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A scent of his ass burning finally reached up and Inuyasha jumped twenty feet into the air, his hands palming at his backside.

Now:

"Aah! Hot! Hot! Hot! What the hell!" Inuyasha screamed as he landed on his still smoking ass. It took a minute for him to realize what happened. Normal fire wouldn't be able to harm him like that because of his Robe of the Fire Rat. The only other explanation would be demon magic. "SHIPPO! You're dead!" He yelled out, scanning the area for the trickster kitsune.

Shippo snickered as he quickly placed a transformation leaf on his and Rin's head, disguising them as bushes just as the inu hanyou came close to their hiding spot. On his signal, Rin pulled the rope that the fox had given her.

As soon as the rope was yanked, InuYasha fell down a hole. "What the fuck! Gross! I'm covered in slugs!" The hanyou grimaced as he felt the slimy creatures crawl over his face. InuYasha quickly jumped out the slug infested hole, swiping the slimy bugs off along the way. "Shippo when I find you, I'm gonna kill you slowly!"

"InuYasha!" Shiori scolded as she flew over to where her boyfriend was. She grabbed one of the fuzzy ears on his head and yanked rather harshly. "You leave Shippo-kun alone! He's just a kid!" Her violet eyes were stern as she dared him to defy her. The koumori let a satisfied smile cross her lips as she used the ear within her clutches to drag the inu away from the kid's hiding spot. "Now you need a bath. You're covered in slug juice and I'm not kissing or cuddling with you until you're clean!" Flashing a knowing look over her shoulders at Shippo and Rin, Shiori winked before giggling softly.

Rin covered her mouth with her dainty hands, trying and failing to hide the loud bouts of laughter that left her. She has not had this much fun since she made Jaken dress up in a bright pink and white kimono complete with a tiara. She was happy that Shiori was spared from their prank and that everything went according to their schemes. Perhaps she should indulge in kitsune style fun more often.

Shippo was recovering from laughing so hard at the sight of Inubaka covered from head to toe in slimy slugs. He held his tummy as tears started to leak from his eyes. "That was amazing. Even Shiori caught on and kept InuYasha from finding us!" He flashed Rin a bright smile that lit up his whole face. His nose twitch when a strange scent hit him and it was coming from the girl sitting next to him. "Rin-chan? You smell kinda like warm spicy vanilla. Like when Mama does when she's around Touga-sama."

The young thirteen year old blushed when Shippo smiled so dazzling at her. And it only deepened when he pointed out the change in her scent. Rin would be lying if she said that she had not developed a small crush on the kitsune in the few weeks that they've been traveling together.

Shippo was growing into a handsome youkai. His auburn hair had grown much longer, the tip of his ponytail brushed against his shoulders now. His once large, bright turquoise eyes of his have began to narrow in a similar fashion as her adopted father, his irises thinning out slightly. His cheeks were starting to lose their roundness and his jaw was beginning to sharpen. Although he still had his paw like feet, they have lost even more fur to reveal the smooth skin underneath and his adult ears were starting to peak from the crown of his head.

Rin felt her face grow even hotter as she quickly looked away from Shippo. "It's nothing, Shippo-kun. You're imagining things!" She rose to her feet, grabbed his hand, and began to run back to the campsite. "Let's get back before Kagome-nee notices we're gone!"

Shippo smiled down at the tiny girl. Rin was really cute when she blushed. The kitsune in him wanted to tease her more about her scent change and the bright red color highlighting her cheeks, but he decided against it. He did not want to push her away with his playfulness. Shippo was really starting to like Rin and would wait for her to admit her feelings first.

-0-0-0

Kimi walked through a valley, her black eyes staring straight ahead. She wreaked havoc on all and any village that stood in the way of her destination. The Hell spawns knew that the battle against Sesshomaru and his group would be coming up very soon and they will need and army to aid them. Soon she reached a large valley and a cruel smile tilted at her painted lips. "Foolish Hanyou." Kimi sneered as she jumped down into the valley.

She landed quietly on her feet and quickly moved So'unga in front of her. The pearl embedded in the hilt began to glow a malicious red color. "Ryukotsusei! Rise and become my slave!" With those words, she slammed the blade of the sword into the ground and a blood-like substance began to leak from So'unga. The liquid oozed all across the valley and despite the real Kimi's screams, it seeped into the ground. There was a bright flash of light as the large scaly body of Ryukotsusei slowly pieced itself back together.

Bones reassembled themselves as flesh and muscle crawled over to cover the white, bony process. Two pair of red eyes snapped open and the dragon let out a mighty roar. It cracked it's long tail against the ground, causing a tremor to shake the valley and cause large pieces of stone to fall. He turned his head when someone called out his name and spotted a lone female. "Was it you who resurrected me?"

Kimi smiled as she pulled So'unga from the ground, stopping to flow of the blood-like liquid. "Yes. You will aid me in my quest to destroy the sons of the Inu no Taisho and open the gates of hell!" The hell spawns flared their aura, knowing that the dragon daiyoukai would only obey if the person controlling him was far his superior.

Ryukotsusei narrowed his eyes as the immersive amount of power the woman released. Something about it seemed familiar. Opening his senses further, he took in the scent of the youki and a growl bubbled low in his chest as the red eyes on the small Noh mask flashed brightly. "Woman, you are the mate of the Inu no Taisho. Meaning that one of his spawns are your son."

"I am no longer the mate of the Dog." the hell spawns spat out, the dark blue gem of the Meido stone glowing fiercely. "That wretched son of mine will perish just like his father before him!" she turned, her burgundy-streaked hair flaring with the movement like a wave of blood. "Come. We have many others that need resurrection."

The dragon daiyoukai narrowed his eyes at his new mistress. Perhaps he would follow her, since she did restore his life and has given him the chance to destroy the hanyou that killed him. Sliding along on his hard, scaly body, Ryukotsusei followed after Kimi.

-0-0-0

Kagome brushed back a stray lock of hair as she conversed with Touga. He was very pleasant to be social with and never degraded her. The miko felt a connection with the daiyoukai that both excited and scared her. She had just gotten over her long-time love for Inuyasha and yet she could feel herself developing feelings for Touga!

Suddenly, she paused. The enormity of the situation just hit her. She had feelings for her ex-love's father. Thinking about it, Kagome could not remember an exact time as to when that development possibly happened. The feelings had come about so subtly that she had not even realized they were there until it was too late.

"...Kagome?" Hearing Touga say her name, Kagome was forced from her inner musings.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked, blushing when he chuckled at her.

"Nothing, you seemed like your mind was wandering, and I only wished to know what had you looking so shocked."

"N-nothing… I just realized something is all. D-don't worry about it, I'm fine." She stuttered, blushing even harder.

Touga inwardly chuckled, having an idea of what had the Miko so frazzled all of a sudden. Thankfully for Kagome though, he decided to let the subject drop. He turned his head to gaze at the moon shining high in the sky, and could not help but to compare the beauty of it to the young woman at his side.

A/N: As of now, Mystical Shadow Priestess will be co-writing New Beginnings with me and Kirei Ai Tenshi.

Shout-outs:

LADY SILVERFOX aka charita rai: There will be plenty more.

lady sesshomaru sama 949: Kitsune are called tricksters for a reason.