Yep, it's me again! I'm back! Wow. This one was a fast one. I think this is like a world record or something for me. Actually it was already amlost finished when I submitted the last one.

Well, I got nothing left to say so read and please please please review.

Ch. 6 Day of Blood/ Onward Westward!

I watched as they disappeared into the trees leaving the others and me behind. I turned to look at Rin, Jaken and Shippo behind me. Their faces showed a combination of anxiousness and confidence. I didn't blame them. Their friends were going to take on Naraku, not something to be taken likely. I sat down on a nearby log and relaxed. Sesshomaru said I couldn't follow them but that didn't mean I could go my own way. As I disconnected from my body I could hear Jaken making some comment about how I could be so calm. What he didn't know was that I was very worried; so I was doing something about it. I caught up with them as they entered the grounds around Naraku's palace. Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru were ahead of the others with their swords drawn. Sesshomaru paused for the slightest second and looked right at me. I knew he could sense my presence; his face however remained neutral as he turned and walked on. A few minutes later they stepped out in front of Naraku's palace. He was waiting for them outside the doors to his palace when they got there. "Hello and welcome, friends. I'm so glad you could show up." He boomed loudly.

"Well, if you hadn't kidnapped Kagome . . ." Inu Yasha snapped.

"If you want to see your friend she's right here."

Naraku (gasp) raised his arm and a light appeared behind him, revealing Kagome standing there snarling with rage. Her eyes were red and she had long white fangs dripping with saliva. I blinked trying to understand what was wrong with her. A horrifying thought hit me, she was a demon. Inu Yasha and Company looked somewhere between appalled and enraged. Inu Yasha was the first to react. He raised his sword and charged. Naraku smirked and blasted him back before he was anywhere close. Sango and Miroku stepped foreword to protect him and Sesshomaru followed suit.

Naraku smirked as he gazed down at them. "Come now. He called is that really the best you can do after coming all the way here to see me?" He jeered loudly.

Inu Yasha got back on his feet. "This ends right here, right now, Naraku." He spat back.

Inu Yasha raised the Tetsaiga high and charged. It glowed red and Inu Yasha struck at the air in front of Naraku. Instantly his barrier disappeared. Sesshomaru went to attack Naraku but was stopped when Kagome came at him. Kagura and Kanna appeared taking the attentions of Sango and Miroku. Meanwhile Inu Yasha had tried to get Naraku on his own but was soundly blasted back. Kagome went for him now instead leading Sesshomaru the only one free to battle Naraku. Sesshomaru raised the Tokijin to strike but was engulfed by a mass of thick vines. Naraku began to chuckle maniacally as Sesshomaru struggled to free himself from the rapidly expanding plants. From behind Naraku a small boy appeared. He was short with dark skin and black hair. He must be Naraku's newest incarnation. "Shako." Naraku introduced him.

The boy sorted and raised his hand. Vines rushed everywhere completely covering the entire clearing. Yet they kept going. Up and up. Soon nothing could be seen but the sky. In the midst of the vine mass the end of the Tokijin appeared. There was a brilliant flash of light and all the vines were evaporated in an instant. Sesshomaru rose to his feet and brushed his sleeves off like it was nothing. His sharp gaze anchored itself on Shako. "Are you quite done?" He snapped at him.

I saw Shako's eyes grow large with fright. The vines came but this time Sesshomaru blasted them away like they were nothing. He raised his sword and came at him. Shako sent his vines but they where no match. Sesshomaru destroyed them cutting the master in two as well. He stepped back looking pleased with himself. It was only momentary however. Vines grew between the torn flesh of Shako's body pulling it back together. Slowly he rose to his feet. He grinned at Sesshomaru's expression. "What? Thought those vines were my only trick?" Shako taunted.

Sesshomaru answered by aiming his sword at him. I thought I heard him mutter, "Die pest." Under his breath.

Then he charged. This time his attack was final. I turned to look around at the others. Sango and Miroku were back to back fighting Kanna and Kagura. Not far away Inu Yasha was trying to avoid Kagome's arrows. As I watched he ducked, barely avoiding being pinned to a tree. I glanced back at Sesshomaru to see he was going after Naraku now. He attacked but Naraku deflected it. It landed beside Inu Yasha who was thrown violently into the air by it. For several seconds he lay on his stomach where he had stopped wincing in pain. Kagome came up behind him bow drawn. She leveled her bow at him and smirked. "Die, Inu Yasha!"

Then she let it fly. The arrow hit its mark embedding itself in Inu Yasha's back. He cried out in pain. Slowly he staggered to his feet. As he made his way towards Kagome she leveled a second arrow at him but was forced to aim it at Sesshomaru when he attacked her. This allowed Inu Yasha to make his way to Kagome. He wrapped his arms around her tightly limiting her ability to move. The Inu Yasha placed his lips over hers and kissed her. While they were doing this both were slowly moving their hands around behind the others back. At the same moment Inu Yasha sunk his claws into Kagome's back to dislodging the sacred jewel shard there and Kagome stabbed an arrow into his. Kagome's eyes almost instantly returned to normal. She starred in horror for a moment then stammered, "I'm sorry Inu Yasha."

The two collapsed together in each other's arms. Sango and Miroku moved back to protect them leaving Sesshomaru alone on the front lines. He didn't seem worried though. He looked like he was enjoying it. The two launched their attacks and the combined explosion knocked out Kanna and Kohaku and brought Kagura down from the sky. Sango and Miroku avoided it by grabbing Inu Yasha and Kagome and taking off on Kirara. As the dust settled it became clear who taken the brunt of the attack. Sesshomaru while not badly injured by any means was showing signs of fatigue. Naraku however looked like he was out for an afternoon walk. They attacked again and this time Sesshomaru was hit hard, slammed into the ground by the force. It wasn't serious but I understood the signs of beginning weakness. I knew this meant it was time for me to go. I quickly returned to my body and stood up. "There is trouble." I said softly and I turned and took off into the woods.

I purposely didn't leave an opening for the others to question. There wasn't time and I wasn't sure I could explain myself well if forced to. Drawing on my angel blood I ran as quickly as I could through the forest. In front of me I could feel the Sesshomaru being beaten in the battle a little at a time. As I neared the edge of the forest line Sesshomaru was slammed into the upper sections of a tree by Naraku's blast. I spread my AT field to cover him as Naraku prepared to follow up with his finishing blow. My AT field blocked the attack and Naraku looked around in anger. Seeing no one he attacked again. My A.T. Field held and the blast was deflected. Naraku snarled in frustration and demanded that whoever was there show themselves. I took a deep breath to compose myself and prepared for a fight. I stepped out into the open and Naraku gave a small gasp of recognition. He quickly recovered his poise before I had more than a glimpse of his shock. "Ah, Rei. I thought you where nearby. How nice to see you again." He said smoothly.

"Same to you, Naraku."

"So why weren't you here before? I though you would be here with the rest."

"We decided it was best if I stay back but it is time I come out from hiding."

"I see. So are we going to fight or are you going to keep protecting the inu lord?"

Ah, so Naraku had noticed I was covering Sesshomaru after all. Not like I could risk not doing that. "I'll do both if you don't mind."

"Suit yourself but you'll find it much too hard. You'll be forced to choose soon enough." He taunted.

Watch me. I replied silently. He had no idea what he was in for. I held my ground waiting for Naraku to make the first move. It turned out to be a fury of small-scale energy attacks. None of them were anywhere near strong enough to penetrate my AT field so I stood there looking bored and slightly bemused waiting to see what he would do next. Naraku's barrage ceased suddenly. He smirked at me for a moment. The he raised his arm and launched a second wave. One sliced through my A.T. field and cut my hand. That's when I realized this would be different. Large numbers of them followed and I was forced to cover my face to protect it. I winced as his attacks sliced up my body. My arms took the majority of the injuries and I was afraid to see what they looked like. When the assault stopped I lowered my arms to my side and stared him down. My arms were stinging relentlessly and I could feel the blood soaking into my kimono. They were going to be so lovely once they healed. "So you can cut me to ribbons slowly but you can't cause me any real harm."

"We'll see."

I however wasn't willing to sit around and wait to see what he had in mind. I closed my eyes and used my AT field to pick up all of Kagome dropped arrows. Then I drew my own sword and allowed it to float with them. I said a hasty thank-you to Sahaqiel for inspiring me to create the following move. Wonder how Naraku would like it? I opened my eyes and advanced on him. At first it seemed Naraku wasn't sure what to make of my flying arsenal but he quickly drew a whip like thing in retaliation. However I knew I was faster. I sent the arrows at him first. He dogged them all and grinned cockily at me. "That the best you got?"

I said nothing. I was busy setting the trap up. With one move I commanded the arrows to strike from behind. They embedded themselves in his back ripping apart huge chunks of his flesh. Naraku howled in pain and the blood splattered everywhere. He fell to the ground. Naraku's chest was mostly missing along with his head and limbs and I doubt he'd be alive after that. To my surprise his body pulled itself together and he rose to his feet. Huh, he could regenerate. Naraku raised his whip to strike me but I stretched out my hand and caught it in mid air. Then with a flick of my wrist I snapped it and sent it back at him. He dogged it though and drew a sword. "Ready?"

"I was born that way."

"Then let's go."

He rushed at me and I leveled my sword. He struck out and my sword counter attacked. With one swift move I took Naraku's left hand. He snarled at me as he tried to stop the bleeding. Naraku scrambled to regrow a new hand. I lowered my sword so that it was level with his neck. "Don't move or your head will be next." I warned him.

Naraku smirked. "I wouldn't be so hasty my dear."

I raised my sword to cut off his head and Naraku struck back. As our swords met the combined force of our blows caused them to ring out loudly. I drew back to prepare to attack again only to discover that my sword was cracked. It would do me no better than it already had so I placed it in its sheath. I would need a new weapon. I decided it was time to use my body. I transformed my arm into a replica of the lance. I took it in my hand and went foreword. It was time I get serious and started using all my tricks because it looked like neither of us was getting anywhere. Naraku grinned and lowered his sword. "It's about time you attack me yourself." He chuckled.

"But I have. How else did you get injured?"

"But you were using your powers to do if for you. I know you're a half blood, like me. You should strive to be better then your full-blooded counter parts. Otherwise they won't respect you."

"We each have our own specialty, including me. So it's impossible to be better because I would have to master many different skills and prefect them beyond the knowledge of thousands of years."

"What would your specialty be?"

"Beating you."

"Very funny. Now let's see if you can back it up with that lance of yours."

"I intend to."

Naraku and I attacked. He managed to slice a deep cut on my arm but I imbedded the end of my lance in his shoulder. He roared in pain and pulled it out. I summoned it back to me and readied it to attack again. Back and forth we went. Naraku had given me several minor cuts and I had managed to stab him deep several times. At one point Naraku decapitated me. Behind me I heard Sesshomaru scream my name as my head hit the ground. I drew from my core's power and created myself a new head. Naraku hid his surprise well this time, although I was able to feel it. Still that little move had taxed me. Unlike my relative I didn't have unlimited regeneration abilities because my core was logically weaker since I wasn't full blooded. The good news was I'd live as long as my core was untouched I just wouldn't have the strength to do any self repairs. By now Naraku was breathing heavily and showing signs of fatigue. I was doing better but not by much. I readied my lance and attacked. I dodged his sword and pinned him to a tree in front his palace driving the lance deep into his chest. He cried out and then stilled. I watched him for a moment knowing he couldn't be that hurt. What was he thinking? Suddenly he snapped to attention and sent multiple attacks at me. Seeing what he was doing I fortified my AT field and the fist two dissipated harmlessly.

The third attack punctured my AT field effortlessly. The next thing I knew I was laying pressed against a tree struggling to breathe. My ribs ached and everything spun. I could feel the metallic taste of blood in my mouth and I knew I had bit my lip. Slowly everything cleared and I was able to get up. I stood and looked over at Naraku. Plan A had just been blown to smithereens. Well, that still left plan B and it was guaranteed to light things up if I had any say. I wiped the blood from my mouth, not that it did much good, and focused my eyes on Naraku. I raised my hands and in them I began to summon a ball of energy. (Yes, for those who where wondering I was paying attention during my time as an Eva pilot and during Instrumentality which allowed to figure out some ticks I wouldn't have otherwise known.) I work the energy carefully and cautiously as I strained to make it bigger and bigger. I kept going trying to make it as big as I could. Soon I could barely control it and I knew I could make it no bigger with out losing control. With the deadly accuracy I learned as an Eva pilot I aimed it at Naraku and positioned him in its path. As I released my attack the ground rushed up to meet me and everything went black.

Adam had been watching, waiting for this. Now his time had come. He watched Rei floating in front of him for a moment then shook her awake. She blinked at him for a moment then her eyes widened in surprise, "Adam."

"Hello again. It's been a while." He replied.

Rei however wasn't in a chatty mood. She narrowed her eyes and leveled her question at him. "What do you want?"

"I have a simple request to make of you. I know you can feel the presence of Naraku. He's still alive and about to wake up from your attack. I want you to let me have your body so I may fight him."

"Why should I let you? I can reconnect with my body and handle him just fine."

"Don't kid yourself. I know you used up all of your energy in your last attack. You're too weak and worn out to fight anymore. Let me do it. I've got plenty of fight and energy to spare. Unless you want to put your inu lord's life in danger, that is."

After a moment of hesitation she nodded in consent. "Very well."

Rei lay back and closed her eyes again. Adam leaned over her and put his hand to her head to read her mind. He wanted to know if she knew his location. She didn't have a clue. Adam smiled and hurried off. It was time to see the world again. He summoned every drop of Angel's blood in Rei's veins to the surface. It reacted well and much quicker then he had expected, even for Lilith's. Rei's frequent use of it must have gotten it used to being used. He smiled and opened Rei's eyes to meet the world.

Sesshomaru watched as Rei was thrown back by a blast of Naraku's power. Her body slammed against the tree. At first she didn't move and Sesshomaru thought she was dead. To his relief she slowly began to stir and with a pained carefulness rose to her feet. Rei's hands rose from her sides. Between them a ball of white light began to form. With a strained precision Rei shaped it and worked it in her hands, causing it to grow all the while. Sesshomaru watched as it writhed and twisted, almost becoming an entity of its own. He shuttered as he felt its power crackle through the air. With grim accuracy Rei aimed it at Naraku and let it go. Almost instantly the world erupted into a wall of white light.

When it disappeared Rei was lying unconscious on her stomach. Naraku was missing and his palace or a least what was left of it was in shambles. It looked like things were quiet and this, Sesshomaru hoped, was a sign that things were over. His hopes were crushed however when he saw some rubble move and a badly injured Naraku appeared from under it. As he stepped foreword he seemed like a hell sent creature of destruction. The flames seemed to dance and twist behind him to his demonic wind. As he neared Sesshomaru realized his left arm was gone ripped to shreds by the explosion.

Below him Sesshomaru could see Rei getting to her feet. He was surprised, though he knew he shouldn't be, Rei, he'd figured out wasn't human, half-sure but that wasn't what bothered him, the mystery of the other half did that. It wasn't demon but what ever it was though must be why she had those strange powers. He figured she was probably like Inu Yasha contained to a human body by human blood but able to wield the powers of the other half of their ancestry. He hoped the one curse of being a halfling was something Rei unlike Inu Yasha didn't have, being taken over by the non-human half. He knew there was no way he could stop her and he doubted Naraku could either if that happened. Sesshomaru turned his attention back to the battle below. Rei and Naraku where closing the distance between each other rapidly. The wind was going the wrong way so he still couldn't tell anything that way. "Well, well, still on your feet." Chuckled Naraku.

Rei replied with a strange harsh laugh. It seemed rough and forced to Sesshomaru almost as if she was trying a low deep laugh. Unexpectedly he caught a whiff of stray gust of wind. There was a new smell on it, no; it was more like one of the smells that were there was gone to be over powered by another one. Sesshomaru groaned as the sickening reality hit him, the smell that was gone was human blood and the one that had replaced it was the strange smell that was the mysterious other half of Rei's heritage. She had become a full blood. Rei looked back at Sesshomaru; her face had the hardened confident look of a warrior. Her lips curled in a half smile, "Don't worry, you won't die. Not today. Rei sent me to see to that" She said.

Sesshomaru shuttered from the iciness of her voice. There was an almost inhuman coldness in it that made her seem even untrustworthier then Naraku. Sesshomaru almost hated to trust this strange being that now inhabited Rei's body. Yet Rei did. Hadn't it said that Rei had sent them? Before he could ponder more events below drew his attention. Rei had refocused her attention on Naraku. Within a few moments another ball of light was forming in her hands. Naraku seeing what she was doing charged foreword in an effort to stop her but he was too slow. He narrowly had time to pull a disappearing act before Rei's attack hit him. As the wall of light disappeared Sesshomaru saw Rei stumble backward and fall against the tree. She was unconscious. Knowing he wasn't going anywhere for a while let his pain and exhaustion overwhelm him and Sesshomaru sank into a troubled sleep haunted by images of his past.

Sesshomaru stood in a large clearing in the forest. "Sesshomaru!" Called a voice from behind him. "Sesshomaru!"

He turned around to see her, Haruna, standing there. They both started running towards each other. A short distance from him, she collapsed to the ground. A large hand suddenly came up out of the ground and seized her pulling her under. Try as he might Sesshomaru couldn't get to her and she disappeared.

Sesshomaru sat up with a start awakened by his own screams. He was shaking and drenched in a cold sweat that left him chilled to the bone. That dream, he couldn't believe me was having it again. He thought he had beaten it years ago.

Slowly my conscience began to drift back to me. The first thing I could sense was pain. Most of it was in my head, pounding between my temples, throbbing rhythmically like the crashing of the ocean. Compared to that everything else I felt seemed muted and surreal. The rest of me did feel pretty bad though, like someone had sent me through a meat tenderizer. I imagined I looked like one large black and blue bruise. At least none of my bones seemed to be broken. Gradually my headache began to subside only to be replaced by a new desire, I needed to throw up. Unfortunately there was only one way to relieve it. I leaned foreword so I was clear of my self and vomited.

Gently I eased myself back up against the tree. My injuries were worse than I had initially thought. I would need time to completely heal, especially since I didn't have Doctor Akagi and the Nerv medical team looking after me any more. I could see now that even with the angels healing power it would be two days before I would be able to move around again. At Nerv I would be declared unfit to pilot and someone else would have been found to replace me or they would have relied on Shinji and Asuka to take care of things. Here however, I realized, there was no replacement or back up for me anymore so if I didn't look out for myself I could easily suffer permanent injuries or worse, death.

It felt so strange, for once in my life I was unique and irreplaceable like everyone else, but in a way it was also nice. I was free of the expectations of others and the stigmas placed on me because of how the other me's had acted. Now, there was also no stockpile of me's waiting to replace me should I fail or rebel. Here I was like everyone else; here there was only one me. The edges of my lips began to curl up ever so slightly until within a few moments there was a smile on my face. I felt at peace with myself and comfortable with whom I was. It felt like I had been liberated from my shackles of bondage to Nerv, Eva and Commander Ikari. I wondered what the others would think of me. Shinji I was sure, would be pleased for me. He'd told me one day shortly before Kaworu arrived that it didn't matter that I was a clone, he thought I would be able to find my own path in life. Asuka I wasn't sure about. Would she still consider me an emotionless doll or would she finally see me as being independent an able to look after myself? I knew why Asuka called me a "doll" and "wonder girl", I learned that during instrumentality. Although now days I often regret gaining that knowledge. As the co-overseer of it I saw inside the workings of everyone else's minds. Asuka was frequently thinking about her mom. At first I saw only happy times between her and her mom when she was younger. Then I began to see images of Asuka's mom at the hospital after she'd begun to go insane. The most disturbing images came next; Asuka's mom was holding a rag doll in her arms talking to her like she was Asuka. This went on for hours on end, day after day of watching her treat the doll as if it were Asuka. That however failed to measure up to the horror that was to come. The last part was the one I found hardest to watch. Asuka, elated by her appointment as the second child and pilot of the German built unit 02 ran into her mother's room only to find her dead, having hung herself and the doll.

Always in the background Asuka would scream and scream until she'd gone horse, pleading with her mom not to leave her or kill her. Even if I closed my eyes I could still hear her. Despite the difference of space and time.

Doink

Something hard landed on my nose. "Come on down there. Please tell me you're not still out of it, dammit."

I gently leaned back so I could look up. Sesshomaru was above me looking down at me with angry golden eyes. "Hey."

"Hi, yourself down there. Well, how are you feeling?" He snapped.

"I've been in worse shape but I'll need time to recover."

Sesshomaru grunted. "Looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while." He muttered in a business like fashion.

"Why?"

"Cause you're not going anywhere and neither am I." He retorted.

"Why not?"

"I'm in rough shape and too weak to climb down on my own much less go anywhere. What about you how bad are you doing?" He mumbled softly, almost as if he didn't want me to hear.

"I'm not going anywhere either. I am unable to even stand."

"Well, Looks like I'm staying up here like this till one of us is strong enough to get me down." Sesshomaru grumbled.

I closed my eyes to think. I needed a plan to get Sesshomaru down without moving. Problem was formulating plans had never been my strong point. As an Eva pilot that had never been a part of my life. All I knew was how to follow orders, pilot an Eva and what I'd learned at school. Sadly and ironically that didn't serve me well here. It appeared I would have to do this the hard way. The best place to start, I figured, was to make a list of what I had, which included myself, however my body was too injured for any large scale movement. There was also Sesshomaru but he was in bad shape too. Finally there was a small bag of supplies. Mostly it contained dried food, medicine and bandages. None of those seemed very useful to me. However I got the feeling there was something I was forgetting. I almost slapped myself when I remembered what it was; I still had my A.T. field. Quickly a plan began to formulate in my head.

"Sesshomaru."

"What?" he replied in a voice that said he was quite annoyed at being disturbed.

"I know how to get you out of that tree."

"How?"

I detected a hint of hope in his voice although it was well covered up by a detached air that said he could care less. "I'll spread my A.T. Field and then you'll push yourself off the branch. I'll catch you in my A.T. field and lower you to the ground."

"Are you insane? What makes you think I'll trust you with a plan as outrageous as that?" Sesshomaru barked back angrily.

"Have I given you reason to fear me or suspect that I wish to harm you?"

"No but . . ."

"Then, will you trust me?"

Sesshomaru stayed quiet for several minutes. I couldn't see the expression on his face but I knew he was questioning weather it was safe to go along with my plan or not. Finally he looked back down at me and said, "Do it."

His voice said he wasn't eager but I imagined he was. I called forth my A.T. field and released it above me. I gave Sesshomaru the okay and he began to work his way off the branch. I heard a bunch of grunts and groans as he went about it. Within a few moments it was over, and Sesshomaru was left sitting beside me with a mix of badly concealed surprise and relief on his face. I was taking slow deep breaths trying to make the lightheaded feelings go away. "That was pretty cool. I didn't know humans could do that. You are human, aren't you?" Asked Sesshomaru, sounding cool as ever.

I paled as the blood rushed from my face. This was the question I'd been dreading. I didn't want to tell what I was. That would have major consequences. I felt like an idiot but I was going to have to try something new, lie. "I'm human." I insisted meekly.

"What about your little performance against Naraku."

An unintentional groan escaped my lips. I couldn't believe Sesshomaru had seen that. I thought he'd been unconscious. Crap. The truth couldn't come out. "I'm just . . . just a . . . human." I stammered.

"Whatever," Said Sesshomaru, "You're not the only one who's ashamed of what they are."

Sesshomaru turned away from me and starred silently at the sunset. After the sun slipped over the horizon the temperature began to fall. Soon I was shivering with cold. Sesshomaru unwrapped the large piece of fluff he'd always wore over his right shoulder and spread it over the two of us like a blanket. The cold quickly melted away and I succumbed to sleep.

Sesshomaru cast a glance over at Rei as they sat in the light of the setting sun. He hated her. Not with the passion that he directed at Naraku but with the anger of one who has been greatly insulted. She had seen him in weakness and she had dared to touch his bare skin with her dirty human hands. Touched him! Where did she presume the authority to do that! How degrading, a demon of his rank being in contact with a human; despicable. Sesshomaru thought he had the worst luck in the universe. Twice now he had come into contact with them during moments of weakness and he hadn't been free of either since. Begrudgingly Sesshomaru was forced to admit he had seen kindness there in both of them. They'd done what most others would not. Gotten close to a youkai.

The one saving grace was that neither seemed quick to talk. Rin was totally loyal to him and did whatever he told her to. Rei on the other hand appeared willing to keep that first meeting a secret for her own reasons.

When I woke up it was late in the afternoon of the next day. I was feeling much improved so it was time to check my injuries. The first thing to look at was my left wrist. It had swollen painfully while I was out. I gingerly lifted my arm from my side and began to check it for fractures. As I was working I noticed Sesshomaru was watching me as I winced every time I pressed on my arm. After a few moments he took my battered wrist in his hand and checked it himself. "It's a bad sprain." He grunted when he was done.

Sesshomaru picked up two sticks and some pieces of cloth and between the two of us we bound my wrist in a temporary splint. As he was tying the last two pieces with a one handed knot Sesshomaru asked me if I was brave. I told him I was and asked him why he was asking. He explained that he had to return home to the Westernlands because Naraku would go there soon and he needed to prepare. I would go with him because it would be safer for me there than anywhere he could send me. However I would have to deal with the youkai who didn't like my being there. I replied that I could handle it and I'd be fine. I was used to not being liked from before third impact. The idea of facing that again didn't appeal to me but if I had to it was doable. Two things were troubling me about Sesshomaru's plan, the fact Naraku was still alive and there was no way we could walk the distance to the Westernland.

"How will we get there?" I asked.

Sesshomaru pulled the small gray stone out of his pocket. "I can use this stone to cause the one Jaken has to glow as bright as the sun. That would lead him to us."

"I see. So all we have to do now is wait."

Sesshomaru didn't reply to my comment but I got the feeling his answer was yes. The silence that grew between us became uncomfortable and I fished around for something to keep it going. I wasn't used to this having only held anything resembling a conversation only a few times in my life but I was willing to give it a try. Lilith had told me that if I was going to make things work this time I'd have to put in my own effort for that to happen. "So, I'm going to meet your family when we get there."

"Yes."

"Tell me about them."

"Why should I?"

I cringed internally at his sharp retort. So now what? He clearly felt threatened by my desire to know. I guess I had to soften my approach. "I'm just curious."

I hadn't expected Sesshomaru to reply and indeed the long silence that followed seemed to confirm my suspicions. Slowly however he began to speak, "Very well. Of my immediate family there are only two members left my mother and my daughter . . ."

"What happened to your father and wife?" I asked cautiously.

I winced remembering what I had seen back when I had removed Naraku's poison from Sesshomaru. That was probably his wife's death. His answer proved what I believed. "They both died years ago." He replied stiffly.

I got the impression I'd opened an upsetting subject that Sesshomaru didn't want to discuss further so I decided to change it. "I'm sorry for having brought them up."

"It's okay. I'm over it."

It was obvious he wasn't by any means. Quickly I tried to find a topic to get him talking about. "Tell me more about your daughter."

"Her name is Haruko. She's my only child so I'm afraid I've been too easy on her. She's strong willed and a bit independent."

"How old is she."

"She's eighty years old."

"Eighty!"

He explained in an exasperated tone "Demons can live a long time, often a million years or more. I'm actually one thousand one hundred years old. So I'm actually young by demon standards."

"So demons must age slower than humans."

"Sort of. As children we tend to age at about the same rate as humans. However once we mature physically our aging slows down until it's almost non-existent. Essentially we become immortal. Personally I believe it's because we begin to come into our powers by then and they keep us young."

"I see. It must be nice, living for so long. You probably get to see a lot of strange and interesting things."

"I guess so. It has its drawbacks though. If another demon is angry at you or has a grudge against you they've got plenty of time to get even."

"That would suck."

Soon the light began to fade and we drifted off to sleep. I awoke about an hour or two later to the crackling sounds of a fire and Sesshomaru insisting that he didn't eat human food. I opened my eyes to see a fire was going a few feet away. Beside me Rin's sleeping form was curled up under the fluff. Nearby Sango, Miroku and Jaken where tending to Sesshomaru's injuries and trying to get him to eat. Not far from them Aun and Kirara were curled up fast asleep. "I told you for the hundredth time. I don't eat that stuff and get your hands off me." Came Sesshomaru's voice.

"Come on! It's just rice and fish, trust me it's good and guaranteed not to poison you." Insisted Sango.

"It's true," Said Miroku "Her cooking hasn't killed anyone, yet."

Sango looked insulted, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! Nothing!"

"Better be."

Personally I could care less who the cook had been, I was starved. "Excuse me, can I have some." I asked.

Sango and Miroku froze in surprise. "Rei, I didn't know you where up."

"It's okay," I said "I've only been up a minute or two."

"So, I take it that you're hungry." Said Sango.

I nodded that I was and a few moments later Sango presented me with some hot rice and fish. "So, how are Inu Yasha and Kagome?" I asked her.

"They're in rough shape but they'll be fine, Lady Kaede will take care of them."

The edges of my mouth curled slightly into a smile, "I'm glad. I was afraid they wouldn't be okay."

Soon Sesshomaru and I had had our injuries treated and we ate a hot meal. Then the four of us went to sleep. In the morning we made our plan. Sesshomaru, Rin Jaken and myself where to take Aun and go to the Westernland. Sango and Miroku would take Kirara and go back to see Kaede and bring the others when they were better. Sango and Miroku didn't like it at all when Sesshomaru first suggested it. They were afraid of leaving us on our own when both of us where in such bad shape. Sesshomaru insisted and after some negotiation they agreed to the plan. As Rin put it when we discussed it afterward, "Sesshomaru-sama is a great demon lord and all fear and respect him.

I didn't think that was true, especially after having seen his interactions with Inu Yasha and Naraku. I figured it was Rin's childless making a hero of him that had leaded to believe that. I didn't want to change her mind just yet. As I had learned the hard way the inner child is all too easily crushed.

When it was time to leave Sango and Miroku had to help Sesshomaru onto the back of the mighty Aun. I however refused to be helped unless I needed it. I knew already that I could likely have most or total control during our journey and I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. I grabbed a nearby tree branch and used it to get onto my feet. A sharp pain shot threw my knee and it buckled leaving me kneeing on the ground. I gritted my teeth and redoubled my efforts. This time I went carefully and patiently and before I knew it I was standing on my own two feet. I took a breath then took one step then another after another. After about ten steps my legs became weak and Miroku had to help me the rest of the way. I got to my seat between Sesshomaru behind me and Rin in my lap. Jaken said he would fly beside us so as not to burden Aun further. As I had expected Sesshomaru was still too badly injured from battle to control the temperamental two headed dragon so the job fell to me. I was still weak from battle as well and Aun had no great love for me so he did his best to make our trip to the Westernlands as hard on me as he could. Sesshomaru was no help at all. He spent most of his time sleeping with his head resting on my shoulders. I doubt it was comfortable or that he slept well but he never said anything so I assume he must have been really asleep.

Controlling Aun became almost instantly a physically demanding and an exhaustive task for me. And this quickly became the theme for my days of travel; Daylight was spent feeling sore and stiff as a board wrestling with the two headed beast. At night after we had stopped I often went right to sleep. I felt bad doing this because this left Rin with the responsibility of making food and putting fresh bandages on us but I was too exhausted to stay awake. I barely managed to wake up long enough to eat before I would doze right back off.

The first two days were miserable for me and we made little progress on our journey but by the third day I had began to get the hang of how to handle Aun or maybe he had come to respect me by them and we made fairly good progress. Early on the morning of the sixth day we passed through the barrier around the perimeter of the Westernlands. For the next few hours I noticed that Sesshomaru was becoming more and more anxious as we went along. About mid afternoon I became aware that we were nearing our destination, the palace of the inu youkai.

Alrighty then, . . . so how was that? Love it? Hate it? Want to Flame me for it? Go right ahead. Just please review!

In the next chapter: Rei, Sesshomaru, Rin and Jaken reach the palace of the inu youkai however not everyone is glad they're there . . .

Until then . . .