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New Discoveries

It was late afternoon, the first fraction of the sun was now blocked by the horizon. A certain red clad hanyou sat grumpily watching this unusually quiet and beautiful sight. Not even the sunset could lift his spirits, however. The group had split again, courtesy of Kagome. One of her dreaded "tests" again. Of course, there was an argument, however the outcome never was different. Inuyasha hitting the ground, Kagome stomping off angrily. He couldn't deny that it still made him angry, but truthfully, he had gotten used to the treatment he would get from her. Sango had gone to her old hometown to pay her respects, and make some minor repairs to her weapon. There was the thought of him following Sango, since he had nothing better to do... But there would be no solid reason as to why he would. Kirara was with her, and she could take care of herself. He decided to stay in the village that guarded the well to the future, the village of the old miko Kaede. The hanyou sat at the well, fully aware of the fact that the group was to meet there in a week. It was just a habit to sit there day and night, just waiting. Miroku opted to wander off to other villages, no doubt practicing his lecherous ways. Sango was clearly annoyed by this, but Inuyasha just felt that it wasn't his place to stop him. If Sango didn't want him to so much, he figured that she could stop him herself. She certainly had the strength to, but again, she didn't. A sigh escaped Inuyasha's lips, growing frustrated with his companions. Didn't they care that Naraku was still alive and well, doing anything as he pleases, bringing suffering to countless people and during all that growing stronger? Although he would rather die than admit it, the journey had become much more than his initial intention; to become a full blooded demon. As it stood, he would rather stay a hanyou if Naraku could be stopped. He did wonder, though; before he murdered Kikyo, Naraku had said that he had "other" help. What was the meaning in that? Did Naraku plan another one of his schemes? Inuyasha truly grew tired of it all. He wanted and needed to put an end to Naraku's treachery. Inuyasha knew his stubborn heart would never fail him; that he'd never give up. Naraku and all evil intentions in the land would be purged someday, and he vowed that he would be the one to deliver the final blow.

The sun was half gone now, the sky a dark orange shade. Kirara landed within the walls, bending down to let Sango down. She looked around the ruined village; a faint smile on her lips.
'I'm home...'
She thought, taking a walk over to the graves that were in the corner of the village. Kneeling down, she gave a short prayer, and noticed fresh yellow flowers on each of the graves. Reaching down, she picked one of them up.
'This couldn't have been picked longer than a day ago...'

She stood back up, taking a look around. Since the dirt was poor in the village, there weren't any visible footprints, and the gate had been properly shut.
"Who could it have been?"
She muttered. She silently thanked whoever paid their respects to the former inhabitants of the village. At least someone besides her remembered them.

It was much quieter now with just Lloyd, Colette and Zelos left; they walked silently through the forest now, much slower in pace. The darkness was closing in now, the trees casting dark shadows.
"It's dark, I think it's safe now. Let's just get to the nearest village for tonight."
Zelos said, his glow of his bright orange wings illuminating their dark surroundings. Nodding, Lloyd and Colette followed Zelos' example, and used their wings to take off into the night sky. It was a good thing they did too; the nearest village was miles away from where they just were.

Sheena entered a small village, a few hours away from the slayers village. There were a few people around, doing their last chores before they turned in for the night. She made her way to a small house.
'This place is relatively close to the village, maybe they know something...'

There was a man fueling a fire for their home in a small stone furnace beside the small house. A woman and a child sat on the wooden platform before the doors into their home. Sheena presumed that the woman was the child's mother.

"Um, hello?"
Sheena tentatively greeted, hoping that she had found a friendly village.
"Hello!"
The woman replied with a smile. She was a middle aged woman, and had a sort of warmth around her. The aura of someone who had found true happiness.

"It's rare that we get visitors in this small village of ours, come, have a seat here. What's your name?"
The woman said,
"Sheena... My name is Sheena."
She replied, taking a seat beside the woman and the child. The little girl grinned as she stared at Sheena with interest. Sheena couldn't help but look at her, smiling as well. The man had finished up with the furnace, and joined them. He also had a warm smile.
"Who do we have here? Someone you know?"
He asked, and the woman shook her head.
"No, she's just a visitor. Can she spend the night here?"
"Of course, we certainly have enough spare rooms and food..."

"Uh, wait! I wasn't looking for a place to stay, I just had a few questions to ask..."
Sheena said,

"Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?"
The man asked,

"Well... No..."

"Then you can speak with us while we have some food."
The woman said.
"I'll get dinner ready now."

Sheena finally gave in.
"O...kay... Sure, I'll stay."

"Let's go inside then."
The man said, and took his child by her hand, taking her into the main room. Sheena followed. It was a small cozy place, not too spectacularly furnished, yet it was pleasant inside. As the three of them took a seat, Sheena asked her question,

"Have you ever heard of the demon slayers?"

"Oh, yes! We had to hire them once in fact. A giant centipede had attacked us, and just one of them was enough to kill it! The centipede was nearly thirty feet tall! The only thing they took for payment was a small fragment of some pink... stone... We're not too sure what it was, but it came out of the demon. Very shocking what had happened to their village and the remaining slayers however..."
The man replied, and caught Sheena's attention.

"Do you know what happened? To the village I mean. Who attacked it?"

The man scratched the back of his head,

"Well, we don't know exactly what happened... But when it did, there was a rumor going around that it was a half demon who goes by the name of Inuyasha that brought the end of the demon slayers..."

"Inu...yasha? Dog demon? He's a half demon... Just like..."
Sheena muttered to herself, deep in thought. The man stared at her,

"Pardon me?"

His voice broke Sheena's concentration, and she looked up blankly.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing... Nothing..."

A few moments of silence later, the woman came back, carrying a small table with four bowls of rice and two big fish.

"Thank you..."
Sheena said as she absent-mindedly started eating with the family. Her mind was locked on one thing. To avenge the demon slayers; to kill Inuyasha.

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