A/N: Grah! I scrapped my original version because it just didn't come out right! But here you go.

Disclaimer: Isn't there somewhere where laws don't exist? And I don't mean death!

Last Time: None are left behind. Er... overlooked.

Daiyoukai and the Female Gender

Chapter 16: Daiyoukai and Creatures of Habit

The Inu-tachi had a routine. Sesshoumaru only knew this because he was up before them all. (And that was not saying he went to sleep. Really. It wasn't.)

The ladies got up at Yinshi and began preparing for the day.
"Sango, make the fire please."
"Of course... What's to eat this morning?"
"Not sure yet."
"I'll hunt right after this, then."
"Thanks!"

The scent of cooking food would eventually wake everyone else, who would busy themselves as it cooked.
"Oh. Not ramen." The houshi sounded relieved.
"Whaddaya mean not ramen? Wench! What happened to the ramen?"
"Oh shut up Inuyasha, it's nice to have a change."
Silence for awhile. Eating took up that time for everybody. (Except him. He didn't need human food. Really, It didn't smell appetizing at all!)

At Maoshi, the group was ready to set out.
"Alright!... Let's move out!"

Then they'd walk. In no particular order. Amusing themselves with games the entire way. So annoying. But it kept Rin occupied. (And kept them from bothering him.)
Travelers came and went. The inu-tachi accomodated them. Easy in, easy out. (A foolish group. Nevermind the fact that he called them wise not long before.) They continued like this until Xushi.
"We'll stop here for the night." (Funny, he was sure they had walked longer before.) Everyone scattered at the command.

The monk went to gather wood. The taijiya went to fetch water. The miko set up camp. The hybrid went for a hunt. (The daiyoukai certainly wasn't going to participate.)
"Shippo dear. Help me out?"
"Sure thing, Kagome."
"May Rin help too?"
"Of course. The more the merrier." The miko (Kagome) then gave out tasks. (Oddly enough, they did seem more cheerful when they worked together. Hn.)

The last meal of the day, lessons, then the younglings were asleep. And it began.
"Did you hear? There's a rumor of a rampant lightning-god to the east."
"Ah, the one terrorizing those villages?"
"Keh... Lightning-god. More like a lightning-youkai... Stupid villagers."
"Now now, there's a grain of truth in every myth, Inuyasha. You would do well to remember that." It seemed to be time for gossip. (Such a petty thing.)
"Maybe we should find out more." And Sesshoumaru thought she was the sensible one.
"Perhaps when we have more time."
"Indeed my dear Sango."
"You're just agreeing because it's your precious Sango talking."
"We should rest and decide in the morning." An overture for peace, perhaps? By Haishi everyone was asleep. Except him. And her.

"You know, Sesshoumaru, gossip can be useful." The daiyoukai scoffed at this.
"Hn."
"Most of our search is based on gossip. The trick is finding the truth out of the stories." Ah.

It was something to think about.

488 words.

Yinshi: 04:00 or from 03:00 to 05:00

Maoshi: 06:00 or from 05:00 to 07:00

Xushi: 20:00 or from 19:00 to 21:00

Haishi: 22:00 or from 21:00 to 23:00

All of these are times.

Sumi: Gah. I hated the original version. A lot.

Aerin: So we worked harder on this one.

Sumi: It actually rambles about nothing.

Aerin: So its still not the way we wanted.

Sumi: Fun stuff is coming next though.