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 8: A New Snow Demon on the Scene

Up in the sky there a small band of flying demons heading towards the palace of the Lord of the Western Lands. This band was looking to forge an alliance with the taiyoukai that ruled there. Just then the leader slowed his flight over Inu Yasha's Forest. The others were a little a head of him before noticing that he stopped.

"What is it, my lord?" one of the small band flew back to ask the leader, perplexed.

The leader was scanning the forest below by sight and smell. Then, he looked up and answered one of his lieutenants. "I can't be sure, but I thought I caught the scent of a female snow demon."

The lieutenant was surprised and took a sniff of the air himself. Sure enough, he caught what his lord had. "But, that can't be! Why would a female snow demon be this far south? And without us knowing?"

"I don't know, but I will find out," Kil Kai, current leader of the snow demons living on Mt. Fuji, answered a bit determined. "First, though, we must meet with the lord of these lands, then I will hunt down this female. From just the traces on the wind, I can tell that she is quite powerful."

"My lord, are you going to mention this to the lord of these lands?"

Kil Kai thought about this as they continued their flight. "Yes, I'm afraid that I will have to. These are his lands after all. He may even have some answers as to why there is a very powerful, lone female snow demon roaming the land. If not, then he may prove useful in finding her."

"Indeed, my lord. If you don't mind my asking," his lieutenant asked quietly.

"Go ahead," answered Kil Kai, waiting.

"What about your intended, the Lady Aisu? I don't think she would be very happy with you looking to replace her," he waited for his lord to get upset. Nothing happened.

Kil Kai kept flying, "That is not up to her, now is it? But for now, we will drop the subject, for there is the palace of the Lord of the Western Lands, Lord Sesshomauru." They landed just inside the courtyard. There were five snow demons, Lord Kil Kai, two of his lieutenants, one adviser and the LadyAisu, his betrothed. Luckily for Kil Kai, she did not hear the earilier conversation.

For she was not a woman to let something like that go. She was a warrior in her own right, like most females of her line. A female snow demon did not live long if she couldn't take care of herself and any children she may bear.

Just as they landed, one of the outer doors opened and out came the Lord of the Western Lands. In his usual, cool voice, he announced, "Lord Kil Kai, welcome to the Western Lands."

Lord Kil Kai bowed, "Thank you, Lord Sesshomauru. We are looking forward to this alliance with you."
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At Kaede's village-morning:

Everyone was beginning to wake up. Shiori woke up and saw the sun. With a grown she tried to roll over to get the sun out of her eyes. But her still healing shoulder caused her pain. "Damn snakes." With that said, she sat up and looked around. "Kami, I hate mornings," she grumbled.

"Hey, are you going to stay up there all day or what?" a cheery voice asked from below.

Shiori growled, "Actually, I would really like to sleep a bit longer, but I don't guess I'll be able to."

"Nope, we have to get going. Remember, we're still hunting the shards of the Shikon no Tama," Kagome chirped.

Shiori jumped down off the roof of Kaede's hut, where she spent last night. She turned back into her ningen form before replying, "You know, there should be a law against you being so chipper this early in the morning." (A.N. I'm not a morning chick either, me & Garfield )

"Oh, don't be so grouchy," Kagome teased. "Come on, Sango and I were going to the hot spring to clean up before leaving. And, don't tell me that you don't want another bath. Or to have that bite looked at."

Shiori actually had a small smile, "I'll just get my bag. Maybe I can even clean some of my things." She ducked into the hut and saw the rest of the gang.

"Where are you going?" a small voice asked, waking up.

Shiori turned around and watched as Rin yawned. "We're going to the hot spring to get cleaned up. Do you need a bath, munchinkin?"

Rin came awake quickly at the thought of being with the older girls. "Yes, I do need a bath. But, I don't have anything to change into."

"Don't worry, munchinkin, you can borrow some of my shirts. They're big enough to act as a temporary kimono till your things are dried." She smiled at the little girl. "Come on." They both walked out of the hut together. Kagome and Sango were waiting.

"All ready," Kagome asked with a bit of a smile.

"Yeah, and could you turn down the wattage on that smile, I haven't had any coffee yet," Shiori teased.

"I forgot how grouchy you are in the morning," Kagome teased back, and started walking to the hot spring.

"Hopefully, we won't have any visitors like last night," Sango said. "I don't think I want to get thrown into a tree again," she smiled, massaging one of her shoulders.

"I'm glad you were there last night," Rin said, quietly, clutching Shiori's hand. "Thank you, I'm in you debt, all of you."

The three women stopped and looked down at the nine year old girl. Then, they turned to look at each other. Shiori sighed and knelt in front of Rin, "Munchinkin, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, you're safe now, you don't owe us any debt," Sango added.

"Just try and stay away from snake youkai, okay?" Kagome said, with a smile. "Now, let's go get cleaned up so we can get on our way."

Rin just smiled and walked with the three women to get a bath.
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Back At Sesshomauru's Palace: In his study

"You are here for an alliance between our clans," Sesshomauru began. "And, what do you offer? Why would I want to join with you?"

Kil Kai nodded his head, "Direct. I admire that in a youkai. As you know, this Naraku creature is causing a lot of trouble for the youkai population of Japan. He grows stronger with each Shikon shard that he gathers. I propose that we join forces and stop this disgusting usurper before he destroys us all."

"You think that this filthy hanyou could destroy all the youkai? Or me?" Sesshomauru asked, without emotion.

"I'm saying, that we shouldn't give him the chance to gain that much power," Kil Kai answered. "We need to find a way to put a permanent end to this threat or all is lost. I hear that he is amassing a great deal of power. He must be stopped." He then paused and looked out the window, "I also ask your assistance in another matter."

This piqued the taiyoukai's interest. "My assitance?"

"On my way here, I felt the presence of a lone, female snow youkai in your lands. If you know anything about her, please tell me. From what I was able to detect, she is very powerful. One of the most powerful females I've ever come across. She should not be here alone. I need assistance in finding her," Kil Kai elaborated.

"What would one of your females be doing in my lands," Sesshomauru asked quietly.

Kil Kai stared at the taiyoukai of the Inu Clan. "You didn't know she was here? Then she is trespassing. Help me find her. I have to find her."

"Why?"

"With one that powerful with us, we should have little problem getting rid of the filth that calls himself Naraku and any other enemy to our two clans," Kil Kai answered, appealling to Sesshomauru's understanding of the need for powerful allies.

Sesshomauru sat thinking, 'I wonder why I didn't detect this female before? How long has she been roaming free in my lands?' But before he could speak, his loyal servant, Jaken entered the study.

Jaken looked liked he'd gone a couple of rounds with a very angry boxer. His clothes were torn and he was pretty bruised. "Milord, I have some disturbing news."

"Speak."

Jaken bowed low, head to the ground and began, "We were playing hide and seek in the forest when suddenly I was attacked. Rin ran away, but I don't know where she is. I couldn't find her, milord. We were separated by three full grown, male, snake youkai. Please forgive this lowly servant."

Sesshomauru just looked at Jaken, silently. Then, he stood up and began to walk out of his study.

Kil Kai was puzzled. "Where are you going?"

Sesshomauru stopped and without turning around, answered, "I'm going to look for my charge. In the process, I will help you look for this female. Are you coming?" With that said, he walked out of the study and out of the palace. Kil Kai jumped up and followed, eager to find the female that he sensed earlier.

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.