I do not own InuYasha or the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: Thank you for all your comments, I really appreciate reading them. And seeing how Airi's story will be coming to an end soon, please let me know if you're interested in hearing more about her. I can dedicate a few chapters just for her backstory and future. Or things like when she becomes human and loses her demonic powers. Come on... you know you want to know. Drawings of her are coming soon. Sorry for the extra long chapter. Happy reading!

The Mysterious Thief - Part Twelve

Miroku and Inuyasha were about to reach the source of the growing youkai, when an intense wave of Kagome's scent washed over the half demon, almost causing him to stop short. Normally, he was able to keep his emotions underwraps, but the potency of her scent flooded his senses. Feelings stirred in him, that were not helpful to their situation right now. And he silently cursed his human half.

The monk, sensing Inuyasha's brief hesitancy, glanced over at his companion and his eyes widened with curiosity. "Inuyasha, why is your face red?" He inquired innocently.

"It's not, you're just imagining it!" he snapped at the teasing monk.

"Inuyasha, you should be more honest with your feelings," he continued to pry.

The half demon ignored his retorts, knowing that his responses would only encourage him. He kept his eyes focused straight ahead because he had a good idea about who they were about to meet at the end of the corridor.

Inuyasha unsheathed tetsusaiga when the lab door came into view. Miroku took hold of the beads sealing his wind tunnel, but didn't unravel them yet. They rushed through the door, but the sight that Inuyasha was already prepared for, rendered the monk speechless.

At the far end of the large lab stood Airi, next to a demon with pink eyes. He wore a long white coat and had his arms folded across his chest. The smug expression on his face informed them that he had been waiting for them.

"I...is that who I think it is?" Sango stammered, as Kirara came to a stop at Inuyasha's side.

"I'd say we just walked into another trap," the half demon muttered.

The young girl before them looked like the Airi they had come to know. She had the same green eyes and wavy hair, but her skin was now a pale, icy blue. She stared at them indifferently as the demon spoke to her.

"These are the intruders, I told you about," Hideaki informed her casually, ignoring the newcomers.

"I can see your true colors have finally shown," Inuyasha growled.

It was obvious that Airi was standing against them, but Kagome just couldn't understand why. Although she had initially attacked them for food, she hadn't actually harmed them. Kagome furrowed her brow as she remembered how Airi risked her own life to save her from the bandits.

"Inuyasha, you don't think she led us here on purpose, do you?" Kagome questioned quietly.

At the sound of the half demon's name Airi's eyes narrowed and fixed on him with a bloodthirsty glare.

They all stared at Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, did you do something to her?" the monk asked, while elbowing him in the side.

The half demon snarled, "That's something we should be asking you," he said flatly.

Airi took a step forward and the half demon's ears twitched. He faced her again and pointed tetsusaiga at her. "I can see you still don't have much to say, but with a look like that, it's clear you want to fight me," Inuyasha confirmed, advancing a few steps forward as well.

"Inu..yasha…" Kagome whispered nervously, but she knew if Airi attacked, then he would counter.

"It took you long enough to get here," Airi finally spoke. "I've been waiting to annihilate your mutt filth from this world," she taunted, taking another step forward.

Inuyasha flinched, "Did she just call me a mutt," he mumbled. "Why I oughta. I'm not the only one here with mixed blood, bitch," he spat, clenching his fists in rage.

Hideaki grabbed something behind him and handed it to Airi. "I'll leave this to you," he concluded. She reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword that Hideaki offered her. And he exited swiftly through a hidden rear door.

Airi glanced at the sword briefly and twirled it in her hand before setting her stance. "Let's see what you're made of!" She smirked and charged at Inuyasha.

In a blur of red and blue the two swords clanged together. She was matching his attacks without much effort. Kagome watched on and was grateful that Inuyasha was exercising some restraint. After having mastered the backlash wave, he had been over eager for an opportunity to use it.

Airi darted to the side of Inuyasha and raised her sword to aim at the group. A thin layer of ice shot out from her sword and covered their feet and ankles, freezing them to the floor.

"Miroku! Sango! Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, looking shocked at this unknown power. Kirara roared in protest against the ice on her paws.

But Inuyasha didn't have time to help them as Airi was on the offensive again. She was an aggressive fighter and didn't give him a moment to rest. He knew he couldn't keep this up much longer; he would have to deliver a fatal blow soon.

The group was a little stunned, but otherwise okay. Shippou was the only one who had avoided the blast, by hiding on the opposite side of Kirara. The monk attempted to break the ice with his staff, but it had the opposite effect and the ice began to spread onto his staff.

"Sango, don't use hiraikotsu on the ice. Touching it seems to make it spread, somehow," he warned.

"Right," she replied, peering over at him. The monk had a quizzical look upon his face and he seemed to be in deep thought. "Hoshi, what is it?" Sango asked him.

"I'm wondering if meeting Airi was a part of Naraku's plan," he wondered. "Or if the opportunity just presented itself as convenient," he continued. "But it's not like any of us has any special reservations against fighting her."

"Do you mean he wanted to use her like he uses Kohaku?" Shippou blurted out, insensitively.

"Yes, but it doesn't make sense. None of us have an actual history with Airi. I mean we don't want to hurt her, but we could," he reasoned. "Something doesn't add up here."

"You're right, it doesn't seem warped enough. We're missing something," Sango replied.

"I have a feeling that demon from earlier knows all about it," the monk added. "Why don't we go investigate. Shippou, do you think you could melt the ice?" he asked the fox demon.

"That's right, I have to be strong," Shippou encouraged himself. He hopped over to Kagome and used his fox fire on the ice. It was working, but extremely slow.

Miroku was soon distracted by his lecherous thoughts, but Sango stopped his advances with a forceful slap on the hand.

"Dear Sango, you have it all wrong, I'm just trying to protect you. We have to stay warm," he goaded, while rubbing the sting from the back of his hand.

"Shippou, when you're done over there, can you unfreeze me next," the demon slayer pleaded, while she repeatedly hit the monk's hand away. Shippou confirmed, knowing that they were all counting on him.

When Kagome was freed she reached for an arrow. She wasn't sure how much she could help Inuyasha, but she had to try. Something about Airi seemed off to her. Like she was being controlled somehow. But as soon as she notched the arrow large hairy hands seized her from behind. The ape had silently entered through the door behind them and now held Kagome's arms tightly behind her. She struggled against him, but couldn't break free.

"Hey, let go of me!" she yelled.

Shippou jumped onto the ape and tried to get him to release her, but the ape easily swatted his attacks away. He tried a head on attack, but the ape used one hand to knock him unconscious. The fox demon laid on the ground completely out of it.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. "Get your filthy hands off of her!" He tried to get to Kagome's side, but Airi shot large icicles from her hands, which he failed to avoid. The force of the icicles threw him up against the wall and he lost his grip on tetsusaiga.

"It's best not to look away from me," she warned. The female half demon rushed up to him before he could recollect himself and pinned his hands to the wall and froze them there. "I'm the only girl you need to be paying attention to right now," she sneered.

She gripped the sides of his fire rat robe and leaned in close to him. Inuyasha's left ear flicked nervously and he tried to scoot away from her. Gently and affectionately, she nudged her nose against his. At first her nearness and fake scent tricked his mind into thinking the affections came from Kagome.

From across the room the young girl could've sworn that his face was turning red. She looked away and sighed unconsciously as she did. She had recently agreed to stay with him even though he chose Kikyo and now this.

Inuyasha's right ear flicked at the sound of her annoyance, which brought him back to reality. He turned his face away from Airi's and lifted his legs up to push her back. She fell backwards and tripped over her own feet.

While she scrambled, he used his brute strength to break his right arm free from her icy restraint and then his claws to free the other. He ran towards tetsusaiga, but Airi quickly kicked it out of his reach. He heard it slide across the floor, but didn't take his eyes off of her. She was fast, cunning and really getting under his skin.

A low growl escaped his throat, "You're really starting to piss me the fuck off," he threatened. He cracked his knuckles, but none of his aggressive behavior seemed to affect her. "But what I can't stand about you the most, is that familiar smell you're putting off. I hope you've had fun because the game ends right now!"

Inuyasha charged at her. She raised her sword to shoot iced snowballs at him, which he dodged effortlessly. But he couldn't get close enough to land an attack. He also couldn't afford to keep jumping around, for fear that she would willingly hit his friends again. He knew he had to get that sword away from her.

Inuyasha ran at her from her left and tried to make her lose her footing, but she already knew what he was up to and jumped over his low aimed kick. But Inuyasha had another plan. He swiftly slid across to her other side and grabbed her right arm. He twisted it awkwardly forcing her to drop the sword.

He smirked to himself, but Airi had one more trick up her sleeve. She reached across with her left hand and grabbed his upper arm. Immediately a layer of ice crept out from beneath her hand. It started on his arms, travelled down to the tips of his fingers and then progressed slowly down his leg. Eventually it would also threaten the other side of his body. He was unable to move, frozen and helpless against her spell.

Airi laughed wickedly, "Ha ha ha, you better hope it doesn't reach your heart," she cackled.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out to him. The ape hadn't tried to restrain her any further, but he would not let go.

The young female half demon backed away from him as she watched him struggle.

"Hey Airi! You can't do that to Inuyasha!" Shippou yelled after coming to again.

But Airi formed a small iced snowball in the palm of her hand and threw it at Shippou. Before he could leap out of the way and it hit him right in the face. He tumbled backwards and lay motionless on the floor, again.

"Shippou!" Kagome shrieked.

"Why you!" Inuyasha muttered, still trying to overpower her icy spell.

"It's good that you can still run your mouth. You might as well enjoy it while you can," Airi goaded.

A slow applause could be heard from the back of the room. Hideaki had reappeared through the main entrance. "I must say, I am really impressed with you Airi. But now it's time for something a little different," he said and reached inside one of his coat pockets. He pulled out a fragment of the Shikon jewel.

"That's a jewel shard," the demon slayer said.

Almost simultaneously, Airi dropped to one knee. All of a sudden she was having trouble breathing and was losing her strength. Hideaki's eyes flashed to fluorescent green. His youkai flared and Airi struggled to raise her head to look up at him. In that instant when their eyes met, she knew he had been planning to betray her all along, but it was too late. Whatever he had given her was shutting her body down. She was losing all her strength and she could feel her demonic aura waning.

"I'm sorry, dear. I know you were planning on surviving all this, but the truth is you have something I want," Hideaki explained. He thrust the jewel shard into his right hand. Airi coughed violently as she struggled to breathe.

She looked up again at him with a murderous gaze, her green eyes piercing through him. Her body felt like it was on fire, she was in such agonizing pain.

"Don't blame yourself, how could you know the events that happened before you were born," he taunted, while he walked up to her. "When I killed your mother, I failed to steal her powers, but this time, with this jewel shard, I'm going to succeed," he grinned, towering over her.

Airi's youkai flared for a moment after he admitted to killing her mother.

So he's the real reason why I suffered so much in life. It all began with him.

"I'll kill you," she said with a raspy voice. She tried to stand up, but was hit strong with another coughing fit. "Dammit," she cursed.

"The more you struggle, the quicker you'll die," he laughed and kicked her in the face.

Her body flew backwards, crashing up against the half frozen Inuyasha. She lay slumped up against his legs and stared up into his face. He stared at her darkly mixed with a small amount of pity. It was written all over her face that she knew she couldn't win, but he knew she would never ask for help after what she did.

He looked up, his eyes settling on the approaching demon. "If you unfreeze me, I can still stop this," he offered, keeping his eyes on the demon.

"I...I don't deserve it Inuyash… uh," she trailed off as the demon kicked her in the stomach. Airi felt most of the air leave her lungs as she doubled over and gasped for air. She started wheezing and she wasn't sure how much longer she had left.

"Please stop!" Sango pleaded. It was hard to watch, even if she had attacked them.

"As you wish," the demon agreed and stooped down to the ground. He reached over and picked up the sword he had given to the young half demon earlier and with his other hand he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head close to his face.

A small, unpleasant groan escaped her lips.

"There's something satisfying about watching the light leave your face," Hideaki whispered. Although she couldn't fight back, she locked the demon in a lethal stare. Inuyasha could at least admire that quality in her.

Her eyes widened as she came to terms with what would be a painful death and then shut them in anticipation. She heard screams from somewhere. For all she knew, it could've been coming from her, as Hideaki thrust the sword into her abdomen.

Quite unexpectedly, the sword shattered instead of entering Airi's body. The debris from the sword scattered about the room and from the shock, Hideaki released her hair and her body fell limp against the floor in a dull thud.

"What just happened?" the monk spoke. The ice holding them in place broke apart and Inuyasha was also unbound from the spell.

Without wasting any time he leapt to Kagome's side and slashed the ape in the face. The ape looked stunned for a second but then vanished into thin air.

"Keh! The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Inuyasha noted. "Kagome, are you alright?" he asked.

The young girl nodded, "But what happened to Airi?" She questioned.

They glanced over at her limp, lifeless body. Her face was covered by her grey wavy hair.

"I'm not sure, but it seems like her skin protected her somehow. I think she used up the rest of her strength, though.

"No, nooo! How could this happen?!" the demon exclaimed. He started to repeatedly punch Airi, but alas, her skin was hardened like crystal. "I was so close."

Inuyasha had had just about enough of all this bullshit. He took a couple steps to retrieve tetsusaiga and picked it up. The sword transformed at his touch and he aimed it at Hideaki.

Even though the demon was disappointed he hadn't lost his senses yet. He stood up to face Inuyasha.

In a flash the half demon leapt to the side and shielded his friends with tetsusaiga. He had gotten a quick whiff of Kagura, who had sent her wind blades crashing through the room. Hideaki was caught by surprise and looked down at his right arm, which was now laying on the floor.

She had cut it off and looked on unenthusiastic as the poison insects entered the room to collect the jewel shard. "Well as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I need to get going," Kagura mumbled and with another flick of her fan she created a strong gust of wind and disappeared as quickly as she appeared.

"Well, should we finish it off Sango?" the monk prompted her. The demon slayer nodded. Miroku took out an ofuda and launched it at Hideaki. It rendered him motionless and Sango delivered the fatal blow with hiraikotsu.

Shippou was starting to come to again and jumped up in a panic. He calmed down as he saw that everyone was okay, everyone except Airi. "Inuyasha.. Did you kill her?" Shippou asked walking hesitantly over to her.

"Heh, as if she should be so lucky," he snorted, folding his hands into his sleeves. "Can we get out of here already?" he whined impatiently.

Kagome knew how he felt. They had went through a lot of trouble to get down here and still failed to get the jewel shard.

"Inuyasha.." Kagome pleaded, touching his arm gently. "We can't just leave her here."

The half demon rolled his eyes and sighed heavily.