them. She pointed the arrow towards the clouds and released it. It lit up with a strong white light and sped through the clouds, purifying them into oblivion. The amount of holy power Midoriko gave off was enough to make Sesshoumaru feel slightly dizzy.

They all watched as the bow and arrow Midoriko held vanished. They covered their faces as Midoriko glowed with a piercing white light. The light spiraled around her and in a flash, she was gone and in her place stood Clara. The young woman staggered to the ground and fell, dizzy.

"Clara!" Kagome shouted as she ran past Sesshoumaru whom she only noticed just now. She knelt by Clara's side. "Are you okay?" Kagome asked as Sango, Miroku, Shippou and Kirara came towards them. Inuyasha-predictably-had gone to Kikyou's side.

"Wha-what happened…?" Clara asked as she slowly sat up.

"You mean…you don't remember?" Kagome asked.

"Remember what?" Clara asked, placing a hand on her forehead.

Miroku narrowed his eyes as he, too, knelt beside the girl. "A few moments ago, you were Midoriko who eliminated all those demons…don't you remember that?"

Clara shook her head.

"Miroku…can you explain?" Kagome implored.

Miroku looked thoughtful. "I have heard that sometimes, the person to whom you reincarnated to can 'wake up' when the reincarnation is feeling a strong and powerful emotion," the monk said. "But this happened only rarely and in fact…a lot of priests say that this can never happen but…I think they're wrong," he said as he looked at Clara. "Midoriko came out and defeated the demons but…I think what came out was only Midoriko's power and actions for the true Midoriko is sealed within the Sacred Jewel."

"What do you mean by power and actions?" Clara asked.

"I think…it's like you go into a state…a state where you remember how you used your powers in your past life in order to defend yourself…hence Midoriko's appearace," Miroku finally said. "Though I'm not so sure."

Clara was silent. She glanced over Miroku's shoulder just in time to see Sesshoumaru leaving. "Oh Sesshoumaru!" Clara called out. The others blinked at her and Sesshoumaru glanced at her from over her shoulder. Clara smiled at him. "Thanks for helping me earlier," she said.

He didn't respond. Instead, he turned and left.

"He helped you?" Kagome asked.

Clara nodded. "I wouldn't have been able to live if he hadn't come to help me and Kikyou."

Speaking of which, Inuyasha was kneeling by Kikyou's side as Soul Collectors came and brought her the very much needed souls. Kagome looked at Inuyasha and sighed; she would let them be.

"So, Clara," Kagome said, turning back to her friend. "What do you want to do? Do you want to go home for a few days? Besides, I think Kikyou could you use the rest."

Clara nodded. "It's time I see my mother."

CoCoCoCoCoCo

Sango: end of chapter.

Miroku: review otherwise…

Sango: he'll suck you all in…just kidding!
Miroku: -opens wind tunnel- I'm not!