A/N: I loved writing this chapter! :)

Chapter Nine

"Kodama-sama-! Kodama-sama-!" Masao ran across the courtyard of the enclosed temple in Yamanakako where priests and priestesses from all over the area received training. Kodama was just explaining the use of ginseng root to a second-year student when he heard his apprentice call his name. He looked up and instantly realized something was wrong. The way Masao was hurrying towards him, the look on his face, it promised bad news.

"We've just been informed, the mission has not gone well!" he panted.

"What?" Kodama answered in shock.

"During the process of remaking the seal...-"

"-It opened?"

"It did... Master Jinsei is the only one who survived. If it wasn't for Wakana-sama..." his voice trailed off.

"What happened? Where is Jinsei?" Kodama exclaimed.

"In the informary with high priestess Mei," Masao replied. Without hesitation Kodama walked off in that direction, leaving the student dumbfounded. At the other end of the courtyard was a road to the right that led past the dormitories of the students in the direction of the herb garden and nursing station. A few students were eating while talking on the stairs to their dormitories, not even wearing their full attire. Students were demanded to be meticulous, these ones allowed themselves too much comfort.

"Eat at a table!" he barked at them. Startled they stood up and bowed in respect for Kodama. They watched his back curiously, it was quite obvious something was amiss.

The last dormitory was shared by high priestess Mei and Wakana, a small girl stood in the doorstep. A shock coursed through his body... This young girls' mother... He averted his eyes to the cobstone path that led through the herb gardens. In the distance he could see the infirmary. Kodama and Masao entered the building. A priestess who had served their temple for ten years shook up from her paper work behind the desk and stood up to bow for master Kodama.

"Jinsei, please lead me to him," he asked her calmly. He was the key authority figure around. It made her nervous that he wasn't in the sanctuary up mount Fuji, it meant something.

"This way please," she courtly replied and gestured him to follow. Masao felt proud for being his master's apprentice, the first one he took in years. He stood in Kodama's shadow but was aware that simply being in his presence elevated his status. Kodama realized this, he would lecture Masao later not to become full of himself. They walked through a hallway and stopped to enter a room.

"Master Kodama," Jinsei's voice, he sounded sorry.

"Kodama-sama," that was Mei, always curt, she nodded and stood aside to make room for him.

"Jinsei, are you alright my friend," Kodama asked concerned.

"I'm fine... But Hioshi and-and high priestess Wakana..." his voice shivered with sudden grief. He could say no more.

"Jinsei, use the Yung method to control your emotions. There will be a time for mourning, but it's not now. Tell me what happened." He sat down on a low stool besides the mattress on the ground where Jinsei was laying down. His forehead was bandaged and his arm was in a mitella. Masao looked the nurse in the eye that was standing ready with a bowl of medicinal tea and gestured her to leave. Without a word she got up and bowed before exiting the room and closing the sliding door. It was just the four of them now. The door to the backgarden was slightly ajar. Sunlight peeked into the room and the sound of birds drifted inside. A strangely beautiful day for one with such bad news.

"Although the road is perilous without Inu no Taisho's lead and the temple difficult to find, we reached the gateway to the Forbidden Land. We started the ceremony and one for one removed the incantation layers that had been worn out. When we were down to the last two, it happened..." he had to swallow. Mei helped him drink some of the medicinal tea that was meant for him while he recovered his strength to continue.

"They had been waiting for us on the other side, I think they understood that Inu no Taisho was no longer there and that we don't have access to the artifacts. A loud drum could be heard from the other side of the gate, as though a battering ram was slammed against it. The door was forced open and the darkness leaked out. Black elongated arms shot out with clawed hands. They grabbed hold of my arm and broke it. Hioshi purified it and the arm crumbled, but there were many more. We fought long but... they took Hioshi and dragged him in..."

Kodama allowed his eyes to convey his shock, this was worse than he had expected. Jinsei paused. Hioshi had only been twenty-five and his life ended...he was filled with sadness for losing a comrade.

"Continue, my friend," his master told him.

"Wakana-sama told me to stay back, she used sutra charms to withhold the Sa'keeth and quickly performed the incantation of Shaah."

Mei nodded and a small smile played on her lips, oh how proud she was of her apprentice.

"They were standing behind the barrier, they're terrible creatures, terrible! They've stored all their malice of the past ages and fired at once at Wakana-sama. The barrier broke. The Shadow seemed to devour her, but she was strong. She told me not to come. The ritual of Shaah had been performed. The Shadows got sucked inside the gate and it closed due to her actions. But they had poisoned Lady Wakana's body... 'Jinsei,' she said, 'don't touch me or it will spread to you. Use the final seal and get out of here.' She was brave. The Shadow had covered her body with a translucent layer of gray slime. It bubbled as if it was still alive, wanting to take over her body. But as I performed the final seal I saw a light from behind me, Wakana had purified herself and the Shadow along with it. She was gone...I couldn't even bring her necklace as a memento for..."

He was finished speaking. He told them everything what happened. Wakana... dead... and Hioshi. Who knew what the Sa'keeth would do to him on the other side. He looked at his master's face intently, expecting to see pain despite all the years of training to suppress ones emotions, but Kodama held himself together without betraying the storm that raged inside.

"Well done Jinsei, the gate is sealed again for now, that's ultimately what matters. We've lost good people, but it was a sacrifice needed to spare the world of a great danger. Please rest and get better my friend." He stood up from the stool, ready to take his leave. He would return immediately to the sanctuary up mount Fuji.

"High priestess Mei, please inform the girl."

He could not bring himself to tell her personally.

"Master Kodama?" Jinsei asked. Kodama had been staring at the neatly raked gravel garden outside of the house where they were staying. A leaf twirled down from the cherry-tree that stood in the middle. He looked up at high priest Jinsei.

"Is something wrong?" his old friend asked. The years had been heavy on Jinsei. Although six years younger, he looked ten years older than Kodama. Jinsei had always been dependable, his advisor, a friend.

"Just reminiscing... old memories," he responded with a sigh. At that moment the door to their room slid open.

"Your diner will be brought before you now, honored monks. Thank you for destroying the demon spirit that haunted our statue of Buddha."

"We thank you for this meal," Kodama said and bowed shortly, "may your town be blessed."

They had been following Haruna's tracks, but she had distanced herself from them so quickly, that was unexpected. Nevertheless it was not hard for Kodama to find her, he only had to use that skill.

"Eat up and replenish your strength, a long day marching awaits," he told his group. The others eagerly sat down, but something had attracted Masao's attention. The call of a hawk.

"I think that's Hane, priestess Mei's hawk," he said pointing at the sky after he stepped outside. Jinsei walked into the garden and whistled loudly. The hawk flew down and flapped its powerful wings three times, hanging in mid air above his arm before it sat down.

"Feed him a treat, it was a long flight and he did good to find us," Masao told Yuuhi.

"Fetch me the message," Kodama commanded. Jinsei removed the string from the hawk's paw and handed him the tiny scroll. He hastily rolled it open and his eyes scanned from right to left to read the message. They could see his face harden.

"It has come this far..." he spoke softly and clenched his fist, crumpling the paper.

Sesshomaru, Jaken, Haruna and Ah-Un had taken to the sky again.

"Where are we going Sesshomaru-sama?" she asked him, he didn't even bother to respond. Haruna sighed. Sesshomaru sure wasn't talkative.

"To Rin's village, where Sesshomaru's annoying half-brother Inuyasha lives," Jaken told her.

"I get to meet your family?" Haruna wondered what his brother was like.

"I don't consider that disgrace to be related to me," Sesshomaru replied coldly.

"Inuyasha's father had left Lord Sesshomaru's mother for a human woman, Inuyasha is a half-demon, the reason why they hate each other," Jaken told her matter-of-factly. Sesshomaru gave him a meaningful look for telling his family's history without approval. It said: continue and I'll kill you.

"U-uhm... I said something wrong?" he stuttered, dropping a sweat.

"A half-demon huh... do you look alike?" Haruna asked. Silence.

"Well, there are similarities, they both have the same hair and eye color as their late father," Jaken answered in Sesshomaru's stead, "but Inuyasha is not as strong as Lord Sesshomaru of course. And Inuyasha lets a human girl follow him, they're romantically involved I think, and Lord Sesshomaru is now the same! I mean uhh- not that milord is in a relationship, he's too cold for that. Owh-uhm! I didn't mean to suggest you're anti-social milord Sesshomaru- ahh! Please don't kill meeeeee-!"

Sesshomaru flew next to them and had knocked Jaken off Ah-Un. He was falling down into the trees and they heard the branches break in the process, a flock of birds flew up. With a thump he fell to the ground, a big lump started to grow on his head.

"Mom was right, I should've become a ferryman. How could you be this cruel to me, milord!"

"Will he be okay?" Haruna inquired after she watched the imp crash down.

"Go get him," Sesshomaru told her flatly. She nodded and picked up Ah-Un's reigns, then she guided him down after Jaken.

"I guess Sesshomaru is really sensitive when it comes to his brother, better not say any more Jaken-san," she said squatting down next to the demon. Quickly she looked around if Sesshomaru was closeby and then continued with a hushed voice, "but you can tell me."

"How dare you insinuate I would talk about Sesshomaru's business behind his back," he squeaked indignantly. He pulled himself up, fixed the dent in his hat and dusted his kimono.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Haruna giggled, "you're lucky... you fell next to a comfrey plant. I'll crush the leaves and smear the salve on your wound."

"I'll do myself!" he huffed and tore a plant off.

"Uhm... that's not comfrey... it's nettle."

"My hand burns and itches!"

"No kidding..."

They continued to follow Sesshomaru in silence, Jaken yammering softly and scratching his itching hand while Haruna held Ah-Un's reigns. The landscape under them kept changing as they proceeded, but soon they came to a level meadow in between the mountains. She saw large rice plantations under her, a river with a wooden bridge that crossed it, and several wooden houses alongside an earthen road that let up a hill. Some figures on the ground looked up to them. Sesshomaru started to fly down and landed close to a pole gate with a rock stairs that led up to a shrine.

"Sesshomaru!" a crass voice yelled, "what do you show your face here for again?"

A guy walked over with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face. He looked a lot like Sesshomaru, if it wasn't for his smaller posture and dog ears sticking out of his hair.

"Inuyasha, I haven't come here to waste my time on you," Sesshomaru replied.

'So that's his brother, they are so rude to each other!' Haruna thought to herself.

"Keh!" Inuyasha spat.

"Ah come on, Inuyasha," a female voice spoke from behind him. It was a girl about her age dressed as a priestess. "He's probably come to see Rin again, you know how much she enjoys that."

"Everytime he comes his nasty smell lingers in town for a couple of days," Inuyasha said to defend himself.

"Can't you both be a little more respectful? Hello, brother-in-law," she greeted Sesshomaru waving at him with a smile, ignoring the deadly glare she got in return.

"I'll get straight to business. Where is Myouga?" Sesshomaru told Inuyasha.

"Myouga? I haven't seen him in a while..." the other replied. Kagome suddenly felt an itch and scratched her head.

"What do you need him for?" Inuyasha continued.

"It's none of your concern, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru curtly replied. His eyes trailed to Kagome who was now scratching her head furiously.

"Gahh, something's bothering me." Something small jumped out of her hair and landed on Inuyasha's neck where it attached itself. The tiny flea-demon sucked up some of Inuyasha's blood and got slapped in return.

"Inuyasha-sama! Hellooo," he said trying to sound innocent and not succeeding at it.

"Myouga-jiji... how long have you been in Kagome's hair?" Inuyasha asked threatingly, his head hovering over the tiny demon in his hand.

"Ahh-uhm! I arrived yesterday evening, but seeing you were busy..."

"Huh-what?" Inuyasha exclaimed getting red in his face, "but me and Kagome were..."

"It's okay master Inuyasha, at your age that's normal. I'm an old demon with a lot of life experience, so I understand," the flea-demon said like a mentor would talk to an underling.

"Why you-!" Inuyasha picked the flea-demon between his thumb and index finger and began squeezing him.

"Ahh, you two! Don't make things look bigger than they were, we were just cuddling!" Kagome sighed annoyed, putting her hands in her hips. Haruna looked from the indignant priestess to the half-demon who was torturing that little flea. This was Sesshomaru's brother? They had really different personalities.

"It wouldn't be bad to start thinking about kids, Kagome, I would be happy to be a godfather!" Myouga called out laboriously, "p-please Inuyasha-sama, stop!"

"Kids! I'm too young to think of that!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Y-yeah, you think I wanna have kids with Kagome?" Inuyasha blurted out.

"Inuyasha!"

He twitched his ears, knowing what was coming.

"SIT!"

He crashed to the ground and Myouga jumped out of his grasp.

"Well then, I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. It's been nice seeing you, Inuyasha-sama and Kagome-chan!"

"Where do you think you're going, Myouga?" Sesshomaru's manly but ever so chilling voice spoke. He gave the flea-demon a small smile which made him more nervous than Inuyasha's and Kagome's fury combined.

"Sesshomaru-sama... Ah-yes, you said you were looking for me?" he stammered faking he had forgotten or misheard.

"Yes, I need you to explain something for me."

"And what can I help you with?"

"I recently came across a bear demon who told me a seal was broken... my revered father would have something to do with that seal."

"A seal? Hmmmm," Myouga crossed his arms in deep thought, "no, I can't think of anything."

"Uhm, excuse me," Haruna said insecure at intruding in their conversation, "but this demon mentioned something about... Sake? No... Sakit? No, that's not right.. ah- Sa'keeth!"

"Sa'keeth?" Myouga squinted his eyes and rubbed his little chin with one of his paws, "ah yes! The ancient folk that was banished from this world! Yes, Sesshomaru-sama, your father lend his assistance to a group of monks once every twenty years in order to ensure the Sa'keeth would never return to our world, as his father and grandfather have done before him. It was top-secret, if any evil cold-hearted demon would know and damage the seal... there'd be trouble!"

Sesshomaru was staring at Myouga.

'Owh, is he feeling hurt that his father never let him in on this?' Jaken was thinking.

"Did you know about this, Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked keeping his eyes on the small flea-demon.

"No, I didn't," an oblivious Inuyasha returned, "what's going on?"

"I'm trying to find out. Tell me more, Myouga."

"W-well... there isn't a lot more to tell... it was top-secret after all and e-even I, a humble and loyal servant..." his voice trailed off. Sesshomaru didn't look happy.

"B-but the Order of monks and priestesses still exists to this day! After your father passed away, Gods bless him, they continued their mission to re-seal the gateway to the Forbidden Lands of the banished Sa'keeth. They should've written chronicles about this. I remember something about a scroll..."

"The Order?" Haruna said surprised, "yes, the old demon lady mentioned this too. It happens I'm a priestess of the Order... well, sort of..."

"Really? Sesshomaru, who is this girl?" Inuyasha said incredulously. He looked at Haruna, now he recalled how odd it was for Sesshomaru to travel around with a human girl. His older brother ignored him and was looking at the priestess. Haruna didn't notice him stare as she was looking at Myouga, her face betrayed she was surprised to hear that the Order she belonged to was related to Sesshomaru's family. She brushed a strand of her slanted bangs out of her face. Her lips were slightly pouting. Her appearance showed in nothing she was a priestess from a secret Order. Unlike Kagome who wore the outfit of a miko, she was wearing an average-made summer kimono one would wear at a party.

"And... I think I know about this scroll."

They watched Haruna take her bag off her back and squat down to open the knot. She revealed a yellowing scroll from it.

"That could be it!" Myouga called out jumping up and down, "now you just have to translate the secret language that was passed down within your Order to answer Lord Sesshomaru's question!"

"Heh...you seem to be well informed," Haruna said chuckling unamused, "but I can't read it."

"But... you're a priestess of this Order-thing, right?" Kagome asked.

"I was about to be initiated and taught the language that opened the door to all the Order's secrets, but I kind of... ran away?" she said scratching her neck.

"Keh, that's useful!" Inuyasha scowled.

"I'm sorry!" she laughed sheepishly, "but at least we got this scroll."

Sesshomaru kept his eyes on her and said nothing.

"But can't you contact someone of your Order?" Jaken asked.

"Yes... yes... we can do that," Haruna absentmindedly replied. She didn't feel ready to return to the Order, but the scene in the bear-demon village had been so disturbing... Something had killed all those demons... and that weird puddle. If this scroll was related to that... She looked up to Sesshomaru with a worried frown and looked him in his eyes.

"I suppose we should find out the meaning of this," she mumbled. He didn't give a sign of what he was thinking but she imagined he agreed.

"But before you go anywhere, you are going to explain what all this rush is for." It was Kaede, she came walking towards them leaning on a stick. Her joints weren't what they used to be. And something colorful walked behind her... Haruna opened her mouth to say something.

'Isn't that-?'

A/N: Reader, we all know who that 'something colorful' walking behind Kaede is right? Still I thought it'd be good to leave you here. Making Inuyasha 'sit' was also very satisfying. Feel the wrath of Kagome Higurashi! haha xD

Pwease review! :)