2

Vampire hunter Sango and her fire cat landed. She knelt to examine the mound of sand near the hot springs. Someone had buried something. She motioned for Kirara to dig. The huge fire cat soon backed away from the noxious smell emanating from the pit. The remains of a bat-winged rodent with prominent fangs reeked with the same odor of death as the prey Sango hunted. She had found another piece of the puzzle surrounding the latest vampire outbreak.

These noxious creatures were somehow related to the vampires. She didn't know if they were livestock, minions, or vermin that fed on the carrion the vampires left behind. Just finding one meant that the prey she was tracking could not be far away. She reburied the carrion, erasing traces of her presence. She mounted Kirara and they began to follow the small webbed tracks left by the one who buried the rodent youkai.

That day's trek seemed interminable. Inuyasha galloped from the front to the rear of the traveling queue, growling and disappearing into any large cluster of underbrush. After sun had risen halfway to its zenith, Sesshoumaru finally had enough of the hanyou's erratic behavior. The vague circling and winding path that Inuyasha claimed led toward the village they sought, seemed to go nowhere. He called a halt and motioned over Kagome and Miroku. "Enough of the hanyou's folly. Rest and eat. I will find the proper route to Village-on-the-Hillside."

Miroku nodded respectfully, he also believed the endless meandering did not lead toward their destination. The rumors of shard bearing monsters, from the various village girls he harassed during their stops for supplies, pointed toward the north. All spoke of rampaging youkai in that region of the mountains. A few added in terrified whispers that the mountains were haunted by a powerful new dark lord.

Through the open shutters of the local sake shop, Sango saw the white garbed youkai, his fur cape and hair writhing as if windblown.

A bit of wry humor reminiscent of the situation came to her, the half-remembered beginnings of a joke. She smiled briefly, a youkai lord and a vampire slayer walked into a bar . . .

She heard the low growl of distaste as Lord Sesshoumaru regarded the human dangling from his claws wrapped around its throat. "Where is this dark lord of rumor hiding?" He dropped his prey on the floor.

The man coughed and rubbed his throat groveling at the youkai's feet. "In the north they say, Lord. In the ruins in the forest beyond Saddle Mountain the new evil grows. The rumors say from there none return."

Sesshoumaru turned away in disgust at the man's continued whimpered babbling. As he passed her, Sango bowed. He paused; it was the woman who had been following their party all day. A vampire slayer by her garb. "Come," he commanded and trekked back down the hill toward their camp.

Sango followed a few paces behind. Perhaps they knew more of the enemy she sought.

Inuyasha sat scratching his back against a tree. His mutterings and growls had become increasingly animalistic as the day progressed. He stared at movement in the brush across the clearing and bounded away.

Trotting back, he dangled a rabbit by the ears. Leaping into the tree, he bit the animal's throat and drained the blood from its carcass. He threw the body on the forest floor. Inuyasha began eying the humans and youkai around the campfire.

"I don't like the looks of that," commented Miroku.

Shippo began whimpering and hid himself in Kagome's arms. "He's gonna eat me. Inuyasha's gone crazy." Rin clung to her skirt and edged behind the miko.

Kagome had no reply to the kit's fears. She had come to the same conclusion herself.

A short while later, Sesshoumaru strode into the camp followed by Sango. Rin rushed and grabbed his leg. "Sesshoumaru-sama, you came back to save Rin. Inuyasha is being so creepy. Shippo thinks he wants to eat us!"

Sesshoumaru paused and tousled the little girl's hair. "This Sesshoumaru will not let the idiot hanyou harm you. Go and sit with the others." He glared; his eyes narrowed at the growling hanyou in the tree. An icy wind began to whirl around the campsite.

Sango waited at the edge of the clearing, her black coat fluttering in the wind, her armor visible beneath. The monk's gaze became fixed; his mouth hung open and drool dripped down his chin. Kagome cuffed the back of his head. "Focus," she chided. She gathered the children close to watch the coming events unfold.

Sesshoumaru flipped his green acid whip at the tree where Inuyasha perched. The whip cut through the branch and dropped the hanyou to the ground. Miroku moved in and quickly plastered Inuyasha with a dozen sutras.

Shippo twittered, "And you didn't even have to sit him, Kagome."