A/N: I'm gunna prob not post very much in upcoming week due to Thanksgiving Holiday.

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Itty Bitty Pretty Five

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It was a cute village. At some point it had clearly been well off or at least had had a wealthy benefactor. Just the shrine itself was rather impressive yet the clear evidence of spiritual devotion made her question whether that half-demon had lost his damn mind. Why here?

"Do you know where I can find Lady Kagome?" the mouse haired girl asked a passing villager, "I need assistance and I believe she can help."

"Last I heard she will return later this evening to regroup with the slayer and monk," the villager responded, "But in the meantime, Lady Kaede may be able to assist you."

"Where might I find her?" the girl asked casually as she glanced around, "I really need some assistance as quickly as possible."

"She's with the children, I believe," the villager offered as he pointed towards the edge of the village, "You should find her over there."

"Thank you so much!" the girl chirped as she waved farewell and continued along the path. All she needed was to pass the message along that the slayer, monk and cat demon were being held prisoner then she could bounce. That asshole clearly wasn't here - she'd been watching the village for hours now. She needed to draw him out.

"Are you Lady Kaede?" the girl asked casually as she approached an elderly looking woman in priestess garb who nodded once in acknowledgment and turned to greet her.

"Yes child," the old woman chuckled, "How may I help ye?"

Singling slightly, the girl words began to tumble from her mouth in a rush, "Oh, thank goodness. You must come with me at once! This morning my village was attacked and this monk and slayer were helping us but then this witch came and they vanished! I need help and I heard there was a group of demon exterminators here led by a priestess named Kaede or Kagome or something."

"This morning, you say?," Kaede asked in an anxious tone, "Did you catch their names? The monk or slayer?"

"No," the girl mumbled miserably, "It was them and this cat with two tails. They're just...gone."

Taking a deep breath, Kaede gave the strange newcomer a good hard look. The girl was obviously faking her tears. Something was wrong here.

"Where is your village, child?" Kaede asked in a comforting tone, "Ye must be tired to have walked so far so quickly. The sun has yet to reach its peak."

"Uh, just on the other side of the mountain," the woman lied seamlessly, "But truly I need..."

"Which mountain?" Kaede interrupted suddenly as she narrowed her eyes, "In which direction?"

Paling visibly, the girl glanced directly behind Kaede and pointed at the nearest one. Kaede chuckled low before slowly reaching into her kimono, "How odd. That is not at all where the slayer and monk traveled this morning. Whatever would they be doing there?"

Before the girl could formulate an answer, Kaede flung a sutra at the strange girl who vanished into dust before her very eyes.

"Another puppet," Kaede sighed heavily before furrowing her brow in worry, "It is a trap to be sure yet we cannot abandon them in their time of need. Why on earth would this child kidnap them? They possessed no jewel shards. Why attempt to force me or young Kagome to travel to rescue them? It makes no sense unless..."

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In the distance, amid the green of the forested hills was that all too familiar reflective white strip where they'd spent so many summer days relaxing back before their lives went to hell. He'd already checked all her usual haunts so if she wasn't there then he'd really start to worry. It wasn't like her to lie and while he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, it was her uncharacteristic behavior that had his gut churning angrily. Hiking his small pack more comfortably onto his back, the small ebony haired boy quickly rushed up the small hill and as the small waterfall came into view, he visibly sagged in relief.

"There you are," Kenji sighed happily as he quickly made his way to her side, "Grandpa and I've been so worried."

"Why worry about me? You both know I'm not some pathetic human," Emi clipped as she stared idly at the rippling water.

"Gee, thanks," Kenji snorted as he rolled his eyes, "Well these two pathetic humans were worried about you anyway."

"You know I didn't mean it that way," Emi groaned miserably as she cast him an apologetic grimace, "I'm just trying to find a cure so Grandpa can finally leave that cave. I...I found someone who said that she'd be able to break the curse if I...I..."

"Got jewel shards?" Kenji supplied knowingly before adding in a hurt tone, "So now you lie to your pathetic human?"

"Not jewel shards," Emi snapped, "Another half-demon. I just had to make him tiny and deliver him but that dumbass broke my spell already. He's a tricky one."

"Since when do you go around putting spells on people?" Kenji sighed heavily as he idly scratched the back of his neck, "That's not like you. Why would you sacrifice someone just to get what you want? You know that's wrong. Why..."

"Because it's my fault what happened to our parents, to grandpa. I need to make it right by whatever means necessary, " Emi answered quietly to which Kenji groaned and shook his head.

"No, you weren't those jerks who cursed them," Kenji soothed his sister, "Mom's parents were the ones who got all pissy she mated a human and..."

"And then adopted another who she claimed as her own," Emi added quietly, "I know that but it's still..."

"Not your fault," Kenji cooed as he sat down next to her, "Whatever this half-demon has done, capturing him and handing him over is not the way to go. Grandpa has said we can leave..."

"I'm not leaving him behind," Emi cut him off harshly, "I'm not doing that."

"Well, then maybe we just ask a priestess," Kenji supplied, "You look human enough. They probably won't..."

"I found someone to help us," Emi snapped before running her hand through her hair and huffing in frustration, "But I have to get this asshole for that person to help. Beside, nobody is just going help us out of the goodness of their heart. Especially not when a half-demons involved."

"You might be surprised," Kenji answered with a knowing smirk, "I was just hearing the other day about some rag tag group of mercenaries going around saving humans and demons like. They're apparently a mix of demons and those with spiritual powers."

"Really," Emi mumbled miserably as her eyes glanced down at the small bag around her waist, "You don't say?"

"If you asked, they'd probably help," Kenji sighed as he rested his head on his sister's shoulder, "We'll figure it out."

Grimacing, Emi couldn't help but worry that she had made a terrible, terrible mistake.