Chapter 5 Loosing a Battle

I'm sick right now, so I don't feel like talking about hobos…

I'm pretty sure you people are sick of hearing it anyways…

So I'll do it the normal way…

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

(Audience gasps)

Don't sue me…

Gallaya heard Rin scream an ear-piercing scream. Rin turned around with a look of absolute horror on her face, right before she was pulled into the grass and out of sight……

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The wind shifted and Sesshomaru smelt the sent right before he heard Rin scream. He sent himself raising through the field of tall grass, punishing himself for his stupidity.

Damn! Why did I think that she would be safe in that incompetent human's care. I let myself get caught up in this fake reality of a safe world. Now, Rin might have to pay for it!

Sesshomaru's hair whipped behind him as he rushed forward. Gallaya had just registered what had happened when Sesshomaru ran pass her, followed by Jaken yelling for him to wait. Gallaya didn't have the keen sense of smell, nor the speed that Sesshomaru had, but she followed in the demon's wake.

Jaken was out of breath in no time, though he proved to be as fast as Gallaya.

"Mi' lord!" he cried, "Wait!" the green imp bent of in exhaustion. When Gallaya came level when him, he lashed out, "This is your fault you insolent human!"

"How is this my fault? Even Sesshomaru did know that a demon was near. Don't blame me, you toad!" she said as they ran.

Sesshomaru was already out of sight, the two followed blindly through the thick brush. Gallaya leapt over a large puddle of mud while Jaken used the staff to help him over. Gallaya tripped over a branch that she hadn't seen. Jaken kept going, pretending not to notice.

From the corner of her eye Gallaya saw red streak by her.

"Stop, Inuyasha!"

"But, Kagome, we'll loose him."

Gallaya saw a man stop right in front of her, she looked up to see a man with long silver hair. He looked ticked off. A woman got off of his back.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her dark hair glistened a midnight blue when the day's light hit it.

"Yes." The woman helped her up.

"Thanks, but I've got to go." Gallaya brushed her off. She took off running where she thought that Sesshomaru went.

"Where do you think you're going?" the man had grabbed onto her collar, pulling her back. Gallaya saw his dog-ears and felt his nails rip through her dress.

"Get off of me you stupid demon!"

"Calm down." The girl told her. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Let me go, I've got to find my lord."

"Who's your lord?" the man asked, he sniffed her. "You smell familiar."

Gallaya started to cry, but didn't care. "Let me go! I've got to find them. They

might die."

Inuyasha sniffed the air in alertness. He grabbed Gallaya and the woman, Kagome. He jumped with them, right before a huge demon crashed down where they had been. He pulled them behind a bush.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yeah, I thought I smelled Sesshomaru." Inuyasha stilled had a hold on Gallaya, so he pulled her back down when she tried to stand up."

"That's lord Sesshomaru's true form?" Gallaya was in awe as she watched the gigantic dog demon leap stand in full glory, growling at his enemy. (A/N: Sesshomaru still has both his arms. It's my story, if you don't like it, I don't care.)

"You know Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked from the other side of Inuyasha.

"Yes."

Inuyasha grabbed the two of them and jumped yards away to a high branch on a tree as Sesshomaru slung his enemy over the area they had just been in. The demon was a huge brown recluse spider.

"Inuyasha, look!" Kagome pointed to a large web that was weaved between two trees that stood twice as high over the rest.

"Rin!" Gallaya shouted when she saw the older girl encased, save for her head, between two smaller children. A girl and a boy.

Gallaya climbed as quickly as she could down the tree, scraping her legs in the process.

"What! Stupid girl, you're going to get yourself killed!" Inuyasha shouted. He

rushed out of the tree with Kagome. Catching Gallaya and tossing her on his back.

"While Sesshomaru is distracting the demon, we can save the children." Kagome said. Gallaya and Inuyasha both nodded.

They charged the tree, eyes on the children.

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Beginning of Flashback:

Sesshomaru entered the clearing. He saw Rin along with two other children wrapped in a spider wed. He was tense, able to since a demon nearby, but unable to pinpoint his exact location. He was weary, he couldn't tell how strong this demon was. It was somehow able to hide the strength of his demonic aura.

He walked cautiously towards the trees.

He couldn't sense the demon until he saw it's shadow on the ground before him. It had been able to conceal its presence.

Seeshomaru spun on his heal and faced the demon. "Hello, Sesshomaru. It's been a long time, hasn't it."

"Hytamorramaru." He growled. The large spider almost seemed to grin.

Sesshomaru unsheathed his sword. He attacked viciously, the spider backed off somewhat, before lurching at him.

"You will pay for what you did to me!" the spider screamed before attacking Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru resheathed his sword and transformed into his true form.

The spider jumped at him and bit Sesshomaru jaggedly on his right shoulder. Sesshomaru roared as he felt poison pump into his body. He was a demon, so the poison wouldn't kill him like it would have done to a half demon or a human. The poison would, however, weaken him greatly. Sesshomaru hated himself for letting the demon so close to him.

The spider demon tossed him, causing him to slide across the ground and knock down trees in the process. Sesshomaru smelled the sent of Gallaya, Inuyasha, his brother's woman, Kagome.

He stood, cursing himself for not telling her to stay behind. She would just be a liability to him now. He hoped that Inuyasha would at least protect her decently. After Sesshomaru accidentally tossed his enemy to the bushes where they were, he smelled them change positions. When he noticed that they were heading to the spider web, Sesshomaru tried to distract the demon from noticing.

"Sesshomaru, are you trying to protect your friends from me? Did you think that I couldn't smell them?"

Sesshomaru growled in reply. He felt his body weakening and his power dropping. He panted and could taste blood dripping from his mouth. The spider charged him and tossed him across the ground, to the tree.

End of Flashback

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Inuyasha sliced the web and casing away from the three children. Gallaya caught the unconscious Rin, when Inuyasha tossed her down, Kagome caught the little girl, and Inuyasha took the boy before he jumped down.

He vaulted out of the way as a tree crashed down. Kagome and Gallaya jumped the other direction. Before Inuyasha could get to them the body of his half brother swept over them. He watched as they were concealed from his sight. He saw his brother's body disappear as a sign that he had returned to his human form.

Inuyasha growled. He laid the boy down against a tree and stuck Tetsaiga's sheath between the boy's arm and body to offer some protection.

Inuyasha stood and attacked the spider.

Within ten minutes of hard battling the other demon escaped, leaving a weak Inuyasha.

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After being hit by Sesshomaru's body, Gallaya and Kagome were almost surprised to find themselves alive. They had been thrown by the impact, deep into the forest.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked Gallaya. As they brushed the ripped branches off them. Unsteadily they stood.

"My head, it hurts." Gallaya said, grabbing her head as the world spun. "Where's Rin?" she asked, squeezing her eyes shut.

Kagome dug through the rubble at her feet while Gallaya did the same, despite the aching in both their bodies. They found the children, both clinging their limp bodies to

their own in desperation.

"We have to get out of here." Kagome said, standing from her knees.

"What about that man?" Gallaya asked, following the older one all the same.

"He'll be fine. He's survived worse than this. He'll be fine." Kagome said, almost trying to convince herself.

They walked with only the intention of escaping the fight that they heard, they had no idea where they were going. They heard commotion not far away. It sounded like a large group of people.

Gallaya and Kagome walked into the village with the girls in their arms. They had leaves in their hair and were covered in dirt. They looked exhausted. The villagers stopped and watched as they walked from the dark forest. They started to sway slightly before simultaneously falling on the ground, unconscious.

When Gallaya woke up she was clean and in new clothes. Kagome was already awake and sitting next to the little girl. Gallaya pushed the blanket off her body. She moved to sit next to Rin, who lay by the young girl. She pushed a lock of hair out of Rin's face.

She looked up to see Kagome watching the girl.

"Is she yours?" Gallaya asked.

"Yeah, her name is Kella." (A/N: remember, this is my story and I can do whatever I want with it.) Kagome told her. "Inuyasha named her."

"That demon? Is he your husband?"

"Yes. I'm Kagome by the way."

"I'm Gallaya."

"It's nice to be properly introduced." Kagome turned back to the child. The boy is ours too. His name is Souta. We named him after my little brother. They're twins, you know. Both three. We have another son. Well, he's not really ours, we raised him though. He's always been apart of our family. His name is Shippo. He's a cute little fox demon. We went crazy when he told us how he had been attacked and the demon had taken our little boy and girl. We set out to find him immediately."

"Why did he take your kids?"

"My husband and I believe that he wanted to exchange them for the Shikon Jewel. I don't think he knew that it's been gone for some time now."

Gallaya listened to her talk. She stared at the woman's daughter. Her hair was the same dark raven blue as her mother's, her nose resembled that of her father and was probably as keen in smelling.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and your husband? You both seem very young to have children." Gallaya asked.

"We are twenty. We were married when I was seventeen. He had just turned eighteen at the time. We had our children not long after." Kagome smiled slightly at that memory before she looked up, "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in the forest before my husband and I ran across you?

"Rin had been taken by that spider demon. I tried to follow lord Sesshomaru, but got lost."

"How is it that you know Sesshomaru, let alone travel with him?"

Gallaya started to cry when she told Kagome the story. Kagome reached across the girls to squeeze the younger woman's hand.

"Sesshomaru seems to have softened up. You know, he wouldn't have done that when I met him years ago." Kagome told her softly.

"As soon as Rin and I recover, we have to find him." Gallaya said.

"He might not have made it out of that battle." Kagome tried to tell her softly, not wanting her to get her hopes up to high, to have them crushed when she found that he was dead.

Gallaya shook her head, slinging her tears, "No, he's alive. I know he is."

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Well, there you go…

It's not the best I've ever written…

Until next time…