MC: Hi again! I don't know if it's annoying to have AN's at the beginning of each chapter, sorry. I just wanted to thank you guys again for reading. =) Please R&R!

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Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Chapter Six

"Look at these pitiful, disgusting men."

Sesshoumaru ignored Jaken as he slowly moved through the camp, observing, noting on what he'd had to deal with. "Hn."

"And look at that pitiful creature! He doesn't seem to have a muscle in his body!"

Glancing up at Jaken's target, Sesshoumaru's eyes widened, and he stopped, growling when Jaken ran into him. "Jaken, go help with check-ins."

"Yes, milord!" As Jaken scurried away, Sesshoumaru turned back towards the boy, only to clench his fists when he was nowhere in sight. I'll wait until the assembly takes place.

...

Kagome was in hell.

Literally.

"Oh my Kami." Kagome wheezed, trying to stay calm, when instead she wanted to scream and run for the hills.

"What's wrong?" Myoga whispered from her bun. Kagome gulped, shakily entering the camp. "There's so many of them…they're so disgusting…"

"They're men, Kagome. What did you expect?"

Kagome shuddered inwardly as she headed towards a booth that was set up for new recruits. As she stood in line, a fat guy went to stand behind her. A putrid smell was coming from him, and Kagome had to muster all she could to stop from bolting away.

When she finally reached the front of the line, her heart sped faster. The man that had been to her village a few days ago was there, signing up the men, marking off names as they came. Next to him, however, was a beautiful woman dressed in a white kimono, her dark brown hair pulled in a low ponytail. She had bright, chocolate-brown eyes, and her skin was slightly tanned. She was asking the men of their personal records with illnesses – apparently, she was a nurse.

"Next." The man grumbled, and Kagome gulped, moving up towards the booth. She cleared her throat, answering in a deep tone. "Higurashi."

The man jumped, his eyes wide as he looked up at him. "H-Higurashi? Wait a minute." The toad-looking man narrowed his eyes, climbing in his seat to peer into Kagome's face. "You look a lot healthier than when I saw you a few days ago."

"I…got better?"

"Jaken, leave him alone." The woman yanked the man back in his seat, ignoring his protests as she smiled up at her. "Do you have your medical records with you?"

"Uh…" Kagome gulped, and Myoga sighed. "I knew we forgot something…"

"It's okay. Just come with me for a moment."

Kagome felt her heart racing. What happened if she needed her to take her clothes off? What would happen if she found out her true identity? Lots of thoughts were swimming in her head as Kagome followed the woman into the tent, shaking horribly as the woman's smile fell.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"E-Excuse me?" Kagome asked in a deep voice, her hands clasped behind her back. The woman sighed, sitting down in a nearby chair. "I know you're a girl. Why are you here?"

"…Am I really that noticeable?" Kagome asked, her voice normal as tears welled up in her eyes. The woman shook her head, smiling a bit. "Not really, but I could tell. I wasn't sure if you were really a girl, or just a really pretty boy, until Jaken started making a fuss. Your face kind of flushed up like a girl's would. Oh, please don't cry!" The woman stood suddenly, wrapping her arms around Kagome.

"You won't tell, will you?" Kagome sniffled, and the woman pulled back, but kept her hands on her shoulders. "Of course not. Just tell me why you're here."

Kagome began telling her of how her father died in battle, how sick Souta was, and how she decided to take his place. The woman listened intently, and as Kagome finished, she sighed, rubbing Kagome's shoulder in assurance. "Don't worry, Kagome, I won't say anything. My name is Sango, by the way. I'll help you any way I can."

"Thank you so much, Sango." Kagome smiled warmly, and the two embraced, before a loud disturbance broke the calm silence. Sango's face turned red in irritation, and she stomped over to the tent flap, peering out before huffing. "Come on, Kagome, you should get outside. There's a fight, and I'm sure I'll be needing to fix someone up here shortly."

Kagome followed her new friend outside, only to gasp at the sight.

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"Naraku's men have already destroyed these villages."

Inutashio pointed to different names of villages as he sighed, Sesshoumaru watching him intently. "I will be going along with my men to try and ward him off here." He pointed to a village that was closed to a drawing of a large castle. "Hopefully, I'll be able to ward him off before he reaches the palace.

"But until you're ready, I need you to stay here and train these men…General."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly. "General?"

Chuckling at his son's surprised expression, Inutashio stood, clasping a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, son. How about seeing your old man outside?"

As soon as they stepped outside, the most interesting sight met them. Some of the new recruits had thought they could take on the veterans, causing an argument to start. In result, there was food everywhere – signs of a food fight. Across from them, just as a recruit stepped out of the nurses' tent, followed by the nurse herself, one last rice-bomb went flying, landing right in the nurse's face.

A tense hush fell over the camp as the nurse began trembling, slowly reaching up to wipe away the gooey substance from her face.

Inutashio cleared his throat, nudging Sesshoumaru as he grinned. "Good luck handling this bunch, son."

"Thanks." Sesshoumaru mumbled dryly as Inutashio hurried over to his group, mounting his white steed before riding out of the camp.

No one spoke a word as everyone stared tensely at Sango. Her face was red, her cinnamon-brown eyes blazing as her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"Soldiers!"

Everyone suddenly looked at him, and he sighed, noting how Sango was now glaring at him, like it was his fault the soldiers were out of control. "Retire to your tents. Tomorrow, we will start your training early. If there are any more disturbances, you will be dealt with accordingly."

"Hurry, hurry!" Jaken appeared out of the mass, his haori askew as he hustled the men away. The soldier standing next to Sango helped her inside, and Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, waiting until most of the men were gone before heading towards the tent.

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"Ugg, I swear. Nasty pigs…Men are so stupid." Sango growled, allowing Kagome to wipe her face clean of the nasty rice. "They better be lucky Sesshoumaru stopped them, or heads would've been rolling!"

"Sesshoumaru…he was the tall man that came out with the emperor, right?" Kagome asked, dipping the towel in the water to get it clean before finishing cleaning Sango's face. Sango nodded, sighing when Kagome finished picking the white substance from her bangs. "Thanks. And yeah, Lord Inutashio is Sesshoumaru's father."

"Sango."

Kagome squealed, disappearing behind a curtain as Sango straightened up. Sesshoumaru slid into the tent, his golden eyes taking everything in as Sango stared at him coolly. "Good afternoon, my Lord. How are you?"

"You know I didn't come to have a friendly chat, Taijyai." Sesshoumaru muttered, testing the air. There was a scent of cherry blossoms and lavender in the air, different from Sango's scent, which was of lilies and rain. "Where did that soldier go?"

"What soldier, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Sango asked patiently, folding her hands in front of her. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her, grunting before turning on his heel. He paused at the entrance, looking over his shoulder at her. "I'd advise to not try and start anything with the soldiers. I don't want to have to make any unnecessary kills."

After he disappeared, Sango sighed, relaxing as she looked over at the curtain. Kagome peered around it before sliding out, wiping the nervous sweat from her forehead. "Wow, that guy is scary."

"Tell me about it." Sango sighed, looking out towards the window. "You better start heading to your tent."

"Umm…one problem." Kagome smiled sheepishly as Sango's confused gaze. "I'm not exactly sure how to put up a tent."

Sango smiled, patting her shoulder as she led Kagome out towards the rear entrance of the large tent. "Don't worry, dear. There is a tree out east from camp, not too far away. You will have plenty of distance to stay hidden, but not too far where you'll be suspected. Just swing the tarp over the lowest branch. It should be enough."

"Thank you so much, Sango." Kagome hugged her new friend before slipping out of the tent, taking advantage of the afternoon shadows as she stalked out of the camp and out of sight.

Sango just smiled, shaking her head as she closed the window flap. Poor girl…she reminds me of me when I did the same for my brother…

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MC: Hn. I don't know if I like this chapter too well. (If you haven't noticed, I say that after just about EVERY chapter.) This really isn't my first fanfic, and though I welcome criticism, I've read some good stories (or what I thought were good) and have seen reviews where people tear it apart! Like I said, I'm all for criticism, it does indeed help, but to tear someone apart like that? Sheesh...

Anyway, please R&R! =)