Well guys, here it is, the waiting is over. Now you can finally find out whether Shippō will become an orphan or not. I hope you'll like this… I have to tell you, this was the first time I actually had trouble with a part of a fighting scene, normally they just flow on their own. So please, tell me if I messed up anywhere, ne :3

Thank you all for all the reviews, too. Hope you keep them coming, because I love hearing from you guys, really. Now, without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

Oh yeah, and one last warning: don't get too used to weekly updates, I give absolutely zero promises of keeping this pace up. I do, however, promise that I won't update any slower than once a month, at least until school starts again. We'll see what'll happen then.

Now, enjoy and please leave a review… if you feel like it :D

Special thanks to Kanna37 for editing.

ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:

InuGome: I can't stop myself from asking: if Shippō's entry was so different from what you'd thought it'd be, what did you expect then? Just curious, really… As for Tsurugi, it was more or less explained who he was back in chapter eight or nine, but I think it was nine, and more 'clues' were dropped in chapter ten when we saw his grave. Anyway, he's one of Souta's ancestors and, by default, one of the descendants of Kagome's uncle on her mother's side. He's also the one who taught her how to use a sword. And no, he's not the same 'he', that 'he' remains unnamed so far. I'm wondering if someone will figure out who 'he' is before I spell it out LOL Thanks a lot for the awesome review, I'm glad you enjoyed and I hope the following chapter isn't a disappointment either :3

Mireille: Glad to hear it's to your liking and thank you for the review. Is this update soon enough for you, or should I speed up even more? Just kidding, I'm not sure if I could speed up even more. That being said, don't get used to weekly updates, either, I'm not promising to be able to keep them up :)

Tracks for this chapter:

Dustz:Spiral

Within Temptation: Our Farewell

Breakers:

XxX: change of scene

~ξ~: time-skip

実: Beginning/End of Flashback

Ю: Beginning/End of a story told by one of the character (the parts in bold between the stars are what the present them are saying as a small narrative)

Ж: Change of POV (mostly used within a story told by several characters)

[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 16 – Because I Know What It Feels Like

Kagome couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she landed once again, gently laying the fox in her arms on the ground. When she caught the scent of fire and kitsune blood, she had raced to where she was now as swiftly as she could, hoping almost against all hope that she would make it in time. She had left the last of the trees behind her and arrived at the plain just in time to witness a great ball of fire colliding against a blue wall of flames. Kitsune-bi. And behind that wall was a ginger, male fox-yōkai. It was definitely bigger than the regular animal, but still small compared to other yōkai she'd seen. When it stood on all fours, it would probably reach somewhere near her hip. He had a long, slender body and Kagome had no doubt that, had he not been as injured as he was, he would have been moving with more grace than she had ever seen any yōkai or human move with. As it was, however, its fur was slowly taking on a rather scarlet hue and it was evident to anyone with eyes that he was too seriously hurt to continue fighting. The fact that the scent of his blood was even overpowering his natural scent didn't reassure Kagome any, nor did the fact that the fox fire shielding him was starting to disappear. The fox was definitely at the end of its strength. This didn't bode well.

Without thinking much, Kagome leapt towards the kitsune. His eyes moved towards her almost in the same second, but that didn't bother her. She didn't plan on being discreet. He wasn't her prey. The fox didn't know that, however, and she saw him growl at her. Kagome didn't heed the warning, however, growling right back instead – only that her growl was not a menacing one. She was not warning, daring or challenging him. She wanted to help.

The kitsune's eyes widened at that and had Kagome been planning to attack, this would have given her the split second she needed to finish him off. But instead, she landed next to him, just in time to notice another fireball flying at them. She didn't think then, she acted on instinct, grabbing the kitsune around his middle, mindful of his injuries, and quickly leaping away. The fireball collided with the ground, the two of them getting away unharmed. Once her feet touched the ground, Kagome gently laid the fox on the grass and stood before him, her back unprotected should he decide to attack her. Then, she bent forward, her left hand holding Tessaiga's scabbard while the fingers of her right hand rested loosely on the hilt.

"Out of the way, half-breed! Or I'll roast you along with the fox," one of the demons attacking the kitsune sneered. It was a salamander-yōkai, she could tell that from his scent. All three of them were. The one who spoke seemed to be the eldest, at least as far as looks went and he was also the most human-looking of them all. He had orange eyes and long, burgundy hair which he left loose, allowing the wind to play with it, and pointy elfin ears. His skin was tanned and his clothes consisted of a black body-suit and black sandals. With her superior sight, Kagome easily noticed that they weren't made of normal material, though. They clung to him like second skin, and they looked like they were made of silk. He wore tight, golden bracelets on both of his wrists and if she squinted her eyes enough, she could make out black, lines running in a snail-pattern over the skin of his palms and fingers, though whether he had them elsewhere was a mystery. Judging from his face, he couldn't be older than twenty in demon years. A giant axe with a black blade, golden rimming and white flame-pattern in the middle was resting on his right shoulder, his right hand being draped over the silver hilt made of metal to keep the weapon in place.

To his right and slightly behind him stood a red skinned girl with glowing, yellow, cat-like eyes. Just like the man beside her, she had elfin ears and long hair. Contrary to him, though, her hair had an orange hue to them – it looked almost like it was on fire, actually, because it was the exact color a flame would have – and was tied in a high ponytail. She was dressed in an outfit a bit similar to Kagome's: a dark-yellow jacked similar to a suikan with mid-length sleeves reaching to her elbows, that seemed to widen from her arms down. Just like Kagome's suikan, the sleeves weren't attached at the shoulders, revealing bare skin underneath. The suikan-like jacket was wrapped loosely around her torso, as if meant to allow wind to easily pass underneath to cool her down and it reached to her hips. Her pants were a mix of orange and yellow in color, reaching down to the ground, covering even her feet. Their upper part disappeared over the loosely wrapped jacket and Kagome assumed she wore them around the waist, around which, over her jacket, was tied a narrow, dirty-gold belt. She was smiling down at Kagome, revealing her shark-like teeth. Just like the man beside her, she had back lines in a snail-pattern running over her hands and fingers, as well as up her arms until they disappeared beneath her sleeves, as well as a white flame on each of her cheeks. Claws adorned her hands and Kagome suspected the same went for her feet, too, although she couldn't be sure, and she was quite certain she could see a salamander-tail moving lazily behind her back. She looked to be around the same age as the half-demon.

The third yōkai was by far the youngest. She looked to be around ten years old. Unlike her siblings, her face resembled more that of an actual salamander than that of a human and she didn't seem to have any ears to speak of. In contrast to the other two, her hair was short and black, as were her eyes, and her skin was a dark, ashen-gray. She was dressed in a white yukata with golden flame-patterns on it and unlike the two other yōkai, she didn't have any markings on her skin. She had a tail, however, and her hands and feet were somewhere between human and salamander in form, almost as if she had stopped in the middle of her transformation from yōkai to human form. Her feet were bare. Strapped to her back was a long, wooden staff and in her hands, she held what Kagome would have never considered a weapon before now – a nohkan(1).

"Keh," Kagome snorted as her fingers slowly sneaked around the hilt of her father's fang as she prepared herself to draw the weapon. "Do you really think I'd listen to a coward like you?" she sneered at the male salamander, her eyes narrowing in a glare. The eldest of the yōkai glared right back at her.

"Who are you calling a coward, you filthy hanyō?" he hissed through gritted teeth as he balled his fists. "You'll pay for insulting me like that."

"Oh please, I'm only saying the truth. You've got to be a coward to fight three-on-one. What, afraid a kitsune would kill you?" Kagome mocked him as her anger rose within her. No one, and she really meant no one (with a few exceptions) called her a half-breed to her face and survived it. "Then again, he does look strong, so I guess it's normal a weakling like you would be scared out of his wits to fight fair and square," she continued to taunt. If she was planning on angering the yōkai before her, she had definitely succeeded. She smirked as she ever so slowly started to unsheathe Tessaiga. "You want the fox? Then I'm afraid you'll have to fight me, first. And I can tell you right away that if you do, you will meet your end."

"Why are you helping me?" That voice came from behind her and she almost winced at how weak it was. She frowned. 'Inuyasha… Hurry up and get here… I need you to tend to his wounds, or it'll be for nothing!' she thought desperately, hoping that the dense priest would have enough common sense to follow her and if not, that the kitsune runt would lead him here. None of her desperation was to be heard in her voice, however, as she answered the fox only loud enough for him to hear.

"Because I know how it feels like to lose a parent when you're much too young to deal with it." And with that, she jumped into battle, leaving a stunned kitsune-father behind her back with an unspoken vow of saving him, if she could, hanging between them.

The battle didn't prove to be much harder than Kagome thought it would be, even if her enemies didn't think she expected what she was getting. At the beginning of a battle, Kagome's words often did not mirror her thoughts and this time was no different. She might have taunted the salamander and called him weak and cowardly, but she knew better than to underestimate him, or his companions. There were three of them against only one of her, and that with an injured fox behind her back, whom she could not allow to get any more injured that he already was. His life was already endangered as it was.

Still, that only fueled her will to fight, to defend him, to defeat the enemies that threatened to kill him, even if as far as the kitsune's pride was concerned, she should not have interfered. There were situations in which it was best to forget one's pride. This was one of them.

Try as he might, the kitsune wouldn't have been able to fend off the three yōkai any longer. He was at the end of his strength and he was injured too severely to be able to fight any longer and Kagome knew that. Heck, with all the injuries he had, it was still very possible that he might die, though Kagome hoped Inuyasha would arrive soon and would be able to spare him that fate with his futuristic healing utensils. That kitsune would not die. So long as she could do anything to prevent that, she would. Because now, she finally understood why the stench of blood had clung to the kit she met before.

Given the amount of kitsune blood in the area, all of it couldn't come from just the male-yōkai behind her. That aside, although blood was definitely the predominant scent in the air, there was also death – and that scent did not come from the kitsune-male behind her… or at least not yet. So the only logical explanation would be that another fox had died here, or somewhere nearby, and since this fox was fighting alone, she supposed the pack consisted of only three – father, mother and son. If the father were to die now, then the kit would be left alone and he was afraid of that. It was probably why he was so desperately trying to steal the Jewel from them, too. The first time around to help his father save his mother, which failed miserably. The second time in order to save his father's life. True, he didn't get the Jewel in the end, but if Kagome had any say in it, he wouldn't need it. 'I won't let him suffer that pain! He won't have to go through it. Not if I can help it!' she thought determinedly as she continued to fend of the three salamanders.

She knew what it felt like to be all alone in the world. She knew what it felt like to see your parent killed right in front of your eyes and be unable to do a thing about it. She knew the suffering that came with the knowledge that that parent would never hold you again, never speak to you again and that you did nothing to prevent it. She knew all that and more, and she didn't wish it on anyone. That's why she was determined to save the fox-father she stumbled across by pure coincidence.

She deflected another fireball the orange-haired yōkai threw at her before swiftly turning and swinging Tessaiga in a wide, horizontal arc, effectively stopping the eldest salamander's advance towards her, although he had been quick enough to stop to avoid being cut, unfortunately. He used the opening she left to try and cut her in half with his axe, but the young half-demon easily pivoted out of the way. In doing so, however, she had left an opening for the female yōkai to try and strike the fox (so far, the youngest of the trio did not join the battle, instead observing everything from a distance, flute in hand). The fireball impacted with the ground as the fox nimbly jumped away at the last possible second and landing lightly a few feet to the right of where he previously was, before his feet gave way under him. It was in this precise moment that Inuyasha and Shippō finally caught up, just in time to see another fireball fly and collide with the male fox, as he was unable to jump away again. That he managed it the first time around was miraculous enough.

"OTOU!" the desperate scream of a young kitsune kit pierced the silence that suddenly settled over the field after that last attack. Shippō started to tremble even more violently in Inuyasha's hold while the priest in question only stared with wide eyes at what had just transpired, unable to move himself. 'The runt's… old man?' he thought numbly as he stared at the place where the fox just stood, smoke rising from the hole in the ground that had undoubtedly formed there, although nothing was visible yet. Suddenly, he wasn't so angry at the kit for trying to take the gem anymore.

But then, the wind started blowing the smoke away. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he shook the kit, trying to make him pay attention again.

"Oi, runt, look there how 'just a half-demon can't change anything," he said, a little bit gruffer than he intended, but it had the desired effect. The kit opened his eyes again, which he had squinted shut after his yell, the green, watery orbs widening even more as the smoke cleared.

[T]

The first thing that was revealed was a white, bright blade. Next was a red-clad, silver-haired figure with white dog-ears in a crouched position, holding the sword diagonally in front of her. And behind her was an unharmed male fox-yōkai, or at least not harmed any more than he was before. Shippō blinked and stared blankly at the sight, as if unable to comprehend what was happening, then finally whispered:

"She… saved otou…"

"Yeah, she did," Inuyasha replied in a 'told you so' tone, a smirk on his face. Kagome's ears twitched on her head, probably hearing his voice, but she didn't turn to him as she stood up and raised her sword. She was positioned sideways, one hand holding Tessaiga's hilt behind her at the height of her chest and pointed towards the enemies Inuyasha could not yet see, the other resting on the flat side of the blade.

"I told you, didn't I?" she asked rhetorically, her voice suspiciously calm and loud enough for even Inuyasha to hear. "If you want to kill the kitsune, then you have to pass me first. And I'm not easy to bypass," she added as she started to growl.

"Well, you're definitely fast, half-breed, I'll give you that," Inuyasha moved a few steps forward cautiously, kit still in hand, to see who spoke. It was the eldest of the yōkai and the one that stood the closest to the half-demon, his axe held firmly in front on him in one hand, pointing at Kagome like one would point a sword. The two females were further away, the long-haired one standing off to the right behind the boy and the youngest actually floating on what seemed to be small clouds of fire surrounding her feet. It was her who was closest to Inuyasha's current position, as she so far stayed away from the battle without getting involved, off to the side as to not get in the way.

"Inuyasha," a growl of his name reached his ears and he turned his head to stare at Kagome again, though she wasn't looking at him, focusing instead on the yōkai before her (and keeping in mind the third one was not in her field of vision but could still act at any given moment). Sensing she had his attention, she spoke again. "Do you think you can treat his injuries while keeping track of the battle?" she asked seriously.

It would be hard, but it was vital. On one hand, the kitsune's injuries had to be treated, without delay if possible. On the other, she couldn't just stay on the defensive for much longer, or she would surely lose. However, as things stood now, if she were to go on the offensive, chances were that one of the yōkai tried to attack the kitsune, in which case it was probable they would do it when she couldn't get there in time. It meant that Inuyasha needed to help her out – treat the wounds while still keeping a vigilant eye on what was happening, so that he could react accordingly if need be.

Blinking in surprise at first, Inuyasha hesitated only a moment before running over to where Kagome stood and where the fox lay, throwing his backpack next to the beast and rummaging through, searching for the first aid kid. One look was enough for him to know why Kagome couldn't wait until after the battle to treat the fox; if they waited, the kitsune might die while she fought.

Nodding his head resolutely, Inuyasha opened the little box, then looked up at Kagome's back, determination in his eyes. He thought he understood why she was so desperate to save that fox, and looking at Shippō's distraught face, he knew he wanted to save him, too.

"I can," he stated firmly, although deep down he wasn't quite sure. Still, he wasn't going to admit it. It wasn't a question of being able to do it or not in his mind – he had to do it, so he would.

"You better not let me down," she said just loud enough for him to hear, making his head snap up in surprise, but he didn't have any time to respond to her as she jumped forward towards the male salamander in the same moment he rushed towards her. Tessaiga clashed with the axe, sparks flying at the contact. Kagome was first to retreat from the test of strength, her quick retreat taking the salamander by surprise and making him fall forward, the axe embedding itself deep in the ground. Using the fact that he seemed to be temporary immobilized, Kagome somersaulted toward him, ready to bring Tessaiga down on his head with both hands. The salamander dodged her attack by jumping backwards, but abandoning his weapon in the process.

"Hinote!" he called as Kagome's sword crashed into the ground, much like his axe did before. Only that Kagome didn't allow it to slam down hard enough to get stuck.

"I got it, Houka-nii-sama!" the middle-aged of the siblings replied as she drew back one of her fists, then punched the air, sending a large fireball towards Kagome. But the hanyō had been expecting an attack from her at that point, her brother having called out to her having given away the plan.

Easily freeing Tessaiga from the ground, Kagome cut vertically through the fireball when it was close enough, making its two halves bypass her and hit the field behind her. Then she turned her blade and twirled around, easily intercepting the approaching Houka with a horizontal slash. But he jumped over her attack, landed easily behind her and delivered a kick to his own weapon, freeing it from the ground. It flew at her spinning while at the same time turning into a flaming disc as it set itself on fire. Ducking quickly, Kagome avoided the flaming axe before springing at the salamander, her sword held by her side and pointing behind her as she readied herself for a diagonal slash. It would have connected, since the salamander didn't move, had an arrow of flames not blocked Kagome mid-swing. Glancing briefly to her left, Kagome noticed Hinote with a bow of flames in her hand, standing in the familiar position of someone who just released an arrow. Her eyes narrowed. 'So he's the melee fighter, while she supports him with magic from a distance… not good… and there's still that third one. She has yet to act, although the fact that she can float obviously isn't reassuring,' Kagome thought to herself as she somersaulted backwards, just in time to allow Houka's spinning axe to pass below her as it returned to its master. The salamander demon easily caught it, allowing the flames to vanish, just as Kagome landed on her feet a little ways away from him.

"Not bad for a half-breed," he sneered, making Kagome narrow her eyes in anger, although she didn't allow herself to respond to his taunts. Then he smirked evilly at her as Kagome changed stances, now holding Tessaiga's hilt by her temple. "And what will you do if I do this?" Houka laughed as he threw the axe behind him, the once again flaming disc flying straight at Inuyasha and the kitsune he was treating. She would have reacted, she would have acted, if not for the fact that in the very moment Houka threw his axe, Inuyasha's head snapped up from his work and not even a second later, he was drawing his sword, ready to deflect the incoming projectile. Kagome forced herself to stay put despite her worry. She wouldn't have made it in time anyway. 'I believe in you, Inuyasha. You can do it. I know you can,' she reassured herself as she used Houka's current state of disarmament and attacked him, thrusting her sword right at his face. And indeed, she didn't need to worry, for in the same movement as drawing Seiryuu, Inuyasha moved the blade diagonally, easily meeting the flaming axe and hitting it away, letting it fly in a wide arc in the opposite direction. The danger being over, he sheathed the sword and turned back to his previous work as if nothing were happening around him, oblivious to Shippō's wide stare of adoration.

Houka hadn't been expecting that, if his widening eyes were anything to go by, but he still managed to dodge her thrust by rolling to the side. Reacting instantly, Kagome spun around in the opposite direction on his dodge, exposing her back for a brief second before coming at him again with a diagonal cut, which he dodged by jumping backwards. She didn't follow him this time, continuing to spin instead and letting go of Tessaiga with her left hand.

"Sankon Tessō!" she yelled as she clawed at the air with her free hand, the golden energy pronging forward from her claws. But the attack wasn't aimed at Houka, intercepting instead another flaming arrow before it could reach Kagome, a few golden blades even managing to pass it easily and speeding towards the surprised Hinote, tearing through her clothes and cutting her side. She stumbled backwards in surprise and gazed at the wound, as if not comprehending she had in fact been wounded, but by that time, Kagome had redirected her attention to Houka as she expertly passed Tessaiga from her right hand to her left, then swiftly slashed at him in the opposite direction of her previous spin, walking forward while she was at it to get a better effect. But he merely jumped forward, his hands resting on her blade as he allowed the momentum of her slash to throw him towards his sister before he spun around in the air and landed on his feet in front of her now scowling form.

"I'll make you pay for that one, hanyō. And I'll make sure you get it ten times worse! You won't be walking away from here alive, not as long as I live!" Hinote screeched angrily, fire surrounding her entire form and making her ponytail flutter upwards. Her brother, however, reached out with his hand, using it as a barrier of sorts between the hanyō and the enraged female salamander, effectively stopping Hinote from recklessly throwing herself at Kagome. Then he sneered at her.

"Some protector you are," he said calmly with laughter in his eyes. "Letting an attack fly towards those you're supposed to protect…"

"It only means I trust my companions… I trust them to be able to do what they say they can do and Inuyasha said he could protect the fox from any stray attacks that might come their way. The same can't be said about you and your sisters it would seem," Kagome interrupted with a smirk of her own as she once again brought Tessaiga's hilt to her temple in preparation.

"Shows how stupid and weak you are yourself, if you depend on a pathetic human. You bring even more disgrace to what little yōkai blood flows in your veins than I expected from what we were told," Houka replied to her, the smirk growing on his face. Kagome frowned.

"Shows how much you know and how blind you are. Inuyasha is much more than just a 'pathetic human'," Kagome replied calmly, though her thoughts were anything but. 'From what we were told?' She repeated in her thoughts. As if hearing what she was thinking, the salamander continued to talk.

"I knew from the beginning you'd be viler than any other hanyō out there, as if having blood as filthy as yours didn't make you vile enough. But to use what little strength your yōkai blood gives you to protect humans? I didn't think anyone could fall that low. You seem to set new standards, Inuyasha."

"So you know who I am," it wasn't a question it was a statement, but that didn't mean Kagome was any less suspicious. She knew her so-called reputation didn't precede her by far. It wasn't like a tale about the Inuyasha had spread throughout Japan or anything. So then how did that salamander know of her?

"We weren't sure at first, but seeing how you're ready to die to protect people you don't even know, you can only be that creature that samurai had been talking about as he breathed his last breath. Something about you finding us and making us regret we ever set foot in his village," Hinote's voice was once again quieter as she spoke – it seemed she had calmed down, somewhat. There was no doubt, however, that she was mocking Kagome and the samurai she mentioned. And suddenly, Kagome's eyes widened in realization.

Throughout the battle, she couldn't help but notice that the fire the demons attacked her with didn't spread. Obviously, it was demonic fire. That much was certain even before they started fighting, as only the lowest yōkai contented themselves with controlling regular fire instead of creating their own flames. But even so, Kagome couldn't help but think that she had seen those flames before. She had smelt them before. She just couldn't figure out where. Now she knew.

"You were the ones who burnt down Kogarashi's village," she realized as she remembered the burning village, or rather what was left of it when she arrived there, and the boy whose family died along with everyone else. As far as she knew, there was only one survivor. 'They're the ones responsible for Souta's father's death,' she growled in her thoughts, a cold fury taking hold of her, though she didn't allow it to reign over her actions. One thing was for certain, now, however. Just as Hinote promised Kagome to kill her, Kagome also swore to herself to not let any of the three siblings walk away from this battle alive – not even the one who had yet to do anything. She didn't doubt that sooner or later she would. It was just a matter of time.

"Kogarashi? Ah, yes, I do seem to recall some villager calling that samurai by that name. Yes, indeed, we did burn down his village. We had fun doing it, too. We had hoped you would show up then so we could kill you, but you didn't. Too bad, huh? But hey, we can still kill you now and collect our reward with a little delay, that's not a problem," Houka spoke up again, this time laughing outright, probably enjoying tormenting her, even if Kagome didn't allow any emotions to show on her face. Except a confident, mocking smirk.

"Heh. As if the likes of you could ever hope to kill me," she said calmly, a very dangerous gleam in her eyes. If looks could kill, then the two salamander-siblings would already be dead. Since that wasn't the case, however, Kagome needed to do the deed herself, and so she ran forward. Houka swiftly threw himself to the ground to her right and rolled away, exposing his sister to Kagome's attack. The half-demon didn't get that far, however, as she was also forced to roll out of the way to avoid the myriad of arrows that Hinote sent her way. Just as she stopped rolling and stood in a crouch, Houka came up behind her with his axe, which he had retrieved from a few feet further away where it had landed after Inuyasha deflected it. Sensing him, Kagome turned around still in a crouch and tried to block. Her right claw rose to her left shoulder as she brought Tessaiga in front of herself, the blade pointing at the ground. She was quick enough to stop Houka from cutting her in two, but his axe still embedded itself deeply in her left shoulder, Tessaiga's hilt having clashed with the base of the axe's hilt. Houka smirked at her from his vantage point above her, but his smirk was wiped from his face when, without standing up or moving otherwise, Kagome thrust her left claw right between his collarbones with enough force to pierce right through his body, effectively piercing his trachea in the process, while completely disregarding the fact that the movement had deepened her own wound.

Acting quick, Kagome put more force behind Tessaiga and forced the axe out of her shoulder, then spun around and swung her left claw while retracting it from Houka's body, thus throwing him towards Hinote and making him an almost perfect shield against her next spell. Most of the fire snakes that Hinote created slammed right into her brothers back, but two of them evaded him at the last moment and bit down on Kagome's forearm, as she used that to protect herself instead of her sword. But before the demonic flames could devour her, the half-demon shook the snakes off, while those that caught Houka simply disintegrated, leaving the salamander on the ground, gasping desperately for air. Kagome knew, however, that with the damage she dealt him, he wouldn't be moving for a while, if he survived at all. Pierced trachea was enough to kill even a demon after all, though it was a very painful death as yōkai blood tended to try and repair the damage on time, not that it ever succeeded, or at least not that Kagome knew of.

Observing the battle from Shippō's and his father's side, Inuyasha's hand twitched towards his sword, wishing to aid Kagome in battle as Hinote visibly snapped and started throwing spell after spell, effectively keeping Kagome too far away to attack with Tessaiga and too preoccupied to use her Iron Claw or Blades of Blood, but he knew better than rushing forward. He said he would protect the kitsune, and if he was by Kagome's side when another attack flew this way, he wouldn't be able to do that. That didn't mean he didn't hate his current predicament, though.

A sudden thought entered his mind and Inuyasha glanced at his backpack. He was long since done bandaging the fox up, there was nothing more he could do for him for now. But he couldn't move away from his side, either. That left only one way to help, whether he was fond of it or not. Nodding to himself, Inuyasha reached for his backpack until he found what he was looking for. Not even five second later, he was standing in front of the kitsune and the kit, Kagome's bow in his hands and an arrow notched as he drew back the string.

The bow was not something he trained with, so he expected to have horrible aim. But… last time he tried, he was somewhat useful. If he tried again, he'd at least be of more help than if he did nothing. With that thought in mind, he let the arrow fly, hoping it would strike the correct target.

He missed. He missed quite a bit, actually. The arrow got stuck in the ground between Kagome and Hinote, and while it wasn't close enough to Kagome to harm her (luckily), it also didn't do anything to her opponent. But it did manage to catch Hinote's attention, and before he knew what was happening, a horde of extremely fast fire-wolfs was running straight at him.

Now, a stray projectile he could handle. Hell, if Houka himself attacked, he thought he could hold him off. A wolf made of flames maybe, too. But a whole pack of them was another story.

Cursing under his breath, Inuyasha threw the bow behind him and reached for his sword, but he needn't bother because suddenly, the wolves vanished as a blade cut through them from behind. All but one, one Hinote had explicitly sent with delay. And that wolf now jumped on Kagome's back, almost throwing her to the ground as it bit down on her uninjured shoulder. Growling both in anger and in pain, Kagome leaned forward, trying to throw the flaming animal off. She didn't succeed, but Inuyasha chose this very moment to strike. With a diagonal slash, he cut right through the fiery creature, making it disintegrate and allowing Kagome to straighten herself back up. She shot him a grateful look, one that had him gaping at her, before she swiftly turned around to face her opponent once again… just in time to block an axe that came down at her. 'Tch… still able to move? Persistent bastard,' the Inuyasha thought angrily as she pushed Houka back. He partially lost his balance as a result as he staggered backwards, and Kagome used that to knock his axe out of his hands. But before either of them could jump at the other's throat again (or in Houka's case towards his weapon to grab it), an unexpected sound resonated through the fields. The sound of a Nohkan.

Not only Inuyasha and Kagome, but also Houka and Hinote glanced toward the third of the siblings. The young girl was twirling around in the air, fire surrounding her bare feet and somehow allowing her to float as she danced while playing.

"Hibana is playing…" Houka whispered, most likely unable to talk any louder at the moment due to the hole Kagome put into his body. "Ah fuck!"

Whatever Kagome had been expecting him to do, it wasn't pulling back until he was by his younger sister's side. She expected even less that Hinote would do the same, but in the next second, she understood why they did. Right below the dancing yōkai-girl, a wall of flames was forming and looking closely, Kagome could easily see that it was in fact an army of yōkai made of fire that was starting to form. The hanyō could swear she heard Hinote laugh under her breath how they were now dead meat, but she ignored her. 'Fighting that army will be useless. She'll just create more,' Kagome thought as she observed both Hibana and the fire-army below her. 'We have to make her stop playing, somehow… but how?' Before she could think of something, the army ran at them. Cursing under her breath, Kagome gripped Tessaiga tighter as the flaming monsters came closer.

"Oi, Inuyasha," she said to the human beside her. He didn't turn to look at her, but she knew he was listening. "I'll try to take as many of those freaks off your back as I can. Try to find a way to make that freak-girl stop playing that infernal flute," she said. Inuyasha didn't have time to as much as nod as she sprang forward into the middle of the inferno.

It turned out, however, that Inuyasha himself had his hands full. While Kagome did take on as many beasts as she could, that didn't mean that quite a lot of them didn't reach Inuyasha anyway and the next couple of seconds were a furry of swings, slashed and thrusts. He was doing really well for the most part, his reactions being much faster than they used to be. Quite a few times, when Kagome was forced back and closer to him, he even tried to cut down a 'demon' that tired to attack her from behind, but each time, she twirled around in the nick of time to slice at it before Inuyasha could even get ready to strike. Not that he really blamed her – with the number of enemies surrounding them, she had to watch her back as did he; each of them fought alone, though Kagome still tried to watch his back, too, just like he tired to watch hers. And the fact that these demons were nowhere as easy to destroy as Hinote's wolves had been didn't make this easier. 'This isn't like her sister's magic… she isn't forming fire figurines and making them move…it's more like she's creating actual living yōkai, only made of fire!' Kagome thought angrily as she cut through another demon, slicing off its arm, yet failing to kill it in one go. She cursed as she whirled around, her blade managing to take the head of another of those fire-monsters while it only nicked the others around her, and she quickly turned around again. Staying in one place would be too dangerous – she'd be fried before she could even blink.

Not too far away from her, Inuyasha was having similar thoughts as he blocked, dodged and cut through the fire-demons surrounding him. While he was faring well, the number of enemies had to sooner or later take its toll on him, however, and even on the both of them, really. The most dangerous moment being when Seiryuu was knocked out of Inuyasha's hands. He tried to dive for it, but it flew too far for him to reach immediately. Instead, his hand gripped Houka's axe.

Thinking quick, Inuyasha lifted it with both his hands, as it was a little too heavy for him to hold with just one, and swung wildly, hoping to at least clear the way to his sword. However, the weapon being as heavy as it was, just swinging it almost made him lose his balance, and in order to stop himself from falling on his face, which would mean certain death in his current predicament, he did the only thing he could think of: he let go, letting the axe fly.

The weapon flew in a wide arc and almost struck the playing girl. The only reason why it hadn't was because she had still noticed it and allowed herself to fall to the ground in order to avoid it. What she should not have done while falling, was to keep her hands above her head, for it allowed the flute to be broken in her tight fist as the hilt of the axe hit her before zipping past.

The moment the music stopped, the flaming army stopped moving before it disappeared as if it never existed in the first place. Hibana slowly stood up from where she fell and without so much as a glance at her siblings or a word to anyone, she reached for the staff on her back. Before Inuyasha could even blink, the young girl stabbed the ground and a giant wave of flames erupted before her and sped at the priest and the half-demon, Houka and Hinote quickly jumping up and riding the wave of flames like surfers. He had raised the axe he had caught after it bypassed Hibana, and she was already preparing another fire-spell as they approached.

"I have just about had enough of you!" Kagome yelled suddenly as she swung Tessaiga down in a diagonal arc. She wanted to cut through the wave like she did before with the fire balls, so that it would bypass her and Inuyasha without doing any harm to either of them, but her swing came much sooner than it should and she cut the air while the wave, and the yōkai riding it, was still several meters away. Instead of cursing, however, Kagome only stared as a blind light erupted in front of her. A small explosion followed as the light met the fire-wave, and she could hear short screams from where she knew the yōkai were standing. When the light disappeared, only Hibana remained standing, having shielded herself with a wall of flames with the help of her staff.

What remained from the attack were five long gashes in the ground, as if a dog-yōkai about the size of Sesshōmaru or bigger had clawed at it and two bloody heaps that Kagome easily guessed were Houka and Hinote, that indicated that whatever happened, it had blasted the two salamanders to pieces.

[/T]

Hibana herself wasn't unharmed, either. Her staff, which he held protectively in front of herself, was cut cleanly in two. There was a deep gash on the right side of her chest, going all the way down to her leg. It was bleeding profusely and the lizard-faced yōkai was quickly getting paler as she lost most of her blood in a matter of seconds. That the right side of her body didn't just limply lean to the side was miracle enough, considering there was nothing attaching it to the rest anymore.

"How… Just a hanyō… defeated us… stronger… he said…" Kagome managed to hear some stuttered words from the yōkai before she fell face-first to the ground, not to move again. Whatever that light had been, she had tried to shield herself from it, but only managed to delay her death by a few, short seconds. Inuyasha looked away in disgust from the three bodies, or rather what was left of them, and keh-ed under his breath. 'Serves you right, fuckers,' he thought.

Kagome, meanwhile, was having different thoughts entirely.

"What… in the world was that?" Kagome asked no one in particular as she gazed at the sword in her hand. 'Was it something I did? Was it… Tessaiga?' she wondered as she stared with wide-eyes at the blade, as if it would answer her questions. But while Tessaiga seemed to have a life of its own, in a way, since it had a heartbeat and could decide who could wield it and who couldn't, it could not talk, or at least not in words Kagome could easily understand.

"Wonderful, Kagome-sama! An easy victory, as expected from someone of your strength," a new voice brought her out of her reverie and she moved her eyes to her forearms, where a flea was excitedly jumping. "Of course, Inuyasha didn't do badly at all, either, don't you think, Kagome-sama?"

"What are you even still doing here, Myouga-jii-chan?" she asked, completely ignoring his rhetorical question. "I would have thought you would be long gone by now, being the coward that you are," she added with a smirk. Myouga tried to defend himself, like he always did, but one annoyed look from both the hanyō and her black haired companion was enough to shut him up.

Sheathing her sword, Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha. He was panting a little and was wiping away sweat from his forehead, though whether that was due to fatigue or the heat the demons of fire emitted Kagome didn't know. He had a few minor burns on his arms and neck, but was otherwise unharmed. She smiled at him.

"Thanks for fighting alongside me," she said calmly, closing her eyes and putting her arms in her sleeves. Surprised, Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like I did that much," he replied a little sourly, now regretting that he only tried to shoot Hinote with an arrow. He should have just rushed in and been done with it, that way he could also show Kagome that he wasn't as pathetic with a sword as she seemed to think he was, if all her critiques were anything to go by.

"You protected the kitsune," the hanyō-girl reminded him gently, interrupting his train of thought. "It was as important as defeating those salamanders and alone, I couldn't have done both. So that was enough."

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at her back. Had she just…? She did, didn't she. 'She just admitted that… there was something she couldn't have done without my help?' He never thought he would ever hear her say something like that, but it made him feel a little proud of himself. At least he was some help. That was a start. Next, he'd show her he didn't need her help or protection anymore, and then he would start protecting her as it always should be.

It never crossed his mind to think that she didn't need his protection, either.

"Otou…?" the quiet voice of Shippō interrupted Inuyasha's musings as he approached the child and his father, Kagome already kneeling beside them, and sending him an unsettling gaze before glancing back to the kitsune, whose bandages were by then soaked with blood, then looking back to him again. Unable to meet her gaze for some reason, Inuyasha looked away.

"I did what I could," he replied her unanswered question as he knelt down beside the fox as well. "But the wound on his back…" he started, pointing to the one bandage that was completely soaked through, as opposed to the rest which stayed while. "The bleeding just wouldn't stop…"

"It's not your fault," Kagome replied sadly, her ears drooping as she took a tentative sniff around the fox. She still smelt blood for the most part, but if she concentrated on the one wound Inuyasha mentioned, she could also detect the stench of burning flesh. "That demonic fire they used… It was the same as the one that burned down Ko-chan's village. They were the demons who attacked Ko-chan and his family.

"You saw then how it works, didn't you? Demonic fire doesn't spread, but no matter what you do, it won't go out until what was used as its fuel isn't burned down completely, until nothing remains. A living being's flesh is no exception there," she explained gravely, her fists clenching at her sides. If she had been stronger… if she had arrived sooner… If she had realized quicker why the kit stank of blood even though it was obvious he wasn't the one to shed it… If she had been quick enough to shield the kitsune from that one last fireball he had to dodge by himself…

She shook her head. 'No use dwelling on what-ifs now,' she said to herself, not that it made her feel any better. But what was done was done and it was no use to dwell on the what-ifs. She couldn't change what was already done. 'His yōkai blood is trying to keep the fire in one spot… but it won't save him. His body is made of the same 'material' everywhere, so eventually, he'll just burn down. It would be easier and less painful to just let the fire consume him, rather than try to contain it and prolong his suffering… so why is he doing this to himself?' she couldn't help but think.

[T]

"Shippō," the kitsune suddenly spoke, addressing his son. The little kit immediately crawled closer to him, as if to hear better what his father was saying, not that he really needed to. Kagome suspected the kit had an idea what fate awaited his father. All things considered, there was no way he couldn't know. That didn't mean he wasn't denying it, though.

"You see, otou, everything is fine now. The Hōnōo no Kyoudai won't come after us again and they even got what they deserved for killing kaa-san… we can go back to how we lived before…" he said, pretending to be cheery despite the fact that tears were filling up his green eyes.

"Oi, kit…" Inuyasha started, but stopped himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at Kagome, who shook her head at him, her eyes closed and ears still drooped. Inuyasha sighed, but didn't say anything more. 'Denying the obvious won't help the runt any, though,' he couldn't help but think.

"Shippō," the fox spoke again, making his son look at him expectantly. He smiled weakly, or as much as he could smile in his fox form, and licked Shippō's cheek in a canine-style kiss before continuing. "I need you to be strong now."

"What are you saying, otou… you sound like you're… but you're going to be fine… There's no more danger, and your wounds will be treated… you'll heal like always… you'll be fine," the kit ranted, his voice getting more desperate as the tears started falling.

"I need you to be strong, Shippō," the adult kitsune repeated before glancing at the two of them. "Inuyasha," he said next. The black haired priest glanced at the fox, but the yōkai was not addressing him. "You are the Inuyasha?" he asked for confirmation, his emerald eyes, the same as his son's staring right into Kagome's golden ones. Nodding slowly, Kagome responded:

"That's what I am often called," she said quietly.

"I heard about you… the gentle hanyō living around here who is ready to lay her own life on the line to protect others… I had once thought that could not possibly be a true story, but I think differently now," he said, making Kagome's ears perk up a little as she stared at him. She didn't expect to hear that at all. A story about her? Well, maybe Kaede and Kogarashi told people stories, but still. 'And it's not even entirely true, either…' she thought. Yes, she protected people. Yes, she often got hurt in the process. But so far, she never actually risked her own life to protect someone else's. Even this time around, if there had been a situation in which she'd have to choose between protecting the fox or protecting her own skin, she would have undoubtedly followed her survival-instincts, no matter how much she would loath herself afterward for it. Even when she protected the Jewel with Kikyo, she never really risked her life, except that one time when Kikyo and her had been tricked, but that didn't count since she hadn't even known she was in danger. If she'd known… would she have fled? The young half-demon preferred not to know the answer to that question.

No, so far, while she did protect others, she never risked her own life while doing so… except the fact that she was definitely ready to do it for Kikyo, even if she hadn't. And then there was also Inuyasha. 'When I fought Sesshōmaru and I knew he could die if I failed… I was ready to die if it only meant Sesshōmaru would leave him alone. That one time… I was willing to give my life for his, if there was no other way to save him,' she thought, realizing that it was true. There was just something about the black haired ningen boy from the future… something that made her ready to give up her own life, if it meant saving his. And she knew she'd do it in a heartbeat if the need ever arose. The only question remaining was… just when did he become important enough to risk her life for his?

"Inuyasha," the kitsune's voice brought her out of her musings and she locked her gaze with his once again, asking him to go on with her eyes. "Please take care… of my son…"

Her eyes widened at that. Whatever she was expecting of the kitsune, it definitely wasn't him asking her to take care of his son. Why would he trust her? He didn't know her! And she was just a hanyō…

A hanyō who tried to save him because she knew 'how it felt like to lose a parent when you're much too young to deal with it'. She lowered her head and allowed a soothing growl to leave her throat, responding to his plea in yōkai-language. 'I swear to take care of him as if he were my own,' she said.

"What do you mean, otou? Why should she take care of me, if you can do that on your own…?" Shippō asked desperately, obviously still in denial of the obvious, not that Kagome blamed him. The kitsune shot her a grateful, trustful look, that spoke much louder than any words he could have said, before he turned to his son again.

"Be strong, Shippō," the fox repeated, his voice becoming steadily quieter than it already was. "And don't forget that both me and your mother love you dearly… and that we still watch over you, no matter what," his last words were merely whispered, and then he laid his head on his front paws and closed his eyes. Not even a second later, flames erupted from within him, instantly covering his whole body. But it wasn't kitsune-bi – these were the demonic flames that had taken root inside him.

"OTOU!" Shippō yelled, as he threw himself at his father's body, but before he could reach it, Kagome snatched him up, embracing him tightly.

"Shippō-chan, don't… you'll only meet the same fate if you do…" she tried to persuade him, but the fox-kit refused to listen and tried to wiggle out of her hold.

"Let me go! Let me go, stupid hanyō! Otou! OTOU!" he yelled, but Kagome only tightened her hold on him, refusing to let him go the dead fox. It was only once there was nothing left of him and the fire died that Shippō finally stopped struggling and instead collapsed into her chest, sobbing hysterically and still calling for his father. Still, Kagome said nothing, only continued to hold him, an anguished look on her own face as her own memories assaulted her. This was so much like… so very much like back then… and yet so very different.

[/T]

Inuyasha didn't say anything, either. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the kit or at the pile of ashes that used to be a living kitsune not so long ago. Unwillingly, his thoughts traveled to Souta, the little human boy whose village had been burned down and whose father was also killed by the same yōkai they had just defeated. He didn't remember seeing the boy cry, but he did remember how he was thirsty for revenge at first, and though he still didn't know what made him change his mind in the end, he was kind of glad for it.

Then his mind wandered to only a few days ago, when Kagome was human and Kikyo was resurrected… and to that one, anguished howl he heard once the priestess passed a second time. Just remembering it sent shivers down his spine.

Was that all that existed in this time? War and death and fighting? Sure, when he first decided to come here, he was prepared to face death – death of the yōkai that threatened him. He didn't think much about all the pain it could entail for those that stayed alive. He never thought of those who weren't strong enough to fight, even though at first, he was also one of them. Only that he was lucky enough to have someone watch his back from the very beginning and even teach him to defend himself in this world – this world so very different from his own. But was there really no other way to live in this time other than fighting?

"This is the way we have to live in this period," Kagome said, as if she were reading his thoughts. "We stare death in the eyes, face it each day, knowing full well each day could be our last. The weak die first. If you want to live, you have to be strong and ready to drench your hands in someone else's blood. If you want to protect those you care about, you need to be even stronger than that, otherwise you'll die. The strong prevail and the weak die, that's the only rule in this world," she added, still holding the little kit in her arms. By that time, he stopped wailing and was just sniffling from time to time and still clutching Kagome's jacket as if it were his lifeline.

Inuyasha didn't say anything as he stared at her solemnly. There was something in her eyes… a glint in her eyes that seemed to be passing him a message, though he couldn't quite understand what that message was.

Kagome didn't say anything more for a long while and silence enveloped them, interrupted only by the occasional sob from Shippō. Finally, she sighed and stood up.

"Well, let's get back to the camp we left behind. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like staying here for the night," she said as she turned on her heel to walk away, Inuyasha quickly grabbing his backpack and following after her. 'That and I left my stuff for making decent cup-ramen over there,' he remembered, but didn't voice his thoughts. Somehow, he thought it was not the right moment to point that out.

(1) Nohkan – A traditional Japanese flute created in the 15th century in Japan (Sengoku Era = middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century, for those who didn't know or weren't sure). It's a transverse flute with seven finger holes, used in Noh drama, a traditional Japanese theater developed for nobility, as well as in Kabuki – traditional Japanese opera. The primary material is bamboo, but the nohkan is not made of its culm. The bamboo is cut into strips, reversed so that the outside of the bamboo culm becomes the inside of the nohkan, and then the strips are glued together. The bore of the instrument is conical - tapering down near the foot of the flute to a smaller bore than at thehead end. Thehead endof the instrument also has a bore restriction near thehead end. The unusual bore shape gives the nohkan a strong high pitch.

And this is it. And for those of you who (rightfully so) think that I'm cruel, I assure you, I've been thinking long and hard about whether to orphan poor Shippō or not. But I had to keep in mind that if he didn't lose his dad, then he wouldn't tag along and I'll be frank: I'll need him there later on. Plus, it'll be a lot of fun to mess with Inuyasha with Shippō's help, even if Kagome can't 'osuwari' him in this fic :3 So, I'll hope you'll forgive me for killing the poor kitsune-father.

OK, I think I said all I wanted to say, so see you in the next chapter… or in a review if you decide to leave one :D Cheers!