A\N: Hey everybody, I had some free time (not really, but lets pretend okay?) so I managed to squeeze out another chapter. I think it's one of the longer ones, but not the longest...
Anyway, lots of reviews to answer, so lets get cracking!
Clouds of the Sky - Well I'm certainly glad to know you will tolerate it. I don't know what would happen if you couldn't... after all, I can only write as fast as I can write... Still, I try to make up for it by updating fast. Lately I haven't been doing that that much though, have I... : ( -- Anyway, I don't think I'm controlling your mind... maybe Amaya is though... She is kinda suspicious sometimes, and rarely does what I want her to, so you never know... Lol, and about being a loser, don't worry, secretly I think that we all are. I am, but not secretly. As the saying goes "I was uncool before uncool was cool."
--angelwinz21 - YOU'RE VERY WELCOME!
-xolovexinuyasha - Yeah, I get the feeling sometimes too. But usually I more... contemplate things silently than actually cry. It's weird and my mom thinks there might be something wrong with me because I don't usually cry and when I do I don't do it in front of other people... :'(... I'm just not a crier. -- Lol, yeah number one was okay. Some of it was too over-done though in my opinion and that made it a little corny, but I still enjoyed it. Number two, him shaking like a dog ( -- I loved that! ) and getting caught in the photobooth and hitting Miroku over the head instead of Sango were some of the only things I liked. I just found that they over dramatized everything in the movie and I found it fairly confusing at times. Plus, Shippo really has got to stop doing that "I'm just a kid, why do I have to go?" routine. I want to rip his throat out everytime he does. I agree, the kiss was sweet, but again, over dramatized in my mind. And she wasn't even kissing his lips anyway, she was kissing his teeth. My fav so far (since I haven't seen the fourth movie) would definitely be the third. They had a plot there that you could understand and there were fun bits without being overdone, and they gave us a bit more of a look into Sess's past and his feelings toward his father. I enjoyed that a lot! (although they did overstress the "I have someone to protect" bit, and I nearly cracked up laughing when Inuyasha went completely ooc with that one big word he used... what was it? Exponentially! Come on people, do you really think he'd say that!) So yeah, I agree with you on one and three. Woosh! That was a long one, neh? I really shouldn't ask people things like what their favs are, because then I feel the need to go all out and explain what I like or don't like and why.
-Luner fox - Blink. Blink o.o -- Okay, first of all, do I even want to know why you were looking up salad fingers? Second of all... oO... that's really all I can say to that... -- And I'll be sure to check out that song, but I don't got the time right now... busy busy busy trying to pound Salad fingers out of my brain.
-Kitsama - My thoughts exactly. 1 was a fairly good one, it was adequet enough to say the least (though a little corny sometimes). 2... it had potential, there were some funny parts, but they filled it up with too much unnecessary things in a plot that was very twisted and struggled to work and just basically made it hard to sit through, and 3 was damn good! The best out of those ones! I can't say about four though, since I haven't seen it yet. -- Lol, well here is my next update, but the one after this will probably come slower... sorry, just the way things have to be. -- BTW, yeah, you're right, it's a very fair trade.
-Black Betty - Lol, like there wasn't enough between them before, but then somebody has to let me have a turn to make them jump down one another's throats...
-Bluer Sky - Well that's fine, I won't kill you. So long as you won't kill me for not making the chapters longer. It's just not something I can garuntee, ya know? I've got a trilogy on a diff site that started out as a one-shot, then got two sequels, and then the last sequel got three chapters. The first two were the same length, probably 5 pages or something. The last one was something closer to eight. I simply try and put in as much as I can into any given chapter while trying to go about doing the myriad of other things I currently need to get done. It's a lot of work sometimes, and makes it hard to write long chapters.
-Wish-full Thinkier - Lol, well that's okay. The second movie did have some funny parts, but it was the worst of the three that I've seen. At least in my opinion (which seems to be shared by a few other people). Anyway, you absolutely have to see the third movie. It's completely awesome, way better than the second. Plus, you'll get a bit more info on Sesshomaru's relationship with his dad (yep, he's actually in this movie for more than a couple frames or the credits) and find out how Inu Taisho got killed and all that. Totally worth seeing. -- Lol, that's weird, I'm the exact opposite. I've tried reading the manga before, but I find it impossible to sit still in a library and read, and, since I don't know if I'll be able to get into them, I don't want to but them. I love books and mangas, but I just have a hard time getting into them, and find the tv series and movies to be much more indulging. It certainly has much more effect when Kagome yells "SIT!" so you can actually hear it, and then get to see Inuyasha plummit face-first into the ground. But whatever works best for you, neh? I personally haven't seen every episode of the series, but that doesn't really matter because, in the end, you're going to be the one with all the info since they stopped making them. The manga continues, but I think they're done with the tv series, and they give it a lame ending. But maybe I don't know what I'm talking about (no surprise there). -- Anyway, when I say Darker fics, I mean Darker fics. Violence barely even registers under my definition of "Darker." Does that help you at all? Believe me, you don't want to see what my sadistic little mind has come up with. Just stay in this part of the woods where it's safe, and you won't meet the monsters from the shadows of my mind. However, I am currently writing a story that will be posted up here... in a few weeks maybe. It's got a plot that seems to have been thought up numerous times, but everybody seems to be too afraid to write about, so hopefully I'll do a good job. -- And thanks, I thought they were a little out of it, but if everyone else likes them, then what does it matter? I'm writing this story for you guys, not me.
-Almandine-Azaleea - Oh, you didn't insult me! At least... I don't think you did. Lol, maybe I worded myself wrong! Sarcasm and things like that don't work nearly as well if you can't add a voice tone to them, and since I use sarcasm and humour in almost every sentence I write... well, it puts a bit of strain on what I'm trying to get across. -- Anyway, thanks a whole bunch, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I guess Kikyo and Naraku were not as ooc as I thought. I'll try and see if I can find that song sometime when I have more time, but right now I've got lots of things to do and I should really be getting them done. I guess you guys are just too good to resist!
-wolfygirl13 - Yeah, I've been hearing that alot! I guess I write Kikyo and Naraku better than I thought. -- Thank you so much! How very generous of you!... at this point, I might say pocky or cookies for you, but I'm not sure what purpose that would serve, seeing as you already seem to have a never-ending supply of it... Hm... How 'bout some ramen instead? -- Yep, Caffeine is wonderful. You gotta have it! (at least if you're living on my sleeping schedule you do)!
---There's too much blood in my caffeine system--- (Don't know who said it, but they were pretty smart, neh?)
-Jtmscola - Lol, well I look forward to hearing from you until Kingdom of Hearts comes out. I'm glad so many new people are enjoying this story so much!
-Sexy Kat - Thanks! I'm glad you thought so!
-Box Queen - I didn't notice bad graphics in 1 (but maybe I wasn't looking) and I haven't seen 4 yet so... I can't watch it in japanese because I always want to laugh when I hear them talk. I know, I know, it's bad, but it's not a personal thing. It happens with most foreign languages. I thought two was only okay, the plot needed some major work done. All in all, 3 is definitely my fav so far.
AhHA! I just realised why WMP wasn't working! It wasn't really not working, so much as I simply left the volume so low down that I couldn't hear it! Well, I guess that's reason enough to warn you guys-- incompetence could very well be contagious, so if you don't want to risk catching it, just back away slowly... the insanity is already spreading.
Lol, okay, I'll leave you guys alone to the story now!
Ready or Not
Amaya frowned at Sesshomaru and then looked over at Inuyasha, who was sitting a little ways away with Kohaku and Rin who, for once, seemed content to keep her silence and her stillness, though the sorceress often caught the little ningen sneaking glances over at her with a mix of amazement and curiosity.
'So you're saying all that came from the Saimyoushou?' She asked quietly, then gave a small snort. 'Why am I not surprised?'
Sesshomaru inwardly tensed, unsure what the sorceress meant by that, and cocked an eyebrow and Amaya returned the gesture to him before saying 'Do not be so bold as to assume you understand anything I have said in the past, Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands.' She said, though the title was really more there for appearances than actual respect. 'I am not even speaking of your little brother whom you seem to have grown awfully fond of considering you at first wanted nothing to do with him. I simply meant that it is not surprising that Naraku would send Saimyoushou to swarm the lands in search of his precious half-demon. The only reason he would do so, however, is if he knew now that Kikyo no longer holds Inuyasha in her grasp. Which means that the witch hunt has begun.'
Sesshomaru and Inuyasha (who could clearly hear from this distance) looked over at her, Sesshomaru's eyes holding nothing but ice, while Inuyasha's seemed slightly grim and fearful.
Amaya ignored this for the moment, turning her eyes to the sky where a thin layer of purple miasma was beginning to spread.
'The time is come.' She said quietly. 'When that miasma covers the skies and blocks out the sun Naraku will attack and purge the lands once again. He will centre his forces here first, I imagine, for you are his strongest enemy, Sesshomaru.' She turned her eyes back to the demon brothers. 'We must be ready for him when he attacks.'
Inuyasha had, by now, gotten up and come to join them, leaving Kohaku and Rin to wait curiously behind him as he stared up at the miasma.
'How long do we have?' He asked quietly, and Amaya focused her gaze on him. 'Little more than a week, perhaps less. In that time I want you, Inuyasha, to stay hidden. We cannot let you fall into Naraku's grasp again or heaven knows what hell will break loose. And Sesshomaru' she said, turning her dark gaze to the youkai 'You should begin to gather whatever alliances you may have-- send word to them, ask them to help... and make sure they know the consequences if they do not.'
'That sounds like a threat.' Sesshomaru said with a small hint of humour in his voice that slightly surprised Amaya. Things had definitely changed with the inu since Inuyasha had been around. He was actually beginning to show emotion.
'It should because it is.' Amaya said 'though not, necessarily, the type of threat that you speak of. It is a threat on their lives and lands, but not from us. Should they refuse to help, and, assuming that we win, they will likely loose our trust and alliance. Should we loose, whether they help or not, they will end up slaughtered by Naraku.'
She noticed the slight shudder that ran through Inuyasha at that name, and she looked at him grimly but calmly. 'Do not feel fear just yet puppy. Naraku does not plan to kill you, I am certain, and, while your fate may not be pleasant if we loose this, you will live to see another dawn.' She looked up at the miasma again and gestured with one of her hands toward it 'Even this shadow must come to pass. Darkness cannot last forever, and neither can light. They must exist in harmony since neither will bend or break under the other's will.' She looked at Inuyasha again. 'Dark has had it's turn, and now the light must return in order to maintain that balance, or we should all slide into the abyss.'
She then turned back toward Sesshomaru, who had watched their small exchange impassively, yet was slightly surprised at the easy way the woman could weave her words to make them seem so utterly... believable. Inuyasha had not, necessarily, "perked up" as the saying goes, but the fear was barely lingering in him now, replaced instead by grim and cold determination. It was a startling change, but good nonetheless, and it would prove useful to Inuyasha if he used that determination in battle.
'Now, Lord Sesshomaru, I am sure you know that there are prisoners in Naraku's castle-- Inuyasha's friends included. I have developed a plan to get some of them out, but I have to first ask if you'd be willing to harbour more fugitives here with you. I know you stated that you weren't running an orphanage, but I promise you, one way or the other, they will not be staying here very long. Death or freedom will come to adopt them soon enough.'
Sesshomaru stared coldly at her and she stared back, no longer hesitating to meet his eyes. Inuyasha looked between the two nervously, his clawed hand coming to rest on his brother's shoulder as he said quietly, anxiously 'Sesshomaru?'
His brother cast him a glance, cold, clearly telling him to back down and that he was wrong for interfering, but Inuyasha ignored it, staring pleadingly back at him. After all, if Amaya couldn't bring them here, then where the hell could they go?
After a moment of pointless staring, Sesshomaru let out a small sigh of defeat before turning to walk away.
Inuyasha's face brightened slightly but Amaya only cocked an eyebrow in confusion. 'You seemed pleased with that exchange from your brother.' She stated quietly. 'Does that mean he has answered?'
Inuyasha turned toward her again, his eyes soft and holding an odd sort of exasperated fondness in them that could only be directed at Sesshomaru. It was surprising, once again, how close they had become-- how easily they read one another's emotions. But it could only serve her purpose for the better.
'Yeah' Inuyasha said quietly. 'He'll let them stay here.' Amaya could hear the same fondness in his eyes reflect in his voice, and she smirked at the half-demon, who frowned at her in response. 'What?' He asked, and she gave a small shrug.
'When I brought you here I only was seeking your protection.' She said 'but now I see that you have also gained something that I think neither of us could have ever before perceived.'
His brow furrowed in confusion and his ears twitched back slightly. 'What's that?' He asked, and her smiled grew larger but softer at the same time as she reached up and gently stroked one of his ears with the back of her hand, causing it to flatten further away from her in agitation.
'A brother, puppy.' She said quietly. 'A brother.'
And Inuyasha stared at her in open shock for a moment and then looked back after Sesshomaru, who was, by now, far out of sight.
He felt the familiar burst of wind against his cheek and when he looked back Amaya was already rising into the sky, giving off a familiar shriek as she soared off in the direction of the miasma, her feathers glinting in the sun and seeming to glow against the miasma.
'Darkness and light.' He thought as he watched her disappear, before his attention focus on the inky black depths that made up the centre of the miasma. "Little more than a week-- perhaps less." The sorceress's voice rang in his head. 'Is that enough time?' He wondered. 'Will we be ready when Naraku attacks? And, if Sesshomaru calls for help, will anyone come?'
He sighed and shook his head. 'Doesn't really matter anymore, does it? We're going into battle, ready or not.' He looked back up at the miasma. 'But it would be nice if we were ready.'
"But now I see that you have also gained something that I think neither of us could have ever before perceived."
Inuyasha pondered this a moment. 'Its true. I never thought Sesshomaru would care about me, or that we would grow close, but we have, haven't we?' He felt a strange warmth spread through him at the thought, but then the warmth turned to ice as he realised something. 'If I get captured again by Naraku that'll make it even worse-- I'll have to give up Kagome and the other's all over again, but I'll also have to give up Sesshomaru...'
'Then don't get captured.' Another voice inside of him argued. 'You've been training and have been taught now by the best fighter you've ever known. Why should you get captured again?'
'It's not as easy as that!' He snarled back at his mind. 'Maybe I am stronger, but so is Naraku. If he beat me last time he can do it again. Sheer will alone can't get me through this.'
'Maybe not.' His mind said in a tone that reminded him of Amaya 'but it can put up enough of a fight to buy you time until you do get through this.'
Inuyasha sighed, both mentally and physically, and then snarled 'I'm not having this argument with you!' Not realising he had said it out loud until he heard a voice from somewhere to his right say 'That's good to know, little brother, because it seems you've already got a head start on me.'
Inuyasha let out a small gasp of surprise and whirled to face Sesshomaru, who was standing there, looking more cocky than usual after catching the hanyou talking to himself.
Inuyasha started to snarl, paused, seemed to rethink it, and just sighed instead, shoulders slumping slightly. 'Well I'm not having this argument with you either.' He said before moving to storm past his brother, only to meet one of Sesshomaru's hands on his chest.
'Not that way, little brother.' He said when Inuyasha turned angry and confused eyes on him. 'You remember the Saimyoushou-- your sorceress's words-- you have to stay hidden. Go to the castle.'
Inuyasha glared angrily at Sesshomaru, hating how he sounded as though he were talking to a misbehaving child, before huffing angrily, letting out a low 'Feh!' When Sesshomaru refused to back down.
'Dammit all, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to forget the bastard if he's going to treat me like a child!' He thought angrily and then immediately recoiled from the thought. 'He's just worried about me. He's trying to keep me safe from Naraku. The least I can do is make it a bit easier on him.'
So, keeping that in mind, Inuyasha swallowed his anger and pride and turned on his heel to head toward the castle, not letting out another complaint, revelling in the momentarily startled and then pleased expression of his brother's face.
'Alright, Sesshomaru, you win for now.' He thought quietly as his brother moved to collect Kohaku and Rin as well. 'Once this is all over though, you're going to pay!' But that threat was half-hearted at best and he could hear the lie in it. Still, it was nice to pretend, and it made obeying his brother's orders that much easier to cope with.
ARIGATO: Clouds of the Sky, angelwinz21, xolovexinuyasha, lunerfox, Kitsama, Black Betty, Forever To Be Me, Bluer Sky, Wish-full Thinker, Almandine-Azaleea, wolfygirl13, Sexy Kat Jtmscola aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Box Queen.
They're the awesome reviewers from last chapter, and the reason this one's up so quickly!
Pocky and cookies to all of you, compliments of wolfygirl13!
CMoC - For You - Smile Empty Soul (For some reason this seems like a good song for Inu to dedicate to Kikyo... but don't let that discourage you from listening to it!), Alone in the Universe - David Usher, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous - Good Charlotte, First time - Finger Eleven, Wires - Athlete and I write Sins, not Tragedies - Panic! At the Disco