A/N: Thank you to the five of you who reviewed between now and the last time I updated: LogicalGoth, PrincessSakura220, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, IchigoandInuyashaFan, and Inu'sgirl4ever. And to all of you who've added me or my story to your lists. I was waiting to see if anyone caught the bit of foreshadowing that I put into the last chapter but I guess none of you did. Let's see if anyone finds it in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyright laws to Rumiko Takahashi et al.

Her Knight

Ch. 21

Days dragged on in the Feudal Era for the ones stuck on that side of the well while Kagome recovered in her time. Rumors came and went about jewel shards and bothersome youkai, relieving the monotony briefly before the humans and demons of Inuyasha's pack were thrown back into boredom. It was during one of these rare trips out of the village that Kirara left the group in the early morning hours to wander by herself. There was a familiar lake nearby that she liked to check on whenever she passed that way. While the others still slept, the nekomata walked on silent paws the short distance to the water's edge. Just behind her sat a lonely gravestone baring the name of a long dead princess. Sudden pensiveness filled her as she drank the refreshing liquid. With a soft mew, Kirara laid next to the stone and thought about the one whose ashes lay buried under her feet.

Over a century and a half had passed since she had last seen the woman who gave birth to the inuhanyou she now watched over. She'd known when she had met the pup that he would be one of the ones to avenge Lady Midoriko and put an end to the Shikon no Tama. Over the years she had kept an eye on the growing warrior afraid to help him out right but also unwilling to let him starve or freeze to death. Once Inuyasha had reached adolescence she'd stepped back, knowing he would have to make his own way in the world.

The fire cat had done similar things for the other two Feudal Era warriors. Patiently she had steered couples together so that the bloodlines would be strong and that those who taught the kittens would do so without regard for tradition or gender. Kirara knew she would do the same for Kagome when the time came. She stayed there for many minutes, dozing on the shore. Unsure of how much time had passed, the nekomata was drawn into awareness by an all too familiar youki.

Lifting her head slowly to show she didn't feel threatened by the approach of the demon lord, Kirara watched him move through the early morning mist and fog. She didn't bother to hide her interest as Sesshoumaru stopped at Izayoi's grave and gazed down at it with a mixture of distaste and confusion. The young Taisho lord had never understood his father's love for the mortal woman.

"Why do you visit a human's grave?" She tilted her head, amazed that he knew she understood. Kirara merely blinked in response. The same could be asked of him. "Hn, it is not as though you can answer me in words." His jeer was enough to spike her temper and she hissed at him. Moving to the water's edge, she stretched and began gathering her youki around her. Unlike her normal transformations, this one took considerable energy and would only last a few moments. It was not a form she could take on to fight in though she wished she could. Naraku would have been dead long ago had she been able to sustain it.

"Disrespectful pup. Remember who you speak to. The time to finish that false half demon draws near. Your choices will affect the outcome, young lord. I have not protected these kittens throughout their lives just so that you can put them in mortal peril. If you choose wrong, it will be more than your conscious attacking you late at night."

Sesshoumaru watched the humanoid form of Kirara disappear in the swirl of mist and fog from the lake. It twisted around her body until she was once more a small kitten. "Hn, we shall see, Lady Kirara." Turning on his heel, the taiyoukai left the nekomata in peace. He had not realized just who had been fighting by the slayer's side all this time. And while presently she may not be more powerful than he, the demon lord knew that she would be someday. A nekomata only grew in strength as they got older. For many, there was no limit to what heights they could reach so long as their body could handle the power. Kirara was one such fire cat.

Kirara watched him leave, satisfied that she had made her point. Watching the sunrise, she frowned as best she could in her current body. She had spoke true about the final battle coming soon. She only hoped that her litter was prepared for the heavy task in front of them. With a yawn, the nekomata padded back to Sango's side and curled up on top of the blanket. While acting as a chaperone for her taijiya and monk, she had noticed that since Kagome's attack, the young houshi had been most considerate of her little Sango. The change in his attitude bore watching further.


Unaware of Kirara's side trip, Sango and Miroku returned to Kaede's village. In his robes, the monk carried one jewel shard, carefully sealed so that other demons couldn't sense its presence. Shippou was waiting for them at the edge of town, one of his toys twirling on the ground in front of him. "Well, hello there, my young friend. Did you sense us coming?"

"Not really, Inuyasha heard you. He and Kagome are testing her wrist. I don't think she's ready to use her bow yet though."

"And what does she think?"

"I think," Kagome started coming up behind the kitsune, "That if I get one more opinion about my aim I'm going to create a new watering hole for the animals." The young miko threw a glare over her shoulder at the hovering half demon. "Unfortunately, Shippou's right, I'm not ready. My wrist still hurts too much when I pull back on the string."

Sango placed a hand on the younger girl's arm. "Don't worry, Kagome. It's just going to take some more time. Miroku and I got another shard on our last extermination." The not-quite-pure shard was handed over and they all watched as Kagome's powers removed the rest of the taint.

It never failed to surprise Miroku just how powerful the inexperienced miko was. What she lacked in knowledge, she more than made up for in sheer instinct and guts. He shared a sympathetic look with his hanyou friend over the shoulders of their two fiancées. Inuyasha was staying close because he was afraid that if he took his eye off of Kagome for more than a few minutes, she'd get hurt in some other way. They had spoken at length about his irrational fear and Miroku felt privileged that his normally closed mouth friend had shared that worry with him. It seemed that once he had confessed to Kagome, the half demon was able to open up to all of his friends at least part of the time. Despite the vast differences in their origins, the two young men had become close friends over the months of the quest. Now, they seemed almost like brothers and were loyal to a fault. Inuyasha would rather cut his arm off than lose him to the Void. There was no doubting that Miroku would do something equally as drastic to save his friend's life if it became necessary.

"Keh, come on, Kagome. You've got that 'homework' to do." Inuyasha got another dirty look for his effort. Obviously he wasn't supposed to mention the mound of paperwork waiting for her on her desk. He was just glad to no longer be going to that school. On the last day that he'd attended, club presidents had hounded him until he'd wanted to snarl and scare them into leaving him alone. For once the manners his mother had taught him served him well; and he was able to pass off their annoying behavior with a few "kehs" and promises to think about it if his brother allowed him to go to public school. No matter how different or nicer the future Sesshoumaru turned out to be, he doubted any Taisho would step foot in a public school.

"All right, let's go. He hated me going to school now he won't let me get away from my studies. I wish you'd make up your mind, Inuyasha." The priestess gave each of her friends a hug before going back to the well with Inuyasha.

"It did, wench. It chose you."