Well, here it is people, I hereby present to you: chapter 7. And rejoice people – I'm done with school and I graduated, so there's a slight chance of me updating a little more often for a while. I repeat, it is a SLIGHT CHANCE, which mostly depends on you all now. Like I said, reviews are like fuel :3
I realized while writing it that it's damn hard to write Sesshōmaru as he was at the beginning of the canon-series: a ruthless killer. So, I apologize if he is OOC. I tried my best.
And, something even I didn't expect for this chapter: we even get a glimpse into Kagome's past. Now, aren't you excited about it?
OK, OK, I get it, I should just shut up and let you guys read. I'm going to do it now, chill out. But thanks for the wonderful reviews I got, I loved reading and responding to them all… even if it was few.
As always, many thanks to Amber for editing :3
ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:
InuKag4eva: What do you mean 'took me long enough'? I said I was busy, get off my back XD But I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the review :3
No penname: To be honest, seeing how she treats Inuyasha… I wouldn't want her to be my personal trainer either LOL Then again, such training might be quite effective if you think about it… I have yet to test it out myself though :3 I'm glad you liked it and I'm about those demons I came up with: trust me, thinking one up isn't so hard and it's better than taking one from canon because you don't have to worry about its character, you can invent it yourself. Thanks for your awesome review and I hope Sesshōmaru's entrance won't be a disappointment.
Tracks:
Final Fantasy X OST: To Zanarkand
GazettE: Miseinen
Breakers:
XxX: change of scene
~ξ~: time-skip
乗: Beginning/End of Flashback
[T] and [/T]: beginning/End of soundtrack
Reminder: 'Inuyasha' written normally refers to Inuyasha, while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) refers to Kagome, the "Gentle Dog Demon". 'Hanyō' written normally means "half-demon", while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) it means "half-breed".
Chapter 7 – Kagome and Sesshōmaru
"If you don't mind my asking, Kagome-sama, why did you decide to run? It is not like you to try and flee from your brother," Myouga asked the half-demon once they stopped for the night. Inuyasha had already fallen asleep, which allowed the two demons to converse freely, not that they would have done it otherwise had the human been awake. Kagome scoffed at the question.
"I'm not running away. I of all people should know that if Sesshōmaru wants to find you, then there's nowhere you can run to. But running gives me time. Time I need to figure something out," she replied, her keen eyes searching her surroundings. The dark didn't bother her, she could see in the blackness of night as well as in the light of day.
Myouga didn't say anything, but the look he was giving her was enough. The young hanyō sighed before pointing to the sleeping human with her thumb. He had fallen asleep faster than she expected him to, as he was apparently more exhausted from their run than any other day. Then again, she had been going faster today.
"He's… my charge you could say. I know normally Sesshōmaru wouldn't be interested in him, so long as the idiot stays out of his way. But Inuyasha isn't one to back down. Knowing him, next time my dear half-brother comes, he'll get himself in a fight more deadly than he can handle.
"I know Sesshōmaru. I've fought him enough times to know his style more or less. He's ruthless. Should Inuyasha get into a fight with him, he's sure to die. I don't want him to get into a fight that does not concern him. So I need to figure out a way to get rid of him for a while. He can't be there when I handle Sesshōmaru."
"So you are concerned for his well-being, Kagome-sama?" Myouga asked, his big eyes staring straight into Kagome's face as if he was trying to read an answer out of it. The golden eyed girl sighed.
"Why do you sound like you're surprised? It's not the first time I've protected a human, is it? You know how I am. I follow my mother's teachings is all," she said, directing her eyes at the star filled sky. The view of the stars always made her feel at peace. She could never get enough of them.
"Your father and mother would have been proud if they could see you now," the flea stated with a smile, to which Kagome scoffed.
"I don't know how they would have felt if they could see me now, because if they could see me, there's no telling what I could be doing," she stated. "For all I know, if they were here right now, I might have been a completely different person."
That wasn't to say the half-demon-girl was glad to be an orphan, but Kagome was not one to wonder about the what-ifs of life in such a way. Never once did she wonder what her life might have been like if her mother had lived or if she had known her father. She didn't need to think that way because she accepted their deaths. People lived and people died, it was the simple truth of the world and those who lived were better off accepting it.
That, of course, didn't mean it hadn't been hard at first. Kagome still remembered that first year after her mother's death as if it was yesterday. Looking back at it now, the young hanyō even wondered how she had been able to survive at all, since she had been nothing short of a mental wreck who could have cared less whether she lived or died. How she had gotten herself out of that hole was a mystery to her but she was glad she did.
Wait, wasn't there a human kid who needed her help involved?
Kagome narrowed her eyes as she thought back. Indeed, what had shaken her out of her stupor was meeting a little human girl on the verge of death. Maybe not literally, but had Kagome not been there, there wasn't much more that could happen to that human kid other than death. There had been two things the hanyō pup she was back then could have done at that: leave the human to die or help her. Looking back at it, the decision seemed rather obvious to the young hanyō. Back then however, it was truly a hard choice to make, impossible as it may sound.
乗
[T]
Kagome walked slowly down the path through a forest. She had been wandering aimlessly for the past year, not really caring what happened to her. She ate if she managed to catch something, but didn't desperately try. Following her instinct of survival, she ran when she came across a demon, but she wouldn't have fought really hard if it followed her and decided to end her miserable existence. She couldn't care less whether she lived or died. How could she possibly live a happy life after what had happened to her mother?
She was brought out of her thoughts as a scent she wasn't accustomed to entered her nose. The young pup stopped in her tracks and looked around, trying to find the source of the stench her sensitive nose had caught. Blood. Human blood.
It had taken a while, but after carefully sniffing out her surroundings, the young child finally pinpointed the direction the smell was strongest in. She hesitated though. Should she go and see if there was something she could do or should she just pretend she never smelt anything in the first place? And if she decided to go, what could she possibly do? She was but a kid, after all. And a hanyō to top it off. Her help was definitely neither needed nor wanted. Nodding to herself, the white haired child turned on her heel and was about to go another way when something stopped her.
"Things have not always been like they are now, Kagome. Once, things were different. They will never go back to the way they were, that's true. Not if no one tries to change them back. But as silly as it may sound, sometimes it just takes one person to change a lot of things."
Those had been her mother's words. Kagome didn't truly understand what they meant, not all of it anyway. A part of those teachings was simple, though. If sometimes just one person can make a difference, then they should at least try.
Hanging her head, Kagome just stood there perplexed as she hesitated about what to do, her nose wrinkling at the stench of blood still hanging in the air. If she went there, she might be able to do something to help… maybe. If she didn't, the human would most likely die.
It was that thought that finally made her make up her mind. Turning around, the young hanyō ran as fast as she could towards the smell.
She wasn't delusional. She knew there was a big chance that the human was already dead or would refuse her help. Besides, she was just a small pup so there couldn't be much she could possibly do. Still, she had a feeling she had to go, even if it was just to make herself feel at peace. It was just something she had to do.
She stopped dead in her tracks as she arrived at what was most definitely the source of the smell. Laying in the dirt surrounded by a small pool of most likely her own blood lay a little girl. She was definitely human. She looked around five or six years old, which wasn't actually much older than Kagome herself, at least judging by the hanyō's appearance.
Kagome eyed the human curiously as she approached. The girl had long, black hair and was dressed in a simple, light green kimono. It was torn from the waist down revealing her legs, one of which was sporting a long and deep cut from the ankle up to her knee. Had it not been for the fact that the wound definitely wasn't life threatening (even if it did bleed a lot) and the fact that her whole body was trembling with what the little hanyō pup soon concluded to be suppressed sobs, she could have passed for dead quite nicely. It was good considering most demons would leave her be, but it was bad since that also meant no one was very likely to come and help her. No one but her of course.
"Sometimes it just takes one person to change a lot of things," her mother's words echoed in her head again and Kagome slowly approached the crying child, who wasn't actually much older than herself.
"Hey… what happened to you? Are you… uhm… OK?" the young hanyō asked as she approached slowly, much like she would approach a wounded animal. The question had been stupid enough, if the girl had been OK then she wouldn't be lying in the dirt in the middle of the forest pretending to be dead.
The question made her look up however and golden eyes met blue ones as the two children stared at each other. Kagome had crouched next to the girl, though not too close. When the human looked up at her, she half expected her to scream and back away, like the other children back at her village often did. That and probably call her a few hurtful names. So she was rather surprised when the girl did neither, though a slight scent of what Kagome would later recognize as fear crept into her natural scent.
"Who… who are you?" the girl stammered, her eyes wide. Kagome blinked.
"I'm Kagome," she said simply. It didn't really answer the other girl's question, but there wasn't much more she could say. "I was… uhm… passing through, when I smelled the scent of blood. I… came to see if maybe… there was something I could do to help," she said slowly. She knew how stupid she must have sounded. Hell, she could barely help herself and she wanted to help others? What a joke. "What happened to you?"
Her voice was soft as she talked to the other girl, remembering how her mother had talked to other children when she met someone who needed her help. Her mother was always one to put another's needs before her own, always one to help whenever she could, and Kagome slowly started to realize… she possibly took that trait from her. She just hadn't had the chance to notice it up until now.
The girl started to sniff some more as tears rolled down her cheeks. Before Kagome could do something to stop the flow however, the girl spoke.
"I… I was walking with my… mommy. We were… were going back home and… and we had to go through the forest. I just… I saw a very pretty flower and I… wanted to… pick it for her. But when I got it and turned around again… mommy was gone and… and then a demon chased after me. I… I ran but… but it caught me and cut my leg so I… I couldn't run away. I was so scared it would kill me... but then it just... vanished somehow and I… I was all alone and… and couldn't move and just… I just want to get back home," the girl managed to choke out between sobs and Kagome looked at her with sad eyes. It seemed the girl had been lucky. Most likely the demon had struck her, but lost sight of her when she fell and couldn't find her, believing she had run off. At least that's what Kagome thought might have happened to explain why the demon suddenly vanished. She might be just a pup, but even she knew the fact that low-level yōkai were rather dumb and rarely used their noses, which so long as they didn't have too keen eyesight made it rather easy to hide from them.
Though how that yōkai could have missed the heavy stench of blood coming from his would-be pray was beyond the hanyō child.
"Do you have any idea in which direction your village might be?" Kagome asked, sounding for all the world much older than she actually was. It was almost as if her mother was speaking through her mouth. The young hanyō didn't fail to notice that, but somehow it made her feel better. Almost as if her mother was still with her.
The other girl eyed Kagome with watery eyes before nodding slowly to which Kagome smiled the first genuine smile since her mother's early demise. Gone was the gloomy little child who somewhere deep down wished to die and in its place came the young cheerful kid she had been before she was introduced to the harsh reality of life.
"Alright," she said with a smile as she crouched on the ground as lowly as she possibly could. "Think you can get on by yourself?" she asked. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the other girl giving her a questioning glance and she smiled again. This was actually the first time she talked to someone her age now that she thought about it. First time she talked to anyone other than her mother and heard other things than hateful words directed at herself.
"I'll carry you home," she answered the unasked question and was happy to see the other girl smiling in return before her hands tied themselves around her childish throat and the girl climbed onto her back. Once she had a secure hold of her, the young hanyō stood up to her full (if still ridiculously small) height and started walking in the direction the girl on her back told her to go.
"Why are you helping me?" the girl suddenly asked when they were close enough to the village for Kagome to smell and hear it, even if the hanyō child knew they were still a little ways off. Her smile fell as the gloomy mood she had been in until not too long ago came back.
"Because your mommy must be worried about you. My mommy worried about me too when I was lost in the woods," she replied.
"Where's your mommy now?" the girl asked again, oblivious to the tears that started to form in the hanyō's eyes.
"I don't have a mommy anymore," she answered quietly and she could hear the girl behind her gasp slightly before the arms around her neck tightened. The village was already in sight.
[/T]
乗
Kagome sighed as she shook the memories off. Looking back at it now, she had been quite stupid. She had been but a pup. Thinking she could have helped anyone was just plain stupid. But then again, if she hadn't met that girl and hadn't helped her, she would have probably been dead by now. And if not, she'd still be a walking corpse.
It was thanks to the fact she could help that girl back then that she noticed… all she needed to be happy was to see others smile. If others around her were happy, she was happy. Just helping others made her happy. Like she was meant to do just that.
That had been when she decided to live her life fully and to follow her mother's teachings. Of course, she had been naïve at first, thinking she could just help whomever needed it whenever it was needed. It was through harsh experience that she was reminded that she was but a pup. But as she grew up, she didn't falter in her decision. As she grew older, she understood her mother's teachings better, and she continued to live by them. She learned how to fight and became strong, first to protect herself, then to protect those weaker than her. She lived following the old ways, like she suspected her mother wanted her to. It wasn't an easy road, but it was worth it.
Shaking her head again, the young half-demon looked at the sky. Lost in her thoughts and memories, she had lost track of time and let the night pass her by, not even noticing when Myouga hid somewhere in the depths of her suikan to sleep. Now it was almost dawn, which meant it was time to wake her human companion. She had neglected his training yesterday already and while she still would have liked to depart as soon as possible, she also knew it would change little. When Sesshōmaru wanted to catch up, he would. If he hadn't yet, it was because he was planning something himself. Whether they lost an hour or two training didn't matter in the long run.
"Wake up, Inuyasha," Kagome said as she jumped out of the tree she had been sitting in. The only response she got was a mumble of 'too early' he tried to mutter last time she woke him at dawn. She sighed, but didn't let him sleep.
"I said wake up," she said somewhat irritated as she was forced to throw him out of his sleeping bag like two days ago. She had a feeling she'd be doing that a lot as of now.
The reaction she got hadn't been much different from the one he gave her two days ago when she did it the first time either and it was only once she flexed her claws that he remembered why she woke him up this early.
"I thought you wanted to learn to properly use that sword of yours," Kagome said as she bent her knees.
"Doesn't mean you have to wake me up as soon as the fucking sun rises. We could train later, too," he said grumpily as he reached for his sword.
"I thought you wanted to find someone to take the Jewel for you too. Or do you feel like traveling in the middle of the night? Because I assure you, it's either that, or the way we're doing things now or we'll be stuck in one place until you learn how to fight," the half-demon said calmly, her mind starting to drift elsewhere. The riddle Sesshōmaru kept repeating the day before kept replaying in her mind and for some odd reason, she couldn't get it out of her mind.
'Seeing, yet unseen, protected, yet unknown to its protector,' she repeated in her thoughts as Inuyasha took a battle position of his own. 'But what could that mean?' she thought, dodging the blade aimed at her as Inuyasha got tired of waiting for her. Her keen eyes noted that he had left himself wide open again, but she did not comment on it, her mind occupied with something else entirely, thus allowing the sparring to continue.
'How can you see something and yet let it remain unseen?' Kagome asked herself as she dodged blow after blow. Inuyasha was becoming quicker, but had she paid a little more attention to the fight instead of her thoughts, she would have stricken a killing blow almost each time after dodging his attacks. 'How can you protect something without knowing you protect it? How can you have something in your possession and not be aware of it? It's not possible, unless you're a guy from another world, probably the future, named Inuyasha. He had the Jewel and didn't know it after all…'
Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as her eyes widened in realization. She blocked another of Inuyasha's swings without really noticing it, her mind working in overdrive. She remembered that night when she first met him, when he first found out he even had the Jewel as Mistress Centipede bit it out of his body. 'Could it be that the key to dad's grave… is somewhere within my body?' she wondered to herself.
Inuyasha meanwhile was getting angry. It was easy to notice that Kagome's mind was anywhere but on the fight they were having. It aggravated him to no end. It wasn't enough that she didn't take him seriously, she wasn't even paying any attention to him at all. And worst of it was that even in this state he couldn't hit her even once. He justified himself by thinking he was holding himself back though, as to not hurt someone who wasn't even paying attention.
"Get serious damn it!" he finally yelled at her, bringing her out her musings. "And you're supposed to teach me? You aren't even paying fucking attention to the fight!"
'Maybe because I don't need to,' the hanyō thought to herself but decided not to comment. Instead she sighed.
"If I managed to dodge every single one of your attacks even while not paying attention it shows that maybe you should listen to what I told you last time we sparred, don't you think?" she asked instead, hoping to make him realize that the way he was doing things, he would never progress. It was the wrong thing to say though as it made Inuyasha even angrier.
"I was holding back because you were distracted, dammit! Now get fucking serious!" he yelled angrily and Kagome narrowed her eyes. She always knew he was cocky and arrogant, but now he was pushing it. It was time to put the human boy in his place.
"If I were to fight you seriously," she said with her eyes narrowed dangerously, and next thing Inuyasha knew, she was in front of him, one claw holding his wrist and preventing him from using his sword, while the other was at his throat, ready to claw his voice strings out. He hadn't even seen her move. "You'd be dead before you could blink," she finished before releasing him roughly. Her golden eyes were hard and guarded, so different from the usual open and warm look she had in them that Inuyasha almost wondered if it was truly the same person.
"Do not think you can challenge me yet, Inuyasha. I've been fighting for longer than you probably imagine and I'm stronger than you think. It'll be a while before you can think of challenging me to a real battle," Kagome said sternly. Inuyasha scowled and sheathed his sword.
"If I'll ever learn anything from you, that is," he replied angrily, daring her to contradict him. "You may have more experience in battle, but all you ever do is fight bare handed. What would you know about fighting with a sword?" There, he said it. Let's see what she'd respond to that.
Kagome however only narrowed her eyes at him, her ears twitching at the top of her head as if she were listening if there was someone around other than the two of them. Then she smirked.
"You'd be surprised," she said confidently. "But if you think I'm not suited to give you any advice, then no one is stopping you from leaving. I'm certainly not," she bit out.
"Keh, fine then, I'll go find someone to take that Jewel from me on my own. It's not like I need you around," Inuyasha hissed as he took his things and turned to leave without a backwards glance. Kagome snorted.
"Be my guest. But don't blame me if you die on the way," she said as she watched his retreating back. It was only a while after he was gone and she cooled off that she realized what exactly happened. She had lost her temper and suddenly, as the wind blew from the direction Inuyasha had walked off in, she wished she had kept it better in line. Now Inuyasha was going to pay for her stupidity unless she took off right now. Scowling, Kagome leaped through the foliage, following the black haired human she had recklessly let wander off on his own while knowing full well that with his current fighting abilities he was a sitting duck, at least given the situation he would soon find himself in. As she followed his scent, only one word wormed itself into her mind to describe the current situation.
'Fuck.'
XxX
Inuyasha wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings as he stormed through the forest, the anger he felt quite visible on his face. His fists were clenched and if it was possible then smoke would be rising from his ears. He was fuming.
"Stupid hanyō-wench," he grumbled under his breath as he walked at a brisk pace, as if trying to make her lose him. Yeah, like she was even following.
"What does she know, anyway," he continued mumbling. It wasn't like there was anyone around to hear him talking to himself either way so what did it matter if he vented a little to the thin air? "It's not like she ever fought with a sword, so how can she possibly give me advice on that? Besides, how can she even tell me she's teaching me if she doesn't take me seriously when we spar?"
Then again, he knew next to nothing about her. Sure, she never fought with a sword that he knew of, but who's to say she hadn't learned before meeting him? He snorted to himself. That thought was ridiculous. If she had ever learned to use a sword, she'd probably be carrying one around. Yet she didn't. So she probably didn't even know how to use one.
He had to admit however, if she fought him seriously during their spar like she had been with that last attack, he never would have time to react. She had been much too quick…
Inuyasha shook his head, shaking these thoughts off. She had caught him off guard that's all. Had he been prepared, he would have parried the stupid wench's attack, no problem. Besides, how was he supposed to know she was going to attack? She wasn't even in a battle stance before she… attacked…
Slowly, Inuyasha stopped his brisk walk and just stood there as he realized something. The hanyō-wench had caught him off guard because she wasn't in a battle stance, so he hadn't expected her to attack. In a real battle though… would his opponent always say 'get ready, I'm going to attack now'? Somehow he doubted that.
Alright, so maybe there was a little truth in what she was saying, but still…
That time when they fought the crab demon, he hadn't been half bad, she said so herself. Except for that one time when he would have been killed had she not been there because he left himself wide open… exactly like she told him not to do.
OK, so there was a lot of truth in what she was saying, but still…
Whom was he kidding? There was only truth in what she was saying. It was to be expected too. After all, as the half-demon-girl had said herself, she had a lot more experience in fighting. It would be natural that because of that she'd be better than him. His pride had just been in the way of accepting that fact until now.
Inuyasha sighed. He understood now what she had been doing just now. Kagome hadn't been mocking him. She had been showing him that the way he fought now, he would never progress and never defeat any demon. After all, if she dodged every single one of his attacks without even paying the slightest attention to him, it had to mean something right? He'd like to think it was only because he was holding back… but that last attack of hers proved otherwise. He had probably overreacted to her lack of focus too, taking it as an offense instead of what it was: proof that he was an idiot when it came to using a sword.
Hell would freeze over before he came back and apologized however. Inuyasha might have realized what Kagome was doing, but there was still one thing he was sure of: he could manage without her just fine. He didn't need her. He didn't need anyone.
Nodding to himself, the black haired teen was about to continue walking when he heard a rustling sound behind him. Inuyasha didn't have the time to turn around however as suddenly someone grabbed him by his upper arms and next thing he knew, he was a few meters away, still held back by the no longer mysterious figure. He was about to snap at her when his eyes landed on a small hole in the ground where he knew he had just been standing. What caused it however remained a mystery.
"Oi, what's going on, wench?" he asked, but she only replied by grabbing him by the shirt and pushing him gently yet firmly to the ground.
"Stay down," she replied quietly, not turning to face him, her eyes directed somewhere off to the right. Following her gaze, Inuyasha noticed a tall man in a white kimono with red blossom patterns. He had pointed ears and long, silver hair reaching below his waist. His chest was clad in protective armor and there was a sword hanging at his hip. His narrowed eyes were golden, almost the same shade as Kagome's. Inuyasha furrowed his brows. He had a feeling he knew who that was… but he looked human and the person he thought of was supposed to be a full blooded yōkai. Then again, the nymph who came to his time through the well looked surprisingly human too.
"Attacking a human who wasn't standing in your way and hadn't even noticed you were there just to get me to come? That's low, even for you Sesshōmaru," Kagome said in a mocking voice as she turned fully towards her brother after one more glance at Inuyasha that clearly said 'stay where you are and don't get involved'.
"I see you still cling to that belief of yours that you need to protect humans. And this Sesshōmaru thought you couldn't fall any lower, little sister," the man responded, his cool gaze never leaving the half-demon-girl. Kagome flexed her claws and forced back a growl. Threatening Sesshōmaru was not a good idea. She knew that from experience.
"He has nothing to do with it. This fight's between you and me. Leave the human out of it," the young hanyō said then, her eyes never leaving her brother as she watched his every move. Shesshōmaru's name didn't mean 'killing perfection' for nothing.
Inuyasha frowned at her comment as he stared at her back from his vantage point on the ground. 'I have a fucking name damn it, and you know it, wench, so use it!*' he thought angrily, but before he could voice those thoughts, Kagome had jumped forward, intercepting Sesshōmaru's claws and forcing him to jump back to avoid her own attack. His claws left a scratch on her cheek, but at least he was now further away from her charge, which in turn meant she could move more freely without having to overly worry about him.
'Let's just hope he has enough brains to stay out of this,' Kagome thought as her golden eyes focused on her brother and she forced any other thoughts out of her mind.
[T]
Sesshōmaru wasn't one to willingly coat his claws in unworthy blood, and Kagome's counted as such. He proved that rather rapidly as he decided to stay away from the hanyō's claws and instead used a glowing whip which was seemingly growing out of his fingers. With one swift movement, the whip bent and flew at the white haired girl, aiming for her shoulder. Kagome swiftly jumped to the side to avoid the attack and proceeded to run towards her brother in an attempt to force him into close combat. Her claws met only air however as the tai-yōkai evaded her attack easily and before she knew what was happening, the whip hit her in the side, throwing her back a few feet.
Kagome fell to the ground, but didn't waste time getting back up and jumping away again, just in time to avoid another hit from Sesshōmaru's whip. The tai-yōkai swiftly changed the direction of his attack and she was forced to duck to avoid it again before jumping in the air. She was quickly forced on the defensive in this fight and she knew it was not good. Still, unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do about it.
"Where is the key?" Sesshōmaru asked calmly as Kagome evaded his attack one more time, this time by jumping forward and thus closing in on her brother. She swung her claws at him, but once again her claws met only air as Sesshōmaru dodged it effortlessly.
"I told you I have no idea where that fuckingkey is!" Kagome yelled back as she crossed her arms in front of her face to block the incoming attack as she had no time to dodge this time around, wincing slightly as the whip hit her arms. Thanks to her fire rat robe however, the worst of the hit, namely the poison, did not reach her.
Inuyasha watched from where he was left and seemingly forgotten, his violet eyes wide as he watched the fight. Kagome… was actually losing.
There was something else that caught his attention also and it made his eyes widen even more. Her jacket, one he knew didn't get burned easily since he tried to burn it himself, was covered more and more in the same burn marks he had seen the day before. The only thing it came in contact with was that glowing whip though.
"How can that whip burn that coat upon such short contact?" he wondered to himself, too stunned to move and enter the fight like he originally planned to. Something told him that to try that would be suicide.
"It must be because of the poison," a male voice spoke up in front and somewhat below him. Looking down at his hand, Inuyasha noticed a miniature human standing on his hand, except the fact said 'human' had three pairs of arms. The black haired boy raised a brow.
"You're that flea from yesterday… Myouga, was it?" he asked and the flea nodded. Inuyasha turned his eyes back to the fight, just in time to see Kagome be flung into a tree. Before she hit the trunk however, she flipped around in mid air and crouched at the trunk, jumping swiftly away as Sesshōmaru's whip connected with the tree. "Poison doesn't work on her though, does it?" he asked finally, remembering the nymph again. She had poisoned Kagome too, yet the half-demon had been unaffected by it. So why should this poisonous whip be any different?
"Kagome-sama is more or less immune to most poisons, or at least she's able to neutralize them before they can truly affect her. Most poisons deadly for humans would barely affect her since she's a half-demon. Sesshōmaru-sama however is a truly powerful tai-yōkai. Not as strong as his father was, but he has the potential to even surpass him. His poison being as strong as himself, it could not only affect Kagome-sama, it has a fair chance of killing her if enough gets injected into her system, and they both know it," Myouga replied in a grave tone, making Inuyasha blink as the human boy tore his eyes away from the battle again to stare at the flea.
"If they both know it, why does Sesshōmaru use this whip? I mean, he can't possibly want to kill her, can he? She's his sister, ain't she?" he asked in bewilderment. The flea sighed.
"Blood ties rarely matter to Sesshōmaru-sama," the yōkai replied, wincing slightly as Kagome took another hit, luckily protected by her robe again. She had yet to hit her opponent too. It did not look good.
Turning his head, Myouga met the surprised violet eyes of the human Kagome referred to as 'her charge in a way'. Inuyasha didn't need voice his next question. The flea sighed.
"As Kagome-sama already told you, Sesshōmaru-sama isn't one who approves of the possible bond between a yōkai and a human, much less the resulting child. His sister is no exception to that rule. As he has proven many times already, Sesshōmaru-sama thinks Kagome weak and a disgrace to his father's blood line. Enough reason to make her disappear from the face of the earth.
"This Myouga has seen those two fight more than once. Whenever they meet, they fight, though it is rarely Kagome-sama who starts it. She has a kind heart. One of the reasons her elder brother thinks she's weak. She never tried to make him think otherwise. Rather allowed him to think she was too weak to even bother killing."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, his head snapping up when he heard a cracking sound. Sesshōmaru's whip had hit yet another tree, barely missing Kagome and felling it in the process. The half-demon in question was a few feet away and trying once again to fruitlessly reach her brother with her claws. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. 'Why do I feel like she's fighting differently than any other time I've seen her fight a yōkai?' he thought to himself.
"Sesshōmaru-sama kills those in his way and those who are weak. However, there's also a level of strength he deems his opponent not even worthy of killing, in which case he lets them live…"
"Sounds like he's having mercy to me," Inuyasha interrupted. Myouga shook his head.
"If you heard from an opponent you fought who beat you that you aren't even worthy of finishing off, would you think it an act of mercy?" the flea asked. Inuyasha didn't answer, but his silence was answer enough for the small yōkai. Obviously, it wouldn't.
"Kagome-sama has a kind heart, thus she refuses to kill her brother. He may hate her, but Kagome-sama can never hate her brother. In such a predicament, the only way to survive is let Sesshōmaru-sama think she isn't even worthy of killing," the flea said. Inuyasha scoffed.
"From what I see in this fight, it's not like the wench has a lot of pretending to do," he snorted.
"You shouldn't be fooled by appearances," was all Myouga replied. Inuyasha shot him a questioning glance, but their conversation was interrupted.
"Sesshōmaru-sama. Let me assist," a creepy voice said somewhere to his right and Inuyasha turned his head to see a small, green imp in a brown… kimono… if he could call it that. He had a staff about a head taller than himself (which wasn't that tall) in his hands which he was turning slowly. Inuyasha had a feeling that whatever he was planning, it was nothing good.
"Like Hell you will," the black haired boy muttered to himself as he quickly pulled himself up a little on his hands, leaving all his weight on them as he swiftly turned, his leg making contact with the imp and making him fall in the same moment as the staff was stuck against the ground. Losing his balance, the imp fell backwards and the staff followed him. Inuyasha's eyes widened as one of the heads that were on top of the staff, that of an old man, opened its mouth and send a gigantic wall of flames straight into the sky.
"Fire?" Inuyasha yelled in surprise, momentarily forgetting where he was at the moment.
"Why you little, insignificant human! How dare you strike me!" the imp's yell brought him to reality and Inuyasha swiftly focused on the small yōkai as he stood up, letting his back pack fall to the ground. It would only be in the way.
"Your fault for not paying attention, little freaky coward," he answered as he eyed the small demon warily. He didn't look like much trouble, but that flamethrower-staff could be a problem. 'If I could get rid of it though, he shouldn't be a bother,' the black haired boy thought.
"You will pay for saying that. I will not lose to a pathetic little human like you! I'm Sesshōmaru-sama's servant Jaken, I will not allow a low human to touch me again!" the imp, Jaken, yelled again, swinging his staff at the violet eyed priest. Inuyasha smirked as he caught the staff in one of his hands, the other slowly traveling to his sword.
"I could care less who you are, you're going to be yōkai-ash soon enough," Inuyasha smirked, his hand inching ever closer to the sword's handle. The imp however narrowed his eyes at him and suddenly redoubled its efforts. Taken by surprise at the sudden movement of the staff in his hand, Inuyasha was flung against a tree, cursing colorfully as his back connected with the trunk. For such a small imp the thing sure had more strength than he gave it credit for.
His small curse had reached Kagome's eyes however and she was quick to turn her head in his direction to see what was going on. 'Inuyasha!' she thought worriedly, but didn't get the chance to get to him as Sesshōmaru used her temporary distraction to hit her with his whip again, sending her to the ground. Next thing she knew, he was jumping at her, his claws raised and glowing a sickly green color. Quickly rolling to the side, Kagome evaded his attack and rose to her feet. Sesshōmaru rose from his crouched position on the ground, the plants around him dissolving quickly as they came in contact with the poison coming from his poisonous claws. Kagome narrowed her eyes.
'Wanna turn me into slime, huh?' she thought, eyeing her brother coolly. Her eyes narrowed, however, when she saw him smirking however lightly. Sesshōmaru never smirked. His face was always an emotionless block of stone. So what… Her eyes suddenly widened, but before she could do anything, Sesshōmaru struck.
Inuyasha looked up just in time to see the imp try to hit him with his staff again. Reacting without thinking, he quickly caught the wooden weapon in his hands and rolled to the side before he swung wildly. Releasing his hold on the other end of the staff, Jaken flew between the trees while his staff was thrown by Inuyasha in completely another direction.
"That'll teach you," the black haired boy said with a smirk, but was soon made aware of something much more important than his small victory.
"INUYASHA!" he heard Kagome yell somewhere to his left. Startled by her sudden yell, for he had forgotten she was in the middle of a battle also, Inuyasha quickly turned his head in her direction to see Sesshōmaru swing his arm in a wide arc, effectively sending his whip straight at him. From her yell, Inuyasha figured Kagome wouldn't make it in time to him. He was on his own.
He wasn't thinking when he reacted. He did the only thing that seemed logical at the moment. Quickly grabbing his sword, he pulled it out of its sheath and brought it in front of himself to parry the blow. He barely made it, but he somehow managed to block it. What he didn't expect though was what happened next.
Sesshōmaru flexed his wrist slightly and the whip responded to its master's bidding, wrapping itself around the blade like a snake. Before Inuyasha could react, the sword was ripped out of his hands and thrown a few meters away, leaving him defenseless as the whip flew at him again. This time, however, Kagome jumped in front of him, shielding him as the whip collided with her back. The half-demon winced slightly before growling low in her throat as she faced her brother again. She had almost been too late, almost being the keyword.
"So you would even risk your own life to protect his. How much lower can you fall, little sister?" Sesshōmaru asked in the same monotone, but his gaze had gotten several degrees colder. The hanyō ignored this however as she flexed her claws and narrowed her eyes.
"I told you to leave him out of it. He has nothing to do with it," she growled, her eyes watching her brother's every move.
"He has gotten himself involved," the daiyōkai replied calmly. Kagome snorted.
"He didn't attack you, did he? Or do you mean he got involvedby getting rid of that little imp following you around? Am I to understand the 'great Sesshōmaru' ordered a small imp to aid him in a battle against a 'hanyō who isn't even worth killing'?" she asked, mocking her brother's words whenever he referred to her. This got a reaction from Sesshōmaru, for the otherwise emotionless demon frowned and she could swear she even heard him growl. Kagome had pissed him off this time, but she hardly cared at this point.
"That… can't be," a stunned voice reached Inuyasha's ears somewhere from his right. Turning his head to look on his shoulder, the black haired boy noticed the flea demon he had completely forgotten was even there.
"What can't be?" he asked the flea as he turned back to watch the battle… which had turned into a staring contest at this point.
"Kagome-sama… she has never spoken to Sesshōmaru-sama in this way. She has never taunted him," Myouga responded, his eyes wide. They widened even further when the two demons engaged combat again. "Nor has she ever fought him like she does now," he added in but a whisper.
Indeed, even Inuyasha was surprised at the sudden turn of events. Sesshōmaru's attacks suddenly seemed to be very easy to evade and it almost looked like the tai-yōkai had a little trouble evading his sister's attacks as well. One even collided against his chest, leaving deep claw marks in his armor. Inuyasha's eyes widened.
"What the… She hadn't been able to even scratch him a second ago," he said as he watched the battle. Kagome seemed to be more agile now, her movements were more precise and she left definitely fewer openings. It was now that Inuyasha realized that she was fighting a lot more like he was used to seeing her fight. Which would mean that up until now, she'd been holding back.
"This is the first time I've seen Kagome-sama fight Sesshōmaru-sama… with the intent to kill glowing in her eyes," Myouga commented from his spot on Inuyasha's shoulder. The violet eyed teen froze when he heard that.
"Intent… to kill? But you said she wasn't able to kill him because he was her brother," he said in bewilderment. Myouga nodded, his wise eyes never leaving the battle.
"That is correct. However, when something or someone one wishes to protect is put in unnecessary danger, the protector will go to any means necessary to protect it. Kagome-sama will, at least," the flea answered quietly. Inuyasha blinked. 'Something or someone she wishes to protect? You mean she's ready to kill her brother to protect… me?'
'The nerve of him. How dare he attack a human who has nothing to do with this fight in the first place? I know he wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wanted but that's crossing the line!' Kagome thought angrily as she raised her claws again to strike at the stoic inu-yōkai before her. She smirked when he tried to move to the side to evade her attack like she hoped he would, since there were only trees behind him, and quickly struck with her other claw.
"Sankon Tessō!" she yelled as golden energy sprang forth from her claws as they neared her brother. She saw Sesshōmaru's eyes widen ever so slightly as he swiftly evaded that attack as well. He didn't manage to escape all of it however as proven by the following sound of crumbling metal. Kagome smirked.
"Looks like that armor of yours isn't as hard as it looked like," she taunted as she landed on the ground, her eyes quickly finding Sesshōmaru's armor in the grass… or rather the pieces that were left of it. If Sesshōmaru was surprised by her attack, he didn't show it. His act wasn't working on Kagome though, as she knew perfectly well he had every reason to be at least somewhat stunned. 'Didn't expect me to have any youki-based attacks, did you?' she thought to herself.
"It is also the first time Kagome-sama has ever used a youki-based attack on Sesshōmaru-sama," Myouga noted from Inuyasha's shoulder. The flea frowned. "Not even when fighting Sesshōmaru-sama to protect other humans. Never before," he mumbled to himself, forgetting Inuyasha could hear his every word. 'What makes you go to such lengths, Kagome-sama?' the flea couldn't help but wonder.
"It would seem you have become a little stronger, little sister," Sesshōmaru said calmly, flexing his claws as well. Kagome narrowed her eyes at the statement. She knew what it meant. She flexed her claws as well and bent her knees. 'Come at me' was her message. Sesshōmaru didn't need to be told twice as he sent his whip at her.
Kagome swiftly evaded to the right, then ran at her opponent, preparing to strike. Sesshōmaru dodged her attack however and grabbed her shoulder, then ran forward, pushing Kagome in front of him and driving her into a tree. The trunk cracked upon impact but somehow didn't break. Kagome however couldn't help the groan that escaped her when her back collided with the hard wood.
"This is where it ends, little sister," the yōkai said, raising his claws. "My poison claws will eliminate you, then I'll take the key," he growled, his claw glowing green once more. Kagome's eyes widened when she was reminded why exactly her dear brother was so intent on getting her in the first place.
Leaning her head to the side when Sesshōmaru struck, Kagome swiftly evaded his attack before running to get at least a little distance between them. Sesshōmaru, however, would have none of that and was quick to catch up.
"You won't get away," he said as he swung at her. Kagome swiftly jumped back and tore her claws into her own arm to make a shallow wound without thinking. Then she swung at her brother.
"Not like I'm trying!" she yelled back as the red blades collided with the ground, her brother having jumped back to avoid them, making the distance between them greater. He was quick to close it again, though.
'I've been a fool to think I could defeat him even if I stopped holding back. This is Sesshōmaru for crying out loud! He's my brother!' Kagome berated herself as she expertly dodged her brother's attacks, not hesitating to strike right back. 'We might be evenly matched in terms of strength,' she thought as the golden energy from her Iron Claw tore into Sesshōmaru's shoulder at the same time as his own claws cut through her suikan and left claw-marks at the height of her ribs. Both wounds were deep enough to draw blood, but not deep enough to really affect the fighters as they swiftly jumped away from each other, only to clash again a second again. '…but this fight has become a fight to the death. It's either I kill him, or he kills me. And neither sounds appealing,' she thought as they traded harmless blows again, both evading them easily. Kagome narrowed her eyes. 'Plus, there's also Inuyasha.'
As if reading her thoughts, Sesshōmaru's golden eyes suddenly wandered off to the side before narrowing. Following his gaze, Kagome saw Inuyasha as the boy reached into the grass, no doubt to retrieve his sword. Whether it was to join the fight or to just be able to defend himself should Sesshōmaru pull another stunt like he did a few minutes back, Kagome didn't know. As for Sesshōmaru, he didn't really care as he sent his whip at the unsuspecting boy again. Kagome reacted immediately though.
"Look out!" Myouga yelled from his shoulder just as Inuyasha's hand closed over the hilt of his sword. Looking up, the black haired boy saw once again the green, poisonous whip flying straight at him, but before it could get too close, it was hit off course by a stream of golden energy. The whip struck a nearby tree just as Kagome landed lightly in front of him and Inuyasha didn't know whether to curse or to be grateful. She had saved him again.
[/T]
"Oi, Sesshōmaru," Kagome said without looking back at the boy she had just protected, her claws flexing again. She didn't drop her stance, but she didn't attack either. "If I give you the fucking key, will you leave?" she asked seriously. Sesshōmaru's expression didn't change. Myouga however was quick to jump from Inuyasha's to Kagome's shoulder.
"You mustn't, Kagome-sama! He must not enter the grave and steal your father's treasure!" the flea screamed.
"Shut up," she said to the flea, her eyes never leaving her brother. "Well, will you or won't you?"
"You would give this Sesshōmaru the key," the tai-yōkai answered calmly, his cool stare never leaving his sister. "Just to protect the life of the weak human behind you? You truly fell lower than anyone thought possible, didn't you, little sister?" it was obviously a rhetoric question, so she didn't bother answering. Inuyasha glared from behind her but for once decided to stay quiet. He directed his gaze at Kagome next, his eyes gaining a surprised hue to them. She had fought her brother to protect this key wherever it was and was not supposed to let him have it, right? Myouga said so, anyway. So why was she suddenly willing to give it up just like that?
"I have other priorities than you, dear brother," Kagome replied, her last words sounding like anything but an endearment. She was obviously sarcastic, which Inuyasha could hardly blame her for. "Now answer the question: will you leave, or won't you if I give you the goddamned key?"
"You mustn't, Kagome-sama!" The flea yelled again, but was blatantly ignored. Finally, Sesshōmaru dropped his stance and answered.
"Very well. You give me the key and this Sesshōmaru will leave right away," he said. Kagome clenched her fists as she stood straight as well.
"Then take the blasted thing," She barked. "I'm not sure if what I think is right, but if my hunch is correct," she stopped and glanced back at Inuyasha briefly before turning back to her brother. "It should be in my right eye," she said. Inuyasha's eyes widened at the implication, but Sesshōmaru didn't need to be told twice. Next thing the black haired boy knew, Kagome was pinned to a tree, Sesshōmaru holding her there by the throat. But the half-demon was not struggling.
"I never imagined it would be there," the great inu-yōkai admitted as he raised his free claw and brought two of his fingers at the height of Kagome's eye. "Very clever that father would pick such a place."
"Isn't it?" Kagome sneered in his face. "Believe it or not, you have that human behind you to thank for finding it. If I hadn't met him, the idea wouldn't even cross my mind and you wouldn't know either. I mean, your plan from the other night obviously didn't work like you wanted it to." She had a smirk on her face despite her current situation. She wasn't afraid however. It would take a lot more than a death threat to scare her.
If Sesshōmaru was affected by her little speech in any way, he didn't show it. He didn't say anything else either as his finger's slowly approached her eye, giving Kagome the sudden urge to try and pull away. She didn't however and forced herself to stay right where she was. She offered to let him take the stupid thing; she wasn't going to back out of it now.
Sudden golden light in the form of miniature lightning or something of that sort suddenly formed at Sesshōmaru's finger tips before being thrust straight into Kagome's right eye. She tried to suppress the scream of pain that tired to leave her throat at the sudden feeling of something trying to pull a part of her eye out, but she didn't succeed entirely. It wasn't loud enough to be classified as a true scream, but it was enough for even Inuyasha to understand that whatever Sesshōmaru was doing, it was not easy to handle.
Just as suddenly as it entered, the light started to retreat from where it wandered off, pulling a small, round object with it. Sesshōmaru smirked as said object landed in his palm before he carelessly threw his sister to the side, where she landed on the ground like a doll which had her strings cut. She didn't lie around for long however as she immediately started to pull herself into a sitting position, her right hand wandering to her still hurting eye.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha called as he reached her. She glanced at him briefly before turning back to her brother. Inuyasha stared at her, fighting his own thoughts when he saw her nod slightly, almost as if she were answering his unasked question whether she was alright.
"Well, you have it now. So get lost like you said you would," Kagome growled at her brother. To be quite honest, of course, she couldn't have the guarantee he would actually do as he said. She wouldn't even be truly surprised if he didn't. Then again, she also knew her bother cared a great deal about pride, be it his own or the pride he held in his blood, so the possibility of him breaking a deal was small.
The daiyōkai however seemed to be completely ignoring her at the moment.
"Jaken!" he called as he looked around. "Jaken!"
"Sesshōmaru-sama!" came the reply from the forest as the imp Inuyasha had gotten rid of previously made an appearance again. He looked a little winded, as if he had been running for a while. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. 'Well, I think I threw that staff quite the distance away, not to mention he flew in another direction. If he bothered to go retrieve it and ran all the way back, it would explain why he's winded, but it still wasn't that far. Weakling,' the black haired teen thought. Indeed, the flamethrower-staff was once again in the imp's hands.
"I have my Human Head Staff back!" Jaken exclaimed proudly as he presented the staff to the daiyōkai. Kagome narrowed her eyes at what was going on. Sesshōmaru took it from him with a frown on his face, obviously displeased, most likely because of the 'back' part of the exclamation. The frown was quickly replaced by a small smirk however as the demon looked back at his hand, where a small, black pearl now lay.
"How I have waited for this moment," she said as he let the pear fall to the ground before he raised the staff and all but slammed it against the small gem. Almost immediately upon contact, the pearl started to shine brightly while the face of the old man that had breathed fire before opened its mouth. This time however, no flames came out, just a very creepy laugh.
"The old man laughs! The tomb will now open," Jaken said, though his voice lacked the enthusiasm Sesshōmaru was showing. Kagome blinked. It would seem in certain situations, her brother was less emotionless than she thought. 'Which of course doesn't mean he's any less ruthless in battle, the bastard,' she thought angrily, though the tone of her thoughts lacked the hatefulness behind her words.
Suddenly, the light vanished as suddenly as it appeared before what Inuyasha could identify only as a black hole opened next to the stoic, white haired man. Sesshōmaru smirked as he stared at the gateway before both he and Jaken entered it. A second later, they were no longer visible, as if they had disappeared. Inuyasha blinked.
"They're… gone," he whispered. Narrowing his eyes, Inuyasha turned his head to glance at Kagome. She was staring at the hole hanging in the air and appeared to be deep in thought. Myouga was on her shoulder jumping agitatedly as he tried to bring her out of wherever it was her thoughts had taken her.
"Kagome-sama, hurry and enter before the gate closes up!" The flea was yelling at her, but if Kagome paid any attention to his words, she hid it perfectly well, eyes still trained on the black hole. "Sesshōmaru-sama wants to take sole possession of your father's legacy!"
"I told you to shut up," Kagome finally responded as her eyes narrowed at the door in front of her. "It's not like I wasn't aware of it, I'm not stupid. Besides, you already told me that."
"Then why did you give him the key?" Myouga asked back, apparently now being angry himself. "Do you want him to take it?"
"I don't care about it," she bit back as she stood up. That shut the flea up for all of two seconds. He obviously wasn't expecting her to say that. Nor was Inuyasha to b quite honest.
"Don't say that!" Myouga finally got out as he started to jump on her shoulder again. Kagome scowled.
"Shut up already! Who said I wasn't going?" Kagome replied, catching the flea in her fist to stop its jumping. She proceeded by squeezing the life out of him… quite literally. "That Sesshōmaru… holding a stupid key above someone else's life… I won't forgive that," she growled to herself as she threw the flea to the ground, most likely without noticing it as she quite obviously forgot she even held him in the first place. She was about to jump into the entrance to her father's grave when she suddenly stopped when she noticed Inuyasha entering as well. He turned to look at her over his shoulder.
"Will you hurry up!" he said to her and started to lean into the gateway. He didn't get far however as Kagome swiftly grabbed the back of his shirt and effectively pulled him back outside. Not expecting her to do anything of the sort, Inuyasha lost his balance and landed on the ground. "What the…?"
"You stay right here and wait for me, you got that? It's too dangerous in there," she said as she entered without waiting for his response. Inuyasha blinked a few times before he narrowed his eyes. He quickly pulled himself back on his feet as he followed her, only barely making it in time before the gate closed.
"Like Hell I will," he shouted when Kagome was once again in his sight. She looked at him over her shoulder with a frown.
"Oi, Sesshōmaru's inside," she reminded him dully. The black haired teen scowled as he glared at her.
"I know that," he bit back. "That's why we have to go there, right?" he added at Kagome's hardening glare. Finally, she sighed.
"Just don't get killed, idiot," she replied tiredly as they flew through the gateway to her father's tomb. It wasn't quite like the feeling when she last traveled through the well, but it was comparable. 'Why the hell do you think I gave him the pearl in the first place when I was going to go fight him anyway?' she thought tiredly.
Unbeknownst to Kagome, Inuyasha was well aware of why she did it. That was his main reason for going with her too. 'She did it to save my ass again. But I'll be damned if I continue letting her to put herself in danger like that just to protect me!' he thought angrily. He knew he probably wouldn't be of much help, but he wasn't planning on being in the way either. Besides, not being able to do much wasn't the same as not being able to do anything, and what little he was able to do to help, he was going to do it.
"Hey," Kagome suddenly spoke as a light appeared in front of them, probably the end of the gateway. Inuyasha turned to glance at her as they floated towards it. "Why did you suddenly start using it?"
"Using what?" Inuyasha asked bewildered.
"My name," Kagome answered simply, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "When Sesshōmaru took the pearl out of my eye… you've called me by my name for the first time."
Inuyasha blinked and stared at her rather dumbly for a while. She was keeping track of something like that? What was she, stupid?
"So what?" he asked her and she shook her head.
"Nothing," she answered softly and turned away, but Inuyasha still noticed the smile that had suddenly appeared on her face as they exited the gateway and entered her father's tomb.
* Anyone notice the irony of that statement? XD
Yes, I'm going to let it end here. Yes, this is somewhat a cliffhanger and yes, it was on purpose. Don't glare at me like that, I think this chapter was long enough as it is, no need to drag it out with another fight. If you want a quick update to see what happens next (though I believe we all have at least the slightest idea), all you have to do is review and I might update sooner than next month :]
Anyway, I'm done for today. Hoped you liked it and see ya all next time.