Aljan Moonfire does not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.

"Speaking."

'Thinking.'

.-. - scene break and/or POV change

Chapter 4 – Sickness and Health

A Month Later…

Kagome moved out of the village, and greeted her soul stealers, wearing a thoughtful frown as she pondered what she had heard. The news she had overheard in the town market wasn't good. Apparently, a village a few miles to the northeast was suffering from a sickness, one that could almost be termed a plague. The villages that normally traded with them obsessively avoided them like…well, like the plague, putting the people who lived there through even worse times without the money earned from trading to buy basic medicine and food.

At first Kagome had mostly ignored the news; she had been moving in a generally western direction for a good reason. That way led away from them after all. But at this point she couldn't leave the village to its own devices; as it was, it was lucky that sickness hadn't spread very far. It wasn't in her nature to leave them alone when she knew she could help either.

Sighing she picked up the pace, only to smile when two of the younger soul stealers raced past her, playing a flying form of tag. She had noticed that the more time she spent with them, the more intelligent they got, picking up more and more individual qualities. Especially Emerald, which wasn't surprising considering how much time it spent with her; it was what could only be described as mischievous.

Once she had asked it to take her to a good camping site and it led her right through a stream, letting out light trills and curling in on itself as it did so, rocking in the air as if with laughter. At first she had been incensed, but soon she was laughing with it. She got it back though; her eyes glinted as a smirk wormed its way onto her face. Yes, she got it back good.

She remembered once asking Kikyo how she spent so much time alone except for her soul stealers, and didn't it make it inconvenient to go through towns? Especially considering how most people reacted to demons. But Kikyo had merely given her a confused look, saying that soul stealers were actually very intelligent and that they picked up things fast. Why would she want any other company? There was also the fact that her stealers warned her of any villages before she even saw them and, should the need arise; she simply went in without them.

Kagome understood that very well now, being in the same position. The only difference was that when she went into villages she took her stealers with her. As far as she was concerned they were equal, and she wasn't going to leave them outside like outcasts of her one woman group. Never mind the fact that without them she would (and still could) die.

Naturally, she received strange looks and people avoided her and whispered behind her back. If she spent a while in one place though, they would eventually become curious, the more courageous ones coming closer first. When others realized that the demons weren't attacking on sight, they would come closer as well, some even touching them.

She loved seeing their faces as they heard the light trills of the stealers as they wound around them or her happily. She knew she had changed quite a few minds concerning demons, considering how nice these ones seemed.

Shaking her head to rid it of the reminiscing thoughts, she turned her attention back to the road, soon making good time down it. She traveled for a few more hours before stopping for a light lunch, and once she was done she pushed herself to arrive before nightfall, hoping that she wouldn't have to sleep outside again so soon. Also, though she didn't have far to travel, she did not relish the idea of arriving after dark; most villagers would generally take it as a bad sign, an omen, especially something like a priestess arriving with demons in tow.

But she must have misjudged the distance, because when it the small village finally appeared in the distance she had less than an hour until sunset. She had cut it too close. She didn't want to arrive in an unfamiliar village filled with sickness and starving people who feared demons during the night; she wasn't stupid after all.

So, moving into the nearby forest, she set up camp not too far from the village, making sure to remain out of sight. Just to make sure, she also sent out the two youngest soul stealers (she had dubbed them 'The Twins') to scout for nearby humans or demons. Soon after she promptly fell asleep, aware that in the morning she was going to need as much power as possible in order to heal a village full of people.

.-.

She was awake before the first light came into the sky, a habit that had quickly been formed due to the false light of her stealers. Using the time remaining until dawn as productively as she could, she examined the area, collecting herbs that may possibly help and storing them in a small, foldable basket she kept in her bag. By the time the sky was bright with the sunrise she was heading back to the village, her basket full and her powers in closely in check.

Before she even set foot in the village she could feel the sickness. It hovered over the people like a dark blanket, smothering even hope underneath it. As soon as she entered she could feel eyes upon her; the hairs on the back of her neck rose as she felt their gazes sharpen, a purely instinctual feeling chilling her spine.

Moving to the center of the village she wasn't surprised when she was met by a crowd of villagers milling about with sharp tools clutched in their hands. As soon as they sighted her the murmuring stopped and a gaunt man dressed in old, grey, and far too worn clothes stepped forward. His hands clenched tightly around his make-shift weapon as he eyed her soul stealers. Eventually his gaze finally shifted to her and even from her distance she could clearly see him grind his teeth.

"What do you want here, priestess, and why do you bring these foul…things…into our midst?" His voice was rough and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time, his fingers white with the strength he was gripping his staff. Kagome took a step forward and pretended not to notice them shift into more aggressive stances.

"I had heard there was an illness in this village, so I came to help. These demons will not harm you, I need them to help me with healing and they have strong properties in that area." Her eyes were steady and her voice did not waver as she told the white lie.

The stealers helped her keep her power under control and they found useful medicinal herbs for her. She knew, though, that the villagers would assume she meant it in a more magical or spiritual way. That was fine with her as long as they let her keep her companions nearby. If they did not, then she would simply leave them to their fate. She didn't really like to think on it much, but she had grown more discriminating with where she placed her trust since… since that happened.

The man's gaze was wary as he replied, but his voice held less anger, and if one searched deeply you could almost hear his careful hope, "You know how to heal us miko? This sickness is an unusual one; it does not react to herbs. It was forged by a half-demon," here his gaze sharpened once more on her stealers.

"He came," he continued, "selling special foods, saying they were fruits of good fortune. He had come and gone within a day, and then all who had eaten the fruits fell horribly ill. Those who lived with them caught the illness within a week; and they were all dead in less than a month. We kept them cut off from the rest of us, hoping to stop the disease." His lips clenched as he told the horrible story, creasing as white as his still tightly clenched hands.

"It didn't work, and we cannot tell who will fall ill next until the illness is too far along for any common medicines to heal it." He then turned his eyes back to Kagome, hope still warring with despair, "So do you truly think you can help us, woman who travels with demons? Or do you work for the hanyou and are only here to gloat?"

Kagome listened to him rant calmly, but immediately suspected Naraku. It was just like him to lay low and, even while supposedly gone, spread pervasive darkness from the shadows. He had probably sent a puppet to these poor people, and from what she could tell the village didn't have a miko of its own. There were very few villages without one these days, and those that didn't were few and far between. He must have picked one of those farthest from Inuyasha in hopes of the disease spreading quickly and killing off many innocents before it could be stopped by a powerful enough miko, one such as Kikyo.

"Yes, I can heal you." She replied, calmly ignoring the insults. "No, I do not work for a hanyou, and as I said, these demons are only here to help me. If you will show me to the sick area I will work out a way to heal these people." She continued. "I just ask that if I want something to be done, it will be done without question or complaint. Am I understood?"

They still seemed wary, especially the man she had been speaking to, but gradually they all nodded their heads until only the gaunt man had yet to agree. "I shall consent miko. But first I would like to know the name of the one who is helping us." Kagome cocked her head slightly, wondering if this was somehow a trick in disguise; she honestly wouldn't be surprised if it were.

"My name is Kagami, I am a traveling miko. And you are?" The man looked her over, eyes narrowed suspiciously before meeting her gaze again.

"I am Hotaka." He finally replied. "A farmer." His face scrunched up slightly, as if he was regretting his next words before he even spoke them, "Thank you, Kagami-sama, for coming to help us." Kagome bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement of the title before striding forward, ignoring the surrounding people's anxious glances at her companions. Many of her stealers wound around her closely, seeking comfort from the perceived threat.

"Hotaka-san, please take me to the sick area. I would like to begin as soon as possible." He backed away from her slightly, and she absently wondered if his hands hurt. If he gripped his hoe any harder then his hand would probably fuse with it… that or snap it in half, whichever came first. She hid the small smile the thought evoked behind her sleeve, pretending to push some hair out of her face.

Turning sharply on his heel, he walked swiftly in one direction. Kagome moved after him, easily keeping pace with him even though she could tell he was walking as fast as he possibly could without breaking into a jog. She supposed he was trying to leave her behind so he could call back and tell her to hurry up. Of course, he hadn't been traveling for years on end, much of that time being led by an anxious and testy hanyou.

Keeping up the swift pace, they soon arrived at a large wall of what looked like… well, just random stuff piled on top of each other really. There was planks of wood, logs, chairs, futons…just things all thrown on top of each other until a wall of about head height separated one part of the village from the other. It was obvious that quite a few trees had been chopped down to be placed in the wall as well.

She looked at Hotaka impassively, waiting for some kind of explanation, but he only pointed wordlessly at a hut that was now a part of the strange wall. She looked from him to it for a moment, and he gave a slight, silent bow and without a word, walked off, still holding the farming implement in his hand with a death grip.

Shaking her head slightly at the rude behavior, she walked to the hut and entered. As soon as she did so she winced as an awful smell reached her nose. To her surprise a hole had been made in the back of the room, and through it she could see the cordoned off area. Emerging from the hole into the light beyond, she nearly gagged. The stench was much worse here, as if the simple barrier they had created had trapped the smell as well as anything else.

Eyes watering she sent out her stealers to find any who were still alive. Then, letting her spiritual powers rise, she used them to examine the air around herself. There was…something…there, something in the air. Most likely the disease, it seemed to be airborne, carried from person to person as dust or spores on the wind.

Still…there was something strange about this disease, something off, even familiar. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of it on the wind for her to examine thoroughly. Slowly her soul stealers drifted back to her. Their news wasn't good. What had once been an area that was capable of (and at one point clearly had) housing over fifty people, now had eleven that still clung to life, five of whom didn't seem to have long left to live at all.

Hurrying to the closest of those five; this time she did gag when she entered their small hut. It was filled with the stench of old feces and vomit, and when her eyes accustomed finally themselves to the dim light she couldn't help the tear that trailed down her cheek at the sight. A person lay on the futon, and from what little skin that remained she seemed to be unnaturally pale.

Large blisters covered her body, most of which had popped and were oozing a thick, clear liquid. Around the blisters was darkened skin that looked as if it were bruised, but it Kagome could tell with a glance that that skin was long dead and beginning to rot. Not only that, but the area around the woman's eyes and mouth was scratched and bleeding sluggishly, as if she'd attempted to claw her own eyes out at one point. There was no doubt that whatever was in the air had irritated her throat and eyes enough for her to scratch herself raw.

Kneeling at the woman's side, Kagome laid her small basket of herbs next to the woman's head. Allowing her powers to rise to the surface, she channeled the energy to her hands and placed them lightly on the woman's brow. Closing her eyes with concentration, she used her powers to examine the disease.

Her eyebrows soon pulled together in a distressed frown; whatever this disease was, it was certainly not natural. She had thought Naraku had simply captured or created an already existing disease and infected the fruit with it earlier, but it seems that assumption was incorrect.

Yet even though she couldn't recognize the disease, there was something vaguely familiar about the symptoms. Wracking her memory she examined the woman's body once again. Her heart nearly stopped as she came to the young woman's lungs and realized what exactly that sad excuse of a hanyou had done.

Letting out a growl she proceeded to cleanse the woman's lungs of the miasma Naraku had infected the fruit with. He had recreated his miasma into a disease, injecting fruit with it and having it focus on the lungs and skin. Pulling more of her power to the surface, she pushed it through the woman's body, purifying every taint of miasma she encountered.

She then used even more energy to heal the oozing blisters and rekindle life in the salvageable dead skin. Unfortunately the skin in those areas would be slightly off color and extra sensitive, but it was the best she could do for now. When she finally judged the woman to be healed enough that she would survive, Kagome sat back onto her heels and wiped the sweat from her brow. While she still had a lot of spiritual power left over, it was physically exhausting to do such a strong healing all in one go.

Stepping out of the hut she moved to what she presumed to be the center of the cut off side of the village. She then gathered much of her remaining power to herself and let it build up beneath her skin, vaguely aware of the fact that she was giving off a faint pinkish-blue light. Closing her eyes she felt out the traces of miasma in the air that had been released through the sick people's lungs and directly into the air to travel on the wind to the rest of the village and beyond.

Opening the first of the gates that held her powers in check, keeping them from overwhelming her, she felt the energy flow out of her in with a swift rush. As it did so she let her head fall back in a kind of bliss as her mouth parted on a soft sigh of release. The power flowed through her in an almost unstoppable current and did her will, attacking every trace of miasma in the surrounding air down to the smallest particle. Even the miasma that had already entered the lungs of the healthier villagers; it searched it all out and scorched it from existence.

Finally, when every particle she could sense in the surrounding area was gone, Kagome stopped the flow, collapsing to the ground in momentary exhaustion. Panting with exertion, she called her stealers to her and asked them to take her to the remaining ten people that were still infected. She would fight past the tiredness to heal them completely before she passed out. Unfortunately, she underestimated the damage the disease could do to people's bodies, as well as the amount of healing energy her body could handle channeling.

She managed to heal six other people (the remaining four that were the worst off and two others) before she finally fainted from extreme exhaustion. She had forgotten that not only did she have to heal them, but that by using up so much of her own power the well's energy would fight against her hold even more viciously than usual, sensing the temporary weakness and fighting for freedom.

It all eventually became too much, and before she succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness she thanked the Kami that she had managed to heal those who may not have survived until she was strong enough to heal them entirely. Blackness washed over her wavering vision like a tide, and she absently hoped that she wouldn't be unconscious too long; she still had people she had to heal after all.

.-.

Kagome woke with the emperor of all headaches prancing around her sore skull. Groaning, she opened her gritty eyes before closing them again immediately at the glaring light. Her mind recognized the sound of movement nearby and, this time prepared for the sudden light, she carefully opened her eyes once more.

A woman was shuffling around nearby, her back to Kagome. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Kagome couldn't quite remember what for the life of her. For the moment her mind was a complete blur, even her thoughts mostly incoherent. The women finally turned around and nearly dropped the cup she was holding at seeing the miko's open eyes. Rushing over to Kagome she set the cup down carefully next to her head and peered at her from at close distance, though she was careful not to crowd her overmuch.

"My lady!" she exclaimed softly in slight alarm, "You should not be awake so soon! You used too much energy healing us; you must rest to regain your strength." As the women anxiously examined her Kagome finally placed the face. Attempting to speak, she was startled when her voice came out as only a faint croak. The woman's eyes widened in realization and she hastily tipped what tasted like tea from the small cup down Kagome's aching throat.

Trying again, this time Kagome was rewarded by the quiet sound of her own voice. "You are the woman I healed first." She said softly.

The woman let a slight smile cross her face, acknowledging the statement as true. Now that she was no longer sick, Kagome could see that she was actually quite pretty; certainly no beauty, but still rather pretty. Even the slight discoloration that could be seen in places from the newly healed skin did not detract much from her looks.

The woman nodded emphatically in further confirmation, quite energetic for someone who had recently been on death's door. "Yes my lady! My name is Tarika." She introduced herself. "And you are my lady?" she inquired slightly more hesitantly.

Kagome attempted to lift an eyebrow at the question, surprised that no one had told Tarika her false name, but the effort to do so was just too much at the moment. "I am Kagami. A traveling miko. Did you not know? I told the other villagers; surely someone would mention it?"

Tarika's eyes darkened and her lips spread into a hard, thin line at the still softly spoken question. "The other villagers saw your light, Kagami-sama. They assumed that something terrible had befallen you, that your demons attacked you or some other such foolishness. They collapsed the entrance and attack anyone who attempts to leave. We are trapped here. It is lucky that your healing re-energized our bodies, for otherwise we would surely have starved days ago."

Kagome could feel the anger in her building up quickly. Why were people of the Sengoku Jidai such idiots? She would have to beat some sense into them later; that was for sure at least. Then Tarika's last words finally caught up with her and she couldn't help the slight gasp that escaped her.

"Days? How long have I been out? What of those I was unable to heal?" Tarika placed her hand on her arm soothingly, shaking her head and smiling at Kagome's obvious concern. "Calm yourself my lady. You have only been out for a week at the least-"

At Kagome's startled noise she quickly raised a hand to forestall any further comments. "Do not fear my lady, those that you healed completely, such as myself, have been helping those that are not yet fully healed. We still have some food stores to keep us going, as well as the herbs left over from before. The blisters and such are finally starting to heal, thanks to you destroying the curse." She added, hoping to reassure the miko further.

The she edged backwards and when there was enough space, fell into a deep bow, placing her head close to the floor in supplication. "Thank you so much my lady. Thank you for coming to our village; we were without hope, but you have healed us!"

Kagome hastily raised herself up on the elbows and protested weakly, embarrassed by the excessive thanks. "You don't have to bow." She replied, her voice still soft, "It was nothing. And I'm not done really; I haven't even finished healing the others. This is a part of my job as a traveling miko." She finished; her voice hesitant as Tarika sat up, brow etched with confusion.

"But we wish to thank you." The woman replied. "You have helped us immensely, saving our lives in the process. Does that not deserve our gratitude?" At Kagome's slightly taken aback look she let out a light laugh. "Do not worry yourself Kagami-sama. We shall show our gratitude, but if it pleases you, we shall show it in small ways, so you will not feel uncomfortable." Kagome gave a slightly relieved smile.

"Thank you Tarika." She said, hesitating slightly before continuing, "May I call you a friend?" she asked. The woman's eyes lit up and she nodded emphatically, clearly resisting the urge to give the miko a tight hug.

"I would be honored my lady." She responded, clearly meaning it in the truest sense. "Thank you so much."

Kagome patted Tarika's hand, and said good-naturedly, "My friends call me Kagami. No more of this my lady stuff, it makes me feel old." Tarika simply laughed at her disgusted face.

"Very well Kagami-sa - I mean, Kagami. Shall I let in your demons? They have been circling this hut for the past couple of days; sometimes they enter, and sometimes they don't. Is that alright Kagami?"

Kagome gasped slightly, and quickly moving inward she examined her power, fearing the worst. Much to her surprise, the well's power was still there, but it was humming contentedly in the background, not attempting to fight her own energy at all. Maybe it was because she was almost at full strength? Her week-long sleep had certainly restored her spiritual power, but why hadn't the well used that time to escape?

That's when she noticed it. The well had almost fully taken on her signature, and her it's. While she still viewed her and its power separately, they were essentially the same thing now. Considering that they now shared an identical aura signature, the only difference was that the well was still linked to time and had essentially unlimited power in reserve… Shit. What the hell had she gotten herself into now?

Feeling familiar scales brush along her skin, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and found herself surrounded by glittering bodies. She laughed as they all started trilling; she could feel her soul stealers happiness and relief pushing at the back of her mind. They had been very worried for her. She could also see that they were dangerously low on energy. It was all too obvious what they had done. Her dear stealers had starved themselves so her miko energy could heal her faster, only coming in when they absolutely needed the energy.

She felt tears gathering in her eyes and reached out, petting all the stealers she could reach. "You silly things. You didn't have to do that for me, I would have been fine given time. Here, take it, you need it more than I do right now."

Opening her power to them, she could see her skin glowing lightly as her stealers trilled even louder and brushed against her, taking portions of her energy. She grinned; thankful for once that she had an unusual amount of spiritual energy. The remaining people she had to heal would be easy, leaving more than enough left over for her stealers to have a good 'meal'.

Once they had enough, she closed the gates to her power, remembering a time when that had been difficult. Her eyes darkened as the image of a brash hanyou comparing her to Kikyo came to mind, his yelling that she wasn't good enough, that she had to learn to be as controlled as Kikyo.

Her eyes misted over and she felt the hurt all over again as her mind replayed their betrayal; it was with a surprising jolt that the well once more surged forth. Using her feelings it started to fight her again, creating more power and riding on her emotions in an attempt to get free. Quickly sitting in a traditional meditation pose, she did a breathing technique Kikyo had taught her. Soon she had calmed her emotions and felt the well's power settling back down, her stealers continuing to feed off of any excess energy.

Opening her eyes to look around the hut, she quickly noted that Tarika had left, probably some time ago knowing how she could lose track of time these days. Rising to her feet and stretching, Kagome moved out of the hut. Asking her soul stealers to lead her, she followed them to the remaining injured people and grinning slightly when Emerald wrapped around her and removed to budge, clearly having missed her.

Shaking her head at its antics, she entered a hut and began what she knew would be a long day of healing. She had no idea.

It seemed Naraku was always a step ahead, even here. The disease had recreated the miasma in the people's bodies, focusing on their lungs as it released itself into the air in short bursts. Building up in ever increasing quantities, it didn't start to attack their bodies again until it was strong enough to kill them.

Going to each and every person this time, she healed the sicker people first, knowing she was lucky she had woken so soon, any later and they may have really died despite her efforts. Then she once again walked to the center of the village.

This time she did not release so much power and, controlling it precisely, she hunted through the winds, soon finding the miasma in the air and once again purifying it. She followed the miasma through the air currents and along the paths of the wind, surprised at how far it had spread. She was soon far beyond the village, using her spiritual abilities as a second awareness.

She followed the miasma much further than she had ever realized she was capable of going, moving over the land as swiftly as the wind. But even she had her limits, and she could feel her power beginning to stretch thin. Luckily enough though, Naraku had had a flaw in his plan. He had thought to have the disease spread from person to person, not rely solely on it's traveling through the air to infect its victims, and by the time she was reaching the edge of her limits the miasma was too thin and dispersed to cause any more damage.

She was about to turn back and return her to her physical body she noticed something…a familiar yoki. Pushing a slight bit further she finally examined the land around her, actually looking where she was. It was with a jolt to her heart and swiftly building tears in her real eyes that she realized she had inadvertently traveled back to Inuyasha.

And there he was; the red-clad betrayer and those that still followed him, namely Miroku and Shippo, Shippo perched on Miroku's shoulder. Sango looked as if she had been crying recently but was there as well. Unsure of how to feel about the woman she had once called sister without hesitation, she turned her attention away from her, absently noticing that Kikyo had joined the group as well, as she had requested.

Then she noticed that they were all watching something that was apparently behind her. So, turning her awareness in that direction, she was pleasantly surprised to see Sesshoumaru standing atop a small hill, looking down on her old group. She ignored Inuyasha as he shouted familiar insults at the daiyoukai. She didn't want to see them right now; it had been an accident coming her in the first place.

But seeing Sesshoumaru was nice. For some reason she knew that if she ever had to place her trust in him, and if he ever took that trust upon himself, he would never betray her. It simply would go against every honorable thing he believed in and lived by. She doubted she would ever have to do that though, place her trust in him that is; it would take a lot for her to place her trust so blindly in anyone ever again.

Moving downwards she stood next to him, examining both him and those below them. The others hadn't changed much at all except their faces and eyes. They were more drawn; their eyes had lost some of that happy light she had always seen in them. Even Kikyo looked more stoic than usual.

"This Sesshoumaru must admit that he is surprised to see you, Miko." A deep male voice suddenly commented.

Kagome started and turned to Sesshoumaru, and her heart stopped as he looked directly into her, presumably invisible, eyes. He shouldn't be able to see her though! It was impossible, no one had ever… But she had to remember that this was Sesshoumaru she was thinking of. Even she knew that he was supposedly so insanely powerful that anything was possible for him, much like his great and terrible father.

Dragging on a bit more power she forced her awareness to glow with a slight bit of light, she heard faint gasps from below as their observers saw a glowing being slowly take form next to Sesshoumaru. She knew that they wouldn't be able to tell who she was, her awareness didn't have enough form to tell distinct looks, but that she was female would be obvious at least.

"I am surprised as well, my lord. I had previously thought it impossible to be seen when in this form." His eyebrow rose and he smirked slightly, completely ignoring the spluttering hanyou in favor of her, something she found some dark amusement in.

"You should know better than that, Kagami. This Sesshoumaru has found the tales of your exploits to be amusing. Do tell, what village are you located in now?" Again her heart almost stopped as he said her false name. How could he know? She hadn't done anything too important in the course of her travels. Sure she had killed a demon here, saved someone there, but nothing for him to keep track of!

Then she remembered that he'd asked a question, and thinking back she vaguely remembered a person telling her the name of the village she was located in. Racking her brain furiously, she soon remembered it and smiled. "I believe the village is called Bertu, my lord." His eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the name and he turned slightly so he was facing her more.

"Now this one is truly surprised Miko. This Sesshomaru did not realize the extent of your power. You have traveled quite a distance from your body; it is dangerous to leave it so far behind." It said something for Sesshoumaru's sheer presence that he had made her completely forget those that had hurt her so grievously in a matter of minutes. Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders slightly, detachedly finding it odd to see her light-encased awareness act as her real body would.

"I know that my lord." She replied, "But Naraku had poisoned the village with his miasma, and I had to heal them. Soon I found that the disease was airborne. By the time I followed after it, it had spread all the way to here. It was necessary." Nodding slightly he turned back to face his brother (who was, for once, speechless; shocked to incapacity by the fact his brother had actually complimented someone.)

"This Sesshoumaru once told you that respect was earned, not given. You seem to be well on your way to earning that of this one." His eyes glinted slightly as he looked at her, a small smirk playing across his lips. He then spoke again, but she knew what he said was far too soft for the others present to hear. "Should you earn it, by which name should this Sesshoumaru call you? Your given or chosen name?"

At the question she noticed that the light that made up her awareness glowed brighter even as her body in reality flushed slightly. "I would ask that you use my given name my lord, for that is who I am, not my chosen name." His smirk grew slightly, as if he approved of her choice.

"In that case this one suggests that you get back to your body, Miko. You have accomplished quite the feat, for a human." Without thinking she stuck an ethereal tongue out at him, and his eyebrow rose in renewed surprise as she glowed even brighter with her blush.

Giving a slight wave of farewell she hurriedly flew back to her body, only hearing a faint, "What the fuck was that you bastard! You finally gotten yourself a girl?" from her former hanyou companion.

She sighed inwardly at his immaturity; would he never learn? You do not want to provoke Sesshoumaru! It was all too obvious to her that Sesshoumaru had always been playing with Inuyasha; if he could see her when she was her purely spiritual form then he was many times stronger then they had always believed.

As she returned to her body and opened her eyes she shoved any further thoughts of the daiyoukai to the back of her mind. Looking around her immediate surroundings and taking in the still devastated town, she resolved to leave as soon as she could.

Despite the quick friendship she had struck up with Tarika, the overwhelming gratitude of the rest of the village (Even the gruff Hotaka had done a one-eighty and was now treating her with respect) was beginning to grate on her even after less than a day.

Nodding her head in resolve she quickly communicated her intentions to her stealers and prepared to leave the next morning.

~ Author's Note ~

Chapter 4 has arrived! The second chapter today! I'm getting excited; it will really begin to diverge from night flame miko's original in the next chapter. I'll try to post it as soon as I can but I'm not making any promises. By next week would honestly be my best estimate.

Reviews are always more than just welcome and the button is below, so just click on it!

~ Aljan Moonfire ~