Well... This is awkward... Yup... I'm alive! I'm super sorry for the delay (more like a damn eternity). The process of college applications and work and other shit is very time consuming and I just couldn't find the time. Not a great excuse, but it's what I got guys... The terrible thing is... this chapter isn't exactly all that substantive... I tried my best to fit stuff like that in, but it failed completely. So FLUFF! Yay! Anyway, after such a long time, you guys probably don't want to hear me talk... So story time!

Chapter 48

Sai's eyes snapped open. Everything was as she had left it. Night still shrouded the world and she still knelt in front of Kaze's sword, which no longer radiated its red aura. The only thing that was different was the presence behind her.

"Welcome back." The distinct, strong, authoritative male voice greeted from behind her. It only took the sound to make a broad smile break out across her face. With the speed that only someone with demon blood could manage, she jumped to her feet, spun around, and essentially tackled the figure in her haste to throw her arms around him.

"Kaze!" She shouted in utter relief. By some miracle, he was completely recovered. No trace of Konton's aura remained to taint his own and all injuries had been healed. Upon a second's further examination, though much less important in her opinion, Sai found the same miracle to be true of herself.

"Sai…" Kaze breathed as the woman in question tried to squeeze the air from his lungs, "It's great to see you too, but I do like breathing." Sai immediately realized how tightly she was gripping her mate and loosened it accordingly, though she could not bring herself to let go, not yet.

"I'm sorry… It's just…" Sai struggled through the emotions that were flooding through her, "I'm so happy to see you! Alive and well!" Kaze chuckled as he brought his arms around the woman he loved and proudly called his wife and mate.

"Well, as I understand it, you had something to do with that." He told her, "A certain dog demon that insisted that I call him Toga told me that much." Sai broke the embrace immediately and held Kaze at arms length with eyes wide.

"You mean, grandfather spoke to you too?" She asked incredulously, "How is that possible? I only barely understand how he could talk to me." Kaze smiled warmly.

"It has something to do with the magic that Totosai worked into my sword. Apparently its control over life links it to the other worlds." Kaze explained, clearly not having total grasp of the concept himself.

"Damn…" Was all Sai could think to say. It was hard for her to believe that all this was possible. Nothing of this sort had ever happened before, at least to her knowledge, even during her parents' travels.

"Indeed." Came Sesshomaru's monotonous voice from the doorway of her home, "Your mate's blade has powers beyond mortal understanding. However, my father's words were understandable enough. You have inherited a power that exceeds any this world has ever known and that it is my place to aid you in whatever way you require." Sai was too stunned by Sesshomaru's sudden appearance to process his words.

"You ever heard of knocking?" Sai accused sarcastically, "I'm sure grandfather taught you." Sesshomaru's responded with an uncharacteristic smirk.

"Watch your tongue niece." He threatened, "Just because it is my place to aid you does not mean that I cannot put you in yours." Sai returned his smirk, allowing a fang to poke through. The expression looked much more natural on her face.

"Another time fur ball." She joked, much to Sesshomaru's surprise. Kaze could not help but laugh at the blatant show of disrespect. If he wasn't supremely confident in the new found power that was radiating off of his mate, he would have been fearful for her life. However, even Sesshomaru knew when to back down.

"I look forward to it." He said in a low voice, trying to salvage as much pride as he could from the situation, "Now come. Father insisted that I provide you with a gift to represent your status." Sai and Kaze exchanged looks, but shrugged and decided to follow Sesshomaru, who had already stepped from the house.

The couple exited their home. All around them, the cool night air flowed, gently tickling their skin. Sai was genuinely taken aback by the feeling that pervaded her. Everything, all at once, seemed the same as before her visions, yet strikingly different. How she hadn't noticed in the house was a mystery to her. Maybe it was her excitement at seeing her mate restored to health, but she wasn't sure how she could have missed this.

Sai could feel traces of the power that she had created within herself flowing through the world. It didn't take much to figure out that she could tap into said power and make it her own. This must have been the remnants of what had existed when the three worlds were one. Somehow, her new awareness of the presence of this power made the world infinitely more vibrant and alive. Everything around her called out to her. It all acknowledged her not only as master, but as the one that would right what was wrong. The feeling, surprisingly, was not overwhelming, but comforting. This world was confident in her success.

"Sai," Kaze whispered into her ear, pulling her from her revery, "You alright?" Sai shook the daze from her head and retrieved her concentration.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She insisted after a moment, "Good actually. Really good." Kaze smiled and took her hand into his own.

"I'm glad. Now let's go. Sesshomaru isn't waiting for us." He said, chuckling. Sai nodded and then the two of them walked off after her uncle.

The man in question waited at the outskirts of the village. An ornate chest sat on the ground by his side. It was fairly large and obviously was demon made. She could feel the demonic aura coming off of it. It's contents, however, had an even more distinct aura. This one was familiar and seemed to be like that of her family members, her clan.

"This is yours." Sesshomaru said plainly, ignoring their lateness and any sort of ceremony. He used his own substantial aura to manipulate the box and place it at her feet. Sai looked to her uncle.

"What is it?" She asked, "Why does it bear our clan's aura?" Sesshomaru did not answer.

"It bears your grandfather's scent." Kaze pointed out quietly, "Whatever it is, it's a gift from him." Sai nodded and decided that, if she wasn't going to get an answer from Sesshomaru, then she might as well open the chest and figure it out for herself. She knelt to the ground and lifted the latch of the chest. The lid opened smoothly and revealed the contents that it guarded.

Inside, a set of armor stared back at her. However, this was no normal armor. This was made for demon royalty, specifically her clan. It bore the mark of the crescent moon upon the spiked steel that topped the slender breastplate. The black painted plate was obviously made to fit a woman and, by the looks of it, that woman was her. More spiked steel was present to protect her shoulders, though the plating gave the joints mobility. All of this was more than a surprise. This was the exact type of armor that her grandfather wore at all times. She hadn't expected a set for herself.

"Sesshomaru," Sai called out, "Why did grandfather want you to give me this?"

"What father does with his armor is his own decision." He responded cryptically, however Sai got the message. This wasn't just type of armor that her grandfather wore, it was that armor. He had modified it, somehow, to fit to her and then assigned Sesshomaru to present it to her. It was a sort of family recognition of adulthood and the turning over of responsibility. She really had received her grandfather's blessing along with the perks that it brought with it.

"That armor is the best of its kind. In combination with your kimono, you should be very well protected. To its proper owner, it has no noticeable weight, and it's more mobile than it looks so you won't be held back by it in anyway." He explained in his typical voice, devoid of emotion, "Now take it and go. Your father and his mate will be here soon enough." Sai nodded and, without a word, she closed the chest and picked it up, surprisingly without any difficulty, before returning back to her home with Kaze.

The next morning, the sun broke through the morning clouds to light the land below. However, two travelers on the road refused to be comforted by the beauty that surrounded them. They were much too worried about their daughter and son-in-law.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called out from her position on her husband's back.

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked, his voice a dead give away to the tenseness he was feeling over the whole situation.

"The aura is different. It's changed." She told him simply, almost unable to believe it herself. Inuyasha's brow furrowed in confusion. Such a change couldn't be good.

"How?" He demanded shortly. Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it again to reevaluate her answer.

"It's… It's… cleaner." She finally decided.

"What? What the hell does that mean?" He asked, clearly surprised by the nature of her answer.

"I'm not sure, exactly." Kagome admitted, "All I know is that there isn't any evil aura left in the village. It started filtering out during the night and was completely gone just before dawn. I couldn't believe that much evil could just disappear, so I waited to make sure it wasn't just wishful thinking. The thing is, I think it really is gone. The aura is pure."

Inuyasha didn't know what to make of that, but neither did Kagome. That much evil didn't just disappear. It would take a much stronger aura to drive it out or a miracle to make it dissipate. Miracles didn't happen often when it came to them, so they were forced to believe that something more powerful drove out the aura. The only question was what that something was. There weren't many that could drive out so much evil and none of them were near his village, except for his daughter, who was out of commission. This was incredibly unsettling and, in response, Inuyasha redoubled his already breakneck pace.

Sai sat atop her roof, soaking up the early afternoon sun. She could smell rain off in the distance, but knew that it wouldn't come until late that night or even early the next morning. For now, she could just relax and enjoy the breeze. Below her, she could see the village in all its liveliness. The men were in the fields working to get them ready for the upcoming rain, while the women played with their children or went about their other daily duties. Altogether, it was a peaceful sight. People were talking, laughing, and took no notice of the chaos that ruled the world around them. Peace won the day here and it warmed Sai's heart. She longed for the day when she could have this for herself. The only problem was that she knew that she would have to fight to achieve this simplistic bliss for her and her family. She sighed and pushed the thought from her mind. That didn't need to be addressed at the moment, so it simply wouldn't be.

Kaze looked up his spot underneath the tree that flanked their home. He was tending to his blade, checking for any remnant of the power that had imbued it the night before. There was none that he could sense, but what he could sense was the longing in his mate's heart through their shared mark. He saw the direction of her gaze over the village and immediately identified the source. It was one he felt in his own heart and knew all too well. The desire to settle down in peace.

That's when he saw his wife's ears perk up. She sniffed the air and immediately searched him out with her eyes from her perch on top of their house. She dipped her head to him, insisting that he follow suit. Kaze nodded and lifted his nose to the air and took a big whiff. A familiar scent filled his lungs. It was the one that they had been waiting for, but now no longer really needed. Sai's parents had arrived and the worry filling them was overwhelmingly evident in their scent. Kaze could only guess how much fun the next few hours were going to be. Who was in a better mood than an overprotective father that thought his daughter was hurt?

"So brother," Mageru called out from his place sitting on the edge of the Bone Eater's Well, "What do you make of this?" Kiretsu stood at the edge of the clearing that surrounded the well. He was doing his best to stay calm under the current situation, so it took him awhile to formulate an answer that would hide such a fact.

"What do you mean, Mageru?" Kiretsu asked, doing his best to feign ignorance. He already knew that it wouldn't work. Mageru burst into laughter at the attempt.

"Don't even try that Kiretsu!" He insisted, "You've had this all meticulously planned out from the start. Every move they've made, you've anticipated. That is, until last night." Kiretsu sighed. His brother was right. As much as he hated to admit that, he couldn't even begin to have anticipated the events that had transpired within Sai's village the previous night.

"Explain to me how I could have anticipated the individual pieces of Sai's soul manifesting themselves to help her achieve a power that no one ever thought would exist again." Kiretsu demanded. His voice was uncharacteristically whiny, something that only augmented his brother's laughter, "I couldn't! And now everything has to be replanned! We have no idea how Konton will react to this. In case you've forgotten, Konton still maintains power over the embodiment of love, has possession of countless other demonic artifacts, and has legions of demons and humans at his disposal. Not to mention the fact that his own demonic powers are immense and multiplying by the day."

"I understand that brother." Mageru assured him once he'd reached a pause in his rant, "We've just been dealt a major advantage. Yes our victory is still uncertain, but it is far more likely. Before last night, we didn't have a chance in hell. We might have been able to fool everyone else, you might have even fooled yourself, but Konton was still far too powerful for Sai to have ever overcome, even if they had purified the embodiment of love. Now she's got a decent shot. True, we don't know how this new power behaves, but Sai's soul obviously does." Kiretsu couldn't argue with his brother. It was true. No matter what they had tried to make everyone believe. Sai would never have been able to defeat Konton. The demon lord shouldn't have even paid her any mind, but he was paranoid and didn't want to take any risks. Of course, Konton's unwillingness to take risks, even logical ones, was the only reason Sai was still alive. Now though, Sai controlled power that could change the course of history with a thought. That gave her a fifty/fifty shot. At least it was a shot.

"If Sai thinks she's in for an easy fight, then she's going to have a rude awakening." Kiretsu spat tersely before storming off into the woods. Mageru shook his head and looked to the clear blue sky above him.

"We're trying... father. We're trying..." He whispered. A sudden chill made him shudder. He shook it off before standing up and running to catch up with his brother.

Sai sat in her parents' bedroom with her mother. Meanwhile, Kaze was in the main room with her father. In all honesty, Sai had never been more fearful for the life of her husband than in the hours that had passed since her parents had returned to the village. Thankfully, her mother was just glad that everyone was alright. The only problem was that her father didn't share that point of view. He laid into her mate the second he had made sure that she was completely unharmed. She had tried to say that it wasn't his fault, that Kaze had actually saved her life, and that she was the reason behind her own injuries. Her mother agreed and tried to get Inuyasha to calm down. He responded by banishing them to the bedroom. That had been three hours prior. Since then, they had been forced to sit while Inuyasha screamed at Kaze for his foolishness making all sorts of threats, accusations, and insults. These were all easily audible through the walls, even without her exceptional hearing. In the meantime, Kaze had sat calmly and silently through it all. He hadn't made a single attempt to defend himself or refute a single thing said by Sai's father. On the outside, Sai had no doubt that Kaze looked stoic and as if the things being screamed at him had no effect on him. However, Sai could tell that he was terrified through her mark. She would think him insane if he was anything but terrified.

Eventually, the screams began to die. Of course, it was well into the night by the time they stopped completely. The rain that had seemed so far away that morning began to pour. Everything outside was soaked within seconds, which is why Kaze was sent out of the house and ordered to walk back to his own. Sai's father opened the door that separated the bedroom from the room that the two men had occupied for the majority of the day. She burst through it without a word to anyone, knowing that anything she said at this point would only serve to make the situation worse for everyone. Instead, she rushed out into the downpour and chased after her dejected mate.

"Kaze!" She called out after him as the water splashed around her with each step she took. Sai saw his ears twitch letting her know that he had heard. Slowly, he came to a stop, allowing Sai to catch up to him.

"You alright?" She asked cautiously, putting her hand lightly on his shoulder. At the sound of her voice, Kaze's shoulders began to shake under her touch. A second later, the distinct sound of his laughter followed.

"Well, I can't say that this is the greatest I've ever felt. Getting soaked after being screamed at for hours isn't exactly what I would call a fun day." He joked light heartedly, "But yeah, I'm alright. I know your father was just worried about you." Sai rolled her eyes at his nonchalance and gave him a playful push.

"Sometimes you're too understanding." She shot back. Kaze returned it with a smirk, a fang poking through his lips.

"Well, you know, I've gotta make up for my wife. Never understands anything." He said, acting as though Sai was someone else.

"Hey!" She whined playfully, "I'm right here you know!"

"I've even heard some women call her bitchy." Kaze added, the mischievous glint in his eyes clear even in the pouring rain. Sai returned it with a killer smirk.

"Now you're gonna get it, love." She threatened.

"Oh, I believe that I may be in trouble." Kaze joked, "Fortunately for me, though, I'm a huge fan of your brand of trouble." Sai responded by letting the whites of her eyes bleed red.

"Run. Now." She growled. Any person besides her mate would have felt as though their life was in grave danger by such an act. Kaze, however, knew differently. He quickly allowed the transformation take him as well and broke off at a sprint from his mate. Sai wasted no time in making chase.

Kaze broke into the treeline seconds later with Sai hot on his heels. The numerous solid trunks of the trees did not slow either of them down. It was easy enough for them to sidestep each and every one. The only sound that pervaded the sleeping forest was the sound of their quick footsteps hitting the ground and snapping the occasional twig. It wasn't long before Kaze came to a break in the trees where a stream flowed. That wouldn't slow him down. He jumped high above it and landed in the branches of the trees on the otherside. Sai followed an instant later and the chase continued in the canopy.

"You can't run forever, mate." Sai called out in an almost songlike voice. Kaze's chuckle reached her sensitive ears from his place ahead of her.

"Indeed, I cannot." He conceded, "I guess we'll have to find a clearing to settle this."

"I couldn't agree more." Sai told him, an excited smile on her face.

It didn't take long for a clearing to appear. The space wasn't large, but, for what Sai had in mind, they probably wouldn't need all that much. Kaze leaped from the final branch and landed on the far side of the grassy circle. Sai dropped from her branch onto the side opposite from him. The grass was soft and not so long as to be irritating. It was in the perfect position to be lit well by the moon and stars. However, the best part was how far away they were from any people. That insured that they wouldn't be heard, something Sai was very happy about.

"Well, love." Kaze said quietly, "I'd say this is perfect."

"Indeed." She agreed in a smooth, seductive voice. That was when the smell hit Kaze's nostrils. It was a smell that he dreamed about, a smell that got him drunk with one whiff. It was the smell of his mate's desire. Slowly Sai began to close the distance between them. Suddenly, using her immense speed, she was only inches away from Kaze. She brought her hand up to his face and gently began to caress it with her clawed finger tips. With every instant they were in contact, what remained of their golden irises began to be overtaken by the burning red of lust.

"Your move mate." Kaze saw her sultry lips move, but the blood rushing in his ears and through the rest of his bodies drowned out the sound. However, even in his current state, he could figure out what her scent meant. Without a second's hesitation, he had his mate in a tight embrace and a passionate kiss. Only a moment later, the grass met their united bodies. The night closed in on the lovers and, if only for a time, the world boiled down to them and them alone.

Told ya... Fluff... and some other stuff... if you can find the plot hints, then I applaud you :) because, literally, I wrote this in such a fragmented way that it was hard for me to find them every time I came back to add something... but they're in there I promise! Anyway, hopefully with winter break and me actually getting into college, I'll be able to go back to regular posting. Exciting right? Maybe not, but it is for me :) Hopefully, you guys enjoyed this and haven't lost any of my touch (not that I had much to lose in the first place). Please tell me what you think, good or bad. I'd love to hear it.