First of all, I want to apologize. I haven't updated this story in months and even though I have every chapter planned out to the very last detail, inspiration has been cruel and has left me in the dark.

Not only that, but I am now back from my exchange in Switzerland, living in boring old Canada again. My last few months in Switzerland were really rough; my last host family completely turned on me. And for those who have never done an exchange in another country when you're only sixteen years old, let me just explain it to you:

Not only are you a teenager trying to find your way in life, but you are pressured everyday to learn a language that at the beginning, you despise. You are also an ambassador to a country. That's says a heck of a lot. It means you cannot screw up. You need to be the perfect student, be the nicest host sister, and be the kindest stranger.

And yet when you do make mistakes, people call you out on them - because you're supposed to know everything about how to act, every little detail about your country and you cannot ever say that word no.

But what most people forget in the midst of all these pressures is the teeny tiny fact that I am only sixteen! Everyone makes mistakes! Geez!

In any case, my host family couldn't comprehend this and kicked me out eleven days before I left Switzerland.

And then I came back home and was plagued by depression - not fun, might I add.

But now that school's back in action and I am kind of speaking with people again, things have gotten better.

Oh geez, I didn't mean to go on for that long about my soap-opera life. Ooopsies!

Onward with zee chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


--Chapter Fifteen--

Where is the stupid thing?

As soon as the irritated thought ran across his mind, a deep rumbling about two feet away from his left foot coming from underground answered his silent question. Within the second, the demon sprung out of the ground with an angry snarl, its massive jaws snapping ferociously at its victim.

Kouga threw himself to the right just as the creature's hideous body sailed past where he had been not two seconds ago. Not wasting any time, he threw a punch at the deformed half caterpillar half worm's face, landing it solid just below one of the demon's bulging yellow eyes.

The abomination was thrown hard into a nearby tree by the wolf's attack, practically snapping the tree in half by the violent force. It didn't stop to recuperate; it was back up and charging at Kouga before he could blink.

"What?" He shouted tauntingly. "You want me?"

The demon's only response was to open its mouth to roar while in mid-charge. A faint smirk teased at the sides of Kouga's lips as he stood unmoving before the repulsive creature. Adrenaline ran like wildfire through his veins, his muscles itching to exert themselves and spring at the easy competition. But he controlled himself and held the normal position of his body, looking as if he were admiring the beautiful blue sky instead of being in the middle of a fight.

The monster read the other demon's stance as surrender and grinned to itself, showing rows upon rows of small and yet deformed yellow teeth that were covered in small pieces of rotten flesh. It sped up and raised its ugly head for the final strike.

Kouga moved at the last second as the demon's hungry jaws descended on him. In one movement, he sprung onto his left hand and spun to deliver a vicious kick with his right foot. The uncalled-for attack hit the demonic insect solidly on the side of its mushy head, throwing its whole body uselessly into the surrounding trees.

But before it could move and attack again, Kouga was standing on top of its deformed head. "Well that's just too bad!" He growled roughly before throwing a last punch straight down into the brains of the suddenly squealing monster underneath his feet.

The screeching was cut off abruptly as Kouga's fist tore through spongy flesh and brain membrane, fully tearing apart the creature's head. A grimace crossed the wolf demon's face as he turned slightly away from the flying pieces of skin as its skull cracked uselessly under the pressure and exploded. The smell that emitted from within the abomination wasn't too pleasant for his sensitive nose either.

When his arm was up to the bicep in rancid remains, Kouga pulled the limb out with one brutal pull. A few pieces of discoloured tissue clung to his skin and forearm and he attempted to brush them off as he left the corpse of the insect to deteriorate under the unrelenting glare of the sun.

Heading back in the direction he had unwillingly come from, he found his thoughts wandering over to the unsolved issue that had ruined all of their lives with his sick manipulative playing: Naraku. His fists clenched subconsciously at his sides as he thought of that bastard running freely out there while he was sent out on charity cases.

He now knew how mutt-face had felt; even though Kagome's heart was one of the things that was so unique about her, he couldn't help but feel a bit irritated when she and that demon slayer had kindly asked him to take care of a demon here and there where they terrorized the area and the poor inhabitants nearby. And he wasn't too cold hearted to just turn down their requests.

He had thought it would've been a one-time thing – maybe two. But this 'favour' business turned out to be an almost full-time job.

It seemed like every time they came across a human village, there were problems. Kouga was almost surprised at how easily the residents were throwing themselves at the feet of strangers, begging for the group's assistance. But then he remember there were human and had no sense of pride or dignity whatsoever. Being a demon and a Tribe Leader, he would've chosen death instead of asking for aid from anyone outside of his immediate family.

That is, if he had any immediate family left.

He shook his head harshly to dispel his sudden turn of thoughts, and then darted forward in a flat-out sprint, following Kagome's sweet scent to the area where he had left her in the protection of that monk and exterminator. Thoughts of family led to his dead comrades – of which he still needed to revenge – then to the Northern Tribes… and then eventually to Ayame. And he didn't need fuzzy and warm pictures of the annoying female demoness running through his mind at any time.

When he burst through the opening of the trees and into the small, quiet community, the villagers all started at the sudden entrance and leaped out of the way as Kouga's whirlwinds barreled down the single dirt road. He knew by their irritated and sometimes fearful expressions as they threw themselves from his path while he sprinted by that these folks were wary about trusting demons – helpful or not. Obviously dog-breath would have come across the same problem, and yet he was still committed to helping them out?

I bet it's got something to do with Kagome, he decided, her slim form suddenly appearing in his long line of vision. The wolf demon wasn't stupid; he knew that if the hanyou would've lived, Kagome would have become Inuyasha's mate, sooner or later. It all would've depended on how out-going Inuyasha would have been willing to be with his feelings… and if he ever got over his love for that dead priestess that had smelled nauseatingly of dirt.

Kouga's lips pulled back into a teeth-baring grimace as he surged on. Not bloody likely.

Fast footfalls slowed down considerably as the distance closed and he came up beside the group. His gaze immediately fell on Kagome, instantly checking for signs of bad health. But other than the hard look in her brown eyes that he had come to recognize as determination, she seemed relaxed while talking to the old fart that was the head of the village. His gaze then shifted to the other members of the circle, colliding with wide brown eyes belonging to the demon exterminator.

Under her curious gaze, he folded his arms across his chest suspiciously, his cerulean blue eyes narrowing skeptically.

"You've already slain the demon, Kouga?"

The Tribal Leader looked away cockily at the surprise in her voice. "Heh. It wasn't like it was hard or anything."

"Oh, thank-you, thank-you!" The sudden cry that cut through the moment caught the demon's attention and he returned his gaze to the group, realizing the old fart had been the one to speak. The old man's bony body was bent halfway in a grateful bow, his head bobbing up and down as a long line of gratifications left his mouth.

"Like I said," Kouga explained, slightly unnerved at the sudden show of worship. "It wasn't hard or nothin'."

At Kagome's half-smile, the awkwardness passed and Kouga let himself bask in the limited shine of her happiness. She barely showed any emotion, instead opting to keep a blank face, but when she did, he felt as if he really had made some progress. He knew the only reason Sango and Miroku had approached him was because they trusted him. If not even her best friends could make her smile, maybe showing her love would mend the wounds that had been so cruelly inflicted on her heart.

But as soon as the smile had come, it vanished as she returned her attention to the old sack of bones that was still bowing wildly to the demon that had 'saved the village from certain death.' "We're going to get going now. We'll be sure to travel through the villages to the north."

The old man stopped and the deliriously happy grin on his face disappeared. "Please be careful, Priestess. I have already warned you about the rumors, but I still fear for your safety."

Kouga snorted loudly. "Don't worry 'bout her, old man. I'll be there if anything happens."

The human said nothing, although his withered lips pressed into a hard line, expressing his opposition.

Kouga opened his mouth to tell the wrinkled raisin to shove his opposition up his ass when a small hand on his shoulder stopped him. The wolf demon closed his mouth and turned to gaze into hard chocolate eyes that said that anything rude coming from his mouth would not be tolerated.

"We should be on our way." Miroku nodded once to the old villager before falling instep beside Sango, who had already started down the eroded road.

Kouga resisted the urge to send the craggy grandpa a dirty look and instead turned away to follow the others. He decided to hang at the end of the group, his senses on alert. Although his pride wouldn't allow him to admit it, the old bag of bones had been telling the truth. Small tingles ran up and down his legs, warning the wolf demon of upcoming danger.

As soon as the village was out of sight, Miroku turned his face to the sky, bitterness playing in his thoughtful expression. "It seems the village headman had been right; I sense a great evil ahead."

Sango rested her hand on the edge of her Hirakotsu before glancing at the monk. "Can you tell anything about it, Miroku? Like maybe where it originated from?"

The said monk shook his head. "No, but it seems ancient and bitter."

Kagome slowed her footsteps and fell in beside Kouga. "Is this the evil you sense, Kouga?"

The Tribal leader look up in surprise and lost himself in deep eyes that displayed so many emotions. Pain, anger, bitterness… Poor Kagome… "Heh. I suppose. Hell, my skins crawling for some damn reason."

"Yes." The demon exterminator half turned her face towards the two others behind her, her voice grave. "We should hit something along this road before nightfall. It's too quiet here; almost like all of the animals are afraid to come out, or have run away in fright."

"You're right about that, exterminator." Kouga lifted his azure gaze to the clear heavens. "But I'm betting we're going to run into whatever's scaring that old bag of bones sooner rather than later."

"How can you tell?" Miroku asked, lifting his own violet gaze to the blue skies.

"Just a feeling I got-"

"Kouga!" Within the second Sango's voice pierced the air, a demonic snake hurled itself from the bushes. It slithered through the air at an astonishing speed and opened its long jaws at the victim closest before anyone could react: the wolf demon.

But just as the demon lunged, Kouga jumped and avoided the attack. The wolf demon sailed over the demonic snake and just as the animal's body flew underneath him, he threw a punch, landing it solid on the junction between the snake's skull and spine. The bone snapped under the assault and the creature fell to the ground lifelessly.

Miroku knelt down on one knee before the hideous corpse. "Well, it seems it wasn't actually aiming to attack us."

Sango's confusion showed in her slight frown. "But it clearly—"

"No." Kouga cut her off, his pondering gaze landing on the bushes from where the demon had appeared from. "It wasn't expecting us. If it had been, I'm pretty sure it would have chosen another way to attack. These things ain't smart, but they ain't that stupid."

Miroku nodded absently, his gaze still on the carcass. "You're right. Which leads me to believe that it was fleeing."

Sango looked at the large snake-like demon, sizing it up. "Snake demons may not be very intelligent, but they are masters in hunting and are hard opponents. Whatever scared this demon obviously wasn't something small. We should be more on guard now."

/----------

The flames of the newly burning village seemed to swallow up the entire community in its deathly appetite. Everywhere the screams and cries of the sufferers caught in the blazing fire pierced the air, along with the almost mocking cackles of the raging inferno. The able-bodied villagers that were able to escape the flames were running around with water buckets or dragging half-dead victims who could be saved from the scorching remains to safe shelters away from their burning town.

Upon a hill overlooking the entire incident sat two men. Both were wearing the indistinguishable black clothes they had worn even before their death, with a black cloth to cover their mouths to remain unrecognizable. Dull black eyes watched the scene without interest, their only job to wait for the signal. They had done what he had told them to do, but their mission was not over yet.

The man on the right impatiently moved his long silver hair from his vision with a quick flick of a wrist. "I would suspect any demon – even a wolf demon – to have a good enough sense of smell to detect the burning wood and carcasses by now." His disgust and impatient was evident in his soft tone.

The man to his left scanned the area before them with calculating eyes. "They will come soon enough."

The first man snorted softly. "Let's just – "

The appearance of a buzzing insect flying close to the second man's ear silenced him. They had been waiting over an hour for its arrival, and so he was not surprised when his companion to the left suddenly stood and peered over the landscape.

"They're here."

/----------

"Kagome?"

Sango's voice and her words were unheard to the said girl. The young priestess ignored the worried looks on her companions and instead turned her face slightly to the east, ceasing her movements. She closed her eyes and instead concentrated on the location and strength of her sudden interest. "Hmm… a couple of jewel shards."

"Let's not waste a second!" Miroku shouted to the others before taking off at full speed in the direction Kagome had been facing. The remainder of the group caught up to him within seconds, with Sango and Kagome flanking his sides and Kouga sprinting far ahead.

There's… something not right. The monk opened his mouth to shout the warning to the wolf demon ahead of him only to close it when the giant wind tornado cleared and all movement ceased.

The two girls and Miroku came to an unanticipated halt behind a motionless Kouga, their eyes drawn instantaneously to the frozen demon.

"Kouga – ?" Sango started.

Kagome's inquiring brown eyes followed Kouga's accusing blue glare towards the center of the large field they had stopped on the edge of, her eyes instantly narrowing in suspicion at the scene that greeted her.

In the middle of the field with wheat stocks floating around their immobile forms stood two men. At first glance they almost appeared to be villagers, but on a closer inspection, Kagome noted the odd clothing they wore and the stony blank expressions on each of their faces, twin pairs of pitch black eyes revealing nothing but chilly depths. The two men's facial features above the black facial mask were similar, making the priestess come to the conclusion that they were brothers. Both men had startling silver and slightly pink hair, but the man on the left's mane hung past his shoulders and he seemed a bit slimmer and taller than his companion.

Sango's gaze briefly landed on the two males before skidding upwards to focus on the massive amount of hungry flames from a newly destroyed village licking greedily at the heavens behind a line of trees. Her brown eyes widened in shock before she turned to alert the monk of her finding.

Miroku's eyes were full of worry as they focused on the horizon. When the demon slayer's gaze and his collided, an understanding passed and Miroku found himself nodding resolutely at the fight in her brown depths.

"Miroku, let's go help those villagers!" Tightening her grip on the boomerang positioned on her back and giving the untransformed Kirara a quick nod, Sango took off at a lightening speed with the monk on her heels.

Kagome watched the two go with the demon cat out of the corner of one eye, her attention focused sharply on the opposing threat facing them. She didn't dare do anything until Kouga made the first move. She didn't know why the Tribal leader had stopped when they had entered his vision, but she had a lingering hunch it wasn't going to be good.

Kouga's face twisted into a dark scowl, rage deep in his blazing blue eyes. "So you're the bastards who burnt down that village!" he spat, disgust laced in his one statement.

The stranger with the longer hair looked amused, the only emotion in his dead eyes. "I feel the odd sensation of wanting to clap for your brilliance," he mocked in his calm clear voice that strangely reminded Kagome of warm honey. "In any case, it took you long enough to get here. My patience does wear thin after a few hours of waiting."

The wolf demon's lips pulled back into a snarl, fangs flashing dangerously. "You were waiting for me, dead boy?"

The stranger only scoffed. "Don't be insulted, but our initial plans were to get rid of the greater threat first. And it wasn't you."

The other man held up a silencing hand, flatly saying, "That's enough, Taro."

Kouga looked disbelievingly at Kagome before turning back to the first silver-haired man. "You were planning on killing Kagome?" he asked in bewilderment.

The stranger named Taro only musingly stated, "I feel almost sympathy towards you. And that's not an emotion I've felt since my mother died a few years after my birth."

A low growl rumbled deep in Kouga's chest. "Well you sure can talk tough," he snarled furiously, "But can you survive a fight to the death?"

A strange emotion appeared in Taro's black eyes and Kouga had the feeling the bastard was laughing at him. "I'd love to take you up on that one, oh, Tribal Leader.

"Tomeo, you take the priestess."

Kagome stared into the eyes of her opponent, noting the icy depths in the fathomless pits of death reflecting in the other man's eyes. His stance said nothing about his mood nor did the blank look he was sending her. He calmly removed the thin sword at his hip from its sheath and swung the blade around to face at her.

The priestess slowly removed her own sword in response, feeling slightly comforted by its light weight and constant hum from the flow of spiritual energy from her own hands. The blade glowed on command and Tomeo's eyes showed a flicker of amusement.

"No arrows?" came his dry response.

The edges of Kagome's lips turned up in a bitter smile as she shook her head in reply. In her mind, reality split and the White World focused blindingly in one eye, both organs concentrating hard on the subject in front of her.

Tomeo's blackening presence was slowly coming closer in one eye while the other held the black picture of a peacefully white field.

Tomeo and Taro were long dead; their auras were long gone.

Coming to a strangely calm realization, Kagome knew that Sora would not be able to help her in this fight. She would have to fight alone.

Tomeo slowly advanced, his foot falls barely making any sounds on the fallen wheat stocks. His black eyes were fatally fathomless as he came to a standstill in front of her, a barely noticeable smirk pulling at the corners of his facial mask. He raised his arm in almost slow motion, the sword's blade gleaming in the sun's dying rays.

In one downward motion, he brought the sword down, aiming for the junction between her neck and shoulder.

Kagome swung her blade up just in time to block the powerful blow, the clash of the two swords ringing in the tense atmosphere. She threw his sword off-target with one skillful maneuver, faintly smirking confidently when her block pushed him back a foot.

He was back with another strong attack before she could recover. Kagome just barely dodged the assault that had been aimed for her vulnerable side, letting out a grunt when she landed awkwardly on one ankle.

But he was already attacking again.

And as the opposing sword swung down and was met head on by her flimsy block, the priestess understood that he was much too strong for her to prevail against without any help. But she would hold out for as long as she could.

This was a fight she wasn't sure she could walk away from unscathed.

Kagome bared her teeth in an inviting snarl, waiting for Tomeo's next assault.

She was going to die fighting.

I ended with a cliffy! Yayy!

Read and review, and I hope to see you all in short time (hopefully..)!

Love bumble, xxx.