The "Magia language" is roughly translated into English…

Chapter 8 redone 8/6/09

Chapter 8 Naraku!

The group spent the next few days waiting. Nobody was sure if and when Naraku would attack. Sashiko was back to her old cold self again though, well not quite, she still called Sesshomaru Tosan. Everyone was into a somewhat routine. The group would get up and eat breakfast with Inuyasha and the kids. Then they would do odd things around the village to help out. They still stayed in Inuyasha's house for no one knew how long they would stay in the village.

It was early morning and Inuyasha sat at the table with the others. Neither of the kids were up yet.

"What needs to be done today?" Miroku asked.

"Nothing really, I just need to go on patrol with some others for about an hour. The kids will be home." Inuyasha replied.

"Both of them?" Sesshomaru asked. Since Sashiko got back she's spent most of her days with Kori. They weren't sure what she was doing but it was probably just training.

"Yes, Lady Kori left last night to visit a nearby town. She won't be back until tomorrow. Lady Kaze as you know is picking up Rin and Jakken. Lady Chikyu left over a month ago." Everyone nodded. Sesshomaru thought it would be best if Rin was near him, instead of far away while Naraku was about. They would arrive sometime today or tomorrow.

They turned when they heard some commotion on the steps. A few seconds later, Koichi came tumbling down them.

"Ow," He muttered. Sashiko came up behind him calmly as he stood back up.

"Idiota." (idiot)

"Chico,"(Quiet) He replied.

Inuyasha cleared his throat reminding them they were not alone. Also since most of them could not speak Magia they were being rude.

"Sorry," Koichi said.

"Its fine," Kagome replied, "Really, I actually like listening to you speak. I feel rude making you switch to our language when this is your area."

"Kagome's right, continue. As long as you don't say anything bad about us." Miroku joked.

Koichi and Inuyasha looked unsure. Sashiko, of course, could care less.

"Fine, Dobry rano, Ojciec," (Good morning, father) She said.

"Dobry rano, Ojciec," Koichi said as well.

"Ranek, Sashiko and Koichi," (morning) Was the reply.

"Maybe today we could teach you some of the basics like how to say good morning, hello, good bye you get the picture," Koichi stated as he sat down at the table with Sashiko.

"Maybe," Kagome replied, unsure if she would be able to learn the language. It sounded kind of complicated. Heck there was two different words for morning depending how what else you were saying with it. Koichi shrugged.

"How are you feeling today, Sashiko?" Inuyasha asked wanting to make sure she was completely over her fever and injury from a few days before.

"Jestem wielkim," (I am great).

"She's fine," Inuyasha translated to the group. He looked out the window before getting up, "I better be going."

After Inuyasha left the group sat their in silence. Sashiko closed her golden eyes for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed. Opening them again she got up.

"Sashiko what's the matter?" Koichi asked.

"Something isn't right…" Sashiko replied moving towards the door. Everyone else got up to follow her. She walked out of the house and towards the center of the village. When she got there she stopped and looked around. Her breathing picked up slightly as she looked around.

"What is she doing?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Sashiko is very sensitive to energy sources. Everything living gives out energy of some sort. So like when a tree is being cut down, Sashiko can feel its pain, hear its screams. Father thinks its because of all the training and meditation she received from the earth master, Lady Chikyu. She spends a lot of time with the element masters. Also maybe because of her Miko powers" Koichi explained.

"So what she senses is a tree breaking?" Shippo asked.

"No, she can usually block out those energies, this energy has to be a strong one if its making her react. It's probably an evil aura." He moved towards his sister, "What is it?"

"I don't know. Its really cold, the only time I ever feel that kind of energy if its from something that is truly evil. It was coming from around here." Sashiko continued to scan the area. Everyone else was on guard. Sashiko relaxed after a few minutes.

"It's gone."

"For now…" Koichi muttered.

They walked towards the end of the woods. Sashiko walked up to a tree and put her hand against it. The others waited not sure what she was doing. Koichi walked over to her and waited. Chikyu had also trained him but since most Element masters were female he couldn't learn as much as Sashiko, but he could do some things she couldn't.

"Something was here…Even the tree's are upset."

"Do you know what upset them?" Sango asked.

"No, I cannot ask the tree's what they saw. I was never trained that power, but I know someone who was." She turned to Koichi. Koichi frowned, he always felt drained after talking to these types of energies.

"Fine," Koichi walked over and took Sashiko's place by the tree. By putting his hand on the trunk and focusing his energy he could see what they saw. He saw somebody deep inside a part of the forest he didn't know. Sashiko touched his shoulder than pulled her hand back as if it burned.

Koichi turned to Sashiko. She met his gaze, "That was him, the evil one, I could feel his energy through the tree's."

"What did he look like?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I don't know, he wore a baboon pelt," Koichi stated, confused.

"Naraku!" Sango said startled.

"That was him!" Sashiko hissed. She was breathing hard again. "I could barely get near him with his evil energy overpowering me."

Sesshomaru approached Sashiko wanting to comfort her. She quickly moved away.

"Stay away from me, Tosan." She growled. They looked startled. Koichi stood a distance back. Sesshomaru almost looked hurt by her sudden coldness.

"Don't take it personally, Tosan, She just doesn't want to cause you pain. When she gets overpowered by an energy it makes her Miko and Youki powers rise. She could accidentally lash out her powers and hurt you severely." Koichi once again explained, "She's too busy trying to focus her Miko and Youki powers from burning one another up."

Sesshomaru nodded in understanding.

"You talk as if you know from experience." Shippo stated. Koichi smiled sadly.

"I do. This happened once before, after the Tysiac Martwy war. I tried to comfort her and her Miko powers lashed out at me." He lifted his sleeve up showing a burnt strip of flesh on his arm, "Even though I was young, the miko attack never fully healed."

The demon's in the group cringed. Miko powers were definitely dangerous. Sashiko stood back up after a few minutes. Her breathing had leveled out.

"Koichi, did you see where he was?" Sashiko asked quietly.

"No…I didn't know that part of the forest, it didn't look familiar at all!" Koichi growled in annoyance.

"Can Naraku really move that fast? He was in the village I felt him and Koichi knows this area all around the village. He'd have to be moving extremely fast to get somewhere we don't know." Sashiko looked up at Sesshomaru questioningly.

"He can move very fast. For all we know that was only a puppet of him."

"With that aura radiating off it, I don't want to meet the real one." Sashiko grumbled.

"So we go look around in the woods?" Kagome wondered looking at the others.

"Nah, Inuyasha said that's he's on patrol duty, they would have noticed if something wasn't right." Miroku said decisively. Sango nodded in agreement.

"Also Rin will be here any time now, I'd like to be here when she arrives." Sesshomaru put in, his eyes moving towards the sky. Kaze being a wind master was flying them.

Sashiko's eyes narrowed at the mention of Rin. Sesshomaru said she would like Rin yet she wasn't too keen on meeting her. First off Rin was a human. Second you could almost say She was jealous, Rin has been with Sesshomaru when Sashiko wasn't allowed to. What if Rin doesn't like her and takes Sesshomaru away again? Sashiko's eyes narrowed at the idea.

"Do you feel that?" Koichi asked startling Sashiko out of her thoughts. Sashiko closed her eyes. The wind shifted slightly to the east. Sashiko opened her eyes and looked back at her brother.

"Lady Kaze." Was all she said.

"What?" Shippo asked.

"Lady Kaze is approaching. She'll be here very soon." Everyone, excluding Sashiko and Koichi, looked excited. They started to walk back to Inuyasha's house where they told Kaze they'd meet them. They were chattering excited as they moved.

"Coming?" Sango asked.

"We'll be there in a minute." Koichi replied. The others turned and left them.

"Scared?" Koichi teased quietly with a smile. He didn't expect Sashiko to answer, or at least answer with the truth.

"Yes." Koichi's smile fell. Sashiko turned away from her brother, "I do get scared some times, Koichi. I just don't like to show it. I'm not as invincible as you or I would like to believe."

"I know. You're more frail than even you know." Koichi announced as Sashiko turned back to glare at him, "Don't worry though. I'm scared too. What if Tosan leaves because Rin doesn't like us? What will happen to you and me?"

"I'm more worried that if Tosan leaves what will happen to Father." Sashiko replied. Koichi nodded in agreement, "I guess all we can do is be ourselves. If she doesn't like us that's not our fault." Koichi, again, nodded in agreement.

"Well maybe you shouldn't act like yourself no use scaring her right away." Koichi teased, she smacked at him, barely missing. They began to walk back to the group.

"Oh and Sashiko, you're not as strong as you seem and I'm not as stupid as I seem."

"No you're stupider." She teased. He growled playfully. It was rare for her to be in such a joking mood, but it warmed Koichi none the less. When they came into view of the group they saw them all hovering over a beautiful young woman about 17 and an old toad like…thing.

"I think its an imp." Koichi muttered. Sashiko didn't comment. They stood back out of view of the reunion. The girl they believed to be Rin had long black hair in a half pony with sparkling brown eyes. She was about Kagome's height.

"Lord Sesshomaru, where are your children. I want to meet them. I got Lady Kaze to say a few words but she said I'd have to wait until I met them." Rin asked politely. She stopped speaking about herself in the 3rd person a few years ago. Sesshomaru looked around and found Koichi, Sashiko was not there.

Koichi's almost growled, Sashiko pulled a disappearing act right before Sesshomaru spotted them. 'Stupid bitch,' he thought.

Rin walked up to Koichi and crouched down to his height, "Hi my name is Rin it's nice to meet you, little brother."

Koichi smiled, "My name is Koichi and I've never been called little brother before. Its really nice to meet you. You're not going to take Tosan away from us are you?" Koichi asked, wanting to get that out of the way. Rin looked surprised as did everyone else. Sesshomaru smiled he was making real progress with the kids, or at least Koichi. Sashiko hasn't been around much.

"Of course not. I don't think I'd be able to even if I tried." Rin replied. Koichi smirked at that.

"Good. We'll get along perfectly."

"Koichi…" Inuyasha growled walking up behind him.

"Witaj Ojciec!" (Hello father) Koichi said as he jumped.

"INUYASHA!" Rin screamed as she ran and hugged him. Inuyasha laughed as he hugged her back. She was much bigger than the last time he saw her.

"Kami, look at you Rin you've gotten so tall." Inuyasha exclaimed. Rin giggled.

"Inuyasha where is your daughter?" Rin asked, wanting to meet Sashiko.

"I don't know." He looked at Koichi.

"She disappeared." Koichi shrugged. Rin looked disappointed.

"She'll be back later don't worry. You can meet her then." Inuyasha told her, ruffling her hair. She playfully pulled away from her.

Sesshomaru stepped over by Inuyasha, "Lets go inside and talk." Inuyasha nodded in agreement. Everyone went in, Rin and Inuyasha exchanged stories that happened over the past 10 years.

The sun was beginning to descend and Sashiko still wasn't back. She's been gone the whole day.

"Where do you think she is?" Rin asked, there was a hint of worry in her voice as she spoke.

"Probably by the lake." Inuyasha responded. Rin got a thoughtful look on her face.

"The one I passed on my way here?" She wondered out loud.

"Probably," Koichi replied.

"I can go get her." Rin volunteered, "I want to get to know her." Sesshomaru looked at her for a few minutes.

"Doesn't bother me I guess." He finally announced, giving her the a good ahead wave of his hand.

"Ok Koichi will take you to the forest."

Rin smiled as she and Koichi walked.

"Here's some advice. Sashiko may come off as cold but don't let her put you off. She's can be really nice. She may act strong but she's very, very frail. She's, by nature, very distrusting, you'll have to forgive her and don't take what she says personally."

Rin nodded in understanding, "Lord Sesshomaru always seemed cold when I was growing up. I know how to look at the person inside." Koichi turned around and walked back. Rin moved into the darker forest until she came upon a lake with a young girl sitting her.

'She's beautiful.' Rin thought stopping in front of the clearing. Sashiko sat there meditating, 'She's definitely Lord Sesshomaru's daughter. She looks exactly like him. Well except those adorable ears.'

"Instead of standing there like an idiot you can come sit." Sashiko stated, her voice void of all emotions once again. Rin ignored the idiot comment and sat down next to her little sister. Sashiko didn't say anything just sat there, staring at the lake. She stopped meditating as well.

Rin smirked, "Instead of sitting there like a dim-wit you can talk to me." Rin shot back. Sashiko turned to her with a light smile.

"Touché."

Rin smiled, "I lived with Lord Sesshomaru for 12 years, I should have learned something in that time. You are very much like him."

"I lived with Father for 10 years yet I still don't understand him. Time means nothing."

"Yet it means everything."

"What do you want?" Sashiko asked changing subjects. Might as well get to the point. If she was here to take Sesshomaru, she better not dwell on it.

"You were avoiding me, I came to put a stop to it. If you're worried about the same thing Koichi is, you don't have to worry. Lord Sesshomaru would never leave you again even if I asked."

"And yet I do worry."

"Why?"

"I don't have to talk to you." Sashiko announced.

"And yet you do. Why do you see me as a threat Sashiko? Because I'm a human or because Lord Sesshomaru seems very close to me. Is that why you're scared?"

Sashiko closed her eyes, "I don't get scared."

"Sure you don't."

"Tosan said I'd like you…I don't see why, you're annoying." Sashiko growled, turning her head away from her.

"Maybe he thinks you need someone to kick you in the butt verbally." Rin replied, "I certainly can't hurt you physically."

"Father said you were a hyper active little girl. What happened to that image? You seem like a sarcastic critter to me."

Rin laughed, "Time changes people, even me. I'm still the same yet I'm wiser and I don't think being all hyper and flower crazy with get you to talk to me."

"You are smart after all."

"I want to be your friend. Eventually maybe even a sister to you."

"I want my nightmares to go away; things don't always happen the way we want." Sashiko had no idea why she said that.

Rin nodded, "I didn't want to die and I did, so I guess your right."

Sashiko whipped her head around to look Rin.

"Didn't Inuyasha tell you? The reason I even got to know Lord Sesshomaru was because he revived me with his Tensaiga. I was killed by wolves and yet I'm friends with a wolf clan. You cant let your fear rule you."

Sashiko looked at Rin, "You're very smart…..for a human."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"I was raped by humans. I cannot get over my fears. I distrust your kind." She finally admitted it, never out loud has she said what had been done to her. It was something to be avoided, by not saying it, it didn't make it real.

"And yet you live with 3 of them right now. I think you have gotten over your fears you just don't want to believe it."

Sashiko smiled, "Tosan was right I do like you…In an annoying sort of way."

Rin smiled back. They sat there, neither needed to talk. Eventually, it became late. Sashiko got up along with Rin, "We should head back."

"I don't think so." A dark sinster voice said from the forest. Sashiko began to shiver as an energy overpowered hers. Rin shook as well when she heard the voice.

"Naraku," she whispered. Sashiko stepped in front of Rin as Naraku appeared before them. She withdrew her sword and he chuckled.

"Rin, run." Sashiko whispered, "Get Father and Tosan."

Rin nodded. Sashiko lunged at Naraku and Rin made a run for it. Naraku dodged Sashiko and hit her hard with a tentacle like arm in the back of the head. Sashiko flinched as blood poured out of the wound.

"Zamrazane szpady." She managed to say. Naraku chuckled. A few ice daggers flew at Naraku but he easily dispatched them.

"Doesn't work kiddy." Sashiko growled. His tentacles came out and pierced her arms and legs. Sashiko screamed, she tried to use her Miko powers but with how much pain she was in she couldn't focus enough to control it. Instead she fell to the ground with Naraku standing over her.

"Odchodza od mnie, Nienawidzę cię" (depart from me, I hate you.) She gasped out.

Naraku frowned, "That's not very nice, I like you. You know why?" Naraku laughed, "Cie są napędzane przez nienawiść" (You are driven by hatred) Sashiko's eyes widened, he knew Magia. The last thing she saw was Naraku laughing as everything faded into darkness.