Chapter 13

3 weeks later

"Ughhh" Nami groaned, "This is terrible."

"I know!" Her twin sister, Umi, agreed, "We've been stuck in this castle for over 2 weeks and I haven't seen a single cute guy!"

"Will you two shut up!" Sai snapped. She'd been listening to them complain about the lack of cute guys for the past few hours and had finally lost her patience. "Your constant whining isn't going to make any appear out of thin air!"

Umi and Nami looked hurt.

"Look, I'm sorry." Sai followed quickly, realizing how harsh her tone was, "I don't like being cooped up in here either and it's making me... Irritable..."

"You can say that again." Umi said and all three of them laughed. None of them could stay mad at another for long. They were too close for that.

"I just can't stand staying in this damn castle and not doing anything!" Sai said, frustration surfacing again, "We should be out there fighting back!"

"Well, maybe we should just go then." Nami said.

"Yeah, nothing is stopping us from going and avenging our village." Umi agreed.

"Um, I think you're forgetting about our parents." Sai reminded them, "They'd never let us do something like that."

"Oh yeah." The twins said in dejected unison.

"Wait!" Nami said, suddenly excited, "You could pass it off by saying that it's your duty as a priestess, or something, and that we were going as your personal guards."

"Yeah! That could work!" Umi agreed, "It would make sense since you're a great priestess that's supposed to protect this land and we're trained demon slayers."

Sai had to admit, it was the best plan they had so far.

"Alright, we'll try it, but I think we... Um... Should... Uh... bring Kaze along too." Sai said, her face turning red.

"Ohh..." Nami said smiling, "Sai wants to get with our little brother Umi."

"And what better way that through a death defying quest." Umi agreed.

"Yeah, so what!" Sai said defensively, "You guys already knew that!"

"We're just messing with you Sai!" Nami laughed, "We were going to ask Kaze to come along for that reason anyway."

"Thanks guys." Sai said blushing. "Alright, get your stuff together. I'll go talk to my parents and you talk to yours."

"Sounds good." Umi agreed.

Sai sniffed out her parents pretty quickly. It wasn't that hard even with all of the conflicting smells in the air. She knew their scent better than anyone's.

"Oh Sai, there you are!" Her mother called out as she approached, "I wanted to talk to you."

"Huh?" Sai responded, "What about?"

"Look," her mother began, "your dad and I have been talking and we know how you've been suffering caged up in this castle. We realize that you want to take action, so we talked with Miroku and Sango. You and their children are free to leave if you so desire, as long as you stay together."

Sai didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected this. If she was honest, she thought she was going to have to fight to get her parents' permission. It made her happy that her parents knew her well enough and trusted her enough to give it to her on their own.

"Thanks mom." She said after a few moments. It was all she knew to say.

"Thank your father." Her mother said, motioning towards her dad, "He's the one who suggested this."

She was speechless once again. All she did was run over and hug him.

"Thanks dad." She finally got out.

"Don't worry about it." He said, feigning nonchalance, "I know how I feel being stuck in here, so I knew it would be ten times worse for you. Just be careful out there alright."

"We will dad." She assured her father.

"Alright. You guys can start out in the morning. Spend at least one more night with your parents" her mother told her.

"Okay mom."

That night passed too quickly for Sai. She didn't know when she went to sleep if she was going to be ready to leave her parents the following morning. Eventually she decided that she would figure that out when morning came and she drifted off to sleep.

"Are you sure we're making the right decision?" Kagome asked, looking over her daughter's sleeping form.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said confidently, "Most of our group was that young when we set off and they're stronger than we were then."

"That's true, but I still worry." Kagome said.

"And you should," he agreed, "you're her mother. Now let's get some sleep so we can see them off in the morning."

The next morning, Sai awoke and immediately started getting ready. There were no longer any doubts in her mind, she was ready to go. She ate breakfast with her parents before they said their tearful goodbyes. Then she met up with Nami, Umi, and Kaze, who were waiting at the gates.

"Well look who finally decided to show up." Kaze called out smiling.

"Shut up Kaze." Sai called back, jokingly.

"Hey guys," Nami broke in, "let's get going."

"Definitely." Sai agreed.

The gates opened and they walked out into their quest. They only had a vague idea of what they were trying to do, but it was enough to hang onto. They were going to end the purges.