I would appreciate it if you guys would take the time to vote on the poll on my profile page. The characters chosen as the most liked will appear more often in the story :) Also please review with any ideas or comments you have about the story. The reviews let me know that people care about this story. Anyways, as always, thank you for reading and enjoy one of the longest chapters yet!

"Keh, I say we find their boss and take 'em out."

"You say that, InuYasha, but do you even know where to begin to look for her?" retorted the monk, arms folded and eyebrows arched in a concentration of thought. His wife dabbed at the cuts at his face with a wet cloth and strange green goop made from crushed herbs. It had been a very drawn out few days and none could muster the strength to go against another horde, including the great hanyou.

"Well, I…" his voice trailed off, fumbling over his once seemingly invincible plan. Scratching his head, the dog demon dropped to his feet to pout. Nothing was ever as easy as he made it out to be and his old friend was one to bring that to light, shattering his optimism. His miko watched him as he mumbled inaudible thoughts to himself. She understood why he was so quick to speak; those demons had ceased their attack for a reason.

"The hell do you suppose we do then?" he shouted back at the monk and slayer as his remaining calm demeanour whittled away.

The monk sighed, saying nothing. He wasn't so sure himself. It felt like the world was closing in on them in preparation to crush them into dust.

"We have to work quick," Sango began, bandaging the last of her husband's wounds, "before they find whatever they're looking for."

The remaining group turned to her, eagerly anticipating the details to her claim. When she failed to continue, Kagome spoke up. "I think you're right. They wanted something and whatever it is must have left. That would explain why there haven't been any attacks since daybreak."

"What were they after?" inquired the hanyou sitting with his legs folded in his usual fashion.

"The children, perhaps," stated Miroku as his fingers ran across his chin. Three pairs of wide eyes gawked at him as his own narrowed. He gave them only moments to take that thought in. "If what they are searching for is no longer here then that is the only explanation. Nothing else has left the area since the attacks began. Though I do not know the reason for this, I am certain that it must involve them somehow. As much as I despise the thought…"

Kagome held her breath for those words. She heard voices sounding in her mind—her children, her mother—and all of her happy memories whisked away. She trembled as all of the despair she had suffered through repeated in her mind. They had already lost Sesono as a child and her other son was missing. If anything happened to Kikyou as well, she would not be able to handle it. Her legs, zapped of energy, collapsed beneath her. Though she was looking forward, she saw nothing.

"No…"

Slowly her hands rose to her face as tears began leaking from her eyes. How could this happen? Only days ago they were happy and free of troubles. The four of them lived peacefully within the forest, not bothered by demons or humans alike. Now she had to worry about losing both of her children to whatever unknown force they faced. Even Naraku hadn't caused her this much pain.

InuYasha wrapped his arms around her as she cupped her eyes. She felt his warm surround her, a feeling that always meant she would be ok. He allowed her to settle before saying anything. Her breaths regained their normal speed and she relaxed her arms at her sides. "I promise that I won't let anything more happen to them. You have to trust me." Tears returning, she nodded her head and relaxed it on his shoulder before wiping her eyes and regaining her composure.

"In any case, we must begin our search immediately. We have wasted too much time as it is," the monk stated as he rose to his feet, brushing the dirt off of his robes. There was no time to waste.

"What? I thought you said that was a bad idea!" shouted InuYasha, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"It is. However, we don't have much choice. Staying here will do us no good."

"Then why not find the children? It shouldn't take long with Kirara's speed and InuYasha's nose." Sango suggested.

"We can't."

"Why not?"

Miroku took a deep breath. "The demons left long after they did—they don't know where they are—if we join up with them then there is no doubt they will be found. I guarantee that woman left some spies to follow us. Our only choice is to find her. If we do, the attacks will cease and the children will be out of harm."

"What if we're too late?" Kagome's voice rang out. There was a slight pause as she gathered her thoughts. "What if she finds them before we find her? I don't want to lose them."

The teens all sat in a circle fire blazing in the center. They raised their hands to its warmth, watching its flames flicker before them. Off in the darkness sad a lone water demon impatiently taping his nail against the group. While the humans sat eating and laughing together, he was barred from so much as nearing the open flame.

"When are you going to remove this thing?" shouted the demon to the human boy near the fire. He pointed his clawed hand at the talismans which surrounded his form. When his flesh touched its walls, it began to sizzle and burn away. Already his hands were red and raw from attempted escape.

"Why should I remove it at all?" asked Satoshi before taking a sip of tea.

"Damn brat," snorted the demon as he fought the urge to try to rip apart the barriers again. |I said I was on your side, didn't I?"

"You attacked us!" Kazumi shouted, wanting nothing more than to hit him with something/

"That's a minor detail!"

As they continued to argue, Kikyou stared attentively at her clawless hands. She, for twenty-four hours, would remain like this. All of the strength and confidence she normally possessed had vanished, leaving no traces behind. For the moment, she was no different than the villagers who had mocked her throughout her life. That wasn't what she wanted; she did not want to be afraid. It seemed, though, that it was a part of human nature. Looking at the red-haired boy, she could not help but feel trembling rise from within her. Not long ago, she was the same. She also carried within her the blood of a demon and proudly flaunted her demonic traits. Thought her thoughts remained unchanged, her body reacted to the innate fear swelling inside her chest.

She buried her head in her arms without the others noticing. So many thoughts were racing through her head. Thoughts of Karo lingered most of all. His visage against the moonlit sky was burned into the deepest recesses of her mind, his intense, focused cyan eyes failing to leave her alone. When she saw his eyes, her human side went cold with fear. Of all demons she had encountered, he made the human in her petrified with fear. Never before has she been through such turmoil as that night.

"And what was that the other guy said about you being a water serpent? You look nothing like one," complained Kazumi, getting in the demon's face. He growled low in response as she smiled smugly at him, satisfied with his silence.

"You humans are all the same," he began, causing Kikyou to look his way, "you understand so little yet claim to know all there is about us demons."

"What did you say?" Kazumi hissed, grabbing firm hold of the material on her hiraikotsu.

"I take on human form as a form of self-preservation," he explained, piquing the interest of those around him. "My demonic form is that of a water serpent. I cannot survive away from water for long in that form."

With that, she realized something that she had overlooked for so long. Every demon that resembled her was only hiding in a human façade. This was not limited to Yaremi—Karo and the man who masqueraded as a slayer were the same, as was the case with every human-like demon she would meet in the future. This trait wasn't just a method of survival for some demons, it was also a sign that they were among the most elite of demons. They were strong, even by demon standards. Karo was the same. He could have killed her, so why didn't he?

As the bickering between them continued, Kikyou slipped away into the darkened forest. She needed a quiet place to think. As a human she knew this was foolish of her but as a demon she was confident. Though she could no longer feel that confidence, she remembered it. That was enough, she hoped.

Strange sounds filled the air, far more muffled than usual. That lack of accuracy only made her nerves worse. She fumbled through the trees, avoiding the small, faint pairs of eyes around her. Her breaths grew more exasperated as the sounds closed in around her. She was determined, however, to overpower her human instincts with will alone. If she couldn't stay calm while the transformation occurred then she would be useless to her comrades. She didn't want that—to be left behind.

Kikyou leant against a tree, sprawling her palm over its park in an attempt to quell her shaking body. She watched it, squinting to see in the dark with her feeble human eyes. What am I even doing out here? She pressed her forehead against the tree. It's cool surface soothed her unsettled mind.

The thoughts began anew as she stood there. Motionless among its branches, her first concern was the mystery behind the Shikon Jewel. Her mother's told of her struggle to make the jewel whole and use its wish. Her father had wanted it, though she knew not what for. However, the jewel was tainted. No matter how purified, a wish on it would only result in terrible sorrow. The jewel was forged by Priestess Midoriko fighting an unending battle against the demons. It was an item created by that war and was forever cursed. Her mother had succeeded in destroying it, or so the story went. But now…

"I don't know what to believe," murmured the human as her fist lightly hit against the trunk Even without confirmation, word had already spread about the Shikon no Tama allegedly residing inside her chest. Already Karo and Yaremi had come for it. "How long can I keep this up?"

Though her ears were weak, she still managed to hear a rustling among the trees. Quickly she jumped back in a gasp, straining her eyes to make out the figure in the tree. Then she saw cyan eyes.

"You," he said, low in his breath, as he saw her standing there. He hadn't gone far for fear of losing track of the group, and therefore the jewel, but he hadn't wanted to encounter than after his last little outburst. He had been reflecting on it for quite some time. There were instances where he would overreact, acting more like a typical youkai than intended. "Kiki."

She jumped at that. He could hear her scattered breaths. Her ash brown eyes shook with terror at the sight of him. Alarmed himself, he thrust himself at the ground to get a better look at her troubling demeanour. At this she stepped back and his eyes widened. He recognised these mannerisms all too well. They were a constant reminder of just how different youkai and humans were. For him to have reduced a hanyou to this, he wondered how drastic his actions really were back then. Was I that scary?

He slowly reached out to her and she flinched. She didn't mean to. This human body of hers was unusually jumpy as it was and it only worsened when youkai neared. She was not really afraid, or at least she wouldn't have been, but in that moment she could not control herself. The adrenalin was too much. She wanted to run away. Why?

His hand neared and a flash of light quickly knocked him aside. His body soared through the air and slammed through trees. By the time he had stopped flying he was five meters away and had left a path of destruction in his wake. Agile as he was, he sprung to his feet in preparation of attack. Approaching Kikyou was a man, very tall and lean, in purple robes. His long, raven hair rested softly against his figure. The glint of his sword reflected moonlight directly onto his face. He was a human, with not even a hint of demonic aura residing within him. There was something else, though. Whatever it was, it gave off a feeling of dread. This man was not safe.

Kikyou was leery of this man. He had just attacked her acquaintance, though the way she had acted would have made anyone think that she was in need of rescue. Much to her dislike, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight to his chest. Using his other hand he raised the sword to Karo. She stared up at the man with deep concern. He was smiling.

"Be gone, youkai. I will not allow you to bring harm to this young maiden."

He froze. Was that what it looked like to him? Did I really look like I was going to kill Kikyou?

"Now go!" the man commanded.

Furrowing his brow, Karo vanished into the darkness, unwilling to face confrontation. It was clear that he was the only danger.

"There! You're safe now." The man smiled lightly at her. Kikyou's face contorted and she used all of her strength to push her away. He was a little confused, but assumed she was just confused and said nothing as he sheathed his sword.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, quickly building a large tone. "He wasn't going to hurt me!" After saying that, she stopped. Though she had known that all along, it had not sunk in until she said that herself. It was just like Yaremi had said: if he had intended to hurt her, he would not have used a human weapon. As her mind caught up with her, the man decided to speak.

"I'm afraid that you're wrong. Though it appeared human enough, that was a youkai."

"I know," she began, cut off by the man and his brimming confidence.

"I've seen his kind before—the ones with cyan eyes—they're very deceptive and in no way friendly demons. You're lucky I stopped him before he ate your heat." The man stretched while saying this. He straightened out his robes and cracked his neck while she contemplated this. She had never heard of a demon eating the heart of a human.

"Eat my heart?"

"Oh yes, those spirits are always going after the flesh of young women. Rarely can their victims escape. You should feel fortunate."

"Spirit?"

"Yes, that is what the demon is called. Though the name implies an apparition, they are nothing of the sort. You saw the colour of his eyes, right?" Kikyou nodded. "Those eyes can see life force, both of the living and the dead. They use that to hunt out youth with large quantities of energy and devour them."

She groaned. Though the information was interesting enough, it was of little importance. Whatever demon he was, he wasn't a violent one. In their past three encounters he was given numerous chances to end her life, but still she remained untouched. Why couldn't her human intuition understand that?

"I'm telling you, that doesn't matter. He wasn't going to harm me."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Regardless, I suppose I should introduce myself." He leaned forward into a boy. Kikyou eyed him as he stood there, torso folded. "My name is," he began.

"Takai, hurry up!" called a female voice from off in the distance. He looked in that direction, patted Kikyou on the head with a quick "sorry", and ran into the blackness of the trees without a second thought.

She returned to the camp in somewhat of a daze. Even after all of the time that had passed, Kazumi and Yaremi were still arguing, Satoshi had retreated to finish his tea and rice while they did so.

"So why would a water demon be red? Ever heard of a think called camouflage?" Kazumi inquired, still wanting to hit him with her oversized boomerang.

"So what? I'm red! Why is that such a big deal to you?"

"It's unnatural!"

"Damn, all you humans do is complain! It's infuriating!"

In the midst of their debate, Kikyou stepped up to Yaremi, who still remained behind a barrier. She watched him carefully and he studied her with a curious look. She was up to something. She hadn't completely stopped that body's trembling, however she was under far more control than before.

"Yaremi was what you called yourself, right?" He nodded, though suspicious of her intent. "You were right. I can't handle demon attacks on my own. I'm not strong enough. I'm going to take you up on your offer from before."

Yaremi grinned suspiciously.

"However, that doesn't mean I'm going to just hand over the jewel." At this point, she just assumed everything she had been told was true. "Is that a deal?"

He smiled wryly. "Deal."

Kikyou bent over to retrieve the Buddhist talismans scattered around him.

"What are you doing?" Satoshi sounded from afar, rushing up to stop her. She lifted it from its place and the demon rose to his feet. He stretched his muscles and glared at them all.

"I should just tear you open right now and take it." The two gasped at this and even Kikyou wasn't fairing too well at those words, hoping she hadn't put them in danger. "However, water demons are bound to their promises." He bowed politely to them all in the traditional asian fashion.

"A deal is a deal."

A/N: Well, as I promised, I got this chapter up within only a few days! Actually while writing this I sort of entered a trance and I wasn't sticking with the plot I laid out I wasjust sort of improvising. I'll go over it again later to fix any mistakes I've made. Really hope you guys are enjoying the story and any feedback you can give is greatly appreciated. Also, I would love to hear what you think is going to happen after this! I want to see hoe predictable I'm being :) Love you all and thank you for any suport you can give. You're words keep me going.