Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha and co. I don't own any of the songs that I put into the story, except on cd's. But I do own Shiori, Miyu & Koshin Hakogami, Kil Kai-another snow demon from feudal times & Aisu- female snow demon from feudal times, they are all mine.

AN: " " is speaking, ' ' is thought

AN. Just to let you know that I've made spelling/grammer corrections and added a little more detail to the story's chapters. I'm reposting the corrected chapters. But this is still the same story & story line. See if you notice the corrections. And thanks to those that read & review. The reviews mean a lot.

Glossary:

youkai-demon

inu-youkai-dog demon

ningen-human

ookami-wolf demon

osuwari-sit

aisu-ice

CHAPTER 6: Snake Anyone?

Shiori was getting ticked, "Do you have to get right up in my face? Why do most males feel they have to get right in your grill when they find something interesting? Do you know how rude that is?" She was trying hard not to yell in the wolf youkai's face. It wouldn't have helped anyway.

Before Kouga could say anything, Kagome had walked up to the two, getting almost shoulder to shoulder with Kouga. She let out a small gasp as she looked into Shiori's eyes. "Shiori, they're ice blue. You're going to change tonight, aren't you?"

Shiori didn't look at Kagome, she was keeping her eyes on the wolf demon right in front of her. "Yeah, and before that happens, I would like to get a bath." She backed away from Kouga, then went inside Kaede's hut to get her bag. She came out and asked, "Where can a girl go to get a bath?"

Kouga was a little confused. 'What do they mean, change? What is this woman?' he thought.

But before he could ask any questions, Kagome answered her cousin, "Not too far from the village, there's a hot spring. Wait and I'll go with you." Kagome ran and got her bag, too. Just then Sango piped up.

"I'll go, too. I could use a little break and a soak myself." Then she turned to the men, eyeing Miroku. "And if I catch any of you spying, so help me, it'll take you a week to heal from the beating. Got it?"

Inu Yasha answered with his usual, "Feh, whatever."

Miroku just smiled, "I would never spy on you, my lovely Sango. I'm a complete gentleman." He, of course, was trying to go for sincerety, but was failing.

Shiori teased, "So, that means that you'd spy on Kagome and myself, but you would be a gentleman where Sango is concerned?" She really couldn't help herself.

Miroku just shook his head, "I will refrain from spying on three beautiful ladies, though it will be a difficult task. I shall resist."

The women just shook their heads. They were turning around to leave, when they heard Inu Yasha cry out, "Hey, wolf, didn't you hear? No guys allowed! Why don't you go run off a cliff!"

This made the women turn around and see the two men were growling at each other, again. "You may stay behind and leave Kagome unprotected, but I won't. I protect what's mine, mutt-face! I won't leave her by herself. What if something happens to her?"

Inu Yasha had nothing to say to that little bit of logic. Kouga did have a point, but he still wasn't going to let that wolf see Kagome naked. Not over his dead body.

Kagome cleared her throat to gain the two males' attention. "Look, I'm flattered that you think that I need constant looking after. . ."

"But you do," was chorused back her way by said males. Well, at least they can agree on something!

She just gritted her teeth and continued, "But, I have Sango and Shiori with me. I've also learned a thing or two in the three years that I have been here. I'm not totallly helpless, you know."

Kouga walked up to her and took her hands in his. "Can't I still worry about you? And what is so special about your cousin? She doesn't look like much." This ticked off Shiori.

"I don't have to show you anything, wolf-boy. But if you want to see, just hang out for a while. You'll see why I'm not one to be messed with. Kagome, let's go, they'll just have to figure out that we need privacy, one way or another," the last was sort of spat out. With that said, Shiori and Sango turned to go.

Kagome took her hands away from Kouga and went to catch up with the other two. Kouga just shot a look to Inu Yasha. "Who is that woman? What is she?" He had felt her power building because of her aggitation.

"Why should I tell you, you mangy wolf?! Like Kagome said, that's her cousin. That's all you need to know," Inu Yasha snapped in response, arms crossed over his chest. Actually, he didn't really know what Shiori was, only that she was a blending of a Guardian and a demon, a snow demon to be exact. He became quiet, while trying to remember anything about snow demons.

"Why don't we just sit and wait for the girls to come back, shall we?" Miroku asked, hoping to keep the two males from fighting. He looked to Kaede for assistance.

"Yes, why don't we go inside and have some tea. And, do try to be civil, I'd like to keep my hut in one piece," she added, walking into the hut to get the tea ready.

Inu Yasha and Kouga looked at each other, then followed. 'Like hell am I going to be civil to this mangy wolf,' Inu Yasha thought.

'As soon as Naraku is dead, I'm taking Kagome with me. After I kill mutt-face,' Kouga thought, as he followed Inu Yasha and Miroku inside. Shippou and Kirara had gone back inside shortly after Kouga arrived. They weren't really interested in watching those two fight it out again. They've seen it all before.

At the Hot Spring:

"This feels so good," Kagome said, sinking into the hot water. Sango and Shiori were just getting in. "This is one of the many things that I love about this era."

"Really? And the other thing wouldn't happen to be a certain male hanyou with a bad attitude would it," Shiori asked with a straight face, watching her cousin turn pink.

"W-w-what?! What makes you think that?" Kagome sputtered.

"Oh, come on! Wolf-boy shows up and tries to play Don Juan and dog-boy acts like you belong to him," her cousin observed. "Then, instead of getting mad at dog-boy, you try to keep wolf-boy from getting too close to you. Almost trying to tell dog-boy that you're not encouraging wolf-boy. Why is that, I wonder?" She knew the names of the two youkai, but she wanted to see what kind of reaction she would get out of Kagome by not using their names.

"Don't call him dog-boy! His name is Inu Yasha," Kagome defended. "And, I'm not trying to date Kouga. He just doesn't take no for an answer."

"Ha!! See, that's what I thought. You like Inu Yasha!" Proving that she did remember the male hanyou's name.

"Oh, she's been head over heels for him for a long time," Sango added. "But whether or not he'll ever say anything to her about what his feelings are, is still up in the air."

"You mean, he keeps his feelings under wraps, huh?"

Sango answered, because Kagome was turning pink again and not enjoying the topic. "Well, there are times when it seems obvious, but then there are times when you just never know. Plus, his dead girlfriend is back from the dead and whenever he sees her, he gets so confused. Poor guy."

Kagome said softly, "He's still in love with her. I don't think that will ever change."

Shiori looked over at her cousin with a little sympathy. "Hey, first loves sort of stick with you, but that doesn't mean that you can't fall in love again. Who knows, he may just come around. If not, then I'll knock some sense into his thick skull, okay?"

Kagome smiled, picturing her cousin knocking Inu Yasha in the head for being so difficult. "Thanks, Shiori, but I don't know if it would do any good."

Shiori shrugged, "Oh well, you never know. If it doesn't work out with that one, I can just see wolf-boy jumping in. Though, if I were you, I wouldn't want someone that clingy."

The three women were silent for a moment, just relaxing and thinking. Then, Kagome sat up and asked, "So, tell me more about this 'dream' youkai that's been plaguing you. What's he like? Do you know his name? What's he look like? Is he handsome? Tell me!!"

Shiori just laughed when her cousin fired off her questions. Sango looked interested, too. Shiori sighed, accepting her turn on the 'hot seat.' "Well, it's not like I want to dream about him. And yes, he's handsome, very handsome. A little too handsome for his own good. He's seems sort of reserved. I do know his name, but after meeting some of your friends, I'm a bit nervous about telling you." She stopped, thinking.

"Why?" Sango asked. "Why would you worry about telling us?"

"Let me ask a couple of questions first. Your gang is just you guys, right? No one's missing from it?" she asked, almost hopeful that it was a no, and yet hoping for a yes.

This puzzled the two women. Kagome answered, "There's no one missing. It's just myself, Sango, Miroku, Inu Yasha, Shippou and Kirara. Kouga just shows up whenever, but he doesn't normally travel with us for very long. Why do you ask?"

Shiori waited a heartbeat before asking another question. "Does Inu Yasha have family, relatives?"

Okay, this was just getting more mysterious. Sango answered this one, "Yeah, he has an older half brother. But we don't see him too often, thank Kami for that."

"And, he's not a hanyou is he?" Shiori asked, quietly, an idea forming.

"No, he's not, he's full inu-youkai." Kagome paused and her eyes got wide as it finally hit her. "Shiori, what does this dream youkai look like?" She had an idea, but didn't want to say anything.

Shiori looked at the two women and answered slowly. "He's tall with silver hair almost to his knees. He wears a haori, mostly white with red flowers on the shoulder and sleeves. He carries two swords. He's got a blue crescent moon on his forehead and two purple slashes on each cheek."

"Oh, Shiori, that sounds like Inu Yasha's brother," Kagome groaned, shaking her head.

Sango was shaking her head, too. "His name is Sesshomauru, isn't?"

"Yeah," Shiori answered. "I'm guessing by all the praise he's not a really 'friendly' guy," she said with a sigh. "Oh, Kami, why me?! I thought there was something wrong with him. No one is allowed to look that good without having some problem." She sunk down into the hot spring.

"Why?"

She turned her head to Kagome, "Because, men like that are always trouble, one way or another."

The other two women nodded their heads in agreement, thinking about the handsome, troublesome men in their lives. Then, Shiori started to get out of the spring.

"I need to get dressed. I can't hold off the change much longer." With that, she dried off and got dressed. She pulled on her under things, blue jeans, socks, her Nike's and another black tank top. The tank top was so her wings could stick out and keep her from having to shred the shirt to be comfortable. After she was dressed, she closed her eyes and began to change. On her hands, she grew claws. Her hair turned silver, but the blue streaks stayed. Then on her back, large, dark blue wings grew. They were almost as tall as she was, easier to carry her weight and anyone else in flight. Her large natural rose tattoo was framed by the wings. When the transformation was complete, she opened her eyes. They were ice blue, almost white. She waited for Sango to freak out, but nothing happened. Kagome had seen this side of her before.

Kagome was out and getting dressed. "I still like the wings. They look cool."

Sango asked, while getting dressed. "Can you control your change or does it just happen?"

Relaxing a bit, Shiori answered, "I can control the change, except when I get mad. I've had to learn to control my temper. I also like to change after dark and go out flying. I like the feel of the air through my wings. Mother and Father never made me choose which form to keep. They both understood." She answered as she combed out her hair and pulled into a high ponytail.

"Cool," Sango said, she'd been hanging around Kagome too much.

Just then, Shiori stood very still. She turned her head to the west and her hand went to her sword. The other two had caught her movements and grabbed their weapons. They had learned a while back to always keep their weapons with them. It was much safer that way. They moved closer to the trees behind them, getting ready.

The bushes rustled and out came a small girl running right for the three women. That's not all that came out of the bushes. Three large, nasty looking snake youkai, trying to catch the little girl.

Shiori grabbed the little girl and put her up in a nearby tree. The snake youkai stopped advancing to look at, what they thought, were new and larger prey.

"Well, what have we here, brothersss?" one of the snake youkai asked his companions. "I think we have just gotten lucky."

"Yesss, indeed, brother. I think we'll feed well tonight." They stood there looking at the three women. "Why don't you put those toysss down. We won't bite, much." This caused the other two to laugh.

"I don't think so, fang-face," Shiori answered, getting the snakes' attention. "We'll just keep out 'toys' thanks."

"You think you can defeat uss? We are much more powerful than you," one of the snake youkai sneered.

"Oh, we'll manage," Sango said, raising her boomerang and letting it fly, then pulling out her short sword. Kagome had grabbed Guardian's Strength without thinking and began to follow Shiori into the battle. The little girl in the tree screamed in fright as the fight started.

Back at Kaede's Hut:

The guys were sitting in strained silence, when they heard a piercing scream. Kouga and Inu Yasha were out the door before anyone else had moved. The sound had come from the direction of the hot spring.

At the Hot Spring:

The three were holding their own against the snake youkai, having taken a snake youkai a piece. Kagome was doing quite well with Guardian's Strength. The three snake youkai were getting pretty ticked off. They thought that this would be easy, just let the women think they had a chance, then kill them. The snake youkai began to fight even rougher and fighting dirtier.

One of the snakes lead off with his left, to catch Sango off guard and then struck her with his right. She went down, but brought her sword up and stabbed the snake in the chest. He stepped back from the pain and pulled the sword out. He then advanced on Sango as she tried to get up. He grabbed her around the neck and threw her in to the tree that the little girl was hiding.

The small child let out another scream. By this time, Kouga was running into the clearing, closely followed by Inu Yasha. Miroku, followed by Kirara carrying Shippou and Kaede burst through. Miroku saw Sango by the tree and went to check her.

Everyone else was watching the other two women. Shiori had seen the snake throw Sango. The snake was now walking over the the fallen demon slayer to finish her off. Shiori knocked the snake she was fighting back and threw her sword. It landed in the snake youkai's back and began to glow blue. Slowly, the snake youkai began to turn into a block of ice. He was dead before it covered his head.

The snake that Shiori had knocked back came at her again. Unfortunately, it caught her off guard and sank it's large, venom-filled fangs into her right shoulder.

Shiori screamed in agony and turned her head to look at the snake youkai. "That was a mistake, pal." With that she sunk her claws deep into the snake's abdomen and sent a burst of Guardian energy into the snake. The snake began to panic, trying to get his fangs out of her shoulder. "Now, die, fang face." Then, he burst into pieces. Shiori dropped to her knees holding her bitten, bleeding shoulder.

At the same time, Kagome thrust her sword into the last snake youkai and purified him with her miko powers. She turned to her cousin and knelt down next to her. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Bad enough to worry," the female hanyou answered through clenched teeth. "How's Sango and the kid?"

Miroku answered, still by Sango. "She's unconscious and a little bruised. I think she'll be fine though. She needs rest."

This made Shiori nod her head. That small movement brought a growl out of her throat. "Damn snakes!! They're always a pain."

Kaede had walked up to look at the hanyou's shoulder. "This will need to be bound, but first we need something to stop the poison."

She shook her head, "No, just bind it. I'll be fine. The benefits of being half demon, half Guardian. Poisons aren't as much a danger to me as they would be to others." Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little girl. "So, munchikin, what are you doing playing tag with three snake demons?"

Kagome gasped, she recognized this little girl. Shiori turned her head to ask her cousin what was wrong. "That's Rin. She follows Sesshomauru around. He's her guardian."

"Okay, so where is he? I don't think he's doing a very good job of taking care of her," Shiori gritted out as Kaede bandaged her shoulder for the return trip to the hut.

Rin answered, "He was out patrolling his lands and I was playing with Jaken. That's when I ran into those mean snake men. I don't know where Jaken or Sesshomauru-sama are." Her eyes began to tear up.

Inu Yasha had come up to Kagome, "He may be looking for her, then. I don't think we should be here when he finds her."

Kouga crouched down in front of Shiori and stared. "So, this is what you are. I don't think I've ever seen a snow demon up close. Nor a real, live Guardian."

"Well, now you have. If you don't mind, I'd like to go and get some rest." She went to stand up and wabbled. "Damned injury."

Rin grabbed Shiori's hand, making her look down. "I want to stay with you until Sesshomauru-sama comes to get me."

Everyone just stood there staring at the child. Shiori smiled, "Okay, but when he shows up, you go home and be more careful." Rin nodded her head. Then she turned to everyone else, "Let's get out of here. I don't want to see if anything else comes out."

Kouga turned to Kagome, "Would you like me to carry you, my love? It would be no trouble."

Before she could answer, Inu Yasha piped up. "Why don't you just back off, wolf. If she needs help, I'll help her, not you."

Kagome blushed and said quietly, "I think I'll just walk. Thanks anyway." Everyone began heading back to Kaede's hut. Miroku carried a still unconscious Sango, while Kirara walked beside him. Rin was walking with Shiori, not wanting to leave her side.

Little did anyone know that they were being watched from the trees. The figure in the tree was watching Shiori walking with Rin. "Who is this creature and what is she doing here?"

AN: Well, hope you guys like this chapter. I'm sorry it's so short but I thought that I would let Naraku's little plot have its own chapter. And again, I'm so sorry that I have been slacking on updating. I admit that is was because of a bit of writer's block and because I got so caught up in reading the other wonderful stories on this website. How do you guys like it so far? Please read & review. Or I won't write any more!!! just kidding, please review.

I would like to thank my wonderful editor, ninjawarrior4life, my bro. glad you like it.

And thanks to everyone who has been reading this story from the beginning when I first started posting it. And to those who read and like it.

THX to all my readers.